A/M: In the end, I didn't get as much reviews as I wanted. At first, I felt like dumping this story but then...I thought that maybeit just wasn't worth those 20 reviews for 5 parts. And I don't like leaving my fics unfinished.Please, review! Flame all you want, just leave a sign that you read this fic!

Thank you, Francesca, and your friends. Actually, thanks to youI posted this chapter.


Sasuke ran. It may seem nothing special, as it wasn't the first time he ran, jumping from tree to tree, grabbing one branch and letting it go in the same second. But it was the first time he ran as a Konoha ninja, after many years of absence.

Right now, he wasn't concentrating on running. He was trying to communicate through his transmitter to the Konoha team.

The one his reason for such mad speed was... and Ino Yamanaka.

"Team 25, respond! This is Konoha ninja, your back up, speaking!" Please respond...Ino, anyone, please...not my first mission...not this one...

"This is team 25 speaking!" A familiar voice replied. Too familiar.

"Naruto, dope? That's you?" Sasuke couldn't believe his ears; but he could recognize Uzumaki's voice anywhere.

"Yes...Sasuke-teme, is that you?" Naruto knew this voice. This specific cold voice, now somehow different but still...the same.

"Yea. Long time no see, dope. How are things over there?" Sasuke snickered. Hearing Naruto's voice was too much for him to control his sudden joy.

"I knew it! Nobody else who calls me 'dope' is still alive!" Naruto shouts almost made him deaf. Looks like things hadn't changed that much. "You better hurry, teme, things aren't good. Actually, I'm beginning to think that I'm the only one fighting in our team. Lee's unconscious, Setama's nowhere to see, the same as Rakiku, not to mention all those injured that are currently lying-"

"How about Ino?" asked Sasuke, dread gripping his heart. He had troubles with breathing now; maybe that strange lump in his throat was the reason for it...

"Huh? Ino? Teme, when did you start worrying about her?" With a sudden pang in his heart, Sasuke realized that Naruto's innocent question had a lot of truth. He never acted as if he cared. Right now, he hoped to change that. He wasn't obsessed with revenge anymore; he knew that someone else would do it for him. Orochimaru was killed and the seal stopped being a threat. He was...free.

"I...always have. I was just too..." Sasuke trailed, searching for right word. Stupid, blind and obsessed were the most truthful, but he was too proud to say them aloud.

"Stupid? Blind? Obsessed? Bastardly? A stuck-up idiot who..." Naruto, being his normal forward self, never played with words.

"Shut up, dope. I get the point." Sasuke growled. He was an Uchiha and, Uchihas, weren't insulted easily, even if they deserved it.

"Hehehehe...glad to hear you still have your brain and sense of humor." A brief sound of metal hitting metal was heard, Naruto's loud shouts, and there was silence.

Sasuke waited patiently and he was rewarded when once again, the same voice spoke.

"I don't know how she is. She was by Lee and some guys were trying to take her but I stopped them. Now I can't see her...but she didn't look too good! You know, with her bloodline she should be a spy, not a fighter, but you know how stubb-" Naruto's voice was once again cut, this time with a howl of pain. "Damn! Teme, hurry!"

And there was silence once again.

Sasuke cursed and increased his speed. He should be there in no time... or so he hoped.

She didn't look too good...

What if I lose her as well? What if...?

No. Sasuke's eyes flashed angrily, activating sharingan. Not this time. I'm not a child anymore. I won't make the same mistake. Just...wait a little more Ino.

And finally, he began to hear noise of fighting. It was getting louder and he could hear Uzumaki's voice shouting with rage...

Ino, I'm here. Nara, I will keep that promise.

Pulling out several shurikens, various sizes, he threw them, careful to avoid the blond spot that seemed to be everywhere.

His stomach lurched as Naruto was thrown on the tree, breaking it and landing far away...every other blond haired jounins disappearing.

He was able to see it now, with his sharingan. Very clever copies, made from mud probably, were fighting. Instead of a whole army of Rain ninja's, there were barely three, the rest of the originals dead.

"Dope, how did you make it to jounin rank? You can't even use your eyes!" shouted Sasuke, throwing kunais into every copy and pulling on the strings of shurikens. The same old trick, just like the one in the Forest of Death, during the Chuunin Exam.

"Teme, don't insult me! I'm going to be the next Hokage-" Naruto's scream flew past him just like the owner of the voice "-so don't underestimate me! After all YOU'RE still a genin!" He snickered, punching one of the true ninja in the gut with his hand glowing with chakra.

