AN: I'm back to writing about Sakura and Akatsuki :) Enjoy

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

The first thing Sakura notices when she wakes up is the guarded face of the Hokage. That, and the horrendous smell of burning chemicals.

"Shishou?" she asks, blinking rapidly to adjust to the light. Tsunade is towering over her, face stern and sharp, cleavage amply visible. Her mentor stares at her, evaluating her before biting her lip and leaning back away from her bed. The stark white ceiling immediately blinds her and she squints to filter the light. A moment later, the chemical smells and blinding lights ring a bell. She is in Konoha hospital.

"Shishou?" She repeats, "Why am I at the hospital?"

She tries to sit up which is when she realises that she has numerous needles in her arm and what feels suspiciously like a chakra-restraint clamped onto her ankle. Tsunade watches her with guarded eyes, but although she can sense behind them the familiar worry, there is also a little bit of something else.

"You fell," says Tsunade, short and sharp. "You hit your head. Hard."

That explains the dull throbbing at the back of her head. She manages to ease herself up, though it's not easy, and winces slightly at the pain. She's definitely got some broken bones - a fractured arm, two or three ribs, maybe a leg? She frowns - this wasn't a simple trip over the edge of a cliff - she was pushed, or maybe attacked. Tsunade says she fell, but she cannot seem to recall the circumstances.

"What happened?" She repeats.

Tsunade's frown deepens, and Sakura cannot help but feel that her mentor is hiding something from her. Something big.

"You may have bruised the frontal lobe of your cerebral cortex," she finally explains.

Sakura blinks in confusion before her eyes narrow rapidly - the cerebral cortex mainly deals with memories, and the frontal lobe processes short-term memory and retains long-term memory. She always protects her head with a thin-layer of chakra - Tsunade has drilled into her that you must always keep your head in battle (after all, what can you do against an enemy if you are unconscious?) Whoever attacked her must have been very powerful.

"What do you remember?" Tsunade asks, her voice a fraction softer, "What did you do last?"

Sakura settles into a contemplative frown as she tries to reach into her memories. Her brain is still fuzzy - no doubt from whatever drugs she's been injected with, but she knows it is important to locate the last known memory. After all, it is the first step to recovery. She tries pushing some chakra into her brain to stimulate the function, but her ankle clamp jerks. So she was right - it's a chakra restraint. She frowns at its presence – what had caused the need? Had she performed a crime?

Her memories are fuzzy, but she manages to recall a rather dangerous mission to Tea, though the weeks before are incredibly blurry. "I don't remember much," she says cautiously, "I remember a reconnaissance in Tea," she says, "But the weeks before I can't seem to recall anything... after that though I-" she pauses, because then she remembers sneaking into the Hokage's records. "I- I went home," she finishes lamely.

Tsunade's eyes actually widen in surprise. "Sakura," she says softly, much kinder than before, her eyes less guarded, "That was a year ago."

Sakura frowns but nods. A year could mean anything - it could have gone as routinely as all the years before it, but in the life of a ninja, one could never know. However, even though a year is stretching her, she knows she can handle it - in the words of her shishou, she is a survivor, an adaptor.

"Anything drastic happen?" She asks.

Tsunade pauses, eyes swirling in an emotion Sakura has never before seen on her mentor. She opens her mouth, as if to say something, before shaking her head very slowly.

"No," she says, a strange edge in her voice, "No."

"Tsunade-sama said you'd returned- r-recovered, I mean," Hinata says quietly. She is standing at the edge of her bed, hands fiddling with her trademark lilac sweater. She seems more nervous than Sakura remembers, but that might simply because she'd missed a whole year with her shy friend. Tenten is standing next to her in a more confrontational pose, though Sakura cannot understand why. She has her arms crossed and is standing stiff as a board next to the uncomfortable Hyuuga, kunai pouch clearly bared.

She's a bit confused as to why Ino isn't here, but after Ino had been promoted work had been pulling the blonde away more often, though she'd always made time for her friends. However she has lost a year of memories, and these small changes would take a lot to get used to.

Sakura gives both her friends a small smile. "Yeah – bruising to the frontal lobe of my cerebral cortex."

