Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Chapter One: This Is War

"Get out of here!"

The sharp, irate tones sliced through the deafening sound of raindrops thundering to earth, splashing over two upturned faces, dribbling down their necks and seeping into their clothing. Ignoring the unpleasant sensation of sludge oozing in between her toes, Sakura remained crouched down in the mud – which, several hours before had been a serviceable road – beside her fallen friend, blanching at Ino's harsh words.

The medic shuddered and bit her lip, blinking tears away as she refused to acknowledge the truth behind those words. Every fibre of her being screamed mentally that there was still time, that it was not yet over but almost involuntarily her eyes were drawn to a direct contradiction. A single kunai silhouetted against the darkened sky, protruded from the stained, wet material covering her friend's abdomen. Blood trickled in tiny tributaries from the broken skin into the slushy mud, mixing in with the tepid rain water. Sakura lifted her head despairingly and exposed her taut, terrified face to the wrath of the heavens. The rain pummelled her face relentlessly, streaming off her skin in rivulets, seamlessly merging in with her salty tears. The road ahead lay deserted. To either side lay several motionless figures, whose distinguishing features remained concealed behind the masks that marked them as ANBU. Sakura shivered, having no desire to lift the porcelain masks, afraid of whom she might find. These days, it was difficult to tell the difference between those who had been enlisted and those who hadn't.

"No," she replied firmly and shook her head. There was a bright, defiant gleam in her eye; one which spoke of determination and friendship. "I'm not leaving".

One thing was certain; she would not leave her best friend alone here to die.

"Don't be stupid!" Ino glared angrily. "You'll get yourself killed".

Sakura shrugged noncommittally; acutely aware of the fact that reinforcements could arrive at the scene any second. Gently she eased Ino's quivering hands away from the wound and knelt at her side, feeling the mud claim her knees with a sickening squelch. Her trained medic's eye was able to ascertain very quickly that the wound, although serious was by no means fatal. Or at least, in the bright, sanitary rooms of Konoha Hospital surrounded by a horde of medics, she would recover. Out here, away from civilization and with a team of ANBU hot on their heels, her condition was critical.

Sakura knew that with her depleted chakra reserves she would be hard pressed to heal Ino to be fit for travel. Add a dozen or so highly skilled and dangerous shinobi and the task became damn near impossible. She shook her head in an attempt to dislodge her thoughts. Hope was all she had to cling to now. Hope that the rain had obliterated all traces of their trail, preventing the hunt from continuing.

"This is going to hurt," she warned the injured girl as she made ready to remove the hilt of the kunai from the wound.

"Like a bitch," Ino agreed, eyeing the kunai with no small amount of apprehension.

A second later and the blonde's stifled cry rang through the silent trees. The bloodied weapon clattered to the ground, rainwater washing it clean of the scarlet liquid.

Wasting no time, Sakura summoned the familiar green flow of chakra to her frozen, bone-tired fingers, wincing as pins and needles ricocheted up the length of her arm. However, upon transferring the chakra into Ino's body, she came across an unexpected barrier. Try as she might, she could not muster the strength to knit the flesh together and it was all she could do to let out a scream of frustration, amassing greater amounts of chakra at her fingertips.

"Sakura, stop," Ino seized her fingers and forced them away. "You'll only tire yourself out".

"No," Sakura countered stubbornly. There was still time, she argued, willing to cling onto hope, to continue denying the cold hard truth: that her chakra levels were perilously low and that her limbs were trembling with suppressed fatigue. "I can heal you!"

"No you can't!" Ino shouted, equally obstinate. Hiding a grimace, she forced herself into a sitting position so that – as was her intention – their eyes were level with each other. Her pale face was set into hard lines and her icy-blue eyes flashed with renewed anger and determination. "They'll be here any moment Sakura! You have neither the time nor energy to heal me and we both know that I'll never make it in this condition".

"But I-" Sakura stammered, eyes filled with unconcealed impotence. Jade eyes glanced around the area uncertainly. Two equally strong emotions vied for her attention: the need to protect her friend and the instinct to flee.

A brief pinprick of chakra flared less than a mile ahead. Sakura jumped to her feet in a flurry of panic. Her agitated movements reflected the positive maelstrom of turmoil that raged beneath the surface.

After a split-second of indecision, the medic reached out for Ino's left arm in an attempt to hoist her up out of the mud but the blonde swatted it away, shouting "Just go!"

