Disclaimer: I not own the Naruto series.

Chapter 9

"Haruno-sensei, I-I made this for you." Sakura scooted back from her desk to swivel towards one of her students, one of the youngest in the class. The young girl placed a handmade card in her hand.

Sakura ran her thumb over the cover. Layers of white, red, and pink papers neatly and intricately glued on top of each other. 'Sakura-sensei, thank you for all that you do!' was embossed in glittering black ink. Sakura could tell there was a lot of thought and work put into this card.

Sakura placed the card over her chest. "Thank you Toko-chan. I'll cherish it."

The little girl took a deep breath and puffed out her chest, "I-I can heal scratches on my knees when I fall a-and I helped my brother put his arm in a splint when he broke it after falling down a tree!"

Sakura clapped her hands together. "Wow! Look at you, already a wonderful medic before becoming a Genin!" Sakura rubbed Toko's shoulder, a smile of pride and warmth in her chest.

The classroom door slid open. It was Iruka-sensei. "Sakura there's-oh sorry, I'll come back later."

"Oh, no. It's okay." Sakura instantly picks up the urgent cue. She turned towards Toko. "Toko, thank you for your gift. It's very lovely. We'll continue our conversation tomorrow, I have other things to attend to at the moment. I want you to show me how you made this card." Sakura winked.

"Of course Haruno-sensei! I'll see you tomorrow!" Sakura crouched on one knee and they shared a brief hug. Toko runs out of the classroom, saying goodbye to Iruka-sensei on her way out down the hallway. Iruka promptly slides the door closed. Sakura looks at him, her expression instantly serious.

"A member from Team Taka was captured." They left the classroom, needing no further discussion.

They were underground, walking briskly through one of the tunnels filled with darkness, towards a metal door at the end. The interrogation room. Ibuki could be seen through the slim glass windows but Sakura couldn't see who he was looking down at.

The door opened soundlessly. There were two ANBU ninjas on either corners of the room, keeping a close eye on the person seated at the table. It was Karin.

She looked awful. As Sakura approached, she noticed Karin was bound tightly to a chair with metal wires. She had a black eye, deep lacerations bled at the surrounding cloth of her clothes. Blood dripped from her mouth. A lone light in the room, shining down in the shape of a cone. The fluorescent brightness only enhanced the red and purple of her scars even more starkly. A discarded black coat was laying on the floor next to the table.

Karin looked up at the sound of footsteps on tile. Ibuki kept his eyes hard on her. The two women made eye contact.

Ibuki spoke, "Haruno-san." Sakura's eyes darted forward, her shoulders squared.

"Ibuki-sensei."

The tile underneath his boots gave a light squeak as he pivoted towards her, some blood under his boot. "We're done talking. She needs to be treated before being escorted to one of the holding cells." Sakura glanced again at Karin. She was hunched over the table, tiny droplets of blood dripping from her mouth.

"Understood." Ibuki called out to the two ANBU in the room to take her to the hard bed in the other room. There were only two torches illuminating the sides. The ANBU pulled leather straps across her torso and around the joints of her knees. Her wrists and ankles were strapped down as well.

Sakura walked towards Karin, giving a once over to her injuries. She made eye contact with Karin, her one eye visible. Without speaking, it was if they were talking. She turned towards the men.

"May we have some privacy. She has injuries in her pelvic area." With a silent nod, Ibuki ordered all the men to leave the room. The door shut tight, leaving Sakura and Karin alone in the room. Though they were rivals, Sakura couldn't help but give a look that said What happened? Karin looked away, annoyed.

Sighing, Sakura lets it be and lifts her medical bag on the table, placing a clean rag in the center of the table. Sakura lays out antiseptics, cotton, bandages, tweezers, and other equipment in a neat order.

Karin sucked in a breath and winced backwards into the hard cushion as Sakura gently patted the cotton over her black eye.

"Keep still." Karin obeyed Sakura's orders, much to her surprise. It made the process a lot smoother.

Sakura clicked a pen light on. "Look at my ear." She shone a small light at her pupils, checking their reactions. One of her pupils was dilated wide while the other didn't. Karin had a nasty concussion.

Once her upper body was taken care of, Sakura eyed her broken legs and the awkward way her lower abdomen was aligned.

"I'm going to align your hips. They're broken. And try not to move afterwards. I'm trying to prevent paralysis." Sakura walked towards the sink attached to the other end of the table to wash her hands. Karin's blood swirling down the black drain.

