Orochimaru's fingers curl around Sasuke's face like creeping vines. The Uchiha's eyes sputter, flash red, but he can't keep them that way. The bolt of panic that slashes through his train of thoughts at the touch makes Sakura wince.
"Ah, Sharingan," Orochimaru purrs. "Such a beautiful gift, child… one I wish I had for myself, you see. You could be of great use to me." Sakura doesn't understand—doesn't want to understand, but she knows enough to recognize the sinister undertones in the man's voice. Whatever he's planning, it won't end well for her teammate.
"Let… let go of him," Sai manages to force out, voice just a bit unsteady. Orochimaru tilts his head to look at the assassin without letting go of Sasuke, who is still paralyzed in his hold.
"You've a long ways to go before you can even dream of standing when I do not want you to, boy," he hisses, suddenly vicious, and Sai is forced to his knees from the power of the redoubled killing intent that washes over them. Orochimaru continues. "You're an interesting one—you've felt presences such as mine all your life, but now your teammates are holding you back. Would this have even slowed you down a mere month ago, child? Their emotions make you weak."
Sai lets out a strangled noise, tries to stand, but Orochimaru doesn't even bother to watch him. Instead he turns his gaze to Sakura.
"And you," he muses. "You, the pink nobody, with barely any background or training at all. What do you seek to accomplish by coming here? Is it strength? Your teammate? I can provide both. I'm surprised you've even made it this far, but rest assured you won't have to struggle much longer. You're all coming with me."
He drags Sasuke closer with one hand, and Sasuke's limbs lock in fear—his breath hitches in his throat, and he calls out desperately through their link—
no no please stop not again NOT AGAIN I CAN'T LET ME GO PLEASE—!
A bolt of light flashes through the sky, accompanied by the sound of a thousand chirping birds.
Kakashi throws himself at Orochimaru like a maelstrom, lightning shrieking for blood in his palm. Bolts of electricity split the air and make Sakura's hair stand on end. Orochimaru hisses, twisting away from the blow. He's forced to drop Sasuke in the process.
"If it isn't the little Hatake brat," the scientist snarls. "One would think you'd learned your lesson after what happened last time we fought."
Kakashi shifts, positioning himself so that he's between Orochimaru and the rest of his team. "I'm not the same person I was last time we fought, Orochimaru. This won't end like it did before," he growls. Tiny flickers of lightning skitter across his knuckles.
Orochimaru lets out a hoarse laugh. "You think you can stop me from taking what I want? You aren't strong enough, and we both know it."
Kakashi clenches his fists, and his shoulders tense. Sakura feels a ripple of uncertainty roll through their bond before Kakashi can suppress it.
Their Guardian isn't sure if he can win this fight.
The aggressive atmosphere of the air thickens, until Sakura can hardly breath. Sasuke shrinks back until he's right next to her, and Sai steps in front of them, drawing his tanto with hands that tremble as they clench the hilt of the weapon.
"Stay behind me," Kakashi instructs. He pulls a kunai from his thigh-holster. "Get inside, understand? I'll hold him here for as long as I can."
He charges towards their opponent in a blur of motion. Before Sakura can even try to follow the fight, Sai grabs her by the arm.
"Hurry!" he whispers, and drags her away—she grabs Sasuke's hand and tugs him along towards the crumbling entrance.
Behind them Kakashi lets out a shout. An earth wall rises between them and the battle, casting a long shadow across the earth as Sakura scrambles through the hole and enters the building.
The moment they step away from the hole the sound of the battle raging outside is muffled. It's so eerie that Sakura nearly trips in surprise, but Sasuke is behind her and he catches her before she does.
"Don't stop!" he pants, hauling her to her feet. Their footsteps echo off of the empty hallway. Fluorescent lights flicker on the ceiling.
They turn a corner, and Sakura nearly runs into Sai's back.
"Sai—what's wrong?" she asks. Sai doesn't respond for a long moment. He tilts his head and turns to look down a hallway.
