[Note: Apologies for chapter delay: this website wouldn't let me upload in time. Check out this story and others on my ao3 (link in bio) for more consistent posts/in case posting here doesn't work; it's more difficult for me to communicate to readers here.]

[Thank you for reading and I will continue to update with new chapters every other Tuesday!]

4

Sakura stopped mid-sentence, the memories of the recently-lost clone pushing her thoughts out of the way and taking center-stage.

Katsuyu peered at her curiously from where she was perched upon her hands, eyestalks straightening. Her grey stare was both inquisitive and concerned. "...Sakura?"

Sakura was perfectly still, her skin turning gradually pinker; Katsuyu stiffened with alarm. "Are you all right? What happened?"

"Ah—" Sakura cleared her throat, completely thrown off from her previous train of thought. "Um…"

She set Katsuyu down, getting to her feet and running her hands through her hair, turning away. As she went to set her statically-charged brain right, she rubbed at her cheeks, trying to dismiss the new memories entirely.

While Sakura paced a few times, Katsuyu's eyestalks waved back and forth, following her restless trail with concern. Sun fell through the high windows of the unremarkable little inn suite, catching on the kunai spread across the tiny dining table in the corner; there was a roll of bandages bought new from a nearby shop, accompanied by a bottle of saline solution and a newspaper covered with careful highlights and scribbled notes. There was an empty bowl drained of ramen beside a stained pair of chopsticks; near that, a sweat-stained outfit Sakura had cast aside for washing. Her sandals rested by the door, caked with mud. There was a small clearanced radio set upon the kitchen counter, and Sakura wandered over to it, shutting it off, its vibes of pleasant piano no longer matching her mood.

Staring down at the radio and its plastic buttons for a moment, Sakura aimed a slightly frazzled smile at Katsuyu, Madara's dark threat still circling around in her head for a place to settle down. "It's nothing. Just new clone memories."

Katsuyu turned around, leaving a slimy, anxious trail. "What happened? Did things go the way you wanted? If you have the time right now, I can give Lady Tsunade your full mission report."

"Um." Sakura laughed, shaking her head. "You know, I have to say that ultimately, they did. Here we are, after all… but I'd rather wait to give her my full report in person." She adjusted her shirt and cleared her throat once more. "Anyway…"

"Where is Madara now? Did you see where he was headed next? I can warn the next clone in range."

Sakura offered Katsuyu a grateful half-smile before padding into the small kitchenette nearby. She took out a kitchen knife, sharpening it against the small whetstone in her pack, her stomach rumbling; distracted, her gaze strayed across the dirty dishes in the sink. "No," she answered, "but let me know if any of the others have news."

"Of course." Katsuyu slid over to a nearby chair, gliding up one of its legs and settling on its flat wooden arm. She settled with a soft sigh. "I am glad to be able to help you and each of your clones."

Sakura was calm where she stood, staring down at the blade in her hands. After a pause, she took an apple from the counter, setting it on a small cutting board and slicing it neatly. The heat had dissipated from her face, a knot appearing between her brows as she focused.

Katsuyu relaxed somewhat. "So; what is the rest of your plan? You've only summarised what's happened so far in brief. It would be best for everyone involved if you were as detailed as possible."

"I think it would be safest if I wasn't," Sakura said hesitantly, tossing the apple core into a nearby trash, "just in case. Honestly, Katsuyu, he could show up at any time. I have to be careful. What if he overhears a vital detail of my plan?"

"I thought you left him at the bottom of a cave-in? We're perfectly safe to discuss all that's happened for right now." Katsuyu's tone was conversational, but also subtly probing, and Sakura looked away from her, a dusting of colour remaining in her cheeks. "Yeah," she answered cagily, "but you know. Madara isn't going to be held back for long, even if he is at the bottom of a collapsed mine." Sakura snorted, the memories flavouring her thoughts.

"You don't think the cave-in killed him?"

Sakura laughed, the very thought both funny and uncomfortable. "No. No chance. It might have stopped just about any other shinobi, but he wasn't even somewhat ruffled by the prospect of hundreds of tons of earth coming down at him." She cleared her throat, setting the knife in the sink. "I don't think any trap could kill someone like Madara. Just slow him down."

Before Katsuyu could ask anything else, Sakura made a halting gesture, shaking her head. "Please; I need a break." She picked up the apple pieces she'd cut, running a hand through her hair with a troubled expression, the memories she'd just inherited replaying again in her mind.

"All right," Katsuyu agreed. Her eyestalks swivelled to follow Sakura as she gave her an uneasy wave, locking herself into the tiny bedroom and sinking back against the door.

Sakura shut her eyes, her hands returning to her hot cheeks.

Shame. That was the first thing she felt. Undeniable, unshakeable shame.

It didn't matter her successes, or how well her little time-wasting plan had worked to buy herself and her clones time to get away and further set her plan in motion. It felt good to have those victories, but just as Madara had wanted, he'd tainted her feeling of success with — with —

What was it? Sakura pressed her hands to her face, staring out at the window from between her fingers, hunching upon the floor. She tried to diagnose her scattered and confused emotions, piecing them together into different shapes and working to decide which ones were correct. Had she been afraid?

She snorted, pressing her chin atop her knees. No. She knew that for sure. Madara certainly intimidated her; she was instinctively wary of him and his power, knowing her chances of survival were always slim in his presence. Being near him was like handling a wild rattlesnake; he could strike at any time no matter his mood. The adrenaline that his sheer and utter lethality caused was thrilling.

