Zero Hour - Chapter 4: Faith
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Sakura tried to absorb the words she never thought she'd hear from this man's lips for as long as she lived, which until a few minutes ago was 'not much longer'. Sasori continued to look at her even when she blinked a couple of times. She really wasn't hearing things, then.

"…Why?" she ventured.

"In my current state, I would not have overpowered them alone."

"Your current state...?"

"Are you blind or just slow?"

Perhaps if he had been anyone but Sasori, she would have snapped at him. The uncertainty of her safety at the moment, however, made her bite her tongue. She raised a hand to heal the gash left by Kusanagi. "So, you're really human."

"Yes."

Sakura was baffled. She'd suspected as much since he first showed up, but logic told her that that was ludicrous. Then again, it was just as remarkable that he was here at all. She decided not to press the issue since he seemed like the type not to indulge too many questions without getting annoyed.

"How is that possible?"

"Because I plan ahead."

Sakura finished healing her surface abrasion and moved on to her bruised and fractured ribs. "But you died."

He produced the storage scroll for his Third Kazekage puppet and, after gathering up all the iron sand, stored it once more. Sakura finished healing herself. At this point, she was dangerously low on chakra.

"Only a part of me died that day."

Sakura shook her head. "So the one we killed, that puppet... It was just a puppet, after all. And this is your human form."

"I see you're not as slow as you look."

Sakura ignored the slight and press him for more information. "How is it possible for you to have two bodies?"

He let his honey gaze linger on her, as if weighing whether he should respond and what he should reveal if he did. "I suppose you would be interested, being a medical ninja. A long time ago, I split my life force and imbued half of it in the puppet you killed ten days ago."

Sakura's mind reeled. She didn't think such a thing was possible. The only time she'd ever heard of someone accessing their life force was when Chiyo healed her and brought Gaara back to life.

"So that kill was totally meaningless. We might as well have let you get away."

"No, it wasn't. You killed that part of me, and once life force is used up or destroyed, it can't be recovered."

If that were true, then that meant Sasori had lost years off his potential natural life span. He was quite casual about the whole ordeal, like it was a minor setback, if even that. This was his life they were talking about, and Sakura for one did not like the idea of toying with life so carelessly.

"Are you...okay?"

"I'm flattered by your concern."

"Absolutely not," Sakura said, forgetting some of her earlier apprehension. "Not for the likes of you."

"Bold words seeing as you're only alive now because of me."

"And you're only alive because of me. Which reminds me. You said something about being indebted to me."

Sasori narrowed his eyes and a familiar fear gripped her. If he tried to attack her now, she was too spent to fight back much. He could kill her and she wouldn't see it coming.

"Regardless of your opinion of me or of our past differences, I always repay my debts. So, what do you want?"

Well, that was a little forward, she thought. How on earth was she supposed to decide something like this on the spot? What could she ask of Akasuna no Sasori? Go off and die so she could cross him out of the Bingo book for good this time? Sakura was certain there was nothing she wanted from him. In fact, she didn't want anything to do with him. It was bad enough that he was still alive.

"I don't want anything."

"Everyone wants something," he said with an unreadable look in his eyes. Remembering. "Even if they don't know what it is yet."

"…There's nothing I would ever want from you. Just leave me alone." Sakura backed up a bit with every intention of getting out of there.

"So you can lord this over me in the future? I don't think so." He advanced on her.

"I-I don't want anything!"

He stopped, and when he spoke Sakura fancied he'd lost some of the steel from his tone. "Call it what you want, but every debt must be settled with something of equal value to keep the balance. Otherwise, you run the risk of one day owing much more than you can pay."

"So you just don't want to feel like you owe me anything in case I come to collect interest somewhere down the line." How selfish. How paranoid. "Why not just forget about it? An Akatsuki like you could get away with it."

"I'm no longer with Akatsuki. And there are many who would consider you lucky to have this kind of opportunity, whether you can appreciate it or not."

Yeah, right.

