Title: Rehabilitation
Date: December 21, 2011
Summary: The consequences of war are steep.
Pairing: Team7ness, Sasuke/Sakura, Naruto/Hinata
Rating: T
Themes: Angst/Mystery/Drama/Romance

Rehabilitation
prologue

"…Haruno Sakura…"

The young woman shuddered. Pain – unbearable pain rolled over her senses and her shuddering evolved into quaking tremors.

"…You poor, weak child…So pathetic…Such a shame…"

Emerald eyes sluggishly blinked open. Awareness slowly returned as she gazed with returning focus at the red-stained grass. She realized she was lying down, prone; her right hand was curled loosely, inches from her face, covered in drying scarlet. She tried to move her fingers but couldn't even manage a single twitch.

"Left behind once again…" The disembodied voice taunted, "…Yes, he left you, that Uzumaki brat. He left you for him, again."

"…Again…" Sakura whispered, barely audible, barely distinguishable, and she blinked, trying to recall what she had been doing – trying to remember why she was where she was and who she was with.

"…I've seen inside your head…I know how you feel…Betrayed…Worthless…Useless…" He chuckled before mocking, "…Aren't you an annoying one…"

His spoken words left an ache in her weakly beating heart and caused her head to throb. It was becoming so difficult to remember. Where was she? Why was she here? What was going on?

"…Weak little Haruno Sakura…" Footsteps crunched against the shrubbery before long legs entered her bleary vision. She blinked up against the dark spots of unconsciousness, "…You're all alone…"

"…Alone…" She couldn't help but repeat weakly. Her head couldn't lift up enough to see above her company's torso but she could tell he was wounded. His chest was drenched with blood and his right hand was clutching at his left shoulder – his left arm was missing entirely.

"…I should kill you…" He stated thoughtfully as he walked away from her view, "…But you see, Haruno Sakura, you intrigue me. You share Naruto's will to never give up. Your medical skills and proficiency in chakra control, I'll admit, is quite impressive. But what interests me most…is your mind."

Fingers began to weave through Sakura's crimson-highlighted pink tresses causing her to tense uncomfortably. A soft, gentle stroke was her only warning before those same fingers clenched and roughly pulled her cheek from the dewy grass and forced her gaze towards the heavens. The first thing she noticed were mismatched eyes of amethyst and scarlet-ebony and her breath automatically quickened with fear.

Darting her stare away Sakura was only met with two other figures standing ready, behind her cruel captor. The shadows of the surrounding trees covered any specific details but the roiling of their vicious chakras and the occasional swish of their respective four-tails and seven-tails left a flash of memories to bombard her and caused a groan of pain to fly free of her clenched jaw.

"…Amazing…" He complimented, "A single glance at me and all my hours – days of work begins to wash away. Your resistance to the Mangekyou – the Tsukuyomi – is an incredible feat! Why is this? Why?"

He stood and stared down at her.

"I desire to look into this discovery further but my time is waning…" His tone was filled with frustration and his clutch on his shoulder tightened, "I should kill you but perhaps you can be of some use to me…However, I'll need more time…"

Sakura watched him turn to the two Jinchuuriki, whose faces were wiped of emotion and consciousness, "…Naruto has run off to find Sasuke. I have no doubt that Kabuto is dead and that their target has switched to me now. You will need to distract them until I've finished with her. Understood?"

The Jinchuuriki didn't speak. After a swish of their multiple tails and a nod of acknowledgement the two vessels vanished to carry out his will.

Sakura watched with a growing sense of dread as her captor turned towards her. Under the dying light of sunset she looked upon his infamous mask – cracked and barely holding together. The blood was still leaving his body in fast rivulets and left heavy, prominent trails as he walked, but he seemed even more threatening than she had ever witnessed.

"My plans may have been thwarted…" He began reluctantly, "…I should not have underestimated Naruto's power to persuade Sasuke to returning to your precious Village's side. But I will not fall without a fight…I will not fall without my revenge…" A sardonic chuckled followed, "…Revenge is the Uchiha way, is it not?"

"…Uchiha Madara – no, no," Her head shook fractionally, "Not Madara – Obito…" Sakura whispered with slow recollection.

"Fascinating," He repeated as he crouched beside her, "Ten days of constant submission to my Mangekyou. More than ten ventures into the world of Tsukuyomi and your mind has yet to shatter completely, has yet to succumb to the darkness…But we're getting close. I can feel it. You're breaking."

Sakura shook her head again, recalling the torture – the pain – whimpering as his blood-covered remaining hand reached out to caress her cheek in mocking gentleness, "…N-Naruto…"

"Your cries won't reach him," Obito stated as he wiped away the tears that were beginning to leak from her large, green eyes, "He left you…He's left you."

"Never," She protested with a croak, flinching away from his touch, groaning when every shift of her body caused pain to shoot along her skin and rattle her bones, "Never."

