Sakura didn't know what to expect in terms of Sasuke's promise to talk to Kakashi. She couldn't help fantasizing about working with the band's wry yet clearly thoughtful and intelligent manager, even if it was a pipe dream. It was doubtful that anyone would successfully be able to help her out of her hole of contracts. She and Sasuke had talked on the phone multiple times in the weeks after her breakdown, and he'd said the only thing Kakashi had told him was that he was "working on it." Even if, somehow, there was a miracle way out of her contract with Orochimaru and Cobra Records, Kakashi probably wouldn't be able to take her on.

Her stomach had felt strange since arriving in Taki for her show that night, and Sakura couldn't help thinking it was her conflicted feelings over this whole thing. She'd started thinking about the consequences of pulling out of her contract: the negative press, and the effect it might have on her tour and image. Sakura had been pacing back and forth in her bus for the past half an hour, killing the time before Shizune and the makeup team would arrive to get her ready. Orochimaru was off with another client, luckily.

As if on cue, her cell phone started ringing. Sakura seized it from where it lay on the couch, assuming it was Sasuke, but the number was unfamiliar. She wondered if a fan had found her number. That had never happened before (her management had been getting her number changed every few months); it would probably be fun to talk to some of them on the phone. Though if people knew her cell phone number, it would be ringing nonstop. The crowd at every show had been concrete evidence of the sheer number of fans she had now.

"…Hello?"

"Sakura Haruno?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"Tsunade Senju. You know who I am?"

"Um, no, I'm sorry."

"Good. Kakashi Hatake got in touch with me, I assume you know who he is despite your obviously very busy life."

"Yeah, of course. Why—" Who was this woman?

"Excellent. I'm here to get you out of Orochimaru's spider web. How does that sound?"

"Sorry, could you just explain who you are?"

There was a short bark of a laugh. "Right. I used to be a manager. I've been roped back into this whole circus because I'm determined to ruin Orochimaru's success for a myriad of reasons I won't go into right now. Look me up if you want to, I'm sure you'll find all kinds of juicy stuff. Unfortunately, if all goes well you'd be under contract with me, but I'd put your wellbeing first and not your tits."

Sakura snorted; she couldn't help it. "Okay, but I'm under contract with Orochimaru and Cobra Records. It's nonnegotiable."

"Nothing's nonnegotiable," she said. "Especially when someone's threatened with a lawsuit. That's where you come in. I need you to tell me everything that's happened to you over the past twelve months. That means label meetings, diet restrictions, amount of time you were told to spend in the studio, clothing decisions. Think you can do that?"

"I—I have no idea." It wasn't like she'd kept a diary.

"Get someone on your team you trust to help you. Promise them a lot of money if they seem like they might rat you out, we'll deal with rewards later."

"Why do you need all that information?"

"I would tell you, but you knowing as little as possible would be better. You seem like a smart kid, so I'm sure you can figure it out. Just get all of that to me as soon as possible. Leave a recording at this number, and have that trusted person send me a document with everything written down."

"Okay."

I just need you to tell me you're sure you want to go through with this. It may or may not drastically affect your career."

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Good. I'll be in touch, then." There was a click and the line went dead.

What just happened? Sakura replayed the conversation in her head. Who was this woman?

A few minutes later, her phone rang again.

"Sakura? This is Kakashi."

"Oh, hi," Sakura said, still distracted by her previous conversation.

"You didn't by any chance just get a call from Tsunade Senju?"

"I did," Sakura said. "It was, um…"

"She comes on strong when you first meet her," Kakashi said. "But I promise you, there's no one better to help you out of this situation. You just have to trust her, and try not to be offended by anything she says. I've known her for a long time."

"Okay. I—Thanks for everything, Kakashi. You didn't have to look into this, I'm really grateful."

"I really didn't do much," Kakashi said. "And it's my pleasure. I want to see you happy."

"That means a lot."

"Yeah, yeah. I also have to tell you that we shouldn't communicate for a while after this. For the sake of my business interests, I don't want to be thrown into the news about this if it's not necessary."

"I get it," Sakura said, darkly amused.

"I'm glad," Kakashi said. "Well then, the next time I talk to you, hopefully your situation will be settled. In the meantime, have a good rest of your tour."

"Thanks. Bye," Sakura said.

It was as if Sakura's conversation with Tsunade was the flick to a row of dominoes: suddenly, things began to happen in quick succession. When Orochimaru showed up backstage before her show in Taki, Sakura wondered if it was the universe trying to make her guilty. But then Orochimaru smiled at her and asked if she'd eaten a carb-heavy lunch, because her outfit looked tighter than usual. Sakura knew she had nothing to feel guilty about.

