Heyy, sorry for the delay! Just a bit of emotional stuff in this chappy, no action im afraid! But meh, there will be action soon don't worry :) SasuSaku, NejiTen and NaruHina for you all!
I will post the next chapter monday, maybe earlier if i get some reviews for once! :(
Anyway,
Enjoy
Following Jiraiya's lead the group slowed down to walking pace, the small town was hidden by hundreds of unnaturally thick trees growing too tall for the tops to be seen. The town was set out in a box like form, with large wooden gates surrounding the town with a watch tower at each corner.. As they walked through the main gates that had been left open they noted several small buildings on either side of the main street that ran up towards a large building that resembled the Hokage's tower. To the sides of the large building were slightly smaller buildings, each one story tall but long as if several houses had been joined together.
"Apparently they we're planning on making this the start of a new hidden village, but during the war this place was targeted so they abandoned both the idea and the town. All of you go there and stay there, heal what injuries you can Sakura. I'm going to set up some powerful Genjutsu and traps around this place that should keep even jounin level shinobi away."
With that Jiraiya leapt of back towards the gate and out of site, the group followed his orders without hesitation.
Once inside they noticed that the building was laid out similar to the Hokage's office, it even had sleeping quarters upstairs along with a Dojo at the back. Once Sakura had healed the major wounds the best she could, Hinata had gone round the shinobi handing out her famous healing ointments. As she came up to Naruto she realized that he was sweating profusely and his breathing was erratic.
"Sakura!"
Hinata's yell had surprised Sakura; the usually placid shy girl had yelled as loud as Naruto used to, something that was a hard thing to do. Racing over she saw the reason behind the other girl shout, Naruto didn't look good at all. Sakura knelt down beside the blonde and began to disrobe his top half with the help of Hinata, the latter of which tried to contain her blush as Naruto's perfectly chiselled torso was revealed. Hanabi came over with a bowl of cold water along with a rag, which Hinata took from her with a small smile of thanks before she busied herself with the welfare of her blonde crush once more.
When Jiraiya came back he was accompanied by those who had stayed behind to clear the mess they had left behind. Sasuke glanced towards Sakura but once their eyes met Sakura looked away, busying herself with a large gash on Chouji's arm. Sasuke sighed, he would need to gain back her trust, he just didn't know how he'd have to ask the dobe for help once he woke up.
Thankfully Naruto hadn't been poisoned, he just needed rest neither Sakura nor Hinata knew why his temperature suddenly spiked but they dismissed it was a simple nightmare. By the time everyone's injuries were healed it was the middle of the night, the children, gennin and most of the adults were asleep. Sakura was exhausted but still couldn't sleep so she decided to familiarise herself with the town they would most probably be staying for a while.
Sakura sat atop the roof of a small building near a small stream that flowed through the small town.
"Hey."
Sakura wasn't stupid, she had known Sasuke followed her out here and was standing behind her right now, she just didn't know why.
"Hey yourself."
Sasuke couldn't help but feel something stir in his chest when she dismissed his appearance so sharply, he couldn't bare it any longer.
"Sakura, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I just-"
Sasuke was cut of by Sakura who spoke in a low tone:
"I know your sorry Sasuke, but part of you did want to leave to join Orochimaru in the first place, you can't just blame it all on the seal."
Sasuke sighed as he sat down next to the pink haired shinobi, he would have to tell her his reasons, all of his reasons this time.
"I know, and your right a part of me did want to go, but not for the reasons you think."
He let his sentence sink in, she turned to face him with confusion written on her face and a questioning look in her bright Jade eyes that he had fallen in love with. That's right, it had taken a while but he had admitted it to himself in the end, he had fallen in love with the cherry blossom.
"I left because because I couldn't bare it if I saw anything happen to the family I had managed to find."
He tried not to stutter during his sentence, a small amount of tears had formed in the corners of his eyes; but he'd be damned if he let them fall now, especially after keeping them bottled up so well since his clan's death. Sakura listened carefully, she heard the crack in his voice but stayed silent as to make it easier for him to tell her the real reason for his abandoning Konoha.
