Thank you so much for continuing on this journey with me and with Sakura. It means a lot! I love all your reviews and support so much it's basically the thing that makes my day. When I read over your comments I get ideas, inspiration, creative juices flowing - so please keep reviewing! It's honestly the biggest thing you can do for me so I can write the best story I can.

This story is about Sakura and her recovery, which has a lot to do with Madara and also a lot to do with the village.

Of course, Itachi isn't completely gone - she's grieving, so he'll still be here, it'll just be sad :(

Also. Sakura and the village. There's going to be some pretty fun stuff with the other clans and etc in the future. Also some drama. Cos, ya know, it happens.

BROTP with Sakura x Tobirama is my all time favourite new thing to write!

Chapter Two: Unbalanced

Hashirama was relieved when he finally made it home and could slip into his bed beside his beautiful, tired wife. It was long past the time he should have been home, but he'd spent the afternoon discussing Sakura with Madara, then moving onto matters of the village, and then reading over missives from the Daimyo. He was exhausted.

Mito turned over and smiled at him.

"You're home late," she said, stifling a yawn. "You missed dinner."

"Sorry, my love," Hashirama apologised. "It was a long day," he murmured, drawing her close to him.

Mito laid her head on his chest and Hashirama held her to him.

"How was Tsumo today?"

"Good," Mito sighed happily. "He's growing more all the time. He's a strong little boy."

Hashirama smiled happily. Tsumo was their son, born six weeks earlier. Hashirama had been teased at the speed in which Mito had fallen pregnant, less than two months into their marriage apparently, but he didn't care. He was ecstatic to be a father.

"Of course he is," Hashirama said proudly. "He's half-Uzumaki."

Mito breathed out a soft laugh.

"I heard Sakura woke up," she murmured tiredly. "Is she all right?"

Hashirama's mood fell slightly and he gave a soft sigh.

"I don't know," he replied. "I don't think so."

Madara had returned to the office without Matsuri and Kagami an hour after he'd left, stating that Sakura appeared to be trying to put on a brave front but was clearly suffering a great deal. It was to be excepted. She'd barely been awake for a day, it was hardly time to even begin to grieve and readjust to the life she was now expected to live in. Hashirama didn't want to push her, but sometime soon he had important things he needed to talk to her about, and he needed Sakura to have some semblance of mental stability. He wondered how he could help her.

"I'm so disappointed in myself. I should've done better with the seals, Tobi came by to tell me about them," Mito muttered unhappily.

Hashirama kissed her forehead and she snuggled closer to him, yawning into his chest. He stroked her long red hair down her shoulders and back.

"I'll wait a while until I visit her, I think."

"Why? You'd be great friends."

Mito gave a little chuckle.

"I'm sure, but there's a lot of things she'll need to process in the next few days and weeks. Meeting new people will just overwhelm her. Plus, I don't think she really wanted to meet me before," Mito said with a frown. "At the festival, she looked like she just wanted to get away from me."

Hashirama felt a twang of guilt in his chest.

"That's not true," he said. "Her situation is just complicated. She might tell you about it one day, and then you'll understand."

Mito huffed.

"You could tell me about it."

"Only if I get her permission," he said quietly, closing his eyes. "You have no idea how hard she punches."

Tobirama watched from a distance as Sakura struggled to work through the basic stances of taijustu. Even from this distance, he could see that she was breathing hard and forcing herself to keep moving, even though she was clearly exhausted.

He recognised something of himself in her. It had only been a few days since she'd woken, yet she was already moving, despite the heavy grief, she must have been feeling. She needed it, he understood, she needed to keep her mind focused on someone other than her grief and pain or it would consume her. But pretending only worked for so long, and eventually, she was going to crack.

He crossed his arms over his chest in thought, considering if what Hashirama wanted from her would actually help in the long-run. Giving her something to focus on would probably make it easier on her for a while at least. Something she was good at, that she could feel control over, it might be the best thing for her.

Tobirama spotted Madoka also watching Sakura from afar. The doctor turned slightly and saw Tobirama standing there. He approached. Tobirama had known Madoka for years, but they'd never been close.

"Lord Tobirama," Madoka greeted him.

"How is she?" Tobirama asked him.

Madoka looked back at Sakura, who was standing and panting heavily now.

