Chapter 29

"Where are you going? Get back here!"

I ignored Hidan's offended yell and ran with all my might. Large boulders and plateaus dusted the area, and I zigged and zagged around them as I ran in an attempt to keep his line of sight off of me. I could hear him in the distance, chasing me. My heart was beating so quickly in my chest that it began to overwhelm my ability to pick up any other sounds, and I squeezed my eyes shut as I continued, pushing my lungs past their limit.

"Sakura!"

A familiar voice met my ears, and I looked ahead to see none other than Madara running toward me in the far distance. Overwhelming relief washed over me, and I opened my mouth to call his name, reaching a hand forward in his direction, only for a sudden and blazing pain to erupt through my entire torso.

I stumbled forward and almost fell, but caught myself and looked down as my legs began to slow and give out. Three blades were sticking out of me. One was through my chest, near my collarbone, and the others were directly below it. Blood flooded my lungs and mouth as I staggered to a stop with wide eyes.

Madara yelled something, much closer than before, but all I could do was look down at my chest. My palms hovered a few inches away from the sharp blades as disbelief and complete agony wrecked my body into rigor. That is until the weapon was tugged back, pulling me with it, until I felt a warm chest against my back. Hidan wrapped an arm around my middle to hold me upright against him while his other hand remained on his scythe.

He taunted me, breath dusting my sweaty skin, "Careful, Baby. You'll bleed to death if I pull the blades out, and you're not fast enough."

Don't do it. Don't let the terror and rage overwhelm you. You promised Tsunade you'd never do that again.

Stay positive.

Stay positive.

Stay positive!

Blood fell quickly from my lips. I could feel it running slowly down my neck as I struggled to tear my eyes off my impaled chest. I can't move. I can't breathe. I can't- "Get away from her."

Madara's voice was angrier than I think I'd ever heard, snapping me out of my stupor so I could look at his face. Tears filled my eyes as I realized he didn't look how he sounded. No, he seems gut-wrenchingly concerned, standing there with his bright red eyes studying my tragic appearance.

"Are you sure? Alright then."

All the air in my body was sucked away as Hidan pulled his scythe out of my chest, and I fell into a trembling heap on the hot sand immediately when he released me so he could block Madara's immediate onslaught of attacks.

My hands shook as I felt my life force pouring freely from my heart, but I brought them to my chest, sobbed, and curled into a ball as I tried to imagine myself healing.

"Cut off your own head." I heard Madara's words in the distance, but the ringing muffled them in my ears. I wasn't so close to dying that I couldn't comprehend that he ordered Hidan to disable himself.

A moment later, searing pain came across my throat, and I rolled onto my knees, choking on my blood. One moment I was writhing in agony on the ground, hands clutching desperately at my injuries as I lost the ability to focus on keeping my energy stable, and the next, I was pulled upright.

"Bite me, Sakura! Now!"

One of my eyes crept open through the pain to see Madara's shoulder, and I sank my teeth into his jugular instantly. Long fingers were tangled in my hair as he held me tightly against him. After a moment, the fog in my head gradually faded, and I grabbed his opposite shoulder as I cried and continued drinking.

His skin's dusted with blood, likely from being affected by Hidan's beheading, just like me. That's when I realized he was moving, carrying me away from the fight scene as quickly as possible before Hidan could recover. I wrapped my legs around his waist in an attempt to aid him, and he adjusted his hold.

Once I was sure I wouldn't bleed out from my injuries, I closed the wound on his neck but couldn't stop the tears, so I simply buried my face into it, wrapped my arms around his shoulders, and held on. I'm still heavily bleeding, but he was injured too, so I can't take any more blood, or he'll be affected by it.

Weakly, I mumbled into his shoulder, "You weren't supposed to find me yet." Madara didn't verbally respond.

Before I realized it, I fainted. I was still being carried when I woke next, but it was dark out, meaning I'd missed many hours. By his scent and the fact that his long hair was in my line of sight, I could tell it was still Madara carrying me. Has he stopped to rest even once? The pace he's walking is much slower than before, that's for sure.

I winced at the scratch in my throat but spoke anyway, "Can you put me down?"

His voice was quiet, "Are you going to run away again?"

I shook my head against his shoulder, frowning as tears filled my eyes, and Madara stopped, letting me gather my balance once my feet were on the ground before releasing his hold. He continued walking, and I followed him, eyes trained on his back.

For the first time, he's being quiet, and I want him to talk, to tell me what he's thinking right now. I don't know his body language as well as Sasuke's, so I can't get a good read of his emotions without him speaking. Kakurega's still far away, but I can see the lights, so we'll likely arrive in the next few hours.

My gaze returned to Madara's back, and I frowned. If I weren't still feeling so weak on my feet, I'd try to make a break for it and use my new expertise to outrun him, so I can continue with my plan of locating and defeating Nagato and Yahiko, but that's not the case. Besides, Nagato is supposed to be in Kakurega, and that's the direction we're headed.

My eyelids felt heavy as I trudged along at his quicker pace. How I can still be tired after being unconscious all day, I don't know. I eventually garnered the courage to speak, knowing he could hear me even if I barely whispered, "Where's Sasuke?"

He ignored me. Madara didn't even turn to acknowledge I'd spoken.

A few moments later, I tried again, "U-Um…Thank you for saving me." Nothing, there wasn't even a stutter in his stride.

The continued silence just put me more on edge by the second, and I tried a third time a few minutes later, deciding to be sincere with how I'm feeling, "Madara, are you okay?"

