The boat cut through the water swiftly and silently. The mist began to thicken. Sakura, unable to relax in such fog, had her hand on her kunai holster. Sasuke was looking around suspiciously. Naruto was buzzing with excitement, whilst Kakashi appeared to be deep in thought.

They had arrived in the Land of Waves.

They disembarked and began to travel towards the bridge. Sakura was trembling. This whole screamed tension and conflict, the people had bleak expressions and empty stomachs. She was so sure of an ambush that it was a struggle not to start flinging kunai everywhere.

"Oi, Sakura," Kakashi said in a low voice, "Calm down."

She nodded, moving her hand away from the holster.

Naruto was just as on edge as she was, he really was flinging kunai everywhere, including at a poor white rabbit.

Kakashi examined the rabbit, letting out a concerned, "Hm…"

"Everyone! Get down!" He suddenly shouted.

Sasuke threw himself to the ground. Naruto was slow to react so Sakura leapt on him, pushing him to the ground. Tazuna practically fell to the floor in his eagerness to get out of the way.

A gigantic sword flew overhead.

It embedded itself into a tree. A man appeared out of nowhere, standing on it with ease, looking back at them all with fiery eyes. Sakura shivered and gritted her teeth. This man's chakra was ridiculously strong.

"Well, well," Kakashi drawled, "If it isn't Momochi Zabuza, the kid who ran off and left the Land of the Mists!"

Zabuza chuckled, a low baritone laugh that raised the hairs on the back of Sakura's neck.

She pulled out a kunai and shifted in front of Tazuna subtly.

"This may be a little rough." Kakashi said gravely, pulling at his hitae-ate.

"Kakashi no Sharingan?" Zabuza said slowly, "I wonder… could you surrender the old man?"

Sharingan? Sakura vaguely remembered her mother mentioning the word once, but Sakura had never bothered to find out what it meant.

Sasuke looked astonished.

"Assume the Manji Battle formation! Protect Tazuna-san!" Kakashi instructed, "All of you, stay out of the fight."

"And now, Zabuza," Kakashi said, revealing his scarred eye. Sakura was jolted by sudden realisation; she had seen that eye before! When she was younger, she had asked Kurenai to train her, and Kakashi had pulled his hitae-ate up to look at her more closely!

But why?

Zabuza disappeared after making a few snide comments about the Sharingan. Sakura tensed. Zabuza began radiating killer intent, listing off the eight main vital areas a ninja could attack and kill someone. Sasuke began to shake.

Kakashi turned back and smiled at them reassuringly, "I will never let my comrades die!"

I wouldn't bet on that… Zabuza's voice rang out eerily from the mist.

A second later, he was between Sakura and Tazuna. She turned; inwardly marvelling at the way she could force her mind to remain calm even in this situation. This was her sensei's doing.

Kakashi leapt at Zabuza, sticking a kunai into the water clone.

They fought for a while, Kakashi dodging Zabuza's great blade and trying to get through the bigger man's defences.

Kakashi went flying into the water after Zabuza landed a heavy kick on him.

Sakura quivered, dying to jump into the fight.

Kakashi was suddenly suspended in a watery prison.

When Naruto attempted to hit Zabuza, he was thrown brutally far, his hitae-ate falling from his head.

Zabuza chuckled again, stepping on the hitae-ate mockingly, grinding it into the dust.

Sakura forced her legs to move. After ensuring Sasuke had Tazuna covered, she slowly walked in front of the fallen Naruto, keeping her eyes on Zabuza the whole time. Kakashi was still yelling at them to get away.

Zabuza tilted his head to get a better look at her.

She raised her kunai, ignoring her shaking hands.

"Sakura-chan." Naruto said suddenly, pulling himself up, "It's OK. I've got this."

He charged at Zabuza.

"No!" Sakura yelled, hand outstretched in alarm as Naruto ran.

"Naruto!" Kakashi shouted.

Naruto took another hard hit but came up smiling, clutching his newly-won hitae-ate.

