Warning: Violence/language

Chapter 10: Shatter

"We need to sit on the rim

of the well of darkness

and fish for fallen light

with patience."

-Pablo Neruda

Dew sank into her sandals with every step she took. And even though the sun had peeked over the lush trees, its rays did not chase away the bitter sting of the wind. It looked like it was going to be a lovely day, which completely contrasted Sakura's inner gloom.

Naruto was bounding around the forest, completely immune to his less than enthusiastic companions. He supplied a never- ending stream of chatter about what he had been up to while travelling with 'the pervy sage'. And while Sakura was genuinely interested in Naruto's stories and glad to hear that his training had gone well, she couldn't dispel the discomfort at being alone with him and Kakashi. She felt like the ghost of Sasuke's footsteps were trailing behind them…

Kakashi seemed to be of the same mind as he wandered behind her and Naruto. His only addition to the conversation was intoned humming at Naruto's epic narrations.

"So what cool jutsus did Kaka-sensei teach you Sakura-chan?"

She could sense Kakashi stiffen from behind her and was so very curious about what expression would be hiding under that mask.

"Kakashi and I didn't train together when you were gone."

Naruto paused in his step the moment she uttered the grey haired nin's name without the customary 'sensei' on the end.

"What? Why not?" he asked, voice incredulous. He made the question sound ludicrous, which only highlighted how little he truly noticed about Kakashi's training during their Team Seven days.

Sakura remained silent. She knew the answer. Kakashi never saw any worth in training her. A small desperate part of her wanted to hear him say it. Hear him explain how much of a disappointment he was in being a teacher, not her as a student.

"I neglected Sakura," Kakashi said.

Both her and Naruto froze at the simple, but impactful statement.

Naruto's brows furrowed as if he couldn't quite understand what was being said. "What do you mean?"

Kakashi's shoulders slumped forward and Sakura felt like a million different emotions were at war within her.

"After you and Sasuke left, I requested to be reinstated in ANBU. Sakura was left to find her own sensei." He said it so casually that she was tempted to sucker punch him in his stupid masked face. But his lone dark eye remained fixed on her and it felt like he was trying to say a million things without uttering a word.

"Why?" Naruto asked, uttering the question she didn't know if she wanted to hear the answer to.

Kakashi shrugged, "I felt like a failure as a team leader. One of the most promising genin in the village left of his own free will with one of Konoha's deadliest enemies. I didn't think I was fit to lead anyone- let alone a little girl."

"But you kept telling us about how important being a team was! And you just left her on her own? No wonder Sakura-chan is so different now! No wonder she doesn't want to get Sasuke!" Naruto rambled, his voice growing louder and slightly more hysterical with each word.

Sakura felt as though a vice had clamped down on her lungs as she listened. She didn't think she was capable of speech and wasn't all together sure what sorts of words would fly out if she opened her mouth. Knowing Kakashi's reasons had not made her feel any better, or worse- just chaotically numb. Hearing Naruto comment on how she had changed should have brought her joy- she worked hard to bring about that change. And yet he said it as if this new and improved her was not such a good thing after all…

"I made a mistake," Kakashi finally said.

"But-"

"-Naruto, leave it," Sakura stated, voice firm. "If you want to get Sasuke back, we have a lot of ground to cover. Let's just keep moving."

Naruto shot her a peeved look and she could tell that the blonde had felt as though he was helping her. And in a sweet and completely obstructive way he was.

They ran for half a day until they reached the boarders of Fire Country. The short break that Kakashi allowed them consisted of tense silence. For once, Naruto sat in stony silence, methodically clenching and unclenching his fists as he stared blankly into the tree line. Sakura had never felt more grateful for Kakashi's signal that they keep moving.

Long after the sun had dipped passed the disappearing forest and the moon shone is waxing beams, did the three former Team Seven members take their rest for the night. They stationed themselves at a rocky cove near a slim creek.

"You two keep alert, I'm going to set up some traps," Kakashi announced once they had settled.

Naruto nodded and Kakashi disappeared into the night like a ghost.

Sakura felt a strange concoction of guilt and concern sink down her stomach as she looked at the blonde. Naruto's jaw was hard and he wouldn't meet her eye.

