It was surreal to see her sensei in such a vulnerable position in front of her. All of Sakura's memories of Kakashi had been of him standing strong against powerful opponents, Sharingan eye seeing through everything. A dozen shinobi had been needed to take him down, that much was enough to bring her some relief, but that Kakashi could be taken down at all was...jarring.

Never in her wildest imagination could she have pictured a scenario where Kakashi had been taken down, let alone with her on the other side, safely among her sensei's enemies. But they weren't supposed to be enemies anymore, which was the real problem. Onoki wanted peace and cooperation between villages, and damn it all if Kakashi invading here wasn't just going to ruin all of that. She'd just started to get the Iwa villagers to trust her, just started to work on a plan for approaching Konoha and the other villages…

"Why are you here, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura decided to ask.

"I'm here for you, my precious student." Kakashi answered instantly. "Here I'd thought you'd left Konoha on some desperate quest to find information that would help Naruto and Sasuke, and instead I find you've stolen the Suna Jinchuuriki and defected to Iwagakure."

Sakura winced. "T-that isn't-"

"She didn't steal me." Gaara stepped in, answering in an angry tone. "I chose to follow her."

"Not how Suna sees it." Kakashi countered. "If not for the fact that they're trying to keep it a secret that you're no longer there, they would have sent a war party after you. As it stands, after the chuunin exams, they can't afford to spare the shinobi. They have to play it safe. Rebuild. Of course, it would have been easier if their northern citizens hadn't suddenly decided to rebel and make a new Plains village…"

Sakura winced again. "Alright, but in my defense, they'd defected before we got there. We just helped take out the guy who wanted to turn little kids into soldiers."

"Villages have been using children since their founding, Sakura. You've been meddling in foreign affairs without thinking of the consequences."

"Says the man tied up in an Iwa cell."

Sakura crossed her arms, and both she and Kakashi maintained eye contact for what seemed like an impossibly long time. Had he really just come here to lecture her? She was doing way better than he was right now, and he hadn't even heard about the neutrality pact she and Onoki had been-

"I'm glad you're okay, Sakura."

Kakashi's gaze suddenly softened, a look Sakura had seen on him only rarely. The jounin looked a lot smaller that way...small, vulnerable, worried…

Sakura's heart sank into her chest. She hadn't realized, hadn't even thought…

She'd convinced herself Naruto and Sasuke were the only ones on the team that Kakashi really thought about.

"I'm glad you didn't get killed on the way in, Kakashi-sensei."

She looked around before pulling up a chair, sitting down in front of him. Gaara was ever close, standing right by her side. He seemed wary of Kakashi, and that was probably fair. Even Sakura didn't know how this scenario was going to play out.

"If they wanted you dead, they would have killed you already." Sakura started to reason out. "Iwa's...in the process of working out some propositions that will hopefully lead to some peace between Iwa and Konoha...and everywhere else, if things go like we're planning."

"That's what they told you?"

"That's what they mean." Sakura insisted. "I know you told us to look underneath the underneath, Sensei, but I've done it a million times and I can't see how Iwa would benefit from this anymore than every other village would. The Tsuchikage is tired of war, and with the threat Akatsuki poses, wouldn't it be a good thing if we didn't have other squabbles to distract us?"

"It sounds very convincing, Sakura, I'm sure, but you don't know these shinobi like I do." Kakashi argued. "The Tsuchikage is a terrifying strategist. He sees a lone little shinobi from Konoha heading this way, and maybe he thinks if he can say the right words, he can get some sort of leg up on Konoha. Information, or maybe something more."

"Well, it's not like I'd have anything to give him!" Sakura snapped. "Everything I know about the village I had to investigate on my own! The only reason I even know a thing about Naruto is because I was his teammate! And oh, did you know about Root, Kakashi-sensei? Did you know that Konoha is brainwashing children to be perfect, emotionless soldiers?"

Kakashi fell silent at that. So he did know. Sakura could see it on his face. And if Kakashi knew, how many other shinobi knew?

How many other shinobi knew and did nothing?

"Maybe the Tsuchikage is using me." She continued with a small shrug. "But at least he's teaching me. I've learned more about earth-style jutsu in the past couple weeks than anything you or the Academy ever taught me. Hell, I learned more about my own capabilities wandering around in the fucking plains than back at Konoha. You would have had me sit on my ass waiting for Naruto to get stronger."

