3

"Please help us! She's only a kid!"

"No, no, I can't...my people...they need me."

"You can't let her die, she's innocent, please! Don't leave us!"

Sakura jolted awake from her bed, breathing loudly. How long has it been? She noticed a woman who was resting on the opposite bed, still asleep, or possibly pretending to. A dream, it was just a dream, she realized. The sleeping woman looked familiar, she possessed features that were common among one specific household. A clan. You know her name, you know who she is...she despises you! Breathing became suddenly harder, she needed to leave this room right away if she didn't want to suffocate. She stood up abruptly, and found herself outside, on a long balcony that surrounded the whole building, and thus gave access to all the guests' chambers.

Her hands grabbed tightly the railings as if she was afraid to fall. Breathe in, breathe out. The mesmerizing sight of the village would have pleased anyone, but Sakura couldn't see anymore. All she could do was feel. I'm not safe here, I need to leave this place. She opened her eyes suddenly, taking in her surrounding, letting blurred faces and screams leave her memory. This isn't the war anymore Sakura . Everything had seemed so real, but she realized, as her breath evened out, that it had been just a nightmare. The kind of nightmare she hadn't experienced for months. Why are they coming back? Why now?

She walked a bit and opened gently the white sliding door, making her way inside the room like a thief. But as soon as she took in her surrounding, she noticed a familiar pair of ebony eyes, watching her suspiciously. It wasn't all dark inside the room, lightened candles were standing inside a lantern hanging from the wall, bringing just enough light to allow her to recognize the blond hair of her teammate, who was sleeping on one of the twin beds. Although the red shape next to his head seemed completely out of place, as well as the additional pair of feet at the bed's bottom, small ones. She frowned and looked at the very annoyed dark hair man. And as they came to a mutual silent understanding, she understood her initial plan was doomed to fail.

Well, that left her only one option now.

"What do you think you're doing," her teammate whispered as he watched her jump on his bed.

"Sleeping."

"No, you're not."

She turned around, facing him, observing his features, especially his face. It was still odd to see him with such long hair, but she couldn't say it didn't suit him. Somehow it made him look more approachable.

"How long are you going to stare at me like a pervert?"

"Tch," she looked away and tucked herself in behind him, although he was still sitting in the bed, "You don't know what a pervert is."

"You're so annoying."

She smiled, "Only for you Sasuke-kun."

Sakura knew he would never...

"I'm sorry."

She froze.

"That day," he continued, "I shouldn't have hit you."

Well, that was definitely a first. She didn't know what was more worrying now, him losing his temper or apologizing to her. He was usually too prideful to acknowledge his mistakes, especially when she or Naruto were concerned. She had never properly apologized to him for all the times she had broken his limbs or his nose. But it was not a matter of pride in her case.

"It takes more than that to hurt me Sasuke," she turned around to face him, "but I accept your apology."

"I don't," said another voice.

She sat up abruptly as she recognized Naruto's voice. And there he was, standing still in all his naked glory, jaw clenched and his eyes squinting. This doesn't look good. Naruto had never been a light sleeper, and yet.

"Is it true?" he was staring at Sasuke like he'd just insulted him. "Did you hit her?"

Sasuke's neutral expression turned into a scowl, "It's none of your business, dobe."

"That's where you're wrong, teme," he warned, "she's my business."

She needed to do something before it escalated into chaos. Knowing them well too much, she knew she wouldn't be able to do anything if she didn't stop them right now.

"Naruto—"

"Now answer me, did you hit her?"

No, it was already too late, him ignoring her in such a way told her enough. She naively thought that they were adults now, and were thus over this kind of thing.

"Yes," Sasuke said.

"Why?"

A wicked smile appeared on his face, "'Cause she was annoying just like you, dobe ."

