Posting this before I forget to do so next week. Thank you all again for still reading and reviewing this story! ^ v ^
Crashing stone walls… Rocking concrete floors… Loud cries of pain… Suffocating tension in the air…
The room was in chaos when Keiko ran back into the room.
She chose to stay in the hallway when the elders started to pull the barrier in Sakura's mind down. After all, she already had an idea on what was going to happen. She just watched snippets of the future, afraid that knowing what would happen would break her heart. And she had already warned Sasuke on what he should do to keep Sakura safe. So in theory, things should work fine.
Then the walls cracked and loud crashing sounds echoed from the room. She ran back into the scene on impulse, worried not only for her father but for everyone in the room. When she slammed the door open, Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Neji, Shino and Chouji were bouncing off the cracking walls. Gusts of white fog flew around the room to catch them.
Shikamaru was kneeling on the floor – his fingers joined in a hand seal. He was wheezing. Blood was streaming down the side of his lips as he looked sharply at the commotion in front of him. His shadow seemed to stretch far beneath his target.
The elders were on their feet, rigid and observing what was happening.
Houren was crouched on the floor. His eyes were fixed at Sakura, who was literally frozen in a stance that said she just fired a massive right-hook. A giant lump of ice froze her body from the chest down, keeping her from moving.
"STOP!" Sasuke cried – fear and desperation flooding his eyes. Kaitaro was keeping him pinned against a corner. "NO! She'll break her bones!"
Keiko noticed Sakura's limbs shivering in the ice. She was trying to get out of the iceberg that had caged her.
"You can't be serious," Shikamaru wheezed, watching Sakura's arm twitching in the ice and wincing at the burning sensation in his insides. He wasn't a medic ninja but he was sure he broke a rib or two, bruised some internal tissue, and gashed some organs.
Luckily, he anticipated the worst case scenario though he had to admit Sakura's speed caught him off-guard. He wasn't able to move away from her attack fast enough before he did the Shadow Bind technique.
No. It wasn't just her speed. Sure she was strong enough to hurl them across the room like she just did, but what gave them internal injuries wasn't just her right hook. It was the chakra that resonated from her punch – the intense chakra that seeped through his nerves and twisted his body tissues.
Shikamaru didn't know she could do that technique nor did he know she had enough chakra to create a massive invisible chakra weapon.
Was it one of the tricks she learned from Houren?
Add to that Sakura's attempts to free herself from the ice – her arms moving, though slightly, against the fetters. He couldn't believe she could be strong enough to withstand even his Shadow Bind. He moved his limbs, directing Sakura's so it stopped resisting the icy restraints.
He cursed. Sakura's limbs were trembling. She was also resisting his commands. If she continued to fight the Shadow Bind, she would—
"STOP IT!" Sasuke cried.
A long jagged line emerged from the ice holding Sakura's arms and legs. The ice cracked.
Houren cursed. "Put her to sleep!" he shouted. "One more and I'll kill her!"
Keiko quickly leaped into the air and aimed to strike the nerves on Sakura's neck. But the ice shattered and Sakura swung her arm at Keiko, throwing her back against the wall.
"Keiko-chan!" Kaitaro called, running to catch his daughter. Keiko fell unconscious in his arms.
Sasuke took it as an opportunity to get out of the corner. He pounced on Sakura, pinning her to the floor. He pushed her flailing arms down and winced when he noticed the distortion on her limbs.
"Sakura-chan," Naruto called, wincing as he crawled to her side. She was screaming, more to defend herself than in pain. "Stop it! Please! It's me, Naruto!"
"Hold her down," Sasuke ordered, keeping his eyes on Sakura.
Naruto quickly held her arms and legs down. Sasuke then tapped a nerve above her jaw. Sakura stopped moving.
Everyone stared blankly at Sakura – each of them holding their breath, wondering if she was really unconscious. It was only when Houren sighed that everyone relaxed. Shikamaru let himself fall on the ground, crouched on his side. He coughed and stained the floor with specks of blood.
Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru, Neji and Shino did the same, allowing their bodies to rest on the cold floor. They couldn't move much with the ribs severing their innards with every breath they took. Kaitaro cradled Keiko, and examined her for bruises and serious injury.
Sasuke dropped his head on the crook of her neck.
Naruto looked surprised at what his friend did but he sighed and slumped on the floor. He winced at the burning pain in his stomach and at the taste of bile and rust flooding his mouth.
He didn't expect any of that to happen. She was fine! She was fine until— Naruto shut his eyes. It wasn't Sasuke's fault. They all should have waited for the relic before they tried to give her memories back to her. He had to admit that the experience was horrifying and painful. But it made him realize just how important their new mission was.
He would save Sakura. He would save Konoha. And he would help Sasuke. He would complete his family – something he knew Sasuke also wanted to do.
