Disclaimer; I don't own Naruto

Chapter One

Naruto was in trouble.

Having fought off countless waves of Orochimaru's minions for an impressive two hours, he was finally beginning to weaken. Even the vivid red chakra swirling around his exhausted body was growing fainter, and in Sakura's opinion, the snarl on his face was being kept up through sheer effort alone, in a last-ditch attempt to scare off any enemies stupid enough to underestimate the power of the kyuubi container.

"Just another five or ten minutes, Naruto-chan" she whispered. She would be able to assist him then. Or perhaps even earlier if…

How the hell had this happened? Kakashi sensei and a group of other representatives had gone out to the edge of the woods to meet the ambassadors from Suna and escort them back to Konoha for the annual renewal of the Fire and Sand alliance. She and Naruto had been returning from a quick mission in Grass country, but had paused to investigate a sudden huge amount of chakra usage a few kilometres away. What they found had been…

"Dammit" she hissed, her attention returning to the person lying with his head in her lap, the face mask he normally wore discarded to his side. His normally twinkling eyes were shut tightly, and his forehead creased with pain. Hatake Kakashi, her sensei and friend, one of the people Sakura cared for most in the world. His breathing came out in ragged wet gasps, and as she watched, red bubbles frothed between his lips. The lines in his forehead began to relax…

"No, Kakashi sensei"! Sakura hissed. Allowing Kakashi to fall unconscious would be fatal. He seemed to hear her though, as the lines returned, and his entire body stiffened, to brace himself for another wave of pain. He'd already held on for a long time, and she'd managed to heal the more serious internal injuries he'd sustained in the fight before she and Naruto had arrived in time to take over. All that remained was to close the external injuries without risk of infection or gangrene. However, they themselves were considerable, and she too was beginning to weaken. Grudgingly, she'd decided to take a small break before continuing on. That itself could have been had negative consequences for her patient, but Tsunade had warned her many times that if a medic was even slightly inaccurate with the healing which could occur with exhaustion and fatigue, she could potentially undo all the hard work that had gone beforehand. There were no shortcuts, and no miracles. However, time was running out. Even Naruto couldn't last forever against the enemies that just kept coming.

"Sakura", Kakashi whispered, a pain-filled choke. "Naruto…help…"

"Shut up, sensei" she murmured, as physically and mentally, she prepared to send a large wave of chakra into him.

"Rasengan"! she heard Naruto yell. A bright flash spread over the clearing, and Sakura took advantage of the temporary lull following it to gather as much healing chakra as she could into her fingertips. Her eyes narrowed with concentration, she placed her hands directly over Kakashi's lungs and sent wave after wave into his body. His breathing immediately eased and normalised. The final vestiges of his major injuries, which included an ugly slash from his collarbone to his sternum, closed with the flesh knitted together; not as firmly as she'd have liked, but at least the unbearable pain from moments before was gone. The major danger to his life was over.

"Good girl" Kakashi whispered. "Now go…" his eyes flew open. "SAKURA"!

She felt it too. Like ice water, the massive dark chakra, radiating power, washed over her, momentarily freezing all physical and cognitive functioning. It was overwhelming, almost like Naruto's chakra when his Kyuubi power was at its peak. However, rather than fiery and uncontrollable, this chakra was dark and tightly reined in. She knew who it was, even though she still couldn't see him. She felt him, with every fibre of her being. Naruto knew who it was too, as he turned to her, his eyes back to their normal cerulean blue. They were darkened too with fatigue and pain, and some other emotions Sakura couldn't quite fathom.

"Sakura chan" he said, voice trembling slightly. "Take Kakashi and…"

"Run"? A mocking voice interrupted him. Even after three years, the voice was still achingly familiar. "I knew you were an idiot, but never a coward, dobe".

."Coming to…"

"Sakura chan? Sakura my beautiful - "

"For chrissakes Lee stop crowding her! And calm down, will you? Hey forehead-girl, wake the hell up!"

"Ugh"…eyes beginning to open.

"Clear the way"! Tsunade's loud and commanding voice effectively had everyone scrambling backwards, as Sakura's eyes finally opened. Immediately, she retched and would have thrown up all over the hospital bed if Tsunade hadn't already been there with a bucket. She felt like hell.

"Sakura, how are you feeling"? Tsunade asked, tilting up Sakura's face and looking intently into her watering eyes. Behind her, Rock Lee, Yamanaka Ino and Hyuuga Hinata watched with varying degrees of concern and worry on their faces. Sakura stared back at her sensei.

"I'm alright". Her voice came out as a hoarse croak.