Zabuza looked slightly unsettled when Naruto declared himself the next Hokage, tying his hitae-ate back on and grinning ferociously.

He suddenly struck out and hit Sasuke, kicking him hard in the stomach again and again until he coughed blood.

Sakura once again was forced to face him down, the demon of the hidden mist, in order to protect her fallen comrade.

She glared at him savagely, her kunai inches away from slicing his arm open.

Remember what sensei said, she thought to herself, taking a few calming breaths.

Find your enemy's weak point… and exploit it.

"Please stop ignoring me." She said politely. He hadn't hesitated in attacking Naruto and Sasuke, leaving them both bruised and bloodied, but he'd underestimated her, leaving her alone.

"What's with you overconfident brats?" Zabuza snorted, knocking her kunai aside with ease.

"Sakura, just run!" Kakashi yelled, sounding desperate.

Sasuke coughed quietly behind her, gurgling blood from his internal injuries. He needed healing.

Naruto was frozen in front of Tazuna.

Zabuza unsheathed his weapon, pointing at Sakura.

She fought the urge to run, drawing another kunai, "You stay away from Sasuke." She said in a low, intense voice.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto yelled suddenly.

"So… bunshin, huh? And quite a few of them…" Zabuza said slowly, looking around at all of the Naruto clones that had suddenly appeared.

Sakura lowered her kunai, pissed off. She had been about to project an image of a bloodthirsty Kakashi, having noticed that Zabuza seemed oddly afraid of the Sharingan. Yet another chance to showcase her genjutsu abilities squandered.

Zabuza took out the clones with a lazy flick of his sword.

Naruto flew back, digging something out of his bag. He pulled out a giant shuriken and threw it to Sasuke.

Zabuza was ripped from the water prison when Naruto and Sasuke's clever teamwork forced him to dodge a kunai.

Kakashi was free.

xxxxxxxx

"So it's decided. The new training regimen starts today!" Kakashi announced.

"Yeah!" Naruto cheered.

Sakura and Sasuke remained silent.

Zabuza had suddenly been killed by a masked hunter nin. Sakura had watched him die without flinching, and yet she could not get it off her mind. Her sensei's voice rang out in her head. What a waste of life, he'd say. Ninja are born to die, he always said so bitterly, to be used and disposed of.

Kakashi told them to walk up trees without using their hands.

Sakura burst out laughing when he told them.

They all stared at her.

"…Something funny?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow.

"Walking up trees without using our hands? That's so basic!" Sakura laughed.

"Actually, it's a very complicated technique that requires intense focus and high chakra control." Kakashi corrected, sounding a little annoyed.

"It's not complicated at all." Sakura shook her head. It was the very first technique her sensei had ever taught her, and she'd picked it up straightaway.

"Watch me." She said, choosing her tree carefully.

Sasuke looked unconvinced.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes.

She walked up the tree with minimal effort, walking straight up the bark and onto the highest branch.

Naruto's eyes were bulging in shock.

Sasuke actually looked surprised.

"Well now we know which of you has the best control over her chakra." Kakashi smiled, "Our young lady."

Sakura grinned, waving at them from high above their heads.

xxxxxxxx

"Sakura." Sasuke said suddenly, catching her sleeve as she passed.

She turned, confused.

"What you did back there…" Sasuke began to say, then shook his head with a rueful smirk, "When you stood in front of me when Zabuza was trying…"

"No problem, Sasuke." Sakura smiled. The poor thing couldn't even bring himself to thank her.

"Humph." Sasuke grunted, looking embarrassed. He walked off through the forest, following Kakashi and Naruto.

Sakura watched him go. Ever since she was a child, she had been fascinated with Sasuke, with his lonely lifestyle but unshakeable pride. He was unapproachable and thus an easy target for a young girl's infatuation.

Sakura huffed lightly, pushing her hair back. Was it infatuation? If so, was it gone now? When she looked at him now, she felt nothing but a slight feeling of fondness and occasionally exasperation.

