Author's Notes: Thank you again for all the love and support. The next few chapters are going to get a bit OC centric as we approach the climax of the story but like I said I'm going to do my best to balance things out. I had a reviewer note that Sasuke and Naruto aren't excelling in battle as much as they can. I have a couple reasons for that. For starters they're both people who don't like to flaunt their power. Naruto because he wants to make people feel more comfortable around him and Sasuke because he's still on the road to redemption and is trying to prove that he's not a bad guy anymore. In addition, they're both smart ninja who aren't going to waste unnecessary power. Just because Sasuke could summon Susan-O and Naruto could unleash Kurama and end everything in one shot doesn't mean they're going to. Battles are also the best place to learn about your enemy's plans especially if you let them think they have the upper hand. That's just my personal opinion on the matter and why I'm writing it the way that I am. They will pull out their big guns during this story but not until the final battle. Anyway, let's get on with the story.
#*#
Temari smirked at the wingless Nightmare in front of her. "It's our turn to tear you apart." She remarked raising her fan.
Shikamaru smirked. "Good to have you back." He said as he held the man in place with his jutsu.
She nodded and a battle cry left her lips and wind blades flew from her fan tearing the man apart.
"How could I be defeated by a woman?" Nightmare rasped.
"You underestimated me." She replied simply leaning against her fan. The man groaned in response and then moved no more.
"Alright tough girl." Shikamaru said reaching out to her. "Lean on me. We need to get out of here and to a place where we can really take care of those wounds of yours." He said pulling her arm over his shoulders.
"Yeah. You're right." She said leaning her head on his shoulder. "I actually don't feel all that great right now." She admitted.
He smiled. Temari was one of the toughest girls he'd ever met but she only showed this soft side to him. It was further proof of her trust in him and he treasured it.
"Should we head back the way we came?" Chouji asked as his body returned to normal after defeating another handful of Dolls.
Shikamaru nodded. "Yeah. If we see anyone else who needs help along the way, we'll stop and give them a hand."
"Right." Chouji replied and together they leapt to the roofs.
% %
Naruto cried out as he threw a rasenshuriken at Wraith. The man gasped as the jutsu took effect destroying his body and clones plaguing his teammates vanishing as he sustained more and more damage.
"You defeated me." The bandaged man rasped before he fell to the ground dead.
"Naruto!" Hinata cried out running to his arms. "You did it!"
He chuckled and patted her head. "I couldn't have done it without you." He said smiling down at her. When he heard the sound of a throat clearing he sighed. "Or you Shino." He said looking at the bug user. "Thanks for helping out."
"Of course." Shino said. "We are a team and defeated him as a team. It doesn't matter who dealt the final blow."
"He's pouting." Hinata whispered in Naruto's ear.
"Yeah… I know." The Uzamaki replied. He knelt down and pulled bandages from his pack reaching for Hinata's leg. "I'll wrap this up for you."
"Oh you don't need to." Hinata replied. "It's not even bad enough for me to need to use my medical ninjutsu on." She said blushing.
"Please let me." Naruto replied. "I want to. I wasn't able to prevent it but I can help make it better right?"
The blue haired girl saw the genuine care and love in his eyes and nodded.
With gentleness the normally wild and energetic, blonde boy rarely showed, he gently wrapped the skinned knee and then pressed a kiss lightly to the white wrappings. "Naruto." Hinata murmured.
He stood up and grinned at her. "Come on! Let's get out of here. The others are probably finishing up too."
She nodded and the three up them took to the roof tops just as Shikamaru appeared still supporting Temari with Chouji.
"So you guys are finished too?" The shadow wielder asked.
"Yeah." Naruto replied. "Just finished him off. He did say something at the end."
"Are you alright?" Hinata asked moving to Temari's side.
"I'll be fine. I just took a couple of hits to the back." She replied.
"What did I say about acting tough?" Shikamaru scolded. "She actually needs some more medical attention as soon as possible." He replied. "We're heading out to see if we can help the others finish up."
Naruto nodded. "I'll go ahead with you and Chouji. We'll have Hinata stay with Temari and Shino and follow at a slower pace."
"Sounds like a good plan to me." Shikamaru said shifting the blond from his hold to Hinata's. "Take good care of them Shino." He said.
"Of course I will. You don't have to tell me that. I will protect them using whatever means necessary." The bug user replied.
"Alright. Let's move out then." Naruto said leaping towards the other battles as Shino, Hinata and Temari followed behind.
Sakura cried out as Heart Taker dodged one of her punches and grabbed her instead turning and slamming her against the wall. He grinned and shoved a blade into her stomach and turned it.
"Aren't so tough are you little girl?" he rasped in her ear before he bit it making her stomach turn. "I love that look of pain of your face. It really turns me on." He murmured.
