Fire: Chapter 9 is here, finally! Hi!

Kakashi: You sound out of breath.

Fire: I've been running from Sasuke.

Kakashi: Why?

Fire: You'll see. Now, where are my reviews?

Kakashi: (pulls a window from the Big Bag of Reviews) Here.

Fire: Yay! Reviews!

Kakashi: Now, while Fire answers the reviews, you can read the story. Or just listen to the general concerns.

Fire: There are no general concerns to address this chapter. That'll make this a lot shorter. Sasuke comes back this chapter, so for the Sasuke fans…I don't really know what to say except that I really tried to bring him back sooner. But, there is a very important person to the plotline who is taking up all the space, and you'll meet him in this chapter too. Can you guess who it is? Well, you don't really have to guess. There are lots of clues until you find out at the middle of the chapter. If it wasn't for him, Sasuke would have come back about two chapters sooner, but it wouldn't have made much sense, especially since Sakura's character is difficult to corrupt.

Sakura: Shannaro!

Fire: Anyway, keeping this short, gomen nasai to the Sasuke fans. To the Naruto fans… (turns to Kakashi, turns to Sakura, then looks at the audience again) …he'll be back even later. Gomen nasai to the Naruto fans! (bows in apology)

Kakashi: So where's the SasuNaru then? You said this was a SasuNaru!

Fire: (turns to Kakashi) Huh? Oh…that. You'll see. There's definitely SasuNaru, but that comes after this subplot in the next subplot of the story.

Kakashi: You're evil.

Sakura: Let's just go on with the chapter. (pulls up Chapter 9)

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Chapter 9: Fall of the Sakura

Dark ash covered her hands, the ashes of a dead man she never knew. They stained her nails with unremovable black, and she couldn't help but sigh at them with a frown. Her hands felt so surreal, as if they weren't her hands. Because her hands could never hold the ashes of a dead man.

It was only practice. Orochimaru had wanted her to bring back someone before Sasuke-kun, so that he could be sure she could do it. He wasn't saying that he didn't trust her, but he was saying that she should practise first.

Sakura couldn't blame him. This kinjutsu was a complicated ninjutsu, and she wasn't good at ninjutsu. She had practised day and night, and she still wasn't confident that she could do it. She was just certain that she was tired, and that she was going to collapse from exhaustion at any moment.

And she did collapse. Her hands were blackened, and her body was sticky with the sweat of heavy concentration. The body was moulded into the crude form of a man and she was almost ready to demonstrate her ability. She was ready to show what a few days of practice could do.

'Kuchiyose Edo Tensei!'

Sakura never knew that there was so much preparation in this technique. She never knew that it could be so complicated. Usually, all that ninjutsu required was for the sensei to give the seals and for the student to practise it. But those ninjutsu were much simpler than this kinjutsu. This kinjutsu had so many steps to it. Building that body was just step one.

But she had finally mastered it.

She had problems building the body of ash. Usually, ash melted when it got wet, and all she got was a black puddle. And too much dirt was bad because it interfered with the main purpose of the technique. The entire reason why there was ash and dirt was because it was supposed to anchor the soul to the body. The last few times she had tried it, she had failed completely to finish the first step and continue on to the second step. So, Sakura was glad to see that the body was reforming into a real face and limbs.

Then, there was the second problem. Even though she had decided what she was going to do, and even though she had told herself that she was going to stick to it, and even though she told herself that she was going to have to kill someone to get them back, to continue with her plans, her nerves and the old Sakura that still lurked at the back of the new Sakura's mind still made her hands shake every time a new sacrifice was brought in.

She refused to think of them as anything else. She refused to remind herself that they had family, friends, lives they led, pets they owned, sensei somewhere, people they loved as much as she loved Konoha and all the people she had left in it. If she had allowed herself to remember that they were human, she would have hesitated. Her hand would have stopped before it could cover their faces with the ash and dirt. And she would never have come so far.

She hardened her heart with the promise she refused to break, and now, her work had come to fruition. She had...

Sakura's eyes widened as the man stared down at her, his expression of contempt only outlining the hatred that he had for his new master. And the kunoichi could only turn to Orochimaru with vile bitterness written on her face. This must be a joke. The Sannin couldn't possibly have expected her to accept this man as her minion!

