The time she spent in Reeducation so far was surprisingly uneventful. While it was to Sakura's relief, it also created an ever-rising tension that could be felt from each and every one of her cellmates. Well, that is, except for Sasuke.

Sakura's eyes drifted towards him when the thought crossed her mind. Even with the blindfold, she could see that he was as stoic as always, sitting lazily against the wall with his head tilted away from the trio who accompanied him in the cell. The only indicators that he had suffered any kind of abuse the night before were the tears running through the fabric of his shirt.

Her gaze raked across his body again, heart lurching when she zeroed in on the damage to his clothing. She could still feel how his hair glided between her fingers last night, a sensation she had wanted to know for so long. It was torture seeing him in this cell, so close yet so far, and her hands itched to reach him.

Reluctantly, Sakura tore her eyes away from Sasuke when the shuffling of footsteps sounded from outside their cell. She refocused on the faces of Souta and Sachie. She could see the tension in their muscles as their nervous gazes found hers and she didn't need the ability to read minds to know the exact thoughts that ran through theirs. Something was happening and in Reeducation, that something was almost always bad.

Sakura closed her eyes, allowing her body to concentrate and using only her auditory senses to gauge what was happening behind their cell door. The rapid footsteps were accompanied by a myriad of whispers, something she could barely make out due to the rush of noise. She strained, leaning as close to the door as possible and focused on a singular voice that spoke louder than the rest.

"She'll be here to collect him tonight so we only have three hours for preparations," murmured the voice, "I heard that whoever impresses her the most gets to move to headquarters."

"Seriously?" came another whispering voice. "What the hell are we even supposed to do to impress her?"

"I don't know but everyone's fighting for a spot to guard the meeting room. I heard some of them are planning to camp out there until she arrives just to be first in line to meet her."

As the guards walked further down the hall, their voices faded from Sakura's ears until only silence remained. However, even the tiny snippets of information she gathered from them could prove useful in their escape. Whoever this woman was, her arrival could be the perfect distraction for them to sneak their way out.

Silently, Sakura devised her plan. The woman the guards spoke of seemed to be high enough in the chain of command to determine where each Root member would be stationed. From the sound of it, the guards were all vying for a spot in her favor. That likely meant that most of the Root members would be concentrated where this meeting room was. If she could only find a way to create a diversion to lead any remaining stragglers to that location , their route of escape would be clear.

She opened her eyes to find Souta and Sachie staring at her curiously, likely guessing that the gears in her brain were turning rapidly. She flashed them a small smile and nod. I have a plan , her expression told them, leave it all to me . Sachie nodded and returned her smile. But Souta, in his usual manner, only pursed his lips in thought.

"I need a way to prop the door open," Sakura finally whispered to the twins. "If I could sneak out of here, even just for a little bit, I can start the first part of our plan."

"Leave it to me," Souta nodded, his expression grim.

Sakura cocked her head to the side. "What are you planning—"

Suddenly, Souta lunged at her, his eyes burning with fury.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" he shouted with such fervor that she could feel his saliva land on her, even from a distance of several feet away. "Let me out of here and I'll prove to the Captain that I'll kill anyone who stops me from joining Root!"

Sakura and Sachie both stared, utterly bewildered, at Souta for several beats until his plan finally settled in. He was trying to get a guard to open the door and allow Sakura her window of escape. Nevertheless, Souta was a much better actor than Sakura ever thought possible. Despite knowing that his words were for show, her body was filled to the brim with adrenaline and her fists ached to raise in defense.

"Settle down in there!" shouted a voice that was steadily drawing closer.

When the latch of the cell door began to open, a devilish grin spread across Souta's lips. His plan, though reckless, was working. He continued his verbal assault, fighting against his restraints as he jerked his body towards where Sakura sat against the wall. She could see his skin turn bright red where friction built up between his wrists and the chains binding him. His movements were uncoordinated, like a rabid animal fighting to survive.

"I said, settle down!" The guard was in the cell now, his hands on Souta's shoulders to forcibly push him back against the wall.

Souta struggled against the guard's grip, compelling him to lean in closer until finally he was within Souta's reach. Leaning his head back for leverage, Souta brought his skull down against the guard's with a thunderous crack, headbutting him so hard that blood formed on the guard's split lip.

