Beep...beep...beep...

The sound in the background of Sakura's room in the hospital's ICU was nothing compared to the shouting coming from Naruto. He kept pelting questions at Tsunade, who attempted to kick him out before huffing and dragging the boy out herself. That left Sasuke and Sakura alone.

He stood in the corner of the room, the furthest away from Sakura, and made no move to get closer. Instead, he waited in silence, tuning out the beeping noise and focusing on the rose and fall of her chest.

"—that fucking kid, I'm going to destroy him," Tsunade muttered darkly before putting the clipboard under her armpit and putting her hands in her coat pocket. "Sasuke. The only thing she is physically suffering from is chakra overuse. She most likely wasn't aware of what it was she was doing, from what you described, and I have also determined that the majority of the jutsu she used isn't even on her level. That means she was definitely controlled in some manner through Orochimaru, although I'm afraid the Counsel won't see that as legitimate evidence. Regardless, Sakura should made a full recovery physically."

Sasuke nodded solemnly, keeping his focus on Sakura. We should be turning her on her side to avoid something that could affect her breathing in the next half hour.

"However, mentally, we're not exactly sure of her mindset. In fact, it's always been questionable, but no one had ever looked into it other than when she first arrived in the village six years ago. Inoichi and I, along with other specialists, will have to conduct tests on her when she wakes up."

"What will happen to her when she wakes up?" Sasuke crossed his arms and sighed. Conversation was not his thing. It was Naruto's. And speaking of Naruto...where
is he? I'm surprised she's kept him out for so long.

Tsunade also sighed. "Again, the Counsel will decide," she gritted her teeth. "But I already promised Naruto that I would do everything in my power to keep Sakura in the village, and in safe keeping. After all, the Counsel wouldn't want Konoha's data to be loose, but they would also see her death as a waste of a shinobi. So, I think they'll just go with a few months of no missions, no leaving the village, confinement to her house, etc. I was thinking that once her probation is complete, Sakura would begin therapy with Inoichi, and if that goes well, assign her to a foster family that would be willing to take her in and teach her how to be like a normal kid her age. I already have a few candidates chosen."

"Hn." Sasuke nodded in thanks to Tsunade before leaving. When he opened the door, Naruto was on the other side, squatting with his ear right next to the door. "Tch." The dark-haired boy scoffed and then walked around him, ignoring the questions that came at him.

:::

"In some studies, it was found that talking to and allowing the comatose patient to hear certain people's voices brought them into consciousness earlier than those that did not have visitors."

"Huh. That's interesting, —ttebayo. Right, Sakura-chan?" Naruto closed the book he had been reading, then put in on her bedside table. "Kakashi-sensei isn't going to be our sensei for a while," he explained, tapping his chin thoughtfully. "Baa-chan said it would be a good idea to put him in rehab. She told me he had untreated TSPD from the last war." Naruto jumped in his chair when he heard someone scoff from behind him.

"You mean PTSD?" Sasuke was crossing his arms across his chest while leaning on the door frame when the blonde peeked over his shoulder.

"Teme, why are you late? I thought we agreed yesterday that we'd be here as soon as the hospital opened!" Naruto was now standing on his feet, his fists at his sides. "This is when Sakura-chan needs us the most!"

"Hn." Sasuke walked into the room and stood at the foot of the bed, watching her carefully.

For the next hour, Team Seven's genin were reunited in the small hospital room, two ANBU stationed outside and doubtlessly more hiding in other places. Sasuke remained silent the whole time while Naruto spoke of ramen, the new Hokage, and more. "—also, the Council is going to decide what they're gonna do when you wake up, dattebayo! Baa-chan told me not to worry, though. She said they'll want your powers too much to give you up!" The blonde stood up and stretched. "Well, see ya later, Sakura-chan!"

"Teme?" Naruto turned to look at him. "Are you coming, dattebayo?"

Sasuke didn't reply, but only stared at her for a few more seconds, his calculating eyes taking in her sleeping form before grunting and following him out, gently shutting the sliding door and leaving. They both left her to her dreams.

Almost five minutes later, Tsunade barged in, looking left and right before sighed and rubbing her temples. "I couldn't watch them in time to tell them..." She leaned against the wall and slid down. "The Council is going to decide what to do with her early..."

:::

'Who am I...?'

'What is my purpose?'

'What does it mean to be a shinobi?'

Sakura dreamed of herself being in that very familiar, dim-lit room where hundreds of other children resided in the same situation as her: floating in a large vat of green translucent liquid. As she floated fetal-position, thoughts echoed in her head, like they were thundering and pounding, wanting to be let out.

Outside, she could hear muffled speaking: "So far...successful compared to...others...maybe this one will survive..." All the while, more and more things she didn't want to have in her brain were pouring, overloading her brain as images flashed by in split-seconds; a man being assassinated quietly through one of the eight points of killing, another scene showing a thick stack of paper, sheet upon sheet containing rules and guidelines for who she was supposed to be—

"Orochimaru-sama, it's getting too active! Do you want to add...sedatives? I strongly suggest we...despite the risk factor of the best-performing experiment be damaged anymore..."

Her wide peripheral vision began closing in as she watched a red button be pressed, releasing another fluid into the tank.

'No...'

:::

When she began regaining her vision, Sakura watched the people in white coats scramble around, as if in a hurry to get away from someone or something. "Where is Orochimaru?!"

"He must have known those damn Konohagakure were gonna show up!"

"Damn him to hell!"

Experiment 528 blinked once, then something clicked in her brain. 'Destroy Konohagakure...'

Destroy Konoha, that's right. Who are you, you asked? You, Experiment 528, are the destruction of Konohagakure and it's people.

'...Destruction?' She clutched her head, blocking out the external noises, then felt something tug in her stomach.

No. You are not a weapon. You are a person.

'Not a weapon?' She listened to the two other voices argue, one sounding very soft while the other sounded cunning. For the next minute, she said nothing, wishing for both to go away, until—

Make a choice, Experiment 528. Who do you choose to listen to? I know it's intelligent enough to make choices.

The other softer, kinder voice did not say anything. Suddenly, a pressure began building in her head, the pounding and thundering slowly climbing in intensity until it became so unbearable that she opened her eyes and let the feeling take over...

She walked free that day, her bare feet tentatively touching the cold ground. Then she was found by the young man with the dog mask, and taken away to a large building that smelled like antiseptics and alcohol wipes.

'Who am I...?'

Instead of focusing on the voice that had always managed to make its way into her mind, Sakura searched for the one within her, and soon found herself on a ground made of water, ripples appearing where she was. As she watched them spread out curiously, she followed her train of vision to see another figure standing further away, also creating ripples that meshed into hers. "Hello?" Her voice came out as raspy and unused, but also raw and emotional.

As she took a step further, the figure in the distance turned from her, its long hair moving back and forth hypnotically. Then, she took off running, trying to catch up with whoever it was in front of her. After what seemed like miles of running, the figure finally stopped, and she appeared up to them. "Who are you?" She asked, although she knew just who it was standing in front of her.

The tall man gave her a kind smile and patted her head. "Hello, Sakura."

She ducked her head, then moved away from him. "Greetings, Hashirama, but that is not my name."

Sakura will finally meet Hashirama! What will they talk about?

What is Sakura's fate?