"I didn't think you were ready!" Kakashi protested. "Sakura, you've always been…"

"What, emotional? Fragile? Weak?" Sakura was fuming now, and she couldn't help but stand, fist clenched. "Maybe I wouldn't have been weak if you hadn't only had eyes for the boys. You taught Sasuke the Chidori. Naruto had Jiraiya. I didn't have anyone."

And with that, Kakashi was quiet. He let his head hang, and for a moment Sakura felt...pity.

"You're right." He answered. "I should have been there for you too. That's why I'm here now, Sakura. I'm here to take you home. And...I'll speak with Tsunade. The two of us will still be Team Seven. We'll do missions together, and I'll...I'll teach you everything you want to know."

Sakura felt Gaara tense next to her, and his hand reached out to touch her own. He was worried. Worried Sakura would be tempted by the offer in front of her. Worried she'd leave him.

And Sakura couldn't help but be tempted. Wasn't that what she had wanted all along? For Kakashi to notice her? To be able to stand side by side with the boys, equally strong, teammates? Kakashi was promising to teach her. She could go back to Konoha.

...and she would leave everything else behind.

Sakura realized, then and there, with a strange sort of finality, that she wasn't quite sure Konoha was where she was supposed to be.

She reached out to give Gaara's hand a reassuring squeeze before sitting down again, calmer now. "I think I might have wanted that once." She admitted. "But I've learned a lot since I've left the village, and...well, you can say I've made some friends I didn't expect. Even if I did want to go back to Konoha, I can't abandon Gaara, and if Konoha took him in, that might lead to all out war with Suna over it."

"He needs to go home, Sakura. The balance of the villages has been upset without him there. Every major shinobi village has Jinchuuriki and now Suna has none, and they know you're the one who ran away with him. It's possible they might turn on Konoha again out of spite." Kakashi explained. "And think of what the other villages will think of us. Not one, but two rogue shinobi so quickly after each other? They'll think Konoha is falling apart. You leaving us hasn't just affected me, it's affected everyone. And we're still recovering from the last war that got sent our way." Kakashi took a deep breath. "We need shinobi. We need you. And while I'd rather come with you willingly, if I have to take you back by force, I will."

Sakura flinched. Kakashi was so determined, almost terrifyingly so, and Sakura knew that if Kakashi were set free, she wouldn't be able to stop him from taking her back. She wasn't strong enough. She didn't want to be strong enough. This was her sensei, and she should have been happy to see him again, but now she was just…

Sour.

"If you're just here to take me back, Kakashi-sensei, you can forget about it and go home." Sakura finally answered. "Konoha didn't give a fuck about me until I left. But the Tsuchikage...he thinks I can be strong. And not only that, he thinks I can help bring peace to the shinobi villages. And if I can make the world a better place, shouldn't I?" Sakura stood up again, taking a sharp breath. She wouldn't get mad, she told herself, not now, not now. "If I can make a world where Jinchuuriki can be accepted, where they don't have to worry about being hunted down by S-class shinobi, shouldn't I? If I can make a world where...where shinobi don't get driven so mad that they kill their entire clan, shouldn't I? If I can make a world where Naruto and Sasuke can be safe and happy, then I'm going to. And if Konoha isn't going to help me reach that goal...then I'm not going to be a part of Konoha anymore. Not Konoha, not Iwa, not any village. I'm just gonna be me, and I'm going to do whatever I can for the people I care about."

She was still too emotional, so Sakura turned, not wanting to look Kakashi in the eye any longer.

"A wise shinobi once told me that those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are even worse than that."

"Sakura…"

Sakura headed for the door without another word, Gaara close behind her. She was greeted by Onoki and the others outside, all of whom looked grave.

"He's just here to take me back." Sakura insisted. "He wasn't here for anything else. He might have thought you were holding me prisoner or something, otherwise he wouldn't have tried to sneak in."

"That's all well and good, but we can't just let him go. The village will think us weak." Kurotsuchi explained. "We have to keep him prisoner until we can discuss this with Konoha's Hokage. She can't just send shinobi into our borders right now without risking war."

