{"id":3851,"date":"2022-01-29T11:26:08","date_gmt":"2022-01-29T16:26:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/?p=3851"},"modified":"2022-02-01T14:56:26","modified_gmt":"2022-02-01T19:56:26","slug":"chapter-51-perfect-vessels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/?p=3851","title":{"rendered":"51 – Perfect Vessels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From Chapter 50:\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cSakura of the Leaf,\u201d Chiyo rasped.<\/i><\/p>\n

Sakura leaned in to listen, wondering if, at the end, Chiyo had some message to pass on. Sakura was not so heartless as to deny an old woman her last wish\u2014<\/i><\/p>\n

Chiyo\u2019s eyes locked on hers. Her hand gripped her forearm, clawing around it in the last ebb of strength\u2014<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cYou are my student now.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

The light in Chiyo\u2019s pale blue eyes flickered out.<\/i><\/p>\n

\n

Chiyo\u2019s withered hand slid from her arm. Her fingers fell open on the cave floor. Her eyes stared unseeing at the ceiling.<\/p>\n

Sakura blinked at her once, twice\u2026not believing she was actually dead. Because if that old woman was dead, then it meant she had survived. It was over\u2026.<\/p>\n

Sakura cautiously blew out a breath and checked Chiyo\u2019s vitals. It was true. She was gone.<\/i><\/p>\n

She sat back on her knees. Her braid had unraveled at some point, leaving her hair clinging to her neck and shoulders. Messy strands hung over her face. With each breath, they shivered.<\/p>\n

It was the only movement in the cavern.<\/p>\n

Sakura realized she was the only living thing left in this space.<\/p>\n

She felt strangely numb. She wanted to cry, yet was too exhausted to even summon the strength needed to release any emotion.<\/p>\n

Her eyes roved the cavern floor, beyond Chiyo to the body of the former Sand Kage. He was splayed out like a rag doll, left behind in the dust.<\/p>\n

In death, Gaara\u2019s fingertips curved softly upwards, palms open to the ceiling, just like Chiyo\u2019s. But where Chiyo stared up, as if stunned by her own death, Gaara\u2019s eyes were closed. It was the only peaceful thing about him.<\/p>\n

Sakura scooted over, really seeing him for the first time. It hurt just to look at him. His entire body had been broken.<\/p>\n

This wasn\u2019t the work of days. It was more like weeks. He had been slowly, brutally tortured to death while the Sand village hesitated\u2026. She shook her head, but still scanned his body like a medic would, cataloging his injuries as if she were somehow responsible for him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>But he was far beyond anyone\u2019s help now.<\/p>\n

His mangled fingers stuck out at odd angles. Each one had been broken, some in multiple places. The fine fabrics of his clothes were torn, burned, bloodied and caked with dirt. In between the tears were more angry bruises of broken bones. Every inch of exposed skin was covered with gouges and scraps.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His wrists and ankles were marred with deep rope burns. But his neck\u2026. His neck bore the cruelest mark. The rope there had been so tight the bruises actually were in the shape of twisted coils.<\/p>\n

She grit her teeth. This was what finally killed him.<\/p>\n

She leaned over Gaara\u2019s face and moved to brush some of the dirt away\u2014 She stopped, hand above his face, and realized it wasn\u2019t dirt at all. It was another bruise, but this time in the shape of a boot print. It had broken his nose and blackened one eye.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The shock of it stole her breath. It was cruel. Humiliating. They wanted to destroy him. And they wanted him to know it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She moved her hand up to the side of his forehead and gingerly lifted the lock of hair that fell over the tattoo she knew was hidden there. Matted with blood and dirt, it moved in one clump.<\/p>\n

It was just a single word. \u201cLove.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tears burned her eyes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Who had loved him? Who had let this happen to him?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Her hand drifted over his chest\u2026.<\/p>\n

Who would do something like this to another human?<\/i><\/p>\n

She knew the answer. The Akatsuki. They must have wanted that malicious power locked up inside him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Both the Akatsuki and Chiyo had broken him open, both were trying to pull it out. Both were using him for their own purposes\u2026. And she still had no idea what that was\u2026.<\/p>\n

Her hand came to rest on Gaara\u2019s chest. Her fingers curled over the top of his tunic, brushing the bare skin at his throat, the one patch that was remarkably free from injury.<\/p>\n

His skin was\u2026warm<\/i>\u2014<\/p>\n

Sakura yanked her hand back as if she\u2019d touched fire.<\/p>\n

How is that possible?<\/i><\/p>\n

She quickly pushed her fingers deep into the side of his neck, deeper until she found it\u2026. A pulse. Her mouth dropped open. It was faint but it was there.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She looked him up and down, several times. All the signs of life were suddenly winking back into existence within him. The skin that had been ash-grey just moments before was tinged pink. Everywhere she touched he was slightly warm.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She leaned over him, holding her cheek just above his parted lips and waited\u2026.<\/p>\n

The softest puff of breath reached her skin.<\/p>\n

She sat back on her knees, truly shocked. He was dead. She knew this. Everything in his body reported this: the color of the bruising, the crust at the edge of the scrapes. He had been dead for a long time. And yet\u2026now he was alive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It makes no sense\u2026. Human bodies don\u2019t work like this.<\/i><\/p>\n

She pulled both hands back to his chest, breathed through her nose and summoned her chakra to do a thorough diagnostic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But instead of the softly glowing light that flowed like water from her hand, a web of slender chakra threads unfurled from her open palms and spun down into Gaara\u2019s chest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Before she could even think to stop them, they had connected to his body like puppet strings.<\/p>\n

Shocked, Sakura closed her fists on the strands, cutting them off. Cold dread rolled through her, swamping the momentary joy that Gaara might somehow still be alive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chiyo\u2019s technique\u2026. It\u2019s like it replaced mine\u2026.<\/i><\/p>\n

She wanted to weep. But, gulping back fear, Sakura opened her hands to try again. Like spider\u2019s webs, two thin nets of chakra strands unrolled under her palms. She resisted the urge to pull away. Instead she thought of Gaara, his injuries and where she needed to see inside.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The strands exploded from her hands, disappeared into his chest and raced down through his body.<\/p>\n

It worked so much better, so much faster than anything she\u2019d ever done before. Before she had time to blink and process this new reality, she was already connected to Gaara\u2019s chakra network. She was seeing all of him, at the same time.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There was no preparation. No searching. No gentle massaging of tissues, organs or blood cells, persuading them to reveal their secrets to her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sakura simply controlled them with her touch. She received all the information about his vitality, his injuries, his life expectancy from his wounds, all instantly. She saw it all\u2026.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s like he truly is my puppet\u2014<\/i><\/p>\n

Sakura gasped and severed the connection between them. Hands frozen in place above his chest, she shook her head slowly as if she was watching something terrible unfold, right before her eyes.<\/p>\n

The weight of her ordeal hung on her, pulling her down. She began to feel her own injuries. The burning ache where Chiyo\u2019s chains had run through her\u2026. Every bump and bruise from her battles with Sasori\u2026. The deep pain at her arm, where she\u2019d sacrificed her chakra to the monster\u2026.<\/p>\n

Chiyo\u2019s words rattled in her head. \u201cYou are my student now.\u201d<\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sakura crushed her eyes shut and shook her head frantically, whipping her loose hair around her face, and pushed the old woman\u2019s voice out. But it was only replaced by her own fears\u2026.<\/p>\n

What if I survived her\u2026only to become her instead?<\/i><\/p>\n

Tears welled in Sakura\u2019s eyes and slipped down her cheeks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She looked down at the broken Kage. Another thought made her shudder. Tears pattered on his chest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did she make me do to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura looked at her hands, his shattered body, the litter of broken rocks and discarded weapons all around them. She was the only one left in all this death and destruction.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It dawned on her just how dangerous this situation was for her.<\/p>\n

This was a secret mission. We aren\u2019t even supposed to be here. They didn\u2019t ask for help. But here I am\u2026with their Kage\u2019s life literally in my hands.<\/i><\/p>\n

She brushed her tears away with her forearm, put her hands back over Gaara\u2019s chest, and forced herself to remain steady.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But cold clarity was slipping in, replacing fear and emotion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When they find me, they might think this was the plan all along. In the eyes of the Sand nation, I might be no better than the Akatsuki.<\/i><\/p>\n

She summoned her chakra to her fingertips, but didn\u2019t connect to his network. Not yet. Her energy strands, now undeniable replicas of Chiyo\u2019s steel ropes, cast a pool of green light down onto his chest.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What will happen when they finally get here?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

