AN: I've been sort of studying some episodes to write the following chapters, and edit some of the previous chapters as well. There's just little detail changes here and there, and you can check out the chapters with "This is the edited version of the chapter, enjoy!" written on top if you want.
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Naruto or the characters mentioned in the story
Chapter XI - NARUTO
"Sakura-chan? Are you alright?"
"Naruto? Why are you-where am i?" Sakura's eyes wonder around the room as she's trying to figure out her surroundings
"I'm just glad that you're finally awake" Naruto wipe his tears with his sleeves
"Huh?" Sakura pause for a bit, trying to recall what actually had happened. She remember fighting in a mission, then someone got hurt pretty badly so she had to save him "Eh, Naruto!"
"Ne? What's wrong?" Naruto recover from his sobs
"How's the Kazekage?"
"Gaara's fine, he's talking to Tsunade-baachan"
"The Hokage? Where are we anyway?" she ask, not feeling familiar to recognize it as one of Konoha's hospital room
"We're in Suna 'tebayo" and in a split second his tone become much more serious "Your remaining chakra wasn't enough to seal the poison in time, so we had to bring you to Suna since it was nearer, all the medic had tried but they could only stop the poison from spreading for so long, before Baachan finally arrived and healed you"
"Healed me? How did she do it? Did she extracted it out or sealed it better?"
"How do I suppose to know 'tebayo?" Naruto cross his arms, his concern wasn't appreciated as he has hoped it would be
"H-how long have I been out?" Sakura ask again, trying to estimate how near she was with her death
"In total, It's been 3 days" Naruto turn his face away
Sakura take notice and suddenly realized how worried he must've been. But in her opinion, she didn't really skip death, even if it was for a bit longer then it would have been even more critical for sure "And you stayed here all these time Naruto? Wait… how did you end up being here at the first place?" she suddenly realize that it's the first time she had seen Naruto in 4 months
"Shikamaru is here too, we just finished a mission not so far away from here when we met Temari in a rush, after escorting some prisoners… She told us everything that had happened"
"What actually happened Naruto? I mean, after I passed out"
"Well…" Naruto has a serious thinking expression that get Sakura feeling uneasy
...
Gaara is panting heavily, trying to stand up with the strength he managed to gain back after the intense session he just had. When his sight and hearing slowly returning, he can hear Temari and Kankuro near him looking worried but relieved.
"Gaara, are you okay now?" Temari ask
"Yes" he nod
"Sakura-chan!" Naruto gasp out as he catch Sakura in his arms "hoi, Sakura-chan!" Naruto try to get her consciousness back before she fully fainted
"No good, we need to get her to a medic" Shikamaru say
"But she IS the medic"
"They're here" Temari suddenly stand up as eight Suna's ANBU suddenly appears from the direction of the trees "I requested help and have asked the Hokage herself to meet us in Suna within a day from now"
"You called Baachan?"
"She's the only hope we have, meanwhile Suna's best medic are going to try all they can to keep her alive" Kankuro explain
"What do you mean keep her alive, she's just tired right? She's going to be up and okay tonight, right Shikamaru?" Naruto say desperately
"Naruto" Gaara say while putting a hand on Naruto's shoulder "I'm very sorry, but now we have to hurry if we want her to survive. She had saved Suna, now let Suna try to help her"
Naruto hold Sakura's motionless body a little bit tighter as he curse under his breath before lifting her up in his arms and leaps through the trees as fast as he could, followed by the rest of the group trying to catch up to them
"Gaara, are you sure you don't need to slow down?" Kankuro ask
"I feel completely fine, she had fused her chakra with mine for quite a long time, healing me and getting the poison out of my system at the same time. Draining herself out"
"Draining herself?"
"She's probably out of chakra for now. By the looks of it, I'm not even sure if she had finished the seal like she intended to"
"Then she has—"
"Trade her life for mine" Gaara finish his sentence "and I intend to not let that happen again" he think back of when he was out cold, in the emptiness of himself wondering who he was, dead. Shukaku had been extracted from him and as a jinchuriki, life was taken with his tailed beast, but Chiyo-baasama has performed a justsu to trade her life for his, thinking that it would be the only right thing she had ever done. Gaara would not let history repeat itself.
"The odds are thin" Shikamaru suddenly say
"Shikamaru?" Temari shift her attention from her younger brothers to him
"I don't think it's a poison at all" he continue
"What do you mean?"
