happy new year! hope 2019 finds you all well! also, a belated happy hanukkah/merry xmas to everyone who celebrated!
apologies for the larger than usual delay between chapters, but mid-december=deadlines and exams for a poor uni student like myself, so i genuinely had neither the time nor the inspiration to write.
i would like to thank everyone who continues to shower me and my characters with love and appreciation in the comments 3 i love u guys. also, shoutout to i dredhur for bringing a massive smile to my face with their comment. thank you!
now slightly less pleasant, but i need to get this off my chest. i would normally do this with a PM but i feel the need to address it ad omnus so to speak: awesome 12 uno piece wrote a mini-essay about everything wrong with this story after chapter 7. now. i appreciate criticism, truly. but dear god, please make it constructive. shitting on 3/4 of the work while openly admitting that you "literally didn't read any later Chapters just skimmed except the one where she encounters Sasuke for the first time since he left Konoha" is not only incredibly rude but also a waste of your time as well as mine. remember, there are two helpful buttons if you dont like something - the little black arrow in the top left corner of your screen, and the red button in the top-right corner. use them. or, at the very least, if you're going to take the time to shit on something someone had invested a lot of time and thought into, do them the courtesy of reading the full work.
thank you.
"Bodyguards?!"
Sakura sighed, though a corner of her mouth twitched up, having expected a similar response. Her and Genma were sitting at their dining table, coffee and a plate of fruit before them, catching up, until Sakura got tired of skirting around the elephant in the room.
She had been slightly anxious about telling Genma about Tsunade's role for her and Shikamaru in the upcoming Summit, and though she could detect no small amount of bafflement in Genma's eyes, there was none of the resentment that she'd feared.
She shrugged.
"According to Tsunade-sama, Shika and I make a good capture-and-detainment unit." She repeated the explanation they had been given, then offered Genma a wry smile. "Personally, I think she plans to throw our successes in Kiri and Suna around to bully Iwa and Kumo into cooperating."
"And you're okay with that? Being used as a bargaining chip?" Genma asked, and Sakura was touched by the note of clear concern in his voice. All wasn't as it had been, but they were getting there. Slowly, but surely, and Sakura had hope.
Maybe they wouldn't go back to being quite as close as they had been, but maybe that could turn out to be for the better. She didn't know.
All she knew was that – "Chojuro will be there." After a moment's pause, she added, "And I haven't seen Gaara in a while, so that'll be nice."
Genma's face did something odd when she mentioned the bluenette, and Sakura waited, letting him find the words to voice what was on his mind.
Looking like he'd bit into a lemon, Genma met her eyes, and took a deep breath. He smoothed out his expression, then smiled encouragingly, and Sakura could see him wrestle down the temptation to bolt.
"Eri may have, ah, mentioned something, about you and Shikamaru and Chojuro… dating." He said at last, and Sakura couldn't restrain her incredulous laugh.
"That's it? Gosh, Gen, you almost gave me a heart attack with the face you were making." She laughed, the phrase slipping out followed by a very clear memory of what a chemical-induced heart-attack felt like. She winced. "But yes, we are."
Genma blinked. "That's it?" he echoed, baffled. "Just – 'we are'?"
Sakura shrugged, sagging slightly in her chair. "What else do you want me to say?" she asked, and her previous amusement had evaporated and left only fatigue. "They make me feel safe."
A flicker of hurt passed through Genma's eyes, and it took Sakura a moment to realise why. She sighed and shook her head, but words were failing her, and she didn't want to make it worse.
"It's- not like that." She settled on at last. "Gen, we've spent the last half a decade living in each other's pockets. You're home to me. Yes, you hurt me with that stunt with Orochimaru, and maybe we're a little more distant than we were before, but you're still my most precious person. That will never change."
Genma seemed thrown for a moment, and his eyes glistened a little more than before, but eventually, he smiled, and finally, finally something clicked into place.
"I'm glad to hear it." He told her sincerely, putting his coffee down in favour of reaching over to grab her hand. "Doesn't mean it's going to stop me from giving them the shovel talk."
Sakura let her head drop against the table with a defeated groan, but even she couldn't keep her laughter back for long.
And to think, so much anxiety over one ten second explanation.
They were alright.
Two days after her talk with Genma, another wrench was thrown into Sakura's carefully-rebuilt routine.
She'd been helping out with the reconstruction efforts, lugging large debris and using Earth Release to make room for the foundations of the new housing Yamato was charged with constructing when her senses picked up on a distantly familiar chakra in the vicinity.
Sakura looked up, eyes narrowed, and her gaze fell on a figure leaning against one of the newly built houses, his features hidden by the shadow of the setting afternoon sun.
Sasuke.
Sakura swallowed and hoped it wasn't obvious, then she steeled her nerves and moved towards him.
"Sakura." He greeted, and Sakura was almost as shocked by the acknowledgement as she was by the new eye in the place of the one she'd gouged out, the colour only a shade off the original onyx. Reward for good behaviour, she supposed, and inwardly cursed Tsunade's softheartedness.
