The brunette's whimpers wrenched Sakura's heart unbearably. The crowd in the room has now dispersed, leaving Sachie lying in a heap on the ground with Sakura kneeling beside her, still holding onto her splintered arm in shock. You did this, the criticizing voice in Sakura's head taunted, Why are you shocked when you did this?
Souta, Sachie's twin brother who had been standing agonizingly motionless while the captain was still in the room, rushed to the girl's side as soon as the door shut and left the three of them lit only in candlelight.
"I'm okay," she managed to choke out as her brother clutched onto her good arm.
Immediately, Sakura began to channel a green glow of chakra into the girls' blood stream. She couldn't heal it completely in order to avoid raising suspicion but she could at least take the pain away and ensure that there was no lasting damage. Sachie instinctively jerked away from Sakura as the warmth crawled into her fractured bones but the movement only drew a cry of pain from her lips.
"Stay still," the medic instructed, her eyes glued on where chakra met her patient's skin. "Bring me as much cloth as you can and find something hard that's the length of her forearm—a stick, anything," Sakura spoke without looking up but Souta began to move immediately.
When he returned, two small, flat planks of wood and a bundle of fabric in hand, Sakura began to work in her concentrated and meticulous way. Summoning chakra to her hands again, she split the wood until it was the correct size. She carefully sandwiched Sachie's forearm in between the two planks and began to wrap strips of cloth that she had torn from the shirt Souta provided around it to create a makeshift splint.
Sachie, who was now painless due to Sakura's gentle healing, watched the woman work in awe and curiosity. She had never seen such expert medical maneuvers in her life and watching the way the kunoichi worked was absolutely mesmerizing.
When Sakura was satisfied that the splint was tight enough, she ran another chakra lined palm across the girl's skin, checking to make sure the bone was correctly in place. With a nod to herself, Sakura plucked another cloth from the pile beside her and began to construct a sling.
"Make sure you keep your arm as still as possible," Sakura coached as she adjusted the fabric over the girl's neck and arm. "When you're sleeping, try to prop it on something so that it's above your heart; that will help reduce the swelling. Find me if the pain comes back."
Finally finished with administering care, Sakura sat back to inspect her handiwork. Her focus was so trained on the arm she healed that she was taken aback when she met the wide-eyed gazes of the brunette twins who now sat side-by-side, staring at her in shock.
"Who-who are you?" Sachie finally stammered out, her good hand hovering over her broken arm protectively. "I mean I knew you were a Leaf—"
"Stop," Sakura interrupted immediately. She knew from her senses that they were alone but she couldn't risk having the girl speak her true identity out loud. Plus, it was better to limit the amount of people who knew the truth.
At the sternness in her voice, Sachie squeaked and clapped a hand over her mouth. Seeing her react so innocently, Sakura was reminded again about how impressive the girl's masking skills were when other Root members and recruits were nearby.
"It's better if you don't ask questions. This—" Sakura gestured towards the brown-eyed girl's broken arm, "—needs to stay between us. Got it?" She looked between the twins who mirrored each other's slow nods.
"Care to tell me what's going on?" Souta finally spoke, his voice low and serious.
From her short observations of the man, Sakura realized that he was completely different from his sister. Whereas Sachie was lithe-limbed and small, Souta towered over her with broad shoulders and scar-lined arms. Sakura concluded that he rose the ranks at Root quickly so he was probably a talented fighter. She could also tell he had been in battle more than once and realized that he likely was charged with the task of defending his small family that consisted of his twin sister, two young siblings, and a frail grandmother.
"It's better if—" Sakura began before Souta held up a palm to cut her off.
"I know, it's better if I don't ask questions but I at least need to know how you two know each other." His eyes fell on his sister.
"Her name's Mariko; I captured her in the forest on my last mission. She said she could help us," Sachie's voice trailed off but the implication was clear: she could help us escape Root; she can save our family.
Souta's brow raised curiously and he watched Sakura with suspicious eyes. "How?"
"I can't tell you more than that," she said with a shake of her head.
"Then how am I supposed to trust you?"
"You saw what I can do, what I'm capable of. You don't have to trust me, you just have to listen."
"Souta," Sachie gripped her twin's shoulder. "In the forest, she saved me. She already had me tied down and she could have taken me prisoner but she came back here as a captive so they wouldn't hurt you."
