I noticed that nobody noticed who the white ring used to belong to… go Wiki it! Go go! Okay not now. Maybe later after this!

A whopping new 21 reviews! I am so grateful! Thank you so much you guys! :D Made my day!

Without further ado, chapter 12. Enjoy!

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The pink-haired girl stared at the ring and the cloak numbly. A symbol lay engraved in black over the diamond-like ring as she stared at it.

The symbol spelt 白, and she instantly knew the meaning.

White.

And it was now hers.

A wave of dizziness washed over Sakura for a few seconds, before she mustered enough energy to stand up, teacup in hand, and she walked over to the sink and deposited it.

Deciding that she needed a long, long nap, she picked up the cloak and ring –no, her cloak and ring- and walked back to her room, a decidedly melancholy air about her. The corridor was quiet as she passed, and she entered her room without trouble.

Heaving a weary, weary sigh, she placed her newly owned items on the table, opting to sit at the ledge of the window in her room. The cold wooden ledge was large enough for her to curl comfortably on as she sat, her knees tucked close to her chin, her arms wrapping around her knees comfortably. Her tousled hair was brought to rest on her shoulder as she looked out the window. It was a late afternoon, but grey clouds covered the gloomy-looking sky, darkening the view. It was soon followed with a rumble in the sky, breaking the silence permeating in her room.

It was going to rain.

From her point of view, she could see the village bustling with activity despite the rainy weather that was about to befall them. Civilians walked around unhurried, some already snapping their umbrellas open as they shopped and did their daily routines. A group of children laughed as they played with one another.

She wondered what they thought of their leader, Pein. Based on the contented air surrounding the villagers, these civilians seemed to be -ironically- leading a rather peaceful, quiet life… and she had no idea what to think anymore.

She wondered where Naruto was, and how he managed to stay alive. The image of his deathly pale face writhing in pain had been burned deep in her memory, serving as a painful reminder of her failure as a teammate and friend whenever she thought of him. She had spent 3 years thinking he was dead… only to have been proven wrong.

She should have caught on; this was Naruto they were talking about, and he always managed to come out alive in the most precarious events. It was also the fact that they never found his body, but Sai had told her he'd buried him afterwards. It was for him to at least have some peace in the end.

Someone must have taken Naruto afterwards, because Sai certainly wasn't lying when he'd said it. She could tell from the grave, somber look on his face that he'd done it.

Every decision she'd made since Naruto's death led her to think of him. What would he think, if he'd seen her studying genetics for that incorrigible bastard Danzou? What would he think, of her as a missing nin? What would he think, of her having to work with the Akatsuki on illegal missions, in spite of the well-kept secret of her being the next jinchuuriki? Sakura's simultaneous answer used to be that he would be rolling in his grave.

At least, it was what she'd thought then. Now, however, was an entirely different matter… He was alive.

Sakura was pretty sure he had his reasons for not finding her. She knew him too well; he would have searched high and low for her the second he had recovered from the poisons fully. It was probably a valid reason that stopped him from doing this. She knew he would come find her in due time, eventually.

That said, she missed him terribly. The loss of feeling that developed after his death was slowly dissipating once she knew he was alive, and the familiar, tugging ache had returned, demanding her to see that he was fine, alive and whole.

A sigh escaped her again, and her warm breath painted white fog on the cool windowpane momentarily.

If only he knew what trouble she was in now.

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Land of Iron.

A chilling wind blew across the clearing where a man stood tall, towering over another familiar figure, both decked in black with their shinobi headbands conveniently missing. From afar, it looked as though they were engaged in a normal, civil discussion, although it was anything but.

They were yelling at one another rather quietly, and it had developed into a hissing match.

The black-haired ex-student glared daggers at his ex-teacher, as though he was about to explode.

"I knew it-"

"Wait a minute, I-"

"I knew we should have searched for her! At least, we could have passed her a message-"

"Let's talk about this rationally. Okay?" The sitting man raised his hands placatingly, in a slightly defeatist gesture.

He was aware that the longer he sat in front of the irate jounin, the more of a sitting duck he was. With that, he stood up, his hands devoid of a certain book as he tried to placate his ex-student once more. To his disappointment, he was still slightly shorter, giving the angry young adult enough space to still tower over him like a hulk.