"I know." Sakura nodded. "Let me...let me think of something. I just need time to think."

She needed time to breathe. Thankfully, nobody stopped her as she made her way out of the building and into the crisp air. Gaara merely followed, not more than a couple steps behind, and after a moment she heard Sai's soft steps as well.

She was...angry. And she hadn't expected to be so angry upon seeing her old sensei again, but Sakura had never been terribly good at hiding her emotions and it seemed as though, after all this time, that hadn't changed. Even as she stomped her way back to their apartment, she fumed and muttered and cursed.

"I should be happy!" She said aloud, pacing back and forth in their living room. "Kakashi comes all this way just to bring me back to Konoha, further than anyone ever went for Sasuke. But if he'd just talked to me before I'd left, maybe I wouldn't have needed to leave at all. Nobody gave a damn about me until I left my stupid village!"

"You're right." Sai commented from his spot on a couch. "Nobody thought a genin fresh out of the academy worth sparing excess resources for. That's just poor management."

"Sai…" Gaara warned.

"Should I lie?" Sai countered. "Say we all loved her so very much when it's clear to her that they didn't? I'm only here because of her connection to the Uchiha, and now to keep an eye on a potential political relation with Iwa. Nothing in my mission parameters ever paid much mind to her specifically until she started making herself important. Shinobi are tools to be used as the village sees fit. Konoha doesn't care about her feelings. It doesn't care about whether or not she's happy or safe. All it cares about is keeping the village strong and prosperous. Kakashi was sent to retrieve you because we've experienced a shortage of shinobi since the war, and every person counts."

"And that's bullshit, Sai. It's complete bullshit!"

Sakura had clenched her fists again, but she had stopped her pacing. "People can't live like this. People can't live just being things."

"Maybe you believe so. But that's the way things are. There's no point getting upset about things you already know."

Sai was...right. She should have known. Should have seen it. She wasn't given the time of day because she wasn't strong like Naruto and Sasuke. She hadn't made it to the finals of the chuunin exam. She hadn't been able to protect her village from war beyond pointlessly chasing after Sasuke. She was an average shinobi at best, so why would they waste time cultivating someone who would never excel? Waste time encouraging her when she would never be…

"I guess I'd just hoped." Sakura admitted. "Hoped that Konoha was better than that."

"It will be."

Gaara stepped in front of Sakura, looking her in the eyes. "Look at me." I insisted. "I used to be what they wanted. A tool. A weapon. A monster. But you did what they wouldn't. You made something human out of me. With you...with you I've felt joy and peace. With you, I felt...real. So even if Konoha is troubled now, even if Suna and Iwa and the rest of the world need fixing...I know we can fix it. You showed me how."

"Gaara, I-"

"I want to start Onoki's neutrality project." Gaara continued. "I want to be the bridge between everyone. I want to show them what you and Naruto showed me. That there is a better path. We don't have to live in a world where children are made into monsters. We will...we will make a world of love."

Sakura's eyes flickered to the mark on Gaara's forehead, bright red against the boy's pale skin. And then, before she could react, Gaara had reached forward and hugged her.

He was warm and solid around her, like a mountain against her shaking body. Sakura was shocked, at first, but couldn't help but wrap her arms around him in turn. Tears finally began to escape her eyes, and she clung tighter as sob after sob left her throat.

She didn't know how much time passed before she finally let go, but it had been more than enough. She wiped her eyes and gave Gaara a reassuring smile.

"I'll...be alright. And you're right. That's why I'm here, isn't it? I wanted to help Naruto and Sasuke at first, but...then I met you, and all the others...they're all people that deserve happiness too. Even...even you, Sai. We deserve a peaceful world but someone has to make it first, no matter what it takes."

And it started here, in Iwagakure, with Onoki's project, and…

With keeping Kakashi safe.

"I have an idea." She realized. "An idea that will work out for everyone."

"About time." Sai answered. "I'd thought you were just going to cry here all day."

Sakura chuckled. "Sai, you can be a real ass sometimes, you know?"

"Putting it lightly." Gaara mumbled.

"But...thank you, for what you said. You're right. I need to stop romanticizing my village. I need to really see how the world treats its shinobi, otherwise I'll never be able to fix it."

