I've decided to continue this story. Reading your responses has
helped me find the motivation I need to continue. Thanks!
After all this time, I still don't own Naruto.
Seventeen
Satire sat beside of Naruto's bed in the hospital, hoping that, when he awoke, he could tell her something different from what Tsunade said. She had ran off after hearing her say it was almost hopeless and brooded on a rooftop. Staying there forever had seemed like a pretty good idea to her at the time. However, her natural curiosity had gotten the better of her and she had to go see someone. That's why she was dozing off beside of Naruto. She wasn't just worried about her sister, she hoped Naruto and the others would be alright too. They were Sakura's friends after all. After a few minutes Satire heard the door open. Thinking it was Tsunade come to check on Naruto she stood up. It wasn't Naruto however, it was the last four people she expected to see. "Mom, dad, Sardon, Sakon?!" "What are you all doing here?" Her father looked angry and sad at the same time. "We heard what happened from one of Tsunade's slugs. We came to see if we could help get my daughter back somehow." Satire's eyes filled with tears as she ran to hug him.
There were whispers. Quiet sounds. He thought he could make out "my...", and "wake up". Wait? Was the sound getting louder? Yes. Somebody was yelling, but why? Was he dead? No, he felt too much pain. Where was he then, and how did he get here? He cracked his eyes open. There were colors, and shapes. Movement. Were these people the one's yelling? He saw oranges, reds, and whites. A bunch of other colors too. He grunted and the yelling stopped. What sounded like a girl called his name. Sasuke. Was that his name? It must be. He remembered a fight, a bittersweet sound, and a lot of pink and green. It reminded him of a sakura tree. Wait? Sakura? He was fighting with Sakura. He looked around. No pink or green. Where was she? His vision got clearer as he looked around. He found that an incessant noise was coming from the red haired woman with glasses. What did she want? She was killing his ears. His vision cleared all the way and he could see three people around him. It was team hawk. They were staring at him in relief. Grunting once again he tried to sit up but couldn't because of the pain in his side. He felt a bandage there. Looking up at the other three he said only one thing. "Where's Sakura?"
Karin said "who cares" while Suigetsu and Jugo looked at each other. Jugo helped Sasuke sit up while Suigetsu hesitantly handed him a note. Sasuke looked at it suspiciously. He didn't want to see what it said but he took it anyway. After reading it he had a glare on his face. Shoving the covers off of himself he tried to stand up. Karin tried to catch him as he stumbled but he shoved her off. Guiding himself along the wall to Sakura's room he opened the door. Sure enough, the bed was empty. No weapon pack was in sight. Sasuke clenched the note tightly in his fist and let it fall to the floor. His bangs fell over his eyes as he stared at the ground,and felt of his neck. He knew that the other three were watching him but he didn't care. Somehow, he realized how Sakura felt when he left. It was the way he was feeling now. He bent down to the letter and unwrinkled it so he could read it again.
Sasuke,
By the time you read this letter I will be long gone. I have people who need me. You have improved yourself, but I feel that you still hold back toward the end. Your side has been damaged by my chakra ball so it will take some time to heal. I did heal the worst of it once I awoke and healed myself. You will still feel some pain, but not as bad as it would have been before I fixed it. Just be grateful that I didn't hit a vital organ. I will not leave you empty handed as you did to me. I have learned that Itachi's greatest weakness is his eyes. If he uses the Mangekyo sharingan too much it will blind him. Make sure you have someone else with you because the only way to break a powerful genjutsu, if you are under its spell, is to have someone touch you and bring you back to the real world without taking too much damage. Decide for yourself what to do with this information. I'm sure it will be helpful. In case it doesn't work I have hidden a vial of anti-genjutsu potion made by me under the floorboards of my room so no one else can find it before you. Keep that vial on you at all times, or else it won't work. Perhaps we will see each other again one day.
P.S. I did the same thing to you as I did to Jugo while you were unconscious. I knew you would protest if you were awake, but you no longer have the curse mark. You are free.
