To Love and to Love Again Chapter 29: Pieces

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER AND AUTHORS NOTE: I do NOT own Naruto. The awesomeness of the Naruto Manga and World is the creation of Masashi Kishimoto. This is Purely Fanfiction. All things Medical in this entire fanfiction should not be taken as serious medical advice or facts. PLEASE CONSULT AN ACTUAL DOCTOR FOR ANY MEDICAL INFORMATION/QUESTIONS. THANK YOU AND ENJOY!

"In Breaking News, business mogul and Konoha Medical Centers Chief Executive Officer Sasuke Uchiha was shot down in broad daylight this morning at approximately 8:15 am in front of the prominent Tokyo based hospital. He was quickly wheeled away into the emergency room where sources say he immediately underwent surgery to stabilize him. His exact condition and extent of injuries is unknown at this point but eyewitness accounts say Sasuke was shot in the chest while on his way to work. Police will not yet comment on the incident pending an ongoing investigation. The main hospital entrance has been taped off as a crime scene, where you can still get a glimpse of the bloodshed that occurred only mere hours ago," said the news reporter as she indicated the area. "Police will not comment as of yet on the circumstances of the shooting, but with a member of a high profile family such as the Uchiha's indicates this could possibly be a targeted assassination attempt. With me now is an eyewitness who saw the whole thing go down," she said while shifting her attention to a middle aged woman.

"He just so happen to catch my attention when he and a beautiful woman, passed me by. Based on the way he was kissing her before it happened, I would assume she was at least his girlfriend. I remember thinking it was so nice to see young love when all of the sudden we heard the gunshots. Next thing we know that nice young man was hit and bleeding all over that young woman. Thank goodness she was a doctor and they were right outside a hospital, the poor thing," she said.

"That doctor has been confirmed as none other than Dr. Sakura Haruno. Dr. Haruno is best known as the prodigy physician taught exclusively under the legendary Dr. Tsunade in Kyoto. Her father also happens to be Hatake Kakashi, the Captain Commander of the Kyoto Police Force. It is unknown whether or not the Commander will be a part of the investigation. The extent of Dr. Haruno's relationship with Sasuke is yet to be confirmed but sources say that they are a couple and they are close."

"Sasuke Uchiha is the 26 year-old youngest son of the prominent Uchiha Family of the Tokyo District. His parents, former Hospital Administrator and Uchiha Corp CEO Fugaku Uchiha and his wife Mikoto have not been able to be reached for comment. Their eldest son Itachi Uchiha is a well-known Tokyo Detective, and also could not be reached for comment, though speculation has it that he's fighting go be a part of the investigation regardless of the circumstances of conflict of interest. Sasuke's only other relative is his five year old daughter Suki-"

The TV was shut off as Naruto hurled the remote across the waiting room. "Damned TV reporters," he muttered as he got up and paced the room.

Neji retrieved the remote and turned the TV back on with the volume low but continued to pay diligent attention to what the press was saying about the incident. This was bad, for a whole lot of reasons. Sasuke getting shot in broad daylight provided way too many eyewitnesses to his shooting and way too many opportunities to jeopardize their own investigation and keeping this as under wraps as they would have liked.

"Is Kakashi here yet?" Neji asked while keeping his eyes concentration on the news. The entire hospital was in an uproar about the shooting. It was so chaotic that Tsunade had to make rounds silencing them all with enough fear to last them a lifetime.

"He went straight to the school to check on the kids when he heard about the shooting," Naruto answered. "I checked with HQ and they let me know. He thought this could have been a plot to get to the kids and didn't want to chance anything."

"It's plausible," Neji replied. "But whoever we're dealing with knows way too much about Sakura and her routines. He must know how much security the children have as it is. I'm betting it's more likely he was trying to get rid of Sasuke," he said before Naruto got a message on his phone from the CIA HQ.

"They've finished their analysis. We all meet in an hour, but I don't want to leave her," he said, turning his head to look at Sakura.

Sakura had passed out for a good half hour. Hinata found her sprawled out in front of the OR wing. She was covered in so much blood that Hinata thought she had been the wounded one and left to die there on the floor.

Rumor has it Hinata went postal on the surrounding staff about leaving her there on the floor for any period of time. She helped Sakura clean up and change out of her bloody scrubs and into a new pair, then waited with her in the surgery waiting area.

