"Hey kid, here's the rest of the stuff you asked for."
Sakura did not spare Kisame a glance as her eyes stayed occupied on what was before her.
Ears leaned in to hear strong lungs and fingers pressed against a pulsating vein. Her hands came up to hover over the body she had labored tirelessly to bring back into near perfect condition, minus the underlying illness she still was working against.
Endless hours were spent in this room, mostly with Sakura hunched over and the occasional presence of Kisame towering over her as he watched. This day was one of those as he set the various medical scrolls onto the desk holding similar items. With his large frame, Kisame found his usual spot in the corner of the room and leaned against the wall with crossed arms, causing the thin walls to creak in return.
Casually watching as Sakura reached to scribble data into her notebook, he cleared his throat, making her glance over to the blue male.
"How soon do you think it'll be?"
A soft sigh was emitted from her lips, eyes still glued to the notebook, "It can be anywhere from now to the next few weeks." She moved her hands over Itachi's chest, pausing for her chakra to seep into his skin, "At this point, he decides when he wants to wake up."
Kisame only grunted in response, showing his impatience to the girl.
It has been long since Sakura had informed him of Itachi's stable condition, the possibility of him regaining consciousness becoming a likely thing and no longer a hopeful wish. To say that Kisame had felt a sense of great weight being lifted from his shoulders, weight that he himself was unaware of carrying for all this time, would be an understatement.
Though he knew that the real culprit behind his former partner's health was still not dealt with, the fact that his efforts to bring him back from the clutches of death were successful and enough at this moment. Sakura carefully explained that she could only mitigate his disease right now, but Kisame could only pay mind to his friend's awakening. And so he came, more often than before, waiting for when that time may be.
"His illness is subdued for now," Sakura brought him out of his thoughts as she turned to address the shark-nin, "but like I said it's not a matter of whether or not I can heal him."
She peered over to the desk of medical records piled high in the room, each one having a vital role in her plan to operate but also drawing out a resounding flaw.
She lacked the overall chakra required.
From her countless hours of research and analysis, the procedure took a more straightforward route than she imagined. First, she must locate the exact root of the illness, where all the damage was born from. Second, she must kill off the vitals carrying the infection in order to successfully put an end to its havoc. And third, she must hand-craft a new organ to replace the contaminated one, all while trying to prevent the body from shutting down and the patient dying from shock.
With her teeth anxiously biting the inside of her mouth, Sakura did not doubt her abilities to carry out such steps, but she questioned if her reserves were enough to guarantee a smooth operation. She was aware that hours, if not days, would be required to perform the session. If she ran out during any of those phases, death will be guaranteed.
And that was something she did not want to take a chance on.
As she huffed to herself, making a mental note to scan through the new document brought to her, she brought a hand down to Itachi's head. With her fingers sweeping dark locks away from his forehead, they rested against it to feel for any signs of heightened temperature or fever.
Seeing that only cool skin was met in return, Sakura hummed to herself in satisfaction but found herself momentarily pausing as her attention was now caught onto his exposed facial features.
Eyes hesitantly analyzing from the color of his face to the bridge of his nose, she couldn't help but allow her mind to flash to the image of a similar, younger-looking male. One she had been frequently seeing when she slept.
Then, all of a sudden, a sharp pain engulfed her temple, and she swiftly brought a hand to her head while sharply hissing.
From her abrupt reaction, Kisame tilted his head and eyed Sakura's wrinkled face, "Headache?"
His gruff observation made Sakura gingerly nod to his words, hands still covering her head and the hot scorch rattling throughout her skull ever so slowly coming to a dull burn.
Since the night of their first mission, Sakura remembered waking up, body slick in sweat and head pounding from her overloaded senses. Overwhelmed from the deaths she played a hand in, disturbed from the man she saw in her dreams, and undone from the pieces of herself she had discovered.
She forced herself to stand, legs shaking and throat eagerly drinking the glass of water from her nightstand. Her lungs heaved in heavy breaths with the feeling of a hand at her throat still very real.
Many questions bombarded her distraught mind, asking who the owner of those dark eyes was, if those images were even real enough to believe in, and why even with this younger version of her did she have an emphasis to kill.
