Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I would, then NaruSaku would have happened a long time ago
Thanks for the nice reviews, guys. Nobody has guessed who the coated persons are, but it doesn't matter yet. You won't see them play an important role anytime soon. Please keep reviewing. I like to read them and I will try to answer questions if you have them. I am open for critique too. And if you want to have a idea to go with the story, don't hesitate to tell me:D
Poll
Ino:
Chouji: 6
Kiba: 1
Shikamaru: 6
Tenten:
Lee: 4
Neji: 9
Hinata:
Kiba: 9
Shino: 2
Sasuke: 1
Temari:
Shikamaru: 7
Oc: 1
"Hello": regular talking
'Hello': thinking
'Hello': Inner Sakura and Kyuubi talking
Don't forget to R&R ;)
Enjoy
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Memories
"Where…where am I?"
She opened her right eye and closed it again when she saw the light. It seems that she had her eyes closed for a long time. She had seen a couple of movies where people had this problem too after waking up in a light room after being asleep for a long time.
"You're in the hospital."
So she was in the hospital. That would indeed explain the strange light she saw after opening her eye. She tried to open her left eye, but it didn't work. There was something on it. Bringing her hand to the eye, she could feel that it was bandaged. And when she tried to move her left hand, it hurt like hell too.
"Why am I here?"
She could hear a deep sigh. "Well, you were hurt pretty bad, so they brought you to the hospital."
She was hurt pretty bad? Just what had happened to her and why did her head hurt so much. She used her hands to push herself up to a sitting position. Feeling okay now, she tried to open her eye again. The light was there to greet her again, but somehow it wasn't as bad as the first time now.
The light faded a bit after a few seconds and she could see that she was in a white room. She turned to the beeping sound that seemed to never stop and saw that it came from a machine that was connected to her arm by some wires. The arm was bandaged just like her eye, but she could see that it wasn't broken or something. Just how did she end up like that? And who was that other person in the room? She turned her face to the right and started to smile when she saw who it was.
"Sasuke-kun!"
The raven haired boy turned to her and nodded. Somebody, who didn't know the boy as well as she did, would say that he was an insensitive prick who had ignored her. But she knew better. Sasuke nodding meant that he was actually pretty happy at the moment. Although she wanted him to actually express his feelings, she could tell that he actually cared for her.
The boy turned his face to the front again and lied back down on his bed. He folded his hands behind his head and started to stare to the while ceiling. "So, are you okay now, Sakura?"
Surprised with the boy, she gave him a confused look. "Yeah, I am alright, I guess. Well, at least I feel okay, but seeing that I am in the hospital, something has to be wrong, right?" She said it while looking at her injured arm.
She was broken out of her thoughts when she heard the boy speak again. "You got hurt pretty bad some time ago and you just woke up for the first time."
This surprised her a lot. "How long have I been out, Sasuke-kun?"
There was a pretty long silence after that. Sakura could feel the pressure drop a few degrees while she glanced over to the window. It seemed to be a sunny day today and she couldn't find a cloud in the sky. So it couldn't be the weather what made the temperature drop. She wasn't feeling very comfortable at the moment. It felt like she was lost in the dark. She didn't know what had happened and she hated it.
"More than three months."
Confusion took over when she heard those words. She quickly turned to the raven haired boy with a confused expression on her face. "What did you say?"
The Uchiha had a stoic expression on his face and he just kept on staring to the ceiling as if his life depended on it. "You've been out for more than three months, Sakura."
Sakura's eyes widened now. She couldn't believe it. "Three months!?"
She turned her face towards the sheets of her bed now. She couldn't understand it. Just how could she have been out more than three months? It just didn't make any sense. She tried to remember what had happened, but each time she tried to do that her head started to hurt like crazy. She brought one of her hands to her head, trying to lift the pain a little, but was surprised to find it bandaged as well. So she was more hurt than she had thought at first.
"They said that you had suffered a lot of damage to your head and that you were in a coma." This caught her attention. So she had been in a coma. "And you just woke up for the first time now. They said that the chance was there that you would never wake up anymore. So consider yourself lucky."
She now turned to the boy and found him smirking towards her. This was something she had never seen before. Was she dreaming or something? That would explain a lot of things, because she still had no idea of what was going on. But deciding that this dream could turn out as one of the greatest dreams ever, she smiled back at the boy.
