A/N: (gawks) Holy… marshmallows – I actually managed to put together another chapter, and in this short time! (cheers loudly) Heh, I suppose it's only fair, considering the cliffies I left you poor guys on… (sweatdrops, dodging sharp objects)

Ah, yes, of course… Enormous thank yous for all those absolutely amazing reviews! (hugs and – to celebrate soon ending summer – ice cream to all of you) Gosh, I can't believe this lil' fic has that many loyal friends – thank you! (realityfling18, you know the thrill. ;) )

Okay, before you'll seriously end up injuring me out of frustration, let's go, shall we? Ladies and gentlemen, after several days of wait it's finally here – chapter ten! (bows) I seriously hope it's worth the time reading it requires.

/ Meet me after dark again and I'll hold you
I want nothing more than to see you there
And maybe tonight, we'll fly so far away
We'll be lost before the dawn /

(Evanescence; "Before The Dawn")

After slowly coming to grips with the full price of his deal and sending teams after the two demon-containers, Danzou honestly thought his day had hit its low. He was, however, quite soon proven to be greatly mistaken.

There was a brief knock on his office's door. He groaned while massaging his temple with a couple of fingers. " Yes?"

To his utter surprise, it was Suzume who entered. " Do you have a moment?"

He had to blink a little at the surreal situation. " Of course. What's wrong?"

For once when they were together, his daughter's eyes were filled with sadness and defeat instead of anger. Apparently, she was sick and tired of hating. " Danzou… I can't take this anymore. I can't keep working for you anymore, not when I know you believe in none of the things I do. I don't want to be forced into becoming you."

He frowned, utterly lost. " What are you talking about?"

The girl responded after a heavy sigh. " As from today, I'm no longer a member of Root", she announced in a tone he'd never heard before, slowly placing a signed paper to the table before him. " I will continue as a ninja, and I'll definitely be loyal to Konoha, but I'll never work as your subordinate again. As far as I'm concerned, we can stop torturing each other." With that she turned around, and without taking another glance over her shoulder walked out of the room – and his life.

And all he managed to do was stand there frozen and watch, just like he had for the girl's entire life.

CHAPTER 10: Before The Dawn

Naruto had no idea of when he'd fainted, much less of why. But nonetheless, he woke up to pain tingling underneath his skull and groaned loudly.

There was a small, snort-like sound. " I can only imagine how much that thick skull of yours can hurt, dobe", came an uncharacteristically soft voice he knew better than well. " You've been unconscious for about five hours. 'Bout time to wake up."

His eyes flew open, every single trace of headache instantly forgotten. At first his blue orbs widened, then filled with what can only be called utter joy. A huge grin appeared at the sight of a familiar person sitting on what seemed like stone floor right next to his makeshift bed, which seemed to be made of leaves and branches. " Sasuke!"

Before the Uchiha could do a single thing to stop him, he'd plunged forward and thrown himself at the raven, not even remembering the pain still pulsating in his leg. They were both tackled to the ground, he on top Sasuke.

The raven growled. " Dobe, off, now."

He barely even heard while pulling the boy closer, blissfully unaware of the other's still painful wounds. " I… I thought…!" He swallowed thickly. " Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

Sasuke kept squirming and struggling, but even though he didn't see the boy's face he was pretty sure it was only half hearted. " Dobe…"
Apparently, he was doomed to never find out what the Uchiha would've wanted to say to him, because just then the rest of Hebi entered the what he now recognized as huge cave. All three arched eyebrows.

Suigetsu smirked. " Now isn't this interesting…"

Karin's eyebrow rose even higher. " Exactly what are you two doing?"

Naruto could feel burning on his cheeks while scrambling away from the raven as fast as his leg and startle allowed him to. " N – Nothing."

He wasn't entirely sure why he felt mildly disappointed – even betrayed – when no traces of being affected were visible upon Sasuke's face. Onyx eyes were hard when darting towards the trio that'd entered. " What does it look like?"

" It seems we managed to shake off the Konohan troupe, and so far there's been no signs of the Akatsuki", Suigetsu informed. " But I think it's pretty safe to assume that they're following. I'm not sure how long we have."

Naruto frowned and rubbed his face, confusion taking place now that humiliation had faded. " Exactly where are we?" he inquired, glancing at the cave around him. " What is this place?"

" We're not too far from the hut, but hopefully the distance is enough to buy us some time", Sasuke informed, thoughts obviously million miles away.

