dis�claim�er: n.
1. A repudiation or denial of responsibility or connection.
2. A renunciation of one's right or claim.
[Middle English, denial of a feudal claim, from Anglo-Norman desclaimer, 
to disclaim, denial of a feudal claim ; see disclaim.]

Disclaimer: Wheeee! Apply happy educational material above to the phrase 
'all characters portrayed in this work of fanfiction,' and you'll 
understand how much of this i actually own...

Spoiler and Continuity Warning: This chapter doesn't spoil the story any 
more than the one immediately previous to it, though if the last chapter 
gave you an acute case of continuity confusion, get ready to be baffled 
anew!

You're probably in the wrong place if you want Yaoi Warning: You know 
the drill. By now, I fear i may have already lost everyone who's been 
waiting patiently for this disclaimer to go away, ne? ^_^;

You also may be a little miffed if you're expecting 'Hardcore Yuri 
Action' Warning: Okay... so i _do_ like to tease a bit, and there's a 
ton of innuendo in this fic, but this _still_ isn't quite yuri... or 
lime... i think -_-;...

Harsh Language Warning: Sakura-chan discovers fun new ways to degrade 
the people around her. Yaaaay!

'Interlude' Chapter Warning: After all the action in the last chapter, 
i'm sad to say that this one might strike a lot of you as a bit... 
well... dull. This chapter was originally two chapters, 'Release' and 
'Home,' but considering some of the changes i made, i'm tempted to name 
it something else entirely...

Speaking of changes, there are a lot of them this time... again. >_<; I 
_thought_ i could revise this chapter without breaking it, but i may 
very well have been wrong. There's a lot of brand new and reorganized 
material in here, and i didn't have access to any pre-readers for the 
second half of this, so it may very well suck. A lot.

That being said, C&C is always appreciated, and i'd really like to know 
what older readers think of the changes. We're getting closer to the 
'present' in the story, too, with only a few of the old chapters left to 
revise. Huzzah! Not sure whether i'll start working on a new chapter 
after this or try and finish up the revisions. While i'm off in the 
corner agonizing over that, please sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

~Eimii





RELEASE...



"-Wha'dya mean, 'tired?' Why the fuck ain't she awake yet?!" Holding 
open the swinging doors that led deeper into the hospital, Temari 
gestured rudely at the doctor's departing back.

"Cock sucker!" she spat, storming back into the reception area. "Next 
time I see that lazy bastard, I'm gonna rip 'is nuts off and shove 'em 
so far up his ass, he'll be able ta-"

"You need to calm down," Anko interrupted with a snort. Pushing off of 
the nurse station beside the doors, she fell into step with the fuming 
young kunoichi. "It hasn't been _that_ long, and you're making me look 
bad."

Temari favored the brunette with a venomous glare. "What the hell is 
that suppose'ta mean?"

"It means as long as you're wearing this-" Anko reached over to tap the 
blood-smeared fox mask that covered the blonde's face, "-you could stand 
to be a bit less of a screeching little harpy. You're lucky I even let 
you come here." Glancing at Temari out of the corner of her eye, Anko 
wore a testy frown that practically dared Temari to argue.

With difficulty, the possessed Sand nin forced herself to look away, 
growling in frustration. It stung, but she knew she owed Anko a lot. She 
probably would've been dragged off to some ANBU hell-hole by now if Anko 
hadn't vouched for her. The examiner had even found her a cloak to wear 
so she wouldn't stand out so much.

*She better not be holdin' out fer a fuckin' 'thank you,' though.* Maybe 
she was being unreasonable, but she didn't have an ounce of gratitude to 
spare at the moment. Quickening her pace, Temari elbowed her way through 
the press of bodies in the hospital lobby, angling for the exit.

To her despair, green-haired girl that lay sprawled on the bench outside 
the hospital doors didn't look like she'd moved an inch since they'd 
left. Putting an ear next to Sakura's mouth to make sure she was still 
breathing, Temari sighed and sat on the armrest above Sakura's feet, 
slumping in exhaustion.

Leaning against the back of the bench, Anko glanced down at her 
temporary charge. "You heard what he said, it's not as bad as it looks," 
the brunette murmured quietly,

"Well it looks pretty fuckin' bad!" Temari snapped, not looking up. 
Instead, her eyes fell to the pile of shredded cloth at her feet. What 
remained of Sakura's clothes were stained completely black with crusty, 
dried blood; they'd had to _peel_ them off of her so the doctor could 
treat her wounds.

Underneath, the damage wasn't as dire as it had seemed, but it still 
wasn't pretty. Even Sakura's dark complexion couldn't hide the rapidly 
purpling bruises that covered her body from head to toe, and her skin 
was slashed in half a dozen places by long, thin cuts from that Sound 
nin's wire.

Most disturbing were the bite marks; clustered on Sakura's arms and 
legs, they were small and shallow, but Temari could tell by the tooth 
pattern that they'd been made by snakes. She was sure Anko knew 
something about them, but after examining Sakura, the jounin had refused 
to say more than 'She's fine,' all the while scowling like she was 
having trouble swallowing her own bullshit.

"What the fuck happened to 'er?" Temari wondered aloud, peering 
helplessly at the slumbering kunoichi. Curled up on her side with Anko's 
coat tucked under her chin, Sakura looked like she'd just closed her 
eyes for a quick nap, but she'd been that way for over three hours now, 
and nobody seemed to know why she wouldn't wake up.

"Is she sick? Is it poison? C'mon, gimmie somethin'," Temari begged, 
turning to her 'mentor.'

"I told you, she's fine," Anko snapped, frowning in annoyance. "That's 
all you need to know right now."

"Like hell it is!" Hopping to her feet, Temari stood on her toes to get 
up in Anko's face. "You just don't wanna say that yer fucked-up clone 
went berserk or somethin', cause that's the only thing I can think of 
that could'a done this!" the blonde girl growled, returning the 
examiner's disdain with interest. "So what did it do, summon a bunch'a 
fuckin' snakes and try ta kill 'er?"

"I dunno, why don't you ask _her_? It's not my fault that you can't stop 
messing with things you don't understand," Anko hissed, shooting the 
Sand nin a glare that would have made her soil herself a week ago.

"Maybe if I had a fuckin' _teacher_ ta _explain_ things ta me I wouldn't 
have ta figure shit out by myself!" Temari countered acidly, not giving 
an inch. "Ain't that how it's suppose'ta work- or did 'Orochimaru-sama' 
do it different?"

Anko's eyes narrowed dangerously. "That's-"

"Am I just a fuckin' toy ta you?" Temari guessed. She knew she'd crossed 
the line as soon as the words left her mouth, but she was too tired to 
care. "Is that how it is? Ya get ta kick me around 'n watch me do stupid 
shit 'till I manage ta fuckin' kill myself? I'll bet it feels good ta be 
on the other end 'a the-"

The brunette was on top of her in a flash. "That's _it_! That rotten 
thing's comin' out, right now!" Anko growled, reaching for Temari's 
mask.

*Fuck, she's got a short fuse today!* Toppling backwards, it was all 
Temari could do to twist out of Anko grasping hands as she tried to 
crawl away, but the jounin was too fast. Grabbing the Temari by collar 
pinning her on her back, Anko tore off the mask and tossed it aside.

"Keep yer hands ta yerself!" Temari managed to snarl, before the Anko 
got hold of her face and she was forced to struggle in silence.

"-unngAAAAH! FUCK, MY LEG!"

"Hnyga?" Pausing in an attempt to bite off Anko's fingers before she 
lost her tongue, Temari tilted her head back to see Sakura sitting up 
and glaring at them. "Ah! Yha alleke!"

"_GET OFF!_ That hurts!" Sakura replied angrily, punctuating her request 
with a fist to the blonde girl's face.

Wincing, Temari rolled off of Sakura's legs, taking Anko with her as 
they landed on the floor beside the bench. Finally managing to shove the 
jounin's hands away, she sat up, rubbing her cheek and glaring at 
Sakura. "Hey, why the hell am _I_ the one that gets punched?"

"Maybe she's got more sense than you do," Anko snapped, but the 
wild-eyed fury from a moment ago had already passed. "...Then again, 
maybe not," she mused drolly, dropping her gaze to Sakura's chest until 
the green-haired girl realized that she wasn't wearing a shirt.