When Tsunade came out of the OR in less than an hour, Sakura immediately assumed the worst and felt something inside her about to burst. Tsunade took one look at her face and instantly announced that Sasuke was stable and being transferred to ICU.

Now she was standing outside Sasuke's ICU unit, watching him through the glass. She hadn't said a word since she came to from losing consciousness. She was in shock, as any woman would be after having her boyfriend shot in front of her eyes; with his blood literally on her hands.

Naruto had never seen such a sight as the one he saw outside the hospital. Sakura covered in Sasuke's blood was a sight he won't ever forget.

"You and everyone else here involved has to go," Neji said firmly "In the meantime, Itachi will be here watching over her. Let's go." He turned the TV off.

Naruto stood directly behind Sakura. He wound his arms around her and pulled her back against him in a fierce hug. She placed her hand over his arms and met his eyes through the reflection in the glass.

"He's-"

"It's not your fault" he said fiercely. "Don't you think for one second that any of this is your fault, you hear me? Nothing you did or could have done caused any of this to happen and you better believe that Sakura."

"I can't leave him," she whispered. Naruto hugged her tighter and nodded.

"I'll take the kids home with me tonight. I won't let anything happen to them. We're going to give our statements to the police. We'll be back soon," he said. She simply squeezed his hand, letting him know she heard him.

Naruto released her and with one last look, he left with Neji to hear what had been found.

He didn't know whether to be ecstatic or infuriated at the current situation. One the one hand, Sasuke Uchiha was finally writhing in pain and might be dead soon. One the other hand, it wasn't by his hand, and that small but significant fact just might be the only conceivable reason that he might wish for the bastard to survive this; so he could go back and personally kill him himself.

Now he had another dilemma on his hands. He turned to the vile red headed woman in a near hysterical state next to him, mourning the downfall of her beloved Uchiha. He wanted nothing more than to strangle her at this very moment, but refrained. Kabuto might want that pleasure himself.

After all, she was the one who shot the bastard.

He was just glad that he happened to be doing recon work and spotted Karin with a sniper's riffle not a rooftop away from him. He knew right away that this would ruin their plans and tried to get to her and stop her from going insane with that thing. All he managed to do was roar her name in the most imposing voice he could. She flinched at the sound of his voice and lost her aim, resulting in the Uchiha getting shot. Her scream of horror permeated the air before he clamped her mouth shut with his hand. It was then that he deduced Sasuke Uchiha wasn't her intended target after all.

She was aiming for Sakura Haruno.

Dr. Haruno never would have survived being hit by a snipers bullet. He had inadvertently saved Sasuke Uchiha's girlfriend and Kabuto's obsession, while Karin shot her own. There was irony in there somewhere, but he was too preoccupied to care. His arm was beginning to sting. Once that psychotic bitch grasped the situation, she attacked him like a wild cat on steroids by clawing at him with those red nails and scratching the hell out him. He had no choice but to sedate her.

Even in her sedated state, he could see the hatred for him in those glazed eyes. Karin was slack in her seat but focused on him with a creepy intensity that made his skin crawl.

"You lost it back there, and you only have yourself to blame," he admonished. "Did you honestly think shooting a woman like Sakura in broad daylight would go unnoticed? And did you really think your precious Uchiha would have let the woman he loves die without killing her assailant first?" he asked not really caring if Sasuke being in love with her was true or not. He simply asked the last question mainly to agitate her as the stinging from her scratches grew more bothersome. Karin's eyes blazed.

"I'll kill…you," she whispered. He just smirked.

"Not unless Uchiha goes down first, and you've pretty much gotten that covered today," he returned. He knew if she was alert, she would lunge at him again. "Let's see how you deal with Kabuto once he finds out you were about to kill his fantasy girl."

Karin's eyes changed from hate, to horror. He couldn't really blame her. Kabuto was one creepy fuck. He didn't know all the details but he was sure there were some less than ethical things going on in that lab of his. The fact that Karin didn't mind doing the man and the fact that she hated him to a degree just didn't make any sense, but that wasn't his problem.

For now, his only problem was deciding whether or not to be happy about the Uchiha getting shot; quite the dilemma.

She waited until everyone who was permitted to see Sasuke had left his room. She couldn't face any of his family members after what had happened. She didn't want to be a coward but she simply didn't have the guts to look at his mother without feeling like the plague. She wouldn't have been able to look any of them in the eyes after knowing that one of their own was hurt because of her.

And it was because of her. That was irrefutable.

