Naruto 1. Retribution

Sasuke's legs squeezed the flanks of his mount urging the animal to increase its pace. He was beginning to sweat beneath the heavy weight of his black and purple armor as the air had become increasingly warmer upon reaching the meager peasant village. He peered over the hillside catching the faint laughter of children playing in the distance. Fugaku and Inabi hastened the pace of their mounts in order to catch up to the younger Uchiha.

"Let's get this over quickly. It's too damn hot out here." Inabi grumbled to the father and son duo.

"Observe closely, my son, on how to deal with a clan of criminals." Fugaku said to Sasuke while the young adult nodded in response.

Without a word more, the trio of samurai galloped onward towards the undefended gates of the Haruno village.

They came to an abrupt halt in the center of the streets seizing the attention of the civilians caught up in the humdrum of their lowly lives.

"It's the Uchiha!" A woman wearing a crimson kimono cried out as she recognized the distinct fan shaped emblem inscribed on their armor. Her cries prompted a small crowd to gather warily around the Uchiha invaders.

"If you wish to survive, then you will bring us the daughter of the Blossom Bandit!" Fugaku's voice roared above the panicked murmur of the crowd.

"The Blossom Bandit's daughter?!" A magenta haired man raised a fist before his chest. "What do you want with Sakura-sama?"

"That wretched woman and her pack of bandits looted the Uchiha compound stealing many valuable treasures from us. It is only customary that we take something precious from her in return." Fugaku's coal black eyes narrowed ominously as his eyes panned the crowd of peasants congregated around them. "You worthless peasants idolize that woman for stealing from the rich and redistributing to the poor but she is nothing more than a despicable criminal."

He continued speaking as the Haruno's murmurs came to a hush. "Our sources have informed us that the Blossom Bandit's daughter is a disciple of the world renown doctor—the Senju Lord's daughter, Tsunade. As you may have already known, we are currently at war with the Senju. The Blossom Bandit's death alone isn't enough to compensate for the assets she stole. Her daughter's skills will suit our needs greatly. We won't accept any substitute."

"Sakura-sama will never help your clan!" The magenta haired man protested defiantly. His body suddenly shuddered unnervingly as he felt the cold, sharp edge of a blade prick his throat.

"That isn't for you or her to decide." Sasuke uttered a deep, low growl pressing the edge of his blade against the man's windpipe intimidatingly. "Now tell us where she is otherwise this pathetic village will be burnt to the ground."

A young girl flinched as Sakura dabbed her scraped knee with ointment. She beamed pleasantly at the young girl and then to her concerned mother drumming her fingers anxiously against her thigh. "All done, Kiku-chan. You should be more careful playing near those sharp rocks."

"Kiku-chan, I told you to stay away from that area." Kiku's mother, Ume, folded her arms sternly causing the young girl to cower guiltily.

"I'm sorry, kaa-san." The young girl bowed her head apologetically.

"Thank you, Sakura-sama. You truly are a blessing. I don't know what we'd do without you." Ume chuckled lightheartedly resting her hands on the little girl's shoulders.

A modest blush crept to the surface of Sakura's cheeks. "It was nothing…"

Sakura combed her fingers through her hair demurely. She possessed long, striking pink hair which trailed past her hips, large vibrant green eyes, and a broad forehead her father often joked was the storage vault of her knowledge. She wore a cotton floral patterned kimono with the circular emblem of the Haruno clan sewn into the back.

Everything about her— her physical appearance, her vernacular, her attire—was conspicuously indicative of her lower class status.

The mother and daughter departed her room. However, Sakura wasn't alone for long before she spotted her mother's sharp forest green eyes peeking through the translucent shoji door into her room.

"Eh? Sakura-chan? Are you still seeing patients right now? You'll wear yourself out in no time." Her blonde haired mother, Mebuki, slid the door open completely.

Kizashi followed dutifully behind the stern-faced woman. Despite his status as head of the clan, he was subservient to the hot-blooded and strong-willed former outlaw.

"Your mother is right. If you keep overworking yourself with all these trivial problems you'll start to lose your _patients_." Kizashi joshed provoking an indignant pout from his daughter.

Sakura folded her arms continuing to pout at her chuckling father. "I can handle myself perfectly fine! Besides, I want to do all I can to provide for the clan."

"Kizashi-sama!" A young man burst into the house taking the family by surprise.

"Huh? Hiro? What's going on?" Kizashi inquired as the young messenger halted before him.

The man bent over struggling to force his words beyond his relentless panting. "It's the Uchiha! The Uchiha have invaded the village! They're demanding Sakura!"

"What? What do they want my daughter?" Kizashi cupped his chin in his hand. His naturally jovial visage sobered in a manner that made the color drain from Sakura's face.

"They want to take her as retribution for Mebuki-sama's crimes. They said they won't accept any substitutes!"

"Retribution for my crimes?!" Mebuki exclaimed loudly snapping her hands to her hips. "Why do they seek retribution now? I gave up that life a long time ago when I became a mother. Besides…they've already taken away something important to me…"

"I believe they want Sakura's aid in their war efforts against the Senju." Hiro raised his head, his sky blue eyes meeting Kizashi's gaze gravely.

Sakura's countenance firmed in sheer defiance. "I absolutely refuse to help the Uchiha! I could never betray Tsunade-sama like that."

"What should we do? They are threatening to burn down the village if they don't get what they want. There's no way we can fight them off." Hiro said despairingly glancing between Kizashi and Sakura.

"I see…I see…" Kizashi stroked his chin pensively while the other Haruno awaited his further words with baited anticipation. "Mebuki, take Sakura to the stables and prepare a mount. She will escape through the Naki Forest. In the meantime, I will hold the Uchiha off."

"Tou-san! You can't! You're in no condition to fight them!" Sakura cried out opposing her father brazenly.

"It's true that I may be out of practice. However, as the head of the clan, I must do what I can to protect the village…Even if I must use my greatest power. I cannot allow the Uchiha to take away my only child…my precious daughter…"

"No! It's too dangerous! You'll be slaughtered!"

He reached behind his neck unhooking the silver chain of a cherry blossom-shaped pendant. He placed the pendant in the palm of Sakura's hand and curled her fingers over the heirloom.

"Tou-san…this is…" Sakura spoke faintly, her crystalline green eyes gazing up at him despondently.

"This pendant has been in our family for generations. I want you keep this pendant should anything happen to us. Something you can remember us by."

Sakura embraced her father forcefully unable to retain her aggrieved sobs. She buried her face in his chest internally beseeching the gods to prevent ill fortune from befalling her family and village.

"Sakura-chan, you must be strong. You not only have the compassion of a healer but the strength of a warrior as well. As a father, I could not be more proud of the beautiful woman my daughter has blossomed into. Now go." Kizashi separated from his daughter's emotional embrace allowing her mother to firmly lead her away.

"TOU-SAN!" Sakura screamed as she watched her father depart through the front door, calmly approaching the vile monsters who threatened the lives of her people. Her mother towed her by the arm urging her to move quickly.

Mebuki stealthily lead Sakura out the back of the house towards the stable. Smearing her tear ridden cheeks, Sakura fought to suppress her sorrow and quickly changed into a white kimono and hakama adorned in a cherry blossom pattern. Her mother remained harshly silent as she rummaged the barn in pursuit of serviceable horse tack. Sakura slipped a heavy plate of red armor over her head and tied her long pink locks in a high ponytail. Lastly, she pulled the tails of a red and white headband marked with the emblem of the Haruno clan taut around the back of her head.

Mebuki fitted a tattered leather bridle over the dainty head of a petite chestnut pony. She lifted Sakura's knee helping hoist her onto the chestnut mare although Sakura did not require much assistance mounting the short pony.

"Take Kuri. She may not be the fastest horse but she is small enough to maneuver through the traps scattered throughout the Naki Forest." Mebuki handed Sakura a naginata and a weapon holster which she affixed to her hip. "Now ride forward and don't look back."

The Uchiha locked their hostile gazes on the peculiar dull-pink haired man approaching them with an inexplicably placid expression on his face. Kizashi folded his arms hiding his hands within the large sleeves of his kimono. He gazed up at the mounted trio of invaders and cleared his throat.

"Ah, you must be the Uchiha." He spoke without a nuance of antagonism tainting his voice.

"Haruno Kizashi." Fugaku's face remained stolid in spite of his impatience. He could clearly distinguish the defiance masked beneath the Haruno clan leader's forced affability. "You didn't bring your daughter as we requested. It's evident you intend to defy us but I don't see any armor or weapons on you."

"I may have been a warrior in my youth but I've grown older and creakier. I'm not as limber as I once was, my joints ache, and my back hurts. I suppose I don't need a spine though…It's holding me _back_." Kizashi's eyebrows lifted suggestively as he uttered a meek chuckle.

Sasuke and Inabi's faces contorted in a blend of perplexity and disbelief. They shot their collectively confounded glances to Fugaku centered between them.

Kizashi continued speaking conversationally. "I've always been convinced that my body is a prison for me and I was right. My daughter is a doctor, you know, and she told me that my body is made up of _cells_."

Sasuke fidgeted uncomfortably embarrassed for the man positioned as the leader of the Haruno clan. Although he certainly did not wish to pity their target, he could not fathom having to stomach the sheer mortification of being this bumbling oaf's child.

"Are you completely mad?" Fugaku hissed through gritted teeth.

Kizashi's cobalt eyes widened noting the Uchiha's dwindling patience. Following a pregnant, unsettling pause, he secured his composure and resumed speaking in a casual tone.

"Well, I was out tending to the livestock earlier before you arrived. It's not that I'm crazy because I was disrupted from my work. I'm just _deranged_." Kizashi clutched his chest as if he could not contain his mirthful bout of laughter. "Get it? De-_range_-d?"

The dark eyes of the Uchiha simultaneously flashed red immediately silencing Kizashi's laughter. Kizashi's shoulders flinched as he heard the loud grating sound of metal sliding across a holster. Fugaku unsheathed his sword and prodded the impudent Haruno's chest with the tip of his blade.

"You're not going to rip my heart out, are you?" Kizashi swallowed forcefully as his forehead gleamed with a fresh layer of sweat. "Cause then I'll surely be _disheartened_…"

"Shut the hell up!" Sasuke snarled causing the flustered man to recoil beneath his harsh words. The young Uchiha paused for a moment absorbing in the faint sounds of galloping hooves in the distance. He snapped his head towards the inconspicuous noises utilizing his Sharingan to trace the source of the sound. "There! The girl! She's heading into the forest!"

"After her!" Fugaku sheathed his sword and lashed his heels into his mount's flanks causing the beast to rear up onto its haunches and launch forward.

Kizashi remained frozen in his tracks as the Uchiha's horses bolted past him flinging dirt and mud into his horrified face. He watched on helplessly as the trio raced off towards the Naki Forest in pursuit of his only daughter.

He breathed shakily. "No…Sakura-chan…"

Sakura glimpsed over her shoulder catching sight of the band of Uchiha pursuing her in the distance. If her father had failed to stall the Uchiha then what had become of his fate? Had he been slaughtered?

She fought to stave off the hot tears pooling within her eyes. If her father had sacrificed himself for her escape she could not allow his sacrifice to be in vain.

She personally thanked the gods of nature and life for bestowing the Naki Forest with its unique features. It had been known for its signature low hanging tree branches that appeared as if the trees were bending over weeping in sorrow. Although her faithful steed was not blessed with speed, the pony's short stature enabled her to easily evade the low hanging branches. She figured the Uchiha clan possessed only the most well-bred horses their affluence could buy them. Tall, long-legged horses suited for speed and endurance—a major detriment in this particular environment.

"Damn tree branches!" Inabi griped as he raised an arm defending himself from the incessant assault of tree branches.

Sasuke and Fugaku utilized their swords to hack away the branches hampering their path towards their target.

Sakura cursed internally as she heard the hoof beats of their horses growing louder with each passing second. She reached into her weapon holster and drew a pair of spherical sleep bombs. Covering her nose and mouth with the hem of her kimono, she hurled the bombs over her shoulder enabling them to detonate behind her.

"Don't inhale the fumes!" Fugaku called out to his clansmen as a wispy gray smoke shrouded their forward trajectory.

Sasuke and Inabi did not hesitate to obey Fugaku's orders. They both clasped a single hand over their nose and mouth until they reached the clearing freeing them from the sedative effects of the smoke.

Dismayed by their effortless evasion, Sakura sought to use any means possible of shaking the Uchiha off her tail. Her fellow clansmen had riddled the Naki Forest with traps in hopes of warding off invaders. Extending the length of her naginata, she allowed the blade to slice the catch of an overhead trap as she passed by.

"Above!" Fugaku hollered again as he spotted a massive log suspended on an elaborate web of ropes swinging in their direction.

The Uchiha peeled away to the sides skirting the log trap but slowing down their pursuit by riding in the overgrowth. They quickly reunited in the center of the forest pathway. They easily eluded each and every one of the set traps much to Sakura's chagrin.

She inhaled sharply deliberating on her following course of action. Any other assailant would've fallen prey to the traps set in the forest but the powers of the Uchiha's eyes seemed to grant them a level of insight that rendered her tactics futile.

How were they capable of identifying and avoiding her traps in such a swift manner? Just what did the powers of the Sharingan entail?

What should she do? The Uchiha only seemed to be closing in the gap between them and she was ultimately running out of options.

She whispered to herself seeking some miraculous form of guidance to her salvation. "Tou-san…what should I do…?"

_Sakura-chan_…She fancied her father's voice resonating solemnly. _If you're blind enough to look at the situation in the wrong _fashion_…then you should change your clothing._

Her face suddenly soured upon envisioning her father's words trailing off into hearty laughter.

"Ugh…Forget it!" Sakura grumbled beneath her breath dismissing that thought from the brim of her mind.

When she brooded over her father's fate after his encounter with the Uchiha, her heart swelled with inconceivable sorrow.

She asked with intense desperation. "Tsunade-sama…what should I do?"

_Sakura…no matter whether you are a healer or a warrior it is your utmost duty to protect others. However, that does not mean that you cannot fight for yourself as well. Never relinquish the battle until you have drawn your dying breath._ Her strict mentor's voice spoke to her with invigorating conviction.

Sakura nodded agreeably thanking the legendary doctor for the strength she had bequeathed her. Reflecting back upon the woman's acts of goodwill and compassion towards her and by extension, the Haruno clan, she knew she could never permit herself to assist the Uchiha in their battle against the Senju.

Grasping onto the reins tightly, she was well aware that they were quickly arriving towards the edge of the forest near the vast ravines. She figured she could cast a genjutsu in order to deceive her pursuers into perceiving the location of the ravine as father away causing them to plummet over the ledge. However, she assumed with their increased acuity there was a high probability they would detect her illusion instead. Perhaps, if she could manage to safely descend the wall of the ravine she could escape the ruthless Uchiha.

Before she could deliberate on any further course of action, she felt the chestnut pony's back curl sharply beneath her. Kuri unleashed a whip-like buck nearly unseating her. The mare let out a gut wrenching squeal as an arrow plunged into her hindquarters. Sakura fought to sit back and absorb the mare's violent motion with her hips as her hind hooves flailed in the air behind her. Before she knew it, the mare's neck and ears vanished from her sight. She tumbled over the pony's head nearly winded from the collision with the ground. The mare collapsed to her forelimbs striking the ground with her shoulder. Sakura hastily logrolled to the side narrowly avoiding the mare's massive hindquarters from crashing down upon her.

"Kuri!" Sakura cried out as the mare's tumbling body finally came to a halt.

"Excellent job, Sasuke." She heard Fugaku's voice edge too close for her comfort.

She quickly recovered her naginata and brandished the weapon forcefully causing the air to emit a belligerent whooshing sound. "Come any closer and I'll kill you!"

Inabi let out an unrestrained laugh while Fugaku and his son merely scowled, clearly unfazed by her show of hostility. They advanced on her nonchalantly disregarding her threat.

"A measly Haruno has no hope of laying a scratch on us." Inabi's laughter began to wane as she edged closer to the ledge of the ravine. "Now surrender yourself and come with us."

"I'd rather die than serve the Uchiha clan!" Sakura took a step backward suddenly feeling her heel hit the abrupt edge of the cliff.

She didn't expect to reach the edge so quickly. Despite her attempt to ward them off with the threat of suicide, she felt her fear manifest in the bounding pulse of her heart. The air seemed thinner and harsher to her lungs as her respirations increased with each passing moment. She certainly didn't intend to die but she had backed too closely to the verge of death.

"Our orders were to bring her back alive. Don't let her fall in the ravine!" Fugaku's voice reverberated loudly.

Inabi cackled haughtily as the girl foolishly met the gaze of his Sharingan. "Hehe, gotcha you little Haruno rat."

She unwittingly dropped her naginata to the ground disarming herself. Her muscles froze rigidly seizing her in an unremitting bout of paralysis. All she could do was watch the beady eyed Uchiha dismount his horse and saunter ominously towards her. He wrapped his fingers around her delicate windpipe preventing her immobilized body from plummeting over the side of the cliff. Raising her petite body pitilessly, he brought her to his eye level allowing her to become entranced by the spinning tomoe in his mesmerizing red orbs.

Sakura's eyelids became increasingly heavier as she was overwhelmed by a surge of lethargy.

_Good. Now fall asleep…_

She heard Inabi's command echo loudly within her head.

_Just go to sleep…_

He urged her more forcefully.

No…If she let him lull her to sleep then she would resign herself to the whims of the accursed clan.

She could not fall asleep! She would not fall asleep!

There was far too much at stake to fall victim to her captors. Her fellow clansmen depended on her not only as their sole physician and but also as the sole skilled defender of the impoverished, vulnerable village.

She absolutely could not fail her people!

An apparition of the girl emerged from her paralyzed form confronting the Uchiha subjecting her to his sedative genjutsu. He widened his eyes incredulously as the wraithlike being curled her fingers into a quivering fist of unbridled rage.

"**I'm not fucking going to sleep, Shannaro!**"

Suddenly, an invisible force buffeted him launching him off his feet. He released his hold on the girl's throat inadvertently causing her to plunge off the ledge of the ravine.

Inabi grunted noisily as he struck the ground. He recovered hastily from the impact and shouted as he propped himself up to his elbows. "What the hell was that?!"

"The girl!" Fugaku bellowed as he and Sasuke raced towards the edge of the ravine peering over the steep ledge for any sign of the fallen girl.

"Inabi, what just happened?" Fugaku asked urgently, his voice teeming with fury.

"I don't know!" Inabi spat indignantly as he hoisted himself back to his feet. "She somehow managed to break out of my genjutsu!"

"Forget about it. Let's go search the bottom of the ravine!" Fugaku waited impatiently for Inabi to clamber back into the saddle.

Sakura tactfully concentrated her chakra to the pads of her finger adhering her hand to the face of the ravine. She heaved a very thankful sigh of relief as she dangled beneath the protruding shelf of rock which had apparently obscured her from the Uchiha's view. As soon as she heard the thunderous sound of hooves galloping away she gradually began to ascend the wall of the ravine. When that sound completely faded into the distance, she heaved herself over the ledge and dusted off her scraped and grimy hands.

She spotted Kuri suspending a painful rear leg in the air and dutifully rushed to the animal's aid. The mare winced gingerly as Sakura ran her hands down the length of her leg assessing the extent of her injuries.

"Don't worry, Kuri. I'll heal your leg." Placing her hands over the laceration on the mare's thigh caused by the arrow, she enabled her chakra to seep down the length of the mare's leg. Sakura carefully watched the faint green chakra restore the mare's wound until the edges of the laceration finally merged together leaving behind a rigid scar.

The mare expelled air forcefully from her nostrils until she felt confident enough to finally weight her injured leg. Sakura grasped the reins and led the mare forward examining her gait for any residual signs of lameness.

When she deemed the mare sound enough to ride again, she faced the mare's hind end and grasped a handful of mane. She pushed off the ground briskly and swung her leg up and over the peak of the mare's croup until she was seated comfortably on her back.

Since the Uchiha had likely presumed her dead, she decided the best course of action would be return to the village via the Naki Forest. She nudged Kuri forward and set off towards the forest once again.

When she had finally reached the border of the village she felt a foreboding zephyr sweep through the air prickling the surface of her skin.

The village seemed eerily silent.

Sakura dismounted in front of her house and immediately bolted for the front door. An optimistic part of her anticipated her parents warmly welcoming her return. When she entered, she spotted Hiro lying on the floor bloodied and bruised. Barring the presence of the messenger, the house had been frightfully barren.

"Hiro!" She cried out as she crouched down beside the battered Haruno.

"Sakura-sama…you're back…" Sakura barely comprehended his faint, hoarse words.

"Hiro, what happened here?" She immediately rested her hands on his chest directing her healing chakra throughout his body in a frantic attempt to sustain his life. "What of my parents?"

"The Uchiha…they returned…"

But she was certain they had been searching the bottom of the ravine for her. How did they manage to make it back to the Haruno village so quickly? Had they found an alternate route to the village besides the Naki Forest?

Sakura's face blanched as she was assured his forthcoming words would be of misfortune.

"I regret to inform you…that they've captured your parents…"

* * *

_A/N: Well…looks like Sakura is off to a pleasant start with the Uchiha. _

_Feel free to ask any questions you have about this fic. I'll try my best to answer without revealing any spoilers. _

_Please review and thanks for reading! _


	2. Rescue

"My parents…?" Sakura parroted Hiro's words back to herself. If his words were correct then had her father actually survived his encounter with the Uchiha?

"They told me to inform you—should you return—that if you wish to save your parents, you will surrender yourself at Fort Sena. They are being held there. If you do not arrive by sundown, their lives shall be forfeit." The young messenger spoke as Sakura withdrew her hands from his chest.

The flare of hope that had ignited upon learning of her father's survival was quickly extinguished by the messenger's further words of misfortune.

So the Uchiha had, in fact, quickly discovered that she had not perished from the fall off the cliff. Sakura mentally cursed at herself for not arriving in the village sooner. She had grossly underestimated the Uchiha's sheer determination in capturing her.

"Hiro, are you able to stand?" Sakura asked as she quickly concluded with a brief assessment of his injuries.

Hiro sat up slowly yet shakily while she placed a supportive hand on his back. "I'll be fine, Sakura-sama. Thank you."

He rose shaking off the shock of his assault and followed Sakura outside.

"Sakura-sama!" She heard a familiar woman's voice cry out from behind a slightly propped open door.

Ume and several of the Haruno villagers poured out of a single house congregating around Sakura noisily. "Sakura-sama, it's terrible! We need your help!"

Sakura's face flushed with searing heat as the flustered villagers inundated her with their hysterical implorations.

"The Uchiha blew up our water supply!" She heard a frantic cry stand out amongst the chaotic jumble of voices spewing at her.

Sakura shouted above the uproar. "What?!"

Her booming voice finally silenced the pandemonium. A tall man stepped forward from the back of the crowd smearing his sweat ridden brow. "After they captured Kizashi-sama and Mebuki-sama, they destroyed the well thus crippling our irrigation system. Now we don't have any way to water the crops and livestock!"

The uproar began to escalate yet again with increasing desperation.

"What are we going to do?!"

"It's over! The Uchiha will be the end of us!"

"Please! We have to do something!"

"Quiet!" Sakura shouted silencing the upheaval once again. She panned the crowd of fretful Haruno and projected any nuance of authority she could muster into her voice. "This will not be the end of us, I assure you! We will dig a new well and reconstruct the irrigation system—an even better system! As long as we work together we will survive!"

The Haruno cheered spiritedly pumping their fists in the air in concert.

"We _will_ save my parents and we will _never_ give into the Uchiha's tyranny!"

Her statement incited yet another wild cheer from the uplifted Haruno crowd.

"Just _how_ will we save your parents?" Hiro inquired modestly yet with a dubious undertone. His voice had been low and reserved although Sakura could barely hear him from beneath the clamor of the crowd.

"I'm not exactly sure yet…" Sakura admitted hissing inaudibly to the messenger. "If I can obtain some money, I may be able to enlist the help of some of the neighboring clans."

Hiro answered in a soft voice cautiously attempting to avoid any other Haruno from catching his words. "I don't know how willing they may be to oppose the Uchiha…but it may be worth a try."

"Please, everyone." Sakura shouted above the murmur yet again. "I'm going to need all the help I can get!"

* * *

Sakura rode Kuri through the vast plains outside Fort Sena. As far as she could see, the enormous fort was encased by a large concrete wall and located in between the foot of the mountainsides. Unfortunately, she couldn't see anything within its massive walls. To her dismay, the only thing she could observe were the Uchiha sentries guarding the entrance as well as the patrol stationed in the towers positioned at each corner of the fort. With their surveillance, it was near impossible to scale the walls into the compound without being detected.

The entire fort was heavily fortified thwarting any opportunities of infiltration.

Fort Sena was Uchiha territory making it challenging to exploit her environment again. She may have had a phenomenal stroke of luck escaping the three Uchiha in the Naki Forest, but witnessing the greater number of Uchiha holding her parents hostage within the fort harshly quashed that luck. The Uchiha were one of the Four Noble Clans gifted with immensely powerful eyes and she was just a mere woman born into a clan on the bottommost tier of the caste system. The longer she observed the fort, the more she felt her chest pang and her eyes begin to glisten with tears.

It was absolutely hopeless…

She had rallied her people with false hope and fanciful promises without recognizing the reality of her situation.

Sakura dismounted Kuri and lead her by the reins. She turned away from the sight of the fort as her tears quickly amassed beyond her control. She clasped her hand over her mouth as a noisy whimper escaped her throat. Her head drooped listlessly enabling her tears to splash onto the hard coating of her red armor.

What could she do now? The sky had already begun to undertake a bright orange hue marking the looming onset of dusk. Her remaining time was rapidly drawing to a close and the time of her parents' execution was drawing near.

Despite her plans of enlisting help from the neighboring peasant clans, she knew deep in her heart that they would never oppose the Uchiha in fear of retaliation. This matter was restricted solely to the Haruno and no other clan would be foolish enough to soil their hands in this affair. Not with the Uchiha's propensity for brutality. It was her fault, she lamented admittedly, for if she had simply surrendered to the Uchiha, her parents and clan would not be suffering the repercussions of her defiance toward them.

"Why do you cry?" She heard an unfamiliar male voice speak from above her.

"Huh?" Her glossy, tear-ridden eyes met the dark doll-like eyes of a young male mounted on a horse. "Who are you?"

He had jet black hair styled in a bowl cut and a vivacious smile that exuded an air of amicability. "My name is Rock Lee. I noticed you were crying. Is there any way I can help you?"

"There's nothing…" Sakura smeared her cheeks hastily trying to avoid further conversation with the stranger as two other horsemen caught up to the young male.

"Slow down, Lee. I think the cattle need a break." A silver haired man halted his horse beside Lee. He wore a patch over his left eye, a mask over his nose and mouth, and seemed to bear a dulled expression on his face in contrast to the other dark haired male riding beside him.

"Slow down now? Where's your spirit, Kakashi? We should drive the cattle even faster. Pep them up a bit!" The older dark haired man bore a similar appearance to Lee. He gazed down at the tearful samurai woman and contorted his face in confusion. "Eh? Is there something wrong?"

"If there's something wrong, please tell us. I could never pass up the opportunity to help a beautiful woman in need." Lee suddenly flashed her a thumbs-up inciting the woman to gaze up at him with imploring yet guarded eyes. "What is your name?"

Sakura briefly studied the appearances of the three horsemen surrounding her. The two dark haired men could have possibly been of the same clan or family but the silver haired man evidently did not appear related to them. They also seemed to be peasants working in collaboration to drive a massively large herd of cattle proceeded by a pack of yapping dogs towards what was probably alternate pastureland for the season.

Deeming them an unlikely source of hostility, she felt comfortable enough to disclose her name. "I'm Haruno Sakura."

"Haruno, huh?" The silver haired man raised a curious eyebrow. He adjusted his conical straw hat inspecting her more closely. "If I remember correctly, the Haruno permitted us access through their territory in past cattle drives."

"And you are…?" Sakura asked hoping his answer would be of one of the Haruno's allies.

"Hatake Kakashi."

The name "Hatake" did not ring a bell within Sakura's mind, but if the Haruno had granted him and his associates permission across their territory then she could assume them as allies albeit not formally.

"My name is Might Gai. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Haruno-san." The older dark haired male also flashed her a cordial thumbs-up greeting.

Lee spoke up seizing Sakura's attention as she seemed to brood in thought. "If I may ask again, why were you crying?"

Sakura swallowed uncomfortably as the three men eagerly awaited an answer from her. She blinked back her stubbornly persistent tears and forced herself to speak. "My parents are currently being held hostage by the Uchiha clan. They are being held within Fort Sena…"

"Why are they holding your parents hostage?!" Lee exclaimed loudly as Gai and Kakashi exchanged hesitant glances.

"The Uchiha invaded my village seeking to employ me, as a healer I assume, in their war against the Senju. However, my mentor is of the Senju clan. When I tried to escape the Uchiha, they captured my parents and are holding them hostage unless I surrender. If I do not find a way to rescue them by sundown, they will be executed."

Lee shouted even more loudly gripping Sakura by the shoulders. "That's horrible! Gai-sensei… Kaka-sensei, we have to help her!"

"A student of Senju Tsunade?" Kakashi suddenly shook his head declining Lee's plea. "I'm afraid we cannot help you. Although we are trained warriors in addition to ranchers, we are not in the position to oppose the Uchiha clan."

"I understand…" Sakura responded dejectedly although she did not wish to burden the ranchers with the heavy weight of her situation.

"Wait!" Gai raised a buoyant finger in the air as an ingenious proposition surfaced to mind. "Suppose there is a way to help her rescue her parents without battling the Uchiha."

Kakashi cast his comrade a skeptical gaze. "How so?"

Sakura and Lee watched Gai with an optimistic luster in their eyes. Although she hardly knew Lee, the young man seemed to share the same hopes of rescuing her parents as if they were his own. Witnessing the fiery passion in his eyes filled her heart with immense warmth. Not since Tsuande had she encountered a human with genuine altruism towards complete strangers in need.

"Well, we need to head north but we'll have to travel across the mountains…and Fort Sena just happens to lie in the valley between the mountains."

