"Your words are quite hard to believe, Hanari-san."
Sakura- Hanari now- merely shrugged. "No offence, but I don't give a shit."
"I'm not saying that I don't believe in you. If your explanation of the situation is correct, you saved Konoha. I should be thanking you."
I saved the whole damn world, old man. "Don't worry about it."
The Third Hokage exhaled a long puff from his pipe. "Just out of curiosity, you have yet to explain why you did all this. What you did seems like a great feat."
There was no way in all hells that she would be able to lay out her true intentions. "I don't know, I just did. Saved your asses though."
The Hokage laughed. Years of conditioning and almost brainwashed loyalty to the Hokage reared its head and Sakura felt happy. Sakura protected the village and they appreciated it. The warm feeling crept up without a warning and Sakura curled her fists to regain herself.
Stupid, stupid. She wasn't a ninja of Konoha now- she wasn't a ninja of anywhere. No need to feel happy when everyone she wanted to protect was dead. The feeling of village and hierarchy was overwhelmingly familiar and a blanket of security to her. But this wasn't hers, and it would never be hers again.
After all, she wasn't Haruno Sakura of Konoha anymore. She was just Hanari with pink hair.
Sakura knew she should be turning around to leave, she finished her mission- wait missions are sanctioned by the village and she doesn't have a village- she finished her goal, and now what was left was just her and her alone.
Except she lingered. Even after everything, Konoha was her home and she loved it with all her heart. Just standing in Hokage Tower gaves her a sense of nostalgia and emotions of joy that she hadn't felt for so long.
Tsunade-shisho sitting on that desk, the faint smell of sake and paperwork. Shizune smiling at her and encouraging her with her seals.
The Third Hokage, despite his facade of friendliness, was a ninja and the moment of weakness that Sakura gave was already too much. "What do you plan to do now? You are a skilled shinobi. Are you planning to join a hidden village?"
Sakura was trapped, drowning under the words. What do you plan to do now? Sakura didn't even think that far, only thought of the moment where her fingers were tearing through the throat of the person who brought so much misery upon her.
Now that she had accomplished it, she was lost. What was she going to do now? Work at a hospital as she did before? Who would accept her when she had no credentials? Back then, she was an apprentice of Tsunade, and that was enough to get her hired and scouted.
But now, she was just Hanari.
"I don't know."
Sakura knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to give Naruto and Sasuke a big hug, flaunting her skills and asking, did you see? I did it, guys! She wanted to go to her Shisho and tell her everything that had happened. She wanted to have dinner with her mom and dad, making oddly shaped dumplings because Sakura could never make them as her mom did.
But that was what Sakura wanted to do, and Sakura didn't exist anymore. Here stood Hanari.
Hanari was a mysterious ninja who appeared out of nowhere, wreaked havoc through the shinobi world and brought Uchiha Madara to his knees. She was a person responsible for returning one presumed dead Uchiha, one traitor Uchiha and a wayward Sannin. But outside that, Hanari was no one.
"When you first brought Orochimaru back to us, I thought you were a bounty hunter. But after seeing that you had given us back Obito and Itachi, I can't help to think that perhaps you are looking for the betterment of Konoha."
The pleasant smile on Hokage's face was unassuming but Sakura felt like her guts were being skewered. Her life was always towards the betterment of Konoha until her dying one. It was her home, but it was so much more than that. And it would always be under her dying day. She loved this place, from the big orange gates to the faces carved in the stones.
When Sakura struggled to reply, Sarutobi spoke up. "After all the service you had done for Konoha, I would be remiss not to offer you to join us."
She had to reject, she had to say no. Sakura couldn't imagine that she would be able to walk the steps of Konoha with the familiar faces without having a complete mental breakdown. Oh god, she would see her past self. She needed to get far far away so she would not interfere with whatever needed to happen.
"I can't." Sakura managed to choke out. For the first time in forever, Sakura felt herself break. This was the power of Hokage, not the intelligence or strength but a way to categorically make people fall apart at a single glance.
Sakura couldn't fucking breathe at the thought of being a Konoha ninja again. To be Leaf in the three-man squad who watches each other's back. Konoha's trees and grasses that brought so much safety in hiding. The sandals and the flak jacket, the security of having a Konoha headband on her head. She had taken it for granted last time, but this time she wanted it more than anything.
"You know, I have been the Hokage for quite a while, Hanari-san. In my life, I've seen many people and ninja." The Hokage smiled at her. "I have welcomed many ninjas into Konoha, yet this is the first time I had not a single doubt when offering a stay."
It's a trick, Sakura told herself. There was no way Sarutobi would offer her a spot in the ranks when she was clearly so dangerous and revealed nothing of her past. She was going to be lulled into a false sense of security and then assassinated in her goddamn sleep.
Why was that bad?
