Moving Towards Tomorrow

by Ariel.611

Sauske has come back fulfilling his promise to Sakura. Just as he begins to sort out his feelings for his former teammate a child with red eyes and a stranger appear sending them on an adventure in The Land of Wind that will change them both forever. Will they be able to save the world and figure out their feelings in the process? SasukexSakura, GaaraxOC, As well as other pairings.

12. Chapter 12

Sakura yawned as she sat up and stretched her arms above her head. Thankfully thanks to Gaara, they finally were in a room where everyone had their own beds. She slipped quietly out of her bed and onto the floor. She moved quietly through the room and smiled at Sai the only other person up who was sketching on a pad of paper water still visible in his ink colored locks.

"Good morning Sakura." Sai said with a smile. "I trust you slept well?"

She nodded. "I did actually, how about yourself?"

The painter chuckled. "Of course I did. I didn't have to deal with a blonde octopus all night." He replied glancing at the Uzamaki who was snoring loudly his arms wrapped around a pillow.

The pink haired medic snickered and pulled her casual clothes consisting of a pair of black pants and a short sleeved green shirt out of her bag. "I'm going to shower." She told her teammate. "If Lady Katsuyu or someone from the medical center shows up, please ask them to wait for me."

"Of course." Sai replied. "Take your time. You know how Naruto is with mornings and it appears that Sasuke isn't much better."

She chuckled. "Oh, you have no idea. I could tell you stories about their atrocious sleeping habits from our genin days."

"If they're still asleep when you get out I'll be happy to hear them." He replied.

She smiled and walked into the spacious bathroom and was surprised at how spacious it was. "Wow, being war heroes and having connections with the Kazikage has a lot of benefits." She muttered as she got to work. Knowing that water was a precious resource in the desert, she showered faster than normal and quickly existed the bathroom and sat down at the table next to Sai who was still focused on his drawing. She peaked at it and grinned as she recognized the features of her mind transfer ninja friend taking shape. "Day dreaming about Ino huh?" she asked.

Sai blushed and quickly covered up the drawing. "No… She asked me to draw a picture of her." He stammered. "I'm just fulfilling her request."

Sakura chuckled. "That sly pig." She snickered. "That's one way to make sure that your boyfriend doesn't forget you while he's the road."

"So will you tell me about Sasuke and Naruto's sleeping habits in their genin days?" Sai asked desperately trying to cover up his embarrassment.

The pink haired medic thought for a moment touching her chin before her eyes lit up. "Oh! I know! Once we were on a mission to retrieve a lost dog and-"

"Say another word and I'll trap you in a genjutsu where you and Rock Lee are the only people left on earth." Sasuke's voice cracking with irritation and tiredness hissed.

Sakura shuddered at the tone and then shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry Sai, I wasn't fast enough."

"It's ok Sakura. I'm sure there will be other opportunities to find out what happened on that mission." The painter replied.

"Sasuke, why are you up so early?" Sakura asked glancing at the clock.

"This brat woke me up." The Uchiha muttered as Ryuu peaked out from behind him.

"What's genjutsu?" the child asked.

Sasuke groaned and Sakura answered instead. "Genjutus is a form of mind control that ninjas can use. The most common forms of it is creating an illusion to trap or trick someone." She explained. "It kind of puts the other person to sleep so they're not a threat anymore."

"Oh. I think I get it." He replied. "Onchou is really good at that stuff. She can put a lot of people to sleep at once just by singing a special song."

"Can she really?" Naruto asked sitting up in bed. "That's a pretty cool trick. Is that Lulluby Justu or something?"

The silver haired child's eyes widened. "That's exactly what it's called. How did you know?" he asked.

The blonde haired Uzamaki chuckled and rubbed the back of his head. "It was just a lucky guess actually." He confessed.

Ryuu shrugged and then turned his attention back to Sakura. "Can we go visit Onchou now?" he asked.

Sakura sighed. "We can go visit her but I really can't let you spend all day in her hospital room with her." She touched her hand to her chin. "Maybe Naruto can take you somewhere fun after we visit her today."

"I really don't mind." Ryuu protested. "I've always stayed by her side when she was like this before."

"Don't you trust me to take care of her?" The pink haired medic asked.

The child blushed. "I do it's just…. She's always stayed by my side when I was sick so I want to do the same for her is all."

Naruto walked up to the child and ruffled his hair. "Common kid. Onchou wouldn't want you to mope around her hospital room all day. She'd want you out and about exploring the village you came all this way to see right?"

The child sighed. "I guess so." He admitted.

"Then it's settled. We'll all go visit Onchou and then explore the village." He said with a grin.

The four leaf shinobi and their underaged charge arrived at the hospital less than an hour later and Ryuu's brow furrowed as they arrived at the room.

"What the heck is this tall guy doing here?" he muttered as he stared down Leo of the Sand.

"I simply wanted to see your friend for myself." He replied. "I also had a feeling you and the leaf ninjas would show up here first so I thought I'd wait for you here." He replied standing up.

The child snorted and Sakura walked forward picking up the girl's medical chart. She chewed on her fingernail a nervous habit she'd picked up from her master as her brow furrowed.

"Is something wrong Lady Sakura?" Leo asked.

She blinked at how he said her name and blushed. "Please, you don't have to say Lady Sakura. Just Sakura is alright." She stammered her blush vanished as she looked down at the chart. "I'm just not happy with her blood work. She has so many unknown chemicals in her system it's going to make treating her difficult."

"That's what happens to victims of human experimentation." Sai said quietly.

"Yeah. It makes me sick." She muttered. A little pop sounded in the room and a little white slug appeared on her shoulder. "Oh, hello Lady Katsuyu. How are you this morning?" she asked.

"I'm doing well thank you." The slug replied. "Lady Tsunade sent me with a reply. She agrees with you that the substance in her body is likely Black Water."

Sakura sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Thanks Lady Katsuyu." She said. "It wasn't the news I was hoping for but it gives me a direction to go. Does Lady Tsunade have any samples of that stuff left so I can compare the two? I could at least determine if they came from the same source at least."

"I'm afraid not." The slug replied. "That particular sample was destroyed when Pain attacked the Leaf Village."

The pink haired medic groaned. "I was afraid of that. Very well then. Thanks for all of your help."

"Of course." The white invertebrate replied. "Feel free to call on me again if you need me." And with a pop she was gone.

"What was that all about?" Naruto asked. "What's this Black Water stuff?"

Sakura moved to the medicine cabinet and began mixing herbs together as she spoke. "About twenty years ago, a strange drug appeared on the market. It appeared to originate from right here in The Land of Wind but no one is certain. It's a black liquid and when injected into the blood stream it amplifies the strength of that person's chakra exponentially."

"Well that sounds exciting." Sasuke replied.

The pink haired medic snorted. "Oh yeah, really exciting especially when your body explodes from the inside out."

"What?" Naruto gasped.

Sakura sighed. "The human body has limitations. If you increase your chakra too quickly it will damage you on a cellular level. This drug increased chakra output so much that people's chakra networks were blown out on a cellular level leading to their bodies literally exploding." She shuddered. "It's an awful substance. There were very few that could handle it due to extenuating circumstances such as having a very flexible chakra network but most people just died after gaining incredible power for a short amount of time. It was used briefly by some ninja units known as kamikaze units who would inject themselves and go into battle with the intention of dying anyway but the Kage decided it was too dangerous and worked to eradicate it. The main source was never found and it suddenly vanished from the earth as quickly as it had come. You can't even find it on the black market anymore. The fact that this girl not only has it in her system but is still functioning is a miracle." She drew the medication she'd mixed into a syringe and then walked to the girl's IV drip and injected it into the tubing.

"This is indeed troubling." The tall shinobi agreed. "If we have any samples of that here you are welcome to it."

"Thank you Leo. I appreciate it." Sakura replied.

Ryuu suddenly stood up from his chair and grabbed for Onchou's hand as a low moan rattled in her throat.

"Don't! Please!" she whimpered. "I don't want to! Stop it! So loud!" she cried.

"Onchou!" Ryuu exclaimed. "Wake up Onchou! It's just another nightmare!"

"Don't make me do this! I'm begging you!" she cried thrashing.

"ONCHOU!" Ryuu yelled.

The girl's amethyst eyes flew open and wide with panic as she tried to pull at the IV's in her hand and the mask at her face.

"Calm down!" Sakura exclaimed. "Sasuke! Naruto! Hold her down while I get a sedative drawn up!"

The two shinobi moved and Sasuke gripped her shoulders while Naruto held her thrashing legs down. Sakura quickly grabbed the syringe and plunged it into the girls shoulder. Onchou's body began to relax and she closed her eyes and breathed slowly.

"Is she asleep?" Naruto asked as he loosened his grip but didn't move away.

"You can let go of me now." Onchou replied. "I'm not sleeping. I'm working to moderate the noise level in my head and get my bearings. Please give me a few moments."

The shinobi in the room exchanged curious glances as Sasuke and Naruto released her. After a few moments the girl opened her eyes again seeming to be much calmer.

"Onchou!" Ryuu cried out flinging his arms around her neck. "I was so worried."

"I'm sorry for worrying you." She replied softly stroking a hand through his silver hair.

"Are you going to be ok now?" he asked.

The violet haired girl nodded. "I think so. I'm just feeling a bit tired is all."

"Would you mind answering a few questions for me?" Leo asked moving forward.

"Who are you?" she replied.

"I'm Leo of the Sand, an assistant to the Kazikage." He replied.