"KYAAA! Where are my clothes?" Sakura squealed, turning beet-red as she 
quickly pulled Anko's coat up under her arms.

"Casualty of war," Anko replied, returning her attention to the girl 
sitting on top of her. "You can get off now," she suggested, eyeing 
Temari impatiently. "Or do you need help with that too?"

Temari's lips curled into a mischievous grin. "But it's so much better 
when you do it, Anko-chan," she purred breathily, leaning back to thrust 
her hips toward Anko's face.

"Would you fucking stop that?!" Sakura shrieked, kicking the blonde girl 
off of Anko. "OWwww!" Wincing, Sakura gingerly retracted her foot back 
under her makeshift blanket.

"Just gettin' some payback," Temari grumbled sourly. Standing up, she 
pulled down her skirt with a frown of annoyance.

Dusting herself off as she got to her feet, Anko cast a wary glance at 
the blonde. "You definitely don't get to call _me_ 'weird' anymore, 
Sakura-chan," she muttered.

While the two older Kunoichi exchanged glares, Sakura turned to stare in 
confusion at the makeshift triage center that had been set up in the 
street outside the hospital. Dozens of white-coated medics circulated 
through the rows of cots in a scene of barely-contained chaos. "What 
happened? Why are we-?"

"You'll know soon enough," Temari assured her gently. When Sakura gave 
her a questioning look, the blonde glanced at Anko. "I'd tell ya, but a 
certain violent maniac doesn't want me talkin' about it fer some 
reason."

"Just playing it safe; we don't know how much Temari will remember once 
you're back in your own head," Anko explained, giving the Sand nin an 
appraising glance. "For now, try not to think too hard; that shouldn't 
be a problem for you, right?" she needled wryly.

Swinging her legs off of the bench, Sakura grimaced in pain and 
apparently reconsidered trying to stand up. "Could you at least tell me 
if everyone is okay?" she asked.

"Most of 'em are in better shape than you are, dumbass..." Temari 
quipped, but her mirth died as she noticed the bandages on Sakura's 
arms. "Dammit, don't fuckin' scare me like that!" Collapsing onto the 
bench, she grabbed Sakura up in a desperate hug, hot tears rolling down 
her cheeks. "Ugh, I think I'm gonna throw up. I thought'cha were gonna 
die, moron!"

The dark-skinned kunoichi didn't seem to know what to make of this. "I- 
s-sorry," Sakura managed awkwardly, reaching around with one arm to 
embrace Temari while she covered herself with the other. Leaning back, 
Sakura gave her counterpart an apologetic smile. "I guess I kinda fucked 
up," she observed.

"No shit," Temari coughed. "What the hell happened?"

"Save it," Anko warned hastily, shooting them a stern look. "No talking, 
remember?"

Sniffling and wiping her eyes, Temari snarled over her shoulder at the 
jounin, but let reluctantly let the question drop. *The bitch is prolly 
just coverin'er ass,* she fumed, letting go of Sakura and shifting 
around to a more comfortable position while the green-haired girl 
stiffly shrugged on Anko's coat.

"Hey, watch it! That's _my_ body you're flashin' around, ya fuckin' 
exhibitionist," Temari mocked with a weak grin.

"So it's okay with other people's bodies?" Sakura asked skeptically, 
fastening the buttons down the front of the overcoat. "How are you 
feeling, anyway? Has it been bad?" She cast a worried glance at Temari's 
chest.

Taking a deep breath, Temari shook her head. "Nah, I'm okay. 'S weird: 
it's been a lot longer than the time with Anko, but I still feel like 
'me'- for whatever that's worth." A rueful chuckle tickled the blonde 
girl's throat.

"Hmm... well, that's good, right?" Sakura noted lamely. Putting on a 
serious look, she grabbed Temari's hands. "Are you ready to try again?" 
she asked. "I don't exactly feel rested, but I think I'm up for it, if 
you are."

Blinking, Temari gave a hesitant nod. "I guess-"

The sound of Anko clearing her throat snapped them out of their private 
drama. "Ahem- before you kids start making out in the street again, what 
did the doctor say?" the brunette asked, eyeing Temari expectantly.

Grinding her teeth, Temari glared up at the jounin. "...That as long as 
it ain't a fuckin' 'crisis,' we should wait ta see if their 'expert' can 
figure out why the hell this happened before we do anythin'," she 
grumbled. Slumping, the blonde crossed her arms over her legs and let 
out a heavy sigh.

"That dried-up old hag we went ta before put a fuckin' note in our 
file," she explained, turning back to Sakura. "We could be suspended if 
this guy they're gettin ta look at us thinks it ain't safe for us ta go 
on missions." Propping her chin in one hand, Temari absently began 
worrying a small tear in her skirt. "It's a fuckin' mess right now, 
though. It could be hours before-"

This time, only silence intruded on her thoughts, but Temari stopped 
speaking and turned to face the doors of the hospital. There stood a 
tall, lean-faced young man in a stained khaki cloak. His hair was inky 
black and cut short, sharply contrasting his fair skin, nearly as pale 
as the white, unreadable eyes that marked him as one of the Hyuuga clan.

It was the way he moved that identified him- like he could carry on an 
entire conversation without saying a word. Holding up Sakura's discarded 
fox mask, he tilted his head and peered at the green-haired girl as of 
to ask what he had done to deserve this sort of treatment. Then, with a 
long-suffering sigh, he began walking toward them.

"Monkey-man!" the two genin blurted out together. Glancing over at 
Sakura, Temari shared a guilty chuckle with herself, while Anko laughed 
out loud and the unmasked ANBU smiled ruefully.

"My name is Hyuuga Yoshinari," he suggested, though he didn't appear to 
be offended by their creativity.

Brushing his cloak aside, he reached up to scratch his stubble-shadowed 
cheek, and it was as if a spell had been broken. With just that simple 
action he'd managed to shrug off the entire daunting weight of history 
and prestige that hung on his family name like a shroud, and suddenly he 
was just another battle-weary ninja in need of a shave.

"You seem well, Haruno-kun," he observed, "though it sounds like I'm 
going to have to stop trusting you to keep out of trouble. I hear you've 
had another 'accident?'" He gave Temari a significant look.

This time, Sakura was faster on the uptake. "You're the expert they sent 
for?" she asked, her face brightening at this odd coincidence.

"There aren't many things that these eyes miss," the ANBU pointed out 
gamely, "and not just in combat. The ability to observe and control the 
flow of chakra through the body can be used for many things-"

"Like medicine- or torture?" Temari supplied with a knowing smirk. 
"Should I call ya 'Doctor Monkey-man,' then?"

"I'm technically a 'specialist ninja,' not a doctor," Yoshinari 
corrected, shrugging as if say he had no secrets to hide. "Are you ready 
to go?" he asked, holding out the fox mask.

"Go?" Temari replied, standing. Accepting the fox mask, she reached down 
to give Sakura a hand up as well.

The green-haired girl made some interesting faces as Temari pulled her 
to her feet, probably discovering a plethora of injuries that she hadn't 
realized she had. Frowning, Temari turned back to the torture 
specialist. "Can't we do it here?" she asked.

"Here?" Anko gestured toward the mobile triage center. "Oh, that sounds 
like a _great_ idea," she drawled sarcastically. "I can't think of a 
better place to wake up our 'guest' and tell her that her side lost and 
she's been captured. Maybe she'll even volunteer to help with the 
wounded."

"Oh..." Grimacing, Temari looked to the patiently waiting ANBU. "So, 
where are we goin', then?"





"This brings back memories," Sakura mused nervously as she walked down 
the dark, featureless hallway beneath the ANBU interrogation facility.

Not much had changed since she'd last been here. A few more of the cells 
looked 'occupied,' but as they passed by the room with the trap door in 
the floor, it appeared that nobody was using the genjutsu maze at the 
moment.

"We can come back later if you'd like to 'play' some more, Sakura-chan," 
Anko whispered naughtily, leaning over her shoulder to see what she was 
looking at.

Congratulating herself on not flinching away, Sakura gave the jounin an 
incredulous look. "You just want a rematch because I won last time," she 
decided, giving Anko a smug smirk that she didn't really feel.

