A/N: Brief content warning: Sasuke has flashbacks to what he thought was a corpse. Please proceed with a little caution when you get to his part.


The name Deidara gave to me was Obito. From what Rin has told me, there's no sure way he should be alive. He should have died in the bridge incident with Naruto's parents. But Deidara has insisted that there's nobody else who would dare mention that name, not mentioning know of it given how quickly his death was forgotten. What gain would they have to lie? To break the heart of someone whom the kingdom already thinks is dead?

Please be careful with this information. If it is true, I don't want to crush Rin further. If it's false… I don't want to give her any fragment of hope that they can reunite. I don't know what the hell happened to him after his supposed death, but from what Deidara's told me, no trace of the man who once was Uchiha Obito remains. My heart aches for her if she were to find out.

That just means good news: Uchiha Madara is dead and gone. No amount of necromancy has taken his soul away from the heavens, it seems. More of a chance for us to triumph.

I pray this news finds you well. Please keep me posted as much as you can, and I'll try my hardest to write to you through the tight security.

Your faithful servant, HS


Tsunade let out a deep sigh as she finished reading the letter. Her heart was aching, her head abuzz - and not from the alcohol.

"This is horrible news," she desperately thought, closing her eyes. "I can't let this information reach her ears… I fear this will truly kill her."

Sighing once more, she opened her eyes and turned to the other letter. Her gaze softened when she recognized Hinata's elegant handwriting.


Dear Tsunade-sama,

I bring you greetings from Hokukawa. Our group managed to make it here safely, though we've unfortunately lost a few along the way. All of them were elders, who were already injured and sick before.

Karin has been inconsolable since we left. I think the attack brought back memories of losing her family in some way, because she hasn't said a single word for the whole journey. I fear that she'll never recover.

What's worse, Sato is still in an unstable condition. It was challenging trying to keep him steady while we were traveling, but now that we've settled here I hope his condition will improve, like much of the other survivors have already.

Abe-san and Igurashi have been staying close together, possibly for comfort. I hope that their shared trauma will bring them closer as friends and bring this rift between them to a close.

While I'm still sorrowful that I can't be in Konoha with Hanabi, Neji, and his friends and wife, I'm very thankful for the chance to have a true found family that I can feel safe with. I thank the gods every day for this chance to experience life as a normal girl, however normal I can pretend to be.

I pray you are well. Please tell Sakura and Ino that I miss them dearly, and that I can't wait to be reunited with all of you again soon.

Yours faithfully, Hinata


This brought a smile to her face, and she breathed a chortle. "Good, good… she seems to be adjusting well. I pray that they'll have safe travels."

Tsunade squeezed her eyes shut, her hands clenching the letter tighter. "Kaguya-sama, goddess of the moon and mother of the tides… please watch over your faithful children. Please bring my apprentices safely back to my arms."


With a silent gasp, Sasuke's eyes opened. The painful visions seemed to cling to his eyes, even with the sharpened vision and the dulled colors that characterized his Sharingan.

The voices were still screaming in his mind - friends, loved ones, family - and he couldn't even clench his eyes shut lest he see the fighting again.

"No, please, no," he mumbled desperately as he looked about in the darkness. The sky outside his window was gloomy and pitch black, with clouds hanging ominously. The moonlight was totally obscured, and try as he might, he could see no stars glistening tonight.

Taking a shaky breath, Sasuke ran a hand through his damp hair. It clung to his sweaty brow and stuck stubbornly to his neck.

He needed to calm down.

Tunnel vision darkening along the sides of his vision, he stumbled out of bed and narrowly missed the desk along the wall. He melted against it for several moments, his heartbeat thudding in his ear. Faintly, he could hear Naruto snoring loudly from the next room.

He stared longingly at the door separating their rooms. He could always just…

No. Sasuke dismissed the thought from his mind with a violent shake of his head. Naruto had been stressed lately, as he had; the last thing he wanted was to burden his best friend with even more of his problems.

Something to calm down…

Tea.

Sasuke's mind filled with the thoughts of a warm, steaming cup of chamomile. That would be more than enough to soothe his frayed nerves and get him back to sleep.

He headed for the door on unsteady legs, his mind numb and his eyes unfocused. He didn't feel anything as he opened his bedroom door and stumbled out into the hallway.

Screams echoing in his mind yet again, the vision of soft pink floating gently down the river…

"No, stop, please," he begged brokenly, clenching his eyes shut for a second.

When he reopened them, he was in the doorway to the kitchen. The foreboding darkness unsettled something inside him, yet after a moment's hesitation he took a trembling step inside.

His body seemed to move on autopilot; he walked to the cabinet where he knew his mother kept the tea, and quietly moved about the open space as he got down a mug and the kettle.

He turned on the flame and stared at it as it sat on the stove, waiting for the water to boil.

"I care for you so much I can't stand it..."

He squeezed his eyes shut again. They felt strangely moist.