She played out every scenario in her head. There was not one where she didn\u2019t wind up in a Sand prison. Or worse. Someone would have to pay. And that someone would be her.<\/p>\n

A new thought was whispering through her mind\u2026.<\/p>\n

I could kill him\u2026.<\/i><\/p>\n

Face empty of emotion, Sakura stared down at Gaara\u2019s broken body.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe I should. What if\u2026. What if I didn\u2019t save Gaara at all? What if I only did what Chiyo couldn\u2019t and trapped a monster inside him instead? What if Konoha gets blamed for orchestrating this attack on their Kage? What if they come for me as his would-be assassin? Could this be the spark that ignites a new war between our nations?<\/i><\/p>\n

The green glow that lined Sakura\u2019s cheeks and pooled in the hollows of her eyes made her look much older than she was\u2026.<\/p>\n

If I did it now, no one would ever know. All evidence would die with them. I alone could tell them any story I wanted. And nothing that happened here would follow me out of this cave. It would all end here. Killing him would be the easiest solution. Any Leaf nin would say the same. And any enemy nin wouldn\u2019t waste this opportunity\u2026.<\/i><\/p>\n

The green chakra strands twisted and turned under her fingers. It stretched towards the Kage\u2019s chest, grazing the ruined fabric, as if it wanted to act on what she was thinking\u2026.<\/p>\n

Sakura\u2019s face suddenly hardened.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s certainly what Chiyo would have done if she had somehow caught a Leaf Kage. She\u2019d kill him without another thought\u2026.<\/i><\/p>\n

But beneath the tips of her chakra strands, Sakura felt the smallest ripples of energy, echoing through the empty space between his body and hers. It was like far below her, there was a bird trapped in a cage, beating its wings against the bars.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was Gaara\u2019s barely fluttering heartbeat. It was struggling to stay alive.<\/p>\n

Sakura hated that she knew now just how easy it would be to snuff out that life force. Ruthlessly fast. With just a thought, a flick of her fingertip. Just like a puppet. Like she\u2019d controlled Mother, her own body, Chiyo\u2026. Gaara was just another vessel waiting to be controlled\u2026.<\/p>\n

As if turning away from these dangerous thoughts, she looked to Gaara\u2019s face. At the edges of his sunken, black-and-blue eyes she noticed there were tracks running down his dirt-smeared cheeks. Tear tracks.<\/p>\n

She saw it all in her mind: They had beaten him. He had begged for mercy, pleaded for his life when he could no longer save himself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She closed her eyes. Fresh tears slid down her own cheeks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am not Chiyo.<\/i><\/p>\n

Sakura turned back to his chest and opened her fingers wide.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Even after everything they did to him, he still survived. I will not be like Chiyo. I will not decide who dies. I will not kill Gaara, no matter what the cost.<\/i><\/p>\n

She opened her eyes. They glowed green with determination. The chakra under her hands straightened, ready to work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her voice was nothing more than a whisper as she declared to herself as much as to Gaara, \u201cI will help you live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beneath her palms, twin networks of green chakra stretched immediately into him, sending a life-giving pulse of energy down into his heart, recharging the blood in his veins. She let her energy flow into him, healing him as it went and sending back reports about his vitals. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She felt Chiyo\u2019s chakra. He was full of it. She expected this. Her energy was what brought him back to life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With deep relief, Sakura realized that there was no sign of the monster. Perhaps she done it, truly contained it. She wasn\u2019t proud of herself. Building a structure inside a living human was surely something that should never be done. It was the realm of power-hungry people like Chiyo who had no thought for the human lives they were destroying.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But for Gaara to survive, it had to be contained. Whatever it was, it certainly couldn\u2019t co-exist inside him. It would have destroyed him sooner or later. She had first-hand proof of that\u2014<\/p>\n

But the more she reached into him, the more certain she became that something was wrong. Something was missing\u2026. Her eyes darted back and forth, as if reading data from a medical chart.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She couldn\u2019t find Gaara. Not a trace of him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sakura didn\u2019t expect this. She tried not to panic, but there was only one answer to why he wasn\u2019t there\u2014<\/p>\n

What if I didn\u2019t just trap a monster inside their Kage? What if it\u2019s worse? What if I replaced him with Chiyo instead? What if I just put her inside a new body, letting her live on forever in there?<\/i><\/p>\n

Sakura\u2019s hands began to tremble. She raced through him desperately, searching for any signs\u2014 But she found nothing. Gaara was gone. Only Chiyo remained.<\/p>\n

Sakura was sick with dread.<\/p>\n

What if I\u2019ve become a puppet master, just like her\u2014<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cYou truly are singular, Haruno of the Leaf.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura shot backwards, extinguishing her chakra and grabbing a discarded kunai. She\u2019d forgotten about Sasori. She was suddenly certain that he\u2019d put himself back together again while she was focused on Gaara.<\/p>\n

But he had not. His head still hung between his parents. The rough-hewn Sand Dagger still pierced his heart and pinned him to the wall.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou could kill him,\u201d he said, voice rasping a little, like a wind-up toy starting up again, \u201cyet you chose to heal him instead. Interesting\u2026.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sakura scowled up at him before dropping the kunai and returning to Gaara\u2019s side. Since Sasori wasn\u2019t a threat, she vowed to give him none of her attention. She knew Sasori had distracted Chiyo long enough to let Sakura gain the advantage. She wouldn\u2019t let him distract her now.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He had stabilized enough to speak comfortably and show human emotion in his limited movements. But even stabbed to a wall, he was still dangerous.<\/p>\n

Sasori seemed to understand. He let out a low breathy chuckle.<\/p>\n

\u201cChiyo was crazy, of course. But she was smart. And she saw you for what you are\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura cut her eyes up at him. He smiled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA threat,\u201d he drawled.<\/p>\n

Sakura shook her head and refocused on her search for Gaara. She refused to let Sasori lure her into conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe wasn\u2019t wrong,\u201d Sasori continued. \u201cShe knew your abilities would outshine hers. She hated anyone who was better than her. Why do you think she hated me?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura didn\u2019t give him a response. He continued, content to hear himself talk.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would know, because I understand the value of your skills, the value of life<\/i>. And not just because I have taken so many,\u201d he gloated, watching her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sakura still didn\u2019t look up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t believe me? You don\u2019t think I still have feelings? Even in this form?\u201d He paused before answering himself. \u201cLife is beautiful!\u201d His words echoed around the cavern. \u201cThe body is a work of art!\u201d<\/p>\n

He relished the sound of his voice calling back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat better way to honor life than with a puppet? Even my parents would have been proud to have lived on this way\u2014\u201c He trailed off, wheezing slightly from the exertion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But when he spoke again, his voice was a snarl. \u201cThe look on that old woman\u2019s face when I revealed Mother and Father\u2026. That alone was worth all this\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

That comment caught Sakura\u2019s attention. She stilled her hands over Gaara while she considered what she had learned about grandmother and grandson in their bitter exchanges.<\/p>\n

Sakura asked quietly, \u201cChiyo said she made them for you. But you said she was a liar\u2026.\u201d Shaking her hair back out of her face, Sakura peered up at him. \u201cWhat was she lying about?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sasori smiled at her. It was dazzling coming from that beautifully boyish face. He was delighted to finally have her attention. He didn\u2019t answer, only grinned wider, drinking in her emotions as the realization crashed across Sakura\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

\u201cWere they\u2014 Were they actually<\/i> your\u2026.\u201d He nodded, almost giddy, making her say it. \u201cParents?<\/i>\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d he drawled, smiling toothily, savoring her shock. \u201cCan you imagine, that woman making puppets from her own children?\u201d He added triumphantly, \u201cSee, I told you she was crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura shook her head, not bothering to hide her disgust.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She moved her hands over Gaara\u2019s chest, refocusing her healing. She still couldn\u2019t find Gaara\u2019s energy signature, but his healing was progressing well. Better than she expected, actually. The patch of blemish-free skin at his throat had spread out to encompass more skin. All over his body the scrapes and bruises were fading.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t question it. Whatever was happening, it freed her up to listen more closely to what Sasori was saying.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were my<\/i> parents first,\u201d he said. The possessive tone was twisted into something more desperate by his youthful voice. \u201cChiyo did remake them, of course. But not for me\u2026. Only for herself,\u201d he growled. \u201cShe made them to keep them alive. To harness their power. She turned their bodies into puppets just to prove how powerful she was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou mean,\u201d Sakura interrupted, wishing that she didn\u2019t feel even a shred of sympathy for Chiyo. \u201cSo that her children<\/i> would live forever.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou would think that, soft as you are, Leaf girl. That\u2019s what a mother would want, right? I used to think that too, when I was still a child. But no\u2026. It was so that her power <\/i>would live forever.\u201d Deep hatred crept into his youthful voice, lowering it a notch. \u201cShe wanted to prove to everyone that she chose<\/i> when people died. She chose<\/i> when people lived. She wanted the ultimate power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura shook her head, staring down at Gaara\u2019s chest unseeing, trying to process just how blindly powerful and detached from life you must be to even consider such a thing. Turning humans into puppets. It was beyond cruel. It was monstrous.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sakura paused on Sasori\u2019s phrase. \u201cUltimate power?\u201d She glanced up at him.<\/p>\n

