Here's the next one!

I'm so sorry that it's short, and it's only in Sakura's POV (sorry Saku haters!)

But DON'T WORRY! This chapter has a LOT of important stuff in it, so PAY ATTENTION!

Oh, and if you have any brain space left...I hope you enjoy.

:D

PLEASE REVIEW!

Chapter 7

The young kunoichi struggled to keep her hands from shaking as she knocked on the sturdy oaken door that separated the replacement Hokage's office from the main hallway. There were several buildings atop the Hokage Monuments, and that served as a temporary establishment for the office of the Hokage and other high ranking officials.

Her emerald-green eyes struggled to focus on the swirling grain of the wood, something to take her mind off of the nervous fear that roiled in her gut. She refused to let her mind wander to Sasuke and Naruto. She could, and most certainly would, worry about them later, when several lives – one of those being her own – weren't on the line.

Over and over she mentally reviewed the lie carefully formulated in her mind concerning Kakashi-sensei's disappearance. It had been only three days, and people were already asking questions. It was only logical that the only remaining member of the original Team 7 – which was herself, Sakura Haruno – or any knowledge regarding the sudden disappearance.

In the days before his disappearance, Kakashi-sensei was very worried about Sasuke and Naruto, Lord Hokage. But even so, I never thought he'd take it so far as to go after them. He didn't say anything at all to me, no...

There was a brisk order to enter, and Sakura closed her eyes briefly, sucking in a quick breath before opening the door. Her boots clicked professionally on the hardwood floor as she slipped into the room, moving to stand a few feet in front of the desk. She bowed, keeping her eyes on her feet, and only raised her head when the man before her commanded her to do so.

Tsunade-sama's condition? Well, I don't see much hope, Lord Hokage. Her vitals are slipping…we're trying everything we can, but…I don't know. I'd give her a few weeks, at most.

In actuality, under Sakura and Shizune's constant 24-hour supervision, the comatose woman was steadily improving, but better to let Danzō think that Tsunade was decreasing in health rather than the other way around – it would give him less incentive to immediately do away with the comatose Hokage and Sakura more time to revive her sensei.

The plan was simple:

1) Convince Danzō that she was completely clueless in regards to the reason for Kakashi's deference and no information to where he was headed.

2) Lie about Tsunade-sama's condition, and tell Danzō that she was going to die in a few weeks instead of the truth, enabling Sakura more time to work on her sensei without increased fear of Danzō hurrying to end Tsunade-sama's life.

3) Go back home, take a pillow, and scream and/or cry into it for as long as she was physically able.

A flawless plan when executed in her brain. Having to re-enact it within the bounds of real life and base it upon infuriatingly unpredictable variables…that was a completely different story. It was possibly the riskiest thing she had ever undertaken, and seeing as she was an elite medic-nin who was prone to educated experimentation, that was saying a lot.

Her eyes, carefully void of emotion, lifted up to clash with the equally blank eye of Danzō Shimura.

The instant their gazes met, the similarities were washed away.

Sakura Haruno's eyes – much too bright and vibrant for one of such a dark profession – were merely a washed out replica of the eyes belonging to those who truly lack softness. It wasn't just the color, it was also the unique source of warmth that pulsed through Sakura with every intake and exhalation of air. No matter how she tried to contain it, there was, within her, a passion to be compassionate.

The new Hokage's visible eye was not so deceiving.

The depthless blackness that made up the color was choking in its lack of mercy, and Sakura had to swallow hard to regain some degree of the calm she had possessed before lifting her head. Danzō didn't speak, merely crossing his fingers and observing her over his laced hands.

Finally, he motioned for her to sit, and she bowed her head briefly before sinking stiffly into the hard wooden chair that was starkly alone in the vicinity of Danzō's office. It felt akin to standing alone on the battlefield, frozen by fear and by pain, staring out at the incoming soldiers that were so numerous that they became a grotesque creature that could only bring death. And unlike in that situation, Sakura found that as she stared at the writhing creature that was Danzō, she could not turn to see if her allies were indeed behind her, offering their strength and their support.