There was nothing lucky about this situation. Sakura could not for the life of her think of anything this man could do for her other than let her leave with her life. Although, she could understand a little why he didn't want to be indebted to her, of all people.

"I'm sorry," she said, trying to rein in her fear. "But I can't think of anything."

"Then I'll decide for you."

Sakura did not like the sound of that. "If you come anywhere near Konoha or threaten any Leaf shinobi, I'll see you dead for good this time."

All of a sudden, she felt something warm and prickly closing around her windpipe. Panic gripped her as she felt her neck, but there was nothing there. Sasori was standing only a couple of feet from her, his fingertips glowing blue. When realization hit Sakura was more angry than afraid. It was the same feeling she'd had at the end of her battle with Sasori when he was slandering Chiyo.

"Be careful about how you speak to me, Sakura," he said softly. There was nothing soft about his tone or the look in his eyes, though.

"I hate you," she whispered through gritted teeth.

He smirked and leaned in until their noses were only an inch apart. His fingers found her jawline and traced its curvature. Sakura felt his warm breath against her skin as his pretty, honey eyes bored into hers. She wanted nothing more than to rip those eyes out and feel his blood on her fingers.

"I don't care about your hatred."

He was so close that, had he been a friend, she might have thought that he was about to kiss her. Sakura couldn't take it anymore. Careless of the consequences, she pulled her fist back and swung hard at his stomach. He'd anticipated this, however, and evaded her fist as he jumped backwards and released the chokehold. She rubbed her neck, but there was no physical evidence of the almost strangling other than the tight feeling in her throat.

"Until we meet again," he said. He disappeared the same way Orochimaru and Kabuto had.

Sakura stood there for a good minute trying to make sense of what had just happened. Then she remembered to breathe as she let herself slump a bit, exhausted.

"I'm still alive."

For now.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-sama."

"You're sorry? Shizune, did you hear that? Sakura says she's sorry."

"It was a necessary risk that ended up producing valuable intelligence—"

Tsunade slammed her fist on her wide oaken desk, cracking it in half as if it were nothing more than a brittle rice cake. The wood moaned a bit as it crumbled to the floor under mountains of unsigned documents, paperweights, and who knew how many paper clips.

"Are you even seeing the state of your arm?" she shouted loud enough for passersby to hear if the office hadn't been soundproofed. "Do you realize what would have happened if Kabuto had hit your heart?"

Sakura felt her shame burning her neck and cheeks, but she held her head high. It was worth the risk if it meant knowing Sasuke's current location. "I am sorry, but I would do it again if I had to. This may be our only chance to retrieve Sasuke."

Shizune put a gentle hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Even if that's true, you still took a wholly unnecessary risk. Why didn't you just tell Tsunade-sama about Sasori's information when you returned to Konoha?"

It hurt to know that she'd let down the two women in her life she looked up to as if they were her own flesh and blood. But they could not understand why Sakura had taken on this burden alone. They could never understand how Sakura had to help Naruto keep his promise.

"Don't look at me like that," Tsunade said. "I know why you did it. You're not the only one who was abandoned by a teammate."

Sakura blinked at her mentor as she absorbed the complete one-eighty in Tsunade's temperament. The idea of the Hokage having gone through something akin to what Sakura was going through now with Sasuke was shocking. Sakura knew Tsunade was referring to Orochimaru, the man who'd nearly killed her only the other day. She did not want to think about any similarities between Sasuke and a monster like Orochimaru.

"Besides, this isn't about that damned Uchiha; it's about you obviously not prioritizing your own safety. You could have died."

It was too much. Tsunade was furious with her, but not so much because she'd lied and taken a huge risk as much as because Sakura could have paid the price with her life. Sakura hung her head in shame.

"You're lucky you only encountered Kabuto. Orochimaru would not have hesitated to kill you."

"Yes," Sakura mumbled.

