Together, We Worry

Fortunately for the Konoha team, Sasuke and Lee also managed to bring a few Kumogakure ninjas to help out.

As Sasuke slashed through with ease using his katana, his eyes searched for Sakura. He sensed her chakra and when he finally spotted Hinata and Sakura, he narrowed his eyes. What the hell? Why was Hinata healing her?

"Did you guys get the scrolls to the Raikage?" Kiba asked as he took a punch at a rebel.

"Yes! The Kumogakure security forces are here now, so let's get back to Konoha!" Lee insisted as he kicked his way through a group of rebels that were attacking him.

"We've got it from here!" One of the Kumogakure ninjas shouted out. "You guys can retreat back to Konoha and we'll take care of everything! We'll send notice if things get out of hand!"

The Konoha team all nodded and one by one, jumped away from the battle scene.

Sasuke immediately rushed over to Hinata and Sakura, with the others following close behind.

"What happened here?" He bent down and placed his hand on Sakura's forehead.

"She's poisoned."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes and Hinata saw a hint of worry flash across his face. "...how bad is it?"

"I'm doing my best to slow down the spreading. We must get back to Konoha as soon as possible." Hinata replied.

"Get on. You can keep concentrated on healing Sakura." Kiba patted on Akamaru, insisting that she and Sakura rest on top of Akamaru's back.

Sasuke slowly picked Sakura up and placed her onto Akamaru's back and then Hinata also hopped on, keeping her chakra focused on Sakura's wound.

"My transportation jutsu should save us some time. I can't transport us back all the way to Konoha, but I'll be able to transport us near the border of the Land of Fire." Sasuke said as he started the hand signs for his jutsu. "Everyone come closer. I can only transport all of us if we're in close proximity."

Within a few moments, a quick flash of light blinded everyone for a slight second and they all found themselves back in the forest.

"How long until we reach Konoha?" Ino asked eagerly, looking down anxiously at Sakura.

"We should be able to get back to the village by tomorrow night." Sasuke also kept his gaze on Sakura. He reached over and held her hand, squeezing it gently. "We will not camp out. Lady Hinata, I know the jutsu is weaking your body...but please endure it for a while longer. The sooner we get to the village, the sooner we can save her."

Hinata nodded in agreement. "No worries. I can manage."

With that being said, they all dashed ahead towards Konoha. Though Hinata reassured everyone that she was going to be fine, she felt like she would faint at any moment. Using the two healing jutsu at the same time while her chakra was still low was dangerous.

She knew that once they got back to the village, she will barely have enough chakra to sustain her own body temperature. She glanced down at her hands that were hovered above Sakura's abdomen and noticed that her own skin was getting pale and her fingers were trembling. She could literally see the color of her blue chakra channeling through her veins towards Sakura's body.

Hinata clenched her teeth together and closed her eyes tightly. Right now, she knew she was risking her own life...but she had to keep focused on healing Sakura at least until they reached the Konoha gates.

Sasuke kept glancing back every once in a while to see how Sakura was doing. If Hinata was at it for this long, there was no doubt that this poison was very life-threatening.

He hadn't felt this kind of fear in such a long time...if Sakura didn't make it, he knew he'd hate himself for the rest of his life. He couldn't imagine himself being with any other woman. He didn't even ask her to marry him yet. There were too many regrets if she left him now.

He averted his eyes to Hinata, who looked pale and fatigued. He knew he had much to owe her...and then he realized that he could barely sense her chakra anymore. It dawned him that she was literally risking her own life to stop the poison from spreading throughout Sakura's body.

Shit.

If Hinata kept transferring her own life force to Sakura, she possibly won't make it when they reach Konoha. Sakura on the other hand, would still have a chance to be hospitalized and cured. However, if Hinata stopped now due to exhaustion, then Sakura would have dire consequences because it might be too late.

It was bad either way. It was as if they had to lose one or the other.

Kiba noticed that Sasuke was looking back at Akamaru and his eyes followed to where Sasuke was gazing at. He gasped softly when he saw Hinata's physical state. "Lady Hinata, are you-,"

"Keep going. Do not slow down to worry about me." Hinata quickly cut him off. She couldn't afford to lose any time right now.

