Chapter two!
Thank you guys so much for your support, and I really enjoyed reading your messages and reviews! I am so glad that I have return readers that are still interested in the story, even after reading the original two chapters!
I had a few guests reviews, so I wish I could have PM'd you my reponses, but to the guest that asked if there would be lemons: Yes. There will be at some point in this story! Hence why it is rated M.
To ForeverUnicorn, I really have to thank you for your encouraging words! It means a lot!
Chapter II: The First Words of Determination
A small budding flame
The desire to persevere
Faintness of hope
Seeds of doubt
Three days had passed.
Sakura almost flew upright in her cot, her body feeling hot as night sweats had made her feel damp. Those crimson red eyes that belonged to that dark brooding general had haunted her again.
She hadn't seen Sasuke in three days following their argument in this very room, and dreams of his terrifying red eyes had invaded her dreams every night since. Dreams of her father, her village, the death that had come...
The other maids were sound asleep, and Sakura had no idea what time it was, but the room was still pitch black, the only source of light being the moonlight that shone in through the window.
Rubbing the sweat from her forehead, she decided to head into the small bathroom that was attached to their sleeping quarters, heading straight for the sink and turning it on, the cold water she splashed on her face bringing her some relief from the feeling of burning up.
Her chest felt heavy. She felt like it was difficult to breath, like she was trying to suck air in through a narrow funnel.
She grabbed a towel that had been hung nearby, drying off her face and neck. She would have to get up a little earlier to bathe, again. This had become the norm over the past few nights as each night the same recurring nightmare came back to haunt her dreams.
When Sasuke hadn't appeared the next day after his threat, Sakura felt some sort of relief. Instead, instructions had been left for her to continue to go to the medical wing and heal those that were sick and wounded. If she were to disobey, she would be killed.
Sakura did as she was instructed, noticing that Sasuke had indeed left a few Uchiha soldiers that sneered at her as she would walk by, their dark, onyx eyes staring hatefully as if they could burn holes through her very being. No doubt they had been instructed to deal with her if she were to step out of line.
However, when another day passed, and there was still no Sasuke, she began to become curious as to why she hadn't heard or seen him even once. Rumors began to spread in the castle. Apparently Madara had sent him to deal with the clean up and occupation of her now desolate home.
The mention of her home made her feel sick to her stomach.
He was there, and she wasn't. If she ever in her lifetime got a chance to return, it would never be the same. The people she once knew would be gone, with no trace of them ever existing left behind.
Her heart ached. She wished that she hadn't left her father that night. She wanted to grieve, to despair, and in some ways, she felt almost numb.
Another day passed after that, which brought her to her current predicament, standing in the darkness of the bathroom, desperately trying to ground herself to something in all this chaos. Desperately trying to not let her nightmares consume her.
Returning to the cot that she had been given, she laid quietly, staring at the bottom of the cot that was above her.
She had somewhat come to know the young woman who slept above her. Her name was Suki, and she was a shy and timid girl, again carrying the same featuristics of the black hair and onyx eyes that it seemed every Uchiha had, however, Sakura could see the sadness in them. The experience of loss. Sakura had wondered if her eyes would look the same as they do now, reflecting that same sadness and loss. Would she look like this woman did forever? While she was of the Uchiha clan and had lost her parents to the war, like the other two maids that Sakura had first met, she still seemed less tragic as Sakura felt, as selfish as that thought was.
It was then that a spark of determination began to take hold in her heart.
If there was nothing left of her past, nothing left of what she had once known, and no one else to remember it, then Sakura would be the one to carry those memories, and for that reason she would have to survive.
If she survived this war, she would find a way to visit her home once again, and she would find a way to preserve the memories of the life she had once lived.
Sakura didn't know how long she had sat there, lost in her thoughts when the first rays of light from the sun began to penetrate the room, bringing light into an otherwise weary place. Taking this as her cue, she quietly got up, grabbing her gloves and the fabric that she used to tie her hair back when needed. She would quickly bathe before heading to the medical wing and doing her duties.
She was glad that for the most part, it seemed that everyone seemed to leave her alone in the medical wing so long as she was doing her work. They would bring her wounded men, and even women at times as she quietly offered up her abilities to heal them. Rarely were there ever words exchanged. Sometimes, they would protest to such an outsider such as herself coming anywhere near them, calling her filth, but she would do her job to heal them if she could, biting back her tongue as she was insulted. There was a part of Sakura that almost didn't care. All of those insults couldn't bring out her defiance the way that Sasuke did.
It was going to be another long day, but she would get through it.
Madara sat quietly in his study, reading the reports that Sasuke had sent to update him on the status of their occupation of the homeland of what was once the Haruno clan. He needed to send Sasuke away.
He had noticed the questioning look Sasuke had almost forgotten to reign in when Madara had informed him that he was sending him personally to oversee it. Such a trivial thing to Sasuke, he was sure as any of his other higher up officials could have easily overseen such a thing, but Madara couldn't help but test Sasuke.
He was seeing hesitation in him like he had not seen before.
Sasuke was just a child when he had found him, cradled in the corner of his home, blood splattered on the floor and walls as the child stared at the bodies of his dead parents. A horrible betrayal.
