Pain, an ungodly amount of pain is what Sakura was awoken to. She knew it was going to happen, and if she was honest with herself this wasn't the worst that she felt. No, The days after Madara was defeated she prayed that death would just be merciful and take her. Thankfully her prayers were not answered and she eventually got up to live another day.
The pain, though it was something that she could live without. Tsunade had warned her when she first started to gather chakra to her seal, that after it was released the body will overcompensate and the user would feel like shit. Well, shit was something she could have dealt with. No, every time it felt like a pack of wolves were ripping her limb from limb. There was always a price to pay. Was it worth it? Right now Sakura wasn't sure, but she knew once the pain receded she would forever be grateful for the seal on her forehead. She just hated it right now. Squeezing her eyes shut she groaned as she rolled over on the bed. Wait. A bed. The last thing that she remembered was falling into Kakashi. Had he gotten them back home?
Slowly she opened her eyes. Her lids felt as if they were tied down by weights, but she had to see where the hell she was at. It took a moment for her sight to adjust to the dimly lit room. The walls were stone and they glistened with condensation. She took a breath through her nose and the smell of mildew filled her nostril. This was most definitely not her home, nor the hospital. She tried to sigh but noticed that her mouth felt like she just finished licking up all the sand in Suna. She attempted to swallow with what little saliva she had, but that only resulted in a coughing fit that made the pain sharply shoot through her body. Closing her eyes again as an animalistic groan rumbled from her chest.
"Ah, so you're awake finally," she heard Kakashi drawl. He sounded farther away than she would like. Clenching her teeth she rolled again in bed and attempted to sit. That's when she noticed the clinking and something that was weighing her wrists and ankles down.
"Kakashi?" She managed to push out past her dry throat. It came our rough and was followed by another coughing fit that made her nearly scream.
"Don't move too much Sakura." He ordered. Inwardly she snorted at the man. She knew that moving would only make the pain worse, but she needed to know where they were and why the hell she had what felt like chains on her. There was some more clinking of metal against metal and a few footsteps. Great, it seemed Kakashi was bound too. Out of curiosity, she cycled her chakra to her hands, which caused enough pain for her to hiss, but she was surprised to find that the bindings were not chakra suppressors. Whoever put them here were fools.
"There is a small stand next to the bed and there is a glass of water on it," Kakashi said in a softer tone. She frowned a bit knowing that he had to watch her go through this again. He had already told her MANY times how much he hated it. That to see her in such a state was near torture because there was nothing that he could do about it. Then again, he should be happy because of the seal, she had saved his life a few times. If this is what she had to deal with to make sure her team didn't die, or that she didn't lose any limbs it was worth it.
She took a deep breath and attempted to roll over, but the pain was intensifying the more she moved. There was no way she could reach the water. She whimpered as she let her body roll to her back.
"Can she get some help down here?" She heard Kakashi yell and his chains clinked some more. She stared up at the stone ceiling, the glass of water Kakashi said was only a few feet away. "Come on! She needs some help!" The was a loud thud, Kakashi must have hit something. Her brows furrowed slightly, why didn't he break or pick off the shackles. They felt completely civilian, and she knew he was more than capable of getting out of them. Then why didn't he?
The sharp sound of hard heeled boots against stone echoed through the room followed by a gruff male voice. "What are you yelling at?"
"She can't reach the water, she needs help," Kakashi said with authority in his voice. It was the same voice he used as Hokage.
"We were instructed by Commander Erwin not to enter the cells." The man said bluntly. Kakashi sighed.
"Please, she hasn't drunk anything for four days." Four days! She had been out for four days! "She is too injured to reach the glass. She is probably dehydrated."
"She doesn't look injured to me."
"She isn't well, please just fucking help her." There was an awkward pause. Sakura tried to sigh, but another round of coughs came that made her cry our in pain. "I am sure your commander will not look kindly on you if you let her die from dehydration. She is not well and needs the damn water." The guard, because it is now crystal clear that they are indeed prisoners, snorted but the noise was followed by clanks and then a click of a lock disengaging. The heavy footfalls let Sakura know that the man was now right next to her bed. It took all her willpower to move her head and look in his direction.
A man stood next her bed staring down at her, his blonde hair gathered into a bun while his bangs framed his brown eyes. His eyes were hard as he gazed at her face frowning as he did so. After a moment, he let his eyes roam her body. At this point Sakura was getting fed up, he was supposed to get her the fucking water, not stare at her. If she could have passed the words past her dry throat she would have screamed at him. She hated the way he was looking at her. It reminded her too much of that time. She slowly closed her eyes and squeezed them shut. Don't even go there she mentally berated herself. It does no good to look back. Keep moving forward.
