Chapter Two
Promise

They left under the cover of darkness, in that moment between twilight and true night. Kakashi had been certain they were a step ahead of Orochimaru, but he'd cautioned her to be on guard at all times. He'd been reluctant to explain the need for their flight - that could, apparently, wait until they were away from the village. Once upon a time she would have refused to budge; would have dug in her heels and demanded to be told...but she was older now, wiser, and something on what she could see of her teacher's face stopped the immature outburst.

Sakura's anger had dissipated in the wake of Kakashi's bombshell and she'd finished the rest of her breakfast without tasting a thing.

"Tsunade will let your parents know what has happened." It was almost awkward, and she wondered if he was trying to comfort her.

"Naruto..." Her question hung in the air.

"Jiraiya will be taking him away. The Hokage...we thought it would be best for you to be separated." Divided we won't make an easy target. She nodded and rinsed the plate, before making her way upstairs and packing methodically. Kakashi remained down in the kitchen, and for the moment, she was glad of it. Although, she supposed she was going to have to get used to his presence. It was going to be just the two of them for what could possibly be a very long time.

She hoped Ino would forgive her.

----

"You're WHAT!"

"Shh!"

Sakura glanced around quickly. She prayed Ino's extreme reaction had gone unnoticed, and luckily the villagers milling about on the street seemed accustomed to her friend's loud behaviour.

"But...but why? You're only a chuunin, why would you be accompanying Kakashi on a secret mission?"

In the absence of an actual explanation, it had been up to Sakura to invent a likely excuse. Wanting to show off...just a little...she'd fabricated a story that was a testament to her superior ninja skills and passionate bravery. Apparently it had been too much, and Ino was finding it hard to swallow.

She shrugged. "I am Tsunade-san's apprentice, after all. Perhaps she felt it was something only a medic-nin could do?"

That seemed to satisfy Ino somewhat, and it took a while for Sakura to realise it wasn't the mission that Ino couldn't believe - it was the company.

"All alone with Kakashi!" She sighed, and Sakura fought once more the urge to slap her. She tried to convey it so Ino would understand.

"Yeah, all alone with Kakashi, and the enemy, in the wilderness, with no bathtubs, and no shamp--"

"Okay! I get it!" The thought that Sakura might be in danger obviously hadn't occurred to Ino, and she looked almost sadly at her, before pulling her into a fierce embrace. "Don't get hurt, you hear me?"

Laughing softly, Sakura returned the embrace, before breaking away and flicking her friend on the forehead.

"Idiot," she said. She reached for her pack and went to make off.

"Sakura," Ino called, before she could get very far. "Remember to put a good word in for me. With...you know."

With an eerie sense of deja vu, Sakura lifted her hand in a backwards wave, and continued down the street, afraid to look back. Because she was worried, she was scared, and if she could convince Ino that nothing was the matter, it would go a long way towards convincing herself.

----

They met up with her other goodbye at the town gate, something Sakura would have considered an accident had Kakashi not wandered off into a nearby copse to give her time alone with Naruto. She watched his retreating back gratefully, before turning to her other best friend. His eyes were bright but he looked determined, and she understood that Jiraiya had shared with him the truth.

Pasting a smile across her face, she opened her arms wide and he stepped into her hug. They stood that way for a while, and Sakura breathed in his warmth and unbending will.

"I don't know why we're leaving," she admitted. It seemed crazy now, to be sent off with no explanation.

"Kakashi-sensei will tell you," he said, the words a pleasant rumble to her ears, where she was pressed against his chest. It was strange how easily Naruto could calm her now, make her worries disappear. Of course Kakashi-sensei would tell her. And she would be safe. Because he was strong.

"Will you be okay?"

He laughed, and he was twelve again, full of confidence and mischief. Then he patted her back and suddenly he was much older, and infinitely wiser than herself. He was mercurial, and amazing, and she was going to miss him like hell.

"I'll have to be, I need to keep that ero-sennin in line." He pulled back and grinned down at her, before becoming serious. "Sakura...we'll meet back here. One day. Here, in front of the gate, back in Konoha village. That's a life promise."

They both remembered his other promise, and she knew then that this sudden departure, this threat, was connected to it.

"Sas--" She couldn't say it. The name stalled on her tongue and she swallowed hard, once, twice. Their teammate was an unspoken taboo, a thread of destiny that bound them together even when apart. She cleared her throat. "Naruto, we're going to be under the same sky, you know? So...think of me." She trailed off lamely, not knowing what it was she wanted to say.

He patted her shoulder, a red tinge to his cheeks. "You too," he said.

They stepped away, the moment shattered as Jiraiya huffed through the gate. Sometimes it was hard for Sakura to take the man seriously as a shinobi. And then he'd pull some amazing stunt and she'd be shamed into remembering he was one of the most powerful ninja alive. She smiled at him.

"Take care of him," she admonished, unconsciously echoing Naruto's words from earlier.

He took her hand and kissed it, leering cheerfully down at her.

"Anything for such a--" His words were cut off by Kakashi's sudden appearance, left arm curled tight around the perverted hermit's neck, the latest in the Icha Icha series held loosely in his hand.

"Sorry, Jiraiya," he deadpanned, removing his arm and stepping back. "You got in the way of my reading."

Jiraiya sputtered an apology, Sakura and Naruto laughing at his discomfort. Then suddenly they were walking, separated, and Sakura knew that things would never be the same again. Her steps slowed until she'd stopped. She didn't know what to do, what to feel. Kakashi gave her a quizzical look but she shook her head, unable to explain. And then she was running back towards the village, sandals pounding the earth.