"He cares a lot about you, you know." Sakura stiffened. She looks at Karin. Her eyes were vacant, looking at something far away in defeat. A tear fell from her black eye. Sakura didn't need to say anything, she already knew who Karin was referring to and wiped her hands on a towel as she hesitantly walked back to the bed. Unease was growing inside her mind.

Karin continued, her voice cracking in some places. "Because he protects you the way I want him to protect me. He never told Orochimaru about you, at all. He never hesitates to put me in danger to save himself. Even though I would protect him with my life to help him escape if it helps him to be happy."

Sakura fumbles with her equipment by accident, almost knocking over some vials containing different kinds of painkillers. Her hands tremble as she listens intently while continuing to examine Karin's hips and legs, injecting doses of anesthesia.

"I thought that's what love was. Accepting the hurt from someone you care about to show them that they are loved because they are hurting inside too." Her voice cracks as she struggles to speak. Karin swallows hard as Sakura places her hands channeled with chakra on either side of her hips. Karin sucked in breath through her teeth, stifling a cry as Sakura aligned her hip bones back into place with expertise. More tears flow from her other eye, more so from the physical pain that shot through her legs.

"I was crushed under a boulder that Orochimaru threw at Sasuke-kun, to help him escape, if that's what you're wondering," Sakura winced at the thought.

"Sasuke-kun never came back for me. I thought I was going to die." Sakura made eye contact again, pity and sadness in her eyes. They may be enemies but they have a lot in common when it comes to Sasuke. Sakura wasn't sure if the mutual feeling made her feel comforted or distrubed.

Karin looks up at the ceiling, sighing out of relief that the most painful part of her treatment was over. "I just wanted to be that person in his life that he smiles warmly at."

Sakura looks down and meets Karin's eyes. Tears streamed from both eyes and puddling on the sheets. Karin turns toward Sakura and that's when Sakura could fully see how broken she was. It wasn't just her injuries from Orochimaru or the harsh treatment she got from Ibuki, her spirit was completely broken. Her eyes were full of pain and agony and longing. The intense vulnerability sent fear down Sakura's spine. It was as if she was looking at a mirror of herself.

Karin's voice lowered to a hoarse whisper, sending goosebumps on Sakura's pale skin, "I already lost to you."

Sakura stumbled through Konoha, her legs pumped with chakra in a full sprint back from the mountain and towards the village.

She replayed the scene of Karin's words in the interrogation room. She's seen so much death, injuries, and illness but something about Karin's condition scared her to no end.

She didn't want to think about Sasuke again but there's always something, something that keeps bringing back in her life. Sakura's sprint turned into frenzied leaps from building to building, not having a direction in mind. Just anything to wash her mind of Karin's broken figure and heart. She might even end up that way too.

It didn't help that the war seems as if it were going to erupt any moment now. Karin's case being of the growing numbers of injuries surrounding Konoha. All of Konoha was gathering their army and were communicating with allies. The Sand village was already on the defensive. There was too much happening but she didn't get a hold of herself somehow. She had to act fast.

All the people Nagato killed were resurrected, all the Hokages are back. Then a lightbulb went off in her head. She stopped running and looked at the large moon. Tonight it seemed to have a red hue. The moon seemd to gravitate closer to Konoha tonight, the stars around it twinkled but she noticed one die out, disappearing into the vastness.

Did she dare try it? To bring someone back, to aid Konoha and for primarily her sake?

Something in her gut lurched, a dark side to her she hasn't answered for a while. It was never gone, she never had closure from her nightmarish thoughts. They were just dormant, sleeping. Being a shinobi didn't always mean having the high ground, they just had values and people to be loyal to. Anyone was capable of doing anything.

Maybe she needed to spiral a little to stop spiraling completely. She also needed someone else to perform the jutsu with her.

Naruto? No, he's too pure. She couldn't ask Tsunade, she wouldn't allow it. She would lock up Sakura forever. She wouldn't dare ask Kakashi-sensei. It was too personal. Ino? Sakura scoffed. As if.

Then it clicked together. She knew exactly where to go and changed enroute back toward the Academy.

Anko was chewing gum and reading a magazine in her small office when Sakura found her. A cigarette half-used was sitting in an ashtray on the table, a thin line of smoke wafting into the air. Sakura entered through the window and Anko let her in, once seeing her grim expression.

"Haruno? What brings you here tonight?"

