Chapter 4: To Face the Faceless

…

"Every soul contains a whisper of light,

Growing louder as it calls to ignite,

From the distance sings a chorus of souls,

Rising slowly stirring heat from the coals

Colors weave into a spire of flame,

Distant sparks call to a past still unnamed,

Bare this torch against the cold of the night,

Light will guide you on your way to the ultimate fight."

Lifelight, from Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

…

Sasuke could not concentrate that morning. He'd thrown a thousand shuriken the right way, because that came to him as naturally as breathing, but when the time came to spar with Kakashi, he screwed up royally. Frustrated, he could feel his sensei's gaze settled on him while they took time to drink some water and wipe out their sweaty foreheads.

"You're not yourself today."

"Hn."

"So talkative in the morning, aren't you?"

"Hn."

But he did not press on the matter, and they left it at that. Neither of them had been good at talking about feelings. And probably they'd never will.

Sasuke didn't tell him —and he would never— that he had seen Sakura's chest by accident the night before, when he had stranded her to the ground for splitting up his lower lip. He would never tell him that he had been distracted by the soft lulling of her chakra through his body and that, in his dazed state, he had stared at the opened yukata, sharingan on and all. Now he had that image imprinted at the back of his mind and a well-deserved bruise in the gut with the shape of Sakura's knuckles.

It was certainly a disgrace to his name and his well-mannered upbringing, to be so distracted over a small incident. Besides, it had been her fault for not wearing appropriate garments for their spar; he should not be the one apologizing.

…

For the next two days Sakura avoided Sasuke like the plague, except for the compulsory meetings around the hospital to check on possible bandits or shinobi. They had been inside once, and there hadn't found any indication of lewd activity nor anything worth a raid. That didn't dissuade Kakashi from making them take turns at night to keep track on the abandoned building. However, since both her sensei and teammate were sure she had been caught in a genjutsu that night —nor did she attempt to convince them otherwise— they didn't leave her alone. Guy was constantly trailing after her, either supervising her training or trying to make light conversation while she drank her tea with the innkeeper. Her name was Yumiko, and she had a way of telling people's feelings, because when Sakura was especially annoyed, she would lure Guy out of her hair with freshly baked traits.

In the meantime, her training was going smoothly, if she dared to say so herself. Every day she tested her chakra to its limits while delivering part of it to her seal. By the end of the day, her control was as refined as it could get, and her chakra was slowly increasing as time went by, since the added weights proved to be too much for her genin body. She had retorted to use her chakra constantly to maintain a normal pace as Guy added more and more pounds each new day. It was draining, but definitely worth it. The Shifting Shadow proved to be the perfect style to deliver powerful and quick strikes, and her taijutsu was improving by leaps and bounds. She mildly regretted not having turned to him in her previous life for some polishing. But then again, even after she had turned stronger at the time, she had relied too much on others, leaving little space to improve on the battlefield.

Yumiko liked her company; Sakura could tell by the way she would complain about not having children of her own, like she was trying to relieve a heavy burden off her shoulders to a confidant.

"Didn't Konno-san want children?"

"My husband's always away, child. He left me here to attend this business on my own while he went off to kami knows where, and when he stopped by, he'd expect me to conceive, but I still had to run this place. I think it was me. I was always stressed out, and the few times I did conceive, the pregnancy never lasted long… It was like the fish that tried to stay out the pond, you see?"

Sakura was pretty sure this wasn't a conversation adults discussed over tea with twelve-year-old girls, but the matter seemed important enough. Over the course of her last life, she had encountered many cases of women like Yumiko, who were left waiting forever, doubting themselves and their husbands, questioning whether their love was true and not a figment of their imagination, while they awaited a child to prove themselves it was not. She had learned to resent those men.

So, she looked at her, trying really hard to take over her temper. "Did he ever ask you if you were okay with this? If you condoned him being away for so long?"

Yumiko tilted her head in deep consideration. "His family is made up of merchants only, it's all he'd ever known. It's how it was supposed to be. I don't think he ever considered not being away. I don't think he would had wanted to stay forever rooted in here."

"And what about what you wanted?"

There was a brief pause in which the innkeeper was left speechless, but Sakura didn't need an answer. In silence she could name a million reasons on her own: "Maybe her in-laws expected it of her, maybe her husband is really authoritative, maybe…"

"I'm sorry. It wasn't my place…" The pink haired girl conceded to the old woman's pained gaze. "But if you have the chance, you should voice your thoughts, your feelings. You may regret it if you don't…" She averted her eyes. "Maybe you can't have children now, but it's not too late to save your marriage."