She didn't intend to run into Itachi at any point in time, but that's exactly what happened. She thought everyone had left the room, but Itachi was still there lingering in the corner. His eyes shifted their focus from Sasuke to her.

Sakura didn't allow him to meet her eyes and shifted her focus to absorbing the sight of Sasuke lying in that bed with monitors and IV's hooked everywhere and a great span of gauze covering his chest.

He looked like himself; big and long, his lean put prominent musculature exposed to the dim light. The gauze covering his chest did nothing to deter his shape. If anything it emphasized it. His dark hair still retained its luster. He looked…asleep. It was like someone simply placed all that equipment on him while he took a nap in some practical joke.

His was on oxygen, and his breathing was a bit shallow, but she now had a new appreciation for his body. He was able to survive something as devastating as a gunshot to the chest because of how strong he was. Sakura chose to believe that over chance. It was the only explanation she would give herself as she walked over to stand beside him.

It was hard to imagine that not long ago, he was covered in his own blood and hanging onto life with everything he had.

The thought made Sakura feel chilled to her bones. She remembered feeling so safe with him, thinking that nothing could get to him. He was her strength when she needed him to be. He did everything he could to protect her. She made the mistake of thinking for a second that he was invincible, and clearly he wasn't. He was human, like her, like the rest of the population. And being with her finally took its toll on him.

Now he was here in the ICU having narrowly escaped death.

She could feel Itachi's eyes on her. Deciding just to face the accusation in his eyes and get it over with, Sakura looked up at him, only to find his eyes neutral. No sympathy and no hate either.

"….Hi," she said at a lame attempt at conversation. She told Sasuke months ago that she hated silence, and Itachi was no exception to that. He simply nodded at her. Sakura almost sighed. Silence was golden in the Uchiha family. At least Suki was wonderfully bubbly. The thought of Suki brought a whole new wave of dread.

"Did you tell Suki about what happened?" she asked in a way that fully expected an answer from him. Itachi shook his head, all the while looking at her with those calculating eyes. "Do you plan on it?" she asked. Again he simply shook his head. "Do you plan on saying anything to me or do you blame me for what happened to your brother?"

Itachi surprised her by tilting the side of his mouth slightly north in a microscopic smile.

"You talk too much," he finally said, making her take a mental and physical step back. She could've laughed. Sasuke had said the same thing to her repeatedly since they met, and she'd respond in same. She didn't care. She'll talk as much as she wants.

"And you don't talk enough," she replied crossing her arms over her chest. "Like big brother like little brother," she said all the while thinking how wrong it seemed to think of any of them as little. Sasuke and Itachi were both big men.

"You're a detective," she continued when he didn't reply "Are you planning to participate in the investigation?"

Itachi shook his head again, almost smirking at the small twitch in her eye. She decided to ignore his looming presence for now. Her annoyance dissipated when she saw Sasuke. She hesitated for a moment before she gently grasped his hand. It was awkward with Itachi in the room. It was almost as if he was standing guard over his little brother. What did he think she was going to do? Unplug him?

"Could I have a minute?" she asked. Itachi simply walked out of the room. Sakura sighed.

"It's precious how protective he is with you," she whispered to Sasuke's debilitated form. "I can't say that I blame him. I'm a hazard to you as it is," she said, not even flinching when tears absentmindedly rolled down her cheeks.

She should end things with him. She should distance herself from him and Suki, even her own son and anyone else that she loves. She had no doubt that whoever shot Sasuke was after her in some way. She never believed in coincidences, not anymore at least. She couldn't fathom why anyone would be doing this to her, but it was happening and the people around her were paying for it. She couldn't let this continue. She had to do something. She had to make sure that no one else got hurt because of her.

But…she was human as well, and she was selfish.

She couldn't leave Sora, no matter what the circumstances. He was her baby, her life and she loved him more than he could ever know. And she would never make him suffer the pain of losing her along with Sai. He needed her just as much as she needed him. Suki was no different. If anything, that beautiful little girl needed her just as much as her son did. Sakura knew how much Suki loved her. It was in her eyes every time she looked at them. Such innocence and pure untainted love could only come from someone as precious as a child, and she was Sasuke's child. No, she could never leave Suki as well. Being a mother instilled an eternal pain at the thought of leaving her babies, making the thought of leaving them inconceivable.

But the most selfish reason she could think of was the man lying in the bed before her. She leaned forward and kissed his forehead. The tears fell onto his skin.