"So you're saying we should cut through Fort Sena instead…?" Kakashi asked in a blunt manner.

Sakura turned to the silver haired man who was discernibly unsatisfied with Gai's proposal. "Do you think you can drive your cattle through the fort?"

"Cutting through Fort Sena may save us a couple of hours in travel…however…" Kakashi's voice deadpanned suddenly dimming Sakura's restored optimism. "There is a high likelihood we may end up losing heads of cattle in the process."

"I will pay you in advance to cover for any loss of your stock. Please…" Sakura pleaded with the rancher as she retrieved a small silk pouch that had been stored safely beneath her kimono.

She emptied the contents of the pouch onto the palm of her hand and displayed her offer to Kakashi. Kakashi briefly examined the few pieces of silver and shook his head declining her offer. "I'm afraid this won't be enough."

Sakura continued to sift through the pouch in search of any valuable item. She drew a frayed red bracelet constructed of multiple threads of red cord and quickly deemed the item worthless.

Before she could return the item to the pouch Kakashi suddenly spoke up disrupting her search. "Wait! Where did you get that bracelet?"

"This? My mother gave it to me." Sakura inspected the frayed bracelet uncertain of any indications of value it could've possessed. Any child could've woven a simple bracelet alike it.

"If you are willing to offer it, then I would gladly accept it."

Kakashi's sole dark eye widened in astonishment as he delicately cradled the tattered bracelet in his hands as if it were some kind of valued treasure. The seemingly obstinate rancher's eye softened as he seemed to be immersed in deep thought. His eyelids squeezed shut although she could tell he was beaming beneath the mask.

"I suppose Fort Sena would make a decent shortcut."

* * *

Kizashi and Mebuki had been suspended above the ground affixed to individual wooden crosses erected beside each other. Their wrists had been tied to the ends of the planks causing them to dangle uncomfortably against the wooden stakes. They had been situated in the main road of the fort guarded by Fugaku and Inabi.

"Do you think Sakura-chan will come for us?" Kizashi asked his wife. Since he was oriented overlooking the southern end of the compound, watching the entrance was all he could do to pass the time as they edged toward impending execution.

"Of course, Sakura-chan will come for us! That girl is as stubborn as they come!" Mebuki answered prompting Inabi to glare at her from the ground.

A parenthesis formed around Inabi's mouth as he grinned darkly. "Your time is running out. Even if that bitch were to come for you, the other Haruno rats are sure to die anyway. I blew up that well of yours cutting off your water supply."

"You blew up the well?!" Mebuki's forest green eyes widened, absolutely flabbergasted by his prideful claim. "We depend on that water to nourish the crops and water our livestock! The very same crops and livestock we supply to the vendors your clan purchases their food from!"

Inabi's grin suddenly faded as Fugaku's face hardened into a peeved scowl. The nervous man fought to smother any tension from gracing his face. He hastily fished for a witty retort. "As if your pathetic clan contributes much to the market anyway."

Sasuke patrolled the entrance from the southwestern lookout tower alongside a slightly older Uchiha guard. The guard notified him of an incoming presence provoking him to show deference to the long haired Uchiha ascending the stairs of the tower.

"Madara-sama…" The guard opposite to Sasuke bowed submissively his head greeting the head of the clan.

The commanding Uchiha glimpsed over the side of the tower observing the heightened activity of the Uchiha guardsmen. His eyes narrowed clearly conveying his marked displeasure with the situation.

"Why are you going through this much trouble just to capture one woman?" Madara's callous eyes settled on the two younger Uchiha standing before him.

He folded his arms impatiently expecting at least one of the Uchiha to offer him an answer.

"The girl managed to break out of Inabi's genjutsu. We lost track of her after she plunged off a cliff." Sasuke finally stepped forward as the guard opposite him swallowed nervously. "This time she will have no means of escape."

"Broke out of Inabi's genjutsu?" Madara repeated with a skeptically raised brow. His voice descended into a deeper, scathing tone. "If a young girl can break out of his genjutsu then his Sharingan is worthless."

The two Uchiha sentries standing beside the southern entrance activated their Sharingan upon hearing an unusual sound escalating in volume with each passing second.

"Do you hear that?" The guardsman to the left of the entrance asked squinting his eyes.

The guard adjacent to him placed a curious hand behind his ear. "Kind of sounds like barking dogs…and cows?"

"A herd of cattle? It looks as though it's coming this way." The other Uchiha guardsman wrinkled his nose as he spotted a barreling herd of cattle quickly encroaching upon the fort.

"What the hell?!" The guard on the right side shouted as a rush of cattle suddenly inundated the entrance.

Before they knew it, the guards had become swallowed into the stampede of cattle racing in through the entrance of the fort.

"Stampede!" One of the guards in the lookout tower bellowed to the Uchiha patrol trapped within the confines of the fort below. "Get to the rooftops!"

Fugaku and Inabi immediately abandoned their positions beside the captive Haruno and fled for the rooftops evading the massive stampede of cattle. They covered their eyes as the stampede formed a considerable veil of dust from the excessively dried dirt of the main road.

"Where did all this cattle come from?" Mebuki asked her husband as she was crammed between the rush of cows racing through the road. She writhed uncomfortably as she felt the continuous surge of cows squeezing past her trapped body.

"I would make a cow joke, but I'm afraid I might _butcher_ it." She heard her husband tease from beneath the deafening sound of running hooves.

"Dammit, I can't see anything! Who the hell decided to drive their cattle through here?!" Inabi spluttered as he inhaled a thick cloud of dust.

Kakashi led the formation on horseback waving nonchalantly to the blinded Uchiha as the vast herd of cattle continued pouring in through the southern entrance and leaving out the northern exit.

Sakura oversaw the tail end of the stampede on the short chestnut mare. She covered her nose and mouth with a red cloth mask preventing her from inhaling the thick shroud of dust springing into the air. Although it was difficult to view the activity ahead of her, she spotted Gai and Lee riding ahead of her both brandishing a scythe in hand. They simultaneously slashed the bottom of the wooden planks cutting down the crosses restraining the Haruno couple. Although Kizashi and Mebuki were still affixed to their wooden crosses they managed to surf atop the charging herd of cattle towards the northern exit.

"Now this is what I call a _load of bull_!" Kizashi shouted to his wife as he lay on the cross resting atop the backs of the rushing cows.

Mebuki rolled her eyes in response to his poor joke. Despite his dull jokes, she couldn't help but find it somewhat comical that their lives currently depended on the massive wave of stampeding cattle to guide them towards their salvation.

"Thank you, Gai…Lee…" Sakura whispered to herself as she carefully watched her parents surf out of the exit of the fort.

Although she was far behind them, she heaved an incredibly grateful sigh of relief that the worst was nearly over. In a few short moments, she would reach the exit and finally reunite with her parents.

Sasuke descended the lookout tower and raced to the rooftop of the barracks scanning the continuous flow of racing cattle for any sign of the elusive Haruno girl. He spotted a conspicuously white, pink, and red object from behind the thick veil of dust obscuring his view. Licking his slick teeth in concentration, he took aim at the target and drew his arrow back. "There she is."

Sakura suddenly released her grip on the reins as a shooting pain emanated from her thigh. As she plummeted to the ground, she saw a flash of the blue skies above, the chestnut body of her mount, then a flood of hooves rushing at her face.

"Damn it." Sasuke cursed to himself as he lost sight of the fallen Haruno.

"Where is she?" Madara asked as he caught up to the younger Uchiha.

His demonic red eyes scanned the stampede carefully searching for any trace of the disappeared girl. "I don't know. She fell into the stampede."

Without a word more, Madara roof-hopped towards the northern exit of the fort and leapt into the mass of bolting cattle. Sasuke continued to watch the stampede closely from his position on the rooftop.

Sakura clung desperately to the underside of a heifer's belly. Although the position was highly uncomfortable not to mention nauseating, she hoped this tactic would mask her from the Uchihas' view until she reached the exit. Attempting to ignore the sharp pain from the arrow lodged in her thigh undoubtedly augmented the challenge of riding out the stampede. Unfortunately, her fall from Kuri had landed her farther back in the stampede delaying her escape from the fort.

She internally cursed that damned archer Uchiha for downing her from her horse not once but twice!

Although she could hardly discern what was ahead of her from beneath the cow's belly, she vaguely spotted an upside down pair of legs that did not seem to belong to a cow. Had she made it to the exit already? Just who did the pair of legs belong to?

Madara stood before the exit unfazed by the rush of cows skirting around him. He reached over his shoulder grasping the handle of his gunbai. Wielding the large weapon like a fan, he swung the gunbai forcefully forming a powerful blast of wind.

Kakashi cut away Mebuki's wrist restraints freeing her from the wooden cross outside Fort Sena.

"Where is my daughter? Sakura should've come out of the fort by now!" Mebuki asked anxiously as the outpour of cattle from the exit seemed to diminish significantly.

"We'll just have to wait for her. There's no way we can go back inside the fort…" Kakashi strongly urged the frantic woman.

The ranchers and Haruno were suddenly thrown off balance as an immense tremor rattled the ground. Kakashi's stomach churned as he heard the sharp cries of distressed cattle. He quickly turned to the exit only to witness the outpouring of cattle instantly cease.

"What was that?!" Lee shouted as the violent quakes finally seemed to wane.

Kizashi glanced to Gai and then to Kakashi expecting him to disclose the source of the quaking.

"That sinister chakra…this could only mean…" Kakashi whispered inaudibly to himself as a bead of sweat formed on his brow.

Sakura opened her eyes slowly only to see a murky haze of red. She forced her way out from underneath the pile of disemboweled cattle littering the main road of the fort. As she rubbed her eyes, she noticed the fresh streaks of blood on the back of her hand.

What had just happened? Why was she laying beneath the dismembered bodies of cows? Was she still within the fort?

"It shouldn't have been this much trouble just to capture one woman." She heard a deep baritone speak from behind her.

Craning her neck slowly, she caught sight of a long haired Uchiha clad in red armor standing behind her with his arms folded. She lowered her gaze reminding herself fervently not to look into his eyes and fall prey to their genjutsu a second time. As he took a step forward, she frantically struggled to crawl out of the stack of slaughtered cattle. Heaving with every nuance of strength she could muster from her muscles, she struggled to wrench her legs out from underneath the heavy bodies of cattle. Tears promptly fled her eyes as she jerked with intensifying desperation.

"Tou-san! Kaa-san!" Her shrill screams reverberated off the walls of the fort as the Uchiha continued to advance on her.

She felt a blunt force strike her in the back of the skull immediately inviting her into a world of darkness.

* * *

_A/N: I wonder if anyone will catch what manga the cattle stampede diversion comes from. Haha. _

_Anyways, thank you for the wonderful reviews and I hope you continue to leave more! As always, thanks for reading! _


	3. Rebel

_A/N: Since you all are such wonderful readers, I've decided to treat you with another chapter. _

* * *

"It's been far too long! For all we know she could be dead!" The blonde haired woman shouted boisterously as her face flushed with searing red fury.

"Calm down." Kakashi responded calmly as he glanced to her more levelheaded husband standing beside her with his arms hidden inside the sleeves of his kimono. "If the Uchiha were so intent on capturing her, I highly doubt they would've killed her."

The sun had begun to set as the ranchers and Haruno agonizingly waited outside the fort for any sign of the girl. The massive herd of cattle idled and grazed on the grassy hillside exhausted from their prior endeavor.

"She mentioned she was a healer—a disciple of Senju Tsunade I can only assume. Skilled healers are a rarity these days. The Uchiha wouldn't waste such an invaluable resource…not in the state they are currently in." Kakashi continued speaking somewhat allaying the woman's hysteria as the red faded from her cheeks.

"She seemed insistent on following the stampede into the fort. She was really worried about you two." Lee lowered his eyes dejectedly as he contemplated the girl's hapless fate. "If she hadn't…"

Mebuki raised her voice interrupting the young man. "That girl is always trying to take on too much! Always overwhelming herself and never listening to a word anyone says!"

"Well, we must think of what to do now. If the Uchiha have captured her, there is no way we can confront them." Kizashi shook his head, the wrinkles lining his forehead deepened as he became consumed in thought. "If I recall, you are from that multifamily community south of our territory."

"You are correct." Kakashi affirmed as the pink haired man's face suddenly relaxed. "I do not come from a clan but from a village called Mugihara. It's a community composed of many small families that work together on the farmlands. Might Gai and Rock Lee are also from there as well. During the springtime, we drive our cattle north to the pastures that have been fertilized after the winter floods."

"Hatake Kakashi! I remember you now." Kizashi raised a finger in the air. "You're always requesting access through our lands."

"Yes…I suppose." Kakashi's dark eye flittered to Kizashi's sullen wife. "You are Haruno Mebuki…the Blossom Bandit."

"I gave up those days a long time ago." Mebuki answered emphatically.

Her sharp green eyes widened as Kakashi drew the frayed red bracelet from his pocket. Upon recognizing the cord bracelet within his hand, the tension eased from her clenched jaw. "You…Did Sakura give you that?"

"I believe we are closer allies than I had initially presumed. One of our own was also abducted by the Uchiha clan a few years ago. I tried to protect her but…" Kakashi's voice suddenly cracked causing him to take a moment to compose himself. Gai's countenance sobered as his eyes fell to the ground. Kakashi exhaled forcefully and continued on. "…our attempts to recover her have been regrettably unsuccessful. I would want nothing more than to bring her safely back home."

"So both of us have been stricken by the Uchiha…" Kizashi stroked the stubble lining the ridge of his jaw pensively. "Then it seems our goals align. But even if we joined forces we still do not have the power to confront the Uchiha. However, we may be able to seek the help of those who can."

"Your daughter has ties to the Senju—specifically the Senju Lord's daughter, Tsunade. While I don't believe the clan would involve themselves in the affairs of people of our caste, we might be able to entice them with offers of aid in their battle against the Uchiha."

"The edge of the Senju territory is just past our pasturelands. I think we should seek an audience with the Senju Lord after we finish our drive!" Gai suddenly blurted spiritedly.

Mebuki's eyes firmed meditatively. "From what I've heard from Sakura-chan, the Senju Lord is rumored to be a generous, kindhearted man. There is a slight possibility he may hear out our case. We may increase those chances if we can seek out Tsunade first."

"And how would we find Tsunade?" Lee asked raising his large, bushy eyebrows inquisitively.

"Tsunade is a traveling doctor so it will be difficult to pinpoint her location. Our best strategy would be to consult Jiraiya." Kakashi cupped his chin within his hand.

Lee tilted his head following up with his inquiry. "And where would Jiraiya be…?"

Following a pregnant pause, Kakashi's voice dulled considerably. "…wherever there are prostitutes…"

"Mebuki, ride Kuri back to the village and check up on everyone. I'll tag along with Kakashi's group and find Tsunade." Kizashi said with an unusual fervor that triggered a scowl from his suspicious wife.

"Haruno Mebuki." Kakashi suddenly spoke again as the Haruno couple snapped their heads toward him in unison. "We'll need your help as well…as the Blossom Bandit."

"I'll do whatever I can." She nodded firmly in agreement. Her stern voice softened with a sorrowful undertone. "I certainly hope Sakura-chan is alright though…"

"I'm sure they'll be regretting their decision in capturing her. She can be quite pigheaded at times and won't even follow orders from her own parents. She doesn't hold much respect for authority either. I wonder where she inherited that rebellious spirit from…?" Kizashi's lips curled into a teasing grin.

Mebuki put her hands to her hips and rolled her eyes. "You know that girl would rather die than do anything against her will. Sakura-chan is a fighter at heart."

* * *

"Shannaro!"

The pink haired girl's voice thundered as she hurled a short-legged table through the window of the Uchiha infirmary. The shattered window scattered glass fragments across the floor before Sakura's bare feet.

Her vivid green eyes flared like those of a feral beast. She glared down a rotund, elderly Uchiha woman with dark grey hair tied up in a bun.

"You want me to do _what_?!" Sakura snarled rabidly clenching her fingers firmly into fists. When she had finally regained consciousness after her ordeal in the fort, she was met with a rude awakening.

The elderly Uchiha woman stated imperturbably clasping her hands against her rounded belly. "I'm only going to repeat myself one more time. Remove your clothing _now_."

"Like hell!" Sakura vaulted toward the shattered window charging shoulder-first through the remnants of the fragmented glass still adhered to the frame.

She winced internally as she felt the sharp glass glide through her skin although she reminded herself to worry about tending to any wounds later. She plunged towards the ground outside of the window and scrambled back to her feet.

"Don't let her escape!" The elderly woman's voice bellowed from behind the shattered window provoking several of her fellow clansmen to pursue the fleeing girl.

Sakura's eyes shifted left and right calculatingly searching for any plausible escape route. As expected, she was completely surrounded by Uchiha wherever she searched.

Her pursuers only seemed to amass and she was quickly finding herself cornered against the wall of a house. She spotted one of her original pursuers and his accursed son amongst the mob of Uchiha closing in on her.

She loaded her right fist with as much chakra as she could muster in her frenzied haste.

"Stay away from me!" She slammed her chakra laden fist into the ground pulverizing the earth beneath her.

The Uchiha leapt backward dodging the explosive impact as her superhuman punch formed an enormous crater in the ground. With the newly created distance between her and the Uchiha, she seized the fleeting opportunity to bolt.

"I wasn't aware she could do that…" Fugaku stated as he planted his feet firmly in the ground reestablishing his balance.

He heard the Uchiha clan leader's deep voice speak from behind him. "So it seems that Senju woman didn't just teach her healing jutsu."

Glimpsing over her shoulder, she spotted the Uchiha continuing to pursue her. Completely outmatched by their astonishing speeds, she halted and wrapped her arms around the stake of a hitching post completely uprooting the wooden structure from the ground.

She swung the massive wooden post belligerently in a desperate attempt to ward off the advancing Uchiha mob. "Come any closer and I'll kill you!"

Despite hearing soft laughter arise from her assailants, she continued swinging the heavy structure until something suddenly halted the motion of the post. Sasuke clutched the opposite end of the hitching post hindering her from swinging the object any further. She dug her heel into the ground shoving against his resistance. He responded in kind matching her unexpectedly incredible strength.

"Are you a woman or a gorilla with that monstrous strength of yours?" He asked scathingly as he continued to counter her brute force.

Sakura glared daggers at the young Uchiha opposing her on the other end. "I don't know. Are you a human or a monster with those demonic eyes of yours?"

Instead of offending her opponent as she had intended, the corners of his mouth suddenly drew into a smirk. "Then why are you looking me in the eyes?"

It was true. Despite her knowledge of the power stored within the Uchiha's eyes she had witnessed from her previous encounter with them, she continued to glare fiercely into her opponent's eyes. Unfazed by his threat, she retorted haughtily. "Why haven't you used them against me yet?"

Sasuke scoffed at her overconfident response. "I was just curious to see if you would show anything new against me. It looks like you are at your limit, Haruno rat."

"Fuck off, bastard!" Sakura roared increasing the vigor of her shoving match against the Uchiha.

His foot slid backward as he fought to regain stability. "You even speak like a peasant."

Reluctant to avert her hostile eyes away from the Uchiha's, Sakura suddenly dropped her end of the post to the ground as her muscles went flaccid. Although she was rendered unable to move, she was still capable of speech—the only remaining method of combatting the cheating bastard in her current state.

"You fucking cheater! Fight me like a real human!" She spat out through her rigid facial muscles.

"I can't take fighting an animal seriously." Sasuke released the post as she buckled to the ground finally subduing her rampage.

In spite of her vulnerability, she continued to brazenly goad her opponent. "What are you going to do? Beat me? Kill me? I'll never do as you say regardless!"

"Brand her with the Moon's Eye Seal." Madara turned to Fugaku and spoke with an icy firmness that made Sakura shudder on the inside. "If the girl is injured or killed then she will be completely useless to us. The seal will ensure her obedience without compromising her ability to serve us."

"Then I shall brand her at your request." Fugaku did not hesitate to obey his leader's orders.

Sauntering towards the downed girl, he quickly weaved a series of hand signs and held two glowing fingers of chakra in the air. Incapable of making any movements, she was forced to helplessly watch as he crouched down and grasped the collar of her kimono. He jerked the collar of her kimono downward exposing the back of her neck. Sakura wailed loudly as he pressed his fingers into the sensitive skin of her neck. A black circular mark suddenly bled into the surface of her pale skin. Three tomoe appeared within the circle taking shape of the signature patterning of the Sharingan.

"What the hell did you just do to me?!" She demanded through her agonized wails.

"This seal enables any Sharingan wielder to project the power of their eyes into you without necessitating eye contact. The Sharingan can control the sensations and sensitivities of anyone subjected to its power. Defy our orders and you will experience this firsthand." Fugaku sternly warned her as he removed his grip from her collar.

Sasuke released her from his binding jutsu permitting her use of her body. The three tomoe within the circular mark vanished in conjunction with the termination of his jutsu.

"Now take her back to Uruchi so she can be stripped and searched." Madara ordered as he watched the girl clasp her hands against the back of her neck to smother the fresh pain of the new seal.

"What?! No! Please!" Sakura pleaded as she sat up to her knees.

"Stand up!" Fugaku snarled viciously.

When she adamantly ignored his demands, Fugaku's eyes immediately flashed red. She winced violently as three spinning tomoe reappeared within the circular mark on her neck.

_Stand on your feet! _

His voice urged her within her mind.

She yelped upon feeling the sharp pain of many tiny needles prickling the skin of her knees prompting her to snap to her feet. Frantically, she inspected her skin for the source of the sharp pain only to discover her knees bare and unscathed.

"We have never had to brand any of the slaves with this seal." Fugaku grumbled to the leader as he observed the girl examining the skin of her knees.

"That's because the other slaves aren't stupid enough to defy us. They have survival instincts unlike this girl." Madara responded as the inquisitive crowd of onlooking Uchiha disbanded.

Fugaku ushered her back to the infirmary where Uruchi, the elderly Uchiha woman, awaited her.

"Strip and search her. Confiscate any weapons and valuables you find on her. She's been branded with the Moon's Eye Seal so she is incapable of avoiding your Sharingan." He instructed her gruffly before departing.

Once they were alone, Uruchi folded her arms beneath her large bust crossly. "I'm not going to argue with you about this again. Remove your clothing."

Sakura cast her an ugly sneer that clearly articulated a defiant "fuck you."

The elderly woman did not waste any time activating her Sharingan and seizing the girl in another binding jutsu. This time, she had paralyzed her facial muscles completely eliminating any further opportunities for the girl to wag her abrasive tongue. Sakura stood rigidly straight unable to oppose the Uchiha woman as she began to disrobe her. She pulled out a kunai and shredded the floral patterned kimono until the young girl was completely bare. Goosebumps formed on the surface of her skin as she felt the urge to cover her humiliatingly exposed body with her arms. The elderly woman quickly discovered her concealed weapons hidden beneath the thick layering of her clothing and removed them. Her blood red eyes shot towards the girl's neck noting her cherished cherry blossom pendant.

_No!_ Sakura screamed internally as the woman slowly unhooked the silver chain. _You can't take that away from me!_

"Hmm…" The woman grunted to herself as she inspected the pink jewel. "It's pink diamond. This will fetch a high price in the market."

_Please! Give it back!_ She pleaded knowing full well that her words would not travel beyond her thoughts.

The woman brought her a fresh new set of clothing and placed it on the table beside her. "You're a grown woman. You can clothe yourself."

As soon as the woman released her from her jutsu, the pink haired girl exploded towards her.

"My pendant! Give me back my pendant!" She cried out as she lunged for the elderly woman.

Sakura suddenly dropped to the floor screaming as though her body had been set ablaze. Sweating profusely, she thrashed violently from the blistering pain afflicting her body. Uruchi could vaguely discern the three spinning tomoe of her Sharingan appearing within the circular seal on the back of her neck. With her new reign over the girl's sensory system, she could quell the girl's explosive tantrums without expending much effort.

After deeming the length of her punishment sufficient, Uruchi dispelled her jutsu and ordered the girl to clothe herself yet again. Sakura sat up slowly smearing the tears from her eyes and the sweat from her brow. Without further protest, she slipped on a fresh pair of underwear and a drab tan robe. Despite the unbearable itchiness of the coarse fibers lining the robe, she withheld her complaints.

Uruchi led her outside brusquely and spotted a woman passing by with a bucket of water in hand.

"Nohara!" Uruchi hollered to the woman.

"Yes, Uruchi-sama!" The woman trotted up to Sakura and Uruchi taking caution to not spill the contents of her bucket while also trying to prevent the elderly Uchiha from waiting.

The woman's long chocolate brown hair billowed behind her as she hastened her pace. She halted before Uruchi and glanced at the downcast face of what appeared to be a new addition to the Uchiha's slave stock. As Sakura met her soft brown eyes, the woman returned her gaze with a cordial smile. She possessed purple, rectangular markings on each of her cheeks and wore the same tan robe as Sakura. While she had a young, vibrant face, she appeared to be older than Sakura albeit difficult to gauge her exact age.

"Take this girl to the slave quarters and get her situated." Uruchi handed Sakura off to the brunette woman.

She nodded courteously in compliance and wrapped her unoccupied arm around Sakura's in a chummy manner. Sakura said nothing contemplating her bleak future in the Uchiha compound while the young woman led her away.

* * *

_A/N: Sakura, Sakura…always making her situation even worse…._

_By the way, the stampede came from the manga Basara. I don't remember a stampede in Trigun though. _

_Anyways, thanks for reading and please remember to review! _


	4. Humiliation

Sakura followed the brunette into the slave quarters mulling over any means of escaping the dreadful compound and its merciless inhabitants. The slave quarters were exactly as Sakura expected it to be—small, cramped, and riddled with the fusty odor of mold and decaying wood.

The brunette retrieved a spare floor mattress and blanket from the closet. She unfurled the mattress and laid it flat on the floor smoothing out the wrinkles with her hand.

"What is your name?" She asked conversationally disrupting Sakura's sullen musing.

"Haruno Sakura." Sakura answered tersely as she fixed her gaze to the floor.

"Sakura, hm?" The woman cocked her head inquisitively and then smiled warmly. "That's a pretty name. My name is Nohara Rin."

The surname Nohara did not ring any bells within Sakura's mind.

"Where are you from?"

Rin put a finger to her lips and hummed to herself for a moment. "I'm from a village called Mugihara."

Sakura decided to follow up with her line of inquiry. "How long have you been here?"

"A while, I suppose. I was taken from my village to serve as a healer to the Uchiha clan. Are you a healer as well?"

"Yes." Sakura nodded lifting her gaze to the woman's gentle brown eyes. "I am a disciple of Senju Tsunade."

"Senju Tsunade? How did you manage to become the disciple of a noble?" Rin's voice ascended with a curious inflection. The woman's eyes lit up jubilantly indicating that her question was of genuine curiosity with no derision in the slightest.

"After the death of her brother and fiancé, Tsunade-sama devoted her life to philanthropy in their honor. She travels to the peasant villages offering medical aid and will occasionally train a pupil who shows promise in order to care for their own village. I met Tsuande-sama when I was thirteen years old and have been her student for almost five years now. With her tutelage, I was able to become a physician and take care of my fellow clansmen."

Rin's eyes widened in awe as she clasped her hands together. "Wow, it sounds like you do a lot for your people!"

"In addition to training me as a healer, Tsunade-sama also taught me offensive ninjutsu in order to defend my people. None of my fellow villagers are trained in combat except my father. He only knows some kenjutsu but he is arthritic and terribly out of practice…" Sakura voice trailed off as she contemplated the current fate of her clan.

Were her parents able to make it safely back home to the village? Were her fellow clansmen working to rebuild the well and irrigation system at this very moment?

"I was able to learn some medical ninjutsu from my grandmother but I suppose my skills in combat are minimal although we have quite a few warriors within our village who defend the farmlands from intruders." Rin rubbed the back of her neck modestly. "Besides you and me, the other slaves here aren't trained in medical ninjutsu though they are well-versed in basic first aid. Having another healer here takes quite a bit of the load off my shoulders."

Sakura's eyes narrowed discreetly while the woman laughed softly to herself. Despite her gratefulness for Sakura's presence, Sakura willed herself to never employ her medical skills for the Uchiha clan's benefit no matter what.

"Yes, I suppose it does." She answered the woman's words with a false smile, concealing her rebellious intentions towards the clan.

She mentally formulated a list of things-to-do. First, she would track down the elderly Uchiha woman who confiscated her pendant and recover it. Second, she would find a way to remove that irksome seal tainting the back of her neck. As far as she knew, any Uchiha could project the power of their Sharingan into that seal and cripple her with unbearable pain or control her movements like a puppet. Could they also project their power into her at great distances? If that were the case then the Uchiha would still have her reigned on a tight leash even if she were to escape. Removal the seal would guarantee that she would be truly liberated from the Uchiha's control. Lastly, she would search for any lapses in the Uchiha border patrol and find her way to freedom. Judging by the heavy fortification of Fort Sena, she figured the defenses of the compound were considerably greater especially in their warring state. Only through close observation of their patrolling patterns, could she detect any vulnerability in their surveillance.

Satisfied with her plan, she curled up on the lumpy mattress beside Rin and closed her eyes.

* * *

The following day, Sakura shadowed Rin as she oriented her to the Uchiha infirmary. An Uchiha guard stood within the corner of the infirmary closely observing the new recruit with an activated Sharingan. Sakura's scathing eyes darted towards the guard and then returned to Rin's back.

Rin halted before a shirtless young male resting on a cot. "This is Jin and he'll be your first patient. He arrived this morning with a laceration to the chest. Luckily it's not too deep and is a simple repair with medical ninjutsu."

Sakura was met with an awkward silence as she stood around expecting Rin to continue speaking. Rin merely smiled expecting Sakura to take action without necessitating any further cuing. Sakura's eyes flittered to the stone-faced guard then back to the long laceration on the Uchiha's chest. It was shallow enough to be deemed a simple repair as Rin had claimed, however, Sakura could never bring herself to heal a single member of the Uchiha clan even if their wound was as trivial as a paper cut.