"You said it was the attacker's chakra that touched Gaara's sand and eventually him, I don't see how any technique can shift chakra into poison. It's more likely a reversed medic-nin technique "
"A reversed medic-nin technique?"
"By infusing chakra to someone but with opposite effect, instead of healing, it's destroying her from the inside. That's probably why Sakura didn't recognize the poison and chose to seal the chakra within herself until she knows how to stop it from effecting, since she usually has a lot of chakra, it could've pushed the foreign one and prevent it from spreading throughout her body "
"But if the seal's not finished, and her chakra is gone—"
"Then the Hokage is our last hope" Shikamaru finish
Naruto doesn't have enough interest with conversations happening behind him, he's just trying to get Sakura to Suna as soon as possible.
The group keep running, leaping, and going all night without stopping or even talking to one another after that, the air was thick and tense.
Soon as they arrive, people had already gathered and Sakura was rushed inside with at least 12 medic-nin surrounding her at the same time. If Sakura was awake to see the sight, she would feel like a failure as a medic because she had gotten hurt and couldn't heal herself, and instead cause so much trouble for the others.
Naruto lean against the wall of the hallway as he sigh, somewhat knowing that at least Sakura is somewhere help is lessen his anxiety
"She's going to be okay" Temari say, more to herself than anyone else
"I'll deal with the Hokage's arrival" Gaara say as he walk pass everyone, Kankuro following him suit
"But she's not supposed to arrive until at least tonight" Temari say
"She's here" And like it's on cue, after Gaara said she is, Tsunade rush through the door. Gaara showing her to where Sakura is without a word
"Sakura is the Hokage's most beloved student, the only one who managed to duplicate her prowess. She means a great deal to her of course" Shikamaru say
"Hm" Naruto just hum an agreement as he sunk on the floor, letting his head falls. Exhausted from the mission and the rush-running to Suna without catching a breath
"He has really endured a lot hasn't he?" Temari squat down next to the last jinchuriki to see Naruto's sleeping face. She still is amazed by how strong he is, at heart and body. She witnessed how he fought in the war, even looking back to their previous encounters, this is the one ninja Suna owes their beloved Kazekage to, the one she owes her brother to. Like Gaara, she also believes that his dream of becoming a Hokage is just one mission away.
"More than we can imagine I suppose. He truly has become a great shinobi" Shikamaru say. He already made up his mind to do whatever he could to assist Naruto even before he becomes the Hokage, no one in the right mind has any doubt about it happening in the future. "And he will one day become a great Hokage"
"He would need you, y'know" Temari stand back up and face Shikamaru
"Yeah" he say with a slight smirk
"What, no how troublesome?" Temari tease, Shikamaru just shrug and turn to walk away with a little smile she couldn't see
Temari decided to wake Naruto up by nudging him a little "You should sleep somewhere else"
"I'm staying in this hospital" Naruto say sleepily but firmly
"I know, I just meant not on the floor" she try to pull him by the arm and get him to move to the room
"Hnnngggmmm…" Naruto respond "Where are we going?"
"Since you wouldn't want to be far away from your Sakura-chan, I guess you can stay in the room next to hers" Temari drag Naruto inside a wide room with one queen sized bed and non-operational medical machineries. The walls are beige colored, matching furnishing that looks expensive dismiss the hospital feel to the room completely. Making it seem more like a fancy hotel room.
"Eh, what is this room?" Naruto ask
"Hm? This is the VIP room, of course"
"Wow I've never even seen anything like this before"
Temari smile, suppressing her giggles "Well you shouldn't expect less, you're a special guest in Suna. And probably anywhere you go now"
"?" Naruto walk slowly towards the bed as he think about what Temari just said. It is true that everyone has been treating him way too nice ever since he got back from the war. Even in his mission earlier, before he met Temari and the rest of her group, people has been treating him with all kinds of things. There were at least seven ANBU ops in that village that offered to treat him ramen.
"Well, get some sleep. I'll get someone to wake you up when Sakura does" Temari say as she close the door before again opening it "I almost forgot, the TV remote is in the drawer next to the bed, along with one for the heat adjustment device and the bed"
"Why would I need a remote for the bed?"