His older brother Itachi had betrayed him. Killing off most all higher up officials in the clan, and anyone who had a high chance of manifesting the eyes of the blood trait.
At first, Madara was unsure of why he had left this little boy alive, and when Madara had found him alive, he at first was going to put the child out of his misery. However, the red of his eyes had made him change his mind.
Instead, he decided to take the boy in.
He would train him to be his loyal servant, train him in combat, and train him to use his eyes. After all, they were the only two in the clan left who could manifest them. If anything, he would be a useful tool in his conquest to end the Senju and bring the known world under his rule. There would be order under his rule, the strong would survive and the weak perish.
Sasuke had turned out exactly as he had raised him. He taught him sword skills, taught him to kill, and to throw away any emotions. He had turned him into the perfectly obedient tool. He had manifested his eyes, learning how to use them. Sasuke was indeed someone who reigned down death upon Madara's enemies.
However, for the first time since Sasuke was a child, Madara was seeing hesitation from his ruthless general. He was seeing a flicker of questions in his eyes. He was seeing something foreign when it came to the pink haired woman.
Madara found this intriguing enough to let her live. Despite the threats of death, if she were to die, she would not die by his hand. No, she would have to die by Sasuke's hand, to be sure that he eliminated any doubt from him.
Perhaps he should see just how Sasuke would act when it came down to whether her life amounted to anything or not. Would he strike her down? Madara was a mastermind of manipulation, and he knew this. Manipulating Sasuke was what he did best.
The task of cleaning up and repairing damage to such a small village seems like something that shouldn't take this long, but it was proving to be longer than Sasuke anticipated.
There was extensive damage from the fires to many of the buildings, and the clean up of littered bodies almost took an entire day itself. There was blood and death everywhere. Returning to this place was truly a gruesome sight, eerie and it smelled of death.
Where Sasuke thought that perhaps he should feel something, he held control of his emotions, of his thoughts, scarcely allowing them to linger on the thoughts of the people who had lost their lives here, and what had been so abruptly taken from them.
His statement that night still held true however. Madara was indeed an intelligent man, however he hadn't realized to just what extent the man could be deceitful.
"General, the main house. We are going to clear it out for you now." Came a soldier with a report. Today, they had been working on clearing out the debris and doing what repairs they could to the building in order to turn this into a military post for the Uchiha army.
"Good. I'll come see to the process." Sasuke acknowledged curtly. The soldier bowed before heading off. Sasuke had been camped out on the outskirts of the village, directing all the work. Finishing looking over some papers, and plans that had been drawn out of how they would manage the newly occupied village, Sasuke finished reading his report from Madara who was demanding why it was taking so long. He had no mention of his prisoner, not that it mattered. If Madara were to end her life, it would be one less thing to deal with. That's what he had convinced himself.
The memory of her viridian eyes, filled with challenge and determination flashed through his mind however causing him to scowl. Why would he think of such a thing now?
Putting the letter down, Sasuke gave a sigh as he decided to follow the shortly after the soldier who had told them that they were just now getting to work on the what they thought was the clan leader's house.
That house had been Sakura's home. He'd by lying if he said he didn't find himself at least a little bit curious as to what kind of life that she was living. How much would he be able to find out about her based on the contents of their house?
Their home had been situated a little outside of the main village. Upon first glance, Sasuke thought it to be small and quaint, but it was still a little bit larger than the other homes that were in the village itself.
The front door had been left ajar, the windows of the home shattered. They would have to be replaced before the home offered any sort of true refuge from the wrath brought down by nature's sky. He noticed that two of the soldiers were carrying a lifeless body, male obviously, but it was the pink hair that gave his identity away. Sasuke wasn't quite sure what compelled him to stop them.
"You over there." He low, calm voice commanded. The men stopped, almost as if freezing in place at the sound of the voice that belonged to their general.
"That man. Bury him out back." Sasuke ordered. At first the soldiers looked at him confused, wondering why Sasuke didn't want them to take this lifeless body to where they were burning the rest of the dead, but one menacing glare quickly garnered their compliance as they quickly changed course, taking the lifeless body out behind the house.
Enemy or not, Sasuke still found it in himself to respect the leader of his enemies enough to give them at least a proper burial, even if there would be no marked grave, or no trace that the man had ever existed.
Turning his attention to the house once more, Sasuke began to make his way into the home.
At first glance, it seemed like a normal home, the evidence of people having really lived their life in this home apparent, but the living room told the true sad story.
Messy, a small table that was flipped, a leg broken, books scattered everywhere, most likely from a force that had knocked them from their place on the bookshelf. A small couch also sat against the wall with window, however it was stained red.
While it was not Sasuke who had definitely been here, Madara had definitely slain the clan leader in this room. It smelled of decaying blood. He noted that some of the blood had dried onto the floors and walls.
Had Sakura been here, she would have most likely been slain beside her father.
Pushing those thoughts from his mind, Sasuke once again turned his attention to the rest of the home. Pictures were neatly placed in the hallway, untouched, collecting dust. He turned his attention to them for a moment. Many of them were pictures of a young girl with the same pink hair as Sakura in which he assumed were pictures of her from when she was younger. He noted that she had a rather large forehead in her young age. Another picture was of another woman, one that Sasuke presumed was probably her mother, but other than the one picture, he did not see any more of her. Had her mother died? The rest of the pictures were of her father and her. They were smiling, as if there wasn't a worry in the world. Happy. A foreign lightness to their pictures.
