A/N: Hi readers! This is just a reminder that certain story elements going forward may also be affected by the secondary fic Who Am I, so it is recommended that you are also keeping up with that fic. If you haven't been, then you may be missing out on key overarching story details that will be important later on!

Sakura let Sai follow behind her car in his own vehicle as they made their way to Ino's house, wishing she didn't feel as stuck as she was between a rock and a hard place. Whatever had happened at the office meant Sasuke wasn't doing okay; it had been difficult to tear herself away from that for the sake of her best friend. The deciding factor had been Detective Uzumaki; knowing that Sasuke had his closest friend to look after him meant that she could take some time to look after her own best friend. Sai's way about the situation made it sound urgent and problematic; it was almost like he was actually worried about Ino.

She led Sai up to the front door, drawing in a deep breath before turning back to face him. "Okay," she began, hands on her hips. "First, you'll wait out here. If she doesn't want to talk to you, then you will not come in. I will talk to her, and I will ask her to consider talking to you. First, I need to know exactly why you want to talk to her." Now was the time for him to be honest, or at least as honest as he could be while respecting Ino's privacy.

"Well..." Sai began, seeming to hesitate. "I would like to clarify some misunderstandings about the particular... incident which occurred over the weekend." Incident? That didn't sound good. "I believe that Miss Yamanaka misconstrued my actions, and I wish to clarify that the intentions she believed I had were not those that I had intended. That is all." That seemed like a very roundabout way to say he wanted to apologize for his actions, but Sakura would have to roll with it.

"Right. Okay. Wait here." Sakura turned around and knocked on the door, drawing in a deep breath. "Ino? It's me, Sakura. Can I come in?" There was silence as Sakura waited, silently praying her friend would open the door. When she heard the lock click and a set of shuffling footsteps, Sakura was relieved to know that her friend was still there and at least willing to talk to her. That was at least a step in the right direction.

Entering her friend's house and closing–and locking– the door behind her, the sight she saw was not what she expected. Her friend's hair was tied in the messiest bun known to man, a look she wouldn't be caught dead in around anyone but Sakura. Judging by the empty tequila bottle and empty wine bottle–as well as the full bottle her friend was fighting to uncork at the moment–it hadn't been a good night.

"Okay, start talking," Sakura demanded, taking a seat on the couch beside the blonde and gently taking the bottle away from her.

"I don't... really know if I want to talk about it," Ino replied; Sakura could hear the reluctance in her tone. It worried her deeply. "You at least look like you had a great weekend. Tell me all about it because you know I'm dying to hear." Sakura wasn't buying her enthusiasm; normally, she'd be far more energetic. If it meant holding back on telling her own awesome stories to get Ino to talk, she damn well would.

"Oh, no. You don't get to hear a word about that until you tell me what's going on. You never miss work. You never call in sick unless you're basically dying and can't leave the bathroom because you haven't kept a lick of food down." That had been a rough day for Ino; Sakura remembered coming over to bring her soup and light foods, and she'd struggled even to keep those down.

"I don't even know where to start, Sakura. It's... so complicated. So very, very complicated." The more she spoke, the more worried Sakura became.

"So, just start at the beginning," she suggested. "You were supposed to be going on a date with Sai, so start there." She had a sneaking suspicion Sai had said something on their date that had hurt Ino's feelings, given he'd managed to say something rather insulting during their first meeting. Whatever it was, it was clear by the fact that he was still sitting on Ino's front step, waiting patiently that he regretted it and wanted to apologize.

Sakura listened as Ino told her about their date and how it'd been nothing out of the ordinary, especially about how things had gone down on their little surveillance. It was a bit suspicious that Sai seemed to be looking into some of the same people that they were; the fact that they'd managed to bring Idate in over the weekend especially caught Sakura's interest. It was letting her piece together parts of what had happened at the office... to some degree, anyway.

"Okay, but that sounded like it went wonderful. You said Sai asked you to look into some cases?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, he asked me to follow up at a few of the offices, so I did. I couldn't find any leads, except one." Sakura watched as Ino reached for a file from her bag, handing it to her and going silent. Opening the file, Sakura skimmed the details; they were all names she'd seen before linked to a few other cases, including some of the cases that Hidan had been associated with.

It was the photo that caught her attention. She recognized what it was; it was a digitally-created photo, the type generally used in missing persons cases involving children. The accuracy of the photo was what stood out the most.

"Are you... sure this is accurate?" Sakura asked.