"Oh, but I think it is…" Yumiko didn't elaborate further but it didn't look like she was willing to. She smiled through her obvious sadness and regarded the young kunoichi with veiled interest. "For being so young, you don't act your age… Talking about regret like that. As if you'd have lived long enough to actually regret something."

Sakura tensed under the woman's attentive stare but managed to waive it off with a flip of her hand, faking a sheepish laugh. "Sorry, sorry… I'm just being a brat, aren't I?"

"Not at all dear, you're just fun to be around. It gives my old, tired bones something to be glad about…" Yumiko patted her head affectionately, and Sakura's heart swelled remembering a time when Tsunade would do that while drunk, in a rare show of affection. "Now, tell me, how's the mission going?"

"Nothing yet. We frequently check on the building but there is no one there. We've been inside to see if there's anything of importance, but there isn't. Unless some old discarded bloodstained bedwear, vials and expired medicines seem important to you…" She trailed off. The blood in there wasn't new; the painting of the walls peeling off in chunks, no traces of any recent activities but theirs. They even checked for high ranked genjutsus, but there was nothing worth mentioning.

"Hmm… Have my husband told you why they abandoned it?" Yumiko sipped on her green tea.

"After the war the hospital was closed, so I take it wasn't needed?"

"Oh, but it was needed, because they opened up a clinic immediately after the building was evacuated."

"Then, why?"

"You see, my husband doesn't take these matters seriously, but at the time, during the Third Shinobi War, our hospital was one of the best equipped, and our town was close to the frontline, so it was the reasonable stop to any shinobi seeking specialized attention." She gestured Sakura to take some dango with her tea. When the girl complied, Yumiko resumed speaking. "One day, at the aftermath of war, they banned the area, and the wounded were taken to a makeshift camp along with the equipment and the staff."

"Why was that?"

"The story was never official, but rumors have it that a nurse was possessed by an evil spirit and went berserk. She killed many within those walls, both doctors and patients alike. They say the place where she butchered the bodies is still intact. Did you come across it by any chance?" She glanced at Sakura curiously and noticed that her companion had her pink eyebrows furrowed.

"There's a room especially bloody, if that's what you mean…" Sakura trailed off, a shiver running down her spine when picturing the faceless visage of two nights ago.

Yumiko nodded. "See? These things are always kept under wraps in here." She wrapped her fingers around the teacup but did not take it to her mouth, as if to warm up her hands. "It's bad for business, after all."

…

She knew the time would come when Kakashi-sensei would attempt to figure her out; he had inadvertently said so on their way to the Ashen Village. But she had not expected him to seek her out so soon and so directly. He was more prone to find his way around things, to drop some veiled questions where and when she would feel more willing to speak up. This time around, though, he seated himself and read quietly under the dried tree in which she was perched up, face down the ground, in lotus position and in the middle of hardcore meditation, which was especially tricky considering the position and the weights. Silence quickly overcame them, only disturbed from time to time with each passing page of Icha Icha Paradise. With each flip of his hand, Sakura's eyebrow would twitch, but she refused to give in. So far, she had been stuck there over an hour; giving up then after so much time over a little distraction would mean she was nervous over his presence. He didn't utter a single word, apparently mindful of her concentration, but she knew better. He wanted to intimidate her first by appearing within the limits of her space, like his nin-dogs used to do when they wanted something out of her. Pakkun would do that whenever she was especially busy only to demand a raw sausage —she used to keep those on the fridge exclusively for the pack—.

"Approaching someone, stepping into their space, is a statement in itself." She remembered Kakashi telling her once. "It means you want to be acknowledged."

To her dismay, he began reading out loud: "Miyuki had been infatuated with him for so long she could no longer tell the different between longing and wanting. Oftentimes, she would lay in bed, eyes closed to the dim light of her room, and picture what would lay underneath his dark garments: the outline of his muscles, the taste of his sweat—"

"On her tongue." She interrupted him, without opening her eyes. "She would grace the outlines of her skirt with her fingertips, wishing they were his." When Sakura did open her eyes, she was met with his sensei's widened stare. She smirked knowingly. "Sensei, did you seriously think I wouldn't get my hands on one copy after watching you fawn over it as if it were the ultimate scroll? I had to know what the deal was!" Even though the truth was Kakashi had lend them to her when he found out she was to part on her first ever seduction mission at age fifteen.