A cold sweat started tickling down the back of Sakura's neck when Anko 
just stared at her speculatively, rather than replying. *Don't tell me 
she's actually considering it...*

"Hey, what's the fuckin' holdup?" Temari barked, leaning out of a 
doorway a bit farther down the hall to glare at them impatiently.

"Shut up, already! I'm coming!" Sakura called back. Thankful for the 
interruption, she broke eye contact with Anko and began shuffling toward 
the door the blonde girl had disappeared into.

Though Yoshinari had assured her that her legs were just 'badly 
bruised,' they felt like they were about to ready fall off. Anko still 
refused to tell her how she'd gotten so beat up, but she could guess; 
the blood on her skin had picked up an awful lot of sand before it 
dried.

*Gaara...* Thinking about it made Sakura's skin crawl, but she was 
probably lucky to have gotten away with nothing more serious than a few 
cracked ribs.

*So why don't I _feel_ lucky, dammit?* Sakura grunted as lance of liquid 
fire pierced her right side. She'd have to ask for some painkillers once 
they were done; surely, ANBU would have something on hand in a place 
like this.

When she arrived, Sakura found the white-eyed Hyuuga scrutinizing Temari 
carefully. "It doesn't look like they missed any hidden weapons," he 
noted in approval. "On the face of it, though, I can't find any 
indication of how you're controlling her."

Stroking his chin, Yoshinari nodded toward the imposing metal slab that 
dominated the center of the room. "Undress and get on the table. I'd 
like to observe you for a little longer before we try anything, but it 
would probably be best if you were restrained."

"Ooooh, kinky!" the fair-haired ninja quipped, pulling off her boots and 
shucking her lavender dress without complaint. While Temari was working 
out how to remove the hated body stocking, she noticed that the ANBU was 
still watching her every move.

"Keep it in yer pants, ya damn dirty ape; she's all yers after I'm 
done," she teased, shimmying suggestively out of the see-through 
undergarment and kicking it off into the corner.

Blinking, Yoshinari watched for a couple more seconds as Temari climbed 
up onto the table, then turned to smile uncomfortably at Anko. "You 
know, the resemblance is almost frightening, Anko-sama."

"Hey!" Turning over and propping herself up on her elbow, Temari glared 
daggers at the ANBU. "What's that suppose ta- OW!" Rubbing the shoulder 
that Sakura had just punched, Temari scowled at the green-haired girl. 
"What the fuck was that for?"

"You were about to pick a fight with him!" Sakura accused.

"He said I'm like _her_!" the blonde protested sorely.

"Hey, I'm the one that should be offended here!" Anko snapped. Crossing 
her arms, she squinted threateningly at her co-worker. "What part of 
that foul-mouthed, body-snatching little freak resembles me?" she 
demanded.

"Bite me, ya monster-fuckin' whore!"

Tilting his head, the ANBU hummed thoughtfully. "You share the same 
'unique' of sense humor," he decided. "I was also told that she'd 
experienced some mental contamination, and was exhibiting signs of 
sadism, heightened aggression and emotional instability."

"That doesn't mean she's acts like me."

"Yeah!"

"I'm starting to wonder about that," Sakura mused with a weary sigh.

Gaping, Temari turned to stare down at the green-haired girl. "Dammit, 
whose side are you on?" she shouted.

"Well he's right," Sakura replied, stiffening defensively. "You _do_ act 
a lot like her." She shot the two older kunoichi a silencing glare when 
it looked like they were about to argue.

"Everything else he said is true, too. You know how bad my temper has 
been, and remember what happened when I fought Ino? How do you wanna 
explain that?" She gave Temari an expectant look.

"But that's- I didn't-" Watching the struggle on Temari's face, Sakura 
could imagine what the blonde girl was thinking. She desperately wanted 
to deny it, to say that it wasn't her, but she could remember that 
shameful day just as well as Sakura could.

"Dammit, that time was different! You know that!" Temari pleaded, 
looking slightly ill.

"Oy, oy- hold it!" Raising a hand for their attention, Anko pinned 
Sakura with an accusing stare. "Aren't we forgetting something here? You 
went ballistic on me in your girlfriend's flower shop, and Yamanaka-san 
said he'd seen you like that before! He also said you had some sort of 
split personality. That was before you possessed me, so it can't be my 
fault."

"I never said it was," Sakura stated evenly.

"You just did!" Temari cried, balling her fists in frustration. "Make up 
yer fuckin' mind!"

Crossing her arms, Sakura looked away. "No, I didn't. I just said you 
act like her; I don't think you _are_ her- no more than I am, anyway."

The dark-skinned girl felt her cheeks warm as she plucked up the courage 
to say what came next. "You're loud, obnoxious, shameless and mean, but 
you're still me," she mumbled in a rush, pursing her lips sulkily.

Turning back to Temari, Sakura was relieved to see the fear and anger 
draining from the other girl's face. *Honestly, why does she have to be 
such a child?*

She understood how Temari felt, but Sakura really wished 'she' could 
learn a little self-control. "I'm scared too, you know, but you don't 
see _me_ freaking out just because someone said I act like Anko," she 
scolded lightly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize it was such a sensitive subject," Yoshinari 
interrupted, bowing his head in apology. "I hope I can help shed some 
light on what's happened to you, but I have to confess, I'm starting to 
feel a little out of my depth. Your file didn't mention anything about 
multiple personalities."

"I don't _really_ have multiple personalities," Sakura assured him 
sheepishly, waving her hand to clear the air. "Ino just thought it felt 
like I had 'two minds' when I threw off her Shintenshin during the 
exam."

"What about that time at the flower shop?" Anko asked. "When I talked to 
Ino-chan after I knocked you out, she said you acted like someone else 
was controlling your body."

Sakura swallowed uncomfortably. Between Anko's torture chamber antics 
and her harrowing escape, the details of that morning had completely 
slipped her mind.

Thinking back on it now, Sakura could distinctly recall losing her 
temper and shouting at Anko, but she also remembered telling Ino that it 
wasn't her doing it. The more Sakura thought about it, the more it felt 
like those memories came from two separate points of view- like her 
memories of possessing Anko!

*Did I possess myself, somehow?* While she hadn't invented the technique 
by that point, it _was_ based on her limited understanding of the 
Shintenshin, so her mind might be coping with them the same way.

"I think that was the same thing," Sakura concluded, trying to sound 
more certain than she felt. "I don't really know how, but both times Ino 
has used the Shintenshin on me, part of me has been able to break free 
and either fight her off or take control of my body."

"Really?" The Hyuuga raised both eyebrows in surprise. "That's very 
interesting. I don't think I've ever heard of something like that 
happening before. Have you, Anko-sama?" He looked to the brunette.

Anko shrugged. "Sometimes crazy people have strange reactions to 
genjutsu," she mused.

"I guess _you'd_ be the fuckin' expert on that," Temari commented dryly.

"I'm not crazy!" Sakura snapped. "And I don't have two minds or multiple 
personalities or whatever- not unless you do too! _I'm_ not the one that 
rampages around like she's homicidal maniac, but turns into a fucking 
puddle whenever she sees IruuaaAAAH-"

Smacking away Temari's hand, Sakura rubbed her face and glared at her 
evil, cheek-pinching twin. "What?!"

"You were about ta pick a fight with her," the blonde girl drawled with 
a shit-eating grin. "Could we get this show on the road? I'm freezin' my 
ass off here."

"I was just thinking of that," Anko blurted, giving Sakura's shoulder an 
uncomfortably firm squeeze as she strolled around behind the 
green-haired kunoichi. "I'll strap the noisy one down if you wanna take 
a look at Sakura-chan here," she offered, glancing at Yoshinari.

"Thank you, Anko-sama." With a nod, Yoshinari turned his gaze upon 
Sakura. "This will only take a moment," he assured her as the veins 
around his eyes bulged with the activation of the Byakugan.

"Wha-?" Blinking when Anko released her shoulder, Sakura looked down to 
see her mentor squatting to pull something out from under the table.

"Ah- okay," she replied uncertainly, turning back to the Hyuuga. "Umm... 
do you need me to..." Blushing, she fidgeted with the buttons of her 
coat.

