A/N: No need to wait in suspense any longer, dear readers. I'm trying to update as quick as I can!
Paper Hearts
Chapter 4
Sakura had come a long way in her training; she was no longer the frightened little girl who couldn't protect herself when in danger. Her opponent seemed to be thinking the opposite; he smirked at her and lunged forward, thinking it would take one good hit to take the girl down. Sakura wasn't going down without a fight; she countered each punch and even sent him flying backwards, away from Hana. One of the men attacking Kakashi saw their chance and rolled off to the side, past Kakashi as he collided his kunai against that of his remaining opponent. The other man ran straight for Hana, screaming about the scroll.
"Oh no you don't!"
Sakura turned to protect the client, raising a kunai high above her head. In the excitement of the moment, she had forgotten to make sure her first opponent was immobile. He leapt to his feet and appeared directly behind her; his hands clamped down on her wrists, pinning one arm to her side, her other one locked under his unrelenting grasp. He chuckled at Sakura's attempts to free herself; despite her struggling she couldn't pull her arms free.
"You think you're so tough, girlie? Well you aren't! You're way too weak to defeat us!"
His laugher took on a darker tone as his companion, the one who was charging at Sakura, neared.
"She's all yours, Raiko,"
He pressed his thumb against the hilt of Sakura's kunai and forced the tip to point downwards until it touched her wrist. She hid her wince as the tip of the blade broke the skin and sent a thin stream of red dripping down her arm.
"Sakura!"
Naruto shouted, unable to get away from his opponent. When he heard it, Sasuke's head turned just in time to see Sakura being overpowered by two of their attackers. Hana backed up and clutched her box to her chest, her body shaking violently.
"You'd better keep your eyes on me instead of your girlfriend, kid!"
The man facing Sasuke sneered and ran to continue attacking him. The remaining Uchiha heir grunted and raised his interlocked fingers, performing a series of gestures before unleashing a roaring ball of flickering flames.
"Fire technique: fireball no jutsu!"
His opponent was no match. The body went up in flames, his screams lingering in the air as his throat swelled shut with smoke, efficiently ending his life. Sasuke didn't have time to dwell on the matter; it was, after all, the way of the ninja, and he had more pressing matters at hand. He knew Sakura was stronger than before. Her natural ability to heal people was renowned throughout Konoha, and there was a confidence to her attacks that had, for the longest time, been seriously lacking.
But it was her eyes that gave her away in each and every battle they had ever fought together. They would tremble with the silent fear of approaching death, as if she was expecting her opponent to win. He knew that look well; it had been the same one that had shimmered in his own, teary eyes when he had been forced to watch his parents drop like flies. Sasuke's movement was quicker than a blink of the eye as he ran after the charging enemy, his hand shooting out to grab the man by the back of his shirt. He yanked the man backwards and punched him square in the nose, feeling the cartilage crack from the force.
"Raiko!"
Sakura was pushed to the side, her kunai taken from her, as the man who had held her shouted and took aim.
"Sasuke, behind you!"
While her stomach twisted with worry for her teammate, Sakura didn't have time to waste. She jumped backwards until she was near Hana once more and watched with wide, terrified eyes as the kunai went flying towards Sasuke's back. He spun around just in time to see it coming but there just wasn't enough time to let it slip past. It hit his shoulder and lodged itself there, bleeding upon impact.
"We will take the secret technique and restore our nobility! The branch family has had control for far too long; it's our time to shine! We'll show the whole world-"
He was so consumed with the passion behind his rant that he hadn't seen Kakashi take down his attacker and reappear behind him. There was no hesitation for the jounin; his fist to the gut of the opponent was all it took to send him to his knees, then face down in the mud. Naruto managed to finish off his attacker at the same moment, looking winded by otherwise unharmed.
"That was so scary! Now do you see why I needed your protection?!"
Hana sniffled as she tightened her grip on the box that contained her family's prized jutsu. Sakura ignored her; there was something more important she needed to attend to first. Sasuke had fallen to his knees from the pain of the kunai in his shoulder. She rushed to his side without speaking a word, the panic that had filled her face deflating into a more mature, serious look of total concentration as she sank to her knees. Her fingers went to work without her mind having commanded so, one hand wrapping around the hilt of the kunai while her other one gripped his shoulder.
"This is going to hurt,"
She warned quietly, pausing for a single heartbeat before yanking the blade out of his flesh. Sasuke gritted his teeth in an attempt to swallow the groan that rose in response, but the look on his face betrayed his tough guy act. Her hands clamped down over the wound as they began to glow with soft green light, her healing powers at work. When she was sure it had closed, she reached into her medic pouch and pulled out crisp bandages.
"I need to wrap it to prevent any infections. Take your shirt off,"
Sakura had surprised even herself with how professional the command had sounded from her tongue; her cheeks weren't even blushing strawberry from the thought of seeing him shirtless, the way they would have before. Naruto snickered, earning a glare from the Uchiha as he made a displeased face, though he didn't argue. Using his good arm, he pulled the blue fabric of his top up over his head, being mindful of his injury all the while. Sakura wrapped his shoulder with careful, even circulations, until she was certain he would be all right.
"There. You should be fine now,"
Sakura shifted her weight backwards and wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead with her wrist. Sasuke stared at her, his expression unreadable. She opened her mouth to say something but stopped as her comrade reached out and grabbed her wrist, holding it up for examination. It was the one that had been cut by their enemy. While it was just a shallow cut, and hadn't even bled that much, it seemed to intrigue him. The intensity of his gaze on her wrist was uncomfortably strong; now Sakura's cheeks turned rosy from the attention.
"Oh, this? Don't worry about it. It doesn't hurt and it'll fade away by this time tomorrow,"
Sakura laughed nervously and stood up, pulling her hand free quickly.
"Hn,"
Sasuke also stood up, his hands in their pockets like usual. Kakashi chuckled and turned to console Hana who seemed to be having a mini panic episode while Naruto complained that he was starving after his heroic battle. The Konoha nin and their client left the carnage behind them and continued on their mission, much in the same formation as before. Except, as Sasuke passed by his teammates on his way to the lead, he paused long enough to mutter
"Thank you,"
Naruto rolled his eyes and made a snarky comment, but Sakura wasn't listening. She was staring at Sasuke in surprise, her mouth parted as if she wanted to say something back, but didn't. What a strange twist their mission had taken; hopefully, the drama was over and they could get on with things quickly. Naruto slipped in line with Sasuke, waiting until they were several paces ahead before he grinned slyly at his black haired friend.
"You know this means you have to follow through with the bet, right?"
Naruto managed to keep his voice low despite his giddy excitement; Sasuke sighed in an annoyed sort of way, his eyes askance to the trees around them. He couldn't bring himself to look at Naruto's face when he said it.
"Yeah… I know,"
A/N: See, now wasn't that worth the wait? x3