Some part of Sasuke felt a moment of longing, as if he wished that it were him and his family in those pictures instead, as if he could have experienced the happiness that was portrayed. He scoffed, for a moment hating his own weakness.
Walking through the rest of the home, he noticed that the kitchen still had the remains of a meal in them, though everything that was not in use was neatly put away. There was a small table against the wall in the kitchen, seating for two. This confirmed this suspicion that Sakura had lost her mother at some point.
He continued on towards what he thought were the bedrooms. Upon first glance, the first room he walked into was definitely her fathers. It was plain but held evidence of someone who clearly oversaw many things. Papers were littered everywhere. Things were messily written on the walls. He decided not to linger there any longer as he came upon a second room.
This room most definitely had to belong to Sakura. At first he immediately recognized the scent that lingered. It was sweet, calming, and almost inviting. Her room was less plain, her bed still messy with clothes piled in a corner. There was a desk as well, however the desk was neatly organized which Sasuke found odd amongst the rest of the room that was chaotic. A bookshelf sat on one wall across from her bed and next to her desk, and Sasuke was able to make out several medical texts. At first glance he was able to see quite a few herbology books, and then some that were anatomical. There was a picture of Sakura smiling with that same woman who he had seen in the picture in the hallway, her mother. She looked younger in that picture, her hair short.
Before he could continue analyzing however, a soldier once again came to report to him, interrupting his thoughts.
"General, a mercenary is here demanding an audience with you."
Immediately Sasuke knew who it was.
"Tell him I wait outside my tent." Sasuke responded gruffly. That mercenary never once failed to show when Sasuke was away from the castle.
Feeling that he had spent longer than he should have allowed himself in Sakura's home, he quickly left her room, hastily exiting the home. Even from this far, he could see the familiar color of yellow and orange that stood in the distance, waiting for him.
"It's unlike you to contact me."
Sasuke was now next to the man, staring at him in full composure of himself. "It wouldn't have mattered either way. You persistently manage to track me down." Sasuke grunted.
"Indeed. What sort of mess did Madara get you into this time?" The man asked again. He was calm, though Sasuke recognized that look of life and determination in his cerulean eyes. He stood there, arms crossed as if he was leisurely enjoying himself, and not risking his life around men who wouldn't kill him without a second thought if Sasuke commanded it.
"I'm not at liberty to discuss that, Naruto." Sasuke brushed off.
"From what I understood, this is the first time that you Uchiha have dared to begin invading the free clans." Naruto replied in all seriousness.
"Hn." Sasuke brushed pass the young man as he continued towards his tent.
"You know this won't sit well with the Senju." Naruto called at his back.
"I did not make the choice, nor do I care." Sasuke responded coldly. He could hear Naruto's footsteps begin to fall to the Earth as he followed the Uchiha.
"Why did you call me here, then?" The yellow haired man inquired again. Sasuke stopped, his back still facing Naruto but he turned his head to glare at him.
"I told you, It would have not mattered if I had or didn't. You always come here like a scourge that won't disappear." He hissed.
"Well it's not like I pose a threat to you." Naruto shrugged nonchalantly.
"Doesn't change the fact that if I wanted, I wouldn't kill you right here." Sasuke threatened, even though he knew that his words were most likely falling on deaf ears. They often did when it came to this old childhood friend of his. In an instant however, Naruto's calm and almost playful expression immediately changed to one that was much darker and serious.
"I'd like to see you try." He challenged, his voice serious. This only elicited an irritated growl from the Uchiha. "Anyway, the reason why I came is because there are reports circulating around the Senju that you guys kidnapped a young woman from the clan you occupied and killed everyone else." Naruto began. "Seems like I can confirm the second report at a minimum."
"Again, Naruto. That's none of your concern." Sasuke warned.
"Does killing all of these people really sit well you, Sasuke?" Naruto asked in seriousness.
"It matters to me not."
"You know you can't keep up this cycle of all the killing. The Senju outnumber the Uchiha three times over."
Sasuke gritted his teeth, feeling his anger begin to surface though he tried to restrain it. Whenever Naruto did come to visit him, he had always irritated him. It was the weakness of his old bonds that allowed this man to say such things to him.
"You know where my loyalties lie." Sasuke said with finality, drawing Kusanagi in a flash, though he knew that Naruto was just as sharp as he was, drawing his own sword to parry his attack effortlessly. By now, the onyx of his eyes had faded to their crimson red. Crimson met cerulean.
"Tch. Hostile as ever." Naruto remarked. With that, Naruto knocked Sasuke's Kusanagi from him, as he stepped back and sheathed his own sword. Sasuke lowered his, however, he gripped Kusanagi firmly in his grasp. Without another word, Naruto began walking away, Sasuke's crimson eyes glaring at his back as Naruto stopped for a moment to say one more thing. He did not face Sasuke to say it. "The Senju are onto you." Was all he said before he whistled and a brown steed came to his beckoning call. Sasuke glared as Naruto effortlessly mounted the creature before taking off.
