(A/N: This chapter contains some gore, sexual assault [implied attempted rape of a minor], brief mentions of child sex trafficking [no great amount of detail] You have been warned.)

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She won't let you.

She will fight till the end.

You can't keep a lioness caged.

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She is led into a room filled with bright lights and several men of varying shapes and sizes. She does not so much as blink when their eager, lustful gazes follow her every move. The whistles and catcalls over her eyes and hair and the continued use of "exotic" to describe her slowly grate on her nerves but, nevertheless, she remains silent.

"Got a right beauty there, Gato. How much you want for her?" This comes from a tall, muscular man with a black beard halfway down his chest. "I got loads of cash tonight."

"Hm, maybe we should just test her out?" A short man with double-chin steps forward. "She looks disobedient. The look in her eyes, I mean."

Another man shoves his way closer. "If anyone gets to have a go at her first, it's me. I can offer more."

"Hell no!"

"Get in line!"

"She's mine!"

Gato leans close to whisper in her ear. "You'll sell for a pretty coin, my dear. You should feel special." It takes everything in Sakura to not stab the man. "Gentlemen, please!" Gato lets go and spreads his hands out in front of him. "We'll be starting the auction soon." He then grabs Sakura again and pulls her to the front and makes her stand to face the room of disgraceful men.

"She's a pretty flower~" one man calls from the back.

"I always liked pretty things," another man replies.

Sakura subtly swallows the bile building up in her throat at the mere thought of any of these men touching her inappropriately.

"Ah, yes. This is Flower. Let's discuss Flower, shall we?" Gato moves pass Sakura to the table behind her, grabs something, and then stands in front of her. She continues to gaze forward, eyes focused on a stain on the wall. "Flower is a kunoichi from Konohagakure." There's a flash of blue and metal and Sakura sees red. Absolutely sees red. All noise fades away at the mere sight of her headband.

They...tainted it.

The proud symbol of Konoha, the symbol she wears in honor of her faith and devotion to her village, the symbol she swore to fight and protect, to uphold it's meaning - is barely legible under the deep scratches, under the utter abuse given to it.

They touched it with their filthy hands!

What's left of the blue fabric the metal is attached to it torn at the end. There's not enough to tie it onto her head anymore.

" - and this set of nice weapons. Brand new, it seems. That'll be extra if you, you know, want to play with her for a bit~"

Sakura's gaze snaps to the clearly filled weapon pouch. It, too, is in a terrible condition.

What fools.

"Now, let's start the bidding. Starting off with 10,000!"

Sakura blinks slowly. I'm going to kill all of you.

"15,000!"

"18,000!"

I'm going to kill all of you. Sakura gazes at each man, fury building in her chest. And I'm going to enjoy it.

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Since the bids towards her have only increased in the last half hour, Sakura ever so subtly moves backward towards the table her weapons were placed on. It really is incredibly foolish of Gato to simply place them back where he had them originally and turn his back to them, turn his back to her. The senbon needle Haku passed her earlier feels larger now. Heavier.

She grips it with a fierceness that surprises herself.

It's almost time. Tekka and the others are counting on me.

"65,000!" This snaps Sakura out of her inner monologue.

"65,000 going once! 65,000 going twice! So - "

"500,000 for Lil' Miss Flower."

Sakura looks through the crowd before her eyes land on the man who earlier insisted he should "have a go at her first" because he can "offer" more. Low murmurs set off in the crowd. Many of the other men take steps back.

"Ah, Mr. Hoshitan~" Gato takes a step forward. "That's quite the bid~"

"My new pet will be worth it."

His dark gaze follows the length of her body from head to shoulders - lingering on her chest and pelvis - before stopping at her feet only for him to repeat the process over and over again.

"Unless anyone has something to top Mr. Hoshitan's bid...?" Gato trails off to look around - Sakura is fully pressed against the table, her free hand swiftly placed behind her and on her weapon pouch. One second, two seconds, and she has a smoke bomb in her hand. - before looking over his shoulder to grin at her. "Then I believe you are now the proud owner of Flower."

Hoshitan walks forward at a leisure pace, hands stuffed in his pockets with a wicked smile on his face. "Hello, pet. You'll be coming home with me."

