The crackle of the fire that's been set up on the dirt made its way to their ears as the deafening silence surrounds them. The burning of the meat of fish that they've caught earlier filled their nostrils. The group decided to camp out at the eastern part of the forest of the Hidden Grass Village, just five miles near the Fire country.
Everything seems to be mocking him. It's the same date. The stars are everywhere in the dark night sky. A large luminous moon hung above them, just like that night.
'This will really be a night to remember', Sasuke thought to himself.
Juugo was walking towards the group, holding some pieces of what would be tore down wood from the forest. Karin was reminiscing the earlier day's happenings. How Sasuke would look good while killing. How he would be gracefully moving. How he would be glaring at her. She would giggle on her own and get everyone but Sasuke to look at her direction. She's daydreaming again. Sasuke, who was eating the cooked fish, stopped abruptly but gracefully anyway and raised his eyebrow for a moment, closed his eyes, and sighed and half-smirked. Suigetsu who saw this wondered why.
'I guess he's just being Sasuke', Suigetsu thought to himself as he watched the raven haired young man prepared to stand up.
Juugo, who was only a mere ten meters away from the group, suddenly stopped in his tracks; while Suigetsu looked at the rather unfazed Uchiha beside him.
Bang! Everyone looked at the direction of the explosion. Worry filled the three member's faces. They weren't that ready for a fight after earlier's attack. There was a faint smell of smoke from the explosion. It was different; they felt it, depleting their chakra. They focused their chakra to their noses to block the smell. And then there it is, a very powerful chakra coming right into their direction. It was not there a while ago but now it seems that it doesn't care if others will feel the chakra this certain someone is letting out.
"What was that?" Karin asked tension obvious from her voice.
Shit! Why does this have to happen right now? She practically punched herself mentally. Her inner self was mocking her at this.
She kept on running masking her chakra from the ones who are pursuing her and other enemies that maybe lurking around. She looked for any other way to get away. Her chakra sensed other nins around the area wishing they were Konoha allies patrolling.
Just thirty meters ahead she saw something. Camp fire smoke. Damn, just as I thought. I hope it is an ally. She peered to her right side. Two rouge-nins. Just how really lucky can I get tonight? She thought as she looked up the clear sky. The moon already peeking out from the once ominous dark clouds. Just like that night. She closed her eyes, concentrating chakra on her feet. She thought of so many things. One, run faster, get pass the border to Konoha, give Tsunade the scrolls and get on with my life. Two, if they get me, damn sure I won't let that happen. Fifteen meters ahead. She smirked, her green orbs shined through her ANBU mask. He's here, I am really lucky. I'll just have to know who's lesser than the two evils tonight.
Sasuke closed his eyes and walked to where the chakra is coming from. Sure he knows that chakra too well. Even in his unconscious state he would know. He touched the hilt of his Kusanagi and just stood there like waiting for someone to pop out from the dark.
Sakura was so disoriented from thinking that she forgot to mask her chakra. One of the rouge-nins threw out three kunais at her. One piercing through the cloak she was wearing, the other kunai landed centimeters away from her feet once she touched a branch of a tree. The other went ahead of her piercing a torso of a big tree. The tag! She exclaimed as she changed direction. It was seconds too late because the smoke she inhaled made her chakra low. Damn! I'd choose the lesser evil now. With her left chakra she started jumping from tree to tree again. Ten meters, no five. Her pursuers are getting close. She's got too many scratches from the mission. The smoke made her weaker than she already is.
"You won't get away now. I'm sure more the half of your chakra are depleted," One ninja shouted as he got to a closer range to her. She decided to go faster.
I'm here! One kunai shot at her right shoulder blade, another to back of her left thigh as the others were blocked by Sasuke.
"What a surprise," the one who threw the kunai at Sakura said.
Sakura landed to Sasuke's left. She recovered but her chakra was too low. With her left energy she took out the kunai at her thigh and the one in her shoulder.
"Hn."
