Chapter 20

Uchiha Manor- 2 Days Before Battle

"What's bothering you, princess?" Suigetsu looked at Karin curiously and she ran her fingers through her hair with a sigh as she turned to look out the window. "I'm just thinking." He raised an eyebrow as he regarded how serious she was. "Thinking about what?" She shrugged. "Everything."

"That really narrows it down," he said sarcastically, setting his enormous sword down before falling onto the Mizukage's couch and stretching himself into a comfortable position. "But I won't bug you."

Karin chuckled despite her grim mood, grateful for her companion's constantly cheerful demeanour. "You're not bugging me." He grinned widely. "Good to know."

"It's just," she started and turned away from the window to look down at him. "Imagine how differently my life could have panned out if Ino hadn't turned me into some obsessive and possessive bitch like her." Her voice cracked suddenly as her face crumpled with anguish and regret. "It could have been so different. I could have been a person people actually liked. I could have made friends. But now," her voice lowered. "I guess I'll never know what that's like."

Suigetsu's usual arrogant and cheerful expression vanished when he saw how distressed she really was, by the pain clearly evident in her eyes and by the tension in her shoulders. Karin was rarely this vulnerable and barely ever truly expressed what she was feeling. She usually hid her emotions too well for anyone to read, being as careful and cautious as she was.

Suigetsu sat up and angled his body toward the window to face her. "If it helps," he offered, "I like you." Karin giggled and wiped her eyes. "Thanks, but I didn't think you were the nice type." She blinked with surprise when she saw a protective possessiveness suddenly break past his carefree mask. "I can be nice if you need me to be." He said seriously. He watched her eyes water and the first tear fall. "I can be anything you need me to be."

Karin half laughed and half sobbed before moving to sit beside him on the couch and resting her head on his shoulder. "You don't really come across as sweet and sensitive either you know," she commented, wiping away her tears.

He winked and grinned toothily, "I'm nicer then I look. It's the shark teeth that give people the wrong idea."

Karin laughed. "Or it could be that you're an arrogant jerk most of the time."

He shrugged. "That too," he agreed.

The door flew open and Mei Terumi stalked in. Karin could tell by the tall woman's expression that Ino had upset her, again. Her furious expression, cold enough to freeze anyone to ice and also hot enough to melt you on the spot, softened when her eyes fell on Karin's tear streaked face and both teenagers stood and bowed their heads respectfully. "Mizukage." Karin felt like she had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to.

"The Yamanaka child seeks you, youngling."

"I understand."

xxxxxxx

Sakura moaned at the shrill, high-pitched ringing in her ears as she stirred. Her body was stiff from lying in one position for too long and her head was ringing too. Other than that, she felt completely fine. Her body felt as good as new, besides being stiff, but Sakura could see the large patches of dried blood from healed cuts along her arms and legs as well as rips and tears in her clothes, and she knew that the explosion would have killed her if Suigetsu hadn't pulled them into one of the abandoned buildings before the flames had turned them to ash.

Suigetsu.

She sat up quickly and moved the crumbling and charred pieces of timber and brick off of her, scanning the small space with her eyes until they fell on the white-haired boy. The blast had blown him across the room where he now lay against the wall but Sakura didn't like the weird angle he was lying in and she could see blood running down the corners of his mouth and pooling around the crown of his head, dying his white hair red. He was still alive; Sakura knew this because she could hear his breathing, faint but there all the same.

"Suigetsu," she called as she moved to stand, waiting for the ringing to stop, but froze when she heard running coming from outside the building's charred shell. Alarmed and panicking, she took a fighting stance just as Karin burst into the room, her appearance wild and dishevelled and her eyes large and wide as saucers, carrying unconscious Sasuke on her back like he weighed nothing.

It seemed to take the redhead a moment to orientate herself. "It took me seven houses to find her," she heard Karin grumbled to herself. "Are you okay, Sakura? You're not hurt are you?" She asked worriedly, still looking slightly disorientated but completely unhurt herself, and Sakura nodded wordlessly as the redhead's eyes fell on Suigetsu. I guess the explosion didn't reach the dungeon.

