AN: Hello again! Been a minute. Sorry for the lack of chapter last week, a combination of family stuff and writer's block led to not much getting done. Thanks for understanding, I'll try not to let it happen again.

It was really cool to see even in my absence the story was gaining followers and reviews. The feedback I got from the last chapter was maybe the only thing that motivated me to do anything on time. Please continue to review, I cannot tell you guys how much it means to me!

I am trying very hard to finish this "arc" within the next chapter or two. I have a few ideas for what I am gonna do after, but I'm gonna make you guys wait a little longer to find out. As always, I would love to hear the direction you wanna see it go in afterward.

Anyway, thank you for the continued support and enjoy!

Chapter 13

The pale shape of their enemy floated above the two ninjas, leaving a small shadow that reflected off of the water below. His expression was sharp; brow furrowed and fists clenched at his side as he looked directly down at the pair. Naruto thought he almost looked...angry.

Slowly, Toneri floated down and gracefully landed a few yards in front of the couple, his gaze never shifting. Instinctively, Naruto's grip tightened on Sakura's waist before he reluctantly let her go to stand at his side.

A vein popped out of Sakura's temple and she let out a sigh, looking down at the ground before crossing her arms across her chest. She was screaming profanities inside her mind that would make her usual temper seem mild by comparison. Her face was still flushed from the moment she and Naruto had just shared, and she couldn't imagine she looked very threatening at the moment.

They had kissed. Her and Naruto had kissed, and it was everything she could have hoped for. She felt the blush returning at the memory and had to shake her head to get rid of it.

"Talk about timing..." She mumbled under her breath. Naruto heard her and she felt his gaze shift in her direction. When she looked up to meet it, she felt her knees almost buckle yet again. Sakura couldn't help but shyly smile back at him.

They didn't have to talk. Everything that needed to be said was right there in his eyes. Sakura never understood it when people called the eyes windows into one's soul, but in one look Naruto had changed that. 'It's okay. We'll talk later. Raincheck? This isn't over. Don't stress,' were just some of the many thoughts she could make out, and she nodded her head in confirmation. Naruto had really grown up, and it made her proud to be by his side.

"What the hell are you doing here you pervert!? Can't you see when two people are busy! Is it that much to ask for a little privacy?" Naruto shouted up to Toneri, and Sakura slapped her forehead with her palm. She took back the previous sentiment. The idiot hadn't changed at all. She smacked the back of his head, though admittedly not as hard as she could have before she too focused back towards their enemy.

"I'm not here for you, Naruto Uzumaki. I have no interest in what you and your harlot do." Toneri spoke deadpanned. His hands however remained clenched.

Naruto closed his fists, despite the small blush that overtook his cheeks at the words. "How dare yo..." Naruto began to yell, but couldn't finish his sentence as a blur of pink disappeared from his side and lunged forward at Toneri.

"How DARE you!" Sakura shouted as she reached her foe. A bead of sweat formed on Naruto's forehead. God help the person that got on the wrong side of Sakura's temper. The water underneath her feet crashed up with every step she took. In an instant, she had closed the gap between them. The medics fist began to glow green and her weight shifted to her front foot as she prepared her attack. Swinging her fist she aimed for his head, but the blow never connected.

At the last second, Toneri shifted slightly to the left, and time seemed to freeze. The pinkette could only watch as her opponent softly put an outstretched finger against her stomach, before closing it into a fist. In an instant, a thin circular veil of teal chakra appeared around Sakura. Before she could react, it suddenly shifted into a bright white beam, impaling the girl and sending her flying back at the same time.

"Sakura!" Naruto screamed as he watched the scene unfold before him. Without thinking, he formed a hand seal, and a clone formed next to him. The clone jumped into the air, catching Sakura just in time as she was pushed back. The force of Toneri's attack pushed both of them several yards further, and Naruto landed flat on his ass on the shore of the lake, Sakura between his knees.

