His hearing was the first sense to come back to him. Heart pounding in his ears, Sasuke strained to drown it out in order to listen to the rest of his surroundings. A thunderous crack, a loud grunt, and the sound of falling debris reached him, succeeding only in increasing the anxiety bubbling within his chest.

When his sight finally returned, he blinked rapidly to clear the dark blobs still floating across his field of vision. Sasuke pushed himself to a sitting position, wincing when the bruises on his ribs protested against the sudden movements. To his side, he could see two limp bodies sprawled on the grass beneath him. His heart dropped when the sight of pink was missing from the scene.

He whipped his head around, searching for Sakura in the dim moonlight, and finally sighed a silent breath of relief when his eyes found her. Dirt and grass stains painted her clothes as she stood with fists clenched at her side. Rose-colored hair matted against her forehead and loose strands floated in the wind. Her brows knitted in anger as she focused on an object in front of her.

Following Sakura's line of vision, Sasuke found her target. Yamato returned her glare, wooden beams sprouting from his arm and covering his chest. The beams were disfigured, no doubt from one of Sakura's deadly punches, but the wood quickly grew to cover the damage. From the distance, Sasuke scanned Sakura's body for injuries, satisfaction welling in him when he found none.

As he pulled himself to his feet to assist the fight, branches sprouted from the ground and wrapped themselves around his body once again. He struggled against them but tired easily to his frustration, too chakra-deprived and weak to put up much of a fight.

"Good, you're up," Yamato spoke as their eyes met. "Just in time to see me defeat your precious teammate."

Sasuke scowled but didn't speak, not wanting to give the traitor the satisfaction of seeing the fury that burned within him. Inside his head, a criticizing voice taunted him. He was weak, not even able to break himself out of bounds that shouldn't have so easily restrained him. He was relying on Sakura to protect him and it made him feel absolutely pathetic.

Not once acknowledging Sasuke's consciousness or Yamato's words, Sakura sprung back into action and ran full speed towards her opponent. She zigzagged, weaving swiftly between each of the wooden beams that Yamato sent her way. For the ones that she wasn't quick enough to dodge, Sakura shattered the material with a brisk fist.

This wasn't the first time Sasuke had seen his teammate show the true magnitude of her powers, but he was rendered breathless just the same. It was hard to believe that such sheer strength could be emitted from a body so small and it left him in awe. Gone was the girl he itched to protect when they were genin and in her place was a force to be reckoned with.

Sasuke held his breath as she drew closer to Yamato. With her signature shout, she drove her clenched hand directly into his chest. The hit connected with a loud crack, sending Yamato flying backwards before landing on a heap in the ground. Sasuke could see a smirk spread across Sakura's face but the expression faded quickly when Yamato's body morphed and disintegrated before her. A wood clone.

Sakura whirled around, her eyes rapidly scanning the clearing. When movement from the shadows caught his eye, Sasuke almost shouted a warning. Luckily, Sakura noticed simultaneously and charged towards Yamato's form in the darkness. After dodging her advances, the duo faced off again, circling each other with slow, deliberate steps.

It was Sakura who broke the formation first as she ran towards Yamato, reaching him in a matter of seconds with a speed far too quick to counter. But to Sasuke's surprise, her hands connected with Yamato's body in a way that avoided dealing damage. Rather than throwing another one of her fatal punches, she gripped his shoulders and pulled his torso down until they were eye level.

"Release!" Sakura demanded as she held Yamato in place.

Sasuke realized then what she was aiming for. She was holding on to the last sliver of hope that the man was under genjutsu, in disbelief that he would truly betray the village he had once sworn to protect. When his demeanor didn't change, Sakura raised an angry fist and prepared to strike. However, she made a deadly mistake.

It was quick but Sasuke could see it clear as day. The look on her face was one that haunted him for the past three years. Like that day on the bridge when she held a poisoned kunai to his back, Sakura hesitated.

A deadly smile plastered across Yamato's face when he noticed her pause. Sharp branches sprouted from his arm and plunged themselves into Sakura's abdomen, sending her flying backwards and across the clearing. When she landed, blood pooled around her body in an angry red stream.

"Sakura!" Someone shouted, and it took Sasuke several beats to recognize his own voice. It sounded wrong, broken, and unlike his usual stoic manner. He struggled to understand why.

With a flip, she pushed herself to her feet. The wound at her center that was gushing blood just moments before was closed and in its place was a faded red blotch that could be seen through the torn fabric of her clothing. Sasuke could feel his tense jaw unclench as she stalked towards Yamato again, her body moving as if nothing happened at all.