Sakura had recounted everything that had transpired at the Tenchi Bridge, leaving out only Orochimaru's and Sasori's presences. The last thing she wanted to do was worry the Hokage any further when she didn't even know what to expect from here on out. Best to keep this as simple as possible and save herself the unnecessary trouble. She wasn't hurting anyone by keeping those minor details to herself. The most important thing was to relay the information on Sasuke, which she did.

"Tsunade-sama and I are just concerned," Shizune said. "Did you stop to think about how everyone would feel if you hadn't been able to escape Kabuto?"

She hadn't thought about that. Now, she saw how selfish her actions had been. Naruto and Kakashi would never have forgiven her if she'd gotten herself killed. If it hadn't been for her decision to ally with Sasori...

"I'm suspending you from all missions until further notice," Tsunade said. "You will be confined to the hospital as the interim chief of surgery while Shizune is out of the village."

"Why will Shizune be out of the village?"

"Because she'll be taking your place as head field medic on all future missions until I say otherwise."

Sakura blanched.

"Naturally, this means you'll be responsible for all of her administrative duties, too. You can start by cleaning up my office and getting me a new desk. I have a meeting in two hours with the Elder Council, and I expect to have something to glare at them over."

Sakura's jaw dropped. "But Tsunade-sama, we have to retrieve Sasuke before they change bases again."

Tsunade fixed her with an icy glare. "Yes, that's true. Which is why I'll be sending Naruto with temporary teammates in place of you and Kakashi."

No...

"But—"

"I'm sorry, did I give the impression that this decision was up for debate? Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Sakura. You're due for Shizune's shift tonight, so I suggest you get started on cleaning up this mess."

Sakura was furious and ashamed and at a loss for words. There was no way out of this if Shizune's sympathetic glance was any indication.

"Come on, Shizune." Tsunade marched past Sakura toward the door. "I need your help putting together a new Team Kakashi."

Shizune followed Tsunade out of the office, but not before sparing Sakura one last, forlorn glance. The door closed behind them with a heavy click, and Sakura was alone in the disheveled office. Papers were strewn about on every available surface and Tsunade's desk was in pieces. There was no use complaining about her situation, she realized. No matter what, when the Hokage was in one of her moods she could not be swayed. Giving into the urge to groan, Sakura approached the dilapidated desk remains and began the tedious job of cleaning up Tsunade's office.

"I'm not working with this asshole, y'know!"

Sakura looked up from her cleaning to see Naruto burst through the doors to the Hokage's office. A dark-haired boy she didn't recognize tailed him. When it became apparent that Tsunade was not in the office, Naruto noticed Sakura in the corner.

"Sakura-chan! Listen, where's Tsunade? I need to tell her to take this creep off my team."

Sakura frowned and looked between Naruto and the boy she didn't know. He noticed her gaze and smiled. The too-bright smile gave Sakura the shivers.

"Uh, sorry Naruto, but Tsunade-sama's not here right now and I don't have the authority to make or break teams. Who are you?" she asked, turning to the dark haired boy.

"Sai," he said, reaching out a hand to shake.

Sakura peered at the offered hand and hesitated a moment before taking it. He was attractive, she found herself thinking. Dark hair, dark eyes, pale skin with a clear complexion... He reminded her of Sasuke.

"Wait a minute, did you say he's on your team?" Sakura said, turning back to Naruto. "As in, the team to retrieve Sasuke?"

"Yeah. Hey, maybe you can convince the old lady to end your house arrest and we can go together without this guy?"

Sakura glared at her teammate. "Naruto, you're being awfully rude."

"It's all right," Sai said, still beaming. "I understand that women have a certain time of the month when they act mean for no reason."

Sakura blinked, unsure if she'd heard right. Naruto snapped her out of it.

"What did you say, asshole?" he yelled, whirling on Sai and getting right in his face. "Are you implying that I'm some PMS-ing chick?"

"I didn't imply anything. I said it outright."

Naruto swung a fist at his face, which Sai evaded with little effort. "If you want to spar, we should probably take this outside."

Sakura just gaped at Sai and Naruto as they faced off, unsure whether to be angry at Sai for insulting Naruto's manhood or at Naruto for insulting the female gender. She cracked her knuckles, and Naruto winced.