"She's eating more, but she pushes herself too hard."

"She won't be held back," Tobirama said. "She'll keep pushing until she feels like herself again."

"I know," Madoka said with a sigh. "Dealing with shinobi like you, like her, is difficult."

Tobirama might have been offended if it wasn't for the hint of amusement in the man's face.

"But her medical knowledge is far greater than I realised. Even from the small discussions we've had about her treatment, she's more knowledgable than anyone else I've ever met."

He sounded almost jealous, but there was appreciation in his voice. Tobirama remembered from previous encounters with him that Madoka was a man passionate about medicine and eager to learn, but he wasn't arrogant or vain. Sakura wouldn't deal well with that kind of person in charge of her recovery.

"She's been treating herself," Madoka continued.

"That's hardly surprising," Tobirama said.

"No, what is surprising, however, is that instead of asking for help like she knew she should have, she broke her own arm in order for it to reset correctly."

Tobirama stilled.

"She did what?"

"Two days ago, when she returned to her room after her exercises, Hikari walked in on her doing it."

Madoka shook his head.

"Has she done anything else like that?" Tobirama asked with some concern.

"Not that I've seen," he replied. "But we're keeping a closer eye on her. She doesn't appreciate it."

Tobirama could almost laugh at that but didn't. The thought of her breaking her own arm, of harming herself like that, even if it was for medical purposes didn't sit well with him.

Sakura sat heavily back on the wheelchair that Hikari had wheeled up behind her and took the small towel that the girl offered.

"When do you think she'll be ready to come to the Hokage's office?" Tobirama asked Madoka.

Madoka raised his eyebrow.

"She'll need at least ten days before she's even at the minimum bar of acceptability to leave the hospital. Until she can walk all the way to the office without aide, don't even think about giving her some sort of extra work to do."

Tobirama was surprised at the firm tone of the doctor's voice but accepted what he said. Hashirama would have to wait.

Hikari rolled Sakura up to them.

"Hey, Tobi," Sakura greeting him, a little breathlessly.

Tobirama glanced over her face. Madoka was right, he could tell she'd been eating a little more. Her cheeks were less sunken. But under her eyes was deep, dark bruising. She hadn't been sleeping.

"Glad to see you on your feet," Tobirama said to her.

She made a face.

"Yeah. Almost ready for a rematch," she said jokingly, but her voice was hollow.

Tobirama quirked his lips.

"Maybe when you're not a twig," he said. "I wanted to ask about the seals."

Sakura sighed tiredly.

"Yeah. Sure. Me too. Can you come back later, I need to clean up first."

He nodded in agreement and Hikari wheeled her off, blushing as the young girl glanced at him before they moved away from Tobirama. Tobirama and Madoka stood together for another moment before Madoka excused himself and returned to work.

On his way back to his brother's office, Tobirama made a decision. In ten days, when she was stronger physically and, hopefully, mentally, he would bring the proposal to her. After all, if Konoha was going to be strong enough to protect its citizens and the Land of Fire, it would need a damn good medic-nin program to support it.

Sakura couldn't wait for the day that Madoka stopped having the nurses spy on her all day long. Hikari was practically her new best friend. Hooray. Was she that annoying at fourteen too? Hikari was nice enough, but Sakura could hardly stand all the chattering in her ear, all day long. She was on edge, constantly on the verge of snapping, but remained constrained, barely.

Alone again in her room, finally, and waiting for Tobi to come back, Sakura sighed. Hikari was nice and friendly. She didn't have anything against her, and Hikari seemed to genuinely want to learn medical ninjutsu, which was surprising since her impression from the clan leader was that it wasn't a respected field of study.

To make matters worse - or better, Sakura couldn't decide - was that in three days it was going to be her birthday. Her nineteenth birthday. She'd missed the entirety of her eighteenth year, the battle against Zetsu had happened about a month before it. No one knew about her birthday, not in this time. So her options were simple: tell no one, never bring it up, let years pass by before anyone asked about it. Or, to tell someone and not be alone.

She couldn't remember the last time she was alone for her birthday... But she couldn't think about that.

Sakura blinked tiredly. Her muscles ached and her bones hurt. She was barely going through the most basic taijutsu stances still, and she was exhausted after them. Why did she have to be patient zero for the damn seals?

