It's late, I know. My sincere apologies...
"Are you sure this is the village in the map?" asked a burly man, scrunching his nose at the sight of the village up ahead.
He and his group had been on the road for three weeks, trying to avoid the ninjas that were rumoured to be hunting them. They've kept themselves hidden in the forest for the past two days to hide their tracks.
"Yes," answered a thin man standing proudly beside him. "Are you saying that after all this time, you still don't believe that I can read maps?" he asked, frowning and clearly insulted at the question.
"That's not what I mean," the burly man asked.
"He means there's something awfully wrong with the village," said a shadow walked toward them.
The men turned to look at him – the dim light of their lamps exposing the man's grey eyes, the only part of his face that wasn't covered with grey cloth.
"Boss," the two of them greeted, bowing to him.
"There's a faint scent," the boss said, ignoring the respects the two men gave and keeping his eyes on the village.
"Scent of what?" the thin man asked, curious and confused.
"Chakra," the boss answered. "…Developed ones."
The burly man grunted. "Ninjas," he hissed. "Do we move to the next village?"
"No," the boss said, his eyes slightly narrowing as if he was smiling widely underneath his mask. "Let's show them what kind of trouble they're in. They've prepared this much after all. They deserve to be rewarded for their efforts."
A menacing smile flashed in the thin man's face. "How shall we meet them, boss?"
"With warm smiles and open arms," the boss said. He then looked down at the shadows. "You heard all of that, didn't you, little mouse?"
The burly man and the thin man looked down at the shadow, surprised that something was there.
"Go do your job," the boss said, sharply eyeing the supposed mouse lurking in the shadows.
Something moved in the darkness – in the patch of grass a few steps away from them. And sure enough, in the dim light the thin man and the burly man saw a shadow of a mouse running away from them.
The boss chuckled. "Prepare the hounds," he said.
The mouse swiftly ran through the thin patches of grass in the darkness… Hastily sneaked into the village walls… Quickly navigated through the village streets… Sprinted to a house and leaped into the air the minute he reached the room where his master was.
Sai caught the mouse with an open white scroll. To his surprise, the mouse exploded into the paper, forming images of two people conversing – one massive and bald, another lanky and old. The words, uttered with live voices, echoed in the room. Then the ink formed the face of their target – his voice filling the room. The ink on the paper swirled to form only one face – the face of their target, grinning menacingly at them.
"Hello there, Konoha ninjas," it said. "Only four of you..? How unfortunate! Then again, they would pay a great price for each of you, especially for someone who wields a Sharingan."
Sai cursed and quickly threw the burning oil lamp on the nearest table on the scroll, charring it to ashes.
Kakashi, standing behind Sai the whole time, looked grimly at the ashes.
"How did they know?" Lee asked, standing by the door of the room. "We all hid our chakra!"
"They messed up my Chōjū Giga," Sai apathetically said, staring at the pile of ashes on the floor.
"What's that smell?" Ino asked, walking into the room and scrunching her nose. "You burned something?"
"They know we're here," Kakashi said. "They probably also have an idea on what we're planning to do."
Ino froze. "H-How?! What should we do?"
"We face them head on," Kakashi answered. "We'll go with the plan."
Lee confidently nodded. "I'll be in my position then," he said before running out of the room.
"I'm going back to Hinata," Ino said, following Lee.
"Are we against someone with a relic?" Sai asked Kakashi.
"No," Kakashi said. "More like someone with an imitation of a relic. Start drawing." He then walked out of the room.
Sai spread out a massive blank scroll and pulled out a giant brush.
He felt the tension in the breeze. And from the window, Sai saw a group of lights slowly moving toward them – crossing the darkness like a soft sea tide creeping up the shore. The lights slowly stretched out in the distance, growing like a wave.
Sai sharply eyed the lights, trying to see how many enemies were coming their way. Fifty..? A hundred… Two-hundred— Five hundred..?
"Two hundred for each of us," Sai muttered. "…Maybe more."
