12 : Naruto (Yes! It's NARUTO'S chapter! ^_^)

By: Kokoro Kakera HP ^^

Disclaimer: Naruto, (Manga, anime, products, etc.), belongs to Kishimoto Masashi

Author's Notes:
Heh, for those who didn't believe my excuse last chapter, go smack yourselves over the head. I mean, after writing a chapter of anything, doesn't anyone stop and go over it to see if they can make it sound a little better or edit out that small mistake you might have missed? ...Ya, I know, it doesn't help me because I'm a lost case.
Sorry about the last chapter. It was lazy, pretty bad and sloppily written, I know. I was in a hurry when I wrote it since it was nearing my set deadline for each chapter of this fic. Hn...I think I'll take a small break for this week since I brought out two chapters this time...
Hahaha...the angst just keeps piling up...

"You killed one of your own soldiers for your sake?" Sakura couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"She was useless. She also wasn't following orders." He paused, his eyes scanning the group. "Speaking of orders..." Naruto's hand flew to his kunai and snapped them in front of him at ready. Sasuke and Sakura had done the same.

"What do you want?" Naruto demanded. The man's eyes slid to him and the tiny hairs on the back of Naruto's neck stood up.

"Nothing of much importance. Just you." Naruto nearly dropped all of his kunai.

"Me?"

"Naruto?"

"No." Sasuke stepped forward until he was slightly in front of Naruto. Sakura followed his lead. The man raised a curious eyebrow.

"And like that you two plan to...?"

"You're not getting Naruto." Sakura said.

"Hey, stop that you guys, it's embarrassing!" Naruto said from behind them. He didn't need them to protect him! Especially not the guy he was supposed to beat and the girl he was meant to protect!

"Shut up, idiot." Sasuke snapped. "This guy is probably stronger than that woman we faced earlier. We can't take any chances."

"No, you shouldn't." The man agreed. "You should surrender the boy to me and walk away alive... Or rather, walk away without seeing your friend," He made a small gesture towards Sakura, "Die right in front of you first, while you do nothing." Naruto's eyes narrowed.

"What?"

"You think I didn't notice?" His lips curled into an amused smirk. "I feel sorry for you." He said, addressing Sakura directly. "Of all the people that you could have fought against, you end up with the only one who knows how to speed up that particular curse of yours. Lucky for you huh?"

"You're lying." Sakura said accusingly. The ninja noticed Sasuke take a step forward and shook his head, his hand forming an introduction to a jutsu. Sakura's eyes widened when her cut began to burn. "I'm sure that you don't want to find out if I really can though. It's quite... messy."

"Why do you want Naruto?" She demanded. She kept her voice steady; surprising herself with how collected it sounded.

"None of your business. Give me the kid and everyone goes away alive and happy."

"No." Sasuke snapped right away. His muscles became taut. "He's not going anywhere with you."

"You don't have a choice, or rather, you do, but you'd better make sure you're fine with it." The man's hand moved to make the second step of the jutsu. Sakura forced her expression to stay blank, despite the fact that her wound was now seized with scorching pains. "I'll kill her if you don't." Naruto and Sasuke glanced at Sakura uneasily. She shook her head.

"He's lying. Don't go with him Naruto."

"Am I?" The man smiled wider and formed the third position.

Sakura's hand twitched. This didn't go unnoticed.

The ninja smirked. His eyes had flicked back and forth from Sakura only for a millisecond, but it was enough for him to know.

"I'm serious. I'll kill her." He looked disgustingly smug. "Hey, girl, you feel it, don't you? I've only done three seal positions and your skin feels like it's going to rip, doesn't it?"

"I don't feel a thing." Sakura said levelly. She glanced at Naruto quickly. "And you're not getting Naruto."

The fourth was formed.

Tpp.

The sound of liquid hitting the ground had gotten their attentions. Blood was steadily flowing from Sakura's arm. Naruto and Sasuke stared at it, shock registering on their faces.

"Sakura-chan... you..." Naruto looked at her, confusion dominating his features.

'Sakura-chan lied to us...?'

Sakura grasped her arm tightly.

"It's nothing." She said softly. "Don't go with him, Naruto."

"But..." He looked back at Sasuke - he usually knew what to do.

'There has to be a way out of this...'

Naruto's confidence dropped when instead of an assured, knowledgable expression, Sasuke offered a look as lost as he felt. They had never been in such a situation before. "Sakura-chan..." He whispered.

