Chapter 16

I hear birds chirping. Sunlight warms my skin. I open my eyes and see white. I blink twice, adjusting to the light pouring in through the open window. I know this place, I realize. I'm in the hospital in Konoha. I sit up abruptly, looking around, but I see only Naruto dozing on a chair beside my bed, snoring softly.

"Naruto!"

My voice is raspy and low, closer to a whisper. The vibrations send pain through my throat, but it's not nearly as bad as before. I bring a hand up to my throat and my chakra flares, assessing the situation. I've been taken care of. Most of the damage has been repaired. My body has been left to recover on its own from here on.

I glare at Naruto, who sighs in his sleep, blissfully deaf to my voice. I grab my pillow and hit him with it. His eyes shoot open and widen at the sight of me.

"Sakura-chan!" he says, grinning. "You're awake!"

"Where's Itachi?" I ask.

"Tsunade said you're not supposed to talk much."

"Never mind that. Where is he?"

Naruto fidgets, looking uncomfortable. "Prison, where else?" he says in a small voice. The pillow drops from my hand.

"How long have I been unconscious?" I ask.

Naruto hesitates. I'm starting to dread the answer. "It's been five days since we returned. Everyone's worried sick about you. Tsunade-baa-chan said you'd need plenty of rest, but she-"

I push the covers and move to get up.

"Sakura-chan, I'm not sure that's such a good idea."

"Help me," I say instead of brushing him off, like I usually do. It takes him by surprise. He stands up and holds my arm as I stand on wobbly legs, like a newborn calf. "Is Tsunade-shishou at the hospital?"

"I- I think so. She was here about an hour ago to check up on you."

"Go get her while I get dressed, please."

He gives me a worried look, but does what I asked, to my great relief. I really don't have it in me to fight with Naruto right now. I remove my hospital gown and slip into my clothes, which have been cleaned and folded neatly while I was asleep. Five days. I can't believe it. Why didn't anyone wake me up?

I'm putting on my sandals when Tsunade enters the room like a whirlwind, Naruto trailing behind her with his tail between his legs.

"Sakura, this is outrageous!" she says. "Get back into bed right this instant!"

"I need your signed permission to see him, Tsunade-shishou," I say instead.

"I don't know what happened between the two of you, but you're not going anywhere. You need to rest, to heal, and to forget any of this ever happened."

I pause. Forget? How could I ever forget?

"There are things you don't know," I say.

"And you'll tell me all about them. When you get better."

"I need to see him."

I can see her initial irritation losing ground in favor of worry. Naruto, peeking at me from behind her, has the same expression on his face. I finish strapping on my shoes and stand up, looking at Tsunade expectantly. They've never seen me like this before. I've always been compliant, never arguing with my betters, never showing this blatant disregard of their authority.

I wait for what seems like hours until Tsunade looks over her shoulder at Naruto and tells him to leave the two of us alone for a minute. He does, but not before casting another worried glance at me. I'm left with my mentor.

"Sakura," she says in a voice that bodes ill. "You ran away. I covered for you as best I could, but don't think I've forgotten. I've read Kakashi's report and I don't understand what happened one bit. But there's one thing I do know: Itachi Uchiha is an S-rank missing-nin. You have no business seeing him."

"Please," I say. "I'll explain everything. Just let me see him this once and I will write it all down in a report."

"Whatever lies he told you-"

"He didn't!" I raise my voice, despite my throat protesting.

Tsunade looks surprised at my outburst, and a little disappointed. It hurts, but I can't help it.

"I barely recognize you, Sakura."

There it goes: another crack in my heart. I hardly register the pain anymore. Everything within me is numb. I don't recognize myself either. I want to tell her that, but she'd get the wrong idea. She'd think I agree I'm turning into a monster. What I'm becoming is something else entirely, something I've never been. I'm becoming strong inside.

Seeing as to how I give no sign of backing down, Tsunade lets out an exasperated sigh. She pulls a note from her pocket and scribbles something on it. Then she puts her seal on it and hands it to me.

"I want a full report on the entire period you've been gone," she says. "Whatever you've done, I don't care. Just write everything down."

What does she think I've done, shannarou?!

I say nothing, just nod my head and pocket the note. I'm still a bit weak, but I leave out the window eitherway, picking the rooftops as the fastest route to the prison. The clean air makes me feel less queasy by the minute and I rush towards my destination with newfound strength.

I don't remember getting to the prison or making my way inside, I just find myself face to face with the guard at the entrance at some point. I hear him talking, but I didn't get a thing.

"I'm sorry, could you please repeat that?" I say, and I don't recognize my own voice. Kisame really did his number on me. That and the effort I made arguing with Tsunade over giving me that note. I hand it over to the guard when he asks for it a second time, looking annoyed at having to repeat himself. He quirks a brow as he reads it, but says nothing as he hands it back to me. He removes all my weapons, checks for any hidden ones and tells me to go on in.

It's a dank, dark place and I dread to think of Itachi having spent so much time here already. I'm stopped by three more guards who ask for my permission slip before the last one finally takes me down several flights of stairs, to the level where they keep the most dangerous criminals. We must be deep underground by now, and there are no windows here, only ventilation shafts to bring fresh air from outside, though it does little to improve the smell.

"Give me your palm," the guard tells me, and I do. He proceeds to draw a symbol in the middle of it. "Stick to the middle of the corridor. When you reach the last door to the right, place your palm on the door and it'll open for you."

He doesn't tell me if that's where I'll find Itachi or if it's just another security measure. I don't ask. My feet carry me along the corridor seemingly of their own record. Most of the cells here are empty. As I come near the end of the hallway, I hear voices speaking quietly. I think I recognize Itachi's and I stop to listen. An interrogator?

"Danzo left the village the day after you came back."

Not an interrogator. And this is a woman's voice.

"He's afraid."

Itachi! I was right. My heart picks up its rhythm. But who is he with?

"You have a visitor, I think," I hear the woman say, and my blood freezes in my veins. As weak as my chakra signature is at the moment, she sensed me. A moment too late, but still.

Itachi's cell door opens and the woman steps out. As soon as I see the ANBU mask covering her face, I know who this is: Itachi's liaison. It's funny how I always pictured his contact as a man. Growing up, I don't think I saw many strong kunoichi in Konoha, so I always assumed the elites are made up of men.

She's tall, her hair put up in a long, dark ponytail. She walks up to me, and I feel my hair standing up on end.

"Hello, Haruno-san," she says in a pleasant voice.

I merely nod in reply, too surprised to say anything back to her. When I look at her over my shoulder, I notice a tattoo on the back of her neck. The symbol looks familiar. I think it's the crest of one of Konoha's clans, but I can't put my finger on it right now.

I swallow the lump in my throat and close the distance between me and that door. I take a deep breath and place my palm on it. Something hisses and it swings open, revealing a tiny cell. I see Itachi sitting on the bed and my heart stops, everything else forgotten.

Hi! Tomorrow I'll be posting the final chapter, along with the first chapter of the sequel.

Thank you for reading this fic!