10

A feeling of warmth was surrounding him, bringing in a sense of contentment and peace, which he had never known before. As he opened his eyes, he realized that he had dozed off. It had happened a couple of times before, to his dismay, pleasure seemed to take such a toll on his body, no matter what his mind wanted. The sleeping woman by his side was the source of this pleasant feeling. He had learned that there wasn't a better way to get warmer than the contact of one's skin against his.

Moving slightly in an attempt to leave the bed made him groan, as pain flared through his arm. The woman jerked away from him like she had felt the same pain. A concerned expression appeared on her face as she looked at the source of his agony. She didn't say a word, and instead, just got up from the bed. Instincts and years of training made him watch every move her naked figure was doing, even though his rational mind knew she wasn't a threat. She came back to him with a very non-threatening black cup of ceramic.

"What happened to your arm?" she inquired, giving him the drink.

It wasn't the first time she was being curious about his condition. As he took a sip of water, he observed her very serious expression, her eyebrows slightly pushed together, her vivid green eyes that always seemed to be compelling him.

"A landslide," he revealed. "It caught us off guard at night."

She looked confused for a moment, until her eyes flared in sudden recognition, "This…sounds familiar. Didn't a man succumb from his wounds?"

He nodded, wondering how much she had been involved in the care of the wounded, hopefully not enough to know the identity of his team or to make the connection with his true identity.

Her eyes paused on his sore arm again, "May I—"

"No."

"But it hurts you, doesn't it?"

"You've been helping with the pain already."

She looked away for a short moment, her cheeks reddening slightly from embarrassment, but her resolve was unshakable, "So let me do it again then."

Powerful clans often had their own medics to prevent their bloodline secrets from being revealed to the world, the Uchiha Clan was no exception. And so, in most instances, they avoided hospitals. Itachi wasn't so much concerned by a stranger learning anything substantial about the sharingan through the healing of superficial wounds or any area that wasn't around his eyes. His kindred, in that regard, were completely paranoid. No, what made him wary was his distaste for healing procedures, the feeling of invasion when one's stranger chakra forcefully made his way inside his body.

Yet, he stretched his arm to the kunoichi and watched her almost jump on it like he had a just offered her colorful sweetened dangos. She turned out not to be as delicate and compassionate as she looked in her ministrations, her fingers touching, pressing against his sore skin without sparing him. And then it felt it. Her chakra seeped without warning into her arm, slowly bringing coldness to his ligaments.

"Don't tense up," she warned.

He complied, keeping his attention on the woman to distract him. "I think there might be remains of what evil went inside your arm," she said after a while. She turned to him, "Your bones were spared, but the flesh got punctured, right?"

"You're correct," he answered, slightly impressed by the rightness of her assumptions.

"I suggest you visit the hospital again, the remnants inside your flesh might be slowing down your internal healing and causing you pain."

"Are you implying the work was botched?"

"No," she shook her head, "any skilled iryō-nin can miss the obvious or judge it non-threatening. Even my assumptions could be wrong. Hence, why you should have it checked properly again."

"Could you do such a procedure yourself?"

She smiled, "If you…trust me to do it, yes. Of course."

He let silence answer for him, nonetheless considering her words, while she worked on her arm. It wasn't so much a matter of trust. He knew who she was and could not say the rumors surrounding her had ever challenged her medical abilities. One would be foolish not to take advantage of having someone like her at hand.

"I'll bring my tools tomorrow. But for now, this should relieve the pain for a while," she said with a sigh, "How does it feel? Better, right?"

He stretched his arm, and made some repeated motions, feeling no resistance nor burning under his skin, it just felt like the accident never happened. Even though the relief would be temporary, he looked at the naked kunoichi who was waiting eagerly for his verdict. He felt tempted to bring her closer to him, for what purpose, he wasn't sure. Everything regarding their arrangement—or whatever it was—still felt alien. Yet, when his hands grabbed her hips to coerce her to climb on him, not meeting any resistance from her, it just felt right. There was absolutely no point in trying to rationalize what had been happening almost every night during the last two months. It would just be vain. Instead, he remembered that they still had a couple of hours before dawn.

