Suigetsu was nothing like Sasuke. Sakura wondered why Sasuke had even wanted him to join them. He was almost like Naruto in some ways. He was brash and loud, but he was also funny and the slightest bit charming. Sakura hated to admit those things and she hated that it made her miss Naruto.

Unfortunately, Sakura didn't have a lot of brainpower to waste on deliberating Sasuke's choice of companionship. They were on their way to kill Itachi.

Sakura wasn't a fool – she knew what a powerful foe Itachi was. It only served to make her afraid on Sasuke's behalf. What if he wasn't strong enough? What if she had to watch Sasuke die by his brother's hand? She wasn't so sure she could handle something like that, and even just fearing it gave her enough of a taste of what Sasuke had gone through that it made her feel nauseous.

"Hey, what's got the pretty lady looking so down?" Suigetsu said, peering at Sakura with a sort of curiosity one usually reserved for strange bugs or a shiny rock.

"Just a little homesick," she muttered lowly so Sasuke wouldn't hear.

"Homesick?" Suigetsu bellowed loudly. Sasuke turned to glare at him over his shoulder.

"Could you two keep it down?" Sasuke asked dryly. "We're going back into the heart of Fire Country so there's going to be ANBU crawling all over the place. Try not to attract them."

"You know where Itachi is?" Sakura asked, curious. She didn't know how he went about tracking his brother, but he wouldn't lead them into danger unless he was certain of his location.

But Sasuke didn't respond and Sakura didn't press him. The trio continued on in silence. The snow gave way to grass, which turned to patches of dry dirt. The trees began to thin out and Sakura began to feel exposed out in the open.

Though she hated to admit it, she found herself thinking of Kabuto again. She told herself it was less out of concern and more out of curiosity. What would he do now that Orochimaru wasn't around? What did a man like Kabuto want? He seemed so jaded and angry and it made her wonder where his head would go. Would he want revenge on Sasuke? On her? Would he merely continue to work on his medical jutsu and experiments?

"Sakura."

Sakura started at the sound of her name and looked up at Sasuke who was peering over his shoulder at her. He had stopped walking.

"Yes?"

"Have you ever looked at Kakashi's Sharingan?" he asked.

The question was startling. Hearing her sensei's name from his mouth sounded so foreign and yet so familiar. She wondered what Sasuke thought of Kakashi now, whether he still had any respect for the man who had taught him how to be a strong shinobi.

"Yes," she answered, suddenly unsure of his questions. It was easy to forget that Sasuke had defected and held no loyalty to Konoha. He would always be her friend, her teammate, but by his own admission he didn't care about her or Konoha. He let her tag along because he wanted her knowledge of the Sharingan and her medical expertise. She couldn't let herself believe that they were getting closer or becoming more like they had been as genin.

Sasuke was on a mission.

"I want you to take a look at my eyes tonight," he said, turning back away from her. He continued to walk. "I want to make sure they're in perfect condition before I face Itachi."

Sakura swallowed.

/

That night they stopped at quiet, secluded inn. The three of them shared one room with two beds, which Sakura and Suigetsu fought over. When Suigetsu had dived onto the bed and transformed his body into water, soaking the mattress and pillows beneath him, Sakura had given up.

It had never occurred to her to ask for Sasuke's bed and he didn't offer it.

They did, however, share it for a while. They sat cross-legged in front of one another, so close their knees were touching. It made her nervous to be so close to him. She had always kind of believed that he might grow to love her if she was persistent enough, if she just proved to him how much she cared. Sitting across from him now, she no longer found that easy to believe.

His eyes were vacant, but alert as he stared at her. She reached her hands up, touching her fingertips to his temples. She could hear Suigetsu humming some nonsense behind her, but she ignored it.

This should have been the kind of moment she longed for. Being near him, touching him, these were the things young Sakura had craved. Now the gestures felt hollow. His eyes darted back and forth over her face as if he were searching for something. She imagined he was uncomfortable with the feeling of her chakra inside his head and he was looking for something that indicated her intentions on her face.

He must not have found anything, though. He frowned and for a second she could swear that his heartbeat had increased ever so slightly.

