A/N: Thanks for the reviews: Of Healing Love, Goddess OF Deaths, mshccs, Kaelin, Musical cake, anon guests one, two, and three, la canelle, GoldenPiggy, Funnie, Amy, easilyaddictedgirl, and xxdoncrazyxx. Glad everyone liked the Tobi scene. Yes, Amy, that's why Madara was pissed lol. He told Obito to act under his name and then he does... that, rofl. Funnie, Sakura can't speak about anything related to Madara because of the seal on her tongue that he put on her in chapter 11, and since Obito falls under that category, she'd choke up if she tried. Kakashi saw the Sharingan in canon too, so although Sakura can't say anything, the news will get out. Of Healing Love, even though I don't ship MadaSaku, it's still my preferred m/f pairing involving Madara. But yeah, this story started out MadaSaku and it'll end that way, so any implied one-sided MadaHashi that happens won't change that.

Time to address the Sakura drama, oh boy. Kaelin, I agree that Kishi doesn't write her well. I facepalmed at the ending when she actually got together with Sasuke. I never cared about the main character pairings but SasuSaku is just roflwtf man. Anyways, she would be dead as in that Madara would have killed her soul and possessed her body. I can concede the permanently suppressed one, as I do think she'd keep fighting no matter what, and then it would be a battle of wills and a major annoyance for Madara (which is why he didn't bother going that route). I *am* working with Sakura. I'm sorry if you don't like the way I'm writing her. She's gone through multiple emotional traumas of varying degrees over the course of the story so far, and is sharing her body with someone she doesn't like (despite her developing attraction to him). Someone who has invaded her privacy and forced her to do things she didn't want to do, and in general is in a position to manipulate and over-ride her. So she's trying to deal with it all, and although she tries to be strong, she's still young and can (and has) cracked under the pressure.

In case I didn't make it clear enough, at the start she did bitch him out and shout back and meet him head-on, though she quickly learned that sort of thing doesn't work with Madara, so she's trying other methods of how to deal with him and her difficult situation. She hasn't given up, but there is an unspoken familiarity growing between them that's slowly making her more used to him and calm when talking to him (and vice versa, he's let up on the insults a lot and is more willing to talk to her). I may be wrong, but from what I can glean from your reviews, you seem to be used to perma-hot-head Sakura, and honestly, whenever I see her written like that in other stories, where she freaks out half the time, yells a lot, complains a lot... it's annoying. Maybe she seems like a pale image of her former self to you because I gradually toned down her temper and focused on her rational side (I prefer that sort of inner strength rather than just yelling), however I can assure you that even though she's going through some rough character development, she will stay true to her core self and she'll play a critical role in changing Madara's mind about a huge plot point (no spoilers). So you're wrong that there's nothing nice for her in this story. She's going to play the most important role and change the entire outcome. I'd say that's pretty damn good. If you don't believe me or disagree, well, thanks for reading this far.

Sorry for the long note. I wanted to clear matters up. Anyways... WoD is out next week so I don't know if I'll have time to write a chapter. I'll try, or try to write it before the game is out, but apologies in advance if I skip next weekend's update. To compensate, I wrote a lot of Madara-Sakura interaction this chapter.

Sakura speaking to Madara in her mind.

Madara speaking to Sakura in her mind.

-Letting Go-

After spotting the black flames of Itachi's Amaterasu and arriving at the scene, the team found only the lingering scent of the two Uchiha brothers. They were too late. Sakura was naturally upset despite her mixed feelings about Sasuke, partly because of the mission's failure, but mostly on Naruto's behalf. The crushed look on his face was heartbreaking. She sometimes felt guilty about the promise he had made to her about bringing Sasuke back and everything he had gone through because of it. She had to admit that he had a stronger bond with Sasuke than she did. They had experienced similar pains and losses in their lives, something she could never truly understand, even though she had told herself until recently that she could. It was a lie she had been more than willing to believe, too wrapped up in her love for her teammate.

The journey back to Konoha was filled with disappointed silence. Madara spent the entire time brooding in the back of her mind, leaving Sakura to her thoughts. She took the opportunity to try to figure out what exactly her feelings were for Sasuke, especially after everything Madara said. It was painful and tore at her heart in a terrible way, but necessary. Everything he said... was true. Sasuke had never shown any sign of reciprocating her feelings. She did feel a lot of sympathy for what he had gone through, the Uchiha massacre, everything... and had tried her best to prove her love to him, but nothing had ever reached. Maybe she would never be able to connect with Sasuke the way she had always wanted to... and honestly, it really wasn't good for her. It had twisted her up inside and hurt her so many times, pining over that boy. It truly wasn't fair to her. Maybe it was time to think of her own mental and emotional health.