"Naruto."

Naruto turned and smiled sheepishly. "Ah, Sakura-chan, what I said before was just me bein' an idiot, y'know?"

"Yes, it's perfectly all right," Sai said. "This behavior will pass in a matter of days, I'm told."

Sakura whirled Sai. "What is your problem?"

Sai's smile faltered. "Is there a problem?"

Sakura frowned. There was something very off about this guy.

"Hey, idiot," Naruto whispered to Sai. "You better say something nice to her or she'll pound you into the ground."

Sai seemed to consider this for a second before smiling again. "Of course. I understand that you're the other member of Team Kakashi, but you won't be joining us in our mission because you lied to the Hokage and nearly got yourself killed."

Sakura felt the blood in her veins turn to liquid fire. "Excuse me?"

Naruto, recognizing the telltale warning signs of Sakura's explosive fury, tried to rectify the situation. "Hey, Sakura-chan, why don't you and I go get some lunch or something before I leave for the mission, y'know? We can ditch this guy!"

Sakura and Sai ignored him.

"Your face looks uglier now than it did before you scrunched it up like that. Is your forehead always that big, or is it just because of your ponytail?"

That was it. Sakura walked up to Sai and smiled sweetly—too sweetly, if Naruto's horrified whimper was any indication. She pulled her fist back and let him have it right in the kisser. Sai stumbled backwards and fell on his rear. Sakura glared bloody daggers down at him.

"Don't smile like that when you're insulting someone, you creep."

Sai rubbed his jaw where her fist had connected. He had not been expecting violence from her, especially when she'd seemed pleased with his honest opinion of her appearance. Girls liked honesty, he'd read. He thought she had the best right hook he'd ever encountered even among the Root ANBU. He smirked.

"I'm sorry. I see now that a smile like yours can be fake. I didn't mean to give offense."

"My ass," Sakura grumbled under her breath.

"Anyway," Naruto said, "ramen?"

"Yeah, whatever," Sakura said. "Not like I've got anything better to do around here."

Sai ended up tagging along with them, and Sakura didn't care either way. Naruto was in a much better mood now that Sakura had joined them, so they didn't object to the newcomer's presence even though before Naruto had been as eager to get away from him as one would a diseased rodent. This was not a bad way to think about Sai who, as Sakura had quickly found out, had a social problem. He just didn't get it.

"Not that I'm not psyched that we've got a lead and all, but you shoulda told me about Sasori's information. I owe Kabuto a good beating, y'know?" Naruto said between slurps of ramen.

Sakura, unable to keep up with Naruto's pace no matter how hungry she was, poked at her noodles. "I really don't want to talk about this anymore. I got the information we needed, so let's just leave it at that."

Naruto had confronted her about her unauthorized solo mission the minute she'd finished cleaning out Tsunade's office when she got back. He'd been fraught with worry over her well-being, and the sight of her bruised shoulder did nothing to calm his nerves. Sakura told him what she'd told Tsunade, and Naruto had only been concerned about her safety. The guilt gnawed at her. She'd been rash, and she was paying the price now.

Still, Sasori had given his information to her, not to Naruto. It was her mission to take, and it was her responsibility to do what she could to alleviate Naruto's burden to bring Sasuke back. More than anything, she wanted to be useful to Naruto and Sasuke, an asset to Team Seven.

"I would do it again if it meant getting the information."

"I know. I really love that about you, Sakura-chan. You never give up on a teammate."

"Why do you both chase after Uchiha Sasuke? Isn't he a traitor to the village?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes at Sai but didn't lash out. He had enough respect for old man Ichiraku not to start a commotion in his small shop.

"Sasuke's our teammate and friend, and friends don't give up on each other no matter what," he said. "That's not something I'd expect a guy like you to understand, y'know."

Sai shrugged. "That's unexpected."

"Don't you have someone you care about?" Sakura asked. "Someone you would do anything for? Even if they did something reprehensible, you'd still stand up for them?"

