AN: Revised 6/29/13

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Nothing but the Truth

Chapter 6: Reminds You of Him

"I know that's what people say- you'll get over it. I'd say it, too. But I know it's not true. Oh, you'll be happy again, never fear. But you won't forget. Every time you fall in love it will be because something in the man reminds you of him."

― Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

For perhaps the first time in his life, Sasuke found himself ignoring his brother and staring at the pink-haired leaf kunoichi behind him. "Sakura?" he asked again, disregarding his brother's greeting.

Itachi raised one eyebrow at his brother and sidestepped, allowing Sakura to come into full view. Sakura pulled her hat off of her head to fully face Sasuke, jade eyes glistening with emotion as a mixture of apprehension and fear bubbled deep within her. The first time she sees Sasuke in many months, and she's with his brother.

"What are you doing with them?" Sasuke spat, utterly confused and horrified by the sight of his former teammate with his brother and his band of traitors. For a moment it struck her how utterly alike Itachi and Sasuke looked, and it nearly took her breath away. There was something so familial between them that denying their heritage would be absurd. They just looked so much alike.

"Calm down, little brother, she is a hostage," Itachi remarked coldly. He lightly and quickly grabbed Sakura's wrists, lifted them, and showed the chakra restraints on her wrists. Sasuke's eyes widened even further.

"You let her go!" he replied harshly.

"No," Itachi responded shortly, raising his eyebrow at his brother again. His demeanor was changing rapidly, and it confused Sakura. Usually Itachi was calm, stoic, and relatively monotonic. Now, his voice was laced with a deadly tenor that reminded her of their first meeting. However, she noticed the amusement that was laced within his voice, as if he was taunting his little brother with every syllable that he uttered.

"She belongs in Konoha!" the younger Uchiha exclaimed.

"As do you," Itachi replied. Sasuke's glare was fully engaged on his brother again, and he looked as if he were about to attack. Itachi stiffened, ever so slightly, in case his brother chose to attack.

Sasuke allowed an animalistic snarl to escape his lips. This certainly hadn't been in the plan; attack and kill Itachi – that was the plan. He had not anticipated his former teammate from Konoha being captured by said brother. Sasuke bit out, "Itachi…"

"Sasuke," Sakura interrupted softly. Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked back down to face the kunoichi. Sakura stepped from around his brother, and turned to him. Holding her wrists up pointedly, she nodded at the chakra restraints. "Just a little," she murmured.

Itachi complied, allowing Sakura some of her chakra. Originally, he was going to say no, but the sparkling jade eyes looked so much like Sasuke's when he'd asked his brother to train with him. Back then, Itachi hadn't thought twice about denying his little brother, but now he was truly regretful that he'd missed that time. Now, there was Sakura, with big, expressive jade eyes asking him for something.

Sakura gave him a shy smile, turned around, and walked slowly towards Sasuke. Sasuke instantly straightened as Sakura approached slowly. Sakura was trying her best to hold the tears back. This was perhaps the least confrontational meeting she'd had with Sasuke since he'd left. The two had met on other occasions where they would battle, but this was the first time she felt like she could approach him.

Pushing green chakra into her hands, she held them up for him to see, and she whispered, "Do your eyes hurt?" Sasuke's jaw went slack and his mouth parted in surprise. Sakura continued, as she got closer, "That's why I'm with your brother. I'm healing his eyes in exchange for him letting Kakashi-sensei out of captivity."

Sakura had reached Sasuke now, and she was holding her chakra filled hands only inches from Sasuke's face. As he leaned in, flesh meeting flesh, Sakura felt one tear fall. "You were captured?" he asked quietly. "You and Kakashi?"

"Yes," she murmured. "But Naruto-kun needs Kakashi-sensei. He can't be alone, so I offered this to your brother so Kakashi would be set free."

They stood in silence for a moment, Sakura giving a brief healing session to Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke's Sharingan wasn't nearly as bad as Itachi's was. Clearly, he allowed his to rest at some point.

"Naruto needs you too. You should leave," Sasuke replied coolly, sounding just like his brother.

"Naruto needs you too. You should go home," Sakura mimicked, the slightest bit of sarcasm inching in her voice. She pulled her hands down slowly, and Sasuke stared at her, this time with onyx eyes. "You need to rest them as much as you can and drink a lot of tea. They won't get so bad then."

