Author's Note:

Hey everyone! Long time no see! Sorry for the long wait, but between holidays and starting University again, I just haven't had time to continue with the story. I finally had time to sit down and write this next chapter. I want to thank everyone for the awesome reviews and words of encouragement, they are seriously what keep reminding me how much I want to continue to get this story written and posted. Enjoy!

I do not own Naruto or any of its characters!

Chapter 3

"No way! It's not possible! The old woman seriously just brought the Kazakage back to life." Deidara watched the scene unfold before him with wide eyes.

Naruto, Temari, and Kankuro all cried out in joy and fell to their knees beside Gaara. Very slowly, Sakura helped him sit up; he was obviously dazed and confused but he was definitely alive and in seemingly good health. "What happened? Where am I?" asked Gaara.

Speaking slowly and clearly Sakura replied, "you were attacked by the Akatsuki; we followed you here and got you back. How are you feeling? Any numbness or pain?"

"None that I can tell... But, it feels like I've been asleep for a longtime, I don't really remember what happened either."

"Tell us what you do remember." Sakura placed her hands on Gaara's forehead and started checking his body for injuries while he spoke.

"I remember fighting the Akatsuki and then all of a sudden I was standing in a dark void. I couldn't hear or see anything; but I felt like my chakra was being slowly pulled from my body. Finally the feeling stopped and for a while there was nothing, and then a white light appeared in the distance. It felt like it was calling to me so I walked towards it and next thing I knew, I looked up and saw all of you." As Gaara finished his story, he looked over to where Deidara was sitting. The two locked eyes until Deidara was forced to avert his gaze. Gaara blinked slowly. "I was dead, wasn't I?"

Stunned, everyone looked at each other unsure of how to respond. Sakura, being the medic explained after a moment, "yes you were, the Akatsuki stole the Shukaku from your body. But Chiyo brought you back, she saw how much you were loved and gave her life in return for yours."

Looking towards the ground, Gaara was silent for a long time; he was deep in thought. Finally he looked up and looked around at everyone present. "Thank you all, for everything. I wouldn't be here without all of you and especially not without Chiyo-sama. She will be given the proper burial she deserves and you all are welcome into Sand anytime you wish. You have my gratitude."

At Sakura's nod of approval, Gaara, with Naruto's help, stood up. "We must return to our village immediately, everyone must be very worried." He looked over to the rogue; "take him with you, he is of no use to us. His information will be far more valuable to Konoha and I can't very well take your lead on Akatsuki after you all risked yours lives for me. If you ever need help in the future, call on us, we will come to your aid."

Kakashi stepped forward, "thank you Kazekage-sama. Konoha appreciates your generosity. We accept your offer gladly. We will also be returning to our village now, if you no longer require our assistance."

"Very well, I wish you safe travels, and thank you again." With a nod, Kankuro picked up Chiyo's body carefully. Gaara turned towards Naruto, his first and closest friend, "Be careful, Naruto."

"Nothing's going to stop me Gaara, I'll bring down these bastards! Believe it!"

Gaara gave him a small smirk, nodded, and took off (surprisingly quickly considering the ordeal he had just gone through) with Temari and Kankuro not far behind, after they gave their own nods of respect.

Once the sand ninja had disappeared from sight, all eyes turned towards the rogue ninja currently looking stubbornly at the ground in front of him. "We need to get away from this area, we don't know if any other Akatsuki are hanging around and we all need to rest. We will travel until we find a place to rest for the night" Kakashi said. He nodded at Neji and with silent understanding, Neji reached down to drag Deidara to his feet.

Deidara let out a small hiss of pain as his broken body was jolted suddenly. Realizing what he had done, he snapped his jaw shut and glared daggers at Neji. Not intimidated at all, Neji pulled Deidara forward to stand in front of Kakashi. "Can you move well enough?"

Narrowing his eyes at Kakashi, Deidara just nodded shortly. "Sakura, you stay to close to him; Neji keep a close eye on him as well. The rest of us will form a loose circle around him as we travel and make sure he doesn't get away. Here we go." With that, Deidara was pushed forward by Neji and the group of ragged ninja moved forward through the forest.

Sakura, in keeping with her sensei's orders, kept close to Deidara as they moved. They weren't traveling very fast due to the condition of the group and the chakra binding handcuffs around the rogues hands. However, they pushed forward, eager to find a safe location for the night and looking forward to returning to the safety of the village. After a few hours, Sakura noticed that Deidara was struggling greatly but refused to give any indication that he was feeling weak. The only tell tale sign that he was weakening was the shortness of his breath and the fact that his limp had been getting progressively worse as they moved. "Sensei!" she called. "We need to stop soon, I have to check everyone's injuries."