Onchou's brow furrowed. "Wait a second. Does that mean that we've made it to The Village Hidden in the Sand?" she asked.

Ryuu nodded. "Yeah, Naruto carried you here on his back. I rode on Sasuke's back." He explained.

The girl nodded and then touched a hand to her temple squinting her eyes shut as she winced. "Well that explains a lot. No wonder it's so loud." She turned her attention back to the sand ninja. "I'm sorry. I'd like to answer your questions but I'm afraid I'm going to fall asleep before I get the chance to." She replied as her lids began to droop. "Thanks for looking after Ryuu for me." She said softly as her speech slurred. "Ryuu." She whispered. "I sense something foul in on the wind but I also can hear that song again. The one that brought me back to life. It's so close." She rasped before she fell back against the pillows asleep again.

"Well that was exciting." Naruto muttered. "That sedative you gave her worked fast."

Sakura sighed. "I know, I didn't want to give her that much but if she'd torn out that IV of hers I would've had a mess on my hands in more ways than one." She turned to Ryuu. "What did she mean by sensing something foul on the wind?"

Ryuu's face hardened. "She says that when a person with what she calls discord is nearby or headed to the place where we are. Discord I think is what she hears in an evil person's soul song."

"What is a soul song?" Leo asked.

The ruby eyed child smacked his hand over his face. "It's not my thing it's Ochou's." He muttered. "I already told raccoon eyes. If he wants answers he'll have to wait until she gets better. I am just a kid you know!"

The tall sand ninja blinked and took a step back. "Did he really just refer to Lord Gaara as raccoon eyes?" he asked in disbelief.

"He is just a kid." Sauske reminded him.

"Yeah and Naruto calls him no brows." Sakura reminded him.

Leo cringed. "It just doesn't feel right." He muttered.

Naruto laughed. "You're taking this way too seriously. Anyway, Onchou is probably going to be out of it for a while right?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. I gave her a pretty strong sedative. I'm pretty sure that she'll be out of it until tomorrow at least. In the meantime, there's a place I'd like to visit if that's alright with the rest of you."

"Would you like some company?" Leo and Sasuke replied in unison.

Sakura blinked in surprise noting the icy glares the two were shooting each other.

"Umm…" she muttered embarrassed. She didn't want to be rude to Leo but she really wanted Sasuke to come with her. Her destination was Lady Chiyo's grave after all. The old woman and she had shared a special bond and she wanted to show the man she loved the headstone of one of the people that had made her the woman she was today. "Actually, it would be much more helpful to me if you could find out if you have any samples of Black Water, Leo." She replied.

"Right. Of course." He replied with a smile. "I'll get right on that. Please excuse me."

As he left the room she breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness. Anyway, I'd like it if you came with me Sasuke." She said blushing a little.

He nodded and Naruto snickered behind her back. She glared at the blonde and he cringed instinctively raising his hands to protect his face.

"You know what? I think I saw a park on the way here that looked pretty awesome." He stammered grabbing Ryuu by the hand. "Let's go Ryuu. You too Sai!" he called hooking his arm around the painter's neck and dragging him out of the room.

Sasuke sighed as the door closed behind them. His friend was not known for being subtle in any way, shape, or form. It was so blatantly obvious he was trying to get them alone together it was embarrassing. None the less, he was actually quite pleased to be alone with her.

Sakura nudged his shoulder and smirked. "Could Naruto make it any more obvious that he was trying to get us alone?" she asked.

He smirked as he realized she was thinking the exact same thing that he was. "I know." He replied. "Shall we get going then? If we linger too long that Leo guy is going to show up again."

"Right." She replied her eyes wide. "Let's get out of here. I actually have two stops to make if that's alright."

"Of course." He said following her. "You know this place much better than I do. Just think of me as your escort." Sakura smiled at him and lead the way out of the hospital and down onto the streets. "Where to first?" he asked.

She tapped her chin and then grabbed his hand pulling him towards a part of the village he wasn't familiar with. "This way." She replied. "If I remember right, there's a flower shop a couple of blocks from here."

Sasuke nodded and didn't pull his hand away as he caught up and matched his pace with hers. Walking hand in hand with her was starting to feel natural to him and while part of him was lecturing him about how he didn't deserve it and that he was potentially sending the pink haired medic mixed signals, the larger part of him just didn't care. They arrived at the little shop and he watched as Sakura studied the limited selection of flowers settling on a small bouquet of white daisies. He then followed her to the edge of town where a large monument dedicated to ninja who died in action stood against the sheer cliff walls that surrounded the village. Sakura moved among the headstones erected near there and settled near one of the newer ones. A little smile touched her lips as she noted a single white rose sitting on top of it.

"Lady Chiyo." She said softly kneeling down and laying her bundle of daisies next to the fairer flower touching it gently. "Lord Gaara left this here for you didn't he?"

"This is Lady Chiyo's grave?" Sasuke replied moving closer to her examining the stone.

"Yes." She replied with a smile. "She was such an amazing woman. I wish you could've met her." The pink haired medic reached out and touched the headstone. "She was Sasori's grandmother, the one who taught him puppetry. A medical ninja who developed the life transference jutsu and used it to save Gaara at the cost of her own life." A tear slid from her eye as she talked. "She saved my life too and never gave up. Even after she lost her arm in the fight."

Sasuke felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude towards the woman buried beneath him and he knelt down beside his pink haired companion and closed his eyes offering a little prayer of gratitude to the elder woman for protecting his greatest source of warmth during his absence.

"Sakura, it's been a long time." A low voice said from behind the leaf shinobi. Sasuke and Sakura both rose and the Uchiha took in the form of a short elderly man with bandages wrapped around the top of his head.

"Lord Ebizo." Sakura said bowing to the man. "I'm glad to see you're still in good health."

The older man chuckled. "I wouldn't say that, but I am still alive." He said with a smile. "I've heard of your great achievements during the Fourth Great Ninja War. I and proud to know you, one of the New Legendary Sannin." The pink haired young woman smiled and moved forward to embrace the older man. "I'm sure that my sister is very proud of you. It means a lot to me and her that you've stopped by to visit."

Sakura smiled. "Thank you. I'm actually here on official business but I'm happy I was able to come none the less." She glanced back at the grave stone. "That white rose."

Ebizo smiled. "That Kazikage himself makes sure that there is always a healthy white rose there. He doesn't need to, Chiyo gave him her life willingly but he does it anyway. What a fine man that Gaara has become." He turned towards the dark haired Uchiha. "Who is this young man?" he asked. "I don't recall him being with you the last time you came here."

"This is Sasuke Uchiha." Sakura explained.

"I see." Ebizo replied. "The new Snake Sannin. I guess that means that you were successful in bringing him back to your village."

Sakura chuckled. "Well I didn't really have anything to do with that. It was all Naruto."

Sasuke glanced at the pinked haired medical ninja and felt a stab of pain at her words. What was she saying? Without her, he'd be dead for sure.

"I see. Well that kid does have a knack for pulling off the impossible." The old man said with a smile.

"Yeah." She replied with a sad smile.

The old man noticed the change in her expression and reached out patting her on the shoulder. "I see that look in your eye and I don't like it dearie." He said. "You've accomplished great things too. You've saved countless lives with both your fists and your medical skills. Most of the ninja in this world would likely be dead if it weren't for you. Chin up dearie." He said with a gentle smile. "Your presence is very important in this world we live in. Remember that without you Chiyo, Kankuro, and even Lord Gaara would've been lost."

"Thanks." Sakura said with a smile. "I really appreciate it."

Sasuke walked beside her as they left the cemetery his mind troubled. It was clear to him that she still felt inferior to him and Naruto and it irritated him. How could she still doubt her skill and strength? She'd saved both himself and Naruto from the brink of death. Her medical healing prowess had saved thousands on the battle field. Without her perfectly timed punch they never would've been able to save the world. His irritation continued to claw at him as they ate lunch together and then met with Naruto who had arranged for Ryuu, himself and Sai to spend some time at a children's show. He and Sakura decided to explore the village further instead and they ended up a little ways up one of the sheer cliffs overlooking the village watching the sun set. Alone with her and his irritation on the verge of turning to anger, he finally spoke.

"Sakura." He said glancing over at her.

"Yes." She replied quickly.

"Why do you still feel that way?" he asked.

"Feel what way?" she asked.

"Feel weak and inferior." He replied.

She blinked at his question and then sighed leaning forward resting her head in her hands. "Because it's the truth." She replied simply.

The Uchiha stared at her his eyes nearly turning red in his irritation. "You've got to be kidding me." He replied his voice hard. "Please tell me you're joking."

"I'm not joking." She replied. "It's the absolute truth. Ever since I was a genin I've felt the same way, that I'm never going to catch up to you two." She sighed and dropped her hands stretching her back before leaning back resting on her forearms. "Don't get me wrong, I have moments where I feel like I'm almost there." She replied. "Like when I first achieved my strength of one hundred seal, when I helped defeat Kaguya and helped Obito pull you out of that desert dimension but…" she sighed and got to her feet. "In the end all I can do is put the pieces back together and even that's not always enough." She turned away from him. "From the day those sound ninjas attacked us in the forest of sound, I've wanted one thing more than anything else."

"What's that?" Sasuke asked his hand balled into a fist as he fought the temptation to break something in his frustration at how little she thought of herself.

"The strength to protect the ones I care about. The power to protect you and Naruto." She replied simply. A bitter sounding giggle bubbled out of her throat. "The fact that I'll never be strong enough to achieve that dream really hurts."

