Well, classes start back tomorrow. The fourth chapter of this is slogging along, but I think I'll hold off on number three for a little bit so I can get settled. Wish me luck!
Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto. When is someone going to buy it for me?
Those eyes, those damn eyes. They are staring at me, looming over my form. Like the hint of a blade at my throat; just a wisp, but it lingers long enough to be felt. A wraith that won't leave my side. I'm torn in two directions, unable to find the correct path. My pride holds me to one, my convictions hold me to another.
I really am going to die.
Chapter Two: Got My Tongue
Sakura bolted straight up and nearly cracked heads with her mother. The poor woman fell backwards with a yelp, landing on the floor and struggling for breath.
"Good God, Sakura. You nearly gave me a heart attack," the elder Haruno gasped.
Subtly, Sakura slid the kunai in her left hand back under her pillow. "S-Sorry, mom. You shouldn't sneak up on me like that, though."
The nightmare had returned. Sakura had thought she was over them for the most part, but the meeting last night must have triggered it again. Not even a full night's sleep could subdue them now.
Sakura's mother took one last deep breath before getting back up. She looked at her daughter with a pitying, if not somewhat frightened, look. "You're an official ninja, so I suppose you're right. I'm sure your father would understand it better, though." The woman grew somewhat grim for a moment before plastering a fake smile on her face. "Anyway, I came up here to wake you up. It's your last day at the academy, isn't it? I've fixed a big breakfast for you so you'll be ready to go."
When her mother left, Sakura felt some of her tension ease off. It was a good thing her mother wasn't a ninja or else she would certainly know something was up. Deciding that a long shower could only ease her stress even more, the girl lazily got out of bed and, after laying out her clothes for the day, headed to the bathroom. As an afterthought, Sakura grabbed the cipher key and tossed it next to her clothes for the day. She could have a chance to look it over later.
When Sakura finally got out of her shower, she dressed and headed downstairs. True to her mother's word, there was a grand spread on the dinner table; pancakes, bacon, eggs and several fruits. Even though she was on a diet, Sakura decided she could enjoy a good meal before the final exams.
Her mother placed a little flower in front of a picture that was sitting off to the side before getting her own food. Sakura knew it was a photo of her father, the only other ninja in the Haruno family. Every morning her mother would light some incense and place a flower pulled from the garden by it in remembrance. Some people would find it odd that the older Haruno was still so devoted, but the pink-haired girl drew some small comfort from the action, even if she couldn't remember the man.
"So, do you think you'll do good on the exams, Sakura?" her mother asked once she was back at the table.
"I'm sure I will. It'll either be a written exam or a practical skills test. My grades are good enough that I can handle anything that comes up." Well, if it was a taijutsu test then there might be a problem, but Sakura was sure she could at least pass.
She had always considered herself a good student. Sakura had one of the best senjutsu, strategy, scores along with a very high individual study score. Her ninjutsu needed work, but it was manageable and she was able to do any jutsu Iruka would ask for. Being near the middle of the kunoichi pack in taijutsu wasn't bad either, but it was far from Sakura's strong point. She just didn't have the stamina everyone else did.
In all, Sakura was fairly well-rounded. However, her confrontation with Kabuto a year ago had shaken her badly. Unable to remain hidden, escape, or even fight back, she had simply started sobbing at the drop of a hat. Not really ninja material, Sakura imagined. It was only later that she learned that Kabuto wasn't a normal Genin, but it was still a strong reminder of what her own limits were.
"Sakura, are you alright?"
The girl looked up at her worried mother and smiled. Again she was thankful that her mother wasn't a ninja and thus couldn't tell when she was putting on a front. "I'm just a little nervous," Sakura lied and her mother seemed to buy it, smiling back at her and going back to reading the morning paper.
Sakura hated lying to her mother. The first few months of being one of Kabuto's lackeys were the worst. She constantly had to come up with excuses as to why she was so late getting home or why she had to be out of the house so much. Gathering information as an academy student usually entailed just hanging out at training grounds or places Jounin and Chunin would eat at, but it involved waiting for long periods of time. Time she could have spent back at home, curled up with a book or watching television.
It was hell having to live this double life. Every time she was forced to put her own life above the village, every time she gave Kabuto just one more tidbit of information, she felt herself change for the worse. The fact that it didn't bother her as much as before was only the tip of that emotional iceberg.
The girl poked at the pancake on her plate. Despite the fact that she couldn't stop herself, Sakura still brooded over her changing attitude. What kind of person was she that betraying the very village she, her parents, and untold generations of the Haruno family had lived wasn't an agonizing decision after only one short year? Noting the worried look from her mother, though, Sakura tried to put her dark thoughts out of her mind for the time being and focus on breakfast.
After polishing off what food was left, Sakura wiped her mouth and started for the door. "I've got to go now, mom. I'll be home early today since we're only doing exams." Her mother only waved and wished her luck.
Luck. Well, that was something Sakura could always use these days. As she stepped out of her front door, she noticed her former best friend walking ahead of her a few yards down the street. Sakura debated catching up and tossing a few taunts around before class, but decided against it. Instead, she pulled out the small slip of paper she had received the night before and began looking it over.
One thing that Sakura had learned as a agent was that the best place to hide was in plain sight. On the street, where anyone could be watching her, was the best place to memorize the code key. After all, no one would expect a spy to be so brazen, would they? If Sakura sneaked off to some remote place to study, it only made her look more suspicious.
Unconsciously, her mind drifted back to the day she had learned that very lesson firsthand. She had nearly been caught by Iruka when she had sneaked off to an unused classroom to write out a report for Kabuto. The teacher had, thankfully, taken his student's caution as her being embarrassed and Sakura had told him she was writing a love letter to Sasuke. From then on, she wrote all her reports during class at the same time she was taking notes, though she kept a few spare notes on her person in case there was a repeat.
