Disclaimer: Naruto is owned by its respective owners, of which I am not one.

Warnings: Language, Spoilers up to anime episode 141. Unbeta-ed. AR, slight character OOC

Summary: I knew the Godaime had called me in as a last measure, a desperate move that her former Academy teacher might reach her where others had failed. But seeing her again, I knew I would do whatever I could to find out what was going on.

I found her leaning against the bridge where her old team used to meet, staring down at the rushing water that roared through. She didn't move as I stepped next to her side, lay my arms on the railing, and dropped my eyes to the stream to imitate to her position.

We stayed that way for a while. I was completely content in giving her all the time she needed before she would acknowledge my presence. After having taught at the Academy for so long, patience had slowly become a part of who I was. I had to laugh at myself at that thought. Who would have ever thought that Umino Iruka, the number one prankster not fifteen years ago, would become the epitome of patience?

Bemused with my own thoughts, I was startled when Sakura finally decided to give in and face me, turning her head in my direction. "Is there something you needed, Iruka-sensei?" she asked me. Her emerald eyes, usually so bright and full of intelligence, now only looked dull and tired. Her skin, once a healthy peach, was now pale and had a slightly pinched look. Even her bright hair was limp and carelessly tied back at the nape. It was obvious she was losing weight she could ill afford; her face was drawn and bones were sticking out in places I knew wasn't right.

Most telling of all, I could find no trace of her hitai-ate on her person.

This was worse than what Tsunade-sama had told me. I hid a frown as I looked down at her upturned face. The exhaustion there was palpable. She didn't look as though she could find her way out of a one-room apartment. "Sakura," I began, "you haven't been taking care of yourself."

Her shoulders lifted in some sort of semblance of a shrug. "I'm all right."

"If you're all right, Tsunade-sama has been lax in your studies as a medic-nin," I said dryly. "You haven't been sleeping?"

Sakura sighed again and presented me with her profile as she turned her head back to stare at the stream whipping by. "Iruka-sensei, I know they told you about what happened to me. But I don't want to talk about it."

Always to the point, I thought rather ruefully. Well, it was the least I could offer my former student. Instead of tiptoeing around the issue, I decided to be as blunt as she was. "You don't have to talk about what happened there. But we do need to talk about what's going on now." She didn't say anything and this time I did frown openly. I turned my body so my attention was completely on her, leaning one hip against the railing of the bridge. "Sakura, you can't ignore what happened and hope it will go away. I thought I taught you better than that."

She flinched but still declined to respond. I rubbed the bridge of my nose in exasperation, feeling the familiar puckered edge of the scar crossing my face. For all her complaints about Naruto's stubbornness and Sasuke's constant cold indifference, Sakura had a rather deep streak of obstinacy herself.

I heaved a sigh and tried a different tact. "Tsunade-sama says you've refused any mission that would require you to kill so far," I murmured. "Which, as you probably realize, is almost all of them."

"I'm a medic-nin," she retorted. "Why should I kill?"

"You're a shinobi first," I reminded her gently. "A shinobi is a –"

"- Tool to be used. I've already heard that speech from Kakashi-sensei, Shizune-san, and numerous other kunoichi Tsunade-sama sent before you," Sakura said harshly. "I don't need to hear it again!"

I stared at her. She hadn't turned to face me again, instead keeping her fierce gaze focused on the water. Her fists were clenched together and she was shaking. In anger.

I wasn't quite sure what to say next. Of course, there had been numerous ninjas who had given up the career because they couldn't stomach one aspect of it or another. Usually, it had to do with killing. I wasn't surprised to see Sakura, being as sensitive and intelligent as she was, questioning the issue. But I was surprised to see how hard she was struggling with it.

She had been fine until after the mission. Even if it was nearing the third anniversary of one Uchiha Sasuke's defection, Sakura had managed to maintain her kind-hearted, upbeat personality.

