I hope everyone enjoyed the last chapter. I'm hoping to be able to update a little quicker now that the semester is coming to an end. With that being said and two papers to writer for class, the next chapter should be out the first week in May.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Sasuke POV

I waited outside the exam room for the older nurse to come out. Her grandchildren waited along with Juugo and me. I had sent Karin and Suigetsu to find a place for us to stay and for food. I stood against one wall, in front of the exam room door, with my arms crossed. On the other side of the hall the children mingled to one side of the door while Juugo sat on the other side, seeming certainly distressed.

The young boy sat and watched his sister pace back and forth in front of him while she muttered to herself. I couldn't make out much of what she said. I mostly picked up on Sakura's name and her repeating 'be ok.' The boy managed to stop the girl in her tracks.

"It's been a long time. Do you think she is alright?" he asked her.

It was true. It had been a long time since they took Sakura in there. No one else had entered the room since the doctor and the nurse took Sakura into the exam room. Upon seeing Sakura, I hadn't seen any outward sign of injury besides a few bruises and abrasions. Could she have gotten some internal injuries while Juugo had gone berserk?

"She has to be," the girl perked up and said while pumping her fist in the air. "After everything she's done, no way she'd give up fighting." Suddenly the girls face grew grim, "Right?"

Silence seemed to echo loudly through the hall. No one had a response for her. Juugo looked like he was miserable, probably feeling guilty for his episode. I honestly couldn't say. I had been gone so long.

I couldn't even say if I truly knew Sakura anymore or how hard she would fight. It seemed as though these children knew her far better than I did. She certainly wasn't the same Sakura I had left back in Konoha, if my few brief encounters with her in recent past and what I'd seen her do on the battlefield had anything to say to it.

Suddenly the boy jumped up excitedly and with a pumped fist yelled, "Believe it!" That curiously sounded a little too much like a certain dobe I know. "No way. She wouldn't stop fighting."

"You're right," the girl replied. The girl then sat down next to her brother and they chattered to each other quietly and occasionally they would both giggle about something.

Juugo really didn't look so good. He was sitting on the floor with his knees to his chest. His elbows rested on his knees while his hands were fisted in his hair, almost pulling his hair out by the roots. That was his sure sign of guilt. He was getting stressed and I feared he continued on much longer he may go berserk once again. If he did, this time would be much more disastrous. I looked back at the kids. If he was feeling this bad about Sakura, I'm afraid there would be no coming back for him he hurt those children.

I don't know what had happened between him and Sakura while they had been here, but it was evident that these kids idolized them both. The kids also had some impact on Juugo himself. I could recall his shame when the nurse and children came in and the way he avoided their gaze when they asked what happened.

Juugo hadn't said much since we got to him. I knew I needed to talk to him or at a least give him an opportunity to speak about what happened if he wanted too. It still felt like it make have been too soon. I was certain that at this moment he was still trying to piece together what had happened. From the way he had described it in the past it was almost as if his memory would black out and that he would recall an occasional faded fragment but never the whole incident.

It seemed that Juugo and Sakura had formed a sort of bond it the short amount of time they had been together. In fact it seemed Juugo had been drawn to her since we had stepped foot on the battlefield. The moment he had predicted that Sakura was in trouble he had rushed to save her, putting his own life in danger. Secretly I was grateful he had come to her rescue. At one point in time that would have been me protecting her but that was buried in the past, I was just happy someone else had been there for her.

I crossed the hall to him. I kneeled down in front of him and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"She's going to be just fine," I assured him. He looked up at me with tormented eyes. Tears brimming the edge and threatening to fall.

"How can she ever forgive me?" he asked. "She believed in me and I let her down. I turned into a monster and attacked her."

I had some serious doubts about what had happened, but of course I wouldn't be able to confirm anything until I talked to Sakura. Assuming she was alright. With each passing minute things began looking grimmer but I could chance to let any doubt to appear in my features. Juugo was relying on me too much to show any uncertainty.

"Trust me when I tell you this Juugo. Sakura is unlike anyone else. Her heart is bigger than anyone else's. She cares too much to ever hold grudges," I assured him. It was true. Even with all the damaged I had caused her heart she still had cared and forgiven me back then. When I was younger I hadn't appreciated it. I hadn't seen her though after our last meeting, after I had tried to kill her. I couldn't be sure she could still care for me or forgive me now, but I knew for sure she would forgive Juugo. "If she could forgive someone like me she would never hesitate to forgive you."

I knew I was never good with comforting words but I think Juugo would understand my intent. I could feel the muscles in his shoulder relax followed by a deep exhale. I then moved to his side and sat down. Juugo closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall, much calmer then he had been.