"None of this shit is realistic, sensei." She'd said to him before parting, handing him back that offensive excuse for literature. "I hope you're aware of that."

"Precisely. Fantasies don't have to be realistic, just like you don't have to lie in bed with someone to arouse them. Innuendos and some alcohol will take you far, Sakura. Knowing the fantasies of your target will make up for a lot of foreplay." He patted her head, like he used to do when she was a genin.

And though the gesture should have bothered her, she didn't feel an ounce of annoyance, because he was looking out for her. The intention behind his words was for her to be aware of her choices, despite the mission. There were ways around gathering information, and seduction was just one of them. Being charming and witty suited Sakura best, and both of them knew that. It was his own way of demonstrating she was treasured and cherished.

"You sneaky— And here I thought I was about to scandalize you… Turns out I've rubbed off on you sooner than expected. Honestly, I thought it was gonna be Naruto." He snorted, then went over the lines only to realize she hadn't missed a word. "Impressive, Sakura-chan."

"If only you knew how you've rubbed off on me…"

She walked down the trunk to the ground and sat beside him. "Did you need something, sensei?"

"Just some company. Maybe see if my favorite student is making actual progress."

"I thought I was your favorite female student."

"Oh, but that's Sasuke."

She laughed heartedly. She had missed that humor of his; it reminded her of peaceful days long gone.

"I know you want something, Kakashi-sensei." She tilted her head, watching him intently.

"My, my. I can't fool you, can I?" Suddenly, his voice turned somewhat serious. "Surely you must know by now, you can't fool me either."

Following his example, she soon shifted her mannerism, from carefree to slightly guarded. Playing the fool in front of Kakashi was a suicide move, he'd see through it, because he himself had mastered the act. "I wouldn't dream of it, sensei." She frowned. "Though I suspect you believe I'm hiding something."

"Considering recent events, I would say you're keeping something to yourself."

"Oh, so you're not going to question my loyalty to Konoha or my very identity over a seal I didn't even know existed?" She retorted, now letting her hurt feelings speak for her. If she wished to get a number on him, she had to play within the only territory he felt most uncomfortable: feelings and bratty teenagers.

"Well, yes, all of that's suspicious but I'm not bothered by it. You wouldn't be the first kunoichi that, for one reason or another, hides her strengths or develops it at a different pace compared to her comrades." He waived it off, as if the matter hadn't even crossed his mind.

"Then what is it?"

"You're not… you." He scratched his head.

"I'm afraid I don't follow, sensei." Sakura narrowed her eyes. "Are you implying I'm an impostor?"

"If you were, or if I wasn't one hundred percent sure you are Sakura, we wouldn't be having this conversation… It's just that, since the exam, you've been different." He made a pause, probably to gather his thoughts. "Just before, to question Sasuke's masculinity would have been a sacrilege to you, but you've laughed it off… These little changes I've noticed—"

"Those aren't changes." She sighed.

Kakashi stopped himself from adding anything and simply let her decide when to elaborate. After a few minutes of Sakura looking at an indefinite point in the distance, she resumed talking. "You've probably noticed by now, but I'm both a girl and a civilian."

"I may walk around with an eye covered, but I'm not blind, Sakura-chan."

"And yet, you're blind to what is being a civilian girl, to what is expected of one. You wouldn't know, because you've been raised as a man and a shinobi." Just then, as she was voicing it, she knew she wasn't exactly lying. Sakura had never complained around her comrades about her personal dilemmas, because all of them seemed to have much more dramatic problems involving clans, politics or both, and they seemed so important, that her petty civilian matters paled in comparison. "Mom always told me to be likable, to care about my beauty, to watch my manners. Dad taught me about economics, so that one day I'd be married off to another merchant clan and be of use to my future husband. They wanted a peaceful life for me and, at first, I only wished to please them. I wished to be patted in the head like an obedient dog. Until I didn't. One day, I went home, and I realized I longed for power, I wanted to be of use, I wanted to be confident like Ino, graceful like Sasuke-kun, thoughtful like Iruka-sensei, stupidly brave like Naruto…" She paused for a moment, her voice swelling with emotion. "Loyal like you."