"You don't like him?" Orochimaru asked as he looked down at the redheaded man. Flesh and bones, or as close to real flesh and bones as he was ever going to get. It had been a long time since Orochimaru saw this man's face. He had thought it would be funny to see the girl's reaction, and the look on the kunoichi's face was enough to make him want to do it again. "You could order him to kill himself." He could almost laugh at the torturous expression writhing on her face but that was until...

Sakura looked away, throwing a kunai at Orochimaru. But Kabuto deflected it before it could hit the Sannin. It was only expected that she would miss. She hadn't really expected to hit him.

"Congratulations." Orochimaru's voice was filled with suppressed bile which tainted his now forced joy; he was pleased with the outcome until she threw that kunai. That kunai marked the failure of accomplishing this trial's goal. "Now, on with the next step." It was obvious that he was displeased with the outcome. After so many people had died at the hands of this girl, she still refused to crack. Her spirit was still as strong as the day she walked into his compound.

And it was obvious when she spoke. "I refuse to use this man's techniques." She refused to use this man altogether!

"Then summon someone else," Orochimaru said with a dismissive wave of his hand. He didn't care. The more people she killed, the sooner she came to destroying herself. The sooner she came to destroying herself, the closer she came to becoming his slave. And the closer he came to victory over Konoha.

But the room was silent as Sakura stared at Orochimaru. He had to have more sense than what he was displaying at that moment. He was making himself sound like Naruto. That statement was so stupid!

"After you've had some rest, of course," Orochimaru added before anyone could say anything. The cursed seal had spread across Sakura's body and all her chakra had been drained. It was using up her stamina just to stand where she was. "We continue tomorrow."

Kakashi had given himself one week. That was as much time as he was willing to waste before returning to Otogakure. He was impatient to return and bring Sakura back. As her sensei, he was worried about her, and worried about what she might do. A girl in that frame of mind, in the frame of mind affected by a bleeding heart, was capable of anything.

However, he had pressing matters on his mind that called for his attention first. Who was he going to bring with him?

He didn't have any shortage of people to choose from. There were plenty of strong people waiting for him to call. One of them was his good friend, Uzuki Yuugao who had promised to avenge Hayate's death. But Kakashi couldn't bring her with him, even if she had the passion to kill Orochimaru. That wasn't his mission. He wasn't going to kill Orochimaru, although it would be a bonus if they could accomplish that too. They were going to Oto no Sato to bring Sakura back.

And for that, they couldn't just be strong. There were many other strong, powerful, exceptionally skilled shinobi in Konoha. He needed the people on his team to be a little more than that. He needed them to be able to help him reach Sakura. The girl was stubborn, as stubborn as Naruto and Sasuke used to be. She wasn't going to come back to Konoha just because he asked her to. She had a reason for going to Oto no Sato. Kakashi had no idea what it was, but he knew that for her to throw away her life, just for the power Orochimaru was offering, it must be important.

She wasn't going to come back without a fight, and she will definitely be stronger than she was before she left. A lot stronger.

That was why he had put so much thought into whom he was going to bring with him, even if he had only allowed himself a week to figure it out. But then, he didn't really need a week to think of whom to bring. He had already thought of who would be best, although Lee wouldn't have been his first choice.

His first choice was...

The jounin stopped in the middle of the busy street to look at the sign: Yamanaka Flower Shop. The person he was searching for was inside. It didn't take any ninjutsu to figure that out. As he looked through the window, he could distinctly see the girl with long blond hair standing in front of the counter.

Ino. That was whom he was here to see today. If there was anyone who could talk some sense into his kunoichi, it was Ino. And if Sakura didn't listen, Ino could just force her to come back. Plan B: Shintenshin no jutsu. He would deal with anything that Sakura had to yell at him, or throw at him, later. As long as he could bring her back safely, there was no anger in this world that could deter him.

"Ohayo, Ino," Kakashi said as he walked into the flower shop without a second thought. Ino would never turn down this coveted mission, and he knew it. She had wanted to go to Otogakure as well.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Ino said in her excited voice. She already knew what he was there for.

And she agreed to the mission as readily as the fourth member of the team when Kakashi asked him, but it wasn't as if he was going to refuse. He, as well as Kakashi, knew that it couldn't be done without him. Kakashi needed a backup in case Ino couldn't do it. The jounin remembered what had happened at Team Seven's first and only chuunin exam together. He couldn't place all his hopes in Ino.