If Suigetsu had not been in the room with them, she might have pursued a conversation about that. Instead, she remained silent, trying to keep her face neutral. It was difficult not to feel unnerved by him and the way his eyes settled on her so intensely. While Sakura couldn't say her feelings toward Sasuke were still romantic, she couldn't deny how attractive he was. It was strange to be looking at him up close like this, to be able to see the smoothness of his skin and the tendrils of ash that smoked through his eyes even when they were red.

"Could you deactivate your Sharingan?" she asked. He blinked. She was asking for medical purposes, of course. They both knew that. He still seemed a little annoyed by the questions, but he did as she asked anyway.

With one last surge of chakra, she surmised that his eyes were in fine condition. Unlike Kakashi's, Sasuke's eyes weren't transplants so they were far fewer complications.

"You're all good, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke's eyes darted to hers. She hadn't used the honorific since they he had left the village. She didn't know why it slipped out of her mouth now. Perhaps it had been habit more than anything else. Sakura didn't like the way it made Sasuke's gaze turn critical of her all over again.

"Sasuke-kun, eh?" Suigetsu said. Sakura turned to look at him. He lounged on his bed with a goofy grin on his face. He brought a bottle of water up to his mouth and took a long sip. "I didn't know you two were so close."

Sasuke didn't seem amused. He uncrossed his legs and stood up. "Thanks for your help, Sakura," he said, though he was looking at Suigetsu. "By this time tomorrow I will have avenged my clan. I might need your help again then."

"Right," Sakura said with no small degree of uncertainty. He spoke about it so frankly, like his death was an impossibility. Sakura knew better, but she didn't want to say as much to Sasuke. She hoped he won. She hoped he'd live a long time.

"Suigetsu," Sasuke said, his voice commanding. Suigetsu didn't seem impressed. "Kisame is close by. I have a feeling he will try to prevent you and Sakura from interfering with our battle. I know you'll be focused on getting your sword, but make sure you protect Sakura, too."

"Umm, that really won't be necessary," she said, a little miffed. "I can handle it myself."

"Only if I can borrow her when I need her," Suigetsu said, ignoring Sakura completely. "After all, I might need her when I'm done. Kisame will be no easy opponent."

"You know you could just ask me," Sakura said, crossing her arms with annoyance.

"That's fine," Sasuke said to Suigetsu, also completely ignoring Sakura.

Sakura made a mental note to only do the barest minimum to heal either of them.

/

Sakura had no way of knowing where Itachi was, but she could tell by the expression on Sasuke's face that they were getting close. His jaw was clenched tightly and his eyes were narrowed to mere slits. She could feel the rage and hatred and fear roiling off of him and it made her incredibly nervous.

Suigetsu seemed unfazed by Sasuke's mood. He was as cheerful as ever as they pressed on in silence. Sakura couldn't help but be curious about him. Was he not nervous about his impending fight with Kisame? Perhaps he was confident in his abilities. Sakura wished she had that kind of confidence.

Even now she was nervous about her own role in all of this. She was well prepared to handle medical anomalies, but she had a feeling that the aftermath of these battles was going to be great. Conditions weren't exactly perfect – she was still recuperating from being sick and she hadn't had proper sleep for quite some time. She hoped she could handle whatever was thrown her way. Sasuke's life was at stake.

And what happened after she managed to do her part? If everything went smoothly and Sasuke killed Itachi and Sakura was able to heal him… What would Sasuke do next? Would he come back to Konoha with her? Would he want to keep her around? Or would he cast her aside as something he'd already used up? Those questions made her almost as nervous as watching Sasuke have to kill his brother.

"We're getting close," Sasuke said, his voice tense. Sakura watched him swallow a thickness in his throat. Her heart broke for him.

Ahead of them, looming over the treetops, Sakura spotted a massive building. She had no idea such a building existed, but when she spotted the Uchiha crest in various places on the structure, she began to suspect it was some sort of secret hideout. Tentatively, she reached out with her chakra. She could feel two distinct chakra signatures inside.

The larger of those two signatures was closer and closing in on their locations quickly. Nervously, Sakura brought her thumbnail to her teeth. A blue blur was running toward them, though she didn't immediately sense any hostility from him.