"Yes, you're close," Thin lips curled into a sinister grin as his kaleidoscope eye began to spin with use, "Just a little more…"

Sakura struggled in vain before she was trapped in the void – returned to the world of ebony and crimson – her tormented screams louder than ever.

"Haruno Sakura…You will be my revenge," He whispered, "You are their weakness. You will be the reason that Team Kakashi's happy ending will never come to be."

Her body shifted, limbs curling together to somehow help with the pain and her mind – her mind began to shut down completely.

"And if this plan works…You…" He whispered into her nightmare of unrelenting suffering, "…You may even become the reason for my triumphant homecoming…"

Darkness. Sadness.

Let go, Haruno Sakura. Give up. Give in.

Forget.

"…Kami…kura! Sakura! …Come on…Forehead, stay with me! Stay with me!"

Sensations. Unpleasant sensations.

She opened her eyes to darkness and shaded movements. Physically she felt numb. A shadowed figure moved closer and she stared into twin pools of stormy grey-blue.

"Can you hear me, Forehead? Stay awake, alright? We're here now – I'm here now."

"We need to move her away from here," A masculine voice urged.

"How, Shikamaru? Look at her! There's blood everywhere! She's in no condition–"

"Shut up, Ino! We're in enemy territory here! While I can't smell Obito around there's no promise that his damn followers aren't in the area!"

"K-Kiba-kun, please lower your voice," A timid, feminine tone admonished; gentle hands hovered closely to her throbbing arm, "…Sakura-chan's left arm is dislocated. Her right leg is broken. A-And there's a terrible gash on her left side. If we move her she'll experience immense pain."

"Heal as much as you can in the next ten minutes. We need to move her before Obito returns. Even if Naruto and Sasuke have intercepted him there's no telling if that battle will migrate here or if Obito will retreat."

"I can stop the bleeding, Shika, but her trauma is going to have to be handled by Tsunade-sama or Shizune-sempai. Hinata-chan, I'll need you to reset her arm and start working on her leg."

"O-Of course."

The gentle hands on her arm tightened firmly and before she could hiss with pain the bone was roughly set back into place and an echoing, agonizing scream left her lips.

"Quiet her down! Quiet her down!"

"Forehead girl – Sakura please, it's going to be okay, the pain will stop soon, I promise!"

"Get away from me! Get away from me! Stop it! STOP!"

"Knock her out, she's in too much pain and her screaming can give us away!"

"Kiba–!"

"He's right, just keep healing her. We'll keep her unconscious until we get back to the Joint Army's Base. It's too dangerous here."

"But Shika–!"

"We must, Ino-chan…She's in pain."

The ensuing silence was drowned out by her muted whimpers and quick breaths.

"…I'm so sorry, Sakura."

And everything was washed away with the welcoming entrance of unconsciousness.

She woke up screaming.

"Yamanaka, hold her down! Shizune, keep her head in place, I need to get a thorough analysis of what's wrong!"

"Don't touch me! Get away! Get away!"

"Sakura, we're your friends!"

"Yamanaka, focus! Shizune, all her thrashing is reopening her wounds; work on them before she bleeds out!"

"Yes, Tsunade-sama!"

The lights were blinding and the table she was laid out on was cold. Hazel eyes narrowed down at her before green-glowing hands firmly held her temples. Immediately, pink hair flew around with struggle and her screaming increased with volume.

"Sakura!"

"My head," She groaned, "Go away…Please go away. It hurts!"

"What hurts, Sakura? Tell me."

"Please go away…Get out of my head…Please…" She was sobbing now.

"Damn it, what the hell did that monster do to her?"

"What is it, Tsunade-sama?"

"Her trauma. I don't know what's wrong with her. Her mind's in chaos. It's the Tsukuyomi. I've seen this – when Itachi used it on Sasuke. But with Sakura – damn it, it looks like Obito used the Tsukuyomi on her far more than mentally possible…It's a wonder Sakura isn't in a coma."

"So how do we help her, Hokage-sama?"

"…If this keeps going on, Sakura's brain will shut down and she won't wake up. Until I can do more research, find something that might help her, we need to lock away whatever is causing her suffering."

"And how do we do that?"

"…Yamanaka, you're up."

"W-What? Me? But – But I can't! She'll push me out, she's done it before!"

"Listen to me, Ino. If we want to help Sakura this is the only way! It's this or she dies."

"But Hokage-sama–"

"Ino…I know you're scared, but it's the only way to help her. You can do this. You're here right now and you can help her. Just find what's triggering these aggressive reactions and lock it away. Can you do that?"

"…I…I…Yes, Hokage-sama. I-I'll try."

"Good girl."

"…Please, don't touch me…It hurts…It hurts…Everything hurts…"

"…I'll make it stop, Forehead…Just – Just stay with me okay?"

"Make sure not to alter any memories; you're only locking them away."

