When the sound-ninja attacked them on his own this time around, Team 7 acted like a team. It's become sort of a standard strategy for them. In theory, mostly, but still-- they essentially worked out a slightly more aggressive plan of attack similar to what they did during the bell test.
After all, if it surprised Kakashi, then it would work on other ninja too. Right?
Naruto would barrel in with whatever he deemed necessary-- usually with a lot of words and clones. Sasuke would then deliver a single attack.
Sakura would cast a genjutsu in the moments the victims recovered from Sasuke's hit. It usually made her victim see an endless stream of Naruto's clones, since that was actually possible and lessened the likelihood of them undoing her illusion. She would blanket her and Sasuke-- ensuring that they were invisible to the victim.
If the victim wasn't smart enough to realize it was a genjutsu, Sasuke would knock them out by appearing right behind them.
If the victim was smart enough, they'd attempt to dispel the genjutsu. And Sakura let it dispel almost entirely, but let one layer linger. If they were smart enough to try and release the genjutsu, they'd figure out pretty quickly she was the one who cast it. And they'd charge straight for her, which is what the sound-ninja was currently doing.
And for the poor unfortunate soul who charged at her, got a rude awakening when she suddenly attacked from the side, a chakra laden fist at the ready.
The sound-ninja was the poor unfortunate soul in this scenario. And when her first met his cheek, the guy was sent flying into a nearby tree. Though not as powerful as she would like, it was sufficient enough to knock him off his game. When he stared of her in dazed confusion, she let the illusion he was originally charging at burst into pink petals.
He cursed them before fleeing.
Sakura felt a bit triumphant. Genjutsu had been an area she naturally excelled at in her old life, but she never got the chance to be trained in it properly. She could dispel genjutsu's with ease, but never fabricate an altered reality.
With Sasuke's cousin training her all these years, she's gotten pretty good at creating realistic ones that focused more on omission than bewilderment. And fortunately, genjutsu was a delicate and precise usage of her chakra, so she didn't worry too much about it affecting her.
But she should have. It wasn't to the extent of how she felt before, but she knew her senses were muddled and that this was definitely not the place to have wonky senses. Sasuke appeared next to her when she raised a hand to her head.
"We need to keep going," He told her, a hand brushing her arm to get her to look at him. "Can you keep going?"
"If you need to take it easy today, Sakura-chan, we got your back," Naruto offered but she shook her head. With a tentative hand, she did the same thing she had done earlier to reduce the inflammation of the cells.
It was enough to fake confidence.
"Let's keep going," She decided, smiling brightly at her teammates. Naruto looked like he wanted to say something but instead he nodded. Sasuke looked downright doubtful.
"Hey, don't let your negativity spread!" Naruto pointed a accusing finger at Sasuke. "If Sakura-chan is going to be mega awesome and fight through the pain, then we just have to make sure she doesn't need to save us when you mess up."
"I'm the one going to mess up? Have you even paid attention during training?" Sasuke bit out, momentarily forgetting his concern with Sakura to glare at Naruto.
Her best friend crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out. "I don't know. Have you?"
"Let's keep going," She repeated quietly, urging her boys forward. "We have a scroll to get."
They came up with a password like last time, too. And it was impossibly long and Sakura feared even she would forget it. Though, if the worried glances Sasuke kept giving her meant anything, he'd probably be suspicious if she did remember.
And like last time, they were forced to scatter as someone attacked. Naruto got hit head on and Sakura knew he would also be out for beginning of this fight.
It was here. Orochimaru was attacking. He was trying to get Sasuke. It was here.
Sakura found Sasuke quickly, coming up behind him cautiously, and when he turned around, he looked momentarily relieved until better judgment crossed his mind and he demanded the password.
She hesitated for a moment and swallowed. "A ninja waits until the time is right. When the, when the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the, erm, stillness of the night, that is the moment for a ninja to strike."
"What is my cousin's name?"
"Sasuke-kun, I refuse to call him by his name," She told him in an exasperated tone. "I'm mad at him. His name is legendary and I don't feel like pampering to his ego currently."
Sasuke gave her a wry smile. "He'll be devastated."
"He's too nosy for his own good," She snapped, though a smile formed on her features and she walked towards him with her hand on her weapons pack. "Any sign of the attacker?"
"Not yet-"
"Oh, there you guys are!" Naruto's voice chimed, huffing a bit as he approached them.
Sakura held out a warning hand. "Naruto, what's the password?"
"A ninja waits till the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard, when his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night, that is the moment for a ninja to strike." Naruto recited perfectly, looking especially proud until Sasuke moved to attack him.
