Even though she knew the encounter with Kakashi and his team didn't mean anything, considering the fact that they would never be able to connect her real face with that of the Sakura she would try to portray, Misaki didn't stop running. After she had lost him in the forest, after he had been drawn back to his genin by that same annoying shrill cry, and after she had just gained the advantage, she did not stop. She did not falter. Without pause, Misaki simply continued sprinting out of that forest, and even as she came upon the building which contained the dorm she lived in, and she could officially feel protected, she did not slow down.

Through the halls, startling many a different organization member, she ran and ran; her eyes squinted, and almost closed, and her heart thumping wildly; more from fear than from exhaustion. Her breath was heavy in her throat, and she panted wildly as her arms pumped back and forth against her body - swaying to the same rhythm as her hair as it bounced against her back - up until the very moment she reached the door marked rather spitefully with a nameplate that read, 'Rapunzel.' Misaki's response to seeing the door was immediate, and she stood still for only the second it took to whip out her key and insert it into the knob before she launched herself into the room, and slammed the door shut behind her.

Slowly, for once, she slid down the wooden wall to rest on the floor; listening to the creaking sound it created, and the harsh pants her lips still exhaled.

Misaki wasn't sure why, but there was something that bothered her terribly about what had happened. Perhaps it was simply the fact that she had already failed; already exposed her true identity, or the fact that the man she had thought to be weak had quickly caught up with her. Whatever the case was, even as she sat in the sanctity of her room - silent, except for the sounds she personally was making - her heart stayed put in an awful twist, and with an ugly promise, assured her that the pain would not be leaving her anytime soon.

The same force laughed cruelly in the back of her mind, and she cringed at the sound of it.

Somewhere along the way, Misaki had become so scared of her own failure, that once something actually went wrong, she didn't know how to function. She didn't know how to raise herself up, or how to cure her erratic breathing, or even how to loosen the clenched feeling in her chest. She simply didn't know, and more than anything, she just couldn't accept what she herself had done. For the life of her, Misaki didn't know how she would be able to face her boss, who believed in her so firmly, and even the simple thought of it terrified her. Her fingers constantly twitched, and somehow, she found that she couldn't stop shaking. Her hands went instantly to clutch at her head, and with tears desperately trying to spring free, she ripped away the tie that was holding her braid in place.

With her lack of care, it took ages to pull each strand away, (in her confusion, she had attempted to start at the top, which the sane her knew never worked) but the numerous weapons that had been stashed there were easily torn from their positions. On any other day, she would have carefully wedged them out with the precise precision of a doctor, trying to minimize the possible damage that could befall her hair, but today, instead of dwelling on what could happen, she simply let things be.

Before long, the hair fell freely down her back and across her face, and Misaki rose herself up for the limited amount of time it took to stumble over to her mirror. Once there, she collapsed back onto the ground, and frightfully, she turned back to the reflective glass to see just how pitiful she had become.

And what she saw there surprised even her.

No, she wasn't even close to ugly, but somehow, even through the warped glass, she could see the anguish in her eyes. It was sketched across her face beautifully, but at the same time terribly, and she held her own gaze for the longest time; just staring.

Somehow, without her consent, she had allowed her subconscious to take over; allowed herself to succumb to the pain she felt inside, but often had the strength to overpower. Today, because of certain events, overwhelming the fear she secretly felt hadn't been possible, and now - again, somehow - she was only just realized just how wretched her heart had become. She hadn't noticed it, because of how deeply her mind was set on dealing with her father's debt, but in her heart, there had grown a terrible, terrible fear; which had manifested because of how often she ran away from her problems. Constantly, she overworked herself, pretending that she was fine, but instead of consulting her own self, and perhaps even others for help, she had shrugged off the pain, and after years of doing so, it had caught up with her.

One failure, one slip-up, had been all it took to reveal the ugliness inside of her heart. With this, she could finally see just how weak she truly was, despite how strong she forced herself to think she was. And, more than she had realized, it stung, deeply within her soul, like an arrow to the heart.

Rather than be mad at her boss, the genin, or even Kakashi, she was angry with herself, and again, she wished to be out there in the forest running. She wanted to feel the wind harshly slapping her face, and she wanted to drink in the falling sun for only a moment more before her own darkness took over. She wanted to work herself until she collapsed, to again run desperately from her own self, and she wished for nothing more than the welcoming idea of infinite sleep to take her into its arms.

Misaki couldn't handle this. She couldn't handle having a father that had left her nothing but a pile of debt, a mother that she barely knew a single thing about, or a boss that would surely begin to hate her after he had learned of her most recent failure. She couldn't handle the pressure of being an assassin, and she couldn't withhold her own feelings of doubt from creeping up on her in darkness. Right now, she was simply too weak. And even though she wished for it to be different, nothing could possibly change what was already known to be true.

Somewhere, out in that great copse of trees, Kakashi and his team rested; wondering who she was, with the thought of her ever dwelling on their minds. Before long, the jounin would file a report about a suspicious woman with long hair loitering about the village, the Hokage would order the entire village to be on the lookout, and within seconds, any chances of her taking the place of the female genin would become impossible. With their increased alertness, they would become instantly aware of the sudden changes in the girl they thought they knew, and before Misaki had had the chance to even gain a single piece of information about the jinchuuriki, she would be exposed for what she really was.

