Chapter Text
In her decade-long career as an entity of the state, Sakura was privy to precisely three bids upon her life—two assassinations and exactly one kidnapping.
During the peak of the war, Sakura had a brief stint as a saboteur. Among other things, she had blown up three of Orochimaru’s laboratories. Sound had— twice —sent hunter-nin in retaliation.
The kidnapping incident will not be expanded on.
Ever.
It was unfortunate indeed that all three endeavors were ultimately a huge failure because, hello, she’s still here.
All that aside, in a frankly ridiculous turn of events, she can’t believe that the most unorthodox attempt on her life that Sakura has ever had the privilege of partaking in was carried out by her very own teammates.
See, it's like this:
One might reasonably discern that Kakashi, under the acute duress of capturing her, failed to bear in mind the acquisition of a suitable hovel in which to stash her person. One may also, quite understandably, raise concern about the rusty nature of said man’s questionable trade-skills when one deigns to observe the crudely drawn Chakra-suppressing seals drawn into her skin. This is not the warring states era, we have paper you uncultured canine.
So, it is inevitable that under such circumstances, her comfort may not be the highest priority on Kakashi’s checklist.
But why , pray tell, must she be imprisoned in the vicinity of Naruto’s underwear ?
“—you understand why I'm doing this, right?” Kakashi asked, awkwardly looming above her. One of his hands held back a colourful assortment of underclothes hanging from a makeshift clothesline that spanned out between them.
Sakura stared past him, at the green boxers speckled with orange streaks.
Is it washed? They’re washed, right? It looks washed. What if it’s not? Ewwww, it’s touching his hair.
It’s not like she could have replied anyway, with how securely she’d been restrained.
When no reply was forthcoming, Kakashi sighed and backed away, inadvertently letting Sakura get smacked in the face by the very same garment she was mulling over.
I swear to Kami, Kakashi, I will shave your fucking eyebrows.
She cringed away from the swaying clothes and flopped resolutely against the backpacks she was deposited next to.
Reduced to the equivalent of a sack of potatoes.
Ridiculous
From her vantage point behind the washing line, Sakura could only purview three pairs of ninja-sandals. They hastily removed themselves from the room. Harsh whispers carried over from the other side and without her chakra, they remained indecipherable to her—except for Naruto, who was still valiantly trying to defend her honour.
You’re barking up the wrong tree, kid.
Sakura was proved right two minutes later, when Kakashi quite firmly declared: “No , Naruto. That’s final and an order from your superior.”
Sakura sighed through her nose and made herself comfortable.
She needed to conserve her energy.
Five days. It’s been five freaking days stuck in a room with hellions.
Sakura has no idea how much longer she can hang on.
She hadn’t been fed or watered in two days—and why does it sound like she’s likened herself to a horse?
Fuck, she’s probably gone barking mad.
And yes, that was a pun at Kakashi’s expense.
Bathroom breaks were cut down three days ago, when Kakashi thought she was making a run for it.
Well, yes it was a poorly-masked attempt to break away but if anyone ever asks: she slipped, okay?
Not to mention the utter humiliation of actually taking a leak under Kakashi’s watchful eye.
There was a Kakashi clone in the room every hour of every day.
And the nights.
Dear God, the nights.
Naruto snores louder than a thunderstorm on steroids and Sasuke kicks in his sleep . Which shouldn’t be a problem except for the fact that apparently he rolls over as well.
To the other side of the room.
Kakashi must gain a sadistic sort of satisfaction from her misery because he’s never stooped so low as to pull Sasuke away. Not even for Sasuke’s own safety.
Sakura would never voluntarily stab the kid but oh boy has she come close. It was fortunate indeed that Kakashi had the foresight to confiscate anything that could even tenuously be called a weapon.
She still mourned the toothbrush they had seized from under her thigh.
Grunting softly, Sakura wiggled into a slightly more vertical position. The Kakashi-clone in the corner twitched.
She paid him no heed.
From her vantage point on the floor, the only thing she was able to spy were cloudy skies.