Because she knew that in this particular battle, she could not afford to look back. The temptation to look back in that moment was a result of a lack of confidence, a lack of trust in her own skills. She wanted someone to be behind her, someone to have faith in her.

No…that's not right, Sakura thought suddenly, People do have faith in me! Kakashi-sensei, Tsunade-sama, Naruto…hell, even Sasuke-kun! They're all counting on me to be strong, to help Konoha survive while they're gone…I refuse to back down now, just because of a little lie I have to tell! I have to be strong…no, scratch that; I am strong!

"Sakura Haruno," Danzō gruffly stated, his eye glancing down at the row of papers strewn neatly across the face of his desk. "According to my files, you are currently sixteen years of age. You've been under the teachings of the Sannin Tsunade since the age of thirteen, and you were promoted to Chuunin a year later, when you were fourteen. You've completed 34 official missions: twelve D-ranked, nine C-ranked, six B-ranked and seven A-ranked. You have been working alongside Tsunade's second-hand, Shizune, in the higher ranks of the hospital ever since your promotion. Is this all correct?"

Sakura was so shocked that he hadn't immediately questioned her about Kakashi-sensei that she couldn't respond for a split second. Then, she recovered, and nodded quickly.

"Yes, sir."

"Hm. You are an exceptional medic, Haruno. Whenever I inquired of your progress, Tsunade was always very generous in her praise of your growing skills. You must be a natural, to have gained the approval of the great Tsunade so quickly."

Sakura frowned slightly, unsure of why Danzō was saying all of this. What was he playing at? But politeness forced her to respond with a small nod. "Thank you very much."

Danzō nodded, and began flipping through several papers, his eye never leaving her face. "As such, I expect that Tsunade is getting nothing but the best treatment. Tell me…what is her condition? Improvement, I hope?"

You miserable piece of shit, Sakura wished so desperately to snarl. Unfortunately for Danzō, the little girl Sakura had been – the one who would have been so confused by the petty flattery and false concern that she would have been unable to focus – had taken permanent leave nearly two years ago.

She knew what he was trying to do. He hoped to throw her off with the logistics and a bit of flattery to boot, and then quickly add the central question. Heck, he even pretended that he wanted Tsunade-sama to survive!

Her resentment, surprisingly, made her remember her lie even more quickly, and eliminated all of her fear. The young woman winced accordingly, as if his question pained her, and a grimace passed her lips. Inwardly, she was relieved that she had thought to warn Shizune – thankfully, the only other person permitted to treat Tsunade – of Danzō's plan to murder the comatose Hokage, otherwise Danzō could of questioned and gotten the truth out of the dark haired woman. Now, if he chose to question Shizune, their stories would match, and wouldn't arouse suspicion.

"I'm…afraid not, sir. Her condition is worsening. The depletion of chakra was just…too much, and although we were able to treat her fairly quickly after she collapsed…the damage has been done," she said, and clenched her hands, biting her lip as if struggling to keep her emotions in check. Which she was, but grief definitely wasn't one of them.

Anger, perhaps. Hatred, absolutely. But not sadness. Not in the face of this horrid man who brushed aside innocents flies, flies that were stupid enough to get caught in the web of his supposed plan to "bring peace" to the world.

Danzō nodded solemnly, and nodded his head. "I'm very sorry to hear that. Do you know how long…?"

"How long she has to live?" Sakura asked quietly, wiping delicately under her eyes as if to wipe away the beginnings of tears, sniffling slightly. Danzō nodded, and Sakura contorted her face in pain. "I…I hate to say this…but I don't think she has more than two weeks. The strain is just…shutting her body down."

If Sakura hadn't been looking up just at that moment, she would have missed the split second in which an expression that couldn't be mistaken as anything but triumph flitted across Danzō's face. Rage boiled in her blood at the sight, but for the sake of her task, she pretended not to notice it.

