Sakura held her head steady as the world slowly came back into focus. She had only traveled via a transportation jutsu a couple of times and was not yet used to the dizzy feeling that accompanied it. As her vision cleared, she saw they were in a forest she didn't recognize. She could still feel Itachi's arms around her shoulders steadying her.

"Where are we?" she asked.

"About 20 miles from Madara's base. I was unable to transport the both of us any further than that. Make sure you keep your chakra hidden as we travel."

"Of course. Forgive me but I don't know how far I'll be able to walk."

Itachi looked down to her for a moment. She was astonished at the gentle look he gave her. "I understand Sakura-san. We need only to travel by foot for a while until I restore my chakra enough to transport us again."

She nodded in agreement and began walking beside him. Every step she took sent pain shooting throughout her body. She refused to cry out and instead forced her body to continue moving. Her weakness was becoming apparent, however, and she found herself unconsciously leaning into Itachi's frame.

"Why are you helping me?" she finally asked him.

"We will talk later."

His voice wasn't harsh but she caught the underlying order to remain silent. They continued to walk through the forest; Itachi holding her about her shoulders as they moved. She wasn't sure why she was trusting him at the moment but she did. This was the man who murdered his entire family, attempted to capture her best friend several times, and was an S-class missing-nin wanted for various crimes...however, she found herself trusting him with her very life. Hopefully, when they were able to stop he would give her some kind of explanation as to what was going on.

Suddenly, Itachi stopped moving and pulled her into the thickets of the forest.

"Lower your chakra to an absolute minimum and stay silent." he whispered harshly to her.

She wanted to tell him she had basically no chakra left and that hiding it wasn't exactly a problem, but she followed his orders. Shortly after he spoke, she felt someone's chakra moving towards them. Barely a rustling of leaves signaled the arrival of three shinobi.

Sasuke stopped only 10 yards or so from them, staring in their direction. She knew he would be following but she was surprised at how fast he found them. The two shinobi with him were obviously the Suigetsu and Jugo Karin told her about. She wouldn't divulge their powers so Sakura had no idea what they were up against.

Sasuke had not moved even though she knew he could see their chakras as his sharingan was activated. His hands were fisted at his sides, his katana still in it's sheath at his back. She felt Itachi squeeze her shoulder once before he slowly guided her into the clearing.

Sasuke's face never changed expression as they revealed themselves. He still made no move and his silence was obviously making the shinobi that traveled with him very nervous.

"I don't sense anyone else following you Sasuke. Have you possibly come alone to speak with your aniki?"

She saw a muscle in his face twitch. "What is the meaning of this? How is this possible?"

"Much is going on that you are unaware of Sasuke. During your rehabilitation your partners have made their move."

She didn't miss the grimace that crossed Sasuke's face at his statement. What rehabilitation is Itachi talking about? Was Sasuke injured?

As if sensing her question Itachi looked to her to answer. "He had Madara transplant my eyes for his. Luckily, he saw fit to place Sasuke's old eyes within me."

Sakura couldn't contain her gasp.

"Itachi...I.."

"Do not concern yourself to apologize for that. I am dead. It was a logical step for you to take."

If Sakura didn't know better she could have sworn Sasuke looked guilty.

"I don't understand what's going on Itachi. How are you here?"

"Unfortunately that is not something I can explain in a few words. I do not have the luxury of standing around talking. Now, unless you plan on attacking us, Sakura-san and I will be leaving."

Itachi raised his hand to begin the transportation jutsu but Sasuke's pleas stopped him.

"Itachi wait! Please!" In all her life Sakura could honestly say she had never seen such a sorrowful look on Sasuke's face. "I need to speak with you. You can't just show up and leave again dammit! You owe me this!" Sakura turned her face away. Sasuke looked as if he would cry and she refused to see such a side of him. She was afraid seeing him look human would break down a few barriers she had carefully placed.

"Sakura-san is greatly injured and we must continue to move away from Madara's base."

"Fine, then I will travel with you."

"I do not know if I can trust you not to reveal our location Sasuke, or to not attack Sakura-san."

Sasuke's mouth opened and closed a few times before he was able to form a coherent sentence. "Me? You don't know if you can trust me? I'm your fucking brother! The one you manipulated your entire life! Everything you've done has been carefully scripted and you don't know if you can trust me?"

Sakura gripped Itachi's robes tighter as her knees threatened to give way. His arm tightened it's hold around her shoulders and she fought to keep her head up.