Something had happened during her last mission when she froze that wasn't in the official report, I decided. From what the team leader had reported, it was a typical A-class rescue mission. Sakura had been assigned to the mission only as a medic and backup support since her official rank was still chuunin. But studying under the Hokage had caused her skills to grow exponentially and she was fast becoming one of the most talented medic-nin Konoha had produced.

The change in her demeanor occurred immediately after she returned to Konoha. What had happened out there that turned a well-grounded, intelligent woman into a listless shadow of her usual self? "Sakura," I said gently. "What happened on that mission?"

Perhaps it was the wrong question to ask. Alright, it was the wrong question to ask. But now that it was obvious the mission was the clue, I had to. She stilled completely and slowly turned her head towards me. I had the irrational urge to back away from the fearful glint in her eyes. "I told you, I don't want to talk about it!" she snapped. She turned away abruptly, striding back to the village. "Leave me alone, Sensei. This doesn't concern you."

I let her go. I couldn't do anything for her when she wouldn't even tell me what was going on. Sighing, my eyes turned back to the stream and stared at the brisk water, trying to decide what to do next.

Tsunade-sama had asked me to speak with Sakura to find out what was causing her enough pain that she would completely neglect herself. It had been a month since that fateful mission and no one could miss her deteriorating health. To complicate things, she had refused any mission that would involve killing another person. She still attended to her duties at the hospital but even that was with half-hearted enthusiasm. Rumors abounded that all Sakura did was wander around the village, looking lost, even in the middle of the night.

The Hokage herself had no luck in speaking with her student. In fact, she became so concerned that the Sannin had requested numerous people to talk to Sakura, hoping to discover the reason behind the cloud of melancholy hanging over her and her strange attitude. She even ordered Sakura to undergo a battery of physical tests that checked for any type of genjitsu or ninjitsu just in case there was an alternate cause to her odd behavior. But everything turned out normal (minus her failing health). No one and nothing could break through the barrier the chuunin had erected.

I knew the Godaime had called me in as a last measure, a desperate move that her former Academy teacher might reach her where others had failed. I myself didn't have much confidence in finding out what was going on with her; after all, I rarely had contact with her these days. But Tsunade-sama had been hiding her hope so hard it was transparent and after seeing Sakura again, I knew I would do whatever I could to find out what was going on.

I only hoped I wouldn't let either woman down.

- - - - -

I found Neji in his usual training area, methodically performing (no doubt) every taijutsu form known to man. I took a short moment to step back and admire his precise movements and deadly accuracy. Teaching younger children rarely allowed me to see the end result of years of practice and I had almost forgotten how beautiful it was. My own workouts consisted of near the same thing, but doing it and watching it were two different things.

He, of course, knew I was there, even if his Byakugan wasn't activated. Nevertheless, he took his time finishing the last round of moves and I lingered about patiently, not at all offended by the wait. When Neji finally finished, he grabbed the towel lying on the ground nearby and used it to wipe the sweat off his face before turning his blank eyes towards me.

"You here to inquire about Sakura," he said. It was a statement, not a question.

I nodded unsurprised that Neji already knew why I was here. He had always been one of the most intelligent shinobi I had taught, and years of experience only honed his mind as sharp as a kunai. "I've already read the report, of course," I said, striding closer until I was face-to-face with the young man, "but I wanted to hear what exactly happened from the team leader."

The jounin assumed a rather formal posture with his hands clasped behind him as he spoke. "Our mission was to extricate a Sand prisoner who was being transported to Kusa by several Grass shinobi and kill any witnesses. Upon arrival, we engaged the enemy almost at once. There were two jounin and three chuunin escorts so we divided it accordingly." Neji paused, as if reflecting the moment before continuing. "The enemy was rather skilled but I was confident in my team's abilities. I noted that Sakura was fighting her opponent well enough so I concentrated on my own. Once my battle was over, I scanned the area for anything unusual and realized she was no longer attacking. Her opponent was being helped by another which indicates she fought but did not kill him. They fled but TenTen killed them before they could escape."