"So, how did I end up here, Sasuke-kun?" Her eyes never left the boy and she became sad when the smirk on his face was replaced by a frown again. He started to stare to the ceiling again and even closed his eyes.
She was about to say something about it, when she heard the boy speak. "You will have to figure that out for yourself."
This confused her and even made her a bit angry. "Why don't you just tell me, Sasuke-kun? I don't know what happened and that's why I am asking you!" It wasn't her intention to become so angry, but she just hated to not know what was going on.
She was surprised when the boy opened his eyes and jumped out of the bed next to her. He landed on the white tiles on the ground and started to make his way to the exit of the room without even glancing to her. His hand touched the doorknob and she couldn't take it anymore. She tried to get out of bed to stop him and to make him tell her what was going on, but she was stopped. Glancing to her side she could see the treads that connected her to the machines next to her bed. Cursing, she turned to the boy again. "Sasuke-kun, please don't leave me here alone!"
The boy opened the door and took a few steps. Finally turning around, he could see the tears starting to form in her eyes. It wasn't easy to wake up without knowing anything, but according to the big breasted lady, the girl had to remember everything herself. That would stimulate her recovery.
Although he wasn't the emotional kind of guy, he hated to see one of his friends tear up like that. He lowered his head and turned to the hall. "You have to find out for yourself. Just think hard and you will find what you seek. They said that it would come back faster when you are asleep."
Sakura could feel the tears starting to fall now. She didn't want to find out by herself. She just wanted someone to be there for her now. "Please don't leave, Sasuke-kun!"
"I'm going home. The doctors gave me a clear to go already, so I am going to start training again." With those last words the raven haired boy closed the door and made his way down the hall.
Sakura couldn't stop the tears from falling now. He had just left her alone to go training? What kind of bullshit was that? She thought that the boy actually cared for her after seeing his smile just now, but that was just a dream after all. She let her head drop and lied down on the bed again.
Turning her face towards the side of the window she became surprised when she saw a chair with something on it. Had someone been sitting there? She took a good look and saw that it was a forehead protector that was lying on the chair. Her eyes widened when she saw spatters of blood on it, but she shook her head and continued to stare to the ceiling again.
The headache was getting less by the minute and the tears were stopping to fall as well. So she had to find out everything for herself, didn't she? It's not like she had anything better to do anyway. Closing her eyes she started to try to find the memories lost in the mazes in her huge forehead. What surprised her a lot was that her other self wasn't talking to her for once. That was really strange, considering that it had bugged her ever since she was a little girl.
Okay, what was the last thing she could remember? She could still remember going to the wave country, meeting with Inari and Tazuna, defeating Zabuza and Haku, Sasuke almost dying. She shivered a bit when she remembered that last part. She could still recall how much she cried that moment. Thank god the boy had survived.
She could still remember throwing Naruto of the bridge when he asked her on a date when they were walking back to the village. A smirk now appeared on her face. Kakashi had to save the boy with some kind of jutsu and Naruto had been quiet the entire trip back.
After that the chuunin exams began. First there was that stupid written exam and after that they had gone to the forest of death. A shiver came down her back when she remembered the events with Orochimaru. Then there was the curse seal, everyone saving her, going to the tower in the middle of the forest with her team and Kabuto.
She could still recall tying with Ino in the prelims. A frown appeared on her face when she thought back to that battle. She should have won. She still wasn't the girl that she wanted to be. The blonde girl had always been much stronger than her and she was prettier too. And on top of that Ino had some attributes to show; while she had almost nothing…except for a huge forehead…She was thankful for the pink hair. Without it, she would probably be mistaken for a boy many times. She let out a huge sigh and closed her eyes again.
After that she started her own training. It was really hard, but she persevered and became a lot stronger. She then met with Naruto and they had a small talk about training and other things. After that her mother left the village for a mission. Her eyes suddenly shot open. What had happened to her mother? Had she already returned? And why wasn't she here? She shook her head and calmed down. Her mother was probably fine and she would see the woman soon enough.
Closing the heavy eyelids again, she thought back of the long talk with Naruto on the bench. She blushed when she remembered how he touched her leg. She couldn't explain why, but she heated up thinking about that moment every time.
