Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters in it.

XVII.

- Battlefield -

Kakashi took off his visor too and heaved a heavy sigh. He was pressing the spot under his lower left side and Sakura touched his hand gently.

"Let me see."

"What a bad time and place to die," he noted, in his usual thoughtful manner. "You know what, I've always thought I'd die on my birthday."

"You're not dying, you're delirious," Sakura glanced up at him. "You better stop talking because you've lost a lot of blood."

"Today's not my birthday, is it?" he narrowed his eye at her, but she had completely shut him out, biting her lip at the sight of his bullet wound.

"I'm think it has ripped the spleen, but I'm not sure if the last rib isn't cracked or broken," she slightly parted where the uniform was torn, furrowing. "I really hope it's not because I can't treat it in these conditions."

"You're so sexy when you talk like that."

Sakura didn't give him any attention, but he sure sounded like he's having fun.

"You better lay down, I can't examine the wound when it's bleeding like that."

"As you wish, doctor," he obeyed and slowly slid down on the ground.

"Can you breathe freely?" Sakura opened up the matter a bit more.

"Yes."

"Good, the lungs are not harmed. But..."

The bullet was still in. Dammit... she couldn't perform that kind of surgery right now. All she could do is pack the wound. Was the rib broken? Sakura lightly pressed the blueish skin over the wound and a spasm ran through him. He groaned from the pain, but the sound was wondrously twisted in laughter. Alright, it was probably broken. Apparently, his brain couldn't comprehend the pain fully and that wasn't so bad.

"I'm going to pack the wound, but we'll have to get back to the base for me to take out the bullet," Sakura explained to him seriously, but he closed his visible eye. "Kakashi," she called demandingly and he opened his eye again. "Not the time to sleep. Not now."

"What should I do then?" Sakura couldn't help but smile while putting on the hemostatic agent she pulled out from her backpack. His tone was I'm-bored-on-a-Saturday-afternoon casual. Way too casual than it should be.

"Back me up, I'm getting in," Temari's voice that broke their conversation.

"Don't go so far ahead, stick with us," Shikamaru snapped, irritated. "What a drag."

"What a bore," she retorted.

"Take Tenten and go check the other rooms," Naruto ordered. "I'll check this one here. Kiba, on my mark."

Sakura furrowed, eyes to and fro. Being able to hear them that way, when they were in the middle of the mission... there was something extremely unnerving about it. Everything was happening as if in front of her eyes but her hands were tied and she could do nothing about it. She hoped they'll be safe. The transmission cut off and the silence renewed. This morning was so strange. Sakura refocused on Kakashi.

"Why is Sasuke not with us?" she asked the first thing that came to her mind, trying to make him talk, instead of letting him fall asleep. The lesser evil. Gauzing the wound was the next thing she had to do. It was going to get a tad more painful so she had to distract him with something anyway.

Kakashi took a deep breath and exhaled. "I had to keep him away from the direct front. He's prone to excessive violence and is not as stable as I want him to be. He... should be here any moment. I ordered him to look out for surprise attacks. Having a watchful eye from above assures me we're not vulnerable."

Sakura met Kakashi's eyes for a moment before pressing the narrow pieces of lint deeper into the wound so that it packs nicely. She lifted her hand quickly as he groaned again, muttering a curse under his breath.

"Warn me when you're doing this the next time, alright?" his breathing was getting more and more shallow with every word.

"Sorry about that. I have to do it because you're going to bleed out. Would you feel better if I tell you in advance?" she proceeded with placing another piece of cloth. "Get ready." The color of his skin almost disappeared when she applied it, though she was as fast and as gentle as she possible.

"Ugh, you're right. It's worse," he took heavy sips of air, attempting to laugh again, but weakness didn't let him. "Can I sleep now?"

"This is the time when medics say Think about a relative! or something like that, you know," Sakura warned. "I have to press again."

"Rude," he said, this time able to give a frail laugh. "What about the ones who haven't got any?"

Sakura looked at him, the lump in her throat already forming and threatening to choke her words. She wouldn't want to lose the sound of confidence in her voice right now. The confident tone calmed the patient down and assured him he's in good hands. His words struck her before she could brace herself for them. "Then, uh, you can think of someone you love," she changed, shrugging inconveniently, "and how you'll meet them soon."

"Hm," he looked up to the sky, thinking. "Not sure I'm ready to meet them yet."

Oh, God.

Tears blurred Sakura's eyes as she stared at him, forgetting about the wound for a second. "Well..." she whispered, taking his cold hand in hers. The pause extended as she thought about what to say. His hints pierced through her heart like daggers, despite the nonchalant way he delivered them. "I am here."

