TK: The moment you've been waiting for! This chapter is the battle between Shippuden Sakura and Akasuna no Sasori! There will be similarities from their real battle, but once Hiruko breaks, I've taken a lot of artistic liberty. Because let's face it, we're dealing with some pretty heavy shit here, and I wanted to do this scene justice. Maybe listen to Sasori's Theme from the Naruto Shippuden soundtrack near the end of the chapter...

After this, there is only one more chapter, and it will wrap everything up!

So without further ado, the climax of the book Sakura has spent this whole story reading!

A Third Chance

TK Grimm

Chapter Fourteen:

Star-Crossed Battle

Sakura stood with Naruto, Kakashi, and Chiyo in front of the boulder that led to Akatsuki's base. Kakashi and Chiyo had speculated that it wasn't Akatsuki's true headquarters, just a temporary base of operations while they extracted the One-Tailed Beast from Gaara. It was proven right when only two chakra signatures were sensed inside, rather than all of Akatsuki.

This is it, thought Chiyo. Time for me to see what this girl is really made of. And… time for me to finally see Sasori at long last.

"Are you ready, Sakura?" asked Kakashi. He looked at his student, watching as she lowered herself into a Taijutsu fighting stance. "Whatever's on the other side… it won't be easy."

Sakura gave a quick nod. "I'm ready." She clenched her hands into fists and gathered her chakra into them. As soon as Kakashi gave the signal, she would strike the boulder down and reveal the cave ahead.

"One… two… THREE!"

Sakura sprinted forward, her fist raised, and she hit the boulder as hard as she could with a great battle cry. It cracked under the force of her blow and loudly began to crumble. As pieces sank into the water below, the entrance to the cave-like room was revealed.

They leapt inside at different angles, and the four of them lined up to face their foe. It was inside the cave, though, that they discovered the truth.

They were too late.

Gaara lay dead on the ground, and sitting leisurely on top of him was the blonde Akatsuki member, Deidara. His left arm was missing, lost in the battle against Gaara's sand jutsu, but aside from that he looked to be completely recovered.

Next to him was his partner. The hunched over form was not the Sasori that Chiyo remembered. His face was half covered by a mask, but those eyes bore a cold familiarity, one that she knew she had seen before. If not in Sasori… then in another.

"Now then," said Deidara, as if he hadn't a care in the world, "which one do you think is the Jinchuuriki? …Yeah."

Naruto's eyes turned red. A fury unlike any Sakura had ever seen came over him. A beastlike growl came from his throat. "You bastards!" he yelled. A fierce animalistic rage had taken over his voice. "I'LL KILL BOTH OF YOU!"

The body that Sasori used—was it a puppet, like Kankuro had said?—made a dark, almost amused sound. "The one who bursts in and starts yelling, Itachi said."

Deidara smirked. "I guess Itachi's hint was better than we thought… yeah." He didn't look afraid or intimidated at all, despite being outnumbered by Sakura's team. "Ne… Sasori-danna. I'll handle the Jinchuurki."

Sasori's eyes narrowed. "You already got your Jinchuurki, Deidara."

"I'm an artist, yeah," Deidara said. His shoulder gave a slight shrug. "I'm feeling… inspired. I heard the Nine-Tailed is pretty powerful. Just imagine the art I could create by making him explode."

Sasori's annoyance rose. "Art is a thing of beauty. Captured for all eternity. Something that lasts. Those pyrotechnics of yours are revolting."

"Eternal beauty?" asked Deidara, sounding incredulous. "Are you kidding me?" He looked away from Sakura's team to stare at his partner. "Don't get me wrong, I respect your point of view as a fellow artist, yeah, but true art is fleeting. It's a flash of beauty that burns brightly and is gone in an instant."

"What did you say?" Sasori asked rhetorically.

Sakura glanced at Kakashi and then back at the Akatsuki duo. "I don't understand—are they actually bickering about art before our battle?"

Sasori continued as if Sakura and her teammates weren't even there. "Apparently, Deidara, you don't understand what true art actually is."

"Um, that would be you… yeah."

"Art is eternal beauty, something that lasts forever!"

"No way, yeah! It's a glimpse of beauty, something that lasts only a moment!"

Naruto couldn't take it anymore. "Enough is enough!" he yelled. He summoned a large black shuriken and flung it straight for Sasori. It sailed through the sky at rapid speeds, sure to meet its target.

But then, from beneath Sasori's Akatsuki cloak, a bladed tail emerged and deflected the blade. Sasori hadn't even turned to look at it, and he'd deflected it with ease. The tail on his puppet was raised over his head, making him look like a scorpion.

Sakura felt a chill go down her spine. "What… is that? A puppet?"

Sasori still was not paying them any attention. "Deidara…" he said warningly. "Are you trying to make me angry?"

Deidara rolled his eyes. He stood up and began molding clay with his remaining hand. "Art is one thing, Sasori-Danna… yeah." He grinned and parted his fingers to reveal a small white bird made from his clay. "It's a bang!"

He tossed the bird into the air, and it grew so large it was bigger than both of them. The bird picked up Gaara in its mouth and spread its wings, ready to fly.