But that was the day that they really had become friends and she wouldn't have it any other way. He had told her that he would be there for her whenever she needed him and it had made her so happy. They went to the ramen shop after that and she was still amazed that he could eat more than 10 bowls of ramen. He then brought her home and she could still remember that she fell asleep with a smile on her face that night.
Somehow she couldn't remember what had happened after that. Her eyelids became awfully heavy now and she couldn't keep them open anymore. She could always think about this another time. Looking out of the window on more time, she could see that the clouds were starting to gather above the village. Konoha would be in for some rain soon. Before she knew it the darkness had overtaken her.
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She was awoken by a loud noise and quickly sat up in her bed. When she heard some noises again, she made her way to the window and saw that some buildings of the village were on fire. She then dressed herself and went outside to see what was going on and found that sound and sand ninja were fighting with those of Konoha.
"Sakura-chan!"
She turned around and saw that Naruto was running towards her with a strange look on his face. He seemed to be pretty exhausted too. "Are you alright, Sakura-chan?!"
"Yeah, I'm alright. What the hell is going on here?!" She looked around and saw that everyone was fighting. There was a lot of blood on the ground and there were craters everywhere.
"The village is being attacked by the sound and sand villages!" She then turned to him and saw that he wasn't lying. He was all dirty too and it seemed that he had been fighting too.
"What happened to you, Naruto?" She was getting worried about her friend.
She saw that he turned to her with a smile on his face. "Don't worry, it is nothing. Some sound ninja attacked me, but Kakashi-sensei helped me to defeat them…Watch out!!"
She was surprised when the boy suddenly pushed her out of the way. She was about to scold him for doing that, but when she saw that a kunai was now embedded in his back, her eyes became wide. "Naruto!"
She ran over to him and saw him fall to his knees. She caught him and saw that he was in a lot of pain. "Naruto, are you alright!" When the boy didn't answer right away, she did the only thing that came to her mind. She pulled the kunai out as fast as possible. She was surprised when the wound was starting to heal already, but she shook her head and looked the boy in her eyes. "Naruto!"
The boy opened his eyes and gave her a smile. "You're okay, Sakura-chan."
Tears came to her eyes and she hit the boy on his head. "Why did you have to do that, you baka! You could have been killed!"
"I vowed to be there for you and I don't go back on my word, Sakura-chan!" She saw that he was trying to smile and somehow all of her worried vanished when she saw the smile. She shook her head and helped the boy up again. When she saw that he could stand again she let him go.
She was surprised when she saw the boy walk away. "Come on, Sakura-chan! We have to go now!"
"What are you saying? Where do we have to go?" At the same time she had to dodge another kunai thrown her way. This really wasn't a good day.
She saw the boy turn around and was surprised to find a serious expression on his face. "Kakashi-sensei has given us a mission. Apparently he saw Sasuke follow the three sand ninjas from the chuunin exams and he asked me to get you and then follow him. So we need to hurry!"
When she heard this, she became awfully worried about Sasuke. Those three sand ninjas were very scary and strong. She didn't know how strong Sasuke had become because of his training, but she knew that he wouldn't be able to stand against all three of those ninjas. She stood up and ran after Naruto. "Okay, let's hurry; we need to help Sasuke-kun!"
She saw that he nodded and he turned around and started to run again. She followed after him, but she had trouble keeping up. The boy was much faster than her somehow and he was going faster and faster. "Wait up, Naruto! Don't go so fast!"
They went through the gates of the village and jumped into the trees. This would help them to reach their target as soon as possible, because on the ground they would have the chance to encounter enemy shinobi. She saw that the boy was slowing down a bit to get in step with her. "What's wrong, Sakura-chan?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't go that fast. I'm still pretty beat from training." She knew that she was a bother again and she dropped her head. It was always like this. Her friends were always held back by her and she hated it. She was surprised when she felt a hand on her shoulder.
She glanced to her side and saw that the blonde haired boy was staring at her with a smile on his face. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan. I know that you have been training a lot lately and that can be pretty tiring. But we have to go faster. I don't know why, but I have a bad feeling about Sasuke and I want to get there as fast as possible!"
She could see the determination in his eyes and couldn't help but stare at them. Those eyes were just made to get lost in. She quickly shook her head when she noticed that she was dreaming again. "So, you are going to move on ahead without me?"