Why did he have to be so inscrutable? Why couldn't he be friendly and open like Naruto? At least then she'd know if he liked her back or not.

She rarely mentioned Sasuke to her sensei, but when she did she was normally bemoaning the difficulties of love. Her sensei was oddly encouraging when it came to her feelings for Sasuke, pushing her to pursue her teammate romantically.

She was far more concerned about the fact that her team did not feel like hers. Kakashi was distant and mysterious, as was Sasuke. Naruto was friendly, but their personalities clashed.

She was well aware that they considered her as something fragile that needed to be protected. The cherry blossom had a tragically short lifespan, after all. She despised this view. Her sensei never treated her like she needed to be cared for and protected. His training was rough and harsh, but at least she never felt like he was patronising her.

She missed her sensei. She so rarely saw him anyway, being away from the only place she ever saw him was difficult. What if when she returned he did not?

The sunlight struggled to penetrate the thick leaves of the trees overhead, leaving Sakura in darkness, watching her team walk away without her.

xxxxxxxx

Naruto had exhausted himself training too hard, so they had decided to go to the bridge without him.

They arrived to a scene of chaos.

Men lay around on the bridge everywhere, moaning in pain, some silent and unmoving.

Tazuna ran up to one of them, shouting, "What happened?"

"M-monsters." The man had stammered.

The mist thickened until it hung around them menacingly solid.

"They're coming!" Kakashi shouted.

Sakura withdrew a kunai.

They were suddenly surrounded by copies of Zabuza, each equipped with their own intimidatingly sharp swords.

Sasuke became a blur, each clone splashing to the ground as he defeated them, leaving only puddles of water.

He clashed with the fake hunter-nin, Haku, kunai striking kunai with metallic screeches.

"Sakura! We have to cover Tazuna-san!" Kakashi shouted, gesturing to the old man's left, "Guard that side!"

Sakura did as she was asked, watching Sasuke fight with Haku, feeling a spike of anxiety when she noticed just how fast and strong Haku appeared to be.

Sasuke leapt into the air when Haku unleashed several blades of ice, throwing shuriken and forcing him away from the puddles of water.

Sakura's eyes narrowed when Haku's hands formed an unfamiliar seal. Sasuke was suddenly surrounded by icy mirrors, the air tinged with frost, rime covering the glassy surfaces of the mirrors.

Sasuke screamed in pain when a series of lightning fast slices ripped open his skin and tore at his clothes.

Sakura shuddered with rage, wanting nothing more than to attack Haku and finish this once and for all.

But no… her sensei had told her not to use the techniques he taught her unless she was near death.

Sasuke fell to his knees.

Sakura's hands formed a seal.

Kakashi yelled out Sasuke's name, unable to get to him with Zabuza blocking the way.

Haku was protected by the mirrors.

Zabuza did not have that advantage.

Sakura turned to face the much larger man, "Genjutsu Shibari." She muttered, hands flashing as she formed the necessary seals.

Zabuza froze.

"I-I can't move." He choked out in surprise.

Kakashi turned to look at Sakura, his Sharingan flashing.

"GO!" She shouted, pointing at the mirror prison. Zabuza's paralysis would not last forever.

Zabuza's eyes landed on her in fury, his muscles trembling as he fought the paralysis.

Sakura held on firmly, ignoring the spike of pain Zabuza's chakra made when it drove against hers relentlessly, seeking release.

Kakashi hesitated, looking from her to Sasuke in indecision.

Tazuna hovered, looking terrified.

Naruto made Kakashi's decision for him, throwing a shuriken at Haku out of nowhere, shocking Sakura so much she released the paralysis on Zabuza.

"Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed.

Her hope was quashed when he stupidly allowed himself to be trapped within the ice mirrors with Sasuke.

A metallic sound drew her attention.

Zabuza had disappeared, and Kakashi was blocking large numbers of shuriken that were flying out of the mist.

"He'll come for us next, Tazuna-san." Sakura said quietly to the bridge-builder.

