Words cannot describe how sorry I am for the massive break. I realise that the last update was somewhere in September, and that's probably my record, and not in the good way either.

A massive thank you to the people who stuck with this story even though I realise I made it hard for you guise~ I'm so sorry :'(

Anyway, a lot of things happen in this chapter, so I hope you enjoy!

P.S. A reviewer of mine suggested that I give you guise an approximate time between updates, so: I know that this is not very reassuring, but I can promise you that the next chapter will be out before the weekend of the 20th December. That sound good? I know that that's still a long time, but that's the best I can promise you guise in the current circumstances.

Anyway, ENJOY!

They had their first training session as a team. A simple spar - Kaoru and Sakura vs Akane and Izaya. Simple enough. However, being back as a team of four took some getting used to, so, needless to say, the end result was... disastrous.

Izaya ended up pinning Akane to the ground, kunai at the teen's throat, while the redhead had his knife digging into his sensei's abdomen, easily matching the man in the verbal onslaught of insults.

All the while, Sakura and Kaoru watched bemusedly, not bothered to step in and stop the two. Until, of course, they started rolling around the floor, limbs flailing, not caring if their nails catch the other's clothing or eyes. Alarmed, Kaoru finally made a move to stop the duo, but Sakura, having actually paid attention to what was being said, stretched out her arm to stop him.

"Wait." when the brunette sent her a quizzical look, she grudgingly elaborated. "Akane has a point to prove."

If Kaoru noticed the certainty or the hint of sympathy in her words, he didn't comment on it. He stepped back, reclaiming his spot by Sakura's side and, though not agreeing with what was taking place, he was willing to take a so-called leap of faith and trust the rosette. After all, her judgment had proven to be reliable on more than one occasion in the past.

Yet that didn't stop the teen from visibly flinching when Izaya's kunai dug into Akane's body, the blade coming back red and dripping. But the redhead didn't seem too bothered by the gaping hole in his stomach, and used Izaya's temporary distraction to roll over, pin the man's arms to the ground and press he blade (a bit too roughly if you asked Kaoru) to the man's throat.

"I win, sensei." he whispered darkly into Izaya's ear, a grin that did not quite reach his eyes pulling at his lips. "A year can really make a difference, huh?"

Izaya seemed incapable of providing the teen with a reply, so with a scoff, the redhead rolled off the man, lying on his back next to him, yet making no move to get up.

Kaoru took that as his cue to step in, rushing to the redhead and pulling him up. By the time Akane was standing, his usual grin had replaced the dark smirk, something which made Sakura's shoulders sag slightly with relief. She was the vicious one. Not Akane.

Izaya stood up as well and dusted himself off, looking slightly awkward; as if he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do next. Considering he was the oldest, it was quite comical seeing him look like little boy who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Hey, sensei - relax." Akane chuckled, having apparently caught onto the elder's discomfort. "We've said what we've had to say, and now we can move on and be jolly, ne?" he teased.

But the concerned, uncomfortable glint did not disappear from Izaya's eyes. In fact, it only seemed to grow in intensity.

He muttered something, too low for his students to hear.

"What was that, sensei?" Kaoru questioned worriedly.

He stole a glance at Sakura, but the rosette's eyes were narrowed at their sensei, a contemplative look in the emerald pools.

Kaoru sighed. He was about to say that they should just forget about it, and, like Akane said, move on, but then their sensei made a strangled, desperate noise in the back of his throat, and the brunette's attention was immediately back on the elder.

"Sensei? Are you alright?" apparently Akane had started to worry as well, for his teasing look had disappeared. He tried to approach his sensei but the man whipped up a hand to hold him at bay. Finally, Izaya raised his head and looked at his students, the boys coming closer, hoping to hear what he had said before. Sakura stayed where she was, as she was the only one who had had chakra running through her ears the entire time, and thus had heard what her sensei had said. She was still unsure what to make of it though.

"I hurt you." Izaya repeated, still quiet but at least now it was loud enough for his students to hear.

"Huh?" Akane mumbled, confused. With another strangled whimper, Izaya indicated the crimson stain on the redhead's shirtfront.