She was shocked when he suddenly grabbed her hand. "No way! We are going to save him together!" She started blushing when she saw that he grabbed her hand and was even more surprised when he increased his speed again. She was pulled with him as he jumped from tree to tree with a speed she could only hope to achieve someday.
Suddenly there was a loud scream and she knew who that voice belonged to. "Sasuke-kun!"
"Yeah, I know, we need to hurry!" Again he increased his speed and she had trouble holding on to his hand. The winds were rushing through her hair and she was amazed that the boy holding her could move so fast. Since when was he able to do this?
"Naruto, slow down a bit, please, I can't hold on!" The boy turned to face her and she was shocked when she saw that his eye's weren't blue anymore…they were red! What was going on here? The colour of your eyes wasn't supposed to change, was it?
"Just hold on! We're almost there, Sakura-chan!" She did as he said and used all of her power to hold on to him. There would be enough other times to ask him about those red eyes and saving Sasuke-kun was more important now.
After a few minutes she could finally see two people in the distance. There were fighting with each other and one of them seemed to be at the losing side. "Naruto, there they are!"
The boy must have seen it too, because he suddenly stopped running and landed on one of the tree branches here. He let go of her hand and turned to her. She could see that his eyes had returned to normal now and she let out a sigh of relief. Maybe she had just imagined it. She was pretty tired after all. "Sakura-chan, please wait here. I am going to help the bastard right now."
This infuriated her a lot. First the boy dragged her all the way here and then he says that she needs to stay put. "No way, Naruto! I need to show that I can fight too. I need to help, Sasuke-kun!"
"No!" She was taken back by the force of his voice. "Don't you see who he is fighting? Just take a good look over there!"
Sakura didn't know what he was talking about and look over to the fighting duo. Her eyes went to Sasuke first. He seemed to be having trouble keeping up and he was bleeding a lot. The black clothes he was wearing were in bad shape and she could see that he had been hit by some sharp objects.
And to her shock he had black markings all over his body too. She knew that this could only mean one thing. That curse seal had taken him over again. But how could that be? Kakashi had told her that the seal wouldn't be a problem anymore, right? Then how could this be happening? And how could he be losing with the seal activated. She could still remember the power he showed her in the forest of death when he had the curse seal activated. It looked like as if he was invincible.
She then turned her attention to the other fighter. But to her shock, the sand ninja didn't look human anymore. The left side of his body was covered in sand and resembled some kind of monster. The look in his eyes was pretty scary too. It was the same look he had when he tried to kill Lee in the prelims. She took a step backwards and fell down on her butt. "What the hell is that!?"
"I don't know, but it is making him a lot stronger. And you know how strong that creep already was!" Sakura could see that he was beginning to get scared himself too. This was expectable, because it was a horrifying sight to look at. "Just don't get involved, Sakura-chan!"
He was about to jump away, when she grabbed his hand. "Don't leave me here, Naruto! Sasuke-kun is losing to that guy. You can't beat that guy on your own! What are you thinking! We need to work together to beat this thing!" She was surprised when he slapped her hand away.
He gave her an angry look, but she could see that he was having trouble doing it. "Sakura-chan, I am not kidding! I know that you want to help Sasuke, but the best way to do that is to stay here. That guy…he lives to kill! He told me himself."
Sakura had to raise an eyebrow when he said this. "When did you meet up with that guy?"
He then glanced over to the battle. "Just a few days ago. He came to me when I was training. I didn't see him coming, because I needed all of my concentration for the training. He was about to attack me, before Ero-sennin kicked him away. He then gave me a scary look and told me that he was born a monster and that he lives to kill other people. He then walked away and told me that he would kill me the next time we would meet."
Sakura's eye's widened now. She couldn't say anything, because the boy continued again. "I would have been dead without Ero-sennin. Don't you see…that guy is dangerous! He won't hesitate to kill you and there is no way that I am exposing you to such danger!"
He turned around and saw that he lowered his head. "I just don't want you to get hurt, Sakura-chan. Please just listen to me. I will get Sasuke and then you can run away with him. I will hold that guy off, so that you guys can run. Go back to Kakashi-sensei and stay there."
Sakura couldn't believe it. What was that boy in front of her saying? She took a few steps towards the boy and hit him on the head. This caused the boy to look towards her and she could see the disbelieving look in his eyes. She knew that she was crying, but she didn't care.
