A/N: Hello. So I've been a lurker on fanfiction for years before I finally decided to stop being a bum and post something. So here we go. Let me know what you think!
Summary: Sasuke had never felt so useless. "Sakura. How do I fix you?" And she only smiled. "It doesn't hurt, Sasuke-kun. Pain doesn't hurt if it's all you've ever felt." AU.
all of me
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"Come on, come on, come on!—"
Sasuke barely heard Naruto over the crowd as they pushed through. Some grunted at them with a scowl— ("oy, pal. We were here first.")— but the streak of yellow and orange never let his grin falter. Sasuke almost sighed, but the stench of smoke, weed and sweat put him off almost entirely. Naruto promised he'd find some fun in this, but as they stopped in front of a metal chain-link fence, Sasuke couldn't help but be unimpressed.
He almost jumped when a tanned hand pulled at his shirt sleeve, and then wondered why he was so tense. Naruto laughed. "This is it, teme! Practically front row seats! This is going to be so good, believe it!"
Naruto turned to his side, poking at a white-haired man beside him. "Hey, when does this thing start?"
"Dude, don't touch me," the man deadpanned, and then laughed at Naruto's stricken expression, revealing sharp teeth. "Relax, I'm friendly. Starts pretty soon though. You a first-timer?"
The blond nodded amicably. "Yeah, me and Sasuke— he's this asshole here— got a tip that there's some pretty decent action going on down here so we thought to check it out."
Sharp-teeth smirked. "Sweet. I'm Suigestsu."
"Naruto."
"Are you placing any bets then?" Suigetsu asked. "Winner takes all."
"Maybe next time, man," Naruto said. "I'll check out the competition first."
Suigetsu opened his mouth to reply when the lights dimmed entirely. A single spotlight appeared on a podium above the fenced area, revealing a carrot-haired man with heavy piercings.
"I am Pein. Ladies and gentlemen," he spoke into a microphone, voice low, yet somehow carrying through the entire room. "You are in for a treat tonight. For the first time in months, we've got all our nine demons contained right here tonight, ready to fight in our caged arena. There will be blood. There will be violence. And there will be money. Place your bets. Ladies and gentlemen, our first fight will be between Gaara and Yugito!"
They heard metal doors swing shut. Lights flickered on directly above the arena, bright and ghastly. Shadows of a fenced ceiling were cast onto the concrete floor. At opposing sides of the arena- cage, Sasuke thought idly- were a blood-haired man (who looked more like a boy their age, Sasuke noted), and a blonde woman with cold looks in their eyes. And Gaara's eyes were indeed a sight: rimmed entirely in black kohl, he looked almost like a feral animal. Someone cackled and prodded at the man, Gaara, with a stick of all things. Beside Sasuke, Naruto frowned slightly.
Gaara growled.
"Oh man," Sasuke heard Suigetsu breathe. "He's frothing at the fucking mouth. Love this guy!"
"Ladies and gentlemen!" Pein rasped. "Place your bets."
The crowd chanted for Gaara.
"Now, fight!"
The combatants didn't need to be told twice. A blue-skinned man poked at Gaara again before the latter swiftly grabbed hold and pulled the much larger man face first, to collide into the fence. There was a grunt, scraped skin and blood (Sasuke found out later that the metal fence was barbed). Sensing Yugito running towards him, Gaara grabbed the stick and took a heavy swing—
Crack—!
The crowd screamed for blood. Yugito doubled over, clutching at her ribs tightly. Gaara grinned menacingly, raising the weapon once more, and taking another swing. Yugito dodged quickly and regained her footing, before tackling the redhead down onto the floor in an all-out brawl. She traded heavy blow after blow into his deeply grinning face, until—
Crunch—
Gaara bit into her knuckles so hard they bled. He spat out a mouthful of blood— mostly his own— and two loose teeth, before he launched himself at her again.
Naruto nudged Sasuke's side and whispered. "Hey man, I'm up for a good fight and all, but this looks kind of brutal."
Sasuke nodded grimly.
"You think they're alright?" Naruto asked again. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I heard bones break. And there was so much blood. You reckon it's all fake?"