"An Uchiha," the other grinned.
"We would like to apologize for the inconvenience, as we'd like to get something from the girl. You could go on with whatever you are doing," one of the three rouge ninjas exclaimed.
One of the rouge ninjas was at Sakura's side, he took off her mask.
"What a beautiful creature, such a waste you are going to die now," he laughed.
"You wish," she closed her eyes. Sasuke peered to Sakura's side.
Just then a sword came through his heart. Right at the center and then it twisted to the right. Sakura was so tired of this game so she ended it right then and there. Then she collapsed.
"Looks like my former team mate doesn't want you to get that something," he said his Sharingan activated now.
The two left rouge ninjas were so afraid that when they tried to escape, they found out that they were more rooted to the ground. One had fought his fear and moved just to be beheaded by Sasuke. The blood spurted into his white yukata. Without any hesitation he pierced the Kusanagi into the rouge ninja left and activated the Chidori making him scream out in pain as his life was drained from him.
Sakura was panting hard on the ground. Too tired to actually think of running away from this berserk Uchiha. She saw it, how coldly he murdered her two pursuers. But first, she had to get out the poison from the kunai at her shoulder first.
Sasuke walked calmly towards the now conscious Sakura.
"Hand me a clean kunai," Sakura commanded.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow at this. Of course he doesn't have a kunai he has a Katana for goodness' sake. He looked at his new team mates. Juugo handed Sakura a clean kunai.
Just what does she need a kunai for and a clean one at that? Of course she won't attack us with that.
"Sakura,"
"What!?" She exclaimed angrily. She stabbed the spot at her shoulder and let out a small cry. Bits of dark fluid came out in no time. This is better than nothing.
"Hn," he sounded as he's curious at what his former team mate is doing.
"You dare shout at Sasuke like that I'll kill you on the spot!" Karin shouted at her from behind.
"You got yourself a girlfriend huh," Sakura chuckled at Sasuke.
He glared at Karin.
"But Sasuke, she yelled at you," he glared at her again. This is enough to make her shut up.
"So are you going to kill me too?" she asked mockingly as the Uchiha took her left arm abruptly, making her stand up. She was too weak to stand and her knees felt as if they were Jell-o. Her right hand clasped Sasuke's yukata. He was surprised by his former team mate's actuation towards him.
This is an interesting night indeed.
She coughed with a little blood on it.
"Though the poison will kill me first before you do," She is lidded eyes once again as the left poison is making its way to her vital parts.
Sasuke's eyes widened at the comment. He gripped her arms more.
"That was something Sasuke wouldn't do in a thousand years," Suigetsu grinned.
"Maybe today's an exception," Juugo side commented at a rather intimate moment in front of them.
"That girl," Karin was furious. Juugo got a grip on her.
"Shall we get some more wood and food I guess?" He motioned for the others to get out at the site.
Sasuke got rid of Sakura's dark red cloak and pushed her vest aside to suck out the poison from her shoulder. They were seated at the dirt away from the tents. Sasuke couldn't care enough who sees him at this moment. He sucked hard at the poison-filled wound just as someone would do when someone got bitten by a snake. Sakura would let out some small cries when the Uchiha would suck on her skin. She bet there'd be bruise on it the following day.
With Sasuke's little knowledge of medical jutsus from Kabuto, he felt for any poison left and when there was none he closed the wound. He also took care of the wound at her thigh. Sakura was already out when he was doing this. He felt that her chakra was alarmingly too low.
When the other three came back Sasuke was seated in front of the fire with the pink haired ANBU inside his tent. That was one in a thousand years, indeed.
"So…" Juugo couldn't place his words
"What?" Sasuke asked.
"What to do now?" Suigetsu finally spitted it out.
"We'll be delivering her to Konoha tomorrow," Sasuke calmly stated.
"What?" Karin was too furious for this conversation. It's not making any sense to her.