There was a firm knock on the door and she tiredly called out for whoever it was to come in.

Tobirama Senju. The one who made the seals. She leveled a glare at him and his eyebrows raised.

"What?"

"The seal work was just excellent," Sakura mocked, holding up her hand. "I've always loved to be able to make out all my bones."

Tobirama paused mid-step for a fraction of a second before he closed the door.

"Apologies for saving your life," he replied smartly.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, some life," she scoffed. "Can't even do basic stances without wanting to faint."

He stood at the end of her bed and stared at her.

"But you could break your own arm?"

Sakura gave him a critical look. The tone in his voice was off; questioning, accusing, concerned.

"You have a problem with me wanting to make sure my bones heal correctly?"

"I have a problem with you causing yourself physical pain to avoid dealing with your emotional pain."

Sakura froze. An icy rage flooded her system and she felt her vision blurred until all she saw was what she felt.

Tobirama ducked, missing the projectile pillow that flew at his head.

Sakura didn't realise she had attacked him until he forced her onto her back, pinning her hands above her head and one hand covering her mouth.

"Sakura. Calm yourself."

Tobirama was staring hard at her and Sakura struggled against him.

The door burst open.

"Lord Tobirama!"

There were gasps around the room.

"Sakura."

Tobirama looked at her eyes. Stared hard at her. Sakura felt her breath, felt her heart. Her chest heaved and her brain slowly came back into focus. She stared up at him, her eyes screaming at him to let her go. Slowly, he lifted his hand from her mouth.

"Get off me," she grunted.

He let her go and stepped back. Madoka and Hikari rushed forward and helped Sakura sit up.

"Are you okay?" Madoka asked.

Sakura didn't take her eyes off Tobirama's face. Blood from a cut on his face dripped down. Her eyes dropped to her hands. Blood on her fingernails.

"Sakura?" Madoka said again.

"Fine." She swallowed. "I'm fine."

Sakura flinched away from Hikari's hand and the girl drew back, looking hurt. There seemed to be some silent communication in the room and everyone but Tobirama left. A long silence stretched in the room between them. Sakura stared at the blood on her fingernail until she couldn't bare to see it anymore and tucked her fingers into a fist.

"I need to get out of this place."

Sakura spoke quietly, barely loud enough to even be heard but he still heard her.

"Where do you want to go?" He asked.

She looked up at him, teary-eyed with her voice cracking.

"Home."

Breaking Sakura out of the hospital was easy. She climbed onto Tobirama's back, although she seemed to hate herself for having to do it, and he jumped out the window. It would be a while before they found out she was gone. Tobirama would deal with that later. He was just glad she'd finally released some of the emotion inside of her. But by the Sage, she felt like a child to him, and that was a little terrifying.

Home.

That could mean more than one thing for Sakura. It could mean the time she came from, or it could mean the place she lived in with Itachi.

There was only one thing he could do for her, so he ran through the forest of Konoha to the little house in the woods. He could feel her tense up the closer they came. When they reached the road, he stopped running, and let her down off his back. It wasn't far, and if she couldn't walk that far, he was going to oversee her physical therapy himself.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, not looking at him.

He glanced down at her. She held his arm tightly for support. He knew she was talking about earlier in the room when she'd just lost it. For a girl who looked frail, she certainly was hard enough to restrain. He actually had to use quite a lot of force. The scratch on his face stung a little, but it was nothing. He'd had far, far worse.

"If you ever need to let off steam, come find me," was all he replied.

It was something he could do for her. He wasn't the one she should ever come to talk about emotions. Sage forbid she started crying hysterically and talked about her feelings for hours on end. He wouldn't know what to do with that. But a violent outlet? Sure. He could be that for her. There was a ghost of a smile on her face and he knew that she understood.

When the house came into view, Sakura stopped walking. They didn't talk. She just stared at it and Tobirama couldn't really imagine what she was thinking or feeling. He only knew that she seemed unable to move closer or to leave.

"There is more grief, loss, and pain in the life of a shinobi than any other," Tobirama said after he felt her hand start to shake. "Our business is secrets, pain, and death."

"I know what the life I chose is," Sakura replied.

"You don't fall into the category of other shinobi, Sakura," he said, his voice gentler now. "You have lost more than I will ever understand and the last piece of your home was taken from you."