"You look like shit." The man grumbled. She cracked her eye open to look at him once more. His gaze was still hard but it softened a little. She wanted to snort at him. Yeah, she looked like shit, that tended to happen when your body pushed it's cells to heal at a rapid rate. Attaching not only one but two legs... How much time did she loose off of her life? It had to be years.
She watched the man as he reached over and took the glass from the table, he stood for a moment and looked at her then sighed as he pushed his hand under her neck and lifted her slightly. She groaned as another bout of sharp pains shot down her back. Once the man had her properly propped up he brough the cup to her lips. The glass was cold against her dry skin and it caused a shiver to run down her back. The moment the liquid ran into her mouth she gulped greedily to only regret the action the moment after. Taking in such a large amount of water on an empty stomach caused it to suddenly cramp. She winced at the pain causing her to spit some of the water that was in her mouth out The man gently lowered her a bit and looked down at her with furrowed brows.
"Would you like more?" He asked as he raised the cup. A cough was once again past her lips before she was able to form words. Weakly she nodded and his grip under her neck tightened slightly as he raised her again. "Perhaps not so fast this time." She wanted to scowl at him but she looked up to see that his face had completely softened and a small smirk pulled at his lips. She sighed as he once again brough the drink to her and then she took several shallow consecutive sips.
She pushed her head back slightly to let the man know that she was done. Thankfully he understood the message and gently placed her head down on the pillow. She watched as he turned and placed the water on the small side table. He drew his attention back to her and gave her a small smile.
"My name is Eld. Eld Jinn." He said with a small nodd. She cleared her throat a bit, wincing as she did.
"Sakura." She said roughly.
"Yes, I remember." He smiled warmly at her. She furrowed her brows for a moment. Remember, when has he ever seen her? Then she remembered. Ah, he must have been with the group that had found them, but at the time, they made thier appearance she was a bit distracted. She closed her eyes and attempted a small nod. She then tried to open her lids and it felt as if they were weighted. That was fine she could sleep. That was when she noticed that her pain was slowly receding as her body felt as if it was sinking to the floor. Forcing her eyes open to looked at the blonde man standing above her. Any kindness he had just shown was wiped off of his face as he stared down at her stoically. Her breathing increased at it hit her. She was drugged or poisoned. Oh, gods no.. Not again. Her eyes widened as she stared at him. Stupid. How could she have been so stupid not to have checked the liquid with chakra? Yeah, it may have hurt like hell but this would not have happened. She struggled to pull herself up, but could barely move.
"Kakashi," She tried to yell but it came out as a soft bark.
"Sakura, relax you are fine." He said in a soft voice. No, she was not fine. There was something that she didn't know in her system, and right now she was too weak to purge it. How in the flying fuck was this fine? She again struggled to get up but her body was getting heavier. That's when the man standing next to her put his large hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down into the bed. She tried to move her arm but it wouldn't listen to her.
"You should listen to your friend and calm down." Eld said as he gripped her shoulder. No, she was not going to calm down. Especially with a stranger standing next to her. She tried to struggle but nothing was listening to her. This could not be happening. Her heart was even slowing to a resting rate. It was odd to panic while her body was relaxing. She let out a sobbed sigh and suddenly felt a tear rolling from the corner of her eyes. Damn it, she hated crying and she really hated crying in front of other people.
"Listen to me. You are fine. I would not let anything happen to you." Kakashi's voice sounded like it was underwater and blackness was creeping into her vision. The last thing she thought before she was taken under was: liar.
Sakura's eyes began to flutter open from her dreamless sleep. She groggery sighed and arched her back stretching her stiff muscles. That was when the smell of mildew hit her. Sitting up quickly she looked forward to see iron bars infront of her. She frowned as she looked around the stone walls and it all came slamming back. She recalled where she was.
"Kakashi." She croaked as she tried to stand from bed nearly falling out because chains were awkwardly holding her back.
"Sakura?" his voice was groggy like he had just woken up.