There was no one to go back to. Sakura had nothing. She fulfilled her goal and now all she wanted to do was rest. If she joined, she would have a few glorious days where she would get to play pretend and be a part of Konoha again. Her heart just ached at the thought of being here again and Sakura knew that she had no choice.
Even if she was to be murdered, at least it would be by a Konoha ninja.
"Okay," Sakura said, voice barely above a whisper. "But why?"
In Konoha's eyes, Sakura was a foreign ninja who did something nice this one time. She was someone who could definitely be a threat. She had half expected them to lock up her with some bullshit administrative reasons, be tortured for information, and recondition her as a loyal ninja.
But here she was, in the Hokage Office, smelling of paperwork and ink and the sunlight hitting her skin warmly. The Hokage gave her a small smile of knowing- as if he understands the fuck up journey she just went through. As if he wouldn't murder her the first opportunity he gets.
"Itachi and Obito asked if I would, and if I am honest, I was apprehensive at first. But now seeing you, I could see why they asked for such a request." To her horror, Sarutobi reached out to warmly clasp her hands. "You look like you can take a break, my girl."
Itachi and Obito asked? That was a surprise. She had done nothing to convince either of them that she was a good person.
Her relationship with Itachi was purely a fleeting one. After she chucked Orochimaru back to Konoha, Sakura had kicked down the Akatsuki doors, explained the truth of Madara and Kaguya and asked for help. A few bloody murder sprees of Akatsuki and destroyed bases later, Itachi had agreed and helped take Madara down. They hadn't said anything personal in that span of time, just a few conversations about their skills in order to attack together.
Obito was even more strange as her encounter with him was beating him to the ground with Itachi while attempting to talk to him. When that didn't work, Sakura ripped his eyes out (with great help from Itachi) and made him listen. Yes, she healed them back into his head, but most people didn't appreciate it when they got their eyeballs popping out.
"A break." Sakura echoed back. When was the last time she had taken a break? Back when she was a genin? She couldn't remember the time where she wasn't doing something, whether it be training or healing people. A break? She hadn't taken a single moment ever since she came back in time.
"You'll be on probation for a while. Konoha has some nice forests to walk around in the meantime."
A quick rustle and heavy metal was pressed against her palms. She didn't have to look at what it was, she knew instinctively. It was a weight she had carried with her since she was a fresh genin. A forehead protector.
Oh god. She pressed it hard against the flesh part of her skin. The sharp metal dug into her soft palm shooting up pain. Real it was real.
"I didn't even say yes."
Sarutobi gave her a pat on the shoulder and Sakura realised even after returning to the past, she was only in her twenties and the man in front of her had years of experience above her. She was still so little compared to him.
"You are free to change your mind when you want. For now, Kakashi-kun will show you the way."
Free to change your mind? That was bullshit. No ninja could just 'change their mind' on whether they would serve a village. Sakura took a deep breath, steeling herself but it was a lost cause. Sakura couldn't say no and Sarutobi knew that. She was so starved for Konoha they could have her locked in the torture chamber and she would be happy just to be in Konoha.
A familiar chakra signature and Kakashi-sensei- shit just Kakashi- was by her side. And holy shitballs he was young. Yeah, she knew she came back to the past but for some reason, she just didn't expect Kakashi to be so goddamn young. This was her sensei for christ sake. But now she was almost the same age as him?
The gap between Kakashi-sensei in her mind and Kakashi in front of her somehow made this okay. It wasn't like meeting Orochimaru where she was dumped with a shit ton of memories and fear mingled with terrible, terrible nausea. Orochimaru had looked the same as he did, carrying the same intense chakra as he had.
"Yo." The signature two hand salute was familiar but everything was so different. Kakashi screamed of ANBU, not the lackadaisical sensei that she once had. This man was dangerous and broken.
She extended her hand for a handshake. "I'm Hanari. I guess I'm a ninja of the Leaf now?" She glanced at Sarutobi who gave her an approving nod.
The moment Kakashi and Sakura stepped out of Hokage Tower, she is greeted by a very, very small Sasuke Uchiha. The tiny little thing, still an Academy student, was already a ball of hatred and anger.
"Are you the one that brought Itachi back?" The finger he was pointing at her accusatorially was so miniature.
The tiny Uchiha was hilarious to see and Sakura wondered how they managed to get that much hatred out of him in the span of their friendship. What Sasuke was like was pretty hazy in her memory but now looking at it directly, he was an absolute angst-filled brood. Suddenly, she was thrown back to Sasuke who caused so much grief in the past.
"Nah, didn't you hear? Itachi came back on his own." Sakura leaned down to hold eye contact with the younger self of her teammate. "Congratulations, Sasuke. Your brother isn't a traitor. He still is a mass murderer though who killed your entire Clan with your cousin. But to be fair, Itachi was under orders so there wasn't really much he could do since your Clan was planning a coup to overthrow Konoha. I guess the real villain here is the person who knew this and didn't tell anyone. Me."