"This isn't illegal underground fighting for no reason, Naruto," Sasuke remarked. Still, he wondered why they seemed to fight with the intent to kill, as opposed to just winning…
"And the winner is Gaara! Ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for the next round?!"
Gaara went down in the fifth round due to sheer exhaustion. The crowd jeered at this— they seemed to love his bloodthirsty, almost cannibalistic nature. He greeted his opponents and took them down with bloody bite marks, bones broken in unnatural angles and so much screaming. It was no wonder he was a favourite. Still he thought it was unfair that Gaara was left to fight round after round without so much as a break or a sip of water for his hoarse-sounding throat.
Sasuke thought it was disgusting. He was all but ready to leave even before the first fight ended, but Naruto insisted they stay. Something about wanting to know how the show ended, if they were all alright in the end, if the fights were staged like pro-wrestling. If, if, if. Sasuke only stayed because he was Naruto's bloody ride.
"And now, the final round," Pein hissed. "One of you will have the opportunity to call out an opponent for our undefeated champion! Volunteer yourself, call out one of our fighters, call out anyone! If your choice wins, ladies and gentlemen, you hit the jackpot tonight!"
The spotlight roamed about the room quickly, and landed on a whopping Suigetsu.
"I want the champion's handler!" Suigetsu shouted. The crowd roared in agreement.
Sasuke's brow furrowed. 'Handler'? Like an animal tamer?
Suigetsu seemed to notice his befuddled look, and attempted an explanation. "See, like, if anyone can beat the demons, it'll be their handler, am I right?"
Pein seemed stunned by the choice but recovered quickly. "Very well, ladies and gentlemen. Tonight, your champion, Sakura, will battle against her very own handler, Sasori!"
The crowd chanted for Sakura with more fervour than they did for Gaara. Sasuke wondered just what sort of fighter she was.
The metal doors swung open, and then were shut and locked quickly. On the one side was a russet-haired man with a lazy smile. He stood shirtless, a tattoo of a scorpion emblazoned on his chest. He didn't look at all bothered by the fact that he was battling against their champion. But then again, like Suigetsu said, he was Sakura's 'handler'.
Sakura… wasn't what he expected. She stood at five foot tall at most, with spiky pink hair and green eyes. She looked like a little pixie, with twiggish arms that did not belong in an arena, even if she did don skin-tight leather from head to toe.
Sasori nodded. "Come."
And so began their fight.
It was brutal. Much like how Gaara initially had the unfair advantage, Sasori was armed with a dagger. Sakura was light enough on her feet to dodge most of his attacks, though she did bear cuts and deep gashes where he managed to strike. She was acrobatic, managing to contort herself in odd angles to avoid Sasori's harsh kicks and the bloody dagger. Although put off by the violence and blood displayed by the previous fighters, Sasuke found himself drawn toward this battle, and saw why she was a fan favourite.
Her moves were deliberate, calculated. Her strikes would always land. Yet, she was on the defensive. He only began wondering how she would win, if she would win, when she answered the unspoken question for him:
"SHANNARO!"
She launched herself straight towards her handler. Sasori shifted his arm, and the spectators found Sakura practically impaled in the gut by the dagger. There were loud gasps in the audience. Sakura coughed blood, and grinned down at her opponent before seizing his unsuspecting neck and twisting his head in an unnatural angle. His body slumped backward almost immediately, leaving the dagger stuck in her abdomen.
There was silence. And then approving, blood-thirsty cheers.
Sakura breathed heavily. Her eyes were wan as she looked from the limp form of her handler, to the crowd, and then to where Pein stood. Sasuke noted that his jaw was set grimly. He looked almost murderous.
Sasuke watched as Sakura removed the dagger from her abdomen carefully. Pein did nothing to call forward the first aiders Sasuke spotted in the corner.
"Our first death in the arena," Pein whispered. "And from your reaction, ladies and gentlemen, certainly not the last. Next week, watch our… undefeated champion… defend her title, to the death."
Sakura looked as though she were about to cry.
A/N: Thoughts?