His eyes traveled from where the girl's hand touched his shoulder to study her face before his gaze settled on Sakura.
"What's your motive?" He demanded.
"Information on Root, that's all," Sakura replied as she held up her palms for emphasis.
"I still don't trust you," his voice was less stern now but still held a hint of acid.
"That's fine. Like I said, you just have to listen. I won't force you to do anything but I can help you get out of here if you follow my orders. And I can send a team to get the rest of your family too."
Souta's body language didn't change but the slight widening of his eyes told Sakura that she had struck a chord with him. She couldn't begin to imagine the worry that plagued the twins since being separated from their vulnerable family members.
"Fine," he said as he gently helped Sachie off the ground. "You need to start your training soon. I'm going to request to be your training lead."
"Would that raise suspicion?" Sachie asked, finally on her feet with her broken arm held in a sling across her torso.
"No, they probably would have assigned me anyways," he answered before turning to face Sakura. "The training is going to be hard. I'm not holding back."
Sakura smirked as she recalled her training with the Fifth Hokage, "I wouldn't want it any other way."
Swearing under her breath, she braced herself for another blow to the ribs. Souta's foot connected with her chest with a loud thump and Sakura could feel the breath she held immediately dissipate from her lungs as she dropped to the ground. It frustrated her more than anything having to take the beating but it was the price she needed to pay to keep up her disguise. A sea of bruises decorated her bare legs and a scrape on her brow was beginning to leak stinging liquid into her eye. Souta, on the other hand, looked as if he was fresh out of a salon.
Two days had passed since the captain officially allowed her to join the cohort of recruits. She began her training with Souta and true to his word, he showed no signs of restraint during their spar matches. As Sakura rose to her feet and the two fighters circled each other slowly, her eyes darted beyond her target to survey her surroundings.
The training grounds resembled that of the grassy fields she was used to in Konoha. However, the domed roof above their heads signified that they were indoors. Numerous doors and hallway entrances lined the perimeter of the training arena and the sound of gravel crunching beneath the shoes of approximately thirty recruits echoed throughout the chamber. Sakura couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was a certain familiar quality to the structure of the Root compound.
"You need to try harder," Souta growled, knuckles tightened in anticipation.
Sakura gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. She wanted to protest but remained silent as she watched him ready himself for another kick. This time I'll block, she told herself. Sakura had been systematically allowing him small victories to keep up her persona but every once in a while, she took him by surprise. Doing so, she reasoned, would allow onlookers to see that although she was a clumsy and untrained civilian, she still had potential. It was exactly what she needed to remain in the game without attracting excessive attention.
When Souta's foot hit the back of her forearm that she held protectively in front of her face, Sakura added another tick mark to her mental count of bruises. He struck again, throwing a punch this time. Ducking underneath his arm, she clenched her fist and drove it into his unprotected middle. She chastised herself inaudibly when she realized she put in more force than originally intended. However, the move earned her a grunt of approval from the captain, who had been standing several feet away, arms crossed and silently watching.
"Where'd that come from?" Souta interrogated, slightly out of breath as he recovered from her blow. His eyes darted swiftly to where the captain stood then returned to rest on Sakura. His face possessed a quality she recognized: he was afraid of showing weakness.
She shrugged, "Guess I'm a quick learner."
He made a move for her again. This time, she took the blow full force and immediately regretted it. As if compensating for his previous loss, his kick connected with Sakura's temple with twice the amount of power than she expected. Black spots flickered across her vision and a sudden dizziness overcame her, causing her to drop to the ground and land on her behind. The heel of her palm caught her as she fell, gravel digging painfully into her skin. Several moments passed as she struggled to shake the blurriness from her fatigued eyes.
"That's enough," came Sachie's voice, but Sakura was too disoriented to discern the direction. "It's time for lunch."
She heard the faint shuffle of Souta dusting off his clothing and watched as he followed the receding crowd—their movements previously gone unnoticed due to the kick she had taken. Sachie gave her a fleeting worried glance before following suit and headed down the hallway.
As she watched the girl's retreating figure, she rose to her feet and swept the dirt from her clothing. An uncanny feeling nagged her and soon she realized why: it was strange for her to end a training match without performing the Shinobi unison sign. As she found herself alone on the battleground, an emptiness overcame her. She couldn't quite shake the sensation and it remained even as she exited the arena.