"You're a sick, twisted lunatic." She rasped as blood dribbled down her chin.
"Yes, but you're the one dying." He replied.
"Something like that won't kill her." Sasuke replied from behind them.
The man whirled around and then gasped as he became trapped in Sasuke's genjutsu. Sakura sank to the floor and using the skill she'd learned from Lady Chiyo she pulled the blade from her body while simultaneously healing her body.
Kiba knelt beside her his brow creased with worry as Akamaru fought off the Dolls nearby. "Are you ok Sakura? Can I help you at all?" he asked.
"I'll be fine." She replied as she gritted her teeth. "Just like Sasuke said, something like this won't kill me. Are you alright? You still look a little pale. I should've broken that genjutsu on you sooer."
The dog user's eyes narrowed. "That jerk. He doesn't even care." He muttered as he glanced at the Unchiha who drew his katana and attacked Heart Taker who barely deflected the blow but still took a serious hit in the process. "I'm fine." He replied rubbing the back of his head as he briefly remembered the awful illusions.
"No! Don't hurt her!" he'd screamed as Heart Taker grabbed the pink haired ninja by the throat and slammed her up against the wall.
"Why do you care? She doesn't belong to you." Heart Taker replied as his hand rubbed over the medic's body slipping under her shirt. Sakura whimpered at the action and turned her face away even as the blond man laid his lips on her neck.
"Bastard!" Kiba growled. "I don't care about that! Let her go!"
"All you have to do is die and her suffering will be over." Heart Taker said as he took a kunai from the pouch on his waist and slipped it up slicing away the girl's shirt. Cutting both fabric and flesh as we went. Crimson blood running down her body and staining the ground red.
"Please! Stop!" Kiba begged as Sakura cried out in protest tears streaming down her cheeks. "Sakura!"
Thankfully the medic had pushed her own chakra into his body then and broken the awful jutsu but he was sure the images would haunt him forever. He shook his head willing the images to disappear and focused on the real Sakura in front of him.
"Sasuke cares." She replied as she pulled the blade the rest of the way free with a grunt of pain and pressed her hand against the spot leaning her head back against the wall. "I know it doesn't look like it, but he's purposely dragging this out so I have time to heal myself and he knows you're here to look after me."
Kiba frowned. "Why not use your seal?" he asked. "Wouldn't it be faster that way?"
She nodded. "It would but releasing that seal speeds up cellular division by an astounding rate."
"What does that mean exactly?" he asked.
Sakura sighed as she finished up and stood. "It means releasing the seal shortens my lifespan." She replied.
The dog trainer's eyes widened. "I had no idea." He murmured. "Why put yourself at risk like that?"
She shrugged. "I knew the risks when I first started accumulating chakra six years ago." She said pulling her gloves on. "Now let's finish this!"
Kiba smirked in response. "Right! Akamaru!" he called out. The dog joined him at his side. "Let's do this!" he exclaimed. "Man beast clone!" he exclaimed. He and Akamaru got into formation and stared down their opponent. "Fang over fang!" he exclaimed. He and his partner slammed into Heart Taker smashing him to the ground. The pair quickly leapt out of the crater as the pink haired medic prepared to attack.
Sakura leapt in after him her fist blazing. "Cha!" she cried out as she slammed her fist into his stomach. "Hurts doesn't it? You bastard!" she hissed as blood burst from his mouth. She leapt backwards out of the crater as Sasuke leapt in and hovered over the man his hand electrified.
He slammed his chidori through the man's chest and leaned down to whisper in his ear. "You were a fool to mistake my apparent calm for indifference." He pulled his hand from the man's chest and left the crater. We quickly walked over to Sakura's side. "Are you alright?" he asked. "You didn't release the seal did you?"
"No I didn't. I'm fine." She said with an easy smile. "I just won't be doing any sit ups for a week or two."
"We should get going." Kiba said. "The others might need our help."
"Who's still engaged in battle?" Sasuke asked over his radio as he, Sakura, and Kiba took to the rooftops.
"I think it's just Gaara and his team if you guys are finished." Shikamaru replied. "I've got Naruto and Chouji with me. Hinata, Temari and Shino are behind us. Temari took a pretty serious hit so they're pretty slow."
"How serious?" Sakura replied.
"Ino healed her so she's out of the woods. She could use a little more TLC though." Chouji replied.
"Alright. I'll take a look at her when we regroup." The pink haired medic replied.
"Says the girl who just took a kunai to the gut." Kiba muttered shaking his head a little smile on his lips.
"Curse you!" Soul Stealer growled as Gaara's sand continued to bury him.
"The others are finished." Onchou said. "It seems Temari still needs some medical attention though."
