Chapter 60 – Mission Completed
They clothed themselves and before long were on their way.
The road back was not awkward as one may think, it instead was pleasant for both.
By the time they sighted the entrance to the cavern it was already dark, the moon was in view and the sun hid itself.
There was no sign of the girls so Sango knew they must still be waiting deep inside the cavern for them.
The couple walked through the places they previously fought in, there were still traces of the conflict, but neither paid them any attention.
Before long they arrived where the last battle took place. The first thing that attracted their attention was that the villagers had all been moved out of the water to the shore. Further away the girls were gloomily waiting by the sleeping villagers.
“Sango!” The moment the duo walked in view of the girls they jumped on their feet and rushed to him. They embraced him on all sides as tightly as they could, not shy to openly display their affection for the boy.
“We were so worried!” Spoke Sakura with her face pressed against his chest.
Behind him was Ino, she too with a happy expression, and to his left Hinata was the same, her shyness could not be seen as she clung to him.
“What happened? Are you all right now?” Distancing themselves from him, they began questioning the duo.
They could not really tell what really happened so what they began telling the young girls was different from the reality.
Kurenai began telling how she ran with Sango into the forest to search for medical plants she then used to heal him.
He could not tell if they believed the story fully, but none of them inquired deeper as they visibly relaxed.
“You worried us to death!” Sakura, regaining her composure, began to chastise him.
“I’m sorry.” He meant that, he did not want to make them worry so much about himself, yet some things are out of your control no matter how much you prepare.
They spent some time talking, Sango had to reassure the girls several times before they were content, but in the end, they kept close to him.
“What about them?” Having remembered about the villagers, he asked the girls, “What is their condition?”
“We diluted some of our Ration Pills with water and feed them to the people, they look visibly better now.” Said Ino. They had done a good job despite Kurenai not having time to give them any instructions before she left with Sango.
“Well done.” He smiled to them and received bright smiles in return. Then, he walked towards the sleeping people and checked on them.
They were still sleeping, nothing wrong could be seen from outside. Using his chakra, he began checking the condition inside of them.
“Hmm…” He could feel their lifeforce regenerating slowly after being forcefully extracted to a dangerous degree, luckily there were no lasting consequences and before long they would wake up.
“They are well, before long they will wake up.” He turned to his team and reassured them.
Seeing them breathe a sigh of relief, he smiled. To be truthful, he didn’t care one bit about those people, but the girls cared so he too had to care, not to forget that letting something bad happen to this many villagers would reflect badly on his status in Konoha.
“Sango, can I leave their transportation back to you?” Walking close to him, closer than she would have before, Kurenai asked him gently.
“Yes.” Nodding back to her, he proceeded to form hand seals and a large number of clones appeared with puffs of smoke.
Without waiting for directions, the clones began picking up the people one after another. Not long after, they were running towards the previously empty village with Team 0 at the lead.
The village not being far and their pace quick, they shortly made their way to village. There they proceeded to gather blankets and then they proceeded to lay the villagers on them neatly.
Luckily, it was not cold, so there were not many complications, they now only had to wait.
Nothing more to do, the girls left to clean themselves, only Sango remained to keep watch, only him if his clones did not count.
Before the girls made their way back, the first villager awoke, it was needless to say that Sango explained what happened to them, glossing over the more violent details.
“T-Thank you, for saving us!” Said the middle-aged man, he then proceeded to look for his wife leaving Sango behind.
After the first one to wake up, more followed with time. The girls were not yet back but all the villagers were already on their feet.
Children cried and the adults were scared, it was understandable as they found themselves not in their beds.
“Please be quiet!” Sango raised his voice and spoke towards the loud crowd.
His voice resounded strong, all were focusing their attention on him
“My name is Sango, I am a ninja from Konohagakure sent her on an investigation.” He then proceeded to tell everyone an oversimplified version of what really happened. In short he told them that they had been drugged and kidnapped by some rogue ninja, then he and his team, while on another mission, came to the village and found it empty, understanding that something was wrong they investigated, found the rogue ninjas and defeated them and after that the Team rescued the villagers.
The people were still scared but they were feeling much better after knowing his affiliation.
Not long after his explanation was over, Kurenai and the others returned.
That night the villagers threw a small party for their heroes. The heroes themselves were tired but could not tell them off, so they accepted their gratitude. But they did not stay all night, before long the team retreated to sleep in a house offered by the head of the village for the length of their stay.
Having decided to leave at first light, Team 0 retired to their sleeping quarters.