"Oh, sorry." I mumble as soon as I crash into someone's broad chest. I look up, smiling awkwardly at the redhead general of the allied armies.
"It's okay." Gaara smiles down at me. I can imagine what I might look like. My hair is a long mess, still caked with blood of one of my patients. My shirt and vest is tattered up with burnt marks still visible on my skin. I am covered in bruises and scratches from the last fight. "Are you okay, Sakura-san?" His voice is like velvet, calm and collected. Even in the middle of the chaos, he looks peaceful.
I wake up with a loud shriek as I feel cold water being poured down on me. I tremble from coldness as I glare at laughing Ibiki. He puts the basket down and smirks at me, satisfied with what he has done.
"Come on brat!" Ibiki shouts happily and turns around, heading towards the door. "You have twenty minutes to get ready!"
"I have day off, Ibiki." I shout back to him, looking down at my wet bed.
"Not anymore." He clicks his tongue and sighs, rubbing his face. "You are needed in T&I HQ." I sigh, nodding my head. "Be down in twenty, we have to hurry before the man dies." I nod once again, throwing my wet blanket over my body.
***
"You don't seem happy, brat." Anko looks down at me and raises her eyebrows. "What's up?" She is calmer than usual, which strikes my surprise and interest. Even during the most intense interrogation, Anko never loses herself. Yet, now she seems nearly worn out and fading.
"Just a bit tired, I guess." I shrug my shoulders and continue walking down the hallway. I greet ninjas along the way, most of them are already used to the fact that I am working here, but there are still some people, who deem this work inappropriate for me. The same people, who looked down on me in my previous lifetime.
"Sakura-chan!" Inoichi waves his hand to me and I greet him back, smiling kindly at the father figure in front of me. "Are you ready to the case?" He asks me with more serious tone and I nod.
"What's the info?" I ask with a shrug and sit down on one of the leather armchair Ibiki has in his office. Ibiki sits by his desk, looking through some papers with furrowed eyebrows, while Inoichi takes out his own set of papers.
"His name is Fuko." Inoichi starts in cold, low voice. "He is from Sound." I nod again, waiting something like this for a long time already. "He did not say much. And we think that he already said what he knew, but we want to check it." I nod and sigh, hopping out of the armchair. "He is in the Cell 233."
"Should I go down?" I ask tilting my head towards the door. Inoichi looks at Ibiki, who in response shakes his head.
"Not yet." He adds and looks through some papers once again before lifting his head. "I want to watch it." Ibiki states, making me feel a bit more confused. "I have noticed that no one has been monitoring your interrogations for past two years." He adds with raised eyebrows. "And I wonder how it happened."
"Well, they told me I could handle it on my own." I shrug my shoulders and look at both men with irritated look. "Come on, Ibiki. I am sleepy and it was supposed to be my day off." I smirk at them as Inoichi glares at Ibiki. The Yamanaka Head has clearly stated that I was not to be bothered during my day offs.
"Come on, brat." Ibiki sighs and ushers me out of his office. "Let's break him once again." He adds with ominous chuckle as we head down in the dungeons. "How has been your trainings going with Kakashi?" Ibiki asks me out of blue, gaining my curiosity.
"Normal I suppose." I shrug my shoulders and tap my chin. "Though, we are doing missions most of the time. D-ranks. Hokage banned us any missions higher than that." I add with a loud sigh. "You know, after our last mission. I think he is still pretty mad about Zabuza incident." Ibiki laughs loudly and pats my head.
"You know I am proud of you, right?" Ibiki looks down on me, startling me with his fatherly tone. "No matter what you choose to do. I am proud of you nevertheless." He smiles at me and I gladly return it to him.
"I have to say, that I am proud of you, Sakura-san." Ibiki states as we enter his office with Anko. The woman looks at Ibiki with raised eyebrows and chuckles at me. "You have demonstrated unmatched strength and power in this field." He adds with pride dripping on his tongue.
"Thank you, Morino-san." I bow my head a little to show him my respect towards him.
"Have you considered joining T&I?" His question startles me. I look up at him and then at Anko, who is grinning and nodding her head off.
"I..Uh..." I mumble incoherently and look around. "I have never considered it, to be honest." I admit and smile awkwardly at the two people in front of me. "I was thinking about being medic-nin."
"You could be both." Ibiki shrugs his shoulders. "As I come to think about it, it would be only waste if you focused all your potential on medical ninjutsu, when you are able to function well in both fields, if we don't consider your ANBU promotion." Ibiki smirks at me.
"A-ANBU?" I ask surprised.
"I and Hokage-sama talked over it." Ibiki shrugs his shoulders. "She is willing to give you a chance in both fields, medical ninjutsu and interrogation, if you are up for it, of course."
"Ne, what you think, Sakura-chan? Can you handle it?" Anko smirks at me.
"Hello, Fuko-san!" I greet the bruised man in front of me. Ibiki's style is more psychological interrogation, while Anko intends to be a bit more violent. I, being both of their student, inherited both tendencies. The man looks up at me with wide, fear driven eyes. He is old, considering all the standards. He must be in the range from thirty to forty. He is short and slim with shaggy brown hair and dull brown eyes. There is nothing special about him.
