A/N: Hi friends! Thanks for taking the time to read my story and still sticking with me! If you're new here, or not, feel free to leave a comment :-) I made this chapter a little bit longer so I hope you like it. I'm excited for the next chapter as shit's starting to hit the ~fan~.

With clouds slowly turning in the air, the sun hung low in the sky and cast muted colors throughout the field in which Sakura stood. Her pink hair, which reached the middle of her back, was neatly tied behind her neck and out of her sweat-slicked face. As a soft breeze blew through the grounds, the foliage around her shook in return, causing a low hush to travel among the trees.

Alongside the bristling leaves was the sound of a sharp edge cutting through the air, contrasting with the surrounding calm environment. Sakura's arm ached as she shifted her weight and swung the katana firmly held in her hand. Her feet nimbly moved across the dirt floor before leaping to the air and slashing her weapon once more.

Calloused palms gripped cool metal as her hands smoothly cascaded the blade around her, the feeling of the object finally a familiar weight against her arms. She continued her exercise, despite the stiffness in her body from the earlier hours of practice, and twisted to slice at the non-existent target in front of her.

"You're slacking," a gruff voice said to her.

Sakura fought the urge to huff and begrudgingly exchanged her weapon to her non-dominant hand. The weight of the katana instantly dragged it down and caused her to exert more energy to correctly hold the tool. Nonetheless, she did not allow it to slow her movements down. Without acknowledging the towering shark-nin watching her, Sakura resumed her stance.

In the distance, not too far off, was another figure who silently approached the pair. His blonde ponytail swayed with the wind as he walked to the training grounds, crushing the tall grass he walked across. Kisame slightly turned his head to Deidara as he stepped forward and stood next to him. For a moment, the clay-wielder's blue eyes followed Sakura's movements and then he spoke.

"This is insane," Deidara muttered, shifting his gaze to Kisame, "he's really going through with his plan."

Like some of the Akatsuki members, Deidara was aghast when he heard Pein's arrangement to have Sakura join the organization. There were many reasons for him to conjure reasons why they should simply get rid of her to begin with. One being that she was a kunoichi of the Leaf Village, and two being that she killed Sasori, a partner he very much enjoyed the company of.

The blonde knew that his disdain for her was more on the personal side, seeing that he found all members of Konohagakure to be annoying pests and that he could not get over his late partner's death. But still, the willingness to follow a fake narrative of merrily welcoming the girl was something he did not have, regardless if she had memories or not.

She was a threat before this situation, and she still was a threat now according to Deidara.

Nothing has changed.

His blue gaze peered over to the shark-nin beside him, and he internally sighed in relief. Yes, Kisame had ulterior motives, that was something most members knew, but to be in his position right now with her? Deidara would most likely resort to exploding himself than to agree to that.

"There hasn't been a time where he didn't follow through with his words," Kisame stated back, arms crossed and eyes still watching the moving figure in front of them.

"Yeah, but come on," Deidara whispered back, careful to keep his voice low, "you really think this will work?"

Kisame privately echoed Deidara's sentiments but wisely confined them to his consciousness instead of voicing them. He had several thoughts regarding the issue, but to him, that was not what mattered at the moment. Until Sakura can successfully treat Itachi, then Kisame will do what he must do.

"It doesn't matter what I think," the shark-nin said.

Deidara's face scrunched together in disbelief, "You've been hanging with Konan for too long. You're starting to sound like her."

Kisame felt his patience begin to thin, "What do you need, Deidara."

The blonde slightly raised both hands up at him, feigning surrender, and answered, "I just wanted to catch up, geez. I hear you're doing an assignment tonight."

The blue male nodded to him.

"That'll be interesting," Deidara placed on hand on his chin as he shifted his attention to Sakura. "She's the new partner, eh? With all the training you and Pein-sama are putting her through, maybe she'll end up completely replacing Itachi."

Despite saying them, the Iwagakure missing-nin knew his words were false, but he didn't want to pass up the opportunity to rile up his fellow Akatsuki member when the chance was there. Taking the bait, Kisame growled at the blonde and shot him a deathly glare.

"That mouth of yours will truly get you killed one day."

Unfazed by the threat, Deidara only wickedly grinned in return and opened his mouth to retort back. But hearing the sound of Sakura's sword no longer moving and her footsteps getting closer, the explosive-nin firmly tightened his lips and looked over to her. Though she appeared and behaved differently from when he could last remember her, she will always be a presence to be wary of.

With that in mind, the blonde quickly bid an I'll catch up with you later and gave a generous head nod to Sakura's approaching figure.

Kisame didn't feel the need to say anything in return and addressed Sakura instead whose breathing was slightly heavy from practice, "That's good for now. We have a couple of hours before we have to head out, so do what you need until then."

Her eyes lingered on the retreating back of the blonde and felt the adrenaline in her fingertips oddly begin to stir once more. Chalking it up to her training session, Sakura pushed the feeling aside and looked to the blue shark before her.

She easily slid her katana into its sheath and brushed the few strands of hair around her face back behind her ear. "Alright," she replied while dusting off her hands, "I think I'll go check up on Itachi then."

The blue male nodded to her, somewhat satisfied to hear her words, and began walking towards the Akatsuki building. Usually, he would stand and watch her treatments over the Uchiha male, but today he decided to allow her the time alone.

From her short time with them, Sakura had done much more than Kisame's and Konan's combined efforts to heal Itachi. Now that pink-haired girl was no longer focused on treating his wounds but curing his illness, Kisame could not help but allow himself to accept the small glimmer of hope that sparked within him.

The goal he had set for himself was finally possible to achieve.

Once the two entered the inn, both individuals went their separate ways. Sakura allowed her feet to take her through the hallways she frequently visited and walked to one single door after passing several rooms. The wooden frame firmly clicked shut as she walked in and began preparing for her assessment.

Itachi's still figured laid on the bed center of the room, much like the day before and week prior. Other than the pinkness returning to his complexion and breathing becoming even, not much had changed. Mending his battered limbs and broken bones were not strenuous for Sakura to heal, as she spanned it over the course of a few days to coax his body into the process. But, it was his internal injuries, the unknown disease that was the source of all, that left Sakura mulling over what to do.

From her first treatment, with chakra laced fingers carefully inspecting every nook and cranny of the Uchiha's form, Sakura knew that something had been amiss. With several organs failing to function and bleeding continuing to internally flow out, she knew that the matter of healing Itachi would call for several more weeks of treatment and research on her part.

Sanitizing her hands and sighing, Sakura knelt down to her usual spot beside the bedframe and placed her hands outward. Her rough fingertips met cold skin as her chakra seeped into her patient. She closed her eyes and allowed her hands to move, healing as they went.

The battered and bruised organs that she had healed just a day ago were once again laced with poisoned cells and damaged tissue, showing that the disease in question continued its rampage despite Sakura's efforts. Each treatment would be a replica of the one before, sit down, inspect, and heal the damage that had dispersed when Sakura was not present.

It was a cruel cycle, more on the body the disease resided in than on the person trying to minimize the damage of it. Once the pink-haired female had almost eradicated its spread and left the Uchiha heir to rest, the cell-killing, infectious pollution would come creeping back, only to erase what good Sakura had done before. Thus, this would lead to Sakura healing the damage once again and halting the sickness from progressing.

The back and forth process had led to a delay in the healing process, but Sakura could safely say that his condition would not worsen as long as she was there. Until the medical-kunoichi could have a full understanding of what illness she was working against, Sakura would have to simply ensure that the male before her would not die until then.