And like that, Sakura had Itachi-ed Sasuke.
She knew that if she didn't interfere, Sasuke would probably hate Konoha and walk down the old path of razing this village to the ground. Much better that he hated Sakura for not coming forth with the information and letting Sasuke suffer for a long time. Well, in Sasuke's mind anyway. There was no way that Sakura could explain that she had only been 'here' for six months.
Plus, Sasuke would grow strong just to beat her. She could see why Itachi chose to do this. It was so easy to read Sasuke's emotions.
"You've put so many Uchihas through hell because of your silence." Sasuke hissed out. She really tried not to laugh at the small Sasuke seething in anger but it was so cute and she let out a small huff.
Sakura shrugged. "Okay, but like, I don't care? Why would I care about Uchihas? I'm literally just a random ninja, well I mean I'm a Konoha ninja now, but I was just a random ninja."
Sasuke stood still, face turning red in fury. Sakura winked at him. "You're welcome to kill me if you're mad."
She left him standing there. Honestly, that boy was a drama queen. Hopefully now with an actual family, he would grow to be a more of a sensible adjusted adult, not the missing-nin who decides to kill his brother, then take revenge on his brother, then go back to siding with his brother. What an overkill.
"How did you know that was Sasuke Uchiha?" Kakashi asked.
The little irrational comfort that Kakashi gave fizzled away at the question. Of course, Kakashi here was a Konoha ninja looking over a dangerous foreign shinobi. He was here for intel and basically a guard. This wasn't her Kakashi-sensei who would protect her and give his life for hers. This was Kakashi who would kill her at the first wrong step.
And she could feel it too, the chakra that emitted from him. Cold and calculating.
"The hair, the face, the attitude and the massive Uchiha fan logo on his shirt. Plus, Itachi mentioned that he had a lot of making up to do to his little brother."
Kakashi hummed and Sakura knew that he accepted her answer.
They stepped out onto Main Street.
And Sakura felt her heart clench. She hadn't seen this Main Street in so many years, it was before Pein attacked them, the old home that was hers but in memory. The smell of yakitori in the air, the sound of clacking wheels from the wheelbarrows and the sight of merchants moving around hit her in the face and Sakura can't - she couldn't- was that Genma?
Genma bleeding on the floor, a horrific-looking spike protruding from his eye. Sakura was one of the best medics in the world but even she couldn't bring back the dead.
This was a bad idea. Sakura couldn't live here with ghosts of her memory pressing on to her. Chakra chakra chakra she told herself, drawing and letting the flame burn inside her. Concentrating on her flames centred her, one thing that stayed the same throughout everything.
She needed to go somewhere that didn't bring back an onslaught of memories. Somewhere that she wasn't familiar with.
"Where's the red light district?"
That's how Sakura found herself a house. It was an old clan sector if Sakura remembered correctly, this Clan was wiped out during the Kyuubi attack. From all the money she received from killing Akatsuki members and other bounties she hunted, Sakura could probably afford a place near Main Street but she couldn't imagine being there.
The place was nice and large, including a small training ground. The nearest brothel was a whole two blocks away.
It took two days for Sakura to settle and decorate her house. Well, decorating was a nice word but in reality, there was too much room for her to fill. The four rooms were renovated to be a bedroom, a study, a lab and storage.
In her previous life, her little apartment was filled with plants and more importantly, a guest bedroom that someone inevitably ended up staying in either whole or bleeding. But no one would stay here now.
There was no need to decorate, Sakura had no motivation. She didn't want to make things pretty, she didn't want to lounge on a comfy sofa and ensure the sunlight hit her just right.
Sakura just slept.
She didn't train, read, or even work on her posions. Sakura stayed in her bed, looking at the wooden ceiling wishing that she was asleep so she didn't have to think.
The days all blurred into one.
And then Sakura was awake, more alert than ever. Her body hummed with energy strung like a bow and ready to kill. Someone was here. Without thinking, she grabbed the kunai underneath her pillow and swung in front of her.
Her blow was met with satisfying flesh and blood gushed out from the figure, splattering her face. She had stabbed enough people to know that she hit an artery. She had also stabbed enough people to know that the the dying breath of a ninja was the most dangerous one.
Sakura didn't hesitate to lace her blade with strength and chakra to stab. Slick liquid covered her fists as she felt it crack through the ninja's flesh, ribcage, and air again.
Six chakra signatures, two familiar, flickered and Sakura threw the now corpse to her left with deadly force. The mangled body didn't hit anyone but sailed through the wall of her house. A few seconds later, it exploded in her lab.
Now, this was going to be a quick one.