Sasuke nodded, slightly in awe at how things had changed since he'd been gone. When he'd left, Sakura was a sniveling, annoying pest that was of no use. Now, she'd just made his eyes feel ten times better. Sure, he knew of her accomplishments during the time that he'd left – her apprenticeship with the Hokage, her new medical and taijutsu, but seeing it up close like this was astonishing.

The Akatsuki were watching the scene unfold in silence. Truthfully, Sasuke's and Sakura's proximity was making Itachi uneasy. He felt there was a possibility that Sasuke may grab Sakura and run for it. That wouldn't matter, for Deidara would simply track her using the clay that was on her neck, but it would be a hassle he didn't need.

"Maybe we should stop this now, Itachi-san," Kisame remarked. Itachi was about to agree when he realized that Sakura was heading back over to them. She bypassed Itachi and went over to Kisame, Deidara, and Tobi. She held her wrists up expectantly.

Looking to Itachi for the go ahead, Kisame met his teammate's eyes. Itachi looked uncertain, so Kisame made the decision himself. Releasing her from her chakra binds, the three Akatsuki looked at her confused. Sakura then turned to Sasuke and began her journey back. This time, Itachi caught her by her wrist lightly. "Sakura," he warned.

Sakura turned to him, biting her lip and she nodded. "Sasuke-kun," she called to him. Sasuke regarded her wordlessly, tilting his head so she knew he was listening. Sakura's voice became shaky and quiet, but was loud enough for everyone to hear, "We came to an agreement about you back home," she choked back a sob, "I give you one chance to return to Konoha. If you don't, then I will kill you."

Silence – only silence permeated throughout the forest. Even Itachi was surprised, but then he felt a pinch of guilt and worry in his heart. If Sakura and Sasuke faced off, who would win? The apprentices of two legendary sannin; the battle would surely be catastrophic if the two chose to do so.

Sasuke's body stiffened, readying himself for an attack, "Who came to this agreement?"

"The rookie 8 and Team Guy. Except for Naruto; he refused. But the rest of us agreed," Sakura replied shakily. Another tear slid down her face. Her voice then became desperate. "So please go home. You can kill your brother later when they come for Naruto. Because they are coming for him and Naruto needs you!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her. In mock-innocence, he asked, "You don't need me anymore Sakura-chan?"

She shook her head 'no' as she pulled on her shinobi gloves. The Akatsuki had been gracious enough to let her keep those, "That horse is dead and buried, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke allowed his face to creep into a wicked smile that was too much like Orochimaru's. "And you think you can kill me with nothing but your chakra?"

"I don't even need my chakra to kill you," she hissed back. The change in Sakura in the last few seconds was remarkable. She'd gone from almost crying to battle-ready with just a few words between her and Sasuke. Her face was now dangerous as she readied her stance.

"Sakura," Itachi quietly said again, a warning tone laced throughout his voice. Sakura whirled around, dangerous green eyes meeting his red ones. Instantly, her finger was pushing into his chest. Even Sasuke was taken aback by her boldness with his brother.

"Don't you dare interfere. This is Konoha business, and you don't get to interfere with Konoha business," she hissed.

Itachi grabbed her wrist harshly, quickly losing patience with the kunoichi. He held her hand ajar in front of him, his gaze never leaving hers. Then, to her surprise, his other hand reached down and began unbuckling his belt. Sliding it off, he placed it roughly in Sakura's hand, "Do not go into battle without weapons, Sakura. And do not try to run away. If you do, we will find you and kill you. Slowly."

Sakura's eyes widened in complete disbelief, but she nodded slowly. Why would he go and give her weapons to use on his little brother? The whole actions was confusing, but she didn't have time to contemplate what was going through his head. Itachi took a step back and jumped into the trees a safe distance away. Kisame, Deidara, and Tobi followed suit, seeming thoroughly surprised by Itachi's decision to allow Sakura and Sasuke to battle. Deidara was the last to disappear, gazing slightly worriedly at the kunoichi.

"Good luck, yeah," he said with a wave. Sakura nodded and gave the slightest of smiles to the blond Akatsuki.

Sakura pulled the belt around her, checking the bags individually. It was set up like a generic Konoha ninja belt would be. Old habits die hard, I guess. Sakura thought as she noticed how remarkably similar it was to how she kept her own belt. Her belt, though, held more extensive medical supplies.

