Chapter 7
Sharing a wide eyed look of awe with Naruto as they walked quietly down the damp corridors of Orochimaru's lair, she felt a solid lump of dejection gradually begin to weigh her down. They remained close to the two Uchiha men guiding the way through the maze of tunnels and corridors, and she couldn't help but wonder why or how anybody could live in such a miserable place. Just thinking Sasuke lived in those conditions broke her heart.
Without Itachi and Shisui's assistance, they wouldn't have even made it into the lair, never mind come as far as they had. Twice already Sakura was almost taken out by a booby trap. Naruto nearly went six times. Even Jiraiya fell for one of them and he was a goddamn Sannin. But thanks to their sharingan they were able to predict the ambushes and traps and bypass them safely – nothing seemed to surprise either of them and they were swift while covering for their natural cluelessness.
Still, it did cause one weighty question to run through her head:
Were they really ready for this?
Bouts of anxiety laced through Sakura with enough force to leave her breathless at times as she imagined actually crossing paths with Sasuke. How would they react? How would he react? Would they fight? What if they came across Orochimaru first? Could they take him on together or was that wishful thinking?
Even with all her training, she felt wholly unprepared to face that monster again, especially as her nightmare repeated itself in her mind. The damage to her tongue was fully healed now but a slight indentation from her teeth remained, reminding her of the nightmare whenever she felt the scarred tissue.
"There's too many corridors," Shisui whispered, bringing them to a halt with a single hand coming to his side. She stuck close to him, waiting expectantly until he continued under his breath, "Splitting up in a place like this is unwise also."
"So what now?" demanded Naruto impatiently. "We're wasting time!"
"For once I agree with Naruto-kun," Itachi shocked the boy by saying. Uncaring for the slack jawed response, he kept his blood red eyes fixed on Shisui's, the glow of their sharingan ominous in their current setting. "We have set off too many traps for Orochimaru to be unaware of our presence."
"We can't risk Sasuke-kun getting away when this could be our only shot of getting close to him," she stressed, knowing it was wrong to be getting emotional but unable to help herself. Anything Sasuke related became emotional and in that moment, she was feeling stressed and scared as hell. "What should we do, Shisui-sensei?"
He sighed at their attention and once more looked to the different directions they could go in. Annoyingly, Shisui managed to hide however he was feeling from the rest of them, but Sakura knew he was just as apprehensive. He wanted Sasuke home just as badly as they did. She could feel it in her heart. She simply wished he'd give some kind of hint of how he was feeling or what he was thinking.
"Jiraiya-sama, were the three chakra signatures together?"
"No," came his chesty response, voice gravellier now that it was lowered. "But they weren't too far from each other either."
Nodding in understanding, Shisui met the sannin's eyes and asked, "Can you sense Orochimaru specifically?"
Her heart clenched with fear.
"I can."
Her mouth opened to beg of her sensei not to go through with his plan, but Itachi's hand coming to her shoulder stopped Sakura just as she took a step closer to Shisui. He didn't look at her, rather kept his gaze steady on the older Uchiha and awaited his orders. Not even seeing the unwavering trust between the two men could alleviate her of her concern, though. Sakura had seen what Orochimaru was capable of and she was terrified to lose another loved one to him.
"You three are going to be the ones who can get through to Sasuke," Shisui continued lowly, worrying her endlessly. "We will occupy Orochimaru and his assistant, Kabuto, while the three of you search for Sasuke. As soon as you have him, get out of here. We'll meet up again at the teashop."
Not defeat.
Occupy.
He knew he possibly wasn't up to a legendary sannin's level either.
Admittedly, it'd been a few months since she last thought of him, but Gods, she wished Kakashi was there. They didn't click as sensei and student – not really. However, Kakashi was the best at reassuring her even when her world was collapsing around her. There was always some type of backup plan in his mind, always that same fierce determination for them to make it out alive. Even if he couldn't defeat someone like Orochimaru either, he was perhaps the most reliable, loyal person she knew. She always felt safe when he was around.
She wanted Kakashi by their side more than anything in that moment.
"Understood?"
Sakura simply nodded, numbed by her fear.
Offering a minute smile, Shisui told them, "Go give Sasuke hell."
The tunnels were never ending. Rarely any real corners, just twists and subtle bends. She almost felt claustrophobic when combining it with where her head was at.