Deidara glanced back at Sasori with a grin. "Way better than your stupid puppet show."

Sasori's scorpion tail rushed for Deidara, but he jumped out of the way just in time. He landed on the giant white bird. It leapt into the air and flapped its wings.

"Catch you later, Sasori-danna… yeah!"

With surprising speed, Deidara flew out of the cave on his bird and began his escape.

"He's got Gaara!" Naruto yelled. "We've got to stop him!"

"Naruto!" Kakashi called out, but Naruto was already running. He left the cave and leapt into the air, chasing after Deidara and the white bird. "Damn it!" He sprinted for the exit of the cave but stopped short. "Naruto and I will take the one outside. Sakura, Chiyo-baa-sama, can you two handle that one?"

"Leave it to us," Sakura said. She tightened her dark gloves and faced Sasori with an eagerness to fight. "Kakashi-sensei," she said, not taking her eyes off of Sasori's scorpion puppet. "Help Naruto."

Kakashi gave her a curt nod. "Right." And then he was gone.

A moment of silence passed between the three that remained. Sakura focused her chakra, feeling it pass through her body like a muscle she could control, flex, and move as she wished. Chiyo stared at Sasori, and Sasori back at her.

"I heard that you retired some time ago," he said. His voice was gravelly and low, not at all as serene and angelic as Chiyo remembered it.

Chiyo did not let her emotions show. "I found myself overwhelmed with the desire to see my grandson's face once more."

Sasori's gaze went from Chiyo and slowly turned to Sakura. There was a hesitation then, a brief instant in which nothing projected and no words were said. The mask on the puppet's face prevented any sort of emotion being channeled to it besides that penetrating stare.

There was a quick intake of breath—Sakura's. A strange, unknown feeling coursed through her body like pins and needles. Sasori's gaze was locked onto hers, and she'd never felt more exposed or threatened. But there was more to it than that. Something about it, about the way he looked at her, it was… familiar.

"Chiyo-baa-sama," she said. Sakura had to fight the urge not to take a step back, intimidated by the way Sasori was looking at her. She took a breath to steady herself. "Who is this man?"

Sasori's eyes narrowed, anger projected onto the puppet's face. "Is this your doing, Baa-chan? Did you think bringing her back would sway me? Foolish hag."

Chiyo's eyebrows rose. "Is that what you think, Sasori? My, but you see the resemblance, too. But you know full well I can't bring someone back to life if they've been dead for twenty years."

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked. She tore her eyes off of Sasori to look at Chiyo in confusion. "Who's been dead for twenty years? Chiyo-baa-sama?"

Chiyo didn't look away from Sasori. She didn't answer Sakura. "This is not Sakura of Sand as you know her, Sasori," she told him. Her wizened eyes drifted over to Sakura. "Though I am beginning to wonder…"

The bladed scorpion tail flashed. It swerved around dangerously, an unspoken threat should the conversation continue. "Enough of this. Whoever she is, she will die, and you will follow shortly after."

"Sakura," said Chiyo. "Do not fear. I am with you." She stepped forward then and spread out her hands. Tiny little strings of chakra held up several kunai knives all pointed at Sasori. When she flung out her hands, the blades charged for their enemy.

Sasori deflected them with his tail. The ones that made it past it sliced through his Akatsuki cloak, revealing the limbs of the puppet. It crawled on all fours with its stomach to the ground. The tail hung overhead like a true scorpion.

"What is that thing?" Sakura asked.

Chiyo did not answer for a moment. "What you see there is not Sasori's real body. It is a puppet, and one that I recognize now. Many years ago, a shinobi went missing in the Hidden Sand Village. His name was Hiruko."

Sakura let out a startled gasp. "H-Hiruko?"

Chiyo's eyes shot to Sakura's. "Do you know that name?" she asked.

"I… I don't know, I—" Sakura broke off. She shook her head. "No, I don't. What happened to him?"

Chiyo frowned. She answered anyway, "No one knows. But I know that puppet… I recognize it now. Sasori," she said, addressing her grandson. "That is Hiruko?"

"He should be honored," said Sasori. "He is now a work of art."

"If that's a puppet," said Sakura, "then where's the real Sasori? He should be somewhere pulling the strings, right?"

Chiyo nodded once. "The real Sasori is inside Hiruko. To get to him, we will have to destroy that puppet."

Sakura slowly moved toward Chiyo. She didn't take her eyes off Sasori, not trusting him. If he made any sudden movements, she had to make sure her guard was up so that she could dodge them. She spoke in a low voice and said, "I can destroy it. But I'll need to get close. So long as that tail is in the way, I can't do that."

"I understand," said Chiyo. "I anticipated as much. I will give you the opportunity you require."

"All right."

"Now, listen. I have a plan."

While Chiyo whispered into Sakura's ear, Sasori stared through Hiruko's eyes. He didn't know what the two of them were up to, and he didn't care. He would defeat them either way.

But what bothered him… was the girl. Who was she? It was like staring at a ghost of his past from twenty years ago. He was fifteen then, and Sakura was just a little younger. For an instant, he could see a flash of her smiling face. He could feel the warmth of her hand as she took his and lead him down the streets of Suna.