He glances at her. "Do you know where we're going? If we get lost in here, it'll be far too easy for one of Orochimaru's men to get to us."
She winces and draws back. Sasuke sighs.
"None of us know where we're going," he mutters. "And if we don't find out fast, well… Kakashi can't hold out forever. He's strong, but I think the other guy is stronger."
An impact shakes the building, and dust bunnies tumble from the ceiling. Sakura forces down the panic building in her chest.
"Maybe I can find him through the link," she hums, stretching out her senses, but Naruto's side of the link is muffled. His thoughts reverberate off of her skull until she can't make heads or tails of it.
Another tremor runs through the ground, more forcefully this time. Sakura almost stumbles.
Sasuke clenches his jaw. "This is hopeless," he growls. "We have no way to find him, and if we start guessing we'll never get out of here!"
Sai blinks.
"Or, we could guess—just with a little extra help," he contributes suddenly. Sakura stares at him in surprise as he motions towards Sasuke. "There's always Sharingan. You're a Pathfinder. Find the path."
Sasuke rolls his eyes. "That isn't how it works," he protests, but activates Sharingan anyway. After a brief moment, he blinks as if startled and steps forwards.
"I—" he begins, and then stops, peering down the opposite hallway. Sakura watches him with bated breath.
"I see him," Sasuke says quietly. "I see Naruto—he's not moving."
Sakura's stomach clenches in fear.
"How far?" she asks, clenching her fists to stop them from shaking. She believes in the power of their Pathfinder. Sasuke bites his lip.
"Not sure," he says, and then frowns. "Follow me."
He takes off at a sprint and Sakura gasps at the speed, forcing her tired muscles into motion. Sai takes up the rear, patient with her struggles even though he seems just as eager to get to their final teammate as the rest of them, and his hand stays on his tanto.
Sasuke leads them through hallways and corridors, unmarked save for numbers etched into the sides of the doors and an occasional set of claw marks that cuts deep into the metal walls. Sakura isn't sure if they're all from the same person, or thing. She hopes it wasn't Naruto.
Sasuke suddenly stops short—she comes up behind him and freezes when she sees what lies in front of them.
Bodies line the floor—they're wearing armored vests, and there is a curious assortment of shattered weapons on the tiled floor beneath them, katanas and machine guns alike.
"The other teams have already been through here," Sai says, stepping forwards and narrowing his eyes at the carnage. "Is this the way, Sasuke?"
The Pathfinder tears his eyes from the bodies and nods. Sakura grimaces, flinching when she notices the senbon embedded deep into a man's—
She turns away and faces forwards. Sai gives her a worried look, but she shakes her head and motions for him to keep moving. Sasuke is already surging ahead, picking his way through the wreckage. He's pale, but that seems to be the extent of his shock. Sakura swallows nervously and follows him.
As they weave their way through the maze of the building, dull thuds and gunfire start to be audible in the distance. Sakura tries to ignore it, but it gets louder and louder—they're headed towards the battlefield. She's very not okay with that, but she trusts Sasuke, and they're so close to their goal.
Sasuke stops again just before they enter through a pair of steel doors. The sounds of conflict are so close now that Sakura's ears are ringing. There's a battle going on inside the room in front of them, she knows it. Sasuke swallows, and Sai draws his tanto.
"Is there no other way to get to Naruto?" the assassin asks grimly. Sasuke shakes his head and jerks in surprise when a particularly loud boom shakes the floor.
Sai sets his jaw. "I will protect you as much as I can," he says determinedly, and draws two kunai. He hands one to Sakura and the other to Sasuke. "You might have to defend yourselves. I can't be in two places at once."
Sakura shudders at the thought. "We can't just… wait until it's over? It can't last much longer…" but as soon as she says it she knows they can't afford to wait. Their link with Naruto is weak. Something is wrong, and unless they want it to get worse they have to go, now.
She clenches her fist around the hilt of Sai's blade and ignores the way her hands shake.
