A/N: The first time I uploaded this I got some complaints about Neji's name being spelled wrong…and yes it was. Mental errors like that happen when you get 4 hours of sleep every night for a week. I've fixed all the errors that I've found in here and if there are any others I apologize and will correct it as I see them, however, keep in mind that I don't write fan fiction for you, I write it for myself. Whether I post it online is my choice. If too many choose to complain about such stuff as mispellings I will (in the future) stop posting chapters on the net.
Thanks, Sky Rider

Sakura was almost to the edge of the desert when the winds started to pick up. She knew she only had another four hundred feet or so to go, but it was already getting hard to see the trees in the distance.

"Damn! Naruto, how are you doing back there?" Sakura asked, getting a mouthful of sand as she spoke. Waiting for a moment to hear his reply, she fought the winds, trying to keep going. The seconds ticked by and there was no response. Naruto must've passed out again. It was then that she did something she swore she would never do. With the knowledge of the fact that Naruto was going to lose his life if she didn't hurry back to get him help, she made a choice out of instinct instead of common sense. As a ninja, she knew that pushing on through the storm could be deadly, even if the trees were only a few hundred feet away. The woman in her, however, knew that if she waited too long, it may be too late for Naruto by the time she got back to Konoha. So, in her desperation, she made the decision to push through the storm towards the forest anyway and pray that she would reach it without too much incident.

Walking against the wall of wind and sand, however, proved more of a chore than she had expected. The wind pulled at her body making Naruto's weight harder to bear. The sand ripped at her skin, burning like thousands of tiny needles. Trying to get a decent breath, she took out a piece of clothing that she had packed and put it over her mouth and nose. She only hoped Naruto was too unconscious to be aware of the constant burning and lack of oxygen that the sand storm had managed to accumulate. All the same, unconscious or not, she couldn't risk exposing him much longer. It was around that time, however, that something strange started to happen. As she walked further and further, the desert winds began to decrease in strength which could only mean that she was heading in the right direction…and she was close. Feeling encouraged with the weakening winds, she began to pick up her pace. She had just broken into a run again when she came to a dead spot where all the winds had suddenly ceased. She looked up to see trees in front of her. She had made it. Not stopping to celebrate, she jumped up and took off, leaping from one tree another. Cursing the fact that the sand storm had slowed her down, she pressed herself to keep moving regardless of how tired she may be. It was essential that Naruto got help fast, especially now that she had been delayed. So, putting the piece of clothing away that had been used to mask her face from the sand, she navigated the forest silently with an senseless Naruto on her back.

As the hours slowly passed, her mind began to wander. Naruto hadn't said anything since she had fed him in the desert. It left her alone with her thoughts.

'So…when did you start liking Naruto?' a little voice said in her brain.

'I thought I already told you…I don't like him,' said a second voice.

'Oh yeah?' said the first voice.

'Yes,' replied the second stubbornly.

'Then why are you always thinking about him?' said the first voice.

'He's on my team. I'm with him all the time. Its only natural that I would think of him from time to time…'

'Don't lie…you've thought of kissing him before. In fact, you've been thinking about it more since he got back from training.'

The second voice didn't reply at once. Then it timidly replied, 'You're…you're right. When did that happen?'

'But it can't happen…you know that don't you? Love is a forbidden concept for a shinobi.'

The second voice hesitated, 'I had forgotten about that…'

There was suddenly a bit of coughing before a voice behind her spoke weakly, "Sak—ura…"

She pulled her mind out of her thoughts.

"How are you feeling?" Sakura asked, almost being clothes-lined by a low-hanging branch. She looked up to see the sun starting to set.

"I've—been…b-better," Naruto answered. His speech was starting to slur.

"Are you hungry?" Sakura asked.

Naruto groaned, "N-No—not—h-hungry."

"Listen, Naruto, we're still a full night and at least part of a day away from Konoha. You have to hang on a little longer. I don't have what I need to treat you now or I would have done it already," Sakura said grimly. Without realizing it, she had quickened her pace.

"I'll—ry—t-try," Naruto said. Sakura's heart sunk. From his words, it sounded as if he was doubting if he could hold out that long. The idea of losing him was beginning to scare her.