And that, all because of her, would be the end to the almighty organization she worked for.

If her boss didn't already hate her, he surely would after the entirety of Konoha found out about the existence of their team, and before she knew it, she would be losing the only figure in her life she had ever truly considered as a father. He look at her with a fearful contempt, and with a fiery glaze in his eyes, and a voice so low it was more terrifying than if he had been shouting, he would fire her. She would pack up what little belongings she had, and that would be it. All chances of her paying off the debt her family name held would cease, and her heart would sink even lower into the black ink that it had already fallen into. The light would disappear from the bright blue eyes she, among others, loved dearly, and even her hair - Heaven forbid - would lose its luster.

Yes, if something like that ever happened, she was sure she would have to cut it.

The will to continue would soon fade away, and before she truly accepted what had happened, it would be too late to bounce back from her failure. Years would have gone by by then, and without Misaki even realizing it, it would be time for her inevitable death. She would have nothing to live for, anyway, but still, there would be countless regrets, and like a lone tree falling in an abandoned forest, no one would see or hear her go.

Misaki, or Rapunzel, as the majority knew her, would disappear from this Earth in the blink of an eye. And she was sure, despite how friendly and respectfully she was always treated, no one would care.

"So?"

Her boss's voice rang out into the night - the moon already high in the sky - as his previous statement rang over and over in her head like a broken record. What did he mean, 'So?'

Moments before, after she had been awoken from a deep sleep she hadn't known she had fallen into by a rough knocking at her door, Misaki had been called into his office. The rest had done her good, and now, instead of being hopelessly lost in her own misfortune, she at the very least had the strength to stand and walk freely by herself; though the happy expression on her face was undeniably a fake one.

Her steps were hesitant and heavy, and she tried to prolong the feeling of not being fired for as long as she could, but even through her attempts, the inevitable came. Before her, in what seemed like seconds, was his door. His awful, metal door, which had somehow - somehow - become at least twice as large as it had been when she had last seen it. She took in a staggered breath, and with frightful fingers, pushed lightly on the cold surface before it swung open on its hinges.

This was it.

Misaki stepped forward, very conscious of every step she took, and with a terrified feeling trapped inside of her, looked up reluctantly at the middle-aged man she had come to know and love. His expression was as stern as ever, and with another gulp, she gave herself the last amount of strength her body contained to carry her over to the plush chair in front of his desk. Upon sitting down, before her butt really had time to connect with the chair, he spoke.

"So, I hear you've made the jounin fall in love with you."

The shock and sheer unexpectedness in her eyes was immediate. Her head turned back to him with the fluidness of a machine, and her heart plummeted a few thousand feet in her chest before being roughly yanked back up by his voice, as if on a string.

"The scouts say he's completely infatuated."

Her mouth hung open, and she was sure if she had been drinking something at the time he spoke, it would have been promptly spit out.

"But I don't have any-"

"I know, I know. You don't have any scouts," he cut her off, "However, despite the fact that I didn't give you any for your personal use, I sent some myself to see how things were going, and they have reported back that you're somehow seducing the man."

Her throat became dry.

"Sir, I don't understand, I didn't do anything that you're spe-"

"Come now!" he cut her off again. "Don't deny it! Even I saw the way he looked at you!"

She shook her head. "No, seriously, I don't think-"

"Look, Rapunzel. You can say what you like, but you can't take back what I saw in the tapes the scouts showed me. You might not have realized it, but the time you ran away in the forest - earlier today - wasn't the first time you met him. He saw you when you were walking through town earlier this week, and let me tell you, his eye simply lit up at the sight of you! Honestly, I expected him to be a tougher nut to crack, but really, I'm not complaining. We could use this! It would be perfect! You can start going out with him as you, while at the same time, you act as Sakura! It's the perfect scheme, and you can get information both ways! I can only imagine…"

His voice trailed off, but Misaki - unable to fully grasp the current circumstances - spit out, "But Sir! I let him see me! That was against your orders!"

His voice was uncaring and light.

"So?"

Now back to the present time, Misaki gained enough strength to rise up from her seated position.

"Sir, I don't think that this should go unpunished. I-"

"You made me aware of new possibilities, that's what you did."

He stared her down, and with his gaze, forced her back into the chair.

"Maybe those were my orders then, but these are my orders now: You will start acting as Sakura tomorrow. After training is over, and you supposedly go home for the day, you will return to him as Misaki, explain that you ran away because you were simply nervous, and ask him to meet you again. If you can do this, we'll be able to gain the information we need, and that 15% pay rise won't be just a fantasy.

"Now, I'll dismiss you to prepare. A scout has already taken Sakura into custody, and she will be allowed to awaken until this mission is over. Of course, she won't remember anything, so no worries. Transform into her, according to the photo I'll have sent to your dorm. You must arrive at her house before her parents wake up, but officially, your mission begins in four hours."

Weakly, she nodded; bowing to him slightly as her weak legs struggled to carry her back to the door, as she currently lacked the strength to continue to argue with him.

And, once more, and for the last time that night, her boss stopped her.

"Oh, and Rapunzel?"

She did not turn.

"I wish you luck."