Hey everyone! I know, it's been forever… But I've finally managed to get some work done on this story so I hope you like it! There will also still be a few more chapters after this one, and I'll try to get those out a lot sooner than it took me to do this. :)

Sasori laid his partner down on the ground. He'd been walking for most of the day and he decided it was time to take a break. Hopefully he could wake his partner up and at least get the blonde to drink some water or something. He lightly shook the blonde, watching to see if he reacted. He tried again, shaking him a bit more roughly and managed to get him to open his eyes slightly. It seemed he was only half awake, but thankfully it was enough for Sasori to get him to drink some water before he fell back into unconsciousness.

Then, reaching into his bag, he pulled out a cloth and wiped away the sweat that was coating the blondes face before placing a hand on his forehead again to check his temperature. He sighed, closing his eyes. In just the few hours he'd been walking for, Deidara's condition had already gotten worse. And to make things worse, it would take at least another half-a-day to reach to the area where the plant was, and that was if they traveled through the night too. Even still, he'd still have to do some searching to find it once they did get there. The book he'd read had only said that the plant was in a cave in the northern area of the desert.

While there was only one cave in that area, there were also several different passages in the cave and it would take some searching to find out which one lead to the panacea plant.

Sasori opened his eyes and put his partner back on his back before standing up. He'd have to stop a few hours later to check on his partner again, but he couldn't afford take very long breaks; he needed to hurry to get to the cave so they could get that plant.

After a while of walking, Sasori noticed that the horizon looked a bit weird, and he knew it wasn't the heat getting to him because he was a puppet after all. Then his eyes widened and he cursed under his breath. He should have known the moment he saw it considering how long he'd lived in the desert. A sandstorm. And it seemed to be a big one. He quickly scanned the area, noticing an outcropping of rocks. While it wasn't perfect, it would hopefully be enough to at least stop them from being buried alive by the storm.

He made it just as the sandstorm reached them, and thankfully, the outcropping was enough to protect them. He set his partner down next to him and leaned back against one of the large rocks shielding them, watching the sandstorm rage on. He could only hope this delay wouldn't last too long.

"Why'd we stop un?" Sasori looked over to his side to see Deidara had woken up, though he looked like he'd probably fall back asleep any moment.

"Sandstorm. Here," he said, pulling the water out his bag and sitting his partner up to drink some.

"Oh…. how long do they usually last?" he asked, before gulping down some of the water then handing the canteen back to Sasori.

"Some can last up to a day, but hopefully this one won't take that long."

"Un…"

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired un," the blonde murmured, laying back down and closing his eyes. Sasori sighed, watching as his partner quickly fell back asleep. At least besides the tiredness, his condition didn't seem too bad, but it still wasn't good. He still had a pretty high fever and until they got that plant things would only get worse for the blonde.

"Will this sandstorm ever end," he huffed.

The sandstorm did end, finally, after a few hours and Sasori was back to travelling, carrying his still sleeping partner on his back. As he'd predicted, Deidara's conditioned has worsened during the time they'd been waiting out the storm. His fever had gotten worse and he was now panting for air and shivering slightly.

"Just a bit longer brat, hang in there," he muttered, furrowing his eyebrows. He'd given the blonde his own cloak about an hour ago in hopes it would calm his tremors, but it didn't seem to have been of much help.

"Are we there yet danna…un?" the weak voice startled him from his thoughts and he glanced over his shoulder at the blonde who'd spoken.

"Almost, just another hour or so," he assured. Deidra nodded before closing his eyes and quickly falling back into a restless sleep.

The sun began to set on the horizon, casting a soft orange glow over the desert. Sasori frowned, realizing it wouldn't be much longer before nightfall. If they didn't reach the cave by then, they'd have to wait until morning. But he didn't have that kind of time! Deidara was already doing bad enough as it was and if it took too much longer… well he didn't know what the blonde's condition would be by then. Even now he could feel the heat from his partner's fever radiating from his body.

Though there was one thing about this that seemed particularly strange, besides the face that his hands got sick. No, what was strange was that while it had started out as just his handmouths being sick, now it was Deidara himself who wasn't doing well. It's as though it transferred from his hands throughout his whole body. Sasori wasn't completely sure how this worked, but all that mattered was finding this stupid plant and fixing his partner.

He nearly sighed in relief when, in the distance, he spotted the vague outline of a cave.

"Finally." After only a few more minutes he'd arrived, and by now the sun had fully set and the desert was shrouded in darkness. The temperatures had also dropped drastically and Deidara's shaking had gotten worse. But it would be okay now that they'd reached the cave, so long as it didn't take too long to find this plant.

There were several passages, all leading off in different directions to more passages, forming an intricate maze within the cave. Trying to find the right one just by trial and error would be crazy. Luckily though, Sasori knew the type of conditions needed for this plant to grow, which hopefully would help him to choose which path to take. It required a cool moist environment with dim lighting. Inspecting each of the tunnels, Sasori chose the one on the far left.

Water dripped from the ceiling and it felt as if a gentle warm breeze flowed through the tunnel. Sasori felt Deidara relax slightly and he wasn't shaking as badly. 'Just a little bit longer…' he thought, giving the sick blonde on his back a brief glance before refocusing his attention on the path before him.

It was nearly pith black and Sasori had to make his way along slowly to avoid tripping or running into a wall when the tunnel had a turn. But finally, he felt this long journey was about to pay off when he turned a corner and saw a dim light at the end of the tunnel.

He picked up his pace a bit, still being careful not to trip and send both him and his partner to the ground. A small smile worked its way onto his face once they entered an open cavern with a hole at the top, allowing light to shine through onto a small grove of plants.

Finally, he'd be able to make the medicine and cure his partner's illness.