At the commotion, another guard entered the cell, her head whipping between her comrade and Souta as she took in the scene. Cursing loudly, the first guard pushed himself off the ground, his other hand covering his injured lip. When his fingers pulled away to find red liquid, fire filled his eyes.

"That does it, you're coming with me," the guard spoke in a low, threatening voice.

Together, the two guards unbound Souta and dragged him roughly from the room. As the cell door shut behind him, Souta turned and his eyes briefly met Sakura's, communicating a thousand words in just one look.

His movements were so quick, anyone else would have missed it, but not Sakura. As the guards pulled him away, Souta's hand brushed against the hole in the door frame. He plugged the hole with a fistful of dirt that he had collected from the cell floor, preventing the door from locking. It was genius. From looks alone, no one would be able to tell that the door was compromised. Souta, Sakura thought to herself, was much more cunning than she gave him credit for.

Just like she did the night before in order to reach Sasuke, Sakura broke free of her restraints and weaved the signs for a shadow clone. With a nod in her direction, her clone—who bore more likeness to her Mariko disguise rather than Sakura herself—snuck quietly out of the cell and down the hall.

When Sakura finally looked back at Sachie, she found the young girl bearing the same expression she had when Souta first began his barrage of verbal attacks. But this time, she openly gaped, jaw dropped, at Sakura as her eyes flickered back and forth from the kunoichi, to the place that her brother previously sat, and finally to the cell door. Sakura couldn't help but chuckle quietly.

"Don't worry, the plan is in motion now. We'll get out of here tonight, I promise," Sakura reassured.

Wordlessly, the bewildered girl nodded. "That was…crazy."

Sakura chucked again when she realized it would probably take Sachie a bit to process what just unfolded before her. Deciding to leave her to her own devices to take in the information, Sakura's gaze fell back to Sasuke. To make the most of their plan, she needed him to be able to fight but judging from his ragged breaths, he was completely drained of chakra. Carefully, she crawled her way over to him, cringing a little when he stiffened at her movements.

"Hey, I know you've been listening to us," Sakura whispered gently as she sat merely a foot in front of him. When he didn't respond, she continued "You're coming with us when we escape."

She watched as he seemed to mull over her words. When he showed no signs of protesting her proximity, she began to extend her hand towards his shoulder only to jump back in surprise when he jerked violently away from her touch.

"Don't touch me," his voice was low and venomous. Anyone else would have taken it as a warning to not move further; but Sakura wasn't just anyone.

"It looks like you're out of chakra so I'm going to give you some of mine," she explained, using the same gentle tone. "We'll need your help fighting."

She reached for him again. His muscles tensed and she could feel his body go rigid beneath her hand as he tried once again to jerk away. But she was prepared this time and steeled her hold on his arm in an iron grip. Sakura summoned chakra to her palms, relishing in the warmth that often accompanied medical ninjutsu. As her chakra transferred between them, Sasuke's face whipped up in her direction and his body finally relaxed. Sakura swore that if his blindfold wasn't obscuring his eyes, he would be looking at her, wide-eyed with shock.

She couldn't understand why. Surely, this type of basic medical ninjutsu wasn't that rare. But perhaps, she thought, it truly was and he was just surprised that someone who could perform it happened to share his cell. Seeing that he was no longer resisting, she pumped more chakra into him. With the two of them fighting, they would definitely make it out of here. Sakura smiled, losing herself in images of them, finally free. But her vision soon shattered when Sasuke's body tensed and a hiss of pain escaped between his clenched teeth.

"What's wrong?" She asked worriedly.

However, he couldn't reply, his jaw grinding and body arching upwards with pain. With expert yet trembling hands, Sakura ran her palms across his body to inspect for the source of his agony. To her horror, she found that the chakra she had given him had completely dissipated. When her hands ran over his back, she knew she found the culprit.

