The Six Paths of Sakura

That Friday evening, after her shift at the Konoha hospital, Sakura stood at the center of Rokudo Cricle and gave yet another long, heavy sigh. She un-crossed her arms and then crossed them again. She glanced at her watch, forgetting that she had already checked the time less than a minute before.

If she went North, there were three places she could go: back to the hospital. up to the exercise yard, and over to her parent's house. She crossed the hospital off her list. Not that they couldn't use the extra help, but... No. Too much of that already. I'm sick to death of that place. And, let's not forget Tsunade, our wonderful boss, and her constant tirades about this and that and everything else. She really needs to get laid. Or something...

If she went to the exercise yard, she could get a little training in, too. Blow off some steam, too. I could use some of that. She looked down at her standard "casual" outfit: light green shirt under a red tunic, dark green plaid skirt, and sensible shoes. I'm not dressed for it. And besides, it's Friday. Shouldn't Friday nights be...fun?

Her parents always had fun on Friday nights. Her mother would make the punch while her father set up the card table. They would play card games or board games or charades or-if they were feeling exceptionally daring-they would dig one of their thousand-piece jigsaw puzzles from the top of the closet and work on it until the wee hours while her father regaled them with tales of his wild adventures in the Bureaucratic Corps.

Ugh.

To the South was her favorite refuge, the dessert shop. She had spent many a Friday evening there, listening to music on the radio, nursing a bowl of ice cream anmitsu. By herself. Alone.

Also to the South was Ino's place. Despite their rivalry, there had always remained friends. Well, friendly at least. I wonder if she's got any new yaoi dojinshi yet?

Scratch that. She's been gone for weeks. And besides, she stopped buying new ones when Shikamaru became a chuunin and she went all gaga over him after he tried to retrieve Sasuke.

Which was almost three years ago.

Is my social life that pathetic?

She looked at her watch and sighed again. Yes. Yes, it is.

That left only one option. The bridge. I can't believe I'm actually considering going to...

Oh boy...

She inhaled, preparing to sigh again, but she stopped herself. She clicked her tongue, disgusted with her indecisiveness. Then she exhaled slowly and put her left foot forward. Then her right. Then the left again. Eventually, her feet picked up the rhythm and she steadily, if slowly, made her way due south to the Nakano River Bridge.


The bridge was crowded. It seemed like everyone in town was here, either going to visit the bars and cafes on the South side, or going back to their homes and flats on the North. Sakura sensed a gnawing restlessness in everyone who jostled past her, as though they had itchy souls and they were searching for a wicked, keen edge to scratch themselves against. She couldn't blame them. Their feelings weren't too different from her own.

She saw Sai's head above the crowd. He was leaning against a streetlight and the light from it made the air around the top of his head glow like a halo.

She stopped and started to turn. If I go back now, I could be safe. Forget all about this. Make his words go away. And the look in his eyes. I could go home. Play card games or do charades. Eat ice cream. Do puzzles. Sigh about Sasuke again. Die a little more inside.

Or I could take a chance. Just this once.

She looked back at him again. He had seen her and was holding his hand out, summoning her.

She fought her way through the crowd. She hoped she wasn't blushing too badly as she stood before him, her head bowed slightly as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Gomenasai. I'm...a little late."

He smiled in a way that seemed quite genuine. "No need to apologize. I'm just glad that you showed up."

She was surprised by his clothes. She had always seen him in his combat uniform, the one that exposed his midriff. She hated to admit it, but he certainly did look "faggoty" in it. Tonight, his clothing was a lot more masculine: black leather jacket, unzipped to reveal a plain white undershirt; indigo denim pants; black boots.

More striking was the way he looked wearing them. He always seemed uptight and uncomfortable in his uniform. Naruto once said that he looked like he had a stick up his ass and she couldn't bring herself to disagree. Now, as he stood before her, she saw a different man. His posture was upright, but not stiff; strong and confident, but not intimidating; relaxed, yet overflowing with a dark, rich, masculine energy that comforted her and, at the same time, made her insides a little jittery.

Déjà vu. This scene-her and him, united at last, on the bridge between darkness and light, enveloped by all of humanity yet completely alone-was something she felt she had experienced a thousand times before. With a shock, she realized that she had seen it a thousand times. In her dreams.

But the boy on the bridge had always been Sasuke. At least until the Heaven and Earth Bridge mission, when she saw finally saw him again. And saw what he had become.

"Earth to Sakura. Sai calling."

She shook her head and blinked a couple of times. "Sorry. It's been a long day. And I'm little..."

"Nervous?

He gaze dropped down to his chest. "Well, I haven't... I mean... You know how it is, and..." She huffed and her hands balled into fists. She forced herself to look up, into his eyes.

"Yes. I'm nervous."

He nodded his head towards the South side. "Let's go. I'll explain on the way."

Once off the bridge, they took a sharp left and followed the riverfront. Soon, they entered the dark maze of piers and warehouses and workshops. They could hear the din of the crowd in the background but there was no one else in sight.

When he spoke again, she was surprised by the calm, even tone of his voice. "The first rule is that you're here to watch. Don't interfere. You don't touch anybody and nobody touches you. Okay?"