"What the hell is going on?" She asked through her dry throat. She then looked over to her side table to see a glass of water sitting there. Fuck that. Deceiving little bastard. She heard him groan than the sound of chains moving and feet padding towards her. she turned and walked to the bars placing her hands on the iron wrought. Across from a dimly light hall stood Kakashi. He was wearing the black undergarments of his ANBU gear, but nothing else. Including his mask. His usual gravity-defying hair laid limply in front of his eyes. Right not she could care less about seeing his face. She had had a few glimpses here and there, so it wasn't shocking to see really. Though she couldn't make out too many details due to the dimly lit area.
"How are you feeling?" He asked as he wrapped his fingers around the bars. She frowned a moment. She felt fine. Absolutely fine. Besides feeling stiff from laying too long, and starved. She no longer had any pain. How much longer had she slept?
"Fine." She glared at him. He knew there was something in her water but he didn't tell her. That was the only reason he would have stayed so calm. He let out a long relieved sigh.
"Good. You know you were freaking out our hosts the first couple of days with all the screaming." He ran his hand through his limp hair and smiled at her. She hardened her glare. She was not going to let a nice smile distract her from what happened. Damn it, he had a nice smile.
"How long was I asleep for?" She asked him flatly.
"I think six days. It get's kinda hard to tell the time down here." He shrugged. Six days! Usually, she was only out for a few days at most. Unless she used her seal for a long time. Which she hadn't done since the war. After that time, she was passed out for nearly two and a half weeks.
"You let them drug me." She snapped tightening her grip on the bars. She could feel the dents that her fingers were making in the iron.
"Ah, well that was my idea." He smiled and scratched the back of his neck. Her eyes widened and her jaw opened. He thought it was a good idea to drug her? Drug her when they were... Where ever the fuck it was they were.
"WHAAAT?" She screamed and felt the metal begin to crack under her hands. "YOU DID WHAT?"
"Sakura calm down, and let go of the bars." He sighed and talked slowly. Slowly like he was talking to a clueless child. She snorted at him but let go of bars. She looked at the hand indents that she left for a moment before returning her glare to the man standing across from her.
"Calm down." She dryly chuckled. "Calm down? Well, fuck you Kakashi! Do you know how it feels to get drugged and you don't know what was going on! I thought I was being prepped for torture!" She pulled her hand forward snapping the chain behind her.
"Sakura! Stand down." Oh, now he was going to order her around like he was still the fucking Hokage. Well, he wasn't, he wasn't even the fucking captain of this mission. He had no right.
"You are not the captain here Sensei!" She growled out. He let out another sigh and rested his head against the bar.
"I know that. Sakura, after you use you seal you can't move, you just lie there in pain for days. It is better if you can sleep it off." He said softly and shook his head.
"You didn't even tell me!" She hissed.
"Because you would have refused."
"Hell yeah, I would have! We don't even know what's going on! I mean where the hell are we? Why are we prisoners? Why haven't you broke out of your cell? Gotten out of you shackles?" She could feel the blood pooling in her face and her nostrils flaring as she yelled. All she wanted to do was punch something! She quickly looked around, she couldn't tell the structural integrity of the building from her cell. Punching would not be a wise idea unless she wanted to cave the structure in on them. She looked up as Kakashi snorted and slammed his hand against the bars.
"What good would keeping you awake have done!" He yelled at her causing her to take a step back. Kakashi had never yelled at her before. "You think letting you go through all that pain while I tried to figure out those questions would have done ANYTHING! No Sakura, it would not. I have been doing that since we got here and if anything were to have fucking happened then I could get out of this cell in five seconds flat." He yelled and hit his hand against the bars again.
"Five second flat huh?" A man appeared in the hallway. Sakura looked over at him and glared. This one was also blond, but his hair was styled shorter and had a deep side part. Her eyes shifted to his but were distracted by his brows. They were large and thick. She scanned his face and realized that this man if his hair was styled into a bowl-cut he could pass for a blonde haired blue eyes Gai. Thankfully he was not wearing a green jumpsuit. "I wouldn't mind seeing that, as no one has been able to get out of the cells that I know of." He smirked from Kakashi to Sakura. The smile falling as he looked at the dents in the bars in front of her.
"Erwin," Kakashi said boredly. Sakura looked back to him and furrowed her brow. It seemed that Kakashi was getting friendly with the natives while he drugged her.
"Kakashi," The blonde man greeted back. "It is nice to see your partner is finally awake." He turned to Sakura and smiled. She just stood there and glared. She wasn't going to smile at someone who had her chained and in a cage like some animal. The last person that made that mistake didn't make it out with their life. "Sakura was it?"
"Yeah," She ground out.
