Author's Note: Last week was probably my best week. I'm really surprised that I got so many follows and things like that. Especially with my new story. There is a progress update on that at the end of this chapter, too. Anyway, enjoy!
Sasuke motioned for Daisuke to turn. The hawk immediately accepted the command and both birds slanted to the ground.
The Uchiha thanked Daisuke and the summoning was released. The hawk nodded and was gone with a puff of smoke.
Sai stayed where he was atop his ink bird. He worriedly looked at Ino's lifeless body.
Sakura was frozen in place at the sight of her comrades, especially her best friend. Sasuke had to shake the Haruno's shoulders, making her snap out of the trance.
Sai weakly crawled to Ino and helped Sasuke pull her down.
"She's still alive," the Uchiha stated urgently as her set her on the ground.
Sakura went to work on the severely injured Yamanaka at once. A relieved feeling rushed through her when Sasuke announced that they still had a chance, but she needed to concentrate right now.
Grunting in pain, Sai attempted to get off of his ink bird. The instant he stepped off, he toppled over.
Sasuke caught the former ANBU before he hit the ground. Slinging one of his arms around the Uchiha's shoulder, they slowly made their way to a nearby rock.
"What happened?"
The pale shinobi squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth. "We were attacked," he managed to croak out.
They reached their destination and the male in intense agony sat down clumsily, resting his back against the rock.
"By who?"
Sai bit his lower lip so hard that a trickle of blood rolled down his chin. The Uchiha had never seen him so livid. "That swordsman that you told us about. Kenshi."
Sasuke barely suppressed a gasp, his eyes widening to the point that it hurt. "They fought Kenshi, too?!"
He glanced back at Sakura who seemed not to have heard anything. She was intently focused on healing Ino. His head whipped back around when Sai had a coughing fit.
"Don't do anything about me until you make sure that Ino is alright. I can last."
Reluctantly, Sasuke nodded and the hurt male leaned his head back, trying to get some rest.
The last Uchiha walked to stand beside the two kunoichi. He patiently watched as Sakura healed the blonde woman, trying to comprehend what Sai had just told him. Was it really possible that they weren't the only ones that had battled against Kenshi? He didn't completely deny the thought, considering the fact that the one they had fought wasn't the real Kenshi. Or was it? At the moment, there was no way to put the puzzle together, so he returned his mind back to reality.
"I've mended the most major wounds," Sakura announced. "What about Sai?"
He took a short glance at the exhausted male. "He told me not to worry about him until we made sure that Ino was fine."
Sakura frowned and worriedly turned her head around. She almost looked like she was about to cry from seeing their hurt teammate again.
Sasuke put a hand on her shoulder as she directed her attention to him. "Sakura, you're not alone. I'm here to help you."
She only stared, so he continued.
"Keep your focus on helping Ino. If something serious happens with him, then I'll tell you. I can handle anything minor. If you need help, then ask me. I'm here for you."
She smiled and a single tear rolled down her cheek. "Thank you Sasuke."
"Hn."
As she turned her attention back to her work, he stood up, ready to do his part of the job. He heard a pained sob and he worriedly looked back at Sakura. He frowned as he saw her staring at her hands, tears falling once again.
"W-Why now?" she whimpered.
At first, he didn't know what was wrong. The more he thought about it, he figured out exactly what had happened. "She hasn't fully recovered from healing the both of us. This is all my fault. If I had beaten him earlier. No, if I had paid attention then this wouldn't have happened!"
"I'm supposed to be the best medic in the village... Yeah right... I can't do this... How could I be this weak?"
"It's my fault Sakura."
She withdrew her hands and cried even more. She did her best to wipe the tears away, but had no luck. Sasuke cursed himself for making her cry. Kneeling next to her, he watched Ino's lifeless body, thinking of a plan. How could he possibly be of help in this situation? He had no clue how to use medical ninjutsu.
"Is it possible that you can use my chakra?" he asked.
She gasped and stared at him. He held out his hands and waited. Finally, she nodded and he placed them on top of hers. She flinched as their chakras connected. The sensation of all the chakra natures was overwhelming. When she regained her concentration, she heard Sasuke chuckle quietly.