" I got a feeling that Sasuke was close by, so I searched him into my hands and lead this little team here while you were out cold", Karin added in, a strange look he couldn't recognize in her eyes. The girl grinned when looking at Sasuke. " It was quite a bit of fun to ambush you."

Just one look from Sasuke revealed that he didn't agree.

" Am I the only one here who remembers that we have one hell of a problem?" Suigetsu spoke out all of a sudden. The boy's eyes were flashing. " Konoha and the Akatsuki will keep coming after us. We've gotta find a safe place much better than this one, fast."

Shockingly enough, Naruto realized that it was he who came up with a decent idea first. His eyes flashed. " Suna." He absolutely hated risking the safety of Gaara and the village, but… There was no other choice. Besides, their hunters most likely wouldn't even know to search from there.

Sasuke's eyes were slightly surprised and sharp when meeting his. " Are you sure?"

He nodded, unable to find any words.

Sasuke repeated the gesture. " In that case, we'll leave as soon as possible. We've wasted too much time already." Probably unbeknownst to the boy, black eyes were oddly tender when meeting his. " You should try to rest. You'll better be at full strength when the time to run comes."

Gaara had never felt such repulsion he did when staring at the hooded figure stood before him, offering him the one thing he would've wanted more than anything, with a price he could only guess.

His eyes narrowed. " What guarantee do I have that you're trustworthy?"

The other shrugged. " What guarantee do I have of you?"

His hand moved slowly, unwillingly, finally wrapping around a bottle hidden deep into the covers of his clothes. After a longest time he finally pulled it out, revealing it to the other. " I hope your boss knows to appreciate this", he all but hissed.

" Whoever said that I'd have a boss?" There was a small pause. " Now, I've been very patient this far, but I'm in quite a bit of a hurry. So could you please throw that bottle to me, so we'd get this over with?"

He arched an eyebrow. " Why should I move first?"

" Because I believe that out of us two, you're the one who has more to lose."

He gave a small growl as response, then threw the bottle through air, feeling a slash of gratitude when the other did the same. They both caught perfect catches – and his chest turned cold when the hooded one started to open up the one he'd thrown. For several seconds it was utterly silent.

" Water?" To his surprise, there was no rage, instead a chuckle. " Now how about this… I would've never expected you to be this cheeky – especially with what's hanging in balance." He could feel eyes move. " At this point, I'd suggest you to take a look at yours."

Frowning, he opened up the cover of the bottle in his hand, and felt like throwing up when clearly identifiable scent of sake greeted him.

His heart jumped all the way into his throat when without even a slightest weaver the other fished out another bottle. The glowed hand holding it was stretched forward, and squeezed. Glass broke like a dry leaf, and bluish substance smeared the enemy's hand. " If you wish, you can imagine this red. After all, wouldn't that make this all the more poetic?"

His head started to spin, and it took absolutely all inside him to keep emotions bottled up, rage and desperation only showing through his blazing eyes.

No… No, no, no!

From his shock, he didn't manage to move until the other was suddenly stood right behind him, a razor-sharp, kunai-like weapon placed to his steadily tightening throat. " Now… Unless you want both of you to die, I suggest you to stay very, very still. You have absolutely no idea of what I've dipped this blade into." His nausea from before grew thousand fold when a surprisingly soft hand roamed underneath his clothes, with stunning accuracy grabbing a leather-made necklace that held a tiny bottle so that it was hanging straight above his heart. There was a hard pull, and he fought against wincing when feeling a deep wound appearing to the tender skin of his neck. In nothing more than a blink the bottle had been taken away from him. " Yes, I figured you wouldn't have been foolish enough to arrive without your greatest asset." Lips moved so that they were less than a breath away from his ear. " Thank you so much for this, Subaku No Gaara. My utmost apologies for your friend." His hand reached out, but long before it could touch metal the other was already gone.

His breath hitched as he stood there in the middle of sand, all of a sudden painfully hot desert-air itching and burning his lungs, as well as eyes.

His scream of utter defeat and fury echoed as wind grabbed it gently and carried it far off.

After the first days of peace had passed, Suzume found herself amazed by how fast and determinedly the halfway destroyed village rebuilt itself. Then again, seeing how many wars Konoha had already been through, it was no miracle. The village wanted nothing more than to get wounds bandages so the healing could start.