"Oi Naruto," she hollered, watching him spin to face her, to catch her last words. "Hinata has a crush on you!"

He shook his head and cupped a hand to his ear, indicating her voice hadn't reached him. Grinning, she waved it away and bounded off to join her sensei, where together they took their first steps into the unknown future.

----

He kept a pace he knew she could stick to, and they made good time through the trees. Really, he was lucky it was Sakura he'd been saddled with, since Naruto's control was sloppy and Sasuke...well, not that he knew what he was like now, but Sasuke had always tried to pass Kakashi and take the lead. But as always, her chakra manipulation could not be faulted, and she was a silent shadow on this grim, but necessary flight.

They made camp when he judged they'd covered enough ground to do so, dropping from the branches to scout out a good spot. A stream was unnecessary this first night - their waterskins were full, and after some time they settled on a defensible overhang - a shelf of rock that jutted out low to the forest floor. Kakashi unrolled their sleeping mats and was efficiently sorting through the various cooking items when he realised Sakura had been trying to get his attention.

"Um..."

He blinked at her. It wasn't that he'd forgotten she was there, exactly, he was just so accustomed to looking after himself even when in a group. It occurred to him that this was her first time on a real mission - if that's what this was - and she wasn't familiar with how to do things.

"I'm just sorting out dinner," he explained, shaking noodle mix into a pot. He emptied a spare waterskin in with it, then set it over the fire to heat.

"I'm aware of that." Her tone was clipped and it appeared he'd said the wrong thing.

"And...yes?"

"What I'm wondering," she continued, tone cold, "is why you're doing everything while I just sit here uselessly and watch you?"

He blinked again. She leaned over and snatched the spoon from his hand, then knelt to tend to the meal.

"Maybe," she continued, not looking at him, "you could tell me why we're on the run."

He would have been impressed by her calm demeanor were he not aware of her fragility regarding who they were facing. And while he wanted to keep her innocent - strong - a little longer, in the long run it would be safer to tell her now, when she had time to come to terms with it. Sighing, he adjusted his forehead protector, and gazed past Sakura into the trees.

"I hardly need to remind you that Orochimaru chose Sasuke as his vessel long before he made his move." He ignored her flinch at the name - which one, it didn't matter - and pressed on, covering the past in a monotone. "He placed the curse seal upon him during the chuunin exam, then retreated in order to give Sasuke time to either die and fail, or live on, and rise a hundred times stronger." He paused again - the flinch was definitely due to Sasuke. Sakura sat quietly, the only sound the gentle rasp of the spoon across the pan.

She seemed entranced by the regular, circular motions, and he cleared his throat before continuing. "And so Sasuke did live, and he was stronger, but the power would have corrupted him had it not been sealed. Yet even sealed, the anger and hate inside of him allowed the darkness to take root and grow. Sasuke existed solely to avenge his family, and he became impatient with the limits of his own power. It was...inevitable he would leave to seek out someone who could take his incredible skills and provide him with the power he thought he deserved."

The soup was in danger of bubbling over, but Sakura seemed to not see it, her eyes wide and staring at the fire beside her. Kakashi reached out and gently pried her fingers from the pan, moving it off the flames. He dished out the meal and handed her a bowl, which she held in trembling fingers.

"Orochimaru took him in, and groomed him as a worthy successor, allowing him untapped resources of power until Sasuke was ready to face Itachi. And then the two brothers met and fought, and Itachi was defeated, and Sasuke had been successful in his quest to avenge his family."

He didn't add there had been little enough of the older Uchiha left to identify the body. Sasuke had gotten his vengeance; that's all she needed to know.

"But by that time three years had passed, and Orochimaru was ready to make the transition to his new body. He demanded payment for providing Sasuke with power and skills...and took his body as his due."

Kakashi tried not to watch as a tear trickled down Sakura's cheek. He allowed himself a bitter smile and reminded himself that emotions belonged to the young. Let her cry now, while she still could.

"He took Sasuke's body," he repeated, "and transferred his soul, taking with him the knowledge and high levels of chakra he'd originally had as one of the legendary Sannin. And over the last couple of years he has tortured thousands of shinobi in his quest to master as many jutsu as he can. Now, our sources tell us he's set his sights on learning the Mangekyou Sharingan...an elite bloodline limit that can only be obtained by a member of the Uchiha clan...and only then when he kills his best friend."

The bowl fell from Sakura's nerveless fingers, and Kakashi flung out a hand to catch it, settling it carefully on the ground beside her.

"Naruto," she whispered.

"Well, yes and no," he said, pinning her with a look. "The Hokage, and indeed the Elders, are uncertain as to how precise the "friend" requirement of the limit is. You and Sasuke were close in a different way to his friendship with Naruto, which is why Tsunade deemed it safest to separate the two of you. She was also fearful the village would be a liability with both of you still there...and that's why we're here."

More tears now. He felt cruel and horrible but pushed on anyway.

"So Sakura, the choice is yours. Become strong, protect the village, protect yourself...or become weak and lose to Orochimaru, knowing that failing to defeat him means death for those at home. And you will face him. You will fight him. We can run but he will find us, and Jiraiya, and Naruto. What will you do?"

She stared at him, eyes damp, as if she'd never seen him before. And maybe he'd never been this open or harsh before. Truth was painful but necessary and he'd said what needed to be said.

Then, after a minute, she rubbed her eyes with the back of her sleeve. She dried her face roughly, sniffed twice, then reached out and picked up her food. Only when she started wolfing it down did he allow himself to relax, because she'd made her decision, and already she was stronger.

And now she has a chance.