Sakura snatched the arm back as though it had been burned, a tortured expression etched into her features. They were closer now. She could sense the crushing weight of their combined chakras and knew it was all over. She tasted bile in her throat and her legs were like jelly. Her knees buckled and she stumbled, barely managing to remain upright.

"Go!" Ino yelled again, her frantic tones injecting some sense of perspective into the indecisive, panicky medic.

And so, with one last agonized expression she left.

"That'll be ten ryo please". The bite of impatience in the man's tone was unmistakable, jerking the pink-haired medic out of her preoccupied state. A jolt of surprise ran through her as she met the irritated gaze of the surly shopkeeper and realised that she was holding up the queue.

"Oh right, yes, sorry," she apologised, fumbling with the clasp of her purse and counting out ten identical copper coins into his outstretched hand. Avoiding what she imagined was a very disapproving stare; Sakura snatched the newspaper off the counter and sauntered through the door wondering vaguely why she even bothered to read the news anymore.

Not one to arrive at the medical centre half an hour early, she located a free bench and – after ensuring it was free of chewing gum and the remnants of a hastily eaten lunch – sat down, intending to peruse the tabloid at her own leisure. Settling into a more comfortable position, she flipped the newspaper over and Danzou's sly, malicious face jumped out at her from the front page. She groaned and turned it over, ignoring the sudden nausea and white-hot fury the inky image had elicited. Despite knowing that the rest of the newspaper was likely to evoke similar feelings, Sakura decided to read it nonetheless. It was better to know what the enemy was saying, she figured.

Fifteen minutes later she threw it down in disgust. It was exactly the kind of mindless, brain-washing propaganda she had feared. The writers openly criticised and ridiculed the previous Hokages' methods of running the Village Hidden in the Leaves, portraying their decisions as weak and feeble-minded. But now there was cause for hope! Sakura twisted her mouth into a bitter, sneering grimace. With Danzou at the helm, Konoha was well on the way to claiming its rightful place as the most feared and revered of all the hidden villages. The paper announced that the Hokage had finally sanctioned the much-needed restructuring of the village, the abolishment of yet another tradition or law the he didn't agree with and the introduction of a new order Sakura had been dreading for weeks. The eradication of the original teams – or what was left of them – and the almost mandatory enrolment into ANBU for anyone who wished to continue in the shinobi profession. Oh and all in the name of progress of course!

Sakura knew that to refuse a position in ANBU was considered base-line treachery and that the penalty was death for anyone foolish enough to decline. She supposed she should be thankful that they hadn't tried to enlist her yet but perhaps they were content to let her slave away at the hospital, to watch as the Godaime's apprentice deteriorated; transforming from a strong kunoichi to nothing more than a common medic, of no use to anyone.

Sakura placed her head in her hands. It was four months to the day since Tsunade had passed away and yet the throbbing pains that wracked her body had not diminished in the least. The raw, aching hole in her chest had become a part of her now. It was almost as if the nerve-endings had dulled from such excessive stimulation, making the pain bearable and allowing her to function somewhat normally. Though there were still times when it would contract painfully, constricting her lungs and leaving her gasping for air as her eyes burned with anguish and grief.

The official report had been that Tsunade had died peacefully in her sleep, succumbing to the side effects of her prolonged comatose state. Sakura knew it was a lie. Being of a cautious nature, she had examined her shishou several times in the three days that had preceded her death and all the signs had indicated that Tsunade would recover. But she hadn't. Conveniently taking advantage of the confusion that ensued, Danzou had re-established himself as a potential candidate for the next Hokage and then it had only been a matter of time before he claimed the title.

She stared out across the small park, her hands absentmindedly twisting and tearing the scarred face over and over, rendering it unrecognisable. Her mind mulled over her current situation, looking at it from every angle but disappointingly, no new ideas sprang to mind. To openly oppose the Hokage was little better than signing her own death warrant, but to do nothing was almost criminal. On her way out, she dropped the paper into the lake, watching with perverse satisfaction as it sunk into the murky depths.

Seconds later, she realised she was late for work.

A distinct chemical odour assaulted her nostrils as she entered the imposing white medical centre, stopping only to don the mandatory mint green apron before striding down the hall to Ward Five. A few familiar faces greeted the medic as she strode across the shiny chequered floor, all wearing identical anxious, strained expressions that were all too common in these times. It was not surprising therefore that her tardiness went unchallenged. She passed a disheartened Shizune round the corner and sent her a small, encouraging smile which the dark-haired woman didn't return. With a pang, she remembered Shizune had taken the loss of Tsunade particularly hard. Frowning, Sakura slid the wooden door open and sidled into the ward, a full twenty minutes late.