She closed her eyes, and took in several deep, savouring breaths of fresh air that no longer held scents of battle and death. World had already started to move on, despite all the horrendous losses endured.

She managed to sense presence just before Shino's voice spoke. " I understand why you come here", the boy pointed out. " Now that the village is starting to recover… It's beautiful."

She opened her eyes, gazing at the landscape spreading below. She smiled. " I've come here as often as possible since I was five. Back then, I did it because Danzou told me not to."

Shino nodded glanced her way. " And now?"

Smile tucked the corners of her lips. " Now, I've grown up a little."

They were silent for a very long time, until she felt her lips move once more. " Have you ever thought about leaving, at least for a while?"

Shino seemed surprised when looking towards her. " Why?"

Once more, she looked at the village, all the familiar buildings and streets. " Because… Although I love Konoha, it's not the entire world. Just a tiny piece." She grinned brightly. " I want to see the whole world, if only just to love this village even more."

To both their surprise, Shino smirked as well. " Maybe you'll take me with you to those adventures to keep you company." They could both tell that it was far more than a casual, lightly thrown statement.

Her eyes softened. " Maybe."

Unfortunately approaching steps interrupted the warm moment before it could become something more. They turned around to see Lee standing quite nearby, panting heavily.

Suzume frowned. " What's wrong?"

" Tsunade-sama…", the boy managed. " She… wants to see… you. It's… important."

Ever since the day she'd been forced to fake her death – actually, for almost her entire life – Rin had been living in certain type of a cage. That's why, no matter how hard she would've wished for freedom, the cell she was now locked into didn't feel unbearable to her. At least, not as unbearable as facing her soul visitor, whom guards had let in despite all her other orders, most likely afraid of what would happen if the man wouldn't be allowed past them.

Not many people had been allowed to see as many emotions upon Kakashi's face as she did when the man faced her.

She gave him a warning look. " Don't", she commanded, fearing that her own voice would soon crackle. " This is my own decision, the only way. I'm sure you know that as well."

Kakashi was silent for so long that this tiny part of her wondered if in some miraculous way time had ceased from working. Then, out of blue, abnormally soft voice carried into her ears. " Rin, this… This is no way to live. I can't leave you here."

She gave him a lopsided smile. " I'm afraid you don't have the choice over that matter, Scarecrow. So stop looking so miserable. I'll be fine."

At that moment, something inside Kakashi finally seemed to snap and the man did something that took them both by surprise, although deep down they'd seen it coming long ago. The famous mask became moved just a little, and in a matter of blinks the copy-nin had made his way to her and crushed his lips against hers. Stun kept her from responding for a while, but soon enough urges took over – after all, they were both adults, and this would most likely be the last time they'd see each other.

Neither knew exactly how far they would've gone, if it wasn't for the three sets of steps coming from the hallway. They just broke apart and Kakashi managed to put his mask back into place before the door was opened, revealing them three Konohan ninjas.

She could tell Kakashi frowned while taking a defensive stance before her. " What are you doing here?"

Tallest of the three took a step forth, facing the grey-haired without a weaver in expression. " Danzou-sama knows about the little… deal Rin made with this village, but due to prevailing circumstances has taken the liberty to change it. We're here to take you home." The man's eyes moved towards her, something eerie visible in them. " All four of you."

It was already rather late when Hinata woke up to sunrays tickling her face. Yawning a little, she struggled into a sitting position – and could barely keep herself from chuckling at what she saw when glancing towards the window.

Not too far away – carefully making sure the sounds they made weren't loud enough to wake her – Kiba was training with Akamaru. (Though to her, it looked more like playing.) Although the mere thought made her blush madly, she had to admit that the boy looked very adorable with his hair ruffled and eyes shining with innocent enthusiasm, nearly like child's.

Her legs feeling oddly weak, she managed to crawl out of the bed and put on some clothes, her thoughts spinning around in one huge mess. (Even if such thoughts felt completely ridiculous, she couldn't keep herself from wondering for how long she'd felt this… strange around him without paying any attention to it, and what it meant.)

She had to compose herself for a while until she felt ready to step outside. Her chest, it seemed, wanted to react to the grin Kiba threw her way. " 'Morning. Now you sure took your time waking up."

She found her cheeks gain yet another very noticeable blush. " I-It took me l-long to f-fall asleep." She then frowned upon discovering something missing. " W-Where's Kakashi?"

The boy's expression turned somewhat sad, which was something she'd never seen before. " With Rin. I wouldn't expect him to show up anytime soon."