"Ouch," Hinata agrees. She is also a medic nin, but in a completely different sector – Hinata works in the maternity ward which is surprisingly fitting for the quiet heir. However she knows enough to know the cerebral cortex hurts like hell.

Sakura turns to Tenten who has been surprisingly quiet throughout the whole exchange. Sakura is slightly nervous - Tenten has always been one of the loud ones, and has never been afraid to voice her opinion - something that Lee and Neji know quite well. So Sakura is baffled as to why the kunoichi is not speaking to her - and why she is emitting the same vibes as Tsunade.

"Come on Tenten," Sakura nudges, "Why are you so quiet?"

Tenten smiles, though she can tell it's a little forced. "Nothing. Just- I'm just surprised, that's all," she says, uncrossing her arms as she sighs. She eyes Sakura, a strangely calculating tint in her eyes, before leaning back against the wall. Though she is still facing Sakura, and eyeing her, she feels as if the older kunoichi is completely cut off from her. Which brings her back to the thought of Ino, who is painfully missing from their little reunion.

"So," Sakura says, cutting through the awkward silence, "How's Ino?"

She doesn't like the awkward feeling in the air - things between the kunoichi used to be so unrestrained and friendly. But now, there is something different, something she can't place, like there is a clear glass door separating the group. She feels as if she is in a whole different world.

"Ino-" Hinata pauses. "She… she took it really hard – your, um, fall. She was there and she couldn't prevent it."

Tenten shoots the girl a look, but Hinata is distracted. Her pale eyes have darkened uncharacteristically, and she continues to talk, oblivious to the older kunoichi's warning stare. "None of us prevented it. We should have. We should. We should have noticed. We should have done something. But we didn't. And you left-"

"Hinata," Tenten says sharply, stopping the girl mid-sentence. Hinata freezes, blinking slowly. And then, as if suddenly regaining her wits, she blushes darkly, looking down. Tenten pushes off the wall and makes her way towards the trembling kunoichi, while Sakura tries to get her - any of them - to meet her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry," Hinata mutters incoherently, "It's just that- well it's been a long time and-"

"We have to go now," Tenten cuts in quickly, and puts a supportive arm across Hinata's shoulders. They turn away from Sakura, and mumble quietly beneath their breath, making Sakura feel more and more curious, and slightly betrayed.

"See you," Hinata murmurs as they make their way towards the door.

Hinata places a hand on the doorknob, and rests it there for a fraction of a second before opening it and disappearing swiftly away. Tenten begins to follow her but suddenly pauses, half way through closing the door. She turns around and as if in deep internal debate, finally says "Get well soon."

The door shuts with a bang.

Sakura is very confused.

It is 2am, and she is completely awake. Her chakra restraints still haven't been removed, and they give her a strange sense of helplessness, even though she's at Konoha hospital. It is weird, because she has never before experienced this type of wariness in her own home country. Her shishou says that it is vital to keep them on because her chakra spikes uncontrollably when she is asleep, but she doesn't recall any of the drugs given to her having that specific side-effect.

She turns her head to stare at the beeping red numbers of her clock - 2:04. She remembers her previous Konoha schedule being the day shift - very rarely did she have a night shift. However, she is finding it hard to stay awake during the day, but she is so incredibly alert during the night. It could be the drugs giving her an erratic sleep schedule, but she just cannot shake away the feeling that this is her normal routine.

She sighs, and turns her head away from the clock, scanning her room. It is then that she notices that her doorknob has begun to turn. She immediately tenses, and curses her chakra restraint. Her nurse only every visits her at 10 in the evening, and 4 in the morning apart from intermittent visits throughout the day. This is an intruder.

"Ino."

It is Hinata's voice.

Even though they are her friends, she cannot stop the feeling of suspicion - and is that anger? What are they doing here at such an ungodly hour? She used to think that she knew her friends, that they were the friends you knew for life and loved for life. Yet ever since she had woken up, she feels like there has been something there - something much more than a clear glass barrier between them. It feels as if they are from different worlds. She feels like something has happened - something big - something that she is missing. And she knows it has to do with the year she doesn't remember.

She frowns at the thought of her friends. She remembers being extremely close to them, but now there seems to be something between them, something that she feels is very big, but she is missing. Her gut says it was something to do with the year she doesn't remember.

