Day 16

Konan frowned as she watched Pein stand out on the ledge of the tallest tower, basking in the rain and undoubtedly thinking about how "brilliant" his plan was. She was beginning to think that she should've protested his plan from the very start. He was growing exponentially unhealthy and obsessive in advancing the plan to such a degree. The more she thought about it, the more she found herself disagreeing with his stance.

The well being of her childhood friend in mind, she devolved into sheets of origami paper.

'Perhaps it's time I met Haruno Sakura.'

Day 17

Sasuke stared and pressed his lips into a thin line. He still couldn't believe that the gravestone in front of him was real. He just couldn't. It was just a prank to make him feel guilty and hurt as part of the payment for leaving everything behind all those years ago. Yes, that's what it was. They all would jump out and break into smiles at any second now and laugh and tell him how bad he fell for this joke. Then Sakura would emerge from some hiding place and hug him and tell him how long she waited for him to come back home. To come back to her.

And so he lingered, ANBU watching his every movement from the trees. One of them made themselves visible. "Your time is up."

He complied and turned to follow the shinobi towards the Uchiha family estate. Sasuke took one last, somber look over his shoulder.

... If he never left, would this still have happened?

Day 18

It was a calm morning.

Kisame was staring intently at the cards in his possession, wondering how he managed to get such a good hand. This rarely ever occurred for him. And if this was what he had, Sakura must have that absurd diamond royal flush that she always seemed to get. He placed his cards down.

"Royal flush. Spades," he said. Sakura blinked down at them before silently showing her own. A two of clovers, four of spades, ten of hearts, nine of clovers, and king of clovers.

She lost. With a junk hand.

They played six more games with each being a little more frantic than the last. But every single time, Sakura would lose with absolutely nothing of value, and Kisame kept winning with the rarest sets of cards. At the end of their seventh game, Kisame slapped his cards down and rubbed his face with his palms.

"Goddammit," he groaned. "Someone's going to die. Or an entire economy's gonna collapse. Better yet, the whole world's gonna fucking explode!"

Last time she consecutively lost a card game or another sort of gambling game, five teams of Otogakure chuunin were attacked and sent to the ICU. Another time, a virus spread and affected a third of the village. If Sakura had gotten just plain terrible cards every single round, something very bad was going to happen very soon.

All in Kisame's constant moaning about an inevitable disaster, she noticed a sheet of origami paper flutter outside her window.

Day 19

This had to be one of the worst headaches she'd ever experienced. He heart was in her brain, pounding relentlessly. It felt like a scalpel was carving into her skull, making her clutch her head and send jolts of healing chakra into her head. It wasn't getting better, and Inner's chanting wasn't helping one bit.

'Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! Traitor! TRAITOR! TRAITOR! TRAITOR! TRAITOR!'

She couldn't think of anything else. She couldn't hear another thing besides that cursed word. At this point, she couldn't even remember where she was. Kabuto set down his things and moved the hair out of Sakura's face to feel her forehead. Her face was burning hot and beads of sweat dripped down her cheeks. He grimaced and gently pulled her hands from the sides of her head. The chakra she was forcing into her system was doing more harm than good.

"Sakura-sama! Sakura-sama, can you hear me?"

She didn't reply.

"I told you not to overwork yourself..." he sighed.

Day 20

"Go back to bed."

"I told you, I'm fine."

"You ran a fever of 107 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday and could barely stand on your own. You're still sick, Sakura-sama!"

"I'm fine enough. Really."

"Sakura-sama!"

Sakura abruptly stopped and turned around, Kabuto nearly crashing into her. She gave him a bright smile and paid no mind to how her cheeks flushed red with the heat of her fever. "I have a duty, Kabuto. I'm not letting a small bug stop me," she said. "Here. Let me just get through all the important things that stacked up on my desk, and then I'll get back to bed. Happy?"

Kabuto pursed his lips. "... Fine. But nothing too strenuous."

As the two entered the office, they spotted Bunko on the desk. Her feathers were ruffled in all directions and her wings were extended out half way, like she just landed. Never had they seen her so unreserved.