"I demand you speak with me. I demand some straight answers from you."

Itachi and Sasuke stood glaring at each other.

"I intend to transport Sakura-san and myself a few miles from here. Will you follow?"

Sasuke's body visibly relaxed at Itachi's words. "Don't waste your chakra. I'll do it."

Sakura couldn't stop the fine trembling that went through her body. There was nothing she could do to stop the situation and she didn't have the strength to move on her own. If Sasuke decided to transport them back to Madara she knew she would die. She didn't allow the cringe she felt to work it's way to her face as Sasuke and his companions moved closer to them. As she felt the pull from the jutsu begin, her vision blackened and she fell unconscious once again.

The first thing she noticed was she was lying on a soft surface, face down. She inhaled deeply and was pleased to find the sheets she layed on seemed freshly washed. Begrudgingly, she opened her eyes and found herself lying on a futon in a rather large room. Sasuke's companions were sitting against the wall near her. She could see Itachi and Sasuke sitting in the far corner of the room. While she couldn't hear what they were discussing, she could see Sasuke's hands balled into tight fists.

Slowly, she began to push herself into a sitting position, though her muscles protested the effort.

"Allow me to help you Sakura-san." The larger of the two men said as he moved forward. He placed his hands on her shoulders and assisted her to a sitting position on the futon.

"Thank you." she whispered.

"Here." he said and passed her a glass of water. She was amazed at how nice and polite the orange haired man seemed. As she drank her fill he introduced himself. "I am Jugo and the man sitting against the wall is Suigetsu. We're team mates of Sasuke's."

"I know." she said as she handed him back the glass. "Thank you very much."

"You're welcome. How are you feeling?"

"I've been better." she said with a small smile. She glanced down to take stock of her injuries and was shocked to find herself in nothing but her bra and tight shorts. Jugo must have noticed her expression because he was quick to explain.

"Itachi-san removed your shirt and skirt once he layed you down. I'm afraid they were ruined and weren't doing you much good anyway. He also said they would be in danger of adhering to your wounds if left in place."

"He's right. Thank you for explaining their absence though." She noticed the large collection of herbs sitting near the end of her futon. "What are the herbs for?"

"Itachi said something about you making an anti-dote for whatever you've got. Jugo here sent his animals after them." The man called Suigetsu answered.

Very carefully, she scooted down to the herbs and began going through them. As long as they had some parchement and ink she could create a proper anti-dote.

"Sakura-san." Itachi's deep voice called.

She looked up to see him approaching her. "Though it has been quite some time, I believe I got the correct ingredients for the anti-dote."

"There are one or two that are not necessary but yes, these are the correct ingredients. How did you know what poison they gave me?"

He raised one elegant eyebrow at her. "I am quite familiar with the methods of Akatsuki."

"Right, sorry." She gathered up what herbs she needed and stood slowly. "I'll begin making the anit-dote then."

"Do you need anything Sakura-san? I'm glad to be assistance if I can." Jugo offered.

"Well, if you really don't mind..."

"Of course not."

"I do need a boiling pot of water and I could use some help crushing the herbs."

They worked for almost an hour before Sakura was satisfied with the anti-dote. Itachi and Sasuke had left the room to speak in private once again. Sakura was surprised there were no sounds of battle coming from their direction.

"You seem very skilled in this Sakura-san."

"Thank you Jugo-san. I have studied under the greatest medic of our time and while I am nowhere near her level, I can say proudly I am one of the top medics of Konoha." she replied as she poured the liquid into a glass. She was not looking forward to drinking her mixture though. While it would serve it's purpose of eradicating the poison from her system, it had a very foul taste. She held her breath and forced herself to drink the liquid in one gulp. The taste still made her shudder and take in deep breaths so she would not vomit the mixture back up.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." she replied breathlessly. "It's just nasty."

He chuckled as he helped her walk back to the futon. "How long before it takes effect?"

"I should be able to access my chakra enough to heal the wounds I have in a couple of minutes."

"Really? That's quick."

"Yeah, but it won't remove the poison fully for a full day. I won't be able to fight properly until then."

"So, why did Madara have you?" Suigetsu asked.

Sakura weighed her options before she spoke. "I don't think I should discuss anything until I speak with Itachi-san again."

Suigetsu sighed and leaned back against the wall once again. "Man, this is beyond fucked up. I can't believe Kabuto's nasty ass is back again. I definitely owe that bastard for some of the experiments he put me through."