She's sixteen. She's never fought before—those few lessons with Kakashi during pit stops while they had been headed for her teammates don't really count, because Kakashi hadn't wanted to hurt her and she had been more focused on her teammates than she had herself.
That doesn't make her any less determined to go through with this, even though she's half ready to either drop into a faint or turn tail and run as far away as possible. Her teammates are behind her. Sasuke is fierce and furious, and Sai is calm and dangerous. If anyone can make it through the fray, they can.
Sakura will just have to keep up. She refuses to be left behind.
They don't need to talk. In silent agreement Sai pushes open the door and leaps inside. Sakura steels herself and follows him into the chaos.
The first thing she sees when she opens the door is Gai. It's quite frankly difficult, if impossible, to not see him, because he's actually glowing. His eyes are red, and there's an eerie green aura surrounding his entire body. He's squared up against a strange boy with bones sticking out of his skin and snow white hair.
"Sakura, move!" Sasuke hisses in her ear, and she obeys, racing around the wall towards the door on the opposite side of the room—it seems so far away—
There's a huge crash, and a figure flies from out of nowhere, hitting the wall in front of her hard. It misses her by a mere foot. She shrieks in surprise.
Obito coughs and begins to extract himself from the Uchiha-sized hole in the wall, but he freezes when he notices her. "Sakura? What are you doing in here, we told you to stay put!"
She jumps, excuses on the tip of her tongue, but before she can say anything someone roars on the other side of the room—a large man with a tuft of orange hair on top of his head. Rin is facing him down fearlessly. Her punch lands on the man's face and he goes reeling, but as Sakura watches he growls, and tattoos begin to spiral across his skin. Rin pulls back warily. Obito swears, glaring at Sakura and Sasuke in panic.
"Ugh, just—ahhh, stay there! Don't move!" he orders. Kamui whirls him away, and he emerges from it across the room just in time to pull Rin out of the way of what would have been a devastating blow.
Sai appears in front of them, his tanto flashing in the dull light. The blade drips with red.
"Hurry!" he shouts, and Sakura makes a mental note to apologize for the heart attack Obito will surely have once he realizes they're gone again.
Genma is dancing skillfully around a woman with red hair and a furious expression on her face. The remains of a wooden flute are clenched tightly in her fist, but it's been torn into several pieces by Genma's senbon. She's still struggling, but Sakura can see the match is over. Genma launches into a flurry of close-combat moves, landing a devastating kick into the woman's jaw. She goes flying with a horrific screech, and Genma doesn't even hesitate to follow.
A man appears in front of her—a lowly guard, but he's holding a knife, and she stiffens when his gaze falls on her. He may not be on the same level some of the other opponents, but he's holding a knife, and she's an easy target. He sneers at her cruelly and charges.
She lifts her kunai desperately. She's too slow, and she watches in horror as his knife comes down—
Sasuke throws himself in front of her, Sharingan whirling. The man staggers back, eyes going wide, but Sasuke doesn't slow, driving his kunai into the man's stomach.
Sakura doesn't wait to see what happens next. She turns her head and bolts forwards, past the gurgling man and towards the door. Across the room Raidou and a man with glasses who must be Ebisu are tag-teaming a man with… does he have two heads? She doesn't have too much time to be shocked, because half a moment later she is showered by splinters and fragments of wood. Just in front of the door Yamato is hurling tendrils of wood from his palms at a dark shape clinging to the walls—some kind of insect-human? She ducks her head as Yamato's opponent hurls a storm of blades at the Sealer.
Sai grabs her arm out of nowhere and tugs her out of the way. His eyes are narrowed in concentration as he deflects a stray projectile, and when she glances to the side Sasuke is right behind them.
"Almost there!" he says, but she has to lip-read because the clashes of metal-on-metal and war-cries filling the air have grown too loud for her to hear anything else.
They run for the door, slipping past Yamato who can only spare them a quick glance before he's forced to refocus on his opponent.
They make it through to the next room, and Sakura nearly collapses. Her heart is beating so quickly that it feels like her chest is about to explode.