"Are you alright Sakura Chan?" He asked before immediately going to check on her. His brow shot up when he saw the newly formed hole in her stomach was already healing. While a bit of blood surrounded the wound, it had already closed up. Naruto's gaze shifted to her face and watched thick black lines spread out from the diamond seal on her forehead, stretching to the entwine the rest of her limbs. His teammate took a deep breath before opening her eyes.

"Yea...I'm okay...Thanks for catching me Naruto. She gave him a small smile but winced a bit at the pain in her stomach. Naruto noticed and put his hand softly on his companions back. "I'm not your harlot by the way."

Naruto's free hand quickly shot up in defense. "Hey! He said it not me!" He paused for a moment before putting on his best dejected overdramatic pout. "But ya don't have to sound so upset about it..." he rubbed the side of his neck sheepishly. Sakura groaned, despite the small blush that remained on her face. She was glad it was masked by the black lines of her Justu.

"Idiot...I'm nobody's harlot..." he smirked and helped her to her feet as the wound finished healing on her stomach. "Still, why the hell is he here?" She asked, and the pair turned their attention back to Toneri before Naruto's clone disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

The real Naruto had meanwhile closed the distance and was engaged in close quarters combat with Toneri. Sakura could sense that Naruto had entered sage mode, which made it even more surprising to see him losing ground. They watched as Toneri blocked one of Naruto's kicks, only for him to jump off and into the air. The blonde launched a kunai back down towards his enemy, but Toneri grabbed the weapon as it missed his face by an inch. The pale villain lunged forward and stabbed it into Naruto's chest. Sakura gasped, but before she could yell out she saw the empaled Naruto disappear into a puff of smoke. The real Naruto popped out from underneath the water's surface and landed a hard uppercut into Toneri's jaw. She smiled, remembering when he had used a similar technique against Neji all those years ago. Toneri flipped back on his hands before looking back unaffected.

Suddenly, Toneri paused. His attention focused past Sakura towards the tree-line behind her. Naruto noticed, and followed his gaze with his own.

"It appears she's made a decision," Toneri spoke, and Naruto shot him a questioning glance.

Sakura meanwhile was about to rush to join Naruto in the fight but stopped when she heard the rustling of the woods behind her. Turning her attention the Medic's eyes widened as Hinata slowly walked out of the trees. When the light hit her face, Sakura saw that her eyes were red, and watermarks stained her cheeks. She had been crying, and hard by the looks of it.

'Shit, how much did she see...' The medic thought to herself, suddenly feeling incredibly guilty. "Hinata, how long have you...

"Don't" the Hyuga girl whispered softly as her head looked down at her feet.

"Hinat..."

"I said don't!"

Sakura froze, shock plastered on her face. It wasn't quite a yell but was by far the sternest and most aggressive tone she had ever heard the soft-spoken girl use. She slowly nodded her head, before mimicking her teammate's expression and looking down towards the ground. After a brief moment, she realized the situation. Feelings aside, they were shinobi and had a mission. She looked back up at the Hyuga.

"Toneri just appeared. Naruto is fighting him now."

"I know. I know what he wants." Hinata said solemnly, before slowly walking past a now-confused Sakura and towards the two men fighting on the lake. Sakura watched, unable to say or do anything, stunned by the other girl's performance.

Naruto's brow shot up when he saw Hinata and sensed her chakra. He watched from afar as she spoke to Sakura, and could vaguely make out the pink-haired girl look defeated before the Hyuga walked past her. Suddenly his eyes widened at the realization. 'She must have seen...' He cursed himself for getting so caught up in his emotions that it made him careless.

After what felt like ages, Hinata finally reached the center of the pool. She stood holding her hands together in the middle of the two opponents. Naruto too noticed that she had been crying, confirming his earlier suspicion. Unconsciously his gaze shifted back towards Sakura at the shoreline before the blonde caught himself and focused up. He opened his mouth to speak, but Toneri's voice beat him to it.

"Have you made your decision?" He asked plainly. Hinata looked to him, then to Naruto, then to the ground, before looking back to him. She took a deep shaky breath.

"I have. I will." She spoke softly as if the words would break her.

Toneri's lips pulled into a soft smile and he nodded his head. The quiet shinobi turned back to face the blonde opposite her.