"Erwin Smith. It's nice to finally meet you. We have been anxious about your recovery." He said as he pulled a chair that was pushed against the wall to the center of the hall and took a seat. She didn't respond just stared at the man. "Anyways, Levi and his squad told me about what they saw. They said that you took down fifteen titans." Erwin calmly crossed his legs.
"Titans?" Sakura asked without any inflection in her voice.
"The as you put it, "Giant, cannibalistic, drunk toddlers," Kakashi said with a smirk. Huh, so those things were called Titans.
"Huh, haven't heard them described in that manner," Erwin said as he turned a sharp eye at Sakura. She just lifted a brow and looked at the man. She didn't know what to make of the man. His mannerisms came off as non-threatening, but on the other hand, both she and Kakashi were shackled in some type of prison. That isn't the most welcoming of circumstances. "However, taking fifteen down between two people... That it typically unheard of. There are only two others that I think may have been able to execute that many in one outing. Though I do believe that it would have been more of a struggle for them." His gaze flicked between both as he talked. She supposed that perhaps this was a type of flattery, but he was speaking cautiously. He sat silent for a minute, maybe waiting for them to say anything, but both stood still just looking at the man. "I was also informed that you could not find your way back to your home." He said as his icy blue eyes turned to Sakura. She immediatly turned to look at Kakashi who was frowning as he looked at the ground. "Are you from a settlement from beyond the walls?" He turned to look at Kakashi now. Sakura watched the silver haired man like a hawk. This was and ANBU mission, no information of where they are from was to be given no matter what.
"No," Kakashi sighed. She narrowed her eyes. Erwin's thick brows knitted while he looked between the two.
"You are not from within these walls. I have never seen anyone with pink hair or a young man with white hair. I am sure I would have noticed, even if you were to come from the underground. Unique features such as that would be talked about." He eyed Sakura skeptically.
"Underground?" She asked as she tilted her head slightly. He smirked at her as a small chuckle left him.
"You are defiantly not from within the walls if you don't know of the underground. It's an underground city that was created when the titans first appeared. People thought that it would be safer there. Though the walls were then built and people built the cities and towns within them, leaving the underground for the poor, the sick, and unwanted. The casts off of societies." Sakura's mouth pulled down into a frown as she clenched her hands. The cast offs? The people that are in the most need of help just shoved away as trash. Left to waste away under the earth. It seemed that the titans were not the only monsters in this place. She grits her teeth as she hardened her gaze at the man. "So if you are not from within the walls, where is it that you hail from?"
"We are not from here." Kakashi drawled and looked up at Sakura. Her eyes snapped to his. "Nowhere close to here."
"Enough with the vague answers, where is it exactly you are from?" Erwin asked in a hard voice. "We need to know if there are others out there." Sakura could hear the strain in his voice as he pleaded.
"No. We are not from any villages or towns from past these walls." Kakashi said slowly. "I don't even think that we come from the same... world." Sakura sucked in air as she looked at him with wide eyes. Blonde bushy brows furrowed lower as he looked at Kakashi.
"Explain," Erwin commanded. Kakashi looked up at Sakura and licked his lips before looking back to Erwin.
"We come from a village called Konoha. It is located in the Land of Fire..."
"Kakashi!" Sakura yelled as her eyes went wider. No, he should not be telling them this.
"Sakura, it really doesn't matter anymore." He said as he narrowed his eyes at her. How? How can it not matter? Friend or Foe she didn't know. But she would rather not take the chance. "Just listen to me. Believe in me." he sighed out. She let her face relax and nodded at him. He may not always tell the truth, but he always tried to protect her. He turned his gaze back to Erwin. "The Land of Fire is a part of the Elemental nations. We are.. I don't know what you would call us.. Protectors of our village. We were assigned a mission to located a disturbance at the border. We thought that there may have been another village who was acting hostile, we weren't sure. So our leader sent Sakura and I there. Once we got there that is when we encountered the titans. He fought them, pushing them back. It was too late when I noticed the change the in the landscape. The trees were much larger than the ones at home, the air was drier. It really didn't matter, though. The longer we fought the more of those things appeared. We were fighting for a half an hour before one of your teams located us. After taking care of the last monster, we stopped for medical attention then tried to return back to the area where we came from. Only to find that whatever we passed through was no longer there." Sakura stood still and watched Erwin closely. It sounded crazy, hell even to her and crazy shit happened all the time in her world. The blonde sat still taking Kakashi's words in. No emotion played on his face. Well, she supposed that it was good that he was not laughing, but the way he was sitting like a statue was a little unnerving.
