There are but Four Noble Truths:
Suffering is universal
The origin of suffering is attachment
The cessation of suffering is attainable
The path to the cessation of suffering is detachment
~Buddhist Saying
The narrow corridor of the interrogation unit was an oppressing dark smudge, broken only by the low light emitted from the ever-burning torches that clung hopelessly to the wall. It created an air of desperation, of depression, that one was forever entombed by the cold, unfeeling, concrete walls.
This was where Sakura happened upon Ibiki. Initially, she had planned to leave the older nin a message in his office, but this would work just as well.
Sakura's footsteps halted a meter away from the man, her eyes staring him down, incriminating him for making her constantly visit this vile place. It was no secret that Sakura disliked the underground compound, but Ibiki couldn't have cared less. This was his domain, and she was under his orders, her distaste for his job and the prisoners were not his problem.
"The Uchiha is stable. You may continue."
Ibiki was well aware of Sakura's disgust with the Uchiha, and he couldn't help but agree with her. He rarely took any pleasure in torturing individuals, but with the Uchiha, it was personal. He had turned on his home, on his friends. But Ibiki enjoyed reminding the traitor that they were enemies now, that he had nowhere to return to, and he had nobody to trust in.
"Good," his deep voice answered. "You staying? Just in case."
Just in case. It was an addend. Something that didn't need explaining, but was put there as if an afterthought. As if, his existence didn't truly matter, as if it was merely a convenience that she could either prolong with her presence, or end with her absence. What a powerful thought. What a pitiful thought.
But, then again, she was contradicting herself. His existence was just a convenience, and his suffering, in some sick way, pleased her greatly. Sasuke had made Naruto suffer so much, had made Kakashi-sensei suffer…had made her suffer. Shouldn't he take responsibility for what he had inflicted? Wasn't that fair?
No. A treacherous voice whispered incessantly. It may be fair, but it wasn't what Naruto would want…
"I'll be around. Send for me if you need me," she answered.
Sakura barely gave the scarred veteran a glance as she walked past him, her shoulder lightly rubbing his in the narrow corridor. Ibiki's fading footsteps was the only response she received. Without looking back at the man, Sakura continued on her way, not sparing either the interrogator or the interrogated another thought.
xXxXxXx
Sasuke's eyes flashed up as he heard the heavy grate of the door. His blood began to boil at the sight of the shinobi. Ibiki had been his interrogator, and the man was nothing short of ruthless. Sasuke was well aware that this was going to be a repeat performance, but he refused to relent to the nin's ministrations. He refused to break and let Ibiki know anything.
"Uchiha."
The word reverberated through Sasuke's body, a disgusting reminder of the clan that he was born into. Of the clan that he had once foolishly thought to be faultless. Alas, ignorance is bliss, and the truth only left his mind plagued by the dishonor his family committed.
"Are you willing to say anything before I begin?"
Sasuke held his tongue. The childish part of him wished to spit at the man and call Ibiki as many derogatory names as he could think up, but the wiser part of him realized how futile that effort would be, how pointless. How his rant would only provoke Ibiki to torment him more, for anger was merely one of the first steps to giving into an interrogator.
Any reaction from Sasuke would only make Ibiki think he could stand a chance. And Sasuke greatly feared that Ibiki may just break him, his body and spirit couldn't take this much more, and his secrets needed to die with him. Nobody but the Uchiha's should know of their deceit, of their shame.
xXxXxXx
"Sakura-chan. Ne, why do you keep spacing out?"
The blonde stared expectantly at his pink-haired companion. She had been working a lot lately, and he was starting to get concerned.
Sakura smiled lightly in spite of herself. She didn't deserve him. She was keeping the imprisonment of his best friend a secret. And to add to it, she was furthering Sasuke's torment by healing him so that Ibiki could torment him again.
"I know! I'll go tell Baa-chan to lay off and give you a break! Then we can hang out more and you can catch up on some sleep!"