Naruto cursed and tried to stand up again. Everyone was down and emotionally exhausted, even him. He opened his eyes and saw the elders walking toward Kiba and the others. Kaitaro was sighing in relief. Houren was lying on his back – taking a breather.
Everyone was alive, even Sakura. And that was one thing that made him smile with relief. "See?" he said chuckling. "I told you, we need that relic."
"Shut up," Shikamaru sharply hissed.
Naruto frowned and looked up at Shikamaru. "What?" he said. "It's too troublesome for you to look at the bright side too?"
Shikamaru nodded toward Sasuke.
Naruto turned to look at Sasuke, confused at what Shikamaru meant. He stiffened.
Sasuke's shoulders were shaking. And in the silence of the room, Naruto could hear faint sobs from where Sasuke and Sakura were.
Naruto looked sadly down at Sakura. He was sure she broke and dislocated more than one bone in her body. He remembered how Sasuke cried out, warning them of the injuries she would inflict on herself.
Naruto sighed and slumped on the floor – his hand gripping Sakura's limp one. He knew what was going on in Sasuke's mind, and he couldn't blame him. If he was in Sasuke's position, he would think of the same thoughts running in his friend's mind at that moment.
But it wasn't Sasuke's fault, nor was it Sakura's. They would fix everything. Sakura will be better. He won't give up until she was cured. The next time Sakura wakes up with her memories, she would be smiling at him and Sasuke. She would be punching him for being a headache, but she would be happy to be alive.
"I'm calling the nurses," Azumaryu said before gliding to the hall. The other elders began to examine Neji, Akamaru and Kiba.
Chouji crawled to Shikamaru's side. "Do you know what just happened?" he whispered, wincing at his internal injuries. "I just remember seeing Sakura freeze when she saw Sasuke, and hitting the wall."
Shikamaru sighed. "Not really," he said watching Sasuke weep on Sakura's shoulder. "But I know what's going to happen next."
"Thank you so much for coming," Shouta, the village leader said, bowing to Kakashi. A hope-filled smile filled his exhausted face. "We've been worried about the raids for a long time now, especially when the nearby village was raided."
Kakashi and his team paid their respects to the village leader, who requested Konoha for assistance. Villages, even the poorest ones, had sought assistance from various ninja groups since the raids began. And with the information Sasuke and Jirotaiku provided, they were able to see which of the requests had to be prioritized.
The village where Kakashi and his team were assigned was one of the poor ones. Konoha noticed that the raiders had been targeting the less notable communities, probably because they believed they were too weak and economically challenged to prepare for an attack.
"We're glad we can help," Kakashi replied. Ino, Lee, Sai and Hinata sat behind him. They met Shouta in his home and were warmly served with steamy cups of tea. "I heard some of the villagers who survived the raid moved here. Is this true?"
"Yes," Shouta answered. "Some of us have adopted them in their homes. They had nowhere to go. A lot of them are still traumatized at what happened. Would you like to speak with them?"
"Yes," Kakashi said. "That would be very helpful to us. Had they told you stories about how their village was raided?"
"Some of them said they woke up with their houses burning," Shouta answered. "Some of them said they were dragged out of their homes. We couldn't get a detailed description from them because they were too shaken to recall what happened."
Kakashi nodded. "I understand," he said. "Can you give us the address of the refugees?"
"Yes," Shouta said, standing up from the floor. "Please let me get the list." He rushed into the adjacent room.
"He said 'some of them,'" Ino said. "Does that mean those refugees are from different villages?"
"It's a possibility," Kakashi answered. "The raids seemed to vary, depending on the group that was responsible for them. So far, what we know about our target is that they attack at night and they leave villages in flames."
Hinata looked sadly down at her lap. She remembered the gloominess of the village when they arrived. The adults had confined their children inside their homes. She saw the young ones looking curiously at them from the windows. Even the women seemed to have been hidden away. The only people they saw in the streets were tired, middle-aged men looking wearily at them.
It was so different from Konoha. Sure children in their village were usually training with weaponry and martial arts. But they were also outside playing with their friends – enjoying the beautiful sunny day. Women were free to roam around and mingle with their friends too. No one in Konoha felt afraid to be out in the day.
The threat of the raid felt so close and suffocating in the village Hinata was in. And seeing the people they were going to protect… How could anyone think of looting them like animals? Of selling them to be murdered in cold blood..?
"We have to protect them," Hinata said, tightly clenching her fists.
Ino, Kakashi, Lee and Sai glanced at Hinata.
"All of them," Hinata continued.
Ino smirked. "Don't worry," she said. "Those monsters won't stand a chance against us."