Shizune agreed to record Sakura's testimony of everything that had happened to her, promising to keep this particular secret just as she hadn't told anyone about Sasuke.

Sakura also realized that her stage fright before shows had all but gone away. The energy of her concert was enough to wipe the worries from her head for a few songs, but she still felt distracted during the songs that didn't demand 100% of her mental and physical energy. It was strange that complex dance routines and singing with everything she had were becoming second nature. Two years ago, she would've said she'd never get used to performing in arenas like this, but the nerves were almost nonexistent at this point. She'd received nothing but good responses from her audience.

The day after Tsunade had called, Sakura and Shizune sat down in the back of Sakura's bus while en route to Sakura's next concert. There was no one else present, and no chance of being interrupted for the next few hours.

"I feel like I'm in a spy movie, the way I snuck on," Shizune said.

"I guess that's just my life now," Sakura said, shaking her head.

Shizune grinned. "Alright, I'm recording your voice, and I'll type up what you say, too." She settled back on the couch. "So I guess just…Get into it?"

Sakura wished Tsunade had given her questions to answer, because she wasn't sure about the right things to say. What would back Orochimaru into a corner? What would make her look like she wasn't picky and self-centered in this situation? "I don't really..."

Shizune shook her head. "Okay, well, how about I prompt you? Talk about the clothes. Your dress code."

"I've got a strict wardrobe," Sakura said slowly. "I mean, I don't get much say in what I wear, especially onstage. The team always recommends I wear tight skirts and really small tops, because that's what's in. I tried to wear a t-shirt once, and they said it would be too baggy to appeal to my audience. They meaning Orochimaru, at a concept meeting. But the people at the label agreed with him. I didn't try to argue, I figured they knew best. I'm still new to this, you know? It made me uncomfortable to only have specific things to choose from. It was like that for awards shows, too. And once I started getting more press, my publicity team would send me the clothes I was allowed to wear on a daily basis." She paused, realizing it as she said it. "I went into the studio once with wet hair and no makeup, that's when that started. After that I was told to look presentable in all settings. Couldn't go out without a full face of makeup and a specific outfit."

Shizune was grimacing. "Were you given instructions about eating?"

"Yeah," Sakura said. "I've been a diet for the past year, technically. I was told to lose fifteen pounds before going on tour, and I had to gain some muscle." She hadn't told Sasuke about that particular instruction, knowing it would infuriate him. "Orochimaru tends to comment on how I look, especially when I'm wearing performance clothes. Yesterday he told me my outfit looked tighter than usual." It was a relief to confess these things out loud. "The food restrictions started soon after my first EP was released, when there was more buzz about me, I guess. I started having more public appearances. The diet schedule only got stricter."

It went on like that, with Shizune prompting Sakura with questions about her prescribed schedule, whether Sakura was overworked, and comments Orochimaru had made. That led to Sakura talking about the grueling recording schedule of the past year, and the label's claim of total creative control over her new material. Not self-conscious anymore, she mentioned the meeting in Kiri when people from the record label had discussed an engagement between her and Sasuke.

An hour had gone by when Shizune finally stopped recording her. "Oh my God, Sakura. If I had known half of that—I knew it was bad enough because of the brands they were telling me to get, but everything else..."

"Don't worry about it," Sakura said. "There was nothing you could've done. And I wouldn't have wanted you to get fired. That's why this worries me..."

"I'm anonymous," Shizune said, waving a hand. "My voice can be altered on the recording, and no one will know it was me. I just hope this woman knows what she's doing, otherwise...Well, this is a bold move."

"I know," Sakura said. "I hope so too."

Despite the uncertainty around everything happening, Sakura couldn't help feeling lighter once they had finished. She'd spent so long thinking her feelings weren't valid. Confessing everything that had eaten at her for the past year had felt unbelievably good.

Of course, when Orochimaru showed up in her bus a week later with a dangerously cold smile, most of that warmth evaporated instantly.

"Sakura, have you heard of a woman named Tsunade Senju?" His tone was polite, but she heard the venom.

Tsunade had called her for the second time the night before, and Sakura was grateful for the timing. After telling Sakura her testimony was "perfect," Tsunade had given her specific instructions for what she should and shouldn't say to Orochimaru when he inevitably faced her. Apparently Orochimaru and Tsunade had been in contact for the past week, though Sakura didn't know the details. From Tsunade's wickedly amused tone, it sounded as if Orochimaru was riled up. He hadn't been at any of Sakura's recent shows.