Sakura mumbles under her breath, eyes narrowing at the sight of this man who thinks she's property.

"What was that, honey?" Hoshitan leans down to hear her.

What a fool.

"I said," Sakura looks directly into his eyes, "I won't be going anywhere with you."

But the man only chuckles. "And what makes you think that, princess?"

"You'll be dead," she replies simply before jerking forward.

A curse rips from Hoshitan's mouth but, as he staggers back, Sakura yanks the large needle out of him and shoots forward to slice his neck. Blood spills over like a waterfall. A sort of gurgling sound escapes his mouth before he drops to the ground unmoving.

"What the fuck?!"

"She's a Konoha lapdog! What do you expect?!"

As one, several men dart for the door but Sakura's already throwing the smoke bomb at the ground. Black smoke, thick and suffocating, fills the room in a matter of seconds. Yells can be heard but Sakura pays them no mind. She has practiced with Sasuke and Sasuke's cousin, Shisui, on how to navigate through black smoke in a condensed area. Her weapons are in her hands before she even thinks. With closed eyes, she listens to the hollering, the footsteps, and moves. She knows Gato remains cowering near the table and is quick to bash the end of one of her kunai against his neck.

I'll save you for last.

Sakura is done wasting time.

You deserve this, she thinks while slashing through several near the door. I have no sympathy for people like you. Three more drop to the floor with a sickening, yet satisfying, thump. Whimpers follow soon and the yells grow frantic. The remaining men cannot find a way out. It would take several more minutes for the smoke to even start clearing up.

Something slams into her from behind.

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Naruto wakes up with a gasp. Hand flying to his heart, he grips the shirt over it tightly. There's a thin layer of sweat over his forehead, droplets falling to the sheets pooled at his waist. Sunlight is streaming through half-opened curtains and it's almost unbearably quiet. Naruto, feeling the ache in his shoulders, throws off the blanket and sets his feet on the ground.

A sharp tingle runs across the bottom of his feet.

Slowly - surely - Naruto gets up, sways briefly, and steadily walks to the door. Sasuke's backpack is sitting at the end of the large futon, seemingly untouched for hours. He opens the door and calls out.

There's no reply.

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Ten minutes later, he's out the front door in his remaining set of clean clothes.

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Her body slams into the ground at such a force, she loses her breath. Her head cracks against the stone floor with a sickening thump, her vision swimming. The black smoke doesn't help her blurry vision. Someone is on top of her. Someone is gripping her hair tightly. Someone is groping her left breast. Someone is stroking her exposed collarbone.

"You're one smart bitch, little girl."

Lips are pressed against her left ear, the breath hot, the stubbly chin rough against the side of her face.

"Konoha trains you all well. But how well?"

His slipping his hand under the upper part of the kimono she wearing and grips hard. Sakura bites back a cry of pain. He grips harder.

"I'm going to take my time with you and then I'll the others - those alive, of course - have some fun with you and then I'll kill you." He kisses her ear. "And I'll enjoy it."

Sakura scrambles for anything laying near her. Her kunai is gone. Her senbon needle is gone. The smoke is slowly, but surely, clearing away. She can make out the rough outline of a much older man with evil grey eyes. He's leaning in closer. Sakura, in a desperate attempt to get away, slams her head forward and barely thinks when it collides with the man's forehead in a powerful blow.

"You bitch!" The man howls as he jerks away.

With trembling limbs, Sakura tries to push herself backward.

Get away from him.

"Nevermind. I'm just going to fucking kill you!"

Get away. Get away. Get awa-

He's on her in a matter of seconds. His hands wrap around her throat and push. Her body jerks, the air cut off quickly, and she struggles. She struggles fiercely. Nails rip into his skin, nails claw at his face, but the pressure isn't letting up.

"You'll never see your home again, little girl."

No.

"You'll never see your friends again."

Flashes of a laughing Naruto, of a smiling Ino, of a carefree Sasuke, fill her head.

No.

"Is there a family that will mourn you?"

Mama. Papa.

In a final attempt of desperation, Sakura palms the floor for anything to stab this man with. Anything. Her vision is blackening. She can't breathe. She can't breathe - her hand connects with something. Something sharp. A blade! Sakura doesn't think. She doesn't think and grips the blade - not caring that it's biting into her skin and making everything sleek - and plunges it into the skin of the man on top of her.