"We must wait and see what course of action Sasuke-san wants to take. Seeing Itachi-san alive again has been a hard blow to him."

Suigetsu bowed his head a little. "Yeah, I know. Maybe he can get the full truth from him though; about what Madara was talking about."

Sakura said nothing during their exchange. Once again, she held herself silent hoping to learn more information about what was going on. From her talk with Naruto just before she attacked Sasuke, she got the impression that something was off with the massacre of the Uchiha clan. Unfortunately she didn't know what. There was a mountain of information being kept from her by so many people and she was getting more angry about it everyday. She thought she and Naruto could speak openly with each other, share everything, keeping no secrets.

Apparently she was wrong.

The door to the cabin opened and Itachi walked in followed by an obviously upset Sasuke. He slowly walked over to the wall and sat with his back propped against it. His head remained downcast the entire time; his long bangs hiding his face from everyone. Itachi looked at his downtrodden frame with such pity before exhaling and closing his eyes briefly. When he turned his gaze on Sakura, all the emotion he just showed was once again wiped from his face.

"Have you created the anti-dote?"

"Yes, I'm just about ready to begin healing my wounds."

"Good. After you are healed we will talk. There is much for us to discuss."

"Yes there is." Sakura replied. She searched her system and found around a quarter of her chakra was now accessible to her. That would be enough to heal the injuries she had and she was more than ready to be rid of the pain. Carefully, she laid on her side on the futon, being mindful of the whip marks on her back and the broken ribs she still had. She formed the necessary hand signs, and began building her chakra. When she had accumulated enough, she released it all at once, allowing the chakra to rapidly spread throughout her body and heal any injury in its wake.

At first, the pain was fleeting. Minor wounds to her arms and legs were the first to be healed. She felt the tingling around her face as the bruising she had cleared up. The jolt to her torso as her broken ribs began to mend had her gritting her teeth and panting to hold her composure; but when the jagged remains of her flesh on her back began mending she couldn't stop the whimpers from escaping her throat. Fire laced through her system as the infection that had already set in was purged from her blood. Sakura curled onto herself in a vain effort to stop the cries she wanted so badly to unleash. It felt as if hours had passed before the torment began to lessen, allowing her to stretch herself out on the futon.

A low whistle from the opposite wall finally drew her attention. "That looked pretty painful there blossom."

The name irked her but she had no energy to reply to it.

"Are you alright Sakura-san?" the large man asked.

"Yes." she panted. "I will be fine. Thank you Jugo-san."

"Rest again Sakura-san." she heard Itachi say and she felt no need to dispute his order as the blackness overwhelmed her once again.

The smell of cooking fish awakened Sakura again. Her stomach gave an auidable growl at the enticing smell.

"Looks like somebody is awake again. I'm getting pretty familiar with your sleeping face there blossom."

"Shut up." she mumbled as she sat up on the futon.

"How are you feeling Sakura-san?" Jugo asked.

"Much better thank you." she ran a quick scan through her system. "All of my injuries are gone and the infection has been removed. The poison is out of my system and my chakra should be restored by the morning."

"Sakura-san." she looked over to Itachi just in time to catch a bundle he threw at her. "Clothes. From the occupants of this house. I believe these will fit you."

"Umm...where exactly are the owners of this house? And where are we?"

"The owners seem to have vacated this dwelling. I'm sure with the threat of war coming so close to them they decided to leave the area. We are somewhere in the land of frost."

Sakura gasped at this knowledge. "We're right in the path of the war then."

"Aa. Go change and we will talk."

She followed his direction to the small bathroom located at the back of the hut. She tested the water and was grateful to find it still worked. A hot shower was just what she needed to work the stiffness out of her tired muscles, not to mention wash the filth off that had accumulated during her captivity with Madara. She was quick with her bath, ever mindful of her unwanted company, and dressed in the clothes Itachi gave her. The split skirt was longer than the one she normally wore but it fit, thankfully. For now, she washed her tight shorts in the sink and hung them to dry over the towel rack. Her thighs would be open for display as she was now, but there was no helping that. The shirt was sleeveless and tight on her frame but not uncomfortably so. She tied her hair up so it wouldn't drip on her shoulders and took several deep breaths to steady herself.

