Chapter 31: Pretending

The morning had gone well: Kakashi had proposed that they redo the bell challenge. She and Naruto eagerly agreed, and Sasuke coolly nodded his assent.

Much to Kakashi's pleasure, they stole his bells in less than two minutes. He even joked that it might have been faster if Naruto had been in better shape.

"Even after all of this time, you've remembered the meaning of teamwork," he had said with a smile under his mask.

They had taken a break for lunch and fell back into the old pace of things. Sasuke was berating Naruto for slacking off in a coma for so long, Kakashi had cracked open his perverted book, and yet… Sakura felt incredibly out of place.

"What would old me do?" she silently asked herself.

"Hey, you two," she chided, "If you don't quit it, I'll punch you both so hard that you'll get to see the sun up close." The threat was familiar, yet hollow.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and grunted, "Well, if he hadn't been so lazy over the past five years, I might have some actual competition." Sakura twitched.

"Listen up, asshole! I'm gonna be back in no time at all, and then you'll be sorry you said that!" Naruto threatened with a shake of his fist.

Sasuke shrugged. "I guess I'll just have to spar with Sakura in the meantime."

Sakura turned to look at him with a blank face, but there was really magma running in her veins. Just like the old days, her teammates ranked her abilities as a last resort.

"Sasuke… you asshole," Naruto growled with cerise irises, "How dare you say that to your girlfriend. Apologize to Sakura now." As usual, Naruto played the role of overprotective big brother despite having spent the past several years in the hospital.

With a sigh heavy enough to shift the earth, Sakura threw her plain sandwich to the ground and stood up. Menacingly, she cracked her neck, back, and knuckles before fully turning to face Sasuke.

"You want to spar? Fine."

Immediately, Naruto rushed to stand between them. "No, Sakura! I'm sure that Asshole's going to apologize any minute now."

Sasuke's smirk said otherwise.

"Don't worry, Sasuke—there are plenty of cute nurses in the hospital who'll be happy to help you on your road to recovery."

Just as he began to charge up his chidori and she poised herself for a skeleton-shattering punch, Kakashi pushed Naruto out of the way and placed himself between them.

"Have you two learned nothing?" their teacher shouted, "Sakura, I would expect this from the boys, but you should know better."

Those words were loaded with more personal significance than she felt prepared to handle. She shook with tension and anger for a moment before letting her limbs fall limp.

"You're right—I let my temper get out of hand. But, instead of pinning this on me, you all should know better, too. You should've known that I wouldn't be the same person after five years and especially not after being the prisoner of psychopaths for the past two months." Sakura's face wrinkled with hurt. "I don't want a pity party, but you guys need to stop pretending that those things didn't happen. I'm a valuable member of this team and I deserve to be treated as such."

The smirk dropped off Sasuke's face while Naruto and Kakashi's expressions softened.

They all stayed silent for several long moments before their teacher ordered, "Training's over for the day. Sakura just told us something important. Now, it's your homework to go home and think about what she said—even you, Sakura. If you can't figure out a good way to meet her request, then don't bother showing up tomorrow."

Sakura abruptly turned around and ran back home through the trees, then rooftop-to-rooftop before any others words could be spoken. She appreciated some acknowledgement of reality, but she did not want to see the look of shame on Naruto's face or hear any more of Kakashi's tonal palette of pity. At least she knew that Sasuke's face would not waver.

When she arrived at her own door, a pleasant surprise greeted her: her freshest blueberry basket had arrived. Quickly, her mind shoved aside its distress and focused on its anticipation. What did Itachi have to say today? Not wanting to wait another second, Sakura zoomed inside of her apartment and sat down at the table with her letter in hand.

She took a deep breath before pulling it out of its envelope. Today, the lines read:

Sakura,

The truth is always heavy and what you have told me is no exception. But this time, it's happy, too. I could certainly use more pleasant burdens in my life. Thank you for telling me the truth—it's nice to carry around some positive weight for once.

I imagine that you already know this, but Danzo will return to Konoha soon. Rest uneasy knowing that he will still do everything in his power to bury you. I have a gift for him and it is scheduled to arrive around the time of his return. I hope that it will work in your favor.

Once you have taken care of your business, I selfishly hope that we can meet again someday. I almost forgot what dreams felt like, but now I remember—this is the first thing I have hoped for in a long time.

