A/N: Hey everyone! Long time no see. Let me start off with apologizing profusely for the exceedingly long hiatus. Life has been difficult, and to be frank, I was having a very difficult time gathering the energy and inspiration needed to continue. Can you believe that come October it will be three years since Storm was first posted? It's crazy. And that brings me to another point.

Thank you so much for the continued support despite my disappearing off the map. Even through my year-long hiatus I still received e-mails alerting me of new follows and reviews. So again, thank you, because it's those little things that push me to come back.

I'm currently moving north to Illinois so I've been a bit busy (that and we didn't get our internet connected until today), but thought I'd get this out tonight.

Enjoy the chapter!

xx LCF

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Edit 6/20/17

Hey everyone! Don't mind me, I've just cleaned up and tweaked a few things around.

Storm

Chapter 8: Coalition, Pt. II

Rain fell heavily over base camp, though it didn't seem to slow the hundreds of shinobi that occupied it in the slightest. They went about their business as usual; some reporting in to their posts as others were being relieved from duty. One shinobi in particular was making her way through the maze of tents, spurred with a visible sense of urgency that reflected in her hurried gait.

Hinata was quick on her way over, nearly crashing into several of her comrades in her haste. She made her way to Naruto's tent easily enough, having distinguished it from the others long ago through her countless visits. The flaps that were normally open to allow air to circulate were left closed, most likely due to the weather, and as she neared his temporary home she felt a wave of nervousness wash over her. She wouldn't have much time to visit today. She was supposed to meet up with her squad in twenty minutes at the north gate to begin rounds and probably wouldn't be back until past nightfall.

Caught up in her musings, Hinata barely managed to stop short of her usual entrance when she caught the foreign chakra signatures within the tent. Unsure of entering since Naruto had company, the Hyuuga heiress fidgeted slightly with the hem of her flak jacket.

"It's alright Hinata, you can come in." came Kakashi's muted voice. She visibly relaxed at her captain's quiet invitation and didn't hesitate to enter.

Pushing aside the thick material of the canvas flap, Hinata stepped inside and froze at the sight before her. Pearly orbs took in the three men that currently occupied the tent, her vision clouded over as tears suddenly welled in her eyes. She immediately looked to Naruto, who she was finally able to see following his forced segregation, and whose resounding grin caused her to explode into soft, teary giggles as he nodded over to the strappy brunette standing beside Kakashi.

"Kiba-kun!" she exclaimed before she ran to give her teammate a hug.

"Hey Hinata, long time no see." He laughed as he returned the embrace with just as much fervor.

Hinata released him after a moment, smiling brightly at her friend before she turned to Naruto. Relief washed over her at the sight of his beautiful cobalt eyes, and she didn't hesitate for a second before she rushed over and embraced him with all her might. A sob of relief escaped her, punctuated by Naruto's warm hand as he rubbed her back soothingly.

"I'm sorry, Hinata. I didn't mean to worry you." He muttered. Hinata shook her head fervently, feeling the patches of his scraggly facial hair comb through her crown. He hadn't shaved yet.

"There's no need to apologize. I'm just glad you're safe." She whispered in return before she clutched him closer to her still.

A quiet cough brought them out of their little world, and the two righted themselves before they set their sights on Kakashi. "While I'm also glad that we found you relatively safe and sound, I'm afraid I come bearing bad news."

Hinata didn't miss the way Naruto's eyes narrowed at his sensei.

"While segregating you from the rest of the company was my choice," Kakashi started. "Danzou felt that it wasn't enough."

Naruto frowned. "Oh yeah? Then let's get this over with, Kakashi-sensei. I can handle whatever crap punishment the old goat throws my way!"

At his words, their taichou frowned severely, making Hinata wince despite not being its intended recipient. "I already told you, Naruto. This isn't a game, and getting on Danzou's bad side will have terrible repercussions for all of us. As it stands, in light of you abandoning your post, the Hokage has relinquished your rights to go out on any patrols or to the frontlines effective immediately."

"That's bullshit!" Naruto cried, tensing beneath Hinata's embrace. The Hyuuga only held onto him tighter.

