All rights to Naruto belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
Sakura was currently being carried on Lee's back as both Team Seven and Team Nine made their way blindly through the forest, trying to navigate themselves towards their final destination.
From what Sasuke had told her, although the Sound shinobi had given up their scroll in the battle, it was another Heaven Scroll, which meant that they still had to keep searching. Team Nine had already acquired the two scrolls beforehand and happened to stumble upon her team as the fight was taking place.
Sasuke refused to tell her anything about what had happened after she had blacked out. Hell, he refused to even look at her. He just kept rubbing that spot on the back of his neck where there were some strange tomoe-like symbols, and if Sakura's eyes were not playing tricks on her, there were a couple of instances where she saw him grinning to himself.
Talk about odd.
She had offered to walk herself, but after Neji had given his "definitive diagnosis" that her foot was severely fractured, Lee had taken it upon himself to carry her. She felt absolutely awful about it since he had already done so much for her. Naruto offered to take her in his stead, but Lee promptly refused, arguing that Naruto was also fatigued and that he himself still had a lot of energy left. However, Lee seemed to be strangely bothered about something; something Sakura could not put her finger on.
"Lee, I'm serious. I can walk." Sakura pleaded, but Lee just shook his head.
"I do wish that you would stop saying that." She heard a condescending voice say from in front of them. "It's obvious that he isn't going to put you down, and I have already told you that your foot is fractured. You would only slow us down if we let you walk, so just be quiet and stop being so tenacious." Neji said as he narrowed his eyes at her before turning around and continuing on his way.
Sakura raised her eyebrow. "He's acting like more of an asshole than usual." She commented, mostly to herself. He had always used that kind of tone with her, but she could not help but feel that there was a certain edge to it. She was not too sure if it was because of her or some other factor.
She did not forget how he had helped her in the forest before, and she was more than grateful that he was there. However, it seemed as though he wanted to keep his small act of kindness a secret, as if to avoid hinting to the others that he had any interaction with her.
Sakura scoffed internally. As if I want it any differently. She thought with a hint of agitation.
"Don't take it too personally." Tenten said as she sweatdropped. "He's been acting like this ever since that fight finished. I can imagine why." Tenten said as she looked at the ground, contemplating about something. Lee quickly looked towards her and gave her a quick shake of the head. However, since Sakura was on his back, she was unable to make out his expression.
"What? What do you mean?" Sakura pressed further. The brown-haired girl glanced towards her, back to Lee, and then to her again, before rubbing the back of her head and laughing nervously.
"Nothing really, just something we saw on the way here." Before Sakura had time to question her any further, Tenten had run off to join Neji at the front of the group.
"Lee…" Sakura started suspiciously. She felt Lee's muscles tense as she continued, "is there something that you're not telling me?" She asked. She heard Lee sigh, and knew that it was something that the rest of the group had tacitly agreed not to tell her.
Lee had fallen to the back of the pack, not because he was slowing down, but he wanted as much room between himself and the others as possible. "There is something that happened while you were asleep. Sasuke-kun told us not to tell you." Lee said.
Sasuke said that? Sasuke usually wouldn't care whether I knew something or not… Sakura thought.
"Well, what was it?" She asked. Lee hesitated, as if he was trying to stall time enough for a distraction of some sort. Seeing that no one nor nothing was coming to his rescue, he decided to defy what the others had said before. Lee knew Sakura had the right to know what had happened with her teammate.
"I was not there the entire time, so I do not think that I can give you an accurate description of what had happened." Lee started. "I heard something happening while we were traveling through the forest, so I rushed towards it alone. When I got to the plain that you were on, I saw you passed out next to a large tree stump and…" Lee stumbled on his words, not exactly sure how to convey what he wanted to tell her. "I saw Sasuke-kun with these strange black markings all over his body and a strong purple aura surrounding him. I could just feel the surge of power that he was emitting. I had not been there to see the entire spectacle, but the one thing I could remember was how…Sasuke-kun broke that man's arms as if they were sticks. It was as if he was possessed."
Sakura's eyes widened at this. She had never imagined that Sasuke had that kind of power.
"He seemed as though he was going to kill everyone in sight, so I immediately jumped down to shield you from him, despite the fact that you were already unconscious. When he looked at me, I saw that his eyes had turned a blood-red color, which I am guessing is the Uchiha dōjutsu that has been historically prized in Konoha. He walked towards me slowly, and I thought that he was about to attack me. However, he happened to walk past me and to the shinobi that had fallen on the ground in front of the tree; the one with bandages around his face." Lee said, remembering what had happened.