"Face it, Sakura," Yamato jeered. "You don't have it in you to defeat me. You can try all you want but you'll always be weak ."

At the man's emphasis on the last word, Sakura's signature battle cry sounded across the clearing as she charged him. Yamato dodged and Sakura pursued him again, throwing punch after punch.

"Just like back then—" Yamato paused as he dodged another one of Sakura's deadly fists, "—when you couldn't kill him , you won't be able to kill me."

Sasuke's chest tightened painfully at the memory that Yamato had unearthed once again. He was referring to that day on the bridge when Sakura took it upon herself to release Sasuke from the dark path he chose. As if it happened moments ago, Sasuke could feel the emotions that he had that day bubble beneath the shallow surface of his skin. The one person who cried for him and who held him when he was at his weakest, wanted him dead.

Sasuke's memory of that day was shrouded in fog, the only thing prominent enough for him to recall clearly was the rage he felt when he swiped the poison-laced kunai from Sakura's hand. Even now, he could almost feel how his other hand trembled as it wrapped around her throat. He remembered the anger, the disbelief. He especially remembered the murderous hatred that filled him at the realization that she made an attempt on his life not once, but twice. Even now, he could barely pinpoint why such fury consumed him. At that moment, all he knew was that Sakura had burned him and he desperately wanted to put out the fire.

The sound of earth shattering beneath his feet pulled him from his flashback and forced him to focus on the ever-present danger that surrounded him. As grass beneath him crumbled away with one of Sakura's punches, so did the restraints that held him back. With the strength that he had left, he quickly dashed away from Yamato's wooden beams as they continued to chase him until he found himself standing with Sakura, their backs against each other.

"Are you okay?" She questioned, concern clear in her voice.

Sasuke didn't answer, finding that anger filled him at the thought of her worrying about his well being. He never understood it, and possibly never will understand, just what she saw in him that was worth saving or caring for. It frustrated him to no end and the more her affection found him, the more he wanted to hide.

Sakura seemed to sense his inner turmoil and chose not to push further as she instead focused on scanning the battlefield. Her previous punch had sent Yamato falling directly into a crevice she created in the earth, but Sasuke knew it would take more than that to end this battle. Sasuke surveyed his surroundings, taking in the damage that the two fighters had left. To untrained eyes, the only sights to see were the large cracks in the ground and the grotesquely disturbed earth. But to Sasuke, the blemishes told a story.

From the destruction left behind by the two Shinobi, he could tell that while Sakura fought to simply incapacitate, Yamato was fighting to kill. Despite how wronged she may feel from her former teammate's betrayal, she couldn't bring herself to deliver any of her typical fatal moves. But that left the battle at a crossroads.

Yamato would never be able to kill Sakura. No matter how much he might want to, her strength far exceeded his and her seal ensured that killing her would be no easy feat. However, Sakura was holding back far too much to truly defeat him. She was too hesitant with her strikes as she tried desperately to limit the power behind them. Sasuke deduced that Yamato must have realized this also. From the way Yamato dragged on this fight with Sakura, Sasuke could tell that the man was stalling, trying to buy himself enough time to either come up with a plan or wait for reinforcements.

Just then, the twins stirred from the other end of the clearing. Sasuke's head whipped in their direction, realizing then what Yamato could do to win this battle. As if discerning that Sasuke had come to this conclusion, Yamato dashed from the spot he was hiding and towards the two barely conscious bodies that were still sprawled on the ground. Behind him, Sasuke could feel Sakura take off in their direction but despite her desperation, she was far too late to stop him.

Balled in Yamato's hand was a fistful of Sachie's brown hair as he pulled her head back to expose her neck and pressed a kunai to her throat. Sasuke could only watch as Sakura's face contorted in horror at what came next. With a malicious grin, Yamato sliced the delicate skin in one smooth motion before sending the young girl's bloodied body plummeting to the ground below.

All she could do was scream and run, desperate to free Sachie from Yamato's grasp. Sakura's sight tunneled as fury overcame every single one of her senses. The only thing she could see was Sachie—sweet, innocent Sachie—seconds away from bleeding out on the ground. If she could just get to the girl in time, she could heal the wound and prevent further damage.

