Chapter Five: The War Records

"Intelligence? You?" Sakura said with a lopsided smirk, her hands preoccupied between swirling around the cafeteria food and scrolling down a medical datapad.

"And espionage," Ino replied automatically, her eyebrows furrowing a second after the words were out of her mouth, "And what's that supposed to mean? Just because I don't have a forehead the size of the Outer Rim doesn't mean it's empty upstairs!"

Sakura's smirk spread, "I just don't see you lying low."

The other girl sniffed, mock offended as she tossed a curtain of blonde hair over her shoulder, "I can do subtle when I need to."

Her best friend snorted, skipping past the section on the effects of plasma heat on the body that she had read a thousand times.

"What? I can!"

"Whatever you say."

"It's true! I'm assigned to General Morino's squadron after graduation," Ino said with pride, "Special operative missions lined up and everything."

Sakura stopped swirling the food on her plate, her face downcast at yet another reminder that her friends from Onderon were already getting positions and ranks, war being a surefire way towards quick promotions. So far, she and Naruto were the only ones without guaranteed assignments.

"Both you and Shikamaru now," she said quietly, forcing a smile onto her face, "That's great."

Ino seemed to notice the depressed air about her friend, because she quickly forced a smile onto her face, "Don't worry Forehead, with a brain like yours I'm sure you'll get a good position," her smile wavered, "…Force knows the Republic could use a few good field medics."

Sakura matched her friend's forced expression, "Thanks Ino."

She rolled her eyes dismissively, "Don't thank me, I'm just telling you what you already know."

The two girls fell silent for a few moments as both of them ignored their lunches, their thoughts light years away.

Ino cradled her face in her hand, her blue eyes staring out at nothing as her food remained untouched. When she finally spoke, her tone was absent minded, "Chouji holomessaged me and Shikamaru today."

Sakura looked up from her notes for the first time, "How is he?"

"He's fine. Says the cantina's doing great."

"Your mom?"

"Enjoying retirement, wishing my dad would do the same," Ino said, a tiny grin escaping her, "Chouji also sent us some nerf flakes, but Shikamaru ate them all. Stupid Gamorrean."

Sakura set down the porridge she had been eating, staring Ino straight in the face, "Y'know, it's okay to admit you miss him."

Ino rolled her eyes again, standing up abruptly, "Don't start with that load of kak again Sakura, we're going to be late for combat training if you begin waxing sentimental."

Sakura sighed, but picked up her things as she followed her fellow academy student towards the simulators.

---

Five years later…

She groaned as her puffy eyelids creaked open, her head pounding like a war drum as she desperately fought down the urge to vomit. Her mind recognized the feel of a sofa underneath her, plush and soft despite the fact that she felt her brain was being forced through an ion canon.

"Kriff…" she mumbled, forcing her mind to focus as she pushed herself into a sitting position on the couch. Her eyes took in the apartment- minimally furnished with a low table, a love seat, and a holovid display. She hissed, the lights sending bright, searing pain through her.

"You should take better care of yourself," came the voice of Chouji as he entered the room, his fingers digging into a bag of nerf flakes. He tossed a few into his mouth, and the resounding crunch felt like an earthquake to her.

"How much did I drink last night?" She whispered, pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead.

Her friend shrugged, chewing loudly, "No idea. I didn't run into you last night until you punched that Jedi."

Jedi.

Jedi.

Kriff.

"…I punched a Jedi."

"Yeah."

"Kriff."

"I'm surprised, actually. I heard most Jedi use the Force to predict their opponent's moves. He should've been able to dodge it," Chouji said conversationally, sitting next to Sakura on the sofa.

Sakura frowned, "He was after Sasuke."

Chouji's face fell somber, "So you reminded me."

Sakura looked at him for a brief moment before staring at her hands in her lap. She couldn't say she was sorry, because she wasn't. This was Sasuke, and Chouji knew how important that was. At the same time, she didn't like seeing the forlorn expression on her childhood friend's face, nor hearing his quiet voice.

"…I don't know if I can fight off the entire Jedi Council," she whispered instead.

Chouji tossed in a few more flakes into his mouth, "You knew this was coming."

Sakura sighed, her hands clenching around the blanket that Chouji put on her after she had passed out, "I can't give up on him."

"Maybe you should. It's almost been three years. This is more than a bounty hunter-"

"Two bounty hunters."

"-more than what you or Naruto can handle," he crunched a flake between his teeth.

"You don't think we know that?" Sakura said, feeling her temper flare up not at Chouji, but at the reason he presented.

"I think you both ignore it."