"Yes, I have," Sakura said calmly.

"When was the first time you spoke to her?" Orochimaru asked.

"I've never spoken to her," Sakura said. "I've just heard about her."

"Sakura, what you're doing right now—Well, let me just say I've never been more shocked. Or disappointed."

"I don't know what you mean," Sakura said.

"To attempt to get out of your legal contract? Without telling anyone at the label, including me? If you're being pressured, Sakura, don't be afraid to tell me."

"Pressured to get out of my contract? Not at all. It's Cobra that I feel the pressure from." Her self from a year and half ago would never have been this calm in this situation. Performing in front of thousands of people really did do good things for your confidence levels.

"This can all be figured out. I'm always open to making accommodations, if you feel your needs have increased now. It would be warranted, under the circumstances. Now that you're an international star, our budget for you is sky-high." Orochimaru smiled.

"It's not about getting me things," Sakura said. "I'm not happy with this contract, and I'm not happy with you as my manager."

"So you chose to go to a stranger instead of talking to me?"

"If I bring up a question to you, you say that you know best and don't consider my opinion," Sakura said. "I'm sorry. I know how much you've done for my career. But I've spent too long thinking you have my best interests at heart."

"Sakura, just take a minute and think about this," Orochimaru said. "I will call a meeting with our team, and we can negotiate."

"That's not necessary."

"Do you really want your tour and career to be derailed by press about your dramatic choices? There's a reason recording contracts aren't broken."

"Do you want your career to be derailed by the truth?" Sakura stared at him, not moving.

Orochimaru closed his mouth and stared at her. "Well. You've made your feelings quite clear. I hope you know the consequences of your actions, should Tsunade Senju successfully wriggle her way into this." With that, he turned and left the bus. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief and made sure the door was locked.

No matter the circumstances, she knew this was a slap in the face for the company that had turned her into the celebrity she was now. But she also couldn't bring herself to feel bad about it. Telling the story of the past year to Shizune had flipped a switch inside her that ensured she didn't turn an accepting, blind eye to certain things.

The month of July passed in a haze of blinding stage lights and Sakura waiting for updates from Tsunade, in the dark about the details. Orochimaru hadn't spoken to Sakura since their conversation on the bus, though the arrangements for her various tour stops continued to be the same. Sakura was consumed by stress over whether or not this would work out. If it didn't, she was fairly sure Orochimaru would make her life a living hell for her attempted betrayal. Tsunade sent her brief emails about progress; they were attempting to settle the dispute without going to court, for the sake of sparing Sakura a mountain of bad publicity. Sakura's account of her treatment was also a good reason for Cobra not to encourage an investigation.

The ideal outcome, Tsunade had told Sakura, was a clean dissolution of her current contract with Cobra, which would also get her out from under Orochimaru's control. Of course, that would leave her without a label, but Tsunade didn't seem worried about it and Sakura couldn't help trusting her.

It was a good instinct, because late one afternoon, she got an email from Tsunade that read only: Congrats. A little paperwork and you're done with Cobra. Sakura took that to mean they had settled a deal. It was a whirlwind, only intensified by her buzzing phone. But instead of Tsunade this time, it was Orochimaru. Sakura almost didn't pick up, but a part of her wanted closure.

"Hello?"

"I'm surprised you answered the phone, Sakura. Having second thoughts?"

His slithering voice made her entire body prickle. "No."

"You're lucky you had Tsunade to do your dirty work. You've never had to do anything for yourself, I suppose." Any attempt at politeness was clearly only present when he still stood a chance of keeping her.

"That's absurd," Sakura said coldly.

"I told you I was disappointed the last time we spoke. To use me and Cobra Records for your own gain, and then attempt to dump us once you were done? I made you, Sakura Haruno. Do you honestly think you would be anything without me or this company?"

"I'm grateful that you took a chance on me," Sakura said. "But I can't go along with the way you've treated me, the way the label has controlled my life and my music and my body."

"That's fame, Sakura," Orochimaru said. "That's what comes from being a celebrity. If you think it will be any different at another label or with another manager, you're even more naive than I thought. When you try to do this again, remember that I did know best."

"You can tell yourself that, when you have no clients and no one to play puppet master with," Sakura said. "I'm finished." She hung up before he could say anything else.

Knowing that she had won, Sakura thought she would sleep better that night than she had in a long time. But Orochimaru's words continued to echo in her head, and she couldn't push them away. I made you, Sakura Haruno.

A/N: Hi all. Going to try and finish this one by the end of the summer.