Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Naruto worried his bottom lip, gazing across the room at one of his oldest friends. She sat in an armchair in the corner of the office, nursing a cup of tea as she listened to Itachi recount the chase. They had only arrived minutes ago, settling in before beginning what would be a long conversation. Although finding Itachi with Sakura had been the biggest shock in the last two years, Naruto had been more disappointed than anything.

Where was Sasuke? It was unbelievable that Itachi would leave behind his brother and escape. However, what else could've happened if he was hear by Sasuke was not?

Furthermore, Sakura had yet to speak, but her expression was almost, if not equally, guilt-ridden comparative to when Sasuke first disappeared. What had she seen?

Ugh. Why us? Naruto internalized a sigh, and crossed the room to get closer to Sakura. "Scoot over," he smiled at her, partly relieved and partly concerned when she wordlessly made room for him in the armchair. They were pressed thigh to thigh as Naruto wrapped an arm around her shoulders, squeezing her closer. "Hey, we're here," he whispered softly, gently patting the side of her head, "Don't close up on me, Sakura-chan."

She glanced up at him, expression shifting until her eyes filled with recognition and fondness. Punching him lightly in the chest, she mumbled, "I know, dummy. I'm here."

"All of us are in danger."

That caught their attention. Looking up at Itachi, the older man was sitting on the couch across from them, red eyes less intimidating under the warm lights of the office. Kakashi stopped fiddling with his book, noting the change in Itachi's voice.

"What happened tonight was merely a welcoming party," he spoke slowly and tonelessly as if he were the furthest removed from the situation. Meeting Sakura's eyes, he continued, "I am unsure why, but they desire to bring you in alive, Sakura. That is as much as I ascertained over the last few months since my escape. There are kill orders for Naruto and Kakashi," his gaze shifted to them, and then finally fell to the floor, "And I am also to be brought back alive."

"Why are they only moving now?" Naruto demanded. "You show up out of the blue and start calling the shots, but we have no idea what's been going on."

Itachi's shoulders seemed to tighten. The movement was too subtle though. In an instance, he was back to cool professionalism despite resembling a starving prisoner. "We have very little time to work out a plan of action, therefore I had hoped perhaps we could not delve into too much detail about the past two years. I will provide what is necessary to know, but other than that, I cannot spare any extra time."

Kakashi held up a hand when Naruto looked ready to protest. "He's right, Naruto. Just because we're in a protected facility, that doesn't mean we're home free. If you had forgotten, Orochimaru is still considered a world-renowned medical researcher, therefore he has as much public access and movement as Itachi. It wouldn't be hard to set up a face to face meeting, or for his team to slip into highly classified facilities—including the police department." Pausing, he saw Naruto's stubborn expression and sighed. "I'm not trying to defend Orochimaru. I'm merely stating the facts. He has leverage. If you had forgotten, he was able to slip his agents into paramedic uniforms and blend them seamlessly into the fabric of the rescue force two years ago. There's no telling who works for who and what their purpose is."

Itachi nodded. "Therefore, at best, we have a few days until we must vacate this area and devise a plan to destroy Orochimaru." He pressed his fingers together in though, gaze dropping to the ground once more. "Two years ago, I awoke in a surgical recovery room. Sasuke was beside me. His eyes were bandaged, but I could see perfectly for the first time in nearly a decade." Itachi pursed his lips. "I was informed that Orochimaru's team had successfully transplanted my eyes into Sasuke and vice versa. While developing the procedure, they had kept both of us in a comatose state for nearly six months."

The tea cup slipped from Sakura's fingers, but Naruto fumbled to catch it, managing to save it. Tears were falling down her cheeks. "Sakura-chan?" Naruto whispered hesitantly, placing the tea cup on the floor.

"It…it worked?" she gazed at Itachi, suddenly searching his eyes with her own.

He smiled for the first time in a long time. "Indeed. I must express my gratitude to you and your research for giving me back my sight."

Sakura shook her head, smiling but still unable to stop the flow of tears. "Sorry…sorry they did such a risky procedure. There was no telling what could've happened. If it had hurt you in anyway…" she choked back a soft sob.

"No need to apologize, Sakura," Itachi murmured, "You found a cure. Sasuke would be thanking you as well."