Sakura
The trees were a blur as Sakura sped on by them. She was hurrying back to Konoha. The others must be so worried about me. She thought. I hope nobody got extremely hurt. Sakura frowned. She really wanted to bring Sasuke back with her but she knew that was out of the question. So she tried to help him with his revenge a little, even if he didn't want it. Sakura smiled a little. Stupid Sasuke and his stupid Uchiha pride. It always got in the way. She looked down at her side. It too had taken damage, but it was only a dull scar now. They had tied. Nobody had won that fight. Sakura chuckled. Looks like they were evenly matched now. Suddenly she felt chakra coming towards her at high speed. It felt like it came from several different people. Sakura masked her own chakra and hid in a tree. Three people came into view, and stopped right underneath her, panting. "There's no way we are going to find her by just running around like fools. We have to have a plan." One said in a slightly husky voice. As if he didn't use it much. Sakura's eyes widened. These ninja's were no enemy, they were her friends. "Gaara, Temari, Kankuro, is that you?" They gasped at the voice and looked up. "Pinky? That you?" Kankuro asked. Sakura nodded and hopped down from the tree. "I'm glad to see you all again."
Temari glomped her. "We were so worried about you! What happened? Where have you been? Are you hurt?! I'll kill whoever did this to you!" She cried. Gaara sighed. "One thing at a time Temari. She looks like she's turning blue." He secretly wanted to shake her and ask all those questions at the same time too. Temari gasped and let go of Sakura. "Sorry!" Sakura gasped for air. "It's alright Temari." Then she realized something. "Were you all looking for me?" They nodded. "Even though Tsunade told us to go on home, that she would take care of it herself, we couldn't just do nothing. Besides, we're kind of responsible for what happened too. If we had just arrived two minutes earlier..." Kankuro lowered his head. Sakura had a sweet smile on her face. "It's alright. I appreciate what you are doing. I must ask. What happened to the rest of my teammates?" Gaara spoke up. "They are still unconscious. We took them to the hospital so Tsunade could treat them but no good results have came out of it." Sakura saddened. "I see." Gaara crossed his arms. "Now that's said and done, tell us what happened to you." Sakura sweatdropped. He's always to the point isn't he? She told them.
She told them about finding out that they were fake akatsuki, that Sasuke was involved, the fight, and everything else that happened. By the time she was finished Gaara's fists were clenched so much his knuckles were white. Kankuro's mouth was hanging open, and Temari was having a fit. "That traitor thought he could just waltz up and make you join him after what he did!? You go girl! You showed him what a true kunoichi can do!" Kankuro finally shut his mouth and said, astonished. " I can't believe you tied with the Uchiha. I can't even put a scratch on him!" He pouted. Gaara was still standing with his arms crossed,and hands fisted. I suppose it's a good thing she got away. I wouldn't have just made him pay. I would have killed him for what he did. That time and this time. Sakura could see Gaara's sand act up. She decided to calm him down. Sakura went up to him and cautiously hugged him. Gaara's eyes popped open as he stiffened. Sakura smiled up at him. "Thank you for caring. All of you. Make sure to remind me to help you guys out when you're in trouble. Her captor slightly relaxed as he awkwardly put his arms around her and hugged back. Temari and Kankuro's eyes were wide. This was the first time Gaara had been hugged.
After a few seconds Sakura stepped back. She looked at the siblings shocked faces and giggled. "What? I can't hug a friend?" They came out of their trances. Temari shook her head. "You're something else Sakura. You're something else." Sakura smiled. "No, I'm not "something else". I'm your sensei remember?" Temari laughed as she thought back to element training. "Your right. Hey! When are we going to get to go on our first mission as the elemental five?" Sakura shrugged. "Hopefully soon. Right now I think I better be heading back to Konoha before Tsunade sends out another search team for me. The siblings nodded. "We'll be heading back to Suna then, and take care of Naruto." Gaara said. Temari piped in. "Don't forget to tell that lazy butt Shikamaru hi from me as well!" Sakura nodded. "I won't. Goodbye." They went their separate ways.
