A/N: This follows on directly from the last chapter without a break. I apologise about the length (or lack thereof). What was in chap 5 will all be seriously overhauled in chapter 6. See you all soon and thanks for the continued support :)

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Chapter 5 -Secco

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The apartment was dingy and stuffy when Sakura had first seen it and even now that it had been cleaned and freshened up and the few windows had been opened to the light it was still rather dark. She clicked on the light switch by the doorway, and removed her keys from the lock. The whole apartment consisted of three rooms – a kitchenette/living room, a tiny bathroom and a bedroom just large enough to fit a single bed, a futon and a desk. Sakura hoisted Sai's too-light bag over her shoulder and walked in. He trailed behind her, eyes careful and judging.

"Welcome to my humble abode, Sai-kun. Feel free to set up your art supplies where you want to. I left you some space in the cupboard for your clothes, but I don't think you'll fill it…" Sakura trailed. Sai bowed again.

"I believe that it is necessary for me to thank you at this point, for most people would feel gratitude at being given a place to live. Thank you, Uchiha-san." Sai said.

Sakura sighed, and wondered where the polite-ness came from. It was a sharp contrast to the no-holds-barred Sai she knew, who had no real respect for anyone except Danzo, and later Naruto. He was overly formal and careful in his words, as if he expected her to lash out at him for being less than perfect. She frowned.

"It's fine, Sai, really. I wanted to help, so don't hesitate to ask if you need anything extra," Sakura said. Sai twitched faintly, and Sakura cursed in her head. She'd slipped up with the honorific. When had she ever needed to use one with Sai? This would take some getting used to. She clicked her fingers, "Ah, I forgot, you can sleep on the bed for tonight since I didn't get a chance to get a proper futon, let me just-"

"If it is okay I would prefer to take the futon, Uchiha-san. I am unused to sleeping in a bed. Or sleeping, really." Sai said. Sakura blinked, a little startled that he had interrupted her.

"Oh, oh of course. Whatever makes you more comfortable," She said. She just had to be patient. Sai had taken time to open up with Naruto, so she couldn't expect much from just herself, not just yet.

…

"Oh Sai-kun, do you like reading? I have some books you might enjoy-"

"No thank you Uchiha-san I have some of my own."

"Sai-kun! Why don't we go out to the festival this evening! Some fresh air would be great for-"

"My apologies, Uchiha-san, but I believe I would not be nice company for you."

"Sai-kun, those paints you have are looking a little thin, would you like me to buy some more for you?"

"Do not trouble yourself Uchiha-san, the village pays for all of my gear, and they'll replace them when they're finished."

"Oh," Sakura said, "Oh."

…

"I don't know how to talk to him Hana. He's really polite and quiet and still calls me Uchiha-san whenever he talks to me. I feel like his landlord," Sakura muttered, sipping sadly from her drink. Hana laughed and slammed her palm against Sakura's back in an approximation of a friendly pat. Sakura did her best to retain her dignity as a ninja and not spit out her drink.

"You know, I used to have that problem with my little brother. Well, not really, I mean have you met Kiba? He's never polite, the little insubordinate idiot. But I get what you mean. He's tough to talk to and understand, because you have different experiences right?" Hana asked. Sakura nodded.

"Yeah, you've got it. I thought maybe I could understand his feelings, you know the isolation and stuff," She said, thinking back to those horrible days of her old childhood, "But he's in a different sort of pain. No matter what angle I take, he stops me with politeness and distance."

"Well what I'd do is try and approach him where he's comfortable. You're both ninja, right? Maybe he's restless. He hasn't had a mission or anything in a long time. Try spar with him, or take him along on a mission if the Hokage'll allow it. Although knowing how he dotes on you it's not likely he won't," Hana said. Sakura toyed with the idea. She was sure Sarutobi would allow it, providing Sai was said to be up for active duty, but…

"I don't really want to throw him back into active service straight away, you know? I'll take your advice and train with him maybe. I could invite along the other kids! Maybe he just needs exposure therapy!" Sakura swung around in her seat and grabbed Hana's shoulders, eyes shining with something half excitement, half evil plan, "Hana, you're a genius," She said, a grin overtaking her face. Hana chuckled.

"Of course I am, took you a while. Cheers!" Hana said, holding up her glass.

"Cheers," Sakura echoed.

She hoped everything worked out.

…

"Uchiha-san, could I ask where we're going?" Sai asked, attempting to peak through the blindfold he'd had tied on his face. Sakura merely giggled and continued steering him by his shoulders. Sai felt understandably uneasy.

"Tsk, tsk Sai-kun. It's not like you to be so inquisitive," She said with fake innocence. Sai would have frowned if he was that type of person. He couldn't sense anyone at all, besides the two of them, and that was not the most worrying thing. He could still hear people, but the press of Sakura's fingers into his shoulders was somehow blocking his sensing ability. He'd never me anyone with tthat kind of ability.

"I do believe that that is part of being a shinobi," Sai answered, noticing how the sounds of people lessened. He could hear water.

"Of course, of course. You never do let your guard down. Except when you're sleeping. Did you know you snored?" Sakura asked. Sai held in a biting retort. Despite his efforts to remain unaffected, he was slipping. He'd only been with Sakura for two weeks, and already he was failing at reigning in emotions. Was this all his years of emotional training amounted to? It frustrated him greatly.

"That, I have to say, is your fault, Uchiha-san," Sai said icily, "If you didn't insist on drugging me every night then I would be able to control my own breathing."

"It's just chamomile tea."

"It is not chamomile. I would not be completely dead to the world for eight hours if it was chamomile."

