Rain splattered mercilessly as the blue sky was covered by thick, grey clouds, the drops seeping through the trees and pelting the ground. Three figures were making their way carefully through the slippery soil of the forest, hoods pulled above their heads to shield them from being soaked.

"Never liked the end of spring," one of the slender figures grumbled, taking a wobbly step as another reached out to grab her hand.

"Caution, Lady Tenten," the man warned, steadying the young woman. "The soil here is loose."

The third member of the group was standing a distance away, frowning as she examined their path. "We've passed the mountain and the river bend, so from now on we're going downhill," she called loudly, voice drowned out by the loud rain. "Be careful."

"Let's go," Tenten nodded as she caught up, Lee right behind them both. They had left their horses a distance back, at an inn where they came across after passing the borders of Lightning and Fire. It was shabby, but it provided them well, the fact that no one paid them attention was a bonus.

Sakura had been here once, during her last trip after the port's business. She had told them that the remaining journey through the mountains could only be completed by foot, which was why they were currently hiking in the rain, After taking tentative steps down a winding, inconspicuous path unless pointed out to, Tenten and Lee could only gawk as they reached what seemed like a dead end.

"Sakura, are we at the right place?" the brunette asked, removing her hood. The rain had turned into a light drizzle now, and she slowly noticed something peculiar about the dead end they were facing.

"Yes," Sakura confirmed, reaching out towards the thick thorny shrubs in front of them. Lee and Tenten were amazed when she pushed them apart at the correct angle to reveal a peek of a clearing beyond. Crouching to pass, they gasped when they saw the beautiful clearing.

"This place is full of youth! Is this where you were the last time, Lady Sakura?" Lee asked, eyes wide.

"This is as far as I went," the rosette shrugged, her own emerald eyes appreciating the view. "I didn't exactly make an appointment."

The glade looked as if it was in a world of its own – blooming pink and purple flowers were on the ground, sunlight seeping through the thick leaves atop the branches as warm rays were shining down. The entire area was tightly enclosed by the tall trees and shrubs, a cave sitting in a corner. The strategic placing of the clearing made it inaccessible other than the way they came in from, which helped keep it away from unwanted visitors accidentally stumbling in.

"Is this where it is? Akatsuki's base?" Tenten asked, nudging her chin towards the cave.

"It could lead us there, but that one's mostly a maze," an elegant voice joined them. The trio spun around to face a beautiful blue-haired woman standing a distance away, her amber eyes watching them and a gentle smile on her lips. When those passive eyes landed on Sakura, however, the emotion in them changed drastically.

"Saki..." she whispered quietly under her breath, none of them hearing her.

Quickly, she cleared her throat and beckoned them to come with her without elaborating further. They followed behind as she rounded the large tree near the cave, and pushed apart a net weaved with leaves to reveal a trap door at the base of the tree.

"This is amazing," Tenten marvelled after they entered the door and reached the end of the steps going down, standing in front of a hall leading towards various corridors.

"This is all the work of nature," the woman introduced as they walked, her voice echoing in the tunnels. "We merely found this place years ago, and expanded on the tunnels to link to places. It's confusing if you don't have a guide with you."

"Places?" Sakura murmured.

"Yes. Mostly places owned or aligned with us," the woman said with a smile. "It took us quite a long time and a lot of manpower, but we eventually succeeded."

"Does it link with other Markets as well, Konan?" the rosette asked as they approached a door at the end of the hall they were at, all of them eyeing it curiously.

"Yes, I-" Konan paused suddenly, her head snapping quickly to look at Sakura. "What?" she whispered, amber eyes wide.

"Konan," a man called, stepping out from behind the door, interrupting any questions Konan had for the petal-haired woman. "I see our guests have arrived."

He had orange hair and a few piercings in his features. The door creaked as he pushed it open wider, stepping aside to allow their guests to pass through.

"Come, let us finally introduce ourselves formally."

.