She nodded, feeling her chest twinge a bit. She couldn't even imagine what it most likely felt like for even someone as tough as Kakashi to say goodbye to someone they cared about so much, not to mention for a second time.

She shuddered a little when Kiba suddenly spoke without daring to look at her, clearly using all his courage to utter these exact words. " Look, Hinata… I… There's something I've been supposed to ask you…"

But she was destined to not find out what that question would've been that day. For just then Kakashi appeared, frown clearly visible.

Yet another shiver went through her. " What's wrong?" Kiba beat her to asking.

Kakashi's expression darkened still. " A team from Konoha just arrived", the man announced. " They said we have one hour before they'll take us back home."

-

Kiba felt coldness seeping all the way into his bones.

Back to Konoha, huh?

Yes, he was glad to get to go back home. But… As confused as he still was by the said fact, he'd enjoyed of this journey. And now that they'd go back, everything would return to normal once more. (Naruto would once more be all Hinata's eyes were able to see, he almost dared to think.)

He jolted just a little when feeling Hinata's hand grab his all of a sudden, probably without even the girl noticing. He wasn't sure if the mild shining he imagined seeing in the girl's eyes was his make believe or real. " A-Are we really g-going back h-home?"

He forced himself to smile, although it quivered pathetically. " Yeah." With that, he let go of her hand and started to walk away. " I'll better go and pack up." It's time to go back to reality.

Hinata's confused, even hurt eyes followed him as he went.

Shikamaru's patience was far less than inch from running out. It'd already been nerve wrecking to have one code to crack. And now, this new one – far more complicated than the last – had been thrown to him.

'Troublesome' was far from a word harsh enough to describe his task.

And it didn't make things a slightest bit easier that Temari and Shiho – who were supposedly helping him – seemed to have something his intelligence was far from able to understand going on between them. Unlike he and Temari most of the time, the girls weren't fighting fiercely, of course – Temari was too smart for such, and Shiho hated arguments – but there was clear bickering in the air almost constantly.

" We've already went through the entire library, twice", Temari pointed out in a voice that carried a dangerous edge. " If the answer would be in books, don't you think we should've found it already?"

Shiho shrugged, fixing her glasses with one hand while other held three books. " If you'd be able to focus on the actual work, you'd know that no information can be found without proper research."

That moment, he decided that something had to happen before he'd strangle both girls with bare hands. " Shiho, could you please get us some tea? It sounds like we all need it."

Seeming mildly disappointed for some reason, the girl nodded. " Of course!"

As soon as the glass-eyed girl had disappeared, Temari spoke. " Why do I have a feeling that there's a lecture coming?"

He chose to ignore her. " Temari, what the heck is going on with you two?" he demanded, facing a disbelieving look from the girl. " We're supposed to try and work together, but that's impossible until someone finally tells me what the hell's going and we'll sort it out!"

" So you want to know what's going on, huh?" Temari's teal-coloured eyes smouldered in a way that made him wonder if it would've been a smart idea to start searching for cover. " Well, since you're obviously too dense to figure it out on your own… This is what it's all about."

And before he could as much as blink, the girl had trapped his face into between her warm hands and slammed her lips to his with such demanding power it nearly took his breath away. Very embarrassingly, he found himself all but shrieking into the blonde's mouth with surprise.

He didn't even get a chance to make up his mind about responding until Temari already pulled herself away from him, eyes still burning and lips as well as cheeks shining red. " That's what's been going on."

All he could do was stare at her and swallow hard, her taste of lemon and peaches lingering in his mouth.

He was almost relieved when Chouji showed up to offer him an escape. The boy gave a strange look upon seeing their position – Temari's hands still pressed firmly to his cheeks – but then decided not to ask. " Tsunade-sama sent me to look for you", the boy announced. " She said it's something important."

When Naruto woke up again, he immediately had a feeling that he wasn't alone. It required gathering his strength and wrinkling his nose, but eventually his eyelids agreed to inch halfway open. He blinked somewhat sluggishly at what he saw.

Sitting right beside his so called bed, back leaning against the cave's wall, Sasuke had fallen into what seemed like light sleep, head turned stubbornly to opposite direction.