Sakura's hands hovered hesitantly over the man's bare, vulnerable chest as she felt the overwhelming pressure of both Rin and the guard's eyes bearing down on her. She could always shape her chakra into a sharp scalpel and sever the man's artery in a split second promptly ending his life. It would certainly mean one less Uchiha to return to the battlefield.

She wasn't sure if it was her prolonged hesitation or the guard's ability to perceive murderous intent but the guard's harsh voice jolted her from her traitorous reverie. "If any of your patients die, then you die, Haruno rat."

Well that option was certainly off the table. However, she was suddenly filled with a twisted satisfaction as she stumbled upon an ingenious thought. Since her medical ninjutsu primarily accelerated the growth of the subject's cells restoring the damaged tissue, she could simply overdo her regenerative technique. It would appear harmless on the surface but would later manifest into a sudden and unsuspicious death for her victim. By overstimulating her victim's cellular growth cycle, the cells would form an unstable mass. When aggravated by strenuous activity such as fighting on the battlefield, the mass would dislodge and travel within the bloodstream until it clogged one of the major arteries of the heart. The subject would then suffer a heart attack in the middle of battle either succumbing to their ailment or the vulnerability created for enemy attack. The Uchiha would never attribute their demise to the one they relied upon as a healer. She fought to restrain the smirk threatening to creep to her lips.

As she gazed into the weary black eyes of the man lying beneath the mercy of her hands, her stomach twisted in revulsion. Despite her burning antipathy towards the Uchiha, she could never employ her healing skills to take the life of another. However, an opposing voice urged her to disregard her oath of nonmaleficence as a healer and assured her that it was ultimately kill or be killed by the Uchiha. They were her enemies not her patients. She made no such pledge to do them no harm.

"Heal him now or face the consequences." The Uchiha guard's callous voice interrupted her yet again.

The flare within her green eyes immediately alerted him of her blatant insubordination. She screamed as she felt something lash her in the back of the neck. Rin gasped as she spotted the three tomoe of the Sharingan suddenly appear within the circular mark on her neck. Sakura clasped her hand over the seal in a vain attempt to smother the stabbing pain emanating from the back of her neck.

"Hurry up and make your decision." The guard warned her.

Before she could receive the opportunity to act, she was met with yet another lashing that struck her like a whip. Tears raced down her cheeks as she inadvertently bit her lower lip drawing blood. Unable to withstand another round of the brutal whip-like lashing she immediately conceded to the whims of the Uchiha subjecting her to his ocular power.

She hastily conjured chakra into her hands as she cried out through her loud, vocalized sobbing. "I'll heal him! I'll heal him!"

In spite of her concession, the Uchiha guard continued to keep his Sharingan activated lest she display any further acts of defiance. As Sakura healed the man's shallow laceration, her spirits begin to wither. That damned seal was going to destroy her if she did not find a way to remove it immediately.

In addition to working in the infirmary, she was also expected to complete mundane chores around the compound like the rest of the slaves. However, she was quickly growing to loathe the other slaves working within the compound. They originated from peasant clans she did not recognize and all seemed to possess the same empty eyes of those who had been cowed into complete submission. Whenever she asked them questions, they would answer with curt one-worded answers and hurry on their way. They seemed to avoid her—look down upon her even— because of that damn seal on her neck. It was as though it was a contagious disease they were afraid of catching as well.

She passionately cursed the Uchiha who branded her with it in the first place. Whoever created such a seal would've had to have been an incredibly sick-minded individual as the potential for abuse was astronomical. The Uchiha seemed to jump at any opportunity to punish her with the seal for the most minor of offenses and at times no explicable reason at all. She had been subjected to a myriad of different tortures under their ocular power. She experienced being stabbed, beaten, whipped, set afire, drowned, asphyxiated, and whatever creative method of torture their eyes could simulate. It was evident the seal had simply permitted the Uchiha to freely test the powers of their Sharingan on a new guinea pig. She was well aware that such a ruthless clan would exercise their sadism at any opportunity they could receive.

She wasn't sure which was worse—the cruelty of the Uchiha or the bystanding slaves who blatantly ignored her suffering. Whenever she lie on the ground crying out in immense pain, the slaves merely averted their gazes and hastened their pace as if she were a nuisance. The only one to crouch down beside her and extend a comforting hand was Rin. She had admitted to never witnessing such a seal before but offered her deepest sympathies in a manner that seemed to be apologizing for the Uchiha's behavior.

"Please keep in mind that not all Uchiha are this way." She brushed off Sakura's dirtied robe and helped her rise to her feet.

Sakura studied the faint blush suspiciously painting the brunette's cheek. She muttered beneath her breath assured that Rin would not catch her words. "Rin, are you…"

Rin handed Sakura a pair of buckets filled with water and rested a hand on the top of her head. "I'll meet you back at the infirmary."

As Rin headed in a direction opposite to her, Sakura hastily rounded the corner of a house and collided with a solid object.

"Dammit…" She cursed to herself as she splashed water all over the immaculate silk robes of an Uchiha.

She gaped at the ponytailed Uchiha's torso as the drenched robe clung tightly to his skin revealing the outline of his chest. His chest had been remarkably deep and rounded but not in the fashion that denoted enlarged musculature due to physical fitness. Her eyes lifted to his face noting the deep troughs that lined his countenance distinctive of Fugaku's older son. When his cold black eyes met hers she flinched internally anticipating the activation of his Sharingan and the agonizing torture that would ensue.

"Watch where you're going, Haruno!" He hissed icily as he brushed past her.

Briefly relieved by the absence of retaliation for her accidental collision with the Uchiha, she made her way to the water spigot to refill her now empty buckets.

She had become accustomed to the Uchiha addressing her as "Haruno" or "Haruno rat" and mentally dubbed them with nicknames of her own as a humorous means of coping with her miserable situation.

The Uchiha Lord's right hand man and the grumpy faced man who had branded her with the seal. _Right Hand Bastard_.

The Right Hand Bastard's insufferably smug son with the hair reminiscent of the rear end of a duck. _Duckbutt Bastard_.

The Right Hand Bastard's other son with the long girly eyelashes and hair tied into ponytail. _Girly Bastard_.

The Uchiha Lord himself who had ordered the seal and completely decimated the stampede of cattle. _Bulldozing Bastard_.

She admitted to herself that the last nickname sounded very much like a pun her father would've come up with. As she crouched down and lifted the handle of the spigot, two young male voices spoke from behind her.

"I bet you can get her to do anything you want." One of the voices chuckled darkly.

"Let's try it then." The second voice replied boastfully. "My Sharingan is better than yours."

As Sakura craned her neck to get a look at the two young Uchiha boys advancing on her, she was wracked by a sharp pain seizing her body. She fell face flat into the mud pooling beneath the head of the running water spigot.

"Oh yeah? Prove it!" The younger boy retorted as he grasped Sakura by the hair lifting her head above the ground. "Make her say 'Kenta is the strongest there is.'"

The older Uchiha boy smirked as he folded his arms haughtily. "That's easy."

_Say it_. Sakura heard the young boy's voice speak within her mind. _Say "Kenta is the strongest there is."_

Despite Sakura's desperate protests, her tongue betrayed her speaking the boy's command as if she had a mouth full of nails. "K-kenta is the s-strongest there is…"

"Whoa! Cool!" The younger boy shouted as he noticed the distinct patterning of the Sharingan within the girl's seal. "Come look at this! Your Sharingan is on the back of her neck!"

"No way!" Kenta said disbelievingly as he immediately hovered over the younger boy's shoulder to investigate his claim.

"Now make her eat the mud."

The two boys cackled in unison as she felt the younger one release his grip on her hair. She felt the mud splatter her face and the boy's voice urge her yet again.

_Eat the mud_.

She squeezed her eyes shut desperately pleading with her body to defy the boy's command.

_Hurry up. Eat it now!_

The boy's demands echoed more forcefully within her mind as his patience rapidly dwindled.

_C'mon! Just eat it already!_

Was this all she was to these people? A slave to toil for hours on end, a guinea pig to their ocular powers, and a toy for their children to amuse themselves with? She was the disciple of the famed doctor Tsunade and a proud warrior of the Haruno clan—not some measly object to suit their pleasure!

There was absolutely no way she was going to let the Uchiha trample all over her dignity!

Kenta cried out as he felt an intangible force seize him by the throat. His crimson eyes widened in horror as an apparition of the Haruno materialized before his eyes.

"**I'm not your goddamn toy, shannaro**!"

Kenta spluttered out through his intense gagging. "W-what the hell are you?!"

"Kenta, what's going on?!" His friend cried out oblivious to the source of his incessant gagging.

Sakura suddenly pounced atop the young boy pummeling him mercilessly with her fists. "I'm tired of dealing with you little brats!"

"Stop it, you crazy bitch! Somebody!" The younger boy hollered seizing the attention of his fellow clansmen.

Before she knew it, a small crowd had gathered around the commotion. A firm hand gripped Sakura by the back of the collar ripping her away from the young boy pinned beneath her. Whoever had grasped her, hurled her away with ruthlessly careless force causing her to tumble into the mud. Sakura spat the mud from her mouth and lifted her head in the direction of the one who had thrown her. Through her disheveled pink locks sopping with mud, she spotted the Uchiha Lord standing before her. Her lustrous green eyes stood out against the thick layer of mud coating her face casting a feral appearance upon her.

"Sakura…" Rin said to herself as she weaved her way towards the front of the crowd.

Sakura immediately channeled chakra into her right fist and sprang towards the Uchiha Lord standing with his arms folded tightly against his chest. "You fucking bastards!"

He merely caught her chakra loaded fist in his hand as if it were nothing. She doubled over as he rammed his knee into her abdomen and shoved her to her hands and knees. She immediately began to wheeze noisily as his blow had struck her in the solar plexus causing her diaphragm to spasm.

"You still haven't learned your place. Even the beasts have greater survival instincts than you." Madara said scathingly watching the girl struggle to catch her breath.

She managed to hiss through her relentless panting. "You keep calling me an animal but who is the true animal? You torture me for your own twisted pleasure! You are the ones who are inhuman!"

He grasped a handful of her long pink hair in one hand and reached for the handle of his blade with the other.

Sakura's heart thundered viciously against her ribs as she heard the grating sound of a drawn sword.

This was it for her.

Despite her fear of impending death, she decided conclusively that she would rather welcome a death brought upon by her fierce battle rather than lose a shred of her dignity.

Rin clasped her hands over her mouth as a sharp cry escaped her lips. Tears immediately fled her eyes as the Uchiha Lord lowered his sword towards the Haruno girl's neck. A foreboding silence suddenly fell over the spectating crowd.

"No, you're not an animal." Madara suddenly admitted. However, Sakura knew very well by his tightening grip on her hair that she would not be fooled by his misleading words. "Even an animal has a use. But you are beneath an animal…you are simply just trash."

Sakura shrieked as his blade glided through her long pink locks. Rin covered her eyes as she sobbed silently to herself reluctant to continue observing the traumatic scene transpiring before her. Even the onlooking Uchiha gaped at the scene in absolute shock.

Madara carelessly flung her severed tresses to the ground before her. A pink flurry of stray hair rained down upon her as she gazed dejectedly at her severed hair.

"Even that pathetic clan of yours won't take back trash like you." He said before turning his back to her. The crowd parted down the center forming a respectful pathway for him and immediately disbanded.

Sakura curled into herself as she had been left completely alone in the mud to sob in her grief and sheer mortification. The back of her neck felt cold and bare now devoid of the long pink locks that had signified her honor, her dignity, and her womanhood. She was muddied, disheveled, and covered in the stray strands of hair that clung to her sodden robe and skin. Covering her chest with her arms, she shuddered as if she had just been stripped naked in public. The Uchiha were more than bastards. Such a word was not even close to describing the magnitude of their evil. They were _monsters_. She had been captured as a slave, tortured, treated like a toy, and now deflowered right in front of the many onlooking eyes of a crowd.

How could things possibly get any worse?

* * *

_A/N: Sorry for the delay. It's been a busy week._

_Anyways, thanks for reading and please remember to review! _


	5. Pride

_A/N: Please bear in mind the cultural context of this fic. It is set during the (pseudo) feudal area of Japan. While it may seem trivial to a Western perspective, other cultures deem one's hair to be their greatest treasure. Japanese samurai would commit suicide should their honor be tarnished by the loss of their hair. By cutting off Sakura's hair, Madara pretty much just knocked her down to a level even lower than her previous standing in the caste system in a very public display which is why it is shocking to even the Uchiha. Remember that in this fic, Sakura is not only battling the Uchiha but the current caste system as well. ;)_

* * *

Sakura stood beneath the faucet allowing the cold running water to wash away the dried mud caked to her hair and skin. She shivered not because of the frigid waters rushing down her skin, but because she reflected on the many judgmental eyes that had spectated the most humiliating moment of her life. Short hair was the mark of a prostitute—the absolute rock-bottom of the caste system beneath the peasants and even the slaves. With her cut hair short it was as if she had been branded with the word "whore" on her forehead. People would automatically assume she was a prostitute regardless of the fact that she was still a virgin. Although she was of the age to be married, she had never found the opportunity to pursue romance due to her strict duty in providing for her village. As she was now, the prospect of marriage was near impossible even amongst her own clan.

Nobody would want to marry trash….

With so much taken away from her she was nothing but an empty, pitiful shell of a body. All she longed to do was stand beneath the running waters for as long as it took to completely wash away her withered soul. She inhaled sharply and cupped a handful of water in her hands. She buried her face in her hands mingling her tears with the pool of water as she flaccidly slid down to a kneeling position.

It didn't matter what she did. She would always be trashed and belittled by the likes of these people. She was certain someone would probably arrive soon to scold her for wasting water.

As she gazed into the ripples running across the water pooling before her, she recalled a brief conversation she had with her mother during her earlier years.

"_Kaa-san…" A young Sakura inquired. "Why do you wear your hair short?" _

"_I used to have longer hair back in my youth." Mebuki answered as she patted her short blonde locks. "However, I was involved in a little incident and forced to cut it off." _

"_Incident? What happened?" _

_Mebuki folded her arms as she reflected back upon her memories. "I had broken into the Hyuuga compound, you see. I was the last of my band to flee the compound until a guard grabbed me by the hair. I drew a kunai and sliced my hair off in order to escape his grasp. I lost my hair but I was able to get away with some valuable treasure. That treasure sold for a remarkably high price in the market and was able to provide a lot for our clan. Even though I lost my hair, I was hailed as a hero amongst our village." _

"_A hero?" Young Sakura parroted back curiously. _

"_When a woman loses her hair, she also loses her honor. However, with the loss of my hair I gained a whole new level of respect from the village. I didn't have all that hair to slow me down either." _

_Sakura's voice descended dolefully. "But kaa-san…Ino told me that women with short hair can't get married…and my hair barely seems to be growing…" _

_Mebuki suddenly let out a hearty, unrestrained laugh. "The Yamanaka girl told you that?! Sakura-chan, I married your father while I had short hair!"_

"_You did?!" Sakura's large apple green orbs lit up in astonishment. _

"_My hair doesn't define who I am. It's just something that grows, falls out, and turns grey overtime. A woman isn't defined by the length of her hair, or the paleness of her skin, or even the makeup she wears but rather by the sheen in her eyes that reflects what's within her heart. Nobody in this world is in the position to make you feel less than what you are unless you permit them to. Your father was able to see past my physical appearance and see me for the woman I truly was. Confidence is the most captivating thing a woman can wear and a real man can easily recognize that. If someone is too judgmental to see through their own assumptions and perceive a person beyond the hair on their head, then that's their problem not mine."_

"_But they say that short haired women are bad kinds of people…"_

"_You mean prostitutes?" Mebuki chortled boisterously startling the young Sakura with her unexpected vulgarity. "The biggest whores are the ones who bend to whatever society tells them to do. Grow your hair long, speak daintily, keep your head lowered, do as your man says! Conforming to society's standards won't make you happy nor will it define who you are." _

_Mebuki rested her hand on Sakura's broad forehead combing her pink bangs with her fingers. "Wear your hair however you like, Sakura-chan. I know you will always be beautiful no matter how you look because you are my strong, precious daughter."_

"Kaa-san…" Sakura wiped away her tears as she slowly crawled back to her feet and shut off the faucet. She hugged her body snugly and smiled meekly pressing the side of her cheek firmly against her shrugged shoulder. "…you're right."

It wasn't over yet, she declared to herself with profound fervor. No matter what, she refused to let her spirit die until she was a corpse rotting beneath the earth.

After she dried herself off, she grasped the torn sleeve of her drab, tan robe and began to tug vigorously at the fabric. She ripped a long strip out of the sleeve of the robe and slipped it beneath the underside of her head. She tied the ends into a neat bow atop the crown of her head and pulled the ends taut. Gazing into her reflection within the water pooled before her toes, she ran her fingers through her damp locks and deemed the new look satisfactory.

She quickly slipped the robe back on and mentally prepared herself before entering the open to exhibit her new look to the eyes of the world. Exhaling the last of her residual shame, she stood up straight, set her shoulders back, and lifted her chin confidently priming herself to stride back to the slave quarters with an air of pride.

She placed one foot firmly before the other keeping her eyes square on her destination. As she made her way down the pathway, she could see the heads of bewildered Uchiha turning towards her through the corners of her eyes. It didn't matter whether they shot her their venomous or dumbstruck glances. It didn't even matter if the words "Haruno rat," "whore," or "trash" registered within their minds. She would continue down her pathway disregarding their judgments as they no longer afflicted her.

Never before had she felt such power.

As she finally entered the slave quarters, Rin's head quickly snapped towards her. Her brown eyes suddenly illuminated as she gaped at Sakura's new appearance.

"Sakura…your hair…" She began.

Sakura's fingers prodded the makeshift hair ornament constructed of her torn robe. "It doesn't bother me. Besides, my hair doesn't define me."

Rin clasped Sakura's hands firmly. "…it's so cute!"

A faint blush crept to the apples of Sakura's cheeks. "Thanks…"

"Here, let me even it out a bit! I think I might still have that red ribbon around here somewhere. It'll definitely match your hair color better." Rin drew a kunai from within her pillowcase.

She immediately went to work smoothing out the jagged edges of Sakura's hair. She removed the dull tan fabric and replaced it with a crimson ribbon.

"I can't thank you enough, Rin." Sakura bowed her head graciously as she raked her fingers through the bright pink locks framing her face.

"Sakura…" Rin smiled demurely grasping a handful of her long chocolate brown hair.

Sakura gasped noisily as she ran the blade of the kunai through her own hair. Sakura's flabbergasted eyes followed the flurry of stray brown strands of hair as they descended to the ground.

"Rin?! Why?!"

"I have to admit, I'm quite envious of your new hairstyle so I want to try it out too."

"But Rin, you'll be…"

Rin suddenly halted Sakura's words as she placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "It's as you said. My hair doesn't define me."

Sakura bit her lower lip in an attempt to curb her tears but to no avail. She sniffled loudly as the tears immediately escaped her eyes. Rin pulled her closer and leaned her head against the sniveling girl's shoulder.

"Thank you, Rin…"

That night, Sakura slept on the floor mattress beside Rin. She murmured inaudibly as an irritatingly persistent hand shook her.

"Hey! Hey! Wake up!" She heard a masculine voice whisper to her.

Sakura lifted her eyelids open slowly catching sight of a spiky haired male wearing a patch over his left eye. She immediately snapped upward like a springboard and decked the intrusive male in the face.

He grunted sharply quickly recovering from the unanticipated blow. "You didn't have to punch me!"

"Who the hell are you?!" Sakura snarled in a hushed voice. Although the slave quarters were poorly illuminated she could determine from his dark hair that he was an Uchiha.

"Go back to sleep. I made an honest mistake." He muttered rubbing his bruised cheek gingerly.

"Why are you here?"

He scratched the top of his head blatantly searching for an excuse. "I'm just…umm…checking on things."

"Checking on things?" Sakura raised a suspicious brow.

"Checking on things." He answered definitively.

"What kind of things?"

"You know…important things." The unfamiliar Uchiha nodded his head in assurance.

Sakura uttered flatly as she contorted her face. "I don't follow…"

"Obito!" Rin whispered lifting herself up to a seated position.

"Rin, what happened to your hair?" The unfamiliar Uchiha suddenly raised the volume of his voice.

Sakura was positive the other slaves were awake but ignoring the intrusive Uchiha's presence. Judging by their dismissiveness of his presence, she figured he may have been a frequent visitor to the quarters.

"Do you like it?" She ran her fingers through her shortened locks and cocked her head awaiting his response.

"I love it!" He beamed his overwhelming approval of the new hairstyle. His sole eye flittered hesitantly towards skeptical girl sitting beside Rin. "But it's kinda hard to tell you two apart now that you have the same hairstyle."

"Huh, are you blind? We don't even look the same!" Sakura scrunched her face in disbelief.

Obito pointed to his eye and retorted emphatically. "If you haven't noticed, I only have one eye."

Rin tittered softly into her hand while Sakura glowered disapprovingly at the one-eyed Uchiha. He immediately noted her flagrant discomfort with his presence and laughed nervously to himself. "Well I'd best get going. I need to go check on…umm…other things."

"Goodnight, Obito." Rin waved to him as he quietly slipped outside the slave quarters.

"What was that about?" Sakura cast Rin a dubious glance.

"Oh, he's just on patrol." She answered before returning back underneath the covers.

A one-eyed Uchiha on patrol…inside the slave quarters…

Sakura writhed uncomfortably as she retreated beneath her nest of blanketing. She certainly hoped this "patrolling" Uchiha wasn't going to frequent the slave quarters again especially at this ungodly hour in the night. Evidently, Rin didn't attach an honorific to his name like she naturally did with every Uchiha she addressed by name denoting that her relation to him was _rather_ familiar. Sakura brooded over how such a childish and obtuse individual could be of the Uchiha clan. However, Rin's prior words filled her with surfacing hope. Perhaps not all of the Uchiha were malicious.

* * *

The following morning, Sakura's lifted spirits promptly dampened as she spotted the Girly Bastard seated on a cot surrounded by his immediate family members. She knew Rin was going to send her to tend to the higher ranking Uchiha's son pronto.

"Good morning, Fugaku-sama." Rin bowed her head showing him nothing but her utmost respect. "I see Itachi-sama is here again."

Sakura shuddered internally as she felt Fugaku's pitless black eyes briefly land on her before shifting back to Rin. He answered with a drawn out sigh. "Yes. He seems to be getting worse."

Rin turned to the pink haired girl delivering a brief report of the Uchiha's medical history. "Itachi-sama has been here on multiple occasions. Unfortunately, he hasn't been able to participate in battle since he has been suffering from…"

"…a chronic respiratory disease." Sakura suddenly blurted alarming the entire Uchiha family.

"Why yes." Rin nodded her head affirmatively.

"How did you know, Haruno?" Fugaku demanded with an incredulous undertone.

Her sharp green eyes scrutinized the ponytailed Uchiha from head to toe in order to bolster her diagnosis. "I can tell by the shape of his chest. His ribcage is expanded which is from the lungs overinflating in order to compensate for their lack of functionality. It's a very telling sign of someone suffering from a chronic respiratory disease. He is also hunched over in an effort to breathe more easily and his skin is considerably pale."

"Wow, you're quite observant." Rin remarked while Sakura put a pensive finger to her chin.

"He's been on antibiotics. It is the strongest course of antibiotics the pharmacy offers." Fugaku said as he handed Sakura a large bottle of oblong pills.

Sakura's eyes quickly scanned the surface of the bottle. "Yes, these certainly are very strong antibiotics. How long has he been on them?"

"A year." Fugaku answered bluntly.

Sakura's face suddenly blanched. Her eyebrow twitched in disbelief as she fought the intense urge to scream her words. "A year?!"

"Yes." Fugaku replied steadily. "They don't seem to be working anymore."

"You are not supposed to be taking antibiotics like that for so long. Not only do they stop working but they can make him prone to even more severe infections." Sakura's face washed from pale to a deep scarlet hue. She couldn't believe the ill-advised method of treatment they had been employing for such a long duration of time. She turned to the brunette. "Rin, may I borrow a stethoscope?"

"Certainly." The woman immediately retrieved the instrument from the cabinet.

Sakura placed the cold diaphragm of stethoscope on Itachi's chest and instructed him to take a few deep breaths. She shook her head laying the stethoscope on the table beside the cot. The Uchiha waited eagerly for her analysis of her assessment. "I don't believe it's an infection."

Fugaku cocked a single eyebrow. "What makes you believe it's not an infection?"

"The sounds heard upon auscultation are not consistent with signs of an infection. If he had an infection, it would've cleared eventually during the course of the antibiotics."

"Then what is it?"

Sakura swallowed forcefully hoping it wasn't as audible as it felt while Rin and the Uchiha family awaited her response. She exhaled and clasped her hands in front of her abdomen.

"It's an autoimmune disorder." Sakura deduced coolly. "His own immune system is attacking his lungs. It's already dealt a great deal of damage in order for him to have reached this stage."

She instinctively knew they were going to follow up with an extremely weighty question.

"How did he get it?" Fugaku asked.

Sakura held her tongue knowing the answer would undoubtedly enrage the prideful Uchiha. Rin flashed her a chipper smile encouraging her to answer the father's question. Sakura squirmed beneath the heavy weight of the Uchiha's eyes crushing her with their bated anticipation. The more she stalled, the more likely the Uchiha were going to question her confidence in her diagnosis.

Fugaku's perpetual scowl deepened. "Well?"

Sakura braced herself for the impending outburst. "It's genetic."

"Are you saying he got this from us?!" Fugaku bellowed ferociously alarming the other occupants within the infirmary.

Mikoto protested avidly cradling Itachi's head against her bosom. "There's no way we could've passed it on to our son! We don't even have the disease!"

"A genetic disease can manifest within the children of two parents who carry the genes for it even if they don't show signs of the disease themselves." Sakura attempted to say with a placid expression.

"So you're saying we have defective blood!" Fugaku's eyes bled red provoking Sakura to take a prudent step backward anticipating the activation of the seal. "I expected more from the disciple of that Senju woman. It seems we've wasted our efforts retrieving you!"

"He won't survive much longer before the disease completely destroys his lungs. The only way he can possibly survive is through surgery." Sakura pleaded with the fuming father in a desperate attempt to placate him before he could utilize the seal on her.

"And what would this surgery entail?"

"I can ablate the damaged tissue and incite new growth of healthy tissue through my regenerative jutsu. I don't know if I can completely eradicate the disease but I know I can at least prolong his life!"

"I don't believe you, Haruno rat. You'll just end up killing my son!" He snarled rabidly causing Rin to balk with fear as she expected him to assault the pink haired girl with the power of his Sharingan.

"Tou-san!" Itachi suddenly spoke up.

The rabidity faded from Fugaku's voice. "Yes, son?"

"Let her do the surgery." Itachi stated decidedly alarming his family members.

"Itachi, it's too risky!" Mikoto desperately sought to dissuade him.

His dulled eyes shifted to Sakura. "I may not have longer to live but there is a slight chance I may receive the opportunity to prolong my life."

"Are you sure about this, nii-san?" Sasuke asked with a softness to his onyx eyes Sakura had never borne witness to.

Itachi nodded his head firmly. "Yes, I am certain."

Fugaku glanced to Sakura with his Sharingan still activated. "Then you shall perform the surgery on him as soon as possible. Bear in mind that if Itachi dies then you die."

Sakura resisted the urge to spitefully roll her eyes in front of the Uchiha. It wasn't the first time that threat had been issued to her and she was positive it wouldn't be the last time she would hear it.

A crafty plot surfaced to the brim of her mind enticing her to exploit the situation for her own benefit. The Uchiha did not possess a pharmacy or herb garden within their boundaries and she would need to gather a variety of medicines from a supplier outside their territory. She would simply coax them into permitting her to leave the compound with a few convincing lies. The Uchiha would unquestionably accompany her outside their territory. Once she was outside Uchiha territory, she could enact her ploy of escaping them once and for all. That was if the seal was unable to operate at long distances. It was something she would have to investigate if she sought to ensure her freedom.

The Uchiha seemed to attribute her silence to fear of the threat but they failed to notice the calculating look within her eyes.

"If I am to perform the surgery then I will require a number of drugs and herbs I haven't seen stocked within the infirmary." Sakura placed her hands to her hips delivering the blunt truth. She hadn't supplied them with any lies so far. "Without these things, I won't be able to safely conduct the surgery."

"Draw up a list of the materials you need. We will send for someone to retrieve them." Fugaku stated.

"That won't work. I need to see the medicines myself in order to determine the best quality. Even an herb aged a single day over ripeness will no longer be effective." It was a believable half-truth, she concluded to herself.

"Then you will be accompanied to the pharmacy outside our borders."

Sakura smirked on the inside contemplating her plan of escape once she was outside the Uchiha compound. If they did end up traveling to the pharmacy within the busy merchant village, Akagane, then it would significantly increase the success rate of her plan. She had traveled to the merchant village on multiple occasions in order to buy medicine and was well acquainted with its chaotic marketplace. It would be a shame for the Uchiha if they were to lose track of her within the rush of the hectic marketplace.

Fugaku suddenly resumed speaking disrupting Sakura's scheming thoughts. "Sasuke will be going with you."

Sakura melted in sheer disappointment. No, this arrangement wasn't acceptable at all…

This was the Uchiha who was able to spot her within the stampede of hundreds of cattle.

Great.

* * *

_A/N: Who's ready for a helping of Sasusaku? ;)_

_I hope this chapter was a bit more uplifting after the previous one. As always, thanks for reading and please remember to review! _


	6. Scrutiny

_A/N: A fair warning that this fic is rated M and things might start to get a little…racy? Do I have your attention now? ;)_

* * *

Sakura gazed listlessly into the back of Sasuke's head as they rode double on horseback towards the merchant village, Akagane. He wore a plain dark navy blue robe devoid of the Uchiha insignia as to not attract attention to possible enemies while traveling outside his clan's territory. He was armed with a bow and a quiver loaded with an ample supply of arrows strapped to his back. She was aware that he concealed his katana beneath his loose robes for the possibility of encountering the Uchiha clan's enemies on the way towards the village was remarkably high and he was prepared for any impending confrontation.