"Sakura…"

"But it's never enough!" She gripped the edges of her haori with trembling hands. "My chakra reserves are pitiful, my stamina is nonexistent and I'm always afraid, and I have to constantly remind myself that I'm a lady and that I'm supposed not to speak out of turn, even when I'm raging inside, itching to pummel someone to the ground. I must not swear, I must not cry, and if I do, better do it prettily. All that's expected of me is being pretty!"

"…"

"So yeah, I'm sorry if I'm not myself lately, sensei. But the thing is, ever since Zaku beat the shit out of me and I almost lost my teammates to a twisted pedophile—," And a war. "I don't think I give a rat's ass about being myself anymore."

To her credit, she didn't expect him to burst out laughing under his mask. She stared in utter disbelief until he ceased gripping at his stomach to affectionately ruffle her hair.

"Don't mind me, then. I think I might like you better when you're not trying to be you."

After that, they didn't speak for a long time, and Kakashi eventually went back to his reading material, as usual. However, she could tell he was mulling over her massive outburst, because he wouldn't turn the page. At the back of her mind, she wondered if she had overstepped her boundaries, but at the same time, she regretted nothing. All of that had been true, both in her past life and her present. To have the opportunity to finally get it out of her system was something she hadn't expected, but then again, nothing ever was lately.

"By the way, your night shift's with Sasuke." Even without looking. Sakura could tell he was smirking under the mask, the asshole.

"Hn."

"Exactly."

…

Sasuke came at her with Kusanagi unsheathed, his white haori fluttering in the wind as he assaulted her, not even trying to mask his killing intent. She responded by drawing two kunai of her own and used her chakra to counter the strike.

Sakura received his blade with her knives crossed over her head, and stayed stuck in in place, resisting the force of his edge for minutes as he tried to overpower her. The ground beneath her started to crack from the force of their struggle. It was strange, that he hadn't quickly moved to attack from another side. However, she was too busy trying not to look him in the eye and get caught in the red nightmare of his wrath. Sasuke was an opponent of many fronts; she knew that even before crossing him.

"Sakura."

She refused to look at him, to gaze up at his mockery smile, that one he would often torment her with in her sleep. The one she often saw when this wretched version of his childhood sweetheart killed the boy in him only to be replaced with such monstrosity. That had been the second time she'd tried to kill him —the first being after he killed Danzo, but she'd lacked the resolve—. Now she could not deny the need to end him. He was rotten; dead to the world for all she knew.

"Where is Naruto?!" She blurted in between ragged breaths, breathless from her efforts to keep his sword at bay.

"He's not here."

"He was headed here!"

"Maybe I handled him to Akatsuki; that would be one nuisance left."

She didn't stop to think for a moment that this was Sasuke, that he wouldn't do that despite himself. She was too far gone to believe in him, so Sakura left out an enraged scream and finally deflected his blade out of pure willpower —and chakra enhanced force—. He disappeared for a moment, but she sensed him coming from behind, so instead of moving aside, she split the ground around her with a chakra enhanced kick, breaking his stance, so that his aim ended up misplaced. She turned around. His blade, initially directed to her stomach, sliced at her right side. In return, she hit him square in the shoulder, with enough force to dislocate it. She probably did, judging by the light grunt she felt when her knuckles connected with his skin.

He attempted another swing with Kusanagi, this time to cut her in half with Chidori Nagashi, but she put some distance between them by doing two backflips, missing the edge of the jutsu by an inch. She gripped her side with a handful of healing chakra, watching him intently, still avoiding his fully developed sharingan. She inhaled slowly, knowing —and dreading— that if he really wanted to kill her, he wouldn't have allowed her to tend to her injuries.

"You've grown a backbone; I'll give you that."

"And I suppose I must congratulate you. You've really become a monster. That's what you wanted, isn't it?!" She bared her teeth; her wound had healed completely. "I guess that's what you were looking for when you put your body on sale—"

"Shut it! You know nothing about me!"

"Of course not! I don't relinquish in hatred for a living, nor have I gone around the world looking for the approval of a brother who wouldn't look at me twice!"

"Shut up!" She heard the chirping of birds at her rear, the tip of his sword gracing her neck and the hairs at the back of her neck stood on edge at the heat radiating off his body and the electricity coming off the blade. His almost naked chest was grazing her sweaty back, where the fabric of her top had practically fused with her skin.