Her hand glowed with chakra, illuminating the room and the presences with a dim blue light. They were four masked people all wearing standard ANBU gear but Sakura knew better. She was once the beating heart of a village and ANBU inside out. She knew that ANBU didn't carry tipless tantos.
Perhaps it was going to be easy to fix Konoha.
Sakura let out a snarl as she launched herself to one of the figures with a leg outstretched while locking her eyes to the furthest person. She didn't even have to utter the name of the genjutsu to snare him in.
The genjutsu bursted with emotion, the emotion that this operative would have been wholly unprepared for and something that they haven't felt in a long time.
Love.
The genjutsu was camaraderie and family and sex mingled together in the hotness of emotion that buckled anyone to their knees. The intense feelings of want and happiness and content that made the person ecstatic and fuelling them. But this wasn't a normal shinobi that ticked on something so naive.
This was a Root operative with emotion beaten out of them with ruthless conditioning. The boy fell over, shaking.
One of the men ran through familiar hand signs. Sakura snapped her leg to herself and sank low, letting the ball of water fly over her. The jutsu was crackling with power and sprayed her with a sheen of mist as it went past.
Two of the faceless men lunged at her. One with swords outstretched and one with wire. Sakura almost scoffed at the lack of coordination with the attacks and merely twisted herself to move out of the way. A simple hunch and now Sakura was jumping towards them with chakra gathering in her fist. She made contact with one of them, felt the shoulder bone explode under her and the muscles ripping out. Her other arm reached out to grab the sword.
She met the sword full force with her hands. The hardened steel dug through her fingers and cut her ring finger clean off but Sakura didn't care. She grasped it even tighter until it shattered like glass and threw the pieces back at the nin with the ferocity that she was known for. The pieces of metal hit the target and the choking sound of a person was the confirmation she needed.
Sakura snapped her back up ready to meet the third operative sneaking from the ceiling but at the last second, she shunshined under her bed. It didn't even take a considerable amount of effort to kick her bed upwards to squash the man. The heavy wooden frame cracked and splintered into pieces at the contact before they rained back to the floor.
And it was done.
"Take him to T&I." She said aloud.
The the sixth figure emerged from the shadow, one red eye blazing even in the dim light.
The distance between them was closed in a heartbeat.
Sakura was fast, but she wasn't faster than Sharingan no Kakashi. In seconds, his fingers were wrapped around her neck, squeezing tight. She could do a lot of things at that moment, but she stayed still.
The fingers wrapped themselves even tighter, the thumb insistent on her carotid artery. She could feel her heartbeat thumping themselves against his hand, oxygen struggling to get to her lungs.
She had heard of her sensei being different before Team 7. Legends of Hound with hushed whispers. But she hadn't expected anything like this. He was nothing like the Kakashi she had known, the porn reading yet a lovable teacher. This was an assassin bred to kill without a second thought. His presence outweighed the five ruthless Root members in sheer menace. This man was terrifying.
And Sakura wondered if this was how she was going to die.
Her vision began to swim with black spots and she needed to breathe breathe breathe-
Kakashi threw her to her dresser. Her back met the full force, decimating the poor furniture.
Sweet, sweet air rushed back to her lungs and Sakura doubled over hacking. The broken pieces of furniture dug through her thin pyjamas but that was the last thing on her mind. Her throat burned where he touched, in pain but more out of shock.
Kakashi moved toward her in a predatory manner and it took everything in Sakura not to cower. "Had fun?"
The slow guttural tone was mocking her.
That was enough to fish Sakura out of the lethargic lapse she was in. She knew exactly what she wanted to do. Smash her fists into this arrogant stranger until he was missing his teeth.
Sakura didn't even attempt to move from her crumpled form. "Who said Konoha was a nice village? Because this is the worst welcome party I've ever been to."
Kakashi's red and grey eyes traced over her body. "Why are you here?" He asked tonelessly. His foot was on her chest now, pressing down hard enough that she couldn't move but not hard enough to actually do anything to her. It was a threat, and she felt it. And it made her feel alive.
She let out a cold laugh. "This is my house, Kakashi-san. I should be asking that question to you."
The foot pressed harder and Sakura was sick of holding back.
She snagged the ankle in a death grip with full intent to shatter. Hands barely touched the fabric before Kakashi disappeared with smoke and her pillow landed on top of her instead. Now Kakashi stood where the pillow was.
"I will kill you."
"Oh, please."
This time, Sakura was the one who approached first. A manic agitated rage filled her and she was a projectile, ripping through the air with grappling hands. Kakashi's face was right under hers and their eyes met once again.
Every one of her attacks was blocked and all she could do was add even more strength in attempts to break him. When they finally broke apart, both were shuddering for breath.
Then again.
She drove her elbow to meet his solar plexus while pivoting to sidestep his leg. Sakura had sparred countlessly with the man and she knew his patterns just like she knew the back of her kunai.
Or she thought.
