One Thing in Common Redone (because I hate the original, so for all the new readers, enjoy this better version and be glad you weren't exposed that piece of trash I called a first chapter)

"Where's Naruto?" she asked quietly, knowing without a doubt that her beloved teammate was completely unaware of her current predicament. What had started out as any other day, sunny and bright, was soon beginning to darken with the threat of her future, and she wished for one last chance to make things right again. "I want him to be here," she reiterated, much to the chagrin of the three people before her. The Hokage, Tsunade, looked at her with sympathetic eyes, wishing she could also make things right again, but knowing there was no other way. While the two Council Elders were beyond annoyed and impatient, obvious in their dislike of Haruno Sakura.

"It's better to leave Naruto out of this," Tsunade said quietly," Konoha will need Naruto in the near future."

Sakura bit her bottom lip; she wanted to scream. She wanted to stomp her feet about, bring this building down with her, and make them see that what they were doing was wrong. This was not the answer. It never could be, but they were too set in their ways to see that. Her verdant eyes glanced at the Elders; this had to have been their idea, their mission; their brilliant plan to save Konoha from the deceit of Danzou.

"So that makes it alright to turn me into a martyr?" she responded back just as quietly. She watched as Tsunade, her trusted shishou, grew pale and her eyes widened. Good, then maybe she'll feel terrible about what she was doing; maybe she'll feel a fraction of the pain Sakura would soon go through. It was petty, but Sakura truly felt betrayed and wished for her former-shishou to feel an ounce of her pain.

But it was not Tsunade who responded to Sakura's quiet statement, but Homura," This is a necessary task we are demanded and it is for the good of the village. We are on the brink of war, Haruno-san, and Konohagakure cannot risk the chances of civil war."

Koharu then spoke up, a sneer evident on her face," You are a shinobi of Konoha; do not let your emotions control you. Accept your fate and do your duty to this village."

'My duty to the village, or to you?' the words were bitter in Sakura's mind, but she didn't dare speak them out loud. Instead, she bit her lip once more, going over the facts. In the past month, it had become clearer and clearer that Danzou was vying for the position of Hokage, still angered that he had been overlooked as the Godaime Hokage. As a primary investigator of ROOT, Sakura had discovered that he had been gathering quite a bit of allies and followers who believed in his ideals, in a truly militaristic Konoha. Only recently, had she uncovered a plan to launch an all scale coup d'état on the government of Konoha, pitching all of ROOT, its allies, and a number of village clans against the remainder of Konoha.

It would only end in bloodshed, and give Akatsuki the chance it wanted to bring Konoha to its knees once and for all.

Yet, couldn't there be better ways to deal with coup d'état's? Yes, she understood that to execute Danzou publicly would only incite his followers, and civil war would break out regardless. Konoha could not be involved with his death, but if a lone figure, an independent party were to take out Danzou, then the finger of blame could be diverted to one direction, and Konoha would be left alone to recover from his treachery.

But why did it have to be her? Why would she have to be the one to assassinate Danzou and destroy ROOT, all alone? After this mission, she would never see her beloved village again; she would never again be accepted and be classified as a dangerous missing-nin; a criminal. What would Naruto and her friends think? Would they hate her? Would they think her no better than Sasuke, to betray her friends and village for a petty thing like revenge? Who, if anyone, would try to bring her back safe and sound? Who would try to bring her back dead?

"I'm sorry, Sakura," Tsunade hung her head in her hands, having no courage to face her student eye to eye. Sakura frowned, refusing to accept such an apology; it meant nothing at this point. Tsunade continued," It has to be you. You're the only one with enough credible motivation. I can't stop this from happening."

'Yes, you can,' Sakura thought, but Inner added sorrowfully,' You just won't stand up for us.'

…

Not a single part of him could understand why such a mission had been dumped on them for no reason or warning. For so long, despite his arguing, they'd been stuck with so many D and C rank missions. But now they were going on a B-rank? And by 'they', he meant he, Sai, and Kakashi. What bothered Naruto the most was the fact that Sakura wasn't coming with.

"You know the hospital needs me, Naruto-kun," she tried to reassure him, giving him one of her bright smiles.