There was something foul in the air, something that made her feel goosebumps on her skin. The damp soil was starting to hug even more her feet, slowing down her motions even more and feeding on her energy. They were walking quietly between trees, forced to travel on the ground, as there was nothing to climb into, no way to jump through the air like they usually did. Those tall trees were like large pillars reaching the sky, even though nobody could see anything through the thick leaves at their top. Almost no light could go through them, and so there was truly no way to know where the sun was. In this place, there was no notion of time anymore.

Sakura didn't know how long they had been walking through this cursed forest, like the rest of the group, she kept going forward mechanically, stuck in a deep silence, one that none dared to break. Her hair felt incredibly heavy on her head, gorged with invisible water droplets. People always tended to assume the country of Rain had precipitations every day of the year, while the truth was a little less dramatic. Everything about this land's climate felt humid, but they had not encountered any rain yet—thankfully. She had a feeling they would sooner or later experience the worst this land had to offer. They were far from Amekagure, far from civilization, traveling in a place that looked devoid of any life, even the ground was completely barren. It was odd how many different places there could be within one country as small as this one.

Sakura had traveled to many lands in her life, though her count paled compared to the numerous itinerant merchants that came to Konoha's market, and who had many secrets to share from their travels. Naruto's deceased sensei, Jiraya, had surely seen more than anyone could see in one lifetime. But one didn't even need to cross seas to see novelty, even in the Land of Fire, there were thousands of places she had never seen. Sakura had, for instance, never visited the glorious capital—not that it would be her first choice, as she had no desire to witness the gluttony of the wealthy. Most shinobis belonging to a country's military organization simply didn't have the luxury to travel wherever they wanted to. They went wherever they were ordered to go, and in most cases, it was anything but restful. Even civilians didn't have such a freedom, they indeed would not fare well in hostile places such as this lifeless forest.

Captain Hyuuga lifted her arm, "Halt!"

Taken out of her thoughts, Sakura lifted her chin and was welcomed by the sight of wide-open and huge black gates. They were connected to walls, that were surrounding what looked like a compound made of several buildings. The fog made it difficult to distinguish exactly what was inside. Nevertheless, she knew nothing alive would be found inside. Something had led its inhabitants to abandon it a long time ago, maybe even long before the last war.

"Don't get mistaken by the look of these ruins," the Captain made a sign to Inuzuka, "The bag. Quick."

Sakura looked behind her Captain, who was facing her, taking in the sight of a strange tree, which had several iron spikes wrapped all around its trunk. There were several wooden platforms at its top, making it look like some sort of watchtower. If there were one here, there were surely others all around the compound.

"Here," Hyuuga said, pulling out several gas masks. "Our informant claims a curse has taken this abandoned place, making the air unbreathable, poisoning your lungs. We don't know what it does, only that prolonged exposure will kill you. This is why nobody must go inside without wearing one, do you understand me?"

Everyone nodded silently.

"I'm giving you thirty minutes to investigate this site. Inuzuka, you and your partner will keep watching around the gates," she turned to Sakura, "Haruno, go somewhere less exposed and get ready to do what you're here for—"

"There seem to be platforms up the tree," she informed, indicating the direction with her finger. "I'll wait up there."

"Good. Let's go."

In truth, they knew something crucial about the poison inhabiting this place. Its origin wasn't natural at all, someone had made this to keep people away, to make sure nobody could what secrets were hidden inside. Konoha never sent men away from its border without good reason. It really all started when some reports claimed that shinobis from Kumo had been spotted wandering inside this forest. While Konoha wasn't at war anymore with Kumo, it didn't mean they should let them acquire more ways to arm themselves -though nowadays the Land of Lighting seemed to have more conflict with its south neighbor, the Land of Water. Strangely enough, they hadn't encountered any shinobi from Kumogakure yet.

Sakura pulled her medical supplies out of her bag, assessing what she would need in priority if someone were to get hurt. Gas masks never filtered everything, there were still some particles going through the filter, ready to disable any healthy body, even one belonging to the toughest fighter. As long as they didn't stay inside for too long, they would be fine. However, she still had to get ready for the unexpected.

"You should go higher."

Sakura narrowed her at the suggestion, "Are you going to drown me if I don't?"

She hated herself for not being able to keep pretending this abject fellow wasn't just here with her, at arm's reach, when absolutely nothing had obligated him to follow her up this platform. And she refused to believe he didn't know exactly what he was doing by forcing her to acknowledge his presence.

"Do you believe this was my intention?"

