With shaking hands, Sakura donned on her clothes and her sandals- formerly Sasuke's, and ran for the waterfalls.

She paused bending over the gates to undo the straps of her sandals and resumed running again. It was too large for the convenience of running anyway. By the time she reached the agreed meeting place she was barefoot. The sandals held by one hand. Karin sitting on a boulder gave her a suspicious look.

"Funny you left Konoha without your shoes, now you're leaving this place barefooted too?"

Sakura just shrugged.

"You made the right decision tonight," Karin stood up "A woman shouldn't be with a man who can't even buy a good pair of shoes."

"Karin I-"

"You don't have to defend him," Karin grabbed Sakura's arm and started walking. "Leave that sandals behind, well buy a comfortable pair at the next village."

"I can't." Sakura's eyes were downcast.

"But of course you can keep it, a souvenir for you child to play with?"

"I can't Karin..." Only then she knew why she wasn't reluctant to meet her here, kami- she was ready to tell Karin she's staying.

Karin turned to her, eyes wide with disbelief. "You've made me a bargain Sakura!"

"I didn't think the full moon could come so soon!" she protested. She could picture her face and she thought it was ugly for she was howling, crying again. Damn pregnancy hormones. And no Karin wasn't the bit moved; instead she was looking at her with disgust.

"You don't know where your loyalty lays Sakura."

"I can't leave him not when I'm with his child."

Karin looked at her levelly. "So you're whoring while everyone fight asses off to win this war."

"It isn't that" and she dared to deny.

And Karin with hands on her hips hissed, "Then what is it?"

"What is it?" Karin took an intimidating step towards her. "A kunoichi is raised to serve the village not to serve herself; otherwise you would have been an ordinary citizen Sakura, or worse, a geisha striving to please hundreds of Sasuke."

Sakura locked her gaze to the ground.

"You are a ninja; an apprentice of Lady Hokage, you of all people should know the meaning of serving the village."

"This is not me being selfish..."

"What it is then? Tell me?" Karin slapped her forehead lightly with her own hand. "Kami- you must have lost your mind then to believe that whoring in times of crisis is not selfish or inappropriate or wrong."

"Karin please..."

"I see," Karin nodded. "You wait then for Sasuke to try to kill you just so you could have a good reason to leave. Just like me."

"He tried to kill me more than once and me-"

"Still can't help it can you?" Karin shook her head. "You're hopeless."

"I don't know how to get over him!" she bellowed. "I don't know how I'll get over him myself now that I'm with his child. Especially now that I'm with his child."

"You wait then for Sasuke to kill that bastard child."

"Karin! you don't-"

"Of course I mean it Sakura. Now off we go if you want that child to live." With a flick of her hand, Karin motioned the young would-be mother forward and started to walk. Sakura followed suit, not to come home however but to let Karin know why she's not coming.

"I love him Karin," Sakura grabbed Karin's cloak who didn't the least stop.

"More than that little Sasuke growing inside you?"

"He couldn't possibly kill his own child, it's his goal, to restore the Uchiha clan," Sakura's voice was so small like a girl.

Karin matched it with her own, "His restoration means wiping off the whole Konoha population to wipe off the taint of his clan, not making babies woman."

Sakura kept mum, thinking of what Karin just said. Karin grabbed the opportunity to reason with her. "Hey, I just thought I'll let you in Tsunade-sama's secret," she said to which Sakura didn't respond.

"It was not natural," Karin said straight to Sakura as she stopped walking and turned to face her. "His attraction to you, it's not natural."

Sakura shook her head. Dazed, confused.

"Prior to your abduction some herbal concoction entered your bloodstream through a wound caused by a special kunai. Tsunade-sama instructed one of those amateur ninjas to do so without you knowing."

"It was but a gash that doesn't even stings," Sakura mumbled, reliving her training routines hours before Sasuke came knocking on her door and knock the bottom out of her.

Karin didn't seemed to hear, she continued speaking in monotones, "This concoction made you release pheromones strong enough to be felt by men seven countries away, but only men of the Uchiha bloodline. This is to lure Madara and Sasuke back into the village."

Sakura's eyes turned to slits, "I was a pawn in the war then?"

"Tsunade-sama didn't expect Sasuke to come so soon and was distraught to know you're gone. She felt that if you were informed of this plan you would have a better chance in fighting Sasuke's advances."

"Sasuke wouldn't come if not for the pheromones," Sakura said in hushed tones, her eyes boring on Karin's.

"He was lured by it. Isn't his reaction to you too strong? Almost animal-like? The concoction call for his carnal desire, too impossible to deny. That concoction was now part of the fetus growing inside you Sakura. Once you give birth, you won't be able to use it to your advantage."

"I won't have that pulling-force effect on him after birth while the baby will be the world to him. He'd keep the child but Tsunade-sama isn't sure if he will keep the mother too, is that it?"

Karin nodded gravely.

"He'll banish or kill me and I won't get to keep my baby..."

Karin pulled Sakura's arm and proceeded to walk briskly. Sakura let herself be pulled; it was clear to her now; Sasuke had been driven by carnal needs, by some potion he has no control of. She dared to believe it was love before. She let go of her sandals and let Karin lead her home.

The pair passed along the fields of daffodils where Sakura picked the flowers that came in contact with her other free hand and let them fall back to the ground where it rightly belong. Her mind dwelled on the potion and why Tsunade-sama didn't even consult her when Karin stopped on her tracks and held both Sakura's hands.

"What -"

"He's coming-" Karin whispered as she lightly pushed Sakura forward, "-fast."

"No-"

"Now run! Run! Run!"