There was always an underlying warning to Naruto's words.
Five days had passed since Sakura had last seen Sasuke. Her life seemed routine now. The nightmares that came in the night, the work of healing the wounded, and the loneliness of it all.
Though some of the other workers in the castle were friendly enough, none of them ever took any special interest in her, almost as if they were being friendly to just be polite. However, she found that most workers prefered to pretend that she just didn't exist, eying her out of the corner of their eyes. Perhaps they thought of her as some curse with her pink hair and viridian eyes. It was true that not a single soul had different features in the castle. There was only black hair and onyx eyes that filled the castle.
It was the morning on the sixth day. The first night that she actually did not have a nightmare visit her in her dreams. Coming to, she found that everyone in the castle seemed to be in a little bit extra of a hustle. Sakura got up, getting dressed as she usually did, however it didn't mean that she wasn't curious as to what all the commotion was about.
Luckily she ran into her top bunkmate.
"Suki, what is all the commotion about?" Sakura asked curiously.
"Ah!" The girl replied, as if startled that Sakura would ask such a thing. "The general is back. Everyone tends to relax a little when he's not around."
Sakura looked at her, a little confused but she supposed that it was probably true. The same tensions, strict structure and very hushed conversations of those who tended to the castle seemed to have been a little bit more relaxed in the last few days. Maybe that's why Sakura found herself a little bit more relaxed herself as she tried to settle into things.
"Where is Sakura?" A gruff voice called. Hurriedly finishing the tie in her hair and grabbing her gloves Sakura dashed out of the maid quarters, the last one out.
"H-here!" She replied. The maids were either lined against the wall and scurried into other rooms if they were designated to work there.
"The general demands you see him at once." Came the voice of an Uchiha soldier. Sakura could tell immediately from the way that he held himself that this made was prideful, egotistical maybe, and his charcoal eyes held a disdain for her that he didn't ever bother trying to conceal.
"Y-yes." Sakura replied. The soldier grunted.
"What was that? I don't think I quite heard you." He sneered. Sakura knew exactly what this man was insinuating as she grit her teeth.
"Yes, sir." She said, emphasizing the 'sir' just wanting the man to stalk away. Luckily he gave a grunt of approval, muttering where Sasuke was waiting for her before stalking off. He was the kind of man that Sakura really didn't like.
Sakura ignored the strange looks she got from the other maids, some even whispering, and as soon as that soldier was out of sight, she began to head off in the direction she was sure would lead to where Sasuke had instructed her to meet him.
She wasn't sure why he wanted her to meet him in the training area, but she did as she was told.
When she came to the area, she could hear the angry sound of metal that ringed through the air it mercilessly rendered. Peeking in, she saw Sasuke, his sword firmly in the grasp of his right hand as he swung it through the air as if it were the most natural and fluid thing in the world. For a second, Sakura gawked at the fact that he made it look effortless, and that he was not wearing a shirt, training in only his black pants and boots. She wasn't sure how long she had been staring, not realizing it herself until crimson eyes that had been haunted her in her nightmares fixated on her viridian ones, causing her to immediately gasp and quickly enter the room and bow.
"General."
If he had noted that she had been staring at him for a while, he made zero notion of it.
"I see you've had a change of attitude." He observed. Silence fell between the two, however Sakura returned to an upright position. That's right. She had found some determination while this man had been gone. For a moment, she saw some unfamiliar expression cross Sasuke's face, but as always he maintained a stoic exterior unusually well.
She watched as he walked over to the right wall where he had laid down some items. Sakura surmised that it was probably his shirt, the sheath for his sword, and a container of water.
He had been sweating, his skin glistening from the moisture.
While he had been turned away, his red eyes had faded to their original onyx color.
"I want a report of the men you have been able to heal." He continued. He must have decided to ignore the fact that Sakura had chosen not to give a reply to his earlier comment.
"I've been healing them as they have been brought to me. There has not been a single person that has died under my care." Sakura replied back firmly, almost as if she was proud of her work. Sasuke stopped for a moment, as if his body language conveyed his surprise and somewhat disbelief at her words. However, the words that came out of his mouth did not convey that.
"I see." His attention was once more turned towards her. Their eyes met again, viridian with onyx. He had a scowl on his face. At this proximity, Sakura could detect there was a different tone to his eyes. Almost as if he was apologetic. She had forgotten just how much those eyes drew her into their bottomless depths.
"Did… you need me for something?" Sakura asked, desperate to escape his gaze. From this distance she could see everything his torso revealed about him, making her uncomfortable in a foreign way. The scars on his skin, his flat torso and the muscles that he had sculpted with discipline and dedicated time. This only amplified how much he looked as if he didn't belong in this world, his alabaster skin contrasting with his dark features.
"No." He curtly replied. His answer confused Sakura for a moment, making her wonder why he had called for her in the first place. "You're excused. Return to work." His back was once again turned to her as he walked towards a different wall that held different weapons in display.
Sakura, unsure of what to say or do, stared at his retreating form for a moment before realizing that she needed to get going. Without a sounded, she turned from him, and began to walk away, out of the training room and back towards her place in the medical wing.
