Losing the Konoha forces was easy for a shinobi of Kabuto's calibre, especially with the monumental distraction provided by Orochimaru's coup de main.

Part of him wished he would get caught, even though they would almost certainly just kill him before he got a chance to explain anything. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if he would be compelled to kill himself in that scenario. His master may have been growing impatient, but he wasn't stupid.

He ditched the ANBU mask and cloak just outside the village, and reached his rendezvous point across the border in Sound before the sun had even set. It helped, of course, that he had no need to stop for food or rest.

"You failed."

That was the only greeting he received from his master, and he braced himself internally.

A masked figure stepped out of the shadowy depths of the natural cave he seemed to be using as a base of operations. "You failed," he repeated.

"Yes." He had been given just enough free will to pass as normal and adapt to new situations; but that act had been for Orochimaru and Sakura's benefit. If The Watcher - Uchiha Obito, if Sakura was to be believed - wanted him to talk, his tongue would work of its own accord.

The Watcher struck Kabuto across the face once, twice, thrice.

Kabuto couldn't even flinch. Blood bloomed in his mouth, and he spat heavily on the ground before he choked on it.

"Report." The Watcher continued like his outburst had never happened. Kabuto suspected that he had done such things many times before. He was no better than furniture to the man.

"I reached Sakura and managed to speak with her," he reported obediently, words coming cottony through his swollen jaw. "I told her to come with me to Sound, but we were interrupted before she could decide what to do."

"Interrupted?'

"Hatake Kakashi prevented her from leaving."

The Watcher landed yet another blow to the side of Kabuto's face, leaving his ears ringing. "Does she know I sent you?"

"She doesn't know anything for certain. She checked if I was lying, but technically none of my statements were untrue, so unless she deduced it herself…" He hoped she did. He hoped she listened to Hatake Kakashi, and stayed far, far, away from Sound. It's what he would do. "Then as far as she knows, I'm back working with my old master of my own free will."

"Good." The Watcher began to pace the length of the cave's entrance. "That's good."

Kabuto watched the man with disgust. The Others had long suspected that their captor had more than a passing interest in Haruno Sakura, and based on what he had been able to observe since being taken out, he believed it was true. This man wasn't just retrieving a lost asset. Sakura's disappearance was personal, somehow.

"Even if she does figure it out," he added, pushing gently at the limits of his agency, "she won't be able to stay away forever."

The pacing stopped. "Why? What did she tell you?"

"She didn't say anything specific. But you have her friends."

"Oh, I see." Kabuto couldn't see his face, but he imagined the man was smiling. "You think she'll come back for you."

"Yes." Sakura wasn't like him. As much as he wished she would do the smart thing and stay away, he knew she was coming for them, and he wanted The Watcher to know it too. "She'll do anything to free us. And kill you."

"And that's the only reason I'm not burning Kamui down with you inside." The Watcher strode back to stand in front of Kabuto. "You're all more trouble than you're worth, but if I can kill you one by one while Kakashi's kunoichi watches, I'll consider it a fair trade. Now drop your ridiculous transformation jutsu and forget everything that happened since you left your prison."

ⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵ

Kabuto woke up with an aching, swollen face and his only friends crowding around him.

He checked his palms. Their latest question since banding together was 'is the Watcher alone?' and there was a tiny, half-healed puncture wound on his left hand that meant 'yes.'

"You were gone about three weeks." Siren reported. "Based on the timescale, that should be less than an hour."

He held up his left hand. "This is at least three days of healing."

"So your theory's correct." Jun breathed a loud sigh of relief. "The scale changes."

"And Inside time is getting closer to Outside time." Pinch poked at Kabuto's leg. "New clothes. Konoha style."

Kabuto checked himself more carefully. "More specifically, it's 'Sound ninja pretending to be from Konoha.'" Years as a master spy meant he knew a counterfeit outfit when he saw one; but also, this was almost exactly the sort of thing he had worn several decades prior, when he and his team were preparing to infiltrate Konoha's chunin exam.

The Others inspected his appearance with new interest, sniffing the soles of his feet and speculating on what he might have done. He focused on his aching jaw: nothing dislocated, thankfully. Also no blood under his fingernails or bruising on the knuckles, so he hadn't fought back.

"Look at this." Karin lifted something off his shirt and held it up to the Others. "Oh gods, look."

Kabuto leaned closer, adjusting his dirty glasses. Once he realised what he was looking at, a sealed box he had long ago buried deep inside himself cracked open, and a tiny sliver of hope spilled out.

Pinched gently between Karin's fingers was a single pink hair.

ⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵ

Sakura ended up borrowing a black dress from her mother.

It made her feel simultaneously too old and too young; too old for her friends, who were still in the hospital after fighting Gaara (and the thing inside him). It was hard to believe that, despite everything they had gone through, they were still children compared to her. Still, when she looked at herself in the mirror she couldn't help but feel too young for the woman that stared back. She looked almost normal; but it was a lie. Inside, she had been twice as awake and half as alive, and that had made her Wrong. Celebrating life and grieving loss with the other mourners felt like an insult to them.