Knowing every step brought them closer to Sasuke while possessing the all too real possibility of said closeness causing him to flee should he discover them first, was terrifying. Had it been just herself and Naruto, Sasuke more than likely would have fought back. But she knew him too well to believe that would happen if he knew Itachi was with them. Sasuke cared too much about his goals and proving himself. He knew Itachi could stop him in a heartbeat.
Heart thundering in her chest, they finally found a break in the tunnels and dashed into the open space with a burst of relief that warmed Sakura's chest. She wondered if the other two felt the same way, and Naruto's shuddery sigh told her that at least he did.
Firelit torches lined the walls and added a menacing touch to the large, dank room, but Sakura knew that distinct smoky smell didn't come from the torches. It fit hand-in-hand with the charge in the air, and she suspected that the indentations in the charred ground were caused by it also.
"Someone was training here," Naruto suggested, looking around with wide eyes.
"Recently," added Itachi softly, sparing a single glance around them. "Multiple people were."
Keep your guards up, she heard.
An ambush was highly likely given how many traps they set off (like Itachi said, Orochimaru had to be aware of their presence).
The Uchiha brought them to a gradual stop in the centre of what she now deduced to be a training arena, each of their eyes drawn to the grossly unnecessarily humongous statue of a snake. The shadows cast upon its hissing features had her shuddering, the image a perfect replica of the snake Orochimaru summoned to attack them all with.
"We should keep moving," Itachi continued after several moments, already walking ahead before they could say otherwise.
They remained cautious while covering Itachi's flanks, kunai drawn and held with an unyielding grasp. Raised hairs on the back of her neck and arms told Sakura they were being watched and she could tell from the slight falter in Naruto's steps that he'd caught on too, though Itachi remained completely at ease and continued his walk.
That was until their watchers finally made a move when they made their way towards one of the only other exits from the room.
Spinning suddenly on his heel, Itachi took her breath away by effortlessly interfering the path of a kunai aiming for his eyes, soon lunging and blocking another aiming for her from an entirely different direction.
"It's an ambush," he informed the two of them and at the silent order, they fell into a triangular position, keeping their backs to one another with weapons drawn. "They are clearly trying to prevent us from reaching Sasuke."
Sakura gritted her teeth. "But they know not to face you head on."
His eyes narrowed fractionally. "So it seems."
"We don't have time for this," snarled Naruto, visibly trembling with his impatience. Shooting a glance over his shoulder, it was only when he received a nod of acceptance that he created dozens of shadow clones, yelling, "Deal with them!"
It was easy allowing her nerves to run riot and Sakura had to work hard at not allowing it to show, rather focusing on the calm man standing to her right. The certainty in Itachi's stance, the patience as he assessed Naruto's clones and their ferocious attacks, prompted Sakura to take a deep, relaxing exhale and she shifted her footing, head dipping.
Her role was to be the medic. To back up her teammates and heal them. She was absolutely not supposed to fight on the front lines – not until she was the last one standing. That was for the best, Sakura reminded herself sternly. With her storing away the majority of her chakra (which only Itachi was aware of in their temporary three-man squad), she became a liability for a multitude of reasons.
But that was okay, Itachi's silent presence and Naruto's confident cheers and orders reminded her.
They were okay. They were going to be okay.
Their team was… It wasn't Team Seven, but they had each other's backs. More importantly, they had their mutual goal, their desperate wish. More than anything, Sasuke had to come home. They had to bring their precious person back.
So despite her fear, she couldn't help but smile faintly, shoulders feeling lighter.
They understood each other's hearts and would stop at nothing to bring their Sasuke home.
"Naruto-kun, create a room full of clones and have them hide us in their numbers," Itachi ordered in a hush and nonchalantly spun his kunai around his finger like he was merely adjusting the hold, pausing for a fraction of a second longer in the direction of a darkened doorway beside the huge snake. "Sakura-san, stay between us both at all times."
That bonehead really was improving, she realised with a happy start. Rather than all clones looking entirely like Naruto, he created a mixture of the three of them right off the bat and created the perfect madness. It was like a riot as they charged their sickly looking enemies all at once with flashy, distracting attacks, their yells of anger and determination covering their hurried footsteps. They kept them covered amazingly while Sakura copied Itachi's example of rushing to the doorway that plunged them in temporary darkness.
The only noise to fill the unsettling silence the darkness brought with it were their footsteps and the battle behind them, though that made for easier movement as she kept on Itachi's heels with Naruto on hers.
