The Willow Maiden [Naruto]

{42} Time For A Break

{Skipping the fight between Deidara and Sasuke} 

'That blast!? Is Sasuke in that!?' Ruka panicked when she saw the huge explosion created by Deidara. 

She had hid herself deep into the forest to avoid Deidara and Tobi while listening to the fight the entire time. When she saw the huge explosion, she ran toward it to see if Sasuke had got caught in it or got away. 

There was only one way to find out. 

After the blast had faded, Ruka appears on the spot and looked around for Sasuke. "Sasuke!? Sasuke!" She shouted for him but there was no answer. 

"Did you see the blast, too!?" Suigetsu ran over. 

"Hai. But I do not see Sasuke anywhere." 

"Hang on." Suigetsu pulled out a scroll with a snake symbol on it, but disappeared right after he pulled it out. "As I thought. Stay back." Suigetsu rolled out the scroll and pulled out a small tube of Sasuke's blood. After dripping a few drops of Sasuke's blood, he slammed his hand on the scroll and shouted, "Summoning Jutsu!" 

Manda appeared, upside down, and all beaten up. "Who is that?" Ruka questioned. 

"That's Manda. Orochimaru's pet, or whatever."

"Sasuke!" Ruka sees Sasuke near Manda. Suigetsu and her ran over to him to aid him. "Are you okay? What happened?" 

"I'm fine. . . Don't worry about it." 

"You are injured pretty badly. . ." Ruka frowned. 

"You!" Manda shouted at Sasuke, startling Ruka. "You tricked me. . . ! You fooled me with those damn eyes of yours! . . . How dare you. . . !" Were Manda's last words before taking in his final breath. 

"Well, that's the end of him. Hey, wasn't Manda Orochimaru's favorite pet or something? You should treat animals with a little respect." Suigetsu lectures. 

"There you are! I couldn't sense your chakra after the blast! Did you transport yourself or something!?" Karin shouts while running over to them with Jugo following behind. 

"Let me see if I can summon this up. You hid yourself inside Manda, then used the transportation jutsu to escape from another dimension. If that's the case, then why do you look so beat up?" 

"He was fighting the Akatsuki earlier. . ." Ruka answered. "I think he wanted to take Sasuke out with him." 

"Then we should go some place to heal up. Jugo, carry Sasuke to the hotel we booked." 

"Right." Jugo grabbed Sasuke and carried him to the hotel as Ruka left a red flower in the giant hole in the ground.

 After bandaging him up, Ruka sung the Song of Healing to heal his injuries. "There. His injuries should heal in a little while. They will heal faster if he slept for a bit." Ruka says while sitting beside Sasuke. 

"At this rate, he can't even move! And he's the guy who killed Orochimaru!?" Karin shouted. 

"Give it a rest, Karin. We've been moving all day. We should take a break while we're here." Suigetsu yawns and leans against the wall. 

"Don't be giving me orders, Water boy!" 

"You, please calm down. Remember, you are around Jugo. His impulses can go off at any moment. So, please do not fight in front of him." Suigetsu and Karina stop their bickering after hearing this from Ruka and remember how unstable Jugo is. 

"R-Right." Karina swallows hard. 

"Have any of you found the hideouts?" Sasuke questions them. 

"Nope." Suigetsu shakes his head. 

"I got nothing." Karin shrugs her shoulders. 

"The birds told me where one of the hideouts were. I had asked them to look for the hideouts." Jugo says. 

"You can talk to animals?" Ruka blinks in surprise. 

"That's right." 

"Me, too!" Ruka smiles. "What else did the birds tell you?" 

"The hideout they found only has 2 Akatsuki members there." 

"Then, that's where we'll go. . ." Sasuke slowly closes his eyes and falls right asleep. Ruka gently laid him down and pulled the comforter over him. 

"You seem really attached to Sasuke. So, how did you guys meet anyway? If you don't mind me asking." Suigetsu asks. 

"I would not call it being attached, no. I would call it repaying the favor." 

"Favor? What did he do?" Karin questioned. 

"He saved me." Ruka smiles. "2 years ago he saved me from a man named Tatsuya who wanted to make me his bride. . . After his defeat, I ended up living with Sasuke." 

"Living with him?!" Karin's jaw dropped. 

"Hai. He offered me to live with him and I said yes. Sasuke did so many nice things for me. He even saved me from bandits when they captured me. He also swore to protect me no matter what even when I do not need the protection. I think he still sees me as that defenseless girl I use to be. But I am grateful that I met him." 

"Wow. Sounds like you two go way back. Looks like you do owe him big." Suigetsu smirks. "I gotta tell ya, he hasn't been this generous, thoughtful, and nice to a woman like you. He's hardly nice to Karin." He points to a Karin with a grin. 

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!?!?!?" Karin punches him in the face, which basically turns to water, and causing Jugo and Ruka to sweat-drop. 

While they were fighting, the palm of Ruka's hand was placing seeds into floor so that they can grow into roots and travel its way to connect to the red flower she left behind, leaving a trail. 

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