That was easier said than done, though. After holding feelings for Sasuke for so long, it was really hard to let go, despite the pain in her heart. She still wanted to save him as she always had, from his darkness, from Orochimaru, and now from the Akatsuki. But that was okay, right? He was still their lost teammate, and wanting to help him because of their past friendship... just friendship, was acceptable. Naruto still wanted to save him too, so if she thought of it as helping her best friend out, then that made it more okay. She just had to let go of her feelings for Sasuke and focus on that.

Just...

Let go.

Sakura breathed in and out deeply, imagining that she was exhaling her past love for Sasuke. Her heart still felt broken and she felt emotionally drained, but as she focused on her mental exercise, she felt a bit lighter, like a burden had been lifted. Everything would be okay. She didn't need to love Sasuke. She didn't need that pain. She didn't deserve that pain. She didn't want to feel that pain anymore. It was time to move on. Her chest ached, but it felt kind of good. She could still hold onto her past friendship with Sasuke, and that was enough. As long as she kept reminding herself to let go, she would accept her decision more and more, until it became natural and her heartbreak faded. It would be a difficult task, but she knew she could do it, for her own sake.

When they arrived in the village, Kakashi-sensei and Yamato-sensei went to report to the Hokage while everyone else went their separate ways. Naruto didn't say a word to her before leaving, and she had to stop herself from calling out to his retreating back. She frowned as he disappeared from her sight and sighed, wondering if she should have gone to comfort him. Sakura shook her head to stop herself from overthinking it and slowly made her way to her apartment, stopping briefly at a road-side stall to pick up some fresh fruit to eat while she walked.

As soon as she shut the door behind her, Madara perked up and prompted her to form a clone. She did so and flinched at the prick of pain that signaled his leave from her mind. He transformed the clone into his own body, making his way to his usual spot on her couch. She trailed after him, intent on asking him the questions that had been bugging her. Before she could, he lazily smirked at her and said, "I told you it would fail."

"Eh?" Sakura blinked, slightly confused, until she realized what he meant, "Oh... yeah. The mission..." She sighed and sat down on the opposite end of the couch, turning her body to face him as much as was comfortable. She frowned, "You were... you were right." It was hard to admit that she had been wrong. The failure stung her, especially after she had boasted that the team would succeed. She had been so sure of it, but again they had lost Sasuke.

"What was that?" Madara asked, cupping his ear and pretending in a mocking sort of way that he hadn't heard her.

Gritting her teeth in mild annoyance, she narrowed her eyes and bit out, "I said you were right. I was wrong. We tried our best and it wasn't good enough. Are you happy or do you need me to bash it into your head?"

He chuckled and shook his head once, "No, that was perfect." He paused for a few seconds, then asked, "What about that boy? Have you given up on him?" He was really picking at her emotional wounds today. She briefly wondered if he got some sort of sick joy from it.

Sakura sighed again, feeling the tug at her heart at the mention of Sasuke, "Yes... and no." She had made her decision during the journey home.

Madara cocked an eyebrow, "What exactly does that mean? Are you still holding on to some sort of... love?" he sneered that last word.

She smiled, though she knew the sadness was clear in her eyes, "No, I've decided to let go of my feelings for him. But... I'm not giving up on trying to save him and bring him back, in memory of our past friendship, and for Naruto's sake."

He looked slightly baffled, "Well, at least you're not foolish enough to keep chasing after him like a puppy... but you still want to save him? That's absolutely ridiculous and pointless."

"I told you before, didn't I?" Sakura replied, enjoying turning the tables on Madara for once. He had a frown on his face. He really didn't understand and that tickled her. It was also a good distraction from her heartache.

"Explain," he demanded with a slight scowl. She grinned at his annoyance, extremely tempted to take it further and taunt him, but she still wanted to ask him about the masked man and the plant-guy, so she couldn't push him too far.

"I will never, ever give up. That is my ninja way. I will help Naruto save Sasuke, no matter how long it takes, no matter how many times we fail, no matter how many times we're crushed with disappointment. Eventually, as long as we keep trying, we'll bring him home," Sakura said, happy at the spark of confidence that blossomed deep inside her, a welcome change from the disappointment, sadness, and heartbreak.

