Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Chapter 28: Contingencies

She pulled the curtains back. The light filled the room. "Good morning, Ban." She said with much cheeriness. "Today is a busy, busy day." She fluffed his pillow. "I brought you flowers. Daffodils. I went with them because I was not sure if you had any smell sensitivities. I hope you like them. They're very summery. " She mused.

She monitored his vitals. She checked his chart. Nothing had changed since yesterday. It was not a good thing but it also was not entirely a bad thing. He was still able to breathe on his own. The oxygen mask could come off later in the day if everything stayed where it was currently. The poison had not taken more from him.

They also did not know if they could reverse what was done. Tsunade's hands were full with treating Ban. It was her number one priority. Maybe that was what the ANBU had intended when they flooded his system. Tsunade had to be getting close. Why else would they risk being caught? Not that they had much to worry about on that end. No one had seen anyone come in and out of Bat's cell. She did not know if they were affected by some sort of jutsu, caught off guard, or covering for themselves. None of the options were great.

It seemed like the trend of the ANBU being next to useless in a crisis situation continued. Wolf was watching the girls and the second-best they had was languishing away in the hospital. She was beyond frustrated with the situation. Every step of the way there was failure. More training. They needed more training. All of them did. What happened should not have happened.

She kept a fake smile on her face. "I have to go do my rounds. I'll come to check on you around lunchtime."

She spared him one last look over her shoulder. She ignored the churning in her gut. She nodded to the ANBU. He had a 24-hour guard. She could only hope it did him more good in the hospital than it did in prison.

She was always tired lately. It felt like she had to fight to sleep on a minute-by-minute basis. The timing could not be worse. She had so much to do. The hearing was approaching, they had to figure out what was going on with Ban, things with Minato were stagnant. She had barely even had time to think about the baby if she was being honest. There was just too much going on.

Right now when they should have been narrowing the list of baby names Minato had picked out together, she was off trying to keep the girls with Kushina, and Minato was doing…whatever it was that he did. She was not sure anymore. They were not talking about anything other than the bare minimum needed to keep their day going. They cohabitated the space. She did not know what was going on in his mind any more than he knew what she was thinking.

She had to clean up her mess. Walking away was not the right call. She had to protect him. His hands could not be dirty. She did not mind if hers were. She was willing to do what needed to be done. Her only regret was that it would change everything. There would be no going back. She would lose him for good if it came down to it.

She could not daydream about the baby or think about names. Her world was imploding on itself. She could not be tired. She could not stop moving. She had to fix it. It was her job. It was her responsibility.

Sakura shrugged off her white coat and put it on the back of her chair. Her green eyes darted to the clock on the wall. She tucked a couple of folders under her arm. She left the four walls of her office. She barely registered the blurry faces as she walked down the hall. She did not have much time. She would have to be quick.

She walked at a brisk pace, as brisk as her body would allow. There was a sense of urgency to her. Maybe that was why everyone seemed to be giving her a wide berth. Or it could just do with the large frown that seemed to be commonplace on her face these days.

She arrived at the deep blue door. She knocked three times. She checked her watch as the door swung open. She did not bother with pleasantries. She walked through the door. The woman who answered mirrored her expression. The door closed with a thud behind her.

She stood in the entryway. She flipped her braid over her shoulder. "I think Shun is going to try to play an angle to get the panel to go his way."

Kushina's expression became stony. She gestured to the sofa. Sakura shook her head. It would be best if they remained standing. She had a lot to say and she did not have a lot of time to say it and she did not want to risk accidentally dozing off if she got too comfortable.

"I need you to do something for me." Sakura looked at Kushina.

"Anything."

"Shun is going to try to prove that I knew Tukiko was an Uchiha before I asked you to go look for Kohana. He's going to try to use that to invalidate your petition. I need you to tell the truth." Sakura looked at Kushina with absolute seriousness. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"No. I don't." Kushina frowned. The pinkette had just contradicted herself.

"You will tell the truth. How I asked you to look for Kohana and how you used your network to find her. I doubt they will want you to go into the details. Keep it as vague as you can. Tell them that you did not learn Tukiko was an Uchiha until after you brought her to Konoha."

Kushina furrowed her brow. Protest bubbled in her throat. "But you did tell me before. About Tukiko. But you said to tell the truth."

"Tell the truth about the mission, selectively. Obito did not see her Sharingan in Hacho Village, right?" She asked. Her jade eyes studied Kushina closely. The woman could not lie her way out of a wet paper bag.

Kushina nodded her head. "The first time I saw it was in Konoha."

"Good. Say that. Tell the truth about how I asked you to search for their mother and how you came to find out about her Sharingan in Konoha." Sakura sighed. "They can't prove that you knew her lineage prior to their arrival in Konoha."