I frowned as I mulled the information over. Unfortunately, his oral debriefing matched the written one. "How was Sakura before you engaged the enemy and after you went to her side?"

"Initially, Sakura was fine. She kept up well with the rest of the team and seemed determined to succeed in this mission just as we were. However, after the fight, she was kneeling and crying without regards to the enemy surrounding her."

Neji's voice had not changed an iota, but one could almost taste the disapproval he emitted at her careless actions. I ignored it; now was not the time to be criticizing the battle tactics of an emotionally distraught young woman. Instead, I reconsidered everything I learned thus far.

So the change had occurred during the fight. There had to have been something that happened, something to set her off. But what?

I sighed in disappointment at the lack of ideas before bowing slightly towards the jounin. Neji was quite precise in his reports and no one ever had to ask him if there was anything else he wanted to add. "Thank you, I appreciate your time in speaking with me."

I turned to go but was stopped when Neji spoke again. "Perhaps TenTen can help you. As Sakura was still crying after the enemies were defeated, I thought another woman would be able to help organize her emotions. TenTen might be able to give you insight into her reaction."

I glanced over my shoulder, trying not to show surprise from his words. It was odd to hear Neji offer such a suggestion but I was grateful for it. "Thank you, I will." I took off in search of the weapons mistress.

TenTen proved to be at home, taking care of her equipment. She was cleaning numerous sharp objects with a certain glee that I found rather alarming, despite the fact that I had handed her her first kunai. She didn't seem surprised to see me (I suspected Konoha's gossip mills were in full swing at my current 'mission') and invited me in. She offered tea which I declined. I was rather anxious to get sort this problem out. And I could almost feel a dozen shuriken poking me in the backside as I gingerly sat down on her couch.

"TenTen, I was wondering if Sakura told you anything after the battle with the Grass nin," I began, shifting around gingerly in hopes that I wouldn't be shredding my rear with her weapons which seemed to cover the entire living room area. I even saw some weapons that I had never seen before.

The young woman, seated on the floor, shook her head as she oiled down a jagged-edged knife. "Nothing. If she had, I would have included it in my report. By the way, how is Sakura? When I saw her before I left for a mission a week ago, she was still looking like a malnourished ghost."

"She's not getting better," I said with a small sigh. "That's the reason why I wanted to ask you a few questions. And I didn't mean to imply you were hiding something. But perhaps Sakura said something that you didn't think was pertinent to the mission, yet it may be a clue to her recent behavior."

TenTen shook her head again as she carefully set the knife down and picked up a small, metal ball that sported needle-sharp spikes all over the spherical surface. How she touched it without poking herself full of holes was beyond me. "When I meant she said nothing, she literally said nothing," she said. "All Sakura did was cry and rock herself. In the end, Choji had to pick her up and carry her back to camp."

"So she didn't even realize the mission was over?"

Pausing thoughtfully from rolling the ball back and forth in her hands, TenTen furrowed her brows for a moment. "Well, I think she was aware of her surroundings when I killed the two chuunin that were running away because she looked up and started crying harder after that."

I blinked twice, nonplussed at the odd behavior. "She saw you kill them and cried more?"

TenTen nodded and set the ball down. Leaning back on her hands, she looked up at me. "It wasn't the first time she's seen someone die before, Iruka-sensei. And it's not like she hasn't killed before, either. I just don't get it."

I didn't either – yet. But there was something that was niggling at the back of my mind, a whisper of an idea. To confirm it, I asked, "TenTen, what did the two chuunin look like?"

I could tell my question startled her but she recovered quickly. "Look like? Well, they were both wearing the standard shinobi gear with their hitai-ate." The woman thought for a moment. "Um, one of them had a facial scar on his right cheek. The other one was kind of pale and skinny. Short." She thought for a moment before her eyes brightened. "Oh! And he had a complexion to die for."

