Woo, thank you all for all of the reviews! You guys are the greatest, and here is chapter 31!

Chapter 31

"I want you guys to teleport straight back to Konoha." Kakashi ordered, unrolling the teleportation scroll that he had taken out of his kunai pouch. He had to be careful about keeping it in there in case it was damaged, but too many close calls in ANBU had taught him that it was best to keep it on him at all times. "I am going to go with Yamato and Sai to the main base. Tell Tsunade that she can expect us back in five days. The other teams do not appear to be badly injured, so they can follow you at their usual pace. See you next week." Kakashi crinkled his eyes in a smile.

And then he poofed off again, leaving the group before they could protest, with several scared women, an unconscious Sakura, a teleportation scroll and an extremely hostile hostage.

"Well, I suppose we should do as he says." Ino murmured doubtfully.

"Yeah," Sasuke put in. "We should just be thankful that Sakura is still out of it. She is going to be pissed as hell when she finds out."

"Yeah!" Naruto grinned at the sleeping kunoichi. "And Sakura-chan can kick Kakashi-Sensei's ass!"

"So we might wanna get back before she wakes up." Ino finished, pushing them all to touch the scroll. "I'll take Sakura, so one of you is going to have to hold on to the disgusting slug."

Everyone turned and looked towards Sasuke. "Hn."

Nevertheless, he still wraped a long pale hand firmly around the man's arm, and reached out to touch the scroll with the other.

"Eww..." Naruto laughed. "You're touching him!"

"You forget that I'm also going to touch you."

Hinata and Ino shared a look and Ino rolled her eyes. "Everyone ready?"

The tiny letters that covered the scroll lit up blue as Ino's chakra seeped in, finding themselves in Konoha hospital seconds after the last character lit.

888

She wouldn't allow visitors yet. The nurses could keep asking, but their persistence wouldn't change her mind; they were insane. She wouldn't speak, she didn't want to see them.

They couldn't help her.

The only person that she had ever trusted to had turned his back and now she didn't have the same energy to. He knew how hurt she was, he should have guessed the effect that it would have on her but, she realised with a start, she had never told him everything. Even without that knowledge he still should have stayed. She'd needed him.

So had the others.

Yamato and Sai would have been enough. They're ANBU.

It's wrong to put yourself before others.

Put others before yourself and look where it gets you. Used and broken and trapped in a hospital bed. How appealing.

Sakura sighed in frustration and glanced again at the clock, the only real passtime in here being to watch the time go. Nothing else held any real interest to her. She just couldn't see the point. Why would she want to watch petty love and hate stories in trash soap operas? Why would she want to read one of the boks that Ino had brought in? They were just so far from the truth. It was so difficult to force herself to believe. She hated it all.

Other things too were littered in rubbish that not even the most naive child could find faith in. She never had. The world in general was a pathetic place covered in pretty lies about healers and lovers and heroes. Particularly for ninja, who knew better but would rather believe otherwise. Civilians had it so much better.

Really, she thought as she closed her eyes and willed herself back to sleep they did.

888

He was absolutely shattered. He hadn't slept in days and he had pushed himself (as well as Yamato and Sai) to full speed so that he could get back here as quickly as phyically possible, hoping that he would be back in time for Sakura to wake. He could have kicked himself for forgetting that medics usually came to a lot quicker than the rest of the sodding world. Definitely a lot quicker than those class A assholes.

They would never wake up at all.

Sakura appeared to be out of it when Kakashi peeked his head in to see, but her chakra told him otherwise. As even as her breaths were and as still and serene her face, her chakra was erratic, and he knew from experience that Sakura did not sleep that peacefully. She wasn't snoring, screaming or hitting anyone, nor using anything that is not a teddy as a teddy, therefore she was not asleep. That was how things were in the land of Sakura.

"Sakura..." He called softly, and pushed past the curtains, pulling them shut behind him again and went to sit beside her. "I'm sorry Sakura, I thought I'd be back before you woke. I took care of them for you." He ran his eyes over her, lingering on the hand closest to him and instinctively covered it with his own. "We don't have to talk until you want to Sakura. I'm here for you."

He didn't get a reply, but a smile graced his lips when her hand curled tightly around his own.

A/N - yay! This update is mostly to tell you all that I have my laptop back, so expect updates! There really isn't much left of this fic, so I can see it being finished in the near future :'( I still have Taboo though, and while I am mainly focused on this, Taboo should be updated really soon. I am also working on a few one-shots, two of them being Kakasaku.

Also, if you wish to know what I am doing, I am watching Iron Man. Robert Downey Jr is hot.

Thank you thank you thank you to: jen, Little-bad-Angel, Mina Luriya, sunshinestar16, Laurie and Temarilyn for reviewing. You are all wonderful and I would like to thank you for your support. *hugs*

Next chapter should be up very soon,

Kashi-Cookie-Monster

xxx