Sakura came back to her senses slowly.

She was sitting on a flimsy mattress in a dingy cell. She had no sense of time. She could have been sitting there for minutes, or for hours. Her head ached. Her eyes felt dry. She was nauseated. She needed a bath.

Rubbing her face, she tried to remember.

She remembered arriving in the T&I receiving room. The arrival of an old man. A very old man. One of the Yamanaka clan, his long pony tail long gone white. They had given her something to drink. She had to drink it. Even knowing what it was, she had to drink it. Had to drink it willingly, to show she was cooperative. A comrade. A friend.

She had retold her story to the female shinobi in charge of the interrogation. She knew, as she talked, that there was something she wasn't supposed to say, but she couldn't remember what it was. She wasn't sure if she had told them. They asked her questions and she answered. Once she remembered crying, and she didnt know if it was the drugs or the tears that were making her vision so blurry. Kakashi had been there, but he hadn't been able to help her.

No. Not Kakashi. Sakumo. Hatake Sakumo, with two grey eyes and a face just like Kakashi's. Sakumo had watched her interrogation, probably comparing notes in his little book.

What had she said? Too much? Not enough? Did they believe her? What if had she had changed the future with something she said? She thought back, leaning her elbows on her knees and cradling her head in her hands. Before they gave her the drugs, the will-weakening truth serum still used thirty years in the future, she had told them. Told them what she couldn't tell them. The woman had smiled and said that was fine. They had been briefed.

As she picked through the cotton in her head, searching for clearer memories, the cell door clanked open. Sakura turned her head too quickly, stirring up the faint feeling of nausea and bringing it front and center to her attention, only to have it upstaged by a surge in the pounding in her head.

"How are you feeling?"

A guard. Carrying a tray. The thought of food brought her hand reflexively to her mouth as she closed her eyes and willed herself not to vomit.

"No food, just some water. And some medicine. When you can, take it. It will get rid of your symptoms."

Sakura nodded carefully, hand still over her mouth, as she heard the cell door shut and lock again.

...

The medicine helped. She swallowed the small tablet and then took tiny sips of water, sucking on the ice cubes, until the cup was empty. After the first cup she had poured herself another, then another. The ice was gone but the water was still cold. It felt good, as long as she went slowly. She made herself drink it, knowing she was dehydrated.

She was almost done with the last cupful, leaning against the wall on the thin, hard bunk, when the guard came back. One of the Hyuuga clan. Since when did they work T&I? Then Sakura noticed the medic apron. That made more Byakugan was an excellent tool for a medic, though few of the clan chose to pursue that path.

"I see you're feeling better. Time for a bath."

The shower room was small and clinical, rundown but clean, the smell of bleach lingering faintly in the air. Sakura supposed that a stall door was asking too much, but at least she had the small mercies of a female guard and a clean pair of shower shoes. The water was lukewarm, but Sakura didn't mind. She was still feeling weak and groggy and still a bit nauseated, and the cool shower helped revive her and clear her head. After washing she stood under the weak spray for longer than she thought she would be allowed, not paying any mind to her nakedness, eyes closed, just letting the water run. Eventually she turned the water off and reached, shivering, for a towel.

She was expecting to be given a prison uniform but was instead handed a simple yukata, earth toned and nondescript. Her shoes had been taken away with the rest of her clothes, so she put the shower shoes back on for the walk back to her cell.

Instead of being led back the way They had come, Sakura was taken in the opposite direction, down a long hallway and then down a flight of stairs to another hallway lined on one side with strong iron doors. Was this going to be her new cell?

Guarding one of the doors was Hatake Sakumo. When he saw them he came forward and took hold of Sakura's arm while pointedly telling the guard that she was late. The Hyuuga woman just shrugged as she took Sakumo's place as guard. Sakumo pushed open the door, ushering Sakura inside.

Sakura heard the door being locked from the outside, but the noise was forgotten as she registered the familiar figure standing at the end of the room. It was only Sakumo's tightening grip on her arm that kept her knees from completely buckling under her. She stared, mouth agape, for a few seconds, then slowly sank to one knee, knuckles on the ground, head bent. It was another few seconds before she could speak, her voice thick with emotion.

"Sandaime-sama."

...