"You abandoned your post to go after Sasuke, who despite being someone precious to you, is still and internationally-wanted criminal after attacking the kage summit. Not to mention his attempt at taking Killer B on Akatsuki's orders."

"Wait, you saw Uchiha?" Kiba questioned, his brow furrowed in thought.

Hinata watched as Naruto pulled his steely gaze from Kakashi before giving Kiba a stiff nod. "Yeah. I felt him when I was on watch two weeks ago and I took off. Usually he's with the rest of his group, but he was alone this time and I figured it would be my best opportunity to get to him to pull his head out of his ass."

Kakashi sighed, already aware of how this conversation was going to end. "Naruto, you know that Sasuke can't be reasoned with now. We saw that years ago when he nearly took his teammate's life."

Kiba interrupted before Naruto could respond, for which Hinata was grateful. Her friend ignored her loved one's glare as he turned to face their division leader.

"Actually, Sasuke is the reason I came to look for you and Naruto, Kakashi-taichou. Before our arrival to base, my platoon and several others split off from our division and we stumbled upon some freshly killed Zetsu. They couldn't have been dead for more than fifteen minutes, but the weirdest thing about it were the scents Akamaru picked up."

Kiba took a readying breath as he met Kakashi and Naruto's expectant gazes. "It was definitely Sasuke, but we couldn't pinpoint exactly where it came from or where he'd gone to. He must have used some teleportation jutsu to leave before we arrived, but he'd definitely been there."

"I told you he switched sides!" Naruto exclaimed with a triumphant grin, his previous anger seemingly forgotten as he looked to Kakashi. "And now he's fighting against Madara, too. We need to get him to come fight with us so we can end this damn war for once and for all and go home!"

Kakashi ignored his outburst as he faced Kiba. "What I want to know is why you hadn't reported this to your commanding officer."

Naruto's smile vanished as he looked at his sensei incredulously and Hinata winced in sympathy. Everyone knew that Sasuke was kill-on-sight. It was among the first declarations Danzou made since his ascent to Hokage, and much to Naruto's bitter disappointment, it was a notion backed by the other kage.

Kiba shook his head. "There was another factor involved that I didn't know what to make of. And even though I don't get why, I know Sasuke still means a lot to you. I feel like you guys, of all people, deserve to know when Sasuke's been on the move. Anyway, the biggest reason I didn't say anything then was because there was someone with him, though Akamaru and I weren't able to make out where they'd disappeared to either."

Kakashi nodded. "Aside from Naruto's most recent encounter, Sasuke typically tends to travel with the members of his team."

"No, that's not it. We know their scents, we were ordered to memorize each of them, but this one was different. It was familiar."

Both Kakashi and Naruto froze as Kiba's implication sank in. Hinata's arms fell away from her embrace, but she remained by his side as he interlaced his fingers with her own. Naruto squeezed her hand tightly as a faint tremor ran through him.

Oh, Naruto-kun…

When he spoke, his voice was uncharacteristically low.

"What are you saying, Kiba?"

"I wasn't sure at first, the oncoming storm and jutsu Sasuke used made discerning it tricky, also the fact that it's changed with age."

"Kiba," Naruto's tone turned serious. "Who was it?"

Both men stared at each other evenly from their spots in the tent until finally, after a second that seemed to last years, Kiba spoke.

"It was Sakura."

Naruto let go of her hand and surged forward in an instant.

"Are you sure? There's no possible way you can be wrong?" Kakashi asked in a serious tone.

"I'm ninety-nine point eight percent sure, taichou. Like I said, it's different, which is a given considering the time not spent around her, but the undertones are the same, just matured."

Naruto seemed just about ready to storm out of his tent, but stopped when Hinata took hold of his hand again. She pulled him back gently, her eyes begging him not to act with reckless abandon. He looked at her for a moment, obviously torn, and Hinata worried he would shrug her off and go after his precious people anyway, but then his shoulders sagged as he gave her a weary nod.

"I know you want to go to them, Naruto-kun, but please think clearly. If you purposely go against orders, that gives Danzou-sama the best reason to remove you from the battlefront altogether." she implored, hoping he didn't hate her for not wanting him to go running after his teammates. Not when things were hanging by a mere thread for him.