"That won't be necessary," the ANBU replied absently. "I shouldn't have 
any difficulty seeing anything abnormal through your clothes."

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. She knew Yoshinari had seen her naked 
before, but she still had her pride. To distract herself while he 
undressed her with his eyes, Sakura turned to watch as Anko bolted a set 
of sturdy-looking metal restraints to the various points on the 
operating table.

It didn't help much. It was probably just her imagination, but Sakura 
swore that she could feel a faint tingling sensation as his searching 
gaze roamed over her skin.

"Um... I've always sort of wondered, how do you control the Byakugan?" 
she asked curiously. "I mean, is it like regular sight, where you have 
to focus by distance, or can you choose to see through just certain 
'objects,' like someone's clothes or skin?"

"Either is possible," the Hyuuga replied absently. "Generally, the most 
useful method is to visualize the world as being composed of 'layers' 
which can be peeled away one at a time."

Frowning, Yoshinari walked around to look at Sakura from another angle. 
"The first thing most children learn to pierce is clothing, because it's 
easy to make the distinction between living and inanimate 'layers.'"

"Hah! No wonder Hinata's always blushin' when she looks at Naruto," 
Temari laughed, grinning at Sakura. "Do ya think she- AH! Take it easy! 
Ya don't gotta cut my fuckin' foot off!" The blonde kunoichi glared at 
the woman adjusting her leg irons.

"_So_ sorry," Anko apologized sweetly. Moving up the table, the brunette 
put a palm on Temari's chest. "On your back, kid," she commanded, 
pushing Temari down so that she was laying flat on the table.

"Anywhere else ya wanna touch me?" The naked girl asked, glancing down 
at Anko's hand between her breasts. "Or are we savin' that 'till I'm all 
strapped in? More fun that way?"

"You know you're looking forward to it," Anko purred, lightly tracing 
her finger down Temari's chest to swirl around the bound girl's navel 
before moving onto secure Temari's wrist manacles.

*Do Hyuuga men all have ice in their blood?* Sakura wondered. 
Yoshinari's pale skin didn't betray even a hint of color after that 
display, but his face did look a little strained, and he didn't turn 
away from his inspection of Sakura to address Temari's accusation.

"The Hyuuga clan elders are actually quite strict about the use of the 
Byakugan outside the clan compound," he replied conversationally, "and 
even if they weren't, I think Hinata-sama's attentions would be entirely 
innocent."

"Yeah! She's just shy!" Sakura chirped, bristling at the other girl's 
audacity. *Not everyone is a pervert like you!*

A knowing smirk formed on Temari's lips, as if she were reading Sakura's 
mind (which probably wasn't far from the truth). "What's _that_ look 
for," the blonde challenged. "It ain't like _my_ mind's any dirtier than 
yers."

*Dammit! That part _has_ to be from Anko,* Sakura fumed. She may not 
have been as pure as the driven snow before, but she would never have 
_dreamed_ of doing half of the lewd things Temari had done today.

"Are we almost ready to start?" she asked curtly, turning her back to 
the two licentious kunoichi.

Much to Sakura's chagrin, Yoshinari responded with a noncommittal sigh. 
"I'm sorry, but I'm still not seeing anything strange," he explained. 
"Both of your chakra flows look perfectly normal and healthy to me."

Leaning over the green-haired girl's shoulder, Anko chuckled at the 
flush on Sakura's cheeks. "Getting a little impatient?" she guessed with 
a coy smile. "Maybe he could make a better comparison if you stripped 
too." Reaching around, Anko began to undo Sakura's collar button.

"What? But he said that it didn't matter!" Grabbing Anko's hands, Sakura 
looked beseechingly at the Hyuuga.

Her stomach sank as Yoshinari gave her a helpless shrug. "It's possible 
that I may see something I've missed. The detail that I can discern is 
very slightly reduced when I need to filter out your clothing."

"And it's _my_ coat," Anko pointed out, grinning wolfishly as she 
started working on the second button against Sakura's continued 
resistance. "Wouldn't it be best to give it back before something in 
there wakes up and decides to bite you?"

"Uwaa!" Finally managing to push Anko away, Sakura stared in horror at 
the overlarge brown canvas raincoat that was draped over her body like a 
tent. She hadn't even thought to check what might be hidden in it.

"I- I can undress myself!" she squeaked, as Anko's hand's crept closer 
once more. Quickly undoing the remaining buttons, Sakura practically 
threw the garment at its owner.

"What the hell am I supposed to wear now?" she demanded; underneath the 
coat, she was almost as naked as Temari. Of the clothes she'd put on 
that morning, only her boots remained. Steeling her nerve, Sakura 
resisted the urge to cover herself with her arms.

"I'm sure we can find you something," Anko replied, giving Sakura a 
hungry leer.

As the jounin put on her coat, there came a short series of knocks on 
the door. Turning around, Anko knocked back, and the person on the other 
side responded in kind. The brunette frowned as a low scraping sound 
vibrated through the heavy metal door.

"Hopefully this won't take long," Anko muttered, giving Yoshinari a 
serious look. "You three play nice while I'm gone! Don't do anything I'd 
want to do," she sang, stepping to the side as the door swung open just 
enough that Sakura could see a sliver of the hallway beyond.

"I fuckin' told'ja, my tongue ain't long enough fer that!" Temari called 
back as Anko slipped out and the door began to shut again. "And we don't 
have any candles or gerbils! Um... ya don't that stuff here, right?" The 
possessed sand nin eyed her interrogator warily.

Turning to Yoshinari as well, Sakura noted that he was scrutinizing them 
both again. "How much longer do you think this will take," she asked 
impatiently. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to try and undo this 
before she comes back."

"Would that be wise?" the ANBU wondered, quirking an eyebrow. "Anko-sama 
has experienced this before. She may be able to provide some insightful 
observations."

"But it's _really_ embarrassing," Sakura pleaded, pointing at Temari. "I 
have to _kiss_ her- and you know Anko's just gonna make cat-calls or 
something while we're doing it!"

The frown on Yoshinari's face entrenched itself further as he stared at 
the two of them for another few seconds, but eventually the raven-haired 
man crossed his arms and slumped in resignation. "Alright, I still don't 
think I'm seeing anything, so we might as well move on. Anko-sama can 
just watch the video later."

Sakura twitched as a chill ran down her spine. "VIDEO!?"

"FUCK! You guys really are perverts!" Temari growled, while Sakura 
stared around the room, looking for cameras.

"Documentary evidence can be very helpful in the analysis of unknown 
techniques and conditions," the ANBU observed with a completely straight 
face. "Additionally, it has been mandated that all 'human experiments' 
be monitored since Orochimaru was expelled from the village for 
performing illegal research."

Yoshinari's deadpan delivery of this crucial bit of information drew 
Sakura up short. Moving mechanically, the dark-skinned girl turned to 
stare at the pale man. "...Fine," she finally conceded, clenching her 
jaw in defiance. "Let's just get this over with."

"As you wish." Reaching for a panel beside the door, Yoshinari flipped a 
switch and took up a position at Temari's side, and a blinding white 
spotlight flared to life above them.

"Hmm... I might be able to better observe the chakra flow if your bodies 
were situated on the same plane of reference," the ANBU observed 
critically, when Sakura stared leaning toward Temari's face. "Maybe you 
should get on top of her."

"You have _got_ to be kidding," Sakura growled. Yoshinari's expression 
was all business, however. *I can't fucking believe this!* With a 
put-upon sigh, she reluctantly climbed onto the table and knelt over the 
bound Sand nin, putting her hands beside Temari's head.

"No fair! Why do _you_ always get ta be on top?" Temari whined, eyes 
triumphant as the green-haired girl twitched violently.

"Shut up!" Sakura turned to pin Yoshinari with a look sharp enough to 
draw blood. "Can we do this now?!"

"By all means, please begin," he urged, making a chakra harnessing seal.

Not waiting for Temari's answer, Sakura dove in, capturing the blonde's 
mouth with her own. She felt a surge of satisfaction as Temari's 
sky-blue eyes widened in shock at the fierceness of her attack, but her 
enjoyment was short-lived.