-Flashback-
Sasuke kicked Dosu over so that he was flat on his back before kneeling down beside him. Dosu had regained a bit of consciousness, but he refused to remove his hand from his eyes. Blood still poured out of his sockets as he made a feeble attempt to stop its flow.
"Hn. You've lost. All of your teammates have fallen." Sasuke said condescendingly. "Give us your scroll, and I'll let you all live." Dosu shook his head vehemently as he reached a shaky hand into his ninja pouch and uncovered a Heaven Scroll, the scroll that they already had. Sasuke grunted in disappointment. "Not that any of you are particularly alive right now." Sasuke finished as he turned away from the incapacitated body.
Lee was busy wrapping Sakura's shoulder, but he was more than aware of the looming presence next to him. Its gravity was so exceptional that it sent goosebumps up Lee's arms. However, he had no time to shirk away from the situation. Not when his student needed him. If Sasuke wanted to fight, then he would give him one. However, he would never lay a hand on Sakura if he had anything to say about it.
That was when Lee heard a pained yell erupt from Sasuke, making him snap his head up. Sasuke was on his knees, his dark aura diminished. He clutched his neck and screamed in agony as the strange black marks receded from his face and arms. His eyes turned back to their normal color as well.
After the metamorphosis was done, Sasuke laid on the forest ground, panting and dripping with sweat. He slowly tried to rise, but found himself pushed back down by his own pain. Lee looked at him in shock, not knowing how to deal with the situation. He decided that he would focus on Sakura first since her blood loss would be fatal if he did not do something about it.
Neji and Tenten jumped onto the ground next to Lee, having seen the whole spectacle from the sanctuary of the trees. Neji's eyes trailed from Sakura to Sasuke, looking at the enigma with analytical eyes. Sasuke turned his fatigued body towards them, glaring at all three of them. Lee gripped Sakura tighter, recognizing Sasuke's look as the one that had ruthlessly taken out the Sound nin.
"She won't be told anything." He mandated as he tried to sit himself up. None of the members of Team Nine answered, but none of them had the mind to refuse.
-End of flashback-
"It was not long after that Naruto-kun woke up. He started to fuss about you since you were battered and your long hair had been cut." Sakura cringed a bit at that, remembering that her pink locks were probably all over the forest floor. "While Naruto-kun and I tended to you, Neji and Sasuke-kun had transported the bodies somewhere. I am not sure if they are still alive." Lee said gravely.
Sakura felt tears prick her eyes at the news. Of course, they had tried to kill her and the rest of her team, but did they really deserve to die? Was Sasuke so cruel that he would just leave them in the middle of the forest to bleed to death? It was her fault if Dosu and Kin died. She was the one that harmed them.
They tried to harm you. The dark voice from before. You did what you had to do to make sure that you'd live, stupid. It castigated.
Sakura's eyes widened, unbeknownst to her teacher. She silently had an internal conversation with herself. Who are you? She asked the voice. Unlike Inner, who she had somehow created a mental image of, this voice was completely formless, and as Sakura closed her eyes and tried to embody the voice, she just found herself looking at darkness.
That's too hard to explain. Just know that I'll be your new 'Inner' from now on. It said with a small, humorless laugh.
I'm so confused. Where is she? Where's Inner? She asked, feeling her internal voice tremble.
I am Inner.The voice replied. Inner was just your own manifestation of your thoughts, as am I.
No…you can't be. You're filled with bloodlust. I…I can't be like that. But in the end, could she not?
The new Inner snickered. Not quite. I was born from your fear, your primal instinct that makes you fight to survive. The other Inner was made up of your childhood emotions, ones that mean absolutely nothing in this world. Sakura was still so confused. She laid her head down on Lee's shoulder. He turned his neck to look at her but made no comment. Listen here, love. The ninja world is not going to be nice to you. You know this in the back of your mind, but you refuse to acknowledge it because of your 'morals'. I'm here to make sure that if someone is trying to kill you, you fight back, no matter how unethical it is.
I still can't believe it. I can't believe that you're me, after what you made me do!
She heard Inner exhale and exasperated sigh. Outer, I'm not going to be like that to everyone, obviously. You're not some serial murderer. But I want you to realize that if it wasn't for me, we might not have been having this conversation. It's time to grow up and acknowledge that, Sweetie.
