i changed it lmao - sorry not sorry.

thank you for reading, make sure to keep dreaming


.

.

.

.

Sakura Haruno remembered key moments in her life. A time where she was admiring the flowers in her mother's garden. The time where her dad lifted her high in the air that she felt butterflies in her stomach. The time where she fell hard and scraped her knee. Moments of time caught in singular snapshots. She was good at remembering things, given the talent of being a smart child - she was perfectly studious in everything she took a hold of.

Yet, when she saw spikey grey hair that defied gravity with a headband that screamed right at her face. She knew she saw it from somewhere. She remembered feeling… nostalgic. She remembered feeling sad.

Wait. What am I doing?

She could feel something struggle, wriggle and move in her hands. Both of them. Her grip on it was tight and she knew she wasn't going to let go any time soon.

"...go….me…."

"...said…me….I….."

Everything came crashing down on her as her mind registered of what she was doing. She was strangling something. She was strangling someone - I can't breathe. BREATHE. BREATHE!

She let go like it burnt her. And from there, she fell to the ground in a fit of coughs. Blood dripped out of her mouth and onto the ground. She tried to breathe, as much as she could because it felt like she was holding her breath for over a lifetime. Where was she? What is she doing here? Why couldn't she remember?

Sakura lifted her head with blurry vision to try to see who was in front of her and what started to crush every existence of understanding. There, in front of her were two dead people. Two people who she saw die in front of her that tormented her every night. But there they were. Breathing, moving and staring at her as if she was the dead person. A monster.

Tears pricked in her eyes, she bit her lip in frustration and grabbed ahold of her chest as she started to hyperventilate.

Repeatedly, again and again. She apologised and apologised.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry-"

She looked at her sensei and his best friend.

"I'm sorry."

Sakura felt a sharp pain in her neck and it went dark.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"You're telling me, this girl single-handedly killed foreign shinobi that were about to kidnap our civilians?"

Ibiki Morino, watches the girl through a closed mirror as she is hooked into wires on the hospital bed. The sight wreaked so much depression and death that Ibiki turned his head. For god sake, the girl didn't even look like she was a day over ten. Her body was thoroughly cleaned by the nurses and he could see the bones poking out of her skin and the purple veins wrapped around her arms. It was horrible.

"I caught up with the two women who were about to be taken and they told me that this girl was already with them. They said they found her along their way back to the village - that was when the fuckers came in." He watched her stomach move up and down. "She was probably used as bait."

Minato sighed. His team didn't need to see or know any of this.

"Those Iwa shits were using petty moves to shove something like this up our arse. But it doesn't excuse that this person might be with them." He tsked.

"...Iwa fuckers are loyal pieces of shits until death."

Ibiki shuffled around the room, taking a hold of the doctor's notes and papers of the patient.

"Patient was taken in with an abnormal amount of injuries. Listing of bruises, rashes."

Ibiki sighed and moved next to Minato who was staring at the little girl and nudged him with the clipboard.

"It doesn't stop there."

Minato reluctantly took it and furrowed his eyebrows

Patient had scars that looked like they were impaled in the chest and abdomen. No signs of organs were affected or taken.

Minato, with unwanted thoughts, asked. "When are you going to start the questions?"

"When she wakes up."

The two stood in silence, leaving only the heartbeat monitor surrounding the room.

.

.

.

.

.

.

It's been ten days since the last mission and the team were over the place. Obito and Kakashi had fully recovered but were under strict conditions of not overdoing it in their training because their necks were fragile. Obito touched the fabric on his neck. It was starting to itch. Usually, since they were all at the training grounds with their sensei. Obito was usually already ranting a storm to Kakashi but nothing was said. Or nothing could be said.

Rin felt awkward.

After hearing the news of how her teammates were nearing the verge of death was not expected. And by someone who was of no rank or so must have been a turning point for them too. She grasped her arm in hopes of comfort. It was too weird not hearing them bickering.

"Well, I'm here today to update on the mission. Juuko-san was very generous to still pay even though we did not end the mission as I would have thought. On the other hand…." Minato glanced at the two boys.

"...that person you guys fought."

"Even though she was injured, she's still an unknown figure in the village. She's going to be with the authorities until further notice."