If the higher ups of Orochimaru's group had a section of the hideout to themselves, it was definitely there, they shortly came to discover when light finally once more bathed them in its warmth. More to sense their surroundings than being hesitant, Itachi brought them to a silent halt and spent five agonising seconds stretching out his senses, leaving the pair of genin to flank him.
"Someone was just here," he announced.
Naruto was quick to demand, "Was it Sasuke?"
She wondered if it was disappointment that flashed across his features as Itachi shook his head once. "I know my brother's chakra. This feels… different."
"Maybe it's the curse mark's influence on his chakra," Sakura tried with a tinge of desperation because they were too close to suddenly lose him. Looking to Naruto, she questioned, "When you guys gave chase, you said he was going through something, right? A change?"
The blond nodded fast in agreement, eyes darting between the two. "His chakra felt wrong when we faced off too. When he was using the curse mark's power, he felt more like Orochimaru than him."
That was all Itachi needed, it seemed. Sensing their conviction and knowing they wanted to proceed made up his mind and he exhaled shortly, shoulders falling ever so slightly like he'd worried they'd want to turn back after hearing he wasn't sensing Sasuke.
"Let's go."
She was the one who found his bedroom during their search.
There was nothing specific about the room, no personal touches to signify it belonged to Sasuke. But… It sounded creepy as hell, she knew it did, but it smelled like him. Swinging the doors open in their hurried sweep of the hideout disturbed the air of each room and upon opening Sasuke's, she was submerged in his scent.
Entering with a soft sound to notify the others, Sakura's gaze swept around the room that was much like the rest of the hideout: damp and cold. It felt more like a prison and the notion of Sasuke being forced to live in such conditions had her stomach lurching, whether it be by his own doing or not.
An object left neatly on the only surface of his room had Sakura hesitantly stepping forward, recognition stealing her breath. It felt rough after its year of being attached to Sasuke, their relentless, tricky missions and training threatening its longevity.
"What is it?"
"This is Sasuke-kun's," Sakura whispered thickly, bringing the pouch closer. Dropping herself onto what she knew to be his bed, a single tear slipped down her cheek, the response to her collapsing so heavily onto the mattress flinging his scent up into the air and becoming all she could inhale. "They… He was here recently."
It was wordlessly that Itachi held out his hand for the pouch, carefully opening it and inspecting its contents. "He never goes anywhere without this pouch."
"We pooled our pays together to have it handmade and personalised for him," came her strangled response. Looking to Naruto and seeing his equally broken expression, she added, "I-It was a birthday present."
Had Sasuke purposely left it behind after all this time? Was it done to send them a message? To show that they meant nothing to him? That he could leave them behind effortlessly?
The Uchiha remained contemplative for several moments longer before shutting his eyes with a weary exhale, making Sakura wonder if his thoughts followed hers at all. If they did, then he refused to entertain them like she did and chose to remain determined. He fixed the pouch to his hip securely and gave them a curt nod, his features offering empathy and reassurance.
"Make sure you scold him for so carelessly leaving it behind," he instructed quietly, lips trying to smile but not quite making it.
"Damn it," Naruto agreed, fist smacking into his palm. "We put a lot of thought and money into that thing, that bastard!"
They were separated.
Sakura wasn't sure how it happened. All she knew was the ringing of her ears was intense enough to make her legs buckle several times. Disorientated, she brought a hand to her head and swallowed hard, taking a moment to breathe as she leaned against the cool stone wall.
Whoever attacked knew to target Itachi's sight and she hoped that he'd caught his bearings enough to defend himself, for whoever it'd been felt… gross. That was the only word to come to her battered mind. They were ridiculously powerful and skilled enough to catch even him off guard, separating them without issue and soon enough, Naruto was gone too. Gone in a deafening bang that she honestly believed knocked her out for several minutes. How she awoke in a corridor suffocating in clouds of dust and debris was a complete mystery to her.
But she had to persevere, had to push forward no matter what.
Sasuke was coming home, damn it!
Kunai clasped tight to her chest, Sakura granted herself just one more moment before forcing herself to move forward again, taking each twist and corner with suspicious glares over her shoulders and darting to different doorways with a pounding heart. Her paranoid mind tried to take her out entirely with images of Orochimaru lurking behind one of the doors, however she commended herself for continuing anyway.
He had to be somewhere. It wasn't like Sasuke could move through walls or earth. Realistically, logically, he was down there with them. They just had to figure out where and get to him before Orochimaru or Kabuto did.