She knew now that she never wanted to leave him. He was so much more to her than he could possibly know. He couldn't know how much he's changed her life over the course of the year. He was strong willed, confident, precise, calculated, smart, caring, demanding, controlling, stubborn and so vastly arrogant that at times it was stunning. Yet when she was in his arms, he made her feel so alive and wanted.

She moved until she sat right beside him on his bed. She leaned as close as she could to his face, having the side of her face rest by his on the pillow. She kissed his cheek before closing her eyes and letting herself sense him rather than see him. He was unsettlingly cool to the touch. She was so used to his warmth that this was extremely noticeable, but he had lost a lot of blood making it understandable.

She came so close to losing him. The thought that he could have died today was beginning to infiltrate her bones. She would never be able to live through another heartache like she did three years ago. He had to survive, no matter what she had to do to make sure that happened.

She thought she moved to Tokyo for a better life for Sora. But she never thought she would stumble onto this. She found so much more than a fresh start for her son and herself. She found family and friends that she knew she could count on. Her son smiled more and for that she would always be grateful.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I don't know what to do anymore Sasuke. I don't know when this is going to end. All I know is that this can't go on. I can't bear it if anything were to happen to someone else in my life."

His breathing was still shallow and unsteady. She knew he was out and couldn't hear her. Even he wouldn't be able to come to that fast.

"Would it be stupid to say that even though I should leave you, I can't?" she asked. "Would it be even stupider to say that I can't tear the kids apart? Would it be selfish to say how much I need you? I need you…I…" she searched his face for any sign of alertness "Please wake up…" she pleaded "I need you to wake up. I just need you." she whispered before closing her eyes and letting the tears run free.

He felt the pain. It spread through his body in immense waves radiating from his chest. Damn if anyone knew he metabolized faster than the average man. If he went long enough with pain, the curse seal would resurface. He couldn't let that happen.

He could sense people coming in and out of the room; his nurse and doctor as well as his parents and Itachi. He even sensed Sakura when she was in the room with him.

It nearly drove him insane just lying there as she told him how much she needed him and begged him to wake up. He could hear and sense her as she lay next to him while his damned body wasn't even able to flinch in response. She cried. He felt her tears and her lips as she kissed his forehead. He was dying to touch her, to know she was okay. He just wanted the ability to open his damn eyes and see her.

She fell asleep next to him. Her warmth transferred into his body as the air around him perfumed with her scent. At least she was safe and here beside him. What he wouldn't give just to see her. She stayed with him like that for hours. Sometimes he would drift in and out of sleep, but each time he came to, she was still there.

Rage consumed him fast. He was royally pissed off that someone had shot him. Now he couldn't protect her and he had no clue when the damned pain would recede.

He had to control his heart rate. The pain was intense, but nothing he hadn't handled before. He had to focus. The sleep induced state they put him in was not to his advantage if he couldn't even open his eyes.

He suddenly felt someone enter the room, make a sound and pull Sakura away from him. Every nerve in his body tensed, unable to move and keep her with him. Who the hell was taking her away? It wasn't until he heard Neji's voice speak to someone else in the room that he only slightly relaxed before tensing again. Even now, in pain, Sasuke did NOT want him touching her.

He took deep, even breaths as he recalled the events leading up till now.

He was shot. He was shot right in front of her in broad-fucking-daylight.

He tried to control his rage as his mind attempted to analyze the information. Judging from the pain, he was shot in his damn chest and nowhere else. He could barely move, indicating his great blood loss. But what he didn't know was whether or not he released his curse seal. He would find out quickly enough if only he could open his damn eyes.

He could hear the monitors and smell the antiseptic of the ICU. His breathing was forced now with the oxygen mask. He felt incredibly exposed not knowing exactly where he was or who saw him in this condition. He sensed the presence of someone in the room.

"I'd be happy to tell everyone you're awake," he heard Tsunade say. "You only need to open your eyes and tell me so."

Sasuke felt relieved now that he knew for sure he was in his hospital. No one was any wiser about his condition. He struggled, but the pain was interfering with the ability to open his eyes. His heart rate began to spike as well. Tsunade shook her head and pressed a button, releasing morphine into his IV. After a few minutes, it began to take effect.

"It seems you metabolize your enzymes faster than usual. Interesting," she said.

Sasuke was getting thoroughly annoyed by her tone and was dying to open his eyes just so he could glare. He finally managed to crack his eyes open and found himself annoyed once more at how blurred everything was. It took him a minute, but eventually, he was able to focus on Tsunade as she flashed a damned light into his eyes.