And that's all it took for them to break the truce. She rolled out of the bed as soon as Naruto jumped on it, his tight right fist hitting his brother-in-arms right in the face. Sasuke headed for his neck while trying to push the heavy man off of him with his legs. They weren't fighting like shinobis, they were fighting dirty, without using any chakra, and from Sakura's experience, it made the altercation even more dangerous. Most shinobis had a bad sense of their strength when they weren't using any chakra, they tended to underestimate how much damage they could do.

Sakura had seen often enough how badly civilians fighting each other could hurt themselves. A fractured bone was a fractured bone, no matter whether you did use raw strength or chakra. But shinobis, a whole bunch of them, thought fighting without shielding themselves with chakra or using any special abilities, was harmless. The beaten wives she had healed at her hospital certainly disagreed. She remembered a woman, who had come to her with fractured ribs, her husband claiming he hadn't meant to hit her that hard. Yeah, but you did mean to hit her, asshole.

Fists and blows crashed into each other, accompanied by grunts and indistinguishable insults. I must stop them. She noticed Naruto's girl, a rather pretty one, whose sleep had been disturbed by the commotion, standing straight near her bed, her body surrounded by pale white sheets. She wore a concerned expression on her face.

Sakura moved toward the woman, startling her, "You should leave."

"I can't," she said, she had a small voice, "people will see me."

"Alright, go inside the bathroom."

The woman nodded and swiftly disappeared. Sakura then went after her blond teammate, and grabbed him from behind, by his shoulders, attempting to push him away from his nemesis. If they kept going at it, they'd awake the whole inn. But all she just managed to end up unceremoniously on her ass on the wooden floor. She didn't give up right away and tried breaking the fight several times until they broke the not-so-sturdy bed. It instantaneously broke the spell, as Sasuke found himself entangled between sheets and wood, unable to reach. Sakura used this opportunity to push back, once again, the enraged blond, forcing him to sit on the other bed.

"Are you done now?" she asked, but it was like talking to a brick wall, he didn't see her, all he could see was the Uchiha.

She tried to help her other teammate, who was still catching his breath on the ground, by giving him her hand. But he didn't take it, and just stood up by himself, looking quite unsettled.

"I fucking hate you!" he spat out harshly, before walking to the balcony's door and destroying it in a surge of fury as he went through it.

"Good job, Naruto," she sighed, her hands crossed on her chest, "I guess I'll go after him."

Finding her teammate had been easier than expected. He was currently sitting by the pond, gazing into the quiet dark water. The Inn's back garden was plunged into darkness, unlike the imposing building in her back, illuminated by paper lanterns. Sakura started approaching him cautiously as if he would suddenly run away like a startled animal. But she knew him enough, she knew how he would react to her presence.

Things had always been somewhat complicated when it came to her relationship with Sasuke, she never knew where to stand with him, although she had figured out a long time ago that his mood swings were never really against her. Despite that, she couldn't help but feel it was sometimes personal, especially because there were times when he suddenly stopped talking to her for no reason whatsoever – or at least none she was aware of.

She walked quietly, and sat by his side, remaining quiet until she was certain her presence didn't bother him.

Sakura grabbed a small branch laying on the pond's edge and started drawing circles into the dark water, "Naruto is an idiot."

"It was my fault," he said, after a long silence.

Her hand stopped moving, as she tilted her head toward her teammate, "Your fault?"

"It wasn't Naruto who failed the exam. I did."

"I know."

"No, I did it on purpose Sakura."

"What?

"I failed the examination on purpose."

"I don't understand."

"There's nothing to understand," he shook his head. "Weren't you the one who was so against the idea of Naruto joining the Anbu?"

"I...are you saying you did this to prevent him from becoming—"

"Yes."

She looked at him with disbelief, "You can't do that Sasuke, you just can't deci—"

"Why aren't you happy?" he hissed, "isn't it what you wanted?"

"I've never said you should sabotage yourself and Naruto!"

"So what were you on about when you told me how he wasn't fit for Anbu, that he was only following me blindly like a dog?"

It was so like him to now use the very same words she had once uttered against him, the same arguments to fit his reality. But she was no fool, she had played this game before with him.