"It's about time you showed up here, forehead," Ino remarked casually as she meticulously pulled off a pair of plastic gloves, finger by finger and carelessly tossed them into the waste bin, missing the pink-haired medic's face by inches.

"Shut it, pig," Sakura replied with no real malice, a smile unintentionally forming at the sound of her affectionate nickname.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Hachi needs another dose of antibiotics," she informed her friend. "I'm going to find some more syringes. I swear we've run out again!"

Irritated, the blonde flicked her long, silky hair and strode out of the ward to spend ten minutes berating the ineffective administration staff no doubt. They were all Danzou's employees of course. The friendly civilian workers had been dismissed almost instantly to be replaced with surly, uncommunicative shinobi whose job was to keep an eye out for insubordination rather than the running of the hospital.

"Have you seen Shizune?" Sakura asked in hushed tones as a clatter of heels announced the return of her friend twenty minutes later.

"Yes I have," Ino answered heavily, sobering at the very mention of their head medic. She covertly glanced around the room and lowered her voice further so that Sakura had to strain to hear the words. "Apparently she's not been performing her duties correctly. She has a meeting with the Hokage this afternoon".

They shared a meaningful look. Both kunoichi knew the significance of being summoned to the Hokage's office.

"Perhaps we should-" Sakura began horror-struck.

"No, it's best not to get involved," Ino answered uncomfortably, not meeting her friend's eyes.

"I wish Naruto were here," Sakura said wistfully, her quiet voice barely more than a whisper. "He'd know what to do".

"You know sometimes I think he had the right idea leaving the village," Ino commented lightly, twisting her fair flaxen hair into thick bands around her outstretched fingers thoughtfully. "God knows I'd love to be in his shoes right now".

Sakura laughed dryly. "Well he didn't really have a choice did he?"

"Still, I'd rather chance ANBU than face another day working in this hospital," Ino joked.

Wide-eyed, she stared at the blonde incredulously. To even suggest abandoning the village was nothing short of suicide but she knew better than to take Ino seriously. Still, the joke was in very bad taste. It was not unheard of for people to get arrested based on flippant remarks about the Hokage and the state of the village.

"Ino!" Sakura reprimanded sternly, half-expecting a horde of masked ANBU to descend on them any moment.

"Don't tell me you haven't thought about it too," Ino replied defiantly, her eyes glistening with fresh determination. "There's no life left for us here, Sakura. You know that. It's only a matter of time before we're branded traitors for being too close to Tsunade! We can't sit around and wait for that to happen!"

Reluctantly, Sakura conceded that she was right. However, she was very much against the idea of uprooting from the village, abandoning all that she had left in one night. Like a small child, she clung to the idea that Konoha was still her home. It appeared secure and comforting compared to the alternative; leave the village and become an outcast forever. Of course, there was still a chance that the citizens of Konoha would rebel but Sakura feared now that would never be the case. They had been hopeful to resist his tyranny in the beginning, she remembered. She had even actively taken part in schemes designed to dismember and undermine Danzou's control over Konoha but for all their efforts, they had had little success and the casualties had been high. Before long all attacks to the Hokage and his new regime had ceased entirely. It seemed as though his power over Konoha was immutable.

Pushing a stack of well-worn handbooks and heavy volumes to the floor, Sakura cleared a small space on her little sofa which sagged and groaned under her weight. She rested her aching feet on the small, stained coffee table and took a sip of what she considered to be a well-earned cup of coffee. A sharp knock at the door disturbed her brief moment of solitude. Frowning, she answered it, wondering who on earth could be calling at one in the morning.

It was Kakashi.

Surprised, she let him in. As he stepped over the threshold, she watched his eyes take in the stacks of dirty plates in the kitchen, the medical books strewn haphazardly across the apartment and several piles of dirty laundry and wished she'd had the foresight to clean it. Her sensei appeared more lined and drawn than she remembered. They had not spoken for a few weeks or indeed, move in the same circles anymore. The abolishment of all conversation that was neither strictly work-related or that of family members had seen to that. Sensing that it would be rude not to, she offered him a cup of coffee which he politely declined.

"How are you?" She asked tentatively once she'd ushered him into the cramped living room. Briefly, she speculated over the reason for his late night call but refrained from asking. If there was one thing she'd learned about Kakashi over the years, it was to never push him for an answer. She would just have to wait.