"All the more reason to end this quickly." Gaara replied.
Soul Stealer's eyes widened and he yelled as he released a blast of pure chakra blasting away a large portion of the sand. He raised his scythe to strike the sand wielder. Onchou moved putting herself between the two and slipped her foot under the handle of his scytch and kicked as hard as she could. It slipped out of his hands and his eyes widened even as he slammed into a wall of sand created by Gaara's ultimate defense. He bounced back onto the ground and gasped as he found his own weapon at his throat.
"What? How?" He gasped.
"Weren't you the one that taught me the most humiliating thing for an enemy to experience is defeat by his own weapon Sensei?" she asked as the blade bit into the flesh of his neck.
Soul Stealer blinked and then chuckled. "You're right. Well done my student." He said before he released the tension in his body and allowed himself to fall on his own blade.
Onchou's eyes widened in response and she staggered away. "What the Hell was that!?" she demanded her hands trembling. "Why would he do that?!"
"He wanted to die by your hands." Tamiki replied walking up to her.
"Why?" she whimpered.
"I don't know." He admitted touching her on the shoulder. "Regardless, it's over now."
"We should meet up with the others." Gaara said moving forward. "We've defeated Soul Stealer." He said into his radio.
"Well that makes everyone." Naruto replied. "The places is still crawling with Dolls but I'm sure we'll be able to find a safe place to meet."
"Where we are is pretty clear." Tamiki said. "We can just regroup here."
"Good idea. We're nearly there anyway." Naruto replied.
"How do you know that?" Gaara asked.
"I'm still in sage mode." The Uzamaki replied.
"Another skill I have not mastered." The sand wielder replied.
Onchou shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Given the range and size of your jutsu, I don't think it's a necessity for you." She said with a smile. A thought suddenly came to her. "Gaara, do you have a summons?" she asked.
He glanced at her and shook his head. "I do not." He replied.
She blinked in surprise. "That's a surprise." She admitted. "Have you ever wanted one?"
"It never really crossed my mind." He admitted.
The violet haired girl touched her hand to her chin. "I wonder what animal would be best for you?" she wondered aloud.
"What are you talking about?" Naruto asked as he dropped down beside the group.
"I was just wondering what type of animal would be Gaara's summons if he had one." Onchou replied. "I'm a beast tamer so it's just one of those things I think about that others probably don't." she said.
Naruto thought for a moment and then snickered. "I've got it! How about a giant raccoon? Those suckers can be pretty vicious with the right motivation."
Kankuro and TenTen snorted while Sakura concealed her giggles behind her hand. Gaara's dark ringed eye twitched as Temari and Onchou meet one another's gaze and grinned.
"No way. I think a scorpion or a gila monster would suit him better." Kiba said as he leaned against Akamaru. "It would totally suit him."
Gaara sighed as Sakura moved to heal Temari's back. "I wouldn't say all animals suit their master's looks or temperaments." TenTen argued as Hinata began to work on her wounds. "I mean look at Sakura. Slugs? Although there are some summons that hit the nail on the head." She mused touching her chin. Sasuke cocked an eyebrow at the weapon wielding girl his gaze cold as ice. TenTen noticed and shivered a little.
"So what's your summons?" Tamiki asked Onchou. "Is it a big cat like your mother's?"
The violet haired girl blinked in surprise and then chuckled nervously. "No, actually. I wish it was though. Yukki was beautiful." She murmured thinking of her mother's beloved Black Panther.
"Then what is it?" Chouji asked.
"You probably wouldn't believe you even if I told you." She replied.
"Come on!" TenTen urged. "What can be more unbelievable than Naruto's giant toads?"
The amethyst eyed girl chuckled and then sighed. "Fine, I'll tell you. My summons is actually-" her eyes suddenly widened and the color drained from her face. "No… why is he here." She whimpered. "Why couldn't I hear him sooner?"
"269's summons is easily one of the fiercest creatures to ever enter this world." A silky smooth voice said from behind the group. "A creature thought only to exist in stories. A winged dragon."
"It's him." Sasuke said straightening from where he had been leaning against a wall. "Takuma."
The Shinobi immediately shifted to form a loose semicircle with Gaara, Sasuke, Naruto, Tamiki, and Sakura in the front while the rest hung back with Onchou nestled protectively in the middle.
The blond haired, blue eyed scientist grinned at the group of shinobi. He wore loose fitting black pants with bandages wrapped around his lower calves. A grey belted tunic covered his top half with a sleeveless red coat over the top of that. He was a little taller than average with a slight build and his hands rested in the pockets of his coat as he surveyed the ninja in front of him before his eyes fell on Onchou.