He was frightened, that was obvious, but he visibly steeled himself for Zabuza's attack.

"Come on…" She muttered, "Come get me. I'm the weak one. Pick me off. Come on, come on…"

She had a very special genjutsu in mind for Zabuza.

It was dangerous, showing off her abilities in front of her team, but this situation was looking fairly dire…

Kakashi appeared in front of them abruptly, arms spread out.

Zabuza flung his great sword in Kakashi's direction.

Sakura saw the blood dripping from Kakashi's side and screamed.

"Kakashi-sensei!" She cried, surprising herself with how afraid she was for her sensei.

That's it… she thought, gritting her teeth.

Zabuza's narrowed eyes connected with hers, his dark chuckle ringing out of the mist.

"Magen: Jigoku Kōka no Jutsu." She said clearly, enunciating every word.

"Sakura, don't use –" Kakashi began to shout.

A gigantic fireball began to descend upon them. Zabuza's eyes bulged out in alarm. He leapt backwards to avoid the fire.

Concentrate… Sakura's feet began to slide backwards against the pressure of maintaining the illusion. Add heat, add shape, keep the colour vibrant… make fire! Her face was contorted, her eyes were nearly squeezed shut, her mouth screwed up, her arms trembling under the weight of the illusion.

Kakashi watched the fireball bulge and grow in amazement.

Sakura fell to her knees.

Zabuza growled when he realised he had been tricked, that the fireball was not real.

The effort of keeping it up for those precious few seconds had driven Sakura to the floor. Her cheek pressed against the cold bridge, her eyes shut.

She felt Tazuna shake her shoulder, calling her name.

"I can't…" She muttered.

"Please get up, Sakura-san!" Tazuna pleaded.

Her sensei's face swam into her mind. Get up, he said sternly.

Sakura's muscles screamed in agony as she shoved herself up off the floor.

The fireball technique was difficult to maintain and leeched chakra, but the paralysis jutsu she had used on Zabuza was Sannin-level. If Sakura had been stronger, she could have caught both Zabuza and Haku and restricted their movement for much longer.

The two techniques had left her weak.

Kakashi watched her get up. Zabuza had vanished again.

"Sakura!" He said authoritatively, "Keep a tight guard up."

Sakura nodded, swaying slightly.

Kakashi wiped his thumb along the cut on his chest and used Kuchiyose no jutsu.

Sakura nearly fell over when a wall of malevolent chakra hit her, too strong to be Kakashi's or even Zabuza's.

It seemed to be coming from the prison of mirrors.

Perhaps it was Haku?

Sakura swallowed. If that evil chakra belonged to that boy, then Naruto and Sasuke must be…

"Naruto! Sasuke!" Sakura screamed.

The evil chakra roared in response.

There was a sudden cacophony of shattering glass as Haku plunged through one of his own mirrors. Sakura lost sight of him almost straightaway, the mist was far too thick.

Sakura grabbed Tazuna's wrist, to steady her and to reassure her he was still there.

She could no longer see Kakashi or Zabuza, but she could hear a faint howling.

If only she had the chakra left… she was sure she could disrupt this unnatural mist…

The mist began to clear suddenly.

Sakura squinted.

She could see two figures.

One of them suddenly moved towards the other, sprinting. Sakura could see flashes of visible chakra flying through the air.

Kakashi.

He was charging towards Zabuza, hand outstretched.

Sakura's heart leapt.

Kakashi's blow connected, his hand plunging through Haku's chest, spraying blood on Zabuza.

Sakura gasped.

Haku had jumped into the line of fire, saving Zabuza.

Zabuza chuckled suddenly, raising his blade.

Kakashi pulled Haku with him out of the way of Zabuza's blow.

The mist cleared away a little more and Sakura could suddenly make out Naruto watching the fight, shaking with rage.

"Naruto!" She said, delighted. When Haku had appeared, she had been so sure that he had hurt the other two.

He looked at her, aghast.

"Naruto!" She said again, beaming, "Where's Sasuke?"