"You've been through hell, huh?" Sakura's small voice asked out loud as her delicate chakra carefully knitted together broken tissue and dead cells. Her round eyes looked up to peek at the dark-haired male and only heard his chest rising in soft breaths in return. She sighed to herself and leaned forward to hover over his face.

With her right arm stretched out, she placed a hand over his eyes and concentrated her chakra there, feeling the tight tension that had been building. Gingerly, she began cleansing the area behind his eyes and thoroughly released any blockages that had been dwelling.

Her lips turned downward, and she tsked to herself. The amount of strain that the ocular muscles had been placed under was extensive, that she could tell. Just from treating the mangled mess of nerves, Sakura knew that Kisame's words were only touching the surface when she initially asked.

The bulky male paced around the room as he spoke to her. "I don't know," he truthfully answered, "but he had his sharingan activated at all times."

Recalling his words, Sakura hummed to herself as she stared down at the male's pale face. The amount of chakra the dojutsu required and the amount of damage that laid present behind Itachi's eyes showcased that vision was far from just impaired. He had been basically blind from what Sakura concluded.

The amount of time needed to specifically heal his eyes were already quite immense, and with his sickness attacking all parts of his body, Sakura knew that she had her work truly cut out for her. But it wasn't a task that was impossible, it just needed time.

Knuckles rapping against the oak door brought Sakura out of her thoughts and compelled her to rise from her kneeling position. Straightening her shirt, a familiar sight of a woman with blue hair welcomed Sakura's vision, and with an impassive expression, Konan entered the room to greet her.

"Sakura," the woman said, eyes meeting jade ones, "how are you?"

Sakura placed a small smile on her face, "I'm doing fine. What brings you here?"

Though Konan had initially overseen the treatment of Itachi, once Sakura had taken responsibility for it, the two women had very minor interactions with one another. Konan shifted her arm to showcase the various items she held in her grasp and took another step forward.

"With your first assignment taking place tonight, you'll be needing a few things before you and Kisame start," Konan held out her hands, allowing for Sakura to take the things she was holding.

The signature Akatsuki robe was the first item to catch her eye with its stark black texture and red clouds. Though it looked quite large, the fabric itself was light and airy. However, unlike the matching uniforms that each member wore, Sakura noticed that the one given to her had a different feature attached to it.

"The hood is something we had made for you," Konan spoke up, watching as Sakura opened the robe to reveal a large covering that had been intricately stitched on.

"Oh," she let out, unsure of what to think of it, "was there a specific reason why?"

Konan's gaze shifted to Sakura's head, "your hair."

Sakura left out a half-hearted laugh and subconsciously reached up to touch the ends of her locks that were tied back. From the few occasions that she looked in the mirror, Sakura knew she was in dire need of a haircut as it was much longer than she had ever kept it, but she never thought that her hair was that atrocious. "You want me to hide my hair?"

The woman nodded at her, "It's nothing personal, Sakura." Taking in the look on the girl's face, Konan continued, "The color makes you an easy target to track, and we want to make sure you're fully protected."

The statement was in fact the truth, even though the reasoning behind it was not. Sakura's disappearance was still recent, and knowing the alliance between the Leaf Village and others, Pein and Konan knew it would be quite some time before the search for the girl they now were in possession of would die down. The longer they could keep her appearance and identity hidden, the more likely Akatsuki could avoid additional problems to deal with. And with that comes the increased possibility of their plans hastening and fully succeeding.

The medical-nin peered down at her pink hair and pursed her lips together. Her hair was a unique element about her so Sakura could understand why the unusual color could draw unwanted attention. She consciously paused for a moment, remembering faint images of assailants following her through the trees, and thought, maybe that's what got her in this situation in the beginning? Either way, Sakura didn't see the need to object and nodded in agreement.

Seeing the girl accept the attire, Konan reached out her hand once again and brandished a smaller, more hardened object. Sakura's eyes slightly widened at the Kitsune mask being handed to her. Taking the item in her hand, she took a moment to gaze down at elements etched into the wood.

The mask was only part of the length of a regular one and was specifically designed to cover the upper half of her face while the bottom was exposed. Red and black paint beautifully decorated the eye slits and sides of the mask, giving it a more feminine touch as red tassels hung from the side of it. Though the mask itself was quite eye-catching and visually appealing, the animal form that it took after made a lump appear in Sakura's chest.

Staring down at the item in her hands, the features of a cat made her heart skip a slight beat for reasons unknown to her. With her fingers tightly wrapped around the outline of the feline mask, Sakura felt a strange sense of deja vu overcome her. As if there was once a time where she stood, accepting a mask of similar appearances.

Her heart panged once more and the feeling of a headache began to build around her temples, increasing its tension as the confusion swirling around her subconscious continued to draw her deeper into depths of familiarity.

Noticing her vacant expression and far-off eyes, Konan was quick to pull her out, "Sakura?"

The pink-haired girl snapped her attention back to the woman staring back at her and quickly let out an apology, embarrassed that she was so easily consumed into her thoughts. Konan easily restarted the conversation, quick to bring all attention to where the two stood now, but the expression underneath her usual passive face had hardened at Sakura's actions. Noting it in the back of her mind, Konan reminded herself to have a discussion with Pein once the time was right. But for right now, she needed to ensure her task was completed.

"If you need anything else, please do not hesitate to find me," she said, watching as Sakura tilted her head in acknowledgment. In return, she tilted her chin to bid farewell before turning the knob to leave. Right before the door had completely shut, Konan's bright eyes glanced behind her to see Sakura's tense shoulder sag in relief.

Peering out the window, Sakura saw that the bright sky was beginning to dim, signaling to her that it was near time for her to set out. With a soft sigh emitting from her lips, she finished up her treatment on Itachi before also leaving the room with her new materials in hand.

When donning the robe, Sakura was somewhat surprised at how light and easy it was to move around in it. Quickly, her gloved hands roamed her figure, checking to see if everything was in place. Weapon pouch on one thigh. Sword holster across her back. Checking the mirror one last time, she made sure her hood covered all possible signs of her locks, which was tightly secured at the nape of her neck, before placing the kitsune mask over her eyes.

The sudden difference in her appearance made Sakura momentarily pause at her reflection. Without her namesake hair and bright eyes being showcased, she truly looked like a stranger, even to herself. She shifted her feet, slighting turning to the side, and gazed at the figure reflecting back at her with an unsettled stomach.

Truly a stranger indeed.

"Sakura," she heard Kisame's voice from the other side of the wall and his heavy footsteps stopping at her door, "it's time."

She watched as her exposed lips pursed together and stepped out. Kisame gave her a quick glance over, taking in her new attire and hidden features, and gave out a grunt of approval. "Let's go, we have a bit of a walk we need to make."

"Lead the way," she murmured back before following his retreating back out of the building.

Both individuals masked their chakra as they leaped from tree to tree. The clacking of their sandals against the branches they landed upon and the flapping of their robes were the only sounds made between the pair as they traveled toward their destination.

The village itself was small and with a first impression, it seemed like it had been the victim of many recent attacks as broken homes and ruined buildings were proudly on display for Kisame and her to see. Ignoring the few people wandering around, the streets were almost vacant and every window was covered from the inside.

Crouching down from her view above, Sakura looked over to Kisame, "Do we go in now?"

He shook his head at her and also leaned down to take a seat, "No, it's not quite our time yet."

