Sakura didn't know why she was crying. Well, she sort of did. Kabuto had asked her to be his apprentice. He had sought her out specifically. Surely that was enough reason. It didn't necessarily make her sad, but it was overwhelming and unwanted all the same.

Not to mention that he had brought up Sasuke, too. As if wasn't already hard enough to keep her mind off him – especially after having spent way more time than acceptable with his murderous older brother.

Kabuto told her that Sasuke had formed a team to kill his brother. She didn't want to think about why that caused her so much grief. But it also meant that Sasuke was one step closer to coming home. Surely after he had killed Itachi he wouldn't have anything more pressing to do. He would come back to her, back to Naruto at least.

Sakura brushed the tears away from her face and straightened her posture. Her mission was now over and her duty was to honor the deal she made with Itachi. She'd get the children back to Konoha and then be done with the entire situation.

She spent the next two hours with Sachi on her back and Yamato's hand on her apron loop. Itachi had been right – she would never have been able to outrun anyone with these kids in tow. Sachi weighed a million pounds and Yamato struggled to keep up with her, even at her slow pace.

She couldn't blame him – he was carrying Sachi's pack in addition to his own. Apparently they gained a lot of possessions while staying in Toyeiki. It was difficult for her to have both Sachi and her own pack, so she imagined he wasn't feeling like a spring chicken either.

"Let me know if you need to take a break, Yamato," Sakura said. The boy shook his head and took bigger strides to match hers.

At this rate it would take them at least a week to reach Konoha, maybe longer. Kabuto had disappeared after their conversation, but she couldn't be sure that he wasn't following her. Even if he wasn't, there were still many other dangers involved in traveling with children. She would need to be very careful to avoid running into anyone.

Once her backup arrived she could ease up a little. She was nervous that she would get ambushed and then have to fight off her attackers while simultaneously protecting Yamato and Sachi. She had enough trouble just defending herself, but she couldn't break her promise to Itachi.

"How much longer until we're in Konoha?" Yamato asked.

"We've got a long way to go, Yamato," Sakura answered.

"How long?"

"A week, at most," she said. She was annoyed, but for their sake she didn't show it. They had been through enough.

"I miss Itachi-san," Sachi mumbled into the back of Sakura's neck.

Sakura missed him, too. Well, she missed his help, anyway.

"Listen up, kids," Sakura said, "When we get to Konoha you have to make sure that you don't say anything about Itachi-san. It could put his life in danger. Understand?"

"Why?" Yamato asked.

"People in Konoha don't like Itachi-san," Sakura explained, "They'll try to kill him. They'll be angry at me for speaking with him. You have to keep quiet about him. Don't ever say his name out loud."

"Why would anyone want to kill Itachi-san?"

"It's complicated, Yamato," Sakura said with a sigh, "Just tell me that you understand."

"I understand," he said.

"Sachi?" Sakura said.

"I understand," Sachi whispered back.

"Good," Sakura said, only slightly relieved. There was still no guarantee they wouldn't speak about Itachi. "Yamato, if you want to honor Itachi-san's memory, you should work really hard at the academy. Do everything you can to become a powerful ninja like he wants you to be."

"I will," Yamato said. Sakura was surprised by the fierceness in his voice. Itachi seemed to have had a profound influence on the boy.

Sakura squinted her eyes against the setting sun, raising her hand to her face to block the light. It would be dark soon.

"It's time to set up camp, I think," she said.

.

The next morning was chaotic. Sakura woke up to feed the children and herself breakfast and was met with the backup team of ANBU that had been sent to help her. They were understandably confused by the presence of two small children and the lack of a single enemy.

There were three ANBU total, each keeping his mask in place. Sakura, having worked in the hospital for so long, was aware of the identities of each man and didn't see the need for the formality, but they insisted that the masks be left on. In fact, they hardly spoke to Sakura at all.

Yamato and Sachi were both enchanted by these new masked strangers. In spite of themselves, the ANBU team also seemed to have taken a liking to the children.

That was how Sakura found herself with no kids on her back, traveling third in succession behind two ANBU, each with a child on his back, and the third keeping up the rear.

She was grateful for their arrival. It meant they could travel faster and that Sakura wouldn't be alone should she be ambushed or just caught off guard by an enemy.

She didn't bother trying to explain the situation to the team and they didn't ask.