It is strange. Shikamaru is the only one who talks to her normally anymore, though he pauses before he says anything, as if to mentally evaluate what he's going to say. Everyone seems more distrusting, more... hateful. Naruto hasn't been to see her once, though Tsunade had told her he was away. The nurses that she had previously been good friends with now look at her with open distaste and a strange sort of fear. When she talks to people, when she asks people what the hell happened, they tell her the bare minimum, and nothing else. It is like they fear giving her too much information, too much knowledge.

Perhaps she can glean something from this conversation. She immediately evens her breath, and feigns sleep. Suddenly, her brain stabs in pain, and she remembers something - a distinct memory. It is only a faint outline, but it is enough - black hair, onyx eyes, teaching her how to convincingly fake sleep. It takes all her self-control to steady her breathing now - Sasuke? No. Most likely Sai.

"Ino," Hinata repeats, "What are you doing here?"

Yes, Sakura thinks, what are you doing here?

"I wanted," Ino begins, "No needed to see if she was actually here. If she deigned to show her face after what she has done."

Sakura manages to control her surprise, keeping up her facade of being asleep. What she has done? What has she done? Her head is whirling, but there are no time for thoughts as they begin to speak.

"She doesn't remember anything Ino – you can't hold it against her."

Kami, she can't remember anything, but oh how she wants to. She knows she's done something, and she is sure that it was a crime. But what did she do that was so horrendous, so absolutely devastating, that is causing even the ever-believing Naruto to distrust her?

"You are too forgiving Hina-chan."

She can sense that something is going to happen, and she needs a better ear. She instinctively calls up on her hidden chakra reserves and spikes them to her ears, increasing her hearing. She pauses - another new technique she doesn't remember learning. All in a year.

"Just because she doesn't remember doing it doesn't erase the fact that she did it Hinata. How can you forget that? How can you forgive that?"

By now, Sakura is extremely frustrated. They have not at all mentioned what she has done. She is dying to know, quivering to know. She's done something bad - something that warrants chakra restraints reserved for S-class criminals. Something that has caused her friends to distrust her, and even Naruto to be wary of what he says around her. Something that no one will tell her.

She probably didn't even fall. For all she knew, one of their own could have attacked her. She is suddenly indignant. If they don't trust her, then so be it. She ignores that little voice in her head saying that the Sakura a year ago would never have an attitude like that, but she's decides whatever. Life isn't fair, and for once, she doesn't care.

Suddenly she feels so very trapped within these white walls, and an ache in her chest starts – an ache for exhilaration, for adventure, and for freedom. It aches for the year she doesn't know about, and it aches for the thrill. It aches for something that was once there, and now isn't. Something that was there in that year she doesn't remember. Something that she decides she will find again, no matter what.

And so, her first act of rebellion starts, as she taps into her hidden chakra reserves and starts to send spikes along her chakra restraints, cutting them slowly but precisely.

Kami help her she will get out of here.

It only registers a good hour later that her chakra reserves are much higher than they were a year ago – a good double, maybe more. With her previous reserves, she would barely be able to scratch the restraints. How does Tsunade not know?

Nevertheless, it isn't possible for something like that to happen in a year - chakra storing takes years of practice and perfection. She's been working on hers since the beginning of her apprenticeship with Tsunade, and she still only has only around five percent of her normal chakra output - now she has ten, maybe more. Perhaps she had somehow gotten her hands on the secret technique of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, though if she had come across it on a mission, it didn't explain how Tsunade didn't know. The only person outside the Seven Swordsmen who knew had been taught it by one of the members themselves, and she knew that was impossible in her case... right?

She finds herself with more and more questions, and less and less answers. And strangely, her gut tells her that perhaps Konoha doesn't hold all the answers.

Her doctor has just hurried away, most hospital ninja answering the Hokage's call - an unidentified object classified S in terms of danger has been found in the forest.

According to the glimpses of hurried conversation from outside the corridor she had managed to overhear, the object contains an exceptionally high chakra reading, and the ninja are trying to decipher what it is, and what it does. And so, with no company in her room, being very, very lonely, Sakura is bored.

That is when she sees him.