Sakura bobbled her chin in agreement and looked up at the now darkened sky, "How long do you think it'll take before they come?"

"Not long," And with that, the two sat in silence as they patiently gazed below at the bystanders carrying on with their lives.

Several moments had passed, and Sakura took a particular interest in watching a woman harvest herbs in a nearby grass area. With a lantern at her side, barely illuminating the area around her, the women's hands expertly grabbed at the plants and sorted each of them out by use. Some were common ingredients for meals while others had unique properties. Just by looking at them, Sakura knew that a few were for medicinal uses and made a mental note to study new findings once she had the time.

It wasn't until then that a sudden screech pierced through the air and snapped her attention to the direction it came from. Kisame rose to his feet and gestured for Sakura to do so the same.

"We got our bait," he said with curled lips, looking over to the village, "time to head on over, kid."

Swiftly, the two leaped down from their location and hurried to the opposite side of where they stood. Sakura was quick to notice the small orange glow that was emitting from the dark corner for the village, and as they both approached the site, rising flames surrounded them.

"Please!" a voice cried out, "I promise I will have the money by tomorrow. Please, have mercy!"

An older male was curled on the ground, kneeling. With his hands outstretched before him and head completely on the flat surface of the road, his small weeps could be seen shaking his entire body. Next to him was a woman of the same age who was also on her knees and crying.

"Spare my husband," she begged with clasped hands raised. Unlike her lover, her body was littered in marks and a small trail of blood flowed from her temple.

The flames that were around them quickly engulfed the small house the couple resided in, disintegrating all that it touched, and forced the weakened wooden beams to fall onto itself. The small hut of a home fell to the ground and continued burning despite the indistinguishable heap it had now become.

A group of four individuals stood in the center of the chaos, unwavering as they gazed down at the couple crying out to them. A small audience watched from the safety of their own homes, too struck by fear to intervene and much less be seen. One male, presumably the lead orchestrator, walked forward and harshly gripped the back of the older male's head.

"Spare you, you say?" he hauntingly laughed as he forced the husband to look up at him, "well, if you insist."

He turned his head over to where his subordinates stood and locked eyes with the one closest to him. With a dangerous grin, a curt nod was exchanged between the two before the second male brandished his kunai and began approaching the wife.

With fear-stricken eyes, the wife fearfully scrambled backward and her voice became shrill, "Wait! Please! Not me!"

The husband thrashed against the grips of the male holding him, watching with horror-filled eyes the events that were unfolding in front of him, "Not her! I beg of you to stop! We will do everything that you ask of us!"

The male tsked out loud and shook his head, "We asked for the amount to be ready by tonight, but it seems like there is no money for us. But us generous individuals still spared your life, as you asked us to."

"Spare my wife!"

His head shook once more, "I'm afraid we can't do that, sir."

Instinctively, Sakura felt herself begin to propel forward, but a firm hand shot out to hold her in place. She threw a glare at Kisame, confused by his actions. "He's about to kill her! What are you doing?"

"Stopping you from jeopardizing the entire assignment," he easily answered back, hand still gripping her in place.

Sakura's mouth fell open, "Jeopardizing the mission? The mission is to save these people and you're stopping me."

Kisame firmly shook his head, "The mission is to eliminate the threat, not play savor to people we cannot be responsible for. Don't be a fool and let your emotions cloud your judgment."

She felt her insides churn at his words and irritation bubbled at her throat, "I am doing what's right," she hissed, "and if how I feel aligns with that, then even better. Now, let me go."

"You child," the shark-nin's patience was wearing thin, "once you step out and protect them, the target will take the opportunity to flee. Any chances of finding them will be lost. Not only will our mission be a complete failure, but their cycle of torment will also continue due to your negligence."

Seeing that Sakura did not respond, he continued, "What will you do then? Continue to play hero and save the two new victims they'll pray on or end them now?"

Sakura's jaw tightened, and she found the resolve in her to weaken. Play hero? What she was seeing in front of her and how she felt within was not some simple game or way for her to feel validated. As a kunoichi, a medical-nin especially, when an innocent life was harmed, she must do her part in protecting it. It didn't matter to her, when a life was in danger, how can she simply ignore it with the skills she held?

She paused. But to spare the lives of two individuals in exchange for other lives she may not be present to save, that was something that never seemed to occur to her until this moment. And at that moment, she felt a sudden surge of selfishness wash over her. Her determination to break free of the ranks to do what was right for those around her, to do what was right to her, how narrow-minded she seemed to be, at that moment, and if not entirely as a ninja.

Her eyes wavered at the couple and she turned to Kisame, dropping her readied stance and feeling her heart shake in response. He silently looked at her before also releasing the grip he had.

"If you let your emotions guide you, then you'll fail to recognize its repercussions."

With a downcasted face, all Sakura could do was stay silent.

The woman screamed as the male came closer to her. With a feeble attempt to stop him, she grabbed the closest object to her and threw it at him, only for it to miss and fall to the ground. Unfazed by her screams, he easily plunged the weapon down into her chest, and as quickly as she cried out, she was silent. The husband's shoulders shook as he whimpered.

With a sinking chest, Sakura could only watch as the woman laid lifeless on the ground. She felt her stomach churn in repulsion for herself, but the fact that she was now forced to ignore it. The couple is not the focus of their mission, she had to retell herself, the men were.

"I will give you a second chance since I'm in such a good mood tonight," the male restraining him grinned, "Have double the amount of money ready for me by tomorrow. If not, then we'll start doing away with your other civilians for each day you are late."

"They have nothing to do with this!"

He shrugged, "As their leader, you've involved them." He looked to the burning ground and turned to another subordinate to speak, "Decide how many houses you want and light them. It seems like we're done for tonight."

Kisame looked over at Sakura with a hand hovering over his sword, "Prepare yourself." Sakura felt her pulse quicken, and with a tilt of her chin, both her and Kisame rushed toward the men.

Leaping to the air, Sakura pulled out numerous kunais and aimed them at the four targets before her. With a swift flick of her wrist and slight charge of chakra, the sharp blades whizzed through the air at the men. Though three had easily dodged the attack, one had been off guard and allowed the weapon to pierce through his foot, momentarily pinning him to the ground.

With Samehada in hand, Kisame easily appeared from the side and followed with a heavy swing to the male's side. From the sheer speed of the attacks combined, the male was unable to defend himself and allowed the blade to easily meet flesh. A second later, he was on the ground, unmoving.

Still, with the now unconscious husband near his feet, the leader had put some distance between Sakura and Kisame. His lips turned into a deep scowl, "Akatsuki, huh?"

Kisame only grinned back, "Don't make this too difficult, yeah? We have other matters to attend to."

"Fuck off," he hissed back and leaped away with the captive in hand.

Instantly, Sakura's head perked at the sensation of another chakra signature approaching her, and just as the figure appeared to attack, she readily twisted her body to deliver a powerful kick to them. Out of sheer luck, the male managed to duck just in time, causing her to miss. Sakura felt the hairs on her neck stand, and she swiftly unsheathed her katana to reflect the shurikens aimed at her back.

As another body emerged to attack Kisame, Sakura moved to focus on the initial male and positioned herself into a fighting stance. The male eyed Sakura's small form and spat in her direction.

"This has to be a joke," he taunted at her.

Sakura paused at his remark and shoved the feeling of annoyance down. She knew what he was trying to do and refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her become affected in the slightest bit. Instead of retorting back, she chose to offer a small, silent smile to him. Through her mask, she watched as he grimaced at her reaction and charged forward.