Turning to Sasuke, she said hardly, "One last chance Sasuke-kun."

He slowly shook his head and then attacked. Sakura blocked his hand-to-hand hits easily enough. Outwardly, she was keeping her cool, but inside the turmoil was threatening to spill over. When the group had decided they would kill Sasuke two years ago, it hadn't seemed like it would be this hard. However, Sasuke was her old teammate. They'd bonded over their missions even if they were years ago. Even if, back then, he never really cared about her. That was something she had to live with. But she cared about him. No, she cares about him. She was hard pressed to think she would ever stop caring about him. They had an emotional connection, but as his fist connects with her stomach, she realized that he'd all but dissolved this.

Grabbing onto his arm, she pushed chakra into her hands and swung him around her head like a rag doll, slamming him into the ground. He jumped up quickly, and flipped a few feet away to regain his composure. Sakura wasn't going to have it, though. She was on the offensive now. As she pulled a kunai out of Itachi's belt she slashed it at his stomach. Sasuke dodged by rolling to the left, but Sakura had anticipated the move. Sasuke had always dodged to the left when they were genin, and it seemed that he was still using his old fighting style. That would be a disadvantage for him – she knew his fighting style, for the most part, but he hadn't a clue as to hers.

Her style had grown and morphed into something completely different in the past five years, but if he was just a stronger version of his old self, she would be able to better anticipate his moves.

A chakra infused kick met Sasuke's rips and they crunched underneath her leg. Sakura grimaced at the sound, and the urge to heal him overcame her for a moment. First and foremost, she was a medic, and one of her 'friends' was injured. But this was battle, and she'd promised she would try to kill Sasuke if he didn't agree to go back to Konoha. Of course, while she threw her arm out in attempts to punch him, she thought she could never actually kill him.

She loved him.

Even if she wasn't in love with him, she would always love him.

Her inner chaos was beginning to take effect. With each punch he threw, or with each kick she unleashed, Sakura felt her heart breaking little by little. This was worse than the day that he'd left. That had been a sudden burst of emotion and heartbreak, but the after effects had been traumatic for her psyche. This was slow. Each move was chipping away at her heart gradually, and she could feel it. she could feel the way everything was crashing down around her. However, this was no time to be weak. This was a time to prove herself to herself. This was the chance she had been waiting for. Bring Sasuke back to Konoha. Bring him back home. The mantra repeated itself in her head over and over again.

Distracted by her inner thoughts, Sakura felt Sasuke grab her hand with one arm, and Sasuke sent a kunai deep into it. Sakura let out a chocked cry and pulled the kunai out in one movement. Healing it quickly with the brush of a hand over it and with as little chakra as possible, she lunged towards Sasuke.

He dodged her by rolling again, this time in the opposite direction. He was forcing an elbow to her back when she whipped around to face him. Sakura latched onto his elbow and tapped it with her chakra-infused fist.

Sasuke jerked back and realized he lost all function of his arm. "Something I learned from your buddy Kabuto," Sakura wheezed, panting heavily from the battle. Sasuke wasn't in good shape either although he looked a little more composed. "It was easy to figure out his fighting style after a few rounds with him myself."

When had she run into Kabuto by herself? He thought to himself instantly. Automatically, he did not like the idea of Sakura coming into contact with Orochimaru's favorite assistant. Sometimes Sasuke wondered if Kabuto was more fucked up than Orochimaru. The next question was, if Sakura did encounter Kabuto by herself, then how the hell was she alive? However, he couldn't ask her these things now. He was in the middle of a battle with the girl, who was surprising him on each turn. She truly had grown stronger. Sakura would always be weak because she was Sakura, and she loved him. At least, he thought she still loved him. But she was stronger now than she was when they had been twelve, and it was enough to keep him on his toes.

Sasuke shook the arm a little, and forced chakra into it while comprehending he could regain some function back to it. Thankfully he had been attacked by Kabuto in practice training enough times to counter some of the jutsu. Sakura's was different though – little less maniacal but a little more potent as well. If it had been Kabuto that had attacked, Sasuke could have regained marked more movement back into his arm.

Sasuke just grinned devilishly at her, "Let's stop playing around, shall we?"