The familiar feelings of guilt and shame resurfaced, bringing her back to her sword, which rested against the dresser, and her feeble attempts to validate such deaths. But no matter how strongly she tried to reason with herself, she couldn't stop the sensation that she had done something so terribly wrong.
And with that realization came the sudden appearance of a headache, similar to the ones she felt when she initially woke up. As it showed up without warning and staying much longer than wanted, any internal crisis she was going through was forcefully ignored to soothe the pain she felt. Unfortunately for her, even her great medical skills were useless in curing it.
All she could do was hold herself and wait for time to allow the pain to eventually subside.
When Kisame saw her for their training session the next day, he knew that something was awry. From the darkened expression and the far-away look cast in her eyes, Sakura had appeared as if it was herself who died that night. Nonetheless, the shark-nin continued on with the session, noticing the lack of vigor in her body and the way her movements were on autopilot.
It wasn't until Kisame had landed a third hit on her, a hit she was more than capable of dodging, that he raised his voice in annoyance.
"If you planned on wasting my time today, you're doing a great job," he jeered, stepping back and impatiently digging the tip of his weapon to the ground.
Sakura only bowed her head, breathing tired breaths, and apologized, "I'm sorry. I'll pay better attention."
"No," he clicked his tongue, patience now ran dry, "we're done for today."
She only blankly stared at him to which he growled out another sound of annoyance.
"What's wrong with you?" he irritably questioned, using his fingers to roughly snap at her face.
"I–," She rapidly blinked, "I just don't feel good today, that's all."
Her meek voice caused him to bare his sharp teeth with a scowl, "you're making careless mistakes because of, of what? A stomach ache?"
"No, no, it's," she sighed to herself, shutting her eyes tightly, "... last night is still on my mind."
Kisame felt his irritation lessen but did not stop the frown from deepening on his lips, "why would that even be on your mind?"
"How can it not?" she hoarsely whispered back at him, eyes now opened and wide. She hastily shoved her katana back into its holder, "Those people, people that I killed, that's all I can think about."
"Then stop."
She shot him a wild look, distraught hidden behind it, "What are you saying? I can't just stop. I killed them."
"But do you regret the decision you made?"
The shark-nin's tone was firm but not condescending in the slightest.
Now understanding the girl's mindset and lack of awareness during practice, Kisame took a beat to gather his thoughts. Though the girl's troubles were the least of his worries, as he stated many times before, the last thing he wanted was her distraction during an assignment or a matter more pressing.
Like healing Itachi.
Seeing her expression, he sighed to himself, recalling the brief conversations he and his late partner also shared regarding the same topic very early in their formation. And having some sort of comprehension for what she was battling with, Kisame decided, just this once, to provide her with some sense of ease.
Noticing that Sakura had grown quiet from his question, Kisame knew her answer.
"Do you regret that the mission was a success?"
This time, Sakura managed to respond, although barely audible, "No."
A heavy breath left the blue-male, and he looked out to the fields around them, "It's super shitty, kid, the choices that have to be made in order for some type of good to come out of them." His eyes scanned the flowing trees and turned back to Sakura.
"But the choices we make are, in the end, just choices. Don't look at them as the deciding factor of right and wrong. You make one choice, and you make another one after that."
"But," she strongly interjected, hand placed over her chest, "those Sand shinobis, they were just trying to protect each other."
"And so we were," Kisame easily retorted back, "They attacked us first, kid, did you forget that?"
From his words, Sakura visibly flinched, and the hand on her chest tightly curled into a fist, "Well no, bu–"
"Someone was bound to die that night, and we didn't," his expression was unreadable as he looked down at the pink-haired girl, "because we both made the choice to not die, do you understand what I am saying?"
And she did, which caused Sakura's internal storm to ever so suddenly change into a weathering hurricane, once a heavy breeze turning into destructive winds that shook the inner workings of her heart. As the words placed themselves into the fitting cracks within her mind, Sakura forcefully prevented herself from saying, yes, I do.
As much as she hated to even subconsciously admit it, she knew that as a girl with no memories, no knowledge of who she was as a person, the only value she could ensure was that she was alive. And Sakura intended to stay alive.