Thrilling. Sakura's toes curled in her sandals as she identified that feeling for certain. Her adrenaline had been rushing in a dizzying loop; her heart had been pumping like she'd been thrown off a cliff's edge. Her mind still spun in circles from the heady rush of mortal danger that always accompanied Madara's presence.

Finding that it was easy to assign the rest of her reactions to that, Sakura nodded to herself, feeling somewhat better. She glanced back at the door with unease; she was nervous about all the questions Tsunade and the others would have of her, and there it was again, shame.

Sakura stared into the mirror, troubled once more. Why did guilt follow her like this when nothing she had done was wrong? Maybe she felt bad that she had enjoyed her fights with Madara, and she huffed with the thought, hiding a half-smile. That was it. She shouldn't have, but she'd had fun invoking his fury, had found satisfaction in his frustration and threats. There was something karmic in watching his smugness fade upon realising he'd rescued just another clone, that he'd wasted more of his precious time and only endangered himself in the end. Sakura clung to the memories of Madara's disappointment and ire with giddiness, like the memories themselves were some kind of reward for her efforts.

Savouring those images, she was careful to ignore the heat that accompanied them, pushing the door back open with a deep breath as she prepared to continue her new plan.

Well. Sakura slid back against the wall, pink locks frizzing around her face; she slumped upon the alley street with a heavy sigh. I've become a homeless woman.

At least, it felt that way. She picked at her fingers wearily, wondering how she'd be able to sleep. Being penniless, she couldn't afford an inn room; whatever ryo she had earned today from doing contract nurse work at the local clinic had been enough for a ramen dinner and a change into a new, simple set of dark clothes, as well as a quick wash at the local bathhouse. Sakura had considered those to be higher-priority than a grungy rented bed, and thus she ended up here, settling down in a skinny alley in the heart of this nondescript village to stay the night.

Why did clones have to have needs too? Sakura scowled, shutting her eyes as she tilted her head back against the cold wall, folding her arms. This plan of hers felt solid overall, but she hadn't realised how she would need funding for every clone: food, water, hygiene needs, and housing. She could have managed well enough with just one of herself, but she certainly didn't have the money to support even two clones, let alone more than that.

She certainly couldn't request funding, either; not while keeping herself hidden. Sakura's features were lined in her weary, terse expression, her gaze drawing across the alley; her green irises held the low light of neon signs and paper lanterns that glowed from the main street. She watched a pair of alley cats as they fought, hackles raised and claws out. They darted between dumpsters and dusty crates with hisses and growls.

At least she could earn some money now that she'd thought to do some work at the village clinic. Their small, stressed staff had been grateful for her skilled efforts, and had paid her what they could afford.

Sakura didn't notice her own smile as she reflected tiredly upon her day, thinking of her patients. Though her chakra had been limited due to her nature of being a clone, she'd still been able to help a host of civilians who wouldn't have been helped otherwise, due to the clinic being short-staffed.

But would she always have to stay outdoors like a transient? Would every clone have to survive like this? She grimaced, huddling against the side of a dumpster so she was better-obscured in its shadow. Though she was relatively well-hidden where she was, Sakura still felt far too exposed; she shivered as mismatched eyes glinted across her mind.

Shifting so she leaned against the corner of the dumpster and the slightly grease-stained wall, Sakura tried to will herself to catnap, if not sleep — knowing she'd have perpetual nightmares of Madara, the paranoia that he might show up and kill her haunting her every waking moment.

She was a cloaked shadow fringing the crowded street, sticking close to shaded shop fronts and cutting through empty alleys. Her pink hair was tied back beneath her hood, and in her otherwise unremarkable civilian clothes, Sakura didn't stand out from the rest of the moving figures all around her.

She scanned the streets as she went, alert for any change in her surroundings, any new sense of danger. A constant foreboding clouded through her thoughts; she knew too well that death in the form of her arrogant white-maned pursuer could descend upon her at any time.

This was Sakura's third week on watch. Each morning was a terse routine of waking, glancing up and down her chosen alley in paranoia, and then bundling up for her street-wandering, watching for changes and learning the village's layout so she could make quick escapes. She had come to memorise many details; she knew when each business opened, knew the typical faces she would pass daily, knew the haphazard schedule of the village's overall life cycle. Any other free time she had was spent earning much-needed ryo at the local clinic, healing whatever patients she had the energy and time to heal.

Sakura halted in front of a storefront, staring at the new change.

Katsuyu poked out from beneath her cloak, perched on her shoulder; her curious eyes moved from Sakura's paling frown to the flyer pasted on the glass. "I've meant to inform you," Katsuyu was saying as Sakura stared blankly forward, "please send a clone to Konoha. Your teammates have arrived at the hospital and expect to see you as soon as you're available. Lady Tsunade will be there, as well."

Barely hearing Katsuyu and acknowledging her with a nod, Sakura reread the flyer over and over, standing back for a moment as if it was a live bomb. She released the breath she was holding before gripping her fists, her shoulders tensing up. "What is this garbage I'm looking at?" she asked Katsuyu in a soft, slightly tremulous voice, quivering with her rage.

"'Don't believe the non-believers'," Katsuyu quoted the flyer. "'Support the end of poverty and war. Be with your loved and lost once more." The painted image of a leafless tree grew through the heart of the flyer, its branches curling past the printed words, and there was a location added in small print by the tree's roots, including a date set several weeks into the future. A sketched, slightly incorrect version of a Rinnegan eye was the heart of what was clearly meant to be the Divine Tree, glaring out at Sakura from the page and reminding her of the one that her original self carried.

