Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, its characters and/or ideas. All rights belong to Masashi Kishimoto
Warning: The following contains Yaoi and Het. Relationships, language, adult situations, mentions of rape (I know it's typical but it's important for the story), AU and slight OOC.
A/N: If you haven't noticed already, this is a dark fic. Enjoy it!
Summary: Uchiha Sasuke went insane and killed his lover Uzumaki Naruto. Five years later, the raven gets released from the psychiatric hospital. His life is seemingly back to normal except for one thing – his favorite blonde is still around…
Drifting Shadows
Journal Entry
Uchiha, Sasuke
December 10 – 2:42:04 AM
I was released earlier yesterday from the Konoha Psychiatric Hospital. Sakura signed my papers; we strolled the city with lunch, sight seeing, and a drive to throughout the city. The day was 'fun' in other people's standards. For me, the trips were uneventful. The shitty part of the whole thing is that I'll be doing these so-called relaxation days a lot more. The facility doesn't trust me to live on my own. I'm not even allowed to be by myself for long periods of time. I have to spread my horizon with Sakura in her family home for the moment. The doctors most likely think I'll go on a rampage, and commit multiple murders. My psychiatrist, Dr. Hyuuga Hiashi, (whom I loathed because he's related to that bastard Neji), suggest for me to list anything I am interested in: my hobbies, goals, people I dislike, etc. There are currently only four things I find important. I guess this is as good a time as any, even though this psychological crap pisses me off.
My Interests
4. Money
3. (Killing); Finding My Brother
2. Power
1. Naruto…
December 10 – Sakura's House
The voluptuous pinkette witnessed as the sunset surrounded the cool sky, the city of Konoha settling peacefully. Sakura enjoyed watching the morning rise on her family's balcony in the classical structure of the two story building. She covered herself hastily as the breeze blew past her olive robe. The cigarette between her fingers was deserting; Sakura took one last drag and threw the cancer stick in the trash as she entered her appealing bedroom.
A knock to the front door nearly frightened the girl. She grabbed the edges of her robe, and tied the material more firmly around her body. Taking a quick look at herself in the elongated mirror in the room, she sauntered to the downstairs. In the door's peephole, the young woman wasn't surprised to see the person on the other side of the front door.
"Lee-kun," she greeted with a forced smile, "good morning. How may I be of service to this pleasant arrival?"
"Sakura-chan, it is indeed a good morning. How are you my youthful friend?" The bowl-cut young man let himself into the house, with the brightest smile one could ever hope to see.
"Same as always, I suppose." She concluded, heading over to her kitchen. The green clad man known as Rock Lee followed closely behind. "Since I assume you came for a visit, can I offer you breakfast?"
The broad smile on Lee's face brightened so much, for a second, Sakura thought she would have to shelter her eyes.
"Thank you, Sakura-chan!" Lee exclaimed enthusiastically.
Sakura giggled. "No worries. Just to let you know – it's not that serious."
When the two reached the kitchen, Lee sat on one of the three stools that stood behind the kitchen's island. The pinkette rummaged through the cabinets and brought out two skillets. She lightly strolled over to the refrigerator, and carried out ingredients for steamed rice, miso soup, and seasoned nori (dried seaweed). Sakura was a natural with cooking. Her family became suited living civilians that made samples of Konoha's freshly made foods. For lack of better words, the pink-haired woman was proud to be named as a Haruno. The recognition was something of a great honor to her family and herself, especially considering her misunderstood personality.
The pair ate in silence after Sakura was finished preparing their meals. The bushy-browed young man was enjoying every minute of his presence with his lifelong crush. His taste buds were in heaven, savoring every single bite as though it were his last.
"How is Sasuke-kun?" Lee asked through mouthfuls of rice.
Sakura heaved a sigh. "Honestly, I don't know."
The man beside her furrowed his thick eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"Well, yesterday, we spent the day together. It was fun and all, but every so often I could have sworn he was, you know, talking to himself."
Lee's face frowned in concentration. "Maybe he has an imaginary friend. That type of behavior is not unusual for someone one who has been in seclusion as long as he has."
"I guess so, but it's just hard – seeing him like that. Everyone ridicules me for sticking by him, but I can't help it. He's my friend and my first love." Sakura gave a wane smile afterwards. "Lee-kun, am I wrong for trying to help him?"
