That very night, Kina and Sasuke started monitoring the situation, while Sakura stayed behind. Sasuke had asked her to stay out of it which she happily agreed. She didn't know why or for what reason, but she was somewhat seeing a different kind of Sasuke, instead of his usual no-emotion-face. The side she knew back when they were still living in the Hidden Leaf Village.

Sakura had to admit, she was kind of bored to sit alone all night until Sasuke arrived. According to him, he and Kina were just playing stakeouts. He always complained, but she found it funny how he was always complaining and yet still went every night with Kina.

She also felt sympathetic towards Kina. During their stakeouts, Kina had been beaten up twice. The first time it was a drunkard and the second time he was targeted by some brats from the village.

Both times, Sasuke brought him to Sakura for her to heal him before Sasuke sent Kina home to get some rest.

On the fourth day, however, things went differently. Sasuke had brought a severely injured Kina to Sakura. Of all the injuries she had healed Kina, this one was the worst. According to Sasuke, some men beat Kina, kicked him and, after grabbing him by his hair, they violently slammed his head against a tombstone.

While she was busy healing Kina, she noticed Reishi approaching them and as she had expected, he had a stern expression.

"What were you thinking?! Was this the reason why you were going to the shrine before heading home? For Miss Sakura to heal you?!"

"So what should I do?! Keep being teased by the villagers?!" shouted Kina from the ground while Sakura was almost done healing him.

"You were lucky that Sasuke was there! They could have killed you!"

"I'm not like you!" Kina shouted, jumped up, and approached his brother, "I'm not afraid of death!"

Having enough of this, Reishi slapped him. Kina fell to the ground, but he kept staring at his brother in hatred.

"Those guys have told me, you know. 'We broke your big brother's snout. He was quiet all by himself picking some medicinal herbs. He burst out crying and pleaded with us to stop, saying that he would do anything!'"

"Stop it!" Reishi shouted, but Kina didn't stop;

"You're a coward! You know nothing about me, you don't even try to understand me!"

Reishi tried to explain to his little brother that he had promised their father that he would protect Kina but also made a remark that their father was responsible for their predicament. This made Hina upset, and he ran out.

After a moment of reflection, Reishi thanked Sasuke for rescuing his little brother and Sakura for healing him.

"Please, Sasuke, about this matter, don't…."

"You don't have to worry. I was never interested in this matter. I played detective with him just to kill time."

"I don't mean to interfere, but haven't you guys ever thought about leaving the village?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, lots of times. However, this village is full of resources and it's perfect for an herbalist like me," Reishi was staring at the ground.

After some discussion of the shinobi system, Reishi admitted that his father did indeed release Roen in response to the growing availability of weapons that could be used to kill people; if death was to continue, it would have been better that they were shinobi. At least they would remember what purpose their deaths served.

Reishi was panting; it seemed that the past was resurfacing in his mind, even making him forget to blink.

"Enough! I understand! Reishi, calm down!" Sakura shouted, grabbing him by the shoulders. Reishi widened his eyes. For a moment he had completely forgotten who and where he was. He opened his mouth and looked at Sakura in confusion. Then blinked several times to come to his senses.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"I-I'm sorry. I apologize for my behavior," he replied, tidied his long hair, and sat down straight.

Sasuke stared at Reishi. Honestly, he would have liked to open his heart to him about Itachi. However, until what point would it help? How much would his heart feel relieved? He would have liked to be told that he wasn't completely alone and that he wasn't committing mistakes. However, no one was able to. Not even Sakura.

Words got stuck in his throat as if a curse was preventing him from talking. He realized that after making mistakes so many times, he was starting not to care. He had the sensation that if the ninja world was destined to end, maybe he could end it himself. Maybe as a start, he could burn down the Leaf into ashes?

"The fact that your father freed that monster from its seal is not only a rumor. If things are like this, Kina's attitude is understandable." Said Sasuke as he stood up.

"What do you know? A ninja kills and that is a fact. Even if I'm not very worthy, I'm a ninja too, and I know very well that sometimes it's the only choice. However, a shinobi never forgets the lives he has taken." Reishi said with a trembling voice.