"Even the most powerful people need help sometimes."
She grinned. "Apparently you never do."
"I never admit it, but I do need help sometimes."
She laughed. "So the great almighty Sasuke Uchiha actually does need help."
He smirked and watched their hands, chakra emitting a strong glow.
Sakura was surprised by how the natures felt. Lightning and Fire were the strongest, filling her with a strange warmth as they mixed. Sasuke also felt her chakra connecting with his. It was almost as if they were perfect together, like they melted into one another.
"Sakura, I'm sorry. If I had been more careful then you wouldn't have used up so much chakra."
"You better be. Your sorry butt would've died if I hadn't healed you."
He was happy to see that her mood had improved. Remembering what Sai had told him, he repeated it to Sakura. "Sai said that they fought Kenshi."
"What?!"
"I don't understand either. I haven't asked if he disappeared like the Kenshi we battled did."
She sighed and shook her head. "Well, he needs to take it easy right now. Do you think that you can help me heal him, too?"
He nodded and they continued to work on Ino. Minutes later, they heard a cough and the Yamanaka opened her eyes weakly.
"Ino!" Sakura shouted as she and Sasuke removed their hands.
"Sakura? Sasuke?"
"How are you feeling?"
"Like crap. Where's Sai? Is he okay?"
"He's over there. He's fine."
Ino exhaled sharply out of relief. Everyone turned their heads when they heard a surprised yelp. Sai was scrambling over to the group, almost looking as if he felt no pain whatsoever. He stopped right beside his girlfriend, panting.
"Ino, you're okay..."
She smiled. "I'm fine. You look kinda rough."
As the pair chatted, Sakura gave Sasuke a look that said "Give them some space". Silently, they moved away and allowed them to catch up.
The Haruno happily watched the couple. "I've never seen Sai show so much emotion in one day."
Sasuke peeked at the other two shinobi. His mouth dropped slightly when he noticed that Sai had a gigantic and authentic smile on his face. He remembered how angry and desperate the male had been when they first met up. What made him so emotional in such a short time?
"He really loves her," Sakura said, making him turn his head in surprise.
"Hm?"
"The only time I ever see Sai showing so much emotion is when he's around Ino."
He could only stare at his teammate. "Only when he's around her? They love each other..."
Sasuke slowly took the bandana off of his head. "Sakura, I think-"
"Sakura!"
They revolved around to see Sai waving them over, the huge smile still plastered on his face. Sasuke was disappointed when Sakura got up, making her way to the pair. He quickly followed, not wanting to be left out.
"Thank you Sakura!" Sai exclaimed happily.
She gasped as Ino spoke up.
"I'm the one that should be thanking Forehead."
Sakura laughed. "You're welcome Pig." She turned to Sai.
He interrupted before she could get out a single word. "Don't concern yourself with healing me right now."
"At least let me put on some clean bandages."
He nodded in agreement and they distanced themselves from Sasuke and Ino. The Uchiha watched as Sai took his shirt off and sat down.
"Hmph!" he grunted as he tilted his head away from the scene.
Ino curiously glanced at the upset male. She chuckled and grinned.
He looked at her from the corner of his eye. "What?"
"Jealous?"
He huffed and his face took on a red color. "No. Why do all of you keep pestering me about that?"
Ino rolled her eyes. "Because it's obvious."
Raising an eyebrow and frowning, Sasuke crossed his arms.
It was her turn to huff in annoyance. "Honestly, I didn't think that you're skull could be THAT thick!"
"Whatever," he muttered. Sighing, he remembered something important. "Did you beat Kenshi? If so, what happened when you did?"
She frowned. "Yes, we did beat him. But, he told us that the real fight was just beginning and we saw weird eyes. They looked like the ones that the man from the festival had. Anyway, after that he sort of disintegrated. Why do you ask?"
He looked far off into the distance. "The same thing happened to us."
Ino gasped, her jaw dropping.
"When did you encounter him?" he questioned.
"Um... The third day of the search."