Kakashi sighed. They were able to reach the village earlier than the raiders. Before they entered the village, he sent Pakkun out to survey the area. The dog confirmed that the raiders were on their way, and that gauging by their distance, they would reach the village that evening. It meant Kakashi and his team would still have time to prepare for the attack. So far, things had gone as planned.
But he couldn't help but feel that something bad had just happened.
Kiba yawned. He lay on the bed with Akamaru sleeping beside him. The dog was given a heavy sedative to help his internal injuries heal faster. Akamaru sprinted in front of Kiba when Sakura started to attack them, recieving far more serious blows to than Kiba.
Akamaru wasn't the only aid that suffered though. Even Shino lost a number of beetles when they formed a barrier to protect him from Sakura's attack.
Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru, Neji and Shino were all taken back to their quarters after the nurses gave them first aid. They decided to treat the injuries in the sleeping quarters, instead of the clinic, so they didn't scare the villagers.
Apparently, the elders' specters made sure that what happened within the building didn't cause a fuss beyond its doors.
Naruto, Chouji, Shikamaru, Neji and Shino were on their beds, staring at the ceiling.
"Geez," Kiba said. "I had great respect for Sakura then, but I feel like I have greater respect for her now. She's so much scarier than Hinata."
"That's very sensitive of you, Kiba," Chouji said, frowning.
"What..? What did I say?" Kiba asked, scowling at Chouji.
Chouji nodded to Naruto, who was looking blankly at the ceiling.
Kiba sighed and scratched his head. "Sorry," he muttered.
"That really was scary," Neji muttered. "I never thought I'd see Uchiha cry."
"It felt like the world was ending," Kiba said. "I bet when Neji cries with Sasuke, it really will."
Neji glared at Kiba.
"So none of us expected Sakura to hurl us across the room?" Chouji asked.
"I was expecting her to stab herself, honestly," Kiba answered. "I mean, they said she would be desperate to kill herself. So why did she try to kill us?"
"Good question," Shikamaru muttered.
Kiba frowned at Shikamaru. "And knowing you," he said. "You've already figured it out."
"Not really," Shikamaru said.
Kiba snorted. "You're not fooling anyone here, Nara," he muttered.
"I wonder how Sasuke's doing," Chouji said, rubbing his stomach.
Luckily, the medical team in the temple was more advanced than the medic ninjas in Konoha. Their severe internal injuries were healed in minutes. Chouji was told he would be able to eat again, but not as much as he regularly did because their healed wounds left bruises that needed some time to heal.
"Yeah. Did you see him when they were taking Sakura to her room?" Kiba asked – his voice low and serious. "I never thought I'd feel sorry for the guy. He couldn't even lift his head up. He just stayed on the floor like he was beaten up."
"Neh, Shikamaru," Naruto said, looking straight and solemn at the ceiling.
Shikamaru glanced at him.
"Tell us what you know," he continued.
"Yeah, Nara," Kiba exclaimed. "Stop being so troublesome!"
"Tch," Shikamaru snorted. "Troublesome."
"Nara," Neji said, urging him to talk.
Shikamaru took a deep breath and sighed. "It's of no use anyway," he said. "When we first saw Sakura, what did you see on her face?"
"Happiness?" Chouji asked.
"No," Shikamaru said. "When she saw us – what was the expression on her face?"
"Surprise," Kiba said.
"Fright," Shino answered.
"Eh?" Chouji asked. Naruto looked confused at Shino.
"Oh yeah! Especially when Naruto harassed her!" Kiba said, snickering.
"That wasn't what I did!" Naruto defensively yelled at Kiba. "I missed her," he muttered. "And I didn't know she—"
"Whatever," Kiba muttered, smirking.
"Besides, she didn't know us," Chouji said.
"That's what I was about to say!" Naruto said, frowning.
"Neji," Shikamaru said. "If you saw Hinata with Shino, how would you feel?"
"Nothing," Neji answered.
"And if you saw Hinata with Naruto?" Shikamaru asked.
"Me?" Naruto asked, looking confused at Shikamaru. "Why me?"
"I'll kill him," Neji answered.
"HEY!" Naruto said, sitting up. "Why the hell would you do that?!"
Kiba laughed. "That's a good one, Hyuuga!"
"I'll do the same thing to you if she shows up in the house with you," Neji said, looking sharply at Kiba.
"OI! Hinata and I are team mates!" Kiba defensively said.
Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome," he muttered.
"Why did you ask those questions, Shikamaru?" Chouji asked.
"Yeah," Kiba said. "What's the connection?"
"Let me just get this straight," Shikamaru said. "If you saw an important person in your life with someone that would most likely hurt them, how would you feel?"
"Worried," Naruto answered.
"Yeah, I'd be worried too," Kiba said. "And angry!"
"And scared," Chouji added.