"Are you mad at me?" she finally asked, hating the timid note in her voice.

Naruto's head snapped over to her and Sakura once again marvelled at how mature his features had become. She watched as his frown became more pronounced as he looked her over.

He sighed, "No, I'm not mad at you. It's just… nothing is like I expected it to be."

"The ramen stand is exactly like how you left it."

She felt triumphant when his lip finally started to tip upwards in the faintest curl.

"That's not what I meant," he said grinning for a moment before it started to slip again, "You've changed."

Sakura sighed, "People change; that's the one constant in life. I'm sure you're not the same as you were five years ago."

Naruto picked at his nail and she knew it was only an effort to avoid her eye.

"You're so beautiful Sakura-chan, and you've always been pretty, but now you look… I dunno, like a woman. And you're quiet and kind of cold and you smell- Kami, you smell amazing! But your scent is sweet and dark and off limits." Confusion etched itself on her face as Naruto ranted, "You just don't seem anything like my old teammate anymore," he quietly finished.

She hunched in on herself, "Do you remember our mission to Waves?"

It was pitch black, but she could still see his blue eyes sparkle, "Of course."

"I still hadn't decided what kind of shinobi I would be- a scroll or a fighter. I was so infatuated with Sasuke that I didn't want him to think of me as anything but a lady. I hadn't even considered that maybe all he wanted was a decent teammate."

"I don't think the bastard wanted any kind of connections," Naruto said, and she could hear the frustration and hint of longing in his voice. She knew he just wanted his best friend back.

"After the chakra-walking exercises I was in the bathroom and you and Sasuke were arguing outside the door," she said, memory playing through her mind. "You were telling Sasuke off for being mean to me and he said something- something that has always stuck with me. He called me dead weight."

She could feel Naruto's unnatural stillness as if he was waiting for her to start crying. The Sakura he left would have.

"It was in that moment that I realized how stupid I was being. A little girl playing shinobi. I wanted to be stronger- someone who could stand beside you two, not just behind."

Naruto hummed, "That's when you started training more."

She nodded in the dark, "And then I lost my spar with Ino and I felt like my world fell apart. I thought you and Sasuke would leave me behind…"

The weight of Naruto's silence was crushing. She knew what he was thinking. They still had left her behind.

"After you guys left, Kakashi was gone and I was angry. I had no one to train me."

"So Granny started training you…" his voice was a sad whisper.

Sakura smiled, "It was good for me. She was good for me."

"I'm glad," Naruto said voice soft. "But Sakura-chan, how did you learn high level genjutsu like the one you used on Kakashi?"

She froze for a moment, wondering if their former sensei had told Naruto what exactly she had done to him.

"I taught it to myself. Mixed medical ninjutsu with genjutsu. I wanted to create a technique just for myself."

"How?"

She bit her lip and forced a laugh, hoping Naruto wouldn't pick up on her nervousness, "A girl's got to have some secrets you know…"

And secrets she had. She was drowning in them. Naruto's responding laugh should have made her feel better, but it didn't. He still sounded so innocent- even if the baritone of his voice had changed, the guileless tone hadn't.

How could she tell Naruto that in the five years he had been gone her kill count was now well into the double digits? She had never been sent to assassinate someone, but circumstances of the job had led her down paths where her palms ran red. How could she tell Naruto that she liked genjutsu because she liked the feeling of holding power over someone else's mind? How could she tell him that her body had been touched by herself and others? How could she tell him about the men watching her house because of the demon that lived inside of him and the other demon that lived with her?

Naruto would have been honest with her- but she had been taught to covet damning information and hold it close to her chest. She was not a guileless man, but a beguiling woman. That was a part of her that had never changed, but she had never shared in the first place.

Both their heads snapped over when Kakashi stepped back into the clearing.

"We should be safe for the night," he said, but neither Naruto nor Sakura relaxed their stance.

A part of her felt guilty that Naruto was obviously angry with the older man on her behalf.

A tense atmosphere hung above their camp until Kakashi set up a watch schedule and ordered Naruto to take first watch, with her as second and himself as last.

