Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

They hit the ground together, crashing into the grass as the earth exploded around them. Somehow, she managed to keep her grip on his arm as they tumbled across the field, having to pour every ounce of chakra she had into her hand so she wouldn’t lose him. They finally rolled to a stop.   

At one time, her heart would have pounded out of her chest at the way he’d held onto her while they tumbled through the air and as they rolled through the grass—but she was more focused on trying to breathe than to worry about that. She pushed off his chest and dropped to the ground next to him, her breath completely knocked out of her.   

Whatever jutsu that was, it hurt like hell .   

She pushed herself onto her elbows, her entire body aching. Every muscle felt like it had been stretched out until it snapped. She looked up at Sasuke, letting out a breath of relief when his eyes met hers.  

“What were you thinking?” he snapped, his tone all too familiar. Only Sasuke would be transported through an unknown jutsu and manage to glare at her for coming along.   

She released his arm, wincing as she sat up, equal parts comforted and annoyed by his familiarity. She dusted the dirt from her shirt as she told him, “Did you really think I was going to let you and Naruto go after him without me?”  

He pushed himself off the ground, following her lead in brushing off the dirt that covered his skin, “You had no idea what you were running into, what if his jutsu killed us?”   

She raised an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms, “So you can get yourself killed and it’s fine, but I can’t.” She couldn’t help what slipped out next, “Little late for you to start caring about me dying, isn’t it, Sasuke?”  

His eyes flashed for a moment, but he shifted his glare to the ground. “At least Naruto is still there, hopefully he can hold on until we get back.”   

She stood up, finally noticing the sun that was beating down at her back, “Um, wasn’t it nighttime?” She glanced around the rolling field, the green grass billowing in the light summery breeze. “And it definitely wasn’t this hot out,” she realized, the warmth from her vest and long sleeve suddenly suffocating.   

Sasuke stood next to her, his frown deepening as he realized the same thing, “What did Madara say before he cast his jutsu?” he turned to Sakura, his Sharingan glowing.  

She fumbled through her memories, “Something about taking things back, ending things before they started. I think he knew he was losing. You and Naruto were overpowering him.”   

“He wouldn’t just give up though. This has to have something to do with stopping us still.” He paced a few steps forward, scanning the large field around them once again. Blocking the sunlight, he stared at the familiar dips and cliff edges that surrounded the valley before he turned to Sakura, his voice far more worried than she was used to hearing, “You’re sure he said ‘taking things back’?”  

She nodded, “It was all I caught before he started doing those hand signs.” She stepped closer to him, “Sasuke, what is it?”   

His eyes were looking everywhere but at her, his mind moving a mile a minute behind them. She caught his wrist, and when his eyes met hers, his tone was reserved once again, “I think he sent us back in time.”   

“What?” Sakura knew she shouldn’t laugh so she fought desperately to keep the giggle at bay, especially with how tense Sasuke was. But time travel ? Was that really the first conclusion he’d come to? “What makes you think that?”   

“He said he wanted to take things back, and look,” he stepped behind her and pointed over her shoulder towards the cliffs along the edge. “Do those look familiar? This is the same place we just were, which makes sense. Travelling through time wouldn’t change your location.”  

She stepped away from him, trying to ignore how fast her heart started beating the moment he’d stood behind her . This was so not the time for that . “Okay, even if that’s true, wouldn’t Madara be here too?”   

He shrugged, “We weren’t supposed to go with him. Maybe he had it worked out to bring him somewhere else.”   

“Okay, say we agree that a time-travelling jutsu is possible… when exactly do you think we are?”   

He shrugged, “There’s no way to know from here. We’ll need to go to the village.” Sakura blinked at him. Sasuke, in the village ? Willingly ? He shrugged, “I said it before, a lot happened, things changed.”  

He started walking towards the village, a hike that would no doubt take them the day and Sakura asked, “Do you want to tell me what changed?” He froze, mid step, but Sakura pressed, “I need to know before we go to the village. Whatever we find there, whoever we find…”  

“What do you mean?”   

“Danzo,” she said simply, watching his back tense. “If you see someone like him, someone you hate, I need to know you won’t do anything.” She had to force her feet to stay in place, she wanted nothing more than to rush after him, but she had to know this first.   

“Trust me, Sakura, I’m not like the dobe. I won’t interfere here. It’s not our time.”   

Sakura shook her head, dropping her eyes to the grass, “That’s not enough, Sasuke. I wish it were that easy but…” she watched him turn around, but she kept her eyes firmly on his shoes, determined to avoid his gaze. “’Trust me’ doesn’t cut it anymore. Not from you.”   

She was stronger than this, she should be able to look him in the eye and tell him exactly what she thought of him—but the mere idea of it, of looking at him and being vulnerable once again, it made her skin crawl. She’d done it before, again and again and every time he just drove the knife in deeper.   

He sighed heavily, walking closer to her, “Then what can I say?”  

She dared to glance up at him then, her green eyes locking on his and she wished she’d kept her gaze to the ground. It was so much easier to talk to him when he wasn’t looking at her. Still, she forced her voice out as strong as she could muster, “Swear it, on your clan.”  

His eyes widened just barely, but it was enough that she knew her point had come across. She was serious about this. He nodded, “I swear.”   

She dipped her chin in a nod and then set off, unable to keep the eye contact any longer. She heard him following behind her and together they raced towards the Leaf Village unsure of who they would find there. As they travelled, they came up with their plan, henges would be used so that no one would recognize them or remember them.  

And their first order of business was to find out just when, exactly it was. But they weren’t to ask because that was too suspicious. And then track down Madara, get themselves back to their time without interfering with anything or anyone else.  

As the summer sun crept overhead, Sakura dropped her vest and pushed up her sleeves as the heat took over, only slight envious of Sasuke’s loose fitting top. Running full speed as they were, they cut a few hours off their travel, but by the time they neared the village, both were exhausted.   

Just beyond the walls of the village, they stopped. They needed a little more energy to keep up the henges, and though neither would admit it, travelling through time put a serious strain on their muscles. It felt like they’d been ripped apart and thrown back together.   

Sakura healed what she could with her medical ninjutsu, but her muscles still felt tense when she stood. The sun had begun its slow decent, letting the warm air cool slightly and finally gave her relief from its suffocating heat. She glanced over at Sasuke, “Ready?”  

He nodded, and instantly the two were transformed. Sasuke was no longer his dark haired Uchiha self, replaced instead by a taller man with short brown hair, light blue eyes and wearing a loosely tied robe. Sakura transformed herself into a woman of around the same age, her light brown hair and dark eyes nothing like her usual self. The dress she wore was simple, beige and tied with a blue sash, nothing that would stand out.   

They started towards the gate of the village, and Sakura knew one thing for certain. It was before Pain’s attack. When she shared this with Sasuke, he asked how she knew. “The walls are the old ones. Nothing like the ones we rebuilt.”   

A leaf shinobi stood in front of the gates, his arms crossed, and no matter how hard Sakura stared at him, she couldn’t recognize him. He asked for their names and Sasuke answered, “Chen and Hana Abiko. Travellers from outside the Leaf.”     

They were let into the village not long after. As they walked through the front arch, Sakura found herself taking in the familiar sight of a lively Konoha. While the reconstruction was impressive and felt enough like home, this version of Konoha was still the most familiar.   

That was where the familiarity ended though, the further they walked into the village, the less people she recognized. She was glad to see Ichiraku’s Ramen shop already up and running, so she knew they couldn’t have been sent that far back. Sakura rounded the corner of one building, an old apartment complex and her eyes landed on the great stone faces.   

Except there were only four.   

Sasuke stopped beside her, “Well that narrows it down.” She figured he was pointing at the faces, but when she followed his hand, it landed on the man in the Hokage cloak. The blonde hair was unmistakeable, even though she’d only just met him.   

“Naruto’s dad,” she mumbled. “That means,” her hand slammed on his forearm with her realization. “We’re not even alive yet, maybe you are but—” she was cut off by a familiar voice, except it was slightly higher in pitch than she was used to. She turned around, her eyes catching the familiar silver hair, although this time, he wore an Anbu uniform and was much younger than the sensei she knew.   

Kakashi walked next to the Hokage, he couldn’t have been more than sixteen years old. Sasuke gently pulled her between two nearby buildings, firmly planting them out of sight. “That was Kakashi sensei, but he’s a kid …” her stomach rolled. She wasn’t even alive yet. Her sensei was her age . Her teammate was yet to be born . Somewhere, a baby Sasuke could be crawling around. The Uchiha clan was still alive . Each realization led to another.  

Sasuke, ever level headed and focused on the mission snapped her from her spiralling thoughts, “Why would Madara come back here? Why now?”   

Sakura leaned against the nearest building for support, having to fight through her panic. She schooled her expression and forced her thoughts to slow down; she needed to be rational. Her medical nin training kicked in and she forced herself to evaluate the situation as detachedly as possible.   

“Okay, right now , in this time; what is Madara doing?”  

Sasuke shrugged, “In hiding. Probably helping my brother come up with a plan to kill the Uchihas.” His voice didn’t sound angry like she’d thought it would. Whenever Itachi was brought up in the past, it seemed to bring out the worst in Sasuke. But now, he just sounded sad.   

Deciding to tuck that into the problems-we’ll-deal-with-later section of her brain, she focused on the first part. “If he’s in hiding, his first appearance was at the nine-tails attack right? And when that happened,” her eyes glanced onto the street, watching the yellow haired man laugh, tossing his arm around Kakashi. Her mouth was suddenly dry as she realized she was looking at a man who had no idea what was about to happen to his family, “He died. That was the night Naruto was born, wasn’t it?”  

Sasuke nodded, connecting the dots with her, “Madara said he wanted to take things back, end them before they started.”  

“He’s going to try to kill Naruto,” her voice came out tight, and she swallowed the lump that had clawed its way up her throat. She shook her head adamantly, “We can’t let that happen.”  

“Agreed, but how do we do that without changing anything else?” his now blue-eyed gaze was softer than his usual, but she still preferred his dark Uchiha eyes. Even the Sharingan, as powerful and terrifying it was at times, it was beautiful.   

“Your eyes,” she mumbled, the answer obvious as she stared into them. “You can control the nine-tails, right? Do you think you can beat Madara to it?”   

Sasuke looked away, leaning against the opposite wall, “I can try, but then what? If the nine-tails doesn’t attack… that changes everything . And I doubt I could control it enough to make it attack the same way again.”   

And he didn’t want to. He didn’t want to have anything to do with the damn beast, the source of the problem that started it all. It was because of the attack that the distrust grew against the Uchiha, and it was because of that that Itachi had to make the greatest sacrifice in the history of the Leaf.  

Sakura shook her head, “No matter what we do, it’s going to change things. Think about it, the Madara that’s coming to attack, he’s not going to be the Madara that attacked before—that was Obito anyways, just pretending to be Madara.” At Sasuke’s exasperated look she cleared her throat, “Either way, the one who’s going to come attack is going to be the one we just fought. That means there are two Madaras now, even if one is Obito—”  

“I doubt it. Madara’s probably already stopped the other one. He wouldn’t risk that.”  

“Do we even know what counts as a risk?” she asked, tossing her hands, “We’re talking about time travel, Sasuke, us just being here could have massive effects. But if we don’t stop Madara now, the world we’re going back to is going to be a whole lot different.”   

“So we need to kill the Madara from our time, but just let everything else happen,” he agreed, but his voice sounded shaky. Sakura immediately knew why.   

“Your family,” she mumbled. The Uchiha clan was still alive, people Sasuke hadn’t seen since he was five years old. If they walked just a little further down the street, they’d reach the Uchiha Clan’s land. “Sasuke, I don’t think—"  

He shook his head, “It doesn’t matter. It worked the way it did for a reason, it got us here.” Now he just hoped they could find a way to get back before he had to watch it happen… again . He added, “We can only kill Madara once he’s shown us how to get back to our time. If we stop him here and go back before we talk to anyone or see anyone, then we should be fine.”  

Sakura was about to reply, agree and help him come up with a plan, but there was suddenly a dagger flying between them and then there was a blur of colour. Yellow, silver, a flash of red. And then the surprisingly tall-for-a-sixteen-year-old Kakashi had her hands pinned, and the Hokage himself had done the same to Sasuke.  

“I’m normally not too worried when people whisper behind my back,” he smiled easily. “But when they start talking about killing someone, I get concerned. Why don’t you two come with me?” Once he was sure that Sasuke wouldn’t struggle, he reached a hand over to Kakashi and Sakura, making sure he had a grip on both.   

They were gone in a flash.   

Chapter Text

Sakura had stood in front of the Hokage’s desk more often than most had. Having Tsunade as her master, she spent many hours in there receiving lessons and missions. But never had she been so on edge.  

If they slipped up, said even the slightest thing wrong, the effects would be detrimental. The Hokage stared them both down, with his bright blue eyes looking so much like his son’s that it made her want to cry, knowing he’d have to wait another sixteen years before he could meet him.  

Sasuke stood next to her, obviously uncomfortable under the man’s gaze and undoubtedly trying to keep up the ruse of their henge. They were travelers with no special abilities, they weren’t even shinobi—that meant no Sharingan or jutsu of any kind.  

Kakashi stood next to the Hokage, looking somewhat bored, but her heart dropped as she realized his Sharingan was out and slowly analyzing both of them. He’d be able to see it. He turned to Lord Fourth, “They’re using Henges.” 

Minato looked unimpressed, “Alright, off with them. Who are you really and what are you doing here?” Neither she nor Sasuke moved. When the silence stretched on, he asked another question, “Okay, how about we start simpler; what are your fake names?” 

Sasuke cleared his throat, “Chen and Hana.” 

Minato nodded, “Alright, Chen, Hana, what are you two doing in the Leaf?” he leaned against the desk perfectly casual, and she was struck with the familiarity of his mannerisms. Her sensei had the same ones. Minato Namikaze had clearly left his mark on the world. 

“Just travelling villages, Lord Fourth,” she spoke slowly, carefully choosing each word.  

“Travellers committed to changing their appearance and giving fake names?” he glanced between the two of them, “This will be a lot easier if you two just cooperate. If you’re just travelling, then you have nothing to hide.” His eyes slid towards the clock, widening slightly as he saw the hour. 

Sakura glanced at Sasuke and sighed, gently lifting her fingers, “Release.” The henge died away, revealing Sakura in her pink-haired, dirt streaked, exhausted, Byakugou glory. She watched Sasuke lift his hands to do the same, but she caught his wrist. Only one of them needed to reveal their identity, and his was far more dangerous considering he was alive and from a well-known family. 

“My name is Sakura.” 

Minato smiled at her, “Sakura, that’s a nice name. Much better than Hana.” He turned his attention to her, but she noticed Kakashi’s Sharingan was still locked on Sasuke. “What are you two doing in the village?” 

“We’re just passing through, that much is true,” she promised. “We don’t want any trouble.” 

“Except we found you two planning to kill somebody. You can see how as Hokage, I might count that as trouble.” His eyes flickered to the clock on the wall again. “Who sent you?” 

“No one sent us, and we’re not here to cause any harm,” she glanced back at Sasuke, deciding a little bit of truth couldn’t hurt. “I’m a student of Tsunade’s,” she pointed to her Byakugou as proof, noting the way his eyes widened as he noticed it. Being a student of Jiraiya, he knew the stories of the Legendary Sannin better than most. “I just wanted to see the village where my Master grew up.” 

“Tsunade doesn’t take on students, she hasn’t for years.”  

“I’m a very stubborn exception,” Sakura replied easily. 

He watched the two of them for any waver in their appearances or resolve, but they stood steadfast. Their chakra control was impressive, and the Byakugou proved that what she said was true, but he and Kakashi had both heard their conversation. “Then who’s murder were you discussing?” When neither budged he sighed, “I don’t want to have to send you to interrogations to get a straight answer.” 

“It’s not business that will affect the Leaf. We’re just passing through for the day, taking a rest stop and then we’re off. You won’t hear from us or see us again,” Sasuke told him. 

“So this is some undercover mission from another village?” Minato asked, not liking the idea of the other Kage sending assassins through his village. 

“If that will convince you we mean no harm, yes,” Sakura agreed.  

“If you have nothing to hide, then you’ll let me send for one of my sensory ninja to check your memories, and don’t worry, just of the conversation you were having today. I just want to know who you were talking about.” He shuffled his feet a little, looking as on edge as she felt. But why?  

“Madara Uchiha,” she told him. Sasuke’s eyes widened beside her, and since looks could actually kill when it came to Sasuke, she elected to ignore him. She was more focused on the Hokage who was now drumming his fingers on the desk behind him impatiently, his eyes flitting to the clock again. What could he possibly be waiting for?   

Then it hit her. Dread swirled in her stomach as she whispered, “It’s happening tonight, isn’t it?” 

Both Kakashi and Minato froze. It was just a split second, but it was enough. Minato spoke firmly, “Madara Uchiha died long ago. You’ll need a better lie—” 

“You’re going to name him Naruto, right? After Jiraiya’s book?” The office was silent. Sasuke was giving her a glare that would normally have her cowering, and Kakashi was struggling to keep his expression neutral despite his Sharingan eye widening, but Minato’s expression turned to steel.  

He was in front of her in an instant, his friendly tone drained from his voice, “How do you know that?” She thought Sasuke had won in the glaring contest, but seeing those eyes, Naruto’s always kind eyes glaring at her like that, she demoted him to second place. This was much worse. 

She swallowed thickly, “I don’t have time to explain it right now, but someone is going to try to hurt your son tonight, and your wife.”  

Realizing the man in front of her would be dead in a few hours, she threw caution to the wind. “It’s Madara Uchiha, and he’s going to try and kill him. He wants to control the nine-tails, he doesn’t want to give it another jinchuriki.” Minato reached for his kunai, pressing the end of it to her throat, but she kept her calm, “If we wanted to do something to harm him, we could have. I promise, I can explain everything after.” Her eyes drifted to the window where the sky had turned purple, “But we can help protect your son, and we’re running out of time to do it.”  

Minato’s eyes moved from her to Sasuke, and then to Kakashi. He pointed his blade at Sasuke, “Tell me who you are first.”  

Having thrown them off the deep end, there was no reason for Sasuke to keep up the ruse either. As his Henge vanished he explained, “I’m an Uchiha, that’s all I can tell you.” He existed here, his name would be one that Minato had likely heard coming from the head family. 

Sakura spoke gently, “Lord Fourth, please.”  

Minato cursed before he turned to Kakashi, “Stay here. Don’t speak a word of this until I get back.” He reached for Sakura’s hand and grabbed Sasuke’s arm, waiting for Kakashi to nod. When his student did, he used his transportation jutsu and pulled the two ninja with him.  

Screams echoed off the walls as they landed in the cave. Sakura had heard them enough to know exactly what kind of screams they were having worked in the hospital for a few years, and she rushed towards Kushina’s side, her hands glowing with chakra.  

Minato grabbed her arm, stopping her instantly. She glanced back at him, ready to explain that she was a medical ninja, but then a baby’s cries were heard—a sound that was only angelic in the first few minutes of life. Sakura froze, her gaze drifting to the bundle of cloths that was now being carried past them, her head not being able to sort out that that was in fact, her best friend.  

Time travel was weird.  

“I’m a father,” Minato whispered, pulling Sakura to the present and watching his son with so much love in his eyes, Sakura had to look away. His time with him was so short. The nurses gave Kushina a few moments with Naruto before they moved him away again to weigh him and make sure he was healthy.  

Sakura was watching the loving couple, the way he held her hand and promised everything was going to be fine, and how he raised his hand to close the seal, but then Sasuke shouted, “Sakura! Now!” 

She turned just in time to watch Sasuke’s sword slash right through the cloaked intruder—Obito. She and Minato both turned to face him, but then there was another coming into the cave, wild hair and crazed smile.  

Madara.  

Sakura could do nothing but watch as Naruto was pulled into Obito’s arms, the nurse dropping dead with a silent scream etched on her face. He spoke in the tone that was eerily familiar, “I was going to make this a far more interesting night for all of us, but plans have changed.” 

Madara laughed, coming to stand next to Obito and glaring at the baby, “He’s not so tough now, is he? I won’t lie, he proved quite a challenge, you both did,” he glanced at Sasuke. “But I couldn’t have you two interfering with my plans.” His smile was sickening as he poured salt on the open wound, “Isn’t that right, Obito ?”  

Minato swayed slightly next to her, “Obito?” 

Sakura glanced at Sasuke, and his grim expression said the same thing she was thinking. Madara was messing up too much for them to fix. Sakura turned to Obito, “This isn’t what you want. This isn’t what Rin would have wanted!”  

Obito flinched, his red eye flashing behind his mask, “How do you know about her?” 

“We mourned for you, you’re a hero to this village. You saved your teammates. Obito, you wanted to become Hokage, that was your dream,” Minato reasoned, his intentions no doubt to save his son, but the phrase was so achingly Naruto it made Sakura want to cry. He was so much like his father, and he never even got the chance to know him.  

But he could . 

It was a small voice in the back of her mind that said it, that pointed out the obvious. This was the night they died, this was the night that Naruto’s childhood was set to be lonely and cold, and where he’d never know who his parents were.  

She could save him, her and Sasuke could save all of them.  

She turned to Sasuke suddenly, surprised by her own resolve. She called out, not caring who heard, “We can stop this.” 

Sasuke glared at her as though it was obvious. To him, it was. They could stop Madara and return, and he could fight Naruto for the role of Hokage. But Sakura shook her head, “ All of this.” 

Sasuke’s eyes widened slightly, “That means no going back.” 

“I know.” She glanced around the tense room, everyone eagerly watching the interaction, especially Madara, “But it’s a small sacrifice to save everyone .” And she meant it. If they did this, if they changed the timeline, they would save everybody . 

Madara tsked at them, “A shame. You two could have made this an interesting battle, especially when we got back. But,” he shrugged and lifted his kunai, pointed directly at Naruto.  

Kushina screamed. Sakura saw red. Minato vanished.  

Sakura didn’t know quite what happened next. But there were shouts, and then Naruto was gone, Kushina’s seal was ripped open by Obito, and Sasuke was in hand to hand combat with Madara.  

Sakura watched Obito open the seal, dragging out the nine-tails chakra and she threw herself forward, her fist glowing. She passed through him easily, but she was ready for that. He had to solidify in order to knock her back, so she spun tightly, the back of her hand smashing into his orange mask and shattering it.  

He crashed into the wall of the cave, the chakra retreating back into the blackened seal and Kushina cried out in pain. In a flash of yellow, Minato landed back in the cave. Sakura shouted at him, “Reseal the nine-tails, then get her out of here!” Normally, he’d question any teenager shouting instructions at him during battle, but the girl and the boy had proven themselves useful and trustworthy so far. 

And Kushina needed him.  

He dove towards her, keeping his eyes on her seal, barely registering the familiar face that was now unmasked. He’d have to deal with that later. 

Obito glared at the pink-haired teenager, “What do you think you’re doing? I’ve been planning this for months—” 

They were cut off by the unmistakeable sound of a blade sliding through flesh and then the coughing of blood. Sakura whipped around, horrified to see Sasuke’s own sword lodged in his stomach, a grinning Madara holding the other end victoriously. He dropped both Sasuke and the blade, turning his attention to Minato, Kushina and Sakura.  

“Now, I believe the nine-tails was going to make an appearance?” Minato lifted Kushina protectively, vanishing in an instant. Madara frowned, “You’re just prolonging the inevitable. I’m going to kill that boy.” 

Sakura’s hands curled into fists, her limbs trembling; she couldn’t tell if it was fear or adrenaline though. She knew Hashirama was the god of shinobi, so what did that make Madara?   

Whatever he was, she knew she was outmatched.  

She knew there was no way for her to beat him, even with her hundred healings seal she wouldn’t last long. But she wasn't alone against Madara; she rushed past him towards Sasuke, the only one who had any chance of defeating him.  

She pressed her hand above the blade in his stomach and apologized as she pulled it out, more red spilling down the front of his shirt as the sickening scent of copper filled the air. She was relieved to find that the attack had managed to avoid anything too vital, and her green chakra entered through the wound, sealing up what it could. She’d need to do a full healing on him later, but they didn’t have time for it right now.  

 She glanced behind her, hating that Madara was just watching them both, arms crossed and his smile amused; he didn’t think Sasuke was a threat, not alone without Naruto.  

Sasuke seemed to think the same. He winced, “I don’t know if I can take him alone.” His eyes slammed shut as the pain reached a new level and she bit her lip to hold in her cries. For Sasuke to admit to a weakness, and to admit to it so easily—maybe they were outmatched. 

She shook her head firmly, forcing those thoughts away, “No. You can do this.” Sakura had a faith in Sasuke, one that hadn’t vanished no matter how many times he tried to kill her. She believed he could do it, if not by skill than by spite alone he’d find a way.  

The wound sealed itself and Sasuke sat up, gritting his teeth as he moved to one knee. There was no way for her to help in the physical fight between two Uchihas—but she could aid Sasuke. “I’m giving you all the chakra I’ve got. I can’t stop him, but you can.”  

“Sakura, I don—” 

She crouched at his side, lifting her hand to the side of his face and forcing him to look at her. She would have never made a move so bold in the war, but she needed him to know, “ You can stop him for good. You can , Sasuke. And if we do this, we can save everybody we’ve lost. All the people you’ve lost.” 

“Even if I can, we don’t get to go back,” he argued. If they did this, if they stopped him before they found out how to go back, she had to know what she was risking. “You’re going to give up everything and everyone.”  

She nodded, “I know that.”  

“You’re going to lose Naruto, your parents, all of your friends.” He didn’t have much to lose, the people who’d meant the most to him were gone, he was planning to get rid of them himself if they didn’t, but Sakura did. He watched her blink back tears, her eyes closing for a long moment. 

“I know.” When she opened her eyes, they were set with steely determination, “But I’ve got you , and we have a chance to fix everything.”  

Sakura moved behind him, planting her hands firmly on his shoulders. “I’m giving you everything I have, the rest is up to you.” Activating her seal, the black lines raced across her skin as she poured her chakra into him. Sasuke felt the waves of chakra rolling through him, her words echoing around with them, 

It’s up to you . 

He could change things. All he had to do was try. The warm, bright chakra mixed with his dark one, the two swirling together until it was indiscernible of where one chakra began and the other ended. When he opened his eyes, he wrapped them in his Susanoo. The ribs formed first, then the rest of the skeleton. Soon the muscles were stretching across its massive chest until it hardened into armour, his quiver of arrows across his back.  

He finally understood what Karin had meant about chakra, each one having a certain feel to it. Sakura’s was like pure energy, it brimmed with life, and even though her eyes were welled with tears, there was a fierceness in the chakra, her drive to do the right thing.  

He remained crouched on one knee, Sakura planted firmly above him and he curled his hands into fists. They could save everyone. They could save Itachi, the Uchihas, they could stop all of the problems in the Leaf before they started.  

He just had to stop Madara.  

A voice sounded from their right, “Whatever you need, I’m with you.” Minato had safely placed Kushina and Naruto together, but when he returned to the cave, he hadn’t expected the picture he found. He glanced at the roaring purple Susanoo, the technique one he’d only ever heard about in whispers, “I’m the Hokage, it’s my job to protect this village, to protect my family.” 

The speech was so reminiscent of Naruto, it made Sasuke freeze. Without even knowing his dad, he’d taken on his personality almost perfectly. He was pulled from his thoughts as Sakura squeezed his shoulder.  

As her now black-laced hands poured chakra into him, the power flared behind his eyes—Itachi’s eyes—and Minato held a wildly spinning rasengan . 

That jutsu, in the hand of a blonde, spiky haired ninja was all too familiar. 

The people who’d believed in him most, the ones who never lost faith in him despite every attempt he’d made—Sakura, Itachi, Naruto—they were with him now. They stood at his side, ready to fight Madara Uchiha, the one-man army who had taken on the God of Shinobi.  

And Sasuke felt a long-forgotten feeling spread through his chest. Whether it was the influence of Sakura’s chakra or the realization he had, he couldn’t tell. But he knew. 

Even as Madara’s Susanoo formed, and Obito stood facing his old sensei, Sasuke knew . They’d win this, no matter what. 

Chapter Text

It had been a very long night, for all parties involved. From labour, battling one of the strongest shinobi in history, the emotional struggle of finding out your dead student isn’t dead, to the second battle for a pair of teens; to say everyone was exhausted would be an understatement.  

The group that gathered in the Hokage office was quite a sight. The Hokage was there (looking far more ragged than usual) along with his wife, and in her arms was their son, sleeping soundly and only a few hours old. Next to them, Kakashi, the silver-haired Anbu stood protectively by his Sensei.  

That was where the normal part of the group came to an end.  

The two, dirt streaked, drained teenagers that no one had ever met before stood side by side. The pink haired girl looked ready to drop as she leaned on the Uchiha. His eyes were bleeding, a sight that would have been less concerning if he hadn’t brushed it off as ‘normal’.  

Then there was the unconscious form of Obito, Minato’s student who was presumed dead, the third Hokage who’d been updated on the situation at hand, Inoichi Yamanaka from the intelligence division, and 

Fucking Danzo.  

If Sasuke wasn’t currently holding Sakura up or trying very hard to keep his promise, there would be a dead man in the office too. But Sakura was weak on her feet, having poured every ounce of her chakra into him, and even at that level of exhaustion when Danzo walked in, she’d reminded him, “You swore.”  

So he just glared at the significantly younger version of the man he’d killed.  

While the group argued over one another endlessly it seemed, Minato called their attention, “I understand that this is a lot to process, but we need to come up with a plan of action.” He turned to the two teens, “Everyone here has sworn to protect your secrets, at all costs. But we need to know who you are and how you knew about tonight.”  

Danzo looked towards him and it took every ounce of willpower Sasuke had to not trap him in a genjutsu. Instead, he asked, “Can’t this wait?” He adjusted his grip on Sakura, feeling her head drop against his chest. She was fighting a losing battle against sleep, one that arguably should have been lost a while ago. That fact that she was still awake just further impressed him.  

Hiruzen Sarutobi shook his head, “I wish it could, but there is too much unrest. Our people are going to want to know what happened tonight, two Susanoos battling it out across the village isn’t exactly common.” Come to think of it, Sasuke didn’t like him much either.  

Danzo spoke then, his voice making Sasuke tighten his grip on Sakura’s arm, “Perhaps Fugaku should be alerted as well. The growing distrust of the Uchiha will only increase after a battle like this.”  

Minato replied, “I’ll talk to Fugaku.” He turned back to the two teens, “You saved my family’s lives tonight, I won’t forget that. You can trust us with whatever secret you’re hiding.”  

As much as Sasuke wanted to believe him, he knew he couldn’t. He kept his gaze locked with the current Hokage’s, “I’ll talk to you and Inoichi. Everyone else needs to go.”  

Everyone looked ready to argue about it, but Minato nodded, “Done.” He turned to his wife, kissing the top of her head before he did the same to Naruto. He gestured out of the room, ignoring the complaints from Danzo, Hiruzen and Kakashi.   

When the door was closed behind them Sasuke moved Sakura towards the chair Kushina had just vacated. He lowered her gently, ignoring the part of him that twinged at the sudden cold. She squeezed his arm with a tired smile, “Thank you.”  

Minato cleared his throat, “Can you tell me your name?”  

Sasuke stepped away from Sakura, “Sasuke Uchiha.” The recognition flickered across Minato’s face and Sasuke nodded, “Yes. That Sasuke. Which is why I wanted him here,” he gestured to Inoichi, “if you don’t believe me, he can prove it.”  

Minato stared dumbfounded at the teenager. He wouldn’t deny the family resemblance of the Uchiha, or the sharingan, but he was claiming to be the son born only a few weeks ago? Sasuke continued, “We didn’t think it was possible either, but Madara created a time-travelling jutsu and we got pulled in. His plan was to stop Naruto here so that in our time he could win.”  

“What did Naruto have to do with it?” for a man who was exhausted after having just survived a battle with one of the most feared Shinobi in history, he sounded strong, ready to protect his son from any new threats.  

Sasuke winced, “That’s a long story.”  

Minato nodded, “Right.” He glanced up at Inoichi, then back to Sasuke, “You don’t mind if he searches your memories?”  

Sasuke had the decency to look away, “Sakura’s would be better to prove it.” Sasuke’s memories were all tainted by some of the darkest secrets of the Leaf. If they got out, there’d be no point in Sakura and Sasuke’s choice to stay in this time.  

Minato turned to Sakura who looked more alert now that she was off her feet, “Sakura, are you okay with that?” 

She glanced up at Sasuke and nodded, “Yeah.” She turned to Inoichi trying to ignore the lump that built in her throat. This was a man she’d grown up visiting and seeing every time she hung out with Ino, a man who’d just given up his life in the war. “You might not like everything you see,” she warned him.  

He lifted his hands in the familiar shape she’d seen Ino use a hundred times. She didn’t feel anything as he scoured her memories, but the silence was unnerving. Was she allowed to talk while he was in her head?  

Several more minutes of silence passed, and finally Inoichi stepped back. When his eyes opened, a single tear rolled across his cheek, but his eyes were glistening, “Ino, what’s she like?” He spoke of her so warmly, Sakura only hoped he’d seen all of their best memories. 

Sakura felt her own eyes well with tears as she thought of her strongly opinionated, incredibly annoying best friend. “She’s strong and brave, just like you.” She didn’t know if he’d seen his own death, or if he’d watched their chunin fight, or any of what he saw, but he looked proud of whatever he’d seen. As he should be . 

Inoichi smiled at her and turned to Minato, “It sounds crazy, yes, but their memories are from a different time. They’re classmates of our own children.”  

“Really?” Minato eagerly looked to the two of them, “What’s Naruto like?”  

Sasuke laughed, the sound shocking Sakura so much she had to look away from Inoichi. He was smiling, and not one of his scary I’m-gonna-kill-you smiles. A genuine one. “He’s a unique kid. One you’re going to get to raise.”  

Minato’s brow furrowed and Sasuke sighed, explaining what had happened in the past of that night. The night they’d just changed forever. Minato sat down at his desk, his legs suddenly too shaky to hold him up. “So you two, saved me. And Kushina.”  

Sakura nodded, “Yes. Obviously, no one else can know. We’ll have to change our names to avoid any suspicion of who we are but—” 

“You’re staying?” he asked, his eyes widening.  

Sasuke and Sakura both looked away. She spoke quietly, “We didn’t cast the jutsu that sent us here. Madara did. Now that he’s gone,” her voice trailed off. They’d made their decision. They’d agreed to it, knew what they were risking, but it didn’t make it any easier.  There's no going back . The life she’d led, the name she’d built for herself, her friends, family—it was all over. 

Minato’s eyes darted between the two teenagers, “You two said something about fixing things. My family isn’t the only one you’re planning to save, is it?”  

Sasuke shook his head, speaking first this time, “No. There are a lot of things we need to fix.” He glanced up at Sakura, a silent agreement occurring between them. “We just need to know that you’ll trust us and keep this a secret.”  

“You have my trust,” he confirmed. Minato drummed his fingers along his desk, “If you two were older, it’d be easier. Set you up in an apartment as Chen and Hana,” something close to a smile ghosted across his face. “But you’re just two kids, teenagers I know, and I’m sure you’re both chunin, right?”  

Sakura laughed as Sasuke’s cheeks tinged pink, “Nope, only me.” She shook her head, “But that shouldn’t be too much of a problem. Orphans aren’t really surprising in the shinobi world.”  

Minato nodded, “Unfortunately, true.” His son almost was one himself . He dragged his hand down his face, trying not to wince as the early morning sunrise began to creep into the office, “I’m sure we can set you two up with somewhere to live until we figure this all out. As long as you don’t mind sharing the house with us for the night.”  

Considering Sasuke and Sakura had no other options, they weren’t in any position to disagree. Nor did they want to, exhausted as they both were. Once that conversation was over and both teens looked ready to drop dead from their infinitely long day, they were ushered out of the office and into the hall where Kakashi, Kushina and Naruto waited.  

Danzo and Hiruzen hurried back into the office. Kushina smiled tiredly at them, “If you two are staying with us for tonight, we can head out now. Unfortunately, I feel like Minato might be busy for a while.” She gestured for them to follow with a nod of her head, her arms tenderly cradling Naruto.  

Sakura followed, looping her arm through Sasuke’s to keep herself awake. Sasuke raised an eyebrow at her, but she was too tired to give him the satisfaction of looking meek. They walked down the hallway with Kushina, and Sakura noticed Kakashi following them too. 

 “Kakashi’s coming too?” she mumbled without thought.  

Kushina seemed to be too tired to notice the slip because she just nodded, “Yeah, Minato assigned him as my personal bodyguard.” She rolled her eyes towards the teenaged-version of Sakura’s sensei. “Don’t worry, he’ll go home once we’re back.”  

Kakashi seemed to have caught the slip, damn her sensei and his constant alertness , but he didn’t comment on it. He just gave her and Sasuke a long look and then shifted his gaze back to the silent street they walked on.  

Sakura was thankful for the refreshing air, not yet turned scalding from the sun. She felt herself slowly sinking more and more into Sasuke as they walked until he pulled them to a stop, “You could just ask me to carry you.”  

Right to the point, classic Sasuke. She pulled her arm from his grip, assuring that no, she did not need him to carry her, but he just swept her off the ground instead, muttering about her being stubborn. She tried desperately to ignore how hot her cheeks grew at the sudden closeness, but she couldn’t deny how much of her just wanted to sleep and how comfy Sasuke’s arms were.  

Sasuke surprisingly didn’t seem to mind at all.  

The apartment they walked into was not the one that Naruto had grown up in. This one was far larger and comfier, and with the pictures on the walls and books strewn across tables it was much more of a home too. Sasuke gently lowered her to the floor, keeping his arm around her even once she was on her own two feet.  

She elected to not read into that.  

Kushina gestured down the different hallways, “We’ve only got the one guest bedroom, but one of you can probably take the couch for the night.” She scowled at the sun that broke through the curtains, “Or what’s left of it.” She shoved them closed, and smiled weakly at the two, “There’s a bathroom just down there, and then my room. If you need anything, please, just knock.”  

She started down the hall, her gaze looking lovingly towards her son and she stopped to whisper, “I’m not sure exactly what happened in that cave tonight… but thank you.”  

She turned away before either could reply, the weight of her words settling in their chests. They’d saved them… if they hadn’t interfered—they’d all be dead. Not just in this time, but their time too, without Naruto they’d have lost too many battles.  

And they could do even more. Sakura glanced up at Sasuke, “We’ll work with Lord Fourth some more tomorrow, figure out what’s happening with the Uchihas, okay?”  

He nodded, “Thank you, Sakura.”  

She shrugged, “I should be thanking you. Without you, Madara—” 

“I couldn’t have done that without your extra chakra,” he cut her off. The words knocked the breath out of Sakura’s lungs . Sasuke was thanking her ? In all the years she’d known him, she’d never heard him utter those words; at least that’s what she told herself. The long-buried memory surfaced, fresh and painful as ever. 

She had—once.  

And it was a time she didn’t like to remember. That had been her first true taste of heartbreak, and unfortunately, only more instances were held in its wake. But now, he didn’t seem to be leaving. He wasn’t going to put her under a genjutsu or abandon her. Not this time. So she smiled at him and nodded, slowly pulling herself from his grip.  

She whispered, “Guess we make a good team.”  

It was Sasuke’s turn to look away, and she was thankful. It gave her the chance to step away from him and test her balance. She was a little shaky, but she’d manage. As exhausted as she was, she refused to sleep covered in dirt, blood and sweat so she excused herself to go rinse off in their bathroom.  

The warm water was soothing against her aching muscles and as she finger combed her way through her tangled hair, she was relieved at the clean feeling. Not wanting to completely forgo the cleanliness with her ruined clothes, stained with Sasuke’s blood and caked in dirt, she graciously borrowed the pink robe that hung on the back of the door. Tying it tightly around her waist, she walked back towards the living room where Sasuke stood, staring at the pictures that covered the walls.  

“Sasuke,” she called. “The bathroom is free if you want to wash up.”  

He turned towards her, his eyes widening the slightest bit at the change in her outfit. He nodded wordlessly and started towards her, following her down the hallway. They stopped between the two rooms, the tiny hallway forcing them to stand close.  

“Goodnight, Sasuke,” she whispered, aware that Kushina and Naruto were just a room over.  

“Goodnight, Sakura.”  

He wanted to say more, tell her about the feeling he’d gotten from her chakra, the realization he’d come to, but he wasn’t very good with his words. And she’d already turned towards the bedroom, the door easing closed behind her. He'd have to work on it.

Chapter Text

They were all woken up by Naruto the next morning. Sakura had shot up in a panic, struggling to understand where she was and how she got there and why there was a baby screaming. They’d been in the middle of the war, but then… as reality caught up to her, she felt herself relax.   

She was at Minato and Kushina’s house, the baby screaming was Naruto, and she’d gotten there… by time travelling. That truly had to top her list of weirdest mornings.  

The sunlight was streaming through the window, and the angle told her it was closer to afternoon than she’d like to normally wake up; given the night before however, she gave herself a little slack. She crawled out of bed and dragged herself towards the mirror only to be surprised by her reflection.   

She’d expected worse. The dark circles under her eyes weren’t too bad, and compared to how exhausted she’d looked just a few hours ago, she was significantly more youthful in her appearance. She looked like an actual sixteen year old, and tied up in the pink robe, she definitely didn’t look like she’d been fighting a war and just survived a dangerous battle with one of the strongest shinobi in history.   

She wrangled her hair into a ponytail as she listened to Naruto’s cries calm slowly, undoubtedly by Kushina and Minato, making her heart swell. Parents . Naruto had parents, people to look after him, to take care of him and protect him; he finally had that.  

And even though part of her heart was breaking, knowing she’d never get to tell her Naruto about it, or see any of their friends to tell them what they accomplished, she knew this Naruto was going to be just fine. And she could live with that.   

There was a knock on her door and she called to let them in. Kushina’s wild red hair peered over her shoulder in the mirror and smiled at her, “So you’re the one who took my robe.”  

Sakura managed a meek smile, “Well it definitely wasn’t Sasuke.”   

Kushina laughed then, her smile beaming especially wide for someone who was just woken by a crying baby. She tossed her head, “C’mon, we’ve got some things to discuss. And Naruto’s awake, you can meet him!”   

She wanted to point out that she knew plenty about Naruto already, but she faltered as a cold reality set in. She didn’t know anything about Naruto anymore. He could grow up to become a completely different person than the one she knew—  

She cut the thought off before it became too tangled. This was the right thing to do . The look on Kushina’s face as she led her down the hall said it all.   

Minato sat on the couch with Naruto in his arms and a bed-headed Sasuke beside him. Sakura bit back a laugh as he looked up at her, the slightest hint of a smile on his face. There was something in his eyes, something she hadn’t seen in Sasuke for as long as she’d known him.   

Hope .   

The slightest flicker of it, barely a hint of a spark, but she was determined to bring all the kindling she could until it was a roaring flame. Minato looked up at her, “Do you want to hold him?”   

Sakura had been helping deliver babies since she was a genin volunteering at the hospital, but she never passed up an opportunity to hold newborns. They were so full of life and wrapped so completely in love, it was everything that was good in the world captured in a moment. She nodded eagerly, kneeling on the floor beside the couch before Naruto was passed into her arms.   

She stared down at him, his bleary blue eyes, his head of spiky blonde hair and she found her brain struggling to comprehend what it was seeing. She mumbled out, “This is so weird.” She glanced at Sasuke, “ This is Naruto. ”   

He raised his eyebrow at her, his sarcasm as dry as ever, “Good job.”   

She rolled her eyes at him, “You know what I mean.” She brushed her fingers through his blonde hair; he was a cute baby, she’d give him that. She looked up at Sasuke, “You hold him yet?”   

He nodded silently, his eyes trained on Naruto as he did. She was suddenly sad that she’d missed seeing Sasuke holding little baby Naruto, sure the scene would have melted her heart. She turned back to Kushina, “You said we had some things to discuss?”  

Kushina sat in the chair just behind Sakura and she nodded, “Minato and I have been trying to figure out the best solution that involves as few people as possible. And we think we may have come up with one.”   

Minato cleared his throat, “To keep as much anonymity as possible, we think the best way to do that is by you two joining Anbu.” Sakura blinked a couple of times then turned to Sasuke to see him doing the same. Minato added, “You wouldn’t be traditional Anbu, you guys know what’s coming before we do, and I think we can all agree that us knowing too much about the future can seriously mess with things.”  

Both Sasuke and Sakura nodded.   

“So you’d wear the uniform and attend a mission every now and then, while you worked on your own projects to keep the peace,” Kushina added.  

“Obviously, we can’t just let you guys do whatever you want though, and too many visits to my office from the same Anbu might be suspicious, especially with hair as noticeable as yours Sakura. I don’t think I’ve met anyone with that colour.”   

She laughed drily, “Give it a couple months. There’ll be another me soon.”  Apparently Sakura had already gotten to a point where she could joke about it.

Minato smiled, “Right. Well, it would only be suspicious if you weren’t on my assigned squad. And, we thought the safest bet was to give you another go-to person, someone who is close enough to me to not raise suspicion but also close enough to your level that it won’t be weird.”  

Sasuke connected the dots before she did. “You’re talking about Kakashi.”  

Minato looked mildly surprised before he nodded, “Yeah, did you two know him before too?”  

Sakura and Sasuke shared a look and when both nodded, it seemed safe to tell the truth, “He was our sensei once we left the academy. The first genin team he ever passed.”   

Minato’s smile was heart-wrenchingly proud. “So he takes on the Sensei role after all, does he? My student mentoring my son.”   

Sakura corrected kindly, “He did in our time. Things are different now, so he might, but he might not. We don’t know exactly how what happened last night is going to play out.”  

“Right, of course.” His smile didn’t leave his face though, “But back to our point, if you two join Kakashi’s squad on Anbu, he can be the middle man between us. You don’t have to tell me everything you’re planning, I’d prefer if you didn’t, but just keep us in the loop, what do you think?”  

Sasuke’s voice was colder than she was expecting when he asked, “Would we be under Danzo’s command? He’s in charge of Root and has a heavy hand in Anbu, would he be in charge of us?”  

Minato shook his head, “No, Kakashi is under my direct order, if you’re on his squad, you’re with me.” He looked warily at Sasuke, “Is there something we should be worried about? With Danzo?”  

“Not if we can help it,” Sakura answered for him, sending a warning glare at Sasuke. She lifted Naruto, passing him back to his father, “Trust me. If there’s anything major, we’ll tell you.”   

“Does that mean you agree?” Kushina asked, moving to sit on the armrest next to Minato, her hand wrapping around his shoulders.   

She glanced at Sasuke, but his gaze was firmly locked on the ground, his chin resting against his interlocked fingers. She turned to the couple, “Would we fill Kakashi-sensei in on all of this?”  

Minato couldn’t help his laugh, “You can’t call him that, but yes. We would fill him in.”   

Sakura frowned, “That one’s going to take some getting used to.” She looked over at Sasuke and asked, “What about Obito? What’s gonna happen to him?” She had no idea what would come of him. He’d seemed to be switching sides when everything had happened, but that was years from now. What if this Obito was still just as angry?  

Minato’s gaze fell back to his soundly sleeping son and he leaned a little more into Kushina, “I don’t know. Lord Third is taking over for the next few days while we adjust here,” he lifted Naruto slightly. “And I’m apparently too involved in Obito’s case. It’ll be up to Lord Third and the advisors.”   

Sasuke’s hand twitched. Sakura made a mental note: advisors/Danzo= bad .   

Sasuke asked, “What about the Uchiha? Danzo said something about them yesterday.” She didn’t believe for a second that he’d forgotten what Danzo said, but she did appreciate his attempt at lowering suspicions towards the man.   

Minato sighed, “If we’re going to get into this, we should at least do it over breakfast. This is going to be a long discussion.”  

And it was. Sasuke seemed to know exactly what he was talking about the whole time, but Sakura was lost. She’d never heard any of this, anything about the ancient drama between the two clans, the distrust that was growing against the Uchiha.   

When she’d grown up, there’d been no Uchiha except for Sasuke, and everyone had loved him (her blonde teammate had been an exception). She sat at the table, her head in her hands, fingers digging into her temples as she tried to take it all in.  

Sasuke frowned, “What are they going to say about the attack yesterday? We tried to keep damage to a minimum but Madara was… formidable.” He didn’t need to explain it to Minato. He’d been there, witnessing the pure power of Madara Uchiha’s Mangekyou Sharingan.  

“I’m hoping to convince everyone to agree to the truth, that Madara Uchiha perpetrated the attack. On the defence of things though, there are two options. We say we don’t know who stopped him, or we claim it was another Uchiha, like Fugaku.”   

Sasuke shook his head, “He won’t agree to that. He won’t take credit for someone else’s Susanoo.”   

Minato disagreed, “If it protects his clan from backlash, he might. We’re worried that an unknown Uchiha with this much power will just add fear to the Leaf.”   

Sakura could practically see the gears spinning in Sasuke’s head as his hand curled into a fist. She cut into their conversation, first assuring Sasuke before Minato, “We’ll work on something, I promise. Sasuke and I will try to think of some other reason if he disagrees.” She picked up her plate before she grabbed Sasuke’s and Minato’s. “In the meantime,” she sighed, “we should probably meet with Kakashi Sens—oh I’m so going to mess this up. Kakashi, we need to meet with Kakashi .”   

Kushina laughed, “Once you explain it to him, I’m sure he’ll understand. Who knows, he might just grow to love the label, y’know?”   

Sakura’s laughter joined Kushina’s as the two of them started cleaning the table. Minato turned to Sasuke, “Tell me one thing, please.” Sasuke nodded apprehensively, waiting for some inevitable question about Naruto, but Minato asked, “Kakashi… is he happy?”  

Sasuke blinked at him. He wasn’t expecting that to be the question. He thought back to his sensei, at least back when he used to be. He remembered the conversation they had had just before he left Konoha clear as day, how Kakashi had simply smiled and told him that everyone who mattered to him was already dead.    

Staring at Minato and knowing Obito was alive, that already changed things drastically in Kakashi’s world. If he managed to be happy before, Sasuke nodded, “Yeah. He’s happy.”   

Minato looked infinitely relieved, thanking Sasuke as he stood to go help in the kitchen. Sasuke had enough table manners to follow, offering to dry the dishes Sakura was washing, though the drastic shift in events wasn’t lost on him. From the insanity that had been the day before (time-travel, Madara Uchiha, the Fourth Shinobi War), it was oddly domestic to find themselves washing dishes in a kitchen together.   

Kushina pulled Sakura down the hall to get her something to wear and Sasuke stared out the window above the sink. He could just make out the familiar Uchiha gates from here, and he knew just beyond those gates, Itachi was being a kid. Maybe he was perfecting his shuriken training, or maybe he was spending time with Sasuke.   

Time that Sasuke wouldn’t remember.   

He gripped the countertop tightly in his fingers for a moment before pushing himself away from the window. That Sasuke, the one who was only a few weeks old, he was going to have good memories of his big brother. He was going to grow up with him, Sasuke would make sure of it.   

Minato called him over and an Anbu uniform was pushed into his hands. No mask, but the armor, typical sleeveless shirt and pants were there. Minato’s hand rubbed the back of his neck, “I don’t know quite how it’ll fit, but it’s just until we get you guys your own. It’s been well loved, but it’s still in good condition.”   

Sasuke mutely noted that the first hand-me-down he’d received from a father wasn’t from his own.  

But he went to the bathroom and changed, the similarities between him and Itachi slamming into him all at once as he stared himself down in the mirror. Itachi wore the t-shirt version of the uniform instead of the sleeveless, which made sense given how young he was, but that was where the differences truly ended.  

He just had to grow his hair out, and he’d be a spitting image of his brother.   

He pushed the thoughts aside, splashing cold water onto his face. It wasn’t lost on him that the eyes he was looking through were also Itachi’s, the same eyes that had once cursed him to relive that night over and over.   

But this time, it wouldn’t come to that. He wouldn’t let it.  

When he stepped into the hallway he heard Minato talking in the living room, and Sasuke recognized the voice that replied instantly. Kakashi. Their new teammate, if all went well, and the next person they’d have to explain their story to. He sighed, already tired of all the retelling and dropped his shoulder against the wall as he mentally prepared to do it again. Kushina and Sakura came down the hallway behind him, their voices mostly muffled whispers, but then someone gasped.   

He turned around to find Sakura, her uniform matching his own and both just… stared.   

Sasuke had always been good looking, but wearing the Anbu uniform, his shoulders bare and biceps toned, and the fitted shirt leaving little to the imagination, Sakura forgot how to breathe for a second. His jet black hair and charcoal eyes matched the ensemble, and everything just… worked . She realized her stare had gone on way too long, but she couldn’t force her eyes away and her mouth failed to make any words.  

It somehow made her feel better and completely flustered at the same time when she realized Sasuke wasn’t fairing much better. He was staring at her .   

He’d known Sakura was strong, she’d proven it on the battlefield, but her loose navy shirt and flak vest hadn’t done her justice. In the fitted uniform he was able to see everything and he knew he should stop looking, but the blacks and greys with her pink hair and bright green eyes; it just made them stand out more.   

Kushina’s snicker broke them from their reveries, both instantly turning away from the other, faces flaming. She gestured them forwards, her grin a little too much like Naruto’s for Sakura’s liking as she teased, “Alright, I won’t say anything. Let’s go meet Kakashi, shall we?”   

Chapter Text

Sakura thought it would have been weirder, meeting her old Sensei as a kid, but this Kakashi had already hardened. His losses had affected him strongly enough that he was already his aloof, cold, mysterious self.  

She hadn’t realized just how much her sensei had warmed up in the years he’d taught them, the change had been too gradual to notice. But watching him now, she was reminded of the scary teacher who’d put them through the bell-test with no expectation that they would pass. He sat beside Minato on the couch, his eyes trained on Naruto the entire time they retold their story, only showing his surprise by the slight widening of his eye.  

There was a long silence after they finished, and finally Kakashi broke it, “That’s a lot to take in.”  

Minato laughed, “I know what you mean.” He was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was supposed to have died the previous night and Kushina too leaving his son an orphan. Sakura and Sasuke hadn’t said much more than that, but he didn’t even want to imagine it. He was glad to let Lord Third take over his responsibilities for the next few days, he didn’t want to let his family out of his sight.  

Kakashi glanced up at the two teenagers, “And you two are fine with this, with me knowing everything?”  

Sakura nodded before Sasuke did, but his chin dipped in agreement, “Yes. It’s best this way to avoid suspicion. It’ll be easier to do what we need to if we have someone else on our side.”  

Sakura added quietly, “I know you don’t know us, but we trust you.” And she did. Even though the version of Kakashi in front of her wasn’t the one she knew, he was still Kakashi. Kakashi who would do anything to protect the Leaf, who trained them from the time they were genin.  

Kakashi looked to his Sensei, “And you want me to do this?” 

Minato nodded, “Since your last mission has come to a close, I can’t think of anyone better than you for this one. You have my full confidence, Kakashi.”  

As an Anbu and a student of Minato, it was practically programmed into Kakashi to follow his orders, no matter how odd they may be. If this were his new mission, he would do it without question. Kakashi nodded, and he turned to the two other teenagers, “Alright then. We should get to Headquarters so we can get you both a mask and so you can see how the Anbu works.” He stood up as he pulled his own mask over his face. With his silver hair, it wasn’t hard to guess who was underneath.  

But to someone who didn’t know Kakashi, there was no way to know who it was. Sakura and Sasuke went with him, the journey mostly silent as they made their way through the city. Both Sasuke and Sakura had cloaks pulled over their uniforms, their final gifts from Kushina and Minato before they departed, but not before they had made a promise to come and visit again.  

When they got into Anbu headquarters, she was surprised to see most without their masks. Kakashi pulled his off, gesturing over his shoulder, “This way.” He called behind him, “When you’re in here you don’t need the mask. But if any commander or client comes by, put it on.” He stopped in front of a locker, spinning the combination easily, “This will be yours, Hana.” He opened the second one, “And this one will be yours,” he told Sasuke.  

Both teenagers pulled off their cloaks, stuffing them inside the lockers. Tucked on the top shelf were their new masks. All three were cats, but their markings were different, Sakura’s had only red stripes on the sides, but Sasuke’s swirled around the eye-holes in his mask. She trailed her fingers over the markings on the cold, white mask, the kind she was used to seeing but had never pictured herself wearing. 

As a medical nin, being on Anbu had been off her radar since she began studying the discipline. Sakura glanced up at Kakashi, sure to keep her voice low. “So how involved do we need to keep you on our missions?”  

Kakashi shrugged, “As involved as necessary. If you’re going to try and kill someone, tell me then.” He removed his headband, letting his hair fall across his forehead and tossed it into his locker. “I’m also your go between to the Hokage, so whatever information you need,” he noticed Sasuke’s raised eyebrow, so he corrected himself. “If you can, ask me.”  

Sasuke nodded, crossing his arms, “What do you know about Root?” 

Kakashi flinched. He’d heard rumours of the organization and he knew it was run by Danzo, but that was pretty well the extent of his knowledge. “A little. It’s the most secretive branch of Anbu.” 

Sasuke noticed Sakura’s confused glance and he nodded, “Well that’s what we’re going to be looking into first.” He spoke to her quietly, “I’ll explain it all later.”  

Sakura’s frown deepened. She knew he hated Danzo, though she wasn’t exactly sure why, but wasn’t their first order of business to prevent the Uchiha from dying? 

Kakashi stepped closer and his voice suddenly shifted. It was no longer his lazy tone, it was sharp and whispered, “Whatever you know about Danzo, don’t say anything here. He’s got eyes everywhere. Save that for when you’re sure you’re alone.”  

Sasuke masked his surprise well enough, his glance shifting to Sakura only to find her even more confused. Kakashi stepped away and his expression shifted back to his usual aloof one, “But if there aren’t anymore questions, we can head to training ground thirteen.”  

A man walked up behind Kakashi and tossed his arm across his shoulders in a way that seemed the opposite of friendly. He was tall and made of muscle, with brown hair that stuck out in every direction. He grinned a little too widely for Sakura’s liking, “You got some new recruits, Kakashi? I thought the Hokage had you as a one-man team these days. You know, to avoid anymore incidents.” 

Kakashi didn’t even flinch. Shoda Tanaka, a man who’d built himself up from being clanless to an Anbu captain was too proud of it and every bit as annoying as one would expect. He had been pulling the same card on Kakashi for a while. He just stepped out of his grasp, “Chen and Hana.” He gestured to Sakura and Sasuke before he turned back to the man behind him, “We’ve got some training to do.”  

He looked them up and down, his eyes narrowing, “You’re a little young for Anbu, don’t you think? One kid on the team is enough.” When neither gave him the satisfaction of a reply, he continued easily, “Where’re you two from? I’ve never seen hair like yours before.” He reached for Sakura’s pink ponytail, his fingers tracking through the strands that framed her face and she felt her blood boil.  

She caught his wrist and shoved his hand away from her with enough strength to make him stagger, “Did I say you could touch my hair?” The man in front of her was undoubtedly a few years her senior, probably highly skilled as he was in Anbu, but she couldn’t find it in her to care. It didn’t give him any right to invade her personal space, and she knew one punch with her chakra and he’d be through the wall. All she had to do was curl her fist tighter and he’d be at her mercy. 

But she wasn’t supposed to draw attention, so she just kept him at an arm’s length. 

He stared at her, his eyes wide, “Wow. You’re pretty feisty for a new recruit.” Something gleamed in his eyes as he stepped closer to her, “I like that in a woman.” Her stomach rolled at the compliment—and not in a good way, in a want-to-puke way, but before she could even close her fist, he was pulled from her grasp. 

Sasuke had him pinned against the lockers, the slamming noise effectively cutting off every conversation around them. His arm was braced across the man’s chest, his glare just as deadly and cold as it would have been had he activated his sharingan, “Don’t even think about it.”  

Sakura managed to stifle her gasp, but she couldn’t help that she jumped. Kakashi beside her regarded the two coolly, not yet stepping in but at the ready if necessary. 

Shoda glanced down at the boy in front of him, “Chen, right? You’re new here, so let me explain something. Just because you’re now in Anbu, doesn’t make us equals.” He shoved Sasuke’s hand off, reaching for the front of his shirt.  

Sasuke, to his credit, let him.  

As mad as he was, he needed to concentrate on not activating his sharingan, if he got too into the fight there’d be no way to control it. So he let Shoda’s hand curl around the fabric of his shirt and lift him slightly, the whole time just trying to 1. fucking breathe , 2.  forget the way he’d touched Sakura and 3. figure out why it made him so mad . When he’d grabbed her, something in him had just snapped .  

Shoda glared at him down his nose, but Sasuke didn’t flinch. “I’m your superior. I’m a captain, you’re not.”  

Kakashi stepped between them, apparently deciding that it was time, and his hands forced the two of them apart, “I’m his captain. And I need him to start training.” Shoda glared at him, hating that while he was definitely in higher standing than the new recruits, he was the same level despite his years of experience over the silver-haired Anbu.  

He sneered, “Must be nice to be Hokage’s favourite, isn’t it?” 

It was a petty insult so Kakashi didn’t even grant him a response. He just dragged Sasuke from Shoda’s grip and gestured for Sakura to follow. She slammed the lockers shut, the clanging of metal on metal echoing throughout the otherwise silent room, and walked after her team, ignoring Shoda’s lingering gaze. 

Training ground thirteen was near the river with a large grassy field encased by trees, it was as good a training ground as any, and a refreshing break from the tense room they’d left behind them. She’d taken her mask off, her dislike for the clunky, white hinderance growing with each second she’d worn it. Sasuke and Kakashi followed suit. 

There was a beat of silence before Kakashi spoke, “Just ignore people like him. His own squad doesn’t like him, but he’s a good Anbu so we deal with it.”  

“He’s scum,” Sasuke snapped.  

Sakura tried to ignore how close he stood next to her even now, how fast he’d reacted to what Shoda had said, and especially tried to ignore the way it made her heart race. This was not the time to breach that topic, so she tucked it into the deal-with-later section of her brain.  

She steered the conversation away from the brutish Anbu, “You said we needed to do some training, do you have anything in mind?” 

Kakashi nodded, “Since you guys are… you , you don’t have any files or anything on fighting techniques or mission experience. If I’m leading this squad, I’m going to need to know that.” 

Sakura frowned, “I thought Lord Fourth said we were working directly under him, doing our own peacekeeping throughout the village.” 

Kakashi shrugged, “Some S-rank missions can’t be avoided for Anbu, especially if you’re as strong he made you sound during your fight with Madara.” She noticed he avoided Obito’s name. He asked her first, “So, what are your specialties?” 

“I’m a medical-nin, though I was taught by Lady Tsunade how to store my chakra.” She pointed to her Byakugou, “My seal allows me to use all of that stored up chakra without facing the aftereffects. It’s how we had enough strength to take on Madara.”  

Kakashi looked visibly impressed she noted, trying to ignore the pride she felt in that. He asked, “And on the offensive, I’m assuming you rely on your physical strength with chakra control like yours.”  

She nodded again. He turned to Sasuke, “And you’ve got your sharingan. Since you’re an Uchiha, you’ve got fire-style, right?” 

Sasuke nodded, “And lightning.” Sasuke created the ball of lightning in his hand, and the familiar chirping sound filled the clearing they stood in. Kakashi’s eyes widened, his jaw dropping behind his mask, “What? How?” 

Kakashi was then excited and shocked to hear how his jutsu had been passed down. Sakura watched, amused, as the two of them performed the Chidori and Sasuke showed Kakashi the alterations he’d made to the jutsu. They spent the next few hours going back and forth, Kakashi learning to pour the lightning into his blade and changing it further to use with kunai.  

Kakashi had successfully replicated the jutsu for the fifth time and he finally called an end to their practice. He’d tried to involve Sakura more, but she was determined to use the few hours of relative quiet to meditate and restore her chakra reserves. She felt infinitely stronger after the training session, not having realized how low her levels had been that morning.  

Apparently, she had meant it when she said she was going to give all her chakra to Sasuke. 

Kakashi left to report to Minato, leaving the two members of squad seven in relative silence. Sasuke sheathed his sword and turned to Sakura, “I need to tell you something.”  

She stood eagerly, “Is this about Danzo and why he’s our first priority?”  

His expression was grim as he nodded. He gestured for her to walk with him, the two leaving the training ground behind as they followed the river’s edge. He started slowly, explaining what Itachi had told him before the reanimation jutsu was ended and what the Hokages had said when Orochimaru brought them back to answer his questions.  

But then everything tumbled out at once. Everything, from Shisui Uchiha, the Coup d'état, Danzo’s sharingan arm, to the impossible decision that was forced into Itachi’s hands when he was only thirteen, and the deal he’d made to protect him.  

By the end of it, Sakura was white as a sheet. Tears welled in her eyes and she whispered, “So your brother, he had to do it. And he wanted you to go after him.” Her voice was haunted, “He was just a kid .” She shook her head, her hand pressed over her mouth as a few tears slipped down her cheeks.  

Sasuke wasn’t looking at her. He stared pointedly at the ground trying to ignore the way his own eyes had filled with tears. Saying it out loud, all of it one after another, it was almost too much; having heard it in pieces had made it easier. Having Sakura there, crying beside him, it didn’t help either. 

He turned to her, struggling to keep his voice steady, “That’s why our first worry should be Danzo and everything he’s involved in.”  

“Sasuke,” she whispered, her eyes shining in the setting sun. She reached for him, pulling him into a hug whether he wanted it or not because he needed it. He’d carried it all alone his whole life, placed the burden solely on his shoulders—but he had Sakura now.  

And they were in this together . 

He froze as her arms wrapped around his shoulders, but she felt him hesitantly hug her back around the waist. She promised, “It won’t happen again. The Sasuke and Itachi from now are going to have long, happy lives. They’re going to grow up together.” His grip tightened. “I swear it, Sasuke.”  

She held the hug until his arms loosened around her, something she’d been taught a long time ago; always be the last to let go because you never know how much the other person needed it.

They didn’t let go for a while. Sasuke hadn’t been hugged since he was a kid, most of them had happened while he was under the age of five. The last person to do it had been… Sakura. Every time he’d been hugged, it had been from her .  

And not once did he return it. 

But now, he gripped her small frame tightly as she took on the burden. Knowing someone knew, having someone else to help carry it—he’d forgotten what that felt like. Leaning on her, even for a minute, it made it somewhat more bearable.  

When he started to pull his hands away she stepped back, noticing the redness around his eyes but she didn’t mention it. If Sasuke was finally going to be open about his emotions, Sakura didn't want to do anything that would betray his trust in her. 

Sasuke was thankful. He knew she could see it, could feel him shaking while she held him, but she just stayed quiet about it. How Sakura managed to understand what he needed, he didn’t quite know, but he found himself suddenly relieved that she’d jumped into that jutsu after him. His voice was scratchy from swallowing the lump in his throat, “Thank you, Sakura.”  

Her pink eyebrows furrowed with concern and he had to resist the sudden urge he had to reach up and poke the crease on her forehead. They stood toe to toe for a while, their gazes aligned and just staring. Waiting for the other to break eye-contact first.  

Their eyes were forced apart by the sudden appearance of Minato. The Yellow Flash of the Leaf was certainly a fitting nickname for the boldly coloured blonde. His Hokage cloak billowed out behind him as the two teenagers jumped back from one another, their faces aflame at how close they had been standing. 

Sakura smiled pleasantly, trying to ignore her blushing cheeks, “Lord Fourth, is everything okay?”  

Minato sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets, “It might be. Depends on how you two feel about this.” Sasuke and Sakura eyed each other warily but nodded for him to continue. “I was talking to Fugaku like I said I would, about the Susanoo. And he’s fine to take credit for it if it’ll help the clan.” 

“That’s great,” Sakura told him.  

Minato winced, his hand rubbing the back of his neck, “He has one condition though.” He turned his gaze to Sasuke, guilt gripping his stomach as he spoke, “He wants to meet the one who created it.”  