Part of Sakura welcomed the prospect of confrontation as a means of distracting the Uchiha and facilitating her escape however, she knew that in the heat of battle, his enemies would very likely associate her with him and kill her without hesitation before she could receive the opportunity to explain her situation. There was also the prospect of encountering bandits who closely monitored the roads to the merchant village in search of potential victims carrying goods to and from the village. Any mention of being the famed Blossom Bandit's daughter and they would surely be more inclined to aid her.

As they ascended a large hillside towards their destination, she could see the large walls surrounding the village in the distance. A pit settled within her stomach as she glanced over the side of their mount at the steep ledge following along the road they traveled. She was unfamiliar with the scenery of the area as she had never used this route to reach Akagane. They traveled south towards the merchant village from the northern region housing the noble clans whereas she was accustomed to traveling north from the farmlands in the south.

"Cover your hair before we reach the village." Sasuke suddenly spoke breaking his prolonged silence since departing the Uchiha territory. Although she was seated behind him grasping his hips loosely to maintain her balance, he staunchly ignored her presence. "I don't want people to get the wrong impression of me."

Sakura's cheeks inflated indignantly as she scowled at the back of the Uchiha's head. She had agreed to perform a very complicated and intensive surgery on his brother and he had the gall to be worried about his reputation being tarnished before the eyes of nameless strangers in the marketplace all because of her appearance?! The extent of the Uchiha ego must've been colossal if he assumed that random strangers on the streets would think she were his prostitute. The very notion was unbelievably absurd to her if not, to some degree, fairly comical. Despite the fact that he was wearing plain clothing in an attempt to blend in with the crowd, he was highly concerned with his pride as a noble as if the busy crowd caught up in the humdrum of their lives would halt in their tracks to judge him. The mere thought made her feel empowered—empowered by the fact that she had cast away her previously debilitating fear of peoples' judgments while he was still enslaved by his. Such were the shackles of a noble's life!

However, her stubbornness would not permit him to leave her with that insulting request. She absolutely would not heed his command just because he was feared his poor ego would suffer if she didn't cover her hair.

Too bad for him!

"Cover up your face then!" She snapped abrasively to the Uchiha knowing that he would be unable to punish her insolence without risking her falling from the horse. "It's embarrassing for me to be seen with you."

His already cold tone became even colder. "You really need to have that obnoxious mouth of yours sewn shut."

Sakura scoffed internally at his dull retort.

As they approached the gates of the merchant village she recognized that he was in for a losing battle. She was at a distinct advantage in this environment. Akagane was neutral territory and he would not be able to activate his Sharingan to track her without it being construed as a display of hostility. Without a word more, they dismounted and tethered the horse to a hitching post outside the village gates. Sakura entered eagerly longing to be washed away within the sea of people flooding the marketplace.

Her first tactic was to erratically dart to the most crowded vendors in an effort to shake Sasuke from her tail. To her dismay, whenever she strayed from course, Sasuke managed to instantly catch up to her. She had attempted this multiple times only for her efforts to be thwarted as the irritated Uchiha approached her from behind every time.

"We need to get to the pharmacy." His patently exasperated voice spoke within her ear. His already low patience was dwindling and he would soon employ some means of force in directing her straight to the pharmacy.

Sakura immediately fished for an excuse as she stood before a merchant selling eggs and freshly hatched chicks. She crouched down indiscriminately plucking a mottled chick from the noisy flock of cheeping chicks.

Delicately cradling the mottled chick in her hands, she raised it to her face and squealed loudly. "Oh my god! It's so cute I can't even stand it!"

Sasuke's brow merely furrowed as he watched the girl affectionately nuzzle the chick. His voice was more condescending than inquiring. "Didn't you grow up in the farmlands?"

"Of course I did but everything here is just so interesting! I really want to do some more sight-seeing."

"With the way you keep drifting off, it's like watching over a child." He folded his arms crossly adamantly denying her wish. "No more stops. We're going straight to the pharmacy."

Heaving an embellished sigh to relay her discontent, she returned the mottled chick to the rest of its brethren and returned back to the main road of the marketplace. Despite the massive crowd of people, Sasuke's deactivated eyes continued to track her like a hawk honed in on its prey. She cursed his remarkable vision and racked her brain for any means of loosening his tight scrutiny. With his marked concern for his reputation, it would be simple for her to play on his greatest weakness.

She froze stiff in the middle of the road allowing him to catch up to her and cast her a look that expressed his silent demand for the reasoning behind her sudden stop.

Sakura pointed an accusatory finger at him. "The way you're looking at me is making me feel horribly uncomfortable. You're checking me out, aren't you?"

Despite her accusation, his face remained stolid lacking of any indications of his guilt. "I have done no such thing."

She would have to push him further to weaken his firm denial. Although she knew he was not the type to display any nuance of perversion she needed something—anything—to twist his words into a validation of her accusation in order to force some distance between them.

"I can feel your eyes all over my body. It's creeping me out!" She wrapped her arms around her torso and exaggerated a shudder.

"Don't flatter yourself." He said scathingly. He muttered beneath his breath something Sakura would not have caught had she not been listening so closely. "There's nothing to look at anyway."

Fortunately for her, although his words were clearly intended to insult her, they were sufficient enough for her to exploit them. He had fallen right into her trap of self-incrimination.

She placed her hands over her chest and scoffed affronted by his rude remark. "Are you saying I'm flat-chested?! So you are checking me out!"

His scowl deepened conveying his fervent denial of her contrived accusation. "Just shut up and keep walking."

He didn't continue to touch upon the topic well aware of the fact that she would just manipulate his words into something incriminating again. She dropped the subject and continued onwards satisfied that her plan had, in fact, managed to successfully place some distance between them. Although he still maintained his strict watch over her through the swarm of busy shoppers, he trailed behind her albeit at a greater distance so as not to validate her allegation.

Suddenly, he grasped her wrist firmly and forcefully wheeled her around the corner of a store. He bristled and peered discreetly around the corner of the building keeping Sakura and himself hidden from view of what she surmised may have been his clan's enemies. As the Uchiha remained unnervingly silent, she listened carefully for any conspicuous noises amongst the marketplace humdrum indicating the presence of enemies. The only conspicuous sounds she could discern were the exchanges of an overzealous "dattebayo!" and "dattebane!" between a male and female.

She craned her neck beyond the corner of the wall curious to discover the origin of the boisterous voices. She noticed Sasuke's onyx eyes diligently trained on a young blonde male and a redheaded woman standing near a vendor selling fresh vegetables.

"Naruto-kun, if you don't eat your vegetables how do you expect to grow up big and strong?" The redheaded woman said teasingly. She poked his chest and uttered a high pitched giggle. "You won't impress any girls with those puny muscles, dattebane!"

The blonde folded his arms and cast the woman a childish pout. "Kaa-chan, you're embarrassing me, dattebayo!"

Sakura raised a dubious brow perplexed by why Sasuke seemed so threatened by the noisy banter between the mother and son duo. They didn't seem to be members of the Senju clan. "What's the matter?"

"They're Uzumaki." He answered curtly continuing to keep a vigilant eye on their interaction.

"And what of it?"

He failed to respond instantaneously as he swallowed forcefully. The volume of his voice diminished to barely a whisper. "I'm betrothed to a member of the Uzumaki clan…"

Sakura continued to observe the loud banter between the vivacious mother and her obstinate son.

"I'm not going to cook ramen tonight unless you pick out some vegetables first." The redhead tapped her foot impatiently awaiting her defiant son to finally fold at her ultimatum.

"I'm not eating any vegetables! They taste nasty!" He protested adamantly sticking out his tongue.

She grasped the lobe of his ear and yanked harshly. "I'm not going to have this argument with you every time we go to the marketplace, dattebane!"

"Ow! That hurts!"

"I heard through the grapevine that the Hyuuga heiress has eyes for you." The mother shrugged her eyebrows suggestively and nudged him playfully in the shoulder. "Do you really think she'd want to have this argument with you as your wife?"

The blonde lowered his head visibly embarrassed by his mother's shameless and open statement. "Kaa-chan…you don't have to say that so loudly…"

Perfect. Sakura smirked deviously to herself. Based on their excessive chattiness, she deduced that these people must be seasoned gossips. It was evident that Sasuke's fear was borne of this fact. Word of him associating with another woman would spread like wildfire throughout the Uzumaki clan until it reached whoever he had been betrothed to. Oh, the divine justice in witnessing the prideful Uchiha cower before the wrath of a faceless redheaded woman! Most likely, he would be cowering before the superiors of both of his clan and the Uzumaki's since they were decidedly the ones who arranged for the marriage.

"If they are acquaintances of yours then perhaps we should go greet them." She chirped and clasped her hands together inciting Sasuke's dark eyes to widen in sheer dreadfulness. Never had such a fretful look from the typically stoic Uchiha brought her so much pleasure. She recorded that look within her visual memories and stowed it away for the next time the conceited Uchiha sought to mock or chasten her.

He seized her by the wrist even more forcibly this time, and led her through the empty alleyways as if she were a small child. "We're taking the back alleys."

No this wouldn't do! Taking this route would avoid the chaos of the marketplace and foil her plans of trying to escape his tight scrutiny. Now she wished he hadn't spotted the Uzumaki and that she hadn't teased him about it just for the fleeting satisfaction of wounding his ego. She followed him reluctantly through the barren alleyways until they finally reached their intended destination.

"Ah, it's you, Sakura-chan! What's brings you here today?" A man with a long, wispy beard bowed his head courteously as they entered the pharmacy doors. Sakura recognized the elderly man as the pharmacist, Asahi, and his wife, Chiho, from prior visits to the pharmacy.

Chiho didn't waste any time rushing to Sakura's side like a magnet and hastily ushering her towards the counter. "Sakura-chan, I'm so glad to see you! You look…different."

"It's just an image change…you know something a little different." Sakura beamed to the woman touching her fingers to the red ribbon.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed catching her blatant lie to the pharmacist couple.

The pharmacist's wife's mousy brown eyes darted to the raven haired male standing back beside the entrance. She flashed the pink haired girl an exceptionally wide grin. "And it seems that you've found yourself a very handsome man!"

Both Sakura and Sasuke's faces flushed in unison as the woman uttered a hearty laugh. With their closeness in age and Chiho's eagerness to see her one day wedded it did not come as a surprise that she would eventually make that assumption. Sakura laughed nervously as she waved her hands rejecting the woman's presumption. "It's not like that, Chiho-sama. He's a client."

The wide grin promptly faded from the woman's aged face. She shook her head disapprovingly. "Your clan is keeping you awfully busy these days. I know you're a deeply devoted person but you need to scale down the needs of others and tend to your own needs too."

Sakura's heart swelled with grief as she reflected on her current predicament. If only Chiho knew that she was not there to tend to her own people but instead to the people who held her captive against her will. She wanted to emotionally spill everything upon them…her enslavement, her village's crisis, all the abuse she had endured, the circumstances surrounding her visit to the pharmacy. Most of all, she yearned for a way out of all of it searching for any way the couple could contribute to her escape. However, her wishful thinking only seemed to dishearten her as the pharmacist and his wife were also in no position to oppose the Uchiha clan.

"So what is it that you'll need today?" Asahi inquired guiding the conversation strictly back to business matter.

Sakura drew a scroll from the pocket of her robe and unfurled it on the counter. Prior to embarking on their journey to Akagane, Fugaku had ordered her to consult with Rin as to draw up a complete list of herbs and medications required for surgery and recovery. She explained to Fugaku the therapeutic action of every single item on the list as to not leave anything out requiring a second trip or squander the Uchiha's money.

Asahi led her to the back exhibiting his large stock of medicines. Sakura marveled at the wide array of medicines collected from all over the lands. She inspected the quality of the medicines she needed and questioned the pharmacist about the newest medicines he had acquired. He provided his testimonial about the products and discussed which ones would aid her client's case and which would be contraindicating with his disease.

Sasuke waited impatiently in front of the entrance as Sakura took her sweet time engaging in an avid discussion with the pharmacist. He figured that she probably felt comfortable in conversing with someone who was familiar with her and her line of profession. With her life hinging on the success of his brother's surgery, it was clear that she was very nervous about the situation as she did not hide it well. He surely was too as he had the right to be—his precious brother's life was on the line. He had watched his brother's health begin to deteriorate overtime with no hope that he would ever recover from the mysterious illness. Then hope—his answered prayers—had arrived in the form of a rebellious pink haired peasant who had obstinately refused to employ her medical talents to his clan. He vowed to himself that would not allow her to escape under any cost.

Sakura finally finished gathering her needed supplies and carried the numerous medicines in a single bag. She bid her farewell to the pharmacist and his wife and returned to Sasuke's side. As they opened the door to the outside world, Sakura crumbled in disappointment. The sun had begun to set and the marketplace crowd had dissipated along with it quashing her last hope of escaping into the crowd. Drooping her head in a downcast manner, she wordlessly followed Sasuke outside the village gates and assisted him in packing the medicines in the saddlebag. They mounted the horse and set off north towards the Uchiha territory.

As they once again travelled the narrow road edging on the steep hillside, Sakura glanced down at the frightfully abrupt ledge lamenting over her missed opportunity of escape. Due to the critical nature of the surgery she was destined to perform, she was doomed whether the surgery was successful or not. Should she fail and lose her patient, her life was forfeit. Should the surgery prove successful, she would completely seal her fate within the Uchiha compound. Success would only boast her talents validating the Uchiha's reason for keeping her within their confines. They would be even less inclined to ever release her back to her homeland—as if they already weren't in the first place.

She continued stealing quick, subtle glances over the ledge gauging the steepness of the hillside and the possibilities of surviving a fall with minimal injuries. If she folded her arms within herself she could shield her body from damage and minimize the risk of sustaining injury. She could skillfully swathe herself in a layer of protective chakra in order to reinforce her safety. If Sasuke dared using the seal on her in order to prevent her escape, her body would become flaccid preventing her from shielding herself from the descent. He would risk her sustaining serious injuries or even death and she knew he wouldn't relish the prospect of having to explain that to his superiors.

However, a righteous part of her castigated her for the thought of even abandoning a patient in dire need of her help. She forced herself to consider the fact that the Uchiha were holding her life hostage in accordance to the outcome of the surgery whether Itachi survived or not. By saving him, she would simply be adding another Uchiha to the battlefield, another Uchiha to degrade and torture her with his ocular power. She was under no obligation to contribute to her own misery.

This was her last chance. It was either tumble down the hill to freedom or perform the surgery and face her inescapable doom. She hoped Sasuke wasn't able to feel the gripping tension within her entire body or the thunderous beating of her anxious heart. She internally counted down to herself and put forth every ounce of strength to hurl herself off the horse and over the side of the ledge.

To her dismay, Sasuke had, in fact, felt the immense tension gripping her body alerting him that she would enact either an act of violence or flight and swiftly gripped her forearm. The weight of her body dragged him off the horse and over the ledge with her. They tumbled down the hillside together gathering dirt and mud as they rolled over the top of each other. He deflected her stray punches during their rapid descent towards the ditch awaiting them at the bottom. Her hands were erratic; sometimes flinging punches, yanking locks of his raven hair, or shooting two fingers for his eyeballs. He continued to effortlessly deflect her strikes until their bodies finally came to rest within the damp, soggy ditch bordering the edge of a bog.

His body landed atop hers forcing her to sink into the moist soil. Although her body was slowly being suctioned into the earth beneath her it did not subdue the sheer vigor of her fight for freedom. Her knee shot up into his abdomen causing him to recoil sharply and grunt in pain. He maneuvered his body straddling her in a way that would prevent her knee from striking him in the same place.

She pinched the pads of her finger together pointing them like a bird's beak. She used this strike in an attempt to gouge his activated Sharingan. He seized her wrists before the rapid strike could peck him in the eye and crashed her wrists to the ground at the sides of her head. She cursed his breakneck reflexes and mustered her strength to the only part of the body he did not pin down.

Inhaling deeply to bestow her muscles an adequate supply of oxygen, she bucked her hips fiercely against his like a wild horse in an attempt to throw him off. Sasuke fought to quell her violent thrashing by burying his weight into her only to subsequently freeze still. He was paralyzed for a moment, stricken by an overwhelming wave of arousal seizing his entire body.

The dangerously close contact between their bodies coupled with the violent bucking of her hips against him had invited a very unwelcome physical response from him. Her thrashing only intensified as she seemed to interpret his lapse in motion as a sign of his fatigue. A miniscule part of him wished to know if she was capable of increasing the vigor of her hips or if he could experiment with her flexibility while the rational portion of him quickly attempted to douse those thoughts. He sought to cease her violent motions as quickly as possible uncertain as to how much longer he could endure.

The vigor of her thrashing began to abate as she was quickly depleting her energy reserves. His hold would not relent until she became absolutely still. Sakura struggled to force her drained muscles to grapple his restraints. Unfortunately, his hold only felt increasingly stronger as her fatigued muscles protested her desperate commands. They both panted with their mouths gaping as their brute wrestling match had drawn to its conclusion with him clearly as the victor.

Her pink hair had been mussed from the intense struggle and stained brown from the moist earth beneath her. The drab tan robe she wore was disheveled barely covering the edge of her nipple. As her chest heaved rapidly beneath him from her shallow breaths, the edge of her robe began to slip off the peak of her breast. He wanted nothing more than to pull the robe over her exposed nipple but knew that she would misconstrue the action as a sexual advance.

"Use that damn Sharingan on me and I swear I'll never perform the surgery even if you drag me back!" She spat through gnashing teeth.

"How else will I prevent you from escaping? You promised to save my brother! How could you abandon him like that!" Despite his incessant panting, his voice was unyielding.

"I never promised to save him! There is nothing more that can be done for your brother. The surgery was merely a lie!"

"That's not true!" He bellowed fumingly. He gazed fearsomely into the girl's defiant, feral green eyes. "You seemed genuinely concerned about my brother and there's no mistaking that you truly wanted to help him. I know my brother better than anyone else! Itachi would've never agreed to the surgery if he didn't believe in you!"

She didn't offer a reply as she lay beneath his crushing weight desperately trying to catch her breath.

His deep black eyes softened imploringly. The fury in his voice faded to sorrow. "My brother means the world to me…an existence without him would be meaningless to me…"

Tears streamed from her eyes as she seethed with unbridled rage. "Did you stop to consider everything you have done to me?! You've torn me away from my home and family, you've tortured and abused me, you've stripped me of my pride and honor! Tell me why I should save your world when you've completely destroyed mine!"

His eyes drifted vacantly to the side avoiding hers. He forced a drawn out sigh fixing his gaze on the ground at her side. "…I can't guarantee your escape but I'll do whatever I can for you…all I ask is that you save my brother."

Tears continued to pour from her eyes knowing that this would likely be the best offer she would ever receive from an Uchiha. Having lost the battle, there was nothing more she could do to flee to her freedom. She was trapped no matter what and there was no fighting her fate. Calmly accepting her dismal fate, she agreed to honor his plea. "Fine. I'll perform the surgery as long as you pledge to uphold your end of the bargain."

He nodded his approval and hastily rolled off her permitting her to rise to her feet. Placing two fingers in his mouth, he whistled loudly calling for his loose horse. Sakura stood patiently while he knelt on the ground awaiting the horse to arrive to their location.

When the mount had finally arrived, Sakura approached the saddle and glanced back to the kneeling Uchiha. For whatever reason, he remained hunched over on the ground piquing her curiosity. He seemed to be guarding his groin in what she guessed was pain. Had she managed to strike him in a sensitive area? In the heat of the fight, she couldn't recall exactly where her frenzied blows had landed.

"Well, aren't you coming?" She raised a skeptical eyebrow grasping the iron stirrup of the saddle.

His face reddened and his eyes shot wide open as though she had said something offensive to him.

"Just…just get on the damn horse…"

* * *

The next morning, Sakura inspected Itachi's lung sounds through the use of a stethoscope instructing him to take deep breaths. She jotted down notes on a parchment and hung the stethoscope loosely around her neck. "I don't think there should be any problems putting him to sleep for the surgery."

Rin placed a comforting hand on Sakura's shoulder. Her deep brown eyes flittered to Itachi sitting with his legs dangling over the table and then back to Sakura who was visibly anxious over the upcoming procedure. "Are you ready for this?"

Sakura glanced back at his anxious family members watching over the surgery at a safe distance outside their sterile field. She took a much needed breath allaying her jittery nerves and gently laid Itachi down on the table. She washed her hands in the basin and patted them dry with a clean rag. All she could do was mentally prepare herself to perform to the best of her abilities and resign herself to whatever fate awaited her based on the outcome of the surgery.

"I'm ready." She said with conviction.

She weaved a string of hand signs and clasped her hands together casting a sleeping genjutsu over her patient. Gazing up at the ceiling he could vaguely see the face of the woman about to hold his life in her hands. She sported a cloth mask over her nose and mouth and kept her hair neatly wrapped up. Her largely covered face pronounced her exposed vivid green eyes.

With each blink the world began to fade before his eyes until he was finally encompassed by the darkness.

* * *

_A/N: Until next time on Uchiha General Hospital…Haruno MD…Sakura's Anatomy…_

_Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. Please review and thank you again for reading!_


	7. Compassion

_A/N: A bit of a warning. If surgeries make you squeamish I advise maybe skipping the beginning. I suppose it's not too graphic though. Then again I'm the type who can eat sit back and eat popcorn while watching brain operations. Haha. _

* * *

Sakura felt her hands quiver with anticipation as she gazed at the unconscious Uchiha's bare chest. She manipulated her chakra into an incredibly sharp scalpel lining the edge of her hand. Her hand hovered over the surface of his chest as she hesitated to make the first cut.

_It's now or never_. She repeated to herself as a mantra in order to finally spring her hands into action.

She traced her hand along his sternum parting his chest down the middle. As soon as she had made the first motion, the dreadful anticipation subsided. She hoped that since she had made it over the initial ledge, it would be smooth sailing from then on.

She grasped the edges of the incision and pried his chest open promptly seeking the left lung first. Without hesitancy, she cut away the tissue blocking access to the lung and grasped the organ within her hand. She flipped the lung over inspecting the extent of the damage in all dimensions completing her final assessment before she would ablate the unhealthy tissue.

Gesturing for Rin to hold the lung in place, she then concentrated chakra to the tips of her fingers in order to make finer, more accurate cuts into the tissue. Rin marveled silently to herself as she watched the young girl slice away the damaged tissue with such expert precision. The girl's concentration had been so intense, even an earthquake would not deter her focus. Such a procedure would make even the most experienced healers squeamish. The girl's ability to conduct such an intensive operation was truly an incredible demonstration of her mentor's tutelage. Part of Rin envied Sakura's expertise wishing to seek out Tsunade's guidance and advance her own skill. However, she would still be capable of learning from the legendary Senju by proxy of Sakura. She was appreciative of her presence not only for reducing her workload but also for granting her the opportunity to enhance her knowledge and learn of new remedies.

Once Sakura had successfully ablated the unhealthy tissue of both lungs, she inspected them in search of any lingering tissue that needed to be removed. Fortunately for her, the ablation proved to be uneventful as the risk for damaging healthy tissue or severing an artery was exceptionally high. Her next task was to repair the damage that had resulted from his own immune system attacking his lungs. She placed her hands on his lungs letting her green, rejuvenating chakra seep into the organ. In order to incite new tissue growth, she continued channeling chakra into the lungs until she begun to see bright red granulation forming over the ablated areas. She immediately terminated her restorative jutsu once the granulation formed as overdoing the technique would merely cause the lungs to form scar tissue which would only hinder with their functionality. By utilizing this methodology, she would enable his body's natural healing process to take over from there ensuring the safest means of recovery.

Itachi's family watched in the back outside of their sterile field holding their collective breaths in sheer anticipation. They had not uttered a single word throughout the entire procedure as to not disrupt the intense concentration of the young girl holding his life in her hands.

Sakura and Rin made one final spot check confirming that every tool used and every single piece of gauze was accounted for before Sakura finally closed the incision. Her verdant green chakra radiated from the palms of her hands joining the severed edges of the incision until they completely merged together leaving a fresh new scar on his chest.

Now came another critical checkpoint; successfully waking the Uchiha up without cardiac or respiratory arrest.

Sakura exhaled forcefully beseeching good fortune to continue remaining on her side. She clasped her hands together yet again hoping to wake him immediately with an emphatic "kai!"

When she did not witness the Uchiha's eyelids snap open, her heart palpitated.

"Rin, check his pulse!" She demanded urgently as she hastily sought to check the patency of his airways.

The brunette did not hesitate to act, grasping his wrist and placing two fingers over the thin skin in search of a pulse.

Sakura knew that her order had alerted his family that something was clearly wrong. She grasped the sides of the Uchiha's head ready to shift its position into one that would more easily open up his airways. Suddenly, she felt his facial muscles tighten as his eyelids slowly lifted open. His dark eyes seemed glazed with lethargy and he gazed at the pink haired girl with what she recognized was confusion over his current situation.

"Itachi? Itachi?" He heard the girl's worry ridden voice speak to him.

He lifted his heavy eyelids completely open seeing nothing but the masked visage and exposed green eyes of the last thing he could remember before he had fallen asleep.

"Where…am I…?" He spoke hoarsely. He was beset with an incredible pain within his chest that discouraged him from speaking any further.

Sakura heaved a mental sigh of relief. It seemed that he didn't actually suffer any complications from her sleeping genjutsu but rather had awoken slowly as a result of drowsiness. "You just had surgery but it's over now. Everything went well."

He blinked twice trying to comprehend what had just happened. She could see his gaze liven as his eyes moved more rapidly absorbing the environment encompassing him. He was quickly beginning to cast away his lethargy and settle into awareness extinguishing the despair that had seized the room when he had not immediately woken up.

His family immediately swarmed to his side thankful for his awakening. Mikoto wailed loudly shedding tears of joy as she hugged her son's head and pressed her forehead against his. Her long raven locks draped his head obscuring him from view. Fugaku and Sasuke huddled together around the Uchiha laying supine on the table while Sakura and Rin took a step back to as to not intrude on their personal space.

Sakura's heart clenched as she witnessed the flooding emotion written in the faces of each family member. Even the perpetual scowl that had appeared hardwired into Fugaku's face vanished completely replaced instead by a palpable joyfulness. She bit her bottom lip firmly as tears bristled in her eyes catching the contagious outpouring of emotion stemming from the immensely relieved Uchiha family. Most of all, she was grateful—although grateful wasn't even close to describing the magnitude of appreciation she felt—for the fortuity of living to see another day.

* * *

Although the surgery had proven successful, Sakura was well aware of the fact that she was not entirely out of the woods yet. Due to the nature of the surgery, the probability of him suffering post-operative complications were incredibly high. She vowed to herself to do all she could to prevent complications which would negate the success of the surgery. His mortality was still likely and she knew her life would still be at stake until he was completely recovered.

She helped the family transfer Itachi back home and set up a bed that would aid in his respiratory efforts. In order to help him breathe more easily, she instructed the family to prop his head up on pillows and informed them that lying flat would shift his organs towards his chest impeding his lungs. She instructed his family to make sure he always had a full pitcher of water at his bedside and to consistently encourage him to drink.

During her next visit to the household, she noticed his pitcher was three quarters full indicating that they had not heeded her instructions.

"You need to drink as much water as you can. Keeping well hydrated will help your coughing tremendously." She poured a full glass of water and helped him sit up.

He seemed reluctant to sit up, resisting the force of her arm gently aiding him upward. She noticed the sudden pallor washing over his skin as his body inclined slightly. His dizziness when sitting up was probably the source of his reluctance to drink the water.

"Let me grab you some mint leaves for your dizziness." She flashed him a warm smile before fishing through the bag of medicines at the bedside. He watched her crush the leaves with a pestle and mortar adding a small quantities of water to the mixture in order to make it more potable.

When she finished, she helped him sit up again and tipped the brim of the ceramic mortar into his mouth. She noted his visible discomfort in swallowing the liquid. Although she was well aware of the stringent taste of concentrated mint leaves, he seemed to be diligently guarding his chest. It would take a while for the pain of his healing lungs to subside and he would continue to have that persistent cough until they recovered completely.

She had instructed him about taking deep breaths and performing controlled coughing periodically but knew he likely was not adhering to her directions due to the harsh pain these actions brought upon his chest. Although he was averse to further coughing, coughing was actually beneficial to him. Following the surgery, his cough had sounded much healthier and productive to her. Despite the fact that it probably didn't seem that way to him and his family members, she deemed it best not to suppress it.

His silence concerned her though she knew he was not the type to engage in mundane conversation. She hadn't interacted with him much prior to the surgery only recalling the incident where she had spilt water on him. However, it wasn't just the silence that troubled her but the dullness in his dark eyes and the tautness of his facial muscles. It was evident that he was in pain but with his staunch Uchiha pride he certainly wasn't going to address it to her.

Healing the body was already enough of a challenge, but dealing with the Uchiha ego was an art form within itself. Even though she knew her impending question was self-evident, she would not allow the issue to continue being unaddressed. With soft, inviting eyes, she tilted her head inquisitively and asked with utmost warmth. "Are you in pain?"

His eyes widened incredulously while his lips parted open in utter shock. It took him a moment to completely register the veracity of her words but he knew his ears had not deceived him. Unbeknownst to her, her question had wracked him with a different kind of pain.

He had witnessed firsthand her pain and suffering at the hands of his fellow clansmen. He had witnessed her screaming and writhing on the ground while everyone blatantly ignored her agony—the Uchiha, the slaves, even himself. He had watched Madara draw his sword and slice off her hair debasing her in an incredibly public and traumatizing display. Even the circumstances surrounding his surgery had involved holding the girl's life hostage affixing her fate to the outcome of the surgery. But even with the success of the surgery, the girl had still not been fairly rewarded for her efforts. She would continue to be held captive against her will serving the people who had completely destroyed her life. They deemed her less than human and unworthy of their consideration. The Uchiha were nothing but her enemies as they rightfully should be.

So why?

Why would she care about her enemy's pain?

Why couldn't she have just performed the surgery and let him be? Why couldn't she have completed what she needed and then churned him out in the same production line-like manner the other healers treated their patients?