"People actually think this?" Sakura whispered back. She reached out, her gloved fingers tracing over the unnaturally pale tree branches and over the much too familiar image of the Rinnegan, her frown lining her face.

Katsuyu hummed, settling deeper into Sakura's cloak as curious eyes from the street glanced over her waving eyestalks. "It seems word has gotten around about Madara's cause. Now that some time has passed since the dawn of the war… it appears some have decided to support him, instead."

Sakura's tracing fingers caught on the colourful flyer's edge, and she tore it away from the glass with gritted teeth, pinching it in her grip. Katsuyu clung along Sakura's collar beneath her cloak as she stomped over to the small tailor shop's front door, shoving through, the bell above the door clanging loudly. Her ears hot with anger, she pushed the hood from her head, spotting the elderly owner leaning on her counter. Sakura strode forward, brandishing the crumpled flyer in her hand while barely resisting smashing the glass counter into pieces with her fist. "What is this?" she demanded.

"What is what." The old woman didn't look up from what she was sewing. She sat upon a worn wooden stool behind the glass displays and neat wooden mannequins, tailoring a long cloak in teal, its sweeping folds falling down beyond Sakura's sight behind the counter. Gray hair fell over the elderly lady's crinkled eyes in trimmed bangs; glasses perched upon her scarred nose.

"The damned flyer," Sakura shot back, brandishing it like a weapon. "Did you post this on your window? Are you responsible for it?"

"No. I didn't make it." Lifting her head, the old tailor glared at Sakura. "But I do want it there. How dare you take it down? Put it back at once, young lady."

"We are at war," Sakura spat, crumpling the flyer into a ball and throwing it to the ground. "For weeks now, my comrades have been fighting out there, dying as we speak, trying to stop what your flyer calls to support. Are you telling me you want the Infinite Tsukuyomi? Don't you understand that it would be the end of the world? It's not the right way for peace. Everything about it is wrong."

"It's not just me." The old lady folded her arms, her painted nails tapping along her arms. Her dark eyes swept concernedly over her shop as Sakura's voice rattled framed photos on the walls, and upon seeing that nothing had fallen out of place, she returned her attention to her. "There are many who have realised who's in the right in this war… now that the rest of us non-shinobi folk have finally been informed of what's going on." She levelled her acidic gaze upon Sakura. "It's obvious that regardless of your kunoichi status, you don't understand the true nature of the Infinite Tsukuyomi. If you did, you would support it like the rest of us." She adjusted the fabric she held, stabbing it and pulling the needle through a neat stitch while eyeing Sakura suspiciously.

Katsuyu nudged the side of Sakura's neck where she hid out of sight, and Sakura understood what she wanted. She could feel Tsunade's training embedded through old memories, echoed in Katsuyu's gentle nudging that was the opposite of the well-meaning strike Tsunade would have given her in this situation. Don't let your emotions ruin a chance to gain intel on a mission. Grin and bear it if it's an ugly situation; use what you learn to your advantage later on.

Sakura swallowed her anger, unfolding the flyer and uncrinkling its lines as best as she could before exhaling slowly. She kept her eyes on the counter for a moment as she consciously leashed her rage. The old woman watched her, her sewing efforts paused, her needle and thread in hand.

After a tense stretch of silence, Sakura lifted her head. Her expression was calm as she met the old woman's gaze, not a trace of her former anger allowed to show in her carefully-arranged expression. "Help me understand then, granny, since you seem so knowledgeable about it all. Tell me more about this following that the Infinite Tsukuyomi seems to have gained." She cleared her throat, her fists gripping into restless fists beneath her cloak. "Why? Why support it?"

"I may be old, but I'm not a fool." The elderly tailor waved dismissively at Sakura, the needle in her hand flashing in the low lamplight of the tailoring shop. "It's obvious that you're extremely hostile towards the correct cause in this war. I won't tell you anything further about the flyer."

"That's fine," Sakura replied flatly, "tell me about why you support it." Sakura sighed; she closed her eyes, a troubled knot between her brows "Please," she added. "I do genuinely want to know. I don't understand why anyone would want to end our world in such a way." She glanced over to the front doors, watching the people move past the glass, living their normal daily lives; the old lady's gaze shifted to them as well as Sakura spoke in softer, more fervent tones. "Every day, every moment, my comrades are fighting to end this war. It's hell out there. Friends of mine have died for the sake of stopping Madara from casting the Infinite Tsukuyomi. Even now…" Sakura shook the tears from her eyes, turning around to face the old woman once more. "Please help me see what it is you see, because all I understand here is betrayal. I'm shocked that anyone could go against the sacrifices that my friends and comrades are making for people like you; for everyone."

The elderly tailor sat back on her stool. She had set her work aside; she folded her arms, her glasses lower on her nose as she rested her gaze upon Sakura. She was silent, and Sakura waited, her heart beating painfully in her chest.

"What was it you said…" The old woman frowned. "That it's hell out there."

Sakura nodded.

"In short… that is why." She inclined her head, looking away; Sakura's frown became a tight grimace. "Really? That's your reason?" She inhaled sharply, feeling her caged anger rattling to try and escape again. "It isn't hell for everyone, everywhere. The problems we face all have solutions of some kind. There is a way—"

"Not death." The old woman lifted her head. Her glasses flashed in the light, her glare fierce upon Sakura. "Not poverty, in most cases, and not the despair of losing a loved one. What solutions do you have for those, hmm? What magic little fix?"