Chapter Text

Sasuke’s knees almost buckled at the thought. Sakura seemed to anticipate this and her hand was instantly on his back, letting him lean on her as he sucked in a sharp breath, his mind and heart racing. When she was sure he wouldn’t fall over, she asked Minato, “What did you tell him?”  

“I advised against it, but he’s not budging. He’s refusing to call the Susanoo his own if he doesn’t know who cast the jutsu.”   

Sasuke’s voice was shaky when he spoke, “When does he want to meet me?”   

Sakura turned to him, her other hand resting on his chest where she could feel how fast his heart was beating, “No, Sasuke, you can’t.” More importantly, she didn’t want him to. The emotional toll of knowing his clan was alive was already having its effect on Sasuke, having to talk to his father, the father he barely had a chance to get to know, it was too much.   

He turned his piercing gaze on her, his hand wrapping gently around her wrist, “You know what happened to the Uchiha. If the village doesn’t trust them, it’ll only make things worse.”   

“But he’s—” she was silenced by the light squeeze he’d given her wrist. Damn him and the effect he has on her, though she was mildly proud that her knees didn’t give out at his touch. Progress is progress .  

“I know. I’ll tell him the truth of who I am if he asks for it, but I won’t tell him anything else. Only of who I am and who attacked.”  

“If you tell him who you are that could change everything,” she argued weakly; they’d already changed everything, that was their entire plan. She could see in Sasuke’s eyes he knew it too.  

Minato spoke up, “Speaking as a new father myself, it may make whatever you have to tell him about mean more. If he knows who you are and the risks you’ve taken to do this.”   

Sasuke close his eyes, already making up his mind but still not yet ready to release Sakura’s wrist. If he weren’t completely distracted by the impending conversation with his father, that realization would have been more concerning. “When does he want to meet me?” he called to the Hokage, his voice stronger this time.  

“You’re sure?” Sasuke nodded. “Tomorrow. I’ll send Kakashi to get you before the meeting, and I know it's easier said than done, but try not to worry about it. Right now though, you two need a place to stay, right?” both teens nodded and he pulled a ring of keys from his pocket, tossing them to Sasuke who caught them easily. “We figured it was best if we were nearby, so hope you don’t mind having Naruto as a neighbour,” he grinned sheepishly.   

The apartment wasn’t directly beside the Hokage’s, but it was just across the street and a building down. Minato had left them in the field, trying to avoid as much attention as possible on the two new Anbu members, leaving Sakura only slightly jealous of his teleportation technique because the walk back was long .   

They had wandered so far down the river, by the time they made it to their new apartment, the sun had fully set and the moon had begun its slow trek across the sky. Once they were safely inside, they removed their masks, both freezing as they took in the apartment.   

The Hokage had spared no expense, the size of the house rivalled his own and everything looked so… new . Clean. The living room blended right into the kitchen, separated only by a countertop on one side. Next to that was a large dining table, complete with six placemats. There was a hallway to their left that inevitably led to their bedrooms and bathroom, everything lit by warm yellow lights along the walls.   

“Wow,” she mumbled, glad to see Sasuke in as much shock as she was. Her gaze returned to the living room where two boxes were on the couch, labelled Chen and Hana. Taped to the top of her box was a note,  

Got you guys started. I know you can’t wear your crests, but you can still wear the Leaf on your days off -Kushina  

She pulled open the flaps of the box, her eyes resting on the familiar flak vest. She eagerly lifted it, trailing her fingers along the red swirl, the fabric brand new and with perfect fold lines. There was no give to the material and it made Sakura smile. She’d get to break it in.   

Beside her, Sasuke held his own vest up, his dark eyes wide. He’d never worn it before. He’d left before he could be made chunin and had proudly worn the Uchiha crest since. “I can’t wear this,” he said quietly before he folded it gently and placed it beside the box.   

“Of course you can, Sasuke,” she assured him. “You’re a shinobi of the Leaf, aren’t you?”  

He shrugged, peering at the other shirts that had been given to him, “Am I?” The doubt in his voice made her falter.  

“Yes,” she said firmly, planting her hands on her hips. She turned to him, waiting for his eyes to meet hers before she continued, “You are doing everything in your power to protect the Leaf, you’re going to save your clan and help restore balance to it. Even if you aren’t chunin or have made some seriously questionable choices in the past, that doesn’t change who you are now . You fought to protect Naruto, Kushina and the Fourth Hokage against Madara. You’re fighting to stop Danzo from harming anyone. Back in our time, you joined our side.  

“Trust me Sasuke, I’ll be the first to tell you that you messed up. You left your friends behind to go after revenge, and you hurt a lot of people when you did.” He flinched when her voice cracked and he had to look away. “But you came back. And now you’re trying to fix it.” She stepped forwards, grabbing the vest off the couch and draping it around his shoulders, “ that makes you a shinobi of the Leaf.”  

He gently reached up, keeping his eyes towards the ground as he slowly pulled the vest off. She sighed, “You might not believe me yet, and that’s fine. But you’ll see.” She squeezed his shoulder, unsure of what counted as ‘too much’ when it came to Sasuke and dropped her hand back to her side.   

She collected her box in her arms and gestured with her head down the hallway, “I’m going to check out what else Kushina bought and put some of this stuff away.”  

After finding both bedrooms to be exactly the same, Sakura chose the one on the right and emptied her box onto the bed. Kushina had bought her a variety of casual wear, a few more dresses than Sakura liked, but she also gave her some solid training gear. There wasn’t nearly as much red as Sakura would have once worn, but she’d been given the essentials to make her outfits.   

After she hung up her clothes and taken off her Anbu gear, Sakura was painfully reminded that they hadn’t eaten since that morning. Between telling Kakashi their story, training with him in the field and finding out about the Uchiha’s history, the hours of the day had slipped between her fingers.  

She was too tired, emotionally and physically, to go out to buy food. She could only hope that the Hokage had stocked their fridge. She grabbed the largest, baggiest shirt she could find and pulled it on, along with a pair of black shorts.   

She took her hair down from its ponytail as she walked back towards the living room, the floor creaking slightly under her feet, and as she turned the corner she froze. Sasuke stood in the kitchen, stirring something on the stove; whatever it was, it smelled heavenly to Sakura and her empty stomach.   

He scowled at the pot in front of him, making Sakura smile as she stepped into the kitchen, “Can I help with anything?”  

He jumped as he glanced over at her, his cheeks turning just the slightest shade of pink as he mumbled, “It’s just ramen. Figured I’d do something easy.”   

Sakura laughed as she made her way towards the fridge, “Easy sounds good.” She glanced at its contents, thankful once again to the Hokage and his wife and smiled, “We can toast to Naruto. It was just his birthday after all and ramen is his favourite.”   

Sasuke smiled, just a hint. It still made her heart flutter.   

They sat at the table across from one another, the steaming bowls of ramen in front of them and smelling delectable. She managed a little more self-control as she lifted her ramen-filled chopsticks towards Sasuke, fighting back the strong urge to dive right into the meal. He raised an eyebrow at her, his question so obvious it made her grin. “We’re toasting to Naruto.”  

“With our chopsticks?” he asked, the distaste evident in his voice but a flicker of amusement in his eyes.   

“Yes,” she agreed proudly. He rolled his eyes, but all the same lifted his chopsticks and tapped them against her own, feeling his lips betray him as they smiled at her laugh of victory. They ate in relative silence, both lost in thought of how fast their world had shifted. Sakura wondered about Naruto, Ino, Sai, their classmates, the fourth Hokage and his wife now overjoyed with their son in their arms.   

Sasuke thought mainly of his family, his brother, and himself; the one who was just starting his life, and would hopefully steer a much clearer, straighter path than he did. As their bowls emptied, Sakura dared to ask, “Are you ready, for tomorrow?”  

He shrugged, “As I’ll ever be.”  

He was wrong. It turns out, you can’t ever be ready to meet your dead father.  

Sasuke paced up and down the hall of the Hokage’s office, panicking . He’d tried to ignore the truth, if he didn’t acknowledge he was panicked, he would be fine. But hearing his father’s voice through the wall, knowing he was only a few feet away; Sasuke had to admit it. He was panicking.   

And even worse, Kakashi was there, completely unbothered. Sasuke had taken after his sensei in that regard when he was younger, always calm, cool and collected, but nothing his sensei had ever taught him prepared him for this. Kakashi glanced up at him from his book, “You need to calm down, Sasuke.” Kakashi had been given both their real names and code names, up to his discretion on which to use. Clearly, he believed this was a real-names matter.   

Sasuke bristled, “Easy for you to say.” Anger was good. It cleared his head of the panic and fought the nausea that stirred in his stomach. For a long time, anger had been Sasuke’s default.  

Kakashi sighed as he closed his book, “ You agreed that this was the best way, right? It’ll help with whatever is happening with the Uchiha.” He’d been spared the details of that particular future, evidence that they were hell-bent on changing it.   

Sasuke scowled, “Yes but it’s still…” my dead father. The one I watched die over and over . He turned away from Kakashi, “You don’t understand, you couldn’t.”   

Kakashi shrugged, his eyebrow raising in a challenge, “Try me.”   

And Sasuke, never one to back down, snapped, “Fine.” He moved closer to where Kakashi sat, whispering, “I watched him die . He was killed right in front of me when I was a kid, and I was forced to relive it more than once. How would you feel if you had to go talk to him?” He felt like his twelve year old self again, lashing out at Kakashi simply for being there and trying to calm him down.   

He felt even worse when he finally replied. Kakashi was silent for a moment, but when he spoke his voice was hollow, “Lucky.”   

Everyone you’re talking about has already been killed.  

Sasuke froze, the memory washing over him like cold water. Another memory surfaced, one long forgotten of a lone grave that wasn’t honoured by the village but honoured heavily by Kakashi. He straightened up, his back rigid, “Your father, he was the one who gave up the mission.”  

Kakashi’s eyes narrowed, “It’s weird that you know about that even though I’ve never told you.”  

“You didn’t tell me before either,” he replied honestly. “At least, not explicitly.”   

Kakashi raked his hand through his hair in silence. “I’m the one who found him,” he said quietly. “If I had the chance to see him again, I’d take it.”  

Sasuke didn’t know how to reply to that, and it seemed Kakashi didn’t either. So he just leaned against the wall, too antsy to sit but not ready to continue his panicked pacing and Kakashi just pulled his book back out. The door to the Hokage office opened, and Minato smiled somewhat grimly at them, “Come on in.”   

Sasuke sighed, adjusting his mask one final time and stepped into the office. The moment he laid eyes on his father; he froze. He looked the same way he did the night he found his body. The night he was forced to watch over and over. His hands shook and he curled them into fists, struggling to fight back the demons that clawed at his eyes.   

He was still alive.   

He wouldn’t die this time.  

Fugaku eyed him stiffly and held out his hand, “Fugaku Uchiha.” Sasuke ignored the nerves that twisted his stomach as he placed his hand in his father’s.   

Minato spoke up from behind them, “I’ve filled Fugaku in on your situation.” That was all the go-ahead he needed to take off his mask and tell him his name. To look his father in the eye and smile at him, but he couldn’t do it.   

Lucky .  

That’s what Kakashi had called him. He had a chance to speak with his father after he lost him, a chance to tell him about his life and who he’d turned out to be. A chance that no one else had.   

His hand was reaching for his mask and pulling it off before he could think twice about it. He lifted his dark eyes towards his fathers, the ones that matched the Uchiha so perfectly, and he managed a whisper, “Sasuke Uchiha.”   

Fugaku stared him down, shaking his head slowly, “No. There’s no way.” His gaze shifted to Minato, needing someone else to confirm it. His skin blanched when he did. That had been why Minato had warned him before the meeting. He turned to Sasuke, the boy claiming to be his son and demanded, “How?”  

Sasuke’s voice was stronger when he told him about the battle. About Madara and his time travelling jutsu, his plan to stop Naruto for good, careful to pick the details that were meaningless now. He spoke nothing of Itachi or the massacre. Fugaku dragged his hands down his face, struggling to take it all in. “Madara Uchiha was still alive?”   

Minato and Sasuke shared a look. Minato took the burden of explaining Obito’s involvement. By the end Fugaku was leaning against the desk, his legs as shaky as Sasuke felt. Wasn’t this too much information? Wouldn’t this mess with things—in a bad way?  

“And you, you’re the one who cast the Susanoo?” Sasuke nodded. He turned to Minato, “So if I take the credit, you’re telling me I’m protecting my… son .” He choked on the word.  

“Yes. We have him on a squad with Kakashi Hatake so they can protect the Leaf from dangers we don’t know about.”   

Sasuke added quietly, “I’d take credit for it if I could, but too many people knowing about me could be dangerous. If the Leaf knows that an Uchiha protected them against Madara, especially the captain of the police force, it’ll help ease any unrest about the clan.”  

Fugaku’s eyes narrowed, “How much do you know?”  

Sasuke answered honestly, “All of it. And more.”   

Fugaku stared him down with the same pair of eyes that Sasuke had grown up chasing after, hoping for a glimpse of affection. The same pair of eyes that had once told him ‘that’s my boy’, who willingly let Itachi kill him, refusing to fight his own son. “And you believe that me taking credit for it will help?”   

“Yes,” he replied steadily, proud that his voice came out even that time.   

Fugaku nodded then, agreeing to take responsibility for the Susanoo and he turned to Sasuke. “You’re really him, aren’t you?” Sasuke nodded. “You’ve got your mother’s eyes, just like Itachi does.” His chest ached at the name. “Can you tell me about him? I know you can’t tell me about yourself,” he added hurriedly.   

Sasuke shook his head, his tone apologetic, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” He wanted to. He wanted to tell him how Itachi was the greatest shinobi the Leaf had ever seen. How he was willing to do whatever it took to protect the village. How he’d been so careful and calculated in his plan to protect Sasuke. He couldn’t help what slipped out, “He’s a good brother.”   

Fugaku’s eyes went round and he gave him a smile. The same smile he’d seen the day Itachi died, when the illness took over. The memory was like a wakeup call, Sasuke went board stiff as he asked, “Is Itachi sick?”  

Fugaku’s eyes were instantly guarded, his smile dropping, “Only his mother and I know about that.” The kindness was gone from his voice, replaced by something cold and sharp. A protectiveness over his son.  

Sasuke shook his head, his mind reeling. The plan would mean nothing if they couldn’t save Itachi. Even if he was able to live in the Leaf, to die so young—it wouldn’t matter. They had to save Itachi, if they couldn’t save anyone else, it had to be him. He turned to Minato, “Where’s Hana?” he barely remembered to use her fake name.   

“She’s with Kushina and Naruto, why?”   

“I need to talk to her.” He turned back to Fugaku and bowed his head respectfully, “Thank you, for agreeing and keeping my secret, father.” The word slipped out without thought. It knocked the breath out of his chest to say it for the first time in years.   

Fugaku looked just as affected as he whispered, “You’re welcome, Sasuke.”   

He pulled his mask over his face to hide the tears that welled up in his eyes. He turned to Minato, offering his arm and the moment he’d grabbed him, they disappeared from the office. Fugaku stared into the silent room where his son had just stood, the one he was currently able to hold in one hand, as a grown man. His voice shook with wonder, “ That’s my boy.”   

Chapter Text

When Kakashi had come to bring Sasuke to a meeting that was sure to require years of therapy, Sakura busied herself by going to visit Kushina and Naruto. It gave her a chance to thank her properly for all they’d done, and also an excuse to see Naruto.  

She sat on the couch next to Kushina, cuddling Naruto in her arms. He was a cute baby, incredibly easy going and not very fussy, much unlike the Naruto she knew who was stubborn and hot-headed. She looked up at Kushina’s tired smile and spoke up, “Thank you, for how much you’ve helped Sasuke and myself. I don’t know what we’d do if you hadn’t believed us.”  

Kushina smiled easily, “You saved my life and my son’s, we could never forget that. Being Hokage’s wife also has a lot of perks.” She jokingly whispered, “The deals you get on clothes are crazy!”  

“Well thank you anyway, it means a lot to us, especially with how busy you must be around here. You went out and bought us clothes and groceries and we hadn’t even thought about that.” 

“Don’t worry about it Sakura, you’ve had a pretty crazy couple of days too.” She grinned, the same smile Sakura had received from Naruto a hundred times, “Plus I have to say, red is definitely your colour.” She gestured to the short-sleeved kimono Sakura had pulled on and tied with a black sash at her waist. She’d managed to pull together an outfit that she’d have never worn before since it was so impractical, but with Kakashi and Sasuke busy she didn’t have to worry about there being a mission.  

She wore a mesh long sleeve under the shirt and wore knee high black sandals with her black shorts. She tied her ninja pouch around her thigh, but otherwise, she looked like a regular Konoha civilian. She would have blended in even more if she’d had normal coloured hair. 

“For future reference, quite literally, orange is Naruto’s colour. If you ever don’t know what to put him in.”  

“Orange, huh?” she ran her fingers through his hair lovingly, “I thought he’d be more of a blue kind of boy, like his father.” 

Sakura frowned, “Come to think of it, he did wear orange and blue together a lot when we were kids.” Kushina smiled at her. She loved hearing these little details, the ones that weren’t going to cause any harm if she knew about them.  

Having lived long enough with the Yellow Flash of the Leaf, she didn’t even jump anymore when he appeared randomly. Sakura clearly hadn’t gotten used to it. When the two men arrived in the living room Sakura let out a shout that had Kushina laughing.  

Sakura looked up, a reprimand firmly on her lips, but Sasuke’s expression stopped her. He looked haunted -- having just confronted a very dark ghost from his past, she thought she understood why. “Sasuke?” she asked, wordlessly handing Naruto back to Kushina.  

He walked towards her and she barely had a chance to stand up before he was grabbing her wrist, “You trained with Tsunade, right?”  

“Yeah, I did. Sasuke, what happen—” 

“Itachi, he’s sick.” Minato and Kushina shared a look before they both excused themselves down the hall. The conversation sounded very much like a futuristic matter they shouldn’t be a part of. And the worry in Sasuke’s voice was enough to tell them it was a serious problem—exactly the kind of thing they elected to not be involved in.  

Once their door closed, Sakura asked, “What’s wrong with him?” 

“I don’t know. But the day we fought,” the demons clawed at his eyes again, snarling and scratching until the bloody image of Itachi’s smile was all that he could see, perfectly preserved in his memory. He tightened his grip on Sakura’s wrist, “I didn’t kill him, not directly. He died from something else. An illness he’s had since he was a child.” 

“What was it?” 

“I don’t know, I was too young. I didn’t even know he was sick when I was a kid. I only found out after when Obito told me about it.”  

Sakura’s gaze drifted as she lost herself in thought, her mind running a mile a minute. She’d worked side by side with Tsunade on cures for many of the known illnesses in the Leaf, but if the Uchiha didn’t tell anyone about it she’d have to start from scratch. In the back of her mind, she knew she had time. A long window before the illness took over, but she had no idea how much damage it had already done. She spoke offhandedly, “Do you know if he’s seen any specialists?”  

Sasuke shrugged, “Probably only within the clan. Only my parents knew about it, well they know about it now but—” 

“If we don’t cure him, it’s for nothing,” she answered for him, her gaze focusing once again. If they stopped the massacre, saved the Uchiha clan only for an illness to take him out in the end… she couldn’t live with that, and from the look on Sasuke’s face, he couldn’t either. His eyes met hers, relieved to see them set with determination. “I can’t promise I can cure him, but I promise I’ll try. I’ll need to see him, do you think your parents would let me?”  

He shrugged, “They might, if I explain it to my father.” It was easier to say now that he’d met him. He didn’t stumble over the word. 

“How’d it go with him?” she asked gently, glad he’d been the one to breach the topic instead of her. He looked significantly calmer now than he had when they’d first appeared which she took as a good sign, she even had a tiny bit of hope that the meeting had been good. 

Naturally, in true Sasuke fashion, his answer was short and clipped. “As expected. It was weird.”  

Her wide eyes clearly didn’t believe him, so she stepped closer. It was then he noticed his hand was still on her wrist—and the even bigger realization, he didn’t mind it. “Are you okay though? I know seeing him couldn’t have been easy.” 

He shook his head, “I’m fine. Itachi needs to be our priority.”  

Sakura nodded, “He will. Once we talk to Fugaku and I can get files on Itachi and a check up, I’ll know what we’re working with.” She reached up, smoothing the worry lines in his forehead, “We’ll figure it out, okay?”  

He flinched at her touch. She’d done it unintentionally, with no way for her to know the significance of the motion, but he still caught himself smiling at the familiarity. She dropped her hand, beaming, her wide-eyed green gaze locked on him. “I think we might need to make a list at this point.” 

“A list of?” 

“Everything we need to fix. Really just go back through the years and pick out the parts we hope to change.” Otherwise, they’d undoubtedly miss something. And while they couldn’t know exactly how things would go now that they’d stopped the nine-tails attack, they had a better guess than most on when things would happen.  

So they spoke briefly to Kushina and Minato who promised to set up a meeting between Sakura and Fugaku, and they dismissed themselves to head back to their apartment and get started. They sat down at the table and Sakura pulled out a scroll, starting their brainstorming.  

• Root—everything about this 
• Save the Uchiha  
• Itachi’s sickness—Sakura’s working on it 
• Danzo—kill him?
• Orochimaru—his attempts at Sasuke, Kabuto, Itachi and the Leaf. Joining Akatsuki. Experiments (Yamato?)
• Garra/sand village attack
• Akatsuki—their hunt for jinchurikis
• Shisui Uchiha—save him 

There were parts written by both Sasuke and Sakura, and it wasn’t hard to tell who wrote what. Sakura stared down at the scroll, her eyebrows drawn close together. She mumbled, “Doesn’t it feel like we can do more?” 

“I don’t think so. A lot of the things we would have needed to fix were corrected when we kept Minato and Kushina alive.” At Sakura’s confused glance, he continued, “Think about it. If they had died, we’d have to worry about Naruto growing up alone, and the nine-tails attack was also a tipping point for the Uchiha, without it, we don’t know if it’ll come to that. Obito would have gotten away and gone back to the Akatsuki, but now they have him in custody.”  

“I want to talk to him,” she said suddenly. “And I get what you’re saying, by the way. But Obito, he would know about this stuff since he’s the one who’s been pulling the strings. And he’s still just a kid, if we can save him too, bring him back to our side, he might be able to help us stop the Akatsuki before they do any serious damage.” 

“They were all pretty well-established criminals already, remember that.”  

“Yes, but that was 17 years from now,” she reminded him gently, surprised by how easy it was to say. Had she accepted their reality that fast ? “Some of the younger members won’t even have joined by this point, would they?”  

Sasuke’s familiar sarcasm responded, “I didn’t get a history lesson when I joined.” Though he frowned and corrected himself, “Actually I did, but it wasn’t about the Akatsuki.”  

“Then I think it’s time we make good use of our Anbu connection,” she decided. “And to get our hands on a Bingo Book. Think we can convince Kakashi to talk to Obito?”  

Sasuke shrugged, “It’d be worth a shot.” 

The next day, the two of them donned their Anbu uniforms, joining the third member of their squad. While it wasn’t the same as the original Squad Seven, it was as close as Sakura would ever get again with 2/3 of her original teammates. A reality that wasn’t very different from her previous one. At Headquarters, Sakura asked about the Bingo Book.  

Kakashi handed her his copy while they stood in the locker room, “Anyone you have in mind?”  

She managed a smile, “A few if I’m being honest.” Based on memory, the names she needed to look out for were Sasori of the Red Sand, Kisame Hoshigaki, Konan, Nagato (maybe under the name Pain), Zetsu, Kakuzu and of course, the elusive Orochimaru.  

Deidara, Hidan, Itachi and Obito weren’t problems yet, and if her and Sasuke had any say in it, they wouldn’t ever be. The other members though, they were already starting their criminal careers. As she flipped through the book, she couldn’t help but notice the different coloured Xs that crossed out certain ninja. “What do the red ones mean?” there were a lot more red than black ones. 

Kakashi stiffened, “Red are my missions.”  

She didn’t know why that made her stomach twist uncomfortably. She had no illusions that her sensei was innocent, his nickname was ‘cold-blooded Kakashi’ for a reason, but the number of red Xs, he’d only been on Anbu a few years, hadn’t he? She forced her voice to come out even, “Wow, you’ve been busy.”  

He shrugged as if having that many kills under his name at 16 was common, which after the Third Shinobi War probably was, but before she could start worrying about that, Sakura found one of the pages she needed. Kakuzu. She flipped the book over and showed it to Kakashi, “Know anything about him?”  

Kakashi’s eyebrows went up until they disappeared under his hair, “He’s s-rank and highly dangerous. Notice these,” he pointed to the small black Xs that ran under his name. There were four of them. “Those are all failed missions to take him out. And that’s just from our Anbu, we don’t know about others.”  

“I’m guessing failed missions don’t just mean failed ones.” He nodded. “So he’s tough,” though she already knew that part. She’d seen what he’d done to her sensei during his previous battle with Kakuzu. “You’ve already got your pack of ninja hounds, right?”  

He eyed both her and Sasuke, “It’s strange how much you two know about me.”  

Sakura looked guiltily at the floor, “Sorry. I know it probably feels really weird to hear.” 

He shrugged. “It’s going to take some getting used to. But yeah, I do. You want them to track him?” he pointed at the book in her hands again.  

“If it comes to that,” she said carefully. She glanced behind her at Sasuke, waiting for his nod and she continued gently, “Hopefully, we can get the information from someone else, way faster than tracking anyone.” He gave her a long look. When he made no protest, she whispered, “Obito might have an idea of where he is. Along with a few others.” 

Kakashi’s head was shaking before she even finished, “No, no way. He tried to—” he had to force his voice quieter to avoid any eavesdroppers. “He tried to kill Minato-sensei, he’s not going to help us.”  

“He might, if you try and bring back the old Obito,” she argued. “The one who wanted to become Hokage, who gave you that eye.” Naruto had seemed to come closest to winning him over during their battle, but Kakashi had been a close second. He was their only chance now.  

Kakashi closed his locker, “No. You don’t understand—” 

“Try me,” she challenged him. “You have a teammate who went rogue, right?” Sasuke felt his stomach drop; he didn’t like that he knew where this conversation was going.  

“He didn’t just go rogue, he let us all believe he died and he tried to kill our sensei. That’s a little more than rogue , Hana.”  

“I know the feeling,” she said calmly. “Not exactly but believe me.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at Sasuke, and he readied himself for whatever she threw at him. Whatever it was, it would be true, and he deserved far worse than having it simply pointed out to him.  

“He tried to kill me a couple times. And he went more than rogue too, just like Obito did, but he’s back.” She decided to keep out the part where he’d also tried to kill their sensei. She reached for Sasuke’s wrist, squeezing it behind her and sending him an apologetic glance. She needed Kakashi to see that sometimes things change; unfortunately, he was her best example. Her voice was soft, “He’s on my side again. And if I’d given up on him, I would have missed that. The same can happen for Obito.” 

Kakashi stared between her and Sasuke, dumbfounded. He didn’t know if it made him feel better or worse when Sasuke nodded in agreement with her story. He’d tried to kill her ? He’d gone that far, and she was fine working with him again. He levelled his gaze with Sasuke’s, “What changed for you?”  

Sasuke tensed slightly, and Sakura gave his wrist another squeeze. She hadn’t meant to throw him under the bus like that, but if it was the only thing that would convince Kakashi, she’d be okay dealing with the repercussions later. He finally said, “I can’t say.”  

Which was true. Because the reason he’d gone rogue in the first place hadn’t happened yet.  

Kakashi dragged his hand through his hair, “You really think Obito will change. And you really need him, for whatever reason.” Sakura nodded. Kakashi let out a long sigh, his tone reserved, “I’ll think about it.” 

But Sakura knew her sensei, even if he didn’t know her. That meant, yes. 

She sighed in relief, “Thank you.” She glanced back at Sasuke, giving his wrist one final reassuring squeeze before she let go. She turned back to her Captain, “In the meantime, why don’t we get started on learning some of those Anbu basics you were telling us about?” 

The doors to the locker room opened and instantly everyone was pulling on their masks. Sakura didn’t even get a glimpse at who it was, but she tugged her mask on just like the rest of them. Danzo scanned the line of Anbu who now stood perfectly still and pin straight. From the way they’d all been lounging and leaning only a few seconds ago, it was impressive how fast they could change appearance.  

Danzo called out, “Missions are being assigned in ten minutes. Make sure you and your squad are ready. Dismissed.”  

The room erupted into movement once again, but it was still deathly quiet. Sakura whispered to Kakashi, “Does that include us?”  

He shrugged, “Won’t know until missions are assigned. If they need us, that’s what we’re here for.” She nodded, tucking her extra Kunai and paper bombs into her pockets. Even though it felt like there were a million things they should be doing, they’d done all they could for right now.  

The worst part of knowing what was coming was having to wait for it. Most of the problems they knew about only occurred years down the road, Root was a current issue, but they’d yet to come up with a way to disassemble it. They’d agreed that taking out Danzo too early wasn’t a good thing, even though he surely deserved it after the horrors Sasuke had told her about. Itachi’s illness was a pressing matter, but until Fugaku allowed Sakura to see him, there wasn’t much they could do.  

Of course there were the Akatsuki members, which included Orochimaru at the moment, but if they could get Obito to join their side, it would make that entire trip far simpler. 

In short, there was nothing else they could do. 

Maybe doing a mission would give them a chance to clear their heads, refocus. Hone their skills and get back into training. As the ten minutes came to a close and all the Anbu had checked and rechecked their weapons, missions were assigned. As Captain, Kakashi stood in front of the two of them, and a folder was placed in his hands. Danzo’s eyes lingered on the two masked teenagers behind for a moment before he continued, handing out missions to the rest.  

He dismissed them all with a wave of his arm. 

Team Ro, the name assigned to Kakashi and his squad, stopped atop a large tree along the wall of the village. Sasuke called to his Captain, “What do we got?” 

He eyed the file in front of him slowly and glanced up at Sakura, “Your lucky day.” At her raised eyebrow, he tossed the file towards her. “Guess who was last spotted at the border of the Land of Fire?”  

Mission : S-Rank. Highly Dangerous. Eliminate Kakuzu.   

Sakura’s heart skipped a beat. She’d had no knowledge that anyone had been sent after Kakuzu in the past which meant one of two things: after the destruction caused by the Nine-Tails, he’d simply gone unnoticed. Or the more terrifying, the last person who sighted him did not survive.  

She really, really hoped it was the former as she passed it onto Sasuke. He closed the file after he read it, “He’s good?” the question was aimed at Sakura, but Kakashi answered. 

“Four other Anbu teams have tried to stop him. Everyone’s died so far.” 

Sakura really wanted to point out that Kakashi had succeeded, with help from Naruto and Shikamaru of course, but she kept that to herself. She had no idea if this Kakuzu was more or less skilled than the one they’d faced. She nodded, “He is, but I know how he works, I’ve seen him in battle.” She turned to Kakashi, “Get ready to add another red X to your Bingo Book, Kakashi.” 

Chapter Text

It took four days to track down Kakuzu. In those three days, Sakura, Kakashi and Sasuke had fallen into a surprisingly easy normal. They just clicked together, like they’d been doing it for years. Which for Sakura, and to some extent Sasuke, they had. Even Kakashi seemed surprised by how well they worked together. It wasn’t the same without Naruto’s constant energy, this team had a more serious undertone without him, but they were still a team.

As they set up camp for the third night, Kakashi called Sakura over once Sasuke had left to find them food. She smiled brightly at him as she asked, “What’s up, Sensei?”

Kakashi’s visible eye widened slightly. He gently corrected her, “It’s only Kakashi, Sakura.”

Her cheeks ignited in a fiery blush the moment she realized her mistake and she looked away from him, “Sorry, Kakashi. Old habit, I guess.” She’d been doing so well too.

“It’s okay.” He shrugged. He certainly hadn’t gotten used to the honorific, but he didn’t blame Sakura for the mistake, Minato-sensei was just as ingrained in his brain. He was slightly curious as to why Sasuke didn’t seem to struggle with it, but he shook his head of the thought. “I had a question, about Sasuke.”

Her eyes snapped up to his, her expression guarded. He’d already noticed the protectiveness the two had over each other, even though they seemed oblivious to it themselves, so the look she gave him wasn’t all that surprising. He assured her quickly, “It’s nothing bad. I just, I want to know what happened that made you trust him. How you knew he’d turn around.”

The guarded gleam in her eyes vanished instantly. She looked away from him again, her gaze cast toward the ground as she sighed, “That’s a good question.” She glanced around, as if making sure they were alone and answered simply, “I didn’t really. I didn’t know he’d turn around until he did.”

“But you still jumped into that jutsu after him,” he pointed out. “When you told me about what happened, you said you went in after him. If you didn’t trust him, why?”

Sakura froze. Why had she? She hadn’t known Sasuke had completely switched sides, sure he’d fought on their side in the war but he’d had to then, otherwise Madara would have taken over… so why had she jumped in after him? She turned to Kakashi and asked instead, “Why are you asking, Kakashi?”

“Obito.” She nodded for him to continue, and it was his turn to look away. “I wanted him to be alive for years. I wished he would come back, but when he did and it was to hurt Minato-sensei… I don’t know how I can trust him.”

Sakura nodded, “I get that. It’s not easy, but you have to believe they can change. When Sasuke joined our side in the fight, that made me believe in him again. When that jutsu was cast, I just had to hope that he would continue to change.”

“But Obito didn’t change for good, like Sasuke. He went bad, worse than bad. And he hasn’t—”

Guilt swirled uncomfortably in her stomach as she cut him off, “Rin.”

Kakashi went stock-still. It looked like he wasn’t even breathing. Having access to such a personal, dark memory of Kakashi’s felt wrong; he hadn’t entrusted her with it, with anything and yet she knew almost everything about him.

But she had seen it, the slightest flicker in Obito, and it was because of her. Kakashi deserved to know.

“I’m sorry, I heard about her before, in my time,” she started guiltily. “But when I mentioned her to Obito, he changed. There was something in him that shifted when I said her name. Use that as your reason to believe he can change.”

“But he’s—“

“I know. But he’s still a kid, like you and me. And one who was manipulated by Madara Uchiha. Even if you talk to him and you still can’t trust him, that’s okay, Kakashi. All we’re asking is that you try talking to him. You don’t have to trust him or want to be teammates with him again; we just want to give him a fair shot to do something good.”

Both heard the third member of their team approaching, and as he broke through the treeline, blowing his bangs out of his eyes, Sakura smiled softly. She spoke offhandedly to Kakashi, “They can surprise you when they’re given the chance.”

When they finally found their target, tracked by a much younger sounding Pakkun, all they had to do was kill him.

Five times.

One for his own heart.

And then the four elemental ones.

She’d taken the time to explain each of the abilities he had to Kakashi and Sasuke, and while neither had been expecting it, they didn’t seem too surprised. Kakashi especially, having known first hand how many Anbu had lost their lives against him.

The first kill was Kakashi’s, Chidori through the chest. They knew better than to celebrate though, thanks to Sakura’s warning. Once he found out they knew his secret, Kakuzu had decided to let all hell break loose and release the other three mask monsters.

Sakura was busy dodging the fire monster that had clawed its way out of his body away from Kakuzu when Sasuke landed the second kill.

The water monster was struck down by his sword, unsurprisingly with another lightning attack.

The third mask, the lightning one had joined the chase of Sakura while Kakashi kept Kakuzu occupied with hand to hand. She realized too late that she was the last of their squad who should face off against it, considering both of her teammates could counteract its lightning with their own, but once she’d dodged all she could she was left with no other choice. Bracing herself for pain, she focused her chakra into her fist and shattered the lightning mask.

The crackling explosion cut off all of her senses. Everything was bright white. She couldn’t hear anything as she fell through the air that was tinted with the scent of burning flesh, and her arm—

She thought she’d been hurt before, but lightning definitely cracked the top of her list for worst injuries. The nerves in her arm were shot to hell. Burning. Seizing. If she didn’t work on them right away, she’d never be able to use her arm again.

She felt the pain rattle to her core, but she knew in the back of her mind that Kakuzu was down another heart and that made it worth it. Even if it felt like her arm was being swallowed by the sun as the electricity raced through it, frying every inch of her skin.

She hit the ground hard, her arm cradled close to her chest as she tumbled across the field. The explosion of electricity had left her temporarily-blind, her entire vision swimming with blurry after-effects of being so close to so much light, all she knew was that she was down and had no way of protecting herself.

When the pain ebbed slightly and she was finally able to see, Sasuke was beside her, his sharingan eyes bright red behind his mask, and Kakashi was on her other side, both standing protectively around her. When they noticed her cleared expression, they asked in sync, “Are you okay?”

She nodded wearily, pressing her good hand to her bad arm. Instant relief coursed through her veins as the pain dulled out. Deciding it was worth it, she activated her Byakugou, guiltily using her chakra reserves to heal. She nodded firmly when she was able to once again curl her hand into a fist, “I’m fine. We’ve still got two hearts left to stop.”

Kakashi’s chest was heaving beside her, “It’s no wonder no team has won against him. Five hearts, four of them elemental. There’s nothing in the Bingo Book about that, no one lived long enough to find out.”

“That’ll make us the first,” but the sweat pouring down her back in the hot sun along with the ache in her muscles was making her steadfast promise of victory turn into strong hope. She wished she could rip the mask off to breathe, but in case they didn’t win, she didn’t need Kakuzu knowing what she looked like.

Sasuke looked tired too, but he curled his hand around his sword, “We need to stop the hearts first. The fire one is still out, but he absorbed the Earth one after Kakashi took out his own.”

Sakura knocked her shoulder into his, “Fight fire with fire.” She remembered Ino explaining the way Kakashi had stopped the lightning attack with his bare hands by absorbing the chakra as it flew. Sasuke was the only fire-type among them, and between her still healing arm and the fact that if all else failed, he had a Susanoo, she was letting him take the lead on this one.

“Kakashi, you with me?” he asked. It had been easy for him to drop the sensei honorific, considering he’d never used it in the past. It made the dynamic between them as teammates instead of teacher-student look that much more natural.

Especially when they both summoned Chidori before they ran.

Sakura finished healing her arm, aware that some movements still twinged, but decided it was good enough. While her teammates were busy with the fire mask, she turned, finding Kakuzu on the other end of the open field. He was down on one knee, his arms out wide at his sides, and the thick, grey cables that held his body together were disappearing into the ground. She followed his gaze, their eyes resting upon the same targets.

The two lightning users currently battling it out with a beast that shot fireballs almost faster than Sasuke could dissipate them. Shaking out the final tremors in her arm, she raced after her teammates, pouring her chakra into her fist once again.

Kakashi looked up just in time to see Sakura’s earth-shattering punch. The ground rippled below them before it cracked into a series of chasms and cliffs, thick, cable-like grey arms rising from between. Part of Kakuzu that had been far too close to Sasuke and Kakashi.

A hand launched from the ground and latched onto Sakura’s throat, dragging her into the sky. She struggled against him, but without any air in her lungs, channelling chakra was next to impossible. As the grip tightened and black spots crept into the corners of her vision, she heard it. Birds.

Chidori.

And then she was falling, the arm falling with her. Sweet, sweet air filled her lungs, but it was knocked out of her just as fast when she hit the ground. She weakly pushed herself onto her hands and knees with a cough, her fingers trembling as they grazed her tender neck.

Suddenly, her vision was filled with purple.

A purple she was familiar enough with to know. Sasuke’s Susanoo.

She didn’t need to look up to know how many hearts were left. There was a final stabbing sound, the noise unmistakeable to a trained medical ninja like herself, but she didn’t have to worry about healing that one. As her breaths became longer and less sharp, and her vision focused, she was able to heal the surely growing bruise on her neck.

She dropped her hand, finally looking up. Sasuke had his mask off, his eyes still glowing with their unique red and black pattern as he practically panted from exertion. She found Kakashi next, he was standing a few feet over, his mask off as well and was eagerly pulling his headband back over his eye.

She got to her feet shakily enough, her hands tugging her own mask off. The cool air on her face made breathing a whole lot easier. As she took in a few gulps of cool air, she noticed she was still wrapped protectively in Sasuke’s Susanoo and called gently, “Sasuke, you got him.”

When his gaze met hers, she gestured to the Susanoo. The purple faded as his eyes spun to black, but he settled his glare on her, “That was stupid.”

She rolled her eyes, “He was going to get you guys from underground. You seemed a little busy with the fire one.”

“It was still stupid.”

“It worked, didn’t it?” she planted her hands on her hips, her glare matching the Uchiha’s.

Kakashi watched them, amazed at how they could go from battle mode to protective mode to married-couple mode so quickly. When Kakuzu had his hand around Sakura’s throat, Sasuke had turned into… something. His sharingan was like nothing Kakashi had ever seen, and the black flames he’d used on the monster—they had been something else entirely.

Apparently Sakura was right in suggesting they fight fire with fire.

Kakashi cut in, “It did. But it was risky.” She pouted at him, her bottom lip jutting out. He held his hands up, “This was just our first mission, keep that in mind. A difficult one, but still our first. We need to figure out a battle strategy that works as well as one that doesn’t risk too much.”

He leveled his gaze with Sasuke’s, “In this case, I think she was pretty safe in assuming we’d cover her. The lightning mask though, that was—”

She cut him off, “Nope. Either he was going to take me out, or I took him down with me. It wouldn’t have worked any other way.”

Kakashi hated to admit she was right. He’d been struggling with Kakuzu in hand to hand, and since his enemy had limbs that could extend, it had been a little difficult to keep an eye on his teammates. With Sasuke taking out another mask, he’d been equally as busy. He conceded, “Fine. Obviously, we can work on the whole teamwork thing.”

Sasuke looked away from Kakashi at the same time Sakura teased, “Sasuke’s not the best at the whole teamwork thing.” He sent her a glare that at one point would have sent her running, tail tucked between her legs, but now she just raised an eyebrow back.

When neither looked like they were going to give in, Sakura surprised Kakashi with how her gaze softened. She walked towards him, her voice low, “I’m okay, Sasuke. Kakashi’s right, I knew you would cover me.”

She looked past him, her eyes falling on Kakuzu’s body where there were four holes in his chest and his eyes stared unseeingly at the sky. Sasuke’s sword was lodged in his skin, directly through the earth mask. She reached for his wrist, tearing her gaze from the mangled corpse and whispered, “Do you realize how much we just changed things? The Akatsuki is now down one of their strongest members. And that’s huge.”

He turned to her suddenly, his hand raised. His index and middle finger poked her in the middle of her forehead as he whispered, “Just don’t do that again.”

He dropped his hand and she nodded, rendered silent by the gesture. She had no idea what it meant, but she knew it had to mean something. She stepped back from Sasuke, deciding to also tuck that into the problems-we’ll-deal-with-later section of her brain and tried to ignore the way her cheeks were surely on fire when turned to Kakashi. She cleared her throat, “Do we have any instructions on what to do with the body?”

Kakashi sighed, “Danzo wants us to bring it back with us so he can have someone check it out. He’s got powers we’ve never seen before.”

Sasuke snorted, “There’s no way we’re dragging this back with us. And even less of a chance we’re giving Danzo something like this.” His eyes flashed red again, black flames erupting across the corpse’s chest. He turned to Kakashi, “Just report that it was too damaged for us to bring back.”

Kakashi nodded slowly, his brows drawing close together. “There’s something going on with Danzo, isn’t there?” He didn’t sound particularly surprised.

Sasuke shrugged, “Yes. And this will only help him.”

Kakashi nodded again, catching on that that was the end of the conversation. The trio waited until the black flames had burned its way through the body until there was nothing left. Thankfully, Amaterasu didn’t give off the scent of burning flesh; it made the whole thing much easier to witness, especially with how inhuman Kakuzu looked.

Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura then started their trek back to the Leaf. They didn’t run this time, instead agreeing that the two-day journey was going to be taken to its full advantage. Once Sakura gathered enough strength and they’d taken a break for the night, she forced both boys to let her give them a checkup.

Kakashi was wrestling some nastily bruised ribs along with a small but deep slash on his arm from his hand to hand battle with Kakuzu. She healed it mostly, deciding to save some of her chakra for the trip back in case of any surprises. As she wrapped his arm, she noticed he kept his gaze pointedly away from her. He’d given her a stiff thanks and immediately offered to patrol the perimeter of their campout, leaving her and Sasuke in silence.

He didn’t argue as much as she thought he would, letting her run her chakra laced fingers across his chest. None of his injuries were too severe, most didn’t even require her medical ninjutsu to heal it. She noticed the dried blood that stained his cheeks and hesitantly lifted her hand to the side of his face. When he made no move to pull away, she placed her glowing hand over his right eye.

His other eye slid shut almost immediately, the weight of his head growing against her hand as he leaned into her touch and let out a soft sigh of relief. She had to bite back her smile. The progress her and Sasuke had made on the trust-front in such a short amount of time was impressive, and it gave her heart the tiniest spark of hope. One she tried to smother, but when she switched her hand to his other eye and his reaction was the same, it flickered just a little stronger.

Nothing prepared her heart for his lowly whispered, “Thank you, Sakura,” as she pulled her hand away.

She whispered in response, “I didn’t know using your sharingan caused so much strain. I would have offered to help years ago.”

“I probably wouldn’t have let you,” he told her honestly.

Kakashi came back from his perimeter check and they debated who would sleep first and who would take watch. Sakura eventually won out, arguing she could use the first shift to meditate and replenish her chakra levels. Kakashi propped his head against his pack and pulled his headband across both eyes, his fingers lacing together on his chest while he slept.

Sasuke’s voice was somewhat mumbled by drowsiness, “You should heal his too.”

She jumped from where she sat, her concentration breaking. “What?” she opened her eyes, finding him leaning against a nearby tree with his eyes closed. She thought he’d fallen asleep not long after Kakashi had.

“His sharingan. He can’t turn it off,” he said simply.

She smiled, “I’ll offer to do it when I wake him for his watch. You, on the other hand, should be asleep.” He peered at her from one squinted eye, and she nodded, “I’ve got first watch covered, Sasuke. Trust me.”

He sighed, closing his eye and leaning back into the tree. His voice was low, but in the otherwise silent forest she heard it clear as day, “I do.”

Chapter Text

Minato sat in the office, back to his Hokage position now that things had settled and stared at the file in front of him in shock.  He had figured the announcement of the two battling susanoos would have been the highlight of his first days back, proudly standing alongside Fugaku as they delivered the news. However, Team Ro’s sudden return may have won out.

He’d read the man’s name over and over, and each time he’d had to add another black X underneath. The teenagers that stood in front of him though proved that that would not be the case this time. “You three were sent on this mission?”

Sakura frowned. “You didn’t know?”

He shook his head, “Danzo said he needed a strong squad so I suggested your name, Team Ro, but I didn’t think he’d send you after him.”

“It’s a good thing he did, because he’s no longer a problem,” Sasuke said casually.

Minato nodded, “Yeah, I just, I didn’t expect this.” Kakuzu had cost them twelve Anbu. He was not a man to be taken lightly, and certainly not a mission for teenagers; though Danzo clearly disagreed. He looked up at Kakashi, “From your report it sounded intense.”

Kakashi glanced at his two teammates, “It was. If I hadn’t been with Sasuke and Sakura, it would have been a lot worse.”

Sakura shrugged, a smile playing on her lips. “I think you would have had it covered. Call it a hunch.” The wink she sent him had him repeating her statement in his head.

He spun to face her, his eyebrows shooting up and disappearing under his hair, “Wait, you’re telling me I took on that guy?”

“Not that it matters,” she laughed. “But yes. Him and another S-Rank at the same time, pretty much solo.” Kakashi’s eye could only get so wide. She warned him, planting her hands on her hips in a very Sakura-like stance. “Don’t get cocky though. That was you with an extra sixteen years of experience.”

“She’s right,” Minato agreed. “Though it is comforting to know that you can handle missions like this. Not that I had any doubt in you. I’ll need to remind Danzo who you report to though, so next time I’m at least aware of your mission.” He frowned at the file in front of him, “Too much damage to the body to bring back?”

Both teammates turned to the Uchiha. His tone was as bored as usual, “We were forced to extremes in order to stop him. Figured that was more important than preserving him.”

Minato nodded. “I agree. I’m assuming you’ve both been cleared by Sakura?” everyone nodded. “Then take the day off. You’ve been gone for almost a week; you deserve the break. I think Guy was looking for you, Kakashi.”

Kakashi sighed, clearly unenthused, “I’m sure he was.”

Sakura bit back a smile. She turned to the Hokage, “Any word on meeting with Itachi and Fugaku?”

“Getting there. The Uchiha are very private people. He’s discussing it with his wife and said he’d get back to me on their decision.”

Sasuke shook his head, “It can’t be up to decision. It needs to happen.”

Minato agreed hesitantly, “I know, you’ve both assured me that this meeting is a pressing matter. But I’d rather let Fugaku agree with it on his own terms instead of using my power as Hokage to force his hand.”

When both teens looked ready to protest, he held up his hand, “Seriously, take the day off. You’ve been non-stop since you got here. Unless this meeting absolutely has to happen tonight,” when neither said anything he nodded. “Great. Then take a break.”

The squad glanced at each other uneasily. Between Sasuke’s restlessness, Kakashi’s constant need for a new mission and Sakura’s now non-existent job at the hospital, taking a break didn’t sound like the relaxing thing Minato was making it out to be.

It was just dead air, time wasting away from them when they could be doing something. Minato gave an exasperated sigh, “I know, it’s not what you want to hear. But you all need one, especially after a battle like this. Use the time to train if you really need to, but otherwise you’re off duty for the day.” When none of them moved, he gave them each a warning glare, “Don’t make me make it a week.”

They left the office quickly after that threat.

They had to stop at Anbu headquarters to drop a mission report to Danzo and change back into their civilian clothes. Sakura shoved the mask on the top shelf of her locker, glad to be rid of it. Sasuke had offered to go with Kakashi to report to Danzo, most likely to keep an eye on him and support the story of what happened to the body.

Sakura had just finished taking her hair down when a heavy hand leaned on the locker beside her. She didn’t even need to look up to know it was Shoda. His voice confirmed her suspicion, “Heard you just got back from a mission, Hana, how’d it go?”

“Fine,” she answered shortly. She closed her locker and stepped back from him, hating that she had to angle her head up at the man in their forced close quarters.

“Yeah?” his tone was one she would use when talking to a child, “What kind of mission did you get? Rescue some cats from a couple trees?” there were laughs all around, some more well hidden than others.

Sakura’s hand curled into a fist at her side. “I’m Anbu, just like you. Besides, we’re not supposed to discuss missions.”

He shrugged, his smirk growing, “We’re not supposed to take off our masks, but we all do it.” He reached up, pushing her bangs back again, a habit so annoying she was tempted to cut them off. “Just like you’re not supposed to date other Anbu, but that doesn’t stop the determined ones.”

She pushed him away, maintaining enough common sense to not throw him across the room. She snapped, “I told you not to touch me.”

He grinned, “And I told you I like them feisty. You’re only adding to your appeal.” The chorus of laughs was even louder that time, and as she glanced around Sakura realized she was dreadfully outnumbered. There wasn’t another female in the room.

She knew, if push came to literal shove, she wouldn’t need it. But it was nice to know back up was an option. She ground her teeth together to bite back the reply that would surely just egg him on and tried to walk past him towards Danzo’s office.

His hand caught her elbow and she’d had enough. She spun around and punched him, her fist sinking into his stomach with an oh-so-satisfying thud. Limiting the amount of chakra she allowed into her hand, she watched proudly as the hit still sent him across the room, crashing into a wall of lockers. There weren’t any laughs now, it was dead silent save for Shoda’s groan as he pushed himself off the floor.

Everyone watched, their eyes jumping between the two Anbu. Which would break first. Shoda, to his credit, took the hit in stride and stood slowly, rolling his shoulders, “You’ve got more in you than I thought.”

“Don’t touch me again and you won’t have to see the rest.”

He grinned a little, “Well now I’m curious.” He looked like he was about to step forwards again, dare to be that much of an ass, but he froze, something close to fear flickering across his face. Sakura realized his eyes weren't locked on her anymore, instead were widening at something just past her shoulder. She slowly turned her head, her eyes resting on her teammates.

Both stood with their arms crossed, Kakashi had his sharingan out, making his glare even more deadly than usual. Sasuke didn’t, a battle that was surely taking more concentration than he let on, but his looks could always kill even without it. If he’d used his sharingan, Shoda would have been a dead man.

With one on either side of her, she did concede that they looked intimidating. Despite their young age compared to the rest of the Anbu, no one was laughing at them and no one was daring to meet their glares. Shoda still stood unevenly, frozen in his mid-step, his wide eyes flashing between the three.

The tense silence was broken by Danzo’s voice, calling over the group, “Mark your books. Kakuzu is no longer a target.” The three unflinching teenagers seemed to gather more wide eyed stares after that announcement. Kakuzu’s name was not one to be taken lightly, every Anbu member knew that, and the lack of reaction from the trio, coupled with their return from a week-long mission, it seemed to confirm suspicions. Someone still dared to ask who’d done it. Danzo gestured towards them, “Team Ro completed the mission.”

There was a beat of silence, one that demanded respect to the youngest Anbu in the room, the ones who had taken out a seemingly impossible enemy and now stood together looking every bit as menacing as their successful mission. No one said anything to that.

Sakura had to bite back the part of her that wanted to laugh at them, tell them that Sasuke was still a genin and she only a chunin, just to add to their disbelief. But she didn’t, just holding her head with pride and unclenched her fists. When Danzo left the room to go back to his office, she turned to the boys behind her, “Let’s go.”

Even once the deadly trio left the room, the silence was palpable.

The squad was quiet as they made their way down the street, which wasn’t particularly unusual for her stoic teammates. However, Sasuke’s frown was deeper than normal, and she couldn’t help but wonder if it was from meeting with Danzo, or from the things Shoda had said to her. 

She selfishly hoped it was the latter—because that meant he cared, and that maybe he cared-cared. But it wasn’t time for that now, though the growing pile of Sasuke-related concerns in the deal-with-later section of her brain was slowly creeping into the deal-with-now section, especially with their day-off ahead of them. She glanced over at Kakashi, “You going to go meet up with Guy?”

He shrugged his shoulders, “I might. He’ll probably want to go out or do some kind of challenge since he made me his rival.”

“Why not go out? Kakashi, you make it sound like it’s a bad thing.” If she knew anything about her sensei, it was that he could stand to get out more, and get some real human interaction. If she could subtly point him in that direction, she wouldn’t mind altering that particular future.

He stared at the ground as he jammed his hands into his pockets. “I don’t know, I’m not really the type.” He glanced up, his eyes narrowing, “But it looks like I won’t have much of a choice.”

She followed his gaze, and there they were. Guy-Sensei, Kurenai-Sensei, and Asuma-Sensei, all of them around 17/18 years old. She felt her mouth go dry as she watched Ino’s Sensei laugh. He’d died. In a battle against one of the Akatsuki members they’d just killed. They’d corrected it.

Kurenai and Asuma were going to be able to be together.

She felt tears prick at her eyes as the group made their way over. Guy had spotted them instantly and had all but dragged the rest of them to follow. Kakashi sighed wearily, looking more tired now than he had fighting Kakuzu, but Sakura firmly elbowed him in his side before they got too close.

“Kakashi!” Guy’s over-the-top voice was welcome to her ears, and in his young age he looked even more like Lee than she remembered. “My rival! I heard you were out on mission all week. How’d it go?”

Kakashi sighed, “Fine, Guy. I’m back, aren’t I?” Sakura landed another firm elbow against his ribs, causing the silver-haired Anbu to scowl at her. 

Asuma called over Guy, “You take on another S-rank?” Kakashi nodded, rolling his eyes at Asuma’s grin, “That’s Kakashi for you. Making all of us look bad since we’re just chunin.”

Kurenai laughed, hiding it behind her hand. She caught Sakura’s eye, “I’ve never seen you two before, you guys new?”

Sakura nodded, knowing fully well that Sasuke wouldn’t reply. “Yeah, my name’s Hana. This is Chen,” she gestured to her dark-haired counterpart. “We were just assigned here from a small village outside the Leaf.”

She was struggling to avoid Asuma’s piercing gaze. Staring down previously dead people wasn’t exactly new anymore. It had been easier with Minato and Kushina since she’d never met them, and with Inoichi she’d been so exhausted that she didn’t let herself think too much about it.

But Asuma, his death had wrecked her friend. She’d hugged her while she cried, held her hand at the funeral that all but broke her. Looking at him seemed much more difficult. His voice was every bit as rough as she remembered, “Welcome to the Leaf. Please tell me that this guy hasn’t been your welcoming party,” he asked, his gaze meeting Kakashi’s.

Kakashi looked dully over at Sakura. “This is what I meant.”

Sakura laughed. She decided to defend her teammate, “He’s done a pretty good job so far.” And he had. He’d taken the whole ‘we’re your students from the future’ thing far better than she’d anticipated.

Kurenai didn’t sound very convinced though. “A weeklong S-Rank mission doesn’t sound like the best welcoming party to me. You two like ramen?”

She glanced back at Sasuke and when he gave her a shrug she nodded. So the trio joined the group, though Kakashi still tried to slip away. Sakura looped her elbow through his, effectively ending that struggle and they made their way to Ichiraku’s.

The man was much younger than she remembered, but the corners of his eyes were already lined with crow’s feet. They sat together at a booth, seeing as their group would have taken up all of the counter space, and Sakura was grateful to be between Kakashi and Sasuke.

Questions flew around the table in every direction, the general tone of the conversation quite light. Asuma and Guy had the best mission stories since they could actually talk about theirs, unlike Kakashi, and Kurenai gave Sakura some much needed girl talk. Turned out, Kurenai was as big of a gossip as Ino, and it was refreshingly familiar.

After that dinner, she could have sworn she knew everything happening in the village. Even Sasuke seemed to enjoy himself, cracking a small smile here or there as Asuma talked about his missions. Kurenai raised her eyebrow at the two, “So, how’d you guys make Anbu? Coming from a village beyond the Leaf especially.”

Sakura had been preparing for this question. She smiled, “We’ve been teammates since we were genin. After we went on to make Jōnin, we decided the Leaf may have needed our talents a little more than our small village did, and then we got the official assignment.”

 Asuma leaned in, “Alright, but what’s it really like having this guy as a captain?” his eyes met Kakashi’s, shining with pride at his joking dig. Kakashi just bit back a smile while he grabbed his glass, pulling his mask down for less than a second in order to drink from it. Sakura had seen him do it countless times, and yet she never caught a glance of his face. Annoyingly.

She gave him a sudden smirk and laughed, “He’s pretty good. You should hear him give a motivational speech before battle.”

Kakashi choked on his drink.

There had not been any kind of motivational speech before their battle, but his reaction sent the table into roaring laughter. He gave Sakura a somewhat playful glare as he crossed his arms, realizing too late that that was all she wanted. Even Sasuke struggled to contain his smile behind his hand.

She just smiled innocently as the laughter died out. Guy looked up at him, “Kakashi, please let us hear one of your motivational speeches. It might be the driving force I need to compete with you—as my rival!”

Kakashi answered sharply, “Yeah, no. Not happening.” The laughter that filled the Ramen shop gave Sakura just the slightest feeling of home, that maybe this could be their new normal. While she would never have Naruto back as a teammate, she would get to watch him grow up.

While she’d miss out on her friends’ lives and her parents’ lives, she’d be able to watch from afar, protecting them and helping them how she could. And as she glanced around the table at Kurenai who gossiped like Ino, Asuma whose dry sarcasm was the same as Shikamaru’s, and Guy who was every bit as energetic as his student, she thought that maybe she’d be able to find that new normal.

With Kakashi on one side and Sasuke on the other, Sakura gave herself a firm nod. This may not have been their past, but it was their new future. And they were going to have a say in how it turned out this time around.

When the group finally left the ramen shop, the evening had well descended on the village, the sky a beautiful painting of pinks and purples, with just a hint of navy blue. Guy, Kurenai and Asuma left the Anbu members shortly after, heading home for the night, but not before they promised they would do it again, and Sakura had made sure Kakashi agreed.

The trio walked along the busy streets in relative silence, but it was comfortable. Sakura watched the families that were milling about, the young children clinging to their parents’ hands or running around with their siblings. Some were already asleep after the night’s festivities, snoozing soundly on the shoulder of whoever was holding them.

But Sakura’s eyes were drawn to a family with dark hair that matched Sasuke’s and she froze. She stopped so suddenly Sasuke bumped into her shoulder and looked ready to complain, until his eyes landed on the same thing.

Itachi Uchiha couldn’t have been more than five years old. And cradled in his arms was an indiscernible mound of blankets that must have been Sasuke. Fugaku was speaking to a shopkeeper, his hand firmly on his oldest son’s shoulder and the other around his wife.

And Sasuke couldn’t breathe.

Chapter Text

He had thought seeing his father and talking to him had been bad.

But seeing all of them together, happy, alive—it was so much worse. Because they were so close and yet, he couldn’t reach out to them even if he wanted to, he couldn’t tell them anything, all the things he didn’t get a chance to say.

And not just because saying something would potentially ruin things for the future, but because he literally. couldn’t. move. His lungs felt ready to implode from the lack of oxygen and his legs, he could barely even feel them. He was dimly aware of a warm hand tugging on his arm, but he paid it no attention. His family was right there.

He didn’t realize his legs had nearly given out on him until Kakashi had his arm slung across his shoulders and was dragging him over to a nearby bench.

Sakura kneeled in front of him, her green eyes wide with worry and in the back of his mind he knew he should be concerned about it. She whispered, something, but the plea fell on deaf ears. His eyes roamed wildly, looking everywhere but at her, and they kept stopping on the family that had yet to leave the street.

Right there.

Something wrapped around his hand, warm and firm and gave it a squeeze. Followed by another. When he finally looked down, he was met with a pair of bright green eyes that looked on the verge of tears and a pale hand intertwined with his own.

“Hey,” she laughed, though it came out closer to a cry. She’d never seen Sasuke like this; pale and shaking, and his eyes far, far away, lost in another time entirely. He hadn’t reacted to her calling his name at all until she’d almost broken his fingers by squeezing them.

“Sakura,” he mumbled.

His eyes started to drift again, trying to glimpse the family that had moved slightly in the crowd, but her other hand reached up, cupping his cheek and forcing him to face her. “Look at me. Don’t worry about anyone else right now.”

After his meeting with Fugaku, he’d jumped straight into his next project. He’d found something else to focus on, to avoid this. But now, just seeing them, all of them—it was too much. She whispered, “Do you think you can get up?”

He shook his head mutely. It felt like his entire body had gone numb, everything had just shut down at the sight. That was Itachi; young, happy, unburdened Itachi. He’d been so close.

“Sasuke,” she called his name again, forcing his eyes back to the present. Shock had debilitating effects on people, it was a problem many Shinobi faced but seldom sought help with and Sasuke was no exception. She told him gently, “Kakashi is getting Minato-sensei, and we’re going to get out of here.”

He hadn’t even noticed Kakashi’s disappearance. He shook his head, “No, I want to see them.” At her concerned look, he willed his muscles to work in order to squeeze her hand, “I need to see them.”

She glanced around, debating with herself for half a second before she gave in. She slung his arm over her shoulders, “Fine. But if you start going down again, I’m dragging you out of here.” She stood with him, relieved to find he was able to support most of his own weight as they moved into the crowd. He still kept his arm tightly around her.

She scanned the throngs of people, searching for the Uchiha family she’d glimpsed earlier, but Sasuke pulled them to a stop. He tightened the grip he had on her shoulder, “There.”

She followed his gaze and there they were. Sasuke was now in his mother’s arms and Itachi was laughing about something with his father, a skewer of dango in his hand. Sasuke’s voice shook, “You’re going to save him, right?”

She glanced up at him, ready to say she’d do her best, but the promise died in her throat when his eyes slid over to hers. She’d never seen Sasuke cry, but this was the closest he’d ever come. The emotion that swam in his eyes as they flickered red, a sign of how hard he was trying to shut them down gave her new resolve. A new promise that she meant every word of.

She felt he was stable enough for her to step directly in front of him, because the new promise she was going to make was one that had to be made eye-to-eye. “I will. And if I can’t figure it out now, I’ll just go back in time and do it again, I promise.”

Even though she had no idea how time-travel worked, she’d be damned if she didn’t die trying. Itachi meant the world to Sasuke, and she would do everything in her power to make sure he was safe. Sasuke stared her down, his eyes flickering red ever so slightly and it felt as though a thousand words were shared between their glances. Even though she couldn’t understand it all, she translated enough; thank you.

Sasuke nodded, reaching for her hand. Not her wrist, she noticed, but he laced their fingers together, tightly intertwining them. “Let’s go,” he whispered, but made no effort to move. Sakura got the message. She gently pulled him away and he let her, despite every part of him that wanted to run over and say something, anything to the family he’d lost.

Sakura steered him back towards the bench they’d been sitting on where Kakashi now stood. He didn’t say anything as they approached, just stepped up to Sasuke’s other side and guided them between buildings where Minato waited.

No words were said, just glances from all parties as Minato made sure he had a grip on everyone before they vanished.

Minato didn’t ask questions when he dropped them off at their apartment. He’d simply opened the door for them and gave Sakura a nod when she’d said thank you. He’d seen that haunted look before, though he’d seen it from his own student, the day after he returned from his mission without Rin, it was unmistakeable. It was a look of loss and worry and guilt.

One that Kakashi still bore from time to time.

Sakura guided Sasuke towards the bathroom, stopping just outside the door. Sasuke looked a little less pale now that they were away from the crowd, and when his eyes met hers they were the slightest hint clearer. She nodded towards the bathroom, “Go, take a shower and try to relax, okay? I know that was a lot.”

“Thank you, Sakura.” Talking was good. Even though it felt like his mouth was dryer than Suna, talking meant he had a little control back. He noticed their tightly twined fingers and gave her hand a squeeze before he finally let go.

“Don’t worry about it, okay?”

He nodded, forcing his legs to work despite their stiffness and pushed open the door to the bathroom. Sakura’s suggestion had been a good one, and as the hot water ran down his back, he felt his muscles beginning to relax, the shake in his limbs easing as he gained more control. He stood in front of the mirror, shaking his hair out and feeling somehow both exhausted and finally awake at the same time. He stared himself down, but he couldn’t even find it in him to be angry with what he saw.

He was so tired.

He’d seen his family together for the first time in nine years... and he couldn’t do anything.

Because they weren’t his. His had died years ago. And now he just had to watch them, the ones who weren’t his, go on without him; he’d have to watch what his life could have been if someone had stepped in. If Danzo hadn’t interfered, if Shisui hadn’t sacrificed himself—if Itachi was never forced to leave.

So yes, he was tired.

Emotionally, mentally, and physically, Sasuke had had enough. It’s why he just silently crept across the hall to his bedroom, hating how the door creaked as he tried to close it. He felt guilty, but he didn’t want to, couldn’t, talk to anyone right now, including the very person who’d helped him through his panic.

But she didn’t press, her voice just called from somewhere else in the house, “Goodnight Sasuke.”

Sakura sighed, sitting back down on the front steps next to Kakashi. She’d heard the shower turn off a while ago, and the creak of his bedroom door told her enough; Sasuke didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want him to feel alone though, so she still called a goodnight, listening for the click of the door before she settled next to Kakashi and in front of Minato.

Minato’s worried gaze lingered on the window he’d assumed was Sasuke’s. “You sure he’s going to be alright?”

She nodded. “I’m sure, it just might take some time to get there. I can’t imagine what it’s like, seeing your family and not being able to do anything.”

Kakashi sat numbly beside her, his expression haunted. “I don’t know how I called him lucky. To just have to sit there when they’re so close but not be able to talk to them,” he shook his head, dragging his hands through his hair.

Minato placed his hand on his head, forcing Kakashi’s eyes to his own, “Hey, you had every right to call him lucky for being able to talk to his dad. Don’t go feeling guilty about this, you couldn’t have known.”