She sighed, "That was more than one year ago. There's been a lot of water under the bridge since then, I have now accepted his choice and above all that, it's not up to me to decide what he should do with his life. But I see what you're doing, and I don't appreciate it. You're making all of this about me, while you're the one who created this mess."

"What your little head doesn't grasp is that I don't choose anything, people choose for me. Which means Naruto's following their wishes. Not mine."

And again, personal attacks.

It's not against you.

"You should give him more credit," she carefully said, "do you really believe he'd enroll in such arduous training if it wasn't for his own sake? Of course, you being there played a big part in his decision, but that's also what he wanted."

He suddenly got up, "Enough."

Their conversation was over. She knew he would need time to accept he'd been wrong. But his anger towards Naruto was the very proof he was actually aware of his mistake, and that gave her a bit of hope. Before he could get away from her, she followed him suit.

"Tell him the truth, Sasuke-kun. He deserves it," she then whispered behind him.

He didn't say anything, but she had no doubts he'd heard her. As they approached the Inn, she noticed a man standing against the wall, watching them from afar. His blond hair made her roll her eyes. Typical . Naruto Uzumaki was waiting for them like an anxious dog afraid of being abandoned by its master. And as Sasuke walked past him, Naruto followed him, as always. And as always, she followed them, her feet walking in their shadows.

Sakura was looking for her blond friend. After the incident, she had returned to her room for the time that had been left of her night – not even two hours – preferring to let the two idiots cool off by themselves. Once awaken and before going down to the main hall, she had then decided to pay a visit to Naruto and that was why she was now standing by herself in his room, trying to figure out where he could possibly be.

Naruto Uzumaki, what an idiot he had been to act like a samurai trying to save a damsel's honor. Not that Sasuke wasn't to blame for provoking him even more. Both were foolish, too prideful for their own good, and too quick to use their fists. She was starting to believe there might be a verse from some holy book, somewhere, saying that whenever team seven went, chaos would follow.

It wasn't like him to be the first one to leave, but then again, she thought, as she looked at the destroyed bed and furniture, there might actually be a sensible reason for it. Collateral damage. And then, there was the torn screen panel of the outer door. As she approached the sliding door, a voice suddenly reached her ears, one that she recognized right away.

"This is shameful," Itachi said. "I'm not giving you any money for the damage."

She felt her pulse quicken, her whole body froze like she'd been caught doing something wrong, even though she wasn't the one he was speaking to. Why does it feel like a deja-vu? There were talking somewhere on the balcony, she couldn't see them from inside the room.

"What would Oto-san think if he knew of your doings? Destroying furniture and bringing prostitutes while on duty?"

Her jaw tensed and she almost moved towards the balcony, eager to defend her friend, no matter whether he deserved it or not—considering the way he had been treating her lately. But she stopped herself from it, realizing it'd only bring more trouble. Her twenty-year-old teammate was grown-up enough to defend himself without her help, he'd surely clarify the situation right away.

"I apologize Aniki."

What!?

That was...definitely out of character. In another context, she would have paid to see him put his pride aside in front of someone as powerful as Itachi Uchiha. However, there was no reason for him to do such a thing, he wasn't the only one responsible for this mess. It took more than one person to create a riot.

"It's not to me you should apologize, but to yourself."

All of a sudden, it occurred to her she'd never heard the all-so-mighty Itachi Uchiha say anything positive to his brother. As a matter of fact, it seemed every time, the rare times, he had a conversation with Sasuke, it was only to berate or criticize him. And to think she was supposed to impress him. She wondered why Sasuke didn't ask her what she thought of his brother because he was definitely not impressing her.

Ignoring her revulsion, she decided to leave the room. With her unhidden chakra signature, she had no doubt that they knew she wasn't far, and she certainly didn't want to be accused of spying on them.

Time to check on Ryuu.

When she arrived inside the prisoner's room, Captain Hyuuga immediately noticed her, looking down at the plate in Sakura's hands as if she had brought poison into the room. She had a feeling there was more to it than just displeasure towards a plate of food meant for their guest .