"What a good girl you are coming to me on your own like this." He murmured. "It saves me the trouble of having to send my forces in to destroy that wretched Village Hidden in the Sand. Though I wish you hadn't killed off my five top generals in the process." He admitted looking at the body of Soul Stealer. "No matter. There's always more where those came from."
Naruto's eyes narrowed. "Sick bastard." He hissed. "He doesn't give a damn about human life."
Takuma shrugged. "Generally speaking that's correct except for when it comes to this girl. She's worth more than the average bag of flesh and bones I usually deal with so I'd appreciate it if you'd return her to me."
"Like Hell we will!" Naruto growled. "She's staying with us!"
The blond haired scientist sighed. "So troublesome." He muttered. "I'm just taking back what belongs to me." He replied he slashed his finger through the air and a blade of wind chakra tore the sleeve from her arm revealing the number 269 branded on her arm. "See?"
"That mark means nothing." Gaara replied. "Onchou is free to do as she pleases."
Takuma glanced at the Kazekage and his eyes narrowed. "Gaara of the Desert I presume?" he said softly. "The fifth Kazakage and youngest son of the fourth. The former host of the one-tail's."
"Why do you know so much about Gaara?" Kankuro asked his brow furrowing slightly.
"I make it a point to learn everything I can about the people in this world I hate most." Takuma replied glaring at the red head. "I hate your father with a passion you cannot even fathom Kankuro, eldest son of Rasa." He clenched his fist. "It was his damn interference that ruined everything!" he growled. His eyes flashed dangerously as his eyes found Onchou's. "If you do not come to my side at once I will kill every person here." He threatened his chakra flaring his fingers twitching dangerously. "Do I make myself clear?!"
The violet haired girl trembled and began to take a step forward. "Don't listen to him." Sakura said glancing back at her. "We won't let him take you."
"Very well then." Takuma said. "I'll take you back by force!" he yelled slamming his fist into the ground. The earth bucked and swayed beneath his fist feet tossing several member of the group back blinding the rest with sand.
Saskue activated his advanced eyesight and spotted Sakura flying through the air. He leapt and caught her easily and landed on the ground. "Thanks." She said as she landed. "This guy is going to be a pain to beat." She muttered.
The Uchiha nodded. "His chakra levels are pretty substantial." He admitted.
Takuma formed more hand signs and a group of shadow clones materialized around him accompanied by a group of Dolls. "Bring her to me!" he demanded.
The clones and Dolls nodded and charged towards Onchou who blinked struggling to move out of fear.
"Oh Hell no!" Temari hissed slashing her fan across the air as Shikamaru impaled other clones with his shadows.
"You're not taking her anywhere!" TenTen yelled unleashing a wave of shuriken.
"Severe Leaf Hurricane!" Lee exclaimed slamming his feet into another clone reducing it to smoke.
Kankuro maneuvered his puppet forward taking on several clones destroying them quickly.
Sasuke drew his katana as Sakura pulled on her gloves again. "So troublesome." He muttered.
"Watch it. We used to say the same thing about you." Sakura replied with an affectionate shove before she slammed her fist into a Doll.
Tamiki and Gaara stayed close to Onchou as the Dolls and clones approached. The older shinobi moved first slashing through his opponents with ease a dark look on his face.
"I recognize you from somewhere." Takuma said softly. "Who are you?"
"I'm Tamiki Buki." The man replied.
Takuma's eyes widened briefly before he began to laugh. "The scum from Suna who tainted my precious Aria all those years ago. She cried out for you to save her when I killed her you know. Too bad you were busy running errands for your precious Kazekage."
"Shut your mouth!" Tamiki hissed slashing his swords through the air lightning flying from his blades.
"So that's where she gets it from. I was wondering why she had such a natural talent for lightning when her mother was a wind chakra user." Takuma mused touching his chin. "Well, no matter." He formed signs and slashed his arm through the air. Onchou gasped in surprise as he aimed a series of air blades at the group. Gaara moved to stand protectively in front of her as his sand defense activated shielding both of them from harm as Tamiki slashed through the ones near him.
"Why are you protecting her?" Takuma demanded. "That girl is nothing more than a weapon in human form. Sure she's a pretty looking one, but still just a weapon. Do you want to keep her in the Sand now that the Leaf is the only village left with the power of tailed beasts in this world? Or do you intend to share her? You'll use her to take over the world like I intend to won't you?"
"Shut up already!" Naruto exclaimed as he destroyed a Doll with a rasengan. "She's our friend! That's all the reason we need!"
Takuma studied the girl who moved closer to the Kazekage her hands reaching out tentatively towards his back. The sand wielder seemed to sense her proximity and shifted back slightly so that she was touching him.
"Don't worry. I will protect you." He assured her quietly.