"Uchiha." She managed, proud when her voice didn't waver. "To what do I owe the questionable honour?"
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Don't be annoying. Walk with me."
Annoying.
The word burned and Sakura saw red, and before she quite realised what she was doing, she'd sent a kunai straight at Sasuke's face, chakra surging to reinforce the throw entirely subconsciously.
Sasuke ducked, just barely, and the weapon embedded itself safely in the wood behind him, hilt-deep. But when his eyes snapped to her face, Sasuke's gaze was visibly shocked; the onyx was sharper and more on-edge.
"I don't appreciate you using that word, Uchiha." She told him frankly, her voice icy despite the fire of fury burning in her gut, and she refused to drop eye-contact. "Try again."
Sasuke sneered, but to her surprise, actually reworded his demand. "I want to talk to you. Alone. Walk with me."
Sakura considered denying him again, curious of his reaction, curious whether he'd give her the excuse she was itching for to act on that burning anger, but outwardly she just nodded and gestured for him to lead.
Sasuke hesitated to turn his back to her, and deep down, Sakura felt a cruel twist of vindictive satisfaction at that knowledge. Good, a voice in her mind that sounded suspiciously like Yuki whispered, he should fear you.
With a deep breath, Sakura forced that part of herself down and followed.
"So, when are you leaving?" she asked once the silence around them had stretched for a few uncomfortable minutes too long.
Sasuke tensed, and it was only now that Sakura realised how absolutely awful the Uchiha was at covering tells. Like Naruto, everything he felt, he felt freely, for all the world to see, and Sakura simultaneously envied and resented him for never having to learn how to hide it.
"What are you talking about?" he snapped, and it was that defensiveness, more than any gut feeling, that solidified Sakura's suspicion that he was, in fact, leaving.
She scoffed.
"You hate this Village. Your brother's dead. You'll likely get pardoned for your contribution in the fight against Pein. You could do anything, go anywhere. Look me in the eyes and tell me you'd be happy to stay here, knowing that."
Sasuke did not look her in the eyes. In fact, he adamantly refused to meet her gaze. Sakura shrugged and continued walking, content in the fact that he'd all but confirmed her suspicions.
"The hag released me from my vows." He said at last, a good three minutes later.
It actually took Sakura a few seconds to realise exactly what he meant, but there was only one 'hag' who could've had the power to do what Sasuke described.
Wrestling her disbelief and the – surprising – sting of betrayal down, Sakura schooled her expression and raised an eyebrow.
"And?" she asked simply.
"Now that he's unsealed, Orochimaru's going back to Oto." Sasuke paused, seemingly debating whether he really wanted to reveal this to her. "He wants to build it up to a proper Hidden Village. He's a genius. There's no doubt he could do it." A pause, a twitch, and then, "I was offered the position of Jounin Commander."
Sakura blinked and took a deep breath. Then, once she was sure she wasn't going to scream, or laugh, or cry, she spoke.
"Congratulations." She said flatly. "But, at the risk of repeating myself – and?"
That, at last, seemed to throw the Uchiha off.
He stopped and turned around, and seemed to only then realise where his feet had led them. Sakura, who hadn't let her guard down for a single second had caught on a few minutes earlier, but the scowl on Sasuke's face let her know that he hadn't expected such blatant sentimentality from himself.
They were at Team 7's old training ground.
"You're not going to offer 'advice'?" Sasuke demanded, the last word mocking, eyebrow arched and tone glacier-cold. "Tell me I'm insane for even considering it?"
Sakura snorted, sharp and derisive and bitterly amused.
"And waste precious oxygen?" she asked rhetorically, waving Sasuke off. "It's not like you've ever cared for what I thought. Why would you suddenly start now? Besides, you're a big boy, Uchiha, you can make your own decisions. Frankly, I'm surprised you told me anything at all."
Sasuke considered her for a few seconds, seemingly re-evaluating. "I expected this to be worse than with the dobe, but you took it better than Kakashi." He confessed, a clear accusation under the bland observation, and Sakura laughed.
"You seem to be under the delusion that I care about what you do." She told him simply. "I haven't thought of Team 7 for years, Uchiha. Not since my jounin promotion at fourteen."
An odd expression crossed Sasuke's face – a mix of surprise and jealousy, but also curiosity.
"The idiot and I were trained by Sannin, and Kakashi was called Nakagamoroshi no Kakashi. Yet, somehow, you're the coldest of us all." He smirked then, and the expression was mocking but fragile, and Sakura heard the same frailty in his voice when he said, "Tell me, Sakura, is letting go really that easy for you?"
Sakura shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable, and offered the Uchiha a smile that was equally brittle, but razor-sharp. "Letting go is easy if you were never attached in the first place."
Sasuke nodded, looking as if he'd expected a similar response, but was somehow surprised she actually admitted it. Then, his expression firmed.
"Fight me." He said suddenly, and Sakura lost her composure for a second and gaped.
"What?" she demanded, "I'm sorry, Uchiha, but do you not remember what happened the last time we fought?"
Sasuke scowled and rolled his eyes. "Spar with me, then. Non-lethal force."