"Sakura-chan?" Lee asked as he strained his eyes to look at her. Sakura broke out of her reverie at his voice and was able to flash him a small smile. She knew that Lee could tell that she was faking it, but he decided not to question her and ran to catch up with the others. Sakura could not be more grateful towards him.
Sakura laid her forehead once again on his shoulder. Everything just seemed to be so confusing, and as the pressures of the ninja life were truly becoming conspicuous to her, she felt the black hole inside her grow, tainting her mind with the horrors that the world held.
She had survived the battle, but her mental scar would be the true killer.
"I think we're almost out!"
"No we're not, stupid. We passed this tree stump ten minutes ago."
"What if this forest is full of tree stumps that look similar!?"
"Will you boys please stop yelling before you get us all ambushed!?" Sakura cried through Sasuke and Naruto's bickering. Team Nine looked back and forth between the two opposing sides and started to doubt their decision to team up with the crazy trio. Well, it was more like Tenten and Neji were doubtful, while Lee just commended them on their youthful banter.
"Neji, isn't there anything you can do?" Tenten asked her teammate. Neji closed his eyes and shook his head.
"I have already tried looking, but there is only so far that I can see, even with the Byakugan." He said. "We'll have to get closer to the target for it to work. However, I cannot keep it activated without draining my chakra." Neji explained.
Lee went over to a rock and sat Sakura down, kneeling beside her to check on her foot again. He was no doctor, but the blood he could see through the wrapped bandages was indication enough that she was still injured.
Neji looked over towards them, his eyes fixed on Sakura's foot. "If we do not finish this task soon, her foot will become infected and may need to be amputated." Neji concluded.
Well, thanks for trying to lighten the mood. Sakura thought to herself with a grimace. She heard Inner chastise her for not acknowledging the severity of the situation.
Sakura decided that this Inner was nowhere near as fun to talk to as the last one.
"We probably only have one or two days left of the exam. We have to figure out how to get out of here fast." Tenten said as she put her hand on her chin.
Sasuke grunted, bringing the attention towards him. "We should split up." He said simply.
"Hah!? How's that going to help all of us reach there?" Naruto cried out in confusion as Sasuke unconsciously rubbed his ear in annoyance.
"We shouldn't be working together anyway. Besides, we still haven't gotten the scroll we need." Sasuke said. He thought that the rest would agree with him, or at least Neji would since he seems to share the same sensibility he did. However, as he moved closer to Sakura to take her from the rock, Lee instinctively moved in front of her, effectively blocking his way. Sasuke raised an eyebrow in annoyance and narrowed his eyes at the boy, while Sakura's eyes widened in shock.
"I am sorry, but I do not trust you enough to take care of Sakura's safety after what I have seen." The lack of the "-chan" appellative conveyed his seriousness. Sasuke's eyes narrowed even further at him.
"You think I can't take care of her?" Sasuke asked indignantly. He tried not to display his rage on his face. He absolutely hated being told that he was incompetent.
"I truly believe that you are strong enough to protect her, but the question is whom she'll need protecting from." Lee said, his voice never losing its solemnity.
"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on here?" Naruto asked as he looked between the two boys and scratched his head. "And Sakura-chan's on our team, Centipede Brows!" He cried. However, his protests fell on deaf ears.
"Lee," Sakura said as she laid a hand on his shoulder, "it's fine. Don't worry about me." She said, flashing him a smile.
"But…Sakura-chan-" He started. However, Sakura cut him off by bringing her face closer to his ear.
"It's okay." She whispered. "I trust him."
Lee looked ambivalent, despite her reassurance. He looked to Neji for assistance, even though he knew what his rival's verdict would be. After all, he was not very fond of Sakura.
"I do not advise that she stay with us instead, since the exam rules clearly state that each individual has to succeed or fail with their squad. However, considering how worn out both the Uchiha and the loudmouth look and how incapacitated Haruno is, it would not be wise to leave their team alone." Neji said hesitantly as a dark look took over his face.
Sakura did not miss how the fist by his side clenched and shook as he said that. Both she and Lee looked up at him in shock, not recognizing that as normal behavior for the brown-haired boy. It was obvious that he was against the idea of their teams collaborating; he, like Sasuke, had a dominant mindset, after all. There had to be another reason for him to think that they should stay together, since he obviously believed that his team was capable of handling themselves.
Was he…trying to help her?
No, that could not be it. She could tell by how he regarded her that he still saw her as a weakling. Perhaps for some reason regarding his need to fight Sasuke.