He stopped in front of the trio, surveying them with what looked to be actual amusement. Sakura had seen Kisame before, but it never ceased to amaze her – his sheer size. He was truly terrifying to see, a literal shark man. She didn't envy Suigetsu at all.

"Well, well, you're finally here," he said, mirth in his beady eyes. They appraised Sasuke, observing the man who was his partner's sole living relative.

"I've no quarrel with you," Sasuke said.

Kisame smiled, but it didn't seem like a happy smile. "Of course not, kid, I'm just here to make sure you're friends don't come with you."

Sasuke nodded and darted off without another word. Something in the pit of Sakura's stomach sank and she felt like she would vomit. She watched the back of Sasuke's head as he made his way toward the building's entrance. She could only hope that wasn't the last time she'd ever see him alive.

"I remember you."

Sakura glanced back at the shark man, tearing her eyes away from Sasuke's retreating form. Kisame was staring at her intently with his head cocked to the side. The attention unnerved her and she tense her body, spreading her feet to prepare for a fight. She couldn't know what Kisame's intentions were, but if he intended to kill her, Sakura had other plans.

"How could I forget pink hair like that?" he asked himself, grinning at her with a look that was borderline lecherous.

"Hands off the medic, fishface," Suigetsu said, springing to stand in between her and the shark man.

"Relax, I'm off duty," Kisame said. His smile became more good-natured and Sakura was suddenly very curious about what he was like.

Suigetsu dashed toward Kisame, his eyes glinting with delight and mischief. Kisame's eyes seemed to reflect that sentiment and Sakura found herself completely dwarfed by this insane desire to fight. Was she the only one around here that didn't enjoy hurting others?

The two mist-nins clashed, swords clanking together in an epic display of skill and showmanship. Sakura might have been impressed if she hadn't been preoccupied with Sasuke. She glanced in the direction of the Uchiha hideout, eyeing the open entrance. She couldn't see anything. There was no sound coming from inside, no indication that two brothers were inside, fighting each other to the death.

She could sense it, though – the fluctuating chakra signatures. Something was going on in there. She wished she could see it.

Worried, she bit down on her thumbnail. Another glance toward Suigetsu and Kisame told her they wouldn't notice if she left. They were still embroiled in battle, their perverted affection for the fight glimmering in their eyes.

Quickly, but quietly, Sakura made her way toward the building's entrance. She wouldn't interfere – she just wanted to watch. She was sure there was nothing she could do on Sasuke's behalf anyway. Itachi wasn't the kind of opponent she wanted to be up against.

As she approached the doorway, she could see Sasuke inside. He back was turned to her and he stood motionless. She could see nothing else beyond him in the darkness, but she could feel in her bones that Itachi was there on the other side of Sasuke's stare. It unnerved her that they were so close. She had expected them to be fighting by now, but perhaps they wanted to speak first.

As much as she was dying to know how a conversation between the two of them would go, Sakura respected Sasuke's privacy enough to not want to intrude on such a moment. It was then that she realized that Sasuke wasn't just frozen with fear, but a genjutsu. His body was far too motionless for him to just be paralyzed by emotions. Just what was Itachi doing to him inside his own head?

Though she didn't want to intervene on Sasuke's behalf, she couldn't help but feel conflicted. Should she just leave him there? He was practically at Itachi's mercy and as much as she didn't want to rob him of his chance to avenge his family, she couldn't just let him die, either.

"Sasuke?" she murmured tentatively, reaching her fingers out to grasp his shoulder.

A kunai whizzed through the air from her right, clipping her hand. She drew it back toward her chest, eyes scanning the trees for any sign of who could have thrown it. Instantly on alert, she funneled healing chakra in her hand and leapt up toward the roof of the building, toward cover.

Was it Kisame coming to detain her? Had he already finished with Suigetsu?

The sounds of swords clashing in the distance told her that wasn't the case. She could still hear them taunting one another somewhere near the thick line of trees.

She reached out with her chakra, searching for the source of the kunai.

