(FFML)Suiren, Chapter Eight: Release…

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?!_”

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