"…A-Alright."

"…It hurts…"

"It'll stop soon, Sakura…I promise…I promise…"

Darkness. Sadness.

Let Go.

Give Up.

Give In.

Forget.

"Obito has escaped again…But he's severely weakened. Sources say Naruto and Sasuke are still teamed together and have agreed to search for him as a two-man cell."

"It's not their decision to make. Little brats. I want you to find them, Kakashi, and I want you to stay with them. They're bound to do something irrational and stupid and I'd like you there to prevent that from happening."

She opened her eyes and blinked up at the cloth-covered ceiling. The shadows of night darkened her vision but she stayed completely still. Her peripherals made out a single lantern sitting on a small table that provided enough luminosity and caused the two shadows of the figures standing outside the tent to elongate over most of the canvas walls. The evening chill caused her to shiver and she pulled the blankets closer around her body, pink brows furrowing when she found her left arm wrapped in a sling.

"…How is she, Hokage-sama?"

"…Her body will make a full recovery."

"I should stay. It was my fault. I sent her off to find Naruto – I should have gone with her. I shouldn't have left her alone."

"Punishing yourself isn't going to help her, Kakashi. Things happen – I'm just grateful she's alive. However…There will be changes – especially with her lifestyle and how she will be interacting with others. She is in no condition to stay on the battlefield so I will be sending her back to Konoha to recover. She will also be tested and will go through rehabilitation to…to hopefully get her back to the girl we all know."

"…Send Yamato to find Sasuke and Naruto. I should go with her. If Obito did this there's no telling if he'll come back for her."

"…You're needed here, Kakashi. She will be sent back with an ANBU team, including Yamanaka Ino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Sai, once things have settled down for safer travel."

A soft sigh, "…When Naruto hears about this–"

"He won't hear about this," The feminine voice interrupted in a harsh whisper, "He has too much to worry about already. We need him focused on Obito and Sasuke. The additional information can weigh him down not only with concern but guilt as well. I can't have him thinking that way when he's fighting."

"…This isn't right."

"It's war, Kakashi."

"I know."

Her fingers clenched into the blankets as she listened. They sounded so sad – so weary.

"If he asks, tell Naruto that Sakura is doing her job just like everyone else. No one will tell him anything. Not until things have slowed down or the war has ended. For now, Sakura will stay in Konoha and heal."

"…I understand."

"Now that I think of it, I should tell Nara, Inuzuka, and all those other brats that found Sakura to keep their mouths shut also. We can't have this news spreading and reaching ears that don't need to hear it. I want you to leave as soon as you have recovered to meet with Sasuke and Naruto. So go get some rest."

"…Yes, Hokage-sama…"

She watched one of the shadows shrink away until there was only one left. For several moments she stared at the motionless figure with a sudden pain in her heart before it escalated with uncertainty and fear when the entrance flap moved and the shadow's owner walked in. Emerald eyes wide, her fingers tightened a fraction more on the blankets as the man stopped in his steps, staring back at her with one, dark eye before cautiously taking a single step forward.

Under the dim lighting of the single lantern, she could only discern his one eye and striking silver hair, but his facial features were entirely covered by a dark mask and a strange, metal headband.

They stared at each other for the longest time, both wary, before she looked away and down at her lap. Realizing her hands were cramping from the increased pressure of her grip she released the blankets and wrung her hands together.

"…Um…" She started, voice raspy from disuse, "…Who…?" She swallowed and looked back up at him – she noticed his hands clenched at his sides and his visible brow creased, "…Who are you?"

Her last three words did something to him. She watched his face crumple ever so slightly before he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Nervous, she stared unsurely at him as he pulled a chair up and took a seat, running one of his hands through his unruly hair.

"…Do I…" She swallowed again, "…Do I know you?"

After a long beat of silence he finally nodded his head, "Yes. I'm your…friend – Hatake Kakashi."

"Oh…" She bit her lower lip, "…And…Who am I?"

His lone eye closed again and she couldn't help but feel overwhelming sadness seeing his defeated expression, "Sakura…You are Haruno Sakura."

"…Sakura…" She rolled the name off her tongue experimentally before tilting her head to the side and smiling gratefully at the quiet man, "…Thank you, Hatake-san."

His mask shifted, his eye hardened, and he looked away to the floor, "…You're welcome."

A/N: Uh…Yeah. Hi? New Project, I know! Don't worry, I'm aiming to update all my other stories by this Friday, so stay tuned. Thanks so much for your support and for taking the time to read and/or review. I really appreciate it.

Please tell me what you think? I'm not sure if I should continue this…Feedback please?

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Co.

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The Curse
Psychotic
Missing In Action
Vengeance
False Façade
The Road of Touch; The Road To Feeling
A VERY LATE SASUSAKU Month One-Shot
A NEW STORY – Confinement
AND EVEN MORE TO COME!

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