In answer to her question, the silver-haired shinobi gave a noncommittal shrug.

"I get by," he answered evasively which she took to mean that – against his better nature – he was compliant with the Hokage's rule, for the most part. Therefore it was almost certain that he had been reinstated as a member of ANBU. A sudden instinctive wariness crept up on the pink-haired medic as she gazed at her late night visitor which was strange for she'd never had reason to fear or distrust her sensei before.

"Same as everybody I guess," she replied with a sigh, unwilling to divulge her true thoughts now that seeds of doubt had begun to flourish in the recesses of her mind. As surely as she knew that things would never go back to the way they were, she suddenly wanted Kakashi gone. She could not bear to lose another friend whether it was to the clutches of death or to Danzou. She sank into the couch despondently, clutching the mug of coffee in a pathetic attempt to bring warmth back to her chilled skin.

A sudden creaking of springs alerted her to his presence at her side. Wide jade eyes met the steadfast grey gaze of her sensei who wore a surprisingly understanding expression. Sakura lowered her eyes, inwardly chiding herself for being so easy to read.

"How are things over at the hospital?" He asked conversationally, perhaps sensing the sharp, cryptic thoughts practically exuding from his student. "I hear it's been quite hectic what with being so understaffed and all those shortages".

"It's well... different," she supplied, relaxing a little under Kakashi's genial manner. His calm tones and laid-back attitude were familiar and never failed to set her at ease. Guilt wormed its way into her heart as she considered how easily she had doubted him. The rate at which her sharp suspicions had formed alarmed her and she wondered whether it was something Danzou had intended; to divide and conquer those who would oppose him from within, to make them turn against each other. "We're expected to work longer hours and the more difficult procedures have been delegated to those he deems capable of performing them". She wriggled her toes deeper into her cream fluffy slippers, not wanting to appear too discontent. "I can't really say I enjoy it".

"Anyway, I'm sure you don't want to hear my problems," she continued; a weak smile flitting across her cerise lips. "It's not often I get the chance to speak to one of my old teammates. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Kakashi inclined his head. "It has indeed".

He allowed a pause in which a natural stillness crept over the room – not uncomfortable or embarrassing but rather contemplative. Sakura mulled over his words in silence as almost unbidden, a vision of a blindingly green meadow surrounded by woodland consumed her eyes. A meadow in which a single solitary figure stood amidst the perpetual sunshine; a book balanced in his outstretched hand and three young ninja crouched in the bushes, discussing how to best steal two innocuous bells that hung from his belt in hushed whispers. She shook her head, dispelling the vision and was surprised to find a tear clinging gently to her pink eyelashes. Bewildered, she wiped it on her sleeve. Only tiny smear on the soft cotton cardigan remained as evidence.

With an effort, she dragged herself back from her poisonous musings with the realisation that Kakashi had begun to speak again. After a few seconds of focussing on the rising and falling of his voice, she was able to distinguish between the vowels and understand what he was saying.

"Sometimes I wonder if I made the wrong choice in asking you to stay," he said aloud, his face ashen as though gripped with a sudden weariness. The medic raised her head sharply, staring in astonishment at her sensei. He hadn't been the only one who had begged her to stay, she remembered. There had been plenty of others – Naruto not the least of them – who had implored beseechingly with her upon announcing that she would leave with the blonde-haired ninja that stormy, turbulent night.

It would be suicide, they had said. She would not last a week in the harsh conditions with several teams of ANBU on her tail. Naruto had turned to her worriedly; his cerulean blue eyes reaching a level of understanding that none of the others had quite achieved and had made her promise to stay. To promise be there when he came back. She had acquiesced with a single tremulous nod of the head. And now Kakashi was questioning the wisdom of those words, she concluded with a thrill of foreboding. Her situation had not changed one iota since that fateful day and Sakura highly doubted he thought her capable of eluding Danzou's retribution for very long.

"What are you trying to say?" She asked cautiously, her stomach curling and uncurling unpleasantly at the ominous statement.

"It would have been easier to leave," he continued, sighing deeply. "Danzou's hold over the village was not nearly so strong, but there was hope to resist then..." She merely watched, fighting signs of open anxiety as Kakashi followed his ominous train of thought. "Everything he has done so far, every decision he has made as Hokage has been to fully ensure his position. Konoha is no longer safe. Soon, he will stage a coop, eliminating all those who oppose him in a single night".