"Oh, that?" the teen appeared almost surprised, like he'd forgotten it was even there. "Sensei, you can't honestly be worried about that! Injuries like these stopped registering on my radar! They're no worse than a scratch from Kao-chan when he's PMSing!"

That earned him an elbow to the ribs from the brunette, a light chuckle from Sakura and a strained smile from their sensei.

"Still, I hurt you, Akane. Intentionally. Not as an enemy on a battlefield. Just because you annoyed me. Oh, God."

Sakura watched, slightly baffled, yet a small part of her was amused, as their sensei had a small break down.

OK, OK, small by her standards. He fell to his knees, clutching his head, and he suddenly looked so... small. Sakura felt a pang of pity for the man, yet she did not move an inch to comfort him. That was Kaoru's job.

And true to his character, the brunette immediately rushed to the man's side, like she knew he would, helped him to his feet and wrapped a steadying arm around his midsection.

"Izaya-sensei," the teen began, and Sakura's ears perked up as he sounded unusually serious and it piqued her interest. "There are some things you'll have to get used to. First and foremost: a year is a long time. Though you may not like it, we're not babies, and we're definitely not rookies. It was clear from the beginning that we were not the typical, sensitive rookie genin, but now it's even more obvious. The kind of injury that you gave Akane," at this, a strained sound escaped their sensei's lips, "is really nothing. It's an artificial injury. We've had bigger, more frequent, and more dangerous ones on the missions we took while you were comatose. So you shouldn't worry about hurting us when we spar. Our pain thresholds are quite... impressive. Or frightening. Depends on how you look at it." Kaoru paused, giving their sensei enough time to take in the information before he continued. "Another thing: Sakura took the position of 'leader' while you were gone. Do not be surprised if she questions one of your decisions." Sakura smirked. Good. He saved her the effort of having to explain that particular change in their team dynamics herself. "And finally: we've unintentionally created a kind of reputation for ourselves. So, just keep that in mind."

Izaya nodded, then frowned. "Thank you, but... Why are you telling me all this?" he asked.

Finally, Kaoru allowed the small, bitter smile he'd been suppressing to surface. "Because I'd rather you heard it all from us than from whispers and gossip."

And Sakura inwardly thanked Kaoru for the speech he had given their sensei, for when they went to get their lunch after practice had ended, many people - civilians and shinobi alike - would come up to Izaya and share their opinion on his team, or tell some over exaggerated tale of one of the missions they supposedly took. And the rosette saw Izaya turn paler and paler with every new person that approached him, his eyes filling with dread whenever somebody opened their mouth.

Finally, when they were alone, Izaya turned to his students, his face a mixture of amusement and disbelief.

"When you said 'reputation' I did not expect it to be so... frightening." Akane burst out laughing, causing a fiery red blush to appear on Izaya's face. "Oh, excuse me for not quite believing that my team would be asked to infiltrate a known hideout of bounty-hunters and steal the money as it 'belonged to Konoha'. All the while getting out unscathed from a place inhabited by the most foul of our kind. That was just a bit too much for my bullshit radar to take." He scoffed at the end, crossing his arms indignantly.

At that, Sakura's amused grin disappeared, as did Akane's, and Kaoru visibly gulped. They then made a team effort to avoid looking into Izaya's eyes, as they knew that the moment they did, they would be busted.

After a few seconds of trying to meet their gazes, it seemed as if it all clicked together in their sensei's mind.

"Oh no..." he groaned. "Please don't tell me that that particular piece of gossip was actually correct." at their silence, he just groaned again and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'just my damn luck' under his breath.

At that, Sakura just had to chuckle, drawing the attention of her teammates and sensei. She smirked. "Oh, yes, sensei. Though you might want to think twice before you insult your luck again, 'cause you might need it in the future if you plan on sticking around."

And there was no way in which Sakura could've missed Kaoru's 'proud-mother-hen' look, or Akane's amused, but still proud expression. Yet what took the cake was Izaya's surprised, yet relieved expression which quickly morphed into a smirk.

"Of course I plan on sticking around. I wouldn't miss this for the world."