That was why he was going. The chuunin wasn't that close to Sakura–in fact, he didn't really like Sakura–but Kakashi knew that he could count on him. This young man was more reliable than most chuunin his age.

And Kakashi was confident that with their help, he would accomplish his mission. Sakura will be back in Konoha before he knew it.

There was just one more thing that Kakashi needed to do before he left for the dangers of Orochimaru's hidden village. There was someone he needed to see, although he saw him everyday. But Kakashi couldn't allow himself to miss even one day to remember what he was doing there.

Obito at the cenotaph. Kakashi couldn't not come to see Obito. The pain of losing one teammate was enough. So after Sasuke and Naruto, he couldn't allow himself to lose Sakura too.

'Obito, I think I understand.' The one eye uncovered by the heavy weight of responsibility on his hitai-ate closed as he sent his thoughts out to the dead. 'There was no way that you couldn't have gone after Rin.' He had thought of ways to stop him, a million different scenarios, but they never portrayed Obito correctly.

He had tried to understand all those years ago but had failed. Back then, he had gone after him, but only because he couldn't have accomplished the mission on his own. One person out of four wasn't enough to destroy a bridge. However, he really understood now. He understood what must have been going through Obito's mind.

'There's another Rin now and another team. Don't hate me, but I have to be the old me for a little while longer.'

The day Obito gave him this eye, they became one person; Kakashi had never stifled Obito's personality within him. They had always competed in ways common among many shinobi, to be stronger, to be better than each other, but no matter what happened, Kakashi couldn't help but feel that Obito would have been stronger, better, greater than he was. Without this eye, Kakashi would have been nothing. Only one original technique, and without the eye, he wouldn't even be able to use it!

As he looked down at the name etched forever in a stone that would eventually melt away with the rain, his voice was light... "I really am worthless, ne, Obito?" ...as if joking, waiting for Obito to say 'no, you're not worthless.' The name would fade, but for as long as he lived, that name was going to haunt him, and he would allow it.

Because he knew that it was true.

They wanted to become great shinobi, as great as and better than Hatake Sakumo, than the Legendary Sannin. But only Obito really had the potential to do it.

'If you knew she was there, you wouldn't have left her.' Kakashi couldn't help but dwell on that day in Oto when he heard the news from Anko. 'But you wouldn't be able to handle this problem on your own. I can't come to save you this time.' Now wasn't a time for recklessness. This was a serious matter, and if he acted imprudently, he might actually lose Ri– Sakura this time. 'So, allow me to work with you again to save her, okay, Obito?'

He waited for Obito's answer. He stood at the monolith and stared down at the name, waiting for a sign that it would be okay. But the answer didn't come. Obito never answers any of Kakashi's questions. He always left it to his commander to decide what was right.

And as usual, when Kakashi looked up into the sky, he was late to meet with the team again. Even on such an important day as the day they left for Oto no Sato, he was late. But he knew that the three chuunin wouldn't mind. Today, there was no one there to blame him for Obito's lame excuses. There were only the nagging complaints of a kunoichi who said she could have spent more time deciding what was the best outfit for this trip, the wordless sigh of a chuunin, and the flaming excitement of a mini-Gai, waiting for him at the gates.

It wasn't the proper way to greet him, but Kakashi didn't mind the change, as long as it wasn't for too long. That was why he had to bring Sakura back. Who was there to call him lazy and a liar? Everyone else respected him too much. Only she could see him for the despicable man that he was.

So this time, there was no uncertainty within him of what he might encounter, or whom he might encounter. There was no uncertainty over what he should do when he got there. There was nothing in his mind to wonder about what procedures to carry out, or how they should proceed. No. All those things, he left in Konoha. He had planned everything and his plan was flawless.

'Obito, onegai. Let me be myself for a little longer.' If he allowed himself to be reckless, the plan would only fail. And he couldn't allow that.

He had to bring her back this time. As he walked out of the hidden village toward a village of unknown hazards, Kakashi knew. He had to bring Sakura back, or die trying.

Sakura sat in a chair that she had cleared of books and scrolls, her eyes fixed on the redhead standing in her room. She had nothing to fear from him, not that she had feared him before. In fact, she feared him even less this time. This time, he couldn't hurt her. This time, he had no power over her.

"So..." the kunoichi said slowly as she watched the man. He looked exactly the same as before he died. "...how did Orochimaru..." She chose her words carefully. The Suna-nin was difficult before his death, and she wasn't sure if he was going to give her a straight answer now. "...get your ashes?" Even if she was his master now, she couldn't help but think that he might rebel.