In too much pain to protest, Sasuke allowed her to pull his body away from the wall. Frantically, she tugged the collar of his shirt down to reveal his back and gasped at what she saw. Between his shoulder blades, glowing an angry red, was a seal. She couldn't recognize it but her senses could register its effects enough to know that it was completely preventing his body from storing chakra,

She pressed her palm against the seal as she attempted to break it with a technique Kakashi had taught her long ago. With as much strength as she could muster, she squeezed her eyes shut and pumped chakra into the seal in an effort to overpower it. She gritted her teeth and held Sasuke's shaking body down with her other hand. Pressing her palm even harder against his skin, she almost shouted from the vigor with which her chakra was pouring from her.

Sweat beaded on her forehead as she continued to strain against the seal, but her efforts were to no avail. When she opened her eyes, the seal remained and she swore it looked even stronger than before, branded on Sasuke's body. To her relief, he finally relaxed, although his body continued to tremble as he fought to catch his breath. Judging from his expression, this seal was designed to cause the bearer an immeasurable amount of pain—one that even Sasuke could barely withstand. She pulled away from him, a deep frown marring her features.

"There's a seal on you that won't let you store chakra so it looks like I won't be able to give you mine," she explained, "but I think I can still break the one on the blindfold."

Her hand that hovered over the space between his shoulder blades moved to cover his forehead. Using the same technique, she felt the seal on his blindfold break. While she was glad she did so with ease, wariness filled her when she realized how familiar the seal felt beneath her fingers. Whoever created this seal used techniques typically employed by Konoha Shinobi.

Pushing herself back to a seated position in front of Sasuke, she pulled her hand away, ignoring how her fingers twitched with a need to place themselves back on his skin. She observed his blindfold carefully and nodded approvingly once she deduced that she had completely removed the seal.

"You should keep the blindfold on for now but you'll be able to take it off when we escape."

When Sasuke's silence was the only thing that met her, Sakura quietly moved back to her place on the other wall and redid her restraints to the best of her ability. Her eyes fell on his form again. She thought, with dismay, that even if his blindfold was undone he wouldn't have enough chakra to use any of his visual jutsu. Sasuke was a talented taijutsu user, that was for sure, but she also knew from all those years training with him that his eyes were his source of power. Without them, he and the rest of them would have to escape on foot.

That was another reason why Sakura decided against revealing her identity to him. Or at least, it was one of the reasons. She told herself that if he didn't know it was her, he would be more likely to escape on his own if something were to happen and she fell behind. However, there was another part of her that worried he would willingly leave her behind even if he knew who she was.

She shook her head to scatter the thought. Sasuke may have been angry with her when they last spoke in the forest after he was ambushed but he would never leave her behind. She had to—no, needed to, believe that. She was his teammate after all. Just his teammate, a mocking voice in her head repeated, just his teammate and nothing more .

"Mariko?"

Nearly forgetting that Sachie was there, Sakura's heart skipped a beat at her voice. When she looked up to meet her eyes, she found them filled with tears and concern.

"Are you worried about Souta?" Sakura asked, easily deducing the source of the emotions boiling in the young girl. When she only nodded in reply, Sakura continued with her reassurance. "He's strong, don't worry. He's still one of their strongest recruits so they won't risk hurting him."

Sachie gulped and nodded again, though she didn't seem convinced. Sakura mustered up the best smile she could. The brunette across from her didn't return the gesture but Sakura didn't expect it. As silence settled between them, Sakura allowed her mind to wander to Souta. How could she convince Sachie that he was okay when she, herself, wasn't convinced? Thanks to Souta, she was able to find her opening to gather more intel before their escape. She could only hope that he returned in time to come with them.

With a sigh, Sakura settled back against the wall and closed her eyes. There was nothing left to do now but wait—both for Souta to return and for her shadow clone to pass along information. She mulled over her plans again. It was simple, much like the one she devised previously to get them out of the Root hideout. They would use stealth and avoid engaging in battle as much as possible. Once her clone was able to scope out the meeting room, it would attempt to devise a diversion method that could buy them time if needed.

Best case scenario, they make it out without alerting any guards of their disappearance until they were a safe distance away. If that doesn't work, her clone would initiate the diversion and give them a head start to escape. Worst case scenario, Sakura swallowed nervously, she would stay behind to fight while Sasuke and the twins escaped without her.