"You shouldn't cry on my birthday."

"It's not your birthday," Sakura's body trembled with quiet laughter, despite the tears that traced down her face. "You said 15th of September, that one time. Today's 12th of November."

"What if I lied to you?"

"Okay," she smiled at him. "I'll press again now." She felt his hand gripping hers as she applied the needed pressure on the wound and kept it applied for a while. "I'm sorry," she breathed out, holding his tired eye. "Will be over soon."

"You're so beautiful," Kakashi remarked, completely out-of-subject.

"Thank you," Sakura nodded, smiling widely. The comical about all this was that she couldn't tell if that was the real him or it was the twisted by the blood loss him.

"Holy Mother of—"

"What happened?" Naruto asked, abruptly. "You guys alright? We just captured him and his men. They didn't really put up a fight, though. Weird."

"What the hell is this?" Tenten hissed. "Naruto, bring Kiba here right now. We've got a time bomb. "

"That bastard..." Shikamaru growled in a low voice. "I knew he'd plant a bomb somewhere. I just knew it."

"We're coming," Naruto reported and loud footsteps followed, cut off once again.

What?

Sakura stared at a point in the air without moving, terror crawling underneath her skin and finding its way to her heart. A time bomb? A real... time bomb?

"Sakura," Kakashi called her and she looked at him, frightened. "They'll make it. Kiba is a sapper, the one thing he loves as much as dogs is defusing bombs. He's doing it for years now."

"Is that supposed to calm me down?" Sakura's voice trembled, almost hysteric. My comrades are there, my... She looked down. My friends.

"How much time do we got?" Kakashi spoke in the transmitter.

"Six minutes... roughly said," Naruto's reply came with a delay. "Kiba's working on it."

"Speak to me. Is it something he can handle? If not, we have to get out of here and secure the area. If the factory blows up—"

"Captain, after some pressure on my side Shimura admitted there are several bombs across the whole village and if they're not defused in time, everyone in the radius of ten miles dies."

"Good news is, they're connected," Kiba reported, quickly. "If I defuse this, I defuse all of them. And the village... will not blow up."

Kakashi closed his visible eye for a moment.

"Kiba, I don't want to pressure you right now, but you've got a few thousand lives in your hands."

"You better treat us to that fine whiskey you keep mentioning, sir. If we go back to the base in one piece tonight, that is."

"I give you my word," Kakashi looked at Sakura. "I'm not sharing that whiskey with any of you."

"You hold on there, Captain. We'll do our part," Naruto beamed, his words bringing light into the dark tunnel.

Sakura shook her head slowly. There was some kind of power in Naruto, one that was able to inspire hope in the darkest of times. She didn't know if he realized this power of his, but his timing sure was perfect. The transmitter went off and Sakura held Kakashi's gaze for a couple of the longest minutes of her life. Although her heart pounded vigorously against her chest, her mind was somewhat calm and quiet. Her thoughts floated without an aim, toward no purpose.

She didn't feel the cold ground underneath, nor the faint, late autumn sun in the morning sky above her. As if nothing mattered within that vacuum-like silence. What did she leave in this world? Nothing in particular. She and her unending war with herself. That's all she remembered when she looked back at her life. Useless hours, lost in thinking, trite quarrels, and cheap thrills that didn't even satisfy her. If she didn't spend so much of her time being at the hospital and trying to help people, she would've considered herself an utter disaster. At least that must've had some worth. So she left something good in her life, after all. It was almost enough to ease her conscience.

"I did lie to you about something else, though," Kakashi opened up another conversation, voice trembling a little, and captured her attention.

"Oh?" she forced a smile, despite her morbid thoughts.

"He didn't reject you. He said you're good enough and I won't make a mistake if I take you on the team."

Sakura's lips parted in silent awe. "Why did you tell me he rejected me, then?"

Kakashi didn't give an answer, contemplating her.

Even if he planned to speak, he missed the chance because the doors of the factory bashed open again and Sakura turned to see her team going out with the hostages. A couple of men with tied hands and gagged mouths were pushed ahead and forced to kneel on the ground. A sigh of relief almost came out as a sob when Sakura saw them coming out of the factory. "You guys were really fast."

"We are kind of in debt to Kiba now," Ino neared her friend at once. "I'd be good if he doesn't use that against us. Didn't think a short-tempered guy like him could acquire such composure when the moment comes," she gave her a pointed look, and then waved at herself as if feeling hot all of a sudden. "Nerves of steel."