"Ok, maybe it's not chamomile. But it's for your own good, you said yourself you don't usually sleep. I'm a medical professional so you can trust me," Sakura assured him, "Plus you're adorable when you're asleep, just like a little kid."

"You're only two years older than me, and you're short," Sai blurted, forgetting her well-hidden but short temper. Her fingers dug into his shoulders a bit, and he winced.

"Ohohoho, remind me again who the higher ranking officer is Sai-kun?" She whispered. He tried to pretend a shiver didn't run down his spine.

"You are, Uchiha-san," He said.

"Mhm, good," She said, voice sugary sweet like dango, "Now, surprise!"

Sakura pulled off the blindfold, and Sai blinked against the harsh brightness of the sun. They adjusted quickly, revealing three other children in front of him. The two boys looked annoyed and disinterested and the girl seemed wary. Sai blinked a couple more times, before turning to Sakura.

"You want me to beat up children? Isn't that a little too sadistic for even you Uchiha-san?" He asked. Sakura muffled laughter in her palm as one of the boys started jumping up and down indignantly.

"Oi! Who do you think you are calling us children, you're a kid yourself aren't ya? Come over here and fight me you little coward!" The blond said.

"Ah, calm down Naruto-kun, Sai here is just a little socially inept. Give him a chance," Sakura said. Naruto squinted at Sai as if sizing him up.

"Eh, inept? Wha-zat mean again?" He asked after a moment, and Sai realised he wasn't trying to size him up, he was just stupid.

"Onee-chan meant that Sai-san is not very good at being friendly, right Onee-chan?" The pink-haired one said. And really, pink? Was that even natural?

"Right, Sakura-chan, he is. So give him a chance all of you. You too Sasuke-kun, don't sulk." Sakura said, and Sai had to pause for a moment to figure out who was who. This was getting confusing.

"Fine," The kid named 'Sasuke-kun' said, huffy. He seemed like exactly the type of person Sai disliked working with. Actually they all did. He wondered what Sakura's reasoning for all of this was.

"Ok! Today we're gonna learn some taijutsu through sparring. Sai, you can fight Sasuke, and Sakura vs Naruto. I'll judge. Remember, no serious injuries. I'd rather not have to explain broken limbs to any hospital staff this time, and if I'm feeling lazy I don't promise I'll heal everything, 'kay?" Sakura said.

"Hai," The three kids chorused. Sai just kept his lips in a thin line. This was training then? He admittedly had felt a bit cooped up in the apartment for a while, so this was more than welcome. But wouldn't it make more sense for him to fight Sakura directly.? He was under no illusion that he could win (everyone knew the stories of Dove from Anbu) but this seemed a little unevenly matched to him. Sakura tugged on his sleeve before he could walk towards his opponent.

"Sai-kun, feel free to hold back, but don't underestimate Sasuke-kun too much. You mind find more than your pride wounded," She advised him. He nodded sharply.

Sai dropped his gear behind him, wanting to deal purely with taijutsu for the match. He hadn't realised it, but there was an excess of adrenalin in his body from the lack of action in the past month. He could feel the itch for movement, for the fight, simmering just under his skin. His fingers clenched in anticipation. His opponent shifted into a style Sai was familiar with, all angles and sharp edges. Uchiha taijustu was fast, debilitating. Just the sight of the familiar stance made him swallow. He could remember it even now, playing extra member on a team with Uchiha Itachi in charge. Seeing the utter carnage wrought by one man without a single weapon or jutsu. It was both utterly terrifying and thrilling. While Sasuke had holes in his stance – muscles taunt in the wrong places, weight shifted slightly off – even Sai could see he had had a good teacher; that he would evolve into a good shinobi.

He half-wondered if the other boy's teacher had been Sakura herself.

Sai half pulled his arms in front of his face and shifted his legs to block the flurry of blows that rained down upon him.

'Fast,' Sai thought, throwing out his hand to capture the other boy's wrist and using his strength to throw the boy sideways. The Uchiha grit his teeth and caught himself from falling, but not in time to escape the roundhouse kick Sai threw at him, which caught his back and flung him a short ways. Sasuke collided harshly with the ground, sending up dust and rocks in the air. Sai focused on his fight properly and held out his hands, waiting for the boy to get up. Sasuke huffed and got up swiftly, this time more wary of approaching Sai.

Sai went to him.

They exchanged a handful of blows, enough natural pauses in their taijutsu for Sai to examine how out of practice he was. He had training on how to counter the Uchiha style – make use of every hit that landed, don't try too hard to trick their senses, focus on rolling with the punches rather than avoiding them – but it had been too long since he had actually practiced. Sasuke looked a lot more worn than him after a few moments, but Sai was starting to feel out of breath already. Each time they collided with one another they would spring back, and the Uchiha winced visibly when Sai connected with him. He was dirty from rolling on the ground before.

"Uwah Sasuke! Kick his ass!" Someone shouted, Sasuke was momentarily distracted, and Sai ducked under his swing to plant his fist firmly in Sasuke's gut, earning a pained whoosh of breath from the other boy's lungs. Sai then raised his leg and dropped in downwards on Sasuke's back while the boy was hunched over, but the Uchiha just managed to get out of the way, landing on the ground anyway. When Sai pressed the heel of his foot against Sasuke's chest the Uchiha glared hard through the pain.

"Yield," He grunted. Sai nodded in acceptance and moved his foot, stepping away. The other two rushed to Sasuke's aid, and Sai felt a menacing presence come up behind him.

"Oh, what happened to holding back there Sai-kun?" Sakura asked. Sai shivered, unwilling to turn around.