It terrified Sakura just how hungry she was for revenge. For what felt like forever, a blind rage consumed her and the only image she could picture was of her own hands, wringing the life from Yamato's neck. In this moment, the world was silent except for the pure hatred that roared in her ears. It wasn't until Sasuke's grip on her wrist yanked her arm painfully backwards that the remainder of her instincts finally kicked in and she paused in her trek towards Sachie to survey the scene before her.

Yamato had Souta in his grip now, kunai poised at the boy's throat and ready to deliver the same fate that Sachie had met. With the turmoil boiling within her, Sakura's Byakugou seal activated. Black tendrils snaked across her face and arms, coating her body with a surging power that ached to be unleashed.

"Let them go!" Sakura cried as she desperately fought her way towards Sachie. With her strength, she easily broke away from Sasuke's hold on her as her feet carried her to the twins. Her heart was beating so loudly now, she barely caught the words that Yamato spoke but the message was clear.

"Come any closer and I'll kill him too," Yamato warned as he brought the blade closer to Souta's neck.

Sakura froze in her tracks just as Sasuke's fingers closed themselves around her wrist once again to prevent her from moving any further. She was in too much shock to fight against his grip this time, still reeling at the sight of Sachie's lifeless body on the ground and Souta's exposed throat. She failed them. She failed them all.

"What do you want? Tell me! I'll do whatever you want, just leave them out of this!" She begged. She didn't care how desperate and defeated she sounded anymore. She only knew that she had to do something .

"Oh?" Yamato's brow raised curiously. "What if I tell you that what I want is for you to hand over your precious Sasuke?"

Sakura's breath caught and a lump formed in her throat. She couldn't give up Sasuke, not when she fought so hard to find him and not when they were so close to freedom. But she knew she couldn't let the twins die. They were completely innocent, caught in the crossfire of a fight they had no stakes in, and no part of her could ever leave them here.

"What do you want with him?" She asked shakily.

Yamato only shook his head, an amused glint forming in his large, unseeing eyes as his lips twisted into a wicked smile. "I'm not at liberty to say."

Sakura shouted with frustration and attempted to launch herself at Yamato just as Sasuke's fingers tightened their hold around her wrist and tugged. When their eyes met, his gaze briefly flickered to where their bodies connected. She followed his direction and almost gasped aloud at what she saw. Not wanting Yamato to catch on to the event, she turned back to face the traitor with a deadly glare.

In her fury, Sakura's Byakugou seal had unleashed an immense amount of unchecked power. The black tendrils wound wildly around her body until there was no skin left to reach. With its power completely unrestrained, the seal sought other sources to cover and climbed its way up Sasuke's lone arm from where his hand held her wrist before disappearing beneath the sleeve of his shirt.

Sakura could feel it now: the sheer amount of chakra flowing between them as if they were sharing a single bloodstream. The energy made her body buzz with excitement. Sasuke's seal may have made it so his body couldn't store chakra but with the Byakugou connecting them, she could provide a constant stream of chakra and bypass the seal's blockage. Sasuke wouldn't need to store chakra to use hers. With a quick look into Sasuke's mismatched eyes, she knew that he had come to the same conclusion.

His fingers squeezed her wrist almost painfully and Sakura knew it was time. In the blink of an eye, Sasuke switched places with Yamato using the powers of his Rinnegan. As Sasuke gently lowered Souta's limp body to the ground, Sakura simultaneously twisted herself to face Yamato who now loomed behind her, kunai still in hand.

Sakura clutched the collar of his shirt with both hands and slammed him into the ground with as much force as she could muster. A tormenting voice inside her noted that she was holding back. She was being weak, sparing the life of a proven traitor simply due to meager and lingering feelings of camaraderie that no longer existed. She gritted her teeth in frustration, both at herself and at her opponent, as Yamato staggered to his feet and faced her, weapon held ready to strike.

With a kick, Sakura disarmed him and threw another punch towards his chest. He backflipped out of the way but Sakura was just as quick. She pursued him, throwing another kick towards his body as he flipped through the air. This time, her kick connected and sent him flying further away from where Sasuke now bent over Sachie's still body with his lone hand putting pressure on her open wound.

Sakura knew she needed to incapacitate Yamato and she needed to do it quickly if she had any hope of healing Sachie in time. There was no more time for her to try to spare his life. She balled her fists and steeled herself to do something that made her chest constrict with discomfort. To give herself the strength to continue, she pictured Sachie's sweet smile. It was time for Sakura to fight to kill.