"Why does it matter if I knew or not?" Kushina asked impatiently. Sakura was not making any sense. On one hand, she said to tell the truth and on the other, she was telling her to omit parts of the story.

"It matters. If they can prove you knowingly went in and brought back an Uchiha without telling the clan they can argue that your motive was to get a Sharingan in your possession before anyone was the wiser and that I helped facilitate it." She rubbed the crook of her arm.

Kushina frowned. "I don't care about any of that! If Tukiko was not an Uchiha this whole mess could be avoided."

"Two of the three on the panel have Kekkei Genkai. Believe me, they care. Shun will try to paint you as some kind of collector or something. Fear-based tactics. That you lied about these kids you are saving, so you can hoard the ones with abilities for yourself." Sakura pressed her lips in a firm line as if the distastefulness of the words had left behind a bitterness in her mouth.

Kushina clenched her fists. "I'm just trying to help these kids, dattebane! I would never do that. I have never done that. My reputation speaks for itself."

Sakura frowned. Her eyes darted to the room where the girls no doubt were. "I am just telling you how it could be spun. You need to keep a hold of yourself. You can't afford an outburst at the hearing. We need the Kurama and Aburame heads to sympathize with you. You need to show and prove that you're the best - the only - option for the girls. You need to be reliable, articulate, and most importantly, in control up there. You can't let Shun and his tactics get under your skin if we have any shot at this hearing going our way."

She thought about it. Kushina relaxed her hands. "So tell the truth about how you approached me to find the girls as well as how I found them and what happened on the mission. But lie that I did not know that Tukiko was an Uchiha."

Sakura nodded. "It's not a complete lie. You didn't know. At least not in the very beginning." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Just stay calm and stick to the facts. You'll be fine."

"Wait," Kushina's face pulled into an expression of concern. "If I say all that. You'll be in hot water. You aren't authorized to assign missions or give side quests. The council could come after you."

"I made these decisions. I made them on my own. I am prepared to face any consequences on my own. I've already talked to Obito. Stick to what we talked about. Do you remember what you wrote for the mission report?" Sakura registered Kushina nodding her head. "Good. Shun will no doubt pull that. So do not deviate from it. If you need a copy let me know. I can get Shikaku to give you one." She drummed her fingers on her thigh.

"I brought the programs for both Tukiko and Karin with me. I've already signed off. Mai says to bring in Tukiko tomorrow." Sakura handed Kushina the folders. "I think that's all I had."

"Sakura," Kushina looked at her with wide eyes. "You don't have to face this alone."

Sakura shook her head with finality. She cleared her throat. "There's something else."

Kushina's stomach turned. "What?" She asked in a voice filled with dread.

"If it doesn't work. If they don't believe me," Sakura reached into the pocket of her pants and pulled out an envelope. It was bulging. "There will be a window. They will give you 72 hours to hand Tukiko off to the Uchiha. You use it. You take the girls and you run. I'll hold them off from sending someone after you for as long as I can." Her eyes darted to the envelope. "There's enough in there to cover expenses until you get on your feet. You don't tell anyone. Not even me where you are going. You can't ever come back." She blinked back the tears.

Kushina took a step back. Her knees threatened to give out from under her. "Sakura," she said, deeply perturbed.

"I can't be responsible for another wrong." She said firmly.

"Sakura," She looked at her horrified. "I was only joking - venting - when I told you I wanted to take them far away where no one could find me and away from everything, dattebane! This is crazy. Even for me. Even for you."

Sakura stood them silently.

"You know what this would mean right?" Kushina's hands curled around the envelope. It crinkled.

Sakura nodded. There was a profound sadness in her eyes. "So let's hope you get a better poker face between now and the hearing."

Kushina frowned. "What aren't you telling me?" Nothing warranted this level of planning. This contingency was extreme.

"Tukiko cannot pay for the sins of her father," Sakura said solemnly. "They cannot influence her to be like him."

"Who's her father?" Kushina asked evenly.

"It is better if you don't ask me. I don't want to have to lie to you." Sakura's eyes went flat with graveness.

Kushina had never seen that expression on her face before. It scared her. "Okay." She said numbly when she found a way to speak again.

"Okay. I really need to go." She sighed. "Things will be fine." She nodded firmly. She opened and closed the door. She had several more stops to make before the end of the day.

Kushina blinked. She looked at the envelope in her hand. It was just bursting at the seams with cash. She did not understand everything but she knew that the Uchiha could not learn of Tukiko's father's identity. There was no other explanation for why Sakura would risk everything.

He spotted Shun from a mile away. His taller-than-average height coupled with his distinctive hairstyle of half-long, half-cropped made him hard to miss. Even in a sea of faces that looked like his, he stood out. He stood casually talking to someone under an umbrella waiting for their food orders. The man that he was talking to stalked off then they both registered Itachi's presence.

