Extraction

Thoughts

Kyuubi's Speech

Kyuubi

Jutsu

Normal Monologue

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

"Everything's going as planned.", an eerie voice rang, ricocheting off the dripping cave walls. A gruff grunt could be heard in respond.

"The demon's vitals are good, but the boy's are failing by the minute.", a hoarse-sounded man reported.

"Good, right on track.", the first person replied, and by the tone in his words, a wide grin had broke across his face.

A Few Moments Later—

"Extraction complete sir!", a cheery voice said.

"And the boy?", a dark unknown person asked.

"Dead.", the jolly one replied. An evil cackling echoed throughout the room.

"Good. Now our plan is finally about to take off. And nothing will stand in our way.

Naruto awoke suddenly, his breath coming in raged gasps. He wildly glanced around, desperately searching for something…or someone. All the blond could see was murky, ebony waters surrounding him, holding him suspended in midair. Realizing his target was gone, he bowed his head in defeat.

"Damn it.", he whispered softly. Tears leaked from the corners of his eyes, crawling down his cheeks. He lifted his head in sad fury and roared, "SASUKE!!"

His menacing cry echoed around the eerie space, swallowing the boy in his sorrow. His shoulders began to shudder as the tears ran faster, falling like rain from his face. "I'm sorry Sakura-chan.", he sobbed, an image of the pink-haired kunochi appearing in his mind. "I'm so sorry.", Naruto whispered again before sinking back into a calm known only as unconsciousness, the tears still pouring down his face.

"What's his heart rate?"

"We need an IV over here!"

beep…beep…beep

"Grab a milliliter of LPN, his blood's been poisoned!"

"No you moron, are you trying to kill him?! I said a HRS, not a HLA!"

"Look, I don't care how long it takes; we are going to save this boy!"

"But my Lady, we don't even know what caused his condition to be this way."

"That may be, but that doesn't mean I'll allow you to give up. Now get back to work!"

"Hai, Hokage-sama!"

beep…beep…beep…beep

"You're going to live…you have to…Naruto."

The first thing Naruto felt was the sickening smell of bleach and ammonia filled his senses as the black shroud lifted. Then, in a rushing wave, the pain jump started. Originating from his stomach, a burning sensation flooded his body, making it feel as if he was on fire.

Naruto bit down hard on his lip to keep from crying out loud, and a tiny droplet of blood fell with a splash onto the clean white sheet he was covered with. Quickly, in an easy sliding motion, the boy hauled his body up and thrust himself against the wall behind him. This action brought on a new reaction of throbbing, and every time his heart beat, the same sensation occurred, ringing shrilly in his ears.

"You need more pain medication?", a small voice sounded from the far corner of the room. Naruto's eyes flashed in the direction of the sound, for he hadn't realized he was not alone. But upon seeing his visitor, his muscles relaxed and a large, goofy grin spread across his face.

"Nah, I'll be fine.", he whispered in return. Sakura sighed and rose from the chair she was resting in.

"You don't have to act brave all the time you know.", she commented as she plopped onto the edge of the hospital bed. Her eyes were swimming with worry as she gazed upon the injured blond, who was wrapped in bandages from head to toe.

"Who said I'm acting?", Naruto responded, the smile growing wider, if that was even possible. The room grew deathly quiet as the two just stared at each other in silence, the only sound being the heart rate monitor. Tears began to pool in the pink-haired girl's eyes and Naruto's expression turned to pure panic.

"Sakura, are you ok? Please don't cry!", the blond shouted in a desperate attempt to stop the kunochi from breaking down. He didn't do a very good job.

Sakura burst into tears, the waterworks streaming down her face like miniature rivers. Naruto was next to her in a flash, ignoring the needles of pain that jabbed into him every time he moved.

"Calm down Sakura-chan. I promised I'd get him back, and I will. I never break my promises.", he muttered to her soothingly. Sakura glanced up at him, tears streaking her cheeks.

"Get him…back? Naruto, what on earth are you talking about?", Sakura sobbed, swiftly wiping the excess water from her eyes. Naruto visibly relaxed, assured the tears had stopped.

"Sakura, I promised you I would get Sasuke back for you. I haven't given up, don't worry about that. These injuries are nothing, I'll be healed in no time flat, just you wait!", he exclaimed, smiling warmly at her.

"Is…is that where you went?", Sakura whispered, her eyes boring into his, searching for an answer. All he offered in return was a feeble nod before he turned away, staring thoughtfully out the window.

"Naruto…you were gone…for days. They were…about to declare you as a missing nin.", she muttered. "And all for…for.", she continued, stuttering as the tears began to well up again.

"Please don't start crying again Sakura-chan. I promise…I promise.", Naruto pleaded, his voice urgent. Sakura sucked in a deep breath, trying to rein her emotions back into her control.

Once her thoughts were stable, she said, "Naruto, why do you risk your life…for such a hopeless cause?", she questioned softly, afraid of the answer. Naruto's brow furrowed in thought, as he searched for a worthy reply. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the door slid open.

Tsunade, or also known as the Fifth Hokage, strode very business-like into the private room, her assistant Shizune trailing closely behind. Her eyes widened slightly in surprise, obviously not expecting to see Naruto sitting up, much less awake.

"I see you're finally awake.", she stated, a look of relief clouding her expression. Naruto nodded in return and shifted his body so he was facing to two medics.

"So, you wanna tell me how you found me?", he asked, his eyebrows raised in curiosity. Tsunade chuckled.

"It was simple really. We kind of figured this was another attempt to retrieve Sasuke. So we decided to a couple days, to see if you returned. But when those days turned into weeks, we decided enough was enough, and we sent Kakashi's tracker dogs out to find you. We'd never thought your searches would lead all the way to the Earth Country.", she explained.

Naruto's expression turned to one of confusion. "The Earth Country? I was near Orochimaru's base.", he replied. Tsunade's smile dissolved quickly, replaced with one of misunderstanding.

"There's almost the entire stretch of the Fire Country between the two. Are you absolutely positive you're calculations of direction were correct?", she asked, her thoughts running in different directions. Naruto nodded.

"I was on the other side of the mountains dividing the Fire and Sound country.", the blond responded. Tsunade's fears were confirmed in that simple sentence, and it made her break out in a cold sweat. Someone had gotten to the blond shinobi before they had.

Short, yes. Cliffy was needed, and I thought that was ok. Next chapter will be up soon enough, so stay tuned!

Next Chapter: The Truth Be Told