She stepped to the side, dodging his fist, and turned to block his kunai with her sword. Sakura wasted no time in swinging herself around to attack with her katana, and she once again smirked as her blade sliced through his arm.

A painful grunt left his mouth, and his other hand came up to apply pressure to his now bleeding wound. With a scorching glare, he shifted his stance and came to Sakura for a second time. She flipped back and stayed low to the ground as he viciously slashed at the air where she once stood. Bringing her body forward, she hooked her foot against one of his legs and forced him to fall onto his side. Just as she was going to slam the tip of her sword into him, his other foot came out to slam against her chest, successfully pushing her back.

Coughing from the force, Sakura rolled to her side and dodged another kunai aimed at her. The failed attempt embedded itself into the ground to which Sakura forcefully ripped out and launched back to the owner. The tip was able to dig itself into his uninjured arm, and a hoarse yell was heard.

With both of his arms now injured and his body overall significantly slowed down, Sakura did not blink twice as she gripped the hilt of her katana and shoved it straight into his abdomen. The sickening slush of ripping fabric and splitting muscle was the last thing she heard as he stumbled back and collapsed.

As Sakura was reaching down to pull her weapon out from his body, Kisame appeared next to her, causing her to turn her attention to her side.

"The leader's running off with the hostage," he said to her and moved his head toward a different direction, "we can still reach him if we leave now."

Allowing Kisame to take the lead, both Akatsuki members rushed to the new location and handily spotted the remaining target near the entrance of the village. The husband that was dragged around before was now draped across the male's shoulder as he frantically tried to find an escape route. As he saw the shark-nin block his path, he moved to turn around only to curse under his breath at the sight of Sakura.

"Alright," he muttered with a low chuckle, "you got me." He raised both hands in what could be assumed as surrender, but from the glint in his eye, Sakura knew that an ulterior motive was hidden somewhere and stepped forward. Her eyes landed on the still form of the husband and felt her chest drop.

Looking at Sakura, he laughed again and roughly placed the man against him to point a kunai at his frail neck, "Smart. So you can guess where this is going right?" He grinned at her, digging the weapon deeper into the male's neck to where it now drew blood. "Spare me and he lives. One step closer and he dies."

Sakura felt her heart halt and fall into the depths of her stomach. Unable to move, she frighteningly peered over at Kisame who gave her a steady gaze in return.

Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment, she could almost hear him say to her as her hesitating eyes stared at him.

Everything she thought she knew about herself, or what she thought she knew, was there standing before her, provoking her with another life to either save or kill. On the outside, Sakura's figure remained calm, unmoving, but composed to those around her. However, she knew she was crumbling from within. A shaking breath was exhaled as her mind scrambled to come up with some inkling of a solution where she wasn't eating out of the palm of this man's vile hands.

Maybe, she frantically thought, she'll save the older gentlemen and Kisame will focus on the assailant. Yes, she can use some type of diversion and get to him before the kunai does, and then once he's safe, they can both focus on the main target.

Sakura's mind stopped, knowing that her plan was wishful thinking. How can she be sure that Kisame will catch onto what she was thinking? How can she ensure that the leader will not just simply flee afterward? Could she get there before the kunai does its damage? There were so many outcomes that she never considered until now and wish she never had to. Outcomes that were not just forcing her to question not only the reality of where she stood now but who she believed she was as a person.

Her eyes dragged away from Kisame and back at the husband who was limply held upright, and her lips pursed against itself. As a ninja, one that saves lives. How could she simply cast his life away?

As Kisame silently watched as a slight tremor ran through her body, Sakura felt her heart begin to race once more with her pulse rising. If she saves him, the target will flee. If he flees, there's not a guarantee that they'll be able to stop him. If he's not stopped, who is to say that this will not continue again?

Though only a minute had passed amongst them, Sakura had to make a decision now. Her quicken pulse had become a deafening sound against her ear, numbing her senses for just a moment until everything became silent. With a small gasp, her shaking body stilled and her hammering heart slowed to a steady rhythm.

The static in her mind fizzed out into a clear space, and her legs regained sensation once more. In return, however, her eyes became wet with tears threatening to fall behind her mask, and the numbness that had left her feet had now resided in her chest. Once she realized she could will herself to move, she immediately pulled out her katana and lurched to the kunai-wielder.

The man's eyes widened at Sakura's response, taken aback at how his calculated attack had somewhat backfired, and ultimately sank the kunai straight into his victim's neck, killing him. Unwavered, Sakura aimed her katana straight at his own neck and did not stop when she met her target.

His already widened eyes had swelled with pain as he fell to his knees and wildly clutched his bleeding throat. Standing before him, Sakura only watched as he gurgled cries of agony came to a stop and slumped to the side with the older man who died only a second before him.

"Kid," Kisame's voice rang out as his firm hand reached out to her. Seeing his figure approach her, she flinched in response but quickly regained her composure, keeping her face neutral despite the sleek tears running down them.

Looking down at the two bodies at their feet, Kisame took a moment to look at Sakura, hiding the surprise he had felt earlier, before speaking, "We're finished here. Let's go back and report to Pein-sama."

His beady eyes followed her movements, steadily gazing as she wordlessly nodded and began following him away from the village.

Their journey from the village was much similar to their journey to it. Both individuals were silent, unneeding to make useless small talk with one another and instead of letting the sound of feet meeting wood to fill the air between them. However, this time was different. Though he did not look back to see her, Kisame could feel the unsteady aura that Sakura was emitting.

Her actions earlier truly took the shark-nin aback. Of all the choices to make, he was highly sure that the one she chose would not be the one that resulted. With his Samehada at his side, he was fully prepared to salvage whatever decision she would make, however messy it was, but in the end, he was not needed. He took a moment to ponder to himself whether his words had that much of an impact on the girl, but nonetheless, she was Akatsuki now, and what she did was very much like them.

But he knew something had occurred. Feeling her uneasiness behind him, he knew that Sakura had changed.

As they had reached their halfway point, Kisame felt the bristling of another chakra signature appear within close proximity to them. Just as he sensed it, his feet pivoted in the opposite direction with Sakura close behind. He quickened his pace to add distance between them and the new individual but only grimaced with two additional signatures could be sensed tailing after them.

Usually, Kisame would not mind an unplanned confrontation, in fact, they could be seen as a source of excitement for the blue male. However, tonight was not the night to do so. With Sakura's first mission with him, the shark-nin wanted to ensure news of a new Akatsuki member would remain hidden for the time being. Unless the two could outrun them, it seems that his plans to do so would be dismantled.

Right when he was about to instruct Sakura to speed up, a body shot from the foliage around them and came sailing straight to Kisame.

"Akatsuki, scum!" the figure screamed out as a kunai was aimed at Kisame. He easily blocked the attack with Samehada and swung at the male targeting him, narrowly grazing his leg as he leaped away. Hastily, Kisame looked back at Sakura, seeing that the other two had circled at her and glowered.

"Kid," he shouted at her, causing her to steady her katana and peek her head over to him. His face hardened as he eyed her opponents, and his mouth opened to say a simple phrase.

"Kill them."

He watched as she simply turned away from him and slowly brought her katana to her face. A second had passed before she raced toward one and ferociously swung at them.

"So you decided to attack tonight," the male shouted at Kisame with a pointed finger, "what business do you have with Sunagakure?"

Kisame felt his face twist in bewilderment at the young boy in front of him and let out a booming laugh, "why would I have an interest in your trivial village?"