"I am truly sorry it ended up this way...goodbye, Naruto-Kun" a single tear fell from her eyes and she turned around and walked towards Toneri.

"Hinata! what are you d..."

In the blink of an eye, Toneri appeared before Naruto in a blur of blue light before slamming his fist into the blonde's cheek. Naruto didn't have time to block and was sent flying back several yards before he plummeted into the water. Toneri shook his fist off before walking back towards Hinata. He took her hand in his and smiled down at her.

"Shall we go, hime?" Hinata winced at the nickname, but slowly nodded her head regardless.

"I am going to put you to sleep to make our escape easier." When Hinata didn't object, Toneri made a hand seal and the girl fell unconscious. Before she could fall he hoisted her up and secured her over his left shoulder. "You made the right choice..." he softly whispered. He formed another hand-seal and the two of them began to float into the air away from the group.

Meanwhile, Naruto was in drifting in shock underwater. Hinata had just gone with Toneri. Willingly. He had known something was up earlier when she lied about the temple but never expected a betrayal like this from his comrade. He couldn't help but feel it was all his fault. If only he had been more sensitive, he could have prevented this. Instead, he had pushed her even further away.

'Idiot' he thought to himself. He was, however, broken out of his thoughts when a small hand wrapped itself around his wrist. Before he could react, Naruto felt himself being pulled to the surface.

In one swift motion, Sakura pulled Naruto up and to his feet on the water. He coughed aggressively for a few moments before he recovered from his daze. Their eyes met, and Naruto shook some water out of his ears before turning his full attention to her.

"Are you alright?" She asked softly. Naruto couldn't help but notice her tone was gentler than the one she usually used for him and it made his heart flutter before he could stop it.

"I'm alive. Hinata is going with him. I don't know what's going on." He frowned towards his friend and Sakura let out a sigh. She turned her attention to Toneri's retreating form in the sky before looking back to Naruto.

"Then we'll just have to bring her back right?" She smiled, and Naruto's eyes opened wider for a second before he returned the expression. He hit his fists together and nodded, and the two prepared to give chase.

Before they could make a move however, the sky around them briefly lit up bright purple. A giant chakra arrow slashed threw the air towards Toneri, leaving a trail of cracking lightning behind it. Sakura and Naruto recognized it as their third teammate's technique. Toneri's eyes glowed slightly and at the last second before contact he dropped back down to the surface of the lake, carrying Hinata with him. The arrow crashed into the hill across the shore and it exploded into a mixture of dust, chakra, and lighting. Toneri went to move but found himself trapped in place. Looking down, he saw his shadow was connected to another ninja that he had failed to notice.

"Troublesome..." Shikamaru mumbled as Toneri faced him down. Sasuke appeared behind the Nara, his hand settled on his weapon ready to strike.

"Sasuke! Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted out.

Shut up! Stop getting IN MY WAY!" Toneri screamed, losing his temper. A mass of teal chakra began pouring out of the villain, before taking shape around him similar to Naruto's Nine-Tails Cloak. He easily broke through his shadow restraints, and without making a hand seal or losing his grip on the girl he was carrying slammed his palm against the surface of the water.

A massive cloud of smoke overtook the lake, and when it cleared two hundred identical figures were left surrounding the leaf shinobi. Naruto recognized them as the same puppets Toneri had used when he attacked the leaf, and he grimaced. He grit his teeth together and his eyes flashed red at the memories. He was caught off guard when he felt Sakura's hand on his shoulder. He looked at her, and the medic gave him a reassuring nod. It was enough, and his eyes returned to their normal state. He turned his attention back to the battle only to narrowly dodge a punch from a puppet.

Sasuke flashed behind Naruto and decapitated said puppet with a quick slash of his blade. The puppet's body and severed head turned to ash a moment later.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shouted relieved before Shikamaru too rejoined the group.

"I don't even wanna know you two were doing..." Shikamaru deadpanned, earning a blush from both of the people in question. He sighed before continuing. "We'll take care of this, go after Hinata." And with that, he lunged forward into the enemy crowd. Sasyke let out a "hmf", before nodding to Naruto and joining the fight.