Before the incident with Iruka she would have figured it was paranoia; now it was a way of life. From the few lessons the academy had on subterfuge, Sakura gathered that most ninja were paranoid anyway and the ones that weren't were usually either very good at what they did or very bad. It was hard enough having to sneak around to meet up with Kabuto every month so the less weighing on the girl's nerves the better.
No more, though. With the summoning scroll and this key, Sakura could make her reports far more discretely. However, the key itself was very complicated. The notes didn't correspond to any individual letters, but instead had to be arranged in different melodies in order to make sense. Sakura knew next to nothing about music so she would have to pick up a book later and really get down to basics.
Why music, though? As codes went, it was fairly novel, there was no question about that. The basic Konoha codes that were taught to academy students were character ciphers: massive blocks of symbols written on paper that would then be folded and refolded until a message came out. The combinations were endless and even Sakura couldn't grasp more than a handful of folding methods. Iruka had said that was good enough for a student, but the girl still felt disappointed. Perhaps she would be able to understand this key more. Even though the cause was insidious, Sakura liked the thrill of an intellectual challenge.
Deciding to pick up some research materials later, Sakura hurried on towards the academy. All of this thinking was a moot point if she were late for exam day. Her usual seat filled, Sakura found an empty one near the back. The other kids were chatting excitedly about graduating, but Sakura didn't feel the need to join in. Instead, she just rested her chin on her folded arms and watched Sasuke, who was sitting near the front. That boy was gorgeous, after all, and watching him was always one of Sakura's favorite activities even if she didn't get to do it very often these days.
It was funny how priorities shift. She had just been so damn busy lately with her "side job" and graduation. Last week was the worst: exams every day and the monthly deadline looming. The last thing Sakura needed was Kabuto breathing down her neck or making more threats. The only thing that allowed her to juggle her schedule at all was studying at her usual eavesdropping cafe. In fact, since she was something of a regular there by now, a few had even helped her on her homework, telling her some of their favorite memorization methods they had used back in the academy.
Those very same people would gladly kill her if she ever was discovered and Sakura repressed a shudder.
"Alright, eyes to the front," Iruka called out. He had a clipboard under one arm and it was thick with evaluation sheets. "We're going to do this alphabetically. When you hear your name, follow me to the examination room."
So that's how it is. Sakura let out a puff of air in annoyance. It wasn't going to be a written exam so that means a skills demonstration. Not exactly her strong point, but at least the examination room wasn't large enough for taijutsu.
Down in front, the first student walked out of the room with a shiny new forehead protector. He didn't look very winded, but that could mean a lot of things. Perhaps it was just a skill he was good at?
When the next one came out in the same condition, Sakura relaxed a bit. Paranoia was second nature to the girl by this point, but even she could take some relief from two passes in a row.
"D-Do you think the exam is difficult?"
It took a moment for Sakura to realize someone was talking to her and not just mumbling to themselves. In the seat beside her, a small black-haired girl was glumly watching the proceedings. Sakura knew who it was, Hyuuga Hinata, but she had hardly ever spoken to the quiet girl. Most likely because she always sat up here at the back.
Cautiously, Sakura answered. "I don't think so. Look at all the people who've already passed." Why would Hinata even be asking her a question like this, though? "You're a Hyuuga. You have a better chance at passing than any of us," Sakura bluntly stated. Hinata wilted and shrunk back into her chair.
"That's not true," she whispered, but didn't illuminate any further. That suited Sakura just fine and she went back to her own last-minute studies.
Too soon, however, Iruka got to her name. Sakura took a deep, calming breath and gathered her things. Surprisingly, Hinata piped up just loud enough to mumble a "good luck" which Sakura barely heard, which she thanked with a small nod and a smile.
The small exam room housed a folding table and a few chairs, but Iruka immediately sat behind the table with Mizuki. There were over two dozen forehead protectors still on the table.
"Alright. I want you to make a bunshin for us and hold it for a few seconds," Iruka ordered.
A bunshin? That was pretty easy. Sakura drew her hands together and started to mold her chakra, projecting it outwards through the handseal.
Two perfect replicas of Sakura popped into existence on either side of her and she let out a breath. "Is this satisfactory, Iruka-sensei?"
"That's fine. Good work," Iruka praised. He marked down her passing grade in his book and motioned for his student to come over. "Pick any hitai-ite you want."
Sakura dispelled her clones and skipped over to the table. She grabbed the shiniest one on left and ran her fingers over the cool metal and the leather it was bound to. After six years it was finally hers. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei. It was an honor to learn from you." Not a lie in the least since the man had been a great teacher. "I can't wait to rub it in Ino's face!"
Iruka smiled at his student, indulging her rivalry for the last day. "You earned it. I'm proud that you improved so much this last year."
Sakura's head snapped up. "What?"
"Well, that's not to say you weren't always a good student," the man placated, misinterpreting his student's reaction. "I just mean that your other skills have been improving as well. You've always had the book knowledge, Sakura, but not the practical. Lately, though, I've seen you applying basic strategies and tactics in your essays to a degree you never did before and not just mechanical quotes from an old textbook. I'm glad to see that kind of drive in my students."
Although he smiled widely at her, Sakura's blood was running cold. Improved over the last year? The only thing that had changed in that time was Kabuto and her second life. She felt like throwing up because of the disgust bubbling up from her stomach. It was hard to keep down while knowing that she was getting praised for being a traitor, even in a round-about way.