"Sakura-san. Kabuto-san. This letter from the leader of Jomae Village is of utmost importance!"

To the Dear Otokage; Haruno Sakura

Ah. So this is how it turns out to be. What, you may ask? Well, do you remember just who we are? Jomae. Those who thrive on espionage.

We don't exactly make friends, you see.

You're rather young and still naive of mind. I don't blame you for not seeing this coming. What we want? What we always do. Information. Out spies don't seem to be very productive, as they always end up dead from poisoning. Perhaps it was a mistake to train your shinobi in our arts... but a ruse is a ruse.

So we'll take the more straightforward approach this time. A treat. Give us the information we desire or there will be dire consequences. I'll trust you'll make the correct decision.

And come yourself. It'll be more intriguing that way. Send anyone else and I, definitely, will personally deliver four packaged hearts to your doorstep.

Best Wishes,

Jomae Village Head

A chuunin came into the office at that moment.

"Ma'am! We have four confirmed disappearances of civilian children. Would you like us to launch an investigation?"

Kabuto's attention immediately went to Sakura. Her face was carefully passive, though her arms were so tense that her veins became visible on the underside of her forearms as he knuckles grew ghostly white. "No. I'll be taking care of that myself."

He knew it would be useless to try to dissuade her from what she was about to do, so he accepted it with a tilt of his head.

"I'll send Hoshigaki-san after you. Kakuzu-san and I will keep watch in your absence," he said. She nodded, spun on her heel, and strut out of the office. Her eyes were lagoons of threatening anger, and those in the hallways jumped out of her way from the deadly aura she emitted. There were few incidents when they saw pure fury seethe from her very being. They all very quickly learned not to bother her in this state. If they did, they'd run the risk of pissing themselves or accidentally being sent through numerous walls.

Whoever made her this mad truly had hell to pay.

Day 21

Sasori chose to tag along on this escapade, interested in how Sakura was going to deal with the problem. He didn't think she'd give them the information they'd ask for. She held too much honor for herself and her village that she'd most likely die rather than sell her people out. Sakura was also too compassionate for her own good. Risking her life for four children she probably never met? A foolhardy choice, if he had anything to say about it.

"Sakura-sama's only an hour ahead of us. We can take a small break," Kisame said as he leapt down from the tree line and landed on the side of a road.

"Hm... Kisame, don't you think that she acts on her emotions too much? It seems unfitting of a leader," Sasori commented. He sat down beneath the shade of a large tree and brought a hand down to massage his calves. His body was still adjusting to the muscle strain of a shinobi's build, and loitering around indoors for nearly a month hadn't helped. Kisame looked up at the birds.

"I wouldn't say Sakura-sama's unfitting," he mused as he scratched his cheek. "She's a good kid, you know. Sure she's more emotional than a shinobi should be, but those emotions were what kept her going when she took over. I don't think she would've made it this far without them."

"Wouldn't emotion cloud her judgment?" Sasori asked. Kisame gave him a teasing grin as he unlatched Samehada from his back.

"Are you really concerned about that or are you still bitter about the fact that Sakura-sama kicked your shit in?"

Sasori snorted. "As if."

Day 22

'Kill them.'

'I will.'

'Show them no mercy.'

'I won't.'

'Oh? You won't? I know the way you think. You don't like to kill and will try to do so as little as possible. Ahead of you are what, twenty, thirty people waiting for that information? How many are you willing to murder for the sake of four children?'

Sakura lowered her eyes. '... As many as it takes.'

Day 23

She arrived at about ten o'clock in the evening. At about a mile away from Jomae Village, a large cluster of shinobi surrounded the area, the leader greeting her with a wide smile.

"Haruno-san, so glad you could make it! We do have much to discuss," he said. Sakura glared at him.

"First the children. Are they unharmed?"

The leader made a hand gesture. Two masked shinobi appeared, each with a pair of bound children in their arms. Three were unconscious and the fourth, a small girl no older than five, started tearing up at the sight of Sakura as they were set off to the side.

The Otokage had come to save them.