"Gah!"

Sakura doesn't think.

"You little - "

She rips the blade out before running it into the man again.

"S-Stop - "

She pounces on him the moment he falls off of her and keeps stabbing with a wild abandon. She's using both hands to grip the blade, not caring that it's tearing into her skin. The man's cries, the man's pleas, fall silent and then there's nothing but silence. There's no sound aside from her heavy breathing. The black smoke is gone, but Sakura doesn't realize this. Her entire body is trembling. The blade falls from her slippery grasp. The sound it makes when connecting with the floor grounds her.

Sakura finally looks around. She enjoyed the taste of blood and wanted to kill again. She did.

It's a complete bloodbath. Piles of men liter the stone floor, blood painting the walls. There are a few men pressed flatly against the wall closest to the door, but they aren't making a sound. Slowly, hands shaking, Sakura gets up and walks over to her weapon pouch. With her back turned away, she hears the frantic scramble for the door.

Thub. Thub. Thub. Thub.

Each man drops with a kunai sticking of his neck.

She hears a groan. With cold eyes, Sakura looks down to see Gato finally waking up. She waits patiently as he sits up, eyes still closed, and rubs the back of his head. Something satisfying fills the pit of her stomach when he opens his eyes and looks around. A small, gleeful smile forms on her face when he finally lays eyes on her.

"Gato-san," Sakura starts, "I apologize for the mess. I do intend to clean it up when I'm finished."

A whimper escapes his mouth and, like she figures, he starts pleading.

"I'll give you anything you want. A nice boat! All my money! Please don't kill me. I have two hired guards! They're wonderful and they work for a decent pay. They'll do anything I say. They're contracted to me but I can sign them over to you!"

Sakura, without looking, reaches behind her to grab the largest of her kunai. "I intend to claim your money." She shows him the kunai. "Just like I intend to claim your life."

"H-Have mercy."

She shakes her head slowly. "I have no mercy for people like you." His whimpers were cut off shortly after her statement.

"Sakura-san!" Tekka cannot help but cover her mouth at the sight of the young girl before her.

Bloodshot, green eyes stare calmly back at her. A once delightfully pale neck is now barely recognizable under ugly, deep purple bruises in the shape of fingers. Her kimono is practically drenched in blood and her hair is an absolute mess. There's an unreadable forehead protector sticking out of the upper part of he kimono and a faded pouch attached to her hip. With torn up hands, Sakura hands a decent sized pouch to Tekka.

"Supplies," Sakura whispers. Her voice sounds horrid. "Bread and some fruit I found. There are two water pouches in it. You all need to share."

"Nee-chan!"

"Talia," Sakura greets in a small voice. "You can't touch me, okay? I'm a mess." Her voice sounds terrible. Young Talia starts crying softly but nods regardless. "Gato and his men are dead," she states as loud as she can, ignoring the burning in her throat. "You are all free to return to your homes." Sakura silently regards the oldest among the group. "Please see to it that the younger ones are returned safely to their homes."

"What about you?" Tekka places the pouch over his shoulder.

Sakura smiles. It false. Hideous, even. "I need your help, Tekka." She turns to address the others in the room. "I want you all to follow me out." She tastes copper on her tongue but ignores it.

And they do. In a single-file order, they silently follow Sakura out of the room, passed a closed door where a clear puddle of blood is forming under the area where the door doesn't meet the ground and greet the sun with happy cries.

"What do you need me to do?" Tekka moves to stand next to Sakura. Sakura nods towards the tubs of gasoline near the front door and then raises an eyebrow at Tekka.

"It would be an honor, Sakura-san."

She rather likes the genuine grin that appears on Sakura's face.

While the other girls wait off to the side, Sakura and Tekka take great care in pouring gasoline in every room they come across. However, Sakura refuses to let Tekka enter the room with the blood puddle underneath the door. Tekka waits silently for Sakura to exit the room one final time with a bloody bag and another bag clearly filled with money. After that, all the girls watch as Sakura pulls a matchbox out of the pouch attached to her hip, strikes a match, and throws it at the building. It's almost immediately engulfed with flames.