_Please just stop this…_He yearned to tell the girl as she patiently awaited his response_…It's not right…_

But he truly was in pain and determined that she was well aware of it. If he denied it, she would likely indulge in a lengthy tirade as to why he should not be hiding it. In spite of his opposition, he answered with a weak nod.

"I can give you a bit of opium poppy for the pain but it might make you a kind of sleepy." She reached for the medicine bag yet again.

The following day, Sakura arrived in the household ready to encourage the bedridden Uchiha to finally stand.

"Let's get you ambulating. It would be a bad thing if your blood were to stagnate and clot." She chirped in a vivacious manner as to encourage him to rise from bed.

He sat on the ledge for a moment and let his legs dangle over the edge. Sakura stood beside him as he firmly planted his feet on the floor and grasped the ledge of the bed to heave himself up. Although she was more than happy to see his eagerness to stand, she was concerned with the unsteadiness of his upper body. As she outstretched her arms to support him, he shoved her away rejecting the gesture.

"I don't need your help." He uttered distantly.

Sakura captured him in her arms as he suddenly collapsed into her. His face had become sickly pale while his forehead glistened with a fresh layer of sweat. Despite her much shorter stature, she managed to hold him upright as his overwhelming weakness inclined him to collapse—a testament of her incredible strength. He panted heavily resting his head against the soft cushioning of her bosom. Sakura waited patiently for him to take a moment and gather his strength.

He had to dissuade her from assisting him any further—any way that would rebuff the closeness that had begun to teeter dangerously close to intimacy.

"You shouldn't be here. You should return to the dump you came from." Although his words came out harsher than he had intended he knew he had succeeded in offending her.

She needed a tough reminder that he was still an enemy. He was undeserving of her care and consideration.

"Don't be so stubborn." She merely pouted in response to his rude comment. Instead of being deterred by his attempt to discourage her, she slung his arm over her shoulder for support. "If you fall down you'll only be prolonging your recovery."

She helped him ambulate down the hallway determinedly, yet cautiously as to not exacerbate any pain or discomfort. Deep in his heart, even with his abrupt rudeness, he knew that her compassion was second nature to her. Something she could not simply turn off even in the face of adversity. His chest began to throb with an inconceivable pain although it had nothing to do with the ambulation.

Unable to continue witnessing the profound injustice, he was determined to find a way to remove the girl from the compound.

* * *

In addition to caring for Itachi, Sakura was also expected to continue working in the infirmary. Between Itachi's needs and the long line of patients awaiting her at the infirmary, she was quickly beginning to find difficulty in prioritizing her tasks with the little time she possessed. It was half an hour past noon and she was running late in arriving at the infirmary from Itachi's home.

Unfortunately for her, she had accidentally careened into a guard standing within her rushed and frantic pathway. That guard did not hesitate to use his Sharingan to punish her for her accidental collision. She screamed and collapsed to the ground violently convulsing as if she suffered a seizure.

Her shrill screams had alerted Sasuke who came sprinting to the source of distress. When he caught sight of the pink haired girl crying out in agony, he confronted the Uchiha guard subjecting her to his Sharingan.

"What is going on here?" Sasuke demanded crossly lacking the patience to hear out any excuse the guard would bid him.

The guard folded his arms sneering at the girl writhing at his feet. "Stupid rat ran into me!"

Sasuke's voice suddenly descended with an uncontained fury that caused the guard to quail before him. "Stop wasting time and get back to your post!"

"Y-yes sir!" The Uchiha snapped upright militaristically offering his superior a courteous salute. He deactivated his Sharingan terminating his usage of the seal and immediately darted off.

Sasuke crouched down to her side as her violent spasms subsided allowing her to open her tear ridden eyes. As the haziness cleared from her moist eyes she could see the visage of the young Uchiha's gazing softly into her face.

"Sasuke?" She breathed as she batted the stray strands of hair stained from the dirt away from her eyes. She lay on the ground composing herself from the trauma of the guard's unmerciful genjutsu.

He motioned for her to rise. "Can you stand?"

Sakura pressed the palms of her hands into the ground and shakily hoisted herself back to her feet. Once she regained her balance, Sasuke ended his watch over her and headed off before she could utter another word to him.

He had, in fact, upheld his end of the bargain. Or at least she hoped it was a gesture that denoted that he did have the bargain in consideration. Regardless, she brushed her dirtied hair behind her ear and smiled graciously for his kindhearted act.

Fugaku entered Itachi's room checking on the status of his son. Itachi sat up as he heard his father enter through the doorway. He coughed twice into his balled hand and quickly took a sip of water while his father approached his bedside.

"How are you feeling, son?" Fugaku inquired as Itachi set down the glass on the table beside him.

He had to cue his father in some way to release the woman who had been delivering a care that greatly exceeded his deservingness. "Tou-san…the Haruno healer…"

"Yes son?" Fugaku leaned closer as Itachi's voice trailed off.

"Send her back." He stated firmly.

Fugaku seemed taken aback for a moment unable to grasp the reasoning behind his son's request. "Send her back?! Itachi, she cured you of your illness. Why would you want to send her back?"

Despite the word that had spread about Sakura being a "miracle healer," she adamantly denied curing Itachi of his disease and emphasized the correction that she had merely managed it. Fugaku's family was absolutely convinced that she had cured him in spite of her fervent denial.

"She's not a suitable healer for our clan. Dismiss her and replace her with a different one." His tone bordered on a haughtiness he hoped would reinforce his request.

"I see you're still coughing. Is she not providing you the best care? If she is not giving you enough attention then I will have a word with her!"

Before Itachi could say another word, his father stormed out of the house in a fit of paternal rage. Knowing his father to be the type to cosset his precious children, a small part of him had hoped that his father would honor his request. However, he knew full well that his father would misinterpret his request as poor performance on the girl's part when the issue was the complete opposite. Either way, his request was designed to work in the girl's favor whether his father misconstrued it or not. If his father did demand the girl to increase the time she spent with him, he could begin to set his plans into motion earlier than he had anticipated.

Truthfully, the girl was poorly suited to be the Uchiha clan's healer. She was undeniably the worst type of healer they could have sought out. The clan needed someone who could segregate their compassion from the healing they provided—someone who would detachedly treat their patients like parts on an assembly line. Not someone like Sakura. The Uchiha clan was unworthy of the immense quality of care she delivered or the medical expertise she possessed. They were unworthy of the incredible compassion she cultivated even in the face of adversity.

He was assured of the fact that his clan was inevitably going to trample all over that compassion.

Sakura had finished dressing a patient's injured shoulder when she felt a frigid draft rush through the door. When her eyes lifted to the front entrance she spotted the last person she would ever want to see within the infirmary.

The Uchiha Lord stood before the entrance wearing casual clothing instead of his typical battle attire. He slammed the half-open door shut alerting the infirmary attendants to his presence. One of the female slaves whose name Sakura couldn't remember immediately greeted Madara and bowed her head averting her gaze as a sign of utmost respect for revered leader of the clan.

"Good afternoon, Madara-sama. What can we do for you today?" The woman spoke almost mechanically.

Sakura prayed to the gods that the Uchiha who had degraded her in front of everyone had simply arrived to the infirmary in search of someone. It was very likely the case, she told herself confidently. He was probably there to retrieve one of the warriors and would be on his way very soon. She willed herself to continue with her work and coiled a lengthy roll of bandaging with an air of disinterest as if the Uchiha Lord was beneath her notice.

She couldn't help but steal a wary glance at the Uchiha Lord who had yet to respond to the attendant. When his dark eyes landed directly on Sakura, she flinched violently as if she had just been caught committing a crime by meeting his gaze. She knew, without a shred of doubt, that she would dread his forthcoming words.

"I am in need of healing."

* * *

_A/N: Oh, hey! It's Sakura's favorite person. Will things turn out for the better or will they get worse? Tune in next time!_

_As always, thanks for reading and please remember to leave your awesome reviews!_


	8. Suspicion

_A/N: It's a nice thing to be on break right now. Well actually it's more like the calm before the storm of finals. What better way than to spend that time writing fanfiction haha. To reward you guys for all of the awesome reviews and feedback, and because I know how much you hate being left with awful cliffhangers, I've decided to treat you with another chapter._

* * *

As soon as the room of healers caught wind of Madara's presence, they immediately halted their current activities and snapped their heads synchronously toward him ready to answer his needs. However, his attention was focused on the girl with the conspicuous pink hair sitting towards the back of the room fumbling industriously with a roll of bandaging as if it took priority over him. Sakura willed herself to maintain her concentration on the roll of bandaging as she saw the Uchiha Lord draw closer and closer through the corner of her eye.

The hubbub surrounding the Haruno had piqued his curiosity and he approached the girl seeking to bear witness to her medical skill firsthand. He had overheard these rumors primarily from Fugaku who attested to her skill and claimed her to be a "miracle healer." Madara was not one to believe such hyperbole without his own approval of the subject in question.

Unable to continue ignoring the man's daunting presence, Sakura set the roll of bandaging on the table and forced as much hospitality into her voice as she could possibly muster. "What may I do for you?"

"I need you to take a look at a wound that has yet to heal." He answered in a neutral tone somewhat calming her nerves.

He seated himself in the chair beside her and removed the upper layering of his robes revealing a large, deep wound on his back. Sakura assessed the characteristics of the wound briefly before formulating a plan of care. He had probably assumed the wound to be trivial and neglected to seek attention for it allowing it to become terribly infected—yet another detriment of that staunch Uchiha pride. If it were any other patient she could easily admonish them for their self-neglect. However, she would be forced to tread carefully and exercise caution near the Uchiha Lord lest he punish her in the most brutal of ways.

She knew he wouldn't hesitate to do so.

In this case, she would need to demonstrate her utmost professionalism without exposing any trace of antagonism towards the man she despised most. She knew she was no match for the Uchiha Lord as evidenced by his lack of alarm in the face of her herculean punch. If he were as perceptive as the guard within the infirmary, he would likely sense her murderous intent if it flashed across her thoughts. He would probably sense it quicker than anyone else. If she did not provide him the highest level of her care, he would chastise her for her incompetence. She absolutely could not allow any margin of error if she wished to survive this encounter.

"Your wound is infected." She stated confidently curbing any nuance of uncertainty from leaking into her voice. "I'll have to debride it and pack it with an antibiotic clay in order to completely rid of the infection."

"I see." He answered indifferently.

Simply debriding the wound and accelerating new tissue growth with her medical ninjutsu might trap any lingering microbes. Although her plan of treatment was not timely or convenient for her, it was the safest means of ensuring that he did not suffer any recurrent infections sullying her reputation as a competent healer in his eyes.

"Hello, Madara-sama." The Nohara woman pulled up in front of him bowing her head courteously. "May I get you some water or tea?"

Madara studied the brunette woman for a moment while she patiently awaited a response from him. Strange. She sported the exact same hairstyle as the Haruno. He had noticed the Haruno wearing a bright red ribbon in her hair as if to flaunt her defiance; a bold statement telling the world that she refused to be broken by her degrading haircut. It was expected of such uncultured and savage people like the Haruno.

But the Nohara…

The Nohara woman had always been civil and compliant never once refusing any of the orders she had been given. She did not have a rebellious bone in her body. But it was an aberration for an incredibly subservient and mild-mannered woman to deliberately cut her own hair short. Even if it were in support of the Haruno, he could not fathom a woman like her to consider such an action without qualm. It was as though her hair was a symbol of a frank statement—a frank statement denoting that she had given herself away to someone. An inquisitive part of him wondered who. She did not seem particularly close to any of the male slaves although he could not discount the presence of salacious activities occurring within the slave quarters. Then his mind immediately jumped to the most scandalous scenario possible.

If it were an Uchiha…

His clan had strictly adhered to the decree forbidding relations between members of different castes that had been in existence ever since the clan's earliest origins. Peasants mingled with peasants and nobles mingled with nobles as to avoid defiling the noble bloodlines. It was simply a natural law he wholeheartedly agreed with.

The more he brooded over the subject, the clearer the answer became to him. There was only one member of the Uchiha clan who shared history with the Nohara before her capture. The only individual he had deemed unfit to bear the Uchiha name.

"No, I'm fine." He declined the brunette woman's offering.

"Please let me know if there is anything else you need." She bowed her head politely again and headed off to the next client.

Despite the palpable defiance and seething bitterness he could easily sense from the Haruno, her hands told of a different story. He felt her soft, tiny fingers working meticulously on his back. They were indisputably gentle to the touch. He admitted to himself that it was a relief to experience the soothing touch of a woman's hands after spending long hours in the training fields and addressing clan matter.

Sakura finished packing the last portion of clay within the wound and sealed it with absorbent dressing. As soon as she completed sealing the last of the dressing, he rose from his chair and turned to face her. The young woman's eyes boldly lifted to his face as she delivered her instructions firmly. "Let the antibiotic settle for no more than 72 hours. Come back again so I can check on the wound and close it up."

She wondered if Madara would adhere to her instructions but she reckoned by the poor condition of his wound that he was not likely to follow her directions. She hoped with a blazing passion that he would not return to see her again. In all, she deeply wished that he had not acquired a wound that required follow up in the first place. However, if he did return, then she would recheck the wound, seal it, and send him out the door as quickly as possible. If good fortune befell her, she would never have to encounter the Uchiha Lord after that.

He gazed into the girl's lustrous green orbs as she did not flinch this time. As she gave her directions, he speculated over this sudden brazenness. Was this her way of seeking a challenge? Did she believe he would object to her directions?

Prior to treating his wound, she had diligently attempted to avoid his presence altogether. Not since their last confrontation had she dared to meet his gaze. He reminisced of her muddied face and wild green eyes that flared with a savageness bordering on the edge of beauty. As she continued to gaze up at him, he noted the flame behind those eyes burning just as fiercely as the moment she had tried to decimate him with her fists. An extraordinary excitement suddenly filled him as his mind was swamped with thought. A woman boasting such intense fierceness in her eyes coupled with the soothing tenderness in the tips of her fingers was…

…trash. Simply just trash, he told himself staunchly. She was no different than the rest of her insignificant brethren.

He grasped the hem of his robes and lifted them over his shoulders covering his exposed back. "I shall return then."

"I await your return." Although her face was set in a pleasant smile, he could detect the venom dripping from every pore of her body. _Don't come back_.

He exited the infirmary and smirked to himself. The girl was incredibly transparent.

Before Sakura could heave a much needed sigh of relief, Fugaku stormed the infirmary in search of her. Startled by his unexpected entrance, she coached herself into maintaining her composure in the face of whatever enraged him.

"Haruno!" He stamped his way to the back where she had been seated.

"Yes?" She answered lightly. "Is something wrong?"

"You're not doing your best to help Itachi!"

Not doing her best? Sakura had been incredibly thorough when it came to treating Fugaku's son. A simmering fury coursed through her veins as his outburst had seized the attention of every occupant within the infirmary. What more could the needy bastard demand from her?

"He's still coughing." Fugaku folded his arms glowering at the seated Haruno. "You haven't done enough to cure his cough."

Sakura narrowed her eyes sourly. If Fugaku was so enraged about Itachi's cough, it had probably worsened indicating that he most likely was not adhering to his strict schedule of medications. She needed to confirm that he wasn't taking his medications as directed before accusing the volatile Uchiha of not adhering. In order to placate the fuming father, she offered another method of treating the cough. "I know of a technique that can help with a cough. I will go perform it right now."

Fugaku's eyes followed Sakura's movements until she finally exited the infirmary. As she headed towards Itachi's home, she heard the familiar voice of an elderly woman calling to her.

"Haruno! Haruno rat!"

It was Uruchi, the elderly Uchiha woman who had stripped her and confiscated her weapons and valuables. The rotund woman immediately hampered Sakura's pathway and raised an accusatory finger at her.

"You little rat! You stole that necklace from me, didn't you!" Her rounded face yet wrinkled face had undertaken a deep scarlet hue.

Sakura took a precautionary step backward as the woman's eyes flashed the same color as her reddened face.

"Please! I don't have my necklace!" Sakura pleaded with the woman as she anticipated the activation of the seal.

A young male suddenly appeared behind the elderly woman and placed a pacifying hand on her shoulder. "Uruchi, did you search the kitchen?"

The woman threw her arms up in the air. "Of course I searched the kitchen! I searched all of the drawers, the safes, everywhere!"

The man chuckled and pointed a finger to the grass. "You probably dropped it somewhere. You know you have quite the butterfingers, Obaa-chan."

The red slowly dissipated from the elderly woman's face as the young male continued chuckling lightheartedly. "I suppose I'll search the ground and retrace my steps."

Sakura and the young male watched the woman head off in the opposite direction scouring the grass in search of the lost object. Sakura curiously scrutinized the unfamiliar Uchiha who had come to her aid. He had short, shaggy raven locks, a broad nose, and sharp eyes lined with long, defined eyelashes. She had maybe seen the Uchiha once or twice around the compound but never learned of his name. She couldn't fathom why this unknown Uchiha had defended her from the elderly woman's wrath but she was appreciative of his presence nonetheless.

Bowing her head slightly, she bid the man her appreciation. "…Thank you…"

"Don't worry about it. The old coot is always leaving things around. Well, see ya." He waved goodbye and trotted off in a hurry.

Although she yearned to wallow in sorrow over her lost heirloom, she decided it best to not waste a moment more. She hurried towards Itachi's house before she could be scolded for her tardiness. The ponytailed Uchiha had been sitting on the ledge of his bed patiently awaiting the pink haired girl's arrival.

"I heard you're upset about your cough." Sakura fished for his bag of medications. She combed through the various bottles until she drew the correct bottle of oblong, white pills. "If you don't keep up with your immunosuppressants, your body will begin attacking your lungs again and the surgery will be in vain."

"I have been taking my medication as you instructed." Itachi stated bluntly.

Sakura had begun to rant to herself in spite of Itachi's statement as to vent her anger towards the Uchiha's demand for her increased attention. "You'll likely need to take the immunosuppresants for life. While it will prevent your body from attacking itself, you'll be more susceptible to infections. I know you're looking forward to returning to the battlefield but I don't advise it. I know you'll probably just…"

"I'm not returning to the battlefield." Itachi said assertively alarming the girl. He retrieved the medicine bottle from her hands and set it on the table. "And I didn't have my father retrieve you for the sake of my health."

"What do you mean?" The girl's eyes broadened in disbelief.

"The clan is unaware that I am fighting on a different battlefield hidden in the shadows." Itachi's dark eyes seemed almost pensive. "Our clan is destined for destruction if we continue on the current path we are on. I cannot permit my clan to keep waging this pointless war or to drag the lives of innocent outsiders into it."

"Are you fighting against your own clan?!"

"No." Itachi answered definitively. "I am not betraying my fellow clansmen. I am merely fighting the current leadership. Obito was Madara's original apprentice. However, he was dishonorably discharged from the position after he gave one of his eyes to a peasant and I was chosen in his place. The more I witnessed the inner workings of the clan the more I embraced the notion of change. After I had fallen ill, my brother was appointed to take my place. He is devoted to Madara's cause and has been faithfully serving him alongside my father."

"So your family doesn't even know that you're conspiring against Madara?"

"Correct. The Senju Lord's dream is to bring all of the clans together and unite them as one nation while Madara is adamantly opposed to the idea. Although you seek to return to your clan, I must warn you not to try escaping the compound."

Sakura exclaimed loudly. "What? Why?"

"If you escape the compound, my clan will unquestionably retaliate against your clan in return. Even if you were to successfully escape, you will still be tethered to the clan through the Moon's Eye Seal. Although the average Sharingan wielder can only utilize the seal at close proximities, a powerful wielder can project their Sharingan into you even across great distances. Unfortunately, the only ones who can remove that seal are my father and Madara."

Sakura lowered her head dejectedly. "So I'm trapped here forever…"

"If you are to truly attain your freedom you will need to learn how to resist the seal." Itachi cupped her chin within his hand and lifted her face upwards to meet his gaze. "I heard my brother mention that you managed to escape Inabi's Sharingan. Such ability is unheard of outside the Uchiha clan. Only other Sharingan users can resist the powers of the Sharingan. Please allow me to see this ability…"

"But I don't know how. It just kind of happens by mere chance." Sakura admitted meekly as his coal black eyes suddenly flashed to red. She jerked violently as the stabbing pain of the activating seal wracked her neck.

"I'll begin with a simple command." He instructed her as she became entranced by the spinning tomoe of his crimson orbs. "Do not heed my commands under any circumstance."

Simple enough, she told herself confidently. The last two times she had resisted the power of the Sharingan were through commands. Suddenly her stark confidence eroded into naked panic. Itachi mentioned that he had previously served as Madara's apprentice. What if his Sharingan was too powerful to resist?

_Raise your hand_.

His voice commanded her unrelentingly. Before she could receive the opportunity to even process the thought, her right hand began to tingle as if it had become enveloped in rashes.

_Raise your hand._

The command surfaced to the brink of her thoughts yet again nagging her like a persistent itch. It was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore the voice as the tingling had progressed to a burning pain shooting all the way up to the cuff of her shoulder.

_Raise your hand. _

The voice was unbearably relentless and she could not fare any longer against the blistering pain encompassing her arm. She craved nothing more than to simply raise her right hand and finally extinguish the pain of the command consuming her. Moreover, the insufferable insistence of his command was rapidly beginning to grate on her nerves.

He witnessed the dazed girl slump over like a ragdoll. Her right hand quivered vigorously as it slowly ascended in the air, dashing his hopes of her defying his orders. Before he could resign his control over her through the Sharingan, her hand suddenly stopped in midair. An apparition of the girl suddenly began to materialize right before his very eyes.

The apparition raised a belligerent fist in the air and shouted spiritedly. "**If you want me to raise my hand then I'll show you a raised hand! Shannaro!**"

He was buffeted by an intangible force immediately expelling him from the girl's mind. Sakura's body recoiled in response pitching her limp body to the floor. She opened her eyes wearily as she lifted herself to her hands and knees.

He managed to recover swiftly from the unexpected assault and assisted the girl back to her feet. He muttered something beneath his breath that she was unable to catch. "…second soul…"

"Huh?" Sakura pressed for a clarification of his mumbled words.

"It seems you possess a second soul that is able to supplant the dominant soul. If you can train this soul to readily manifest at the onset of the seal's activation, then you will eventually develop immunity to the Sharingan's genjutsu."

* * *

Itachi informed his family that Sakura would be performing daily therapy on him in order to improve his cough—a notion that didn't seem to be met with dissent. They arranged for this to occur in the mornings following breakfast when his father and brother would then set off to address clan affairs while his mother would tend to her daily chores outside the house. This would assure that he would be completely alone with the girl.

He started off by issuing her basic commands through the Sharingan and instructing her to resist them. It seemed that resisting this level of genjutsu was much more manageable for her as she was more likely to forcibly evict him from her mind. However, it was evident that she struggled tremendously when it came to genjutsu that simulated pain or torture. The success rate was dismal in the face of this type of genjutsu. She had successfully broken free only a handful of times. She had a thirty second threshold, he approximated, when she could summon her alternate soul in time to escape the pain. After that window of time, she was unable to overcome the perceived pain and would writhe helplessly on the floor indefinitely until he ceased the genjutsu.

The more he worked with her, the more he became aware of a surfacing dilemma.

In order to prevent her from suffering any unnecessary or prolonged pain, he would abruptly terminate his genjutsu after the thirty second time limit if she did not manage to expel him. To his dismay, it seemed that she was essentially becoming less resistant to his Sharingan through each subsequent session. Even when issued a simple command via the Sharingan, her body would promptly fall victim to the order without any indications of a struggle. He deduced regrettably that she was beginning to trust in the fact that he did not seek to hurt her and was quickly losing the incentive to fight the power of his Sharingan.

He dismissed the girl allowing her to attend her shift at the infirmary. Sighing forcefully into his hand, he seated himself on the ledge of his bed and dropped his gaze to the floor. It opposed every fiber of his being to bring any unnecessary pain upon the girl yet at the same time he realized that he would be depriving the girl of the only opportunity to truly liberate her from the bindings of the seal if he did not. The only way she could learn to overcome the seal was to ultimately betray the trust she had placed in him.

If he were to discover a viable solution to this dilemma he would need to consult the only person he could trust in this situation.

It was already close to noontime as Sakura darted past Sasuke on her way to the infirmary. The girl whizzed past him like a pink flash of lightning as she appeared to be running late to her destination. Even though Itachi's cough had improved significantly especially since the surgery, he seemed healthy enough to no longer necessitate the level of attention the girl had been giving him on a daily basis. Sasuke's brow furrowed suspiciously taking a quick glance over his shoulder at the Haruno sprinting in the distance.

Just what was his brother doing with her?

As he mused over the Haruno, he was met with a harsh realization. Although he had previously curtailed any consideration of his engagement to the Uzumaki woman to the bottommost tier of his priorities, he was suddenly beginning to recognize the dire reality of the situation. Ever since his scuffle with the Haruno during their trip to Akagane, he had been plagued with phantom visions of the girl pinned beneath his body. A treacherous part of him yearned to wrestle with the girl yet again rousing his loins to throb achingly by the mere thought of it. The feeling of his hands groping those firm yet supple pale breasts…her hips bucking forcefully albeit rhythmically against him...her moaning—screaming—with unbridled pleasure as he…

Shit!

He forced himself to bury those unwelcome lustful thoughts into the deepest pits of his mind where they would never be unearthed again.

He passionately cursed his superiors along with the Uzumaki's for condemning him to a life with a woman he did not love nor find remotely physically or emotionally attractive. His redheaded fiancé was obsequious, abrasive, and worst of all as clingy as a child would be with its mother. The betrothal was merely a means for the Uzumaki to forge camaraderie between them and the Uchiha and as the Uchiha Lord's apprentice he was naturally chosen for the arrangement. Although he had pledged unwavering loyalty to Madara, he began to feel the stirs of antipathy towards the man for making such a pivotal life decision for him with absolutely no consideration for his feelings.

Even if he were not bound by the engagement he still wasn't in the position to act upon the feelings he had developed towards the pink haired woman. She was a peasant and it was natural law that nobles were forbidden to form relations with peasants. What were the consequences if he did? Would he be exiled from the clan? With his high ranking he figured he would likely be shown leniency. However…the girl…

What would happen to her? Would she face a punishment even greater than his? Execution?

Determined to distract himself from dwelling on his troubling thoughts, he urged himself to promptly return to his work.

After yet another monotonous day working in the infirmary, Sakura and Rin strolled towards the slave quarters gaping in awe at the marvelous colors painting the evening sky. It had been four days since Sakura had treated the Uchiha Lord—well past the time she had designated for his follow up. It was unlikely he would return to the infirmary and it was completely fine with her. He was the type of patient whose noncompliance she could accept without qualm.

Turning to Rin, she beamed mirthfully. "Why don't we go pick some berries before we head back to the quarters?"

"Sounds like a good plan to me." The brunette woman returned Sakura's smile with her own and clasped her hands ecstatically.

Before the women could take alter their path, Sakura heard a gruff voice she had grown very reluctant to hearing call her name.

"Haruno!" Fugaku unceremoniously hailed down the two women.

"Yes?" She answered mildly. She figured it was probably Itachi requesting her presence.

"Madara is requesting your presence." He informed her urgently abruptly quashing her belief.

The two women exchanged bewildered glances silently reading each other's thoughts. If Madara required emergency medical attention then why would he solely seek out Sakura instead of both of them? If he was requesting follow up for the wound dressing then why would he demand her presence at this hour in the day?

Sakura inquired modestly yet firmly as to not provoke an argument. "Can this wait until tomorrow? It's after hours and…"

"Now." His tone was dreadfully unyielding.

Now she was beginning to become desperate for any excuse to overturn the demand. "But I don't have the keys to the infirmary so I won't be able to…"

"At his house."

An icy shiver raced down Sakura's spine as her complexion assumed a ghostly pale color.

* * *

_A/N: Did you assume I wouldn't leave you with yet another awful cliffhanger ;)? I suppose this fic is like watching a three way car crash with Sakura standing in the middle of the intersection. While the Obirin may seem like innocent sideshipping it's actually going to cause a big problem pretty soon. What problem you ask? Well, stay tuned to find out! _

_Anyways, thanks for reading and please remember to leave your reviews! They certainly are very inspiring when it comes to updating the story so many thanks!_


	9. Cultivation

Diverting her path to follow Fugaku, Sakura took one last glimpse over her shoulder catching sight of the palpable worry written in the brunette woman's face. As the Uchiha ushered her straight to Madara's house, the tempo of her racing heart seemed to hasten with each passing moment. Any faster and she swore it would arrest on the spot. Part of her wished it would do so as an excuse not to visit the man she hoped she would never have to see again. They approached a modest sized home decorated with navy blue banners adorning the trademark Uchiha emblem billowing in the evening breeze. She gawked absentmindedly at the sunset reflecting a spectacular array of pastel colors onto the waters of a koi pond near the front entrance of the home somewhat assuaging her intense apprehension.

Fugaku's knuckles rapped the door loudly preventing her from falling into a reverie.

_Just go in and get the hell out_. She coached herself rigorously as the knock had roused the sound of heavy footfalls drawing closer and closer towards the door.

Would Fugaku also follow her inside? The thought of Fugaku's company as she tended to whatever Madara requested brought her a slight peace of mind. However, knowing the man to be the coldhearted right hand man to the Uchiha Lord quickly quelled the thought of his presence ever working in her favor. If Madara ever sought to harm her, he would likely only abet the leader he dutifully served.

Her instincts urged her to bolt. To pump as much chakra into the soles of her feet as she could and flee the scene before the door could open.

She swallowed forcefully as the door slid open slightly allowing the Uchiha Lord enough space to peek outside at the visitors on his doorstop. A large hand slid the door open completely causing the fine hairs on Sakura's arm to bristle in fear. Madara stood in the doorway, clothed yet again in casual attire.

"Come in." He gestured for the petrified girl to step inside.

When she did not budge from her spot in front of the doorway, Fugaku pressed a harsh hand in between her shoulder blades forcing her inside. She heard the door slide shut behind her but turned around to see no sign of the Uchiha who had ushered her to his superior's house.

"Come, Haruno." Madara ordered her curtly.