"You won't give up on finding him, but you're willing to give up on your feelings for him? Doesn't that conflict with what you just said?" he asked, a curious gleam in his black eyes.

"Those are two totally different things," Sakura answered, and at Madara's disbelieving look, she offered further explanation, "One of them involves more than me... it's about Naruto and Sasuke too. The other, my feelings for him... you were right that he never felt the same, so that was something that only concerned me. It's not good for me to hold onto feelings that have only caused me pain, so I decided that it's time to let go."

Madara stared at her for a moment, the intense look making her fidget. Finally, he broke the silence and said, "I'll give you credit where it's due... it's good that you took my advice about that boy and you're not allowing your emotions to cloud your judgement. However, have you considered that you may never succeed in bringing him back to Konoha?"

Sakura was mildly surprised that he had given her veiled praise about her decision to let go of her love for Sasuke. She considered his question and said, "Maybe... even if it never happens, I won't give up, and I know Naruto won't either. If we end up trying for the rest of our lives, then so be it."

He went quiet, looking at her as if she had two heads. Sakura was about to open her mouth and break the silence when he laughed, the sound doing weird things to her stomach. He leaned forward, reached out, and flicked her forehead. "Foolish."

She batted his hand away, aware that it wasn't really an insult. The quirk of his lips and glint in his eyes made that clear. It was something else... teasing maybe? She pushed that thought away, unsure how to deal with it and the odd emotions that came with it. "So what? Do you just give up when things get too hard?" she challenged.

Madara's face shifted into a solemn expression. "No... before I discovered the true nature of this world, I tried and failed in my efforts many times..." His dark eyes glazed over and he looked lost in his thoughts. Sakura waited patiently for him to continue, wanting to take advantage of his talkative mood.

Suddenly, there was a flash behind her eyes and she found herself perceiving a vision that overlapped with reality. She could still see Madara on her couch, but she could also see a river, and as usual she was looking out from the Uchiha's point of view. She briefly saw herself turning away from the young Hashirama as he pleaded with her to not abandon their dream, a pain in her eyes as her Sharingan manifested, then the scene flickered between multiple battles with him, looking older each time. She saw Uchihas getting killed, her father being slaughtered in battle, and the second Hokage... Tobirama, slicing through her brother's chest. The name popped into her mind... Izuna.

A fierce sorrow and sense of bitter failure broke her heart as she sat looking down at Izuna as he slowly died. "Take my eyes, brother... use them to protect the clan," he begged her. She felt tears sting her eyes, both in the vision and in reality as the intensity of Madara's emotions overwhelmed her. The scene shifted again to a mountain that overlooked a smaller, developing Konoha. Hashirama was next to her, saying something about wanting her to be the Hokage and think of the villagers as her family.

The vision flickered again quickly through different scenes, and she saw Hashirama's face on the mountain, the Uchiha clan turning their backs on her as she tried to warn them that the Senjus would subjugate them, frustration, betrayal, loss, and failure cutting through her as she realized she couldn't keep her promise to her brother, Hashirama in the Hokage's outfit begging her not to leave in some sort of underground shrine, fighting against him on top of the Kyuubi, an explosion, a sharp pain as a sword stabbed through her chest, and she felt dizzy, her head spinning.

Sakura blinked and tried to clear her mind as the barrage of visions ended. Luckily Madara seemed to still be lost in his thoughts, so she discreetly wiped her eyes clean of the threatening tears and locked the new information away in the back of her mind. She didn't know why she'd suddenly seen all that, but it wasn't enough. It was never enough. Every time she had a vision of Madara's past, it always left her with more questions than it answered. Still, she was grateful for any new insight about the Uchiha. She wished that she hadn't felt his emotions though... she was already feeling seriously drained from everything that had happened today, and the experience only made her even more tired.

Madara's expression sharpened and she realized he was paying attention again, so she took a chance and asked, "When you say the true nature of this world, you mean that stuff we talked about way back when, about winners and losers, and peace and hatred?" She wanted to ask about the efforts he mentioned too, but that wasn't as important, and it was best to focus on one topic at a time.

He nodded, "Yes." Sakura waited for him to elaborate, but to her disappointment, he didn't. She bit her lip, and decided to go for it.