"Come on! Do it!" Her voice didn't hesitate, to her utter surprise. She didn't have it in her to care anymore. She wasn't scared. It might have been the adrenaline; it might have been the heartbreak. Either way, it didn't matter. "Kill me! That's one nuisance left!"

Kusanagi tittered against the ground, and she hadn't registered he had released his grip on it until he clasped her forearm and made her turn around abruptly. Her viridian eyes encountered vermillion for a second before she averted them, but it had been enough. She felt reality blurring at the edges, as if he were pulling at her conscience. Suddenly, she realized she couldn't move. Her body wouldn't react for the life of her; the anxiety she didn't feel before was now sheathed at her very core. The hand grasping her forearm now gripped her chin, making her face turn fully to his. She found his gaze focused on her neck, where her pulse felt like it was bursting. He traced the vein with his fingertip, and Sakura was sure that, in another time, in another context, she would have squeaked in delight, but right then she could only think of how easy would be for him to snap her neck; as easy as stepping on a twig.

"You're annoying, as always." And strangely enough, to her ears, it sounded as if to state that out loud had relieved some invisible tension in him. Two drops of something warm fell on her cheeks, and she gazed up, because he couldn't possibly be crying, not the Sasuke she had come to know.

Indeed, he wasn´t. The warm liquid was blood, coming off his overused eyes, caressing his cheeks where tears should have been, falling onto her from where he was hovering. Their eyes met again, his in silent contemplation, hers in burning resignation. She saw small dots appearing at the edges of her vision, the lulling of his genjutsu calling up on her. His breath caressed her skin as he spoke again, demanding: "Sleep, Sakura."

She could have sworn she had felt his lips on her forehead before her sight blackened.

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

…

Sakura had convinced him to check inside the building again, but there in the shadows the sight of the bloody walls was even more upsetting. Whoever did that hadn't considered the mess they'd leave behind. Dry blood and yellowish white paint peeling off the walls in chunks. The humidity had consumed the ceiling, creating dark patches of moss, so that the room had a vile smell to it. There weren't any corpses, but it sure smelled like rotten flesh.

"Why did you insist on coming here? There's no chakra signals."

"I told you already! The innkeeper said—"

"I don't see how some ridiculous ghost story from a few years back has anything to do with our mission. It's obvious we're dealing with shinobi." He made a pause, as if he expected her to see reason. "Kakashi said so himself."

"I don't give a shit, Sasuke!" She gazed back at him, tired of his condescending tone. Her eyes met his widened ones, as if he couldn't believe she had lash out at him. "If you wanna go, then go! But to me it's clear as day that there must be something important here if unknown shinobi are lurking around like hungry dogs!"

"There's that and that I fucking saw a ghost/spirit/whatever last night and I almost peed on my pants."

Sasuke was pissed, to put it lightly, but he followed her regardless, weary of their surroundings. So far, his cursed seal wasn't giving him any trouble, and despite Sakura's constant annoying attitude, it seemed she wouldn't be a trigger, even if there were times like these when he wanted to pummel her to the ground. Kakashi's counter-seal appeared to be working —at least as long as he kept wanting it to work, that is— so he couldn't blame his sudden feelings towards her pink-haired teammate on Orochimaru's influence. No, that wasn't it. Sasuke wasn't in denial. Annoying as she was, he got to see a side of Sakura he didn't expect to even exist. Her eyes had a clarity to them that was missing before, as if she had just awakened to the world and was in the making of something, and he was undeniably curious, more so after eavesdropping on her conversation with Kakashi that same afternoon. He could clearly remember her words as if she had just said them: "All that's expected of me is being pretty!"

He found it alarming, though, that he much preferred the Sakura that had punched him in the face over the blushing idiot who wouldn't stop swooning over him.

She had snapped again, and somehow it wasn't an oddity anymore. Sure, she had showed some signs of ill temper before, mainly because of Naruto's shenanigans, and Sasuke had been suspecting she had split personalities or some strange bipolar disorder. As it turns out, it was neither, she had just been hiding. Maybe that weird seal on her forehead had triggered some sort of release to her personal restraints. Nonetheless, whether it had been the seal or Zaku, it didn't matter: she had still punched him in the face and part of his ego was sore and itching for a rematch. She had just been lucky he hadn't expected much from her, especially if she was fighting him, but it seemed he had been in the wrong.