Half-heartedly Sakura cuffed Naruto on the head. Both of them knew he could dodge, and both knew she wasn't trying to hurt him, and yet, Naruto started pouting before bringing up a hand to rub at the slightly sore spot on his head. Old habits were hard to break.
"Show respect to your Hokage," she chastised, before turning back to the bowl of ramen in front of her. "Besides, I'm almost done. It's okay Naruto. Once it's finished, I'll feel much more relieved."
"Fine," he relented, as he picked up his chopsticks to continue eating.
A companionable silence followed, only broken by a wayward slurp from Naruto. Sakura demurely finished her bowl and neatly folded her chopsticks across the edge as she waited for Naruto to finish. She couldn't deny her attachment to the blond, her biggest supporter, and at times, her only believer.
They had been through a lot together. They had learned, cried, fought, laughed, suffered…and they understood each other so thoroughly that they made an unmatchable pair. They accomplished missions and triumphed on the battlefield without having to verbally plan out their moves. Naruto had stuck with her through thick and thin, and she had stuck with him. And no matter what obstacles stood in their way, they would always manage to claw their way to the top.
Granted, Naruto didn't know of her involvement with the interrogation team, he always seemed to know when she was upset, and somehow managed to find her and get her out of her brief lapses into depression. She had once mentioned his uncanny ability to find her when she was feeling at her worst, and he had jokingly called it an innate sixth Sakura sense.
Every now and again, Sakura's guilt would catch up to her and she'd think about confessing to Naruto about Sasuke, but she knew Naruto too well. She knew exactly how he'd react, exactly what he'd do…and she knew exactly how she'd respond.
Naruto would fume at first, and demand that they rescue Sasuke. She'd immediately list all the cons to this idea and try to dissuade him, but Naruto was still convinced that the 'good' Sasuke was still there, and that he could save him.
What a naïve thought.
But, in the end though, Sakura was not loyal to her village, she was loyal to her important people…she was loyal to Naruto. As a child, she had believed that she was loyal to the village, but time had taught her, that it wasn't the village that drove her to fight and defend. It was the people within the village, and the bonds that had developed over her lifetime.
Thus, she would aid Naruto in whatever he chose to do, which would, in all likeliness, be saving Sasuke. Which would only result in both of them becoming missing nins while setting Sasuke free.
They may escape Konoha with the Uchiha, but Sakura knew better, she knew that Sasuke wasn't the same. And she didn't want Naruto to know that, didn't want his hope stolen by reality…and, perhaps, she didn't want to confirm that she was right either.
In the end, she kept her mouth shut and forced a small smile that Naruto knew was fake. But neither mentioned it, because both knew that they each had their own secrets due to the nature of their job. The nature of shinobi. They each had their own demons, and regrets, and their support of one another was purely accepting that both had done deeds they weren't proud of, and that their guilt would never go away.
"Let's go train, Sakura-chan. We haven't sparred in ages, ne?"
Sakura looked over to the blond as she blinked away her musings. He seemed to be pleading with her, his eyes held some sort of sadness and Sakura wasn't sure where it originated from. He was upset, he seemed frustrated.
"We sparred a few days ago, don't be so dramatic. But, if you want me to beat you into the ground again, I'll gladly pummel you," Sakura responded, a light smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth.
Naruto readily leapt up to the challenge.
"I let you win last time Saku-chan! But, I won't go easy on you this time!"
Sakura smiled happily at the banter and was pleased that their antics still carried on. It was a sense of normalcy that she clung to, a sense of rightness that she hoped desperately never changed.
"Keep telling yourself that. Race you to the training grounds slowpoke," Sakura taunted good naturedly before dropping a few yen on the counter to cover her ramen and taking to the roofs, determined to beat Naruto there.
"Dammit Sakura-chan! That's cheating! You have to say 'go' before you take off!" Naruto shouted after her, digging in his pockets to drop his own due on the counter before dashing off in pursuit of his teammate.