Reluctantly, she followed him across the foyer towards the dining room. As they entered the dining room, she noticed a large oil portrait of what appeared to be Madara in his youth along with what she reckoned was a family member or perhaps a friend hanging on the wall. At closer proximity she could discern the painting in greater detail. The other male in the portrait sported a long ponytail and large full lips. Judging by the remarkably similar appearance to Madara it must've been his brother. Or perhaps a cousin?

"Sit." He commanded her like a dog prompting a discrete and indignant scowl from her.

Madara knelt beside the table and removed the top layering of his robes exposing the dressing—to Sakura's honest surprise—that remained largely intact. "I need you to remove the dressing and close up the wound. It's become quite a nuisance. I have been incredibly busy as of lately and haven't received the opportunity to drop by the infirmary during hours."

Sakura knelt behind him and tactfully prepared herself before tending to the Uchiha Lord's dressings. Whether or not his excuse was legitimate, she did not dare question it. She would simply remove the dressing, seal the wound, and be on her way. She would not offer him any words or engage in any kind of conversation as to avoid prolonging her visit.

She gently stripped away the dressings and inspected the condition of the large wound on his back. The antibiotic clay had largely desiccated and crumbled away at the mere touch of her finger. In her expert opinion, the wound seemed healthy and devoid of any signs of infections. He sighed heavily savoring the pleasant heat emanating from her chakra-filled hands on his back. The heat of her hands was as comforting as basking in the warmth of a campfire on a cold, nippy night. As she worked diligently to fully close the borders of the wound, his mind began to meander. The longer she worked, the more he began to crave the feeling of those soft, soothing hands touching him in other areas.

The moment she removed her hands from his back signifying her completed task, he pulled his robes over his shoulders and rose to his feet. He gazed down at the girl eagerly waiting for his word of her dismissal. "Stand."

Without hesitation, she snapped up to her feet and stood upright. Her eyes darted for the door prepared to proceed with her immediate departure once he gave the cue. However, her eager spirit promptly dampened as the Uchiha remained ominously silent. He circled her clasping his hands behind her back while his dark eyes traced her body studiously. Although the mark of her lower class status, the bright pink color of her hair in conjunction with those striking green eyes was, admittedly, aesthetically pleasing to his eye. As he rounded towards her backside, his eyes descended to the prominent outline of her rear and the suave curve of her hips failing to leave much to the imagination despite the loose fitting robes she wore. He approached her from behind causing her entire body tense even more so. Upon inhaling the tantalizing scent of her hair, his thoughts began to meander yet again.

He wondered if she was still a virgin. Following her capture, Uruchi had not confiscated any indications of an engagement ring and she was of the age to be married. Her body seemed to fight his close proximity in a manner that almost suggested she had something precious to defend. The prospect of further investigating the matter quickly filled him with excitement again as he…

No…He told himself dousing the lustful thoughts augmenting his excitement. The woman is merely trash.

He admitted that even with the disgraceful haircut he had given her, the woman was far too dignified to be looked upon as a prostitute. On the other hand, she would also make for a terribly unsuitable wife. The ideal woman was humble, sophisticated, and most of all subservient—and yet this woman exhibited none of the listed attributes. Women from his clan and of his caste hurled themselves at his feet for the opportunity to serve as the Uchiha clan matriarch. The Uzumaki, in their fervent attempts to forge comradeship, had offered him women of their clan on multiple occasions. He had declined their offers and instead approved of Sasuke's engagement to one of their own as a means of appeasing the insistent clan. Following his brother's death, he had ceased any pursuit of romance as his patience for fawning women immediately dwindled in his immense grief.

There was no satisfaction in a woman who fawned over him vying desperately for his affection. But, there was much satisfaction to be had in taming the wild mare that would savagely fight for her freedom. He knew the girl would likely try slitting his throat in his sleep if she ever received the opportunity—not that she could—and yet he looked forward to the imminent battle.

"Tell me, Haruno." He suddenly spoke breaking the unnerving silence that had befallen the room. "How does someone from such a lowly caste manage to inherit the skills, the strength of a noble?"

Sakura willed herself to remain defiantly taciturn. Her eyes fell to the floor dodging any connection with his prying eyes.

"All you were simply bred for is toiling in the fields, feeding slop to pigs…and stealing." He halted his pacing and stopped abruptly in front of her. All she could see were his legs and folded arms through the corners of her averted eyes. "Have you ever stolen anything that didn't rightfully belong to you?"

_You are the ones who have stolen everything from me!_ She screamed furiously within her mind.

However, she was well aware that his question was formulated to spur a heated response from her. She knew better than to offer him her reply as anything she would say would be manipulated into something incriminating. Her words would remain tightly sealed behind her lips no matter what he said to her.

"Well? You can answer." Madara waited for a moment and continued speaking as she tenaciously attempted to ignore his presence. "Then again I don't need your words to know what you're thinking. It's easy to read the thoughts of someone possessing your pitiful bloodlines. Your people are simpleminded and unintelligent."

Although the woman hailed from such a weak, talentless pedigree, she was a complete anomaly amongst her own people. Her level of chakra control was on par with that of a noble and she was capable of proficiently applying it to her medical knowledge as well as her fighting style. It wasn't possible for someone of her caste to achieve such skill. She wasn't even mid-tier. There was nothing within her bloodlines predisposing her to such talent.

"Are you just going to stand there like a tree?" He asked rapidly losing the patience to tolerate her silence.

If she wasn't going to offer him a response then he would simply force a response from her. He took a step towards her and grasped the tip of her chin eliciting a startled gasp from her. Fighting against the rigidity of her jaw, he tilted her chin upwards although she continued to train her eyes on the ground.

_Just look at the ground! Look at the ground! Study every little, minute detail of the ground!_ She urged herself frantically as her heart viciously slammed against her ribcage.

"Something about you almost seems…Senju." He stated inquisitively, his face drawing uncomfortably nearer to hers. His pitiless eyes narrowed as his voice descended menacingly sending a multitude of shivers down her spine. "…And there's nothing I loathe more than the Senju."

_Breathe! Breathe! Focus on your breathing!_ She knew her respirations were quickly increasing out of control and he could easily notice it.

Despite her attempt to remain strong and stone-faced in the Uchiha Lord's presence, she was quickly beginning to crumble in the face of the overwhelming panic deluging her mind.

What was he going to do to her? Would he torture her? Assault her? Kill her?

She pleaded with her body to fight back in any way possible but was met with absolutely no response. Would her defiant silence attract him? Would it deter him? Anger him?

As his face continuously drew closer to her lips, she instinctively knew he would sexually assault her. Even though she had endured various forms of torture simulated through the seal, any form of sexual nature was still foreign to her. She beseeched the gods that it would continue to remain that way.

"But there's something about you that I…" He murmured lasciviously tilting her head slightly at an angle.

Before his lips could meet hers, he suddenly stopped and studied the trembling girl's countenance.

"No, Haruno…" He set her head straight and backed off slightly. "You're nothing but vermin to me."

Regardless of her attractive appearance or talents, she would always remain within the lowest rung of the caste system. If he so passionately desired a woman's body, he could satisfy his lust without the baggage of violating natural law. It wasn't worth the desecration of his strict beliefs.

Pursuing the girl would be a mistake.

He backed away completely casting a much more comfortable distance between them. Gesturing with his hand, he uttered sternly. "Dismissed."

It took a moment for Sakura to completely register his order in her sheer disbelief. Without wasting a second more, she scurried off stumbling over her own feet in her haste and disappeared out the front door. As she hurried back to the security of the slave quarters, she thanked the gods repeatedly for continuing to bless her with good fortune. She hoped desperately that good fortune would remain faithfully on her side in that she would never have to encounter the Uchiha Lord ever again.

* * *

The following day, she arrived in Itachi's room for what they deceptively referred to as a "therapy" session. Sitting on the bed beside Itachi was the shaggy haired Uchiha who had defended her from the elderly woman's accusations.

"Eh?" Sakura raised her brows in astonishment pointing at the newcomer seated on the bed. "It's you again!"

"I see you've already met Shisui before. He'll be assisting with our session today." Itachi informed her as his associate flashed her an amiable grin.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked curiously, baffled by the sudden change in routine.

Shisui glanced to Itachi as he answered the girl. "Today we'll be trying something new. I want to see how you'll fare against a higher level of the Sharingan."

"You're kidding me, right?!" She clenched her fingers firmly into fists. "There's an even higher level of the Sharingan?!"

"Yes, the Mangekyou Sharingan is a rarity amongst our clan. Only a few individuals possess this eye including Shisui and myself. I must warn you…the power of this Sharingan is far greater than what you've experienced so far. However, if you are capable of enduring this form, then you should quickly grow resistant to the basic Sharingan. Are you up for it?"

"I don't know…" She answered meekly avoiding the gazes of the two men sitting before her.

"Sakura-chan…" She lifted her gaze as Shisui placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I haven't heard of anyone outside the clan resisting the Sharingan. You must be an incredibly strong woman."

"Really?"

"I'm absolutely certain." He beamed magnanimously.

Lifted by his associate's words, she turned to Itachi and nodded determinedly. "I'll do it."

She watched Itachi's dark eyes flash red and braced herself for the impending pain that would seize her upon the activation of the seal. However, the back of her neck remained pain free even upon the activation of his Sharingan. The three tomoe began to merge together forming a pinwheel-like pattern around his pupil. It was then she was wracked with a pain unlike anything she had ever encountered before. She collapsed to the ground screaming and smothering the unconceivable pain radiating from the back of her neck with the palm of her hand. The pain of the basic Sharingan paled considerably in the face of this new power and this was only the just the activation.

She blacked out for a moment hoping to escape the relentless pain once and for all. As she lifted her eyelids she was welcomed into a strange, abstract world with a blood red atmosphere. Her tiny body had been tightly affixed to a crucifix suspending her above the ground.

"In this world of Tsukuyomi, I can control time, space, and all matter." She glanced down from her elevated height to Itachi standing before her with a sword in hand. "From now on, I will stab you with a sword for 72 hours."

Sakura recoiled violently slamming the back of her head against the crucifix as the tip of his blade slid into her abdomen. Although the force of impact would've easily knocked her unconscious, she remained alert and aware of the eerie world encompassing her.

"Please! Stop!" She cried out as he withdrew the blade from her flesh.

Unable to endure yet another stabbing, she began to thrash violently against her restraints. He paused unexpectedly as her vigorous thrashing had eventually begun to loosen the bolts of the shackles binding her wrists to the crucifix. He moved more slowly, exercising temperance in order to preserve her struggle. Her vigilant eyes followed the movements of his blade amplifying the forte of her thrashing as it continued to draw closer to her abdomen.

In spite of the unbearable pain he inflicted upon her, her frantic attempts to free herself from her restraints filled him with immeasurable relief. She had regained the incentive to fight his Sharingan.

"Itachi, hurry and deactivate your Mangekyou Sharingan!" Shisui's flustered voice snapped him back to the happenings of reality. "Your father is coming!"

Itachi observed the pinwheel patterning of his eyes reflected in the circular seal on her neck slowly fade into the three tomoe of the base Sharingan. As Fugaku burst through the door, he spotted his son and his friend standing with their arms folded sporting identical scowls on their faces. His eyes then dropped to the Haruno stirring pathetically on the ground before them.

"What is going on in here? I heard screaming." His father demanded urgently glancing back up to the two stern-faced young men.

"I was punishing the Haruno for her insubordination. She had the gall to make an insolent remark." Itachi said icily, casting a sneer to the woman still subjected to the power of his Sharingan.

"Send her off as soon as you're finished. She's needed for a delivery."

Itachi nodded obediently. "Yes, Tou-san."

Fugaku closed the door and headed down the hallway towards the front door heaving a grateful sigh of relief to himself. Part of him had begun to suspect his son's growing attachment to the woman who tended to him on a daily basis. He knew his son was well aware of the boundaries between nobles and peasants and he began to question whether he would dare cross them.

Now that he had overcome his illness, he could resume the path Fugaku had laid out for him. He would fight valiantly on the battlefield against the Senju and marry a beautiful Uchiha woman who would bear him a grandson possessing their honored blood. Although he considered Itachi to be of greater talents, Madara had informed him on one occasion that he preferred Sasuke over Itachi. Fugaku could not fathom why the Uchiha Lord would say such a thing as his older son had been deemed the prodigy, the ideal warrior, of the Uchiha clan. He could not determine any qualities his older son possessed that would diminish his worthiness in the eyes of the clan's leader and that had invoked a fear within him that perhaps he did not know his son as well as he had presumed.

However, seeing his son's activated Sharingan within the Haruno's seal completely debunked that fear. His son did, in fact, set very strict boundaries when it came to interactions with those of the lesser caste.

Itachi waited until he heard the front door of the house close shut before deactivating his Sharingan entirely. The girl lifted her eyelids open wearily still shaking off the trauma of the genjutsu.

"Sakura-chan, you did very well!" Shisui exclaimed elatedly helping the girl rise to her feet.

"Huh?" She blinked twice not completely certain as to whether she was still under genjutsu.

"No one has survived Itachi's Tsukuyomi with their mind intact." The shaggy haired Uchiha crouched down towards her face brushing her hair away from her ear. He whispered into her ear obscuring his lips with his hand. "But a piece of advice, kiss him next time. It will reverse the genjutsu on him."

Sakura's eyes shot wide open while a deep rosy hue painted the apples of her cheeks. She turned to face Shisui as if to contest his words but said nothing.

"Anyways, you better get going. You're needed for a delivery." He patted her on the back escorting her out the door.

Itachi watched the girl depart and turned to his dear friend chuckling suspiciously to himself. "Shisui, what did you just tell her?"

Shisui scratched the back of his head and met Itachi's interrogative gaze with a broad grin. "Just a sound piece of advice. I do wonder if she'll actually take it though."

"Has your father received them yet?" Itachi asked changing the topic.

"No, nothing yet. I will let you know as soon as I hear of anything."

"We'll be communicating through my crows from now on. Our hawks will be intercepted by their guards and their pigeons will be intercepted by ours. Crows should be inconspicuous enough not to rouse suspicion."

"I worry for you, Itachi." The broad smile washed away from Shisui's face as he stumbled across a sobering thought.

"Why?"

"Well…you and Sakura-chan seem to have become close. You would've never asked me to supervise you if you weren't concerned about taking your Mangekyou Sharingan too far. I know you care deeply for her and only seek to help her but…" He paused for a moment drawing a deep breath. He resumed his words gravely. "…how will you manage when the time comes to let her go?"

Obito noticed the pink haired girl striding hurriedly on the dirt pathway towards the infirmary. As she rushed past him, he reflected on the color of her hair reminiscent of the object he had discovered in the grass a few days prior. He drew the pink cherry blossom shaped pendant from his pocket and marveled at the countless facets of the precious gem glistening in the sunlight. He decided with unshakable conviction that he would use the pendant to propose to Rin once he became the leader of the Uchiha clan. He fancied her beautiful face illuminating with pure joy as she gazed upon the magnificent offering in the palm of his hand. The woman possessed a smile unlike any his eyes had ever witnessed before—a smile that could garner the world's undivided attention and stop time in its tracks. If that was not nobility then he was not sure what was.

Once he became the leader of the clan, there would be no Uchiha or Nohara. Just Obito and Rin. They could share their love openly never again having to hide their passionate rendezvous in the obscurity of the forest or the haystack within the barn. Instead of sleeping in the mold-ridden slave quarters, she would be sleeping beside him in his bed without fearing the consequences. If they ever bore children, they wouldn't be labeled as defiled beings borne of unlawfulness. Under his rule, they would be looked upon with acceptance and treated alike any other child of the clan.

Once that oppressive Uchiha Lord had been overthrown from the cozy seat of his throne, he would be the one to guide the Uchiha towards a future devoid of the atrocities and despondency that currently plagued the clan.

* * *

"Push! Push!" Sakura and Rin shouted in unison.

The purple haired Uchiha woman screamed as the baby slowly began to crown. After arriving to the infirmary, Sakura had been redirected to the private residence of a couple named Naka and Naori. The woman was reported to have been in labor for several hours and Sakura began to question the notion of complications afflicting the delivery.

Madara searched the compounds in pursuit of the clansmen who had been expected to attend a meeting scheduled nearly an hour ago. He spotted the clansmen congregating before the entrance of Naka's house instead of attending the meeting.

"What's going on here?" Madara weaved through the crowd until he reached one of the guards standing at the door.

"It's Naori. She's been in labor for a long time." The guard answered allowing his superior to step inside.

He noticed Fugaku vainly attempting to pacify the hysteric Naka pacing back in forth behind the bedroom door. He could hear the agonized screams of the woman followed by the shouts of the two healers assisting her in delivery.

"What if something's wrong? What if the baby never comes out?" Naka protested loudly seizing his hair in his hands.

"It can take up to several hours before the baby is born." Fugaku stated calmly.

"I don't know I'm just so nervous and excited at the same time! I'm going to become a father! I don't know if I'm ready to become a father!"

"There is nothing greater in man's life than experiencing the joys of fatherhood." Fugaku smiled faintly before noticing the Uchiha Lord standing in the hallway with his arms folded. "Good evening, Madara-sama. I apologize for my absence as these are…"

The men paused and cast their collective glances to the door as the woman's screams rapidly intensified signaling the impending moments of the newborn's arrival.

"Will I have a son or a daughter? I don't know which one it will be!" The magnitude of Naka's hysteria seemed to increase by tenfold. "Will it have my hair color or Naori's? Just who will it end up looking like? Whose personality will it take after? I can't keep waiting like this!"

Fugaku spoke reassuringly although he knew his words failed to mollify the anxious man's hysteria. "Regardless of who the child looks like, I'm certain it will be the pride and joy of your life."

Fugaku and the flustered father-to-be pressed a curious ear to the wall failing to notice the vexed scowl worn on the Uchiha Lord's face. Naka listened anxiously as his agonized wife's screams suddenly came to an abrupt silence. The expectant father's heart suddenly sank as the cries of an infant did not erupt through the silence.

Rin received the tiny infant and rapidly attempted to rub it dry. Even with the stimulation of her rubbing, the ashen infant lay limply in her hands. She pressed two fingers into its chest noting the absence of a heartbeat. Naori's sweat ridden face glanced to Rin's awaiting any word of response.

Rin shook her head somberly answering the exhausted woman. "I'm sorry…she's stillborn."

"NO!" The woman wailed loudly before burying her face in her immense anguish.

Sakura swept the lifeless infant from Rin's arms and placed it on the ground. She dropped down to her hands and knees. "No, it's not over until we've tried everything possible!"

"Sakura, what are you doing?!" Rin cried out as the Haruno placed two thumbs over the infant's tiny chest.

Sakura muttered inaudibly beneath her breath as she pressed her thumbs rhythmically into the infant's frail chest. She pinched the infant's tiny nose and wrapped her lips over its mouth exhaling just enough to see the apex of its chest rise upon inflation. After two rounds of exhalations, she promptly returned to performing a series of rapid chest compressions.

Alarmed by the sound of his wife's wailing, Naka burst through the doorway only to spot the pink haired girl pressing her thumbs repeatedly into the fragile chest of his newborn baby. "What the hell are you doing?! Stop it!"

Madara seized the hysteric new father by the arms before he could lunge for the girl. She compressed the newborn's chest determinedly and quickly switched to another round of manually inflating its lungs. Although he was unfamiliar with her techniques, the girl seemed to know exactly what she was doing. Interrupting her only now seemed to serve against the rattled father's best interest. Madara glanced to the hesitant Fugaku cautioning him to stay back.

Naka only continued to struggle against Madara's iron hold and quickly activated the only remaining means of stopping her. "Let me go! Someone stop her! She's hurting my baby!"

Sakura screamed loudly nearly matching the intensity of Naori's anguished screams as the sharp pain of the seal jolted her body like a surge of electricity. She struggled to move her body against the merciless pain of the father's Sharingan. Tears spilled from her eyes dripping down onto the lifeless body of the infant she fought desperately to save. Pain rippled through her body as she fought the rigidity of her muscles preventing her from controlling her own movements. Even just the minute movements of her thumbs pressing down on the baby's chest sent an excruciating pain coursing through her entire body. In spite of it all, she continued with her course of chest compressions determined to save the infant's life at the expense of her own pain.

Nothing. Nothing came in between her when she was fighting to save the life of a patient.

She whimpered pitifully with every depression of her thumbs but did not relinquish the struggle. Her head slowly yet shakily lifted upward towards the Uchiha before her. As Naka wrestled against Madara's hold, Madara caught sight of her piercing green eyes gazing up at them. Those wild, savage eyes conveyed a very clear warning—a warning that she would snap the neck of anyone who dared take a step closer.

It was the most beautiful sight his eyes had ever beholden.

Following the high pitched cry of an infant, the room fell harshly silent. The fight suddenly dissipated from Naka's body as he widened his blood red eyes in disbelief. His eyes darkened to black releasing Sakura from the strangulating power of his Sharingan. She lifted the squirming infant off the ground and brought her to inviting warmth of her mother's arms. Madara released the new father permitting him to finally meet his new daughter.

"Welcome to the world…um…" Naka cooed in a high pitched voice to the tiny infant cradled in his wife's arms. He paused racking his brain for an appropriate name.

"Haruno." Naori called out to the panting pink haired girl. "What is your first name?"

Sakura waited to catch her breath and answered. "It's Sakura."

Naori deliberated for a moment and stroked the infant's dark purple tuft of hair. "Oka."

"Oka?" Naka parroted back. His wife nodded affirmatively. Naka turned to Madara and Fugaku and grinned madly in his happiness. "Welcome to the world, Oka!"

"Sakura, where did you learn that technique?" Rin asked modestly as they watched the new parents fuss over their bundle of joy.

"It's a resuscitative technique I learned from Tsunade-sama." She answered wiping the layer of sweat lining her large brow.

Rin clasped Sakura's hands gently. "Do you think you can teach it to me?"

"Of course." Sakura beamed weakly still struggling to catch her breath from the taxing endeavor.

Due to the eventful circumstances surrounding the birth, Sakura knew there was still the risk of mother and baby suffering postpartum complications. She and Rin would continue to monitor their status for several more hours following the birth. Sakura shrugged off the lingering tension that had ruthlessly gripped her body anticipating the soreness that would ensue the following day. It was going to be a long night.

Unable to tolerate Naka's nauseatingly high pitched and overjoyed voice, Madara departed without offering a word of congratulations to the new father. Reflecting back upon the events of infant's resuscitation, the girl was capable of movement even while under the effects of Naka's Sharingan. Had she resisted his Sharingan?

No, he assured himself. It was likely a fluke. Naka had also been wrestling against his hold and probably did not properly focus his Sharingan into her. But that explanation didn't seem to convince him entirely. Naka's Sharingan had, in fact, been properly projected into her seal and there was report that she had defied Inabi's Sharingan and the Sharingan of a child. It was unheard of for an outsider of the clan to resist the Sharingan yet she seemed to be providing evidence contradicting the belief. In order to confirm his suspicions, he would need to investigate the matter himself.

One thing was for certain—not pursuing the girl would be a mistake.

* * *

_A/N: While the concept behind CPR is ancient, the form we are all accustomed to seeing is actually rather recent which is why the other characters are unfamiliar with it. Apparently, Tsunade is also a time traveling doctor. ;P Oka is also another name for cherry blossom. I guess I'll use this opportunity to better describe the social hierarchy in this story. At the top are the four noble clans—the Uchiha, Senju, Uzumaki, and Hyuuga. The middle tier consists of minor warrior clans and merchants like the Yamanaka, Nara, Akimichi, Aburame, Inuzuka, etc. The bottom tier is comprised of peasant clans, small families, and individuals who do not hail from a clan. This would include the Haruno, Nohara, Hatake, and others such as Might Gai and Rock Lee. Although the bottom tier is largely peasants and slaves, there are a few assorted warriors trained to defend the people within that caste such as Sakura, Kakashi, Gai, and Lee. Then the absolute rock bottom of the caste system would be Jiraiya's favorite kind of people. The caste you are born into is the caste you remain in for life. While it is near impossible to move up in the hierarchy, it is very easy to go down if you are dishonored or ousted from your clan. I hope that clarifies some things. _

_Well, thanks again for reading and leaving your very much appreciated reviews! _


	10. Sovereignty

_A/N: Ughh…post-finals brain drain…what an icky feeling. Since the latest Naruto chapter left such an awful taste behind with all the gross misinterpretations going around the internet, here's a new chapter to wash it away ;). _

* * *

"Sakura…? Sakura…!"

"Sakura-chan, wake up!"

It had been a few minutes since the image of Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan finally faded into the flesh on her neck but the girl had still remained unresponsive on the floor of his bedroom. Placing her head in his lap, Shisui rattled her forcefully hoping to wake her from her stupor while Itachi gazed down at her pensively.

Panic settled within the pit of his stomach. Had he overdone the Tsukuyomi?

The furrows lining his face deepened in thought. She had seemed markedly sluggish that morning and had mentioned staying up all night to monitor Naori and her new baby. It was likely her fatigue may be contributing to her delayed responsiveness. However, he noted that she seemed to exhibit a particularly flat affect in the face of his genjutsu. It was as though she was pre-occupied with something else. As if she was completely consumed in thoughts deviating from the pain of his genjutsu.

Shisui felt something warm seeping through the fabric of his pants onto his skin. Tears rushed from the girl's half-opened eyes as her facial muscles suddenly became taut with pain.

"Sakura-chan, are you alright?" Shisui asked gently rubbing her tense back as she sobbed into his lap.

"It's just that…Rin told me…" She blubbered loudly as Itachi crouched down to catch her words.

"What is it?" Itachi pressed her for an answer as her voice trailed off into harsher sobs.

Shisui gazed up into his dear friend's dark, worry ridden eyes. Although Itachi's tone had bordered on the edge of curtness, he knew he was clearly distressed by the girl's anomalous behavior.

She finally continued through her choked voice. "Rin told me…we'll be setting up for the Cherry Blossom Festival tomorrow…"

"Sakura-chan you scared me…" Shisui forced a sigh and smiled softly in relief. "I thought something horrible had happened. You shouldn't be crying about that. It's a happy event."

"No it's not!" She snapped upright from her place in Shisui's lap startling the two Uchiha with her forceful insistence. Her eyes descended to the floor as she spoke shakily. "…It's not for me anymore…

She sniveled loudly shrugging her shoulders in a vain attempt to stifle her grief. "The Cherry Blossom Festival is the biggest event in my village…we always used to celebrate with crops from the spring harvest…but now…but now…I don't know if my village was able to repair the damage done to our irrigation system…I don't know how my people are faring in my absence. Who will be there to care for them if they are sick or injured? Are there people dying right now because I can't be there for them? And my parents…were they able to return to the village? This would be the first time I would experience the Cherry Blossom Festival without them…"

Although a part of Sakura chastised herself for not withholding her emotional spill before the Uchiha, she could not curb her words from rolling off her aggrieved tongue. "When…when I was a little girl I used to cry every year because I wanted to wear a beautiful, fancy silk kimono like all the noblewomen wore but my family could never afford one. My mother always told me that cotton kimonos looked beautiful too but it just wasn't the same. At that time, it had become apparent to me that I could never experience nice things like other people simply because of my bloodlines. I never asked to be born a peasant! It wasn't fair! One year, my father bought me a beautiful red silk kimono and crafted a garland made of the most magnificent flowers for my hair. He told me he wanted me to feel like a princess…"

The Uchiha exchanged glances remaining graciously silent as she wiped the tears from her face allowing herself to take in a fresh breath of air before continuing her emotional spill.

"…When I wore my beautiful silk kimono the other girls from my clan would get so jealous…I truly did feel like a princess. It wasn't until I was a bit older that I found out my father had used up the clan's savings in order to buy me that kimono. I had only received that kimono by virtue of being the clan leader's daughter…I felt like such a brat…" Sakura buried her forehead into the palm of her hand as her anguished sobs seemed to wane slightly. "But then Tsunade-sama came to our village in order to provide medical relief when our clan was stricken with an outbreak of the flu. I couldn't believe she was the daughter of the Senju Lord. She wore simple clothing and worked so hard to help out those her caste doesn't even take into consideration…I wanted to be just like her so asked if I could be her apprentice. I traveled with her for a few years learning all I could until I felt ready to independently manage tending to my clan…"

Suddenly, she bit her lip and paused before her cries intensified. "…In addition to not spending the Cherry Blossom Festival with my clan, my birthday is coming up in a few days…Tsunade-sama had promised to take me out for my eighteenth birthday for my first sake…but…but now…"

"Wait, Sakura-chan…" Shisui placed one hand on her shoulder and fished for something within his dark navy robes with the other. "You should've told us your birthday was coming up. Well, I guess you can consider this an early birthday present then."

He manually unfurled her fingers and placed a kunai within the palm of her hand. She accepted the gift and curiously inspected the kunai. Although it appeared to be just a regular kunai at first glance, she noticed a strange ink-like marking etched into the handle of the small weapon. Otherwise she didn't note anything exceptional about the weapon that had been gifted to her.

"A kunai?" She cocked a single brow suspiciously although she did not seek to offend the Uchiha for his offering. She beamed at Shisui hoping to mask any impolite dubiousness from gracing her face. "Thank you."

"Keep it hidden on you at all times and don't ever leave it behind. I assure you it will save your life." He beamed back at her returning her gratitude.

Save her life? Sakura scrutinized the weapon more closely bemused by Shisui's cryptic statement. While it was certainly endearing for the Uchiha to be concerned with her safety, she wasn't exactly certain as to how the kunai would protect her against the Uchiha's visual prowess. Shisui's words about keeping it on her at all times persuaded her that perhaps there was some special function to the kunai he wasn't disclosing. Sakura searched for a place to conceal the kunai within her robes but to no avail. The slave robes seemed to have been specifically designed to prevent them from concealing anything within them. Itachi handed her a roll of bandaging allowing her to secure the kunai to her upper thigh. Unsure if she would be concealing the weapon indefinitely, she deemed the upper thigh the most comfortable area to stow it for now.

Bidding the Uchiha her farewell, she headed off for her noon shift at the infirmary.

Once the Haruno was out the door, Itachi turned to Shisui. "I will send off a crow after we hide one on Rin and one in the slave quarters."