"Here we are. This is the room…" When they entered, there wasn't anything remarkably different from the rest of the hospital, only the amount of blood which tainted the walls was significantly higher, but other than that, there were only corroded metal bedframes and dirty old vials. Some of the discoloration on the walls framed the places where the machines had been —the villagers may have taken to that new makeshift camp Yumiko mentioned—.

Sakura approached the blood-stained walls, but at the back of her mind, something stirred, a realization of sorts. There wasn't any trace of chakra around them, but there was an odd presence that seemed strangely familiar. Then, her eyes stirred with fog, so dense it numbed her sense for a second. Her legs gave up on her, and she found herself in the arms of Sasuke, who was asking something, quite agitated, though she couldn't possibly know what. Her ears weren't cooperating, she couldn't make sense of the words coming off his mouth, but she managed to voice something before the mist cleared completely.

"Sasuke… Run…"

Suddenly, his words made sense.

"Not a chance." His sharingan was on, and she knew he was disturbing whatever genjutsu she was falling under, but it was only a matter of time. Her teammate was supporting her back and neck, forcing her gaze on him, brows knitted together both in confusion and slight concern. Somehow the though of Sasuke worrying over her amused her greatly, so she couldn't help the smirk that escaped her. Even though those red eyes of him hadn't promised anything but pain in another life, they now provided her with a sense of comfort. He didn't seem to appreciate her sense of humor though.

"What is there to be amused about?!"

Sakura blinked.

"I am amused too, boy."

They both flinched at the sudden voice, and Sasuke wasted no time to cover her, like he had done a million times over the course of her existence. His sharingan was still on, but Sakura didn't need to see who was in front of her, for that voice was too characteristic to forget.

"What the—" For once, the usually stoic face of the Uchiha was contorted with surprise.

"I'm impressed. Those eyes of yours have managed to bring you along with her…"

The faceless woman was just like Sakura remembered; ethereal and expressionless, with no cavities on her blank face, long pointy nails, straight long alabaster hair which framed the sides of her visage and flowed to the ground. The darkness of the building could only conceal so much, for the moonlight had entered across the broken glass of the malnourished windows, creating sharp shadows —like teeth— all across the ivory of her skin and kimono.

Sakura gripped Sasuke's arm. "Sasuke… I don't think we should engage."

"Fear not. I have no intention of fighting you. You have not offended me, after all." She made a pause, in which she tilted her head to the side. "Yet."

"What do you want from me? You've dragged me twice to your genjutsu… Are you a ghost?" She knew she sounded stupid, and it was twice as obvious when Sasuke turned to her with a frown.

"You know her?"

Sakura turned to him. "When you found me passed out, on the woods…" His eyes widened in recognition. "I was with her." He was pondering on something with his sharingan was still on, ready to act.

"This is not a genjutsu." He'd steeled himself, weary of the strange female being and still in front of Sakura, a fact which she tried not to take offense on.

"Of course it is not. I told her on our last encounter…"

"Why are you targeting my teammate?"

"I would be weary of me, if I were you, boy. You've stepped on my realm uninvited, demanding answers from me, as if you had the right. Had I not sensed your good intentions towards the girl, you'd be already dead." Her voice was sweet like honey while distant and detached. Sakura hadn't heard anything so eerie in her life.

"Answer the damn qu—"

"Do you have a name?" Sakura interrupted, figuring it would be on their best interest to play nice. They didn't need to make an enemy of her if there wasn't a need to. She felt Sasuke scoff by her side, probably annoyed at her interruption.

"If I have ever had such a thing, I certainly do not remember."

"What would you like us to address you as…err… miss?" When he heard the honorific, Sasuke raised an eyebrow, as if trying to convey an "are you serious?". She looked back at him tersely and jabbed his ribs discretely, to which he frowned.

"Tch. Do as you wish." He whispered.

"The last human I spoke with called me Suigintou*."

"Right… So, Suigintou. Is the hospital your home?"

"No. I am attached to it, but as you see, I live on another plane of existence, between the living and the dead." She gestured around her. Although Sasuke and Sakura were still facing the same room, the mist that accompanied her the first time was still lingering at the edges of Sakura's peripheral vision. She wondered if Sasuke —sharingan on and all— was experiencing the same as her. "However, you do not need to fret just yet, I have dragged you here to have a nice conversation… Well, not him." She addressed Sasuke without even turning his way. "But I must admit he is not the most dreadful of his kind."