The room wasn't big but it was spacious enough to fit an entire round table which could sit fifteen people. It wasn't flashy at all, the walls were plain but sturdily boarded and cemented, the ventilation surprisingly comfortable for an underground room. Sakura scanned her emerald eyes across the table, glancing at the few members that seated around it. Some were staring back at them apprehensively, others merely ignored.

"My name is Pein," the leader stood up. "And I am the leader of Akatsuki. We are glad to finally meet you."

"Likewise," the rosette smiled dryly. "I am Sakura, but I'm sure most of you know more about me than I do myself, seeing as how this plan was in motion before I knew I was going to be a part of it."

Tenten's eyes widened at her companion's sarcasm, but to her immense relief, Pein merely laughed it off and turned towards the brunette.

"I am Tenten," she said nervously. "Anko's adopted daughter."

"Do send our regards to Anko," the blue-haired woman smiled. "We are very grateful for her help."

"My name is Rock Lee!" Lee stood up and bowed. "I am glad to finally meet the Leaders after my years of service!" Sakura blinked. Of course. Lee was sent to her after she took over the Dragon House. He had been a part of Akatsuki, albeit a small branch of it.

"We have heard a lot about you from Sasori," Pein said. "Thank you for your help in this."

"Of course, sir!" he beamed and sat down with a bright grin on his face.

Konan stood up next, amber eyes never leaving Sakura's. "My name is Konan, and I am Pein's assistant."

"I know you," the rosette said in a hushed whisper, a frown marring her beautiful features. It seemed like the entire table tensed up together at her sudden declaration, glances darting back and forth. "Somehow, I know you."

Konan blinked, a small smile stretched across her lips. There was an emotion gleaming in her eyes that was akin to sorrow and guilt that made the rosette inhale sharply. "We'll have time to talk about this later," Konan replied softly, nudging the person next to her to continue the introductions.

One by one, the people around the table briefly disclosed their names and nothing more. Sakura raised a brow and straightened her posture as they reached a man with the name of Itachi Uchiha, and a pang of familiarity hit her when she met those dark eyes of the raven-haired man. Both nodded at each other, saying nothing but reaching a strange, mutual understanding.

"Now that we have familiarised our identities," Pein spoke up, turning to his guests. "You seek answers, don't you? And we seek to know where your loyalty lies."

"Of course," Tenten smiled. "If we're to reach a goal, we're to know if both our goals are compatible to decide the next course of action, right?"

"Akatsuki was created back in the Lightning Country as means of our salvation. Back then, all we did was aid those who needed help, be it food or protection," the orange-haired man explained, voice constricted tightly. The Lightning was nothing alike to the Fire even back then. The lives of us citizens were living hell, stuck in horrible poverty while the upper echelons did nothing but bask in needless luxuries paid by us."

"The Markets had existed way before as a means of an underground economy and information network, and some of them banded together to join Akatsuki. Even as illegal trades that earned quite a sum, the Market leaders knew more about pain than anyone else. We tried to help all we could, but the money running in the economy was limited."

"In the beginning, we wanted to riot and overthrow the useless Emperor of that dynasty," his gaze stopped at Itachi briefly before surveying around the room again. "We wanted to take back what was ours, but it seems now it was a naive thought. We found out after breaking in that the Courts and ministers were more corrupt than we thought, it was an entire mess of tangled secrets."

"We retreated after, but they didn't want their footing to be shaken again and began purging the Markets. Not long after, most of the known trades to the people were gone and they went to extreme measures to ensure anyone connected would disappear. Thus, began the decade-long war in the dark."

Tenten frowned. "Lightning Country is where it started, but from what we hear, you're being hunted down as the highest class of criminals. How... How far did you expand your powers after the riot?"

"Our intention was not to expand," Konan said slowly. "Rather, it was a trail we followed that made us leave our footsteps all about, and perhaps on the way, picked up a few more supporters and shaking the ministers that have felt confident for too long."

The brunette was confused, but her companion was not. Sakura inhaled sharply at once. "Surely not..." she murmured, emerald eyes wide. "Even the Fire?"