"What makes you think you haven't done that already?" He asked. "Don't you realize that Naruto and I would both be dead if it weren't for you?!" he demanded getting to his feet his anger flaring. It was so damned annoying how much she put herself down.

She whirled around tears of anger brimming in her eyes. "That's not the point here!" she shouted. "I hate myself for not being able to prevent that kind of situation in the first place!" she yelled. "Do you have any idea how much it sucks to be stuck watching from the sidelines as the people who matter most to you throw themselves into the face of danger over and over again?! To always be the one waiting, praying that everyone comes back in one piece! Desperate to jump in and do something but always having people push you away telling you that it's too dangerous and that you can't handle it!" she raked her fingers through her hair. "I HATE it!" she screamed. She turned away from him again breathing hard.

Sasuke stood beside her at a loss. He didn't know at all how that felt. His pride as man and a warrior had always pushed him to believe that most women were soft creatures who needed to be protected. That's probably why he'd found them so annoying most of the time. Sakura was different, she didn't want to be protected. She wanted to be the one protecting. She wanted to protect him and Naruto more than anything else in the world, to save them from their pain and suffering. Her tears and screams were proof of the intensity of that feeling.

"Sakura I.." he started.

"Don't say it!" she hissed wiping her eyes. "I don't want your pity. That only makes me feel worse." She said getting to her feet. "We should head back to the others. It's nearly dinner time and I need to check on Onchou one more time tonight."

The dark eyed Uchiha took a deep breath and then reached out wrapping his arms around the pink haired medic. "This isn't pity." He replied. "I think I know a little of how you feel. After my family was killed I felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness and frustration at my own weakness. Not being able to protect those who matter to you is one of the worst feelings in the world." He held her tighter. "I'm really sorry that I've contributed to the way you're feeling right now." He sighed. "This is really selfish of me to say but I'm going to say it anyway, Naruto and I feel the same way you do."

"What are you talking about?" she replied her tone dark. "You two are basically the reincarnations of Gods and are probably the most powerful shinobi in the world."

"Naruto and I both want to the power to protect the ones we care about. We push you out of harm's way not because you're weak but because we care about you just as much as you care about us." He said softly.

She stiffened in his arms and then groaned. "Damn it Sasuke! Why did you have to go and say a thing like that? Now I feel like an idiot and I'm all wound up with nothing to take my anger out on." He smirked and relaxed as he felt his own anger start to dissipate. Warmth began to spread through his body instead as Sakura raised her arms and wrapped them around him her fingers pressing into his back. "Thank you Sasuke." She said softly. "Really, you have no idea how long I've had those feelings bottled up for. I feel a bit better knowing how you feel. That doesn't mean I'm ok with being sidelined all of the time but it'll definitely make it easier."

The next couple days they spent in the sand village proved to be rather uneventful. Onchou continued to recover but still remained unconscious which meant all the leaf shinobi could do was wait. Sasuke found himself spending more and more time with the pink haired medic watching as she trained some of the Sand Village's medics and played with Ryuu helping him feel more at ease with new people.

Onchou's eyes flew open as a haunting, dead sounding melody entered her ears. "Dolls." She murmured. Glancing around her room she quickly ascertained that it was night time, just a few minutes after midnight. She closed her eyes focusing on the foul song and gritted her teeth as she recognized it as a melody of death.

"Damn it!" she hissed. "I can't let them kill that song. The one that gave me hope again." She rolled out of bed and reached for her bag sitting on a stand at the end of the bed. With skill learned from releasing Ryuu from his glass prison as often as possible, she disconnected her IV and silenced the monitors attached to her. She pulled on her normal clothes no longer concerned with hiding her identity. After all, if Dolls were here, at least three of Takuma's agents were as well and they all knew exactly who she was from her chakra signature alone. She pulled on a wine colored top that covered three quarters of her arm and then slipped a black leather sleeveless coat over it zipping it up to just below her bust line. It was long enough to cover from her hips to her neck in front and then flared out in back tapering to a point just below her knees. She then slid on a pair of black leggings and paired them with black ninja sandals before snapping a silver belt with its many pouches into place on her hips. She wrapped bandages around her left thigh and secured her primary weapons pouch to it quickly fingering the cool metal inside to calculate how many weapons she had easy access to. Black fingerless gloves with silver plates sewn into the top were placed on her hands and she slipped silver ribbon into her hair pulling the violet tresses up and out of her face into a high pony tail. Finally she picked up her sword and strapped it to her back before opening the window and leaping from the third story landing lithely on the roof top of the shorter building beside it. She closed her eyes and focused on the death melodies pinpointing their location. Her eyes opened and zeroed in on the largest building in the Village nodded as she confirmed lights on in the space where she sensed the foul creatures. She leapt into the air and quickly moved from rooftop to rooftop as she whispered words into the air and then formed a hand sign. Confident her message had been sent and would be received she focused on a balcony on the tall building noting the single guard stationed there. "This is going to be a little easier than I thought." She muttered before swinging forward and landing on the ledge of the terrace and slipping through the metal door past the guard.

Ryuu sat bold upright in bed breathing hard. His eyes widened and he jumped out of bed scrambling for his clothes. "Get up!" he cried out pulling his night shirt over his head and replacing it with his black tunic and white pants. "Everyone get up!"

"What's going on Ryuu?" Sasuke demanded as he sat up. "It's past midnight you know."

"It's Onchou!" The child replied. "She's up and headed to the building in the center of the village." He said pulling on his shoes.

"Why on earth would she be headed there? She needs to stay in bed." Sakura replied getting up herself.

"There are Dolls in there." Ryuu replied digging through his bag until he found white bandages and began wrapping them around his leg.

"Are you serious?" Naruto replied rolling out of bed.

The child nodded securing a weapons pouch to his left thigh. "That's not the worse part. They're here to kill someone she doesn't think we'll get there in time to stop it so she went ahead on her own."

"How do you know all this?" Sasuke replied as he started pulling on his own clothes.

"She sent me a message on the wind." He replied. "It's a special jutsu we use to stay connected and send messages in dangerous situations. Hurry!" he yelled. "She can take on the Dolls just fine but the one controlling them is going to be very dangerous and in her current condition I don't think she'll be ok."

Onchou sprinted down the hallway of the rounded rust colored building ignoring the strange looks the few remaining people remaining so late shot her. "Damn!" she hissed as she heard the song of death getting stronger. "I need to make it!" she focused her ears and was able to pinpoint the door she needed and ran faster.

"Miss! Who are you?" a security guard demanded as she leapt over the checkpoint. "You can't go past this point without security clearance!" he yelled. "I'll be forced to use deadly force if you don't stop!"

She ignored him and caught the kunai he threw at her with ease as she skidded to a halt in front of the door she needed. Without a second thought she threw it open and found herself staring at one of the most beautiful men she'd ever seen. He had dark red hair, pale blue eyes with black rings around them. His skin was pale and on his forehead was a red tattoo of the symbol for love. He looked startled his hand frozen in mid stroke over a scroll of paper. Her heart pounded in her chest as his soul song entered her and she recognized it as the one that had saved her just over a year and a half ago. She blinked once and then glanced over to the side as she caught the sound of slow barely perceptible breathing. "Please pardon my intrusion." She said as she closed the door behind her. The red haired man's expression shifted from one of surprise to one of defense as his eyes narrowed but she ignored it and instead slammed her fist into the figure standing next to her breaking the amulet casting camouflage jutsu on the man and knocking the wind out of him. She then aimed a kick at the second intruder breaking an identical amulet and bringing the woman to her knees. The man attacked her his dark eyes dull and lifeless as he raised a kunai slashing it towards her face. She dodged the attack and grabbed his arm and flipped backwards planting a foot in his back as she did so. A sickening crack rang through the office but the man didn't even whimper in response as the knife slid from his fingers. His female partner attacked and Onchou dodged her windmill kick and landed a blow of her own as she slammed her elbow down against the back of the woman's head who hit the office floor with a thud. The woman's male partner struggled to his feet and she sighed. "You should've just stayed down." She hissed drawing a kunai from her pouch and plunging the knife into the back of his neck severing his spinal column. He fell to the ground with a thud and the woman turned her attention to the red haired man pulling a short sword from her back. "Seriously!" Onchou hissed leaping forward and wrapping her legs around the woman's waist as her hands gripped her head and twisted snapping the Doll's neck. She scanned the room once more and pulled a kunai from her pouch and threw it towards the red haired man who flinched as the blade sank into the forehead of a third Doll standing behind him with a syringe in his hand inches from his neck. The man fell to the ground and the violet haired girl leaned forward bracing her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.

"I made it in time." She murmured panting before she looked up at the blue eyed man.

"Who are you?" he asked his voice low and smooth, each word deliberate and unhurried.

She opened her mouth to speak and then cursed instead as she flipped forward landing behind the red haired man and used a push of wind chakra to throw his desk out of the way as she shoved him to the floor covering his body as best she could with her own as an explosion went off blowing out the round windows and destroying part of the wall. Glass rained down on them and she winced as she felt a couple of larger shards enter her back and head.

"My name is Onchou and I'm sorry about that." She said softly as she looked at the stunned man beneath her. "Are you alright?"

He nodded. "Are you?" he asked noting the blood that dripped from her head onto his white robe.