She whirled around and stalked towards where Yamato was sprawled on the grass from her previous kick. Grasping him by the collar, she threw another punch into his cheek. Despite being disoriented still, Yamato was able to dodge the strike just enough to buffer the brunt of the damage. Her fist connected partially with the ground as it brushed past his face. Beside him, the dirt shattered and a large crater formed, throwing the duo off balance.

In the chaos, Sakura threw her entire body weight on Yamato so roughly that her legs left divots in the ground below. She straddled his body, her knees on either side of his torso. She channeled chakra to her hands and pulsed it into his skull, wishing with all her might that she could knock him out cold as cleanly as possible. But Yamato remained conscious and a devilish grin spread across his face. Somehow, he was blocking her medical ninjutsu.

With one hand, Sakura pulled him up by the collar and poised her other fist to strike. But no matter how much she pushed herself to move, her body refused to obey. Suddenly, she was face-to-face with her former team captain and the image of a traitor dissipated. In his place, was the face of a mentor whom she revered, who saved her countless times, and was the glue holding their team together when conflict threatened to tear them apart.

No longer able to keep her emotions at bay, her tears flowed relentlessly as the reality of the situation settled in. Her chest constricted uncomfortably as her mind raced to form some sort of alternative solution. But no matter how frantically she grasped for answers, her efforts were hopeless. If she couldn't knock him out, there was only one thing left to do to ensure that they could escape unscathed. Sakura's hand trembled at the thought.

"Like I said, you can't kill me ," Yamato taunted, the ever-present smirk still plastered across his face.

With a sob, Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs as she summoned the strength she needed to make her next and final move. She reeled her clenched hand backwards, pulsing enough chakra into it to shatter mountains, and struck. Her eyes widened when her fist only connected with empty space. Around her waist, wound an ink snake that pulled her back and away from Yamato who was now restrained with yet another animal made of ink. When she whirled around, she came face-to-face with Sai.

"Get on!" He reached a hand to her from where he perched on an ink bird.

Bewildered by his presence, she started, "What about—"

"They're safe, look."

When Sakura's eyes traveled across the field, they landed on the figures of Sasuke, Sachie, and Souta on one of Sai's ink birds as it hovered above the ground. Sasuke still had his hands pressed against Sachie's throat and Souta, who was finally slowly gaining consciousness was staring wide-eyed at the blood that pooled around them.

Sakura took Sai's hand and allowed him to hoist her onto the flying animal. His arm wound around her waist to maintain her balance as the bird immediately took off towards the trio at the other end of the clearing. As soon as they were close enough, Sakura yanked Sai's arm from her body and launched herself towards Sachie.

Breathing heavily, Sakura placed her hands above where Sasuke was holding Sachie's wound closed. She closed her eyes and pooled chakra into the injury, a professional calm replacing her inner emotional storm. As the cut stitched itself together and the steady flow of blood began to slow, Sasuke released his hold and allowed Sakura to have full access to the healing skin. It was just in time as Souta, who was now fully conscious, hurled himself towards Sakura, mistaking her as Sachie's assailant in his daze.

"You need to calm down," Sasuke snarled as he tackled Souta into the feathers of the ink bird. But Souta ignored him.

"WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" Souta demanded, thrashing widely beneath Sasuke's grasp.

With a voice that was surprisingly calm despite the maelstrom brewing inside her, Sakura warned, "I'm healing her and if you want her to live, you'll listen to him and calm down."

Souta was panting heavily but her words seemed to carry weight as his body began to relax. From the corner of her eyes, Sakura could see Sasuke finally release him as Souta scrambled to kneel beside the two women. He gripped Sachie's hand in his, his eyes glued to the blood that surrounded her head like a halo.

Sakura channeled more chakra into her palms as she worked to heal the veins that were severed under Yamato's blade. She strained to ignore Souta's heavy breathing in her ear and while she could somewhat drown out the sound, her body mirrored the cues of his anxiety. Her heart was beating louder and more rapidly by the second, her head spinning. Vaguely, she could sense Sai bringing them higher into the sky and away from where Yamato was still restrained to the ground.

"There," Sakura said as she finally sat back and wiped the sweat from her brow. "I healed the cut and I don't think she lost too much blood. She should regain consciousness soon, but I'll have to do a more thorough exam once we're somewhere safe."

As if on cue, a groan escaped Sachie's lips as her features contorted in pain.

"Sachie! Sachie, can you hear me?" Souta shouted and Sakura had to place a calming hand on his arm to prevent him from shaking his sister as she stirred.