Once Sasuke had been safely transported indoors, Sakura had had to tell them what happened. The only problem was, it wasn’t about what happened, it was about what was going to happen. She gave it as briefly as she could, explaining that Sasuke’s parents had died in their original timeline when he was only a kid. Seeing them had obviously shaken him, which no one could blame him for, and that was before they even knew the whole truth.

That they'd been killed. In front of him. By his brother. 

Minato turned to her, his upbeat tone pulling her from her increasingly dark thoughts. “For what it’s worth, I’m proud of how you all handled this. You guys are a good squad, all of you. And I know I was never your sensei, Sakura, but I am Kakashi’s, since you’re on his squad—”

“Means I’m on yours?” she finished with a smile.

He laughed, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck, “Yeah, something like that. Guess I’m getting predictable, huh Kakashi?”

Kakashi didn’t respond though, he was lost in thought, clearly somewhere far away. Only when Sakura waved her hand in front of his face did he snap out of it. “Sorry,” he said quietly. “Just, Minato-Sensei, what you said got me thinking.” He turned to Sakura, his one eye set in determination, “I’m ready to talk to Obito. Try to convince him to come back.”

“Really?” she asked, trying to fight the hope in her voice.

Minato held up his hands, “Hold on, no one said anything about Obito. What are you talking about?”

“You mentioned our squad and I… I remembered that Obito was still alive, and he was here. A fact I’ve been trying to ignore if I’m being honest. Makes everything a lot easier.” He turned back to Sakura. “But whatever happened to Sasuke’s parents, that had something to do with him, didn’t it?”

Sakura nodded slowly, not sure if this counted as one of those too-many-details situations. At the look of horror on Minato’s face she wanted to take it back, or at least soften the blow, but Obito had been right there with Itachi while he slaughtered the clan. Kakashi continued, “And you’re convinced that if I talk to him, I can bring him back. The old Obito, right?”

She nodded again, “If anyone can, it’s going to be one of you. But Kakashi,” she grabbed his arm, forcing his eye back to hers. “It’s not easy to see these people, look at what happened to Sasuke.”

“I know,” he cut her off. “That’s why. If Sasuke can manage this, if both of you can, living in the same place as your own families but never seeing them or talking to them, I think I can handle trying to reach Obito.”

Both teenagers turned to the Hokage. He sighed heavily, “I already told you I don’t have much say in Obito’s case since I’m too involved, but,” he raised his hands to silence their protests. “I’m sure I can convince them to let you talk to him. You are his old teammate after all.”

The front door of Minato’s house opened, a silhouette of Kushina filling the yellow light that spilled across the street. She left the door open as she made her way towards the group, worry etched into her face, “Where’s Sasuke?”

“Sleeping,” Minato answered easily. He wrapped his arm around her, kissing the side of her head, “He had a bit of a tough day.”

Kushina looked more worried at that, but she let it go in favour of leaning on her husband. She looked to Kakashi and Sakura, “What about you two, are you alright?”

Sakura smiled at her. “Yeah, we’re fine. How’s Naruto?”

Kushina and Minato grinned. “A week and a half as of tomorrow. And I just got him down for the night.” She eyed the teenagers, “You both look like you could use a cup of tea. You too, Lord Fourth. Come on.” She pulled Minato with her and Kakashi sighed as he stood to follow.

When Sakura didn’t budge, Kakashi spoke, “Kushina doesn’t really take no for an answer.” When she still hesitated, he held out his hand, “Come on, I’m sure Sasuke will be fine. He doesn’t want to talk anyway, right?”

She slowly gave in, giving Kakashi her hand, “Right.” He pulled her up and the two of them followed Minato and Kushina across the street. From the very quiet, somber mood outside, the rather bright and lively one in the kitchen forced Sakura to do a quick 180 of her emotions. Minato was laughing at something Kushina said while she prepped their teas, the kettle whistling behind her.

A steaming cup was in front of her soon enough and she thanked Kushina as she sat across from her. Her red eyebrows drew together, “Sakura, you’re going to give yourself wrinkles if you keep thinking that hard.”

She flinched, forcing her forehead to relax. “Bad habit, I guess.”

Minato spoke next, “Sasuke’s going to be fine. I’m sure by tomorrow he’ll be back to himself again. You guys should be assigned a new mission too, it’ll be a nice distraction while he comes to terms with this.”

She would have been more inclined to believe him if she hadn’t been right there when it happened to Sasuke. She’d known him since they were children, and she’d never seen him like that. She’d never even seen him cry before, no matter what injury he had; needles from Haku, Orochimaru’s curse mark. This had been on another level entirely.

This had been shaking and panic, and he was too far gone to even hold himself up. But a mission did seem exactly like the kind of distraction Sasuke would want while he dealt with this. So she nodded, letting herself cling to that hope—Sasuke would get through this.

Kushina asked about their mission, and since she was the Hokage’s wife, they spared no detail. By the end, both her and Minato looked amazed, and Minato had read the mission report. He said dryly to Kakashi, “Your report didn’t quite cover everything.”

He shrugged, “It told you enough about Kakuzu, didn’t it?”

Sakura had to hold in her laugh, so young Kakashi didn’t like mission reports either? He loved to hand them off to his team, making someone else do it for ‘practice’. Sakura defended him, “If you wanted the full play by play it wouldn’t have fit in the file.”

Minato looked at her, “Your Byakugou, it’s that powerful? Attacking the lightning mask head on, without being a lightning user must have been…” he trailed off, trying to think of the right word.

Sakura supplied him with a few suggestions, “Agonizing? Painful? Yeah, it was. It felt like my nerves were being fried.” She shrugged, “But I stored up plenty of chakra so I was able to heal them quickly. If I didn’t, I doubt I’d be able to move my arm at all right now.”

“And Lady Tsunade, she taught you that technique?” Kushina asked. She’d seen medical ninjustsu in her time out in the field, but at the level Sakura was talking about, she’d never heard anything like it. It seemed like a skill more than only a select few should have.

Sakura nodded, “She did. Although it’s less taught than it is earned, I guess. It’s all about chakra reserves and if you can build them up strong enough. Tsunade taught me how to do that, and it took three years for me to get this,” she pointed at the diamond on her forehead.

Kakashi stared at Sakura like he was seeing her for the first time. To build up chakra for three years, always have some in reserve, and even after that to have enough to activate the Byakugou, he couldn’t imagine it. Her chakra control must have rivalled that of the legendary Sannin herself.

Kushina turned to Minato, “Doesn’t that seem like a technique we should be teaching our shinobi?”

Minato weakly pointed out, “It does, but I wouldn’t even know where to begin. Tsunade is the only one I’ve ever heard of with that, except you, Sakura.”

“And she’s not supposed to be back in the village for years,” she added. “Once she’s here…” she trailed off, a frown pulling at her lips. Would Tsunade even come back? If Hiruzen never took back the Hokage post, if they stopped Orochimaru’s attack on the Leaf, there’d be no reason for her to return.

“I’m guessing your pause has to do with the future,” Kushina suggested casually, as if the statement that left her lips had been completely normal. A week ago, not so much. Now though, it seemed completely typical.  

Sakura nodded, “I can’t say.”

She laughed, “I figured. Whatever it is, try not to worry about it. It sounded like a distant future problem anyway.”

Sakura nodded, feeling her heart hurt just a little. If her Master never came back to the village, what would become of her—the other Sakura in this time? She wasn’t stupid, she’d known from a young age she’d paled in comparison to her teammates, even Naruto whenever they were in battle, but Tsunade had given her a new purpose. A new reason to be on the field, and one she was damn good at.

If she never came to the village, what would she do?

She asked suddenly, “Can I see Naruto?”

Minato and Kushina looked up in surprise and Sakura couldn’t necessarily blame them at the odd request, but she needed a reminder. A reminder of why they were doing what they were doing. Even if the other Sakura didn’t become head of the medical unit, she could still make something of herself.

If her and Sasuke succeeded, there wouldn’t even be a need for the medical unit, there’d be no war.

Minato led her down the hall, pushing open the door to Naruto’s nursery. He was sleeping soundly, wrapped up in blankets with his yellow hair sticking up in every direction. She smiled softly at him.

This was why they were doing this. Because next to her, Minato stared at his son with love and pride in his eyes. Because they’d saved Naruto from a lot of hurt. A lot of heartache. They’d given this family a chance to be that; a family. One they didn’t get last time.

And they could keep saving people, that was why they were risking everything. That was why they’d agreed. She reached down, trying to gently smooth out his hair, “I just needed a reminder. Of why Sasuke and I are doing this.”

Minato whispered, “I can’t thank you enough.” She looked up at him from over her shoulder and he continued, “Every time I pick him up, I remember what you said. About what happened to us, and how lucky we are that you and Sasuke stepped in. And I saw the state Sasuke was in tonight, I know this isn’t easy for either of you. But thank you, Sakura. You gave us a chance we never would have had otherwise. I hope that one day I’ll be able to repay you.”

She shook her head, tears pricking the backs of her eyes. “You don’t have to. Watching you and Kushina, knowing what Naruto has… that’s enough.”

He smiled at her, teary-eyed too. “I don’t think I’ll ever tell him the whole truth about you two, I don't think I can, but I hope he’ll become as strong as you both are.”

Her smile was genuine as she told him, “Don’t worry. He becomes the best of us.”

She crept silently down the hall as she passed Sasuke’s bedroom. She paused outside the door, listening. What she was listening for, she didn’t know. But she wasn’t expecting his voice, “You can come in.”

Jumping back from the door, she briefly thought of pretending she couldn’t hear him, but she realized her reaction had given her away anyway when the floor creaked under her feet, and she pushed the door open timidly. He was sitting on the edge of his bed, shirtless (though that part she tried to ignore), and he stared at the floor.

“How are you feeling?” she asked, unsure if they were going to talk about it or not. With Sasuke, it could go either way.

He shrugged, “Fine now.” Her face must have betrayed her, showing her clear disbelief because he smirked a little when he added, “I mean it.” She ignored the way her heart doubled its speed at his small smile. That was not what she needed to be focusing on.

“I’m sure you do.” She started slowly, “I went to see Naruto. He’s a week and a half tomorrow. His hair is already doing that thing where it sticks out in every direction.” Sasuke eyed her warily, clearly confused on why she was telling him this. She closed the door behind her, stepping further into the room, “I just, I wanted the reminder. Of why we’re doing this.”

When she stepped forward again and he didn’t tell her not to, she dared to sit next to him on the bed, keeping a little distance between them. “We’ve already fixed so much, and we’ve only been here a little over a week. Think about it, Naruto’s got a family now. He’s got parents who are going to take care of him and raise him, probably make him an even stronger Shinobi. And I don’t know if you know this, but Asuma, from tonight? He was killed in a fight with Kakuzu, the guy we just put a stop to. And we have Obito here, not leading the Akatsuki, and Kakashi already agreed to try talking to him.

“If he can convince him to be good again, come back to what he was, think about all the lives we’re going to save.” She reached for his hand but chickened out at the last second and instead grabbed his wrist. “I know this isn’t easy, especially for you. And I’m so sorry that it’s like this. But isn’t watching from afar enough, knowing that everything we’re doing is protecting the people we care about?”

He’d looked up at her halfway through her speech, and it had taken all of her willpower to not look away. His gaze was as intense as usual, even after the emotionally exhausting evening he’d had, though it was his silence that unnerved her the most. But she refused to look away. It was the least he deserved.

After a beat, he spoke, his answer short and clipped as always but his eyes carried the weight of the words, the resolve he’d finally found. “It is. And it will be.”

Chapter Text

Itachi Uchiha didn’t like doctors.

He knew they always meant well, but needles weren’t fun and hospitals weren’t good places to be. You only went to the hospital if you got hurt, which Itachi hadn’t. But his father and mother insisted.

He’d thought that he’d be seeing his usual doctor, the one from his own clan. He was nice enough, he always had candy on standby, which for a sweet-tooth like Itachi, it made the visits worth it. And he’d had a lot of visits.

It started when he’d woken up one night, choking. It felt like he was drowning. Something had been blocking his airway and he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t even call for help. So he’d made his way to his parent’s room, hacking and coughing up the coppery red liquid he knew all too well as he walked down the hall. He hadn’t panicked at the sight of it, as a genin he knew better than to freak out at a little blood.

But his parents surely did.

They’d made the first visit then.

Many had followed, each time his lungs filled with blood, and soon it just became part of his schedule. Shisui even knew about it, that’s how common it became for the young Uchiha, if he ever had to stop during their training because of the pain in his chest, he didn’t question it. But nothing had happened this time, no blood, no chest pain. He’d been doing just fine.

His mother and father walked him down the familiar road of the Uchiha district, the one that led to the doctor’s house. They’d left Sasuke with his aunt for the time being. His parents kept glancing at each other worriedly, and when they walked inside Itachi was surprised. The original Doctor was there, but his usually smiling eyes were glaring at the other one.

She was far younger than the Uchiha doctor, and she had bright pink hair. In a room full of dark haired and dark-eyed Uchiha, she couldn’t have stuck out anymore if she tried. She smiled at him, “Hi Itachi, my name is Hana.” She held her hand out for him to shake. He took it in his own, warily.

She turned to his parents next, her hand out once again, “You must be Fugaku and Mikoto. I’m Hana, a friend of Chen’s.” Fugaku and Mikoto flinched at the name but shook her hand all the same. She turned to Itachi, “I’m just here to do a little check-up, does that sound okay?”

He nodded. And that was all it was. She asked him a few questions about what hurt, how often. Then she used her chakra to feel around his chest. Her chakra was green and when she placed her hand over his heart, he felt it seep into him; it was warm.

She held it there for a while, her brows drawn together in concentration, and then she pulled her hand back and the chakra went with it. She smiled at him brightly, “That wasn’t so bad, was it?” she walked over to her bag, pulling out a take-out box of dango. “I heard that you like dango, right?”

He nodded shyly, his cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink that made her heart melt. She fought to keep her smile at bay as she offered him the box. “If you tell me which one is your favourite, I’ll be sure to grab extras of that one for next time,” she winked.

While Itachi grabbed one of the skewers, she turned to his parents, “Thank you for agreeing to see me. I know it wasn’t easy.” It had taken them nearly two and a half weeks to decide. Once Team Ro had returned from their latest mission, which Sasuke had used as the distraction he so desperately needed to avoid talking about it. Sakura reasonably knew it was his way of coping, to pretend the problem didn’t exist until it was no longer a problem.

As unhealthy as it was, it seemed to work for Sasuke.

When they stopped by Minato’s office, he along with Sakura had been floored by his announcement. The meeting with the Uchiha had been set up. She was finally going to meet Itachi, Fugaku and Mikoto.

Both parents nodded, and Fugaku replied, “If Chen thought it was best, we had to.” He’d never forget the conversation he had with him; even though his story was one that was hard to believe, Fugaku trusted him—he had to. It was his son, after all.

“And I’m glad you did.” She turned to find Itachi happily munching on the skewered treat, and she smiled, “How would you feel if I came back in a week or two? I promise, I’ll bring more dango.”

Itachi nodded, and glanced at his parents to see them doing the same. She grinned, “Perfect. I’ll see you guys then.” She grabbed her bag, hoisting it over her shoulder and turned to the Uchiha doctor. Mishki Uchiha wasn’t delighted to see her per say, but he was hospitable and shared his clinic. “Thank you, for allowing me into your clinic.”

He gave her a stiff nod, then asked, “You’ll let me know what you find?” Itachi was still his patient, he wasn’t giving that up—and Sakura respected that.

“Of course,” she promised. With that, Sakura left the small room, her heart feeling lighter than it had in the days she’d spent preparing for this meeting. The damage to his lungs was there, yes. But it wasn’t nearly as bad as she’d worried. Whatever Mishki had been doing for Itachi was working, to a degree. It prevented it from getting worse.

But with the scrolls she’d packed into her bag and the check-up she just completed, she vowed to Tsunade and herself, “We’re gonna heal him, M’Lady. If it’s the last thing I do.”

Sasuke had wanted to know everything. The minute she’d gotten home he’d all but hounded her for answers, details, wanting to know what exactly was said. And she gave it to him—she figured the curiosity about his family was a good sign. Once she finished explaining the interaction in depth, he finally asked, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

And Sakura shrugged, handing him one of her medical scrolls, “If you understand what this is talking about, yes.” She didn’t want to shut him down, but medical ninjutsu wasn’t anything like regular ninjutsu. It wasn’t something that could be made up on the spot, improvised like a battle.

It was theory, fact, and practice. Hours and hours of it. To perform medical ninjutsu, one had to understand everything about the body and how it functioned and which healing jutsus worked for each different injury. If it did have to be improvised, it was a dangerous game that had to be taken seriously.

Sasuke scanned the scroll, his brows getting closer and closer with every line he read. His respect for Sakura’s medical skills suddenly jumped even higher. While he’d never outright dismissed the practice, he hadn’t truly thought about it, especially how difficult it must have been to reach her level.

But he was too much of a coward to say it out loud, so he just rolled his eyes and handed the scroll back with a brooding, “No.”

Sakura thought a better word for it was pouting. But she smiled at him, “He did really like the dango though, it was a good call on your part.”

Sasuke shrugged, “He always had a sweet tooth.” But his heart felt a little lighter knowing that Itachi had liked it. It’d been the vaguest memory, tucked somewhere far away in Sasuke’s mind, but he was glad he remembered it.

She gestured to her bag of scrolls, “These are all the ones I could find about lung repair, and the ones Mishki has already written about Itachi’s case. It’s going to take me a while to get through them all, so if you and Kakashi want to do some training today, count me out.”

He nodded, reaching out to catch her wrist as she turned away. He noticed he’d been doing that a lot lately, they both had. One was always reaching for the other, and they always grabbed each other’s wrist. Never did they grab each other by the hand, but the contact wasn’t lost to him.

He just didn’t know what it meant.

He realized she was staring at him expectantly and he willed his words to work, “Thank you, Sakura.”

She smiled at him as she always did. “Don’t worry about it.”

He took her advice, deciding to go find Kakashi and drag him out for some sparring. It had been easier than he expected, knowing Kakashi as a comrade instead of his sensei, especially with their similar personalities. Sasuke had even begun to like the silver-haired Anbu, while he still struggled to let people in (something he’d promised himself he’d work on) he couldn’t deny that their teammate was moving from comrade to friend.

Especially with how busy Sakura had been while she prepared for her meeting with Itachi, it left the two remaining members of Team Ro with no one’s company but each other’s. Not that either minded. Neither were fans of talking, and today seemed no exception.

Until Sasuke landed his fourth hit—or would have had he not stopped his kunai an inch from Kakashi’s face. He finally asked, “What’s wrong with you?” cold and harsh, Sasuke’s go to. But Kakashi’s mistakes were sloppy, ones he never made.

Kakashi stepped away from the knife, sighing. He knew there was no point in trying to hide it, the fact that Sasuke of all people could tell something was off with him just proved it further. “Minato-Sensei got me the okay to talk to Obito. The advisors are giving me ten minutes with him.” He raked a hand through his hair, shoving it back only for it to fall against his forehead. “I just, what do I say to him?”

Sasuke deactivated his sharingan, watching Kakashi drag his headband down over his own. He shrugged, “What do you want to tell him?” Kakashi looked dumbfounded for a moment, so Sasuke unhelpfully added, “You might want to start there.”

He rolled his eyes. He slipped his kunai back into his ninja pouch and asked, “What did Sakura say to you that made you change your way?” he hadn’t forgotten the entire ‘he tried to kill me’ conversation they’d had when Sakura first breached the topic.

Sasuke froze, then reached into his own pouch for a few shuriken for a distraction. He didn’t want to have the conversation; he was never good at them like Sakura. She was the one who could handle intense conversations that involved emotions; Sasuke had spent the last few years of his life trying to cut them out.

But Sakura was busy, and Kakashi clearly felt like talking through this one. So Sasuke occupied himself with his shuriken, aiming for a tree across the field. He closed one eye, lining up the shot and spoke, “If I’m honest, it wasn’t her who made me switch sides.” She’d been the one who convinced him to stay though, a small voice spoke up in the back of his mind.

“Who did?”

“Not important,” he replied easily, throwing the shuriken and sending two more after it. He wasn’t exactly able to say, ‘my brother and the four Hokage who were brought back from the dead by my old master that I killed after they confirmed the truth about my dead brother’. They hit the tree in a perfect line. “They just reminded me of what I was fighting for.”

Kakashi took aim at the same tree, except with his kunai, “How’d they manage that?”

The tip of each blade landed perfectly between Sasuke’s shuriken. “Nice throw,” he mumbled. “My situation was a little different than yours and Obito’s.”

Kakashi sighed, “You’re vague a lot, you know that?”

Sasuke found himself smirking, damn that time-travelling jutsu for making him soft. He walked over to the tree, retrieving their weapons and brought them back, handing the kunai to Kakashi once he’d forced the smile from his lips. He offered, “It’s the people around us that shape who we are. Remind him of someone he cared about.”  

Kakashi looked like he’d been punched in the gut by the words. Sakura had suggested the same thing. He wouldn’t deny, he thought of talking about Rin already, but that was almost too painful for him. What good would it do if he wasted his ten minutes getting emotional?

Sasuke eyed him cautiously, having caught the obvious shift in his demeanour. While he wasn’t particularly adept at reading his own feelings, he was able to understand others quite well. He asked, “That person’s gone, aren’t they?” Kakashi nodded silently. Sasuke looked away before he continued, “Look, in my situation, I found out the truth about someone I lost. What they died believing in. That helped get me back on the right side of things, but Sakura, she kept me there.”

Kakashi took that in, noticing the way Sasuke’s voice had shifted. It wasn’t clipped or sarcastic like it normally was, he sounded… softer. But what he’d said hit home. Talking about Rin was going to be hard, but if anyone could convince Obito to come back, it would have been her. “Thanks, Sasuke.”

He shrugged, his guard back up almost instantly, “No problem. You want to try that again?” he gestured to the tree, lifting his shuriken.

Kakashi nodded, flipping the blades in his hands, “You follow this time.”

When Sasuke made it back to the house it was already late. He and Kakashi had thrown themselves into training after their very brief heart-to-heart, and only once the sky began to change colour did they realize the time.

He pushed open the door of their house silently and froze at what he saw. Sakura was asleep on the couch, swarmed with unrolled scrolls that tangled around one another. She had one still in her hands, but the other ten or so that surrounded her and the floor beside the couch proved she’d been at it for a while. He stayed in the doorway for a minute, suddenly unsure of himself. Should he wake her up? Leave her be? Move the scrolls?

Cursing his own incompetence when it came to social situations, specifically Sakura situations, he moved towards her, softly grabbing the scrolls off the ground and rerolling them. Her bag was open beside her, revealing another dozen or so scrolls she’d yet to read.

He placed the open ones on the coffee table once he’d untangled and rolled them, then all that was left was the one in her hand and Sakura herself. Her pink hair fanned out along the pillow she slept against, and with her features relaxed she was the picture of peaceful.

He gently pulled the final scroll from her fingers, wincing when her eyes fluttered open. Of course she’d wake up, she was a ninja. He was lucky she didn’t punch on reflex. Her green eyes blinked at him a couple times, clearing slightly after each one until she mumbled, “Sasuke.”

She sat up quickly, straightening her beige top that had twisted around her while she slept, a fact he’d noticed but tried very hard to ignore on the strong basis that she was sleeping and he wasn’t a creep. Her cheeks were tinged pink when she stopped fussing with her clothes, “When’d’you get back?”

Her words came out slurred together by sleep, and he smiled, “A few minutes ago.”

She noticed her scroll in his hand and then her gaze drifted to the ones that were neatly placed on the table, definitely not where she’d last had them. She glanced up at him, her heart thrumming to life when she saw his smile, damn him, able to look that good scowling and smiling. Trying to hide her blush, she dragged a hand across her face, “I left you some rice on the stove, I didn’t know when you’d be back.”

He rolled the scroll up and placed it with the others on the table, “Thank you.” The words had become more comfortable in his mouth the more he used them. And he definitely used them the most with Sakura.

She smiled at him easily, “No problem.” She stretched, her back cracking from being in the same position so long, and she frowned as she looked out the window, “You and Kakashi just finished training now?”

He nodded, “Yeah, I guess we went a little overboard today.”

She snorted a laugh that she tried to cover with her hand. At Sasuke’s amused glance she sighed, “Not anything worse than you and Naruto. Remember when you guys were fighting to see who could get to the top of the tree first?”

“Second,” he corrected her easily. “You were first, I just didn’t want to be beat by the loser.”

“Did you beat him?” she asked, her voice tinted slightly with amusement, and her cheeks heavily tinted at his praise.

“I had to drag him back, what do you think?” granted, him and Naruto had made it at the same time, but a little lie couldn’t hurt now. And he’d walked it off far better than Naruto had.

She smiled sleepily at him, “He’d be proud of you, y’know. For what you’re doing. He never gave up on you, not once, like he always knew you’d come back. Even when everyone else wanted him to give up.”

“Did you?” the question slipped out before he could think it through, but once it was there, he realized he really wanted to know the answer.  

She paused, frowning for a minute, the silence stretching between them until she shook her head. “No. I told Naruto that once, when I had made up my mind to try and stop you, but I just didn’t want him feeling guilty about the promise he made to me. I thought if I told him I was done with you, he’d finally stop. That was the day of the Hokage summit.”

Sasuke flinched. He remembered that day vividly.

“I wanted him to stop hurting himself over it all, so I made up my mind. I was ready to kill you that day, and part of me wanted to. I didn’t want you going any further, hurting anyone else. But when I saw you, I just couldn’t do it.”

He felt a newly familiar monster stir inside of him. This one was different from the demons behind his eyes; this one didn’t claw or scratch. It just pulled everything in like a vacuum until it was stained with guilt. His voice was shaky, “If Kakashi hadn’t shown up when he did though…” he knew the rest of the sentence, and so did she.

I would have done it.

And the terrifying part was, that version of him wouldn’t have felt any remorse. That version of him would have been glad to be rid of the distraction. “Hey,” she whispered, reaching for his wrist, undoubtedly ready to comfort him once again. At the last second, he shifted his hand, intertwining their fingers instead, deciding firmly that it was his turn to be sincere.

Even though the very idea made his mouth dry, and the words felt foreign in his mouth, he forced them out because she more than deserved to hear them. “I’m sorry.”

She managed to stifle her gasp when he’d decided to hold her hand instead of her wrist (though her heart still skipped a couple beats), but she couldn’t help the sharp intake of breath that slipped past her lips at his apology. Sasuke was apologizing. He looked up at her, his dark eyes wide and sincere, “For everything.”

Sakura moved without thinking, squeezing his hand first and then reaching up to push his hair back, her hand resting on the side of his face. She smiled at him tenderly, her eyes glistening in the reflecting light.  

How long she’d waited for those words, how many years she’d spent wishing Sasuke would come back and choose to be with them; she wanted to absorb the moment for just another minute. The relief that washed over her. The calm that came with it. The happy tears that filled her eyes while he stared at her, his gaze every bit as earnest as his words. “Thank you,” she whispered.

This was the Sasuke she’d remembered. The one she’d been counting on and hoping for all those years. When she managed to blink back her tears, she added softly, “I forgive you, Sasuke.”

Chapter Text

“Hana!” the name had become familiar after the first few weeks. It became easier to introduce herself as Hana every time she did, the name beginning to feel more like her own each time she heard it. She turned her head, searching for the source of the voice and found Kurenai headed towards her.

The group had hung out several times now, often joined by Ebisu and Genma, most often meeting somewhere for lunch or dinner, even going so far as to do a few large group training sessions. Even when Sakura wasn’t partaking in the sparring, just watching her two, quiet, closed off teammates slowly opening up made it worth it. Kurenai and Sakura had become fast friends, seeing as they were the only two females in the group.

She waved, adjusting the grip she had on the pot of flowers. Yamanaka Flower Shop was as busy as always, bustling with patrons all eagerly searching for the perfect flower, a skill Ino had attempted to teach Sakura over and over, but she was never quite as good at it as the blonde was. She only hoped Ino would approve of her choice this time around. Kurenai smiled at her, “Those are pretty. What’s the occasion?”

Sakura shrugged. “Just needed some extra life in the apartment. Figured a little colour couldn’t hurt. What are you up to?”

“I was just on my way for some training, but my mom asked me to pick up her order from here. I am glad I ran into you though.” the two girls walked to the counter, Kurenai picking up the bouquet her mother had asked for and Sakura paying for the pot she’d decided on. 

“Why’s that?” Sakura asked as they made their way out of the shop and into the sun.

“Asuma’s birthday is this weekend. A whole bunch of us are getting together at his apartment to celebrate. You and Chen are invited.”

“Really?” Sakura couldn’t help it. While she knew that she’d become close with the group, even going so far as to say friends, she didn’t always remember it. She’d had to remind herself on multiple occasions of the fact. Her and Sasuke weren't alone in the world anymore.

Kurenai nodded, “Of course. And if you can drag Kakashi out, that would be good. I swear, he specifically takes missions that will let him avoid seeing us.”

Sakura bit her lip to hide her smile. That did seem like something Kakashi would do, but she was slowly working on it. She promised, “I’ll do my best to have both of them there.”

“I know Asuma would appreciate it.” Kurenai’s eyes simply sparkled when she said his name.

Sakura reminded herself that they were friends once again before she smiled slyly. She'd been dying to ask ever since she met the young kunoichi, and there was no time like the present. “So I have to ask, are you and Asuma...” she trailed off suggestively, laughing at the heavy blush that raced across Kurenai’s cheeks.

“What? No, no, we’re on the same squad, that’s why we’re so close. I mean, I’m not--” she cut herself off, smacking her hand to her forehead. “Is it that obvious that I like him?”

Sakura giggled, “No, it’s not that obvious. I just, I don’t know, you two seem pretty close when we all hang out. I think he might even feel the same.”

“What makes you say that?” Kurenai challenged her, looking far more interested than embarrassed now.

Sakura couldn’t quite explain that she knew for certain Asuma and Kurenai loved each other, or that they had a child together, so she just shrugged. “Just the way you guys look at each other.” It wasn’t a lie, to everyone else the couple seemed obvious. Even Kakashi could tell.

Kurenai hummed thoughtfully, her gaze dropping to the ground as they walked down the street. She frowned for a second then turned to Sakura, her eyes glinting with mischief—a look that made Sakura’s stomach twist as she braced herself for whatever question Kurenai had. “What about you and Chen? You two seem pretty close.”

Sakura bit back a sigh, yep, Kurenai was exactly like Ino. She wanted to simply shake her head and assure that they were just friends, but was that true anymore?

Yes, she’d always loved Sasuke, but lately it had started to feel like maybe he felt the same. Not love, definitely not love, but there had been a change in his gaze whenever he looked at her. A softer tone to his voice whenever they spoke. It had been gradual, but the hopeless romantic in Sakura was just waiting for something to change officially.

Especially after his apology. That had to have been something—friends don’t look at friends that way, or hold hands like that, Sakura was sure of it.

But Sasuke hadn’t said anything and they hadn’t talked about it since; they had simply just continued living side by side and neither mentioned the slightly prolonged touches or harmless lingering gazes.

Kurenai was looking at her expectantly and Sakura shook her head with a smile, “No, Chen and I are teammates. We aren’t like that.” It wasn’t a lie. They weren’t like that, no matter how much she wished they were. Was it possible that they could eventually become something more? Yes. Was Sakura still sadly and painfully waiting/hoping for that day? Also yes.

Kurenai didn’t look completely convinced, but she nodded along. Her next question though, it made Sakura almost drop the flowers she’d just purchased. “What about you and Kakashi?”

She stopped mid-step, almost falling over at the sudden imbalance and shook her head wildly. Several people glared at her as they dodged her suddenly frozen figure on the street. “What!? No, absolutely not. I don’t think of Kakashi like that at all! We’re strictly friends.” Plus, he’d been her sensei in her previous life.

Kurenai was laughing at her and Sakura had to fight back the urge she had to roll her eyes. Maybe Kurenai was a little too much like Ino. She pointed out gleefully, “See, why was your reaction to Chen so different? I believe you about Kakashi, but Chen? There’s something there.”

They approached the house and Sakura had to bite back her laugh, “Keep dreaming, Kurenai.” She unlocked the door and glanced over her shoulder at her still grinning friend, “I’ll see you this weekend?”

Kurenai nodded, waving to Sakura as she crossed the street. Sakura rolled her eyes with a grin as she pushed open the door, freezing slightly at what she saw. Sasuke and Kakashi stood in the kitchen, their shirts hiked up and looking equally guilty with matching cuts on their sides.

Cuts that they were trying to clean, but were clearly struggling with. Sakura just sighed, placing the flowers on the table and asked, “Do I want to know?”

Both shook their heads.

She nodded, “Alright. I’ll heal them on one condition.” She planted her hands firmly on her hips, making sure both of them nodded before she continued, “You both have to come to Asuma’s party this weekend.”

It later proved that Asuma’s birthday party would have a lasting butterfly effect on the evening that followed; which included but was not limited to: Asuma and Kurenai finally getting together, Sasuke having a terrifying realization, a street fight, and a drunken confession. To start it off, it turned out Asuma only needed a little alcohol to give him the courage to ask Kurenai out.

When Sakura, Sasuke and Kakashi had walked into the apartment, it didn’t take long for her to find the happy couple. She caught sight of Kurenai, Asuma, Guy, a young Ebisu and Genma standing close by. Sakura noticed the way Kurenai was leaning into Asuma and the way his arm was loosely around her waist, but she kept her mouth shut, only raising her eyebrows in question when Kurenai met her eye.

 She dragged both boys in behind her, ignoring the way her heart leapt when Sasuke’s hand wrapped around her own. Kurenai pulled herself away from Asuma, grabbing a few cups as she manoeuvred through the house, stumbling only slightly under the influence. She grinned at them, “You guys made it!”

Kakashi and Sasuke didn’t exactly look thrilled to be there, but they managed a small smile each. Sakura gratefully took the cup handed to her and glanced back at Kakashi, “You sure you’re okay being the sober one?”

They'd agreed that it would be best if at least one member of Team Ro wasn’t drunk, just in case something happened and Kakashi had been happy to volunteer himself. He nodded, and Sakura handed the second cup to Sasuke. Kurenai watched them tap their cups together, and then she wrapped her hand around Sakura’s wrist, “Come on.”

Sakura shouted a warning over her shoulder as she followed Kurenai, “Don’t you leave without me! And try to have some fun!”

Sasuke glanced at Kakashi once Sakura was gone from sight, and then to the drink in his hand. He sighed, “She’s determined, I’ll give her that.”

Kakashi nodded, nudging him towards Guy and Asuma who were headed toward them, already drunk. He warned, “Guy is a lot when he’s drunk. Just a heads up.”

Sasuke raised his eyebrows, “He’s already a lot when he’s sober.”

“Just wait.” it didn’t take long, within seconds Guy had his arms thrown around both of them, dropping almost his entire bodyweight on the two Anbu members and shouting something about rivals and youth. Sasuke glanced past him at Kakashi and nodded, “I get it now.”

Kakashi and Sasuke got dragged into conversation, then a few competitions that drunk shinobi should not be attempting (too many involved kunai and moving targets) and several drinks later, Sasuke found himself sitting beside Kakashi on the couch, a warm, fuzzy feeling swirling through his system. It was here that the second event of the night occurred.

He was watching Sakura across the room, dancing with Kurenai as she had been for most of the evening, but something about it was just mesmerizing.

Maybe it was the way her pink hair fanned around her face as she tossed her head in time with the music, or maybe it was the way her hips swung in low, tight circles—but whatever it was, Sasuke couldn’t pull his eyes away.

He frowned when Genma and Asuma joined their dancing, because suddenly Genma was a little too close to Sakura. Sasuke downed his cup, his gaze firmly locked on the two ninjas across the room. Gemma’s hands inched towards Sakura’s waist, a move that Sasuke couldn’t understand why it made him so angry.

It wasn’t like he and Sakura were anything. She was his comrade, his teammate, and sure, his closest friend at that. They lived together, spent every day together and sometimes held hands but—

Sasuke stood suddenly, his glare locked on Gemma’s hands that had officially taken hold of Sakura’s hips and he stepped forwards shakily. He didn’t know quite what his plan was, he just knew he needed to get those two apart.

 The world around him started to twist and warp like the swirling feeling in his stomach. A set of heavy hands caught his shoulders and dragged him down the hall, the opposite direction he wanted to go, but all he could do was stumble and follow. Sakura and Genma vanished from his line of sight, blocked by a wall and a low voice whispered, “Get it together, Chen.”

He glared at Kakashi and snapped, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Kakashi replied hotly, “You’re lucky everyone else is too drunk to notice.”

“Notice what?”

Kakashi frowned at his drunk friend. “You’re losing it. I don’t know what you saw, but you’ve got your sharingan out.”

“What?” Sasuke put the now-empty cup down. If he was too drunk to notice his own sharingan was turned on, he clearly needed to stop drinking for the night. “Fuck,” he whispered, digging the heels of his hands into his eyes. Had seeing Genma that close to Sakura really make him that mad?

But why?

He tried to clear his head, but the thoughts of his pink-haired teammate dancing swirled incessantly around his brain. This was not helping. He tried to block out Genma from his mental picture, just focusing on her instead. She’d always managed to calm him down before, no matter how bad the panic got. Though this was slightly different than his panic, she’d calmed him from anger too. Back when they were kids and he first received the curse mark; she’d been there, thrown her arms around him until he was able to fight it back.

So he focused on her. Sakura Haruno who’d never given up on him. Who’d always reached out to him to make sure he was okay. Her laugh. Her surprisingly gentle touch and bright green eyes. Her soft smile. Something in his stomach twisted, a feeling not-unlike nausea but at the same time different. Warmer. And the longer he thought of her, the way she would work her bottom lip between her teeth when she was focused, the way she'd cupped his cheek the other night as she forgave him, the way she smiled at him every time their eyes met, the stronger the feeling got.

Was it the alcohol?

It didn't feel like alcohol, it wasn't the same stomach-twisting sensation as the one he got on a particularly rough night-out with Suigetsu. That had for sure been the alcohol. So what was this and why did it only happen when he thought of Sakura?

Oh.

Oh.

Fuck. Fuckfuckfuckfuck, he thought. He slurred, “I need to go. I can’t be here.” He pried his hands off his face, glancing through a haze towards Kakashi. “Make sure Sakura gets home safe.”

Kakashi quickly scanned the hallway, but no one seemed to have heard his slip up in names, everyone too drunk to notice. He sighed, “I can just go get her now. There’s no way I’m hanging around if you’re leaving.” Even drunk, Sasuke was more level-headed than the rest of his classmates.

But he shook his head adamantly, “No, don’t. I can’t be around her right now.” Because I’m drunk and I’m going to do something stupid.

Kakashi raised his eyebrow at him, or maybe both and Sasuke just couldn’t see it, but he replied easily, “Well I’m not leaving her here by herself and I’m not sticking around if you’re gone. I can just grab her—”

Grab. Genma’s hands on Sakuras hips. The song was still going. They might still be dancing. Or worse—he felt it that time. The telltale flare of chakra behind his eyes that meant the sharingan was back out. He slammed his hands over his eyes again, cursing, “No. Fucking hell Kakashi.”

Kakashi couldn’t help that part of him was amused. Stoic, show no emotion Sasuke was apparently an emotional drunk—even if he didn’t want to admit it, his eyes gave him away. The other part of him was over this conversation, “Why not? What is going on?”

“I can’t see her right now,” he spoke hastily. He glared at the floor, “You can go get her, but I’m leaving.” He brushed past Kakashi, their shoulders knocking together as he stumbled down the hall.

Kakashi sighed as he watched him go, sure that once he returned Sakura to her apartment, he’d have to hunt the streets to find Sasuke, just one of the many joys of being the sober friend. He had a decent idea of why Sasuke was suddenly determined to avoid her at all costs, he just found it amusing that Sasuke was the last to notice. 

He awkwardly managed to get Sakura’s attention; her green eyes slightly glossy with the shine of intoxication as she danced with Genma. She pulled herself away from him, giggling as she made her way over, “Hey, where’s Sasuke?”

They were really bad at remembering code names when they were drunk, he realized. “He left, wasn’t feeling too good. We’ve got to be at headquarters early tomorrow, you okay to head out?” She nodded, her expression sobering slightly. She pulled Kurenai aside, giving a goodbye and final congratulations to the kunoichi, before she shouted one last happy birthday towards Asuma.

Kakashi and Sakura closed the door behind them, stepping onto the otherwise abandoned street. She smiled dopily at him as they walked, “Did you see Kurenai and Asuma tonight?”

He had definitely noticed how close the two had been. “Yeah, when did that become official?”

Sakura grinned smugly. “When she was helping him set up for tonight. They took a few shots together and the next thing she knew, he was telling her how much he liked her. They’re so good together, I’m glad he finally asked her out.”

Kakashi nodded, unsure what to say about it. Sakura seemed to take his silence as an invitation to keep talking, “Did you know that Asuma and Kurenai have liked each other for three years? And just now are saying something about it!” she shook her head, seemingly amazed by the thought. Kakashi tried to fight off his smile as Sakura continued her drunk ramble about relationships and love. She was always so articulate and serious, hearing her like this made it very difficult to not laugh.

She asked suddenly, “You’re friends with Sasuke too, right? Has he ever sa’anything?” Before he could ask what she meant, she’s rambling again, “Because there are these moments where it feels like there might be something, but he ne’er does anything. And I get it, he’s not the best at being open and all that, but still! He knows how I feel, I’ve told him before and that was when I knew for sure he’d reject me—if he hasn’t saying anything it’s gotta be because he doesn't feel that way about me, right?”

Kakashi guiltily listened, knowing that if she were sober, she wouldn’t be saying any of this. She stopped, tugging on his arm for him to face her and he fought back the urge he had to pull away. Clearly Sakura felt like talking about this even though Kakashi wanted nothing more than to drop the topic. Her hazy green gaze met his and she looked halfway between hurt and confused. “He doesn’t like me back... I should stop, shouldn’t I?”

Kakashi felt that no matter what he said he'd be violating someone’s trust. But Sakura hadn’t released the grip she had on his elbow, and her stare was impressively intense for someone as drunk as she was. He sighed heavily, “Don’t you think you should be telling him this? He can answer your questions way better than I can.”

She rolled her eyes, “Have you met Sasuke? Feelings aren’t exactly his thing.” She shook her head, “Have you ever been in love Kakashi?” He gave her a look that even drunk she could read. She nodded, “You’re not missing much. It’s annoying.”

“You’re in love with Sasuke?”

She looped her arm through his as they started walking back to the house, “I am, but not crazy like I used to be. Before he was a jerk and I just thought he was cute, but now he’s nicer, and it feels like we’re actually close… but I should probably stop. If he felt the same, he would have said something by now, don’t you think?”

 And Kakashi knew in that moment, he was going to do one of two things: be the reason Sasuke and Sakura finally got together, or be the reason his squad could never work together again. With the way Sakura was looking at him, the hurt in her eyes, and from the conversation he’d had with Sasuke only a short few minutes ago, he did what he thought was best.

“I wouldn’t give up on him yet, Sakura.”

Chapter Text

Sasuke didn’t recall exactly how it started. He’d been walking down the street when the voice called his name, his fake one at least, and he’d been surprised to find a maskless Shoda. The two men who stood at his side were clearly the other members of his Anbu team, and based on the way they carried themselves were also very drunk.

A great combination, he thought dryly. Sasuke fought down a sigh and tried to ease up on his glare, “What?”

“Where’s our favourite kunoichi? Did you two get into a little fight?” His grin made every ounce of blood in Sasuke’s body boil. He spoke to the other men over his shoulder, “You never see one without the other, I swear. Rumor has it you two live together too, huh?”

Sasuke didn’t have it in him to be snarky tonight; not with the alcohol and the daunting realization he’d had. He tried to walk past, but Shoda blocked his path, cocking his head to the side. “What’s the situation there, Chen? You and the pink one?” He suggested.

Sasuke frowned, “She has a name.”

He shrugged. “Whatever. Seriously though, what’s the situation? You hit that or what, cause I know I would.” He laughed with his Anbu teammates and it took every smidge of willpower Sasuke had left to not deck him. Or stab him. Or both.

Sasuke didn’t think he could dislike the man any more than he already did, but that right there made Shoda enter a new level of hatred on Sasuke’s list. He snapped, “She’s a fucking teenager, what the hell is wrong with you?” Sasuke had always had a mouth on him, he’d been told countless times that his lack of respect to his elders was going to get him in trouble one day back when he was at the academy.

It seemed, today was the day Iruka-Sensei had warned him about.

But lucky for Sasuke, he’d trained with the best. And unlucky for Shoda, he had no idea who he was messing with. It was here that things started to go fuzzy; there had been a lot of punching, kicking, pitiful attempts at genjutsu from Shoda’s teammate and then one of them pulled out a kunai.

Normally, that wasn’t cause for concern. For a group of angry, drunk men ganging up on an equally angry teenager; it was. Because while he knocked Shoda back, sending him flying into the nearest building, the other two attacked, one driving their blade into his side.

Sasuke froze as the (morbidly) familiar feeling of a knife sliding through his abdomen took over. He cursed loudly as the group yelled at each other, suddenly panicking as they realized they just stabbed another Anbu member.

Sasuke surveyed the placement of the kunai. It wasn’t vital, thankfully, and it didn’t go too far in. He placed one hand on his side before he turned his glare back to the three men. Other than the kunai, they hadn’t landed a hit on him.

As Sasuke braced himself to attack once again, a voice shouted from above, “That’s enough!” Sasuke looked up just in time to watch Kakashi jump from the roof to the middle of the fight, silent on his feet. His silver hair gleamed in the moonlight, and as he glanced back at Sasuke, he caught sight of his sharingan. He turned back to the three men in front of him, “Back off Shoda. You already stabbed him once, what more do you want to do?”

Before he could even try to reply, Kakashi flashed a series of hand signs and dropped to one knee, his hand flat on the ground. His ninken summoned around him in a cloud of smoke, and despite their young years, they were fully grown and intimidating in the dark side street. He called over the growling dogs, “I won’t tell the Hokage about this if you all leave now. Stabbing another Anbu has got to be a good way to get kicked off the squad, right?”

Shoda’s face flickered to fear for the briefest of moments. Kakashi knew that the status of Anbu was all Shoda cared about, he prided himself on his captain position despite his lack of clan, and Kakashi’s threat was more terrifying than any other attack he could use. “These guys will make sure you get home in one piece... as long as you’re fast enough.” he gave a nod and instantly the dogs leapt after the three now racing Anbu and down the street.

Kakashi sighed in the silence that followed as he approached Sasuke, and he slung his arm across his shoulders, “I left you alone for what, fifteen minutes?” He placed his hand over Sasuke’s, adding pressure to the stab wound.

Sasuke remarked, biting back a wince, “Yeah, and Shoda only needs about thirty seconds to be a complete ass.”

“What did he do this time?” they hobbled awkwardly down the street, trying not to jostle the knife that was lodged in his side.

“Same crap he always does.” And it was true. Shoda loved to talk about Sakura, and each interaction with him had been more disturbing than the last.

Kakashi asked, but he already knew the answer, “Sakura?” Sasuke nodded grimly, wincing as he tightened his grip on the blade. Kakashi offered, “I tried to make her go to bed, but she was pretty determined to stay up and wait for you. Hopefully she’ll be up.”

“No,” Sasuke shook his head determinedly. “She can’t see me like this—”

“What’s your plan for the kunai then?” Kakashi looked unimpressed. He could feel the blood still seeping from between his fingers where the kunai stuck out of Sasuke’s side. He knew the more blood he lost, the easier it’d be to get Sasuke to let Sakura heal him. If he lost enough, he wouldn’t even be conscious enough to disagree anymore.

That seemed to be coming quicker than either of them had hoped for. Sasuke started to lean more into Kakashi, the ground swimming in his vision as the alcohol and blood loss combined to make a mess of his five senses. He slurred, “I’ll patch it up when I get back. I’m fine.”

The sentiment did little to comfort Kakashi. Even more so, he knew it wouldn’t comfort Sakura in the slightest. She always hated it when they tried to clean up their own wounds—they never could do it as well as she did. “She’s not going to like that.”

“She won’t know,” he argued.

Kakashi rolled his eyes, replying with so much snark that if Sasuke were more alert, he would have been impressed. “Yeah? When did you become a master at medical nin-jutsu?”

Sasuke scowled. “Fuck off, Kakashi.”

“Why are you so opposed to seeing Sakura?” Kakashi had a pretty solid theory as to why, but he needed Sasuke to confirm it. Make sure that he didn’t just accidentally set Sakura up for heartbreak.

Sasuke glared through his bangs. “Why do you think?” He knew Kakashi wasn’t blind and he was far from dumb. He was sure that he could put two and two together, figure it out for himself. And from the look he received, he figured Kakashi already did.

“So why not let her heal you?” he shifted his question, his tone less harsh, adjusting the grip he had on Sasuke’s arm. So he was right.

“Because I’m drunk and—" Sasuke collapsed against Kakashi with a curse, his blood soaked hand slipping from the kunai. Kakashi struggled to keep him up straight, muttering to himself, “This was not the night to get stabbed. Not when you’re this drunk.”

He lowered Sasuke to the ground, propping him up against a nearby building. He rolled his eyes, moving Sasuke’s hand back around the knife. “You were already stumbling, now look at you. Sasuke,” he waited for his hazy eyes to meet his own. “I’m getting Sakura, don’t go anywhere. Keep pressure on that.”

Sasuke scoffed, at least he attempted to, but it was too slurred to have much attitude. “Like I could go anywhere now.”

Sasuke sat against the building, his eyes, normally his greatest asset, betraying him with doubled vision and spinning streetlights. He groaned, digging the heel of his hand into his eye, keeping the other firmly over his wound. Sakura was going to find him like this; drunk off his ass, hardly able to think straight much less talk.

And yet, the minute her smiling face appeared in his head, he felt his stomach do a flip.

His sudden realization had his mind reeling. He liked Sakura? Is that what this was? The protectiveness and possessiveness he felt over her, how she was the first and only person he ever wanted to be around when things were bad—even more so when things were good. Was this what liking someone meant?

Is this what Sakura had felt for him all these years?

How had she managed? It had been eleven years. She’d liked him—claimed to have even loved him—since they first started at the academy. Sasuke had only realized minutes ago and his brain was scrambled.

He leaned his head back, staring up at the sky. It was clear tonight, no clouds to block out the tiny specks of light that sickeningly swirled above him, matching the chaos in his brain. He covered his eyes with his free hand, the other still pressed firmly against his side, groaning.

Why did he have to start liking Sakura now?

He heard her soft voice drift down the street and it took whatever dignity he had left to not get up and try to run away. He wouldn’t get far, bleeding and stumbling, and the look on Sakura’s face as she got closer was too sobered for him to have any chance of escaping.

She kneeled in front of him, “Oh Sasuke, what did you do?”

He glanced up at Kakashi, struggling to make his words come out coherently. “Shoda and his team…” he trailed off, holding the silver-haired Anbu’s questioning gaze for a moment before he continued. “They caught me off guard and we got into a bit of a fight.”

She bit down on her bottom lip as she pulled the kunai from its place, apologizing as she did. “Over what?” she asked worriedly, her hand glowing green as she pressed it to over the open wound. The glow that emanated from her chakra lit up her features; her flushed cheeks, concentrated brow, but what drew his attention the most was her eyes. The sea green irises that had watched him for years alight with concern and worry and care. How had he never noticed how pretty Sakura was?

 “Sasuke?” she called his name again, her eyes locked on his as she waited for his response.

He shook his head of the thought. “Nothing,” he said stiffly, averting his gaze from hers and focusing back up on the stars. They were easier to look at. They didn’t make his stomach twist or his heartrate double.

The green light faded as she pulled her hand back, the pain in his side fading instantly. After reading her scrolls on medical nin-jutsu, he wasn’t ever going to take a healing from Sakura for granted again. He whispered, “Thank you, Sakura.”

She smiled at him sweetly, the way she always did. “You’re welcome.”

Kakashi sighed from above them, making both remember that they weren’t alone and their prolonged eye-contact had an audience. He asked simply, “Do you think you can get him home?”

Sakura nodded, her cheeks flushed in the dim street and she could only hope Sasuke couldn’t tell. She reached around him, lifting his arm across her shoulders. “We’ll be fine. You’re just gonna be a little sore for a bit.”

She hauled him off the ground with ease, Sasuke barely helping as his vision warped with the sudden move. He glanced through his haze to Kakashi. “We’ll make it.”

Kakashi nodded, jamming his hands into his pockets. “I’ve got to go find my ninken, hopefully Shoda and his team could outrun them.” And unsurprisingly, Kakashi vanished with a poof of smoke, leaving the two ninja in the silent street.

They started walking back, Sasuke wincing as his side flared up in pain with certain steps and Sakura mumbling apologies the entire time. As they approached the house, she whispered, “I know Shoda said something about me. Kakashi told me.”

He froze, his arm tensing up across her shoulders. She pushed open the door to the house, “I just, I want to say thank you. For defending me.” She kept her gaze firmly locked on the ground, away from him.

He pulled her to a stop, and in his drunken, lacking inhibition state, turned her towards him. With how tightly his arm was wound around her shoulders, she was pulled practically into his chest, her wide, sea-green eyes meeting his—unblinking. He didn’t know if it was her eyes on him like that, or their proximity, maybe it was what she had said, but he leaned forward and brushed his lips across the skin of her forehead.

“Always.” The word was murmured into her skin. When did he become that bold?

He felt her gasp more than he heard it, the way her body went shock-still under his arm, the way her fingers gripped his hand even tighter. “Sasuke,” she whispered, her voice piercing the silence that surrounded them.

He pulled away just enough to meet her eyes, terrified. “Yes?” did he go too far?

“You’re drunk.” She said it almost painfully, like the words hurt as they left her pink lips.

He certainly was. Otherwise he wouldn’t have been brave enough to do that. “Mmhm.” He brought his other hand up, brushing away the whisps of pink hair that had fallen from the messy updo she’d pulled it into, letting his fingers linger on her temple.

She moved like she wanted to pull away but froze when his finger slipped the strands behind her ear and grazed her neck. He could feel her pulse jumpstart against his fingers. She swallowed thickly. “So you don’t mean it.” She was blinking harshly now, her eyes glistening in the dim light that shone from the doorway, looking everywhere but at him.

“I mean it. I’ll always defend you.” He said firmly, his eyes scanning her features, waiting. For what, he wasn’t sure.

A frown tugged at her lips and she shook her head. “That’s not what I’m talking about.” Her voice broke on the last word, cracking under his intense gaze.

“I know.” Her eyes shot to his. “But I meant that too.” Bright, sea-green against Uchiha black, light against dark, Sakura against Sasuke—and that was it. What he’d been waiting for. That spark of hope, anticipation, longing; her eyes carried every emotion possible in the dim light of their house.

Sasuke had never been particularly patient. When he had an idea, a goal—he went for it. All his life he’d been that way. He left the village and everyone behind to stop Itachi, he betrayed Orochimaru the moment it was best for him; everything he’d done had been to get him one step closer to his goal; no matter what.

And right now, in his drunken state, Sakura was his newest goal.

Sasuke was selfish—he’d always known that.

And did she deserve better? Better than a drunken confession in the kitchen? Yes. She deserved far more than that. She deserved roses and apologies and someone good, someone unlike him. But Sasuke was selfish. And she was his newest desire, frighteningly new but at the same time so perfectly familiar.

Alcohol did funny things to self-control.

And she was in his arms, a breath away.

Within an instant, her eyelids slid closed as his lips pressed against hers; every warning and fear that had crowded his mind since his realization silencing. Her fingers locked around his, the grip so tight it was almost painful. His arm was still wrapped around her shoulders and pulling her closer as the world they’d so carefully built came crashing down.

This changed everything.

This tight grip they used to hold one another close, the pressure of her soft lips against his own; the way his thumb ran across her cheekbone, holding her head steady as it felt like her legs were ready to give out.

This changed everything.

Every claim they’d made of friends, comrades—it was gone. It ended the moment their lips met and neither pulled away.

He twisted his fingers from her grip, sliding that arm down around her waist and pulling her in, forcing their bodies together and she was all too eager to let him. Her hand ran down his shoulders then back up again, memorizing.

Every dip and muscle, the way his hair clung to the nape of his neck. The sound and feeling of his breaths exhaling across her skin. The feel of his heartbeat, pressed against her chest. She had to push him away, she needed air, she needed to breathe, needed to think.

This changed everything.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sakura woke up to someone knocking on the door. She groaned into her pillow, her head feeling like it was stuffed with cinder blocks as she lifted it slowly. She was in her bed, without any recollection of how she got there, and—

The first thing she noticed was his smell. It was still on the pillow beside her, still trapped beneath the blankets with her. Sasuke had slept in her bed? She sat up quickly then, her mind running a mile a minute as she tried to put together the pieces of the night before. They’d gone to Asuma’s party, she’d drank with Kurenai, Kakashi had come to grab her and take her home. Sasuke had gotten in a fight… Sasuke had been stabbed. She healed him. She dragged him back to their house and then—

Kami.

She’d kissed Sasuke.

But even that wasn’t right. The earth shattering revelation that came next nearly knocked the breath out of her chest.

He’d kissed her.

She lifted the blankets off of her, relief flooding her system to see that she was still wearing her clothes. Albeit a little gross considering they were from the day before—but infinitely better than the terrifying unknowns if she weren’t.

She realized that someone was still knocking on her door, and she reached for her robe, tying it over the outfit she’d slept in. As she peered out the door of her bedroom, she heard the shower running and she felt herself sag a little in relief. Sasuke was still there.

The knocking came again for the fourth time since she’d woken, and her stomach dropped.

Kakashi was supposed to have his meeting with Obito today. The ten minute conversation that would have grave implications on the future of their world if it didn’t go right. She tightened the robe around her waist, not even bothering to look in the mirror to see her reflection.

If drunk Sakura hadn’t changed her clothes, she doubted she’d taken off her make up.

When Sakura opened the door to the apartment, she braced herself for the worst. Kakashi barely looked at her as she pulled the door back, letting him in. He was as impossible to read as usual, nothing had changed in his hunched shoulder, hands-jammed-in-their-pockets frame. After a few moments of silence, his eye finally slid up to meet hers and he gave her a long look before he spoke, “I think I got him.”

Sakura just about dragged him into a hug right then and there, but Kakashi wasn’t the hugging type, so she restrained herself. Before she could ask, he shook his head, “I don’t know anything for sure, but it felt like he was different when I left. Remind me to thank Sasuke by the way.”

“Thank me for what?” his voice was as emotionless and cold as always, but it still made her heart flutter in her chest. She turned to find him coming down the hallway, his hair damp from his shower and a towel in his hands.

She’d never felt blood rush to her face faster. She was sure she could have started a forest fire her cheeks were burning so bad. Thankfully, he’d had half the decency to get dressed, but not enough to finish buttoning his shirt; a fact Sakura tried very hard to ignore because there were far more pressing matters than Sasuke’s impressive pectoral muscles. She forced her eyes back to Kakashi.

“Your suggestion for what to say to bring him back. Both of you, actually. When I mentioned her,” his voice caught on the word, but he continued. “It felt like something changed.”

“That’s really good, Kakashi,” Sakura agreed. “Now we just need to get Minato-sensei to convince the advisors to let him go.” It had felt disrespectful to simply call him Minato, and Lord Fourth Hokage was too formal for their conversations. Eventually, both had agreed to the use of the sensei honorific.

And honestly? Sakura had missed saying it.

Sasuke walked into the kitchen and shrugged, “Shouldn’t be too hard. We were there the night he attacked, we can tell them he didn’t do much.” That was true, Sasuke and Sakura had been busy with Madara and had left Minato to deal with Obito. Since he could teleport, it seemed the logical solution for him to fight the Kamui’s reaction-time based ability.

Minato had him down and knocked out in a matter of minutes.

“He was recognized as a hero too,” Sakura added. “That should count for something.”

“He still intended to release the Nine-Tails. And he attacked Minato-sensei’s family. That’s not something that can be taken lightly,” Kakashi reminded her. Though after talking to Obito, he couldn’t help the small part of him that held onto hope that he’d be released.

Their conversation had been tense; the fastest, most painful ten minutes of his life. So much to say and having no way of saying it. He’d asked why, and Obito told him. They talked about Rin. Obito blamed him. They’d yelled at each other. A blind punch was thrown.

It all happened in a blur. Two teammates who’d at one point hated each other, had finally become comrades, and now stood at odds once again. One who had died like a hero now bound like a criminal, and the other one who’d cut himself off from everyone and everything in a sad attempt at protecting himself from more hurt.

There had been a long silence and then Kakashi sighed. He told him simply, “Madara is dead. Whatever he promised you, it won’t happen. And unless you change Obito, you’re not leaving this place. You can spend the rest of your life in here if that’s what you want, they’re going to keep your sharingan covered and you won’t be able to fight your way out.”

He heard the door unlocking behind him and he straightened his shoulders, “Or you can fix this. Do what Rin would have wanted, she believed in you. She thought you could become Hokage some day.” There it was. The slightest flinch, the energy shifting from anger to remorse for only a second. The door was pulled open, and someone barked at him that it was time to leave. He walked away from the cell, calling over his shoulder, “It’s up to you, Obito.”

Kakashi realized Sakura and Sasuke were staring at him, and he quickly shook his head of the memories. There had been just the slightest shift in Obito, one that he hoped was enough.

Sakura repeated her question, “Are you okay, Kakashi?” She’d seen the way the original Kakashi had reacted to Obito’s survival in her own timeline, granted the situation was slightly different this time around but it still couldn’t have been easy.

He nodded, “Yeah. Just hope it was enough.”

She noticed his tone didn’t quite match his words, so she made sure voice was strong when she spoke, “You did everything you could. Now it’s up to Obito. He has to decide if he wants to come back.”

Sasuke surprised all of them, including himself, by adding, “It’s true. When you’ve gone that far, it’s up to you to get back. People will help along the way, but the final decision is your own.”

“Have you told Minato-sensei about how it went?” Sakura asked, keeping her eyes off the Uchiha. She wanted to tell him that she was glad he’d chosen them, that he’d made the right choice with his final decision, but that felt like a private conversation. Especially after last night. Her eyes flickered to his briefly, but the minute the Uchiha black met her sea green eyes, she turned back to Kakashi.

Kami, she could barely look at him.

He shook his head, “Not yet. I’m not sure how he’ll react.” His sensei had been the one to tell him about Obito’s survival, and Kakashi knew he hadn’t taken it well. There had been a lot of denial and cursing, and Minato had helped him through it all calmly, but even he’d lost his cool when he explained Obito’s involvement in the personal attack. If Kakashi had to ask him to let Obito go, the same one who’d tried to hurt his family, he couldn’t tell which way it would go.

 “Well there’s no time like the—” she was cut off by a burning pain in her shoulder, one she’d grown used to in the past few weeks. Her and Sasuke had received the Anbu tattoo from Kakashi, both finding out that it worked like a summoning seal once it was activated. It was how Anbu were always in the right place at the right time.

She sighed, rubbing at her shoulder half-heartedly, noticing Sasuke scowling at his own tattoo. But Kakashi hadn’t flinched. She figured he was used to the pain after so many missions, but the way he stared quizzically at them told her something else. Kakashi hadn’t been summoned. She opened her mouth to ask, but Sasuke beat her to it.

“You’re not getting called on?”

He shook his head mutely. Sakura frowned, not liking the idea of Kakashi being left alone after his emotional blast from the past (even more so the idea of her and Sasuke being alone together when her memories of the night before were still foggy at best). But she focused on the Kakashi issue first. She pointed at him, “It can’t be anything too important, or you’d be called on too. We’ll be back as soon as we can, okay?”

He nodded, his eyes drifting longingly towards his own tattoo as he did. Sasuke and Sakura sighed, quickly grabbing their weapons before they flickered to Anbu headquarters, a silent agreement to continue the conversation later passing between them. Sakura respected the Anbu, but she wasn’t a fan of how much it uprooted their lives on a daily.

Especially when she had very important things to discuss. With not just one, but both of the boys in her life. Oh, if only old-timeline Sakura could see her now.

The flicker just added to her headache, and it was doubled by the noise when they arrived. The locker room was a flurry of activity as everyone arrived, pulling their uniforms on. Since they could be called upon at any time, Sakura had made sure to always wear a fitted, cropped undershirt that she could easily pull her uniform on top of, just in case. At least sober Sakura last night had planned for that.  As she secured her mask over her face, the door to Danzo’s office opened, his cane entering the room first.

The chatter that filled the room died instantly, everyone jumping to attention in their assigned order. Danzo held a stack of files, handing them off to captains as he went about the room. Every squad had received one except Sasuke and Sakura. She subtly stepped closer to him as the rest of the Anbu vanished, their eyes meeting with the same silent hesitancy.

Thankfully, her heart only leapt slightly when their eyes met. Apparently the white mask was useful for something after all.

Danzo approached them, his voice making the Uchiha next to her curl his fist. “You two have done well. On your mission with Kakuzu, you proved your abilities to fight, and Kakashi Hatake has spoken highly of you both. I understand your close relationship with the Hokage may make you hesitant on my offer, but I believe the Root division could do well with your talents. I’ve heard word of your healing abilities,” he appraised Sakura before his eyes drifted to Sasuke. “And rumor is, you hide the sharingan behind that mask.”

Sakura was suddenly even more thankful for the mask. She couldn’t have hid the surprise on her face if she tried. How had Danzo found out about Sasuke’s sharingan? Beside her, Sasuke didn’t flinch in the slightest, just leveling his glare at the older man. His voice was cold, “I don’t possess the sharingan.”

Danzo raised his eyebrows, “So you can keep up with Kakashi and his lightning release technique on pure talent alone?” he stepped closer to the Uchiha and Sakura wished desperately she could separate them. The last time Danzo and Sasuke had been this close, it hadn’t ended well for the older shinobi. “Hatake himself couldn’t keep up with that jutsu without his borrowed sharingan. I don’t blame you, in fact I too envy the Uchiha for their abilities. I’m simply curious as to how. Or who.”

The suggestion made it very difficult for him to contain his sharingan—it would be too easy to activate and kill him where he stood. Sasuke’s fist curled tighter, his entire frame rigid.

Sakura’s eyes jumped between the two men, just waiting. One would have to break first. She just prayed it wasn’t going to be Sasuke, because if Sasuke broke first… Danzo wouldn’t make it out of the office alive.

Luckily, Danzo stepped away. He cleared his throat, “I simply believe you two would be a good fit for Root—”

“What about Kakashi?” Sakura didn’t care that it was rude to interrupt, she was just thankful Danzo’s eyes shifted to her instead.

Danzo frowned, “Kakashi is too close to the Hokage to leave his ranks and join my own. Believe me, a soldier as cold-blooded as him would fit into my regime just fine, however his loyalties to his sensei run deep.”

“And you think we’ll betray him?” Sakura challenged, preparing to defend Minato to her wits end. But Danzo simply shrugged.

“You are not betraying the Hokage. You are adding another level of protection to this village. Root has done many top-secret missions that keep this village running and yet never receive the credit. We make the harder decisions.” He leaned back, something smug in his expression as he continued, “And I’ve recently learned that you have your own agenda here, correct? You came to this village to stop the nine-tails attack, and more.”

Sakura struggled to not flinch. How did Danzo have so much intel on them already? How did he know about Sasuke’s sharingan, their plans, how close they were to the Hokage? Spies? Danzo continued calmly, “In Root, you would have full autonomy and the ability to do what you see fit, as long as you complete my missions when I ask.”

“We’ll pass, thanks,” Sakura snapped.

Danzo nodded solemnly. “I hoped you would see reason, any of those secrets would be dangerous in the wrong hands.” He was begging for them to take the bait, to pick a fight so he could catch them.

“There aren’t any secrets to hide,” Sasuke began coolly. “I don’t possess the sharingan and we don’t have a secret agenda. We’re here to help Lord Fourth, on assignment from our own village. Do you have a mission for us so we can do our job?”