She nodded and laid her head against his back and the mad scientist in front of them glared at the scene his hands clenching and unclenching.
"Damn you!" he hissed. "You'll pay for this." He growled. "That girl belongs to me!"
His hands formed signs and he pressed his hands forward. "Water Style! Black Dragon Jutsu!" he exclaimed.
"Oh no!" Onchou exclaimed as the dragon whipped towards them even as Tamiki pulled her back. "Gaara! Get away!" she screamed.
"He'll be fine. It'll take more water than that to kill him." Naruto assured him.
"No! You don't understand!" she yelled. "Didn't you hear what he said?!" her eyes widened as the water hit the Kazekage wetting the sand that surrounded him. "Don't let it touch you! Gaara!" she screamed.
The sand wielder's eyes widened and he shuddered his body jerking as his muscles clenched and unclenched sporadically as they tried to adjust to the increased flow of chakra. His finger nails elongated turning becoming black claws and the red vanished from his hair becoming stark white instead.
"What's happening to him!?" Kankuro demanded. "Gaara!"
"Damn it!" Onchou snarled. "That wasn't ordinary water. It was laced with black water. His sand is part of him and infused with his chakra so it's entering his body." Her body trembled. "He already possesses so much chakra. The black water will kill him and he'll probably wipe out most of the village as well." She whimpered as the Kazekage coughed the skin of his face cracking as the chakra inside him raged out of control. He struggled to gain control of his body and lifted himself and his sand into the sky as the sand around them whipped out of control.
"What do we do?" Temari asked.
"The only one that's survived being poisoned by that is 269." Takuma said with a smirk. "He'll die. There's no way around it."
Onchou growled at him and extended her arm. Her fingers flexed and bright lightning shot from her hand and hit him square in the chest knocking him back several yards. She raked her hands through her hair. "There's got to be a way!" She muttered. Her eyes widened and she looked at Sakura. "Were you able to make the vaccine you were working on?" she asked.
The pink haired medic nodded and pulled a syringe from her pouch. "Yes but I'm not sure how effective it will be." She admitted. "It was only able to work on the blood samples I took from you after you released the excess chakra."
The violet haired girl nodded. "That'll be enough I think." She glanced up at the Gaara who was writhing in the air above them as he desperately tried to get control of his power. She took the syringe from her friend and closed her eyes focusing her chakra. Her ears shifted from black, to silver, and then to gold before she opened her eyes again. "Throw me." She said to the pink haired medic.
"You can't be serious." Sakura replied. "Even if you make it in there's no way you'll be able to survive the blast when that excess chakra is released. Just wait until he releases it and we'll inject him then."
"That won't work." Onchou replied. "His chakra network isn't as flexible as mine is. It'll be destroyed the moment it's released and he'll never be able to wield his power again if he even survives."
Kankuro and Temari's eyes widened. "No. That can't happen." Temari whimpered.
"Exactly! Just throw me!" she barked at the medic. "I think I can save him, so please!"
Sakura looked the girl in the eyes and was surprised at what she saw there. It was similar to what was in her own eyes short years ago when she'd made up her mind to try to kill Sasuke even if it meant she'd die in the process. There was no way the girl could be talked out of it now. With a sigh she nodded. "Ok. I'll do it."
"Thank you." Onchou said closing her eyes again as she focused her chakra pulling all of the lightning she could from her extremities focusing it in her core. "I'll save him, even if it kills me." She muttered under her breath through clenched teeth.
The pink haired medic smirked at her words as she grabbed the girl by her vest and belt and swung at the girl around twice before letting her go a battle cry falling from her lips as she did. She watched the girl fly through the air with the syringe in her hand. As she flew there was a sudden flash of light and she was gone even as Gaara's defense activated sealing them both inside the ball of sand.
"Did she make it!?" Naruto demanded walking up to the pink haired girl. Sakura nodded and kept her eyes trained on the ball even as sand swirled around them.
"Do you think she'll be able to save him?" Sasuke asked from her opposite side.
She nodded. "I do."
"How can you be sure?" Kankuro asked.
"She had the same look in her eyes I did not long ago." She replied. "She'll do everything in her power to save him even if that means dying in the process."
"How ridiculous is that?" Sasuke muttered. "If they both die, what's the point?"
"It doesn't matter." Sakura replied. "She'd made up her mind. There was nothing any of could've said that would've changed it. However I have faith she'll be able to pull it off."
Onchou breathed a sigh of relief as she found herself inside the ball of sand. "Thank goodness it worked." She murmured.
"What are you doing?" Gaara demanded as he shook curled up in a ball near her. "It's dangerous to be close to me right now. This water is bringing out a part of me I thought I'd defeated long ago." He hissed. "I just want to kill everything."