The jolt of connection hit Sakura like a bolt of lightning leaping down 
her throat. In an instant, all sense of 'self' and 'other' was 
obliterated as a flood of lost moments crashed over, enveloping her 
consciousness in a swirling maelstrom of emotion and sensation...





"What the fuck- don't go _back_, ya moron!" Snarling in exasperation, 
Temari watched as Naruto bounded away, heading toward the sound of 
Sakura's scream.

Whipping around, she glared expectantly at the two boys standing at her 
side. "Why the hell are ya still here?! Go get help or somethin'!" she 
roared, pointing in the direction of the village.

While Sasuke simply glared up at her with the same suspicious scowl that 
he'd worn from the moment they'd 'rescued' him, Shino tilted his head 
quizzically. "And you?"

"We'll catch up. I just gotta make sure that stupid ass doesn't get us 
killed," she replied irritably. Temari felt tiny trickle of relief as 
Shino nodded in understanding. *At least _someone_ here's got enough 
sense ta know when it's time ta cut'n run.*

Temari stayed a moment longer to watch Shino gather up the boy she'd 
come so far to protect. Sasuke definitely wasn't pleased with this 
development, but he was in no condition to resist; every time he moved, 
Temari could tell that the curse-seal was still hurting him.

Turning away so she wouldn't see the desperation in his eyes, she leapt 
off in pursuit of their wayward comrades. *Dammit! At least he doesn't 
know it's me. Sorry, Sasuke-kun...*





"C'mon, wake up, dammit!"

It was no good; no matter what she did, she couldn't seem to rouse the 
green-haired girl. At least Sakura was breathing, if shallowly. The 
monster had a firm grip on his hostage, but he wasn't trying to crush 
her. Getting him to let go of her would be tricky, though.

If Temari could manage to hide Sakura with a concealment genjutsu, he 
might open his hand when he sensed that she was 'missing.' 
Unfortunately, Temari barely had enough chakra to conceal herself, much 
less Sakura, and even that was probably half due to distraction.

Looking up from perch on the behemoth's wrist, Temari considered trying 
to kill Gaara. She could probably free Sakura's katana, and the 
seemingly unconscious Sand nin made a tempting target. *If only his 
fuckin' pet monster would stop movin' around!*

Turning her gaze to the other end of the valley, the possessed girl 
regarded the beast's current playmate with trepidation. The giant red 
frog had appeared from out of nowhere, so it must have been summoned, 
but the tiny figure standing on it's head looked an awful lot like 
Naruto.

It had to be some sort of trick. "What the hell is that idiot doin' 
now?" Temari grumbled, pulling more urgently on Sakura's clothes as the 
titanic amphibian started running toward them waving an equally huge 
sword. The way the ground shook with his every thundering step was 
remarkably realistic. "Oh, shit-"





"You don't need to-"

"Dammit, just _go_!" Temari commanded, adjusting her ready stance to 
glare over her shoulder at her 'teammate.' "Gaara is injured. Take him 
and go on ahead. I'll catch up after I make sure that this one and the 
others can't follow us," she explained slowly, her eyes cold and hard.

For a moment, it seemed like Kankuro would refuse, but reluctantly he 
backed down. Shouldering the small, helpless-looking boy that had nearly 
killed them all, the Kugutsu-user favored her with a dissatisfied scowl.

"Don't take too long," he growled haughtily, leaping off without looking 
back, but Temari thought she'd detected a bit of worry in the black-clad 
ninja's voice.

Returning her attention to Naruto, who was even now inching closer to 
her, Temari grimaced. The blonde kunoichi waited until Kankuro and Gaara 
were out of hearing range before she lowered her kunai and collapsing in 
relief.

Letting out a deep sigh, Temari peered at her 'savior' in grudging 
fascination. "Yer really somethin' else, ya know that? What the hell do 
ya think yer gonna do when ya get ta me?"





"-I dunno, they don't look 'done' to me."

"Well, the chakra activity has... Anko-sama, it may not be wise to-"

"Hey, do you two wanna room or something?"

*Huh?* Opening her eyes, the first thing Sakura realized was that she 
was kissing Temari. She was, in fact, 'deep kissing' Temari, with the 
tip of her tongue sliding along the peaks of the blonde girl's teeth.

When she lifted her head to break the seal of their lips, Sakura noticed 
that was that she was no longer crouching on her hands and knees over 
the bound kunoichi. Instead, she was pressed rather... intimately 
against the length of Temari's body- and both of them were still very 
naked.

"Gah!" Springing upright, Sakura nearly fell off of the table, but she 
suddenly found a strong hand supporting her back as Anko appeared at her 
side.

"You okay? Did it work?" the tall woman prompted gently, her face fairly 
glowing with amusement.

Sakura didn't bother to look away. No matter what she did, Anko would 
find some way to twist it around and make it even _more_ embarrassing. 
"I- yeah... just sorting it all out in my head," she mumbled dazedly, 
trying to ignore her burning cheeks.

"And what about our new little 'friend'," Anko asked, turning to where 
Yoshinari was examining their captive.

Glancing up, the ANBU gave her a questioning look. "You said that when 
you came to your senses, there was only a moment of disorientation 
before you became fully aware of your surroundings?"

"Yup; it was like it'd been me all along," Anko confirmed.

The Hyuuga rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Strange... she seems to have 
slipped into a deep sleep when Haruno-kun relinquished control."

"Heh, looks like you came on too strong, Sakura-chan," the brunette 
scolded, helping Sakura down off of the examination table. "Remember, 
you've gotta be _gentle_ with first-timers."

Sakura peered incredulously at her 'mentor.' "Gentle? Like you're one to 
talk!"

"Hey, _you_ kissed _me_- and with the show you just put on, I'm starting 
to think you've been practicing behind my back." Anko leaned in 
conspiratorially. "So who is it, hmm? Maybe jealous little Ino-chan?"

"...I hate you," Sakura hissed.

"Hehe, liar!"





Awakening with a start, Sakura yawned and pushed herself upright, 
rubbing the sleep from her eyes. A glance at the barred windows across 
the room told her that it had grown dark since she'd last looked. *Damn, 
I must've been out a while.*

As Sakura combed her fingers through her hair, a fall of pink brushed 
her cheek. It took a moment for the color to register. "Finally!"

Pulling down the stray lock for inspection, she verified that it was 
indeed pink. It was also pleasantly soft and silky again, much to her 
relief. She'd been afraid that the disguise capsule would permanently 
damage her hair.

Glancing at her hand, she noted that her skin had returned to its normal 
shade as well, making the purple and yellow bruises all the more 
evident. She shuddered to imagine of what her arms might look like under 
the bandages, with all those angry red bite marks.

The painkillers were definitely working now, though; Sakura felt nary a 
tinge of discomfort, even after falling asleep in such an awkward 
position. They were also making her very drowsy, and she suspected that 
this wasn't the best place for her nod off- especially since she might 
start moaning for 'Orochimaru-sama' in her sleep, again.

Frowning, Sakura pressed her hand deep into the plush red cushion under 
her leg. *Why does this thing have to be so damn soft?* It didn't make 
any sense; why _did_ Konoha's elite special forces unit keep such a 
nice, comfy couch in the middle of their secret detention center?

It just seemed so out of character- and it didn't match the other 
furniture in the room. All of the chairs were simple, utilitarian wooden 
affairs, like the one Yoshinari was straddling as he watched her 
patiently from across the coffee table.

"Gah! H-how long have you been sitting there?" Overwhelmed by a sense of 
deja-vu, Sakura suddenly felt the urge to hold a nonexistent blanket to 
her chest.

"Only for a minute," the white-eyed ninja assured her with a smile. 
"Sorry to keep you waiting; interrogations usually aren't brief."

Sakura nodded in understanding. "That's okay, I haven't been bored. Anko 
couldn't stay long, but for a while it seemed like every five minutes 
someone was stopping by to speak to me or have me sign some sort of 
form." The last one had been Morino Ibiki; the torture master had even 
brought her a can of juice.

Smirking, the ANBU crossed his arms over the chair back and leaned 
forward, his brow wrinkling in amusement. "well, you're kind of famous 
around here," he explained.