"Ah, I guess I was focusing too hard on the battle. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine," Sakura said, cutting him off and ruffling his hair. She was smiling down at him, face warm and happy and a little nostalgic, "It just means you were taking him seriously as an opponent, right? That's the best you can offer a shinobi, Sai-kun," Sakura said. Sai blinked. He'd done good? He glanced over at Sasuke and saw to his amazement the grudging respect the Uchiha had in his eyes.

"It was a good match," Sasuke said simply. Sai nodded, unsure of what to say.

"See, Sai-kun, it's not so hard making friends. You just have to meet them head on, no holds barred," Sakura said, but it seemed like she was referring to someone else, someone she had lost a long time ago. Her tone of voice bothered him, reminding him of a certain little pain he preferred to keep away.

"Ah," He answered, and Sakura finally moved her hand from his head.

He strangely missed the warmth.

…

Naruto rocked on his heels, and held fast to the bag in his arms, giddy with excitement. The group of five was taking a short break under the shade of a large Ash tree. Sakura-nee-chan was singing softly to herself, a Fire Country lullaby she'd sung to him once or twice. The repetitive tune was making the others sleepy.

"What're you so excited about, Naruto-kun?" Little Sakura asked curiously. Sasuke was leaning with his arms cushioning his head against the tree, but he perked up as he heard Sakura's question. Naruto stopped his bouncing.

"Actually, I wanted to show everyone some of the Fuuinjutsu I was practicing! It' not anything complicated, but…" Naruto trailed. He wasn't good at understanding everything the book talked about, but he understood enough to do the really simple things, like storage seals for small, non-perishable goods. The pale boy who had tagged along with Nee-chan (what had his name been, Sai?) seemed to be interested in what Naruto had to show the group.

"Do share, Naruto-kun, I'd love to see," Nee-chan said. Naruto grinned and produced a scroll with a flourish.

"I present, the Uzumaki-Super-Secret-Special-Food-Sealing-Seal!" Naruto proclaimed. Nee-chan and Sakura gave a small clap, and Sasuke smiled, but Sai looked blankly at the scroll.

"Doesn't calling it a Sealing-Seal make the name redundant?" He asked. Naruto huffed.

"I wouldn't expect you to understand the brilliance of my naming system. It could only be understood by the greatest of genius!" Naruto exclaimed brightly. Sai still looked confused.

"But, how is it different from any normal sealing scroll, it looks the same to-" Sai stopped mid thought and leaned closer to inspect the seal, tracing his finger carefully across the array. It was pretty simple really, but that was what made it easy to modify.

"This… has two chakra entry points," Sai said softly. The other three leaned closer. Naruto hummed triumphantly.

"Exactly! Of course I had to work around a few explosions and stuff, but nothing too major! See, I added this directional seal that moves in the opposite direction to this one, so your chakra creates a sort of friction energy I think-"

"You think?" Sai muttered.

"Yeah, yeah, so instead of just summoning the food within the seal, you can also heat it without a fire jutsu or a campfire! Well, um, theoretically. I haven't actually gotten it down pat yet, since the food's usually burnt or half cold so far, but I'll get it!" Naruto said happily. Sai seemed impressed, from what little he could tell from the lack of expression on the boy's face.

"That's brilliant Naruto! I'll commission some from you for when they're made, hm? I could use a good warm meal on missions sometimes." Sakura-nee said.

"It's an awesome idea Naruto-kun!" Sakura-chan echoed.

"Mhm," Sasuke said. Naruto beamed proudly. He didn't know if these kinds of seal already existed (well, they probably did) but he had wanted to figure it out on his own, and it was sort of working, even. Sai seemed to nod, agreeing that it was a good idea, and that made Naruto smile even more.

"If you'd like, I could teach you some sealing." Sai said. Sakura-nee's eyes widened and she let out a long 'ehhhh?'

"Sai-kun! Are you- are you finally making friends?" She asked, overjoyed. She grabbed Sai and pulled him to her chest, "I knew you had it in you!"

"Let me go," Sai deadpanned.

"No."

"Please, let me go," He tried again.

"Nu-uh," Sakura said gleefully. Sasuke pouted and clung onto Sakura-nee as well.

"Me too!" Sasuke said.

"And me!" Sakura-chan added, wrapping her arms around Nee-chan's side. Naruto jumped into the hug pile with a relish.

"Group hug!" He shouted, even as he crashed into everyone and knocked them over. Nee-chan laughed, arms around the four of them, and one by one they all joined in. Even Sai's lips twitched with the smallest of smiles.

"EH? I think Sai's smiling!" Naruto shouted.

"What, really? No way!" Nee-chan said, pulling up Sai's face to examine it as if he weighed a few grams. The smile was tiny, but it didn't flicker, even as the others peered at his face.

"Sai-san has a nice smile," Sakura-chan decreed, and Naruto nodded in agreement.

"Yeah! Better than that grumpy no expression thingy. That's best left to the Uchiha," Naruto said.

"Hey!" Nee-chan and Sasuke said at the same time, before looking at each other and starting the laughing all over again.

"Sai-kun! I'm home! I brought some mackerel for dinner tonight and was wondering-"

"Dove-san," A voice sounded. Sakura walked straight past the Anbu member and set down her groceries on the counter, noting how Sai was sitting with his back pressed to the door in the bathroom and listening in on the conversation. She pulled a pan from the cupboard and collected a few things from the fridge, getting a nice sizzling sound going before even deigning to acknowledge the presence of the Anbu member in the room.

"How urgent is it?" She asked, carefully drying the fish and salting it. The Anbu member straightened ever so slightly at her tone of voice. No-nonsense, Anbu member to the core, Sakura still retained her respect from her days of service.

"The Hokage requested you come see him immediately. There has been a code-lotus 244 violation." Tenzou said, holding out a scroll to Sakura. She took it, breaking the seal and scanning the contents.