"We've extended our border patrol," the boy arrogantly answered back, "Akatsuki wouldn't dare enter unless they were plotting something!"

The shark's brows lifted in curiosity at the information being fed to him. Unknown to the blue male, the major villages spreading out their border watch was not something they were aware of, hence why the two were in the predicament they are in now. Though this was not a situation Kisame wanted for tonight, it wasn't necessarily a useless one.

"Really?" the shark tilted his chin to the side and resituated his sword, "then let me show you what we have planned then."

With a heave of his arm, Samehada came hurling through and easily overpowering the Suna shinobi. Though the boy was skilled in his own right, his attacks failed to make contact and the jutsus used only drained him of his own stamina.

Out of tolerance left for the night, Kisame could feel his fingers itching to put an end to all of the dawdling and brought his sword down onto him, ready to end his life. Fear found its way onto the boy's face, but just as the sword was about to cut through him, a sole hand had pushed him away from Kisame's line of sight.

"Michi-san!" the boy screamed as he watched in horror as Samedama tore into his friend's flesh. With a dull thud, Michi had laid in a heap, hoarsely breathing.

"Run, Ryo," he barely whispered, unable to lift his head to his comrade, "I managed to send a scroll to the village, now run."

"No!" he cried, face twisted in grief. He desperately ran to his friend and clutched his body close to his chest. When the last breath of air escaped his lips, the boy turned around to Kisame.

"I will kill you for this," he uttered, fist clenched tightly. With newfound determination, his hands came together to quickly weave hand signs. Bird, ox, rat, ram.

Right before he could conjure the last sign to complete his jutsu, a single katana soared through the air and sliced straight through his side. His face slowly morphed from pain to stillness as his hands limply fell to his side and his body to the ground. Kisame moved his eyes over to Sakura who stood a few distances away with another bloodied figure lying near her.

"He sent out a scroll?" Kisame asked her, irritation prickling at his nerves. His attempts to salvage his plan had been foiled and how future events will transpire, he was now unsure of. It won't be long until the entire nation is aware of Akatsuki's newest member. He picked up her sword and reached out to hand it to her.

"Sorry," she replied, tone different from her usual voice. She took her katana from his hand and placed it back into its holster, "I was dealing with the other one and couldn't stop him in time."

"It's fine," Kisame grunted, unpleased but ready to return to the base, "let's head out before we run into more annoyances." Without a final glance at the scattered bodies around them, the two continued their trek back to Akatsuki headquarters.

Kisame was unpleased to report back to Pein about his findings today but knew it was a task expected to be done. He knew the mission itself was just simple-minded work to keep him busy, but the other occurrences were surely not a part of his grand scheme of things.

"Pein-sama," Kisame announced as he knelt to the ground.

"Ah, Kisame," the orange-haired male easily called out to him, indicating for him to rise from his spot. "I take that everything went well?"

The shark-nin nodded, "Yes, the mission was carried out successfully."

"Oh, without problems?" he perked, pacing the oak floors, "she didn't show any signs to be wary of, did she?"

"Quite the opposite," Kisame gruff voice responded, "she was the one to end things."

The outer corners of the Akatsuki leader's lips curled upward at Kisame's words, "Good. Very good."

"However, Pein-sama," Kisame quickly interjected, internally preparing himself for how his leader would take the oncoming information, "we were spotted by Sunagakure-nins. One was able to send word back to the village before we could finish him off."

Pein's pacing came to a stop, and the heavily-pierced individual turned to face Kisame. A brief moment of eerie silence passed before Pein let out a small chuckle.

"Even better," he simply stated, undaunted at the potential exposure to Sakura's identity.

"Are we not worried about others knowing about her?"

He shrugged, face free of any anxiousness, "If they wish to discover the existence of our new member, let them. It'll only fuel our plans even further if they do."

Kisame was quick to understand Pein's true intentions and did not try to challenge him. It was clear that whether or not Sakura had her memories, she will continue to be the dangling piece of bait used to lure anyone willing to bite. And if everything goes well, it did not matter if she was collateral damage in the end.

Her position in Akatsuki was only to be a chess piece for Pein to control.

Not having anything else to say, Kisame bowed his head, hiding the scowl he had on his face. "Yes, Pein-sama," he bid, before excusing himself to Itachi's quarters.

A few doors down, however, was Sakura holed up in her own private room, left to fend herself off from her very own thoughts.

Hair pooled around her shoulders and knees to her chest, she tightly wrapped her arms around her legs as she sat in a tub. The heat and slight burn from the water around her soothed the chill she felt from within, both sensations intertwining with each other to cause a tornado of feelings to entirely scramble her consciousness. When looking down at her hands, she could almost hear the taunting voice of the male from before, mocking her as he asked it's either me or him.

What are you going to pick?

And almost as if it were real, the clear soapy water she was submerged in suddenly transformed into a thick pool of blood, dripping from her outstretched hands and seeping out onto the tile floor. Sakura sharply gasped and frantically pushed herself back against the tub water, causing the liquid to splash against the tiles walls and onto the floor. Panting to herself, she slid up out of the water, only to look down to see her entire body and arms stained with the color red.

With a terrified cry, she scrambled out of the bath and fell onto the floor. As her wet body harshly met the cold ground underneath her, her mind snapped back into reality and the blood-filled pool was returned to its original state.

Slowly, Sakura leaned over to peek at the bath, only to seek her distorted face reflecting at her from the clear water. And as soon as her eyes locked with the ones staring up at her, she saw the events from earlier transpire once more.

Run, Ryo.

No!

I'll kill you for this!

Even with the two males' cries pierced through Sakura's heart as she watched them cling to one another, she still could not stop herself from heartlessly throwing her katana at the boy desperately trying to avenge his friend. Deep within her, she could understand his woes of grief and need for revenge, she knew. But in the end, she could not understand. She could not understand why her body defied what her heart told her to do, only listening to the one sentence that continuously rang out for her to hear. She could not understand why she ended up throwing her sword with all her might.

Don't let your emotions cloud your judgment.

With a shaking hand, Sakura fiercely slashed at the water with her hand, causing her reflection to ripple away and her body to be left with the overall sensation of numbness that never really left her. Slowly, she pushed herself up to rise and dry off, hand reaching down to drain the water that was now too cold to find solace in.

The tub gurgled as the remaining bit of liquid emptied, and the rough clicking of her bathroom door opening followed after. Gradually, she crawled into the sheets of her bed and curled to her side, away from the moonbeams shining through her windows.

Sakura forced herself to close her eyes and even her breathing into soothing waves of breaths, she still could not stop the racing pulse within her veins, beating heavily against her chest and running throughout her whole body. Despite how hard she tried to stop, her fingers continued to tremble and her eyes felt as if they were going to shed tears again.

"Stop," she hoarsely said to herself, tucking her hands underneath her pillow, "just sleep." And as if her mind could hear her, it answered back with a resounding no, whispering dangerous words that she did not wish to hear.

You're a killer.

How despicable of a person are you?

How could you?

Who even are you?

"I don't know!" she softly cried out, feeling her eyes moisten but refusing to allow any tears to fall.

How could she know?

In a hopeless attempt to put an end to her mental suffering, Sakura scrunched her face together and solely concentrated on her chakra, coaxing it to her temples and soothing them to sleep. Ever so slowly, the harsh words ringing in her ears dulled to a soft hum and her eyelids began to feel heavy. Just as sleep was about to overcome her, her consciousness opened once more and a series of images began to unfold into her slumbering mind.