But this… this was not her. It couldn't be. She didn't recognize him, of that he was certain. The Leaf headband implied she was from Konoha, not Hidden Sand. Even Chiyo reacted to her as an acquaintance, when Chiyo had always been grandmotherly to the Sakura from Sasori's past.

Still… when she looked at him, Sasori felt himself pause. It frustrated him, but it was on a subconscious level, and he couldn't help it or stop it. That look in those green eyes of hers… it was the same as back then. She looked at him, and he could see the Sakura that he used to know.

How was that possible? It couldn't be her. If Sakura had survived her own murder, which he knew first hand that she hadn't, then she would be at least thirty-three. This was just a girl.

And yet…

"Are you finished?" Sasori asked darkly. "I really hate to be kept waiting."

"I won't make you wait any longer," said Chiyo.

Sakura lowered herself into a fighting stance. She drew a kunai from her pack and held it tightly in her hand. "Let's do this."

Sakura ran forward at lightning speeds. Sasori pulled the mask down from Hiruko's mouth. When the mouth opened, an array of poisoned needles shot out. Amazingly, Sakura was able to dodge each and every one of them.

Sasori caught on right away. Chiyo was controlling Sakura. Tiny, threadlike strings of chakra were attached to Sakura's limbs, and when Chiyo moved, Sakura moved. She dodged the attacks for Sakura, and Sakura could continue her charge. If there was ever a needle that got too close, Sakura knocked it out of the way with the blade of her kunai.

Who is this girl? Sasori thought.

She charged at him head on while Chiyo stood back. The girl launched her kunai at Sasori, and he deflected it with Hiruko's scorpion tail. Whoever she was, Sasori would make her rue the day she wore his Sakura's face. Sasori sent Hiruko's tail straight for the girl, intent on slicing the head from her body.

And then, she stopped, and Hiruko's tail stopped just short of her.

"What?" Sasori growled. Of course! he realized angrily. It was Chiyo!

"Now, Sakura!" Chiyo ordered. "NOW!"

Sakura gathered her chakra to her fists and ran past the tail of Hiruko. She leapt into the air and brought down her fist like a hammer of justice. The wood splintered and fell apart, the shell on its back cracked and shattered, and pieces flew in every direction.

A cloaked black figure vanished from within the puppet and reappeared a safe distance away.

Sakura lowered her fist, breathing heavily from the force of her punch. Her gaze landed hard on the cloaked figure, for she knew that to be Sasori's real body. She wanted him to lower his hood so that she could see his face before she pummeled him into the ground.

"So you finally come out," said Chiyo. "Come now. Let me get a good look at you. I've come all this way… Sasori."

Sakura's breaths were shaky. That feeling of pins and needles was back. Something felt… wrong. She couldn't put her finger on it. But it wasn't right. Trepidation rose within her and kept her from attacking Sasori right then and there.

"I've waited twenty years," Chiyo went on. "I want to see my grandson's face."

Sasori slowly rose to his feet. "I see," he said. His real voice was much lighter now, much softer. It sounded younger, not the harsh, guttural tones that came through Hiruko's mouth. "I should have expected no less from my own grandmother." His hand slowly reached up toward his hood. "You attached your chakra strings to Hiruko's tail when you threw those kunai knives at me. They were so small, I hadn't even noticed. You even attached them to the girl so you could help her dodge my attacks."

"I'm impressed you figured it out," said Chiyo. The look on her face said she meant it.

"Of course," Sasori replied. His fingers wrapped around the fabric of his hood. "You were the one who taught me how to play with puppets… Chiyo-baa-chan." He removed the hood and revealed his face.

He looked exactly as he had all those years ago. His short red hair was an unruly mess, and his golden amber eyes gazed dispassionately at them both. His soft skin was young and unwrinkled despite his age.

Sakura gasped. A pain shot from her chest and straight into her head. She clutched her forehead and groaned in pain. There was a flash in her mind, the quickest of images. She saw Sasori looking down at her, holding her with disbelief in his eyes, telling her she wasn't going to die…

Her voice came out as a pained whisper.

"Sa…sori…kun…"

Sasori's gaze snapped to hers. While he tried to maintain his blank composure, something fierce burned within him. Was it her? Was that even possible?

The pain receded, and Sakura lowered her hand. She let out a few short breaths. Whatever the vision was, it was gone as quick as it had come. But now, Sasori was looking at her as if he couldn't decide if he wanted to break her into little pieces or not.

She turned and looked at Chiyo, but the old woman was staring at both of them with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Chiyo-baa-sama," said Sakura. "What's wrong?"

"Sakura, you—what did you just say?"

"I—I don't know, I—" Sakura's voice broke off. She shook her head. "It's nothing. Chiyo-baa-sama, is that really Sasori? His real body?"

Chiyo's voice was tinged with desperation. "Sakura, answer me! Is it really you?"

"What is this…" Sasori murmured, more so to himself. "Reincarnation jutsu…? No, it can't be… she would have her memories. But then…" He narrowed his eyes. Without another word, he sprinted toward Sakura.