They exchanged a few blows, with Orochimaru's Naruto putting on one hell of a show with protests and confusion lacing his shouts.
"Drop the act," Sakura ordered once Sasuke landed back by her, a protective arm lifting in front of her.
"What gave it away?" Orochimaru questioned, letting the transformation slowly fade.
"If we asked the real Naruto what the password was," Sasuke started smugly, eyeing their enemy as Orochimaru's other transformation came to light.
"He'd say, 'Sorry, I forgot'." Sakura finished, getting a kunai out of her pack.
Orochimaru barely looked at her, almost totally disregarding her presence to grin at Sasuke. "So you created a password impossible for your teammate to remember? Isn't that counterintuitive?"
"I knew you were listening in," Sasuke stated proudly and he twirled a ninja star in his hand. "Give us your scroll and we'll let you remain conscious."
"If it's a scroll you want, then you have to fight me for it," Orochimaru said, a sickening grin appearing on his face.
They both moved to do something-- anything, really-- when they started to feel it.
Back in her old life, this had been the very first moment that Sakura truly understood how the raw intent to kill felt. It was bloodthirsty and paralyzing, chilling her bones to the point where the fragility of life was a single snap away. It overwhelmed her own thoughts as she could feel herself being brutally murdered. She saw Sasuke with a kunai lodged in his forehead and she felt so incredibly small.
She saw from the corner of her eye that Sasuke was just as shaken, if not more so than the last time she lived this. Orochimaru taunted them and Sakura remembered that this was more or less of a test for Sasuke. To see if he was worth the effort, if his eyes weren't just for show.
Sakura knew they had to move. She knew it but her body felt stubbornly stuck to the earth she was standing on.
Sakura has felt death before. She's seen it on the battlefield and at the hospital. She's witnessed the cruelty death has to offer to those it takes and has felt it so deeply that she was utterly devoid of any shred of hope.
But that's the thing about this moment-- it's the first time her body was exposed to chakra so petrifying and murderous.
Even Obito, who she was absolutely terrified of, didn't hold a candle to how this felt. It was as though Orochimaru enveloped them in his sickening chakra and dampened the light in their souls.
They both fell to the ground and while Sakura didn't break down into tears this time, she certainly felt like she would. And a few moments passed by, and while she remembered Sasuke clearly attempting to move in her old life, it seemed as though he was having as much difficulty as her.
That's when Sakura remembered that this life was not her old one.
Specifically, that this Sasuke was not her old Sasuke.
"How'd you do it?" She asked quietly, staring at the ground. "With that person, I mean. All I felt was a murderous intent and it. . . It paralyzed me. How'd you withstand it long enough to get us both out of there?"
Sasuke didn't look at her, and she knew this was not exactly a conversation she ever envisioned having with him. But Naruto was asleep and she had difficulty dozing off now that Sasuke hadwhatever it was on the nape of his neck.
She felt his rage then too, when he went to attack the other sound-ninja, and it was so heartbreakingly similar to that monster's chakra. It wasn't so hardened but it was so unlike her Sasuke. The one that made tiny exceptions for her and Naruto. She couldn't stand it.
"I've seen worse," He admitted quietly, his voice so low she had to shift closer just to make sure she wasn't going crazy and he had indeed responded back to her.
It then hit her that Sasuke was a terrifyingly strong person. She's always known he was strong-- stronger than anyone their age at the very least. And she knew of the Uchiha Massacre.
No one their age really knew about it, but everyone knew that Sasuke was absent for a week or two when they were in their second year.When they grew up and fully understood what it meant, that's when everyone realized why Sasuke was gone.
But Sasuke. . . He saw it. His family slaughtered by one of their own supposedly. It hardened him from that day forward. And it was painfully evident from the way Sasuke managed to break free of that man's paralyzing chakra. And he was still managing despite it all.
Sakura wasn't sure how to take in the fact that Sasuke had even answered her, considering how personal and horrifying the truth of it was. She didn't feel elated that he took the time to acknowledge he spoke to her, not like she did the majority of their time together on Team 7. Instead she just felt the urge to help him heal. If he would let her.
"It's late, Sakura." He said a few moments later, never tearing his eyes from the trees around them. "Go to sleep."
"I can take next watch now," She told him, looking over at their other teammate. "You haven't slept for the past day. I can wake Naruto up when I get tired."
"You've been awake for a lot longer than me," He stated sharply, his gaze flickering to her concerned features for a brief moment. "You need to rest. I'll take second watch too."
"Sasuke-kun-"
"Go to sleep, Sakura."
Sakura struggled to move, but she just barely managed to tilt her head enough to look at Sasuke. She was surprised to see him already looking at her, probably just as desperate as she currently felt. But he was looking at her, his eyes trying to convey something as Orochimaru held up two kunai.