"Well, that's not…"

"There's none." The elderly woman shoved to her feet, one hand gripping the glass counter to steady herself as she pointed at Sakura with her other hand. Sakura could see the scars that hinted up behind the old woman's neck and across her arms; she wore a tarnished wedding ring that glinted as she gestured towards the photos framed across the walls, their subjects' faces faded from time. "The Infinite Tsukuyomi… brings them all back." Her voice was tremulous, yet strong, and Sakura saw the echo of the hardy woman that the old tailor used to be behind her pained, wrinkled face.

She set both hands on the counter, her back hunched as she searched Sakura's uncertain face. "I would get to hug my children again, none of which still live." She drew a slow, unsteady breath, slowly closing her eyes. "I could name them all to you, each year they were lost to me. My parents, my sisters. Each of my friends; from wars, from sickness, from cruelty." Her voice broke as she looked away. "You fight against it, but the infinite dream would bless me where life has only earned me curses. I have known love in every form, and I have lost it each time." Her eyes lifted to the faces that faded across the walls.

Sakura took a step back; she was silent, listening to the aching cadence of the tailor's words and the ticking of the clocks that hung behind the counter.

She lifted her knobbled fingers, the veins running in bumpy lines over her knuckles. "In the dream, I would have a good back again, a young body. Without suffering, in a life full of peace, I could finally forget… traumas. Losses; dead futures." She stood taller, the muted sounds of bones cracking making Sakura wince as the old woman wiped at her brimming eyes with a taut, barely-contained whisper.

Sakura was torn between wanting to escape and wanting to listen, and her heartbeats dragged painfully between the seconds, the air between them feeling darker and more oppressive with every cracked, quietly-spoken word spoken.

"The thing that I can't wait for… that calls to me the most." The elderly tailor exhaled, the currents of her voice slowing as she savoured the idea in a softer tone. "I would get to see my husband again." She leaned against the counter, wincing slightly as she adjusted how she stood; her head fell through hunched shoulders, her haunted eyes dragging across the shop to settle upon Sakura.

Sakura watched as a tear dripped from the tailor's reddened, piercing eyes. "Have you ever experienced what that kind of love is like?"

Sakura blinked, taken aback; she had paled, the colour drained from her face. The old lady scoffed, shaking her head. "No. If you did, you would understand. But until you have lost someone that has become your reason to live, you won't know why it is I support the Infinite Tsukuyomi and its followers."

In the silence that stretched between them, Sakura ached to bridge the gap, and she stopped herself from reaching out in time, her gloved hand falling loosely upon the edge of the counter. She held the old woman's gaze, frowning. "You… you don't believe in the afterlife?" Sakura asked hesitantly, and the tailor shook her head once more, turning away. "No. There is no god watching over this world; at least, not a benevolent one."

She bent, picking up the cloak she had been sewing and running a knobbled hand down its carefully-stitched seams with a long sigh. "If there was, why would he watch as I was abused? Why do nothing as I was made a concubine for all my young years?"

Sakura's words halted in her throat, the old woman's blunted words silencing her once more.

She drew her needle through the cloak again, shaking her head slowly, her wiry silver hair falling in loose strands around her frown. "Why would he leave me penniless when my children needed it most? Their sicknesses were treatable, if you had the money to pay." She scoffed bitterly. "What irony that I could afford it now, long after their deaths. I was spared, only to suffer in their absence, to ponder my failure as a mother. And still… still, I must work, to live, to survive; to wish, to wait, and all for nothing."

She shut her eyes, grasping the fabric in her hands tightly before glancing over to Sakura with a shadowed expression. "My husband might have made arguments against this Infinite Tsukuyomi. He was a shinobi, like you. It killed him young… just like I'm sure you're fated to do as well." The old woman hummed, her gaze straying, fading with distraction. "I look forward to telling him about you, once I'm finally drawn into Lord Uchiha's Infinite Tsukuyomi." A small smile pulled the old woman's lips upwards as she stared into the distance, far beyond the crowded streets past the doors, beyond the skies themselves; a muted light of hope flickered just beyond the dark of her eyes. "I can't wait to see them all again."

She fell silent, a vision playing across her mind's eye, and she did not react as Sakura slowly backed out of the shop, her lips tight and heart aching.

Ducking into the nearby alley, Sakura slid back against the wall, tilting her head against rough, papered stone; she stayed still a long while, saying nothing, feeling everything.

When she gathered the strength to lift away from the wall and walk again towards the light, she did not see the many flyers upon the bricks that had been her silent company, countless printed ringed eyes staring out as she disappeared again into the street.

Sakura wiped at the corners of her eyes as she looked up at the wooden sign, the characters etched into it reading Konohagakure.

With her heart pounding with hope and joy, she pushed forward down the dirt road at a near-sprint, almost knocking down several travellers in her exuberance. She didn't hear their protests, breathing hard with hair flying around her face as she ran. Her sunlit eyes were affixed to the distant walls of her village.

"Top floor of the hospital," Katsuyu was directing her, poking out from under her cloak. "The private rooms. End of the hall; you know the one." Sakura nodded vigorously, the hood shaking away from her face.

How long had it been since she last saw her teammates? Sakura was beaming, the smile so permanently affixed to her face that she couldn't feel it anymore. Her eyes were streaming with tears of joy as she veered onto the main road. She skidded to a halt, beholding the sight of Konoha's main gates that stood tall only one more sprint ahead. They were the heart of the great exterior walls, resurrected since the village's fall; freshly constructed, the reddish paint shone bright in the high midday sun.