The wind moved past her body, causing the heavy cloak she wore to slightly shift from the breeze. Her ears perked at the sound of moving water, but her eyes narrowed down at the heavy feeling of metal in her hand, shocked and confused at the sight she saw. Her calloused fingers met the smooth edges of steel, running its tips against its sharpness. She knew from her years spent training that holding a kunai was effortless, but at that moment the weapon felt abnormally heavy in her hand.

She looked down at the dark-gray metal and saw the reflection of two emerald eyes look back at her. They widened from surprise, and Sakura began to shift the weapon around, allowing herself to see small glimpses of herself.

She looked different. Her hair was slightly shorter and rested against the end of her chin, and her face was fuller, even younger almost.

Then she noticed the way her chest quickly heaved and her racing heart. The kunai was clutched with such ferocity to still the trembling fingers that she didn't even notice were shaking. Sakura pursed her lips in confusion, trying to understand what she was seeing and why her emotions were currently untamable.

Suddenly, her eyes locked with unwavering black ones. But it wasn't the darkness of the color that caused her heart to stop. It was the amount of enmity she saw in it. The amount of unbound anger and despise that she saw, as if it was the onlything he saw, made her heart pound even harder.

Two streaks of blood, being the only speck of color on his pale face, ran from one eye to the end of his clenched jaw. She took in his dark and disarrayed hair and the unsettling scowl he wore, but instead of sensing fear, she began to feel something else within her.

Her hand was quick to tightly hold the weapon in her hands, stilling them once more, and a strange reaction began to work its way up her throat. Sakura's eyes slightly narrowed, and that was when she realized what she felt.

Anger

Hatred

Disgust

Abruptly, all of these emotions that were hidden from her consciousness began to flood out like a broken dam, roaring to life and destroying everything in its path. These dark harbored feelings suddenly forced its way out and brought itself to life as if she waited years to finally acknowledge them. Her skin flushed in fury, and her mind spoke once more without her doing.

I could kill him.

I could kill him now, and this will all be over.

Then her body began to move to its own accord. Just as swiftly as her body turned to him, fingers hastily twisting the weapon towards him, Sakura felt the air between them change.

Just as quickly as Sakura moved to kill, to finally put an end to all the suffering he had caused, he drew his hand back and slowly clenched them together. Her eyes widened at the striking blue energy that was being emitted from his right hand, and she braced herself.

She could feel the heat from his chidori and knew that her life would be over the instant his hand reached her. Looking at his stoic expression, Sakura knew that he was going to kill her before she could do so to him. As he lunged toward her, she dropped her kunai and willingly closed her eyes.

Then suddenly the scene around her violently changed, and slowly the ache she had felt moved from her temples. As the colors around her began to take shape, she could feel the pain move to settle around her neck.

Her small fingers met a rough hand, tightly clutching her and stopping any airflow. She gasped in fear and thrashed against the male's hold, choking from his grip and feeling her eyesight begin to darken.

"Please," she harshly breathed out with hot tears running down her face, "don't do this."

His red eyes only narrowed at her words, and the hold he had on her throat did not loosen. She looked at him, allowing for her green eyes to lock with his and mustered the remaining strength she had to speak up again.

Three words were said, but none were heard to the ears of Sakura.

And though the hand around her neck did not tighten, Sakura felt a surge of discomfort. she hissed at the searing pain that clouded the tenderness of her neck and inability to breathe. But instead of the ache stemming from where the male held her, she found that her chest was the root of it all. As if it was twisted in misery from a knife being stabbed straight into her heart.

The tears from her eyes flowed even more from the sensation of it all, and before she could say another word, her sight went black.

A second had only passed when Sakura finally fell asleep.


"What's the status of everything now?"

"We searched all paths she could've taken. It was confirmed that she was attacked, but the inability to find any traces of her body leads us to believe that she could be elsewhere."

Gaara sat at his desk, face passive and eyes staring ahead. At his side stood Temari and Kankuro, both of who were silently listening to Kakashi's report.

Unlike their brother's unmoved face, Temari's expression seemed tense, lips curved down and eyes looking back and forth from the floor and the sole clock in the room. The end of her heeled sandals rapidly tapped against the wall she leaned against, and her arms were tightly crossed over her chest as she heavily sighed.

"I jus– I just had a feeling," she exasperated, uncrossing her arms and moving away from her position at the wall. A hand came up to cover her forehead but heavily furrowed brows could be seen. "If I went with her that night, maybe everything could have been different."

Kankuro came to her side and placed a hand on her back, making her lower her shoulders and let out another anxious breath. Though his face had also worn a worried expression like his sister's, he had a much easier time composing himself in front of the company of others.

"Temari, you can't say that to yourself," he carefully said, "right now, we need to focus on what we can do at this moment and moving forward."

Gaara eyed his siblings in silence and nodded, "I have sent out a personal team to see what else we could find."

"Was there more information?" Sai asked.

Gaara briefly paused, momentarily glancing over to Kakashi and opened his mouth, "Yes. We discovered a number of bounties put out for Sakura. It seemed as if a ransom type scheme was planned for her."

"Was it a large group?" Kakashi questioned to which Kankuro shook his head.

"No, a small number of rogues just barely scraping by," Kankuro answered, frowning and taking a step closer to the masked-male. "Majority of them were from various small villages. They seem to have recently formed too."

Sai clicked his tongue in frustration, "They must have been keeping track of her while she was stationed here."

"She was due to leave that week," Temari added, "those bastards were probably waiting for the moment she left our borders to do something." Her jaw clenched, and she forcefully shut her eyes, "And they got lucky too…"

"Have neighboring villages been contacted?" Sai lifted his head to Kankuro who once again shook his head.

"I've checked all possible locations she could've found shelter at and didn't find a thing."

"Are you sure?" Sai's facial expression grew dark and he peaked at Kakashi.

"Yes," the puppet-nin affirmed with a solemn tone, "there was nothing."

This time it was Kakashi's turn to sigh, "I was afraid it would lead to this." He rubbed his head and turned to Sai, "We'll have to inform the Godaime to begin the preparations."

Temari's eyes became large, and she immediately took a step forward, directly facing the jounin, "What?" her voice grew loud, and she heaved a heavy breath, "are you already quick to say she's dead?"

"Temari," Gaara warned.

She pointed a finger at the older male, "What's wrong with you? We need to keep looking!" she exclaimed. "You said it yourself. There wasn't a body. It's Sakura for fucks sake! She's probably still kicking somewhere around here. Instead of being so ready to give up, try harder like the rest of us."

"Temari."

"Ever since I found out she was gone, I've been searching every day. Every fucking day. I don't sleep, I don't eat, I can't do anything until I find her!" she growled out, eyes hot with moisture pooling at the sides, "What have you been doing, huh?"

"That's enough," Gaara raised his voice and stood up from his seat, throwing a glare at his sister. "You will show our guest respect."

Temari's face twisted in rage, ready to speak again, but instead of opening her mouth, she simply pursed her lips together and took a step back with her head turned away from the gazes upon her. Kankuro's hand returned to his sister's side and slowly rubbed her shoulders in soothing circles while shooting Gaara a look of pity.

The Kazekage nodded back, leaning down to regain his seating, and moved to open a drawer from his desk. A single scroll was fished out and handed over to Sai who automatically accepted it.

"This is all the details we have been able to gather from the night she left up until now with you two," he moved his eyes away from the rolled parchment.

"We are gracious to Suna," Kakashi bowed as Sai let out a low thanks. "We will be sure to use this wisely."