"I see," Erwin said carefully. "I can't say that I believe you. Then again there have been many strange happenings currently." He ran his hand slowly under his chin. "Though I don't believe that you wish us any harm. Levi also said that the two of you would make an excellent addition to our forces. You should take that as the highest flattery, Captian Levi is not one to deal out compliments easily." The blonde man stood from his chair and placed it against the wall. "I am sorry, I do not know how to get the two of you back to where you said you came from. I do have two options for you. The first is that I would hand you over to to the military police to sort this mess out. I cannot say that they would be helpful or kind. They do not take to strangers well, and I do not know what thier reaction would be of two foreigners coming in. Especially in the current atmosphere. Currently, the courts are unaware of the appearance of the two of you. There were more pressing manners that needed to be addressed. The second option is that you join with the survey corps. You work with us to eliminate the titans. You may also have the chance to make it back to the spot in the gaint forest and see if you can make it back home. I leave the decision to the two of you."
"Not really much of a choice there," Sakura snorted as she took a step closer to the bars. Erwin arched one thick brow as he looked over at her. "You are basically saying if we refuse to join you, we will be more than likely tortured and or killed." She snapped. The asshole just smirked at her.
"That is one way of putting it." He said as he cocked his head. She looked over to Kakashi his eyes boring into her. Her lips pulled into a tight line. She did not like ultimatums. Not at all. She looked back at the chains still attached to her then to the bars. Why the hell are they listening to blonde bushy brows? They could break out without a problem, then figure out how the hell to get home. She looked back to Kakashi. He shook his head slightly as he stared at her. She knitted her brows at him. Why was he playing this man's game?
"We'll aid your survey corps," Kakashi said slowly. Keeping his eyes on her face. She scowled at him. Erwin turned to Kakashi and nodded his head.
"I appreciate the choice that you have made. I have made arrangments for you to join Levi's squad. Squad leader Hanji and her team are currently preparing to meet with them." He took a step closer to Sakura's cell. "I was also told by my subordinated that you reattached your legs after they were bit off." He asked as he took another step forward. "Is that true?" Sakura stood straighter and looked up at his face. She gave him a curt nodd. His eyes bored into her as she stared right back. "I see." He said as he turned away and looked at Kakashi. "I would very much like to see you escape your bindings and cells in five seconds."
"Erwin said that the two of you got out of your cells in less than five seconds!" The one they called Hanji skipped next to them as they walked to the supply wagon. Her brown hair bouncing as she walked. Pushing up her glasses she looked over to Kakashi who was reading his orange book. "So this whole time you two could have gotten out? Just like that?" Kakashi hummed at the woman. Sakura stayed quite, the second impact of using her seal was starting. The hunger. Her stomach began to twist as the need for food was becoming more urgent. "Wow. I don't know of anyone that could do that. Hell, I don't even know if Levi could." She let out a hard laugh as she released the door to the back of the wagon. "Your chariot awaits." She smiled at them as she turned and presented the supply wagon as if it was some royal ride. Sakura nodded at the woman as Kakashi hummed at her. They both climbed in and took a seat on top of some supply crates. Sakura sighed. There was probably food sitting right under her and she was not able to get to it. "Ok, we will be off momentary. Enjoy your ride." Hanji grinned at them shutting the rear hatch. She waved and skipped away.
"Well, she sure seems perky," Kakashi said as he leaned against the canvas cover of the wagon lowering his book. Sakura looked up at him and studied his face. He was still maskless which was surprising. The few glimpses she had seen of him was at the hospital, and those times were barely a second at the time. She would admit that he was a good looking man. Not drop dead gorgeous like many had conspired him to be, but nice. His features fit well together. He had a strong jaw line, full lips and a nose that may be a little too big and round, but with his lazy drooped eyes, it worked. Sakura had to stop herself from snorting as she saw the beauty mark on his chin. Well, shit no one had won the bet. She put her money down on having a wart, and the beauty mark could not be considered a wart.
Her attention was drawn back to herself as her stomach began to rumble and gurgle. She needed food and some food soon, otherwise she was sure her stomach was going to digest itself.
"Do you have any food on you?" She attempted not to whine but was pretty sure it came out that way. Kakashi looked up at her arching a brow and shook his head.