Overall, it hadn't been that long. Sakura reminded herself not to be so visibly emotional once she reached her teammates. She didn't have much time; she couldn't be seen here long, so she had no moments to waste on tears and happy reunions, no matter her joy. Being the epicenter of so many conflicts and no doubt not far from Madara's attention, Konoha was a dangerous place for even a clone of Sakura's to be.

She found that she didn't care of the risks as she jogged forward, the nostalgia and happiness striking away her fears and usual paranoia. She was tired of weeks of being alone, of feeling more isolated than she'd ever been in her life. She was more than excited to see not just Naruto and Kakashi again, but with Sasuke included, their team truly a team again.

Sakura nodded to Kotetsu and Izumo at the gates, striding through with a windy breath down the main street of Konoha. A flash of fire scorched through her heart and emblazoned her fists as she lifted her head, narrowed eyes scanning the rooftops: should Madara dare interrupt her team reunion this day, she'd tear him apart.

Civilians near her shied away, sensing Sakura's sheer intensity. Wide eyes glued to her from alleys and windows, and she was mostly unaware of the attention she drew as she strode quickly down the center of the road, her stare intent upon the hospital coming into view that she knew better than she knew her own home.

Sakura moved quickly through the lobby and crowded hallways, navigating past hurried nurses and doctors; she dodged their excitable greetings, brushing past cluttered carts, wheeled gurneys, and unattended IV stands. She was a race of heartbeats and footsteps until she arrived before the suite Katsuyu had mentioned, and they peered together at the wood of the door, halting at last.

With a deep breath, Sakura pushed it open and stepped through.

She walked into a full-blown argument, hugging herself as she stared. Naruto was pointing at Sasuke, face mid-gawp as he'd been shouting, his other arm slung in a cast; Sasuke glared back at him, a line of bandages wrapped over his left eye. Kakashi leaned against the wall nearby, his middle bandaged all around from torso to chest, several smaller gauze pads taped along his limbs.

Tsunade got up from the stool beside the hospital bed she'd been sitting by, amber eyes locked onto Sakura. A small smile upturned her lips before she swerved towards Naruto and Sasuke. "Shut up, you two. Sakura's here and not for long."

All heads turned, and Sakura realised that it was more than four in total: her wide eyes fell upon the patient lying back on the hospital bed. He offered her a half-smile, dark eye weary within grooved features.

"You survived?!" she exclaimed, and Obito shrugged under the hospital covers atop him. "I'm just as surprised as you are." She noticed that his left half was untainted, Black Zetsu's presence long-gone; he was white from head to toe on his right side and a hale tan on his left, his hair a choppy snowy colour.

"Welcome back," Kakashi greeted Sakura with a single wave, charcoal eyes crinkling at the corners. Naruto leapt to his feet, his previous ire at Sasuke forgotten upon Sakura's arrival. "You made it here all right!"

"All of you are okay," Sakura affirmed aloud with a sniff. "Don't cry, it's barely been over a month," Sasuke sighed, and Sakura did just that, tears streaming down her face as she smiled wide, wiping repeatedly at her shining cheeks.

Tsunade looked between Sakura and Sasuke. "Let's get to it, Sakura. There isn't time to waste; there's always a chance you were followed here, so hurry."

"Of course." Sakura sat down on the edge of the bed beside Sasuke, lifting her hands; he eyed her with suspicion. She showed him her open palms. "I won't be trying anything on it just yet, okay?"

Sasuke's dark eye narrowed, but he held still as Sakura gently peeled back the bandage that clung over his left eye. As it fell away, Tsunade pulled her stool up beside them, clipboard in hand. "Tell me what you see, Sakura."

Sakura shook off her uneasiness, focusing. She hid her wince as she stared into Sasuke's ruined Rinnegan eye.

Drawing her fingers around his eyelid and being careful not to touch it directly, Sakura tilted Sasuke's head gently, taking a closer look. It was slashed across the pupil just like the Rinnegan that her original self carried, but more diagonally than horizontally; it was clean of infection, no doubt thanks to Tsunade, but the gash was relatively deep. It was swollen, and looked quite painful.

"The cut is all the way past the pupil into the vitreous part," Sakura said carefully, "I think the ligaments attached to the lens may also be torn…" She stared into the strange, reflective iris. The gash across the eye was seeping, and she inhaled slowly, concentrating. "Okay, I don't think it's beyond the point of return. I can still mend this part here, and these outer layers…" Sakura frowned as she thought.

"Well?" Sasuke asked. Sakura felt his dark eye burning upon her as she withdrew, replacing the bandage over his eye.

A troubled knot appeared between her brows. She looked away, past Obito, to the opaque window; she felt all eyes on her, and closed her eyes, guilt weighing her down.

"I have already tried chakra stitches," Tsunade said, tapping her pen against her lips as she looked down at her clipboard. "They didn't hold. I also attempted slow-mend regeneration working from the optic nerve to the perforated cornea; but the surgeries we would do for a normal eye aren't working on the Rinnegan. It obviously has something to do with the rings, which extend into the vitrea…"

"So? You can't fix it, but can Sakura?" Naruto piped up, and Sakura shifted further away from Sasuke where they sat on the edge of the bed. She hung her head, letting out a shaky exhale.

"I don't know."

The others around her tensed with surprise. All looked on with worry but for Sasuke, whose dark eye slowly narrowed upon her. "What do you mean… you don't know?"