Sakura turned her face away and leaned her forehead on his bicep.

"No one who knows the truth will fault you for feeling it all. But you're going to have to make a choice, Sakura," he said.

She sniffed.

"What's that?"

"Life or death," Tobirama answered. "You can't pretend. You can't walk between them. You have to choose."

Sakura let out a breathy laugh.

"You make it sound easy."

"It's not. But however long it takes will be up to you," he said.

Sakura stepped back and looked at the house again. She wiped her eyes and sniffed.

"I can't go back there," she said.

"You don't have to," Tobirama replied. "But you do have to go back to the hospital soon or I'll have to deal with annoying doctors accusing me of kidnap."

He saw her almost laugh. Without any grumbling this time, she clambered onto his back and let out a long, tired sigh, pressing her cheek into his shoulder blade.

"Can you walk? It's a nice day," she said. "I want to feel the fresh air on my face."

He set out at a leisurely pace through the woods. He felt Sakura relax, breathing deeply against him and he felt a pang of affection for her. At some point during their walk, she fell asleep. He felt her slipping, and quickly caught her, and carried her in front of him at his chest, his arms under her knees and around her shoulders. She was exhausted. She didn't even wake up when she slipped.

With some attempt at stealth, Tobirama tried to reenter the hospital room the same way that he exited it, but unfortunately, Madoka was seated in the room waiting for him. The next ten minutes were fairly unpleasant for Tobirama, who was lectured about the dangers of interfering in patient recovery and the chain of command in the hospital.

When an alliance is formed with someone, there are things that you learn about your partner over time. Madara had known Hashirama as a child, he knew that there was no one that could compare to him on the field of battle. He knew that Hashirama had ridiculous manic mood swings. He knew that he was idealistic and hardheaded and an idiot who had a big heart and bigger dreams and needed people around to ground him.

Hashirama had spent eight months forcing Madara into eating lunch with him almost daily. It wasn't until the eighth month that Madara finally gave in to the man's not-so-subtle demands and began to seek him out for food instead of the other way around. Hashirama had been overjoyed, and Madara found that he liked the days when Hashirama forgot about lunch and he didn't. It was like a small victory for him in the battle of their friendship.

But what he learned about Hashirama during these lunches is something that he never expected. After all, he didn't know Hashirama Senju away from the battlefield before the last year and a half. There were days when Hashirama liked to 'mix up' their lunches, and Madara now knew that that meant something was going to happen that would end up with Tobirama dragging his brother back to the office by the back of his neck.

Madara didn't know how avid a gambler and drinker Hashirama was. He had learned that fact well over the last few months. Gambling wasn't a vice Madara indulged in, but sake definitely was, especially when Hashirama drank. Only sake kept Madara from gutting him for being a loud, obnoxious fool.

So he downed another cup of the sake they were sharing. Thankfully, Hashirama didn't want to gamble. They were just at a bar.

"For someone who's supposed to be the leader and protector of this village, you drink too much," Madara grumbled.

Hashirama's cheeks were red and he grinned, refilling Madara's drink.

"You're just jealous you can't keep up with me!"

Madara scoffed, blowing air up his face to move the hair that had fallen over his eye.

"Why would I be jealous of you? You are ridiculous."

A waitress came over to the table.

"Lord Hokage, Lord Madara. Would you like more sake?"

"Yes!" Hashirama cheered. "We're having a contest!"

"You'll never beat me," Madara glowered.

He downed the rest of the cup. His face was feeling warm. The waitress shuffled away nervously glancing between the two of them.

"I will!" Hashirama slurred. "I drink allllll the time."

"You're a drunk," Madara accused, pointing his finger at Hashirama.

"I'm not. I'm a connois-con-connoisseur of sake," he said with some difficulty.

"There's no such thing," Madara scoffed.

Hashirama suddenly went pale and Madara knew what that meant. Madara definitely wasn't drunk, his head was just a little fuzzier than normal. Hashirama struggled to slide out of the booth they were sitting in and tripped over his Hokage robe, his face planting directly into the chest of his brother.

"Tobi! What happened to your face?" Hashirama asked drunkenly.

Madara saw the dangerous look on Tobirama's face and tried to slide out and away without being noticed while Tobirama gripped Hashirama by the back of his robe.