He couldn't believe it. For a guy like him, she bore the effects of the curse and lied to him and Sasuke about it. She lied, even if it meant dying, for him.

When Kakashi had warned them about situations like this, it had seemed too hard a decision to make. At the time, he had Sasuke pinned under his knee to prove a point.

"Selfish actions that destroy teamwork bring danger to your teammates and that can get them killed. For example..." Kakashi reached into his back pocket and pulled out a kunai to hold it against Sasuke's throat. "Sakura! Kill Naruto or Sasuke will die!"

Naruto knew that at the time, had he been in the same situation, he wouldn't have been able to make such a decision. Sakura and Sasuke were both important to him. They were both his most cherished friends - the ones he would lay his life down for. It was different now. The situation was to his advantage because he wasn't choosing between Sakura and Sasuke. He was choosing to keep Sakura alive. Sakura hadn't even given a second thought about sacrificing herself for him. He knew that Sasuke wouldn't be able to make the decision himself, because he wasn't one of the hostages in question.

It was up to him to make it for all three of them.

'It's not fair, but...'

Naruto glared at the man fiercely. "I really hate your guts." He murmured. "And I'd never, ever trust a guy like you... But... Give your word, that you'll stop - that you won't hurt Sakura-chan. And I'll go with you." The ninja smirked triumphantly.

"You have my word."

Naruto took a step forward.

"No!" Sakura objected sharply. Her kunai dropped to the ground as she grabbed Naruto by his sleeve. "Don't... Naruto."

"Sakura-chan..." Sakura could see the pained indecisiveness in his eyes. It warmed her insides to know that he cared that much for someone as useless as her.

"There's no reason for you to act like it's such a hard decision." She whispered. Naruto stared at her, as if not believing what she had just said.

"But-"

"That's right. It's not a hard decision." The fifth seal was formed and Naruto's jacket was splattered by blood. Sakura winced and faltered slightly.

"Hey!" Naruto yelled. "What the hell do you think you're doing!? I-" He took a step forward, but was held back by Sakura.

"It doesn't hurt." Sakura said, her voice tight. "It doesn't hurt at all... You don't have to do anything about it. It would only be a waste of time to give up your life for nothing." Naruto's form became less taut as Sakura's requests fell upon his ears.

"But... your arm is-" He tried to pull away again.

"It doesn't hurt." She said again. "Didn't you listen to me talking? Even if it did hurt, it wouldn't compare to how much it would hurt if you disappeared! Because...to me, you're an important person." Naruto froze. He stared at her, shocked by what she'd said. His attempts to make her let go of him stopped. She smiled then and for a moment, everything seemed to be all right. "So stay."

"Then the girl dies." The man raised his hands.

"Stop it!" Naruto growled.

'I'm sorry, Sakura-chan.

"I said I would go with you." Sakura's eyes widened and filled with tears.

"No..." She whimpered, shutting her eyes tightly. Her head fell forward as the situation seemed to become more and more hopeless. Her hands tightened in the material. "Naruto..."

"I had to make sure." The man shrugged. Naruto's hand tightened into a fist.

"Sakura-chan... Let go." He murmured. Sakura shook her head.

"Don't." She whispered. She buried her face into his back. She felt pitiful, holding onto Naruto and crying like that. "You can't..."

"Sakura-chan." Naruto's voice sounded uncharacteristically serious. Sakura slowly looked up at him, revealing to him how devastated she was with his decision.

"Don't go." She pleaded. "We-we're a three-man team! If you leave-"

"We are a three-man team." Naruto's voice cut hers off. He gently took hold of Sakura's fingers, which were tightly entwined in his jacket. "But if you die, then we'll become two. If I go, then at least we'll still be whole. I don't think he wants to kill me." He smiled, even as Sakura's tears spilled faster. His heart felt as if it had been sharply tugged.

'I'm the reason, she's crying.

"I'm counting on you, Sakura-chan." He squeezed her hand as he disengaged her grip from his clothes. Sakura dropped to her knees as he walked to the man. He paused in mid-step, turning back to where his team was watching him. "I'm counting on you too, Sasuke!" A second passed between them, where their eyes met and an understanding was reached. Naruto turned away. "You'd better not chicken out." He said quietly.

"Stop trying to look cool, idiot." Sasuke chided him, but his voice didn't have its usual bite. "You should save that energy for later." Naruto grinned back at him in response.

"See ya."

And as Sasuke and Sakura watched, Naruto was taken from them.