Lee looked grimly at the glowing horizon. He stood in the gate to the village, with the men willing to defend their homes ready to fight behind him.
He could feel a suffocating tension in the air – an unsettling feeling that seemed to make his bones cringe.
The lights revealed their bearers as they approached the village – men with drapes of muddy cloaks as clothes. Only the lower half of their faces was exposed. In front of them was the Konoha ninjas' target. He was flanked by the burly man and the thin man in Sai's scroll.
"Good evening," their target greeted. "We are here to get our merchandise."
"If you're talking about taking the villagers," Lee said, gracefully changing his stance. "Forget it!"
The leader of the group burst into laughter. "Villagers?" he asked. "Whoever said we were here for the villagers?"
Lee raised a brow at them, confused at what he said.
"We're here for the four Konoha ninjas," the leader said. "You have no idea how expensive Konoha ninjas are in our trade. Each one of you will give us a fortune!"
The lights exploded before Lee could figure out what was going on. The explosion filled everything with a blinding white light. Screams filled Lee's ears. He winced and tried to shield his eyes from the light. Then he felt something cold grip his limbs tightly.
"You picked the wrong raiders," Lee heard someone hiss against his right ear. He felt something thin flick on his cheek.
A snake's tongue…?
The cold grip tightened. Lee suddenly felt the scales on whatever was holding him in place.
"I don't think so," Lee heard Kakashi's voice echo from behind him, before a shrieking sound exploded from behind him and sparks of electricity swiftly danced in the air.
The grip on Lee's legs loosened. He hastily kicked his way out, hurling blows at whoever was behind him and keeping him in place. It was still too bright so he could barely see who or what he was hitting, but he was able to step away from where he was. That had to be a good sign, right?
The light dimmed and Lee opened his eyes. He found a trembling creature on the ground. It had the shape of a human being with four limbs – just extra long limbs that looked more like tentacles. Its body also had the hue and scales of a snake, and its head resembled a cobra's head.
"Behind you!" Kakashi yelled.
Lee quickly hurled a kick behind him, hurling a limping man away. He froze when his mind began to process the image of the enemies behind him.
They were humans with astoundingly empty bellies and extremely thin limbs. Half of their head was severed, leaving only the lower part of their face – a nose, a pair of hollow cheeks and chapped purple lips.
They groaned and shrieked like mindless walking corpses. One of them stretched his mouth open, wanting to bite Lee's shoulder. Lee quickly kicked it away, deciding it was no time for him to be squeamish.
He had seen worse… right?
Kakashi slashed one of the mindless creatures in half. He glanced at Lee and saw that he was on a rampage.
Lee had recovered.
Kakashi hurled a massive chidori on a group of creatures approaching them. It caused an explosion in the enemy ranks, charring a large chunk of its army.
He slashed another creature with his kunai, and saw Sai's clones fighting some of the creatures away.
There was no sign of the male villagers who insisted to protect their homes on their own. Hopefully, Ino had taken them to safety before the creatures attacked.
Just when he was feeling confident that they had it all in control, Kakashi saw a creature in the distance devouring a struggling villager. Kakashi quickly charged into the sea of creatures, slashing and kicking them away. But the creatures had become too quick and too strong to be hurled away. They attacked Kakashi like a pack cornering a prey. He felt one of the creatures bite his shoulder, bite his leg, grip his arm—
He saw the legs of the villager disappear into the creature's enormous mouth. Once it devoured the victim, it hunched down and began to dig.
Kakashi cursed.
The creatures weren't eating people. They were kidnapping them – trapping them in their hollow stomachs and escaping the scene by digging underground tunnels. And if Kakashi and his team didn't finish the army of monsters anytime soon, they would be sold as sacrifices like the raiders' victims.
He heard a loud laughter echo from behind him.
"And here I thought you'll be a challenge!" he heard someone yell out from a distance. Kakashi looked up and saw their target, sitting on an invisible chair up a roof.
Naruto sat frowning on the dinner table.