True to his word, Izaya had attended every single training session during their 'vacation', and Sakura allowed herself to be hopeful. With every day, the chance of them going back to what they used to be grew, and it made the rosette giddy inside. She did not think that what Kaoru, Akane and her had over the last year was bad – on the contrary: it made them better ninja, and, if she was to be honest with herself, it made her a better person.

Yet, she was also relieved to have the burden of 'leader' taken off her shoulders. Akane and Kaoru might have thought that she was built for the job, but they were unaware of what happened to her when they weren't there. She didn't see the position as 'leader' as an honour: to her, it was a burden. But she made sure her teammates didn't know. Only one person knew of her struggles, and she would admit to exploiting that fact a bit. Though, who could really blame her? Those lilac eyes were the only ones which looked at her without even a hint of judgement. On the contrary; they were often filled with patience and understanding. Other times, they were filled with anger, or resentment, yet those emotions were never directed at her, but at the people who stood above them, and made them feel powerless, forced to do what they hated.

She missed the comfort those lilac eyes brought her.

And Sakura had always been a girl of action. The moment her mind registered the fact that she wanted – needed – the Hyuuga's presence, her mouth was already making an excuse to her teammates and sensei, requesting to cut practice short. She waited for Izaya's nod of acquiesce, then she was off, powering through the forest as fast as her legs could carry her.

The extra effort paid off, and in less than three minutes she was standing outside the Hyuuga compound, allowing herself a moment to catch her breath.

Once she had recovered, she straightened, and walked through, flashing a smile at the guards as a way of greeting. They didn't return it, but acknowledged it with a small nod, stepping past to let her in.

Sakura made her way down a very familiar path and allowed herself into the Branch Family's building, heading straight for Neji's room. It was midday, and a Saturday, and since all the gennin were grounded in the Village to help with the last bits that needed rebuilding after the Invasion, Sakura had fully expected to find Neji on the floor in the middle of his room, meditating. So when the rosette found the room empty, she could honestly admit she was surprised. A quick glance around the room told her that Neji's mission bag was gone, and, when she riffled through his bedside drawer (breaking a lot of privacy rules, and probably a dozen more Clan rules) she noticed that the poison bag she gave him for his thirteenth birthday – which the Hyuuga dutifully took with him on every mission – was also gone.

Well, damn. Sakura thought, annoyed.

But then, just as she was on her way to the gate, another thought struck her. What mission could possibly have priority over rebuilding the Village? And if it was so important, why not give it to the jounin? Or even chunin?

Sakura wrinkled her nose. Her bullshit sense was prickling.

She turned on her heel, ready to march into some useless clan meeting the Hyuuga Head was undoubtedly in, and demand to know where his nephew was, courtesy be damned. Luckily, before she could carry that horrendous plan out, she spotted a familiar head of navy blue hair and she saw her chance.

Flash-stepping to the girl's side, Sakura did a slight double-take. How on earth do you address a Hyuuga heiress whom you've never said much more than a few words to, and when you did, it was only because of her Father sitting right there, staring at you like a hawk?

Somehow, without the Hyuuga Head's oppressive stare, Sakura found it even harder to catch the girl's attention that she did with the man breathing over her shoulder.

"Excuse me, Hinata-san?" Sama! Sakura inwardly berated herself. Hinata-sama! But, to her surprise, the girl turned around, a look of surprised curiosity on her face.

"H-hai?" she stuttered. And then, her eyes fell on Sakura, and she blushed. "S-Sakura-san! O-Ohayo." She bowed politely.

Sakura's brain backpedalled. This girl is an heiress?

She inwardly shrugged it off. "Ohayo." She replied easily, smiling reassuringly in hopes of helping the poor girl relax a bit.

It didn't work. "I-is t-there something y-you n-need, Sakura-san?" Hinata asked shyly, twiddling her thumbs.

Sakura nodded sheepishly, resisting the urge to scratch the back of her head. She only realised how this must look to the elder girl, and she felt ever so slightly foolish.

"Ah, yes. I'm sorry for bothering you, but would you happen to know where Neji is?"

At this, Hinata seemed genuinely surprised. "D-do y-you not k-know, Sakura-san?" she asked, her lilac eyes wide. Then, seemingly realising what she'd said, she blushed, bowing hastily. "A-ah, I'm sorry! I d-didn't m-mean to s-sound so r-rude!"