Her voice was small, eyes glistening up at him, "Is that really a way to live though?"
"It has to be if you want to survive in this world," Kisame's sword was pushed even deeper into the soil as he leaned his weight against the hilt. "Dwelling on those matters is useless. Learn to move on, and when the next time comes around, decide what to do from then."
Sakura softly sighed, hand reaching up to brush the loose strands from her face, "You say it so easily."
"Because it gets easier over time."
With a pause in her breath, Sakura stared at the shark-nin with realization dawning onto her features. Realizing how much she felt herself understanding the man, the inner consciousness of her mind almost nodding its head in resounding agreement to the words he, in what seemed genuinely, spoke.
After a minute had passed by, the two standing as they watched one another, Sakura finally did allow herself to nod.
She did not know what answers she was searching for that day, but what she had found had been enough to push her through.
Though the nights since then became harder, the reality of where she now was becoming harsher, she reminded her that it was all a choice.
A choice to wake up each morning after.
A choice to move on.
A choice to simply live.
Though Kisame's words had been enough to stop the pain in her heart from spreading throughout her body, weighing it down like a sinking ship, it had done nothing to ease the headaches that became frequent after.
At first, the sensation was nearly unbearable, forcing Sakura to come to a stop in whatever she was in the midst of. During sparring practice, her healing sessions, and even while she simply went about her day, the pain was never predictable, but she fearfully anticipated for whenever it came.
Flashes of the same images from early nights before would overload her mind with memories she could not recognize herself. Red eyes. Dark hair. An anguished face.
The internal feeling of hurt and rage.
Despite such recollections becoming a familiar sight, the hair of her arms would raise, and a cold chill would run through her each time.
When Kisame took notice for the first time and asked, Sakura had surprisingly decided to leave descriptions of the mysterious man out, only telling him of the now recurring pain she felt.
His expression was unreadable, but the shark-nin was quick to blame her lack of rest and suggested for her to speak to Konan for any topical remedies. His tone had held the same inflections as usual, but she noticed the way his eyes had shifted ever so slightly as he spoke.
Now, as she currently propped herself against Itachi's bed with her head in one hand, Kisame's eyes still held a sense of subtlety behind them.
"Is the medicine Konan gave you not working?" he asked.
Sakura recalled the pills handed to her by the mentioned woman and inwardly frowned to herself. She knew, even before placing one into her mouth, that its effects would be minuscule, if not practically ineffective. If her own medicinal chakra could not even remedy her pain, how would a simple tablet do so?
She shook her head, "No, it never really did, but it's okay." With the pain now at a subdued state, her hand left her temple and moved to push her away from the bed.
Sakura easily rose from the ground to stand, "The pain isn't as bad as it was before. Maybe it's lessening or I'm just getting used to it, but either way, I'll take it as a good sign."
Kisame did not react to her and instead turned his face away from Sakura.
Though he knew the events from the nights before have had a heavy influence on the girl's state, the large male had an inkling that the barrier placed on her conscious was the main culprit.
It was known to all members there that the jutsu was experimental, almost never attempted before, from what the shark-nin could recall. For a jutsu of such an extent to reside in the body for a long period of time, it did not take an expert to understand the effects would be drastic.
Looking at Sakura now, Kisame clearly saw that the toll of the mind jutsu was just now beginning, but he could only frown to himself as he decided to keep his discovery to himself until Itachi was fully healed.
It was the choice he had decided to make.
A curt knock was heard from the door, which snapped Kisame's attention to the noise. Sakura, who now fully stood, also turned to the sound.
The door opened, and the pale face of Konan was seen, her upper body slightly leaning into the room.
"Konan," Kisame eyed the woman and curtly addressed her.
After returning his gaze, she turned to Sakura.
"Pein-sama is requesting everyone's presence."
With his head inclined to the women, the corner of his lips dipped downward, "Was that not the plan for next week?"
"Possibly," she answered, eyes easily moving to his large frame, "but Pein-sama has summoned us all now. So let us not keep him waiting for too long."
It was then that Sakura noticed the air between the two had almost unnoticeably changed, encasing the room in a slight tension that made the pink-haired girl quickly feel uncomfortable. As she shifted her weight to her left leg, she brought a hand to her mouth and forcefully coughed into it.