"Who are you?" Fuko asks me in loud, shrieking voice, that irritates my ears. His eyes follow my every movement with horror imprinted on them.
"Oh, my name is Sakura!" I grin down at the tied up man. "But I am usually known as Pink Beast of Konoha!" I declare my position in cheerful tone as the man in front of me pales even more. True, I am not ANBU yet. But people do already know about me. Few that managed to run away from T&I talked about little, pink bitch who would torture them with no end. And I have come across people, when I was in higher ranked missions with either Shisui, or Itachi.
And some lived to tell stories about a girl, a beast with pink hair. All in all, I think I did deserve this name. After all, I killed and killed and killed with no remorse.
"I-I already told everything I know!" The man shouts loudly. "Please, let me go home." He mumbles with tears sliding down his face. But I know that he will never see the day light ever again. If we do let him go, Orochimaru will finish him for us, but not before gaining information about us.
"No can do, Fuko-san!" I shrug my shoulders lightly and smile down at the man. "I think you left out some vital information." I chuckle and tilt my head.
I have missions in this timeline. And I have to save people. I have to save Hayate, because of Yugau-san. I have seen the longing and pained eyes that stared at her beloved man, when he was resurrected from the dead. I still remember the pain and hurt in her voice when she decided to talk to me about him afterwards. And she is a great ninja, great friend. And even we might not manage to befriend one another in this life, I don't want to put her under the same fate.
"I have told you everything!" The man cries out in front of me, raising only disgust in me. I have been a cry-baby before, I am one even now, but I have never sold out my village. I would have died because of it with no second thought. And these people, they are selling out their villages' secrets just not to be hurt. That's why I don't feel sorry for them.
"Ma, ma..." I whisper much like Kakashi-sensei. Cheshire smile appears on my face, giving me the look of psychopath. I have learnt my lessons from Anko-chan and I do realize now why she is keeping up her maniac style. "We will see it." I add with a grin.
Snake. Rat.
I do the hand-seals and lean forward.
"Hell Viewing Technique." I whisper in a low voice as screams of the sound-nin fills my ears.
***
"So, Sound is planning an attack, eh?" Ibiki sighs when I come out of the cell. Inoichi rubs his temples and starts making hand-seals, whispering something to, most likely, Shikaku's mind.
"Yeah." I nod. "He said that they were observe during Chunin exams." I add as if they have not heard it themselves. "So, we should keep a close eye to Sound Ninjas." I add and suddenly stop, turning back at the two man behind me. "I have an idea!"
"Save it." Ibiki chuckles. "We are heading towards the Hokage Tower."
***
"So much for needed day-off." I mumble as I sit down in one of the chairs in Hokage's office. Third smiles at me as he averts his eyes to others. Aside from me and him, there are Inoichi, Shikaku, Ibiki and Anko presented. Hokage got us waiting for couple of minutes as he had meeting with Jonins and senseis. When Kakashi came out, he ordered me to meet him by our usual meeting place later in the evening.
"So, they are going to observe and evaluate our strength." Third mumbles and puts down his gaze. "Sakura, tell me everything you found out from this man." I look surprised at him. Usually, he leaves the gruesome details to Ibiki to tell and I mostly sit there, silently, looking through some paper-works, Third allows me to do.
"Hokage-sama." I raise one of the papers and push it towards him. "This one lacks your signature." He chuckles and takes it. That what I am allowed to do, when I have to followed others to his office. I can look through his papers and point out where he has missed his signature. It is irritating, not doing the real work, like I used to during Tsunade-sama's reign. But it helps me a bit, to feel a little less useless to my village. "The Sound-nin told me that Sound was going to attack Konoha in the future." I say carefully. I don't think telling him about what really is going to happen in the future will prevent it. If anything, it is going to turn out even worse. "During Chunin exams, they are going to observe us, check us out more likely." I shrug my shoulders. "But well, I had an idea about them and Ibiki told me to save it till coming here." Third nods, telling me to tell him what I think. "As we can't accuse them of anything, as of yet." I start with thoughtful expression on my face. "We can spy on them once they arrive. You can order your shinobis to patrol in three, or two men squads, so it won't raise suspicion."
"Sakura-chan." Shikaku smiles at me lazily. "Have you thought about transferring to Intelligence Unit?" He asks me for hundredth time. I know that both heads of the clans prefer me to stay as far as possible from T&I, but I don't think I can be much of a use to Intelligence.
"I like where I am, Shikaku-san. But thank you for the offer." I turn him down politely and turn towards Third, not missing a smirk on Anko's and Ibiki's faces.
"We could use it." Third nods and looks at Nara. "Do as Sakura-chan suggested." Third starts in old, raspy voice. "We have to be careful, they might decide to attack earlier than planned." He adds and turns towards me. "No matter you participate or not, I entrust you with the safety of your classmates and teammates." I nod, knowing it without him needing to tell me so. "You are dismissed."