"Heh, what would you do without me, dope? A jounin-" Sasuke's shurikens hit the target, causing the rain ninja to come out from their hiding place "-who can't manage without a genin? Pathetic!" They stood, back to back as they looked with the same determination at the last remaining ninja.

"Just like the old days, eh Sasuke-teme?" Naruto asked, strange seriousness in his voice despite the smug expression.

"Yea." Agreed the black haired man with a hidden smirk.

The rain ninja stood, paralyzed with fear at the force emanated by them. He didn't move an inch when both of them, shouting battle screams, launched themselves at him with kunais in their hands.

With this sight before him, he closed his eyes and allowed them to kill him.

When there's no hope, there's no life.

"Whew, that was hard." Sighed Naruto, wiping his forehead. Sasuke snickered again.

"Because you were fighting with thousands of copies, dope."

"Shut up, teme! Not everyone has such eyes you know!"

"Heh." Sasuke finally felt at home. As strange as it sounds, here, with this blond haired loudmouth and at Konoha's side, was his place. No matter if it was on a clearing, with lots of mud and blood everywhere, various bodies lying around him... it was still a part of his real home. A great feeling of happiness, relief and freedom washed over him. Right now, he felt as if he understood everything. He felt as if Orochimaru never existed, his brother was dead, and he was free from worries for the rest of his life.

"But I do admit it. You're pretty good." He flashed the blond jounin a small smile, who answered by grinning from ear to ear. "I won't be ashamed to fight you again, someday."

"Heh, same goes for me, Sasuke. I can't wait to kick your ass!"

"Well, that'll have to wait. First, we-" Sasuke abruptly stopped.

Ino!

How could I forget? Every second is precious.

"Dope, where's Ino?" Naruto's laughter stopped. His brew furrowed.

"I have no idea...try looking near Lee...I'll collect everyone else and we'll wait for the medics to come. They should be here any minute now." Nodding, Sasuke went frantically looking for pale blond hair, lying somewhere in mud and blood...

After what seemed ages, he saw it.

Pale blond wasn't the same. Her hair was red, redder than Sakura's, redder than Gaara's...it was all bloodied.

He stopped for a moment, paralyzed with the sight. Her body was all covered in red spots and mud. From many cuts on her skin, blood was seeping slowly. He watched it, hypnotized, as scarlet drops dripped, one by one from the cut on her cheek, going lower, leaving marks on her neck, staining her already soaked shirt...

And what's more, her expression...full of sadness and pain.

Sasuke felt his chakra raising.

How dare they...

His hands were flexing, tightening into fists so tightly that his own blood dripped from his palms. He started to wish that her tormentors were still alive so he could torture them...show them exactly what touching his girl meant...

"Teme, don't stand there! Take her and run to Konoha!" Naruto's voice broke him from his blood thirsty rage. He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"Right. But what about-"

"Since when did you care? Their life's not endangered; they can wait for the medics. As for Ino, the sooner she gets to hospital, the better. And admit it," Naruto flashed the sharingan user a strange, Jiraiya-like smile, "You want to carry her, ne?"

Uchiha remained silent. True, it would be more then pleasant to place his hands on her back and thighs and once again press her body tightly to his, but...

"Fine." Grumbling, he gently took the girl in his arms, bridal style, almost instinctively pressing her to him, wanting to feel her body so closely to his once more...

"Just take care of Sakura, Naruto." Sasuke already turned his back to the blond ninja, so he had to tilt his head backwards to glare at the young man. "I'm serious. If you hurt her, I'll hunt you down and kill you. I promise."

Naruto grinned. "Not everyone is as cold hearted as you, teme." His face once again turned serious. "But I promise, I will take good care of her. And you take good care of," he nodded his head towards the limp body in Sasuke's arms, "her. She deserves it."

"I know." Quietly replied Uchiha, before jumping on a branch, speeding towards Konoha.

Her home. His home. Their home.

Damnit, where are they taking her? Sasuke growled mentally, dashing after a group of medics who were carrying Ino's limp body. He had been running at his top speed for two hours before he reached Konoha hospital and by that time, Ino's condition got even worse. She lost lots of blood, many wounds opening by the impact of his run, even if he tried to carry her as carefully as possible. He couldn't stop even for a moment to cover them, to block the blood from flowing. He didn't want to live blaming himself for the rest of his life. He didn't want to be the cause of death to even more shinobis. He didn't want to be 'too late' ever again.