"His kind?"

"Men, my sweet girl. Men."

"So is it true, then? Did you kill the patients who were in here?" This time it was Sasuke who raised his voice, careful not to show his uneasiness.

"I did. With pleasure, I may add."

"But… why?"

"What was I to do, after witnessing what they did to her." For the first time, her tone became ominous, surpassing her cheery façade. A shiver ran down Sakura's spine. She unconsciously clasped the edge of Sasuke's shirt. He had his lips settled on a thin line, as if pondering if it was too late to attack. He decided against it. What transpired with Orochimaru had taught him to pick his fights wisely.

"The nurse. I am sure you have heard of her. Her name was Yuuka."

"What happened?"

"She was raped when she was a young maiden. Repeatedly. They shared her as if she was a piece of meat. Those same ninja she had helped recover…" She fidgeted with the layers of her silken kimono, trying to contain the sting of her memories. "I watched, still not knowing how to help, wishing to do something about it… It happened more than once… Until one day, in which they drew blood from her… I reached out, touched it, and felt a connection with her, a chance…" She looked downwards to her extended palms —whether she was able to see or not was still a mystery—.

Sakura and Sasuke exchanged a look. "Summoning?"

She nodded to him. "Most likely."

"Whatever it was, it allowed me to get in contact with her, just like I am doing with you… I trapped her in my realm and took possession of her body, so I awoke in the middle of the deed…" Sakura winced at the thought. "I killed them all, except one, who barely escaped through the window with a broken leg. I assume the shinobi you are after might be related to him in some way. When I went after him, he had already disappeared. No trace left."

"You still have to answer our question."

"I do not think I owe you anything, boy."

"Sorry about his rudeness, but I assure you he means well." Sakura snicks a side glance at his teammate, silently pleading for him to shut it and keep the rudeness to himself. "Most of the time." She knew he was glaring at her, not because she was still looking, but because she could practically feel him digging holes on her skull with his narrowed bloody eyes.

"I believe I told you the other night. You found me the first time because you are a wanderer. This time, I'm the one who has received you."

"And I still don't get it."

"It means your soul entered on its own, without any contact, nor blood, like the nurse I avenged not so long ago. When your partner here tried to get you out, you, my dear, dragged him inside with you instead. As we speak, your bodies are in deep slumber."

At that, Sasuke jolted. "But then that means…"

"We're defenseless while in here!"

"There is no need to panic. I am keeping an eye out for your bodies. No one has come so far." Her calmness was disturbing to say the least. She moved around, and the outlines of her body blurred, like colorless smoke. "You may be wondering why I encountered you in here…"

"I sought you out, in a way, but yes, I figured you'd want something from me. Otherwise you wouldn't have explained us anything…" Sakura's eyebrows were narrowed, her fist clenched in tension. By her side, Sasuke placed one pale, calloused hand on her shoulder, and despite the situation, even though it wasn't hot nor cold, she found some reassurance on the gesture.

"I have a question… This is just out of curiosity, of course."

Sakura tilted her head when Suigintou lurked over her; flowy alabaster hair falling on both sides of her face, blurring away everything but the pale blank visage framed by it. She cleared her throat. "Ask away."

"You have died before, have you not?"

…

A.N: You're probably sick and tired of hearing me complain about how hard was to write the chapter and blah blah blah. Yeah, I know. It's getting old, even for me. The truth is that I have the whole arc planned out, but I feel like I shouldn't drop too much information on one scene, so I keep switching between wholesome moments, angst, memories and plot points, continuously worried about the pace… I've even chopped out scenes that were meant to step up the course of the arc, but I feel like the whole point is to make Sakura stronger and establish a real bond with Sasuke, which takes A LOT OF TIME, considering he isn't invested and she consciously avoiding him.

By the way, I CAN'T believe In a Lifetime has almost 70 followers by now… I don't think you know how grateful I am for that. I hope you guys keep on reading and enjoying this as much as I do —I know I complain a lot about writing, but deep inside I'm just a masochist, so don't mind me—.

*I named Suigintou after a character from Rozen Maiden. Her name means "mercury lamp". When I created Suigintou, I was inspired by the japanese yokai: noppera-bo, but while those are known —or assumed— to avoid people, Suigintou does mingle with humans. Humm… I wonder why

Stay safe,

Rose-Colored Amy.