"They're completely fine. A bit scared, but physically alright, nonetheless," he said. "Now. That information we agreed on..."

Sakura smiled. "We agreed on nothing, jackass."

Suddenly, a cacophony of shrills resounded in their ears. Sakura took this opportunity to slam her fist into the ground, her hearing immune to the sound. She had been around owls long enough for Bunko to entrust her with the privilege to resist an owl summon's screech. Their cries, when laced with chakra, had the ability to disorient an opponent. Sakura ran through the debris towards the kids.

"Are you alright?" she questioned. She untied their bindings and quickly assessed the knocked out three. The only conscious child nodded.

"Ye-Yes, Haruno-sama. Thank you so much! W-We, I..."

Sakura patted her head. "It's okay now. Kimi-chan, right?"

The girl nodded again. Sakura extended her arm for Bunko to land on.

"This is Bunko-san," she introduced, "She'll watch you while I deal with all of this. Hide as best as you can and be quiet. One of my friends will be here soon to take you all home. His name is Kisame and he's tall and blue. Can you be a big girl and wait until he comes and finds you?"

Kimi nodded a third time. Sakura turned and bolted back towards the battlefield. It took one look at the smug-faced leader and his reinforcements for her to freeze and widen her eyes to the size of discs.

"You didn't really think I'd come unprepared, did you?" he mocked. Behind him were about two-hundred shinobi, all probably chuunin level and higher.

'Oh god, I'm going to die.'

The Jomae Head bit his thumb and went through a flurry of hand signs, one Sakura recognized all too well, and slammed his hand onto the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

An enormous cloud of smoke exploded before her then promptly dispersed. The summon left in its wake made Sakura's heart drop in her stomach. The slug looked down.

"Sakura-chan," Katsuyu greeted sadly. "I heard that you had passed."

The young woman mustered up a grin. "You can't believe everything you hear, can you?"

The shinobi gave a collective war cry before running forward.

::

When they say trees collapsing in the distance, they sped up to the point where the naked eye could hardly see them.

"Damn, it started!" Kisame cursed. Sasori slipped his scrolls from his belt and prepared to bring out his puppets. Granted he had nowhere near the number he had pre-dating his, Sakura's, and Chiyo-baa's fight, but he had managed to repair the Sandaime and nine others to full working capacity. At their slightly late arrival, they paused to gape at the sheer number of people and the level of destruction it was all nearing.

"Fuck," Kisame whispered. "Where the hell is she?"

The huge slug at one end of the field inhaled before spitting out a stream of acid. It crashed somewhere in the middle, breaking ground and driving some of the shinobi back. Sasori caught sight of Sakura vaulting up in the air. She discarded her cloak and ripped off the right sleeve of her turtleneck.

"That all you got?!"

It was twelve o'clock in the morning.

Day 24

Sasori and Kisame rushed into the chaos. Kisame himself wasn't a fan of night fighting. Don't get him wrong, he still loved a good battle, but his eyesight didn't work too well past sundown and he couldn't commit his opponent's face to memory when it was pitch black. The scene in front of him seemed like a great fight he could get into , but it was all a mess of water, wind, and upturned ground.

"Kisame!" he heard Sakura yell. "The kids! Get the kids and get them back to Oto—CHA!!"

Two bodies flew past him.

"—gakure! That's an order!"

::

Kisame smacked Sasori's shoulder and motioned towards the sidelines. "I'm leaving this to you, Sasori-san! Make sure Sakura-sama's safe!"

Sasori grunted as he sent two puppets forward, both of whom were wielding poisoned swords. The fight made him reminiscent of he younger days, especially when he took down Bird Country with his army. There weren't as many people as that day, but they were certainly stronger.

A group of shinobi broke off from attacking Sakura and headed straight for him. He sent four more puppets to rain hell on his opponents. He clicked his tongue when one of the shinobi managed past a wooden body and sliced its chakra strings before aiming for the puppet master. Sasori dodged and shoved a kunai in their chest.

"Tch. You don't storm an enemy like that."

"You attack from behind, right?"