Shun turned around and grinned at him. "Cousin," his dark eyes lazily scanned over Itachi. "Want anything?" He gestured to the stall next to him. He propped his elbow against the chain link fence. He blew on the tea in his hand. The paper cup was hot enough to burn his fingers.

Itachi's eyes darted to the man behind the counter before wandering back over to Shun's. Shun sighed deeply. He held up his finger to the man. He nodded in understanding. Both Uchiha vanished. They reappeared on the rooftop of a building nearby. The tea in his hand barely disturbed.

"Make it quick. I don't want my lunch to get cold." Shun grumbled.

"How do you plan on achieving your goal for this One Konoha?" Itachi asked him. "There is going to be opposition. The other clans will not stand for it. We do not have enough manpower to overcome that. Even if everyone in the clan was behind us."

"I must be getting old or losing my mind," Shun said blandly. "I seem to remember answering this very question before."

Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly. "You are asking a lot of me, of all of us. I don't operate on blind faith alone." He waited.

Shun crumpled the paper cup in his hands. His expressions ranged from agitated to collected. He was weighing his words.

"We have help," he stated cryptically.

Itachi furrowed his brow. "What kind of help?"

The grin that pulled at Shun's face was nothing short of ghoulish. "From the Hokage's own house." His dark eyes pinned Itachi in place. "How's that for faith?"

Itachi said nothing. From where he stood Shun could only mean one thing, an ANBU. Maybe he had been too quick to dismiss the Uchiha being involved in the attack against the village, against the Hokage. The more he learned, the worse the situation became.

He looked up from the document he was in the process of processing. He knew it was her before she even knocked on the door. She had timed it just right. He had sent Shikaku to finally take his lunch break. It was over an hour overdue.

He cleared his throat. "Come in."

She walked into the room. He took in her face. Her expression was muted and her eyes held traces of remorse. She did not have to utter a word for him to know the nature of the visit was not a light, friendly one. Not that they had many of those anymore.

"How is Bat doing?" Minato asked as he folded his hands on his desk, denoting that she had his full attention.

"The same." She answered without much emotion. "He's not why I'm here." She added.

He focused on her to keep his thoughts from carrying him away. "Okay." He gestured to the chair opposite of him. "Do you want to sit down?"

Despite looking like she desperately did, she shook her head. "Are we alone?"

He nodded. "What is this about?"

"The hearing." She looked conflicted. "I know we've had problems in the past with how things were decided." She sighed. "And I see it. I acknowledge it. You were right. You are right." She took a deep breath. "That being said, there is something you should know. My mind is made up."

He braced himself for what was to come.

"If they ask me who Tukiko's father is I will lie." She said decisively. There was conviction in her eyes. "No one can prove it. The only people that know are you and me."

He closed his eyes. He thought about what she was saying and the ramifications of it. She was headstrong and rash but he did not think she would be so reckless with her life now that she had two lives dependent on her.

"You're putting me in a horrible position, Sakura." He did not want to argue but he needed her to admit just what she was doing to him. She needed to acknowledge it.

"He's not really her father. Not in any way that matters," Sakura argued. Her eyes blazed with determination. "He raped her, Minato. Does that grant him any rights? Does that give the clan any claim?"

He frowned. "I don't disagree with you." He studied her face closely. "But I respect our process. I respect the truth. I need to uphold both."

"The truth is irrelevant in this case. She is an Uzumaki. She was raised by her mother and grandmother. Why does all of that get ignored and neglected?" She asked him emphatically. "Is Naurto any less of a Haruno just because that's the last name of his mother and not his father?"

Not too long ago they had discussed giving him her last name. Was that all just to gain some points?

"Of course not. The Uchiha have just as much right to her as an Uzumaki does. Regardless of the circumstances of how she came to be. They can help connect her to a part of her identity." He said tightly.

He was growing resentful of what she was implying. He was her husband. She knew him. So why did it feel like she was talking to him as if he were a stranger?

"As long as Uchiha like Shun exist, Tukiko will never be safe." She widened her stance. She rested her hand on the small of her back. She ignored the kicks to the gut. "She does not need that kind of influence. She can't follow down the path of her father."

He frowned. "It sounds like you have no faith in her. That she can't be her own person if raised by them."

Her eyes narrowed. She glared at him. "There is no moral gray area in this. The girls cannot be separated. Tukiko loves Karin more than anything. They need to stay together. If they don't, Tukiko will resent Konoha. She will spend the rest of her life doing so. That can't happen at any cost. I won't let it happen. I will lie for her, for them."

