:Yeah, school's over… and it sucks… I miss my friends!!
:I'll try to keep updating faster... there's not much to do here anyway...
:So, here's chapter 12… enjoy!
Chapter 12: Another Simple 'Thank You'
Sasuke saw the blank expression on Sakura's face as he carried her out of the tunnels, her beautiful green eyes showed no emotion. Sasuke gently closed her eyes, so that their image would haunt his thoughts no longer.
"Will you ever wake up again Sakura?" Sasuke thought, just as they made another turn towards the hideout's exit.
A light hand laid on Sasuke's shoulder. "Sakura is strong. She'll make it through this." Kakashi tried to comfort Sasuke, but he knew that it would not help the Uchiha so much. But at least he tried, right?
Sasuke looked up to face his sensei. He was the closest thing Sasuke ever had to a big brother, since his true brother was not much of one. Sasuke once thought of a life if Kakashi had been his brother, how they would train together, and he would teach him what he needed to know. It was one of Sasuke's silent dreams. Though he acted quite mature for a twelve year-old back then, he still held childlike dreams for himself. But, this was not the time, or age for such fantasies, he was sixteen years old, and he no longer needed a 'big brother' to help him. He could manage on his own...
Nevertheless, he did realize how much the silver-haired jonin who's face he had never seen, had helped him grow, and how much he had done for him. This was one of the very few times that Sasuke would ever thank anyone for anything... and sure enough, he didn't make such a big deal about it... another simple 'thank you' to another person he owed so much to...
"Thank you Kakashi-sensei." Sasuke said.
"For what?" Kakashi asked.
"Everything." Sasuke knew that this gesture of thanks would never be enough to make up for him being such a stubborn student, and for betraying the Hidden Leaf, just as a simple 'thank you' was not enough to make up for breaking Sakura's heart when he left her alone on that bench. But still, this was all his Uchiha pride could give.
Kakashi smiled through his mask, he had always taken a liking for the young Uchiha. He always thought of Sasuke as a younger version of him. A pupil who would learn techniques with very little practice, who had lost certain people close to him, who had this weird knack for making girls fall for him, an utter stubbornness, and a burning desire to take the lead. He tried to teach his whole team, but it seemed that he taught Sasuke more than the others, not just because he saw himself in him, but because he had the most potential to learn from him, since they had so much in common. After all, you could only teach best, what you know best.
The leaf-nin soon made their way to the tunnels exit. They were finally free of the darkness of the dungeons, but they were greeted by a thick gloomy fog, and the Akatsuki that Kakashi knocked out the day before.
"Not so fast!" The ninja that guarded the entrance to the tunnels suddenly appeared. It's been two days after all. He tried to stop him again.
"Sensei, please take care of Sakura for a second. I'll finish him up." He handed the pink-haired kunoichi to Kakashi, and then moved forward.
"I'll take care of this!" Sasuke told his comrades, he had this look of anger and a seriousness in his tone.
"My life as an avenger begins again… today." Sasuke thought to himself.
He drew his chokuto and ran towards Kisame, and seemed to disappear in his speed. He reappeared behind his enemy, and focused his chakra into his chokuto, enveloping it in electric blue. He hit Kisame with a strong strike, slicing his enemy, and ultimately, killed him. It was a quick kill, Kisame could never have seen it coming.
"Wow. I wouldn't want to get on the bad side of an angry Sasuke." Kiba thought to himself.
"It's done. Let's go." Sasuke said with no emotion at all. He walked towards Kakashi and took Sakura back in his arms.
Kakashi saw a look in Sasuke's eyes that told him that he was an avenger once more, that he would not allow anything to stand in his way to revenge ever again.
"I promise you Sakura, I will take revenge for this, my brother will die, and you will be safe. You will not die. Not while I'm alive." He silently told the kunoichi he carried in his arms.
Everyone started their way back to Konoha, for their rescue mission was over, and they longed for the comforts of home, for they had been away and tired, for quite long.
"Hey Sasuke, you could let Akamaru carry Sakura for you. It's no problem, Ino and I can walk." Kiba suggested from atop Akamaru, with Ino behind him.
"It's fine. I'll take care of her." He answered.
"No really. You won't be able to move properly and defend or attack while carrying Sakura."
"Fine then, but make sure she'll be okay." Sasuke said, handing Sakura carefully to Kiba.
"I promise." Kiba said, as he and Ino get down from Akamaru, and sitting Sakura on his dog.
And, with that simple gesture of acceptance Sasuke knew that he should to the smart thing this time. He will continue to train and grow stronger, but now, he would not refuse the help of others. Letting go of the pride he had so much of will be a hard task, but he is determined not to let ANYTHING get in the way of him and his revenge, even if the threat would come from inside him. Allies can really change a battle, and Sasuke would take advantage of it. Besides, he remembered Sakura saying that they would help him, back on that tree, on his first day out of the hospital in Konoha...
So the leaf-nin made their way as fast as possible to the hidden leaf, for they had no time to waste. They took a different route from their previous one, and it was a route that cut directly through the forest. It would not be passing by any other villages, but it was the shortest way home.
Once they made it out of the mist, a beautiful afternoon sky greeted them. It was a refreshing sight, after seeing so much darkness and fog for the past three days. There were few clouds, and the light of the sun removed the sense of gloom from all that fog.
The change in scenery did energize the leaf-nin in a way that they felt closer to home, even if they were very hungry, and very tired form their journey, and of course, all that fighting took its toll.
As the afternoon sun began to set, the leaf-nin were talking on whether they should continue making their way to Konoha, or set up camp and stay for the night.
"I'm really tired… and hungry…" Naruto said, clutching his stomach. He saw Sasuke glaring at him, surely Sasuke did not agree on staying in the forest any longer. "b-but, I could always go to Ichiraku's once we get home." Naruto said hastily after seeing Sasuke 'death glaring' him.
"Think we could just continue making our way home. It isn't that far anyway." Kiba said.
"But, if we do set up camp, we can get some food, and take some rest. Hinata's been in those dungeons for so long, and all of us are very hungry and tired, especially you Sasuke." Ino pointed out.
"I'm fine, lets just continue back to Konoha. A few hours of rest and sleep and one meal wouldn't make much of a difference. We could just do that back home. Besides, we still don't know how we're gonna help Sakura wake up from this." Sasuke said with a serious tone. It was clear to everyone that he too, was hungry and tired, but he put Sakura's life before his own.
"I-I'm fine t-too. I want to go home. I'm s-sure everyone's worrying... f-for all of us." Hinata said shyly.
"So, let's get going then, since most of you want to get home. I think it won't take us that long to reach the village. Maybe if we go fast, we could get there in three hours." Kakashi said.
And everyone followed the silver-haired jonin leading the way back to the hidden leaf. Naruto and Hinata closely behind, followed by Sasuke who was at Akamaru's side, for he wanted to keep Sakura close, and at the back were Kiba and Ino. The leaf-nin continued to hasten their pace, as the full moon's light shown through the forest's canopy, and the bright twinkling of the stars that seemed to greet them.
All the leaf-nin were happy to know that they would soon be home. They could not think of a time when they would long to see those gigantic gates, and that mountain with the Hokages faces on it, as they longed to see them now.
:Okay, I hope you guys liked this chapter…
:Please review!!