Chapter 5

Sasuke came to with a throbbing in the back of his head, and he could feel a lump starting to form. "Did that Sand ninja get behind me somehow?" But he didn't see his opponent anywhere in the immediate area. However, when he went to move, he found he'd been tied to a tree! "What the hell?"

"Look who's awake," an unfamiliar voice said as Sasuke's head shot up and saw a black-robed figure. The hood of the robe hid the person's face from view, but the voice was definitely male. He held a kunai, and seemed to be standing in front of something.

"Who are you?" he demanded, struggling against the ropes only to find that they were wrapped rather tight. The figure laughed and stepped back, revealing Sakura and Naruto bound at his feet!

"Sasuke-kun!" the pink-haired girl yelled.

"Sasuke!" Naruto echoed, writhing like a worm on a hook.

"Who am I?" the stranger asked, bending over Naruto. "I'm the instrument of their deaths." The kunai plunged downward into Naruto's back, and the blonde coughed up blood and stopped moving. The blade came down again, but Naruto sat up and knocked it away with his legs in a move that made the wound on his back bleed faster. "So brave this one. All to save her," the stranger noted, not even bothering to retrieve the lost kunai. He instead grabbed Sakura's neck and hauled her to her feet.

"Sasuke-kun! Naruto!" she screamed as he landed a vicious punch to her gut, doubling her over. The next one came at her face, and Sasuke heard the sick sound of her nose breaking. Sakura slumped to the ground, blood and tears streaming down her face. Naruto tried to stand, but was caught in the side by a kick and toppled over again.

"Stop it!" Sasuke screamed. "Leave them alone!"

"Why? They're so much fun to hurt. And once I'm done with them, I'll hunt down everyone in this village that you know, and make them suffer as well."

"Why are you doing this? Did Orochimaru send you?" Instead of answering, the man grabbed Sakura by the hair and slammed her head into the ground, seeming to revel in her pained screams.

"Sakura-chan!" Naruto yelled out, wiggling around in an attempt to break the ropes. Sasuke saw his eyes bleed red, and the marks on his face become more pronounced. But the stranger turned and drew another kunai from his long sleeve, advancing on the boy.

"This will make sure you stay still." He drove the knife once more into Naruto's back, and left it there. He screamed and stiffened, and Sasuke saw his legs go slack. The man had just paralyzed him!

"I have to do something. I have to get to them." But the ropes only seemed tighter than ever, and Sasuke couldn't even make a seal to call the fire to break them. Once more Sakura was picked up by the stranger, and her head lolled to one side, one eye still open.

"Sasuke-kun," she said softly, reaching out her hand to him. "Help me."

"He can't help you. He couldn't even defeat me." One hand moved to the stranger's hood, and he quickly pulled it down. Sasuke's heart skipped a beat as he gazed at the dark hair, Konoha forehead protector, and the Sharingan eyes.

"Itachi!"

"You will never be strong enough to defeat me." The rage boiled over the breaking point, and Sasuke felt the cursed seal stir, but he welcomed the power it brought. His eyes shifted to the Sharingan, and he let out a primeval scream.

"Kohaku, something's wrong!" Senjo called out, her body fighting for control of the genjutsu. "He's trying to break out." Her teammate was beside her in a moment, watching the battle of will between the two shinobi. Sasuke's breathing was erratic, and he kept whispering something she couldn't quite make out. Suddenly his eyes snapped open, and both girls saw the red pupils that gave away the use of the Uchiha bloodline.

"Sharingan, shit!" Kohaku pulled Senjo back, and the ropes snapped a moment later. Sasuke stood staring at them, but his eyes didn't seem to be able to focus perfectly. Without warning, what looked like flames spread halfway across his body, becoming the tattoo-like symbols that Senjo had seen in Naruto's memories. "What is that?"

"I don't know, but he had that same design when he fought Gaara."

"Where is Itachi?" Sasuke yelled, taking a step forward, glaring at them.

"This is not good. He's still partially in the genjutsu. We need to snap him out of it," Senjo realized. Kohaku pushed the redhead behind her, bringing her staff into a defense position. She did not have a good feeling about this.

"There's no time for that, Senjo. Go get Kurai."

"What? I'm not leaving-"

"Yes, you are. Find Kurai and bring him back here. I'll hold him back until then." Senjo looked ready to argue, but Sasuke charged at them, and the girls jumped aside. Senjo was in the trees and racing away a moment later, hoping Kurai had not gone far from where they'd last seen him.

