So the fourth chapter is here. Thank you very much for the reviews :)
Your support has given me a reason to update. I hope you're liking the story so far. Please keep reading and reviewing and hopefully I'll update soon :D
Sasuke stirred in the middle of the night startling Sakura. She scooted closer to him and he slowly opened his eyes and saw her staring at him. She turned away. Sasuke sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"It's almost dawn. We'll look for something to eat and head off." Sasuke said as he slowly stood up.
"Okay…" Sakura stood up as well and they gathered some fruits together.
"We'll take some along for later." Sakura suggested and he nodded in response.
The two were eating in silence when Sakura noticed something. There was a cut on Sasuke's right arm and it was bleeding slightly.
"Sasuke your arm…." She stated and he quickly covered it up with his hand.
"I accidentally cut it when I was gathering fruits." Sasuke said and resumed eating.
"But it could get infected. Let me have a look at it." She was worried and reached out to him.
"It's nothing. I'm fine." He got up getting ready to leave.
Sakura didn't want to argue with him any further so she got up as well and both started heading towards the hideout.
They had been traveling for almost four hours. Suddenly both of them sensed something nearby.
"Someone's coming." Sasuke said and they both stopped, taking their fighting position.
"There are at least eight or nine of them." Sakura said as she looked around sensing their chakra.
Suddenly a kunai was thrown targeting Sakura. She easily dodged it.
"Come out!" Sasuke yelled his Sharingan flashing.
Then ninjas in black clothing came out of the woods surrounding them. There were a total of ten rogue ninjas. Sasuke was about to take out his katana when suddenly he realized that he couldn't move his right arm. It was numb.
"What the hell happened to my arm?" He thought and a rouge nin took that chance to punch him straight across his face.
"Sasuke!" Sakura screamed and was about to go to him when five rogue nins jumped her. She was able to take care of them with less effort thanks to her brute strength.
Meanwhile four ninjas attacked Sasuke. He was unable to focus his charka due to the numbness in his arm. So, he was unable to use his nin-jutsus. He used his katana with his left hand and managed to kill three of them. When the fourth one came near him….
"Chidori Nagashi!" Sparks of lightning came from his body surrounding him and shocked the ninja. He was dead with one shot. Sasuke fell to his knees panting as he held his right arm. Sakura came and knelled down in front of him. She was very worried about him.
"Here Sasuke, let me see your arm." She examined his arm and realized that it had been poisoned. The poison was spreading through his body.
"Sasuke you're poisoned I need to heal this now." She told him. While she was busy examining him, she didn't notice a rogue ninja creeping up behind her. The rogue nin was fast. In an instant he was behind Sakura and was about to stab her with a kunai. Sakura realized what was about to happen and held her breath for the impact.
"Amaterasu!" She heard Sasuke say as his eye started to bleed. The attacker was engulfed with black flames and was dead on the spot.
Sasuke's eyes turned back into onyx and he collapsed in Sakura's arms.
"Thank you….Sasuke-kun" She whispered and gently placed his head on her lap and started healing the wound on his arm.
She carried Sasuke and went into a deeper part of the forest where they would be well hidden and no one could ambush them. She lighted a fire and sat near it while she rested Sasuke's head on her lap.
She took off his shirt and then took out her water bottle. She placed her hand in the water and by using chakra she turned into a large water bubble and then she thrust it into Sasuke's stomach. Sasuke grunted a little. She took the bubble out and saw black liquid in it. After doing that two more times she managed to get all the poison out of his body.
She always carried anti-venom with her. It was filled in an injection like capsule. (Like the ones she used during her fight with Sasori) She injected the anti-venom into Sasuke's arm. That would cure the poison that was spreading through his system. She noticed that his cheek was a bit swollen. It was from the punch he got earlier. She put her hand on his cheek and started healing it.
Sasuke felt something warm on his cheek. It was soothing. It was making the pain go away. He stirred and slowly reached out to hold it. When he grabbed it, he heard someone gasp softly. He slowly opened his eyes to see emerald orbs staring back at him.
"Sasuke…" He heard her whisper. He realized that he was resting his head on her lap. Her cheeks seemed a little red. Maybe he was just imagining it. He turned his head to his side and saw that her warm, soft hand was on his cheek and he was holding it. He slowly let go of her hand and sat up slowly. His head felt heavy. It was as if something was pounding his head. He tried to stand up.