Sakura blinked. Then blinked again. Nope. Still nothing. Her brain still couldn't place Hinata and heiress in the same sentence without it sounding ridiculous.

"It's fine?" she sincerely hoped the girl didn't hear the question mark at the end. "Don't worry, Hinata-san, you did not sound the tiniest bit rude to me."

The look of pure surprise that flashed across the older girl's face broke Sakura's heart. What did they do to her self-confidence?

"T-Thank you, Sakura-san." She murmured, and Sakura happily noted that the stutter had reduced. Only slightly, but it was progress. "And N-Neji-nii-san is a-away on a r-retrieval mission."

"Retrieval for whom?" Sakura asked, confused.

"Sasuke-san." Hinata replied.

Huh? What did the prat do this time?

Her confusion seemed to be written on her face, because Hinata sighed lightly, and explained everything.

When she was done, Sakura's brain took a few moments to process the information, before she burst. "So you're telling me that the Hokage sent five kids after A-Rank shinobi from Sound to retrieve the Uchiha prat after he willingly defected?!" she hissed.

Hinata visibly shrank away from her, and Sakura realised that while she was fuming she unconsciously released some killing intent, and the girl was on the receiving end of it. The rosette quickly calmed herself, and apologised to Hinata.

"Now, excuse me, Hinata-san. I have a certain Godaime to harass." She muttered the last part.

"What will y-you do, S-Sakura-san?" the genuine curiosity in Hinata's voice made the rosette smile.

"Well, either demand that she calls the retrieval team back, or persuade her to allow my team to go and 'help out'."

"You must really care for Neji-nii-san, Sakura-san." The girl quietly observed, and Sakura realised that her stutter was completely gone.

"Of course." And even Sakura was surprised at the readiness and confidence with which she answered. Then she had an even more startling realisation: she meant every word. "I care not for the Uchiha, or the other four who went with Neji on this foolish quest. However, I will not allow the Hokage to just carelessly throw away the life of the first person I dared call a friend." Sakura smiled. "So, do forgive me, Hinata-san but I must go. I hope we can talk again sometime, when the circumstances are a little less… dire. Until then, sayonara."

And before Hinata had the chance to thank the girl, or even blink, Sakura was gone.

"Sayonara… Sakura-chan."

Less than five minutes later found Sakura standing outside the Godaime's office, Akane and Kaoru in tow. The redhead was yawning, mumbling profanities under his breath and leaning his head on Kaoru's shoulder, trying to catch a few more seconds of sleep. Kaoru, on the other hand, seemed much more awake than his teammate, and was listening intently while Sakura explained why exactly she dragged them out from the comfort of their homes.

The teens were well aware of Sakura's close relationship with the Hyuuga, but they didn't know she was willing to risk a direct confrontation with the Godaime just to protect him. If they were honest with themselves, they weren't sure if she would do that for them.

"I will understand if you don't want to come with me. I just… this is personal." On first thought, Kaoru was tempted to say no. To refuse. A quick look at Akane confirmed that the redhead thought the same. But as Sakura's honest, genuinely worried eyes fell on them, and with the knowledge of her history with people being forcefully ripped away from her, they realised how much this meant to her. How vulnerable this made her.

There was no way they could refuse her.

"We're coming, Sakura-chan. We'd never leave you to do something like this alone." Sakura released a relieved sigh and her shoulders sagged, before she straightened and knocked on the Hokage's door.

Kaoru shared a grateful look with Akane. They were safe.

Sakura, for all her talents, could not read minds.

Thank Kami for that.

"So," Tsunade started, and the strength of her tone alone would have made any less determined ninja whimper and flee. But Sakura stood her ground. "You are trying to convince me to call back the only hope we have of retrieving the Uchiha because it's immoral?!"

"Hai, Tsunade-sama." Sakura confirmed. "I don't understand why the life of one seems more valuable to you than the lives of five more talented, promising and more loyal ninja."

"It's not the question of value, kid. It's the fact of what we are trying to prevent. Do you not see what will happen if Orochimaru has Sasuke among his ranks? He will have the Sharingan at his disposal!"

