Her shishou's touch on her shoulder is gentle as Tsunade guides her through the maze they seem to be moving in, constantly taking turns left and right.
Yes, that was the deal, they said. Sakura had to be blindfolded for the safety of the operation, in order not to reveal the location. From the hollowness of their steps echoing against walls she cannot tell where they begin and end, they were underground now.
This deal is already putting a dent in her own confidence.
"We're almost there, Kazekage-sama." A man ahead of the group muttered, and Sakura could feel Tsunade's grip on her tighten just a little bit.
"Gaara, with all respect, this place doesn't give me the best of memories."
"We won't be in here for long, Tsunade-san."
They weren't supposed to be here in the first place. After the war, Sakura was immediately placed under Tsunade's care, traveling along with her mentor and Shizune to the other villages in order to help the still injured and instruct the yet-to-become medic-nin. The mission in itself wouldn't have been so long, if Tsunade wasn't infamous for spontaneous detours to the next gambling town, not only to enjoy to empty another bottle of sake, but also to perform not-so-official check ups of the poorer civilians who couldn't afford to travel to the bigger villages, let alone live in them.
As requested by her shishou, it had been Kakashi's first order as the sixth Hokage, not only to restore order with the other villages, but also to spread the scientific breakthroughs Konoha had kept secret for many years. He had looked older than he was in that chair, Sakura remembers, an eye-patch covering his empty socket, Gai sitting near the desk in his wheelchair, while Yamato was standing right to the former captain of Team 9.
She supposes he also wanted Team 7 separated for a while, so she never found out what happened to Naruto and Sasuke after Tsunade took care of them.
That happened nearly two years ago. Truth to be told, she was anxious about a reunion. Essentially, she had not been there when Sasuke was put on trial, not there when he emigrated into the village, not there when Naruto had been there, not there when-
What if they suddenly decided they didn't need her anymore?
She'd rather not go back to face that potential reality.
But here they were. Tsunade had received call from Suna for a mission so important, Shizune busted into the room they were staying at while working in Kumogakure – their current mission declared canceled. Sakura didn't think she had been involved then, until Tsunade had shown her the scroll with the Kazekage's insignia on it.
"We're here." Another voice, echoes behind her, and Sakura remembers it to be Kankuro's, who had come in Temari's place.
Tsunade loses her grip on Sakura's shoulder to remove the blindfold, and the absence of her comforting touch instills the not-too-unfamiliar feel of an earthquake in her body, a gift from her late mother named anxiety.
Sakura tries not to curse as she looks around.
"Orochimaru's lair?"
Gaara enters the room without answering her right away, but she can hear the faint mutterings of this being only one of them.
Gaara was never much of a big talker, his admirable speech back in the war notwithstanding.
Just now she sees recognizes the face of the guard she heard earlier. This cracked white skin and glowing yellow eyes were different from the colorless ones he used to have, shielded by his round glasses.
"Don't let him bother you, Sakura. Kabuto was the better option of the two."
Frankly, this does little to calm Sakura down, but it successfully manages to turn her incoming panic attack into pure unadulterated aggression.
"We're not exactly on good terms, Kankuro."
Kabuto smiles, bearing closer resemblances to the immortal Sannin than his usual evil self.
Rotten traitorous snake bastard-
The door shuts behind them, and Sakura's eyes dart over to the various tanks and contraptions – working – the light a stark contrast to the dimly lit hallways.
To her disappointment, no notes to steal have been left.
Gaara briefly coughs into his hand, before Kankuro scurries over to unfold one of his many scrolls strapped to his body.
"We'll discuss the terms here. It wasn't...exactly safe enough to pass it through paper."
Sakura's trying her hardest to listen to Gaara right now, she really is, but she also wants to go and wipe Kabuto's smirk off his face before shattering it all together. Good riddance.
Tsunade giving her a gentle shove fortunately brings her back to business.
"As your mentor should already informed you, Sakura-san, no one outside of this room is allowed to know about the true nature of this operation." Gaara's glossy green eyes give her little inquiry to his thoughts right now, but the unspoken cue is there.
Not even Naruto.
"He is to be brought to our village at the age of 13, having completed his education at the Ninja Academy in Konohagakure. For your and his safely, you will decide on a different name to call him."
"Furthermore," Kankuro was in her plain sight, and she could see him move from side to side the same way a child about to receive their presents would. His little dance of joy ceases when Gaara glances at him, but the giddiness remains. "you will teach him chakra control. We are planning to have him rebuild the puppet brigade."
"He's the greatest mind Suna's ever produced." Kankuro intercepts, and Sakura can't exactly blame him for his state, even if she was definitely not in the mood to do cartwheels. "He'll be a great help to us. You should view yourself as a hero."
"But" Sakura cuts him off – Kankuro was starting to creep her out. "why me?"
Kankuro stares at her, as if he was puzzled that she'd ask such a question.
"Don't you remember? You were the one that had the most influence on him, Sakura." Kankuro footsteps pick up before he's right in front of her, grabbing her by her shoulders. "You said it right to my face." He smiles, but she feels anything but comforted in this room. "You'll save him. Make him a better person, and a service to Sunagakure."