"So you're willing to have our baby in jail? And you're willing to make me the one to put you there?" He asked her slowly in a level tone. His navy eyes bore into hers.

She stared back at him unwavering. "Minato, I understand." She looked at peace. She was no longer conflicted with anything. It was out in the open. "If that is what you need to do in order to live with yourself, I understand. Because I'm doing the same."

His jaw clenched. "Then I guess there's nothing more to discuss."

She looked at him with regret. "I am truly sorry for all this."

"I know." He believed her.

He lowered himself into his chair heavily. He had just been chewed out by the Elders. Koharu had picked the bones of his carcass clean. His Hokage-ship was in danger. Thanks to the bombshell that Sakura dropped on him earlier it was about to get worse. He might have to look for a new job as early as the day after the hearing.

She was compounding one mistake with a series of others. She never should have kept the identity of Tukiko's father from him. That was her first mistake. Her second was to have Wolf and Kushina go out looking for the girls. Her third mistake would be to lie about on the stand. He would not be able to protect her. He had not been able to protect her at all because she kept it all from him.

It was one after the next. He did not have much of a leg to stand on. He had made a mess of the investigation. Koharu has painstakingly reminded him of each of his shortcomings with that. He had waited too long. He had the wrong guy. He did not listen. Now Bat was comatose. He may never come out of it and they had lost all avenues to find the person so hellbent on throwing the village into chaos.

The Uchihas were just another thing he was mishandling. Itachi was struggling. Anyone with half a brain could see that. He had become even more reserved than usual. He had saddled a thirteen-year-old with the responsibility of his clan. It was too much to expect of anyone.

And now the hearing. He did not even know where to begin. If the Uchiha somehow did manage to win he knew in his bones that Sakura would not stand for it. She had spelled it out for him. She had tunnel vision. She did not see anything beyond Tukiko and Karin. She would do something else that would jeopardize her freedom if he was not forced to incarcerate her before then. There was no clear path. There was no good scenario.

His head was spinning trying to keep everything straight. Compartmentalizing only worked so well for so long. Between Bat, the ANBU, the Uchiha, and Sakura he was at capacity. He could not deal with anything more.

He foolishly thought back in his mid-twenties that if he never made another good decision again he would be happy because he made the decision to marry Sakura. It seemed the Universe was determined to show him just how wrong he was. It truly felt like he had only made a handful of good choices since then. With every mistake and misstep, he was getting closer and closer to what Koharu had warned him about. He was about to lose it all.

He could feel it. His life was teetering on the edge. His job and marriage were in trouble. There was no point in sugarcoating it. Both walls were crumbling at the same time. There was only so much he could do. He was only one person. One wall would come down. The terrifying part was he did not know which one it would be.

Flashback

"What?" Masaki stared at Minato in shock. It did not happen often, he had seen too much to be easily rattled. But the words that came out of Mintao's mouth made his whole body freeze. "You want me to tell the truth?"

Minato nodded. "All of it. Don't leave anything out." His eyes darted around in the interrogation room, the only room where the two of them could talk without fear of being overheard. He could not help but picture Sakura in the chair. The metal chair with thick leather wrist, hip, and ankle straps. His stomach turned.

His lavender eyes shone with something akin to disgust. "You know what that means don't you?" He asked in a very low tone.

Minato nodded. "I do." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Do you need the mission report?"

Masaki shook his head. "I remember." He muttered darkly. His eyes transformed into violet. "Are you sure about this?"

He did not fault him for being hesitant. It was crazy what he was asking him to do. He stared him in the eye. "Yes." He could see traces of distrust in Masaki's gaze. It was par for the course when it came to their relationship.

The brunette shuffled on his feet. "I'll think about it."

He closed his eyes. "That's all I ask." That was all he could ask.

Masaki watched as Minato left the room, his signature white cloak nowhere to be found.

End of Flashback

He stared at the full glass in front of him. He had poured it over twenty minutes ago. He had yet to touch it since then. His mind was playing the earlier conversation on a loop. The disbelief in those lavender eyes haunted him. He did not know if his little unplanned excursion would ultimately help or not but he could not sit back and do nothing.

Old habits die hard. It was disturbingly easy to fall back into his old ways. The ways that could have cost him the nomination. Fugaku had come much closer than most thought. The reason for it was Sakura, it was always her. She had him unraveling at the seams then just as she had him doing now. She may not need him but he could not let her do this, not alone at the very least.

The air in the room changed. He lifted his eyes from the cup to the white and magenta for her mask.

"Drinking alone?" She asked him. He could practically hear the smile in her voice. For what it was worth, she was on the short list of people who always seemed happy to talk to him. She went out of her way to do so.

"Thinking about drinking alone." He corrected her.