Two minds brush against hers comfortingly, and Sasuke grabs her hand.
"Are you okay?" he asks. There's blood splattered across his face, but he doesn't seem to notice. She takes a deep breath. She's exhausted, and there are cuts and splinters across her arms from Yamato's battle—other than that, she's unharmed.
"I'm okay," she reassures him (a bit unsteadily, she's shaken, that's for sure). "What about you?" she asks, because Sasuke had just killed a man. He shrugs.
"Not hurt," he says calmly, and Sharingan whirls in his eyes. "We're close. Can you keep going?"
She refuses to slow her team down. She forces herself to her feet.
Sakura keeps forgetting how different the three of them are. Sai was born to kill, and Sasuke was forced to learn how to defend himself. They don't think the same way she does. Sasuke had protected her without hesitation—had killed without hesitation to defend their team.
Is she willing to do the same?
Sasuke is moving again, and Sakura pushes herself to keep up. Sai keeps shooting her worried looks, but she ignores him. He can feel her unease—but she's not going to let it get in the way of their mission. Naruto is waiting.
Sasuke slows at an intersection for a moment and frowns.
"He's right beyond this wall. Just a little further. I think there's someone else with him, I'm not sure—"
Without warning a white-hot surge of energy stabs through their link. Sakura screams, falling to her knees as searing pain blasts through her head. Sasuke drops like a stone in front of her, and Sai lets out a harsh, half-stifled yell.
It burns. It's agonizing and excruciating and tortuous and Sakura just wants it to stop—but she can't move and neither can her teammates. Her head throbs—she lifts both hands to mash them against her temples but it does nothing against the horrific ache. It's as if someone has thrust a knife into her brain and twisted.
She clenches her teeth together and almost chokes on the ragged gasp that spills from her lips. Sasuke and Sai are just as incapacitated. Sasuke lets out a moan. "Just behind… the wall, he's, he's just—aaahhhh—!"
Sakura lifts her head, and her vision whites out for a half second. When it returns, she sets her eyes on the wall.
It hurts to think. It hurts to breath, it hurts to move, but she has to. They're so close, and Sakura hasn't come all this way to fail now.
The pain is coming from Naruto. Naruto is behind the wall. Sakura has a solution—but it just might kill her.
The effort it takes to get just one foot underneath her steals her breath away and sends a fresh wave of agony through her body. She nearly falls.
If she looks at anything else, thinks about anything else, she'll fall. She fixes her eyes on the wall and breathes.
It hurts.
She struggles to her feet. Sways. She's panting, half blinded by tears and wincing with even the tiniest of motions.
The wall. She needs to get to the wall.
She takes one step, and it feels like she's dying.
"Sa—Sakura," Sai whispers, but she can barely hear him through the roaring in her own ears.
She takes another step, and this time she stumbles, but she falls forwards instead, and her palms smack against her target. Her knees are trembling, they nearly give out.
Naruto. She's so close. Naruto, Naruto—
The wall.
A long time ago, Kakashi had taught her about Connector powers. Body enhancement, he had mentioned, and Sakura has seen it. Has watched as Rin takes down men twice her size, makes craters in the ground with nothing but her fist and her power.
Sakura's never done it before, but if she doesn't now, she knows that they'll die here. Orochimaru will find them, and then it will all be over.
She raises herself to her full height. Staggers at a fresh wave of agony, but she pushes through it and reaches for her power. It pulses and spreads at her touch, flowing through her veins—it doesn't stop the pain, but it does make it easier to stand. She clenches her fists.
Sakura closes her eyes and punches the concrete wall.
It shatters, easily as glass, and just like that the pain stops.
Rubble and dust fill her vision—she can't see anything for the first few moments, but when the air clears she catches sight of blond hair.
Naruto.
He's tied to a table, out cold. Before she can race for her final teammate someone else moves at Naruto's side. He has grey hair, but he can't be that old—his glasses are slightly askew, but he scowls at her viciously.