Sasori nodded. His neck clicked as he moved. \u201cPower over life, power over death\u2026. The ultimate<\/i> power to control fate itself.\u201d The corner of his mouth hitched up in a dry smile. He laughed, low and mirthless, then rolled his eyes as if he shouldn\u2019t have to explain<\/i> it. \u201cIt\u2019s what they all want.\u201d His focus sharpened on her, eyes darkening as he whispered, \u201cbut only I have achieved it\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now it was Sakura\u2019s turn to roll her eyes. She turned her attention back to Gaara and swore not to look up at him again, no matter what nonsense he spewed next. She\u2019d just let him talk himself out.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut they were my<\/i> parents after all, weren\u2019t they? So what do you think I did? I stole them back! He laughed once. \u201cThey would have never wanted to stay with that crazy old woman. They deserved to protect their child. Isn\u2019t that what you do when you love someone? Protect them?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura\u2019s gaze dropped to Gaara\u2019s tattooed forehead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s what they would have wanted. So I took them. And then I took them apart<\/i>,\u201d he growled. \u201cI learned from them. They taught me everything I needed to know. My parents were my true teachers, never Chiyo. I rebuilt them myself so they could always stay with me. And I kept them safe until they needed to protect me\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

Sasori stopped so suddenly that Sakura looked up. Head tipped at a sharp angle, Sakura thought he might have suddenly died. His face was frozen, staring at her, almost dreamily.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut you,\u201d he said finally, softly, \u201cI would have gladly given up Mother and Father for you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

His dark eyes shifted suddenly. They locked on hers in a way that made her feel entirely too vulnerable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Irritated with herself for being distracted by him, Sakura shut down his flattery.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me about Gaara,\u201d she said firmly. \u201cChiyo called him a vessel. A weapon.\u201d She glared at Sasori. \u201cWhat was that thing inside him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sasori laughed deeply. It clattered with the sounds of the mechanisms that operated his throat and chest.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever you found in there was nothing compared to what the Akatsuki already ripped out! Chiyo put you through all this just to get her hands on a few drops of energy, nothing more.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked at her with narrowed eyes. His beautiful face turned sharp and cruel.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut if you truly do not know what he is, then you still have a lot to learn, Leaf girl. Even with your talent. Your teacher isn\u2019t serving you well by sending you out into the world uninformed. Especially with people like Chiyo out there\u2026.\u201d His voice turned, softening like a lover\u2019s. \u201cOr me\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura ignored him, seizing on another fragment of their conversation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it true? Did Tsunade really kill her teacher?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sasori nodded, never taking his eyes from hers. He seemed determined to keep her attention now.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd Chiyo never forgave her for it. Waited and waited for her revenge. She finally got it when she poisoned her fiance,\u201d he chuckled. \u201cWhen Tsunade returned to power it really rattled her. She was probably plotting some new revenge.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He watched Sakura, thinking, considering things. \u201cBut I\u2019m not interested in Chiyo\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cChiyo said she poisoned me,\u201d Sakura said, voice barely above a whisper. \u201cWas that a lie too?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura had scanned herself, yet she didn\u2019t feel anything different about her system. But if Chiyo had already poisoned Tsunade\u2019s fiance, then killing her apprentice seemed like the kind of revenge she\u2019d go for. Sakura shook her head, trying to chase the blind panic from her mind that there was a deadly toxin inside her, sleeping somewhere in her body\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho knows,\u201d Sasori sighed, sounding bored. \u201cShe was the poisons master after all.\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked at her whole face, dark eyes fixating on her mouth. \u201cIt would be just like her to ruin you that way. Infect your soft flesh with something undetectable\u2026unstoppable\u2026.\u201d He flicked his gaze to her eyes. \u201cI would never have been so cruel to you, my dear\u2026.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She angled her head, not catching his meaning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would never let you linger. I would have made your death so quick\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Irritated, Sakura ripped her attention away from him and turned back to Gaara. She replayed everything she\u2019d learned so far. But none of it solved the mystery of why she was able to heal Gaara so quickly.<\/p>\n

Because she couldn\u2019t deny it now, something was<\/i> happening inside him. Something she wasn\u2019t controlling. He was healing faster than anyone she\u2019d ever seen.<\/p>\n

It was Chiyo\u2019s energy. It had to be. Sakura could feel it moving through him, healing him everywhere. At this point, she knew the feel of the old woman\u2019s energy as well as she knew her own.<\/p>\n

But still, it shouldn\u2019t be enough to heal Gaara like this.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sakura managed to heal a few scrapes here and there, but the rest had simply melted away from the surface of his skin. Like they never happened at all. The bruises were fading but they were still there, like markers on the skin of what was once broken underneath.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The broken bones had all reknit themselves. She glanced at his hands, palms still facing the ceiling. They were no longer mangled. Those delicate bones in his fingers had all slipped back into place when she was not looking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whatever was happening inside him, she wasn\u2019t doing it.<\/p>\n

Her hands were clasped over his chest, green light still pooled there and her network still connected to his\u2026. But she was merely an observer.<\/p>\n

Humans don\u2019t heal this way. Even with a master healer\u2019s entire life force flowing through them.<\/i><\/p>\n

Sasori had been watching her the whole time as she scanned Gaara\u2019s body, shaking her head as she mulled over, then discarded, ideas. He delighted in her mounting confusion and dismay.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. \u201cTell me about what\u2019s inside Gaara,\u201d she demanded.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me about yourself, Sakura Haruno.\u201d He said her name slowly, as if savoring it. \u201cThose eyes, that hair, all that chakra just dripping off of you\u2026..Tell me what you<\/i> are.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His gaze was penetrating. He stared at her as if he wanted to have her. Keep her. As if she was a possession he had longed for.<\/p>\n

She jerked her chin away, refusing to be rattled by him if he wasn\u2019t going to answer her.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere does your<\/i> power come from,\u201d he said with a breathy laugh. \u201cThat you show up here, out of nowhere, and survive the most powerful shinobi the Sand has ever produced.\u201d His lips curled into a beautiful smirk. \u201cAnd Chiyo too.\u201d<\/p>\n

She pressed her lips together, ignoring him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWere you made this way? Were you one of Konoha\u2019s experiments\u2026.\u201d He stopped short with a small gasp.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She glanced at him through her eyelashes. She couldn\u2019t help herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs that<\/i> why Itachi chose you, all those years ago?\u201d The only human part left of him \u2014 his heart\u00a0\u2014 beat a little faster in its box with his excitement, despite the Sand Dagger piercing it through the center. \u201cDid he know what you were? Did he know then just how different you are?\u201d<\/p>\n

Confusion clouded Sakura\u2019s face\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hated Itachi Uchiha,\u201d Sasori growled. \u201cAlways plotting, always thinking he was so much better than everyone else, that he deserved more\u2014\u201c He continued, muttering and grumbling.<\/p>\n

The more he complained about Itachi, the faster his heart beat. A single drop of blood oozed from the dagger wound and slid to the bottom of his pale heart, where it hung, quivering.<\/p>\n

Sakura had gone very still. Sasori noticed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOr perhaps,\u201d he smiled toothily, pleased he\u2019d gotten under her skin, \u201cyou were sent to lure him out? All that power, in such a pretty little package\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura\u2019s lips parted suddenly. Her eyes were wide, her hands unmoving above Gaara. A new, horrible thought crashed down on her\u2026.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If Chiyo and Sasori saw something in me\u2026then what if Itachi did too? How many others in the village do too? Kakashi, Tsunade\u2026. What if they all know something about me that I don\u2019t\u2014<\/i><\/p>\n