She didn't have to look for long. Kabuto emerged from the tree line, running toward her in a panic. His eyes were wide and terrified, which in turn scared Sakura.

"Sakura, I'm glad I found you," he breathed, grabbing onto both her arms. He began pulling her back in the direction he came from.

She pushed his hands away, but for some reason she felt like his bizarre change in attitude was something to be concerned about. "Kabuto, what the hell are you doing here? I'm kind of in the middle of something."

"We have to get out of here," he said tensely. He looked like he was moments away from heaving her up onto his shoulder and just running.

Of course that would probably have ended quite badly for him. Fortunately, he seemed inclined to agree.

"Perhaps you're a bit daft," she said dryly. "Do you think I'm going to leave Sasuke while he's fighting Itachi? What on earth could be more important than that?"

"Pein is after you."

"Pein?"

"Yes, the leader of Akatsuki," he said impatiently. "He's the one responsible for the disease. It was a targeted attack on Naruto. He's heading this way now. He's going to force you to join Akatsuki. Me too, if he catches us."

Blood roared in Sakura's ears. Surely she wasn't hearing him right. This was just too much. It was unreal. How could she deal with that and Sasuke at the same time?

"Are you serious?" she breathed. "What does he want with us?"

"I don't know," he bit out, "but I don't want to stick around to find out. Now come on, we need to get out of here."

Part of her was touched that he'd come to warn her, but another more realistic part of her was skeptical. How was she supposed to know if he was telling her the truth? "I'm not leaving here without Sasuke," she insisted.

As if on cue, an explosion from the roof dragged her attention away from Kabuto. Above them she could see the concrete dust floating around the newly formed hole in the roof.

"If you refuse Pein, he'll kill you," Kabuto said. "Sasuke will understand."

"I'm not afraid of him," she said firmly, though they both knew that was a lie.

"Well then you are foolish," Kabuto said. "Don't expect my help if you find yourself in a situation you can't get out of."

Poised on her tongue was the instant urge to deny the truth of that statement, but it died on her tongue. He had already helped her, and was helping her now after he had no reason to anymore.

Unless he was lying.

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" she asked, glancing back up at the sky. Clouds were beginning to form overhead – and not the natural kind. She felt nervous feeling Sasuke and Itachi's chakras entwining, ebbing, and flowing. They were getting heated now and she needed to be prepared for the aftermath of it.

"You just have to trust me."

She eyed him skeptically. "If it was an attack on Naruto, then why are they after me now?" she demanded. "Shouldn't Pein be going after Konoha to get to Naruto?"

"His plan didn't work out the way he wanted," Kabuto explained. "I don't think he anticipated you would ask for my help."

That didn't really help to clear up any more of her confusion, but now wasn't really the time for questions. If what Kabuto was saying was true, then she needed to do something now. And if it wasn't true, she needed to refocus her attention on Sasuke.

"Sasuke is a big boy," Kabuto said. "He can handle himself."

Sakura chewed her lip as she contemplated what to do. She couldn't in good conscience leave Sasuke alone. If he needed her afterwards… If he died because she couldn't heal him…

"Sakura, seriously, he'll be fine," Kabuto insisted. "We're losing time. We need to get away from here."

"Okay, but we have to lure him away from Sasuke and Itachi," she said. "We can't let him interfere."

Kabuto looked for a moment like he wanted to argue. Of course he didn't care about Sasuke or Itachi or any of the more complicated dynamics of the Uchiha clan. "Fine, fine, as long as we get moving," he agreed.

Sakura gave one last glance to the roof where she could see the clouds still culminating. She was sick with worry, but what other choice did she have? Kabuto latched onto her arm and began to drag her back toward the trees. She didn't resist though she kept turning back to look at the Uchiha hideout. Was she making a huge mistake?

Kabuto didn't give her much time to think it over. He jerked her arm roughly and pulled her up into the tree branches. Sakura struggled against his hold just hard enough to show her displeasure. He released her and she began to run alongside him silently.

As they ran, Sakura listened to the sounds of battle behind her. She could feel the waves of chakra, the energy that was flowing darkly around them. In spite of her fear and apprehension, Sakura found herself sad to be missing the fight because she was sure it was something to behold.