In the midnight hours when Naruto woke her with a gentle nudge, she felt weariness cling to her eyelids. This entire mission was draining for reasons she didn't want to think about, but couldn't help her mind from dwelling on. Being around them- Kakashi, Naruto… heading towards Sasuke. It all felt so sudden. Thoughts ran in circles around her mind as she stared off into the darkness while her companions slept.

Hours into her watch, her eyes flickered towards one of the tents. Kakashi's masked face emerged. Her shift had ended. She wordlessly got up and made her way to the vacant tent. Kakashi's grip on her arm stopped her. Her heartbeat picked up- what did he want?

"Sakura-"

"-Whatever it is, it can wait," she said, trying to shrug his hand off.

His grip remained tight, "It can't wait."

She sighed and slumped back down on the rock. This was one conversation that she had pictured having a million times in her mind. And now that it was actually happening, her exhausted nerves were wearing thin.

Kakashi cautiously lowered himself down across from her and silently stared. Her hand itched to give him a quick smack to hurry things along, but Kakashi was ever the tardy one. Still, after a prolonged silence she arched a pale eyebrow.

"Naruto is right you know, you have changed," he spoke lowly.

Her spine automatically stiffened.

"I saw glimpses of it here and there, but nothing highlighted the fact more than yesterday's spar."

"You want an apology?" her words were smooth, but her eyes were biting.

Kakashi just sighed and combed his hand through unruly silver hair. "I don't- I don't know what to do when it comes to you. I never have. I thought that leaving you was in your best interest. I knew it would hurt you, but here you are now… stronger. Stronger than anything I could have shaped you into."

"A five minute explanation of why you were leaving me on my own would have also worked. Do you have any idea how terrible it felt to rush to the Hokage's office afraid you were missing, only to be told that your team was disbanded? How worthless I felt knowing that once your favourite students were gone, you gave up on me," she hissed.

"That's not-"

"-I know! Now I know. But back then, I didn't."

"I'm sorry."

His words were sudden and blunt and his eye looked honest. And every vitriol thing she wanted to spit at him died on her tongue. Because what could she do with his apology? Being angry with Kakashi had been second nature for so long now. It was a truth that governed her own little universe- the sky was blue, the grass was green, Kakashi was an asshole…

"What are you expecting me to say?" she finally replied, tired of feeling his eye studying her.

"I don't know what to expect from you anymore," he said, voice earnest.

"Than what are you expecting to happen on this mission?"

"I'm expecting us to retrieve Sasuke."

"And then what? We all run off into the sunset, Team Seven reunited once again…" she said, disdain dripping from her words.

"And then we take it one day at a time. That's all we can do," he said and Sakura could tell from his tone that he was frowning.

She sighed, "I need sleep."

"Get some rest," he said, and before she could make it into her tent, Kakashi uttered a quiet, "thank you for listening Sakura."

She exhaled loudly before slipping into her sleeping bag. With Naruto and Kakashi's words floating around in her head, sleep didn't come easy that night.

….

The morning came too early and Sakura could still feel exhaustion sitting in her bones.

"So what's the plan?" Naruto asked once they were all up and eating breakfast.

"The base is covered in such intricate genjutsu that it is nearly be impossible to find, however, Orochimaru has been notorious for human experiments. One of our spies has claimed that he has shinobi raid the local villages for people to conduct his tests on. One of us is going to pose as a civilian in the closest village and wait for the raid. The other two are going to track them into base. Once we are in the base, Naruto, you are going to track down Sasuke. Sakura, I want you to grab as many files as you can. And I am going to see what I can do about the snake."

"Okay," Naruto said through his mouth full of noodles.

"Who is going to pose as the civilian?" Sakura asked.

"I thought Naruto could use a shadow clone."

Naruto swallowed and set down his cup, "I'm not sure it would work. I can make a bunch of clones, but I've never been able to henge them."

Kakashi sighed, "Alright, Sakura, you get to the be bait then."

She nodded sharply and listened as Kakashi added more details about Sound.

Then they were off again. They ran for hours, until the scenery changed from grey stones, to foggy marshes and then finally to barren lands. When they reached a small village, Sakura henged her hair from blush pink to white blonde and eyes from green to blue. She cursed the fact that Kakashi had not informed them of the details prior to leaving, as she had no civilian clothing in her pack. She would have to steal some.