This man was a rabid animal and his left leg kicked out with incredible force, forcing her to bring her arms up. Sakura skidded back, barely managing to get through the doorway to not destroy even more of her house. Kakashi was in front of her in an instant, shoving her by her throat and Sakura barely managed to leap back to break his hold.
"You're going to help clean after this." Sakura hissed out in anger. She was leaving trails of blood from her missing finger, and blood was a nightmare to get out in these old wooden floors.
Kakashi's face twisted into one that she had never seen before. Feral violence and promise of a corpse in a matchbox met her gaze. His attacks came in exhilarating speeds but Sakura was attuned enough to maneuver and weave out with flexibility. Unfortunately, this Kakashi was more vicious and she had never sparred with Sensei who had the intent to kill.
An ill-timed kick and a kunai sank into her leg causing a hot jolt of pain. Sakura didn't even stutter in retaliation with a roundhouse kick to his face. The back of her heel barely connected with his face, but her sheer strength was enough to blast him out of the house through the walls.
Finally, Kakashi's Sharingan blazed to life. The black wheel spinning to ensnare her. That might have been fatal to anyone else except Sakura, who had been dealing with a string of murderous Uchihas for her entire life.
And that one Uchiha who left a parting gift. Her Sasuke was long gone, but he would always be there for her. Team 7.
A simple tap on her temple was enough to unseal her left eye. With her abysmal chakra pool compared to Sasuke, it wasn't wise to keep it on her and considering that she wasn't an actual Uchiha, the strain of just having it on her was already greedily taking her chakra away at an alarming speed. She would never be even remotely skilled enough to match what the previous owner could've done, but that was the same for Kakashi.
Sakura didn't need to flaunt her skills. A Sharingan meant too much in Konoha and she knew her value. Especially since hers was a Mangekyo. She raised a single eyebrow at Kakashi.
Kakashi to his credit didn't Water Dragon her but stood still in his stance. "Stealing dojutsu is a reason for execution."
She cocked her head. "You think I would be able to steal from a Sharingan user who unlocked his Mangekyo? I'm flattered."
Seeing that Kakashi wasn't actively trying to tear her entrails out- not that he really was or he would've used a lot more jutsus- Sakura let her blue chakra fizzle away and replaced it with a green glow to heal herself growing back the previous gone finger.
The copy nin still didn't move but his eyes scanned over her, taking in everything she was doing. Almost with reluctance, he lowered his arms. "You'll never be off probation if I don't approve."
Ah- good thing that Sakura didn't give a shit and she was an excellent bullshit sniffer. "I know my worth."
She had shown her taijutsu, Genjutsu, medical Jutsu and Sharingan. That was enough to list her as an asset even as a loose cannon. Especially if Kakashi was there to keep a leash on her neck.
Kakashi's chakra flared and for a second, Sakura felt icy dread. Did she miscalculate? But soon, an ANBU squad materialised next to him.
There was a flurry of hand signs, take to T&I, not ANBU, dangerous then out of bemusement, Sakura signed back. Genjutsu. Awake in two hours.
Kakashi looked like he wanted to pummel her to the ground and feed her to his dogs. It was a nice colour on him. It helped Sakura to think of this as Kakashi and let Kakashi-sensei die in her mind. The conflicted feelings of safety and danger now stopped fighting in her, leaving behind an exhilarating fun.
And Tiger, bless her heart, must've thought that she was an ANBU without a mask because she signed back affirmative and collected the bodies.
"Tell me a reason why I shouldn't drag you down to T&I right now."
Sakura shrugged. "Eh, I'm sure you can find me a slot after interrogating the man. After all, he's-" and Sakura signed a single crooked pinkie. Root.
But he was more than that. That Root was Sai. But damn if she was going to tell him that she would never do anything to hurt a single hair on his head. There was a reason she used a genjutsu that brought happy emotions. The Sai she knew would get through this nonsense, breaking through the conditioning on just that encounter alone. Hopefully, he would recover.
Fortunately, that came at the price of a seething Kakashi. She was pretty pleased.
Thankfully, she wasn't murdered in her sleep yet but now found herself sitting in front of Morino Ibiki in the grey interrogation room. Kakashi must have heeded her advice and slotted her right after Sai's interrogation because they collected her the very next day.
It was interesting to sit on the other side of the table, facing the big mirrors. She was so used to sitting where Ibiki was, facing half dead nins with missing fingernails as she stabbed her senbon to methodically tear away and heal repeatedly. Ibiki had been her mentor back then, teaching the past young, naive Sakura.
"What is your goal?"
Ah, this was the mind fuck route that Ibiki was taking. Sakura sighed, knowing that he was going for the long con. She just wanted to go back to her bed and sleep now, not dance in words and nuances. She had furniture shopping to do now that her bedroom was annihilated and tatami mats to clean.
