Shattered xx Chapter 3
.: Guilt :.

Sakura stepped through the threshold into her home, closing her door nimbly behind her. Her apartment was exactly how she had left it; cluttered. Though she gave Naruto a hard time for his pig-sty of a home, her own wasn't much better. Her belongings lay scattered across the floors and shelves, her books and papers laying ignored and forgetten underneath tables and couches. The carpets were in need of a good vacuum, and the finished wood floors needed sweeping.

She entered quietly and maneuvered her way through obstacles in the front hall, almost tripping over her dirty-clothes hamper, before finally reaching the door leading into her own bedroom. This room, surprisingly enough, was actually rather organized compared to the rest of the house, due to the fact that she seldom slept in it. Because of the long night shifts that she spent at the hospital, she found sleeping on the old, comfortable couch in her office to be much more convenient.

The pinkette skirted over towards her closet and snatched up one of her handbags from its shelves, then proceeded to pack as many articles of clothing into it as she could. She packed extra shirts, bras, shorts and jeans, panties, and her favorite pair of sweats. She then moved back out into the hall and into the kitchen and threw open her cupboard. Her glittering emerald hues latched onto a prestien package of Oreos, and she snatched them up greedily and stowed them away in her bag. She also grabbed some instant ramen cups before switching over to the fridge and pulling out a large bowl of sticky rice she'd prepared the day before.

Quickly she emptied it on top of a cutting board on her counter, and swiftly molded it into several rice balls. She added them each with a strip of dried sea weed before quickly wrapping them up and placing them in her bag with everything else.

Then she set set the bag down by the door and raced off again, this time towards the shower. Upon entering her cluttered bathroom, she stripped quickly and hopped right in, greatly enjoying the feeling of the warm water splashing across her skin. She swiftly washed her thin, rose-colored locks first with shampoo then a good amount of conditioner before rinsing and exiting the shower. She dried off quickly then wrapped her lime-green towel around herself before grabbing her dirty clothes and hurrying back out into the hall. She threw the clothes into one of the hampers sitting there before going back into her bedroom and dressing in another set of her regular kunoichi apparel; her tall boots, spandex, a thin-white, open skirt, a loose tank-top with the Haruno symbol emblazoned across the back, her elbow pads, and her sturdy black gloves.

She had switched out her dark-green spandex for a pair of navy-blue ones, and her shirt was a very pale sky-blue. She preferred her usual garmets, but all of her pairs were currently waiting to be washed, and she didn't have the time to wait around. So the kunoichi looped her Konoha headband behind her ears, tied it quickly, then hurried towards the door again. She latched her arm underneath the strap of her bag agilely before exiting and locking the door behind her.

Sakura strode down the main street of Konoha, her eyes on the Hokage Building that towered over the rest of the village. Her expression was set, determined. Her full lips were locked together and her emerald hues were gleaming with a strong, self-confidence; something that had changed dramatically since her genin days. Her every step had this youthful beat to it, unlike the depressed sort of shuffle that she'd harbored after he'd left.

She shoved the thought from her mind, quickening her speed as she approached the large building.

The ANBU standing outside, though she'd seen both of them hundreds of times, requested to see her ID and she grudgingly gave it to them. They dubiously scrutinized her photo for a moment, glancing to her and back to it several times before finally deeming it acceptable. They waved her inside warily and she swiftly passed between them, stuffing her ID card back into the weapons pouch.

And then she set off down the familiar hallways, up several flights of stairs, and down some more hallways. She passed several shinobi that she knew, but didn't make any move to stop and chat them up. She flew down the hallways, her pink-pastelle hair floating out behind her head. She had so many questions and accusations bubbling through her mind, and her eagerness to confront her teacher and superior.

Finally she reached the large double doors on the top floor and yet another pair of ANBU that signified the entrance to the Hokage's office. Both of the ANBU standing there requested to see card just as the others had, and she cast them both furtive glares and they backed off hastily, hurriedly beckoning her to continue.

Sakura smiled smugly as she pushed her way through, but her expression quickly dropped to a cautious state of fear when she saw who stood inside.

Tsunade sat as she normally did at her desk, her expression strained and anxious. In one hand she held a poised pen and in the other what looked like an almost-empty bottle of sake. Leaning against her desk was her other sensei, the gray-haired Kakashi who looked just a little less bored than he normally would have. And last was the blond Uzumaki who stood in front of the Godaime's desk with his fists clenched tightly at his sides, his back to Sakura.

The Fifth's gaze flickered towards her's before averted towards Naruto's again. The blond turned slowly, his deep viridian hues catching with hers and she forced a sheepish smile at having interrupted their apparent conversation.

"Sorry for interrupting, Tsunade-sama—"

"No apologies Sakura, I was about to send a messenger to get you, actually. Naruto is obnoxiously impatient..." She gave him a hard stare and he stuck his tongue out like a little kid, giving Sakura the excuse to punch him in the shoulder as she approached him. He rubbed his shoulder feebly, sticking out his lower lip in faux pain. She pretended like she hadn't seen.

The blond woman turned to Kakashi suddenly, her twin pig-tails swinging as she moved. "Kakashi, I've already debriefed you, you're free to go." He nodded, then gave a short, two-fingered wave at his students before teleporting with a small puff of smoke.