Sai watched her for a moment before quickly looking back down to his book. "...I was just stating the obvious." He insisted.

"Maybe so. But sometimes people need to hear it."

Sai didn't answer as he stood up from the couch, putting away his small notebook. But when they reached the door, he spoke again, this time more softly.

"I'll be curious to see what this world of love will be like."

"Oh?" Sakura looked back at Sai, intrigued.

"If it's anything like you and Gaara, then…" Sai put a finger to his chin, thoughtfully. "I should expect people to be grumpy or crying."

Sakura grimaced, but as she looked at Sai, she realized…

Was he just teasing them?

"You're an idiot, Sai."

"Alright Kakashi-sensei. You've got two options."

Sakura stood in front of Kakashi again, arms crossed, attempting to look on charge, professional. If she was going to be heading this project, she needed to work on her 'in charge face'.

"Alright." Kakashi answered. "I have two options."

"Your first option is that you've come here under Konoha orders to infiltrate Iwa and retrieve me from their borders. This option will have you remain in this cell as a prisoner and bring about a possible declaration of war from Iwa, as they have proof of Konoha willingly breaking peace treaty agreements."

"So, the first option is...the reason I'm here." Kakashi deduced, frowning through his mask. "Sakura, I don't see-"

"Option two!" Sakura interrupted. "Is that there was a terrible misunderstanding."

"...ah."

"Because you actually came here as an ambassador to Konoha to speak with Iwa regarding a new group it is spearheading. A group of neutral shinobi that will act as an in-between for the shinobi villages and help them settle disputes before they can turn bad enough to lead to war."

"Wait, Sakura, wh-"

"You know about this project because, being a former Konoha shinobi, I have sent the Hokage a missive detailing the goals of this group and hoped she might be able to send someone to help us iron out a system that will be beneficial for every village, not just Iwagakure."

"Sakura!"

"And." Sakura finished. "You were sent here because you are my former sensei, someone that I know and trust, and that I'd had a good relationship with in the past. It is my hope that, between the two of us and the Tsuchikage, that we will be able to draft a treaty that will outline the beginnings of an alliance between all of the shinobi villages on the continent. This draft will permanently solidify borders, outline trade routes, and determine clauses for which villages will help each other in times of need. We will hopefully get the leader of the Plains village involved as well, and upon completion of the draft I will take the draft to every village and run it by every leader until terms have been agreed upon and finalized by me. Every village that signs onto the treaty will be privy to its benefits and beholden to its agreements, or else risk war with every other village involved in the signing." Sakura took a deep breath, and then gave Kakashi a sheepish grin. "That's...what Onoki and I have been working on anyway. I think it'll go a long way towards helping restore relations between Iwa and Konoha if there's a shinobi from each village working on the project to start. Plus, it will set an example for all of the other villages. If Iwa and Konoha can put aside their differences, anyone can. Regardless...you're not taking me back, and...well, I'd rather not be forced to try and cool down a spat between Iwa and Konoha so early into my career as an ambassador, just because my sensei won't take no for an answer."

Kakashi sighed. "Well, you're admittedly putting me in a difficult spot, Sakura."

"Difficult to say no, you mean?"

"It implies my student is going to be heading into villages that are otherwise our enemy, on the vain hope that every single one of them won't kill her on sight as a trespassing shinobi, and that somehow each of them will agree to this proposition."

"At least I'm doing something instead of sitting around waiting for the grass to grow."

"That you are." Kakashi leaned back in his chair, letting out an even deeper sigh. "And here I thought you were the least troublesome of my students. I'd thought to myself, there's no way that Sakura could have gotten involved with anything more troubling than Orochimaru. She's just gone for a little road trip to find herself, and I'll have her back in no time."

"This isn't even the most troubling thing I've done this month." Sakura admitted. "I met up with two of Akatsuki on the way here."

Kakashi's head flopped forward, eye widened. "You what?"

"One of them gave me this necklace." Sakura held up the amulet of Jashin around her neck for Kakashi to see. "He's also might be immortal. Not sure yet. I sent all the information I found to Tsunade, and I've told it all to the Tsuchikage as well. Knowledge about Akatsuki is going to be very valuable to every village with a Jinchuuriki, so if I tell them that I'll share everything I know if they listen to my neutrality proposition, they're probably going to want to listen, right?"