Sakura struggled to keep her jaw shut. How Sasuke managed to be his emotionless self even when in front of him, the man who singlehandedly ruined his life was accusing him of stealing sharingan was a mystery to her.

Danzo pulled a file from within his yukata slowly, his eye flicking between the two Anbu suspiciously. “It is unfortunate. You would have done well. However, this mission only requires two, you are to intercept a group of rogue-ninja from the Hidden Mist that are attempting to cross the border of the land of Fire.”

“Intercept and?” Sakura asked.

“Eliminate.”

Sasuke took the folder easily enough and glanced over at Sakura. She nodded softly, and the two flickered from headquarters, coming to rest on their usual trees along the edge of the village. They stood in a tense silence for a few seconds, before Sasuke slammed his fist into the trunk of the tree. The bark shattered around his hand, the branches above them swaying dangerously.

“Sasuke,” she started slowly, but he punched the tree again, lodging his fist further into the tree.

“We need to stop him, I swear to Kami, we need to stop him or I will.” She’d never heard Sasuke’s voice so cold. So sharp. He turned to her, “I swear it, Sakura. I’ll kill him, again.”

“Sasuke,” she reached for his hand that was lodged in the tree, gently pulling it free from the bark. In his fit of rage, he hadn’t protected himself with chakra, and his knuckles were scraped red and raw from the wood.

“How did he know about us?” he snapped, trying to pull his hand from her grasp, but she held on tight. Once again, she ignored the way her heartbeat doubled when he said ‘us’. This was so not the time.

“I don’t know, but you can’t go around breaking your hand—”

“He compared me to him. He thought I was like him, stealing sharingan.” His voice dripped with venom. She was somewhat glad he hadn’t taken his mask off so she didn’t have to see the anger in his face. She tried to calm him down, but he kept going, rolling right over her, “You don’t get it—"

“Would you stop cutting me off?” she snapped. “I get it, trust me. I know he pisses you off, and you have every right to hate him. But we can’t do anything to him, not yet.” She healed his hand and let go, pulling up her own mask so he could see her. “We need a reason, Sasuke. A reason to attack him or shut him down. He hasn’t done anything wrong yet in this time.”

“But he’s—”

“He’s not. He’s not the same guy from before. He hasn’t attacked Shisui yet, he hasn’t betrayed the Leaf, he hasn’t done any of that. Look, we promised ourselves that we would fix things, and as terrible of a person as he was, he’s one of the things we can fix. With Minato in power, he’ll keep Danzo in check, he won’t undermine Minato like he did Lord Third. We’ve already corrected the nine-tails attack and saved the blame from the Uchiha. We’ve set it up right now to avoid Danzo going bad.”

“I can’t just forget everything he did.” His voice was forcibly even; strained to contain his temper.

“I know you can’t, and you don’t have to. But you need to remember that this isn’t our timeline anymore Sasuke. None of that has happened here.”

His reply was snarky, and after that comment, she mildly deserved it. “I’m well aware of that Sakura. If you forgot, my family is happily living in the village.” How could Sasuke forget, when every time he wandered the streets of the Leaf he was reminded. That every Uchiha crest he passed on his way to Anbu headquarters was a painful reminder of what his life could have been.

She sighed—he was angry, rightfully so and she’d rather he express it than keep it bottled up. “I know.” She pushed the file towards his chest, “You can take lead on this one. Get your anger out on these rogue ninjas; not your hand and definitely not me.” She was genuinely impressed with herself, her glare matching his perfectly and neither breaking.

She knew there once was a time where Sasuke could have walked all over her and she would have been fine with it. Glad about it even. There was a time she’d listen to his every beck and call, with hearts in her eyes.

And while she still cared for him, on an even deeper level than before, that much was obvious, she respected herself too much to let it happen again. They were equals here. Hell, he’d been the one to kiss her! So when he begrudgingly took the file, looking away first, she had to bite back a smile.

This Sakura and Sasuke were something, that much was obvious; but this Sakura was going to put herself first.

He glanced over the file, “Shouldn’t be bad, there’s one lightning and two water and it looks like that’s their technique. Combine their natures for a deadly attack.”

She frowned, “Why isn’t Kakashi coming with us then? If there’s lightning and water style, he’s the best equipped of the three of us to take them on.”

Sasuke’s fire, while powerful wasn’t ideal to combat water style chakra users, especially two at the same time. Sakura’s water and earth chakra natures would help level the playing field slightly, but Kakashi would have made it an easy win. It made no sense why Kakashi wasn’t called. Even if Danzo had simply wanted to ask them to join Root without him around, Kakashi could have been summoned afterwards.

Sasuke looked equally suspicious. He folded the file into his ninja pouch and adjusted his mask, “I don’t know. But I don’t trust Danzo. Stay alert.”

And while Sakura wanted nothing more than to ask about it, if he remembered, if he’d meant it—she knew she couldn’t. Not when it was mission time. Not when they were like this. So instead, she tucked it safely into the somewhat overflowing problems we’ll deal with later section of her brain, and nodded. And off they went.

Chapter Text

Just as the sun was setting on the day, Kakashi pushed the door to the Hokage office open. “You wanted to see me, Sensei?”

Minato smiled as he signed the scroll in front of him. He rolled it back up, placing it neatly in the pile of completed scrolls on the right side of his desk. “Yes, I did.” He watched the door for a moment before he turned his gaze to Kakashi, “No Sasuke and Sakura? I thought we could use their input in our, uh, Obito situation.”

He tried not to flinch at the name. After Sakura and Sasuke were called on, Kakashi had decided to just bite the bullet and talk to Minato-sensei about his conversation with his old teammate. It hadn’t gone badly, per say, but both had been conflicted on what to do next. Did they trust the slight change Kakashi had seen like Sakura had suggested? Could Minato even convince the advisors to let him go?

Kakashi had spent the rest of the day lost in thought. He'd been approached for some training by Guy and Asuma, but he couldn't find the energy to join in. As he'd watched Asuma and Guy walk away dejectedly, he realized just how much he missed his teammates. Sasuke and Sakura understood him when he was like this, they didn't take offence to his silence. Sakura was often better at translating it than he was. Based on how Guy hung his head, he was sure he hadn't done a very good job. He hadn't noticed how close he'd gotten to Team Ro until they were out of the picture and Kakashi was back to his old routine. Kakashi frowned, “Minato-sensei, they’re on mission.”

Minato’s smile fell. “What do you mean they’re on mission? You’re their captain.” If Sakura and Sasuke were on a mission, that meant that Kakashi would be with them. That was how it was supposed to be.

Kakashi’s visible brow furrowed, “Don’t you sign off on the missions? You sent just the two of them.”

Minato shook his head, “No, and even if it was a two man it would be you with one of them. Not them by themselves. They’re not on captain level to lead the mission.”

Kakashi shrugged, “Sasuke and Sakura are stronger than half the captains on Anbu. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”

“No, Kakashi.” Minato stood up, crossing the room to the file cabinet. He started flipping through the records and Kakashi recognized the tan folders. They were Anbu mission folders. “I didn’t sign off on any mission for Sasuke and Sakura. They shouldn’t have been summoned.”

Kakashi offered simply, “Danzo, then?”

Minato sighed, “They’re still supposed to come through me. I’ve signed off on all of Danzo’s missions this week.”

Kakashi glanced around the room, and lowered his voice, “Root?”

“What?” Minato looked up. “They wouldn’t join Root—”

“No, they wouldn’t. But I mean Root missions. Do you sign off on those?” Kakashi jammed his hands into his pockets as he made his way over to his Sensei. “Danzo could be testing them, see if they’re good enough to join.”

Minato shook his head, “No, because I have the Root missions.” He opened the above drawer, revealing a handful of grey folders. “There’s nothing on Chen or Hana.”

Kakashi shrugged, “You didn’t know about our mission with Kakazu. This could be the same thing.”

Minato closed the drawers, “I talked to Danzo about that. Since then I’ve been getting the Root missions, full disclosure.” He turned to his student, “I’m giving you a new mission, Kakashi. I need to know where they are and who sent them out.”

Kakashi nodded. “Is Team Sho on mission?”

Minato briefly glanced through the folders, “No. They should be training still. They’ve leave for mission soon though.”

He knew Anbu weren’t allowed to talk about their missions, and especially weren’t allowed to talk about other’s missions, but there was one loud mouth who would talk—especially if it involved talking about Sakura. Kakashi fought down a sigh as he headed out of the office. While the last person Kakashi wanted to see, Shoda was the best place to start.  

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Kakashi arrived at training ground 4, Shoda’s personal favourite. Like he expected, he found him and his team sparring. Shoda slammed his hands to the ground and the earth turned to mud underneath the feet of the other Anbu. They were instantly swallowed up, sinking to their necks in the ground.

Shoda pulled off his mask, grinning, “Told you you couldn’t beat me.”

Kakashi walked onto the field, watching Shoda laugh as his teammates struggled to break free from the mud prison. “Shoda,” he called.

The older Anbu’s smile died on his lips, glaring at Kakashi. “This is a closed practice, Kid. Don’t you have your own team to work with?”

Kakashi shrugged. “I need to talk to you.” He dropped to one knee, his palm flat against the earth. The ground turned to mud again, except this time it spat out the two Anbu who had still been trapped. They landed in a dirt covered heap in front of Shoda.

His eye twitched. “To what do I owe the pleasure?” his tone was anything but friendly.

Kakashi asked, “I need to talk to you about a mission.”

He rolled his eyes and dismissed his teammates, walking over to the younger Anbu. “We don’t talk about missions. And last I checked, you’re a real stickler for the rules. Isn’t that right, mission comes first? Above everything else? Didn’t your dad learn that the hard way?”

Kakashi flinched. Shoda hadn’t gotten over the other night; his attacks were typically about his age, his favoritism from the Hokage. Bringing his dad into it, that was something no one mentioned. Even the other Anbu who didn't particularly enjoy having a teenager on the squad knew not to bring it up. Clearly Shoda was still mad.

Shoda kept going, his grin slowly returning as he realized he’d rendered Kakashi silent. “But you didn’t follow in his footsteps. You didn't save your team, no you’ve actually lost, what? Both of your teammates?” He feigned hurt, his hand over his heart, “Don’t tell me, Chen is gone now too?”

Kakashi struggled to keep his voice even and his face neutral, just asking, “Were you summoned this morning?”

Shoda frowned at him, obviously unhappy with the lack of reaction. “Yeah, we’ve got a mission we leave for tonight. Why?”

“Chen and Hana were there. Did they get a mission?”

“Already lost your charges?” he grinned. Once again, Kakashi just stared blankly at him. He sighed, “You’re boring. Yeah, they got a mission. I didn’t see what, Danzo kept them after we all left.”

So Danzo was responsible. Not that Kakashi was particularly surprised. He asked, “Was there anyone you didn’t recognize in the room? Any new Anbu that you’ve never met?”

Shoda’s expression shifted, “Why are you asking?”

So yes. He came up with a lie on the spot, “I’m joining Hokage’s guard. I can’t be on Anbu missions and be on guard. I’m just trying to find out who’s replacing me.”

Shoda’s confused frown slowly spread into a grin, “You’re saying there’s a job opening with Hana?”

Kakashi’s face twitched. “Yeah. Guess so.”

“You should have started with that, Kakashi. I might have to toss my hat in the ring. Working with her,” he whistled lowly. “You guys have done some overnight missions, right? A few days away with her, oh man. She does all the healing right, puts her hands on you and all that?”

Kakashi’s hand curled into a fist. “Did you see anyone new, or no?” kami, he understood why Sasuke tried to fight him drunk.

“Yeah, there was a kid. Way young though. I’m talking younger than you. I’ve never seen him before, he had a bird mask. Had two other bird masks with him. They weren’t particularly memorable.”

“How old?”

He shrugged, “Maybe twelve? Putting you to shame with your record of fourteen. Why the concern?”

A kid on Anbu… that meant Root. Kakashi’s mind started reeling. “Danzo kept Chen and Hana after you left? Did the ones in the bird masks leave?”

Shoda dragged a hand down his face, “I don’t know. I,” he paused. “I don’t think they flickered. I think they left right before missions were assigned. What, you think they’re holding auditions for your post?”

“No. Thanks, Shoda.” He turned to leave, but Shoda’s heavy hand landed on Kakashi’s shoulder.

“Hey. My turn. Your mutts tried to kill me last night, and I just helped you out. You owe me Kakashi.”

“My ninken didn’t try to kill you. If they did, you’d be dead,” he said simply, pulling himself from Shoda’s grasp. He turned away, leaving Shoda’s glaring face behind him.

A violent spike of chakra rolled towards him and he dove to the left. The ground where he’d just been standing erupted into a series of cracks and chasms. He glanced back, finding Shoda’s fist planted against the ground.

Compared to Sakura, it was mediocre at best.

Shoda called, “Alright boys. Today’s training session. Take Kakashi down and we can end early. He’s agreed to help.”

Kakashi glared, “Shoda, I don’t have time—” he ducked out of the way of a series of shuriken that lodged into the tree behind him, perfectly in line with his chest. He wasn’t even wearing a protective vest like them. He straightened up, glaring. “I’m not doing this. I need to go.”

“It’s the least you can do,” Shoda grinned. He spun two kunai on his fingers, “Come on Kakashi. This should be nice and familiar, you against your own kind. And hey, if I beat you, looks like I’m the right person for the job. Me and Hana could get real close.”

Kakashi felt it. The sparks flickering between his fingers. The way his chakra was reacting instinctively. He shouldn't fight, he needed to get to Minato and explain. He needed to get to Sasuke and Sakura.

But kami, he wanted to wipe the grin off of Shoda’s face.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Shoda hit the ground with a groan just as the sun dipped past the horizon. Kakashi wiped the sweat away from his brow, dragging his headband back down over his eye. He felt the familiar ache deep in his skull, and he knew he’d need to ask Sakura to heal him. He at one point was so used to it that it typically became numb. It was practically a constant in his life, but ever since Sakura had healed it he’d had to refamiliarize himself with the pain after each use.

Talk about a double-edged sword.

Kakashi forced himself to stand upright, fighting off the wince that followed the sharp pain in his side at the move. His voice was strong despite him feeling anything but. “You have a mission, Shoda. Don’t be late.”

Shoda grunted as he pushed himself onto his hands and knees, his teammates groaning from where they were curled up on the ground. “You know, I really don’t like you, Kakashi.”

Kakashi shrugged, “The feeling’s mutual. Tell your teammates they need to work on their formations. If they tighten those up, fights will go a lot better for you.”

Before Shoda could curse him, he flickered away. The minute he arrived at his destination, he dropped the act. He collapsed against the wall of the Anbu building, panting. Tonight was not shaping up to be his night; despite the win, his head felt achy, he hadn’t been stabbed but there was a solid gash in his side, his teammates were missing, he was about to break into the Anbu office—Kami he needed a break. He glared at the small red stain that was quickly growing on his right side and closed his eyes.

If Sasuke saw him now, he was sure the snappy Uchiha would have plenty of things to say.

He pushed open the door to the locker room. It was abandoned as evening descended on the village, the moon’s slow trek across the sky the only thing casting light into the dark building. Kakashi approached Danzo’s office, listening for any sign of movement behind the door. He was sure there were infinite sensors and security measures, so he’d have to be fast.

If Minato had files on active missions from Anbu, he was sure that Danzo would have them too. Including the ones he didn't tell the Hokage about. He forced the door open and moved towards the filing cabinets. He knew his way around them from the many meetings he’d attended in the office. The first two were filled with the familiar, tan mission folders. Anbu folders. He’d seen the grey ones from Minato’s office before, he just hadn't known what they meant. They were in the third cabinet.

Root files. 

He pulled open the top drawer of the furthest filing cabinet. Like he guessed, there were only a few to match what Minato had in his office. He shoved that door closed and pulled open the next one where only three folders sat. The first was an Anbu Member File, but there was no name, just a picture of a man with a mask.

A bird mask.

Kakashi pulled the next one; the second bird mask. Unnamed. 

The last folder was thick with completed mission logs. When he opened it, the third file was different. The picture was without the mask, and it was unmistakably a kid. He had to be the kid that Shoda had seen. His name was Kinoe, and his mission status was:

Active: Scouting suspected spies. If confirmed proceed to Mission II

He trailed his finger down the page until he saw Mission II,

Stealth mission. Take down and capture spies. Return to Leaf for questioning..

Kakashi heard footsteps outside the building, Anbu guard who were coming to investigate the intruder, right on time. He took Kinoe’s profile, putting the rest of the file back in its proper place before he shoved the paper in his pocket. If Kinoe was leading a team after Sasuke and Sakura, Kakashi was going to need a team of his own to stop them.

The door to headquarters slammed open, voices shouting for him to come out. Who could he ask to potentially turn on other Leaf villagers? He couldn’t ask Guy or Asuma, they wouldn’t go against the Leaf. He needed someone he could trust, who could trust him all the same.

The door to the office was thrown open and he pressed a hand to the slowly numbing open wound on his side and flickered from the office. There was only one person he could think of.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Obito Uchiha sat in darkness. He’d gotten used to it, after his weeks in solitude with his sharingan covered. The most exciting thing he heard was whenever a new prisoner was brought in; they’d shout and yell, and sometimes try to fight back. Otherwise, the jail was as bland and boring as back of his blindfold.

He heard the door to the end of the hallway open, the creak the same one he’d heard so many times before. Then there were rushing footsteps, and a voice he hadn’t expected to hear spoke, “I hope you’ve had enough time to think about what I said, Obito.”

“Kakashi?” he asked, turning to face the direction of his voice. Oh he’d thought plenty about what his ex-teammate had said. It had been spinning circles around his brain all day long. With nothing else to take his mind off it, it was the only thing he’d been able to think of.

“Yes. I need help, and I can’t trust anyone else on this. I can’t ask anyone else.” His voice was ragged like he’d been running. He kept going, “This is your chance to save yourself. If you help me, you can get out of here.”

“You convinced them to let me go?” Obito asked, holding back the lilt of hope in his voice.

“No.” There was a sound that Obito hadn’t heard in years then. And the familiarity of it, and the terrible, dark memory associated with it all rushed to the surface. Chirping birds. Chidori.

Kakashi had used that move to save him on their mission. Those memories were fond, proud, it made Obito long for the days he was a genin. Until the darker, painful memory took over. That was the same jutsu that Kakashi used to kill Rin. That memory swirled and swirled until he could feel her blood on his hands, the pain ripping at the gaping hole in his chest.

The chirping faded, bringing Obito back to the present. He heard the door to his cell creak open and Kakashi spoke again, “No, but I can get you out and Minato-Sensei can protect you.” Obito felt his ex-teammate hovering just over him, and he scrambled up the wall, struggling slightly with his bound hands.

“Why are you asking me?”

“Because my teammates are in trouble, and I can’t—” Kakashi’s voice broke. “I can’t lose them. Not again.” He cleared his throat, “So will you help me, or not?”

Obito squared his shoulders, “Remove my blindfold.” He hated that despite his attempt to make his voice more menacing, it was still high in pitch compared to Kakashi’s. Apparently, some things never changed.

Kakashi cursed quietly before his hands tugged the fabric from over Obito’s eyes. Obito squinted as his eye let in light for the first time in weeks, Kakashi’s blurry figure coming into focus with each blink. The Anbu was older looking than he remembered, and he wore his hair differently. He wasn’t in Anbu uniform like he’d pictured, just wearing the typical flak vest and was that—“You’re bleeding.” The words tumbled out and Obito frowned. He was not concerned about that. About Kakashi.

Kakashi shrugged, pressing his hand over the growing red stain, “I’m fine. Will you help me, or not?” Obito could see through the tough, unflinching façade though. He winced as he applied pressure to his wound, and there was a look in his eye that he hadn’t seen in Kakashi. Worry.

“Why me?” Obito knew that Asuma, Guy, Kurenai, Genma, Ebisu, their classmates, they were all in the village. They were all likely chunin by now. They’d been friends when they were kids, why not go to them. Why go to him?

Kakashi glanced worriedly over his shoulder, “I don’t have time to explain. But you’re the only one I can ask to do this.”

“To do what?”

“Go against Anbu. Potentially fight other members of the Leaf. I’ll explain more on the way, but we need to go before someone finds me in here. Can I trust you, or not?” Kakashi sounded desperate. It wasn’t the usual calm, numb voice that Obito had grown used to. This was not the Kakashi he remembered. That Kakashi had been cold, unflinching, downright cruel at times. Put the rules of the mission above everything.

The Kakashi in front of him was asking for help. He was asking Obito to go against the Leaf, against the rules.

“You’ll get me out of here?” Obito asked, his eye following Kakashi’s down the hallway. No one seemed to have notice the intruder yet. How they didn’t hear the chirping electricity, Obito didn’t know.

“Yes. Are you in or not?”

Obito stared down his teammate. The same teammate who had killed Rin. Who had caused Obito more pain than anyone had in his life. Who was mean, and cold. Who was a show off. The same teammate who had put the mission above Rin’s life—until it mattered. Until he didn’t and he’d joined Obito. He’d saved him then. Saved Rin.

The teammate that stared at him, eye plagued by worry, blood stain growing on his side. Obito turned away from him, his gaze locking on the wall instead. It was easier to look at. The wall held up all of Obito’s expectations; bland, boring, not even a window to look at the outside world. Kakashi though, he went against everything Obito remembered.

He heard Rin’s soft voice whispering, he needs you.

Obito frowned, she always had a soft spot for their silver haired teammate. She spoke again, her voice more urgent this time, look at him, Obito. He sighed, begrudgingly giving one more glance to Kakashi, and he knew at once that she was right.

He cleared his throat, “It’s not good to hide your wounds, you know.” Kakashi went still next to him. Obito wasn’t sure if he was still breathing. “At least, that’s what Rin would say.”

“Obito, I—”

“I’m in. Get me out of here and explain on the way. Let’s go save your teammates.” Kakashi fought off his shock long enough to break the bonds behind Obito’s back. He flexed his hands, cracking his knuckles, and glanced down at his prison garb. “You got mission clothes for me?”

Kakashi nodded just as the door at the end of the hall opened. He turned to Obito, “Follow me, but don’t do anything. Don’t use jutsu, sharingan, nothing. This way it’s me getting in trouble, got it?”

Obito nodded mutely. Kakashi was that willing to throw his name on the line, to defend him? “Got it?” Kakashi asked again, his voice snapping Obito out of his reverie. It was the same tone he’d used when he used to lead missions.

“Got it,” Obito mumbled. Kakashi slipped out of the jail cell and lifted his headband. He charged the guard who’d come down the hallway, locking in hand to hand with him.

Obito watched the way his teammate moved, landing perfect hit after perfect hit, knocking the guard out and catching him just before he hit the ground. He muttered to himself, “Sorry Minato-Sensei. This will be a tough one to cover.” He gently rested the guard on the ground and glanced back at Obito. His sharingan caught the light that pooled in from the moonlight streaming through the above window, a flash of familiar red that he quickly covered. “Come on.”

Chapter Text

Sakura watched the fire spit its sparks into the air. The land around them was completely natural, not a human or building in sight. Surrounded by trees, the small fire they’d forged was the only proof people had been there at all. They’d made it about halfway to the intercept point in the first day, and they’d yet to say a word.

Sasuke was always the quiet type, especially when he was mad. He’d shut down, get lost inside his own mind for hours and Sakura had never minded—until today. Because she was still replaying their kiss from the night before on loop and she wanted answers. When did it change? Why did he kiss her? Did he even remember it?

Sadly, his lack of reaction seemed to say he didn’t. But there was the more terrifying, dominant thought swirling around her brain that made her stomach twist painfully—that he did remember. He just didn’t care.

She shook her head of the thought. If that was true, they would just go back to what they were before. Comrades, friends, a team. They would never speak of their blip in sanity and go on to pretend it hadn’t happened at all.

While the thought physically made her chest ache, she knew it would be for the best.

His sharp voice popped her bubble of thoughts, forcing her back to the present. She glanced up at him across the fire as he spoke, watching the way his dark eyes reflected the glowing orange flames. “I can take first watch.”

She fought down the heavy sigh that was dying to escape her lips. That was the first thing he’d said to her since their talk in the tree. She nodded, “Okay. I’ll do first perimeter check then.” She stood, dusting the dirt off of her uniform and despite the cold that settled across her skin as she turned her back on the flames, she was relieved to get away from him. She needed space, determined to knock him loose from the depths of her mind so she could pay attention to the mission.

She wandered through the woods, ducking low branches and over fallen logs, her gaze not as focused as it should have been. She was growing tired of the constant replaying of their kiss, but every time she found herself focusing on something new. The way his arms had pulled her in. The way she could feel his warm breath fanning across her skin. The gentle hesitancy in his eyes that she’d seen after he’d kissed her on the forehead.

She shook her head of the memory, struggling to focus on her surroundings. She was doing a perimeter check. That was what she should be focusing on, not Sasuke and the way he’d cradled her face so carefully the night before, or the way—she slammed her hand to her forehead. “Get it together Sakura,” she chastised. “Focus.” She wasn’t particularly worried, they’d traveled so far west, there was nothing around for miles. The most dangerous thing she’d come across was a bunny, but still.

Perimeter check. Not Sasuke.

She looped her way around, keeping sight of the fire through the forest. Nothing but trees, bushes and more trees. Despite her best efforts, he still crept into her mind. She knew if she worked up the courage to ask, she’d get her answer. On the off chance it was the answer she was hoping for, great.

But if it didn’t, Sakura felt she might need a business day or two to get over her feelings. And on a mission like this, she certainly didn’t have that kind of time. They would reach their intercept point by sundown tomorrow. She dragged her hand through her hair and closed her eyes. “Come on Sakura. Mission first.” She mumbled half-heartedly, “You waited eleven years for an answer, you can wait a few more days.”

When she got back to the fire, Sasuke hadn’t moved from his previous position, just glaring at the flames as if they’d personally offended him over something or the other. She swallowed the disappointed sigh that tried to leave her lips. “All clear,” she announced. He barely glanced at her, just nodding mutely.

She wondered briefly if there was a chance that he was lost in thought about it too, but she quickly killed that idea. Sasuke was certainly not as distracted as she was, he was a mission first ninja. Drunk Sakura had said it best, feelings were not his thing.

She died a little inside when she realised that Kakashi had had to listen to her drunken ramble about love. Apparently, he couldn’t escape her boy problems in this life either.

She tucked her ninja pouch under her head and laid back next to the flames, watching them dance. The mere few feet between her and Sasuke felt like a gaping canyon. Despite having never been physically closer during their kiss, she’d never felt further from him. She couldn’t guess what he was thinking, she couldn’t read his eyes like she used to.

Kami, why were feelings so complicated? She turned her back on the Uchiha. She needed to sleep and having him in her view made that even more impossible. The silence wrapped around them, settling across the forest. Even the wind seemed to die down. The only sound that soothed her into a slumber was the crackling fire.

She could feel herself sinking into it, a sleep she was sure would be filled with Sasuke related dreams. She knew she wouldn’t be lucky enough to escape him. As the heavy weight of a long day tugged on her eyelids, Sasuke spoke coolly, “I’m sorry. About yesterday.”

Instantly her eyes shot wide open. Any thought of sleep evaporated the moment his voice filtered through the tired haze in her brain. She sat up quickly, hoping he hadn’t caught the way the blood rushed into her cheeks. She kept her face away from him, daring to ask, “For what?”

She heard his sigh as he sat next to her. If she leaned back, she’d be resting against his shoulder. Out the corner of her eyes, she saw that he absently spun his katana in hand, his gaze still locked on the fire. His voice was so close. “For kissing you.”

Her breath hitched. He remembered. Her heart jumpstarted in her chest. He remembered. All day he’d known. Her mouth was dry, but she managed to swallow the urge to scream and shake him for not saying anything sooner. She waited a beat, seeing if he would say anything else but the silence lapsed around them once again. Time to be brave, she mentally prepared herself and she closed her eyes, her voice weak as she asked, “Do you regret it?”

A beat.

Silence.

Sakura’s heart stopped.

She couldn’t breathe.

“I regret that I was drunk,” his voice finally made its way to her ears. In that moment, the canyon between them shrunk into a crack in the pavement. She released the breath she’d held onto as he stabbed the tip of the blade into the dirt. She dared to glance at him and instantly regretted it. His dark eyes were on hers and she couldn’t pull hers away. In the flashing light of the flames, she couldn’t deny just how good he looked. His sharp jaw was even more defined with the shadows, and his eyes, forever mesmerizing were even more so as the fire danced in their darkness.

She suddenly found herself completely unable to speak. Sasuke just kept staring at her, waiting for a response she verbally couldn’t give.

But she could still respond—if she was brave enough. She mentally chastised herself, she ran headfirst at Madara during the fourth Shinobi war, she'd fought Sasori of the red sand, chopped her hair off as a genin to protect Sasuke and Naruto but she was too scared to let Sasuke know how she felt? She could practically hear her Master yelling at her, "Sakura! I trained you better than this!" Sakura was better than this. She wasn't meek, shy, scared little twelve year old Sakura who was blindly in love with a boy from the academy anymore. 

She was Sakura Haruno, student of the Legendary Sannin, Assistant head of the medical team in the fourth shinobi war. She was stronger than this, and last she'd checked, Sasuke had been the one to kiss her. She could do this. If she could fight off enemies, activate the Byakugou seal and stand up against Madara Uchiha, she could do this. She could give Sasuke a taste of his own medicine. 

She gathered her courage and took a deep breath. She pressed her lips to his. She waited a beat, and pulled away from him, forcing her eyes open. If it was a mistake, if he was going to push her away, she was going to face it head-on. She was going to hold her chin up high and accept it. She was so focused on his eyes, she hadn't noticed his hand moving until she felt his fingers brush her cheek and cup her jaw. He whispered, “Sakura, are you sure?”

She still couldn’t speak, but she nodded, letting his hand guide her towards him. He closed his eyes, shaking his head, "We're on a mission, Sakura. We shouldn't."

She found the ability to smirk, confidence racing through her system. It swelled under her skin. He hadn’t pushed her away, he didn’t think it was a mistake. "What are you scared of?"

"We're on a mission," the words were weak at best. She found herself slowly smiling. He wanted this as much as he did. Maybe more. She felt braver as she traced her fingers along his jaw, watching the losing battle in his eyes. "Sakura," he whispered.

“Yes?” it was hard to keep her growing grin at bay as she felt him turn to putty under her hands. She had him and she knew it. She kept her eyes on his, her fingers slowly drawing shapes along his neck as she waited. All this time, all this worrying, and now she was calling the shots. That was the Sakura Haruno that she was.

"Fuck it," he groaned. 

His free hand reached for her waist and pulled her into him. He expertly turned them away from the flames, his body curling over hers as he laid her back. He closed space between them. His lips were on hers and she was lost in it. Sakura was sure he could feel her heart racing, and as she tentatively traced her fingers up his chest, she felt his doing the same. His lips moved with hers in a dance so passionate, yet so careful.

With each blissful moment that passed, she felt braver. Her hand wound into the hair at the nape of his neck as his lips pulled away from hers, leaving kisses across her skin. Along her jawbone, all the way up to her ear and then down her neck. As his lips found a spot that made her gasp, she could feel his smirk.

Damn him and that beautiful smirk.

That beautiful smirk she’d fallen for a lifetime ago. The smirk that had slowly grown into a warm smile the longer they were together. The smirk she had chased after for years, wishing, and hoping, and finally, that smirk was hers. Despite how good his talented lips on her skin felt, she pulled him from her neck, determined to kiss him again. To kiss him, and his stupid, beautiful smirk and know that he wanted it as much as she did. That he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

The two teens were so enraptured with one another, they didn’t know they were being watched. They should have seen it coming.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Kinoe watched the two teens, the other members of the Root squad next to him. The one on his right spoke dejectedly, “Relationships have always confused me. Why add the element of relationship stress to the life of a shinobi?”

The other two members of Root said nothing. They had been taught that relationships were just distractions, for the weak who couldn’t face the ninja world alone. Emotions like love, passion; they simply got in the way. Kinoe didn’t understand them and he had no desire to try and figure it out.

The girl, with her pink hair leaned in and kissed the dark haired Anbu. If she had hoped to fly under the radar, keeping her hair pink seemed like a poor choice. She’d been easy to follow on missions because of it. He fixed his gaze on the boy. Master Danzo had far more interest in him. On looks alone, he was similar to the Uchiha. It was Kinoe’s job to find out if it was true.

Based on what he’d seen from his time tracking the Anbu group, it seemed very likely. He’d never been close enough to see the sharingan, but his use of fire style and the lightning technique that was only matched by his sharingan-using teammate made Master Danzo very suspicious.

If it was true, his second job was to retrieve his eyes for Master Danzo. For a mission like this, Master Danzo typically sent Kinoe alone. But he was worried about the power the two Anbu members had and sent Kinoe with back up. His eyes were drawn back to the teenagers as the boy wrapped his arm around the girl and turned them over.

Kinoe nodded to the two men at his side. Phase one had begun.

He heard Master Danzo’s voice echoing in his brain, “Phase one is to wait for them to get distracted. Based on the intel my spies have collected, the two of them on a mission by themselves should be plenty distracting enough. If not, cause a distraction. Then, you attack. Provoke. I want to see what they have been hiding.”

The two Root members at his side flickered away. Kinoe would start the attack, and then they would join. They weren’t to let up until they grew weak.

Kinoe jumped nearer, staying on the highest branches to keep himself out of sight. He glanced around the forest, finding his other teammates in position and flashed through a series of hand signs. Phase one begins.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

At first, she didn’t hear the low, rumbling sound below her, not over her pounding heartbeat and the loud gasps for air between their kisses. All was blissful.

Until it wasn’t.

Wooden beams erupted from the ground, closing around them like a cage. Sasuke pulled back from her, his lips leaving hers practically numb as the sky was blocked out by the wooden structure.

The kiss had already left Sakura dizzy, but the wooden beams; she hadn’t seen those since her previous life. Yamato was the only one who could use wood style that she knew of, but that meant… the cage was getting smaller, like a giant hand determined to crush them. She forced the thoughts of her old captain away. That was not her first concern. Getting out was.

She swung her arm, destroying the wooden beams closest to her, letting in the cool night air, and Sasuke summoned Chidori, blasting the remaining pieces to splinters. She quickly rolled to her knees, her eyes watching the treeline for movement.

“What the hell was that?” Sasuke asked, his voice sharp. He’d pulled his katana out of the ground, raising it across his body.

Sakura’s voice was tense, “I don’t know. Wood style isn’t—” She dove towards Sasuke and tackled him out of the way as a series of shuriken flew towards them. They hit the ground just as a jet of water rushed towards them from the opposing side of the forest. Sakura, still on top of Sasuke slammed her hands into the ground, “Mud wall!”

The wall raced up just in time for the water to crash into it. She dug her hands into the ground, fending off the attack until it dissipated. She released the soggy earth from between her fingers and climbed off of Sasuke. “Are you okay?” She asked, helping him to his knees.

“Behind you!” He flashed a series of hand signs, bringing his fingers to his lips and blowing. The ball of fire grew just over her shoulder, sending the closest two trees up in flames. A dark figure leapt from the branches, landing in the nearby tree. With the now raging fire behind them, it lit up their surroundings and she could just make out figures jumping between the branches. There were at least two, but she couldn’t tell if either of them were the wood-style user.

Sasuke was busy deflecting kunai from opposing sides of the forest, the two nin she could see. His sword was barely a blur in her vision as he swung it expertly. Before Sakura could react, beams of wood erupted from the forest, wrapping around her body, locking her arms to her sides and lifting her off the ground.

The wooden cage that locked around her started to grow tighter, knocking the breath out of her chest. She’d read up on every injury during her training with Tsunade, she knew how broken ribs were supposed to feel, but she did not need to find out through personal experience. She struggled to curl her fingers into the right position, the hand sign making her wrist ache against the restraints, but she called, “Release.”

She felt it, the rush of chakra that stemmed from the center point on her forehead. Each time she’d activated it, she remembered what her Master had told her.

“It’s a feeling like no other. You feel invincible.” And she did. The power that flowed from her seal was unlike anything she’d ever felt. The destruction of an earthquake was at her fingertips. The healing of Katsuyu was in her veins. It surged through her muscles, the black lines streamed across her skin, and she forced her arms outwards.

The wooden cage shattered.

She dropped to the ground, tiny fragments of wood landing alongside her. She stared down at her hands, the black lines crisscrossing across her skin, just like that of Lady Tsunade. While she’d no longer have her as a teacher, she would always carry this piece of her. The pride that swelled in her chest was the same as when her teacher would drunkenly boast about her to anyone that listened, and she curled her hands into fists.

Whoever thought they could attack her and Sasuke, ruin their perfect moment and get away with it was sorely mistaken.

When she glanced over her shoulder at Sasuke, he was staring at her, his eyes wide. He’d seen it before, but never offensively. She’d only ever used it to heal, or the enhance his own abilities, like when they fought Madara. The waves of chakra that radiated off her, they even made him falter.

While he’d known it all this time, he hadn’t realized how strong Sakura could become.

He didn’t have much time to admire her, because the attacks were coming back in full force, from all directions. The wood user focused his attention on Sakura, leaving the other two to try and attack Sasuke. With the comforting noise of Sakura’s fist splintering wood behind him, he forced himself to look away.

One of the masked men ran at him, and Sasuke fought off the stab of betrayal at the sight of the Anbu mask. He had a sneaking suspicion of who was behind the attack, and he was officially going to kill him. He swung his sword, the metal clanging against the sword of the unknown Anbu.

Sasuke was a skilled swordsman, a fact he prided himself on, but if this man was of Root, he was sure he was out of his league. Their swords clashed, sparking with each strike that he managed to block. He struggled against the Anbu, his movements too fast for Sauske to keep up. He didn’t think. He didn’t even notice it as the chakra flared behind his eyes.

Suddenly, he wasn’t just blocking and parrying. Sasuke was striking back with as much force, his blade coming closer and closer to the Anbu. A second Anbu flickered behind him, and Sasuke ducked out of his headlock. He spun, grabbing the new Anbu and slammed him into the other one.

He managed a glance back at Sakura, and she was fending off wood clones. For every two she destroyed, three more popped up. He was brought back to his own fight by a series of tag-team attacks. He’d knock one Anbu away and then the other would be ready.

Over and over and over again.

Their attacks were strong, but they weren’t striking to kill. Sasuke stared them down, his eyes glowing red. What was their play?

The two masked men attacked again, full force. Using the same strategy; Sasuke would take one down, the other would come in. He’d knock that one back, and the other would attack.

They were trying to tire them out.

Despite his best efforts, he was feeling the fatigue in his muscles. He’d barely slept last night after what he’d done with Sakura, his side still twinged from the relatively fresh stab wound, and he was definitely not a ninja who relied on his swords entirely. Genjutsu was his go to when it came to fights like this, but the Anbu he was fighting seemed to know to not look into his eyes. They kept their masked faces angled low.

He had to step away, he needed a chance to use jutsu, make sure Sakura was safe. Just as he dared to glance over his shoulder, Sakura let out a shout of pain and he watched, horrified, as she was thrown backwards by the still hidden wood style user. She crashed into the ground across the fire, creating a crater around her on impact and something in him just snapped.

That’s it.

A different monster woke up then. Not the demons behind his eyes that clawed and scratched, not the one in his stomach that stained everything with guilt. This one boiled in Sasuke’s blood. It writhed beneath his skin, begging for Sasuke to get revenge. To hurt whoever dared to hurt Sakura. It poured red across his vision, made his heartbeat rattle in his ears. It blocked out everything except one, raging chant: revenge, revenge, revenge.

It tightened the muscles in Sasuke’s forearm and pushed, driving the sword forward. The tip of the blade slid into the man’s side with a sickening squelch, blood gushing and pouring down his body. He ripped the blade back violently, sending the stabbed Anbu stumbling.

At the sight of the blood flooding from his side, Sasuke felt the beast settle once again, pleased by the pain it caused; as the monster quieted, so did the pounding in his ears, and the twisted hatred that had filled his veins started to dissipate.

With the first Anbu staggering from the blood loss, it gave Sasuke enough time to summon Chidori, and he hurried to send a shot into the sky. The thunder that roared from the sky was louder than any he’d heard before. The moment his arm went up, the clouds began to gather, swirling darker and darker and rumbling as they grew.

He dropped his hand and raced towards Sakura. She’d managed to pull herself from the crater, blood streaming down her forehead. The beast in his veins thrashed at the sight. It wanted to cause more pain, especially to the one that hurt her. He reached out and pulled her tightly into him as their vision was filled with purple. The Susanoo wrapped around them just as the lightning started.

She was panting next to him, and he realized his chest was heaving. “Are you hurt?” She asked as the thunder clapped above them.

He shook his head, reinforcing the ribcage that covered them, “Cover your ears.”

She listened to him at once, just as the Lightning dragon emerged from the sky. Kirin roared, the sound ear splitting as it searched for its target. Sasuke raised his hand and swung down, aiming the tip of it at the Anbu he’d been fighting.

Kirin shattered the sky. The forest around them became a sea of electric blue. Charges raced to every tree, every inch of ground. Even the air seemed to burn. Sasuke focused everything into his Susanoo shield, letting the wrath of the lightning dragon descend on the fiery battlefield.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

The harsh breeze that cut across the land whipped Kakashi’s hair out of his eyes. He stared up at the sky, the clouds swirling and darkening at a pace too fast to be normal. Obito stopped next to him, “That doesn’t look good.” The only light that guided them was that of the moon, but the bright rays were being covered by the blackened clouds.

Kakashi shook his head, “No, it doesn’t. Come on.” They raced through the trees, silence falling between them once again. The wind whistled in his ears as they ran, so loud he could barely hear Obito running next to him. They were close, Kakashi knew it.

He only hoped Sasuke and Sakura would be able to hold off until they got there. Thunder rumbled over head, so loud it seemed to shake the earth they stood on.

Obito practically crashed into Kakashi. He stared at the sky, “Are your teammates this powerful?”

Before he could answer, the sky lit up. Then it cracked, electricity pouring out the seams. The bright flash filled the entire forest around them, it made the trees seem like they were glowing.

Kakashi threw an arm over Obito and pulled him down as the painfully loud clap raced across the sky. The largest bolt of lightning he’d ever seen crashed into the ground, crackling and spitting sparks, charges flying. The ground trembled below them, trees swayed dangerously overhead. The loud snap was still echoing along the wind once the electricity faded.

Obito mumbled next to him, “What the hell did I sign up for?”

Kakashi couldn’t even give him an answer. He’d never seen anything like this. He knew Sasuke and Sakura were powerful, but this? As the ground calmed, the final tremors leaving the earth, the dark clouds above began to rain down on the two teammates. They moved to their feet and Kakashi led them towards the now raging forest fire.

Obito ran behind him, muttering, “Sure. Let’s run towards the fire and lightning. What could go wrong?”

Knowing Sasuke and Sakura, too many things.

Chapter Text

Sasuke’s Susanoo faded away, and he stared down the Anbu in disbelief, “How?” The entire forest had been burnt down. There was nothing but a ring of charred black, swarmed by the raging fire that took over the trees on the edges.

But there, in the middle of it all was a scorched wooden dome, slowly pulling apart. Underneath, and uninjured it seemed, were the Anbu.

No one was supposed to make it out or Kirin’s wrath completely unharmed. He stumbled on his weakened legs; that was one of his strongest jutsus, it took everything out of him. Sakura’s gentle hands caught his upper body, pouring her healing chakra into him. She spoke next to him, “It’s got to be Yamato. He has Hashirama cells.”

Sasuke frowned, “He shouldn’t have been able to block Kirin.” He stepped away from Sakura, determined to hold himself up, but almost instantly his legs gave out. He collapsed to his knees and would have hit the ground if Sakura hadn’t lunged to catch him again.

Her arm braced around his chest, keeping him upright. “Look.” Yamato, at least who Sakura assumed was him was still on the ground, on his hands and knees, his chest heaving. It looked like it took everything out of him to block the monstrous attack. The only problem was the other two Anbu seemed unbothered. The one that had been stabbed stood, albeit shakily, on his own, one glowing green hand pressed to his side.

The other slipped his sword back into its position on his back, starting towards Sakura. Sasuke struggled to get up, but Sakura kept him down, “No. You need to heal. I’ll do this.”

She stepped away from him, curling her fists as she walked towards the Anbu. She waited for him to get closer, close enough to strike, and she threw her fist forward. She landed the hit perfectly against his stomach and was ready to watch him fly. Ready to see him crash into the trees across the now torched battlefield. They’d gone too far this time and she was ready to watch him pay.

The backs of her knuckles hit his armoured vest—poof.

A clone.

She turned too late to see him racing towards Sasuke, kunai in hand and lined up perfectly with his face. She struggled on the muddy ground to turn and chase, her momentum from the punch carrying her forward. His name ripped from her lips, “Sasuke!”

Her dark haired teammate lifted his head weakly, just in time to see the blade glinting. He didn’t even have time to attempt raising his hand, the Anbu was too close. The kunai was perfectly placed. Sasuke was going to lose an eye.

He couldn’t block it.

He was too weak to dodge it.

He just closed his eyes, accepting his fate. He was going to lose an eye. He was going to fall victim to Danzo’s plan just like all the Uchiha before him. He was going to lose one of the only things—

But nothing hit him.

He dared to look through his drenched bangs, and there was Kakashi, holding the arm of the Anbu, his red eye glaring through the rain. Sasuke was so stunned to see the Anbu, he didn’t at first notice the blade was mere inches from his eye. His eyes trailed down to Kakashi’s arm, and he realized the impressive catch that was the only thing that kept him from injury. Sasuke managed to gasp out, “How’d you?”

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder at him, “Sorry I’m late.”

Sakura rushed over, dropping to her knees in front of Sasuke. Her hands glowed green as she placed one over his heart, and lifted the other to his eyes, but he flinched away. “No, there’s still Yamato—”

“No, Kakashi brought us some reinforcements,” she half-laughed. Sasuke looked over her shoulder, and there, through the rain, Obito stood over the other two Anbu. The one Sasuke had stabbed was knocked out, but Yamato, the wood user, he was bound at the hands and held tightly by Obito.

He looked back up at Kakashi. Kakashi merely shrugged, “It’s been a long day.”

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Minato Namikaze was known as the Yellow Flash of the Leaf. He was known for having taken on 1000 enemy shinobi in the war and coming out completely unharmed. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that the typically smiling Hokage could be ruthless.

But never, had anyone seen him like this. His Hokage cloak billowed behind him as he stormed down the hallway, his blue eyes murderous. Everyone in the hall seemed to flatten against the wall as he passed, terrified for the person who was to be on the receiving end of his rage.

Sakura chased down the flowing Hokage cloak, pleading, “Minato-sensei, please! Just wait!”

Kakashi followed after her, echoing her voice, “He’s not gonna go down without a fight.”

“And he’s stronger than you think!” Sakura added, dodging the other bodies in the hallway until she finally managed to wrap her gloved hand around the hem of the cloak. She pulled him to a stop, “Minato-Sensei!”

He turned to stare at her, his blue eyed, familiar, Naruto-like gaze glaring. “I can’t wait for him to find out. He could already know by now.”

“He can’t. We’ve had Kinoe and the other Anbu under supervision this whole time. Ob—” Kakashi cut himself off as he noticed their accidental audience. “He’s got them right now. They won’t be able to get past him to get a message to…”

He trailed off again, his singular black eye flickering to the shinobi who strolled the halls that had all stopped to listen to the two teenagers yelling at the Hokage. Sakura spoke softly, “Just wait until we get some strength back. We’re already down one, and I don’t know if I have another fight in me.”

Minato glared coldly at the ground, “I think you’re underestimating me, Hana.”

She stepped closer, lowering her voice further, “And I think you’re underestimating Danzo and the reach he has. He’s going to have back up. If you go after him now, I won’t be of much help. Chen’s already at the hospital, and Kakashi and… his teammate aren’t fairing much better.”

She spared a glance at her silver-haired comrade and wished she could reach out to heal him again. The blood stain on his vest was glaringly obvious, and she couldn’t help but acknowledge the bruise-like dark circles under his eyes.

Kakashi looked the worse for wear out of the two; by no means was Sakura looking glamourous, but Kakashi definitely had it worse. Having summoned one of his ninken to track them down all night long, having fought Shoda and his teammates, broken into the prison to get Obito out, all on very few hours of sleep… to paraphrase him, it had been a long night.

Sasuke wasn’t there, he’d already been sent to Konoha General because his chakra reserves had been so low. Summoning Kirin, a monster of pure lightning took a significant amount of chakra, and as angry as he was in the moment, he’d used more than was necessary.

Sakura had done her best to heal and replenish, but if she’d gone any further, she would have been next to him. Even still, Kakashi stood close by, just in case she collapsed.

She pleaded one last time, “Please Minato-sensei. At least wait until you get a chance to talk to Chen about fighting him. He’s done it before.”

Minato’s gaze softened, and he released the tightly clenched fists he’d been making. “Fine. Let’s go check on…  your teammate.” He gestured down the hall from which they came, and Sakura let out a relieved sigh as she turned to follow.

The heavy doors to the Hokage’s office creaked as Minato pushed them open. Sakura let herself collapse against the bookshelf on the far wall, her eyes raking over the bizarre scene.

Obito was conscious this time as he stood in front of the Hokage desk. In front of him, there were the three, unmasked Anbu, all trapped under his genjutsu. He glared at each in turn, his red eye straining under his eyelid after the long hours of use.

Minato spoke offhandedly to Kakashi, “Can you summon Inoichi and his team? We need to get the intel division on this. And give Obito a break.”

Obito flinched, “I’m fine.”

Kakashi nodded easily, disappearing down the hall. His devotion to his sensei had always been impressive, but to this extent? To take orders after the longest night he’d ever experienced with no hesitation, not even a sigh of exhaustion?

Sakura decided she would never gripe about having to write the mission reports ever again.

She gently approached Obito, “How long does the genjutsu last?”

He shrugged, his gaze still locked on the Anbu, “When I let it go, probably a few minutes.”

“What are they seeing?” She asked, remembering the pain Kakashi had gone through when Itachi attacked. The genjutsu he’d described, how he’d been forced to live out every second as minutes, each spent in agony, being stabbed over and over. She could only imagine the viciousness of someone trained by Madara Uchiha.

To her surprise, Obito blushed. And it made her very conscious of how different he was from how she remembered. The older man who’d brought the Fourth Shinobi War to fruition was cold, mean, and harsh. His short, chopped hair and scarred face was a terrifying picture that made her heart double its pace for adrenalin to race through her system, ready to fight.

The boy in front of her, was nothing like that. Sure his scars were the same, and his eye was as hauntingly familiar as the other Obito, but his hair was longer. His eyes weren’t set in a glare, there was still a shine of youth to it. He was barely taller than her, still shorter than Kakashi and Sasuke.

He spoke softly, his cheeks red, “They’re stuck in a nursing home with cranky elderly people.”

“What?” despite the exhaustion running through her system, she found the energy to laugh. “Cranky elderly people?”

He managed to keep his eye on the second Anbu, but he defended himself, “Hey, they’re pretty miserable to be around. Trust me, they’re gonna feel like they’ve been there for days.”

Sakura shook her head in disbelief. Minato smiled behind them, “That was always Obito’s specialty. He’d know a lot about cranky elders.”

Sakura glanced up at Obito once again, this time noticing the sweat that beaded along his brow. She gently lifted her hand, “If you take a break, I can heal your eye. If they’ll be under for a few more minutes when you let go, the intelligence division will probably be here before they wake up.”

His eye shifted over to her for a moment before he snapped it back to Kinoe. “I’m fine.”

She moved to argue, but she caught Minato’s eye from behind Obito. He shook his head softly, and Sakura decided to drop it—for now. The door to the office was pushed open, young, exhausted Kakashi leading Inoichi and two other intel ninjas into the room.

Inoichi froze when he saw Obito, and having been in the room their very first night in the world, Sakura understood his shock. Kakashi moved to stand next to Sakura, his arms behind his back, shoulders straight. Sakura copied him and watched Obito do the same, keeping his eyes on the Anbu.

Minato explained what happened in short, how their mission had been ambushed and he wanted answers of who, why and how. He added quietly, “We have reason to believe this was an inside job. Whatever you find, it stays between you, and this team.” He gestured to each teen in turn, and Sakura felt herself stand a little straighter.

This team.

This team, of four teenagers who’d been through more than most could wrap their heads around. This team, of Sakura Haruno, student of legendary Sannin, and gifted medical ninja. Sasuke Uchiha, the seventeen-year-old boy who’d lost everything and was fighting desperately to get it all back and protect others from his hurt.

And now Obito Uchiha, the boy who’d decided to fight with them on a whim, who threw his life on the line to help his teammate.

All led by Kakashi Hatake, the famous copy-ninja; the scary, cold, unflinching Anbu who’d softened, and smiled more, and been the kind, strong, steady leader they’d needed.

This team.

Inoichi nodded gravely, ensuring he made eye contact with each of the teens. Yet another reason she’d always liked him, he never treated her and Ino like they were kids once they made chunnin. He’d treated them as equals. He ordered his men to grab the disarmed Anbu, and Minato called, “You can release the genjutsu.”

Kakashi lightly nudged his elbow against her arm as Obito finally peeled his eye away. She didn’t have to question why, because instantly he swayed and Kakashi and Sakura jumped to his side, steadying him.

Obito mumbled, “Thanks.” He struggled to get his feet under him, the exhaustion finally catching up to him. Having been out of training for weeks, unable to even use his sharingan, she didn’t blame him in the slightest.

Sakura and Kakashi led him over to the Hokage’s chair, where Minato waved them over, and she asked, “Can I heal you now?”

He rolled his eye but immediately winced. “You can’t heal sharingan, that’s—”

“She can,” Kakashi cut him off as he eased him into the seat. “Trust me. She can heal it.”

Obito glared at Kakashi for a long while before his gaze shifted to Sakura. “Fine,” he bitterly agreed. Sakura decided to let his clear disdain slide on account that she was too tired to deal with it, just lifting her glowing green hand over his scars.

The familiar weight of a stubborn boy’s head giving in and relaxing against her hand returned, and it made her roll her eyes. Kakashi, Sasuke, and now Obito too.

One day, someone would no longer question her healing abilities. She was sure of it.

Minato spoke into the silence, “You should all go get checked out. I know you came here to tell me what happened, but you all need the rest and care. Sakura, you’re looking like you’re at the end of your chakra stores.”

She didn’t like that she agreed with him. She could see the green aura around her hand flickering, but she fought it back. “Obito can’t come to the hospital with us. Just let me help him, and then we’ll go.”

Minato dragged a hand down his face. “I’ll need to talk to Fugaku about that…” he mumbled to himself but Sakura couldn’t pay enough attention to follow his train of thought. She had to focus on her healing, otherwise she was useless to the one-eyed Uchiha.

Just as she began to see double, she pulled her hand back. Obito blinked at her, “Wow.”

She nodded in agreement, attempting to stand but instantly staggered sideways. Kakashi’s hand wrapped around her arm, and Minato appeared at her side, letting her stumble against his chest. “Easy, Sakura, easy.” Minato helped Kakashi lift her arm across his shoulders. “You two need to go to the hospital.”

“Danzo might see us,” she argued. “If he knows we’re back, he’ll know his ninja got caught.”

Minato smiled at her, “He won’t. I’ll take you to the Hokage’s room.” At her confused glance, he shrugged, “When I became Hokage, I placed one of my kunai in a hospital room that was always reserved, this way if I ever teleported there, I wouldn’t be giving anyone a heart attack. And no one would see their Hokage gravely injured.” He turned to Obito, “You’re gonna be alright here, right?”

Obito nodded, “Yeah, Minato-sensei.”

Even through the haze of chakra exhaustion, she saw the soft smile on Minato’s face. He stepped towards the boy, dropping his hand onto his shoulder, “It’s good to have you back, Obito.”

Obito looked away, blinking harshly, “It’s good to be back.”

Minato reached for the other two teens, wrapping a hand around each of their shoulders. They disappeared with a flash.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Sakura woke up to bickering. Male voices, three of them, maybe four, arguing with one another. She blearily opened her eyes, taking in the group that had gathered around her hospital bed.

Kakashi sat in the chair on her left, he was shirtless, sporting only his mask and a series of bandages that wound around his torso. He’d pulled his headband back on and over his sharingan, and seemed exasperated by the conversation he was stuck in with someone at the foot of her bed.

She turned her head slightly, her eyes flitting over Obito’s figure. He wore the blue long sleeve still and the same ninja pants that Kakashi had (although they looked a little long), but he’d pulled on a face covering. Someone had given him a headband that was similar to Kakashi’s that it covered his eye, but it was made so that he wouldn’t be able to lift it.

He had his arms crossed as he paced back and forth in the room, his eyes flitting to a figure on her right.

She fully turned her head, and there he was.

Sasuke.

She was swarmed with emotions, relief, happiness, worry, swirling indiscernibly in her chest. He leaned against the wall, as casual as could be with his shirt mostly unbuttoned, bandages wrapped around his chest. His hair hung low in front of his face, but the moment she caught his eye, he pushed off the wall and to her bedside,

“Sakura,” he spoke.

The argument that was happening died out, the other two boys jumping to attention and moving towards the bed. She pushed herself up onto her elbows, determined to sit up, but pain flared through her shoulder and she let out a wince.

Instantly Sasuke’s hand was on her back, guiding her forwards. She glanced up at him with wide eyes, not used to the gentle touch, “Thanks.” He nodded softly, his dark eyes scanning her features with a silent question. “I’m okay,” she answered.

Their eye contact was cut short, broken by the very obvious cough Obito let out, and sure her face was aflame, she focused her gaze on the bed in front of her. One of these days, her and Sasuke would be alone and able to talk, she was sure of it.

Until then, they had to settle for their ever-existent audience that managed to be around every. Single. Time.

She ran a hand through her hair, wincing at the many tangles her fingers got caught in, and asked the room, “What did I miss?”

Both Kakashi and Obito’s eyes snapped up to Sasuke, and when she followed their gaze, he was looking everywhere but at her. “Sasuke,” she spoke lowly, but his gaze stayed locked on the bedsheets.

Kakashi had to hand it to Sasuke, his ability to ignore and avoid was impressive, especially considering the close quarters. At his further silence, he sighed, letting Sakura turn to face him, “They found out it was Danzo. Intel confirmed what we already knew, and when they went after him…”

“He was gone,” she guessed. Based on the somber nods and palpable anger coming off of Sasuke, she knew she was right. “Any guesses where he ran off to?”

Again Obito and Kakashi looked to Sasuke. He finally made eye contact with her, and his voice was sharp, “Based on correspondence they found in his office, there’s reason to believe he’s met up with Orochimaru.”

Sakura’s eyes went wide, “That’s—”

“I know.” Sasuke agreed.

Her mind was reeling. Orochimaru was the reason behind everything. He attacked Sasuke as a genin, gave him the curse mark that almost took over, convinced him to leave the village behind. He attacked during the chunin exams, killing the third Hokage in the process, he’d gone on to join the Akatsuki…the list was never ending.

And now Danzo was with him, they had reason to go after him, means to track him—it sounded too good to be true.

“We can’t let them keep going,” she spoke stiffly. She’d been somewhat hopeful that Danzo could correct himself, correct his ways. But he’d proved time and time again that he wouldn’t. “If Danzo goes with Orochimaru, they’ve both expressed interest in the sharingan. All of you, and every Uchiha would be at risk.”

Sasuke agreed, “I killed them once, I can do it again.”

Kakashi at one point would have frozen in shock, maybe even jumped at a statement as bold yet casual as that one, but with Sasuke and Sakura, he’d grown used to it in the past few weeks. He glanced at the Uchiha, his voice as casual as if they were discussing the weather, “You killed Orochimaru? And Danzo?”

 Sasuke shrugged as he leaned back against the wall, “Orochimaru didn’t have use of his arms at the time, and his body was weak when it happened, but yes.”

“Really?” Sakura raised an eyebrow. “And here we all thought you were just that good that you managed to kill one of the Legendary Sannin,” Sakura joked.

He gave her a glare that she greeted with a smile. He rolled his eyes, but she saw the way the corner of his lips quirked. “I was just that smart to wait it out. He’s not someone to take lightly.”

At the foot of her bed, Obito held up his hands, “Hold on, what? I know I missed out on some stuff when I was gone, but what? You killed Danzo? He just escaped, isn’t that the problem? How could you have killed him, you’ve been in the hospital since we got back.”

The three teens exchanged glances, each dipping their chin in a nod. Both boys turned their gaze to Sakura last, and she sighed heavily, “Right… you might want to sit down for this one, Obito.”

Chapter Text

Sakura was growing to dislike Hokage office meetings. They were never for good news, seemed to always mean that something was going wrong, and honestly? She was still pretty worn out from her chakra exhaustion and wanted to go to bed. But nonetheless, she stood, sipping her tea in the office as the group gathered.

She had her arms crossed as she watched Kakashi, Obito, Sasuke, Minato, Fugaku and the third Hokage argue. After they’d explained their story to Obito, he was rightfully shocked and asked a whole lot of questions. She decided to not sugar coat it, telling him in full detail how Madara had betrayed him and what he’d threatened to do to the Shinobi world. Sasuke had dove into further detail, having spent more time with him than Sakura, and poor Obito had definitely needed to sit down.

He raked his hands through his hair, mumbling, “I really did all that?”

Sakura had shut it down immediately, “No. That was someone else in a different time entirely. That’s not who you are anymore.” She waited for his eye to meet her own, “You’re with us now. You’re on our side.”

Kakashi agreed, “It's true."

Before he could even begin to digest the information, they’d been summoned back to the office. They'd gotten there earlier than the rest, and the minute Fugaku had walked into the office she'd felt her stomach drop. She hadn't worked on Itachi's cure. It hadn't even crossed her mind, she'd been so preoccupied with everything else happening; between her personal life and the back-to-back missions they'd been on, it had fallen through the cracks of her priority list. 

She turned, too ashamed to meet his gaze, and instead settled her eyes on Sasuke. He swallowed harshly, his eyes locked firmly on the floor and away from his father. The last time he'd seen Fugaku, it hadn't gone well for him, he'd gone nearly catatonic in his panic. She nudged his shoulder, waiting for his dark eyes to meet her own so she could send him some silent reassurance.

That was when the Third Hokage had arrived.

Hiruzen shook his head, “Danzo has been loyal to the Leaf. How can we be sure he is not being pulled into this against his will?”

Sasuke scoffed, “He’s been working with Orochimaru for months." He gestured to the pile of scrolls that intel had uncovered from his office. "He’s not being forced into anything, they've planned it together. Neither of them is loyal to the Leaf.”

She figured he could try a little harder to hide his distaste towards Lord Third, but then she remembered that he was fully aware of the plan that was forced into Itachi’s hands, and she decided he was rightfully angry.

Minato agreed, though far more gently than her teammate. “If they were loyal to the Leaf, why would either of them run? And why would Danzo send his ninja after mine?”

Hiruzen grabbed the file from the Hokage’s desk, “He was doing it in protection of the Leaf.” He trailed his finger along the document, “Suspected spies. There are many questions around your team, Minato. When you kept us all out of that first meeting, you drove suspicion into each of us.”

Sakura watched Sasuke’s hand curl into a fist, and she noticed hers was doing the same. “Us? You’re worried about my team as well?” Minato managed to stay calm, the question was casual. He also politely ignored the glaring teenagers next to him.

"I know not of who sent them. I know not of who trained them, or what their assignment truly is. Would you trust in a random team, an assortment of teenagers no less with no history or proof that they are who they say they are?" Hiruzen spared a glance towards Obito, “You’ve now added the very person who attacked the Leaf in the first place. Can you tell me how he is worth reforming, but Orochimaru and Danzo are not?”

Kakashi pointed out, “Obito didn’t try to run. He took the punishment and went quietly. Danzo ran when he knew we were suspicious.”

“And Orochimaru was caught experimenting on children,” Sakura added. He couldn’t see past his respect for his old teammate, and she understood. She needed him to see the truth, so she stepped forwards. “You know about that because you were Hokage. Or,” she narrowed her eyes. “You know because you allowed it.”

“Hana!” Minato chastised.

“Kinoe,” she grabbed the file off of Minato’s desk, ignoring his obvious glare of stop it. “He’s got Hashirama cells, right? That how he’s able to use wood-style?” Hiruzen went pale. “You allowed it, because you saw that there were benefits, even if most of the kids died. And you put the kids that survived in Root, training them to be killers since they were children.”

Hiruzen squared his shoulders, “I approved of experiments on volunteer shinobi. In the case of the Kyubbi, which you all know how dangerous that is, we needed someone to be able to control it if it ever escaped. They all volunteered for the job because they wanted to protect the Leaf. I had no knowledge of Orochimaru’s experiments, and the minute I did I went after him myself. There is no excuse for his actions.”

Sakura agreed, “Exactly.” Realization settled on Minato’s face. “You heard just how wrong that is. But that’s exactly what Danzo did. He allowed Orochimaru to keep going, to keep experimenting just because one kid worked out. You said it yourself, there is no excuse for that.”

Hiruzen stared at her, his eyes wide as the reality wrapped around his heart. She felt the impressed gazes from her teammates behind her, and she lifted her chin a little higher. Sure, she may not have been the strongest fighter, but there were other things that made someone a great ninja. Strategy being one of them.

Minato grabbed the file from her, “Lord Third, I know you didn’t have anything to do with the experiments that Orochimaru carried out on his own. But we can’t rule out Danzo.”

“You don’t have to rule him out, the proof is right in front of you,” he pointed to the file on Kinoe. “Danzo was fine with it. That should be reason enough we go after him.” Sasuke argued.

“Reforming only works if the person wants to do better. Clearly, if Danzo thinks he’s protecting the Leaf by going after us, he doesn’t think he’s wrong. Besides, he used Kinoe to attack us, Leaf Ninja don’t turn on Leaf Ninja.”

Kakashi was watching them, mostly unbothered. Obito beside him however, seemed increasingly concerned as the argument went on. With wide eyes, he leaned in, whispering, “Are they always like this?”

Disrupting the balance? Challenging every authority figure? Arguing with multiple Hokage? “Yes.”

Fugaku cleared his throat, “It is worth noting that multiple Uchiha have gone missing, or have been killed in action on Danzo’s assigned missions. Not on mine, nor Minato’s.”

“What?” Minato demanded. Sasuke went still next to her.

Hiruzen bristled, “Shinobi die on missions, Fugaku. I apologize, but it is the life of the Shinobi.”

“Not Uchihas,” Fugaku and Sasuke spoke at once. Sakura watched them make eye contact, the first time the entire meeting, and the shine in Fugaku’s eyes was painfully proud. Sasuke looked away quickly, blinking harshly.

She had to resist the urge to reach for his hand as he kept going, “Uchiha have the sharingan, they don’t get caught or snuck up on. They’re too skilled for that.”

“Why hasn’t this been brought to my attention before now?” Minato asked.

Fugaku replied, “It was a pattern I wasn’t sure was there. But if Danzo is not above sending shinobi after our own, it becomes quite clear.”

That time, Sakura reached for his wrist and gave it a squeeze. She watched the way his eyes narrowed, how his knuckles turned white, and she wanted nothing more than to pull him into her arms and take away the ache.

It had already started. Danzo’s attack on the Uchiha had already begun, and they hadn’t been able to stop it. Sasuke felt the monster in his stomach sink its teeth into the idea. It had already started. The Uchiha were already dying.

And he hadn’t stopped it.

He felt Sakura’s hand around his wrist, and he was waiting for the urge to rip his hand away. To scowl at her because he deserved to carry that burden alone because it was his family. His fault. He was ready to pull back from her, to refuse her attempt at comfort because it was his fault, he should have done something—but the moment her pale fingers wrapped around his wrist; he couldn’t.

Her gentle hand squeezed his pulse, and it made him want to turn and collapse against her. To hug her like she’d hugged him all those times. To let her take some the weight, because that’s who she was and that’s what she did.

She helped him carry it.

