Chapter 23

Okay so I tried to change a lot in the chapter but a bunch of it was I felt important to the story line. Whenever they left blank spots I filled them the best I could. Also I won't update until I get at least 5 reviews on a chapter. It shouldn't be that much. I know I have a lot of readers I just want to know what I can do better or what I did good.

Also I have like 2/5 of the next chapter done because it started with stuff from the same episode as the one I used for this chapter.

They rushed through the trees. Naruto was in the lead with Sakura not far behind him. "Where coming just hang in there Gaara." Sakura looked at Naruto when she heard him say that. A smile appeared on her lips. She wasn't the only one fighting to get there for the hope of Gaara being alive.

"Don't lose your cool." When Kakashi said this Sakura's head turned towards him. He was right. Even if they wanted to just magically appear there they couldn't. She looked back towards the earth. "Temari!" She yelled when she saw her. Said girl's head turned towards the sound of her name. All three of them dropped down to meet her.

"What are you three doing out here?" She asked.

"You mean you don't know?" Sakura looked at her. She hated being the one to break this to her. "Gaara has been kidnapped by Akatsuki."

"Gaara? You mean he's been..." Kakashi nodded at her.

Kakashi spoke. "We're two and a half days out from the sand. We should hurry."

"Right." Temari said and they all went back into the trees to head towards their destination.

They travelled even past dark. Sakura and Naruto were still in the lead. Luckily Temari and Kakashi could keep up with them. Ryurio was doing his best to keep up with them but he ended up lagging behind because he wasn't that use to travelling long distances for long periods of time. It would not of been good for them to get separated.

"I can't take this anymore!" Naruto yelled. "I know why there after Gaara and me. It's not like it's a mystery or anything. You know to don't you Sakura?" Sakura looked at him. She did know. "There's no point hiding it. The spirit of the nine tails fox is sealed away inside of me."

Sakura wasn't entirely sure what to say. Naruto had been ignored or insulted because of his demon. She never had to deal with that. Absolutely no one but her parents and Gaara knew about her demon. She was the lucky one. Then Gaara. He had met the same fate as Naruto but unlike Naruto he didn't have a team to really rely on.

"Gaara and I are the same." He grabbed the spot over his heart. "We both have monsters locked up inside of us. That's what these bastards are after. And that's the worst part about it. To them we're monsters. All those bastards see is a means to the end. Everything about us was exactly the same and he had to fend for himself a lot longer then I ever did." Temari looked down. It was all true. "And now he's a target of the Akatsuki. One more then we have in common. Why should his life be so full of misery all the time? Why is it always him? That's why I gotta hurry. We don't have a second to waste. This time will be different. I'm going to be there to save him.

Sakura looked over at Naruto. When he wanted to, he could be really inspiring. His eyes held tears. She had to look away before she started crying also. It was nearing what Sakura thought was midnight when they decide to take a short break. Temari was clearly tired and no one wanted her to pass out from exhaustion.

They built a small fire and cooked some fish they caught from a nearby river. "We will camp here for a few hours. We should get going before sunrise though." They all nodded.

Kakashi took the first watch, Naruto was second and Sakura was third. Yet Sakura didn't sleep the entire night. She stayed up worrying about Gaara. Ryurio laid the whole night curled up against her side. He only woke when it was her time for watch. At sunrise they packed up their camp, covered up their fire and left.

"Naruto?" Sakura said

"Yeah."

"So tell me you've met them before haven't you?"

"Huh?"

"Itachi Uchiha and he's after you now isn't he?" She turned to face Naruto. "You know it's not like I just spent my time training these past two and a half years. I've stole into Lady Tsunade's library and snuck out of the village as much as I could and now. The one thing that bothered me more than anything else, finally made sense. The person that Sasuke wanted to kill was his older brother Itachi wasn't it? A member of the Akatsuki. That's the whole reason he left. He saw Orochimaru as a way to obtain power but all that worthless viper cares about is obtaining Sasuke's body and we only have six months left to stop him but Orochimaru use to be a member of the Akatsuki himself. All I'm trying to say is we can't give up. The closer we get to the Akatsuki the closer we are to finding information about Orochimaru. So the closer we get to them the closer we are to Sasuke." Sakura thought to herself. "I'm not saying that I'm in love with Sasuke and will die if anything happens to him. He was one of my teammates and even if we didn't have the best relationship I still care for him. Also Naruto would be devastated if anything happened to him. I don't want Naruto to go through anything like that. Ever."

They travelled quit a distance before Kakashi called for a quick break. This time Sakura was more then grateful for it considering she didn't sleep during their last break. She plopped down with her back against a tree and left her body relax. No one dared speak. Ryurio curled up in her lap and stayed quiet what reason they were all quiet she was unsure of. Her eyes fell close and she was asleep.

When she finally awake Kakashi was standing up. "Alright break time's over."

Sakura looked around. "Where is Naruto?"

"Right up there." He said pointing up. "Okay let's get moving."

No one protested. They all put their bags back on their backs and headed off. Only a day separated them from the sand village. Only a day from Sakura seeing Gaara again. Hopefully he would be alive.

R&R