Stream of past

VS Shukaku

Sasuke jumped through the trees as he pursued Naruto and Gaara from afar. Sakura was still unconscious on his back after Gaara tried to squeeze the life out of her. He desperately wanted to help the blonde with the fight, but he couldn't just leave Sakura all alone and defenseless. What if someone from sand got to her? Not only that, but he was still low on chakra. 

The soldier pill only started to take effect and while he felt his chakra getting replenished, it wasn't fast enough. Still, he followed the two from a safe distance, ready to support Naruto if needed. He didn't know how he was going to fight with an unconscious Sakura on his back, but that's a problem for future Sasuke.

He stopped his pursuit as he felt Sakura shift on his back. He crouched on a branch and softly laid her down. He looked at her face scrunching up before her green eyes opened.

"Sakura? Are...Are you ok?" asked Sasuke worriedly.

"Sasuke? W-what happened?" asked Sakura.

"We were fighting Gaara before he caught you in a sand prison and started crushing you. Naruto showed up and he started fighting Gaara after freeing you. I have been pursuing him with you on my back in case he needs support. But never mind that, how are your injuries?"

The medic's hand glowed a soft green as she ran a diagnosis over her body. Sasuke watched carefully as she checked her injuries.

"Two broken ribs and a bit of internal bleeding in my abdomen. I'll need your help to set my ribs straight or they might heal incorrectly." said Sakura.

"What do you need me to do?" asked Sasuke.

"Hold my shoulders down and tie my legs to the tree so I don't accidentally jostle them."

Sasuke nodded and tied her legs to the branch they have been standing on. Then he went behind Sakura and held her down while she untied her hitai-ate and put it in her mouth to have something to bite on. Then the actual process started. His friend muffled a scream as she started moving the broken bones. Her body convulsed and Sasuke pressed on her shoulders to keep her from moving. He watched with morbid fascination as skin and bone shifted and her ribcage rose with the reset bones. Sakura bit down on the hitai-ate and Sasuke noticed that she dented the metal.

Suddenly Sakura sighed and went lax under his hold. He looked at her hand healing her abdomen and realized that she finished healing her ribs. Once she was done, he let her go and untied her legs while Sakura put her hitai-ate back. He helped her up and got ready to look for Naruto when they heard a loud roar. They sprang up the tree to get to the top and see what was going on. The two of them found a slim branch at the top that they had to squeeze on. Their shoulders were pressed together as they stared at the perpetrator of the sound. A giant sand tanuki with black cursed seal markings all over it. The One Tail, Shukaku.

"Shit, where's Naruto?!" exclaimed Sakura. She had been unconscious in her past life so she barely had any idea if this is how it went. Naruto told her a bit about it, but not in detail. However she got her answer soon enough as a giant toad was summoned.

"Found him..." said Sasuke dryly but his eyes were wide in amazement. They watched as the chief toad jumped with his sword raised and fought the one tail. Suddenly the massive sword of the chief toad went flying. The resulting mini earthquake making Sakura and Sasuke fall. Sakura immediately maneuvered herself and coated her legs and one arm in chakra in order to stick to the tree, while he other hand tried to grab Sasuke. The Uchiha saw what she was trying to do and rotated his body accordingly so Sakura can grab him. She caught the collar of his shirt and kept him suspended with her on the tree.

Once she saw a safe branch, she threw him at it so she could properly move. They both jumped down on the ground before running to another tree. They had to make sure Naruto would be ok, even if they can't help him right now. When they arrived, they saw Shukaku firing air bullets while the chief toad retaliated with water bullets. The strength of the attacks made it rain over the forest. This time, when the inevitable gust of wind appeared, they held onto each other and the tree with all their might. It was so strong, it blew Sakura's hitai-ate from her head. More water and air bullets collided and soaked the duo to the bone.

After a while, Shukaku landed a blow on the toad. Smoke gathered around before the chief emerged from it like a phoenix and fired a distraction water bullet. Then he tried to grip the one tail but he was quickly shaken off. 

"What is Naruto trying to do?" asked Sasuke.

Sakura looked carefully at the monster before noticing something red on his forehead. "Over there! On his forehead, there seems to be someone. It's think Gaara."

Sasuke opened his mouth to say something but got interrupted by a loud roar. When they looked back, they saw the nine tailed fox in all it's glory.

"What the-" started Sasuke.

"-unadulterated fuck?" finished Sakura.

The fox ran towards Shukaku at full speed. It swiped at the beast with it's large claws before the tanuki fired several air bullets. The fox tried using a landscape to it's advantage and picked up a few trees with it's tail before throwing them at Shukaku. The one tail fired a few more air bullets and destroyed the trees but this gave the fox the chance to get in close. It bit it's shoulder and sank it's claws into it's skin. Then a giant poof of smoke appeared to reveal Naruto and the chief toad. They saw an orange blur jump towards the forehead but before they could see what was happening, the chief toad started getting pushed back. 

"We have to go, that toad is getting pushed back towards us. If we stay here we'll be crushed." said Sasuke.

"But what about Naruto?" asked Sakura.

"We can't help him if we become one with the ground. Come on." said Sasuke before forcefully picking her up and running away. Knowing Sakura she would have fought him until it was too late to run.

"What the- Sasuke put me down!" exclaimed Sakura while she squirmed in his arms.

"Not until we're a safe distance away."

"I promise I won't run back to Naruto, you can let me down."

Sasuke simply raised an eyebrow at her, both of them knowing that was a lie. Once they were a safe distance away he put her down but kept a hold on her arm. Then they ran up the tree and continued watching the fight. They reached the top of the tree just in time to watch the Shukaku get cracks all over its body. Eventually, the creature started breaking apart and transforming into sand. It was over, Naruto won.

"He did it..." said Sasuke. "He won."

"Come on, we have to find him!" said Sakura after Sasuke released her hand and running towards her blonde teammate. Sasuke followed Sakura closely as they jumped through the trees. They found Naruto slowly crawling himself towards Gaara. Sakura jumped in the clearing and kneeled in front of him.

"Naruto! You're ok! I'm so relieved!" said Sakura after she flipped him over so she could heal him. "Sage, your forehead is all bloody. Did you headbutt someone?"

"Sakura...you're alright...I'm glad..." sad Naruto as he lost consciousness. Sakura smiled softly at him as she healed his injuries. Behind her, she could feel Sasuke keeping guard as he surveyed Gaara.

Suddenly, Temari and Kankurou appeared in the clearing. Sasuke took a defensive position in front of them while Sakura cradled Naruto. Both of them were ready to protect their teammate no matter what.

Fortunately they didn't need to, as the sand trio retreated. Sakura and Sasuke sighed in relief before also leaving with Naruto. It was time to return home.