Sakura ignored her racing heart at the thought. She was a Shinobi, above all else, trained to gamble with her life to protect those who were innocent. From when she was a child at the Academy, this philosophy was drilled into her. But despite how many times she repeated to herself that she was merely a tool for protection, nothing could override the human in her. There would always be a part of her that trembled in fear at the thought of facing her own demise. But all these years in the front lines had taught her one thing: her strength was in her ability to acknowledge that fear and choose to face it, not in her ability to ignore her own humanity.

Sucking air through her nostrils and releasing it through pursed lips, she willed her body to rid itself of the tension that claimed her limbs. However, her attempt at relaxation was interrupted by the disappearance of her shadow clone. The sensation was odd and difficult to describe; it was as if a flame blew out beside her, stealing the warm with a puff of air. Eyes still closed, she inhaled again and readied herself for the influx of information. Like a movie, the memories of her clone flooded her brain and Sakura quickly analyzed what she saw.

She watched from her clone's eyes as it snuck down the corridor and towards the whirring of voices coming from the west wing of the underground Reeducation network. The clone pressed itself against the wall and silently inched closer as the voices grew louder until finally it could catch a glimpse of the entrance of the meeting room from around the corner. Like Sakura suspected, a large number of guards milled around the meeting room, excitedly discussing their upcoming visitor and, by proxy, the potential of an upcoming promotion.

Sakura quickly surveyed each of the guards, making note of the fact that the guards who were responsible for Sasuke's wounded state were among the number. Even with three hours still remaining before the arrival of their awaited guest, the Root members were already lined up across the wall leading towards the meeting room. As her clone strained to see further down the hall, Sakura could see that the line of guards stretched even further, likely leading all the way to the entrance that this person would be using.

Perfect , Sakura thought to herself. With almost everyone concentrated in the west wing of the hideout, it would be easier for them to escape from the entrance they had arrived in the night prior. Referring to the mental map that she created when she was carried to the holding cell, she was relieved to find that the entrance from which they came was in the east wing. Sakura couldn't believe their luck, although she wasn't naive enough to assume that there wouldn't be guards still stationed in their path of escape.

She gasped aloud when she felt a hand on her—no, her clone's—shoulder. Whirring around, the clone came face-to-face with an unfamiliar female Root member. Sakura couldn't stop her grin of approval when the clone swiftly jabbed each of the woman's pressure points until her eyes rolled to the back of her head. As the guard's body crumbled to the ground, the clone caught her in its arms before dragging her down the hallway towards an empty room. Sakura knew exactly what her clone was planning.

Working quickly, the clone disrobed the guard until only her undergarments, a tank top and shorts, remained. The clone then tore strips of fabric from the hem of its shirt and bound the guard to the back corner of the room, stopping briefly to also ensure her mouth was covered but not so much so that she couldn't breathe. Tugging harshly on the bounds, the clone nodded in approval. Just for good measure, however, the clone ran a glowing palm over the woman's forehead, triggering the woman's nervous system and inducing sleep.

The clone stepped back before weaving the signs for yet another clone. When another version of Sakura disguised as Mariko appeared, it donned the discarded Root uniform that the guard previously wore before casting a transformation jutsu. Right in front of Sakura's clone now stood a carbon copy of the bound and unconscious guard, ready to create a perfect diversion.

In a puff of smoke, the original clone disappeared and Sakura's image of the clone's memories turned to black. Eyes still shut, Sakura could only feel a flood of approval as she evaluated the plan. Her transformed clone, disguised as a Root member, would blend in with the crowd of bodies in the meeting room. If things were to go wrong and the guards were alerted of their escape, the clone would create a diversion. Sakura could only hope that it would buy them enough time to escape.

Sakura wasn't sure when she fell asleep, but she cursed at herself for doing so. At the sound of the cell door unlatching, her eyes shot open and honed in on the approaching figures. Between two guards was Souta's limp body, being dragged by his upper arms while the tops of his feet scraped against the ground. Sakura could only see the top of his head but it was enough to know that he was a mess.