And she was right. "Worry more about what you're going to do," the redheaded man said darkly. He was just as annoying as before his death.

"Answer your master!" Sakura yelled at him. "I resurrected you. You're supposed to obey me!"

"Your technique is flawed."

"Sasori, answer me or I'll undo the tensei," Sakura threatened through clenched teeth even though she didn't know how to undo the tensei. But it wasn't a matter of how his ashes came into Orochimaru's possession. She didn't really care about that, even though she was a little curious. It was a matter of whether or not he would listen to her. If he didn't listen to her, he might actually kill her in her sleep!

"Orochimaru was supposed to dispose of my body after I've become a puppet. Obviously, he didn't do that," Sasori said with the same easy smile that he always had on his face. It was hard to disobey her when she was being so forceful–the tensei didn't allow him to disobey–but he could still annoy her while doing her bidding. "I didn't expect you to end up in a place like this, kunoichi." The way he said kunoichi was filled with venomous disrespect.

"That's Sakura-sama," she said sternly.

"Sakura."

Sakura glared at the man, her chest heaving with suppressed frustration. Sasori only smiled as Sakura fumed. This was more fun than he has had in a long time.

"That's it! I'm ignoring you." Sakura turned her attention to the piles and piles of useless books and scrolls strewn around the room. "Baka," she uttered under her breath.

"Who's the baka?" Sasori was still smiling at nothing in particular. He doubted that even Orochimaru realized that he still had his own mind, but that just made killing the Sannin more fun later. "I'm not the one being used by Orochimaru."

"Urusai, slave."

"You're being used," Sasori repeated, but Sakura really was ignoring him. "I know him better than you do. I told you that he was my partner when we were in Akatsuki." He paused for a moment to see if the kunoichi was paying attention to him, and even though she didn't look like it, he knew that she was listening. "He plans to use you, then he will kill you. That seal will slowly eat you from the inside."

"I know. What of it?" Sakura was still feigning disinterest, scanning over the words of an open scroll, but she wasn't registering a word of it. She was too busy listening to Sasori, as surprising as that was. "I'm going to kill him anyway." 'I DIDN'T just say that aloud! Shannaro! The ears in the walls must have heard THAT!' "Sasori, bring me..." She stopped. What was she saying! She had to kill Orochimaru now, while she still had the element of surprise on her side!

"A human sacrifice?" Sasori held up the urn with the Uchiha crest. She was going to resurrect one of them, right? Unless Orochimaru had found a way around it since he first developed it, that was what she needed. From what Sasori remembered, that was how it worked when he helped the Sannin first develop the technique.

"No!"

But Sasori had already walked out the door into the hall. He didn't like waiting, and if she was going to do it eventually, he saw no reason to wait. "Here's one!" The puppetmaster held up a man who was running toward them. "Kill him. He's a spy anyway."

"Nani!" No matter what the man was, Sakura wasn't going to kill him!

"I knew you were weak," Sasori said under his breath, cursing the fact that this was his master. "Fine. I'll kill him."

"Nani!" Sasori was going to kill him! He was already holding out a kunai. "No!" Sakura grabbed the kunai from his hand... "Don't kill him." ...and accidentally slashed the spy's hand. She stared at the bloodied blade in her hand before looking at the man. "Uh...gomen nasai, Ossan!"

"And you're apologizing to the spy who was going to expose your plan to Orochimaru like he was someone important because...?" Sasori stared at the girl before looking down at the kunai. "You're going to kill him?"

"No."

Sasori grabbed the kunai back from the girl's hand and frowned at it. "Yokata," he said with a tired sigh. "You've bloodied my kunai." He took out a handkerchief and wiped it clean. "How can I use it now?"

"Like this," Sakura said, sudden anger flaring up as she pulled the kunai from the man's hand, and stabbed the puppetmaster with it. Sasori fell to the ground as if dead. "That's how you use it, baka!"

"I'm dying, Sakura."

"Sakura-sama!" And he couldn't die. He was already dead!

Sasori sat up and stared at her. "Kunoichi." Then, he fell down again.

"Che!"

"Are you going to cut his neck open now?" He was still lying on the ground.

"No."

"How about ripping open his skin and making him eat it raw before removing his stomach and liver?" And intestines...but that was one of the steps in making a hitokugtsu.