What exactly had been the purpose of him calling for her? It perplexed her, and yet for some odd reason she couldn't help but feel relieved that he had.
She was lost in thought as she almost mindlessly made her way back to the medical wing, however, suddenly a male, older, but clearly a Uchiha soldier almost ran right into her, in a state of panic.
"Oh thank goodness!" He exclaimed. "You! Your the one who can heal wounds! Please help! My friend! He can't-"
"Where is he? Calm down, I will do what I can to help." Sakura replied, almost as if on instinct, her body kicking into alert.
"Oh thank you!" The soldier praised. "This way!" He began to run off in the direction that Sakura thought he came, though she found it a little odd that the hallway seemed a little dim. Wasn't it in the middle of the day? However, Sakura knew that there was much of Uchiha castle that she had never stepped foot in.
She ran deeper into the hallway, the darkness almost seeming ominous. Her mind was begging her to turn back, the natural human instinct to anything it thought might be a threat.
However, almost out of nowhere, cold hard hands grabbed her from what seemed like just the wall, wrapping a cloth around her face. Panic immediately set in. Sakura screamed as she tried to pry herself away, but her screams were muffled underneath the thick cloth. It was laced with an odd scent, one that her mind told her was familiar, however soon, her world went black.
The evening was approaching fast, and Sasuke found that he was in an unusually foul mood. He had been in a foul mood more often than not lately.
He was stupid for making her come see him, and now he was beyond irritated with himself. It was true that he wanted a report from her own mouth, despite the fact that the soldiers that he had placed on guard to watch her every move had more details to give him than she did herself.
Something had changed in her demeanor, he had sensed it when she greeted him in a respectful way, no matter how forced it may have been on her part.
That look in her eyes however, that defiant and determined glare of her viridian irises hadn't changed, and Sasuke found himself wanting to see them. He hated the way that for some inexplicable reason, he felt almost relieved when she presented herself.
He had noticed that she had stared at him from the door when she had first arrived to the training room. Had she been afraid to approach him? That would be completely unlike her previous demeanor however. In fact, she was one of the few people who had ever dared to challenge him at all… and probably one of the few to live through it.
Sasuke was in his office, dealing with the paperwork and attending to the army reports that he missed while Madara had sent him away. Perhaps this added to his foul mood as well. It left more for him to do when he returned to the castle.
He didn't notice when Madara slithered his way into his office, but Madara immediately had his attention once he heard his voice.
"Where has that pink haired woman been?" He asked, his voice deep and dark. Sasuke frowned, looking up at his King almost as if he was completely confused at the question, however the expression on his face did not show it.
"Last I knew, doing her job." Sasuke responded, uninterested.
"Well apparently no one has seen her for some time." Madara informed Sasuke all too calmly. Immediately the Uchiha general stood from his chair, the legs of his seat screeching from the abrupt movement. Great. Now what the hell was going on?
"She reported to me earlier today. No one has seen her since?" He inquired flatly. "Why was I not informed of this?!" He seethed.
"Sasuke, I was just happened to hear it in passing, which is why I came down to your office to ask." Madara continued. "It seems that perhaps there has been a misunderstanding somewhere."
Sasuke did not like the tone of Madara's voice. It was almost condescending, like Sasuke has utterly failed in his task of keeping that woman in place. "It seems that I have incompetent men. I will take care of the problem immediately." The angry threat in his voice apparent as his face darkened into a displeased scowl. He immediately began to march right past Madara, heading straight for his office door.
"Will you strike her down Sasuke?" Came the questioning voice of Madara, as Sasuke disappeared from the room, leaving Madara's question unanswered.
He could not answer it. Everything that he had ever been taught dictated that he strike her down, and kill anyone who got in his way. Had she planned to run away? Would that explain her earlier behavior? Feigned obedience for the sake of biding her time?!
A million questions ran through his mind as he angrily stomped through the hallway. The first place he would go was straight to the medical wing. He would find out anything he could regarding that woman.
He was nearing the medical wing, one more corridor to pass by before he would begin to interrogate everything there. If anyone so much as hesitated or lied to him, he would cut them down. There was no place for traitors, he would not tolerate it.
Suddenly something green caught his eye in the flicker of dim lights that lit a corridor that strayed off from the main hallway. Green was not a color used to decorate this castle, that he knew. His curiosity dictated that he inspect what the strange green color could be, though his stubbornness demanded that he continue on his way towards the medical wing in his fit of rage.
Letting out an angry growl, his curiosity won over his stubbornness as he decided to investigate the foreign green object. Upon nearing it, he realized that it was a green cloth. Kneeling down, Sasuke picked it up, and immediately recognized the scent that came from it. It didn't take him any longer to figure out what most likely had happened to Sakura. Furious, his eyes bled to crimson as he glared at the cloth, squeezing it in his right fist as it erupted in eternal black flames.
His attention turned to seeking out whoever had done this. He would hunt down whoever had taken Sakura and kill them with his bare hands.
Rough motions, the sounds of hooves beating on the bare earth beneath her, and the darkness is what met Sakura when she began to open her eyes. Her body felt heavy and groggy, however she immediately realized that she had been restrained. A cloth covered her mouth to keep her screams from being heard, and her arms had been entirely bound.