"I have to say," she said while writing something in her chart. "You're quite the interesting patient Sasuke. For a GSW to the chest, you didn't sustain as much damage as I would have imagined," she said conversationally. "Oh sure, you'll be out of commission for a while, but you'll carry on just fine."

Sasuke began testing out his physical capabilities by stretching his toes, legs and arms. His fingers were okay, but the tightness in his chest when his arms flexed was another thing. If the morphine wasn't there, it would have hurt tremendously.

"Sakura went home to check on Sora," she continued as if Sasuke was participating in the conversation. "He, as well as Suki are with your parents for now, but Suki hasn't been told about your condition as of yet. Sakura didn't know how to tell her, and no one else would without her okay. Strange how even your brother needed her consent to inform his own niece," she said while knowingly smiling at him. "She stayed with you all night last night and refused to leave you. I forced Neji to take her home and rest. I'm sure she'll be back soon. She's stubborn like that you know."

It was at this point that Sasuke was able to fully focus on her. It was evening. He didn't know what time. Hell, he didn't even know how long he'd been out for. He still couldn't find the strength to speak, and that probably pissed him off more that not being able to see.

"You probably can't do much more than glare at me seeing as how you're so tense. Relax your muscles and movement will come to you. Don't try anything miraculous, you were shot in the chest after all," she reminded. "Sakura's and the kids are safe so take it easy. They're going to need you to rest," she said before muttering about how she needed a sake after dinner.

His heart rate spiked as he tried to move, actually achieving a bit of motion before retracting again.

"Rest Sasuke," Tsunade ordered while gently pushing him down. "Don't go ripping out all those delicate sutures in your chest."

When he tried to move again, Tsunade gave up and upped his sleep medication. If he was going to be bull-headed about recovery, then she would just make him sleep. After a few minutes Sasuke was out, but she could have sworn he went down glaring.

"Typical Uchiha," she said shaking her head as she exited his room. "I guess it would kill them to relax."

They had all gathered in the Agency conference room to analyze the data. Every Agent associated with Sakura in some way was present, skimming over various photos and data as they tried to make sense of this new and violent occurrence.

"Every event from the day she moved into the city is as follows," said Shikamaru while indicating the timeline of events that have affected Sakura. "The most recent is the infiltration of her office. It's been swept for bugs and recording devices, none of which we have discovered yet there had to have been a way where he knew what she did and when."

"Not to mention how he managed to smuggle all those roses into her office without anyone noticing," Kiba added.

Everyone sat at the large oval shaped table situated in the center of the room. Kakashi sat at the head of the table while, Neji, Naruto, Tenten, Hinata, Gaara, Chouji, Kiba, Ino, Shino, Asuma and Lee as well as Tsunade and Shizune.

"It's a hospital," Chouji replied. "Don't people bring in flowers every day? It would have been a task, but he could have come in at different intervals pretending they were for a patient. Personally, food sounds much better than flowers if I were hospitalized," he mumbled. Ino rolled her eyes.

"The nurses never really question someone walking around the floors with flowers," said Hinata. "Especially not in the maternity ward where that kind of gift is common. Keep in mind that up until now, Sakura's situation was not made public. The staff looks out for people around the nursery to protect the babies, but they don't know to be on the lookout for suspicious people around the floor."

"We only have so much authority as "physicians" to tell them what to look out for," said Tenten with air quotations. "I'm telling you I don't know how doctors actually function with all the chaos. I'm dying to get back to my arsenal and shoot something," she said with a huff. Neji gave her a look, which she returned as she sifted through crime scene information of the shooting.

"I realize that the only practicing physicians here are Tsunade and Shizune," Kakashi replied. "You all have ascertained more than enough medical education to take on these covert ops. But we're going to have to rely a lot more on your skills as Agents now more than ever. Your face time around the hospital will be limited. Let the look- a-likes take care of it," he said referring to the actual trained physicians that were perfectly disguised to look like Neji and the others when genuine surgery was needed.

"Were orange roses the only flowers found in her office?" Ino asked as she sifted through the pictures of the office. "No other colors were seen?"

"What does that matter?" Naruto asked. He was more frustrated with this situation than anyone else. His best friend was in the hospital and the woman he considered to be a sister was scared out of her mind and they had nothing.

