Disclaimer: I forgot to put this here. So, yeah... no financial profit made.
The Beginning
The pink-haired kunoichi was out the door and hastily resetting her apartment's safety wards before she'd even finished zipping up her shirt. She took to the roofs quickly and, not without effort, was able to get the zipper to work while running. Without slowing down, Sakura jumped down from the last roof on her preferred path and made a mad dash into the ANBU headquarters.
Change now, or later?
There was no telling where Ibiki would be. The staff's luncheon area was somewhat close to the locker room and since it was about the time he took his first break... Sakura always found the ANBU gear to be restraining anyways.
Utilizing her underused sneaking abilities, she made her way through the headquarters and to her own office without incident. Slipping into her office and seeing Ibiki sitting in her expensive desk chair was a swift and definite defeat. The chagrined woman did her best to keep a cool exterior.
Of course, he's using my beautiful desk as a table. Fuck my life.
"Oh, Sakura, what a surprise! I didn't see you there. You see, I was much too busy with my work." Yup. He sure had been taking his time to wreak havoc upon her poor, innocent desk.
Is that a grease stain on my reports? That mother fu- no, must focus!
"Sensei, sensei," Sakura tutted, "you shouldn't work so hard. Next thing you know people will seem like they're late when they were really here all along."
"Indeed."
Yikes! Judging by his icy response, she just might be on his shit list. Very, very deep (that's right - not high or low, but deep) on said shit list.
"Unfortunately for my supposed not-really-late student, she was summoned by the Hokage." When Sakura flinched at her understanding, Ibiki grinned sharply. "I'm glad you understand my predicament. Now get your ass where it should be!"
She was off without so much as a "yes, sir." Feeling justified in his frustration, Ibiki indulged himself with smearing the grease his lunch left on her papers a bit before returning to his own business with a smile.
He had forgotten how good it felt to be petty.
"Where the hell were you?" The Hokage inquired sternly before looking up from her paperwork to pierce her apprentice with intent hazel eyes.
"Well, you see, my desk was being abused - "
"Save it. Of all the things to learn from Kakashi... " With a wave of her hand, Tsunade dismissed her incredulity. "How are things going with the Uchiha?"
Sakura walked over to the large window in her shishou's office and leaned against the wall. "Have you had the chance to read my reports?"
"Yes, but I want what's in your head, Sakura." She wanted to know her choice in letting Sakura be the interrogator was correct.
Sensing this, Sakura gave her Hokage a full report on Sasuke. She mentioned how she tested his memory, and the lack of a cursed seal on his person.
"So, he isn't Orochimaru's puppet anymore. That's good, but we need information from him. If physical torture hasn't been working, what are your plans?"
Abandoning the window, Sakura approached the front of her shishou's desk. Tsunade's amber eyes were watching her curiously. The weight of her hazel gaze reminded the pink-haired kunoichi just how important getting the information from Sasuke was. Even though Sakura knew her Hokage trusted her, she had to watch what she said. Despite how well Project Sunshine was going, it was still treasonous to be helping a missing-nin in such a premeditated way.
"Permission to speak freely, Hokage-sama?"
Tsunade nodded, surprised at Sakura's formal request. It wasn't like she allowed the girl free reign, but as long as she wasn't mouthing off with disrespect (like a certain blonde, whiskered someone) then there was no need for strict verbiage. Hell, she got enough of that with those old fogies.
"I want to trade information with Sasuke."
Tsunade blinked. Slowly.
"Excuse me?"
"Remember that time when you lectured me about getting into the classified files?"
Tsunade nodded in response. Sakura had nosed around in the top secret files of the ANBU headquarters, but she figured if she could out-sneak the ANBU she deserved the information. She had unbreakable trust in the young woman.
"It was after Kakashi developed his theory about the masked Akatsuki member being Uchiha Madara."
That had Tsunade's attention. "What do you know about him?"
"I know what the books tell me. He was unbelievably ambitious, but also incredibly strong. When it came to founding Konoha, he was upset with the idea of an alliance with the Senju clan, let alone that Senju Hashirama was chosen to be the First Hokage. His clan wanted peace, but he obviously did not. He came back, utilized the nine-tailed fox, and fought the First only to lose. The Valley of the End is known for that battle. After that, I can't find anything about him in our libraries except that he might have been behind the second attack of the nine-tails. However, I trust Kakashi's eyes and his instincts. To survive that long, and after such a defeat, he could only be plotting. Being the ambitious man that he was - is, I can't see him taking losing well."
Tsunade snorted at the thought. "Even if that man is Madara, how does this have anything to do with Sasuke?"
