There was something warm on her cheek; wet and red. Sakura tried to focus on the liquid that smudged her finger tips. She doesn't think it matters though. Nothing mattered. The rest of her limbs felt like dead weight. Sounds of thunder came to her ears as dull echoes pierced by shrieks and wails. The wind perhaps. And lighting.
But they were not.
Her right hand can only feel dirt on the ground, and the light from the canopies both glared and faded as a gentle breeze dislodged a few more leaves.
A soft tinkle of bells woke her to alarm.
Sakura pulled herself up and glanced around. There was still a roar and clash of sounds coming from behind the trees, but it was softer… as if a window was shut tight to keep the noise of a rowdy party from disturbing the neighbours' sleep. It didn't bother the rosette as much. It was probably Naruto again with a new set of kage bunshin. It only meant that she needed to hurry and see if she can convince at least one of her teammates to regroup and help.
A slight path led out from under the trees to her right. Shadows began playing on the ground as Sakura strode forward, an ache came from each step. There a whisper from a convalescent in her ear that begged bones and muscle and sinew to stop. The air became stale and heavy with the words of dead men. Those dying were still behind the wall of a storm, all around her but not there.
She was still in the forest amongst daylight and leaves and Naruto was grinning before her.
"Ohh, thank kami! I was looking for you."
"Sorry Sakura-chan, I couldn't get him ba-"
"Pfft. Of course you couldn't. None of us are near his league. Which is why we're better off figuring something out together," Sakura huffed.
But the blonde was no longer grinning. His eyes held no humour at all and the rest of his face hardly belonged to the class-clown she knew. He looked older. It was only then that Sakura was able to take stock of his singed appearance. There were tears and scratches on his jumpsuit as well. Blood was leaking from his side.
"Naruto?"
Her breath came trapped in her throat. Sakura tried to reach out only to fumble as her teammate fell to his knees. A flash of silver caught her eye; a blade, long and slender appeared at Naruto's throat. It's wielder casted an all too familiar silhouette, dotted by a pair of gleaming crimson eyes. With a flick of his wrist, his weapon sang.
The squirrel was mocking him. If it hadn't been quite so dedicated to it's round nutty package, Sasuke would've called it Naruto and assume it a new henge the blonde has concocted. And yet before him the rodent stood, head tilted, it's round brown eyes just a level below inquisitiveness, probably debating if his head was a bigger version of the meal it was carrying.
Sasuke was in no mood to fight off man-eating squirrels with only his head free from the ground. Pathetic
It was then that a piercing scream echoed through the woods, startling the rodent up a tree.
A sudden chill climbed up the Uchiha's spine. The compact earth around him now felt suffocating. His fingers tried to grapple for movement as certainty dawned: the sound was close and there is no controlled hazard under regulation he knew that could have produced it.
Either the Hakate is one sick bastard or something was terribly terribly wrong.
An arm finally made it to the surface when Sakura appeared. Sasuke promptly stopped his efforts to assess the rosette.
He'd undoubtedly seen her in much better state. The girl's clothes were relatively clean. Her hair held a few tangles and leaves, but that was only to be expected. What caught the Uchiha's attention was her right side. Green spindled markings ran through her limp arm, like roots crawling up her shoulder. The rest of the appendage was cradled by its left counterpart, a kunai in between its fingers. Sasuke could see more pronounced markings down her hand, these appeared to turned white stemming from the knuckles. Bandages wrapped around her thigh, staining it red, causing Sasuke to glance back at the kunai and take note of the blood.
About ten paces away, Sakura stopped and sucked a breath. It seemed she did not immediately noticed theUchiha's partially undug form.
"S-Sasuke…"
The name barely even made it to his ear, a quiver present in its tone that Sasuke pushed to ignore. Composure eluded both, but it was Sasuke, in the end, who found his voice first: level and steady.
"Do you mind."