"What else would it be?" she gritted between her teeth. "Do you think I'd forget the way you forced me underwater? You didn't even do it once, but twice.Twice! Aren't you going to apologize?"

"Your drunken state was clouding your mind," he said like he was speaking to an unruly child. "You needed to be taken out of this state."

"No, definitely not," she sighed, trying her best not to show him how upset she was. "You just needed to mind your own business! I could report you for this. I should do it—"

"Nobody would believe you, Haruno-san."

What!?

Sakura stopped moving at once, bewildered by his words. She was so grateful for the masks hiding their faces. She didn't want to see his empty eyes on her, but above all, she didn't want him to see the truth on her face. There weren't any witty words she could send him back, simply because he wasn't entirely wrong. There were absolutely no reasons for them to engage with each other, and even fewer reasons for the great Itachi Uchiha to take advantage of his brother's teammate. The whole idea would be absurd, yet it was exactly what happened.

She realized that she should have listened to his advice by climbing up onto another platform. As far as possible from this man. However, as she started to gather her medical supplies, she heard barks coming from the ground. She tilted her head down, narrowing her eyes in concentration, but the thickness of the smog made everything blurry. Instinctively looking for aid, Sakura looked behind her back, expecting to see Sasuke's brother, instead, she felt a plunge of fear when she realized that she was now alone.

She then watched the platform fracture itself under her feet, and disappear, destroying the last frontier standing between her body and gravity. Expecting to meet the ground, she didn't fight her fall, swiftly infusing chakra under her feet to absorb the incoming chock. Yet, to her surprise, it never happened, she just kept falling endlessly, like there was no physical reality anymore.

"Shit," she bit her lip several times, and then took things to the next level by puncturing the skin of her hand with a kunai. Once again, her expectations weren't met.

This wasn't the work of an amateur. Whoever had created the genjutsu wanted to keep her imprisoned inside as long as possible. Sakura was starting to become more anxious, knowing that time had no meaning anymore, she had no way of knowing how long she had been trapped already. It could have been seconds or minutes, or worse. Her teammates were still out there, and while she didn't doubt they could handle themselves, this toxic place could change the outcome completely.

A guttural sound reached her senses, one that didn't come from her current reality, which was a hopeful turn. She heard more noises of fighting, grunting, and animal growling, until she finally hit the ground. Taking in her surroundings, she understood that she was nowhere near the gates of the ghost compound. There was no enemy, or at least not any that she could perceive within the fog. When she heard footsteps to her right, her muscles tightened, and then an awful smell of wet dogs reached her senses.

Inuzuka's pet.

There was blood around its mouth, painting its light brown fur in red. The beast stood there for a few seconds, before escaping into the mist. Sakura then noticed something brushing against her feet. Her eyes widened when she identified what kind of gift the dog had left her. It was a freshly severed hand.

Without hesitation, she grabbed the limb and started to inspect it. She had seen more than a fair share of blood and flesh during her career to be fazed by one hand missing its body. The reddish skin didn't look familiar, it certainly didn't belong to her current team. She lifted her shin, looking at the direction the dog had taken, which had to be the one leading to the ruins. But as she was about to move, the figure of an unknown kunoichi appeared in front of her.

She had a tight uniform, and her hooded mantle was completely hiding her face. What caught Sakura's attention the most was the blood on her clothes and her right arm pressed against it. She could see the bone coming out of her wrist, the bloody flesh out of the open air, and part of its skin missing, like something had chewed on it.

Sakura then looked at the severed hand between her fingers like she had discovered a forbidden scroll. There were now really only two options available, one that wouldn't be agreeable judging by the large sword the stranger was holding, slightly tilted in her direction, while the other…just required faith.

She decided to take her chance, and just opened her palm, arm extended, like she was trying to feed a wild and dangerous animal. Sakura wasn't trembling, she was just looking straight at the stranger and hoping she would be wise enough to make the right decision. And then, in the blink of an eye, both stranger and severed hand were gone.

"Haruno-san! Are you all right?" a woman exclaimed, running in her direction. "What are you doing down there?"

"I'm trying to figure that part out," Sakura admitted, a bit numb from her recent spike of adrenaline. "One minute I was sitting on the platform up the tree and the next… Wait—how long has it been since they went inside?"

"Hum, I don't know," she said while spinning a kunai between her fingers. "Maybe half an hour or so. Did you see a woman coming your way?"