Sakura took a step back, shaking her head. "I don't know how to do that anymore." She confessed quietly, shocked at the truth in the statement. "And I don't trust myself not to try to kill you."
Sasuke snorted derisively.
"I can keep up." He scoffed, and Sakura felt the burning flame of fury that had, over the course of their conversation, shrunk to a mere flicker rear up again, vicious and all-consuming, and she moved before she could second-guess herself.
Before Sasuke could react, she shunshined to just behind him, plastering her chest to his back, snagging a wakizashi from her thigh and pressing the blade to Sasuke's jugular.
"No, you can't." she whispered in his ear, applying just enough pressure to break the skin and cause blood to bead on the surface before she released him and shunshined back to her original spot.
Sasuke looked floored, then frustration and anger twisted his face into something ugly, and he opened his mouth to protest. Before he could, however, a sibilant voice cut him off.
"If you wish to kill yourself, be a bit more subtle. And if you don't want to be my Jounin Commander, just say so." Orochimaru chastised as he strolled into the clearing, and Sakura froze. "I'm sure I could find another to take your spot."
(a part of her, the one that wasn't currently losing its shit and hyperventilating, but the one that had learned to react to impossible situations with hysterical humour as a coping mechanism, resented the Sannin on a completely superficial level, because now that he wasn't half-crazed and fighting, Orochimaru had glammed up, and a man had no right to have hair that shiny)
Sasuke, furious and indignant at the interruption, hissed something vile and unintelligible, but even Sakura could guess it wasn't kind. To her surprise, Orochimaru hissed right back, then that haunting golden gaze turned to her.
"I apologise for my subordinate." He intoned, inclining his head ever so slightly, and Sakura's fight-or-flight instinct was just a continuous screeeeeeeech! in the back of her mind.
But the Sannin kept talking, speaking of Sasuke like he was a pet and not right there. "We're still working on his impulse control."
"Aaa…" Sakura managed, trying to wrap her head around the sheer ridiculousness of the situation she found herself in and not bolt. "It's no problem?" she rasped, voice rough as if she really had been screaming, "I wasn't going to fight him anyway."
Before Orochimaru could reply, Sasuke regained his voice.
"And why not?!" he snarled, his accusatory, furious gaze flickering between Sakura and the Snake Sannin.
The Snake Sannin, who, it seemed, had had enough.
Orochimaru rounded on Sasuke, inconceivably fast and unnaturally graceful, long-fingered hand wrapping around the raven's throat in a grip that would've let him crush the Uchiha's trachea with nary a thought, lifting him clear off his feet with seemingly no effort.
"Because," the Sannin murmured, and Sakura felt a shiver go down her spine even when it wasn't her who was the target of his ire, "your precious old teammate could break your little mind with a single twitch of her finger, Sasuke-kun, and I have no use for broken tools."
He released him then, and the same hand that had held Sasuke's life between its fingers slid delicately into the overlong sleeve of Orochimaru's kimono, hidden from sight. He stepped back, and nodded at Sakura.
"My apologies for the interruption." He murmured. "In compensation, a word of advice – do not allow them to take the Sacrifices to Genbu." He told her enigmatically, and Sakura tried to parse through the nonsensical warning without outwardly gaping. "Also; there were worse things than zombies in that organisation." After he finished, he nodded, and Sakura realised he was about to take off.
"-Wait!" she managed at last, having finally figured out how language worked. When the Sannin actually listened and paused, Sakura was fully convinced she'd somehow managed to invert a genjutsu on herself. "…Why are you helping me?"
Because that's what he was doing, she realised with a jolt. Offering her advice for the Kage Summit with that second part, while the first… well, she still had no clue about what the first was supposed to mean. But it was still advice.
For a second, Orochimaru almost seemed to smile, though his mouth didn't move. There was just something in his countenance that momentarily distracted from the sheer destructive power he exuded.
"Because this is how the game is played," he replied, that same something lilting his tone, "forwards, not back." and then he disappeared. Not a shunshin, or the Hiraishin – just, there one second, gone another.
Sakura waited ten more seconds, holding her breath, all her senses on hyper alert, but Orochimaru didn't return. She turned to Sasuke with a frown, a demand for answers on the tip on her tongue, but seeing the nail marks and reddened skin around the Uchiha's neck, the words died in her throat. She sighed and tried to think what she should say; Inoichi would probably tell her to try for sympathy, but she was still unable to quite manage genuine concern for her old teammate's well-being.
Still.
For Inoichi.
"You alright?" she asked hesitantly, glad when the words came out almost normal, and even gladder when the Uchiha waved her off.
"Fine." He rasped, looking, for all intents and purposes, unconcerned with the earlier display. "It's how the bastard shows affection."
Sakura huffed an exhausted, disbelieving laugh and decided she really would never understand Sasuke.
But maybe that was for the better.
Sasuke was screwed up, and that was coming from her.
Try as she might, Orochimaru's warning stayed on her mind, till eventually she conceded defeat and went to the one person she knew wouldn't question her suspicions.