"T-Thank you, Iruka-sensei." Just a small hitch in her voice and still the Chunin bought it. "I'm glad that my extra studies have paid off." The words were so easy to say. Was lying second nature by now? Sakura didn't know, but again she attributed it to the duties she was forced to do.
Later, Sakura would scold herself for leaving academy in the middle of an exam, but right now she didn't care. With a stony face, she marched out of the classroom and ignored Ino's taunts as she did so. The blonde could think her rival had failed if she wanted, but right now Sakura had to get out of the building. She had to get away from that exam room.
Haruno Sakura, the most intelligent person of her generation, had improved not thanks to herself, but because of a life or death situation thrust upon her. She knew where that extra knowledge had come from: nights spent pouring over books at the library to help her be a better spy, all the small missions she'd give herself to fulfill Kabuto's lust for more information and secrets, and all the practice spent avoiding being caught by lazy Chunin street patrols. It was stupid to think that she wouldn't improve, to think that she wouldn't gain.
That, though, didn't make it any less disgusting.
By the time her house came into view, Sakura was in a run and crying. People were stopping to look at the pathetic little girl running down the street in tears, but Sakura didn't care. She threw open the door to the house, ran past her shocked mother, and locked herself in her room. Her bed buckled under the repeated punches Sakura threw at it as she broke down. She was imagining people taking the hits instead of the mattress. Kabuto, Iruka, herself, and...
Sakura's fists finally stopped and she tiredly flopped over onto her back, disgusted. So childish. The most she could do is beat up on imaginary enemies and break her bed. She furiously wiped the tears out of her eyes and slammed a pillow over her head in frustration. At least her mother hadn't tried to talk to her yet and for that Sakura was thankful. She didn't think she could lie with a straight face at the moment.
Just the thought of anything good coming from being a spy made Sakura's stomach lurch. How could she keep doing this? How could she have done this for over a year? And for what? Her own worthless life?
"I really am the worst," she whispered as her mind began replaying that day, one year ago, when everything changed. When her very world had collapsed...
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When Sakura finally awoke, she was staring at an unfamiliar ceiling. The florescent lighting of the room blinded her and she let her eyes slip back closed.
"She's awake," someone said off to the side. "Sakura, are you alright?"
The girl being question forced her eyes open again. This time she could see distinct blurs hovering overhead, but still couldn't make out anything. "F-Fine. Where am I? I feel horrible."
Something sharp poked her arm, but she was in no condition to do anything about it. Still, Sakura tried to move, to get away, but a strong arm held her in place. "The nurse is just taking some blood, Sakura. They have to make sure all the poison is gone."
Poison? What were they talking about? "Wha...who are you?"
"Sakura-san, it's Iruka-sensei. Please, calm down."
That voice. That was...that was...Sakura's head still felt like it was full of cotton, but she summoned the strength to wrench her eyes open again. It was as she had feared: the gray-haired, bespectacled Kabuto was one of the faces watching her.
The girl started to push away despite her grogginess, and the machines she was hooked up to, in a frantic effort to get away from the spy. "H-Help, Iruka-sensei! Get him away from me!"
"Sakura! Stop!" Iruka ordered, holding her down in case the nurse wanted to give her a sedative. "Kabuto-san saved your life. Why are you acting like this?"
Before Sakura could properly express her disbelief in words, the Genin in question spoke up. "She has to be confused, Iruka-sensei. She was bitten by an asp, after all. It could have done damage to her short-term memory." He gave the horrified girl one of his best smiles. "It is very fortunate my team and I had finished eating when we did, otherwise you would have not made it to the hospital in time. Asp venom is quite toxic."
An asp? They were rare, but native to Fire Country. Was that the snake she had followed, Sakura wondered. "I remember a snake," she admitted. Her head was still so foggy, though. "It bit me?"
Kabuto nodded. "On your arm." He motioned to the wrapped appendage before pushing his glasses further up his nose. "You were in a feverish fit for hours, screaming out in your sleep."
So, that's how it was. Sakura wasn't totally sure of herself, but she trusted her teacher. All of that spy business must have been just what Kabuto said; a bad nightmare. Relieved, she sank back into her pillow.
Imagine it, a weak little guy like Kabuto being a spy! How silly.
"Now, Sakura-san, I believe it's time we had a talk about what you saw earlier."
Slowly, Sakura's head turned to look at the Genin. Iruka was slumped over in his chair and the door was closed. "No...no! No, no, no!" Sakura wanted to scream even louder, but Kabuto's hand forced her mouth shut.
"Now, now. We can't have that." He looked back at the door with narrowed eyes, but no one came in. "If you are worried about your teacher, don't be. He's not dead. Yet." There was an unspoken threat in that assurance, however. He ran through a string of seals and a ripple of chakra pulsed out from his body, molding itself to the contour of the room. "There, now we can have some privacy."
He lifted his hand up to allow Sakura to speak, but it was kept close in case she decided to do anything else. At least he seemed willing to allow her a moment to collect herself.
"It wasn't a dream..." The horror was just setting in that, no, she hadn't imagined what happened to her and that, yes, she was at Kabuto's mercy. Even the asp bite was probably replicated by him as a subtle hint that she lived or died by his hand. "W-What do you want with me?"
"Why, to have you work for me, of course."
Wait, what? Sakura didn't know if that was a joke or not because Kabuto's face was giving nothing away. "Betray Konoha? I can't!"
Kabuto shrugged and pulled a vial from his pouch. It was a greenish liquid, dancing about in the fluorescent lights of the hospital room. "If you refuse then I'll inject this asp venom back into your system. The doctors will think it's a relapse and you'll die in a few minutes."
It was the nonchalance in his voice scared Sakura more than the death threat. This was serious: if she said no Kabuto would honestly kill her.