It should have been terrifying. Realizing that he wanted to lean on her, that he wanted to let her help even though it was his problem; it should have made him want to pull away even more. But instead, he just met her eye and gave her a thankful nod. It wasn’t enough, it didn’t convey how much he appreciated her, or how glad he was that she’d jumped into that time-travel jutsu with him, but it was a start.

Sakura tried to ignore the way her heart skipped two beats when his hand slid into hers for the briefest of moments, and she turned her attention back to Minato and Hiruzen. If they had reason and permission to catch Danzo and stop him for good, half of their problems would be solved. The other half could be fixed if they ended Orochimaru now. “Minato-sensei, there’s too much suspicion around Danzo. Trust me, it’s best if we go after him now before he does something worse.” She begged silently that he would catch the message.

Minato sighed heavily, dragging his hand down his face. “Lord Third, I have to agree with my team here. I think there’s enough evidence to go after Danzo and Orochimaru.” Hiruzen shook his head sadly, but Minato continued, “I want you to step in as Hokage. I’ll go on the mission with my team.”

“Minato-sensei,” Kakashi whispered.

“I’ll lead them. Fugaku,” he turned to his old teammate. “If it is alright with you, I’d like you to help Obito reintegrate into the Uchiha district.” Obito tried to protest, asking to go on the mission with them, but Minato spoke over him, “He’s a good shinobi, and I’d like you to start training him so he can be ready to take the chunnin exam in a few months.”

Obito blinked at him, rendered silent. “Really?”

Minato stepped forwards, planting his hands on Obito’s shoulders, “I know you want to come on the mission, but you being back is more important.”

Fugaku nodded, “I will. He can join Shisui and Itachi in their training sessions.” Minato thanked him before he turned to the third Hokage, the only one who hadn’t yet agreed.

Hiruzen bowed his head, “I chose you for this role, Minato. So I’ll trust in your judgement and your team. I just hope you can see reason. Orochimaru was my student after all, and Danzo is my oldest friend.”

Minato nodded, “I understand.” He turned to the three, stunned teenagers in the room, “We leave tomorrow morning. Rest up, train if you must, but be ready to go by daybreak tomorrow.”

The weight of the mission settled in Sakura’s chest. They were going after Orochimaru. They were going after Danzo. They were going to eliminate the threats to the Leaf, the ones that had ruined any semblance of peace that they used to believe in as kids. She thought of Naruto, of baby-Sasuke, of how they would get to grow up in a Shinobi world that was safe.

She turned to Fugaku, beating back the guilt that swirled in her stomach. “When this mission is over, I promise that Itachi will be my first priority. I’m sorry I’ve been so distracted.”

Fugaku did something then that made her freeze. He smiled. “Considering neither of you are worried about him as of yet, I see that as reason enough for me not to worry.”

She nodded at him, “Thank you, Fugaku.”

Minato looked around the room, “Everyone is in agreement?”

Each ninja in the room nodded. They all understood the stakes. The seriousness. This was the mission to end all missions. This was the chance that Sasuke and Sakura had been waiting for, training for. This was the mission that they would have to face their worst threats yet.

As she glanced at Kakashi on her left, and Sasuke on her right, there was no one she’d rather fight with. No one she’d rather stand with as they battled the silent, deadliest threats to the Leaf. And with Minato as their leader, she felt the strength welling up in her chest.

This was it. They could do it.

.   .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Sakura opened the door to the apartment, her still freshly-healed body already begging for the comfy mattress just down the hall. She started towards her room but paused when she didn’t hear Sasuke following her. She turned back to him, finding him standing in the doorway, his unfocused gaze locked on the floor. “Sasuke?”

With great effort it seemed, he peeled his eyes away from the ground and met her gaze, “Yeah?”

She tried to ignore the question that floated to the front of her brain, but with his eyes on her, every other thought went silent. “Are you gonna be okay to face them?”

He scoffed, crossing in his arms in an attempt to look confident. For the first time, Sakura was able to see through it. “I killed them both before, I’ll be fine.”

“I know, that’s what I’m worried about.” She stepped towards him, “You lost your way after you killed them. That day with Danzo on the bridge,” she hated the way her voice caught. “You were so hurt, so angry and lost. I don’t want that to happen again.”

“It won’t.”

“How do you know that? They bring out the worst in you, and I don’t blame you for that," she assured him quickly. "I just, I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t,” he promised, stepping towards her and closing the distance between them. “I lost my way because I was angry, I didn’t think I had anything or anyone left.” He reached up then, his hand cupping her cheek and forcing her to meet his gaze. “I have you.”

“Is that enough?” She wasn’t aiming for compliments. She wasn’t trying to make it about her. She just genuinely couldn’t tell. “You had me that day on the bridge. I was ready to join you, I tried to but—” She hated the tears that sprung to her eyes and tried to blink them away.

He pulled her in, capturing her lips in his with a kiss to silence her. Even mid sentence, her lips formed perfectly against his, soft and sweet like the tea she’d drank in the Hokage’s office. Just as her hands twisted into his shirt, he forced himself to step back. His gaze traced the shock that lined her features, her bright eyes wide as they bore into his own.

Those wide eyes that were always looking out for him.

He looked her up and down; her arms that were always reaching for him, her hands that always wrapped around his when he needed it most, her waist that he’d cling to whenever she pulled him in for a hug. Her strength, her skill, her smarts, how could she ever believe she was anything but enough?

He shook his head, “Sakura, you are more than enough.”

She felt it, the swirling affection in her chest rising and rising until it threatened to escape her in a declaration that would for sure send Sasuke running. So instead, she smothered the words against his lips, raising onto the tips of her toes to close the space between them, and clutched his shirt to keep her balance. To keep her tethered.

How easy it was for her to get lost in Sasuke. In his twists and turns, his darkness and light.

He pulled her in, their bodies pressed together in the light of the doorway. Her lips were petal soft against his own, and her hands, kami, her hands. They traced up his chest and across the back of his neck until her nimble fingers curled into his hair, her fingernails dragging just slightly across his scalp.

She pulled back from him enough to breathe, but still close enough that their noses brushed. She whispered, “Stay with me tonight.” She didn’t mean for it to come out as a statement, a bold decision she’d already made.

It was a question, in every way possible.

In his shocked silence, she spoke again, “Just for tonight. Before everything happens tomorrow.”

His dark eyes searched hers, looking for even a hint of hesitancy, an ounce of regret. But she just stared up at him, with her beautiful green eyes, glazed with hope. Hope for him, for them, for herself.

So in true Sasuke fashion, he didn’t answer her. He looped his fingers around hers, silently leading them down the hallway to her room, stopping just outside her door. She turned to face him, their frames close together in the narrow hall. “After this mission,” she started.

His fingers poked the middle of her forehead, rendering her silent. His lips pulled into a soft smile, “We can figure this out, yes.”

“I didn—”

“You didn’t have to.”

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Minato pulled his pack over his shoulder and then glanced at the young team that stood before him in the early morning light. They’d arrived at the office early, alert, and ready. The team looked infinitely better than they did only the day prior, exhaustion no longer lining their features.

It made Minato’s chest swell with pride as he looked at each of them in turn. Kakashi, despite his young years had more than proved himself a capable shinobi. He’d fought alongside Minato before; they knew how each other worked so selecting him for the mission had been obvious.

The two teenagers that joined him on Team Ro had been the obvious second choice. He’d watched them in action against Madara Uchiha and their skill was far beyond their years. They’d been working with Kakashi for a while, had already pulled off the impossible more than once, and their teamwork was one that rivalled groups like Ino-Shika-Cho who’d grown up with each other.

When word of Orochimaru crossed his desk, he hadn’t hesitated in volunteering himself for the mission. The minute he summoned that group to his office, he knew he was putting himself on the front lines. He was well aware of the Shinobi’s skill as one of the Legendary Sannin and asking anyone else to go after him would have been a death sentence.

The squad in front of him however, Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura—they had a chance. A strong one at that.

The similarity between his old squad and new one wasn’t lost on him. Kakashi was still Kakashi, except he seemed to smile a little easier these days, Sakura had Rin’s compassion and medical ninjutsu, though to a new level entirely, and Sasuke was an Uchiha, just like Obito. While the two boys couldn’t be more different in personality, they both were very protective of their friends.

He wished in part that Obito was joining their mission, but he knew it was more important for him to find peace. After his time with Madara, spending weeks in jail, he needed light after all that darkness.

He needed to remember who he was and where he came from.

When everyone confirmed they were ready, he reached for Sakura and Sasuke’s shoulders, feeling Kakashi firmly place his hand over Minato’s own. Wrapping his chakra around each of them, they vanished from the room.

Chapter Text

“You sure about this, Minato-sensei?” Sakura asked, tightening her gloves around her wrists. “That’s two sharingan users you’re going against.”

He added, “And the student of Lady Tsunade whose punch can easily level this forest.” He smiled as Sakura looked away, her cheeks tinted pink from the praise. “But yes. I think you’re underestimating me, Sakura.”

Kakashi tilted his head, “I don’t know Minato-sensei, last time you did this we were a genin team. We’re all Anbu.” He pulled his headband off, placing it with his mask that laid beside the fire.

“Even you Kakashi? Your doubt is starting to hurt,” Minato placed his hands on his chest, mocking a broken heart.

Sakura rolled her eyes, “I think we just want to make sure you know what you’re agreeing to.” She gestured between the three teenagers. While they’d agreed to some ground rules like no weapons (except Minato’s kunai), or that they had to stay in sight of the fire, all other bets were off.

While she wouldn’t dare to say they were stronger than Minato, she had to acknowledge that Sasuke, Kakashi and her were slightly ahead of their years in their abilities.

Minato held up the bells, winking at them, “I’m sure. It’s a tradition for my squad, and I need you two to do it.”

Sasuke chimed in, “We did this back in our time with him,” he pointed to Kakashi. “Does that count for something?”

“While I’m sure Kakashi made it plenty difficult for you all, you’ve never tried to steal something from a teleportation-jutsu user, have you?” when both shook their heads, he nodded like that settled the matter. “Great. Here’s your chance.”

He attached the bells to his hip, and Sakura couldn’t help what slipped out, “You’ve still got only two of them. Does that mean one of us will lose if we don’t get one?”

Minato shook his head, “If the three of you manage to get one, I’ll be impressed. If you get both, I’ll hand over the title of Hokage.” Sakura grinned. If he was that confident, maybe it wouldn’t hurt to go all out. “Besides, I won’t be holding back on you. I’ve seen you all in battle, don’t expect any special treatment. I’m sure Sakura can handle any injuries, right?”

She eyed him, halfway between wary and amused, “Long as no one cuts off any limbs, we should be fine.” She turned to Kakashi and Sasuke, “Since we already know this is about teamwork, we should probably come up with our plan somewhere he can’t hear us.”

Minato nodded approvingly, “Good idea. I’ll even leave you all to it.” And then he was gone, vanished into thin air, leaving the trio in silence.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. “I can’t believe we’re doing this again.” He dropped his mask beside Kakashi’s and pushed his hair back, not noticing Sakura’s suddenly flushed cheeks. It was much easier to ignore how good Sasuke looked when his face was covered, but with the mask off and the fire so close, every shadow of muscle was magnified in his arms. The strong angle of his jaw was even more prominent than usual.

Kakashi didn’t seem to notice either, just asking the Kunoichi, “When you did it with me, did you get them?” He couldn’t help himself. He was just slightly curious about the future that his teammates knew so much about yet spoke of so little.

“We passed the whole teamwork test thing,” Sakura answered, hoping to blame her flushed cheeks on their proximity to the fire. “Though, Naruto and I did it again when we got older and we got them.” Both Sasuke and Kakashi looked surprised at that; it made her frown.

“How?” he asked, determined to cut out the weakness as soon as he got the chance.

And while Sakura agreed he could read a little less and talk to people a little more, that was one thing about Kakashi that she wouldn’t tell him about; the books, however questionable they were, brought him happiness. She just shrugged, “Naruto’s really strong, at least he’s going to be.”

Sasuke nodded, “Agreed, but our problem right now is his dad. How do we work around the teleportation jutsu?”

Sakura glanced around the small clearing they’d decided to call camp among the trees. “Not here. We’re too out in the open, he could hear us. Come on.” The trio went further into the woods, making sure they could still see the glow of the flames as they worked out their plan.

Minato met Kakashi first. Deciding hand-to-hand would be a good starting point, the two battled in taijutsu, Kakashi’s sharingan mirroring his sensei’s fast-paced movements. Kakashi ducked his sensei’s punch, his arm reaching for the bells at his hip, but Minato vanished, appearing somewhere behind him. “That was good Kakashi, you’ve really gotten the hang of that sharingan. Just a little predictable.” He tossed one of his kunai in his hand.

Kakashi straightened up, rolling his eyes. Minato frowned, “I thought you guys decided that teamwork was the best way to get the bells. Where’s Sasuke and Sakura?”

Kakashi smiled behind his mask. That was his sensei’s fatal flaw, the one Kakashi had been hoping for. He’d go full sensei-mode in order to preach the importance of teamwork if they didn’t use it. Kakashi shrugged, keeping his voice as nonchalant as possible, “We figured we’d all try solo first, a competition among ourselves.”

Minato rose to the bait, his voice filled with concern, “What, why?”

Kakashi grinned. Sasuke flickered behind Minato, landing a hit against his back. He stumbled forwards, but turned quickly, blocking Sasuke’s next attack. At the same time, Kakashi made his move for the bells, but Minato swiftly dodged as the three of them were locked in hand to hand. Both his students’ eyes were flaring red as they read and predicted his movements, and Minato had to admit, they were certainly putting up an impressive fight.

If he weren’t known as the Yellow Flash of the Leaf due to his speed, he’d have lost the bells. Kakashi summoned a shadow clone, the two of them taking on the Hokage as Sasuke backed up.

He closed his eyes, but when they opened again, his mangekyou sharingan shone through, summoning his Susanoo arm to wrap around the Hokage. Too busy with the shadow clone of Kakashi and the real Kakashi, the purple hand curled around him tightly. Minato stared between the two boys, a smile slowly working onto his lips, “Okay, that was good. I’ll give you that. But not enough.”

He vanished from the Susanoo, and Sasuke called it off, his sharingan flashing in its complex pattern. Kakashi asked offhandedly as his shadow clone vanished, “There’s no way for me to be able to do that, is there?”

Sasuke smirked, shaking his head. “With only one, I doubt it.”

Kakashi sighed, “Figures.” There was a shout somewhere past them, closer to the fire and Kakashi turned to Sasuke, “Guess that means we’re into phase three of the plan?”

Sasuke nodded, running towards the clearing where the fire emitted the faintest glow. Sasuke ran through the trees, Kakashi trailing just behind him, and he couldn’t help the small smile that graced his features. When they’d first done the bell test, he’d disliked his teammates and even his sensei, but now, he couldn’t deny it was the tiniest bit fun. From the way Kakashi’s eyes were smiling, he clearly felt the same.

Just as they were about to break the treeline, they heard it. A shout, and then the earth rumbled beneath their feet—a move that could only be pulled off by Sakura.

Both stumbled to a stop on the shaking ground and Kakashi glanced warily at Sasuke, his arms out to maintain his balance. “That wasn’t part of the plan.”

“No, it wasn’t.” Sasuke pulled his sword from its sheath, rushing towards the sound. Kakashi ran silently beside him once again, a kunai in each hand, though this time the air was tense. Both had been taught to expect the worst, and Sakura attacking somewhere far from where she should be was definitely something to worry about.

There was another shout, this one louder, closer, far more pained than the first. And undeniably Sakura. Sasuke’s heart began pounding as the sound echoed through the trees, and he wanted nothing more than to level the forest and find her.

Kakashi suddenly grabbed his sleeve, dragging him out of the way of a series of shuriken that landed in the tree just past him, directly in line with his vital spots. Kakashi hissed, “You won’t be any help if you get yourself killed.”

Sasuke felt his sharingan appear, and next to him Kakashi had his normal eye closed. He asked, “Any idea who it is?”

Kakashi shook his head, “We’re near the border, the only ones out here are us, Orochimaru and maybe a few missing nin—” the trees in front of them suddenly ignited, orange flames dancing through the branches and racing across the dry forest.

Sasuke didn’t think.

He stepped in front of Kakashi, arms out wide and bracing for the attack.  His Susanoo formed around them, the ribcage taking the brunt of the fire and protecting them from any serious wounds. The fire flowed around them for a few more seconds, the technique one that rivalled the Uchiha, and when the wall of flames finally died out, the entire forest was burning. Kakashi stood shakily behind him, “Thanks, for that.” He patted at the sweat along his brow from the intense heat.

Sasuke shrugged, “Don’t mention it.” It was a feeling he’d long forgotten. The feeling of his body protecting on instinct. He’d done the same thing years ago, the same feeling of his body moving before he could react, except it had been Naruto he’d jumped in front of, and he’d had to physically use his own body as a shield. He could still remember the pain of the needles Haku had sent at him.

Apparently, Sasuke was starting to care about his old sensei.

Though this time, he was glad to let his Susanoo take the impact of the hit.

 “We need to find Minato-Sensei.”

He shook his head of his epiphany, and the moment the pink-haired kunoichi filled his mind, he felt the cold set in. The detached feeling that took over when he needed to focus, because nothing could distract him from his goal.

“We need to find Sakura,” Sasuke corrected, dropping their Susanoo guard again, the small patch of grass they stood on the only green thing left in the vicinity that was now charred black.

Kakashi whispered in the silence, “We need to find both of them. But Minato-sensei is the Hokage, if something happens to him—”

“If something happens to Sakura,” Sasuke warned, but Kakashi caught his arm.

Kakashi’s gaze was unwavering against his own. When he spoke, his voice was sure, “She’d tell us to get Minato-Sensei first.” And Sasuke hated that he was right.

“Fine.” Sasuke realized he was gripping his sword far too tightly and forced himself to relax his hands as they walked into the scorched wood. Some logs and trees were still aflame, and as the flames flickered, so did the shadows. It felt like there was something waiting in the darkness, looming over them, just itching for its chance to strike.

He felt a chakra signature to his right spike, and Sasuke threw his shuriken, listening to the gasp that followed the distinct sound of a shuriken striking skin. The silent forest was suddenly filled with the chirping of birds as both lightning users summoned their Chidori, following the voice.

The man they found wore brown rags, tied together at his waist by a purple rope belt that Sasuke was all too familiar with as he’d once worn something similar. His shuriken was lodged in the man’s chest, exactly where Sasuke had intended it to land. He pointed the edge of his sword to the man’s neck, the tip mere inches from ending his life. “You work for Orochimaru, don’t you?”

The man coughed up blood, the red liquid splattering against his lips, “Lord Orochimaru knew you were getting too close. He sent us here to stop you.” The way the man’s eyes shone when they spoke of Orochimaru, it made Sasuke sick.

Us. “Where are the others?” Kakashi asked, his voice dangerously low. He’d heard the man’s slip up, the free information he’d handed over.

He gasped in a shaky breath, one that sounded far too gurgled and wet to be healthy. “They got the girl,” he grinned, his teeth stained red, and it took everything in Sasuke’s power to not drive the blade through his neck.

“Where are they taking her?”

He laughed, his eyes glossing over and the sound ear-splitting in the silence. Loud, wild, and so unbelievingly broken; it was the laugh of the insane. “Who said they’re taking her anywhere? She’s probably already dead.”

Red. It poured into his vision and drowned out all noise. It filled his lungs, the beast deep within waking up and stretching out. It clawed at his insides, drowning him in the inky darkness it lived in. It poured hate and anger into Sasuke’s bloodstream, desperate for revenge. It thrived off of the chaos, it needed revenge.

It forced the sword down. The tip of the blade slid into the man’s throat with a sickening squelch, blood gushing and pouring down his neck as the sword lodged itself into the dirt clean through the other side.

At the sight of the blood flooding from his neck Sasuke felt the beast settle once again, pleased by the pain it caused; though not yet ready to sleep, it no longer added fuel to the burning fire that was the young Uchiha. As the monster quieted, so did the twisted hatred that had filled his veins. He could finally hear again, and he noticed his teammate’s wide-eyed stare. Kakashi asked, “What did you—”

“Orochimaru wouldn’t pass up a bargaining chip like her, trust me. It’s just the thing he wants,” Sasuke said calmly, waiting for the red haze to leave his vision. He pulled his sword back, even more blood spilling down the front of the man’s body. “He was only going to distract us further; we need to find Sakura and Minato.”

Kakashi knew about being cold blooded. His time on Anbu had hardened him into being that way, hell it was one of the nicknames that were whispered behind his back, but Sasuke… when matters involved Sakura, he became cold blooded like no other, willing to kill anything and anyone who stood in his way. It was like something else took over. Kakashi asked quietly, “How do you know so much about Orochimaru?”

Sasuke’s sharingan eyes flickered to his, his gaze as cold as his actions. “I was trained by him, briefly.” There was an unmistakeable shout ahead of them, further into the forest of flames.

“Minato-sensei,” Kakashi whispered. Both dove into a sprint, their weapons out and ready, trying to trace the voice as they dodged falling branches and tongues of fire that lashed at them as they ran.

Minato stood over what appeared to be the fire-user, her hair a bright orange and the pattern of a curse mark stained across her skin. Sasuke felt his shoulder blade burn from memory. Her eyes were empty, and the three kunai that stuck out of her vital points further proved her death. He’d provided her a quick and painless one.

Minato looked over his shoulder at the two of them, letting out a sigh of relief, “Are you both alright?”

“Where’s Sakura?” Sasuke demanded at the same time Kakashi nodded.

Minato pocketed the three kunai, wincing as he pulled them from the dead woman’s body, “I’m not sure. I heard her yell, but then I got caught up here. If your plan to get the bells hadn’t been so good, I’m sure I could find her.” It was a sad attempt at a joke, to diffuse the tension of their situation, but Sasuke couldn’t find it funny.

Sakura’s job had been to track down each of his kunai and bring them all back to the firepit while Sasuke and Kakashi kept him occupied, so when he went to transport himself, he’d be left with nowhere to run while all three attacked.

Planning that had felt like an eternity ago. And now, that plan was the reason Sakura was missing; the plan he’d come up with. His blood boiled. The haze of red was filling his vision again as the beast sunk its claws into the idea, it’s your fault.

Sasuke gestured to the body, his hands curling into fists as he fought the monster back, forcing his voice to come out evenly, “Did you find out anything from her?” if it was his fault, he’d fix it. That was a promise.

“No, nothing of importance. She only laughed.” Minato turned to the two of them, “What about you two, find anything?” he was glad to see there were no visible injuries on the two teammates, though both were covered in soot from their run through the still burning forest.

“They work for Orochimaru and they’ve got Sakura,” Sasuke’s voice was eerily calm compared to what it had been only a few moments ago. He asked the Hokage, “How close are we to Orochimaru’s hideout?”

“Not at all, which is what concerns me. How he found out about us here, and sent ninja after us, I’m not sure.” He straightened his shoulders, “You think she’d be taken back to his hideout?”

Sasuke nodded, “Yes. With her chakra control, I’m sure of it.” Her Byakugou was something Orochimaru had admired of Tsunade’s, a feat he’d yet to accomplish. The chakra reserves that were at her disposal, the abilities of the hundred-healings jutsu that came with it, it was exactly the kind of thing a man obsessed with immortality would want. Sasuke ignored the demons that clawed at his eyes, trying to show him the twisted experiments he’d seen in his time with Orochimaru.

Sasuke sighed, closing his eyes. He had too many monsters. Demons behind his eyes, guilt in his stomach, and the new one, deep within—he’d have to find a way to deal with them. But his priority was Sakura and keeping her alive. “We need to find her now. Orochimaru won’t hesitate to experiment on her.”

Kakashi wavered slightly, “Experiment?”

Sasuke nodded mutely. Minato cursed, his glare one that Sasuke was impressed by. The kind, smiling father hadn’t shown much anger in the time he’d known him, but he carried a glare now that would have left most running in fear. “When we face Orochimaru and Danzo, I don’t want either of you to hold back. They’ve gone too far for mercy.”

“Agreed, but right now, we need to get to Sakura.”

Minato looked away, his hand rubbing the back of his neck, suddenly meek, “I can get us to her, just all hell might break loose when I do.”

Before Sasuke could ask how Minato planned to get to Sakura, Kakashi answered, “You tagged her, didn’t you?”

He nodded, “All of your uniforms are. I just never hoped I would need to use them.”  Sasuke decided to ignore the part of him that felt slightly betrayed by the knowledge of the tracker that was placed on him, instead focusing on the problem at hand.

“Let’s go then.” He sheathed his sword, ignoring the amount of red that stained the blade to step closer to Minato.

Minato held his hands up, “Hold on, if we’re doing this, we need to do it right. If we go now, there’s no chance of us catching Orochimaru or Danzo. We can track her from here, chase them back to the hide out and once they’re inside, we can go directly to her. That way we can save her and take out Orochimaru.”

Sasuke bristled, “That’s what’s more important right now? You don’t understand, Orochimaru won’t hesitate to experiment on her. He wants the secrets of her Byakugou, I’ve heard him talk about it before.”

Minato looked at him like he was seeing him for the first time. And maybe, he reasoned, he was. Seeing the full extent of the Uchihas, cursed to love so deeply it drove them to the furthest of extremes, a trait he’d witnessed only in the most protective families and relationships of the Uchiha clan, but Sasuke was different. Colder somehow.

And what he’d said caught Minato off-guard. He’d spoken to Orochimaru back in his own time? “What, how do you—”

“I trained with Orochimaru. I know what happens in his hideouts, so I’m telling you, we need to get Sakura out of there.”

Minato took a few seconds to choose his response, and when he spoke, his tone was careful, “Trust me Sasuke, I want her safe just as much as you. But this is our first lead on Orochimaru in months, and our only chance to stop Danzo. You’ll know better than anyone how dangerous they are if we let them go.”

Sasuke closed his eyes, fighting back the beast that raged against his ribcage, begging to take over and attack anyone who stood in his way of Sakura. He knocked the monster loose with a few deep breaths, feeling it settle once again, “Fine, but I can’t just sit back. Not with her.” He hadn’t meant to add the second part, but it slipped out and felt oddly right—he wouldn’t wait, even if it meant going against the Hokage because Sakura needed him.

Minato nodded. “No one said anything about sitting back. Kakashi, get to the edge of the wood and summon your ninja hounds. Get them tracking Sakura as soon as possible. Sasuke, you and I need to go collect a few more of my kunai, and then we’ll meet up with Kakashi, alright?”

The beast roared in disagreement, but Sasuke forced his chin to dip in a nod. It was as close as he was getting, and he knew Sakura would never forgive him if he left Minato and Kakashi behind. It was that thought, the picture of the pink haired kunoichi that calmed the monster. It released the tight grip it had on his lungs, allowing him to finally breathe as it laid down.

The trio split up into the silent forest, Kakashi to the edges and Sasuke and Minato scouring the ground for his three-tonged kunai. Once Sasuke collected the seven he stumbled across, he raced back to the edge of the wood where Kakashi was waiting for him.

He glanced up at Sasuke as he approached, but his gaze shifted back to the ground he crouched on as he waited for his pack of ninja hounds. He asked hollowly, “How long do you think we have?” before we’re too late.

Sasuke shrugged, “Depends how far the hide-out is. I never stayed in one around here.”

Kakashi couldn’t keep the question in, “You really went that far?” The moment it slipped out he wanted to take it back because he’d seen the look on Sasuke’s face when he killed Orochimaru’s henchman. It had been different than anything else, even when he’d killed Kakuzu; bitterer, deadlier.

The air was tense for a beat, the silence palpable and threatening to swallow him whole, and then Sasuke finally answered, “Yeah. I did.”

Kakashi nodded, keeping his mouth shut firmly after that. They waited only a few more minutes in the silence, and then Minato arrived, shoving the final kunai he’d found into his pocket. Sasuke wordlessly handed over the ones he’d collected, at the same time one of Kakashi’s ninja dogs came running.

This one, Sasuke recognized. Pakkun. The dog’s gruff voice was slightly higher in pitch and his appearance was less wrinkly than Sasuke remembered, but it was undeniably the pug that had tracked him all those years ago. He spoke to Kakashi, “We caught her scent. They’re moving fast.”

“Lead the way,” Kakashi gestured forward, and as Sasuke watched the small dog bound ahead of their group, he darted after Pakkun, Kakashi and Minato following closely behind.

Chapter Text

When Sakura opened her eyes, she all but slammed them shut again. The bright light that was pointed directly at her made it impossible to see even if she wanted to search her surroundings. Even with her eyes closed, her eyelids were practically glowing red.

“Ah, you’re awake.”

That voice. That snake-like voice. She’d never forget it.

“Orochimaru,” she greeted coldly, suddenly glad to keep her eyes closed to avoid eye-contact with the Sannin. She tried to move, only to find both wrists and ankles cuffed to whatever chair she was bound to. If push came to shove, she knew if she activated her Byakugou, she’d be able to break them easily, she just couldn’t do it yet, not when there was no way for her to know the magnitude of what she was up against. How many henchman did she have to fight? Where in the hideout was she?

With too many unknowns, her safest bet was to wait—but not uselessly. She focused on gathering chakra in her fists and her ankles, and the plan calmed her mind slightly. All she had to do was bide her time, then strike.

“So you do know who I am, interesting.” He hummed as if lost in thought then spoke, “It is odd, however, that I have no idea who you are. I’d recognize that mark on your forehead anywhere, one that last I checked, only belonged to my dear friend Tsunade.”

It took everything in Sakura to not curse him out for even uttering her master’s name. She did realize, far too late, that her ninja headband had been removed, leaving her Byakugou on full display. Her and Minato had agreed it would be best to cover it to avoid questions. Exactly like this.

“So, want to explain to me how you got that lovely seal?”

She shook her head. If he hadn’t any information from Tsunade, Sakura wasn’t going to give him anything. Even though her Master was technically no longer her Master, Sakura would hold her in reverence the rest of her life. Even if all she ended up doing was gambling and drinking.

The thought made her smile, Tsunade would be happy with that.

Orochimaru sighed at her silence, “I’m asking nicely.” When her silence continued, he laughed, “You’re as determined as Tsunade, I’ll give you that. She refused to talk about that seal in front of me, refused to even use it if I was around, always so worried about what I would do with that information.” His voice suddenly got a lot closer, and she flinched, “Don’t make me make you use it.”

Sakura had no idea what he meant by that, and she had a running list of fears that got darker with each second of silence. He stepped in front of the light, and she dared to open her eyes; staring up at his washed out silhouette she was hardly able to make out his features against the darkness.

His voice carried a chill with it, leaving her skin erupting in goosebumps, “I know it’s a healing seal. And it can heal almost any injury. So if you won’t willingly show me how you use it, I guess I can make you.”

“Orochimaru,” another voice she could never forget spoke. Danzo. She felt her fists curl as he continued, “I would wait before hurting the girl. I need information from her, information she can’t give if she’s dying.”

Orochimaru sighed, seemingly bored, “I don’t see her breaking anytime soon. She reminds me very much of Tsunade.”

Danzo stepped in front of the light as well, and she was finally able to see him. He glanced at Orochimaru, “Even Tsunade had her weaknesses. You recall how broken she was after she lost Don?”

Sakura had to bite back the bile that had risen in her throat, and she wanted nothing more than to scream at them and hit them for talking about her master. She wanted to watch as her fists punched holes in their chests. Orochimaru just nodded, “She became half the kunoichi she used to be but stayed just as stubborn.” He turned to Danzo, “I’ll give you fifteen minutes. Her team is well on their way, and I don’t want to lose my chance at that seal.”

“What?” the question escaped her lips and she wanted to hit herself.

Danzo smiled as Orochimaru walked away. “Yes, you really thought we wouldn’t notice? Your squad has been a pain in my side since you showed up at the Leaf, and I’ve grown very tired of it. So I’ll ask only once,” he stepped closer. He reached out, his hand gripping her chin roughly and forcing her eyes up to his own, “Who are you really?”

“Hana. On assignment to assist the Leaf.” She didn’t even blink.

He shook his head at her, “I hoped you would see reason. I know of your Byakugou seal, your partner’s sharingan. I know you are not who you say you are, my ninja have been tracking and following you since the night you showed up. I know that you call your partner Sasuke, and he calls you Sakura.”

She felt cold sweat trickle down her back, and she swallowed harshly. As determined as she was to not use her Byakugou because of Orochimaru, she needed to get out of there and away from Danzo.

His voice darkened, “So I’ll give you one, final chance. Who are you and why are you here?”

“I’m here to stop you,” she answered honestly.

He scoffed, “Have it your way, Sakura.” Her name sounded wrong spilling from his lips. Before she could even respond, he reached up and lifted the bandage that covered half of his face.

In her effort to appear strong and unbothered, she’d determinedly looked him in the eye. That was her first mistake. She barely made out the colour red, before she was somewhere else entirely.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

The screams of her friends finally died out. The blood that soaked her clothes dried. The ache in her throat was still all too real. She slumped forwards, sweat beading and rolling across every inch of her skin, following the tear tracks that had been carved into her cheeks. Her chest heaved with gasps for breath.

Genjutsu.

But it had been hours, she’d been up to her neck in the blood of her friends, and it had all been her fault. She’d been stabbed, attacked, viciously, over and over, watched it happen to her friends and nothing she did would change it. Sasuke, Kakashi, Minato, Kushina, Kurenai—everyone in this life that she could even begin to care about.

Danzo pulled the bandage back over his eye, and reached for her chin again. She could barely lift her head up, he did it for her. He spoke simply, “Do you want to tell me the truth now? Or should we watch it again? Perhaps your dear friend Chen should be in the next one, hm?”

She could only get her lips to form a question, “How long has it been?” It must have been hours, something bad must have happened to Sasuke and Kakashi, there was no other reason she’d still be trapped. The ache in her throat was so real. The way she’d screamed had been so real. The pain that wracked her entire body was real.

He shrugged, “Five minutes. I still have ten left before Orochimaru returns.”

She felt her hands tremble, and she gripped the arms of the chair tightly. She used to be able to dispel genjutsu easily—but this? This was like nothing she’d ever experienced. When she didn’t respond, he reached for the bandage again. She tried to close her eyes, but she was too weak to even do that.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Just as Sasuke plunged his lightning covered hand into her heart, she was ripped back into reality. She collapsed forwards, gasping for air. Days had passed that time. More brutality. More attacks, pain, more of her friends dying at her hands because she was too slow.

Their blood was hot and thick, she could still feel it between her fingers as she weakly gripped the arms of the chair.

She was panting, trembling, shaking. Her brain was foggy at best, but she strung words together, “My name is Hana. I’m here, outside the Leaf—“ that time, the strike was real. His bandaged hand slammed into the side of her face, and she was powerless to block it. Her neck snapped to the left, and her chin collapsed against her chest, the muscles too weak to hold her head up, but she forced her eyes forwards.

“You are lying. I will find out the truth, whether it is from you or your team.” He looked behind him at the sound of a door creaking open and frowned. “But unfortunately, I’ve run out of time for you.”

Orochimaru walked in, tsking, “Danzo, you’ve gotten better with that sharingan I gave you. But let me guess? Stubborn like Tsunade?” Danzo looked away.

“My turn then,” he grinned. “Though I’m rather busy to sit here stabbing you until the seal kicks in. Guren!” he gestured somewhere behind the light, and a young girl, no older than thirteen stepped into her line of sight. Even with the age difference, Sakura vaguely recognized her. The crystal user.

A blade of bright pink formed around her wrist as she approached Sakura, sparkling in the harsh light. She had to admit, even at the prospect of getting stabbed and in the exhausted haze of the genjutsu, her power was as beautiful as it was deadly.

Orochimaru spoke proudly, “Guren is one of my most loyal. She finds joy in torture, so I’m sure you two will become well acquainted. Call for me when the seal opens, yes?” Guren nodded and stepped in Orochimaru’s place blocking the light. Orochimaru disappeared behind it, calling Danzo with him and Sakura heard a door open and close, leaving her face to face with the crystal user.

She forced her shaky voice to work and struggled to lift her head, “Orochimaru—” she was cut off by a sharp pain. She stared at the blade that now sunk into her side, her brain already numbed to it, but she was aware, deep in her mind, that this time it was different. This time it was real.

She tried to remember the breathing techniques Tsunade had taught her, but when the girl yanked the blade back, the last of her conscious thoughts went out the window. Blood began to pour in a steadfast current down her side, pooling into her lap. She averted her gaze from the coppery liquid as she struggled to breathe, and she dared to glance at Guren.

The girl’s expression hadn’t changed in the slightest. 

“It’s Lord Orochimaru,” she corrected coldly. The words were echoey. She brought the blade closer to Sakura’s bound legs, letting it glisten in the light. She spoke again, but it took a few seconds for the words to make sense in Sakura’s brain, “Do you prefer your right or left?”

Sakura couldn’t help the way her hands began to shake as she realized that the girl enjoyed this. She knew she needed to escape, she had to get out of that chair to give herself even the slightest chance. She had to activate her Byakugou. She ignored the tremble in her limbs. Remember the plan. It was the only clear thought she could make out in the fog that was her brain.

As she started gathering her chakra in her fists, she felt somewhat more conscious; she’d rather face off against Orochimaru and Danzo with her Byakugou than die. She needed to save up enough in order to break the bonds. That was the plan.

She realized the girl was staring at her expectantly. Trying not to move the stab wound that had stained her Anbu uniform red, she wracked her brain to remember the question. She closed her eyes, “Right.”

The blade raced across the top of her left thigh, her face twisted with the pain and it took everything in Sakura’s power to not cry out. She bit down on her lip hard, trying to remember breathing techniques, the plan, anything—but that all vanished when a second slash was added, just below the first one.

Then, all she could think was blood.

Her skin was hot with the crimson liquid. But this time, it was real.

Sakura wanted to cry out and thrash in pain as a third was added, but she couldn’t move, she couldn’t control her limbs. Silent tears streamed down her cheeks as her vision waned. Guren spoke offhandedly, “I’m not sure how much blood a person can lose before it’s dangerous. Do you know?”

Sakura couldn’t give her the answer to that. She couldn’t even remember her own name. Her brain could only comprehend pain. At her silence though, the blade dug into her forearm, and any chakra in that hand died, her fingers going limp. Sakura watched as her blade sunk further into her skin, tearing through muscle and tissue as it went, and she couldn’t even scream.

Guren carefully pulled the blade back, watching with morbid glee as the blood raced down her arm. Sakura’s stomach twisted.

The plan.

The words were meaningless. Her vision was beginning to cross, two Gurens appearing before her, and she could barely make out the slow heartbeat that sounded in her ears. It was faint and quiet. Somewhere far, far away in her mind, she knew it should be louder, faster—the fact that it wasn’t should have been cause for concern.

But Sakura could barely keep her eyes open.

There was more pain soon, another stab wound, this one on her opposite side, just above her hip. If she’d have been any more conscious, she would have felt the crystal slide against bone. But then there was shouting, swearing, a large explosion and then the light was gone.

Guren was gone.

The pain was fading.

Sakura was fading too.

Someone was shaking her shoulder, a voice was shouting at her. The voice got louder and louder until she could finally make out what they were saying. They were begging, and it was a voice she’d never heard beg before.

She blearily opened her eyes, whispering, “Sasuke?”

The dark haired Uchiha suddenly filled her gaze, his hands warm on either side of her face. She managed to hear his voice over the ringing in her ears, “You need to heal yourself, Sakura.”

She was too weak to nod. Heal. She used to know how to do that, didn’t she? She was good at it. She closed her eyes in concentration, looking for that warm nook of green chakra, the one that promised healing, freeing her from the pain. Tucked between her eyes, something called to her. It promised to repair the damage done.

The minute she opened the seal, the chakra rushed into her body, crashing around it like a tsunami. She felt it coursing through her veins, reaching every injured cell, tissue, muscle.

Sasuke watched the black lines race across her skin, green chakra glowing in the worst wounds. He watched the skin seal itself, Sakura’s eyes closed in concentration as she struggled to even out her breaths, sweat beading along her forehead from the effort.

When her eyes opened, finally looking somewhat clear, she whispered, “Are you okay?”

Sasuke didn’t understand how he wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. He didn’t understand the warmth that rushed through his chest as she leaned into his hand, her exhausted eyes meeting his own. “Do you think you can break out of these?” he tapped the cuffs that locked her wrists into place.

He’d have broken them himself, but he didn’t want to risk injuring her any more. Not when she was as weak as she was right then, pale, shaking, her eyes barely even there. She nodded, her brows creasing in concentration again, forcing the chakra in her hands to cooperate.

Once they felt strong enough, she took a deep breath before forcing her fists straight up. The cuffs dug into her skin for a moment before they snapped, the stab in her forearm screaming with pain and she slumped forwards with a gasp. Sasuke caught her easily, wincing with her as the stab wounds in her stomach protested the movement.

Sasuke whispered reassurance, promising that the moment she got her ankles free he’d get them out of there. She nodded against him, shoving the chakra into her legs to strengthen them until she could break the cuffs there. The energy rushed out of her just as fast as it had rushed in, and she couldn’t find the strength to keep herself upright. Thankfully, she didn’t have to.

The second the clasps were torn apart, Sasuke lifted her into his arms, his stomach rolling at the slick red liquid that coated his hands. While he’d never question Sakura’s strength, she’d lost a lot of blood, and he could only hope she was strong enough to keep the Byakugou working while they escaped.

Kakashi raced through the doorway, one hand holding his side, the other raised with a Kunai. He froze when his eyes landed on Sakura, “Is she—”

“Where’s Minato?” Sasuke cut him off. He didn’t want to hear the rest of the question because he didn’t know the answer. Was she okay? Was she going to be okay? The slow heartbeat he could feel was not promising. And neither was her trembling or her pale, clammy skin. Or how long the wounds were taking to heal.

That’s a lot of not good signs, he thought grimly.

“He’s coming.” His eyes flitted to the hallway where Minato came running. “Here, come on.” Sasuke followed Kakashi out of the dreaded torture room, his grip tightening on Sakura as her breaths grew shaky.

She weakly lifted her head, “Danzo.” She tried her best to warn them, even as the taste of copper filled her mouth and the words felt like she was dragging knives down her throat, “Genjutsu.” Her eyes rolled back, her head lolling over his shoulder as she lost consciousness. The black lines across her skin began to retract, and Sasuke cursed.

Sasuke felt the rage of the beast writhing under his skin. It was Danzo—again. He’d done this. He’d hurt her like this. He didn’t even register that Minato was next to them, his blue eyes staring down at the pink haired girl in concern. He couldn’t think of anything except how Danzo had hurt one more person he was close to. He'd let it happen--again. He didn’t recognize the voice he spoke with, “Kakashi, get Sakura out of here.”

“What?” Sakura’s limp body was pushed into Kakashi’s arms, and he staggered on suddenly shaky legs. There was a lot of blood in a person. He tightened his grip on her waist, trying to ignore the hot liquid that seeped between his fingers.

“Danzo’s stolen sharingan. You only have one, it’s too dangerous.” Kakashi opened his mouth to argue, but Sasuke cut him off, “She’s dying. Do you want to wait and see what happens next?”

Kakashi’s gaze flitted to Minato, to his sensei, his captain. It was his call. Minato it seemed, agreed with Sasuke. He wrapped a hand around Sakura’s arm, and the other planted itself on Kakashi’s shoulder. He gave Kakashi a nod, “Go.”

And they were gone.

The jutsu wasn’t as perfect as Minato’s others, with the distance being so great. Kakashi was quite used to the weird, twisting feeling as they teleported, but that time, it felt like his body was trying to invert itself, his insides weirdly determined to be on the outside. Thankfully, the feeling was over as quickly as it began. When they landed in the hospital, the two collapsed to the ground.

He cradled Sakura in his arms, trying to fight back the stabs of betrayal that made his stomach feel hollow, instead focusing on Sakura. He could be angry with Minato later. He struggled to his feet, trying not to jostle her wounds as he did. He shouted to the hallway before he stumbled towards the bed, dragging her limp body onto the cot, muttering over and over, “Don’t do this to me. Don’t do this to me.”

But she didn’t respond to him. Her breath just stayed shallow, her skin pale and clammy. And the blood. Kami, the blood. It still seeped from the wounds he desperately tried to cover. Kakashi ignored his own bleeding side, shouting over his shoulder again to the door as he pressed his hands against the stabs in her stomach. Red soaked through his fingers, and he couldn’t figure out which wound was worse. He let out a final desperate shout to the hallway, hoping someone—anyone would hear him.

Because he couldn't do it again. Not another one. Another lost teammate. Not when for the first time in a long time, Kakashi finally felt whole again. Not when he was finally waking up in the mornings without dreading the day ahead of him because he had people that he cared about, that he wanted to see. Not when missions were fun again and his house didn't feel so haunted. Not when his smile had once again returned after its year long hiatus.

He turned back to the pink haired kunoichi, the one who knew him better than he knew himself at times. The one who understood him for things he'd yet to tell her. Who'd heal his wounds and softened his harsh exterior. He pleaded, “Come on Sakura, come on. Not you too. I can’t lose you too.” Just as he was about to attempt healing her on his own, his prayers, it seemed, were answered.

The door was thrown open, several nurses gasping at the sight. With the terrifying amount of blood that soaked Sakura’s clothes they definitely deserved the gasps.

“She’s lost too much, I can’t—” he was hauled out of the way, his blood-covered hands trembling as they were pulled from her body. He watched numbly as the nurses swarmed, each of their hands glowing green with healing chakra. They were shouting at each other, calling for more medical nin because the damage was so extensive.

More green hands joined the mix.

He finally looked down to his own, to the scarlet stains that covered his palms, and the horrifyingly familiar sight was one that made his stomach turn. He forced his eyes back up to the ceiling instead, and he begged again, “Not her too. Please not her too.”

Not her. Not her kindness. Not her strength. Not her steadiness. Not one of the few people he felt genuinely comfortable around.

A nurse hurried to his side, reaching a glowing hand towards him , but he pushed her away, “No. Her first.” As his gaze turned to the hospital bed, his stomach lurched again. The amount of green that glowed against her skin, mingled with the overpowering scent of blood it made him lightheaded. It didn’t help when the nurse’s eyes went wide and she rushed to her bedside. It was too much, he couldn’t watch. He stumbled towards the hallway, collapsing against the wall outside the door.

He slid to the floor, red, sticky handprints following him and scarring the walls. He felt an unfamiliar pain in his throat, one he struggled to swallow as he tried to ignore the blood. But it was burning now. It was begging for him to look, to remember, and for the first time since Rin’s death, Kakashi felt tears fill his eyes.

He forced himself onto shaky legs, stumbling blindly towards the bathroom. He threw open the door and forced his hands under the sink, scrubbing and scratching at his hands. “It won’t come off,” he mumbled, doubling his efforts. He rubbed his hands red and raw until he couldn’t tell who’s blood it was anymore.

He dared to glance into the mirror, and he was suddenly fourteen again. Fourteen, and riddled with nightmares. Grappling with grief. Painfully, and achingly alone.

He gripped the edge of the sink so tightly his knuckles turned white, trying desperately to swallow the lump in his throat.

He couldn’t do it again, he couldn’t lose another one.

Chapter Text

Kakashi was curled against the wall, his head in his hands. He didn’t know how long it had been. He didn’t know if she’d woken up, if she’d opened her eyes, if she was still hurting. A terrible voice in his head whispered, or if she was dead. The horrible thought echoed around his skull, ricocheting until it was more of a constant background noise.

His tear tracks had finally dried, and the emotional outburst had drained him of every ounce of energy he had. He didn’t move until the door to the bathroom was thrown open, a worried nurse with blood soaked hands shouting for him.

She froze when she laid eyes on him, her voice quieting instantly. She approached his curled form, kneeling in front of him. The red of her hands was glaring at him, and he forced his eye away. That red, that sick, coppery red haunted him enough in his nightmares.

Her voice broke through the haze in his brain, “We need to know what happened to her. She’s not waking up, no matter what we do. What happened?”

She’s not waking up. Sakura. “What?” that snapped him out of it. He moved now, unclenching his fingers from his hair, his voice and body finally under his control once again.

“The girl. We’re healing, but she’s not waking up. What happened?”

He wracked his brain, trying to remember what happened in the hideout. What happened between their arrival, and the time he ran into Sasuke, to when Sakura was pushed into his arms and dying. Genjutsu, she’d said. He pushed himself up on the wall, his mind reeling.

Genjutsu.

“I need to go,” he finally got his legs to move, brushing past the nurse and rushing down the hallway. She shouted after him, but he barely heard her. Genjutsu. No one knew genjutsu better than Uchihas.

He raced through the hallways, breaking everything down into a mission. He couldn’t get emotional again. He couldn’t let himself break down. Not with sakura’s life on the line—

No.

Not Sakura’s. That was too personal. A teammate. A teammate’s life was on the line.

That was good. That was detached. That was enough for Kakashi to think straight.

A teammate’s life was on the line. He had to find Obito. No. Too personal again, he shook his head. He needed to find an Uchiha who was good at genjutsu. It didn’t matter who.

He needed to leave the hospital, and run to the Uchiha district. That was his mission right now. He refused to let his mind wander, to picture the bleeding teammate he needed to save. He ignored the lingering worry about his captain and teammate that were still fighting. He focused on only one thing at a time. The first, leaving the hospital.

The familiar, cold calm of an Anbu ninja took over. The tremors in his legs ceased, and he ran full tilt, sharingan eyed bared for the world to see as he shoved open the doors of the hospital. He ran, his muscles cramping from being curled on the floor of the bathroom so long, but he paid it no mind.

He had a mission to accomplish. And Kakashi never failed a mission.

The village passed him by in a blur. He didn’t recognize a single face he passed, the buildings were mere shadows in his periphery, until the looming Uchiha crest was above him, and he crossed into territory that did not belong to him.

How he knew where to go was beyond him; a memory long forgotten but scraped together by the adrenaline that kept him moving. The familiar window ledge he used to lean into in his genin days was suddenly in front of him, and he finally came to a stop.

“Obito?” he called, waiting for a reply. In the glass, his reflection stared back at him, ragged, and blood stained, and he pressed closer to the glass, determined to ignore it. A high pitched voice spoke up from behind him, “Kakashi?”

He spun fast, his eyes taking in the familiar sight of Obito, standing next to Fugaku Uchiha. Out of all the Uchiha, Fugaku seemed to like Kakashi the most, the only reason he was allowed to keep Obito’s eye despite his lack of Uchiha-blood.

“Obito,” he staggered forward, his hand catching Obito’s shoulder, “What do you know about genjutsu?”

“What? What are you doing back, weren’t you on a mission with—”

“Obito.” Kakashi cut him off coldly, “What do you know about genjutsu?”

Obito’s eye finally raked along Kakashi’s frame, widening and the seemingly endless supply of blood, “Kakashi, what happened?” he asked, reaching up to gently grab his friend’s shoulder.

“Genjutsu. Can it hurt someone, physically?”

“I mean—"

“Yes,” Fugaku answered. “But only someone who has a lot of experience with it. Most genjutsu makes the person confused, but once they understand what has happened, they are alright. Only very intense, high-level genjutsu would leave a person’s mind in an unstable state, and physically incapacitated.”

Kakashi asked, “So someone might not wake up, from a genjutsu right away?”

Fugaku narrowed his eyes, “What happened, Kakashi?”

“My teammate. She was—” too personal. Too personal. He could feel the lump building in his throat. Cold. Anbu. Mission. “A teammate was attacked with genjutsu. Also injured physically, but they aren’t waking up. What do I need to do to wake them up?”

Fugaku stepped closer to the two boys, “Take me to this teammate. If it is as grave as it sounds, there is only one person I know who can heal the mind from genjutsu.”

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Sasuke looked to Minato, “I’ll take Danzo.” He didn’t even wait for a response. He couldn’t focus on anything except Danzo, and how he’d gone too far this time.

He knew all about the tortures of genjutsu. Itachi had used it on him when he was a genin, forcing him to relive that nightmarish night over and over and over until he couldn’t even hold himself up anymore. Until he slipped into a coma so deep, only Tsunade could heal him.

And Danzo had used it on Sakura. Innocent, sharingan-less, Sakura.

The monster writhed with rage, and he let it take control. The one that thrashed against his ribs, that poured fire into his veins. The one that clouded his vision in red, who made his hands summon two blades of pure lightning and charge.

It was like Sasuke wasn’t even there. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t hear Minato shouting his name, yelling at him to come back. He just moved, following the beast’s every command. He slashed at the large, hideous white snake, listening to its pained hiss as he left it behind for Minato to deal with.

He charged down the hallway, the doors blurring together. He let the beast run rampant, sinking its fangs into the memory of Sakura’s blood-soaked frame crumpling against his chest. The sound of her shaky breaths, the sight of her tear-stained cheeks, the way her eyes rolled back into her head as she collapsed; it played on loop.

Blood. Everywhere. It soaked his clothes. His anbu vest was more red than grey. If he were more conscious, the realization likely would have sent him to his knees.

Gasping for air. She was barely breathing when he’d handed her to Kakashi. Barely breathing when he found her.

Sakura, dying in his arms. There was nothing behind her eyes. The minute she had given the warning, any strength she’d had left vanished.

The memory tuned out the screams of Orochimaru’s henchmen as he cut through them like paper. Their blood splattered on the walls and across his skin, but he didn’t care. The memory of Sakura, of innocent, kind, dying Sakura was the only thing he could think about. It tuned out everything except the chanting mantra over and over, you need to kill danzo.

You need to kill Danzo.

Kill Danzo.

Kill Danzo.

It didn’t matter how many others he killed; the sight of their blood wasn’t enough to calm the beast. The revenge wasn’t enough. Not for Sakura. Not for the way her blood was stained into his clothes, burned into his mind. It didn’t matter how many anguished cries he heard as he cut them down one by one.

Blood. It was everywhere.

Gasping for air. She sounded so in pain.

Sakura, dying in his arms. Her heart was barely beating.

Nothing settled the beast. Nothing could clear his mind of the one, raging chant, kill Danzo. He tore down the nearest door, his lightning blades cutting into the few henchmen that remained. The old man stared him down and raised his hand to lift the bandage off of his eye.

The familiar red of a sharingan glared against him, and Sasuke felt his lungs burn with rage. With all hate and anger he could muster, he wanted nothing more than to watch the man suffer. Watch him writhe and beg for mercy.

Blood.

Gasping.

Sakura, dying.

Danzo spoke, and it managed to clear up the images for a moment. His voice was tinted with wonder, “I knew it. You too possess the sharingan. Though you seem to have found a full set.”

Found a full set. Stolen it, from an Uchiha. One of the ones who’d been killed.

Hot, red anger threw the first lightning blade. It was barely a blur as it raced across the room. It slashed across Danzo’s shoulder, only grazing him thanks to the eye he’d stolen. That only enraged the beast further. It was that sharingan, that stolen, murdered, traitorous sharingan that hurt Sakura. His blood spilled down his white yukata, the red stain making the monster grin.

Sasuke stormed forward with his second lightning blade, letting it crackle and spark as he moved. The monster wanted the next hit to be personal. It wanted the next hit to go through his heart and to watch the life leave his eyes.

The closer he moved, the darker the thoughts got. He wanted to see the last breath leave his chest. He wanted to watch the blood pool until it was a puddle surrounding his lifeless frame. He wanted the hear the man cry out. Hear him beg for mercy and to only deny. Deny deny deny. Danzo spoke, “Your name is Sasuke, isn’t it? The girl, Sakura said it.”

The names broke through the thick, red, fog in his brain. Sasuke faltered in his step. Danzo wasn’t supposed to know that. He wasn’t supposed to know either of their names.

It doesn’t matter, the beast reasoned. Its voice was chillingly familiar, but he couldn’t place it. The man will be dead before he can get the information anywhere. He should have been worried that the monster now had a voice. That the entity had the ability to speak. But instead, he agreed. He lifted his blade, the tip of it hissing and snapping only inches from Danzo’s face, “Don’t you dare speak of her.”

Danzo continued boldly, “I knew the name sounded familiar. Sasuke Uchiha, the youngest son of Fugaku Uchiha. Fugaku can try to convince everyone that he named his son after Sasuke Sarutobi, but an Uchiha would never name their child after a different family.”

Sasuke scowled at him, so Danzo kept going, “The Uchiha have been growing restless against the Leaf. I can feel it. I’m well aware of the power they hold, so perhaps, you were sent to change things? Perhaps your life remained underwraps, so we would believe this lie, of you coming from outside the Leaf. When in reality, you’ve been raised and trained to overthrow the Hokage.” Danzo’s continued, as if he’d just put the pieces together. “Is that why you recently freed Obito Uchiha? Releasing the powerful back into the clan so they can help take control of the Village?

“You’d be a hero among them. Someone worth naming their son after.”

“The Uchiha are good people. You are too blind, even with your stolen sharingan to see it.” He slashed his sword through the air, too quick to dodge. With morbid satisfaction, the acrid stench of burning flesh filled the air. Danzo collapsed to his knees, his left hand reaching for the now gaping wound that was his right shoulder.

Sasuke watched his bandaged arm fall to the floor, the same arm he used to implant the sharingan. The same arm that he’d used to torment Sasuke, to betray the Uchiha, to harm anyone who stood in his way.

The old man groaned from the pain, blood flooding between his fingers and Sasuke let the monster pull his lips into a grin. Danzo tried for genjutsu; Sasuke felt it. He felt the attempt to overtake him, to blind him.

But his stolen, two tomoe sharingan was nothing compared to Sasuke’s mangekyou. He felt the heat behind his eyes, behind Itachi’s eyes, and that only fueled him further. Itachi finally got to stare down Danzo, the man who’d ruined his life.

He let the ghost of Itachi still the beast for only a moment, to allow for his black flames to engulf the room.

Everything burned, the bodies of the ones he chopped down. The tables, the chairs, the endless scrolls on Orochimaru’s experiments. Everything, but a small circle he’d let remain around himself and Danzo, forcing them close.

“Who are you?” Danzo’s voice was shaking.

Good. Sasuke stepped closer, his hand wrapping around the old man’s throat. He leaned in close, squeezing his fingers just enough to make the man gasp. “I am a ghost of the Uchiha. And I’m going to kill you.”

The beast begged for Sasuke to let it go, to torture the man in front of him, the way he’d tortured Sakura, and Itachi, and Sasuke. To make the man plead for his pathetic life.

And Sasuke let it.

He moved on autopilot. His arm came up, blocking the weak kunai Danzo tried to swing. He glared into the man’s eyes, and he let the genjutsu take over.

What could he do? What could he show him that would hurt him the most? What would cause the man in front of him the most pain? Before he knew it, the memory was already playing back.

He forced him to watch the way he died. The way Sasuke had destroyed him, sharingan by sharingan back on the bridge.

The man dropped to his knees as he watched his own death. Over and over. And the beast let it play, he let it loop until the man was a shaking mess, curled on the floor, surrounded by flames. He was so lost to the genjutsu, he didn’t even react as the black fire singed his yukata, and slowly his skin.

The beast wanted more; it wanted more pain.

And terrifyingly, Sasuke wanted it too. Sasuke wanted to see the man suffer even more. Where the beast began and Sasuke ended blurred, the line faded until they were one in the same. The hate and anger that made up the monster was Sasuke.

It was always Sasuke.

The anger in his veins was his own. The guilt in his stomach was his own. It was him, all along who wanted the people to suffer. It was his own darkness he was battling, not a beast. Not a monster. Not demons who showed him twisted memories.

It was Sasuke, who’d been hurt too many times.

Who’d had his family hurt by the man in front of him too many times.

It was Sasuke, who wanted him to suffer like he’d made so many others suffer. And so it was Sasuke, who closed his eyes, ending the genjutsu torment just so he could watch him realize that he was slowly burning to death.

At his anguished scream, Sasuke turned away. Wrapping himself in his protective Susanoo, he walked through the fire, leaving the man who’d tormented him, his family, his friends on his own as he begged for mercy.

So casually he closed the door, the last of Danzo’s screams echoing off the wall as the room was engulfed in Amaterasu. His Susanoo faded away, and Sasuke paused. There was an eerie silence after the chaos and commotion of his fight with Danzo, all he could hear was his own heartbeat pounding in his ears.

Sasuke struggled to get control of his limbs, his entire body lightly trembling. He realised his hands were pulled into tight fists and his jaw clenched so hard he thought his teeth would break. He slowly uncurled his fingers and forced his jaw to relax. With that, the thundering in his ears finally faded, letting him hear the sound of battle, further into the hideout. Minato.

He moved his somewhat shaky legs towards the sounds and the wooden door behind him cracked, black flames seeping between the splinters.

It was going to burn everything. That’s what Amaterasu did, that’s what it was for. In his blinded rage, he’d accidentally set the entire hideout on fire. He and Minato had to get out of there or else they’d end up just like Danzo; burnt to ash. He forced his legs to move quickly now, summoning Chidori as he did.

It wasn’t done yet—Orochimaru was still alive. He was still fighting, still attacking, still doing more damage. He had to finish the fight.

Chapter Text

Sakura opened her heavy eyelids, groaning. Her head felt like it was stuffed with cotton. And despite that—for a fleeting moment—Sakura was awake, and it was just another day.

As the sun peeked through the curtain, blinding her temporarily, she recalled her list of chores she needed to do each weekend. With how high the sun was, she was certain her mother would come into her room shouting at her to get out of bed and get going—but as her eyes slowly scanned the room, she was confused.

Her room didn’t look like this. The ceiling was different, yet there was something vaguely familiar about the pale green walls.

Her eyes trekked across the ceiling, landing on the blonde woman who stood over her, her features lit up with a familiar green glow. Her sluggish brain took in only bits and pieces, the blonde hair, the brown eyes; but she finally realised who was standing over her when her eyes locked on the small, diamond mark on her forehead.

“Lady Tsunade,” she whispered, her voice hoarse. The woman’s eyes snapped up to hers, widening in shock and she felt a painful lump growing in her throat. There was an ache in her chest as she caught sight of her Master, and she couldn’t figure out why.

Her sensei pulled her hands away, “How do you know that?”

The wariness in her eyes, their guarded expression—it brought the walls that Sakura had around her brain crashing down. And the fog from her mind lifted and every memory came rushing back in.

Time travel.

Sasuke.

Kakashi.

Guren.

Orochimaru.

Danzo.

The mission—she sat up suddenly, gasping. Her ribs rattled with pain, her lungs filling with fire as she forced herself upright. Everything hurt; it burned, stung, ached, throbbed. Each bandage she discovered, each injury she glimpsed as the sheet slipped from her shoulders was new, and loud, and screaming, ‘look at me! Look at my pain! Look what happened!’ She struggled to rein in her breaths, to shove back the wretched memories of the genjutsu, the stabbing, the blood.

Kami, the blood.

She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and think away the pain, but the horrid memories were plastered across the backs of her eyelids and she couldn’t stand to look at them. She turned to her sensei, her master who knew nothing about her and demanded, “Where’s Sasuke?”

Tsunade placed her warning hands on her shoulder, “You need to lay down. Your body isn’t ready to move. You—”

“No.” Sakura pushed her hand off. It was easier to be rude. It was easier to push her away and pretend that she’d never cared about the lady in front of her. That they hadn’t spent years together, learning and laughing, and sharing a mother-daughter bond. Her vision waned as she shoved her legs over the edge of the bed, the floor swimming before her eyes. She asked again, “Where’s my team?”

Tsunade stepped in front of her, blocking her path, “No. You’re not getting out of bed. There’s no way I was dragged here, worked on healing you for weeks just for you to mess it all up by getting up too quickly.”

Weeks?

The word made Sakura want to throw up. She demanded, staring pointedly at the ground, “How long has it been?”

“You’ve been in the hospital for three weeks.” Her tone was cold, unflinching. Uncaring.

Sakura’s eyes threatened to betray her as they filled with tears. The woman she’d thought of as a mentor, mother, leader—felt nothing for her. She saw nothing but an unruly patient who was ungrateful. She dared to look up, “I need to see my team. They’re back, right?”

Tsunade crossed her arms, “I can’t let you. You went through an intense trauma, your body and brain need time.”

“I’ll be fine,” she insisted. She pointed to her own forehead, “I’ll cover it from here.”

“You try and use your chakra and you’ll set yourself back at least a week of healing.” Tsunade pointed to her own. “Trust me, I know what I’m talking about.”

“Then get me my team,” she all but commanded. “If I can’t go to them, get them to me.” Tsunade scowled at her and Sakura tried to pretend that it didn’t hurt. That the dislike that was radiating off of her in waves wasn’t harmful. It was so much easier to do that than to accept the truth.

“Before I do that, I’ve got questions. And clearly you’re up for conversation. So start talking, how’d you get that?” she pointed to the mark on her forehead, the diamond that matched her own so well and her slow brain struggled to come up with a story.

“I trained, a lot. I was the top medical ninja in my village.” It was weak. But it was all her voice could manage as Tsunade stared her down.

“I’m gonna need more than that. Your chakra was different, and I’m not sure why but it was. What happened to you, kid? I’ve been a medical ninja for years, and I’ve never seen damage like yours.”

Sakura willed her eyes to keep the tears at bay. “Just get me my team, please Lady Tsunade.”

“How do you know my name? You’ve said it twice now.”

And Kami, Sakura tried to keep it together.

But isn’t that what she’d been doing the entire time? Keeping it together, taking it all so well because she knew why they sacrificed their old lives? That was what she was, she was there for Sasuke to lean on as he battled the demons from his past, she was there to help Kakashi forgive himself and be happy.

That’s all she’d been doing, keeping it together.

And now, her Master, her teacher was in front of her, demanding to know what happened and why she was different and she couldn’t do it.

The minute the first tear slipped out, she broke down. She collapsed forwards, the truth spilling from her lips in incoherent sobs. Everything. Time travel, Sasuke, Madara. Their missions, Danzo, everything that had happened in the months she’d been living a new life.

It felt like her insides were twisting with each shaky gasp for air she managed between words. She couldn’t hear Lady Tsunade, she couldn’t see if she was listening, if she was concerned—but Sakura just couldn’t stop.

Until feminine hands were around her, arms tugging her into a tight hug. Sakura could barely see through her tears, but she clung to the arms that wrapped around her shoulders like they were her lifeline. They were the only thing keeping her from crumbling.

Those two hands were the very thing that kept Sakura Haruno together.

She finally managed to look up, to blink back the tears long enough to see who had come to her side, and the flaming red hair was not who she expected—and worse, not who she wanted.

That made guilt swirl into her hurricane of emotion; that she’d been hoping for someone else to grab onto her. She held tighter to Kushina after that, batting back any sense of disappointment that had made itself known.

Kushina Uzumaki-Namikaze was exactly the person who should have been holding her.

Kushina held tightly to her, hugging her into her chest with the grace and strength that only a mother could provide. She was the only woman who knew Sakura, the one who’d welcomed her without question, who’d given her a place to stay, who’d been nothing short of kind to her and her team.

Exactly the person she needed right then to keep her steady.

Sakura lifted her head enough to make out the tears that brimmed the older woman’s lashes, barely able to hear her quiet whisper, “It’s okay. It’ll be okay.”

And kami, despite the pain, the memories, the unknowns and the impending danger of all the things she just said, Sakura believed her. It would be okay. Even though it felt like nothing would ever be okay again… if Kushina said it, she would believe her.

Because that woman was the closest thing to a mother she would ever have again.

She cried into her arms for a while. At some point, Tsunade left the room, the lack of care from that action alone nearly sent her into another spiral. She waited until her breaths settled, until the rattling of her heart in her chest slowed to a dull pulse, leaning heavily into Kushina before she spoke, “How bad is it?”

Kushina assured her immediately, “Was. The damage was a lot, but it’s mostly healed now. The doctors say you’ll be back on your feet within the week now that you’ve woken.”

That she knew. She’d seen Tsunade heal genjutsu before, and physically, she could feel the extent of each of her injuries, a side effect of being a Byakugou user and a heavily trained medical ninja. “No,” Sakura shook her head, lifting it off of Kushina’s chest. “Sasuke and Kakashi. How bad is it?”