"You were in there for about five months, 'un," Deidara sighed. "What do you think, is it heaven as the world perceived?"

"... No," she whispered. "But the Emperor wasn't..."

"You just didn't know. It's the burden that comes together with the throne," Pein explained, taking out a coin from his pouch. "An Emperor's job is to maintain the peace in his country, and with peace comes a few sacrifices here and there. Sitting on that throne meant throwing away values for balance, and no matter how right an Emperor was-"

He tossed the coin in the air, and all held their breaths as it fell on the table with a metallic clink. "If he needed the heads, the chances of the tails had to come with."

"You saw a lot of it, 'un. And those weren't even the worst ones yet if we're here alive," Deidara murmured, hand subconsciously flying to his patched-covered left eye. The use of 'we're' didn't slip the rosette's notice, but she decided not to press.

"What made you so sure we could cooperate in the first place? If you were mistaken, then the plan wouldn't have worked, would it?" Tenten asked.

It was something that had been nagging since the beginning; if both she and Sakura hadn't encountered the entire series of events and opened their eyes, didn't make the choices they did, would Akatsuki have not executed their plan? Sakura's entrance to the palace was a chance requested by Sasuke. If she hadn't in the first place, and none of them had gotten to know each other, what would Akatsuki have done? What were the chances everything worked out the way they wanted it to be?

"Ultimately, it did not rely on chances, but more on flexibility," Pein answered cryptically. "It is not easy to explain, but you might come to understand it one day."

"But this plan seems to be based fully on chances?" Sakura rebutted his statement sharply.

"It seems you have not fully remembered," Konan said, her tone gentle and patient. "It's alright. More than chances, it was the flexibility of the situations. We took what we could get, but that's not something that can be explained in simple words. But there was always a key that remained constant."

She turned her gaze towards the rosette. "You saw the wrath of the powerful families, the extent they went just to seat their champions on the throne. Our trail led us to some of them as well. But, in contrast to just an insider in the palace, what the plan needed more to succeed was someone else to work beyond the walls. You understood that part yourself. Unlike the family that would rely on the will of the Heavens, we have always worked by relying on the strength of the people."

Her hesitation heightened the tension in the atmosphere. All members of Akatsuki around their table had their gazes on their guests, calculating and waiting. Based on their answers, they would either have a massive falling out before anything could be accomplished, or build a strong alliance that would enable their goals to be achieved successfully. Konan inhaled a sharp breath, voicing her last question.

"But what we need to know now is that – does your end goal reach the same place as ours?"

The trio looked slightly baffled at the sudden load of information and the brief mention of the complex plan. They exchanged wary glances, not oblivious to the many pairs of eyes around the table watching them eagerly.

"Know that cooperation is crucial. If there are going to be conflict in values, none will work," a redheaded man around the table reminded. Sakura easily recognised him as Sasori as he bore rather similar features to Gaara back when they met in the palace months ago.

"And where is your end goal?" Tenten raised a brow.

"The same it has always been," the blue-haired woman bit her lip. "Akatsuki's motives have never changed. My family once did their part for that purpose, and I will too."

Deidara shot Sakura a look from across the table, one that was reminding her of his advice to her back in the underground bar.

"In that case, there will be nothing for any of us to worry about," Sakura spoke, straightening her posture. Empress Tsunade knew more than she let on, and that raised a question of her own. Did the woman know about her own husband, the Emperor's actions? She wondered idly, and tucked that question into the back of her mind. She would get her chance to ask one day.

"Ours are the same, except that we have our own candidates in mind."

Deidara chuckled, the tension in the room seemed to have relieved slightly. The members of Akatsuki exchanged glances; the rosette's words did not miss them. They nodded in decision and the blond man let out a loud huff. They've momentarily reached a common ground, and would now proceed to tread carefully on that ground surrounded by enemies.

"Now, wasn't that easiest discussion we ever had, eh?"

.