"Why would you want me to?" Sakura asked in an attempt to give her time to think up a way out of this or for help to stumble into the room. "I'm just an academy student. You gain nothing by doing this! You could just use a genjutsu on me and make me forget!"
The boy laughed, actually laughed, at that. "It is within my power. However, I think you would be a useful tool. You can get to places that I can't because who would guess you'd be a spy? Your family has no ties to any ninja clans and you are an academy student who has never left the village. It would be ridiculous to think that you'd be working for someone else."
That was logic that Sakura couldn't deny. How, though, had Kabuto found out so much so quickly? If anything, that proved that the teen's assertion that he was a spy was correct. Sakura warily licked her lips. "But what if I do get caught? Then the ANBU would get the information out of me," she argued. "It's best to just put me under a genjutsu and not take the chance, right?"
"If that is the case, then it would be best to kill you, wouldn't you say?" Kabuto mused as he pulled out the asp poison again. "ANBU could still get into your head if you were alive."
It had to be a trick, another feint. Sakura was certain of this. Either the poison wasn't real or he was going to give her the antidote. This was all to make her agree, she imagined. Well, he wouldn't get to her like this. Not in a million years. She was trained to recognize a bluff.
"Go ahead. I won't betray my village." Most assuredly it was a bluff. Once Sakura called him on it he'd back off.
With a shrug, Kabuto followed the girl's advice. The small syringe on the vial plunged into the IV running into Sakura's arm, draining it in a few moments.
Unable to do anything but, Sakura watched the clear liquid mix with the nutrients and run into her body. She couldn't feel a change, but she knew that within minutes death would claim her.
Kabuto, having finished his work, grimly smiled at the girl. "You are a true shinobi, Sakura-san, to die for your village. You have my respect." Oddly, it didn't seem like the boy was being sarcastic and that he actually meant the words, not noticing the look of horror spread over Sakura's face.
Ignoring her once again, Kabuto was busy injecting his chakra into Iruka's mind. "I'll place memories of you shivering, gasping for air and calling out for a doctor." The spy was talking more to himself than Sakura, whispering instructions to keep focus on the difficult procedure. "Not many mental blocks. Seems he wasn't on active missions too much." Words so cold that they chilled Sakura to the bone.
With a snap, Sakura realized that it was not the spy's nonchalance that was making her body shiver. She knew what asp venom did to a person; it brought about necrosis in tissue, destroying the living cells there. Her arm was already going numb and pulses of muted nerves were cascading through her body. By now, the venom was probably in her heart, being pumped to other organs that would soon start to decay as well. Her breaths were getting heavy, labored, as the tissue in her lungs ruptured.
By now, the machines had started their alarming symphony; various beeps, alarms, and readouts where pouring out from them. Normally the doctors on duty would have came rushing in, but the sound barrier Kabuto had put up was also seemingly affecting whatever monitoring equipment they had. The spy remained unworried and continued to diligently work on Iruka.
It was something of an epiphany that Sakura finally understood that this was no bluff. She was really going to die, right now, in this hospital bed. Darkness was starting to seep into her vision and the spots were becoming noticeable. Even though breathing was difficult, she was starting to hyperventilate. The machines were still going insane, but no one was coming to help.
"N-No...help...me..." Sakura's world was dimming, long before she had thought it would. Was this what a shinobi was? Dying for a cause that would be lost on those around her? It would be seen as a fluke. An accident. No one would ever understand the suffering she was enduring. Was this what being a Konoha-nin really was?
Was this the so-called will of fire that she had been fed her entire life?
Kabuto, the only person that was party to this little drama, looked back over at Sakura she gurgled out neigh-intelligible sounds. The girl was probably drowning in her own fluids at the moment, but his eyes held no more sympathy. Instead, he was as detached as a researcher watching some perverse experiment in a laboratory. An experiment that he had initiated.
"I don't want to die," Sakura rasped. Damn Kabuto for doing this to her, damn Iruka for being caught off-guard, damn the hospital staff for being lax...
...damn herself for being so weak.
The boy raised one thin eyebrow until it was nearly obscured by his forehead protector. "Oh? Now you want to be cooperative? You disappoint me, Sakura-san. I had thought you had resigned yourself to this fate for your village." He shook his head in mild disgust. "Anyone would repent at the end to save themselves. Your words have little meaning."
A dark patch of necrosis was starting to spread out from where the IV sank into her skin, indicating the dead patch of cells there. It wouldn't be much longer. "P-Please, I...I mean it..." Sakura feebly assured. She tried to convey though her eyes what her words could not, catching the spy's gaze.
Kabuto regarded her for a long moment, contemplating whether even answering was worth his time. Finally, he leaned in. "Swear," he said, "that you will faithfully serve my master and his interests. That you are bound to him and his will. Swear it."
Such words, to non-ninja, would seem silly, but Sakura knew what kind of weight they carried. Even a spy in the shinobi world wasn't without honor. To willingly betray one's` own village for another was a mark that would forever stay with a ninja. Even if Sakura somehow wormed her way out from under Kabuto and whoever he was truly working for, the stain would always haunt her.
'What choice do I have?' Sakura thought. It came down to either dying for Konoha or living and betraying it. To some, that wasn't a hard decision, to this girl, it was paramount. She was terrified at the thought of dying, of having her life cut short.
"I-I...I..." With one hard swallow, Sakura set her path. "I s-swear."
What transpired afterwards was blurry to the new spy. Kabuto's hands had started glowing and moving toward her and for one horrifying moment she thought the boy was going to kill her anyways. Instead, though, a warmth bit at the cold bite of death, fighting back that black hand. It took away the pain in her chest, the weight in her lungs, and the numbness in her arm.