Nodding in understanding, Kakashi came to a halt; everyone stopped, still in a loose circle around the rogue. Looking around, Kakashi said, "This looks like a good spot to stop for the night anyway, agreed?" Everyone nodded tiredly but remained watchful of everything going on around them. The place they had stopped was a small clearing in the forest; trees surrounded the small grassy area and the sound of flowing water was heard a few hundred feet off to the side. A large rock was settled at the edge of the clearing. "Move the prisoner over to that rock; Lee and Ten-Ten, keep watch over him." With a salute from Lee and a nod from Ten-Ten, they walked up to Deidara and grabbed each of his arms. Too tired to protest, Deidara allowed them to move him.

While this was happening, Kakashi was issuing orders to start a small fire and gather water from the river. As each person went to complete their assigned duties, Sakura walked over to where the rogue was now sitting. Ten-Ten had summoned a large stake and drove it into the ground; it was one of her special weapons meant to trap an opponent - once driven into the ground, there was no removing it, except by using her chakra. A chain traveled from around the stake to Deidara's cuffs a short distance away; there was no way he was escaping now, though they still guarded him carefully.

Wearily, Deidara contemplated his situation. He knew for the moment there was no escape, the Ten-Ten girl had explained to him what the stake was meant for and he could feel the power emanating from it. For the moment, he was still held prisoner. He knew he would get his chance at escape but also accepted that even if he had the opportunity, he could not escape right now. He was completely was dehydrated and in a great deal of pain. All the running had gotten rid of any energy he had once had not to mention the fact that it put too much strain on his battered body. His leg was throbbing and he could feel every laceration covering his body. "For now, I will rest, yeah. It doesn't look like they're going to try anything now, may as well take advantage of the situation and recover what energy I can."

Through half-lidded eyes, he watched the copy-cat ninja issue orders and saw as everyone dispersed to complete their tasks. The pink haired kunoichi was walking towards them; as she got closer she called to the two other Konoha ninjas, "how are you two doing?"

Enthusiastically (where did he get all that energy, Deidara thought grumpily) Lee turned to Sakura and replied, "I've never been better! I could still run all night!" Suddenly, he fell down and grabbed his leg, "okay maybe I'm a little sore" he said laughing. The two girls shook their heads and laughed quietly.

"I'm okay," said Ten-Ten, "just a few scratches, nothing I can't take care of myself. Look at Lee's leg."

Sakura knelt beside Lee and did a quick diagnostic check, "you'll be fine, just a sprained ankle, let me take care of that really quickly. I would heal your scrapes too but I have to see to everyone else as well." Her hands become engulfed in that healing glow as she placed them on Lee's ankle, which quick;y repaired itself.

"Good as new! Thanks Sakura!" Lee jumped up and down before, leaning against the rock behind him.

Sakura then turned towards the rogue sitting on the ground; she could feel him watching her carefully. Undaunted, she crouched next to his sitting form. "What about you?" All she got in response was a tired, "fine" and a glare. Sighing, Sakura reached for Deidara's forehead to check for a temperature. All Deidara saw was her hand reaching forward and he flinched backward into the rock behind him. "Relax, I'm just checking your temperature."

Sakura was slightly intrigue by his reaction; she had noticed that the rogue ninja did not care to be touch at all. Slower than before, she reached again for Deidara's forehead, this time he only tensed; removing his forehead protector, she placed her hand on his head. He was burning up with fever, which was to be expected considering his current physical state. She removed her hand and brushed against something cold and hard. Narrowing her eyes, she move the bangs from his face and saw the scope he had placed over his left eye.

"What is this?" she inquired as she pulled it from his face. When he didn't answer she grabbed his chin and forced him to look her in the eye, "I said, what is this?" Her words were icy and Deidara swallowed quietly before answering.

"It's a scope, yeah. It lets me see things at a distance." She dropped his chin but he remained looking at her suddenly noticing the beautiful green of her eyes. "Like an emerald...Wait, what? What the hell was that? Did I seriously just admire her freaking eyes!?" Quickly looking elsewhere, he missed the perplexed look that crossed Sakura's eyes for a moment.

Sakura had noticed the way he looked at her after answering her question and was very confused by it. No one had ever looked into her eyes the way this rogue had just done, almost like he was looking into her. Shaking her head slightly, she quickly did a diagnostic check of his body. She healed the bones in his leg a little more, healing the damage done earlier from running for so long, and took care of several scratches that looked like they would become infected if left untreated. She locked eyes with him once more before standing up and telling Ten-Ten and Lee that she would get someone to bring water for them. Then she walked away to check on her other teammates, leaving both herself and the rogue wondering about what had just occurred.

...

So Gaara came back to life (I know quite a few of you were happy about that!) and we have started to progress with the story some more. So what was that between Sakura and Deidara? And what happened in Deidara's past to make him the way he is now? I guess you'll just have to keep putting up with me to find out ;)

Thank you so much for reading this story, it means the world to me. As always, I love hearing from everyone so send me a review when you have a few moments, who knows, they may encourage me to write another chapter more quickly! Cheers!