"Don't move," Tobirama growled to Madara. "Unless you want the same treatment."

Madara used all his powers of concentration to follow Tobirama and the drunk and flailing Hashirama in his grip. Tobirama threw his brother into the lake.

"Both of you sober up and get back to work, or I will cause you so much misery you'll wish you never even suggested making this village," he threatened.

Madara gave a silent nod, not trusting himself to speak and walked out on the water, a little unsteadily, to help Hashirama not drown.

"Why am I friends with you?" He sighed, bending down a hand to him.

Hashirama coughed and spluttered in the water before he took Madara's hand and lifted himself onto the rocky surface of the water.

"Because I'm the only one you can be normal with," Hashirama grinned.

Madara frowned.

"Not true."

Hashirama sighed and then there was a glint in his eyes.

"Is too," he said, suddenly pushing Madara.

Unbalanced, Madara stumbled, lost control of his chakra and fell into the lake below. When Madara pushed back the wet hair from his face, Hashirama had already disappeared, and Madara spent the rest of the afternoon plotting ways to kill him.

The moon was at its highest, fullest, and brightest. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the light of the stars seemed dim in comparison to the moon. Sakura stood in the middle of the team 7 training grounds, alone and wondering why Kakashi had asked for a midnight training session. She looked around.

"Hey, Sakura!"

She heard Naruto's voice calling out for her. She turned. He was walking with Sasuke and Sai toward her. Relief flooded her.

"Do you guys know what's going on?" She asked them.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sai all looked at her with strange expressions. Sakura frowned.

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't know, Sakura. You tell us," Sasuke said.

Her frown deepened.

"What are you talking about?"

"You said we were friends, Sakura," Sai said.

"We are," Sakura replied, feeling desperate and confused.

"But… where are you?" Naruto asked, looking hurt. "We're a team."

"He's right, Sakura," Kakashi said, appearing behind her.

She spun around to see a look of disappointment and disapproval on his face.

"I'm right here!" She cried.

Yamato appeared beside Kakashi and shook his head.

"I never expected this from you, Sakura."

"But I'm here!"

"Shinobi who break the rules are scum," Kakashi said seriously.

Obito appeared beside him, just like he was during the war.

"But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum," he finished.

"I didn't abandon you!" She said, spinning and trying to catch them all.

But the closer her hands came, the further they moved away from her.

"How could you do this to me, Sakura?" Tsunade said to her before turning away.

Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Neji, TenTen, Lee... everyone she knew, everyone she loved, they all turned away from her. Sakura reached out to her desperately.

"Wait! Wait! Don't leave, please! Don't leave me here alone!"

The world seemed to shrink around her, the night darkening until it became too much. She hugged herself, trying to understand. She didn't, she didn't leave them.

"Sakura?"

Her head snapped up. Itachi stood before her. His hands were at his stomach, and he looked at her with a look of betrayal so intense that her breath caught in her throat and she was suffocating.

"Why?" He asked her. "Why?"

Sakura felt something warm drip from her own stomach. Blood pooled at her feet.

Itachi disappeared and she was alone.

Alone. Alone. Alone. Alone. Alone. Alone. Alone. Alone.

She screamed.

"Sakura! Sakura!"

She felt hands on her shoulders and blinked her eyes to see Matsuri hovering above her.

"Sakura, you were dreaming, it was just a dream!"

Sakura looked at her without comprehension for a moment before she understood.

"A dream?" She rasped.

Her throat felt raw. Matsuri nodded and let her shoulders go.

"It was a dream."

Sakura closed her eyes, and then she realised she was crying. She brought her hand up to her face and wiped away the tears before she sat up.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Matsuri asked quietly, passing her some water.

Sakura shook her head. No, she didn't. She didn't even want to think about it.

"What are you doing here so early?" She asked Matsuri instead.

Matsuri's face brightened.

"I did it!"

"Did what?" Sakura asked with a frown.

"I finally convinced Madoka to let me take you to the hot springs!" Matsuri exclaimed.

"Oh," Sakura said.

"You don't sound happy about it," Matsuri said, frowning. "I thought you wanted to get out of here?"

Sakura swallowed down the feelings the dream had brought with it.