"Is this a job interview? I thought I was in the Torture and Interrogation sector, Ibiki-san."
Ibiki didn't even blink. "Any family?"
Sakura wiggled in her seat, trying to get as comfortable as she could. "Everyone's dead. Revenge is done. No goals in life. Does not have trouble with authority. My information about Konoha was told by a friend who is long dead. Am willing to die for Konoha." She listed methodically.
Ibiki smiled at her. "Willing to die for Konoha?" He quoted after her. Of course, that was the part that actually mattered. This whole thing was a farce. Yes, they probably cared where she got the information from to go after Itachi and Obito. They cared a great deal about the Sharingan and were probably dying to know. However, all those things were secondary because if loyalty to Konoha was cemented, the bearing of the soul to teammates came naturally. Then all Konoha had to do was break someone who she confided in.
Sakura nodded, pulling her shirt down to show right below her collarbone. She stared directly at Ibiki as he took in the sight. To his credit, Ibiki didn't show any emotions except the benevolent smile that screamed I understand your pain. The best type of torture against a broken shinobi, someone who understood.
"It must be hard carrying around the insignia of a Village that you are not affiliated in."
Sakura tapped it with a small amount of chakra, and it immediately sprung to life. The symbol of Konoha tattooed into her chest unfolded themselves and stretched in tendrils of ink. It was a seal, Naruto's design.
"I will protect Konoha until I die." Ibiki read out loud. "That's some seal you have on you. How do you feel having essentially a slavery seal embedded on you?"
"It's not slavery if I choose. Its service." Sakura responded.
"And you're okay with that?"
Goddamn, that shouldn't affect her, but it did. It was the fact that Ibiki was her mentor once and the way that man faked concern was astounding. Sakura for a second was tempted to actually tell him that she was proud of this seal because it showed her loyalty and that she would never waver.
Instead, Sakura leaned forwards, taking in the bandana-wearing man. "Would you be okay with that? You're a loyal ninja of Konoha, Ibiki. But would you be prepared to have a seal that forced that loyalty upon you? You would have to choose Konoha over everything. Your family, your friends, and even yourself."
The scarred man looked at her as if she was a delicate flower. As if he could help her through the pain. Even knowing it was a ruse, Sakura felt herself get riled up, needing to tell him that he would never be able to understand the resolve it took to etch those words into her. Sakura bit her tongue.
"I'm not sure, Hanari-san. You are very brave to do so. Please understand that although probational, you are a Konoha nin and we are on the same side. This isn't an interrogation but- how did you phrase it- a job interview. I just want to know you better." Ibiki's eyes felt as sharp as a kunai as if he could see right through her.
Sakura took a deep breath. She can't be rattled by him. Sakura had to play along just enough to bluff him. "Okay." She said.
Ibiki gave her an assuring pat on the shoulder and Sakura wanted to tear his arm off because it wasn't her Ibiki but wrong. Sakura smiled back.
"Were you ever in a village?"
Sakura nodded. "Yes. It was decimated." She responded truthfully.
Her interrogator frowned as if he was feeling bad for her, as if he could even fathom how it was like to see your beloved village in ashes and dust without anything to even clutch and cry upon because it was just simply gone. She grimaced, the sudden memory of her parents crushed under a beam and her dad's fingers slowly moving towards Sakura in desperation-
"You have gone through a lot. Do you miss your village?"
Did she miss-? Was he serious? This was too much of a torture, a willing ear to listen asking her the memories that she attempted to dissociate from. Knowing the methods of torture did nothing to help her, only made her dread what was coming next.
Sakura's green eyes met brown ones. "If you really believe me to be a fellow Konoha nin, please stop pretending that you care and just ask me what you want to know." She begged.
Of course, what Sakura had just done was offer her weakness on a silver platter. Ibiki's mouth dropped a sympathy line and her heart skidded a few beats. Not Ibiki-senpai. Not Ibiki senpai. She told herself. This was a threat and Sakura couldn't cave. She was strong.
"I promise, I'm just a colleague who wants to get acquainted with you. It's not every day that an S-Class ninja with pledged service walks into the village."
Sakura wanted to bury her head in her hands. Even now she was outclassed by Ibiki. The only way she could win was if she throttled him and made him bleed on this metal table. Perhaps that would stop him from asking the questions and making her relieve snippets of her life. "Of course." She gritted out instead.
"I heard that you met Kakashi-kun. How is he?"
That was a subject she felt comfortable about. This Kakashi was a stranger to her. "Pretty competent."
"And?"
"I'll only tell you if you promise to stop him if he comes to Chidori me," Sakura said, looking at the glass fully knowing that the copy nin would be staring at her.
Ibiki's eyes crinkled into a smile. "I promise."