That smile never reached her eyes. And that broke him possibly even more.

"You'd better be there when we get back," Kakashi said good-naturedly, tousling her hair," Someone needs to patch these two knuckleheads up."

Instead of swatting his hand away like she usually did, Sakura just smiled up at him. Noticing the difference, Kakashi narrowed his eye and gave her a questioning look, but said nothing. He figured he'd interrogate her about it when he got back.

"Alright, let's go then," Sai spoke up, never really understanding why they always spent so long on goodbyes. It made no sense, since they always saw each other as soon as they got back. As he was picking up his heavy pack, he found himself being hugged by Sakura," Hey!" He froze stiff, unsure how to react. Was this another trick of hers? Was she going to punch him now?

Just as quickly as she had come, she let go of the confused boy. Next, she went over to Kakashi and received a bear hug from her beloved sensei. And finally, Naruto…

"Sakura, I know something is wrong," he whispered in her ear as he enveloped her in a great hug. A pang hit Sakura's heart when she realized he left out the 'chan'. Out of everyone, she had been hoping Naruto would be the last to realize something was wrong. She wanted him to be in his own happy little world for a little while longer before she destroyed it.

She held him just a little bit tighter for a few seconds, never wanting to let go. She wanted to stay with her team forever, safely locked away in their loving arms. She wanted to always stand beside Naruto and Sai; go on missions with them; forever be the family of Team 7. She wanted Sasuke back and the team complete. She wanted Danzo gone and the village at peace, with her in it.

She wanted a lot of things.

She had to step back from Naruto before she started crying. "I'll see you when you get back," she faked another smile, even though she knew he could tell it wasn't real.

And that was the last she saw of her team. The day her world came crashing down all around her.

…

Never before had running through the trees of the Land of Fire been so hard. But never before had she been running alone. Though a part of her would forever hate Tsunade for doing this to her, she was grateful that her team was sent on another mission outside of the Land of Fire, so they wouldn't have to witness her downfall.

She was alone now. That realization alone was almost enough to cripple her, to hit her in the gut and send her tumbling to the ground, but she had to keep going, to keep moving. Soon, she would be just another face in the Bingo Book; hunted down for a monetary reward, for revenge; she would never be safe again.

But…

Konoha was safe. And that's what mattered. Danzou was dead. ROOT was gone, even if they tried keeping it with a successor and the name. But it wouldn't be like it was before. The true mastermind, Danzou, was gone and so were his plans.

…

For three days, she ran. She ran for her life and she ran from the knowledge of what she'd done. For over two days, she could feel the ROOT captain, Doro, right on her heels. It wasn't until the third day that she lost him completely. At the end of the third day, she reached her limit. Exhausted, her foot slipped on a wet branch and she plummeted towards the ground. The last thing she remembered was distinctly hitting the hard ground.

…

It was raining when Sakura opened her eyes. The first thing she was aware of was she was face-down on the ground with a sharp pain in her stomach. The second thing, ROOT hasn't killed her yet. Slowly, she raised her head and saw a forest around her, cloaked in mist.

"Where am I?" she whispered to herself, not even recognizing the surrounding area. There was no answer, but then again, she wasn't expecting one. The rain fell mercilessly, drowning out all other sounds. If she was in another world, then it was a peaceful one, and she liked it.

All at once, her shinobi instincts kicked in, dawning reality upon her. She needed shelter and food. Standing alone was excruciating; her muscles screamed bloody murder and twice she fell back to the ground. But she kept telling herself that she was a shinobi, and shinobi are strong. She pushed herself to her limit and forced herself to be strong. Once she was actually standing alone on her two feet, a feeling of success overwhelmed her. Now strengthened by her adrenaline, she chose a random direction and began walking.

…

When Sakura came upon the gorge, the damage amazed her. The area was completely destroyed. On both sides, black fire burned ceaselessly, unquenched by the rain. Lightning cracked through the sky and striked the far side of the canyon. The sound was unimaginable and the falling rocks sounded like rolling distant thunder after the initial thunder almost destroyed her eardrums.