"What's holding you back?" She asked him with her head cocked to the side. He only had body language and her voice to go off of. He appreciated the gestures she threw in for him, it helped take the guesswork out of things.

"Who I am as a person." He admitted with a sigh.

"That's unfortunate." She noted. Her tone was dangerously close to teasing.

"I can pour you a glass. That way I wouldn't be thinking about drinking alone." He offered.

She laughed. It was a pleasant sound. "Is this a test?" This time her tone was teasing.

He shook his head. "I could use an ear."

She sat down in the chair across from him. "Maybe we can think about not drinking together then." She paused. "Is it about the trial?"

He leaned back in his chair. "Partially." He rubbed his face tiredly.

"Is it about your wife then?" Spider asked him slowly.

"Mostly," Minato admitted.

"Is she causing trouble for you again?" Her tone was light but it lost the teasing edge to it.

"Always." He said humorlessly.

"Is it the good kind or the bad kind?" She asked him.

He sighed.

Naruto looked up at her with a completely serious face. "Mama, can I get a puppy?"

She bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling. "No, Baby. You're getting a sibling, remember?"

"Oh yeah," he made a face. "Is it the same?"

She pondered his question. "In some ways it is but in other ways it isn't."

"Will the baby like ramen?" Naruto asked with wonder. They had just finished their story.

Sakura ran a hand through his hair, as she pressed her cheek against his forehead. "Knowing my luck, yes."

Naruto made a sound of excitement. "Will the baby sleep in there?" He pointed at the crib.

Sakura nodded. "Until the baby is big enough to sleep in their own bed." She had moved from calling it 'it' to 'the baby' after Naruto told his daycare class that she was going to have a little 'it'. Some of the parents had given her the stink eye at dropoff the next day.

"Where will the bed be?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Hm, we'll hopefully have moved into a bigger house by then." It was wishful thinking. The only thing worse than moving with one kid was moving with two. They had so much stuff.

"What about all my toys?" He asked, concerned.

"They can come too." She promised. "You will get your own room. The baby will get theirs. It will be great."

Naruto looked at her, not convinced. "What about Itachi-oniichan?"

She stared at him surprised. "Naruto, Itachi-oniichan will be back with his family in his house."

Naruto frowned. "I'll miss him."

Sakura smiled softly. She hugged him tighter. "I'll miss him too. We'll go see him and Sasuke-kun all the time."

"Like we used to?" He asked her with hope in his voice.

"Yes." She said firmly. Things were not great but she held onto the notion that everything would work out. "Have you decided what you want to do for your birthday?" She looked at him. "Other than ramen." She added hastily. It was the last one as a family of three. She was determined to go all out. She ignored the voice in her head that told her that the last one as a family might have already happened.

Naruto's mouth closed. His eyes rolled upward as he thought. "Will Dada be there?"

She looked at him slacked-jawed. "Of course, he will." She said adamantly when she recovered. "Where else would he be?" She asked him confused.

"Work," Naruto said solemnly.

She felt her heart break in her chest. She had caused more complications for Minato. This was the second time this week that he had missed dinner and story time. It was her fault.

"He'll be there. Wild horses couldn't keep him away." She vowed. Kissing Naruto's temple loudly.

Naruto giggled. "Really? Wild horses?" His eyes sparkled. "Can we get horses for my birthday?"

She inwardly cursed herself. "No, Naruto. Then they would not be wild. And we don't have space for a horse, much less horses."

"Or a puppy." He pointed out sadly.

"Or a puppy." She agreed firmly.

"But there's space for a baby?" He asked her confused.

"There's always space for a baby." She rubbed her belly. "We make room for a baby."

"What about in the new house? Will there be space then?" Naruto asked her in excitement as the thought occurred to him.

Sakura kept her expression schooled. Naruto was smart when he wanted to be. "It depends, Naruto. We'll know more once we start looking." She was kicking the can down the road and making it Future Sakura's problem. But she did not care, Current Sakura was running low on ideas.

"Mama, I can see your knees." Naruto nudged one with his toes for good measure.

Sakura laughed. He must have heard her complain to Tsume earlier. "Well, that makes one of us."

"Can we have a picnic for my birthday?" He asked.

Sakura nodded. "Whatever you want."

"Can Obachan, Kiko, Karin come?" He asked, getting more excited.

"Done, done, and done," she said.

"All my friends too?" He asked with big eyes.

"All of them?" She tapped her chin. Naruto had a very loose definition of a friend currently. He could be talking about the whole village for all she knew. "Can you count that high?"

He looked at his fingers. He curled each one as he mentally thought of a name. His lips moved wordlessly. "It's more than ten." He said finally.

She resisted the urge to sigh. "More than ten. That helps." She looked at the picture of the three of them on the wall. "How are we going to feed all of them?"

