So, ah, yeah….That happened.

I'm sorry.

Very very sorry.

Forgive me? Please? I'll never let it happen again, I swear! I've just been busy with work, work, more work, study and oh, what's this? MORE WORK!

Sakura's P.O.V

A few hours of rest didn't seem like a good enough reward after trekking through that damn forest for days on end. An all-expenses paid spa trip or a vacation would have made it all worthwhile, but being told that something else was scheduled for later that day made the exhausted expression on her face grow stronger.

All she wanted to do was go home and drop down onto her nice, soft bed and stay there for the next three weeks or more.

But no.

Here she was, sitting in a crowded room with her clothes all torn up and the rusted smell of old blood still clinging to her form like a perverse perfume. Naruto had thrown her a few weird looks and Sasuke was sitting just a little further away than usual so obviously she wasn't the only one to smell it.

The red head across the room had to have caught the scent as well.

The second that she had walked in, the second that small breeze had entered the room, his eyes had fixated on her, completely ignoring her teammates. His nose had twitched, his faint pupils had dilated and he seemed almost eager to make her uncomfortable with his obvious staring.

And he WAS making her uncomfortable, there was no doubt about that.

Sakura continued fidgeting in her seat while avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room, especially her fellow leaf genin who were eyeing her torn up appearance with interest. Honestly, why was she the only one in a condition like this? Her leg and side slightly scarred up, her clothing torn enough to put more on show than she was comfortable with.

Glancing down at her clothes again, she bit her bottom lip lightly and sighed, subtly catching her teammate's attention.

"Naruto, Sasuke, I'm going to go find something to wear okay? Maybe find a bathroom to clean up in while I'm at it."

"Okay Sakura-chan, I'll come too! I-" Naruto started, only to be cut off by a sharp look from Sasuke.

It seemed that her dark haired teammate knew she needed a little alone time, a bit of quiet away from all the stares.

How considerate of him.

Getting up slowly and stretching out her limbs a little, the pinkette slowly made her way out of the crowded room and into the long stone grey hallway. It was eerily quiet compared to the room she'd just left, the dull roar of quiet conversation fading away with every step she took, her mind and body relaxing with every corner she turned.

'Finally, a little peace and quiet.'

And just like that her mind went crazy.

The blood was back on her arm, her hand piercing Zaku's chest and emerging from the other side, the look on his face while the light faded from his eyes.

Shocked

Confused

Hurt

Fearful

She'd…done it.

She'd actually killed someone! She'd killed someone, taken his life and thrown it away. Eyes glazing over slightly, Sakura backed up against the nearest wall and sank to the floor, her mind running nonstop.

Did he have a family?

Friends?

Brothers?

Sisters?

She'd taken it all away, but she did it to save her teammates.

Sakura frowned slightly as a soft gasp left her chest, her face scrunching up in confusion as it kept happening.

'Why…? Oh…I'm crying.'

It wasn't blood running down her face, it was tears.

She was in a hall, not the forest.

And the dark haired man kneeling before her wasn't Zaku, It was-

"…Tobi?"

"Let's get you cleaned up Sakura, I think I have something that'll fit you."

Madara P.O.V

She was slowly falling apart; he could see it in her eyes. Questioning her actions; reasoning whether it was right or wrong, whether it had been worth it.

He needed to step in now, it wouldn't do to have her mind wander for too long.

Picking up her quietly sniffing form, Madara made his way into the nearest bathroom and sat her on the pale counter, quietly whispering to her as he went.

"It's alright."

"Tobi is here."

"Don't cry Cherry-chan."

Grabbing a few paper towels and running them under the water, he silently cleaned the tears and dirt from her face, giving no reaction to the dried blood that was still stuck in some places.

Tossing the dirty towels out and reaching for another, he was stopped by her small hand catching his, her sobs loudening as she suddenly tugged herself closer and hugged him, her face burying into his chest as he stood frozen in place.

'What?'

'He was an Uchiha damn it, he didn't do hugs that weren't on his own terms.'

But as she clung to him, he let out a sigh and placed his hand on her head softly, his other patting her back lightly in comfort.

'But this is just like after her dream, so I can make an exception.'