"Ibiki-senpai," Sakura greeted cheerfully, feeling right at home in the windowless office in the bowels of T&I, "I have a favour to ask of you."
Ibiki groaned, and with a pulse of chakra, the walls lit blue for a split-second, then there was a discomfiting quiet around them.
"Out with it, Haruno." He demanded, pushing his paperwork aside to give her his undivided attention. "Whenever Anko says that, it's either dangerous or illegal. Which is it going to be with you?"
"Um," Sakura stammered, more than a little thrown by the question, albeit guiltily amused at the same time, "a bit of both?"
Ibiki, to his credit, just snorted. "Of-fucking-course." He rolled his eyes. "So, what do you need?"
Over the next week, Sakura successfully dragged Shikamaru shopping – "It's called the Land of Iron, woman, not Snow. Why the hell is it so cold?" – and found and caught up with Izumo and Kotetsu, who had both hugged her within an inch of her life and promptly proceeded to tease her on giving Genma grey hair and snagging not one, but two jounin as her arm-candy. She also hunted down Anko and all but broke down sobbing in relief in her senpai's arms, ignorant to the way Anko herself also let a few tears slip free, holding on just as tightly.
Within that week, she saw Inoichi every day.
Admitting to having repressed some memories, even letting them play out and reliving them, as painful as it had been, had only been the first step to recovery. Inoichi was vigilant now, not letting her slip back into old habits, pressing and pushing and prodding until he was sure Sakura understood every word and her agreement to follow his advice was sincere.
At the end of that week, she stood at the Main Gates, Shikamaru at her side as they waited for the entourage that would be escorting Tsunade to the Summit to finish its preparations and leave. Sakura didn't fear the time away – she had Inoichi's sleeping pills in one of her many pockets and his words in her heart, and the knowledge that Shikamaru had been thoroughly caught up by the man himself on what to watch out for.
The journey to the Land of Iron was long and largely boring, but the boredom was a much-needed respite from the events of the last few months, so Sakura let her mind drift off and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. Despite the physical exertion, her mind was at rest, so when they finally reached Iron, she was able to laugh and take great joy in Tsunade's snort once she saw her attire.
She was also too surprised by the action to duck away from the hair-ruffle it earned her.
"Atta girl." The Godaime congratulated, and Sakura sent her back a sly smile, knowing the Hokage both understood and approved what she'd done.
Sakura's outfit was carefully chosen, and a blatant show of her divided loyalties and influences.
From her Konoha side, only the charcoal uniform pants and her trusty boots remained. Her top half couldn't have been further from standard-issue uniform if she'd tried. A lilac nagajuban peaked out from beneath the purple kimono top she'd tucked into her pants, and her haori was padded and lined with fur to keep out the vicious cold, and the navy jinbaori she'd thrown on top was added almost as an afterthought, but Sakura was far from regretting it. A glittering cobalt shemagh was wrapped around her neck and pulled up over her nose, and from Shikamaru's laughter alone, she knew he'd caught on too.
"Add Kubikiribocho!" he encouraged through his chuckles, and beneath her shemagh, Sakura grinned as she obeyed. Her wakizashi was already strapped to her thigh, and with the Executioner's Blade at her back, she felt ready.
"Remember, you're supposed to be at my back, Haruno, not the star of the room." Tsunade chided good-naturedly, but Sakura refused to feel embarrassed.
"Nothing wrong with making a statement though, right, Tsunade-sama?" she replied instead, her words mild but her smile sharper than the steel strapped to her back. "Benefits of international cooperation and multiculturalism and all that."
There was an odd light in Tsunade's eyes before she turned away. "You really do remind me of him."
Sakura fought back a flinch, not missing who 'he' was. She was surprised to find that the repulsion she expected wasn't there, but whether it was due to the memory of Sasuke's words or the comfort of Shikamaru's hand heavy and warm in her own, she couldn't decide.
Instead, she tried to remember the deadly grace and quiet strength she saw in the clearing, thought of Anko's whispered stories and Sasuke's surprising respect for the Sannin.
With a deep breath, Sakura squeezed Shikamaru's hand, tilted her head, lifted her chin, squared her shoulders, and followed her Hokage deeper into the Three Wolves' Mountains.
Sakura realised quite quickly why Kage Summits weren't called more often.
Ego.
The moment the words 'international cooperation against Akatsuki' left Mei's mouth, pandemonium erupted in the meeting room.
"Codswallop!" the Tsuchikage cried, and Sakura didn't immediately realise he'd stood from his seat in his anger, he was that short.
"Preposterous!" boomed the Raikage, banging his fist on the stone table.
From her position at Tsunade's back, Sakura saw the woman heave a sigh, and she didn't miss Gaara's exasperated eye-roll, subtle as it was.
"You all hired Akatsuki!" A bellowed, pointing accusingly at Tsunade, Gaara and Mei. "You knowingly employed men who've destroyed Villages! Your rogues pollute its ranks! Why should Kumo help?" he demanded.
Mei cleared her throat, the sound somehow still soft but commanding attention. "Perhaps there's a reason no Kumo shinobi ever made it into the Akatsuki." She mused coldly, and Sakura's respect for the woman grew tenfold when A's eyes narrowed in contempt once he caught the insult.