"Yes, she…" Sakura hesitated for a second, "she ran past me. She didn't look like she was in any condition to fight."

Though the auburn hair Inuzuka wasn't giving her the cold shoulder—or at least not yet—Sakura deemed fit not to give out more details. She could easily picture a very dismayed Captain Hyuuga telling her how giving back a limb to its owner was treason.

"Hai. She was trying to use a genjutsu on me, but Yuri got her good," the dog trotted to its master's side, "Right, Yuri?"

Her loyal companion barked and started running in the direction they came from.

"We should go head back to the gates."

Sakura nodded, "What's happening exactly?"

"Four individuals left the compound. They weren't hostile, except for one kunoichi. I think they were trying to gain time."

"Which means they may have found what we were looking for."

"Hai."

"Ah, ladies!" Inuzuka's teammate waved to them, "I was about to go look for you!"

"Did you find anything, Zamaru?"

"Nothing of use," he coughed and cleared his voice. "We should have pursued them."

"Agreed, but we don't know what's happening inside. There might be more."

Sakura stared at the opened gates, cursing the damn fog troubling her sight. Naruto and Sasuke were still inside, and this place….this place was dangerous. No matter one's strength, not a living thing could survive without proper oxygen. She felt like ignoring her promises to go find them. Even without a proper mask, she knew she could handle the toxin—at least for a short while. But the risks still remained. Just like they never seemed to trust her ability to protect herself, she needed to trust them too.

"I'm Zamaru, from the Gotsuhi clan."

Sakura looked at the man, who was now standing between her and the gates, obscuring her sight with his large body.

"Sakura Haruno," she answered reluctantly, like he didn't already know who she was.

It occurred to her that, she had not seen her companion ever since the attack. She turned to Inuzuka, "Uchiha-san…he was with me earlier. Have you seen him since—"

Zamaru laughed, "Are you worried for Captain Uchiha? He's the last person you should be concerned about!"

"I'm not concerned, Zamaru-san," she said sternly. "Everyone bleeds, he's no exception."

"She got a point, Zamaru," Inzuka looked at Sakura. "But I think he was just trying to say that Captain Uchiha will never be the first one to bleed."

"No, he doesn't bleed. Period."

Sakura rolled her eyes behind her white mask. Blind idolatry would always cloud people's minds. She had learned that the hard way herself.

"Sakura-chan!" a voice yelled.

She dashed at once towards the familiar voice, like she had done so many times before, bumping into Zamaru's shoulder in the process. Her teammate was carrying someone on her back.

"Quick," Naruto said. "I think he's still breathing, but—"

"Let me see," Sakura helped him lie down the man on the ground, infinitely relieved not to see Sasuke's black-jet hair on his head.

The young man's unconscious body was warm, with no sign of fever nor visible tremors. She found that his nervous system seemed compromised, as the muscles in his legs were numb like he was paralyzed—something a poison could be responsible for.

"Fuckin' asshole stole his mask," he spat out. "You 'seen any of them?"

"Hai," Inuzuka said. "Though, they're gone now."

"Who!" Captain Hyuuga asked, slightly breathless, as the rest of the team finally arrived. "How many did you count? Did you see their faces?"

"There were five, Captain. All hooded and likely heading north. I got one of them. They didn't look like they were from Kumo."

"Good job, Team B. Anything else to report?"

"We found the hiding under the temple and that's when they attacked us," Tozen's partner reported. "They were already inside, not looking for a fight. Except for what they did to Tozen, they just ignored me. I'm positive what they were looking for is in their hands now. Or else they wouldn't have been so queen to leave."

Inzuka cleared her throat, "If you allow me, I could go ahead and track them down. One of them's bleeding, Yuri isn't going to forget their smell!"

Thoughtful, the Captain nodded, "Haruno, what's his condition?"

"He's stable, Captain," she informed, still knelled at the man's side. "But he must be treated properly, and somewhere safer, if you want him operational again."

"All right, everyone, we're leaving. Right now!" she shouted, understanding time wasn't on their side. "Inuzuka, you take the lead. We must get closer to them. Uzumaki! Keep carrying Tozen until we find shelter!"

Nobody protested, and they all scattered swiftly, except for Sakura.

"What are you waiting for, Haruno!"

"I need to find my medical pack. It got lost when they—"

"Hurry up. I'm not waiting for you."

