I Got Caught In A Storm... And Now I'm Stuck In Naruto!?!?

A Friendship Is Born... Sort Of

Minxie's POV

I held Sasuke's hand lightly in mine, gently brushing my fingertips with his every few minutes to show him that I was there. I'm not sure how long I stayed there like that, simply watching him and saying sweet nothings to him, but once I saw the sun rise, I knew it was dawn.

Dawn on... The second day of the exam? The third? I couldn't tell. Time had completely escaped me.

I glanced over at Naruto, who was still unconscious. He looked a bit more peaceful, meaning that the healing I had done was having some effect on him. But Sasuke... Sasuke wasn't doing much better. Everytime I talked to him, though, the troubled expression seemed to leave his face.

His fever had gone down a bit, but he was still burning up. He writhed in pain frequently, although with me there, it seemed to have died down some. Smoke looked like it was oozing from the mark on his neck, which just so happened to look just like mine: Three comma-like symbols branded into his neck.

It was ironic; every time a wave of pain hit him, a wave of pain would hit me. My neck was oozing out smoke, too, which worried me. I just rubbed it and willed it to go away, which never worked. But what else could I do? I had bigger problems than me having a mark.

I mean, me having the mark sucked, but I was awake. Sasuke wasn't. And Naruto was unconscious, too. Sakura was just as exhausted as they were.

Sakura yawned, and I saw her sit up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Minxie... You stayed up all night?" She inquired, looking me over.

My eyes never left Sasuke's pale and troubled face. "Yeah... How are you?" That's how you know I was insane and distraught. I actually asked Sakura if she was okay, although I never cared.

"I'm fine... Aren't you tired?" She asked, running a hand through her hair.

I shook my head. "Not in the slightest..." I muttered, staring at Sasuke's unconscious form.

"How are they?" She asked, her eyes turning dull as she looked at our fallen teammates. Obviously, it was difficult for her to see Sasuke and Naruto in the condition they were in.

"Naruto's better. Most likely he's just exhausted... All he needs is rest. He should wake up soon. But Sasuke... His fever's gone down, but he gets waves of pain every few minutes," I said in a monotone voice, my eyes going over Sasuke's unconscious form again.

"Oh, no... I'm so worried about him... That Orochimaru guy really had it in for him... Oh my god!" She exclaimed, looking at me with wide green eyes.

"What?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"Y-Your neck! You have the same ma-"

"NO! I have nothing on my neck, Sakura! You didn't see anything!" I interrupted in a hiss, covering my neck.

"I see it right there! You have the-"

"I. Said. NO. I don't have anything on my neck!" I insisted, staring at her with wide and fierce eyes.

She was quiet for a while, and turned to look down at Sasuke and Naruto, lying down on the ground. "You don't want them to know about it," She stated sadly.

I sighed, unconvering my neck. "No, I don't. You can't tell them, Sakura. They'll both start worrying and obssessing over me like crazy when they need to be focusing on taking care of themselves. It's the first time I've ever asked you for something. Please... Don't tell them," I pleaded, looking at her with serious eyes.

She looked back with concerned and sad ones. "I won't... But you need to be careful with it. If something were to happen to you..." She looked down at Naruto and Sasuke again. "... They'd both fall apart. And, well... I wouldn't be unaffected, either."

"Thanks... Sakura," I said after a long while. She smiled up at me, and I couldn't help but smile back. Somehow, I think that at that point, Sakura and I... Actually had a sort of understanding.

We didn't want to rip each other's heads off. We could actually speak to each other.

It was small, I knew that somewhere, a sort of friendship had been born, and I was actually... Happy with it.

She smiled again, and then looked back down at Naruto and Sasuke. She reached into her bag, pulling out her water battle so she could change the towels that kept their fevers down. But... It was empty.

"Oh, gosh... We're out of water," She said dully, sighing.

I brushed Sasuke's cheek with my fingertips gently, standing up. "I'll go," I said, holding out my hand.

"You? Do you really think that's a good idea?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah... I have the least chances of getting kidnapped and hurt," I said, putting a hand on my hip and shaking my hand, waiting for the bottle.

"The least chances? You got kidnapped and hurt once already," She said flatly.

I anime fell and sweatdropped. Then, I got an idea. "Well... Yeah, that's true. But that time was different. Trust me, once I start talking, my kidnapper will bring me back. I'm sure of it, all I need to do is open my mouth."

She pondered that for only a few seconds, tilting her head. "That's... Totally true. Here you go," She said, handing me the bottle.

I anime fell again. "What?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You weren't supposed to agree that quickly!" I protested, stomping my foot.

She actually smiled at that. "What can I say? It's true..." She muttered.

I sighed, taking the bottle from her. "Yeah, yeah, yeah..." I muttered, making my way towards the lake after taking one last glance at Naruto and Sasuke.

It took me a good ten minutes to actually find the lake, and my mind was restless the entire time. I kept thinking about Gaara... I mean, I did like Gaara. A lot. He was really cute and incredibly sweet... Well, the last part was mostly to me, but still.

But then why did it hurt so much to see Sasuke in pain? I felt as if I was the one in pain. It hurt knowing that he wasn't okay. Which made no sense to me.

I mean, he's cute, yeah, but...

Woah. I just called Sasuke cute in my head.

...

That's BAD.

I sighed, kneeling next to the lake and scooping up some water. I used a jutsu to cleanse it that I'm too lazy to notate, and capped it, setting it to the side. I took off my headband and shook my hair loose, making it fall in random waves and curls onto my shoulders and upper back.

I stared at my reflection in the lake. I looked pale, much paler than usual. The damn curse mark was draining all of my energy, along with my color. I groaned as a wave of pain hit me, clutching my neck tightly.

They soooooooo did not pay me enough for this job. Really. This crap HURTS like hell.

I threw water on my face and neck, hoping the coolness would bring down the fever that I knew I had. Obviously, I did all of that distractedly. All I could think of was Sasuke, and how he would turn out. Was he even going to wake up? How was I up, but not him? I just hoped he was okay...

I sighed, picking up my headband and securing it around my head. I picked up the water bottle, standing up and brushing the dirt off my clothes.

It was then that I heard the scream.

And it wasn't just any scream, either.

The scream belonged to Sakura. She was in trouble.

My team was in trouble.

Sasuke was in trouble.

The water bottle in my hand fell to the soil-covered ground as the possibilities of what might be attacking them ran through my mind. What if that Orochimaru guy was back? What if he wanted Sasuke? What if my team was ambushed again... When two of our members were out of comission?

What if they got hurt?

I bolted towards the direction of Sakura's scream, my katana ready in my hand.

This time... I would fight back.