Her eyes had not adjusted yet to the darkness, but based on what she could hear, there was a total of four horses. She knew that she had been taken captive, however who had taken her she did not have an entire idea of, but a small suspicion given that the soldier that had led her to her current predicament had been an Uchiha soldier.
Did they hate her so much that they would kill her themselves? What did they plan to do with her? Did they feel that someone such as herself was really such a threat to their way of life?
She continued to lie there as if she was still passed out. For now, it was probably best that she try to figure out exactly what sort of situation she was in if she had any hope of finding a way out. She didn't expect anyone to come for her.
Sasuke might...
Sakura quickly shut such a ridiculous idea away. He would not. Her mind was stupid for thinking such a thing. She was nothing to a man like him.
"How far do you think we should go?" A deep male voice sounded over the thundering hooves of the horses.
"I don't think we will have to go much further!" Another male voice yelled back in response.
"I just want to get this over with quickly." A third voice sounded off.
Sakura's heart rate began to skyrocket with the implication of what their words meant and she could feel her body flushing with both adrenaline and anxiety. When the stopped would be the only chance she would have at attempting any type of escape, but the chances were they were all Uchiha soldiers, and if they were armed as they most likely were, there was no way she would get far, but she would rather go down putting up a fight.
Determination and defiance. Her mind began to race for different ideas on how she could possibly survive and improve her chances - her gloves! If there was any miniscule chance that Sasuke would go after her, she had to leave him some sort of clue, even if there wasn't much of a chance to begin with. She would have to carefully yank them from her back pocket and toss them while it looked like the galloping from the horse was just throwing her arms around. It was dark so there was most likely a low chance that the soldier would notice, even if he had placed her belly down in front of him on his horse.
Implementing her plan, she let her favorite black gloves fall to the dirt, not knowing whether or not they would be useful to anyone.
Mostly likely whoever Sakura's captors were, they would not be able to escape with her unnoticed from the castle grounds in daylight, and would have most likely made their move in the darkness of the night.
It didn't take long for Sasuke to figure out that four horses were missing, and along with them four soldiers. He wasted no time, demanding answers and instructing the stable attendants to ready his trusted horse, Nyx. His horse was as black as he was furious, her coat giving a beautiful shine in the reflection of the moonlight.
Sasuke had to think quick. He did not have much to go off of. So far, he had only been able to piece together that Sakura had most likely been knocked unconscious, kept hidden during the day as her captors waited for nightfall, and then taken out under the cover of the darkness. Four horses missing meant that there was most likely four soldiers behind the abduction. Uchiha castle and it's surrounded land was surrounded by a forest, but there was only two main roads that led to the clan village and castle that went either North or South. The South road led into the mountains of Indra and would make traversing the terrain difficult, especially at night. The North road however, took it's travelers deeper into the forest.
Most likely, her captors would take the forest route. It was much easier to traverse, especially if they wanted to be stealthy and stay undetected by using no form of light to guide their way. Not that it would have entirely mattered; there was a reason that Sasuke was known as the harbinger of death. None escaped his crimson eyes.
He said nothing as he mounted his mare, Nyx, giving her a sharp kick wIth the heel of his foot, spurring her into motion. The onyx of his eyes were immediately replaced by his crimson ones as he began to use their prowess to search for things that would otherwise be undetectable to the regular eye.
His suspicion had been right, and he knew that he was not far behind their trail.
The evidence of recently traveled earth and fresher hoof prints was evident to Sasuke as he commanded Nyx to gallop at her quickest pace.
Something caught his detailed vision that seemed a little displaced along the dull dirt of the pathway, shining slightly in the moonlight. In response, he pulled Nyx to a stop, effortlessly dismounting her as he landed onto the hard dry earth beneath him with an audible thud. Reaching down to pick up the item that had caught his attention, he realized that they were Sakura's. These were the blasted gloves that the maids had told him she insisted that she kept, and that he had seen her use while she healed the wounds of his soldiers.
Had she dropped them on purpose, or had these been dropped by mere coincidence?
Grasping the gloves firmly in his hand, he once again mounted his horse, ready to continue his pursuit.
It didn't seem like they had rode for much longer because Sakura heard her captors slow their horses down, the animals grunting and huffing as they did. It had given her just enough time come up with some sort of an idea. At a minimum, she was going to put up resistance.
"Here's good." One of the men voiced. "Honestly with a whole forest, no one is going to comb it that thoroughly, and that's if anyone even bothers to come looking."
"Don't you think that we could have just a little fun before having to do the hard part?" Another asked. Sakura did not like the tone in his voice. It sent shivers down her spine.
"Yeah!" Another one agreed. "We almost never get any time for that with such a hardass for a general!"
The men snickered.
"I can't believe that she's been passed out this long. She's way too easy!"
"Well get her weak ass off the horse! It would be way more fun if she was awake to enjoy the things we do to her."
Sakura could hear footsteps approaching. Rampant fear was coursing through her body knowing what could happen. Her mind and body screamed for escape, just any way out of this situation as she willed it to calm down. She had to think rationally. Just a little more! A few more seconds and the wait would be over and she would put her plan into motion.