She asked her request carefully and Anko looked at her in disbelief at first but her face grew serious. Sakura thought she was going to refuse and report her to Tsunade or the Council. Then Anko's face cracked a wide grin, full of sly intrigue.

"Never knew you had it in you to want to do something like this. Alright," she took a swig on her cigarette, "So, who's it going to be? Who are we going to use as the vessel?"

Sakura led them underground to one of the holding cells. She peered through the bars at Karin's pitiful figure laying on the bed, resting. Her hand grabbed one of the bars and stopped, no, not her. She didn't do anything to deserve this.

Sakura turned towards the cell across from Karin's, Anko followed her movements. A prisoner of war lay resting in the other cell. An enemy Konoha captured and tortured as well. She was a spy from the Hidden Mist. She was covered in bandages, her chest panting in rapid, shallow breaths. The prisoner was barely hanging on to her life, a mere breath away from death. Sakura knew how to save lives. But she wasn't afraid to end them when it was their time.

She nodded at Anko and they proceeded to break her out of her cell.

Anko took them to a remote area just outside the village walls to a cave. Even Sakura can tell she was tense about her decision to do a Resurrection jutsu but Sakura knew, once she saw her old mentor at the Forest of Death at the Chunnin Exams, that she was capable of doing things shinobi were forbidden to learn.

A black kunoichi outfit laid on the floor in the middle of a drawn circle on the ground; a sleeveless black robe, black leggings, shoes, and a Hidden Leaf Hitai-ate. The items laid at the base of a mannequin. Four torches were embedded in the ground just outside of it. With an arm on her hip, Anko turned toward Sakura.

"Are we ready?"

Sakura was frightened. Her hands were cold and shook with fear or excitement, she wasn't sure. But she was sure in this decision. She felt it in her heart.

"I'm ready."

"Just let me know if you feel weak or nauseous. That was a lot of chakra we used up."

Sakura, catching up with her breath, turned to Anko, "I'm fine. Thank you again, Anko-sensei."

"No need for formalities. And being Orochimaru's students has its perks," she eyed the person waiting expectantly in the middle of the circle, "I'll be on my way. I'm sure you can handle things from now on." Anko walked out of the cave promptly, leaving Sakura alone with the other person.

White smoke that swirled around the cavern was starting to thin out. Tendrils of white faded around the figure's ankles. The person was wearing the borrowed black kunoichi clothes. She was petite, a little taller than Sakura. Her brown hair was long. Her eyes were transparent and unfocused until the iries melted into a dark, deep brown. The woman's gaze narrowed in confusion.

"Why am I here? Who are you?", her tone was mature and low. It surprised Sakura.

Sakura walked closer until they were a few feet apart. "Nohara Rin. I am Haruno Sakura of the Konoha Leaf village. I request your assistance."

"I see. Konoha is entering another great war," Rin's face turned grave, shadows darkening her mannequin surface. "What is my role?"

"Well, we obviously need more manpower, but also…", Sakura bit her lip, figuring out how to word her next sentence. Rin waited patiently.

"There's an opponent that's not easy to take down. I don't think brute force alone will stop him. He won't listen to anyone, except you," Sakura bit her lip and continued.

"I think you're really key to Konoha's survival. His motive to destroy Konoha is fueled by your death. He used to be a part of your team," Rin understood immediately.

"Oh...Obito…" She looked away in thought. From this angle Sakura thought she was very pretty and wondered what she looked like when she was alive. Though at first glance others may think she looked plain but maturity and intelligence graced her looks.

"He is the harbinger of this next Great War," her eyes narrowed, "He must have grown strong, too strong. He would never do something like this, unless he was swayed in a moment of weakness."

Sakura shifted her weight to her foot, feeling uncomfortable. "Can you...talk to him?" Sakura asked nervously.

Rin looked thoughtful. Sakura thought she was going to reject this idea but instead Rin answered, "Of course. After all, we have a lot of history." Rin offered a shrug and a smirk, though a bit sad.

Rin had a curious look on her face, examining Sakura. She tilted her head, "I sense...you awakened me for another purpose."

Sakura shifted uncomfortably, "...Y-Yeah. It's more personal. We don't have to talk about it. It's arbitrary."

She walked forward and took Sakura's hands. Despite being a mannequin, Sakura felt warmness in the gesture. "What is it, Haruno-san? What's troubling you, dear."