Sakura bared her teeth while not breaking eye contact with the glass wall. "Like an attack dog on a very long leash. If he was any less skilled, I would recommend having him put down. I could probably kill him if I tried very hard but doesn't seem worth the trouble he is."
The Head of T&I burst out laughing and Sakura thought maybe it was genuine. "I see why Obito and Itachi recommended you." He said.
Sakura snapped her head back to the man. "Recommended?"
"You already know the ANBU signs so it'll be easy for you. Congratulations, you're off probation! Welcome to Konohagakure and to ANBU. Unfortunately, that does mean you're going to answer a little more of my questions."
Her mouth opened in shock. She expected some assimilation and nice coddling under watchful eyes, not to be shipped as ANBU who served a direct line to the Hokage. Her Shisho would've never allowed Hanari to be an ANBU when she was Hokage but it turned out Sarutobi was a lot more ruthless than she knew. No doubt he was also there watching her.
Ibiki asked more questions like he said, not prying for too much actual information but about the extent of her skills which she tried to answer as truthfully as possible. He went on went on to ask her about mundane questions too- favourite food, book, katas- and she also answered truthfully. Well, answering that she learnt the ANBU signs from her friend was the truth in all technicality.
When they reached an end of mundane questions, that's when Ibiki attacked. "You've been in this room before."
Sakura blinked owlishly back at him. "Of course not."
"How did you know Kakashi would be standing on the left? Any reasonable person would assume that if the Hokage and his shinobi were standing behind there, the shinobi would be standing on his right. If not, you should have been looking at the middle of the mirror. But you looked directly where Kakashi would be standing"
Because Sakura knew that since Sensei had a tendency to burst into interrogation rooms and impale them at his whim, the Hokage always stood near the door. Fuck. "I just stared at a window, Ibiki-san. I can't actually see him, it was a random spot." She replied as evenly as she could. A flimsy excuse and a first crack.
"You're not a very good liar, Hanari-san."
Sakura knew she was a little fucked, which was why she was glad when the light on the desk blared red. Code Zero. Someone's broken in.
Ibiki gave her a long look and Sakura attempted to smile her best I'm not dangerous at all smile back. Thankfully, everything besides that little slip must have been satisfactory because he stood up, and offered a hand.
Taking his hand, Sakura stood also and gave her legs a stretch. When she opened the door, only Kakashi was there wearing his mask. The cream coloured half cape draped across his back signifying that he was a commander.
Even through his mask, Sakura could tell he hated to be standing here right now. The copy nin unceremoniously dumped ANBU gear on her. "You will be Bird."
At least in this life, she escaped being Butterfly. This mask a little less of the blue intricate inks but simple red stripes that resembled wings.
Sakura nodded, not even hesitating for a second before stripping down to change. Kakashi's gaze felt hot against her skin as the mismatched eyes roamed her form. Sakura had changed countless times in front of her sensei- they were in war- but that had never made her feel so on edge like this. Ridiculously, that gave her a huge rush of relief. It just reaffirmed that this was just a stranger with the same name.
"They're here," Kakashi said, signalling Root.
Ah, this made sense. There weren't that many people who could be here right now in a fight against Root which was an organization that supposedly didn't exist. She felt a little guilty at the relief that flushed her body that this was the exact moment when they decided to infiltrate.
They swiftly made their way down to the prisoner's cells and the metallic scent of blood and smoke met her first. It was a few hallways down to cells where she saw the chaos.
She recognized Anko and a few other ninjas, the only one who had clearance to even come to this floor where the deepest secret of the village was kept. Half a dozen T&I were on the floor, mostly casualties. The faceless masks of Root were moving as one, the scattered position easily recognizable as an extraction unit. Shurikens and kunai were everywhere, and everyone was engaged in combat.
Where's the subject? Sakura signed behind her back.
Down. Kakashi signed back. That was enough.
Then the two joined in the fight. Sakura took great care not to ram her fists through the floor in case it created easy access to below. She thought she would have to fake her sync with Kakashi and intentionally miss a few openings but she didn't have to act as it was impossible to catch up with that man.
The torrent of violence was refreshing. Kakashi didn't think twice about skewering with his sword into her arm to reach the enemy next to her, only covering her the barest amount of time to heal. Sakura scowled behind the mask at the feeling of Kakashi's kunai grazing against her ribs on the way to kill for the umpteenth time. This was either a test to see if she would trust him or his plan to accidentally mutilate her. Whatever it was, it was annoying.
Kakashi was a one-man army. The cape fluttered behind him leaving only a white line where he travelled. The harmony of flexibility and brutality as his muscle went from taunt sharp to fluid as a river from one kata to another, not even pausing during his form to perform a jutsu was…
Breathtaking.
"Who the fuck are these guys? Care for some explanation ANBU?" Anko spat out. Her teeth were covered in blood and the maniacal grin plastered on her face already explained so much about the type of person Anko was.