"Sakura was scared of us because she thought we're a threat to Sasuke's life," Shino said.
"Bingo," Shikamaru said.
"WHAT?!" Kiba, Chouji and Naruto exclaimed.
"We're a threat to Uchiha?" Kiba asked. "Uchiha was the threat to everyone in Konoha! It's him she should be afraid of, not us! Heck! He almost killed all of us back in the war."
"You're forgetting the fact that she isn't supposed to remember anything about that," Shikamaru said.
"Oh yeah," Kiba said, nodding.
"You think Sasuke told her stories about us?" Chouji asked.
"I doubt that," Shikamaru said. "Seeing Sasuke's response to what happened earlier, I'd say he would do anything to keep her away from things that would remind her of Konoha or of any of us."
"So how did Sakura-chan think we're a threat to Teme?" Naruto asked.
"It's the false memory, isn't it?" Neji said. "She unconsciously remembers it."
"That's possible," Shikamaru said.
"And whatever it is, it has something to do with us hurting Sasuke?" Naruto asked.
"She would believe that?!" Kiba said. "Come on! You must be talking about a different girl here!"
"They did say she wanted to kill herself to set Sasuke free from the seal she put on him," Shino said. "So it's possible that Sasuke was in danger in that memory."
Kiba, Naruto and Chouji just frowned at Shino.
"Why do you think Sasuke would need to regain his abilities?" Shikamaru asked.
"The false memory has an image of Sasuke unable to defend himself," Neji said. "And us—"
"We were trying to kill Sasuke," Shikamaru said.
"And that's why she was scared of us," Naruto concluded.
"Houren's grandchild screwed up with Sakura's memory of the last ninja war?" Kiba asked.
"Yeah," Chouji said, sitting up. "Shouldn't her memory of the ninja war tell her it's fake?"
"I don't think Houren's grandchild messed up Sakura's memory of the war," Shikamaru said. "It instead created a memory of an event that she hadn't witnessed yet, using her memories of the war – a memory of the event when Sasuke, knowing about the seal she put on him, returned to Konoha."
"And her anxiety on how that event would happen," Shino said. "Created details that made it seem real to her."
"So she expected us to kill Sasuke?" Chouji asked.
"That was the order," Shikamaru said. "Kill him before he killed anyone."
"WHAT?!" Naruto exclaimed. "What do you mean? What order?!"
"That time when we thought something big was happening," Kiba said, realizing what Shikamaru meant. "You were all planning to kill Sasuke when he came back from his mission!"
"So you knew about what Sakura did?" Naruto asked. "AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!"
"A lot of people saw what happened," Shikamaru said. "But very few of them understood what they saw. The Hokage didn't want those few people to talk and we a lot of us knew why. But it didn't keep some people from telling the elders about what happened. They put Sakura on trial for reviving Sasuke."
"WHAT THE— WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!" Naruto said, sitting up and throwing the thick blanket off of his chest.
"You were in a coma then, Naruto," Neji explained.
"And where were we?" Kiba asked, frowning at Neji. "I didn't know about this trial until now."
"The hospital, most likely," Shino said. "…The less people who knew, the better."
"You knew about this too, Shino?!" Kiba asked.
"Not that much," Shino answered. "It wasn't that important."
"HOW WAS THAT NOT IMPORTANT?!" Naruto yelled.
"What happened to the trial?" Chouji asked.
"Sakura promised the village elders that Sasuke won't cause any trouble," Shikamaru answered. "If he did, she told them to kill her for putting Sasuke first over the village."
"Uchiha killed several ANBU though," Neji said.
"She made that promise after she sealed Sasuke's rage inside her," Shikamaru explained.
"Is that why they moved him to an underground cell?" Chouji asked.
"It was an attempt to keep people safe, yes," Shikamaru said. "But it wasn't to keep Sakura alive. After what happened almost everyone who knew about what Sakura did wanted her dead for betraying Konoha."
"Saving Sasuke is the same as betraying Konoha?" Naruto asked. "Sasuke is a Konoha ninja!"
"Oh shut up, Naruto," Kiba said. "He wasn't a Konoha ninja again until he got out of prison and was reinstated as a Genin!"
"Wait!" Chouji said, frowning in deep thought at Shikamaru. "So you were expecting Sasuke to be stronger when he returned to Konoha from his last mission."
Shikamaru smirked.
"Meaning you were all expecting Sakura to die?" Chouji asked.
Naruto, Kiba and Neji froze.