To her credit, Kushina didn’t flinch at the names. For once, the woman was able to hide her immediate reaction. Kushina smiled at her weakly, “Oh Sakura.” She pushed her hair back gently, wiping away the tears on her cheek with the pad of her thumb, “Let’s just focus on you getting better, y’know?”

Bad. It was bad.

She needed to talk to them, to see them and figure out everything that had happened. “Can I see them?”

Kushina sighed softly, “They’re on a mission. They won’t be back until tomorrow.”

“What mission?” Sakura asked, trying to sit up a little straighter. What mission could they possibly be on that was important enough to leave without her?

Kushina glanced back at the door, hesitating for a moment before she answered, “They’re tracking down Orochimaru’s hideouts.”

“What?” Suddenly Sakura was filled with questions, “Wait, what happened at the hideout? Did Danzo, is he still—"

“Slow down Sakura, I don’t think now is a good time. You’ve just woken up, I don’t want to set you back in any progress you made. If you’re still feeling good tomorrow we can talk about it.”

“No, please,” she whispered. “I need to know. Did Sasuke… did he kill Danzo?” the words tasted like rot as they left her lips, the old, awful memory of Danzo’s previous death playing back in her head. She needed to know. She needed to know if he went that far. If she was going to have to bring him back, just one more time.

“Danzo is,” she paused. She glanced back at the door and then leaned in, “Sasuke did it. According to Minato, after they got you out of there, Sasuke—”

The door swung open, the most ungraceful and chaotic Uchiha she’d ever met tumbling through the door. “Is she awake?” his eye scanned from Kushina to Sakura, and his face split into a grin, “You’re up!”

“You’re a chunin?” Sakura replied.

Obito glanced down at his green flak vest abashedly. His ninja headband was the same custom made one from before, that covered the half of his face that lost an eye, but otherwise he was in the typical chunin uniform. “Oh, yeah. I was training with Fugaku-sensei and he said I was ready to challenge for my chunin status.”

“Wow,” she mumbled. She knew that people could challenge for their chunin ranking before the official exams took place, especially in the wake of the Third Shinobi War, but it was still rare.

He jammed his hands into his pockets, walking over to the bed. Sakura turned to Kushina quickly, “Can I have a moment with Obito? Please.”

“Sakura, I don’t want you overdoing it—”

“I won’t. I promise. Just a minute.” Kushina glanced between the two young ninja, both technically chunin and sighed. She gave Sakura’s hand one last squeeze, and reminded them both that they had one minute.

The moment the door closed behind her, Sakura demanded, “What happened to Sasuke and Kakashi?”

Obito flinched. “They’ve been off on missions since they got back. I barely see them. They take down one hideout, and then they’re off to the next.” He sat down on the bed, taking Kushina’s previous spot. “They check in on you when they can. I’m sure they’ll come visit the moment they know you’re awake.”

That was mildly comforting, it meant that maybe they weren’t too far gone if they still came to visit. Sakura worked her lip between her teeth, “When you see them, are they okay?”

Obito shrugged, “Hard to say. Everything is kind of in disarray around here. Sasuke killed one of the most senior, respected members of the village. Minato has defended him, but there’s still been uproar.”

“Against Sasuke?”

“Sasuke and Minato. Lord Third wasn’t the only one who had questions about you guys, and now that Danzo is dead everyone is questioning Minato, if he actually has the best interest of the village in mind. It’s been kind of everywhere, even the Uchiha, who were happy to have me back from the dead are wary.”

“Of you?” he nodded stiffly. She felt bad, and for a moment wanted to comfort him but she remembered Kushina outside the door, giving them only a minute. Sakura wracked her brain for the other big questions she had, “What happened to Orochimaru?”

Obito shrugged again, “Apparently Minato and Sasuke finished him off. But Sasuke started talking about having to find the hideouts because of some curse-mark thing? I don’t know exactly, but Kakashi jumped on the mission the minute he could. They’ve barely been back in the village for more than a night.”

Avoiding the village. Killing people who pissed him off. That sounded too familiar.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Sasuke’s blade raced across the neck of the shinobi in front of him, some pathetic, curse-marked ninja collapsing with a wet gasp. He shoved his sword back into the sheath at his hip, turning his red, glowing eyes to where Kakashi stood over a mountain of bodies. His white mask was splattered with blood, and his chest heaved as his Chidori slowly faded out.

Sasuke stepped over the bodies he’d cut down, his sandals sticky with the blood that pooled on the floor. “That should be all of them.”

Kakashi nodded, his sharingan eye closed already, “Do you think this is the last hide-out?”

Sasuke shrugged, starting towards the exit of the tunnel, “The last that I know of, yes. There could be more, older ones that I never visited.”

Kakashi followed him out of the cave, where the sun had just begun to rise. The calm forest in front of them was the picture of peaceful, so completely opposite of the dark, murderous cave they left behind. Kakashi took a deep breath, pulling his mask up and off of his face so he could shove his headband back down. In the silence, he asked quietly, “Do you think Sakura woke up yet?”

Sasuke froze. He had stiffly avoided the subject because every time he didn’t—the result was the same. He’d hear it, a low whisper in his head, wrapped around a memory too soft for his harsh edges.

Sakura’s timid voice filtered to the front of his brain, I don’t want to lose you again.

And every time, he’d feel it; a small tremble. It always started in his legs, and today, it was his knees. He leaned against the wall of the cave, a pitiful attempt at hiding the tremor. That soft memory was washed out, taken over by others. It didn’t matter how gentle some of the memories were, they were all erased with one.

One of blood, of pain, of it being his fault.

She was dying. Dying because of them.

The monster clawed at the inside of his chest, his lungs struggling to get the air they desperately needed. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his breathing without Kakashi knowing. He forced the words out, voice cold and unflinching; the way it was supposed to be, the way he was supposed to be. "I don't know. It's not what we need to be worried about right now."

Oh, but it was. It was always what he was worried about. In the back of his mind as he'd kill henchman after henchman, he'd be thinking of her. Of her so timidly, so afraid as she asked to not lose him.

He'd think of her, of the time they'd spent together before the mission.

They had simply curled up on her bed where she'd tucked herself into his side, her pink hair fanning across his chest. They'd talked about everything and nothing.

About their past, about things they'd done, what they wanted to do.

They had just talked for hours, until she fell asleep first, her breaths steady and slow. The picture of peaceful as the light of the moon danced across her features.

Until those thoughts turned dark, until she would suddenly choke while talking, blood escaping her lips. Until he'd be back in that cave, barely catching her and narrowly able to keep her alive.

If only he hadn't come up with that stupid plan.

That damned bell test, a moment that used to be a point of pride for Sasuke, was now his lowest.

He would forever hate himself for that.

He noticed Kakashi's concerned gaze turning on him, and he forced himself not to flinch. Sasuke wasn't supposed to care. When he cared, people got hurt. When he cared, things went wrong. So he kept it together, the only way he knew how. 

By running. 

He pushed off the wall of the cave, nodding towards the horizon, "Let's go."

And so he ran, not looking back, not looking forward. Just running. From his memories. From himself. From his pain.

The way Sasuke always did.

Chapter Text

Guilt is a fickle thing. For some it settles in the brain. It lingers along the edge of every thought, calling just enough attention to itself for there to be a permanent, dull headache.

For some, it rests in the stomach. A twisting pain in the gut that flares up as it eats away at you, slowly but surely. It turns your stomach inside out until you can’t even fathom the thought of food.

And for others, it comes out only at night. In dreams and nightmares, loitering on your subconscious until it takes its chance to make itself known.

Sakura, Sasuke, and Kakakshi were prime examples of each.

For Sakura, as the days went by and she was stuck in her hospital bed, the thoughts ate away at her in silence.

I told Sasuke that Danzo could change.

I told him that we couldn’t kill him yet.

And now look.

She was hospitalized and practically forced his hand. And now, he was avoiding her like the plague and she could only imagine why. Her final speech to him had been about not wanting to lose him to that darkness—and yet he was left with that as his only option.

The longer she went without seeing him, the more prominent the headache became. Every time the door to her room opened, she forced her mind to snap out of it, to greet whoever it was with a smile because it wasn’t their fault Sasuke was afraid to face her.

It was her own.

By day five, she’d grown used to the headache. The pain radiated from the center of her forehead, ironically placed behind her Byakugou seal, and stretched all the way to the back of her brain. She was playing a card game with Obito, but she was only half paying attention anyway.

After he took three more cards from her, he put his hand down, “You okay?”

That was certainly a question. She glanced up at him, trying to shake Sasuke from her thoughts, “I’m fine.”

“You sure?” he gestured to her cards, “You just gave me three cards and I didn’t even play. You just let me take them.”

She frowned, “Sorry. I just have a lot on my mind.” No, she didn’t. The only thing on her mind was Sasuke, but he’d always taken up a disproportionately large section.

“When do they let you out of here?” he collected the cards, shuffling the deck back together. She smiled weakly at him; at least she had an Obito. She didn’t have Sasuke or Kakashi, but she had the relatively happy Uchiha almost daily at her bedside.

“Lady Tsunade said one more day and I should be safe to go back home.”

“Have you talked to her?” he asked quietly. She’d updated him on her meltdown the day she woke up, how she’d accidentally explained everything through incoherent sobs and wasn’t fully sure how much she’d heard. Since that day, Tsunade had been extra quiet during their sessions.

She shrugged, “Barely. She comes in, does a check up, neither of us say anything. And then she updates me and leaves.”

“Minato-sensei said he already talked to her about it, about how much she knows. He’s not worried.”

Sakura shrugged, based on how hysterical she had been, she wasn’t surprised Tsunade hadn’t understood much of it. She glanced towards the window, to the low hanging sun that painted her room in streaks of orange. “Have you heard from either of them?’

Obito’s eyes flickered to the window, following her gaze, “They got back two days ago.”

She tried to pretend that didn’t sting. She tried to ignore the increasingly loud thoughts that screamed, it’s your own fault. You did this. “Oh. Are they doing alright?” even that question was a lie. She wasn’t really asking about Kakashi was she? She only wanted to know about Sasuke.

That alone sent another wave of the guilt headache to the center of her forehead. Are they doing alright? of course not. Look what you made him do.

He shrugged, “Kakashi didn’t say much about their mission, just that it was a success. Sasuke didn’t really say anything.”

She nodded solemnly, “Thanks Obito.” He moved to offer her the cards, but she shook her head, “No thanks, uh, my head actually kinda hurts. Do you mind if I call it a night?” that at least, wasn’t a complete lie.

He nodded, “For sure. Do you want me to call for Tsunade—” he stopped himself once he met her gaze. Something like understanding flickered in his eye, “Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

And she nodded, trying to smile at him as he left the room, the door closing behind him with a click. She sighed, the smile falling from her lips the moment the door was closed, the headache returning full force. This time, it had a hammer—and it was ready to bash her brain until she cried. So she curled up on her side, watched the sun slip past the horizon, and let the tears fall.

But the headache persisted, until she finally fell into a dreamless sleep.

She opened her eyes, finding the sky outside her window to be midnight blue, the full moon glowing and illuminating her room. She heard a noise to her left, and instantly she mumbled, “Hello?” there was no movement, no sign at all that something was there. The sound was likely from down the hallway somewhere.

“I knew it,” she mumbled, sitting up in bed. The headache came back in full swing and she fought off the tears that crept into her eyes. Kami she was tired of the tears and the pain. She rubbed at her forehead, “They aren’t coming to visit. Not you.”

She pushed herself off the edge of the bed and towards the window, naively hopeful that some fresh air might soothe her aching brain. She opened the latch, familiar with the layout from her years spent in the hospital, and it eased open with a familiar creak.

The fresh air hit her face, and she heard a sound behind her, like the door swinging shut. She whipped around in the dark, her eyes searching her room for any sign of movement, but all she saw was the door moving back and forth with the wind that filled her room.

She sighed heavily, letting herself perch on the window ledge, her legs swinging in the night breeze. I get to see them soon, she repeated the mantra, I get to see them and apologize and tell Sasuke that he was right all along.

It was the only thing that could ease the ache.

. . . . .

Sasuke walked into the empty house, softly closing the door behind him so as not to disturb the silence. He dropped his cloak on a hook near the door, his black eyes trailing the dark hallway. He knew she wasn’t home, he’d made sure of it before he returned. A quick trip past the hospital window had told him enough.

She was still in bed, playing cards with Obito. The sight of her pink hair and soft smile sent a knife driving into his gut. How could he face her after what he’d done?

After how he killed Danzo?

He watched her laugh, and seeing her like this; happy even after it all, it made the beast in his stomach grip his insides in its claws and twist.

Before he could be caught, or could be tempted to make his presence known, he left. Back to the silent house where there was nothing to hide him from the monsters.

They had become well acquainted by this point, he could greet them and they would coldly smile, their razor sharp teeth looking far more intimidating than welcoming. He wasn’t bothered by many of the monsters, most of them he could learn to ignore, could get used to the gnawing feeling in his gut, but there was always one.

One that replayed the conversation that haunted him, I don’t want to lose you again.

I won’t, he’d practically promised. He’d been so confident that night, so trusting that he would do better. Be better because he had her. How could he lose himself when she was there to ground him?

Because no matter how bright she may have been, nothing can stop Uchiha darkness. He felt it again, a wave not unlike nausea washing over him and he palmed his stomach, as if his hand could stop the guilt. Even though it had been constant, there were certain sharp moments where it would make him freeze. Where he’d breathe a little quicker, where he’d have to wait for it to settle.

Once the wave leveled out, he was able to move down the hallway. He barely looked himself in the eye as he washed the blood off his hands in the bathroom sink. He didn’t want to know what he’d see.

Some gaunt, vaguely Sasuke-looking person, probably.

But who was Sasuke—really? If you took away the dark that he tried so hard to run from, if you took away that anger, the revenge, what was he? Some shell of a man who knew and had nothing. He lived his life, his entire identity based on that darkness.

And it was back and he didn’t like it. He didn’t want to be darkness and hate and anger anymore. He’d been that way for so long, too long, he’d run from the good and fostered the bad—but when faced with the opportunity to do something good. To not let the monster win; he folded.

It was all he knew, how could he have ever been something different?

He scraped away the rust-coloured stains until the water ran clear, and he closed the faucet. He dragged his wet hands through his hair and forced his legs to walk him down the hallway to his room. As he passed her door, he felt it again. This one wasn’t a wave; this one was an ice spike driving straight into his stomach. His legs locked and he collapsed against the wall.

Kami.

He’d have to see her. He’d have to live with her again. He’d have to face her and watch the recognition flash through her eyes as she realized that he’d done it. That he wasn’t changed. That he hadn’t kept his promise. Each realization made the ice spike twist just a little further, until the pain was nearly debilitating.

His hand was over his stomach, gripping the skin there tightly through his Anbu uniform in a desperate attempt to alleviate the pressure. He didn’t know how, but he managed to stumble to his bedroom, collapsing on the mattress. Luckily, he managed to escape the pain in his dreams.

During the night, Sasuke was dead to the world.

But when he woke, the pain continued, picking up right where it left off. The first day back in the village wasn’t so bad, he managed to walk straight and even was able to choke down a food pill. It was going fine until he went to visit Minato to drop off paperwork and he heard her name.

He’d been just outside the door, his hand raised and poised to knock when he’d frozen. There was a silence on the other end and then footsteps moved towards the door and a blonde woman he vaguely recognized was there.

Lady Tsunade. The last time he’d seen her was during the Fourth Shinobi War, but that felt like a lifetime ago. She was younger, despite her henge appearance in the future, and she stared down at him, “Are you eavesdropping on the Hokage?”

Minato called from his desk, “It’s fine, Lady Tsunade. He can come in.” She glanced back over her shoulder, her brow set in a challenge, and finally stepped out of the way. Sasuke walked into the office, trying his best to feign ease.

His stomach was pulled so tight he was ready for something to snap.

He held up the scroll, “The report from the last hideout. If any wind of Orochimaru or his followers cross your desk, I want to hear about it.”

Tsunade crossed her arms, “Minato, do you let this child demand things of you regularly?” Sasuke glared back at the woman before flicking his eyes back to Minato.

The yellow flash of the leaf smiled at her, “This is Chen, the one I was telling you about.” That made Sasuke freeze, and he felt the gaze of the blonde woman behind him shift.

“How much did you tell her?” He only needed to know one thing. Did she know about the time travel. Minato nodded at him.

“All of it,” she answered, stepping up to his side. “So you’re the one who killed my teammate?” Ice. He couldn’t even breathe through the pain in his stomach; he was frozen. She nodded at him approvingly, “From what I’ve seen from the girl, Hana, it was for the best. I tried to save Orochimaru too many times and I watched Jiraiya do the same.”

She looked back to Minato, “As I was saying, before we were interrupted, she’ll be safe to leave the hospital within three days time. But no missions until at least a week passes and there are no setbacks.”

Minato nodded, “Thank you, Lady Tsunade. Will you be staying in the village once she is recovered, or will you be back to your travels?”

“Travels. This village is suffocating.” Yes, it is, Sasuke agreed. But maybe that was just because he’d stopped breathing a moment ago and still hadn’t started. She was almost halfway through the door when she called back, “She’s been asking for you relentlessly. If I were you, I would go visit her before she’s released. She seems like the stubborn type.”

The door swung closed behind her, and Sasuke tried his best to ignore the way his gut seemed to be folding in on itself.

. . . . .

Kakashi walked into his house, the creaky front door slapping shut behind him. The house was silent as always, not a flicker of life among the wooden floorboards or beams. He took off his cloak and made it down the hallway to his bedroom. He left the other doors in the house untouched as always. He dropped his cloak on the edge of his bed and sat down with a sigh.

He pulled the mask down off his chin, rubbing at the skin of his jaw with his calloused hand. Kami it had been a long few weeks. It had been just him and Sasuke travelling from hideout to hideout, murdering hundreds, maybe thousands, of Orochimaru’s worshippers.

He dropped back onto his soft mattress, his sore, tired muscles nearly screaming at him in relief that they could finally sleep on something other than the cold hard ground. He had to get up though, at least take off his armour, but the soft blanket below him was just too comfortable. He curled onto his side, trying to fight his eyelids to stay open, but sleep pulled him gently under the surface.

And almost instantly he was drowning.

He couldn’t even make out what he was seeing—he couldn’t tell if it was Rin or Sakura, Obito or Sasuke. He knew there was blood but it was so dark and there was screaming. His eyes felt like they were on fire, his lungs felt like they were begging for air.

He shot up in bed, his gloved hand reaching for his kunai and swinging wildly. Only once he stopped swinging his arm could he hear his own laboured breaths. Only once the silence of the house echoed back at him could he feel the tears on his cheeks.

The blade clattered against the wooden floor, and he pushed himself off the bed. It was too soft. Too sinking. His chest was heaving as he leaned against the wall, struggling to wrap his brain around his nightmares.

He was certainly no stranger to them, experiencing them his entire childhood and adolescence but for a while now, they’d stopped. He’d been able to sleep peacefully through the night, sometimes Rin would appear, but never in anger or sadness like she used to.

But this, this was something else entirely. A feeling all too familiar that Kakashi didn’t even know it had a name; it was just his usual. But in the time since Sakura and Sasuke had come to town, it had grown foreign to him once again.

It was pathetic really; how such a few short months made him feel immune to it. He placed his hand over his chest, pressing down on his rapidly beating heart until its rhythm started to settle. As his heart calmed, his mind continued to race, and he knew he had to do something.

His bed certainly wasn’t an option, and since sleepless nights weren’t entirely new, he knew what his best option was. He went to visit the people he owed, to try and make it up to them.

Nights like this, he made the familiar trek through the dark to the cemetery, the walk so well worn that the grass outside of his house had a path permanently etched into its surface. Like muscle memory, he started walking that way, his shoes scraping along the dirt road and his mind wandering.

Playing back the nightmare.

The reoccurring scene of pink hair and blood had him changing paths without noticing. He didn’t realize his destination until it was in front of him, bright lights blinding him in the dead of night. He made his way past the front desk, despite his hurried escape from her room when he was in the village last, he knew exactly where to go.

He stopped just outside her door, listening for any sign of movement. Like he’d hoped, the room was silent. He eased the door open and crossed the threshold, his Anbu skills helping to keep his movements soundless.

Her pink hair was fanned out on the pillow, her breaths soft and slow—she looked so peaceful, Kakashi didn’t understand why he felt ready to cry at the sight of her. The last time he’d visited her had been so brief, a quick peek through her window before he met up with Sasuke and left the village again.

Before that, it had been when he’d dragged her bloody and battered body to the same bed she slept on.

But now, there was colour in her cheeks. There wasn’t any visible blood. There was a scar on her forearm, an injury he wasn’t even aware of last time, but it was healed. She looked like herself again.

He sat down in the chair that was pulled up close to her bed, watching her breathe. It had been weeks, and he hadn’t stopped by. The odd day he was in the village between trips he’d ran into Minato and Obito. Both of them had told him that she was awake. Both of them had said to go visit. And he hadn’t listened to either of them.

Maybe it was because of Sasuke, because he had been so hell bent on leaving, on not stopping, on not caring.

Maybe it was because he was terrified of what he’d find.

Maybe it was the longer he went without seeing her, the more upset she’d be when he finally plucked up the courage to visit.

Maybe it was a mix of all three.

Whatever it was, he was certain it had been the cause of his terrible dream. The longer he watched her sleep, the more at ease he felt. She was alive. She was healed. She was going to be okay. So he sat there, watching her sleep and letting himself burn it into his memory.

If he was lucky, it would be able to replace the other memory of her—bloody and beaten. Just the thought of it gave him chills in the relatively warm hospital room. Her brows creased in the moonlight and in an instant, he was out of the chair and hidden behind the curtain that split her room in two. He pressed himself against the wall, holding his breath as he heard her blankets move.

“Hello?” she called quietly. He could see her shadow sit up in bed, her gaze stuck on the chair he had just vacated. He listened to her sigh, “I knew it.” Her hand came up to rub at her forehead, mumbling something to herself that he couldn’t quite make out.

Terrified, he saw her shadow swing her legs over the edge of the bed and his heart thrummed to life in his chest. How was this scarier than being in Orochimaru’s lairs? Thankfully, she moved towards the window, her shadow growing larger the further she moved.

He glanced at the door and saw that it was open an inch. He could make it, make a break for it silently and she would never know he was there. She would never know he came to visit. Her back was to him, she was busy opening the window to let in a breeze. A perfect distraction.

Or he could step into the light and apologize. Face her wrath that he deserved for ignoring her for so long. For leaving her in the dark for weeks.

Oh, but Kakashi was never very good at facing his demons.

He was out the door before she was done opening the window.

. . . . .

Deep in the hideout, a low laugh emanated from a cave. The lone survivor, the lone, curse-mark bearing survivor grinned. The Anbu who had come after them had been skilled. They’d been knowledgeable. They’d taken out half of the curse-marked before they even noticed. The two of them, one with silver hair and one with eyes blood red, had been deadly.

But they’d been sloppy. They’d walked right past him without question. The one with red eyes had stared at him and walked on, confident—arrogant—that they’d done it. That they’d put an end to every life in the hideout.

He wore the blood of his brothers as a disguise, knowing he wasn’t strong enough to stop them himself—despite his own curse mark, etched deep into the skin of his right wrist. It gave him power, yes, but power not designed for battle. Power designed for exactly this.

If Lord Orochimaru were to be killed, if his followers were murdered and they were dwindling in numbers, he had but one purpose. To bring him back. A rare kekkei genkai of a long forgotten, long murdered clan.

The hideout had been silent for hours, the two Anbu gone, not a breath of life in the blood soaked hallways, and he knew it was time. He unlocked the seal around the curse-mark, the dark, rich chakra pouring into his pathways.

The pattern was like a snake bite, the lines racing around his skin until it wrapped around his entire body, the power swelling under his skin. This was his purpose. Hand picked by Lord Orochimaru for this exact reason.

It was time to bring him back.

It was time to regroup.

It was time to plan revenge on the Ninja who dared to cross Lord Orochimaru.

Time for Lord Orochimaru to come back stronger, greater, more powerful than before.

Chapter Text

Sakura walked out of the hospital, the sunlight bright on her pale skin and oh-so-warm after the stale, cold air she’d been living in for weeks. Obito was next to her, his green vest still new-looking in the sun, his arms filled with the many flowers she’d received during her prolonged stay.

None of them quite broke her heart like the yellow flowers from Inoichi that came with a note, From Ino, sent along with a picture of her baby-best friend, blue eyed and hair the same shade of yellow as the petals. She clung to that picture for too long, her eyes tearing up the more she stared.

She’d never get to know her best friend.

Quite fittingly, the person who pulled her attention away from the baby photo was Kurenai. She’d arrived, poppies in hand, red eyes bright, “Hey!” Sakura forced her shaky hands to put the picture down and listening to Kurenai’s gossip. Apparently, she had missed quite a few social scandals in her time asleep.

By the time Kurenai left, the sun was setting and Sakura’s heart felt the tiniest bit lighter. Light enough that she could look at the photo and smile—no tears.

She and Obito made their way down the familiar roads, and Sakura wasn’t blind to the many stares, and even more glares that seemed to follow them. “Is this what it’s been like since our mission?”

“Since Danzo died, yeah. You get used to it after a while.” He shrugged easily, turning down the street that would lead her home. She followed him eagerly, determined to stay close.

“I wish there was a way we could tell them why. Explain that he had to do it.” She reached into her pocket for the key, the familiar metal cool against her fingers. “Would it be so bad to tell them the truth?”

“And let the entire village know that one of their most respected leaders was completely corrupt? Because that won’t cause a civil war.” He jutted his chin in the direction of her house, “It’ll blow over soon enough, it’s already gotten better these last few weeks. Minato-sensei will probably release some statement, maybe he was waiting for you to get better first.”

“I hope so.” She pushed the key into the lock and was glad to find the house empty. She wasn’t ready to talk to Sasuke yet—no matter how much of her wanted to. They dropped the flowers on the table, and she thanked Obito for his help. He mentioned that Fugaku was waiting for him, and she waved him off before she finally got the chance to wash the hospital off of her skin.

He made sure to say that he would be by to check on her later. She assured him he didn’t have to, but Obito brushed it off.

Finally feeling refreshed and clean, she got dressed and ran a brush through her hair. She stared herself down in the mirror, frowning at how long her hair had gotten. It was too long, the pink tresses brushed along her shoulder blades and before she could second guess herself, she went to the kitchen to grab scissors.

The pink locks landed softly on the ground by her feet as she trimmed, delicately, carefully, her focused gaze locked on her reflection. Her hair swung just past her chin, the proper bob she’d had for years. It was a little choppy, but she didn’t particularly mind—it reminded her of the past.

Of the bravery she had when she was a genin.

Kami, she needed that girl right about now. The one who was unashamed to feel her feelings, who so desperately and proudly flaunted them and told people exactly what she was thinking. She swept up her hair, getting rid of the evidence of her trim and left the house.

She looked up at the stone faces that hung high above the village, her gaze immediately searching for Tsunade’s face among them. While the conversation she needed to have with Sasuke seemed impossible at the moment, there was a conversation she could have—the least she could do was thank her for saving her life.

She forced herself to walk towards the Hokage’s office, her black sandals brushing along the path. People still stared and glared but she kept her eyes focused on her destination. The walk was familiar to her, the doors and twists and turns of the building ingrained in her brain.

She pushed open the door to the main hallway, almost crashing into someone. She caught herself on the flak vest, her eyes widening as she took in his features. Headband pulled low. Scar. Mask. Silver hair.

Kakashi.

They stared at one another, his hands on her shoulders, her hands on his vest. She stepped away, swallowing the sudden lump in her throat, “Hi, Kakashi.”

“Hi. Sakura, I—” he faltered. What were they supposed to say? How did they talk after everything? The staring continued, wide eyed looks that were filled with silent ‘I’m sorry’s, and guilt and worries, but neither could translate. The distance had been too great, the time apart too long. She searched his gaze for something to say, but she found nothing.

Her impressive ability of being able to read Kakashi vanished in that moment. She forced herself to speak, to say something because something was better than nothing.

“Is Tsunade here?” she asked, still unblinking.

He shook his head, “She’s packing up to leave. Now that you’re healed,” his voice caught.

“Thanks.” She finally let go, uncurling her hands from his vest and stepped around him. She made it two steps, aware he hadn’t moved, and stopped herself. She needed to start repairing the damage. She couldn’t keep letting it fester. She might not be able to understand him, but she knew how she was feeling.

She hated the gap. She hated the distance. She hated the way it made them both look like they didn’t care. Kakashi wasn’t big on talking, he wasn’t going to spill his feelings to her, and she couldn’t blame him, she wouldn’t. So she reached for the common ground they still shared, “Could you help me with some training today?” she spun on her heel, watching the tension in his shoulders. “I’ve been out of commission for too long, I need to get back into it.”

The silence that followed her question threatened to swallow her whole. But finally, just as she was losing her courage he nodded stiffly, “Training Ground thirteen?”

A long forgotten, genuine smile graced her face, “Sounds perfect. Sundown? I can use the day to replenish my chakra.” He nodded once again, and she watched his shoulders relax the slightest. Good. “Thanks, Kakashi.” She turned away, continuing down the hall and let out a heavy sigh. Olive branch extended. Now she just needed to figure out what she would say to him. But luckily, she had the day to figure it out.

.  .  .  .  .

Lady Tsunade tucked the last of her scrolls into her bag, glancing up at the clock above the door. If she moved fast enough, she could make it at least two towns over before night would descend upon the Land of Fire. Good, the further she was from this place the better.

She pulled the straps over her shoulders, scanning the room one last time. There was no sign of her existence, no visible trace that she’d ever come back to the village. Just as she reached for the door, there was a knock on the other end.

She held back an eye roll, “Always something in this damn village.” She pulled the door open, a frown set on her lips, “Does the term Sannin mean nothing to you people?” but she shut her mouth when her eyes fell upon the pink-haired girl. “Oh, it’s you.”

Her green eyes caught on the straps of the bag and her voice was low, “Are you leaving?”

“You’re cured, the village is at a point of rest, there is no need for me to be here anymore. Unless there has been some complication?” her gaze trailed up and down as if looking for something visibly wrong with her.

“No, no complications. Just… can I walk with you?” Tsunade eyed her, giving her a once over. She looked infinitely better wearing something other than a hospital gown, and she had more life in her than she’d seen in weeks. This was also the most they’d spoken in the three weeks she’d been undergoing her treatments.

“Sure. But we’re making a beeline to the gates. I don’t want to be in this village any longer than I have to.” She nodded, following after the older woman down the hallway. They didn’t speak a word to one another the entire time they were in the building. The moment the sun stretched across their skin, she spoke.

“You know, before I came here, I talked to Minato Sensei. I found out from him that you knew everything, which I guess was from me. But I wanted to be sure that I could tell you more, about me. About us.”

Tsunade raised her brow, “Listen, I appreciate the sudden turnaround Kid, but I don’t know how much I want to know about the future.”

“It’s not the future, not anymore. Everything is already so different, it won’t end up the way it was. I just, I want you know.” Tsunade didn’t argue with that, and after a moment gave her a nod. And so she told her about their lessons, about all the time they spent together, the pride Tsunade had when she summoned Katsuyu.

She didn’t talk about war, or Danzo, or Orochimaru. She didn’t talk about Naruto or Jiraiya, she only talked about their time together. The way that Tsunade had made her into a stronger, better Shinobi.

“Which is why I shut you out. Why I shut down around you because it was easier to accept that then to think about how different we’d become from what we were.” They arrived at the gates of the village, and she forced herself to stop. “What if I came with you?” The question seemed to take her by as much surprise as it did Tsunade.

“What?”

“What if I came with you. If I went with you, I could get back into it. I haven’t trained in weeks, and no one is better than you at medical ninjutsu M’Lady.”

Tsunade sighed, “Sakura, is it okay if I call you that?”

She nodded.

“You are reaching for a life you no longer have. I am sorry that I could not be your Master in this world, but you already know everything I could teach you.” She reached up, tapping the diamond mark on her forehead, and then slid her hand down to hold her face. “You have a new life here, one that has been waiting on your return for weeks.”

She blinked back tears, “But I don’t know what I’m doing.”

“You will. If I truly was your teacher, then I know I chose you for a reason.” She glanced back at the village behind her and then back to the girl, “Don’t run from this. It’s not worth it.” Before she could protest, Tsunade kept going, “I lost too much here. My brother, my love, my team fell apart at the seams, I have nothing left for me here. You still have a team, you still have people who care about you. People who need you.”

Sakura looked away, blinking back her tears more vehemently. “But I need you.”

Tsunade’s smile looked genuine but pained. “You need a me that doesn’t exist.”

She stepped back that time, wiping at her eyes. She blew out a breath between pursed lips, and she smiled weakly at Lady Tsunade, “I’m sorry. For how I was.”

“Let’s be honest Kid, I didn’t make it easier,” she shrugged. She held out her hand, waiting until Sakura’s fingers clasped around her palm, “In another life, we’ll be student and teacher. In this one, we’ll be equals.”

She let out a wet laugh, “Okay. Thank you, Lady Tsunade.”

She dropped their hands, and smirked, “If there is ever something you need help with, something medical, write me a letter.”

“Actually,” she paused, reaching towards her hip for the scroll. It had been a last minute thought to grab it, but she held it out towards Tsunade. “There’s a young boy that I’m treating. It’s something in his lungs, I’m doing what I can, but I’m not sure how to cure it. I know you’re leaving but you’re the best of the best.”

Tsunade had a shine of pride in her eyes, taking the scroll into her hands, “There hasn’t been a medical condition I haven’t cured. I’ll look into it and I’ll let you know what I find.” She smiled at the young girl, “But you might crack it before I do, if I trained you well.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Tsunade smiled at her, the look one she was so familiar with it sent a particularly nostalgic ache through her heart. “Goodbye, Sakura.” She waited until Lady Tsunade made it five steps away before she turned around and headed into the village. She wiped at her eyes, a soft smile settling over her features as she stared up at the sun.

Despite everything wrong—not talking to her team, being out of training for almost a month, falling behind with Itachi Uchiha’s condition, how the village was reacting to Danzo’s death—she felt that things might just be okay.

That they may just work out in the end.

.  .  .  .  .  .

As the sun began its descent towards the horizon, she made her way to the training ground they’d previously agreed to. There hadn’t been a sign of Sasuke the entire day. Not as she milled about the village, restocking their barren fridge and chatting with shopkeepers.

Not when she ran into Kushina and Naruto at the market—both had greeted her excitedly. One with a bone crushing hug and the other with a giggle. Kushina had invited her over for dinner, but Sakura had had to decline. Mostly on the account of her training with Kakashi, and secondly on her exhaustion.

She hadn’t been out of bed for weeks, just walking around the village was taking its toll on her. She hadn’t been under the impression that she was unchanged by the prolonged hospital stay, the nightmares she was constantly fighting off were proof enough, but she didn’t think she would be winded from simply walking.

When she’d made plans with Kakashi, she hadn’t really meant for it to be a training session. She just needed to talk to the guy and fix whatever it was that had happened between them in their time apart. And maybe, if things went well, she’d be able to get a word on Sasuke.

Training ground thirteen was empty when she arrived, and she was thankful. She needed to think. All day it had looped in her brain endlessly; what she would say, what she could say, and yet, she was left with nothing. Unfortunately, the softly rolling river didn’t seem to have any ideas either.

She had no idea what she would say to him, how he would respond. She didn’t even know where they went wrong. But kami, she missed him. And maybe that was enough to get the conversation going.

He arrived in a blur, standing in front of her in a cloud of smoke, his one visible eye soft, “Hey.”

“Hi,” she sat up straight, awkwardly tucking her hair behind her ear. As he stood before her, she finally took a good look at him. His eye seemed to be doing the same to her. He looked pretty well the same, his hair was a little longer than she remembered, but there were no major differences. She didn’t think he’d be unrecognizable, but she figured there’d be something off about him since there was clearly something very off about them.

But he was the same Kakashi as before, and just as quiet. Which reminded her, that neither of them had spoken since their initial greeting.

Silence. Long, painful, awful silence.

She tried to wrack her brain to find something to say, but he finally spoke, “You know about my dad, right? From before?” she nodded mutely, trying to hide her shocked expression. “And you know about Rin, and Obito, obviously.” Another silent nod.

He sighed, sitting down next to her, both staring out at the river that ran by, “There’s this pattern. When I get close to people, they get hurt. Or worse.” He didn’t look at her, his eye unmoving even as she turned to face him. “When I get close, something goes wrong. So I push people away. And I did for a long time. And then you and Sasuke showed up and somehow knew me and trusted me and Minato made me your captain.”

He finally glanced at her, not moving his head, just training his eye on her, “And then you got hurt. You were dying, in my arms, and I couldn’t stop it. And it was just like Rin and Obito all over again.” He looked away, back to the rolling river, “I didn’t know what to do. When we found out you were alive and you were going to stay that way I was torn. The further away from you I was, the safer you were. But—” his voice caught, and Sakura realized she had never heard Kakashi this vulnerable.

Not even in her past life.

“But there’s something about you that is very hard to leave.” He turned to her then, “I visited you between missions, and the longer we went without talking the more guilty I felt. It was selfish to keep you close, and it was selfish to push you away. But I couldn’t do either of them. I can cut people out, I’ve done it. But you—”

“Kakashi—”

“No, let me finish. I can’t cut you out. But I know how risky that is for you… so it’s up to you. You can hate me for being a bad teammate, you can hate me for what happened, for whatever reason and that’s fine. But I can’t make that decision—”

“Kakashi,” she cut him off. “None of this is on you. None of this has been your fault. We were sent on a dangerous mission, one I fully accepted and willingly joined. I’m alive because you got me back to Konaha, I’m alive because you knew it was genjutsu and you’re the one who got Fugaku involved and he’s the one who knew to reach out to Lady Tsunade. The nurses told me everything.

“I don’t want you pushing me away, and I don’t like this gap between us. Other than Sasuke,” his name caught in her throat. “Other than him, I don’t really have anyone else besides you. If Sasuke and I are,” she threw her hand up, “whatever we are, you’re my best friend.”

The title rolled off her lips before she even realized what she was saying. And it wasn’t a lie.

Sure, he was different than her previous best friend, in very much every way possible, but he was still her best friend. A person she trusted above all others, a person she spilled her secrets to (albeit drunk, it still counted), a person she could count on.

Yes, she could gossip with Kurenai. And yes, Sasuke knew her better than anyone else—but Kakashi was still Kakashi. Still her teammate. Still her most trusted. Still someone that she could depend on before anyone else.

“I don’t want you to get hurt,” he said finally, his voice still quiet.

“We’re ninja, Kakashi. We’re bound to get hurt. Its because of you that I know that even when I get hurt, I’ll be okay.” She stood up, holding her hand out to him, “So please, can we let this go, and go back to what we were?”

He took her hand and she attempted to pull him up. Her weakened muscles failed her quite quickly, and he caught onto her struggle and stood, nodding, “We really need to get you training again. But yes.”

She laughed, finally, and for the first time in too long, genuinely, “Just not today. I’m exhausted.”

He smiled, that half smirk that shone through his mask, and nodded over his shoulder, “I’ll walk you home then.” As she moved to protest, he shrugged, “What are best friends for?”

Chapter Text

The street was dark as they approached the household. Sakura was focusing intently on her sandals, each step taking a calculated amount of effort to stay upright. Her tired limbs were eager for her comfy bed, and especially eager to stop moving.

She noticed Kakashi’s sandals come to a stop, and she almost tripped in her attempt to catch herself. She looked up at him, the question of ‘what’ dying on her lips as she followed his gaze. There he was, cloaked, and shrouded in darkness, but his pale hand was on the door, his red gaze locked on the two of them.

“Sasuke,” she whispered. His name escaped her in a singular breath. He stared at them, unflinching, and none of them moved. The trio were frozen in time it seemed, each searching the other for answers.

The silence of the street was broken by Sakura, a curse slipping from her lips as her hand flew to her now-burning shoulder. The Anbu tattoo burned, the pain not any worse than it usually was, but in her weakened state it sent her stumbling.

Kakashi lunged to catch her, his arm reaching to keep her upright as she toppled forwards, but so did Sasuke. Silent as ever, he appeared before her, his cold hands seizing her upper arms and steadying her.

She stared up at him, but his gaze was on Kakashi, pointedly avoiding her eyes. “You too?” Kakashi nodded, rolling his tattooed shoulder. Sasuke turned towards the Great Stone Faces, “What could possibly—”

The ground beneath them began to tremble, just as a series of screams came from afar. Sakura forced herself to straighten up, all three ninjas of Team Ro suddenly alert. The shouts got louder, more people stepping onto the street, doors peeling open to figure out what the commotion was.

Sasuke’s eyes went wide, “I know that…” he stepped away from Sakura and Kakashi, keeping one hand on her arm and shook his head, “Sakura, get inside.”

“What, Sasuke what’s going on?” She moved toward him, but he turned on her, both hands reaching for her face.

“Get inside. Please.” The breath was knocked out of her chest when his eyes locked onto hers. How? How could this be the same man who ignored her for weeks, who hadn’t come to see her once—how could it be him, holding her face so tenderly as if no time had passed at all.

Sakura grabbed his hand, “What? What is happening?” his eyes, the Uchiha red she’d been searching for for weeks finally close enough that she could count the tomoe in his eyes, and yet she couldn’t read his gaze. They held each other through muscle memory, a hand curling around another, his palm cupping her jaw in a way that made them fit like puzzle pieces.

But they didn’t fit. They weren’t missing puzzle pieces.

There was too much space between them, too much time spent apart and never speaking. She tried to form words, but her lips didn’t want to cooperate with her, so she just stared. Just as Sasuke looked like he was about to speak, Kakashi stepped up next to them.  

Kakashi grabbed Sasuke’s shoulder, pulling his gaze, rather painfully it seemed, away from Sakura. Sasuke followed Kakashi’s sharingan gaze, and nodded as he spoke, “Sasuke, that’s…”

“I know.” His hand fell from Sakura’s grip, and she could do nothing but watch him slip from between her fingers.

Up ahead, there was a loud hiss that echoed down the street, and Sasuke stepped towards it, drawing his sword from over his shoulder. From between two houses, it emerged. Purple, shiny scales glowing in the streetlights as Manda, the great snake, slithered towards them.

Kakashi stepped up next to Sasuke, “That’s not the one you killed in the hideout. That one was white.” He pulled two Kunai out of his pockets, spinning them expertly on his fingers.

Sasuke shook his head, “No, that was Orochimaru. This is his summons. Manda.” The large snake lifted its head, its green eyes locking on Sasuke and Kakashi. Sasuke repeated, with anger in his voice this time, “Sakura! Get inside, now!”

The snake’s beady green eyes lingered on the two shinobi, but he did not move any closer.

Kakashi asked, his eyes never leaving the snake, “You know this one from the future too?”

“I signed a blood contract.”

Manda hadn’t moved other than the tip of his enormous tail flicking back and forth. A figure emerged from his side, the long black hair and pale white skin one that Sasuke recognized. He turned one last time to his pink-haired teammate, shouting, “Go!”

But Sakura, she was frozen. Her eyes were wide, wider than he’d ever seen them, and they were locked on Orochimaru. Behind her eyes, the memories washed over her like ice water, pouring in until she was drowning in them, hardly able to breathe.

Each stab wound she’d been careful to avoid suddenly throbbed, and the cursed memories of genjutsu, of pain, of dying—it all came back. It attacked her from the inside. It gripped her lungs so tight, she couldn’t breathe, the blood that flowed through her veins began to pour out of her scars.

Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood.

Inside was out. Joy was pain and right was left. Nothing made sense. Everything she felt was upside down. The blood she watched pool in front of her was flowing up. She could hear someone yelling at her, but their voice was fuzzy. It wasn’t until Kakashi was directly in front of her, his hands shaking her shoulders that she snapped out of it. She was gasping for breath as she stumbled back from him, and he instantly caught her again, “You have to get out of here.”

“Kakashi, take her somewhere safe,” Sasuke ordered him. Her eyes snapped to him, still only a few feet away, his eyes locked on his opponents. The blood was gone, her stab wounds hadn’t magically reopened- Orochimaru hadn’t even moved.

He just stood next to Manda, smiling at her. That sickening, awful, snake-like smile.

She balled her shaking hands into fists, “I’m fine.”

“No—”

“You’re not,” his snakelike voiced called across the empty street. “You remind me even more of Tsunade now. Look at you and your matching, debilitating fears.” He stepped forward and instantly she wanted to step back. Kakashi’s hand on her arm was the only thing that kept her from moving.

Kakashi and Sasuke both immediately moved in front of her, blocking him from her view, “Touch her again, you die,” Sasuke’s voice was like steel.

Orochimaru grinned, “I don’t need her anymore, I have new plans. My eyes are set on a new target. Manda, could you keep them busy? I have some business I need to attend to with the great, fourth Hokage.”

“Minato Sensei,” Kakashi breathed, watching Orochimaru slip away through buildings, toward the Hokage’s office. “Sasuke I—”

“Go,” he said easily. Sasuke glanced back at his teammate, “I can handle Manda. Just get her out of here.”

“No, I’m fine,” Sakura argued. She stepped towards Sasuke, “I can help.” The moment Orochimaru left her view she’d managed to calm her breathing back to normal. The giant snake ahead of her wasn’t part of those memories—him she could manage.

“You’re weak.” That felt like a blow to the chest, but Sasuke continued, “You’ve been out of training for almost a month. You aren’t even supposed to use chakra for another week—”

“How do you know that?” she cut him off. She hadn’t seen him once since she’d woken up, how was it he knew about her recovery?

He looked away, “I talked to Lady Tsunade.”

“You what? When?”

“Look, this isn’t the time.”

She stared at him, and back to the snake that still had yet to move. He’d talked to Tsunade about her. Tsunade certainly hadn’t mentioned that. She turned to the third member of their team, “Kakashi go. I’m good.” She watched the losing battle in his eyes and then Kakashi cursed, but flickered, ignoring Sasuke’s pointed glare as he faded to a poof of smoke. Sakura turned away from Sasuke and faced the snake, “You’re right. This isn’t the time. So we better both survive this, because we need to talk.”

“Sakura you can’t—”

Her green eyed glare shut him up pretty quickly, “Don’t. We’re Anbu, the village is in danger. It’s our job.” She turned to face the snake, even though his gaze was burning her skin and it took everything in her to not look back into his eyes. For a moment there, it felt like she could read something in his gaze. But she couldn’t focus on that. Not with Manda lazing about in the village; the village she swore she’d protect. The village she sacrificed everything for.

Every friend she’d had, the life she’d built herself, she threw it all away on the chance that they could fix something. That they could fix everything. And now, Orochimaru was back and trying to destroy everything they’d worked hard to build.

“Sakura, you know the damage you can do if you use your chakra.” He was staring at her again, she could see it from her periphery, but she locked her gaze on the snake ahead of her. There was a tone of genuine care to his voice, one she had missed so terribly during her hospital stay, but she forced herself to not focus on it—she couldn’t.

She shook her head, “No, it’s only damage if I use too much of my chakra.” That was only a little bit of a lie; she wasn’t supposed to use it at all, but if she absolutely had to, she could use a limited amount. She felt that a giant snake attacking the village was a good enough reason to disrupt her healing. “Good thing I’ve always been the best at chakra control.” She allowed herself one sliding glance to catch his eye before she poured chakra into her depraved muscles. “I’m not letting Orochimaru ruin this lifetime too.”

She knew the limit—if she stayed within the healthy boundaries, she would be fine.

With the newfound strength, she surged forward, reaching for a kunai from her ninja pouch. She felt Sasuke at her side more than she saw or heard him; until there was a crackling blue light from her left. He spoke as he passed her, “He won’t.”

He jumped ahead of her, his lightning covered sword slashing against the snake. Manda’s thick skin barely flinched at the slice. His massive head instead darted towards Sakura, his large jaws snapping at her legs. She flipped out of the way of his fangs, landing somewhat shakily on top of his long body.

She flipped her choppy hair out of her eyes, face to face with the beast. His fangs glowed in the dim light from the moon, each one about as long as her arm. His colossal jaw unlocked as he lunged forward again, his beady green eyes never leaving her. She dove left and right, the entire time Sasuke attacked at the beast, but he only went after her.

She landed on the roof of the nearest building and ran, watching from the corner of her eye the way he immediately followed down the road, his large body slithering on the dirt street. She saw Sasuke running along the rooftops on the other side of the road, but still, Manda only followed her.

She poured some chakra into her hand and jumped, leaping into the open expanse of the road. Her fist crashed right between his eyes, and immediately his head hit the road with an explosion of dust. She landed on top of him and shouted towards the sky, “Sasuke!”

He appeared through the cloud of dust, driving his sword straight down into Manda’s head. The blade stabbed through, sinking itself in his skull. Manda let out a hiss of agony, and from behind, his tail lashed forwards and slammed into the two shinobi. Sasuke’s sword snapped from the hit, the blade remaining imbedded in Manda’s skull, the handle still clutched in Sasuke’s hand.

Sakura crashed into the stone wall and collapsed on the road, pieces of rubble falling around her. She coughed into the haze of dust that surrounded the two thrown shinobi. Her ribs felt ready to implode from the impact, the initial feeling not unlike when they’d first time traveled. She tried to force her hands under her body, but they were shaking too much to do any good. Sasuke next to her staggered to his feet, throwing the handle away and stared Manda down.

Manda’s eyes were once again on Sakura, even as she struggled to get to her hands and knees. He saw Manda’s mouth open, his head rearing back for a moment before he struck, his target very much on the ground and defenseless.

His target very much Sakura.

Sasuke felt like everything happened in slow motion after that. He had never moved so fast in his life, one moment he was watching Manda prepare his strike, and the next; he was suddenly in front of Sakura, his sandals sliding on the dirt road the final few feet, arms outstretched. He stared down Manda’s massive jaw as it came towards him, his long tongue flicking out of his open maw.

Sakura’s hand curled around the back of his uniform, his name leaving her lips in a panicked scream. But Sasuke didn’t even blink.

Uchiha were too proud to look away, even in the face of death. And if he could die and spare Sakura a moment, a chance, he’d be okay with that.

.  .  .  .  .

Kakashi threw open the door to the Hokage’s office, a kunai in hand as he shouted, “Minato-sensei!”

But Minato sat calmly with his elbows on his desk, his fingertips pressed together in a point as he stared down Orochimaru. Orochimaru didn’t even glance back at Kakashi as he entered, he just continued talking to Minato, “I’ve made you a generous offer. Just agree, and I will leave the village untouched.”

Kakashi pulled a second kunai out of his pocket, but Orochimaru waved him off, “Kakashi of the sharingan, there is no need for kunai or weapons. We are simply attending to business.” He turned his snake-like gaze back on Minato, “Call off your dog, Lord Fourth.”

Kakashi stepped forward, gripping the kunai tighter, but Minato held up his hand, “Kakashi. Where are Chen and Hana?” his eyes never left Orochimaru’s.

“Oh let’s call them by their real names, shall we? I know everything about Sasuke and Sakura. His sharingan, her healing seal, the torrid love affair between them; there’s no need for formalities and fake identities. Danzo’s spies taught us all we needed to know.”

Kakashi stared uneasily between the two seemingly calm men. When the silence stretched on, he spoke slowly, “They’re dealing with Manda.”

Orochimaru grinned, “Oh, that’s not very good for Sakura, now is it?” Minato’s jaw twitched under the skin of his cheek. “What do you say, Minato? Do we have a deal?”

“We don’t have a deal. You think you can come into my village, threaten my team, my family, and get away with it?” Minato stood, his three tonged kunai spinning on his finger. “You will leave this village now, and I won’t kill you. That is my deal.”

Orochimaru grinned at him, “You may have the title of Hokage, but I am a Sannin. Do you really want a fight to come out of this? Manda has kept his focus entirely on your two ninja. With one simple call, I can summon many more and they can cause havoc across the village and Manda will take out everything in his wake. Not even your prized Anbu can stop that.”

Minato clenched his jaw, “You won’t have the chance.”

“Just accept my offer and we will leave. No harm will come to your precious village,” Orochimaru said simply.

Kakashi saw Orochimaru make the hand sign behind his back for a summons, something he would have missed if he hadn’t pulled his headband up the moment he’d been called upon by his Anbu tattoo and he lunged. He caught Orochimaru’s wrist and pulled, his other kunai clad hand arcing around to rest against the Sannin’s neck.

Orochimaru grinned, “You’ve learned that sharingan well… it was almost you, you know.” He smiled at Minato, “You have a fair set of fighters. Let’s see how they do against my snakes.”

Orochimaru moved so fast, Kakashi’s sharingan couldn’t keep up. There was a twist, a kunai was ripped from his ninja pouch and stabbed into his leg, while Minato moved at his usual lightning speed to engage Orochimaru in hand to hand.

Kakashi pulled the knife out of his leg, biting down the wince, and watched as Orochimaru managed to slam a hand into the ground. The reaction was instantaneous, the ground began to shake, echoes of explosions rattled from around the village. Kakashi’s gaze turned to the window, and there they were. Massive snakes, hissing and whipping their tails and beginning their assault on the village.

Orochimaru grinned at Minato, their arms locked, “Do we have a deal?”

Kakashi gripped the window ledge, watching ninja run onto the street, their weapons drawn. “Minato-Sensei—”

“Kakashi go!” Minato shouted. “Stop them from harming my village.”

“The boy is already bleeding, you think he’ll be able to stop my snakes? If you accept my offer I will call it off, all of it. Your village survives, no one has to be hurt. No more death.” Minato’s eyes widened. “Yes, my snakes are fast. They’ve already killed and that number will continue to grow—unless you agree and call it off.”

Minato’s blue eyes set into a glare, “I would rather die for my village.”

“That can be easily arranged.”

Kakashi didn't think. He grabbed one of Minato’s kunai from atop the desk and slammed the handle of it into the window. The glass shattered and he whipped it into the sky. Minato vanished from the office, appearing mid-air, his hand wrapped around the kunai. He flashed a series of hand signs, and disappeared from view as he fell to the ground below. 

Orochimaru laughed, “This is your great leader? Who runs from a fight and leaves a child to do his work?” Kakashi placed one hand over his leg, and raised the other with a kunai. "You're talented, Hatake. Danzo quite liked you, you know. If it were up to him, you would have been the one."

There was a thunderous plume of smoke outside the window and the entire building began to tremble. Orochimaru stepped towards the window, and from the smoke Minato slowly rose, standing atop the large toad he’d only seen Jiraiya summon.

Minato spoke, “You may be a Legendary Sannin, but I was trained by one.”

Chapter Text

Sasuke had brushed against death several times in the past. Fights with Deidara, Itachi and Madara had certainly made it so that he was accustomed to near-death experiences. The fast pounding heart beneath his chest was all too familiar, and the rushing sound of blood in his ears was one he’d learned to recognize.

But staring into the open mouth of Manda, the great snake was a new kind of terrifying.

His fangs gleamed on either side of Sasuke’s body, but he kept his mouth open. Sakura behind him gripped his shirt tightly, “What is happening?” All she could see over his shoulder was the pink, ribbed roof of Manda’s mouth, curled over the two of them but hovering.

Sasuke’s chest was heaving, his arms still outstretched at his sides, “I don’t know.”

Those three words made Sakura flinch. He sounded dumbfounded; Sasuke always seemed to be in control, he always understood what was happening, and if he didn’t, he never let it show.

But as he stood staring down Manda’s throat, he sounded as confused as Sakura felt.

Sakura stood on trembling legs, her hand reaching for his shoulder in part to keep herself steady, but also to prove that they were alive. That he was still alive. Despite the harrowing view into the depths of Manda’s throat, the snake refused to strike.

The muscles in his throat twitched before he pulled his head back just enough that he could close his mouth, leaving the two shinobi dumbfounded. He pulled away just enough to hiss at them.

“Why won’t you fight me?” Sasuke asked, keeping his arms out wide at his sides and blocking Sakura. While some might consider them lucky for Manda deciding to not kill them—Sasuke knew better. The snake was too smart for that. He’d had intent to kill, but for some reason it hadn’t been for Sasuke.

When Manda made no move to answer, Sasuke continued, “The entire time we’ve battled, you haven’t attacked me.” Every strike Manda had made had been towards Sakura, even when Sasuke was the one attacking. 

Before the snake could answer, the ground began to shake. Manda turned towards the sounds erupting across the village, his hiss finally heard, “Masssster Orochimaru hasss ssssummoned the ressst. He ssumonss me.” The snake turned around, leaving the two shinobi behind as he headed into the center of the village.

Toward the Hokage office.

“Lord Fourth,” Sakura whispered, stepping out from behind Sasuke’s protective arm. She started after Manda’s tail, but Sasuke caught her wrist. Despite the exhaustion and pain echoing around her system, she felt the memories creep in to cover them; the stolen touches between them before everything went wrong. And yet, there was still the tiniest of butterflies in her stomach as his fingers wrapped around her wrist. Damn him.

“You need to get out of here. You’re the target—Manda only wanted to hurt you. Please, Sakura.” He was pleading with her in a way she’d never heard before. It was different from when he was begging her to stay awake in Orochimaru’s hideout, it was different from when he was telling her to leave when he’d first noticed Manda.

It made her heavy heart stutter in her chest, and she hated the way it made her want to collapse against him. She finally allowed herself to look into his eyes, the Uchiha red glowing in the light of the moon, and she slowly shook her head.

“Now?” she asked, hating herself for allowing it to slip in such a dire moment. The village was under attack, and here she was, arguing with the boy who broke her heart, “You never came to visit. And I thought it was my fault, but I begged Tsunade to find you. And you talked to her—so it wasn’t my fault. You chose to ignore me. And now, now you’re asking me to leave and acting like you care about my recovery?”

He stared into her eyes, his expression one that only a month prior, she would have been able to read. The creases in his forehead would have been the script, the tensity in his eyes the tone, the tightening of his jaw the story he desperately wanted to tell. But now, she stared at him and he was unreadable. An enigma she could no longer crack.

After his silence dragged on long enough, as his eyes bore into hers and she was unable to translate the look she shook her head. “I’m not abandoning you and Kakashi. I don’t do that.” That line had heat behind it, and Sakura let it burn. She saw it make its mark. She kept going, “This is on us. This never happened before, we showed up, we attacked them, and now they’re here. This is our mess—I’m not leaving.”

“Sakura, you can’t.”

“We made a promise. To fix everything, and now we’ve made it worse.” She pulled her hand from his grip and blinked back the tears that threatened to blur her vision, “I’m fixing it.”

“You’ll be no use if you get yourself killed!” he called after her.

  She answered instantly, “Medical ninjas die last. That’s the rule.” She reached up for her headband, untying it and dropping it onto the road. She massaged the mark between her eyes, and nodded, “That’s the rule.”

He raced forward once again, this time standing in front of her, “No. You can’t—that’s too much chakra.”

“What choice do we have?” She countered, staring up at him in the moonlight. “There are snakes attacking all over the village because of us. We were lucky that Manda didn’t hurt anyone else.”

“Because you were there. He wanted you.”

“If he wanted me, he’d want me alive. I’m no use to him dead.” She argued, throwing her hands up. She froze suddenly, “I’m no use to him dead.” She staggered back, mumbling, “No one is. He needs them alive.” The pieces clicked into place before her eyes. Those, red, sharingan eyes that burned into her own. “It’s you.”

“What?”

“It’s the chunin exams all over again. Its you, he wants. That’s why Manda wouldn’t attack you, that’s why he wouldn’t hurt you. Orochimaru, he—” her voice caught on his name and she hated it. “He wants you.”

Sasuke’s eyes went wide, “If Danzo knew about my sharingan, he would have told Orochimaru.”

“And that’s why he wanted you the first time,” she continued. There was a second round of explosive sounds throughout the village, followed by long, low croaks. Sakura grabbed his arm to steady herself on the shaky ground, “Minato summoned his toads. Sasuke, you have to get out of here.”

“No. If I leave, Orochimaru won’t stop this.”  He turned to her, his hands grabbing her shoulders, “Don’t follow me. Don’t try to stop me.” His eyes bore into hers and she felt it, the pull of her chakra receding, and for a moment, it felt like all she could see were his two, sharingan red eyes.

No.

She shoved him away and turned her eyes to the sky, “Don’t you dare try to trap me in a genjutsu right now.” He stumbled back from the unexpected push, and she refused to meet his gaze, “Don’t. You don’t get to do that to me again.”

He was staring at her so intently, it took all of her willpower to not look at him. “Sakura—”

“No!” She shook her head, hating the tears that had welled up in her eyes, “You did that to me once. I’m not falling for it again.” And it was so similar. The last time he tried to leave the village to find Orochimaru—he’d struck her and placed her in a genjutsu so gentle, she almost felt as if he cared.

But now, now she couldn’t read the boy in front of her. She couldn’t figure out if the genjutsu was his way of caring, or if he was simply trying to remove her from the equation. His begging made it seem like he cared—but Kami, to never visit someone you care about? To not even try to reach out to them once they’re alive?

That’s not what you do to someone you care about.

He nodded, his voice far softer than she was expecting, “I'm sorry.” He stepped away from her, “And thank you, Sakura.”

Not again, not again, not again, she begged silently. But he was gone. A blur of smoke as he vanished from the street. “Sasuke, Sasuke no!” She chased after him, cursing herself for not being able to flicker without causing serious damage to her chakra system, and ran towards the center of town. The destruction caused by the snakes was obvious as she moved; shattered store fronts, Anbu-masked ninja rushing with their weapons drawn in teams of three, and a cacophony of hissing, croaks and terrified screams filling the cool night air.

A toad and snake rolled across the street, lashing out at one another and hurtling directly towards her. She dove out of the way, just in time to see the next target, a young boy screaming over the body of a woman, and Sakura swore she would never move so fast ever again.

She found herself curled over the boy, infusing chakra into all of her muscles to brace for the inevitable impact. She didn't think twice about it. She felt something inside of her snap, in the center of her chest like a rubber band just as the snake’s writhing body slammed into her. Her limbs held fast, her hands and knees sinking into the road as the two colossal creatures continued their battle, the young boy caged between her arms.

She grit her teeth as the weight of the snake rolled across her, letting out a desperate shout as she fought back the pained scream that was buried in the back of her throat.

Finally, the muscular body of the snake rolled off of her and she was able to release the tightly held earth from between her fingers. Her arms collapsed as she did, and she narrowly avoided a head-to-head collision with the child she was desperate to protect.

She couldn’t hear. She couldn’t breathe. All she could do was feel. The emptiness, the pain, the gravity in her chest that tried desperately to pull her under. 

Only once she heard the boy cry did she snap out of it. The rest of her senses came rushing back to her. The young boy, his dirt-covered cheeks stained with tear tracks, his mother, shakily breathing below them both, the trembling ground below her as the toad and snake kept up their fight. And the ache in her chest. It was a cross, somewhere between nothingness and all consuming, and she could barely make sense of it as she struggled to get up.

She forced herself onto her shaky legs, her hand resting over her heart. The center of her chakra network was there, and she could feel its weakness. Even a non-trained medical ninja would have been able to recognize it. The woman on the ground groaned, her dust covered skin creasing between her brows and Sakura dropped back to her knees, helping her sit up.

She hitched her hands under her arms and dragged her into the nearest building, two Anbu arriving just in time to assist. While one gathered the young boy in his arms, the other of the masked ninja spoke to her, “You don’t look so good, Hana.”

Shoda.

Of all people to help her—Shoda.

She waved him off, “I’m fine. I need to get to the Hokage." She took a deep breath, trying to focus on anything but her irreparably damaged chakra network. She turned to the other Anbu, "Focus on clearing the streets right now while the toads hold them off. Once people are safely indoors, focus on the fight.”

“No, seriously. Hana, you need help,” Shoda’s voice for once wasn’t condescending or creepy—he sounded genuine and downright worried. And Kami, if she wasn’t feeling so weak, she may have felt touched. But right now it took all of her willpower to keep herself upright.

She stared into the eyes of his mask and shook her head, “I’m fine. I can heal this.”

She sounded surer than she felt. She’d snapped a chakra pathway. If not multiple. She could use her Byakugou, more chakra to try to heal it, but she needed the pathways to activate it. If she managed to heal it, she’d need to draw on chakra stores outside of that pathway which would leave her weakened until it healed.

Repairing chakra paths was an art that most medical nin couldn’t fathom—a task that even the most skilled Hyuga struggled with.

The Byakugou was strong—there was no denying it. But could it heal itself?

She stepped back onto the street, determined enough that she would rather die trying than survive and just let Sasuke leave. She’d be okay with that.

Shoda followed her out of the house, his hand catching her upper arm, “Wait, Hana. Where’s your team, we were all summoned.”

“They’re with the Hokage. I need to get there now,” she answered easily. He tried to stop her again, but she swatted his hand away, “I don’t have time for this, Shoda. I need to stop Sasuke from getting himself killed.”

“Who?”

Fuck. She didn’t grant him an answer, she charged down the road, and forced her legs to cooperate. The ground swayed below her feet, and she couldn't tell if it was from the battles raging around her, or her own weakness. She lied to herself and told herself it was the former. The Hokage office building came into view, the upper windows smashed, and below, Minato and Gamabunta faced off against Orochimaru and Manda.

Between them, Sasuke stood facing Orochimaru, “If I go with you, you leave this village alone.”

Minato shouted, “Sasuke, no! It’s not worth it.”

Kakashi stepped out from behind Gamabunta, echoing his sensei, “We’re not making that deal.”

Sakura stepped into the clearing, balling her hands into fists to stop them from shaking, “You don’t get to do this to me. Not again.” She swore she could see him flinch once she spoke. The muscles of his upper back tightened underneath his shirt and his jaw twitched but he kept his gaze forward on Orochimaru.

Minato jumped down, landing next to Kakashi and spoke softly, “The village never turns its back on a shinobi. You’re one of us, we can’t let you do this.”

Sasuke spoke over his shoulder, “I appreciate it, but it’s not up for debate.”

Orochimaru called out, “The boy is smarter than the rest of you. He knows how good my deal is.” He moved forwards, his smile growing as Sasuke started towards him.

“No!” Sakura rushed forward and grabbed his arm, and Kakashi ran to his other side. “You don’t get to do this. You’re not worth sacrificing.”

“For the entire village?” he turned on her, finally looking at her. Uchiha red on her sea green. “We made a promise, didn’t we? That we would save everything and everyone. This is my chance to do exactly that. If I go with him, he leaves the village alone. If I go with him, Itachi, my family, your family, Naruto and his family, no one has to suffer anymore. That is exactly what we promised.”

“No, not like this. Not you.” She shook her head vehemently, “I promised I would save you—”

“And we have. He has Itachi and family, and they’re not going anywhere.”

“That’s not who I’m talking about.” She wiped away the tears that managed to escape her control. She couldn't tell why they were coming, if it was because of the pain in her chest, if it was because of the pain in her heart. Maybe they were one in the same at this point. But looking him in the eye, she saw he truly meant it. He saw it as worth it.

But fuck it all if Sakura had gotten this far and she was going to lose him all over again. She gripped his hand in her own, unsure of when she had grabbed it, but she held on tightly, “I promised I would save you. You, who suffered so much for so long. Who was so alone and so scared—I wanted to save you.” Blink back your tears, don't you dare cry, she reprimanded. 

“I don’t need to be saved,” his voice was ragged, and Kami, his hand gripped hers just as tightly. "You can't save me." He gave her hand a final squeeze, and then he pulled away, letting her go. Letting it all go. 

“Maybe I can’t save you, but I can stop you,” she whispered. She stepped back from him and closed her eyes, reaching for that nook in the center of her forehead. The one that whispered healings and power, and she opened the gates.

He turned to her just in time to shout, “Don’t!” but his voice fell on deaf ears as she let the chakra flood through her system. The snapped pathway in her chest felt like a cement block was locked around her heart and it left her gasping as the black lines traced down her arms in their twisting pattern.

She faltered to one knee, almost dropping to two, but a voice whispered in her ear promises of healing, of strength, and she followed it. The voice told her which hand signs to make, and before she knew it, she slammed her hand down a battle cry leaving her lips, “Summoning Jutsu!”