The rest of the team glanced back and their hearts dropped when they also saw how pale and drained Hinata looked. She also recently just coughed up some more blood, so there was a trail of blood dripping down her lips.

"Lady Hinata, if you keep-,"

"If I stop, Sakura will die. Do you not understand that?" Hinata glared at them.

They all were taken by surprise by her tone of voice. She wasn't someone who spoke so sternly like that.

Sasuke clenched his hands into fists. "Lady Hinata, your life is also at risk." He didn't want Sakura to die, but he also didn't want to risk losing Hinata either. She was Naruto's wife...she was the wife of his best friend. He couldn't allow such a tragedy to befall on Naruto.

Hinata let out a frustrated sigh. "Keep going and do not ask me any further questions or comment about my health. That is an order."

No one talked after that.

Though they were worried for Hinata's wellbeing, they also realized the danger if she stopped.

Sasuke finally looked away from Sakura and Hinata. He hoped to God that they both lived. If they lost Sakura, it will devastating for him, and if they lost Hinata, it would be devastating for Naruto...and it didn't look too good for either of them right now.

"The sun is setting...it'll get cold soon." Sai commented.

"We can't stop. If we waste any time, not only Sakura's life, but Hinata's life as well, will be in danger. It's already bad enough as it is." Ino muttered. "I packed blankets...it should be enough to keep them warm."

Ino slowed down so that she came alongside Akamaru and then pulled out two blankets from her side bag. "Here, this will help you guys through the night." She gently wrapped one around Hinata's shoulder and then covered Sakura with the other one.

"Thank you." Hinata made a small smile at Ino before Ino dashed back to the front with Sai.

Hinata wiped away the now slightly dried blood that was dripping down her lips. She knew she had enough chakra to last through one more day, but once they reached Konoha, she was sure that she'll be unconscious. Her eyes averted down to Sakura and she let out a deep breath. As long as she can save Sakura...it'll be worth it.

Hinata knew very well that by tomorrow night...she might not possibly live. Sakura will be healed enough to be taken to the hospital, but as for herself...the situation wasn't getting any better. She felt like crying right now, not because she was afraid of death, but because she was afraid of the guilt that Naruto will feel if she did die.

If she died, and Sakura lived...she knew that Naruto would feel like it was his fault. However, if she lived, and Sakura died...she didn't know if Naruto would ever forgive her; she wouldn't even be able to forgive herself...and plus, there was Sasuke, too. She wanted Sakura to be able to live happily with Sasuke.

There was a slight chance that she can live, but that chance was very slim. By tomorrow night, her chakra will most likely be completely gone...and if her chakra was nonexistent, she will be, too.

"There's nothing suspicious so far beyond the gates." Shikamaru placed a small file on Naruto's desk. "Other small neighboring villages have given their reports regarding the rebels. No one has seen any strange ninjas or been attacked yet."

"It's been five days...if the rebels aren't here yet, it might mean that Team 8 and the reinforcement team handled the situation well." Naruto felt small weight lifted off his shoulders. "I hope they also delivered the scrolls safely..."

"Should I tell the security headquarters to pull back their shinobi?"

Naruto thought for a few moments and then shook his head. "We can't let our guard down yet. We don't know what will happen within the next few days...let's wait for at least two more days until we pull back our security forces."

"The team should be getting back by tomorrow, right?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes. If they don't arrive by tomorrow night, I'll tell some border guards to check the perimeter outside the village."

"...other than that, Hokage...you should get some rest." Shikamaru could tell that Naruto hasn't gotten much sleep. He knew that Naruto was probably over-stressing himself both by protecting the village and worrying over Hinata and the others.

Naruto grinned reassuringly at him. "I'll be fine. A little loss of sleep won't keep me down. Besides, my mind's too occupied...I can't sleep with everything being so hectic right now."

"It's not good for your health." Shikamaru crossed his arms and sighed. Though he was the Hokage's advisor, Naruto didn't listen to him much.

"Ah, stop worrying so much, Shikamaru." Naruto got up from his seat quickly and then he was caught by surprise when he suddenly felt dizzy and stumbled forward a little.