"If I may interrupt," A voice said as a figure appeared out of the bushes. "perhaps I can lend some kind of assistance." Emerging from the underbrush was the person they had met at the beginning of the exam, the one that had given Sasuke and Sakura a wary feeling: Yakushi Kabuto.
Neji's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?" He asked coldly.
"It does not really concern you who I am. What matters is that I know Sasuke-kun and Sakura-chan." Kabuto said, his gaze shifting towards the two named individuals. "And you must be Naruto-kun." He directed towards the blonde.
"Believe it!" Naruto shouted in glee, happy that someone acknowledged him instead of just Sasuke all the time.
"What kind of assistance are you willing to offer?" Sasuke asked suspiciously. There was no way to be sure if he was trustworthy, and from the premonition that he had gotten before, there was a high chance that he was not.
"Well you see, I already have both of my scrolls." Kabuto said as he held them up. Naruto seemed to visibly deflate at this. "I was on my way to the tower when I had lost track of my teammates, and I ended up stumbling upon you. If you would like, I could point you in the direction of the tower. Hyuuga-san and his team can go ahead since they seem to be in full health, and I can stay behind with Sasuke-kun's team and help them locate a scroll as well as reach safely."
"Why should we do that? You have somewhere to be and we wouldn't want to slow you down." Sasuke said with a skeptical raise of his eyebrow.
"Please do not mistake me for a threat." Kabuto said as he fixed his glasses on his face. "I already have two scrolls, so it gives me no benefit to deceive you. Think of this as a part of our alliance. We are, after all, from the same village, so it is crucial that we work together." Kabuto finished with a smile.
Sasuke turned around to look at Sakura, silently asking her what she thought. When she shrugged her shoulders, he turned his gaze to Neji, who faced the ground with his eyes closed.
"I think we might as well take you up on that. It makes no sense for us to stay here when we already have the qualifications needed to finish this exam." Neji said. Lee looked like he wanted to protest, but Neji walked over to him and said lowly, "Put your team before anyone else, Lee." Lee turned towards Sakura, who gave him a smile and a nod of her head.
"Go." She mouthed quietly, patting him on the shoulder. Lee still remained skeptical of the decision, but he decided to abide by her wishes. He stood up and his team readied themselves for departure.
"Excellent. Just go this direction for another eight miles or so and you will reach your destination." Kabuto said, pointing to the left of them.
Neji nodded in acknowledgment to his help and turned towards his team. "Let's go." He said before disappearing, not sparing Team Seven another glance. Tenten, a little more aware of her mannerisms, bowed to both Kabuto and Team Seven before rushing after her teammate. Lee glanced at Sakura one more time before locking eyes with Sasuke, silently threatening him to not hurt Sakura. Sasuke did not seem intimidated and only narrowed his eyes in response. After a small stare down, Lee disappeared as well.
"Well, now that that's settled, we should be on our way as well." Kabuto said. However, he stopped in his tracks when he noticed Sakura struggling to get up from her spot. "Ara, Sakura-chan? Would it be alright if I took a look at your wounds? They seem to be still bleeding despite the fact that they are not completely recent."
Sakura concluded that Kabuto seemed to have some kind of medical experience. She would be more than happy to show him, since although she hated to admit it, Neji was right when he said that she might get an infection from her wounds. Even if he was not to be trusted, she needed someone to give her a prognosis before something irreversible happened.
After her internal debate, she nodded her head slowly. Because of this decision, Sasuke and Naruto immediately went closer. Naruto stayed close in case Sakura felt any pain and needed to distract her, since he was oblivious to the tense atmosphere that the new arrival created. Sasuke, however, watched Kabuto like a hawk as he started to unwrap Sakura's bandages. If he made one move against his teammates, then he would attack.
"This is pretty severe. I wonder what happened to put you in this state." Kabuto thought out loud as he examined her foot, which still seemed to be bleeding a little. Sakura just paled at his inquiry, choosing not to answer. "Your ankle seems to be not only fractured, but also seriously dislocated, which is where the blood is coming from. I can relocate it for you, but it's not going to be a pleasant experience." He said truthfully.
Sakura just nodded her head, knowing that she would face even more dire consequences if she kept putting the healing process off. She took in a shaky breath before tapping on Naruto's arm, silently asking him to hold her hand. Naruto did so without question and let her lay her head on his shoulder with her eyes tightly closed. Sasuke continued to watch Kabuto.