She swallowed. "Okay."

"The second rule is that you're here to watch. So please do that. Watch us. Don't turn away."

"Sure."

"It's important, Sakura-san. You must keep watching us, and him especially."

"Keep watching. Got it. Next rule."

"Don't speak. Not unless I ask you a question. If I do, no matter what it is, your answer's always 'Yes.' Understand?"

"Okay."

"I asked you if you understood me." His voice had an aggravated tone. "Understand?"

She shot him an indignant glance. Then she huffed and crossed her arms.

"Yes."

They continued along the riverfront. She had been down here once, with her father. She was eleven and she remembered it as a busy place, swarming with boats and cargo, stevedores and tradesmen. But that was in the daytime; now, as the last of the twilight slipped away, it seemed like a ghost town.

She bit her lip and then took a breath. "Are you the, uh...?" She quickly glanced to her right, certain that she had seen someone out of the corner of her eye. It was nothing, only their dim reflection in the dark windows of a slaughterhouse. She tapped her fist against her leg and then turned her head toward him.

"Are you the uke or the seme?"

He stopped and turned. "Am I the what?"

Embarrassed, her gaze trailed downward. "You know. Like when you're practicing taijutsu. The seme is the one who throws the attack, and the uke, he's the one who, uh..."

"Receives it?" He was silent for a moment. "Where did you get those terms?"

She continued to look downward. "Well, I have this friend, and she collects comic books with that kind of stuff in it-you know, men with other men-and she used to let me read them, and that's what they-"

"I like that. Seme and uke. It's a lot less insulting than people asking you which one 'plays the woman.'"

He continued on, leading her further into the darkness.

"Seme. Always." He gave her a quick glance and smiled. "Almost always."

They came to a large, windowless, rectangular building. There were no signs out front, or even something to indicate the address. She was sure that, even in the light of day, it would look just as grim and inhospitable.

Sai went to the only door and unlocked it. He led her inside.

When the lights came on, she saw that the place was a single large, empty room with a concrete floor. The only things inside were a rack of weapons, a few crates, and, on the far wall, a couple of enclosed offices.

He led her to the door of one of the offices. "The Root Division trains here sometimes. It makes a good place to practice our urban warfare tactics."

The inside of the office was bare except for a wooden chair, a few threadbare exercise mats, and a rather large video camera on a heavy-duty stand.

She saw him gesture to the chair. She brushed the dust from it with her hand and sat down.

As Sai rolled the camera into a corner, she saw a smaller camera mounted on the wall, pointed at the center of the room. She stared at it, trying to see if it was on.

He locked the wheels of the large camera and pointed the lens at the wall. "Don't worry. They're not even plugged in." He looked up at the smaller camera. "We used to use that one all the time. Then we needed something a little bigger." He pointed his thumb at the large camera. "Lately, even that's not doing it for us anymore."

"So that's why I'm here? To be a human camera?"

"Well, yes and no. It's...kind of complicated. Why don't we just get started?"

He went through a door to the adjoining office. A few seconds later, he came back through. In his hand was a rope. The other end of the rope was looped around the neck of a man, who was naked except for a black silk bag over his head.

Her eyes went wide. She sat up. She thought she had prepared herself anything but, in that moment, it became obvious that Sai's definition of "anything" was a lot broader than her's. She steeled herself, realizing that their boat had departed the safe harbors of yaoi dojinshi and was now riding the currents to a dark corner of the map, the one marked "Terra Incognita" and "Here, there be monsters."

Her insides cringed. It wasn't that she hadn't seen men without their clothes before. As a medical ninja, she had seen every inch of a man's anatomy, both inside and out. But this faceless man, the whiteness of his naked skin contrasted against the darkness of Sai's clothes, seemed incredibly naked. She found it difficult to look at him.

Yet she did look. As Sai busied himself with the task of removing the rope from his neck and coiling it up, she stared at the black bag, wondering what-wondering who, she reminded herself-was underneath it.

As she stared, she found that the bag made her a little more at ease. She could see him, and he could not see her. She dared to let her gaze drift down to his chiseled collarbone, which she followed to his generous deltoids and powerful biceps.

He was a lot more muscular than the standard "shinobi" physique. Ninjas were trained to hide their capabilities, which included the strength of their bodies. As Iruka-sensei often said, big muscles make a big target.

For once, she was glad to see that someone didn't take his advice. She found it hard to believe that he was going to be the uke, not with his lean, muscular chest and his over-developed abdominals. And his-

She averted her eyes, embarrassed. She could feel herself blush. She had seen a penis before, of course, though she had never really dared to look at one.

Coward. It's just a part of the human body. You see them every day, don't you? And it's not like he can see you do it. So do it already. Coward. Go on. Look. Look at it, you coward. Yes. Like that.

She looked at his knees. Slowly, her gaze moved upwards, following his beefy thighs.

She wondered if she was the only person on earth who found the male anatomy to be grotesque and ridiculous. His "package"-the dangling tube with it's dark, misshapen head, flopped over a wrinkly sack and framed by a thicket of dark, bushy curls-was proof enough that God was a woman.