Sakura watches the fire for a moment before turning to the other girls. For the next couple of minutes, she passes out coins to each girl but keeps the majority.

"It's not for me," she answers the questioning looks of the other girls, her voice in a dainty whisper. "Rather, I intend to repay someone for aiding us in our escape."

"Haku?" Tekka nods to the senbon needle Sakura has in her hair to keep it up. She came out of the room like that, but Tekka made no comment at the time.

Sakura nods before addressing them all. "You're free. Do you know how to find your way home?" At the low murmurs of reply, Sakura nods again. "Please escort the younger girls home." She lifts both bags and ignores the pain that laces over her palms and up her arms.

Talia steps forward only she's gripping Tekka's free hand. "T-Thank you, nee-chan."

"Where will you go?" Tekka grips the small hand to keep herself grounded.

"To find my teammates and to give this," she shakes both bags, "to Haku." They all watch as Sakura kicks off her sandals and clench her toes in the grass. "I have a debt to repay and I intend to fulfill it." When she leaps on too a tree branch, Talia lets go of Tekka's hand and races forward.

"I'll never forget you, nee-chan!" Talia yells. "I'll grow up to be strong like you!"

Sakura's kind smile is the last thing they see.

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Sasuke grunts when his back meets the cold pavement.

"Please cease your movements. I do not wish to kill you."

The masked man - child? - drops in front of him, lean body towering over Sasuke with a killer's intent barely on the rains. A few feet away, Sasuke can hear Naruto swear and stumble on his feet.

"I can't let you kill the old man."

What are you doing Naruto?

"And I won't let you kill Sasuke."

Suddenly, Naruto is in front of Sasuke. The aura around him is bordering on a dangerous level. Sasuke can see the clenched fists of Naruto, how his teammate is barely keeping a hold on his control, and the way his body is trembling.

"If killing you ensure's Zabuza-san's victory," the hunter-nin falls into an unknown fighting stance, "then I will."

Sasuke's eyes flicker to Kakashi. From his position, he can clearly see the wound on Kakashi's left shoulder and the way his sensei is favoring his right leg. His fight with Zabuza is drawing to an end and Sasuke can't make heads or tails of who will win. Ice mirrors start forming around them in a sort of see-through dome and Sasuke freezes. There are large rectangular sheets of ice that resemble mirrors, yet he can still see Kakashi if he concentrates hard enough.

What is this?

The hunter-nin disappears in one of the mirrors just before a shower of needles eject from one of the other mirrors towards them. Sasuke forces his body to roll out of the way while Naruto jumps. This same attack is repeated seconds later and Sasuke is forced to roll again. Naruto calls out to the nin but is only met with silence. Quickly, despite his burning muscles, Sasuke gets his feet.

For several minutes, needles shoot out of the mirrors aiming for them, but Sasuke continues to dodge them; moving much quicker as time passes on.

"You're fast." It's whispered in his ear and Sasuke spins around only to see no know one there. "I'm impressed. I will end this quickly for the other."

Sasuke watches, eyes wide, as a shower of needles aims directly for Naruto. So many that Sasuke knows - he knows deep in his heart - that Naruto wouldn't be able to dodge them all. He moves without hesitating and feels - sweet lord - each needle penetrate his body all over. And then he's falling. Falling fast.

"No!" The scream comes from two different sources.

Someone catches him, holds him, and whoever it is...they're trembling.

"S-Sasuke! Why w-would you - ?"

A trickle of blood slides down the side of his mouth. "My body m-moved on its own." His vision is darkening. "Don't l-lose, Naruto. You need t-to find Sakura."

He goes limp.

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The scream rips out of her with such a force, Sakura almost falls to her knees. She sees Sasuke falling - falling, falling, falling - until Naruto reaches out to catch him before he fully hits the ground. Hands gripping her bags tightly, she starts running down the hill she's atop of as fast as she can. Her lungs are burning, her hands on fire, but she doesn't stop.

Fear. Anger. Hatred.

The need to kill.

A heavy aura flows over the large clearing and slams into Sakura. She does drop this time, knees slamming into the iced ground so hard she drops a bag to muffle the cry she releases. Several yards away from him, Naruto is glowing. Naruto is glowing a dark, deadly orange. So much so that a tail forms at the base of his lower back.