Sakura allowed a smile to cross her lips – the adrenaline and heat of this battle was more excitement than she could take. While she may be a medic-nin, she also was a shinobi. Battles couldn't help buy enthuse her like this. Additionally, her shishou had instilled a deep love for hand-to-hand combat in the field. Not all medics could do what she was doing now, and she was proud of that. "I'm glad you said that, Sasuke-kun."

Sakura threw a punch to the ground, creating a fissure towards him. He jumped, avoiding it easily. Sakura unleashed a rain of senbon on him, which he also dodged. Sakura had him on the defensive, so she continued her onslaught. Two shadow clones of herself appeared, and began more hand-to-hand combat with the Uchiha.

Then, Sakura channeled just enough chakra into her arms and grabbed a small tree on the edge of the path. She swung it at the distracted Sasuke and hit him fully in the back. Her shadow clones disappeared, and Sasuke fell to the ground. He was pulling himself up quickly, though. There was blood trickling from his mouth slowly.

He coughed and glared at her. When had she progressed this much? Even two years ago when they had engaged in battle, she was ridiculously weaker than him. Had she continued to train that much, or had he let himself slip? No, that couldn't be it. He'd been training like a madman.

Finally, he realized he really only had one option. Although he didn't really want to kill her, he also saw he had no choice. Plus, she'd mentioned that Naruto had refused to be a part of the pact to kill him. If he was able to kill Sakura, that would make his impending fight with Naruto all the more intense and deadly. Sakura, as always, would be the perfect pawn.

Sasuke channeled chakra into his good arm and held it at his side. The lightning of the chidori began to tickle his palm. Sakura dropped the tree in utter shock. She gulped a little and stared at Sasuke coldly. Was he really about to use the chidori on her? He really was trying to kill her, wasn't he? Yes, yes he was.

Sasuke charged her and Sakura was caught off guard by his amazing speed. When he appeared in front of her, suddenly, the only thing she had time to do was grab his hand before it made contact with her stomach. He pressed on, though, and the tendrils of lightning began to scrape through her black tunic. It whipped open and now the chidori was clawing its' way through the bandages beneath.

Sakura channeled more chakra into her fists, trying to keep him at bay. But Sasuke did the same, and the chidori was gaining space and was getting much too close to her stomach. There was only one thing to do now, but she was quickly losing chakra in trying to stop the chidori from burrowing itself into her stomach. She channeled chakra into her left foot and pulled away from Sasuke by sidestepping. This threw him off balance as he had been trying with all his might to hit Sakura with the chidori. Sakura grabbed his arms, and once again swung Sasuke to the side, hitting him into a tree. The chidori dissipated immediately.

Itachi was impressed. It took a lot for Itachi to be impressed, but the kunoichi had done it. Stopping the chidori was no easy feat for anyone, much less a kunoichi. If it had been Kakashi's chidori, he was sure that it would have overcome her instantly. But Sasuke had a strong chidori as well, and it took a lot of raw power to be able to avoid such a devastating blow. However, she had effectively halted the attack and managed to get a good hit on Sasuke in the process. Sakura wasn't even fighting at her best, he knew. She was holding back because she really had no desire to kill Sasuke. It was only her loyalty to that damned Konoha that was making her do this.

When should Itachi interfere, though? That was the question. Surely, he wasn't going to allow Sakura to kill Sasuke. That would be counterintuitive. Would he allow Sasuke to kill Sakura? That would also be a waste at the moment. They needed her for a mission and she was still healing his eyes, after all.

There was also something about the kunoichi that attracted him to her. She was beautiful, for one. But he had other women who could sate his desire for a beautiful woman. Additionally, he had never attempted to bed the kunoichi. It was something else. There was this eternal flame within her that never seemed to extinguish. Even when he had been mentally torturing her, whether it be the scrolls or the Sharingan, her will had never wavered. Surely, it was her master's teachings of the Will of Fire, but he had never seen such a bright fire in anyone before. It burned so brightly, that he doubted that anyone could extinguish it in the girl.

He saw them then, the tears slowly spilling down Sakura's cheeks as her chakra-infused foot connected with Sasuke's head. She was suffering. Despite her resolute answer to her brother earlier, that she no longer loved him, he could tell she was lying at least a little. Fighting with her forming teammate was eating her up internally, and she held quite strong feelings for Sasuke even if she did not truly love him anymore. His younger brother went flying and was effectively knocked unconscious. Kisame turned from his perch below Itachi to look at him. Itachi simply nodded.