Though it did not do much to dispel the awkwardness she felt, it was enough for her to gain the attention of both individuals.
"Well," she said to the two, hand back to her side, "please lead the way."
It did not take long for the three to leave the room and quietly shut the door behind them as they went.
When entering the meeting, Sakura could not help but instantly hold her breath as her eyes slowly turned to the other Akatsuki members in the room. With Deidara's unreadable look and Tobi's mask face, both males silently greeted the three as they walked in.
Bringing her head to a bow, Konan lowered herself, making Kisame and Sakura follow suit.
"Pein-sama, I have brought them here as you requested," she stated, eyes cast to the ground as she spoke.
The orange-haired male turned to her, humming his approval, before gesturing to her to come forward. Once Konan had taken her place beside Pein, he had swept his eyes across the room, allowing for his gaze to land upon Sakura prior to speaking.
"Now that we are all gathered," both of his hands came to stretch out in front of him, palms faced upwards to the ceiling, "we can begin enacting the first phase of our plan."
"What must we do, Pein-sama?" Tobi's childlike voice perked up as he tilted his head to the side.
Pein cast a look at the woman beside him, "With Konan having already laid the groundwork for us, many of the villages are expecting us to be attacking within a week." The corners of his lip slightly raised themselves upwards, "however, we will be moving tonight."
Deidara's expression changed to one of surprise, "Attack all villages tonight? With our numbers, we'll have to individually split up."
"Yes," Pein mused, "but we will not be doing so. This leaked intel was only to deter them from interfering with our main objective. Sunagakure."
"We will be capturing the jinchuriki?" Deidara questioned again.
The Akatsuki leader shook his head to many of the members' surprise.
"Though we are leading them to believe so, no," he affirmed, "there is a certain scroll that we must obtain before attempting to lure the tailed-beast into our possession, and the whereabouts of that scroll is said to be with a man that is currently being treated at the Sunagakure hospital."
As a brief silence took over the room, Pein began assigning orders, solidifying the fact that Akatuski will indeed be on the move by nightfall.
"Tobi, you will go to the Leaf village and act as a distraction in the meantime. Do what you deem fit to drag the time and prevent the Leaf from sending backup to their allies." Turning to his side, his attention shifted to the remaining three before him.
"Deidara, your purpose will also be the same in Suna. As Kisame and Sakura will be infiltrating the hospital, you will need to drive as much of their forces away from them."
With his purple eyes landing onto Sakura and Kisame's hardened face, he then smiled to himself, "You two will be tasked with extracting the location of the scroll from the shinobi there. Be discreet as possible, but once the information is gathered, do what you must to destroy all evidence of its existence."
From his words, a cold shiver ran through Sakura's spine, causing her to instantly stiffen under his gaze.
"Destroy… all evidence?" her soft voice asked aloud, eyes looking up at him in slight confusion.
An eerie chill swept through the room as Sakura's question hung in the air, causing everyone to look at her in silence. However, instead of Pein addressing her, Konan took the liberty to step forward.
"As of right now, we are the only ones who know about the existence of this scroll, Sakura. If our involvement is traced back to it in any way, our entire plan will be compromised. We must let them think that we are there to target the jinchuriki."
Sakura blinked at the information being given to her, words leaving her mouth once more as her stomach continued to stir in anxiousness, "But how do you want us to do so?"
This time the Akatsuki leader spoke, "Draw as much attention away from the informative as possible. Possibly through a fire or another method you deem fit. I will leave it up to your team to decide."
Sakura felt herself freeze from his words, heart already beginning to hammer against her chest in a wild manner. With her wide eyes shifting between the Konan and Pein, both of who silently looked at her, Sakura's mouth hesitated in opening. But before she could muster out a sound, Kisame was the one who answered for her.
"Yes, Pein-sama," he lowered his head in respect, "we will ensure that our task will be done successfully."
The orange-haired male coolly allowed himself to analyze Sakura's face before disregarding the girl and moving to the larger male beside her.
"As expected," he simply replied before turning himself back to the other members, "now that we have everything settled, you all will set out once the sun has set. You may now excuse yourself."