"With all due respect," Gaara's quiet voice cut any potential protest from the Raikage short, "during my predecessor's reign, Suna had still been recovering from the damage it suffered during the Third War and then during the regent's, we were desperately scrambling to pick up the pieces after the disastrous invasion of the Leaf and the betrayal we suffered at the hands of Oto." He nodded to Tsunade, lowering his eyes in apology before continuing. "We had to outsource missions. 'Economic stagnation' seemed insufficient to describe our economic situation. We could barely afford to pay our own shinobi, and you believe we could afford to hire mercenaries?"
Sakura took a moment to let herself revel in the awe and pride she felt for Gaara in that moment, remembering the awkward teenager who'd first told her of his aspirations to be a Kage.
Gaara had come far.
She hastened to tune back in when he continued; "But that is irrelevant. This Summit isn't about pointing fingers – who hired the Akatsuki and who didn't is irrelevant. Who benefitted from hiring them and who didn't is irrelevant. What we should focus on is how we're going to deal with the threat they pose."
"And what do you know of threats, Kazekage? You're barely out of the Academy." A sneered, and Sakura felt Kankuro's chakra spike in warning.
"Not only are the Hokage and Mizukage's guards children, but the Kazekage himself is a child." Onoki added, grumbling. "Honestly, Hokage, I thought we were taking this seriously."
"We are." Tsunade snapped, and Sakura didn't miss the stress on the pronoun. "You and the Raikage, however, have done nothing but insult and belittle and try to shunt blame. As the Kazekage said: we are not here to point fingers – should the Akatsuki succeed, the Juubi would mean the extinction of mankind. You would not be safe just because you didn't hire the Akatsuki, or forsook this alliance to uphold your antiquated ideals of strength and leadership!"
Sakura could tell Tsunade was losing her temper, and she had to resist the urge to laugh – Tsunade could destroy the whole room with a flick of her pinky, and yet A and Onoki thought it a good idea to continue to antagonise her.
Mei, luckily, seemed to have reached the same conclusion.
"Konoha has singlehandedly eliminated 5 Akatsuki." Mei pointed out, her voice serene but her gaze hard. "The very children you complained about to the Godaime each have an Akatsuki to their name."
Sakura felt more than saw Shikamaru stifle a groan when the Raikage's sharp eyes fell on them. "That true, Hokage?" he asked, though he didn't look away from Sakura and Shikamaru.
"It is." Tsunade confirmed icily, then tilted her head towards Shikamaru. "Nara here singlehandedly took down Hidan, the immortal, and assisted in the takedown of Kakuzu. Haruno killed Deidara, the bomber." Sakura didn't miss how Onoki's eyes narrowed as they fell on her, but she carefully kept her expression blank. "Both, along with Chojuro of the Mist, also took down the Animal Path belonging to Pein, the presumed leader of Akatsuki during his siege of Konoha."
Out of the corner of her eye, Sakura noticed how Chojuro jumped at being mentioned and had to fight back a smile. While she had come to the Summit knowing Tsunade would use her and Shikamaru as bargaining chips, she reckoned Mei would've been a bit more subtle in her justification for taking Chojuro and Ao as her guards.
"'Presumed', Hokage?" Onoki demanded sharply, and Sakura fought back a smile.
She'd been briefed on Tsunade's tactic, on the information Itachi had revealed about his suspicions for the identity of the true leader of the Akatsuki, and she was glad to see the blonde's strategy was working like hook, line and sinker.
"Indeed. New intel indicates that there is another acting behind the scenes, the true leader of Akatsuki." Tsunade announced, straightening. "Our informant suspects that person to be no other than Uchiha Madara."
The effect of the words was instantaneous, but before anyone could question Tsunade, a shape appeared in the middle of the table, rising steadily like the wood was reverse quicksand.
"Very good, Senju." A deep voice praised, coming out of what Sakura realised with a jolt was a fly trap. "Maybe you'll outlive your Granddaddy after all."
Three things happened in quick succession.
Kankuro's chakra strings lashed out and yanked the creature fully out of the table revealing the Akatsuki cloak, at the same as Shikamaru struck out with his shadow, immobilising the man. With a split-second delay, Chojuro leapt onto the table, his hold on Hiramekarei firm as the chakra construct tore the bandages around the blade to shreds. Then, the teen swung, and the sword cut through the Akatsuki's torso like wet paper, dismembering in one fell sweep.
Then Sakura was brutally reminded why it was called an organisation of monsters.
"Good!" another voice praised, coming from the definitely decapitated shinobi. "My turn!"
And before her eyes, the two halves began to move closer, strands of tissue reaching out to mend the body together.
There were worse things than immortals in that organisation.
At the memory of Orochimaru's warning, Sakura jolted out of her fear and utter revulsion; she flashed through four seals, then slammed her open palm on the table.
"Kuchiyose: Aian Meiden!" she called, hoping against hope the technique would work, then almost staggered at the chakra drain.