"Of course. Stay here and cook my mackerel for me please. Don't burn it, and be careful. Olive oil is difficult to fry with," Sakura said, handing Tenzou the spatula. He swivelled to her even as she stepped onto her (very dirty – she should have really told people to use the front door) windowsill.

"Cook the mackerel?" He asked, fighting to keep the inflection from his voice.

"Mhm, ask Sai for help if you can't cook. He's pretty bad but it'll be edible at least. Be back soon hopefully." Sakura called.

…

Hinata blinked her eyes rapidly, but no matter how hard she strained, she couldn't see a thing. She was scared, more than scared, terrified. She couldn't see, she couldn't move, she couldn't speak. She didn't know where she was, and her eyes weren't working at all. She wanted to cry, but she felt like even that basic human instinct was blocked. It was loud where she was, and she wanted to cover her ears from the harsh rasp of the wind going past.

Not again, had been her first terrified thought, waking up to the frigid night air and the harsh grip of her kidnapper. She knew she should have just taken the seal. Maybe then she wouldn't have been chosen again. Hinata almost slapped herself for that thought, because if not her, then who? No one but her little sister would be left, and Hinata would never ever wish this situation on Hanabi.

Hinata curled in on herself as much as she could, muted sobs wracking her body. As much as she sometimes hated herself for being so useless to her family she didn't want to die. It was a painfully human desire, the one to live, and she couldn't help but feel like this time, no one else was going to die in her stead.

Her carrier faltered for a tiny fraction of a second. There was a series of crashes, branches snapping, the panicked calls of what Hinata thought must have been her kidnappers before she was suddenly breathless and flying through the air before she could brace herself. She was caught by a strong pair of arms which wrapped around her tightly, securing her against the person's chest. The gag around her mouth was undone, and she coughed and sniffed and shuddered as she sobbed.

"Shh, shh, it's okay. You're safe now. You're safe now," The soft voice whispered to her, a hand coming up to stroke her hair softly. Hinata clung tight, disorientated and still unable to see.

"That seal, is it…" Another, rough, dark voice said.

"I can undo it, but not here. Not 'till she's safe. Let's head back," The first one said. A woman, Hinata noted, her sniffles and tears tapering off, but her throat still too dry.

"Hinata-chan, we're gonna take you home now, is that okay? I'm Dove, and the other one here with me is Crane. We're Anbu, okay? The rest of us are just gonna make sure all those idiots are dealt with, then we'll go home," The woman, Dove, said. Hinata nodded, so so tired.

She heard voices relaying messages in a code she was familiar with but didn't understand, and then she was flying through the air once again, this time held close and carefully. She didn't know what seal they had been talking about, but with the steady, unbroken stride of her carrier she was lulled into a half-lucid state.

…

"Okay, carefully added another measure of chakra to the feeding seal," Sakura called to her assistant. The warm green glow increased incrementally, slowly building up to a harsh, bright shine. She exhaled softly so as not to disturb the process before her. Her Sharingan glowed a bright red to contrast her soothing chakra, as she made the tiniest of incisions across the thick silk tied tight across Hinata Hyuuga's eyes. The chakra scalpel cut through only the chakra-infused ink printed on the silk, but not the silk itself. If she had dared to try and remove the silk physically there was no doubt in her mind that Hinata's eyes would pay the price. She couldn't afford to fail.

The skilful sealing method was so meticulous it was hard to believe that some mere bounty hunters had applied it, which was what made Sakura all the more wary. The only nations she knew of that boasted this level of prowess were Konoha and Kumo. Konoha had no need to do this, so Kumo was the only other option. It made sense, after their complete disgrace at the hands of the Leaf so many years ago, that they would come back for another attempt at the famed Byakugan.

The slice was neat, smaller than .01mm, but on the microscopic chakra scale that was more than enough to break the flow. The seal deactivated itself, and the channel Sakura had prepared siphoned away the remaining chakra from the original sealer.

"Keep that chakra stable. We need to send it to T.I. for analysis," Sakura said.

"Hai, taichou," The Anbu member said, carefully sealing the chakra into a transportable container. Sakura took a cloth to wipe her forehead from the nurse on standby.

"Okay, slowly lower the amount of chakra in the feeder until the levels are negligible," She called. The glow softened until it was entirely imperceptible to normal human eyes, "That's it, there we go," She whispered, gently removing the remains of the seal from Hinata's face. The girl had been awake during the procedure so that she would be able to report any changes to her condition. Sakura angled the surgical light out of the way as Hinata blinked her eyes against the uncomfortable brightness. There were only minute traces of Sakura's own chakra left around Hinata's eyes, and the foreign chakra had been completely removed. A success.

"How are you feeling, Hinata-sama?" The lone Hyuuga in the room asked. Hikaru himself had bandages all the way up his side from where he'd been struck by the assailant's tanto, and he still looked pale from his own surgery. Sakura smiled.

"Hikaru-san? Is that you?" Hinata called, feeling out for things as her eyes adjusted, "Are you okay?" She asked. Sakura sighed. Trust two of the few compassionate Hyuuga to end up in this debacle.

"Both of you are fine," Sakura cut in, as their heads swivelled to her, "Hinata-chan, I'd like you to come to the hospital for a checkup in a few days, but I'm sure you don't have anything to worry about. Hikaru, you silly idiot, don't you dare even attempt sneaking out of your hospital room or I'll give you a proper injury. You can check out when – and only when – I've deemed that the poison is one hundred percent out of your system."

Hinata nodded, looking down timidly.

"Um, Uchiha-san?" Hinata asked, "It was you who rescued me, if I'm correct. I just wanted to say thank you. I was, I was very scared. You r-really calmed me down." She finished with a whisper. Sakura took Hinata's hands in her own.