Sakura frowned in confusion. "Famous?" _That_ didn't bode well. Sakura's 
head started to spin as she tried to figure out what she might be 
'famous' for. *Did they hear about what I did to Anko? Did she tell them 
I was her student? Did they see the see the video?!*

Fortunately, Yoshinari was kind enough to explain. "You captured five 
enemy ninja. That's pretty impressive for a genin," he pointed out.

*Five? Oh yeah- those guys I poisoned.* Someone _had_ mentioned that, 
now that she though about it.

Not being in pain was nice, but maybe she should have asked for 
something that wouldn't make her so fuzzy-headed. *Stupid painkillers.* 
Blinking, Sakura realized that her companion was still talking.

"-Also, one of the Sound nins you captured was a Hidden Leaf deserter. 
Morino-san was... pleased to see him." The look on the Hyuuga's face 
suggested that 'pleased' wasn't _quite_ the right word, but it was close 
enough.

Pausing, Yoshinari assumed a contemplative pose, and he peered at her 
curiously. "That one gets a little jumpy every time someone mentions 
'snakes.' Do you know anything about that?"

Sakura shook her head. "No; maybe he's just scared that Orochimaru will 
come to get him?" she suggested.

"That could be it," Yoshinari granted, tilting his head thoughtfully. 
When he returned his attention to the younger ninja, the ANBU gave her a 
long, appraising look. "I see Anko-sama finally broke down and gave you 
something to wear," he observed, quirking an eyebrow.

"Ah- yeah!" Feeling rather self-conscious, Sakura glanced down at the 
gray internal affairs uniform she was wearing. "I was actually kind of 
surprised that she managed to find something in my size," she noted 
sheepishly.

"She must have stolen it from Asano- a Hunter nin," Yoshinari 
elaborated, when Sakura gave him a questioning look. "She's about your 
height."

"Aaaaah." Filing away the name for future reference, Sakura wondered 
what sort of woman this Asano was; for some strange reason, the image of 
a weasel instantly sprang to mind.

*Damn, Anko probably didn't even ask before she took this stuff. I'd 
better remember to apologize.* Hopefully, the Hunter nin wouldn't be too 
upset.

"Anyway, I suppose I should brief you what I've found out," Yoshinari 
declared. "Or at least as much as you're allowed to hear..." The ANBU 
added mysteriously.

Yoshinari chuckled when Sakura simply rolled her eyes. "It's not really 
what we were expecting," he cautioned. "Unless I'm misreading her, 
Temari has no memory at all of the time that you were in control of her 
body."

The pink-haired girl blinked in surprise. "She doesn't remember 
_anything_? But- that's almost the exact opposite of what Anko said," 
she pointed out confusedly.

The Hyuuga nodded, his face growing pensive. "Indeed; It might be 
related to why you experienced such a rapid loss of identity while you 
were possessing Anko, but not while you were possessing Temari. It's 
difficult to say, as I'm still not clear on how you control your 
victims," he admitted, frowning in frustration.

"I wish I could tell you how it works," Sakura commiserated. "All I know 
is that I was trying to replicate the Shintenshin, but the method I used 
to 'write' my mind onto my chakra should have destroyed it in the 
process."

Yoshinari nodded in agreement. "That's a start, at least. I was able to 
observe significant bi-directional chakra intercourse between your body 
and Temari's when you 'released' her, but that's all I can say with any 
certainty... have you thought of something?" he asked hopefully.

*No, I'm just amazed you managed to say that with a straight face.* 
Twitching, Sakura shook her head. "No, but... 'bi-directional,' you 
said?" she queried with an embarrassed little cough.

The pale man nodded again. "The chakra flow was primarily from Temari 
into you, but as you increased the physical contact area between the two 
of you, I noticed a weaker flow in the other direction. I don't really 
know what to make of it."

With a sigh, Yoshinari leaned back and put his hands on his knees. "At 
any rate, I'd like to do some more research before I make any wild 
speculations, but I won't be able to get around to it until next week at 
the earliest, after the funeral-" The ANBU stopped abruptly, probably 
worried that he'd upset her.

"I understand." Sakura assured him quickly. *The Hokage's funeral...*

It hardly seemed real: the Hokage was dead- killed by Orochimaru, his 
own student. Sakura wasn't sure whether she was too tired, or too 
confused, or simply too immature to understand the enormity of this 
tragedy, but she was starting to feel a little guilty that it wasn't 
affecting her more; maybe it would hit her later.

Automatically, her thoughts turned to her own 'teacher.' Anko had seemed 
fine when they'd spoken earlier, but the examiner had excused herself to 
return to her duties before Sakura had found the nerve to ask her how 
she was holding up.

"Haruno-kun?"

"Ah! Sorry- I was just... somewhere else." Shaking her head to clear the 
cobwebs, Sakura focused on Yoshinari once more. "You were saying?"

The white-eyed man smiled disarmingly. "Don't worry about it. We can 
continue this later, after you've had a chance to rest- which brings me 
to the other thing I need to speak to you about."

Standing, Yoshinari offered Sakura a hand up. "Because we have no way to 
predict how your possession of Temari might affect you, Ibiki-san thinks 
it would be best if you stayed here for a few days, for observation."

Did he think she would betray them? The possibility was chilling; she 
didn't want to believe that she could change that much, but... "Am I a 
prisoner, then?" she asked hesitantly, accepting Yoshinari's hand.

"Only until we're confident that you aren't a security risk," he assured 
her, pulling her to her feet. "Think of it as being a 'guest' of ANBU," 
he suggested.

"Because that just makes it _so_ much better," Sakura deadpanned, giving 
him a sarcastic smirk.

The interrogator could only shrug. "I'd put you under house arrest, but 
we can't spare anyone to enforce it at the moment. If it makes you feel 
any better, I'm sure I can convince Ibiki-san to at least let you go 
home and inform your family."

"T-thanks." Sakura cringed as she thought of how her mother might take 
the news. *So much for not getting in trouble...*





Sakura made most of the trip home in a half-aware daze, walking slowly 
even though the pain in her legs was, for now, just a distant memory. As 
she strolled along, trusting that her feet knew where they were going, 
her thoughts began to drift amongst the quiet streets of Konoha. *I 
wonder where everyone is.*

When she'd last seen Naruto (through Temari's eyes), the medical nins 
had told her that he was suffering from acute exhaustion. She'd asked 
after Sasuke as well, but apparently they hadn't bothered to keep him. 
He could move under his own power by the time Shino had brought him in, 
and there were simply too few beds to spare.

She, on the other hand, had been unconscious for almost three hours, and 
nobody had come looking for _her_. A pall of gloom fell over the 
pink-haired girl. *I was right outside, too. Sasuke-kun, you jerk...*

Maybe if she told Sasuke about how she'd captured those Sound nins, he'd 
pay more attention to her. *I'd probably have to tell him that I was the 
one who rescued him, though.* That would almost certainly sting his 
already wounded pride.

*Feh, every time I try to be the hero, I just end up with are more 
bruises.* Sakura smiled pleasantly for a pair of tired-looking chuunin 
as she passed through a security checkpoint, but heaved a heavy sigh as 
soon as they were out of sight.

*I held my own against four enemy ninja and I got Sasuke to safety. I 
should be happy.* She'd accomplished her mission and then some, and it 
wasn't _her_ fault that it all went bad after that. If that _psycho_ had 
told her about the stupid clone, everything would have been fine!

*DAMMIT!* Kicking a piece of debris, Sakura glared sullenly at the 
ground. Like all of the other things that had gone wrong lately, her 
failure was only partially Anko's fault; she knew she'd done something 
stupid, and despite her best efforts, Naruto still had to come back and 
rescue her in the end.

*He said that he'd protect me forever.* The sentiment was touching, but 
Naruto words rang bittersweet in Sakura's ears.

Would it always be that way? Would she never be able to prove to them 
that she could take care of herself? They'd both gotten so much stronger 
in the last month, especially Naruto. It was like no matter how hard she 
tried, she just couldn't catch up.

*Grrr- Dammit! This is no time to think like that!* Growling, Sakura 
stood up straighter. So maybe she wasn't as strong as they were, but 
she'd gotten a lot better too! She wasn't nearly as far behind anymore.