A ready exhale was his only response, though sure enough, the bloodied kunai dropped from Sakura's hand. She made her way over, braced her weight and clasped his free arm in a firm hold.
Up close, Sasuke can see the network of 'cracks,' most likely veins, on her damaged arm. A part of him was already running through possible causes.
A raiton, perhaps. Sasuke thought, remembering first aid classes from the academy.
Elemental ninjutsu were a just about prerequisite of all jounnin. The infliction was most prominent on her knuckles. The girl likely triggered a trap. Though the sound from earlier could not dismiss on a more malicious cause. Sakura could just as likely have gotten hurt from a straightforward battle.
The thought made Sasuke re-evaluate just how dangerous their opponent was. The jounnin's blithe attitude may well have been a cover, a mask to provide a sense of complacency and trust. Just like…
Sasuke shook himself, focusing instead on as much of himself loose from the ground. The rosette above him had found it necessary to use both her hands now, though the right side still looked shaky and uncertain of its hold. The gesture did disclose the girl as able to manage herself enough.
It took a few heaves before Sasuke was hunched over his own two feet and finally able to breathe without constraint. Dusting himself, the boy felt the need to get a few answers.
"Hatake?" He motioned to Sakura's own staggered form.
"I-" her hand unconsciously went to her bloodied thigh before quietly replying, "genjutsu."
Well, that was one way of dealing with illusions.
It felt disappointing however to note how one of the most observant and book-smart of his class had to resort to such means in breaking away from an implanted mental construct. The girl was still obviously shaken from the experience.
Genjutsu didn't explain her other injury though, but Sasuke was denied the chance to ask as the rosette began, "Sasuke, we need to get Naruto."
A halt. Thoughts on further inquiry were sent packing. Why?
Something must've shown on his face as the girl pressed on, "None of us are a match against Hatake Kakashi on our own."
"..."
"I mean it Sasuke-kun! You may have gotten close, but…" She trailed off.
Sasuke's eyes once again landed on the rosette's arm. He wanted to point out that is was she who was in no condition to face Hatake Kakashi. At all.
Though the idea of the loud obnoxious blonde as some sort of distraction did have its merits.
"There are only two bells, Sakura."
"And I'll fight you both, for one! After..." she snapped, defiance written clear in her eyes.
Sasuke could only snort. Idiot.
"I'd thought you'd offer to have the both of us keep the bells and leave the deadlast marching back to the academy."
"And I thought you won't even give my suggestion a second thought."
"It has its merits."
"Then give me the benefit of a doubt, that I may get one of the bells from either one of you once the dust clears!"
"Hn. Fine" It's your funeral.
Sakura beamed.
Growl
Naruto had come to the conclusion that Hatake Kakashi is an oni. For the last hour and a half the silver haired demon had left him tied upside down to a post with nothing but the smell of warm food for company. The light breeze that lead the meal's aroma to his nose was the jounnin's doing as well, the jinchuuriki was pretty much positive of that.
Growl
"Ahh, here we are."
Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
The jounin's unmistakable form 'poofed' just above the blonde, crouching on top of the pole he was tied to, and casting an ominous shadow.
Barely a second later shuriken burst from one of the trees flying straight at the man above him. The jounnin easily swept most aside, caught two and left one to embed itself just between Naruto's knees.
"Y'bastard!"Naruto yelled at the man whose visible eye still crinkled in amusement.
A slight rustle later and Kakashi was in the air engaged in a tight taijutsu battle with Sasuke. From another direction came Sakura, headed straight for him, kunai in hand. In one sweep, she cut his bindings.
"Flank Hatake with clones, we'll do the rest." It was not a request.
Naruto needn't be told twice before charging, hands at their signature cross formation.
Sasuke had just performed another katon, causing Kakashi to swerve left, right towards the newly summoned flock of Naruto's. The Uchiha took the opportunity to dart low, just as their third teammate came behind him from above swinging an axe kick at Kakashi's head.