And with a bow and lowered eyes, each member had left, all silently preparing for what the night may bring to them. However, once Sakura had left the room, a rough hand had reached out to grab her, forcefully pulling her to the side and away from where the other members had walked to.
"Don't ever do that again," Kisame warned, face hard.
A wrinkle appeared on Sakura's forehead as she took a step back from her partner, "What are you talking about?"
"Show your emotions," he clarified, "your facial expressions, your uneasiness. All of that you suppress, starting now."
She felt her mouth almost open in shock but could not muster a reply as he had already begun speaking again.
"I've been telling you this from day one, kid," he grumbled while throwing a glance down the hall, "those feelings you have will be your downfall. I'll be honest with you, tonight is going to be rough. You'll have to make some tough choices, and if you keep letting your feelings get in the way of your logic, then you're as good as gone."
"I only asked a question," she shot back, "a question isn't going to get me killed, Kisame."
"One question is just enough to sow doubts," the shark-nin firmly stated to her. "One moment it's how, next it'll be why, and before you know it you're frozen."
It was an overreaction, she wanted to tell herself. But as her hands started to stiffen and her knees began to unconsciously lock as recent memories came to her, in the back of her kind she knew that his words were reasonable.
Flashbacks of a male assailant flooded her consciousness. Her feet, cemented to the ground, unable to move as her heart thudded violently throughout her body. She remembered how she watched in fear as the male held the victim in his hand, knife ready to end a life, and the way her mind frantically tried to find reason in her emotions.
She knew now that if she waited a second longer, unable to move as her heart cried out to her, the whole situation that night could have taken a turn for the worse.
"If you want to survive, it's time that you do away with that part of you," From watching her unresponsive face, Kisame took a step closer, "as soon as possible."
Sakura sighed to herself, biting her lip in frustration. With her heart pulled in one direction and her mind in another, all she could do was nod to her partner anyway. Taking whatever energy she could muster from within, she silenced the small voice that cried out to her.
"Fine," she said, steady in her answer but failing to hide the tremor she felt from inside.
Kisame gave her a final look before turning away, breathing out a long breath, "Good. Now get as much rest as you can before we head out… it'll be a long night."
He turned away, quick to leave Sakura as she stood alone, left to calm the unsettling quietness that slowly crept in.
"Has it always been this crowded?"
Naruto's voice asked as the three men approached the entrance of Sunagakure. The lanterns surrounding the gates illuminated as the sun began to set, leaving a dark cast over the village. Kakashi momentarily glanced around and noticed the increased shinobis littering the surrounding area.
"Not usually," he replied back, "they may have added more numbers in preparation for Akatsuki." He slightly bowed to the entrance guard before walking through with the three other males following.
"Is the Kazekage ready to receive us?" Sai asked from behind, making the jonin turn back to look at the pale boy.
"Yes, in fact, we should be expecting someone," he shifted his head forward, letting his eyes roam and exclaimed once they landed on a familiar purple painted face. "Ah, Kankuro."
"I'm glad to see you all arrived safely."
The male politely greeted while taking the time to warmly smile at each individual. As his eyes left the familiar sight of Naruto and landed on Sasuke's, he couldn't help but linger for a second longer with slight disbelief.
And not a stranger to unwanted gazes, Sasuke easily lifted his eyes to lock with Kankuro's, face steady as he watched the male break contact and turn away. With a hand coming up to rub the back of his neck, the puppet ninja lightly cleared his throat.
"Well everyone's waiting so let's get going."
The staring did not come to an end once they had reached the tower. Rather than that, it had increased as the remaining two of the Sand siblings had immediately noticed the Uchiha's presence. As he stepped foot into the office, both eyes landed on him, the Kazekage with an analyzing expression and Temari on guard.
"We're here," Kankuro called out as he opened the door, his light tone doing nothing to ease the stuffiness in the office.
The spacious room had instantly felt smaller, and it wasn't just Sasuke who noticed. However, despite the thick air around them, Naruto easily sauntered in with his voice boisterous as always.
"Aye, Gaara!" Naruto easily greeted, coming up to him, "looks like we're in this together, huh?"
The whiskered boy placed his hand out to the redhead, fingers tucked in and tightly wrapped. Gaara looked down at Naruto's fist bump and only smiled in return.