Rock Lee was a man of kind honesty. He knew in his heart that Haruno Sakura was the one person he would cherish for a lifetime. To see her as worn out as she was, pulled heavily on his heartstrings. He wanted to do everything in his power to make the ache in both of their hearts depart.
"No," he began slowly, gently, "I don't think it's wrong of you to want to help him. Sasuke-kun is a very disturbed young man. He received his punishment accordingly, and now has to live the remainder of his life knowing he did something unforgivable. You are his shoulder to lean on when he loses any sanity he has left. That takes a wonderful person to do something like that."
Sakura smiled a true smile, a smile full of warmth and appreciation. Standing upright and squeezing her friend's shoulder lightly, she took her leftovers, and wrapped the dish to put away for later. She did the same with the food on the counter reserved for Sasuke. The jade eyed woman figured the raven would most likely sleep in for the rest of the morning. Lee continued with his breakfast, glancing subtly at the pinkette while she washed the dishes in the sink.
Rinsing her hands in the tepid water coming from the sink's metal facet, she addressed Lee over her shoulder with a thoughtful look on her face.
"I am quite worried for him, though. I hope he grows out of it soon."
Lee finished his meal; his fingers interlacing together under his chin. "Perhaps he needs to be enticed into a social environment. What about with the Yamanakas? Aren't they throwing a Christmas party in a couple of weeks?"
Sakura turned around and grimaced. "That wouldn't be such a good idea. You see, many people, for lack of a better word, hate Sasuke-kun. It would be unwise for me to put him in a gathering as such."
The hopeful young man nodded knowingly. Sometimes it was difficult for him to fathom that others were not as forgiving, not that they should be, but Rock Lee was a very optimistic man. Much like Naruto used to believe, he tried to find the good in everyone.
The two acquaintances continued conversing comfortably until Sakura had to be dressed in order for work. After bidding Lee farewell, Sakura excitedly dressed for her job. She was a medic nin courtesy of the Hokage Medical Hospital. She loved her job with all the fiber of her being. Her profession was one of the reasons she felt inclined to help out Sasuke.
Dressed in her proper attire, she called in her former sensei Kakashi to watch over the stoic man while she was at the hospital. She was lucky to suspect that the silver-haired man would be late arriving. She refrained reluctantly from beating the man to a bloody pulp when he entered the home an hour later. The man was dressed casually, albeit his mask covering his face aside from his right eye. He curved his exposed eye in a half moon shape and greeted the irritated pink-haired woman warmly.
"Keep an eye on him." Were her parting words as she shut the front door.
Hatake Kakashi sat on the futon reading his infamous Icha Icha Paradise book while the raven continued to sleep in the bed on the other side of the room. The hentai minded man couldn't help but smile at the serene expression that adorned the ivory skinned man's face. If one were to take a look at him, it would be hard to believe that the sleeping figure was a murderer whom had just been released from a psychiatric ward.
By eleven o'clock, Sasuke's body felt well rested. He shifted slightly in the cotton comforter that surrounded his form. He rose into a sitting position, a scowl beginning to form on his lips. His dark eyes traveled to the other side, and landed on Kakashi who hadn't taken his eye off from the orange book.
"Yo!" The silver-haired man greeted while turning a page from his most prized possession.
"Hn."
"Did you sleep well?"
"Hn."
"Hungry?"
"Hn."
"You want to fuck?"
"Hell no."
The older male smiled happily. "I just wanted to make sure you were really listening to me."
"What are you doing here, Kakashi-sensei?" Sasuke asked, stretching his body to straighten out the kinks.
"Keeping an eye on you." He announced sternly, looking dead serious all of a sudden.
"I don't need a fucking babysitter." Sasuke hissed.
"When you're crazy, you do." Kakashi deadpanned.
The raven smirked evilly. "What happened to teaching, sensei? Did you get fired again?"
"Now, Sasuke, you know I only work at the college certain days of the week."
Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I'm going to go take a shower."
The troubled raven lifted himself from the bed, and left the room without another word. Kakashi let out a sigh as the door slammed closed.
Sasuke took twenty minutes to shower, enjoying the warmth of the clear liquid spreading throughout his chiseled body. The sweet smell of the cheery-scented soap filled his nostrils temptingly.
