We stood in Tsunade's office waiting for her to arrive, she was running late but that was to be expected. I stared around the room looking at the team we were to partner up with, Neji, Tenten and lee, or team Gai. My own team was Sai and Naruto, who were currently sitting and talking without arguing for once. I walked over to the other team, to see if they knew what the mission was, Tenten was talking to Neji, they had been together for about a month but everyone knew it was bound to happen. I turned to look at lee and decided against it 'not going to end good if I talk to him, it's too exhausting' I sighed and walked over to Sai and Naruto.
"Hey what are you talking about?" I asked, they both looked up at me, falling silent.
"Nothing of importance sakura, just Neji and Tenten," Sai said before returning to his conversation with Naruto. They were ignoring me so it left me with no choice but to sit down and be ignored by everyone. I started fiddling with my hair in boredom, which pooled around me on the floor, I decided I needed to cut it later, the ends were splitting. I started to plait some of it to pass the time. Tsunade walked into the office and everyone but lee jumped to their feet, 'only an idiot like lee would stand for two hours' I turned my attention to Tsunade "Ok, everyone I'm sorry I'm so late, here is the folder all the information is here, I want you to find this man and bring him back alive, if you have to kill him to save a comrade then do so," Tsunade said this sharply and then left the room. The others resumed talking as I walked up to the desk to grab the folder; I opened it there was a destroyed picture, a name of a village I had never come across and a map. Since no one else seemed interested in this I started placing the photo fragments together, a bandaged hand came over my shoulder.
"This piece goes here and this one there," lee said quietly. I shrieked in surprise and jumped backwards knocking lee over.
"Don't you ever do that again lee," I growled. I ignored him and went back to fixing the photograph; it was a while before it was complete.
"Hey guys we have a photo and a location, let's get moving," I said.
"We leave at dawn I want everyone to meet at the gate." As soon as I got home I placed the folder on the table and started packing, when finished I pulled the map out and pin pointed the location. It took several hours but I finally managed to find the quickest and safest route to the village. I plaitted the full length of my hair before I fell asleep.
I waited at the gates with everyone waiting for Naruto and Sai who had just finally show up, when they did they were talking and didn't stop just walked past us. I shrugged and started following them, the walk through the forest was boring, and there was no one to talk to, several times I had to yell at Neji and Tenten to catch up. We stopped in a small clearing for the night, I expected lee to complain but he didn't. I stared into the fire watching it play over the burning wood; I barely noticed that lee had walked over.
"Mind if I sit with you sakura?" lee asked, I shook my head and patted the ground next to me. We just sat there for a while staring into the fire, "Lee do you know what Sai and Naruto are talking about all the time?" I asked quietly, he shrugged and shook his head.
"Every time you walk up to then to find out they stop and stare till you leave," lee explain. I continued staring into the fire for the rest of the night. I woke up with someone's arm around me, I turned to see lee.
"Bushy brows get your arm off or lose it," I screamed at him, I managed to wake up everybody and lee immediately let go of me.
"What's your problem, lee you just can't go grabbing girls while they sleep!" I was still screaming at him and went to punch him in the face but he moved. I got up and started walking off into the forest to cool down 'stupid bowl hair cut freak' I started punching the tree thinking it was lee. After awhile I stopped feeling better and walked back to camp, Naruto handed my bag to me and started walking with Sai, I walked with them not caring if they wanted to talk privately.
"Sakura why not walk with Tenten and Neji and see what is happening with lee, he has been a little out of sorts lately," Naruto said as he pushed me towards them, I turned back round to glare at him. I caught up with Tenten and
"I was told to but ask what's up with lee?" I asked staring at them.
"I think," Tenten said, "that he is lonely, he is on his own now that we are together and it's finally getting to him." I sighed 'great he's lonely but why me' I turned to stare at Neji who nodded to confirm what Tenten said. I fell back and walked on my own behind Sai and Naruto, lee caught up and poked my shoulder, and I ignored him and continued walking. After a while I got sick of the silence but nobody wanted to talk to me expect lee and I didn't want to talk to him, it continued like this for awhile till something snapped under my feet. I fell down a hole.
"Naruto, Sai help me please" I called out to them they turned round and Naruto started laughing while Sai ran to help me. Lee got to me before Sai and helped to pull me out of the hole, my ankle was going swelling.
"My ankle is sprained" I mumbled, I ran my chakra through my ankle it wasn't sprained, the bone was fractured.
"Bother, not a sprain the bone is fractured and I can't heal it," I said, I rummaged through my bag and found bandages, pulling them tight around my ankle and foot.
"Sakura," Sai asked quietly, "Why can't you heal it?" I sighed and finished my job before I replied.
"I would be wasting my chakra when it could be needed in the future to heal one of you, also healing bone's is not my strong point." Sai offered his hand and pulled me up. I ripped the branch off the closest tree and stripped all the other little branches off it to use it as a crutch. I walked a little slower then everyone but they didn't seem to notice, lee stayed with me to help me out with fallen logs and such.
"Sakura I am sorry about before, I swear I didn't grab you while I was awake and I tend to move in my sleep," Lee said. I could hear the truth in his voice. "It's ok lee, I'm sorry I over reacted," I told him smiling, he smiled back, neither of us were watching where we were going and I walked straight into a tree. I burst into a fit of giggles, everyone looked back at me.