The truth of their lives and what their career entailed was nothing short of reviling to an outsider, and, perhaps, even shinobi would look back on past missions and shudder at the sins committed in the name of the village, in the name of peace. Looking at their missions, from a military standpoint, their success was for the greater good of their people. But, looking at it from a civilian standpoint, a humanitarian standpoint, what they committed was nothing short of despicable. But, shinobi were taught to obey their Kage, to obey their superiors. They were soldiers, pawns…tools used to reach various achievements, and they had no say in what was and wasn't committed. It was a difficult concept to grasp, a necessary skill to acquire, and one that Sakura was seriously starting to question.
Sakura refused to accept the truth of the shinobi world. She didn't want to face the truth that their lives were inconsequential, that their leaders had them commit acts, sins, that any other human would be disgusted by, for some greater populace.
How much would the civilians enjoy the peace that shinobi forged with blood and sacrifice? Would they praise shinobi for their efforts, or condemn them for their methods? Then again, maybe, the truth was something that shouldn't always be uncovered.
And Sakura was confident that accepting such a truth would only result in the loss of her happiness. Naruto would never understand such a fact. In his heart, he was too honest and loyal. Even his work in ANBU hadn't taught him this darker side to humanity. And even if Naruto didn't realize this and kept searching for the justification for their missions, she'd protect his happiness too. She'd help lead him into the delusion that what they did was for the greater good…because Naruto's light couldn't dim. She was already losing hope in her village, she'd lose whatever remained if Naruto came to this conclusion too.
xXxXxXx
Sakura easily caught Naruto's leg and deflected the offending appendage before ducking under Naruto's left arm. She quickly dropped to the ground and attempted to sweep the blonde's legs out, but Naruto anticipated the move and backflipped several meters away before charging towards her again.
Sakura neatly ducked to the left, away from Naruto's first wayward swing before delivering a swift elbow on the back of the man's head. The combined force of Sakura's hit with Naruto's momentum sent the blonde towards the ground. Naruto's reflexes allowed him to tuck into a tight ball before hitting the ground, allowing his body to move with the force as he rolled on his shoulders across the forest floor before using the momentum to roll back to his feet. His feet slid back several feet as he slowed himself to a stop, his body crouched over and one hand on the ground to maintain his balance.
A smirk touched his lips as he charged forward.
Sakura stood her ground and let the blonde come to her. She knew that look. That was the look commonly sported by the blonde after he had successfully laid a trap that he felt confident would trick his challenger. And so, she stood calmly…watching, waiting for Naruto to spring his trap.
A second before Naruto reached her, his image disappeared, as did his chakra signature.
But Sakura was way ahead. She knew this trick, he'd gotten her before with it, but she'd had plenty of time to think of a counter. Without a second thought, Sakura took to the trees, standing on a lower hanging branch while her hands flashed through several seals.
"Demon Wind," she whispered, holding the last seal.
A heavy wind gusted suddenly from her body towards the ground. A pained yelp met her ears a few seconds later as Naruto's shredded body broke through the surface of the earth. As soon as his eyes met hers, his hand flew to his mouth, before he sighed loudly and plopped on the ground.
"Dammit, you got me again Sakura-chan," Naruto complained.
They had long ago changed the rules for their spars. It used to be the first to draw blood, but they did that with increasing frequency that their spars only lasted a few minutes at best. Furthermore, it was common knowledge that shinobi would sacrifice flesh wounds to win a fight, so why should their battle end there? Thus, the first to make a sound, outside of their usual banter, lost. It had become a sort of sick game of who could take more abuse, but every now and again a surprise attack would suffice.
"Its new. I got it from some rogue I ran into a few weeks back," Sakura explained as she made her way to her friend to seal up the cuts. "Air is all around us, as well as underground. It's an attack that can go through any porous surface. The only issue is that it doesn't deal enough damage."
Sakura lightly poked the cuts on Naruto's skin.