Sakura was once again glomped, this time by a bigger group. She had made it to Naruto's hospital room and was bombarded by her family and Tsunade. After all that Satire had slapped her, and Tsunade punched her, telling her not to worry them like that again. Then they started crying, along with her mom and Sakon. Sardon and her father just looked on with relief on their faces. After a few minutes of the crying spree everyone finally calmed down enough for Tsunade to ask Sakura what had happened. Sakura told the same story that she told the sand siblings. Tsunade sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "This can be a problem." Satire got angry. "I thought you told me in the letter that you would be alright! That you could handle this!" "I only said that to appease you. I didn't want to make you worry." Sakura said. Satire harumphed and looked away. Sapphire just hugged Sakura and said "I'm glad you're alright now." Mufasa stared down at her. "So you finally mastered the jutsu I taught you huh? How did it go?" Sapphire glared at her husband. "Mufasa! How dare you ask such a question as that when she could have died!" Sakura faintly smiled and mouthed. "Alright." Sardon and Sakon grinned. Tsunade cleared her throat. "I'm glad you are alright Sakura but I could use your help right now."
Said girl untangled herself from her mother and went over to the bed. Naruto had been unconscious through the whole ordeal. Sakura's eyes dulled but she ushered her family out the door and put her hair up on top of her head. Sending green chakra to her hand she scanned over Naruto's whole body. Sure enough, there was poison in his bloodstream that even Kyuubi couldn't get rid of. She thought back to Jugo. He was certainly skilled enough to eject a poison into him. Taking off her battle gloves, she asked Tsunade if she could get a several basins with healing solutions in them. Tsunade nodded and sent for one of the nurses. Sakura healed the broken bones that Tsunade hadn't gotten to and closed up a few fresh wounds. Three nurses came in with the basins of solution and set them down beside of Sakura. She put her hand over top the solution and drew out a bubble. She slowly transferred the bubble into Naruto and drew out some of the poison. Tsunade and a nurse had to hold Naruto down. It took Sakura an hour to draw out as much poison as she could. Wiping her forehead with her arm she wrote down a few items and asked the nurses to collect these and make an antidote. Tsunade followed her student proudly as she went down the hallway to do the same thing to Sai and Kakashi.
Five hours later Sakura sat in her office chair, exhausted. She had drawn out a lot of the poison from her teammates and exterminated the rest with the antidote she had come up with. It had been a slow process because it was a different type of poison that Kankuro had recieved from Sasori. Thank goodness it wasn't as deadly. Tsunade had told her to go take a nap to restore her chakra until she was called. Sakura had gladly obliged. She rested her head in her arms on top of her desk and fell asleep instantly. About an hour later a knock came on her door. She didn't hear it. The person knocked again, this time louder. Sakura slowly opened her eyes and unstuck her cheek from her arms. "Come in." Shizune walked in the door. "Are you feeling any better now Sakura?" She asked. Sakura nodded. "Not completely restored but I'm much more alert now than I was." Shizune smiled. "That's good. Your teammates are finally awake now. They are in room 7 and would like to see you." Sakura smirked. "Did you put them in room 7 on purpose, Shizune? Or were you just not thinking and had your eyes on Kakashi the whole time?" She blushed. "N..No! Not at all!" Sakura raised an eyebrow and told her she would head right over. Shizune ran out, her face now as red as a tomato.