Her eyes wandered downward and she spotted three figures below from where she stood. From her height, she couldn't tell who they were, so she decided to get closer. With her trademark grace, she took a single step forward…and dropped like a rock off the edge of the cliff.

As she plummeted, she felt the wind whistle past her and relished in the feeling. Temporarily, she forgot her pain and sorrow as she let the air blanket her. Like she had practiced it a hundred times before, she gathered chakra in her feet and landed as gracefully as a cat.

"Rather impressive entrance, I must say," a light voice spoke, "Although your chakra reserves are no doubt depleted fully now."

Sakura looked up and into the yellow eyes of Zetsu. Of course she had no idea who Zetsu was, or even that Akatsuki had a ficus for a member, but she'd know that cloak anywhere.

"Akatsuki," she growled, seriously reprimanding herself for giving into her curiosity.

"Correct," he spoke again, but it confused her because this time his voice was much deeper. Her eyes glanced over to the side quickly at who she supposed were his latest victims. Instead, she did a double-take. For there, lying side by side, were none other than Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke…

Not caring for manners, she gaped openmouthed at them. The way they were lying so still, with somewhat peaceful expressions, she feared they might be dead.

"Only Itachi is dead," the deep voice of Zetsu spoke, soon followed by his light voice," Sasuke will live with few complications." Relief swept over Sakura and she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She stared at Itachi in disbelief. So Sasuke finally managed to kill him; he finally achieved his goal; could finally come home…

Still somewhat in shock, she fell to her knees at Sasuke's side. Tentatively, she reached out with a shaking hand…

Zest's black hand shot out and caught her wrist in a death-grip," Don't try anything funny." She looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"I just want to heal him," she cried," I don't have much chakra to do anything else." He glared at her with his yellow eyes for a moment, but within a few seconds, his light voice spoke.

"You don't even have enough chakra to heal yourself." The white half of his face appeared to study her for a few more minutes," So I'll lend you some. I can't have him dying on me." The next second, Sakura felt the familiar sensation of another's chakra entering her system. His chakra was most peculiar, with dark chakra swirling with light.

'He truly is two halves put together,' she thought.

Once she acquired a substantial amount of chakra, her own injuries quickly healed and she turned once more to Sasuke.

"You're his teammate, aren't you?" Zetsu spoke up as her glowing green hands healed Sasuke's body. Her face showed no emotion at his words, but she could still feel her heart breaking all over again," I was." She didn't like admitting she knew Sasuke and her reaction showed that she was rather close to him, but Zetsu no doubt already know exactly who she was.

"Haruno Sakura, right?" …yep, he knew…

She remained silent, a fact Zetsu appreciated. Silence was greatly valued in the Akatsuki, which is why Kisame and Deidara were so disliked.

When Sakura was finished, she fell backward to sit down. Now she sat between the two brothers, her lower back barely brushing Itachi's sleeve. She gazed at Sasuke, wishing he would open his eyes, but he didn't.

"So are of some use, after all," Zetsu mused in his light voice. Then his dark voice added," Heard you were a famous healer."

Sakura's mouth felt dry as she retorted," Good to know that even murderers know my reputation."

The dark side of his face laughed loudly. It was a cold laugh, one that was loud and deep, but made her go rigid with fear. Once he was done laughing, which felt like forever to Sakura, he knelt on the other side of Sasuke.

"Well done, I must say," he glanced at Sasuke and saw not one scar. That was good; a face such as his would not take scars lightly. Then his gaze turned on Sakura and she scooted back away from him. She felt Itachi's arm against her back and she jumped, but kept her eyes on Zetsu. A live Zetsu was much more dangerous than a dead Itachi…

"You could join Akatsuki," Zetsu's light voice said softly," You'd be revered as both a warrior and a medic. You could be near Sasuke; it's what you wanted, right? Who knows, you might even end up on the same team as him."

The offer tempted Sakura, so much that she almost shouted yes right away. He was right; she could be near Sasuke; maybe even convince him to return to Konoha.

