Wow! I'm really grateful for the amazing response I got for the last chapter! I hope this one does a good job too! So to summarise chapter 11, Naruto has found out about Jaraiya but is focusing on getting Sakura back with team Gai and Squad 10; Sasuke is carrying a short tempered Sakura and Suigetsu is in fact the person in Sai's picture book!! So what will happen now?? THIS CHAPTER HAS A BIG EVENT!!

12: With your understanding

Sakura yawned heavily. They had been walking for hours. And when she said 'they' she meant everyone but herself. She smirked. Despite the fact that she was forced over Sasuke's shoulder, he was still having to put up with the extra weight and her occasional foot-tapping against his ribs. He deserved it. She questioned wether he deserved to have her ass in his face however...'Hmph, that was his decision when he decided to carry me this way...' She gazed at the back of his head and frowned.

'Heh, my ass has been right beside his head for at least 3 hours now'. He had not paid attention to it. Merely on the pathway ahead, which was slowlly leading itself away from the land of fire.

'No one has spoken a word for a while...' Sakura rested her hand against her cheek, her elbow propped up on Sasuke's shoulder blade as he walked. Her elbow kept slipping. She gave in trying to get comfortable, what with her wrists bound and all.

"We're here," Sasuke announced.

Team Hebi stopped and gazed ahead of them, Sakura being the only one facing the other way. She tried to turn but it did not work.

"What direction are we taking now?" Sasuke asked calmly.

Sakura hesitated. "Well I don't know, I can't see!" She snapped. "Turn the other way."

Sasuke made a small groan at this. He was not prepared to turn 180 degrees just so she could catch a glimpse of the direction they were heading. "Just turn your head around..."

"I can't dumbass!" Sakura yelled, causing Sasuke to jump her once again, knocking his shoulder into her ribs. "Ow-okay, okay, then put me down..."

"Hn...I'm not falling for that..." Sasuke told her cruelly.

Sakura rolled her eyes and scoffed loudly. "It's not like I can go anywhere, I'm tied up with a broken leg, which, by the way, I haven't had a chance to heal!"

"Stop your complaining and just tell us where to go," Sasuke told her.

"Well hold me a different way then!" Sakura ordered him.

"Go on Sasuke, or she's going to be yelling all day long," Suigetsu said with a smirk.

Sasuke frowned in annoyance but soon gave in. He cut the chakra strings that bound her ankles, grabbed her waist and left leg, before spinning her over his shoulder so that her left leg was now securely under his left arm and her broken right leg slipped through his right arm. Then, her bound arms went over his head and round his neck, falling there by themselves. It all happened so quickly that Sakura barely realised she was now being given a piggyback. This caused her to blush fiercely.

"Now which way?" Sasuke asked, more impatient than before.

"Erm...well there are two ways into the Rain village, which is where the Akatsuki hideout is...both routes are dangerous but one is safer," Sakura explained. "The safer path is through the marshes on the west side, which leads straight to the lakes beside the town. The other route is by road, which leads to the outer gates, which will be surrounded by rain ninja rebels. We should take the path through the marshes; it's a tougher way through but it's shorter and not many shinobi even know about it."

"So how do you?" Karin asked suspciously.

"I'm the hokage's apprentice and I have studied villages in the secret library. Not many people are permitted to go in there, in fact only a selected few are allowed to take information from that library." Sakura was proud to be one of the selected few permitted to learn information from that library. It was the same place where she had gained historical information on Konoha and secret documents on Orochimaru. She had learnt all this simply to get closer to Sasuke. Memorizing all the shortcuts from the land of fire to any other land was one thing she could do well.

"Then we'll start heading west from now on," Sasuke said.

Naruto was ahead now, searching every corner that came past him. He knew where they were heading, but still, every rustle had made his spine tingle, in case it was Sakura. He did not understand how things could turn out so bad in such a short amount of time. Not only had Sakura disappeared, but so had Sasuke. After Naruto was about to charge him with rasengan, he assumed that Sakura had stopped them and began to fight Sasuke somewhere in the forest.

What made it worse was Naruto could not follow because of Tobi getting in the way...for a second time. Just who was he? During the time he was unconscious, he was certain he had heard something of use to him, but it was all a blur. Tobi was not just any ordinary Akatsuki member, as he didn't have a partner, or so it seemed and he always showed up with the objective of distraction. Naruto had a feeling that Tobi was doing this because of Sasuke, but the reason behind this, he did not know.