Dark, dried blood matted his normally brown hair and the strands were dull and stringy. When the guards finally situated him against the wall and bound his wrists, Sakura could see the red that flowed freely from a gaping wound on his temple. Across from her, Sachie visibly held her breath until the Root members finally retreated and left them to soak up the extent of Souta's injuries.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt? What did they do to you?" Sachie erupted into a series of questions, each syllable growing more frantic.

Sakura broke from her chains again and crawled to him just as he tilted his head back against the wall behind him and shot his sister a grin.

"Don't worry, I've taken worse," He said through a smirk, coughing slightly when his breath caught.

"Don't speak," Sakura commanded as she placed her hands on his open wound. Beneath her fingers, she could feel the skin slowly stitch itself together as Souta winced. Pulling her hand away to reveal a bright red line where the gash once was, Sakura inspected the rest of his body, healing the worst of the cuts and a few broken ribs. She just needed to ensure that he would be okay enough to fight as the rest of her chakra needed to be conserved for later. She only wanted to release her Byakugou as a last resort.

"Thanks," he mumbled when she finished, surprising her and seemingly himself.

"Don't mention it."

As Sakura settled back into her spot on the wall across from Sachie, she began to breakdown the details of her plan to the twins, being sure to speak loud enough that Sasuke could hear from across the cell but not loud enough as to garner the attention of anyone who may be guarding the entrance of the hallway leading to the rows holding cells. The twins listened intently, with Sachie nodding enthusiastically and humming in agreement each time Sakura as much as paused to take a breath. Souta, on the other hand, concentrated his gaze on the ground and only spoke once she finished.

"Are you sure we're going to make it out this time?" The tone of Souta's question was accusatory but Sakura could also hear a layer of weariness beneath it all, like he was only asking so that she could reassure him and erase the doubts he was too prideful to voice. But Sakura didn't want to be a liar.

"Nothing can be for certain," she started, holding up a hand to stop him when Souta opened his mouth to argue, eyes shooting up to meet hers. "We always have to be ready for anything to go wrong at any point. But I can assure you that I'll do everything in my power to protect you—the both of you." Her eyes darted between the twins, hoping to communicate her resolve.

"What about him?" Souta titled his chin in Sasuke's direction, gaze filled with suspicion.

"He's coming with us," Sakura answered matter-of-factly.

"Can we trust him?" It was Sachie's turn to speak this time.

Sakura hesitated as she surveyed Sasuke's expression, his mouth downturned in a scowl as he sensed the attention on him. She couldn't ask the twins to trust him when they had no idea who he was. And she couldn't explain why she trusted him without giving away her identity. She racked her brain for an answer, finding one although she knew it came short.

"Do you trust me?" She finally asked after several beats of silence.

While Sachie nodded, Souta only responded with, "still debating that."

Sakura flashed a strained smile. "Look, the more hands we can get to fight if we need it the better. Besides, he probably wants to get out of here as much as we do. Whether we can trust him completely or not doesn't matter. What matters is we can at least rely on him to help us escape."

Silence hung in the air as the twins contemplated her words. When her eyes fell on Sasuke again, she found that his scowl was replaced by an expression she couldn't quite place.

"So," Sachie broke the silence. "When do we start?"

"Depends, how long was Souta gone for?"

Sakura figured that was the best measure to figure out when the Root guest would arrive. The guards she eavesdropped on right before Souta was taken said the arrival time was in three hours. They needed to time their escape precisely with the woman's appearance to maximize their ability to capitalize on her as a distraction. Sakura cursed herself again for falling asleep as Sachie only pursed her lips, her head tilted slightly upwards in thought. She looked at Souta for answers but only felt her spirits fall again when he only shrugged in response.

"Two and a half hours," spoke a voice that sent her heart into a frenzied flutter.

Three sets of eyes turned to look at him, but Sasuke maintained his stoney composure, his head still turned away from them to face an empty wall. Sakura nodded, realized he couldn't see her, then mumbled a quick thank you. Finally, she turned towards the twins, ignoring the flips her stomach was doing just from the sound of Sasuke's voice.

"30 minutes then," she said, making sure to lace her voice with confidence even if she knew her resolve wavered at the realization that she had spent most of the time asleep instead of planning.

Finding that she didn't sound convincing enough, Sakura repeated again, "We're starting in 30 minutes."