"Eww, no."

Sasori sat up and stared at the kunoichi. "Then how are you going to kill him?" He pulled the kunai from his gut and looked at it. There was some blood still on it, but other than that, it was clean enough. He took his handkerchief from the ground and continued wiping it clean. "My kunai is still dirty. How am I supposed to use it?"

"Eww! Eww! Eww!" Sakura was still dwelling on what Sasori had said.

"You're not going to let him go, are you?" That question brought Sakura back to her senses. She wasn't going to let him go. "And my kunai is still dirty."

Sakura grabbed the kunai and threw it at the wall where it completely embedded itself, past its handle. There was no way that Sasori was going to be able to pull it out.

"You owe me a new kunai, Sakura."

"Sakura-sama!"

"Kunoichi."

"That's not my name!"

"You're very intent on that, aren't you?"

"Urusai!"

"Are you going to kill that man now?"

"I said, urusai!"

"Well, are you?"

Sakura stared at the spy who was now trying to sneak away. He was trying to inform Orochimaru of her plans. Then Orochimaru was definitely going to kill her. The Sannin wasn't just going to allow a hazard to reside so closely to his person. She couldn't allow the spy to leave, but she couldn't keep him with her either. If she kept him with her, he was bound to either kill her or eventually escape to Orochimaru.

"I'll..."

"Scoop out his eyes and make him listen to his screams?"

"No!" Sakura glared at the Suna-nin. He was making all these disgusting suggestions on purpose! "I'm going to..." What was she going to do?

"Kill him mercifully like a weakling? Just like a woman..."

"I'm going to summon Sasuke-kun," she decided as her eyes fell on the urn.

"Just like a woman, asking a man to clean up her mess."

"He's dead, baka!" Sasuke-kun wasn't one of her servants!

"Just like a woman, making excuses to not clean up her mess."

"That means I'm going to kill the spy, baka!"

"I'm smarter than you, woman."

"That's Sakura-sama! I'm your master!"

"You really want that to be true, don't you?"

"I summoned you!"

"There's a flaw in your technique. I believe I already mentioned that. You're not my master, Sakura-chan."

"Ugh...yeck! Don't call me that!" Her body convulsed in a shiver. That was the most disgusting thing she had ever heard, and Sasori had just listed a lot of disgusting things.

"Why not, Sakura-chan?" Sasori smiled as he saw her fall to the ground in disgust, her hand smashing the floor into rubble as she tried to keep herself from vomiting. The kunoichi swallowed convulsively, trying to keep the bile down. "It's close to sama, Sakura-chan."

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Again, Sakura-chan?"

"Stop it!"

"Stop what, Sakura-chan?"

"That!"

"What's that, Sakura-chan?"

"I'm," Sakura said slowly as she pulled the spy by the arm, consequently crushing it as she pulled him forwards, "going to..." She was trying to keep her angry self from killing the man, her shaking hand sinking into his face as she muffled his painful screams. He was biting her hand, but that only served to keep her calm, although it was still a feeble attempt at that. "...kill him now."

"By ripping his head off, Sakura-chan?" It looked as if the man's head was going to implode.

"I'm going to summon Sasuke-kun!" Sakura snapped at the puppetmaster. "Now, damare or I'll use you as the sacrifice!"

"I'm dead. It won't work, Sakura-chan."

"What did I say!" She screamed at him, her hand ripping right through the man's head. The headless corpse fell to the ground as she stomped angrily to the Suna-nin.

"And you said you weren't going to rip off his head. Just like a kunoichi to lie about what she was going to do, giving false hope to a dying man." Sasori shook his head slowly from side to side. "I didn't know you were so cruel, Sakura-chan."

Sakura stopped at the puppetmaster's words, her mind suddenly cleared of all anger as she turned around. There was blood staining the books and scrolls lying on the ground, and the blood was still spreading. Red-splattered footprints followed her angry footsteps to where her feet stood, and tiny puddles led to where her hand was still dripping with newly spilt blood.

"Are you going to summon that servant to clean this up now, Sakura-chan?"

"You're cleaning it!" Sakura snapped at him. "I need another human sacrifice!"

"I'll get it!" He pulled the door open and dragged another man into the room. "He's good, right, Sakura-chan?" And a puppet was suddenly standing at the other end of the room, cleaning the mass of blood that was quickly ruining the books and scrolls on the ground.