A foot connected to his side, sending him sliding a few feet to the right. Sasori grit his teeth and took out his seventh puppet—the one with water jets built into the palms. His abdomen burned in a way he hadn't felt for years.

'He got half my rib cage.'

He probably shouldn't have put off all his physical therapy. Another foot came out of nowhere and crashed into his kneecap. Sasori hissed and collapsed on his good leg. He watched at they severed his connection to his other puppets and walked towards him, three of them holding a katana.

"Well," one of them sighed. "I was hoping that the famed Akasuna no Sasori would live up to his reputation. Apparently being human is too much of a disability, hm?"

Sasori pressed his lips together and thought of his options. He could reach for a kunai or shunshin away, but there were too many people for him to get away with something. Making a run for it was implausible with his leg condition, and if he made too much movement, he ran the possibility of puncturing his lungs.

He was fucked either way. And to be honest, he would've preferred to truly die at the hands of that little brat rather than to these no-named shinobi.

'I never would have fit in with everyone else in Otogakure anyways.'

He closed his eyes.

::

"You're a real piece of shit, old man."

Sasori's eyes snapped open. The first thing he saw were three blades mere inches from his face, dripping with blood and suspended. Next he saw the black shirt singed in numerous places with the distinct smell of a strong acid wafting in the air. Last came that pink hair strung with dirt and clumped in masses.

"Do you think I'm just going to let you give up? With those broken bones? Give me a break!"

The arm with the ripped sleeve was laced with a swirl of purple lines, like a vine slowly suffocating a tree branch. Pure chakra seeped from her being in front of him. In the blink of an eye, she had removed the blades from her stomach and crushed the offending shinobi into the ground beneath her. Her head slowly turned to him where he could see that those purple trails had marked her face as if she were a warrior leader.

"Akasuna no Sasori—the man who took over an entire country, will let himself be bested by these shinobi? I won't have it! Not when I'm around to see it!" Sakura snarled. She turned and snapped the sword of one of her opponents before grasping his neck with a bare hand, sending him into the depths of an intricately woven genjutsu. He dropped onto the ground with a quiet thud. "We don't take death like that! We go out fighting or we don't go out at all, shannaro!"

She stalked forward and snatched Sasori by the collar of his shirt. Sakura brought him so close that he could feel the intensity of her glare on his cheeks.

"If you want to die, fine, but do it on your own time," she growled. "But we're in the heat of battle against cowards I know we can take. If you're going to buck up with your tail between your legs, get the hell out of here! But if you're going to fight like the man I fought three years ago, then we're going to win even if it's the last thing we ever do!"

He was wrong about those green eyes. Their anger had indeed not settled beneath a warm, tired stare like thought within the first week he'd been in Otogakure. They were the same eyes of her fifteen year old self.

Bright and angry.

With every intent to never lose.

Sasori whacked her hand away and balanced himself on his good leg. "Idiot."

He reattached his puppets to his chakra string and summoned the rest of them, completing the appearance of his ten puppet collection. A smirk grew on his face as he poised himself for battle.

"Who's going to buck up with their tail between their legs?"

Day 25

Sakura jumped through the trees with Sasori on her back.

"My pride is lowering with each second."

"Suck it up. You lost your pride when you lost your puppet body."

"Rude. But point taken."

Victory was relatively bitter to their tongues with the deaths that surmounted in the battle until morning. At the defeat of the Jomae Head—who did nothing but show a weak display—Katsuyu promised to keep her lips sealed and reveal nothing about Sakura's true state. Sasori couldn't even walk with the remains of one leg, so Sakura carried him on their way back to Oto despite his numerous protests.

The seal on her forehead no longer glowed white, but faded into a subtle spring green diamond that very much resembled Tsunade's. Her skin still had those purples lines in contrast to the black ones Tsunade utilized.

"So why is it that your seal looks different than your mentor's?"

"I think it has something to do with summons. This seal is normally correlated with slugs, but since I applied it to owls, I guess the color changed," she replied. Sakura could have very well healed his leg and ribs and made him walk himself, but that would take up too much chakra. With what she had left, she could get Sasori and herself back to the village quicker and they could both get treated for their injuries.