She nodded. "This is nothing." She replied before her gaze turned dark and she shifted towards the person she knew was responsible for the attack. "Stay here." She instructed as she stood up and glared at the figure standing just outside the remains of the broken wall perched on a thin column of rock. The man had a thick build, dark skin, and blonde hair. His green eyes glinted with blood lust as he grinned back at her.

"It's been a long time Princess." He said in a mocking tone. "I wasn't expecting to run into you here let alone that you'd interfere with my mission. All well, there are more where those three came from. I wasn't expecting the Kazikage to go down easily anyway."

The girl blinked and glanced back at the red haired man. "That explains a lot." She muttered as the burly man leapt into the air landing on the roof.

"Oh no you don't!" she hissed leaping after him flipping to land on the roof of the Kazikage's building. "How many of those disgusting creatures did you bring with you?" she demanded as she faced him down.

He snickered. "Like I'd tell you that." He moved closer. "You've become quite a looker since you've been gone. I wonder if that's because you've gone soft. I'd love to see. We never really got a chance to fight seriously since Takuma didn't want any harm to come to you but I'm itching to see what you've got. He won't care if I rough you up a little before dragging you home as long as you're alive."

She sighed. "Fine, if you won't tell me, I'll just find out for myself." She said cupping her hand in front of her chest while the other one formed a hand sign as her eyes drifted closed in concentration. The song to seek and mark flowed from her lips and concentrated into a ball of glowing orange light in her palm. She then pushed into the air where it floated until it was high above the city. She slashed her arm through the air and the ball of light exploded beams of light scattering across the village like lasers as every Doll was marked with a bright orange mark in the shape of a music note on their forehead that glowed faintly in the dark.

"Damn! I forgot you could do that." Earth Eater hissed.

"Onchou! What's going on?!" Naruto demanded as he, Sasuke, Sakura, Sai, Ryuu and the Kazikage arrived on the rooftop followed by the night gaurds. "Gaara said told us that you just saved him." He skidded to halt and looked at the hulk of a man standing in front of the violet haired girl and the two men with glowing orange marks on their forehead next to him.

"Earth Eater." Ryuu said softly. "That man is one of Takuma's strongest. He uses Earth Style jutsu and is very dangerous. I've never seen him lose a fight against anyone except Takuma."

"What about Onchou?" Saskue asked.

"Takuma never let them fight." He replied.

"Ah I see you've got the dragon boy with you. Man, all I have to do is kill the red head and bring you two brats back and I'll be sitting pretty." The dark skinned man said grinning wickedly.

"If you try to touch either of them I'll tear you apart." Onchou replied her tone deadly as she glared at the man.

Naruto smirked. "I couldn't have said it better myself." He said walking up to stand beside her cracking his knuckles.

The man smirked. "Oh really? We'll see about that." He said raising his hands.

Onchou frowned. "Listen up!" she called out. "Every person with that glowing mark on their forehead is a Doll." She said watching the two Dolls beside Earth Eater shift slightly in anticipation of their master's order to attack. "You have to kill them or they'll just keep coming after you. Even if you knock them out for a week when they wake up they'll only try to kill you again." She turned to the bulky man in front of her. "If you want to fight me so badly, let's take this outside the village."

"Why would I want to do that?" the man replied raising an eyebrow.

"Because there isn't enough room for me to fight you seriously inside this stupid canyon." She replied.

Ryuu tugged on Sasuke's sleeve. "That's not true." He replied softly so that the ninja near him could hear but Earth Eater couldn't. "She just doesn't want anyone else in the village to get hurt. He'll wreck the entire village without a second thought in the middle of a battle without even noticing. He doesn't know how or just doesn't care to hold back."

"I see." Sasuke said. "Ryuu, I want you to stay with Lord Gaara." He said looking down at the boy.

"Why do I have to stay with Raccoon eyes?" he demanded.

"You two are the ones he's after. If he fights the way you say he does and we split you up he'll just destroy the entire place trying to find you both. Onchou wants to draw him outside the village to keep that from happening so we'll use you two as bait and lead him there." He explained. "Naruto, Sakura, Sai, and I will cover you and deal with the Dolls."

The child crossed his arms in front of his chest. "You really think this guy can protect me from that muscle head?" he demanded looking at the pale faced man who was now wearing rust colored clothes with a brown belt holding a gourd around his hip.

Naruto chuckled. "He didn't earn the title of Kazikage by being soft kiddo. He's got more than what it takes to keep a shrimp like you safe."

"I'm still here damn it!" Earth Eater hissed. "Keep your eyes on me!" he demanded flicking his wrist forward. In an instant men and woman with dead eyes flew at the ninja who reacted immediately. Gaara reached out and pulled Ryuu to his side as he used the sand from the gourd on his hip to deflect a shower of kunai.

"Lord Gaara! What's going on?" a guard demanded bursting onto the roof.

"We are under attack." The Kazikage replied. "Sound the alarm and instruct all of the citizens to stay inside. Everyone else is to attack and kill anyone bearing a glowing symbol of a note of their forehead."

"As you wish." The soldier replied before vanishing.

"Do you have any idea how many of these things there are?" Sakura asked the amethyst eyed girl as she slammed her fist into the face of one of the Dolls knocking it off the roof.

"Give me a second!" The girl replied grabbing one by the arm and slamming it to the ground as she drove a kunai into its back. She leapt into the air and closed her eyes as her ears glowed silver for a moment before she opened her eyes again and drove her foot into the head of another Doll as she landed. "He brought one hundred of them." She replied. "That's a little overkill don't you think?!" she growled as she launched at the muscled ninja who barely had time to avoid her attack by creating a mud wall in front of himself.

"You know me, I like to do things in a big way." Earth Eater replied. "That's not your style though is it Princess?"

She hissed in irritation and slammed her foot into the makeshift barrier breaking it into pieces. "You're right. It's not." She replied.

He snickered and leap from the roof his hands forming signs and her eyes widened. "You're pulling that crap already?!" she exclaimed. "If his fist touches the ground we're in trouble!"

"Leave it to me." Gaara said as sand flew through the air and slammed into the bulky man knocking him off course.

"We really need to get him out of the village. He'll reduce the buildings to rubble!" Onchou said as she blocked another Doll's attack. "But these damn Dolls are such a pain!"

"I know!" Naruto exclaimed as he blocked another attack. "I can't use any of my more effective attacks without wrecking the place."

Sasuke glared at a Doll as it advanced his eyes blazing blood red and plunged his katana into its heart. "Genjutsu doesn't seem to have appear to have any effect on them."

"I told you before. They're basically soulless. The only thoughts they have are to fulfill their master's commands which at the moment is to kill us." Onchou replied.

"I guess that just means we'll have to lead them out of town." Sakura said punching another Doll in the chest. "They'll have to follow their targets right?"

The ninja gathered on the roof nodded. "Lead out Gaara." Naruto instructed. "You know this place best. We'll follow you."

The red haired ninja nodded and pulled Ryuu onto his back and lead the way across the roof tops as he, Onchou and the Leaf ninja deflected attacks from the Dolls that followed them.

"Persistent buggers." Naruto hissed as he used a rasingan on one that tried to latch onto his back.

"They're almost as bad as you." Sasuke replied using his chidori to take out one that attacked him. "They just don't know when to quit."

Sai's lions attacked a small knot of them knocking them to the street below and nodded. "Defeating them will certainly be much easier once we get outside of these confined quarters."

"We're nearly there." Gaara said. "We'll have to run the rest of the way down the canyon path."

"We're dead if Earth Eater breaks those walls." Ryuu said looking at the narrow opening.

"Have a little more faith in your friends." Gaara replied softly as the shinobi sprinted down the narrowing opening that connected The Village Hidden in the Sand to the rest of the desert.

"I'll get you now!" Earth Eater exclaimed as he neared the passage way himself his hand balling into a fist as he focused on the wall of the passageway.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you!" Onchou exclaimed. "If you kill me and Ryuu, Takuma will have your head!" she called back.

The man stopped in mid-swing processing her words and the girl immediately began to form hand signs. "Brace yourselves!" she called out. "Wind Style! Hurricane Gale Justsu!" she exclaimed. An enormous blast of wind swept into the narrow passage the space naturally increasing its already incredible power and launched the seven member party out the passage, tumbling onto the desert floor.

Sakura coughed at the gritty taste of sand in her mouth as she got to her knees.

"Sorry about that." Onchou sputtered. "I didn't want him to burry us alive."

"Don't apologize. That was good quick thinking." Sasuke replied shaking the sand from his hair.

"It just sucks that we had to eat sand." Naruto replied coughing and then spitting the gritty substance out.

"We've got company." Sai said as the Dolls began to funnel out of the narrow chamber.

"At least out here we can fight them easily without anyone else getting hurt." Sakura said puling on her leather gloves.

The Dolls came to a stop feet away from the shinobi and Sasuke shifted nervously. "Why aren't they attacking." He muttered.

"Scatter!" Onchou cried out. The seasoned shinobi reacted on instinct and leapt away from where they were standing just as a series of explosions went off beneath their feet. "I knew it!" Onchou hissed. "The explosion and the camouflage talismans, those aren't Earth Eater's style at all. Show yourself Chimera and Ember!"

"So it is you Princess. I almost didn't recognize you there. You really have become quiet pretty." A masculine voice replied. The air shimmered and man with blue hair appeared before them.

"I know right?" Earth Eater replied leaping over the Dolls to stand beside his fair skinned partner.

"I'm not convinced yet. I think she still has a few years before she reaches her peak." A third voice replied. A short, portly man with spiky orange and red hair materialized next to Chimera. "How did you know we were here?" he asked.