Karin went rigid as she took in his mangled appearance and Sakura wanted to say something but found that she couldn't. She didn't know what to say. She watched as the redhead laid Sasuke down gently, arms and legs shaking, before her face contorted with anguish and she ran to her fallen comrade, falling onto her knees next to him as she reached him. Her hands were trembling as her fingers whipsed over his body, checking his vitals. Then she shrieked, looking down at her now blood stained hands.

"Is-is he, is he still-" she stuttered, starting the process again to check him frantically for broken bones, her slender hands trembling and Sakura recognised the desperate and anguished despair in the redhead's eyes. It was how she had felt when she had lost Sasuke to Ino. The pain had been agonising.

"He's still alive," Sakura softly, understanding how Karin was feeling all too well, and she pulled the chained vial from around her neck and tossed it to the surprised redhead. "It will heal him."

"You refilled it?"

Sakura nodded. "Yeah."

"Are you sure you're okay with me using this?" Karin's lower lip trembled and Sakura crouched in front of the redhead and used her hand to close Karin's trembling hand around the vial. "He saved my life. I'm returning the favour."

Karin gave her a strained smile as thanks before she quickly turned her attention back to the boy lying in front of her. She uncorked it and made sure that Suigetsu finished all of its contents and waited with baited breath while Sakura crawled over to Sasuke.

He's still asleep. "Please wake up," she whispered into his ear, desperately wanting him to be healed and brushing his black hair out of his face; he stirred and muttered something incoherent, frowning, but that was all. Being near him made Sakura's heartbeat speed up and she hadn't realised before just how much she missed him, how much she wanted to kiss him and hold him, and how much she still loved him and wanted him. But does he still feel the same way? She stroked his cheek, cold and satin smooth, and felt the nerve endings in her fingertips prickle softly, like she was holding them over a low flame. She felt him tense under her touch before he relaxed.

"Is it possible to be in love with two different people?" Yes, she realised, yes it is. Gaara had taught her so much in such a short space of time.

"Sakura," Sasuke sighed in his sleep, his arm reaching out in front of him, reaching out for her, and Sakura, feeling elated, took his outstretched hand and brought it to her lips, feeling the coolness of his skin and inhaling his scent, feeling her body fill with the warmth and happiness only Sasuke could give her. "I'm here," she said softly, kissing each of his fingers. "I'm here, Sasuke."

Slowly, you're coming back to me. I won't lose you too.

"Damn art," Suigetsu grumbled groggily as he sat up slowly, holding his head while the once fatal cut that had been there healed itself. Sakura saw the happiness and relief in Karin's ruby eyes, so sincere and genuine, before the redhead suddenly broke down into tears. Suigetsu's eyes shot open at the sound, wide and surprised, when they fell on the girl sobbing next to him. "Karin? What the hell-"

"You," she said in a low and trembling voice, wiping the tears from her eyes before her fist met his face, hard, "IDIOT!" she screamed at him waiting for him to turn his stunned eyes back to her before she broke down again, falling against him and gripping the front of his shirt tightly as she cried into his chest. Suigetsu placed the arm he wasn't using to prop himself up with around Karin's shoulders. "I'll never understand women," he muttered helplessly while the new bruising around his eye healed itself but Sakura could see the uncharacteristically affectionate smile on his face as he pulled the redhead closer and buried his face in her hair, adjusting the position he was sitting in so that he could wrap both arms around her while her body shook with sobs.

Sakura gently place Sasuke's hand over his chest. She stood and moved across the room to scope the area outside the crumbling doorway. The door was gone but the arch was still there, charred and blackened wood set into what was left of a crumbling and mostly destroyed brick wall.

What had once been the large and vibrant village was now an almost empty cavern with the few odd ruins of houses scattered across the dusty ground. The dead Sakura remembered littering the ground were gone, piles of sparkling ash now.

Did anyone else survive this? The thought filled Sakura with dread and an icy and prickly feeling but her body tensed instinctively when Tsunade and her attendant Shizune emerged from the shell opposite to the one Sakura was watching from. Shizune had unconscious Kiba on her back and Sakura saw that Tsunade was carrying unconscious Neji. The Hokage had obviously healed them both but Sakura could still see how badly the two boys had been injured. Ino must have left them behind, she thought bitterly, clenching her fists tightly, but her heart soared at the fact that her friends were finally free at last.

But Konoha is free now. Well, what's left of it at least.