'I'm a missing-nin now,' she thought miserable, reminding herself,' Where else would I have to go?.' Sorrowful, she gazed down at Sasuke's peaceful face. It almost made her smile, seeing his face so peaceful. She hasn't seen it like this since their Genin days. But then she looked at Zetsu's red and black cloak. She remembered when just seeing those colors would strike fear into the hearts of many.

'NO WAY!' her annoying inner self suddenly popped out of the blue,' We're not murderers. We may be missing-nin, but we'll still find our own new ninja code!'

"I'm not a murderer," Sakura raised her head and tried to look strong. She faced Zetsu's gaze and unwillingly, the image of Danzou's face replaced his. She blinked away the image and it was replaced by Zetsu smiling, as if amused by her declaration.

"I've seen that look a hundred times before," he grinned," I know you will never change your mind."

"Oh well then, it's not too big a loss," he shrugged," I should be leaving then. Pein wanted me to retrieve this brat, not talk to one."

Ignoring his comment, she glanced behind her at the eldest brother," But what about Itachi?" Zetsu looked at the deceased Uchiha and shook his head," He's dead and even his mangekyou is gone; he passed everything onto Sasuke."

"All I need is his ring," he added," Just hand it over to me." She looked over her shoulder and spotted the red ring on Itachi's hand. Biting her lip, she reached over and quickly pulled it off. She wasn't sure, but she could've sworn his hand was still warm to the touch. Shaking it off, she assumed it was because he hadn't been dead for very long yet.

"Why the ring?" she quizzed, flicking the ring in Zetsu's direction. He deftly caught it and grinned his wicked grin," Because it now belongs to Sasuke."

Sakura stared at her former teammate and love, wishing she could stay with him. But she refused to be Akatsuki and she also doubted he would even want her by his side. It was just Sasuke's way to do everything alone, without bonds or friendships. Even with Itachi dead and gone, years of anti-sociality couldn't be undone overnight.

After Zetsu pocketed the ring, Sakura noticed the white side of his face gazing at Itachi. She wasn't sure if she should believe it, but she was fairly certain there was sympathy in his eyes.

"He didn't fight Sasuke at full power," he said in his light voice," He was obviously injured before his fight with his little brother, yet he still faced him head-on."

"He wanted to die…And he wanted Sasuke to be the one to kill him…"

Before Sakura could even drop her jaw, he was absorbed into the ground, along with Sasuke. In a matter of seconds, it was as if they had never even been there.

Now it was just her and the dead body of Uchiha Itachi. Yeah, sounds like loads of fun…

"Is he gone?"

No exaggeration, Sakura jumped three feet into the air with a terrified shriek, her eyes bugged out. Once turned around and five good feet away, she was shocked to see Itachi's eyes half open and looking at her. He didn't look angry, placid, or curious, or anything. He just looked tired as he stared at her. Those dark eyes of his held no life and as she stared into them now, she saw only a soul tired and finally at the end of a long journey. She also noticed he was breathing extremely shallowly, with short quick breaths.

"But…you're supposed to be dead," she gaped with wide eyes, returning to kneel at his side," That plant guy even said so."

"Zetsu," he corrected," And as a medic…nin, you should know…it's easy to…fake a…death." He was having extreme difficulty in speaking and breathing. He kept wincing, as if every breath was painful. Sakura mentally agreed, conjuring up the memory of Haku and Zabuza.

"But…why?" she asked, but he didn't answer. Instead, he seemed to be concentrating on breathing. After a few seconds, he began coughing violently.

Out of habit only, Sakura's hand shot out and healing chakra formed. But it flickered like a candle in the rain before going out completely.

Even amid his coughing, Itachi noticed her actions. "Cloak," he said in between violent shudders," Soldier pills." Sakura had only a few seconds to come to a decision. On one hand, he was a missing-nin, a traitor to Konoha, and even an Akatsuki. To heal him would be betraying the village she loved so much. Yet on the other hand, she was already a missing-nin. And if Itachi went to such great lengths to fake his own death, it was clear he wished to leave Akatsuki permanently. And as a medic-nin, she took a vow to help anyone she could.