"The flowers themselves mean everything," Ino replied indignantly. She was the CIA's best botanist and known for her specialties in exotic plants and flowers. She was also skilled in their poisons and antidotes. "This guy's pretty symbolic. I think this goes beyond some kind of romantic obsession. If that were the case he would have given her the classic red rose. But he gave her orange, which symbolizes fascination. Something she did triggered his desire to have her for something. What that something is, we can only guess. The point is he has to know her somehow; beyond what you think is in his mind. And I assume we're still talking about Sai's brother am I right?" she asked.

"For now, he's the only suspect that we know of," said Shikamaru.

"Then let's say I'm Sai's brother," Ino continued. "Somehow, I got separated from my brother for years on end. I might even assume that my brother Sai is dead. All of the sudden, I somehow find out that he was alive, and he even has a family: a wife and a son. You might say that I'm pretty fascinated by that, because I sure as hell would be. Assuming that Sai knew about his sibling, things might have ended badly enough between them that he might try to take things out on his family."

"Now you're just pulling at the strings here Ino," said Neji. "Up until now, we didn't even know Sai had living relatives. Sai never mentioned a brother and given his history with ROOT, we can't assume that his sibling was exempt from that."

Ino sighed. "I realize that it's a stretch, and I'm speaking hypothetically here. At this point, what more can we do but play out all the scenarios of what ifs? Besides, those roses are not readily available this time of year. My guess is this person had to travel a lot to get them."

"Motive is one thing," Naruto said. "But Sai's brother or not, I want to know how he could have pulled off a stunt like that. When did he have the time to haul all those roses up to her office? There has to be some record of a purchase that large unless the bastard freaking gardens them for a living. The hospital is 24/7 with constant buzz of activity."

"No one recalls seeing anything or hearing anything," said Tsunade. "But records show that it was a busy night at the hospital and if he were to simply come in one by one no one would have been any wiser to what was going on. Of course we combed the entire floor and office but as expected this guy was careful. Not a print or shred of physical evidence to nail him."

"I don't think we're dealing with any ordinary guy," said Tenten as she studied one particular paper.

"Obviously," Shikamaru replied. "But what makes you think so. You've been out of the loop for a while during your maternity leave. A fresh set of eyes should help us out," he said when it looked like Tenten might send a senbon needle his way at his tone.

"We're looking at this wrong," she said as she stood up and walked toward the holographic projection screen. She brought up the information she was reading. "Look at the scenario with all the details. A military grade snipers bullet was used and shot from the rooftop of the adjacent building. The way the bullet went through Sasuke tells me that the trajectory doesn't match. He wasn't aiming for Sasuke. Rather, Sasuke got in the way of the real target…Sakura."

The room stilled at the announcement.

"It can't be anyone less skilled than a sniper," said Kakashi. "Snipers are trained to take the wind velocity and direction into account along with distance and aim. If this was a sniper, he couldn't have missed. It had to have been Sasuke he was aiming for." He couldn't believe that Sakura was centimeters away from death.

"… Something rattled him right before the shot," Tenten replied. "That tipped the aim ever so slightly and missed his true aim," she explained. No one said anything. It was completely plausible, yet no one dared say anything to a seething Kakashi. "Kakashi…there was no wind activity that day. Not even a slight breeze. He was interrupted…which means…"

"There could be a witness…or another suspect we're dealing with," he finished.

"Which could also mean that this is more than one perp with an obsession," Naruto added. "This is leaning toward organized crime." Everyone shifted in their seats as the new direction sank in. This was more complex that they could have imagined, and worse because they still had no leads whatsoever.

Chouji coughed and stood up from his seat. "I'll pop some corn. We're going to need it," he said before exiting.

Everyone else sighed as they braced themselves for research and recon. Kakashi got up from his seat and began pacing the room. Everyone left him for the time being, knowing he would need space. They all had a lot to digest at the moment.

It was going to be a long night.

She watched both children as they slept peacefully in Naruto and Hinata's guest bedroom. She was surprised that Suki remained here with them. She assumed that her grandparents would have gotten her. But when Hinata explained that Naruto simply refused to hand her over to them, she smiled. She could always count on him to know what she needed.

"Why don't you stay here with them?" Hinata suggested. "Naruto and I would rather you stay here with us tonight. I don't think it's wise for you or the kids to be alone."

Sakura nodded in agreement. She wasn't about to argue with anyone about that issue now. She was exhausted, and she missed the kids more than she knew. "Thanks Hinata. I don't know what I'd do without you guys."