"Yes," Shikamaru answered. "Yes, we were. The main reason Sasuke was sent on that mission was to kill her. Sakura wrote a note to the Hokage in the last mission report Jirotaiku sent back to Konoha, requesting for Sasuke's involvement in her mission. She was dying then, but she wasn't planning on telling Sasuke anything about what she did. If I remember correctly, she was planning on fighting him to the death. Of course, she'll most likely end up dead after the duel. And Sasuke would notice the change in his body once she died. If he realized someone messed up with his abilities and he decided to return to Konoha to continue his vengeance, she told the Hokage to kill him the minute he was spotted near the gates."
Naruto shut his eyes and shook his head. Sakura planned to kill herself and told Tsunade to kill Sasuke..?
"You knew all of this, how?" Kiba asked.
"I have my resources," Shikamaru answered.
"That's just sick though," Chouji said. "I mean, she would really do that?
"Remember that Sakura was severely ill at the time," Shikamaru said. "She didn't think she would live through the disease. And you all know how she cares about him. She was worried about what would happen if she died without fixing the mess she made."
"And she didn't think Uchiha would let himself be enslaved by the elders to save her life," Neji said.
"It didn't really seem possible," Shino said.
"So she has a memory of Sasuke's return to Konoha when he learned about the truth," Kiba said, trying to piece the information together. "In that memory, he threatens Konoha and we all try to kill him. And that forces her to kill herself so he could defend himself."
"Wait," Chouji said. "If she has a memory of Sasuke like that, wouldn't that mean the possibility of Sasuke not knowing about what she did had been erased from her mind?"
"This is giving me a headache," Kiba muttered, scowling.
"Either Sakura told Sasuke about the seal, or Sasuke already learned it from someone and it pissed him off," Shino said.
"Sakura knew Sasuke already found out about what she did," Neji said. "And she probably saw him feeling angry about what she did. That's why she believed the false memory."
"Whoah so Sasuke confronted her about it?" Kiba asked.
"It doesn't seem to add up though," Neji said, frowning in deep thought. "If Uchiha knew about the seal already, why didn't he kill her before he left for Konoha? It doesn't make sense."
"That's because love doesn't make sense," said someone from the door.
Shikamaru, Naruto, Chouji, Kiba, and Shino looked at the door and saw Houren smiling at them.
"Hey," Houren said, smiling at them. "How are our patients?"
"Better," Kiba answered. "Are you going to help us out here?"
Houren chuckled. "Well it does sound interesting," he said, walking to the nearest chair. He sat down and smiled. "And here I thought because you're injured, you won't push yourselves into solving this mind-boggling head-aching mystery. So what do you want to know?"
"What happened?" Neji asked. "And we need the details."
"Sasuke knows more about it than I do," Houren said. "But since I stalked him a lot back then, I'll tell you what I know."
Naruto, Kiba and Chouji cringed at the thought of Houren lurking in Sasuke's shadow.
"You stalked Sasuke?" Naruto asked. "I thought you had grandchildren!"
"I thought Sasuke was a girl," Houren explained, smiling innocently at Naruto.
Kiba, Chouji and Naruto burst into laughter.
"He'll kill you when he hears that," Kiba said.
"You're not going to tell him, are you?" Houren said – his cheerful smiling turning into an eerie one.
Kiba, Chouji and Naruto stiffened.
"Connect the dots for me," Shikamaru said, redirecting the conversation.
"You already have," Houren said, smiling at Shikamaru.
"You're saying Sasuke didn't kill Sakura when he learned about what she did because he 'loved' her?" Neji asked.
"I can't answer that," Houren said. "I'm not Sasuke. I do know that my devious grandchild told Sasuke about what she did, and how he was going to give Sakura a death sentence. When Sasuke confronted Sakura, he told her that she deserved to die a slow and painful death so he left her for my grandchild to burn at the stake."
Neji, Chouji, and Kiba frowned.
"That's not Sasuke," Kiba said. "Sure the death sentence sounded brutal but he would prefer to make sure who wronged him was dead, rather than wait for someone else to do the kill!"
Houren smirked.
"Unless we take into consideration the fact that Sakura still kept his savage emotions inside her at the time, and the possibility that Sasuke did have feelings for Sakura," Shikamaru said. "Though I admit it's highly improbable, the latter is still possible. He grew fond of her, at least, while he was taking care of her."
"If he cared for Sakura that much that he didn't kill her," Kiba said. "Would he still be vicious enough to threaten Konoha?"
"So it still doesn't make sense," Chouji said. "He won't leave Sakura there to die by someone else's hand when he can kill her."
"AGHHHHHH!" Naruto yelled, furiously scratching his head. "This is giving me a headache! Just tell us what happened!"
"But I don't exactly know what happened," Houren said, smiling at them. "I wasn't supposed to be there."
"And yet you were," Kiba muttered, frowning at Houren.
"Okay, I was," Houren said, shrugging his shoulders. "But I have no idea what exactly was going on in their heads."
"Fair enough," Neji said, nodding.