At first, she thinks it is Ino. But as he leans in through her window, she sees that his blonde hair is rougher, shorter, and his eyes a clearer, darker sapphire. His left eye is covered, and he leans in, just enough for her eye to catch the black cloak with little red clouds.

"Akatsuki," she breathes.

He grins.

"Sakura-chan," he says, lopsided smile and sharp eyes, "Zetsu says you have amnesia. Don't remember any of us folks back at home yeah."

His face looks painfully familiar, but she cannot place it in any of her memories. She has a feeling, a feeling stronger than she has ever felt in her gut that says she knows him, but she cannot remember him, cannot put a name to the face. Home, he says, and her heart just breaks a bit. But his name - what is his name?

"Who are you?" She opts to asks.

He eyes her, with the same all-knowing stare of Tsunade, Hinata, Tenten - but this one is gentler - kinder - more accepting. His eyes probe her before his smile turns sad. "So it's true yeah? You lost your memories. Man that sucks. Just thought I'd pop in and see you though. 'Tachi was against it – said it'd be too obvious, but I set up a distraction. Dunno if you remember, but I can mould my chakra into my clay yeah."

She stares at him blankly. 'Tachi? Who was 'Tachi? And clay - how does that sound so painfully familiar?

"Who are you," she repeats, a slight note of desperation in her voice, but he just continues to stare at her in that sad, forlorn way of his.

"Who are you?" He asks instead, mouth tilted into a disappointed frown.

She is confused - "I am Sakura."

But he just shakes his head sadly - "No," he says, "You are not. I am-"

He stops immediately as his eyes find the clock - the numbers have just hit midnight.

"Gotta go princess," he murmurs.

She wants to reach out for him - ask him the abounds of questions she has. "Wait! What-what is your name?"

He just gives her a final smile, and says "Katsu."

And she frowns instinctively, because Katsu just doesn't sit right in her gut - it isn't really a commonplace name, if a name at all, and then suddenly, something in her gut tells her that Katsu is much more dangerous than a name. It is something critical - something terrible - and oh so very dangerous.

He winks at her, a millisecond before the forest behind him explodes. The debris light up the midnight sky, like a reborn sun, and there is great scrambling outside, shouts of ninja, screams. She is astounded, and completely frozen as he gives her one last wave and disappears.

The unidentified object - or bomb, as she knows now - has scattered all the ninja, and so it doesn't surprise her that the Hokage is first at her window.

Her blonde hair is frazzled, no doubt from the explosion, but apart from that she is unharmed. But her eyes carry a frenzy, some sort of anger, and a deep, deep distrust.

"Sakura," she says with urgency, "Did anything, anything happen while the doctor was gone?"

She remains silent, eyeing the Hokage at her window, and actually wishes the blonde was still here. She wants to slap herself for those traitorous thoughts, she wants to expose him, but she cannot - something in her, something she has forgotten - is stopping her.

"Please Sakura," Tsunade says once more, "You can trust me. Konoha is with you."

And strangely, those last words instinctively form a frown on her face, but she quickly masks it into a thoughtful expression, so fast that even Tsunade doesn't notice. She is startled - why would she frown, and how did she pull off deceiving Tsunade - she would have never pulled it off a year ago. But there is no time for thought, as Tsunade is still awaiting her answer, and now that she knows she will never find it in her - find the old Sakura - to expose the Akatsuki, so she must answer quickly to avoid suspicion.

"No," she says evenly, "Nothing happened."

Tsunade looks like she wants to say something, but then she frowns, deeply and harshly, and her eyes speak of disappointment and anger. But she disappears as quickly as the Akatsuki, and Sakura is once again alone.

As the midnight wind filters through her open window, Sakura realises that she didn't react half as harshly to the Akatsuki presence in her room as she would have a year ago. Should it have been the old Sakura, she would have done everything in her power to inform Tsunade of the intrusion, and even try to subdue the ninja.

But she didn't - because there is something in her that doesn't let her, something that made her feel more at home in the few minutes in his presence than she has in her whole time at Konoha. He has given her a feeling of a sort of completeness - as if she is a jigsaw puzzle, missing all the pieces, and he has just handed her one of the most vital pieces. And kami it is drawing her to Akatsuki.