Thank you for everything,

I

P.S. S is not for "selfish." S is for "strength," something of which you have abundance.

Sakura swallowed the lump in her throat—he hoped to meet again. Normally, she would write a response to his letters right away. However, this time he had given her too much to think about; she had a lot to contemplate before she could even begin to draft a reply.

She wondered: what did she need to do to make sure that his first dream in a long, long time would come true?


Sakura trudged slowly toward their training place today. Kakashi had ordered her teammates not to return if they could not handle the truth. What if nobody else showed up? That would make for a miserable reality check.

To keep herself from turning back, she began to walk with her eyes closed. She knew her path well enough that sight did not matter. It was just a series of steps and turns and nobody was really around at this hour to bump into, anyway—or so she thought until she bumped into someone.

Her eyes popped open and she apologized profusely. "I'm so sorry; I wasn't paying attention to where I was going." After all, she literally had her eyes closed, which probably was not the best idea in retrospect.

Her apologizing halted when a blank-faced Sasuke turned around. They both stood in silence for a few moments and she waited patiently for his guaranteed snarky remark.

"Sakura."

Indeed, that was her name. He offered no sarcasm yet, but she remained quiet. She was not interested in morning chitchat today.

He hesitated and then spoke again. "I just wanted to let you know that… I'll never forget the look on your face the day that I first returned to Konoha and saw you in the hospital. You looked like someone whose experiences marked death as a merciful alternative—a look that I understood too well. And… even though we've both changed, I will stop at nothing to make sure that he pays for what he has done to you and my family."

Hearing those words spoken by Sasuke's voice was strange enough—almost too strange, really—but then he walked forward and drew her into a firm embrace. As much time as she had spent griping about his pathetic failure to change, his actions were beginning to crumble her previous complaints and assumptions. Sasuke had changed just as much as she had.

"You've changed so much," she whispered into his chest. With a deep breath, she gently returned his hug. Even though it lasted only moments, she had not felt so emotionally exposed in a long time.

"Thank you," Sakura smiled as they pulled apart. "I'm glad that I can still count you as my friend after all of this time. It's so nice to have the whole team back together."

"You keep calling me your friend, Sakura. We are both friends and teammates, even if we were estranged for the better half of a decade. I know I don't have the right to ask this, but… did you fall in love with somebody else?" His gaze met hers steadily, but his eyes flickered with vulnerability. If she ever needed more proof that he had changed since he left to train with Orochimaru, these words were it.

A few years ago, she might have responded with fervent denial. A few months ago, she would have told him he had no right to ask her that question. However, today she had a very different answer than she—or likely, he—would have ever dreamed.

"It took me some time to realize it, but I think I did."

For a second, Sasuke looked utterly stricken. He quickly shook it off with a gulp and a shrug.

"I just hope that he realizes how lucky he is." Sasuke paused. "Even if this is a selfish longshot—if you fall out of love again, please consider giving me another chance. I know I don't deserve it, but I promise that I'd make it worth your effort."

Sakura nodded with tears in her eyes. "That's a promise I can make. But, please don't wait up on me. As someone who waited for a long time, I can tell you that it's painful."

"I think I deserve all of that pain for the way I treated you. I won't purposely wait for you, but I don't think that my feelings will be changing any time soon. When Fate has forgiven me for my transgressions, maybe that time will come."

A moment of pensive pause passed between them.

"I understand." She really did. Love had a way of telling a person how to feel rather than the other way around.

At this point, there was nothing unsaid between them, so they walked onward to their training spot. With each step they took, Sakura could feel the anxiety pulsing faster in her wrists. She knew that one teammate stood beside her, but what about the other two?

When they arrived, Naruto and Kakashi were there waiting for them. Immediately, tears of relief welled in Sakura's eyes. All of her fears were unfounded—she should have known that she could still count on them, even after all of the time that had passed.

Kakashi's eyes crinkled at the corners to indicate a broad smile beneath his mask. "I figured that I should be on time for once today."

For the first time in her life, Sakura cried tears of utter joy. The tears crawled gently down her cheeks next to the fullest smile she had worn in many years. No matter what she had endured as a prisoner, she could move forward knowing that she had the love and support of some of the greatest people in the world. Even if they could never fully understand what she went through, she knew that they would try their hardest—and that alone would be plenty.