"Where is Itachi?" she heard Sasuke ask louder this time. The question was followed by the clack of wood on kunai.

"Hang on, Kohaku-chan. I'll be back soon."

Kohaku's arms tingled as Sasuke charged once more, kunai landing hard on her staff. There was no way she could just keep defending against the blows, but she needed to stall until backup arrived. Seizing a moment when Sasuke pulled back to assess the situation, she formed a few short seals and prayed her idea would work. "Hinote bunshin no jutsu (Fire Clone)!" Two clones appeared next to her, each with staffs of their own. They got into a triangle formation, but Sasuke just smirked and shook his head. His eyes were now clearer, but Kohaku was sure that he was still partially seeing the nightmare.

"Those won't work against me. I can tell which one is real." He charged at her, but one of her clones got in front of her, and Kohaku leapt out of the way. Sasuke's strike went right through the fake, but instead of dissolving away, the clone became a flame that attached itself to his arm, clinging to his skin and clothing. He dropped to the ground and rolled to put the fire out, which proved easy enough. When he got back up, he saw neither the clone nor the foreign ninja. "You can't hide from me! Where is Itachi? Why did you bring him here?" Kohaku and her clone were both in the trees, and they caught each other's eyes and nodded. She had discovered that the bit of chakra used to create them also gave them an intelligence that she hadn't first thought possible. But she and her clones had been able to thwart enemies before with tactics mostly saved only for actual teammates. To the Sand girl, these extensions of herself were every bit as useful as a teammate in combat, even if they were very fragile. She hit the ground running, and her clone echoed the movement as they passed Sasuke and raced around him in a circle. They charged forward at the same time, and each grabbed one of Sasuke's wrists and ran at the nearest tree, slamming him into it. But a moment later, Kohaku realized that instead of a body, there was a log lying on the ground.

"Shit, he's fast," she whispered, taking up a fresh grip on her staff. Her clone sprang back into the trees, and the clearing was quiet for a moment. "Did he get away?" A moment later she felt shuriken whiz by her head, and ducked to avoid a fatal shot. One got her in the shoulder though, and another nicked her forehead protector. Sasuke was next to her in an instant, locking her arms behind her back and pressing her into the ground with one foot.

"I'll ask you once more: Where is Itachi?"

"If I knew who that was, I'd tell you."

"Don't play games. I saw him standing here a few minutes ago. First Orochimaru gets to the Sand, and now my brother is using them?"

"Brother?" Sasuke pulled on her arms, and Kohaku bit her lip and refused to cry out. She knew he could dislocate her shoulders if he wanted, but that was nothing compared to having them broken in multiple places. However, she wanted to end this day with minimal injuries, and so she dropped down quickly, pushing off with her knees and rolling both of them forward. She landed on top and quickly pinned him down, but Sasuke rocked a few times and bucked her off. He stood and drew another kunai from his pouch, advancing on her. Kohaku blocked the slice with her arm, and winced when she felt the blade dig into her skin. Sasuke's grin reminded her of Tansei, and her eyes widened for a moment. Just then, she saw a shape land on Sasuke's back, and he screamed and pulled away. Kohaku stood and jumped back, only to see her clone let go of him and retreat a few steps away. Sasuke stared at the clone for a moment, and then his eyes slid to Kohaku.

"I have better things to do than deal with you." Kohaku saw the seals, and she knew she couldn't dodge the attack in time. She knelt and put both hands on the ground, hoping she could protect herself enough. Sasuke leapt into the air, and her clone got into position in front of her, arms up in what seemed like a futile block attempt. But Kohaku knew this was going to be potentially bad. She always created two clones: The first one would dissolve into flame when attacked. The second was more volatile, and would explode when struck. And an exploding clone struck by a fire attack was going to create a large mess. She was about to shove her chakra into the ground, when she saw the one thing she'd feared above all else.

"Sasuke-kun, Kohaku, stop!" Sakura yelled as she ran into the clearing. But it was too late, and Kohaku was on her feet as Sasuke unleashed his attack.

"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu (Fire Element: Grand Fireball)!"

'Make in time,' Kohaku told herself, as she heard the attack strike her clone.

Senjo found Kurai exactly where they'd left him. She saw with slight amusement that he'd felled the tree he'd hit earlier, and was now working on a second one with decent results. "Kurai, we've got trouble!" she shouted before she even touched the ground.

"That's nice." He didn't even pause or look at her.