She shook her head. None of this is true. It couldn\u2019t be\u2014<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I see it,\u201d Sasori said softly, devouring the emotions which were so clear on her face. \u201cYou have a lot to learn\u2026. I could have taught you so much\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura immediately schooled her features. \u201cYou said\u2014\u201c She shook her hair back and forced her voice to be calm. \u201cYou said Gaara was some kind of \u2018chosen one\u2014\u2018\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cHim? No!\u201d Sasori laughed, but it came out with a wheeze. \u201cI\u2019ve seen a dozen Chosen Ones so far, and killed off half of them!\u201d\u00a0 <\/span>He snorted, gloating in his knowledge. \u201cIt\u2019s just a ridiculous story that one generation uses to control the next. Chiyo probably thought you<\/i> were the Chosen One. All that power crammed into one vessel.\u201d<\/p>\n

He tipped his chin up proudly. \u201cIf anyone is the Chosen One, it\u2019s me! I am the only one who has conquered life and become the master over death!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His expression was triumphant. His face practically glowed with pride. Inside the box in his chest, the pink heart beat a little faster. The drop of blood splattered to the bottom of the box. Another drop oozed out and took its place, clinging precariously to the bottom of the heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have made myself both puppet and puppet master. I control both the power and the vessel. I alone have it all, the ultimate<\/i> power they are all so desperate for!!\u201d<\/p>\n

Listening closely, Sakura had let the green chakra from hands fade. She glanced down at the chest that was no longer glowing with the light from her energy and sighed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve done everything I can, but Gaara doesn\u2019t need my help anymore. He\u2019s completely healing himself now.<\/i><\/p>\n

Sasori followed her gaze to Gaara\u2019s body.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Akatsuki broke him and took everything out,\u201d he continued. \u201cOr so I thought. But I suppose even a smashed pitcher will still have a few drops of water left clinging to the pieces.\u201d He scowled. \u201cThat old woman must have known that whatever was left behind was enough to restart his worthless life. She had a plan for him. And it had nothing to do with saving him\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura snapped her gaze to him, curious about what he meant. Delighted to have her full attention on him, Sasori smiled broadly. He wouldn\u2019t waste it. He began, narrating the past like putting on a puppet show.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChiyo had been experimenting for years. Trying to see just how much power she could pack into a body. She used her potions to keep their failing flesh alive, and swapped power from one body to the next, just to see if she could do it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she ran through all the low-level criminals in the system, she turned to spies, prisoners of war. When those were spent, she moved on to desert raiders, buying captured merchants, traders or any fools unlucky enough to get caught in the desert.\u201d Sakura was horrified, remembering her own dangerous trek through the desert. He chuckled. \u201cWhy do you think the Sand has a reputation for being so brutal to anyone caught within its borders? It was all her!<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it was all a waste of bodies and time, all until he<\/i> came along\u2026.\u201d He looked over Gaara\u2019s body. \u201cThe illustrious Sand Kage,\u201d he said with a sneer. \u201cHe was nothing. A scrawny, sickly boy. She made him what he is today.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it still wasn\u2019t enough for her. She wanted to keep going, expanding her power. She wanted to make more like him. A whole army of puppets for her to control.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sakura shook her head slightly, the very idea made her blood run cold. Sasori nodded back. He lowered his voice a notch, lacing it with the suspense of a practiced storyteller.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Sand Council finally wised up. She was getting too powerful. They knew they had to stop her. Even though they were afraid of her, they still wanted her knowledge\u2026. So they encouraged her to take an apprentice, someone she could train. Then they could kill her off.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey had a huge contest, selected the best medics in the village to assist her\u2026. And what do you think happened?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He paused for dramatic effect and looked down at Sakura like a child sitting before a stage.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShe killed each and every one of them,\u201d he said with a broad smile. \u201cTurned them into puppets in her lab. Had them working for weeks before anyone realized what she\u2019d done.\u201d<\/p>\n

He waited for the flash of disgust on Sakura\u2019s face and was not disappointed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Sand Council found out, she threatened to replace them with puppets too if they didn\u2019t leave her alone. So, they burned down the lab, said it was a horrible accident. Chiyo went along with it, acting as if the shock had knocked something loose in her brain,\u201d he sighed. \u201cJust a daft old woman. Crazy and harmless. But it was just an act. Another puppet show.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura\u2019s face was pale, remembering Chiyo\u2019s last words. \u201cYou\u2019re my student now.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

She\u2019d forced Sakura to learn her techniques to survive. In the end, she\u2019d chosen a new apprentice. Her.<\/i> And in doing so, she\u2019d exacted a twisted revenge on her childhood rival: She\u2019d stolen Tsunade\u2019s apprentice and made her her own.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sakura went hot and cold. She felt sick to her stomach. She wrapped her arms around her middle, flattening her hands against her rib cage to keep them from shaking.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people think she\u2019s some revered, albeit crazy, elder. A batty old healer. But the ones who\u2019ve known her the longest have seen her true side. She\u2019s a maniac. A desert snake, just waiting for her moment to strike.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was never here to save the Kage. She was only here to get her master creation back. He was her key to holding onto power. If she could bring him back to life, even if he was just a bag of bones, they\u2019d never be able to stop her again.<\/p>\n

\u201cRemember I know her better than anyone. I learned from her, even when she didn\u2019t want me to. Then I stole the rest. I knew exactly what she was thinking. She had it all figured out.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He paused to smile.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is, until you came along\u2026. She underestimated you. Chiyo thought she could push your endless chakra supply into Gaara, then reanimate him. Then Gaara would have been her puppet forever. Her own \u2018ultimate vessel.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you,\u201d he said softly. No longer a storyteller, he spoke like a possessive lover. \u201cYou turned everything upside down\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

He angled his head, marveling at Sakura anew. The movement rocked his torso, just slightly, and shifted the fragile balance of body parts he was tangled in. The broken door beside the tiny hollowed out space that held his heart finally fell, taking another piece with it. It revealed fully the bellows underneath his heart box. Every time his heart beat, the bellows compressed, sending air in and out of his mouth. This was how he \u201cbreathed.\u201d But it was slowing.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sakura had to remind herself each time that his breathing wasn\u2019t real. It was only to fool humans. Only his heart was still real.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The drops of blood were oozing out with each beat. They now ran in a thin dark trickle and pattered one by one off the bottom of his heart, like seconds ticking away on a clock.<\/p>\n

Sakura looked back to Gaara. Everything that had happened revolved around him. \u201cWhat is inside Gaara\u2014\u201c\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sasori didn\u2019t seem to hear her. He was still looking at her with fascination. \u201cBut it was you all along wasn\u2019t it. Not that empty husk of a Kage on the ground. I think it was the only thing Chiyo got right. You might very well be the perfect vessel. Your body is a conduit.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He breathed deeply, forcing the bellows to open wide, and closed his eyes, looking deeply satisfied. The bellows compressed again, straining to pump air back through his system, but he didn\u2019t seem to notice. It was like he was caught up in a dream.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt would have been a joy to restring your bones\u2026. Hang your heart in your chest, like mine. We could have lived forever then\u2014 No more soft flesh and failing parts. It would have been perfect\u2014 perfect\u2014 perfect\u2014\u201c\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The bellows hitched momentarily, causing his voice mechanism to trip over the words. But it restarted.<\/p>\n

Sasori opened his eyes and smiled at her. \u201cJust the two of us. My techniques. Your endless chakra. There are no limits to what we could have done together. We could have ruled forever. We could have pulled the strings of whole nations. We would have kept a closet of Kages to do our bidding. At the snap of our fingers we would have set them all dancing\u2014 dancing\u2014 dancing\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

Sakura was growing pale. His voice was as soft as a lover\u2019s. But his words\u2026they were from a nightmare\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I could just get my hands free, I would kiss your perfect mouth and snap your perfect neck. I would watch the light die in your eyes\u2026. But don\u2019t worry, I would bind your chakra to your bones, to me<\/i>\u2026. Then there would be end and no beginning. Just you flowing into me and\u2026.\u201d He glanced down at his pitiful heart, as pale and translucent as a baby bird left to die a nest, \u201cand whatever is left of me would flow into you. I would give it all to you\u2026.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He was still pinned to the wall, but she felt vulnerable by his talking. He kept looking her up and down, eyes covering every inch of her, until she wished she could drag Gaara behind a rock, away from Sasori\u2019s gaze. She was certain he was planning something, making a new trap, dragging it out\u2026.<\/p>\n