Curiosity or perhaps something else entirely taking over, he found his eyes observing the Uchiha, taking in details. Goodness, he'd never seen the boy this peaceful before, but on the other hand… Dark shadows underneath eyes and porcelain-pale skin revealed that the other hadn't slept properly for a very, very long time. Yet he couldn't look away – Sasuke Uchiha was such a person you just couldn't look away from after a mere glance – instead found his eyes trailing down every new wrinkle, scar and line on the raven he hadn't even noticed before. And he didn't manage to keep himself from wondering.

What had happened to Sasuke during these past almost three years – with Orochimaru, with Madara, in the middle of all that darkness? How much had been broken?

He sighed, losing himself into listening the steady rhythm of Sasuke's breathing. And suddenly, it was hard to not smile.

Actually, it didn't matter what happened to either one of them during the years passed, how much they'd grown. Sasuke had come back, and no matter what the raven or anyone else said the bond between them hadn't weakened even a slightest. That was all what mattered to him.

" Dobe, unless you want me to punch you, I'd suggest you to stop staring me right now", came Sasuke's voice, catching him so badly off guard that he actually yelped embarrassingly.

He pouted at the raven, exactly like the twelve-year-old he'd once been, meeting onyx eyes he now discovered open. " Stop trying to cause me a heart attack, teme", he whined.

Sasuke rolled his eyes, although there seemed to be something neither one of them recognized hiding behind the gesture. " Dobe."

He rubbed his face, haze finally leaving his mind, and thoughts started to click to place. " Why… did you try to stay awake for me?"

Sasuke snorted. " Konoha and the Akatsuki are chasing you, and you ask me something like that?" The raven's gaze travelled down. " How's your leg?"

Blinking with confusion, he looked down towards his injury and discovered a strange-looking wrapping shielding it. Whatever the stuff covering the wrapping was, it smelled like herbs and something he couldn't recognize. " What…?" Slowly, he tried to move the limb, and blinked once more upon discovering that there was no searing pain as response, only mild and dull throbbing. He looked at Sasuke, suspecting that he looked like a confused little child. " It… doesn't hurt much anymore."

Sasuke nodded, his expression as unreadable as always. " That's good."

He frowned with suspicion. " What's that stuff?"

Sasuke shrugged while straightening his form. Naruto noticed that several of the Uchiha's own injuries were still untreated. " Ways to kill aren't all I learned from Orochimaru."

His whole body ached with stun and urge to ask more, but when his mouth opened only one word crawled out. " Thanks."

Just then, a trio that'd become very familiar to him entered the cave. Karin gave a grin he found slightly unnerving for whatever the reason when spotting him. " Nice to see you conscious for change."

It took a lot of him to not stick out a tongue.

" Have they gotten closer?" Sasuke inquired.

" Those guys from Konoha are camping nearby this cliff", Suigetsu announced, seeming amused. " Apparently, they don't dare to attack in fear of us having the upper hand."

Sasuke nodded, appearing pleased with this information. " I'll go and put together some more traps, just in case they get bold enough to take their shot."

" I'll come with you", Karin announced, taking after the Uchiha. " I need some amusement."

When the two had left and Juugo had taken his usual sitting-spot nearby exit, far enough to not hear, Naruto spoke to the last one left. " Hey, Suigetsu." His eyebrows furrowed a bit. " Why is Karin being so… weird around me? It's like I'd insulted her or something."

To his surprise, Suigetsu chuckled, shaking his head. " Damn, Naruto. You really are a dense one."

His tongue burned to ask more, but something told him the boy wouldn't speak another word. Biting back a growl of frustration, he laid back down and stared at the roof, thoughts bouncing around.

If there's anything that teme and his team mates are good at, he mused. It's giving me a headache.

It was amusing, really, that he didn't see anything weird about how worked up he was by Sasuke.

As a full-time spy, Zetsu's eyes had seen many interesting things. But this one made his features twist into a frown.

Stood with back to him, a hooded figure who'd become familiar to him poured some substance away from the tiny bottle held in one steady hand, replacing it with water.

" Care to explain to me why you're making that antibody half less effective?" he spoke out, voice unusually tense.

The figure didn't even turn. " Because – as we both know – he'd kill you all once he'd regain full strength and manage to achieve his goals. All we need is him to live."

He remained silent, knowing that those words only spoke truth.

The figure finished the work and started to walk off, towards a certain chamber-like room. " Now, if you excuse me, I have a lot to do, so…"

He nodded and watched the retreating back for a moment until a question popped into his head. " Just out of curiosity… What makes you think he wouldn't kill you?"