"...maybe so."

"Well?"

"Well, it doesn't seem like I have a choice." Kakashi admitted. "Option two. For now."

"Option two. For now." Sakura agreed. She looked back towards the door. "Gaara, can you ask them to come untie Konoha's ambassador? There's been a big misunderstanding, you see."

The table was quiet.

On one side, Sakura and Gaara sat close together. Gaara hadn't touched his food, likely because Kakashi hadn't touched his either. Gaara watched Kakashi, and Kakashi watched Sai. (Sai, thankfully, was more than happy to dig into his meal, and Sakura was getting increasingly grateful for the fact that the boy wasn't unnerved by anything.)

"When you mentioned Root, I'd thought it was because you'd fought off the agent that had been sent to investigate you."

"Well that would have been rude." Sakura replied, also more than happy to dig into a meal after an emotionally exhausting day. "After all, I didn't have anything to hide, and if the leader of Root hears about the treaty, it's not like there will be much they can do to stop it from happening."

"You're severely underestimating Root."

"Sai's my friend." Sakura insisted. "I trust him to speak well of me and help Root understand the importance of this."

"That you would trust a member of Root in such a way more than implies that you are definitely not ready to be an ambassador."

"It's not Root that I trust. It's Sai."

"Sai is Root."

"Sai is Sai."

"Sai is getting tired of people talking about him like he isn't there." Sai spoke up, his usual fake smile plastered onto his face. "Danzo is more than eager to see how the neutrality project develops, and I am on orders to keep an eye on the progress of the project and see how Sakura brings it together. Such information will be vital to the village, especially if other villages begin to join in on this project."

Kakashi's eye narrowed, and he continued to watch Sai. And Gaara continued to watch Kakashi. And Sakura wondered if this was ever going to work.

With a groan of annoyance, she stood up and began to make her way outside. She could do with a walk.

This was only the latest of conversations that Hadn't Gone Well today. Though Onoki had done his best to appear non-threatening, it was hard when the man clearly held animosity towards Kakashi. (No doubt because of the last war.) If this was what it was going to be like trying to get all the Kage to communicate with each other, Sakura wasn't sure this project was going to work. The only consolation she had was that the two men hadn't tried to kill each other. She'd known this was going to be hard work, but...seeing things in action…

"I don't trust him." Gaara commented, as always following close behind her.

"You think he's going to take me away from you." Sakura corrected. "And he won't. Even if he did, I'd find my way back. I'm not sending you back to Suna and I'm not going back to Konoha unless it's to get Tsunade on board with this project, and in that case you'll be coming there with me."

"...I know. But he's strong. And we don't know what he's planning now that he's free."

"No, we don't." Sakura admitted. "But...I wish I did. I used to trust him more than anything. He was my sensei. He'd keep me safe from the world if he had to. And…"

And he'd make sure Sasuke never left.

She hadn't realized how simple things had been before Kakashi showed up. But she supposed she was going to have to face Konoha one way or another if she was going to be an ambassador. Better now than later, when her village had grown even more bitter to her leaving.

Though it was a cold night, it didn't bother Sakura as much anymore. She'd grown used to seeing her breath form white clouds in front of her face, and the hard crunch of the frozen ground beneath her feet. She didn't wince like she used to when she sat upon a cold rock, and her body didn't shiver as the wind blew through her. And that was with only a couple weeks of being here.

Stronger, she reminded herself. She was getting stronger. And she just had to show Kakashi that, show him that this was worth it.

She didn't have to wait long for her chance.

Kakashi had followed her out onto the mountainside. He didn't show any sign of being cold, though whether that was strength of will or actual strength of body, Sakura wasn't sure. Regardless, he still looked small as he approached her. Small and regretful.

He sat down on a rock next to her and pulled out one of his books.

Sakura frowned. "Is now really the best time to be reading your smut, Sensei?"

"I want to know how it ends." Kakashi admitted.

"You've been reading that one since I became a genin."

"I'm a slow reader."

"And you're also full of shit."

"Alright, alright." Kakashi flipped a page. "Maybe it's easier to talk to people when I've got a book in my hand. And I'm not quite sure how to talk to you right now. You're not the Sakura I remember."