"Sakura I left to protect you-"
He was interrupted by a confused Sakura,
"But-"
He cut her off by placing a finger to her soft lips, silently cursing himself for doing such a foolish act.
"Please, just listen I understand if you hate me, I just need you to know my true reason for leaving the village."
When he saw Sakura nod slightly, he dropped his hand to rest on his leg and sighed, there was no going back now he had to tell her.
"I left to protect you, like I said I couldn't bare to see the family that I had just gained be destroyed. Itachi would kill anyone he saw as close to me, just to get me to hate him more to push me over the edge. I couldn't let that happen Sakura; I needed to get stronger in order to protect you all. But I couldn't do that in the Leaf, where I would only grow closer to you all, especially you."
Sasuke sighed, he needed to tell her; it was now or never and he would not let anything ruin what he was about to say, he had waiting long enough to tell her.
"Sakura, Itachi killed the people I loved, and he would do it again just to get to me. Sakura He would kill you "
He looked deep in to her Jade eyes as he continued.
"He would kill you, because you're the one I hold dearest to me. Sakura, he would kill you because I love you."
He silently prepared himself for an angry Sakura to curse and scream at him for lying to her, but it never came. Jade met Onyx as they stared in to each others eyes, Sasuke looking for forgiveness and Sakura looking for a hint of dishonesty, though she found none. He couldn't take it anymore, he slowly leaned his head forward; inching closer, never looking away from her eyes. He captured her soft lips with his own, in a shy kiss something Sakura did not expect. She could feel the nervousness pour from Sasuke as he kissed her. When Sasuke felt Sakura freeze, he was about to pull away from the kiss and apologize, but Sakura started to return the kiss. Sakura snaked her right hand around Sasuke's neck, getting a handful of his surprisingly soft hair. Sasuke wasn't prepared for this and separated from the kiss looking in to Sakura's eyes, he saw the forgiveness in them, and that was all he needed. Sasuke leant in and kissed Sakura with more force this time as he ran his left hand up her right arm and tangled it in to her soft hair while deepening the kiss.
The pair pulled away after what felt like hours, but in reality it was only a few minutes. Sasuke allowed a small smile to grace his lips, not a smirk but a true smile that few had ever seen. Sakura's heart fluttered when she saw that smile, and hoped she would get to see more of those smiles.
"I never stopped loving you, Sasuke-Kun"
After Sasuke got over his initial surprise of Sakura's confession, he smirked at the suffix she returned to his name. Sasuke raised his head a gently kissed her forehead, sighing he stood up and pulled her up with him.
"We should get some sleep, I'm surprised we're still able to stand."
Sasuke joked while smirking at the face Sakura pulled; it was caught between a pout and a glare.
"I'm not that weak anymore Sasuke-kun"
She knew he hadn't meant it to sound like that, but she thought she'd play with him for a while.
"I know that, but I was using it as an excuse, I can hardly stand."
He smiled, knowing that she was only joking with him He had seen her healing the others, he knew she had grown strong in his absence. Sakura smiled in return and took his hand in hers as they leapt off towards the main building where the others where sleeping.
"Neji.."
"Hm?"
The response Tenten got was soft, and slightly mumbled as Neji's face was buried against her neck, covered in her long hair that she had let down from her usual two buns.
"Do you think.. Y'know, that, anyone else got out? I mean.. besides us that are here now.."
She let her question drift off in to the darkness that surrounded the two as they were camped out on the floor of one of the disused buildings, far enough away from others to give themselves privacy, but close enough to know if anything further happened within an instant.
"You know aswell as i do Tenten, that the shinobi of the leaf do not fall so easily."
Neji felt her become less tense within his soft grip, he knew she had belief in the other shinobi of their village, she just needed the reassurance that Neji always seemed to bring.
"I have no doubt there are others that managed to escape. Though i always have no doubt that alot of our fellow shinobi did perish. But we cannot forget them, else their loss will have been in vain. Those remaining will fight with every last fibre of our beings, against that snake and his followers, those who are not with us any longer will expect just as much of us."
