Chapter One: How Far They've Spread Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto! See previous disclaimer for further information.
They walked through the forest.
It would have been faster and stealthier to move in the trees...but they didn't. Sakura took the blame--it was just natural for her to make herself the scapegoat after all those years when she was automatically assumed to be in the wrong, or the weak one. Naruto, of course, protested--saying it was he he was tired. But they all knew the truth: They didn't dare travel in the trees because none of them could control their chakra. Their emotions were raging too wildly to get a grip on the energy within them. So they walked.
"Shouldn't we have seen someone else by now!" Naruto finally yelled in frustration, tearing at his hair.
"Shut up, dobe, or you'll give away our position." Sasuke snapped back.
Sakura, lingering in the back, didn't intervene. Not because she didn't want to...but because she couldn't.
Suddenly, only their mouths were moving--and no sound was coming out. The trees wobbled in feverish waves...everything that was supposed to be thick was thin and the air was so heavy she couldn't breathe...everything thin was too thick...
"Sakura?" Sasuke looked back, alarmed by the vacant look in her eyes.
She saw his mouth move...her vision folding in on itself in a blurry tunnel...
Sasuke lunged towards her as Sakura's body crumpled. Catching her shoulders in his arms, he pulled her close, kneeling to support the sudden drop in her weight.
"Sakura? Sakura?!" Naruto cried, kneeling beside him.
Sasuke pressed his wrist to her forehead, seeing for the first time the tell-tale signs of fever: Her cheeks were flushed and the rest of her face was far too pale even for her complexion.
'Damn it...when did this happen!?' He thought as he shifted her so her head rested against his chest.
And then he saw a trail of blood escape her lips...she had bitten her tongue. But when? That was an old trick for dispelling an illusion but when had she been exposed? The only time she was alone was in their race to the gate...when she had turned back to cover their retreat...
"Shit." He muttered under his breath.
"What is it?" Naruto demanded angrily.
"The Tsukuyomi." He replied as he adjusted her negligable weight on his back.
"Will she be okay?"
Sasuke nodded as he began back down the path, Sakura's warm breath on his neck.
Sakura woke up in the trees on a particularly thick branch: It was large enough that she could comfortably stretch without fear of falling. Looking over, she saw Naruto straddling the branch next to her, a small pool of saliva gathering underneath him. Glancing up, she saw Sasuke sitting up against the trunk, his arms resting on his knees.
It was late: Probably around midnight based on the sky.
Sitting up, she folded her legs beneath herself and rested her head on the trunk of the massive tree.
Sasuke was beside her in an instant.
"How are you feeling?"
"Better. I don't know what came over me." She smiled nervously.
He nodded, pressing his wrist to her forehead again. Pleased to find her temperature back to normal, he curled up beside her, letting her use his lap as a pillow.
"What happened back there?" She suddenly asked, her voice strained with unshed tears.
"I don't know." He replied honestly, stroking her hair even as his eyes hardened like steel. "But I intend to find out."
They moved at first light. By then they had a loose grip on themselves and were confident enough to risk the trees.
"We move to Suna--they're the only ally we can trust." Sasuke said.
"Agreed." Sakura replied as she flipped herself up onto another branch.
"How do we know they even made it!" Naruto snapped in a moment of uncharacteristic pessimism.
"Because they had to." Sakura whispered back.
TBC