"I have some in a travel scroll, but they took everything away once we got here. Though Erwin said that all of out supplies are awaiting us once we get back." He said as he lifted his book in front of his face. Sakura groaned as her stomach growled again.
The ride took nearly an hour and the whole time Sakura was uncomfortable. She was so hungry that she felt nauseous and her bones were beginning to ache. After she recovered from the pain of regeneration she could eat even Choji under the table. Her breath hitched, what if they don't have enough food? She needed to eat and eat a lot, what if this nation had rations. Oh, that was not going to work. She did have some food in her pack, but that was not going to be enough. Though her mouth was watering as she thought of the candied locus that Gaara had sent her.
The wagon came to a sudden stop and Sakura craned her neck trying to look if they reached thier destination. "We have arrived!" Hanji appeared as she swung the back hatch open. Sakura jumped off and looked at the position of the sun. It was mid afternoon probably an hour past lunch. She hoped that there was some type of food somewhere in this... She turned and looked up at a large castle. Her brow raised as she looked over the huge building. She had seen pictured of structures like this in books before but never in real life. There were several peaks that stood taller than the Hokage's tower.
"My pint-sized Captain!" Hanji yelled next to Sakura causing her to jump. Sakura turned her gaze to a short man with dark hair who was slowly walking towards them.
"Look I have brought you someone who is just your size." She beamed as she patted Sakura roughly on the head. It took everything in her not to grab and flip the woman to the ground. She was on edge being in a new place, surrounded by strangers, and she was fucking starving.
"Oh gah Shitty Glasses, did you forget to bathe again?" The dark haired man scowled at Hanji. Sakura looked to Kakashi who still had his nose in a book then back to Hanji who was still beaming at the man.
"Nope made sure I did since I knew I was going to see your adorable little grumpy face," She said as she took his chin between her thumb and forefingers. He swatted her away and scowled deeper. "Anyways, I believe that the aroma is coming from your two new recruits here." She pushed Sakura and pulled Kakashi forward. Levi looked them over and wrinkled his nose.
"They haven't been bathed since they got here?" He furrowed his brow. "And those are the clothes that they had on. Pink still has blood caked on her. Erwin couldn't take care of that?" He grumbled. Sakura looked down at her bare arm, yup there was still dried blood on her skin. Funny that she wouldn't even notice that. Though in her defense there was a lot that was going on since she woke up from her sensei inflicted coma. She took a deep breath in through her nose. She did smell rip. Though a bath could wait. She had more pressing matter to deal with.
"Is there food in there?" She blurted out to the man. He gazed at her through hooded eyes and raised a brow.
"You can eat after you are washed." He sure did have a deep voice for being so small, she mused for a moment before his words hit her.
"Uh no, we will eat then bath." She said as she glared at him.
"No. You will not bring your filth into the dining room. Who knows what you will contaminate it with." He said boredly. She scowled at him. "Petra," He called as he looked over his shoulder. A girl with honey hair came bounding to his side.
"Yes Captain?" She replied as she stepped next to him.
"Gather clean clothes for these two and deliver them to the lavatory." He ordered.
"Yes, sir." She gave him a strong nod. Her eyes roamed over Sakura and Kakashi for a moment then she bounded off to the castle. Sakura still stood glaring at the little man infront of her. She could eat him if she needed to. The thought made her smirk. He narrowed his eyes and looked at her for a moment before turning.
"Follow me." He said over his shoulders and began to walk off.
Sakura could care less about learning the lay out of the castle. No all she could focus on was how to get something to eat. She supposed that if there was a bar of soap she could take a bit of that just so she could have something in her stomach. She wrapped her arms around her stomach. Briefly, she wondered if this was what Naruto felt like when he was able to go through ten bowls of ramen. Though for her that would just be an appetizer right now.
They continued to follow Levi in silence. Kakashi reading his book as he walked and her debating if she could possibly eat the stone of the walls that were surrounding them. She was so lost in her possible spur of the moment pica disorder that she had almost ran into the small man as he stopped infront of a door.
"Don't stand so close to me right now," He said as he wrinkled his nose. The urge to hit something came rolling back in. Hell, she knew she smelled. There was nothing she could do about it in the hallway."Here is the washroom." He said as he opened the door." Sakura craned her neck and looked into the fairly large room to see two lines of clawfoot tubs. She then looked back to Levi.
"Coed?" She asked in a hard tone. He just arched a brow and looked at her. It was a little odd looking at someone straight in the eyes. She so used to craning her neck up to look at anyone.
