That'll show him not to mess with HIS Sakura-chan...

"Naruto!" Sakura hissed at the angry fox boy. She made sure that her voice wasn't loud enough for the two boys behind them to hear. "Remember what Kakashi told us a while ago?"

Naruto's eyebrows furrowed even more. "What? That I could beat Henta up but not kill him?"

Sakura glared up at him and pinched his arm. "Don't talk so loud! That Henta guy may be a..." She unconsciously shivered. "...a pervert, but he's still our charge. You can't just beat him up like that!"

"So what?" Naruto huffed and turned to glare at the still frowning Henta. "He's trying to hit on you, Sakura-chan! I don't like it!"

"You think I like it?" Sakura gritted her teeth in annoyance.She could feel Henta undressing her with his eyes. Sakura clenched her fists. "Just remember, Naruto. Restrain yourself!" She ordered before she forced herself to ignore Henta's stares and looked straight ahead.

They have to travel for about two days in order to arrive at Henta's village. Sakura, instead of sulking like Naruto, took the time to marvel at the wonders of her surroundings. The whole forest seemed pretty lively this afternoon. The sweet melody of the birds' merry chirpings along with the rustling of the leaves lifted most of Sakura's worries. She looked up and smiled at the beauty of the cloudy sky. It was a wonderful sunny afternoon. She sighed contentedly when she felt the gentle breeze caressed her flushed cheeks before it decided to play with her short pink hair. If only the days...

"Hey, what are you grinning at?" Naruto's irritated voice broke Sakura's reverie. Her smile immediately turned into a vicious scowl. She was about to yell at Naruto to mind his own business when she realized that he wasn't talking to her.

He was talking to Henta. Again. Sakura couldn't help but sigh.

"So what if I'm grinning?" She looked at Henta and saw him smirk at Naruto. "It's not like I'm grinning at you or something..." His blue eyes darted slightly downwards at her direction before he looked up at Naruto again. He grinned widely.

What is he looking at...?

"I don't like you." Narutoexclaimed as he threw Henta a suspiscious glance.

"Well," Henta shrugged. "That's not my problem, is it? I don't like you either."

Sakura blinked. It looks like another fight's going to start. She glanced at Sasuke for help, but the dark-haired prodigy merely turned his head away from them.

"Anyway, Henta-san," She sweatdropped. Kakashi's worry is starting to make some sense now. She briefly wondered what would happen if she didn't join this mission. "Why bother hiring ninjas to protect you?" She tried to get Henta's attention so that he wouldn't fight with Naruto anymore."You don't look like you're injured... or are you being hunted?" She curiously asked. Henta looked pretty healthy. And judging from his appearance and those two daggers that were safely tucked at his side, he also knows how to fight.

"Ahh... I thought you wouldn't ask, Sakura-chan." Henta said her name as if it was the most beautiful name in the world.

Sakura face-faulted.

"Don't you Sakura-chan MY Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled angrily. He glared at Henta with all his hate.

"Naruto! Will you stop screaming?" Sakura hissed at him. She's getting really tired of this! "Okay... Henta, please explain."

Henta grinned and stuck his tongue out at Naruto. This caused the blonde to fume even more. How immature can these two possibly get? Sakura sighed in exasperation. Why can't they try to be more like Sasuke-kun?

She glanced at Sasuke and was surprised when she caught him glaring at Henta, too. When their eyes met, he snorted and turned his gaze away from them.

Huh?

Henta's cough diverted Sakura's attention from Sasuke. "Actually, Sakura-chan," He emphasized her name to goad Naruto even more. "I'm injured. You see here..." He stopped walking and lifted his shirt to reveal the bandages around his ribs. "I got shot with an arrow."

"Someone shot you? Why?" Sakura asked after he pulled down his shirt and they resumed their walk.

"I'd rather not talk about it, but for you, Sakura-chan, I'll make an exception..." He smiled charmingly at her.

"Well, we don't wanna hear about it... right, Sasuke?" Naruto snapped as he asked the quiet Uchiha.