"I didn't say use a puppet," Sakura said slowly as she grabbed the new sacrifice from Sasori's hand. She was slowly getting used to what he was saying. 'Shannaro.' And she didn't want to get used to it! "Stop calling me Sakura-chan, baka!"

"Okay, Sakura. Whatever my master says..."

"Don't call me that!"

"Fine, I won't call you master."

"Just hand me the jar, Sasori," the kunoichi said, a little defeated. It was useless to argue with him. He never listened before. It wasn't as if he was going to listen now.

"Here you go, Sakura." The jar was handed to Sakura by a puppet hand. And she was looking at a puppet. A very ugly puppet.

"Where did all these puppets come from?" Sakura couldn't help but wonder. She thought that she was supposed to only summon Sasori with Edo Tensei. There was nothing about puppets.

"I summoned them, Sakura. I thought you'd be smart enough to figure that out, Sakura."

"You're annoying me."

Usually, Orochimaru held the sacrifice down with kanashibari, but he wasn't here to help her. She had thought to use kanashibari too, but she wasn't adept enough at ninjutsu to do that and use Edo Tensei at the same time. And she didn't have that much chakra. Even with the cursed seal, she still needed all the chakra that she had to kill Orochimaru later. Rope was more reliable. Although in this case, the rope seemed to be her downfall.

The rope beneath her hands tightened a little too much and broke through the sacrifice's arms and legs.

"Nice, Sakura. I couldn't have thought of a better torture myself."

At which point, Sakura looked down and sighed. Broken arms and legs. She would need another sacrifice. She wasn't going to summon a Sasuke with broken arms and legs. She could, but she didn't want to. She wanted the human sacrifice for Sasuke to be perfect.

"Here! You can have this one, Sakura." A puppet held out another man. "This time, don't break his arms and legs, Sakura. I don't like waiting." He looked down at the tied up man. "Are you going to pull off the broken limbs and make him watch himself bleed to death, Sakura?"

"No! I'm going to let you kill him." She handed the tied up man to Sasori and grabbed the new sacrifice. Suddenly, she didn't care. She didn't care that all these people were dying. As long as she had someone other than Sasori around, she didn't care about anything!

He was so annoying!

'Sasuke-kun, get here soon!'

"Arigatou for the new puppet, Sakura." He looked at the man.

"He's probably weak. You're wasting your skills."

"I can modify it with weapons, and poisons, and..." He could think of a few ways to improve on it.

"I'll just smash it to bits," Sakura decided. It was easier than arguing with him.

"You're going to smash your first gift to me, Sakura? Just like a woman..."

"Urusai!" And she crushed the man's neck. He lay limp in her hands. And she needed a live sacrifice for Edo Tensei.

It took another few half dozen tries before Sakura successfully summoned her dead teammate. Sasori's constant blabber and the fury that refused to subside from her strong hands kept killing the sacrifices or ruining them before she could use them for the technique.

But Sasuke finally stood in front of her. His dark hair and his dark eyes reminded her of the days when she was still happy. And when he said her name, she was suddenly the old Sakura again. However, that wasn't what Sasuke had said. In fact, he hadn't said a thing yet.

Sasuke was looking around. He has been in this place before, and he was in no mood for jokes. "Sakura, where are we?" His voice was cool and calm, the question slightly uncharacteristic of him, but he needed to confirm that they really were where he thought they were.

And when she heard that voice again, she felt her heart spill over with relief. She couldn't believe it. She had done it! She had brought Sasuke back!

But, his decaying body caught her eyes more easily than she thought it would. His decaying body. Sasori's body wasn't decaying, but Sasuke...

"Sas–"

Sakura was about to speak when Sasuke's hand on her hitai-ate froze her. Sasuke frowned as he saw the emblem. "You're a–"

And the kunoichi pulled herself back. "Aren't you going to continue with your technique now?" Sasori asked inquisitively as he looked at her, "There's still one more step, isn't there, Sakura?"

"I don't know that step, Sasori," Sakura snapped at the man. And even if she did, she wasn't going to make Sasuke into a mindless puppet!

"I'll walk you through it, Sakura. Now, just take out a kunai, or a shuriken, or anything, just an object that we can attach the fuda to." Sasori was suddenly instructing her.

He was definitely up to something. "What are you up to, Sasori?" Sakura couldn't help but think that he wanted something.