Sakura held up a hand for patience. "That would mean two supposed crazily ambitious Uchihas were working within one organization, which doesn't make sense to me. This leads me to look closer at the other Uchiha in Akatsuki, Itachi, who was the Uchiha's pride and joy. Well, before he killed them all. But he didn't kill them all, did he? He left his little brother alive, and this Uchiha Madara who he later joined up with. I, someone who rarely believes in coincidences, find these actions extremely odd for a genius of his caliper. If he truly were a nin who lost it, then why stop when it comes to his little brother? That screams emotional attachment. And even with the skills that he had, how could he kill so many people so quickly? They had sharingans too, so there would still be some challenge after the initial surprise. The fact that Itachi joined with Madara after the massacre makes me think that they could have easily joined forces to slaughter their clan. Hell, I bet Madara would enjoy it after they abandoned him in his eyes."
"This is a lot of speculation, and I still don't understand how Sasuke is involved." Tsunade might have sounded a bit annoyed, but she wasn't. Her wise eyes were alight with pride at her apprentices' intelligence and cunning. She knew that Sakura and Naruto would never give up on that Uchiha brat, not even after she refused to let them leave to search for him. This was Konoha's future. It was relieving to know they would be just as stubbornly loyal as ever.
Sitting back in her chair, Tsunade continued to listen to the young woman before her as she explained how if Kakashi was correct about Uchiha Madara, how that would place Sasuke in his hands after Itachi's defeat. Sakura then brought up how easily manipulated the young Uchiha had been by different people, using both Itachi and Orochimaru as examples.
"So, with that in mind, how much would it really take for Uchiha Madara to sick Sasuke on Konoha?"
"And he would come with just two other shinobi? As you said, the Uchiha doesn't do things half-assed."
"Which leads me to my first debriefing with you. The option of a stealthy approach for personal reasons continues to be the best theory. Sasuke may see himself as emotionless, but he is quite the opposite. I can't imagine him thinking logically and behaving in such a manner."
"A stealth mission to do what for Madara's sake?" Tsunade asked, brow wrinkled.
"Could be to assassinate you, but I don't think so. And that's just the issue: I don't think so. I can brainstorm and speculate all day, but I've learned to trust my gut instincts. My knowledge is still too vague though, and I don't have time to poke Sasuke around anymore. I need access to the classified files, or any information at all, pertaining to what Madara could possibly have said to make Sasuke come to Konoha."
"Is that so." Resting her chin on her interlaced fingers, the hazel-eyed Hokage observed her apprentice. "You do realize that most of what you're looking for won't be on paper."
Getting slightly fed up with diplomacy, the pink-haired kunoichi clenched her jaw. "I do. Do you realize how quickly I can have the information you want if you tell me what you know about the Uchiha massacre?"
"Fine. I suppose you've earned it."
"Thank you, shishou."
"You won't be thanking me once you know the truth. Now, sit down and don't interrupt me."
Sakura slowly donned her ANBU suit. It took more out of her than she imagined to maintain an ignorant façade when hearing the information Tsunade shared about the Uchiha clan. She highly disliked using the woman, but it was crucial to keep Project Sunshine a secret. Although her Hokage was much more intelligent than most gave her credit for (hence her knowing about her apprentice's trip into the classified section), there were some things she really didn't need to know. If she were to discover the depth of Sakura's deception and what said deception was leading toward... the pink-haired kunoichi shook at the mere thought.
In all honesty, even though she knew before the truth escaped her shishou's painted lips, it still affected her. Would she have been able to do what Itachi had done? She couldn't imagine her small family being so corrupt, yet... even then... would she have had the fortitude at such an early age? Would she have fought for an alternative?
It doesn't matter. What's done is done.
Even as the young woman thought it, she knew it was an outright lie. The past set up what the future could become. Everything - everyone - mattered.
She finished dressing and then walked through the halls of the ANBU headquarters on autopilot. Only slipping out of her deep thoughts at the security posts she passed on the way to her destination. Soon enough she was there, standing before prisoner 041137666's door.
With a sigh Sakura cleared her mind and entered the small room. Sasuke didn't even bother looking up, so she settled for lifting herself up onto the edge of the concrete table to wait.
When she became bored she decided to hum a girly tune. Of course, she did so completely off key. Every now and then she'd hum louder, as if she were actually into whatever it was she was humming, for good measure.
After that it wasn't long before she was looking into two very dark and spiteful eyes. She giggled and greeted the young man before her.
"Eat shit and die." Sasuke growled.
"You know you're rather rude, right?" Sakura inquired lightly.
There was a slight grunt in response, but the heavy glare remained.
"Well, fine. Let's get down to business."
Another grunt met her ears.
"Do you want breaks or slices this time?" The pink-haired kunoichi asked seriously.
Sasuke regarded his ex-teammate. She looked honest, but there was no way she was offering him an ounce of control. Surely there was some kind of trick up her sleeve? Perhaps reverse psychology. Ha! Like hell he'd fall for that. "Breaks."