Sakura folded her hands and pressed her lips into them, staring down at the floor; her brows were drawn as she kept her gaze on the floor. "I can't know without testing several different theories on how to fix it. I don't know just from a cursory examination how to repair your Rinnegan." She tensed as Sasuke burned with anger, and she rushed to explain further, turning towards him. "It's not too late. Lady Tsunade has kept it from getting infected, so it's not a dead eye. It can still be repaired, like I said—"

"We expected you to be able to do it." Sasuke gripped his knees as he effectively loomed closer, his dark eye flashing in the sterile white light of the hospital room, his lips pulling back in a snarl. "We trusted you. I trusted you and your abilities. You claimed that you could do this, and because we trusted your word, we enacted Kakashi's plan. I would never have let my Rinnegan be damaged otherwise." His cold stare bored through her. "Are you telling us that you lied?"

"You didn't misplace your trust," Sakura argued, though she'd gone pale. She pushed to her feet, instinctively standing a safe distance away from Sasuke as she tried to reassure him. "I'm just worn thin from my mission. I've used so much of my chakra keeping Madara at bay, making clones and gathering information. I've got barely enough chakra to spare for myself, let alone for the hours-long, painstaking procedure it would be to work on your eye. And I need time… I need to study." She wrung her hands nervously as Sasuke scowled, the others wearing similar frowns as she went on. "I wasn't bluffing. I've studied eyes for years. It's just such a fine-tuned part, and Uchiha eyes are so complex. I promise you, Sasuke; I will fix it. I just can't today."

Silence, and Sakura hunched her shoulders, though she held her head high. She was still confident she could follow through with her promise; just not in such a short timeframe that they all expected.

"I can keep his eye uninfected and in stasis for now," Tsunade sighed. "We stick to the current plan. Sasuke, I'll dispatch Sakura's original to you once it's safe and we'll get your eye back to its original state. Sakura," Tsunade shifted her attention to her, "where is your original right now?"

"Safe." Sakura glanced away with mild unease. "I mean, relatively safe, but safer than I was before."

"You're just a clone?" Naruto pitched in.

"I don't know how well your diversion trick is really going to work against a man like Madara," Tsunade was saying, her fingers tapping along her folded arms. "I've heard about 'Sakura sightings' even just on the streets. You've been seen recently in Iwagakure, and Otogakure, and the Daidai Village, and now also Shimogakure. I've heard reports that you were sighted in Kumogakure, Yugakure, and the Tsuchigumo Village as well. I get it," she went on, "you're gathering information throughout the nation while making Madara hunt each down to figure out which is the original. But it's too risky."

Tsunade pointed at the curtained window, amber eyes flashing. "Madara isn't a normal shinobi, if he can even be called a 'shinobi' anymore. You understand that he can always tell who is and isn't a clone just by looking at them, right? We've theorised that it's his own unique Mangekyo Sharingan ability." Her stare hardened upon Sakura. "You need to keep us better-informed so we can help protect you."

Sakura stood taller, confidence firming her expression. "I promise, Lady Tsunade, that I have a better plan than you think. I'm keeping my original self and his damaged eye safe. As soon as I can tell you about that more without risk, I will." A hint of guilt returned as she looked away. "I'll admit, I did have to take some risks. I hope you won't disapprove."

She startled as Naruto set a hand on her shoulder with a small smile. "It's all right, Sakura. We understand."

"Now, Sakura," Tsunade said, turning, a clipboard and a pen appearing in her hand, "Your mission report. I've gotten everyone else's versions of all that's happened; now I need yours before you leave."

Sakura stood taller, her face going pale. She glanced between Obito and Kakashi, then to Naruto and Sasuke, who each glanced at her with varying levels of interest. "Here? Now? I'd rather wait…"

"You've delayed long enough. You're the one who insisted upon telling me in person, rather than letting Katsuyu give me your report. Here we are; now hurry up."

Sakura shifted where she stood, feeling the combined weight of all the stares around her. She belatedly recognised that perhaps, she should have just given Katsuyu what she had to say rather than wait for this, and she drew a deep breath, exhaling deeply to calm herself before lifting her head and starting her tale.

She detailed everything to Tsunade until she reached the recollection in which Madara had pinned her to the forest floor the first night, pausing. She looked away, keeping her face placid. "He attempted to search me for the Rinnegan. I got away and made it to the nearby farming village."

Tsunade stopped writing, her dagger-eyes focused upon Sakura. "That was extremely vague. You know better than to skip details, Sakura; explain that to me more clearly."

"That's it," Sakura shrugged, clearing her throat, and Tsunade loomed over her, making sweat pearl along Sakura's forehead. "Don't be obtuse with me. No one gets away from Madara that easily."

Sakura looked up at the ceiling as the attention of all the others in the room returned to her, their curiosity tangible as Tsunade scolded her for her vagueness. Great… now everyone was paying close attention again, and at the worst part.

"Well, I," Sakura bit back, cheeks pink, "I had to distract him to get away. I managed to do just that. Now, I'd be happy to explain how I trapped him underground in the next village over, and how—"

"Sakura." Tsunade's thunderous expression told Sakura she wasn't about to fool her with any more vague explanations, and she gave a heavy sigh, already turning red. As her teammates eyed her, she lowered her voice, her eyes grazing along the floor. "I knew I couldn't physically incapacitate someone as strong as Madara. I had tried earlier; he's just too strong, he heals from everything so fast. And I couldn't try genjutsu, obviously. So I had to do something he wouldn't expect, that would throw him off, like he threw me off. I…"

"What do you mean, he threw you off earlier? What did he do?"