Giving the boy a glare, she took grabbed him by his collar. "So you are just planning on dying here! There is no way that I am going to let you do that, Naruto! I am your friend and I will do everything to help you! So stop slacking off and let's go save Sasuke-kun now!"
She saw the look in his eyes and couldn't help but to feel proud. This was the girl she wanted to be...a strong, determined girl who would do anything for her important people. She saw that the boy shook his head and he brought his hand to the newly added bump on his head. "Ouch, you sure hit hard, Sakura-chan."
"And I am going to keep hitting you until you let me go with you, so what will it be." She said with a devilish smile on her face. She lifted her fist and started to walk towards the blonde boy who was trying to get away. "Well?"
She saw the boy let out a breath. "Fine! You can go with me." Sakura started to smile and continued to walk towards the boy. "But…" Stopping right in front of him she looked him in the eyes. They seemed full of worry and care and Sakura couldn't help but stare at them. "Promise me that you will just protect Sasuke and that you won't fight when you don't have to. I will fight him and I will win. So promise me to try and stay out of the battle."
Sakura kept looking the boy in the eyes and could tell that he was really worried about her. But there was something else. Something she hadn't seen very often in his eyes…insecurity. That couldn't be good. He was scared of the sand nin too and he knew that he couldn't win, but still he insisted that she would stay out of the battle. "I will promise that I will stay out of the battle until I see that you need help, okay?"
She saw that the boy was lost in thought for a while, but finally he nodded. "Okay, but your help won't be necessary, because I will win!"
Sakura gave the boy a smile and nodded. They both turned to the battle and were surprised when they saw Sasuke stand up with a smile on his face. His sharingan was activated and the curse seal was still spread over his body. She wondered if the boy next to her knew what that curse seal was, because he had been asleep the first time Sasuke had used it. She was about to jump into action when she saw an arm block her path. She turned to see the boy next to her and was surprised to see a smile on his face. "What are you smiling about, Naruto and why aren't we going to help Sasuke-kun.?"
The boy didn't answer her and she was about to hit him on the head for ignoring her when the boy spoke. "So that's what he's been teaching you, isn't it, Sasuke-teme."
Sakura didn't understand what he was saying, but when she heard some chirping sounds, she quickly turned to the battle again. When she saw what was making that sound her eyes widened. Chakra was gathering in Sasuke's hand and it was making the sounds of chirping birds. When he finally raised his hand, she could see that it had taken the form of some kind of ball and lightning was emitting from the ball.
Wait…she had seen this jutsu before. But where? She thought for a while and suddenly it hit her. Kakashi-sensei had used this move on Zabuza and he had used it a few times after that too. According to the man with the mask it was the only move that he invented himself, so does this mean that he taught it to Sasuke? She was broken out of her thoughts when she saw the raven haired boy jump towards the sand ninja with the energy in his hand.
The sand ninja saw this and jumped towards Sasuke with his sand-covered arm. They collided and there was a pretty big explosion. There was a lot of smoke coming her way and she was surprised when Naruto jumped in front of her and blocked the incoming debris with his back. She saw that he was smiling at her, but when she saw all the parts of wood hit his back, he winced in pain too.
When the smoke cleared, she saw the boy in front of her turn around and she was finally able to see the damage that had been done. His back was all bloody and the jacket was torn. "Naruto, you're hurt!"
She saw that the boy was looking around and he didn't seem to be in any pain. "Don't worry, Sakura-chan, it's just a scratch. Where's Sasuke?!"
This snapped her out of her daze and she quickly looked around to find the boy she loved. He couldn't be killed by that sand bastard right…it just couldn't be true. About to start screaming his name, she jumped up a branch, so that she was able to see more. That's when she saw the raven haired boy on a tree branch. He was lying on his stomach and she couldn't see him moving. "Sasuke-kun!"
Without thinking she jumped from the tree branch she was standing on and headed towards Sasuke's location with all the speed she was able to muster. She could hear that Naruto was screaming her name, but she didn't care. She had to know whether Sasuke was alright or not. She couldn't stand the thought of losing her important people.
While jumping from branch to branch she looked around for their enemy. Where was that red haired freak? Maybe he was defeated by Sasuke's attack? That attack which he learned from Kakashi was one of the strongest moves she had ever seen after all. Yeah, the sand ninja was probably defeated.