Tenten allowed her eyes to close, she knew Neji was talking about a majority of the ninja, but she also had the irkesome feeling that he was extending what he said, to cover the fact that they had yet to receive confirmation of their Sensei being alive. Her mind automatically shifted to think about Lee, but knew it was silly. He would believe that Gai-sensei was alive and well untill he saw otherwise, and so should she, she believed in the sensei as much as she believed in her team and friends.
After a few minutes, Neji could feel her grip on his arm that she was currently using as a pillow slacken ever so slightly, but her hold was still there. Smiling softly in to her neck he breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he knew she was safe, aswell as the majority of their close friends, for now atleast. With the thoughts about what could happen next, he fell in to a light sleep with images of the past few days still vivid in his memory.
Hinata walked in to the room that she and Sakura had put Naruto in, closing the door quietly behind her as to not wake him. She walked over to his bed with the moonlight pouring in from the window as her only means of light. Once she reached his bedside she knelt down and changed the damp cloth that was on his forehead. She gasped in surprise as a strong yet soft hand grasped her wrist firmly but gently. Hinata looked up to his face to see those cerulean eyes that made her tingle inside every time she looked at them.
"Hey Hina-Chan"
Naruto smiled as he looked in to her shocked eyes and released her wrist unwillingly as she dropped the cold rag on to his chest.
"G-gomen Naruto-kun!"
Hinata picked up the cloth but not before it soaked through Naruto's bloody bandages, Naruto just laughed at seeing a frantic Hinata worry about his bandages.
"Hina-chan, calm down there fine."
Naruto chuckled but winced in pain from one of his previously broken ribs, his wince not going unnoticed by the blue-haired kunoichi. Hinata got up and walked over to the side of the room, using a minor fire jutsu to light one of the candles Konohamaru had found in the basement. Walking back with med-kit in hand, she placed the candle down on the rickety bedside cabinet to allow her to see Naruto's bandages more clearly.
Helping Naruto sit up she refused to let her nervousness get the better of her, she started to undo his previous bandaging with determination alight in her eyes. Naruto winced in pain as the final layer of bandage took some of the damaged skin with it as Hinata removed it.
"Gomen"
'She apologizes too much, but i guess that's just Hinata-chan through and through' Naruto thought to himself. He didn't think it was a downside, but he knew that people thought she was weak because of her shy and quiet demeanor. But if anyone were to see his Hinata-chan in action, they would be suprised in just how deadly the placid kunoichi could be.
'My Hinata-chan, where did i get that from? It's not like she belongs to me.. But how i wish she did, how that little smile that lights up her eyes could be just for me.. Man her hands are so soft!'
A small blush graced the blue eyed shinobi's cheeks as his thoughts continued to plague his tired mind. Hinata looked in to his eyes, to make sure that it wasn't hurting him to much; only to be met with a smile and something in his eyes that she couldn't decipher. As she proceeded to wrap Naruto's well built torso in new bandages she decided to thank him for earlier.
"T-thank you for saving me earlier Naruto-kun, I shouldn't have been so easily t-taken, gomen."
Hinata avoided his eyes as she apologised for her inadequate ability to avoid the man who had taken her hostage, that was until Naruto put his hand under her chin and raised her eyes to meet his.
"Hinata, you don't have to thank me for what I did I didn't do it because I had to, I did it because I didn't want to see you hurt. And it was not your fault, that guy was strong, he just got you when you were recovering from using too much chakra at once."
Hinata knew he was being serious when he missed the suffix off of the end of her name, her blush slowly descended in to a deeper shade when she realised he had not removed his hand from her chin.
Naruto reluctantly removed his hand that was causing Hinata to blush darker than most red roses, allowing Hinata to finish wrapping his injuries. After she had finished Hinata replaced the items of the med-kit in to the pouch, and binned the bloody bandages.
As he watched her move around with amazing grace, tidying up after cleaning his wounds he couldn't help but sigh. The time just felt right, and Naruto always went with his instincts, whether it was in battle or in every day life. Whether his instinct was to prove right or wrong, there was only one way to find out, and that was to tell her.
Please Review you sexy beasts :) lol Sorry i've had a bit to drink.. =]
Marie x