The medics carried Ino's body into an emergency room and shut the door right in his face. Grunting, he began to go through every technique he knew, trying to find one that could get him to Ino. His thoughts were interrupted by a soft hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. It'll be fine." Sakura said in an unusually quiet voice, not raising her bowed head as she passed by him and entered the operation room.

"Ino," Sasuke choked, slipping slowly on the floor. Suddenly it came crushing on him, so hard like never before. Ino might DIE. Those three words held so much power, too much for him to face it. He sat there, unmoving, not thinking, not feeling.

"Hey, how are things?" Someone said, passing him and sitting by his side, on the floor. He turned his head to see Naruto's familiar face studying his own. "I'm sorry, man." The blonde's eye held a very rare glimpse of sympathy and regret. "I swear, I didn't know she was in such bad condition."

Sasuke couldn't speak past the lump in his throat. Desperate panic once again entered his body, making every bone, every cell immobile. "I-Ino," he breathed. "If only I knew it sooner...I just got her back, Naruto. I don't want to lose her now. Not ever." There it was. His confession, all his feelings summoned into one sentence. He half-expected Naruto to laugh, but relief washed over him as he felt a pat on his arm.

"I know. We've grown up, Sasuke. I wouldn't know what to do if Sakura left, too."

"Remember what you promised me, dope. I don't want her to suffer." Despite his temporary mental breakdown, Uchiha still managed to find the strength to growl. But then, the memories of those sleepless nights he spent crying into his pillow as a ten year old...when his parents were gone...brutally slaughtered by Itachi Uchiha, his own admired older brother.

Sasuke hiccuped, squeezing his eyes tightly to hide his small tears from Naruto. "I lost my parents. I don't want to experience the feeling of losing someone I love again."

"Stop it." Ordered Naruto, slapping him gently on the arm. "Sakura's in there, right? Along with the best Konoha medics, they're working on her. It'll be fine."

Sasuke hadn't moved or made any other sign that he understood.

"You should tell her how you feel, you know."

Sasuke's head snapped, suddenly turning to the blond haired man. "Funny, it coming from you." He snickered.

"I'm telling Sakura what I feel every day!" Naruto scowled, glaring at the sharingan user.

"Shouting her name in the middle of crowded street isn't a confession of love, Naruto. You should tell her how YOU feel. That you want to spend your life with her, that you won't hurt her again..." Sasuke's eyes became strangely misty, "that you won't leave her. You should tell her that she is the only one for you. And also, that you would open your heart for her...even if she doesn't care." Now his eyes became dull. "God, why? Why, when I finally understood..."

"You mistook me for some teme, Sasuke." Naruto grinned, then turned serious again.

"We'll both tell them."

Sasuke nodded, not knowing what he else he could do.

They sat like that for some time, Naruto occasionally disappearing to bring them some ramen.

"How long has it been?"

"I don't know."

And it continued like that for hours.

Finally, Sakura came out from the room, slightly swerving.

"Sakura-Chan? How is she?" Naruto put a steady arm around her waist which the cherry blossom accepted gratefully, placing her own arm around the blonde's neck.

Sasuke also stood up, looking anxiously into the pink haired girl's eyes.

"She's alive," The medic finally spoke. "but she endured a lot of injuries. She'll have to stay to recover for a few days."

Sasuke nodded, sighing with relief. "Can I...go in there?"

Sakura eyed him carefully before nodding. "Yea; I think you'll do her some good."

And the pair left the Uchiha prodigy, whispering something into each other's ears.

Sasuke entered the room, his own heart bleeding as he saw the fragile, pale body in the bed. Her skin seemed even whiter than the bed sheets.

He cradled her bandaged hand in his.

"Ino, please come back quickly. I want to make things right and I'll do it. All I need...is you. So, come back to me."

He brought his mouth to her ear. "You hear me? I need you, Ino."

Some time passed. He didn't care how long. He felt really tired, all this emotional stuff made him so sleepy...

But somehow, he couldn't bring himself to sleep. Not when she was like this.

Though, it was comforting that her expression changed, at least. It was calm and peaceful. That loosened the little the chain that encircled his heart since he saw her, soaked in blood...

Feeling once again, tears in his eyes, he shut them tightly, choking a little...

And fainted, his head burring into Ino's side, his hand never loosening the tight grip on hers.


A/N: The next chapter will be the last. So, please review! I have a writer's block...I need your support!