Tenten and Sakura had been in the infirmary for little over a few hours when Tenten realised what she'd done.

"Oh shit Sakura, I'm so sorry," Tenten whispered over to Sakura's bed in the Akatsuki infirmary. "I don't know why I did that! I can't even understand myself anymore."

Sakura still couldn't meet Tenten's eyes, despite her forgiving nature. 

"Sakura!" Tenten whisper-shouted, "Please! I'm really sorry for what I did! I don't know what came over me!"

Again, Sakura wouldn't look at Tenten, but she answered, "Why?"

"Oh shit, I'm really sorry Sakura-chan. I really don't know what came over me. I don't know why I did what I did. I really never want to do that ever again." Tenten responded. But deep inside, she knew why. Sakura, such a pathetic little weakling, had been able to train under Tsunade, while Tenten couldn't. Sakura, so pathetic and dependent on everyone and everything around her, would get her way, would always get help, would get the attention when clearly, there where others, much stronger than her. Tenten, for example. But Tenten would never admit to this. Never. She'd rather die.

Luckily, Sakura knew what it was like to be so angry that she didn't know what she was doing. She was a tsundere after all. So, she accepted Tenten's apology. She might not have accepted Tenten, might still be scared of Tenten, but bravely, she said, "I know, and I forgive you."

Then the exhaustion of the conversation drove both of them into deep sleep.

***

Outside of the infirmary, Deidara and Sasori stood. 

"See Sasori?! My art is way better! Tenten TOTALLY blew Sakura up no contest!!!" Deidara snickered. 

Sasori just stood there. Like a puppet. 

An announcement then crackled through to the infirmary.

"AS SOON AS SAKURA AND TENTEN ARE HEALED, WE ARE HEADING OUT ON A JASHINIST'S MISSION. PLEASE RECOVER QUICKLY. YOU HAVE TWO DAYS MAXIMUM." The announcement said.

Sakura looked alarmed. Two days?! Even Sasori and Deidara were surprised. 

"What?! Two days? They're driving them hard, huh? Even I wouldn't be able to do that!" Deidara said. 

"You say 'even I' as though it means something." Sasori said softly, being lowkey savage. 

The joke flies way over Deidara's head and he ignores it. Inside the infirmary, though, Tenten and Sakura realise that they'd have to work together to get enough chakra to be ready in two day's time. Sakura was still lowkey terrified of Tenten, and she refused to touch Tenten's hands. However, they managed to work together to get the chakra necessary to be well enough for a mission after two days. However, even after this, Sakura was still terrified of Tenten, refusing to stand any further than three meters. This saddened Tenten, as she really didn't exactly know why Sakura's weakness had been so infuriating for her, but she could do nothing about it. 

Hidan was waiting for them in the entrance hall of the hideout so that they could go to the mission. 

"I hope you're ready to kill some sacrifices because as far as I know one of you hasn't been very consistent with that. " Hidan glared in no particular direction, then whispered, "I know, I know, should be a better teacher blah blah blah but look at least I'm giving you fucking sacrifices ok?"

Tenten looked to where Hidan was looking and sure enough, there was something there. She couldn't quite see what, but it was definitely connected with her two-bladed scythe. Sakura, though, was confused. 

"Wait what do you guys see? Huh? What's he talking to?" She asked. But Tenten was too entranced to bother with answering Sakura's question.  

Is he? Jashin? I can't quite see him... Her? Him? It's all fuzzy and dark... but there's an ominous and potent aura around that part of the room... I should ask Hidan-sensei if he can see Jashin-sama too, Tenten thought, and turned to Hidan. 

"Hidan-sensei? Can you see him or her too?" Tenten asked tentatively. Hidan glanced at her, surprised, and then just kinda shook his head, not committing to yes or no. He looked again in what Tenten presumed was Jashin-sama's direction and said a couple more words, "Don't worry, we'll get some sacrifices," and then in the quietest whisper in the world, that not even Tenten or Sakura could hear, said, "Jashin-sama." It was Jashin-sama, Tenten had been right. 

Then he strode out of the door, Tenten close by his side and Sakura of course a little to the side, avoiding Tenten. Tenten was 100% curious, and wanted to watch the professional Jashinist at work, whereas Sakura was just plain ol' 100% terrified of everything. She walked head down, staring at her shoes the whole walk and whenever someone said something she never looked them in the eyes. 

Soon, they arrived to a small village. There, they trailed a young girl and her friends - three of them - as they made their way to blackberry bushes that they were meant to pick. 

"What?" Sakura whispered. "We're going to kill these helpless little girls?"

Two glances from Tenten and Hidan silenced her. "Of course," Hidan declared, "The more innocent the better."

"We're doing this for strength, remember?" Tenten said, "These four lives to save thousands more."

Reluctantly, Sakura agreed. Hidan and Tenten and Sakura followed them to the blackberry bush, then silently jumped down. Hidan took the two on the left; Tenten the other two. Sakura merely held one of Tenten's victims in her grasp, not letting go. Once the four were nearly dead, Jashin used the blood to create four circles with triangles and pinned the four of them to it. He assigned Tenten one, Sakura one, and himself one. Tenten noticed the same dark aura was eating away at the last, the fourth child. She wanted to glance at Hidan and ask again, but the ceremony took her a lot of concentration, so she sat down and started it. Four hours later, they were nearly all done. Hidan had sacrificed his sacrifice quickly, with experience, in three hours, and Tenten in four. They had both started working on the fourth together as Sakura struggled through her own ritual. When it was all well and done, they raced home in record time, Sakura being even more depressed than before. 

When Tenten woke up the next morning, she heard water running in the bathroom. The tap. When she entered, she found Sakura washing her hands furiously. Her skin had already become red with all the washing it had gone through. Wash, wash, wash, wash, wash, wash. Sakura rubbed at her skin with all the might she had. Then she saw Tenten at the door as she had leaned down in the sink in defeat. 

Looking, scared at the sight of Tenten, she whispered, "The blood... It won't come out... My hands are dirty and full of blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood. Blood." She repeated the word over and over, a crazed look in her eyes. 

***

I AM ON FIRE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN LIKE FOREVER SEE THAT TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY LIKE DAMN 

Lowkey still have to do my homework tho...