"No, you don't understand. Sasuke went crazy after I used my nightmare technique. He forced his way out of it."

"That's nice."

"Damnit Kurai, Kohaku's fighting him all by herself. She told me to come find you because she needs help. Don't you care?" He stopped hitting the tree and turned to face her, eyes dark and angry. Senjo took a step back, and he was in her face a moment later, backing her against a tree.

"You both should've thought of that before you took him away. I was fine sparring with him, and now he's your problem." Senjo balled her hands into fists as her arms went rigid at her sides.

"She needs your help, idiot! We don't know what he's capable of, but he's still partially trapped in my technique. You're the only one who can help her."

"Kohaku can take care of herself." He turned away, and then felt a kick to his groin that he hadn't predicted. Senjo bent down when he doubled over, her eyes brimming with tears and her voice soft.

"Our teammate, my friend, your sister, is in trouble. She needs you, Kurai-kun. She asked me to get you. Please help her. Sasuke is at least twice as strong as he was before." He stayed doubled over for a moment, thinking over her words, then straightened up.

"Did you say twice as strong?" She nodded, and he straightened up as a smile crept over his face. "I always enjoy a new twist on an old challenge."

"I love it. Kohaku being in mortal peril isn't enough, but when I tell you that your sparring partner got stronger, that peaks your interest. Men." Senjo shook her head and stepped closer to him.

"Let's hurry before-" They heard an explosion not too far away, and both of them paled. "Shit! Let's go, Senjo!" They were racing away through the trees a moment later.

Kohaku coughed a few times to get the dust and smoke out of her lungs. Stone shields did not make a great barrier against that kind of stuff. Everything hurt, but not enough to prevent small movements. Looking down at the girl in her arms, Kohaku saw that she was breathing, but looked unconscious. "Well, I made it in time."

"Found you," a harsh voice said from above. Looking up, she saw that Sasuke was standing not two feet away, still covered in those tattoos and the Sharingan active.

"Don't come any closer." She put Sakura down behind the rock as much as she could and stood up slowly, wincing when her knee popped slightly. 'I'll have to put that back into place later.' Sasuke advanced anyway, staring straight at her. If he saw or recognized Sakura, he showed no sign of it. She didn't have the strength left to fight, but she would protect Sakura as much as she could.

"Get away from her!" Kohaku heard the familiar voice, and fell to her knees when Kurai and Senjo burst into the slightly burned clearing. The redhead ran to her friend's side, but she shook her head and pointed at the Leaf girl.

"See to her first. I'll deal until then." Kurai was assessing the situation, and he could see why Kohaku had sent for him. Sasuke's chakra output was more than twice what it had been when they fought, and he ground his teeth in frustration.

'Was he just toying with me? It's not like I put my all into our fight, but I didn't think he was hiding something this big. I might have to use my own ability.' Sasuke's attention was drawn to him, and the boy charged full force at him. Kurai leapt out of the way easily, and threw an attack out to catch him off balance.

"Kaze no Yaiba (Wind Blade)." Sasuke stood there while the chakra-laced wind swirled around him, seemingly ignoring it. "Oh-" Another charge, but this one caught him and sent both of them sprawling to the ground. Sasuke was on his feet first, coming down with a leg meant to snap Kurai's spine, but he rolled out of the way.

"You're underestimating him, he's not the same. You must fight seriously. Kurai, use it!" Kohaku called out.

"I'm not going to waste that on him." He watched Sasuke leap into the air, forming seals as he did so. Kohaku got in front of Senjo, one hand on the ground.

"Block that!" she ordered, concentrating on her own technique. "Ganseki toku (Rock Shield)." The earth responded by producing another protective covering that hid all three girls from any large area effect. Kurai had a fair-size rock in his hand and frowned as he quickly molded his chakra into it. 'Been a while since I've needed to do this.' The stone flattened out and lengthened, becoming a katana that he brandished like an expert. He leapt at the dark-haired boy just as the attack commenced:

"Ishi no Yaiba (Stone Blade)."

"Katon: Housenka no jutsu (Fire Element: Phoenix Fire)!" Kurai took a hit to his off-hand, which he was using to block anyway. But he burst through the fireballs and was directly in Sasuke's face. He struck with the sword, but Sasuke caught it at the last moment, and the tip caught his shoulder. They landed with Kurai pressing the blade down, using his size as an advantage to try and pin the other boy. Sasuke's strength was impressive, but the blade bit down a little more.