"Don't you worry about it. It's my job to look after my fellow shinobi. You were very brave in the operating room today, so you should be proud of yourself too. I know you can get stronger, so next time you'll be doing the saving," Sakura said. Hinata gasped, face red. She nodded in awe.

"Thank you very much!" She said, getting up to bow fully at the waist.

"It's a pleasure, Hinata-chan. Now, I do think your father and sister are very worried about you, so you should go tell them you're alright," Sakura said, opening the door for the Hyuuga girl. Hinata left in a flurry of worry. Hikaru gave her a knowing look as Sakura closed the door to the operating theatre.

"I haven't seen you work so hard in a medical capacity in a long time, Sakura," He said, getting up from where he leant against the wall. Sakura sighed, stripping off her cap and mask. She'd already removed her gloves before talking to Hinata.

"Yeah, it's been a while," She admitted.

"You enjoy it, though. I saw how happy you were to help her. You like healing people," Hikaru said. Sakura tried to turn away from him but he grabbed her wrist. She frowned.

"Why not do it? The medical staff here already admire you. You'd have no problem transitioning to the hospital. This is where you're happy, Sakura, saving people's lives instead of taking them," He said. Sakura refused to look him in the eyes. Her frown deepened.

"I have more to do out there than in here, Hikaru. You know that, better than Homaru does," She sighed. His grip didn't falter.

"Do I?" He asked, "I think a part of you never thinks that at all, but you believe you have some cosmic duty to the world to fulfil the tasks no one else wants to do, and you let yourself down in the process. Maybe I don't know the full story, maybe you don't even know it, but I think that in some situations you need to put yourself first," Hikaru said, "Pardon the treasonous thoughts, but the village is only a village if there are people to band together. Just because you're one of many doesn't make you replaceable. Just, try and do what you want, once in a while? I worry, Homaru worries – those little kids you love so much definitely worry."

Sakura pursed her lips.

"I understand what you're saying, but… it's true that you don't know the whole story," Sakura said, turning to finally face him, "it's a lot more complicated than it should be, but I'm trying to fix this mess. I promise, I won't put myself aside forever but, right now? There are a lot more people who deserve their happiness than me. I don't mind waiting for mine a little longer," She finished, smiling. Hikaru huffed, but returned her smile with fondness.

"Okay, I trust you. Remember we're here for you too," He said, pulling her into a hug. She returned it heartily.

"I know."

Sakura shuffled through a set of letters she'd received, carefully nursing a steaming cup of coffee. Sai watched her intently from the corner of his eyes, even as he bent protectively over his sketchbook to hide the pictures within. He wasn't adding to them, but every now and again (and more and more frequently with every passing day under Sakura's watch) he felt the need to thumb through it and look at what he had drawn before.

"Ask your question, Sai-kun." Sakura said, even as the lines between her eyebrows scrunched further together. Sai didn't bother trying to hide it when he watched Sakura. She was naturally perceptive, as a shinobi. It wasn't hard to tell when someone was watching you. Still Sai hesitated. Whatever Sakura had dealt with a few days before when she had been summoned straight from the apartment was still being dealt with. While Sai had known that Sakura was still considered an important part of the village goings on, he hadn't expected her to be so deeply involved.

Konoha was a shinobi village, so it came as no surprise to anyone that the news of what had happened at the Hyuuga estates would spread within the walls within hours of the incident occurring. So too did the news of one of Anbu's elites returning to the scene to aid in the rescue mission. That was perhaps what sparked the most worry, with people wondering how big of a deal it must have been to recruit the infamous Dove back into the organisation in order to fix it.

It wasn't an unfounded fear. Sai had watched, in the three days after, how the bags under Sakura's eyes grew worse. How she drank the coffee they had in the house until it finished, then (briefly, before Sai had had a chance to replenish it) switched to sake. She spent mornings doing paperwork, writing letters and receiving them. In the afternoons she put on her flak jacket, donned her hitai-ate and head to the Hokage's office for meetings. Around the village the uppermost people were convening, and Sai, along with half the population of Konoha, wondered if this time there would be a declaration of war.

After all, it had been so narrowly avoided the first time, with the Hyuuga Affair.

Sai wasn't sure what exactly he wanted to ask.

"The letters," He said eventually, "Who are they from?"

"My spies," Sakura said, leaning her head against her hand and she scrawled quickly, "In particular, the few I have stationed near Kumo. I've unfortunately never managed to get close enough to the village itself to place spies inside it, so all of this information is second hand at best, and therefore needs taking with a certain amount of salt."

Sai was surprised at how frankly she told him the information. Sakura seemed to sense his surprise.

"Ah, you're wondering why I told you so easily? It doesn't hurt to let you know. We share an apartment after all. If something happens to me, and I need my spy network to remain intact regardless, I can always count on you to take it over, or pass it on to someone who can. Plus, I trust you, Sai-kun, even if you don't trust me," She said. Sai's fingers twitched.

"I… I do, trust you too," He said, with some struggle. Sakura smiled, a touch of the stress on her face melting at his words. Sai tried often to make sense of the strange pains he felt in his chest area when she smiled at him. It was a weird feeling, like he had seen it before somewhere else, but still here. It made his head ache to think about it.

Sakura continued to write, frowning, and then pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Ugh these fuckers," She said under her breath, then got up. She hadn't slept that night. Sai had listened to her pacing the apartment for hours as he feigned sleep. She had been sitting at the table writing when he had gotten up. Sai watched her roll up the letter and tie it, stamping it almost carelessly with her chakra signature.

"I'll be back soon, Sai. I have another meeting to attend. Please do me a favour and go down to the market today? Omu-san will have the grocery list prepared." She said, tying her hitai-ate tight.