It's strange being comforted by a woman using a mannequin's body. In a way, it felt wrong. Like a doll coming to life from possession. Though the feeling crossed her mind, they never grew up in the same lifetime but it feels like they have been on the same team forever. Rin must have sensed this too which is why she didn't harbor suspicion towards Sakura. She didn't feel tense around her at all, despite Sakura's own doubts.

Sakura grip tightened. "A relative of Obito is, was, my former teammate and he also went down a very dark path. I...don't know what to do. I can't seem to get him out of my head no matter what I do," Sakura looked away in shame, "Even though he's trying to burn Konoha to the ground, has tried to put a Chidori through my chest…"

More than once, she noted in her mind, "I still...I…"

"Loving a member of the Uchiha family is a risky chance," Rin interjected, Sakura flinched at the word love, Rin continued, "Despair seems to follow every single one of their lineage but we can't help but stick by them because we deeply care for them. Not because they are Uchihas but because they're people." Sakura sighed deeply, feeling her eyes water. She felt relieved that someone put her complex, tumultuous emotions into words.

Sakura felt anger burn in her head, dark memories throughout her head. The betrayal, the abandonment, the intent to kill targeted towards her. Malice burned at her tongue, "Even so. He pushed us away. He pushed me away. He betrayed ALL of us." She broke the hold of their hands and walked away, towards nothing, just so she could yell at the cave walls, at something. Rin calmly approached her from behind.

Sakura continued, pacing around the room, "He's the biggest asshole I've ever known. He's cold, he's cruel, he's heartless-" Sakura goes on and on, listing all the things that frustrated her to no end about Sasuke.

"Then, all of a sudden, he starts asking me for help. What for? Is he using me because he knows I'm a sucker for him? I also tried to kill him too. Just to get back at him. I wanted him to feel what I felt against him for years."

"Using revenge on revenge never works, doesn't it. It's a dangerous spiral when it comes to love." Sakura sighed, grunting, "Yeah, it backfired pretty hard."

Sakura huffed. Feeling better that she aired out her grievances about the guy. She felt a little better. She barely told anyone else about her meetings and fights with Sasuke. The conversion paused but Sakura didn't sense any awkwardness, it was a meaningful silence. Rin was mulling over Sakura's words.

"I think him asking you for help is his way of saying sorry," Rin said. Sakura stopped pacing.

From another perspective, it could mean that too. He did stop trying to kill her at one point. Sasuke was never good at words at all. A sudden realization crossed her face. "I...never thought about it that way." Sakura leaned on the cave wall, at a loss for words.

"Thank you for understanding. Finally someone out there understands where I'm coming from."

"It must be terribly lonely to be in your shoes," Rin sympathized. Sakura nodded quietly.

"I still can't stop letting myself care for him."

"You mean 'loving him'?" Sakura flinched. Rin had a soft smile, "I can see you're deeply in love with him." Sakura crossed her arms in defensiveness then let her arms slump. "Yeah, yeah I am. For too long."

"Even though we're bound by oath to put the village above all else, we're human aren't we? I'm not judging you Haruno-san. I was just like you, in a different time, in a different war. I also wanted to heal others, ease their worries because the shinobi path can be brutal and unforgiving. I wanted to save others from themselves. But I learned that I couldn't….the hard way. I couldn't heal someone who doesn't want to be healed. In the afterlife, I've learned to move on. We have no choice but to move on."

Sakura sighed loudly out of frustration, "Nohara-san, then please, how do I let someone go? He's someone who's strayed so far from his home and from people. It brings me so much misery. How can I let him go?"

"One day at a time, dear. Heal yourself first before trying to heal others. It'll do you no good to do so otherwise," Sakura winced at the memory where she lashed on people like Ino, who didn't deserve Sakura's bitchiness.

"We're also both medic kunoichis," Rin added, "It always seems as if our sole role is to fix people's problems before our own first." Sakura laughed. She has a point. She's right.

"His actions are not inexcusable, he still needs to face justice for his crimes. But I understand that love is, in fact, something very real and uncontrollable. I empathize with you very much. It's not right what Obito has done but it doesn't stop me from caring deeply for him. Even in the afterlife."

Sakura scratched her cheek sheepishly,"I...really should know better than to think I can change bad boys…" Rin giggled and Sakura started to laugh too.

"All kunoichis start off as young girls. It's nothing to be ashamed about."

Sakura gave a small smile. "Thank you, for everything. All I ever wanted was Team 7 to get back together," she said with a small smile, "but those are just memories now."

