"If comrades that you trust gather around you, hope can take physical form and become visible. That's what I believe."

温かい(atata-kai, warm)

The journey back home was vastly different from what Team Seven expected. Naruto's clones helped Tazuna finish building his bridge at an increased pace, allowing the team to head back much earlier than their initial date. Kakashi's students were considerably quiet as they traveled back to Konohagakure; especially Sakura who'd hardly spoken ever since their battle with Momochi and his partner. The jōnin was aware of the strange connection his pink-haired student seemed to have with the young hunter-nin but her almost reclusive behavior ever since Haku's death indicated a much deeper bond.

Surprisingly, Naruto and Sasuke stayed by the girl's side with an air of understanding; they seemed to reflect the girl's internal mourning and didn't paster her about her silence. If it weren't for Sakura's almost peacefully calm eyes, Kakashi would have insisted on talking with his student before they departed, but whatever connection she had with the hunter-nin, his death had the effect of stabilizing her behavior. Her usually dark troubled eyes had calmed down a little, the man analyzed to himself.

But it wasn't Sakura's changed behavior that worried the man as they neared Konoha.

'Haruno Kizashi shows signs of a genjutsu induced schizoaffective disorder. The origin and the extent of the attack is unknown, but it is clear that the patient's brain has been subject to extreme stressors under the mind attack.' - Y.I.

As of his last session, Yamanaka Inoichi has diagnosed Haruno as a long-term genjutsu victim. The patient has been placed at the hospital under Yamanaka's supervision; his psychological state prevents him from being sent to jail. The Hokage requests a report as soon as you finish with your mission, taichō.

Tanzo.

Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he read the letter for the third time. Sakura's father hasn't been on missions ever since his wife's death, as indicated on his mission reports. Even then, the man had only been a Genin in rank, he couldn't have been placed under such a high-level deceptive genjutsu during his missions. It only left two options: either someone in the village had attacked Kizashi for unknown reasons or…

The jōnin sighed to himself and closed his visible eye. Or Sakura is one of the main suspects. He knew it wasn't his student and he would do anything to prove the girl's innocence if it came to it. But Kakashi knew that to people who didn't know the girl, the diagnosis would be highly suspicious: Genin Sakura Haruno, who lost her mother at a young age, raised by an abusive father who shows signs of a genjutsu attack. With her extreme intelligence and top-rank at the academy, Sakura will be a suspect.

But the silver-haired man wasn't necessarily worried about his student's innocence. He knew that his words will have some influence and that the Hokage-sama will likely trust his judgement under the right circumstances. What alarmed the man was what Kizashi's diagnosis meant as a whole.

His abusive behavior has been one of the effects of the mind attack. Someone deliberately induced him to such a state that the man couldn't differentiate reality from hallucinations. The question remains who would do that to an unsuspecting man who didn't hold any influence nor administrative power.

Looking at the boys quietly leaning against the pink-haired girl as they rested, Kakashi couldn't help but wonder how this news would affect his students.

No matter what happens, I'll protect them, the jōnin resolved.

"Ne, Sakura-chan?"

"Hm?" The blonde ruffled his hair and curiously looked at the resting girl from the corner of his eyes. Sasuke was leaning against the tree trunk next to the pink-haired girl with his arms folded in front of his chest. If it wasn't for the even breathing coming from the boy, Naruto would have thought he was brooding in silence as usual instead of sleeping. Sakura herself was squished between the two boys, unconsciously seeking warmth from their slightly larger bodies. The night air, despite the heat from the day, was chilly.

"Have you ever been in love?" Her eyes remained closed but Naruto knew she was listening to him. She always did.

"…"

"It's just that Haku kissed you, didn't he?" The blonde smiled sheepishly with a small blush dusting his cheeks. "I just thought maybe you guys liked each other, y'know?"

"I have never been in love," the girl's melodic voice answered after a moment, surprising the exuberant boy. "But…I know what it's like to love someone so much that you'd give up your happiness for theirs." Sakura looked down at her hands, the blonde couldn't decipher the expression on her face but he resonated with the sense of loneliness coming from the beautiful kunoichi.

Despite his slight obliviousness, Naruto wasn't a complete idiot like some of the academy students perceived him as; at least, not when it came to his teammates. He always paid attention to them, perhaps because they were the closest thing to a family he had.

"Anosa, I've been thinking that you're kinda similar to Haku." The girl raised her head to look at him with surprise in her large vivid eyes.

"I…I kinda get him, -ttebayo." Naruto smiled but his eyes were sad. "I know what it's like to be completely alone, y'know." He breathed in quietly. For some reason, whenever he tried to talk about his feelings, something seemed to be stuck in his throat.

"And, I didn't want him to die. I know it's selfish because Haku was doing it for someone he loved but…I wanted to talk with him. I thought," the boy ruffled his hair again, he couldn't find the words to explain.

"You thought that maybe he could understand you?" Naruto stared at the girl for a second, his eyes widening slightly before he nodded quietly.