"Why are you telling me this?" she interrupted angrily, fear for those who faced Danzou's indomitable wrath seeping unintentionally into her tones. "I pose no threat to the Hokage! There is no reason why-"

"Danzou doesn't care whether you're a threat personally," he contradicted her sharply. It was crucial for her to understand. "It doesn't matter to him whether you are a shinobi or a civilian. Anyone showing signs of enmity towards his new regime is dealt with harshly".

"But I haven't-," she protested weakly.

"Not openly no," Kakashi explained sadly. "But Danzou knows where your true allegiance lies".

Sakura watched the silver-haired shinobi with something akin to dismay on her face. Wave after towering wave of shock descended upon her stunned body and through the mind-numbing roar she struggled to comprehend his words. Stupidly, she had always assumed that by keeping her head down and maintaining an air of quiet deference towards the Hokage she would be safe, despite her close relationship to the Godaime and Konoha's most wanted criminal.

She frowned, disinclined to commit to the new idea. It was unthinkable for him to expect her to drop everything in a half-beat, she raged inwardly. Completely out of the question! But, said a small traitorous voice at the back of her mind, he was making sense. Perhaps leaving was the only option left open to her now.

If she wanted to live, that was.

"How do you know all this?" she asked shakily. Unwilling to face up to the awful reality of the situation, she preferred to focus on small, manageable pieces. It was a possibility that he was overreacting, she thought, disregarding the fact that she'd never known him to before.

Wordlessly, he handed her a folded sheet of paper which she opened curiously. Immediately her own name jumped out at her from a long list of names in Sai's bold, graceful script underneath the heading: Targets. Her heartbeat quickened. Horrified, she folded the paper over but not before her eyes had unwittingly read a few familiar names: Shikamaru, Lee, Ino... She did not want to know who else had been named traitors.

"I didn't want to believe it either until this afternoon," Kakashi said, worry and concern thinly veiled underneath his attempted nonchalance. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but Shizune was called to the office regarding her continued negligence concerning her duties. I'm told it was less of a disciplinary hearing and more of a trial. She was accused of leaking valuable information to rival villages and sabotaging the Hokage's new regime. Though I suspect her strong friendship with Tsunade was most likely the real reason".

Sakura sat frozen, slowly digesting the catastrophic information. "But she's... she's alright isn't she?"

Kakashi did not answer.

"Oh God!"

"It's no longer safe, Sakura," he continued grimly, grey eyes devoid of their familiar twinkling light. "It won't be long before the Hokage sends out teams to eliminate everyone on this list. It will be done quietly and without a fuss. The rest of Konoha will be none the wiser, believing that you have turned traitor to the village and were part of a plot to invade the Hidden Leaf and assassinate the Hokage".

She felt sickened.

"I'm going to have to leave, aren't I? I don't have a choice".

"That would be best, yes".

Sakura tightened her grasp on the damning paper, drawing her fingers into a tight fist so that the perfectly smooth paper crumpled under her vice-like grip. She couldn't believe it! Her whole world was crashing down around her for the second time in four months and she didn't know what to do. One single reoccurring thought remained foremost in her mind: she did not want to leave. It was a unanimous opinion that to leave was suicide but to stay meant certain death. The idea of becoming a martyr did not appeal to her and she knew that if there was a slim chance of survival, however small she had to take it. But it did not make leaving any easier.

"Why aren't you on the list, sensei?" she asked, consulting the paper a second time. It was impossible to keep the accusatory tone out of her voice.

A black shadow passed over his features and his face hardened. "My loyalty has been assured," he replied, chewing out the foul-tasting words bitterly.

A barely imperceptible shiver ran the length of her spine at the sound of his self-loathing. She did not want to know what he meant but those words had elicited a slither of unease in her. Could she even trust him anymore, she wondered despondently, realising that she had no choice but to trust him. There was too much truth in his words for her to deny and she knew that if she were to survive, she would need help.

Perhaps understanding that it was going to take some time for Sakura to digest this news, Kakashi handed her an address written on a slip of paper in slanted handwriting.

"If you choose to leave, be ready tomorrow night at this address," he informed her at the door. The medic made no effort to see him out. "Sai will teach everyone the necessary seals to break the barrier before you go." She stared at it wordlessly, unable to comprehend the enormity of the situation. Her mind was numb with disbelief.

"Think about it".

She nodded, her eyes hard.

Itachi appears very soon so don't worry!

Reviews are much appreciated :)