Sakura didn't know what to expect when she and Konan decided to take a stroll through the forest outside of the hideout. She was nervous when the blue-haired woman first approached her, and the serene expression on her beautiful features didn't give anything away. However, the moment there was only two of them, their footsteps fell in sync easily and the familiarity of it eased some of her anxiety.

As they walked in silence, accompanied by the song of the birds after the light shower of rain, Sakura couldn't help but sneak glances to the woman on her left. There was something tugging at her memory, but she struggled to remember what.

"What do you remember?" Konan was first to speak. Previously, when the rosette had addressed her by her name even when she never gave it out, she held hope that Sakura had remembered something.

"Um," Sakura blinked, slightly taken aback. "I don't know what I'm supposed to remember..."

The blue-haired woman looked hesitant. She wanted nothing more than to spill everything, but it was best if the younger woman remembered things at her own pace. "How about you tell me about your childhood?" she finally settled on asking it gently.

"There wasn't much to remember. It's all in pieces, really," the petal-haired woman said slowly, placing the myriad of colours that surfaced with whenever she strained to recount the past. "There was... a friend. A friend I met – I would meet, on a hill. There was a family. My family of... I'm not sure how many, there seemed to be so many people."

Konan watched with a soft gaze as the younger woman bit her lip, trying hard to recall. "Did you have any siblings?"

"Perhaps I did. I remember travelling with someone, but she disappeared. And I found myself alone," Sakura frowned. "There's a lot of white. And blue. And..."

Emerald eyes blinked and widened as she slowly lifted her head, pink lips parted slightly. "Konan?"

"Yes?" the blue-haired woman asked gently.

"You... Was that you? During winter, after a fire..." Tears brimmed in her eyes, but Sakura didn't know why. At least not yet. She distinctly remembered being jolted from her sleep, waking up suddenly in the middle of the night only to find herself coughing and gasping for breath.

There was smoke everywhere. Sakura didn't understand why, the candle by her bed didn't catch fire on her curtains like mother told her to be careful of, so where was the smoke coming from?

"Mother!" she cried, her eyes watering. Her short stubby legs dangled from her bed as they couldn't touch the floor yet, and she sat up in her bed, all traces of sleep gone. Quickly, she pushed herself off the bed and landed on the floor clumsily.

Dressed only in her night robes, the young child tried to reach for the handle of her bedroom door, but retracted her hand quickly when she realised it was burning hot. That was when she noticed the flames licking at the wood from outside and she quickly backed away.

"Mother!" she tried again, but choked on the smoke that was getting thicker. The windows were way too high for her to climb, and there was no other way out. "Konan!"

She heard faint voices and a rush of footsteps from the courtyard outside. She tried to tiptoe to reach the window to call for help. "Father? Anybody!"

It was no good, the flames were entering her room quickly, catching on to her curtains. It was getting more and more difficult to breathe by the second. Near her, the wooden clothes-hanger crashed onto the floor upon catching fire. A gust of chilly winter wind swept through her window, causing her bare skin to prickle and as if blowing on the flames to make it bigger.

It mercilessly licked at the edge of her bed, where she had hastily climbed back up. She was surrounded by the blaze now, her entire room engulfed in the heat and she sobbed as she watched everything disappear in the burning fire. The young child pressed her palm to cover her nose and mouth, praying for somebody, anybody, to come find her.

"Saki!"

She was about to cry in relief when her door was kicked open slightly, and her sister stood by the entrance with one of their guards. "Saki, stay there!" The girl who was about eight years older than her ordered as the man clad in a soldier's armour tried to force open the door fully.

"Konan!" the child called.

"I'm coming!" When the door was finally broken from the hinges, Konan entered the burning room with a cape, avoiding the collapsing and burning pieces of wood from the ceiling. Finally reaching the child, she scooped her up in her embrace.

"Hold on tight, Saki," she commanded gently.