"Of course," Sai said, eyes trailing after her as she jumped from the windowsill. The faint throbbing in his chest went unnoticed.

…

"Sakura-san has arrived, Hokage-sama," The secretary said. Hiruzen inhaled deeply from his pipe.

"Allow her in," He said. The secretary bowed and went to escort Sakura in. The girl in question bowed low as she approached his desk.

"Sakura-san, I hope you have good news for me?" He asked. She sighed. One thing about Sakura was that in most situations she was an exceptional shinobi. Her face never wavered, her emotions always just so, but in these short moments Hiruzen was privy to a side of her she preferred not to show. She had as long as he had known her been comfortable in his presence. It was a strange sort of kinship they shared. Here her shoulders slumped awkwardly, her face looked tired. The youth she should have had was missing in her eyes, but it always had been. Hirusen could not remember a time when Sakura's eyes had ever looked anything but intelligent and aware.

"I have mixed news, Hokage-sama. If I may?" She said. He waved for her to continue.

"After a short investigation in partnership with T.I., some of my subordinates found traces of outside chakra sources at the Hyuuga compound that matched with the sample obtained from the seal. However, the chakra used in the seal was changed slightly – mutated, if I might put it in layman's terms. It wasn't natural. I ask that you implore the Hyuuga to allow Hinata to be put in the care of the hospital in case of adverse reactions to this abnormal chakra. I am concerned that I may have been unaware of this and therefore careless in the operation to remove the seal. Anything that results will of course fall onto me," She said softly, bowing.

"The chakra we have found is unlikely, in my experience and in Yamanaka-san's opinion, related to Cloud. It is predominantly water-based in nature, but that doesn't rule out the possibility of the user being hired by the Cloud. However, something I personally found suspicious was the fact that the kidnappers themselves remember nothing. During interrogation they both gave up no information. Both of them had been thoroughly probed by T.I.'s finest but came out clean.

"So, do you suppose they were hypnotised? A genjutsu strong enough to completely erase the contents of a mind?" Hiruzen muttered.

"Hokage-sama, this might sound unbelievable… or rather, it's completely absurd, but I have a good idea of who it could be, and even why they'd try to implicate the Cloud." Sakura said. Hiruzen blew a few rings from his pipe.

"I am fond of absurd explanations, to be honest, Sakura-san. Please, enlighten me?"

Sakura managed the tiniest of smiles.

"There is a criminal organisation known as Akatsuki who operate in Rain Country. For the past few years they have been quiet, only performing simple mercenary work – which is why they haven't seemed to be much of a threat – but, I have received reports of strange movements on their behalf in the past few months. In fact," Sakura said, then paused. She seemed suddenly reluctant to speak, but took a breath, "In fact, I came face to face with one of the organisation's leaders in the past year. He was… terrifying, to say the least. I have no doubt that he intended to interfere with the Uchiha Incident. Fortunately he didn't do anything. I am sure that either he, on his own, is related to this incident, or his entire group is. For one thing, a special field operative of mine who belongs to the organisation did report overhearing plans made for Konoha, though they do not know of what exactly they concern."

Hiruzen grimaced. He knew vaguely of what Sakura was talking about from half-rushed correspondence from Jiraiya in the past two years. He hadn't wanted to confirm anything but here was he evidence presented in front of him. He couldn't simply ignore it.

"I've been in contact with an old friend who said something similar. If this is really some ungerground force with intent towards Konoha…"

"Then it is in the village's best interests to know as much as possible about the situation." Sakura said. She broke eye contact and let her eyes flicker to the window behind the Hokage. A grim line settled across her mouth.

"Hokage-sama, I am afraid I will have to trouble you for a large favour," Sakura sighed. Hiruzen nodded.

"What is it you need, my dear?" He asked. Sakura fidgeted, hand unconsciously going up to curl a few strands around her fingers. She stopped herself and folded her hands in front of her.

"I need to go on a mission. A long one, a year, maybe a year and a half, where I can move around as I please without being attacked by Konoha shinobi. I will be attempting to establish contact with Jiraiya-sennin and Tsunade-sama while checking up on my contacts. A few of my subordinates have been strangely quiet in the recent weeks after the incident, and I am concerned that information might have been leaked. Tsunade-sama has been wandering for too many years, as I'm sure you'll agree, and we need her back in the village. I do not require payment or money for supplies. I have my own mission pay from previous missions. What I will need is absolute secrecy. No one can know where it is I am for the mission length, save you Hokage-sama. It's… a lot to ask I know," She said solemly, "But I beg of you- this fight isn't going to get any easier in the near future and Konoha needs all the help it can get." She bowed deeply at the waist.

Sarutobi thought over it for a moment. It was unreasonable, true, but there was a certain measure of trust Hiruzen felt necessary to place in certain shinobi – higher than any rank one could obtain really. Only a select few had ever tasted that kind of trust – Jiraiya, Tsunade, Orochimaru back in the day, Minato and Kakashi later, even Iruka and now Sakura. Perhaps a shinobi's greatest asset was their instinct, and after so many years serving faithfully under the great tree, Hiruzen was confident in his ability to trust the correct people. He put down his pipe.

"You are asking a lot of me Sakura-san. I have over the years placed a firm trust in you as a shinobi, but also as a friend. I do believe that you are always doing what is best for this village. If I may proposition you then?"

"Of course, Hokage-sama."

"I'll give you a year. Every month I want a report back. I'll send summons to retrieve it from you. In the sixth month, Kakashi will find you, just to see how you are coping. While on your trip do me a favour and visit some old friends of mine in Mist. You can deliver this to them," He said, pulling out a box and placing it on the desk. She traced it carefully with her eyes but couldn't tell what it was, "Also, when you return I'd like to see you sign up for a Genin team. I want to see your take on training the next generation, if you please."

