YAY!!! I've become a BETAreader!! Please feel free to send me stuff to beta, because I'd really like to do some beta-ing. XD
Chapter 4
Sakura woke first, with a sore neck and a sore… well, everything else. She was hurting all over, partly because her back had been pressed against a stub that stuck out of the tree trunk while she slept, and partly because her body was still recovering from the episode that had occurred the day before. She coughed as she sat up and immediately recognized the symptoms of a weakened immune system.
Sasuke and Naruto were still asleep, Sasuke leaning heavily against a tree he'd claimed last night, and Naruto sprawled out across the grass on the opposite end of the clearing. He may have gotten older, but some things never changed. Sakura sighed and covered a hand over her mouth, fighting down another cough. She didn't want to wake either of them up because they really looked like they could use a lot more rest.
Her gaze traveled to Sasuke and she allowed her eyes to linger on his sleeping form, taking in all of his features. She felt embarrassed and guilty for staring, for allowing herself to act so immature, but she couldn't help it. Beside, it wasn't like anyone was there to catch her.
She'd forgotten how beautiful he looked, how stunning his dark hair was, how gorgeous his perfect features were. She stared and stared, memorizing his strong jaw line, his long lashes, the way his face was so perfectly structured. She was acting like a little girl again, the way she used to be when they were in the academy. She felt like she was just another fangirl, one of the dozens who fawned over the genius rookie and screamed "Sasuke-kun!" whenever he passed by.
Sakura shuddered and quickly looked away, mentally scolding herself for acting so childish. How could things revert to the way they were after all these years? It was ridiculous for her to be even thinking of such a thing. She had to act professionally and there was no time to be stuck on such trivial things. Sakura forced her eyes to remain glued to the ground, unwilling to give herself any more satisfaction from staring at Sasuke.
A wave of fatigue washed over her and she decided that since neither of her two companions had awoken it, it wouldn't hurt to go back to sleep. Just for a little bit. She was a light sleeper anyways, so it would be ok. Yes, just a light doze… her eyes closed as her head fell softly against the tree trunk.
Sasuke stirred slightly when he felt a breeze ruffle his hair, then slowly cracked open his eyes. The first thing he saw was a bird, resting not too far from where he sat, slumped against the tree-trunk. It flew away immediately when he tried to shift himself so that he felt more comfortable. His eyes, with nothing to focus on anymore, began wandering the clearing, eventually settling on the sleeping form of Sakura.
Well, he couldn't really see all of her, or even most of her, just her face and an arm, slung over the side of a fallen tree. Her hair had fallen across her face, a few wisps blowing in the same breeze that had woken him. She looked so peaceful, completely unlike the serious Sakura that he'd seen previously.
Sasuke stared at her for a moment longer, then allowed his gaze to travel to Naruto, who was occupying half the clearing with his lanky body, spread out awkwardly as he slept. Occasionally, a snore escaped from the ninja, but other than that, he was sound asleep.
Sasuke stared blankly at the space in front of him, not really seeing anything. His mind was playing over and over the image of Naruto he'd seen earlier. He just couldn't get rid of it, any of it. The furious eyes, the swirl of chakra, the claws… everything. And just how much stronger had his old teammate gotten? If Sakura had not been there, if this hadn't been a mission, who would have given up first? Who would have… died first? Yeah, died. He knew that a fight like that would have been to the death.
The thought didn't really frighten him, but it did disgust him a little. He didn't want to see himself as a killer. That would lower him to Itachi's level, and he didn't want to sink that low. He closed his eyes, immersing himself deep in thought. Little did he know that doing so would easily cause him to fall asleep once more.
Naruto groaned as he sat up, head aching, arms and legs throbbing. He looked around him and saw an angel. Well, ok, it wasn't really an angel, but it sure was close. He was staring at Sakura, admiring everything there was to admire about her. To him, she had always been the one. She was strong, both physical and mentally, she was pretty, and, when she wasn't pissed off, she was actually really nice.
He grinned to himself, but the grin was wiped off his face when the events of the previous day suddenly struck him. He saw Sasuke, asleep, on the other side of the clearing, and he immediately tensed. But Sasuke really was asleep, his breathing was even, his body relaxed. What is he doing here? Naruto wondered, a frown gathering on his face as he studied Sasuke with some anger.
That bastard ran off, then suddenly shows up… with Sakura? Naruto didn't get it. What had caused this unexpected reunion? And what happened to the forest? He looked around him, studying the area more carefully this time, and noticed that a trail of destruction had been carved in the woods, eventually leading up to the clearing they were now in. Had Sasuke caused it?