"I'm so very sorry to hear that, Haruno," the man said, and had the shred of decency to wait a few moments before saying the words that Sakura knew he was going to speak. "I will give you the liberty to make her passing as easy as possible, and when she does indeed pass…I hope you will not mind making a formal statement for the records? Citizens will be curious to know the reason for her death, and I want to give them the most accurate information possible."

What a load of bull. You just want clear proof that you had nothing to do with her death, you bastard, Sakura internally screamed at him, but physically she nodded shakily and sniffled pathetically.

"I understand, sir."

"Good. Now, I'm sure you are well aware of the situation regarding Sasuke Uchiha," Danzō asked, his eye locking onto Sakura's green ones. Sakura nodded, her hands twisting themselves together as her nervousness returned.

She didn't know the real truth – the real reason that Naruto and Sasuke left the village – but she did know what Danzō had proclaimed the truth to be. That Sasuke had kidnapped Naruto in order to exchange the Nine Tailed Fox for Hikari's life.

The audacity of it made Sakura want to laugh and cry at the same time; laugh because the idea was so ridiculous – did Danzō just conveniently forget that Naruto was the only one strong enough to defeat Pain? – and cry because a good percentage of Konoha believed it to be the truth. And there was nothing Sakura could say or do to change it without blowing her cover.

Danzō nodded once more. "I am currently preparing to go and attend the Hokage Summit that will be held in just three days, but before I leave I need to create a five-man team skilled enough to track the Uchiha down and retrieve the Jinchuuriki. The mission is S-ranked, completely hidden from public eye. I need the best," he said, and Sakura felt a sinking feeling begin to form in her stomach.

She didn't like where this conversation was headed.

"I don't quite understand what this has to do with me, Lord Hokage," Sakura managed to say, and Danzō smiled, a cool, calculating smile that sent a chill of terror down Sakura's spine.

"You're one of the best, Haruno. I am sending you, Neji Hyuuga, Katsumi Inuzuka, Bou Sejino and Mariko Yamanaka. You five will get more details on the mission in a day or so, I just wanted to let you know in advance so you could have time to find a replacement in your treatment of Tsunade."

"But sir–" she tried to say more, but Danzō held up his hand in a clear sign of dismissal.

"It is an order, Haruno. You are dismissed."

Sakura could hardly contain her anger as she stood slowly, bowing automatically, and leaving the room. It took every ounce of self control not to slam the door behind her. The door closed with a ominous click, and she staggered down the hallway and out of the building.

Her knees gave out when she was beyond earshot of the building, in a thicket that overlooked the decimated village, bathed with the orange light of a setting sun, and she stared blankly at the sight. Her eyes filled with tears, and her hands formed hopeless fists, beautiful in their daintiness, but strong enough to crack open the earth with nothing but a pair of gloves and a burst of chakra.

She wanted to scream, but nothing came out when she tried. Even the sobs were silent, mere rivers of saltwater running effortlessly down her cheeks, her lips pressed tightly together, her shoulders shaking and hunching over.

It was well past sunset when Sakura stopped crying, and much more time passed before she found the strength to stand.

Everything was crashing down, and Sakura couldn't help but wonder what things would have been like if Hikari didn't show up in Sasuke's life when she did. Would Sasuke have come back? Would Naruto still be there, smiling and making her laugh? Would Tsunade still be conscious and leading Konoha? Would Sasuke have been driven to madness from the loss of his older brother?

Sakura supposed that wondering was useless.

After all, it wasn't as if Hikari had appeared out of thin air, it wasn't as if her appearance was a mere coincidence, and so imagining a universe without her was just plain stupid.

There were no such things as accidents, that was what Tsunade always said. Right?

Doubt began to blossom in her thoughts, and Sakura allowed herself to wonder a bit more.

What if…what if Hikari meeting Sasuke was an accident? Hikari's inexplicable genetic code and lack of a definable country or village of origin mulled themselves over in Sakura's mind. What if they were never supposed to meet at all, and Hikari's appearance had in fact disrupted the series of events that made up their existence?

Sakura shook her head in skeptical disbelief, and disappeared down the cliff, heading toward the medical tents.