'Yeah, I'm sure Sasuke-kun won the battle against that freak. Nobody is able to beat him. Shannaro!' When Sakura saw that her inner self was making the sign for victory, she just had to sweat drop. She shook her head and told her inner self to be quiet for a while. She didn't have the time to be distracted right now.
When she was almost there, the air suddenly became quite heavy. And it was very quiet all of a sudden…too quiet. She didn't know what it was, but just shook it off. Reaching Sasuke was the most important thing right now.
She landed on the branch and kneeled down to see if the boy was alright. The first thing she saw was that he was breathing. She let out a sigh and continued to look at the boy. He had some wounds that looked pretty bad and she could see that he almost didn't have any chakra left.
And then there were those back marks. They were still there. She took a look in his face and could see the evil expression. It was the same look he gave her as he did in the forest of death and it scared the hell out of her. It was the expression of pure hatred and killer intent. The boy suddenly closed his eyes in pain and he started to scream. The bruise on his neck was glowing and she could see that he was trying to stand up.
"Wait, Sasuke-kun, don't stand up. You're in no condition to move." She had trouble keeping the boy down, but somehow she did it. The little bit of purple chakra he was emitting hurt her a little, but she stayed put. The glowing of the seal stopped and she could see that the black marks were starting to disappear.
When all of the black marks had disappeared the boy fell down again and she could see that he had trouble breathing. His eyes were normal again and she was glad that the evil expression had disappeared, although his usual expression wasn't all too friendly too. But what scared her was that the sharingan had disappeared too. His chakra had to be running very low then. "Sasuke-kun, just stay here for now. We're going to get you back to the village. Don't worry."
"He's…"
When she heard the Uchiha mumble those words, she closed in on the boy and asked him what was wrong. The boy must have really given everything if he had trouble to speak. "He's not dead."
Sakura's eyes widened. "What do you mean!? That freak has to be dead. There is no way that he survived your attack." She became worried when the boy tried to get up again. She didn't try to stop him this time, because they needed to get him to the village anyway. The boy wouldn't let her support him, probably because of his male pride.
"I'll show you what he meant!"
Sakura quickly turned around when she heard those words. What she saw didn't make her happy. The red haired ninja of the sand village was heading towards her with his body completely covered in sand. He now looked like a monster. His eyes were yellow with black dots in it and he had claws made of sand. She knew that she couldn't get away in time. He was way too fast. So she did the only thing she could do. Pulling out a kunai she got in combat stance to fend off the monster.
"Now die!"
She was about to be killed when she suddenly saw a great orange blur. The ninja of the sand was pushed to the side by three Naruto's and he fell down the tree. The Naruto's disappeared and the real one landed next to her. "Are you alright, Sakura-chan?!"
She could see the worry in his eyes and gave him a small smile. "Thanks to you."
She quickly walked over to Sasuke and saw that he was sitting against the trunk of the tree now. When she heard an explosion behind her, she turned around and saw that the monster was back already. He was heading towards Naruto and the boy didn't even move. There was a bit of smoke when he hit the boy, but when the smoke cleared she could see a log. "Kawarimi no jutsu!"
She saw that the sand ninja was confused, but when he looked her way the monster began to smile. "Well, then I will kill you first!" He started to run towards her with an eerie look in his eyes.
He was about to attack when she heard a whirling sound. She looked up and saw that Naruto was heading towards the sand monster with a lot of energy in his hand. What was that energy in his hand? She had never seen him do that before. The shape changed every second though and she could see that a lot of energy was whirling away from the attack. The red haired freak saw it too late and was hit by the energy on the head. "Rasengan!"
There was an explosion and she couldn't see what was going on. She could hear tree branches snapping and that could only mean one thing. She jumped down a few branches and saw that the two were falling. The sand shinobi's sand armour had a big hole in it and she was able to see a bit of his face. And to her surprise she could see blood coming out the hole. The red haired boy was screaming out in pain, but to her surprise the sand was filling the hole already.
Naruto was still falling too and she could see that he wasn't able to grab onto a branch. She quickly jumped down and caught the boy before he hit the ground. She then gathered chakra in her feet and used it to stick to the trunk of the tree. She then jumped to a branch again and set the boy down. There were gashes in his face and she could see that he was panting. It seemed like that attack hurt him even more than it hurt the enemy. "Naruto, are you alright!?"