The next morning, just as Keiko said, all of them – Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Neji, Shino and Naruto – were allowed to start walking around and therefore, were allowed to eat breakfast in the dining hall. Houren, Kaitaro, Sasuke and Keiko joined them.
The table remained silent, except for the munching noise Chouji was making with the saucy pork skewers.
Naruto glanced at Sasuke, who was sitting and eating quietly beside him. He acted as apathetic as he usually did. And Naruto hated it.
Naruto glared at his stack of empty ramen bowls for a moment before he stood up. "I'm visiting Sakura-chan," he said. He glanced at Sasuke. "Are you coming with me?"
"No," Sasuke answered, keeping his eyes on his food.
They hadn't spoken to Sasuke since the Sakura went mad. When they saw him that morning, he didn't even want to talk about what happened. Naruto tried to convince Sasuke to change his mind about staying in the temple for good. He also told him about his plan of saving Sakura using the missing relics. But Sasuke just shrugged him off saying he didn't give a damn about a weakling like Sakura.
Naruto scowled.
Shikamaru looked up, glancing at Naruto and Sasuke, waiting for something interesting to happen. The others in the table looked at the two as well, most of them worried about what was going to happen next. Houren was the only one in the group who clearly looked excited at the scene. It was as if he was watching his favorite scene in a movie unfold.
Naruto glared at Sasuke. "Why not?"
Sasuke remained silent.
Keiko looked curiously at him. Chouji stopped eating. He anxiously watched Sasuke and swallowed. Kiba and Akamaru looked ready to jump between Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto kept his stern eyes at Sasuke, telling him his silence wouldn't be enough for him.
"Hn." Sasuke said, shattering the silence in the table.
Shikamaru, Houren, Kaitaro, Keiko, Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino and Neji lifted their gaze from Sasuke and placed it on Naruto. Naruto's face, for the first time in a long time, looked… unreadable.
Another moment of tensed silence loomed in the table. Everyone, including Sasuke, was expecting Naruto to crack – hit someone with jet black hair and go berserk for the next five minutes or so.
But to their surprise, Naruto turned away. He walked quietly to the hall as if nothing happened.
Sasuke put his chopsticks down and closed his eyes.
Just as everyone was relaxing their shoulders, Sasuke slammed on the floor – his face bouncing on the marble tiles several times before his body skidded to a stop. His chair was in pieces.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, muttering "troublesome." Kiba, Chouji and Akamaru gaped at the scene. Shino and Neji raised their brows.
Keiko bit her lips from laughing. Kaitaro gasped – shocked at what happened. Houren smirked.
"U—Uchiha-san," Kaitaro anxiously asked, still too shocked to stand up from his seat and check Sasuke's state on the floor. "Are you alright?" He somehow had a feeling that the commotion was just beginning.
And it was – Naruto crashed on a nearby wall. Sasuke was on his feet in seconds, his fist clenched tightly. He walked to Naruto, daring him to get back on his feet and hit him back.
Naruto did. Sasuke spit blood on the polished marble floor the moment Naruto's fist slammed his jaw bone.
"Tsk," Keiko said, frowning. "I'll have to mop that again," she hissed.
Before Sasuke could hurl a punch, Naruto threw his angered fist on the other side of Sasuke's face yelling "You stupid ingrate!"
Sasuke kicked Naruto's torso – causing him to spit blood on the floor. "SHUT UP! YOU KNOW NOTHING!"
"YOU SHUT UP!" Naruto yelled, hurling his fists at Sasuke's face. Sasuke caught his fist in one hand, and hurled him across the room. Naruto caught himself from hitting the wall though, and he attacked Sasuke again, hitting him in the torso. "YOU SELFISH GOOD-FOR-NOTHING—"
Sasuke grabbed Naruto's arm and threw him on the floor. He punched Naruto's face several times before Naruto finally punched him on the cheek – throwing him on the floor beside him. Naruto quickly got up and started punching Sasuke's face. Sasuke gripped Naruto's throat.
"Sh—Shouldn't we stop them?" Chouji asked Shikamaru.
