Reborn as Sakura and Hinata: Lost in the Wind

Broken

I stared off into space for who knows how long after Orochimaru left us. I vaguely felt Sasuke beginning to stir beneath me, and heard a rustling in the branches. I was ripped from my stupor when-

"SAKURA! SASUKE! I'M HERE!" Naruto burst into the scene, battle stance ready. He looked around, panicking, until he realized that our enemies were gone.

"Huh!? What!?" Sasuke suddenly lifted his head up, dazed.

"No one's here anymore... we're safe?" I said hollowly.

"Why are you on top of me?" Sasuke grumbled, "and what the hell was all of that?"

"I'll explain on the way to the tower. Also I can't move."

"Oh! Sakura, are you okay!?" Naruto ran over and began trying to look me over, sweet child.

"Holy shit!" Sasuke gently moved from under me, "Your legs are fucked!"

"Yeah, I can't walk." I replied.

"We can carry you!" Naruto insisted.

"Thank you!"

After getting loaded onto Naruto's back, we started flying between the trees again towards the tower. I explained the situation with some omissions.

"So, basically I was gonna be forcefully recruited to some weird murder cult?" Sasuke glanced over at me in disbelief.

"Yep! Basically!" I chirped.

"But why didn't it work?" Sasuke added. My face immediately fell.

"Yeah," Naruto continued obliviously, "I was out of the fight, you shattered your legs, and Sasuke apparently got knocked out. So how'd we stop creepy-snake-guy?"

I didn't answer. I wasn't sure how to answer. I didn't want to. I hadn't told them what the curse mark would've done to Sasuke, or at least not all of it, and just the thought of having to explain not only that, but Hina would have to go through that. It was too much.

"Sakura?" Naruto broke me out of another stupor.

"Um..."

"You didn't stop him yourself did you?" Sasuke glanced back at me.

"Hina... saved us." I decided on.

"Really?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah... she beat up Kabuto, and got Orochimaru to go away."

"Oh yeah, that one guy you really hate for some reason." Naruto mused.

"Well, now we know the reason." Sasuke amended.

"But, she stopped them? Hinata? The little shy girl who turned out to be a pretty big nerd?" Naruto continued.

"Do. Not-" I started off harshly but quickly reigned myself in, "don't underestimate her. She's really capable and more than just a 'nerd'. She saved all of us."

"Wow." Sasuke mumbled.

"We should probably thank her." Naruto said.

Yikes... there was no way I could tell them how bad things really were. I just made things worse by getting their hopes up.

Luckily, we were soon at the tower and opened up our scrolls so that Iruka could pop up and congratulate us or whatever. He was clearly unsure of how to handle my broken leg situation... or any of that situation, but he put up a good enough front for the boys.

"Now what do we do," we were all sitting in a lounge room and Naruto was starting to get antsy, "we got here... early."

"Well," I leaned against him, "you could... and I'm just making a little suggestion, but you could carry me around to the other teams so that someone can heal me please and thank you."