And Sasuke had heard everything. He knew Kuchiyose Edo Tensei. He knew every step and knew how it all worked. He knew what Sakura had done and what this redhead called Sasori near Sakura was talking about.

"Sakura, where are we?" Sasuke asked again with fuller force as he glared at Sasori. He hoped to draw her attention from the task at hand with his question even though he already knew. It was a cruel joke, but he was in Orochimaru's compound again. There was only one person that he knew could teach Edo Tensei to Sakura, and it wasn't this redheaded stranger. Orochimaru was planning something for Sakura, and he wasn't going to allow it. If he could stop him, he would.

The Uchiha remembered. Whenever he asked Sakura something, she always answered him with that annoying singsong voice. That was what he was expecting.

And she was about to speak. She was about to allow Sasuke to distract her, and fall into the past once more. She was about to allow him to pull her back in time to a place where she was still innocent, and capable of real laughter and real emotions, a time before she had become stone.

But Sasori walked forwards and stuck his hand in Sasuke's head, and when he removed his hand, the object that was there was gone. All Sasuke's emotions faded from his face, even though he barely had any emotions in him to begin with. His body livened with colour, no longer disintegrating with every breath. His hands and feet pulsed with energy that he just didn't have a moment before.

"Sasori!" Sakura shouted, angry as she realized what he had done. That was the second step. That was the part that she had read about but had never learned. "What did you do! Undo it now!"

"Can't do that, Sakura," Sasori said with the same calm expression that he always had on his face whenever he was annoying someone he wanted to annoy. "It's permanent. But as I was trying to explain before we were interrupted by this minion–"

"Sasuke-kun is not a minion!"

"He's a minion now." Sasori held a finger to his lips to silence the girl. "Now, as I was trying to say, this is a fuda." He held up a red piece of paper and held it up so that she could see. "You attach it to an object–any object–and lodge it within the summoning's head." He was treating her as if she was stupid. "At that point, the summoning should regain their vitality and be completely under your control. And of course, they will regain all their abilities from before they d–"

"I know," Sakura said bitterly as her cold eyes shot at him. "I didn't say you could do that." Now Sasuke was a puppet. She didn't want a puppet!

"You must write these exact words on a fuda," Sasori continued stubbornly. He wasn't going to stop because a woman had told him to stop. "And you must attach it to an object. Orochimaru doesn't write it down because he doesn't trust anyone with this information, but the object anchors your will to the body, and the fuda overwrites the will of the spirit. If you forget one of these two important pieces, you will have no control over your puppet."

"This is not kugutsu."

"I didn't say it was," Sasori said as he placed the extra fuda down.

"I didn't say you could destroy Sasuke-kun's will," Sakura said slowly before turning to the Uchiha. "Sasuke-kun. Sasuke-kun!" She shouted at the dark-haired boy's face. "Sasuke-kun, answer me!"

"Yes, Sakura?"

Sakura blinked. He had answered her.

"And of course, they will do everything you tell them to do, just like an obedient puppet. Since you were the one who originally summoned him, of course, he would obey you, Sakura."

And Sakura jumped on Sasori in anger. She had wanted Sasuke-kun back. She had wanted him to be with her, and to comfort her in her self exile. She had wanted him back so that she could talk with him and be around him. She didn't want a puppet!

Sakura's fists slammed into Sasori's face and torso even though she wasn't having much effect; Sasori had taken great care to attach chakra strings to her so that she couldn't really hurt him. But it was obvious. She was too angry to continue for now. Her plan would have to wait. First, she would have to beat up Sasori.

End Chapter 9

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Omake: After News of Sakura's Plan Reached Orochimaru, he Sent Oto-nin to Stop her

or

Where the Sacrifices Came From

The jounin held up three fingers, then two, then one. Everyone was ready to charge through the door they knew would lead to Sakura-sama. Then the door opened and a hand reached out, grabbing the jounin by the arm and dragging him into the room.

Everyone was silent. They didn't know what to do. Without their jounin leader, should they still continue?

"Yes," a man said, the second in command after their jounin leader. He was also a jounin, although not nearly as experienced. "Again on the count of—"

A scream cut through the air, and the sound of breaking arms and legs.

The second jounin leader closed his mouth for one moment, swallowing thickly before speaking again. "On the count of thr—"

This time, a puppet arm reached out from the room and grabbed him. Everyone stared at each other, not sure what to do. That was the second time now, and they were still confused about whether they should continue or not.

