How could someone struggle to breath if they didn't have a body to breath with in the first place?

She felt weak.

It was understandable, of course. She had been gone for such a long time. It wasn't because Sakura was unhappy, which was obvious, it was because she struggled to take on Sakura's burdens.

Her hate was all consuming and eventually, caused her consciousness to be snuffed out like the flame of a burning candle. Drowned in wax and frozen in time until someone comes along and digs out the wick.

The image of the gate to Konoha dug out the wick and lit a flame of another type of despair.

Sakura was unaware of all of this though. She was unaware of Inner's struggle to move as the new emotions flood Sakura's mind. Slowly feeding her inner turmoil.

Insecurity. Hate. Anguish. Pain. Longing.

There was no happiness.

Inner did not represent her happiness.

In fact, inner represented her resentment and insecurity, a part of her that she despised that festered like an open wound once it became infected.

She's been infected so long she doesn't know what it's like to not be infected.

Infected with images of bloated corpses. The eyes of her comrades swollen too large to fit in their skulls any longer. Eyes that bloated and poked their way out, pale and unseeing as they stared into nothing.

Festering flesh swollen until their features were unrecognizable.

Blow air into your cheeks, puffing them up, and stick your tongue out at the same time, with your eyes bulging out as much as possible, and look in the mirror.

What you're looking at is what she sees. Except, unlike what you see, the images she sees are swollen at least five times the size as your own features. The images she sees are pallid, clouded eyes, tinted blue, white, and purple.

With each rotting corpse came even more despair and with each loss came more insecurity. So much so that eventually, Sakura's minds cape froze. A wasteland of a hospital and in its basement lay her deepest darkest feelings.

However, just because her mind scape froze in her despair, does not mean that things weren't added to it.

In fact, every single death of every single shinobi filled each room in the hospital. Each their own gory scene. Like a haunted house that no one wants to enter.

Thousands and thousands of rooms filled with corpses. The most painful ones were closest to the basement. The root of Sakura's mind and the reason inner was stifled for so many years.

Inner understood why Naruto sent Sakura back of all people. She understood that she was completely broken. The fact that she even existed in the first place was proof of the first small crack within Sakura's mind and that Naruto, with his uncanny ability to read people and push their buttons until they see it from his point of view, saw that the only way to save his last friend was to let her go.

While inner understood, she was still the part of Sakura that absolutely resented Naruto for his choice.

She resented every single shinobi she has met and would meet on this journey to save the futures of the ones she loved.

She felt so much resentment that she absolutely loathed this new Konoha.

And while she loathed it, Sakura had sworn to protect it.

And because of that Inner hated Sakura as much as Sakura hated herself.

Inner groaned as she moved. Attempting to sit up. Her bones (Does she even have bones? What is she? Does she have some sort of existence, some sort of body, even within Sakura's mind? Or is it just another portion of their insanity?) ached as her thoughts slowly grew clearer and clearer. Grimacing at the constant ache that she's had her entire existence.

(Pathetic. Worthless. Can't save anyone. Always behind. Shouldn't exist. You should be dead. Kill yourself. Bitch. You'll never be able to save anyone. You'll never save Naruto. Everyone will die again and it'll be all your fault.)

With each thought she wanted to cry out. To lash out at the mind she shared with Sakura, but she couldn't. Not yet anyway. She could barely move, much less speak.

(Look at that. Look at it. You see their faces? They no longer exist. You could have stopped them from dying. Hahaha. And Naruto. He has no idea does he? What you did. What you've done. Your fights with Obito. You're pathetic. All your friends thought you were fighting for your life. Stupid whore. You didn't want to kill him did you? He still lived. He lived and hurt them. And you allowed it. You could have killed him multiple times. You could have but you didn't. Did you ever think about fucking him? You did didn't you? What would Sasuke think? If you had screwed the man who killed him? You didn't, but that doesn't mean your body didn't react to him.)

No.

Inner cringed as the thoughts just kept pouring into her. She was Sakura, but she wasn't. Sakura was her, but wasn't.

She didn't have a choice. She couldn't kill him. She was trying. Every opening she had for the kill she went for, didn't she? Didn't she try to kill him? She thought she did.