Sakura turned toward him and gasped. She quickly leapt back and dodged his attack, barely missing a poisoned blade that had emerged from the sleeve of his cloak. Sasori went for her again, and Sakura twisted and turned, dodging every attack that he threw at her. Finally, she leapt into the air and did a backflip, landing several feet out of Sasori's close range.

The pain came again, and Sakura staggered backwards. Her vision clouded with an image of Chiyo smiling at her. She saw a door, one that she wanted to open it. Sakura reached out, though nothing was actually in front of her. In her vision, the door opened, and a younger version of Sasori was there looking at her.

Her eyes snapped back into focus when Sasori went after her again. She ducked in time to avoid the horizontal slice of his poisoned blade and leapt forward past him. She hit the floor and rolled before turning to face him once again.

"What the hell is happening to me," she said, breathing heavily. "Is this… some sort of genjutsu?"

"What do you see, Sakura?" Chiyo asked. Her eyes were wide with disbelief.

"I… I don't know," said Sakura. "I see… Sasori…"

"A vision!" Chiyo said with realization. "Of course…! Then… you really are her."

Sasori stood up straight and scoffed. He looked incredibly irritated as he said, "That's impossible."

"True reincarnation is not impossible, Sasori," Chiyo told him with severity.

Sasori frowned and made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat. He didn't believe in reincarnation any more than he believed in heaven or hell. But if this girl, this ninja from Hidden Leaf, was actually his Sakura reborn… there was only one way to find out for certain. Seeing his face triggered something in her. Perhaps seeing more of her past would trigger more of a response from her previous self.

"Enough of this," Sasori said. He drew out a scroll and held it out in front of him.

"Sasori!" Chiyo called. "How is it that you haven't aged a day in twenty years? Tell me!"

"I don't owe you an explanation, Baa-chan," Sasori said evenly. He unraveled a bit of the scroll with one hand to show the symbol for 'Three'.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows. "Three? What is that?"

"This piece was particularly difficult to acquire," Sasori explained. "It makes it one of my favorite additions to my collection of puppets."

Back then, he hadn't been able to bring himself to turn Sakura into a puppet. He wasn't sure why. It was some sort of weakness on his part, some piece of humanity that remained with him. As the years went by, he regretted it, for she would likely have made his finest work of art. Seeing her now, in this older body, even if it wasn't the Sakura he knew… it cemented that thought.

She should have been his.

Sasori released the jutsu in the scroll and summoned forth the puppet within. It had long black hair and thin golden eyes. The puppet wore a brown cloak that concealed any hidden weapon mechanisms Sasori had installed. But it was the face that made both Sakura and Chiyo gape in horror.

It was a puppet made from the body of the Third Kazekage.

"It can't be!" Chiyo said, astonished. "Sasori, you—you turned the Third into a puppet?"

"I wouldn't say it was easy," Sasori admitted. He moved his fingers ever so slightly and watched as the Kazekage twitched and glided to his commands. "But I would say that I enjoyed this kill far more than any other."

Sakura fell to her knees and screamed. Visions flooded through her eyes of violence and sand. That face, she knew that face; it haunted her nightmares in subtle reminders. She knew to be afraid of him, to avoid him, to run away from him if she saw him. But how? How did she know those things?

Chiyo leapt up and landed near Sakura. She drew two scrolls from the pockets in her sleeves and held them out, looking at Sasori while she spoke to Sakura. "Sakura, listen to me! Tell me what you see!"

"I—I don't know!" Sakura cried. "I see that man! I see him and—and I'm terrified! Who is he?"

"He is your father," said Chiyo. She had finally come to understand exactly what Sakura was. Sakura of Leaf was the reincarnation of Sakura of Sand. "You were the daughter of the Third Kazekage!"

"NO!" Sakura covered her face with her hands and shook her head. "No, my father is a shinobi of Leaf! I'm from Konoha! Konoha!"

Sasori tilted his head. "Perhaps you need another jog to your memory." He parted his fingers, and the Kazekage's mouth opened. A dark cluster of glinting gray sand slowly emerged from within. It hovered around Sasori and the Kazekage puppet like an ominous cloud.

"Impossible," said Chiyo with wide eyes. "That's the Third's jutsu! The Iron Sand!"

"It is," Sasori confirmed. "It's what made the Third so powerful, so difficult to kill. Let's see if this girl remembers it." With that, he flung his hand forward, and the Kazekage's arm went out at the same time. The Iron Sand rushed for Chiyo and Sakura at a deadly speed.

Chiyo unraveled her scrolls and summoned forth two puppets that guarded Sakura and herself from the sand. When it returned to the Kazekage, the puppets left behind were revealed. Their arms were open, and the shield of chakra that had protected Sakura and Chiyo slowly dissipated. They were the ones modeled after Sasori's parents—the first puppets he ever made.

"So you brought them," said Sasori. "It won't do you any good, Baa-chan. I know all of their abilities."

"Do you?" Chiyo challenged. "If you remodeled Hiruko in those twenty years, who's to say I haven't remodeled the Father and the Mother?"