"There are not enough women in the survey corps to justify same sex bathrooms." He said in a bored tone. "That and this is an old building there are only one two rooms that have plumbing. This and the kitchen." She frowned as she looked back to the room. She could feel her heart start to race.
"There are no shower stalls." She kept her voice calm but she could feel the panic bubbling.
"Shit, the brat has eyes." He drawled. She clenched her teeth and fists. The snap of a book closing caught both of their attention as Kakashi took a step forward.
"It will be fine Sakura-chan. Like a hot spring. I know you have gone to one with Naruto and Sai." He smiled at her. She snorted, she had not gone to a hot spring since before that happened. She knew he knew. She glared at him as he reached and rubbed the top of her head. "It's just a bath, you can do it," He nearly whispered. She scowled as she pushed his hand out of her... aww shit it was super oily and sticky hair. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Levi's eyes following her as she walked past him. Kakashi let out a long sigh and followed her in giving Levi a curt nod before closing the door.
Once they were in the room Kakashi reached into a side pocket of his pants and pulled out some type of dried meat "Heads up" He called out to Sakura as he tossed the sticks at her. Immediatly her eyes grew wide at what was in her hands. Quickly she shoved it into her mouth and had to suppress a moan. Kakashi chuckled as he walked over to a boiler and turned it on.
"Oh my Kami-sama! Where did you get this from?" She asked as she shoved more food into her mouth.
"It was in one of the crates that I was sitting on. I grabbed it as you were getting off of the wagon." He shrugged. Right now Kakashi was like a god! He was her walking salvation. She wanted to worship him along with whatever meat gods there were in the sky.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." She nearly cried as she chewed.
"Don't mention it. Sorry if there is any lint on it." He smirked at her." Seems the boiler kicked on. I'll take the tub in that corner." He said as he began to walk to the other side of the room. She just nodded and tore off another piece of meat.
"I could care less about lint, I was seriously thinking about gnawing on the walls." She said as she shoved the last piece in her mouth. She frowned as she looked down at her empty hands. Yes, the pain in her stomach began to recede, but she still needed to eat so much more.
"That would probably not be too good for your teeth." He chuckled as he turned on the water of the claw foot tub and placed the stopper. "I don't know how sure you would look with all your front teeth missing." He shook off his hand then began to pull off his shirt. Sakura just nodded, that was not an attractive thought.
She swallowed the last morsel and turned her attention to the tub. Once again she felt her heart begin to race. She closed her eyes as she turned the water on and pushed the stopped down into the drain. It was just a bath. Nothing more. Nothing was going to happen here. Kakashi was just a few feet away. She struggled to keep her breath calm as she began to disrobe. By the time she was finished unwrapping her binding the tub was already full. She turned the tap off then stepped out of her underwear. Slowly she put her foot into the water. Warm, see nothing like that time, she thought as she lowered herself down into the tub. She quickly grabbed the bar of soap that was on a wire tray on the side and began to run it down her legs. She frowned as the water around her began to turn a pinkish brown. She would need to drain the tub at least once and fill it back up if she wanted to get properly clean. She heard a splashing noise and the sound of a faucet being turned on. It seemed Kakashi had the same idea.
She found it was easiest to control her panic if she kept her body moving and really focused on getting her skin clean. Though once she had used the soap on her skin it came time to wet her hair. She looked around for something to pour over her hair but there was nothing. She was going to have to lower herself down into it. The thought made her skin crawl. It had to be done. she ran her hand through her hair, it was oily sticky and matted. She wasn't sure if it was due to dry blood or for not combing it for so long. There was no getting around it. So she closed her eyes and took a shaky breath and leaned down into the water. Her body stiffened at the contact and she fought the urge to flail. Once she had her hair wet she sat up quickly.
"You doing okay down there?" Kakashi asked. She looked over her shoulder to see him looking back at her. It really should feel odd bathing in the same room as him. She had never seen him naked, but it was comforting to have him there right now.
"Yeah fine, just wetting my hair." She attempted to smile but knew it didn't come off. He hummed and turned back to his own washing. She took the soap and began to work out the grim that was in her hair. Once it was fully lathered she again dipped her hair into the water. This time wasn't so bad. She was able to pull herself up slowly and not alert Kakashi. She looked down into the bubbly brown water and couldn't help but wrinkle her nose. That was seriously disgusting. She reached for the stopper with her toes and pulling the drain open as she began to run more water through the faucet. She sat and watched as the murky water around her gradually became clearer.