There was a sound he identified as chuckle. " Because he knows that no matter how hard he'd try, he'd never be able to." Before he could ask another question the other was gone.

When he arrived into a tiny house on the furthest edge of Konoha with Suzume and Lee, Shino came to discover that they weren't the only ones invited. Aside Tsunade, Sakura, Shikamaru, Temari, Sai, Ino, Chouji and TenTen were also already there. All had solemn looks upon their faces.

His forehead wrinkled. " What's going on?"

Tsunade's expression was well enough to give him chills. " Not too long ago I received news that Danzou's sent teams to find both remaining Demon containers. I'm fairly sure he's made a deal with someone to deliver them."

Shock filled the entire room. " That bastard…", Ino growled.

Tsunade went on as though not having heard. " There's no chance to warn the Eight Tailed's container anymore before she arrives to Konoha, but we can still save Naruto." The woman's eyes were harder than any of them had seen them. " Sasuke is already on his way to him, but I'm also going to send a team to find him, before Danzou's group or the Akatsuki gets to him first."

" I'm going along", Sakura announced immediately, green eyes burning with determination and intense worry. " They're my teammates. I can't just stand back and wait when they're being chased liked criminals."

Tsunade thought for a long moment, and everyone understood why, even with the pinkette being a highly skilled ninja. This was a delicate mission – after all, they were all but betraying their ruling Hokage. Even a slightest slip up could be fatal, and with how much Sakura cared about both Sasuke and Naruto…

Eventually, Tsunade nodded, though her eyes remained hard. " I don't think I need to remind you of how much is at stake here."

Sakura's jaw tightened while she nodded as well.

" What about me?" Shikamaru suggested in a tense voice.

Tsunade gave the boy a sympathy-filled look. " You have that new code to crack, remember?" She then looked at Sai, him and Suzume. (He was almost sure Ino tensed up completely.) " I've been thinking about sending you three, now that Suzume's no longer a member of Root. Move fast and use as little force as possible. If you run into Danzou's men, tell them I sent you as backup."

He nodded eagerly, grateful to be able to do something aside sitting around and waiting.

Chouji frowned. " What about the rest of us?"

Tsunade's eyes flashed. " Keep an eye on the Akatsuki's moves around Konoha, as well as Danzou. I have a feeling that there's a disaster coming." Her eyes were stern as she looked at them. " Be careful, all of you."

When Sai approached the village's borderlines, he was surprised to discover that as well as Shino and Suzume, Ino was also there waiting for him. " What are you doing here?" he asked without giving the words much further thought.

The girl's eyes flashed. " I'm going with you, obviously."

A small wrinkle appeared to between his eyes, which was something that happened every time he was worried about something. " This is a dangerous mission, Ino. You should wait here."

The girl scoffed, blue eyes lighting into a flame. " Wait here for what? For bad news? For you to come back injured, or even dead?" Her tone was far firmer than he'd ever heard it. " I'm not letting you go anywhere without me again, do you hear me? Besides, I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

Despite all the worry surging through him, he felt his eyes grow unusually soft. Judging by the grin that appeared to Ino's face, that was all the agreement and invitation she needed.

" So…" Suzume's eyes had a knowing, mischievous look. " Are we going?"

Currently unable to form words, he nodded.

He and Ino travelled firmly side by side from them, and although he wasn't quite ready to figure out why that was just yet, only the presence of others kept him from reaching out a hand to touch hers.

Gaara had never felt as defeated as he did that day while sitting on the edge of Neji's bed, watching as the Hyuuga shuddered under fever and such pain he couldn't even imagine, face so pale – even bluish – that the boy's skin was nearly transparent.

He'd done absolutely all he could, he tried to tell himself although the thought offered absolutely no comfort. He'd done everything, and it'd been to no avail. He'd lost the one time when winning was all he would've wanted.

Neji had been completely still for so long that he shuddered when the boy's eyes suddenly inched halfway open, so bleary that he couldn't help wondering if they saw anything out of this world at all. The brunette frowned with discomfort. " 'ara?"

His throat felt dry and tight, and he had to swallow hard before it became possible to speak. His hand twitched, for some ridiculous reason desperately trying to grab one of the other's, but fortunately remained in his control. " I'm here", he stated in a somewhat croaky voice. He held a long pause, mostly to convince his voice into sounding at least remotely normal. " Just… Sleep a little longer – you need rest to build up your strength." At least asleep, there wouldn't be pain.