Sakura grit her teeth, twisting the blanket, "We can't let them get him, Chouji."

Chouji fell silent, "…I understand. But you have to use your head, Sakura. Jedi don't mess around. They're not the usual thugs, and they won't give up just because you uppercut them across the face."

A ghost of a smile crawled onto Sakura's mouth, but it quickly vanished, "Then what should I do?"

Chouji was quiet for a few moments, looking away from her and out of the spaceport window framing his slum apartment, "If it were Ino," she flinched at the name, "I would want to be out there, looking for her before the Council got there first."

Sakura could feel the hot tears of frustration building up in her eyes, both at Sasuke's situation and Ino's memory. She forced them down as she swallowed thickly, "I don't have a ship. Or any idea where to start looking."

Chouji rested a large hand on her shoulder, "Maybe it's time you message Naruto."

She tensed under it, "I can't."

"Sakura-"

"I won't," she said firmly.

"But he-"

"Why don't you get a hold of Shikamaru then?" She said, her eyes never leaving her hands.

Chouji fell silent, the hand on her shoulder dropping into his own lap.

"It's not that easy, is it?" She questioned somewhat rhetorically.

"No. It's not," he admitted.

Sakura sighed, running a hand through her hair before standing up, "If I get rid of that Jedi, they'll just send another one to replace him. I have to find a way to get the Council's attention off of Sasuke, wherever he is."

"How are you going to do that?" Chouji asked, watching her wearily.

"Anyway I can. Even if it means turning myself in for the murder of Itachi."

"Sakura, you can't do that-"

"The war taught me I can do anything I have to," she brushed off, stepping into her boots on the floor, "Who knows? Maybe a death sentence from the Jedi Council will get his attention."

"The Jedi don't kill prisoners, everyone knows that."

"Then what do they do with them?"

He didn't have an answer.

Sakura snapped on the last buckle for her boots before slinging on her gun holster, "Someone on this planet has to know where Sasuke went after the war. I found a veteran's cantina last night, maybe someone there has seen him."

"Sounds risky."

"Risky's what I do now," she said, sounding sad before zipping up her red vest, "And Chouji?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for bringing me to your couch."

He chuckled grimly, "I doubt it will be the last time."

"I hope it isn't."

---

Sai sat in his quarters on The Paper Tiger, his eyes focused on the datapad that Juugo had given him, quickly scanning through the files in search for the names of either Akimichi Chouji or Sakura. Sleep had eluded the Jedi Knight, his thoughts far too preoccupied on his run in with the ugly young woman, as well as his desire to find the K0-N0 unit. He had located the weapons' shop owned by Aburame Tenten, but the place had been locked shut, hours scrolling on the wall in Basic. While he was tempted to simply break into the store and search for the astromechanical droid, he had stopped those thoughts with a reminder to lay low on this mission. Not that that plan had been working out so well for him. His cheek still throbbed.

He decided to make the most of his obstacles, something Danzou had instructed him to do as a means of channeling his energy into the most productive outcome. Instead of camping in front of the store until this Tenten woman showed up, he took the time to purchase a set of civilian clothes and blaster off of a dock merchant, as well as retreat back to his ship in order to finish the research on Uchiha Sasuke, and to look for a possible connection between the people he had met last night.

So far, there had been nothing, as most of the information was comprised of Uchiha Sasuke's war accomplishments. The teenaged mechanic and technology specialist had an entire file dedicated to his accomplishments. Top placement scores and early graduation with the Republic military academy at the age of fourteen, a distinguished Badge of Merit at the Battle of Kiri, along with a special decoration for battling on the enemy ship's bridge against Sith Lord Zabuza and his apprentice Haku. He was awarded for bravery at the Battle on Kono-ha, a battle that had been nicknamed the "Forest of Death" due to its extravagantly high casualties on the Republic side when they had been ambushed by Mandalorian and Sith forces. He went on to be promoted to the rank of Captain, defeating several Mandalorian warriors in hand to hand battle, and was said to be the next recipient for the Cross of Honor.

All of this before he was eighteen. Logically, it didn't make sense. Uchiha Sasuke appeared to be the model soldier, a hero for the Republic. Yet his merits and awards were revoked, his military rank gone and his service dishonorably discharged. His face was now pictured on several wanted marks by the few pockets of Republic resistance that still existed for deserting his post and supposedly joining Sith forces. That, coupled with his suspected murder of Jedi Master Uchiha Itachi, made Sai focus intently on his file, searching for clues that would signify the reason why this soldier performed a complete one eighty.

There were none.