"Give up?" Kurai wondered, staring into the red eyes and noting the flame-like tattoos. Was this some sort of side-effect to using the Sharingan? It actually looked kind of interesting, and a little intimidating.

"Never." Kurai focused a bit more chakra into the blade, feeling it change even as the two continued their power struggle.

"Good. I hate quitters." He pulled the sword free of Sasuke's flesh, noting how the small hooks he'd made ripped into more of his shoulder. It should either be useless, or at least hurting severely at that point. They jumped back and landed with their eyes on each other, both breathing slightly fast. The dark-haired boy smirked after a moment, and he pointed at Kurai.

"I bet you know where Itachi is." Kurai had heard that the Uchiha clan had been eliminated by a person named Itachi. Though he didn't know anything else about Itachi, he would play along with Sasuke. He never turned down an opportunity for an interesting fight. Senjo and Kohaku peeked out from behind their safety rock, trying to decide who was winning.

"Maybe I do. What of it?" Sasuke's smirk disappeared as he formed seals that Kurai didn't recognize. He put his left hand down and held it with the other, and as they all watched, chakra began to form in his hand like bolts of lightning drawn downward.

"Kurai, get away!" Senjo called out as Kohaku stood once more.

"Get Sakura out of here. I need to help him." She was moving even as Sasuke charged forward, the ball of chakra in his hand screaming like the calls of hundreds of birds. She remembered Temari saying that this move was what had first injured Gaara through his cocoon of sand. Kurai already had one hand on the ground and barely looked up when she fell next to him. "We need to block."

"Then hurry up." The two put their hands on the ground and focused their chakra.

"Ganseki toku: Nibai kyouko (Rock Shield: Double Strength)." The earth complied and raised a barrier a few feet above their heads in between them and Sasuke, who at that point reached the rock and shoved his hand into it.

"Chidori (Thousand Birds)!"

"Sasuke!" The rock partially exploded, but the bottom two feet held together, and Kurai and Kohaku flattened themselves to avoid the worst of the debris. A moment later, they heard Sasuke struggling, and looked up to see an ANBU squad wrestling him to the ground. And standing over them was the Jounin that led his team: Copy Ninja Kakashi. "Would someone mind explaining this mess?" he asked, staring at them.

"Hey, I need a medic over here!" Senjo yelled, dragging Sakura into the open. One of the ANBU team was by her side a moment later, asking her what had happened and where the worst injuries were.

"I'll ask again, what happened?"

"We're not sure," Kohaku replied, staring directly into his eye. "Senjo and I were out walking when we heard a scream. We found Sasuke like that, and he kept asking where Itachi was." They saw his eyebrow quirk, but he said nothing. "I told Senjo to get Kurai so we could restrain Sasuke, and while she was gone he attacked me. Sakura got in the middle, and then all of the reinforcements arrived at once."

"Kakashi-san, you should see this," one of the ANBU said. He walked over to Sasuke, who was slowly getting the seal under control. He felt the foreign chakra and shook his head, bending down to whisper something in one of the people's ears. They nodded and flashed away.

"Remnants of a genjutsu. And a pretty powerful one. Did you see anyone else in this clearing when you arrived?" Both Kohaku and Senjo shook their heads, but Sasuke began squirming again, though not as violently.

"He was here, Kakashi-sensei. I saw him." The Jounin nodded and quickly scanned the trees. He was positive he wasn't getting the whole story, but for now he would let it go.

"Get them all to the hospital," he told the rest of the squad. All but Kurai flashed away, and Kakashi turned to face him. "What?"

"I figured you wanted to ask me some questions based on what you saw when you got here." There was one question, but he wasn't sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"That wasn't a technique you used to form that rock wall."

"No, it wasn't."

"You have a bloodline limit allowing you earth control?"

"Something like that."

"So your teammate shares your bloodline? I saw her helping you."

"We're twins."

"You have a similar ability to Gaara then." Kurai's eyes narrowed and he turned away from the older ninja.

"Unlike that abomination, my ability is a true bloodline limit. Gaara was given our gift the day he was born. Do not ever compare me to that monster. He has perverted our family's secrets, and we have been forced to allow him to live. His creation mocked all that we ever stood for. I have hated him ever since."

Konoha Hospital was a flurry of activity when the ANBU squad arrived. Senjo was forced to wait outside the treatment rooms, and she knew it was futile to argue. More than likely they would question Kohaku further about the incident, and she wanted to be by her friend's side to make sure she was all right. However, with ANBU staying close by, all she could do was wait for Kurai to show up and then they would go see Kohaku. It wasn't long before she heard Naruto's voice echoing down the halls. "What do you mean I can't see her? Is Sakura-chan okay?"