"We're departing in thirty minutes Haruno," she simply said, before leaving the chamber.

She felt the slight tension in her back disappear as she approached Ryuu, "Did they feed you anything?"

"What do you think?" he asked, as he grabbed the plate from her hands. "Not everyone has a sense of hospitality, my dear."

She sat on the bed, "I guess..."

He plunged the wooden sticks so deeply into the rice that the sound of them hitting the bowl's bottom broke the room's quietness several times.

He must have been really hungry, indeed. She wondered if not feeding prisoners was also a rule among Anbu members or if they were simply heartless. Probably the second option. But then again, despite his pleasant personality, she didn't know anything about Ryuu, except that he, being their prisoner, was self-explanatory and that he probably deserved to be treated as such.

He suddenly broke the silence, "What's with your face?"

She narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean?"

Ryuu made a circular motion around his own cheek while chewing a handful of rice. She kept staring at him with distrust, unable to understand, until she decided to touch her own cheeks. She suddenly felt a slight pain on her face and let out a curse, "Shit."

"Yep," Ryuu said, still chewing, "what happened?"

"It's—" she couldn't believe she had missed the obvious. What kind of healer am I, if I can't even notice bruises on my own body? She was now certain she had more than one. She made a mental note to remind herself to take care of them once she was done here, " I had to break up a fight between...children."

"'Tough children, hum?"

"Yeah, and unbearable ones."

"You don't like children?" he asked.

"I wouldn't say that," she admitted, "some can be more troublesome than others."

"I see exactly what you mean. Actually..." he chuckled, "I used to love children until my nephew came into the picture."

"What's he like?"

"Loud! For a while, nobody could sleep properly when he was around, always crying and doing whatever babies do, you know... But things are good now, he's almost an angel."

There was something unmistakably warm in his eyes that made her want to know more about Ryuu. It seemed the more he talked about himself, the more the picture of the evil criminal he was supposed to be slowly disappeared.

"You seem to care deeply about him."

"I do," he answered right away, "I wouldn't be here otherwise."

She grinned, "You mean here, kidnapping children, Ryuu ?"

He shook his head, put down his empty bowl back on the plate, and sighed, "Do you think I'm stupid?"

"I've never said that."

"Do you think I don't know what we're doing here? Stopping at this inn and wasting time?"

What's wrong with him now, she thought.

"Well, you tell me, since you seem to be more informed than I am."

"I know some of your companions are escorting Lady Watanabe and her uncle, and they're so fancy, they couldn't bear to sleep outside. And that's why we're here: for them . Just for their own pleasure."

She stared at him with a skeptical look.

"I also know they don't want me near them because they're afraid of slipping up," his jaw clenched, "they hate me so much, they always have, but what they hate even more is the truth and they already know they won't be able to keep up this masquerade forever—"

"Interesting story," she stood up, "I must say, nice try Ryuu. But you're not the first to try that kind of trick with me."

He reached for her arm, "Wait, you don't understand—"

"No! You're the one who doesn't understand," she removed his hand from her, "I'm not at your service and I don't have to listen to you! As a matter of fact, I don't want to listen to you. This isn't why I'm here. All I care about, right now, is to make sure my mission succeeds without any trouble, and if it involves taking care of a criminal, that's what I'll do. I've told you before, don't be mistaken, I'm not your friend, Ryuu."

And just as she finished, the door suddenly opened, revealing her captain, who was harboring a really smug smile on her face. Great. She really didn't need more silly rumors going around, even though she was somewhat thankful for her perfect timing, since she had now a good reason to leave the room, and thus escape this awful situation.

Ryuu didn't flinch, lips tight, staring at her, with what she could only identify as disappointment. Yes, that's what our lives are about. Sakura went past her captain without caring in the least about what she might think she'd heard or seen. She knew the truth herself and that was enough for her.