"It's only a flesh wound. Not enough to actually take down an enemy," Sakura mumbled, slightly irritated that she hadn't perfected it yet. "But when I'm done with it, it'll be hell to be on the other end of it."
"Saku-chan, don't poke it! Heal it! Even if it's shallow it still stings!"
Sakura smiled at his antics. This was the normalcy that she strived to protect and keep. Naruto had suffered enough, this was the least she could do for him.
"You shouldn't use the same move twice. You should know better by now baka."
"I wasn't gonna use the same move, you just didn't let me finish it!"
"The enemy isn't going to let you finish it either," she teased as her hand emitted a pale green glow, erasing the scrapes that littered Naruto's body.
"Oi! The enemy won't have seen it the first time eith-"
Both of them fell silent as they felt the approach of another nin. Sakura recognized the shinobi, but she knew that Naruto wouldn't. It was one of the trainees from the interrogation unit.
A few seconds later, the nin appeared on the training grounds. His bright red hair was cropped close to his head, and he wore the traditional seal on his jounin vest to distinguish him as an interrogator in training.
Without preamble, the jounin looked straight at Sakura, sparing Naruto only the most cursory of glances.
"Ibiki-sensei requires your presence."
"I'm sure he does. Is it critical?"
The man hesitated, throwing an uncertain glance towards the blonde before returning his stare to Sakura, maintaining his silence. The look was meaningful, and Sakura felt her ire rise at this foolish shinobi's audacity. She wouldn't have asked for clarification in front of Naruto if she had thought the answer to be classified.
"Answer the question," Sakura demanded harshly.
She didn't want to go back to the underground chambers and she sure as hell didn't want to go see Sasuke again. Besides, she had been enjoying her time with Naruto, she wasn't ready to cut that short yet. If this could wait, then she'd let the damned Uchiha suffer until she felt like going to heal him.
"Hai! Ibiki-sensei said that he 'got carried away' and required you immediately."
Sakura pinned the jounin with a heavy glare to make him squirm for ruining her day. She was well aware that it wasn't his fault, but it made her feel a little better to take it out on someone since Ibiki wouldn't be quite so intimidated. Finally, she dropped her stare and let out a slow, heavy sigh before turning to face Naruto.
"You're all healed, so don't cause any sort of trouble. I have to go help Ibiki-san. Care to meet me for dinner tonight?" Sakura asked the blond casually.
Naruto gave her a big grin.
"I'm not a genin anymore, I won't get caught."
"I didn't say don't get caught, I said don't do it," she quipped.
Naruto laughed lightly.
"Hai, Sakura-chan. I'll behave, but I'm meeting Hinata-chan for dinner. Do you mind if I take a raincheck?"
Sakura smiled. She was happy that he had Hinata. She could always be there for Naruto when Sakura couldn't…and Naruto deserved every bit of happiness, even if it left Sakura feeling a little lonely.
"Have fun then! And next time we eat together, you're treating me since I won!"
Sakura winked at the blonde before completing a few hand signs and teleporting away, all before Naruto had a chance to argue.
Naruto shook his head, before turning to look at the jounin's retreating back. Naruto had heard rumors that Sakura was working with the interrogation unit, and he had even suspected it himself, but he didn't have any evidence of that until now. He had wanted to ask, but they had maintained an unspoken agreement not to talk about work or ask for any information that wasn't freely given.
Naruto shook his head slowly before stuffing his hands in his pockets and turning to walk back to the village. It was still early, perhaps he could taunt Sai into sparring with him.
xXxXxXx
Yay! I think that it turned out pretty well, though the middle sounded a little awkward to me. I have an idea of where I want this story to go, but the details aren't completely hammered out, so don't get too mad if it takes me a while to update. Don't forget to review, even a couple words would make me super happy! Have a fun day!
~AWtH~
P.S. Sorry about the lack of page breaks in the first chapter! There were some on the original document, but evidently those go away after you upload it But hopefully, the ones in this chapter show up! Ja ne