Ibiki was built like a tank and could afford flashy summoning techniques in his repertoire – but Sakura's highest-ranked ninjutsu was a B-Rank that almost killed her once, and though most of her genjutsu was A-Ranked, there was a reason genjutsu users weren't as revered as ninjutsu specialists.
Still, she found her sudden nausea more than worth it as an iron cat statue tore through the concrete of the floor and the wood of the table like a gaping maw, sending the Kage scrambling to their feet and out of their seats lest they be swallowed up too. The maneki neko clamped around the Akatsuki like a mockery of the fly trap, and with another surge of chakra that brought with it a wave of vertigo that made Sakura stumble, chains erupted from the concrete, wrapping around the statue and pulling it down, down and away.
Sakura's flash-memory of a chemical-induced heart-attack was pushed to the back of her mind, and her shaking hands pulled out her bottle of soldier pills, popping two in her mouth and swallowing. She used the sudden jolt of pure chakra to activate the Hiraishin seal she'd stuck on the statue and gave in to the blackness that creeped at the edges of her vision.
Jumping from Konoha to Kiri and back again with Shikamaru and Chojuro in tow had drained her, but sending an entire statue with a prisoner inside to T&I over an ocean made her stagger, dizzy and nauseous and disoriented, even with the boost of two chakra pills. When her senses returned to her a few seconds later, she absently realised that the only reason she was still standing was thanks to a thread-thin shadow Shikamaru had pooled at her feet, connecting her to him.
In the silence that fell, her laboured breathing was twice as loud.
"Dare I ask where you sent him?" Tsunade's voice rang out from behind them, and Sakura let Shikamaru take over, peel her hand away from the table and slowly turn her around so she was half-facing Tsunade.
"The deepest cell in T&I." she breathed, her voice wrecked and hoarse. "Only the Head of Interrogation and the Hokage have access."
"Good." Tsunade praised, and there was cruel satisfaction in her voice, despite the fact that Sakura had done more damage with her summoning than the Akatsuki.
"I think," Tsunade assessed, turning to meet the eyes of every Kage in the room, "this proves why cooperation is key. So why don't we let our guards retire and discuss this like adults this time?"
"And," Mei interjected, looking at the cracked ceiling, 100-foot deep hole in the middle of the room, and the splinters that were left of the table, "perhaps request another room from Mifune-dono."
"Yes," Tsunade acknowledged, and the look she shot Sakura was half-reproachful, half-amused, "perhaps."
Sakura had been distantly aware that Shikamaru had managed to lead them out of the ruined meeting room and into one of the common areas in the HQ, but how long it took or what route she was led down, she didn't know.
Eventually, she registered her back sliding against the wall as Shikamaru carefully guided her down it and into a sitting position and sat beside her. Only then did she feel the Shadow Possession recede, and Sakura allowed herself to curl up the way she's been wanting to and ride out the nausea of complete chakra exhaustion.
It wasn't until pastel blue entered her blurred line of sight that Sakura finally looked up from where she belatedly realised she'd slumped against Shikamaru's shoulder, all but passed out, and made herself pay attention.
"Cho?" She murmured, peeling her face out of Shikamaru's shoulder and guiltily wiping at the tiny patch of saliva she'd left.
"You're an idiot, Sakura-chan." Chojuro chastised in lieu of a greeting, settling down on her other side with plates piled high with snacks. "Now, eat." He commanded, exasperatedly shoving one of the plates into her lap. "You too, Nara."
Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "We didn't see you for a month, and suddenly you're bossing us around? Careful, or you'll out-nag my mother."
"Yoshino-san is a lovely lady and doesn't nag you h-half as much as she should." Chojuro replied staunchly, and it took Sakura a few seconds to process the words, but when she did, an unbidden snort slipped out.
"S-Sorry." She managed, breathless and shaky, and stuffed a rice-ball in her mouth to stifle the laughter that threatened to rise up when she saw Shikamaru's disbelieving expression.
"So you've taken it upon yourself to make up the difference?" The Nara asked, half-amused, half-serious, only relaxing when Chojuro laughed.
"No, no, I'd lose my voice if I tried." He joked, and even Sakura had to admit he had a point. "But I spent years thinking Yuki was too forward and rude, but it turns out he figured out early on that the only way Sakura-chan would accept help was if he bullied her into it. So." And he shrugged, ignoring the way Sakura was now gaping at him, half-chewed rice-ball in plain sight.
Shikamaru, however, was shaking with barely-suppressed laughter, and she felt perfectly justified in the elbow she drove into his ribs.
"Hwaf?" She demanded, then closed her mouth long enough to chew and swallow before repeating. "What?"
But Chojuro just smiled disarmingly, one sharp canine snagging on his lower lip. "What?" he asked innocently, looking for all intents and purposes like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth. When all Sakura could do was gape incredulously, he picked up the platter in his lap and offered it to her. "Dango?"
At that point, Shikamaru gave in and dissolved into helpless laughter, and Sakura had no choice but to join him.