Now was the time she would hopefully get some answers about everything. While she was grateful for everything Itachi had done so far, she was unsure of his intentions. This seemed so out of character for him but his words indicated he was hiding something big. Whatever it was, it obviously had to do with the murder of his family. Sakura was doing her best to not even look at Sasuke but she couldn't help but to notice the sadness and regret that swamped his being. She desperately fought down the sudden urge to find out what was troubling him. She couldn't afford to waste her compassion on him. He was determined to destroy her home and kill one of her best friends. Talking with the stoic boy had done no good for the past four years and she was sure that had not changed. Besides, he had no desire to atone for the things he had done.

Stealing her expression, she walked out of the bathroom and crossed the room back to her futon. She felt Suigetsu's gaze on her thighs but he made no comment, for which she was glad.

"Sakura-san, would you like to eat now?"

Her stomach growled again and she blushed in her embarrassment causing Suigetsu to laugh.

"I take it that's a yes." he said through his laughter.

"I'm starting to understand why Karin said she always hit you." Sakura said as she took the offered plate of fish and rice from Jugo.

The food was heavenly to her tongue. Not having eaten for the past four days probably helped her come to that decision but she didn't care as she enjoyed the meal. As she was taking another bite, she noticed Suigetsu and Jugo's confused expressions.

"What?"

"How...how do you know Karin?" Suigetsu asked.

Her expression now mirrored their own. "Cause we took her back with us." she stated slowly.

"Took her back with you? When?" Jugo asked.

"We haven't seen her for a while." Suigestu stated.

"Wait. You haven't seen your team mate in 'a while' and you haven't been worried?" she asked, dumbfounded.

"Nah. We got separated at the Kage's meeting and only just met up with Sasuke again as Madara pulled us out to see you. She was with Sasuke last time we saw her."

Sakura glanced over at Sasuke but he was facing the wall; no expression crossing his face. She couldn't see a single shred of remorse for his actions show on his face, even though his team mates where questioning her whereabouts. A giggle left her lips and she saw him whip his head to her. She ignored the glare he cast her. Jugo and Suigetsu had no idea the kind of murder they were teaming with. They had no worries about Karin because she had been with Sasuke!

"What's so funny Sakura-san?"

"Oh, it's not really funny as it is sad Jugo. You weren't worried about Karin were you? I mean why would you be? She was with him." she laughed again humorlessly. "We took Karin back to Konoha after I finished healing her."

"What was wrong with her?" Suigetsu asked.

"Oh, nothing much. Just a chidori wound through her stomach."

Sakura continued eating her food as she watched the faces of Sasuke's remaining two comrades fall. Disbelief shown in their eyes...until they turned to look at Sasuke. He stared right back at them, no guilt, no remorse, just a silent confirmation of what she'd stated.

Sakura was acutally a little grateful to Karin. They didn't speak much, but what they did say to one another was not useless comments or pleasantries. In one way they were very much alike.

They had both been betrayed by Uchiha Sasuke.

While Karin now wanted nothing to do with him, Sakura wanted to make sure he was stopped. She admitted her own weaknesses and realized she was not powerful enough to take him out, but she wanted to make sure her home was safe. That after everything was over, she would be able to walk into Konoha again with Naruto at her side...well, perhaps she should stand behind him proudly. Naruto had far surpassed them all and deserved to be recognized as the hero he was; the hero the village now saw him as.

"I don't understand." she heard Jugo whisper.

"What's to understand?" Sakura said with a small shrug. "Karin was in the way of his revenge, he took her out so he could complete it, didn't you know how was when you teamed up with him?"

"He wouldn't have...he's protected her before, protected all of us when we fought the eight-tails." Suigetsu said.

"Sorry boys, that Sasuke is dead."

"Shut up Sakura."

"Don't talk to me you worthless piece of shit." she hissed.

Jugo and Suigetsu sat back against the wall, stunned. Sasuke's eyes were whirling red with the Sharingan as he stared Sakura down. What was surprising was the transformation of the sweet girl they had been talking to. The moment Sasuke spoke directly to her, her eyes narrowed and seemed to shine with malice as she hissed her words at him.

"Enough."

Everyone stilled at Itachi's command.

"This will get us nowhere and there is not much time left to discuss plans. Sakura-san, you will need to sleep tonight in order to recover your chakra fully before we set out in the morning."

"What exactly is our destination Itachi-san?" She could feel her muscles trembling with the effort it took to hold herself back from flying at the younger Uchiha and pounding her chakra laden fists into his body.