"So? It's what he's always wanted, is it not? He's like an insistent child – once he gets what he wants, he will stop bothering Konoha – which is what I believe you're worried about – so essentially, it'll be a win-win situation for you anyway. There's no need to sacrifice the lives of innocent people, Tsunade-sama."

The woman stared at her in disbelief. Then, she burst out laughing.

"I see what Hatake meant when he called you 'mature' – you are aware of the inner workings of the Village. Though I believe he forgot to mention 'stubborn as hell'. And, you seem unaware of the fact that I am every bit as stubborn as you, kid."

There were a few moments of silence, then Sakura smiled.

"Fair enough," she conceded, surprising her teammates.

"That's it?" Tsunade laughed. "I have to say, I'm disappointed."

"You don't understand." Sakura explained. "I am not so foolish to continue fighting a lost battle. You seem determined to keep them out there, so I say: fair enough. However, I would like to request permission to go after the retrieval squad and assist them in any means necessary."

Tsunade didn't reply – she was stumped. This kid just… outmanoeuvred me. Me!

Not to be outdone by someone who looked like they should still be in the Academy, she took a deep breath. "Let's say I give you permission – what can you do? They left in the morning; there's no way you can catch up. There's no medic among you; you cannot help them, even if you do find them. And, why do you suddenly care about gennin? Ninja die every day in circumstances they can't control. These five left out of their own free will." Her eyes glinted. "Will you disrespect their decision?"

She didn't say 'no'. Sakura thought, and when she gazed at the Hokage, she knew she'd won.

"Speed is our biggest asset, Tsunade-sama." She said, unable to keep the triumphant smirk from surfacing. "Besides, they're genin – there's only so fast they can run. And you're wrong about there being no medic among us – Akane is a highly capable medic-nin. And will I disrespect their decision?" she smirked. "There's only one person I care about in that group. And I can honestly say that he will not be angry with me if I save his life."

The two stared at each other, Tsunade expectant, while Sakura confident, neither breaking the eye-contact for what felt like forever. Finally, Tsunade gave in.

"Fine. Go. Get out of my office." She made a shooing gesture with her hand. "On the way out, get me Shizune!" At that, Sakura could've sworn she'd heard a mumbled 'I need more sake' but she ignored it in favour of bowing, and running out of her office before the Godaime could change her decision. "Thank you, Tsunade-sama!"

When they were out of earshot, the trio stopped to catch their breath. "I see what they mean when they say 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned'" Akane panted, grinning. "You just manipulated the Hokage in her own damn office! Wow, Sakura-chan!"

Kaoru chuckled, letting Akane lean on him. "He has a point, Sakura-chan. Since when were you so knowledgeable in politics?" though it was said in good humour, Kaoru was quite curious. Sakura had the power to inspire fear and respect alike with her abilities; she could essentially make people do what she wanted in a blink of an eye. But, if she managed to acheive the same with words… the brunette didn't want to think of what the outcome of that scenario would be.

"I have regular dinners with the Hyuuga. Trust me, sometimes that's worse than having the entire Council staring you down." She decided to leave it at that. Her teammates didn't need to know exactly what happened at the Hyuuga compound when she visited. "Now, get anything you think you'll need for the mission and meet me at the gates in ten minutes."

"What about Izaya-sensei? Don't you want to take him with us?" Akane asked, puzzled.

"Ah, I went to check on him just after I woke you up. He's been assigned to border patrol, so he can't come. Pity, really. But I'm quite sure we'll manage just fine. I told him what I was planning, so it's not like he doesn't know."

"Fair enough." The redhead replied, satisfied. "Let's go, then!"

True to their word, they met at the gates at the agreed time, all decked out in mission gear, Kaoru with his katana slung comfortably over his back, and Akane with his familiar enormous 'Scroll of Stuff' peeking from behind his shoulder.

"Ready?" Sakura asked. She was also dressed in mission gear, her trusty black leggings and elbow gloves making an appearance. She'd forgone the cloak for the sake of easier movement. Speed was key in this, and she couldn't hazard to have anything restricting her. She also had her tanto strapped across her back, her hip-pouch as well as the medical bag Akane had given her for her tenth birthday resting comfortably against her hip.