I nearly fell over, not expecting such a response. She must have noticed because TenTen said defensively, "Hey, it's not every day you run into someone who has skin as soft as a baby."

I didn't want to know why (not to mention how) she knew her enemy's skin was soft.

Back to my idea. The picture was getting to be a little clearer, but I had to gather some more evidence first. "What color was their hair?"

This time the weapons mistress stared at me as if I had told her I was Kyuubi in disguise. She obviously thought her former sensei had lost it. "Um, their hair? Well, the one with the scar had dark blond locks and the other was sort of auburn." She raised her eyes slightly. "Kind of like your color, Sensei."

Frowning, I leaned back on the couch as I considered the facts – only to yelp as something dug into my shoulder blades. Springing up, I turned and glared at the offending object which was half embedded into the cushions.

"Oh, so that's where it went," TenTen said happily. Hopping to her feet with flowing grace, she leaned over and pulled the five-bladed shuriken from the couch stuffing. "Thank you, Iruka-sensei, I was looking for Kito for almost a week!"

She named her shuriken?

And she thought I was crazy.

"Anyway, are you sure she's going to be all right, Sensei? I heard even the Hokage couldn't make Sakura tell her what was wrong." TenTen said, rubbing the sharp-edged weapon lovingly against her cheek much like a cat would to its owner. "And you know refusing Tsunade-sama is well … not good."

I assured her Sakura would be fine soon, mentally cursing the gossipers for spreading more rumors. If any more information leaked out, Sakura's reputation as a skilled shinobi and medic-nin would be ruined permanently.

With that thought in mind, I decided to continue my investigation and excused myself. Luckily, I managed to escape before anymore named weapons introduced themselves to my back.

Luckily, the visit was worth it, even with the sting of the cut Kito had so graciously shared with me. TenTen's words had given me a clue, but I had to confirm it with one last person before I confronted Sakura again. If I was right, then perhaps Tsunade-sama could help Sakura through it.

Emotions were dangerous but not even a shinobi could escape from them entirely.

It actually took me a better part of the hour to find the last person I wanted to speak with. After trying all the places which I assumed were his favorite, I finally tracked him down near the monument, lounging on a tree branch and reading an orange book.

Yuck. I hated to interrupt is 'quality' time with his most prized possession. Who knew what kind of thoughts would be lurking in his head after reading the disgusting thing?

But this was for Sakura. I took a deep breath and called out, "Kakashi-sensei?"

No response.

After patiently waiting a few minutes for him to acknowledge my presence (which he would have known regardless of whether I called his name or not), I scowled. "I know you can hear me. You'd be a terrible shinobi if you were deaf." When that elicited no response, I had to resist the urge to grab a handful of pebbles from the ground and chuck them at the dunderhead.

After he took over the training of Team 7, I had made an effort to get to know Kakashi to see how he would treat Naruto. Of course, we had our disagreements on his teaching methods and judgment (namely the chuunin exams but that's an issue in itself) but in the end, we discovered we were just two overworked teachers who had the unenviable task of taking raw, untrained children and turn them into emotionless, deadly tools to be used. It was over that commonality, as well as having to deal with Naruto's tireless energy, that bonded us. We weren't, by any means, best friends, but I had thought we were closer than mere acquaintances.

And wouldn't that closer relationship come with a measure of respect?

Incensed at being ignored and being made to wait to help Sakura, I picked up five pebbles and hurled them at the jounin.

Unsurprisingly, he caught them all. I felt a flicker of disappointment but at least I had gotten his attention. Peering over his book, he looked down at me. "Maa, Iruka-sensei, what was that for?"

I couldn't help putting my hands on my hips even though I knew I'd look like an angry housewife whose husband forgot to take out the trash again. "You were ignoring me. Don't play innocent, Kakashi-sensei, I know you sensed me two miles away."