Shisui nodded in agreement with the plan and smirked confidently. "He won't suspect a thing."

Sakura rushed towards the infirmary as she had been—yet again—late.

"Hey!" She heard a masculine voice call for her.

Sakura paled considerably as Naka hampered her pathway. She halted immediately skidding slightly on her heels. Sasuke watched from the distance as he spotted Naka approaching the Haruno with a stern look on his face.

"You seem to be in a hurry." Naka said flatly. He suddenly lifted something in his hands that had been wrapped in a brightly colored cloth.

"Huh?" Sakura took a step back as he lifted the object before her.

"Naori made lunch for you and Rin." Naka suddenly cast away the sternness in his face and smiled amiably. "I appreciate what you did last night. If it weren't for you, Oka wouldn't be alive. I don't know what our clan would do without you."

"…Thank you…" Sakura smiled modestly accepting his offering.

Although he observed the interaction from afar, Sasuke could easily discern the immense pain masked behind the girl's smile. He knew the girl sought nothing more than her freedom but was trapped within the confines of the clan—and it wasn't just the clan's tight scrutiny, or the seal, or even the threat of retaliation confining her.

As the girl and Naka parted ways, Sasuke resumed his course towards the training grounds. Madara impatiently awaited his apprentice and visibly conveyed his annoyance with his tardiness. He tossed Sasuke a blade and armed himself with one as well.

Sasuke caught the blade and activated his Sharingan primed to read his mentor's movements. Soon after, Sasuke found himself exchanging blows with the leader of the clan. Madara easily parried the boy's strikes countering quickly with his own. To his dismay, his apprentice seemed sluggish and preoccupied as the accuracy of his strikes began to dwindle with each passing moment.

"Focus, Sasuke!" Madara nearly disarmed the young Uchiha with a particularly merciless strike.

Sasuke leapt backward adding distance between them in an attempt to recover his balance and shake off the numbness that had gripped his hand after fending off Madara's vigorous attack.

"Tell me, what's on your mind?" Madara asked firmly permitting the younger Uchiha a moment to catch his breath.

Sasuke kept his eyes trained on Madara reluctant to drop his guard in spite of the brief respite. Despite his efforts to remain blunt, his voice was teeming with anger. "The Cherry Blossom Festival is tomorrow. The Uzumaki will be visiting…"

Madara furrowed his brow suspiciously. His voice ascended in a manner Sasuke clearly knew was his way of expressing condescension. "Why the anger? Are you not happy to see your fiancé?"

"…I can't go through with it…"

"Hm?" Madara hummed contemptuously. "You didn't seem to hold any objections to the engagement before. What has changed?"

Sasuke failed to respond as he searched for a tactful way to address his disapproval of the engagement. He absolutely could not reveal any hints as to the identity of the woman who had plagued his thoughts ever since their trip to Akagane. Although he had fought fervidly to eradicate the girl from his mind, it seemed he couldn't avoid her no matter where he went. She always seemed to pass him on her way to the infirmary and he would hear his comrades mention her in passing conversation.

"Well? Tell me." Madara pressed him again.

"I'm interested in another woman." He said before slipping in a smooth lie. "A woman within our clan."

"Interested in another woman? Well that's a shame. It's too late to do anything about it now."

Like a flash of lightning, the young Uchiha lunged for his mentor clashing his sword with his. "Call off the engagement! I'm not going through with it!"

Engaging in a shoving match, Madara stepped in closer granting himself leverage over the boy. Sasuke shuddered as he felt the cold, sharp tip of Madara's blade prick the thin skin of his throat. Madara's voice descended icily sending a shiver down the typically stoic boy's spine. "That's not for you to decide."

The Uchiha Lord flung the boy away as if flicking a pesky fly off his skin. Sasuke grunted painfully as he collided with the ground and quickly hoisted himself to a seated position. His mind immediately wandered to the moment he had invaded the Haruno village and threatened to slash the throat of a magenta haired man who dared protest their demands.

"_Sakura-sama will never help your clan!" _

"_That isn't for you or her to decide." _

Sasuke sat on the ground glaring spitefully at the man he had staunchly served and respected. It was finally clear to him. The engagement was nothing more than a power trip to Madara—a means of governing his life so that he would always remain inferior to him. By forcing him to spend the rest of his life with a woman he did not love, he would remain trapped, forever condemned to a level of inferiority…just like the Haruno.

"Just try not to embarrass yourself tomorrow." Madara tossed his blade into the grass before Sasuke. "And one more thing. Send the Haruno to me after her shift is over tonight. She's needed for questioning."

The Uchiha Lord said nothing more before turning away and walking off missing the venomous sneer from Sasuke.

As the sun began to descend behind the horizon marking the onset of dusk, Sasuke dutifully followed his orders and set out to retrieve the Haruno woman after the group of healers set off towards the slave quarters for the night. He plucked the Haruno away from the line of slaves and seized her by the wrist.

"You're needed for questioning." He said forebodingly inciting the girl's green eyes to widen in fear.

He wasn't exactly sure why Madara sought to interrogate her now. He hadn't heard of the girl acting notably defiant recently or behaving in such a way that would necessitate Madara's involvement. Although he hadn't heard or seen anything, it didn't mean she wasn't in some kind of trouble with the clan. If she was being questioned by Madara personally, he knew he would use the harshest means of interrogating the girl that could easily elicit her death…He had promised to help the girl in any way possible and he knew that delivering her to Madara would ultimately break that vow. As he contemplated the consequences of bringing the girl directly to him, he decided it best to take a slight detour.

Sakura's heart thundered viciously within her chest as they drew closer to the path she recognized as Madara's house. What had she done to demand questioning? Did he suspect anything regarding her involvement with Itachi? Tears began to form in her eyes as she couldn't fathom the magnitude of torture she knew the Uchiha Lord would inflict upon her if she did not provide him with the answers he desired.

Suddenly, Sasuke diverted from the path towards Madara's house and led her towards the forest. Anxiety filled her as she followed him through the forest fearful of what was to come next. The frigid night air nipped her windpipe unmercifully as they began to ascend the hillside of the forest. When they finally reached the summit of the hillside overlooking the Uchiha territory, Sakura took a moment to gape in awe at the stunning view. The light of the full moon had been cast down upon the Uchiha territory as if swathing the lands like a protective deity.

Sasuke sat against a large protruding rock while she took the time to marvel at the spectacular view the hillside endowed. After she lost interest in the view, she turned her attention to the silent Uchiha who hadn't uttered a word since first retrieving her.

"Is there a reason you brought me up here? Can I go back to the quarters now?" She demanded folding her arms.

"Just shut up and enjoy the view." He said snappily provoking a confused and indignant scowl from her.

Although the girl was unaware of it, the forest was the safest place for her at the moment. If Madara personally sought her, he would never find them as the surveillance in this area was largely lacking. He would have her wait until he deemed it enough time for Madara to have finally gone to bed. The Uchiha Lord had been incredibly busy with clan affairs throughout the day and he figured it wouldn't be long before he retired for the night to recover his energy for the next day. Tomorrow would be an even busier day and with the Uzumaki clan's visit he would have no time to question the girl so she would continue to remain safe for that day as well.

Sasuke found it strange that he would wait until she was finished with her shift at the infirmary to interrogate her as he was undoubtedly not a patient man. Any questioning done by him was urgent matter that would not be allowed as to a single minute of waiting. If the subject matter behind the need for questioning was not dire then wouldn't he have had the clan's trained interrogators deal with her instead?

As she folded her arms and tapped her foot articulating her blatant impatience with his silence, he fished for a believable excuse he could craft to explain the girl's absence if Madara did question him.

"Are you just going to sit there and ignore me? I'm going back." She groaned loudly and wheeled around towards the head of the trail they used to reach the summit.

Sasuke slid from his place on the rock and seized her by the arm hindering her from walking any further. "Stay here."

She gasped sharply startled by his forceful grip on her arm. "And is there a reason I should stay here?"

"Well, would you prefer to be interrogated or stay here?"

"Neither. What am I even being interrogated for?" She rolled her eyes and tugged listlessly at her captured arm.

He answered her bluntly aggravating her irritation. "I can't answer that."

"Then let me go! I didn't get any sleep last night and I'm tired as hell!" She shouted fumingly jerking her arm far more forcefully this time.

"Stop being so stubborn." His hold would not relent despite her attempts to shake him loose.

She spun her arm in a circle and snapped it back brutishly hoping to disengage the Uchiha's unrelenting hold at once. When that attempt was for naught, she curled her free hand in a fist swiftly loading it with chakra. Before she could knead an ample amount of chakra into her fist, she found herself flush with the Uchiha's chest, his lips pressed firmly against hers.

Her eyes shot wide open as he grasped the side her face clutching a handful of her hair. He released her arm instead resting his hand on the curve of her hip. Although the initiation had been forceful, his body softened invitingly causing her to melt into him and her clenched fingers to fall slack. He tilted her head slightly, allowing his lips to gain more leverage over hers albeit softly.

Why? She asked herself as her eyelids closed slightly. Though he had unexpectedly taken her first kiss, her intuition sternly urged her not to fight back.

But why? Despite his harsh words and ambiguous motives, why did he kiss her so tenderly?

He continued to kiss the bewildered girl passionately as the tension slowly ebbed from her tiny body. Although he was taken aback by his own impulsiveness, he was too consumed by the myriad of feelings inundating him to address it. Connecting with her mouth felt like the rush, the freedom of sprinting down a hill with the wind blowing against his face. The surge of adrenaline merely fueling the heat of the kiss not knowing when it would ever end.

It wasn't like him to revel in sentimental things like this and perhaps it wasn't just the carnal side of him seeking to explore a woman's body. All his life he had lived in the shadows of his brother—his father consistently making remarks of Itachi being the prodigy, the exemplar of the clan. When he thought he had stepped out of Itachi's shadow, he became Madara's apprentice. His father's pride and joy was the prospect of him one day filling Madara's shoes, of being just like Madara. He was never good enough on his own merits. His life was not his own to direct but whatever Madara willed it to be. To him, he was no different than the empty-eyed slaves who toiled like oxen around the compound.

Although she was shackled to whims of his clan, Sakura was his freedom even if she wasn't aware of it. She was not just a peasant, or slave, or healer but rather living proof that he could know the freedom of choosing his own path. By pursuing her, he would be pursuing everything that would be borne as a consequence of his feelings for her and yet it did not deter him. He would finally be stepping out of Madara's shadow once and for all.

When his lips separated from hers she backed away eyes widened with outright shock and confusion. Her voice was remarkably fragile. "…Why?"

She was unable to distinguish his barely murmured words as his dark eyes dodged hers. "I just wanted to know…"

Sakura decided with utmost conviction that the Uchiha were bizarre creatures. The whole lot of them. Why wouldn't anyone be direct with her? Why were they shrouded with such secrecy and incongruity?

Sasuke wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed by, but he reckoned Madara had likely gone to bed by now. He gestured for Sakura to follow him and headed towards the head of the trail. As they descended the steep hillside, Sasuke stiffened in alarm and shoved her into the obscurity of the bushes. Sakura held her tongue from cursing aloud as the sharp nettles pricked her skin and clung to the coarse fabric of her robe.

He could've at least warned her before shoving her aside so carelessly!

"What are you doing here?" It was Obito's voice.

The Uchiha Lord's current apprentice and the Uchiha Lord's former apprentice silently exchanged glares for a moment before breaking their belligerent silence.

Sasuke folded his arms peeved by Obito's accusatory tone. "I'm on patrol."

"What? This is my spot…to patrol!" Obito objected vehemently.

"I was given orders to monitor this site. Patrol someplace else!"

Madara glanced at the clock and then to his front door for the third time that minute. It was already half past midnight and Sasuke had yet to deliver Sakura to him as commanded. Maybe the boy had forgotten his order and already gone to sleep?

No, Madara told himself firmly. Sasuke is not one to forget orders and he had been acting distinctly defiant earlier that day. He found himself trembling with unbridled fury as it was well beyond the end of her shift and there was still no sign of the girl.

Perhaps, she had somehow managed to defy his order?

Either way, he was convinced her absence was the result of foul play either on Sasuke's part or her part. And he hoped with a burning passion that it was not the former.

* * *

_A/N: Next episode on Uchiha Makeout Point…_

_I guess I'll take the time to answer a few questions…_

**Purple pooh bear- **_Yes, there will be a main pairing. You'll just have to keep reading to find out which one. _

**Peanut-Alien-Ninja-Girl**- _I thought I already given background on Sakura's tutelage with Tsunade? Well if not, I hope this chapter clears that up a bit. Also, there is a narrow window of time in which an apparent stillborn can be resuscitated. However, in reality it is usually not very successful. At least not without complications._

**MrPotatoChips**- _Is this still sausage? I dunno I think it might be salami._

_Again thanks for reading and thanks yet again for the awesome reviews!_


	11. Crisis

"Well?" Sasuke raised a suspicious brow as Obito remained silently, yet firmly planted to the ground. "Why haven't you moved yet?"

"I ask the same of you. Why aren't you going off to patrol the rest of the area?" Obito retorted contorting his face in a cheeky manner.

"I will as soon as you leave. Now go!"

The two Uchiha continued locking glares as Sakura peeked through a tiny opening within the prickly bush to spectate the confrontation.

Why wouldn't Obito just leave already so they could head back to the compound?

She wasn't sure how as to how much longer she could tolerate the spiny nettles prickling her skin without shifting her position causing the bush to rattle and reveal her presence.

"Fine then!" The older Uchiha shouted huffily suddenly conceding to Sasuke's demands.

Sasuke waited for Obito to vanish entirely from sight before retrieving Sakura from the bush and continuing with their descent towards the compound. Trailing behind the Uchiha's back, she noticed the barely visible face of Rin peeking from underneath the obscurity of the dense vegetation. She pressed a finger to her lips issuing Sakura to remain painstakingly silent. Sakura returned her silent caution with a discreet nod of approval and redirected her attention back to Sasuke hoping he didn't sense her presence.

It seemed Sasuke had managed to unceremoniously ruin their night of—what she figured was supposed to be—intimacy.

* * *

The next morning she arrived at Itachi's residence for yet another "therapy" session only to be turned away by Fugaku.

"You're needed to set up for the festival today." Fugaku stated bluntly.

Sakura coached herself not to noticeably melt in disappointment as she had initially hoped to use the session as an excuse not to partake in preparing for the festivities. It seemed she would never be able to avoid the painful reminder of not attending her homeland's most cherished event with her beloved family and clansmen.

Itachi approached his father from behind and cleared his throat loudly seizing his attention. "May I have a word with her? I have a question regarding my medications."

Fugaku stepped aside permitting her to follow Itachi back to his room. Itachi rummaged through his drawers while Sakura patiently waited in the doorway. He drew something from the bottom drawer and ambled towards Sakura holding something within his hand.

"It's not a garland but…" He unfurled his fingers revealing an elaborately folded white cloth flower in the palm of his hand.

"Itachi…" Sakura's emerald green orbs illuminated buoyantly as she delicately cradled the hair ornament within her fingers. She clipped the ornament to the side of the crimson ribbon in her hair. Patting the palm of her hand gently against the white, flowery hair ornament she bid the Uchiha a modest yet gracious smile. "Thank you."

The volume of Itachi's voice diminished to nearly a whisper as he heard the heavy footfalls of his father approaching his room. "Meet me behind the Naka Shrine tonight after the festival. I have something for you."

He gestured for the girl to hurry on her way as to not arouse the suspicion of his father. Sakura exited his room and trotted down the hallway past Fugaku towards the front door. He craned his neck over his shoulder catching a glimpse of the girl departing through the door and continued on his pathway towards Itachi's room.

"Son." He slid the shoji door partially open enabling himself a peek inside his son's room. "Are you feeling well enough to attend the festival?"

Itachi seated himself on the bed and nodded his head. "Yes, Tou-san. I'll be fine."

Fugaku answered his son with an agreeable nod in return and headed outside to tend to the setup of the festival. He noted Sasuke outside, directing a group of slaves working collectively to hang decorative banners and streamers around the compound.

"Sasuke!" Fugaku and Sasuke turned their attention the piqued tone of the Uchiha Lord.

Fugaku glanced to the expressionless face of his younger son as Madara approached them sporting a remarkably livid scowl. Part of Fugaku withered in fear of his son somehow incurring the atrociously foul mood of the Uchiha Lord.

"Why didn't you send the Haruno to me as I had ordered?" Madara's irate tone incited Fugaku to recoil internally in alarm.

The anxious father beseeched the gods that his youngest son hadn't defied the clan leader due to any modicum of interest in the girl. He had already suffered once at the inconceivable thought of Itachi possibly harboring feelings for the slave who had been dutifully tending to him every morning while the house was largely vacant. He was granted a fleeting moment of relief in the sight of his son punitively subjecting the slave to his ocular power. Before he knew it, the same nagging fear had resurfaced within him as he fought to mask his apprehension before the clan leader unsure of how his son would answer to his demand.

That Haruno woman was undeniably becoming a nuisance to him and his family…

Despite Fugaku's anxiety smothered behind the perpetual scowl on his face, Sasuke remained poised and unfazed by Madara's temper.

"She was busy tending to an emergency last night. By the time the patient was stable, I figured you had already gone to bed and did not seek to disturb you." Sasuke recited his excuse as effortlessly as he had mentally rehearsed it to himself last night.

Fugaku silently sighed in relief as the Uchiha Lord's countenance relaxed marginally marking the onset of his placation. He mentally berated himself for even entertaining the thought of his son ever defying the revered clan leader. There was no feasible reason to doubt Sasuke—he knew his son better than anyone else!

Sasuke added casually. "However, she is available now if you wish to interrogate her."

Madara's dark eyes flittered towards the Haruno and Nohara in the distance aiding each other in pinning up the decorative banners. The activity around the compound had increased significantly as both slaves and clansmen toiled frenziedly in preparation for the festival that was to commence once the Uzumaki arrived in the afternoon. His gaze shifted back to the young Uchiha who boldly met his eyes as if seeking a challenge. He could just feel the defiant smirk masked by the boy's stoic visage as if there had been an ulterior motive behind his seemingly innocent words.

He wasn't certain as to whether it was his anger or poor night's rest obscuring his judgment, but his instincts convinced him that the boy was clearly wearing a smug smirk on his face. Why else would he state the girl's availability when he was evidently aware of the inappropriate timing? Perhaps Sasuke had fabricated the story behind her absence?

_Sasuke did fabricate that story_, a paranoid part of him said with great certainty. It seems Fugaku had provided him with not one but _two_ defective apprentices.

Just when he was certain he couldn't have fallen into a fouler mood, the hairs on the nape of his neck bristled as he heard the abrasive sound of obsequious women calling his name. "Madara-sama! Madara-sama!"

Madara glanced over his shoulder to three women dressed in silk kimonos adorning uchiwa in their hands. They waved spiritedly as they continued calling his name vying for his undivided attention. He knew full well they would ask if he had found a woman to take to the festival. It would not be an enjoyable event in the least.

Hoping to mollify the exasperation set in his superior's face, Fugaku courteously offered his assistance. "If the Haruno is to be interrogated I will do it…"

Fugaku instantly froze in place, unable to move a single muscle of his petrified body as the Uchiha Lord cast him an unnervingly callous glare. Never in his years of faithfully serving the man had he witnessed such a pitiless glare directed at one of his own clansmen. Why? What had he done to deserve such a loathsome look from the man he had devoted himself to serving?

Without a word more, Madara turned away and headed off abruptly abandoning his exchange with the father and son. Despite having just confronted the brunt of his superior's inexplicably foul mood, Fugaku noted the unperturbed expression on Sasuke's face. Did it have to do with the Haruno? Had she done something to provoke Madara's temper? It would explain his reasons for having her interrogated. His gesture was purely suited to be of Madara's convenience so why had he rejected his offer in such a manner?

The fear he thought had been previously extinguished ignited within him yet again as his thoughts revolved around his youngest son. Had Sasuke done something to evoke Madara's anger? Judging by his son's collectedness, his words to Madara seemed to be truthful in his honest opinion. Was there a conflict between Sasuke and Madara he was unaware of? It had always appeared to him that Sasuke and Madara shared many similarities in their personalities as well as their ambitions and they seemed to get along with each other. He couldn't fathom any reasons as to what would create tension between them.

Sasuke owed Madara his utmost appreciation for betrothing him to a beautiful Uzumaki woman—a woman of high social ranking who would one day bear him children of their noble blood. Sasuke would follow in Fugaku's footsteps and honor the tradition of serving the Uchiha Lord as his right hand man. As a father, he knew without a doubt, that no other path would make his son happier.

As the afternoon sun had been cast upon the Uchiha territory, several wagons began to disembark at the compound gates. The Uchiha Lord and Uzumaki Lord exchanged their greetings as their fellow clansmen mingled in the festooned streets of the compound.

Sasuke begrudgingly stood beside his superior as they welcomed the elderly Uzumaki clan leader. He possessed long silver hair, a sharp mustache, and a squared goatee standing out from the rest of his younger redheaded family members. His bespectacled granddaughter, Karin, pulled up behind him and clasped her hands together delightedly as her red eyes landed on Sasuke.

"Karin." Madara said with a subtle smirk. "Sasuke has been eagerly anticipating your arrival."

"Sasukeh!" The redheaded woman suddenly hurled herself thoughtlessly into Sasuke's arms nearly bowling him over. She babbled incoherently. "I so much missed you did miss me too, yes?"

Sasuke peered through the face full of bright red hair catching sight of the Uchiha Lord's pompous smirk. Clearing the woman's hair from his face, he cast his superior an ugly sneer conveying his blatant antipathy towards the man. Relishing the boy's not-so-inconspicuous misery, the fury that had enveloped Madara earlier that morning began to wane into nothing more than a passing memory. It seemed as if karmic justice was chastising the boy for his insubordination. He reckoned that, perhaps, the festival would be an enjoyable event after all.

"Oi, Sasuke!" The young Uchiha heard the boisterous voice of a familiar blonde.

Sasuke peeled away from Karin only for her to persistently trail him on route to the blonde waving animatedly to him.

"What?" Sasuke answered noting the rosy blush painting Naruto's cheeks as he held a glass beverage in his hand.

Naruto nudged Sasuke friskily in the shoulder and aimed his finger in the direction of the pink haired slave serving drinks to the clansmen and the Uzumaki guests. "That girl…the one who just handed me my drink…"

"What about her?" Sasuke wrinkled his nose as the boy's red haired mother slowly began to slink towards their conversation like a moth drawn towards the flames of gossip.

"Eh?" Kushina suddenly interpolated herself in between the boys. She rested her head on Naruto's shoulder bearing a large grin on her face. "Does my little boy have a crush on a cute girl?"

"Kaa-chan!" Naruto shouted indignantly.

Kushina wrapped her fingers around Naruto's glass sliding the beverage out of his hand. "You should probably ease up on the drinks in case you get too clumsy and botch your first impression."

Naruto hung his head limply wallowing in sheer mortification. "…You don't have to say that out loud…"

Kushina prodded her son in the chest. "Well why don't you go introduce yourself to her? Don't tell me you're too shy."

"No…It's just that. Her hair color…" Naruto rested a finger on his cheek and tilted his head inquisitively. "Is it…you know…natural?"

"Idiot." Sasuke shook his head folding his arms. "She came from a village full of pink haired people."

"Really? Even the men?"

Sasuke nodded as Kushina giggled mirthfully ruffling Naruto's spiky blonde hair. She chirped loudly. "Hopefully by the end of the day, we'll be bringing a girl home for you, dattebane!"

"She's a slave." Sasuke stated coldly.

Like a flame deserting the wick of a candle, the joviality flickered away from the mother and son's faces. The duo sobered in a manner Sasuke had never witnessed from the typically blithe Uzumaki.

Minato approached Naruto from behind and rested a hand on his son's shoulder. "Naruto-kun, she is from the Haruno clan. They are a peasant clan from the south although they are quite generous people."

Generous? Sasuke cocked an eyebrow in response to the peculiar statement. It was evident Minato and his son were the aberrant blondes in a clan recognized for its ubiquitous red hair color. Sasuke decided to probe the man seeking a clarification of his words. "Where did you originate from?"

"Huh? Oh." Minato scratched the back of his head as he smiled meekly. "I was originally from the Senju clan but I chose to become a part of the Uzumaki when I married Kushina. But don't worry. I don't harbor any ill feelings towards your cl…"

Minato suddenly halted in midsentence as he seemed fixated on a figure in the distance. His sapphire blue eyes honed in on the brunette slave passing out drinks. "…No."

"Minato? Minato-dear? You don't look too well." Worry seized his wife as his skin assumed a sickly pallid color. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Rin…" He mouthed inaudibly observing the brunette woman hand out drinks to the Uchiha and Uzumaki guests. As he continued to scrutinize her, his heart swelled with unimaginable grief and fear of what her presence in the Uchiha compound indicated. Her long chocolate brown hair had been cropped short and she wore the drab, abject attire of those who had been captured into slavery. If she had been captured by the Uchiha clan during his absence then what else had become of the village? What had happened to the others?

Suddenly regret filled him as he envisioned the fate of those he had left behind. There was no plausible way he could return without rousing the suspicion of the Uzumaki clan or others within the same level of caste. He had to approach the subject matter as discreetly as possible and seek the help of his trusted associates if he sought to avoid blowing his cover.

It had been over eighteen years since he felt the pangs of homesickness for those endless rolling fields of wheat and the many faces of those he had once deemed family.

"Minato-dear, please sit down." Kushina said directing her husband towards a chair.

"I'm fine, Kushina. I'm just tired from the travel." Minato grinned to his wife and son hoping to assuage their worries.

He seated himself in the chair and felt for the triple-bladed kunai concealed beneath the thick layering of his festive, silk robes. Although it was unbecoming of him to conceal such a weapon at a diplomatic gathering, the Uchiha were still actively at war with the Senju. There had been a high possibility of encountering the Uchiha's enemies or bandits on route to the compound though it was unlikely there would be any confrontation once they had reached the Uchiha territory.

As Minato felt for the rigid surface of the kunai's handle, he wondered if the young boy had still kept the kunai he had gifted him. Well, since it had been quite some time, he presumed the boy was likely an adult by now. That was if he were still alive…

"Don't you want to come dance?" Rin inquired as Sakura sulked against a pillar adorned in streamers and flower petals. Although Sakura was usually one to jump at the opportunity to move her feet when the music played, she remained affixed to her spot against the pillar reluctant to partake in the festivities.

"Well, don't just stand there." She flinched violently as a deep baritone spoke from behind her. She was so consumed in her glumness she hadn't even noticed the Uchiha Lord standing behind her. "Go dance."

She scurried beside Rin as if the Uchiha Lord's voice had physically propelled her away.

"Sasuke-kun." Karin cooed into his ear wrapping her arms around his neck. "I can't wait until our special day."

Sasuke remained doggedly taciturn as he gazed past Karin's ear spotting the Nohara and Haruno swaying their bodies to the rhythm of the music a few of the other slaves had played. Sakura felt a surge of electricity jolt her body as her eyes met the distant gaze of the young Uchiha. Since the previous night, she felt an awkwardness overcome her every time she felt the weight of his eyes on her. She still could not reckon as to why he had led her to the hillside and kissed her! However, that incident had outright changed the way she viewed him, the way she felt around him. It wasn't something she could easily disregard or erase from the brink of her thoughts. She knew things would never feel the same between them again.

Why had he done such a thing when he already had another woman hanging around his neck? Another woman he would spend the rest of his life with? Why did he gaze past this woman towards her as if the redhead were nothing more than a mere stranger standing in his way? Just what was going on behind those dark, enigmatic eyes of his?

"Sasuke-kun…" Karin suddenly separated from the Uchiha noticing his fixation on something afar. A blazing fury inundated the redhead as he failed to respond to their sudden separation. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." He answered curtly.

"Don't underestimate my sensory abilities! I can feel it, Sasuke-kun! I can feel your chakra fluctuating!" The redhead shouted fumingly and pointed her finger in the direction of the dancing Haruno slave. "And hers too!"

Sakura spotted Itachi and Shisui approaching the couple who had separated from each other for some unknown reason. It seemed as though Itachi was attempting to pacify the redheaded woman's anger although she couldn't hear a word of their conversation over the loud music playing beside her. It wasn't until the woman pointed a hostile finger in her direction that she balked in alarm and halted her feet on the spot. She willed herself to disregard the Uchiha's fiancé and let the syncopated rhythm of the drums drown out her qualms.

"People's chakra fluctuates all the time. I'm sure it's just all of the activity you're feeling." Itachi stated neutrally to his future Uzumaki sister-in-law. "It's nothing to be upset about."

"Karin, come back here!" Sasuke hissed as the woman ignored his brother's words and stomped off in the direction of the dancing slaves.

Karin knew better than to believe Itachi's dismissive explanation as she hailed from a bloodline of only the most adept sensors. She knew full well that chakra fluctuation relaying back and forth between a man and woman solely denoted feelings of attraction. Sasuke's chakra had remained cold and stagnant in Karin's presence and it wasn't until he had turned his attention to something else that she noticed its change in nature.

When the tempo of the drums decelerated, Sakura took a moment to catch her breath. It was in that moment, the young Uchiha's redheaded fiancé appeared ominously before her wielding a flower pot in her hand.

"Stay away from Sasuke, you whore!" She heard the woman bellow before a solid object struck her in the head.

She shrieked sharply as the force of impact downed her to the ground with a noisy thud. Fragments of the clay pot and dirt rained down on her as the impact had nearly rendered her unconscious. Unable to open her eyes from the dirt and blood stinging her eyes, she lay on the ground sobbing curled in a helpless fetal position.

The music ceased abruptly as the slaves dropped their gazes to the ground ignoring the agonized wails of the girl among them. With the cessation of the music, it seemed the entire festival had halted entirely. Rin clasped a hand over her mouth having not yet processed the reality of the scene transpiring before her eyes. Shisui and the two brothers stood there motionlessly like statues, their mouths gaping in utter shock. Itachi's eyes panned the crowd spotting a conspicuously deviant visage standing out against the sea of collectively flabbergasted faces.