Naruto stood up shakily and began walking towards Sakura. He decided he would wake her first, quietly, and they could decide together what to do with Sasuke. As much as he wanted their teammate back, he still saw Sasuke as an enemy. Naruto approached the two tree trunks between which Sakura lied, breathing gently as she slept.
He was about to reach out to wake her, when he tripped on something- he wasn't sure what it was- and landed just an arm's length from her, creating an eruption of noise. It woke everyone.
Sakura jumped to her feet, already in defense position, looking around wildly. "Naruto!" she yelled in disbelief, when she saw that it was only him.
"Heh", Naruto grinned sheepishly, then pushed himself off the ground.
"Oh, you're awake too, Sasuke", Sakura looked over Naruto's head, giving the figure at the far end of the clearing a slight nod.
"What happened?" Naruto's voice had suddenly turned serious, and Sakura found that all three of them became tense, looking untrustingly at one another.
"Let's talk about it after we return to the village", Sakura sighed, "we're in no condition to stay out here any longer".
"No!" Both Sasuke and Naruto objected firmly, causing Sakura to look at them suspiciously.
"But you're hurt", she protested.
"No" Sasuke said firmly.
"What, is that the only word you know? Why can't you guys see that you need medical attention?" Sakura demanded.
"No one can interfere while we're out here", Sasuke replied smoothly.
"That's right", Naruto agreed, sitting firmly on the ground. He looked like he wasn't going anywhere soon.
"No one will interfere there,either! I'll make sure we have privacy. Just, please, you guys need to be healed", Sakura pleaded.
"You just don't want to face all of this yet", Sasuke accused. His tone was low, menacing, sending chills up Sakura's spine.
"And you can heal us here", Naruto added.
Sakura groaned in frustration, looking angrily at her two teammates with eyes that held tears, threatening to spill out. But, they'd ganged up on her, and she knew she couldn't take them both at the same time, especially not now.
"Fine", she huffed, looking away bitterly.
"So, what happened?" Naruto asked, motioning to the destroyed forest around them.
"Your kyuubi chakra leaked out five tails", Sasuke's blunt answer earned an appalled gasp from Sakura, who couldn't believe he had the nerve to be so insensitive.
Naruto froze when he heard this, his eyes growing wide.
"Five?" he whispered, his voice suddenly becoming hoarse.
"Naruto, we-"
"I did all of this?"
"Naruto, it's not your fault. It's not like-"
"And did I do all of that to you… and you?" he didn't seem to notice Sakura's attempt to comfort him. His mind had finally registered the wounds on Sasuke's body and the general weakened appearance of Sakura. What had he done?
"Tell me what happened", he demanded.
"There isn't enough time to explain everything. Let's just get back to-"
"I had to weaken you and lead you to this area, then create an opening so Sakura could use a jutsu on you that sealed the fox's chakra back in", Sasuke cut in. His explanation was short, blunt, easily understood. Once again, Sakura was shocked at how straightforward he could be.
Naruto didn't reply. He'd heard the words, and he was waiting for them to sink in. To really sink in. But for some reason, his mind refused to believe it. He knew about the Kyuubi's chakra, about the seal, about everything, but even so, he had never been able to really comprehend the power that it encompassed. Even after all these years, he was still shocked to see the effects it could have.
"So I was…" he trailed off, unable to speak the words. They were like a taboo, something that just wasn't supposed to be spoken. That couldn't be spoken.
"Naruto, please", Sakura had given up on trying to hold in her tears. She ignored them as they flooded out of her eyes and rolled down her cheeks.
"No", Naruto backed away, holding up an arm to create a shield between Sakura and himself, "Stay away from me. What if I suddenly sprout a few tails now, and you get hurt?"
"What?" Sakura blinked, "No, no, it doesn't happen like that. Something has to trigger the chakra's release. It doesn't just leak out".
"You don't know that".
Neither Sakura nor Sasuke had ever heard Naruto use such a serious and grave tone and they exchanged nervous glances at each other. Yes, even Sasuke, who seemed to be so cool, calm, collected, who didn't seem to care about anything, was allowing his anxiety to show.
He figured there was no need to put up a wall in this place. There was no one here to see him, no one to judge him. Just his two old teammates.
"We should return to the village", he said. Sakura looked appreciatively at him, silently thanking him for finally agreeing with her. Naruto didn't seem to hear him. It was more than obvious that he was lost in his own world, his mind unable to settle, unable to focus on one clear idea.