Sai inhaled, rubbing his eyes with fatigue as he pressed another key on the datapad, this time cross referencing the names Akimichi Chouji and Sakura with Uchiha Sasuke in the Republic data bases.

The name Akimichi Chouji brought up nothing-- although there was a file on Akimichi Chouza--but his eyes widened momentarily when the picture of the same pink haired woman was brought up alongside a military record longer than Sasuke's.

Haruno Sakura, as she was listed in Republic archives, was quite possibly the most highly decorated field medic in the military. An Academy graduate that scored the highest on intelligence tests and average in combat, along with a special distinction of honor for the medical academia. She too, had received a Badge of Merit for the Battle of Kiri, along with the same special distinction Uchiha Sasuke had received. She was also listed as an awarded soldier for the Battle at Kono-ha, along with a personal mark of honor for her role in saving lives in the line of fire from Admiral Hatake himself. She too, was given the rank of Captain. After the Battle of Kono-ha, the file read that she stayed in the Republic military, being named Assistant Chief of the Medical Division on the Republic's flagship Will of Fire at the extraordinarily young age of seventeen. It listed an honorable discharge shortly thereafter, for reasons unspecified in the file.

Sai's eyes widened, and his mind automatically put two and two together when he saw that she had been listed as the field medic for Squad Seven, a small, elite strike force put together by the Republic.

Uchiha Sasuke had been that squad's mechanic.

The woman who had fractured his cheek bone last night was a former squad mate with Uchiha Sasuke. Sai quickly read the rest of the roster, surprised that just one other name was listed: Uzumaki Naruto, the squad's pilot. Their only commanding officer was Admiral Hatake Kakashi, whose file was inaccessible to Sai without ten different sort of security clearances, four of which were not at the Council's disposal.

He leaned back in his chair, setting the datapad down on the bunk for a moment while he attempted to process the new information he had accessed. Pieces were falling into place, the woman--Sakura's--bizarre reaction towards him, her anger.

Uchiha Sasuke had betrayed her, that much was obvious from the differences in their service records. He could use that to his advantage. As his medic, Sakura logically was one of the last people to see Sasuke before his desertion, her and Uzumaki Naruto.

And Sakura was on the same planet as him, the very same spaceport.

The coincidences were too great to ignore, the Force had guided Sai here, and Sakura would present an opportunity for him to succeed in his mission.

The only obstacle in his way was getting her to cooperate with him.

And the fact that the droid with all the navigational coordinates and star charts had run away from him.

Sai closed his heavy eyes, folding his legs and levitating slightly off of the ground as he focused on entering a meditative trance. Perhaps the Force would have the answers the rest of this backwater planet didn't.

---

"Closed," Sakura muttered without humor as she read the scrolling light posted above Cantina Yamato!, "Typical."

She stood in front of the building, one hand on her hip near her credit pouch, the other on her blaster-- such was the way of Nar Shadaar. She had finally managed to dispel her Force awful hangover, and she had headed to the cantina immediately after she had cleaned herself up in the refresher unit.

But Cantina Yamato!, and all of its leads, were closed.

Typical.

She exhaled in annoyance, fingers tucking away her errant hair that escaped the red ribbon holding it back. According to the scrolling text, the place would be closed until nightfall, and she could only assume there wouldn't be much progress on this end of things.

Her hand on the credit pouch moved, jostling the money thoughtfully. Perhaps she now had enough to make a payment on the Cosmo, knowing where Sasuke was wasn't going to do her much help if she didn't have a means of getting there. She inhaled deeply, giving the cantina one last longing look before heading towards the docks, her boots making a heavy clunking noise against the metal ground of the space station.

Her mind was light-years away as she made her way across the bustling city port, her head trying to get a handle on how much time she had versus how much time she needed to get the money to pay for the repairs on her ship. Even with the liberal discount Tazuna had given her, there was no way she'd be near ready for flight before the Jedi had a lead and was off across the galaxy somewhere.

But the real question was, where was the Jedi going to find a lead where she, Sasuke's ex squad mate and former Republic solider, couldn't? The Council had their fingers in everything, from the spy networks to the criminal Exchange. The Jedi, Sai if she remembered correctly, had to have connections she didn't--even on Nar Shadaar.

She rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Jedi were renowned for their intellect, and it wouldn't take someone with Shikamaru's mental capacity to notice that she and Sasuke had a connection, not with how she had reacted to the news. Sakura bit her lower lip. If the Jedi had half a brain, he would have searched the Republic databanks and drawn up her name by now--as well as her relationship to Sasuke. It's what she would have done, it's what she did do, when searching for a bounty.

