Overcoming the Odds.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Left Behind

She wanted to shout at him for his foolishness. She wanted her damn legs to work so she could get up and run away. She wanted desperately to catch up to him, then beat the everlasting shit out of him for having the audacity of doing something so despicable. She wanted many things in that moment, however the tears that steadily fell from her eyes was one thing that was certainly unaccounted for.

Konoha shinobi were just a couple trees away now, and she was sure they would capture or kill her soon. She tried in vain to stifle her growing fear, and desperately crawled her way to a bush where she could attempt to hide.

"That bastard!" She cursed him internally. "Damn coward, how dare you do this to me!" She pulled herself along the forest floor and heard the audible dashes of her enemies drawing near. She moved faster.

"I thought he needed me..." His last departing word rang through her head, and greatly conflicted the standing emotions she still felt for the rogue shinobi. Her chest was filled with pain at the heartache, and the blades lodged deep within her back were momentarily forgotten. "I thought-"

Her thoughts were interrupted by someone landing in the vicinity. She immediately ceased her crawling and stayed quiet. She turned her head to see the person, and found that it was the same boy from earlier who battled with Sasuke. His clothes were torn and blackened by flames. He was bent forward slightly with a hand clutching his side and breathing in shakily. He continued to bleed from his clutched side, and after some shaky breaths he turned his gaze to see a red-haired girl with weapons sticking out of her back and tears smearing her face.

He continued to breath hard while they looked at each other, but soon enough he flashed a pained grin. He faced the girl fully and looked at her with accomplishment. "Gotcha." He said triumphantly and in resolve.

Just then another person landed in the area. This time it was the girl who she sensed was coming from earlier.

The girl walked up to the boy quickly, then when she was close enough she immediately punched him in the head. The force of the punch sent the already weakened male to the floor, where he groaned and complained.

"Ow! What the hell was that for Sakura?!" He yelled in frustration while holding the part she so rudely hit. She went beside him and looked down at him with her fists clenched at her sides. "For not listening you idiot!" She exclaimed. "Kakashi-sensei and I told you not to chase after him!" She got on her knees and proceeded to apply pressure on his injured side, which made the boy wince and hiss at the foreign touch. Soon her hands were radiating a light green color.

"A medic." Karin dully noted, still fazed by what happened just a minute prior.

Naruto relaxed at feeling some of the pain leave him. "Thanks." He said.

Sakura seemed to ignore him. "How could you be so stupid? Are you trying to get yourself killed?" She asked in a concerned yet berating tone.

He looked saddened by her words, and a small moment passed until he spoke. "Sorry... I wasn't strong enough this time."

Sakura looked down at his injury in guilt. "Shut up so I can focus."

All this happened while Karin lay there. She didn't bother to move or run away, mainly because she knew that they would easily restrain her, but it was also because she lacked any motivation whatsoever to save herself by now.

A third and last figure landed in the area. By his clothing, Karin could immediately identify him as a jōnin, and figured that these people most likely formed a team. More importantly, Sasuke's old team.

Kakashi jogged over to them. "Is he okay?" He asked.

Sakura continued to stare at the wound. "Yeah, but he does need some work." She raised her head and looked him in the eyes with a stern expression. "Don't ever do something that stupid again."

The man made a noise of agreement. "I agree. Not only was that foolish, but you went against my orders." He said and crossed his arms. "A punishment is only suitable."

Naruto groaned and put an arm over his eyes. "Give me a break, I just wanted to teach that bastard a lesson."

Sakura scoffed. "With an injury like this?"

Naruto just waved her off. "I've had worse." He replied.

Kakashi turned his attention to the elephant in the room and looked at the red-haired girl from the corner of his eye. "Now that we know you're safe," he said, "it'd be most appropriate to take care of... Other business." He faced Karin, who had been silently watching the group the entire time. "Have you taken notice of her?" He asked them.

"Yes," Sakura replied simply and without taking her eyes off her patient.

Kakashi brought a kunai out from his back pocket. He walked towards the girl, then when he got halfway to her he stopped. "Can you hear me?" He asked her. Karin, who had been watching him, simply nodded her head once. "Can you move?" He asked. She lifted her head up a little and cleared her throat. "N-no." She replied in a weak and tired voice.

"Good." Kakashi stated simply. "Let's keep it that way." He started walking towards her again. "I have to give you credit Naruto, you pulled off something good today."

Naruto, who was dosing off from fatigue and Sakura's touch, awoke at his sensei's words and remembered the girl he had immobilized earlier. He turned his head to look at her.

Kakashi reached the girl, and with his kunai still drawn he loomed over her. "One move and I'll cut your throat open." He threatened. Karin had no intentions of that happening, so she stayed quiet and didn't dare to try anything stupid. Kakashi bent down, then grabbed one hand at a time and put them behind her back, a process that made her whimper in pain as her back muscles moved in motion with her arms. She was only thankful that he managed to avoid hitting any of the blades.

Naruto couldn't help but feel a little remorse at her pain, but he knew he did the right thing; she was an enemy, and now they could interrogate her and suck out any information she had on Sasuke.

Kakashi put his kunai away and took out a length of small rope from one of the pockets in his jōnin vest. He bound her hands with the rope and created a knot nearly impossible for her to break in her current state, then he stood up. "Once you finish with him," he said to Sakura, "you need to take a look at her. We can't have her bleeding out before we even make it back."

"I can do it now." She said as she stopped her healing abilities. She stood and walked her way to the girl.

Naruto propped himself up on his elbow and admired the work Sakura did. A small part of his side was missing just minutes ago, and now it looked completely fine. It amazed him to no end.

Once Sakura reached her new patient she got on her knees and readied to remove the numerous blades that impaled her back. "This might sting a little." She said to Karin, who bit down on her lip and closed her eyes in anticipation of the pain.

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