Neji squeezed his eyes tightly shut, but the lines on his forehead told clearly that he was far from sleep. " Hurts…"

Smothering wave of helplessness washed over him, and at that moment he couldn't hold it back any longer. His hand moved swiftly, closing Neji's icy one into its warmth. The Hyuuga squeezed back – out of convulsion or free will, he'd probably never know. " Just… hang in there, please." He'd never, ever been one to plead, but now… Goodness, he would've…! " Just hold on, for a little bit longer. Hold on."

Neji's eyes opened once more, looking straight into his through haze and feverish delirium. It was the first time he saw the boy actually cry.

Just then, the room's door was opened. Relief he could've never even pictured feeling flowed through him when he saw dishevelled-looking Kankuro and Izumi stood behind Matsuri, who had an expression upon her face he couldn't recognize.

A choked, laughter-like sound erupted through his throat and he opened his mouth, but nothing came out.

Not wasting another second, Izumi rushed forward, stood by the bedside and placing her by then glowing hand to Neji's chest, concentrating.

" 'Sorry it took so long", Kankuro stated, sounding utterly relieved and exhausted. " We run into some… trouble."

" And we didn't arrive a second too soon", Izumi went on, voice so tight it chilled Gaara. The girl pulled out a tiny bottle of bluish liquid, looking straight at Neji's face although she couldn't see. " Neji, I need you to listen to me. This is going to hurt, but this is also the only way to help you, okay?" The boy gave a faintest nod as a sign of understanding. " You need to drink this."

Gaara felt his heart perform a tiny jump as he watched Neji gulp the potion down with obvious difficulty.

For several moments nothing happened, and hope started to leak out of him. But then – so suddenly that it actually managed to startle him – Neji emitted a loud gasp, then squeezed his eyes tightly shut and screamed, the voice filled with heartbreaking amount of pain.

He felt an intense, all consuming wave of worry crash through him, wiping away absolutely all reason. Had Kankuro not been there to hold him back, he would've charged forth – to do what, he had no idea. " What the hell are you doing to him?!" he bellowed the exact same moment Neji screamed yet again, eyes smouldering. " That potion's hurting him! You're…!"

" Gaara, stop it", Kankuro's stony growl finally managed to reach him. " This is the only way, okay? Calm down."

Izumi's eyes filled with sadness when she murmured softly, voice filled with understanding. " Kushina-sama warned that this would bring pain, and considering his condition…" She sighed, and after hesitating for a moment searched for Neji's hand and grabbed it. " Neji, it hurts, but you have to hold on for a little bit longer."

By then, Gaara's head was swirling so badly that he barely heard Kankuro's words. " Why don't you… go and get a wet clothe, okay? And get a glass of water, too." Already then, he knew that the boy was only trying to make him leave the room – for he and Neji's sake. " I'm sure it'd make him feel better."

He nodded numbly. Walking through the room's door was the hardest thing he'd ever done.

As soon as he was out, he leaned heavily against a wall and placed one hand to cover his face. He didn't notice how his breathing turned ragged.

It was the first time in his life he prayed.

-

What he didn't know, was that Matsuri followed him out of the room.

The girl's eyes flashed with several intense emotions as she watched him standing there, finally understanding.

Her steps didn't make a sound when she turned and walked away.

Evening was steadily growing late when Naruto limped his way out of the cave and made his way towards Sasuke, who was looking at the landscape spreading below the high cliff, back to him. The Uchiha's eyes moved when he took a stand beside the boy, but the other didn't speak and neither did he, almost like fearing that words could break something.

His own eyes shifted towards the same direction as Sasuke's, and a shudder crossed his entire body when he noticed lights, campfires – at least ten of them – all around the cliff in a thick forest.

The Konohan troupe was near. Unless some miracle would grant them a swift escape, they'd be caught very soon.

They remained silent for a longest time, lifted gazes directed to the mercilessly dark clouds drifting above them, hands lingering less than inches from touching.

Eventually, he couldn't keep himself from speaking for another second. " Do you think we'll make it? That everything's going to work out?"

Sasuke didn't answer, and he could see dark eyes become something beyond.

He felt colder than ever before in his entire life, and although the mere thought scared him to death he wished from the bottom of his heart that Sasuke would've wrapped his arms around him to grant at least a tiny bit of warmth.

He swallowed hard, his hand – so very close to Sasuke's - twitching. " Do… Do we have any hope, at all?"