Rin nodded in mutual understanding. "I could say the same for mine too."

Sakura spotted the sun's rays stretching into thin lines into the cave. She was suddenly aware of how tired she was and involuntarily yawned. Is it morning already?

Feeling the shift in the mood, Sakura instantly perked up, "Call me, Sakura, please," Sakura waved her hand in front of her face.

"Only if you call me Rin," They both laughed and Sakura thought how Rin's contagious smile resembled Naruto in a way. Along with their laughter, the sun there was a change in tone in the cave already. All the insecurities, jealousies, spite, thoughts of revenge didn't seem like it was at the back of her mind as much anymore. Sakura really did feel much less burdened.

"I'm so sorry about what happened to you," Sakura said solemnly, remembering Rin's past, "I really am. I can't imagine it. I'm sorry it all ended in a tragedy. Even Kakashi-sensei rarely brings it up," Sakura said, with a look of sorrow in her eyes. Rin took her hands again.

"Don't be," Rin smiled, Sakura was taken aback at how optimistic she was, "If anything, this helps me see my team again. Even in death I have to knock some sense into those boys."

Sakura laughed and playfully rolled her eyes, "Tell me about it."

Sakura didn't expect things to go better than expected. Rin was like a mother figure in war she never had until now. A role model that made her feel safe being a kunoichi in a cold world. Another woman in the midst of a ninja war and her own conflicting feelings.

Rin walked towards the only empty scroll on the ground, lightly unrevealed. She picked it up and held it out to Sakura. "I'll hide myself in this cave for the time being. Use this scroll to summon me when the time is right. I have faith in your judgement."

Instead of grabbing the scroll, Sakura wrapped her arms around Rin. Rin smiled and returned the hug.

The following day there was a small festive gathering. A festival to celebrate the coming of Spring. Sakura was working on paperwork since early morning. By evening she had to be physically pulled out of the clinic by a bunch of familiar faces she hasn't seen often.

"Stop working and have some fun!" shouted Tenten.

"Y-yes Sakura, we should g-go to the festival altogether." Hinata said on her other side. Once the group of girls went to a more secluded area in the plaza. Sakura instantly noticed round tables set up in an orderly fashion. A round of confetti shot up in the air.

"Happy birthday!" shouted from a crowd of people from all sides. Most of the teams and teachers from her generation were there.

Sakura covered her mouth in an attempt to cover her embarrassment. "My own birthday. I completely forgot."

One of the Genin students ran up to her. His little figure skittered between the crowd while holding something brightly colored in his hands.

"Happy birthday Haruno-sensei, I picked some Sakura flowers for you. You're my favorite teacher."

"They're beautiful, Hiro. You have so much potential for your age. Go on, your mother is waiting for you. Send my regards to her for me." He disappeared in the crowd. And suddenly there was a blare of music from a nearby band.

Sakura was laughing as she was pulled into a group dance.

When the music slowed and Sakura sat down to eat some food and cake, she watched the other girls teasing Hinata on asking someone out to dance. Poor girl looked as if she were to faint from panic at any moment.

Two couples caught her eye. She spotted Ino with her arms wrapped around the neck of Sai while Tenten was grabbing Neji by the hand, who seemed really embarrassed, to the middle of the dance floor. It wasn't helping his pride that Rock Lee was cheering them on along with Gai-sensei on a nearby table.

Sakura laughed at the sight then started to reminisce on some of the things that happened lately. She thought about Karin in her cell and she thought about what Rin said about letting go of the past. Something ominous hung in the air but she made sure that she could at least enjoy her birthday.

She picked up the bluebell flower she laid on the table a while ago and twirled it in her fingers. Some of the petals started to fall off.

She threw aside her finished plate and pushed herself off the table. Right. I'm supposed to have fun, not think about work.

She ran towards the crowd on the dance floor. "Hey! What song-"

One of the stalls was smashed apart. A blaze of fire heat billowed so hard it knocked some of the tables and chairs over. Fire was slowly catching on to other stalls and buildings. Sakura was knocked over and was lifting herself up while surveying the area. All shinobi scattered and raced towards the gates of the village, where black clouds swirled in a maelstrom of black and orange. The whole village was on the highest alert. It can mean only one thing.

Pink petals flew away in a flurry as Sakura rushed to join her comrades at the front gates. Their edges singed from coming into contact with the creeping fire. Some petals have already turned blacked and carried off by the wind.

The war was here. The fighting starts now.