3

Sakura jolted awake from her bed, out of breath. Images from her nightmare swarmed her mind. Memories of blood, cries, and death. How long had it been? Where was she? She noticed a woman who was resting on the opposite twin bed. Still asleep. A dream, it was just a foul dream, she realized. Her companion looked familiar. She possessed features that were common among one specific household. The Hyuuga Clan. Breathing becamesuddenly harder, she fled this room, afraid of suffocating if they stayed inside any longer. Sakura found herself outside under the pitch-black sky, standing on a long balcony that surrounded the whole building.

Her hands grabbed the railings tightly. Breathe in, breathe out. The mesmerizing sight of the village was replaced by nothingness. She sensed impending doom looming over her head. She wasn't safe here. Her eyes opened abruptly, taking in her surroundings and letting blurred faces and screams leave her memory. This wasn't the war anymore.Yet, everything had seemed so real. As her breath evened out, reality welcomed her back. Sakura hadn't experienced such a nightmare for a really long time. So, why were they coming back? Why now?

She walked a bit, gently opened a white sliding door, and made her way inside an unknown room, like a thief would. But as soon as she took in her surroundings, she was struck by 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. Smaller than Naruto's. She frowned and looked at the very annoyed dark hair man. And as they came to a mutual, silent understanding, she acknowledged that her initial plan was doomed to fail.

Well, that only left her 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, and observing his face, especially his hair. He had grown them out. 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 bed. She wondered if he had even slept at all. "What about you? Did you enjoy watching them?"

"You're so annoying," he hit her on the shoulder, but she still didn't bulge.

She smiled. "And so you are."

Her relationship with him was always disorienting. There were times when she felt he was merely tolerating her, and others that erased all her doubts. She'd be wandering inside Konoha, exploring the market, or enjoying a meal at a restaurant, and he would be here, showing up unexpectedly to keep her company, like a true friend would.

"That day," he whispered, breaking the heavy silence, "I shouldn't have hit you."

Sakura smiled, having anticipated his apology. Not this soon, though. He used to be too proud to acknowledge his mistakes, but he had become humbler over time. Now if only he couldn't stop bottling up his emotions.

She turned around to face him, "I accept your apology."

"I don't," said another voice.

She sat up abruptly, recognizing Naruto's voice. He was standing still in all his naked glory, jaw clenched and eyes squinting. "Naruto!" she hissed.

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

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

"Watch your words, Sasuke! I'm not joking here. Did you hit her?"

"Naruto," she warned, getting to her feet. She reached for his arm. "You're overreacting for nothing. It's just a misunderstanding—"

"Did you hit her or not?"

"Yes," Sasuke said, a rare wicked smile appearing on his face, "she was annoying me, just like you, Dobe."

Naruto saw red, and lunched at hi arrogant brother-in-arms, his tight right fist hitting him right in the face. Sasuke headed for his neck, while trying to push the heavy man off of him with his legs. They were fighting dirty, without using any chakra. From Sakura's experience, it made their altercation even more dangerous. Most shinobis had a bad sense of their strength when they weren't using their chakra, highly underestimate how much damage they could inflict.

Sakura had seen often enough how badly civilians fighting each other could hurt themselves. A fractured bone was a fractured bone, whether raw strength or chakra was involved. But a handful of shinobis believed fighting without shielding themselves with chakra or using any special abilities, was harmless. The beaten wives she had treated at her hospital certainly disagreed.

Fists and blows crashed into each other, accompanied by grunts and indistinguishable insults. I must stop them. She noticed Naruto's woman, a rather delicate one, whose sleep had been disturbed by the commotion. Sakura wasn't one to judge her friend's actions when it came to his carnal activities with strangers, though she wished he'd learn how to reject his admirers advances. The woman wore a really concerned expression on her face.

Sakura darted toward her, startling her. "You should leave."

"I can't," she said with a barely audible voice. "I might be seen by people."

"Go inside the bathroom."