To add to Sakura and Sasuke going missing, and the mysterious Akatsuki member, Jaraiya's death was also a great blow to Naruto. His teacher, of whom he respected greatly despite calling him a pervert. How could the legendary sannin be beaten? It occurred to Naruto, when he heard the news, that the leader was someone not to be underestimated for a second. Naruto couldn't help but gulp. Just what was he getting himself into?

"Are we reaching the borderline yet Kakashi?" Naruto asked, turning to face the white haired jonin as he squinted.

"We'll be there within the hour, calm down," Kakashi said reassuringly, turning his head to face squad 10. Even without Asuma, they were still a powerful team and a good one to be doing this mission. And of course, the comrades who joined team 7's missions often-team Gai. He smiled under his mask.

"So...what exactly happened Naruto? You still haven't filled us in, other than that Sakura may have been kidnapped by the Akatsuki," Shikamaru said, jumping beside Naruto.

Naruto hesitated, wrinkling his forehead. "Sasuke was here..."

Shikamaru widened his eyes. "You went to find him again?"

"Yeah...and Sakura got into a fight with him and then an Akatsuki member showed up..."

Shikamaru lowered his head. "What if it was Sasuke that took her?"

"Well...if we find Akatsuki...we're likely to find them..."

The air was becoming more damp and foggy. The mud now began to squelch around them.

"I take it we'll be there soon?" Suigetsu assumed, holding back a yawn.

Sakura gave a nod as she stretched out her fingers. She had been holding the collar of Sasuke's vest for a while now, clinging to the material almost in a protective manner, but he did not notice; either that or he did not mind. She gulped slightly. She was beginning to feel sleepy, which was unusual for her. Usually, Sakura would be wide awake but perhaps she was tired because she was in a comfortable position, which almost begged her to take the most advantage of it. Her head drooped, nearly knocking into Sasuke's head. She shook herself slightly to fight the fatigue.

"Sleep."

Sakura widened her eyes as she stared at the side of Sasuke's face. His eyes were stern as usual, and his face lacked expression.

"No, I'm fine," Sakura said decisively.

"You're injured. You have a back wound and your leg is severely broken. You should sleep," Sasuke told her.

Sakura hesitated. "It doesn't matter...we're here..."

Team Hebi stopped in their tracks as they gazed ahead of them. Fallen trees lay dead in their path, covered in damp moss as thick waters rose above them. The mist moved peacefully, eerily, among the silent swamps.

"Creepy place, reminds me of my hometown..." Suigetsu smirked.

Sakura gazed over at him before turning back to face the marshes which would lead them a safer route into the rain village. "We should probably move quickly...there will be ninjas round here."

Sasuke gave a nod as he signalled his team to follow him with a tilt of his head. They began wading through the marshes, it was thick and knee deep but it was gaining them a stealthy entrance. Sakura held onto Sasuke tightly as he struggled through the swamp.

"Ugh, this is disgusting!" Karin spat.

"Not as disgusting as your face!" Suigetsu retorted with a snort, causing Karin's fist to enter his face.

"Shut up, we need to be quiet!" Sasuke told them with a sharp glare.

Suigetsu sniggered as he continued on, Karin giving him deathglares.

"I don't like this..." Sasuke said quietly, therefore it was intended for Sakura's ears only.

"I know...we've probably had our presence sensed by now," Sakura answered, hunching her shoulders and edging her head closer to Sasuke's, so that his spiky hair was pressed up against her pink bangs.

Suddenly, a kunai was thrown in their direction. Sasuke dived to the side, falling into the water, Sakura losing her grip on him. Falling into the marshes, she gasped as the murky water entered through her nostrils. She reached the surface, coughing, as a second kunai was thrown in her direction. She allowed it to slice the binds round her wrists before clasping it in her palms. She flipped it over before throwing it back.

After some seconds, Sasuke also reached the surface, his hair sopping wet as he searched for his team. "We're under attack, get ready for a fight!"

Suigetsu smiled with excitement as he drew Zabuza's sword. "Finally I can spill some blood!"

Juugo and Karin got ready.

"We don't have time for this!" Sasuke said in annoyance as several ninjas surrounded them on the marshland. Team Hebi and Sakura were stuck in the water, glaring at the rain ninja, all with masks on their faces.

"We can take these on! Hey Sasuke, why not run ahead and we'll catch up with you further along? We can meet up at those hills over there where the bridge is, right?" Suigetsu suggested.

Sasuke agreed with this idea. "Alright, if you think you can take them."