"Hinata's right," Kakashi agreed. "Danzou obviously has no problem withdrawing you from the war, but if you keep this up, he's prepared to have your chakra sealed and throw you into a cell for insubordination. He'll go especially hard on you since you're one of the two remaining jinchuuriki that Madara hasn't been able to get his hands on. He'll use it as an excuse to keep you away from the action, which means that your chances of coming across Sasuke or Sakura will go from slim to none. You'll be of no help to anyone if you're locked away."

Kakashi's words seemed to have their intended effect as Naruto gave a resigned nod before he took a seat on his bed, taking Hinata with him. He exhaled loudly, obviously displeased but doing his best to contain it.

"I don't like it." he finally rasped.

"Neither do I," Kakashi returned. "But we have to do what we can. Just because we can't be actively out there looking for them doesn't mean that there aren't others who might have an opportunity to do so. I'm going to see if I can get a message out to Sai and ask for his help. He hasn't been able to join us much considering Danzou's got Root working on his own operations, but I know he'd be willing to do what he could to help find Sakura."

"And Akamaru and I will keep a nose out for her too!" Kiba piped in, not wanting to be forgotten.

"I'll also be looking," Hinata said. "I only have a few more minutes before I have to go for patrol, but I'll be watching."

"Thank you, Hinata." Naruto said, blue eyes earnest. The two shared a long look that made her smile before ducking her head shyly. "You too Kiba, you don't have to do this either."

Kiba snorted. "Hey, it's not like you and Sai were the only ones upset with Sakura's disappearance. Ino was in tears for weeks, and Lee still has his moments. We were all upset. Hell, even Neji was more uptight than usual. Once business is finished up here, my platoon is heading over to Fourth Division's base camp. I'm sure a few of our friends will be more than willing to keep an eye out for some pink hair."

Hinata's heart soared at her teammates words. She'd forever be grateful to him for helping Naruto remain calm and show him that he wasn't alone. Naruto himself couldn't help but crack a small grin at his words, though Hinata was sure that he was still upset that he wouldn't be able to go out and look for them himself. Still, Kakashi-taichou had a point. Naruto had a penchant for running into Sasuke despite the odds, something that had become more frequent since the beginning of the war. There would be plenty of more opportunities.

With that, Hinata stood and announced her leave to go on patrol. She blushed darkly when Naruto gathered her up in his embrace and kissed her deeply, uncaring of their audience. From beyond the sound of her heartbeat thundering in her ears, Hinata could hear Kiba grumble about lovesick couples making him sick.

From the way Naruto's lips quirked against her own, she was sure he'd heard it too.

The air was disturbingly still.

It felt stale, as though the base hadn't been properly ventilated in a very long time. In reality it should have been the first thing to tip off Sakura that something

wasn't quite right. None of the traps Sasuke had warned her of seemed to be activated, making Sakura delve deeper into the stronghold to continue her search.

Sakura continued to walk along the dark corridor before she rounded the next corner, careful to keep note of the path she'd been taking. The last thing she needed was to get lost inside the stone maze while Sasuke kept the jinchuuriki occupied.

A fork in the tunnel came up, and just as she started to dispel her chakra in search for any life, Sakura felt a sudden surge of power creep up behind her. She whirled around, her own chakra suddenly on edge as she tried to feel where the malevolent energy came from, but was unable to pinpoint the exact direction. The chakra surge that fluctuated was thick in the air, but she still couldn't find its origin.

"Hello?" she called out as she peered into the darkness. The only response she received was deafening silence before she was suddenly struck by a driving hit to the chin.

Sakura sailed through the air as Yugito's strike hit its target. She skidded to a halt, unable to catch her bearings before the blond jinchuuriki closed in. Yugito reached her a mere second later and lifted her up with unnatural ease. Sakura cried out as she was hurled against the stone wall and landed on the ground in a heap. The jinchuuriki approached her again, and it was only by sheer force of will that Sakura managed to roll out of the way before the blond kunoichi could land another blow.

She got to her feet quickly, surging chakra through her arms as she began to exchange blows with the reanimated kunoichi. Sakura braced herself as Yugito rushed her once more, and released the build-up of chakra through her arms as she landed a direct hit to her chest just as the jinchuuriki was about to strike. The blond woman hit the opposite end of the corridor with a sickening blast, her body going clear through the stone wall and into another area of the base.