It felt strange to be around them. Sakura felt nervous for a multitude of reasons. The children could bring up Itachi at any moment and that would be the end of Sakura. Tsunade would definitely have her head for that. She also just wanted to outright tell them the truth, like a call of the void. It would release the tension and nervousness she felt to get it all out in the open.

Or maybe she just wanted to talk about it and air out the feelings (ugh) that overwhelmed her.

She couldn't explain why she felt more comfortable around Itachi than she did the three ANBU. She couldn't explain why the sight of Sachi on the back of another man's seemed so wrong.

Maybe she should just lay low for a while when she got back to Konoha. She could request some time off, not take any new missions, and just try to relax a little. Maybe she just needed time to clear her head.

.

Several days later, the eclectic group of travelers arrived at the gates of Konoha. Immediately after walking through the massive gates, the three ANBU deserted her, leaving her alone with Yamato and Sachi again.

Sakura knew that she needed to report directly to Tsunade after a mission, but she hadn't really figured out what she was going to do with Yamato and Sachi yet. It was feasible that she could take them to the Hokage tower with her, but that would open up a terrifying can of worms.

But she didn't really have a choice. There was nowhere else to take them.

When she knocked on the door to Tsunade's office, Sakura was prepared for the worst. She wasn't necessarily in trouble, but she certainly had the potential to be, and Tsunade's wrath was never something she wanted to be on the receiving end of.

"Sakura," Tsunade snapped, "Come in."

Like a child with a stolen cookie in her back pocket, Sakura slowly slipped through the crack in the door, pulling Yamato and Sachi inside behind her.

"What is this?" Tsunade demanded when she saw the two children, who looked just as terrified as Sakura.

"Orphans," Sakura clarified, attempting to use her most confident voice, "Their parents were killed by the infection."

"Orphans. You brought back orphans."

"I couldn't just leave them there, Tsunade-shishou."

Tsunade narrowed her eyes at her. Her hands were steepled in front of her face – a telltale sign that she was not pleased.

"So you plan to raise these children?" she demanded, "While working full time at the hospital. On top of being a shinobi. You'll still have missions, you know."

"What?" Sakura breathed, "No, of course I didn't plan on raising them."

"Well, who's going to raise them, then?"

Sakura fidgeted nervously because she hadn't thought about that at all. There were many war orphans after the Third War. Sakura had assumed that there would be some type of program in place to take care of such children. Naruto had been an orphan, too, after all.

But Naruto had been all alone, hadn't he…?

"I don't know, Tsunade-shishou."

Tsunade's gaze softened and she let out a tired sigh. "You're tender-hearted, Sakura," she said, "I can't blame you for that."

Encouraged, Sakura lifted her eyes to meet her mentor's. "Yamato wants to be a ninja," she said, "I told him he could join the academy. He's the right age."

"Yamato, eh?" Tsunade smiled at the boy.

Yamato blushed and shrunk back behind Sakura, holding onto her apron with tight fists. Sakura didn't blame him for being intimidated.

"And what's your name?" Tsunade asked, turning to Sachi who was on Sakura's other side.

Predicting that the girl wouldn't speak up, Sakura answered for her. "Her name is Sachi."

Tsunade closed her eyes for a brief moment, collecting her thoughts. Sakura couldn't tell whether that was a good sign or not. Usually, her mentor wasn't so calm or collected in situations like this.

"Shizune!" Tsunade bellowed, startling her three visitors.

A clamor of thudding footsteps resounded in the hallway before Shizune burst through the door, looking quite frazzled.

"Yes, Hokage-sama?"

"Take these two kids and get them cleaned up. They're filthy," Tsunade commanded, "Sakura will come collect them when we've finished our meeting."

Shizune eyed the two kids in question with a curious, but wary gaze.

"Yes, Hokage-sama," she answered, ushering said kids through the door. They didn't resist her, but they looked back at Sakura with wide, worried eyes until the door was firmly shut behind them, blocking her from view.

"Let's hear your mission report."

Sakura took a deep breath. "The mission took longer than expected, as you know. Upon my arrival in Toyeiki I was unable to find the cause of the bacterial infection for quite some time. The reason for this is that only civilians were infected and chakra was the instigating factor. I didn't think to analyze chakra in the infected because no shinobi – to my knowledge – had been infected."

