Sakura struggled to find her comrades in the bustling village of the Leaf but at last she spotted them and waved vigorously to catch their attention, Naruto spotting her first.
"Ne, Teme…" Naruto said vaguely to his comrade and opponent "Sakura-Chan is here." Sasuke said nothing as he followed the blond to where they would intercept with the pink haired Shinobi his eyes darker than usual.
Sakura watched them approach, taking in both their appearances and couldn't help but think at how both of them had grown into rather handsome young men. Naruto had, for the most part, lost the orange in his uniform and now sported a more traditional look with more black in tow.
It's much more fitting… Sakura thought to herself as she smiled at the blue eyed vixen. So many girls had begun to swoon over the matured Shinobi even if Naruto was far too oblivious to notice the horde of girls that ogled him from afar. But behind Naruto is where Sakura's eyes really fell transfixed as Sasuke approached her ever so quietly, his dark eyes brewing with inner thoughts, she could feel the color rise in her cheeks. His chest exposed, he wore a white shirt that hung from his shoulders and as he neared her she could see the mark she had made with her Kunai vaguely expose itself from behind the loose fitting cloth and she couldn't help but finger the spot where her own matching abrasion rested. His black pants tied with loose fitting cord she cursed him under her breath. That cocky bastard…he knows he looks good…does he want me to look? Or does he want to attract all the idiotic fan girls to make me jealous? She began to fume, ringing her gloved hands into her skirt, catching the quirky eyebrow of her fellow blond companion.
"Sakura-Chan…are you alright?" Naruto asked kindly as he eyed the visibly distraught girl, Sakura quickly glancing up to smile gently at the other Shinobi.
"Hai, Naruto-Chan…I'm fine. Shall we be going?" With a swift nod and a gentle smile from Naruto and a vague expression from Sasuke, they began to retrace their steps from two nights ago.
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The three of them moved swiftly through the trees, dropping down gently to the distorted earth from the battle that had happened only 48 hours ago. Though much to their dismay they did not find the reptiles remains, however in its place the grass had been coated with a thick and sticky layer of ash leaving the stagnant air around the remains with a heavy stench of tar and burnt flesh.
"What is it, Sakura-Chan?" Naruto said through muffles as his hand clamped around his nose in order to shield the odor that lingered in the air. Naruto had been the only source of conversation for the whole trip sense Sasuke had taken it upon himself to ignore her existence in its entirety.
"I'm not sure, Naruto…" Sakura responded as she furrowed her brow to eye the suspicious substance, a fraction of it now inhabiting her gloved finger. "We need to take a sample back to Lady Tsuande…maybe she'll know what it is..." As she clipped a leaf from a low lying branch and scooped the substance into a small container for Lady Tsuande the last thing she ever expected as the shrill voice of Naruto warning her of danger.
"Sakura! SAKURA LOOK OUT!" Naruto's voice came nearly too late as the female Shinobi spun her body to look behind her, her eyes growing wide with fear as she quickly realized she had absolutely no time to counter attack or defend. The creature had come more silent and far more unexpected than the night as her eyes took in the image of fangs; she attempted to prep herself to dodge the hungry mouth of her scaly foe. But she realized it was in vain as the beast closed in around her in merely a flutter of her eyes and she grimaced and braced for the pain she was certain to endure yet much to her surprise never came.
As she slowly opened her eyes she witnessed one of the more gruesome images she had ever seen, Naruto had thrown himself in the beasts path and as such had suffered a substantial blow as he battled with the reptile in an act to give Sakura a fighting chance. Wedged between two fangs, with his abdomen punctured he fought to hold reptile as his blood dripped and splattered the lush forest floor while he firmly placed his one free arm against the roof of the beasts mouth in an attempt to keep the creature from crushing him completely.
"S-Sakura…" Naruto heaved and grimaced "Ge-get out of here!"
Sakura's green eyes were wide with horror "Nar-Naruto!" Her eyes swelled with tears as she attempted to reach out to her disadvantaged team mate.
"Get out of here!" He screamed his body and strength failing him.
"I'm not leaving you!" She cried as she attempted to rush to snake in an act to save her comrade only to have the forceful arms of Sasuke Uchiha wrap around her waist a glimmer of a smile creasing Naruto's lips.
"Take care of her, Teme…" With his final words his body failed him and the snake clamped its mouth shut before it spun with rapid agility and roared back into the woods from which it came, Sakura struggling against the steadfast hold Sasuke had on her.
"Let me go! DAMN YOU! I'll break your arms, I swear to god! Let me go! We have to follow that thing! We have to save him!" Sasuke tightened his grip to the point of restricting her airways before he spun her around, forcing her to look at him.
"Listen to me!" Sasuke's voice rugged and animalistic as his dark orbs dug deep into the weeping green eyes that looked back at him. "There's nothing we can do for him now…" He hung his head and raised a gentle hand to wipe her tears "Do you still have that sample?"Sakura nodded through her tears and lifted the small container, Sasuke grabbing it gently from her shaking body. "This is the only hope we have in saving him…Sakura…come, we must hurry."
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AN: OH NOES!! D: Stay tuned to see wtf I'll do next…poor Naruto…I'd love to tell you if Naruto is dead or alive…but I think that ruins the element of anticipation. Yes…I'm evil.