"That's black water for you." She muttered. "It brings out the homicidal tendencies in everyone."
"Stay back." He hissed. "I'll kill you."
"Good luck doing that in here." She said shifting towards him.
He launched forward wrapping his hands around her throat. "As you were saying?" he hissed as his hands tightened.
Onchou simply smiled and plunged the needle into his arm. He grunted and released her as the medicine went to work forcing the black water from his system.
"Gaara, listen to me." The violet haired girl said. "You need to focus all of that tainted chakra and release it at once. Can you do that?"
He nodded and wrapped his arms around himself cracks appearing on the skin of his hands as he focused. A cry tore from his throat as a blast of chakra flew from his body creating a hole in the ball for a brief moment before it was covered up again. He slumped unconscious against the wall and the ball began to crumble. The color returned to his hair and his hands returned to normal as his breathing became ragged.
The violet haired girl scrambled forward her heart skipping a beat when she realized his chakra was nearly gone, his heart rate slowing as the cracks in his skin deepened. "Oh no you don't!" she hissed her hands glowing green. "Don't you dare die on me!" Her eyes widened as she found his body unable to accept her healing. "No! No!" she exclaimed. "Not again!" she wracked her brain for a solution and looked down at him as her only option came to mind as the sand continued to crumble around them. She took a deep breath and pulled his limp body into her arms. "Forgive me Gaara." She said softly. "You can hate me if you want after this. I don't care, as long as you're alive." Her eyes closed and she laid her forehead on his as they began to plummet towards the ground.
"With this sacred jutsu passed down from the divine, I tightly bind your soul to mine." She murmured. "What's mine is yours and what's your is mine. Power, strength, light and life. Linked forever your soul and mine. Soul Link Jutsu!" Her grip on him tightened as the jutsu took effect surrounding them both in a silver glow and her chakra poured into his body with ease repairing the damage left by the vile poison dragging him back from the brink of death. 'It is done.' She thought to herself as she felt the sensation she'd only felt once before overcoming her. 'What happens after this is up to him. He'll live and that's all that matters.' And with that she fell into a world that wasn't her own. The world of Gaara's past.
%*%
Sakura watched helplessly as a blast of yellow and red energy burst from the ball of sand, rose into the air and exploded.
"What the hell was that?" Kankuro demanded anxiously.
"He released the excess chakra created by the Black Water." Sakura replied a little sigh escaping her lips. "That means the vaccine worked."
"Yeah, but did he survive the purge?" Sasuke murmured. He frowned as chunks of sand began to fall from the sky. "That's not a good sign." He said focusing on the two chakra signatures. "He's fading."
"Are you serious!?" Temari gasped. "No. Gaara!" she cried out. "What do we do?"
"Hope and pray that Onchou has a miracle stuffed up her sleeves." Shikamaru said placing his hand on Temari's shoulder.
The ball plummeted from the sky and the shinobi below held their breath.
"Hinata! Tell us what's going on up there." Naruto exclaimed gritting his teeth.
"Right!" she replied activating her eye power. "I'm not sure what's going on." She admitted. "It looks like Onchou is just holding him. Give me a second." She focused further and Gaara's chakra network became clear to her while Onchou's stayed clouded except for the one point in her forehead. "Something is distorting my vision so I can't say for sure but it looks like she's pouring her own chakra into his body. It's happening at a rate that I've never seen before. She's not using healing jutsu though."
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.
"Healing jutsu is limited as you know." Hinata replied. "It can't repair a person's chakra network."
The pink haired medic nodded. "Yes. When it's damaged there's nothing we can do. It's up to that person's own strength to put their chakra network back together."
The blue haired girl nodded. "Exactly. Gaara's network has been heavily damaged but somehow she's repairing it."
"How is that possible?" Sasuke murmured.
"I don't know but I'm pretty sure she's not going to be able to keep doing that and save them from hitting the ground at the same time." Naruto said as he formed hand signs, bit his thumb and slammed his hand to the ground. "Summoning jutsu!" he exclaimed.
A giant yellow toad with orange markings around the eyes and mouth appeared. "Hello Naruto!" Gamatasu croaked. "How can I help you?"
"Help me catch them!" Naruto exclaimed jumping onto the toad's head.
"Right." He replied leaping towards the pair that were hurling towards the ground at breakneck speed. They landed on the massive toad's head who grunted a little at the impact. "That hurt." He muttered.