With one last parting nod from Kakashi and grin from Naruto, she slinked off into the village. She did a quick perimeter check before slipping through the bedroom window of a civilian house. Rummaging through a dresser, she grabbed a heap of red. The clothes, she noted, would be a little big, but a thief couldn't be picky. She hastily changed into the red dress before shoving her nin clothes in her pack.

Sakura's eyes caught on the mirror as she turned to leave the same way she came. Even though her hair and eye colour were different, the image was familiar. Her standing in a red dress, chasing after Sasuke… a frown tugged her lips down before she dropped back out of the window.

She was careful to skirt around the outer layers of the small town. She didn't want the original owner of the dress to recognize it. And she needed the perfect person to execute her plan. Her eyes lit up when she came upon the small thatch of farmland. Perfect.

Circling around the land, she noticed a young man, about her age, maybe a little older tending to a small vegetable garden out front. Even better. She carefully probed the area for chakra and when nothing seemed amiss, she quietly stepped into sight, along the dirt road. She had to make a conscious drag her feet a bit as she approached.

The man's head shot up and Sakura could see blue eyes shining from his sun- browned skin. She made sure to duck her head shyly as she approached.

"Can I help you ma'am?" the man asked, straightening his posture.

He was tall with broad shoulders and curly brown hair. And had she actually been a civilian girl from this village, he would have been her girlish crush instead of Uchiha Sasuke.

Sakura shot him a nervous smile. "Hi," she said, shifting her weight, "I just arrived and I'm looking for an inn to stay at for the night," she locked her eyes on his before fluttering them back to the ground. "Would you happen to know a inexpensive place in town?"

She watched from under her lashes as the farmer frowned, "You're travelling all alone?"

She hesitantly nodded, "My sister is having a baby soon. I'm heading north to meet her so I can help."

She watched as he fell for her carefully constructed lie with ease.

"It's awfully dangerous for a woman to be travelling alone," he said, eying her with blatant worry.

Sakura clasped her hands together, "I know- I've heard horrid stories from the locals south of here. But my journey is only two days, and my sister is expected to have a difficult birth. So… do you know a place where I could stay?"

"Well, I don't like the thought of you staying alone at an inn. You never know what types of people could be staying there with you. Some shady characters have been sniffing around lately. I suppose you could stay here… if you want. It would be safe," he hastily added.

Sakura flushed demurely, "I wouldn't want to put you out."

"Oh- its no problem at all," he smiled.

His smile was genuine- no hint of sinister motives. He was either a very good liar, or simply a nice person. She was betting on the latter.

"Won't your wife mind…?" she continued, purposely letting her voice trail off.

His smile displayed a full set of white teeth, with one incisor endearingly chipped. "I'm not married. It's just me and my parents. But they made their way to the market the next village over just this morning."

"Oh," she said dropping her eyes once again.

"Really, it's okay- you'd be safe with me," he assured.

She smiled, "Al-alright, thank you sir."

"My name's Hitori," he said, reaching for her bag.

Sakura fought to unclench her grip as her bag with all of her weapons left her hand, "I'm Yamanka Saya."

She internally smirked- with blonde hair and blue eyes she certainly looked the part. And thankfully the Yamanaka clan was small enough that they were not well known outside of the shinobi villages, especially not this far.

Sakura spent the evening helping Hitori with dinner and engaging in idle chatter. He was a kind man who was worried about his village and especially his crops. Someone had been raiding neighbourhood farms. Sakura was entirely sure that it was shinobi from the Sound base. They needed to feed their prisoners somehow.

And as she sat across the table from him after finishing dinner, an odd thought flittered through her brain. If she were a civilian girl, this might be how her evenings were spent. Simple, uncomplicated, and with a nice man whose blue eyes looked entirely charmed as they gazed upon her. This must have been the life Kakashi had in mind for her. It wasn't bad- but she knew herself and knew that a life like this would never be enough. She would always want more.