"Be my guest," Shikamaru muttered.
Chouji frowned and looked at Naruto and Sasuke, who were bloody and rolling on the floor. He cringed and looked at Kiba.
"Don't look at me!" Kiba said, folding his arms over his chest. "Can you see the look in their eyes? They're on a thirst for blood. They'll kill Akamaru and me if we even dared to interfere!"
Chouji sighed. He glanced at Shino.
"This is interesting," Shino said.
Neji smirked. "I have to admit it's nice to see them both being beaten to death," he said.
Chouji frowned. "What kind of friends are you?"
"The best ones!" Houren cheered, smiling at Chouji.
"Oi," Shikamaru said, looking at Houren, just as Naruto crashed on the wall behind him. "Your dining hall will be history after this."
"That's alright," Houren said, chuckling. Sasuke crashed on the floor. "I was planning on making a major renovation for the dining hall anyway."
Kaitaro looked anxiously at Houren. "They're breaking each other's bones," he said. "Shouldn't we stop them now?"
Houren smiled at Kaitaro. "Relax," he said. "They're grown ups. They know what they're doing. Besides, Sasuke needs his skull cracked. I've been telling you how much he needs to be lobotomized, haven't I?"
Kaitaro frowned. "This isn't a laughing matter," he said. "And Uchiha-san isn't clinically insane!"
"YES HE IS!" Naruto shouted before Sasuke kicked his face.
"SHUT UP!" Sasuke yelled back before Naruto kicked him back.
Houren laughed. "They are so cute!"
Naruto and Sasuke punched each other's cheek, spilling more blood on the floor.
"I believe breakfast is over," Keiko said, standing up from her seat. "Is there anyone here who still wants to eat?"
No one answered.
"Let's all go then," Keiko said. "Their blood is starting to stink."
Everyone in the table stood up and walked gingerly to the hall. When Shino, the last one to get out of the room, reached the hall, Sasuke crashed on the table – shattering the glassware. He then grabbed a chair and hurled it to Naruto, who was about to punch him on the face.
"What's going on here?" Hokuryu's voice echoed in the hall.
Everyone looked at them, except for Naruto and Sasuke of course, who was still busy breaking the walls with their fists.
Apparently, the elders were on their way to the dining hall.
Houren smiled cheerfully at Hokuryu. "Naruto and Sasuke are exhibiting their brotherly love," he said. "Shall we check if everything they need for their trip back to Konoha is ready?"
Hokuryu grunted. "We might as well stay away from the dining hall."
The group began to walk away from the hall – Hokuryu leading them all into another part of the temple.
Sasuke crashed into the cracked wall – blood and sweat dripping down his forehead. He hunched forward and coughed, staining the floor with more blood.
"Sakura-chan risked her life for you," Naruto hissed, standing in front of him with his bleeding fists clenched tightly. "Heck! She gave you her life! And this is how you repay her?! By saying she's just trash to you?!"
"I DIDN'T ASK FOR HER LIFE!" Sasuke shouted.
"Yeah? WELL YOU SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST FELT GRATEFUL, BECAUSE WITHOUT HER LIFE YOU'RE AS GOOD AS ORGANIC FERTILIZER!"
"SHE SHOULD'VE JUST LET ME ROT LIKE ONE!" Sasuke said, shutting his eyes. "It was stupid of her to even think keeping me alive was the right thing to do!"
"AND LEAVING HER FOR GOOD IS THE SMARTEST THING TO DO NOW?!" Naruto asked. "I may not be that smart, but I do know that the smartest thing to do now isn't to leave her alone, but to kill her!"
Sasuke froze. He opened his eyes and stared at the wood, and glassware debris on the floor.
"You want to relieve her of her pain? KILL HER! STOP HER FROM FEELING ANYTHING AT ALL!" Naruto shouted.
Sasuke swallowed. The thought of killing her had crossed his mind but— Naruto was right. If he wanted to stop hurting her, the best thing to do was stop her from feeling anything at all! Take her life! End her suffering!