Sakura watched warily as undead jinchuuriki extracted herself from the rubble, taking note of the difference in her appearance from the shinobi she'd faced just moments ago. Instead of retaining the form of its vessel, it seemed that the Two-Tails had managed to achieve a partial transformation. Yugito's new burst of speed was frighteningly quick, coupled with her newfound claws. And though she hadn't tried tried to perform any jutsu up until then, Sakura figured it would be best to keep as much distance between them as possible.

"Where is Sasuke?" she asked as she kept a close eye on the reanimated kunoichi's movements.

A feral smirk spread across her painted lips. "He's preoccupied at the moment. It seems that the other half of Nekomata is keeping him quite busy." Her words were punctuated by a thunderous bang that caused the entire cavern to tremor dangerously before rocks and dirt rained down on them.

There was something about Yugito's smug appearance, like the cat that caught the canary, that made Sakura come upon a steadily growing realization.

"Karin's not here."

The other kunoichi smiled condescendingly. "Bravo. I was beginning to wonder when you'd get the hint. Tell me, what gave it away?"

Sakura ignored her question. "What's Madara plotting? Is this his attempt to capture Sasuke?"

The blond woman snorted in contempt. "No, this is his attempt at getting rid of you. He's not pleased that you and his pawn have teamed up."

Pink brows furrowed in confusion. The need to weaken Sasuke since he'd turned against Akatsuki was understandable, but to not want her working with him? She was surprised to hear Madara even knew of her existence. Compared to the last Uchiha and being the jinchuuriki of the most powerful bijuu, Sakura was painfully aware of her insignificance in the grand scheme of things.

It made no sense, and Sakura found that when one question was answered, two more popped up in its place. This was something only Sasuke could clear up for her, and that was if he even wanted to, but it was a chance she was willing to take. She was tired of being in the dark.

Sakura snapped out of her musings as Yugito charged her once more, claws extended and aimed for her jugular. Having lost the element of surprise, Sakura was successful in evading her swipe this time around before counter-attacking with a backhand fist. She managed to knock the other kunoichi off-kilter for just a second before the blond righted herself and charged with a newfound sense of anger. With a burst of chakra, Yugito vanished and reappeared behind Sakura in a fraction of a second.

A cry of pain escaped her as agony suddenly burst through her spine, causing her to drop to her knees on reflex. The older kunoichi wasted no time before she grabbed her roughly by the hair and tossed Sakura several meters down the corridor as though she were nothing more than a rag doll. Sakura tried her best to ignore the pain that came with every move she made as she fought to stand, but was unable to do so as the blond approached her quickly. In a last ditch effort to buy herself some time, Sakura unsheathed her tantō and launched it at the jinchuuriki, hitting her mark as the blade pierced her through the shoulder and effectively pinned her to the wall.

Yugito hissed in displeasure before she harshly pulled out the blade, unaware of the explosive tag Sakura had wrapped around its handle until it was too late. The subsequent explosion that rocked the corridor sent Sakura flying back. Stars exploded in her vision and her ears rang something fierce as she tried to get her bearings.

When the dust settled, the jinchuuriki was already regenerating and making her way towards her. By the time she reached Sakura's unsteady form, most of her body had returned to its normal state. She lifted her back leg overhead in a wide arc before she brought it down in a powerful axe kick. Giving up all pretense at getting to her feet, Sakura quickly gathered chakra to her hands and managed to catch the kick before it shattered her sternum. She struggled beneath the force the jinchuuriki drove into her attack for several moments.

Just as her arms were about to give out, a familiar piercing shriek reached her ears just as pale blue light filled the corridor. She looked up to see a lightning-covered hand obliterate Yugito's skull. The semi-decapitated form fell beside Sakura lifelessly, revealing Sasuke's offensive stance.

Sakura could only stare, stunned at his arrival. He ignored her look of surprise as he kept his eyes on the dead body beside her. It was already starting to regenerate.

"Are you alright?"