"Little brat," he hisses. He turns towards Naruto and reaches for the unconscious boy's head. Instantly Sakura knows he's the source of their earlier pain. She tries to move forwards, but her muscles don't obey her.
A kunai whizzes past her cheek and stabs the man's palm. He pulls back with a howl. Sai darts past Sakura, tanto a bright line of silver in the lingering dust. It slashes across the man's chest, and he falls backwards with a cry of pain. Behind her, Sasuke gets to his feet.
"Sakura, is Naruto alright?" he groans. She swallows and walks forwards with massive effort.
It doesn't feel real. She'd imagined their reunion with Naruto thousands of times, and even now, with her hand reaching towards him, she's still not convinced that it isn't a dream and that her hand will pass right through him.
Her fingers nestle in soft blond hair, and she blinks.
It's real.
She fumbles for a pulse and sighs in relief to find that it's steady. The straps holding him down are glowing—she eyes them warily. Sasuke is behind her, and he narrows his eyes at them.
He turns around towards Sai, who's sheathing his tanto. "These symbols on the restraints—I think it's a Sealer thing. Can you break them?"
Sai glances over at them and frowns.
"Perhaps," he says worriedly. "Keep watch while I try, alright?"
They back off to give Sai room, and he pulls out his scroll and ink, sketching out ruins and symbols and pictures that Sakura could never even hope to understand.
She reaches for their link and prods Naruto gently. His mind and body are equally motionless, and she shudders at the sensation. Whatever they did to him, it's not good, and she prays they'll be able to fix it.
"Maybe this," Sai suddenly mutters. A line of symbols rises from his scroll and fit themselves above the ones on Naruto's restraints. After a brief moment the lines flash, and then shatter. The restraint falls away. Naruto's left arm is free.
Sakura breaths a sigh of relief, and Sai grins.
"Three more," he says.
"BEHIND YOU!" Sasuke yells, and there's real fear in his voice. Sakura dives to the floor instinctively, and Sai whirls as Sasuke is blasted backwards by a column of pure energy. He hits the far wall, slides to the floor, and stops moving.
"Sasuke!" Sakura screams—
And then Orochimaru is in front of her.
"Hello, child," he says, smiling nastily. "You've given me enough trouble today for me to play nice. Stay still."
He pulls her off of the floor by her hair. She fails to stifle the whimper that escapes her throat. Sai draws his blade.
"Put her down!" he snarls.
Orochimaru sighs. "Kabuto, if you would take care of him?"
A blur of motion appears, and Sai cries out as a hand grabs his wrist and twists. The bone breaks. It's hardly the worst injury Sai's ever had, but he's forced to drop his tanto. In another instant he's been slammed into the wall, arms pinned behind him, and there's a knife against his throat.
They grey-haired man from earlier holds the blade—the man Sai had killed less than a minute ago. There's still a massive wound in his chest, but as Sakura watches it begins to close itself.
Regenerative abilities.
"Thank you," Orochimaru hisses, and Kabuto chuckles.
"No problem, Lord Orochimaru," he responds. "Your earlier theory about pain being transmitted through the link was correct, by the way. What are we going to do with them? Are the rest dead yet?"
"The silver-haired Protector is," Orochimaru says smugly, and Sakura lets out a wordless cry of denial, because Kakashi can't be dead. He can't be. She would have felt it if he'd died… right? She kicks at Orochimaru, but it's as if she's being held by a brick wall.
"They'll be very useful for my most recent project," Orochimaru continues. "Knock him out, we'll take them to the cells."
Sai growls and twists, but with a knife to his throat there's very little he can do to escape. Kabuto touches a blue-tinged finger to his forehead, and the assassin goes limp.
No, no, no, someone, anyone, please—help us! This can't be it! Please, please!
Her scalp burns. Orochimaru leers at her.
"This will be painless if you do not move, girl," he tells her, and lifts a hand.
STOP, STOP IT PLEASE NO, NARUTO—!
A low growl sounds from behind them. Orochimaru freezes.
