Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. *sigh*

I keep going back and forth about this chapter but Im putting it here. So its done! :) I may come back and edit it. There is something that is a little wrong (not gonna say what) but once I change it, then this will disappear and no one will be the wiser. :D Hehehe. Enjoy guys. I do love the end part though. :P


Chapter 10:

They camped in Earth country for the evening but picked up the pace since they were closer to their mission objective. They kept to the unmarked paths instead of the roads. Kakashi differed to Sakura as they closed in to the place she had last seen the rebellion group. There was a mountain range between them and the place Sakura pointed out.

"There are tunnels though the mountain but those aren't known by anyone other than the people who know about the rebellion. And who knows if we could go unnoticed." Sakura ran her fingers over the map.

Kakashi nodded. "It would be better, though it would take longer, to go over the mountain range. But it would also allow us the advantage of the high ground."

"It's going to take us much longer than anticipated. We also don't know the cliffs on the other side of the mountain. It's a huge risk." Sakura had her face towards Kenshi when she spoke.

"We can take that chance. If we got caught in the tunnels, the mountain could collapse. Or worse, we could be taken as prisoners, giving the rebel army justification for an attack."

Kakashi rolled up the map and stuffed it in his bag. The wind had already picked up and the temperature dropped drastically. They couldn't keep a fire for fear of the smoke being noticed but the wind wouldn't allow a flame to even stay burning. As they got further up it began to snow.

"I don't know if this was such a good idea." Kenshi yelled over the wind.

"Kenshi, just keep walking. Save your breath."

Kakashi was leading the way. Sakura was behind him, then Kenshi and Yamato bringing up the rear. They swapped places as being the path maker in the snow. Sakura tapped Kakashi's shoulder and he stopped, letting her take the lead. He waited till Yamato passed him and continued as the rear. An hour later Sakura motioned them to stop and yelled down to Kakashi.

"We are at the top. Did you want to look to see where we should go down?"

Kakashi walked back up and looked down. Sure enough, there was a small plateau before it dropped down in the valley. The wind was harsh but you could still see the land down below. Kenshi ran to the edge and spread his arms out.

"Finally! We can head down to warmth." He smiled and started to climb down.

"Kenshi! No!" Sakura ran forward but she was too late.

Kenshi started to fall down the mountain. The snow had created a false edge on the mountain and it dropped down a lot sharper than the angle they came up. Kenshi used chakra in his hands to try and grab the ledge but the snow wasn't allowing him to reach the mountainside. Kakashi jumped into action and his hand blurred in a fury of hand signs. The side of the mountain burst out in a hand like shape and caught Kenshi.

"Yamato!" Sakura yelled and Yamato pulled out the rope he had brought and threw the end at Sakura. She jumped off the edge of the mountain and ran in the path Kenshi had created. Landing on the platform Kakashi had created, she leaned over Kenshi.

"Kenshi, what hurts?"

He coughed. "Everything."

She flicked his forehead. "Baka. You're a ninja. You should know better."

Kenshi chuckled and started to cough. Sakura began healing him. He had a couple broken ribs, most likely from the force of hitting the platform but she also fixed his fingers that he had been trying to grab onto the mountainside.

"Sakura?" Kakashi's voice floated down.

"He's fine. He should be embarrassed. I've healed him but I don't want to move him yet." Sakura looked at Kenshi and sighed. His ribs were fixed but his body needed to recover from the stress. She also didn't know if he hit his head. There was no blood but his eyes were slightly dilated.

The rope started to sway and Yamato jumped down. He leaned over Kenshi and shook his head.

"We are going to split up. Kakashi gave me a copy of the map. We will meet up at the place the rebellion is supposed to be. He said we have already wasted enough time."

Sakura nodded. She climbed up the side of the mountain. Jumping to the top, Kakashi had his arms crossed over his chest.

"I think that I should stay back with Kenshi. I'm the head medic. If he needs anymore healing if something is worse…"

Kakashi put up his hand. "I understand that. However you are the one who has been to the camp before. And I need your sense of where we are in location to where they are. You have healed him. That should be enough. I trust in your healing skills that you didn't miss anything. He also a fairly good medic himself."

He watched as she balled up her fist but said nothing.

"It will allow them to find a different way down, one not so steep. We can climb down. We will meet up with them an a few days."

Kakashi leaned over and yelled down to Yamato that they were leaving. Sakura followed behind Kakashi as he walked around the plateau, finding a better place to climb down the mountain. It was little over a mile before there was finally a grade Kakashi felt comfortable going down.

"I'll go first. If you lose your footing, yell. I'll do my best to catch you."

Sakura didn't say a word she just nodded, pulling her coat in tighter to her body. Kakashi turned around and started to climb down the mountain. Sakura waited and then followed him. It was a slow progress, getting rid of the snow, using chakra to continue climbing down. After what seemed like an eternity, the wind and snow finally stopped. It was beginning to become warmer and the mountain was slick with the melted snow. Sakura's foot slipped and she started to slide down. She pressed her whole body into the mountain and rerouted chakra to her whole front side to stop her decent. It worked but Kakashi had also grabbed her arm as she passed him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Sakura leaned away from the mountainside and continued her slow decent.

Kakashi watched her for a little bit before he started up his decent again as well. It was a good chunk of time before they reached an almost level ground. Sakura reached it first and she sat down with her back against the mountain. Kakashi jumped down and stretched.

"Next time we are going through the tunnels."