"I'll just have to work _twice_ as hard as when I was trying to beat 
Ino!" Sakura resolved, but she stopped in her tracks when she pictured 
Gai-sensei beaming at her and giving her a thumb's up. *Dammit, now I'm 
_really_ starting to act like Lee-kun.*

Idly, Sakura wondered if Anko would teach her how to do that endless 
maze genjutsu. *Heh, I'll bet it would be _days_ before Naruto realized 
that it was an illusion.* Sakura giggled evilly as she imagined Naruto 
running naked and afraid from a forest of swaying, suction-cupped 
tendrils, and a faint blush lit her cheeks when Sasuke joined the blonde 
boy.

Lost in her unsavory fantasy world, the pink-haired girl was still 
grinning like an idiot when her feet finally stopped moving and she 
realized that she was home. "Ack!" The lights were on too, which meant 
that her mother was waiting for her.

Taking a deep breath, Sakura reached for the door knob, only to have it 
slip through her fingers as the door swung open on its own. Caught off 
guard, Sakura froze; for an instant, it felt like she was back in the 
maze, and the touchy-feely tentacle beast had caught her again. "Aah! 
Wha-?"

"Thank the gods, you're safe!" Wrapping its many sundry limbs around the 
stunned kunoichi to prevent its prey from getting away, the lascivious 
demon lifted Sakura off her feet as it dragged her into its lair... 
where it turned out to be none other than Sakura's mother.

The elder Haruno's face was streaked with tears as she grabbed Sakura up 
into a tight embrace. "What happened? Where on earth have you been?"

"Sorry, Mom. I'm okay," Sakura replied, returning the hug a bit less 
desperately. It was a relief to be home, and to see that her mother was 
unharmed, but she was starting to wonder if they'd ever move beyond 
these emotional reunions. She'd been on dangerous missions before, after 
all; well, _a_ dangerous mission, anyway.

Suddenly, Sakura realized that her mother hadn't come looking for her at 
the hospital either. "I got back to the village ages ago; didn't anyone 
tell you?" she asked, disengaging to give her mother a look of 
confusion.

"The only let us out of the shelter an hour ago, and when I went to the 
hospital, they told me that you'd already checked out," the dark-haired 
woman replied, her face slipping into the scolding mask of a worried 
parent. "Why didn't you come home sooner? They said that you were 
involved in the fighting- that you'd gotten hurt!"

"I had stuff to take care of," Sakura protested. "Medical things; I had 
to get a checkup from a specialist," she added, when her mother didn't 
look immediately placated.

The matron's face softened. "What happened?" she asked, taking a closer 
look at Sakura. Her eyes widened in concern as they fell upon each new 
blemish that decorated her daughter's fair skin.

"Ah... um, they don't know enough to be sure, yet. Actually, they want 
me to stay over for a few days, to make sure I'm alright," Sakura 
answered evasively, squirming under the increased scrutiny. *I don't 
need to tell her about it yet...*

It would be better to wait until Yoshinari had some answers for her, she 
told herself; no need to make her mother worry, if it turned out to be 
nothing serious. Besides, some of what she'd witnessed might be 
classified information.

"Well close the door and take off your clothes, so I can see," the 
taller woman replied, moving a few steps away.

"Mooooom!"

"Right this minute, young lady!" Haruno Ayame commanded, placing her 
hands on her hips and favoring Sakura with a look of impatience. "You're 
a mess, and what are you wearing?"





*Maybe I should have brought a few more pair of pants...*

Staring at herself in the mirror, Sakura heaved an unhappy sigh. While 
the shallow cuts and bite marks were all pretty nasty-looking, it was 
her colorful collection of contusions that had nearly caused her mother 
to faint in shock.

Huge, ugly blossoms of reddish-purple decorated either side of Sakura's 
chest, and that was nothing compared to the mottled mess that covered 
her legs from the hip down. She was also in desperate need of a bath. 
The medical nins had cleaned her wounds, but her skin was still crusted 
with a nauseating mixture of dried blood and sand.

Unfortunately, it seemed that the plumbing at home wasn't working 
because a giant frog had stepped on the water main. *Maybe I'll ask 
Naruto about that when I see him.* After confirming that her entire 
neighborhood was high and dry, Sakura had ended up stopping at a 
bathhouse on the way back to the interrogation center.

Sitting down on the stool she'd claimed, Sakura turned off the tap and 
tipped the bucket of warm water over her head. Morino-san had given her 
two hours before she had to check in, so she didn't have much time to 
soak, but at least the emergency curfew meant there wasn't anyone else 
in the bathhouse to see her.

"Hey, cutie!" Sakura felt something warm and soft brush lightly against 
her neck and suddenly found a pair of hands reaching under her raised 
arms to encircle her in a tender embrace.

"AaaAAAH!" Nearly dropping the bucket, the pink-haired girl twisted 
around to glare at her assailant. "What the hell do you think you're 
doing?" She demanded, managing to inject enough sarcasm into her voice 
to mostly hide her embarrassment.

Not yet done with her sport, the woman behind Sakura flashed a sultry 
smile, leaning forward to press her chest against Sakura's back so that 
the pink-haired girl could feel the warm softness of her naked flesh. 
"What do _you_ think I'm doing, Sakura-chan?" Anko purred innocently.

"We can start with stalking, and sexual harassment," Sakura grumbled, 
lowering her arms. Her cheeks burned at the contact, but making a fuss 
over it would only encourage Anko to tease her more.

"Stalking?" Anko made a face. "I dunno about you, but _I_ come here all 
the time," she declared.

Much to Sakura's chagrin, the jounin's protest bore the ring of truth. 
>From her dreams, she knew that Anko didn't live that far away, and that 
her bath at home was tiny.

*Dammit!* She'd just stopped at the first place that came to mind; why 
couldn't it have come from _her_ mind? "Weren't you supposed to be on 
duty?" Sakura persisted, peering askance at the brunette.

"I just got off," Anko explained, though there was a hint of annoyance 
in her voice, as if it wasn't by choice.

Sakura deflated slightly "Oh." She didn't have any counter for that. 
"Speaking of getting off, would you please _let go_ so I can finish?" 
she prodded in irritation.

"Aaaaw- but didn't I thought you liked it better when I did it," Anko 
whined, pouting as she snuggled closer to give Sakura a playful squeeze. 
"We're all alone now, you don't have to be shy," she whispered, tickling 
Sakura's stomach with her fingertips.

In response, the pink-haired girl blushed even darker, though she still 
managed to keep a straight face- if just barely. "I take it you're not 
going to deny the harassment charge, then?" she asked, pinching the 
jounin's hand to no effect.

"I'm just being a 'loving teacher' for my 'darling student,'" Anko joked 
with an evil grin. "You should be used it- you were with Gai before, 
right?"

That was the straw that broke the camel's back, and Sakura's cool mask 
crumbled in disgust. "I did _not_ need that image!"

"Hehe, you thought of it, not me; sounds like _someone's_ got her mind 
in the gutter." While the younger kunoichi gaped in disbelief at this 
shameless turnaround, Anko went in for the kill. "What did you say you 
were doing with him? 'Stamina training?'" The words fairly oozed off of 
the brunette's tongue.

"That's enough!" Standing up and pulling out of Anko's grasp, Sakura 
stormed over to another tap. *Sorry, Gai-sensei, but that's just... 
ugh.* A shiver of horror rippled through Sakura as she reached for her 
shampoo.

"Alright, alright." Holding up her hands, Anko stepped forward to claim 
the stool that Sakura had just vacated and began refilling the wash 
bucket.

"Jeeze, though, I'll bet the poor bowl head would be crushed," she added 
after a moment, not looking Sakura's way. "You couldn't keep your hands 
off that Sand girl, but just the _mention_ of Mr. Fuzzy-brows and you're 
crawling out of your skin..."

*Aaaaargh! Dammit!* It took all of the pink-haired girl's self control 
to not scream in frustration. Thankfully, however, Anko didn't press the 
subject, so the next few seconds were passed in blessed silence.

"I hear you're going to be staying with us for a while," Anko noted, 
breaking the momentary lull.

"Just for a few days, until they're sure I'm not a security risk," 
Sakura corrected as she gently rinsed the suds from of her hair.

"Ah..." Slowly, the jounin smile widened into a hungry, predatory leer. 
"Soooo, feeling the urge to kill me and try to escape yet?"