Naruto watched emotions flash on Sasuke's face – none of them proof that Sasuke was satisfied at his proposition.
Naruto turned away. "The only one you're saving in your decision is yourself," he said. "You're putting yourself on exile, convincing everyone that you're sacrificing your happiness for hers, but that fact is you're just going to protect yourself from feeling hurt whenever she's hurt. You're running away from her so you won't see her suffer – so you won't suffer in watching her pain! You're an ungrateful bastard! I don't even know why she chose to love you. You're selfish! You pretend to be unselfish when you're really just protecting yourself! You tell everyone you're saving your clan when the fact is, you're just saving yourself from the guilt you've been feeling all your life!"
Sasuke spat blood on the floor.
Naruto walked to the hallway.
"Where are you going?" Sasuke asked, forcing his body to stand up.
"I'm going to Sakura," Naruto answered. "I'm going to do what you were too much of a coward to do."
Sasuke smirked. "You won't do that," he said. "No, wait—You can't do that."
"Try me," Naruto said, glancing at Sasuke with his burning demon fox eyes.
Sasuke froze. He felt the demon fox's chakra smolder in the air.
Naruto turned away, unclenching his fists to reveal the deadly tips of his long fingernails.
Sasuke's lungs stopped moving. His eyes watched Naruto walk out the hall.
Naruto won't do it. He cared about Sakura. He wouldn't do it. Naruto would find a way to save her without killing her. He won't do it! Naruto was just trying to mess with him. HE WON'T DO IT!
Naruto walked away, clenching and unclenching his fists as if anticipating a kill.
The next thing Naruto felt was a burning sensation on his back, followed by the echoing shrieks of electricity. He fell down on the floor and found himself being choked to death by Sasuke.
"You're dead," he hissed – his Eternal Sharingan spinning with contempt.
Naruto struggled to free himself. He tried to kick Sasuke away, but he was too amused to exert enough force to push him. He choked out a chuckle instead.
Sasuke stared puzzled at Naruto. He slowly loosened his hold.
When Naruto's wind pipes were free enough to take in some air, he began to laugh.
Sasuke glared at Naruto, still confused on what was going on.
Naruto sat up, coughing out blood on the floor. "Damn, Teme," he said. "You really thought I'll kill her?"
Sasuke froze.
Naruto frowned at him. "You should know me better than that," he said.
Sasuke clenched his trembling fists.
Naruto laughed. "This whole situation messed you up real good!"
Sasuke closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, and quickly slammed his fist on Naruto's head. "DOBE!" he hissed.
"OUCH!" Naruto said, rubbing the bruise on his head. "WHAT THE HELL, TEME!"
Sasuke glared at him with his dark eyes. He knew his cheeks were flushed. Hopefully the swelling bruise on his face was hiding it.
Naruto stared at Sasuke for a moment before he burst into laughter again. "Tell me something," he said. "Why didn't you kill her when you had the chance?"
Sasuke looked away.
Naruto sighed and stood up. "Everyone in Konoha says you're smarter than me," he said. "But I don't believe that."
Sasuke looked up at Naruto.
"It's as clear as day, and yet here you are," Naruto said. "…Acting all stupid and thick..."
Sasuke stood up.
Naruto smirked at him. "Heck! I didn't need Sakura-chan's life to be threatened to realize I was in love with her," he said. "And you needed— how many times have you seen a threat to Sakura-chan's life again? And yet here you are, still confused as hell!"
Sasuke glared at Naruto.
"You need her," Naruto said. "…Just as much as she needs you. She's not trying to kill herself to get away from you, Teme! She's been trying to kill herself to make you happy! Are you really going to be happy if she succeeded?"
Sasuke looked down at his blood stained kimono. He would have to burn it.
Naruto tapped Sasuke's forehead. "You're running away again," he said. "You're such a coward."
"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped. "It took you how many years to realize you liked that Hyuuga girl!"
"Fair enough," Naruto said, nodding. "But it still didn't take longer than yours."