Sasori\u2019s gaze drifted back to Gaara.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps I would even give him to you, too. Restrung him as a gift, a token of my\u2026 love?\u201d He wheezed a laugh. \u201cI have not thought of that human emotion in decades. But all because of you\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou would have been beautiful together. A matched set.\u201d He looked at Gaara\u2019s face, where the red bloom was returning to his cheeks. Sasori\u2019s mouth suddenly curled in disgust. \u201cHe would have been a perfect too, if his body hadn\u2019t been corrupted by that monster.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me,\u201d Sakura interrupted. \u201cTell me what he is\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

Sasori rolled his eyes. \u201cHe is power. Nothing more. A waste of the flesh to house it. That\u2019s all they want. But you\u2026. It would have been so different\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Voices were calling, growing nearer to the collapsed opening of the cavern. But Sasori\u2019s gaze was so intense she couldn\u2019t look away.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHad I known what she planned, I would have never let her use you. I would have never let her touch you.\u201d Rage trembled through him, shuddering more droplets off the bottom of his heart. \u201cBut she got her way. You finished the job she set out for you\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me what she made me do\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

It was like he didn\u2019t hear her. \u201cHad I known what you were that day in the woods, I would have taken you. I would have taken you then, and never let you go.\u201d<\/p>\n

His voice was soft, gravelly, so intimate it made her skin crawl. He watched her from under hooded eyelids. She was so glad there was distance. She felt completely exposed.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou should have been mine.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His head fell to the side and he stared at her without blinking. His heart was so pale. The trickle of blood was no more than a line of red thread down the outside. The cadence of falling drops had grown dangerously slow.<\/p>\n

Sakura rose to her knees. They were both running out of time. And she needed to know, before anyone else came in. \u201cTell me\u2014 Did I put Chiyo into his body? Or\u2014\u201c The words were like ash in her mouth as she said them. \u201cOr did I turn Gaara into a monster? Please!<\/i> Tell me what I did to him!\u201d<\/p>\n

Sasori\u2019s head didn\u2019t move. It hung there, tipped to the side, looking at her as one would a beloved child. But his eyes had life in them, and his smile still curved in that deceptively human way.<\/p>\n

\u201cI will give you a better gift. Sakura of the Leaf\u2026. Soft, beautiful, breakable human who should have been mine\u2026. Since you\u2019ve outlasted all of the Sand\u2019s best techniques, and if you survive my last trick,\u201d his angelic smile was edged with cruelty, \u201cthen I hope you live long enough to thwart that insufferable\u2026Itachi\u2026Uchiha\u2026.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His voice guttered out so that the name was just a low growl over his parted lips.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His face stilled for a long moment while the small bellows in his chest expanded, slowly drawing in air. Finally, it started to compress, pushing air out, setting in motion the complex systems of machinery that kept Sasori \u2018alive.\u2019 Sakura let out a breath, exhaling with the bellows.<\/p>\n

Sasori\u2019s voice began again. \u201cHe has a secret weapon. He thinks he\u2019s so clever, hiding it in plain view. But I know\u2014\u00a0I know\u2014 I know\u2014\u201c His voice sped up suddenly, hitching as he finished his sentence, then began slowing again. \u201cHe wants it all. Just like the rest of them. Ultimate power.\u201d<\/p>\n

His heart beat erratically. The trickle was nearly dry. Just a few drops left\u2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly I<\/i> know what he\u2019s done. Only I<\/i> could see it. The boy\u2014 The boy\u2014 The body<\/i> that never changed\u2026.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

His voice died out as the bellows expanded again, this time more slowly than ever before. The blood stopped dripping from the bottom of his heart.<\/p>\n

There were sounds outside, rocks moving, yelling\u2014 But Sakura\u2019s entire focus was on Sasori. She held her breath, watching the bellows crawl back open entirely. It felt like it took years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Finally, it began to compress again. But it was had lost so much momentum. It barely had enough pressure to push the exhale of breath back through his system. The weak pulse of air that rattled through Sasori\u2019s voice mechanism was barely enough to keep it going\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cItachi has already caught\u2014 caught\u2014 caught\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

The bellows stopped, half-open. Sasori\u2019s jaw fell open, slurring the last bit of sound like an unwinding toy\u2014 \u201chis giiinnnnn\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

One last drop of blood shook free from his heart. Then there was no more. The life force that held him together slipped away completely. For everything he tried, he was still human. If only just his heart. But he couldn\u2019t \u2018live\u2019 as a puppet without it.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, his head fell to the side with a crack. Mother and Father sank inward, collapsing on him, covering him. It looked like a pile of arms and heads stacked against the wall. The Sand Dagger slid down between them, just the cruel jagged edges and handle sticking out.<\/p>\n

In the next instant, light speared through the pile of rubble that was once the entrance to the cavern, blinding her.<\/p>\n

Sakura shielded her eyes and knelt over Gaara to protect him from any falling rocks.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dogs with vests pored through the hole in the rubble, sniffing the air and barking back at the silhouettes behind them. Kakashi, Sasuke and Sai, climbed down, relief written on their faces. Behind them were Gaara\u2019s siblings, plus a few Sand nins and medics.<\/p>\n

Sakura pushed herself to standing as they clambered down the rocks.<\/p>\n

Kakashi got to her first. He looked her up and down, more shocked than she\u2019d ever seen him. She instinctively brought her hand to her stomach to hide the burn holes. He let out a shaky sigh of relief, and Sakura could almost hear his voice in her head. \u2018Wounded is better than dead any day.\u2019<\/p>\n

Kakashi looked around, surveying the carnage and destruction around her, but stopped at the body on the ground behind her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s alive,\u201d he uttered, astonished. \u201cI can\u2019t believe it,\u201d he whispered.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She looked back over her shoulder and nodded. She didn\u2019t believe it either. Gaara looked so out of place, almost fresh among all the destruction. With the healing that was going on inside him, he was practically glowing. But maybe only Sakura saw it\u2026.<\/p>\n

She looked away hiding her nervousness behind a mask of calm. She had to look the part of a healer. She had to look like she meant to do this\u2026.<\/p>\n

Kakashi came even with her and clamped a hand down on her shoulder, shaking her a little. \u201cGood job,\u201d he said. His voice was light, but there was emotion in his eyes as he looked down at her. \u201cI knew\u2014\u201c he swallowed. \u201cI knew you\u2019d make it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The utter relief in his voice said that he\u2019d been deeply worried she wouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Emotion rose up in her chest. She nodded once, struggling to keep it in check.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sai was behind him. He scanned her face, making sure she was truly okay. When he was satisfied he nodded and went on, mapping the cavern, the weapons, the bodies and destruction. His anbu training was already shifting gears inside him.<\/p>\n

Sasuke was behind them. He got to Sakura and stopped a step from her, within arm\u2019s length. He would never show anything but shinobi behavior, even now. It wasn\u2019t who he was. But his fingers twitched to touch her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAre you okay,\u201d he asked softly.<\/p>\n

A sob lodged in her throat. Her eyes burned suddenly with unshed tears. She nodded, unable to speak.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If there was more time, if they were alone, then maybe he would have given into his emotions, closed the space between them and wrapped his hands around her arms like he clearly wanted to do. Or maybe she would have run to him and made him fold his arms around her while she broke down completely.<\/p>\n

But any reunion between them was eclipsed by the Sand nins.<\/p>\n

Temari and Kankuro pushed around her to get to Gaara, as did several Sand nins that she now recognized to be wearing medics\u2019 tunics.<\/p>\n

Only their arrival could have torn her attention away from Sasuke at that moment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These people\u2026they knew Gaara best. They were certain to discover what she\u2019d done\u2026. She watched them, stomach turning in knots.<\/p>\n

Kankuro knelt down beside his brother, holding his face, clutching his shoulders. \u201cHe\u2019s alive,\u201d he kept whispering. \u201cHow is that possible\u2014\u201c\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Temari stood behind him, observing the interaction with hawk\u2019s eyes. She looked at Gaara\u2019s now blemish-free face, the dried blood in his hair, the tears in his clothes, the lingering bruises were the worst broken bones were\u2026.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She was making the same calculations Sakura already had. He shouldn\u2019t be alive. His body had been broken. All the signs were there.<\/p>\n