Everything about the Kyuubi, rumors he'd heard, the damage he'd witness, the images in his head, was swirling around in his mind, clouding his senses and bringing on a pounding headache. He couldn't bear to look at Sakura, to see her in a weakened state because of him. And as much as he held a grudge against Sasuke for leaving them all, he felt that what he'd done was actually worse; All Sasuke had done was leave them, but he had attacked them, had hurt them.
"Naruto?" Sakura said tentatively, reaching out a hand. She seemed unsure about what to do, part of her wanting more than anything to comfort her friend, and part of her fearing what his reaction would be.
"We have to go back", Sasuke stated firmly. Although he had originally been against the idea of going anywhere near that place again, he could tell from the current circumstances that it was probably not the best idea to be out in the middle of the forest, alone with an unstable, kyuubi-containing boy and an upset, strong-as-hell and moody girl.
"Naruto, please", Sakura's voice finally penetrated his thoughts and Naruto looked up. He saw nothing but Sakura's jade green eyes, and the pain, fear, and sadness that were pouring out of them. There was a bit of strength in her eyes, trying to make up for all the weakness and emotion, but right now, it wasn't doing a very good job.
"Let's go", Sasuke's tone had become impatient, and Naruto, not wanting further conflict, complied.
The three shinobi trudged through the forest, towards the general area of the Hidden Village of the Sand, each struggling to hold on to themselves and to keep a calm, outer appearance.
Sakura collapsed first, both mentally and physically. The tension in the air between her two teammates, who were on either side of her, had finally pushed her to the breaking point. No matter how much Naruto and Sasuke tried to keep to themselves, for the sake of each other, there was an unmistakable air of bitterness, secrecy, and suspicion surrounding them.
And, she'd crumbled physically as well. Her weakened body consisted of no more than a simple cold, but it was enough to create an obvious effect. That, plus a lack of eating, left her in a heap on the floor.
When she fell, gracelessly onto the floor, her knees hitting the dirt, both Sasuke and Naruto froze. Neither rushed forward to surround her, as was customary of normal people, but both became wary, eyeing her and each other cautiously. Even Naruto, who normally rushed to the side of his beloved "Sakura-chan", was unable to move at first. His eyes looked up to meet Sasuke's, and a silent agreement was formed between them.
Although there was no reason to, Naruto didn't quite trust himself yet with other people. Sakura had assured him that the nine-tails' chakra didn't leak out so easily, but his mind had already settled for constantly fearing that the chakra would burst out at any moment, causing him to fear being anywhere near Sakura.
Sasuke understood what he was thinking, and scooped Sakura into his arms in one swift movement, ignoring his body's protest. She felt ridiculously light in his arms, and for the first time, he became fully aware of the extent of her injuries. There was nothing visible on her, no cuts or bruises, but he could feel the lack of life in her body, the emptiness seeping through her as he shifted her slightly in his arms. Maybe this was why she wanted to return to the village so badly. Well, she could have just said so.
Sakura seemed to be aware that she was no longer on the ground, but her mind didn't register much more than that. Her head, which probably felt like the heaviest part of her body at the moment, drooped onto Sasuke's shoulder and tilted slightly, fitting against the curve where his neck met his shoulders. There was a stifling feeling in her chest, almost like it was hard to breathe, and her eyes were having trouble staying open.
Even after the night of sleep she'd had, which wasn't all that great, to say the least, she was still worn out and unable to function properly. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she was disappointed that she wasn't able to hold herself up more properly, but she decided that for now, there was no point in thinking about any of it. The only thing on her mind was to return to the shelter of the village.
That way, they'd all be safe. Her. Sasuke. Naruto.
A shinobi standing guard just outside of the Hidden Village of the Sand suddenly became aware of two figures approaching from the distance. The sun was almost set at this time, so only the silhouettes of these figures were visible. One was hunched over, had spiky hair, and was walking with an air of tension around him.
The other figure was rather bulky, with random parts of the silhouette sticking out on the sides. As the approached the guard, he realized that it was actually the silhouette of two people, one carrying the other. Alarmed, he called for more guards as backup, and when five guard shinobi arrived, they quickly ran out to meet the approaching figures.
They saw the spiky haired figure fall to the ground, shoulders hunched, as if he were unable to move. The other figure, the one who seemed to be carrying someone else, managed to make it a couple more steps before he, too, lowered himself to the ground and tried to gently set the person in his arms down, in front of him.
The guards had reached the three figures by then, and they were shocked to see who they were. Immediately, one of the guards sent his messenger hawk towards the Kazekage's tower, informing the Kazekage of the most recent news. Three of the guards each helped one of the figures to their feet, supporting them as they were led into the village.