She nodded and disappeared swiftly like a mouse. Sakura walked to her blond teammate, and grabbed his shoulders firmly, attempting to push him away from his nemesis. If they kept going at it, they'd awaken the whole inn. However, all she was able to accomplish was to unceremoniously land on her ass on the cold wooden floor. Refusing to give up, she tried breaking the fight several times until they broke the not-so-sturdy bed. It broke the spell for both of them. Sasuke was entangled between white sheets and wooden debris, unable to move. Sakura used this opportunity to push the enraged blond back to his own bed, forcing him to sit.

"Are you done now?" she asked, but it was like talking to a brick wall, he wasn0t looking at her, all he could see was the Uchiha.

She gave her hand to Sasuke, who was still catching his breath on the ground, which he refused to take. Instead, he stood up by himself, looking quite unsettled as he rearranged his outfit.

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

"Good job, Naruto," she criticized, her hands crossed on over her chest, "I guess I'll go after him. Someone has to."

Finding Sasuke turned out to be easier than expected. He was sitting by the pond, in the inn's back garden, gazing into the quiet dark water. Everything was plunged into darkness, unlike the imposing building in their back, illuminated by multiple paper lanterns. Sakura approached him cautiously, afraid to scare him off, like a startled animal. But she knew him enough, she knew how he would react to her presence.

She reached his refuge quietly, and sat beside him, not daring to speak 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?"

"I failed the examination."

"I know."

"No, you don't understand," he shook his head, "I did it on purpose, Sakura."

Her eyes widened. "What?"

"I failed the examination on purpose."

"Why would you do such a thing!?" she inquired, the pitch of her voice escalating from stupefaction.

He cursed. "Weren't you the one who was so against the idea of Naruto joining the Anbu?"

"Are you… are you saying you did this to prevent him from becoming—"

"Yes," he confirmed.

She looked at him with disbelief, "You can't do this, Sasuke. You just can't decide for someone else. Even your best friend."

"Why aren't you happy?" he snarled. "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 groaned. "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. It wasn't up to me to decide what he ought to do with his life." she forced him to look at her, "Sasuke-kun, I don't appreciate that you're making all of this about me. You've created this mess yourself."

"My fate doesn't rest in my hands, Sakura, but in the hands of those above me. I don't want him to follow their wishes. You should have held him back in Konoha, but you were too weak. You've become weak."

And again, personal attacks.

"You should give him more credit," she carefully said, ignoring his rash words, even if there were true. "Do you really believe he'd enroll in such an 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! I'm sick of you."

Their conversation was indeed over. With time, she was confident that he'd see through his mistake. If he wasn't feeling guilty, he wouldn't be this angry at Naruto. She trotted towards him, before he could get out of her reach.

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

He didn't say anything, and as they approached the inn, she noticed a figure standing against the wall, watching them from afar. Naruto Uzumaki was waiting for them like an anxious dog afraid of being abandoned by its master. Despite all the tension between them, when Sasuke walked past him, Naruto followed him, as always. And as always, she followed them, her feet walking in their shadows.

After the incident, Sakura stopped by the Inn's dining room, and spotted the tenant preparing food behind his counter. If he was already awake, it meant the sun would soon rise. There was little point in going back to her chamber. Thus, Sakura grabbed a bowl of rice and headed downstairs, to a poorly lit cellar.

When Sakura arrived inside the prisoner's room, Captain Hyuuga's eyes stared at the bowl and sticks in her hands, as if she had brought poison into the room. She had a feeling there was more to it than just displeasure towards a harmless dish of rice meant for their guest.

"We're departing in one hour, 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 starving, 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 charming personality, she didn't know anything about Ryuu. He, being their prisoner, however, was self-explanatory. He probably deserved to be treated like one.

His muffled voice 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. Pain flared in her face, making her 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 was she, if she couldn't even notice bruises on her 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?"

"Hai. Unbearable ones, I must say."

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

"It depends," 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 that 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 Yashiro and her uncle. 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. They know they won't be able to keep up this masquerade forever."

"What an interesting story, 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 making 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, we're not friends, Ryuu."