However, she is still in Konoha, and because she cannot remember anything of the previous year, her slightly dysfunctional ties still belong to Konoha. And so, she pushes Akatsuki to the deep recesses of her mind. After all, she is loyal to Konoha, and Konoha only.

Right?

"Hi," Ino says softly. The blonde is not meeting her eyes, hands fisted at her side, her fingers curled into a fist so hard that her knuckles have turned white. Hinata lays a hand on her back, and her fists uncurl, and Ino looks up, bright blue eyes swirling with a mix of emotions.

Sakura smiles half-heartedly too - she has not forgotten that visit during the night, and knows that sadly now, she cannot trust her oldest friend.

"Hi," she settles in saying.

The four kunoichi stand motionlessly outside the hospital doors, Ino and Tenten standing stiffly, while Hinata looks torn. Sakura has finally been released from the hospital, and has adorned her own clothes - Tsunade says that she has sent her jounin vest to be washed, but she is glad - she feels more comfortable in a cloak than a constricting vest.

"Coffee?" Hinata suggests softly, breaking the silence.

"Sure," Sakura says, "If you all want to."

Ino grunts and nods, and Tenten just shrugs, but the four all walk towards their favourite coffee place. It is only a few blocks from the hospital, and the four used to always clear their schedules on Thursday afternoons, so that the kunoichi had time to catch up and gossip, share news, and enjoy a good cup of home-made coffee.

"You haven't been here in a long time eh?" Ino says as they arrive at the shop, a strangely ironic tone in her voice. "Here, have the honours, pick a table."

She scans the cafe, where it is already quite full, and that is when she sees Iroshi - he always worked the Thursday afternoon shift, and often served the four kunoichi. He was a chuunin, who worked here part time, and had had a crush on Ino, if she remembered correctly. She smiles and waves at him, but as soon as he catches her glance, he quickly steps back, eyes darting towards her left little finger before he looks pointedly away from her.

She frowns, and that is when she notices the scared looks their little group is receiving from the rest of the customers. Our group, her subconscious mind whispers, or you? Ino shoots her a look before going up to the frightened chuunin and retrieving their four menus. Sakura frowns and glances down at her left little finger - the one he had glanced at. It is only then that she notices a faint tan line around the base of her finger - faint, but definitely there. A ring?

These new revelations are shaking her foundations, but she puts on a smile anyway, and leads the three kunoichi to a small, isolated table in the corner.

Ino takes one look at her choice of table and scoffs under her breath.

"You've certainly changed," Tenten mumbles.

Sakura shoots her a look. "Why?"

Tenten stares at her impassively, and the awkward silence is back, ten times more stifling.

"You used to always pick the table in the middle," Hinata answers quickly, "You said it was because you liked being surrounded by people."

Sakura frowns as she realises two things, and by the looks on the other three kunoichi they've noticed the first too. If she'd changed, they would have noticed it wouldn't they? Considering, if things went like they did before, the four often spent time together.

"You had a long-term mission," Ino clips. "It prevented us from seeing you."

She nods slowly and the four fall into a strangled silence. Perhaps she was on a long-term mission, but she'd have thought Tsunade or Naruto would have mentioned it. It is even slightly suspicious, but she doesn't press forward. As she takes a seat, she frowns - why did she choose this table?

It's in the corner, her subconscious mind supplies. It's directly opposite the door – you can keep track of who comes in and out. Your back is to the wall, thus preventing an opponent from sneaking up on you. You are angled away from all the windows, successfully hiding your pink hair. You are isolated – talk is private. The viewpoint gives you a clear sight of the kitchens so you can make sure no one slips anything into your food. It is the safest spot.

She frowns even deeper. What circumstances would cause her to evaluate those risks? She is safe in Konoha, not a missing ninja.

"How have I changed after this long time mission?" She asks, feigning casualness. If no one was going to be honest with her, she'd find out in her own ways.

"You're scarier," says Hinata immediately, instinctively, before she blushes deeper. "I mean- I mean-"

But it's enough. As she looks back a year ago, she realises that yes, she is scarier. She's more cautious, she's more careful, she acts as if every minute her life she is being hunted. She's more jaded. She'sdarker.