Pulling herself from her stupor, managed a weak nod. "I'll be fine in a minute. She managed to get a few good hits in before you got here." Sakura grimaced as she started to guide her healing chakra to her injuries. She concentrated her efforts on her skull and back.

"We don't have a minute. Keep as much pain at bay as you can, we need to move now." Sasuke instructed.

He didn't wait for a reply before he reached down and plucked her from the ground. A fresh wave of pain coursed through Sakura at being jostled, but she refrained from crying out. Sasuke's chakra pulsed around them, and a second later Sakura found herself outside of the abandoned hideout before her set her down. She spied what appeared to be the other half of the Two-Tails as it slowly began to regenerate from its mutilated form.

Sasuke made an irritated sound, successfully pulling her attention away from the reforming jinchuuriki before his hands ran through familiar seals and summoned forth a large hawk. He took hold of her once more as he leapt onto its back. They were airborne in seconds and rising quickly.

As they cleared the forest canopy, a feral snarl came from below before several large balls of fire were sent in their direction. The hawk avoided the blasts easily enough as it continued to gain altitude, which served to enrage the blazing cat below further. After ascending a bit more, the hawk paid the threat no mind as they had flown too far out of its range.

Sakura let out a sigh of relief as she laid back and felt the soft plumage of the bird caress her skin. There was little comfort due to her injuries, but she couldn't find it in her to care. At least she'd managed to numb the throbbing headache she had with a painkiller. Her hands flared green as she promptly set to work on healing the absolute worst of her injuries, stopping only when they were set properly and beginning to mend. Yugito's kick to her back had been as fierce as the rest of her, and had it hit Sakura the way she'd intended, Sakura would have remained paralyzed from the waist down. Severe spinal fractures tended to do that. She healed her spinal injury in one go, making sure to not waste any chakra or else she'd remain a sitting duck should they be attacked again. When she finished, her back still ached, but she was pleased that the throbbing had subsided completely.

Looking over at Sasuke, Sakura immediately noticed that he seemed to hunch forward somewhat as he knelt, his arm wrapped protectively over the right side of his ribcage. Blood peeked between the gaps of his fingers as he covered his injury.

"You're hurt." Sakura realized as she started to make her way over.

"It's nothing," Sasuke bit back, his tone harsh enough to make her falter. Pale pink brows knit together in frustration.

"You asked me to join you under the guise of keeping you alive—"

"Do I look like I'm dying?" he snapped as he glared at her frozen stature.

Anger flared up in her, and coupled with the stress of the past several hours, Sakura had reached the end of her patience. He had made her join him under the guise of being his medic so she would be his medic.

Without warning, Sakura closed the distance between them and pulled his hand away none-too-gently from the injury. He hissed under his breath at her rough handling and looked at her with eyes full of scorn, but did nothing to keep her from examining him. Carefully, Sakura eased him back so she could pull up the hem of his shirt. It looked like Yugito managed to get in a good hit before she was blow to smithereens. The edges of the slash was messy and had the taint of the bijuu's chakra.

The injury was deep, but not life-threatening. The only thing that worried Sakura was the amount of time he'd need to properly recuperate. Even now as Sakura swept her healing chakra through him, she could feel the malevolent one of the Nibi fighting her at every turn. If her personal experience with healing bijuu-related injuries was anything to go by, then it was safe to say that it would take a little time and several healing sessions before Sasuke returned to full strength.

Sakura continued working silently as she healed what she could with what chakra was available to her. Sasuke's pained breaths relaxed as she dulled the pain, though he remained conscious. He watched her idly through bleary eyes; his languor obvious given the amount of blood lost. Green eyes swept over to meet his momentarily and was surprised by the tumultuous storm that brewed in their depths. She tore her gaze away and focused on the injury at hand with a renewed concentrated effort.

As Sakura wrapped up her first healing session (already the injury looked much better and the bleeding had finally stopped), they flew for a few more minutes. It wasn't long before the hawk began to make its descent and they touched down between a small copse of trees. Once they got down, the hawk promptly bowed its head to Sasuke before returning to its dimension with an almost inaudible pop. From where they'd landed, Sakura could see just past the thinning tree line towards the entrance of their camp.