"Yeah! I want to know that too." Naruto replied.

"I told you that I can hear things others can't." the violet haired teen replied. "Not only that but I know that Takuma prefers to send out teams of three agents regardless of the amount of Dolls on missions. This group works together often. They were known in the laboratory as TAS, The Assassination Squad. They always operate in the same way, Chimera or Dolls using talismans charged with his chakra would infiltrate using his camouflage jutsu to kill the target quietly. Then they would rely on Ember's explosives and fire jutsu to cover up any evidence. Earth Eater was the cleanup crew taking out any witnesses."

"What an effective system." Sasuke said quietly.

Sakura nodded. "I wonder how many people have died by their hands without any of us knowing. Takuma could have a bigger hand in this world than we thought." She mused.

"So it's true. You've betrayed Takuma." Ember said his brow furrowing as he glared at the dark skinned girl.

She snorted. "I was never like you three bloodthirsty maniacs. I didn't come to that mad scientist willingly. Of course I ran when I had the chance."

Chimera laughed. "Is that so? You could've fooled me. I've seen your handiwork with my own eyes, you can make the three of us seem tame."

The girl clenched her fists. "Shut up!" she snarled. "Every word out of your mouth pisses me off!"

"Oh darling don't be like that." The blue haired man crooned. "Let's go home together. Takuma will welcome you and Ryuu back with open arms you know."

"Like I'd ever let Ryuu go back to that Hell on earth!" she shot back.

Chimera sighed. "Very well. If you won't go back willingly, we'll take you by force and kill the rest of your little party at the same time."

The teenaged girl's eyes widened even as Naruto put a hand on her shoulder. "You don't know who you're dealing with here." He replied. "Onchou and Ryuu are our friends, we're not going to let you take them back to that horrible place. Gaara is one of my best friends and the leader of this Village, there's no way in Hell we'll let you kill him."

"Fine. It's your funeral!" Ember called out shooting a fireball at them. Sasuke leapt forward and manipulated the fire with his own chakra until it rested in his own palm.

"You're going to have to do better than that." The Uchiha replied extinguishing the flame with the curling of his own fingers.

"What's going on here?" Kankuro demanded as he ran up to the group with Tamari by his side.

"These men and those creatures are the ones responsible for the attack on the village." Gaara replied.

"Tell us what you can about these guys so we can figure out how to take them." Sasuke said to Onchou.

"Right." The teenager replied. "Earth Eater uses earth style and specializes in earthquake and large scale attacks. He's not very precise but makes up with it by the sheer power and force of his attacks. Chimera's specialty is camouflage jutsu and he attacks with deadly accuracy using throwing needles. Ember uses explosives and fire style jutsu, and I know he doesn't look it, but he's extremely fast." She glanced behind them at the Dolls who were still standing motionless awaiting their master's orders. "Between those three and the Dolls, I don't like the looks of this." She admitted.

"Let my people handle the Dolls." Gaara said turning to his brother. "Those creatures must be killed at any cost."

"Of course." The painted face shinobi replied.

"Please take this child some place safe." The Kazikage instructed his sister motioning to Ryuu.

"Sure. I can do that." Tamari said extending a hand towards the boy.

"No!" the child exclaimed running to Onchou and wrapping his arms around her. "I don't want to leave you! What if you don't come back? What will happen to me?" he demanded.

Onchou knelt down in front of the boy, took his face in her hands and pressed her forehead to his. "I swear to you that I will not die here. I will come back to you because I promised that I would protect you forever, don't you remember?"

The child nodded. "I remember."

"Good. Now please go with that woman." She said releasing him and giving him a gentle push towards the blonde.

She lifted the child onto her shoulders and began to run back towards the village when Earth Eater slammed his foot into the ground kicking up a large sandstone boulder. "Did I say you could leave?" he demanded as he threw the massive piece of stone at the retreating pair.

Gaara and Onchou both moved at once the first blocking the rock with a wall of sand while the later materialized in front of the hulk of a man and slammed her fist into his face knocking him back several feet her eyes blazing.

"What did I tell you!?" she roared as her hand crackled with lightning based chakra.

"Damn! Her punch is almost as scary as yours." Naruto muttered to Sakura.

The pink haired medic nodded. "Yeah it is. I don't blame her though. Ryuu is like family to her."

"We need to break into teams to take them on." Sasuke said activating his sharringan as Onchou leapt back to join the rest of the group. "Since I'm impervious to fire attacks and Sakura has water based chakra, we'll take on Ember. Naruto, you and Sai take out that Earth Eater guy, he has quite a bit of chakra but he's no match for you two especially with Kurema's power. Chimera's chakra is a little strange even to my eyes so I think it would be best if Onchou fights him along with Gaara. He does have The Sand Village's Ultimate Defense at his disposal if things get too dangerous and Onchou seems to know how he fights. Once you beat your opponent, go help the other teams. Got it!"

The ninja nodded and broke off into their allotted teams and stared down their opponents.

"You're stupid if you think a couple of snot nosed kids like you can defeat me." Earth Eater said cracking his knuckles as he stared down Naruto and Sai.

The Uzamaki smirked. "I don't think so." He said balling his hands into a fist. "You'll find out soon enough that you're stupid for underestimating us." He replied his eyes turning red as he tapped into Kurama's power. "You're going to wish you'd never attempted to lay a hand on my friends."

Sai shifted pulling out a scroll of paper and quickly drew up an eagle and leapt up to hover above the hulk of a man.

"That's a neat trick. This might be more fun than I thought." The blonde haired man said with a wicked grin.

Sasuke and Sakura both shifted into defensive positions as they stared down the portly Ember who looked at them through dark goggles. "You two brats don't have a prayer against me." He replied as his hands burst into flames.

Sasuke snickered. "We could say the same about you." He replied as he activated his sharringan in one eye and rinnigan in the other.

Sakura nodded beside him balling her hands into fists. "Don't underestimate us." she added her voice hard.

Oncho's brow furrowed as she studied her opponent carefully. Gaara moved to stand beside her sand swirling around him as it leaked from the gourd in his hip.

"This is a new experience. I don't think I've ever seen you fight with a partner since Akira left this world." Chimera said his lips turning up into a smirk. "Such a shame too, I was hoping I'd be able to have that spot after that mutt died."

The girl tensed. "You have no right to speak his name and don't you dare defile his memory in front of me." she snarled.

Gaara's brow furrowed at the exchange before he spoke. "What do you suggest?" he asked.

Onchou glanced at him. "Like he said, I haven't fought with a partner in a while." She grimace and frowned. "Not only that but I'm not at full strength either." She looked forward at their opponent. "Chimera is difficult to fight not only because of his camouflage jutsu but because of how accurate he is with his throwing needles. They're hard enough to see in the daylight and now with only moonlight it's going to be even harder to avoid them." She gritted her teeth. "I really don't like this."

Earth Eater attacked first slamming his fist into the ground and creating a series of jagged stone columns around himself and Naruto.

The Uzamaki leapt out of the way of a shard of rock and then dodged a boulder hefted at him by the large man. "Shoot! For a big guy, he can definitely move fast!" he muttered as Sai sent a barrage of ink lions at the man who made quick work of the creatures. Distracting him so that Naruto could put some distance between them as he formed a rasingan in his palm.

"Let's heat things up!" Ember exclaimed as his body burst into flame. He aimed his hands at the pink haired medic and flames shot from his arms intent on burning her alive. Sakura flipped out of the flames path as Sasuke drew his katana and rushed at the man. A paper bomb flew from Ember's hand and the Uchiha dodged it with ease slashing the man across the chest.

"That kind of cheap trick won't work on me." He said. "I can see everything." He remarked his demonic looking eyes flashing.

"An Uchiha! I thought you were all dead?" Ember remarked as he seared the gash across his body closed.

Sasuke merely smirked in response as Sakura sprinted forward and slammed her fist into the portly man's face knocking him back several feet.

Chimera studied his opponents for a few moments a smile playing on his lips. "Where to begin." He said with a smirk, the wind shifted and he vanished into thin air.

Gaara's eyes widened and Onchou shifted into a defensive position. His eyes widened further when his violet haired partner closed her eyes. He opened his mouth to speak when she held up a hand to silence him.

"I need to concentrate." She murmured as the black swirling tattoos he'd just noticed on her ears began to shimmer and glow with a silver light. Her eyes flew open and she slashed her arm through the air knocking a series of throwing needles off course and sending Chimera flying backwards breaking his camouflage jutsu as he slammed into the sand.

"You're going to have to do better than that!" she called out.

Her eyes widened and she turned. "Behind you!" she exclaimed as a second Chimera began to rise out of the sand. Gaara whipped his hands through the air and destroyed the clone with a sand blast.

"Darn it. I was hoping to get rid of that eyesore quickly so that you'd fight me seriously." Chimera whined as he began forming hand signs. "I don't like this landscape, it's no fun for me, so let's change things up a bit." He said unrolling a scroll and biting his thumb. "Summoning Jutus!" he exclaimed. The ground began to shake and Onchou flipped backwards grabbing Gaara's arm tightly as the landscape around them began to change. Strange trees and plants sprung up from the ground forcing the two even closer together.

"If we get separated in here we're screwed." She muttered her eyes narrowing. "He pulled these plants from a different dimension so they shouldn't last long, especially not in the desert but until they crumble away we're stuck fighting on his turf." She chuckled darkly. "He used up a lot of chakra for this, he must really be itching to fight me."