"Yeah, dattebayo. I just…I hate being alone, too." With that the blonde became silent, looking down. He felt vulnerable, like he revealed something intimate and something so private that he never shared with anyone else before.

He flinched in surprise when a soft, cold hand clasped his warm one. Sakura held his hand with a surprisingly tight grip as if assuring him that he wasn't alone.

"I understand, Naruto." Her eyes were honest and calm. "And, I think that Sasuke probably understands, too." Her long beautiful strands gently floated around her face as she leaned back and stared at the sky with a small peaceful smile. Naruto breathed in again, a warm feeling blooming in his chest.

"Sasuke's a bastard…But I'm glad you guys are my teammates, Sakura-chan."

The pink-haired girl didn't let go of the blonde's hand even as her breathing evened out and she finally fell asleep. Kakashi didn't bother waking his students for a shift change, they deserved their rest. Naruto who continued to look at his sleeping teammates with a soft happy look, too, went to sleep, listening to their breathing as if it were a lullaby.

Just as the blonde finally closed his eyes, Sasuke opened his dark glinting orbs. He stared at the sleeping girl next to him and the blonde who ended up lying on the ground. Sakura's face was set to a peacefully blank expression, her nightmares far, far away for the first time in a while.

Assured that everyone was sleeping except Kakashi who was keeping watch near the end of their camp, Sasuke gently twirled her pink strands in his hands, careful not to wake the sleeping girl, and observed her with his burning red eyes. His Sharingan flared to life, a single black line decorating the bloody orbs. He had gained his clan kekkei genkai during the fight on the bridge, but he had not disclosed it to anyone, not yet.

For a moment, all Sasuke did was to stare at his pink-haired teammate with burning red eyes, trailing his eyes through her delicate features; it'll be engraved into his memories forever now. She reminds me of him, Sasuke thought. Itachi. Behind all the overwhelming hatred and rage burning in his chest, the youngest Uchiha remembered the murderer before he broke all of his illusions.

I wonder why, the raven muttered to himself before his eyes fluttered close. Yet without his realization, the young Uchiha had clasped Sakura's hand in a tight grip. He didn't let go until he woke up the next morning.

"Danzō-sama." A dark figure concealed in the dark of the night glared at the crouched figure in front of him.

"Agent Sai, report." The masked-figure raised his head slightly, revealing dark black eyes.

"Yamanako Inoichi has discovered the genjutsu placed on Haruno, sir." Despite his growing age, Danzō Shimura emitted power. There was something about his chakra signature that put shinobi on edge. The man glared at the messenger, an annoyed glint in his eyes.

"Tch. Yamanaka is putting his nose where it doesn't belong." He raised his hand and gestured to something in the air. A flash and another figure appeared next to the council head.

"Danzō-sama." The new figure lowered his head obediently.

"I have a mission for you." At the submissive nod, Danzō gave a dark smirk.

"Eliminate Haruno Kizashi, former Konoha Genin. He is under Yamanaka head's supervision. Do not leave any evidence."

"Hai, Danzō-sama."

With that, the Root member disappeared, leaving Sai with the elderly shinobi.

"This is what happens to people who know too much. Haruno was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Sai didn't reply. He knew there must be a reason the man hadn't dismissed him yet.

"Sai, I want you to gain information on Team Seven, led by jōnin Hatake. Your mission is to gather as much information as you can and report back to me. I will have you placed in their team as a temporary member." The Root agent nodded his head.

"How about the chūnin exams, Danzō-sama?"

"Don't ask questions, agent." The elderly shinobi warned with an irritated grunt. Sai tensed his body, waiting for a punishment but nothing came. The man merely looked at him with cold eyes.

"Be as it may, the chūnin-exams won't be a problem. Whether Hatake promotes his team or not, you'll stay by their side and report back anything that could be useful."

"Hai, Danzō-sama." At his obvious dismissal, Sai left the room in a flash.

Team Seven, huh. I shall learn how to interact with people before meeting them. His eyes unusually blank, the young man pulled out his drawing book. There in front of him was a drawing of a grey-haired boy who looked similar to him. He didn't feel the painful tinge in his chest anymore whenever he looked at the boy who once used to be his brother.

Danzō had inspection day designed for every single Root member on certain days; every single of his belongings will be inspected by tomorrow. Any sign of human weakness would be exploited if the man ever found out. He couldn't let Danzō-sama find the drawing of the boy, his brother. Sai should have never known from the beginning. Any weakness found, and the council head will have his memories tweaked again. Or maybe put under a genjutsu.

Just as he had with Haruno Kizashi. Sai remembered the strange man who had smiled at him with kind eyes during his intern at the Intelligence unit.

He really shouldn't have found out, the boy thought apathetically.

Curiously trailing his fingers through the drawing, Sai closed his eyes, etching the image of the boy into his head. With that, the young agent brought the candle next to him and watched the drawing of his brother burn into ashes. He continued watching as the smiling boy disappeared into black.

Goodbye. Shin.

"A ninja waits until the time is right. When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard. When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night. That is the moment for a ninja to strike."