When he heard the girl's anguished sobbing come to a lull, Madara's lips curled into a wild grin. He watched the girl with bated anticipation as he felt a tremendously fierce chakra seep from every pore of her battered body. The more he felt that broiling rage amass within her the more intense the unbearable throbbing within his groin became.

This festival was beginning to exceed his expectations—far beyond his expectations…

Sakura wiped the blood and grime from her eyes with the back of her hand and lifted her head slowly yet formidably towards the redhead who had turned away from her. Hoisting herself to the balls of her feet, she honed in on her opponent silently like a lioness stalking through the tall grass.

"Shannaro!"

The Haruno slave sprang for the Uzumaki noble at breakneck speed, seizing the woman by the throat, and slamming her ruthlessly to the ground. Without restraining an ounce her chakra, Sakura decimated the earth beneath them driving the woman deep into the ground. Startled bystanders leapt backwards avoiding the monstrous crater which had swallowed the two women into the depths of the earth.

_I don't know if I would want to bring that home…_Naruto swallowed forcefully as a trickle of sweat descended the side of his face. He glanced to the lip of the crater and then to his mother eyeing the damage in surprise. _She's just as bad as my mother!_

"Somebody stop her!" An unfamiliar Uzumaki clanswoman cried out as the dust began to clear revealing the abysmal depth of the crater. "She's going to kill Karin-sama!"

Fugaku immediately leapt into action, activating his Sharingan in order to hinder the Haruno from causing any further damage. By being the quickest to deal with the Haruno, he could seize the opportunity to impress his superior and the Uzumaki Lord. Any word of praise would certainly supersede the vision of the venomous glare that had haunted him since that morning.

Karin lay pinned beneath the vengeful Haruno who wrapped her small fingers around her throat. She spluttered loudly thrashing beneath Sakura's body. "Someone get this animal off of me!"

Suddenly, the pink haired girl cried out as a sharp pain wracked her neck. She wasn't sure as to whose Sharingan had activated her seal but she urged herself to fight it regardless. Rigidly drawing one elbow back, she curled her fingers into a fist preparing to strike the Uzumaki. She screamed as every minute movement of her muscles sent a rippling pain throughout her entire body. The Uzumaki was helpless against the woman's immense strength. Although the seal restrained her movements, Karin was still unable to wrest the girl's grip from her throat. Sakura drove her fist into Karin's cheek although the action sent a wave of pain coursing down the length of her arm.

Karin grunted in pain although the strength behind Sakura's fist had been largely curbed by the seal.

"I never asked for any of this!" Sakura managed to cry out through her rigid facial muscles.

Karin's eyes shot wide open as she felt warm splotches of tears and blood dripping onto the surface of her aching cheeks. She gazed through the shattered lenses of her glasses squinting to improve her view of the blurred face of the woman hovering over her. Twin trails of tears streaked the dirt and blood caked on her cheeks.

_I never asked to be here in the first place! _

Sakura struggled tenaciously against the unmerciful pain for the mere freedom of drawing her arm back yet again.

_I should be home spending the Cherry Blossom Festival with my clan!_

This time, the impact of the screaming Haruno's restrained fist managed to shake loose tears from the redheaded woman's eyes.

_I shouldn't even be here! _

Unable to stomach the sight of the woman's anguished faced in conjunction with pain of her pummeling, Karin squeezed her eyelids shut as if to escape it all. She mentally pleaded for everything to stop already as it had quickly become too much for her to bear.

"Impossible!" Fugaku snarled in disbelief as he witnessed the unimaginable. "She's resisting my Sharingan!"

Itachi and Shisui immediately exchanged frantic glances as they helplessly watched their secretive project unravel before the eyes of the public. Itachi stole a discreet glance to the Uchiha Lord spectating the scene with a thoughtful expression on his face. Sheer panic consumed him as the Uchiha Lord's reaction did not reflect what he figured would've been a typical reaction for him.

_Itachi, he knows!_ Itachi was clearly able to discern the silent message conveyed in Shisui's eyes.

When two additional Uchiha clansmen projected their Sharingan into the girl's seal in order to reinforce her restraints, she shuddered violently as six more tomoe appeared within the seal. The clutter of tomoe spun within the circular seal and suddenly the girl drew a deep breath of relief as the pain immediately vanished. She curled and relaxed her fingers freely and kneaded chakra into the tips of her fingers testing the limits of her sudden liberation.

What had just happened? Did they deactivate the seal?

"What?!" Madara hissed, utterly dumbstruck by the girl's freedom in movement despite the seal's activation. Did multiple Sharingan negate the effects of the seal?

Itachi and Shisui nodded subtly to each other noticing the same phenomenon. Perhaps this discovery could prove to work in their favor.

"Detain her!" Madara thundered loudly, promptly sending the three Uchiha utilizing the seal into the depths of the chasm.

They peeled the dirtied and bloodied slave off the Uzumaki separating them from their prolonged scuffle. Fugaku seized Sakura's arm with an unforgiving rigor that caused her to cry out as if to compensate for the humiliation of his failed Sharingan. Fugaku and another Uchiha dragged her away in the direction of what Itachi recognized was the dungeons. With the failure of the seal, Itachi immediately knew his clan would conduct the harshest means of physical torture on the girl.

Karin flung herself at Sasuke burying her face into his chest. "Oh, Sasuke-kun, it was horrible! That bitch broke my glasses and ruined my kimono! Plus, she left me with all these nasty bruises on my face! I hope she gets what's coming!"

"You're the one who threw the damn pot at her in the first place, dattebayo!" Naruto retorted vehemently. Karin burrowed her head deeper within Sasuke's chest ignoring Naruto's words.

"Why do you keep such a slave among your stock?" The Uzumaki Lord harried Madara in a flustered manner. "I want that slave punished to the maximum extent!"

"Rest assured…" Madara answered coolly. His voice descended forebodingly instilling fear within the two brothers and Shisui. "…I will personally see to her punishment."

Itachi and Shisui walked off in a hurry escaping the busy crowd recovering from the aftermath of the clash between the two women.

"Itachi, we have to do something! He's going to torture, Sakura-chan! He's going to find out about everything!" Shisui hissed his words loudly.

Itachi suddenly veered off their pathway provoking his friend to contort his face in confusion. Shisui trotted up beside him hastily. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I have a plan." Itachi stated setting course for the object hidden within the dense ivy behind the shrine.

* * *

_A/N: Welcome to the annual Uchiha Cherry Blossom Festival. Come witness the magical beauty of the cherry blossom trees as they signal the rejuvenation of spring. Stop by and sample some of the finest foods and drinks from across the lands and enjoy them underneath the spectacular view of flowering trees. Although the flowers are the main attraction, the Uchiha clan takes pride in its unparalleled performing arts such as traditional music and dance, theatre, tea ceremonies, cockfighting, and cat fighting…_

_Thank you so much for reading and to show my appreciation for all your generous reviews here's a cliffhanger. _


	12. Polarity

_A/N: Again, a reminder that this fic is rated M (hopefully not too graphic though) so read at your own discretion._

* * *

"Hashirama-sama…" A mousy haired man wearing the Senju samurai attire said as he entered the audience chamber. "Your daughter is here to see you and she has guests accompanying her."

The long, dark haired Senju Lord cupped his chin within his hand and nodded his approval of their audience. "Let her in."

A blonde woman wearing her hair in loose twin ponytails entered behind the attendant. Her silver haired hermit associate and female apprentice followed behind her with the tail end of the group consisting of the Haruno couple along with the three Mugihara cattle drivers.

"Tsuna!" The Senju Lord's dark eyes lit up jubilantly. "It's been so long! And you brought friends!"

Tsunade's redheaded mother clasped her hands together. "Oh, how we've missed you!"

"Tou-san…Kaa-san…" Tsunade bowed her head slightly demonstrating her deference to her highly esteemed parents. "I come before you seeking your help. The people among me are from the Haruno clan and the Mugihara village."

The legendary doctor gestured for the Haruno clan leader to step forwards. Kizashi cleared his throat and began solemnly. "Senju Hashirama, we stand before you humbly requesting your assistance. For we are simply peasants who have struggled desperately in these times of peril only for our efforts to be rendered _feudal_…"

"Feudal…?" The Senju Lord interjected raising a sole, skeptical eyebrow.

An unnerving silence befell the audience chamber as Tsunade's guests exchanged hesitant glances unsure of how the Haruno clan leader would respond to the sternness that had overcome the Senju Lord's visage.

Kizashi swallowed forcefully and uttered meekly correcting himself. "…futile."

The Senju Lord suddenly gripped a hand to his belly and let out a hearty bout of laughter. "Ah, I get it!"

Kakashi shot a baffled glance to Jiraiya who, in return, answered with a shrug of his shoulders. Mito glimpsed to her guffawing husband and then to her scarlet faced daughter folding her arms firmly beneath her large bust.

_It seems like Tou-san hasn't changed one bit…_Tsunade thought to herself as her father's robust laughter continued to resonate off the walls of the audience chamber.

"For god's sake, Kizashi!" Mebuki snapped at her husband causing him to cower before her. "This is a serious situation! We didn't come here to make the Senju Lord laugh!"

"Forgive me but I just can't help the way I talk. I swear it was _accentdental_!" The dull pink haired man waved his hands nervously.

The Senju Lord's laughter suddenly escalated in intensity provoking an exasperated scowl from his daughter while the rest of the occupants writhed in sheer mortification taken aback by his unexpected disposition.

"This is no laughing matter!" Tsunade bellowed furiously casting an abrupt silence within the room. Hashirama ceased his laughter and awaited his daughter's further words with attentive ears. "The Haruno clan and Mugihara villagers come before you because they have been beset with tragedy as a result of this war with the Uchiha. The Uchiha clan has invaded both of their villages and kidnapped their healers."

"In their desperation to gain the upper hand in the war, the Uchiha have been arbitrarily pillaging villages in search of anyone who has healing skills." Hashirama remarked objectively.

Kakashi boldly stepped forward. "The Uchiha came to our village specifically demanding Nohara Rin. I don't know who informed them of her healing talents but their arrival was certainly not arbitrary."

"They somehow knew my daughter was one of Tsunade's disciples!" Mebuki said emphatically. "They destroyed our well and kidnapped us as hostages in order to lure my daughter out of hiding! If it weren't for these courageous cattle drivers here we would've been executed!"

Tsunade's liquid amber eyes narrowed suspiciously as she turned to the Haruno clanswoman. "How did they find out Sakura was one of my disciples? Such information should've never reached Uchiha ears. The peasant clans I've frequented with her under my guidance would've never disclosed any kind of information to the likes of the Uchiha. Are there any enemies to your clan who would've done so?"

Mebuki shook her head denying Tsunade's inquiry. "No, not that I'm aware of. We have good rapport amongst the other neighboring clans so I doubt any of them would've betrayed us. Outside of them, I'm not aware of anyone else who would've known."

Tsunade's eyes flittered accusingly to Jiraiya. The hermit shook his head fervently. "Don't look at me! I don't talk about your students!"

"Keep in mind that even an ally could've revealed information if they were threatened by the Uchiha. Judging by the clan's stark brutality, it wouldn't surprise me if that was the case." Kakashi stated as Gai and Lee nodded agreeably behind him.

Tsunade forced a drawn out sigh. "Regardless of how they found out we have to focus on how to rescue them along with the other people they have abducted. I've already lost my brother and Dan because of this war. I don't want to see any more innocent people dragged into it."

"Dan? Kato Dan?" Mebuki asked curiously stroking the ridge of her jaw. "I used to pawn off jewelry at his shop in Akagane."

"Yes. He was a merchant but he was also my fiancé. Even though he was of a lower caste, my father approved of our engagement but then…" Crestfallen, Tsunade's voice delicately trailed off.

Shizune quickly spoke up filling in for her mentor. "Dan was also my uncle. After he had closed up shop for the night, he overheard members of the Uchiha clan discussing how they would target the Senju medics. Before he could head off to warn Tsunade, the Uchiha discovered that he had been eavesdropping and killed him…"

"Please, Tou-san!" Tsunade shouted imploringly as her eyes assumed a glossy sheen. "You have to end this war! I can't bear to lose any more of those dear to me!"

"Tsuna…" Hashirama uttered placidly. "I want nothing more than to abolish this antiqued system and unite the clans into one nation. I have been working tirelessly to negotiate a truce with Madara, however, he has adamantly refused to compromise or show any signs of relenting. He is firmly opposed to any notion of change and strictly believes that the current system should be preserved. But there was a time he used to share my same vision. He once was a kind man who wanted nothing more than peace across the lands. It wasn't until his brother…"

"Hashirama!" A silver haired man thundered as he burst through the door of the audience chamber. He closed the door behind him and locked his red eyes with the Senju Lord's dark ones. "Take into consideration the people you are speaking to! While you may still be attached to your prior memories of Madara these people have known nothing but heartache and tragedy caused by his lust for battle."

"I am aware of that, Tobirama." Hashirama retorted as his younger brother approached the guests.

"I was informed that one slave in particular was branded with an incredibly powerful seal that has been used to torture the subject in question." Tobirama halted and folded his arms snugly against his chest.

"A seal? How do you know of this?"

"I have informants within the Uchiha clan." Tobirama answered eliciting shock from the rest of the occupants within the chamber.

Hashirama exclaimed loudly. "What? You never informed me of this?!"

"I have informants of various clans and castes reporting to me regularly. One of which…Jiraiya…" Tobirama turned his attention to the hermit. "…was a student of yours—a peasant with enough talent to blend into the nobles and pass himself off as a Senju."

"You have peasants posing as nobles?! Tobirama, I want to create peace among the castes not further conflict!" Hashirama buried his face with the palm of his hand and shook his head disapprovingly.

"Quiet, Hashirama! Without that spy we would've been dealing with a violent revolt by the peasant villages. He was able to reinforce our comradeship with the Uzumaki clan as well. But enough about that…These peasants come before us because collectively they don't harness the power to oppose the Uchiha. If we allow this crisis to continue affecting the innocent who have been dragged into our war, the peasants will decry our lack of responsiveness and accuse us of facilitating the Uchiha's actions. This will only exacerbate the tension between the castes. The only way to stop the Uchiha at once is to cripple them from the inside out."

"You seem quite confident of this. Do you have a plan?" Kakashi inquired adjusting his conical straw hat.

"The Uchiha rely heavily on their healers and without them they will quickly find themselves fighting a losing battle. I have been collaborating with my Uchiha informants as to the best way to quickly and safely remove their captives from the compound." Tobirama paused for a moment before his deep voice deadpanned. "If Madara wishes to hold onto his captives then let it be his downfall…"

* * *

Sakura sat against the freezing concrete wall of a completely enclosed and windowless cell within the prison. She sat and waited for what seemed like an eternity within the cell reluctant to endure any future interactions with the Uchiha clansmen. She repeatedly mulled over numerous excuses she could employ to lessen her sentence for pummeling the Uzumaki woman but part of her feared that her words would simply prove futile in the face of their retribution. Although she had healed the laceration on her forehead from the Uzumaki's flower pot, the dried blood and dirt had encrusted her skin causing her face to feel uncomfortably rigid. She yearned to liberally splash water onto her face from the nearest spigot once she left the prison.

If she ever left the prison…

When she heard the heavy metal door creak partially open, she promptly snapped up to her feet anticipating one of the Uchiha guardsmen to deliver her punishment. When the Uchiha Lord entered her cell instead, she withered in sheer terror of what was to come. He was still dressed in the lavish silk robes from the festival piquing both her curiosity and fear.

How long had she been detained within the cell? Were the Uzumaki still here? Just how would he punish her for her retaliation against the Uzumaki woman?

Sakura's survival instincts urged her repeat her prior actions and remain defiantly silent as Madara approached her. She pursed her lips firmly and let her eyes descend to the floor in an attempt to ignore his presence. It had seemingly worked once before.

Madara's deep black eyes narrowed noticing her intent to avoid him just as she had done at his residence. Even in her present situation, the girl would continue to demonstrate her defiance and yet it did not rile him. He could easily solicit a response from her regardless of her determination to ignore him.

"You will _not_ ignore me!" He pressed a harsh hand against the wall beside her face bringing him to an uncomfortably close proximity.

Sakura let out a not-so restrained gasp feeling trapped between the wall and his unwelcome closeness. Fretfully, she sought the quickest defense her tongue could churn out. "About the Uzumaki woman, I…"

"Frankly, I could care less about the Uzumaki woman. She's Sasuke's problem now." He said gripping the tip of her chin holding her head painfully still.

If he hadn't arrived to punish her for her assault on the Uzumaki woman then…

She hastily gathered chakra to the ridge of her hands transforming the scalpels she typically used for medical procedures into an improvised weapon. Normally, such a technique would not prove effective for combat due to the extraordinary level of precision required to apply it offensively. However, his close proximity ensured that she could at least immobilize her target with a single blow.

Noting the emergent chakra radiating within her tiny hands, he seized her wrists slamming them callously into the wall. Sakura barely managed to utter a startled shriek as his brute force nearly winded her. Frantically, she racked her brain for any means of fending him off merely for her search to turn up blank. He was far too close to ram him with her knee and he had pinned her wrists unforgivingly against the wall at each side of her head.

Her eyes shot open as he forced his lips against hers in a suffocating manner. Unable to grapple with his overwhelming strength, she clamped her teeth down on his bottom lip denying him the opportunity to further explore her mouth. He instantly withdrew from the kiss enabling her a moment to catch her breath. Initially, she glared at him with fury flaring in her bright green orbs. The fury reflected within her eyes was quickly supplanted by raw fear. She trembled in his hold deeply afraid of how he would retaliate.

Licking away the blood that trickled from his bitten lip, he smirked. "Are you a woman or an animal?"

The girl merely scowled at him irked by the question she had been derisively asked on more than one occasion. He was well aware that his words would rekindle her anger and relished the savage look marking her grimy face. Even with the thick layer of dirt and blood caked to her skin, he found himself completely captivated by the sight of her—a true testament of her beauty.

Bringing her wrists together, he pinned them above her head gripping them with a single hand in order to grant freedom to the other hand.

"Please…" She whimpered turning her head to the side as he closed in any remaining gaps leaving her crammed between his body and the wall. When she felt his arousal brushing against her thigh she desperately sought for any means of thwarting him. "I'll scream and…"

"You're currently within a soundproof holding cell. No one will hear you." Madara scoffed at her pitiful attempt at creating a threat. "Besides, who are you expecting to come to your aid? I'm curious to know."

He waited for a moment for her answer and quickly lost his patience in her fearful silence. His tongue traced the supple skin of her neck as his free hand slipped stealthily underneath the hem of her robes. Sakura held her breath scolding herself for her inept attempt at threatening him. A small part of her had hoped that he could be deterred from sexually assaulting her if the guards outside her cell heard her screams. Deep down, she knew that the hardboiled prison guards would likely ignore her screams even if they did hear her. If the cell was soundproof then it was evident it had been designed for the sole purpose of torturing detainees.

She squeezed her eyelids closed forcibly evicting the tears that had welled up inside them as he ran his hand up her thigh in his lustful fervor. She heard him grunt sharply followed by the feeling of a warm liquid trickling onto her thigh. He wrenched his impaled hand out from underneath her robes and held it before his face examining the deep gash within the palm of his hand.

"A concealed weapon." He said with a slight laugh eyeing the copious flow of blood running down the length of his forearm.

While he was distracted, she managed to wrench one arm free and draw the kunai that had been strapped to her upper thigh. Before she could even devise a plan of action with the weapon, he gripped her wrist and twisted it harshly against its axis loosening her hold of the kunai. "If you believe you can take me out with a mere kunai you're gravely…"

As her fingers unraveled from the handle of the kunai the Uchiha Lord's dark eyes widened in shock noticing the distinct markings engraved onto the weapon. His eyes instantly flashed red closely matching the bright red hue of his countenance. "How? How did you get this!"

Sakura quailed before him shirking down the side of the wall. "I don't know…"

He hissed as his Sharingan began to assume a more intricate patterning. "You will tell me one way or another!"

"I found it!" She cried out hoping for a minute chance that she could convince him with a lie.

"Lies!"

Sakura braced herself for the imminent agony she would suffer upon the seal's activation. Even with her anticipation, she found herself ill-prepared in the face of the Uchiha Lord's immense power as her entire body rippled with a level of pain she had yet to experience. She immediately collapsed to the ground sobbing and screaming hysterically unable to endure another second of the pain that had greatly outmatched even that of Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan. She prayed that she would be rendered unconscious before he could receive the opportunity to interrogate her.

However, she could not afford to withstand yet another moment of this inconceivable pain and feared he would gain control of her faster than she could fall unconscious.

"The initial pain you are feeling is your body fighting the projection of my chakra into your seal." She could vaguely discern his words beneath her screaming fit.

Even if what he said was true, she could never control her body's urge to fight the seal's activation no matter who utilized it. In her sessions with Itachi, she had always felt the pain of the seal's activation even though she willingly allowed him to use the seal. It was purely involuntary.

Knowing her body would soon fall victim to his ocular power, she willed herself to fight it. She absolutely could not permit herself to reveal anything about the two Uchiha who had been aiding her to the extent of treason. She had to evict him from her mind before she could unwittingly bring peril upon Itachi and Shisui even at the expense of her pain.

Madara furrowed his brow watching the girl suddenly fall completely flaccid and cease her agonized screaming.

Had she fallen unconscious?

He internally chastised himself for hastily employing the highest level of his Sharingan on the girl in his broiling rage. Using his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan on a mere peasant was overkill and he knew that she would likely pass out before he could interrogate her through the seal. Nevertheless, a curious part of him had eagerly wished to see her combat it.

Disappointed, he sighed wearily gazing down at the unresponsive girl lying on the floor. Before he could terminate his usage of the seal, he witnessed an ethereal presence materialize before his flabbergasted eyes.

"**Shannaro**!" An apparition of the girl suddenly decked him square in the chest.

He staggered backward from the unexpected blitz that had forcibly ended his reign over the seal. The girl's eyelids fluttered open as if she had returned to life. Madara planted his feet firmly within the ground halting his backward momentum while the girl scrambled to her hands and knees.

He touched his bloodied hand to his chest where he had received the blow and began chuckling lightly to himself. Sakura recoiled frightfully as the Uchiha Lord suddenly erupted into unbridled, maniacal laughter. With large, bewildered eyes, she remained frozen in a vulnerable kneeling position watching the Uchiha as his wild laughter reverberated off the walls of her bleak cell. Pale red splotches comprised of sweat and diluted blood dripped from her brow onto the ground around her spread fingers.

After his laughter slowly dissipated, he set his sights back to the girl and spoke casually. "So that's how it was done…a second soul."

Sakura's blood ran ice cold as though she had just been caught red-handed committing an elaborate crime.

"A second soul that can manifest at will in order to drive intruders from the mind. I can only assume the clan's overindulgent use of the seal has likely strengthened this soul ironically allowing you to become resistant to the Sharingan." He advanced on her with a pensive look on his face. "But to oppose the heightened power of the Mangekyou Sharingan would be impossible…that is unless you've been repeatedly exposed to one."

He towered over the kneeling girl gazing down upon the circular mark on the back of her neck. "Just when I believe I have finally perfected the seal, you suddenly expose the flaws of my work."

Sakura lifted her head although she avoided his gaze.

"I created that seal as the prototype of a jutsu I have been researching—a justu I seek to one day cast upon this world. I initially branded Senju prisoners of war with this seal as a means of experimentation. However, they were unable to tolerate the seal and eventually committed suicide before I could test its limits. I never imagined a mere peasant to resist it nor did I expect to discover that more than one user can cancel out its effects. But now since I am able to observe and address its flaws, I can finally take the steps necessary to achieve my vision."

"What do you mean?" Sakura breathed shakily hoisting herself guardedly to her feet.

"Hashirama seeks to unite all of the clans as one nation with the belief that it will finally bring peace to the lands. However, he doesn't realize that doing so will only breed more conflict instead of resolving it. He probably believes I want to uphold the caste system for the mere sake of preserving conflict. Even if the caste system were to be abolished, it will always remain in place due to the distinct imbalance of power between the clans. The weak will ways live in fear of those with power and the powerful will always look down upon the weak. It is simply natural law. People will seek conflict no matter what. They will never live together in peace because they will never easily forget the loss of those who have been slain by the people who were once their enemies. Conflict will continue to ensue whether it is between those of different castes, between those of the same caste, and even amongst those of the same clan."

He paused for a moment. "You probably believe you are the only one to have suffered great injustices because you are of the lower caste while I live a comfortable life here at the top. I have lost all of my close family members as a result of this war."

"I once possessed a gold chain that had been given to me by my father but that precious treasure was unjustly taken away from me. Generations of my family's history stolen by that despicable mother of yours and for what? The fleeting satisfaction of trading it for money!" He roared heatedly inciting the girl to flinch in alarm. Somberness overtook his voice as he touched his fingertips to the corner of his eye. "These eyes…these are the eyes of my brother. One of the few reminders that remain of him…"

Her dampened robes clung tightly to her petite frame as sweat continued to run down her brow stinging her eyes unmercifully. She blinked rapidly to alleviate the stinging, unable to smear the irritating droplets away with her arm in her petrified state.

Madara raised the kunai he had seized from her before his face as a profound sadness filled his deep red eyes. It was the trademark tool of the loathsome bastard who had claimed his younger brother's life with his teleportation jutsu. Such a kunai could've never turned up within the Uchiha compound by mere coincidence and he knew that Sakura probably would've disregarded the weapon if she did stumble across it given her heavy reliance on her immense strength. It was more likely someone from within had deliberately armed the girl with the intent of either launching a surprise attack on the clan or wresting her away from him. He figured there were probably more of his kunai hidden elsewhere within the compound.

She gasped noisily as he pulled her into his chest and muttered wistfully. "Never again…that bastard…"

What bastard? Just who was he referring to?

Baffled by his words, she remained both silent and motionless within his firm embrace.

_Never again…_He told himself assertively as he clutched the bewildered girl against his chest. _That bastard will never take anyone away from me again. If he seeks to take her away then let it be his downfall…_

He caressed the seal on her neck when an ingenious idea flashed within his mind. His sorrow was readily replaced by a triumphant satisfaction as he loaded chakra into his fingertips.

She cried sharply as a stabbing pain shot through her neck. She nearly buckled in his hold and gazed up at him with tearful eyes. "What did you do to me?!"

"I made a slight adjustment to your seal."

She sobbed despairingly knowing that he likely quashed the hopeful flaws of the seal she and the other two Uchiha had put their faith into exploiting.

"Sakura, you will _not_ cry." He said sternly although it did not assuage her sorrow to the slightest. "I am not your enemy."

Not her enemy?! She gnashed her teeth flashing him a hostile glare of disapproval in response to his fallacious claim.

He smirked haughtily. "You don't believe me? If you did return to that peasant village of yours do you honestly believe you could easily resume your previous life of ignorance? Do you believe you can simply forget everything you have witnessed of the world outside your village?"

"I don't follow…" She gritted through her tears.

"You have saved the lives of the people you deem your enemy. You didn't have to save that baby and yet you did at the cost of your own pain. Would you be capable of turning your hands against the people you nursed to health with those very same hands?"

Sakura dropped her gaze dodging his deep crimson eyes as he awaited her reply.

"Well?" He pressed her.

Yet again, she answered his inquiry with silence.

"You don't have an answer because you hold two contradictory views of the Uchiha. But this world of inconsistencies…" He pressed his lips against the circular mark on her neck. "I will be the one to fix it."

Trepidation returned to her as he resumed his lustful expedition of her body. He slipped his hand beneath the opening of her robe grasping for her breast. Every fiber of her being opposed his invasive touch as she writhed in his hold curling away from his hands.

He murmured within her ear groping her supple, sensitive tissue. "Stay by my side and…"

Madara's voice and body paused in unison as a loud knock echoed off the door. Reluctantly, he parted from the girl and answered the door. He snarled sourly. "What?"

"My deepest apologizes for interrupting, Madara-sama…" A guard appeared behind the door lowering his head ruefully. "I regret to inform you that your house is on fire."

"What?!" The Uchiha Lord's red eyes widened in sheer disbelief. He turned back to the girl delivering his strict orders. "You will remain here until I return, understand?"

Sakura nodded feebly and watched the Uchiha Lord depart her cell. The door shut with a heavy slam leaving her desolate. Although her isolation granted her a transient sense of relief, she knew the Uchiha Lord would return at any time.

She reflected on his convoluted words unable to comprehend how her seal could be the prototype for a jutsu to achieve his vision. Based on what she pieced together from his words, he desired to fix the injustices of the world—or something along those lines—though she wasn't exactly sure as to how a seal used to torture and control people could contribute to this by any stretch of the imagination.

He had confiscated the kunai that inexplicably triggered his rage whilst only provoking her confusion as to why Shisui had given it to her in the first place. How would it have saved her life as he had so confidently claimed?

She seated herself tucking her knees into herself wondering what Itachi and Shisui had been doing. She prayed that somehow the two Uchiha could heroically whisk her away from her imprisonment but knew that realistically they could do nothing for her. Even with Madara gone, there were still guards monitoring her enclosed cell and they would risk exposing their treasonous activities if they set foot within the prison to come to her rescue.

Then her thoughts settled on Sasuke who had taken her to the summit of the forest instead of bringing her in to be interrogated. Had he defied orders for her sake? Considering her current situation, she found herself garnering a whole new level of appreciation for the enigmatic Uchiha's actions although she was still befuddled as to the reasoning behind his kiss.

The heavy door creaked open loudly startling the girl who had become entirely immersed in thought. When a large masculine hand pulled the door open, her heart sank instinctively knowing the Uchiha Lord had likely returned.

To her surprise, she realized that the Uchiha entering her cell was not Madara.

To her dismay, she recognized the long straight hair and rat-like face of the man who had invaded her village.

It was Inabi.

* * *

_A/N: While there may be some concepts that echo the manga, this fic is still an AU so not everything will directly follow the manga of course. That being said, while there may be borrowed elements of the Moon's Eye Plan in this story, the bijuu, Juubi, and Kaguya will not be in this fic. _

_And apparently both Madara and Sakura bite people's arms in combat. Manga fact. Who would've known…o.O_

_Well, thanks again for reading and please remember to review! _


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