Sakura drowned the voices out. She couldn't wallow at Anko-senpai right now. Instead, she channelled that frustration towards the attacker in front of her. When her fist met their jaw in the brutal uppercut, Sakura briefly wanted to grab their waist and tear them into two pieces but held back. No need to get bloodthirsty here. A swift kunai to the heart was enough.
Kakashi zipped through them with his hand sparking the familiar blue. Sakura could taste the bitter crackling ozone in the air that made the hairs on her arm stand up. Thousands of chirping birds rang in her ears, screeching against her, taunting her like they knew-
Then the frail thing holding back Sakura snapped.
Her fists were weightless as they whipped through the air. The blood dripped through the grooves of her fists, the flesh beneath her nails as she tore the lungs out of the nin in front of her. The organ was still exhaling its last brain as it fell to the ground in a grotesque heap.
The high squeal of Chidori rang, danger danger danger and onslaught of memories of Sensei and Sasuke rang in her mind. The last jutsu they ever used fizzled away on the ground, only blood replacing the blue orb- she had to kill whoever was in her way-
Her hands were outstretched to tear the vocal cords of the man in front of her when she felt hands wrap like steel cables against her wrist.
The touch wasn't threatening but restraining. Sakura snarled against him, elbow already aimed between his ribcage to burst whoever dared to stop her.
"Stop." The harsh voice ordered.
For all the anger that endlessly curled itself inside her, Sakura was always a ninja of Konoha. She snapped to attention. The grip burned against her skin, etching each individual finger marks almost to her bones. The blue was gone now. Only red around her. Red was safe, that meant that she managed to obliterate everything in her the path at least.
Sakura let her tense shoulder drop, wordlessly healing herself. She stepped forwards to the fallen (now and past) comrades, feeling Kakashi's eyes boring into the back of her head.
The girl was Mizumi, Sakura remembered. The purple hair with too big eyes that could seduce anyone with a dainty flow of her dress. Sakura could see the girl's femur sticking out like a white stick.
"I-It's okay." Mizumi stammered out, pulling herself away and towards Anko. "I'll go to the hospital." She dragged her mangled leg away from her. The too big eyes looked at her with fear barely concealed inside them and Sakura couldn't move.
She was a monster here. Around her laid disfigured bodies with torn limbs carelessly strewn about. Blood was covering her head to toe, both hers and others.
This wasn't war, this was peacetime Konoha. How could she forget? She had called Kakashi an attack dog, little did she know it was her fucking introduction. Mizumi, the seduction ninja with pairs of metaphorical steel balls, was scared of her.
Sakura took a deep breath trying to call on her memories of the petite medic who worked at the Konoha hospital. Good thing she didn't have to fake a smile as it was hidden behind a mask.
"Don't worry, I'm a medic. See? I even healed myself after that dick stabbed me." Sakura said, approaching closer.
Everyone was looking at her now and she swallowed the impulse to tell everyone to scram. Although she didn't say the name, everyone in the room who had enough clearance to be here knew that the ANBU Commander, Hound, was Kakashi. She was probably the only person brave enough to call him a dick and not get stabbed. Well, she had already gotten stabbed repeatedly by him so there was nothing to be scared of.
Mizumi was the only one who dared to giggle, her laughter bouncing the bloodied hallway. She did have her bone sticking out of her and by the out of focused look, a nasty concussion. "Okay, please help."
Sakura didn't need more. Starting from Mizumi, she healed major wounds from the fallen nin, stitching tissues together in the best emergency care that she could. Two were dead, only one she recognised. Sakura tried not to think about how the person had been alive when she didn't interfere with the timeline. She healed the other apprehensive ninjas with curious looks in attempts to figure out who she was.
As the members of T&I shunshined away, she approached Kakashi.
He gave her a storage scroll which she dutifully sealed the bodies in. All of them looked young, barely over sixteen at most. If murdering children was the price she had to pay to give Sai a better future, she was content.
Finally, she raised her green hand. Kakashi stared intently at a particularly messy sprawl of blood on the wall. She pulled off the already tattered ANBU gear to heal the gash on his rib. It was already turning a molten green and purple; the telltale sign of poison. Since it hadn't been a long time, it didn't need much. Sakura flared her chakra, stripping the poison down with brute force. From experience, she knew it hurt like an absolute bitch but Kakashi didn't even flinch.
She considered cleaving his clothes in two to check other scars but… she wasn't going to overstep. He didn't ask, and Sakura didn't run a charity.
Sakura stepped back and he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
Edited by the lovely and amazing asterknightengale8. Thank you Aster for the hard work and reading through this mess.
I know that I want Sakura x Kakashi to be the main ship but I'm a little torn on what to do with other characters. Please leave any pairings you want in the reviews and I'll make sure to include them!
Thanks for reading through this story and please leave a review.