Making her choice, she decided she would have to live with the consequences. As she reached out and unbuttoned his soaking cloak, she realized how degrading he must feel right now. As an Uchiha, posture was everything. To have his very life in the hands of his enemy showed weakness, something she's grown to learn that every Uchiha hates. But even he should realize his incredible luck to have her, a legendary medic-nin, stumble across him and his dying brother.

His cloak had an inside pocket, which contained a small bag of two soldier pills. She popped one in her mouth and felt her chakra flare to life. Ready to heal, she pulled back his shirt and saw his entire chest covered in blood. If he didn't have at least one broken rib, then she was the Kazekage of Suna. Which she wasn't.

Once again with chakra filled hands, she bent over an Uchiha again, and did what she did best.

Save a life.

And so she burns like a candle in the dark.

…

Sunlight instead of raindrops was now hitting Sakura's face. Even before she opened her eyes, she could feel the warmth embrace her and could smell the morning air. The air around her smelled fresh, cleansed by the rain. Slowly opening her eyes, she saw the side of the cave wall where she had taken shelter the night before. The ground was ridiculously uncomfortable underneath her, so she twisted her body in attempt to find a softer spot to lay on. After a few unsuccessful tries, she gave up and sat upright.

Itachi had moved in the middle of the night. Instead of lying flat on his back where Sakura had situated him, he was now sitting up and leaning against the wall. His breathing was much easier today and could even take a full breath without a rib poking a precious lung. His right arm was propped up on his right knee, while his other leg was fully extended. He had been looking at something in his left hand, but glanced up at Sakura when she stirred awake.

He had heard Zetsu call her Haruno Sakura, his brother's ex-teammate. He's heard of her as a skilled medic-nin and Tsunade's apprentice. But he never knew she had in fact been on the same team as his foolish brother. Whenever he fought his brother, he had always been near Uzumaki Naruto or his new Hebi team. This pink-haired kunoichi had never been in sight. Although, he supposed, as a medic-nin, she most likely always stayed in Konoha, where it was safe. No doubt having two strong male teammates while appearing fragile and as important as a medic-nin, his brother and the Kyuubi most likely stifled her by being too protective. He could just see the two of them keeping her away from any dangerous situations, as many male shinobi do to their female teammates.

Wait…he has seen her before. Back when Deidara captured the raccoon demon, Shukaku. A team of Konoha shinobi had come after him, including Uzumaki Naruto and Hatake Kakashi. Now that he thought about it, she had been there, shouting at the Kyuubi how to break out of a genjutsu. He also remembered she was the only one he left untouched. Presently, he found it strange that she came on such a dangerous mission. One to infiltrate Akatsuki of all things! Did his brother's betrayal to their village lessen the protection put over the young medic-nin?

"Give it back," her voice broke him out of his thoughts. He looked up to see her standing over him, with her hand extended. He glanced back at the hitai-ate in his left hand before dropping it in her waiting palm.

"You threw it on the ground last night," he commented, remembering how she had dragged him into this cave, tore off her own hitai-ate, then passed out on the ground.

"What I do is none of your damn business," she growled and jammed the precious symbol into her pack. He narrowed his eyes at her, but his voice was calm.

"Do you consider yourself a traitor because you healed a missing-nin?"

Again, she snarled at him," I said it was none of your goddamn business." She huffed in anger and stomped over to the other side of the cave. He smirked, knowing what he said upset her. "I should've left you for dead," she hissed," I should've spared the world one more uptight, arrogant Uchiha. I should've gone with that plant-guy and Sasuke to Akatsuki. I should've-"

"No," he interrupted just a little bit too loudly," If you went to Akatsuki, you've would've been killed or forced to never leave the base and heal every single member everyday without reprieve or rest. I doubt my brother would've even ever known you were inside the very same building."

She glared at him, but this time her eyes were just a little bit softer," Since when do you care for my well-being?"

He shrugged and turned his head," I owe you. And I always pay my debts." She opened her mouth as if to say something, but thought better of it. Instead, she slung her pack back over her shoulder after pulling a small box out of it.

"This is some medicine," she explained and placed the box on the ground beside him," You owe me nothing and I'd rather not accept anything from you. Good-bye, Uchiha." And with that, she walked out into the sunshine and disappeared.