"Nothing intentional," Sakura said quickly, avoiding Tsunade's tunnelling scrutiny. "I thought he was doing something awful at first and he wasn't. Just searching me. Anyway, I — used a kiss to distract him, and made my escape while he was recovering from the surprise of that."

Silence. Sakura hung her head.

After the shocked pause died away, the room shook with laughter. Obito and Naruto in particular were chortling the hardest, almost synchronous; Kakashi's brows had skyrocketed into his hair, a hand covering his own amused hum, while Sasuke was staring at Sakura with a slack look on his face. Tsunade grimaced as Sakura covered her face in shame.

After a moment, Sasuke and Kakashi recovered, reasserting their expressions. Sasuke jabbed Naruto in the side to shut him up; Kakashi shot Obito an acidic look.

While Tsunade was scribbling notes on her clipboard with a rankling scowl, Obito leaned forward in his hospital bed, dark eye aglint with incredulous amusement. "That's what allowed you to get away? I wish I could have seen it." His raspy chuckle was almost affectionate. "I'm impressed. That was creative and very bold, if incredibly stupid. I bet you gave the old bastard a heart attack."

Naruto was still giggling, and he turned to Sakura as he swatted away Sasuke, bright eyes catching the sunlight. "Were you inspired by my Sexy Jutsu?"

Sakura pressed a hand to her mouth, sighing through her fingers; she was beet-red as Naruto chortled. Tsunade set a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "She did well to use her beauty as a young kunoichi against her enemy. It is a brave and frightening thing to do; especially against someone like Madara."

Naruto made a face, though his laughter died off. His expression became more revolted as he pictured Sakura snagging a kiss from Madara. "But it's just so gross," Naruto complained. "Also, why couldn't she try that on me instead?"

Kakashi buried his face deeper in his book; Sasuke glared out the window with a scowl. Obito hummed, folding his arms where he sat up in the hospital bed. "Listen to your Hokage, Naruto; she's right about this. Sakura did what she had to to survive."

"You can't make fun of me anyway," Sakura grumbled, folding her arms tightly. "Sasuke was your first kiss."

"Madara was your first?!"

"Yeah, but it doesn't count!"

"You were probably his," Obito commented as Naruto interrupted, "Did he kiss you back?!"

"Well—" Sakura turned away, eyes wide on the floor as she remembered, her fingertips glancing unconsciously over her lips. Had he? She remembered that Madara certainly hadn't rejected her; only been stunned. The memory of his mouth along hers had her shutting her eyes, brows twitching in a tortured expression. How was she going to finish her report, feeling like this? How all of them had laughed at her… and she didn't dare look at Sasuke, feeling his stony silence more than the chortling between Obito and Naruto.

Sakura startled as Tsunade ran a hand through her hair with a short exhale. "You did well, Sakura. Don't be hard on yourself. You're right; you made that sacrifice to keep our side afloat in this war. I'm only glad a kiss is all you had to give." She inhaled slowly, releasing a sigh as a knot appeared between her brows. "You can hand me the rest of your report later. Naruto—" Tsunade's head swivelled over, and the look on her face had Naruto paling. "You will not tease her again about this. You, nor any your teammates. Do you hear me?"

"But she and old man Madara—"

"And don't tell anyone outside of this room."

"Aw. But—"

"No arguing." Tsunade ushered Sakura out of the room, and she slammed it shut; she rounded upon Sakura once they were alone in the hallway, amber eyes fierce. "Sakura." She set her hands on Sakura's shoulders, staring down at her intensely. "Are you all right?"

She lifted her head, offering Tsunade a small but genuine smile. "Yes. I'm fine."

"Good." Tsunade was tense as she stepped back. She looked away, watching the distant bustle of nurses and doctors scurrying between doorways and pushing carts and gurneys through the halls.

Tsunade shut her eyes, consciously untensing her shoulders. Thank whatever gods existed… she hadn't lost Sakura yet. She had somehow come out of fighting Madara solo just fine, against all the odds; unlike how Tsunade's own fight with the help of all the other Kages had gone. She could only hope her student continued to stay on top of the dangerous game she was playing against the most lethal opponent imaginable.

She was the one startled as Sakura pulled her back, hugging her tightly, and smiled to herself as she patted Sakura's back, sighing with relief she felt but wouldn't show.

Sakura poked at the little fire, smiling to herself as she watched the stack of stolen flyers smoulder into colourful ashes. Smoke rose in a single twisting wisp, high into the starry sky above her; the light of her alley-fire was muted by the lively paper-lantern glow of the streets, bustling and energetic with noisy crowds and shouting vendors, the summer festival well underway.

She reached out, stroking the head of the grungy white stray cat sitting beside her, green eyes holding the warm flamelight. Her ears tingled with the music of the streets, the crackling of the fire, the whispering breeze, and the rumbling purr of the cat.

She lifted her head as she heard rustling nearby. Sakura rolled her eyes as two cats rolled past her in a violent fight. "Come on, guys," she groaned, "everyone's supposed to be celebrating tonight. Stop fighting." Her thumb swept over the white cat's head beside her; she leaned into Sakura's hand with a chirping meow that had Sakura smiling.

The fighting felines paused, heads swivelling towards another cat that had appeared nearby. Tired of watching the flyers burn, Sakura followed their wary attention, blinking at the black cat sitting atop a shut dumpster. She hadn't seen this one before, and watched curiously, wondering if she was so used to these alley cats in the past several weeks that she picked up on their emotions unconsciously. She felt their unease, staring up into the new feline's flat ochre eyes.