By the time Itachi had made his way to where Sakura was kneeling over Sasuke, he only had time to halt her next attack. Kunai in hand, Sakura was preparing to plunge the weapon directly into the unconscious Sasuke's heart. Itachi grabbed her hands tightly, and Sakura stopped instantly.

"Let me go," she choked out, the tears more prominent now than ever.

"No," he replied coolly. Then, almost softly, he said, "You'll never forgive yourself."

The kunai dropped and Sakura pulled away from the elder Uchiha's grip. She was now facing him with an incredulous look on her face. "You've never forgiven yourself, have you?"

The shock and despair that crossed his face was so brief that Sakura wouldn't have seen it had she not been looking directly into his eyes. His head shaking 'no' was also more subtle than she could have noticed had her attention been anywhere else.

"Sasuke has a mission," Itachi stated emphatically, having regained his sudden composure. This scene felt oddly intimate, and it made him uncomfortable. His intentions were not to bare his soul to the Konoha kunoichi in front of him, "To kill me. You let him try to accomplish that."

Sakura nodded in understanding, but then she turned back around to Sasuke. She took the kunai, and Itachi was about to stop her but then he realized she was merely cutting of his white shirt. Her glowing green chakra swept over his body, healing any life-threatening wounds. Then, she began to make hand seals.

Itachi leaned over her, his black cloak billowing over her head, and his arm touching her back slightly. Sakura stiffened at the contact, and she said wryly, "I'm sending him back home."

Itachi merely nodded. That was where he belonged, and that way he could be stifled and controlled a bit before their final confrontation. It also allowed him more time to have his eyes healed. There was no need for Sasuke to run around a rogue ninja any longer. Sakura completed the seals and slammed her open palm on Sasuke's chest. Black kanji began to appear and went in a circular motion around Sasuke's body. Then, in a puff of cherry blossom petals, he was gone.

Sakura slumped, and Itachi looked at her body. With his Sharingan, he was able to deduce that she had all but completely drained herself of chakra; hence, causing her sudden unconsciousness. This wasn't the first time she was like this – there had been a few of his healing sessions where Sakura fell nearly unconscious from putting too much chakra into his body. Picking her up by her back and tucking his arm behind her knees, he turned towards the Akatsuki that were now joining him.

"Kid knows how to fight," Kisame noted.

"Sakura-san is stronger than we know," Tobi commented.

"She wasn't even fighting at full power, yeah," Deidara said. Itachi nodded, "That's one kick ass kunoichi, yeah."

X

It was half past three, Tsunade noted, which meant it was happy hour. Really, every hour was happy hour when your apprentice of five years gives herself up to the Akatsuki in order to save another ninjas life. Of course, Tsunade was proud of Sakura, but she missed her, too. Sakura was the bright and cheery sunshine that was Tsunade's mundane life.

Without Sakura, Tsunade found it difficult to sneak sake into her office past Shizune. Sakura understood the need for a drink sometimes, and would even distract Shizune for her. This came with a price – Sakura carefully monitored the amount of sake that passed through the door, but at least she didn't have to deal with Shizune's constant nagging.

The day was almost done. She'd finished going through the briefings of returning ninjas, handed out assignments to the teams of genin, and now all she had to do was approve some budgets. Then it was time to go home.

Still, she worried for Sakura. If Shino, Neji, Kiba, Genma, and Ino didn't find Sakura soon, Tsunade worried they would dispose of the kunoichi. Tsunade gathered it would take at least a few months for Sakura to heal Itachi's eyes. The man was nearly blind, after all. Plus, she was sure Sakura would go slowly, biding her time. She had trained her apprentice well.

The Akatsuki would also be moving frequently in order to evade the ninja after them. Sakura had three months, she deduced, before her life was in eminent danger. That didn't mean that she didn't instantly send out a team of her best ninja to find her. The hokage had chosen to keep Kakashi and Naruto behind.

The last thing she needed was Naruto bounding off to find Sakura, and therefore facing the Akatsuki. She was sure that they were trying to use Sakura as bait for Naruto in some way, shape, or form. Naruto had been devastated and angry by the news, but after much discussion with herself, Kakashi, and Jiraiya, he finally agreed to stay back. Well, not really. It had taken a talk with Hinata Hyuuga to truly deter the blond from leaving. Tsunade smirked – Naruto had no idea the power Hinata held over him.