Kabuto retracted his chakra after healing the small damage to her heart. The dead skin in her arm was above his ability to cure, but it would replace itself with time and he simply pulled the bandage that was already there up a little further. Now, though, there was something far more important to do with his remaining stamina.
"Open your mouth and stick out your tongue," he ordered.
Too weak to argue, Sakura did as she was told, though she was fighting against passing out. She could hear Kabuto getting something out of one of his weapons pouches, but she was unable to see what it was from her position.
Suddenly, Kabuto caught her tongue in between his index finger and thumb, painfully pulling it out far farther than it was supposed to go. Sakura squirmed, trying to free her head, but the spy was holding fast.
Now she could see his other hand. It was holding a small, nondescript bottle that was getting dangerously close to her tongue. Black liquid spilled out of it when Kabuto tipped the bottle, hitting Sakura's tongue, covering it with what looked like oil. The teen made a few seals with his free hand and pressed his thumb into the liquid and then releasing his hold.
"What the hell did you do?!" Sakura demanded, gagging. The oily taste was gone, but she could feel lingering chakra dissipating in the back of her throat.
"You must forgive me if your words are not enough of a guarantee," Kabuto replied, his voice smooth as silk. "I placed a seal on you. If you speak anything of this to anyone other than myself or my master, the jutsu will activate. It's a simple thing to do with a willing patient."
Sakura had studied seals that could be placed on her body back in the academy, but this was a high level sealing method. She didn't doubt that Kabuto could pull it off, thus his threat was very, very real. "Damn you," she hissed. "Just what will happen to me?"
"Oh, nothing much. Your chakra paths will simply seize up, constricting any organs they are near. That would mean your heart, lungs, stomach, colon-"
Kabuto's voice was starting to become distant to Sakura as the full implications hit her. It was a death seal; it ensured that ANBU would be extracting no information from her alive. She couldn't turn to anyone now. She was truly alone and bound to the devil himself.
A sharp knock on the door broke Sakura out of her thoughts. Kabuto lazily looked over his shoulder as a nurse called out that the door was locked. "One moment, please," he called out. Moving his hand over Iruka's head, the man's eyes fluttered back open. "Iruka-sensei, could you watch Sakura for a moment while I speak with the nurse?" His tone didn't miss a beat, coming out as placating and soft as it had when he was originally talking to the man. Afterwards, he got up to unlock the door, but send a subtle look at Sakura before his back was turned.
Although obviously a bit confused, Iruka slowly nodded. "Yeah, sure," he remarked. "Sakura? I'm sorry, but I must have zoned out on you."
"I-It's fine, Iruka-sensei. You were tired and I asked Kabuto-san not to wake you." Her heart was pounding and the girl was afraid that her teacher would be able to tell she was lying. "I think...I think I should get some rest too." She was far too addled to lie effectively.
Iruka just nodded. "I'm not feeling well myself, so I understand," he admitted. Grasping the back of his chair for support, the young teacher managed to get to his feet and shuffle toward the door. Kabuto, who had been speaking with the nurse, moved to the side to let him through, giving him a pleasant farewell as he did so.
Alone, Sakura finally let out a ragged breath. Before Kabuto could make his way back over, the girl tried to will herself to laps out of consciousness. She didn't want to deal with doctors, spies, or reality. Even if it was just for a few hours, she wanted to forget. Her body, exhausted beyond anything she had ever felt, complied and she slipped into a fitful sleep.
Sakura would be in the hospital for three more days as the poison was fully pumped from her body. The relapse was chalked up to the unusual amount of venom the asp had injected. Kabuto had covered his tracks well; his amount of medical expertise far exceeded that of the doctors and his healing at the end had saved Sakura's life. However, the rehabilitation for her right arm still took weeks. Beyond that, the seal Kabuto had placed on the girl was always on her mind, lingering just under the surface as Iruka and her parents visited.
It was during the rough weeks of rehabilitation that Sakura began her work and cultivating her first contacts as a spy. She had gotten to know the medical staff fairly well and the information they provided about their other patients as small-talk was more than enough to keep Kabuto happy for the first month. Sakura learned how to get just what she wanted from these conversations, teasing out bits of information individually and in small chunks, eventually adding up to a frightening amount of data.
Later, Sakura's grades at the academy started to improve. She had at first attributed it to simply being more focused, but now she knew it was because the practical application of skills was giving her an inside track on most of the exams. Why hadn't she noticed it until now? Maybe she did and just didn't want to admit it.
Still laying on her bed, Sakura let her mind run through the past like a cheap roll of film. Flashes of the months upon months of reconnaissance work, sneaking around the village, going through trash, and betraying the people that were responsible for her wellbeing. It would be stupid not to think that those things wouldn't make her into a better ninja. She'd just been fooling herself into thinking she was the victim.
Even though she had been locked up in her room for hours, Sakura still felt emotionally drained. Tomorrow she would meet her Jounin team leader and her job would get even more dangerous. She wasn't a victim any longer, just a willing participant. Kabuto had both taken away her choice and given her one; just one word to ANBU and he would die. Sakura had studied the seal and knew it would take a few moments to work. She could get out enough clues before it killed her.
However, it was a choice and Sakura had no desire to die. She was weak-willed, pathetic, scared. She called herself all these things but not matter how she berated herself she could not bring about her own death. Thus, she endured and slowly it became easier. That there was nothing being obtained in return was the last vestige of refuge her mind had been grasping onto, the only way Sakura could retain any kind of conscience about what she was doing. But that was stripped away.
So, what was left? Just living, day by day, until some way out presented itself. Given how deep in she was, Sakura didn't see that happening any time soon. That just left living. Sakura could at least do that.