She wiped her sweaty forehead with the back of her hand, and just as she stepped forward, Sakura was tackled by Sasuke's sudden weight as he pitched forward. Her arms shot out to steady him, her eyes closing in on the injury he clutched.

"Hold on, Sasuke." Sakura murmured. She ignored his mild protests as she picked him up with ease and started towards their campsite in a sprint.

As she approached, Suigetsu stepped out of the shadows, his face contorted in irritation. "Where the hell have you—"

"Not now," Sakura snapped before she walked inside with him hot on her heels. Juugo was on his feet the second his eyes landed on her and Sasuke.

"What happened?" he asked as he led her over to an empty bedroll for her to lay him down on. Sakura lowered him down gently, keeping one hand firmly pressed on the injury to prevent it from reopening.

"Juugo can you get out a roll of bandages and antiseptic paste from my medic pouch?" She asked as she summoned what little chakra she had left to heal his injury some more. It didn't have to be much, but she wanted to be absolutely certain that the wound was closed. The last thing she needed was for Sasuke to get an infection or overexert himself some way and start bleeding once again.

While Juugo did as asked, Sakura's chakra began to fizzle out. Deciding it was pointless to continue in this state, Sakura stopped her healing and took the time to examine the wound. While it was still relatively raw, the first layer of flesh had been completely healed. She took great care to spread the salve on Sasuke's injury once Juugo returned with them in hand. When she was done with that, she had the large man prop him up so she could wrap the bandage around his torso snugly, keeping what little she'd healed sealed tight. Once done, Juugo gently laid him back down on the ground.

Sasuke's gaze had been glued to her throughout the entire process, though they were glazed over in pain and fatigue.

"Rest," Sakura instructed when she finally met his eyes. "It's going to take some time for you to get back into fighting shape. The bijuu's chakra is making it difficult to heal in one session, thankfully they didn't hit anything vital. Once you're all healed up we can continue the search for Karin."

"We ceased the search...for Karin." Sasuke got out as he took shallow breaths.

Sakura was prepared to call him out on that. The snarky retort was on the tip of her tongue, ready to give him a good verbal lashing on hypocrisy when the world suddenly tilted on its axis. Shouts of surprise filled the air as she slumped forward, the hands that steadied her were the only things that kept her from collapsing over Sasuke's prone form. She felt the air shift around her and Sakura belatedly realized she was being carried.

"Easy does it, Kitten." Suigetsu crooned in her ear before he readjusted his grip. "Man, you're a lot heavier than you look."

Despite his words, he deposited her safely back to her bedroll without much fuss. He passed her a water canteen. Sakura took it gratefully and took careful sips. Once the dizziness had subsided, Sakura peered over to find Sasuke sleeping and Juugo and Suigetsu going about their business.

"I don't understand why he called it off." she thought aloud. The two conscious men looked over to her as she frowned pensively.

"It's no use arguing." Suigetsu supplied as he polished his blade. "Once Sasuke's made up his mind about something, that's the end of it."

"If that were the case then could you explain to me how I woke up to him sneaking out alone in order to keep looking for Karin?" Sakura shot back.

The former Mist-nin frowned. "Is that where you guys had gone?"

Sakura nodded. "I was up and caught him leaving, so I followed him until he confronted me. After that we spent the rest of the night tracking her down to an old hideout. It was going pretty well up until we were attacked by the Two-Tails' reanimated jinchuuriki and forced to retreat. Turns out in the end it was a wild goose chase and a failed attempt of Madara's to stop us."

"If Madara is so dead-set against us continuing our search for the old geezer then we must be doing something right." Suigetsu hummed thoughtfully.

"But why would Madara be against Sasuke eliminating Danzou?" Juugo asked.

At his question, Sakura frowned pensively. She wasn't sure if it was wise to bring up what Yugito had said about Madara being against her joining Sasuke. It was something she'd hoped to bring up and discuss with her former teammate once he was well enough to talk, though her chances of actually getting some answers remained bleak. She had so many questions and she wasn't sure if they'd even be acknowledged.

"I don't know," she piped up at last. "I just know he's playing at something, and probably has some sort of plan up his sleeve that might have to do with Danzou's role in the war."

