AN: alright!! Now we get to the juicy tidbits!

Disclaimer…. Read the past seven chapters! "-_-

Hidden Chapter 8: Blurred

Naruto yawned and stretched. In all, he slept about four hours. He rubbed his weary eyes and turned toward his alarm clock. His head snapped up. 'Gah!! It's almost one! I'm late, soooo late!!' He sprang out of bed, and within five minutes he was out the door. 'Sasuke! You better not have started without me!' Naruto ran toward the forest.

Sakura screamed. The other nin sliced his kunai down her back. She stumbled forward a few steps and panted. She thought she saw his eyes widen slightly, but turned her attention toward her wound. 'It only grazed my skin…' She sighed in relief. "You're going to pay for that!" she shouted and charged at him.

The ninja's eyes widened slightly. He pulled out some shurikens and threw them at her. She smirked, and dodged them easily. They flew behind her and hit a tree. The ninja grinned under his mask and threw another kunai. It flew and hit the same tree the shurikens hit behind her. It was obscuring a string. A large branch flew and hit her back. She panted, blood spewed out of her mouth. The shurikens were connected to the ninja's fingers. He pulled them out and threw them around her. She gasped in surprise.

Sakura found herself tied to another tree. 'He… he saved me?' She looked below her. The large branch was on the ground now; if it hit her she would've been crushed. "I don't want you to get hurt now, Sakura." The ninja said in an extremely low voice. She spat at him. The ninja was a little taken back, but regained his composure. He jumped onto a branch near her. He pulled out a kunai and held it at her throat. "Now, you die. Such a shame, you didn't even put up much of a fight." He said. 'Did his voice just get lower...?' She thought. "You pathetic girl…"

She glared at him. Now, she was angry. Her fists clenched and unclenched. She began to thrash around and pull against the strings. They cut into her skin and went deeper into her cuts. Still, she continued to try. Until, the ninja spoke again. "What the hell do you think you're doing? At this rate you'll lose all your blood before I could spill it." Sakura's eyes widened. 'His voice did get lower…' He raised the kunai toward her throat again. She could feel the cold metal graze her skin.

Sakura felt tears brim her eyes. 'This… is how pathetic I am… it took so little effort for him to just…' She felt deprived. This was how it was supposed to end? This was when her life was supposed to end, without love, without accomplishing her goals… without seeing Naruto, Sasuke, Kakashi, or even Ino again. 'No…I won't let that happen. I won't die, not like this!' A tear fell, and then another… and another… until she was sobbing uncontrollably. She snapped.

The ninja looked surprise. He didn't know what to do. Still, he kept his kunai where it was. She lifted her head up with a sinister smile on her face, despite the tears. Her right hand struggled against the strings before they snapped. She held it up, blood dripped down her arm. A single pink jewel shard was embedded on the back of her hand. It glowed brightly, almost blindingly.

'There it is…' The ninja thought. He found himself unable to pull his gaze away. Her hand came out of nowhere and grabbed his throat. He gasped. 'When did she-…' Sakura freed herself completely free from the strings and jumped out. By the neck, she threw the ninja down toward the ground. He hit the ground with a loud thud. He snarled, but before he could react, Sakura leapt high into the air. "Don't you dare underestimate me!" She said using a line Naruto once said. The jewel's glow intensified. "I'll show you what I can do!" she continued. Beams of light swirled around the jewel. "Keito no jutsu!" She screamed. The light erupted from her hand and formed into needles. They struck their target.

The ninja was helpless. The light needles cut into him, not only that, they burned him as well. He screamed in agony. After the light died down, Sakura landed beside the ninja as he struggled to get up. She tackled him down and awkwardly enough, sat on him. She pinned his arms and his legs and made sure he couldn't move. She held a kunai to his throat. "Who the hell are you?!" she questioned angrily. He groaned. The needles were still burning into him.

Sakura looked at the eyes and gasped. She ripped off his mask. "Sasuke?!" Almost immediately, the needles stopped burning. He snarled and looked away. She began crying again. He gave her a neutral stare and gulped. A tear fell from Sakura, hit his face and rolled down his cheek. A pained look crossed his features before he hid it.

"Sakura… I-…" He silenced himself. He didn't know what to say. Right now, all he felt was that he deserved was a thrashing or two. He grunted in pain. Her eyes landed on him.

"Sasuke… are you alright?" she asked softly. He nodded. "Hm, well, I'm glad then." He looked at her surprisingly. 'She's that forgiving? I almost killed her for goodness sake!' "You shouldn't have gone so easy on me…" She growled. 'Nevermind…' Though, he felt a little relief. If those needles continued to burn, he probably would've had all his insides melted completely. 'So this is why you train so hard… Sakura. You even created your own jutsu…' Now he saw how brilliant she was, in smarts, in talent, as well as beauty. She continued to glow even after her attack, and currently, she was sitting on him. His eyes began to travel up her legs. He blinked and tore his eyes away.

Sasuke grunted, "Sakura… you're heavy." She blinked a couple of times before it registered to her. She looked down and blushed and promptly removed herself.

"Gomen, Sasuke…" She whispered.

"Sakura… this is why you go out training by yourself?" he asked. She looked away, but nodded.

"I'm sorry if I worried you, Naruto, or Kakashi-sensei."

"I wasn't worried." He said but immediately wanted to take back those words. It was just a normal reaction for him… A pained look crossed her features.