Sasori narrowed his eyes. He switched his gaze to Sakura when he saw her begin to move. She slowly rose to her feet, though her knees were still shaking. Sasori couldn't believe the twist of fate that had befallen them. This was the Sakura from his past. He knew that now. But she did not. She was his enemy, of all things, and she had the intent to kill.

What to do…

"You won't be able to use those shields again," Sasori said needlessly. He held out his hand, and the Iron Sand headed straight for them again. "You don't have time to save both of you. Which will it be, Baa-chan?"

Chiyo pushed Sakura out of the way with her chakra strings. Then, her own right arm opened up just like the puppets' had. A blue shield of chakra emerged and protected her from the Iron Sand. When the sand fell away, fragments remained on Chiyo's wooden arm, preventing it from closing.

Sasori's eyebrows rose. "I see," he said. A humorless smile slid over his face. "We puppet masters are all alike in the end."

A look of surprise crossed over Chiyo's face. "So that's it," she realized. "That's how you haven't aged. Sasori, you—you're no longer human."

"I am my own masterpiece of art," Sasori said simply.

Chiyo looked at her now immobilized puppets and then at her arm. She reached up her right hand and detached the wooden limb so it fell useless to the ground. "Sakura," she said. "Do you truly not remember?"

Sakura took a breath to steady herself. "I don't know about any visions or reincarnation jutsu or any of that. All I know is, this guy is in Akatsuki, so he has information on Orochimaru. And I will do whatever it takes to get that information from him!"

A flash of irritation swept over Sasori. So she truly didn't remember. And, of all things, she wanted to know about Orochimaru? What was this rage that burned within him? Jealousy? It was unlike anything Sasori had ever felt. What business did Sakura have with Sasori's old partner in Akatsuki?

"Chiyo-baa-sama," said Sakura, oblivious to Sasori's inner struggle. She clenched her hands into fists and stepped in front of the old woman. "Use me as your weapon. I will be your puppet. My body is made of flesh and blood—Sasori won't be able to stop me with that Iron Sand."

Chiyo lowered her gaze to the ground. She had hoped that Sakura's presence would be able to sway Sasori. When she and Sasori realized who she truly was, Chiyo thought that maybe Sasori would return to them. But Sakura didn't remember and only saw Sasori as an enemy. And Sasori hadn't made a move besides trying to kill them. It seems they were destined to try to kill each other in this battle.

"I only have one arm left," said Chiyo. "I won't be able to support you like before."

Sakura didn't look back at her. She kept her gaze on Sasori. The pain that crept through her heart had lessened into a dull ache, and the fear she felt at looking at his Kazekage puppet was beginning to ebb away. "I will be all right," she promised. "It's true I may not have hidden weapons like these puppets. But I am a shinobi of the Leaf Village. I have been trained by Tsunade-sama herself. I will destroy him AND his puppet!"

Chiyo sighed softly. "So be it." She held up her right hand and attached chakra strings to Sakura's limbs.

Without further warning, Sakura sprinted forward, and Chiyo followed swiftly after her. Sasori narrowed his eyes. He waved his hand and collected his Iron Sand into a huge block of condensed metal. With a simple motion, he half-heartedly flung it right at them. Chiyo leapt out of the way and pulled Sakura with her, allowing her to dodge. Sasori threw another at them, and they moved around it as well.

Sakura gathered her chakra to her fist and let out a cry as she punched straight into the condensed block of Iron Sand, sending it flying rapidly toward Sasori. His brief look of shock was reward enough. He had to leap back against the wall to dodge. The cave cracked around them, threatening to crumble under the force of their battle.

This was not Sakura like Sasori remembered. The Sakura he knew had no training as a shinobi at all. It was something Sasori had intended on remedying when they ran away together, but they never made it that far before Sakura was murdered in front of him. And now she was demonstrating a physical agility and monstrous strength that he never thought possible for her to achieve.

The academic side of him curiously wondered just how far she could go.

Sasori slid from the wall to the ground. He stood up straight and recalled his Iron Sand. He formed some of it into a pyramid, and it began to spin rapidly. Sasori sent it flying toward Sakura, and she leapt out of the way. The pyramid crashed into the ground like a drill before Sasori called it back again. Every time he would throw it at her, she would punch or kick it out of the way, embedding it into the cave walls and creating holes in its structure. And Sasori would reform it and throw it at her again.

Finally, the cave walls just couldn't take it anymore and began to collapse. Sakura and Sasori leapt out of the way in opposite directions as the ceiling crumbled from the center outward. Soon, the entire cave was rubble, and the three combatants stood on top of it, illuminated by the light of day.

"That's pretty impressive strength from such a little girl," Sasori commented, watching her. It was more than that, though, and he knew it. Sakura was able to pick up on his attack patterns with the blocks of Iron Sand, and she knew how to counter with her own punches.

Sakura panted heavily. She glared at Sasori. "You! You're not even using that puppet anymore! Why aren't you fighting me for real? Answer me, damn it!"

Sasori made a frustrated noise in the back of his throat. His amber eyes glanced at the Kazekage puppet briefly and then returned to Sakura. It was true—he'd only been attacking her with blocks of Iron Sand while the puppet hovered at his side, untouched. It would be a simple matter to kill her with both the Iron Sand and the puppet, and Sasori was more than capable enough of using them both at the same time…

So why wasn't he?