He nodded slowly, studying the environment in the forest around them. His mismatched eyes observed every object. Something was incorrect. How was it remotely possible that Sai and Ino also had an encounter with one of their formidable enemies? The only thing that made it seem imaginable was the fact that both Kenshis had vanished from existence. Also, if they were not the only ones that had a match with the master swordsman, then did that mean everyone was attacked by him?
Deciding to let Ino rest, Sasuke stood up and traveled to where Sakura and Sai sat. She was finishing up and he put his top back on. The male thanked her and announced that he was going to get some rest and recover.
For a short time, Sasuke and Sakura sat next to each other, completely silent. Sakura was twirling her fingers around while Sasuke thought about what Ino had claimed. Another thought came to him when he turned his attention to the Haruno.
"I'm going to say something that a very good friend of mine always tells me," he said with a smirk.
She waited in curiousity.
"You need rest," he mocked.
Rolling her eyes, she punched his shoulder. "I hate to admit it, but you're right. I didn't know that I was THAT spent from healing the both of us. I just hope that Sai can last until I recover."
"Hn, I forgot that it's morning," he said, nodding towards the rising sun.
She watched the bright ball of light and smiled. "You didn't get to sleep last night."
"I'll keep watch while the rest of you recover."
Reluctantly, she agreed and left to get her sleeping bag.
Sasuke was met with solitude and silence. He cursed himself repeatedly for being so careless. "If I had been focusing on Kenshi then I wouldn't have been badly injured! She exhausted herself from healing me! If someone had attacked again when I was unconscious, then she would've been defenseless!" He clenched his fists, making his knuckles white. "If anyone had hurt her, I swear that I'd make them suffer a horrible and tragic death!" A large frown grew on his face at the thought of the enemy getting their hands on her. "I won't let them take you away from me..."
Sakura's eyes fluttered open at around noon. She surveyed her surroundings to note that everyone was still asleep, including a certain Uchiha. She smirked while she thought to herself, "You're gonna keep watch, huh?" Stretching and standing up, she quietly walked to where he sat. "I'll wake him and tell him that I'll keep watch." Stopping in front of him, she couldn't help but stare at the attractive male. "He really does look cute when he's sleeping. I hate to wake him up, too. He gets little sleep as it is." Just when she was about to shake him awake, Sasuke rolled over, unconsciously flinging one of his arms out. This caused Sakura to retract her hand as he twisted and turned repeatedly.
"Sakura..." he muttered, muffled.
"Hm?" She let her arms fall to her sides. Apparently her friend was having a nightmare. She had overhead somebody claim that you shouldn't wake someone up during one, so she stood still.
"Sakura..." he said clearly.
Her jaw fell and she froze, bewildered. "Why is he saying my name?"
"No, stop!" he breathed louder.
Sakura fidgeted, struggling to resist the urge of waking him. "Sasuke's having a nightmare about me?"
He continued to toss and turn frequently. She saw him begin to sweat. For a moment, the Uchiha halted his movements entirely. Sakura breathed a short sigh of relief and concluded that she should wake him since he had stopped. Just as she had reached out, he slapped both of his hands over his ears and gritted his teeth.
"Don't do it! Don't hurt her!" he warned pleadingly.
Suppressing a gasp, Sakura bit her lower lip. "Is he talking about me? Please wake up! I don't want to see you like this Sasuke!"
Rolling over once more, the Uchiha removed his hands from his ears, instead gripping the ground below him. "Sakura, run! Get out of here!"
Her resistance was breaking at a massive rate. Watching her friend suffer was an enormous ordeal. Finally, the noises and squirming stopped once again. She waited to see if it would last and after about a minute, she slowly began to move towards him. The tip of her finger had just brushed his shirt when he shot up as quick as a flash. The startled Haruno was pinned against a tree and the male held both of her wrists against the hard bark.
"Who did it? Where are they?" he asked urgently.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about. Sasuke, please let me go..."
He was clearly confused until he twisted his head around, scanning their environment. He gasped when his onyx gaze landed on Ino and Sai. Turning his attention back to Sakura, he quickly released his grip on her and stumbled backwards.
"Sasuke?"