"Sure I'm excited," she said, forcing a smile. "I do want to get out of here."

Matsuri ignored her obvious lack of enthusiasm and clapped her hands together.

"Good. I brought you some clothes from your house. I hope you don't mind," Matsuri said.

Sakura shook her head.

"I don't mind," she said, slightly strained.

"Change into them, and then we can go, okay?" Matsuri ordered.

Sakura nodded.

"Okay, just give me a minute," she yawned.

Matsuri left the room and Sakura fell back on the bed and closed her eyes.

She didn't abandon them.

She didn't.

She didn't.

Madara didn't know why he told Hashirama he was going to spend the morning at the hot springs. It was clearly a mistake to tell him anything since Hashirama apparently thought that friendship meant doing everything together. But at least they wouldn't be drinking sake again. Madara had no desire to face Tobirama again after that particular incident a few days earlier. Hashirama sunk into the water with a contented sigh, and Madara had to admit he felt the same.

They heard feminine voices drifting over the wall, and Hashirama raised his eyebrow to Madara when he realised who they were. Madara didn't acknowledge him. He definitely didn't come to the hot springs to eavesdrop on anyone.

"Oh, Sakura! It's so nice here," Matsuri said.

"Yeah, it is," Sakura replied.

Madara frowned slightly. He hadn't been to see her in a few days, but he'd heard a rumour that the scratches on Tobirama's face had come from Sakura, and that was concerning.

"Are we spying?" Hashirama asked quietly.

"No," Madara replied.

Hashirama didn't believe him, as evidenced by the gleam in his eye and the slight lift in his eyebrow. Madara had almost forgotten that Hashirama actually enjoyed activities like this, sneaking around and spying. Mostly on his brother, trying to figure out if Tobirama had a secret love life. So far it turned out he didn't.

"You've put on weight." Matsuri was saying. "You look better."

"At any other time in my life, I might have taken offence at that," Sakura replied.

Matsuri's laughter was light and carefree, but a moment later her voice had dropped into something heavier.

"So do you want to talk about it now?" Matsuri asked.

Madara's interest was piqued, as was Hashirama's.

There was no reply.

"Sakura, you need to talk about it. If you keep everything bottled up, the same thing that happened with Tobirama will happen again," Matsuri said, her voice gentle and persuasive.

"It was just a dream," Sakura said after a moment. "It was nothing."

"Sakura." Matsuri's voice was stronger. "You were crying and screaming in your sleep."

Madara stilled.

"It wasn't nothing."

Hashirama edged closer to the wall, and Madara followed after a moment. They were both careful not to disturb the water, just in case.

"Was it Itachi?"

There was no reply.

"Someone else?"

Sakura sighed.

"I really don't want to talk about it."

The girls fell quiet. Madara and Hashirama became lost in their own thoughts. Worry snuck its way into Madara's mind. Sakura was having nightmares that had her screaming and crying? It sounded familiar. Even a year later, Madara still fought off nightmares most nights. It had only been two weeks since she woke up.

"So how long until you leave the hospital?" Matsuri asked.

Sakura hummed thoughtfully.

"Madoka thinks two weeks still, but I could leave now I think."

"Why don't you?"

A pause.

"I don't want to go home."

Her voice was quiet, almost too low for them to hear. Hashirama had a troubled look on his face and Madara closed his eyes and leaned back onto the rock.

"Why don't you come live with us?"

"What?"

Matsuri giggled, Sakura must have made an amusing face.

"I already told you, Yuri and I think of you like family, and you're already a warm and happy part of Kagami's heart, Kuku. Just think about it, okay?"

"…I can't. I'm sorry….Thank you."

There was the sound of moving water and Matsuri let out a big sigh that Madara recognised well: one where she was annoyed that she wasn't getting her way, but she wasn't actually annoyed.

"Well, where are you going to live then?"

"…Maybe I'll ask Tobirama," Sakura said, making Madara freeze.

He looked at Hashirama, who was looking back at him with surprised eyes. Madara narrowed his own.

"He's been helping you, hasn't he?"

"He's a demon!" Sakura suddenly cried, surprising both Madara and Hashirama. "I have more bruises from him than I ever had from Tsunade or Kakashi."

Matsuri laughed. Madara wondered who Kakashi was.