She hoped Shisui and Jiraiya–
Holy shit–
Her mind screeched to a disbelieving halt as she entered another training hall of sorts, footsteps faltering in their previously determined march at the sight she came across.
Of all the people to find him…!
"Sasuke-kun," she called out hopefully, unable to comprehend that he was actually in front of her, walking away like he didn't even realise she were there. That was until her yell of his name and Sasuke faltered, head tilting ever so slightly before he continued like nothing even happened and Sakura felt a horrendous crack at her heart at his dismissive attitude. "…Sasuke-kun."
They were about to repeat that night. The night he left. They were–
No.
No they weren't.
She refused!
"Stop, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura demanded as forcefully as possible, though even to her, it felt weak. Or was that simply a trick of her weak mind?
"Or what?" he scoffed blandly and shit, she didn't mean to recoil from the cold words. "What will you do, Sakura?"
"I…"
"You are no match for me."
Everything felt surreal. Like one of her nightmares that she couldn't wake from and Sakura itched to pinch herself. It didn't help that Sasuke continued to keep his back to her even after he stopped walking, head low like he couldn't even stomach looking at her. All that usually happened in her dreams of confronting Sasuke or bringing him home came to life before her very eyes, and Sakura squashed down the helpless cry bubbling to the surface.
He was right. She was definitely no match for him. The only skill she surpassed him in was chakra control and it hardly gave her an advantage when against the sharingan. Sasuke's taijutsu was brutal, his genjutsu noteworthy and his ninjutsu was far beyond her comprehension. She had absolutely no way to counter his attacks. Going against someone like him was illogical and broke the medic laws, but what was she supposed to do? Let him walk away again? Again?
Hell no.
"Who said it's just me?" she bluffed, because like hell she knew where Itachi or Naruto was at that point. They could have been unconscious or bleeding out for all she knew. "Itachi-san will–"
That got his attention and finally, Sasuke's head turned in her direction, voice low and angry as he quietly demanded, "Itachi's here?"
"Naruto, too," Sakura said. Swallowing hard, she shifted in her stance and held up her kunai, telling him, "So even though I'm no match for you, I just need to hold out until then."
Shit.
Sakura acted completely on instinct when Sasuke lunged for her without a flicker of a warning, closing the distance between them like he'd only needed to take a couple of steps. Falling back on her hands just as his fingers brushed her throat, she kicked upwards, unable to believe her luck of landing a blow that sent him careening upwards towards the ceiling. His eyes were wide with pain and disbelief and shit, she felt the exact same.
She'd hurt him–
No, she told herself furiously. Get out of that damned mindset!
"Stop, Sasuke-kun," she tried to order firmly, but damn it she hesitated when about to fall into her defensive stance once more. "Please don't do this."
"Do you really think you can order me around?" Pushing away from the ceiling, Sasuke landed soundlessly several metres away from her, and she forced back the frown at the reluctance in his expression. There was every chance he was only showing her such emotions to weaken her resolve. As much as she loved him, Sakura knew he could be manipulative. They all could. "Walk away while you still can." he warned coolly.
She set her jaw resolutely. "No. I'm not letting you go again."
Sasuke's eyes shut briefly and she was stunned by the flash of pain before he was reopening them, greeting her with the sight of his sharingan. "Fine."
And then he lunged.
"Sakura!"
She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't breathe.
She couldn't breathe!
Everything was on fire. She was on fire. Literal fire.
The screams that left her were downright animalistic in their urgency and agony and she couldn't understand how nobody was coming to her aid at the sound of them. More importantly, why couldn't she put the flames out? Why was nothing she did enough? She dropped, she rolled, she writhed – damn it, she flung herself into the walls in the sad attempt to extinguish the fire, but nothing worked. Why was nothing working?
"Sakura, I'm here! It's stopped!"
It wasn't until her neck and head were rigid and straining against something that Sakura finally managed to meet the furious but notably concerned features of her sensei, his eyes darting around her undoubtedly blistered and burned face.
"I'm here," he repeated firmly and it was then that she noticed she couldn't move because of him. Shisui was pinning her to him, no doubt to stop the convulsing. The medic in her wanted to tell him to release her. The roughness would only worsen her burns. "You're okay. I stopped it." Sakura sobbed with relief and pain flashed in his eyes. "Can you talk? Move?"