Fire, ice, pain, agony. Exhaustion. Naruto screaming, Sasuke screaming, fingertips outstretched, rage, sorrow, love. Blinding light, a million flying creatures.

"Naruto? Kakashi sensei? Are they alright?" She stopped herself with an effort, and some confusion. Why wouldn't they be alright? Goddamit but her mind was fuzzy…

Tsunade's face was grim. Behind her, Hinata looked away at the mention of Naruto's name.

"Naruto…he's alright". Tsunade said finally. "He's not really…functioning at the moment though".

Which means he's simply unconscious or worse? Sakura wondered. She racked her brains, trying to remember what the hell had happened. She remembered Kakashi's head in her lap, and the welling of chakra in her fingers flowing into him. She remembered Naruto turning to her, exhausted but resolute, saying…something. She remembered those cerulean eyes glazing over…

Sakura gasped, as more of her memory returned. An abnormal chakra, a tumult of emotions.

"Naruto – he's alright?" she cried. "He…"

The red wheels spinning, Naruto screaming.

She slapped a hand over her mouth. Lee was instantly beside her with the bucket.

"Shh Sakura chan, Naruto kun will be ok. Hokage-sama has it well in hand!" he murmured.

Lee looked in the corner and smiled at someone.

"And he was there in the end. He saved your lives. You and Naruto kun both"!

Sakura blinked. Who was him?

"Haruno didn't really need saving". A low voice replied.

Lee moved an inch, and to her befuddlement, Sakura found herself looking straight at Gaara of the Desert. Overall, he must have been perfectly visible all along, but she had somehow managed not to notice him. If he noticed her start of surprise however, he didn't indicate it. He simply looked back at her, dark ringed eyes serene and impassive.

The Kazekage? She wondered. What is he doing here? And what was that about…Gaara…his green eyes…

"Aaagh" she moaned abruptly, the memories finally slamming into place.

Pain in her body, pain in her mind, her heart, her soul., Naruto screaming, her own voice screaming, and abruptly, a new voice adding to the cacophony of anguished sounds…

"Sensei"! she cried. Finding herself unable to look away from Gaara, she grabbed Tsunade's arm. Fragments of her memory returned, and she would have leapt out of the bed if she hadn't been so weak. Oh my God. She felt herself beginning to hyperventilate as the images burst through the walls of her temporary amnesia.

"Sakura"! Tsunade said sharply. She cursed inwardly. She had hoped Sakura's mind would remain blank for a while yet, while she recovered. Sakura wasn't physically hurt much, but who knew what her psychological state would be… Damn the kazekage, why had he insisted on remaining in the room? She waved an imperious hand at everyone.

"Everybody…out"!

Hinata scurried out the door immediately, but Lee and Ino rushed to Sakura's side. Gaara too walked (or glided) closer to the girl, his dark lined eyes remaining fixed on hers.

"Keep it together forehead girl", Ino said soothingly, although she was almost bursting with frustration and worry. She had absolutely no idea what had happened out there, but whatever it was had left two of her friends and an elite Konoha ninja incapacitated. She had been on guard duty at the gates of Konoha along with Hinata and Lee, when Gaara had flown in by himself on a whirlwind of sand, so fast that only Lee's incredible reflexes had managed to stop the young kazekage in his tracks, long enough for her to recognize the three still bodies in the sand cocoon he'd been guiding through the air. What the hell had happened out there?

Surprisingly, keeping her eyes fixated on Gaara's pale green irises as he neared her appeared to calm Sakura down.

"I'm fine, sensei", she murmured, brushing away Tsunade's restraining hand. Tsunade glowered at Gaara, her concern over her apprentice overriding any sense of decorum or formality she should have exercised in the presence of one equal to her rank.

"Gaa – kazekage sama, I really must insist -"

To her surprise and to Gaara's as well, Sakura reached out and gently pulled at his sleeve, drawing him closer to her. Her own emerald orbs were entirely calm, although there was a sense of urgency and strain in her voice when she spoke.

"Did you kill him? Sas…Sasuke"?

Next to her, Ino blanched and abruptly sat down. Even Lee looked stunned. Gaara's eyes remained locked with Sakura's, impassive and unemotional. Tsunade watched with trepidation, hoping and praying that whatever his answer was wouldn't break her beloved apprentice into pieces. Even though Sakura appeared to have calmed down, she still wasn't' sure how fragile her mental state was. Sakura, you are so much like me…

After a long tense silence, he finally responded.

"No". Gaara said. "I didn't need to. You had…Uchiha had already been taken out".

A/N: Good? Bad? Utter rubbish? This is my first ever story, so any (constructive) criticism would be appreciated. This story may or may not progress to romance, I'm still not 100 sure yet.