She could a presence closing in on her, and the moment that she felt the slightest touch she growled, throwing her head back as hard and as fast as she could. A sharp pain immediately rang through her skull, along with the pained scream from the male behind her.
"You bitch!" He cursed, stumbling backwards. This was her chance! She used the momentum from her headbutt to land herself on her feet, taking off as soon as she felt the earth beneath them.
"Shit! Get her!" Another one screamed. Sakura could hear their loud footprints pursuing her, and the clank of metal. She had to go faster! She had to escape. This was her only chance!
It was short lived however as a rough hand grabbed her arm, yanking her mercilessly back as one of the males threw her to the cold hard Earth. Sakura began to scream, despite the fact that the tie around her face muffled the sound. It was a natural reaction. She tried to push away, desperately reaching to try and get up to run again, but the male forced her to the ground, pinning her with her face to the dirt.
"Somehow it's always more exciting when they resist!" He taunted. Sakura could feel herself easily being overpowered, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes as the gravity and fear of her situation, the helplessness that she was beginning to feel sinking in. They would take every bit of dignity she had before throwing her away like trash! Was this the way her life was going to end?!
She had to fight! She refused to be helpless!
"Whoa, hey dude!" One of the male voices sounded, almost in disbelief. "We weren't really ser-"
"Shut up! What does it matter to you what I do to this bitch?!" The man on top of her spat back. Silence. The other men did nothing to defend her. Sakura screamed, desperately thrashing in an attempt to break free. However, her petite slim frame and strength seemed no match for the man on top of her as he grasped her arms in a binding grip that she was sure would causes bruises. Almost as if it was no challenge, he flipped her around onto her back. It was dark and she couldn't see the details of his face. Sakura didn't stop screaming. How could those other men stand there and pretend like this wasn't happening?!
The man on top of her weaseled his way between her legs, one arm pinning her binded hands above her. Sakura was sobbing with her screams. His other hand wrestled her legs down. Suddenly the glow of red caught her eye.
"What do you think you're doing?!" A menacing voice snarled, startling all of them. Sakura was hysterical at this point, but she immediately knew who the man was. Daring to look over, she felt the familiarity of his haunting eyes.
"S-sir! This little bitch was trying to escape! We caught her so-" but he was abruptly cut off.
"I'm going to ask you one more time." The voice demanded, low and threatening. "What do you think you are doing?" Sakura could hear the man who was on top of her audibly gulp and he scrambled off of her. She watched as Sasuke's dark figure inched closer, and the other figures begin to step backwards in fear.
"I-I told you! We found-"
"Sato shut up! He-"
Suddenly the sharp high pitched ring of metal being ripped from its sheath sounded through the air as Sakura saw the reflection of Sasuke's sword rip through the throat of one of the men. The remaining three let out a whimper of fear, their natural reactions demanding they retreat, as if their fear was palpable. Sakura clenched her eyes shut as the terrified sounds of men screaming and metal rendering their flesh rang through the air, the scent of fresh blood invading her nose.
"Men like you have no place in this world!" Sasuke snarled as he took their lives without a second thought, without hesitation, their lifeless bodies falling to the earth like heavyweight.
Though it felt much longer than it took, Sakura couldn't help but realize that she felt a small amount of relief. Sasuke had come for her after all. Silence filled their air for a moment after the last man was slain, before Sakura heard footsteps resume, coming towards her. In response, she slowly opened her viridian eyes, daring to see Sasuke. His eyes were still glowing an angry crimson red, and Sakura found herself mesmerized by them as if she would be okay being sent to the depths of hell in their gaze. Without a word, he grabbed her, albeit a little roughly, flipping her over to her front again as he took his sword to swifty cut the fabric that covered her mouth and bound her arms.
"Explain." He demanded, his voice angry and sharp. He was still just as threatening, just as demon-like as Sakura knew him to be. She shivered at his voice. For the first time since she had met this man, her defiant and challenging nature had shrunken away. She had been terrified at the thought of that man forcing himself on her, and no one coming to her aid, not even the ones who were willing to stand there and let it happen.
"I-I was… T-they… I-" Sakura stumbled, knowing that Sasuke likely did not have the patience for her inability to give him an answer. She was waiting for him to display his irritation at her, but what caught off guard when all she was met with was an agitated, frustrated grunt.
"Sakura." Sasuke growled, the strain of bringing himself under control evident.
"I'm sorry." Sakura couldn't stop herself as she broke out into a sob. It didn't matter how much she didn't want to cry, didn't want to be weak, her body was doing it on its own. She just wanted to lock these feelings, this fear, away. Push them to the farthest corners of her mind.
"Give me a reason why I shouldn't believe them and end your life." Sasuke demanded, indifference still in his voice. He still held his sword as if he could strike and kill any second. Sakura found herself somewhat confused at his distrust towards her, despite the fact that he had slain those men without so much as allowing them any words of explanation. Why would he bother killing them and letting her live if he had so much distrust towards her? What would be the point?!
"Go ahead Sasuke! Do it then!" Sakura angrily sobbed, daring to glare at the Uchiha general. "It would be more merciful and less pitiful than begging you for my life!" His crimson eyes glared back into her viridian ones, as if contemplating her dare. He said nothing in response, however she could hear him rip off his black hooded coat, tossing it to her as he let out an angry, frustrated growl.