"I slept too long," Sakura sighed, dragging her mind away from her black thoughts. It was now nearly dark and she wasn't the least bit sleepy.
Deciding to at least use her time wisely, the girl slinked out of bed and off to her shower. She had fallen asleep in her clothes and maybe a fresh change would wake her up. As she was often prone to do, she ran over what she needed to do for the next day while the water spilled over her, relaxing the muscles in her shoulders and back.
She hadn't tried to study the encryption key today. She could spend the rest of the night on that until she got tired. She had already decided that it was music-based earlier, but beyond that nothing else presented itself.
After drying off and changing, Sakura retrieved the papers from under her desk. The notes were arranged, in staffs, across all the pieces of paper. Under each note was a symbol that she recognized as basic seal representations. However, these seal representation, hundreds in order, were originally a language in and of themselves. Each hidden village would use them to communicate before common language came into practice. In a way, the messages from the key would be sent in hieroglyphs that made up word parts. What was more, the note positions on the staffs seemed to change which symbol would be used, or if a symbol would be used for that note at all, so the codes could take on multiple dimensions.
Sakura ran a hand through her hair in frustration. This system was much more advanced than the ones she had learned at the academy. It used several sets of symbols and a type of transposition cipher. The trick to it was simply to memorize everything, which Sakura set out to do. She had an eidetic memory, though, so it wouldn't be too bad. She tried out a few sample ciphers, putting in standard information. Her form was somewhat sloppy, but she also didn't have to look at the original cards for reference.
Beside Sakura's desk, an inconspicuous piece of paper hanging on the wall suddenly started flashing red. The seals placed into it had been triggered by a source of chakra being near the sister seal, which was on the roof of Sakura's house. She had begun to put rudimentary warning seals up as soon as the academy began teaching them.
'Have I been discovered?!' Sakura's first instinct was to sweep all of her papers onto the floor and hop into bed. That, of course, would only make her look more guilty. It was hard to fight down that reaction, though. Instead, the student continued to pretend to study, knowing that she couldn't be seen from where the alarm seal had been triggered.
When the alarm ended a few moments later, the girl let out a breath and slumped over onto her desk. It was just some random idiot using her house as a thoroughfare, then. The trigger seal hadn't been disturbed so it wasn't disarmed. A second later, though, a different alarm on another part of the roof went off, only to stop a second later.
What was going on tonight? Usually ninja didn't use roofs like this out of common courtesy. That two different people would do so in one night, in the space of a few seconds, meant that something was going on. There hadn't been a general alarm yet, though, so Sakura wasn't forbidden from investigating.
As she climbed out of her window, the Genin could see several ninja leaping around. Their pattern was erratic, as if they were searching for something. Sakura wished she could move around as fast as them, though. Having to use hand and footholds to get up to her roof was annoying, but that level of chakra control wasn't taught at the academy.
A foot landed right next to Sakura's head as she was pulling herself up to the roof and despite herself, she let out a surprised yelp. Shockingly, though, so did the ninja that had nearly stepped on her.
"S-Sorry!" Sakura didn't know why she was the one apologizing, but startling what looked like a Chunin wasn't good for long-term advancement. "Oh! It's you, Suzume-sensei!" The curly-haired woman was one of Sakura's teachers at the academy.
After composing herself, the Chunin helped the girl get up onto the roof. "Sakura! You, um, startled me!" She wouldn't admit that her former student had scared the crap out of her. "What are you doing out this late, young lady?"
Sakura pointed to one of the tags she had on her house. "The alarm was tripped." It wasn't unusual for ninja to place alarms on their houses, so hopefully Suzume wouldn't think it so odd.
Indeed, the woman nodded in understanding. "Well, you should get back inside. There is a village-wide search going on at the moment and we don't need to be distracted."
"A search?" For the entire village to be out looking for something...had there been an incident? "Is ANBU involved?"
Suzume shook her head. "Just the Chunin and Jounin. Someone stole a very important sealing scroll from Hokage-sama's home and we have to recover it."
From the Hokage's own house? How the hell did that happen? "Weren't their guards? Traps? Seals on the doors?" Sakura didn't mean to sound condescending, but it was beyond her belief that someone could sneak into the home of the village's leader.
"Hokage-sama has never enjoyed having guards. He said it reminded him too much of the war." Suzume sounded fairly upset about the lax in security herself. Something seemingly clicked in her mind, though. "Sakura, you were classmates with Uzumaki Naruto, weren't you? Do you know where he could be? Maybe if he wanted to hide?"
"Wait, wait, wait...Naruto stole this scroll?! From the Hokage himself?!" What was wrong with this village? An academy student stole what looked to be an extremely important scroll from what should have been the most secure building in the entire village. Seeing that Suzume was growing impatient, though, she calmed down and answered. "We didn't know each other very well, sensei. Have you tried to academy grounds yet?" That was about the only place Sakura could think of.
Of course, Suzume responded that it was the first place people had looked. The entire school grounds had practically been torn apart looking for the little thief. His apartment, the riverfront, his favorite restaurants; anywhere that he could possibly be. It was all for naught, though. The boy had simply disappeared.
"If you think of anywhere he could be, flag down a Chunin." Suzume looked a few houses over and nodded to one of the other searchers. "I'm going on ahead, but don't stay out too long." With that, she disappeared in a swirl of smoke.
That left Sakura alone, standing on her roof and looking like an idiot. All around her were Chunin searching for an academy student that had managed to steal one of the Hokage's personal scrolls. How Naruto of all people had managed that was confounding enough, but why he even wanted it was even more cloudy. A Genin couldn't make use of something like that.