"Here's what I think though," Houren said. "First, Sakura didn't perfectly execute the techniques she did on Sasuke. That's why Sasuke turned into an unconscious parasite and Sakura a host."
"You're saying she overdid the technique that locked his emotions inside her," Shikamaru said.
Houren nodded. "Again, it's all a play of memory," he said. "Sasuke remembered the events, but not the strong negative feelings that came with the event. It was like he 'moved on' in your sense of the term."
"She forced him to get over the tragedies in his life," Neji said, surprised.
Houren chuckled. "Close, but not quite," he said. "How patient was Sasuke with children in your village since he got out of prison?"
"Very patient, apparently," Chouji said. "I saw him training kids how to throw kunai at one time."
"Yeah!" Naruto said. "He was very good with kids. The Genin teams love him! I didn't know he could be like that!"
Houren smiled.
"So Sakura also made Sasuke incapable of holding a grudge, or of easily getting mad at people," Shikamaru said, smirking.
"She accidentally brought her back to the Sasuke that was more or less close to the Sasuke who hadn't lost his family yet," Houren explained.
…Silence.
"Damn," Kiba muttered. "You can do that? You give me the creeps!"
Houren laughed. "That's why we don't want to have any access to your world," he said. "You're so easy to play with that we might end up crossing the line."
"Okay," Chouji said. "That's what happened. But Sakura's still alive so… Is his emotions still sealed inside Sakura?"
"No," Houren answered. "The seal shattered when her heartbeat stopped. That's the only loophole in the technique she did, you see. When it her heart began to beat again, the seal had been undone."
"So Teme should have all his emotions or memory of those negative emotions back now," Naruto said.
"And yet he doesn't act like he has them," Chouji said, frowning.
Houren chuckled. "I'm afraid I won't be able to explain how that happened," he said. "That's something only Sasuke can answer."
"If we follow the senseless and illogical way of analyzing this," Shino said. "We'll find an answer."
"Sasuke fell in love with Sakura?" Chouji asked.
Kiba cringed. "I can't believe how disgusting this discussion has become."
Houren laughed.
"Okay so let me get this straight," Naruto said, frowning. "Sasuke found out Sakura messed with his chakra and emotions. He confronted her but he didn't kill her because he couldn't, because he supposedly fell in love with her and stuff like that. He leaves her?"
"Yes," Houren answered. "He leaves her. My grandson arrests her."
"Your grandson plants the false memory," Neji continued.
"The false memory is about what Sasuke might have done when he left Sakura," Kiba said. "…Which was he went back to Konoha wanting to kill everyone, and all of us try to kill him back. He couldn't fight us because of Sakura's seal so Sakura decides to kill herself..?"
"Yeah," Chouji muttered. "Something still doesn't add up. So the memory involves us killing Sasuke. Shouldn't seeing our faces earlier trigger her suicidal tendencies the way seeing Sasuke's face did?"
"You're especially sharp today," Kiba muttered, looking curiously at Chouji.
"I'm hungry," Chouji mumbled.
"Which means Sasuke's face played a more exceptional role in the memory," Shikamaru said, continuing Chouji's train of thought.
"But what could he have done in the memory?" Neji asked. "Other than, I'm sure, helplessly attempting to defend himself."
"If we were all in the memory," Shikamaru said. "How come only Sasuke's face triggered the suicidal impulse?"
"Very good," Houren said. "You're all good really good at this."
"So..? Why was Sasuke's face the only trigger?" Naruto asked.
Silence swarmed the room once more. Naruto, Chouji, Kiba, Neji and Shino waited for Houren to speak. But he just smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
"Maybe it's her feelings for Sasuke?" Chouji asked, glancing at the others.
Shikamaru sighed and closed his eyes. "Troublesome," he muttered.
Kiba frowned at him. "You've figured it out again though, haven't you?"
Naruto and the others looked at Shikamaru. Shikamaru just yawned.
"Spit it out, Shikamaru!" Naruto said.
Houren smirked and looked sadly down at his feet.
Shikamaru scratched his head, sighing. "If Sasuke told her he loved her, do you think Sakura would take it seriously?" he asked.
Kiba burst into laughter. "What kind of a question is that?! She's been dying to hear that from him for like... forever!"
"How do you know that?" Chouji asked.
"My ears had heard a lot of female chitchat for the past years," Kiba muttered.
"If Sasuke told her he would never love her, do you think Sakura would take it seriously?" Shikamaru asked, ignoring Kiba's remark.
"I think she'll be more heartbroken than she already is," Chouji answered.
Neji looked grimly at Shikamaru. "If Sasuke told Sakura to kill herself," he said.
Naruto, Kiba and Chouji stared shocked at Neji.
Shikamaru smirked. "…If he begged."