Just another long and gloomy day, Sakura reflected morosely.
Like clockwork, there’s a knock on the door signaling breakfast. The Kakashi clone roused to receive the food, nimbly opening and shutting the Shoji doors. After an awkward meal wherein she was force-fed lukewarm Miso-soup, Sakura was escorted out to the bathroom where she had to go about her business with the doors wide open.
Afterwards, she was escorted back to the room and her bindings double checked. Then, she was left to her own devices, the Kakashi-clone retreating to his place in the shadows. Typically, Sakura would sleep away until dinner time at which point the whole process would be repeated.
But not today.
Half an hour into her nap, Sakura was startled awake by a presence in the room.
The Kakashi-clone stirred again, stepping forward nonchalantly.
She sat up, attention locked on the stranger.
Standard ANBU uniform. Leaf headband. The person was of non-differentiable height with auburn hair being the only striking quality on their person. Another was the black crop-jacket that they wore, with red stripes at the shoulders.
The ANBU stared back, body unreadable. Perhaps analyzing her just the same.
“Inu.” The stranger declared.
Sakura almost flinched. Their voice was baritone in range but surprisingly loud in the hushed room.
Kakashi inclined his head.
“You have orders to terminate all primary contacts.”
She swallowed nervously. The villagers. Her heart was already beating in overdrive.
Kakashi shifted his weight. “And my team?”
The ANBU angled their head to watch Kakashi. “You will return to Konohagakure and declare this mission a failure. You will also undergo a psychological evaluation and new personnel will be assigned.”
Something about the wording tickled Sakura’s mind.
She observed Kakashi’s unusually rigid stillness. His hands fisted the cloth of his pants, trembling, trembling.
And then it clicked.
Sakura felt nauseous. Numb. Dizzy. Breathless.
And then.
Too many things happened simultaneously.
The first was a spike in Kakashi’s chakra. Both he and the ANBU disappeared.
Sakura fell sideways onto the floor, convulsing, choking on her own tongue. It was mere luck that she dodged the kunai thrown at her head.
Breathe.
The second was a loud crash. The window-bearing wall opposite her position exploded into tiny wooden shrapnel and the resulting gust of wind propelled the razor-sharp confetti into the room.
She barely felt it.
Breathebreathebreathe.
The third was the presence of a giant boomerang.
It tore through the rest of the walls encasing the room before returning from whence it came.
Somewhere in the back of her mind, Sakura noted that the boomerang looked very familiar.
She was being attacked from every side including her own body. Tears flowed freely into her hairline. Sakura skipped from controlling her breathing to counting her tears to feeling the wood-grain under her fingers. She squeezed her eyes shut, focusing on her heartbeat.
Breathe,
Breathe,
Breathe.
Finally, Time seemed to slow as she concentrated.
Sakura inhaled sharply, air whistling with the effort. She coughed violently, choking on the gag in her mouth, struggling with every inhale. She was left panting in the end.
The clang of metal on metal slowly filtered into her ears.
She sat up gingerly.
Through the gaping hole in the wall, she found Kakashi in a three-way fight with the ANBU and—
It took a minute for her brain to catch up with what she was seeing.
Holy fuck—
Zabuza?!
“Sakura-san.” a voice piped up.
Her head snapped to the side.
Holyshitholyshitholyshitholyshit.
Haku stepped out from the shadows. He knelt to remove the makeshift muffler from her mouth. Sakura took a deep breath and clenched her teeth, trying to alleviate the sudden ache in her jaws.
“I direct you to the village and somehow you end up in the clutches of a leaf-nin.” A faint smile flitted across his face. “”Do you make a habit of finding trouble or is it the other way around?”
“We had a deal.” She replied belatedly. The first words out of her mouth in days. Her throat stung, her voice coming out strangled. Also, fuck you.
“Zabuza-sama had some unfinished business.”
She cocked an eyebrow in question.
“He believes the leaf-nins burnt down Gato’s ships and framed him.”
She gave him a disbelieving look.
Haku gestured vaguely with his hands. “He said he tasted chakra in the air. Around the ships.”
