Disclaimer: See chapter 1.

Author's Notes: Many of you have been kind enough to review and suggest problems that need to be solved. I'm happy to hear your input. I am also, however, quite aware of Sai and Yamato and the many other things that have managed to come up in the Shippuuden series and you need not worry…they will be, are, and have been addressed. As for the situation with the poison and Sakura's sudden inability to cure it…I addressed that issue in chapter one already. Thanks for hanging in there…

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The sun was just starting to come over the horizon when Sakura set Naruto down for the first time since she had started her journey back to Konoha. Naruto groaned when she lay his head on her pack. Unwrapping a piece of bread, she ate slowly and gingerly. She felt very exposed by the brightness of the sand and lack of trees.

"S-Sak-ura," said a weak voice beside her.

Her gaze snapped over to Naruto. His eyes were open just enough to see her. She threw the bread back on its wrapping and leaned over him.

"Naruto! How are you feeling?" She stared anxiously into his face.

He blinked slowly and spoke even slower, "I don't…I can't…feel…my legs. I…feel…so…tired and…heav—y."

"Just keep still for now. Sasuke poisoned you with his blade. I don't have anything with me to cure poisons, so I'm taking you back to Konoha. You have to hang on until then."

"I—I won't die…I have to become…Hok—k—age…remem—ber?"

Sakura smiled sadly, "Yes, I remember. Oh! Do you want something to eat?"

Naruto looked away from her hopeful face, "Maybe…just a…little." He couldn't bare to see her cry. He knew that not eating, even though he really wasn't hungry, would have crushed her hopes. So, even if he felt like every part of him was on fire and his life was a few hours from over…so what? He couldn't let on to Sakura. He didn't want to see her sad…not like this. But what some part of him wondered and still couldn't decide was why she even really cared. It was just him. In the past, she wouldn't have given a damn about him. Kakashi would have been the only one to look out for him and that was that, but now…something was different. Somewhere along the way, she had genuinely started caring about him and that struck him at his core. But there was still something that was bothering him even more than the fact that there was a chance he could die.

"Sakura…" Naruto said weakly.

"Yes?" Sakura pulled out some dried jerky for him to eat.

"Where are…Sai and…Yamato?"

Sakura looked away, "They…uh…they left…"

"They…left?"

Sakura sighed, "When you got hurt, Sai went over to Sasuke's side. He betrayed us. Yamato left us to follow him. Maybe he'll be able to find where Sasuke's really been hiding out all this time."

Naruto closed his eyes, "I see…"

"What? No jokes?" Sakura said, hoping to lighten the mood.

"Sakura…I'm—I'm sorry. I'm still so…weak…"

"No. Don't say that. You're strong, because you're still alive. Now, eat something."

Naruto opened his eyes just enough to see Sakura holding a strip of jerky towards him. Heavily closing his eyes again, he turned his head away from her again.

"I can't move…my arms…sorry."

"That's alright. Can you chew?" Sakura said, optimistically tearing a piece of jerky into small pieces.

"I…think so…"

"Here," she put his head in her arms and made him lean forward. Putting the shredded pieces of jerky in his mouth, he bit down on them awkwardly, feeling each one slide down his throat. Coughing a little as the last one went down, he swallowed hard to get the remaining debris out of his throat.

"Want more?"

Naruto shook his head, "No."

"Okay. Just let me know if you get hungry," Sakura said, packing away the jerky.

"Sakura…why did you…stay…with me?"

Sakura frowned, "Don't be stupid! I wouldn't leave a comrade to fend for himself, even if he weren't injured."

"Now you're being…stupid. When we…were in team…seven…and Sasuke was still…here…you couldn't care…less about…me…"

Sakura was silent for a moment, before she finally got the courage to answer, "I was wrong about you then. I was wrong about a lot of things, and I wasn't mature enough to be responsible for anyone but myself. But in any case, we need to get moving again. The longer we sit here and talk, the more the poison is damaging your body."

"I'm…up for…moving."

A shadow of a smile lit Sakura's face, "Good." She packed up the rest of the food, tied the pack back to her waist and gently lifted him onto her back. Naruto groaned at the change of body position.

"You okay?" Sakura asked, shifting his weight slightly forward.

"Y-Yeah…"

"All right. We're off," Sakura said, getting her footing and starting to run again. It wouldn't be long until she reached the forest now. She could see it. She just hoped her luck of no desert storms would hold until she got out of it.

'Two days from Konoha,' she thought, 'Naruto, hang in there…'