Sai looked at her with an unreadable expression, no longer smiling. "No, I don't."

Sakura blinked and Naruto scoffed, mumbling something about 'I told you so'. They all returned to their meals in silence until Ayame came around to offer Naruto a free refill on noodles, which he accepted.

Sakura watched Sai out of the corner of her eye. Something about him bothered her, but she couldn't place what it was. She only hoped that he and Naruto wouldn't kill each other on the mission to retrieve Sasuke. It was reassuring that Shizune would be going with them.

Sai didn't say anything more for the rest of the meal, and Sakura watched him leave after sticking Naruto and her with the bill. Naruto shouted a colorful array of insults at the newcomer, but Sai disappeared in a puff of smoke after reminding Naruto to meet at the gates in an hour. She wondered what it must be like not to have someone to care about. What would a person with no friends or loved ones turn out like?

Perhaps they would turn out like Sai. What that meant for Naruto's impending mission, she could not say.

"I don't like this, Sakura-chan."

"What?"

"It's like he's a replacement for Sasuke or something. I don't like it, and I definitely don't like him."

Sakura squeezed Naruto's hand. "Just get through this mission. Kakashi-sensei should be up and about by the time you guys get back, and then it'll be just us again."

"Plus Sasuke. I'm bringing him back this time. I have to."

Sakura tried not to let her smile falter. She hoped nothing would go awry on this mission, but somehow things had a way to taking a turn for the worst when she least expected them. Wherever Sasuke was, she was sure Orochimaru would be close by. The last time she'd seen the snake man, he'd been hopping mad at having lost his tongue. The new Team Kakashi could be in for more trouble than they were expecting. Then again, Naruto had an uncanny knack for facing trouble head on and always coming back to brag about it.

"Just make sure you get back this time." She linked their arms and walked him back to his apartment to get ready for the mission.

"What do you mean he's 'creepy'?"

Sakura sighed as she set down a patient chart and fixed her full attention on her blonde best friend. "I don't know. He just had this fake smile, like he didn't know how to smile for real."

"Well, he's shinobi," Ino said. "If he's as socially inept as you say, maybe I should flag him for Ibiki-sensei. He's always looking for fresh meat for the department."

"Ew, I did not need to hear that."

Ino grinned. "I still don't get how you can be a doctor and squirm over a little torture."

"It's inhumane. Frankly, I think the entire practice ought to be eliminated."

Ino waved her off. "And this is why you're good at playing doctor and not interrogating criminal masterminds. Everything in its place and all."

They lapsed into a brief silence as Sakura made some notes on a patient's chart.

"So," Ino said, her tone taking a turn for the devious. "How was fighting Kabuto? Must have been one hell of a match."

She'd told Ino about the skirmish with Kabuto because Ino had been the one to patch up her battered arm. Ino had been worried and a little angry at Sakura, but she hadn't given the pink-haired girl a hard time. Sakura was back in one piece, and that was what mattered most.

Sakura smiled a little. The fight with Kabuto had been her most invigorating fight since the fight with Sasori. "Yeah, you could say that. I think we were pretty evenly matched, to be honest."

"Don't get cocky now. You're good, but you're not that good."

Sakura flicked her pen at Ino. "I'm good enough."

"Yeah, yeah. Well I definitely wouldn't have been able to face someone like Kabuto head on with only medical ninjutsu. Even Tsunade-sama said he was pretty tough."

"Yeah."

Sakura remembered what Naruto had told her about his encounter with Kabuto when he and Jiraiya went to retrieve Tsunade three years ago. She would not have been able to best Kabuto without Sasori there to keep Orochimaru occupied and intervene on her behalf when she got stuck. She pursed her lips at the thought of Sasori having come to her rescue in a warped sense. It wasn't right.

"What's bothering you?" Ino asked.

Ino was giving her The Look. Schooling her expression, Sakura cursed herself for letting her thoughts reflect on her face. If Ino was one thing, she was good at reading others and hiding her suspicions. Sakura supposed it was all the time she was spending with Morino Ibiki that had contributed to that annoying new skill.

