Back to Finishing What You Started

Sasuke couldn't help but be a little bit broody the next morning. His emotions were changing like the tides. One second he was furious, then he was analytical. He needed to get her out of his head. He needed to get out of these god forsaken mountains. He had no idea how Iwa ninjas did it. Up and down, up and down. Over and over again. He felt trapped, enclosed. He looked over at his traveling companions, Sakura was busy talking to Chuuko that she didn't even notice the shift of the raven haired man's attention. Chuuko was pointing all around, attempting to tell Sakura how close they were to the village.

"Sakura-chan, if you just continue straight we should hit Iwa by tomorrow morning."

"Sounds great, Furui-san."

Okay, so their conversation was a little boring and not helping either purpose of the Uchiha. He couldn't stand the though of another day in these mountains. Everywhere he looked his eyes were met by grey. Or brown, or some other forsaken earth tone. Then once they got to Hidden Rock they would have to meet with the Tsuchikage then stay overnight. Once it was morning again they would have to head all the way back through the mountains until they reached Konoha. It just seemed like a bunch of unnecessary steps. The old woman certainly seemed to know where she was going, couldn't they just leave her here and let her make her own way back home?

Yeah right, like Sakura would ever go for that.

A sudden rustling behind him stole his attention. Instinctively, he plunged his hand into his weapons pouch, revealing his kunai. Silently, he motioned to Sakura, letting her know what was going on. She sidestepped in front of Chuuko, protecting their client.

"Stay still, Furui-san."

Sakura whispered over her shoulder. The woman nodded, catching the hint. Something was wrong. No way should a low level escort mission end up with an attack right outside the receiving village. Sasuke, slowly, made his way towards Sakura. At least together they could try to come up with a plan.

"Sakura, you take care of Furui-san. We can't show up on Rock's door step with a dead civilian. Not if we want to make it out alive."

She just nodded her head in agreement. If it were any other predicament, she would say he was insinuating she was weak. But this was not the time to start that up.

The two ninja found themselves back to back in the middle of a clearing. Forms started leaking from the shadows, surrounding them. Sasuke gave a curt nod of his head and Sakura started to slip into a defensive position. The boy unsheathed his blade with the accompanying ringing following after. He crossed the sword in front of his body, ready to strike.

"If you're rock-nin, we are from Konoha. On a mission to return Furui Chuuko to the Iwagakure."

A faint laughter echoed around them.

"We're not rock-nin, Sasuke-kun."

With that, the shadows emerged from the cloaking darkness. Each one was ... changing. They never kept their shape. A genjutsu. They just walked closer and closer to Sasuke, completely ignoring Sakura. Kunais started being thrown at him, expertly aimed. Each one was deflected with a ping from the clash of metal on metal. Time dripped on, the same process repeating over and over again. Sasuke grunted, he couldn't land a hit. It just phased right through them. Every time he tried to release the genjutsu, nothing happened. They weren't clones, either. In the heat of battle (or sheer frustration) he had activated his sharingan. They were ... real. Or so it seemed. He kept spinning, blocking attack after the next. It was so mindless, dodge, block, thrash. Until he faltered. He felt the blade slice through his cheek. Resisting the urge to move his hand to his face, the cold air unforgiving on the stinging wound. He readjusted the grip on his sword. The number of ... whatever they were ... just kept increasing. He couldn't even see Sakura anymore, he was hoping she was somewhere safe. He slashed his sword into what was supposed to be someone's chest, nothing happened. They just stood there, taking turns at him. He couldn't take it anymore.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?"

Sasuke's voice just rang out on empty ears. Frustration overcame all his senses. He started moving his sword faster and opening his arc wider. They could hurt him but he couldn't even touch them. He heard that godforsaken laugh ring out. Taunting him.

"Just finishing what I started."

Sasuke tried to find the source of the voice, no luck. He turned his head left, right, up. Nowhere in sight.

"Started? You haven't started anything yet."

The figures kept moving around him. Encircling. Almost like they were caging him in. Keeping him from something...

The voice reached his ears again. "Not with you, anyway."

Someone.

Sakura. God I'm some kind of stupid. He's been keeping me from her, but what the hell did he start with Sakura?

In an instant, the figures materialized. They were no longer blurry around the edges, he could define every feature on them. Most importantly, the mask they were wearing in front of their faces. Blind terror overcame Sasuke. In that moment all he felt was fear, fear for Sakura. He needed to get to her. He needed to make sure she was all right. Rashly, Sasuke sheathed his sword, ready to run. It was no longer necessary since the clones started to dissipate. If they were letting him go then that meant...

Sasuke ran towards Sakura's general direction.

You better be all right. Anyone but you, let them hurt anyone but you.

He was climbing over rocks, plowing through the sparse vegetation. Sasuke came to a sudden, stumbling, halt when he found the medic sitting on a rock beside Chuuko. The pink haired girl turned her attention towards him. Her sparkling orbs losing their shine when they caught sight of him.

"Sasuke, you look like hell."

He tried his best to suppress a laugh. Of course that would be the first thing she noticed.