"Want some?" Kakashi held out a small spiced cookie, one of the many delicious foods that had been prepared for the wake.

She shook her head. "No thanks."

"You sure?" His brow creased. "You haven't eaten anything since that day."

"Why waste the food?" In truth, food had lost all its appeal after seeing Sensei. How could she eat when one of her own was out there, potentially suffering? It was bad enough that she was still laying low in Konoha when she should have been running to the Hidden Sound as fast as her legs could carry her. Kakashi wasn't letting her out of his sight for that very reason, though he needn't have bothered; Sensei wouldn't have run away from her unless he was bait, and she couldn't risk losing her leverage by jumping headfirst into the trap. She would pick her moment.

"Hatake Kakashi."

Where other mourners were subdued in their grief, Shimura Danzo was as businesslike as ever. He even had a handful of Root agents in tow, despite the tension that followed the appearance of any ANBU masks currently. "May we speak for a moment?"

Kakashi looked back at Sakura, who forced herself to smile. "I'll wait here."

"I won't be long." He pressed the cookie into her hands before she could protest.

Even if the wake had been her ideal moment to sneak off, it would have been instantly thwarted by the Root agent with violet-grey hair that attached himself to her side the moment Kakashi left.

"Hello." She assumed it would be futile to attempt conversation, but it would have been too awkward to say nothing at all. Especially now that their combined strangeness was drawing a little too much attention from other mourners.

To her surprise, the man (boy really, probably still a teen judging by his voice) responded. "Hello, Haruno Sakura."

"Have we…met?"

"I'm afraid not, but I've heard a lot about you." He extended a gloved hand. "I'm Shin."

She took it, perplexed. "Most masked people don't give up their name so easily." Understatement of a lifetime, in her case.

"It's just an alias," he shrugged, "but I didn't see any point in being unfriendly. Spec ops agents might have to act tough and serious on the job, but in reality, we're just normal people."

"That must be nice," she murmured.

The boy cocked his head to the side. "What?"

"Being normal."

He laughed. "You're funny!"

"Am I?" she was even more perplexed now, but the boy seemed to think this was an even funnier answer.

"Yep! I wish you could meet the rest of Root."

"Oh?" If her guard hadn't already been up, that comment certainly would have raised it.

"Sure. You're actually a lot like us; everyone else thinks we're gloomy and weird, too."

Ouch.

"But we don't care what other people think, because we have each other."

She made a non-committal noise, letting her gaze wander over to where Kakashi was speaking with Danzo. It was hard to tell when his mask was up, but she got the sense that the topic was an unpleasant one.

Shin followed her gaze. "Oh, that's right; you actually live with Hatake Kakashi, don't you? Gosh, that must be awkward."

She blinked. "Not at all." Which was a lie of course, but Shin didn't need to know that.

"Really? A famous bachelor from a disgraced clan suddenly taking in a vulnerable, female, student? If it's not awkward for you, it must be for him."

This is a tactic, Sakura reminded herself. He'd say anything to make you reconsider.

Instead of rising to the bait she decided to try a little manipulation of her own, and potentially get some intel. With wide eyes, she asked, "'Disgraced'?"

"Oh, you don't know?" Shin shook his head. "It's a pretty tragic tale, so I can see why he didn't mention it. Apparently Hatake Kakashi's father, Hatake Sakumo, failed a mission."

She frowned. "So?"

"Well, the failure wasn't an accident: he made a choice to sacrifice the objective and save his men, because his emotions got in the way. Eventually he realised he made the wrong call and killed himself out of shame. But that didn't undo the damage."

"...Oh."

"Now poor Kakashi has to live with the shame. A similar slip-up could completely ruin his career…or worse."

It was strange hearing a man Kakashi's age be talked about so disparagingly by a boy that was probably no older than sixteen. If it had been about anything other than his father's suicide, it might have even been funny. As it was, Sakura regretted ever opening her mouth.

"I think I understand now," she said, and Shin seemed satisfied, because he fell silent. He had probably been coached on this conversation, exactly what to say and where he should pause to allow Sakura to mull it over. "In fact, I think I understand better than most people."

"Oh?"

"Yes." She quickly checked that Danzo and the others were still wrapped up in their own conversation, then, quick as blinking, reached out and tucked the spiced cookie into Shin's pocket.

"Why did you do that?" She couldn't see his expression under the mask, but she could tell they were off script now.

"Because you deserve nice things." She smiled sadly. "Even if your life is controlled by someone else, it's still yours. Remember that."

"I don't…"

"It's okay," she told him. "I know you have to try. Tell them I seemed to buy it."

Shin was spared from any further attempts to win her over by the sudden return of Kakashi.

"Let's go," he said, pushing the small of her back until she started moving. "Wake's almost over, and we have work to do."

"Bye, Shin." She waved at the boy, who waved back a beat too late.

Kakashi's hand tightened ever so slightly, probably from concern that Danzo's mind games were working on her. He needn't have worried, of course; when she left, it wouldn't be for Root.

ⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵ

The next morning, they went to the hospital.

This had become part of their daily routine, visiting the four genin who had gotten injured fighting Gaara and the other Sand-nin before yet another day spent helping to rebuild the village. Except today, when they reached Sasuke's room, he was no longer wearing a hospital gown and a murderous expression, but was dressed and waiting for them.

Sakura glanced between him and Kakashi in confusion. "What's going on?"

"We're all getting out today," Sasuke explained, frowning at Kakashi. "Didn't he tell you?"

She shook her head. "No, but that's great! Are you and Naruto stuck on light duties, or do we all get to work together today?"

"Actually," Kakashi jumped in, "Naruto already has a mission. He left this morning."

"Seriously?" Sasuke looked ready to spit venom; apparently, it wasn't only Sakura that had been blindsided. "He's already left the village on a mission?"

Kakashi shrugged carefully. "He's a fast healer."

"Why didn't you say something sooner?" Sakura asked. They hadn't visited yesterday because of the funeral, and went straight home after the wake. "We didn't get to say goodbye." Or remind him to look out for clues about The Watcher. "How long is he gone for?'

"Classified," Kakashi said, looking at the door instead of them.

Sasuke scoffed. "Well, who's he with? The rest of his team is here."

"Classified."

"What does that mean, classified?" Sakura frowned, and Kakashi made a face.

"It means classified. You don't need to know, either of you. Your mission is to assist with rebuilding the village. Now let's go, already." He turned on his heel and left the room.

Sakura stared at Sasuke in confusion. "What was that about?"

Sasuke shrugged. They hadn't had much chance to talk since the Forest of Death, and with everything that had happened since then it felt like a gulf was forming between them; one that hadn't been there since before she disappeared. "I guess we aren't worth keeping in the loop."

"Don't say that." Sakura went to place her hand on Sasuke's shoulder, but he flinched away from her. "Something weird's going on. Kakashi had a conversation with Danzo yesterday that I think-"

"You two," Kakashi barked from the hall. "Now!"

Sasuke gave her a look like 'I told you so,' and silently followed.

ⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵⴵ

They were so busy for the rest of the day that even if Sakura had known where to begin trying to defuse the weird tension in their trio, there wouldn't have been much opportunity. If Naruto were there, he would have brought it all out with his usual clumsy candour, and they wouldn't have had to spend the whole day tiptoeing around each other's weird funks. As it was, Kakashi was brusque, Sasuke was sullen, and Sakura slipped quickly into survival mode - which for her, meant becoming invisible.

When they finally got home, covered in rock dust and blisters, Kakashi spent a little longer than usual unlocking the door.

"Anything wrong?" Sakura asked, thinking longingly of the shower on the other side.

"No, no, I'm just checking my security seals. Making sure they're still working as they should."

"So that I can't sneak out and run off?" She guessed, figuring now was as good a time as any to address the elephant in the room. "Because just to be clear, I have n-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Kakashi pressed her against the outer wall of his apartment with a hand against her mouth. "Don't say that sort of thing," he breathed against her ear, reminding her of the chunin exam. "You don't know who could be listening."

She glared at him until he removed his hand from her mouth, but he still had her caged against the wall. "That's what you're afraid of?" she asked, speaking just as quietly. "Is it Danzo?"

"Sakura," he sounded frustrated, "this is a ninja village. Anyone could be listening to us. And what you're talking about, oh-so casually, is treason." The last word was inaudible; she had to read his lips.

"I'm telling you I wouldn't do that to you." She tried to make him understand. "I wouldn't do anything that would hurt you." Heavens knew she'd tried. Kakashi was the only obstacle preventing her from joining Kabuto that day, and she couldn't eliminate him.

"This isn't about me, Sakura, it's about you." They were still whispering, and even though he was probably using her name to emphasise the importance of what he was saying, it still sent a little jolt of warmth through her every time. However, his next words left her cold. "You need to start acting like a ninja of Konoha."

"What does that mean?" She frowned. "I'm covered in half a tonne of dirt right now because I'm a ninja of Konoha. Where else would I be from?"

He didn't answer at first, just stared at her with an expression halfway between frustration and despair. Finally, he spoke. "A true ninja of Konoha follows orders."

She opened her mouth to argue, to refer him to the previous statement about the half-tonne of dirt she had accrued while following orders, but his hand crept back over her mouth. "No, listen. This is an order, Sakura, one that I fully expect you to follow: you will behave. You will be good. You will obey my commands, both on and off the battlefield. And you will give nobody any reason to suspect that your loyalties lie anywhere but with Konoha." The hand tightened minutely, and his voice grew urgent. "And with anyone but me. Do you understand?"

She stared at him silently. Yes, she did understand what he was ordering her to do. He was telling her to forget her friends entirely. He was telling her to treat him like The Watcher.

He removed his hand once more, backing up to give her space. "Do you understand?" He repeated, sternly.

I should have let Kabuto kill you. "I understand."