He held his hands out when she tiptoed forward. "Don't."
"I-I can help." She advanced once more, only to have him repeat his actions.
"Stay away."
Sakura didn't stop and a wave of fury erupted inside of him. "I said go away!"
She jolted when she noticed his right eye shift into a blood red. Forcing herself to retreat, Sakura quickly stumbled away.
Sasuke let his facial features relax as she left, his eye shifting back to its normal state. For some reason, his hand reached out to where she had gone, wanting her presence to return. However, he was to fast to withdraw and he sauntered off into the woods.
"What's wrong with me? Why did I do that? I should go back and tell her that I didn't mean it." He jerked his head around, contemplating whether or not he should return. The instant his foot twitched, Sasuke slapped both of his hands over his mismatched eyes. His head was painfully throbbing and he was seeing double. Restraining a shout, the Uchiha fell into a tree and used it as support. Those eyes he had seen a handful of times now snaked their way into the front of his mind. Kurushimi's eyes had inhabited his nightmares just a few minutes ago. His head had throbbed a few times prior to this, when he had awoken from a nightmare. Never had it been this bad though.
Ino yawned and opened her eyes. Sai was sleeping a few feet away, looking to be undisturbed. She heard a crunching noise and attempted to sit up.
"You shouldn't be moving by yourself. Let me help," Sakura said shakily.
"Thanks," Ino replied as she got to a sitting position. "You look like you've just seen a ghost."
The Haruno shook her head. "Might as well have."
The Yamanaka frowned. "What happened?"
She tried to come up with a believable excuse, not wanting to talk about it. "I don't want to wake Sai."
A huff. "Then let's sit somewhere else. You know, you're a horrible liar."
Sakura knew she had been defeated. Ino slung an arm around her friend's shoulder and they distanced themselves from Sai.
"Where's Sasuke?" Ino questioned as they sat down.
Sakura did not reply, sadly shaking her head.
Ino frowned. "So that's the problem then? Well, men are just as complicated as women sometimes."
"I don't know what happened a few minutes ago. He got angry and..." She didn't know how to finish her explanation. Instead she put both of her hands out in front of her, staring at them. "I had to have help healing you."
"Yeah, I saw both of you over me when I woke up. What about it?"
"When we finished our fight, he was severely injured. I couldn't let him die... I wasn't thinking and I used way more chakra than I needed. That's why I couldn't heal you on my own."
Ino let a sorrowful expression cross her face as her best friend continued.
"I'll do anything if it means saving Sasuke's life. I love him too much to let him die."
Ino's frown morphed into a small smile as she glanced at her sleeping boyfriend. "I know what you mean. Being in love means that you'll do anything for the one you're attached to." A gasp escaped her lips before she could stop it. An idea had popped into her head and she wanted to put it to the test. Peeking at Sakura, she was glad that she had seemed not to notice her gasp. "Hey Sakura, do you think it would be okay if I just took a short walk? I'll be extra careful, I promise."
The pink haired kunoichi sighed. "Fine, but if you pass out or anything don't blame it on me."
The excited blonde nodded and stood up.
Sasuke splashed the cold river water onto his face and attempted to get his breathing steady. The painful throbbing in his head had finally subsided. Gazing down at his reflection, he cursed himself for the millionth time that day. The horrible dreams he had made him frustrated to the point that he had taken it out on his comrades. He inwardly sighed when he heard someone approaching.
"I want to be alone right now Sakura."
Sasuke was taken by surprise when the person kicked him in the back of the head, sending him flying into the river. Spitting out water and flinging his hair back, the startled Uchiha started to question his attacker. "Why di-?!" He gasped when he saw that the person was Ino, not Sakura.
"What is wrong with you Uchiha?!"
He growled as he pulled himself out of the river. "I could ask you the same thing."
She slapped his cheek and the male did his best to stay calm. He had no clue what was happening and he wanted to know now.
"Why'd you upset Sakura?! You're always such a jerk to her!"
He managed to hold his resistance, half agreeing with her claim. "It was an accident. And will you stop hitting me?"