"No." Sakura agreed. "I'm not. But that doesn't mean we have to...I mean, I know I got mad, but…" She huffed. "Well, I feel like I had a valid reason to be mad, you know? But you're still my sensei and I can't hate you for what you did. Naruto and Sasuke were assets to the village. A Jinchuuriki and the heir to a powerful Kekkei Genkai, one that you share. And then there's me, a civilian born kunoichi who could barely stand on her own in the chuunin exams. I get it. There wasn't much encouragement to help me succeed when it was clear I'd never be them."

"That's definitely how the village would see it." Kakashi nodded. "And...how I would have seen it. How I probably did see it. But...I should have known better. Every time I put the village before my comrades, it backfires. But even when I try for the people I care about, it backfires too." He turned a page of his book, blushing slightly as he did. "Well...maybe I wasn't really meant to be a sensei. I protested it, when the Third first put me in the rotation. I didn't want children to look after. I just wanted to do my job, protect the village, do what I was good at doing. But...well, I'm not even really very good at that."

"I find that hard to believe." Sakura argued. "You're one of the strongest shinobi I know."

"...do you remember that gravestone I showed you, on the day of your bell test?"

"Yes?"

"Two of those were my comrades that I couldn't protect. My genin squad, when I was first enlisted as a shinobi."

Sakura grew quiet. She'd never even thought about Kakashi being on a genin squad. Never thought about him having teammates, partners...even now, she could barely picture it.

"Obito Uchiha." Kakashi began. "Gave his life to protect me from a boulder trap. It was my first mission as a jounin commander, my last mission with my old team. We were deep into war with Iwa, and we'd been tasked with destroying a vital bridge across a Kusa river. Destroying it would cut off a supply line for Iwa, you see. But...destroying that bridge eventually fell to the Fourth Hokage, Minato. My own sensei and team leader. At the time, the other member of my team, Rin Nohara, had been captured by enemy shinobi. She was a medic-nin, highly valued for her skill and as a bargaining chip. I had elected to abandon her in favor of the mission. Obito elected to return and save her. Eventually, I came around to the right way of thinking and went to help...but I missed it. The trap. And Obito, in his selflessness, saved me from death, and with his own dying breath gave me his Sharingan eye." Kakashi pulled up his headband, his eyes wincing slightly as the cold air hit them. "As for Rin, in that same war, she was captured again, and forcibly made a Jinchuuriki of the Sanbi. She chose to throw herself in front of my Chidori rather than be used as a tool against our village. I...saw her die on my hand."

Sakura looked over, noticing that the book Kakashi was holding was shaking slightly. She hadn't known. How could she have known? Two teammates, lost to war. But…

"Then you should understand better than anyone why we should try to stop wars before they happen."

"I wish the world was that easy, Sakura." Kakashi answered. "I wish the Kage would all just sign a treaty and promise not to fight ever again. But even with that treaty, you don't know how things will go. It's all just words and false promises. Shinobi need something bigger than themselves to unite them, something bigger than the villages and the Kage. I'm not sure anything's that big." Kakashi's hand slowly steadied, and he turned another page of his book. "At least, that's what I might have thought."

"Might have?"

"Sakura, what I'm about to tell you is something that will never leave this mountainside."

Kakashi's tone had shifted, and suddenly he wasn't looking at his book at all, but at her. Sakura couldn't help but nod. She looked back at Gaara briefly.

"He can hear this too, if you trust him." Kakashi continued. "Discussing the death of the Fourth Hokage is strictly forbidden within the village. But you're no longer declaring yourself part of the village, and if you're going to dive into this, you need to know."

"Need to know what, Sensei?"

"My theory. My theory that Naruto's birth was sabotaged so that the Kyuubi could break free and destroy Konoha. My theory that the Fourth didn't die just because of the Kyuubi's power, but that there was someone there, behind the scenes, manipulating everything."

Sakura froze. The implication of that… "Orochimaru?" She asked tentatively.

"I'm not sure." Kakashi admitted. "But there was no reason that the Kyuubi should have broken free. We took every precaution. There were Anbu everywhere, skilled midwives to help with the birth, and Minato himself was there to ensure the seal on Kushina Uzumaki did not break. The only thing that makes sense was that someone else was involved, and helped ensure that the seal did break." Kakashi, closed his book, looking out, instead, over Iwagakure in front of them. "...my belief, and the belief of Lord Jiraiya, is that someone from Akatsuki might have been involved."