When she received twin nods as her answer, she didn't waste any more time and set off.

They travelled in silence, focused on using the optimum amount of chakra to keep the ridiculous speed Sakura'd set up. More often than not, the rosette found herself jumping ahead, anxious to reach Neji in time only to remind herself that she was not alone, and slow down.

After an hour of non-stop running, Kaoru gasped.

"What's wrong, Kao-chan?" Akane inquired, concerned.

"Straight ahead… So much chakra." The brunette replied, eyes wide. Sakura frowned. She'd picked up on that as well, but to her it was only faint, and impossible to determine how much, or even whose it was. But then, she remembered the time on the bridge in the Land of Waves, how the brunette was able to give them the exact number of ninja, and their approximate rank just by touching the ground. She'd dismissed it then as a spur-of-the-moment, one-time thing. But now, she realised what it really meant.

So, Kaoru is chakra-sensitive? That… could be useful.

She felt a bit guilty for only noticing that particular trait after over two years of knowing the boy, but, like many things in the past, she pushed it to the back of her mind.

"How far, Kaoru?" she asked instead.

"Less than hundred metres. We should reach it in a few seconds." The brunette replied, still a bit shaken up.

And reach it they did. Just as nothing could've prepared Kaoru for the sudden onslaught of chakra, nothing could've prepared Sakura for the extent of the destruction.

She suddenly felt a surge of respect for the Akimichi, as this amount of damage could only be compared to the time the three of them decided to re-enact the First Shinobi World War.

Hm. That was fun. Sakura grinned inwardly. Needless to say, the Hokage was less than pleased with the three of them when they were brought to the office the next day.

Anyway, reminiscing aside – still have no idea where Neji is.

She was going to turn to her teammates and ask for help, but she suddenly realised they were not where she left them. Panicked, she glanced around the clearing, letting out a relieved sigh when she found the two bent over the Akimichi. Flash-stepping to their side, she decided to voice her thoughts.

"What's wrong with him, Akane?" she asked the redhead whose hand was glowing green and moving systematically over the unconscious boy's chest.

"Uh, pretty much everything." The teen replied. He pointed at a small, transparent plastic box lying near the boy. "That must have contained some heavy-duty chakra pills, which are the reason for the ridiculous concentration of chakra. Yet they must have been a double-edged sword. His internal organs… I'd never seen such a high level of toxicity in somebody's body. Not to mention, he has literally no calories in his body. And that is bad." Akane was rambling. He never rambled. That simple fact convinced Sakura that the retrieval team needed help.

Badly.

"Can you heal him?" but she already knew. The redhead's expression said it all.

"I could, but I'd need time… Time he doesn't have…"

They stood in silence for a few seconds, then Kaoru broke it. "The Naras!" when his teammates stared at him in confusion, he elaborated. "They have an entire library on herbal remedies, and their books on medicine are used when all else fails. They're bound to have something that could help him!"

"Well then what are you still doing here?! Get him and go!" Akane exclaimed, shooing his teammate. "I'd stabilized him as much as I could, but the rest is out of my hands. Go, Kaoru, go!"

"Hai!" and the brunette scooped the unconscious teen up, as gently as he could, and disappeared between the trees, heading back towards the Village.

"If the others are in an even remotely similar condition to him…" Akane trailed off.

"Then we'd better hurry!"

This time, Sakura didn't care whether she jumped ahead, casting her senses out in hopes of finding Neji's chakra signature. After seeing the state in which the Akimichi was in, her worry for Neji doubled. And, she had no doubt that he'd decide to be 'noble' and take on the strongest of the four. That was just Neji, she had no chance of changing that. She could only hope that she would manage to reach him in time.

"Sakura! Slow down!" Akane shouted from behind her.

The rosette stopped, almost making her teammate crash into her. "You don't understand! Neji could be dead, or dying! I have to get to him! He's-" she cut off, a familiar, tingling sensation overcoming her. A faint, oh-so terribly weak signature registered in her mind.

Bingo.

