Chapter Four:

And the Tin Man

After another four or five times, Sakura stopped trying to explain the situation to Naruto. It was frustrating to say the least, but she figured that something about the genjutsu was preventing him from actually processing her words. In his mind they were going to the Emerald City to see the Hokage and that was that. Still, Sakura was glad for the company. It took twice as long as usual for the overly energetic ninja's nature to get on her nerves and even then she continued walking along with a smile on her face. With Naruto traveling with her, there was no more hesitance to her steps and they made good time down the yellow dirt path.

A forest was their apparent destination. Of course, being familiar with the story meant that Sakura knew what to expect. The only surprise was in how quickly they transitioned from fields to forest. One moment it was off in the painted distance, the next they were standing at its entrance. Both shinobi paused to stare into the murky depths of the great forest. It reminded Sakura uncomfortably of the Forest of Death, the location of the second part of the chunin exam.

"Hey, Sakura?"

She turned to look at her blond teammate. There had been an undercurrent of uncertainty to his tone, and uncertainty was not a part of his usual repertoire of emotions.

"What is this place? Why is it so dark?"

The pink-haired girl almost fell over sideways. "What do you mean "what is this place?" It's a forest. You grew up in a village surrounded by one for pity's sake!"

"Oh." Naruto contemplated the forest again, his hands clasped behind his head. "Hmmm… nope. Not ringing any bells."

I'll ring your bell, you dolt! inner Sakura raged. The kunoichi rolled her eyes skyward before rolling them back down to Pakkun. The small dog had been scratching behind one ear; upon sensing her gaze he got back up and started off into the forest. Sakura snagged one of Naruto's orange sleeves and followed after him.

She guessed that the forest was supposed to be dark and creepy, but once they got into it, it wasn't so bad. In fact, the more subdued colors were a relief to the eyes after the bright hues of the other area. At first she was tempted to tree-hop, but then she decided against it. Tree hopping would require them to burn chakra and Sakura wanted hers so she could make other attempts at breaking the genjutsu. Besides that; while the trees closest to them seemed real enough, those further away looked more like cardboard cut outs. Sakura decided that sticking to the path was the best course of action.

As it was, they made quick enough progress down the trail, so quick that Sakura would have missed it if Pakkun hadn't been with them. The ninja dog stopped at the entrance to a side path, barking to grab her attention.

"Oh right. The tin woodsman," Sakura muttered to herself, before leading Naruto down the faint path after Pakkun. Sure enough, they came to a clearing. Trees were felled this way and that; their mighty trunks splintered into pieces. It was obvious that an axe hadn't been used; it looked as though they had been physically beaten down, tossed this way and that by a fierce force. And in the center of the destruction was…

"Sasuke!" Sakura's teal-colored eyes widened as she observed the familiar continence of her raven-haired crush from between a gap in two laterally positioned trees. Her heart leapt for joy, doing the odd double-beat that it often did when Sasuke was near. Now she knew everything would be fine. This was Sasuke Uchiha, her competent teammate: top graduate of their class, wielder of the sharingon eyes… and complete and total hunk. She scrambled to clear the felled trees, scraping a knee in her haste, a girly giggle escaping her throat.

Sasuke would know what to do. He was so talented, so driven, so… so…

Sakura's forward momentum came to an abrupt stop as she finally entered the space where Sasuke was. Her vision no longer obscured by the branches and leaves of sideways trees, Sakura could only stand and stare. Behind her she could hear Naruto erupt in gut-bursting laughter. Naruto never did anything half-way, including laugh. Taking only the briefest of moments to scold him into submission, Sakura again turned back to Sasuke, whose body was entangled in a position that looked neither comfortable nor sustainable.

His legs were crossed into what appeared to be the lotus position, folded in a way so that the tops of his feet were resting on his thighs with their soles pointing towards his stomach. That, of and in itself, wasn't so unusual. What was odd, and painful looking, was the fact that Sasuke had somehow managed to stick his arms straight down through the two tight spaces between his bent legs and his opposite feet. His entire body was suspended off the ground, supported by his two arms.

"Hello Sakura, Naruto," he said casually, as if it was perfectly natural to be twisted up like pretzel.

"Um… Sasuke? What are you doing? Are you okay?"

"You look like a big chicken!"

Naruto's loud declaration reverberated through the forest. Sakura shot him her fiercest glare, which managed to quiet him down. The ear to ear grin, however, refused to go away. She decided to ignore the blond, turning her attention to her other teammate. Surprisingly enough, Sasuke didn't seem annoyed by Naruto's assertion.

"It's called the 'rooster' position. I'm practicing yoga."

"Uh-huh." The description of the position seemed accurate enough. Sasuke's arms looked like poultry legs as they descended from the tangle of his legs and supported the weight of his body. "Um… why are you…?"