And kami she wants to know why.

It's been a month.

A month since she had fallen, a month since she has lost her memories. And strangely, even though she's at home, in Konoha, and all her friends are beginning to act less suspicious, she cannot help the feeling that she's missing something. Something big.

And goddamit she's tired of waiting.

So, she has decided to go on the only concrete memories she has from last year - her last coherent thoughts. And thus, Sakura finds herself in the exact position as last time – sneaking into the confidential records in the Hokage tower.

They've upped the security a lot, surprisingly, but she's managed to skip pass all the guards, with skills she didn't even know she had. She feels efficient, powerful, and deadly. Like she is on top of the world. The adrenalin is here, but it is only a candle to the flame of the hidden year.

She makes it without injury or detection to the room. The last two guards are outside the room, and these two are more powerful than before - they are ANBU. She will need something silent and deadly to get past them - nothing flashy, or anything that will give away her presence. She racks her brain for some options, and her vision suddenly blurs as she sees an image of red eyes burned into her mind.

She blinks rapidly, and slowly the red eyes fade away. They remind her of Sasuke's, but they are different, and yet she is sure they are the sharingan. She is confused, very confused, but with two ANBU around the corner she needs to stay focused. So she stores the eyes into the back of her memory, and that is when she finds it - the technique she has been looking for.

She thinks it might be an old memory, for then the red eyes start spinning, and she sees the owner teaching her a genjutsu. These eyes - unlike Sasuke, they are accepting, hard as steel, and so very powerful. Still slightly shaking, she whispers the genjutsu, and the two ANBU collapse.

She steps passed them gingerly, still cautious even though a hundred marching bands will not wake them up now for a good hour or so - plenty of time for her to get in there and get out.

The door has a seal on it, but as the Hokage's apprentice, she had privy to much information, and coincidentally, the seals on this door is the same as the one granting access to the hospital's kekkei genkai record room - one only accessible by Tsunade, Shizune, and herself. And thus, she makes a quick hand seal, whispers the secret keeper chord, and the door swings open.

The records room is much bigger on the inside than it looks, and almost every inch of available space is crammed with shelves full of scrolls and old books. The place reeks of a scent she can't place, something between dust and old fig, and she barely manages to squeeze through the gaps between the shelves.

The room is so closely packed that it is like a trap in itself - if you so much moved a hair out of place, the whole place would come down like dominoes, trapping the perpetrator under the large wooden shelves and the ruckus alerting anyone in a two mile radius to the presence of an intruder. It is only her perfect chakra control and kunoichi balance that lets her stay on her feet.

She scans the records, fingers brushing across the scrolls, looking for anything that might trigger her memory. And that is when she notices a slight difference in the compression of the wall, a small square of open space between two perpendicular shelves. It is the perfect size for a hidden vault.

Slowly, she leans forward, using all her perfect chakra control to keep her balance as she leans forward enough to reach the vault. She runs her fingers along the edges and smiles - it is true - it is a vault. She digs her fingernails, cutting the wallpaper as she tries to ease the vault open.

It doesn't move.

But she wasn't the Hokage's apprentice for nothing.

Tsunade likes to keep her vaults simple, but complex. She has one signature vault that she uses, that very few people know how to crack, and even then, each is individually different. This one looks like one of hers, but it has been changed, morphed, into a sort of different kind, as if Tsunade had been afraid she'd find it - she, who knows best how to crack her vaults - and so has changed it to prevent her access.

But she feels sharper, more powerful, and she feels a distinct something running through her veins, as if the thing this vault is hiding is the key to her memories, the key to her life, the key toSakura.

Her mind is sharper, and she feels as if her year of unknown memories are giving her strength, that whatever she doesn't remember is powering her as her mind runs through all the possible ways to crack the vault.

She takes a deep breath, and trusts her gut instinct. Quickly performing rapid hand seals, she inserts chakra to the four points of the vault.

She waits with baited breath - this is her chance, her opportunity, and she cannot let it slip. Her palms are sweaty, and the adrenalin is drumming in her ears, her heart racing.

And slowly, the wall begins to shudder. The wallpaper melts into the cool metal of the vault door, and there is a small puff as the door retracts.