Her right cheek, slightly swollen, was covered by a purple bruise stretching until her ear, making it look like someone has smashed a fist into her face – which was exactly what happened. It still amazed her how she didn't realize it sooner. The mirror had some cracks, distorting her face into an odd and larger shape. It had been a while since she had taken time to just look at herself and she couldn't say she liked what she was seeing. Her dirty hair was tied tightly into a bun, while some hair strands lay around each side of her head, enveloping her face and hiding a bit of her ears. But what stood out even more, were the dark circles under her eyes, the result of an obvious lack of sleep and tiredness. Even the green in her eyes looked more and more like a dying plant, thirsting for sunlight and water.

She pulled on her attire, attempting to uncover more skin around her shoulders and chest, discovering without any surprise more bruises – although minor ones – decorating her body. A few years ago, they would have healed themselves right away, but she had truly lost the habit to do so, mostly because, back at the hospital, where she wasn't in any danger, her healing abilities were at her patient's service and nobody else. Now that she was back on the field though, training back her body again into protection mode would be the wisest thing to do. Nevertheless, Sakura was far from being convinced, after all, bruises and cuts weren't that dangerous.

She forced her mind to get this over with, observing how the bruise's color slowly turned into a lighter shade, until it completely disappeared, as if she had never been hit in the first place. That was the issue with such ability, no traces remained, not the slightest proof that any wounds ever occurred. The pain might have been felt, and might then remain in her memory, but nobody could possibly see it anymore. She could stab herself several times, and in a matter of minutes, her body would be as immaculate as a newborn. It was widely recognized that nobody should attempt to kill medical-nins—even in times of war—firstly because it tended to result in failure and secondly because they were too valuable. There were two common scenarios: they could either get captured and be forced to heal their assailants, or they could get killed – the most efficient way to do so consisted in strangling them or cutting their heads off.

Making a medic bleed, or stabbing them with any weapon would never be enough to terminate them, since they could easily heal themselves. Of course, weakening any enemy made sense, depending on one's strategy, however, attacking medics was mostly a waste of energy, especially because they weren't a threat to begin with. Indeed, the vast majority didn't possess many fighting abilities, except for a few others and the ones belonging to the Anbu organization. The majority worked at the hospital, while the minority was on the field. In times of war, there were usually set up in camps behind the defensive line, and thus in no way exposed to danger. The life of a medical-nin was otherwise rather monotonous, and spent in the safety of the village, even regular missions rarely required them.

Sakura officially didn't belong to any organization or division, which was also the reason why some of her colleagues from the hospital felt contempt towards her. She was a bit of an anomaly in the system, abiding by different rules because of her relationship with the Godaime, and the fact she was her protegee and student. The last war had also troubled the order, especially regarding ranks. Some shinobi had gained so much experience throughout the twelve months of the Fourth World War that they had out-passed their rank. At the end of the war, it had then been decided to give out ranks to those who deserved it – a very controversial decision. Sakura was a chuunin, but in reality, she had never passed the exam, unlike her teammates.

The war heroes, she thought bitterly. Congratulation, Sakura Haruno, for saving hundreds of fighters, but failing to rescue civilians, including your own parents!

She'd never asked for any privileges, as a matter of fact, they were the cause of her current situation, no kage would have ever sent someone like her on a mission, a kunoichi who'd spent the last three years working at the hospital and healing civilians. Which suddenly reminded her of something...

I should have checked Ryuu's wounds again.

Ryuu, her dear prisoner, behaved more like a victim than a criminal.

Her head hurt, her thoughts burdening her mind and threatening her sanity. She knew she needed to block those thoughts, to avoid feeling too much empathy. However, Ryuu's words were still ringing into her mind, especially the small details regarding his nephew. He couldn't possibly have meant the lady's baby and his nephew were the same entity. The implications of such truth would be impossible to fathom. She groaned as she palmed her forehead. First this mission, then her teammates fight, and finally her guest . What were the gods trying to do here?

Complete the mission, and then everything will return to normalcy.