"Lady Tsunade!" She called and she saw a relieved smile break out across both women's faces. "Oh, Sakura thank goodness," Shizune breathed shakily, looking tired and Sakura could see that the dark-haired woman had also been badly injured before the Hokage had found her.

Sakura met Tsunade's cool and golden gaze.

"Survivors are to gather at the tunnel balcony," the Hokage said seriously and Sakura nodded wordlessly. "Attend to the ones that need immediate medical attention." Sakura nodded again. "Yes, Lady Tsunade." And the two women vanished.

Sakura watched them go and then looked back over her shoulder at Sasuke, looking more peaceful than she had seen him in a long time, and at still hysterical Karin and comforting Suigetsu.

This battle wasn't for nothing.

xxxxxxx

"Shizune, I want you to bring me all the survivors from down in the dungeons. Bring the ones that need healing to me and Sakura immediately."

"At once, Lady Tsunade!"

"Shikaku, I want you and Minato Namikaze to start moving survivors to the Druids' Land."

"Understood, Lady Tsunade."

3 hours after the bomb

Sakura tore a piece off the bottom of her shirt and dabbed gently at the deep red cut across Naruto's forehead to clean the wound. "Does it still hurt a lot?" She asked and the Druid boy gave her a ghost of a smile. "A little. But I've had worse. I'm sure this is nothing compared some of the others." Sakura frowned. "You don't have to act tough," she chided, "Just a little deeper and the blade that cut you would have killed you." Naruto shrugged. "It didn't though."

"You were lucky," Sakura snapped and Naruto chuckled with amusement. "Arguing with you seems like a useless endeavour, so I'll just keep quiet and agree with you," he teased and Sakura smacked his shoulder lightly with her free hand. "You're an idiot," she sighed, giving up, and he chuckled again, something Sakura wasn't used to from him. She paused and regarded him thoughtfully. He looked back at her curiously. "What?"

"You just seem different," Sakura shrugged, returning her attention back to the wound on his forehead. "I'm just used to you being a lot more serious about everything. You seem a lot more... cheerful."

"War changes a person," Naruto said quietly before he grinned at her toothily, wide and boyish. "What you're seeing now is my regular self." Sakura smacked his shoulder again. "Hold still," she hissed but grinned back at him all the same.

She lowered the piece of fabric after the wound had been sufficiently cleaned and the bleeding had stopped and brought her arm to her mouth, ready to bite into it to draw blood. Naruto held her arm to stop her and Sakura raised her eyebrow questioningly.

"Save your blood for the ones who really need it," he explained, "This wound can heal on its own without my life being in danger." Sakura lowered her arm, understanding Naruto's reasoning and Sakura smiled at him. "I'd give you lollypop for being such a good boy, but I'm afraid I'm all out." Naruto gave her a confused look and Sakura laughed when she remembered that he hadn't grown up in the humans' world and probably didn't understand.

"I'm going to check on Sasuke," she said, standing and stretching the tension out of her legs from sitting in a crouch for too long. "To see if he's woken up yet."

"You really care about him don't you?" Naruto watched her searchingly, large blue eyes curious, and she gave him a small smile in return.

"I love him," she said softly, seeing his surprised expression, and turned and started walking in the direction to where all the Yamanakas' mind control victims lay, recovering after having drank the Healer's Blood.

All the survivors had been found and were either receiving medical attention or were preparing to be moved to the Druids' Land. The Druids had agreed for their home to be their new base, knowing that Ino didn't know of its location as well as the fact that the Hidden Sand had been bombed as well. The news had horrified Sakura and Temari had burst into tears after learning that her home had been destroyed.

Sakura walked past stations were vampires experienced in medical aid were attending to the wounded, feeding vials of Sakura and Tsunade's blood to the severely wounded or bandaging and cleaning the wounds of less severe cases. The mood that hung over the camp was like a dark cloud, grim and sober and sad.

Sasuke was still asleep, Sakura noted with a tinge of disappointment when she reached him, but she noticed with concern that he was tossing fitfully and knelt down next to him, worried that he might have a fever. He was sweating, but when Sakura felt his forehead for his temperature she was surprised to find that it was completely normal. Normal for a vampire at least, cold and icy to the touch. He jerked at her touch before continuing his fitful movements.

"Please," he begged, but Sakura doubted he was talking to her. "Please."