"You never told me about your solution to that problem. I'm really curious, especially after today... I mean, you were right about the failure of the mission..." she said, trying to butter him up a bit and hopefully get on his good side. It was an insult to her pride to do so, but worth the sacrifice.

Madara hummed, considering her request, "I'm not entirely sure if you deserve to know." Sakura mentally facepalmed and resisted the urge to swear at him.

"Please," she ground out, trying really hard to not look frustrated, "It's not like I can tell anyone with the seal you've put on me, and I am genuinely interested to know how you would address the concept of darkness in the world."

He crossed his arms and gave her a piercing stare, which she met full on, unwilling to back down. The seconds turned into a full minute, and then it felt like something shifted between the two of them and he smirked, "Hn... alright then. I'll tell you tomorrow. It's getting late now and it'll take a while to explain."

Sakura blinked in shock, surprised that he had actually consented to her request. She smiled at him, a real smile, and said, "Thank you. I appreciate it."

Ever elegant, Madara snorted and looked away, "As you should... considering I tolerate all your inane nonsense and questions." He sighed dramatically, making his exasperation very clear.

Sakura's smile tightened, and she felt somewhat irritated at his manners, but instead of letting her annoyance show or making a snarky remark, something she would have done even a week ago, she played along, "I apologize for my naive ignorance," she drawled, "Perhaps you could find it in yourself to suffer another question or two?"

She knew she had handled it right when his lips curled up in an amused smirk and he turned back to her, "Perhaps I can."

"That masked man from earlier... why did he piss you off like that?" she asked, hoping that his good mood would lead to an actual answer.

Her gamble paid off. Madara hesitated before replying carefully, "It's not been revealed outside of a small number of people, but that man is acting under my name."

Sakura's mind raced as she put it together. So the Akatsuki member and Madara definitely knew each other somehow, and he got mad when the masked man acted like an idiot, because it made a mockery of his Uchiha name. But how and why did they know each other? "Is he working for you?" she asked.

"Mm," Madara confirmed, watching her closely, as if he was aware that she was putting together the puzzle pieces in her head. She wanted to question him more about the Akatsuki member, who he was, why he was working for Madara, how they met... but...

Worried that she was approaching the end of his willingness to part with information, she took a chance and asked, "And that plant-guy... does he know that you're sealed inside me?"

Madara's eyes narrowed, "Aha, so you picked up on that. Pretty clever... for a woman. Yes, he does."

Ignoring the sexist remark, Sakura immediately tried to dig for more, "How did he find out? Does he work for you too?" She felt excited to solve this mystery.

The Uchiha tsked and shook his head, "That's enough for now. I gave you three answers, one more than what you asked for. Next time, be sure to carefully word your questions. You could have gotten a lot more knowledge from me if you had."

Sakura sighed and grumbled, "I don't suppose I could bribe you somehow?" She was disappointed that she had only gotten a little bit of information out of him, but he was right. She shouldn't have gotten caught up in her excitement, and instead taken time to phrase them better. She couldn't complain too much though... he had actually answered her this time, for once.

Madara humored her, "Actually, you can. There's something I've been meaning to do... a little side project I've been looking into. Work with me on it, and I'll answer a few more of your bothersome questions."

She gave him a curious look, "Uh... okay? I guess? I don't suppose you'd tell me what it is?" She sighed as he smirked pointedly at her. "Of course not. Well, when do you want to do it?"

"Soon," he replied, as if that told her anything. "When the opportunity presents itself, I'll let you know."

"Fine," Sakura agreed, ignoring the voice in the back of her mind warning her that this could be a bad idea. It was possible, but the more she learned about Madara and his motives, the better chances she stood against him if he ever decided to try anything really horrible.

"Now, go to bed. I won't have you ruining our body," he commanded, shooing her away and picking up a novel. She was about to argue and state that it was her body thank-you-very-much, when she yawned, proving his point.

Catching Madara's amused look, Sakura said, "Shut up." She didn't bother waiting for his reply or any more teasing insults, instead getting up and heading into her room to brush her teeth and go to sleep. It was only when she was alone that she realized she hadn't been thinking about Sasuke during most of the time that she had spent talking to Madara, and she didn't feel as bad anymore. She smiled to herself. That bastard was useful in one way, at least.

Next Chapter: Sakura questions Madara's sanity. Madara questions Sakura's principles.