She holds her breath, just in case she coughs, and as the mist clears, she sees that whatever is in the vault is very high security. It has been wrapped in a certain material that can absorb chakra. It is very rare, and there are at most only thirty pieces in the world.

But it doesn't deter her. Slowly, gingerly, she slides it out. The package feels soft, but firm, and as she unwraps it she sees that it is a cloak.

An Akatsuki cloak.

Her heart jumps to her throat. Her hands are shaking as she slides it out. It seems slightly dusty, as if it hasn't been worn for a while, and she holds it up, unravelling it in its full glory. That is when she realises it is very small for a standard shinobi, very small. And short too. And very similar, almost too similar, to her size.

Her heart is thumping wildly now, and she remembers the Akatsuki who visited her. She can feel it – the exhilaration, the thrill, just bubbling under the surface.

She fumbles, nearly losing her balance and knocking over a shelf before she slips it on.

Kami. It feels like her blood is on fire – this is where she belongs. Quick snippets of her forgotten memories flash past her mind, so quickly that she can barely remember anything before her head jabs in pain. She remembers faces from the snippets – the blonde Akatsuki, a fellow blue-haired kunoichi.

She stumbles slightly, but she grips onto the cloak as if it is her lifeline, her knuckles turning white with the effort. But, she realises, the cloak cannot be the reason for the special wrapping. And she looks down, and that is when she sees it. It is white, blue, and small – almost insignificant.

But it is her ring.

She is shaking as she leans down to take it. She grasps it delicately, pinching it between her thumb and index finger. The metal is cold, and hard, but it sends a hot thrill down her spine. Slowly, she slips it onto her left little finger.

Her memories hit her in a flash and she blacks out.

Her shishou's eyes are no longer kind.

"You slipped into the records Sakura. With your previous offences, that is punishable by death."

She nods, and she even grins. She is not scared.

"I could have died a thousand times, compared to what Konoha has done to me."

She is slightly bitter, but she is accepting.

Tsunade narrows her eyes.

But Sakura is confident. She has her ring, and she has her cloak. No matter what they do, they will never take that from her.

She can feel the ANBU advancing on her. But it doesn't matter – she will bring down the whole records room as they take her away. She shouldn't have blacked out - she hadn't gotten out in time. The ANBU she had knocked out had woken and alerted Tsunade to her presence. But nevertheless, Tsunade was here now, and so was ANBU.

"Come quietly Sakura. We can make this easy for you."

She laughs, because she can taste the freedom on her tongue. "I am not scared."

Tsunade shakes her head, as if feeling sorry for her. "But you should be Sakura. I admit I regret you turning out this way, but you should know that you are going to be given to Ibiki. And don't think he'll be lenient with you – he might even be harsher, considering all the pain you've put everyone through."

Sakura scoffs. The pain she's put them through? "I'm not scared," she repeats.

And she's not. Because she knows something that Tsunade doesn't. It's a piece of memory, one that occurred mere seconds before Naruto's hit had sent her spiralling off the cliff, causing the fall that lost her memories.

Itachi's words. Words that represented not only him, but Deidara, Zetsu, Kisame, Kakuzu, Hidan, Konan and even Pein.

'We'll come for you.'

"Haruno Sakura," says the ANBU, "You are formerly under arrest for crimes against Konoha, crimes against the Hokage, crimes against-"

And then, he explodes.

The whole room freezes before he steps out from the shadows.

"It's been a long time kiddo. How've you been holding up?"

Sakura turns and smiles. Tsunade is shocked, and the ANBU are on the intruders immediately. But it doesn't matter. Kisame's sword is out the moment he finishes the sentence.

"Itachi's waiting outside!" Shouts Deidara as he grins, his palms opening wide, tongues rapidly forming clay explosions like the one that killed the ANBU. "How are you Princess? Is it you? Are you back?"

And Sakura smiles.

"Hell yeah I'm back."

AN: So yeah. That's the end. BUT, you've all been asking for an explanation, so here it is: I've written some possible pieces called Hallucinations of the Dead and My Darling Stuffed Animals. They were written as stand alones, and as such some of the timeline doesn't match, but it does offer some possibilities into what occured :)