"Please what, Sasuke?" Sakura asked gently and squeaked with surprise when he suddenly grabbed her forearms in a painful grip and pulled her downwards. She propped herself up with her hands on his muscled chest, her heart hammering from the surprise but he didn't loosen his grip on her.

"Please," he whispered, his body trembling. "Please tell Sakura to forgive me. Please. Please..." he trailed off and fell silent and Sakura felt his grip loosen before his arms fell limply back to his sides. His breathing evened out and Sakura released the breath she realised she had been holding. She noticed that her arms were shaking. "Oh, Sasuke," she whispered as her eyes brimmed with tears.

"The healing process is almost complete," Tsunade noted, and Sakura looked up, startled as the Hokage laid a young and trembling girl down beside Sasuke, another victim. "It is said that the patient sees and dreams about what scares and troubles them the most during the last stages of their recovery." Tsunade regarded him thoughtfully. "It would seem that your opinion of him and the thought that you might not forgive him after what he's been forced to do is what scares him the most."

Sakura felt a pang in her chest.

"Come, Sakura," Tsunade said gently. "You are needed elsewhere right now. Everyone needs to be healed before we can move base completely." Sakura nodded reluctantly, not wanting to leave Sasuke's side, and wiped the tears from her eyes before she stood and followed Tsunade back through the medical stations.

She had just finished bandaging a small vampire boy name Konohamaru when Sakura was pulled to the side by the Mizukage. The tall woman's blue battle clothes were ripped and bloodied but the Mizukage still managed to look utterly beautiful and almost completely flawless.

"Do you need healing?" Sakura asked and the tall woman shook her head. "No, youngling. Lady Tsunade already healed my wounds. Just find and bring Karin and Suigetsu to me."

"Of course, Mizukage," Sakura replied, bowing her head respectfully. Finding the two didn't take Sakura very long. Suigetsu was helping Karin at her assigned station, handing her vials of Healer's Blood and replacing the empty ones with full ones. Any medical supplies that had belonged to the Leaf had been destroyed so vials had had to be brought in from the Mist.

Just remembering filling all the vials made Sakura feel dizzy. It probably would have taken her the rest of the night to recover from all the blood she had lost filling them but Tsunade had given her some of her blood and Sakura's recovery time had been reduced to only an hour.

"Sakura!" Karin squeaked cheerfully but Sakura could see the toll the battle had taken on the redhead just by looking at her tired and weary face. Suigetsu was the same but he smirked at her all the same.

"The Mizukage's looking for the both of you," Sakura explained, watching with interest as Karin checked a slender Druid girl expertly for broken bones with long and nimble fingers, and wondering how the redhead could tell. Karin handed the Druid a vial after explaining that the girl had suffered three broken ribs and a fractured arm.

"We're on our way," Suigetsu called as Sakura moved away and was stopped by Shizune. "Tsunade wants you to prepare for departure," the dark haired woman said breathlessly, her dark eyes bright and glowing translucently. "We've almost finished healing all the wounded that cannot walk." Sakura didn't have a chance to reply before Shizune disappeared again as quickly as she had appeared.

"Ready to go?" Tenten asked quietly from behind her and Sakura nodded at her friend, turning to face her. "But won't the humans see us? I mean, a whole bunch of people pouring out of a subway station that was supposed to be abandoned is a little suspicious right?"

Tenten shrugged before walking away and calling over her shoulder. "Humans never notice anything."

Sakura found Naruto talking quietly with a shy looking Hinata.

"You're eyes are beautiful," she heard him say, making Hinata blush bright red, "I've never seen anyone with silver eyes before."

"T-thank you," Hinata squeaked, hiding behind her hair, and Sakura smiled.

xxxxxxx

"I'm sad, Deidara," Ino whined, straddling his lap and facing him while he watched her with a dazed expression. "Why are you sad, Ino?"

Ino pouted. "Because Sasuke didn't come back. But you know," her pout became a seductive grin as she leaned in closer and brushed the long fringe away from the Akatsuki's eyes. "I got bored of that toy. The only reason I wanted him so badly was because Sakura got him before I could," the thought of Sakura made Ino's blood boil but she ignored it. "And anyway," she brought her lips to his ear and smirked when she felt him shiver. "I have you, don't I?"

Do you see how powerful I am, Sakura?

"Always," he murmured.