Chapter 13: Penalties

"I've always liked quiet people:

You never know if they're dancing

in a daydream or if they're carrying

the weight of the world."

-John Green

The moment of silence that followed her proclamation was deafening. Sakura felt adrenalin fill her system as Tsunade stared at her blankly. Each second that passed increased her heart rate. A nervous sweat gathered at the base of her neck.

"Mind running that by me again?" Tsunade said, voice a deadly whisper.

She swallowed thickly, "A demon killed the masked man in my house."

"And how did a demon come to be in your house?" Tsunade inquired, setting her sake jug down sharply.

A million different explanations flittered through her brain, and she only had a split second to decide which one to use or else the older woman would suspect her of lying.

Meeting Tsunade's eye directly she decided on a half- truth, "When I was little my father brought a mirror home that he found in Suna. It was rumoured to have a demon trapped in it. But it was just a pretty hand- mirror, nothing special about it. I've had it in my room for over a decade…" Sakura said, watching as Tsunade's eyes widened. "But when the man was attacking me, it fell off my dresser and shattered. I was yelling for help when the demon came out and killed the man."

So maybe it was more of a lie, with a bit of truth sprinkled in. Ignorance was a deadly disease in her line of work, but in this case it could prevent a treason charge.

"And you didn't think to tell me when you were here this morning?" Tsunade hissed.

Sakura flinched back. She knew that avoiding punishment was impossible. And if she was honest, she knew that she technically deserved it. After all, she had risked the safety of her village by letting Sasori out to protect herself. All shinobi operated on the mantra that the good of the majority, triumphed the good of one. She had broken that rule.

"I didn't know what to say. Everything all blended together with the mission and the demon. I passed out from chakra exhaustion and I wasn't sure if Sasori had done something to me," she said, the pleading note in her voice echoing amongst the room.

Tsunade's nostrils flared and Sakura knew that her fury was not abated in the slightest by her excuse. "Sasori? That's the creature's name?"

It was strange hearing her call Sasori a 'creature.' While Sakura could never mistake him for a human, there was something so sophisticated about him that the word creature didn't seem eloquent enough.

She nodded.

"And where is the demon now?" Tsunade's eyes were narrowed in a hawk-like way as they watched her.

"At my ho-house," she stuttered, feeling the full brunt of her former mentor's anger.

"It hasn't tried to leave?" Tsunade questioned, arching a pale brow. "Have you actually manage to incapacitate it?"

Hearing Sasori being referred to as an 'it' was even stranger than referring to him as creature. His masculinity was about as subtle as a sledgehammer.

She was oh so tempted to bite her lip as she quickly pondered whether or not to tell Tsunade about the contract. She knew that chewing on her lip was one of her tells and she didn't want to get herself into deeper trouble. But the thought of lying to her Hokage didn't sit well either.

"He hasn't attempted to leave. I'm not sure how long he has been stuck in the mirror. I think he is a little wary of the outside world and what could have changed," Sakura said. She rationalized that she wasn't exactly lying- for all she knew Sasori was allergic to sunlight and afraid to go out in the day. He was certainly pale enough.

"So let me get this straight-" Tsunade said, disbelief colouring her words, "last night a masked shinobi attacked you and a demon came out of a mirror and killed the man for you. And now the demon is resting at your house, like a docile pet…"

When she put it like that it sounded crazy. Sakura hesitantly nodded her head and flinched when the older woman nosily sighed.

"So what do you think he wants from you? And more importantly is he going to be a problem for Konoha?"

"I'm not really sure what he wants from me," Sakura said, telling the complete truth for the first time since she stepped foot in the room. "I don't think he is all that concerned with humans. From what I've garnered from my father's research, demons can't truly harm humans unless they enter a contract."

And she was one of those idiotic people who had entered one. Sasori could force her to poison every nin under her charge at the hospital. He could make her destroy Hokage Tower with a fist. He could ask her to slit the throats of every child still training at the Academy. And she would have to do it… Ice settled in her soul as she finally considered the ramifications of her actions. That whatever Sasori could ask of her might not affect her, so much as her village or the people she loved.

Tsunade remained still as she processed Sakura's words, "Demons can only harm humans through a contract. But the Nine Tails…"

Sakura hesitantly nodded- it was the same quiet solution that she had came up with since her father told her. Someone would have had to enter the Nine Tails into a contract and manipulated him. It was the only way to explain the demon's rage and possibly revenge on her village.