'Then again, if I can find him first...' The gears in Sakura's head began to turn. A scroll of sealing could be very, very useful to someone who had a death seal on their body. Perhaps there was some kind of countermeasure in the scroll that could free Sakura of the one placed on her tongue? Even if there wasn't anything in it relating to her, the girl was sure she could find something to report in for the month.
There was a problem, though. If Chunin and Jounin couldn't find Naruto, then how was Sakura supposed to? Standing around wasn't helping, so the girl hopped to the next house. The other ninja had stopped paying attention to her, seemingly not minding her poking around. That made things a bit easier.
Sakura tried to think it out logically. If she had been the one to steal a scroll from the Hokage where would she go with it? Certainly not back home; that would be the first place anyone would look. Not her favorite places, either. Suzume had said that the academy and riverfront were already checked. That only left the miles and miles of woods that made up one section of the village. They were mostly used for survival training and a buffer in case of invasion. That would be the best place. However, Sakura knew that everyone else would come to that same conclusion. The woods were probably crawling with ninja. If they hadn't found Naruto yet, it wouldn't take them very much longer.
The girl hopped down from the roof she had landed on and stared at the wide expanse of forest in front of her. She had picked the most direct route from the Hokage's home to here, knowing enough about Naruto that he wouldn't know to hide his trail. Being so late, the shadows cast by the trees in the streetlights' illumination loomed over the girl, casting a sinister shadow over her form. It was like the forest was drawing her in.
She slapped her cheeks, snapping herself out of that outlandish thinking. It was just dark and her eyes were playing tricks on her. The benefits of heading in far outweighed the negatives in this situation. She could be free! F-R-E-E from that seal hanging over her head. It was either avoid the scary forest or not have a death seal.
'Like I have a choice,' Sakura thought as she bounded into the trees. This opportunity couldn't be passed up.
These trees were fairly young, only a few decades old. The underbrush wasn't so heavy that Sakura couldn't run on the ground. Even if she could move through the trees as well as a Chunin, she would have to get close to see any signs of her query. She was quite lucky; if the forest were older it would look like some of the southern lands with trees the size of the Hokage monument.
Sakura was no great tracker. Traps, seals, and general knowledge were her strengths. However, she could at least tell when something was disturbed. The ground under her feet looked like it had been trampled on recently, but whether it was from Naruto or some other ninja was debatable. What it did say was that Sakura was on the right track. Even if it was someone else that meant that Sakura was onto something with her line of thinking. Stopping for a moment to really look around, she discovered an actual footprint. It was too small to be an adult so unless another Genin was around it was Naruto.
It was worrying, though. This roundabout path was taking her far longer to track than she thought possible. It wasn't deviating very much so Naruto obviously knew where he was going. Perhaps he had something prearranged back here?
Soon, a trail began to form in the brush. It wasn't well-worn, but it was noticeable in contrast to the otherwise wild forest. Sakura jumped onto it and followed it, headless of track marks now. If Naruto came this way it was logical to think that he'd use this path.
"N-Naruto! Whatever happens, don't give him the scroll!"
Bingo. Sakura had come upon what looked like a small cabin and ducked around the back of it. That voice from before was certainly Iruka's and she guessed he had found Naruto. Suppressing her chakra as much as possible, she inched around until she could see into the clearing the shack was built in front of. From her vantage point, she could see someone sitting up in a tree at the other side of the clearing, but not what he was looking at.
"That scroll has forbidden ninjutsu written inside! Mizuki used you to get it."
It sounded as if Iruka and Naruto were in front of the house. That meant that the person in the tree had to be Mizuki. Sakura got the distinct feeling that she had intruded in the middle of something, given how haggard Iruka's voice was. Mizuki looked armed to the teeth, but he wasn't approaching.
"Hey, Naruto. There's no point in you keeping that scroll," Mizuki was saying. "I'll tell you the truth!"
As Iruka screamed out for Mizuki to stop, Sakura's shoulders slumped. She didn't know what was going on between Iruka and Mizuki, but from the sounds of it Mizuki had the same idea Sakura herself did about the scroll.
The now-exposed traitor was saying something about the Kyuubi attack. Sakura, like most everyone else she was friends with, was too young to remember it in person. However, some of the scars from the battle could still be seen on the land and on the people of Konoha. Hundreds had died, after all. What a natural disaster like that had to do with the scroll, Sakura didn't know.
"There's a certain rule. No one is allowed to talk about the fact that you, Naruto, are the Kyuubi!" Iruka was practically begging the other Chunin to stop now. "The same thing that killed Iruka's parents is sealed inside of you! Lied to by everyone! That's why they hate you! The same thing goes for Iruka because how could he not?"
Sakura couldn't stop the gasp that she let out. The demon that had nearly destroyed the village was inside Naruto?! That was impossible! She wanted to believe that the Hokage wouldn't do something like that, but Iruka's pleas to stop confirmed it.
'That thing...my father...' Sakura's hand dug into the dirt as her head began to spin. She had lost her father, the rightful heir to the Haruno clan, to the beast. It was because of that monster half everyone in Konoha had the same childhood as her. How could the village, how could anyone, think that letting the Kyuubi into the academy was a good thing? Wasn't it enough that it had nearly killed an entire generation? That monster could kill the entire village!
"Naruto, you must have been in a lot of pain, too," Iruka said, his voice coming out as an odd gurgle. "I-If I had done a better job, you wouldn't have to feel like this."
Was that...sympathy? Sakura didn't want to believe it: that her teacher was coddling the very thing that had killed his parents. Naruto was an idiot, that was true, but that thing was inside of him! It should be killed, it should be driven away, not coddled. Naruto was literally a bomb waiting to go off.
What was more, how lucky had she herself been that it hadn't gone off around her?