Sasuke had enough of this conversation. He walked out into the garden, leaving the Hypericum's Shrine behind him, and lay down on his back on the ground.

Looking at the sky, he found himself thinking disjointed thoughts; Humans were capable of doing anything to survive.

Xxxx

In the morning, Kina informed Sasuke that there had been more murders; the men from the night before were found dead in the same spot where Sasuke fought them.

"Sasuke…" Sakura called out to him worriedly. He knew right away what she was thinking. As this would make him suspect, he quickly walked across the shrine's garden with an onigiri in his mouth with Sakura following him. Kina ran after them.

"Wait! Where are you guys going?"

"I discovered several things about Itachi. The time has come to leave this village."

"But your medicament? It isn't ready yet!" Kina replied.

"Sakura will stay and wait for it and meet me somewhere after retrieving it."

Somehow Kina had managed to convince Sasuke to take a detour to the murder scene before he went. Sakura didn't mind this at all. Even if Sasuke hadn't asked her to stay out of this business with the brothers, she was planning to do this from the beginning. Itachi had requested her to give Sasuke enough space and let him try to decide what he wanted to do with the truth he had learned. Sakura did notice Sasuke acted a bit differently ever since they had met Kina and Reishi.

She was a bit disappointed Sasuke had to leave a bit earlier than they had planned because of the recent murder but seeing how Kina had somehow managed to convince him to make a slight detour, Sakura had a feeling that somehow Kina might convince him not to leave.

But who is murdering these people?

Xxxx

In the meantime, Sasuke was busy investigating the area, but he was overwhelmed with an intense pain in his eyes. Was he experiencing a symptom of waking his Mangekyo Sharingan? He knew that the Mangekyo Sharingan awakened from the death of a loved one, but Itachi did not die. Besides, he hated his brother when they had fought to death that day. He hadn't witnessed the death of a loved one.

The only intense thing that happened that day, was him almost killing Sakura. Hell, for a moment he thought she did die by his own hands. But Sakura? What did she have to do with any of this?

'What the hell is going on?!' Sasuke thought frustrated. He raised both his hands to cover his eyes which were throbbing violently. His field of vision distorted, and he instinctively grabbed a tombstone so as not to fall.

What was he supposed to do after learning the truth? Hell, if Sakura hadn't stopped him from killing Itachi, then what? If Sakura hadn't managed to change Itachi's mind, he would have never known the truth.

What did Itachi want from him? Kill him and go back to the Leaf? Was he asking him to become the Leaf's defender? Was this what he wished from the bottom of his heart? Was he okay with something like that? They had to protect the Leaf even at the cost of sacrificing their clan?

Even now? After learning the truth, was Itachi still wishing for the same thing for him?

"Sasuke, are you feeling well?" Kina asked him, putting his hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"Don't touch me." He roughly shoved Kina away.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke had enough of this. Enough of Kina, his brother, and this village. More than anything, he was tired of himself. All these doubts. He stood up and tried to wipe his eyes. Slowly his vision cleared.

"L-let's go back home. We'll tell my brother to prepare your eye drops immediately."

"Mind your own business!" Sasuke yelled and once more shoved Kina away.

At that moment, something happened. A mere coincidence, the moment he pushed Kina away, he saw it.

"Why? Why is this here?" Sasuke quickly picked up that object from inside the bush. He didn't know what to think.

"S-Sasuke? Is everything okay?" Kina asked, falling on his bottom, he looked up at Sasuke.

Seeing how this kid was sincerely worried about him, meant that not every people in the world wanted to take advantage of him. That thought made him somewhat relieved.

He quickly put what he had picked up in his pocket and reached out his hand to Kina.

"Come on, let's go back."

Hearing this, Kina happily grabbed Sasuke's hand and pulled himself up. They stopped by the gloomy stall next to the graveyard and took some food.

Kina and Reishi were doing their best, despite being hated by the whole village. Only the two of them were left, the elder and the younger brother.

Sasuke concluded that he would never be able to hate them. He was striving for that relationship of theirs. It couldn't be otherwise.

"S-Sasuke? You didn't leave?" Sakura asked all surprised when he and Kina arrived back with lots of food in their hands.

"We need to talk…"