"And you don't think this 'Sasori' demon will hurt the village?"

Sakura shook her head. Truth be told, she had no idea if Sasori would want to hurt the village. If her father's information was right, than the people he would carry grudges against would be from Suna. And yet, Sasori didn't particularly seem bothered by killing those masked men. Still, he was not a mindless beast. He seemed far too haughty to just kill for the sake of killing, even if it was a part of his nature.

"Okay," Tsunade breathed, "here is what we are going to do," the determined glint in the woman's amber eyes made it clear that her word was law. "You are going to find that stolen summoning scroll and destroy it."

Sakura nodded resolutely. That seemed more than fair. Burning a summoning scroll wouldn't even hurt Sasori- it would just end all future chances he had to make contracts. If no one could summon him, than he couldn't manipulate humans. He may be annoyed by it, but after his entrapment in the mirror, Sakura didn't think he would overly mind as long as he was free.

"-But first, you are going to find a way to seal the demon away again," Tsunade said, eyes stony.

She felt her heart sink. Less than an hour ago, Sasori had been choking her with a threatening promise if she tried to cage him- and now her Hokage was ordering her to. At Tsunade's expectant stare, she nodded, wishing she felt as determined as she forced herself to look.

"Perhaps once that is finished I will consider promoting you. But for now, I can't have jounin with these kinds of secrets. The last one who kept secrets killed his entire clan," Tsunade said, disappointment radiating from her.

And while her shoulders slumped, Sakura couldn't help the pinch in her brow, "I thought that Uchiha Itachi was innocent? Naruto wouldn't shut up about it on our mission home…"

The older woman cursed under her breath, "Brat needs to keep his mouth shut!" She stared at Sakura, "a lot of pointless death could have been avoided if there was better communication in the village."

Sakura privately thought that was a fool's hope. They were shinobi. Dealing in secrets was their trade. But she also knew that her annoyance at the hypocrisy was only a cover for regret. Despite her initial reluctance, she had really wanted the jounin promotion.

"I'm taking you off the mission roster and hospital schedule until you have those tasks done. Sealing the demon and destroying the summoning scroll are your top priority," Tsunade said, picking up papers and shuffling them about.

Sakura knew she was only doing it to indicate that the conversation was over. She bowed silently, before slipping out of the room, shame clinging to her figure. She hadn't felt this bad leaving the Hokage's office since she almost botched a heart operation at the hospital. Her feet mindlessly took through the familiar path.

She mentally flinched when she thought of Sasori. A hand absently reached up and brushed against the tender flesh on her neck. It would undoubtedly bruise. If the demon found out about her newest assignment than there was no doubt in her mind that he would do more than just bruise her. She doubted he would even make it a quick crush of her windpipe. No- he would make her suffer slowly. Despite him betraying her trust on more than one occasion, she knew the demon wouldn't tolerate lies in return. Sasori would make her pay dearly if he were to discover her new orders.

Her feet paused outside the familiar door, as her eyes blankly stared at the wood. How was she supposed to keep him in the dark? She knew nothing of Sasori's powers. Those lascivious smirks told her that if he wasn't able to read her mind, than he was an expert at reading her body. He would know if she way lying. Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip- she was a kunoichi, she lied to people for a living. Sasori may not have been a man, but he was still an arrogant male. Maybe, just maybe she could pull this off without her head being mounted on a spike.

Sighing, Sakura stepped inside the building. The same chunin that had manned the library since Asahi had died glared at her as she walked in. Sakura couldn't blame the woman- she had been a few years older than Sakura when she was first posted as library guard. She always presented the pink haired girl with a friendly smile and offers for help. Yet Sakura had constantly snubbed the older girl, her fresh sorrow from Asahi's death fostering an irrational dislike for his replacement. Three years later and the woman's friendliness had finally worn off. Sakura knew that she thought she was arrogant- and perhaps she was. She didn't even bother to learn the woman's name after all.

Her feet silently meandered to her usual section of the library and she sat down. Hand slipping under the table, she flipped through genjutsu signs. Once the last layer was in place, Sakura noiselessly stepped away from the table. The nice thing about genjutsu was that once it was cast, the user didn't have to waste chakra keeping it up the way they would have to with a clone. She peered at the illusionary version of herself, idly flipping through the pages of a large medical textbook. It was such a common- place scene that no one who witnessed it would think twice. Which was exactly what she needed.