"Shouldn't we go give him a kiss or something?" Sakura was on the verge of laughing. Ino had obtained a new crush.

"We'll thank him later. I, personally, am down to give him everything I have to offer. He deserves it," Ino crouched next to her and furrowed at Kakashi. "Is it bad?"

"We'll have to take out a bullet when we get back," Sakura shook her head. "Hope everything goes well."

"We're done here anyway. Shimura's cau—" Ino's words were left hanging in the air as both of them looked back.

The whole team stood still, confused expressions on, and watched as Sasuke approached them at a slow pace, the sniper rifle on his back. It wouldn't have been disturbing if he wasn't smiling, his ink eyes beaming with joy. Unpleasant shivers ran down Sakura's spine as he approached with a predatory gait. Still, he had this indelible proud air around him. It riveted and demanded attention, even though it wasn't always wanted.

"Ah, missed the fun. What a miracle, you survived under Naruto's command. Almost," his tone was heavy with pity and sardonic as he glanced at Kakashi just for a second before heading straight for a man in particular. The only hostage that wasn't down on his knees. Sakura's eyes bounced between the two men. So that was Danzo Shimura. He wasn't as young as she expected him to be. The bad feeling that wrung her heart returned, a couple of times stronger. It was the first time she saw him smile like that.

"Sasuke, we should go back to the base," Naruto stepped in front of the hostages and raised his hand. "We're all tired."

"Move out of my way," Sasuke said, politely. His tone was mild and colorless, and Naruto didn't make a single move, staring at him. "I will shoot you if I have to."

"Let's go back. You don't need to do this."

"You can't stop me," Sasuke took a breath. "I'll just destroy you, like everything else that stands between me and that man."

"Quit avenging people and come back with us," Naruto stepped up to him, trying to contain his own anger, his voice so low that it came out as a murmur. "Past is past, your duty is to the living."

"This is not only for me," Sasuke scoffed at him. "I am taking revenge for all those who have suffered."

"This is insa—"

"His path and mine crossed in ways you wouldn't comprehend," Sasuke cut him off, loud and masterful, the darkness slumbering in his eyes coming to life. "It is divine law that I am here now. I'll deliver the punishment he deserves."

Naruto's eyes burned with helplessness. It was a madness beyond his control, like talking to a brick wall and trying to convince it of something. Sasuke passed by him, brushing against his shoulder negliegiently and started untying Shimura amidst the dead silence of his teammates.

Oh no... Sakura turned to Kakashi whose face was getting paler and paler with every minute. He tried to speak out loud but to no avail. "We need Shimura... alive," he whispered and Sakura looked at him, speechless.

"Shouldn't we," Ino leaned to her friend, "Stop him?"

What use, though? Everyone attending knew that no one could stop Sasuke from what he was doing. Much less, deep in their hearts, everyone agreed Danzo Shimura didn't deserve a drop of mercy. Once untied, Danzo attacked immediately, crushing his fist into Sasuke's face and he stepped back, spitting blood.

"That's right. Fight me," it was his turn to bash him painfully, but he didn't stop with one blow, he delivered three, almost bringing him out of balance. After the second of Danzo, Sasuke struck him with another five. After the painful clobber, Danzo found himself laying on the ground and heavy breathing.

Sasuke stared down at him. "Get up."

"What do you want with me, boy?"

"I said get on your feet, wretch."

Danzo did manage to get up, with difficulty. "This is personal, isn't it?" He wiped his mouth. "Whom did I kill? A mother, a father? Perhaps a brother?"

Sasuke hit him again, this time strong enough to slam him back down on the concrete. "Do you know them by name?" Sasuke kicked him. "The people who died because of you?"

Danzo turned around and squinted at him carefully as if remembering something. "Could it be..." Then a slow laughther shook his body, "that you are related to Itachi Uchiha? You look a lot like him."

Sasuke stopped, his chest heaving up and down. The fury within him was visible, brimming over. He had turned into a destructive force, a lethal weapon. Though he did not reply, he was ready to deliver another blow.

"Oh, I know him. Your brother... is a dissident. He betrayed his platoon, giving me the coordinates of their position."

"Lies," Sasuke growled, twisting Danzo's hand and storming down his foot on it. The loud crack was followed by Danzo's cry of pain, echoing in the silence. "My brother would never do such a thing."

Ino took a moment to look at Sakura who was watching the scene with blurred eyes.

"Itachi Uchiha is a traitor... and a murderer... that's the truth," Danzo barely breathed, sweat moistening his wrinkled forehead. He slowly began to get up again, keeping his eyes on the man in front of him. "He worked for me."