She wanted to retort something about how Tozen wouldn't be healed properly without them—although it was half a lie—but the white-haired woman was already gone. Sakura cursed under her breath and then trotted to the heap of debris right by the towering tree.

She was bent down, scanning the mud, branches, and debris on the ground, when she noticed black shoes slightly covered in dirt and a bag, her bag, hanging above her. She bolted up, only to end up face to face with a certain missing man.

Her bag, he had her bag! Naturally, she reached for it, uttering a faint spontaneous thanks regardless of her dislike for the man. But then, she faced an unexpected resistance.

"Do you wish to see me bleed, Haruno?" he pulled the bag toward himself. "What else are you planning with the Sōmas?"

Sasuke's brother always managed to say the most unlikely things at the worst time possible. Was he even aware of how preposterous the words coming out of his mouth were? What both confounded and unnerved Sakura the most was how serious he was about it. He was a man on a mission who truly believed his own delusions, and as such was treating her like the criminal he believed her to be, no matter whether it was true or not.

Sakura was at a loss for words, however, her anger and outrage weren't at rest and so, she pulled the bag harder against her body, ready to play this game as long as it took, until he gave up.

"Haruno!"

Itachi let go of her bag at the sound of Captain Hyuuga's voice, which, in turn, made Sakura fall unceremoniously on her bottom, right into the mud.

After a short moment of pondering, Sakura lifted her head and murmured solemnly, almost like a promise, "You're not prepared for what's to come, Uchiha."

The new recruits were sitting around a modest fire that was the unique source of light within the darkness of this gloomy forest. Even the moon's gleam could not go through the dense foliage of the gigantic trees surrounding them. Though the bonfire could easily attract unwanted vermin, they were not worried about being ambushed this soon again by the unnamed shinobis.

Itachi glanced at Captain Hyuuga, who was completely engrossed in the study of a rather tarnished map, a flashlight enlightening the beige scroll.

"How long are we going to wait here?" Inuzuka complained, "We should be looking for them instead of wasting even more time here."

"What?" Inose protested. "Are you suggesting we should abandon Tozen?"

Inuzuka flared her nostrils before responding, "Don't make me say things I didn't say, Inose."

"It looks exactly like what you were trying to say."

"Guys, guys," Zamaru called out. "Debating is pointless. We all know, it's all up to his girlfriend right now."

Uzumaki snorted, "She's not my girlfriend."

"Mah, are you ashamed or something? Doesn't she live with you?"

"Not anymore."

"So… if I wanted to seek her company, you wouldn't mind?"

The blond burst into laughter at the suggestion, "You…you're so hilarious, Zamaru."

"To think they're people stupider than you, Dobe." his brother chimed in.

His friend pushed him by the shoulder, "Shut up."

"I'm just curious, that's all."

"Well, Zamaru," Naruto said with a stern expression, "I'll fucking beat your ass if you try anything."

Inuzuka rolled her eyes, "Calm down, Uzumaki. Nobody's stealing your girl."

"She's not my—"

"Naruto," a voice warned. "Enough."

"Ah, Sa—Sakura-chan, don't look at me like that. He was being rude. I can't just let people disrespect you!"

"I was joking, Uzumaki."

"Ah, ah! Yeah…right! We were just having a good laugh together, right?" he said, patting Zamaru on the shoulder. "Come on, now. My legs are starting to feel numb," he stood up, and beckoned the group, "Let's go patrol or somethin'."

Inzuka's dog followed the blond suit, displeasing his mistress in the process, "Yuri, where do you think you're going?!" She darted to them and was soon imitated by the rest of the team, eager to escape from this awkward atmosphere.

Still obviously abashed from the scene, Haruno Sakura just stood where they used to be, her cheeks slightly reddened from indignation. As soon as she noticed his presence, her expression changed, her eyes now showing wariness and unease.

Captain Hyūga came up to her, and inquired, short to the point, "How long until Tozen regains consciousness?"

Sakura looked away, turning to the captain, "There's no way to tell. Nobody reacts the same way to poison. But… his body's now free of it at least. He should recover soon."

"Will he be able to carry out the mission when he wakes up? What are the chances?"

"I'd say fifty percent chance, Captain."

"I expected worse."

"I can administer him something that will energize his body."

"Sounds good," she said. "You're proving to be more useful than I thought, Haruno."

Alas, she didn't get to answer, the loud barking sounds coming from the familiar gray dog broke the silence. The agitated animal was running in their direction.