And fire jutsu is a leaf-nin specialty.
Ah.
I knew I missed something.
.
.
.
...Fuck.
Haku nodded.
“I have a question though, Sakura-san.” He continued. Haku stood to root through the pouch at his side. He pulled out a kunai. “Why would they tie up one of their own?”
He knelt down behind her, kunai in hand.
Sakura froze, waiting.
Haku started sawing away at her bindings.
“Relax, Sakura-san.” He chuckled quietly. “You need not explain yourself. I am only repaying a debt.”
Sakura laughed nervously, licking her dry lips. “Good, cause I don’t have a satisfactory explanation.” She rolled her shoulders as her bindings came loose.
Haku swiped the kunai through the binding on her legs and Sakura was finally free.
She reached forward and cupped his chin, planting a kiss on his forehead. “Thankyou.”
Haku looked surprised, one hand coming up to touch his forehead.
Sakura stood. “There is atleast one team of Konoha ANBU on the island. While I am the reason for their appearance, they may not take kindly to your presence. You must leave.”
Sakura suddenly remembered the other members of the house and ducked into the kitchen. She found Tsunami and Inari huddled under the counter.
On seeing her, Tsunami burst into tears. Sakura reached down and hugged the woman to her chest, crushing Inari between them.
“It’s okay.” She murmured. “Let’s get you out of here, yeah?”
Tsunami nodded, tears still streaking down her face. She stuttered soothing words to a stony-faced Inari.
“I will take them into the village.” Haku said from behind her.
She turned to look at him.
Sakura took in his face. In her memories, he seemed older than he is. The villain who almost killed her team-mate. All she sees now is someone too young to be a fugitive, another child to protect.
A location poured out of her mouth.
“Take what you need, Haku.” She instructed him. “Divide the rest amongst the villagers.” She told Tsunami. She nodded at her words, taking Haku’s proffered hand.
Sakura kept look-out until they disappeared over the horizon then backtracked into the destroyed guest-room. She peeked out at the ongoing fight. The three seemed to be stuck in an impasse.
She turned the room over looking for a weapon before settling on the singular kunai that was previously used to impale her. She glanced over the seals etched onto her arms and calves.
Standard ANBU chakra-leeching seals.
The edges of the seals were located in places through which major arteries flowed skin deep. Taking these off without the presence of a medic meant certain death.
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she set the sharp metal to her skin. She quickly sliced four lines through the flesh above her elbows and behind her knees. Sakura sighed in contentment as warm chakra started trickling down from her forehead.
Sakura took a deep meditative breath and centered her mind.
Enough tears.
Her wounds were closed by the time she opened her eyes.
“It’s time to fuck shit up.”
So.
After some thought, I realized this chapter would be a good stopping point to talk about my creative process.
The first thing I would like to point out is this: People are emotional creatures. A person stuck in a difficult situation would be distressed no matter how powerful they are. It doesn’t negate their strength nor does strength take away the need for emotional expression.
One of the rules in the Naruto-verse is ‘a ninja must show no emotion’ which is ironic considering that most characters are driven by emotion. Kakashi thrives on guilt and is only kept alive by patriotic duty. Sasuke is motivated by revenge and filial piety. Naruto runs on sunshine and love, something he developed in spite of the trauma he experienced as a child.
In writing Sakura’s character, I wanted to showcase her emotional side and how expressing these emotions does not necessarily make her weak.
Please understand that these characters have gone through multiple death-defying scenarios not to mention a war, and in doing so have come out the other side with many coping mechanisms. One obvious symptom I’ve chosen to portray here is tears—a perfectly healthy outlet for stress.
My character-interpretations will be driven by emotion as well as logic.
That being said, the greatest factor that drives my writing is of course, all of you, the followers of this fanfiction.
Your reviews are heartwarming and imperative to my writing. It can be said that some of your comments even changed aspects of the plot and also brought many details I've forgotten back to the forefront.
Thank you, ever so much.
That’s all I’ve wanted to say.
Till next time.