The sounds grew softer as they put as much distance as they could between them and the Uchiha hideout. When there were at least several miles separating them, Kabuto came to a stop on a nearby tree branch. Sakura landed deftly beside him, eagerly awaiting his explanation.

"Don't give me that look," Kabuto said dryly.

Sakura put her hands on her hips.

"Look, I know you don't trust me, but you have to listen to me," he said earnestly, and for once he actually seemed genuine.

"Fine, explain it to me then."

"I went back to Konoha after… our last encounter," he began. "I needed to explain what had happened to Tsunade so she didn't blame me for your disappearance."

"Did she?"

"Yes," he said a little bitterly. If Sakura knew her shishou, she knew that it was unlikely she would believe a word of what Kabuto said regarding her apprentice. However, Sakura had also sent her message, so by now she must surely know that Sakura was actually with Sasuke.

"She dismissed me," Kabuto said. "Told me not to come back to Konoha again. But before I left her office I heard her tell Kakashi to round up Naruto and go after you and Sasuke."

"Oh god," Sakura breathed, "So are they on their way here now?"

"Kakashi never made it to Naruto," Kabuto said. "The village was attacked."

Sakura swallowed, absorbing that information.

"Pein was the one behind the disease," Kabuto explained. "He used to it try to weaken Naruto so that he wouldn't be able to use the nine-tails. Unfortunately for him, he didn't expect Naruto to be so resistant to the disease. It did, obviously, have a dramatic effect on the rest of the village, though. He attacked in its weakened state so that he could capture Naruto."

"We have to get back right now," Sakura said, tilting her face up toward the sky. They had been running aimlessly, but now she needed to go back to Konoha. She leapt off the tree branch toward the village, but Kabuto cut her off, extending his arm in front of her.

"Naruto lured Pein away from the village," Kabuto said. "They fought, but Pein escaped."

"Is Naruto okay?"

"Tsunade took care of him. He's fine," Kabuto continued, "But while he was in the village, he asked about you and me. He ransacked your house and your office at the hospital."

"How do you know this?" Sakura asked with disbelief.

"Because I was there," Kabuto snapped. "If you'll remember, I'm kind of drifting here. Besides, he was after me, too. I can't say for sure, but I think he's looking for someone who can deal with poisons and I guess infections. Like the opposite of a medic."

"Well then why would he want me over you?" Sakura asked, still confused and reeling from the deluge of information.

"You're close to Naruto, duh," Kabuto said. "And your achievements are far from mundane. You'd be just as much of an asset to Akastuki as I could be."

Sakura stuffed down the feeling of pride that welled up her chest because now was really not the time for that. Secretly, though, she was glad to know that at least somebody thought of her as an equal.

"So what, you want to help me now?" she asked, changing the topic. "I don't get it. Don't you hate me?"

"I do hate you," he agreed, "but there's bigger things to worry about here. Akatsuki's goal is to put the entire world under a genjutsu. Obviously neither of us wants that to happen, so we can't let him get ahold of Naruto. And Naruto would run headfirst toward you if he finds out you're in any danger, so you've got to stay away from Pein."

"I see," Sakura murmured, understanding dawning on her. They were being hunted by Pein now, so she needed to be careful not to get caught if it was going to put Naruto in danger.

"I was thinking we could head toward Mist," Kabuto suggested. "I think we'll be fine as long as we're out of Fire country."

Sakura shook her head. "No, you fool, we've got to get back to Konoha. Pein attacked! I don't know what condition everyone is in. I need to know Naruto is okay. I have to talk to Tsunade-sama."

Kabuto grabbed her shoulder roughly and jerked her roughly so that she stood directly in front of him. Sakura attempted to push him away, but he held firm and she didn't use chakra to help.

"The less they know, the better," Kabuto said. "We can't have anyone knowing your location."

"The whole point is to protect Naruto," she argued. "I can't do that if I'm not near him."

"Sakura, listen to me—"

"No," she said, shoving him away from her. "I'm going back to Konoha."

Before he could protest, Sakura had already launched herself back into the trees. There was no way she would abandon Naruto now.