Sakura remembers it well. Her encounter with the late criminal from Sunagakure loomed over her like shadow, judging her on her failures and achievements. She had nightmares for weeks after that fight, her scar a painful reminder of the poisoned sword dug deep into her in a seemingly futile attempt to save Lady Chiyo. But she also remembers how fragile he had looked in his last moments, the cruel reality of the life he's never quite escaped crushing every amount of resistance. His offer to make her like him escaped his thoughts in one of his last breaths, but they both knew he couldn't make that wish of his into another reality.
In his last moments, he's looked – human.
She remembers how Chiyo had softly smiled at the parting of her kin, and how heavy the sorrow she felt was, looking at him, embraced by the puppets he's made.
In a way, she was fulfilling Chiyo's last hopes – the hope that under different circumstances, he wouldn't have turned out the way he did.
But there was another side to the deal, the reason she hasn't backed down the last 5 months since they were informed. Pride washed over her, her urge for validation and the acknowledgment she was craving all her life, the credit she did not get after the war, all of it overwhelming her train of rational thought. Maybe she wouldn't be hailed as a hero the way Naruto had been hailed after saving Konoha - the world - from impending disasters - but the knowledge that she was picked among countless elite - it prickled her skin with excitement.
It was a deal benefiting every party involved.
"May I-" Sakura slowly removed Kankuro's hands from her person, and turned her gaze to Gaara, aware of how Tsunade was watching her closely. "May I see him?"
"Of course, Sakura-san." Gaara nods at Kabuto, and gestures her to follow them. "The procedure is finished, isn't it?"
"Orochimaru-sama has passed down his talents to me, Kazekage-sama." Kabuto pushes his glasses against his pale nose. "It's almost like we had worked with a surrogate mother."
Sakura briefly registers that neither Tsunade or Kankuro follow them as they enter another room, less lit than the previous one, but not less impressive. More tanks lined up in the circular room - empty, to her relief - despite that not all of them were in working order. Sakura had a vague idea of how Kabuto had worked in here, but to further her surprise, he wasn't locked up in them, anymore.
In the center lies an incubator, several tubes attached to it. From where she's standing, Sakura is not able to see the infant, so she walks – hesitant in her step – towards it.
"We've infused a technique that allowed us to lower his heartbeat, put him into a premature coma, so to speak. He was removed from the test tubes just recently."
Sakura isn't able to hide her curiosity at this scientific discovery, no matter how much she despises the man beside her. Even Konoha hadn't digged beyond what was already dubious experimentation on consenting subjects, alive and deceased..
"Did you use his real DNA?" her hand touches the glass gently, tracing the tubes, trying to make sense of the situation. Kabuto must have gotten a hold of tissue, and she wonders whether he keeps the core around, too.
There was no time to return to river country, however.
"We wouldn't have been able to rebirth him so perfectly if I hadn't. I used the samples I recovered back when I worked with Zetsu and the Edo Tensei Technique."
Kabuto is halted in his attempt to get closer to her, maybe because it was so cramped, maybe because he took a sudden liking to giving her goosebumps.
Her grip on his wrist was tight, but not tight enough to break it. The smell of the dry desert reminds her that Gaara was still in the room.
"Don't you ever-" she glared at him, her rage making her body quake, hoping it wouldn't let him notice how utterly terrified she was. "Touch me."
Kabuto blinks, and she releases him.
"He is ready to take with you, foolish girl." He smiles again, and she turns to look at the baby, checking to see if he breathed normally.
This was truly not a dream.
She opens the incubator herself, removing the top as to allow her to take the child, carefully cradling him the way Tsunade had taught her months ago when they were present at the birth of premature triplets in Iwa.
His eyes were closed, so she isn't able to check how brown they were, but the little fluff of red atop his head indicates that she wouldn't have to.
They exit the side room, and Tsunade takes the child as Kankuro blindfolds her.
"Remember, Sakura-san." she hears Gaara, but she can't pinpoint from where his voice comes from. "You must not call him by his real name. We do not know how many ANBU keep old copies of their bingo books around." A beat. "As of current, we cannot afford this loss."
They're navigating through the maze again, but their steps grow slower, and the air fresher.
Sakura hears the crunch of her boots against wet grass, a tell tale sign that they were outside again. She removes the blindfold herself, and immediately realizes that Kabuto must have left, the snake-human hybrid nowhere in sight.
"You may however name him as you please." Gaara continues "Temari and a team of my own ANBU – not confided in this – will travel with you shortly. Be careful."
"Of course, Kazekage-sama." There's that feeling of needles prickling her skin, self-doubt that claws into her mind. There's no denying that above all that, there are no other people to confide in.
Her shishou doesn't look nervous at all as she gives the infant back to Sakura. Oh, how she admired her mentor in these moments
"I have to go back to Shizune, since she's staying in Suna, right now." Tsunade's tone was confident, but her honey-brown eyes shine softly in pure contrast. "Summon Katsuyu if you need me. You will have to report to Kakashi when you're in Konoha."
Sakura returns her gaze to the infant in her arms, focusing on the comforting lull of his breathing against her chest, his tiny fists clenched.
So this will be the only time I ever get to say it. Huh.
"Welcome back, Sasori."
A/N: Hello! This project's been on the backburner for nearly two years now, but truth to be told, I haven't attempted a multi-chaptered work since 2009-ish. I got a pretty clear idea of the key-points and the ending, and sketched down the first half of the story, but I am always open to questions and suggestions that I'll try to incorporate. I hope you'll like it, and please don't forget to leave kudos if you did!