"Sorry about that." Naruto replied. "I'll make it up to you later." He said shifting to kneel beside his fallen friends. He pressed his fingers against Gaara's throat, wrinkling his nose a little as his skin cracked at the motion breathing a sigh of relief when he felt a steady pulse under his fingertips. He then repeated the motion with Onchou and sighed again as he felt her heartbeat though it was a little weaker than the Kazekage's. He shook his head at the pair and his gaze fell on Gaara. "And you call me a reckless idiot." He muttered. "What the hell would you call what you just did huh?" He yelped as a series of wind blades hurled at him and scrambled do the edge of Gamatasu's head glancing down to see who his assailant was. His eyes widened as he saw Temari glaring at him while Shikamaru held her back and Kankuro tried to wrestle her fan away from her. He cringed and waved down to her and cupped his hands around his mouth. "They're both alive!" he called down to them. "But I think they're going to be out of it for a while!"
"Just use your radio stupid Naruto." Sakura's voice came in his ear.
"Oh. Right." He muttered touching the mic. "They're both alive but I think they're going to be out of it for a while. Sakura, Ino, or Hinata should probably take a look at them too. We need to get out of Heiwa so they can recover somewhere safer."
"Good call." Shikamaru said. "We'll send Hinata with you. The toad of yours can clear that hellish stretch of desert in a single leap can't he?"
"Probably." He replied as Hinata leaped from a nearby rooftop to stand by his side. "Even if he can't, he'll just eat the bugs that pop out of the sand."
"Ok then. Head to that oasis we passed on our way here yesterday." Shikamaru instructed. "We'll chakra board back over as fast as we can."
"Sounds like a plan. What about that Takuma guy though?" he asked.
"He slipped away during all the commotion but we know his whereabouts and what he's planning. That was the point of this mission. It's been completed now so we'll head back to Suna and work on a counter attack there." He replied.
"Ok. We'll meet you at the Oasis." He said before he spoke to the giant toad. "I need you to jump from here to that tower." He said motioning the north tower. "Can you make it?"
"Of course Naruto!" Gamatasu exclaimed. "Will you get me snacks later?" he asked.
"Yes!" Naruto replied.
"Ok then!" the toad said crouching slightly.
"Help hold her down." Naruto said as he knelt down locking his arm across Gaara's body. "He's not as smooth of a jumper as Gamakichi."
"Right." Hinata said putting her arm across Onchou's waist.
The toad leapt across the desert and landed just on the other side of the north tower. "I did it!" the toad exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Yes you did." The Uzamaki replied with a smile. "Well done. Can you take us to that Oasis in the distance?"
"Sure Naruto but you better be ready to give me a whole heap of snacks for this." He replied.
"You can have two heaps." Naruto replied. "Just help me get my friends somewhere safe."
$%$
Sakura stepped onto her chakra board and glided side by side with Sasuke across the desert her brow furrowed in concentration. She couldn't imagine what kind of power or jutsu would allow Onchou to heal Gaara's chakra network but the medical part of her mind was desperate to get her hands on it.
"Is everything alright?" Sasuke asked after a few moments of silence.
She blinked in surprise and nodded. "Yeah. I'm just thinking." She replied.
"About what?" he asked.
"A lot of things." She replied.
He sighed. "Why did you throw her?" he asked after a few minutes.
Sakura smiled. "She had that look in her eye." She replied.
"What look?" Sasuke asked.
"It was the same look I had when I went after you intent on killing you." She replied. "Everyone told me to stop that I'd just end up regretting it or being killed in the process but I went anyway. Nothing anyone said was going to stop me. I even lied to Naruto to try to keep him from following me." She said glancing forward as she caught a glimpse of the blond ninja atop his giant summons. "I didn't care what happened to me. Even if I died it was ok as long as I was able to save you."
The Uchiha blinked in surprise and bowed his head slightly. "I seriously need to thank that blond idiot again." He muttered. "The person I was on that bridge…." He balled his hand into a fist. "He disgusts me. So drunk on power he couldn't even see how insane he was."
The pink haired medic smiled sadly at him. "Being manipulated by Madara will do that to a person." She replied. "Donzo was a creep too. I know he had the village's wellbeing at heart but still, going that far is just not acceptable."
Sasuke nodded. "That's true. I've noticed it in many of the lands I've traveled to. The ninja world is at a turning point. With leaders like Gaara and Kakashi who are not only open to forming alliances and sharing information but actually encouraging it, the elders in villages all over are defensive. They've been stuck in the world of secrets and isolation for so long they'll reluctant to let go and pass the torch to the next generation."
Sakura nodded. "It's true. When we came here to save Gaara years ago, the council of Elders in Suna refused to send teams to retrieve him. All they did was sent out stupid patrols to watch the boarders for an attack that never came. They didn't give a damn about their Kazekage who had been captured defending them as long as they had their own power."
"So you don't like them either?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Old vultures like them and Donzo who cling to power with an iron grip tick me off. In this world every single life is important. I mean if those of us in the leaf had given up on you and killed you at the first opportunity instead of trying to save you, the world would've ended."