"Lies!" Sasuke yelled, ardently. "Like I'll believe the words of a dirty rag. Death is not a good enough punishment for you."

"What I'm telling you..." Danzo took a step backward, then another, then another, "is the truth, boy. Accept it."

He turned around and used his feet to drag him as far as they could since his right hand was already broken and his eye was swollen from the blows. Sasuke sighed, looking up at the sky for a moment. A wide smile twisted his features.

"Where do you think you're going?" he pulled out his gun and aimed at him, shooting almost right away. The bullet reached its target, in Danzo's knee. He almost tripped but somehow managed to stay on his feet, or rather, on his foot. The other was bleeding heavily. Determined to run away, he limped ahead, slowly but surely. Sakura, though, was hit by a bolt of lightning. Those same words, she's heard them before.

Sasuke walked his way, unhurried and amused, while reloading another magazine into his gun. Once the gun was reloaded, Sasuke aimed again, as he walked, and fired, this time at the other knee. Danzo fell on the ground and for a moment writhed in pain, but he quickly came to his senses and started to crawl, using his only undamaged limb.

"Are you not gonna beg?" Sasuke neared him, stepping on his hand and twisted his heel deep. "No? Good."

He kicked him in the face and Danzo tossed on his back, not saying anything. Perhaps the pain was too overwhelming for him to speak. Perhaps he knew speaking wouldn't change the matters at all. Sasuke's wreaking was a natural disaster. Sasuke tucked his gun back in its place, took Danzo by the collar, and dragged him back intentionally slow, down the street. The sight of Danzo's blood leaving a discernable blood trail nauseated Sakura, but she didn't turn her eyes away. No one did.

This time he was headed for the nearest tree.

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouted at him. "Enough! Stop what you're doing right now! Do you hear me?"

Sasuke ignored his voice completely, lifting up Danzo against the tree only to take out his knife and drive it through Danzo's shoulder, nailing the edge into the wood.

"Sasuke!" Naruto's demanding voice mingled with Danzo's agonized cries as he got closer to them. "I gave you an order. Step away from him!"

"You are just... like him," Danzo yelped, in between the heavy gasps.

"You are wrong," Sasuke spoke to the man he had clutched, twisting his knife slowly. "I'm not like him. He," pulling out the knife sharply and eyes burning with hatred, he aimed for the heart, "would've shown mercy."

"Sasuke! Look out, he's got a—" Naruto didn't finish, pulling Sasuke away from the explosion that muffled everyone's ears, adding a continuous ringing.

A few seconds passed before Sakura understood what happened. She then needed a few years to get over the fact that a man just blew himself to pieces in front of her eyes. With a grenade. The voices of her comrades screaming and shouting didn't reach her completely because her feet dragged her instinctively to where Sasuke and Naruto lied. Or so she thought.

"You idiot!" Naruto yelled, as soon as he heaved up to a sitting position. "He's dead now! Are you happy?"

"Calm down," Shikamaru bossed, intervening in his passionate fit.

"You could've at least listened to Kakashi! For once!"

"Lay your head down, Naruto, you're bleeding."

Ino and Karin went to help, pushing aside the others in order to get to the wounded, but Sakura couldn't move, frozen in her place. Frozen in her mind. Her head was light and empty and she didn't know what to do or what to think.

There she was again. Utterly astounded and a bit heartbroken by her own world. There really wasn't hope, was it? And the worst part was... she was the only one who was still left with an impression on that. Everyone else just moved on as if nothing happened.

So that's what he meant by the war is not going to end soon. He couldn't be more right about that. Now that she saw the battlefield with her own eyes and now that the violence she previously saw through a screen or heard on the radio took on a tangible appearance, she admitted it to herself. He was right, in the end. That world wasn't a world of dreams. It wasn't her world.

A strange, unpleasant feeling rose inside of her as the thoughts ran through her head. The feeling of someone watching you. While the fuss around Naruto and Sasuke lasted, no one paid attention to anything else. Sakura turned around absently, while still dizzy from the shock of the death she witnessed; almost certain that someone was observing everything that happened. Her eyes skimmed over half-seeing, scanning the factory quickly.

Nothing.

But a single movement, behind the shadow of one of the windows at the far end, nailed her eyes. She could've sworn she saw something move, but after staring that way for a couple of minutes without seeing anything, she told herself it's probably the shock.

A/N: Thank you for reading and thank you to all the people that joined in recently! Love you all. See you next time. Bye.