"Hn," Sasuke grunted, looking at the dining hall they just demolished. It looked more like an old warehouse of scrap than a dining room.
Naruto smiled. "Look," he said. "You know what the right decision here is. You didn't really need me to point that out to you."
Sasuke stared at the remains of the wooden table. They wasted all that food, without even thinking if everyone was done with their breakfast.
"She needs you," Naruto said. "She's doing all this for you. And you're just going to leave her alone?"
Sasuke remained silent. The two of them stood quietly in the hall for a moment.
Naruto stretched his arms up. "OUCH!" he said, failing to stretch his left arm up. "I think I dislocated my arm."
Sasuke took Naruto's arm and gave it a quick hard pull. It was followed by a loud cracking sound, and a deafening curse from Naruto.
"THAT HURT!" Naruto hissed, glaring at Sasuke.
"It's fixed," he said.
Naruto sighed. He tried to move his left arm and realized that Sasuke was right. "You could have at least given me a warning!"
"Hn," Sasuke muttered, walking back to the dining hall.
Naruto chuckled. "I'm really going to visit Sakura-chan before we head back to Konoha," he said. "Go see her too." He then walked away, sighing and muttering curses on the burn wounds on his back.
Sasuke took a deep breath and sighed.
He didn't need Naruto to tell him what the right thing to do was.
Sasuke smirked and scratched his head. "Stupid Dobe," he muttered.
Naruto slowly pushed the door open.
Houren and Keiko insisted that they treated his wounds first before he paid Sakura a visit. Since he also didn't want to freak Sakura out with all the blood on his face, he agreed. So after half an hour of being treated and cleaned, there he was in front of Sakura's room – gingerly pushing the door open to see her.
They said her paralysis left her staring out into nowhere. She was conscious. She would hear and feel, and see… But she would only be able to move her eyes.
Naruto walked in to see Sakura on the bed – shackled by an invisible force to keep her safe from herself. Her green blank eyes were fixed at the window giving her a view of the blue sky outside.
He walked closer to her, taking a seat on the chair next to her bed.
"Hey," he said. "Sakura-chan. You remember me?"
Sakura's green eyes moved slightly, but it didn't look at him.
Naruto scratched his head. "That's a nice blue sky out there, huh? It's a sunny day."
Sakura didn't respond. Her eyes didn't even twitch.
Naruto sighed. "I'm sorry," he said. "We're just trying to protect you. We all know why you're doing this. And we understand. But things… aren't what you think they are. Trust me. Yes, I tried to kill Teme but that was in the ninja war. He got back to Konoha as a changed man – someone close to the Sasuke we all knew when we were Genin. I know it's hard for you to believe what I'm telling you but… You know me and Teme. We try to kill each other, but none of us dies. He almost did back in the war, but you saved him and he's very grateful for the life you gave him. It's true! And now he's willing to give up his shinobi-hood to keep you safe."
Sakura remained silent.
Naruto looked at the ceiling, thinking of how he would make her believe him. "Do you remember those times you spent with him? …Back in your mission with Dr. Kaitaro? Houren told us about it. It's been one hell of a mission. Remember that time when he confronted you about what you did to help him? We didn't really know what happened there, but I bet he acted furious. He's always been a jerk. Did he tell you he'll kill you?"
Sakura's eyes saddened. Naruto smiled sadly at him.
"Did he kill you though?" Naruto then chuckled. "Teme's always been like that – throwing empty threats at anyone he's trying to run away from. He didn't really mean it though. I mean if he really wanted you dead, he would have done so by now!"
Sakura's eyes glistened in the morning light - sadness peeking through her gaze.
Naruto took a deep breath. "He told you he would leave you because he wants you to suffer a horrible death? Is that what he said, Sakura-chan?"
A tear slid down from Sakura's right eye.