"It vibrates and can give you a massage" Temari hold her laughter, seeing Naruto's eyes grow bigger awestruck written across his face "Anyway, enjoy your nap"
"S-s-s-su-SUGOI!" Naruto say as he try pushing some buttons on three remotes as one, forgetting his exhaustion for a bit before yawning and decided to fall asleep
When he wakes up to a silver haired Suna's nurse is tending to him by his bed, feeling his body shift a little, the nurse snap her attention away from his minor wounds "EH, sorry… You look too peaceful, Kazekage-sama told me to check up on you Naruto-sama"
"It's fine, it's about time I wake up—did you just call me, Naruto-sama?"
"Y-yes" the young medic answer shyly and blush when Naruto sit up, making his face closer to hers
"Has Sakura woken up yet?" Naruto obliviously ask
"N-no, but Hokage-sama said she should be in an hour or two" she say
"Hm? That fast? Baachan said she would wake up just after—" Naruto glance the clock at the wall opposite his bed "—3 hours?"
"? N-naruto-sama, she's been asleep for 27 hours after the Hokage healed her"
"W-what?" Naruto jump off the bed and put on his orange track jacket "That means—"
"You've been sleeping for that same amount of time"
"Why didn't anybody wake me up?!"
"I'm s-sorry" the nurse stutter "They probably think you're too exhausted. Even the Kazekage's siblings and your teammate are still resting"
"Is that so?" Naruto calm himself down a little "How's the Kazekage?"
"He's escorting the Hokage to Suna's gate. She has to leave for her duties back in the Fire Nation"
"Hmm, thanks for healing me. I'll be going now"
"Matte kudasai Naruto-sama!" the Suna medic call him "W'where are you going? I'm n-not exactly done"
"Hm? To Sakura's room"
She hide her slight disappointment in Naruto's lack of interest in her "t-then at least let me finish healing you Naruto-sama"
Naruto sit back down on the bed to the nurse relief without saying a thing
...
Sakura put on her knee high ninja-sandals and hop off the bed, Naruto and Shikamaru are waiting at the hospital lobby with Gaara and Temari.
Sakura check herself out easily and join the group "We should get one of those VIP beds back at home, ne Naruto, Shikamaru?" Sakura say cheerfully as she gather her things to go
"Ha, Sakura-chan, what's all these?" Naruto ask
"He heh, Kazekage-sama told me I can bring some of Suna's medic scrolls with me. I've been studying some stuff while I'm here. I also got some more useful medic stuff from each village we stopped by during the mission" she explain
"Troublesome" Shikamaru say, Temari smile at his dull expression, knowing that he has to help carry some of Sakura's carriage
"It's always good to see you Naruto, I'm looking forward to our next meeting. I hope it would be soon"
"Of course, Kazekage-sama"
"I told you not to call me that, It's just Gaara for my friends"
"Well I have to get used to it, it's political policy to call you that when I'm Hokage"
"I'm still looking for that drink together" Gaara reach out his hand like he did at his and his siblings's departure from Konoha after the whole Shukaku incident. Naruto shake his hand and they both grin to each other
"Sorry I'm late!" Kankuro suddenly appear
"It's unlike you to be late, Kankuro" Temari say
"After all you are the Kazekage's right hand and advisor" Shikamaru say
"Exactly, i have so much to do, you try and be a Kage's advisor" Kankuro say to Shikamaru while rubbing the back of his head
Shikamaru and Temari just smile at what Kankuro said to his confusion
Meanwhile, Naruto and Gaara is still away at their own world, having a friendly conversation they hadn't had the chance to have often. If they've known each other from the beginning, for sure it's going to be Gaara that fill Sasuke's role as Naruto's best friend. Gaara thinks highly of Naruto for changing his ways and being his friend when everyone else was afraid of him, they both share identical lives. Both are their village's jinchuriki. They both had horrible childhood and got the same amount of hate for being a tailed beast's vessel. Both are the son of their nation's Yondaime, and in no time the other similarity would be both become a Kage themselves.
"C'mon Naruto" Sakura say as she walk past the front door, Shikamaru, Temari and Kankuro on her side
"Yosh! Let's get you home Sakura-chan" Naruto catch up to her and Shikamaru, leaving Gaara with a final nod
"I can't wait to see everyone!"
"You've been gone for quite some time Sakura-chan"
"Hm" Sakura nod "I've missed the village" she say sheepishly
And most of all, she miss Sasuke.
.
.
.