Gaara watched the two before peering at the opened window behind him. A short gush of air flowed in, knocking the window cover against its hard frame and ruffling the stacked documents on his desk. Kankuro walked over to close the window, leaving Temari to stand alone, and spoke as he fingered the lock.

"So what now?"

Sai softly sighed, running his hands across the smooth paper of the scroll, "Our extended days for this case is almost up. We'll be heading back to Tsunade-sama to examine our findings."

Though it's not much, Sai thought to himself much to his dismay. The hope that had blossomed within him to find his missing teammate had slowly begun to dwindle into a smothered flame, only mere moments away from being entirely extinguished. The feeling of defeat had become a friendly sensation that not only him but Kakashi also had assimilated to.

After all of this, it seemed like tonight was the final blow to the path of finding Sakura. Their efforts had definitely reached its end.

"I see," the red-headed kage said, looking back at the two males before him after allowing his eyes to roam, "the funeral will be held within the next few days, I assume?"

"Yes," Kakashi affirmed, "we'll be on our way after this meeting."

A stiff silence passed through the room and added to the considerable stress that hung in the air. While all the males remained wordless for those mere seconds, Temari audibly scoffed and turned her body away, only letting her back to be seen.

Gaara gave his sister another glance but did not comment, instead, a more serious expression was now worn on his face as he gently rose from his seat and lowered his head at the two leaf ninjas.

"On behalf of Sunagakure," he began, "I would like to give Konoha our sincerest apologies and our most heartfelt condolences. As I had stated previously, we are indebted to Sakura-san for her work, and we shall continue to honor her."

And from those words, the tension in the room had become even heavier than before, almost to the point of where it physically demanded to be shown through Temari's shaking shoulders, Kakashi's tired eyes, and Sai's sinking chest.

Sai watched as Kakahi swallowed deeply and raised his chin to reply but was cut short by the loud raps against the office door.

All heads in the room turned to the sound.

Kankuro locked eyes with Gaara and walked over to open it, hands reaching to turn the metal knob.

"My apologies, sir," a Suna shinobi stood outside, face full of sweat and body slightly panting. He lowered himself into a bow and walked into the office after Gaara ushered him to enter.

"Yes?" he said, waiting for the ninja to speak.

"We just received an emergency message from border patrol," his fingers jolted in uneasiness, "Akatsuki was spotted and engaged with three of our members. All had been found dead."

"What?" Kankuro bursted as Temari quickly turned around with a face full of shock.

"What does the message say?" she prompted him with urgency to which he handed a scroll to Gaara to hold.

Both Temari and Kankuro huddled behind the Kazekage as his hands worked to unfurl the bunched paper. As the scroll unwinded, all faces of the sand siblings darkened and the message was placed flat against the desk for all to see.

Instead of words being present, two images were drawn. One of the face of a familiar blue-gilled male and another of a smaller, masked individual. Confusion lacked Kakashi's expression, "I wasn't aware that Akatsuki gained a new member."

"Neither were we," Temari gravely remarked.

"Have any villages recently reported missing-nins?" Kankuro asked Gaara who responded.

His dark eyes stared down at the kitsune mask that was painstakingly drawn, "No."

Sai studied the unrecognized person, "A long time rogue?"

"Not likely," Kankuro shot down, "they're usually not up to pair with Akatsuki. I couldn't imagine one of them joining."

Temari scowled, "But we can't rule that out. It's not like we have some intricate monitoring system in place for those types of people."

The Suna shinobi lifted his head, "If I may add, all the damage on the bodies looked to be from blades."

"A swordsman?" Kakashi questioned.

The male nodded to him, confirming his suspicions. Sai took the liberty to take out his own personal scroll and swiftly began sketching a replica, hand expertly moving to recreate the details he saw.

"We'll have to leave immediately to inform Tsunade-sama," the dark-haired boy murmured to his leader, "we weren't expecting Akatsuki to regain traction so soon."

An agreement left Kakashi's covered mouth, and he lowered his head in fatigue. Patiently waiting for Sai to finish his copy, they both bent to give a final bow before departing.

"Again, thank you for your help in this matter," Kakashi expressed, "we will be in touch soon but please do not hesitate to reach out beforehand if needed."

"Of course," Gaara replied.

Checking to see if everything was packed and ready for travel, both males began their journey back home, unfortunately with more bad news than wanted. As Kakashi and Sai swept through the trees, feet leaping from bark to another, the pale boy couldn't help but reach behind him and feel for the parchment he last stored in his pack.

Bringing the scroll to his face, he stared down at the picture of the masked figure and swallowed the dryness that strangely overcame his throat. As he continued to gaze down at the person's unrecognizable features, an odd feeling stirred at the pit of his stomach, causing him to question why exactly it reacted that way.

For the rest of the way, Sai continued to stare down at the image.


The bottom of sandals crunched against broken concrete as the lone Uchiha walked through the empty compound. Dirt had littered the walls, completely covering the pale exterior with dark soot that had accumulated for years.

Shattered glass was scattered across the path Sasuke walked on. Bits and pieces broke underneath the weight of his feet, reflecting the broken doors around him which loosely hung from their hinges. Inside was exposed furniture, unused for quite some time and almost to the point of rot due to the moisture that had entered the homes.

No matter how far he forced himself to trudge onto the road that led throughout the district, each house was the same. A disarrayed testament of the ruined lives and the trauma he carried with him.

His feet faltered as his half-lidded eyes landed upon the single house that his consciousness recognized, despite the building being the furthest away from the neighboring homes. The moonlight was hidden behind its cracked exterior and busted roof, and only one window remained unfractured. Reaching the middle of his calf were weeds that densely decorated the surrounding area and even infiltrated the inside of his family home, clearly depicting that nature and reclaimed its land.

Though he was once a resident who had grown up here, anyone could see that the Uchiha compound was a shell of what it once was.

Where it had been filled with life was now empty, and there he stood, left alone amongst it all.

Though his steps had wavered at the sight of his home, he continued to walk, not sparing another glance as the dwelling became a shadow behind him. Instead, he allowed himself to move toward wooden fences and flat earth, a sight that he finally realized held a deeper meaning to him.

Sasuke's dark eyes roamed the bare land and dirt floor. Unlike the other facilities within the Uchiha precinct, the training grounds still resemble its former glory. As if it were simply the day before, the sharingan-user could smell the sweat rolling off of skin and hear the clashing of weapons hitting one another.

When he shut his eyes, a smaller, younger version of himself appeared, confidently grasping a kunai and waving it around. Silly taunts and smiles were thrown at the much older male with him, who only chuckled in return. As the day came to an end and the time spent with one another ultimately timed-out, a simple tap on the forehead was felt and whispered promises of meeting again were made.

Unfortunately, such pledges were never fulfilled, and it took Sasuke much too long to finally realize the meaning behind such two fingers meeting the skin of his head.

Before he had made the choice to leave everything behind, he had also taken the same path as he was now. Brimming with rage and hands tightly clenched as if all that he knew would fall apart once he released them, his twelve-year-old self began to carve out the destiny that seemed to always be in store for him.

Tonight, however, he no longer felt resentment. The fury that once fueled his veins and consumed his entire existence had disappeared. Instead, as he stood there with a chest calmly beating and fingers loosely hanging to his sides, he only felt a sense of bleakness that he couldn't quite comprehend. In fact, since that fateful day with his brother, the feeling has never shaken.