Stalking further back into the stacks, emerald eyes scanned through the shelves until they landed on the small section of books she was looking for. They weren't restricted, private or top secret by any means. But she still didn't want her interest in these titles noted. Settling herself further into a corner, she flipped open the cover of The History of the Great Hokages. Her eyes flipped through the contents, admiring the information with a wistful smile. Gazing at a man that looked so curiously similar to her own blonde teammate, she remembered when her lofty childhood dreams had idolized Namikaze Minato. But despite how interesting the information was, and how truly remarkable Naruto's resemblance to the man was, it didn't have what she needed.

Turning to the next book, The Attack of the Nine Tails, she hoped for better luck. Because if she could understand how the attack on Konoha went down, than maybe she would be able to better understand her father's research. And logically his research would lead to the scroll thief. She was almost entirely sure that the thief and the masked nin were probably working under the same leadership.

Flipping through the pages, Sakura's brow furrowed as she scanned the words. They were interview statements. Hundreds of them- written by civilian and nin alike. All on the Kyuubi attack and each one had the same thing in common. Their recollections each stated that the war had just ended and Konoha's forces had just begun to recoup after relentless fighting with Iwa when the demon bore down upon them. How he let his malevolent chakra saturate the air.

Sakura raised a brow- she hadn't known that demons used chakra the same way shinobi did- wielding killing intent. Sasori had always kept his chakra skilfully masked. Even threatening her, she had never felt the sting of his life energy.

But the thing that had struck Sakura as most alarming was that all records stated that the Nine Tails broke into the village from the Uchiha compound. Her grip on the book's spine became tighter as she considered how this information coupled with the scrap of scroll she found clutched in her father's hand labelled 'sharingan' could work together. All she could narrow down was that somehow the Uchiha were entwined with demons- whether that was being contracted to them, freeing them or fighting against them, Sakura didn't quite know.

She put the book back on the shelf and stood to her feet. Creeping further back into the stacks, she came upon a small alcove that was almost entirely unnoticeable. Her hands went through the familiar seals and wide eyes watched as a door appeared. She fought against the urge to check her surroundings, knowing that if anyone was watching, they would find her vigilance more suspicious. She entered the door and walked down the cold stony tunnel until a much older wooden door appeared. Pushing it open, the smell of old parchment and stale air hit her nose.

A faint smile ghosted on her lips. The Archives were so restricted that Sakura wasn't even technically supposed to know they existed. It was a room that held every single mission report- from S classed ANBU missions to Tora the cat genin ones were stored here. Working under Tsunade shouldn't have even granted her access, but occasionally she was secretly tasked to organize paperwork here. Only the Hokage and a very select number of high council members even knew about it.

This room was every childhood fantasy come true- a secret nin room full of books on dangerous and intriguing information. The 'scroll' within her, as always was giddy to be there. Each bookshelf was labelled according to mission date and rank. Sakura approached the shelf that was labelled the year after her birth. Her mouth pulled down as she considered exactly what kind of rank her father's mission would be. Especially since it was not actually given to him by the Hokage…

Her eyes drifted to the A rank shelf and the small pile of dusty scrolls that were not assigned by the Third Hokage, but by members of the Shinobi Council. Plucking a few from the shelf, she leaned against the wall. The first scroll was an espionage mission in Iwa, the next was poisoning from Suna. But the third scroll made her eyes light up. A mandate to Haruno Kizashi to research demons. The mission details were vague- he was to find out as much information as he could about summoning, banishing and contracting demons. All expenses paid, no end date. Her eyes widened- most missions didn't allow that kind of freedom, especially on the village's coin. But as her eyes drifted to the signature on the bottom, Sakura considered that perhaps Shimura Danzo was paying out of his own pocket. And how curious that was…

Tucking the scroll into her pocket, she put everything else back in place before turning around. Goosebumps trailed down her arms as she walked back through the stone passage. But when she got to the end of the passage, Sakura stumbled back in alarm. A male was entering through the sealed door. Her shoulder's tensed as their eyes met and she watched as hazel eyes traced her form, just as she was appraising him. He nodded briefly before walking past her. She let out a small exhale as she slipped out the door and returned to dispatch her illusion.