"Nothing, just thinking about how many hours I'm going to have to spend here tonight."

Ino narrowed her eyes. "Uh-huh."

"Don't look at me like that."

"Sorry, sorry. It's just that you've been acting a little off since you got back. …But I guess you're just overwhelmed with Tsunade-sama's punishment."

Sakura flexed her hands. "Yeah, well, I'm bummed that I'm not on that mission with Naruto to retrieve Sasuke."

"Yeah, I get it. But don't worry. If anyone can bring Sasuke back, it's Naruto. Just sit tight for now."

Sakura had to keep her face from falling. That's exactly the problem.

"Anyway, I've got a few more rounds to do before I head out. Neji's taking me to dinner tonight."

Despite herself, Sakura felt a small pang of jealousy. It would be really nice to have a boyfriend who cared about her, she thought. But Sasuke was not even a slim possibility anymore, Naruto was too focused on retrieving Sasuke to think about much else, and Lee was a little too ardent. She supposed it was just a matter of time; she wasn't the first sixteen-year-old girl to be single, even if it seemed that way at times.

She was happy for Ino. As far as Sakura was concerned, romance was not a competition between them. It hadn't been since Sasuke had turned traitor, and even then they both recognized years later what folly it had all been. No boy was worth more than their friendship.

"Don't worry about it," Sakura said, reaching for Ino's clipboard. "I'll do them for you. Go home and get ready. I know you take forever."

Ino smiled and hugged Sakura. "Wow, thanks! You're the best, Forehead."

"Yeah, yeah. It's not like I have anything else to do for the foreseeable future." She bit back a grin as Ino released her.

"Don't worry. Even though you're grounded for the time being, it doesn't mean we can't make the best of it. Think of it as a mini vacation." Ino shrugged off her lab coat and hung it up in the closet.

"Vacation? Yeah, right. The chief of surgery's no slack job. I think that might've been Tsunade-sama's intention, actually."

Ino waved her off. "Stay positive, Sakura. You never know what's going to happen."

"Easy for you to say. You're dating one of the best looking guys in the whole village."

"I know, right?" Ino fluttered her eyelashes and blew Sakura a kiss.

"Please don't make me throw up before I do your rounds."

Ino laughed. "I owe you one. See you later."

"See you."

Ino left and Sakura was alone in the nurses' lounge. Sighing, she decided to get the rounds over with so she could move onto waiting for any emergencies or critical surgeries or anything that didn't involve paperwork.

The rounds were quiet and uncomplicated. Most patients checked into the hospital overnight were injured or ill enough to be sleeping or comatose. It was quick and easy work checking up on them and administering medications wherever applicable, but it was boring. The most exciting thing she'd seen today was a Chuunin who'd come in poisoned by something. Sakura hadn't recognized the poison as one from the hospital's database, and in any case poisoning was uncommon. But it had a similar composition to other known poisons, making scrounging up an antidote child's play for a medic of Sakura's caliber. The young ninja recovered and left without a hitch, and Sakura had gone back to being bored.

All the downtime let her mind wander. And of course, it wandered to places she didn't want it going. She reflected on her most recent dance with death. She shivered at an imaginary rush of wind as she recalled the way Orochimaru glared daggers at Sasori and her as he tried in vain to talk through his bleeding tongue, or what was left of it. She looked at her bare hands. The palms were rough with calluses and small scars from punching too many hard surfaces riddled the knuckles. The memory of Orochimaru's ultimate defense shattering like glass under the combined force of her strength and Sasori's iron sand made her smirk.

Yes, it had been her most invigorating battle since she'd fought Sasori himself.

That thought wiped the smirk from her face. The memory of Sasori's promise to repay his debt made her grip her pen hard enough to burst. What did he mean by that? He'd told her he would decide for her, so did that mean she hadn't seen the last of him? Their history told her he was the enemy despite their temporary alliance against Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"I'm no longer with Akatsuki."