"No! Promise me you'll make yourself last until I get you there," Sakura said desperately.

"I'm—s-sorry—Sak—ura. I can't—make—that—prom—ise…" Naruto took a labored breath, then let out a soft moan.

"Don't you dare," Sakura commanded hysterically. "Don't you dare die on me here! You can't die now…not like this…not when I—" her voice trailed off and tears threatened her again. Silence fell between them for a long time after that.

From somewhere to their left, a rain of kunai suddenly appeared. Sakura was hit by several and fell towards the ground, surprised by the sudden attack. Naruto, having slid off her back and unable to help himself, was falling next to her limply. Sakura managed to regain her composure and station her feet on the side of a tree, catching Naruto awkwardly before he hit the ground. She let out a yelp of pain as his weight strained her already injured shoulder even more. But as soon as she could think straight again, she ran down the tree and gently laid Naruto down next to it. Pulling the kunai out of her shoulder, she ran back up the tree to look for her attacker. It was then that she heard the echo of a familiar voice shouting words she knew quite well.

"Primary Lotus!" There was a loud explosion and then complete silence. Sakura frowned. There were no more daggers flying in her direction, something must've happened to her attacker.

"What on earth is going on here?" She thought aloud.

There was a bit of rustling and some voices talking about something she couldn't make out. Preparing to fight, she pulled on her gloves and waited to see who it was. Then out of the trees emerged Rock Lee, Ten-Ten, Neji, and Gai-sensei. At the sight of her, they all stopped in their tracks.

"Sakura?" Lee said uncertainly, not believing his eyes.

"What are you doing out here alone, Sakura?" Gai-sensei asked suspiciously.

Sakura immediately broke down in tears at the sight of them. Something about seeing people she knew made everything seem okay somehow. She sunk down to a squat on the branch she was perched on.

"Sakura…what's wrong? What's happened?" Lee asked, leaping beside her, concerned.

"I think I know why she's upset," Neji said looking down to see Naruto laying at the bottom of the tree.

Neji immediately leaped down and picked Naruto's limp body up off the ground. While he did this Lee gently wrapped his arms around Sakura while she sat there and cried. Gently, Neji lifted Naruto back up into the trees where the others were looking at each other very confused.

"He's still alive, but unconscious…for now at least. What happened to him, Sakura?" Neji asked gravely.

"Sasuke…tried to kill…him. He poisoned Naruto…with his…blade," squeaked Sakura between sobs.

"How long ago was that?" Ten-Ten interjected.

Sakura took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her face, "It was about…two days ago."

"When was the last time you slept?" Lee asked.

"I fell asleep for a few hours after the sun set last night, but after that I was running to try and get Naruto back as fast as I could."

"That's enough questions for now," Gai-sensei interrupted. "Neji, Ten-Ten, you keep an eye out for other attackers, Lee you carry Sakura, and I'll carry Naruto."

"But I can walk on my own," Sakura protested.

"You're already tired. You would only slow us down. Its faster if Lee carries you," Gai-sensei said, not allowing her to protest further.

An hour or so later, both Naruto and Sakura were out cold, allowing the four remaining shinobi to talk about the situation that had just come up.

"What I want to know is, where is Kakashi-sensei right now?" Ten-Ten asked, feeling irritable.

"The better question isn't why Kakashi wasn't there. Its why no one accept Naruto and Sakura are here with us now," Neji said. "When they went after Sasuke, I was told that Sai and Yamato would be with them, but Sakura hasn't even mentioned them. Or better yet…with four highly trained shinobi present, how could one person get the better of them and almost kill one of them, even if it was Sasuke? Why couldn't Naruto fend him off? There are just too many questions and not enough answers."

"What about the poison though?" Lee asked. "I thought Sakura had medical abilities that she acquired from Lady Tsunade."

"That's simple," Gai-sensei answered. "She has no access to the supplies that she needs to cure him, at least, not out here in the middle of nowhere." He looked back at Naruto. Even now his face was turning very pale.

"Hang in there, kiddo," he said softly, "we'll be there soon."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Thanks for reading, I'll trying to write more when I can but I won't be near my computer for a few days so I may not get to the next chapter until the weekend. Hopefully I'll have it by then though. Anyway, bye for now!