"What is Tobirama doing to her?" Madara hisses at Hashirama, who shrugged helplessly.

Sakura sighed.

"It's good though," she said. "I feel stronger."

"Training, maybe?" Hashirama mouthed.

Matsuri hummed.

"Well, I guess he does have some good points if he's helping you, but his face is pretty mean."

Sakura giggled, and Madara felt some of the tension in his chest release at the sound. Hashirama covered his face with his hand to hold back a laugh and even Madara smirked at Matsuri's blunt statement.

"And he's pretty involved with the village, so he'll find you a good house," Matsuri continued.

With that, Madara felt like he'd lingered too long and heard too much. Unless it was a mission, he wasn't in the business of invading the privacy of others. A creeping sense of guilt took him over and he moved away from the wall. He was hot anyway, it was time to get out of the spring. Hashirama followed him.

"So do you want to tell me what that was about?" Hashirama asked when they were changed and walking back towards the village.

"What was what about?" Madara asked.

Hashirama let out a sigh.

"Don't act ignorant. You're worried about her," he said.

Madara flashed him a little glare.

"If you know, why ask?"

"Because I don't like it when you don't talk to me," Hashirama said.

Madara huffed.

"You're annoying."

Hashirama's shoulders slumped and he pouted, a cloud of depression hung over him and Madara rolled his eyes and walked off.

"Why don't you talk to her yourself? You haven't been to see her for almost two weeks," Hashirama said, catching up to him. "And why didn't you wait for me? It's rude to walk off on your friends."

Madara wasn't going to answer the second half of that question.

"I've been busy," he said.

Hashirama looked at him, again, not believing him. He was probably the only person in the village, aside from Matsuri, that Madara would allow his usual mask of indifference to drop around. Madara would never admit that it was actually something he liked, feeling a little free like that.

"Tobi said she's getting more talkative," Hashirama said.

So he did know that Sakura had been seeing more of Tobirama than almost anyone else.

"He's going to talk to Madoka again to ask her to come to my office."

"Already?" Madara asked eyebrow raised.

"The sooner she can find a place here, the better it will be," Hashirama said with a shrug.

Madara frowned and Hashirama put a hand on his shoulder.

"If Sakura can focus on more things than just her own recovery and grief, she'll find a way to cope. Just like you did."

Madara almost shrugged Hashirama's hand off his shoulder, but then didn't, since he was right. That was the only thing that had helped him. Work. Focusing on other things aside from just Izuna. At least while the sun was shining and while he wasn't alone, Madara didn't feel as crazy in his own head, replaying that night over and over. He was coping then, but when the moon rose and sleep came, it was another story.

Still, a year had passed, and the dreams were, although still intense, coming less.

Sakura lay on Itachi's lap, on a picnic blanket under the shade of a tree. He was playing with her hair, and she smiled up at him.

"I love you," she murmured.

"I love you too," he replied, leaning down and placing a kiss on her forehead.

She felt something, some liquid, drip onto her and roll down her temple. She raised her hand and brought it away.

Red. Blood.

She looked up at Itachi, who was still smiling at her, his eyes closed and blood coming out of his mouth.

Sakura sat up with shock and turned to him.

"Itachi!"

She reached out her hands, but her chakra wouldn't work. She looked at them in despair.

"What's wrong, Sakura?" He asked her, coughing blood.

She felt droplets of it land on her face. Sakura watched with horror as Itachi's stomach was sliced open in front of her eyes by some unseen force. Blood and organs spilled out. Itachi still smiled at her.

"I love you, Sakura," he said. "Don't you love me?"

She coughed and choked, the words wouldn't come out.

"Why couldn't you save me?"

Sakura woke up clawing at her throat. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe.

She reached her hand over to the side table where the water was, but she knocked over the jug and it shattered on the ground. The door opened and Hikari burst into the room. Sakura coughed and tears streamed down her face. Hikari took a look at her and called to someone outside the door to get some water, and then she was at Sakura's side.

Sakura felt the girl pull her up and hug her tightly.

"It's okay, Sakura," Hikari said, her voice shaking. "It's okay."

The words were meaningless, but the actions conveyed the feeling. Sakura wasn't alone. But the external knowledge meant nothing when inside all she felt was a void where once he had been, where Itachi had lived.