Tsunade had just taken her second shot of sake and returned to her reports when her nose twitched. The smell of cherry blossoms filled the room and an ounce of hope rose in her chest suddenly. When she looked up, though, she was completely and totally taken off guard.

A bare-chested and battered looking Sasuke Uchiha was lying, unconscious in the middle of her office. There was a transportation seal performed on his chest, and Tsunade recognized it as Sakura's own version of Tsunade's transportation jutsu.

Tsunade jumped from her desk and ran to the door. "Get me Shizune, Hatake, and Uzumaki! Now!"

The chunin intern that had been standing outside the door allowed papers to slip from her hands in shock as she nodded and ran in the direction of Shizune's office. Seconds later, Tsunade's first apprentice appeared and gaped at the Uchiha.

Tsunade was bent over him, assessing his wounds. "He was in a fight with Sakura. I'm sure of it," she mumbled.

Shizune joined her, pressing her chakra into Sasuke. The wounds were definitely indicative of a fight with Sakura. She began to heal his wounds, and the Uchiha coughed, sputtering some blood. Shizune noted to her teacher, "It was one hell of a fight…hey is that sake I smell on your breath!"

Tsunade muttered something unintelligible, but didn't deny the accusation. Just then, Kakashi appeared at her window. His visible eye widened in disbelief at the sight before him. "We should wait for Naruto," was all he was able to choke out.

As if on cue, the boisterous blond came through the door with a loud bang, but his eyes dropped to Sasuke instantly. His mouth fell ajar in shock as he fell to his knees, tears pricking the edge of his eyes. Sasuke coughed again and groaned in pain as his entire body stiffened.

"Shizune, sedate him," Tsunade commanded, and the younger medic quickly pinched a nerve in the back of his neck, and his body went limp again. After a few minutes of complete silence, Tsunade and Shizune had effectively healed all of Sasuke's wounds.

"He was in a fight?" Naruto asked, still in shock at the sudden appearance of his teammate.

"With Sakura," Tsunade noted. Naruto's eyes got big. His mind flashed to the conversation two years prior when the entire group had agreed to kill Sasuke on sight if they ever came across him. Something, either internal or external, stopped Sakura from killing Sasuke. Naruto was all too happy that happened because the last thing he wanted was his bastard dead, after all.

"There's something wrong," Shizune said. "This seal should have disappeared by now."

Tsunade nodded in agreement. She performed a few hand signs, knowing her apprentice was crafty, and slammed her palm down on the chest of the Uchiha, right where the center of the seal was located. The seal disappeared, and was replaced, in black letters, with Sakura's handwriting.

'Take care of this for me. I love you shishou.'

"Kakashi come here," Tsunade commanded. Kakashi left his perch from the window and walked over to Sasuke. Kneeling next to Tsunade, he looked at the hokage. "I have a theory, make the same hand signs as I did and perform the same unsealing jutsu."

Kakashi did, and Sakura's handwriting appeared again. 'Use your eye drops and take care of Naruto. And do not blame yourself. This was my choice. I love you, Kakashi-sensei' Kakashi gasped a little at the message clearly left just for him.

"Shizune," Tsunade said, inclining her head. Shizune nodded, performed the jutsu, and pushed her hand lightly on Sasuke's chest. 'The recipe for the new poison I was working on is in my apartment in my hiding spot. Take care and I love you.'

Shizune gasped, "We've been trying to replicate it for weeks!"

"Naruto, go ahead," Tsunade urged.

Naruto tentatively performed the signs and hit his former teammate in the chest, right where the others had. It was slow to come forth, but Sakura's message appeared in her normal, neat handwriting. His message was longer than all the rest, and took up a good portion of Sasuke's chest.

'Naruto. Don't come after me. Don't do anything stupid. I'll be home as soon as I can. You should also take the ANBU exams. There's no need to wait for me, and you're ready. Take care of yourself and Sasuke. I love you – Sakura.'

Everyone felt it, the slight undertone in the messages. Because if things didn't go as planned, if she didn't return soon…this was Sakura's way of saying goodbye.

AN: I hope you enjoyed. Please review!