The boy slowly stood up and gave her a nod. "Yeah, I'm alright, thanks, Sakura-chan." He then started to look around for the sand ninja, but Sakura could see that he was having trouble standing up. His knees were shaking and his breathing was shallow. The boy was exhausted and hurt and he couldn't take much more of this.
A sound was heard and suddenly she saw the sand shinobi next to her. Her eyes widened and she quickly threw a kunai. It hit him, but it didn't hurt him because of the sand. She cursed and grabbed another kunai for her defence. She knew that it wasn't much, but she needed to do something. She glanced behind her and saw that Naruto had done the same.
The monster jumped back a few meters and suddenly moved his arm forward. "Sand shuriken!"
Her eyes widened when she saw a lot of objects made of sand coming her way. She got ready to be hit, but was surprised when Naruto jumped in front of her. "Naruto!" The sandy objects hit the boy and he was sent flying backwards. He was pushed against Sakura because of the attack and they were both flying now. They came to a halt when Sakura hit the trunk of the tree and both winced in pain.
She fell down on her behind and she felt a lot of pain again. One of her legs was hanging over the left side of the branch and the other one was hanging over the right side. She opened her eyes to find Naruto in front of her between her legs with his back pressed against her body. She blushed a little, because this was how she had imagined sitting with her boyfriend one day. But when she saw his head fall down she became worried.
She quickly wrapped her arms around the boy when she saw that he was falling forward. She knew that she was pressing him to her breasts even more now, but she didn't care. He was hurt and she needed to help him. She could hit him for being a pervert later. Her hands were now located on his stomach, but she was shocked when she felt something wet. She pulled back one of her hands and saw that there was blood on it. "Naruto, are you alright! You're bleeding!"
She quickly stood up, but was careful to keep the boy from falling. She looked around, but couldn't see the sand demon anywhere. She picked the boy up and jumped down to the ground. While she was doing this, she was finally able to see the damage on his stomach. It was bleeding very badly and his clothes were torn completely. When she reached the ground, she lied him down. "Naruto, hey, are you alright!?"
"Yeah, don't worry about me. Go help Sasuke." He said with a very low voice. She could see that he was injured very much.
She was about to hit him on the head for even making such a comment when she felt a strong chakra signal coming her way. Her eyes widened when she recognised it. "Damn it, Naruto's not ready to move yet. We need to get out of here!" She was about to pick the boy up again when she felt a strong strike to her jaw. She was sent flying and hit the ground hard.
She could hear Naruto yell her name and was about to stand up when she heard him scream again. She quickly opened her eyes and saw that he was standing with one of his feet on top of the boy and he was pushing the foot into the ground. Naruto was crying out in pain and she could see the blood flowing from his mouth. She wanted to help him so much. Hadn't that same boy protected her all the time? If she wouldn't help him now, it would be too late.
She looked to the boy in one of the trees. She could see that the raven haired boy was trying to help, but his body just wouldn't move. And the other one was being killed right now. She couldn't take it anymore and something snapped. This was the time to protect those two for once.
She stood up and grabbed a few kunai. "Hey, you bastard! Leave my friends alone!" This seemed to catch the attention of the monster and he looked her way. He jumped her way and she quickly made some seals. He extended the claw made of sand and hit her, only to reveal a big log.
"What the hell. So my prey is trying to fool around! This is so good. There more pleasure I will have when I kill you guys!"
She could hear the monster yell, but it didn't scare her anymore. She had to overcome her fear in order to protect her friends. She picked up the blonde and jumped up the trees. She placed him next to Sasuke. "Stay here, guys; I will protect you guys now!" She jumped down before either one of them could say a word.
She landed on the ground again and saw the monster looking at her. She could see that a wicked smile came to his face and she could feel the pressure now. She took the four kunai that she had been preparing in her hands and waited for the monster to come. She knew that this was the only chance she was going to get. He lunged towards her with awesome speed and she threw the kunai right at him. "Take this!"
Gaara didn't seem to mind and he just guarded the attacks with his sand-reinforced arm. "Don't think that you can defeat me with such petty attacks, woman!" That's when the explosion notes on the four kunai started to burn. "What the hell!"
Sakura gave him a determined look and jumped back. "This is for my friends!"