"You have knowledge that must be given to the Allied Shinobi Forces. If they are functioning as I believe they are, Someone from the Yamanaka clan is probably at the headquarters giving information to the troops." She nodded a yes. "Then we must get you to them. There are still many who have been resurrected who would fight against the massive army Madara has behind him."

"That isn't going to be easy. We're in the path of the war and still far from the Allied base."

"Aa. But you have to get there. This information must be told to the others. Just sending a carrier hawk will not ensure it reaches it's destination, especially in these times."

"Itachi-san, why would you do this? Why are you willing to help the Allied Forces? Before your death, you were a member of Akatsuki. What would change that?" Sakura asked.

Itachi stared back at Sakura's inquisitive eyes. She felt, more than saw, Sasuke tense horribly. Finally, just before she thought he wouldn't speak, Itachi addressed her.

"I have always been...a loyal shiniobi...to Konoha."

What kind of answer...

"And I have never failed a mission."

Itachi's gaze gave her pause. It was truthful, but sad. She ran his words over and over again in her mind. While Sakura was no where near Shikamaru's level of intelligence, she was still a very smart woman. In only a few moments she came to a very disturbing conclusion. It couldn't be...there's no way they would...Her eyes belied her and she saw Itachi nod his head once.

Tears pricked her eyes. That's why Naruto said he understood. He mentioned Madara told him everything. That must be what they talked about. For a moment, she felt shame for her village shroud her. The third was hokage when the massacre happened so he was the one who...

She had nothing but fond memories of the third and it hurt her badly to know he condemned this.

Her shishou's image flashed into her mind.

Tsunade-sama was her mentor, her instructor, and a woman she looked up to. The job of hokage was difficult and taxing, but she trusted her mentor and the decisions she made. Whatever happened to cause the third to make this decision, she knew in her heart, Tsunade-sama would have never made the same one. She could never order the deaths of an entire clan under her protection. When Pain attacked, she put herself into a coma working to protect her villagers.

It saddened her to know there was a potentially corrupt time in Konoha's history, but the fact of the matter was it wasn't unusual. Every hidden village had it's skeletons in it's closet. What mattered was if they learned from their mistakes and became better for it. She had full faith in Tsunade-sama to make the best decisions for the village and she knew Naruto would do the same. He would definitely take over as hokage one day and she looked forward to that time.

Perhaps Naruto had been right when he said he understood why Sasuke had turned his hatred on the village. She could understand...a little. Knowing the truth as she did now she could see why he would want revenge but why destroy an entire village for it? The ones responsible should be dealt with, true, but there were innocent people in the village. Children who weren't even alive when it happened. Why should they have to suffer for someone else's decisions?

That is the point where she couldn't understand nor forgive Sasuke for his actions. She felt sympathy for his loss but that didn't give him the right to try and play judge, jury, and executioner for the countless villagers in her home. His anger and hatred had truly turned him into someone she didn't know. She looked up and found him watching her. His sharingan was turned off but the weight of his stare was almost suffocating.

She turned back to Itachi who seemed to be awaiting her answer. While she wasn't even sure yet what she felt about the matter, nor what she had the right to feel, there was a war raging on around them and this was not the time to dwell on the past.

"I understand. Thank you for accompanying me on this. I will need your help to reach the Allied base."

"You understand?" Sasuke hissed. "You understanding nothing!"

"Shut up!" she screamed back at him. "Let me let you in on a little secret Sasuke, not everything in this world is about you!"

"What?" his face twisted into one of rage.

"There's a fucking war going on around us if you haven't noticed! My friends lives are on the line and I don't have time to listen to you rant on about the same thing I've heard since we were genin!" she stopped her screaming and took some deep breaths. Sasuke had his sharingan activated and she felt the pure murderous intent flowing out of him. "I'm sorry." she said with a more gentle tone. "I'm sorry for everything you've been through. There's no way I could understand the pain you've gone through and I can honestly say I don't want to learn it. That's why I will do everything in my power to help protect my friends and my village."

"That village is the reason my family is dead."

Sakura stared back at him before turning away. "I just don't know what to say to you Sasuke. There's nothing I can say I guess." she sighed heavily. "Itachi-san, I'm going to sleep now. Wake me whenever you want me to take watch."

"This body does not require sleep. I will take watch all night."

"Alright. I'll be ready to leave in the morning whenever you are."

Sakura picked up a kunai from beside her futon and made sure it was visible as she clenched it in her hands under her pillow. She ignored the seething stare she could still feel Sasuke giving her and meditated until she slept.