Sakura didn't know how long she stayed behind that shed, too frightened and rattled to leave her hiding place. The voices were gone, having moved away minutes ago, but the girl couldn't make her body go. How could she after learning that the person you had been kicking around for the last few years had the thing that nearly annihilated the village locked up inside him?
Why hadn't anyone said anything? Mizuki said that it was a rule and Iruka seemed to know about it as well. Was it just the ninja of the village or everyone? Her mother had never mentioned it, nor had anyone else Sakura knew. They just let that...that...thing mingle with them! If it were a village-wide order, then it had to come from the Hokage and the counsel. That meant so many chains of command knew that the Kyuubi was lurking in the very village it tried to destroy.
The sun was just starting to break through the trees when Sakura finally got to her feet. Her body was still on autopilot as she started off toward home. It was insane; this conspiracy reached up to the highest echelons of power in Konoha. "How could they?" Sakura hissed. She knew that everyone at the academy had lost someone during the Kyuubi attack. How could the Hokage force them to work with Naruto? How could the teachers not tell them?!
Sakura knew that things could get sealed inside other things, that was one of the fundamentals of the sealing arts, but putting something the size of the Kyuubi inside of a human couldn't be safe. It could break out and then what? Why it hadn't already done so was beyond Sakura's knowledge of such things. The Kyuubi was a walking natural disaster and Naruto wasn't much better. How much had he already been compromised by the demon? Had it already taken over Naruto?
Suddenly, Sakura broke out into a cold sweat. If that demon was in control, then all those times Naruto had hit on her were it. She quickly started to dry heave in fear and disgust. Fear because of what she did to the boy after such attempts and disgust because of a demon being interested in her.
The village was calmed down by the time Sakura wandered back on the streets. No more ninja leaping around at least. Although she was just aimlessly wandering around, Sakura soon found herself on the road that lead to the academy. It was morning and the team meetings would be starting soon. Having nothing better to do, Sakura decided to arrive early and get her thoughts together. Her mother would probably be worried, but the girl didn't know if she could face her mother without accusing her of knowing about the Kyuubi.
In fact, seeing most of the adults on the street forced Sakura to keep herself from sneering. They all were in the loop. How could they keep such a thing a secret? Didn't they care that their children were learning side-by-side with a demon?
When she arrived in her classroom several minutes later, she still didn't have an answer. Was secrecy so important that the Hokage would risk the lives of everyone in the village? There were far more questions to this question than there were answers.
"Sakura? Why are you here?"
Surprised, the girl looked up from the random desk she had slumped down into to see one of her instructors, arms full of books, looking rather confused.
"Today is the team announcements?" It came out as a question because, looking around, there wasn't anyone in the classroom.
The teacher looked even more confused.. "Iruka in the hospital until tomorrow, thus the assignments have been postponed. Didn't you get the note the administration sent to all students? It should have been at your house."
Great. That was wonderful. Sakura slumped down even farther into her chair and let her head rest against the desk. Of course there wouldn't be any class today. Iruka was probably half-dead from dealing with Mizuki. Sakura felt a rush of shame go through her as she remembered how she had simply hid behind that shed, hoping to not be discovered by either the traitor or Naruto.
Fearful of the person she had kicked around for years.
"I guess I left before it arrived," the girl lied. She was secretly thankful for the extra day. Seeing Naruto or Iruka, even if it was just for one more day, could push her over the edge. After tomorrow, though, she'd never have to see that monster ever again. "Is there anything I can do while I'm here?"
"They're still holding the official photographs on the second floor," the teacher replied. "It's a little early, but I'm sure the photographer will make an exception."
After saying her thanks to the teacher, Sakura excused herself and headed up to get photographed after fixing herself up in a restroom. Being out all night had left slight bags under her eyes and her clothes were scruffy, but it the photographer said it made for a "tough" look.
"I wish all the kids were like you two," the old man sighed as he printed out Sakura's official ninja registration. "Though, that kid has you beat by a few hours."
Beat her? Who could have possibly gotten there before Sakura? The girl had practically walked in at the crack of dawn. Before she had the chance to question, however, the door behind her creaked open.
"Sakura-chan!"
And then, Sakura screamed. And unearthly wail, really, that rattled anyone that heard it to the bone. The cause? Uzumaki Naruto, in war paint, was standing right in front of her.
"God, kid, you've got a set of lungs on you," the old photographer muttered. Turning to Naruto, he said, "And you! It took you three hours to come up with that? Can't you take this seriously?!"
As Naruto tried to avoid a tongue lashing, Sakura was pulling herself together. He didn't even look injured, she noted. He must have came straight here after whatever happened to Mizuki. The girl didn't want to know how he had gotten out of that without a scratch considering Iruka was in the hospital.
"You want to go get some ramen after I get my picture taken, Sakura-chan?" Naruto happily chirped. Either he didn't notice or care about how uncomfortable the target of his interest was looking at the moment.
"N-No thank you, Naruto. I've got to go home and help my mom clean up." She was already half way out the door by now. "Maybe next time!"
Both photographer and Naruto were left staring at the rapid exit. The former, feeling sorry for the obvious brush off, readied his camera for the picture without any more fuss. "Why are you smiling so much, kid?" he asked once he looked through the lens. That was rough for a little kid like that, but it looked like it didn't bother the blond.
Maybe the little brat was more mature than he looked?
Naruto just kept smiling. "That's the nicest she's ever been to me! Best day ever!" he replied, practically hopping up and down in excitement. "I should change the paint again, though!" And then, just that quick, Naruto was back out the door in search of a mirror.
"...I hate kids," the old man sighed before grabbing his pipe. It would be a long wait...