"Akatsuki." Sakura nodded. "They use the Kyuubi to destroy Konoha, and then take the Kyuubi for themselves. But it backfired, because the Fourth managed to seal the Fox inside of Naruto."

"At the cost of his life." Kakashi nodded.

"But if they were willing to attack Konoha so directly, they could attack any other village. Itachi already infiltrated Konoha to try and kidnap Naruto. What if they try something here? Or with Gaara? Or-" Sakura hesitated. "Wait...this is what you were talking about. Something bigger than village squabbles. Something that could unite shinobi. Akatsuki is the bigger threat."

"Exactly."

Sakura looked over to her sensei, confused. "But...does that mean you support what I'm trying to do? Why are you trying to help me?"

"Sakura…" Kakashi shook his head. "Don't you get it by now? You're my precious student. Even if I don't agree...I can't be selfish. A peace treaty, even if it's just between Iwa and Konoha, could be groundbreaking for our village. And if it's what you feel you need to do, then as your sensei, I need to support you. A sensei is supposed to raise their students up, not bring them down. Something I should have known when I first was assigned to Team Seven. Something I don't plan on forgetting."

Sakura could have cried right then and there, but instead she found herself running to Kakashi's side, throwing her arms around him. "Thank you, sensei. Thank you, thank you."

Kakashi seemed embarrassed, unsure of how to react to Sakura's sudden presence. He gently patted her head. "Well, you're not out of the woods yet. I need to make sure you're really ready to be out here on your own. As your sensei, if I allowed you to go into this unprepared…"

"So, what?" Sakura let go of Kakashi with a frown. "You gonna make me try and steal some bells from you again?"

"Actually…" Kakashi's eyes indicated a smirk. "That sounds like a wonderful idea."

"...wait, what?"

Morning hit, and Sakura and Gaara faced Kakashi in the middle of a large Iwa training ground. In the distance, Sakura could barely see Onoki and Kurotsuchi, as well as two older men that Gaara had introduced to her as Han and Roshi, the Iwa Jinchuuriki. An audience.

Great.

Kakashi had set a small timer on top of a log, and placed two bells upon his hip. Frighteningly nostalgic. "I heard from the leader of the Plains village that you took on someone who could use Magnet Release." He called out to Sakura. "I also heard you've been studying earth-jutsu under the Third Tsuchikage himself. Couple that with your new Jinchuuriki partner, it shouldn't be any trouble for you to get these bells, right?"

"...right." Sakura answered, absolutely not certain she'd be able to. The last time she'd faced Kakashi, he'd caught her in a genjutsu and she hadn't even managed to come close.

But she wasn't that kunoichi anymore.

And she had Gaara with her.

"You have until noon." Kakashi told them. "And if you don't come at me with the intent to kill, you'll never get the bells. If you can get them, I'll concede that you're ready to start spearhead the neutrality project. If not...then I will tell Lady Tsunade that she should push for a different ambassador."

Ugh, that was even worse.

But she couldn't let this set her back. She'd come so far. She'd learned so much. And son of a bitch, she was going to get those bells even if it meant she had to take the beating of her life to do it.

She was slightly shocked to see Kakashi raise his headband up, revealing his Sharingan eye. "And this time, you don't get easy mode." Kakashi warned. "You're out in the real world now, and the real world won't hold back."

"Alright." Sakura agreed. "Just tell me when you're ready."

"...begin!"

Sakura and Gaara moved simultaneously. They'd had time to plan, at least, and Sakura had spent a good portion of the evening before going over strategy and ways to approach Kakashi. Don't look him in the eye unless you wanted your techniques copied. (This applied more to her; she doubted Kakashi could ever manipulate sand like Gaara did.) Move fast and be unpredictable. Above all else, aim to get close. Aim to get the bells.