Sakura snorted. "I feel _that_ urge all the time, but I think that says 
less about me than it does about you."

Laughing, Anko leaned over and snagged Sakura's body soap just as the 
pink-haired girl was reaching for it. "Well, give me a heads-up if you 
start feeling like doing anything traitorous. I'll get your favorite 
cell ready."

Sticking her tongue out at Sakura's scowl, Anko poured a generous amount 
of the fragrant soap into a washcloth and started lathering it between 
her hands. "Wash your back?"

"I'm _fine_!"

Despite her student's refusal, the taller woman scooted over and began 
scrubbing. Tired of arguing, Sakura simply sighed and began filling the 
bucket again. It was actually kind of soothing, the feel of Anko's 
strong hands on her tired muscles.

*As long as she doesn't start groping me.* Would she have to put up with 
this sort of abuse every day? Come to think of it, if Anko was going to 
be training her, she'd probably be spending less time with Team 7 as 
well. This whole 'mentor' thing was looking less and less attractive by 
the moment.

Glumly imagining her bleak, increasingly Sasuke-less future, Sakura was 
surprised when Anko leaned down to lick a drop of blood from one of the 
bite wounds on her right shoulder. "Eeew! What the hell?"

"Are these bothering you at all?" Anko asked, keeping a firm grip on 
Sakura to keep the smaller girl from shrinking away.

"Not really," Sakura replied reluctantly, peering at the examiner in 
distrust. "They were little snakes; their teeth barely broke the skin."

"They don't itch or anything?"

"No!" Sakura snapped, suddenly remembering a few burning questions that 
the jounin had refused to answer for her back at the hospital. "What the 
hell was with that, anyway?"

"What happened?" Anko asked evenly.

Thinking back, Sakura realized that the sequence of events was little 
clearer from the clone's point of view. "After Shino and I rescued 
Sasuke and Naruto, the clone started looking for us. She noticed me when 
I let my genjutsu lapse to dispel her, so-"

"How did you dispel it?" Anko interrupted. "What seals did you use?" 
When Sakura demonstrated, a small frown formed on the jounin's lips. "I 
didn't teach you that," she accused suspiciously.

"You didn't teach me _anything_," Sakura spat. "I had to force myself to 
remember it."

"You can do that?" Anko eyes widened in shock.

"Er- no, not really," Sakura qualified. The last thing she wanted to do 
was make the crazy woman even _more_ paranoid. "I've never tried to 
remember anything that wasn't my dreams, before, and I couldn't remember 
much; just that those seals were somehow related to the Oketsu Bunshin."

The corners of Anko's mouth twitched as her brows drew together in the 
middle of her forehead. "You didn't know what it would do, and you did 
it anyway?" she asked with a skeptical lilt.

"I panicked," Sakura admitted with a sigh. "I didn't know if I'd get her 
memories back if she died, and I... I didn't want to risk losing 
everything that she'd experienced." Especially not her talk with Ino.

"If she'd died, she would have made a cute little Sakura-shaped corpse, 
but you still would've gotten the memories back," Anko scolded, though 
Sakura could see the evil delight threatening to break across her face.

"Well I didn't know that!" Sakura countered hotly, blushing in 
embarrassment. "You never told me how it worked!"

Fickle as ever, Anko's sunny mood quickly disappeared behind dark 
thunderheads of annoyance. "It's not a technique a genin should be 
messing with," she warned.

Grabbing Sakura's left arm, Anko ran her thumb over the faint smear of 
dried blood that remained where the seal had been. "Besides, even if I 
_had_ told you how to dispel the clone, you shouldn't have been able do 
it," she murmured quietly.

"Eh?" Hastily rubbing away the stain with her finger, Sakura frowned in 
confusion. "Why wouldn't I able to do it? You said it was just a matter 
of defacing the seal."

"Do you actually think one of _his_ curse seals would be _that_ easy to 
remove?" Anko asked bitterly, releasing Sakura and sitting back on her 
heels. "Sometimes, not even he can remove them."

Turning on her stool to look up at the taller woman, Sakura found her 
eyes drawn to the three inky swirls on Anko's skin. Her own shoulder 
still ached at just the sight of the Heaven Seal, but she was able to 
ignore the memory of pain more easily this time.

"It's not that sort of technique," Anko assured her, catching Sakura's 
gaze. "The curse seal is only used to maintain the blood bond; it 
prevents the clone's chakra pattern from being disrupted by minor damage 
and makes it harder to detect as a fake."

"That sounds a pretty convenient," Sakura noted. "A lot better than the 
Kagebunshin, at least. Why don't more ninja use it?"

"Well, for one, you can't use it on yourself without some nasty side 
effects." The gleam in Anko's eye told Sakura that she didn't even want 
to ask what those side effects were.

"Two," Anko continued, ticking the points off on her fingers, "you can 
only create one clone per victim. If you make more, the blood bond 
becomes unstable and the clones tend to die messily. And three, you 
can't even _control_ the clone most of the time."

Sakura quirked an eyebrow. "You can't control it?" she asked.

The brunette shook her head. "No, as long as the clone remains a copy of 
the victim, it acts exactly like the victim. The seals you used weren't 
for dispelling the clone, they were for 'activating' it, which makes 
it-"

"Turn it into a swarm of snakes?" Sakura guessed sarcastically

"That's one possibility," Anko admitted. Leaning around Sakura, she 
picked up the full bucket and dumped it down Sakura's back. "That one, 
you _definitely_ shouldn't have been able to do," she added.

"But... I _did_ do it," Sakura ventured, a little spooked by Anko's last 
statement.

"So you did," Anko agreed with a frown. "And you lived to tell about it, 
too."

"I could have died?" Sakura squeaked.

"You were bitten eighteen times," Anko reminded her. "Those snakes may 
have been small, but the venom from _one_ bite should have been lethal 
in seconds. You _should_ have died."

Sakura swallowed to wet her suddenly dry throat. "So why didn't I?" she 
asked.

Putting her hand on Sakura's shoulder, Anko was silent for a moment as 
she forced the younger kunoichi to face forward again and began 
scrubbing a spot in the middle of Sakura's back. "Purely chakra-based 
poisons aren't ideal; they break down too quickly. That's why the 
technique uses summoned snakes."

Moving on to another spot, Anko continued to scrub. "Even then, the 
snakes are still given substance in this world through my chakra. If I'd 
been bitten, the venom of such minor spirits would have dissolved back 
into my chakra before it could do much damage."

Resting her chin on Sakura's shoulder, Anko sighed and drew the 
pink-haired girl close. "It's remotely possible that you were immune for 
the same reason, but not very likely. You shouldn't be able to absorb my 
chakra that easily," she concluded, grumbling in dissatisfaction.

Squirming, Sakura tilted her head away. "You sound upset that I didn't 
die," she accused.

"I upset that I got stuck with such a freak for a student," Anko 
complained sulkily. "What the hell am I supposed to do with you? You're 
always getting into trouble and nothing you do ever makes sense."

"Well- that goes double for you!" Sakura countered with an indignant 
sniff. "Do you think _I_ like the idea of having a 'teacher' that acts 
like a bratty child most of the time?"

"Hey, I can be an 'adult' when I need to be," Anko whined. "Speaking of 
children though-" Anko reached up to cup Sakura's breasts. "Hmm... I 
guess do have them after all, or is this just swelling?"

"Stop that!"

"What, don'cha wanna grow faster?"

"W-What does that have to do with anything?"

"The key is good chakra flow, so if you rub them like so-"

"Bullshit."

"No, really- look at that Hyuuga girl. She's waaay ahead of you in this 
department, isn't she?"

"Hinata-chan? Well... yeah. So?"

"The Hyuuga start doing chakra exercises when they're really young, so 
their bodies grow fast. Next time you see her, why don't you ask her how 
old she was when she started wearing a bra."

"I- I couldn't do that! She'd think I was some sort of pervert!"

"A pervert? It's not _that_ weird a question, Sakura-chan. Unless... Do 
you _like_ shy little Hinata-chan? And here I figured assertive girls 
were more your type..."

"AAAAAAARGH! DAMMIT, Don't you ever _shut up?!_"





-     S     U     I     R     E     N     -




To be continued... 


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