Fine, if she wanted him to take this battle seriously, then he would. "Let's see you dodge this." He made a small movement, and a piece of the Kazekage's chest opened up to allow more Iron Sand to emerge. Sasori moved his fingers, and the Iron Sand collected at the top of the open cave and began fanning out like a spider's web.

"This jutsu is enormous!" Sakura said with wide eyes. She wouldn't be able to dodge this one so easily.

Sasori flung down his arms, and the web of Iron Sand came down in an array of deadly spikes. There was a loud crash, and smoke and rubble concealed Sakura from sight.

"SAKURA!" Chiyo cried out.

The smoke cleared, and Sakura slowly got to her feet. There were several cuts on her body where tiny trickles of blood dripped down. Sasori's face showed his surprise. So Sakura had been unable to dodge the attack after all. That could only mean one thing.

Sure enough, Sakura fell to her knees and crashed into the ground face down.

"Sakura, no!" said Chiyo.

"She's been poisoned, Baa-chan," he said. He masked away any lingering emotions and resumed a blank expression. "She will die in three days now, just like the other one. But don't worry… I won't let her suffer."

Sasori held out his arm, and the Kazekage puppet flew toward Sakura. The blades on its right arm were raised, poised and ready to strike. It would be a quick, painless death before the full effects of the poison kicked in. It would be the one mercy Sasori could offer Sakura.

And then, right as the Kazekage puppet reached her, Sakura leapt to her feet and punched it, shattering it into tiny little pieces. Little by little, the spider web of Iron Sand melted away until it was completely gone from the battlefield.

Sasori and Chiyo both stared at Sakura in disbelief.

Sakura sprinted over to Chiyo and helped the old woman get to her feet. "Are you all right? Chiyo-baa-sama."

"I don't understand," said Chiyo. "Sakura, that sand was coated in Sasori's poison! How is it that you're not affected?"

Sakura reached into her pocket and held out a small hypodermic needle. The tip was encased in glass and protected. "Remember when I extracted the poison from Kankuro back in the Sand Village? I was able to use the medicinal herbs in the greenhouse to make enough antidote for three doses. I gave the first one to Kankuro, and I used the second one just now, before the Iron Sand cut me."

Impossible, Sasori thought. Even if someone back in Suna had managed to isolate the poison, there was no way they would be able to create an antidote in such a short amount of time. It had taken him a decade to perfect that poison, and this little girl had managed to cure it in a matter of hours?

"Hold still," said Sakura. She reached for Chiyo's arm, but the old woman winced in pain. "Your arm is broken," Sakura said, examining Chiyo's arm. "Let me heal you." She held it carefully by Chiyo's wrist and gathered her healing chakra to her hand. With a careful precision, Sakura mended the break in the old woman's forearm.

Sasori recalled that Sakura had reminded Chiyo that she trained under Tsunade. He knew the name, knew she was a world-class medical ninja. But there was more to it than that. Even a lifetime of apprenticeship to Tsunade wouldn't have been able to dissect his poison enough to create an antidote.

And yet this girl…

A memory flashed before his eyes.

"I'm creating a poison."

"Ah," Sakura said. "You know, if I were a medic ninja, I bet I could cure it."

"I'd like to see you try," Sasori replied, raising an eyebrow. "I've had the idea for quite a while already—it will bypass all possible antidotes."

"Sure, but not Super Special Antidote Made By Amazing Me!"

Sakura, Sasori thought. How was this possible? She wanted to be a medical ninja back then… had lingering traces of that tempted her to go to Tsunade for training in that field? Did she specialize in poisons because of her desire to cure his?

Was that even possible?

"Thank you," said Chiyo, pulling Sasori away from his thoughts. "My arm feels fine now, Sakura."

"Good," said Sakura. She lowered her hand, and the healing chakra faded away. "One last thing." She pulled off the cap from the hypodermic needle and pressed the tip into Chiyo's arm. "This should get rid of any traces of poison from your injuries."

Sakura took a moment to catch her breath. She was weakened and tired. Sasori saw it, and he knew that Chiyo saw it, too. And yet, she stood again and faced him, despite being so exhausted. He couldn't help but feel a strange sort of… admiration. Sakura of Sand had been locked in a cage for most of her life and denied any opportunity to learn to fight or heal. And yet, in her second chance at life, this new Sakura of Leaf had done all that her previous self had been denied and then some.

There was no doubt in Sasori's mind now. His arms fell limp to his sides, and his gaze wandered over Sakura's wounded body.

It really was her.

"Tell me," he said, drawing her attention to him. "Why do you want to know about Orochimaru?"

Sakura looked confused that he would even ask that, but it was quickly replaced with determination. "Because he's taken one of my teammates. And I will do whatever I can to help him return home safely! So you'd better tell me where he is, or I will break that puppet body of yours to pieces, just like I did the Kazekage!"

So it wasn't Orochimaru she sought. It was her comrade. There was another lingering trait of Sakura's former self. Sasori knew she was always loyal to a fault. It seemed even in this life, she was willing to go to extreme lengths to protect those she cared about.