Both of them slammed their hands down to the ground at the same time. At once, two things happened. Sand rushed forward from Gaara's gourd, rushing towards Kakashi's feet. He would have to jump away, Sakura had theorized, and it was harder to dodge when you were in the air. As Kakashi jumped, Sakura formed a pillar from the earth beneath him. (Inceptisol soil, ice as well as earth, she had to put in extra chakra to push the earth as well as the ice surrounding it…) It shot up, about a foot shorter than she intended, but still high enough to slam into Kakashi's body.

The body disappeared with a puff of smoke. A substitution.

Right. She'd expected that. With a smile, Sakura formed her hand-signs and sent out a sensing pulse. Kakashi's chakra signature was approximately five feet below the earth.

Bad idea, she thought to herself.

But the signature was moving closer, she realized. Kakashi intended to attack them from below, perhaps burying her in the earth much like he had done with Sasuke during the first bell test. "Below us!" She called out to Gaara. Without another word, Gaara summoned a layer of sand beneath them, lifting them into the air. They moved up just in time to see Kakashi burst out from the ground beneath them.

Double bad idea. Now he was close.

Knowing Gaara would cover her, Sakura leapt down from the sand raft, aiming to reach for the bells while Kakashi was distracted. The jounin twisted away just in time, but not before Sakura felt the cool touch of metal beneath her fingers.

Damn. She'd been close.

But also, damn. She'd been close.

"That was as far as Sasuke got." Kakashi admitted as he hopped away from her. "But that's still not close enough."

"We're just getting started." Sakura grinned.

Her grin only lasted for another half an hour. From there, it was frowning, and then frustration. Kakashi was fast. His Sharingan could see her moves before they happened. Even with Gaara's sand able to reach far distances and cover most of the ground, Kakashi managed to dance and jump just out of reach, bells ever present at his side. By the time there was an hour left on the timer, Sakura had touched the bells five times and Gaara had touched them twice.

Her only consolation was that Kakashi was looking tired too. But she'd used up almost all of her chakra on this fight, and unless she wanted to drain herself completely, she was down to nothing but her fists and her wits.

"I'll admit. You've gotten much stronger." Kakashi commented to them. "I'm not questioning anymore how you managed to take that Magnet Release shinobi down."

"Then just give up and let me have the bells." Sakura retorted. "Then we can get some lunch and you can go back to your smut."

"Not a chance." Kakashi shook his head. "I told you, you had to prove yourself. An ambassador needs to be able to think quickly, adapt to any situation, and be able to defend herself from potential assassins. If you can't do this simple task…"

"We can do it!" Sakura insisted. "I just need...five seconds to catch my breath."

"Maybe you're the one that should be thinking about giving up, if you need to take a break."

"Never." Sakura insisted. "I'm not giving up, Kakashi. I'll show you everything I've accomplished since I left Konoha, and I'm going to get those damn bells. You won't be able to stop me!"

Big words, but Sakura wasn't sure she could follow up. He'd managed to dodge every single one of our techniques. The only thing she could do was catch him so completely off guard that he wouldn't even have a chance to react. Something that no one in their right mind would suspect.

She straightened herself up, ready to try once again, when all at once something flew at Kakashi from behind.

A small, black and white bird snatched the two bells from Kakashi's waist. It soared over to Sakura and landed on her shoulder. As she reached up, confused, it dropped the bells into her hand.

"Traditionally, the bell test is done with one jounin leader facing off against three students." Sai's voice sounded as he landed next to her. "You couldn't hope to win if it was two against one. But since you tired him out and kept him distracted, that let me finish the job. Three against one, as intended." He turned to Sakura, smile at the ready. "And now I don't owe you anymore for saving my life." Then, so subtly Sakura almost missed it, his smile softened.

It looked...genuine.

"Sai, you beautiful bastard." Sakura threw an arm around the shinobi's shoulders, pulling him into a tight hug. "We did it, Kakashi! We got your stupid bells!"

"I think that's technically cheating…" Kakashi protested.

"You never said I couldn't call for help! And isn't it an ambassador's job to make friends?" Sakura laughed, pulling Gaara into the hug as well. "Now you have to accept us as ambassadors and support the project! You promised!"

"Us?" Sai asked. "I'm still part of Konoha, you know."

"You helped get the bells. You're stuck with us now, Sai, you can't deny it anymore. We're friends and you know it."

This time, Sai didn't protest. And something about this, the three of them, enjoying a victory together...something about it felt right.