Sakura didn't think she would be so relieved to see the third Hokage, or so hopeful. Her personal relationship to him was the same as any other student at Konoha's ninja academy, where he had been a frequent visitor. But Sarutobi Hiruzen had been renowned in the shinobi world as a kind man, a fair man, a man who wanted peace and worked hard towards it. In Konoha he was known for his approachability, his personal interest in all of its citizens, especially its soldiers, and his love of children. He led the village by uplifting its members and strengthening their wills at a time when some hidden villages were relying on oppression and martial law to keep order. He was the embodiment of everything Sakura had grown up believing as a child. He was the reason she new she could trust her fellow Leaf shinobi, even now when they thought her an enemy, an assassin sent to kill a child.

She felt a touch on her shoulder and looked up to see that familiar kind face, looking down at her the same way he had when she was a child showing off her flower arrangements, which were never as good as Ino's.

"Now now," he said in that familiar, amused way he had. She could here the pipesmoke in his voice. Smell it in his clothes. "Surely I'm not still the Hokage thirty years from now."

Sakura huffed out a teary laugh. "N-no, sir. But you... you...used to visit the Academy ..." Sakura trailed off, her voice breaking, still not sure what she could say but too overwhelmed to speak anyway.

The Hokage gave her an assessing look as she fought to get control of her emotions. She was suddenly so tired. When had she last slept? She probably still had the interrogation drugs in her system. She had felt stuporous and depressed when taken to the showers, but still tense. Seeing the Hokage, knowing that he was personally overseeing her case, she could feel the muscles in her neck and shoulders relaxing, releasing tension as well as emotions. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry and couldn't stop herself from doing both. She had a crazy urge to hug the Hokage, but Sakumo would probably see it as another assassination attempt.

Sandaime motioned her up and toward a small conference table near the far wall of the room. The two members of the village council were already seated on one side, an empty chair between them for the Hokage. Sakura bowed politely and sat opposite them. Sakumo leaned against the wall at the end of the table, arms crossed.

The presence of the village elders was more familiar to Sakura, though not as comforting. They looked...not young, but definitely younger. Fewer lines on their faces made their expressions look less pinched, but their stern presence still had a sobering effect on her wayward emotions.

Sakura listened as Sandaime and the elders discussed her situation, the elders falling into their usual bad cop roles. Sakura tried to remind herself of what Shizune always told Tsunade when they got under her skin, that the elders loved the village just as much as anyone else and they were just doing their job. Sakura had to suppress a snort at her own thoughts. Just because they enjoyed a good power trip and thought Danzo had done a great job training children to be Root operatives didn't mean their heart wasn't in the right place. Yeah, right.

They began by reviewing her interrogation and investigation, with Hiruzen bringing up a finding in her favor, only to have one of the other two bring up something against her.

She had stood by her story under interrogation, but her story was unlikely and unverifiable.

According to Inomaru-san, her recent memories had supported her story, but of course memories could be implanted.

A Yamanaka should be able to differentiate a real memory from a false one, but Inomaru was very old and may be slipping.

Inomaru-san was highly skilled in his clan's technique. Then why hadn't he been able to get past the subjects considerable mental blocks?

The mental probe was limited due to circumstance. Then the mental probe results weren't reliable and shouldn't be trusted.

And so it went, the conversation going in circles. Inomaru-san was either the Yamanaka's most highly qualified investigator or a doddering fool, depending on which view supported the elders. Sakura remained quiet as the elders debated around her, knowing how much the council disliked impropriety and having their judgement questioned. She snuck a few occassional glances at Sakumo, still propped up against the wall looking like he was just waiting for them to finish talking and give the order to either kill her or throw her into Konoha's deepest, darkest cell for the rest of her life. He probably already knew their plan. This interview was mostly a formality; surely this had all been discussed before she was brought in.

The discussion moved on to physical evidence. The blood found on Sakura's uniform matched blood on the hitai-ate in her bag, but did it get there when she tried to heal him or when she killed him? Sakumo's ninken had been unable to find an exact match to the scent in the village, but that didn't mean the person hadn't been born yet. Ninja were sometimes sent out of the village for years at a time. The dogs had found a scent similar to Kakashi's on some exploding tags in her bag. Was it the difference between an adult's scent and a child's, or had the scent been forged? They had found the children Sakura claimed would someday be her parents, but it wouldnt be unheard of for an undercover shinobi to claim kinship with someone who bore a physical resemblance. There weren't many people with pink hair in fire country, but that didn't mean they all had to be related.