Opening his eyes, Sasuke let out a quiet sigh and moved to turn to the figure that had appeared only seconds ago.

"Uchiha," the leaf shinobi inclined his head towards the young male, "it's time for you to see the Godaime."

He wordlessly nodded. With the mundane tasks given to him each day came the end of the week reports to Tsunade. They were short, if not just another useless task to fill up his time, to ensure that he was being a docile civilian he had submitted himself to weeks prior. Alongside his curt sentences were her terse approvals, and in the end, she would finish the meeting with a question Sasuke to this day did not pinpoint the purpose of.

"How are you feeling?"

Each time an automatic, readily repaired fine would be voiced, and not much thought was given to it. However, as more weekly reports were due, the Uchiha male found himself almost dreading the same forlorn question leaving the woman's lips again. Most of all, he forced himself to not even give it any room to reside in his already heavy mind.

Once the two approached her door, the escorting ninja knocked on it twice before allowing Sasuke to enter. When he stepped foot into the office, his sharp eyes quickly noticed that something was amiss. Though the Godaime was not usually the most organized Hokage of the seven villages, the state of the room had never reached where it was now.

In every corner of the room, almost completely covering the majority of the wooden floors the two stood upon, were stacks of documents toppled on top of one another or absentmindedly thrown across the suite. Her desk itself was smudged with old stains of alcohol that were either toppled over by a clumsy elbow or spilled during an emotional storm.

Looking at Tsunade herself, it was clear to Sasuke that the woman had been under significant mental stress as she did not bother to look up from the parchment she stared down at. One hand was dug into her hair while the other rested against her temple, rubbing it to soothe whatever agitation was building behind it. A small lamp was lit to illuminate her workspace, and the dark-haired male did not waste the opportunity to peer down at the opened scroll.

Two makeshift portraits were found, one of the Akatsuki members he was familiar with and another that he did not seem to recognize.

Sasuke briefly thought to himself before deciding to let his curiosity get the better of him. With a blink, his red eyes came to life, meticulously analyzing the features of the other character, and with another blink, it was gone.

He felt the slight surprise bubble within him for the masked individual was truly unrecognizable. With a covered face and large hood, whoever's identity was behind it was successfully hidden. Before Sasuke could ponder further, Tsunade finally looked up and addressed the boy.

"Uchiha," she stated, eyes forcefully dragged away from the scroll.

"I'm here for the report," he replied with a straightforward tone, not bothering himself with greetings.

She let out a huff and leaned back in her chair, letting a shrill squeak come from it. With a wave of her hand, she closed her eyes for a moment, "go ahead then."

Automatically, as if he were a machine programmed to read a script premade for this occasion, he began listing off his tasks, "the outer fence is repaired, all houses have been given enough firewood to prepare for the cold season, and the banks have been cleared of fallen debris."

"What about the Uchiha compound?"

An image of the training grounds and overgrown grass flashed across his mind, and he paused, "...I'll begin the restoring process soon."

"Good," she hummed, bringing one hand to her face and resting her chin upon it. Though she had been responsive, Sasuke could see that she truly was not paying attention to his words. Her eyes flickered down at the paper sitting on her desk once again, and she unconsciously shifted to the side to expose a piece of furniture hidden behind her.

To her back, initially unseen by Sasuke, was another small table, set up to hold various books and scrolls which were torn apart and unrolled. As expected, they were also haphazardly placed on top of each other, near the brink of collapsing and falling off the surface they were piled on. However, Sasuke was not drawn to the pieces of literature in front of him, but the shiny object that glistened when his eyes fell on them.

There, as it sat there, almost as if it had its own set of eyes to stare back, was a Konohagakure hitai-ate. Its silver face glowed in the moonlight with one side of the cloth neatly folded behind it. But though the right side had been tucked behind the metal plate, the left fabric was exposed for all to see.

All in its deep, red glory.

And suddenly, Sasuke felt a strange pang from the side of his chest, putting a pause to the gears running in his mind and sucking him out of where he currently stood. Instantly, his mind took him out from the office and out of body to a time of carefree laughs and comfortable warmth. Where the troubles he held by himself weren't so unbearable at the time.

Kind words and a welcoming smile found its way to him, and there appeared pink hair he had not seen in quite some time but subconsciously kept in the back of his mind.

Then the shy giggles and outstretched hand was swept away, replaced with a tear-stained face and begs of forgiveness. A cry to stay. A cry to love.

A cry of mercy.

Right then, Sasuke felt the tips of his fingers grow cold and he stood as still as ever, eyes still locked onto the headband worn by his former female teammate. His heart gave another deep squeeze and one question rose to his chest.

What was Sakura's headband doing here?

And as if Tsunade could hear his thoughts, she forcefully moved herself back to hide the table, hitai-ate out of sight, and shot Sasuke a glare vicious enough to send any man scrambling for safety. Gone were the signs of turmoil, and instead was a furious glaze and dangerous voice.

"You did not see anything," she said lowly, arms completely stiff. "Do you understand me?"

Unfazed by the threat behind her words, Sasuke only stared at her in silence.

Taking his response as obedience, Tsunade sharply grabbed the red forehead protector and moved it to a drawer in her desk. The drawer shut with a loud click, and harsh eyes returned to meet cool coal ones.

"You will not utter a single thing to anyone, Uchiha," she instructed, eyes narrowing at the boy, "Don't you dare mention a word to Naruto."

Like a puzzle being solved, the pieces seamlessly place themselves together, and Sasuke was left with information he never intentionally sought out.

Though Sakura's extended mission had prevented her from greeting Naruto and Sasuke on their day of return, it was odd for her to continue to be missing several weeks after. Especially since Kakashi himself stated that her date to arrive was already due.

If the girl had decided to completely avoid the Uchiha male, that was something Sasuke would not find fault in. It was a scenario he had fully prepared himself for once she came back. But, it seemed like that day did not happen. With Naruto's constant whining for Sakura's presence and worry that he had upset her, it was in fact true that she never really did return to Konoha.

When he initially saw Kakashi and Sai leave for a mission, Sasuke did not give it a second thought. But when he watched them quickly arrive and set out once more, the male's interest peaked. To have such a short time frame must have meant that something urgent had occurred. And for those two to have been overseeing it and not other skilled individuals or Anbu, it made Sasuke think that the pink-haired female was involved in some way.

Now with the Godaime herself mentioning Naruto at the sight of Sakura's headband, it only confirmed his suspicions. But his suspicions took him another step forward. Was her mission high risk? Did she need help from Kakashi and Sai?

Was it life or death?

Looking at the expression on Tsunade's face, Sasuke felt his still body become even more tense.

"Uchiha!" she growled out, now impatient.

Choosing to ignore the unsettling feeling he had not felt for a time, he snapped himself out from his inner thoughts and gave a firm reply. A reply that seemed safe enough for the two of them.

"I won't involve myself in that," The words that were said from his lips left a slight bitter taste in his mouth. He ignored the sensation and locked eyes with the blonde woman.

The scowl never left her face, and she rose from her seat, hands firmly placed against her desk.

"Good," she harshly scowled and brought a hand to roughly rub her forehead. Sasuke continued to stand in silence, eyes following her movements until she straightened her back and closed her eyes. "Now leave."

Without another second to pass, he turned around and escorted himself out.

Though Tsunade's burning glare was no longer on Sasuke, the sinking feeling he felt earlier only continued to dive deeper within him. As he placed a hand over his heart to check that it was still beating in a calm rhythm, he could not remove the images of pink-hair from his head.