Silence met her as she reached the food hall. True to traditional Root fashion, the recruits ate in complete quiet, each of them staring blankly ahead as they shoveled food into their mouths. Sakura mimicked their gazes and kept her eyes trained ahead and she joined the meal line, directly behind Sachie.
Sakura had to fight back the guilt that bubbled in her belly as she eyed the girl's arm, still hanging stiffly from a makeshift sling that wrapped around the back of her neck. The medic in her was itching to examine the broken bone. Unfortunately, neither of them had been able to find time alone. Sakura bit her lip as she watched the girl wince slightly and struggle to balance her tray of food.
Suppressing the urge to help, Sakura dulled her gaze once again and retrieved her own lunch portion before retreating to an empty table in the corner to finish her meal. Wordlessly, Souta and Sachie slid into the seats across from her. As the trio ate in silence, Sakura's stomach flipped with the thought of what came after lunch. The idea made her sick.
In the days that she has become an official recruit of the reformed Root, Sakura slowly began to learn the patterns of the organization. All recruits were kept on the same schedule each day which consisted of various types of training. Like Souta had warned her, the combat drills were absolutely brutal. And while intense training was nothing new to Sakura, it was the cruelty of it all that left a sour taste in her mouth. As a kunoichi, she was trained to protect; as a recruit here, she was being trained solely to kill.
Rising the ranks in Root seemed somewhat simple but Sakura knew there was more that she was yet to unveil. From what she had gathered so far, recruits are trained over a period of several weeks where they undergo various tests. The structure reminded her a bit of the Chunin Exams, except much more barbaric.
For now, Sakura was only in the first stages which consisted of simple combat and—Sakura gulped at the thought—endurance training. Combat was easy as long as she stuck with her pattern of responding: take a few blows here and there but block the ones that looked like they would deal more damage. The endurance tests, however, Sakura had no plan for. It was pure perseverance that got her through those.
Endurance training had one sole purpose: to increase the recruits' tolerance to common interrogation techniques and torture methods. Sakura couldn't help but rub her throat gently at the memory of suffocating inside the water bubble. For the past several days, she was subject once again to that tactic, among many others that she could barely recall. The agony she felt had dulled her senses and her only memory was of the welcomed relief when each training session ended.
There was a final phase, however, that the recruits must complete before they were given the Mark that symbolized their official enlistment in Root. This phase was shrouded in mystery and it caused Sakura to itch with an intense desire to uncover it. Little by little, she would notice several recruits disappear for some time before returning with the Mark and a new look in their eyes. They were almost robotic in nature upon their return, albeit not as robotic as members of the former Root were.
But the look on their faces after receiving the Mark always haunted Sakura. Her curiosity was always at the forefront of her mind when she saw those former recruits return as official Root members. However, she knew better than to ask questions. Besides, she was sure they wouldn't have been able to answer her even if they wanted to—considering the cursed seal on their tongue and all.
And finally, her observations during her short time here confirmed another one of her suspicions. Whoever was running the reformed Root seemed to be simply influenced by Danzo but was not a carbon copy of his methods, which Sakura was thankful for. The members never seemed as devoid of emotion as the former members she had interacted with as a teenager.
While the new Root pushed the mindless obedience of a soldier, it also allowed some room for independent thinking. Sakura concluded that this wasn't due to them showing mercy. Rather, she was sure that Root was currently hell-bent on recruiting as many members as possible and were focused on growing their reach. Root had chosen the quantity of their members over the usual thorough quality of their training.
On one hand, Sakura was grateful for the lapse in training as it allowed her to connect with Sachie and weasel her way in. On the other hand, however, the rapid growth of the organization plagued her. It wouldn't be long before they had members in every village, lurking in every corner, and ready to strike on command. Soon, it would be nearly impossible for Sasuke to continue slipping from their grasp.
The sound of clattering plates and utensils roused her from her racing thoughts. Following the crowd, Sakura began to gather her half-eaten food and deposit her tray in the designated areas. Behind her, she could sense the twins do the same.
There was a sudden heaviness that hung in the air, so dense it was almost palpable. No doubt, each and every one of the recruits knew of what was to come. She finally dared to look up and meet Sachie's eyes once they were safely hidden away in the crowd of recruits who were now headed towards the endurance training rooms. What she found there froze her to the core. In the brown, round eyes staring back at her was pure, unadulterated terror.