"Kakashi-sensei, this is all your fault!" Naruto hissed, his hands gesticulating wildly in the air as if he was trying to make the other man understand. "You should have contacted her the minute she became a missing nin! She could have lived with the rest of us-"

"Naruto," the other man sighed wearily, running a hair through his black locks. "You know she's a jinchuuriki and although Mifune is a nice person, he would never allow her to live with us here. She is considered a threat to the peace they harbour here, and he's already risking it by sheltering us runaways from Konoha. He was supposed to be neutral towards all countries, yet he's doing this for all of us. We have to be thankful."

The boy's blue eyes dimmed slightly as he processed this with a grim look, but did not stop his angry tirade. "Still! You could have sent her a message to let her know we are alive! Something… anything! I was in a coma for two years and I woke up only to know that you never told Sakura-chan anything!"

Young men and their impulsiveness. Kakashi momentarily closed his eyes, pinching his nose. Then his eye opened, and when he spoke, it was much calmer. "I cannot risk Mifune's position as a leader of a neutral country by sharing this information. Even if it is only for her ears, information can leak in more ways than one and you know that. We'll get her back once everything is dealt with – there's a time and place for everything. She will be fine; she's an experienced jounin… She can handle herself, as she had done for the past three years. She has never released her Kyuubi chakra or gave away her jinchuuriki status–at least, so far, from what I've heard from our contact," he replied evasively. "You, on the other hand, did a much worser job being a jinchuuriki, losing control almost all the time. And this time, Sakura got recruited into Akatsuki because of you."

The boy regarded him with a hurt look, but Kakashi knew he had to be as harsh as possible, so he would be more aware that his actions had consequences. He went on. "Remember the incident in Iwagakure three months ago, when we were looking for more scattered Konoha survivors? The man just said something scathing and you took it personally and used your demon chakra."

"He said Sasuke was in the vicinity and he was going to kill him!" Naruto said defensively.

Ah, the sensitive topic that was Sasuke. One day it was going to be the death of them all. Kakashi nodded sagely, and continued to speak. "Nevertheless, he was an overconfident idiot, and you should have just ignored his tauntings, as I did."

"You were using your Raikiri!" he glared incredulously at the Copy Nin.

"Ah, but it was better than using your demon chakra, wasn't it?" He responded, tapping a finger thoughtfully on his chin. "Regardless, you lost it, and Pein had sensed it. He decided to recruit Sakura then. So basically, it was your fault that she got into this mess."

"But I was… I was just - Argh!" He groaned loudly, raking his fingers through his dyed black hair. He sat down, overwhelmed with emotion.

When he spoke, it was tinged with sadness. "Will Sakura-chan be okay? I mean, Pein hasn't sensed anything on her, right?"

Kakashi sat down beside him in companionable silence. After a while, he spoke, his eyes drawn to the horizon before them. "The sealing was pretty strong, and maybe Tsunade-sama did a double seal. That could explain why he hasn't sensed it. Plus, I think Sakura may have better control of the kyuubi. She does have near-perfect chakra control anyway," he said, his expression pensive. "I think she'll be fine, Naruto." He clapped his hand on the boy's shoulder, who was also staring at the horizon, an almost wistful expression on his face.

He turned to face his sensei, mulling over his thoughts. Then he spoke.

"Yeah… I guess you right Kaka-sensei. After all, this is Sakura-chan we're talking about! She's the best in chakra control, right!" He shot the other man a cheery grin, though it seemed halfhearted.

"Besides…" His ex-sensei continued, his expression brightening considerably. "Think of what will happen when we overthrow Danzou, eh? You, me, Gai, Kiba, Kurenai, Neji and the rest… It'll be a blast. Then we can get Sakura-chan back after that."

Naruto smiled at the thought. He couldn't wait for that moment to come.

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And so Naruto hath spoken. Many people have gone through the battle unscathed unlike the picture painted for Sakura and the rest. How did they escape? How are they still alive? Ehehe. And who's the damn contact? I think it's glaringly obvious… (Ba-dum-tss)

AND NEJI IS ALAAAAAIIIIVE. (Ba-dum-ba-dum)

For anyone confused over what happened during Danzou's infiltration, in Sakura's eyes, Naruto died during the sealing and Sai had told her that he buried him. Which is true. But someone intercepted him afterwards, and somehow, he was alive, being attended to by someone until he woke up from his coma which lasted 2 long years...that's all I'm saying at the moment. Many people were said to have died but did not.

I had to share a little of Sakura's thoughts. They were just a chunk out of the many that are running through her head now. I hope this chapter is okay. Let me know if there's something amiss kay. 白 (Bya) means white, by the way.