He finally stopped, so I did, too. The tall Uchiha man turned, and I was stunned to see his eyes glowing as he glared angrily. He took a step toward me, and I took a step back, terrified by the suddenly murderous aura surrounding him.

"You went behind our backs and left. You've been on the run for days. Tell me, Sakura," He froze my movements without verbally commanding it, and I trembled as he approached, "Did you know we can tell when you're in danger? Do you know how worried I was? There was a fucking collar with your blood all over it!"

I winced when his voice raised many levels throughout his statement.

He remained silent until I looked up to meet his eye again, lowering his tone back to normal, "And the first thing you say to me is that I wasn't supposed to find you yet…."

I choked on my tears, "Madara, I'm sorry-" "Don't apologize when you're going to take off again the moment you get a chance. I know what your plan is."

I shook my head, hands balling into fists at my sides, "You don't understand! As long as I'm around, everyone is-" "Just shut your mouth, Sakura!"

My body obeyed, and I searched his face in disbelief as tears rose in his eyes. The angry tension in his brow trembled for a moment before morphing into something more akin to hurt before he turned and began walking again.

Neither of us said a word for the remainder of our traveling, and we arrived at Kakurega Village just over three hours later, in the very early hours of the morning. I didn't have my cloak this time around and felt the little hairs on my arms raise as the sensation of dozens of eyes on me made my skin crawl. I kept my head down and tried to remain as close to Madara's back as possible.

Those unfamiliar scents were there again. I don't know what kind of creature or race they belong to, but it put a fear through me that I haven't felt in a long time. It was like my instincts were warning me to flee, but I couldn't.

I ran into Madara and stepped back when he suddenly knelt. After a moment, he glanced back at me, "Hide your face."

Gingerly, I climbed onto his back and buried my face into his shoulder like earlier, but this time it was so none of the monsters in these streets would be able to memorize my appearance. Jiraiya and Tsunade warned me about that, too. With each step Madara took, the atmosphere around us felt tenser, especially since I couldn't look up to see what was happening.

An hour later, I suddenly felt someone's hands on my sides and gasped in terror, tightening my arms around Madara's neck and holding on for dear life.

"Sakura."

My eyes shot open at the familiar voice, and I released the Uchiha man instantly so I could turn to see Sasuke standing there with a glare. I reached for him, and he pulled me off his uncle's back. I cried as I hugged him close, his arms holding me firmly to him.

"Hurry inside, you three!" I turned to see Shizune gesturing at us frantically, her dark eyes looking down the alleyway to ensure we weren't followed. We're back at the hideout bar Jiraiya and Tsunade first took me to.

After descending the stairs, my eyes widened when I realized the place was a mess. Tables were broken, shattered glass was all over the place, and multiple people were grouped against the wall across the room. Tsunade was knelt in front of one of them, her hands glowing.

I gasped in surprise, realizing they must be injured, and tore my hand from Sasuke's as I rushed over to help her. My teacher glanced over when I arrived before giving me a nod. I mirrored her hand position of the injured man in front of me's shoulder, which had a massive hole through it that wasn't healing quickly. He had long brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and a scar across the bridge of his nose. He winced in pain but didn't say or do anything to stop me from helping him.

The warm green glow began emitting from my palms, and I gritted my teeth when I realized it wasn't working nearly as fast as Tsunade's, but that's to be expected when she has hundreds of years of experience. It's better than nothing.

Tears welled in my eyes as I glanced over to see four more injured persons waiting to be healed, "I'm so sorry…. I never should've come here. I put everyone in danger."

The blond woman to my left hissed, "Focus, Sakura."

Sniffling, I nodded and shut my guilt down. The sound of glass being swept up and furniture being fixed came steadily behind us as we worked our way down the line of injured allies.

We finished a little more than an hour later, and I was even more exhausted than before. Tsunade and I fell onto stools at the bar, and Shizune placed a glass of dark-colored liquor in front of us each. When I met her eye, the distrustful glint that'd been there previously was gone. Instead, she grinned sheepishly, "It'll take the edge off. Trust me."

I felt someone sit beside me and glanced over to see Sasuke, Madara arriving on his other side. Jiraiya arrived and went behind the counter to look over us with his arms crossed and a big frown. Shizune got the Uchiha men drinks as well before turning to tend to the couple of others that hadn't left after being healed.

"We didn't know you were the Uchiha-involved Sakura. We thought the name and hair were a mere coincidence. When were you going to tell us?"

The tense tug at Jiraiya's usually casual tone tightened my chest, but I took my time responding, taking a big sip of the bitter drink before me. My eyes sank to the counter and away from his accusatory ones, "I felt it'd be safer for everyone if you didn't know."

Tsunade scoffed, and when I looked over at her, she shook her head in disbelief before tossing her head back and gulping down her entire glass, slamming it down onto the counter once she was finished. I gave her an incredulous look when she finally turned her neck to meet my eye, "We appreciate your help in healing our wounded, but it's best if you leave." She didn't need to say it, but it also meant I wasn't welcome to return.

Hurt and betrayal bubbled in my stomach, and I straightened my spine, stuttering in confusion, "W-What? I thought we-" Jiraiya cut me off, "You were right. It's too dangerous for you to be here."

My breath got caught in my throat, and I looked between them with tears in my eyes. Maybe I was wrong about everything that'd happened over the past few days. I thought we were on our way to being great allies, friends, but I must've misread the signals at some point.

They're right, though, about the danger. So, I nodded and let Sasuke and Madara lead me out of the building without a glance back at what I thought had been the start of something wonderful.