Shikamaru immediately stepped forward and placed his arm on Naruto's shoulder, holding him steady. "There's a reason why I worry...you just never listen." He frowned at Naruto.

Naruto stabilized himself and stood up straight. "I just got up too quickly. It's not a big deal." He shrugged. "Anyways, send notice to the other villages that if they need protection of any kind, let us know. I can't risk the neighboring villages to be in danger either."

"That's a lot of resources and ninjas that we have to use if they request for any kind of protection...Konoha alone is already a lot to handle. Are you sure?"

Naruto made a small smile. "Just because I'm Hokage of Konoha, doesn't mean that my duty rests only in this village. The Shinobi Nations are one...we protect one another."

Shikamaru made no further comment. Of course Naruto would say something like...he was someone who would go through great lengths to keep anyone and everyone out of danger. "I'll take care of it, then. You should go rest...or at least take a short nap." With him worrying about his own village and other villages as well, Shikamamaru knew that Naruto was only going to be even more stressed out. It definitely wasn't good for him.

"Eeeeeh, I don't feel like it. Let's go check on the trade stocks...and I heard that we're a little low on our supplies at the hospital. They've been asking for more medical supplies lately." Naruto started walking towards the door, but Shikamaru stopped him.

"Hokage. Please take a break."

Naruto glared at him for being so persistent. "I said I'm fine. I can't take a break with so many things going on-,"

"That's not a valid excuse. You have me, plus plenty of other jounin and ninjas who can help you take on these tasks. Just give me a list of whatever you need us to check on, and we'll do it for you."

"...ugh...at times like these, I'm gonna have to use your own word against you..." Naruto groaned. "So troublesome."

Shikamaru simply smirked. "That should be my line right now."

Naruto rolled his eyes, but he eventually gave in and walked back to his desk, picking up a scroll on the side of his pile of documents. "Fine, then. Here are a few things that I needed to do that I wrote down earlier. I'll go take a nap for a quick hour or two...but let me know if there are any problems."

Shikamaru nodded and made a small bow as Naruto walked past him and out the door.

Naruto looked up at the sky and realized that the sun was already setting.

"Taking a nap at a time like this is weird...I'm gonna end up waking up in the middle of night and that'll just mess up my sleeping schedule even more."

He sighed and shook his head. "Nice advice, Shikamaru...geez, this is exactly why I don't listen to him."

He then wondered where Hinata and the rest of the team were. They should be on their way back if they delivered the scrolls successfully. And god...he missed her like crazy. He didn't realize that they would grow to be this close to each other and he knew for sure now that at this point of his life, she was the most important person to him.

His mind flashed back to when they were just kids in the academy, and how she always blushed and fainted around him. It was a shock when he heard her confession to him when she was protecting him from Pain. He never had a woman who would love him so much to the extent that she would risk her own life for him. And even further than that, she stood by his side when he fought against Madara and Obito in the war. He remembered clearly how she slapped him out of his discouragement...she was the one who gave him the strength to continue the fight for both his comrades who were still fighting alongside him, and for those who have died at the battle scene. He let Obito convince him that the death of his comrades were for nothing, and he almost gave up...but Hinata reminded him that he held more than one life in his hands. She reminded him of his reason for fighting and she reminded him that he should never go back on his ninja way.

She was the one who held him together when he was about to fall apart. Her mere presence gave him the confidence to strive forward to be a better person and a better shinobi. Her smile and the way she looked at him like he was everything to her, made him feel so loved and made him feel like he could do anything in the world. Even now, without her by his side, he was anxious over everything that's happening in the village.

Naruto stopped walking at that thought and he narrowed his eyes.

She was the one who held him together.

It wasn't Sasuke.

It wasn't Kakashi.

It wasn't his father, or the other former Hokages who had fought alongside him.

It wasn't even Sakura.

It was Hinata...and he realized that it was always Hinata. It was like everything that had happened in the past purposely led up to where they were now, and maybe, the kind of girl that he had always wanted...wasn't Sakura, but Hinata.

And then it suddenly hit him, that maybe this was all meant to be...that all this happened for a reason...that he and Hinata were meant to be together from the start.

All credits to the author and Masashi Kishimoto