"Sensei. I have a question."

"Yes, Obito."

"...what. What really happened back there, sensei?"

Minato grimaced. He didn't want to remember what he had just seen and didn't want to relay it to his team who had a spot in his heart. But he knew, looking at Obito in a new light. The way the boy let his emotions run freely. He had no reasons not to. They were trained to be shinobi, shinobi that were having to learn things from the real world in many ways.

Folding his arms, "Do you guys remember those incidents where women and children were reported missing?"

They all nodded. He continued. "Do you know what Human-trafficking means?"

Rin gasped, Kakashi tensed and Obito was lost in the loop.

"It's exploiting the rights of a person. Basically kidnapping and using them for themselves." Minato sighed and put his hands through his hair, already tired despite it being a new day.

"There were people disguising themselves as Konoha shinobi and crossing the border. Those two women you saw," All three felt shivers go down their spine. Rin covered herself a bit more. "-were about to be victims."

Rin shifted the weight between her legs. "Minato-sensei…so you're saying. That the girl we thought was the enemy was actually the victim?"

"No." Minato said. "We're not confirming anything, we still have a procedure."

Obito who stood silent. Felt something tug at him, he touched the fabric on his neck and felt a shiver once again. There was something that wasn't right really. Something he wanted to ask but he didn't know if he was coming across plain right stupid. But he knew, with the way that Kakashi looked at him as well. He wasn't the only one thinking that way.

"Minato-sensei. I think there is something we didn't tell you."

.

.

.

.

.

.

Sakura Haruno had died

Has died.

Is dead.

Yet, with one blink. She knew that she was alive. Her heartbeat thumped in her ears, in her left arm. Right down to her index finger. She can feel it. She can also feel the excruciating pain in her lower abdomen, she weakly lifted her hand sliding towards her chest and felt the hollow hole.

Yet, with one single thing in her mind. A feeling. An emotion. She, was angry.

She didn't know how and why she was angry. Why did she kill those men?

Sakura, confused and not in her right mind, was sure of one thing. That those men were not men. They were nothing. She looked at her hand, full of filth and blood. But, why was it so easy?

Yeah. She was a shinobi. She was meant to kill and she was meant to protect them but nothing was making sense.

She was on the battlefield. She stopped Naruto and Sasuke. They stopped Kaguya. And she died. She remembered the feeling of coldness devouring every sense and the last breath leaving her lips. Everything was happening too fast and she was getting a headache.

She caught the Kunai with her bare hand. I can't feel it, Why won't I feel the pain?

Why couldn't the sword go through her body? She pulled it out and threw it away. Again, she had to make sure.

"W-what the fuck are you?"

She grabbed his head and with a simple squeeze, his head was crushed between her fingers.

Why is it so simple to end another life but her own?

.

.

.

.

.

.

Flashing lights. White. Warm.

Those were the first thoughts Sakura had when she woke up. Her vision was just as blurry, she scrunched her eyes to try to get a better view. But her throat felt so dry, licking her lips. She hoarsely mumbled out water. And magically by her small command, she felt a tube nudge her lips and quickly drank. That caused her to cough when it clogged her throat. But when she was to use her hands, she couldn't.

It was because her arms and legs were strapped into the bed. Trying to muster her chakra into her hands, nothing happened. Their fucking restrainting me. The fuck?

She looked around the room instantly. She knew she was back in Konoha. But something wasn't right. Obviously with the stupid seals and straps but.

She couldn't put her finger on it.

Like the walls. They were now a musty cream coloured when she knew that she recommended a wooden colour to the architect. The draws in the right hand corner that used to be narrow and wide were now large and inconvenient to the space around it. Even the machine that was used for the heart monitor. It looked like the old machines they threw out years ago but here it was, looking freshly made and brand new. Something isn't-

Sakura, weakly shuffling in her bed. Watched the doorknob turn. In came a man in black attire, a clipboard and looked way too young. Too young that made Sakura curl her feet.

"I heard you woke up awhile ago…"

"..."

The man comfortably brought a chair in front of her bed and sat down. He fumbled in his pocket and got a pen, clicking it. He continued. "My name is Ibiki Morino. Welcome to Konoha."