Then, a quiet voice came from the doorway, so soft he briefly thought he imagined it. "Sasuke?"

He shook his head. "No… I'm not falling for that. Not again."

After a moment of silence, she tried again, this time sounding a little closer. "Sasuke?"

"It's not her… it's not her…"

"Are you alright?" A faint touch on his shoulder startled him out of it, and when his head snapped up to look at his visitor, his heartbeat pounded in his ears.

Through the darkness, his Sharingan still blazing with life, all he could see was the familiar chakra signature pulsing with life, with her nature - and he took a step back with a sharp intake of breath.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, it's me!" Shien raised her hands in defense, her eyes full of concern. "Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

All he could see was her.

Neck still purpling with bruises, still at an awkward angle, her hair long and dripping with river water...

Sasuke violently shook his head again, scrubbing at his eyes with the palms of his hands.

"Not real," he murmured shakily. "You aren't real."

"I am," she softly replied. "Sasuke, it's me."

"You aren't real!" His voice raised, and when he uncovered his eyes, the tomoe in them swirled with his frustration.

Shien's concerned expression fell even more, her eyes tired and sad.

"Sasuke," her voice was quiet, resigned. "It's me. Shien."

She held out her hand, palm facing him, fingers splayed open.

He watched her suspiciously for a moment, before hesitantly, reaching to touch her.

The second his fingers touched her own, his palm cupping hers, his tense shoulders relaxed minutely. He blinked, and his sight returned to normal.

She still watched him, though this time looked to be of some relief. "Are you okay?" She repeated.

This time, he nodded quietly. "Yeah. I think I will be."

He turned to stare at the kettle again, the steam wafting from the spout.

Neither of them spoke for several moments.

He could hear Shien moving around the kitchen before going to the fridge. The room was momentarily illuminated with its light before she pulled out a bottle of water and walked silently over to stand next to him once more.

He heard her sigh before she asked, "What's on your mind?"

His thoughts were still a jumbled mess of inner dialogue and fractured memories. His eyes narrowed at the kettle before he glanced over at her painfully.

Their eyes met, and Shien's lips parted in realization.

"Was it…" she trailed off for a second, gesturing with her hands. "... bad?"

Sasuke silently nodded.

"Sakura! Sakura, where are you?!"

"It was…" He hesitated.

"C'mon out! It's me!"

Bowing his head, he finished, "... a memory."

The rosette seemed to understand, but still she stood there, her hand coming down to gently rest on his shoulder.

"Do you… want to talk about it?" She asked. Her voice was almost so quiet he couldn't hear.

"Sakura!"

Sasuke squeezed his eyes shut. His heartbeat painfully echoed in his ears.

His breathing quickened. His fists clenched and relaxed.

"If it's too painful for you…-"

"It was the day I was kidnapped."

Shien startled at his abrupt interruption, her eyes widening.

"That day… I went to Morino with my father and with Naruto," he continued, his voice as even as he could muster, though it still trembled. "We were supposed to compromise a deal with the village leader, one that would increase trade."

"S- Sasuke," she quietly breathed.

"On that day…" He trailed off, his eyes burning. Swallowing, he tried again. "On that day…"

"No. No. No. No. No."

"I lost one of my closest friends."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

"I nearly lost my life that day. I should feel lucky." He snorted humorlessly. "Why should I feel lucky when she's dead and I'm alive?"

Shien's eyes were soft with sympathy as she squeezed his shoulder.

"I… I dreamt of her," he confessed. "When I was captured by Mimei, while I slept, I dreamed. I heard her voice, I could feel her presence around me. It was like… like she was there... watching over me."

"Sasuke, please stay on the side of good," her weeping voice surfaced once more. "I know you have a kind heart. Please don't give in to the darkness inside you."

"I still don't know if I was just dreaming, or if her spirit really was with me," Sasuke continued quietly. "But it was a great comfort to hear her voice. It made it easier to pretend she was still alive."

"Sasuke…" Shien said quietly.

"I miss her so much." His voice shook with emotion, and his hands balled into fists again. "I would willingly be captured a thousand times over if it meant I could have saved her."

"I'm so sorry I can't stay with you. Please don't hate me... I'm sorry…"

Neither spoke for a minute.

Finally, Shien heaved a sigh. "Sasuke, I'm sorry for your loss."

He slowly turned his head to look her way.

"I may not have known her as you did, but I know that she wouldn't want you to continue to agonize over her like this." She attempted to gently cross the topic, and when his eyes didn't narrow at her, her shoulders relaxed minutely. "Once and for all, you need to speak with her. Not face to face, but rather…"

She gestured with her head, bobbing it towards the door.

Sasuke seemed to understand. He bowed his head. "... I see."

"I know I won't be able to fill her space in your heart, but… I'm willing to do what I can." Her soft gaze searched his.

At that moment, the kettle began to whistle.

"Thank you… Shien…" For the first time since he'd awoken, he could feel his guilt beginning to release its tight grip on his soul.