Naruto gently wiped it away with his thumb. "Sakura-chan," he said. "It's alright. It wasn't your fault. Teme was just being Teme. So he said that, but did he really mean it? Do you know why you're here? How you ended up in this place? Teme came back for you! He didn't go to Konoha after he told you those things. He realized his faults and went back to get you home! He saved you, Sakura-chan. He didn't let you burn in a pyre. And he didn't let you die from that illness you had. That's why you're here! That's why I can talk to you right now. He begged Houren to save you and in exchange, Teme worked for Houren. Did you ever imagine Teme letting someone order him around? Crazy, right? But he really did it!"
Sakura's eyes showed a hint of confusion.
Naruto smiled. "Sakura-chan, you're the smartest and the strongest girl I know," he said. "You can figure this out. Maybe you've already seen it. You just didn't think it's possible. But it is! I saw it. Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Neji, Shino and I saw it. I bet Baa-chan and Kakashi-sensei already saw it too! Teme cares about you. He wouldn't want you to die."
Sakura kept her eyes on the window.
Naruto sighed. He sat down on the bed and held her hand. "I'll prove it to you. There's a way, you know? There's a way for you to see the truth. We'll get the relic that will help you see through these memories you have. Teme and I will get it for you. Do you know why?" Naruto smiled. "…Because you're important to us. You're family, and we want you to go back to Konoha with us."
Naruto saw a hint of puzzlement in Sakura's eyes. He chuckled. "Just trust me," he said. "Trust us. Trust me and Teme. We'll help you. We won't stop until you've seen the truth. We'll get you out of here soon. Just wait for us, okay?"
He gave Sakura's hand a light squeeze before he got up and walked to the door.
After the door clicked shut, Sakura closed her eyes. Memories flooded her thoughts – memories she couldn't seem to understand.
Sasuke wanting nothing but seeing her dead… Sasuke looking excitedly at her… Sasuke avoiding her… Sasuke asking her to kill herself… Sasuke kissing her forehead... Sasuke trying to strangle her… Sasuke crying—begging for something to stop…
Sasuke wanted her dead! He begged her to kill herself! The other memories were false—fake!
What made her think twice about them though was what Naruto said – Trust me. In all the memories rushing through her thoughts, one thing was sure. Naruto could be trusted. She could believe whatever he said.
But then that would mean— No. It's just not possible.
Sasuke gently pushed the door, careful not to make its hinges make even the slightest creak. He peeped into the room.
"Just go in already," he heard Keiko say.
He frowned and looked at the girl suddenly standing beside him in the hallway.
Keiko looked up at him with the annoyed look she always wore when reprimanding him. "It's about time you talk to her."
"I was looking for Dobe," Sasuke said. He really was. They were leaving in a few minutes after all.
"Uhuh," Keiko said, turning away. "Sure, whatever. You have three minutes. Use it wisely." She then walked away.
Sasuke glared at Keiko. Three minutes…
He looked into the room again. Sakura was sleeping. Perhaps…
Sakura heard the door creak open – another visitor. She listened to the footsteps echoing closer toward her bed. She didn't open her eyes, too afraid to see who it was. She was already too confused about everything, thanks to Naruto. She didn't need another visitor who would make her bewilderment worse.
"Hey," Sasuke's voice echoed softly in her ears.
Sasuke kept his eyes on her hand. "I… I don't know," he muttered. "Maybe I shouldn't be here."
Sakura wanted to talk to him – tell him everything was fine. She wanted to tell him that he shouldn't worry… Tell him she knew what he wanted her to do, and that she won't fail him! …Tell him she would figure out a way to make up for all the things she had done to him soon. She would get out of her shackles and do what she needed to do!
"I don't want you to die," Sasuke whispered – his voice strained, as if… As if it was true.
Sakura froze.
Sasuke looked at her face. "I thought I did," he said. "I told myself I did. But the fact is... I don't. So…" Sasuke took a deep breath and sighed. "I'm leaving. Naruto probably already told you about what we're going to do. When we come back, everything will be better. I promise. I won't stop until you're better. Just wait."
Sakura didn't know what to do. Should she open her eyes to see if it was really Sasuke?
