Ok, guys, chapter 2 is finally here! I know it's very short, but the next ones will be longer!

Disclaimer: As usually, I don't own Naruto.

Chapter 2

My strength had diminished significantly since I started carrying him to the village. His weight on my shoulder was now killing me and slowing me down but I didn't stop. I wouldn't. I had to get back and show everyone my accomplishment. Shishou would be very proud of me. Naruto and Kakashi-sensei would probably be very surprised. I could imagine Naruto's jaw falling to the ground in astonishment and Kakashi-sensei's eye widening in disbelief. I couldn't help but smile picturing their reactions in my head.

However, my smile didn't last long. The man on my shoulder was my long-time crush. Scratch that! My long-time love. I loved him unconditionally. That I knew. What I didn't know was what was going on in his head and heart. He was changed, different. I could see that. What had they done to him? What had they told him? Despair took the best of me at the thought of what kind of brainwashing they had put him through. I had to take him back and let him in the experienced hands of Tsunade-sama. Maybe I would help, too. I had to save him.

I leapt form branch to branch for about an hour when I saw Konoha's gates. I landed on the ground heavily from physical exhaustion, paying attention not to accidentally throw Sasuke's limp body down. The extra load on my shoulders caused my knees to bend and shake. It took all of my willpower to steady my legs again and take a few steps toward the enormous gates. The two final steps were my death. I collapsed on the hard ground taking Sasuke with me. I felt dizzy, sick. The feeling to throw up was getting stronger every passing moment and the weird buzz in my ears was making difficult for me to hear the loud cries of Kotetsu and Izumo who were running to my side.

"Sakura-san! Sakura-san!" Both shinobi called at the same time. However, it was like they were a hundred meters away from me. I mumbled some incoherent words and everything went dark.

When I woke up, I found myself neatly tucked in one of the hospital's beds. I easily recognized my surroundings; this was the place I worked anyways. The extreme whiteness of the room momentarily blinded me and made my head feel heavy. I closed my eyes and released a small sigh I had been holding for some two good minutes. I heard footsteps outside my room's door. The footsteps drew closer and closer until the handle of the door was pressed down causing it to open. My eyes opened again tiredly and faced an extremely worried blonde Hokage.

"Sakura" the blonde woman called quietly "are you awake?"

"Yes...shishou." My voice came out hoarse.

"Please don't talk. Just nod 'yes' or 'no'. You're too tired to speak."

I nodded in agreement as I realized myself that I was too exhausted to talk. Tsunade-sama stared at me with concern before voicing her first question.

"First of all, are you feeling alright? I treated some minor wounds."

I nodded positively.

"Good. I'm glad. Now, on with the more important questions. Did you...find him?"she asked hesitantly, skipping to mention Sasuke's name.

I nodded a 'yes' once again.

"Did you fight?"

Again, my head inclined in a positive move.

"Did he hurt you?"

I expected this question. My honesty pushed me to nod a 'yes', but my heart was indicating otherwise. How I wished nothing of this had happened! How I wished Sasuke hadn't tried to kill me. I remembered the cool feeling of his katana on my neck and then, his fingers wrapped firmly, ruthlessly around it. I couldn't admit that he had hurt me; my heart couldn't. Pushing aside my reason which was stressing me to scream that Uchiha Sasuke had hurt me on top of my lungs, I simply nodded negatively at my master.

The Hokage narrowed her hazel eyes suspiciously, evidently not believing me. "Sakura, don't lie to me. He hurt you." she stated in a calm but stern voice.

I nodded negatively again, more vigorously this time. Tsunade-sama didn't seem to believe me again, but apparently decided to drop the subject until later. "Fine" she said and started to pace away towards the door. "I'll check up on you in the afternoon. Take some sleep until then in order to replenish your chakra. You passed out from chakra deprivation when you arrived. We all were very worried about you, Sakura." her voice softened at her last words.

I tilted up the edges of my lips in an attempt to smile reassuringly, before an idea crossed my mind. "Where's Sasuke?" I asked with effort, effectively making my shishou to turn and look at me before she closed the door behind her.

The blonde woman stared at me with an inscrutable expression plastered on her beautiful features, obviously contemplating whether she should give away this information or not. After a pregnant pause, she finally answered with hesitation "He's held at the Interrogation Department. Have a nice rest, Sakura." And with that, she shut the door behind her.

My mind went blank the moment I digested her words, while the speed of my heartbeats nearly surpassed the speed of light.

Until next time...xoxo :)