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A/N: A continuation to this story. Sorry about the delay. Given the current turn the story has taken I'm not as sure about the how the series will end as I was when I wrote the first part. No flames, but reviews welcome!
Kept
The shock of the battle's aftermath did not last. Almost immediately, Sakura's medic training kicked in once again. Although her chakra was low from treating Naruto's worst injuries, she needed to dress some smaller wounds by hand to keep him from bleeding to death. Even the accelerated healing the nine-tailed fox's presence triggered could not prevent the severe loss of blood that could occur before they make it back to the village. She was interrupted from her work by a hand on her shoulder.
"Sakura-chan, we need to move. Naruto could die easily if he's doesn't get to the hospital soon. Also we need to transport Sasuke's body back to the village as proof he's dead." The jounin spoke plainly in a monotone, but his eyes showed how worried he truly was for his student.
"I failed Kakashi-sensei," she said. "I was supposed to help Naruto bring him back."
"No, you did not; in fact, you saved Naruto's life today. This was always going to occur between Sasuke and Naruto, just as it happened between Uchiha Madara and the First Hokage. It was always the Uchiha hatred versus the Senju Will of Fire. You would have sacrificed yourself had you fought." The silver-haired man sighed. "Look at what he did to his own teammate. I thought I taught him better than that."
The jounin looked at his former pupil. He knew that she was distraught at how things had turned out; he wished there was something he could have done to prevent what had just happened as he looked at the tired medic, the injured sage and the dead Uchiha. Suddenly a voice broke the silence.
"Sakura, Kakashi-senpai we must get back to the village with Naruto and the traitor. It's not safe to linger," said the usually stoic artist-nin. With a flick of his wrist he drew two transport birds that sprung off the paper and grew large enough for all of them. He and Kakashi lifted Sasuke's limp body onto one of the birds, securing it with ropes of ink. Naruto, they gingerly placed on the second bird, securing him in a similar fashion.
"Time to go," said the teen to his pink-haired teammate. Not bothering to reply, she climbed onto the bird that held Naruto. He followed her lead and the jounin got on the second.
The flight to the village was brief and passed silently. They landed about 20 feet in front of the main gate of the village.
"We're village ninja and we have an emergency here," said Kakashi. "We need to get to the hospital." The duo who guarded the gate, let them pass without a word as they rushed to the hospital. As they reached the main entrance of the emergency room, Ino stopped them so she could sort them out.
"So we've got one in critical condition, one to be sent to the corner for an autopsy and one medic suffering from exhaustion and shock," she asked as her palms began to glow green with healing chakra. Sai and Kakashi nodded in unison.
"Shunize-senpai, we've got a patient in critical condition," she called. The Fifth's other apprentice came and took the blonde into an availible room where she could treat him.
"Kakashi-sensei, could you take the body to the morgue," she asked. "The jounin nodded and followed her directions.
"Sakura, come with me. I need to examine you. Sai can come with you if you want. If not I'll send him to the waiting room." In the midst of the chaos Sakura had forgotten about her pale teammate. Speaking for the first time since she told Kakashi that she had failed, she said, "I'd prefer to be alone. Could you wait outside Sai?" The teen nodded.
Ino allowed her to walk to a room they used to treat outpatients, but made her sit once they reached there.
"What happened," asked the blonde. "Right now I'm more worried about you than your chakra level."
"I just watched the only man I ever loved and my best friend attempt to destroy each other. I only watched when I should have fought," she answered. The petite teen was distraught. Ino raised her eyebrows.
"The only man you ever loved," she asked as she rolled her blue eyes. "What about Naruto? It's pretty clear your feelings for him have changed a lot since we were genin." The blonde was sharper than she looked or acted.
"He's like a brother to me. He's my teammate," said Sakura, her pale cheeks regaining some color. Ino smiled and walked over to the cupboards where they kept remedies for common injuries and conditions. She removed a few pills and filled a cup with water. She handed them to Sakura, who took them and drank the water.
"Your face wouldn't be that color if the thought hadn't crossed your mind at least once or twice," Ino said. "Let's face it, you told me the first thing you noticed when he came back from training was how handsome he had become. 'He looks like he could be the Fourth Hokage's son' you said. Also he's not the same Naruto from the Academy anymore either."
"Just like a certain kunoichi-in-training said she would 'never ever want anything to do with the sons of her father's teammates', one of whom is one of your closest friends and the other your boyfriend?" Now Ino blushed. Even in her current emotional and physical state, Sakura's mental clarity was astounding.
"Chouji's not my boyfriend. We're not even dating," she answered, her voice quivering. "I'm done with your treatment. If you want go visit Naruto, he'll be out of intensive care soon. Unless you want me to stay, my shift's over. Should I tell Sai anything?"
"Yeah, tell him to go home. He's been awake for at least the past 24 hours," commented Sakura. "I'm going to stay."