She couldn't answer. Only strangled sounds of anguish and torture left her busted lips. Any move Sakura tried to make was accompanied by a searing, bone-deep ache that threatened to knock her out, and like hell she was willing to look anywhere but Shisui's pained, bruised features. If she looked at the burns, Sakura knew she would fall apart. Try as she might to separate herself from the superficial brat that she was, there was no chance of truly freeing herself. She knew she was going to lose her shit – if the pain didn't kill her first.
"Breathe," he urged, settling more comfortably onto the ground. Firmly, Shisui kept her broken form stretched out awkwardly across his lap as he her cradled against him, hands refusing to break their locked gazes as he kept her head secure. "It was genjutsu, Sakura. A brutal one."
Genjutsu…?
"You're okay," Shisui assured her. After a moment of consideration, he reached for her hand and forced her to look at it, holding it still and giving her head a light jostle when Sakura tried to refuse. "Look. You're okay. Trust me."
And she broke down all over again when reality finally, fully, returned to her. She clung to Shisui in a mixture of relief and a deep aching need for comfort, fingers curling into his bloodied flak jacket and trembling with the fierceness of her unyielding grasp. Even if he wanted to create more distance, he couldn't. She couldn't.
"I think…" Swallowing hard, he lifted her the same time as he stood, but just as she was about to succumb to the madness that terrifying genjutsu threatened her with, Shisui tightened his hold to show he wouldn't let go. "It seems Sasuke is finally taking you seriously. That was no low level genjutsu."
Sasuke had…
He really had…
"We need to find the others. Parts of the hideout have collapsed. They might be trapped," he explained but to her, the words were muffled. She couldn't understand a damn thing he was saying.
Granting her mercy at the show of vulnerability and inability to continue, Shisui blanketed her mind with a comforting genjutsu that soothed the vicious heartbreak and cracks in her psyche Sasuke created.
"Rest, Sakura. I've got you."
Even if she'd been capable of doing so, they needn't have worried about the others. They proved their skills and luck by escaping the collapse of the hideout mostly unscathed, though they could all read one another's battered hopes. Physically they were fine, but it was evident Sakura, Naruto and Itachi were all emotionally spent.
"What happened to Sakura-chan?" the blond demanded furiously. "Her face…!"
Hazily and still blanketed in a genjutsu Itachi was swift to pick up on, Sakura glanced to her final teammate, though thankfully didn't experience the overwhelming grief and helplessness she usually experienced. Shisui kept those emotions from her for the time being and only allowed her to feel relaxed and safe.
"It seems Sasuke had to weaken Sakura-chan for his genjutsu to affect her," Shisui explained to the others coolly. Jaw clenching briefly, he looked to her with an unreadable expression, but she was too far gone to wonder what any of it meant. "Then used one of his highest levelled genjutsu on her. She had no hopes in breaking it alone."
Itachi's features smoothed out.
"Why is she–"
Jiraiya cut Naruto off with a heavy exhale, explaining simply, "No doubt she's currently under some form of mind manipulation to protect her from whatever Sasuke cast." The Sannin looked to Shisui and raised a single eyebrow, saying rather than questioning, "That is your speciality, after all. Hence Orochimaru's quick thinking to snatch Sasuke away like that."
Whatever the bait was, the older Uchiha didn't bite, rather looked to Itachi with a sigh. It had her tiredly rolling her head back to look to him too, stomach churning at the guilt written all over Itachi's features when he met her eye for a brief second.
"This…" Frowning deeply, Shisui kept Sakura close to his chest, looking down at her bloodied, traumatised features with undeniable pain. "I can't forgive this."
"But–"
"No, Naruto-kun," Shisui argued firmly. "Sasuke wanted to make a point by using such force against Sakura-chan when he's previously made sure to end it swiftly and without causing unnecessary pain. Point made."
"So that's it?" he demanded, voice cracking. He tried to step up to the Uchiha but Jiraiya's hand falling to his shoulder kept him still, the shaking of the Sannin's head seemingly breaking any fighting spirit he had left. "B-But Sasuke's family. We can't give up on him."
"I have no intention of giving up on my brother," Itachi relieved her by announcing to the group, meeting Shisui's gaze unfalteringly. "If I have taken anything from this, it is that Sasuke is drifting further and further from us. I will not leave him in the hands of Orochimaru."
Thank you, she tried to stress with her dazed expression and although it could have merely been the affect of the genjutsu, she was fairly certain Itachi understood. She was so certain that his expression gentled on hers before it fell with guilt then hardened with determination.
"Finally awake?"