"Naruto, I see you made it back to Konoha."
His black-rimmed eyes briefly looked over to the corner in which Sasuke stood, causing the Uchiha's crossed arms to instinctively tighten in return.
"I didn't think you'd last a day out there," Temari chimed in, taking the opportunity to poke fun at him. Her eyes shifted over where Kakashi stood and a wordless look was exchanged.
"Kakashi, Sai," she greeted in a more serious tone. "Good to see you again."
"Likewise," Sai returned, momentarily looking down at his feet before returning to her direction.
Kakashi waved a hand, "Shall we get started?"
"Of course," She nodded her head and walked over to the sole desk in the room, "we've prepared a small team to keep watch of the tower at all times. Naruto you'll be shadowing Gaara during your time here. Where he goes, you follow."
Naruto weakly chuckled to himself. "Wouldn't want anything else," he said as he brought a finger up to scratch his head.
With a smile of pity cast on him, the fan wielder continued speaking. "As you may have noticed, we've increased our border security as a precaution. We may not know when they'll strike, but we'll definitely be prepared."
Kakashi nodded as she spoke, hand placed at his chin in thought.
"Is there anything that we can do during the few days we'll be here?" He asked.
With her back against the wall, she shook her head, "We've got everything handled for right now." A brief quietness passed, and Sasuke noticed her eyes shift to him before returning to the masked-male.
"Just be sure that you keep an eye on one another."
Her tone was easy, but Sasuke knew the underlying jab was directed at him. But to say he did not expect anything like it would be untrue. In fact, Sasuke had come to terms with the fact that wherever he went, he would always be a threat. It was his reality now.
A reality he must live due to the choices he made.
The remark was successful in penetrating Sasuke's thoughts, but as he breathed deeply, mind detaching once again from the brewing storm from within, it was soon cast away.
"Our objective is to ensure the protection of the beasts and this village," Kakashi's eyes crinkled at the corner, "so you have nothing to worry about."
"Were you able to find more intel on the attack?" Sai tilted his chin over to Kankuro.
"No more than what you were given. Even with their new member, we have almost no other information," was the response, leaving the painted male to scrunch his face in uncertainty. "Well, we should have roughly five days at most before we can expect their potential attack."
"But something about this is rather odd," Temari spoke out once again, leaving her position from the desk and straightening her back to face the males in the room, "we've always had a least some background on all new Akatsuki members, at least to some extent. For this person to almost appear out of thin air…"
The pen Gaara had been using to write was placed to the side, and the parchment before him no longer a focus of his attention. His rimmed eyes looked over to his sister as her words caused him to momentarily think to himself.
"It is rather peculiar so we must be prepared for all possible roles they may play in this situation," he stated, head still in thought, "but until we have the opportunity to study this individual further, then we can only do as best as we can to be on the defense."
"That being said," With a smooth rise of his seat, the Kazekage stood from his desk, signaling the closing of the conversation, "Kankuro, Temari, please escort our guests to their rooms. We can discuss this matter further once they've received the rest needed after efforts to arrive here."
Nodding her head to the redhead, Temari looked over to Kankuro and waved her hand to the door.
"...There are a few rooms close by that we have ready," she began exiting the office with Kankuro leading the way, "each person should have their own r–"
A falter in her step caused her to stop mid-sentence. An abrupt shift in the air. A slight tremor from the foundation of the tower.
Sasuke was the first to notice, body still and eyes quick to sharpen as his keen ears listened attentively to the first signs even before they could be clearly detected. With a single blink, black irises shifting to red, he directed his attention to the windows of the office and allowed a grim expression to find itself onto his face.
Smoke.
Brows wrinkled and confusion lacing his voice, Naruto's wide eyes shifted from Kakashi to Gaara, "Did anyone feel th–"
Immediately, a screeching boom was heard, this time in closer proximity and with an explosion grand enough to entirely shake the contents within the room around. Whatever items that were hung against the wall or neatly stacked to the side were now flung to the ground in shattering disarray and scattered themselves across the floors of which they stood.