"How did you come to the conclusion that chakra was the instigating factor?"

"A man who had been recently infected came to Toyeiki for unrelated reasons," Sakura said. Her heart was beating wildly out of control. "He was a low-skill shinobi who exhibited several symptoms of the infection, so I asked him if I could study him before I cured him."

Tsunade nodded and didn't ask any probing questions. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

"Analysis of the infection in his body led me to believe that chakra was the cause of the spread of the bacteria. Not only that, but his chakra changed its state of matter, becoming more viscous the longer he was infected."

"Viscous?" Tsunade asked, "More solid, you mean?"

"Exactly, gelatinous, almost," Sakura answered.

Tsunade furrowed her brow.

"I concluded that the reason most shinobi were immune to this is that the infection seemed to accumulate near chakra points, and people with control over their chakra tended to subconsciously burn it off without realizing it. A natural defense, if you will."

"Why do you think the shinobi you met contracted the disease, then?"

Sakura swallowed. "His immune system was severely weakened due to an autoimmune disease."

Tsunade nodded.

"I created a vaccine using the shinobi's infected chakra," Sakura continued, "Because of its viscosity, I was able to use it within the vaccine with no trouble."

"That was a smart idea."

"Shortly after I created the vaccine, Ino returned from her investigation and told me that she had traced patient zero to a bunker east of Toyeiki, where Kabuto admitted to her that he had created the infection himself. As an experiment."

"I've spoken with Ino about what she saw," Tsunade said. She didn't seem happy about it, but Sakura didn't want to press her luck by asking about it.

"Against my better judgment, I stayed in Toyeiki knowing that Kabuto was searching for me," Sakura continued, a nervous lump forming in her throat, "I knew that backup was on the way and that I wouldn't be able to outrun Kabuto with the children with me."

Tsunade's frown deepened, but she didn't say anything.

"Kabuto told me that he had planned on creating the infection to use as biological warfare and that he had failed because it didn't affect shinobi," Sakura said, "He told me he was impressed with my work in Toyeiki. He had sent a spy – one of the nurses – to keep tabs on me. She left a couple of weeks into the mission, I assume to report back that I was failing miserably."

"You mean you were working with a spy that whole time?" Tsunade demanded, "And you didn't notice?"

Sakura felt her face heat up, the tips of her ears burning. "Due to the nature of the mission, I had my guard down. I didn't think I would encounter any enemies. I had no reason to think that."

"I thought you were a better shinobi than that."

Sakura let her gaze fall to her feet because Tsunade was right. And hadn't Itachi mentioned something similar? Not about Kabuto's spy, but certainly about her instincts as a shinobi.

"I'm sorry, Tsunade-shishou," Sakura muttered.

Tsunade waved her hand dismissively, "Continue."

"Kabuto asked me to join him as his assistant," Sakura said, "He claimed that he could teach me more than you could, and that I had the potential skill he needed to continue his work on experiments now that Orochimaru is dead."

"He confirmed that Orochimaru is dead?"

Sakura nodded. She hadn't thought that Orochimaru would be where Tsunade's thoughts lingered, given that she had just admitted that an enemy shinobi had specifically tried to recruit her. But she supposed that Orochimaru had been Tsunade's teammate, probably her friend. He had left Konoha, become an enemy, but so had Sasuke. And wouldn't Sakura feel sad if Sasuke died?

She chanced a look up at her mentor's face and saw her stone still, her expression vacant.

"Are you alright, Tsunade-shishou?"

Tsunade shook herself back to reality. "Yeah," she said, "Yeah, I'm fine. Please continue."

Sakura paused for a moment before speaking again.

"I rejected Kabuto's offer and came straight back to Konoha with Yamato and Sachi."

Tsunade nodded. Her face was harder than it had been before, more strained. "Is there anything else you'd like to add?"

"Just one more thing," Sakura said, twisting her fingers up nervously, "Kabuto said that when Sasuke killed Orochimaru, he began assembling a team. In order to kill his brother."

.

Sakura was exhausted. She had been given a week of leave, per usual after a lengthy mission, and was unable to enjoy it because there were two children constantly bickering back and forth in her tiny apartment.

She wasn't annoyed at them, exactly. More with herself for not realizing how much work children could be. Or because she hadn't really thought this through. There had to be someone out there who was willing to take these kids in.