The furious Yamanaka rolled her eyes. "An accident, huh? I don't know all of what happened but I do know that you hurt her."
"I know and I'm sorry."
"Tell her that, not me. Anyway, that's not what I came here to talk to you about."
He raised an eyebrow.
"What I really came here for was to know what your intentions are."
"My intentions about what?"
"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about."
He huffed and angrily replied, "Why do all of you keep bothering me about it?! I don't love her like that! You have your answer!"
"You're lying."
"No, I'm not!"
"Then look me in the eye and say that you don't feel that way about Sakura."
"This is pointless and a waste of time." Surpingly, he complied with her request. "I don't like her in that way."
She smirked. "You were looking at my forehead."
He quickly turned, hiding the red that appeared on his face. "No I wasn't."
"Sasuke, I've only ever seen you so defensive when it comes to Sakura. Now spill it."
"There's nothing to say."
"Ugh! Men are so dumb! Okay then, will you answer a few questions?"
"Depends," he spat back.
She ignored the venom in his voice, her focus on finishing her mission. "Would you do anything for her, even if it meant giving up your life?"
His expression softened. "Yes."
"Do you feel different around her?"
"Yes," he muttered again.
"Do you hate making her upset?"
"Yes. I don't see the point of this."
Groaning, the Yamanaka angrily stomped over to him, making him turn to face her. "The point of this is simple."
Silence.
"You are SO clueless Sasuke. Now I know without a single doubt. You are in love with her! Before you deny it again, I have one more question."
He waited.
"Has there been one moment besides the arena where you've wanted to kiss her?"
His hands began to shake. He convinced himself it was because he was getting cold what with him being soaked to the bone. "Yes," he whispered.
"There you have it!"
"No! You don't get it! It doesn't matter if I do feel the same. She deserves better and all I've ever done is hurt her."
"Do you ever think about what she wants? I can promise you that you're the only one she has ever wanted." He didn't have a response to this and Ino could tell that he was struggling. Sighing, she put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, if you really think that you don't have feelings for Sakura, then at least be nice to her."
He nodded and they headed back to camp.
"Do you know if these berries are poisonous?" Sai asked as he put a hand under his chin, curiously staring at the bush.
"Yes, very," Sakura replied before he could pick one.
Sai took out a small notebook and drew the berry, writing "poisonous" beside the sketch. "That's a good thing to know."
They tilted their heads to the side when Sasuke, drenched to the bone, and Ino made their way back into camp.
Sakura gasped and hesitated to speak. "Eh, Sasuke why-?"
"Don't ask."
She seemed to shrink after he replied. The kunoichi looked to be trembling as he sat down beside her.
"I'm sorry for going off on you. I'm more frustrated than usual."
"It's fine," she muttered. "I guess all of us have been that way recently..." She cleared her throat and looked at Sai. "Hey Sai, we should take care of your injuries."
"Of course," he responded.
Sasuke and Sakura put their hand together over Sai's back. Sakura did not flinch this time, instead finding the sensation of all the chakra natures soothing.
Ino silently watched the pair, smiling. "Oh Sakura, I don't know how you can put up with a man as clueless as Sasuke. Well, about love that is. I can't believe I ever had a crush on that knucklehead."
Minutes later, Sai was healed and everyone grabbed their things. Sasuke eventually agreed to put a dry pair of clothes on. All of the shinobi desperately desired to hear about each pair's search. After hearing that they had all fought Kenshi, they wanted to piece the puzzle together. In the end, they concluded that they should wait until they had met up with the others. What was the chance that every group had battled Kenshi? Sasuke thought about that possibility the whole time they continued the journey on two of Sai's ink birds. "Kurushimi. Kenshi. We're going to defeat your army. Then, we're going to defeat you."
Author's Note: School just got out so I will have more time to write and edit and all that. Well, thanks again for the follows, favorites, and reviews! They really help. Anyway, maybe Ino knocked some sense into Sasuke. Please review!
OTHER UPDATES
So I haven't started on the second chapter for Family Struggles because I didn't think it would be as popular as it is. Please don't be mad at me! I'll try and get that out by next week. I'm getting caught up on writing this story first.