Tears sprung to Inner's eyes and she slowly moved to wrap her arms around herself.

She missed the days when the only thoughts she had were about their stupid forehead.

Taking a deep breath, inner finally looked up. Taking in her surroundings. She was in a basement. The walls were cracked and some sort of dark liquid poured from them. There wasn't much light so her visibility was severely impaired. A small flame, the size of a kunai, was directly in front of her. Pulsing with Sakura's heart beat. It's color ranging from purple to blue to green and white. As small as it was, the amount of light it gave off was still almost non-existing. It wasn't even warm. The flame was a direct contradiction to its colors. Running her finger through it felt like sticking her hand in snow, but colder. Suddenly, she yelped. Silvery white chains sprung out of the flames, violently swatting at her, attempting to wrap around her and tighten around her flesh.

Immediately she scurried backwards, as far away from the flames that she could get. Her back hit the wall and sticky liquid flowed over her shoulders and down her arms. The scent was strong. Like a mix of iron and copper. She knew now that it was blood.

As soon as she figured out what it was, vast amounts poured over her, forming a puddle that she began to sink in. She tried to get out, but failed. The basement disappeared and she drowned in blood. Bubbles of oxygen released from her lungs and she struggled to swim to a surface, any surface, her body automatically following the bubbles while she tried to remain conscious.

Her hand broke the surface reaching into nothing and then falling back onto it. Chakra automatically latching on so she could pull herself out. As soon as she was standing, the sudden pool underneath her had disappeared. Leaving nothing. The only sign she had been drowning was the blood dripping from her body and forming small puddles on the cracked floor.

Breathing heavily she fell to her knees. Not bothering to take in her surroundings while she caught her breath.

(Look, look, hahaha. It's your best friend~ the blonde dobe. Choking on his own blood while you live. Hahahaha. Do you see it bubbling? The blood on his lips? Haha he looks like a dying fish. His mouth opening and closing. Isn't it funny? Blub blub. Sakura-ch-blub. Hahahaha. The number one unpredictable ninja. He's pretty predictable now isn't he? He's going to blow bubbles of blood and then his eyes will glaze over and stare at nothing and his heart will stop and there's nothing you can do about it. You left him like that. He died with your name on his lips. It's pathetic isn't it? "Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan," it's been like that sense you've known him. It's also still kind of fucking hilarious isn't it? Him dying calling out for you when you're the one that murdered his unborn kid. Hahaha)

Inner closed her eyes tightly. Her hands flew up to her temples as she tried to make it stop.

She breathed in slowly and then opened her eyes.

She instantly regret it.

In front of her was Naruto. Bloodied and swollen like so many other rotten corpses she's seen. Eyes unseeing but burrowing into her accusingly. His mouth was gaping, and just like the thoughts said, bubbling with blood.

She threw herself backward. Feeling the extreme urge to hurl as fresh paint pierced her soul.

(Your fault. It's your fault.)

Thousands and thousands of memories bombarded her. Causing her to scream as the pain consumed her. Each memory coming with its own set of thoughts and accusations.

Over and over they replayed. Twisting her thoughts and desires into something macabre.

When it was finished, everything went dark. The room emptied. The walls and floors were covered with blood. The wall in front of her formed a whirlpool. The blood swirling at an alarming rate until it formed a perfect circle. Inside that circle was a mirror.

Cautiously, she stepped forward, her reflection slowly coming into view. She no longer looked like Sakura Haruno once did. Her hair was a deep auburn, her entire body was thin, skin sunk in. Multiple areas were hollow and she could see her ribs. She wore no clothing. The sight before her was nothing but a skeleton with skin. She reached towards the image, pale fingers shaking and slightly blue, and stroked the mirror.

Right when her skin came into contact, her body began to fill out. Her fingers no longer looked like bones and slowly the rest of her followed suit. Her skin became smooth and the image before her soon showed a fully grown woman. Her breasts were full and plump. Abdomen taught. Her hair shone slightly. Her hips filled out and curved.

She smirked and the image in front of her did the same.

She couldn't wait until they aged enough physically.

A sadistic grin spread across her beautiful features as she thought towards the future.

Konoha wouldn't know what hit them.