"Why of course. I've always wanted to see how well I could do against Takuma's precious Princess of Death." Came Chimera's voice.

Gaara glanced at her seemingly confused by her nickname and noted the way her jaw clenched.

"Seriously! Shut your mouth!" she growled. Her eyes drifted skyward and she pulled what appeared to be a clear marble from it never letting Gaara go as she whispered strange words in a sing song voice. The marble glowed bright red and she threw it into the air. It rose high into the air and then exploded raining purple sparks down over the conjured forest. "Damn! He made a barrier around it!" she growled.

"A barrier?" Gaara repeated his eyes narrowing.

Onchou nodded. "He doesn't want us to get back out into the desert where we have the upper hand. He's forcing us to stay here and fight him here where he has the advantage." She frowned. "This really isn't looking good for us."

"Gaara! Onchou!" Naruto cried out as he watched them disappear into the strange forest and the shimmer as a barrier went up around it.

Earth Eater chuckled. "And Chimera says that I'm impatient. He must really want Princess all to himself. How disappointing."

"What are you talking about?" Naruto demanded. "What the Hell is that place?"

"It's Chimera's forest of nightmares, we usually use that for interrogations and torture." He chuckled. "The only ones that are going to be left standing when that barrier disappears will be Chimera."

"Don't underestimate Gaara." The Uzamaki growled.

"Worry about yourself!" Earth Eater roared slamming his fist into the ground cracking the ground beneath the blonde's feet.

Naruto leapt backwards and landed on a stone column. "Sai! We need to wrap this up quickly! Gaara and Onchou need our help!" Sai nodded and sent a barrage of beasts towards the bulky man. Earth Eater made quick work of them and was surprised when Naruto appeared behind him slamming a rasingan into his back. The bulky man went tumbling to the ground and coughed blood dripping from his mouth. He staggered to his feet and wiped the blood away his eyes narrowing.

"It's been a long time since someone's made me bleed like that." He muttered. "I'm going to make you pay for that." He formed hand signs and slammed his hand to the ground. "Earth Style Stone Soldier Jutus!" he exclaimed.

"Stone what!?" Naruto exclaimed as the ground began to shake. The Uzamaki stumbled backwards and watched in surprise as a giant creature made of rock rose from the ground. "Well that looks like it's going to be a pain in the butt to deal with." He muttered as the stone giant swiped at Sai who flipped off his ink bird and landed on the ground next to his partner.

"Do you have a plan?" Sai asked as Earth Eater leapt up to stand on the giant's head.

"Break the giant?" Naruto offered as the pair of shinobi leapt backwards as the behemoth lifted his foot to crush them.

Sai sighed. "Ok, you work on that and I'll take care of Earth Eater."

"That doesn't look good." Sasuke muttered as he watched the Forest of Nightmares materialize.

"Gaara! Onchou!" Sakura cried out leaping backwards to avoid a stream of fire.

"He he he!" Ember giggled. "Chimera's all riled up. Those two are done for."

"Sasuke! What do we do?" Sakura asked as he sprinted forward slamming a lightning charged fist into the portly man knocking him back a few feet. "Onchou and Gaara seem to be in big trouble!"

The Uchiha grit his teeth as he glanced at the small but dense forest searching for the chakra signatures of the violet haired girl and the Kazikage. "They're together and it doesn't seem like they've engaged Chimera in battle yet." He replied. "The best thing we can do is defeat this guy quickly and then go help them."

"Right." Sakura agreed running forward. As she did, she heard a little click and screamed as an explosive went off under her feet illuminating the night with a flash of brilliant white light.

Fear unlike any he had ever felt gripped Sasuke's heart as she vanished from his sight in the bright light of the explosion. Images of the pink haired genin who followed him around like a love sick puppy dog flashed through his mind. Those images quickly changed to the more determined looking chunin who stood beside Naruto and then confronted him later with a kunai in her hand. He remembered the war and the first time he'd first seen her truly show her monstrous strength, how his black heart had lightened a bit as he felt pride for how far his once helpless teammate had come. He remembered all the love she'd given him, all the times he'd touched her for good or bad his mind settling on her gentle kiss on his forehead and how perfectly she felt in his arms. The dark haired child he'd imagined her with recently, the times he'd imagined kissing her. Her smiling face, it all flashed before his eyes as he realized that there was a chance it was gone forever, his single speck of warmth in his dark abyss of an existence. The woman he'd never cherished the way he should have.

"Sakura! No!" Sasuke screamed in agony searching desperately for her chakra signature. He found it and watched in horror as her limp body was hurled through the air. He moved sprinting with lightning speed across the desert his eyes like a hawk's intent on his target. His eyes narrowed as he glanced at the ground and realized the space was littered with mines. "Damn it!" he hissed in his mind. "If I detonate any of these I'm in trouble but if I take my time to avoid them I won't make it in time to catch her!" he scanned the horizon and he hissed in frustration. "There's nothing in this bloody desert for me to switch places with either!" his eyes flashed as purple flames began to flow around him. "I'll have to use Susanoo even though I didn't want to use that much chakra or reveal my power this quickly." He said to himself as the giant began to take shape. He pushed the massive amount of chakra needed from his body and reached out with his hand. The giant followed and managed to catch the pink haired medic just before her body hit the ground.

"Sakura! Are you alright?!" he called out.

The girl in his giant's hand groaned in response and he breathed a tiny sigh of relief as the terrible fear left his heart. She was alive. His anger flared as his advanced eyesight took in the bruises and cuts that covered her body. That anger turned to rage as his gaze rested on her bloodied feet and legs.

"My my! I had no idea you possessed such incredible power." Ember gasped clearly fearful. He frantically slammed his hand into the desert floor and detonated all of the explosives at once. When the dust cleared the man's dark goggles had been blown off his face and the man was covered in bruises and cuts from the shrapnel he'd taken from his own weapons.

Sasuke pulled Sakura's body inside the place where he stood protecting her from the explosions and then turned his attention to man cowering in front of him. "You know, you remind me a little of man I once knew." He said softly as his Susanoo began to fade now that the danger to his partner was gone.

"You don't say." Ember stammered nervously.

"Yes, he was a fool who believed that true art was an explosion. We battled once in a situation similar to this one and he died in battle by his own hand trying to kill me." He said. He removed his cloak from his shoulders and laid it with gentleness the Uchiha didn't even know he possessed over Sakura's battered body checking to make sure she was still breathing before turning back to the portly man shivering in front of him. "You however are different from him, for what you did to Sakura I will not allow you the luxury of killing yourself." He said as he drew his katana and allowed the searing heat of his anger to transfer to his blade, lightning crackling around it and turning the silver blade blue. "Your end will come by my hand." He slashed forward taking the man's arm with his lightning blade. Ember screamed and dropped to the ground clutching at the stump where his arm had been.

"What have you done to me?!" the man demanded looking at the Uchiha. Sasuke's blood red eyes bored into his as he cast a genjutsu on the yellow eyed man.

Ember screamed and rolled around in the sand as a vision of himself being ripped to shreds by the Uchiha's blade consumed him until his mind broke and he collapsed on the sand. The instinct to kill the miserable wretch was forced out of the Uchiha's mind at the sound of Sakura's whimper of pain. Sasuke sheathed his blade and quickly dashed to the woman's side. He slipped and arm under her shoulders and helped ease her up as his heart pounded in his chest.

"Sakura! Talk to me Sakura!" he urged as the pink haired girl shuddered in his arms the blood seeping from her legs staining the sand around them red. He cursed his own helplessness as he laid her back down on the sand gently and pulled bandages from his pack and moved the cloak so that he could examine her feet. His stomach turned painfully as he noted the torn, singed flesh of her feet and legs. Her injuries weren't life threatening but they certainly were not light. The strips of white fabric quickly became stained red as he worked to cover her wounds and for the first time, he realized just how powerless he could be. Throughout his entire life he'd trained with only one purpose in mind, to defeat his enemies in battle. Nothing else mattered to him and his hard work had paid off. In terms of battle skills and power, he knew there were few if any that could defeat him. Medical ninjutsu was something he just hadn't bothered to learn, figuring he could always just find and use someone that had that power instead. That was the main reason he'd picked Karin to be on his team years ago. As he looked down at his fallen teammate he cursed himself for not only being unable to protect her but at the frustration of not having the ability to heal her. If the situation was reversed, he knew that he'd already be on his feet ready to battle again thanks to Sakura's power but as things stood now, all he could do was bandage her up and wait for her to come to so she could heal herself or find someone who could heal her instead.

"Damn it!" he growled. "I'm so useless!" his eyes widened at his own words and then he chuckled darkly and touched Sakura's face. "I think I finally understand how you feel Sakura." He leaned forward and pressed his forehead against hers. "I hate it too." He raised his head slightly and then pressed his lips lightly to the indigo diamond on her forehead. "Please wake up." He murmured. "I need to know that you're ok."

"Sakura!" Naruto cried out as he felt the explosion, heard her shriek and watched her body fly through the air. He tapped into Kurama's power his body turning yellow and flickering with power ready to reach with one of his nine tails to catch the medic when a giant violet man appeared and caught her in his massive palm. "Sasuke!" he exclaimed. "He made it." He said breathing a sigh of relief.

"What kind of power is that?" Earth Eater demanded. "It looks like you're on fire."

"Naruto! It appears that Sakura has been injured!" Sai called down to his partner from where he crouched atop an ink owl of his own creation. "Sasuke laid her on the ground and she's not moving."