He had said that, now that she thought about it. She wondered why she hadn't asked him more about that when they were face to face.

Oh, yeah. I was scared out of my mind.

If Sasori was no longer with Akatsuki, what was he doing? She couldn't think of why he wouldn't go back to Akatsuki, but she also couldn't imagine what he'd gain from lying to her about his current affiliation. It wasn't like she was going to hunt him down either way. She wanted nothing more to do with him.

Still...

He'd saved her life by virtue of showing up in the nick of time. Twice. She would be very dead right now had it not been for Sasori. He could have killed her after Orochimaru and Kabuto departed, but he didn't. She'd even convinced herself that he would do it when he had her in a chokehold, and yet he'd refrained, as if he'd planned on sparing her all along despite her little outburst. Why?

Why am I still alive?

Sakura raised a hand to her neck where his chakra strings had threatened to squeeze the life out of her. It disturbed her to think about him like this; he should have stayed dead that day in River Country, and yet he had somehow revived himself—as a human, no less—and involved her in something she suspected was much bigger than one fight with Orochimaru and Kabuto. No matter how much she tried to reassure herself that they were over and she was free of him now that she was safe back in Konoha, something told her that she hadn't seen the last of Akasuna no Sasori.

In her trance, Sakura realized she'd come upon a room at the end of the hallway in the overnight ward. She hadn't meant to wander this far, but now that she was here she smiled a little. Letting herself in and closing the door behind her, Sakura observed Kakashi slumbering in the bed. She could have shaken her head at how strange it was to see him relaxing in a hospital instead of making every attempt to break out like a convict.

"Rough day, Sakura?"

Sakura hadn't realized he was awake. Even worn out and more vulnerable than usual, the Copy Ninja was as sharp as ever.

"More like a rough week," she said, approaching his bed.

"It looks like you healed up nicely." He nodded toward her left arm.

Sakura winced, knowing he would have something to say to her about her recent excursion. "Kakashi-sensei, I—"

"You already know what I'm going to say, Sakura. And I hope in the future you'll make a better decision if something like this happens again."

He didn't sound angry or condescending, but knowing he was disappointed in her was punishment enough. She respected Kakashi and had always wanted his approval, especially when he'd prioritized Sasuke and later Naruto over her. She wanted to prove her worth to him.

"It's all right, Sakura. I understand your reasons, and what's most important is that you're okay. At least I don't have to suffer this dreadful place alone."

Sakura sighed in relief. "I see how it is. You're probably thrilled that I'm on forced leave so you can commiserate."

"Misery loves company, as they say."

"The hospital's not that bad."

Kakashi leveled her with a withering look that said it was that bad and more. Sakura rolled her eyes.

"In any case, the team Tsunade-sama sent after Sasuke might just be the death of Naruto."

"Oh?"

"Sai, the one who's replacing Sasuke." Sakura wrung her hands. "He's... Well, there's something strange about him. I can't really place it, but he sort of gave me a weird vibe."

"Sai. The one from Root."

"He's from Root?"

"Mm, yes."

Kakashi was hiding something. "What's a Root agent doing on our team?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Well, Root trains some of the best shinobi, even among the elites. He may be a bit odd, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. Shizune took your place and my old friend Tenzou is team captain in my place. Naruto will be just fine."

"Listen, I trust your judgment, but I have to tell you that there was something seriously off about Sai. It was like he didn't have any clue how to react to people, like he'd never had a normal conversation before."

"Yes, well, that's what Root does to you. The Root ANBU are trained to be the perfect soldiers. And the perfect soldier can't be hindered by emotions."

That sounded impossible. All people had emotions, whether they liked it or not. Even the trained killers had feelings. Even someone like Sasori, who'd admitted to feeling nothing over the death of his grandmother, had shown his emotions during the fight against Orochimaru. He hated the guy, and probably for good reason as far as Sakura was concerned. Even anger was an emotion passionately felt.

"I just hope Naruto will be okay."

Kakashi smiled through his mask. "Naruto always pulls through. You know how he is."