"Thank you." She smiled and wiped away her tears. "It feels so nice to finally have Team 7 back together."

"I wouldn't have thought about ditching you for even a second, Sakura!" Naruto beamed.

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "I may have failed as your instructor many years ago, but I won't fail this time around."

Everyone here on this brilliant day with light peaking between the leaves of trees felt that they had their own sins for which to repent. Under the all-seeing sunshine, not one of them could hide the history of regrets worn in their eyes. Sasuke apologized for the way he had treated them before disappearing as a dead man. Kakashi repented for making the wrong decisions as their leader in a way that had led to their initial crumbling. Naruto regretted leaving behind his team for a coma, even if it was beyond his control. Sakura atoned for her initially lacking reaction to their reunion; she had been unable to overcome her personal experiences in order to celebrate.

"Now that Team 7 has officially returned, we need to show Danzo that he can't get away with what he has done to our own."

Kakashi's pupils nodded in unison at his driving words—it was time for them to train harder than ever before.

"We won't practice any new techniques. I expect that you each come equipped with your own arsenal from your training with the Sannin. Naruto, I know you probably need some brushing up and I'd be happy to help. Either way, when Danzo comes back to Konoha, you and I'll be on back-up duty and responsible for keeping civilians out of harm's way. Sasuke, you'll enter the battle once it leaves the Hokage's tower. Sakura, since you'll be the only one of us in the room, you'll initiate the fight."

"No. I need to be in the room. I have testimony that Tsunade will need to hear," Sasuke declared.

Sakura wondered what he meant, but Kakashi left no time to ponder.

"Fine. You can decide yourselves who'll start the fight, but know that the person who initiates will face the worst fall-out."

Sasuke opened his mouth, but Sakura spoke first. "I'll do it. Sasuke just came home and people would call for his death if he were the one pinned as responsible for Danzo's demise. As the Hokage's disciple and a well-known member of the hospital staff, people will be more likely to offer me leniency if my judgment ever comes."

"If your judgment ever comes?" Kakashi asked.

She nodded. "It's my turn to leave the village for a while. Sasuke and Naruto just came home and I think there's some exploring that I'd like to do once this is all settled."

Sakura had been thinking about what came after killing Danzo for days now. After plenty of contemplation, it seemed obvious that she was the prime candidate for accepting the blame for his death. People knew that she had struggled for the past five years and would certainly point to those struggles as the source of her behavior. With an explanation for her behavior and her otherwise positive reputation, she had the strongest chance of ever being allowed back into the village alive.

"Sakura, you shouldn't have to face consequences after what he did," Naruto insisted.

She shook her head. "It's not just about what he did to me."

"Danzo was the mastermind of the Uchiha genocide," Sasuke clarified chillingly.

Naruto and Kakashi both froze with mute horror forcing its way through their parted lips.

"He's right," Sakura confirmed, "I gained firsthand intel while I was away from the village."

Kakashi mumbled, "I never believed that Itachi could've pulled it off alone, but I never thought that it was an inside job. He's after you because he knows that you know, isn't he?"

She nodded and gulped. "I suppose we've put you at risk by telling you guys, too."

"We have to tell people the truth," Naruto growled with flickering eyes, "The world deserves to know what type of person he really is!"

Sakura shook her head. "There are bigger things at play here than his dying image. Maybe someday we'll be able to go public with the information, but doing it now would mess up forces that work in our favor on a more global scale."

Her words were vague enough that they did not directly expose Itachi's operations, but she knew that her team could fill in what she left unsaid. She also did not know enough about the circumstances to explain it to the public in a cohesive, forthright, and believable way. Until the Akatsuki disappeared and they knew the full truth, Danzo's real character would remain buried along with his rotting body.

When she looked up, she found that Naruto's eyes still flickering with red, but he seemed to accept her decision.

"We have a plan in place," Kakashi stated, "Now let's make sure that we're ready to make it work."


Authoress's Note:

Thank you for your patience, everybody! Life has been very busy. I hope you are all well, have had a fantastic holiday season, and enjoyed the chapter. Thank you to everybody who continues to take the time to read and review!

Stay fabulous,

A