"Who are you?" Sakura asked. It blinked at her, eerily calm; she got to her feet, brushing herself off. When she brought her gaze back to the cat, it had an entirely unnatural, toothy smile that curved up in a Cheshire-cat way.

Black Zetsu. With a gasp, Sakura readied her fists, already feeling her shadow thicken. She stiffened as the cat melted into the dark with a scratchy laugh.

A deep rumble boomed from behind her. "Have I pushed you to such poverty?"

Sakura shut her eyes, knowing her stay in this village was now over.

"You had nothing to do with it," Sakura replied stiffly, feeling the skin on the back of her neck rash with goosebumps from Madara's proximity. She seized the gloved hand that appeared on her arm and swerved with a snarl; he broke her hold and caught her arms, turning her against the wall and grinning down at her as she spat her words back at him. "Because I do as I please. I can live as I want even as a clone. You have no effect on me," Sakura informed Madara as he blocked out the light, his shadowed face dark but for the slight glow of his unnatural eyes.

"It was obvious that is not so, last we met." His fingers twitched around her wrists. The amber light of the flames from Sakura's dying campfire lit Madara's jagged silhouette, flickering in an inconstant light against his side-profile. "Tell me," he was saying as she also noticed the scent of food on his breath – was that inarizushi? "How many clones have you made to amuse me with?"

"As many as it takes," she hissed.

"And that's your entire strategy?" Madara snorted. "Please… I can make exponentially more clones than you, visible or not. I will have your piteous original tracked down before you have the time to recover from such wastes of chakra. You will be even easier to defeat than before."

"And the more you underestimate me," Sakura shot back, kicking at him before he asserted his knee between hers to prevent her from moving, "the more I'll keep fooling you. Your arrogant self-confidence gives me a chance… you know that?"

"Hn. First, since you're such a poor liar," Madara hummed, tilting his head slightly with an amused, mean glint in his stare, "Is your original self nearby? Or far from here?"

Sakura scowled. "I won't tell you anything."

He leaned closer, teeth flashing in his grin. "Is she in Konoha?"

"No," she growled.

"Suna?" A gloved finger slid along her cheek, and she shivered, her skin prickling beneath his fingertip. "Don't — touch me."

"Answer my question then."

"Yes. She's in Suna."

"Liar."

"What, are you going to go through every village?" Sakura bucked against Madara, clenching her teeth as he kept her legs locked between his, fingers digging painfully into her wrists and keeping her pinned between him and the wall. Robes rustled as she writhed beneath his grip, the wall cracking beneath her captured hands as he slammed them back with a grunt; she was breathing harder as he made an amused huff at her efforts. "Careful now, or you'll disappear and end this conversation prematurely."

Sakura sweat beneath her clothes, glaring up into Madara's looming face as he bent over her. His hair fell around his malicious expression, and she detested how she still found him attractive, her heart climbing into her throat. He drew breath to mock her some more, keeping her locked in his control.

Before he could speak, the voice of a little old lady walking with her husband in the main street where the festival was going carried over to where Madara had Sakura pinned against the wall. "Hey! You two!"

Both of their heads turned, Madara's eyes narrowing dangerously while Sakura's crimson face tightened with embarrassment. The old woman had her hands on her hips with a scowl. "Are you all right, young lady?"

Sakura blinked, recognising what the two of them looked like. Madara had her boxed in and tightly controlled, wrists captured, legs locked in a dominating, restricting tangle of limbs.

Sensing Madara's silent calculating as he measured the worth of the civilians' lives, Sakura cleared her throat. She offered the old lady and her nearby husband an uneasy, red-cheeked smile. "Oh yes, we're just fine." She released her fists, trying to look convincing as she forced herself to relax beneath Madara's iron grip, her knees sliding against his and their fronts brushing together.

He glanced at Sakura sharply as the old lady folded her arms. "Are you sure…?"

Sakura sweat hard beneath Madara's glower and the curious eyes of the concerned strangers as she made a short, mortified laugh. "Oh yes! Don't worry, I totally meant to — be like this, with him. Thanks for your concern! He's just my… my…" She met Madara's burrowing stare and immediately regretted it. She was unable to look away from him as he gave her a challenging, lethal, subtly amused look.

While holding Madara's eye, Sakura found it impossible to lie to the old lady about what he was to her, the quick labels she knew they expected to hear such as boyfriend very much out of reach as she squeaked the first thing that came to mind otherwise. "My… interest?"

Madara's deep chuckle at Sakura's words had her shoving at him. He released her arms; she shook from his laughter against his tall frame where he surrounded her. Her hands flew to his shoulders as she glared up into his face. "Is that so?" he teased, Sakura huffing the hair from her face and giving Madara another shove in response, a bright rosy red from ear to ear.

The old lady was shaking her head. "Couples these days," she groused to her husband as the two of them walked away.

"Interesting; I'm not sure you were lying," Madara commented as Sakura let out a relieved sigh. "Don't mock me," she hissed at him, "you'd have killed them if they tried to intervene. Bastard."

Amusement danced in his gaze. "I am not so predictable."

Sakura struggled against him, mortified. "Just kill me like you came here to do already, before any more strangers see us." She glanced away from him, hunching into herself. "Please."

"Very well then." Sakura shuddered as Madara brought a hand to her throat; she shut her eyes with a tremulous breath, her hands falling to press tightly over her chest. He watched her relax, thumb grazing along her throat over her racing pulse. She disappeared in a cloud of steam beneath his squeezing grip, leaving him glancing down at the ashes of her campfire, the corner of a Rinnegan-decorated flyer peeking out from the smouldering embers.