Chaotic thoughts raced through her mind as she left the library. She could never claim that she knew every citizen in the village, but Sakura was confidant that she knew every nin. She had worked in the Hokage's office for years, and witnessed every nin check in for a report at some point. But never in her life had she gazed upon the man that had just entered the secret archive room. He had a handsome face and yet everything about his blank features screamed 'non descript.' Yet the only way he would even know about the room was if he had special permission. And if he had been granted those kinds of favours, than why was his face a stranger to her?

Sakura didn't know why everything seemed to be hitting her at once. She knew that her village had secrets. It was a Hidden Village after all. And she knew that there were missions that she would never be privy to, no matter how much Tsunade trusted her. But all of this cloak and dagger business surrounding her father and the council and demons was more than a little unsettling. And the prospect of facing more of the masked nin or the mysterious involvement of the Uchiha only made her nerves feel more frayed.

Paranoid eyes chased the shadows around her property and carefully probed the perimeter, before slipping inside the house. Heart racing and head starting to ache, Sakura pulled off her nin sandals, hating that even at home she felt unsettled. Trudging up to her bedroom, she felt the weight of her father's mission scroll burning a hole in her pocket.

Pushing the door to her bedroom open, her eyes were instantly drawn to the crimson ones lounging on her chair. Bile burned at the back of her throat as she looked at him… Kami, how was she supposed to lie to him? And how was she supposed to seal him into the mirror again? For one, she had no idea how he came to be there in the first place- just some old dream of a Suna woman giving it to him. And secondly, the mirror was shattered. Sasori shifted in her chair and she felt her heart stutter.

"So this is how it's going to be?" the demon snarled.

Sakura fought the urge to flinch. Maybe he really could read her mind? Maybe he knew of her orders...

Her breath halted as he rose to his feet, impressive height coming to tower over her as he moved closer. Emerald eyes dilated in trepidation as a clawed finger trailed down her cheek.

"The silent treatment pet?" he leaned in close, breath washing over her face. "You can't ignore me like you used to. No flipping over the mirror and leaving me to the void," Sasori hissed.

Her breath came out in a whoosh. He didn't know. It should have been relieving, yet those red eyes were biting into her, a snake about to strike. Her eyes dropped to the floor, mind whirling at what to do. He wasn't angry- not really. And while her twelve-year-old self had grown accustomed to his annoyance, it was easy to deal with when he was encased in a glass prison. Not looming over her.

She let her eyes linger on the ground and paused to gather her confidence before stepping forward and burrowing herself into his frame. She could feel him stiffen in shock.

"Sasori," she whispered into his chest. The demon's tense posture melted and his arms slithered around her.

"Did someone upset you pet?" he asked, voice light, but with the undertone of violence.

"Yes."

The arms gripped her tighter, and for a split second she forgot that this was supposed a manipulation tactic. That she was doing this to divert suspicion. That his arms really shouldn't feel so nice.

"Who?" he whispered, voice deadly smooth.

She nuzzled slightly into her father's shirt, feeling the warmth of her Sasori's skin underneath, "That's the problem. I don't know who they are." Her voice trilled out with a slight whining edge.

She could feel the weight of his chin settle atop her head, "What can I do?"

She fought her natural instinct to stiffen at hearing those words. But the slightly sarcastic words still managed to slip through her lips, "I don't think I should ask any more favours from you."

He pulled back and she found herself staring into his otherworldly eyes, "You know I've killed people for less transgressions than talking to me with that tone."

She swallowed thickly, but didn't avert her gaze, "And here I thought you would be immune to me by now. You did spend years listening to my adolescent self."

She watched as his mouth twitched into a small smile, "I cannot count the number of times I wanted to reach through that cursed mirror and strangle your pretty little neck."

She watched his eyes dip down to consider her neck. Her frowned slightly and Sakura knew that he was without a doubt looking at skin that would have mottled with the imprint of his fingertips.

"You drive me to do crazy things," he breathed.

She bit the inside of her cheek. Nothing Sasori had done seemed overly crazy. Sure it was not business as usually in her house right now- but considering, as he wasn't the actual cause of the chaos that was saying something. But she didn't know what his behaviour was normally like- or any demon's usual habits.

"Dad's in a coma," she blurted out.