"Hell yeah...Us three got 'em, take cherry blossom and get going!" Suigetsu said.

Sasuke grabbed Sakura before she even prepared to move and dragged her out of the swamps. Lifting her legs up, he ran through the fog.

Sakura held onto his neck, now realising she was being carried bridal style. Clearly Sasuke hadn't had enough time to wait for her to jump on his back. Sasuke realised he was being followed by two ninja. Grunting to himself, he picked up the pace until his speed was immensly fast. Sakura was surprised by his speed as they approached the bridge.

Sakura held onto him tighter as Sasuke ran along the narrow bridge, which rocked threateningly. There river below was deep and strong. This bridgeway would enter through the hills and downwards towards the village.

Sasuke skidded to a halt and lost his footing, tripping over the wood, dropping Sakura. He looked up, his eyes blazing with sharingan as he saw a ninja ahead of them, on the side of the bridge they were heading to. Before he could react, the ninja cut one of the ropes.

"Shi-"

He grabbed Sakura and prepared to run straight at the ninja when the sound of a katana splitting the air caused him to pause. Spinning round he saw the two ninjas that had been following him. One of them cut one of the bridge posts. The bridge now tipped to one side, flipping itself. Sakura screamed as Sasuke attempted to grab the rope but missed. He was about to fall when he felt a hand grab onto his. He opened his eyes and looked up. Sakura was holding onto a rope and onto Sasuke. They were now dangling above the river and the rope had stretched down too far for them to climb back up to the bridge.

Sasuke watched as the ninjas left them.

"Damnit!" Sasuke cursed. "How could I have missed that?"

"You were focusing on escaping and the extra weight you were carrying...you also haven't slept in over 24 hours, don't blame yourself..." Sakura said, her voice straining.

Sasuke looked up and could tell Sakura was having trouble. Her left arm was holding onto Sasuke, therefore pulling the muscles in her shoulder blade, exactly where her back wound was. He realised she was in great pain.

"G...gah..." Sakura breathed heavily. "I...I can't..." Her fingers began slipping. She used every ounce of her strength to pull herself up.

Sasuke was surprised at her persistency, but knew she couldn't keep it up. "Sakura...we need to switch places..."

Sakura stared at him as if he had gone mad. "Oh sure, you just sprout wings and I'll happily let go."

Sasuke huffed. "I can't activate my curse mark, I'm already using it too much...we have to do this the hard way. Now I'm going to jump up and grab the rope when you let go. I'll grab you and then I'll pull us both up."

Sakura bit her lip. "What if you-"

"Just trust me," Sasuke told her coldly. "Now let me go."

Sakura hesitated. "What?"

Sasuke released his fingers from her grasp. "Do it."

She did and Sasuke jumped up as Sakura let go. She let out a small yelp as she felt the dropping sensation in her stomach but immediately felt Sasuke's hand in hers. Now, they had successfully switched places. "Alright, let's go..."

Sakura gave a nod as Sasuke prepared to pull them both up, but, before he could do anything the rope's threads began to unravel and weakened. Sasuke widened his eyes and gritted his teeth. If he tried to pull up once more, the rope would snap and they would fall.

"It won't take our weight!" Sasuke cried.

Sakura looked up. She bit her lip, contemplating their next plan of action. And before she could find the words, the words found her. "Sasuke, let me go."

Sasuke froze. "What?"

"It can't take us both, so just let me go..." Sakura said. "I'm just a burden anyway..." She didn't even understand why she was saying it. It was like a deep desire to give Sasuke his revenge.

"No..."

"Isn't revenge the most important thing to you?" Sakura demanded.

"No...close your eyes." He released his grasp from the rope and they plummetted into the river, still holding hands...

Suigetsu removed his sword from the corpse as it plunged into the swamps. He wiped sweat from his forehead. "That's the last of them."

Karin scoffed as she folded her arms. "They were pretty tough for simple guards."

"For you maybe, let's catch up to Sasuke."

Juugo, Karin and Suigetsu headed off past the swamps.

They reached the cliffside, where the bridge hung to its side.

"Man, what happened here?" Suigetsu asked. He kicked some stones, as they toppled off the edge. He peered down at the river. "Hmph...long drop...looks like we're going to have to take the long way round."

"You don't suppose Sasuke fell, do you?" Karin asked, pouting.

"Well we'll find out if he did..." Juugo began, looking over at Suigetsu.

"Yeah, we're heading down the slope now," Suigetsu decided.