"Naruto, leave the pretty nurses alone. Let's sit over here." Jiraiya and Naruto walked around the corner and sat in the chairs near Senjo. The blonde was staring at the floor and kicking his feet, a worried expression on his face. Senjo knew he was probably feeling like she was: Bothered by the fact that his friends were hurt, and wanting answers to what had happened. He turned to face her after a minute, attempting a smile.

"Did your team get hurt too?"

"Kurai will be okay, and only Kohaku was brought here, but she's not too bad off. She was more worried about Sakura."

"Even though we're still partial enemies?" Jiraiya asked, more to himself. He was looking directly at her, arms folded across his chest. Senjo was getting annoyed that everyone kept bringing that up. She knew it was going to happen, but the fact that they allowed her team into their village and still went on about the attack was bothering her.

"She feels a connection to Sakura that goes beyond village boundaries. And while I understand your anger at my people, our team did not participate in the attack."

"But you would have if ordered." The way he was staring at her made Senjo want to squirm. Naruto had never seen the perverted hermit this serious before, and it made him wonder if there was something going on that he didn't know about. However, the arrival of some Leaf Genins distracted them all momentarily.

"Naruto!" a blonde girl called out, two bouquets of flowers in her arms. "We just heard. Is Sasuke-kun all right? Where's Sakura?"

"Sasuke's fine, Ino. At least until I see him." Senjo felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end, and looked quickly at Naruto. He was angry, and probably because the girl he cared about had been hurt, and he hadn't been able to protect her. But when a blue-haired girl with white eyes stepped in front of him, the anger seemed to diffuse slightly. She was tapping her fingers together, and seemed like she wanted to say something. Naruto was looking up at her, waiting to see what she said.

"Sakura will be okay, Naruto-kun," she said softly and with some hesitation. She then stepped back near a slightly-older boy who appeared to be her brother.

"Thank you, Hinata-chan," Naruto said, smiling at her. Hinata blushed further and hid behind her "bodyguard".

"Is it true?" the white-eyed boy asked. "Did Sasuke go berserk?" He seemed to be looking at Senjo while keeping his eyes actually focused on the group. She stared back at him and blanked her mind, forcing a smile to her face. Kohaku had mentioned her run-in with a Hyuuga clan member on their way to get Sasuke. It would be bad if he suspected her of being involved with all this.

"I'm sure he had a reason," she replied. "He seemed certain that someone named Itachi was in the area." When she saw Jiraiya's eyes widen for a moment, she knew that whoever he was, Itachi wasn't a nice guy.

"Excuse me, but anyone who wants to see Haruno Sakura can come with me," a nurse interrupted. Everyone but Senjo and Jiraiya followed her, and Naruto nearly knocked the poor woman over in his haste to see Sakura. Senjo smiled for real as she watched them go, and then waited for the questions that she knew were coming.

"I could turn your whole team over to ANBU for what you did." His tone was casual, but she caught the dark undercurrent.

"There is no hard evidence, and Sasuke seems no worse for wear."

"Your genjutsu could have left him in a permanent state of rage. No one would've been able to reverse the effect, except possibly you. As it is, I'm still not entirely sure how you managed to read my mind." Senjo was impressed that he even knew what she had done, but smiled to herself that she had tricked a ninja older than her parents.

"It's not an unheard-of ability. I can meld my chakra with someone else's and see into their thoughts and emotions. It's no stranger than the Mind Body Switch Skill (Shintenshin no Jutsu) of Konoha's Yamanaka clan. And if Sasuke hadn't forced his way out of my technique, everything would've been fine."

"What were you trying to accomplish? You know how suspicious this must look; what with your village's former alliance with Orochimaru."

"I wasn't aware he had an interest in the village Genins."

"Why did you trap Sasuke?"

"He's very similar to someone we grew up with. Kohaku and I saw the similarities and wanted to intervene. My nightmare world was supposed to make him see where his current path will lead him. He was supposed to see himself hurting his friends, only that's not what happened. As much control as I have over what someone sees, their own thoughts and memories get intertwined. So Sasuke saw this Itachi hurting those he cared about instead of himself."

"Which was probably the worst thing he could see." When Senjo gave him a blank look, Jiraiya shook his head and stood up.