The Uzmaki's eyes flashed as concern for his teammate roared within him. "Kurama, we need to take care of this quickly so we can help Sakura."

The fox spirit within him nodded. "Of course. I'll do anything if it's for Sakura we both owe her."

Naruto nodded. "Exactly so let's finish this." He said cracking his knuckles.

"I asked you a question damn it! Answer me!" Earth Eater demanded. His stone soldier swiped at the young man knocking over several columns of rock which the blonde haired ninja easily avoided.

"Kurama, let's get rid of that stone soldier of his. It's really starting to piss me off." The Uzamaki said as tails began to form.

Kurama smirked. "With pleasure." He replied.

"Rasinshirtikan!" Naruto called out as he flung the mass of air and light at the massive being of stone slicing it cleanly in half.

Sai launched forward as the giant began to crumble and slammed the man to the ground below sinking the blade of his short sword into the man's chest as he did so.

"You brats have defeated me." Earth Eater wheezed. "But how?"

"We're team seven from The Fourth Great Ninja War." Sai replied simply.

"We've never been defeated in battle since the day the ten tails appeared." Naruto added. "You didn't stand a chance."

The man coughed. "Perhaps so, but the Kazikage and the Princess will fall. That is enough for me." He rasped before his eyes closed and his body went still.

Naruto and Sai sprinted to where Sasuke was tending to Sakura's wounds.

"Sasuke! How is she?" Naruto demanded kneeling beside his best friend.

"She hasn't regained consciousness yet but she's still breathing and her heartrate is good." He replied. The two other members of team seven breathed a sigh of relief and then turned their attention to the forest.

"What's going on in there?" Naruto asked. "Can you tell?"

Sasuke focused his eyes and nodded. "Onchou and Gaara are still together. Chimera is near them but it appears that neither one of them is attacking."

"What are they waiting for?" Naruto asked.

"I don't know." Sasuke admitted. "Those plants and trees don't look like anything I've ever seen before."

Naruto focused on the plants and frowned. "They look kind of like the plants from the forest where Pervy Sage and I used to train with the toads. If that Chimera guy pulled them from a different world or something like that, it could be that they're not attacking because they're not able to, and Chimera is just playing with them."

The Uchiha focused harder on the two semi-familiar chakra signatures. "I can't see any chakra leaving their bodies but you could still be right. Regardless the fact that they're trapped in that place with the enemy isn't good."

"What's wrong Princess? Why aren't you attacking? I know that you know where I am." Chimera said softly from the shadows. "What are you waiting for?"

Gaara took a step towards the voice but Onchou's grip on his arm only tightened and she pulled him back. "Don't fall for it." She warned the sand shinobi. "This place is called the Forrest of Nightmares." She explained. "Something about these plants effects the flow of chakra in the brain and causes hallucinations."

"We can't just stay here." The Kazikage retorted. "We're easy prey like this."

"I know that!" the teenaged girl snapped. "I'm trying to work out a plan." She raked her free hand through her pony tail and groaned in frustration. "If I was by myself this would be a totally different story. I'd be out of here in no time."

"What's the problem? This man is your new partner is he not? Just use that dirty trick you used to with Akira to get out of this mess." Chimera sneered.

Onchou growled in frustration and leapt into the air keeping a firm grip on the Kazikage as she deflected a shower of throwing needles with another blast of wind chakra. "Shut the Hell up! I've killed flies less annoying than you!" she yelled throwing a shuriken into the trees.

"Nice one! You nearly got me there." Chimera replied in the darkness as he flashed briefly through the trees before vanishing again. "Does that mean you're ready to fight me? I do hope so, this staring contest is boring."

"Who is Akira?" Gaara asked. "And could you let go of my arm?" he said shifting unfomrtably. He'd come a long way in terms of getting along with and understanding people. He now had friends he trusted and could rely on but physical contact was still something that he was uncomfortable with in most situations.

"Akira was my partner several years ago." She replied shortly. "And no I can't let go of your arm because I only want to fight one opponent not two."

"What are you saying?" Gaara asked.

The girl sighed. "This forest causes hallucinations remember? Due to special abilities I possess I'm basically immune to things like that particularly in this place since this isn't my first time being here. You on the other hand barely know me or my chakra signature and you're being exposed to this genjutsu for the first time. If I let go of you, I know for a fact that you'll fall under the genjutsu and come after me trying to kill me thinking I'm someone or something else. It happens every single time."

"You're so boring Princess! If you really don't want to fight both of us just do to him what you did to Akira. I'm getting bored and you know what happens when I get bored." He murmured dangerously.

"Get down!" Onchou called out pulling the Kazikage to the sandy floor with her. A blade of water slashed through the air barely missing the two taking out several trees near them.

"What technique is he referring to?" The Kazikage asked. "What did you and Akira do to survive in this place?"

She sighed and pressed her fingers to her temples. "We used a secret jutus known only to members of the warriors and leaders of my clan." She replied. "A mind linking jutsu that allows you to share your thoughts, chakra, and even certain abilities with your partner." She sighed. "But it's not just the fact that it's secret that I hesitate to use it. It's very… intimate. It's more than just a simple meeting of the minds, it's linking two souls together. You don't get to filter what your partner hears or sees. Every single thought, feeling and memory from the entire course of your life is passed directly to your partner. I haven't even used this justsu with Ryuu and I've known him his entire life." She studied the Kazikage. "You're practically a stranger to me and I to you. I seriously doubt you're willing to strip down to your soul, the very core of your being to me for what could be a one-time battle. I know that I'm not."

The Kazikage's eyes widened and then relaxed again. "I suppose you're right about that." He admitted.

"So that's what it was." Chimera said softy. "No wonder you two were so close and worked so well together. I can see why you feel apart when he died."

"If you understand that much then why do you keep running your damn mouth!?" she demanded. "I know you're trying to tick me off and believe me it's working but I'm not about to abandon this man to shut you up as much as I'd like to."

"Why not?" Chimera asked. "I know he's the Kazikage and everything but they can always get a new one."

Onchou shook her head. "You really don't have a clue about the value of human life. It's true I don't know him very well, but I can tell just by listening and watching the people around him that he is someone important and needed. Letting scum like you kill him is simply unacceptable."

Gaara's eyes widened as he looked at the amethyst eyed girl. He didn't understand why she was defending him or protecting him but it stirred something in him that he hadn't felt before. A loud crash reverberated through the forest and the semitransparent barrier shimmered.

"Who the heck is trying to take down my beautiful barrier?" Chimera demanded.

Onchou closed her eyes her brow furrowed in concentration and then smirked. "It seems that Earth Eater and Ember have both fallen." She replied. "Naruto and Sai seem to be looking for a weakness in his barrier." A little frown touched her lips. "It seems that Sakura has been injured and hasn't regained consciousness yet and the Dolls are starting to overwhelm your forces. I could heal her and help with those monsters if we could just get outside this barrier" She said opening her eyes and looking at the red haired man beside her.

His power flared at the mention of his people in trouble and sand leaked from his gourd in response. The violet haired teen's eyes widened as she noticed it.

"I think I have an idea." She said. "Can you use the sand on the forest floor?" she asked.

The Kazikage pushed with his chakra testing his power and nodded. "I can." He replied.

"Alright. I think I can get us out of here, or at least weaken the barrier from the inside so that Naruto can break us out." She replied. "I know this is a lot to ask considering the fact that I've clearly known the enemy longer than you but will you trust me?"

Gaara searched the girl's eyes and then slowly nodded. "I can." He replied. "What do you need of me?"

"I need you to create the largest sand storm you can with us at the center." She replied getting to her feet. "Do you need both hands to make signs?" she asked.

"I can use one." He replied.

"Perfect, because I'm going to need both hands." She replied. "I'll need you to do what
I've been doing. Hold onto some part of me and don't let go no matter what. I don't care if the ghost of your brother, sister, lover, or mother shows up and begs you to follow them into Heaven. Do not let go. The only people inside this barrier are you me and the enemy, understand?"

"Of course." He replied.

"Alright. I won't let go of you until you're holding onto me." She said.

He complied and lifted the hand opposite of the one she was holding and gripped her shoulder shifting so that he stood behind her facing the same direction she was. "Does this work?" he asked.

"Yes it does." She replied releasing her hold on him. "Now let's do this."

He nodded and focused his chakra commanding the sand at his hip and the sand on the floor to submit to his will. It swirled around them picking up speed and power as he did so. Onchou moved her hands weaving signs and the air around them began to crackle with electricity.

"I thought you used wind chakra?" he remarked with curiosity.

The girl snickered. "I do." She replied simply.

The Kazikage tilted his head to the side and then gasped as he saw Naruto appear before them.

"Hey! I was worried about you two." The Uzamaki said grinning. "Common! We've got to help your bother!" he said extending his hand to the Kazikage.

He shifted forward his hand beging to leave the girl's shoulder when he felt a sharp pain in his foot.

"What did I tell you?!" Onchou demanded grinding the heel of her sandal into the top of his foot bruising the pale flesh. "Whomever you saw it wasn't who you thought it was! Don't let go of me!" her voice softened as she moved her foot away. "I'm almost there, just bear with me a little longer."

He nodded and tightened his grip on her shoulder as her signs stopped and he felt her chakra level rise to the surface as she prepared to release whatever power she'd been focusing.

"What are you doing? I don't like the feel of this." Chimera's voice came over the roar of the sand storm.