Kabuto lightly grabbed her foot before a green aura started to form around his hands. Sakura immediately felt some relief in her limb, but the pain was not completely assuaged. Naruto just stared at his glowing hand in wonder. "Okay, I'm going to count to three and then relocate it." Sakura nodded in understanding, her eyes still closed. "One…two…" Before he even hit three, a sickening crunching sound resonated through the forest as Sakura's foot was snapped back into place.
Sakura let out a pained whimper, but because the process was less painful than she had imagined, she was able to contain the screech she wanted to let out. Afterwards, she watched as Kabuto reached into his pack and drew out a fresh bandage, securely wrapping it around her foot and carefully setting it back on the ground and helping her put her sandal back on.
"Thank you." Sakura said shakily, squeezing Naruto's hand for comfort. With his other hand, he patted her shoulder to congratulate her resilience. Kabuto nodded in acknowledgment.
"What was that technique you performed? Are you a medical ninja?" Sasuke asked.
"Well, not really. I know the basics, but I cannot heal wounds such as yours completely. You will have to see a proper medic when you get to the tower." Kabuto said, directing his last statement towards Sakura.
Kabuto did a quick examination of her shoulder before he proclaimed that he was finished. Sakura asked Naruto to help her stand up, and she made sure to put all of her weight on one foot while leaning on Naruto for support.
"Now then, it would be best if we made our way to the tower. Keep watch for anyone who may have your complementary scroll." He said, standing up and dusting off his hands.
"Alright! Come on, Sakura-chan." Naruto said as he bent down for her to get on his back. She was just about to do so before she looked at Sasuke's face. He still remained stoic, but there was something about his expression that was so unsettling. His expression conveyed a degree of hurt, or as much hurt as Uchiha Sasuke is capable of expressing.
Sakura laid a hand on Naruto's shoulder, shaking her head. "It's okay, Naruto. You're still not up to your full strength." She said. She turned to look at Sasuke. "Sasuke? Do you mind?" Sasuke seemed to hesitate at her request, possibly out of surprise by her decision. However, this only lasted for a second before Sasuke recovered. He gave her a curt nod before not-so-gently pushing Naruto out of the way so that Sakura could climb onto his back.
If that was two months ago, then Sakura would be jumping for joy and would probably faint before she even got onto his back. More importantly, Sasuke definitely would not have allowed it. However, Sakura felt the need to show him that although she knew what he had done, she still trusted him. If the team did not have that basic principle, they were going to fall apart. The trust between her and Naruto was already stable, but shunning Sasuke out of fear would only widen the gap between them.
Sakura made sure not to lean too much on him because she did not want to disrupt his personal boundaries. However, before the team took off again, she bent her neck close to his ear and whispered a few words. Words that had a more profound impact on him than she would have thought.
"I trust you."
Sasuke showed no evidence that he had even heard her, and simply adjusted her on his back before walking over to Kabuto. Naruto, who looked at them with a pissed off expression on his face, trudged behind, grumbling to himself. Seeing his deflated state, Sakura reached over and lightly bonked Naruto on the head.
"You can carry me half way." Sakura appeased. Naruto's mood immediately brightened at this as he shot her his signature knucklehead grin.
"Hn. You sure you want to be dropped?" He asked her mockingly. Sakura gave him a swat on the head, making him almost drop her.
"Looks like you're the one who's going to drop her, teme! I swear if you do, I'll give you a large knuckle sandwich." Naruto threatened. Sasuke looked at him, unimpressed.
"Hn." He grunted condescendingly. He looked over at Kabuto, who signaled that they should follow after him. With that, both Kabuto and Sasuke disappeared into the trees, interrupting Naruto's long rant.
Sakura smiled at the interaction between the boys. They acted as they usually did, but there was a certain bond between them that had grown stronger from just being on a team together. She hoped that she also shared a bond with both of them like that. For a moment, she reminded herself that through all of the new experiences, they were still a team, and nothing had really changed.
That thought faltered when she looked down, seeing the three black tomoe on Sasuke's neck.
Hi everyone! I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter! What do you guys think about the "Inner" conflict that Sakura is having? XD
...Sorry...I'll shut up.
Anyway, I really hope that you guys like where the story is going. Please leave a review down below with any constructive criticism or general comments that you have because they are extremely appreciated.
Question for you guys: How was your Christmas and what is your New Year's Resolution (if you believe in that)?
I hope you guys have an absolutely fantastic day wherever you are! Stay warm if you're up North and cool if you are in the South, and have a very Happy New Year! See you guys next time!