"You exaggerate, Iruka-sensei. It was only a mile." He shut his book and hopped down from the tree to face me in his slouching posture, blue eye crinkling in happiness. "Nevertheless, how can I help you?"

Still rather miffed at the jounin, I had to force myself to focus on the task at hand. "I wanted to ask you about Sakura, seeing as you were her former sensei and knew her best."

There was a subtle shift of his position, so slight I almost didn't catch it. "You're mistaken if you think I knew my students at all, Iruka-sensei. After all, I failed them in the end."

I blinked at him. Where had that come from? Kakashi spoke in his usual tone but there was an underlying bitterness that tainted his words. Failed his students? Was he talking about Sasuke's defection and Naruto's subsequent departure from Konoha? Surely he couldn't blame himself for any of those events.

Argh, not another person who needed emotional help!

With a mental sigh, I promised myself later to ask him what he meant, but Sakura was the more immediate concern at the moment. "You may think so, Kakashi-sensei, but I wouldn't go to anyone else for information on Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. Besides, you are a trained observer and I have no doubt you can answer my question."

His visible eye opened and stared at me for a long moment. I met his gaze without flinching. Finally, he said, "What do you need to know?"

"Sakura. What is her greatest fear?"

I nearly held my breath, waiting for confirmation or rejection of my hypothesis. I really didn't doubt Kakashi knew the answer. Having watched her grow into the mature medic she is now, I knew the Copy-nin's influence had rubbed off her in some ways that reflected a close relationship with her teammates and mentor.

"Her greatest fear? You ask odd questions sometimes, Iruka-sensei."

My face fell and I scowled at him. "Stop avoiding the answer and tell me already!"

Kakashi raised his eyebrow, probably at my display of childish impatience. Well, I thought it was justified. "Her greatest fear is losing the ones closest to her, of course."

He knew where I was headed with this. I could almost see his genius mind at work. He had heard of my mission and suddenly realized exactly what I had an hour ago. But I still needed further proof. "And the ones she considers closest to her?"

This time, there was no pause in answering me. "Her former teammates. Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke."

Confirmation received. The mystery was solved.

Now was the hard part: confronting Sakura with the truth.

Instead of being elated, the sheer emotional drain left me feeling entirely exhausted. I wanted to slump down on the ground and sleep but I knew I couldn't. I didn't think I could go through such a difficult discussion but the sooner Sakura admitted to her fears, the sooner she could begin to heal. I had to do it for her sake.

I bowed to the masked shinobi. "Thank you, Kakashi-sensei. If you'll please excuse me, there's something I need to do."

He said nothing so I turned to go. But as I took to the trees to return to the village, I heard a faint, "Good luck," reach my ears.

Good luck indeed. It was going to take more than luck to get through this intact.

By this time, my stomach was growling so I stopped by for a quick bite to eat at the Ichiraku stand. I didn't go as often as I used to, seeing Naruto was off training with Jiraiya-sama, but I needed something fast and ramen had always been comfort food to me.

To my surprise, I found Sakura there, sitting in the stool Naruto usually sat in, staring at the bowl of miso ramen. It looked untouched and I exchanged concerns with the stand owner before slipping into the seat to her right.

Ordering a large pork ramen, I slanted a sideways glance at Sakura. Her arms were on the counter so she was hunched forward as if she was cold, face hovering over the food to inhale the aroma. There was no steam rising from the bowl which indicated she had been here a while. She had probably come right after our conversation on the bridge.

The last thing I needed (or wanted) to do was to make things more awkward. So I said lightly, "I didn't know you liked ramen. I would have taken you out to dinner had I known."

To my surprise, Sakura answered though she sounded rather tired. "I don't. It just reminds me of … someone." After a long pause, she added, "It's too salty and unhealthy. And the flavors are weird." She then shot me a glance as if realizing who she was talking to. "Um, but it's good otherwise!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at her flustered expression. "It's all right. Just because I like ramen doesn't mean I expect everyone to like it, unlike Naruto. I know once he becomes Hokage, he's going to make it a mandatory meal for everyone."