Sakura tried to remain calm, answering questions and giving input when asked, even when the elders tried to put her on the defensive. Inside, she was in turmoil. She must really be exhausted, because her old inner dialogue seemed to have found it's voice again, screaming at the elders in righteous indignation at the charges leveled against her. She had to bite her lip to keep it from spilling out when the elders once again accused her of being a spy. She couldn't stop it when they accused her of trying to kill a little kid.

"I already told you I would never kill a child! And if that was my mission, I would have just done it. I had plenty of time before anyone else showed up."

"So then you would kill a child, if that was your mission."

Koharu. Of course. She was always the tougher of the two, the one with the weaselly, twisted mind. The one to watch out for.

"No. No, that's not what I said. I said-"

"So you wouldn't assassinate a child, even if it was your mission?" Homura, joining in.

"I...I...No..."

"If your Kage gave you a direct order, you would refuse? Resist? Sabotage the mission? Back out at the last minute?" Koharu back in the game. They were playing her between them, keeping her off balance, not letting her focus. Old bats.

Sakura took a deep breath and drew herself up in the chair, making eye contact with all three of them before saying firmly, "Konoha doesn't assign those kinds of missions." She held Koharu's assessing gaze as she amended, pointedly, "Not anymore." Not since your bitch-boy, Danzo.

Koharu met her eyes, unflinching. "You were found within the village walls, a few feet away from one of our best shinobi's son, with a drawn kunai in your hand."

"And I didn't use it," Sakura bit out. "If I managed to sneak into the village, shouldn't I have been able to sneak up on a small child without blowing my cover?"

"You said yourself that you didn't sneak in, you were jutsued into the village and then disoriented. You had no time recover before Kakashi alerted the others."

"I never tried to attack Kakashi. I would never try to hurt him, or any other Konoha citizen. Especially a defenseless child." Sakura looked at the Hokage, then at Sakumo, who was now watching her intently. "I'm sorry I scared little Kakashi. I didn't mean to. I tried to calm him down. I never even approached him. I never tried to hurt him. I don't even know how I got here. I just- I just want to get back to my team."

Sakumo stared back at her, his posture still outwardly relaxed but now there was a tightness to his frame that belied his vested interest in this part of the conversation.

The Hokage was the first to speak. "We're not sure it is possible to return you to...where you came from. We will research the situation and consult with elders of the Uchiha clan, since you think the Mangyeko Sharingan may be responsible for your being here. In the meantime, you will be placed in protective custody. Your chakra will remain sealed. You will have round-the-clock ANBU guard, with Sakumo in charge of your care and acting as your liason."

Sakura barely had time to control her reaction to the casual mention of the Uchiha clan or to register her relief at not being sentenced to more interrogation or possible execution as a spy or assassin, before her mind focused on what else the Hokage had said.

"My chakra is sealed?" Dumbly, Sakura held a hand in front of her face and tried to gather the soft, green glow of healing chakra. Nothing. She couldn't feel it, couldn't see it. She felt a faint ache throughout her body as she tried to draw her chakra, her life energy, through her system. She could feel it react, sluggish and weak. Her hand finally glowed, a faint, sallow light flickering precariously in her palm.

"But...how?" Sealing chakra was a delicate operation. It required high levels of skill and chakra control to place a lasting seal a person's chakra without killing or permanently disabling them, much less leave them walking and talking. Not even the most dangerous criminals in Konoha's prison had their chakra permanently sealed.

Homura sniffed. "Konoha is well known for its sealing abilities." There was an unspoken implication that she should already know that. She did know that, in a way. Historically, fuinjutsu had been a strength of village. The Uzumaki clan had brought powerful sealing techniques to Konoha. Naruto's father had been able to seal Kurama's chakra into both Naruto and himself. Jiraiya had been well known for his mastery of sealing techniques. Now Konoha had few sealing specialists and Suna was considered to be the nation with the strongest sealing techniques.

"Is it permanent?"

Koharu stood and started gathering her things, "It will last as long as we need it to."