"Impossible," he snarls. "There's no way it could have gotten loose—"
He turns, and then hisses out a curse. Sakura slips from his fingers, and she hits the ground hard. Malicious energy curls through the air. Hatred and anger are almost tangible.
She raises her head, and gasps in shock.
It's Naruto… but it's not Naruto. Somehow she knows what it is.
The glowing red creature, pulling itself free of the restraints, is the Kyuubi. Kurama, Naruto's nine-tailed fox. It lets out another growl, and Orochimaru actually takes a step back.
"It shouldn't have been able to get free!" he says, and there's a hint of worry in his voice. "Those restraints were perfectly regulated to keep the fox contained!"
Kabuto is already retreating. His face is pale in the wake of the Kyuubi's rage.
"Unless…" Orochimaru continues. He glances down at Sakura. "Did you undo a restraint, foolish girl? Answer me!" His foot lashes out, and connects with the side of her head. Her vision flickers.
An earsplitting roar tears the very air apart.
When Sakura is able to lift her head she only catches bits and pieces of the fight that occurs. The wind whips around the small room, and the Kyuubi's crushing power makes it hard to breath. She sees flashes of claws, watches a splatter of blood dot the wall. The Kyuubi growls, hisses, roars, and the very earth trembles. Kabuto screams.
Then, as soon as it had begun… it ends.
She'd closed her eyes at some point, and she only opens them when she feels something rest against her arm.
A glowing red tail has settled around her. There's only six of them, she realizes, not nine, and she isn't sure what that means.
Kurama is… less fox-like than she'd expected. He's vaguely humanoid, and glows like a neon sign. There's no fur—it's more of an aura, if that makes any sense. He's staring at her intently, and she… isn't afraid, but she's wary. The fox is in Naruto, but he isn't her teammate. She isn't sure if she can trust him yet.
"Is that man—did you kill them?" she asks in a small voice. The Kyuubi nods slowly. He doesn't speak. She wonders if he can.
"T-thank you," she manages. "Thank you for rescuing me—us."
He nods again, and then a violent tremor runs through his body. The tails begin to fade. Sakura gasps in shock as the red glow starts to recede, and sudden there are bright blue eyes in place of the empty ones Kurama had shown.
"Naruto?" she gasps. He grins at her, but the expression is a bit strained. As the Kyuubi's aura disappears his skin is revealed inch by inch—
It doesn't look good.
"That means Kurama likes you," he says hoarsely, and then he falls. Sakura shrieks, leaping forwards with healing magic at her fingertips. She barely manages to catch him—he's heavy.
Their link is back. It's a little raw, still recovering from the earlier pain. She ignores the ache and reaches for her teammates. Sai is unresponsive, but he only seems unconscious. Sasuke stirs when she touches him, and Naruto cracks open his eyes. In the back of her head there's a brief flash of hurt from Kakashi—so at least he's alive. His teammates will find him.
She closes her eyes to concentrate on healing Naruto, pushing her energy into his body. It's hard. His skin has been destroyed now, but there are other wounds inside his skin—bones that haven't healed properly, bruises that stretch across his muscles.
She hardly knows where to start.
Naruto laughs weakly. She's heard it before, but this time it's real. She has to keep reminding herself that. She can finally touch him.
"Sorry," he pants. "I didn't really mean for that to happen, but I guess it turned out okay in the end, right?"
"Why are you apologizing?" she says incredulously. "It's fine, you—or the Kyuubi, whoever it was—you saved us."
"It was me and Kurama together, I think," he hums. His head lists backwards as if he's given up on keeping it upright. "We didn't like seeing you hurt. I just… lost a little control. That's why it hurt so bad."
She winces. "You did good," she reassures. Behind her, Sasuke struggles to his feet, nursing what appears to be a broken rib. He staggers towards them, eyes wide. Naruto blinks and lifts his head.
"Sasuke?" he whispers—Sasuke swallows audibly.