"Yeah but he's not really an active part in it, is he?" Suigetsu said. "He hasn't been on the frontlines since this whole damn thing started three years ago. From what we've gathered, he's been hiding away in some stronghold or other with his Root agents and barking out orders."

Fury filled her at his words. How dare the man who'd made an attempt on her Shishou's life to retain her title not be part of the fight for the village he claimed to want to protect?

"He's nothing but a warmonger and a coward." Sakura bit out.

Both men turned to look at her, surprised by the vitriol in her tone. She was aware that they knew she was from Konoha and Sasuke's old teammate, but what they didn't know was the reason behind her being on the run despite how much she still loved her village and those she left behind. Green eyes fell over both of them as they studied her quietly.

"He sent out a couple of his agents to assassinate the Godaime while she was still recovering from Pain's attack." She explained. "I wasn't going to let them, so I killed the few I could and caused enough of a ruckus to have them tail me and bring to light what they were doing. I led them as far from her as I could, but they'd gotten a few good hits in and by the time I reached the coastline, I was too far gone from the poison to put up a decent fight. So I jumped from the cliffs to evade capture. I've been on the run ever since, but I have to admit that the number of Root sent after me has steadily declined once the war started. I've tried to keep my head low and never stay anywhere for too long. I was actually leaving Lightning Country when I ran across you guys."

"Hold on," Suigetsu jumped in. "You're telling me that Danzou plotted to have the Godaime, who was your master, assassinated. You interfered and managed to draw Root away from their target, which got you cornered so you chose to flee and thus marked as a missing-nin."

"Badass." he exclaimed with a toothy smirk. Sakura merely rolled her eyes before she turned her attention to Sasuke's sleeping form. Despite his injuries, his breath came in slow and even and there were no signs of stress or internal hemorrhaging.

"You are a far more capable medic than you had us believe if you are the Godaime's apprentice." Juugo intoned quietly. "Tsunade-hime is renowned around the world for her prowess in medical ninjutsu."

"I am, and I'm sorry for not being forthcoming with that fact. I guess it's just a habit now to water down techniques and constantly changing my appearance to keep from getting recognized."

Suigetsu waved her off. "It's what you've gotta do to keep under the radar. No one here'll begrudge you doing what you have to for your survival. Though, I do think it's rather pointless now since you've teamed up with Sasuke. He tends to draw attention whether he wants it or not."

A sudden picture of a dozen flustered schoolgirls surrounding the stoic Uchiha as he sat at his desk came to mind, causing Sakura to chuckle. If he'd been popular then as a barely pubescent boy, she wondered just how many girls fell over themselves for his attention now that he was practically a man.

The conversation turned to random subjects after that, and before long the promised rain finally made its appearance just as darkness fell. Suigetsu volunteered to take first watch, claiming the rain invigorated him, as Juugo began to prepare dinner. Feeling better now that she'd rested a bit, Sakura had gotten up and made her way over to Sasuke to check over his injuries.

As she examined him, worry filled her despite her anger from earlier. He'd been reckless today, exceedingly so considering that the whole point of her being here was to heal him. Why he'd initially refused to be tended to, Sakura wasn't sure. All she knew was that his stupidity could have cost him far more than blood loss and unnecessary pain. Now they were forced to wait until he recuperated before being able to move on, but as angry as she had been, all this impromptu 'mission' had done was solidify the fact that Sasuke wasn't someone she'd stopped caring about despite her self-imposed exile. A fresh wave of frustration rose at the thought.

How could she still fathom to care for him after all he'd done?

He had turned his back on Team Seven, on Konoha—even after his revenge had been obtained—and instead set himself to go down a further path that he had no business being on. Sakura wasn't stupid, she knew that there was more than met the eye, and there was a part of her that wanted to dig and figure out just what that was while another part of her wanted to keep him at a distance.

And yet despite all her misgivings, once the excitement of the past twelve hours died down, Sakura couldn't help but recall the weight of his body as he pinned her against the tree or how his hot breath ghosted over the shell of her ear when he spoke. Or even the way his hand had encircled her waist before he effortlessly spirited her away. Irritation radiated through her at the unbidden memories.

Damn you, Sasuke. She mentally cursed from her perch at his side. And damn me for letting myself feel that way.