Sakura can see him tremble with rage. The frightening aura only growing as she scrambles to her feet, grabs her bags, and starts racing forward despite the fear bubbling in her stomach. A wave of such intense killing intent washes over her and almost sends her to her knees again but she pushes past it. She races for her boys, desperation filling her every nerve.

She can't see a way to enter the dome.

"Naruto," she calls out in a raw voice. Blood eyes are on her in an instant, but it's not Naruto she sees in them. No. There's some demonic about the red eyes staring back at her. Something dark and frightening. Something that chills her to the bone. This isn't Naruto. Just something that has control of his body. She stops several feet away when he snarls at her. His teeth are pointed, his nails are sharper, and she knows that if the creature wanted to, he could rip her to shreds.

A senbon needle scraps the side of Naruto's face. Sakura knows instantly who is behind the white mask. Her eyes flash to Kakashi and Zabuza.

Is he your precious person, Haku?

Another howl erupts from this demonic Naruto, so loud and fierce, the ice mirrors rattle but do not break. No. She'll be forced to watch her teammate and Haku go toe-to-toe in the dome while Sasuke lays dying - or dead - at their feet. Sakura steps forward the few feet to be right up at the dome, drops her bags, and starts beating at the ice.

"Naruto! Naruto, stop! Haku, please! Please stop!"

She's desperate.

"Stop!" Sakura tastes copper in her mouth, her lips wet with crimson.

But neither care. Neither listens. Sakura watches as they clash in powerful blows, but she knows Haku won't win this. The demonic chakra pouring out of Naruto's body is too powerful, too deadly. She watches as Haku is pushed further and further into his ice mirrors. When a wave of chakra pulses out of Naruto's body, the ice mirrors start to crack.

Sakura jerks away when she hears a loud crackle and turns to the course of the sound. There's pale blue lightning around her sensei's hand and it steadily grows bigger. The man he is fighting is down on one knee, head bowed. As Kakashi advances on this man, Sakura sees her opportunity. She starts toward them, calling out as she does.

"Kakashi-sensei! Stop! You - ," she grasps at her burning throat, " - Stop!" A terrible coughing fit pushes out of her throat.

She sees him falter and then stop a few feet away from the kneeling man. He doesn't look at her, his body remains tense, but he has stopped like she pleaded. The sound of something shattering and then - "Haku?"

"Naruto-san."

"B-But why?"

Sakura doesn't pay them the attention she so desperately wants too. Something in her gut tells her Haku won't attack again. Instead, she turns, grabs the bags she had been carrying, and starts for her sensei. Stopping next to him, half a foot away from his glowing hand, Sakura drops both bags in front of the man. The thubs cause the man to finally look up.

"Your contract with Gato is void." Her voice sounds horrid.

The man tilts his head. "He is dead?"

Sakura nods slowly. "That," she points to the damp bag, "is your proof."

"Haku. To me." In a flicker of black, Haku is standing before Sakura with a blank face. The man picks up the bloody bag and hands it to Haku while keeping his eyes focused on Sakura. "Confirm the death of our employer."

Haku takes the bag with a soft "Yes, Zabuza-san," and opens it. Sakura watches his face closely but sees no reaction. "She speaks the truth."

"And this bag?" The man - Zabuza, she corrects - gestures to the other bag.

"Your payment for your service," Sakura answers in a quiet voice. "Please allow me and my teammates to leave."

Zabuza grabs the bag and gets to his feet. "What is your name?"

"Sakura."

A chuckle - one that greatly concerns Sakura - escapes Zabuza's mouth. "You and your teammates are free to go, Sakura. I, as you have said, no longer work with Gato and no longer have to carry out his commands."

Kakashi's blue lightening dissolves into nothing.

"S-Sakura-chan?" She hears Naruto speak accompanied by a thub.

Sakura wants to go to him, but her eyes remain on Zabuza. "You will not pursue us?"

"No. You are free to leave." Zabuza turns on his feet and walks towards a giant sword lying several feet away. Haku turns on the spot but Sakura shoots forward to grab his sleeve.