Still, gazing into Hitori's handsome face, she was grateful for his generosity. And if she wasn't so afraid that the horrid feeling she felt with Ken might resurface, she would have thanked him in a distinctly more sensual way. Instead, she prepared them tea, slipping a little something extra into his cup and smiled daintily as he chatted, speech becoming more slurred with every word. And when his head dropped into his arms, mind lost to unconsciousness, she silently rose from her chair. She lifted the man to his bedroom, undressed him and tucked him carefully into bed. And as the night grew ever darker, Sakura layered intricate genjutsu over his bedroom. No one would ever know he was there. It was the only way she could thank him for his kindness.

Lying down in her borrowed bed, she waited. She knew they would come tonight. She had sensed the presence of scouting nin before had she even entered the village. And like Hitori had said, they targeted farms. Sakura was almost positive that even if they had known Hitori was home, they wouldn't take him- they needed someone to tend to crops. But a sweet farmer's wife- she would be perfect prey.

Around two am, she felt the undisguised chakra signatures of at least three shinobi. She inhaled deeply before relaxing her limbs and evening her breath. It wasn't long before she felt a cold clammy hand cover her mouth. False blue eyes flew open and Sakura clumsily failed about in bed before the nin gripped her wrist. She felt pain rush down where the hand was bruising and hot tears dripped from her eyes onto her captor's hand.

"Get up," the woman hissed.

"Please," she whimpered once the hand was removed from her lips. "My husband is in town for the night, but we have a little money- or some vegetables! I will get you whatever you need!"

The woman backhanded her so forcefully, that Sakura could feel her lip split. She let her limbs loosen and feigned unconsciousness. A man picked her up. It was difficult, she thought, to force back battle-hardened instincts while literally in the arms of the enemy. But she did so of with precision. Minutes that felt like hours passed before she was chucked into a wagon full of civilians in similar states of distress. And then hours crept by as they were transported. She only hoped that Naruto and Kakashi were able to trace her easily enough.

She watched through specs of feathered lashes as one of the shinobi altered the genjutsu as they passed through the barrier. Her eyes nearly widened in trepidation at what she was seeing. It was an old stone outpost that sank into the earth. They were heading underground. Which would make the entire mission ten times trickier.

When they reached a cramped holding cell that already housed too many people, Sakura felt her body be pushed off the cart. She landed into a pile of bony elbows and jutting knees. Twenty minutes passed by before the shinobi escorts left their post, locking the door behind them. She was on her knees and performing a simple genjutsu after the door clicked. Regret clung to her as she made her illusion so that she would remain unnoticeable. She couldn't have a stampede trailing after her as she slipped out the door. So it was with a great deal of shame that she left the cell full of unlucky civilians behind.

She slipped down the hallway silently. If the civilians were kept in the holding cell than there was no doubt that the lab would be kept close by. And labs meant notes. Her head snapped to the left as she heard the loud bang of an explosion go off further down the base. A smile caught her lips- that was undoubtedly Naruto. She hastened her pace; if the boy's big show down was already happening than she wouldn't have much time.

Reaching the first room down the hall, Sakura slipped in the doorway and skidded to a halt. She had found the lab, but unfortunately it was occupied. And she recognized the gray haired man standing within it. Kabuto. His palms immediately glowed blue.

"Now who are you darling? You can't possibly be a civilian…" he said, voice sing songy as he approached her.

She let the thought of keeping her civilian ruse enter her mind before discarding it. There was no point in lying now.

"I was just taking a stroll when I ended up here," she replied, coy smile gracing her lips, as she matched his circling steps. She let her henge drop, knowing she needed to conserve her chakra.

Kabuto's eyes widened behind his glasses, "Well, well, Team Seven, ever the sentimentalists. We didn't kidnap him you know- he is here on his own free will."

"I know, I'm not here for him," she said, before lunging at the man.

Kabuto dodged her kunai with practice ease and sent a senbon needle sailing at her with deadly accuracy. She was forced to move a step closer to his blue palms. She launched a shuriken at him, smirking as he missed the weapon, but got caught in the exploding tag that was attached to it. Smoke billowed in the room and Sakura started on her hand signs.

Glowing blue palms reached through the smoke and his chakra scalpel attacked a womanly torso, ripping through abdominal muscles and downwards until intestines spilled out. A feminine cry of pain left a haunting melody. Hot breath fanned over a pale jugular and his palm cupped entrails as if they were a newborn child.