Naruto looked into the sky as an idea came to him. He turned to Sakura. "Throw me. Now" he said, and she noticed with appreciation that he had taken on his leader voice. She looked confused for a moment before realizing what he was thinking. Quickly she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him towards her. They both blushed briefly at the closeness before Sakura took a step forward.

"You asked for it..." she said looking back, earning a nervous laugh from Naruto. In an instant, she launched him at full strength. "Shanaroo!"

Naruto was sent hurdling threw the air towards Toneri as he activated his Kurama Chakra Mode. It only took a moment for him to reach his target, thanks to Sakura's inhumane strength. He reached out and grabbed onto Hinata's wrist as his arm began to glow orange.

"ENOUGH!"

Toneri pulled Hinata away from Naruto and gently tossed her into the air behind him. Naruto's eyes widened as Hinata seemed to float statically, but he didn't have time to be impressed. He turned his attention to Toneri, but it was too late.

"You had your chance. Let her go." Toneri said as he placed his flat palm against Naruto's stomach. "Release."

Naruto froze as pain shot through his system radiating from his abdomen. He heard Kurama scream inside his head before losing consciousness. All of the Nine Tail's chakra was pushed out of him in one succinct blow. The sheer volume of chakra was astounding, and in a matter of seconds, it had formed into a giant orange and yellow sphere behind Naruto. It began to fall towards the lake below.

Sakura looked up in horror as all of the nine tails chakra was knocked out of him. Her mind flashed back to when he had nearly died in a similar way during the war, and she felt adrenaline flood her system. It was quickly overtaken with panic when she saw that the massive orange chakra was headed straight for her. The bright mass danced in the corners of her green eyes. There was no way she could avoid it but her body refused to move as she braced for impact. Sasuke appeared before her at the last second, Shikamaru in tow, and covered them in his Susanoo armor before the chakra meteor made an impact.

When the dust settled, Toneri and Hinata were gone. All of the puppets were destroyed in the blast. The lake that had previously been in front of them was nothing more than a massive crater. Sakura's eyes widened and she sprinted forward when she saw him, unconscious, in the middle of the hole. Tears filled her eyes as she ran.

"Naruto!"

Sasuke lifted his bandaged arm to shield his eyes from the rain currently pouring down on him Even under the canopy of the trees he was jumping through, water drenched the entire forest landscape. His black cloak was sopping and the Uchiha was thankful his destination wasn't much further.

After another minute of travel, the raven-haired man silently descended from the trees, landing in front of a small cave that tunneled into a raised hill. He let out a tired sigh upon entering the cave, before taking off his cloak and tossing it to the floor. He would deal with it later. After shaking some excess water from his hair and dropping the firewood he had collected he walked further into the makeshift shelter. Even though he had seen it before, the sight that greeted him made his heart ache.

Naruto was lying totally still in the middle of the floor. His headband and shirt had been discarded, but the blanket that was draped over him covered anything below the collarbone. He was taking steady rhythmic breaths, and the blanket rose to mimic the action. A small pillow had been placed behind the blonde's head. An inch next to Naruto, Sakura sat on her knees. One hand was gently roaming over Naruto's forehead, emitting a soft green glow as she absentmindedly channeled healing chakra into him, while the other was clenched at her side in a fist. Her pink hair was matt with dried sweat, and her eyes were bloodshot. A line of dry tears was visible on her cheeks and her lips were pulled tight into a frown. She starred straight ahead into nothing and didn't even flinch when Sasuke approached them and took a seat against the cave wall.

"Anything new?" The Uchiha asked softy. His tone carried more worry than usual.

Sasuke's words broke Sakura out of the trace she was in, and she turned her attention to him as she finished her healing. "Nothing yet. His chakra is almost completely refilled and his wounds are all gone but...he still hasn't woken up." Her voice was distant as she spoke.

The Uchiha sighed and looked down at his third teammate. "Give him time, the loser's gotten through worse. Sakura gave a faint smile as she thought about what had happened.