Yamato would be starting at the academy in the coming week, which meant that Sakura would have a bit less responsibility with him gone. She could just focus on Sachi (who, if Sakura was honest with herself, was much better company than Yamato). Sachi was a blessedly quiet angel who wanted nothing but to sit in her room and read her books.

"Sakura-san, Sachi is pinching me!" Yamato wailed from the bedroom.

"Give me back my book!" Sachi shouted at her brother.

Sakura sighed and rubbed her forehead. She would have to think of something soon. She couldn't keep this up while working at the hospital.

"That's enough, you two," Sakura said, hands on hips, "Come on, I've got some people I'd like you to meet."

.

She didn't know what she was thinking showing up at her parents house with two children completely unannounced. She had barely spoken to them since she had become Tsunade's apprentice, and she worried that she'd offend them by showing up now with a monumental favor to ask.

But she didn't know who else to ask.

When she knocked on their door, she hadn't expected there to be no reply. She stood on the doorstep with Yamato and Sachi standing behind her.

"Sakura!"

The pink-haired woman spun around and smiled at her father, who was running toward her with a massive grin on his face.

"It's so good to see you!" he said, pulling her into a bear hug. Sakura held onto him and buried her face in his shoulder. She had forgotten how much she loved him. Guilt flooded her brain as she released him. She needed to remember to visit him more often.

"I've missed you," she said, still smiling, "Where is Mother?"

"Oh, I think she went out shopping," he answered, "Come inside, let's catch up."

He circumvented Sakura and found Yamato and Sachi on his doorstep, watching him with those wide eyes that children give strangers.

"What have we here?" he asked.

Sakura cleared her throat nervously. "They're orphans," she said, "I picked them up on my last mission."

"Orphans…" he repeated.

Sakura felt a heaviness in her chest that settled there and made it difficult to breath. She was sad for Yamato and Sachi, who had lost both their parents and then Itachi, too. She was sad that she disappointed her parents by never visiting. She was sad that Sasuke was still gone. She was sad that she had disappointed Tsunade by not being the best shinobi she could be.

"Well, let's go inside and get everyone some tea," he continued, "You kids like tea, don't you?"

Yamato nodded eagerly while Sachi gave the man a shy smile.

When they were all inside and seated around the table, Yamato and Sachi eagerly sipping tea from their steaming mugs, Sakura set her face determinedly and turned her gaze to her father.

This was option one, she thought. If her parents couldn't take in Yamato and Sachi, she would ask someone else. She would keep asking until she found someone, because they could not be without a home and there had to be someone out there who was willing to take them in.

She promised Itachi.

And she didn't have to do any mental gymnastics to admit that she cared for the kids, too.

"Father," Sakura started. She used her "hospital" voice, her authoritative one. She had never used it on her father before, but now seemed as good a time as any to start. "I have a favor – a pretty big one – to ask of you."

Kizashi was a kind-hearted man who cared deeply about his daughter. He didn't seem surprised to hear that tone from Sakura – he may have even expected it. How often had his daughter shown up on his doorstep with two orphans, asking for a favor? The answer was never, of course, and he wasn't an idiot.

His smile never faltered, even in spite of the very serious question he surely knew that his daughter was about to ask him. Sakura hoped that maybe this was something that he wanted. Sakura wasn't a model daughter – not by any stretch of the imagination. Maybe Sachi could be a better daughter to Kizashi than Sakura ever was. Maybe Yamato could be the son he never had.

"Does this favor have anything to do with these two wonderful children you brought to visit me?" he asked. Sakura couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face at the sound of his eager and jovial voice. He wasn't upset. He wasn't angry with her for asking something so huge from him.

But that didn't mean she knew his answer yet.

"I know it's a big favor to ask," she said, accidentally dropping the authority from her voice and replacing it with a tinge of hesitancy. "But I can't keep them with me. I have too much going on. They need a home. A steady, uncomplicated home."

Kizashi put a finger to his lips and tapped thoughtfully. "You want us to take them in?" he asked, but it didn't really sound like a question.

"If you can," she replied, "I mean, if you want to."

"I see," he said.

"I really care about these kids," she said, "They're important to me. We've been through a lot together. I don't trust their care to just anyone. That's why I asked you first."