To his utter surprise, the raven smirked. " Since when has hope been an object for us?"

At that moment, no matter how helpless the situation was, this warmth he couldn't explain filled him, and he found himself smiling – palely, but still.

Whatever should come, he was finally about to face it with Sasuke. And for some twisted reason he didn't manage to comprehend just yet, all the rest didn't mean a thing.

He opened his mouth once more, but was interrupted by a sudden boom of thunder. They both stared with (in Sasuke's case hidden) bewilderment as heavy, wall-like rain started to fall, and thunder screamed louder than should've been even possible. There was nothing natural about this storm, they both knew. Someone was helping them.

This, Naruto realized, was their only chance.

" Karin!" Sasuke roared, his voice barely rising to carry through the thunder. " Find Suigetsu and Juugo! It's time to go!"

Hidden by woods right below the cliff, the same young woman who'd saved Sasuke lowered her hands and her eyes returned to normal, flashing despite exhaustion.

It'd been done. This storm should be enough to allow Sasuke and Naruto to get away, hopefully far enough.

Her body tensed up completely there were suddenly steps, and a suspicious voice spoke out. " Rina, what the hell do you think you're doing?"

-

Sitting on a tree branch nearby, an already drenched wet raven gave a petrified, heartbroken scream.

Not too far away, leader of the group, a huge man named Fujime, stood with a thoughtful, irritated expression, cursing the blinding rain and furious thunder.

If they wouldn't be able to move on soon, that demon as well the traitor would get away. Plus, this rain would undoubtedly wash away all scent-trails their dogs could find. And they didn't have even a slightest clue of where they'd be going.

This was getting really, really annoying.

" Fujime-sensei", his young apprentice's – Kiko's – voice sounded suddenly. " There's something I came to think of."

His irritated eyes turned. " Yes?"

" In Konoha, I heard rumours that Naruto's gained… friends from Suna." There was a frown. " Would he really be foolish enough to risk the peace between two villages and go there?"

His eyes gleamed. Actually, Naruto's idea wasn't stupid at all. Suna was practically untouchable area for diplomatic reasons – now that there was finally peace between the village and Konoha, it'd take a lot more than a couple of fugitives to endanger everything. If they'd cross the village's borderlines without the Kazekage's permission, they'd be in a huge trouble.

" Prepare the troupes", he ordered gruffly, not remembering to thank the teen. " We'll leave as soon as possible. We can't let those two get to Suna."

On the other side of the cliff, also wet Kisame's eyes moved when there was a noticeable breath of air and his new, hooded partner appeared. " Well?"

" It's been done." The other looked towards the cliff. " How are our two targets doing?"

" Still put, I think, but with this rain aiding them I doubt for long." He grit his teeth with impatience. " I think we should go after them right now, before they'll get away."

To his surprise, his companion shook head. " No. Those cliffs are dangerous – we have no idea of what's up there. The Uchiha and his teammates, however, do and I'm sure they've arranged a nice set of traps to wait for us. This is their territory."
He fought the urge to hiss. " Then what are we going to do? Sit here and wait?"

" Yes, for now." He could tell he was being looked at. " I suggest you not to worry about them getting away."
He arched an eyebrow. " Why is that?"

" I happen to have… a very special bond to Naruto." His comrade looked towards the dark cliff once more. " He'll never be able to run away from me."

From thereon, the race was on.

TBC, believe it.

A/N: Hey, see that – the cliffies ARE getting milder! See, see – I AM able to be at least somewhat nice! (gets swatted to head by Sasuke, who rolls his eyes muttering something like 'yeah, right…')

Awkay, I'll have to start tuning out. But first… Leave a review, yeah? Aww, c'mon – you can't even imagine what kind of treats I have to offer as a bribe! Chocolate, cupcakes, ice cream… (grins cheekily)

'Til next time, folks! I really hope you'll all stop by then.

Be good!

realityfling18: Aww! You can't even imagine how flattered I am to hear you dashed off to see if there was an update for this one straight after when finally reunited with your computer! (starts to gloat) (Goodness, a trip without a computer? I've become so attached to mine that I'm chilled by the mere idea!) (shudders)

That lady helping Sasuke was interesting, now wasn't she? Her identity will be revealed later on in the story. (smirks mysteriously)

(chuckles) I've become a total raven-fan during to corsage of this story.

Tons of thank yous for the review! I really hope I'll keep seeing you around.