"Really, I expected more from Tsunade-sama's apprentice," he chided softly.

A pained groan escaped, and she slipped to her knees.

Kabuto's eyes narrowed as his hand followed her movement, leaving bloody fingerprints to trail up her torso and finally resting on her neck. He grit his teeth for a moment before growling, "Kai!"

Sakura inwardly cursed as she shoved another pile of notes in a bag before turning to face the nin who escaped her illusion.

She ducked as another senbon whistled near her head. Spinning out of reach, she let her fingers glow green.

He eyed her apprehensively where he stood, and she knew she needed to close the distance. He would be too wary for genjutsu to work now. Grabbing a nearby microscope, she threw it at the nin and quickly ran towards him as he began to duck. He whirled away from her glowing green fist, but turned into her sharp kick. It didn't take enhanced strength for her foot to toss him into the stone wall with a shuddering thud. She was on him in an instant. When he stepped away from the wall, she flicked her finger into his temple, and watched as bits of skull and brain matter painted the rock behind him.

She exhaled shakily and wiped her wet fingers down her red dress before grabbing the bag and another case of notes.

Sakura whirled around, fist glowing green as another poof of smoke entered the room. A small pug greeted her.

"Boss said its time to rendezvous. You remember the meeting spot?" Pakun said.

She nodded and watched as the little dog disappeared, before slipping out of the room and down the hall. Her foot caught as she stood outside of the holding cell. Green eyes warily gazed at the lock, before her fist slammed down on it, and the door flew open. There. She did it. Her guilty mind could feel better knowing that she at least gave the civilians a chance to escape.

Running down the halls, Sakura could feel the entire base shake; the foundation of the stones cracking above and below her. She picked up the pace as she swerved towards the exit. And finally when she ran into the night, she felt her relief hit her system. She knew she wasn't out of danger yet, but at least she was out of that Kami-forsaken base.

She spent ten more minutes running in a circle in case anyone followed her before she made her way to the rendezvous point. Three men were already waiting for her.

Sakura's footsteps slowed as her eyes caught on Sasuke. His head was bent as he lowly conversed with Naruto. Green eyes took in his tall form and pale skin littered with cuts and bruises. His white shirt was torn and bloody, while his pants had a large rip in the knee. A katana rested on his hip. He looked lethal and handsome. She had never hated him more.

"You're back, are you injured?" Kakashi said, walking over.

Naruto and Sasuke's heads both whirled around to look at her.

She shook her head, answering Kakashi's question.

"That's who you're third is? Sakura?" Sasuke said, disbelief colouring his tone.

She wanted to scowl at him and maybe shove a chakra- laden foot up his ass. Instead she let her features go blank before handing Kakashi the bag stuffed with notes from the lab.

He quickly peaked in before his eye crinkled up at her in what she knew was a smile. "Looks good. We need to head out and cover more ground. Sasuke may have killed Orochimaru, but we don't want any Sound shinobi following us."

They set off on run that was downright punishing in pace. She kept up with no complaints, but could feel her leg muscles burning. She wouldn't whine. Not in front of all three of them. She would die before letting them think she was weak.

Three hours later, they were well out of Sound and into Waterfall when Kakashi called for a break. She had to stop herself from flopping to the ground in an exhausted heap.

"Sakura, I have your pack from earlier," Kakashi said, handing her a familiar bag.

She wordlessly took it and walked farther into the outcropping of rocks.

"Where are you going?" Naruto's alarmed voice asked.

She turned her head and saw both him and Sasuke watching her, blue and red gazes bright.

"I'm going to wash up before changing into my regular clothes."

She watched Sasuke's brow furrow.

"Perhaps you should wait until we are in Fire before having a bath," Kakashi lightly suggested.

She turned her cold green eyes on him, "I have dried brain matter sticking to my neck. I'm simply going to wash it off and then change."

She heard Naruto choke on the water he was guzzling from his canteen, but ignored it as she strolled away from the camp and to a nearby stream. The water felt nice and cool against her overheated skin, and she scrubbed the sticky bodily fluids off her neck and chin. Slipping her turtle neck and black pants on, she was back to the camp within three minutes.

