Desert Flower

Getting Back on Track

Yuri jumped, completely startled, when she heard Naruto screamed as he woke up when Choji hit him on the head with a stick.

"Everyone hide! Get down! Where'd that guy go?!"

"Calm down, Naruto. Everyone's fine for the most part. That Orochimaru guy ran off like a bitch." Yuri reassured him. Naruto blinked and he was knocked back down when Choji poked him with the stick.

"You really are one of a kind." Shikamaru spoke. "Just looking at you is getting on my nerves." Naruto glared at him until his eyes widen when he saw Sakura, noticing something different about her.

"Oh! Sakura!" He shouted, running over to her.

"What?"

"Your hair!" Naruto sputtered.

"Oh, this? I just decided to change my look." Sakura smiled. "I like it longer, but when I'm in the forest, it's hard to move around and it gets in the way." Naruto hummed.

"Oh, I see." Then he turned to the others. "By the way, why are you guys here?"

"Explaining it to you would be a waste of time." Shikamaru said.

"Hey, where did the sound ninjas go?" Lee wondered as well.

"Sasuke chased them off." Ten Ten told him before narrowing her eyes at him angrily. "But never mind that! You're all beaten up! What were you thinking running off by yourself?!"

"Yuri and Sakura chan were in trouble and as a man I-"

"You are such an idiot!" Ten Ten shouted at Lee. Lee laughed.

"I can't argue with that one."

"Hey! It's bushy brows!" Naruto grinned, but Sakura punched him in the face.

"How dare you say that to Lee!" She shouted, furiously. Naruto fell to the ground, completely confused.

"What the hell happened while I was asleep?!"

Yuri shook her head and turned to Lee. "Lee, I want to thank you again for helping us." She told him, smiling.

"Yeah, I want to thank you as well." Sakura smiled as well. "I feel like I've become a little stronger."

Lee teared up as he looked at them, almost about to cry. "I still need to work harder as well." Then he looked at Sasuke. "Sasuke, the Uchiha clan sure is great. To be able to drive off those sound ninjas. You have incredible skills. I got my butt kicked."

"Yuri..."

Yuri blinked. "Yes?"

"The lotus blossom blooms twice." Lee spoke. Yuri stared at him confused.

"I'm not sure what you mean by that." She told him. Lee smiled.

"The next time we meet, I will become a stronger man. I promise." He told her. Yuri smiled and nodded.

"Sure!" She spoke. "The next time we meet. Let's be rivals! I hate to be in debt, so I have to pay you back one day!"

Ino helped Sakura straightened out her chopped hair, cutting it more evenly. And soon, the other teams left, leaving Naruto, Yuri, Sakura and Sasuke. Three days had gone by as they rested, trying to think of a plan of what to do next. A low growl filled the air as their stomachs growled.

"Let's go fishing by the creek for some food and think what our next plan is." Yuri told them.

Naruto and Sasuke were using their kunais to catch fish as they jumped out of the water. Sakura was getting a fire, started. Yuri was helping, Naruto and Sasuke with the fish, catching a few of them. Then she stopped when she saw something move from the corner of her eye. There was something tiny crawling on a tree. Yuri smiled at walked over to it quickly catching with her hands. Yuri walked back over to Sakura, keeping her hands covered.