Author's Note: I just want to say thank you to all of the people who have reviewed my story. I started reading and writing fanfiction just a couple of years ago and I've been really impressed with how thoughtful other fans are. I read every review and it means something to me that you take the time to let me know you are enjoying my story. Knowing I have people waiting for the next chapter keeps me accountable to finish the story and makes coming back to the keyboard every morning fun. Anyway, here's the next chapter. Thanks for reading and I hope you like it!

Death

The sound was deafening, or maybe she was just hearing the explosions and shouts from outside. Sasori's eyes went wide and his face went slack in shock. Sakura's fist had punched right through its protective casing and shattered the heart within. Red and purple liquid oozed from around her hand, which was now stuck in the shattered canister.

Sasori's head leaned forward, his forehead almost touching hers. He was still holding her in his lap. He gasped, eyes wide, as his body began to shake.

"Sak...Sakura…" He said. Hating herself for her weakness, Sakura began to cry.

"I'm sorry," She said. "I had to. I don't want to be a part of whatever this is." She flexed her fingers reflexively and realized that her hand was more or less holding the remnants of his heart together. When she let go to rip her hand out of the shell, he would die.

"Now I can't….protect you…." Sasori said, his voice wheezing and wet.

"I'll be fine," Sakura said. "I'll find Tsunade."

"You have to get out," Sasori said. Sakura became aware of his hands, which were still wrapped around her. He tightened his grip slightly, as though he was offering her an embrace. She brought her free hand up to his face.

"Are you ready?" She asked. "When I move, it'll be over."

"Kakashi."

Sakura blinked. That was not an answer to her question. Sasori coughed and purple blood dribbled out of his mouth. Sakura's insides froze as she stared at him, waiting for him to continue. "You have to go to him," Sasori said finally. Sakura shook her head.

"Kakashi's dead, Sasori," She said softly. "You were there when they told me."

"Wasn't dead. Captured." Sasori said, holding her gaze. "Captured by my leader. As of my last communication….he was alive."

Sakura gasped but had no more time to process this news. An explosion shook the palace, and cracks laced their way up through the stone walls of their room. There was only one heartbeat of silence before the exterior wall exploded, throwing Sakura and Sasori apart. Sakura's hand was ripped from his chest as she used her chakra to dodge as much rubble as possible. Cool night air settled in the aftermath and Sakura stood in her ruined room, now lacking a wall, and stared at the chaos outside. Dozens of summons were marauding around the city, and she could see ninja spread thin, vainly attempting to keep black-cloaked enemies at bay. Heart hammering, she frantically checked for the source of the explosion and found one of her former bodyguards lodged in the rubble at the edge of the room. He was dead, and his body had been thrown with such force that it brought the whole wall down.

As Sakura looked around for Sasori, Kakashi's ninja training kicked back into gear. She ruthlessly shut off her emotions and cleared her mind. There was a battle at hand, but she also had a chance to find her most trusted ally, the person she loved most in the world. She summoned as much chakra as she could to clear the rubble at the back end of the room until she found what she was looking for. Sasori had been partially crushed, which was cruel, but he was still barely alive. Wasting no time, Sakura bent down and applied healing chakra to his wound.

"Don't," Sasori pleaded. "Don't prolong it...it hurts."

"Tell me where Kakashi is," Sakura said. "How do I find him?"

"He's in the forest on the outskirts of the fire country." Sasori said, his voice fading. "There's a prison underground. It's well hidden but thinly guarded. Take this…" He reached into his cloak with one hand and pulled out a small wooden dove with connected joins. It was like a tiny puppet. "It might be a little damaged, but it's trained to fly there. Release it when you're away from the city and it will take you there."

"Thank you," Sakura said, pocketing the small bird. She'd gotten what she wanted, and she knew she had to leave and find her mother or Tsunade, but Sasori's eyes held her in place. She didn't know what to say to him to repay him for this gift.

"When you find Kakashi," Sasori said. "Don't come back here. Don't fight my master. Just leave. He has six of the tailed beasts already…."

"Uh-huh," Sakura didn't know what exactly he was saying, so she just nodded. Sasori mustered up enough strength to grasp her hand.
"I mean it, Sakura. He'll win. Don't fight him."

"Sasori, you know me better than that," Sakura said sadly. "You know I'll always fight."

Sasori smiled gently, but the pain was evident in his soft brown eyes.

"I wish I had time to get to know you better," he amended. "I could ask you anything right now, apparently, since it's taking me an eternity to die…"

Sakura's brow furrowed in concern.

"I'm sorry, do you want me to….speed things up?" She asked. She'd never killed someone before but that didn't mean she didn't know how to end his suffering.

"Please," Sasori said simply.

Sakura leaned forward and kissed him on his smooth forehead.

"Goodbye Sasori," She whispered, summoning a chakra scalpel with her hand. She sliced his neck and for an extra measure, she incinerated the remainder of his heart. His face went slack immediately, and Sakura looked away from the sight. She stood and assessed herself and her situation.

She was wearing a blood-stained negligee. She had limited chakra use as her body still fought to control the poison she'd been dosed with. She was barefoot. Her city was being destroyed.

She hunted around on the floor and found her pink kunai. She gripped the enameled hilt and felt marginally better. It was all she really needed.

That and maybe some boots.