"This is yours, Haku-san." She pulls out the large needle he had passed her earlier in the day. "It was of great use to me." She can only manage to speak in a whisper.

Haku accepts the needle, staring down at it as if it were some otherworldly thing, before shaking his head slowly. He very gently grabs the hand that offered it and places the needle back in it. "Do not give away your trophies, Sakura-san. They showcase your survival."

"Haku, we're leaving."

But Haku doesn't follow immediately. "Your teammate, Sasuke," Sakura tenses. "I did not kill him. He will awake soon."

"Haku!" Zabuza snaps.

"Until we meet again, Sakura-san." Haku lifts her free hand, bloodied and bruised and completely torn apart - and very much aching - and presses a soft kiss onto the back of it regardless of its state. Sakura finds that she does not mind this for the feeling it leaves her is not disgust like Gato's did. When he lets go, Sakura takes a step back until she's at Kakashi's side and spares a few moments to watch Haku leave with Zabuza.

The moment they're out of sight, Sakura pivots on her heels and heads directly for her boys. She inhales sharply at the sight of Sasuke and smiles sadly at Naruto's exhausted form.

"Do you think you can carry Naruto?"

Kakashi is at her side in instantly.

"Yes, sensei," Sakura whispers her reply.

"Don't speak unless you have to, Sakura."

She nods.

In a couple of minutes, Naruto is situated on her back and Kakashi has Sasuke gathered in his arms as carefully as he can.

"Let's head back, Sakura."

She truly appreciates the deep comfort that settles in her bones at the gentle voice of her sensei.

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Naruto takes one look at her, bursts into tears, and throws himself over her legs. Sasuke takes on look at her and then promptly refuses to keep eye contact or go near her. Sakura knows she makes quite the sight.

Upon arriving back at Tazuna's home, the family greeted them with utterly horrified faces and were quick to provide their assistance. Sakura refused to be touched by anyone until Naruto and Sasuke were looked at first. It was nearly an hour later before Tazuna's daughter approached her cautiously and offered a bath, fresh clothes, and bandages.

It was one of the worse experiences of her life.

When everything settled, Sakura was forced to acknowledge the reality of what happened to her - what nearly happened to her. She had to force herself to look in the mirror and assess the damage. Save for a small sliver of untouched skin, her neck is covered in deep purple and yellow - some parts bordering on green - hand-shaped bruises. Her eyes are bloodshot, her face is filthy, and there's a bruise on her forehead large enough that she can cover it with the palm of her hand.

Her hands.

During her struggle, she gripped a blade tight enough that it left deep cuts on her palms and half her fingers. She's surprised she doesn't need stitches, the cuts are healing over far quicker than she expects. From the side of her pinky down to her wrist, her hands were purpling from where she banged on Haku's ice dome. It took her a while to clean the blood and dirt out from beneath her fingernails.

When she stripped down to step in the bath, she saw the ugly bruises on the left side of her chest from when the man squeezed - squeezed, squeezed, squeezed - and forced herself to not cry. It was increasingly hard not to do so when she stepped into the piping hot water and settled against a smoothed, wooden corner to simply soak. She soaked for well over an hours before finding the will to actually bathe. Tazuna's daughter aided her in bandaging her hands and redressing when her stiff muscles failed to cooperate.

That had been several hours ago.

"Naruto," she manages to croak. "I'm okay. I'm okay." But Naruto only buries his face deeper against her stomach and continues to sob.

Sakura looks helplessly at Sasuke but only sees her other friend clenching the bed sheets pooled at his waist. "Sasuke?" He doesn't acknowledge her. His head is bowed. "Sasuke, please. Look at me." Her voice is horrid. She takes notice of his trembling shoulders.

Kakashi is nowhere near the room, but she can sense his chakra in the house.

Tears burned at the corners of her tears. "I'm okay," she repeats. "I'm okay. I'm okay." She buries one hand in Naruto's hair.

"No, you're not." Sasuke doesn't look at her. "Have you seen yourself, Sakura?" She cannot help but flinch at the harsh tone. "You look - You look - " She sees Sasuke runs a hand through his hair. "Have you seen your neck?!"