Sakura smiled, just a little.

"That would be perfect, Hokage-sama. Thank you very much for the opportunity."

"Well we shall be losing one of our best, so this gamble had better be worth it. You bring our Slug Princess back and you might even end up in the running for the next Hokage." Hiruzen said. Sakura shook her head, her smile now in full.

"You already have plenty of Hokage candidates, sir, and I fully intend for Naruto-kun to reach his goal. He just needs a bit of help along the way." She said. Sarutobi waved her off, looking out the window to where her eyes had traced the empty space on the Hokage monument, as if looking for a face that wasn't yet there.

"You're sending her outside the village?" Kakashi asked, slouching casually in front of Hiruzen's desk that evening. Sarutobi last rays of sunlight stretched into the office and made it glow with warmth. Kakashi's hair reflected fire.

"I trust her mission will be successful." Hiruzen assured him. Kakashi wandered through the room, eyes settling on the portrait of Minato hung on the wall. He looked away.

"That's not why you called me hear, then?" Kakashi asked. He didn't know where this was going, didn't know what to say to this, to his previous student striking out on her own and doing things he knew he would have done at her age too.

"I'd like to ask you, Kakashi, who you think Uchiha Sakura is." Hiruzen said. His old, wrinkled hand pressed up against the glass. Kakashi didn't move. He thought about the question, about what the question implied.

"You think she isn't who she should be?" He breathed.

"I've never thought she was who she should be," Hiruzen answered, "Tell me. Since as long as you've known Uchiha Sakura, has she ever seemed like a child? Not once has she set foot in this room without the eyes of an adult. Her soul is old, once could say, but a soul as old as hers has seen things even I haven't seen."

"I don't understand," Kakashi said. What was the Hokage talking about? Sakura had always reminded Kakashi of himself – a child exposed to too much war at a young age and brought up to fight. It had never seemed like she was an old soul in that way. She'd been wise, yes, but he was aware that kind of wisdom came from experience.

"Kakashi, I'd like you to look into some Uchiha records for me. Go back as far as you can in her history. I'd like to know the origins of her green eyes. But also visit Root archives. There are a few jutsus that need to be added to the Forbidden Scroll, in my opinion." Sarutobi said. Kakashi just sighed, resigned himself to his fate, and accepted that as long as he lived, he never, ever wanted to become Hokage.

"Remember to eat properly," Sakura said.

"Yes," Sai answered.

"And don't leave your pens on the floor. You'll fall and hurt yourself."

"Yes."

"Also, if you can't make yourself proper stuff I've asked the Haruno and Yamanaka families to invite you over for dinner every once in a while. If you go to the Uchiha Estates they'll let you in. You know where my mom lives right? Down the main path and towards the Naka River on the left-"

"Sakura-san," Sai said. She blinked at him, "You don't have to worry. I'm only two years younger than you and a certified shinobi. I can take care of myself." He said, but his voice was fond. It surprised him to this day just how fond his voice was. She sighed and ruffled his hair despite the fact that they were nearly the same height.

"Of course of course. I trust you Sai-kun, but sometimes even you can be a bit scatterbrained when it comes to your own personal health. It makes a mother worry."

"A mother?"

"Well yes, of course. Why else would you be written down in my will as the inheritor of my stuff when I die. Well, not all of it I suppose, but most of it. You're my little successor!" She said happily. He just stared at her bewildered.

"Wait, we've only lived together for seven months…"

"And I officially adopted you at the beginning of those seven months didn't you know? It's all written down at the familial archives in the hospital." She said, shouldering a bag of her stuff. Sai was at a loss, unable to comprehend why anyone would bother adopting him of all people? He was rude, and sullen and not really capable of human interaction. Why would she…

Sakura noticed his complete confusion and dropped her back for a moment, before pulling Sai in for a hug. He stiffened under the touch.

"Sai-kun, don't worry too much about it. If you'd like I can change it so you stay as your own family? Would that make you more comfortable?" She asked. He awkwardly curled his arms around her, the hug so stiff he was sure he must have looked a sight.

"It's fine. I don't mind… being your family."

Sakura pulled back, smiled, then whacked Sai over the head. He hissed from the impact. It wasn't hard, but Sakura never really hit anyone softly.

"Of course you don't! Everyone wants to be part of this family. You better start being nicer to me now though and pick up your stuff when I tell you to. My mom never stood for those silent looks." Sakura said playfully.

"Can I change my mind?" He asked, making frown and laugh.

The tiniest of smiles tugged at the corner of his lips.

Naruto Uzumaki was a lonely boy as a child. He had had no friends to speak of and most people disliked to be near him. He had always blamed himself (unfairly of course) and soon got into the mindset that it was his fault.

Then he had met Sasuke and Sakura-nee-chan and his whole world shifted.

Thanks to that meeting in the library he had made his first friend. At first he had been reluctant to talk to Sasuke and Sakura had terrified him. She was a big person (well, bigger) and most big people avoided him. But she had gone up to him and introduced herself, kindness and love seemed to radiate from her. He had met Sasuke, a fat-cheeked boy who was fiercely jealous of anyone who went near Sakura, including his own brother.

After that his life began changing. People, big people, started to act more kindly towards him. He felt special when Sakura hugged him or gave him an ice-cream cone. He liked playing with Sasuke, and sometimes they almost felt like a family. But when the end of the day came he knew that Sakura and Sasuke would go home to their real family, and he would be left alone again.