The young child wrapped her arms around her sister's neck without needing to be told again, burying her face into the crook of the older girl's neck. Konan wrapped the cloak over the young child, avoiding the falling debris from pelting her on the head. When they finally made it out, the child made a move to peek over her sister's shoulder. Emerald eyes widened upon seeing their entire home being engulfed in large, menacing flames – every single building in the compound, even the courtyard wasn't spared.

"Konan... Where's father and mother?" she whispered hoarsely, small coughs in between.

The blue-haired girl's lips were pressed into a tight line. "Come on, be quiet now. Climb on my back, and don't show yourself at all," she merely said, shifting her sister to her back and covering the mop of rose-coloured hair with a wool cap she had picked up earlier. It was mostly unharmed except for the slight singe on the edges of the thread.

"Be safe, Konan," the young child said, shifting her hands to wrap around her older sister's neck from behind, covered beneath the thick cloak. Anyone who looked wouldn't be able to tell there was a child hidden behind the young girl, and would merely think it was a pack.

"Lady Konan, we have to go now!" the soldier said firmly. "They have sent men here!"

"Shit!" Konan hissed. "Come on."

Before they could flee far, two men blocked their paths, face covered by masks. "Ain't nobody leaving here alive today," the muffled voice threatened, a menacing glint in his eyes. "We've got orders to cut you all down. Even you, girl."

Clashes of metal echoed the air as the soldier drew his sword to intercept the attack, allowing them to escape. "Go, Lady Konan!" he cried.

"Thank you for your aid to my father, Asuma," Konan nodded gratefully and slipped past the attackers before Asuma swiftly knocked the hilt of his sword against one of them on the temple, causing the man to crumple to the ground.

"I will see you again in the future," Asuma said, turning his attention to the fight with the second attacker. "Be safe."

Sakura choked a sob as the memory finally surfaced, full-blown with sensations and emotions of the night, having been locked in the recesses of her mind for years. "Konan..." she cried, wrapping her arms around the woman's slender waist.

The blue-haired woman was slightly surprised, but returned the hug, tears brimming in her own amber eyes. "I've finally met you again, Saki."

"Back then... Why? Why us? And why did you leave me alone?" The pain in the young woman's voice was evident, and Konan could only bear her own guilt of leaving her sister alone all those years ago.

"I'm so sorry for all the pain you went through," she whispered quietly, letting the rosette sob in her arms. "But I had to. Nobody knew you were alive, and it was better that way. Nobody could hunt you down if they didn't know you existed."

"Our family... Father was an important minister in the Lightning. He didn't agree with the doings of the other ministers, and both our parents strived to do something about it. When it worked perfectly, we became threats." Konan's tone was hushed and expression grave. There was a silent anger raging in her usually calm amber eyes.

"So, they sought to kill us off?" Sakura asked, horrified. "And no one suspected them?"

The older woman smiled wryly. "Of course people suspected them, but could anybody do anything? They were in power, and like we've already mentioned, the Emperor was blind to the happenings."

The rosette was silent except for the occasional sniff, wiping her tears away from her cheeks. Her brows were furrowed, mind deep in thought. "Empress Tsunade once told me a story," she said. "Of a family she got to know back when she wasn't the Empress yet."

Konan didn't answer, and when Sakura looked over to her sister, the mysterious smile playing on the older woman's lips was enough to answer her underlying question. Not only so, but one of their discussions from the meeting earlier finally clicked in place.

Sakura laughed. Not a courteous chuckle, but a full-blown laugh. It had been a long time since she had felt such peace, since there were no worries weighing in her mind. Perhaps after that day, her concerns would be twofold but in that instance, she was more relaxed than she had ever been the past half year.

"I'm glad." Was all she said before the sisters took the path back to the headquarters.

.

Itachi Uchiha is a mysterious individual.

He had been silent throughout the entire meeting, dark eyes cast towards whoever spoke and hands folded in front with elbows resting on the table, expression neutral with the occasional gleam in his eye when he observed or heard something interesting. He displayed and gave away nothing to the point where no one understood what kind of emotions he was feeling, nor his opinion regarding matters.