Kankuro looked back at his sister, tears in his eyes. \u201cI can\u2019t believe it\u2014\u201c Temari\u2019s face, however, was hard. There were no tears. She didn\u2019t believe it either. She cut her eyes at the medics to see their assessment.<\/p>\n

There were three. Two of the medics were about the same age as the Sand siblings. But the other one, the lead medic, was much older than the other two. He could have been a grandfather to all of them. Even Kakashi.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The only thing that gave his age away were the deep weathered lines around his eyes. The thin strip of his eyes were all that was visible from behind his protective face coverings. The younger medics had unbuttoned coverings and let the fabric swing freely on either sides of their faces.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The medics had attached their chakra in thin ropes to Gaara\u2019s network at several places down his body in a healing version of the puppet-master technique. It was so startlingly like what Sakura had done, that she had to force herself to keep watching. Their heads were bent, faces lost in the glow of chakra, so Sakura couldn\u2019t see what they were discovering about Gaara, about what was inside him\u2026.<\/p>\n

Her fingertips were going cold with panic. Her knees felt weak.<\/p>\n

\u201cSakura,\u201d Sasuke said softly at her side. She didn\u2019t respond.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Everything in her was focused on the lead medic. He suddenly severed his connection with a flick of his hand and looked up at her with flinty grey eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou attended to him?\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura nodded.<\/p>\n

\u201cTell me what you did\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

Feigning shock, Sakura looked at him as if he spoke another language. The truth was she knew he was asking a tactical question, not a medical one. And she didn\u2019t want to expose herself in case she\u2019d done something truly terrible\u2014<\/p>\n

In the stretching silence, everyone looked at her. Even Kakashi and Sai turned back.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are a foreign nin on our soil,\u201d he glanced at Kakashi as if daring him to challenge him, \u201cand as I am the ranking<\/i> official here, you are obligated to answer my questions. Truthfully.\u201d He added with a snarl, \u201cAnd quickly. Or I can have you thrown in prison for their deaths\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

Sasuke stepped beside her, fist balled at his side. \u201cThat\u2019s enough\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

The younger medics nervously exchanged glances. \u201cLady Chiyo was our most esteemed healer,\u201d one of them began, trying to smooth over the apparent misunderstanding.<\/p>\n

The older man snapped at them. \u201cI\u2019m sure the Leaf nins know who Lady Chiyo is!\u201d He turned his glare back at Sakura, leveling her with a cold calculating look. \u201cI can feel it. I can feel what you\u2019ve done\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura felt sick, she wanted to run\u2014<\/p>\n

The other young medic interjected more forcefully. \u201cIt is clear Lady Chiyo sacrificed herself to save our Kage,\u201d he declared to the group. \u201cI can feel your chakra signature too,\u201d he added to Sakura, \u201cyou assisted in helping to heal some of his surface wounds. And for that we are grateful.\u201d Both young medics bowed once to her, perhaps to appease the older man\u2019s rudeness. \u201cBut the rest of it was Lady Chiyo. All her.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo who put an end to Sasori,\u201d the old medic sneered. He looked Sakura up and down. \u201cCertainly not someone as young and inexperienced as\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

Sakura found her voice. \u201cI fought him,\u201d she said firmly. She had nothing to fear there.<\/p>\n

The younger medics nodded at each other as if they were both reading the same medical chart. \u201cSo the Leaf nin battled Sasori of the Red Sand while Lady Chiyo saved the young Kage,\u201d one of them asserted with authority. \u201cThat corresponds to everything we\u2019ve found so far too.\u201d<\/p>\n

The older medic looked like he didn\u2019t believe them. He narrowed his gaze on Sakura. \u201cAnd where were you when she, uh\u2026transitioned the energy<\/i>.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sakura kept her face a mask of uncertainty, as if she didn\u2019t know what was hidden inside Gaara. This man must have. He was only asking tactical questions, not medical ones. And he was much older. Perhaps he even helped Chiyo put that monster in there\u2026.<\/p>\n

Kankuro and Temari locked eyes with her. Where the medic was suspicious and accusatory, they looked at her with a different expression. Fear. They were terrified of what she might have found. And of what she might reveal. Their fear, almost palpable, struck her deeply. Gaara was their little brother. They hadn\u2019t been able to protect him. But they still loved him.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpeak, girl!\u201d<\/p>\n

Beside her, Sasuke hooked his hand around his thigh kunai, all his anxiety transmuting effortlessly into anger, but Sakura raised a hand to stop him.<\/p>\n

Chiyo was dead. Sasori was dead. She was the only one left. So she got to decide the story.<\/p>\n

And she decided to let the lie tell itself.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just as you said. I fought Sasori while Lady Chiyo healed the Sand Kage. I helped with what I could but,\u201d she shrugged, \u201cI\u2019m only trained as a field medic.\u201d<\/p>\n

None of her teammates so much as blinked as she said it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The old man peered at her. \u201cSo you saw nothing else? No outbursts of unusual power? Any techniques she might have used\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura knew immediately if she said yes, he would have thrown her in a Sand prison till he picked her brain apart to discover how Chiyo had done it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This was the last performance she\u2019d give to anyone from the Sand for a long, long time. But she needed to make them believe her.<\/p>\n

She shook her head tiredly, letting the exhaustion she\u2019d been holding at bay seep in. She changed her body position, hung her head and rolled her shoulders forward, then sagged toward Sasuke like a puppet that just had its strings cut.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI already told you, I only helped at the end.\u201d She let her voice go raspy, her eyes slide half-closed. \u201cI was too busy fighting off him<\/i>\u2014\u201c\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She pointed to the wall and they all turned with her, looking at the crumbling wreck of arms and legs. The Sand Dagger still poked from the middle. A thin thread of smoke was curling from the pile<\/p>\n

Kankuro recognized the blade and gasped, \u201cIt can\u2019t be! Is that the Sand Dagger\u2014\u201c\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He stood up to hop over to it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sakura looked at the smoke and considered Sasori\u2019s words about \u2018his last trick.\u2019 It suddenly clicked\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cWait!! Get back!\u201d Kankuro stopped. \u201cSasori\u2019s final form was a barrage of weapons\u2014 He rigged his body to explode after he died!\u201d<\/p>\n

The pile of bones started to pop and sizzle. \u201cWe have to get out,\u201d she said to them all urgently. \u201cNow!\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her mouth was suddenly dry, the grip of panic returning. It\u2019s not over yet.<\/i><\/p>\n

The medics hoisted Gaara up between them. Chiyo had been covered with a sheet, her arms folded at her sides and her body treated with more care than she deserved.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They were deciding who would carry which body, when the pile exploded into a cloud of purple smoke, followed by the setting of weapons in locking mechanisms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chiyo\u2019s body was abandoned. They lifted Gaara between them and carried him as quickly as possible out the entrance, followed by his siblings and the Leaf nins.<\/p>\n

Sai was already at the entrance. The dogs had disappeared.<\/p>\n

They got out just as the entire cavern exploded in a hail of rocks and poison-tipped projectiles. A grey and purple mushroom cloud rose up into the atmosphere behind them.<\/p>\n

This was Sasori\u2019s \u2018last trick.\u2019 She had survived it, but only because he had told her about it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She shook her head. He was cruel. But he was also a by-product of Chiyo\u2019s cruelty. The two couldn\u2019t be separated in life. So being buried together under a mountain of rocks was a fitting end for them both.<\/p>\n

The Sand nins were anxious to move. Sakura noticed an enormous white bird circling the horizon. Someone was standing on top of it, scanning desperately in their direction\u2014 Seeing the explosion, it turned and flew away.<\/p>\n

The older medic was giving the other two marching orders. Sakura wondered if he was really a medic at all.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you Leaf shinobi, for lending us your brawn in defeating Sasori. We are indebted to you.\u201d He bowed deeply to Kakashi first, but Kakashi\u2019s eyebrows raised at the slight. He pointed to Sakura.<\/p>\n

The man added a short, crisp bow in her direction, as did the other medics. Sakura nodded back, but before she lifted her head they were already on the move. Behind them, the Sand siblings bristled in anger at the backs of their countrymen. Temari was especially enraged, gripping her giant fan with white knuckles.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kankuro turned to Sakura, and bowed deeply. Putting her anger aside, Temari did too.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou will forever have our deepest gratitude, Haruno-san. You brought our little brother back to us\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