The somber boy cut off Sakura's speculation. "Because Master Kakashi won't teach me how to open the inner gates, like Lee can. Yoga is supposed to bring the body into closer connection with the mind, allowing for a better flow and control of chakra. If I can master this…"

Tired of looking down at her crush, Sakura dropped to her knees before him, so that their eyes were on the same level. "Sasuke… Master Kakashi knows best. Opening the gates is dangerous; look at what happened to Lee. I know you think you need to be stronger, but you don't need to do things like this. You have the sharingon…"

Sakura stopped and she shook her head. Of course. Sasuke had the sharingon eyes, a kekkei genkai that allowed him to see through any ninjutsu or genjutsu. There was no way this was the real Sasuke Uchiha because no genjutsu would be able to fool his eyes. Smiling sadly as her heart crept its way into her stomach, the kunoichi summoned her chakra. Briefly, she made the appropriate hand sign, before touching the yoga-bound chunin on his shoulder. To her amazement though, he remained as solid as Naruto had. Sakura blinked back tears of relief as his dark eyes watched her uncertainly.

"Look, Sasuke; all of this is genjutsu. Use your sharingon. Then you'll be able to see through it!"

Sasuke stared at her for a moment before his eyes found the still standing member of Team Seven.

The blond shrugged, making it a full body motion. "I don't know. She's been babbling on about it non-stop for a while now."

"Oh, shut up, Naruto! Just because you don't get it doesn't mean Sasuke won't!"

Obsidian eyes met teal ones; Sakura felt her innards melt.

"No."

"What? Why not? If you use your sharingon…"

"No. I rely too much on it. This exercise is about strengthening the connection between my mind and body, so I can be stronger. Using the sharingon would defeat the purpose."

Delicate pink brows furrowed down. She just didn't understand. Glancing at the ninja behind her, Sakura found even less understanding.

"Oh well. I guess Sakura and I will just have to go see the Hokage by ourselves," Naruto smirked. "Have fun doing the chicken or whatever."

The boy sprang lightly to the top of a pile of 'chopped' wood, turning to look expectantly at Sakura. Reluctantly, the kunoichi rose to her feet, her heart and confidence flagging. She had believed that Sasuke at least would be reasonable. What was she supposed to do?

"You won't use your sharingon at all? Please, Sasuke? For me?" Even to her own ears, the plea sounded pathetic.

"No. How many times do I have to tell you? I am an avenger. The only thing that matters to me is avenging my clan. I can't allow anything, or anyone, to get in the way of that. I don't have time for you two. Now go away."

Sakura felt as if she had been punched in the gut. The cold, flat tone, the easy way he dismissed her; it was the same way he often turned down her offers for a date. Only it seemed he was being even more distant and cold than usual. Kunoichi weren't supposed to show emotions and that was good, because she felt like crying. Why did Sasuke have to be so… "Heartless". The word escaped her lips at the same time it entered her brain. A smile overcame the pout on her face, although it didn't come close to touching her heart.

Of course. Heartless: without a heart. She had forgotten the roles her teammates were playing. And, upon laying eyes on the dark-haired heart-throb of the rookie class, she had forgotten her own resolve and had fallen back on her old ways. If she wanted to truly be an equal to the boys then she couldn't just expect them to rescue her every time things got tough. No. This time it was her teammates who needed rescuing. Both of them had been completely overcome by the genjutsu. Naruto wasn't usually this clueless and Sasuke wasn't usually this cold. She was the only one who knew what was going on and that meant that it was up to her to get the boys to the end of the story.

Luckily, she knew Sasuke too well. Sakura clasped her hands together at the small of her back, bestowing what she hoped was a warm smile on her twisted-up partner. "You know, Naruto and I are going to see the Great and Powerful Hokage." The words managed to come out without the sarcasm that threatened to accompany them. Sasuke's obsidian eyes locked on to hers. She had his attention; so far, so good.

"He is supposed to be the greatest shinobi in all the land. If anyone can help you get stronger, I'm sure the Hokage can. Why not come with us?"

Dark eyes closed as the ninja considered her words. Sakura waited patiently. Unfortunately, her other partner didn't have nearly as much forbearance. Springing from his tree trunk perch to land next to her, Naruto smirked down at the Uchiha.

"Aw, forget it, Sakura. Who needs him anyways? Besides, I bet he's stuck in that stupid position."

Dark eyes flew open to level a glare at the uncaring blond; simultaneously, delicate pink brows arched skyward. It was a part of the story. "Sasuke?" she queried softly. A slow blush that crept along his handsome cheekbones was her only answer. Sakura was able to suppress her laughter; Naruto wasn't nearly as polite about it. After he finally subsided, they both managed to unfold Sasuke's twisted up legs. It was slow going as Pakkun led them back to the main trail, but no one seemed to mind. The mindless, familiar bickering of her teammates was a comfort to her. Team Seven was together again, and Sakura was confident that they would overcome all obstacles in their way.

Once back on the yellow dirt path, Brainless, Heartless, and Sakura continued towards the Emerald City.