A/N: Well, a Naruto story that actually has more than one chapter! Haven't seen that in a while now, have you? Maybe now, since I'm writing a story under the pairing that everybody knows me for, I'll actually start getting some reviews... n.n; Yeah, sorry, but I was watching a lot of anime and I felt compelled to write some fanfictions for them, that's why I was kind of straying from the path of righteousness (ItaSaku) for the past little while. Forgive me? Yes? Good!

Well, I hope you guys enjoy this one! XD

"Haruno," the name rolled off of Sasuke's tongue like a curse, his eyes cold and lifeless (as usual), promising pain to any who got too close. His mouth was set into a grim line and his face, always known to be quite pale, was ashen. He was clearly not well.

Well, that was sort of to be expected when one was bleeding to death, Sakura figured dryly. The slice to his abdomen had been deep and it was quite clear that he'd already lost a lot of blood. His bare chest was covered in both fresh and dried, caked-on blood and the tattered remains of his shirt that was hanging uselessly from his waist was drenched in the red liquid that was the man's life.

It was a sickening sight to behold… and Sakura had to watch it and know that she had been the one to cause such a sight.

"Uchiha," she finally replied, rather surprised by the strength in her own voice. She was quivering inside, though she seemed to be doing quite well in hiding it.

"I…" he began breathlessly, wriggling on his back in a feeble attempt to get up, just as the sounds of footsteps appeared and then hastened onto the scene. "I…"

"You…?" she asked sardonically, her nose wrinkling at the man's pitiful attempts to get back to his feet. Was this all the great Uchiha Sasuke, the man who vowed to slaughter Uchiha Itachi and resurrect the infamous Uchiha clan, had? Was this really all the fight he possessed? And she had actually told him she loved him! Hah! What a joke.

"I… hate… you," he managed to croak out as his eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body went limp. Sakura smirked and, once again, the word pitiful popped into her head.

"Haruno," Shikamaru barked, rushing to join her so that he could look down at the pitiful sight that was Sasuke's dying. "You were supposed to keep him alive! Now how are we supposed to interrogate him?"

"Calm down, Boss," Sakura replied as a means of placating the obviously perturbed squad leader, "He's not dead… yet. He's just being dramatic. I can close that wound, give him a little blood transfusion and he'd be fine by morning."

"In case you haven't noticed," Shikamaru growled, "We're in the middle of a forest, do you see any blood banks around here?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I do," she answered, smirking at the man meaningfully. "What blood type do you have, Nara?"

Shikamaru's eyes widened as the realization of what she had just implied dawned on him. "No way!" he exclaimed in protest, folding his arms over his chest in protest, "Nuh-uh, no way, no how! You are not taking my blood and putting it in him!"

Sakura simply reached for her rucksack, which she had placed on the ground earlier, and dug out her medical equipment. She opened it, took out a syringe connected by a long plastic tube to an empty blood bag and a long piece of latex. "Correct me if I'm wrong, which I don't believe I am, but I do believe that you and Sasuke share the same blood type. I'm sure a genius such as you could see the logic of giving up a little blood?"

"He's going to need more than a little blood," the male corrected, "And you know that."

"You know, I could always give up some blood," Naruto volunteered, quite willing to do whatever he needed to do to keep his "best friend" alive. "It's no problem at all and I would be happy to help."

"I know you would, Naruto, but Sasuke's blood type is AB and yours is B-. Your blood isn't compatible." Sakura sighed and turned to the other two people in her squad. "Hyuuga, do you think you could carry Nara after he's done generously donating a couple pints of blood? We don't want him collapsing."

"I don't see why not," Neji answered with a solemn nod.

"Naruto, if you want to help, can you carry Sasuke?"

Naruto shrugged. "I guess so."

"Alright," Sakura smiled at Shikamaru and sat down, patting the grass beside her. "Please, have a seat. I'm going to quickly stitch up Sasuke's wound and then we'll take the blood."

With a martyred expression on his face, Shikamaru sighed and sat down on the damp grass and waited for Sakura to suture the wound on the Uchiha's belly, using the grace and accuracy of the professional that she most certainly was. Then, she turned to him and picked up the needle and latex.

"Arm out, please," she said sweetly and, when the squad leader didn't immediately do as he was told, she grabbed his arm and held it out so that she could tie on the latex. She tapped the skin below the latex until a good enough vein appeared and she rubbed on some disinfectant then finally stuck him with the needle.

Shikamaru didn't even flinch or stiffen as he was stabbed with the metal needle, but Sakura hadn't noticed, she was much too busy watching the blood steadily flow into the clear bag. Then, once the bag was full, she pinched the tube connecting the syringe and the bag and swapped the full bag for the empty one and allowed the blood to flow once again.

After, she took the needle out of Shikamaru's arm and snapped it in half before throwing it onto the ground. She took out another needle and another tube and fastened it to one of the blood bags. "There," she said at last, moving back to Sasuke to give him his first transfusion. "This should give him the blood he needs until his body starts generating its own." After she stabbed him with the needle, she placed the bag on his chest and gestured for Naruto to lift up the unconscious man.

"Okay," Naruto said, crouching down, taking Sasuke's limp body into his arms and picking him up, "Upsie Daisy, big guy." He was in a particularly good mood, apparently pleased that they'd finally captured Sasuke, once and for all.

Sakura took the blood bag from his chest and instructed Naruto to hold it clamped between his teeth so that all the blood could get through. She then turned to a swaying, pale Shikamaru and set to work on him. She took out a few food pills and some water and gave them to him. "Take those and Neji will carry you."

Shikamaru didn't hesitate to take the pills and the water and didn't object when Neji picked him up princess-style. He even went so far to rest his head on the elder man's chest and close his eyes against what Sakura assumed would be pretty bad dizziness.

"Alright, team," Sakura said, taking over the role as team leader while Shikamaru was out of commission, slapping away some imaginary dust from the palms of her hands, "I guess now we can all go home. Good job, everybody."

Nobody replied, only ran out of the clearing and jumped into the trees to start their journey home.

A/N: Okay, I know that Sakura seems really cold-hearted and cool, but that's going to change. Why is she all cold-hearted and cool? Well, because her brain is in denial that Sasuke is actually coming back.

I hope you enjoyed it and I hope to see some reviews!