The waiting and the silence was becoming unbearable. The time only left the mind to run with possibilities and uncertainties. It made one only consider the worst possible scenarios. What would the scene been like had I made it too them one minute later. There would have been no reconciling Juugo.

I sped up and left Karin and Suigestu behind. I had to reach Juugo soon. I quickly maneuvered through the trees. The feel of Juugo's chakra was suffocating. The last time I felt him this far gone was the first time I had ever met him and he had gone berserk on me.

Something was definitely wrong. I thought I had felt something earlier, something dark and evil. I wasn't entirely sure though. Karin would know better. Once they caught up to me I would be sure to ask Karin.

The forest was starting to thin now. The earth quacked. That was certainly Juugo. I was close now. I should be at him at any second. I pushed even faster.

Just ahead I could see Juugo through the trees. I got distracted. Something to my right had darted past me. I didn't have time to investigate I felt Juugo's chakra spike again. I rushed ahead and dropped down to the forest floor behind him. He had his fist raised about to strike whatever was in front of him.

I spiked my chakra to draw his attention and activated my sharingan. Juugo turned and looked at me. Recognition was immediate in Juugo's eyes. His curse quickly started to recede but suddenly he looked troubled. He turned his head back around and I then I heard him whispher Sakura's name.

It was that same moment I heard a small thud and saw a small glance of pink on the ground. Suddenly Juugo had fallen forward to his knees as well. It was then that I saw Sakura laying face first on the ground. At first I was frozen in place. I wasn't sure I wanted to make that move forward. I was struck by a sudden fear that there may be not coming back from this one for Sakura.

I slowly stepped towards her. Once I had reached her side, I got down on my knees and rolled her over. She looked so pale, even her hair was dull. I was trembling as I reached down to check her pulse. I touched her neck and her flesh felt warm but cooler than it should have been. I worry increased.

I felt it though, weak but there was a pulse. I released the breath I didn't even know I had been holding.

"I'm so sorry Sakura," I heard Juugo say. I looked up and he was standing on her other side. I had forgotten about him once I had seen Sakura on the ground. I hadn't even heard him move toward us.

He squatted down and gathered her into his arms and then walked away. I gathered the strength into my legs to stand and then followed him to the hospital.

I had truly been so terrified when I had found Sakura like that. I didn't really have a right to be, I had denied her and Naruto's friendship back then but I certainly didn't want anything to ever happen to them. Depending on what the future holds, I wanted to at least attempt to rekindle some kind of relationship with them, try to repair our broken bonds.

The door opened and the doctor stepped out of the room, silently closing the door behind him. He turned to look at Juugo and myself. He nodded his head at us but he had a curious look upon his face, as though he was confused about something. He left us and continued down the hall.

The children bounced up to their feet and pranced about the entrance to the room waiting for the granny nurse to come out.

We all stared at the door waiting for the nurse to appear. Just a few minutes later the door opened and the woman stepped out. The children rushed her with a bombardment of questions but only one was important enough to take notice.

"She Sakura-hime alright?" the little girl asked. The old woman giggled and patted the child on the head. She was very convincing but I could tell there was more to the story. More that she didn't want to concern the children with.

"Yes Sakura is quite fine," she told the children. "If you'd like you may go in and tell her goodnight before we leave, but don't be loud. And don't wake her. She needs her rest."

The children quickly agreed and rushed into the room. The old came to us while we both stood and greeted her.

"Is badly injured?" Juugo asked.

"No, not too badly. It was mostly a few abrasions and contusions. The worst of it was her reinjuring her broken ribs. They didn't need to be reset. However, it seems she just badly bruised them," she explained. She wasn't very forthcoming with all of her information. They wouldn't have taken that long if her injuries were minor as she had explained. She was hiding something.

"There's something else isn't there?" I questioned. She looked a little uneasy.

"There is, but it's really something I should speak with her about."

"Is it something more to deal with her injuries?" Juugo asked. She looked puzzled and then looked at us both.

"Neither of you will be satisfied if I don't tell you will you?" We didn't need to verbally answer her question. "Okay, okay," she surrendered and put her hands in the air. "There is something strange about her chakra."

"What do you mean?" I queried.

"It's not easy to explain and to be honest, the doctor and I really solve the question either. We only know there is something amiss. Her chakra is different than from when she was first admitted, even different from this morning when I checked on her." I looked her questioningly. How could her chakra possibly be different? "I see you're just as confused as we are. All I can tell you is that it's still highly similar to her chakra before. So much so, most people wouldn't have even noticed a change. In fact, she may not have noticed if herself for a while."