"It's okay Sakura, just calm down and take a deep breath." Once she had taken a few and her sobbing died down, he continued. "Tell me what's wrong, did something happen?"

"I did a terrible thing Tobi…I…I KILLED someone!" She whispered out, her eyes wide in shock as she looked pleadingly up at him. "I KILLED SOMEONE! I ran my hand through his chest, I was covered in his blood! What about his family Tobi? What will they be told? Please, please don't hate me, I'm sorry!"

Raising an eyebrow behind his mask, the Uchiha pulled back from the now frantic pinkette and lent down to her level.

"Why would I hate you for something like that Sakura? Are you forgetting that I used to be a ninja too? We kill people Cherry, that's our job. We kill, steal and manipulate to achieve our goals."

"But-But I…I still-"

"Why did you do it? Why did you kill him?" He asked, interrupting her as he stood back to full height and pulled a small scroll from his pocket.

"Why did I? He was going to kill my teammates…He was trying to kill them in their sleep…" She admitted, watching as he unsealed a shirt and rolled the scroll back up.

With a nod he handed her the old shirt, motioning to the stall behind him.

"It was him or them, think of it this way: if someone was trying to kill me in my sleep and you were there, would you let them?" He already knew the answer, but watching her eyes darken and glint angrily made him smirk to himself, reassured that his hold over her was as strong as ever.

"No. I wouldn't let them anywhere near you. No one will kill my friend, not again." Feeling a familiar chakra slowly come closer down the hall, Madara knew his time had run out.

"Now, go get changed before your teammates come looking for you. Don't you have another stage of the exam soon?"

As she scurried past him he heard a quiet, absentminded mutter slip from her mouth, one that made him stiffen in place as she closed the door.

"How did you get here Tobi?"

Damn it.

Sakura's P.O.V

Tobi wasn't in the room when she came back out, but then again, her friend always did disappear and reappear at the oddest of times.

The shirt he had given her was a miracle. Sure it was baggy and too big for her, but it covered everything important and went to mid-thigh, so her torn pants didn't bother her as much either.

Washing her arms and hands in the sink with soap felt like heaven, she'd managed to get rid of the smell at last! Sure she'd probably used all their soap, but she was sure it'd be okay.

Now that red head wouldn't be staring at her every other second.

Turning off the tap and drying herself with the paper towels, she smiled slightly to the mirror and tried to ignore the puffiness of her eyes.

She'd be fine.

Tobi had told her so.

Throwing out the paper towel and opening the door, Sakura managed to jump back just in time to avoid Iruka's stumbling form.

"Um…Hello sensei, can I help you?" She asked as he smiled sheepishly at her.

"Sorry about that Sakura, I was just looking for you actually. I thought I'd let you know that the next stage is going to start in about 10 minutes, so you'd better hurry back to Naruto and Sasuke." He informed, his hand rubbing the back of his bruised head slightly.

"Oh, okay sensei, I'll see you later then!" starting past him, she was pulled to a stop by a hand on her shoulder, prompting her to look up at her old teacher.

'Huh?'

"Sakura..I, uh, just be careful okay? Keep an eye out, I've had a bad feeling lately, alright?"

"Alright sensei, thank you for the worry." She muttered as she made her way from him and back to the others, her smile fading as her mind began processing things again.

'Why would Iruka-sensei be so jumpy?...Did he hear me and Tobi? Does he know what I did?'

I'm back~ I've found my pattern again and I'm good to go! Are you? I am! And I threw in a little GaaSaku for all those asking.

This chapter is un-betad because I really needed to get it out!

As you can probably tell, this was just a warm up to get back into the feel of things, and yeah, my style might have changed a little, I don't know.

Question time!:

1. Are you really mad at me?

2. What do you think will happen in the fights? (because huehuehue, I've fucked them all up and hint hint, Neji vs Tenten, Hinata vs Temari)

3. Do you wanna add me on Tumblr? We can chat about fanfiction, sakura, how sexy Madara is and you can kick my ass when I forget to update! My Tumblr name is StoneMedusa and I look forward to talking to you all!

You should know the drill by now, but for those who don't-please leave a review, I would really appreciate it~ no flames or just telling me everything you think is wrong with this fic.

Sakura-Hime-Sama