But still… she didn't remember the past. And there were no happy endings for people like them. Sasori was only then beginning to realize it, but he had dug his own grave the moment he decided to fight her. Even if he told her about Orochimaru's whereabouts, she would not remember the past they shared together. She would never be his Sakura again.

Sasori turned his head and let out a slow, steady sigh. There was only one thing left to do, then. He reached up and slowly began unbuttoning his Akatsuki robe. When it dropped to the ground, it revealed Sasori's puppet form. Blades emerged from his back like wings. He pulled a long, whip-like tail from his stomach. It was scaled and sharp all along the sides to the bladed tip, and every inch of it was coated in his poison.

"Weren't you going to finish me off?" he asked, watching Sakura perceptively. "If you won't attack… then I will."

Sasori held out his right hand, and an iron tube appeared. A spout of flame emerged from within, and Sakura head to roll out of the way to dodge it. With seemingly lazy movements, Sasori moved his flamethrower to follow Sakura, making her have to constantly move to stay out of the fire's range.

Chiyo gazed on at the battle in confusion. It looked like Sasori wasn't even trying to win. Her dark eyes roamed over his puppet body and pinpointed a slew of weapons at Sasori's disposal, so why wasn't he using them?

Sakura leapt out of the way of the flames, her eyes narrowed in frustration. She couldn't get close when he was using his fire, so her only option would be to wait it out until he ran out of fuel for the device in his hand. When that happened, she would be able to get in close to take him out.

"Chiyo-baa-sama!" she called. "That thing on his chest—is that his weak spot?" It was a white cylinder with a red symbol. It stood out to Sakura because it was right where the heart was on a human body. But Sasori's body wasn't human anymore, so it may not be what she was hoping it was.

"That is the heart of the human puppet," Chiyo told her. "But Sakura, listen to me, you mustn't—"

Sakura charged for Sasori with a battle cry that muted Chiyo's pleas in her ears. The flames seared her legs, but she kept on running. Sasori raised his other hand to use his poisoned blades, but he stopped at the last moment. In that brief instant of hesitation, Sakura reached him and stabbed into the puppet heart with a kunai knife.

It all came rushing back in a searing hot flash of white behind her eyes.

"You can come with me, if you want."

It flashed again, a vision as painful as the last. Sasori saw the pain and memories reach her eyes.

"But I want to go with you. Wherever you go, I want to be there."

Another flash, and Sakura lost her balance. Sasori held onto her as the two of them flew backward from the force of her charge.

"Then we'll go."

"And then?"

"Our eternity."

"SASORI!"

They crashed into the ground. Rocks crumbled beneath them. When they finally came to a halt, Sakura was lying on top of Sasori. She looked down at him with wide, horrified eyes.

"Sasori-kun!" she cried. Her eyes filled with tears. "Sasori-kun, no! Please, I remember! I remember everything!"

His eyes opened, and he looked up at her cradling him. It was all so familiar. "Well isn't this… poetically ironic." He coughed. A bit of poison made a dark violet trail from the corner of his mouth down to his chin. It was just like that time, all those years ago, when the Third Kazekage murdered Sakura, and Sasori held her in his arms until she died.

"Don't talk," Sakura said. She gathered her healing chakra to her hand, but it flickered and died between her fingers. She winced in pain. Looking down at her legs, she saw burn marks from the flamethrower. Her veins were beginning to turn a shade of purple like the poison.

Her antidote had worn off.

"Sakura," said Sasori. "Leave me here. You need to… return to Suna. Get… more antidote."

"I'm not leaving you!"

In a run that was more of a stumble, Chiyo made it over to them at last. "Sasori," she cried. "Oh, my Sasori…!" She looked at Sakura frantically. "Sakura, move out of the way. I can save his life with my Tensei no Jutsu."

Sakura gaped at her. "Your what?"

"It is a special jutsu that I have spent the better part of my life developing," Chiyo told her. "Only I can use it. By sacrificing my life, I can save the life of one person. Even breathe life into a puppet." She looked down at Sasori with sadness in her eyes. "It was something that I developed specifically for Sasori…"

Sasori struggled to sit up, but he had lost the ability to move most of his limbs. The damage to his heart from the kunai knife was slowly killing him. Sakura held his shoulders and helped him sit. She kept her arms around him and spoke gently, "Don't push yourself."

"Use it… on Sakura," he said, ignoring Sakura's protest. "She will die… if you don't."

"No!" Sakura cried.

"Sakura," said Chiyo. "We will never make it to Suna in time. Even if we did, you said yourself that we don't have the ingredients to make more of the antidote. Let me save you."

"So one of us has to die? I can't accept that!"

Sasori looked at her. "Sakura—"

"No!" Sakura clutched the fabric of his Akatsuki cloak tightly. "I can't… don't ask me to make that choice. I only just found you again… Sasori-kun…"

There was a moment of hesitation, and then, Sasori smiled. "You wanted… to know about Orochimaru."

Sakura stared at him, wondering how such a detail could have been important to her enough to kill Sasori. She hadn't been in her right mind. She hadn't remembered.

"In ten days… go to the Tenchi Bridge… in Hidden Grass."