Houren looked down at his lap. "If he told her it was the only way she could save him," he said.
Chouji sighed, exhausted at the outcome of their head aching discussion. Naruto looked sadly down at his lap. Kiba shook his head and looked at Houren.
"Your grandchild hated Sakura that much?" he asked.
Houren smiled sadly at him. "It's a long story."
Naruto took a deep breath and sighed. "Does Sasuke know about this?"
"Nope," Houren said, leaning back on his chair and crossing his legs. "You should tell him, though I doubt it would make him change his decision."
"What decision?" Naruto asked, looking confused at Houren. Kiba, Chouji, Neji and Shino also looked curiously at Houren.
"Ah! Now I remember why I visited all of you," Houren said, smiling. "I was supposed to tell you that Sasuke has made up his mind. You will go back to Konoha with Sakura after those prehistoric men puts the barrier back up."
"And Sasuke..?" Naruto asked.
"He'll stay here for good," Houren said. "He's spoken to the ancient ones about it."
"WHAT?!" Naruto exclaimed. "W-Why would he do that!"
Shikamaru chuckled. "He's a melodramatic romantic emo after all!" he muttered.
"It's not funny, Shikamaru!" Naruto said, glowering at Shikamaru. "I'm not letting him act on his stupidity!"
"Sasuke has a point though," Kiba said. "He's the only one triggering Sakura's suicidal tendencies. And if you look at his effect on Sakura's life even before all this fuss began, the only way to give her a good life is kick him out of the picture – let her have a future with someone better than him."
"Why do you sound like you're in love with Sakura?" Chouji asked.
"I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH HER! I'M JUST STATING A FACT!" Kiba yelled – cheeks flushed.
"No way," Naruto insisted. "Sasuke is family! I'm sure Sakura-chan would be more heartbroken if he doesn't leave this place with us. And I'm never going to let Dog-boy here have Sakura-chan!"
"I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH HER!" Kiba shouted – his cheeks a deeper shade of red. "I WAS JUST BEING LOGICAL!"
"I understand Inuzuka's point," Neji said. "Though I don't think he was being logical, nor do I think Sakura should end up with him."
"WHAT THE HELL, HYUUGA!" Kiba exclaimed.
"How many years has it been since Sasuke left Konoha?" Neji asked. "And I mean since he left for the Snake Sanin."
"Ooh, Konoha history," Houren mumbled excitedly.
Naruto, Kiba, Chouji and Shino nodded.
"How many men have tried to woo Sakura?" Neji asked. "And how many of them succeeded?"
"They couldn't really get that far with Naruto around," Kiba said.
"Are you speaking from experience?" Chouji asked.
"CUT IT OUT, AKIMICHI!" Kiba yelled. "STOP SPREADING LIES!"
"It's not entirely a lie though," Shino muttered.
"OI! What on earth are you talking about, Shino?!" Kiba shouted, glaring at Shino.
"Back to the point," Neji said. "Even if we kick Uchiha out of the picture, what makes you all so sure that Sakura would move on with someone else given the premise that she still hadn't gotten herself involved with someone for the past years that Sasuke had been away from Konoha?"
"You're saying they're freaking meant to be?" Kiba said, snickering. "You're worse than Uchiha."
Shikamaru sighed. "Troublesome," he said.
Naruto looked optimistically up at Neji. "So you'll help me convince him to stop being an idiot?"
"I don't remember saying such thing," Neji answered.
Naruto frowned. "But you said—"
"Hey," Chouji said, remembering something he had been meaning to ask. "I know we should be thankful and all but, did any of you notice the elders doing anything to stop Sakura-chan earlier?"
Houren chuckled as Naruto and the others glanced and shrugged at each other.
"You're right," Houren said. "They just stood in the room, but for a good reason."
"And that reason is?" Kiba asked.
Houren's cheerful face was replaced by a solemn one. "The last time they interfered with Sakura's suicide attempt, they almost killed her," he said. "They had to put her in a coma for a month to help her recover."
Naruto and the others looked surprised at Houren.
"You know how powerful they can be," Houren began. "They haven't really dealt with humans before so they still need practice in controlling their strength.
"When you said earlier that you were going to kill Sakura," Neji said.
"I meant that I wouldn't be able to hold myself much longer," Houren said. "If I created another layer of frost to cage her, I would end up killing her."
"I see you all look better," said Keiko as she walked into the room. She looked tired, but she didn't seem like she just broke a few ribs after being thrown against a stone wall.
"Keiko-chan!" Naruto greeted.
Houren turned to look at his granddaughter. "You have news?"
"I do," she said. "We have a bit of a problem."
"Are you talking about Sakura-chan?" Naruto anxiously asked.
Keiko looked at him and sighed. "I have good news and bad news."