"Here," he says. "I'm here, we're all here—"
He's shaking. Sakura is too. The Uchiha makes his way next to them and sits down on the floor, one hand reaching for Sakura and the other grasping at Naruto's shoulder.
Naruto lets out a tiny chuckle of relief and smiles.
They've found their final teammate. Even though they're still deep in enemy territory, in that brief instant Sakura suddenly feels more at peace than she has in her entire life.
Stomping feet suddenly echo through the room, and she freezes as the blood drains from her face—more enemies? Sai is still on the ground, and the rest of them are almost too exhausted to stand. Panic seizes her for a half second.
Sasuke lets out a weak growl and pushes himself to his feet. Sharingan whirls to life, but it's weak, spinning slowly—their last line of defense. He winces at the sensation but faces the door determinedly—
Yamato steps through the doorway slowly and freezes when he sees them. Sasuke doesn't back down, so Sakura reaches out and taps his mind gently.
Friend. Safe. Calm, she projects towards him, and the tension bleeds out of his muscles as quickly as he'd put it there. When he staggers, Yamato catches him—and this time Sasuke doesn't flinch away.
"Is everyone alright?" Yamato asks, narrowing his eyes as he glances at the blackened corpses in the corner of the room that Sakura has been avoiding looking at.
"We're alive," Sakura tells him, and her entire body sags in relief once she's said it. "We're alive, Yamato—all four of us."
He smiles—but there's something a bit off about it. She tenses as he hoists Sasuke up into his arms like the Pathfinder weighs nothing and crosses the room to do the same to Sai.
"What… what's wrong?" she asks, but before he speaks, she already knows the answer.
"Kakashi's been injured," he informs her worriedly. "Orochimaru is stronger than he is. It's… it's bad this time. Rin is working on him."
Sakura swallows nervously as fear returns. If they lose Kakashi so soon after they've all made it together… she doesn't know what she'll do.
"Can you carry Naruto?" Yamato asks doubtfully, and she's about to respond negatively when she remembers that she actually can. Channeling her power is easier now that she's already done it once, and despite the circumstances Yamato gives her a pleased smile when she lifts Naruto into the air. The blond doesn't even protest. She's done her best to heal him in the short time they had, so he at least isn't howling in pain at the motion.
She follows Yamato out the door, and leaves the corpse of Naruto's torturer behind without a shred of remorse at his fate.
Naruto yelps in surprise when they emerge and he's half-blinded by the natural light of the sun, but they don't have time to take things slowly.
The earth is pocketed by craters and scorch marks—Kakashi hadn't gone down without a fight, but that hadn't done much to change the outcome of the battle. She almost trips on a slab of jutting rock as she heads towards where the other two teams have gathered.
Rin is kneeling above Kakashi's still form, hands pressed tightly against the gaping hole in his side and green energy leaking from her entire body. Obito stands guard above them, pacing worriedly, but there's not much he can do to help. The sight of the blood makes Sakura's head spin, but she presses forwards anyway.
Gai, Genma, Raidou, and Ebisu are mostly unharmed. Raidou has a long but shallow cut across his back, and Ebisu has a sprained ankle. Genma is fussing over Raidou's wound while Gai hovers somewhat uncertainly around Kakashi, sobered in the wake of the Guardian's injury.
"Not to worry, my Rival is much too strong to die from such a simple wound!" he booms, but it lacks the level of enthusiasm he had maintained previously. Sakura brushes past him and heads right for Kakashi.
"Sakura," Rin greets tensely. Her forearms are covered in blood. "I've used too much energy, I can't stop the bleeding. Do you have any strength left?"
Sakura swallows and sets Naruto down. She has energy left, yes—just enough to access her strength, but healing takes a significant amount of control and finesse that she definitely doesn't have at the moment. That isn't going to stop her from trying.
She kneels. Rin shifts over a bit to give her space, and Sakura ignores her trembling muscles, reaching deep inside herself for the green glow.
Kakashi's blood is warm beneath her fingertips. She watches in morbid fascination as their combined energy begins to close the wound. It gets about halfway shut before it stops.