"That would be just like him," Sakura agreed. For a moment I could see a glimpse of her old self in the spark of her green eyes but it faded as quickly as it had appeared. She fell silent again and I turned back to receive my bowl. I glanced at her briefly before picking up a pair of chopsticks to eat. Since she seemed in a much more talkative frame of mind, I decided to allow her to choose when she wanted to speak.

My patience paid off. Half-way into my meal, she suddenly asked me, "Are you that confident Naruto is going to become Hokage?"

I was in mid-noodle slurp when she asked me so I bit off the long strand and chewed as quickly as I could. "So confident I'd open up my ramen shop and make a good profit at the decree ramen must be eaten at least once a day by everyone."

Sakura cracked a small smile at that, which was an encouraging sign. "I could be the waitress while you made the noodles," she offered.

"How could I refuse the offer of such a pretty young woman?" I said with a smile. "We'll be the most popular stand around!"

She smiled again but it slowly faded and we lapsed back into silence. I finished my bowl and glanced at my companion. Sakura was now fiddling with a pair of chopsticks but made no move to leave. Well, if she wasn't, I wasn't going to, either. I ordered green tea for the both of us.

"What about Sasuke?" she asked next.

I leveled a solemn look at her. "What about Sasuke?"

Sakura didn't meet my gaze and twirled the utensils between her fingers nervously. "Do you … do you think he'll return?" she asked in a near whisper.

I leaned closer to her slightly. "I think Naruto will do everything in his power to fulfill his promise to you."

That statement caused her to lift her head and send me a reproving look. "That really didn't answer my question, Sensei."

A wry smile lifted up the corners of my lips. She was far too intelligent for her own good, sometimes. "You're right, it doesn't. Yes, I think Sasuke will return to Konoha some day."

The moving chopsticks stilled to a halt and she slowly turned her head to look at me. "But you either don't think it will be voluntary or alive," she guessed, topaz orbs searching mine.

I couldn't lie to her so I chose not to answer. "What are you afraid of, Sakura?" I asked gently.

Her gaze fell to the countertop. "I'm not afraid, exactly. But at that mission, I saw them."

I nodded even though she couldn't see me. "Naruto and Sasuke."

Her head shot up and she stared at me. "How did you know?"

I waved a hand in dismissal, about to use the age-old teacher's excuse of 'I'm your sensei, I know everything'. But then I realized it would be better to tell her the truth. She wasn't a child to be protected any longer; she was a grown adult in the eyes of the village and a talented medic-nin with a bright future ahead of her. "It was the anniversary of Sasuke's leaving and Naruto distancing himself. Of course they were on your mind. You saw your old teammates in the chuunin you were fighting, which triggered your unease about their absence."

"Yes, but it was more than that," Sakura whispered. "I couldn't … I couldn't …" Her eyes began to fill with tears so quickly they spilled over onto her wan cheeks. "I was going to kill one but then the other suddenly showed up and stopped me by throwing dirt into my eyes. Once I was able to see again, he was helping his friend." Her voice choked but she swallowed back a sob. "It was like Sasuke helping Naruto. I don't know if it was because my vision was blurred but they looked like them and I remembered it happening exactly like that and …" She finally broke down into tears, crying in her hands.

I reached over to hug Sakura, knowing she needed the contact. She turned instantly and sobbed into my flak jacket, her too-thin frame racking with the force of her tears. It was uncomfortable to be leaning this way and holding her, but I didn't dare let go. She had to cry for her lost teammates so I let her.

- - - - -

Once she regained control of her emotions, I paid the bill for the both of us and we took a walk. Somehow we ended up back at the bridge, leaning against the rails and watching the busy stream wander by us.