Kakashi chuckled and held his hand out for Sakura. Sighing, he tapped the top of her hand. She lifted her hand and he took it, pulling her up. They walked a little ways before they hit a grassy plain. Kakashi hadn't been this far northeast in Earth Country.

"The ocean isn't far away from here."

He looked over at Sakura. She was walking with her palms slightly turned out, almost as if she was feeling the air on her hands.

"How far are we?" Kakashi pulled out his map.

"There should be a village in the east and beyond that is a forest that grows into the mountain. That's where they were holed up. I don't know how long it will be though from here." Sakura pulled out her book from her bag and started to walk.

Kakashi walked next to her. They found a path not too long into their walk but it took two days before they ran into anyone. It was turning dark as they walked into the village. They hadn't uttered a word to each other the entire time other than when Kakashi said it was time to camp.

"We should stay here for the night." Kakashi turned towards an inn with its lights on.

"Great, so we will be staying in a warm bed and your teammates are up on a cold mountain freezing their asses off. Some leader you are."

Kakashi took her wrist and turned her towards him, keeping a tight grip on her. "I made a decision Sakura. We were running out of supplies. I know you have been giving Kenshi your nutrient bars. I gave them everything we had in way of food because if we would have stayed we, would have run out of food." She tried to get him to let go of her wrist but he just tightened his grasp. "It would have taken much longer taking an injured person down that side of the mountain and probably would need to stop more. We just didn't have the resources. So I made a call. As the leader that's the decision I made and will live with." He let go of her wrist. "They could already be at the base of the mountain but they will need to take the trip here slow to make sure Kenshi is okay."

Sakura didn't say anything. She followed Kakashi into the inn and the woman inside greeted them with a smile.

"Do you have two rooms available?"

"I'm sorry sweetheart, we only have one. But I know the inn a few doors down also has one room if you don't mind being separated."

Kakashi scratched the top of his head making an awkward chuckle. Sakura stepped forward.

"We will take the one room, thank you." Sakura put down the money. "And if you could send us two meals up to our room, that would be lovely."

The woman handed her the key and Sakura bowed her head. Kakashi followed Sakura up the stairs and to the room marked FOUR. The room was clean but tiny. There was one bed. It was larger than a single but not by much. Sakura ran her hands along the walls and Kakashi watched as she got her bearings. So many times he forgot she was blind.

"You take the bed old man. I'll take the floor over here." Sakura pointed to the space between the wall and bed. "While your taking a shower I'm going to ask for extra blankets."

Kakashi looked at the bathroom. "I don't need to take a shower."

"Kakashi." She stuck her head back in the room from the hallway.

"Hm?"

"Take a shower. Otherwise you won't get the bed and you will sleep in the forest where the animals will keep you company." Sakura slammed the door after her.

Kakashi lifted his shirt and sniffed. His nose wrinkled. Throwing everything off, he closed the bathroom door. The water was even hot and the inn provided soap. He was glad that they ended up staying in this one.

He turned off the water and grabbed the towel. Wrapping it around himself, he opened the door. Kakashi froze as Sakura was sitting on the bed, reading her book. Her head looked up at him and Kakashi's heart began to race. He didn't think she would be back that soon.

"Kakashi?"

"Yes?" His voice cracked slightly.

"I just thought I would remind you, I'm blind." She tapped the bandages around her eyes. "But I can hear your heart beating from all the way over here."

Kakashi coughed and took a deep breath. His face was flushed red but it got even worse when he noticed she had a smirk on her face. Closing her book, she set it down on the bed. She waited for him to move out of the doorway.

"I hope you didn't take all the hot water. I already ate. Meal is on the desk. Not half bad." She mumbled the last sentence.

Sakura closed the door and Kakashi got dressed quickly. He put his shirt on but for the first time in a while he decided to forgo the mask. She was right, of course. She was blind. His secret would be safe at least in her presence. Sitting down on the bed, he reached out for the book she had left on the bed and activated Sharingan, picking up where he left off.

"You really shouldn't use that eye."

Kakashi looked up to see Sakura, clad in just a large shirt and her shorts toweling her hair. He was wrong; her hair didn't it the floor. But it waved just past her knees.

"That's what Hokage-sama always tells me every time I go into the hospital. She says I will go blind in that eye if I keep using it."

Sakura sat on the edge of the bed, her back to him, still drying off her hair. "She's right. The nerves and tissue weren't put in correctly. And because you have been using it so much for this long, it's going to start to create irreversible damage." She sighed; the towel lay across her lap. "I would know."

"Sakura…"

"I could fix it."

Kakashi looked up from the book. "What?"

"Your eye. I could fix it. It would take about a month of daily work. But I could do it. You probably wouldn't be able to go on missions for a few months after that. But I could fix yours as it is now. If it gets worse I'm not sure if I could." She was gripping her towel tightly. "Losing your eyesight isn't half as awesome as you think it may be."

"I will think about your offer Sakura."

She nodded and then got off the bed, lying down on the pile of blankets she had brought back. Kakashi turned off the lights. He continued to read but he was also aware of Sakura rolling around on the floor.

"How did you know I was giving Kenshi my meals?"

"I caught you once and then another time. When was the last time you actually ate?"

There was a long pause from Sakura. "Near the base of the mountain, before we started to climb."

Kakashi looked over at space between the wall. That was days ago. How did she still have the strength to walk up the mountain, heal Kenshi, make the trip down, and then the two days it took to get to village? He leaned back against the wall and looked down at the book in his hands. Why was he so surprised? Sakura put the mission and her teammates first. At least that hadn't changed.