"But how do you know that Itachi was ordered to kill them?" Sasuke was hissing at Naruto.

"I've seen the files. And Jiraiya filled me in on how your brother has been spying for Konoha. I'm telling you bastard, Itachi may have killed the clan, but not because he wanted to."

Sakura wordlessly sat down. So that was how Naruto convinced Sasuke to come back... Lure him with information about his brother. It was an admittedly brilliant tactic. But Naruto was never one for subterfuge, so there was a great chance he was telling the truth.

She bit her lip as she mulled over the new information. Clearly her team was as full of as many secrets as she was.

She listened as Naruto filled an equally silent Sasuke in on what he found out about the council's orders. And then noted the change in Naruto's voice as he talked about how much the village had changed since he returned. She could feel Sasuke's eyes flicker to her every so often, but her face remained stony and her own gaze never strayed towards the pair.

Kakashi handed out the sleeping bags, but was too paranoid to set up tents. She crawled in hers knowing that sleep would not come to her. She was exhausted- her chakra was waning, her muscles felt like mush, but her instincts were on fire. A missing-nin traitor was five feet away from her and she was expected to sleep? How did Naruto do it? How did he just erase animosity? Or did her truly never harbour any distrust for Sasuke after everything he did?

She lay in her sleeping bag stiff as a board, eyes burning with effort not to close- especially with the soft snoring Naruto was making, soothing her adrenalin.

"I know you're awake," Sasuke softly whispered.

She could see his eyes on her from her peripherals. Her muscles locked up even more.

"I thought you'd be overjoyed having me here," his words were taunting, but with an edge of confusion.

"Shut the fuck up," she whispered back, voice sugary.

And he did.

Three hours later she watched as Kakashi shook Naruto awake, before signalling her and Sasuke to get up. She knew dark circles were clinging to her eyes as she strapped on her weapons pouch.

They took off running through the pre-dawn morning. It was twilight before they made it to Konoha's gates. Sakura hadn't spoken a word. Green eyes watched as ANBU descended upon Sasuke, while Naruto yelled in outrage.

"Go home and rest. You can report to Hokage Tower tomorrow," Kakashi quickly said, before stepping into the mess of masked people surrounding her former genin teammates.

Her feet dragged as they walked up her laneway. The moon was beginning to beam down on the windows of her bedroom. Opening the front door, Sakura paused. Green eyes traced a bloodstain that was smeared against the banister. Her body wept as adrenalin once again rushed through her system, making her heart race to an erratic beat.

She suppressed her chakra in an instant, and silently slipped up the stairs. The door to her father's study was closed, but a chunk of the wood was missing- almost as if it had been torn off. Creeping up the stairs, she pushed the door to her bedroom open.

A dark clad man was rooting through her nightstand drawers. His face snapped over to her when she stepped in the bedroom and horror slid down her spine as she was met with a porcelain bird mask. She threw herself out of the way as a kunai bit into the spot her head vacated. She tried to summon chakra to her fingertips, but she felt it splutter in protest. It was too low for fighting.

Sakura screamed as she felt another kunai slice through the material on the side of her shirt, biting into the soft skin covering her ribs. She slammed her elbow back into the masked face, the vibrations wobbling her arm. The man fell, but was already getting back to his feet.

In desperation, she lunged for her dresser fingers brushing over the hand mirror, just as the nin tackled her from behind. Her chin smashed against the ground as the man's knees bit into her bleeding side. The sound of glass shattering still managed to make it through her senses.

"Sasori- help me!" she cried.

Smoke curled out of the glass shards and Sakura could feel the nin atop her freeze. Her green eyes looked up to see the smoke form into the shape of a person. Red eyes glowed through the curling tendrils of darkness, until the smoke fully cleared and she could see the rest of his familiar features now attached to a solid body.

His lips curled into a feral smirk, before Sakura's bedroom was painted in red.

A/N: Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. It was a bit of a doozy to write!

Thank you for your feedback on the last chapter!
I debated a lot in the chapter of making Sakura's showdown with Kabuto be epic or simple. Ultimately I feel like the Sakura I've crafted is too practical and calculating to be showy.

And Sasori is out!

Please leave a review and let me know what you think!