"I won't leave these people to suffer," declares Sakura. "It is too dangerous. Zabuza and the other ninja have seen you. I am not letting you face them and get taken," Kakashi enforces. The duo have been arguing for the past few minutes. For the time being, Kakashi puts aside his probing and pushes Sakura's safety first.

Sakura glares at him and persists. "My clan started this ordeal. Therefore I must end it. If we don't help them, then who will?" In a heartbeat, Kakashi responds, "Then your clan will end it, not you." Sakura pauses at her mistake. She should have known that her recklessness would catch up with her. With hopes that he won't decipher her, she lies, "Like I said, I am the heiress. My predecessors and Hokage-sama expect that I handle conflicts like this efficiently." It isn't an entire fabrication; the only false statement is that she is the heiress.

Kakashi contemplates the predicament. Does the Hokage really allow her to do this? He should not be surprised; after all, Sarutobi prepared children for war. But Kakashi thought that times changed. Oh how he was wrong.

Sakura makes one last effort to sway her teacher. "If you won't hear me out, then at least witness what is going on."

Kakashi and Sakura walk side by side throughout the port. The leader observes the decrepit district. He notices the closed shops, windows revealing empty shelves. People beg on the corners and, right across the way, they work them. Several thieves have tried to pickpocket them, too. It is a grim way to live, if one could call it living.

"I did this," mutters Sakura. Kakashi places his hand on her shoulder. "Let's go."

Dawn; At the House

Sakura looks outside the window at Naruto and Sasuke, who sit on the highest branch of their trees. "I don't think I can tell them," she says. Kakashi utters, "Go to sleep. I know you are tired." Soon, she drifts off.

Kakashi goes down the hall into the kitchen, where Tazuna and his family reside. He tells Tsunami, "Sakura isn't eating at the moment. She went to bed." Tsunami sighs in relief. "Finally, I thought that girl was going to be awake the entire time we were here." Kakashi tilts his head in confusion. She answers his unspoken question. "Sakura was doting after you and the rest of your team." Tazuna interjects, "I swear to Kami she is not human. Girlie carried you all the way to the house. Wouldn't take no for an answer."

The newfound knowledge baffles Kakashi. He assumed that all of his team assisted him on his unconscious trip. Then again, she must have been extra careful not to let her guard down when she is on Gato's hit list. He really needs to stop making assumptions.

Naruto and Sasuke burst into the residence. "Hey Sensei!" Naruto shrieks, "We are getting higher!" Kakashi smiles, "Good job, you two." Tsunami sets the plates on the table. Right before the team eats, Sasuke asks, "Where is Sakura? Is she outside?" Kakashi replies to him, "No, she is asleep." Naruto and Sasuke look at each other and then at Kakashi. "Oh," Naruto speaks curtly. He proceeds to talk with the other people at the table.

Kakashi's head is spinning. There is too much abnormality going on at the moment.

Sakura had a mental breakdown, said she doesn't want her friends to find out, and fell straight asleep. Turned out she was taking care of him.

Naruto asked for help, stayed with Sasuke the whole day, and only said "Oh" when he heard Sakura was in bed. No explanation needed.

Sasuke followed Sakura's advice, tolerated Naruto's presence, and seemed worried about Sakura. Has no attitude whatsoever.

After eating, they go to the bedroom to end the day. Kakashi's mind still rages; he hasn't even pulled out his book yet. The turmoil he managed to obtain in one day right after reaching consciousness makes no sense. But now is not the time to complain, time is limited to protect the Waves and his student. On that note, Kakashi tries to plan but has too little data. Where is Gato's main location? Where is Zabuza? Who are the others under his arsenal? Kakashi rationalizes that the best way to prevent more trouble is to keep Sakura out of sight.

As if she heard him, Sakura wakes up on cue, but she does not know that Kakashi is aware of her. Her eyes glimmer in the dark room. She gets up and makes her way to the bathroom, just across the room. Kakashi notices that she is carrying something when she turns on the light. Sakura mutters to herself as she quietly closes the door.

The jonin heightens his hearing as he wonders what she is doing. Sure, she could just be menstruating but he recently learned to never presume what his genin are up to. But if she is on her period then he does not want to be a creep and observe her "procedures". Until he is near certain that she is not doing that, then he will continue playing by ear. It is working out quite fine considering that he hears rattling.

Pills? He can differentiate two different sounds: one light – like they are close together – and the other noisy to his senses – like they are small tablets. He is not surprised that he did not know if she took pills, after all this is the genin's first trek outside the village. Kakashi waits for a little while although he can hear her breathing pick up. What is the problem?

Meanwhile, Sakura feels like the decisions she has made thus far have never been so difficult. Birth control or anxiety. Her doctor said that they can't be taken together. It should not be as hard as she is making it, according to her inner voice.

'Anxiety, obviously. You are about to have a panic attack at this moment.'

