This is it guys. c: Hope you enjoyed this! I loved the reviews, made me all giddy and happy (especially your's 24jadeguns), thank you so much. :D

Clearly, Sakura was dead.

Or so she thought for a second until the pain seared through her stomach again, but all she could focus on was what Sasuke was doing. He was suddenly everywhere – holding her, touching her face, pressing against her body, and actually kissing her. If she was not dead, she had to of been dreaming. Or something. Hell she didn't care at this point.

Weakly, after the shock wore off and another tear snuck out from the corner of her eye, she pressed back into the kiss. Once widened eyes melted down to half-lids, shutting contently. Warmth spread through her frozen body like a searing hot iron, pooling in the middle of her stomach and spreading across to her limbs. It spread even more when the rough hand on her face brushed past her ear and she felt his fingers entwine in her messy pink strands, bringing her even closer.

The smile never left her face, and when he leaned back he turned his head to press his lips back to her, catching her trembling lower lip in a better lock than before. Passion burst within him, but he knew she was too weak to push her farther. This was almost uncharacteristic of him, he was always so full of anger and force, that to break like this and treat her so frailly like he used to when they were kids... meant something.

She gasped against his lips, and greedily Sasuke caught them in another kiss before letting her go. He didn't move far of course, his forehead still stuck to hers as he released his chakra into her body in pulsing waves. But what amazed him was how he couldn't, just fucking couldn't pry himself away from her. His fingers clenched the tattered green vest around her shoulders, his hand sliding up her form so he could squeeze her shoulder.

How could he abandon something so precious?

"I'm not leaving you to die," he muttered, shutting his eyes tight to concentrate on keeping his voice steady. "You have to heal yourself. Hurry up, Sakura."
With his chakra almost completely depleted, he could feel the familiar buzz of fatigue in the back of his head, but his grip on the woman in his arms did not falter... yet.
Sakura was lost. Completely and utterly lost, with a mix of confusion as to what had just happened. Sasuke had just done more than simply kiss her, and she honestly could die happy at this point. But the roar in her heart suddenly caught her attention, and the heartbeat that had been dwindling on the edge just moments ago was suddenly screaming in her chest. Bringing her closer arm back to her stomach, she summoned more chakra to her hand and continued where she left off. Not without pushing into his forehead with her's, fresh tears searing down her cheeks.
"I can't believe, after all these years, you would-" she started, her voice bubbly with the emotion that drove her to her strongest points all her life. Love. The girl would probably even giggle if she wasn't in such a weak state.
"Don't even start right now," he mumbled under his breath, failing to hide his embarrassment and the crimson tint across his cheeks, opening his eyes to steal another glance at the reaction on her face. Sakura was shaking now, and he knew it was from his actions. Good.
"Then do me another favor and s-send a clone to Naruto, we need more chakra than this."

Damn woman, I told her she was the smartest in the group, he suddenly thought before his head reeled back in surprise to her words. Why hadn't he thought of that?! Could have avoided...
Not like he could honestly admit he would have wanted to avoid what happened at this point.

Now that he had an even better look at her face just by backing up a few good inches, he could see the color in her cheeks as well. It looked much better than pale to the death, and her eyes hadn't stopped staring at him, watching him, absorbing him. He had finally opened up to her, even just for a moment, and even now still. Leaning back against his chest, she broke the eye contact to look back down at her wound, the main damage already taken care of as she stitched back together the main tissues and veins that would shield her insides.

Sasuke comfortably rested his chin atop her head, both to their own amazement, sighing heavily under his breath.

Mustering up the strength to make a hand seal and creating a substitution clone with a broken log on the ground, the second Sasuke leapt out of the ravine and into the spray of the battlefield. Racing across the disturbed earth stained with blood every couple meters, he leapt up towards Kurama and over to orange colored hero without wasting any time. His old comrade and rival turned to face him with an alarmed expression, before his classic, contagious grin broke across his face.

He had no idea the condition of his team member, did he?
"Sasuke! Where did Sakura-"

"Sakura is hurt. Give me some of the Kyuubi's chakra." he interrupted, shutting his eyes to ignore the irritation creeping up on him that Naruto always seemed to awaken.

The grin on his face immediately broke, his expression bleak and worried. Those bright blue eyes examined Sasuke's condition, taking note of tremendous amount of blood that soaked the front of his attire. Taking a step forward, Sasuke laid out his arm in front of him to prevent him from bolting away from the frontline and to his comrade's side.
"Naruto, you're stupidity is going to kill her if you abandon the battle right now." he growled, the Sharinga flashing angrily in his eyes. Grabbing a fistful of Naruto's shirt, he shook him once before shoving him back. He could hear the beast below them growl warningly.

Staring down his best friend, Naruto only hesitated a couple seconds before placing his palms together and shutting his eyes, and immediately Sasuke was cloaked in the orange chakra that undoubtedly was the nine-tails. Sasuke looked down at his hand, feeling the power boil through him and almost instantly recharge him. Man, did it feel good. Turning on the spot, Sasuke readied himself to soar back to the hole his real body was at.

Naruto's hand shot out to grab his forearm before he did.

"Thank you for helping her." he spoke warmly, but his eyes shined with determination. Sasuke stared back for a moment, then simply nodded back to him. The voice in the back of his head asked, "What the hell are you doing?" for the third time in the past ten minutes, but grinding his teeth seemed to fight away his concerns for now.

Plummeting back to the ground and running straight for Sakura, he dived into the hole and found his true self and her in the same position he had left them.

The clone divided the chakra amongst them before disappearing and Sakura wasted no time to finish fixing herself up. Naruto's chakra worked wonders, it truly did, acting as a speed boost to her healing just like it did for Naruto. In just seconds she had mended herself completely back together, and when she was finished she set her hands on her stomach peacefully.

Sasuke sat up from his fallen-to-the-knees position, no longer weak and weary like he had been just moments ago, thanks to Naruto. He had to bite his tongue at the jealousy that always seemed to linger at the back of his mind towards his rival. Gently but without wasting time, he helped Sakura to her feet, relief washing over him when she stood without stumbling or weakness. Moments ago, she was on her deathbed. Sasuke hadn't felt so distressed since he discovered the truth about his brother.

His fingers itched when he was no longer touching Sakura; He'd been holding her for so long, and the memory of him losing her made him realize how much he could never break that bond with her.

Both facing each other, she stared back at him shyly, his expression simple and questioning. But what did he want, or expect now? He didn't even know what to do. Glancing to the side once before looking back, she opened her mouth to say something, but stopped before any words came out. Looking away again, Sasuke heard her growl lowly under her breath, and he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

Her arm shot out to grab the front of his white collared shirt, and she aggressively pulled him down towards her, crushing their lips together in a much more needy kiss than before.

Sasuke felt his heart flip excitedly in his chest, his hands hovering at his sides in shock. She unleashed him to trail her hands up his chest and around to the back of his neck, and he felt a shudder rock his body. Sasuke hesitated cautiously before he kissed back just as hungrily as she had. Breaking away to hug him, she couldn't help but laugh lightly, her breath tickling Sasuke's senses along with the back of his neck. This was all so foreign to him, and the emotions buzzed like a speaker in the back of his head. Sakura squeezed him tightly, her thumbs brushing affectionately on his shoulders.

"Well that answers my question," she couldn't hide the happiness from her voice, and he could already hear that smile on her face. "That I don't have to be dying before you kiss me again."

Sasuke smirked against her hair, lifting his arm to tug her torso closer.

"Hn."