Naruto looked away, jaw clenched against some kind of pain.

Sakura felt her smile fall away.

Her grip on Tazuna's arm slipped, her hand falling to her side.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked quietly. Her voice sounded very young all of a sudden.

Naruto didn't reply.

Sakura could vaguely hear the sounds of fighting all around her. She was in a daze. A world where Sasuke was not alive did not exist. Sasuke was alive. Naruto was lying. She had to find him, to prove to Naruto he really was alive.

Her legs shook beneath her, threatening to trip her up.

"I'll go with you," Tazuna said kindly, "Then you won't be breaking your sensei's orders."

"OK." Sakura said numbly.

She ran, holding Tazuna's hand, every step closer to the broken mirrors matched the thumping beat of her heart. One step. Sasuke was alive. Two steps. He had to be. Three steps.

She stopped.

Her sandals slipped on the watery surface of the bridge.

Sasuke lay on the ground, his face so vulnerable and open that it was obvious he was dead. Sasuke would never willingly show such weakness in front of anyone.

The realisation hit her.

He was dead.

She was on her knees before she knew it.

Tazuna looked away, making a noise of infinite sadness.

It pierced the fog of her mind that had swamped her thoughts ever since Naruto's expression had become so anguished.

"He's cold." Sakura choked out, "This isn't an illusion."

"Don't mind me…" Tazuna said gruffly, "It's best to let it out and cry."

Sakura could feel the tears building up behind her eyes, threatening to spill any second.

She stroked Sasuke's ice-cold face.

"I always scored one hundred percent on my exams." She said quietly, to Sasuke's lifeless face, "I memorised over a hundred shinobi sayings… I always wrote the correct answers. On one day's test this question appeared…"

The tears were flowing uncontrollably, she was gasping out her words, her body shaking with convulsive sobs, "No matter what situation," She sobbed, "A shinobi must keep emotions on the inside… You must make your mission your top priority… And you must possess a heart that never shows… tears…"

She could not stop the tears from coming, she let them all out in an anguished cry, flinging herself upon Sasuke's chest and howling, her cries becoming desperate pleas for Sasuke to wake up…

Naruto stood on his own silently listening to Sakura cry, his face twisted in torment.

Sakura cried until her eyes ached, her tears landing on Sasuke's dead face.

"Sakura…" Sasuke said weakly, "You're heavy…"

Sakura jerked backwards, eyes wide.

"Sasuke!" She cried out, hugging him tightly, still sobbing and shaking, "Sasuke!"

xxxxxxxx

They stood at the two graves, humble crosses marking where Zabuza and Haku now rested.

"Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura said quietly, "Were those two right about ninjas?"

Kakashi made a noncommittal gesture.

Could she be just a tool for her village? Just a weapon to be used and easily discarded when it breaks? Her sensei always said the same thing…

Her eyes widened.

Could she, as Haku had been for Zabuza, merely be a weapon for her sensei?

Could he be training her to eventually turn against her village?

Her sensei had said this once, "My training will save your life one day."

She had promised herself to trust him, and yet, the tiniest sliver of distrust wormed its way inside her heart.

I was listening to Avril Lavigne's 'Slipped Away,' as I wrote the dead Sasuke scene, and nearly got a bit weepy, lol, so I'd recommend you listen to that when reading this!

I wanted Sakura to do more than just guard Tazuna, but it occurred to me that Sakura was the one in the most danger… Tazuna was the target, and she was protecting him, so… I guess she had an important part to play.

The first time I watched Sasuke's death scene as a kid, I cried cause I stupidly believed he really was dead.

Silly me!

Quick poll for fun: What is the scene in Naruto that always makes you cry?

A) When Naruto sobs as he listens to Iruka defend him.

B) When Sasuke 'dies.'

C) When Sakura is punched repeatedly in the forest of death but refuses to give up.

D) Other! Let me know!

Urgh… there are so many sad scenes. Just say the words 'Chouji' and 'butterfly' and I will weep like a baby… sob.