Choking on the words, Kankuro stepped back and jerked his face quickly away from them. Temari smiled softly at his back.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She turned to Sakura. \u201cAnd unlike those who call themselves advisers, we know exactly who brought him back to us. Thank you,\u201d she said, and bowed again deeply, just to Sakura. \u201cYou will always have an ally in the Sand.\u201d Kankuro nodded fervently, but kept his body turned. He wiped his cheeks several times. Temari bowed to the rest of the Leaf nins, then joined her brother.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Within a few steps, they\u2019re cloaks disappeared into the folds of the sand dunes.<\/p>\n

The energy that was carrying Sakura was quickly fading. Kakashi scanned her, seeing the signs. \u201cCan you travel?\u201d She nodded. \u201cGood. We\u2019ll put some space between us and this place before we stop for the night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kakashi and Sai went ahead, speaking softly to one another and watching the horizon, leaving Sasuke and Sakura to make a slower pace.<\/p>\n

Sakura opened her mouth to speak but her thoughts were a jumble. She wanted to tell him nothing was as it seemed. That it was all a lie to cover just how awful it was. That so many times she thought she would die. That she was completely unprepared for everything they threw at her. That she didn\u2019t know her skills at all. That she didn\u2019t even know how she got out. And that it still felt like a dream to be alive, to be standing outside, in the open air, with them\u2014<\/p>\n

But Sasuke spoke first. \u201cI was so scared for you\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n

He looked at her, and for a moment, Sakura wanted to cry at how much he understood her now, how much he had changed\u2014<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Kakashi said we should trust you. That if anyone could pull through, you can.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked at him, surprise breaking through the haze of emotion.<\/p>\n

He looked ahead, seeing that they were alone, and grabbed her hand quickly. He didn\u2019t care about her scrapes and bruises. He rubbed his thumb down the back of it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou are so strong. Stronger than anyone I know. I should never have been scared. Kakashi was right. You pull through. You always do.\u201d<\/p>\n

She wanted to cry now, for an entirely different reason.<\/p>\n

Sasuke smiled at her, misinterpreting the tears shining in her eyes.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou killed Sasori. You saved Gaara. I\u2019m sure you helped Chiyo more than you let on back there.\u201d Pride swelled in his voice. \u201cI\u2019m sure it was all you. I\u2019m sure you had a plan, had the whole thing figured out, and you didn\u2019t let up until it all went your way. You\u2019re amazing. There\u2019s no one like you.<\/p>\n

His face was open and trusting and\u2026proud. So deeply proud. It was possibly the kindest thing he\u2019d ever said to her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He brushed his thumb down her hand again and let it go. Sakura could still feel his touch burning there.<\/p>\n

He believed in her.<\/p>\n

She couldn\u2019t look at him.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome on, I can tell you\u2019re tired. You don\u2019t have to talk about it right now. The sooner we catch up, the sooner you can rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

The steps ahead of her disappeared in the blur of tears. What was she supposed to do? Correct him? Tell him none of it was true?<\/p>\n

She kept walking, forcing her emotions down.<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t know her own power. She couldn\u2019t control it, and so someone else had. She had broken herself to save herself. She had done unspeakable things to Gaara. She might have put a monster inside him. Or she might have sent back an imposter in his place.<\/p>\n

She had no plan. She had held on by her fingertips. And somehow, she\u2019d survived.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She was nothing like he\u2019d believed she was.<\/p>\n

But she wouldn\u2019t tell him any of that. That\u2019s not who they were together. That was not how their partnership worked. This was not who she was on their team.<\/p>\n

If she admitted to him that she was as useless and flawed as he\u2019d always believed when they were children, she didn\u2019t think she\u2019d ever make it back.<\/p>\n

He saw her differently now. She might have believed in it once too, that picture he painted of her as a strong shinobi, in control of her skill and her surroundings. But that facade was the only thing that was whole about her now. Everything else was broken.<\/p>\n

Studying her face, Sasuke whispered beside her, \u201cIt\u2019s okay. It\u2019s over. You made it through.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She wiped her tears away. She\u2019d never heard Sasuke speak with such compassion.<\/p>\n

He\u2019d changed so much. She didn\u2019t want to disappoint him. She wanted to be this person, the one he saw. The one he believed in. The one he was relying on to be strong.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Maybe she still could be, if she just put it all behind her\u2014<\/p>\n

So she brushed back her tears and gave him a watery smile. \u201cYeah. Thanks. I\u2019m just\u2026tired. That\u2019s all.\u201d<\/p>\n

He nodded, understanding.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She closed her eyes and kept going, trying to stop the tears from slipping out.<\/p>\n

Long after the sun had gone down and the ink-blue sky had cooled the sand, they stopped at a box canyon. They set up camp deep within its high walls where it was easiest to defend.<\/p>\n

They made a small fire, cooked meals and ate. They were quiet. Tucking her hair into a loose bun, Sakura moved through it all mechanically, eating but not really tasting her food. She kept expecting it all to be an illusion that would disappear if she closed her eyes for too long.<\/p>\n

Her mind wandered to the Sand village. She wondered if they would discover something in Gaara. She kept glancing up at the high walls. She realized she was expecting them to come roaring back over the ledges any moment, demanding to know what she\u2019d done to their Kage.<\/p>\n

Kakashi had uncharacteristically left her alone, not asking her what happened. He had, however, noticed the torn clothing. She\u2019d laughed it off. But Kakashi looked closely at the burned edges of her clothes, the black marks on her skin. She was certain he knew what chakra burns looked like. And she had them. On her clothes, her forearms, her hands. She didn\u2019t have enough strength to heal them.<\/p>\n

But he didn\u2019t ask. And so she just treated it like any other normal injury she might have gotten in a fight.<\/p>\n

Sasuke and Sai took the first patrol. Sakura sat by the fire, feeling warm and full. She didn\u2019t realize how tired she was until she settled back against a pleasantly warm rock wall. Before she knew it she had drifted off\u2026.<\/p>\n

She was back in the cave, stranded in the dark. Abandonded again. Panic ripped the air from her lungs. She hadn\u2019t escaped. Sasori was in front of her, laughing at her before running her through with a sword. She fell backwards, plunging into darkness, until she was plucked up by Chiyo who danced her like a puppet on strings. Below her, was a malicious red fire. It was getting closer, snapping at her feet. Suddenly Chiyo let the the strings go and she was falling into that burning abyss\u2014<\/p>\n

Sakura sat up with a jolt, gasping for air and throwing her arms out wide to catch herself. It took several blinks to even remember were she was. There was the fire, the canyon walls, and Kakashi. Only then did she trust it and remembered to breath.<\/p>\n

Across from the fire, Kakashi didn\u2019t move. He wasn\u2019t startled. His hands were folded over his mouth and he watched her knowingly.<\/p>\n

Sakura rubbed the back of her neck and laughed it off, as if it were nothing. As if her palms weren\u2019t clammy and her heart wasn\u2019t trying to beat itself out of her chest.<\/p>\n

Sasuke and Sai were still gone. They sat in silence for a long time, listening to the pop of the fire before Kakashi spoke.<\/p>\n

\u201cSakura,\u201d he said quietly. \u201cYou wounds\u2026they are chakra burns.\u201d He paused, choosing his words. \u201cI\u2019m betting those didn\u2019t come from the puppet master.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura looked down, confirming what he already guessed.<\/p>\n

He nodded. \u201cLady Chiyo is\u2026. She\u2019s not what she appears on the surface.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura\u2019s voice was barely a whisper. \u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sakura\u2019s gaze traveled over the burns on her hands, the holes on her shirt. She knew there were matching ones on the back. Beneath that were black burn marks where Chiyo\u2019s chains had ripped through her. Flashbacks of the fight came back to her. She shut her eyes, pushing them out.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kakashi\u2019s quiet voice cut through the horrors echoing through her mind. \u201cWhen you\u2019re ready, I\u2019d love to hear about what really happened. And not just what will end up in the final report.\u201d<\/p>\n

She breathed deeply, deciding which part to share, where to start, where to untangle the mess inside her.<\/p>\n

She opened and closed her hands again, testing the burned skin. It was already healing, without her trying to heal it.<\/p>\n

Sasori\u2019s voice rattled through her mind. \u201cWhat are you?\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

She blinked. Doubt seeped in. She was different. Both of them saw it, and used her for it.<\/p>\n

Did Kakashi know too? Had the Third, when he came to her house as a child? Is that why such an unusual array of shinobis came too, fighting between placing her in the ranks of anbu or the academy? She knew now that this never happened.<\/p>\n