"Souta?" Sachie's voice was weak and raspy but Sakura couldn't help thinking it was one of the most magical sounds she had ever heard. She released a breath she completely forgot she was holding as the siblings embraced.

"Are you okay?" A voice asked from her side and Sakura jumped at the sound, momentarily forgetting that there were others around her in her desperation to save Sachie.

She whirled around to find Sai regarding her with concern, having been the one to ask her the question. It was almost comical to see such a look on his usual expressionless face and it brought a warmth to her chest. Ino was doing a number on him.

She flashed him a smile, something that felt genuine for the first time in a long time and nodded. Returning her gesture, Sai then turned to look ahead as he directed his ink birds away from the danger that had faced them in the clearing below.

As they soared through the sky, Sakura finally allowed herself to rest her eyes on Sasuke. He was sitting beside her, wordlessly looking out into the night sky with his arm resting on one bent knee. He seemed troubled despite the relief of their escape and it stirred a nervousness within her. However, she quickly willed the feelings away. She needed to focus on the fact that they made it out and Sachie was alive. They were finally free.

At the thought, Sakura turned back towards the twins. Sachie was sitting up, leaning most of her weight on Souta's shoulder as they whispered amongst themselves. There was a different air to them now, Sakura observed. For the first time, she could see how young Souta truly was. Without the constant worry of being in Root's grasp, his face relaxed in a way that brought out his youthful features that the turbulence of their prior situation had forced away. The sight warmed her heart.

"Sai, thank you," Sakura almost shouted so that he could hear her above the wind rushing on either side of them as she made her way over him. Sai was crouched on the ink bird as he directed it to fly to his will, his eyes staring straight ahead.

"Don't mention it," he replied, a ghost of a smile showing from the crinkle in his eyes. It crossed Sakura's mind again how strange it was to see her former deadpan teammate show such a myriad of emotions.

They flew in silence across the sky for several more seconds until Sai finally added, "I can't believe that Captain Yamato would…" He trailed off and shook his head, as if afraid to speak the truth aloud.

At the mention of Yamato's name, Sakura's chest lurched painfully. It had yet to settle within her that her suspicions were not only proven true but were somehow also worse than she imagined. Captain Yamato's betrayal burned her but his attempt on Sachie's life was almost unbelievable. No matter how much she racked her brain for answers, she came up empty. It simply didn't make sense.

"I don't believe it," Sakura whispered as she shook her head slowly, feeling completely deflated. "There's no way he would do this."

"Maybe we didn't know him as well as we thought," Sai answered, reflecting her tone.

"I guess so," she allowed her voice to trail off as her eyes focused on something in the distance, anything to help her forget. Finally, she added, "I'm just glad you found us in time."

"Yeah, me too," he responded.

Sakura turned to watch Sai, finding that he was staring intently ahead and away from her, likely feeling Captain Yamato's betrayal with the same intensity.

"How did you do it?" Sakura asked once the silence between them began to feel uncomfortable. "How did you find us so quickly?"

Sai paused for several long seconds as if lost in thought. His gaze was still fixed on some unknown object in the distance.

"I've been pursuing a lead about Root's reformation for some time. I was able to gather some details about your location from your reports to Lord Sixth and figure out that our missions were connected," Sai explained, his eyes still glued straight ahead.

Sakura froze. Time seemed to slow along with her heartbeat as cold sweat trickled down her spine. Her mind swirled with unrest and blood pumped so loudly in her ears that it completely drowned out the deafening rush of wind that surrounded them. While her logic came to one conclusion, her heart told her that she was wrong. She had to be.

With the dire situations she was put in during her mission, she never found the opportunity to report her progress to Kakashi. The last update he could have possibly gotten was from when Pakkun returned to the village to tell him that she had opted to go undercover as Sachie's prisoner. However, no details in that report could have possibly clued him in to her location. That only meant one thing and she swallowed nervously at the notion, almost choking on her own saliva as her brain fought desperately to catch up to her racing thoughts.

Sai was lying.

A/N

Welcome back to another chapter!

I've had some people ask about how long they should expect this fic to be so I wanted to clarify. I have a rough outline of where I want this story to go and at this point I would say we're less than 1/3 of the way through so there's still lots to cover! I have no idea how many chapters I'll end up with in total but hopefully that gives you all a better idea of what to expect.

As always, thank you for your continued support and feedback of my work! I know I say this every time but I still feel it's not enough: I'm so appreciative of all the love I've received for my first ever fic! Please expect an update sometime next week.