Sakura accepted his answer with an angelic grin, "breaks it is then."
It was damn near impossible to miss the dark haired missing-nin's rising frustration. Sakura noted that his chapped lips thinned along with a more pronounced tightening around his eyes than usual. The lack of water and food were finally taking affect.
"Let's start off with something simple," as she spoke Sasuke lowered his head. She supposed he realized how much his face was giving away. As much as she wanted to allow him some form of escape, she had to get him to cooperate first. Unfortunately, her ex-teammate always took the harder route.
Hopping off of the hard table, Sakura stepped in between her first crushes' legs. They were impressively locked onto the chair, just like the rest of him, so she felt no fear in being close to him. However, when she leaned over he attempted to headbutt her. If she hadn't reacted quickly enough she'd surely be sporting a broken nose. Gripping his long, black hair tighter, the young woman craned the missing-nin's head back sharply. She watched him flinch without remorse.
"It's uncouth to strike a lady." It could have been a joke, but with her face inches away from his, she was sure he saw her anger. And if not, well, "didn't your mother tell you that before she was run through?"
The reaction was immediate. If not for her unrelenting grip on Sasuke's hair and the intensive restraining measures ANBU used to repress him, Sakura was sure she'd have been killed. She waited for the young man under her to stop struggling so much before she pulled his head back again. Killing intent oozed out of his every pore, but she ignored it. This moment was beyond important; it had to work.
"You weren't even her first son. Did she even love you?"
With her senses on full alert she could feel his sharp, uneven breathing against her face and the tension in his body. The lingering smell of passion fruit was barely detected over the harsh odor of bleach. It was his eyes though, his piercing gaze, that she focused on completely. She'd seen him express many emotions, most of which were never expressed toward her. To see him look at her with such hatred was like looking straight into the eyes of death itself. An inescapable black, burning death. She had no other choice but to push past his stubbornness.
"And what about your dear papa?" She asked softly; her head tilted to the side for better access to his ear.
Sakura felt wetness hit her face before her senses caught up and informed her that she'd just been spit upon. It was disgusting, but an encouraging sign. She lifted her hand from Sasuke's shoulder to wipe the saliva away before trailing slowly down his arm to his left hand. Grabbing a finger at random, she easily snapped the bone with a light application of chakra.
Sasuke closed his eyes and snarled through clenched teeth.
"Open your eyes." She demanded, her face hovering over his again. When he didn't, she shook him roughly by her grip on his hair. "Now."
"Fuck you, you stupid - dammit!"
"If you don't want another finger broken then open your eyes, Sasuke."
When Sakura began to apply pressure to another finger, she was once again looking into furious ebony orbs.
"Do you think he approved of you?" She was so close, the question was practically spoken onto his lips.
Sasuke silently continued to glare; body still rigid with unleashed fury.
"Tell me... do you even know who killed them?"
There was the slightest bit of confusion within those dark eyes, but his rage consumed any other possible thought after a moment.
"Was it your brother, or Uchiha Madara?"
The shock of recognition was swift and pure. By the time awe sat reluctantly in Sasuke's stomach, Sakura had already moved her attention to the fingers she broke.
"Why are you healing them?" He inquired blankly.
The pink-haired kunoichi looked up from her kneeling position. "I have what I wanted to know for now." She admitted before realigning and healing his next finger.
"You're cunning."
Sakura glanced up with a furrowed brow, ready to see a condescending smirk. There was none. In fact, Sasuke's earlier killing intent had completely abated. His face was relaxed, his bottomless eyes appraising her softly. He knew she had manipulated him and was complimenting her. Feeling somewhat overwhelmed with the turn of events, Sakura returned her focus to his fingers to hide the blush that she could feel spreading up her neck and cheeks.
The young man watched her try to play off her reaction by pretending to heal his fingers. The fingers she had already healed. He found it oddly enjoyable to see her in such a way. Perhaps Naruto had somehow witnessed this side of Sakura when they were children? What else had he missed during his so-called youth?
"What are you thinking about?" Sakura asked gently after sneaking a look and seeing his distant gaze.
His ink black eyes snapped back into focus and he smirked softly. "Will you break my fingers again if I don't answer?"
She was still touching his hand.
A/N: Alright, so I'm sorry if you have to re-read the story to remember what's going on. I hope it's as good the second time. :P
I will do my best to have the next piece out within the week. Please leave a review and let me know if you're confused by anything, dislike/enjoy anything, or just want to say 'hi.' I'd love to hear from you! :)
Edit (8/10): Added the title and disclaimer. Most importantly, Sakura's conversation with Tsunade has been changed. My hope is that it's easier to follow and not as repetitive for y'all readers. Let me know if this version is better, or not. Thanks a bunch!
-Dez