"Akane, I've found him." She murmured, too relieved to speak much louder, afraid that it would somehow shatter the moment. Precious seconds were ticking by, but she felt like she at least owed the redhead an explanation.

"Then let's go!" the teen exclaimed, clearly confused as to why they were still standing still.

Sakura shook her head. "No, Akane. You go on ahead. There were five of them. So far, we've got two. Neji's the only one I care out of them, but that doesn't mean I want to see them dead. You're the one who can help them. So, go, Akane. I'll catch up." She smiled at the end, trying to reassure the redhead who looked ready to panic.

It took a few seconds for Akane to reply, and she resisted the urge to tell him to hurry up. Finally: "Fine. Just promise that you'll catch up, Sakura-chan."

"I'll try to. But it'll all depend on what state Neji is in." she explained.

Akane bit his lip, fighting the nasty comeback on the tip of his tongue. "Yeah." He nodded instead. "Sure. I understand."

Sakura shot him one last, grateful grin, and then she disappeared between the trees.

Tracking Neji's signature was a lot harder than Sakura thought it would be. The normally strong, distinctive chakra was faint, so barely-there that the rosette was worried that if she lost focus she wouldn't be able to find it again.

Finally, she reached an area where the concentration was the strongest, and her jaw dropped.

Yeah, Neji was here, alright.

But the Kaiten-shaped holes in the ground did not explain the enormous spider summon in the middle, or thousands of tiny dead spiders which made the little hairs on the back of Sakura's neck stand up. Nor did it explain the spider-webs, too big and too strong to have been made by a normal spider. But what worried Sakura the most were the large, golden-brown arrows that looked like they could destroy a giant with one blow.

Sakura's heart skipped a beat when she realised that there was still no Neji.

And now, with so much other chakra in the equation, she could not even sense him anymore. Sakura's breathing quickened; the tell-tale sign of her panic rising. It hurt to know that she seemed so close, but she was more lost here than she was when Akane was there, and she had been miles away from Neji.

OK, calm down. If he took a hit from even one of these arrows, then he couldn't have gone far. The thought made her stomach churn, but it also brought her some comfort. So. Neji. Where. Are. You?

Sakura calmed her breathing, and focused. In less than a second, one of the strings that she'd previously dismissed stood out to her. It had Neji's chakra signature written all over it. The rosette followed it with her gaze and realised that it disappeared between the trees. And if Neji's chakra was coming from it, then he must've used it to track his attacker, meaning…

Like the red string of fate, huh?

The rosette jogged along the string, never letting her eyes lose track of it in fear of not finding it again. Finally, the string ended curled over a branch, and Sakura paled. Still no Neji. She hung her head in desperation, eyes watering, and gasped. In the clearing below lay no other than the boy she was looking for. Overjoyed, the rosette jumped down, but the closer she got, the more she realised that something was terribly, terribly wrong.

Ironically, the first thing that made her pause was the fact that Neji's hair was out of its usual ponytail. Neji's hair was never out of its ponytail. It was like a rule. Even when she was seven, the ponytail had been present. Lack of it, naturally, made the pinkette wary.

It was only when she knelt by him, less than an arm's length away, that she realised the extent of Neji's injury. There were six deep wounds along the teen's back, much like the wounds one usually got from having a kunai thrown at them.

But… the Byakugan… surely this doesn't mean…?

Sakura shook her head, dismissing the thought. As gently as she could, she rolled the teen onto his back. That was when she saw the gaping hole in his abdomen, and a slightly smaller, though no less dangerous wound in his shoulder. She realised that with the location of the wounds, they missed the vital organs by a few centimetres, but it was the blood-loss that worried her. The teen's complexion was paler than usual, and he just looked so exhausted that at first glance she could've easily assumed he was sleeping.

Then she realised the most horrific thing of all: Neji wasn't breathing.

Sakura panicked.

"Neji? Neji! Neji, please!" she called, knowing that it was hopeless. "Neji, please, don't leave me… NEJI!" she collapsed, her head thumping lightly on the teen's chest, hands curling in his vest as sobs racked her body. She didn't know how long she cried for, only that she could no longer take the stuttering rise and fall of –

She shot up, tears gone, eyes sharp. With a jolt, she realised that Neji was breathing. They were wet, shallow and shuddering breaths, but they were still breaths.