The day was just beginning to end, the horizon flooded with red, orange and yellow that spilled over to the rest of the sky. I sighed in exhaustion, realizing I had spent half the day running around, only to wind up back where I started. But the feeling was different this time. Sakura's eyes were a little clearer and her posture was straight again. Thank goodness. For a moment I had thought she was taking after Kakashi a little too well.

"You and the others think I'm crazy," Sakura said suddenly. Her arms were folded neatly on the railing as her topaz eyes lingered over the water.

I shook my head. "No."

She shot me an exasperated look. "The enemy chuunin didn't look anything like Naruto or Sasuke but I freaked out because I was imaging them as my old teammates. I almost got myself killed and put my team in danger because of my overactive imagination." She shook her head and sighed. "Neji-san must think I'm absolutely useless."

"I can tell you for a fact he does not. He was concerned. So was TenTen. And Kakashi-sensei and Tsunade-sama." When she didn't look convinced, I added, "Sakura, no one expects you to be completely okay with your friends being gone. What makes it worse is that they're not dead but still alive and out there and not by your side where they belong. I know you've bottled everything up inside since it happened but doing that will only make the feelings worsen. You're a strong shinobi and Konoha needs you to do your best." I put a hand on her shoulder. "That is your duty."

"Iruka-sensei, if it comes down to it, I don't think I can kill Sasuke," Sakura whispered. "And it's not because I had a crush on him either or anything. He's my – he was my teammate." The aching sadness in her voice was almost too hard to listen to. "Every time I go out on a mission, there's a possibility that I'll see him again. And if I do run into him, what then? My duty requires that I bring him back, dead or alive."

"It is the hope of every shinobi that we will not be confronted by former friends or even family members," I said slowly. The scar on my back twitched in reminder of Mizuki's betrayal to me and to Konoha. "But should that day ever come for you, Sakura, know that I know you'll do the right thing. Someone like your team leader might be there to tell you what to do but in the end, it is your decision and yours alone."

"So I have to choose between loyalty to my teammate and loyalty to my village?" Her voice was bitter and I did not blame her. It was a hard lesson to grasp.

"Exactly."

Sakura slanted me an assessing gaze at my prompt response while considering my words. "I don't remember you ever being this blunt, Sensei," she said finally.

I smiled at her. "You weren't an adult back then, Sakura." Legally she was. But all shinobi had to endure emotional trials that would either strengthen them or break them. And if I knew my former student, I knew she would survive this. Even if her teammates were gone, she would still have her other friends to support her through the coming difficult times.

I stretched my arms out and stifled a huge yawn. I would have to report to the Hokage and debrief her on the result of the discussion soon. I had done all I could do, what anyone could do, really. It was now up to Sakura to work this out on her own. I wasn't overly worried; she was smart enough to figure out what to do in the end.

My arms dropped to my side and I looked at Sakura again. "Come on, let's get you some dinner. We can't have you keeling over in the middle of missions, now can we?" It was a subtle hint to start taking care of herself again. To become shinobi again.

With the same bemused expression on her face, Sakura finally nodded in understanding. A small step in the right direction. We strolled back to the village as she asked, "Is that all you're going to say to me?"

"Yes. Unless you prefer another lecture in which case I'm sure Gai-sensei would be happy to oblige," I said dryly.

A look of panic crossed her eyes for a brief moment, sparking her gaunt features back to life. "Sensei! That was mean!"

I laughed and tapped her head lightly where the hitai-ate should have been. It would serve as a reminder where her loyalties should lie, no matter how confusing the situation. "All right, let's skip the lecture and go for dinner."

Sakura slanted me a quick glance. "Ramen and onigiri?" she asked.

Naruto's and Sasuke's favorite food. She had begun the journey back to being a shinobi of Konoha, but this was her way of telling me that she would never forget her teammates.

And I was glad.

AN: Is it just me or is it getting harder to spot the loyalty theme in the stories? Meh, oh well.