Sakura poked her head into room 7. Sure enough, there was her teammates sitting on couches. Sakura opened the door wider and they looked over at her. "Sakura-chan!" Naruto cried, trying to get up out of his seat. Sakura shook her head. "Don't try to get up Naruto. You are still healing." He pouted and sat back down. Sai smiled a true smile when she looked at him. This made Sakura smile back. Kakashi grinned at her with his lone eye. An orange book in his hands. Sakura sweatdropped. "You just wake up from a poison attack and you're already reading that book?" Kakashi rubbed the back of his head. "Setting that aside, what happened to you Sakura?" Naruto's eyes widened. "Yeah! Did they knock you out too Sakura?!" Sakura closed her eyes and sighed. She didn't really want to tell them what happened. Especially Naruto. He would probably just be sad, but she knew she had to. If she didn't they would hear it from a different source and that wouldn't go over too well. So she sat down and told her story for the third time.
For once Naruto was silent. Kakashi laid his book in his lap as he sighed. Sai just sat looking emotionless, but Sakura knew that on the inside he wanted to murder something. "I don't get it." Naruto said with his head down. Kakashi sighed again. "It seems Sasuke was the one behind all this . He disposed of the rest of us just so he could easily target Sakura and explained that he wanted her for medical purposes only. Then he fought with her to see how far she could go and he passed out afterwards and Sakura came back..." "No, I mean, I understand all that Kakashi sensei. What I don't understand is why Sasuke would go so far as to try to separate us for his own purposes. I've never understood that. What's so good about revenge that he would want to break our bonds, and then go and kidnap one of those people that he tried to break a bond with? He clenched his fist. "I mean, why can't he just accept the fact that we aren't gonna give up on him and let us help him? Why does he have to be so dark and gloomy all the time?"
Sakura, Sai, and Kakashi all looked at him sadly. They didn't have anything to say. "I guess it's just the way Sasuke thinks Naruto. No one can change the way he thinks." Kakashi said. Naruto laughed and smiled at them. "Ah, just forget about all that. It's giving me a headache anyway." He looked at Sakura. "Did you really tie with Sasuke in the fight?" Sakura smiled. He actually sounded excited. Now this is the Naruto I like. Sakura laughed and nodded. "Yes you baka, I did." Naruto put his hands behind his head. "I wish I could have seen the look on teme's face when you did that!" "He pouted a lot when I kept counterattacking him. He looked like a baby." They all laughed at the mental picture in their heads of Sasuke with a sour look on his face and a pacifier in his mouth. Then Naruto's stomach growled and he whined for ramen which made them all laugh harder.
Later that night, Naruto finally got his ten or more bowls of ramen that he said he had been "robbed" of. He was made even happier by his team joining him before they went home. The rest of the teams ended up joining them too. It had been a while since they all hung out together. Sakura told Shikamaru about Temari saying hi which resulted in Shikamaru blushing and mumbling "troublesome woman". Sai was tormenting Naruto about the fact that he liked "dancing pandas" and had no "essentials". Naruto blushed and growled at him while Ino and Hinata looked on in interest. Tenten and Neji were arguing about which was better, weapons or hand to hand combat and Shino was watching Kiba and Lee try to beat each other in an eating contest. All in all it was a pretty crazy night and after an hour or two they parted ways. Sakura waved to Naruto and went home to get a good nights sleep. Before laying down she looked out the window. Have you started on your journey yet Sasuke? Will I ever see you again? I hope so. Good Luck...Sasuke-kun.
Several miles away, back at the cabin, Sasuke was preparing for a long trip. He gathered his things and sheathed his sword. Placing it in his "belt" he turned to look at the others. They were ready and waiting on him. Sasuke warned them about the long trip and told them to go on ahead. They were hesitant but he said he would catch up in a few minutes, that he needed to do something. Waiting until the others were out of sight he bent down and felt around for any loose floorboards. He felt one and lifted it up. There, underneath a small cloth, was a small vial of purple liquid. He picked it up and placed it in a safe place in his shirt, along with the letter that Sakura had written. He smiled a little. She definitely hadn't left him empty handed. They were small reminders of her in case something was to go wrong. He frowned. Hopefully he would come out of this alive and maybe reunite with her and the knucklehead. Smirking he hopped on the windowsill. Very soon we will meet again. Somehow. I just know it. Then he ran off towards his fate.