Naruto grinned. "Obachan is making a cake! With five layers!"

"Five?!" Sakura asked him in exaggerated shock. "How are we going to carry a cake that big?"

Naruto giggled. "You are. You're strong, Mama. Like ants!" He had learned in daycare recently about ants. They were his new obsession.

Warmth spread through her. Tears threatened to spill. She hugged him close. "You really think I'm strong?" She asked him with a voice thick with emotion.

"Really strong, dattebayo!" He repeated firmly. There was no doubt in his mind.

She smiled. "Thank you, Naruto." She closed her eyes. 'I really needed that.'

Tsunade's lip was turned upwards. She knew the look in her former mentor's eyes. She was going to make her work for it. After all that big talk about trust, she had a lot of explaining to do. She was prepared. Tsunade was the one to teach her not to walk into something without doing her homework. She knew Tsunade. She knew how her mind worked.

She placed the bottle of sake she had picked up this morning on her desk. The expression on the shopkeeper's face, when she bought it, was priceless. It was even worth the silent but heavy judgment she felt targeted at her.

"Please?" she clasped her hands behind her back.

"Remind me what week you are?" Tsunade asked her with a haughty brow.

"I hit 28 tomorrow," Sakura answered the question knowing full well that Tsunade knew the answer. Over the years she had learned it was best to let the blonde have her way. The more she put up a fight the longer Tsunade prolonged her suffering. She would get bored eventually.

"Is this really how you should be spending your time?" Tsunade asked her whilst waving her hand lazily in the air. She closed her eyes.

Sakura smiled. "This way you can keep an eye on me. You'll hardly know I'm here." She promised.

Tsunade sighed dramatically. "Fine. Fine." She peeled open an eye. "Don't slow me down."

Sakura grinned. "Wouldn't dream of it." A wave of nostalgia hit her. "Thank you, Shishou."

Tsunade smiled. "Did you have any questions about what you read so far?"

Sakura shook her head. She had spent most of the evening after Naruto went to sleep studying Tsunade's notes and findings. She still had more to get through. She was catching up quickly. The Sannin had managed to learn more than Sakura could have hoped for. But it was still not enough. They had yet to figure out the long-term effects of what the exposure would do to him.

While Tsunade treated Ban, Sakura could focus on finding a cure. She could fill in that gap.

"I think I should study the samples and see if I can find common strands between the two. Establish a baseline for sorts." Coming up with poisons was tough work. It was nearly impossible to keep straight different bases in your head. She was hoping that the attacker just tweaked and changed some elements of it and not the whole formula from the ground up.

"Samples?" Tsunade frowned. "The entire strain changed for the one in the lab."

Sakura pulled out a glass container from her coat pocket. She set it down next to the sake.

Tsunade's eyes widened slightly. "You've been holding out on me?" She shook her head. Her lips tugged into a knowing grin. "So much for staying out of it."

Sakura tilted her head. "We all need contingencies. I had taken and stored some in my office the day you extracted it out of Bat." She tapped the vial. "Was the poison you extracted two days ago the same as the original?"

"No. It matched the transformed one." Tsunade shared. Her expression became strained. "I'm sorry about what happened to him, Sakura."

She nodded curtly. "It's not your fault. It's no one's fault." What she meant was that it was not Minato's. She squarely blamed herself.

Tsunade pressured her lips into a firm line. "I will do my best."

Sakura nodded. "I know, Tsunade-shishou. Thank you." She looked at the bigger container that was on Tsunade's desk. "May I?"

Tsunade flipped her hand upward. "Take it. I'm up to my elbows in that stuff."

Sakura nodded. "I'll keep you posted." She balanced it carefully on her hip.

"Me too." Her expression changed as she remembered something. "How's Kushina holding up?"

Sakura's eyes softened. "About as well as you'd expect. She's tough."

"As we all should be." She dismissed her.

Sakura smiled. She may not be the Hokage but she certainly had Sakura fooled. Sometimes she forgot which version she was talking to.

He was analytical. He preferred to act based on fact. He relied on his brain. Logic was important to him. It brought him solace. The world was an unpredictable place but there were things that were predictable. He clung to that. Math did not change. The sun did not change. The truth did not change. Well not usually.

The facts had backed up the truth. The facts pointed to Bat. Bat was there recording times for the guard shift changes. Bat broke in and copied a map. Bat sent correspondence. Bat had the documents in his place of dwelling. He had the means and he had the opportunity. The motive was secondary. It did not matter as much. Money, power, women, fame; any of the oldest motives could have worked. The facts all pointed to Bat.