"What?"

Sasori's eyes became unfocused. He was dying. "I have a spy working for Orochimaru. I was… to rendezvous with him there."

Sakura bit her lower lip. The poison was spreading. Her legs burned, and she could feel her body begin to go numb. Soon, she would be unable to move at all.

"Chiyo-baa-sama," she said, drawing the woman's attention to her. "I want you to save that jutsu. You might yet need it. Suna needs its Kazekage… it needs Gaara. By now, Naruto and Kakashi will have caught up with the other Akatsuki member."

Sasori understood Sakura's meaning. "Sakura, you—"

"I told you, Sasori-kun, I am not leaving you." A tear fell from her eyes. "I would rather die here than live in this world without you."

He may have protested, but he lacked the strength to. With his last bit of power, he raised his hand. Sakura clasped Sasori's hand within hers, interlocking their fingers. She leaned her head down and pressed her forehead against his.

"Then… we'll go," he told her.

"And then?" she asked, waiting for him to say it.

Sasori's last words were exactly what she wanted to hear. "Our eternity."

His eyes closed.

Sakura let out a shaky breath. She sniffed and gently lowered Sasori's body back to the ground. She wiped at her tears, but she couldn't stop crying. "This is all my fault."

"There was nothing you could have done," said Chiyo. "Even if you had remembered… Sasori was too far gone."

Sakura nodded. "He saw me coming… I know he did. He anticipated my last attack, and he let me kill him. I think… I think he wanted to die."

Chiyo looked away. "Sakura… I can still save you."

"No," said Sakura. "If you must save someone, then let it be Gaara. He is the true victim here." She looked up at the sky, taking in the blues one last time. "Chiyo-baa-sama… I have a favor to ask of you."

"Anything, Sakura-hime."

Sakura gave her a humorless smile. "The information Sasori-kun gave us about Orochimaru… please relay it to my teammates, Naruto and Kakashi. They need to know. And… one more thing…" She turned away from Chiyo and looked down at Sasori. Her eyes welled with tears once more. She reached for his hand and squeezed it between hers. "Sasori-kun's poison will take three days to kill me." She held Sasori's hand against the side of her face lovingly and looked at Chiyo. "I want you to kill me now."

Chiyo's eyes widened. "S-Sakura—!"

"Please, Chiyo-baa-sama," Sakura begged. "Grant me this small mercy."

Chiyo hung her head. All she wanted to do was save these two people from pain, and now, she had failed in doing that twice. Perhaps offering her life for Gaara's was the only way she could atone for that.

"I will do this."

Sakura smiled at her. She laid down beside Sasori and held onto him. "Please, Chiyo-baa-sama. Tell Naruto… tell him I'm sorry."

It was quick and painless, Chiyo made sure of that. When she stood up, Sakura and Sasori laid together in a frozen embrace, both of them looking peaceful and serene despite having killed each other. Chiyo stepped back and wept.

There was movement behind her, and Chiyo whirled around. A haze of smoke was beginning to fill the crater left behind by their battle. From within the fog, an old woman emerged. She was floating in the air. Her legs were crossed in a sitting position. The hag was covered in wrinkles and warts, and one eye was dead with blindness.

Chiyo wondered if she should even bother trying to defend herself. "Who are you?"

The floating hag was still partially shrouded by the smog. She was fat and very short, and the black cloak she wore dangled in torn rags. Her unusual hat was pointed like a witch. In her hand, she carried a long, bronze pipe. "Some call me Baba-Yaga, one of three. Others say Urd, or even Clotho. Names are pretty, but useless."

She brought her pipe to her lips and exhaled a cloud of smoke that made the fog thicker.

"What do you want?" Chiyo asked her.

The ugly old woman raised an eyebrow, managing to distort her face even further. "Nothing, really. I just like to meddle with Fate. And these two here, well, their Fate seems to continually be cut short unfairly. So I thought I might give them a third chance."

Chiyo's eyes widened in wonder. "You can bring them back?"

"Oh no, that's out of my hands," said Baba-Yaga. She took another drag at her pipe and scratched her head. "But it seems these two are destined to walk different paths in this world. Perhaps the next will be a better place to house them. Ah well, it's worth a shot."

She held out her free hand then, and a strange orb of black and violet energy formed. It spread out until it took a rectangular shape. Then, the energy faded, and a book was left in its place. "Yes, that will do nicely."

Chiyo looked at it and saw the title A Third Chance on the spine. "What is that? A book?"

"A special book. You needn't worry about it. I will deliver it to your next incarnation, and you will see to it that it gets to one of them. Then, I suppose the rest is up to them!"

"I don't understand," said Chiyo. "What is the book? What must I do?"

"Nothing, nothing. In fact, it may be better if you forget about me entirely." Baba-Yaga nodded as if she liked that idea. "Yes, probably for the best. Very well. I was never here." She snapped her fingers and vanished in the fog. As the fog faded away, so too did Chiyo's memories of the mysterious witch.

Chiyo looked down at Sakura and Sasori. Their bodies lay there, the mark of her failure. Well, there was still one thing she could do for the younger generation. Then at last, she could be at peace.