Everything was going fine, that was until the hot water ran out. The water began to chill at a rapid rate and she still needed to wash her body and hair once more. As the temperature dropped she fought to keep her breathing under control. She was fine. She may not know where the hell she was, but it seemed no one wanted to hurt her, and Kakashi was still close. Fine. Just hurry and clean.
"So what is going on here Kakashi?" She asked through clenched teeth. She needed to distract herself, and perhaps talking would work. She heard him let out a long sigh and the gurgle of water moving in the tub.
"I honestly don't know. I have no clue how we came here." He cleared his throat. "Though I do not think that these people are our enemies. They showed no intent of causing us harm and took mediocre care of us while contained." Sakura frowned, she supposed letting them sit in thier own filth for days was indeed the worse thing that they had done. Well, that and basically blackmailed them into joining what ever the hell this was. Her stomach gurgled letting her know that the few pieces of jerky didn't satisfy her hunger. "Anyways, we just need to do what they ask, lay low and try and figure out how to get home." He hummed a little. "I tried to summon Pakkun while you were sleeping. He could only stay a few seconds, though I am sure he would inform Naruto." She sighed in relief. If he was looking on his side they would try everything possible. Reaching up she began to scrub her hair and scalp once more. "I'll give you most of my food when we go to eat." Kakashi chuckled as he heard her stomach rumble again. She was about to protest but he spoke quickly. "They had fed me while we were detained. I am not all that hungry, and you need it more than I. Judging by the location of this place and the supply cart that we rode in on, they probably ration food. More than likely they will not let you raid the pantry. So you will eat most of what they give us, and then there is food in our packs that you can have." Looking over her shoulder she saw him leaning back in his tub. She gave him a soft smile that she knew he would not see.
"Thank you," She said softly. He hummed once more. It only took a few more minuted to have her hair filled with soap and needed to proceed with rinsing. She slowly lowered herself into the chilly water her muscles tensing as she leaned back. She closed her eyes tight as she fought with her breath to come in and out even. Slowly her she leaned back and let the water slowly rise against her scalp. Keep breathing, just keep breathing. That's when she felt it. She felt the drop of water hitting her in the middle of her forehead where her seal appeared. Her eyes snapped open and her arms reached for the side of the tub slipping under her grasp causing her to momentary submerge herself under. She thrashed as she tried to pull herself up but her limbs acting clumsily. It felt as if she was fighting some type of ghost. A ghost that was trying to keep her underwater.
She suddenly felt two large hands grabbing onto her arms, pulling her up. She fought against the hands but they gripped her tighter as she was fully pulled from the tub. She pushed against a chest that she was pressed into. Damp skin against her face as she felt the arms tight around her shoulder and a hand placed on the back of her neck. She was struggling to breathe and she wasn't sure if it was due to the tight hold or from the panic that was still clutching her chest.
"Relax Sakura. I told you are fine." A broke sob left her lips. Crying again. When the hell was she going to be done with all the fucking crying? Taking a shaky breath in she tried to force her muscles to uncoil. "I told you that I wouldn't let anything happen to you." He murmured while resting his jaw on the top of her head.
"You can't promise things like that." She sighed.
"I know, but I will do everything in my power not to let it happen again." He said softly as he rubbed her back. She winced at his words. She knew he blamed himself. It was him that choose her for the mission, but he had nothing to feel guilty about. Never once had she blamed him.
"Kaka..."
"I have clo..., Oh, my god! I am sorry. I didn't realize. I mean I didn't see anything." Sakura and Kakashi turned to see a woman with honey hair standing in the doorway. Her face as red as a strawberry, her eyes were darting all over the room and in her hands, she held two bundles of cloths. "Umm, so here I will just leave these here." She walked forward and placed the clothes onto a bench. "Sorry again.. So I will uhhh leave you to do... um yeah." She finally made eye contact with Sakura her face growing a deeper red. She gave a curt nod and spun around leaving the room. Sakura just stood staring at the vacant door frame. She sighed deeply and leaned back into Kakashi.
"Umm Kakashi."
"Yeah?"
"We are still naked."
"Seems we are."
"Umm, and we are still hugging."
"Mmmmhmmm." She snorted at him and pushed him away.
"Way to ruin the moment." He chuckled as he dropped his arms. "We should get dressed so we can find were they keep the food in this place." She smirked at and noddded walking over to the clothes.
"Sounds like a plan, because I plan to eat them out of house and home."