Rooms were prepared in the hospital, three separate ones, each with a well-stocked staff of medics and nurses. The girl was brought to her room first, then the two boys, who were still conscious and protested the way they were being handled. Doors opened and closed, the medical staff moved in and out of rooms, machines were hooked up, and before long, all three of them were settled into their treatments.
Outside the room of the girl, two voices spoke quietly.
"Kazekage-sama, she's still unconscious, but we've identified her".
"There's no need. I know that it's Sakura. Please, allow me to see her", Gaara spoke politely, trying very hard to keep his temper under control.
"Of course", the nurse opened the door and allowed the Kazekage to walk in, then quietly closed it again.
Gaara approached the bed where Sakura lied, looking emotionlessly at her unconscious form. There was a single machine hooked up to her arm, supplying her body with the needed nutrients while she was unable to eat.
"The village elders will have a fit about this", he murmured to himself, a smile almost crossing his face as he thought about the old men in the room, ranting to him about what to do and what not to do. But he had to be serious about the situation at hand. Sakura seemed to be in a better state than when she first arrived, and he knew that she would heal. What concerned him was what had happened with Sasuke and Naruto in the forest.
Reports had occasionally been sent back, describing the damage to the forest, but none of his men had actually seen any of the three shinobi out there. There were so many details missing- how it happened, when exactly it happened, how quickly it happened… so many questions running through his mind. Of course, he couldn't ask her at the moment, since she was still unresponsive, so he made a mental note to drill her with question after question once she woke.
Gaara looked around the room for one moment, then, deciding that it was pointless for him to stay any longer until Sakura woke up, he left to go see Naruto and Sasuke. This would definitely be something interesting.
She woke to a dark room and complete silence. The first thing that went through her mind was panic. But, instead of the usual panic that consisted of simple questions such as "when?" and "where?" she panicked because all she could think of was the injection and her experiments. Did it work? Or was she in a dark and silent place because she was dead?
A sudden noise that seemed to be coming from far away, with a trace of echo following it convinced her that she really was dead. But the noise grew louder, came closer, until a crack of light entered the room, then something that sounded like a door creaked open.
"Sakura?"
"Ugh", Sakura realized she was in the hospital and tried to speak, but her words came out all garbled up.
"Are you feeling better?"
"Mmhm", she tried to sound positive, tried to brighten the words, or sounds, that were coming out of her mouth.
"That's good". She could now identify the voice as a nurse's, one of the ones she'd worked with a few times.
"I brought you medication. It's supposed to help strengthen your body's natural defenses", the nurse explained.
Sakura sighed. She knew that already, duh. "Thanks", she forced herself to say as the nurse switched on a dim light in the corner and handed her several small pills. The pills burned their way down her throat and she quickly gulped the glass of water in her hand, then dropped everything back onto the tray for the nurse to take care of.
"Anything else I can do for you?" the nurse asked politely. Even in her fatigued state, Inner Sakura, who had not faded over these years, did a little dance. Just the fact that the nurse was polite, and not impatient with her, told Sakura that she had some sort of unspoken authority here. It was nice to have power.
"Could you turn off the lights and let some air in?" Sakura asked.
"Of course".
The curtains were pulled back and the windows opened, allowing the warm, desert air to breeze into the room. As the nurse left, Sakura noted that it was a rather cool night, and the lowered temperature, a stark contrast from the usually hot, sandy climate, was definitely a nice change.
She now had time to think, with no interruptions or distractions. A bit of moonlight filtered into the window and she looked outside, into the distance. While her eyes relaxed and moved lazily among the nighttime scenery that was outside, her mind worked hard, analyzing and sorting out everything that happened. She vaguely remembered collapsing somewhere along the way and she was actually quite surprised that her two old teammates were able to make it back without killing each other.
And speaking of which, where were they anyways? Another rush of panic shot through her when it finally dawned on her that she didn't actually know for sure where Naruto and Sasuke were. They could be in the hospital, safe and resting, the way she was, or they could have destroyed each other out in the forest. Her fists clenched tightly as she tried to convince herself that she had to have more faith in the two guys. They wouldn't start fighting that easily… or would they?
I have to know what happened to them, she thought, tossing the covers off of her. She swung a leg over the bed, then shifted her weight slowly, testing her physical abilities. She was able to stand up, although her movements were rather weak and shaky. Pressing a palm against the wall to support herself, Sakura slowly made her way to the door, quietly opening it just a crack so she could see if there were any nurses in the hallway.
Nope, it was clear. She stepped outside, then stopped, remembering that she had no idea where Naruto and Sasuke's rooms were. But, of course, having worked here for a while now, she still had an advantage. She knew this was the 1st floor, because newly admitted patients were always put here. And if those two were in the hospital, they'd be on the same floor as her.