There was a huge explosion and although she was pretty far from the blast, she was still blown away. She hit her head on a rock and it started to bleed. She could hear her name being called by her blonde haired friend, but she didn't have the strength to look up anymore. Everything was spinning around her and she just wanted to go to sleep.
That's when the smoke cleared. The sand ninja stood in the middle of it and she could see that he was hurt pretty bad. The armour was damaged very much, but he was still standing. She couldn't believe it. Was that thing invincible or something? The armour was already returning and she could see the smile on his face. She tried to get up, but it was very hard, because everything was spinning.
The armour was back and he was already making his way towards her. "That was a nice try, woman! You are worth killing!"
He extended his arm again, but she was able to jump up just in time. But while she was in the air he appeared right before her with a smirk on his face. Her eyes widened, because that was the only thing she could do. Her head was spinning so much. She saw that he was extending his arm again, but she just didn't have the strength to evade it anymore. It hit her and she was pushed against a big tree. She screamed out in pain.
She saw that he left the sand around her body, so that she stayed pinned against the trunk. He then jumped back and landed on a tree branch. Her eyelids were becoming heavy and everything was slowly going black. She could see that he threw some sand shuriken towards her and she let a tear fall out of her eye. "So this is it. I am sorry to have failed you, Sasuke-kun and I am sorry that I have failed you, Naruto. I couldn't protect you…" The last thing she saw was an orange blur that appeared in front of her.
"Naruto! Sasuke-kun!" She shot up and opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a white room and she could hear the sound of some machine. She turned around and saw that she was in the hospital room again. She steadies her breathing and fell back down on the bed. "Was all of that a dream?"
She shook her head and remembered the words that Sasuke had told her before he left her…alone.
"You have to find out for yourself. Just think hard and you will find what you seek. They said that it would come back faster when you are asleep."
"What's wrong Sakura-san? Are you alright?" A nurse came in the room and walked over to her bed. "Sasuke-kun told me that you had awoken, but he told me to leave you alone for a while, so I listened, but when I just heard you scream I just had to check on you."
"I…I'm alright, thank you." She figured that this was the best chance to find out what was going on. "I just had a dream and it looked like it was all real. Is there any chance that this could happen?"
The nurse sat down on the bed next to her and nodded. She had a sweet smile on her face and Sakura couldn't help but admire the young woman. "Whenever someone just comes out of a coma, that person can be a little lost. The progress of remembering is pretty slow, but this process also goes on when you are asleep. And most of the times this happens in the way of a dream. So what you saw is probably what really happened."
Sakura sighed and bowed her head. "Thank you a lot." The woman smiled at her and left the room.
Sighing she lied down again and started to look to the white ceiling. So now she knew why she had to go to the hospital. That sand bastard had injured her. Her eyes widened when she realised the consequences of this. What about the war, what about that sand monster! She knew that Sasuke was alright, he had been there when she woke up, but what about Naruto. Something suddenly hit her. She glanced to her side with wide eyes and still saw the forehead protector lying on the chair.
She quickly grabbed it and examined it thoroughly. The forehead protector was pretty beaten up and the cloth was blue. That didn't say much, because almost anyone had a forehead protector with a blue cloth. She then brought the object to her nose and sniffed it. "It can't be!"
Tears began to form in her eyes, when she saw the blood on the headband. It smelled like the boy she had grown to care about. She then remembered the last thing she saw in her dream. An orange blur…that could only mean one thing. Naruto must have jumped in front of her again to block the attack.
"Oh no! Don't tell me!" She knew that Naruto would never go anywhere without his forehead protector. Holding the headband close to her she began to cry.
"Naruto!!"
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AN: Argh, the chapter is too long again. Why can't I write any short chapters:D Well, I hope that you guys enjoyed the chapter. It may get a little confusing at a time, but Sakura falls asleep and then has a dream and in that dreams she remembers what happened after the previous chapter.
I changed the Gaara battle a bit and I hope you like it. I gave Sakura a bigger role in this one. Naruto's rasengan was really weak here and it was far from completed. And I put in some NaruSaku of course XD
Please tell me what you think of the chapter. I tried my best to make it good and I would like to know if it worked. Reviews motivate me to write the next chapter quicker. You can flame me too, but please motivate your flaming, so that I know what to change. And keep voting for your favourite couples.
Until next time.