Sasuke looked longingly at her face. "I'd really like to see your eyes again, before I leave," he whispered.
Sakura kept her eyes shut. She was dreaming. She fell asleep somewhere along the way of analyzing Naruto's words.
It wasn't real.
Sasuke smiled sadly and nodded to himself. He slowly leaned down and lightly kissed her forehead. He then turned around and walked away.
The door creaked shut.
Tears streamed down from Sakura's closed eyes. It was a sad but beautiful dream.
Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, and Neji stood inside a circle formed by a group of white round stones on the ground.
They were in one of the gardens with the elders, Houren, Keiko and Dr. Kaitaro. Each of the Konoha ninjas wore their usual clothing. Sasuke either had the temple attendants sew personalized garments for each of them, or he sneaked into the hotel the group was supposed to be in for their mission and stole some of their clothes – none of the Konoha ninjas knew which of the two possible events happened. But they were grateful that they were again wearing their own set of clothes.
"So this is supposed to work like Sasuke's black cloak," Kiba said, looking at the white circle. "Why can't we just use the black cloak again?"
"Now you see how boring the elders are," Houren said, smiling at Kiba.
Hokuryu rolled his eyes. "This is easier to navigate," he said. "You can't go back to where Sasuke got you. It won't be safe."
Kiba laughed. "First of all, we're ninjas. We can fend for ourselves. Second, we still have things in the hotel."
"You can go back there after you reach your supposed destination for today," Hokuryu said.
"Where's Sasuke?" Chouji asked, looking around.
"Here," Sasuke answered, walking quickly toward the group. He was wearing the black kimono he wore when Naruto and the others met him in the underground tunnel.
"That's really your uniform, huh," Kiba said, eyeing the red pattern on Sasuke's clothing. "It's way better than your other kimono resembling Orochimaru's. It's less... gay."
Naruto and Chouji snickered. Shikamaru smirked. Sasuke ignored the comment.
"I just got word that we're needed," Sasuke said, stepping inside the circle. "Make sure you're ready to fight."
"HA! Akamaru and I are always ready!" Kiba said proudly. Akamaru barked in agreement.
Sasuke ignored it again and knelt on the ground. He bit his thumb and let a couple of drops of his blood stain the moist soil.
"Wait!" Naruto said. "Have you talked to Sakura-chan?"
Sasuke didn't answer. He instead made several hand seals.
Shikamaru watched the slight blush form on Sasuke's cheeks and smirked. "Where to?"
Sasuke slammed his hands on the soil. A surge of electricity crept to the white stones surrounding them. "…Your girlfriend."
A blinding light exploded in the garden. When it faded, the white circle was empty.
"I'm betting a miracle is going to happen," Houren said.
"No one's betting against you," Hokuryu said, leading his fellow elders out of the garden.
Houren frowned at the elders.
Kaitaro chuckled. "You should be proud of yourself," he said. "That means they don't think they'll win against you."
"I would appreciate it more if they just said it straight to my face," Houren muttered.
Keiko chuckled. "And boost your incredibly huge ego? Not a chance!"
Houren sighed.
Kakashi closed his eyes.
A bright light suddenly burst into the battlefield, just as he was freeing himself from the group of creatures trying to devour him. He was planning to fire another Chidori when the explosion occurred.
Shrieks echoed around him.
The creatures must have been severed by the explosion. But who could have caused the blast? Perhaps Sai threw some explosive tags. But the explosion carried a hint of chakra that didn't seem to be from Sai or from anyone in Kakashi's current team.
"I leaked classified information to you and you end up trying to catch my target," Kakashi heard a familiar voice echo in front of him. He opened his eyes and smirked.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE THESE?!" Naruto yelled as he kicked and slashed the creatures attacking him.
"These are much more hideous than my girlfriend, Uchiha," Shikamaru muttered, battling his own set of enemies.
Neji, Shino, Chouji and Kiba were already busy cutting the zombie regiment in half.
"Welcome back," Kakashi greeted.