'But what if I get captured? What if I must deal with those disgusting men who get off on making girls into women? What if Gato has no qualms about preteen pregnancy?'

'You are thinking too much of what could happen instead of what will happen. There will be a fight occurring between our team and Gato's hired battle force. But if Hatake makes a stellar plan, mind you he is a goddamn former ANBU with a fucking Sharingan, a jinchuuriki, and a prodigy, then you may not even encounter the bastard and his lackeys.'

'I don't like being near those types of men though. They used to look at me with so much desire in their eyes before I hit puberty. I will freeze if they touch me while gazing at me with that same look.'

'Oh, because our sexual desires were awakened at full force after we got raped. Now if only we had someone to teach us how to suppress them.'

'Do you want to feel what I want too? To get penetrated with a real cock like civilian-legal adults?'

'Hell yes! We want a man with a nice-sized dick to thrust into our pussy and fuck us mercilessly. Imagine when he ejaculates inside our womb. Kono didn't do that.'

Sakura rolls her eyes at her counterpart. There was a reason why one of the direct causes to her trauma did not risk getting her pregnant.

'He had specific orders to do what he had done, which was to take my virginity and go. All you are showing me is that we are a loose cannon and have no control if we come upon a situation like that.'

'But he did not just leave! He decided to make love to us and it ultimately led to both his and the clan's downfall. Kono was not just a man doing it for money; he was a pedophile!'

'Kono was not a pedophile. He was sexually-deprived and would take what he could get.'

'You know what? Don't even talk to me anymore. Clearly, you need to take the damn anxiety pills. If you are convincing yourself that any man who wants to fuck will do so with a child in a woman's body, then you have bigger issues at hand than getting pregnant.'

'Okay.'

'Kono was not a pedophile. He was sexually-deprived and would take what he could get.'

Sakura sighed in resignation. She really is losing her mind to stoop this low. If it were any other person, then she would not condone what happened to her. But it was her. And she loves to make herself suffer, doesn't she? The girl finally runs the water and gulps down a few anxiety pills, admittedly a little more than prescribed.

Kakashi still sits in patience pondering what she is doing before he hears the faucet turn on. There are no splashes that occur so he believes that she is using it to swallow her pills instead of getting a glass like a normal person. His main questions coincide with what those pills are and why she took so long to take them. He has a lead on the second due to her breakdown over Gato but he cannot figure out how both things connect without being unsure of the answer. Out of all the medications one could be given, no pair seems to fit Sakura and the situation.

Suddenly, Kakashi is bothered. He should be more concerned with her wellbeing than his own personal "mission". Sakura returns to the room and Kakashi murmurs to her; she would not be able to hear him if the night wasn't so quiet.

"Are you alright?"

Sakura clenches her fist around the pill bottles. "Yes."

Kakashi hesitates before saying, "You can talk to me if you need anything."

"What is the plan?"

Shame hits him like a bolt of lightning. He regrets establishing her trust – and Naruto's and Sasuke's when he thinks about it – as only a commander and not a mentor. But he brushes aside his guilt and converses with Sakura about the strategy.

"Zabuza is missing with an accomplice. Since the "hunter-nin" put him in a near-death state with senbon, we are safe to believe that Zabuza is recuperating with him as we speak. Do you think he is with Gato?"

"No, the base does not include any medical facilities or ninja."

"Good. How close is the base to the bridge?"

"When I last came here, the bridge was not being constructed. From what I remember, it was… west from the front of this house."

"Lucky for us, the bridge is northeast from our position so Gato will not arrive there unless absolutely necessary. Last question, what type of men does he have, and on estimate how many are ninja?"

"My family pulled back from his power so he has significantly less powerful ninja, although less than half are comprised of lower-ranks, chunin and genin. There are likely a few jonin who want to get away with being perverted. The majority are not ninja."

"So what will we do?" she questions.

Kakashi saw how her eyes became glazed with interest as she rambled. It was a stark contrast to her panic and fear earlier. Strange. He straightens his posture and looks down at her with sharpened eyes – a habit when he expects full attention. "We will fight Zabuza and possibly his accomplice on the bridge in a few days. You will need to change your hair and clothes so if Gato shows, he won't recognize you. He needs to be either imprisoned or killed for his deeds. In order to keep his men away, we will need to strike fear into them. That means at least half must die or be permanently crippled. You are vital to our success here. Neither Naruto nor Sasuke have the emotional control to handle killing without provocation yet, or ever, so they are fighting his accomplice. I am relying on you to lead the destruction after I defeat Zabuza. I will be exhausted and not up to par after battling him. If you are about to die, scream and I will come to take them out. Got it?"

Her eyes flared with fire as he spoke. He finally trusts her. He relies on her. Sakura nods at him with determination. She doesn't want to fail him. She wants him to approve of her because . . .

'He is so . . .'

'So~ . . .'

Perfect.