Before anyone could regain their composure, another bomb was ignited, this time with other projectiles detonating alongside it in various closeness and size. Screams of the common people could be heard under the dark puffs of clouds rising to the air. Off to the distance, a few buildings were completely shattered to pieces.
The single door of the office was hastily flung open by one of the guards from the bottom floor. Forehead laced with sweat and dust, the male entered the room and frantically turned to Gaara.
"Kazekage-sama!" He cried out, swiftly bowing with shut eyes, "Akatsuki has been spotted at the border. We are currently under attack, and all patrol units are currently in place, but we are quickly being overwhelmed."
"Akatsuki?" Temari's eyes grew wide, "Now?" Her hand reached behind to take a hold of the fan on her back. "How many members and how extensive is the damage?"
He uneasily shook his head, "So far there's only one, but our forces are also focusing on evacuating the citizens as explosives are still being set off. Numerous buildings are either destroyed or on fire as we speak."
"But why now?" Kankuro breathed, facing Gaara, "we were sure at least a week."
Gaara let out a low breath, "Has contact with Konoha for possible reinforcements been made yet?"
"It seems that the Hidden Leaf is also facing the same situation as we are at this moment." the shinobi said.
With shocked faces, each individual in the room had become silent, unmoving from the words spoken by the guard. It wasn't until Temari forcefully moved herself to the door that the quietness was broken.
"Kankuro and I will take over the evacuation so move all units to the border," Temari urgently ordered, "The protection force will remain here to watch the Kazekage and Naruto."
"But…" Naruto whispered aloud, anxiousness filling his stomach, "Konoha is under attack."
Kakashi tilted his head down, eyes briefly closing for a minute. With only moments of arriving at the Sand Village, it now seems that what was once expected had become much worse than they had thought of. As their plan of defense and preparation flew out the window, he began to formulate a solution.
"We don't have time. Right now we're forced to work with what we have." the jonin gravely spoke, steadying himself as another blast shook the room. "Naruto, stay here with Gaara. Sai and I will move out to the border to assist."
The blonde opened his mouth to protest, but as another explosion was heard in the distance, Naruto begrudgingly closed it and hung his head down in submission. Kakashi only placed a hand on his shoulder in sympathy for the boy.
"Kakashi-sensei," Sai murmured, eyes briefly glancing at the figure behind them, "what about Sasuke?"
From the mention of his name, the Uchiha turned to him and immediately noticed the look in the older male's eyes.
"Sasuke will be finding information for us," he easily responded, attention still on the male.
"You think this is a decoy," Sasuke said to him, uncaring of the bewildered expressions he was now receiving from those around him.
"I see that we both have the same thought," Kakashi squinted at him, "I have a suspicion that there are more members present tonight."
"You want Sasuke to fight them now?" Naruto wildly questions with an appalled face. "Kakashi-sensei, his chakra is still sealed!"
"No he will not be engaging with anyone," he calmly answered the blonde while also pointedly looking at Sasuke. "He's just going to see if my hunch is correct."
"And if it is?" Sasuke probed.
"You will stay hidden and only observe. If we're able to gain more knowledge of what they're really devising, the further ahead we can be."
Bright red continuously flashed across the windows of the room, and the guard bowed his head once again, interrupting the conversation.
"Forgive me," he apologized, "but we must move with haste immediately."
The sound of more walls coming to a crumble and the city shaking was heard. As the rumbling became more frequent, the lights in the building began to flicker, signaling that it was time for everyone to move out.
"We're all on the same page, correct?" Kakashi asked out loud, head lastly turning to Sasuke who still stood to himself.
Though Sasuke had never planned, much less imagined, for him to rejoin the ranks of Konoha, it seemed by now that fate continuously tried to tie him back to it. As much as he had attempted to forgo the shinobi life, a path that he had viciously twisted, it now laid before him bearing new meaning.
Possibly the meaning of atonement.
And here it was, served by hand for Sasuke to take.
"Sasuke?" Kakashi prompted once more, causing most, if not all eyes in the room to land on him.
The dark-haired male briefly paused.
If this was his only way to redemption, then it would be foolish of him to not even attempt it, he thought to himself.
Meeting the face of his former sensei, Sasuke gave a low nod, feeling a small spark from within beginning to ignite.