She placed him in a genjutsu.
Except, she didn't play with illusions. She didn't create a facade or omit anything in the very dangerous situation they were in. She affected the chakra in his brain.
Genjutsu plays ones own chakra against themselves, and could easily incite more fear with the right tinkering. It could also dampen the fear if she hindered the fear response starting in the amygdala part of the brain.
Orochimaru said one last taunt, readying the kunai and throwing it straight at them.
Sasuke broke from the paralyzing fear at that same moment. And he reacted just as quickly as he had in her old life, taking her in his arms and disappearing from the clearing.
When Sakura felt the sudden urge to simultaneously hurl and pass out, she wondered if she could petition for all Uchiha's to stop using the Shunshin to get to places. It was obviously not helping her brain.
Sakura raised a hand in concern as Sasuke slumped back against the tree, dispelling the genjutsu as soon as the world stopped spinning around her. Cautiously, she reached forward, her fingers resting on his temple and she tried to summon her chakra.
Sasuke's eyes snapped towards her at the action, obviously not sure what she was doing, but remained still anyway.
"You're frazzled from the genjutsu," She explained in a low voice, well aware that they had maybe a minute of peace before the snake crept up on them. Her one eye squeezed shut as a sharp pain resonated in her brain yet again. "I'm just relaxing the cells."
"You're in pain," He noticed, finally moving to pull her hand away from his temple. "Don't waste your time."
"Helping you heal is never going to be a waste of time to me," She told him truthfully.
Sasuke looked like he wanted to respond and if he was anything like her old Sasuke, which in this case he would be, he would argue with her and say he doesn't need her help, especially if she needs it more than he does.
But, of course, a ginormous snake appeared behind them and they had to move. They dodged the attack and the fighting resumed.
Sasuke held up his own much better this time around, but it was obvious that he was starting to run out of tricks and Sakura had only succeeded in inconveniencing Orochimaru with well timed explosive tagged kunai.
The snake went straight for Sasuke and Sakura shouted her best friends name in relief as Naruto stopped the creature. Naruto taunted Sasuke because everything was a competition for them and he held his own against Orochimaru until the monster placed a lock on Naruto's seal. And when Naruto started to fall, Sakura didn't hesitate this time, she fell with him.
She caught Naruto, using the tree to brace her jump to a nearby branch. That's when Sakura realized what was next.
Sasuke getting the curse mark. The one he only managed to be rid of during his fight with Itachi. Sakura looked at Orochimaru and then back to Sasuke, who was frozen in his spot. She could see Orochimaru deciding that Sasuke was his newest fascination and she had to do something.
Sakura jumped to a different tree, higher up and angled herself to face Orochimaru. She loaded her fist with chakra and slammed it into the trunk. The tree creaked and she delivered another blow with more chakra than was probably wise.
She screamed his name so loudly, she was sure Ino had heard and was promptly making her way towards them.
Sasuke snapped out of whatever it was that had him frozen and he jumped up just in time to miss Orochimaru's elongated neck. Of course, that didn't deter the Sannin, so Sakura delivered two more consecutive punches and the trunk broke in half.
She stumbled back on the branch as the tree shook, aware that Sasuke had appeared behind her and caught her. She slumped against him despite everything in her mind telling her she had to stay awake, but her body just wouldn't listen.
Sakura was awake long enough to see the trunk of the tree sail downwards, bringing Orochimaru's body with it. His head had to retract back to his body to ensure he could sliver his way out of any serious injury.
And the world around her blurred, the pain in her head making a violent return as she crumpled. Sasuke never let her hit the ground and that's all her brain could process before she passed out.
Sasuke was irritated.
He had frozen twice and only broke out of it because Sakura forced him to. First, it was the genjutsu she cast-- which she stupidly tried to soothe his cells or whatever afterwards. That was a waste of chakra in his eyes and he felt quite certain that it was the reason she passed out. Maybe her still healing brain played a factor but that just meant he totally failed at what Naruto pestered him with earlier.
"If Sakura-chan is going to be mega awesome and fight through the pain, then we just have to make sure she doesn't need to save us when you mess up."
And he did mess up. He froze.
The second time was just plain horrifying. Sasuke had no idea what that guy was intending to do, but the whole insanely long neck thing was freaky enough for the first day of the exams. And Sakura's absolutely terrified scream broke him out of his trance and spurred him into action.
And he went straight for her, only for Sakura to pass out. Because that's what he needed right now.
But he was the only one left standing. And he would be damned if he didn't get them all to safety. He quickly moved Sakura so she was slung over his back with her arms wrapped around his neck before he appeared by Naruto and picked up his idiotic teammate with the arm not supporting Sakura.