"Are you deaf?" the Uchiha gritted his teeth at this
"You are risking yourself, maybe it's just a trick to make you come back," Karin put some sense into the Uchiha's mind.
"I will be back… in time," He mindlessly stated still looking into the flames.
The night remained silent. Sasuke asked the three to patrol because he would be at his tent the whole night and everyone agreed, even Karin who was getting eaten by the green-eyed monster, agreed.
When Sasuke entered the tent, Sakura was still unconscious and her chakra was still low. She'd need to have a change of clothes. He sighed. He changed even her bindings as they were stained with blood and probably poison. She will kill me tomorrow. He smirked his infamous Uchiha smirk. He sat down with the Kusanagi beside him and closed his eyes to rest.
The morning was already up ahead of them when he woke up. He felt for Sakura's chakra and smiled a little. Her chakra was enough for her to travel. His nose cringed at the thought. If it only wasn't part of the deal he'd be carrying her throughout the whole journey.
Tsunade was doing paperwork for a whole four hours now that her head hurts. Shizune reminded her about Sakura being unusually late. She ignored it.
"She'll be alright. She'll send us a note. Plus I don't have any bad feelings about her being late than usual," she stated as anxiety finally hit her. There's a hawk in her windowsill. She read the note.
She will be late.
I'll be bringing her tomorrow afternoon.
Meet us at the outside gates of Konoha.
-Uchiha
She felt as if a bucket of iced water was splashed on her. Immediately she grabbed a pen and paper.
You better bring her back alive and conscious, Uchiha. Or else, I will have the ANBUs get your ass inside Konoha as soon as you get here.
-Tsunade
She waited for the hawk to come back, and it did after what seems like hours of waiting.
Is that a deal?
Deal. I will bring her conscious and well of course alive.
I'll come back to Konoha after I fulfill my mission.
-Uchiha Sasuke.
The Hokage sat up in her chair not knowing what to do about the situation. Heck, she's sure to beat up that Uchiha's ass if he'd do something to Sakura, her apprentice. And she's just as thankful that it was Sasuke who found her. It's gonna be a long night.
His thoughts were disturbed as his rosette haired former team mate grunted as she woke up. She slowly opened her eyes. Thanking the heavens that she picked the lesser evil this right time.
"Did you sleep well?" Sasuke questioned her.
"Just right," she raised her brow at him as she sat up. She knew her bindings were just around her chest area but now there is an extra binding around her right shoulder. And her clothes. They were of dark blue and white. Damn Uchiha.
"Replacement clothes." He stated.
"Aa," She said. Testing out her muscles and wounds.
She doesn't care? Hm. Something new and interesting. I wonder if. In a split second he was on top of her. Both hands up beside her head. An Uchiha hovering above her doesn't make her blink even one bit. It didn't even make her heart skip one bit unlike before. Maybe it's just from exhaustion. Sasuke kissed her ear right before looking straight into her eyes. Blood red eyes meet bright green orbs.
"Save yourself for me, Sakura,"
"Hn?"
"I'll come for you… after all of this are done," he let her go and went out of the tent.
As Sakura got out of the tent, all eyes were set on her. It must be the clothes she's wearing.
"Shall we?"
And then they are headed to Konoha.
Waiting outside the Konoha gates is one of the things a Hokage isn't supposed to be doing. Too many paperworks, barking out orders, barking out missions, and heck a lot of it. Tsunade was just as anxious as last night that it didn't let her sleep. She should be alright or I'll kill him.
"What time did he say on the note exactly?" Shizune asked.
"Around noon," the Hokage replied. And right on the dot she felt them. Their chakra, tho little, but she's sure Sakura's alive as well as Sasuke.
"Shishou!" A very pink haired ANBU shouted as they landed in front of the Konoha gates.
"I guess my mission here is done." Sasuke stated.
"Thank you, Uchiha." Tsunade shouted.
"I'll be waiting." Sakura stated. With a sound of a poof and the group was gone.
"Sasuke,"
"You love her."
"Shut up, Suigetsu"