If she were correct, it was only a matter of time before a Jedi Knight was knocking on her door and hypnotizing answers out of her.

Fortunately for Sakura, and for Sasuke, she had no idea where he went after the second battle on Kono-ha. No one did, other than…

She cringed, feeling something like shyrock legs crawling down her neck.

Sakura shook her head as she entered the docking area. There was a way to flip the tables on this Jedi, she just had to be smart and subtle about it. If she played the cards right, she could be led right to her missing teammate, and then she would find a way to clear his name with both the Republic and Council, and Sasuke would get a hold of Naruto and then--

"Excuse me," a hooded man said softly after bumping into her shoulder, his face hidden by a pair of tinted goggles and a cowl.

Sakura quickly made sure her credits were still in place. They were, "Not a problem," she said quietly, but the man had already pressed forward into the crowd. A few seconds later, a small astromechanical droid beeped, swerved around Sakura, and took after the man.

She sighed, perhaps it was time to focus on the here and now instead of getting ahead of herself. She turned into Docking Bay Three, and she wasn't surprised to find the place nearly bare, save for a younger teenaged boy sitting behind a desk with a bored expression.

"Inari," Sakura greeted with one of her rare smiles, and he immediately straightened in his seat.

"Hey Sakura," he replied with a far bigger smile, "Long time no see!"

She rubbed the back of her neck, "Haven't had credits in a while."

Inari awkwardly looked around, trying desperately to find something to reply to that with.

Sakura forced a soft chuckle, "Is your grandfather around?"

Inari brightened, "Yeah, just a sec, I'll get him," he got out of his seat and ran around a corner. After a few seconds, Sakura heard a muted yell, "HEY GRAMPS, SAKURA'S HERE!!!"

"DON'T YELL INARI, I'M NOT DEAF YET!"

"YOU'RE YELLING TOO!"

"I'M OLD!"

A few footsteps later and Tazuna entered the room. The war had not been kind to him, a former engineer and ship designer for the Republic, the Battle of Kiri had left its marks. His eyes were bloodshot with deep baggies under them, and his hair, once kept neat in a military cut, was now shaggy and wild. In his hand was a bottle of tarisian ale.

He saw her eying the bottle, scratched his belly, and muttered, "What?" Before taking a long drink from it.

Sakura grinned, "Nothing," she paused, unhooking the pouch from her belt, "I think I have enough for the new hyperdrive."

"Good, your bucket of bolts is ruining the aesthetics of this place."

"I'm your only customer."

He smiled, "What's your point?"

She made a show of rolling her eyes, emptying out the bag and counting out the chips, "I have three thousand."

Tazuna's eyebrows rose from behind his torch visor, and a low, long whistle escaped from beneath his lower teeth, "Sakura, kid, I told you, it'll be at least five. And that's for a junker."

She winced, but she could feel the urges of desperation go through her, "Tazuna, I need those parts."

He sat in the place formerly occupied by Inari, "I realize that, but the problem with Nar Shadaar is that everyone needs parts. Half the Republic fleet end up staying here because they can't make it home."

"…They've sent a Jedi after Sasuke."

Tazuna looked down, and took another long drink from his bottle, "…A Jedi."

"Yeah. And I need to find him before he does."

"Kid, the lowest I can do is-"

She bit her lip, her fists clenching, "…I saved your life. Please help me save Sasuke's."

Tazuna fell silent, taking another drink, "I know that. My family owes much to Squad Seven, but the only ones who have the parts you need are the Hutts and the Exchange, and neither group believes in discounts."

She inhaled deeply, trying to decide how far she could, and should, take this. After a few moments, she felt herself give up, "Let me know if anything comes up, consider this a down payment," she said somberly, tossing the pouch at Tazuna.

He backed up in his seat, fingers fumbling with the pouch as he stared at the girl who would always be the youngster that was thrown into a war far too big for her. He sighed, "I'll do my best, but no promises."

She nodded, "That's all I can ask."

Tazuna stood up, cracking his neck from side to side, "Be careful, kid. Something fishy is going on here at Nar Shadaar, I don't want you caught up in it."

She smirked, "I'll do my best, but no promises."

Tazuna returned the expression, "Smartass kids today with no respect for their elders."

"I haven't been a kid for a while," Sakura said, heading towards the exit, "I'll stop by tomorrow."

Tazuna nodded, "See you then. Take care."

"You too," Sakura replied.

When the door to Tazuna's slid close, Sakura leaned her head back against the wall, looking at the sky and wondering when the universe was going to cut her a break.