One more day. She just needed to last out one more day.

"You neck is warm. Hot, even," he commented with a furrowed brow. "You didn't rush into that fight with a fever, did you?"

...

"... Moron."

Day 26

It was a relatively good day. The hospital wasn't too busy with no emergencies or outbreaks or problem patients. Hidan was on the first floor at the emergency bay, picking up some documents for the kids upstairs when there was a blast of smoke. Two bodies tumbled out, one unconscious and the other cursing as he pushed himself into a sitting position.

"Sakura-sama!! She's out cold!!"

"Is that Sasori-san?!"

"What happened?!"

Sasori jerkily motioned to Sakura's unmoving body as they helped him onto a stretcher. "Most of her injuries are healed because of her seal, but I know there are fragments of metal in her lower abdomen. I saw her heal them in," he informed. As he was wheeled away, he saw all the available doctors on the floor frantically, but very carefully, pick Sakura up from the ground and transport her to Operating Room Five.

Hidan was caught up in that crowd.

::

She looked like absolute hell, but he didn't know why they wanted him to operate on her. Perhaps it was his reputation of having the steadiest hands in pediatrics or that he was one of the most careful and accurate of the surgeons in the hospital. He had to be accurate. Children were more fragile than adults and demanded greater caution in their procedures.

Hidan cut open Sakura's shirt, frowning at the three ragged lines and one straight line that were healed on her stomach. Her vitals were hit. He picked up a scalpel and began the procedure—he didn't think there'd be use for an anesthetic now.

Unfortunately, Sasori's claims were correct. Bits of metal were littered in her abdomen. He slowly extracted the pieces and dropped them in the tray beside him. Sixteen metal fragments later, he stitched her back up and had another doctor heal it halfway before they moved her over to repeat the process. After cutting off what was left of her shirt, there was a short stillness that went around the room.

Shinobi were expected to sustain various injuries over the course of their career, but anything massive rarely ever came to be. But there, before their very eyes, was one of the biggest scars most of them had ever seen. It looked to be at least an inch in width, centimeter in depth, and ran the entirety of the length from her left hip to her right shoulder. A few acid burns dotted the rest of her skin.

Hidan was quick to recover. He adjusted his grip on the scalpel and continued his work.

::

He stepped out of the operating room with a sigh as he stripped off his surgical gloves and tossed them in the trash can. Pulling off his mask, he spotted Marisu and Kabuto by the viewing window.

"Rinha. Four-eyes," he greeted. "She'll live, I think. I got all the metal out and she pretty much healed those fatal injuries herself. Her chakra's almost at absolute zero, so I've got no clue when she'll wake up. A month? Maybe not at all? Seems like it with how fucked up she is."

Kabuto nodded, taking one last glance through the window before bidding Marisu and Hidan goodbye and stiffly heading back to the Otokage Tower.

Day 27

"This doesn't look like my doctor's office. But I like yours. It's real pretty, Uchiha-sensei. But my doctor only has mag'zines and I don't really like them."

The room did have a sort of calming effect. The walls were painted a soft blue-gray with pictures of popular cartoon and story characters hanging in black frames. A tall bookshelf sat against one of the walls filled with children's books and popular movies for those ages six and under. Bean bags and plushies were scattered all over the green carpeted floor, the counselor's own chair situated in the corner closest to the door.

"There are many books you can enjoy here, Kimi-chan," Itachi mentioned. "Do you have a favorite one? The Little Red Academy Girl? Jun and the Bamboo Shoot?"

Kimi 'hmm'd' as she squeezed one of the teddy bears. "I did like those ones before but... Now I like the Dragon Princess! She's like—She's like Sakura-sama and Sakura-sama is my favoritest person in the world!"

Itachi silently flipped a page on his clipboard and took out a pen from his breast pocket. "Why do you like Sakura-sama so much?" he questioned. Kimi's face instantly lit up as she jumped to her feet, teddy bear forgotten.