That brought her back to attention. Scrubbing her face, she leaned forward, gaze hardening noticeably. "Please go on. I'll try to refrain from anymore outbursts," she offered a small, sheepish smile.

Naruto leaned forward as well, placing a comforting hand on her back. "Aw, Sakura-chan, you don't have to hold back. We know how much of a crybaby you are—" He yelped at the sharp elbow jabbing him in the gut, and quieted down.

"The surgery provided sight, but it also triggered a stronger…chakra network," Itachi seemed to struggle with the words, appearing unsure of how they sounded. "I mentioned to you before how I felt as if I could at times pull apart the threads of a person's mind." Sakura nodded. He went on. "It took nothing more than meeting one of the medical assistants gazes before I felt her mind collapse under my order. I internally sought for her to disappear, and in an instant, she dropped to the floor." Itachi paused again, clasping his hands tighter together. "I had not intended to kill her. It was an accident that I continue to regret."

"Nonetheless," he shook off the moment, expression growing dark. "I was under maximum security confinement after that, and was not present when Sasuke awoke. They would allow me out only to help…train Sasuke's eyes." Itachi loosened his clasped hands, stretching his fingers as if to calm himself. "Again, I was unaware of the exact proceedings, but to call it training is a deep understatement. It was torture and nothing less. …I am unsure how many months passed, but it was close to a year when they called me out for the last time. I was never allowed to look at Sasuke or anyone else for that matter, but I heard his voice and he no longer sounded like my brother."

"What…?" Naruto licked his lips, unsure if he really wanted to know what that meant.

Itachi shook his head. "It is hard to explain, but the way he spoke lacked the essence of him. I could not recognize him at first. What occurred during his time with Orochimaru is beyond my understanding. All that I can say is that they no longer called me out and I remained in confinement for another handful of months before making my escape." He took a sip of the glass of water on the coffee table. "If Sasuke had succumbed to the torture, then it would be useless to try and drag him with me out of that base. I needed to escape and find reinforcements."

Sakura wasn't sure if she was relieved or not. There was a reason for Itachi leaving Sasuke behind, but the reason was unacceptable. Had he really been broken? Orochimaru broke Sasuke? How? For what purpose was he "training" him? "How long were you travelling before you arrived here?" she asked.

"Roughly three months. We were in Eastern Europe. Finding a way back to Japan took some time," Itachi explained, finishing his water and looking around at them. "Those are the basic details of the past two years. For now, we must move forward."

"What do you propose, Director?" Kakashi smiled behind his mask.

Itachi's lips quirked up slightly at the title, before falling back into a stern line. "It would be best to hide in plain sight. We are outnumbered and holing away in an isolated area is inviting disaster. If they plan on both murder and abduction, the worst thing we could do is pack up and travel between desolate locations."

"Hiding in plain sight though?" Sakura cocked her head, mulling over the suggestion. Suddenly, it clicked. "Do you mean publicizing ourselves?"

He nodded, a glimmer of pleasure lighting the red pools. "Yes. I will announce my return tomorrow morning at the earliest possible hour. From there, we must continue to place ourselves in the public's eye. Approaching us at any time will become an inconvenience and assassination attempts will be fewer and farther between as they account for increasingly difficult security circumstances. A private citizen is a much easier target wherein planning hits become near child's play. Planning the assassination of a public figure takes careful consideration."

"That's all well and good, Itachi," Naruto began, "but how exactly are we supposed to do that? We're all pretty well known in our fields, but it's not like we're celebrities or anything."

"There is no need to prolong our public images," he explained carefully, "what we need are enough public appearances to keep Orochimaru at bay, while simultaneously setting up opportunities for them to come to us." Itachi met Naruto's eyes briefly. "They will come in staggered groups for us, so as not to exhaust all of their forces on a single attempt. Tonight was a good example of that. Expect approximately five to seven operatives coming after us at a time."

"Don't you think using ourselves as bait in an isolated area might be better? It would shorten this operation significantly," Kakashi remarked.

Itachi shook his head. "Although we may eliminate more agents that way, what we must aim for is exposing Orochimaru. If we merely eliminated him, the public would be outraged and confused by his disappearance. His public image must be destroyed before he is. Furthermore, this bottlenecking of opportunities for them to strike places the power in our hands. We will have leverage in each encounter. I refuse to face another situation such as the one this evening." He heaved a deep sigh, looking suddenly much older. "It would be best to get some rest while we can. They are unlikely to strike again tonight when they are ill-prepared and poorly equipped to infiltrate this building. Therefore, we would do well to sleep now and continue planning tomorrow."