Then they had befriended little Sakura and Ino. And sometimes, at the end of the day, Naruto went home to another person's family, and they would hug him, feed him and tuck him into bed, just like Naruto had always dreamed of. He loved his friends, would do anything to protect them. He loved Sakura-nee almost too much. She had been the first person to really acknowledge that he needed love, and he cared for her something fierce. He wasn't sure what he would do if someone threatened his Nee-chan but he knew one thing, if she ever left him then he wouldn't know what to do.

So when she said she was leaving Konoha on a really long mission Naruto started crying.

He knew he wasn't supposed to. Ninjas weren't supposed to cry, but he couldn't help it. A year? Eighteen months? How was he supposed to live without his Nee-chan there to look after him. He could barely remember what it was like to not have her around. Sure she had long missions all the time but this was too long. He had thought that after she became a jounin she would become their real teacher, and take them along on missions with her like he had dreamed about. All five of them on one cool journey. He certainly hadn't imagined her leaving the village instead.

He had begged her, asked her if there was any other way but she had just smiled sadly and shook her head, hugging him closer to her. Naruto squeezed her tight, hoping that if he held on tight enough she wouldn't go away.

"I'm going to find your Baa-chan, Naruto-kun, so that you can have some real family. Doesn't that sound nice?" She asked. Naruto shook his head vehemently.

"N-no! You can b-be my family, Sakura-nee." Naruto sobbed, clinging to her and soaking the front of her shirt with his tears. She stroked his hair and sung to him – that soft Fire Country lullaby she sometimes hummed when she wasn't concentrating - until he fell asleep.

When he woke up she was gone.

And somehow he knew he wouldn't see her again for a long time.

…

"So you're really leaving huh? I guess I'm a bit late to talk you out of it." Sakura continued her packing, didn't even look up. She didn't need to. She knew that voice from a mile away.

"Yup. It's gonna be a long trip, but I think I'll survive." She answered. Itachi scoffed from his perch on her windowsill. His hair was loose and hung down his back, longer than her own short curls.

"Ever since you got that flak jacket you think you're invincible or something. The jacket is meant to slow a blade's progress but both of us know that that's utter crap. Only a genin's dulled shuriken could be stopped by that thing." He said bitterly. Sakura sighed and leant on her bed. She sent a tired look at Itachi.

"I know I'm not invincible Itachi, and nothing you say is going to stop me from leaving. You've got things under control here. Shisui's got your back and so does the Hokage. You really don't need me here, not right now." She said, sounding more like she was trying to convince herself than anyone else. Itachi frowned at her and got off the windowsill, landing on her floor without a sound.

"This has nothing to do with whether or not we need you here – which we certainly do thank you very much – and you know it. Why are you really running away, cause that's what you're doing aren't you?" Itachi said, not quite accusingly. There was an emotional ache to his voice. Sakura stuffed with more purpose, counting and recounting her scrolls.

"I'm not. I have two important people to find and I need to check up on some of my spies. There's a group of criminals out there that could be a potential threat to Konoha and I need to stop them before they get the chance to do any sort of real damage." Sakura said, the sour taste on her tongue from the words made her itch to drink something. Itachi slunk forward, closing the gap between them, coming into her space.

"And you need to do this on your own? There isn't a single person you can trust to help you?" He asked softly. He levelled a look at her that she couldn't quite decipher and she looked down at her hands, crisscrossed with scars, bent and overworked. Shinobi's hands. Not pretty, not womanly, a fighter's hands.

"This is just something I have to do, okay? I can't involve any of you in something this dangerous. That reminds me, watch out for yourself. These guys might be after you and-" She started. He grabbed her arm, and she turned to face him, acutely aware of his hand, pressing into her flesh, warm and strong and comforting.

"You're going to face down a criminal organization on your own and you're busy worrying about me? Are you insane?" He asked, serious. Sakura opened her mouth then closed it. Itachi's other hand came up, hesitating half way then settling itself at her waist. She tensed from the electricity that seemed to arch from his fingertips up her spine.

"Be quiet," She muttered half-heartedly, "My mother is asleep. I'm concerned okay? You're getting weaker with your heart disease and I don't want it to worsen too much while I'm not around," She admitted finally. Itachi pulled her closer.

"You know? How come you didn't tell me?" He asked, confused and a little hurt. So much that he usually didn't show was now brazen upon his face. Sakura looked down again.

"You think it's some sort of punishment, which it isn't. They need you Itachi, so I've been quietly healing you for years. I'm working on a cure but it'll take a while and I don't have all the necessary stuff here in Konoha. That's also part of why I'm going." She said softly. Itachi stared at her in disbelief.

"You're leaving, to find a cure?" He asked, awe evident in his voice. Sakura's face heated up.

"No! Not just for that, rather that that is one of the many thing I have to do on the way. It's not like I'm going just fo-" Sakura was rather abruptly cut off.

Itachi kissed her, softly and rather hesitantly. Sakura had kissed people before, unlike Itachi, so she knew that the nonsense of 'fireworks' and 'angels singing' wasn't true. But the kiss made her feel warm inside, like hot cocoa on a cold day. It wasn't anything scandalous, just a soft sort of goodbye between two people who had mountains of problems to deal with. The press of his lips against her open mouth was damp. He pulled back after a few seconds and looked decidedly red, and she was sure that she looked the same.

"I, um-" He wavered. Sakura smiled, stepped forward and pulled Itachi into a hug, pressing herself into his chest. His arms wrapped around her hesitantly and when she pulled back he looked a bit less red.

"Thank you for everything Itachi. I'll be back soon, I promise." She shouldered her backpack, stood on her tiptoes and gave Itachi a tiny kiss on the corner of his mouth before slipping out of her bedroom window and leaving her village behind.

Itachi stood in the room for a few more moments, the feeling of warmth lingering on his lips.