"You shoulda' been there, Uchiha-sensei! When those meanies took us 'way, they kept sayin' that nobody was gonna come for us! But—But then Sakura-sama came and broke the floor into a bagillion pieces and it was so cool! There was like a million of the meanies and the birdie with the big eyes said that they were Jomae? I dunno what that means."

Itachi jotted down a few bullet points.

"She was punchin' 'em and kickin' 'em and stuff before that red hair guy and Kisa-nii-san came. He looks like that scary fish a the 'quarium Mama took me to once, but he wasn't scary. He was really funny. I like him," Kimi said. Itachi repressed the urge to smile. Kisame's fan club grew a little bit every day and he was pleased to note that his previous partner, who stood at an astounding 6'7", was starting to freak out every time someone happily greeted him on the streets.

"These people are freakin' insane," Kisame would whisper in fear.

"And then Kisa-nii-san took us back home," Kimi continued. "Mama and Papa said they were worried. I think they got even more worried when I told them what I wanted to do now."

He leaned forward curiously. "And what is it that you want to do?"

She beamed. "I wanna go to the Academy and be just like Sakura-sama one day!"

Day 28

It was the Yin Seal. The color was different, but the shape and its purpose was unmistakable. The strain of that technique coupled with how bad her fever was had a great chance of resulting in her death. Kabuto sighed and sat down on the foot of her bed as he stared at her vital signs.

"Sakura-sama... A month, they say. Or maybe not at all. But you have to wake up."

::

'Is that all you can do? Hm. You're better off dead.'

The mind was a terrible place to be trapped in. It twisted one's greatest fears into a reality that was nearly impossible to escape from. In Sakura's mind, the world was dark and unforgiving. The skies were poisoned an ugly green with the scent of death hanging heavily in the air. Otogakure was in ruin, the walls and all the buildings crumbled into piles of rock and gravel. Bodies were strewn about in every direction, all their blood collecting into the center of what was left of the village. Inner, a silhouette with cruel white eyes and an even crueler smile, sat atop the dead bodies of Naruto and Deidara.

'Give in,' she sneered. 'It'll hurt less.'

Sakura was drowning in that blood pool. It's warm thickness encased her lungs and tried to pull her down below the surface. "No!" she gasped before being yanked down for the thirty-first time. The blood bubbled for a few seconds until her head broke free. "I'm... I'm not dying he—"

She submerged again. Inner rolled her eyes. 'Trying is useless. You're done for, Sakura! You're gone! You're never going to wake up!'

Day 29

Sasori hobbled down in the hospital, his crutches making light clacks in the murmuring hallways. His ribs had indeed gone and punctured his lungs like he thought. He was sent into surgery to repair his organs and to realign his bones. His physical therapy sessions were scheduled next month if he chose to stay. He looked up at his surroundings to find that his legs, no matter how messed up they were, had carried him to the ICU. He spotted Sakura's door easily as it was the only one with a different protection tag in the bottom corner and undoubtedly had disguised ANBU watching from everywhere on the floor.

He saw Kakuzu sitting beside the room and nodded in greeting.

"Sasori," Kakuzu returned. "I see that your new body is treating you well."

"Fantastic," he drawled. Sasori sat down in the empty seat beside him and placed his crutches against the wall. "The broken leg was an especially nice addition."

The edge of Kakuzu's mouth twitched. The two sat there for a while, staying silent and merely observing the flow of hospital duty. Perhaps after a few minutes, Sasori spoke.

"She's selfless. Irritatingly so."

Kakuzu nodded. "She tends to care for others more than herself. It may not be the most conventional in some situations, but it's a good trait to have in her position. She'll take it too far in many cases—"

Sasori glanced to the side.

"—but it's all in good reason. Is that why you're here? Because she risked her life to save yours?"

Her silence told earfuls for him and the hard line of his lips showed just how dismayed he was. That's the exact reason he was here, wasn't he? Sakura assisted in killing him three years ago and he was sure she shouldn't have minded if she witnessed his death for the second time. But she save him. Encouraged him to get back onto his feet like the shinobi he was supposed to be. Then she carried him to Otogakure with him on her back.