"What the hell's wrong with him!" Hyuuga roared. When he was close enough, he kept barking at the captain, "Haruno, do something! Make it stop!"

"I think he's trying to tell us something, Captain," Haruno suggested.

"Captain! We must leave right now!" Inuzuka shouted. "Something's coming. A large greenish smog coming from the east."

"It's moving fast!" Zamaru continued, joining her teammate's side, "Could be what's killing everything here."

"And it looks exactly like what we saw inside the compound."

Itachi saw the hero of Konoha rush to the unconscious man. He was soon joined by both his brother and Haruno, who helped him set in the man on his back.

Hyūga, slightly taken aback, quickly came to the most obvious conclusion, "To the north then. We must rejoin the main track, or what's left of it."

They departed right away, trying their best to navigate through the muddy soil, a ludicrous task for shinobis who were so used to traveling swiftly and unnoticed.

"What's this smell?" Zamaru asked, shortly after their departure.

"Everyone put on your masks," the Captain ordered without thinking twice, she faced him, handing him the valuable equipment, but he shook his head. She frowned, "Though I'm not supposed to acknowledge your presence, you're not as disposable as you think, Captain Uchiha."

"I trust the altruism of your medic."

"As you wish."

He caught the ninety-degree shift of Haruno's neck, whose eyes were now questioning him like he had lost his mind. His little brother walked to her side, his presence distracting her from her dismay.

"Take it," he simply said, pushing forcefully the protective mask in her hands.

However, she refused the gift, "Whatever's coming, I'll be able to handle it for a while without protection. You won't."

He saw the muscles of his brother's jaw tense, disapproval flaring from him. Yet, he seemed to let rationality overcome whatever bond he had with the pink hair kunoichi that made him willing to sacrifice himself for her and didn't insist after her refusal.

"To the road now! Quick!" Hyuuga roared.

It was now a run against an upending doom. Desperate to outrun the strange storm, they shortly found the road, which made their escape infinitely easier, the trail being less muddy. Even though it remained unpractical, they didn't have a better option.

A faint light flickered in the distance, becoming more and more dense as they progressed, only to reveal the shape of an old woman standing right on the path.

She beckoned them, and said in a gruff voice, "Greeting travelers, my cottage's over there! Follow me if you wish to live through the night."

They called it Akunoyare, the Foul Tempest, a curse brought by the gods to punish the greediness of the nobles who used to exploit the forest's resources, or at least, that was what the old lady had told them. After that, she had not uttered any other word, she just stood by the windows, her dog by her side, while observing the chaos outside. Itachi suspected she knew who they were, which made her reluctance to interact with them understandable. She didn't want to be accused of treachery for sheltering shinobis of the Leaf's village.

Because shinobis were the kind to optimize their time, they had spent the last hours resting. Indeed, being stuck inside a small hut, while the poisonous storm was raging, didn't let them have many options anyway. Itachi looked at team seven, just like he had been doing ever since they had let fatigue take the better of them. He wasn't the kind to lower his guard easily and let sleep overcome his resolution, nor was his brother, as far as he knew. Yet, the young Uchiha had this peculiar peaceful expression on his face, one he always wore when he was sleeping. Alongside him lay his female teammate, whose head was nestled on his shoulder, while Uzumaki was sitting right next to her.

"I've always wondered why he looks so different when he sleeps," the blond whispered, thoughtful.

"He takes after our mother."

"Really? What of his temper?"

"That's a behavior he learned from you, Uzumaki-san."

Instead of being offended, the young man's eyes started to shine like he had just heard the greatest compliment. He then got up and left the small hut, certainly joining the other Anbus that were already outside. As if his little brother had sensed the blond's departure, he jolted awake, pushing away the kunoichi from him, which made her groan in displeasure, before he got up his feet and followed the exact same path Uzumaki had taken, not even giving Itachi a glance.

His bad-tempered little brother had been giving him the cold shoulder ever since his graduation day, firmly believing he had something to do with their father's presence — which was partially true. Though he had made his father aware of the ceremony, he never expected him to actually show up. It pained Itachi to see his brother like this, convinced he had betrayed him, while their father might have been well aware of the ceremony way before he even mentioned it to him. Sasuke was underestimating how much his father cared about his doings, and this, despite their conflicting relationship.