Sasuke was nowhere near as good as Shisui with the Shunshin, especially when extending it to two other people. And it required much more chakra than he was willing to give if that freak decided to chase them. So he spared himself one burst of speed-- just enough to get them out of the vicinity but kept his chakra levels at a decent amount should he need to protect all of them.
He traveled with his teammates weighing him down for as long as he could, before settling in a small carving beneath a large tree. Honestly, he was exhausted and he wanted to sleep. But he knew he couldn't do that, not while Sakura and Naruto were both out.
If it was just chakra exhaustion, Sakura would be awake in another hour or two. She'd need to rest, but at least she would be awake. That was all he needed for his worries to be relieved at this point. So long as she was up and jabbering on about medical jargon, then she would be okay. She had to be.
As for Naruto, Sasuke wasn't even sure what happened to him. One second the idiot is taunting him like he hadn't just battled a ninja totally out of his league and then the next he'd slumped over and falling. Whatever that guy did obviously messed with something but Sasuke had no idea what it would be.
It didn't matter, though. Sasuke managed to get them away from the freak and to a relatively safe place for the time being. Sasuke set up traps and cast an illusion with his Sharingan to make it appear as though no one was in the spot.
Sasuke laid them both out, using their pouches as pillows and made sure there were no injuries. He then caught the blood on Sakura's right hand, the source being her knuckles. So, not only did Sakura punch down an enormous tree, but she also ripped open her hand. He gingerly wrapped them, but didn't try to make them perfect. Sakura would only undo it herself when she woke up and do it properly.
After he did that, he slumped against the dirt wall. They were one day in and so far had a grand score of 1-1. It was fortunate that they still had their scroll-- Sakura had taken it from him before they truly entered the forest and had Naruto transform two of the scrolls he brought in exact replicas. On the outside, that is.
It was a great idea, he had to admit. Though, if that freak would have left them alone by giving up their scroll, he would have done so in a heartbeat.
It wasn't until nightfall that Sakura woke up and when she did, she bolted upwards and looked around frantically. She looked to her right and saw Naruto, her hand tentatively reached out and placed itself on his forehead. She sighed in relief before she began looking around again, the tension returning to her body.
Sasuke simply raised an eyebrow and waited for her to find him. When she did, her eyes went straight to his neck for whatever reason, and after the assessment passed whatever internal test she just gave him, she visibly relaxed.
"You're okay," She breathed out, her eyes closing for a moment. "That's good."
"That was idiotic," Sasuke stated, pointing towards her wrapped hands. "Not only did you run out of chakra only a few hours into the exams, but you also tore up your knuckles."
"I just wanted to have your back," Sakura said quietly, moving herself so she sat facing him. She began to unwrap her hand, pointedly not looking at him.
"Sakura."
"I know it was stupid, Sasuke-kun," She whispered, undoing his poor work and grabbed bandages from her bag. "And compared to you and Naruto, I'm weak. My offensive measures are genjutsu tricks and strong punches. I'm not as fast as you nor as powerful as Naruto and I'm finally okay with that. My skills are different from yours but I'm not useless. I refuse to be."
"I don't think you're weak," Sasuke immediately responded, wondering why the notion even crossed her mind. Out of all of them, Sakura had the most disadvantages but she never let them deter her from getting better.
"Nor do I think you're useless," He continued, watching as she paused before continuing to wrap the bandage around her arm. "But you are still injured and what you did was reckless."
"I'm going to be okay," She said softly, a strained smile forming as she finally looked up at him.
When Sakura looked at him like that, Sasuke feared she could see all of his thoughts clear as day. It was always this knowing tilt in her smile or the touch of gentleness in her tone that made him wonder if she truly did see right through him.
Sasuke disliked a lot of things. And he disliked emotions solely because he never could properly express them like Naruto and Sakura did everyday without fail. He took after his father, unfortunately.
So, why was it that it always felt like Sakura knew how he was feeling or the words he actually meant to say but never could?
"Being okay later doesn't help us now," Sasuke responded, because while Sakura could read him like those medical scrolls she's always carrying around nowadays, he was still stubborn.
Sakura smiled as she finished bandaging her hand and then held up the finished product.
"I'm okay, now, Sasuke-kun. Get some rest. I'll wake you up if anything happens."
"Sakura-"
"Go to sleep," She ordered and he grumbled a bit but listened anyway.
If he wanted to protect them, he had to back down and get some sleep. And while it physically pained him to give up, especially with Sakura's smile growing wider as she watched him, he figured this was a small sacrifice on his part.
And honestly-- he was exhausted.