The facts had been carefully constructed. The facts had misled. The facts obscured the truth. The truth was it was not Bat. Bat was innocent. He had been framed by someone who knew he was loyal to a fault. Bat did not even fight the allegations. He accepted them. He had told Wolf that he thought they must have been true because he had been the one to find them. He trusted Wolf's judgment that much even over his own.

But Wolf had been wrong. And now Bat was lying in a hospital bed and none of them knew if it was cruel to keep him alive or not. They did not even know if he was brain-dead. The poison had done that much of a number on him. He was in limbo. Caught in between the states of being. He was not dead enough to be dead but not alive enough to be considered alive.

He had been the one to put him behind bars. He pointed the first finger. He threw the first handful of dirt on his grave before he was even dead. He had not wanted to believe it at first but when he did, he cut Bat out completely. The facts said he did it. So Wolf had no reason to feel anything but anger and hatred towards Bat.

But the facts were wrong. Bat would never do anything to hurt Konoha. No one believed that except her. She had fought and fought to get them to see another perspective, another side. She shone a light on their tunnel vision. She moved the shadows out of their view. She revealed the truth. Bat was innocent.

He was innocent and he was paying for it. He was paying for what Wolf did to him. He should have trusted his gut. He should have listened. He should have done a million things differently. He had the opportunity to undo what he did when she came to him. He should have listened, maybe that way Bat would still be alive enough to talk.

He should have waited for himself to be convinced of what the 'facts' were showing him. He should have pushed back harder. He should have taken a step back to gain perspective. The worst part of it all was that Bat did not even fault him. He had greeted him with a smile the handful of times he went to visit him. It made him feel worse than trash.

He was making excuses for himself. He had tried to go to the hospital to see him, to tell him that he was thinking about him. But he had chickened out at the last second.

His eyes flickered to movement in the window. He watched as the two redheads and the raven-haired girl gathered around a cake. It was purple. Kushina had moved it to the counter. She was in the process of frosting it. She had given a few good stirs to the white fluffy frosting. The younger sister was laughing at the fact that Kushina had covered the tip of her nose with frosting. She was trying to lick it off unsuccessfully. She seemed to grow more determined with each attempt.

His eyes landed on the older sister. She was far more reserved. She was watching the antics of the two redheads with a soft barely-there smile. If he did not know better he would have pegged them for a family. He supposed they were. It had only been a couple of months but they looked happy to him, or close enough to it that no one could tell the difference. But he did know better. Their whole world could change as quickly as tomorrow.

He could not help but wonder when mercy would come for the girls. He did not remember his mother much. His father had been his whole world. His father was his hero. It was beyond devastating to find his father's lifeless body. It fundamentally changed him. How could it not? He stumbled for years. Team Minato was where he found family again. They kept him grounded. Even to this day, he knew in his core he could show up and they would have him.

It was completely unexpected and out of the blue but he relished it nonetheless. They were his and he was theirs. He did not know where he would be without them, who he would be. Going through life alone without anyone was not a curse he wished on his worst enemy. They were both young. They had already lost so much. As he watched them through the window he hoped that they would not continue to lose.

His eyes followed the movements of the eldest redhead. She came out through the side door. He came down from his perch. He kept his eyes trained on the house. She came up to him in a hurry. Her steps were not motivated by panic, just haste. She held out a plate for him. He looked at the purple and white slice of cake on it, confused.

"Here it's Ube with vanilla frosting." She smiled at him openly. "Tukiko is a big fan of Ube, it turns out."

He looked at the plate unsure what to do.

"It's her birthday tomorrow but since the hearing is tomorrow I decided to celebrate it one day early which I know is a big no-no for some people but I think we need to take the wins where we can ya' know. Who knows what will happen tomorrow if we'll all be in the same place or not." She rambled. He was not convinced that she had stopped to take a breath.

"Tell her happy birthday from me." He managed out.

"Take it, Wolf," she huffed impatiently. She all but shoved it into his hands, forcing him to grab it before it fell to the ground.

"Thank you," he looked at her with a mix of surprise and gratitude.

"Don't worry. It's not too sweet." She assured him. She rubbed the back of her head as if she just remembered something embarrassing. "Thank you, Wolf." She said sincerely.

He lowered his gaze to the perfect slice of cake. "I'm just doing my job." He said flatly.

Her smile was dazzling. "Enjoy. Good night." She walked off before he could get another word in.

He walked back to his perch, he sat in the branches. His legs swung. He looked at the delicate white flowers made out of frosting. He never would have guessed that someone as impatient as the woman would take the time to make such a thing. She was full of surprises. He watched them clear the plates and the table. They would be getting ready for bed soon.

He kept his tabs on them as they moved throughout the small house. He lowered his mask and brought a small bite of the purple cake to his mouth. He chewed thoughtfully. It was delicious.