Rin swears. "Not now, come on! Don't die on us now, you idiot!"
Sakura is panting, and a bead of sweat trickles down the side of her face.
Even when they work together, she and Rin have used up too much of their energy during the fight. With a jolt of terror, she realizes it's not going to be enough.
If she can't pull more power from somewhere, Kakashi is going to die.
A hand suddenly closes around her wrist. She jumps and spares a glance down at Naruto. He's sitting up, eyes narrowed.
"Stop panicking," he says quietly with a voice of steel. "I'm here now. I'll protect my friends."
His grip on her arm tightens, and a surge of power flows through her veins. It's almost too much—her nerves spark and tingle from the sensation. Naruto's power is scalding hot and heavy, but it serves its purpose. Sakura does her best to channel it into her healing, and Kakashi's wound finally closes. His skin knits together until there's barely even a scar, and the tension that had hung in the air dissipates. Kakashi isn't at risk of death anymore.
"He'll be fine now," Rin sighs in relief. She pulls her hands back and smiles wearily at Naruto. "You're the reason he's alive. Thank you."
Obito steps closer, peering at his unconscious teammate. "So, he's alright? Can we celebrate yet?" he asks hesitantly.
Sakura snorts, but before she can reply Kakashi lets out a tiny moan. She freezes.
"Naruto…" Kakashi forces out. "Naruto, did—did we get Naruto?"
Naruto himself grins brightly and leans forwards.
"You got me," he says cheerfully. "I'm…" he trails off, and pure shock suddenly echos through their link. Sakura freezes—what's wrong now? She's not sure she'll survive if anything else happens, she's just so tired and she wants their team to be together and happy and safe—
But Naruto isn't looking at approaching enemies, or back at the lab. Instead he's looking up at the blue, cloudless sky, and there's a look of pure awe on his face.
"I'm outside," he breathes. "I'm… I'm finally outside." The joy that radiates through her mind is like nothing Sakura has ever felt before. Naruto laughs—an unrestrained, bubbly sound that takes Sakura's breath away.
"I'm outside!" Naruto cheers, and leaps to his feet. His eyes are incredibly wide as he turns in place, gasping in delight at the trees and shrubbery that surround them. A flock of birds rise into the sky. Naruto laughs again. "Sakura, do you see? I haven't been outside in… I don't even remember last time I was outside! Isn't it great! Look how amazing it is—! Ah… Sakura?"
He stops, because he notices that she's crying.
"Oh, no—uhh, sorry? I don't—what's wrong, why are you—?" he flounders, looking wildly around for help.
Sakura just can't stop. Tears trickle down her cheeks, because she's so relieved that it's over—it's all over, they can go home now and her team can come too, but she's exhausted too, and Naruto doesn't even remember last time he was outside but that doesn't matter now because he's free and he can stay outside for as long as he wants…
She's… just a little overwhelmed.
She gets to her feet. Naruto is still watching her worriedly.
"Sakura?" he says slowly. She doesn't let him say anything else, and grabs him in a tight hug. He stiffens for a brief moment before he relaxes and returns the gesture.
"I can touch you now, too," he mutters in amazement, breath tickling her ear, and she almost laughs, but it turns into a sob at the last moment.
"You're finally safe," she chokes out. "You're safe, you're coming home with us. Okay?"
He squeezes her tightly. She can't see his face, but she feels his overpowering elation and relief.
"Okay," he whispers. "Okay, I'm coming home with you."
The final piece clicks into place, and for the very first time since the dreams have began, Sakura feels complete.
A/N: Originally, I had planned for this to be the second to last chapter. However, it isn't anymore. I've got more stuff planned. Updates will slow as the semester starts, especially with stories with long chapters such as "Only in Sleep" and "Way Down We Go". "Dominoes" will probably get updated slightly more often as its chapters are shorter. Sorry about that, it can't be helped!
Hope you enjoyed the chapter! The team may be together, but there's still plenty of problems to go through before they're safe! Don't get too comfortable yet!