"I walked into a tree," I explained, still giggling, Tenten walked up to lee and started questioning him on why he let me walk into a tree. We stopped for lunch because I couldn't continue walking anymore.
"At this pace we might arrive at the village next month and by then he could be gone," Neji said, "sakura someone is just going to have to carry you If we want to make it on time." I groaned 'why can't I just walk' I looked round to Naruto and Sai but they were talking to each other again, so I looked over to Neji and he and Tenten were talking 'great I'm being ignored' I managed to muffle my sigh.
"Lee do you mind carrying me?" I asked in a really small voice, he nodded enthusiastically, too enthusiastically for my liking. After lunch we picked up the pace, a lot faster than we were going before I became injured. I didn't feel like talking so I had nothing to do and the constant movement of lee running made me sleepy, after a few minutes of running I was yawning and before I realized I fell asleep. I was running with Naruto and laughing, he was smiling at me and holding my hand, he stopped and pulled me into his arms and kissed me, whispering in my ear that he loved me. I told him that I loved him too and he started sucking on my neck I wound my fingers in his hair and he bit me, running his hands down my back and thighs lifting me up so I could wrap my legs around his waist. He kept one hand there and the other went up top, he undid the bandages and grabbed my breast. I moaned and kissed him, he stopped it and started nibbling on my earlobe.
"So easy to tease," he whispered, I moaned again in response to him moving his hand to rub the sensitive spot on my thigh with his thumb. I woke freaked, lee hand his hand on my shoulder and was shaking me.
"Come on sakura you have to eat," he said passing me some food, I sat up and thanked him. He smiled at me, I looked around so I could hide my blush, Tenten was asleep in Neji's lap and I couldn't tell if Neji was asleep as well. Naruto and Sai were still talking to each other, I gave up at looking around and let my pink hair fall over my shoulder's so I didn't have to see anything but the food in front of me. We were back to running again and instead of falling asleep again like last time I talked to lee.
"Thank you for doing this lee," I said going red with embracement at the fact that I had to be carried like a small child.
"I don't mind doing this sakura I would do anything for you," lee said, I went even redder at this comment, I was so glad that he couldn't see my face.
"Lee, sakura run," Tenten screamed, I looked over to where she was the man we were meant to capture was attacking us; Neji had been hit in the arm with a kunai.
"Lee get up higher I have a plan," I whispered to him, he did what I said and went up into the trees, I let go of him and moved all my chakra to my hand and punched the ground causing it break and fracture, he couldn't move from where he was standing due to the fact that stepping in certain places would make the ground crumble beneath him. I couldn't stand up anymore; I had completely destroyed my ankle from the landing, leaving me defenceless. There was a really loud noise coming from the left of us, it was one of Sai's drawings, the thing smashed into him which was good but the only problem was he landed heavily on me. He got up dragging me with him by my hair; I couldn't stand so it hurt all the more. I grabbed one of my own Kunai's and cut my hair off, he swore but it distracted his as i grabbed and bit his leg. He then grabbed me by the arm, ripping my weapon from me.
"Do anything and I kill her" he screeched, something came from are right, another one of Sai's drawings, he pulled a kunai out and sliced deeply into my arm, I screamed. The noise made everyone of my friends back down. He picked me holding me under his arm and ran. I passed out.
I woke tied up next to a fire, I could smell something bad, and I looked forward and saw that the end of my hair had been burnt. I tried to move away from the fire but couldn't move my arms and legs felt like lead. My kidnapper heard me trying to move away, he came over and pulled me up by my hair again like I weighed nothing. He punched me in the stomach with enough force to make me be sick.
"Don't you even think of trying to run," he warned me as he threw me to the ground. I lay there whimpering and crying, before he got up and walked over. "You're making too much noise," he said without emotion before kicking my lower back, I screamed out in pain and white spots flashed across my eyes. He stood there laughing; his laughter was suddenly cut off and soon followed by a loud thud, like something hitting a tree. I couldn't see what was happening and it scared me a lot.
"Don't you ever think of hitting her again freak," someone yelled I recognized the voices as lee's; he had come to save me despite the warning that was giving.
"Lee thank you," I muttered before passing out from the pain.
I woke up in a white room Naruto, Sai, Neji and Tenten were standing round the bed, Naruto hugged me.
"Sakura you're ok." Naruto sounded so relieved, I blinked in surprise.
"What happened to me and were is lee?" I asked really confused.
"Asleep on the chair he hasn't left here since, we all got here today almost everyone has been in to see you, but lee was the only one who never left," Neji said looking over at the chair lee was in, I sat up and saw him. I wanted to start crying.
"Sakura you have been in here for a week, there was a lot of damage to your spine but seeing as you sat up it looks like you not going to be paralysed, I'm going to get Tsunade come on guys, we're leaving," Tenten said dragging her boyfriend with her, the others followed leaving me with lee who had just woken up.
"Lee thank you for saving me," I said, he looked surprised and jumped up to the bed, hugging me tighter then Naruto.
"oh my god sakura, I should of never let you fight him. I thought I was going to lose you, I never left you and I can't believe he did that to you, I'm so sor-" he was rambling so I cut him off with a kiss.