Sakura couldn't be sure how much time had passed – they'd all ended up napping at one point, slumped against each other, the empty plates stacked and out of sight – but eventually, the familiar click-clack of heels reached them, and Mei appeared in the room they'd appropriated.
"Don't you three look cosy?" She teased with a grin, but Sakura was far too comfortable to muster the effort to be embarrassed, so she just smiled.
Chojuro was a lot more energetic in his greeting as he jolted, almost as if he was going to get up. "Mei-sama!" he greeted, suddenly bashful, and Sakura wondered whether it was from their 'unprofessional' resting place or the way they were still very obviously tangled up with each other.
"Any news?" Shikamaru asked in lieu of a greeting, and Sakura drove her elbow into his side for the second time that day. "Ack, woman, what-?!" at her glare, he scowled. "Apologies, Mei-sama. Have you any news?"
Mei regarded them like her own personal comedy show, a smile teasing at the corners of her mouth, eyes dancing with mirth.
"There are ideas for an inter-Village alliance now, at least. The Akatsuki's appearance seems to have driven home the fact that the times for ego and go-it-alone are long gone." she reported, her smile turning slightly vindictive.
"As for the jinchuuriki, the Raikage plans to move the Hachibi and Kyuubi containers to Turtle island." Mei continued, frowning in distaste, and the dainty hand gesture she added told Sakura just what she thought of that idea. "He almost didn't let Tsunade-sama send her own guard. As if she would trust him with her Sacrifice considering Kumo's history with Konoha's shinobi."
But Sakura didn't pay attention to that – her mind was stuck on 'Turtle Island'.
Genbu.
"'Turtle Island', Mei-sama?" she asked distractedly, accidentally cutting the brunette off mid-rant.
"Hm?" Mei's eyebrow shot up at the uncharacteristic interruption before she scoffed. "Oh, yes, it's this great big fortress of Kumo's. They're very proud of it. Kind of like our mountains or your Forest of Death, I believe."
Sakura blinked owlishly. "And Tsunade-sama wants to send the Kyuubi container there?"
"A-sama claims it's 'impenetrable'. He's hashing out the details of the arrangement with Tsunade-sama as we speak."
Sakura nodded and fell back into herself, deep in thought.
Don't let them take the Sacrifices to Genbu.
She didn't want to trust the word of a traitor, of a man who'd haunted her nightmares since she was twelve, but the fact remained that the Akatsuki had managed to enter Land of Iron and the Three Wolves stronghold undetected.
"This is how the game is played." she muttered under her breath. "Forward, not back."
She ignored the questioning look Shikamaru sent her at the words, as just then, an idea began crystallising in her mind and she jumped to her feet. She swayed, dizzy still, but waved off Chojuro's concerned noise and Shikamaru's aborted shadow.
"I have to find Tsunade-sama. Excuse me!"
And then she was running.
"Tsunade-sama!" Sakura called, running into the meeting room where, as Mei had said, Tsunade stood with the Raikage, both looking less than pleased at her interruption, though Tsunade also looked mildly amused.
"What is it, Haruno? We're kind of in the middle of something here." The Hokage demanded, and Sakura had to lean against the doorframe to get her vision to stop swimming.
"I know, I'm sorry for the interruption." she apologised hastily, then turned to face the Godaime fully, letting the woman see how serious she was. "But, Tsunade-sama, please do not send Naruto to Genbu."
A jerked, and then the full force of his glare and almost two metres of muscle was upon her. "How did you hear of this? Why do you know its proper name?" he barked, but Sakura did not look away from her Hokage.
Tsunade seemed surprised, then her expression smoothed out. "Your reasoning?"
"Now, wait a minute-!" A snarled, indignant either at being ignored or the fact Tsunade was actually willing to listen, but the blonde held up a hand.
"Haruno's one of my best troubleshooters." she explained, and Sakura barely held back a snort. What a diplomatic way of saying 'she knows things she shouldn't'. "I want to hear what she has to say."
"Genbu is renowned for being an impenetrable fortress." She began carefully, nodding to the Raikage, and the man took the appeasement for what it was. "However, so is Iron. Yet Akatsuki still managed to penetrate it. There is no guarantee they won't find some way to do the same there."
When A looked ready to argue, Sakura continued, slightly louder.
"Furthermore," she said pointedly, cutting the Raikage off before he had the chance to refute, "with all due respect, isn't sending a Kumo and Konoha jinchuuriki to a Kumo fortress rather predictable? The Akatsuki know which bijuu they have left to collect, and they know which Villages they belong to. Surely, the very fact that we're holding this Summit will tell them that the Kage are willing to put aside their differences and work together to defeat them. By that same logic, won't it be plain obvious that the hosts will be on the Island together? It'd be like giving Naruto to the Akatsuki with a bow around his neck. A fortress Genbu may be, but what's a fortress to a man who managed to cheat Death itself?"
"Sometimes, Haruno," Tsunade began, looking, if Sakura was reading her right, a little shaken, "the way your mind works terrifies me." she confessed, then wiped her expression completely. "You do, however, raise a good point."
A didn't seem convinced, but he looked less murderous. "You presume to know how the Akatsuki think?" he scoffed, dismissive, crossing his arms over his massive chest.
