So, here's a one-shot for all of you lovely people!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters used in this story

We are fighting a war.

We are winning.

"How do you sincerely feel about him, Sakura?"

I wish I could shout at this man that Sasuke was here for good reasons. That he would not betray us. I want to scream that at him, because goddamnit, Sai. Stop ruining this. I want to say it quietly, with confidence and resolve. But I don't do either. I know that Sai is not wrong for asking me, I am the Uchiha's friend after all. Rather, I am his former friend. But if I were forced to tell the truth I would have to say that we were never very close. I chased after him, I admired him, I wanted to fix him and he did not wish to be fixed. A former teammate. Former acquaintance. Those were more accurate.

"It's OK..."

It's most definitely okay. I repeat this to myself over and over and over again as I heal and break and attempt to keep as many shinobi as I can alive. As I try to keep myself alive, as well. I say it when I have a moment to think at all. Between blood and bone and teeth and claws, I think that this will all be alright. That Naruto will be okay. That Sasuke won't turn against us. That he won't just leave us like that. (Not again.)

"Sasuke-kun finally came back, I'm happy that he did..."

That is the truth, I reason to myself. Because I am so, so happy that he stood beside us. For a moment we were Team 7 and we were going to save everyone. Us. Not just them. I stood beside the two boys who had protected me for so long and I could feel myself forget the years that we had spent searching. I could forget the turmoil and distrust and pain. We were Naruto and Sakura and Sasuke. We had known each other all of our lives. We were twelve again and fighting against so many odds. And we were going to prevail.

And I wonder why Sai would bother asking me such a ridiculous question in the heat of battle. Couldn't these things wait? And that same small part of me sighs in contempt because he is being rational. Logical. He is being a shinobi looking out for his friends and comrades and country, and he is asking me how I feel about this a traitor that I used to know, and I have to force myself to think that everything will turn out alright. I have to will myself to believe it.

"I trust him."

Liar.

And it all comes crashing back down on me, because as much as I would love to pretend to be an ignorant girl again. A loving teammate, a forgiving person. I am a shinobi. I have friends and comrades and a country to fight for just as Sai does, and I can sense it even from a distance. The hate that the Uchiha fan is fueling. And as I turn and smile so hard that I feel my face might snap in two, I hate him.

I hate Uchiha Sasuke for doing this to us again. I hate him for making me lie. I hate him for what he will ultimately choose to do. He will choose the darkness. He will betray us. And I hate him for these things so deeply that it rips me apart because I want this to have a happy ending. But as a ninja, I know that it will not.

Deception is an art that we have turned into our greatest weapon, and I am well armed. But I know that Sai can see it. The falsity behind my lips. The truth that I cage behind my teeth.

We are fighting a war, though. And I know he understands this as he nods and leaves me to observe this battlefield. A chess board with so many moving pieces.

We will win this game by using the pawns that we must until they need to be disposed of.

I pray for forgiveness, for what I will inevitably do, from a blue eyed boy that still has so much hope.

And I give my regrets to a pink haired girl who would have never dreamed of what war would turn her into.

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