"Put that on." He sneered, as he turned away, sheathing his sword. He gave a sharp whistle, and Sakura could hear what sounded like the thumping of hooves headed their way. Her eyes still couldn't see that well in the darkness, however, in the moonlight she saw a beautiful pure black horse come to Sasuke's call.
Sakura did as he said, throwing on the black coat and closing the fasten around her neck. The coat almost drowned her much smaller and petite form considering that it had been made to fit Sasuke's. For a moment she had to marvel at the black horse as it gave it's greeting to its master. Sakura couldn't help but think that the horse was dark and alluring, much like Sasuke. How alike they were.
"Do not speak a word of this to anyone."
Sakura could only find herself giving him a small nod indicating that she understood him as she watched him effortlessly mount the black majestic animal as he reached down to Sakura, offering her his hand as his crimson eyes studied her. For a moment, Sakura was unsure of whether to take it. If she took his hand, how much further would he consume her? How much further would she fall into the deep, dark pit of the forbidden longing she was beginning to feel for Sasuke?
Sasuke's eyes burned.
He had used his sharingan for much too long looking for that damn woman.
They did not speak a word to each other as they rode back to the castle in the dead of the night, the sound of his mare Nyx's hooves thundering against the ground the only thing from keeping the forest from being eerily silent. He had used ameterasu to burn those men's bodies into nothing once they left, something he would not allow Sakura to see. He wanted to no evidence of their existence left. They did not deserve such a thing.
He had indeed found them not longer after they had stopped, camouflaging himself in the shadows as he observed what was going on. He needed to in order to confirm his assumptions and intervene at the right time. He watched her attempt to struggle, he watched her determination to escape, but the sight of that man on top of Sakura, the tears that streamed down her face and look of terror and helplessness that was strewn on her face had been eternally ingrained into his mind thanks to the curse of his eyes. He did not know why, but it had angered him in a way that he did not and could not understand.
He understood death, he understood duty, he understood loyalty… but he did not understand why he felt shame in allowing such a thing to happen. In that moment, he wanted to fiercely protect Sakura from it, and it made him angry.
Before he had even managed to arrive at the scene, he had already pieced together enough information to know that this whole thing had not been Sakura's fault, and that she had been a victim. The fact that those men suddenly accused her of trying to run away and pretend that they were doing the right thing by capturing her was already absurd to him at that point. The false excuses only fueled his anger.
However, despite the mounting evidence against them, the tiniest voice of doubt always clouded Sasuke's mind, making him ask the 'what if' question. He had slain those men without so much as a warning, without so much as a second to consider their excuses, and he felt no remorse in doing so.
The 'what it' question left Sakura under his scrutiny, and his way of thinking, his way of doing things demanded that he put her under suspicion as well. He still could not trust her, despite the fact that deep down he already knew the answers. For the first time since he had met that pink haired, viridian eyed woman, she did not have that defiant, challenging tone to her eyes that he found enticing. No, they had been filled with terror and resentment tonight. In fact, she had almost resigned herself to it, and it made Sasuke furious. Furious at himself that he had waited so long to deal with the problem. Despite the fact that he felt turmoil, he had still be cold towards her in the end.
Sasuke knew that Sakura would have bruises that decorated her skin tomorrow, and that she would not be able to tell a single person about it. Though it was a silly thought that he immediately dismissed. If she could mend ripped apart gaping wounds, she could definitely heal a few bruises.
When they finally arrived back at the castle, he swiftly guided her inside, hoping the black coat would shield her from any possible and prying eyes thought it was the very early hours of the morning. She returned his cloak to him, mumbling a 'thanks' though she avoided any eye contact in doing so before walking off in the direction of the maid's quarters without another word or look at him.
There was a tight knot in his chest, though he ignored it as he watched her back shrink with the distance she put between them.
Shortly after, he decided to return to his bedchambers to try and calm his burning eyes. He would need a good night's rest if he had any hope of them recovering to where he was no longer uncomfortable, but something told him that he was not going to sleep well that night.
All he could think about was what had happened, and how he could prevent such a thing from happening again. He would be logical and methodical about it. The fact that he had soldiers that were willing to do such horrible things made him hate the fact that there were Uchiha was no honor. Uchiha held honor in high regard. He had always been a man of honor, no matter how cruel he could be. Second, Sakura's abilities made her both valuable and a target. He needed her to keep healing the soldier's in their army, but he also needed a better way to safeguard her as an asset, and that meant that perhaps she should know at least the basics of defending herself.
For a moment Sasuke's mind wandered off to the thought of her petite and small frame making any sort of defence training possibly useless, remembering how tiny she had felt against him when he had pulled her up to sit in front of him on Nyx to bring her back.
It was almost like she had belonged there, and Sasuke didn't find himself hating it.
Another chapter finished! Phew! I hope that this chapter was exciting as I am getting around to introducing new characters, and revealing things that will play a very big part in the future!
I really hope that you guys will leave me a review! I really enjoy reading your thoughts! My writing can always improve as well, so I am also always up for CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.
Thanks for reading! Reviews really help motivate me to write new stuff! I currently do not have any idea how long the next chapter will take, but expect some even more interesting things to take place!