"You're welcome. Let me get you something to sleep in," she said before leaving and returning with some of her pajamas and bidding her goodnight. Sakura changed quickly and tried to figure out where to sleep on the bed. Suki was curled up on one side while Sora was sprawled out on the other. With one wrong move, he would fall right off the bed.

Sakura smiled and gently lifted him in her arms and crawled into the middle of the bed before placing him beside her. She brought Suki closer on her other side. Both children instinctively rolled into her warmth, snuggling against her sides. Their innocent sleeping faces brought tears to her eyes.

She loved them so much. She would give them a peaceful night's sleep before explaining what happened to their…to Sasuke.

"Mmmm," Suki stirred, making Sakura gently rub her back to sooth her. Suki blearily opened her eyes.

"Go back to bed sweetheart," Sakura whispered. "I'm right here."

"Aunty Sakura," Suki mumbled. "Where's daddy?"

Sakura noticed that Suki was already drifting back to sleep, and knew she didn't really have to answer her. When Suki was fully asleep, Sakura felt like the biggest jerk.

She had no idea how she was going to tell them about Sasuke. Everything was just falling to pieces around her but she knew it was inevitable. Regardless of her stress, sleep was merciful and took over her thoughts for the rest of the night.

Kiba and Itachi were sent back to the crime scene to see if they could find anything the police might have missed. Kiba had Akamaru with him and let him loose to see what he could find while Itachi scanned the surrounding perimeter for anything amiss.

Akamaru picked up something right away and began heading in that direction. He came toward the edge of the rooftop before lifting his head and signaling that he had found something.

"He's got something," Kiba said as he made his way over. He knelt down beside his faithful dog, patting his head when he saw exactly what he found. He flashed a UV light in the patch of gravel and smirked. "Good Boy," he praised rubbing his ears.

Itachi came and knelt beside him. His eyes narrowed at the illuminated spots on the gravel invisible to the naked eye. He took out the specimen bottle and swabbed the small flecks of area that barely marred the ground. He put the swab into the vile and held it up before him as the fluid turned pink. Kiba smirked once more.

"Got him," he said triumphantly now that they had a blood sample of the supposed assailant.

Anko snuck into the CIA lab late in the night, carrying a vile full of a red substance. This was her only chance to get an answer and she wasn't going to waste it.

She placed the sample onto the slide and looked at the image. She had had an itch about Sasuke Uchiha ever since the night at the Gala all those months ago. It was stewing in her mind for months when all of the sudden she had the perfect opportunity to scratch when he was shot.

It was easy enough to get a sample of his blood from the crime scene. The results were now in. She knew it, and now had the proof.

"Got you," she whispered into the microscope as the black cells invaded the slide. She now had the proof.

Sasuke Uchiha carried the Curse Mark of Heaven.

It was simple enough for him to tweak the necklace and duplicate its transmission capabilities to split two ways. It was a bit more complex hiding the recording capabilities. There was no choice but to substitute one of the delicate diamonds with a diamond weaved white microphone sheet. The sheer diamond dust would fool even the most meticulous diamond experts, and even a pesky Sound rebel.

There were not many instances where she took that damned necklace off. He had to take a chance and catch her with it off, and his minion saw it one particularly bloody day at the hospital. Sakura had just stabilized a trauma patient and ended up covered in blood and other nasty bodily fluids. He had one of his nurse minions follow her into the showers and as she cleaned up, performed the tweak within minutes.

That was two nights ago, and he now regretted it more than ever. The repercussions were too great, and although he took immense pleasure in knowing Sasuke Uchiha was nearly killed, he couldn't ignore the fact that this could have ruined everything.

He turned to the woman responsible. Karin was sitting in her chair, still seething after her stupid mistake.

"A little birdy told me you decided to take matters into your own hands," he said before grabbing her by the neck and holding her up against the wall. Karin grasped his hand around her neck, yet when she got a good look at his face, she cringed.

"What...did you…do…?" she choked while staring at his pale scaly skin. His eyes were also changing into a diluted form of yellow…so much like he used to look.

"I'll tell you what I will do," he answered. "I'll use you to try out my latest experiment. Now that I think about it, you're type of blood just might do," he said before shutting the door and swallowing her screams.

AUTHORS NOTE:

Thank you all who messaged me and reviewed the last chapter. I haven't had the time to reply back to you all but I've read them all and appreciate any and everything you guys have to say about the story.

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