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Kakashi had seen many impressive feats in his time with Sasuke and Sakura. They fought with a skill level far above their age, had the brains of some of the most experienced Shinobi he knew, and handled everything thrown at them with a level of stoic maturity he’d only ever seen in his superiors.

But watching Sakura, injured and weakened slam her fist into the ground to summon the largest slug he’d ever seen—he didn’t believe his eyes. The slug then spoke, her voice higher pitched than he’d ever expect from such a large creature.

“Lady Sakura. We have been eager to meet you.”

“Katsuyu, how?” she wondered, staring up at the large slug with something like nostalgia in her eyes. “I haven’t—”

“We live in a realm beyond time. When does not make a difference to those who have signed the blood contract.” At Sakura’s eye level, the slug queen’s skin began to ripple until a smaller version of herself peeled away. Sakura reached out, aware of the eyes on her as she did, but too happy to see her old friend to care.

The slug’s skin was cool against her own, her delicate voice soft, “Let me heal you.”

The cement block that was locked in her chest shattered to dust, her pathways rewiring as the chakra ran freely through her. Each muscle felt immediately stronger, the aches and pains that lingered in the corners of her body faded until she felt free from injury. She stood, the small version of Katsuyu on her shoulder, feeling more alive than she had in a long time. She felt around her chest, where the ache had been strongest, her fingers brushing against her thrumming heart.

There was no pain. There was no feeling of complete loss. She felt full—she felt alive. She felt drive and energy burning in her limbs, tired of their long slumber and aching for something to do. A fight to be had.

A fight to win.

There was no stumble in her step this time, no shaking in her legs as she stood back up. The blood in her veins bubbled with anticipation and a surplus of chakra it hadn’t seen in a long time. She called up to the larger Katsuyu, “There are injuries throughout the village, I need you to heal them.”

Katsuyu nodded, dispersing into a pile of thousands of slugs. Kakashi and Sasuke both flinched as they flooded the streets, moving at a pace too fast for the average bug, but Orochimaru and Minato watched with something like admiration in their eyes as she swarmed away from their battle.

Orochimaru called to her, “Just like Tsunade. Perhaps you could be useful to me after all.”

Sakura turned, letting her eyes linger on him. On his pale, white skin. On his yellow, snakelike eyes. On the man who tormented her in nightmares, and damn near killed her in reality. Who ruined her old life and was threatening to ruin this one.

She felt her hand begin to tremble, but Katsuyu sent another wave of chakra into her arm, steadying it. Her fingers curled into a controlled fist, and she shook her head, “You don’t get to ruin this lifetime. Not again.”  She turned to her squad members, “We end this here. For good.”

Orochimaru’s smile spread across his face in a sickeningly slow manner, “Four against one seems a little unfair.” He looked each of the shinobi over, Sakura with her Byakugou seal glowing, her hand on Sasuke’s arm. Sasuke, looking equal parts torn between fighting and joining him, and Kakashi on his other side, his singular sharingan eye staring Orochimaru down. Then there was Minato standing behind them, his arms crossed and Hokage cloak billowing in the wind.

“I think I can level the playing field a bit.” His hands moved at a great speed, too fast for the untrained eye to catch the signs he was making. Kakashi’s sharingan followed the signs, but he’d never seen the jutsu before—he didn’t know what was coming. But Sasuke’s sharingan was able to read the signs too easily—a jutsu he had too much experience with.

Orochimaru slammed his hand into the ground, his grin so snake-like as he shouted, “Edo-tensei!”

Chapter Text

Kakashi didn’t know what to make of the white boxes that erupted from the dirt. He recognized them for what they were, something he was all too familiar with, coffins. But he didn’t understand why. Why they erupted. Or why his teammates looked so scared.

Sakura’s eyes had shot wide open, and despite every inch of her looking intimidating with her activated Byakugou, she stepped back instinctively when the coffins rose up.

Sasuke on the other hand, stepped forward when they came out. The look in his eye reminded Kakashi of dread, like any time Shoda had approached Sakura—but worse. More fearful dread.

Minato whispered something under his breath, his grip tightening on his two kunai. Then the coffins opened. Kakashi was ready for a dead body, how could he not be? But when the first hand reached out, pushing the door open the rest of the way, he flinched.

Dead people didn’t move.

He knew this well. He was accustomed to this.

But the man who stepped out was historic enough for even Kakashi to know who it was. Madara Uchiha was intimidating in life, or so he’d been told, and he could now confirm it, even in death.

Then the next two doors opened. These two faces he knew well. They stared at him every morning as he made his way towards Minato’s office from the great Stone Wall that circled the edge of the Leaf Village. The first and second Hokage, brothers, deadly, gods of Shinobi and Jutsus. They stepped out of the coffins in tandem, their moves synchronized.

These two spoke, Tobirama first, “You must be the current Hokage.” His gaze slipped past Kakashi to Minato, and slowly roamed to the coffins behind him, then his brother and shook his head, “This Jutsu was meant to be forbidden.”

Hashirama noticed the Uchiha next to him, “Madara, is this your doing?”

Madara’s voice was chilling in the suddenly quiet night air, “No. This jutsu is not one I called upon.”

Finally, the last coffin creaked open. Kakashi could barely wrap his mind around the presence of three of the most powerful shinobi to exist standing before him, but his world came to a halting stop when he saw inside the next coffin.

Dead people didn’t move.

Her cheeks were purple, her hair still short, and her mission clothes the exact same. She was frozen in time; a relic of his worst moment. She stepped forward slowly, her sandals touching Leaf Village ground for the first time in years.

Dead people didn’t move.

He didn’t notice that he hit the ground, his knees sinking into the soft earth. He didn’t feel Sakura’s hand reach for his shoulder before she started shouting. The world had gone quiet—or maybe his heart had gotten too loud. He couldn’t tell.

He could only stare as she stepped forward, her eyes wide. She whispered, ever so softly, but it carried across the gap between them and made his stomach violently lurch.

“Kakashi.”

Her voice was the same, the same soft whisper. Her first word now the same as her last word then. He thought he was going to be sick. He wanted to turn away. He wanted to throw up, he wanted to alleviate some of the pressure in his chest, his stomach, his head.

He wanted to scream. To cry. To beg for Orochimaru to take it back. To make it stop.

Dead people didn’t move.

He knew this well. He knew this because he was the one who had to catch her dead body. He was the one who had to gently rest her on the ground before he passed out. He knew this because the only part of her that moved was the blood that seeped between his fingers as he held her. He knew this because when he walked into his childhood home, his father’s frame didn’t even flinch when he opened the door, or when he tried to drag him to someone who could help.

Dead people didn’t move. They didn’t talk. They didn’t walk towards him, with care in their eyes and worry lines in their foreheads. Sakura stepped in front of him, a pathetic attempt at blocking his view, but she moved past her easily.

Rin stopped in front of him and whispered again, “Kakashi, what happened to you?”

He was going to puke. He was going to explode. The pain in his chest felt like a thousand knives had been stabbed into his heart and into his stomach. It felt like every inch of him was on fire and burning and he could do nothing to stop it as they stared at each other.

She could see it.

She could see his darkness.

And she reached forward, her hand resting over his injured side, a pain he had forgotten in the rush of the battle before him, and she began to heal him. He threw his body away from hers, scrambling pathetically away from her with fear in his eyes. Violently he shook his head, sure that if he shook it hard enough she would disappear. This nightmare would be over.

Sakura’s voice was finally distinct above his wild heartbeat. “That’s enough! Your fight is with Sasuke and I. Leave Kakashi and Minato out of this!” His name acted like a trigger, Kakashi immediately looked to his sensei, finding tears in his eyes.

Minato looked like he’d seen a ghost, his skin white as a sheet, “Rin.”

The young girl, frozen in time at fourteen years old, turned her eyes to her sensei, “I’m here.” Her smile was soft, like that of an old friend who’d long been awaiting their reunion.

Orochimaru approached her, his hand clutching a kunai with a scroll attached to it, “Yes, young Rin is here to help me.”

Kakashi staggered to his feet, “Get away from her!” He lunged forwards, something else taking over and beating back his fear and guilt enough to reach for her and drag her behind him. She stumbled on uncertain legs, grabbing his arm to keep herself steady.

Her fingers sunk into the fabric of his Leaf Ninja uniform and the familiarity of her grip made him want to collapse all over again. Because she was here. She was with him, in front of him, talking to him. Now she was behind him, needing him for protection.

It was the least he could do.

The least he could make up for.

His body moved on autopilot, one hand in combat with Orochimaru, the other determinedly blocking Rin from his reach. Sasuke joined him, his sword slashing through the air between them and forcing Orochimaru back.

Sakura called to Minato, “We need to seal them away before Orochimaru—”

A snake lunged forwards from between two buildings, jaw wide and ready to strike. Sakura spun on her heel; fist curled. She dropped low, her hand uppercutting the snake and sending it flying. It crashed back on the nearby ramen shop. The snake’s arrival causing commotion appeared exactly what Orochimaru wanted as he landed behind the reanimated ninja.

“Fine. I’ll get to her later.” He pushed the kunai in his hand into the skull of Hashirama, and his eyes went blank. Tobirama was next, following his brother, and then Madara. It was over in a matter of seconds. Their eyes emptied until they were black pits, and then they moved.

Sasuke managed to shout, “Leave Madara to me!” Before the ghost of the Uchiha was before him, his fist slamming into the young shinobi’s chest and sending him crashing through the nearest building. Minato threw his first kunai, putting himself between Hashirama and Kakashi and Rin, catching the first Hokage’s hand signs mid jutsu.

Tobirama stared Sakura down, and then was suddenly before her, his move similar to his brother’s. She didn’t even have a chance to blink before she was through the wall of the nearest building. She landed along with the rubble, groaning as she pushed herself up from the ground.

Tobirama appeared in the hollowed wall, a silhouette of intimidation as his hands flashed a series of hand signs she could not read. She forced herself onto her feet, pouring chakra into her legs as she threw herself at him. Using every ounce of strength Tsunade had taught her, she punched, blocked, and kicked.

Hand to hand was certainly the fighting style that she was most comfortable with—arguably the style she was most confident in. But hand to hand with the second Hokage made her realize she was simply fighting out of her league.

She managed to push them from the depths of the building, back into the square, and she snuck one glance at the rest of her team to see how they were faring.

Sasuke and Madara were enrobed in Susanoo, locked in a hand to hand that was ten times larger than it was supposed to be. Every clash of the two monstrous warriors sent bolts of light into the sky. Minato and Hashirama were struggling, their fight a battle of blocking the other’s hand signs, a race to who would be first.

And then there was Kakashi, fighting with every ounce of strength he had against Orochimaru, desperate to keep Rin from his hands.

That was too far. Rin was too far.

Madara and the Hokages made sense, they were hard opponents, but Rin? She was cruel. She was only there to cause pain. Only there to make Kakashi suffer. Orochimaru didn’t even know Kakashi—he’d never even met him until they attacked the hideout, had he? So why Kakashi? Why go after him?

Because Orochimaru couldn’t make them suffer.

The realization had her stumbling. There was no one he could bring back to hurt Sakura or Sasuke—those people were all alive or not yet a part of their narrative. But Kakashi, oh so vulnerable Kakashi was known to Danzo. Kakashi who had lost countless people close to him. 

And Kakashi was the closest thing Orochimaru could attack to make Sakura and Sasuke feel pain.

Sakura’s attention was pulled back to her own battle when Tobirama stepped back to summon a jet of water. She sloppily made the hand signs before she dropped to her knees, “Mud wall!” The ground erupted just in time to block the attack, and she poured all of her chakra into the wall to keep it from falling. The endless jet of water pummeled against the wall, and she watched the battles around her.

How could they win this?

How could they fight this battle?

They needed to seal each of the ninja away, but with the way the fight was looking, they were too far apart to work together to do it. She needed to get closer to her team, she needed to be beside them so that they could work together.

Minato and Kakashi were good at sealing; if she and Sasuke could get even remotely close to them, they could take them down one by one.

She knew how this fight ended—she’d watched it happen before.

And she would do everything in her power to make sure it didn’t happen again.

She saw the shadow of Tobirama approaching, his Jetstream still in full power the closer her got. She curled her fingers into the ground with one hand, and the other she pulled back into a fist. She needed to get to her team. If there were at least two of them, they might be able to win.

This wasn’t a fight like Kakuzu, where they could divide and conquer, take down the different targets at the same time. This was a fight that needed to be fought one by one, endless battle after endless battle.

She waited until her wall started to crumble, until Tobirama’s shadow was only a few inches away, and she swung.

Her fist broke through the wall and slammed into the stomach of the second Hokage and finally—he was gone. He tumbled across the clearing, rolling to a stop on the other end. She rushed to Minato’s side, feeling the swell of chakra under her skin replenish from her Byakugou, and slid to a stop next to him.

“We need to seal them away, we can’t kill them,” she all but shouted as she ducked under a stray kunai. “We need to get to them one at a time.”

Minato, despite being new to his Hokage status, had gotten used to being the one giving orders. He’d been an Anbu captain for a long while before he became the captain of his genin team, and then he’d been given the promotion to Hokage. He was the one who knew what to do—how to act, when to attack, where to strike. He was good at it. Damn good.

When Sasuke and Sakura had arrived in their village and uprooted everything he’d thought he knew, he’d resigned himself to start taking orders once again. Even if it was from emotional teenagers. Even if sometimes they said things that didn’t quite make sense.

They’d saved his life. His wife’s. His son’s.

When Sakura told him what this fight needed, he was ready to listen, no matter the cost.

He spoke hastily, “I only know one sealing jutsu strong enough to keep them away. I’d rather not use it. But I can get us a distraction.” His hands moved at a speed Sakura had never seen, the hand signs mildly familiar, and suddenly there were five other Minatos, each leaping into action in the existing battles.

“How long can you hold it?” she asked, finally able to breathe as one of the Minatos took on the fight she’d run into.

Minato was huffing as he answered, “Long enough. If we take down Orochimaru—”

“It won’t stop. We tried it. I don’t know how we managed to release it last time.”

“I do,” Sasuke landed next to them. His eyes were complex in their pattern, the set of rings far more intense than she’d remembered seeing. With a faint trail of blood below his eyes, he spoke solemnly, “My brother stopped it last time. He used his sharingan to stop the control that Kabuto had over the reanimated. If we kill him, the jutsu continues endlessly.”

“Then we need to get you to Orochimaru to stop this,” she gestured around and finally looked up. She’d been too focused, too concerned with getting to Minato and making sure Tobirama had an opponent that she hadn’t seen the destruction. The Village square was in shambles. Each building within reach had been flattened or blown to pieces.

Sasuke’s body began to glow as the purple of his Susanoo reformed, “Agreed. But who can stop Madara long enough for me to do that?” He dove back into his fight, his Susanoo clashing against Madara’s in an explosion of purple and blue. The light that emanated from their fight flew into the sky, the clouds above reflecting the wild colours.

Sakura was tugged down by Minato, a series of shuriken flying just over their heads. Sakura gripped the dirt below her hands, her fingers trembling. This was too much. It was too big. How could they fight them all? How could they stop Madara long enough to let Sasuke deal with Orochimaru?

Minato shouted, “Move!” Minato’s hand pushed her away and she instantly rolled to the side just as Hashirama landed between them, the ground cracking under his foot. Sakura jumped to her feet, joining Minato’s shadow clone in the fight, as well as Minato himself.

“Rin!” Kakashi’s voice echoed across the square as the young girl was pulled in by Orochimaru, a kunai in hand, complete with the scroll that would take over her body. Sakura managed to tear her eyes away from the fight to watch it happen.

The scroll dipped into her skull and her eyes went blank—and Kakashi could only watch.

She saw him drop to his knees, a desperate scream ripping from his throat. The sound was inhuman. It was unwilling, like Kakashi didn’t even want to let it out. He collapsed, his forehead to the ground as he begged, “Don’t do this, please. Rin, please.”

Sakura watched Rin reach into her ninja pouch for a kunai, raising it up and over her head as she stepped closer. “Kakashi!” She screamed, but she was too far. Kakashi was too far away, too lost, too in pain to hear her. She couldn’t reach him in time. With her eyes locked on her grieving teammate, she was an easy target. One swing from the Hokage and Sakura hit the ground, the side of her jaw exploding in pain. 

Her vision blurred as her Byakugou raced to heal her shattered jaw bone, but she could barely make out Kakashi's figure, crumpled over on the far side of the battlefield. His name was stuck in her throat, her broken jaw unable to form the words she desperately wanted to shout.

There were running footsteps behind her, and she didn't need her vision to identify who it was. She knew, she recognized those sliding footsteps after all of their time together and she braced herself for the impact.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Obito slid to a stop, his sharingan glowing “I’m here! I’m here to he—”

His words died in his throat as he entered the battlefield. It wasn't due to the sheer magnitude of the battle and destruction. It wasn't due to the famous ninjas his team was fighting. Even as his eyes scanned the ground and he found each member of his team, he felt ready. He was calculating. He could help, this would be his redemption for the Leaf.

But just as he spotted his most senior teammate, he noticed the girl on the field. It felt like someone had grabbed his heart and squeezed. His chest was suddenly tight, his feet suddenly glued to the ground he stood on. He stepped forwards, her name a whisper of hope on his lips, “Rin?”

He saw her, frozen at fourteen, kunai in hand and charging towards his teammate. Her eyes were not her own, they were empty, black pits, and Orochimaru, the man he’d heard endless rumors about stood behind her, a gleeful smile on his face.

“Kakashi move,” Obito barely whispered it, he couldn’t make his voice louder. His heartbeat was loud, thundering in his ears, but his voice was a quiet whisper on the wind. He repeated it, watching her get closer, the kunai gripped tightly in her hand, and Kakashi hadn’t budged.

Obito felt just as frozen. His sandals were cement, his arms stuck to his sides. Kakashi was looking at her now, tears glistening in his eyes as he let her approach.

That bastard, Obito thought, he’s gonna let her. Kakashi’s guilt ran deep, it was no secret, but this could not be the punishment he found fitting. Obito tried again, but his tongue felt swollen in his mouth. Kakashi let her get within swinging distance, and she stopped, her hand trembling around the blade.

She was still in there. Orochimaru commanded her to move, but she didn’t step closer. She was fighting him—and Kakashi wasn’t making it easier.

Obito forced his legs to move, each step taking surmountable effort, and he finally managed to scream, “Kakashi move! Don’t make her do it!”

Orochimaru shouted again, “Finish it, Rin!”

Kakashi stared at her, and he watched the tear glide down her cheek. Her grip tightened, and he heard Obito running towards him, begging him to move. She stepped closer and brought her hand back.

“Kakashi,” she whispered. “I can’t.” Her head shook ever so slowly, and she spun the blade around, driving it into her own stomach.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Across the square, the battlefield lit up in blue. It burned bright, blinding everyone, causing the fighting to cease for but a moment. Even the toads and snakes stopped to stare. As the source of the light drifted into the sky, there was a moment of peace across the village.

The Anbu, the people of the Leaf Village watched, hoping, that this was their sign. This was their savior. But Sakura, she knew what it was.

It could easily be mistaken for an angel, with its grand wings and glowing qualities.

But even without clear vision, Sakura knew. Squinting against the blinding light, in the center of it all, was Kakashi and Obito, one eye bleeding each, wrapped in a winged, blue Susanoo.

Chapter Text

Kushina held onto Naruto, fighting the urge she had to squeeze him tighter. Her Anbu assigned team stood around the living room, taking point at all possible entrances. The ground shook every few minutes, and screams could be heard echoing from the street.

Her voice was tense as another scream from outside sounded, “I appreciate the Hokage’s concern for me, but there are people dying out there. Kami, one of you at least go see what is happening! I don’t need six Anbu guards.”

Not one flinched, their masks making them unreadable. One of them, she couldn’t quite place his voice, responded, “Protecting you is our mission. Others have been protecting the streets.”

She once again fought the tug at her muscles that begged her to ball her hand into a fist and use it. She looked down at her soundly sleeping son, his head of spiky blonde hair growing even longer, perhaps ready for a trim. What would he think of her if he heard this story one day? His brave, spitfire of a mother, waiting in her living room for someone else to save the day while the village fell to pieces around her. She shook her head, “That’s not right.”

There was another tremor, this one larger than the last and Kushina could barely contain her flinch. Her beautiful village was falling apart and all she could do was listen to it. If the fighting was this bad, if Minato felt she needed six Anbu guard, maybe the situation was truly dire.

Maybe the very thing Sasuke and Sakura were trying to protect them from was happening. Maybe it was worse. Maybe time was finally fighting back. She tried to shake the thought away, that they were on borrowed time.

She held Naruto a little tighter. Every second with him so far had been a gift—a blessing that she wasn’t meant to have. A blessing that Sasuke, Sakura and Minato fought for.

You can fight for it too. The voice was one she had learned to ignore over the years. Growling and grumbling at her, begging to be let out. The series of screams that erupted from the street were closer this time, and the large body of a snake slithered past the window.

I can kill the snakes.  

The Anbu guard around her all reached for their weapons, their eyes locked on the body that slid across the window pane. No one dared make a sound, not even a breath as the shiny scales dragged against the edge of building. She reprimanded the nine-tails once she was able to breathe, that’s enough. It is my job to contain you.

But I can protect your village.

You want to be free.

I want you to live so that I can live. I am not selfless.

Enough.

Listen to me. Those snakes will harm your village. They could kill your son. Would you rather sit by and do nothing? Or would you rather use the power you have to stop it? The power we have?

She clenched her teeth, ignoring the burning core of chakra that resided deep within her. Even though she loathed the voice and the struggle it made her face on a daily basis—she had to agree. She could do something—so why wasn’t she?

 From her seat, she was able to see through the living room window, and the tail of the snake disappeared from the frame. Despite the snake getting further away, the ground continued to shake. As the tremor grew, so did a light in the distance. She stood slowly, walking towards the window, trying to make out the burst of neon blue.

The Anbu that blocked the window turned, his gaze fixing upon the glow. “What is that?”

Kushina knew, she’d heard about it from Mikoto; a rare, and extremely challenging Uchiha jutsu. But she’d never seen this one. This one had wings like an angel, and it burned brightly against the darkness. If she needed a sign of hope, this was it.

She stood, walking up to the Anbu guard who had answered her and handed the baby over, “You have a new job. All six of you are here to protect my son. If even a single hair on his head is harmed, all of you will be banished from the Leaf before sunrise. Do I make myself clear?”

“What?” The Anbu now holding Naruto flinched. He reached up, pulling his mask to the side to reveal Genma, a classmate of Kakashi’s. “Kushina, I—"

“Perfect, Genma, you’re on babysitting duty.” She turned to the rest, “He’s in charge now. Protect my son with your life.” She gently pushed Naruto’s hair off of his forehead, “I love you, Naruto. We love you so much. I need to go help your father, and then we’ll all be together again, y’know?” her smile felt more wobbly than she would have liked. She pressed a kiss to her son’s forehead, ignoring Genma’s face of discomfort.

She walked down the hall, ignoring the hurried whispers of the anbu guards as she changed into her old Leaf Village Uniform. The vest fit just like it was meant to, the red, swirling symbol settling between her shoulder blades.

Yes, Kushina. Let me help you.

“I don’t need your help,” she answered aloud in her quiet bedroom. “I can do this without you, nine-tails.” She felt his anger bubble deep within her, but she ignored him. With the gravity of the fight ahead of her, intentionally letting loose the nine-tails seemed to be the worst possible choice she could make.

Using his chakra at all was a risk. In a fight like this?

That was how she was supposed to have died—the beast within her.

When Sasuke and Sakura had told her, her hatred for the beast had grown ten-fold. This beast that had caused her nothing but problems her entire life, that she’d been forced to carry—that she was keeping alive—was supposed to be the very thing that killed her.

There was no way that she would give him that kind of chance. Not on a night like this. Never. So even as he continued to growl and snarl, as he rattled against her ribcage and gnawed on her bones to set himself free, she knew she wouldn’t budge.

She tied her Leaf headband as she walked down the hallway, not letting herself cast another look at her son. If she did, she knew she’d cave. While Genma awkwardly cradled Naruto, the one guarding the front door stepped forward, blocking Kushina’s way, “Ma’am, we are here to protect both of you. We can’t just let you out into the streets. We are on direct orders.”

Her hand curled into a fist at her side. “I’m giving you new orders. I’m the Hokage’s wife and before that I was one of the top Jonin in this village. Don’t test me.”

“Ma’am—”

“Don’t ma’am me. I’m Kushina Uzumaki. I can do more than sit out this fight. Just because I’m a mother now doesn’t mean I can’t fight. I will tell you only once. Move out of my way and protect my son.”

Genma nodded at the guard. He’d been working closely with the Hokage for a number of years. He’d watched Kushina’s anger in action and knew just how powerful she was. If this battle was as bad as it seemed from inside the Hokage’s house, perhaps adding Kushina wasn’t a bad call. “Let her go.”

Kushina looked back at him, a soft smile on her face. “I’m trusting you, Genma. All of you. Protect him.”

The Anbu finally stepped aside, allowing Kushina to grab the handle of her door. She turned back one final time to look at her son and nodded to herself. This was the story she would tell.

. . . . . . .

Sakura’s body crashed into Sasuke’s, knocking the two of them down and tumbling across the rubble covered ground. The familiarity of the crash reminded her of their arrival into the new timeline. Except this time, they weren’t escaping a war—they were in it.

It felt like no matter how far they got in their fight; they kept getting knocked down. They needed to seal the reanimated ninja away but the endless fighting got them nowhere. The ninja just kept healing and fighting like nothing had happened.

But Sasuke? Sakura? They felt every hit. They couldn’t replenish as quickly, not even with Sakura’s healing seal. She struggled to her feet, helping pull Sasuke with her. He shook his head, wiping away at the blood under his eyes, “We can’t keep this up.” He’d taken a break from his Susanoo, letting Kakashi and Obito challenge Madara.

That allowed him to join Minato and Sakura as they took on Tobirama and Hashirama. He’d tried to get straight to Orochimaru, but every attempt he’d made had been blocked by one of the previous Hokage.

Every clash of the Susanoos let sparks of blue light up the sky, and with every burst of light he was able to see the utter glee on Orochimaru’s face as he watched the battle before him, safely perched on the roof of a nearby building.

As always, Lord Orochimaru was letting his puppets do the work so that he could win. This battle seemed no different.

“How did we beat him last time?” Sakura could barely summon the memory as the fight raged on. She realized her eyes had drifted towards the glowing Susanoo that wasn’t on their side.

“There was only one of him and three of us,” Sasuke answered easily. “We’re outnumbered.” He turned to her, his voice hesitant, “If I go with Orochimaru—”

“No. Not an option.” She shut him down.

“It has to be an option. Greater good. Protecting the village. Minato sacrificed himself for the good of the village. My brother sacrificed everything for the good of the village. Why can’t I?” The ground around them exploded in a series of twisting vines, wrapping around them and squeezing.

Sakura clenched her fists and screamed as she forced the wood to splinters, her Byakugou seal glowing with the added strength. She landed on the ground with the fractured pieces of wood, whipping her hair out of her eyes. With glowing fists, she punched the branches that lunged for her in an endless attack. “Because!”

Sasuke’s sword spun so fast it looked more like a streak of silver as he sliced at each writhing branch. “Sakura, I can end this—”

“No!” She didn’t look at him. She couldn’t.

“Why?” He had to shout over the battle around them.

Each word was punctuated with another shattering branch. “Because!” because. Because she cared. Because she hated that she cared, and she loved that she cared. Another punch. “I!” She was selfish. She was selfish and she wanted him, and she wasn’t willing to sacrifice him.

The next branch splintered against her fist. “Need!” She couldn’t do this without him. None of this would be worth it without him. She needed him, needed them. She managed to look at him just as she destroyed her last branch. “You!” Sasuke. This was for Sasuke. All of this.

The onslaught rolled to a stop as Sasuke’s purple Susanoo wrapped around the two of them, the branches burning as they touched the forcefield that surrounded them. She was breathing hard as she turned to look at him, at his bleeding eyes that were dangerously locked on hers.

“What?” His voice was low.

She tried to slow her breathing, but she couldn’t even tell what was causing the rapid pace of her heartbeat anymore. She swallowed thickly, “I need you.” There. She said it.

“You don’t need me,” he said quietly. “I’m not what you want.”

She had to hold back a deranged laugh. There was no way. No possible way that they were going to have this out now. The Sakura of six months ago could have never guessed she would be fighting four reanimated, all powerful shinobi alongside the fourth Hokage, Obito, and Kakashi and somehow, there was time for Sasuke to wrap them in a Susanoo so they could talk about their feelings.

No such bingo card existed.

She managed to choke back the laugh of disbelief, flinching at the onslaught of branches that tried desperately to break through his Susanoo’s armour. “You still believe that?”

The branches that the first Hokage was using decided that attacking the forcefield wasn’t working, and instead began wrapping around them, closing off their view of the battlefield. Sasuke’s eyes flared, the purple roaring with flames.

But the branches didn’t fall away like they had before.

The branches burned, but they held on, wrapping tighter and tighter. Sasuke, for a moment, looked panicked. “What?” he whispered, his eyes bleeding more profusely as the Susanoo glowed brighter, but the branches continued to crawl up the body of the soldier.

“Sasuke,” Sakura stared up, as the top of the Susanoo’s head was covered by branches. “We need to get out of here.” He was going to squeeze them out. And Sakura was sure she didn’t want to know what that felt like.

There was a long moment of silence, punctured only by the stretching and snapping of branches as they wound tighter. Sasuke finally whispered, “I can’t break these.”

Sakura’s mouth went dry. She felt her stomach drop. The first Hokage always defeated Madara. A tale as old as time in the Leaf Village. Hashirama Senju, the god of shinobi, won every fight he’d ever entered.

Sasuke felt the branches coiling tighter, his chest aching as he struggled to keep his Susanoo shield in place. It felt like his ribs were his susanoo’s, being pressed tighter and tighter. At a certain point they had to snap. He could faintly make out the panicked shouts happening outside of their wooden prison. It sounded like Minato screaming for them.

But Sasuke was more worried about them. The ones still outside. Still fighting. What chance did they have if Sasuke and Sakura fell—he felt his heart stutter in his chest. Did he accept his defeat that quickly? Did he resign to death without even trying?

No. Not an Uchiha. They fought. To their last breath, they fought. He summoned all of the power he could, ignoring every outward thought, feeling and sound. His flames roared to life around him, burning and pushing back. The branches in the innermost layer burned, snapping like rubber bands.

But for every one he destroyed, another three took its place. And they were stronger, thicker, tighter.

Tighter, and tighter and tighter. His ribs felt like they were about to shatter. He fell to his knees, and Sakura lunged for him. “Sasuke!” His shield started to flicker, the branches moving faster now.

“I can’t stop him.” He coughed, struggling to breathe as the branches continued coiling and squeezing like a snake.

Sakura spoke hurriedly, “I can give you more power. Just like Madara last time, we can stop this.”

“Sakura,” her name left his lips in a groan, the purple around them waning as the branches got infinitely closer. She could make out the ribcage of the Susanoo, the bones beginning to bend, cracks running down the length of them.

“No you don’t. You can do this. Just like Madara.” She reached for his jaw, lifting his head so he could meet her gaze, “We can do this.”

She could see the disbelief in his eyes. The guard that had come back to haunt her ever present. No matter how honest she was, how true her words were, there seemed to be some part of Sasuke that couldn’t believe her. Not about them winning. Not about how she felt.

So there, in the chaos of it all, Sakura leaned forwards. She was done with words. Done with waiting and hoping. If she died tonight, and she hadn’t let him know, let him feel exactly how she felt—she’d never forgive herself.

Her lips pressed against his, the contact somewhat desperate in the increasingly close quarters. She brought her other hand up, mirroring her first on the opposite side of his jaw. She felt him respond, his shaky hand reaching for her shirt and fisting the fabric tightly between his fingers. And then he kissed her back.

Sakura pushed her chakra from her fingertips. The black lines that circled her arms darted across the skin of his cheeks and intertwined the two of them together. They raced down his neck, swirling, swirling, swirling until he was wrapped in the same crisscross pattern that she was.

Sasuke couldn’t tell where the energy came from. It was suddenly all encompassing, warm and fiery, just like her. It was like lightning—crackling and powerful, marking everything it touched. He didn’t dare open his eyes; didn’t dare lose the moment.

He focused on her. On her lips on his. On her hands that delicately held his jaw, the way he wanted to pull her closer. He focused on her kindness. Her smile. The joy she felt that was entirely her own and the pain she desperately tried to hide. Her strength, her bravery. Her eyes, the beautiful sea green that searched for him in every crowd. That calmed him down from every emotion.

He clung to her. Mentally. Physically. He couldn’t tell which was which. He let her consume him. Pink hair and attitude, kindness and joy, Sakura. Sakura, Sakura, Sakura. The girl who risked it all, just for him. For a chance at them.

He thought about every moment they shared. Every silent hand hold. Every hug. Every time one caught the other. The first time he saw his family and he clung to her hand like it was his lifeline. The first time he kissed her by the fire. Her drunken dancing and giggling. Her concern mixed with anger whenever she had to heal him when he did something stupid.

When she’d heal his eyes, and whisper her soft, subtle declarations of love.

Love. Love. Love. Love. His brain focused on that word. Focused on that feeling. The feeling that was pink hair and green eyes. And suddenly the memories shifted, becoming scenes he’d yet to see. The two of them walking through the village, collecting supplies for their house. The two of them, together with their group of friends. He saw them holding hands. He saw them returning from missions together and curling into one another. Brief visions of her in white. Of him getting her flowers. He saw it all—past, future, present. He felt the warmth in his chest suddenly burning like a fire.

His ribs no longer ached. His breath was no longer pained. The feeling that had been crushing him exploded, shattering as the fire continued to burn and grow. He reached up then, his hand sliding around to the back of her neck, holding her closer and closer still.

He managed to pull himself away, his chest heaving with laboured breaths for a whole other reason. He met her gaze and took in the burning inferno of purple around him. Through the flames, he could make out the clear battlefield, covered in splinters of branches as far as he could see.

And there, in the middle of it all, Hashirama Senju was collapsed on the battlefield, struggling to get up from beneath the fractured pieces of wood.

He looked to Sakura, her eyes wide with wonder and locked on his and he felt it.

They could win this.

Chapter Text

The joy was short lived.

Despite his head still reeling from the kiss, from the power it gave him—their job wasn’t done.

Just because they knocked Hashirama down did not mean that he was out of the fight. Nor was Tobirama, or Madara who flew high above. Rin’s soul had broken free from Orochimaru’s control, but she was out of her depths in this battle. If anything, her presence proved more of a hinderance than a help. Kakashi and Obito, despite their intense combat with Madara, were constantly distracted by making sure she was out of harm’s way.

They kept taking hits, ones that almost knocked them out of the sky.

Sasuke called to Minato, the closest to Hashirama and the only one with any sealing technique strong enough, “We need to seal him!”

Minato nodded firmly towards them and started making slow hand signs. He spoke gravely, “Watch over Naruto for me.” Minato’s eyes held a weight to them, a guilt combined with grief so heartbreaking Sakura felt herself freeze. “I’m glad we had time together, I have you to thank for that.”

She watched him, her eyes widening as she recognized the signs. No, nononononono, not like this. Not again. She ripped herself away from Sasuke. The black lines that had connected them snapped, the power draining from his body, leaving him jarringly cold and on shaky legs.

The lines stayed wrapped around Sakura’s arms, giving her the power she needed to throw herself at Minato, catching his slow hand signs, “No! There has to be another way!”

“Sakura, there isn’t—” Hashirama groaned, his injuries healing quickly below the rubble of branches. He began to push himself back up, and Minato tried to pull his hands away, “We’re going to miss our chance.”

“No, this was your chance. You’re not giving that up.” She curled her hands tightly over his, but she knew he could overpower her. He could teleport. He was the fourth Hokage, the strongest of them all. If he wanted to, if he truly wanted to, he could break out of her hold.

But he met her eyes and for the first time since she’d met him, she saw the fear. He whispered softly to her, “Sakura, it’s my job.”

“No,” she shook her head. “Your job is to be a dad. A great dad. It’s not to die like this.”

“You’ve already given me so much.”

But it wasn’t enough. It would never be enough. Naruto needed his dad. He deserved his dad. His dad deserved to live. To love. To laugh. To raise his son to be the best shinobi. To lead the Leaf to a time of peace. And Kami, she needed him.

They all did.

Kakashi had lost his dad so young, the only fatherly role model left in his life was Minato. Obito never even knew who his parents were, raised by his grandmother he had had no one else to look up to beside Minato. Sasuke and Sakura had arrived in a timeline with no one and nothing on their side—except Minato, who’d introduced them to everyone and everything they now called family.

Without Minato guiding them, they’d fall apart. Naruto needed his dad, but so did Kakashi. Obito. Sasuke. Sakura. “It’s not enough,” she said. “Not for you.”

Sasuke shouted behind her, summoning a sword of lightning, “Sakura, we need to do something!” She barely spared him a glance, but she saw him standing between Tobirama and Hashirama.

“Sakura, let me,” Minato pleaded, pulling his hands from her grip. All she could do was shake her head, downright begging him. There had to be another way. Another sealing jutsu strong enough.

But deep down, she knew. Even her best seal couldn’t contain the soul of the first Hokage. Not even a seal Sasuke knew would be strong enough to stop Hashirama. They weren’t strong in sealing, Kakashi was the strongest in seals between Team 7, but even he paled in comparison to Minato.

Minato restarted the hand signs, giving her his most reassuring smile, “You’ll tell him? About how I died for the good of the Leaf?” And she hated it—she hated that she had no other objection to make, no offer or suggestions to give. And she hated most of all that she nodded. She would tell Naruto the story, and she prayed that he would understand. “I hope you can convince him to forgive me for leaving him so early.”

Sakura felt tears well up in her eyes, not yet ready to lose him—but Hashirama was getting to his knees now, and every attempt Sasuke made to keep him down was met with an attack from Tobirama. Minato was nearly there, trying to drag out every moment possible, “Tell Kushina I love her.”  For the Yellow Flash of the Leaf, his hand signs were stuttered, his fingers trembling as he accepted his fate.

“No!” Another voice reached the battlefield. Before Sakura could even turn around, there was another shout, “Adamantine sealing chains!” thick, glowing chains appeared out of thin air it seemed, wrapping around Hashirama as he struggled off the ground.

The head of flaming red hair landed, the chains emanating from her back and she spoke with fire that only Kushina Uzumaki could muster, “The reaper death seal? Minato Namikaze, you selfish—” the angry tangent that followed seemed to make the chains glow brighter, stronger, and it made everyone on the battlefield stop and watch.

Hashirama was consumed by the chains, every inch of his body covered. After a final surge of light through the chains, Sakura watched with amazement as his soul drifted from between the links. He bowed his head in thanks before he vanished, as quick as a trick of the light.

Kushina had barely even broken a sweat. Sakura had grown up and heard endless stories of the fourth hokage and his bravery.

But there seriously needed to be more stories about his wife.

The chains returned to Kushina, whipping through the air as they disappeared into her spine. She whirled around, her red hair flaming and cheeks ablaze as she reprimanded her husband, “How dare you? You were going to leave me—” she was cut off by Minato’s arms wrapping around her.

Sakura watched her melt into his arms, the anger dissipating as quickly as it arrived. Kushina pulled back from Minato and muttered, “I’ll yell at you later. We need to fight.”

“I didn’t want you to get hurt—”

“Uh uh, later. I’m here now.”

Kakashi and Obito’s Susanoo landed on the ground, exploding in a flash of blue and vanishing. The blast reminded the group that the battle was still happening around them. Both boys who had been previously protected by the shield collapsed from the exertion. Kakashi pushed himself onto his hands, trying to get up, but the blood that poured down the side of his face was more than Sakura had ever seen. Obito’s face looked no better.

It had been too much, too much for too untrained.

Minato watched as Madara’s Susanoo swooped down towards them, a strike with enough force that would surely level the village. He shouted, “Sasuke!”

“Busy!” he replied through gritted teeth, holding back Tobirama, their swords beginning to bend from the force of their parry.

Minato glanced to Sakura, a silent conversation passing between their eyes. They shared a nod. They moved in sync. Minato threw his kunai, appearing on the opposite side of Tobirama, and slammed his blade up to the hilt into the reanimated shinobi’s back.

The stab distracted him enough from Sasuke. Sakura lunged to grab his hand, the diamond mark on her forehead glowing as the lines raced to wrap around him. Sasuke spun on his heel, his sword up in a block. His Susanoo appeared around the two of them, swords crossed, the perfect defense for Madara’s attack.

The collision of Susanoos left everyone temporarily blinded. When the glowing haze faded, Sakura and Sasuke had both dropped to one knee, their Susanoo pressed so far into the ground the surface was above their heads.

Across the battlefield however, Madara lay collapsed, his limbs slowly reforming. Sakura poured her chakra into her hand, giving Sasuke the strength to stand. The Susanoo struggled to its feet, pulling itself from the depths of the earth.

It appeared everyone had been knocked back by the fight. Even Orochimaru, perched on his rooftop had been knocked down by the blast. If their Susanoos fought again, they would take out the village, easily. They’d fight so hard to protect it, but there’d be nothing left of it. Tobirama had been thrown particularly far, likely due to Minato’s stab wound—but that had already started sealing itself back up.

They would never be able to stop both of them at once. Yes, they’d managed Hashirama, but that had been everyone’s second wind. They were running out of wind. Running out of energy and chakra.

Sasuke’s Susanoo faded once again, and Sakura tightened her grip on Sasuke’s hand. Sasuke followed her eyes and looked around at their team, falling apart at the seams but holding on despite it all. At some point, Rin had made her way to Kakashi and Obito, offering the little healing she could to their eyes. Kushina stood, her hand clasped firmly around Minato’s arm. The fourth hokage looked a little worse for wear, but ultimately okay.

While physically, they remained mostly unharmed, their exhaustion was evident in their heaving chests, their trembling limbs. They couldn’t keep this up.

He turned to Sakura last, her pink hair, her chakra lines, still wrapping around the two of them. Her exhaustion was written in her eyes, but there was still that fire, that willpower that never seemed to fade.

Relying on the power and confidence that Sakura was giving him, Sasuke shouted to the group, hoping his voice sounded stronger than he felt, “We need to split up. We need Madara away from here. If he keeps attacking like that, we won’t have a village left to protect.”

“How? Only you or Kakashi and Obito stand a chance in a fight against him,” Sakura asked, keeping her hand locked around his.

Kakashi spoke surely, “Then one of us draws him out, gets him away from the village. We’re not far from the north edge, even if we just get him past the Great Stone Faces, the village would be safer.” It wasn’t missed by Sakura that he referred to himself and Obito as one person. The rift that had driven the two shinobi so far apart in their original timeline had long been healed, bridging the divide that had all but caused the fourth shinobi war.

If they didn’t manage to stop Orochimaru and the reanimated ninja, at least they were able to do that. They were able to give Kakashi and his oldest friend another chance.

“Aren’t we completely ignoring Orochimaru? Why don’t we just attack him and end this?” Obito countered.

Sasuke shook his head, “That won’t work. The same way we can’t kill them, killing Orochimaru won’t do anything. We either need to make him call it off, or we stop all of them first, and then go after him. Any time I try to get close to him, he sends one of them to intercept me. I can’t get close enough.”

“We need to keep someone on Orochimaru, too many times he has gotten away, and I won’t let him hurt this village anymore,” Minato said gravely. “Sasuke, do you think you can get Madara away? The rest of us can handle Lord Second and Orochimaru.”

Sasuke shrugged, “I can handle Madara, but I have nothing to get him to follow me.”

Kushina had remained silent, watching the exchange between the other shinobi. That damned voice spoke up again, You know what to do, Kushina. You can.

She tried her best to ignore him, but he kept repeating himself, walking in circles in her stomach, his nine tails tickling against her ribcage. She forced her face not to flinch as the conversation continued around her, and she noticed Sasuke was staring at her.

He wasn’t one who was much for eye contact, especially not without his sharingan. But there he was, his expression somewhat grave, and his eyes not leaving her own. He normally was not one she could read, his expression heavily guarded at all times. The only person who had seemed able to understand him was Sakura, but for the first time to Kushina it was clear.

I’m sorry, she was able to make out the apology in his eyes before he spoke, “There is one thing that will pull Madara away from this, out of Orochimaru’s control.” His eyes dashed down to her hand, resting against the stomach of her vest, “Something he didn’t get last time.”

Minato followed his gaze and saw Kushina slowly nodding. She’d known it the moment they started talking about a distraction. There was nothing Madara wanted more—in this life, and the next.  She was a vessel, carrying a weapon too dangerous to be free. But also exactly what they needed to let out in order to protect the village.

“No,” Minato shut it down, having caught on. He turned to Kushina, “It’s too dangerous. You can’t survive if he gets out.”

Kushina smiled at him, “So what, you can be ready to die for our village, but I can’t?” She closed her eyes. It looked like she was having a conversation behind her eyelids, her expression twitching as it went on. The silence nearly killed them, but finally she opened her eyes, steely determination glinting in a way that was so Naruto-like, it cleared Sasuke’s mind.

The look jogged his memory, “In the future, your son was able to work with him. You have a common enemy here. If there’s any way—”

“His name,” Sakura mumbled. “He learned his name, they became friends. It happened so fast; but he learned to work with the nine-tails. Kushina, if you can—”

“I can.” She turned to Minato, “But you need to send me far away from here. With Kakashi, Obito, and Sakura. I can keep the nine tails under control, and they can keep Madara away just enough. Enough for you two to finish Tobirama off here.”

Sasuke agreed, “We could. With your teleportation jutsu and my sharingan, we’re fast enough. Just not for both at once.”

Minato looked beyond torn, but their time was slipping away. Madara was nearly fully regenerated, just waiting on his left forearm to return, while Tobirama had officially started towards them.  

Sasuke’s voice came out slightly desperate, clearly catching onto their quickly approaching targets, “You can bring Kushina back when I need him sealed away and—”

“Once he’s sealed, we all go to Madara,” Kushina finished. She was in. There was no shake to her voice, no tremor to her body. Her hands curled into fists and she nodded.

Sakura stared at Sasuke, looking for any flicker of doubt. In his plan, in his abilities, in their abilities, but she found none. Just resolve. Minato began to disagree, offering to take on Tobirama alone, but Sasuke stopped him, “We need you to be able to transport Kushina to seal him away. Only you can close that seal.”

Kushina grabbed a kunai off of Minato’s belt, sliding it into her pant pocket. She grabbed Sakura’s hand, and Kakashi and Obito joined the chain. Obito was sure to bring Rin with him. Sakura looked them over, their blood stained faces, but steely resolve in their eyes. They didn’t speak a word against the plan.

She knew they wouldn’t. All three of them were Minato’s students, if Minato agreed to a plan, they were in, regardless. Rin looked impossibly young to be agreeing to the plan, but she was the safest of them all. She couldn’t be hurt, only sealed away when the time was right.

Obito spoke softly to them all, “This is my redemption.” The nine-tails. Madara. This was the night, reliving itself for the second time. But Obito now stood on the other side and despite all of his proof, all the ways he’d proved that he was good, he still looked guilty.

Sakura was ready to comfort, to reach out and save him from the pain he was causing himself, but Kakashi beat her to it. His hand landed on Obito’s shoulder, waiting until he looked up to shake his head. He spoke like a captain, despite every ounce of pain and exhaustion in his system. “You already have. I wouldn’t want to fight this with anyone else.”

They turned to Minato, the only person who could make it happen. He walked forwards, clasping his hand over the joined hands of the others, making sure he was touching each of them in turn.

“Wait—” Sakura stepped back and rushed to grab Sasuke. There was a very real chance that neither of them made it out of this. Too real to end it without one more kiss. She got onto her tippy toes, and leaned forward, her lips pressing against his desperately. She held him as long as she could before Kakashi awkwardly cleared his throat, sending a pitiful look at Sasuke. She whispered, “You can do this.”

“So can you.”

Minato looked at Sasuke, nodding slowly, “I’ll be right back.”

Sasuke rolled his shoulders, shaking out the fatigue in his muscles, trying to summon the Uchiha confidence that had carried him throughout his life, “Take your time.” He turned towards Tobirama, the reanimated ninja walking towards him as if nothing had happened.

With a glowing lightning sword in one hand and his blade in the other, they vanished, with not even a sound. Only Sasuke remained. The world was shockingly quiet, despite the battles raging on around the village. Tobirama and Madara stalked towards him at once, their faces stoic and unflinching.

From above them all, the screeching roar of the nine-tails shattered the sky, thick, red swaying tails leaning over the edge of the great stone wall.

He watched Madara’s black, pitted eyes glance up, the expression on his face unreadable. Sasuke waited with bated breath; he’d taken a calculated risk. A very risky gamble. A hope on the one and only thing that could make Madara turn—or just as easily kill them all.

Chapter Text

They landed atop the Great Stone Faces as a crumpled heap. Transporting so many to a singular point was certainly not an easy task. Sakura pulled herself from the tangle of limbs, helping Kakashi onto his feet. Then Obito, and Rin, as Minato helped Kushina stand.

Kushina kept a tight grip on Minato’s hand, forcing his gaze to hers, “You need to open the seal.”

“Kushina, we don’t have to—” he begged her, his eyes glistening like pools in the moonlight. Even as they stood over the great Stone Faces, as they left Sasuke behind to battle two legendary shinobi, none of it made any difference to Minato. He didn’t want to lose her.

“Hey, guys,” Obito called, standing at the edge of the cliff face. Kakashi walked over, Sakura and Rin following mutely. They didn’t need to make it to the edge to see the snakes and toads running rampant through the city, the larger versions of Katsuyu that joined in the fighting. The explosions of chakra as different Anbu fought their hardest, flames erupting across the Uchiha district. The Nara Forest was shrouded in darkness, and she was thankful for the full moon above them, providing plenty of shadow. The Hyuuga land was aglow with trigram seals as they fought.

The Leaf Village was fighting back-but it would all mean nothing if they couldn't stop Orochimaru. 

Kushina tugged on Minato’s hand, the insistence in her voice stronger as she saw the widespread destruction, “Minato, you need to. I can’t do it myself.” Her voice was desperate, her brows drawn together in concern as her grip on his hand tightened. “You’re the Hokage, protect the village.”

“I’m your husband,” he said gravely. He held her face in his hands, his eyes filled with pain and hesitance. “I need to protect you.”

“I’ll be okay,” she assured him, reaching her hand up around his own and squeezing. She nodded, as if trying to convince herself of the fact, the same way she was trying to convince him.

“How can you be sure? How do you know he’ll work with you? He could kill you, kill all of us.”

“He needs me alive; he knows he can’t be free. He knows he’s going against Madara, a man who wanted to take control of him last time. But I need you to do this. Both of us do. Prove we trust him.”

“We don’t trust him—”

“Minato! Don’t make this more difficult, please.” She looked down, her fingers tightening around the fabric of her vest, “I trust him.”

It was unfair, truly. That Minato was the only one who knew how to open the seal. A lesson taught to each Hokage in turn, if there were ever the occasion on which the Beast was needed. The fates above who controlled their destinies must have been laughing at them—how ironic that the fourth Hokage would fall in love with his generation’s jinchuriki.

Sakura, knowing the time limit they were operating on hated to interrupt. This was an impossible ask, but one that had to be done. She wished she could give Minato more time to process it, to think it through, but Sasuke was below, alone, and waiting for their help.

Help only Minato could give.

She finally found her voice, “Lord Fourth, Sasuke can’t hold them both off for long.”

His eyes swung to hers, so tired. So weary. So terrified and angry and pained. He pressed his forehead against Kushina’s their eyes closing in sync. Sakura needed to look away. Despite the audience, this was a moment for them. A moment that could mean goodbye. A moment that could be their very last.

The same way she’d kissed Sasuke, just before she left him. Sakura closed her eyes, vowing to the fates above, to Sasuke below, Minato and Kushina in front of her, to Naruto wherever he was—they would win this. They didn’t come this far just for everything to fall apart. They didn’t do all of this, fight all these battles, change the entire timeline just for it to end up the same.

Minato seemed to have found the same resolve she did. He stepped back, clearing his throat, “Alright.” He pulled up his sleeve, pressing his hand against the stomach of Kushina’s vest. He kept his eyes locked on hers as he spoke, “Come on out, Nine Tails.”

Kushina went pale, suddenly shaky on her legs. Sakura rushed to her side, her Byakugou wrapping its protective chakra around her. Minato moved to pull his hand back, but Kushina caught his wrist. Pain in his eyes, he kept his hand close, twisting the seal open the rest of the way. The red chakra began to seep out the front of her vest, and Kushina barely managed to whisper, “Minato go.”

He tried to deny it, but she shook her head, tears in her eyes, “I don’t want you to see this. Go, go help Sasuke.” Sakura realized she was still holding the Nine Tails back, despite the seal being opened, she was keeping him at bay. Long enough for Minato to leave.

“I will be back the moment you need me.” He leaned forward, kissing her forehead, his lips pressed against her skin desperately and then he vanished, despite every part of him wanting to stay.

The moment he disappeared, Kushina collapsed into Sakura’s arms. She cried out as the red hot chakra poured out of her, growing and growing into a beast. Sakura poured more power into her Byakugou, and nodded at the other two boys, “Get ready! Rin, get over here!”

The young girl was on Kushina’s other side immediately, green healing chakra pouring from her fingers and seeping into Kushina’s body. The chakra grew and grew, the edges of the monster growing clearer and clearer as its paws sunk into the earth.

As Sakura watched it grow, there was a deep panic in her chest. She hoped they hadn’t just made a huge mistake. The claws solidified, the tails whipped through the air, a breeze following each flick. The teeth began to glow white as its mouth formed, his yellow, bright eyes finally opening.

Standing directly at his feet, Sakura was able to finally recognize the sheer size of the beast. It towered over them, staring up into the sky, large, heaving breaths aiding in the rise and fall of his chest. Its tails flicked this way and that, and Sakura had to swallow the fear that had fought its way up her throat. She knew the story of the Nine Tails Attack, the very attack that they had put an end to—but she knew how many shinobi died trying to fight it.

What if you can’t stop it? It was supposed to happen, maybe you just prolonged the inevitable, a small voice whispered to her, and it took every ounce of concentration to smother it.

No. They were stopping it. They were ending this.

They were saving everybody. That was the deal.

Kushina called up, her skin covered in a shiny layer of sweat, “Nine-Tails, you promised.” Her blinks were long and slow, she was fighting to remain conscious.

The beast looked down then, his glowing eyes trained on them. He didn’t speak, but Kushina gasped all the same, as if he had whispered a threat. Her eyes rolled shut. Her head lolled back, caught only by Rin’s hand. If Sakura hadn’t been actively pushing chakra into her system and could feel her lifeforce, she would have thought she was dead.

But her veins still thrummed with life, her heart still beating slowly in her chest.

The monster stared up at the sky, letting out the most ear-splitting, screeching roar Sakura had ever heard. “Kakashi! Obito! Now!” She pulled Kushina back, feeding her endless chakra. Kushina’s clammy hand was weak in her own.

Kakashi and Obito stood side by side, the glow of their blue Susanoo framing them as it built itself up, bone by bone, layer by layer, armour by armour. It took off into the sky, sword drawn and facing the beast.

Sakura pushed herself up, shouting desperately, “Nine-Tails! You need to be on our side. I know you, if you fight us, Madara will have you. He’ll control you, force you to do his bidding—”

“As if she hasn’t!” his voice boomed. It shook the very ground they stood on. “You’ve kept me trapped, Kushina, for years. Using my chakra when you saw it fit.” He lifted his paw, ready to swing. Kakashi and Obito immediately blocked the way, their Susanoo taking the hit.

They crashed into the ground in an explosion of earth, and Sakura tried to think of something. Anything. Naruto did it. Naruto worked with him. They became friends. How? How how how?

She spoke wildly, hoping to give Kakashi and Obito a chance to get back up and keep the beast’s eyes off Kushina, “Nine-Tails. There’s a boy, Naruto. You know him. He grows up, and he’ll save the Tailed Beasts. That’s what he does, and who he becomes. He’ll work with you, he trusts you!” Sakura stepped forward, keeping her hand around Kushina’s.

“Naruto is a baby! You know nothing!”

“He knows your name, you work together,” Sakura tried.

The beast froze, eyeing her as he snarled, “Lies.”

“No, not lies. It just hasn’t happened yet in this time. He’s the best of us, he becomes the most powerful shinobi, you give him your power. You all do. All the Beasts. You’re a team!”

Sakura didn’t care that Kushina was beginning to stir, her eyes blearily blinking up at the monster. That she was talking about things that might never happen now that they’d saved her. She didn’t care that Kakashi and Obito were learning much more about the future than they should. She just needed the Beast to listen, to hear her and not kill Kushina. “I’ve seen it happen. They, they all called him the child of prophecy, he’s the best of us.”

The beast’s eyes widened. “What did you say?”

“He’s the child of prophecy. That what they said. Everyone.” Naruto had been sure to gloat to her about being the child of prophecy more than once in their youth, and she was suddenly grateful. “If you kill us, none of that can happen.”

The beast didn’t move. It barely appeared to be breathing. Sakura didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. But it did give Kakashi and Obito a chance to get up, sword at the ready for an attack.

The sudden silence atop the Great Stone Faces was interrupted by a roaring, dark blue Susanoo that crashed into the Nine Tails. Sakura shouted for Kakashi and Obito, but they were already moving, their Susanoo grabbing onto Madara’s and dragging it away from the Nine Tails.

“Nine-Tails, don’t look him in the eye! He wants to control you!” Sakura shouted, hoping her voice could carry over the sound of the battle. She helped Rin drag Kushina further away, watching in awe. Three all powerful creatures were wrapped in a battle, far too big for Sakura.

Kakashi and Obito did not have the refined skill that Madara had when controlling their Susanoo. Sometimes it appeared that the Susanoo tried to do two different things at once, like swing with its blade and punch with its other hand. The Nine Tails did not help, as they had to be sure to dodge his mighty swings of his paws and tails, not to mention his glowing chakra bombs, as well as keep Madara away.

They just needed to buy enough time for the Second Hokage to be done with. “Sakura,” Rin spoke slowly. She peeled her eyes from the fight and met the young, reanimated ninja’s eyes “Go. Help them. I’ll be fine.”

“No, Rin, Kushina’s—”

“She’s strong. I can keep her alive. My chakra knows no bounds. I can’t help them, but you can.” She pointed towards Obito and Kakashi, “They aren’t going to be able to keep this up.”

Sakura hated that she was right. They were taking significantly more hits than Madara was, more often throwing themselves in the way to block the attacks instead of fighting back.

It wasn’t their fault. They were protecting the Nine Tails from Madara, fighting the Nine Tails and Madara, and trying to keep the fight contained where they were—away from the village. It was an impossible list of tasks for the best of Shinobi, even more so for two who had had no practice with Susanoos.

But what could she do? Even with her Byakugou, this was out of her league. She was good in a fight, but she was only one ninja, she was barely five feet above the ground compared to the monsters that fought in the sky.

You fought in the Fourth Shinobi War! You’ve fought countless enemies that were supposed to be out of your league, and you WON. You can’t give up now! She could hear Lady Tsunade’s voice, echoing with her own as she tried to reason with herself. Even though Tsunade’s rants often went on for too long or were influenced by sake, the words hit home. They always did. She’d come this far.

This was what it was all for. She turned to Rin, using the voice she’d long forgotten, the one that took charge of the Medical Unit in the War, “Keep her from here. If they get close, you call for Minato, we can’t risk losing Kushina. Do you understand?”

“But that’ll leave Sasuke—”

“Do you understand?” Sakura cut her off, ignoring the very logical argument. It was her turn to be brave. Rin nodded, her grip tightening around Kushina’s arm.

Sakura nodded, “Good.” She moved towards the battle, trying to come up with a strategy. What attack did she have that could combat a Susanoo? No jutsu she had was good enough. Not enough to stop Madara—but she didn’t have to stop him.

She just had to buy them some recovery time.

She poured every ounce of Byakugou chakra into her hands, running as she did so. Insane. That’s what she was. She had to be. The heat of the battle started to burn against her skin as she got close enough.

She was not the most talented when it came to complex jutsus, but her Master taught her better than that. The chakra around her hands was glowing, burning, and she launched herself from the ground.

She let out a battle cry as she slammed her fist into the face of Madara Uchiha’s Susanoo.

And Sakura watched, floating for a moment, as he was sent tumbling.

Punching a Susanoo in the face did not come without its drawbacks. She crashed into the body of the Nine-Tails with the same force she’d sent Madara away with. That alone was enough to knock the beast over, the two of them crashing to the ground and rolling across the earth. She curled her arms over her head, out of the way of the Nine Tails massive skull as it hit the ground.

After the dust settled, she blearily opened her eyes, face to face with the nine-tails’ massive jaws. She scrambled back as his eyes opened and he snarled. His teeth gleaming in the moonlight. Sakura pushed herself back on her hands, fear crawling up her throat and snuffing out her breath.

Was this the end? After the lives she lived, the battles she fought—this was it. Maybe it was time’s way of fighting back. They’d meddled too much. Someone was destined to die at the paws of the Nine-Tails. Sakura could only hope that she’d be the only sacrifice.

Maybe it would give her teammates enough time to win.

More revenge-driven motivation and energy.

There were worse ways to die. It should be quick. Painless. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact.

“Kurama!” The name was screamed, carried across the wind. Kushina stood on her own, Rin behind her as she stepped forward, tears in her eyes, “Kurama,” she said it slower. “Please.”

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Kushina felt herself slip as her eyes rolled back. The inky darkness below waited for her, calling to her and dragging her in. She opened her eyes, gasping as she sat up. She turned left and right, in all directions an endless pool of water, but she remained perfectly dry. She stood up slowly on the rippling surface, looking up at the large bars of a cage.

She approached slowly, the only sound her echoing footsteps. She reached up, touching the bar. It was cold to the touch, and when she craned her neck, she saw the seal lock that had kept it closed for so long. Kushina recognized the pattern, one that was imprinted on her skin and had been her burden.

That meant she could also recognize that it was opened, nearly all the way.

She heard it then, the slow, rumbling growl from deep inside the darkness. Logically, she knew that nothing could hurt her here. She was deep inside herself, a fortress built by the seal. She stepped through the bars, calling out, “Nine-Tails?”

The darkness was thicker here, she could barely see her own hands as she moved across the endless pool. “I know part of you lingers. I can feel you.”

The voice that echoed back at her was not deep and booming one she’d grown used to. It was softer, younger. “You kept part of me inside. Why?”

She stared unseeing into the darkness. But she knew she wasn’t in danger, she couldn’t tell how she knew, but she did. The chakra that normally boiled deep within her wasn’t there. There was no heat, or anger left to it.

But it did linger.

She spoke slowly, “I knew I could still control you this way—”

“CONTROL!” The voice boomed for a moment, the recognizable tone and chakra flaring in her face. The beast was suddenly in view, jaws the size of her. The anger fizzled and the beast vanished into darkness, just as fast as he’d appeared. The young voice continued calmly, “It’s all about control with you Jinchuriki. You never wanted to trust me to help you.”

Despite the years of hatred and loathing for the thing inside of her, a small part of her felt guilt. She stepped forward again, the darkness growing deeper and deeper, the bars of the cage getting further and further away. “I’m sorry, Nine-Tails. I didn’t do this to control you, I needed to talk to you, y’know? You and I have not had an easy life together. In fact, I think we have more in common than you think.”

The voice was much closer this time, “What do we have in common?”

“I was forced into this, the same as you were.” She found it in her to smile, “But now we need each other to survive. We’ve spent years hating each other.” Her eyes must have gotten used to the darkness, because she was able to make out the vague outline of the Nine-Tails. “But you don’t seem like the Nine Tails I’ve hated.”

This version of the Nine Tails was young, only a pup. His edges were rounder, his nine tails almost stubby as the flicked around. His eyes, the yellowish colour she remembered, but softer. He was only about as tall as her.

Kushina stepped forward then, and as she looked down at herself, she recognized the outfit she wore as a genin. Looking down at her arms, she’d returned to her younger self, the child she was when she was forced to become the jinchuriki.

“Is this how young you were when you were forced to be held captive?” she asked, realizing her voice had raised in pitch.

The pup nodded, “Yes. He promised one day, one would free us. Tame us, and work with us. The child of prophecy. That was long ago.”

Young-Kushina moved closer still, playing with her hands, “Why would they need to keep you captive? You don’t seem so mean.”

“I wasn’t.” The beast looked away, “But I became it. You would too, if you were forced into hiding, hated for existing.”

Kushina kicked at the watery floor, but it didn’t make much of a splash. “I know what that’s like. People don’t like me because of my red hair.” She held back that they also didn’t like her because of the Nine Tailed Fox, but she figured it wouldn’t help their conversation. She shrugged, “But then I found Minato. I thought he was annoying, but it was just because he liked me. He made it better, y’know?” she smiled brightly, the childish chub to her cheeks pushing up into her eyes.

The beast growled, but there wasn’t much heat to it, “He keeps me here.”

Kushina forced a smile, “Actually, that’s more me. He’s the one who let you almost all the way out.” She cocked her head to the side, “Why did you stay?”

The beast shrugged, if foxes could shrug, “Not all of me went mean, at least not yet. I’m not needed in a fight; I’m the weak side of the Fox.”

“I don’t think you’re weak.” The Fox looked up then. “It takes strength to be kind y’know? Minato taught me that.”

The Nine Tails looked at her, confusion in his eyes. She figured they were having the same realizations; it wasn’t either of their faults. Neither were the evil thing they’d believed them to be. The Nine Tails was not inherently a monster, hatred had made him that way. Kushina wasn’t an evil person who chose to keep him caged away forever, she’d been forced to.

They were each other’s burden, but also each other’s mirror image. Finally, he spoke, “Then you must be strong. Most jinchuriki’s I’ve met don’t stick around and talk.”

“Do they get to talk to you, or the big guy?”

“The big guy.”

“Well, I prefer talking to you.” She reached up, her short, stubby fingers gently grazing the air around the Nine-Tails, but he flinched away. She seemed unfazed, keeping her hand close, “What if we were friends? We live together at all times, we could work together.” Her fingers wiggled, “Pus you’re pretty cute like this. We could start over. I’m Kushina.” Her smile was bright.

The beast’s eyes were wide, his tiny fangs peeking out of his open mouth. After a long moment, he let himself lean forward, her fingers sinking into his thick fur. He closed his eyes at the touch, “I’m Kurama.”

His fur dissolved on her hand, fizzing out into bubbles of boiling chakra. Kushina gasped as she was sucked in, her hand vanishing into the chakra. Years ran through her body, pain, growth, strength. She aged infinitely it felt like, but when her eyes snapped open, she knew at once when she was.

As she sat up, she saw Sakura laying before the jaws of the Nine Tails, the Nine Tails Kushina had known and hated for years. But in it, she could see the young pup. The young pup who had been just as trapped as she had been. Who’d found some reason to trust her.

They were equally as trapped—but could equally set each other free.

Kushina struggled to stand, Rin eagerly helping her to her feet. She found her voice and screamed.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 

Sasuke’s sword slashed through the second Hokage, just as Minato’s figure reappeared once again, driving and slamming his kunai straight through his chest. Using the Second Hokage’s own Jutsu against him had been intimidating—but Minato had perfected it to a point that the Second Hokage could not. While Minato could keep attacking, Sasuke’s sharingan was fast enough to keep Lord Second from using his own teleportation jutsu.

Minato’s blade went clean through, forcing the trio to the ground with the momentum. Sasuke ripped his sword back, just to stab it through his stomach, pinning him to the ground. He reached for his shuriken as Minato pierced another two kunai into his chest. They pinned him to the earth, several weapons keeping him down.

Two shuriken pinned each arm, and the Second Hokage let out a growl of frustration. Minato was panting as he stood, “I’m sorry, Lord Second. It’s not personal.”