Kushina smoothed the sheets. She sat at the edge of the bed. Her heart was heavy. They had a perfect day. Just the three of them. She was torn between shouting in joy for what today was and crying in sorrow for what tomorrow could bring. She could do neither. She had to be steady. She needed to hold herself together for them and for herself.

She was terrified about what tomorrow represented, what tomorrow was. She tried not to think about the duffle bags she had packed and ready to go under her bed or the pile of money that was giving her anxiety. She was ready to do whatever was necessary to keep them together. She did not go through all the work of finding them just to have them ripped apart in front of her eyes.

"So you both remember how Mako-chan and Tsume-san are watching you both tomorrow while I go take care of something, right?" She asked gently. She could not tell them what was happening. There was no need to. If everything went sideways they would be out of here. There were safehouses her network used all over the Land of Fire. They would be able to smuggle out of the country without too much difficulty. Especially with Transformation Justu at their disposal. It was the one genjutsu she had barely managed to learn adequately enough.

They both nodded. "Good, okay so it will be a long day but don't worry they will keep you plenty entertained. Have fun but not too much fun, okay?" She asked them playfully.

They nodded again. Karin grinned at her. "Will Kuromaru be there too?"

Kushina grinned at her. "Yes. He will definitely be there."

"I can't wait!" Karin exclaimed.

Kushina chuckled. She wondered if it was such a good idea to let them have cake so close to bedtime. She smoothed Karin's hair. It hung in loose nighttime braids. It made brushing it in the morning so much easier.

"Night-night little, munchkin." She smiled at Karin.

Her purple eyes landed on Tukiko. "Did you have a good almost birthday, Tukiko-chan?" She asked the girl gently.

Tukiko nodded. "Good." Kushina tucked the covers in around her. "Sweet dreams, Tukiko-chan."

She walked over to the door. She turned off the lights. She did not watch them sleep tonight. No, that would just break her heart more than it already was. Instead, Kushina walked into her room. She closed the door. She slowly lowered herself to the ground. And she silently cried. She cried tonight because there would be no room or time for it later. They would need her later. She was not needed right now. So she could fall apart.

She ran through the grassy field. Green was spotted with purple wildflowers as far as her eye could see. She giggled. There was a great sense of lightness to her. She felt unstoppable. Nothing could hurt her. She held her arms out and she spun. The sounds of her gleeful giggles filled the air. She was starting to get dizzy but she did not care. She was having too much fun to stop. Her dark hair spun with her. She was a vortex. Nothing was going to stop her.

She staggered. Her hands darted out trying to steady her, to prevent her from falling. She moved through the field laughing in earnest. She was so, so, so dizzy. But it did not matter. She was happy. She was free. She was safe.

Little-One.

She blinked. She fell on her knees. The grass was cool. Her white dress pooled around her. She tilted her head back. The voice had come from the sky. Her dark eyes searched the clear, blue expanse. She shrugged it off. She plopped onto her back. She swung her arms and legs. She made angels out of the grass.

I promised your mother.

It was that voice again. The voice of a woman. She furrowed her brow. She sat up. Her hair clung to her back. She knew that voice. The image of her mother came to mind. Her kind eyes. Her familiar face. Her hair, her hands, the way she sounded. It all flooded her memories. Her bottom lip trembled.

"Mama," she cried out. The happiness was gone. It was replaced by something darker. It was despair. She was lost. She got up to her feet. She stumbled as she moved. She ran towards the shed. It was the only structure on the property. It was calling to her desperately. The sky turned black. Thunder rumbled overhead.

Come on, Little-One.

She ran and ran; as fast as she could. She picked herself off the ground after she tripped over a root. The bottom of her feet split open. She ignored the pain. She was so close. The sky had turned black.

I promised your mother, LIttle-One.

She pulled open the door. The weathered wood gave her a splitter. She paid it no mind. Her mother. She could feel her. She was close. Her eyes searched the dark space. There was a makeshift divider, it was a dirty sheet. Her heart stammered. She pulled it back with a flourish.

She blinked back the tears. She let out a broken wail. Nothing. There was nothing there. Her mother was gone. She had her and she let her slip through her fingers. She sank to the ground. Tears and snot rained down her face.

Little-One.

The voice was right there. She turned around. She shielded her eyes. All she saw was a bright white light. She felt herself being lifted. The pain in her feet and her hand was numbed until she felt nothing. The light surrounded her. It comforted her. She leaned into the embrace.

You're alright now.

She nodded. She felt alright. She let the warmth spread through her. The shed melted away as did the grassy hill. She looked around. The light had faded into nothingness. She was in her room. She did not feel scared. She was at ease, the voice, the voice told her she was okay.

She opened her eyes. She was captivated by a pair of green eyes. She felt safe.