She watched Sasori watch her, "And you are upset by this?"

She stepped away from him, "Oh course I am!"

She watched him frown, "I didn't think you cared for the man?"

Her exhale was harsh, "That doesn't mean I want him dead."

"Than what do you want pet?" his voice echoing the pure sarcasm she was accustom to hearing in her pubescent years.

She scowled, "I want to know what favour you are going to ask of me."

Sasori narrowed his eyes and Sakura felt trepidation creep back into her conscious, "I don't know yet."

Frustration loosened her tongue, "Why? Why not just ask me for something? Anything! Then you could leave and be free to do whatever you want."

She had no idea why she was saying this. Planting these ideas in his head… Tsunade would kill her. But it had been less than a day and Sakura wasn't sure how she would survive the anxiety his presence brought.

"I will ask when I have decided on what I want," his voice was ominous.

She wanted to scream. Instead, she took another step away and turned, heading back out the door. Continuing down the stairs, her silent feet lead a path to her father's study. She flipped through the complex seals, and stepped inside, closing the door with resolute thud. Her twelve-year-old self would have slammed the door. She felt only slightly childish, that her near eighteen-year-old self settled on sharp clicks of locks.

Leaning against the door, she pulled the mission scroll from her pocket. Her eyes flickered over the familiar room, noticing that it looked exactly in order. She doubted the masked men had managed to actually break in. The organized chaos her father kept his study in would have needed careful surveillance if anyone tried to steal something without notice. And the seals spoke prevented espionage.

Walking over to her father's desk, she opened his top drawer. She moved to shuffle loose papers out of the way to hide the mission scroll when a note caught her attention. It was a part of a scroll that clearly had a piece torn off of it. And Sakura knew where the other part was- her father had been clutching it in his hand. Pulling the worn paper out, her eyes widened.

'- can control the chakra from a tailed beast. The ocular powers when it is in it's most complex stages are able to manipulate, subdue or dominate these particular types of demons.'

She knew the missing word. It was 'sharingan.'

She mindlessly sat back in her father's chair as thoughts assaulted her senses. The sharingan could control tailed demons. Her knuckles turned white. The Nine Tails had entered the village from the Uchiha compound. She could feel her heartbeat pick up. Could one of them have… summoned? Controlled? Commanded the nine tails? An Uchiha?

"Are you done having your tantrum?"

Sakura choked slightly as Sasori's voice caressed her ear.

"I'm not having a tantrum," she snapped.

Sasori just raised an eyebrow and she hated the way she had unintentionally proven his point.

"I have to go back to the hospital," she said, getting to her feet.

Before she could even make a step towards the door, a large hand on her shoulder stopped her. She was pulled back into his chest.

"I am here because I need to put more parts of my plan into motion," his voice was gravel in her ears, making her toes curl. "I'm here because I am not so careless as to leave this house without figuring out the intricate details of how the word has changed. And I'm here," he said, hand trailing dangerous low on her belly, "because I want to be here. Understand?"

Sakura nodded her head not trusting whatever words would come out of her mouth. He was becoming dangerous to her in ways she hadn't even thought were possible. He made her lose her mind. He made her forget her mission.

She stepped away, watching the demon tense up. "I'll be back later tonight." She didn't wait for his reply as she turned and fled the house, hating that her cheeks felt hot.

She was so preoccupied by her thoughts that it seemed as if she blinked and she was in front of her father. Machines beeped their rhythmic monotone and she briefly took note of her chart. Everything looked good.

"What are you hiding dad?" Sakura whispered, to his unconscious form.

She needed him to wake up. To fill her in on some answers. To help her with her mission. She knew everything would be tied together.

"Sakura-chan!" a loud voice said, and she watched as Naruto skidded through the door.

She fought back a frown. She understood her former master's reasoning for dropping the genjutus. But if Naruto could easily access his room, than how many other people could.

"-I've been looking for you everywhere. Shizune said something about a coma patient," the blonde rambled.

She felt slightly bemused that Naruto clearly hadn't recognized that the man in the bed was her father.

"What is it?" she questioned, knowing that Naruto took after their sensei in that he didn't particularly like hospitals.

She watched as a bright smile stretched across his face. "He's out, Sakura. Sasuke is out!"

A/N: Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Thank you for your reviews and please continue letting me know what you think!