Kizashi's grin spread even wider, if that were possible. "You don't have to butter me up, Sakura," he said, "I'll have to speak to your mother, of course, but can you imagine her turning away a couple of orphans?"

Sakura felt a little of the heaviness in her chest dissipate and float away.

"I'm offended that you felt so nervous to ask!" Kizashi said, still beaming at her. She could always count on her father to be in a cheerful mood. That would be good for Yamato and Sachi. They would be happy here.

"Oh, thank you, father," she said on an exhale, pushing her chair back to throw her arms around the man's neck. She held him tight – tighter than she had in a long time.

When she pulled away, she noticed a more serious look in her father's eyes – one she couldn't remember ever seeing there before. She didn't know what it meant and she didn't feel confident enough to ask.

"Father," she said, back to authoritative mode, "I want to pay you each month for their care-" she held up a hand against his immediate protest "-these kids are important to me. Like my own children would be. I will pay for their food and clothes. I will pay Yamato's academy fees. And I'll help out whenever I can. I'm not just going to burden you with them and leave."

"Sakura," he said, but he seemed to be at a loss for words.

"Yamato starts at the academy in a few days," Sakura continued, "I want to take him there on his first day."

"You've grown into an amazing woman, Sakura," her father said, "I'm so proud of you."

Sakura swallowed back the tears that prickled at the back of her eyes.

.

"Again!" Sachi screamed through fits of giggles. Kizashi held the girl by her ankles and spun her around, her arms stretched forward and her face red from all the blood rushing to her head.

Sakura didn't think that it was the safest activity to be doing, but it was very fitting that her father would be doing such a thing. And, of course, she was there to assist if anything went wrong.

Yamato had found his way into Sakura's old bedroom and was currently riffling through her childhood possessions – most of which were old ninja tools and pictures from missions she had gone on with Team 7.

Sakura left Sachi and her father downstairs to get to know one another and stood leaning against the doorway to her room. She watched Yamato for several minutes as he picked up the various sundries on her dresser and examined them. He reached out for the framed picture of Team 7 by her bedside and paused.

"Sakura-san," he said, startling her. She hadn't realized that he knew she was there watching. "Who is that?"

He pointed to Sasuke. She inhaled sharply.

"That's Sasuke," she answered. "He's my teammate. Once you graduate from the academy, you'll have your own teammates, too."

"He looks a lot like…"

Sakura inwardly applauded him for not saying the name out loud.

"They're brothers," Sakura said, answering his unasked question.

"Oh," Yamato said. "Is he… would I like him?"

Sakura sighed and sat down on her bed. Yamato hopped up next to her, still holding the picture in his hand. She took it from him and looked at it, feeling nostalgic for Team 7 and sad that things were so different now.

"He's not like his brother, if that's what you mean," Sakura said, "I'm not sure if you would like him. I'm not sure if I like him."

"Can I meet him?"

"I hope so," she said wistfully, "Some day."

Sakura set the picture back down on her nightstand and leaned back on her palms. It felt weird being back in her old room, looking at her old things. It almost felt like she was twelve years old again.

"Who's this other guy in the picture?" Yamato asked, peering back at the picture from across her lap. She passed it back to him.

"The blonde one is Naruto," she said, grinning, "I think you would really like Naruto. He isn't like… you know who. But he's a good friend and an excellent ninja."

Yamato hummed thoughtfully, tracing the edges of the picture with his fingertip. "And the old guy?"

"That's Kakashi-sensei," she answered, "He's the leader of our team. Team 7."

"You look so little in the picture, Sakura-san," Yamato said.

She still felt little. It was hard to believe that so much had changed in just - what was it, four years? She didn't feel much different from that little girl in the photo, but she imagined she looked a lot different to Yamato.

"Yeah, I wasn't much older than you are when that picture was taken."

"I can't wait to have my own team," Yamato said, "I wonder if I'll like my teammates. I don't want to get stuck with someone I don't like, like you did."

Sakura chuckled at the irony.

"I did like Sasuke," she said, "It was Naruto I didn't like."

Yamato set the picture down on her nightstand again. A comfortable silence spread around them and Sakura inched closer to Yamato and threw an arm around his shoulder. He leaned into her.

"So this is going to be my room from now on?"

"You'll have to share with Sachi."

"Oh, come on!"