None of them, it seemed now, were what they appeared on the surface.<\/p>\n

She looked at Kakashi, trying to find words. Kakashi tipped his head, and waited patiently for her to speak.<\/p>\n

The crunch of footsteps echoed up the canyon. Sai and Sasuke were returning. But Kakashi didn\u2019t look away. He watched her.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her mind buzzed with questions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Did he know why my chakra was so different\u2014 Was this why he picked me for Team 7? Not because I\u2019m was the normal one, but\u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

The realization broke across her face before she could stop it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because I\u2019m an \u2018odd one\u2019 too?<\/i><\/p>\n

She stared at Kakashi in shock, about to ask him, dare him to tell her the truth about just how different she truly was, when Sasuke strode up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He looked at her intensely. \u201cAre you rested enough to heal yet?\u201d He nodded to her hands, her stomach.<\/p>\n

Sakura had forgotten that she could. She was slipping between these worlds, of what was flashback and what was real.<\/p>\n

She turned away from them and rummaged through her pack till she found a roll of gauze. It was small, but it was enough. She wrapped it around her stomach and tucked it in, then her hands and arms. They couldn\u2019t question what they couldn\u2019t see.<\/p>\n

Satisfied Sasuke settled against the wall a few feet away, giving her space but near enough that he could reach out to her if she needed something.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sai took a seat guarding the opening of the canyon, crossed his legs and leaned against the wall.<\/p>\n

Sakura leaned against the wall and didn\u2019t look at any of them. Exhaustion was pulling her down. The healing that was happening to her was taxing her. Her body craved sleep. But every time she closed her eyes now, the cavern flashed before her eyes. Or Sasori. Or Chiyo. Or the monster.<\/p>\n

Every time. It was awful. She couldn\u2019t lean against the wall, it was too dangerous. It made her want to fall asleep.<\/p>\n

She scooted forward, away from the wall, and decided to stay awake. She\u2019d wait till she got back to her apartment where she could lock the doors, turn on all the lights and banish the dark. Then she\u2019d sleep. But after a few minutes of staring at the low flames, her head nodded forward and she fell asleep sitting up.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t last. This position proved even more traumatic. Each time her eyes drifted shut a different horror painted itself on the inside of her eyelids. Chiyo holding her down. Sasori pulling her bones apart. The monster shredding her, piece by piece. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She snapped her head up with a gasp. Sasuke and Sai were asleep. But Kakashi saw it all. He sat, still as stone, across from her, as if still waiting for her to answer his questions. What happened to you?<\/i><\/p>\n

She\u2019d never say. She didn\u2019t know what she\u2019d done. She didn\u2019t know what she was. And she didn\u2019t know how to make these nightmares stop\u2014\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She was getting desperate. Tears burned her eyes. She would have already started walking back if she didn\u2019t think that Kakashi would stop her and demand answers\u2014<\/p>\n

As if reading her mind, Kakashi stood suddenly. She looked up shocked. Had she said it out loud?<\/p>\n

She watched as Kakashi reached into his hip pack, pulled out a thin silver whistle and blew into it. It made no sound. He blew again, but still no sound.<\/p>\n

Sakura was so surprised she forgot about the terror that had sunk its claws into her chest.<\/p>\n

Why was he standing in the middle of a foreign desert, blowing a broken whistle?<\/p>\n

He blew a third time \u2014 still no sound \u2014 and then, satisfied, sat down again closer to the fire.<\/p>\n

She blinked at him. This was weird behavior, even for him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He began feeding small sticks into the fire, banking it and making it glow. The little twigs caught and exploded into yellow flames.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was a young boy,\u201d Kakashi began, watching the fire and speaking just loud enough that only Sakura could hear, \u201cmy mother died. My father cared for me as best he could. Trained me. I learned a lot in those two short years. But fate\u2026.\u201d He sighed. \u201cWell, it would take him away from me too.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so sorry, Kakashi-sensei. I didn\u2019t know\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were the last of our clan. And then, I was alone.\u201d The twigs cracked and splintered, sounding like a low rumble. \u201cI didn\u2019t know how I was going to make it. I didn\u2019t know how to go on.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rumble of the fire grew as Sakura listened to him. But it didn\u2019t sound like it was coming from the fire anymore. It sounded like it was all around them.<\/p>\n

Kakashi didn\u2019t notice it. Or didn\u2019t hear it. He was intensely look at the fire, feeding more sticks in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought I was all alone. But I was wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

The rumbled turned into a stampede of feet barreling down at the canyon. She looked back desperately. How did Sasuke and Sai not hear it? Why weren\u2019t they waking up?<\/p>\n

She looked up at the canyon opening, expecting to see the heads of Sand nins coming through. Perhaps coming to drag her away after discovering she\u2019d broken their Kage\u2014<\/p>\n

Heavy breathing echoed up the canyon walls, rolling through the opening towards them, but no humans appeared.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kakashi put up a hand. \u201cYo,\u201d he said with a lopsided grin.<\/p>\n

She saw a movement near the ground, the flash of eyes and teeth, and realized why she was wrong. She\u2019d been looking too high. These were Kakashi\u2019s dogs. All of them, all with vests, wagging tails and tongues, casually running towards them in the middle of a desert.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They tumbled into the space like unruly soldiers. They sniffed at the walls, rubbed their heads on the packs and nosed the food wrappers. The smallest one, the one Kakashi called Pakkun, even started to lift its leg on Sasuke\u2019s foot.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of yelling at Sasuke to wake up, Kakashi snapped his fingers and Pakkun trotted over, forgetting all about marking the human. They all came over at the sound.<\/p>\n

Kakashi spoke to them like they understood him. \u201cRemember when you helped me? When I was little? This one needs your help now.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He pointed to Sakura, and all their heads turned as if they\u2019d understood him perfectly. They looked at Sakura as if she was supposed to speak to them next.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTonight,\u201d Kakashi said. \u201cAnd maybe tomorrow night, if we\u2019re still out.\u201d<\/p>\n

The dogs didn\u2019t move. Kakashi added. \u201cI made the fire nice and warm, and there\u2019ll be food in the morning\u2014\u201c<\/p>\n

The dogs sprang into action before he\u2019d gotten the last words out. They piled around Sakura in a heap, pushing in on her, flopping paws and heads and tails over her like she was just another puppy. She was shocked. She lifted her arms and tried to move, tried to make space, but they surrounded her, shimmying and wiggling, each one getting comfortable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She started to get up from the pile when Pakkun jumped right into her lap, effectively holding her down. He looked up into her face with what almost seemed like a smile. A mischievous grin. As if he was saying, \u2018You\u2019re not going anywhere. We\u2019re all comfortable here.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Pakkun in her arms, nestled among a pile of dogs, Sakura looked up helplessly at Kakashi. He smiled.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to sleep. But they can help you relax.\u201d He added gently, \u201cthey help you feel a little less alone in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

She looked around. She was nestled in the center of the dog pile as if she was another one of them. They grumbled and shifted and moved, and were warm and fuzzy all around her. She wasn\u2019t supposed to move. She was supposed to stay in the middle.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kakashi lowered his voice to a whisper only she could hear. \u201cThey also help keep the nightmares at bay.\u201d<\/p>\n

She mouthed a watery \u201cthanks.\u201d She looked down and she could have sworn she saw Pakkun nod at her as if he was answering too. He curled in her arms three times, gave a small \u201cwoof\u201d at Kakashi, and then closed his eyes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sakura leaned back. Kakashi sat on the other side of the fire, watching the opening, the edges of the canyon walls and all their surroundings.<\/p>\n

Sakura let herself relax back into the dogs. It was like sinking into warm, furry waves. A few were already snoring. She leaned her head back onto one\u2019s side, and another gave her forehead a wet snuffle, like a mother would to its pup. With a small smile, let her eyes drift shut, and was finally able to find some rest.<\/p>\n

\n\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Chapter 50:\u00a0 \u201cSakura of the Leaf,\u201d Chiyo rasped. Sakura leaned in to listen, wondering if, at the end, Chiyo had some message to pass on. Sakura was not so heartless as to deny an old woman her last wish\u2014 Chiyo\u2019s eyes locked on hers. Her hand gripped her forearm, clawing around it in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3851","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-voice-in-the-wind","category-chapter","has-post-title","has-post-date","has-post-category","has-post-tag","has-post-comment","has-post-author"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5hctF-107","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3851","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3851"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3851\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3860,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3851\/revisions\/3860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3851"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3851"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swirlingpetals.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3851"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}