"Yep. You know Tenten's margin of error on that stuff. It's close enough. I just... I don't know when this all started, and if all of this is true, then... What the hell is this going to mean? What about my career? About my life?" Ino was distraught by this news... and Sakura was more confused than when she'd walked in.

"Okay, back up just a second. How does Sai fit into all of this?"

"What do you mean? Wait, how... Hold on. Did he send you?" Ino demanded, a shocked look on her face.

"Look, calm down, okay?" Sakura raised her hands to try and calm her friend. "Sai didn't... send me, exactly. He came to me this morning because he was worried when you didn't come to work. He thought I'd at least be able to check on you. He's worried, Ino. And... look, I know he's probably not the best, and I'll admit they weren't his exact words, but... I think he wants to apologize. He wouldn't tell me what for, but he does."

Ino was silent for a bit before she spoke again. "He's outside, isn't he?" She asked. Sakura nodded in response, eyes flicking to the door. "Okay," Ino continued with a sigh. "Just... let him in, I guess."

"Okay," Sakura said as she stood up. "Will you be okay if I go? There's something else I need to take care of." She was worried about Sasuke, too; she'd yet to see him, and she wasn't sure it was going to be great.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Ino reassured. "He's harmless, for the most part. Go take care of whatever it is you need to do." That was a relief. At least she could rely on Sai to look after Ino.

"Okay. Call me if you need anything. I'll be at home." She would have to call the office and let them know she would check on Sasuke and probably take the rest of the afternoon off. She was ahead enough on her work that it wouldn't be a problem, anyway.

Stepping out the front door, Sakura looked down at Sai with a frown. "She's willing to talk to you," she said, stepping down and making her way toward her car. Stopping, she turned back around to face him with one last thing to say. "And, uh, do yourself a favour. Include the words 'I'm sorry' somewhere in your vocabulary when you talk to her. Trust me. It'll make all the difference." Hopefully, he'd take her advice.

Now, she just had to head back to the office, make sure she organized everything she had to do, and then she could head home. Hopefully, she wouldn't be held up too long; she wanted to at least get home at a decent time to talk to Sasuke. First, she wanted to come armed with information... and that meant going straight to Detective Uzumaki and Chief Hatake to get the information she needed.

After his unfortunate moment in the office, Sasuke had made his way home, wound up tight like a spring. He couldn't believe what he'd seen. Idate Shimura was Itachi all along; he'd been hiding right under their noses. No damned wonder he hadn't wanted to come in for questioning; Sasuke would have arrested him then and there and demanded what he could.

He was angry, but not at Naruto, nor Sai. No, he was angry at himself. He should have known better, taking time to himself, time to live his life, to be happy; that was what had caused all of this. If he'd been there, he could have ended this. Instead, he'd been spending his time gallivanting around looking for a life he would never deserve.

He hated himself for it. He hated that he'd left himself become so soft, so distracted. He'd become weak, as far as he was concerned; his softness was going to be his downfall. Letting out a shaky breath, the detective ran a hand through his hair and tossed his jacket aside, still pacing around the house. He went to the kitchen and grabbed a large bottle of alcohol–bourbon, to be exact–and a glass, moving in the direction of the living room and taking a seat. He poured one glass, sipping it down and letting the sharp taste bring him back to his senses. He was too wound up to deal with this right now. In fact, he couldn't even bring himself to look at case files.

Finishing off his first glass and pouring another one, he sat in the living room, staring at the empty fireplace. He may have been sitting in his home, but his mind was elsewhere. It recalled things, memories he kept locked away to the best of his ability.

He was in his bed at home, no more than seven years old. As always, his room was too warm, but it was warmer than usual; he could feel the heat just about boiling him when he woke up. Opening his door, he was met with a rush of smoke and flames, having coated the entire hallway. Panic rose in him, and he could hear himself screaming.

"MOM! DAD!" He'd hollered down the hallway, backing away from the flames in fright. The open door was an invitation for the hot flames, allowing them to burst in and even catch on his clothes. He hurried to remove them, but not before it began to singe his skin, leaving him in agony. The heat only made it worse; it made the burns sting against his skin, made him cough in pain, feeling like he was inhaling razor blades with every breath. At some point, the pain made him pass out; he couldn't remember anything after that. Nothing but a hospital bed, nurses and doctors debriding his burns over and over again while he screamed and cried in agony. As police asked him questions, like who might have done it or if he knew where his brother was. Every possible question they could, they asked him. Months of therapy, learning to move again, function in life, only to be tossed into the foster system and taken care of by foster parents who cared less than they claimed to.

Drink after drink, he downed, not realizing just how quickly he was going through the bottle.