"Good news first," Houren said, smiling at his granddaughter.
"Good news is a lot of Oneesan's wounds and injuries are healed," Keiko began. "Also, they've found a way to paralyze her, without putting her into a coma."
"Induced Sleep Paralysis," Houren said.
"Yes," Keiko replied. "The bad news is the elders can't put a barrier in her mind again."
"What do you mean?" Neji asked.
"We're not sure what happened yet," Keiko said, looking at Neji. "But Ojiisan couldn't hide her memories of Konoha or her memories of what happened earlier back in the recesses of her mind."
"Which Ojiisan?" Kiba asked.
Naruto, Chouji, Keiko, and Neji glared at Kiba.
"What..? There are four elders!" Kiba defended.
Keiko rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "'The elders' couldn't hide her memories of Konoha or her memories of what happened earlier back in the recesses of her mind.'"
Houren looked grimly at the floor and folded his arms over his chest. "Continue," he said.
"It seemed like her memories of the temple and the memories we've kept away merged while we were treating her wounds," Keiko said. "Her thoughts are jumbled up and her consciousness seems to be focused on the memory with the most impact."
"The false memory," Houren said, sighing.
Keiko nodded.
"Can we try to convince her that the memory is fake?" Naruto asked.
"We've tried that before," Keiko answered. "Well, you saw what happened."
"Maybe it will be different now that we're here," Kiba said.
"I hope you're right," Keiko said. "We need her to see sense soon. We can't keep her paralyzed for more than three weeks."
"Okay, I'm lost," Chouji said, frowning.
"Sleep paralysis is the inability to move while sleeping or when waking up," Houren said. "The Induced Sleep Paralysis technique done to Sakura means that she is currently awake – she just won't be able to control her body. It's like Shikamaru-kun's Shadow Bind technique. It just keeps a target in bed. So she won't be able to kill herself or hurt anyone, even if she dared."
"Shikamaru-kun," Kiba whispered, snickering.
"Shikamaru's fine," Shikamaru told Houren.
Houren smiled innocently back at him.
"So she's paralyzed from the neck down?" Chouji asked.
"No," Houren answered. "The technique diminishes the ability to control voluntary muscle movements, unless we've decided that she can have control over the movement."
"The only voluntary movements she's currently allowed to do is blinking her eyelids and moving her eyes so we can monitor what's going on in her mind," Keiko added. "If she stays paralyzed for more than three weeks her body and nerves will be disoriented. She won't be able to move her limbs even after we've lifted the paralysis."
"What should we do?" Neji asked.
"One thing you can do is get the relic that could possibly help us make Sakura sort through her memories," Houren answered.
"So we need to hunt Oda down," Kiba said.
"We'll be saving Konoha in the process too," Chouji said.
"How is Sasuke?" Naruto asked Keiko.
"That 'Hn' is being annoying again," Keiko answered, frowning at Naruto. "He thinks everything is about him. Do you already know that he's requested for permanent residency here?"
"Yeah," Kiba said. "Your grandpa here told us."
"Oi," Houren said, smiling wickedly at Kiba. "I'm not a 'grandpa.' I look nothing like a grandpa."
Kiba winced and looked away, cringing. "We'll she's your granddaughter, isn't she?"
Naruto sighed. He moved his legs to the edge of the bed, causing his bruised insides to protest. He cursed as the pain spread throughout his abdomen.
"Don't worry," Keiko said, looking at Naruto. "Sasuke's not leaving without you guys. The plan is still the plan."
"How long should we stay here?" Shikamaru asked, looking at Keiko.
"Your bruises should be better by tomorrow morning," she answered. "We've used the most potent healing elixir for your injuries."
"Can you tell, Teme to stop thinking about his self for once?" Naruto asked, looking at Keiko. "He's starting to get on my nerves!"
"Is leaving Sakura still a self-centered decision?" Kiba asked. "He's just considering her well-being."
"You're being self-centered right now," Chouji said, frowning at him.
"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!"
Keiko smirked. "I'll tell him that now," she said, turning around and heading out to the hall. She closed the door behind her and glanced at the man standing on the hallway. He stood against the wall adjacent to room where Naruto and the others stayed.
"You heard that?" she asked, looking at Sasuke's bowed head. "Even Naruto says you're not considering Oneesan in your decision."
Sasuke scowled and looked at Keiko. "And letting her relive the memory – forcing her to kill herself – is considering Sakura's well being?" he snapped.
"No," Keiko said. "But focusing on getting whatever would help her sort through her memories is." She then walked away from him.
Sasuke sighed and shook his head.
Kiba was right. He had done nothing but hurt Sakura since he met her, and he will do nothing but that if he stayed with her. They weren't supposed to be together – him and Sakura – not even as friends.