She shifts a little but keeps her hold on Naruto who has fallen silent by now. "Yes, Sasuke." It's said in a whisper. "I know exactly how I look." That finally gets her a reaction she can work with. Sasuke's head snaps up and his dark eyes bore into her own, eyes full of regret and anger.

"Sakura - "

"I don't blame you," she interrupts quietly. "What happened to me - it's not your fault or Naruto's."

Sasuke's eyes flash. "Then it's Kakashi's. He wouldn't let us find you!"

No, Sasuke.

Sakura shakes her head as best she can. "You had no leads. You would have wasted time and energy looking for me and that would have placed Tazuna-san's self and family in danger. We still had a mission to complete, Sasuke. You and Naruto," Sakura stops to breathe, "struggled against Haku. Imagine what would have happened if you both were on your own against him? Imagine if you ran across Zabuza?"

"Sakura-chan, we - "

She shushes him. "Kakashi-sensei made the right call. Hunter-nins. Mercenaries. They're out of our league right now. I don't want either of you to place yourself in unnecessary danger because of me."

Sasuke stands up and, for a moment, she believes he will walk out of the room, but Sasuke just walks over to her, settles next to her, and wraps an arm around her waist as best he can with Naruto's shoulder in the way. He leans his head against her shoulder in a surprising display of affection.

"If something were to happen to you," he breathes deeply, "Naruto and I wouldn't know what to do."

Naruto nods against her stomach. "We wouldn't know what to say to Ino either. Or our parents."

"I'll try harder to see where Kakashi-sensei is coming - "

"After this, I may no longer be your sensei."

Sakura feels Naruto jerk in surprise.

"What do you mean?" She whispers as their sensei walks into the room and takes a seat at the foot of her bed.

Kakashi sighs. "Returning to the village in your condition will probably get me blacklisted as a sensei and placed on probation if not outright stripped of my rank."

Sakura stares at him. "Because you continued the mission despite Tazuna-san's lie, am I correct?" She tries to clear her throat but it only sends her into a painful coughing fit.

Sasuke rubs a hand over her lower back. "Breath slowly, Sakura."

"Sakura is correct. This mission was supposed to be simple and last only a week. We won't make it back before the week is up because Sakura is in no condition to travel right now. When I file the report, of which Lord Fourth will demand first and foremost upon seeing her condition, and explain what happened he will be beyond livid." Kakashi pauses before continuing, voice much quieter. "I placed you three in danger."

"If it weren't for your d-decision," Sakura starts breathing heavily, "w-we wouldn't have - "

"Sakura-chan, you need to save your voice."

"No," Sakura whispers, closing her eyes. "This village w-was liberated, a tyrant was d-disposed of, and what would h-have been a child sex traffic r-ring was stopped." She opens her eyes and looks at Kakashi. "L-Lord Fourth will underst-stand this, sensei."

"Be that as it may, Sakura - "

She shakes her head as best she can. "I'll explain."

"Admirable," Kakashi replies.

Naruto sits up properly. "When will we be able to travel home, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi looks directly in Sakura's eyes. "Two, maybe three, days. Sakura can hardly speak or move her head. Traveling by tree would not help her body. Her hands are torn up too. If push comes to shove, I'll carry her back. Now," he stands up, "I want Sakura to rest up as best she can. I assume you two will stay with her?"

Sasuke nods while Naruto shoots Kakashi a thumbs up. "We'll watch over Sakura-chan!"

"Can I-I get some water, s-sensei?"

He reaches forward and pats her head affectionately. "Of course. I'll be back in a few minutes."

The moment he's gone, Naruto starts peeling Sakura's sheets back. "It will be a tight squeeze, but we'll manage."

Sakura cracks a small smile. "Like old t-times?"

"Stop talking," Sasuke replies before Naruto can answer. "You need to rest your voice." He, too, shifts under the sheets until he's pillowing Sakura's left side, Naruto copying him on her other side.

"Water?"

"Here."

Kakashi is suddenly looming over them, a glass of water with a straw in one hand and an extra blanket in the other. He holds it while she manages to down half of it before settling back against her pillows. The moment she stops, Naruto and Sasuke press closer. Kakashi spreads the extra blanket over them.

"I'll wake you three for dinner, okay?"

"Yes, sensei."

She's out before he can exit the room.

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

5840 Words