"I don't give a damn." was Sasuke's reply.

Sakura glared at Naruto for his rudeness while she chose to ignore Sasuke's equally rude reply. "What happened, Henta-san?"

"I'm a traveler in search of my true destiny." He started, his face serious and his tone dreamy. Sakura heard Naruto snicker quietly in the background. "I got tired from my travels, so I decided to rest on a nearby peaceful village. I realized then that no matter how hard and how far I travel, I still won't be able to find my purpose in life..." He ended with a painful expression on his face.

Naruto's snickers got louder. Sakura scowled at Naruto to make him shut up.

"And just as I was about to give up, God gave me the honor to meet the most beautiful girl I've ever seen." His blue eyes sparkled in delight. "She was a goddess... the queen of love and beauty... the..."

"Cut to the chase!" Naruto barked. Apparently, Naruto was getting rather impatient.

"We fell in love with each other and we spent our days happy and contented in each other's arms." He sighed dreamily as he stared up at the sky. "Those were the good old days..." When he turned to look at her again, his eyes turned hard and cold. "But her father decided to intervene with our love. He made me a wanted man, that's why I was forced to leave my lover's side... forever."

"So, let me get this straight..." Naruto squinted his eyes as he rubbed his chin in a 'thinking' fashion. "You're a dead man because you tried to get fresh with a rich man's daughter?"

"Naruto!" Sakura growled warningly at her blonde teammate. "Can't you see..."

"That's just stupid." Sasuke muttered as he walked past them. The trio stopped talking and turned to his direction. When Sasuke noticed that they weren't moving, he tilted his head to the side and glared at them in annoyance. "Come on. We don't have all day."

Naruto snicked to himself before he followed the young Uchiha.

Sakura was left behind with Henta beside her. Henta was staring at the ground, his expression sad and defeated. She assumed that he must be reminiscing about the past and his lover. She knew that she was supposed to feel sad about his rather... dramatic tale, but for some weird reason, she couldn't.

She wasn't sure if it's because his tale sounded quite unrealistic, or it's because of the way his eyes told her that he was... lying?

Sakura shook the thoughts away from her mind. She really shouldn't think so badly of Henta. He couldn't be all that bad now, could he? And maybe he isn't that much of a pervert and she's just imagining things... So what if he kissed her hand? Maybe that's just how he normally greets girls...

She really should give him a chance.

"Henta-san... Are you okay?" Her heart jumped when Henta fixed his gaze on her. She stepped back almost instinctively.

So much for giving him a chance...

"Sakura-chan..." His voice was husky. Sakura's eyes frantically searched for her teammates. She cried in surprise when Henta lunged at her and engulfed her in a fierce hug. "You're the only one who understands me, Sakura-chan!"

"Get off me! Get off!" She screamed as she tried to pry his arms away from her. Her eyes widened when she felt his dirty hands started to crawl a bit lower on her back. "Stop it, DARN IT!" She hissed angrily and was about to give him a taste of one of her most dangerous punches when she was suddenly yanked out of Henta's arms.

She yelped when she collapsed against someone. "Stop fooling around." The voice was cold and threatening. Sakura looked up and was surprised when she found out that she was crushed against Sasuke's chest. Before she knew what was happening, she was suddenly jerked out of Sasuke's arms. This time, she landed against Naruto's chest.

"Damn you, Henta... I'm gonna kill you for this." Naruto growled furiously as he encircled an arm around Sakura's waist in a protective gesture.

"N-No, Naruto! Remember what Kakashi said!" She stuttered to her angry blonde teammate. Sakura decided to forget about how she almost wanted to punch Henta a while ago.

Just as the two boys were about to beat the crap out of the poor perverted Henta, a kunai suddenly zoomed past them. It hit the ground with a soft thud.

Sasuke instantly became alert and immediately took in his surroundings. Naruto released Sakura and the trio got ready to fight. Henta bit his lip before he pulled out the two daggers from his side.

Sakura heard Sasuke curse under his breath. "What's wrong, Sasuke-kun?"

"We're surrounded."