His bicep is the size of my head. Sakura thought a tad hysterically, and she wondered whether the ridiculous thought was the product of genuine fear or the chakra exhaustion she was still running the after-effects of.
When she realised the Raikage was still waiting for a reply, she cleared her throat. "I presume," she began slowly, "to look at the evidence and extrapolate a likely scenario from said evidence."
A bared his teeth, but with the ease of long practise ignoring arrogance, Sakura barrelled through. "They haven't let things like borders or guards stop them yet. They know the hosts' weak points, as the Kazekage himself may confirm for you. They knew to mobilise and plan their strike so it hit Konoha less than a fortnight after Orochimaru's attack, crushing already weak morale and capitalising on weakened forces. Tell me, Raikage-sama, having considered that, is it truly so preposterous to presume they will find some way onto your magic fortress?"
A turned to Tsunade, his expression disbelieving. "Are you not going to reprimand her?"
Tsunade sighed. "I've been working on Haruno's utter disregard for status or authority since I got her, but she's incorrigible." Then, as if it was funny, she added, "Mei finds her 'charming'."
"Terumi is also insane." A snapped, and Sakura's heckles rose.
"She is also the holder of two bloodlines in a country that was infamous for culling its kekkei genkai users like cattle less than a decade ago." Sakura snarled, and she ignored Tsunade's amused snort, her focus solely on A's surprised expression at her vehemence.
"I'm sure she'll be pleased you jumped to her defence so readily, Haruno." Tsunade remarked, and Sakura read the stand down hidden between the lines clearly. After a second, she let her muscles relax and inclined her head.
"Now, Haruno. Since it was your idea, have you any suggestions for an alternative safe-place?" she asked archly, and Sakura paused. "Or have you not thought that far ahead?"
A was watching them, his expression thoughtful now, more calculating than before, and Sakura reckoned she should fear it, or be wary at the very least, but all she could focus on was a sentence that kept replaying in her mind like some cursed mantra.
This is how the game is played; forwards, not back.
Then–
"He's a genius. There's no doubt he could do it."
"Tsunade-sama," Sakura began, cutting off the quiet conversation that had started between the Kage, "what's the one place no-one would think you'd send Naruto to?" she asked, a smile beginning to grow on her face at the sheer insanity of the idea.
Tsunade shot her a suspicious look. "What has that genius brain of yours come up with now?" she demanded, distrustful.
Sakura let her smile take over her whole face and delighted in Tsunade's subtle recoil. "Think about it, Tsunade-sama. Who could you send Naruto and Hachibi's jinchuuriki to, who nobody would ever think of? Where would they have security comparable to that of an isolated fortress?"
It took a few seconds, but eventually, Tsunade's eyes widened in disbelief. "You can't be serious."
"Am I wrong?" Sakura asked, wrestling her smile down so she could look as earnest as possible.
"Hokage, I'd like it if you explained what is going on right about now." A said, the quietest Sakura had ever heard the man, but the words were the first that managed to send a shiver down her spine. "Preferably, if you'd begin with why this child is presuming to advise us."
"This child, Raikage, is a jounin of my Village, an Ambassador, and the same child who killed two Akatsuki, Orochimaru's right hand, and brought Uchiha Sasuke back to the Village. Questioning her judgement is questioning mine."
Sakura carefully kept her face blank at the second such sentiment from the blonde. Sakura had never been under the impression that Tsunade was particularly fond of her, particularly after her many shows of insubordination. Still.
"Now, let me update you about the last few developments in Konoha's domestic affairs." And so saying, Tsunade grabbed the Raikage's arm and led him out of the room.
She paused by the door, turning back. "And Haruno? Have those boys of yours find you some food and a bed before you keel over or you'll be at my tender mercies."
Sakura let out a tired laugh, and guiltily let go of the wall she was still using for support. "Of course, Tsunade-sama."
An hour later, she was diligently following her kage's orders, laying on the king sized bed in her and Shikamaru's room, her head pillowed on Chojuro's lap while he read to them as Shikamaru stretched out on the sofa.
"I still can't believe you barged in on the Raikage, Sakura." Shikamaru laughed, half-despairingly. "Have you no self-preservation?"
"We know she doesn't, Shikamaru." Chojuro sighed, pausing in his reading to roll his eyes. "I'm more surprised she walked out of there alive."
"I am here, you know." She grumbled, too sleepy to truly protest.
"Of course. Why do you think we'd be saying it otherwise?" Chojuro teased back, and Sakura cracked an eye open to glare at him.
"I think I preferred you when you were stuttering every other word and had to be bullied into calling me 'Sakura-san'." She griped. "There's only room for one smartass in this relationship, and that spot has belonged to Shikamaru since he was born."
"Hey now." Shikamaru grouched, not even making the effort to raise his head. "I can always be usurped."
They were all silent for a few seconds, then all three burst into laughter. Tomorrow would bring with it more negotiating and more ego-battles and more fighting the kage, but for now, Sakura let the last dregs of chakra exhaustion wash away and enjoyed the moment.