He blinked and then shook his head. "You make it seem like I'm some sort of hero when I'm part of the reason the world ended up in such a dangerous predicament in the first place."
"You are a hero Sasuke." She replied with a smile. "In fact you're one of the best kind. The kind that gives people hope."
"Are you delusional?" he asked. "I nearly destroyed the world!"
"But you saved it." She replied with a smile. "I know it doesn't seem like it right now, but soon that's all people will remember. You'll be the story that grandmother's tell their sons and daughters when their teenagers go through the rebellious faze." She said with a wink.
He rolled his eyes. "Well, I did take the angsty rebellious phase to a whole new level." He admitted.
"Yup, and Naruto was the most annoying little twerp as a child. You're really a perfect match for one another." She said.
The Uchiha frowned. "Don't say stuff like that."
"Why not?" she asked. "It's true."
"It just sounds really creepy." He muttered.
Sakura laughed. "You want to talk about creepy? Did you ever hear about what happened to Kakashi after that mission to save Gaara?"
Sasuke shook his head. "I don't think so." He replied.
She smiled. "Well, he overused his sharingan while fighting Deidera and could barely walk." She explained. "Guy Sensei was helping him across the desert and TenTen was complaining about how slow they were going and you know how Guy Sensei is about stuff like that."
The Uchiha nodded and smirked. "I bet it was driving him crazy." He replied.
She snickered. "Exactly. He got so sick of it that without warning he eventually decided to carry Kakashi piggyback style."
Sasuke's jaw dropped as he imagined the scene. "No way!" he gasped. "That's just… wrong."
Sakura nodded. "You have no idea! It was so creepy! And then you know, Lee wanted to do it too so he tried to get Neji to climb on his back."
The Uchiha snorted. "Let me guess. Neji refused."
She nodded. "I believe his exact words were. 'Oh hell no!'" she said giggling at the disgusted expression on the now deceased shinobi's face at the request. "Guy literally ran with Kakashi on his back the entire way back to the village. Poor Kakashi was half dead by the time they made it back."
Sasuke grinned. "I wish I could've seen that." He admitted his face falling a little.
Sakura smiled and reached out to grab his hand. "If you spend more time with people and less time alone, things like that are bound to happen. Just don't be such a loaner." She replied. Squeezing his hand.
He nodded. "Right. I'll be sure to work on that."
They arrived at the Oasis and quickly set up a tent before moving the two fallen shinobi in to it. Sakura knelt beside the Kazekage her hand glowing green and went to work healing his physical injuries as best she could as Hinata worked on Onchou.
"Incredible." Sakura breathed.
"What is it?" Temari demanded kneeling down beside her fallen brother.
"His chakra network. It's being healed as we speak." She said glancing at Onchou. "Somehow she's repairing his network without even touching him but I can feel her chakra entering his body." She shook her head in awe and then glanced at Onchou. "How is she doing?" she asked her blue haired companion.
The lavender eyed girl sighed. "It's hard to say." She admitted. "From what I can tell, her chakra is very low and still depleting."
"Idiot!" Sakura hissed. "She's going to hurt herself if she gives him anymore."
"Like you're one to talk." Naruto said walking into the tent with Sasuke. "I remember a time not so long ago when you poured your chakra into me for three days straight."
She wrinkled her nose and blushed. "Quiet you." She muttered. "You got your girl back because of it right?"
"Exactly, so stop worrying. I'm sure she knows what she's doing." Naruto replied.
"How long do you think they're going to be out?" Kankuro asked.
"I don't know." Sakura admitted. She moved over to Onchou her hands glowing as she worked to analyze her condition a little frown touching her lips. "To be honest, I don't know why they haven't regained consciousness already." She moved her hand up to the girl's forehead and her frown deepened. "There aren't any brain injuries but her neurons are firing at an incredible rate." She moved her hand over to Gaara's forehead and her jaw clenched. "His are the same."
"What does that mean?" Temari asked.
Sakura touched her chin. "I'd say they're just having really vivid dreams but that's no quite right. Almost like a dream infused with chakra?"
"Genjutsu maybe?" Sasuke offered.
The pink haired medic shook her head. "If that were the case then it would've been broken when we started healing them. I really don't know." She looked down at them her eyes widening as a tear slipped down Onchou's cheek and Gaara's hand twitched balling into a fist. "We'll just have to wait and see."
&!&
P.S. Ok. This concludes the first contact with Takuma. The next chapter is an optional chapter that deals with the jutsu cast on Gaara and both of their pasts. If you don't want to read it, then don't. It's just an optional scene that focuses on those two with no SasukexSakura moments. It's written mostly to explain in depth Onchou's past and her connection with Gaara. Anyway thanks for the support.