"You shouldn't try to stand up." He heard Sakura say but ignored it. When he stood up he leaned forward and was about to fall. But he didn't get an impact. Sakura had come in front of him and stopped him from falling. She had her hands around his torso and her head was on his bare chest. Sasuke's head was on her shoulder, his arms hanging loosely beside her waist. It looked as if they were hugging. Sakura blushed, realizing their current position but didn't say anything. Slowly Sasuke closed his eyes, drifting off to sleep.
It was already night. Sasuke slowly woke up from his sleep and saw that Sakura was sitting beside him staring at the fire.
"What happened to me?" He could tell that he had startled Sakura when he suddenly spoke. Sakura turned to look at him. He still looked a bit pale.
"Oh Sasuke. You're awake…..You were cut by a poisonous herb and some rogue nins attacked us." She explained.
Sasuke seemed to recall what happened. He had passed out after he used the Amaterasu on a ninja that was about to attack Sakura.
"I…passed out after using my Sharingan." Sasuke slowly sat up and wore his shirt.
"That's right. I'm sorry it was my fault Sasuke and also thank you for protecting me." Sakura said. She didn't want to be protected by him. She didn't want to feel weak in front of him. Although it was a nice feeling when, he protected her. It showed that he cared for her well being even a little.
"You're my comrade now. We have to help each other." Sasuke said and leaned his back against a tree while staring at the burning fire.
"Well the good news is, the poison in your body has been destroyed. You'll be fine now." She smiled at him. Sasuke stayed silent for a while and just stared at her. Sakura turned away feeling his glance on her.
"…Thank you Sakura….for helping me." Sasuke suddenly spoke as he stared at the ground.
"…..You're welcome…" She was surprised to hear him say thank you. Maybe he wasn't completely devoured by darkness. The old Sasuke was still there.
"You should get some sleep. We need to reach the hideout by tomorrow." Sasuke said and stood up.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He did look a little pale.
"I'm fine. Now sleep. I'll keep watch." Sasuke jumped on the branch of a tree and sat there staring into space.
Sakura did as she was told. She lied down and slowly drifted into sleep.
Meanwhile back in Konoha...
An Anbu appeared before a worried hokage.
"Hokage-sama the Akatsuki are on the move." The Anbu standing in front of her said.
Tsunade stayed quiet and only nodded in response and dismissed the Anbu. She bit her finger thinking about their next move.
"The Akatsuki are coming after Naruto but will they attack Konoha head on again? Are they still that powerful even thought their leader is dead?" She thought about what will be the best course of action in this case. She thought if she should keep Naruto in or out of the village or send him somewhere the Akatsuki least expect him.
She looked at a scroll in front her and made her decision. She called Shizune and told her to inform team Kakashi and Yamato that they have a mission.
After fifteen minutes Kakashi and Yamato were present in the Hokage's office. They waited for their mission briefing.
"Akatsuki are on the move again. Our main priority now is to protect Naruto at all cost. We received a request from the Raikage that we should team up with them and fight this threat together." Tsunade stated.
"If I remember correctly, the Raikage's younger brother is a Jinchuuriki." Yamato said.
"Yes he is the wielder of the Hachibi. (eight tails) You both along with Sai and Naruto shall go to the lightning country and aid them. This way the Akatsuki won't find Naruto." Tsunade stated the mission.
"When do we leave?" Kakashi spoke for the first time.
"You will leave tomorrow morning. It will take you three days to reach the lightning country." She said and Kakashi nodded in response.
"Yamato tell Sai about the mission. I'll talk to Naruto. Ja-ne." Kakashi said and disappeared into a puff of smoke.
Yamato took his leave from the Hokage's office, leaving Tsunade and Shizune.
"You better hurry up and help that Uchiha, Sakura. We're running out of time." The Hokage clenched her fist, slamming then on the table; breaking yet another desk.
So readers I hope you enjoyed this chapter. This chapter was longer then the rest :) This was dedicated to julie-chan, Mistressinwaiting, red lips and cloudy eyes, MyNameIsEve for reviewing my last chapter. Thanks a bunch :D