Silent agreement echoed around the room. "I'll grab the spare futons from the utility closet," Kakashi offered, standing up and nodding at Naruto, "come help me."

Half-heartedly complaining, Naruto followed his former mentor. It was clear on his face that the entire evening had been more than an ordeal. Suddenly they had shifted into fourth gear after running on the lowest gear for the past two years. No information and in the blink of an eye, they were taking orders from Itachi once again, and discovering that Sasuke had become some sort of slave to Orochimaru.

Naruto shivered at the thought. His best friend—brother—had been suffering this entire time while he failed to find even one clue. What sort of law enforcer, no, human being, was he? How could he have just left Sasuke to fend for himself in the worst of situations? They were supposed to be a team and he had let him down. That stupidly smug smirk of his and those confident last words had at times given Naruto confidence that Sasuke could handle anything. But now, he could hardly believe that he drew comfort from what must've been the scariest decision Sasuke ever made. And Naruto had laid there and watched him go.

He let it happen.

X

Sakura shouldn't have been surprised by the bathroom's amenities in Itachi's private office. Considering how much time he must have spent at the department as director would definitely account for the all-inclusive quarters. The shower was small but clean and functional as she turned the nozzle and stepped under the spray. The others had set about prepping the bedding materials as Naruto chattered on about how much he loved sleepovers. She had chosen to excuse herself for a quick cleanse in hopes that she could have some privacy to mull over all the new information.

It had been near radio silence since he disappeared and since then, she had hardly been able to pay attention to things beyond her work. Social relations were constrained to Naruto, Kakashi, and Lee—her designated self-defense instructor. He was supposedly the best hand-to-hand combatant in the police force, and Naruto refused to have anyone else train her. She enjoyed his company anyway, so it was hardly trouble to spend time with Lee. However, now that Itachi had emerged from the depths of what sounded like literal hell, abruptly the world had shifted back into focus.

Sasuke-kun.

Sakura frowned, blinking back anymore tears before they could come. It was unsightly to be losing her composure when everyone else was holding it together. They had all lost as much as her. Itachi had surely been the most effected, yet he was leading the team as if it were nothing. What kind of resolve did he have? How did he overcome the feelings of guilt and regret and failure?

She and Naruto had had more than one drunken conversation about how responsible they had felt for Sasuke disappearing. For Sakura, she had confessed how she wondered if her research had actually harmed everyone more than helped anyone. In the end, if she had never looked into their degenerating eyes, then Orochimaru never would've conceived of bringing his mad ramblings into reality. She had been the catalyst. Everything began with her.

Whether or not Naruto agreed never mattered. He would defend her honor even if she was standing amidst a massacre and wielding the only weapon in sight. His blinders were so high when it came to friends…family. She understood that much about him, and so nothing constructive ever came out of their guilty confessions. However, it was a comfort in itself to voice those pains. The hurt never went away, but it eased.

But now how would they proceed? Sakura agreed with Itachi's plan—found it brilliant in their precarious situation. At the same time, she wondered if it would work as flawlessly as he made it seem. They might be able to counter Orochimaru and even expose his wrongdoings, but if Sasuke was in league with them, how were they to combat that issue? Should Sasuke commit heinous crimes, would he be subject to a criminal trial despite being a victim of torture? And who would determine his sentence? Would Itachi have to bear the burden of sending his only family member to prison?

Sakura swallowed around a lump in her throat, unable to comprehend the increasingly terrifying future. Would saving Sasuke really be saving him at all? Was he already so far gone that it would be useless to give him a satisfying future? Had she really been the cause of this chain reaction?

Gripping the wall, Sakura lunged out of the shower, scrambling to the toilet. Stomach acid burned its way up her esophagus and into the toilet, leaving behind a sour taste. Coughing, she wiped her mouth, shivering in the chilly bathroom. "Fuck," she croaked, breathing hard as she flushed the toilet. Thankfully, the running water had masked the sounds. Laughing humorlessly, she thumped her head back against the wall as she attempted to calm down enough to get changed and return to the main room.

Tomorrow…Itachi said we'll discuss details tomorrow. I just have to last until then.