But if they didn't, Orochimaru-sama would kill them all anyway. It was best to just obey his orders.

One by one, they all disappeared into the room, but it wasn't by any effort on the shinobi's part. As soon as they were ready to charge into the room, another arm reached out and grabbed their leader.

Then, there were only a small group. They ran back to Orochimaru with the news of their failure. They weren't going to continue anymore. The screams from behind that door was more terrifying than anything the Sannin could do.

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Fire's English tidbits for those who care:

Every day and everyday. Here's a brief explanation of the difference between these two words, and bear—yes, it's bear not bare—with me if it gets long. Everyday is an adverb and every day are two words, an adjective (every) and a noun (day). To remember when to use which version, everyday answers questions beginning with "when" and every day answers questions beginning with "what." For example, I do this "when," would use everyday, not every day. And "what" is a good day, would use every day, not everyday. Sorry for the "what" example. I thought it was funny. It reminded me of Tobi. This one was short. See you next tidbit!

Fire's babbling:

Fire: Here's some useless words!

Sasori: They're not useless.

Sasuke: Why am I a puppet!

Fire: Uh…

Sasori: It's easier to control you.

Fire: Here are some concerns you might have after reading this chapter. First, why is Sasori so chauvinistic? He wouldn't listen to what Sakura said in chapter 267 (when she threatened him and he just launched kunai at her), the quote from chapter 270, "And you call yourself a girl with that unnatural strength," and his comments on kunoichi doing useless things in chapter 275 are all allusions to chauvinism. He thinks she's too weak to listen to. At least he tolerates Deidara's weakness and illusions about art, right?

Sasuke: That doesn't explain the line about kunoichi lying about what they were going to do. That makes no sense. Sasori isn't that much of a chauvinist right? (looks at Sasori) But I might be wrong. I don't know him that well.

Sasori: (thoughtful and talking to self) That line didn't actually have anything to do with Sakura.

Sakura: That's Sakura-sama.

Sasori: (ignoring Sakura) That's a reference to the history of kunoichi. Female shinobi were usually put undercover for assassinations and espionage. As a result, they take on a different persona. Hence, kunoichi had special classes where they have to learn to act like normal women, like flower arrangement and calligraphy. If you don't remember those classes from Sakura and Ino's flashbacks into their childhood, watch or read it again; you're just wasting my time. The arts…although not as interesting as hitokugutsu.

Sakura: We get it! Kunoichi had to lie to do their job!

Sasori: That would make you a liar.

Sakura: I'm not a liar! (hits Sasori in the head)

Sasori: She doesn't do that a lot anymore. She has other things on her mind, like killing Orochimaru, and it really does only hurt her hand more than it hurts me.

Fire: As for the strange childish behaviour exhibited by Sasori in this chapter, he just wanted to annoy her. He was having fun, so he was kind of reverting back to his childish state. He has moments like that in the manga too. The anime isn't quite there yet, but it's in the manga. Read it! The chapters with Sasori in them aren't many. It shouldn't take long.

Sasori: You make me sound unimportant.

Fire: I'm only saying what's true. (turning back to the audience) There's the explanations on Sasori's behaviour. If you have any questions, like how he might be OOC, send me a review, or PM me.

Sasuke: That's it?

Fire: Well, still send me a review, even if you don't have questions. I want to know what you thought about this chapter, or just the story in general. It has a complicated storyline, so it might have been confusing in some parts. The chapters are getting longer, so I'm sorry if you don't want to read so much. There is an average of around 4000 words per chapter for the last chapters of the story where there was only a little over 2500 words average per chapter at the beginning. Don't flame me for the length. I don't like to drag out the storyline so I gather activities that happen at relatively the same time in the same chapter. I'll post up a timeline later, maybe, to explain what's happening a little better.

Kakashi: And Fire just keeps on talking…

Fire: Waah! Review! Send me a review! I can't say anything more than that. Sasori might make me into a puppet.

Sasori: (confused) I thought you wanted to be a puppet.

Sakura: No one wants to be a puppet. No one normal!

Sasori: I want to be a puppet. Puppets are perfect, the perfect body, the perfect beauty. Eternal. It lasts forev—

Sakura: (punches Sasori to the ground) Like I said, no one normal.

Fire: See you next chapter. Ja ne!

Kakashi: Bye.

Sasuke: Does no one care that I'm a puppet!

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