"You should check the bingo book more often. You'll find Itachi in there." He started to walk away down the hall, probably to follow one of the nurses, when he turned back and pointed a finger at her.

"Leave Naruto and his friends alone. They don't deserve to be played with. Soon enough they'll have other things to worry about." He was gone after that, and Kurai came striding up the hall, holding his burned arm to his chest.

"Senjo? Where's Kohaku?"

"Still in the treatment room. We're not allowed to see her yet." He sat beside her, one arm around her shoulder. She leaned into him out of habit, but he could tell she was bothered by something.

"What is it?"

"Kurai, I need to tell you what's been going on. And you have to promise me that you won't flip out and cause a scene."

"Why-"

"Promise me," she pleaded, eyes wide. He started to say something, closed his mouth, and nodded his head.

"I promise."

"All right, here's what we haven't been telling you…"

After she had been questioned by at least three different people about what had happened in the forest, Kohaku was finally allowed to rest. She knew ANBU would be watching them all closely from now on, and she cursed herself for allowing the situation to get so out of hand. Worse yet, she saw the worried looks on everyone's faces when they came to see Sakura. Her actions could've killed the very person she had been trying to protect, and it made her feelings of guilt even worse. "Hey, Sand girl?" Kohaku looked up to find Naruto standing next to her bed, smiling. "I just wanted to thank you for helping Sakura. Senjo said you were more worried about her than yourself."

"She was caught in the middle of a fight that should never have happened. I just didn't want an innocent bystander to get hurt."

"Well, I still want to thank you. We all do." Naruto motioned at his friends, and they all nodded. Kohaku saw Neji staring at her, and she didn't feel like hiding it anymore. They weren't trusted throughout the village already, so what was one more incident? All Kohaku wanted to do now was return home.

"It was nothing," she replied softly. A nurse knocked on the door and addressed the gathered children.

"All right, everyone, visiting hours are over. Sakura needs her rest, and Lee needs to get back to his room as well." Lee blushed and nodded, picking up his crutches and making his way slowly out the door. Neji followed him, and Ino, Naruto, and Hinata went their own way. The nurse closed the door and, silence enveloped the room.

"Sakura-"

"Kohaku, what made Sasuke-kun do that? I've only ever seen the cursed seal activated once, and it frightened me. Whatever or whoever angered him, Sasuke-kun seemed too deep to hear me this time."

"What do you mean?" Sakura took a deep breath, looking out the window for a moment as she contemplated telling Kohaku something she couldn't even tell Naruto.

"During our Chuunin exam, Orochimaru found us, and he marked Sasuke-kun with some sort of seal. He was sick for a few hours, and then it made him go berserk, but I somehow managed to snap him out of it. That was the first time I thought that I might actually be reaching him. But I guess he doesn't remember me doing that, or even what he asked me when he first released the seal."

"What did he ask you?"

"We were attacked by Sound ninjas, and both Naruto and Sasuke were unconscious, so I did my best to defend them. But they overpowered me, and I took a few hits to my head." She stuck her tongue out for a moment, then became serious once again. "Sasuke-kun had those black flames covering his body, and he asked me who had hurt me. I was too scared to answer him, but the man who had hit me said he had, and Sasuke-kun attacked him. He broke both his arms before I could stop him. That's why when I saw you two fighting, I wanted to stop him before he hurt you like Tansei had."

"Sakura…" Kohaku got off the bed she was on and walked over to the pink-haired girl, smiling sadly at her. "I'm so sorry this happened. I never meant for you to get hurt. I wanted Sasuke to see how he was hurting those who cared about him. But I never thought he'd break out of Senjo's technique. I never thought you'd be caught in the middle. I didn't think about a lot of things. I'm sorry." Sakura was staring at her now, eyes slightly wide. She'd had no idea that Kohaku had wanted to help her so much.

"I forgive you. I know you just wanted to help before the past repeated itself. But I think I'm going to try and help Sasuke-kun in my own way."

"Fair enough. If anyone can do it, I'm sure you can. He isn't completely like Tansei, and if he stays here, I'm sure he'll see that there's more to life than fighting."

"Maybe there's a way for you to reach your friend."

"That would be nice, but I don't even know where he is. A day or so after our fight, his entire team left the village and disappeared. We sent out search parties, but we never found them. We never labeled them missing-nins only because they're Genins, and the Kazekage didn't see them being able to do any great harm."

"Maybe one day you'll see them again, and they'll have changed."

"Maybe."