"It was something I had to do alone." She continued, "It's not that I didn't want to share it's just that…" 'You're pathetic…' Sasuke's words chimed into her head, "I'm… pathetic." She repeated. Sasuke raised his eyebrow.

"Sakura…" he stated, "You shouldn't let what people say about you affect you so much…" He looked at her 'especially… what I say…' He added silently. Her head snapped up. He suddenly felt the urge to do something. She still had that hurt look on her face. He wanted to take it away. He lifted his hand and brushed her cheek gently. Her tears were now dry and stained her face. She leaned her face into his hand. A small smile graced her features, and his. Sasuke felt relieved all the sudden.

A rustle in the leaves interrupted their blissful moment. Sasuke stood up in a fighting position, in front of Sakura. A streak of orange leaped out and screamed "Sasuke!"

Sasuke put down his fists. He snarled. "What are you doing Naruto?!"

"Looking for you baka! What do you think you're doing starting the plan without me?" Naruto questioned, his eyes narrow.

"You were too late deme! I told you eleven thirty sharp."

"That doesn't mean you should've started without me!"

"She would've been gone by then idiot!"

So, it continued back and fourth. Sakura began to feel woozy. Her vision blurred and her head was swirling. She cradled her head in her hands. A thump sounded inside her head, her insides began to churn. The thump got louder and louder, and it seemed, Sasuke and Naruto's voices were too. "Sasu-…" She let out a small whimper. The two boys turned their attention toward her.

The noise wouldn't go away, it only increased. She screamed out loud. Her head was booming. She couldn't take it anymore. The pain was so intense and she collapsed.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled. Sasuke rushed to her side and picked her up.

"Let's go Naruto. We need to take her to Tsunade." Sasuke said and carried her back to the village. Naruto jumped after him.

'What's wrong with you Sakura…' Sasuke asked grimly.

Tsunade speed walked toward Sakura's hospital room. Naruto and Sasuke called her as soon as they reached the area. The two were currently standing beside their fallen teammate. "What happened?" she asked immediately. Their heads snapped up.

"I… don't know. She… she just collapsed." Naruto said. Tsunade looked at Sakura's bloodied arms. "That… I don't know either… care to explain Sasuke?!" Naruto growled at him.

Sasuke glared at the other boy. "I-… we were training." He stated simply. Tsunade looked unconvinced, "You boys tell me what happened to her right now!" she yelled at them. They remained silent. She got irritated. "Why don't you two go wait outside." She pointed toward the door. They both silently walked out.

"Sasuke!" Naruto grabbed his collar, "What the hell did you do?! I thought we agreed to talk to her! All the sudden ya just jump out and attack her like that?!" Sasuke didn't retaliate. "What were you thinking?"

"Baka!" Sasuke yelled, "She obviously goes out training to do what else? Get stronger of course. She can't even stand to be around me, let alone both of us. You think she wants to talk?!"

"That's not a reason to slice the hell out of her!"

Sasuke snarled and pulled Naruto's hands off his collar. "Look, I- At least I found out-…"

Naruto interrupted, "That doesn't matter now! For all we know she could be dying!" Sasuke's eyes widened. "Don't. Say. That. Naruto!" Sasuke said warningly.

"It could be the truth you know!" Sasuke remained silent. Naruto was currently glaring at the black haired boy. Heels clicked down the hallway, both turned their heads toward the noise. "Mrs. Haruno?" Naruto asked, "What are you doing-…" Sasuke jabbed him in the ribs.

"Of course, she's here to visit Sakura. Baka." He muttered. Naruto scratched the back of his head and smiled nervously. 'How did she know about Sakura-chan…?' he thought. Mrs. Haruno didn't say anything; instead she just walked into the hospital room. Sasuke and Naruto followed.

Tsunade turned her head toward the door. "Mrs. Haruno." She addressed. The other lady again, didn't speak. She went to her daughter's bedside and stroked her forehead lovingly. She grabbed Sakura's left hand. A pink jewel shard was embedded on it also.

"So…" She spoke softly, "She has finally developed the second one."

"Mrs. Haruno… please." Tsunade started, "Can you please tell us what's wrong with Sakura. I've been examining her, and… there never seems to be anything wrong. There isn't an explanation for her condition and I-…" Mrs. Haruno's head snapped up.

"Of course there doesn't seem to be anything wrong. It's because it's only detectable by Sakura…"

They looked at her confusingly. "Mrs. Haruno… can you please explain?" Tsunade asked. Tears fell solemnly from the other woman's eyes.

"You're her teammates correct?" Mrs. Haruno addressed Sasuke and Naruto in a wavy tone. They nodded. "You all… deserve to know. I don't think she could make it alone." She stroked her daughter's pink hair. "Listen closely." She sighed. 'I'm sorry… Sakura… Enki… I'm so sorry…'

TBC…

Ahhaha… ok Chapter eight is finally finished. This is by far the longest chapter. Woowy. I hope you all liked it and enjoyed the surprise. I thought I'd allow Sakura to have a precious moment with Sasuke… just cause… he just sliced up her body. I think she deserves it don't you? ^^

Bet ur wondering what Keito means. (aha…ha… I'm gonna tell you anyway.) It's actually a name, but I thought I'd use it. It means 10 blessings, and with God and light… yeah, I just thought it'd be a nice jutsu. It's more of a blessing for Sakura… Just thought I'd share, In case you guys wondered. Ha…ha… needles. *grins

Next chapter: Mrs. Haruno speaks… and some other things. Hope y'all wait around for it.