"Hn."

He walked closer to her, making sure she was unharmed.

"Are you two okay?"

Sakura could have sworn she heard ... concern ... in the Uchiha's voice, but she dismissed it as fatigue.

"Yeah, we're both fine. Just a few cuts and bruises. You, on the other hand, are anything but fine. Come here and let me heal you."

Sasuke leaned against the rock, to tired to support himself.

"I'm fine, Sakura."

She picked herself up off the rock, headed over towards him.

"No, you're not. That cut on your check is going to get infected out here. We're still a day away from Iwagakure and you haven't even deactivated your sharingan. You're going to wear yourself out and I am NOT carrying your dead beat body all the way-"

The girl would have continued if it weren't for the sudden plunging of her world into a blender. She tried to stabilize herself against the rock, placing a hand on her temple. A slight moan escaped her lips as she shut her eyes. Sasuke was up and by her side in a heartbeat. He reached his hand out to her shoulder.

"Sakura."

"Nothing, it's nothing. Guess I just need to get more sleep."

Sasuke dropped his hand, not completely believing her but there was nothing he could force her to do. After all, she is the medic on the team. He went to take a step forwards, that is, until he was stopped by a sudden weight on his back. He turned around and caught the girl before she hit the ground. Swooping her up into his arms, he placed a hand on her forehead. He mentally cursed himself for listening to her. The girl was burning up. That's when he noticed it. On her right arm there was a scratch. He would have dismissed it as a minor battle injury, but he didn't like the way it looked. That and the fact that their previous attacker was out for blood, Sakura's blood. The cut itself had started to secrete a yellow liquid, definitely not healthy. The cut had turned a sickly blue-black color around the opening. Something wasn't right. He panicked, realizing the only one who knew anything about how to deal with this situation was the victim. He needed to get her to a hospital, fast. Faster than Chuuko would be able to keep up with. Sasuke turned to the woman, who, until now, was silently watching the whole ordeal. She looked concerned and worried.

"Furui-san-"

"You need to get her to Rock and fast. I can make it back on my own. When you get to the gates just tell them steadfast is the rock. That will give you clearance into the village. Someone will take you to the hospital from there. Now go."

Sasuke couldn't help but smirk at the woman.

"Thank you."

Chuuko rolled her eyes and just watched the two retreating forms.

"Yeah yeah. Oh the power of young love."

Sasuke, carefully, slid Sakura onto his back. He tied her wrists together and lifted them over and around his head. He made sure her cut was untouched before he continued. Holding her tight, he moved faster than one would think humanly possible towards the Village Hidden in the Rocks. The girl in his arms the most precious cargo he had ever carried.

Come on, Sakura. Show me that determination of yours. Make it through this. Don't let him win.

Sasuke didn't stop until he absolutely had to. He had planned on going through the night, but Sakura didn't seem like she could take it. He settled down, estimating they were still a good bit away from the village. The fight had slowed them down and now this. He slid the girl off his back, lying her down on the softest piece of ground he could find. Once he had laid out his sleeping mat he transferred the girl onto it. Trying not to disturb her, Sasuke checked her forehead again. She still had a fever. He ripped off a piece of his shirt and poured water over it. Ringing it out, he placed the damp fabric on the girls brow. Her only reaction was a slight flinching of her eyes. Nothing else. Sasuke continued rewetting the rag, wiping off her face, attempting to bring down her temperature. He hadn't slept once. By the time morning came there was still no change in her condition, she was still in this comatose state. He positioned her on his back again and headed off. The landscape was flying by him. All he could think about was getting her to a hospital, getting her safe. So when the daunting entrance to Iwagakure appeared before him, he didn't think twice. He ran right towards it, the stone walls carved out of the mountain side itself. The symbol for earth carved right above the two, shut, rock doors. Two ninjas were standing post. When they saw two Leaf ninja coming closer, they reached for their weapon pouches. Rock and Leaf weren't enemies, but they sure as hell weren't allies either. Sasuke remembered what Chuuko had told him to say, not completely knowing the purpose until now. Chuuko was their ticket into the village. They would never let him in without her.

"Steadfast is the stone."

The two guards halted, waiting for what was coming next. Sasuke wasn't in the mood for waiting.

"I said steadfast is the rock! Let me in, she's dying!"

Desperation rang out clear in his voice. If there wasn't a certain girl on his back they would have seen his family crest, knowing the emotion was foreign to him.

The two guards exchanged a brief glance before motioning for the door to be opened. Sasuke couldn't believe what he saw. It was an entire village carved from the mountain. The village was literally built into the mountain side. A river ran right through the village, cutting it in half. It winded around and around, behind buildings, up parts of the wall. It was breathtaking, impenetrable from the outside. If the woman he loved wasn't dying in his arms he would have noticed, but he didn't and she was. Sasuke headed straight for where, he presumed, the hospital was.

We're almost their Sakura. Don't give up on me now. I won't let you give up now.

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Sorry for the delay! I was sick and not really in the mood to write but the next chapter should be mainly fluff. Alrighty, review? Pretty please?

Thanks!

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