A visual of the floor plan appeared in her mind and she mentally crossed out the first two rooms- those were kept empty for emergencies. She knew the next several rooms had patients, as she'd treated them just recently and it was too soon for them to be released. She thought about the rest of the rooms for a while, finally narrowing it down to three rooms. Well, two out of three was pretty good, wasn't it?
At the pace she moved, it took nearly forever for Sakura to reach the first of the three doors. She paused outside the room, listening quietly to see if she could pick up any clues as to who was inside. It was silent. Tentatively, Sakura placed her hand on the door handle and gently turned it, giving the door a slight push. Still silence.
Either the room was unoccupied or the patient was unconscious or someone was waiting to jump out at her. She really hoped it wasn't the last one.
The room was really, really dark. No lights, no opened curtains or windows… even the opened door didn't seem to help much. Sakura allowed her eyes to adjust before scanning the room. She didn't see much at first, until her gaze reached the bed. A pair of dark eyes stared intently at her, and even against the dark background, those eyes stood out.
"Sasuke?" she said the first name that came to mind, the only name that she ever truly associated with darkness.
He didn't reply, but the eyes visibly softened and she took that as a sign that it was ok for her to be in there. She shut the door behind her, then strode over to the window and pushed back the curtain, opening the windows the way the nurse had opened hers.
"Are you feeling better?" she asked.
"Hn".
"That's good", she replied softly.
"You shouldn't be walking around", he said after a while. She knew that was the closest he'd come to saying he cared about her wellbeing.
"I'm fine", she lied.
"Really?" his voice sounded skeptical. Sakura cringed in the dark. He was the first person who'd called her out on her lies so easily, and so confidently. She was normally quite good at hiding herself, but she'd become transparent around him.
"Yes", she tried again.
"You're voice is weak", he stated, "Don't lie to me".
"Sasuke…" Sakura sighed, not sure of what to say. He waited patiently for her to clear her thoughts. "What… well, what now?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, we're all back. Me, you, Naruto. And now what?"
"Just because we happen to be in the same village doesn't mean we have to do anything together", Sasuke's voice had turned cold, and the icy tone wrapped itself around Sakura, making her shiver uncomfortably.
"I see", she sounded incredibly sad, and for just a moment, Sasuke felt guilt and regret for saying those words. "I guess you're free to go, then. I mean, technically, I guess you didn't do anything wrong".
"Really?" there was surprise in Sasuke's voice.
"I'm sure I can talk to the Kazekage…" Sakura trailed off, rubbing her arm self-consciously. She was glad the room was dark, so he couldn't see her turning red. As subtle as it was, she felt the rejecting hitting her. For some reason, she'd naively thought that with all three members reunited, something nice could have happened. Well, that sure was a retarded thought.
Sasuke had fallen silent during this time. He didn't have anything worth saying, so he didn't waste his energy. He knew that he should have
have said something, anything, to make the girl sitting at the end of his bed feel better, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. That sort of action had become foreign to him, and he felt awkward even attempting to make someone feel better. It just wasn't his thing.
A single sniffle broke the silence and Sasuke groaned inwardly. Please, please don't be crying, he begged in his mind. With a lack of human interaction, he really had no idea how to respond.
"Are you crying?" he said the first thing that came to mind.
"No". Wow, she was suddenly getting to be a really, really bad liar. The tears were obvious in her voice and Sasuke winced. Deciding he wasn't too badly hurt, he moved to the edge of the bed beside Sakura and placed a hand on her shoulder, in what he thought was a comforting gesture. He'd seen it work with other people.
She didn't respond to his touch and he vaguely wondered if he'd done wrong. How did other people deal with this stuff? He wracked his brains and shifted through various images in his memory, eventually settling on one of his parents, in a rare moment when he'd seen them show affection to each other.
Well, it was mostly his mother, who'd been comforting his father about something. He didn't remember what it was, but he remembered the image quite clearly. It'd worked for them, so he figured it was reasonable to try.
Letting out a small sigh, he scooted closer to Sakura until they sat side by side. He raised one arm slowly, then cautiously wrapped it around her shoulder. His other arm curled around the other side of her and he tightened his grip, pressing her against his chest. It hurt slightly to do so, as his wounds were feeling quite tender at the moment, but he ignored the pain.
Her head fell naturally against the crook of his neck and she settled there, unmoving. But Sasuke could tell that along the way, he'd done something right, because although she began to cry more, her hands were clenching his shirt, as if desperately holding on to him.