Sakura felt a chilling rush as she was blanketed in icy water. Her stomach dropped as she felt Sasuke's grasp slip away from hers. Sakura tried to see where he was but it was too dark. Kicking her legs, she attempted to swim up to the surface but her leg began to pulsate with pain, dragging her down. She was gagging for air now as she fought against the current. Forcing herself upwards, she found herself breathing in cold, thick air.

"Sasuke?" Sakura managed to say, as she swam across the river to a muddy bank. Crawling onto it, she lay there for a moment, breathing heavily. Her robe was heavy with water as she shivered. "Sasuke?"

"I'm here..." Sasuke told her blankly, crawling out and onto the banks beside her. His body was dripping wet and he was also shivering.

"You...why did you do that? You could have let me go," Sakura told him.

"I told you...I need you..." There was a pause as he pursed his lips. "For information."

Sakura narrowed her eyes as she sat up. She rubbed her arms.

"That's going to get infected..." Sasuke said, looking over at her.

"What is?" Sakura asked him, cocking her head.

"Your cheek is bleeding..." Sasuke told her. "But the river has numbed the pain. It's not good to have a wound like that when you're freezing cold." He went to her, before looking in his weapons pouch. Taking out some cloth, he lent it to her.

"Thanks..." Sakura said, removing her hand from her arm. Her fingers were shaking and her nails were going blue.

Sasuke narrowed his eyebrows together in concern. With her injuries, she was more sensitive to the cold and would suffer if she didn't get warmer soon. "You need to get warm and fast." He removed the rope from his waist that held up the cloth round his waist, then, heating some twigs on the ground, hung the cloth over it. "Go next to the fire and the moment that's dry, put it round you..."

Sakura gave a nod. She was a medic nin, she was aware of the risks but...she didn't want to appear weak in front of Sasuke and had chose not to take immediate action. It was foolish to put pride ahead of health. "Why are you-"

"You'll die if I don't. Put your hands back round your arms and keep rubbing." Sasuke placed his hand round her head, causing her to blush. He angled her head towards him before dabbing at her cheek. She winced slightly.

Sakura stayed there for several seconds as Sasuke cleaned the wound. His eyes were completely focused and she felt weak once again. She hated this feeling. Trying to concentrate on something apart from his handsome face, which was wet...she turned her eyes to his shoulder, she paused. "Sasuke...you've sprained the muscle in your shoulder..."

Sasuke stopped dabbing her cheek before turning his attention to his right shoulder. "How could you tell?"

"I can tell just by looking," Sakura told him, before placing a cold hand on his shoulder. She began healing it.

"Sakura, you should reserve your energy, it will keep you warmer..." Sasuke told her.

"I just need to get my heart to beat faster and the rush of blood will keep me warmer..." Sakura told him. "There...it's healed..."

Sasuke was surprised by how quickly she healed the sprain. "You can't exercise in order to increase your heartbeat-your leg is too broken."

Sakura swallowed heavily. She crawled to the fire and watched the flames lick the air. "When do we start moving?"

"Once we get warm," Sasuke told her, sitting beside her.

Sakura stared over at him. The fire was reflecting in his oynx eyes, giving a distinct glow burning within them. She smiled. "Are you cold?"

"I'm fine," Sasuke told her.

"I can tell by your body heat when I was healing you that your body temperature is low-and you're wearing less than I am," Sakura explained.

They were quiet for several seconds. It was silent around them, not even the wind made noise. Sasuke took the cloth from the branch that hung over the fire before chucking it at Sakura. She caught it before wrapping it round herself. It was warm and smelt like Sasuke. She couldn't help but blush once again. He sat beside her and let out a sigh.

"Get warm quick, we don't have much time."

Sakura frowned. "I could tell you the same thing." She wrapped the cloth round him also.

He was tempted to shrug it off, but its warmth was soothing to him, compared to the cold.

"When we reach the rain village...I'm going to help you fight Akatsuki," Sakura said suddenly.

"You don't have to," Sasuke told her coldy. "It's my fight."

"Tough. I'm fighting," Sakura snapped. "I may seem weak right now-"

"You're not weak," Sasuke interrupted.

Sakura froze at his words. Those words she had wanted him to say perhaps more than anything. Sasuke turned to face her, meeting her green eyes.

"Glad you noticed..." Sakura said softly, still staring back.

She leant forward.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked. Was she...trying to kiss him?

"Just getting warmer..."

And they both closed their eyes...

Hope you liked it! Please review and I'll update faster!!