Dressing as quickly as possible, he headed downstairs where his former teacher was fixing himself some breakfast. Ignoring the older man as much as he could, he rummaged in the fridge and found Sakura's leftovers. He ate his meal with such precision; one would have thought he belonged to royalty. Kakashi watched him with mild amusement; the raven still had the grace of a man who had the world wrapped around his finger.
"I assume you want to leave the house?" The exotic reader asked breaking the awkward silence.
"Hn."
"Well, do you or don't you?"
Sasuke smirked. "I have a place."
Hokage Mountains/Monuments
The drive to the Hokage Mountains had taken the two men an hour to complete. The ride had been silent, which was expected coming from the expressionless young man in the passenger's seat. During the rode travel, Sasuke had stared blankly out the window, placidly admiring the landscapes of trimmed grasses, modest homes, and colored trees and plants. The air was crisped, the weather a nice lukewarm feel. The outer surroundings made it seem as though it were spring instead of an upcoming winter. For Kakashi, the idea of going to the mountains during the last weeks of autumn was ludicrous; but then again, he was dealing with Uchiha Sasuke. The one good thing about going to the monuments during that particular season was that there would be few people around.
When they arrived at the famed monument, Sasuke refused the tour guide, wandering on his own with Kakashi in close pursuit. Reaching the Yondaime's memorial stone, he sprawled comfortably, resting his feet on the top of the granite. He closed his eyes, his dark eyelashes lightly brushing against his upper cheeks.
A figure loomed over him, blocking the sun from his sight. He slit an eye open and smirked.
"What took you so long?" The raven asked.
"Oh, I've been around."
"Keeping an eye on me, correct?"
"Correct." Kakashi sat down beside Sasuke. The young man stood up in a sitting position, bringing his knees close to his chest.
Unbeknownst to the older man, Sasuke was relishing in the contact of an arm that was wrapped around his slender neck. The dark-haired youth nuzzled the offered appendage, enjoying the scent of the nature to the Earth.
"I just love it here." A sensual voice whispered in the raven's ear. Sasuke made a noise of agreement, wanting more of the touch from the presence sitting behind him.
"I'm glad I get to be here with you." Sasuke whispered, only loud enough for the two lovers to hear.
"Of course you are, teme," Naruto's voice seemed to echo, "but haven't I already told you, you can't keep me forever? I'm not your property. You don't own me."
"I will, if you let me." The raven voiced softly.
Naruto chuckled, a sadistic smile forming on his usually innocent face. "Silly, Sasuke. That type of talk is what will get you in trouble."
The silver-haired man glanced worriedly at his former student. Even though he hadn't heard the whole seemingly one-sided conversation, he had heard enough snippets to finally come to a rather disturbing conclusion.
There's something wrong with that boy.
Hokage Medical Hospital
The Hokage Medical Hospital were a series of three story cream-colored buildings with leaves growing upwardly on the sides. The hospital was the most known in the city; each section just as important as the next. Haruno Sakura worked on the west wing for critical care. Her stationed floor consisted of patients with injuries from unexpected accidents or various illnesses.
The pinkette quickly filled out her reports, strolling down the corridors. She was on here way to the hospital's weekly meetings. Entering the conference room, the young woman sat down nervously as other medics came through in groups. Needless to say, she was not looking forward to this week's discussion. It was going to be led by the blond busty woman Tsunade-sama. There was no doubt that Sakura looked up to the older woman, but with her circumstances of housing the woman's nephew's murderer, one tends to be not as confident.
Twenty minutes of waiting for the woman, and most occupants of the room couldn't help but feel anxious. Each medic was sitting around a lengthy discussion table. As the heavy doors swung open, Sakura tensed her shoulders, and bravely brought her eyes to brown-colored ones. Said browns eyes narrowed when they saw the pink-haired medic. Sakura's eyes began to widen in response. She prayed to the heavens that she would survive the forthcoming meeting in one piece.
Only4u – I think I know what book you're talking about, although I don't remember the title. I guess you can say that the idea of my story seems as though it will go in that direction, but I want to believe my story is somewhat different. It is all psychological, to answer your question. Thank you for taking the time to review.
Blueberry – Thank you. I'm glad you liked my beginning.
Ivy – Thank you so much. That means a lot to me. You'll learn more about why Saskue did what he did as the story progresses.