It had been forty-eight hours since they had battled Toneri and lost. Forty-eight hours since Hinata had left with him. Forty-eight hours since Naruto had woken up. They had drastically underestimated their opponent, and Toneri had knocked almost all of Kurama's chakra out of Naruto in one blow. If not for Sasuke's quick reflex's, the resulting explosion probably would have killed them all.

Immediately the team had moved Naruto to a cave they found deeper in the forest. Sakura had spent the first twenty-four hours healing him nonstop. Sasuke stayed next to her the entire time, providing chakra when her reserves ran low. Toneri hadn't actually extracted the Tailed Beast from the jinchuriki, rather just knocked the chakra out of the bijuu. As a result, Naruto wasn't in the same danger he had been in during the war. That being said, the blonde was far from safe. He barely had an ounce of chakra in him and Sakura mainly had to help with restoring it. That proved to be exhausting as, surprise, a tailed beast had an otherworldly amount of chakra that had to be recovered. It was only this morning when she had felt that Naruto's life wasn't in danger that heshe had started on the bruises and cuts that covered his body. She had finished the majority of her treatments hours ago, but he still hadn't risen. Shikamaru had taken one of Sasuke's hawks and returned to the village to report the situation and ask for backup a day ago, so for now all they could do was wait.

"Hey." Sasuke pulled her back to reality for the second time. "Don't give up on him. He'll be fine." He said, not making eye contact and Sakura got the feeling he was saying it more to himself than her. Still, it helped to hear it and a determined smile took over her face.

"I couldn't even if I wanted too." The medic whispered.

As if on cue, the unconscious ninja took in a deep, quick breath and his body flinched. Sakura and Sasuke's eyes widened as the medic was instantly even closer to him than before. She started to channel even more healing chakra into her patient, but when he softly spoke she froze in her tracks.

"Sa...Sakura-Chan...so pretty...have I ever told you that..." he mumbled out as a smile took over his sleeping face.

Sakura's cheeks turned ten shades of red as the Uchiha on the other side of her was ready to burst out into another laughing fit. He was quickly silenced, however, when Naruto continued.

"Sakura-Chaaaaan... I know he's a bastard but you shouldn't talk about him like that. He's our teammate!" This time it was Sakura's turn to laugh while a vein popped in Sasuke's forehead. Naruto's eyes suddenly snapped open and he jerked himself up to a seating position with a loud gasp for air. Sasuke and Sakura's shoulders both released tension they hadn't known they were holding.

Naruto blinked a few times, breathing heavily and looking from one teammate to the other. When he spoke his voice was rough with sleep.

"Sasuke...Sakura-Chan. Where...what happene..."

Before he could finish he felt a force slam into his chest and arms wrap around his neck. He slowly looked down to see Sakura softly crying into his shoulder. Instinctively, he slowly raised his arm and wrapped it around her back, pulling her closer to him. After a moment she pulled away, tears still falling from her eyes.

"You IDIOT! How could you be so reckless! Do you have any idea how worried I was! I mean...how worried WE were! Don't you dare do that again! Ever!" She managed to get out between sobs before falling back into Naruto's shoulder and lightly hitting his chest.

Naruto, still groggy from waking up, softly rubbed her back before shooting Sasuke a look. He was expecting the Uchiha to smirk or even tease him but was surprised when his friend had a genuine smile on his face and looked like he too could start crying. It only lasted a moment before he retreated behind his usual stoic mask.

After another moment Sakura had calmed down and pulled away from him, returning to her spot by his makeshift bedside. Naruto asked what had happened, and Sasuke recalled the events of the previous days. Naruto was stunned as the memories came rushing back. He honestly thought the battle had been a dream as it was still foggy. To find out a second time Hinata had actually left with Toneri hurt just as badly as the first. He looked to the floor in shame, and a brief silence overtook the room.

As his brain finally finished waking up, his eyes widened. 'Wait...so that means...' he turned towards Sakura as he remembered the events leading up to the battle. She looked back at him and seemed to read his thoughts as her cheeks grew pink and she gave a sheepish smile. His mouth opened to speak but closed again. Finally, after a few more attempts, sound managed to escape.