They chatted for a bit longer about unimportant goings-on as Sakura filled Kakashi in on some local news he'd missed while pent up in the hospital. During a pause in her chatter, Kakashi interrupted and threw her off guard.

"You know, I'm a bit surprised you encountered Kabuto alone. From what I know, he sticks close to Orochimaru. It's strange that he came to meet you alone at the bridge, don't you think?"

Sakura felt her blood freeze in her veins as she tried not to choke.

Damn him.

She should have known Kakashi would be suspicious of her cover story. But still, there was no way for anyone to find out the truth about what had happened that day. And there was no harm in keeping it a secret.

"Like I told Tsunade-sama, he was supposed to be Sasori's spy and working against Orochimaru. So of course he wouldn't have shown up with Orochimaru if he wanted to keep his cover."

"Yes, of course, but there's just something that keeps bothering me about that. You said Kabuto had betrayed Sasori for Orochimaru long ago. If that were the case, then why wouldn't Orochimaru have accompanied him? If Sasori had gone to meet Kabuto that day, Kabuto wouldn't have stood a chance against him if the plan was to kill Sasori. It seems a bit odd for someone as smart as Kabuto to put himself in deliberate danger like that."

Sakura cursed whatever gods had plagued her with the sharpest teacher in the whole Leaf Village. Why couldn't he just let well enough alone? Sakura had always been an abysmal liar, and Kakashi knew this.

"Honestly, I didn't stick around long enough to make small talk with Kabuto. And I'm back in one piece, anyway. I doubt Orochimaru would have let me live if he'd been there."

Please believe me.

Kakashi studied her and Sakura knew he knew she wasn't divulging the whole truth. But when she was the only eyewitness and no real harm had come of the whole ordeal, who was he to argue? The suspicion would seem unwarranted to the point of a personal attack.

"Of course, Sakura. I can't imagine you fending off both Orochimaru and Kabuto alone. I didn't mean to interrogate you."

"It's all right. I kind of just want to put it all behind me and focus on things here for the time being."

They conversed a little more before a nurse came by and told Kakashi the time for chattering was over. He was still recovering and needed his rest, she said in a clipped tone. Sakura smiled sheepishly at the middle-aged nurse, promising to leave and return to her rounds so that Kakashi could rest.

"And you wonder why I can't stand this place," Kakashi grumbled.

"Oh, cut it out." Sakura batted his arm. "She's right, though. I'd say a couple more days and you should be free to leave."

"Make it one and I'll treat you to lunch."

"Deal. But not until Naruto gets back. You can treat both of us."

Kakashi gripped his heart in mock tragedy, and Sakura laughed. "I'm holding you to it, Kakashi-sensei."

"Yeah, yeah."

Sakura excused herself from the room. It didn't surprise her that a large male orderly had been stationed just outside Kakashi's room to ensure any plans for escape would be foiled.

Returning to her tiny office, Sakura decided to pass the rest of her late shift reorganizing files that were already organized. A slow day at the hospital was worse than the most brutal training session. At least the training gave her something to do.

A glance at the clock told her it was close to nine PM. Ino must have been having a great time on her date with Neji. Only three more hours until her shift was up, Sakura thought with no small degree of despair. Longing for a distraction, her thoughts wandered back to Sasori. She could not shake the small but noticeable feeling of trepidation when she thought about his determination to repay his debt. What did that even mean? She found some degree of comfort in the thought that as long as she was grounded to Konoha there would be no finding out. With any luck, he would forget all about this ridiculous arrangement and leave her alone by the time her probation was over.

The thought of her probation made Sakura more than a little depressed. She groaned, thinking about the lengths she and Naruto were willing to go for Uchiha Sasuke. But just as Kakashi had drilled into them from their very first day as Genin, Sakura and Naruto would never ever leave a teammate behind. Resolved, she alphabetized folders and replaced post-it notes with renewed vigor. She and Naruto would go the distance for him.

For Sasuke.

All for Sasuke.