"Now, you two...." She trailed off, idly signing a paper beneath her writing hand before glancing back up at them. They both shifted awkwardly, waiting under her watchful gaze. The woman sighed dryly, folding her hands beneath her chin and resting her elbows upon her desk, surveying them with renewed sharpness.

"Sakura, I assume you came here to get briefed on the Uchiha's case, as Naruto did?" When the kunoichi gave a quick and polite nod, she began signing off papers again, her expression knit together in frustrated concentration.

"Neither of you are going to like it." Her voice was stiff, unsettling. She gave off the strong impression that she didn't like it either.

"But both of you should know regardless." She took a long pause, fingering the edge of her desk, delaying the inevitable.

"Uchiha Sasuke was taken into custody several weeks ago by a team of specially-equipped ANBU agents." Her town was strict, matter-of-fact. Her hazel-colored eyes narrowed slightly, calculating.

"He, after having fought several other shinobi, was wounded, though not too severely, so my team took the chance and secured him. He's been kept in a holding cell in Konoha's Prison. I planned to give him a chance to spill some information on Orochimaru and the Akatsuki in exchange for a lighter punishment for his betrayal, but unfortunately that never quite happened." She coughed hoarsely, spinning her chair around so that she was gazing out into the blue skies surrounding her wide-open windows.

"I was planning to keep him locked up for a few days at most, but the time to interrogate him escaped me, so I assigned Morino Ibiki to do it, seeing as its his specialty...." She cleared her throat and paused yet again before continuing dryly. "

It got a bit out of hand, and apparently he misinterpreted my instructions and used some of his more crueler methods on him...." Tsunade dropped off and took a swig of her drink and suppressed a small hiccup.

"He was tortured?!" Sakura's voice was dangerously high as she stepped forward, an indignant shock plastered on her pale face. The hokage matched her gaze, her own expression void of emotion.

"Tsunade-sama, how could you let this happen?! I saw those wounds, they were not from any of the legal methods that you signed off—" Sakura's temper was rising fast, her face now turned a faint scarlet with rage.

"No, Sakura, that's the point. Morino Ibiki made a grave mistake, taking his hatred towards traitors out on him, but that's besides the point—"

"Besides the point?! Besides the point?! How can you even say that?! We've been fighting for four years to get him back, and when he's finally here, you nearly torture him to death? Who the hell would want to stay in a village that would treat hem like that? It's unbelievable, I can't even fathom—" She felt a hand gently touch her shoulder, and she slapped it away, turning to glare at the blond Uzumaki who had dared touch her, real concern on his face. She ignored him savagely, turning suddenly to the Godaime.

"Tsunade-sama, I apologize for my behavior. Please excuse me." And the Haruno turned on her heels and strode out of the office.

Her trust in her village felt like it had been broken somehow. That something so twisted and evil could happen within the walls of the village that she'd always been so proud to be a part of... It was sick, she couldn't even process it.

The Haruno trudged softly through the streets, her expression downcast as she moved. It was getting dark early, as it always did around that time of the year. A brief shiver ran down the pinkette's spine, and she slowly withdrew one of her large, fur-rimmed jackets from her bag and dawned it, eager to bring warmth to her depressed limbs. She noticed slowly that she could see her breath forming in small clouds in front of her face, and she hunched her shoulders grudgingly, her dislike towards the cold evident.

Then she noticed soft, white flakes, drifting towards her from the darkened sky and she stared in disbelieve as it fell. It was snowing.

And then she felt tears start to brim up around her eyes, and she bit her lip, trying to stuff it away. She wandered quietly over to a lone bench, who's wood was already covered in a thin layer of white, and wiped some away before sitting down.

She was sobbing before she could stop herself. She buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she brought her knees up to her chest, seeking comfort. She hated herself for letting such emotions get the best of her, she hated the way in which they controlled her body, but she couldn't bring herself to stop. So many turmoiling emotions were consuming her at that moment, she just couldn't contain them.

So she had to let them out.

The Haruno wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, her gaze stony as she glared profusely at the ground. She abruptly brought her hands together in a flurry of handseals and disappeared on the spot, reappearing in the middle of her office at the hospital, her expression now opening into waves of distress. She threw her bag in the corner and forced herself to forward. She blazed through the door and continued down the hall and up the stairs.

Everything that she thought she knew for certain was changing wildly out of her control, and she couldn't stop it. She felt it was consuming her, eating her away until nothing was left. She bit her lower lip, blinking away the tears that had yet to fall from her eyes.

She would go to the Uchiha's room, because somehow she felt as if just being near him would ease the unbearable guilt. That somehow being near him would calm the turbulent mess that her whole life had suddenly turned into.

A/N: I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving! :] Hope you have a more lovely day than I will, for I'm being forced against my will to go visit my grandmother. Oh bloody joy. *shot*
So I hoped I cleared up at least some of the questions that people were beginning to have, but if not, I apologize. All will be answered in due time. ;D

So I just got back from seeing Twilight for the second time. I saw the midnight showing last week, but a couple of my friends hadn't seen it yet, so I tagged along with them when they decided to go. The fight scenes got really boring, but everything else was just as perfect as it was the first time. :) I highly recommend seeing it!

Please review and thanks so much for reading!

-- xxIndigo