"They how did you know it was different?"

"I didn't at first. I didn't know anything was wrong until I started examining why she wasn't replenishing her chakra."

"What do you mean? Shouldn't her chakra restore itself given time?" I asked.

"Yes, it should," she affirmed. "But for some reason she isn't. Ever since she was first brought in here her chakra has been restoring itself naturally. I know she is a med-nin and that she has slowly been healing herself day by day, not to exhaust herself too much though. And I assume she also healed you," she said the last part while looking at Juugo.

"Yes ma'am," he affirmed.

"Well on that point, I'm glad you finally let someone help you with that," she smiled and continued, "however, it seems as though her chakra reserve is at a standstill. We gave her something that should have boosted her levels almost immediately, but after thirty minutes her levels hadn't changed at all. So we started investigating it further. At first I thought her chakra system was blocked but it was all clear. That's when I noticed the resonance in her chakra was off. So it appears the same but it isn't. We don't have any explanation for it."

"So will her chakra restore?" I asked. I knew without her chakra her career as a ninja might as well be over.

"Best case scenario, after some time and rest, everything will go back to normal," she said grimily. "Otherwise, she'll need to see someone advanced in medicine to help her out."

We all stood there quietly. My guess is we were all thinking the same thing. Sakura may have been heartbroken when I abandoned the village, her and Team 7, but she would be devastated if she could no longer be a ninja. It wasn't something I think she would get over.

"She's resting right now. She briefly gained consciousness while we were examining her but quickly went back under. It would be best for her to get as much undisturbed rest as possible," she explained. "I'll be heading home for the night but I'll be back in the morning to check on her and with any luck her condition will have improved."

The nurse then poked her head into the room, and in a hushed tone said to the children, "Akemi, Ismau, hurry up. We need to be leaving soon."

I went a stood by the edge of the entrance and looked into the room. The children had pulled a chair next to the hospital bed. The boy was climbing down off it but the girl was still standing on it, leaning above Sakura. She then bent down and gave her a gentle kiss on the forehead. Then both children scurried out of the room silently. Each child took one of the nurse's hands and I watched them walk away down the hall.

I felt a breeze graze my side as Juugo walked past me and entered into the room to take a seat in the same chair the children had been standing on. From where I stood, Sakura didn't look any better. Her skin was still sickly pale. She didn't look like the once vibrant girl I use to know.

I couldn't bring myself to enter into the room. I too had my own guilt to deal with. Guilt from everything I had done in the past, the pain I had put her through. The guilt of knowing that if we had pressed on further or faster, I could have prevented this incident. I could have stopped Juugo before any damaged could have been done.

Luckily, my thoughts were interrupted as I heard Karin and Suigetsu grumbling at each other while making their way down the hall. I watched Karin elbow him in the side and berate him about being quite, that they were in a hospital. I think they could tell I wasn't in the best of moods because they became silent once they got to me.

Suigetsu greeted me and took some bags from Karin's hands and entered the room. He sat the bags down and proceeded to stand beside Juugo and place a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Suigetsu got us a room at the inn on the corner of this street. I got enough food for us for tonight and tomorrow morning. I figured I'd wait until we decided our next move before I got enough supplies for us to journey on," Karin informed me.

"You felt it, didn't you?" She looked at me knowingly and nodded.

"I did. It was strange though. It would flicker in and out. It had an overwhelming presence." I saw her shiver. "I was evil, so evil."

"I know I felt it too. I'm starting to wonder if that is what triggered Juugo." Something was definitely up, Juugo wouldn't have reacted that strongly otherwise. I had faith in Juugo that he didn't have in himself, and from the way he had reacted to Sakura I knew he would have intentionally done anything. Whoever it was that had been there was who had set him off.

"Can you analyze Sakura's chakra?" I asked. She stood there focusing for a minute with her eyes closed.

"You don't need me to tell you something you already know Sasuke. It's subtly different, masked even," she replied.

Masked? How could it possibly be masked?

"Sasuke, I know she isn't really a friend of mine, just more of an acquaintance then anything, but I'm worried. Her chakra has changed from when I tracked her earlier until now. And with the addition of that other chakra, I don't think it's a coincidence. I think whoever it was, was gunning for her and Juugo just happened to react. I don't know your plans Sasuke but she saved my life once, I'd like to repay my debt."

Karin had certainly changed herself and matured. I respected her for that. I also thought she made a valid point. It wasn't a coincidence. The questions now were who was it and what in the world could be the reason they were after Sakura.