So, it was much to her surprise when he approached her after she returned from her walk with Konan.

"I'll see you later, Sakura." Konan bid softly, patting her shoulder to which she nodded and smiled in response.

"Sakura," Itachi called right after, extending his hand.

"Prince Itachi," she responded, shaking it. She had considered bowing as a formality, but ignoring the extended hand seemed to be much ruder than not bowing to royalty.

"About the Prince you worked with in the Fire Country..." Itachi began hesitantly, seemingly lost on how to put his thoughts into words.

Sakura decided to help him out, a small grin on her lips. They were similar in more ways than they could imagine, and thanks to her time with Sasuke, she could pick up on this man's thoughts easily; the verbal constipation was apparently one of their common traits.

"Sasuke's your brother, isn't he?" she deduced easily, emerald gaze softening. It had been a long time since she last saw him face to face, and couldn't help but wonder how he was doing.

The Uzumaki certainly kept him busy, rumours of him and the engagement had been the nothing but the only talk around the city ever since it happened, the people excited at a prospect of a large-scaled royal wedding taking place. It wasn't the first, following the announcement of Prince Shikamaru Nara and Princess Temari, and she couldn't blame the citizens for being happy over such news after the dreary hardships over the change of a new Emperor.

Itachi blinked. "I... Most probably," he replied quietly. "At least, I'm sure of it."

"He was doing well when I last saw him," she said, answering the unvoiced concern. "Although I think he may be caught up in Uzumaki affairs now..."

"So I've heard," the raven-haired man nodded, the slight cringe in his expression almost making her laugh. He observed her, dark eyes regarding her with an impressive glance. "You understand what I'm not saying quite well."

"Sasuke's the same," she chuckled at the memory of times where Sasuke would not voice anything, choosing to give her grunts and looks instead. "I picked up on a lot of his mannerisms during the time I was serving him."

"The Uzumaki marriage, you were saying?"

They got back to the topic on hand after a round of easy laughter. Sakura let out a sigh. "There was no preventing it, seeing as how he was all alone with no background in that place. The Uzumaki offered an alliance and it was only logical for him to take it. But the Uzumaki aren't generous people, and I hope he'll be alright."

The Prince let out a slow hum. He knew of the Uzumaki and the type of person Nagato Uzumaki was. He worried about the safety of his long-lost younger brother, but seeing as how Sasuke grew up amongst them, he was slightly relieved that his younger brother was still fighting strongly after all those years. Sasuke was not as weak as he worried him to be.

"There had been a tragedy when my little brother went missing," Itachi affirmed, a frown between his brows. "Did he not remember who he was?"

The rosette shook her head. "It seems his memory was distorted since the accident that brought him to the Uzumaki household."

"And you guessed it, how?" There was mirth in his tone, making him seem less intimidating.

"If the looks and mannerisms didn't give it away," the rosette grinned. "The ring most certainly did."

Itachi cocked his head to a side in a questioning gesture.

"There was this little ring a childhood friend gave me. It didn't make sense at first, all the engravings inside. Soon enough though, I realised who the owner was and what the ring signified."

"Ring..." the raven-haired Prince whispered, eyes widening as he placed her in a distant memory. "Ah. Then you... What a coincidence."

"I wonder."

"Does he know now?"

"Well," she tapped her chin, a cheeky smile on her lips. "I did mention that his memory was distorted."

Itachi chuckled and nodded. It was interesting to see how everything was playing out so far, and he wondered if it was all really a coincidence. He waved to her as he turned to leave the room.

"I'll look forward to working with you."

Author's Note:

Wow. What a load of information in this chapter. I hope it clarifies a few things, and we'll get back to progressing those plans soon enough.

Jay Nara: Please, don't let this stop you. I'd much love to read your version of the Naruto-verse of Scarlet Hearts Ryeo and I'll be looking forward to when you decide to write it!

Thank you for all the favourites, follows and reviews. Please don't forget to leave a review for this chapter as well!