Sasuke wiped away the blood under his eyes, this one not from his sharingan. A particularly good swipe by Tobirama had nearly blinded him. The sword fight had been one of the hardest he’d faced, but with no other distractions and with Minato on his side, he was able to hold his own.

Other than the several lacerations that seeped blood into his clothes.

Minato turned to him, “I’ll go get Kushina.”

He’d been eager to return to his wife, leaving before Sasuke had even a chance to agree. Sasuke lowered himself to one knee, finally inhaling a shaky breath. He wiped at the blood that still seeped from the cut on his cheek, ignoring Tobirama’s grumbling as he struggled against the many weapons that pinned him. Sasuke glanced up, his vision waning as he watched the clashing colours above them, dancing across the tops of the Great Stone Faces.

“You’ve grown strong,” a voice spoke.

Sasuke whipped around, instantly alert—but faltered when he saw the man in front of him. Fugaku Uchiha stepped out of the shadows, his own eyes worn and stained with dried blood.

“Father,” he couldn’t help it. He couldn’t help that the title still slipped out, even though it technically wasn’t true. “What are you doing here? What about the Uchiha?”

“They’re defending our home,” he answered easily, lifting his hands in a calming gesture. “And now venturing to the rest of the village. Whoever called this attack, they knew to target our district. The number of snakes we faced off against was twice that of the village that I’ve seen.”

Of course, Orochimaru would know to attack the Uchiha the hardest. They were the most skilled clan in the village, they ruled the police force. And Orochimaru was obsessed with them. Just another curse brought upon his family by his existence. He tried to smother the guilt monster that stirred to life at the thought.  “Mother? And Itachi? And, and me?” He almost forgot to add the last part.

“All fine. I knew Minato would need help, but I couldn’t leave my people in a state of danger. Once that was under control, I came here.” He jutted his chin toward the Great Stone Faces, where colours clashed and glowed against the sky, “I thought that was you up there.”

Sasuke shook his head, “No, Obito and Kakashi. They’re the distraction. I’m next.”

Fugaku stepped forward again, getting close enough that if he reached out, he could touch Sasuke. His eyes trailed each of his wounds, something close to concern flickering in his features. “How can I help?”

Lucky, Kakashi had once called him.

Sasuke thought cruel was a better word to sum up his relationship with his father. How cruel that he could be so close, so much like his real father, and yet—they could never be father and son. Even as he looked him over, concern etched into his hardened features, Sasuke had to ignore it.

That wasn’t his dad. This was a powerful shinobi who wanted to help protect his village. Who had a duty and responsibility to his people, his friends, and his village. He ignored the pang of familiarity, the parts of him that wanted to reach out and collapse against his father, and instead he took a deep breath, surveying the scene.

Sasuke looked around at the suddenly empty and quiet square. Despite the chaos of a scene left around them, broken buildings, shattered windows, chasms now forced into the dirt, it was calm. He shook his head. “It’s Orochimaru. He summoned them,” he pointed behind him towards the immobilized Second Hokage. “And the snakes. I wasn’t able to get close enough to him to stop it.”

“So you’re fighting them off, one by one.” Sasuke nodded. Fugaku continued, “He’s exhausting you, trying to drain you.” Tobirama cursed at him then, a slew of hatred for the Uchiha, for Sasuke, for Orochimaru, all in one long winded sentence. Sasuke curtly ignored him, Fugaku doing the same.

Sasuke didn’t like that he agreed. He didn’t like that he was certainly feeling the exhaustion, but he also didn’t like that that was Orochimaru’s play. He was never one for exhaustion tactics, he was strategic, but not like that. He believed in brute force, intimidation, surprise attacks.

Not waiting it out on the sidelines.

Sasuke shook out his arms, using the weak healing jutsu he knew to start mending the cuts across his arms, “It’s fine. I’m fine.” His left arm healed quickly, but the one on his right arm seemed more stubborn, the blood still seeping as he went.

Fugaku seemed to understand that he wanted to drop the topic. Instead, he asked, “Do you know where he’s gone?” It clued in for Sasuke that he hadn’t seen him in a long while, distracted by the battle with Tobirama. He’d banked on the fact that he was what Orochimaru wanted to keep him close by. They scanned the rooftops, but Sasuke couldn’t find the snake-like Sannin. He cursed.

Sasuke shook his head, “I’ve been a bit busy.” He gestured to the destruction around them.

Fugaku raised his eyebrows, clearly unimpressed with his attitude. It was such a ‘dad’ look, Sasuke was sure if he was less exhausted, he would have found it entirely endearing. Focus. It’s not your dad. He finally settled on just lightly glared back.

Fugaku cleared his throat, ignoring the tension far better than Sasuke, “Why did he attack, what did he want?”

“Me,” he answered stiffly.

Fugaku’s face flickered for a moment. The tiniest crack in his unaffected expression. “Does Orochimaru know who you are?”

Sasuke was quick to shake his head, “No, he didn’t know.”

“Until now,” his eerie voice spoke from all directions. His whisper like a hiss on the wind. Sasuke and Fugaku spun around, instantly back to back. Orochimaru melted out of the shadows, his inky black hair and pale skin glowing in the moonlight. “Oh, dearest Sasuke, I feel bad now, having put you through all this trouble. There’s another you that would come with me happily. Maybe with some fussing, but with no fight.”

“Don’t you dare,” Fugaku spat. His words sounded like pure venom. As someone with a snake summons, Sasuke knew what he was talking about.

A snake summons. The thought felt like a slap to the face.

“You just don’t stay dead,” Sasuke needed to keep Orochimaru talking. He needed enough time for the blood on his forearm to drip all the way down his arm. It was a crazy plan, one that had no back up, and no guarantee it would work. But it was all he had left.

“I’ll make sure of it.” Fugaku was confident, and Sasuke could believe him. But Sasuke also knew that he’d been confident he’d killed Orochimaru—more than once.

“No, not death. Permanent genjutsu, maybe. Jail, yes. He doesn’t die, he always finds some way back.” He turned to his dad, “If we end this, we need to stop him. Not kill him.”

“And how do you plan on doing that, Sasuke?” Orochimaru grinned. “Leave your dear Sakura up there, fighting on her own? Your new friends, Kakashi and Obito? They aren’t faring well against Madara without you. They’re weak.” Sasuke’s hand tightened into a fist, and he suddenly wished that he hadn’t used each of his weapons to keep Tobirama pinned.

Orochimaru grinned, “Why else do you think Minato is yet to return? Your plan was nearly flawless, the distraction, dividing up your enemies, sealing my shinobi away one by one. But you forget, your team has no chance against Madara without you. Do you really think they can keep him from the Nine Tails?”

Sasuke forced his expression to remain unaffected, but his mind was reeling. He snuck a glance towards the cliff face and all he could see was Madara’s Susanoo, no sign of Kakashi and Obito. The Nine Tails let out another roar, and Sasuke couldn’t help it.

He panicked.

Sakura was up there, defenceless without him against a Susanoo. His friends were up there. Yes, they were his friends. Not just his comrades. Not just his team. His friends were up there, and maybe they were dying because of him. Because of his plan. Maybe Minato was stuck holding Kushina’s unmoving body because it had been too much, maybe it had killed her. Maybe he was going to be the reason that the Leaf Village crumbled.

Maybe everything he tried to fix; he’d end up breaking.

Every chance he’d tried to change.

Sasuke felt it growing in his chest, and it took all his power to hold it back. Sasuke didn’t panic. Uchiha didn’t freeze. Sasuke was better than this—so why? Why now? Why when he was so close?

Because damn it all, he cared. He loved. He remembered hearing it from Minato, none love as fiercely as the Uchiha. He’d whispered it to Kushina once when they thought he wasn’t listening. And now, Sasuke could finally believe him.

Sasuke felt the blood roll down past his wrist.

Sasuke glared at his old master, summoning every ounce of hate he could find and pouring it into his gaze. “You taught me to learn your strengths, your enemy’s strength. You believed in brute force—but you believed in strategy more. Use your enemy’s weakness to your advantage, as well as their strength. You, Orochimaru, talk too much and you are too proud. But you are damn good at summons. That’s something I learned from you.” As the blood dripped to his palm, he dropped to his knee immediately, begging and pleading with the Gods, if there were any, that this would work.

He was tired of losing his chance.

He was tired of killing Orochimaru over and over. He wouldn’t miss this time, he wouldn’t let the monster win. He wouldn’t let anger cloud his judgement. He wouldn’t let the red seep into his vision and push him to kill.

He was changing chance.

The large, deep blue snake that appeared nearly on top of them was one he recognized, despite the years that separated them.

Orochimaru grinned ever confident in his abilities, “You try to summon one of my own against me, dear Sasuke?”

“No. This one is mine.” Aoda had pledged his loyalty to Sasuke, not Orochimaru. He’d never had much interest in eating humans, and he had always been far more well mannered than Manda—something Orochimaru didn’t like but Sasuke respected. He turned to the snake, “Aoda, listen to Fugaku. He’s on my side.”

Orochimaru sickening smile was too wide as he attempted to control Aoda, but the snake’s big green eyes focused only on Sasuke. His smile faltered as he realized his direct orders had no effect on the snake.

Fugaku regarded his son cooly, and then the snake. He eyed it, ready to make any hand signs necessary in case it turned. “This is yours?”

“Aoda, loyal to me, and most significantly, not loyal to Orochimaru. And now, loyal to you.” He bowed his head towards the snake, waiting until he returned the favour.

"Me?" His father questioned, though he didn't sound surprised.

Sasuke nodded at his father, a silent prayer in his eyes and he begged, “My team needs me."

“Go, I’ll keep him here,” Fugaku nodded easily. Despite the years between them, the unanswered questions and the painful, aching kind of love that existed but couldn’t be acted upon, he understood. His son, in another life, was one that he could read, even if they weren’t a true match.

Uchiha were Uchiha, no matter when.

And Fugaku’s kids, he hoped he trained them all well enough to know their roles, to fight their battles on their own. He wouldn’t accept help if he offered, it would be cruel if he did. So Fugaku only smiled at him, hoping he could read the pride in his eyes. Fugaku stared at his son, at the blood that seeped into his clothes, at the exhaustion in his eyes. He didn’t fully realize what he was doing until he was pulling Sasuke in, pulling his head to his chest. He felt his son stiffen, before his hands slowly reached up, gripping the fabric of his vest.

For the first time in a lifetime, Sasuke hugged his dad.

He ignored the sting of tears at the back of his eyes, ignored the part of him that wanted to collapse into him and let him carry it instead. The weight of the battle. The weight of the double life. The pain and grief and anger.

But it was only a moment.

But he didn’t let himself lean in any further. That wasn’t his dad, that was someone else’s. Someone else who was infinitely lucky and would hopefully never know the pain he could have suffered. Sasuke swallowed thickly, the sudden lump in his throat all too real.

He stepped back, blinking fiercely to fight back the tears. He looked up to the top of the Great Stone Wall, where Minato had yet to return from. There were explosions of light blue and dark blue as the two battled it out. And without a second glance, he ran.

He ignored the want to turn around, he ignored the sounds of the fight starting as he ran from it, towards his own. He trusted his father. He was the head of the Konoha police. He was stronger than Itachi. He could hold Orochimaru back, at least until Sasuke could return. He had Aoda on his side.

With a deep breath, Sasuke felt his eyes flare red once again, and he flickered.

Chapter Text

Sasuke flickered to the top of the Great Stone Faces landing for only a moment before he ducked a particularly harshly whipping tail of the Nine Tailed Fox. Madara was floating just out of the Beast’s reach, taunting him as he attempted to swat him out of the air. Kakashi and Obito’s Susanoo clashed with Madara’s trying to force him lower, into the grip of the Nine Tails.

Miraculously, Kushina was standing, shouting at the Nine Tails, but she didn’t seem to be screaming in fear. Orders about keeping his eyes closed, where to swing, where to aim rambled from her. Rin was still at her side, pumping endless green chakra into her, and Minato had a hand wrapped around Sakura’s upper arm.

Sasuke could only see her side profile as she looked to Minato, he could see the dirt, blood and sweat that covered the skin of her cheek. The glint of determination in her gaze. Sakura nodded at him, and he threw his blade straight into the air. And the two of them vanished.

They reappeared above the fight, and Minato, terrifyingly, let go.

Sasuke fought down a scream as Sakura fell through the air while Minato reappeared next to Kushina, his hand on the blade tucked into her pocket. But Sakura fell gracefully and with ease, almost diving into the glowing soldier. She slipped through the armour of the light blue Susanoo, her hand reaching wildly. Kakashi’s hand caught her own, his fingerless glove tightening around her hand as he pulled her in.

She nearly crashed into him, but she managed to catch herself. She reached out, grabbing Obito’s shoulder, and squeezed her hands tightly. One more time. She felt the chakra flood through her system, the black lines of her Byakugou racing to wrap around Kakashi and Obito.

As her strength stretched itself to wrap around her teammates, her vision began to swim. Her skull throbbed as she forced more and more chakra out, briefly wondering if it was possible to drain her Byakugou. Could the reserve truly run dry?

Instantly the brightness of the Susanoo grew, it felt solidified under their feet and together, the three shinobi grabbed Madara’s Susanoo and threw it to the ground.

Even though the feat was impressive and left Sasuke frozen in awe, he could see how exhausted they were, the unhealthy amount of blood that dripped down the sides of their faces, the way Sakura’s eyes fluttered.

Madara was able to get up almost instantly. There was no shortage to his reanimated chakra. But his team? They couldn’t fight him alone, even with Sakura’s extra chakra.

“Minato!” Sasuke ran towards the First Hokage, “Get me up there!”

Minato understood at once. He pulled the blade from Kushina’s pocket, the only one he had left, and he whipped it towards the glowing blue Susanoo. He threw his hand out, barely catching Sasuke’s shoulder as he ran by.

In an instant, Sasuke was above it all.

And in an instant, he was falling. Up was down and left was right as he spun wildly through the air. His shirt rippled in the wind against him, his bangs finally out of his eyes as he managed to twist himself to face the ground. He leaned towards the Susanoo and screamed, “Sakura!” hoping she could hear him over the clashing Susanoos.

Sakura looked up, her green eyes widening as she realized their quickly approaching teammate. “Hold hands!” She shouted at Obito and Kakashi.

Obito stiffened, “What?”

 “DO IT!”

Kakashi had long learned to not question her and instantly reached for his teammate’s hand. Obito flinched as his fingers curled around his teammate’s, but he didn’t pull away. Once she was sure he had a firm grip, the chakra from both sides met, the black lines intertwining. Sakura let go of Kakashi’s shoulder, “Don’t let go.”

And she reached up towards Sasuke.

He dropped into the Susanoo, nearly slipping through her fingers, but they held on desperately. Despite it all, the chaos the exhaustion, there was still a skip in her heartbeat when their hands locked. His sudden drop into the Susanoo felt like her arm was being ripped form its socket, and she grit her teeth, spreading her chakra to its limits. They had to do this.

They had to end this—now.

Or else she might not make it to see the sunrise.

It felt like someone had taken her brain and dug their fingers in, pulling and prying her apart from the inside. She felt violently ill, and as their Susanoo stumbled on uncertain legs, she thought she was going to be sick. Her vision waned as she kept pushing her chakra, the diamond on her forehead feeling more and more like an opened wound. The pain nearly made her vision go dark.

It was only the squeeze of Sasuke’s hand in her own that kept her tethered to existence.

Through the haze of pain, she could see the Susanoo around them change, the glow shifted. From bright electric blue, waves of neon purple filled their vision. The Susanoo was pulsing, with each beat of its heart a different colour, the repeated pattern of purple, blue, purple, blue, purple, blue.

The heartbeat of the Susanoo matched their own, the four of their hearts beating in synchronicity. Thump, thump, thump. She could feel it through her chakra. They were still alive. Still fighting.

The sharingan eyes that surrounded her shone brightly, and she was barely able to make out the now two sets of arms that their Susanoo had. One set held Madara’s Susanoo down, while the other drove a flaming purply blue sword through its chest.

From above the Susanoo’s head, nine, red, fluffy tails wrapped around its throat and shoulders, keeping him pinned.

Sakura’s vision was going blurry. She felt the lines that wrapped around the four shinobi flickering, trying to retreat back and heal her. She couldn’t hold it much longer. Her grip started to slack, but Sasuke tightened his hold. He called to her, over the sounds of the fight, “Just a little longer!”

His red, sharingan eyes met hers, and it was the only thing she could focus on. Those eyes, those damn, Uchiha eyes that she had chased after for years. Those eyes that had been her source of strength as everything around them changed. Those damn eyes that she had fallen in love with, over and over, in every lifetime.

She tried to hold on, but she felt herself slipping away. Sasuke reached up with his free hand, pulling her jaw towards him, “No you don’t.” He was so close, through the haze in her brain she could feel his breath on her cheeks, “Your turn.”

He kissed her, just like he had the first time. Way back, that drunken night of Asuma’s birthday. Pulling her in, holding her close. Like that time by the fire. Warm and raging, it grew and grew between them. And he hoped that she could feel everything he wanted to say. Every word he’d choked back, every feeling he’d tried to ignore. He felt her hand tighten around his own, and he didn’t care that Kakashi and Obito were literally right there. That her other hand was still wrapped around Obito’s shoulder.

He didn’t care because she was holding his hand, he was kissing her, she was kissing him, and he was trying to make it up to her. To begin to repay her for all she’d helped him through. It was long overdue.  

He’d spend the rest of his life making it up to her—if they made it to sunrise.

He felt the chakra she was pouring into him grow, thrumming with life and energy, despite the exhaustion that coursed through their collective system. He didn’t know much about her Byakugou, he didn’t know if it was normal to feel the emotions of another through their chakra, but he felt it.

He felt the love there, that word he’d been scared of for so long, that he’d ignored and avoided. He felt her care, her fierce determination to protect everything and everyone close to her. He couldn’t tell where her feelings ended and his began. The beat of their hearts was the same. Their feelings were the same.

He pulled away, pressing his forehead to hers, “Just a little longer.”

Her eyes opened blearily, but she nodded, blinking away the dark spots on the edge of her vision. Fighting, with a strength Sasuke could never begin to understand.

Madara’s Susanoo kicked them off, knocking the four of them back while the sword remained in Madara’s Susanoo’s stomach. It reached up to claw at the nine tails that wrapped around its neck, and Sakura tightened her grip on her team, keeping her gaze locked on Sasuke’s to keep her grounded.

Her team.

Obito, the newest member but every bit as brave as the rest of them. He was kind, he was selfless, and he wanted to do the right thing more than anyone. He wanted to fight against the future he knew existed, and he wanted to write his own story.

Kakashi, their steadfast, level-headed leader with a guilt complex that motivated him to be the best shinobi he could be. He kept them together, kept them tethered, and endlessly saved them, every time. He never complained, he never questioned his teammates. Loyal to a fault. He was the perfect soldier, and their perfect leader.

And Sasuke. The one she knew best, but her favourite enigma all the same. The one who knew her more than anyone. The one with drive to correct their mistakes, who carried the weight of a crumpled past on his shoulders, determined to smooth out the edges because he had a chance. The one who chose good because for too long he’d picked evil.

She held tightly to them, pushing every ounce of chakra her body had. She felt the warm pocket of chakra between her eyes flaring, the lines wrapped around her body growing and twisting, the pattern more complex as she pushed. This was what it was all for.

This was who it was all for.

They charged again, without their sword, all four hands locked in combat and swinging. Sakura couldn’t tell who was controlling what, their monster of a Susanoo moved as one, each hand perfectly coordinated. She didn’t know if it was that her chakra connected them all, but their movements were smooth. Their heartbeats were synced, their thoughts the same.

This was it.

Finally, they got all four arms around Madara’s Susanoo. The nine tails, Kurama, jumped onto the shoulder of their giant Susanoo, biting through the neck of Madara’s glowing armour and pulled it to the ground.

 She heard Kushina’s voice, words indiscernible through the layers of Susanoo, but she could just barely make out the yellow glowing chains that wrapped around the body of the writhing Susanoo in their grip.

And just as suddenly as it all had happened, it was gone.

Madara vanished from their hands, and the giant, four armed Susanoo collapsed forwards to its hands and knees. Kurama jumped from his perch, finally opening his eyes into the light of day. The four shinobi looked up just as the sun began to peek over the horizon. The silence that surrounded them was deafening.

They’d done it.

With relief coursing through her veins, Sakura felt her eyes roll back, her grip slipping from her comrades. The bluey purple vanished from her sight, and she felt herself drifting towards the ground.

A warm arm caught her around the waist and pulled her in, keeping her from crashing into the rocks below. Sasuke took the hit gladly, keeping her close to his chest as they crashed into the ground. Once they skidded to a stop, his shoulders and back rubbed raw against the rock, he ignored the pain. He forced himself to sit up, pushing her hair from her face.

There was a trail of dried blood from her nose, and the purple diamond mark on her forehead was pulsing, something he’d never seen before. In the heavy silence all around, he whispered, “Sakura?”

She didn’t flinch. With his arm around her, he could barely make out her heartbeat. It was weak at best, hardly there at worst.

He reached up, ignoring the approaching footsteps of his team, of Kakashi and Obito hobbling over, leaning on each other, of the Nine Tails gently stopping behind him. Minato and Kushina approached from ahead, Rin running to her old teammates.

Sasuke ignored the audience and pointed two fingers, tapping her forehead, a gesture he’d almost forgotten. He pushed the healing chakra he could muster directly to the Byakugou seal, and he closed his eyes.

He begged out loud, “Please.”

The glow of green was strong enough to burn against his closed eyelids. Minutes began to pass, with no sign of response from Sakura. When his arm began to grow weary and his hope was dwindling to nothing, he heard her cough.

The relief that ran through his system was almost too much. He wanted to collapse into her and hold on tightly as she regained consciousness, but he kept his eyes closed, focused on healing.

After another moment of silence, he felt a hand wrap around his own, weakly pushing his hand away. His eyes flew open, finding her exhausted, green eyes gazing up at him, a soft smile on her face, “Sasuke.”

He let out a shaky breath of relief, her hand reaching for his jaw. He leaned into her hand, feeling her thumb swipe across his cheek and he couldn’t tell if it was blood or tears that she was wiping away. If anything, it was both. Her smile was soft, a thousand words passing through her gaze, and he was grateful he could finally translate it.

I love you

He hoped she could read the same.

She struggled to push herself up, and he helped her wrap an arm around his shoulder. He waited until she gave him a nod, and they stood. She fought back a groan as her exhausted limbs trembled, but Sasuke stood steadfast next to her, his body stable enough for her to lean against.

She slowly was able to pull herself away from him enough to be on her own feet, but she kept her arm around his shoulders, grateful for his hand on her waist. “You saved me this time,” she weakly laughed.  

He squeezed his arm that was around her waist, “It’s about time I returned the favour.” Hoping she understood that was the closest he could get to a hug. He wanted nothing more than to bring her far from the fight, to the hospital to heal and rest, but he knew it wasn’t over yet.

He leaned in, pressing his lips against her cheek. He ignored the wide-eyed glance Kakashi gave him, Kushina’s knowing smile that was too close to Naruto’s, Obito’s awkward gaze aversion, Minato’s clear surprise, and Rin’s quickly blushing cheeks. Even Kurama seemed to grumble behind him as he pulled away. But Sakura’s eyes, despite their exhaustion, met his own, and the joy hidden there made it worth it.

It was the least he could do.

He finally looked at the rest of the group, “We’re not done yet.”

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 

When they arrived back on the battlefield below, Tobirama had one arm freed, and was quickly working on the second. Kakashi and Obito moved at once, repinning his arm despite his protests.

Fugaku stood, his eyes red and glowing, locked in combat with Orochimaru’s white, snake-like body. Sasuke flinched when he saw it, one of his old Master’s more disturbing techniques. Aoda was wrapped around the middle of the snake, his fangs sinking into its skin.

Kushina made quick work of Tobirama, her adamantine chains glowing brightly in the early morning light. Her powers seemed unlimited now, with whatever alliance she’d made with Kurama. Kushina turned to the fox at her side, nodding, “Don’t kill him.”

There was a slight grumble from Kurama, but he jumped into the battle, teeth sinking into the throat of the snake, claws raking down its sides. With two powerful beasts holding the snake immobile, Fugaku stepped back.

Orochimaru morphed back into himself, his weak hands raised in surrender as he stood in the jaws of Kurama. Aoda quickly wrapped his body around Orochimaru, until all they could see was his chest and above.

It was almost too easy with the Nine Tails on their side. Adding Aoda and their entire team, with nothing to distract from their solo opponent, Orochimaru knew he was outmatched.

But something was off. The Orochimaru Sasuke knew wouldn’t give up that easy. His master was many things, but one to give up? That was not one of them.

Even his evasive technique, letting his reanimated ninja do their worst, all the damage while he watched from afar had been odd. He’d turned into his snake self, the same way he had when Sasuke had killed him the first time.

And the second time.

Sasuke finally realized it; it was a last defence move.

Because he was weak.

How long had it been since his initial defeat? How long ago did Sasuke and Minato kill him? How much time did he have to come back to life? Sasuke spoke cooly, “You’re impatient Orochimaru. However you came back to life, you didn’t give yourself enough time.”

Orochimaru glared at him, “You do not know of which you speak!” He moved his arm to point at Sasuke, but Kurama’s growl and Aoda’s hiss made him freeze.

Sasuke smiled. “I do. Whenever you take on a new form, a new physical body, you need time to gain your strength back. You have stayed on the edges of this battle; you’ve kept yourself safe and away. I know you, you’re too proud to be that far removed. You have nothing without your puppets.” Sasuke stepped forward again, his grip tightening on Sakura as she hobbled forward with him, “You think you know me because you discovered my sharingan, my family. But I know you—I know you too well. You taught me everything because I was your perfect vessel.”

Sasuke glanced towards Fugaku, whose proud gaze was already on him, nodding his encouragement to continue, “And you are weak. You use your snake transformation as a last resort, I would know. Both times I’ve killed you, you used it. You stand no chance against us.”

Orochimaru had no rebuttal. No claim to make, because Sasuke knew it all. Orochimaru had no upper hand anymore without his puppets. He stood weakly in the middle of them all, his hands twitching. One wrong move, and Kurama, Aoda, Fugaku, Minato, Kakashi, Obito, Kushina, Sasuke and Sakura would all attack him.

And he knew—he’d lose.

He watched as Orochimaru’s gaze lingered on them all, turning to Sasuke last, “You brought this destruction to the village. Do you think they will thank you for this?”

Sakura stood a little straighter, her hand tightening on his shoulder, ready to jump in. Ready to defend him and comfort him, and believe in him because he never could—but Sasuke shook his head, “They don’t need to thank me. That’s not what this was ever for. This was always about stopping you.”

And it had been—everything started with Orochimaru. Every darkness had started and ended with him.

And now, they had a way to make sure it never happened in the first place.

Sasuke nodded towards Minato, “You’re the hokage. It’s your call.”  

Minato stepped forward, “Return your snakes to where they belong, Orochimaru.” It wasn’t a question; it was an order. And how could Orochimaru defy him? Orochimaru’s fingers curled at his side, his fist shaking for a moment, before he conceded. He had no power. No advantage. No win.

The sound of vanishing snakes raced across the village; clouds of smoke twisted into the air, followed by loud cheers echoing through the quiet morning.

Minato gave Fugaku a nod, and turned to Sasuke, “You can release him. He will come with us, where he will be locked away for a very, very long time.”

Sasuke looked to Aoda, and the snake merely bowed his head. He vanished, with a cloud of smoke, but no applause followed his disappearance. Instantly Fugaku, Kakashi, Obito and Minato surrounded Orochimaru, ready to march him away to a jail cell where he would spend the rest of his days.

As the sun began to creep over the rooves of the still-standing buildings, Sakura let herself collapse further into Sasuke. He caught her easily, and she gave him a weak smile, “I’m okay.”

He believed her until her eyes rolled back into her skull.

Chapter Text

Sakura turned over, glaring at the sun that blinded her into waking. She let out a grumble as she tried to block it with her hand, but someone stepped into the light, their silhouette helping to ease the ache in her eyes. 

As her eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness, she could make out the features of the woman above her. Blonde hair, brown eyes full of pride. Matching diamond mark on her forehead, and a wide smile. Sakura breathed her name out, as familiar as her own, “Lady Tsunade.”

“You know, I left this village with the intention of leaving. I’d appreciate it if next time, you waited at least a few weeks before needing life saving care again,” though her tone was deadpan, Sakura could see the smile on her face.

“I’ll work on it,” she mumbled, sitting up slowly. Tsunade didn’t stop her, offering a reassuring hand on her back as she propped herself up. “How long was I out?”

Tsunade shrugged, “You’ve been in and out for just over five days. You desperately needed rest.”

She nodded, rubbing at her eyes, “I think I still need more.” She fought down a yawn, taking a glance out the window. The sun was setting, which explained the absurdly bright orange that woke her from her sleep. “Any chance you’ll let me get more sleep at home?”

Tsunade smiled, “Yes, actually. I already healed everything superficial, it’s just your chakra reserves that are shot. Katsuyu did what she could, but she needed to return to her own realm to replenish.” She raised an eyebrow at her, “She spoke highly of you, Kid.”

Sakura smiled, “What can I say, you taught me well, ma’am.” Her smile faltered a little and she shook her head, “But I couldn’t have done any of that without her.” She pushed her legs over the edge of the bed, enjoying the warmth that danced across her skin as the orange sun made contact.

“Well, you summoning her kept casualties to a minimum, and she could not have done that without you.” Tsunade helped her to her feet, keeping a gentle hand on her arm in case she stumbled, but Sakura stood confidently.

She took a deep breath, shaking out each of her limbs in turn. “How bad is the village?”

Tsunade shrugged, walking to the counter to grab the clothes that were folded there, “The Square’s a mess, but perfectly fixable, construction is already underway. Here, you might want to get dressed, you’ve had an army of visitors and they’re going to try to burst in here the moment I tell them you’re awake.”

Sakura blinked.

That was certainly different from the last time she was in the hospital.

As was the soft smile that seemed permanently etched onto Tsunade’s face.

She took the clothes from Tsunade, pulling the curtain that divided the room across them to give herself some privacy. There was a note folded into the shirt, and Sakura recognized the handwriting immediately. Kushina.

Your uniform was pretty roughed up after the fight, so I think you can take some time off from defending the Leaf. Red is still definitely your colour though

She found herself smiling as she tugged on civilian clothes for the first time in what felt like forever. She’d been between her Jonin uniform and her Anbu one for so long. She pulled on the red long sleeve shirt, the hem swinging just above the end of her black shorts.

She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and slipped into her sandals before she tugged the curtain back. Lady Tsunade pushed herself from the counter where she was leaning, “One last thing before I send them in.” She grabbed a handheld mirror from behind her, handing it to Sakura with a reserved tone, “You might just have me beat, kid.”

Sakura’s brow creased as she took the mirror from Tsunade, gently bringing it up to look at her face. She froze, her arm halfway up, and immediately put it back down. “What?” she lifted the mirror again, turning her face side to side, taking in the new markings.

The purple diamond on her forehead was still there, that was normal. From either side of it, twisting, thin black lines wrapped around her forehead, circling into her scalp and across the back of her head. Like a tiara of tattoos, her seal had changed. Her Byakugou was different. She looked to Tsunade, her mouth moving but no sound coming out, until she managed, “What?”

Tsunade shook her head, crossing her arms, “I don’t know. I’ve never seen this before, and I’ve never heard of it. I didn’t think there was another level after the Hundred Healings seal. While you were asleep it started growing. You achieved something that night, something the ninja world has never seen.”

Sakura’s fingers pried at the skin on her forehead, watching the way the lines stretched and shifted as she tugged at her skin, but it stayed put. It was permanent. “What do you think it is?”

Lady Tsunade shrugged, “Honestly, your guess is as good as mine these days. Clearly. Tentatively I’ve been calling it the Thousand Healings seal, but its yours to name. And discover. If I had to guess, the downsides of the Hundred Healings, of giving up time in order to use it, don’t apply to you anymore.”

“Whoa,” was all she could muster, forcing herself to remove her fingers from her forehead. While most of her mind was occupied with the meaning behind that, and the possibilities she now had, there was a small part that wondered if these markings made her forehead look smaller.

Sakura put the mirror down, finally, and met Lady Tsunade’s gaze, “You’ll help me figure it out?”

Lady Tsunade smirked, tilting her head down, “This Village doesn’t need two of us. You belong here, your life is here. My life, it’s not the Leaf Village anymore. You don’t need me, Sakura. This is yours to discover. Your scrolls to write. Your history to make.”

“I don’t even know where to start,” she spoke softly.

“You’ll find a way. I taught you well enough for that.”

She watched her mentor for a moment, the woman much younger in her years than Sakura had known, but just as tired. Weighed down by a heaviness from a time Sakura had yet to see. It wasn’t her master’s time to come back to the village, she knew that. She knew, when they fought to save Minato that very first night, that she might erase the fifth Hokage from existence. Something only she would remember and hold onto.

Tsunade leaving the village, wanting out—Sakura knew it was a choice not made lightly. A choice that she now had, that she could walk away without guilt. Without drinking herself into a stupor. A choice Sakura had unintentionally given her. She forced herself to nod, hoping that Tsunade could tell she understood, “So where will you go?”

Tsunade looked away, a blush creeping up onto her cheeks, “Call me inspired, but seeing what you and your team was able to pull off, summoning snakes, Toads and Katsuyu… I figured it was time I reached out to an old friend.”

“Jiraiya?”

Tsunade glanced up, her eyes wide, before she slowly nodded, “It’s odd that you know so much about me. But yes, I wrote to him last week, and I just heard back yesterday. He’s not far from here, travelling, seeing the world.”

Sakura found herself smiling, “That will be good for you, Lady Tsunade. Can I still write to you?”

“I’d expect nothing less.”

Sakura nodded, ignoring the sting of tears in her eyes. “Has everyone else already seen it?” if her visitors had been in and out, she was sure they were aware of her new look. Lady Tsunade nodded.

“Does that mean you’re ready?” At Sakura’s nod, “Now,” Lady Tsunade shouted.

At once, the door opened, a slew of people pouring into her hospital room. “She’s alive!” Obito shouted, throwing his arms around her. Kakashi caught Obito’s extra weight, pushing him off of Sakura so she didn’t stumble. Kushina, Minato and Naruto walked in, grins wide across their faces, even Naruto, clearly entertained by the commotion.

Sasuke slipped into the room last, his smile small on his face, but their eyes met and she could read him like her favourite book—I missed you.

She hoped he could read the same in her gaze, and she quickly hugged each person in the room, even Kakashi who went quite stiff at her touch. Kushina nearly crushed her with her hug, whispering over and over, “Oh I’m so proud of you Sakura! You did so well!”

Minato’s hug was significantly gentler than his wife’s, but that was perhaps due to Naruto in his arms. “Well done, Sakura.”

Finally she made it to Sasuke, and they stood, toe to toe in a room filled with everyone they knew. There was so much to say, so much to talk about. Too many things gone unsaid for too long, and maybe it wasn’t the most private of spaces to have it out. To talk about it, to dare say the words she’d fought back for so long.

But she was tired of waiting for the right time.

She reached up, her arms winding around his neck as she hugged him tightly. There was no hesitance, none of his usual stiffness. Instead, within an instant, his hands found the small of her back and pulled her tight, this hug lasting longer than all the others. She pressed her lips close to his ear, and spoke, barely a whisper, “I love you.”

She pulled away from him before he could respond, because she didn’t need him to say it back. She didn’t need him to declare his love for her in front of everyone else—but Kami, she needed to say it. Tired of biting it back, after all this time.

His eyes found hers, wide with wonder, and she slipped her fingers between his with a grin. She looked to the others, “We should get out of this hospital.”

Minato gave a weak smile, “You might want to brace yourself for leaving. There’s a bit of a, mob, of sorts?”

Sakura blinked at him. Then she turned to Kakashi. Then Obito. Kushina. And finally, Sasuke. They all nodded in agreement, and she forced herself to ask, “A mob?”

“You’re the hero who saved the village, Sakura. At least, the one they haven’t had a chance to see.” Kushina smiled at her easily, but Sakura saw Kakashi shaking his head.

Sakura didn’t move. She just kept blinking, before finally she turned to Sasuke, “What?”

Obito shrugged, “It’s kind of cool. The statue looks sick.”

“Statue?” She asked, her eyes wide. She turned to Minato, “I thought we were supposed to stay subtle.”

He grinned, “It was not my decision. The advisors, the people of the Leaf, they all wanted something to commemorate the battle. That, and the battle was the furthest from subtle we could get. You four did something impossible. Not even Fugaku had seen it before.”

She suddenly remembered their four arm susanoo, powered by the four of them. Powered by her. She leaned into Sasuke as her brain reeled from the memories. “Wait, what happened after that? I passed out, I don’t remember, Orochimaru, did he get away? And Rin,” she suddenly looked around as if the girl should be there. “And the Nine Tails, Kushina you—”

“Are perfectly fine,” Kushina smiled. “Kurama and I figured out how to work together, we had more in common than I was led to believe.” She placed her hand over her stomach, “It’s taking some adjustment, and a lot of practice, but we’re working together.” She remembered Kushina’s careful control of the nine-tails, the trust he’d put in her as she helped him fight with his eyes closed to keep Madara at bay.

Kakashi spoke softly, “After the battle, we sent Rin back. We said our goodbyes, properly this time.” Obito reached up, his hand on Kakashi’s shoulder in silent support. She could only imagine how confusing that must have felt for the both of them, but she was glad they had each other.

Sasuke turned to her then, explaining that he’d figured out Orochimaru’s weakness, and how his father had shown up during their fight. He was locked up, for good this time, chakra cuffed and unable to escape. Constant guard.

With each explanation, Sakura felt herself relax. They had done it. The worst of it was over. She glanced towards the sun, so close to the horizon it set the sky on fire, “We should get out of here before it gets dark.”

“Even with the mob?” Minato confirmed, but he was walking towards the hospital door already.

“Even with the mob,” she grinned.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

They finally made it to their shared apartment, and Sakura was grateful that she found the door exciting and not terrifying this time. She was eager to drop onto the nearest mattress, her exhausted body still struggling as she pushed herself to keep walking through the village.

They’d met the mob, Sakura jumping at all of the shouting ninjas who were so excited to see her alive and well. So many ninja she didn’t know were there, handing her flower after flower, young girls eagerly looking up to her and thanking her for saving the village.

She almost ran into Inoichi, but she caught sight of the blonde baby in his arms and she froze. She smiled up at him, her eyes welling with tears, and he bowed his head towards her, “The village is in your debt, Hana.”

She fought back the urge to hug him close, hoping he could read her gratitude in her sad smile, “It’s my job.”

Sasuke grabbed her hand, gently jutting his chin over his shoulder where Minato and Kushina were waiting. Sakura stared at him, somewhat in awe of the bold hand hold in front of the crowd. The same Sasuke who hated showing his emotions, grabbing her hand in front of everyone?

Times really had changed.

She’d let him lead her away, helping to hold the flowers that she couldn’t. The crowd had disbanded after she’d made her way through them all, one at a time, gratefully taking their praise and smiling at the children who called her a hero.

She pushed open the door with a blissful sigh, walking into the quiet apartment with Sasuke quick to follow. She made her way towards the kitchen, searching the cupboards for anything she could use as vases for all her flowers. As she filled a large jar with water, she noticed Sasuke was still frozen in the doorway.

“Sasuke?” She asked gently, turning off the tap and putting the jar down.

He was staring at her, his gaze so intense that it took every ounce of strength she had to not look away. He moved towards her then, slowly, his footsteps the only sound over her quickly beating heart.

“Sakura,” he started gently, reaching to put his bundle of flowers on the table. Sasuke wasn’t good with words and feelings but Kami, she deserved a speech. A speech about how wonderful she was, how amazing she was, how much he couldn’t have done any of this without her—but his mouth went dry at the thought of saying something.

But Sakura deserved something.

His hands moved to cup her jaw, holding her face gently as he stared at her. It was three simple words, words she’d whispered so easily into his ear, so softly and unexpectedly, like she’d known he’d struggle to say it back.

To return the feelings he’d fought so hard to ignore.

To feel something, after feeling something ever again had felt impossible.

“Thank you,” he whispered weakly. Thank you he could start with. He pushed her hair back, tucking it behind her ear, “Thank you.” He leaned forward then, brushing his lips against her forehead, “Thank you.”

He repeatedly murmured the words into her skin, each whisper ghosting across her skin as he dipped closer and closer to her lips. Her lashes fluttered as he passed her temple, into the hollow of her cheek, and finally the corner of her lips.

She reached up then, her hand grabbing his jaw and pulling him so that their lips could meet. Oh how they’d changed. The Sasuke of before would have never, never pressed gentle kisses against her skin as he thanked her. The Sakura of before would have never grabbed his chin so boldly and pulled him into the kiss, too scared it would be too much.

But they had changed.

They had changed everything.

They pulled away for a breath, their eyes meeting in the darkness of the house, “I couldn’t have done this without you, any of this. That night, when we promised—” he closed his eyes, his fingers curling into her hair, “You said we could do it, because you had me.

“You told me we could fix everything,” he pressed his lips to hers again, holding her close. “Thank you for letting me fix this.” He pulled back just far enough for their eyes to meet. Uchiha black and sea green, sparkling at the inches between them. “I love you.” His voice broke as he finally said it back. He moved again, his kiss to her forehead, her cheeks, over and over. 

Until she was a giggling mess, kissing him back.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  . 

“I totally thought pink was your natural colour, Hana,” Kurenai commented as Sakura sat in the salon chair.

Sakura smiled, the lie rolling off her lips with ease, “Just a phase. It’s time for a change.” She felt somewhat bad at how easily she lied to her friends, but she knew it was necessary. They wouldn’t believe her if she said the truth.

Kurenai nodded, putting down the glossy magazine, “I don’t blame you. After everything that you guys have been through.”

“Everything everyone has been through,” she corrected. The village had not been unscathed, while casualties had been minimal, they were still there. Sakura and Obito had fought to get a second statue, this one carved with the names of the Shinobi who had lost their lives in the battle. There was a sense of guilt whenever she read the names; guilt at the relief she felt, not recognizing any of them from her time.

Kurenai nodded pensively, “I’m really glad you guys made it out okay. I saw what was happening while I was fighting some of the snakes, it looked insane. I don’t know how you did it.”

Sakura admitted, “I don’t either, if I’m honest. It just kind of happened.” It was true, she had no idea how she had found the strength to spread her chakra so thin, to keep herself standing despite the pain and exhaustion that coursed through her system.  

False.

She did know. It was Sasuke. It had been him all along. She dove headfirst into an unknown jutsu because of him. She’d joined the Anbu and promised to fix their timeline because of him. She’d found the courage to stand, the bravery to act, and the will to fight because of him.

The kiss had been pretty helpful too. She ignored the thought, pushing it into the save that for later section of her brain.

Thankfully, the heaviness of the conversation was lifted by the perky hairdresser who approached Sakura, “Ready to see the new colour?”

She nodded, while it hadn’t necessarily been her choice, it made sense. With how much attention was drawn to them with the battle, her pink hair was too recognizable. Too noticeable. Someone would put it together once the young Sakura in this time started growing up.

When Minato had been hesitant to mention it, Sasuke had helped her pick a new colour. Her pink hair meant a lot to her, it had made her different. It made her stand out in a world where was forced to blend in. She had been a weak ninja in her youth, clanless, and compared to her teammates had paled in comparison.

Now, she stood apart for entirely different reasons. She was the strongest medical ninja the Leaf had seen since Tsunade, she’d helped save the village from an evil that threatened to completely destroy them. She kept her eyes closed as her chair spun around to face the mirror.

She peaked through her lashes, a smile settling on her face as she took in the blonde. Sasuke had been the one to suggest the colour. When Minato made the suggestion, she’d been quick to mourn her pink hair. Sasuke had done his best to help, and she was grateful. A way to commemorate Lady Tsunade as she took her leave from the village. An ode to the woman who’d helped her become who she was. As well, her old best friend, barely a baby in this timeline, and she grinned.

Ino would probably tell her it made her forehead look bigger.

But with her Byakugou on full display and her now blonde hair, her and Tsunade looked like they could be mother and daughter. Kurenai grinned, standing next to her in the mirror, “It looks so good! Chen’s gonna love it.”

The tone of her voice made Sakura laugh, shaking her head at Kurenai. She joked back, “Do you know if Asuma’s into blondes? Maybe you should join me.”

She playfully swatted her shoulder at that, the two girls giggling, and Sakura relished in the feeling. How long had it been? How long since Sakura had done something normal? How long since she’d hung out with a girl had had just done that? No saving the world, no correcting the timeline—just living.

Since the fight, over three weeks ago, there had been no missions assigned to her team. Minato was giving them a well-deserved break, and for once, not even Kakashi fought it. But Sakura had been so exhausted, she’d spent most of the first two weeks just resting.

She paid for her services and the two girls left the salon together. As much as Kurenai’s joke was only a joke, she was also eager to see Chen’s reaction to the blonde. While their relationship was certainly deeper than the superficial, she still wanted him to like it. As they made their way through the village, Sakura did her best to ignore the stares and points that seemed to follow her everywhere she went.

She’d seen the statue, an impressive artistic feature that showed off the four-armed Susanoo, with Sakura, Kakashi, Sasuke, and Obito fighting together below it. Minato, Kushina and Kurama stood behind them, but ahead of the Susanoo. With the publicity, it seemed now everyone knew who she was. At least, who she claimed to be. Her blonde hair definitely proved effective, as the stares and points were minimal compared to the last few weeks. Perhaps the awe was starting to wear off.

As they passed Yamanaka Flower Shop, there was a small poof of smoke in her path. She recognized the slug immediately, and reached down to lift her to eye level, “Hello Katsuyu.”

“Hello Lady Sak-Hana. Lady Tsunade sent me,” her little voice spoke, rolling to reveal the small scroll she had hidden. Sakura hoped that Kurenai hadn’t caught the slip, taking the scroll and thanking her. The slug bowed her head and vanished in an instant. She identified the mark on the outside of the scroll

It’s time.

She opened the scroll, Kurenai’s speech going suddenly mute as she took in the words. She read it over once, twice, three times to be sure she was reading it correctly.

Your chakra reserves have had enough time to rest. I know you’ve been eager to get back into healing and seeing what you can do with the Thousand Healings Seal. Based on everything I know about healing, you can start testing yourself and your skills. I might suggest a stop at a certain Uchiha house. I’ve been looking into the case…

Tsunade had filled the bottom half of the scroll with medical jargon, jargon that Sakura understood and recognized. There was one final tagline from Tsunade,

It won’t be easy, the illness you described sounded too all encompassing for even my skills. This would take me months to heal. But you have a chance, Sakura.

Good luck, Kid.

She realized Kurenai was still talking, something about summons and how slugs were cool but kind of gross, and Sakura interrupted her without taking her eyes off the page, “I’m sorry, I have to go. Right now.” She looked up then, “This was great, thank you. I just—”

Kurenai waved her off, “Don’t worry about it. I figured if your summons delivered it, it was important. I’ll see you later?”

“Yes, of course, thank you,” Sakura grinned at the girl, giving her arm a squeeze before she rushed down the path. She fumbled for her key as she approached the door, pleading to herself that he would be home.

The moment the door peeled open she called, “Sasuke?” she heard no movement in the house, and she tentatively made her way down the hall. She knew he’d met up with Kakashi earlier, but that had been hours ago, surely, he was back by now.

She noticed his bedroom door was cracked open, and she peered inside. Her heart melted a little at what she saw. Sasuke, peacefully asleep in his bed. The sun peered through his curtains, leaving a glowing line across his face, his features rounded and relaxed. Had she ever seen Sasuke so at ease? She’d never known him as one to take naps, they seemed too soft for his harsh exterior.

But here he was, perfectly relaxed and resting in the middle of the day. She glanced down at the scroll in her hand before her eyes drifted back up to Sasuke’s sleeping form. He’d want to know.

She quietly pushed the door the rest of the way, stepping into his bedroom, “Sasuke?” she sat down on the edge of his bed, gently shaking his shoulder. His eyes snapped open, instantly alert, and she saw the confusion in his eyes as he took in her appearance.

When his eyes finally met hers though, they softened, “Your hair.” His fingers combed through her hair gently, pushing it away from her face and taking in the blonde tendrils, “It looks good.”

She fought off the smile that tugged at her lips at his suddenly sleepy voice, “I just got it done with Kurenai.” She lifted the scroll into his view, “And then Katsuyu dropped off this.”

He took the scroll from her hands, sitting up and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He sat against the headboard, gesturing for her to sit next to him before he opened the scroll. She leaned back next to him, her gaze focused most intently on his eyes as they scanned the paper.

She watched them widen as he skimmed past the medical terminology and then jump back to the top. He read it a few times, the same way she had, and he finally turned to her, “Is this it?” his eyes were glistening with unshed tears.

Sakura nodded, “I think so. Theoretically, it should work, and I gave her all the information I could so that it could be as accurate as possible. It’s the best shot we have.”

His grip tightened on the scroll, and he carefully rerolled it, “Thank you Sakura.”

“Don’t thank me yet.” She took the scroll from his hands, but he tightened his grip instead, sliding his hand around hers. “It won’t be easy, but it’s worth a shot. Hopefully my new seal will make it easier.”

“Thank you,” he repeated it, his tone too serious for someone who just woke up.

She smiled at him softly, “Do you want to come with me, when I try?”  

“Yes. Please.”

She leaned forward, pressing a kiss to his forehead, “Okay. I’ll talk to Minato about it, and see if we can set up a day to do it. I’m sorry I woke you, I just thought you’d want to know.”

She leaned back, ready to get off the bed, but he rolled his eyes at her, something that at one point would have hurt her right down to her heart. But she saw the playfulness behind it, and he tugged on her arm, pulling her into his chest, “Thank you, for waking me.”

She laughed as she collapsed into him and she felt herself relax into the softness of his bed, the sun warming the bedsheets to the perfect temperature. His steady heartbeat was a soothing, familiar rhythm. “We could always go back to bed,” she suggested gently.

She felt his chuckle more than she heard it, and it brought a smile to her face as she felt his lips press against the top of her head.  

Chapter Text

Sakura nervously fiddled with her hands as she stood in the Hokage office. She was tempted to make a joke about moving into the building, with how often her and her team seemed called to the office—but it was stuck in her throat as her nerves threatened to bring her shaky legs to the ground.

She leaned against the desk, trying to slow her breathing. She’d meditated. She’d planned. She’d prepared. She’d talked to Minato, to Mikoto, written and received another letter from Tsunade. She reached out to Mishki Uchiha, to confirm that the Sharingan wouldn’t affect her healing in any way. She’d practiced healing superficial injuries with Sasuke and Kakashi during their sparring matches so she could relearn her new seal.

She was as ready as she could be.

Minato smiled at her encouragingly, “You’re just trying today, Hana. No guarantees, no promises. They know that.”

“I know that too, but it doesn’t change anything. They know how bad it is if I can’t cure him.”

Sasuke stood mutely against the wall, his gaze locked on nothing in particular. She was glad he was here, as he added a level of comfort, but he also unintentionally added a level of pressure. This was where it all started. Where they made their list of what to fix and how. Itachi had been damn near item number one, and it had taken her long enough.

If this didn’t work—she shook the thoughts away.

It had to work. She’d force it to.

The door to the office opened slowly, the Uchiha family walking in. Itachi was taller than the last time she’d seen him, and he slowly took in each of the figures around the office. Minato, the Hokage, Hana, the doctor he’d met before, his usual Uchiha doctor, Mishki. But then, there was Chen. Sakura saw the confusion flicker across his eyes, and she couldn’t blame him.

He clearly looked like an Uchiha, a familiar one at that, but he’d never seen him before. He’d likely only seen the statue and heard whatever Fugaku had told him had happened that night. Fugaku cleared his throat, “Itachi, you know Minato, Mishki and Hana. This is Chen, a friend of Hana’s.”

Itachi frowned, looking up at Sasuke, trying to place where he knew his eyes. Sasuke nodded, “We work together.”

“I know you; you’re on the statue. You’re a doctor too?”

Sasuke shook his head, a smile on his face, “She’s the doctor here. I’m just part of her team.”

Sakura pulled the attention off of Sasuke, reaching into her bag, “Here, I brought you some more dango. Do you know why we’re all here today?”

Itachi reached for the box slowly, nodding, “You’re going to heal me. Stop the coughing fits.” It made Sasuke smile, hearing his brother’s voice, already so clinical and clear, despite him being so young.

Sakura nodded, “I’m going to try. Do you know what this is?” she pointed up to her forehead, her fingers resting just above the diamond mark nestled among the twisting black lines. He shook his head, and Sakura continued, “It’s a healing seal. The most powerful one in the world. And I’m going to use it to try and heal you, does that sound okay?”

Itachi looked up at his parents, his eyes dashed to Chen, and then he nodded. “Will it hurt?”

Sakura shook her head, thankful for the smile she was able to manage, “No, it’ll be just like last time. Except, my seal might do a little more than last time.” She gestured Sasuke over, and he easily offered her his hand. She opened her seal, and she watched the way that the black lines raced down her one arm, twisting and wrapping around their hands and up his arm.

Since she’d started using her new seal, she’d found it was much more precise, if only one hand was in contact, only one hand had the black lines. “It might look like this, but it doesn’t hurt, right Chen?”

Sasuke shook his head, “It just feels warm.” Like you.

Itachi nodded and he handed his box of dango to his mom. Mikoto nodded at him encouragingly, and glanced up at Sakura. “You’re ready?”

Sakura let go of Sasuke’s hand after a final squeeze, the black lines racing back into her crown. She nodded, “As long as Itachi is.”

The young boy nodded. He walked towards her and gave her his stubby hand. She took his hand gently in her own and reached up with her other to poke two fingers against his forehead and hold them there. “Take a deep breath for me,” she whispered. She closed her eyes, opening the seal and she felt the power rush through her limbs.

It poured out of her fingertips, dipping into his skin, his muscles, she felt it racing through his bloodstream. Every time she’d used her new seal, it was like she was able to walk through her patient’s system, taking it apart inch by inch and healing the smallest of particles. She found each infected blood cell, and she targeted it. The exactness of her new seal made it a painstakingly long task, but she was able to deconstruct each bit of infection. From his bloodstream she moved through his organs, finding every bit of tissue that was abnormal or at risk and healing.

Healing, healing, healing.

Endlessly. She mapped through his every system with her seal, her warm green chakra sprinkled throughout his muscles and cells as she fought against the illness that threatened to completely take over. She made it to his lungs, the most affected and she rebuilt the tissue by hand. The new tissue she created, it glowed green, infused with her healing chakra.

She didn’t know how much time had passed in the real world.

In this one, it had felt like hours.

She forced herself to search every inch of Itachi, healing things even unrelated to his illness, an old scar on his knee, the backs of his eyes, already sore from sharingan use, she healed and healed until it felt like she was going to explode. She’d balled up every ounce of infection together, every twisted piece of poisoned chakra, ready to remove it from his system.

She pulled herself back and released his hand as she collapsed back into herself, holding onto the infection that would have one day killed Itachi. She fell back, stumbling into Sasuke who caught her with ease, like he’d been expecting it.

Similarly, Mikoto was behind Itachi and helped keep him standing.

Sakura blearily opened her eyes, blinking to try and get used to the sudden darkness of the office. She glanced down at her hand, the large, glowing purple mess of infection and chakra and glanced behind her at Sasuke.

He stared at the infected chakra and whispered, “Is that—”

“Yes. It’s all out.” She shook her hand, watching the chakra dissipate into thin air, the illness that threatened Itachi’s life gone, with a simple flick of her wrist.

She pushed herself away from Sasuke, kneeling in front of Itachi who was slowly blinking back into consciousness. “Itachi?” she whispered into the quiet office.

His eyes finally found her in the dark, and he nodded, “I’m okay.”

The office let out a collective breath of relief. Sakura waved Mishki over, “I’m really glad. Do you think you can have one more check today?” Itachi nodded, standing up on his own two feet again. Sakura turned to Mishki, “Can you check for me? Search for any lingering sign of infection.”

The Uchiha doctor nodded, reaching out with his palms glowing and he searched. The silence in the office was thick, and Sakura gratefully took a drink of water that Sasuke handed her. He placed his comforting hands on her shoulders, “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” she corrected him, eagerly watching the Uchiha doctor as his brow furrowed. Minutes began to tick by in the office, the only sounds the bated breathing of Itachi’s parents.  Finally, as the silence threatened to swallow her whole, he pulled his hand back.

“I wouldn’t have believed it if I didn’t see it with my own eyes. I’ve been treating Itachi for years, I know what it looks like and feels like. There’s no trace of infection. I wouldn’t know he’d been ill at all. He’s completely cured.”

Mikoto threw her arms around Itachi, pulling him into a tight hug as she cried. Fugaku dropped down next to them, his arms enveloping both of them in a hug. Sasuke let out a choked breath of relief, tugging Sakura into a hug as he whispered ‘thank you’ over an over.

She didn’t care that the Uchiha family was right there, she pressed a kiss to the side of his head, hugging him tightly, “We did it.” Everything they talked about doing, about stopping, starting, saving—they’d done it.

Mishki cleared his throat, and Sakura stepped back from her hug to see his hand waiting, outstretched, “Thank you, Hana. The Uchiha are in your debt.”

She shook his hand, shaking her head, “No, this is my job. My honour.” She leaned back against Sasuke, her eyes meeting his in the darkness of the office.

Mikoto smiled up at them both, “Thank you, both of you. I don’t know how we could ever begin to repay you.”

“Knowing he will be okay, that’s enough,” Sasuke said, making eye contact with his father. “He’s going to be a great shinobi one day, having you by his side to teach him.”

Itachi looked up at the two of them, the now famous, mysterious ninja who’d appeared in the Leaf Village and saved it from destruction, and he smiled, “Maybe I’ll be better than you, one day.”

And Sasuke needed to grab Sakura’s hand to keep him standing when he nodded, “Maybe you will.”

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Sakura leaned against the lockers, one lazy hand pressed over Kakashi’s eye, and the other on Obito. “I should start charging you for these,” she mumbled before pulling her hands back as her teammates blinked away the pain.

Obito scoffed, “What, and Chen will still get them for free?”

She whacked him with her hand as Sasuke walked towards them, their newest mission file in hand. He smirked, “Perk of living together.”

Obito rolled his eyes good-naturedly, and jutted his chin towards the folder, “What do we have today?”

“A string of killings that have happened across the Sand Village, with potential threat to the Kazekage. They reached out to the Hokage for back up. No one knows who’s behind it, but there was a survivor of the last attack. Said he got attacked by puppets,” he looked to Sakura, and he watched the recognition flash in her eyes.

Kakashi caught the look easily enough, it was hard to miss after so much time spent with the two of them. “Will we win?” he asked drily.

Sakura grinned, “Easy with the four of us. When do we head out?”

“We shouldn’t be too confident, I might know who’s behind the attacks,” Obito said solemnly. He awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, “We uh, met up a few times, you know, back in the day—”

“Sasori, of the red sand, right?” Sakura asked, watching Obito’s eyebrow shoot into his bangs.

“You know him?”

She nodded, and Kakashi rolled his eyes, “So as captain, I’m the only one who doesn’t know what we’re up against?”  

Sakura smiled at him, “I mean it’s not exactly fair how we know, but you certainly handle it better than anyone else who wouldn’t know.”

Kakashi shrugged, “It’s definitely not fair. But its fine.” He turned to Sasuke, taking the file folder from his hands, “Did Minato-sensei say when we leave?”

Sasuke sighed, “Tonight, after Naruto’s birthday dinner. Minato’s orders.” Sakura grinned as Kakashi flinched, mumbling about needing to still buy a present. Obito agreed, and the two decided to go shopping once they left the changeroom.

Sakura had just pulled on her civilian clothes and was closing her locker when a voice called, “Team Ro.” All four teenagers turned to the voice. Shoda looked them each over in turn and gave them a nod, “Good job on your last mission. I heard it was quite the fight.”

Sakura bit back her grin as Obito chimed in his thanks. Shoda had certainly turned over a new leaf when it came to his least favourite Anbu team. Since the fight, the one that saved the Leaf Village, he’d treated them with a level of respect they’d never experienced before.

He’d even stopped his uncomfortable advances towards Sakura, though that could have been due to Sasuke’s death glare and possessive hand on her waist any time the Anbu approached. When Shoda had made the switch, so had the rest of the Anbu teams.

When team Ro had received their first mission after the battle, the locker room had been eerily quiet upon their arrival. Stares and whispers followed them as they walked to their assigned lockers, until Shoda, of all people, stood up to clap. His team joined in quickly. Followed by every other Anbu squad.

Since that day, there had been a sense of respect and peace in the Anbu changeroom. There was no longer animosity towards the youngest squad. There were no more jokes made at Kakashi’s expense, not when he’d been part of the team that saved the Village. No more snide remarks about favouritism from the Hokage or how his previous missions had ended.

With Minato now solely in charge of the Anbu, it felt like everything was falling into place. Root was being taken apart piece by piece, the ninjas being reintroduced to other Anbu members and squads. No one dared to question it when Team Ro repeatedly took on the highest classification missions, and they continued their work, fixing what they could.

And slowly, piece by piece, they were correcting problems that appeared on Minato’s desk. They’d already stopped Orochimaru, Sasori was the next piece of the Akatsuki puzzle for them to pull apart. Plus, this would give them a chance to catch wind of Garra and his whereabouts in the Sand Village.

They just had a birthday to celebrate first.

.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

Sakura tightened the ninja headband around her blonde hair, looking it over in the mirror. After several years, it didn’t faze her much anymore. In the early days, she couldn’t look into the mirror without jumping at her appearance. Now, it was as normal as could be.

She called over her shoulder, “Which training field did he say to meet at?”

Sasuke’s low voice replied, “Four. Which we never use.” He appeared, leaning on the doorway of the bathroom with his arms crossed over his green vest. “Did he tell you what we were doing today?”

She shook her head, “No, just to meet him there because he really needed us to see something.” She tucked her kunai into the pouch on her thigh, casting one last look in the mirror.

She didn’t know exactly when she went from a teenager to an adult, but it was clear that the difference was there. Her seal no longer appeared odd to her anymore, it fit her well. It matched her title, her abilities. Years had passed in their new timeline, and it finally felt like home. Weekly dinners with her team at Kushina and Minato’s house became their new norm.

Meeting up with Kurenai for much needed girl time and gossip replaced her endless training sessions. Dragging Kakashi out to social events was now a two-man operation, Obito as determined as she was.

When she wasn’t on missions with her team, she was working in the hospital, where she had quickly moved up the ranks. There were certainly moments that still hurt, catching sight of a young Ino at the flower shop, seeing Sasuke and Itachi together in the streets of the Leaf, but the good outweighed the bad every time.

Sometimes her and Sasuke would reminisce, talking about the old days at the academy, the days they used to be a team. They had hard conversations too. Talking about Sasuke leaving, and what that did. How that hurt.

It made them all the better. Their house was filled with memories and laughter. They invited Kakashi, Obito, Kurenai, Asuma and Guy over regularly. They took turns looking after Naruto when Minato was busy and Kushina needed a break. Every year on Naruto’s birthday, they had a small anniversary celebration afterwards, when it was just the two of them. They shared a bowl of ramen, toasting to another successful year of saving the world.

Twelve years they’d been in their new timeline. Twelve years since they left everything they knew and replaced it with a world they were determined to fix. She glanced over at Sasuke, gently running her gloved fingers through his bangs, “I need to cut your hair. Remind me to do that later.”

He smirked, pushing her hand away, “You should style it like Kakashi’s.”

Sakura laughed, poking him in the forehead, “In your dreams. Only Kakashi can pull that look off.” She slipped past him in the doorway, “Come on, we can’t be late.”

Sasuke’s hands slid around her hips, pulling her back into the doorway, “He’s always late. We can just say we got lost on the path of life.” His lips pressed against her temple, but she dodged his attempt of a kiss, twisting out of his hands, “Nope!”

She planted her fists on her hips, her pose one of mock anger but the smile on her lips was too genuine. “That excuse didn’t work then; it doesn’t work now.”

“Fine,” he rolled his eyes. He moved to pass her in the hallway and pulled her in by the waist, catching her too quick for her to playfully duck out of. He kissed her, dipping her backwards until she had to grab onto his shoulders to keep herself standing, and she all but melted into his arms. Within a blink, he pulled away, waited until she had her feet under her, and he grinned. He nodded over his shoulder, his smile all too confident at the breathless expression on Sakura’s face, “Come on. We don’t want to be late, right?”

She frowned, crossing her arms, “You’re so mean.” But she followed him happily down the hallway and out the house.

Training ground four was close to the academy, the reason Sasuke, Kakashi, Sakura and Obito never used it. Their training sessions were a bit intense for kids to be so close by. Plus, as famed as they were, it was impossible to avoid the attention of children when they practiced so close. She caught a glimpse of the silver hair through the trees, and she ducked under the final branch. Just as she was about to greet him, she froze.

Because there she was.

The scared, pink haired little girl she once was. Staring, pathetically she might add, at the dark haired Uchiha who lounged next to Naruto. Sasuke next to her froze, his eyes going wide.

Kakashi glanced back at them, smiling, “Chen, Hana, I’m glad you two were able to join.”

Naruto sat up, his cheerful voice so familiar, “Chen! Hana! Hey!”

She walked closer, smiling at him, “Hey Naruto.” Sasuke nodded next to her, his usual greeting for the young boy. She levelled her gaze with Kakashi’s, “Don’t tell me…”

He nodded, his eye crinkled with the smile he was trying to hide, “Minato-Sensei assigned me my genin-team. Meet squad Seven.”

Sakura’s eyes traveled to the young girl, the one with long hair, who was still staring at Sasuke. Yikes. Did she always look that pathetic when she was in love with him? She dragged a hand down her face, muttering to Kakashi, “Kill me.”

 He only grinned, asking the three young shinobi to introduce themselves. Sasuke stepped forwards to talk first, and his introduction had changed considerably. Even the fact that he sat, talking with Naruto before they arrived was different. He smiled, “I’m Sasuke Uchiha, and I’m gonna be a great shinobi, just like my brother!”

Sakura bit her lip as she glanced over at Sasuke, her Sasuke, “You’re so cute when you don’t hate everything.”

He rolled his eyes, but she saw the fond smile hidden on his lips. Naturally, when it was Naruto’s turn, he stood up, planted one hand on his hip, and thrust a thumbs up towards them, “I’m Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, and I’m gonna be Hokage! Just like my dad!”

Finally, young, pink-haired Sakura stood up, planted her hands on her hips, and spoke with a confidence Sakura hadn’t expected, that she’d never known, “I’m Sakura Haruno! I’m gonna be a Healer ninja, like you, Hana!”

And it was in that moment, this exact moment of introductions that made Sakura’s heart swell. They’d done this. They’d changed everything for the better. Naruto having parents, two last names—that was because of them. Sasuke wanting to be like his older brother, not kill him—that was because of them.

And young Sakura, blindly in love with a boy, with passion and confidence, and determination to be something. That was because of them. Because thanks to them, Naruto had his family. Sasuke was loved, and he knew it. And Sakura, she had someone to look up to, someone she wanted to be.

Sakura’s fear of amounting to nothing, of being lost without Tsunade, just melted away.

Blonde hair, seal visible to the world, she was her own hero.

She grinned at the kids, introducing herself the way she always did, the name Hana as familiar as her own. She glanced over at Kakashi, whispering loud enough for him to hear, “He’s gonna seem really intimidating, but he’s a big softie.”

That made Sakura and Naruto giggle, and little, stoic Sasuke smile. She stepped back, wishing Kakashi luck with the three of them, and made her way back to Sasuke’s side. He gave himself a brief introduction, they promised to come by to visit again, and they headed out just as Kakashi brought out the bells.

Sakura smiled to herself, glancing at the way the three young shinobi nodded at each other, and she knew. They would have no trouble getting those bells.