Sakura kept her hands over her pale and bruised features for several moments as she tried to rein in her composure. Losing her shit as spectacularly as she had was embarrassing enough – she'd had time to sleep it off, to recover. Now, she had no excuse to fester away in her suffering.
She needed to get her ass up and prepared for the next round. She had to be better next time. Stronger.
"Here," Itachi offered when she finally showed signs of joining them once more. She sat up, lips twitching in thanks to the canteen pressed insistently into her hands. From the few random droplets running down the side, it was obvious he'd recently refilled it, relieving her to know they were likely close to a body of water. "Drink. You've been out a while."
Flashes of Sasuke's genjutsu plagued her mind at the sounds of flickering flames and she stilled in bringing the canteen to her lips, widening gaze hesitantly moving to the campfire warming their area. Everything felt so raw and real and without Shisui's soothing genjutsu that quieted her mind enough for her to work through the trauma in her own time, Sakura wasn't entirely sure she'd be… Hell, she wasn't even sure.
"Th-Those…" She waited a second to try and compose herself but much to her horror, a tear fell regardless of her fight. "Those flames…"
Shisui's frown seemed deeper than usual thanks to the shadows cast upon his features and he sighed heavily, running a hand up his face like he could sense how bare the fire left him. "They're from an old legend – a flame that will never extinguish until whatever it's burning is nothing but ash."
No longer able to meet her eye, Itachi sank back into his previous seat and focused on the fire also. It was evident from his heavy shoulders and furrowing brow that he felt guilty for what she'd been through, though she wasn't sure why. Was it because they were separated when it happened? Was it because Sasuke was the one who hurt her?
Hesitantly, Sakura brought a hand to her lip only to flinch at the immediate flare of pain. Instinct had her pulling away entirely until she fought through to get a better feel of the damage done, shocked to find not just her bottom lip split, but the top lip also. Going off the throbbing of her left eye and stomach, Sakura knew they weren't the only targeted areas, and it had her torn.
Sasuke had never hit her before. Not even during training. He was surprisingly the most careful when it came to sparring or training in general, always springing into action if it looked like she was about to take a nasty hit or fall. In the beginning, Sakura was ecstatic about the gentle treatment and allowed the romantic in her to play it into a huge deal. After the chūnin exams it made her feel like a burden. There was nothing romantic about it. Sasuke saw her as weak.
So, what did his most recent actions mean? Had she improved enough for him to go at her seriously? To view her as a genuine threat? Or had he simply had enough of the burden?
"Sakura…"
"Don't," she urged quietly and dropped her hand to her lap where it slowly clenched into a tight fist. "I'm not taking it as a loss."
"You're not?" questioned Shisui, voice tinged with something akin to his being impressed. That or exasperated. She wasn't entirely sure. "How can you possibly view this as a win?"
It didn't surprise Sakura to notice Itachi's uncertainty also, because of course the two of them couldn't understand. They were both prodigies of their clan – a clan that was already outrageously talented and powerful. When was the last time either of them was underestimated?
"Sasuke-kun's never taken me seriously before," Sakura told them both and squared her shoulders, demanding herself to look at the situation positively lest she wished to lose her shit altogether. "I can either take this as Sasuke-kun really believing I had a chance of bringing him home or take it as him losing himself to the darkness and no longer caring about us." She met Itachi's eye and could tell from the softening of his features that he appreciated her devotion to Sasuke. Many others would have given up on him at that point. "I refuse to believe he's lost."
Shisui carelessly tossed another log onto the fire before reclining on his hands, head falling back with a long, weary exhale. "Regardless, our mission was a failure. We have lost our only lead on Orochimaru."
"For now," Itachi added calmly. Looking back to her, he offered a small smile and murmured, "I also refuse to believe Sasuke is lost."
Next time, she was going to be better prepared. She would be stronger. She wouldn't freeze up at the sight of him or hesitate or pull her punches. If she'd made such a huge leap – big enough for Sasuke to take her seriously – then there was no telling where she was going to be in a year's time, or three years' time.
"I want to take training up a notch," Sakura told Shisui without leaving any room for debates. "I'll be ready next time."
"We have another fairly pressing matter to tend to before then," he replied, leaving both Sakura and Itachi to frown over at him in confusion. Smirking faintly like it was already a pain, Shisui added, "We need to interrogate your father about Haruno Mao and her scrolls. We can't go any further without a decoder."
That was perhaps going to be an even greater fight, she thought with a groan.
Damn it.