"Sasuke...Can you give me and Sakura a minute?" He asked, but his view never left her.. Sasuke watched his teammates as a small smirk pulled at his mouth and a chuckle left his throat.

"Idiot's..." He mumbled fondly. "Come get me when you're done. Don't take too long." And with that, he got up and exited the cave, leaving Naruto and Sakura alone.

The usually hyperactive blonde was at a loss for words. His mind was racing a mile a minute, but none of the thoughts seemed to be coherent enough to express. He was relieved when Sakura was the first to speak.

"I...I didn't mean to attack you just now...I was just...really worried Naruto. I haven't seen you like that since..."

"The war?" He half asked and half stated. She nodded back at him.

"I'm... so sorry. I never thought Toneri would be that strong. I didn't mean to worry you Sakura-Chan. You must be exhausted."

She laughed softly. "I'll manage. Someone has to be here to put you back together again, right?" She let out another small laugh before watching the reflection in his eyes change and turn deadly serious.

"Sakura-Chan...that...that night. Those memories. We...It was all real?" He couldn't bring himself to look at her as his gaze fell to his hands. Despite everything, he was still so afraid that he had imagined it. That her feelings weren't there. That sh...

"Yes."

When Naruto's eyes met hers, he could see there wasn't a bit of hesitation. She wasn't lying this time.

Sakura was confident. Having days alone with her thoughts had made her so. She knew it wasn't as simple as flipping a switch. She also knew the kiss they had shared couldn't be faked. From his expression, she was optimistic he knew it too.

"Oh..." A huge grin suddenly plastered itself on the hero's face. "Oh my god..." he began to laugh, quietly at first until it erupted into a full-blown cackle. Sakura couldn't help but join in. Before she knew it her face was moving towards his. Her lips were an inch away from his and her eyes fluttered shut, but she felt his hand on her shoulder.

"Sakura-chan wait." He said as he pushed her back.

"Naruto...what's wrong?" She asked confused and a little flustered. Panic suddenly seeped into her system before his arms went flying up in defense.

"Nothing's wrong. Nothing at all! It's just..." The blonde took a deep breath before he steadied himself and continued, his gaze falling back to his hands.

"Sakura. This is like a dream. It's all I've wanted for so long. You have no idea. We...we have a lot to talk about. I have so much I wanna say...so much I need you to know but..." He took another breath."I can't focus on any of that until we rescue Hinata. She's a precious friend and I can't help feeling responsible for this. If I get distracted, if we get distracted, we'll fail and... we can't fail. I'm sorry, but we have to wait until we get back to the village." A frown overtook his features. Everything he said was true, but goddamn it ,he didn't want to wait. He had so much to ask her. So much to tell her. So much to show her.

Naruto was fully expecting her to be angry. Hell, he would have deserved it, he thought. He had braced for her to scream and punch him into the cave wall or do anything to reflect her temper. So when her hand softly grasped his own, he let out a surprised breath. When he finally looked at her, all he saw in her jade orbs was understanding. It was almost enough to make him forget his words and kiss her right there.

"Look at you being a leader." She gave his hand another squeeze. "I completely understand Naruto. You're right. There's...a lot that needs to be said. But it seems like you've waited long enough, I think can wait a little longer." She smiled up at the blonde before blushing and looking to the side. "Just...promise me... there is something to talk about" she softly whispered. No sooner had the words left her mouth did she feel a pair of soft lips gently graze against her forehead before Naruto rested his forehead against her own.

"Promise of a lifetime." He grinned, his eyes closed.

Her breath left her as she smiled and leaned back against him. "Then let's hurry up and finish the mission..."

"How are we planning on doing that, exactly?"

Sasuke spoke grinning from the entrance of the cave. The two ninja blushed profusely before pulling apart, earning a sigh from the Uchiha.

Naruto shakily got to his feet with Sakura's help and stretched before looking back to his teammates.

"Actually, I think I have that covered."