The violet eyed girl only smirked as she released her chakra lightning exploding around them striking the sand with blinding speed. The heat inside the forest increased exponentially and Gaara's eyes closed instinctively.

"Just a little more!" Onchou muttered her body shaking a little under Gaara's hand. "Now! Glass Dragon Jutsu!" she exclaimed as the heat vanished as suddenly as it came.

Gaara opened his eyes and was shocked to see that all of the sand was gone and that in front of him was a shimmering, transparent dragon whose body was clearly made up of tiny shards of glass.

"How did you do that?!" Chimera's voice demanded.

"Come now, didn't you tell me that you wanted me to fight seriously?" Onchou replied with a smirk. "Now let's get out of here!" she said thrusting her hands forward. "Destroy the barrier! Rip it to shreds!" she commanded the glass creature. It roared in response and shards of glass exploded from its mouth slamming into the barrier creaking tiny tears in the magic that knit it together.

"No! What are you doing? Curse you Princess!" Chimera's voice howled as glass rained down on the forest impaling the master manipulator. He fell to the sand floor staining it red.

A blast from the outside shook the barrier again and it began to fall apart the trees and plants drying with exposure to the harsh, dry, desert air.

"Jump!" she called to the Kazikage as the dragon moved towards them. They leapt together and landed on the creature's head as a blast of brilliant yellow light hit the barrier destroying it completely. The glass dragon burst through the top of it as it fell and then slithered down to the desert floor coming to rest in front of the surprised looking Uazmaki as the last remains of the Forest of Nightmares crumbled to dust.

"What in the world is that?" he asked as the odd team jumped from its head.

"This is the product of teamwork." Onchou replied. "Pretty cool huh? Sand plus lightning equals glass."

"Impressive." Sai agreed walking forward to study the glass creature.

"Thanks." She turned to the Kazikage. "Since sand heavily infused with your chakra is what formed the foundation of this, it'll respond to your every command. Please use it to protect your village. I'll get to work healing Sakura. Naurto, and Sai should probably go with you as back up. I don't know how long it'll last but it should be able to do a fair amount of damage before it breaks apart." She offered him a small smile. "You were a pretty good partner. Thank you for trusting me, even if it was only for a few minutes."

The Kazikage blinked in surprise and simply nodded in response before he reached out and touched the glass creature. "Help me protect my people." He said softly as he climbed atop its head and directed it forward to where his forces were fighting a losing battle against the lifeless, relentless Dolls. "Strike down every creature that bears a glowing orange mark on their head."

A low growl of obedience sounded in the creature's throat before it slinked forward shooting shards of glass at the Dolls. Sai and Naruto glided alongside the creature atop an ink bird taking out any Dolls left behind.

Sasuke looked up as the amethyst eyed girl approached him where he knelt beside Sakura. "It looks like you fared better than we did." He replied as she knelt beside him.

"I wouldn't say that." She replied. "Our wounds just aren't the type that are visible even to your eyes." Onchou's hands began to glow with green light as she passed them over the pink haired medic's body the bruises and scrapes quickly fading as the young woman worked. "It seems that she didn't sustain any internal damage." She said softly as her hands worked their way down to her legs and feet. "And these wounds are much less severe than they look." Sasuke nodded a weight lifting off his chest at her words. "You know you should stop fighting it so much." The girl said after a few moments.

"Fighting what?" he asked.

"Your heart." She replied easily. "I'm sure you think you have some grand, important reason for denying your heart what it wants so desperately but in the end, you're only going to end up hurting her and yourself."

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"Don't play dumb with me." Onchou replied. "I can hear your soul song remember? It desperately wants to harmonize with hers but you're not letting it. The tension is really starting to get on my nerves."

"What are you getting at? Just spit it out!" He hissed.

"For crying out loud you stupid Uchiha! Tell the girl you love her already!" she snapped.

Sasuke's eyes widened in surprise his mouth dropping open slightly. "I…" he stammered. He loved Sakura? That couldn't be right? She was important to him and he care about her deeply but he didn't love her. Maybe he did in a brother, sister kind of way…

"Don't even try to deny it." Onchou said interrupting him. "Even if I couldn't hear your song I'd be able to tell. Don't try to twist my words either and try to dilute yourself into thinking it's a brother and sister kind of love. I'm talking about the mushy, romantic, red roses, and kisses type love." The Uchiha stared at the teenage girl as he tried to process her words. So he didn't just love Sakura he was in love with Sakura, the once clingy genin who wouldn't leave him alone. Onchou chuckled at the expression on his face and then sighed. "Look, I don't know all of the details but I know that you've hurt a lot of people and have done some awful things. I know that you probably did something or even many terrible things to her so you think that you don't deserve her." She glanced up at the stars her hands still glowing green as she worked to repair the emerald eyed woman's feet. "I can promise you though that in spite of all that, this woman is truly deeply in love with you. Even if you think she deserves better or that someone else will make her happier her feelings for you will never change. Which leaves you with two choices." She looked back at the Uchiha. "You either listen to your heart and make up for the pain you caused her by loving her with everything you have for the rest of your life, or you listen to your head and damn her to a lifetime of pain loving a man she can never have and yourself to a lifetime of loneliness loving a woman you never allowed yourself to have. All over your stupid guilt and pride." She moved her hands to Sakura's head and looked at him again. "I'm going to wake her up now but I have one more thing to say before I do. Food for thought I guess you could call it. If fostering hatred is truly what brought the Uchiha clan to ruin, wouldn't fostering love bring it back brighter and better than ever?"

Sasuke blinked at her words and then glanced down at the pink haired woman lying on the ground in front of him as the vision of her laughing with a dark haired child bearing the Uchiha crest on it's back entered his mind again. "Did anyone tell you that you talk too much?" he asked his tone bitter in spite of the hardly perceptible upturning of his lips.

"Nope, you're the first one." She replied with a little smile. Her hands lightly touched the medic's forehead and she opened her emerald green eyes. "My work here is done." She said getting to her feet. "Do you mind if I rest a bit?"

"Not at all." Sasuke replied. "Thank you Onchou."

"Don't get all sentimental on me now." She replied. "You'll tarnish that reputation of yours for being a heartless demon."

He smirked as she walked over to a rock that put her just out of earshot of the couple and sat down resting her arms on her knees clearly tired. Making a mental note to thank her properly later he turned his attention to Sakura. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he helped her sit up.

"Not too bad actually." She replied glancing at the violet haired girl sitting with her head between her knees a few yards away. "She healed me didn't she?"

He nodded. "It seems she overdid it a little though."

Sakura chuckled. "As her teammate I'm grateful to her but as her medical service provider, I'm mad as Hell." She looked at him and her green eyes sharpened her brow creasing. "What's wrong Sasuke?"

He pulled her against his chest and buried his face in her hair needing reassurance that she was alive and well. "I'm so glad you're alright." He said softly in her ear. "When that explosive went off, I was afraid you were dead. I've never been more terrified in my entire life."

"Come on Sasuke. Don't joke like that." Sakura replied with a smile.

"I'm not joking." He replied pulling back from her. His hands moved to cup her face in his hands. "I'm dead serious." He leaned his forehead against hers an expression of love he'd learned from his beloved brother. "The thought that you'd gone somewhere that I couldn't follow…" he took a deep breath. "It was nearly more than I could bear."

"Sasuke." She replied her voice soft as she lifted her hand hesitantly to touch his forehead brushing his bangs out of his eyes. "I'm ok, really."

He grabbed her hand and held it in his own. The hand that had reached out to him, tried to save him, supported him, welcomed him home, and healed him. The hand that had nearly gone still forever due to his negligence. He pressed it against his cheek and closed his eyes basking in her warmth, letting it fill his heart and drive out the fear and anger lingering there. After a few moments, just holding her hand wasn't enough for him. He turned his head and nuzzled the edge of her hand along her pinkie finger lightly with his nose breathing deeply before he brought it down to his mouth and pressed a gentle but firm kiss to the center of her palm savoring the feel of her skin against his. His eyes drifted open when he heard the quiet gasp that escaped her lips. His heart rate increased and an electric shock seemed to flow through his entire being when he saw a spark of something new and slightly dangerous smoldering inside her eyes alongside the love and surprise he was expecting to see. He felt an intense desire to kiss her and learn more about that spark but pushed it aside instead to tell her some of the feelings he'd kept locked away for far too long. He took her hands in his gripping them tightly as he bowed his head. "Sakura, I'm begging you. Don't go where I can't see you. Please." He murmured softly.

"I won't." Sakura said as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him. One wraped around his waist while the other went across his shoulder cupping the back of his head pulling it gently to her shoulder. "I'll stay by your side always, I promise."

As usual her gentle touch and sincere words quieted the dark voices in his head. He closed his eyes and wrapped his own arms around her waist. "Thank you Sakura, for everything." He replied softly feeling at peace for the first time in years.

P.S. Once again a chapter ended up way longer than I intended it to be. Whoo! Anyway, I'm really liking the direction this story is going. I know some people are going to be irritated that my OC and Gaara seem to be giving off potential love interest vibes but I really don't care. Gaara has gotten the short end of the stick more than once and I adore his character but can't really think of any female characters in the Naruto universe that would really be a good fit for him so I made up my own. If you have a problem with that, I apologize. Anyway, I hope this was enough sugar for you. Thanks for reading everyone! I really appreciate it! I also wrote a little one shot called Big News about how I imagined Sakura and Sasuke would react to the news that Sakura was expecting so if you want something to read until I get the next chapter out, feel free to read that. You guys are awesome! Seriously!