Judging by the activity outside, they were going to depart soon from this place. He heard Inuzuka leave the room, leaving only two individuals inside besides himself, the wounded Tozen, and…Haruno. Itachi's gaze fell on the pink-haired kunoichi, unwavering as he studied every detail of her peaceful sleeping face. Her body started to shift slightly, and her face contorted in confusion as she rubbed her eyes. When she realized her surrounding, fully awaken at last, a scowl started to form on her comely face, her green eyes narrowed, and her lips tightened into a straight line.

The air felt tense while her fiery eyes were stuck on him, challenging him silently to make his intention a reality.

"Do they know of your promiscuity?"

He expected her to lash out, but instead, she remained still, her expression unmoving, until she heard coughing sounds coming from the room. Saved by the bell, she jumped on her feet and rushed to the wounded Tozen. Itachi followed her inside the unique chamber of this cottage. He observed her check on the shinobi, all her being becoming devoted to her patient.

"What would Uzumaki think of it?" he continued.

She turned to him abruptly, took a deep breath, and said with recalcitrance, "How…how about making yourself useful instead of interrogating me like I'm some criminal?"

He got closer to the bed on which Tozen was laid, "Isn't it what you are?"

She snorted while she searched for something inside the bag containing medical supplies, "It seems to me you'll accuse me of being all sorts of things as long as it fits your narrative."

"You showed more honesty about your motives last night."

The kunoichi pulled a syringe out of her bag, "Put your hands on his torso. I expect him to be…disoriented when he wakes up, and since his last souvenir involves enemies and suffocation, he might become violent."

Itachi did what she told him to do while observing her stick the needle inside a small flask.

"It's not poison," she informed him, annoyance flaring through her tone.

The truth was that he had never been fond of needles, the mere idea of feeling something foreign going inside his body evoked repulsion. He was not immune to his kindred's distrust in medic-nin after all.

Exactly as she had said, Tozen suddenly came alive, gasping for air like a firstborn, and as memories came back to him, he started trashing violently against them.

"Calm down," Sakura demanded, trying to push him down back on the bed, "Try to recall your purpose. Your mission. You were attacked, but now you're safe"

"What— what happened!? I just— I can't remember anything," he asked, his voice shaking.

"You were poisoned. Unconscious for almost a day."

Freed from his prison, the man stood up," I must—"

"No! Don't stand up! It's too soon," Sakura warned him.

"I don't need your fucking help," he spat out, making her stop in her tracks.

"Look, if you're going to refuse medical care, at least, take this pill," she implored.

Tozen looked at the purple bean in her palm like he felt threatened by it.

"…unless you'd rather faint in front of everyone."

He didn't think twice, grabbed the pill, and gulped it right away, before dragging himself to the door, fighting to keep his balance. Itachi heard the medic sigh in relief once Tozen was gone. A temporary comfort. Once she turned around, she started gathering her medical equipment while pretending he wasn't just in front of her.

"A joke," she said, after a short while, breaking the silence, "Yesterday. It was just a joke. I… I'm not planning anything against you. You pushed me too far, that's all. So you don't have to watch me like a guard dog, Uchiha-san."

"Telling the truth would spare you more trouble."

She snorted, stopping her motion to look at him, "The thing is…I don't owe you anything."

"I believe you do," he corrected her. "There are several instances of you being seen with different members of the Sōma clan. Involved in suspicious activities. One name appeared numerous times in the reports: Emi Sōma," he didn't miss the way Haruno froze for a second. "You were also seen speaking to one of their elders, and there are many occurrences of Sōmas watching you from afar. Five days ago, you disappeared with Emi's cousin during the Anbu graduation ceremony. Do you deny all of this, Haruno-san?"

Just as she was about to answer, once again saved by fate, a familiar voice echoed through the room, "Ah, Haruno! Judging by the look on your face, I assume Tozen wasn't very cooperative, was he?"

"As most people of his kind are, Captain."

"I'm just going to pretend not to know what you mean by that. Just tell me if he's operational enough. I need to know if we can rely on him."

"Him being on his feet this soon makes me believe he'll be fine," she said, as she closed her medical bag.

Hyuuga nodded, "Alright, go join the other now and keep an eye on him."

After her departure, Hyuuga turned to him and whispered, "Is Haruno being a problem?"

More than he had ever thought she would be. If only he had the foresight to see what the future held on that ill-fated night.