What a stupid, stupid girl.

"What's her status?" Sasori asked. Kakuzu mused at the obvious avoidance tactic as he folded his arms over his chest.

"Still the same. If she doesn't improve soon, there's a great chance that her heart will stop."

Sasori looked at the door, frown deepening.

Day 30

Sakura was starting to get very, very tired.

Her efforts were futile. No matter how hard she kicked or how hard she swam, she always ended up in the center of the pool with something heavy dragging her down by her ankles. There was more blood in her lungs now than in any other part of her body. Was it hers? She stopped worrying about it hours ago. Inner was bored on the side, inspecting her nails and waiting for the moment Sakura would give herself up to death's nimble fingers.

She smirked when she saw the head of hair duck down for the next few seconds and the bubbles receded to nothing.

Well, it seemed she didn't have to wait long.

::

'Giving up? I don't want to. I never want to. But... I can't move anymore. I can't breathe. I can't...'

Her eyes began to flutter shut, the edges of her vision crawling to black with each passing moment. Perhaps this was her payment for what she'd done. Leaving Konoha, killing Asuma, 'conspiring' with a universal threat, and faking her own death were perfect means of this particular fate. Just before the moment her sight was about to go completely blank, she heard two soft voices swimming near her ears.

"I didn't believe her in the beginning, and I'm sure you didn't either. But there was something in there... I don't know how to describe it. Something different."

'Sasori-san?'

"Everyone's different. Sakura-sama's no exception. A young mind like hers is fresh and open—more so than old crones such as myself. She's part of the generation that will make the change the world needs."

'Kakuzu-san?'

Sakura pried her eyes open and weakly kicked herself upwards towards the sound of the voices.

"Maybe you're right, maybe you aren't. It all depends on her, doesn't it? If she survives, she'll wake up to a growing city she need to further nurture. If she dies, at least she died protecting those children who deserve a chance."

She paused. Those words... No, those couldn't be his. Sasori always looked at her as an equal and probably never as an authority figure. He'd never condone her reckless actions either, saying that rescuing four unremarkable civilians was only a waste of her time and effort. Kakuzu seemed to have a similar reaction.

"Not that's something interesting. You're gone for a few days and you come back a changed man. What happened out there?"

There were a few beats of silence as Sakura struggled to get to the surface.

"Once, I stabbed her with a poisoned blade, expecting her to die. But she grabbed it and looked at me with this ferocity. A will to live. I'll admit that I gave up in the fight that forced her into this state and was ready to accept death again. She wouldn't let me. She took three hits to the same place I aimed years ago, insulted me, and made me fight with everything I had left. I was annoyed, yes, but..." There was an audible sigh. "But it's something I have to thank her for."

::

Inner walked over to the blood pool and peered over the edge. Nothing. She scoffed and shook her head.

'What a shame. I have no one to mock anymore.'

She turned to leave the mindscape when there was a harsh splashing sound and something came out to grab her leg. Inner snapped her gaze down to see a blood-soaked hand gripping her calf. Along with the hand came another until the top half of Sakura's body emerged from the pool.

'You—!!'

Inner stopped herself when Sakura looked up, eyes blazing like a forest fire.

"This is my head and my stakes you're toying with, Inner, but I think you've forgotten something," she hissed. "I was able to build a nation, and I'll be damned if I let some fucked up conscience take over my own mind!"

::

Kakuzu glanced over at his associate with a twinkle in his eyes. It didn't take much for him to get hooked, did it? Not like he could say anything about it. Both of them turned to look out the window, quietly enjoying the afternoon skies. Sakura had changed the both of them, hell, the entire Akatsuki without having to try. She gave the chance none of them knew they earned, and with it, they were never going to let it go.

They were going to better themselves. It could take their whole lives, but they were going to right their wrongs and be loyal to a village like they never could the first time.

Quite suddenly, the heart monitor sped up and coarse, sleep-torn voice broke the calm. "Are you two geezers really watching the sunset in my room?"

::

EDITED 2.19.18