"Oh, thank Kami-sama." She whispered. Yet the gaping would in Neji's abdomen caught her attention once again, and she paled at how much blood he was losing.

She riffled furiously through, throwing out everything she could find; bandages, pills, a scalpel, ointment, Blood Replenishing Pills, Chakra Pills, etc. She grabbed the last two, popping two into the brunette's mouth, then pressing her fingers sharply into his throat to trigger his reflex to swallow.

When that was done, she sighed and settled on her haunches and started dressing Neji's wound.

Chakra helps with recovery… it should naturally heal some of the most lethal damage. The blood replenishing pill should compensate for the blood he lost, but that's only temporary. The rest? That's for the hospital staff. I just hope that I can buy him enough time to get him back to Konoha. That wound will keep on bleeding. I can't risk sewing it up, and my chakra rejects healing chakra. Sakura sighed, suddenly weary. Kami-sama, please let him live… he doesn't deserve to die like this…

When she was done, she considered what to do next. She couldn't carry him – the journey would jostle him too much, and she couldn't risk for the wounds to get worse. And she didn't know of any internal bleeding, if there even was any. She didn't have the comfort of Akane's Mystical Palm technique.

But then, she did have her chakra control… Focusing most of the chakra she had left, she concentrated on pushing it outside her body, like a balloon, but keeping it connected to her hand by a small string of chakra. The balloon grew in size, until it was big enough that it would fit a human. The rosette solidified it, which came a lot easier than the last time she was forced to use the same technique. With as much gentleness as she could muster, she managed to pull Neji onto it, made sure that he wouldn't fall, and set off in a run, this time keeping to the ground.

Hang in there, Neji. Just hang in there.

She arrived in Konoha mentally, and physically exhausted, but a team of medic-nin was already waiting at the gates, and they swiftly whisked Neji away, resisting her pleas to stay with him. When Sakura was about to give the main medic a taste of her fist, Izaya-sensei emerged from the shadows, Kaoru and Akane a few steps behind him.

"That's enough, Sakura-chan." Izaya reprimanded. Sakura felt a bit hurt at his harsh tone, but ignored it. She was too tired for petty fights with her sensei. Akane came over, hand glowing green when it touched her forehead, and she felt some of her exhaustion fade.

"You're… early." She murmured before a massive yawn cut her off. Akane chuckled.

"Yeah. The Sand Siblings came over to help, so my job ended up being way easier than what I expected. Besides, the last two were way less beaten up than the Akimichi, and from the looks of it, the Hyuuga as well." The most serious thing I had to deal with was a broken finger."

Sakura nodded, trying to will away her fatigue. "Have to… make sure Neji… is OK…" she managed to get out. Her eyes were so heavy and her legs felt like lead, but she made a hesitant step forward and managed to stay on her feet.

"Haha, yeah. No way." Akane retorted, grabbing the rosette by her shoulders and steering her away from the direction of the hospital. "We're gonna get you into a bed, and make sure you rest. You can play nurse with the Hyuuga after you stop looking like a zombie."

Her attempts at getting free were so weak they went unnoticed, and she finally gave in and slumped in Akane's arms. Sure, she hated being out of control and hated seeming weak, but beating Akane's ass into a bloody, unrecognizable pulp could wait till tomorrow. Right now, sleep seemed like a very good idea.

Still, "Screw… you, carrot-boy." she mumbled in between yawns, then finally succumbed into sleep.

She didn't hear Akane's answering chuckle which quickly cut off, only to be replaced with a frown. And she didn't see the concerned look the redhead exchanged with Kaoru.

They were going to have a serious talk with Sakura.

And they were dreading it.

So, things get complicated. You're going to hate me next chapter... Eh.

Anyway, I would love to hear your opinions about this one, so if you could share your thoughts in a REVIEW or a PM, that would be wonderful.

Thanks again to those who stuck with this story~! Love you guise!

P.S. Like some of you may have already figured, I absolutely love Neji. He's the bestest *_* So yeah. Anyway!

Love,

~Invincible Shadow