And just as she finished her speech, the door swung open, revealing Naruto. The blond was harboring an unusual stern face. She wished she could do more, but there was simply no way to improve this mess. He would remain miserable until he made peace with Sasuke. She just prayed for everyone's sake that it wouldn't take weeks for them to finally speak to each other.

Having now a good reason to escape her arguments with Ryuu, Sakura met her prisoner's gaze again for a few seconds. His lips were tightened and he was staring at her with disappointment and disgust. Yes, that was what their lives were about.

As she passed by Naruto, he winced and gestured towards her bruised face, "Sorry about your…"

"Don't worry about it."

Her right cheek, slightly swollen, was covered by a purple bruise stretching until her ear, making it look like someone had 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 fell around each side of her head, enveloping her face. 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 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 more bruises—just minor ones—decorating her body. A few years ago, they would have healed themselves right away, but she had truly lost this habit. 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 survival mode would be the wisest thing to do. Even if some 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 medic-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 deal with them consisted of 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 always heal themselves. Of course, weakening any enemy made sense, depending on one's strategy. Attacking medics was mostly a waste of energy, especially because they weren't a threat to begin with. The vast majority of them, indeed, 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, they were usually set up in camps behind the defensive line, and thus in no way exposed to danger. The life of a medic-nin was otherwise rather monotonous, and spent in the safety of their village. Even regular missions rarely required them.

Sakura officially didn't belong to any organization. She was a bit of an anomaly in the system, abiding by different rules because of her relationship with the Godaime. The last war had also troubled the hierarchical rules, especially regarding ranks. Some shinobis had gained so much experience throughout the twelve months of the Fourth World War that the council had decided to promote them, rewarding them with a higher rank—a very controversial decision. Sakura was a chūnin, but in reality, she'd never passed the official examination at all—unlike her teammates.

The war heroes, she thought bitterly. Congratulations, 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, who 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 in her mind, especially the small details regarding his nephew. He couldn't possibly have meant the Lady Yashiro's baby and his nephew were the same entity. The implications of such a discovery 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? Were they even involved? Carrying out the mission was her only purpose now, and once it was over, she'd forget everything about it, and everything would return to normalcy.

Sounds coming from outside made her rush out of her chamber. She glanced at each side of the corridors, recognizing the shapes of Lady Yashiro and her uncle disappearing in the stairwell. She had better take another way out to avoid provoking another cataclysm. Passing through her chamber, till the balcony, she walked alongside it, until the sounds of voices coming from her teammate's chamber made her stop still.

"…you are shameful, Otouto."

She felt her pulse quicken, as if she'd been the one caught doing something wrong. This voice, the chose of his words, awakened an odd longing within her. A sense of deja-vu washed over her then.

"Destroying furniture, brawling with your teammates, and seeking prostitutes. What would Oto-san think, if he knew of your doings?"

But she realized it was just Sasuke's brother berating him. It occurred to her their interactions always involved reproaches and demeaning comments. Far from the idealized picture of what a sibling relationship should be.

"Do you have the means to pay for the damage?"

Sakura's jaw tensed upon understanding her friend was being blamed for everything. She considered joining their conversation to defend him, but Sasuke's words stopped her.

"Hai, Aniki."

That's it?

Her friend's passiveness and subservience shocked her. Why wasn't he trying to defend himself? Sakura waited quietly, hidden behind the opaque shoji door, rooting with all her might for her friend. But only silence followed.

Were they gone?

When the thick paper door slid opened abruptly, the suddenness of the motion and momentum pushed her body outward, making her back hit the firm railings surrounding the narrowed balcony. Her nose caught a whiff of a familiar flagrance when Itachi Uchiha stepped through the door. His body almost brushed against hers, as he passed by close to her through the narrowed balcony, without offering her a single glance. It was as if she were absolutely invisible, too insignificant to be acknowledged.

While still feeling a strange rush through her veins, she watched his figure disappear into the night. This rude man she was supposed to impress, didn't impress her at all.