Ridiculous or not, she found it a bit hard to tear her attention away from it. I wonder what it feels like, having that big...thing between your legs all the time? Or what it feels like when it gets hard? When it's sticking straight out, begging for attention? When someone touches it. Stokes it. Holds it in their hand. Kisses that hot skin. Then puts it in their-

"Earth to Sakura."

She jumped. "Yes!" she said, trying not to sound too surprised.

"It's time." Sai reached over and pulled off the black bag.

She was surprised to see that he was a total stranger. She had never seen him before, either on the streets or as a patient. She was also surprised by how young he looked.

Sai looked down his nose at his fair-haired uke. "There's no need for introductions, is there?" He gestured to Sakura. "The lady here has no interest in knowing your filthy name. Isn't that right, ma'am?"

She noticed that Sai was staring at her. She was looking at the man's blank expression and had missed her cue. "Y-yes."

He turned his attention back to the young man. His face had an odd, contemptuous sneer. "You don't even have a name, do you? Of course not. None of us do. The Root Division is composed of the orphaned sons of Konoha's heroes. For the most part. But you're different, aren't you?"

He stood behind the man, putting his mouth next to the man's right ear, holding his body a bit too close. His voice was, as always, cool and measured, but now a hateful undertone was developing.

"My records seem to indicate that you're actually the son of a whore. A filthy, cock-sucking whore. You have no father, officially. He could be anyone, couldn't he? Any of the men who took enough pity on her to fuck her diseased cunt and toss her a few ryo."

Sakura squirmed in her seat. His words and the images they conjured were making sick feelings rise in her belly. Part of her wanted to bolt through the door and escape. But another part, the part that was making her stay seated and watch, wanted to hear the rest of the story, to find out how this came to be. And how it would end.

She noticed that the man was doing a better job at keeping his composure. He seemed unaffected by Sai's words. That changed when Sai pulled the man's right hand back and pressed it against his crotch.

"And that's why you're a faggot, isn't it?. A cock-sucker, just like your mother. Because you can never know which one he is. Which man your father is."

She saw the man's lips part and his eyebrows lower. He was breathing was becoming shorter and faster. From the throbbing of his veins she could see that his heartrate was starting to climb.

Her own heart pounded faster as she watched Sai wrap the man's hand around his crotch and slowly rub his bulge against the man's palm. That bulge started to grow. Then she noticed the man's penis start to elongate.

"That's why you want this, isn't? You want a man to put his cock in your mouth. To fuck you. To feel him pump his semen into you. Because, down deep in your worthless heart, you realize that it could be him. That this could be your chance to be close to him. To know him. Your father."

Sai grabbed the man's hair and pulled back until his face pointed upwards. "I'm talking to you! Isn't that the reason, you little faggot? The reason why you want my dick?"

The man's eyes opened wide but he remained silent. He was breathing harder and his nostrils started to tremble.

He pushed the man's head forward. The man had to take a half-step forward to retain his balance.

She was shocked by the look on Sai's face. Never before had she seen him with such an angry look of contempt. He nodded his head toward her.

"Tell her. Tell her what you are."

He looked at her. At first, he looked slightly to the side, but then his eyes locked onto hers. His voice was strong and clear, but his words stammered. "I-I'm a-a..."

Sai rammed his fist into the man's back. "Say it!"

The blow made the man grimace and arch his back. When he recovered, his eyes fixed on hers again. "I-I'm a faggot, ma'am. A dirty faggot."

"And what do you what?"

"I want your dick, sir."

"Tell her."

She noticed that he was starting to shake. Despite that, and despite the fear that she could see forming in his wide-open eyes, she also noticed that he was completely hard; so hard, in fact, that the tip of his curved penis was pointing straight up at the ceiling.

"I want his dick, ma'am. In my m-mouth. I want him to...to come...i-in my mouth."

Sai looked at her. "With your permission, ma'am. Shall I?"

Damn you, Sai. You didn't tell me it was going to be like this. You didn't... Or maybe you did, when you said it was going to be like the stuff in the movie. And it's my fault that I agreed to come here. And watch this...fucked up...whatever-it-is.

She scowled. And you're making me listen to the f-word over and over, when you know I hate it. And what about you? Aren't you even more of one than he is? Is this your fucked-up idea of a turn-on? This is sick. Just pure sickness.

She stood up and took a step towards them. And damn you for asking me that. Damn you for trying to make it look like it's my choice whether you abuse him or not. Well, if you're going to make it my choice, then I damn well know what that choice has to be.

She walked up to them and looked in their eyes. Sai's were cruel and stoney and without remorse. The man's were filled not only with fear but with an almost tangible sense of pleading, as though he was begging her for the reply that would end his suffering.

Fuck you, Sai. You and your little game.

Just as she was opening her mouth to say the word 'no' she noticed that the pleading look in his eyes grew more desperate. His open mouth made slight motions as if silently trying to fill her mouth with the right reponse.

At that moment, she realized what he wanted. The truth struck her like a lightning bolt.

Her scowl vanished. Her shoulders dropped. Oh my God. He doesn't want me to say 'no.' He wants me to say-no, he needs me to say-

"Yes."

The pleading was replaced by an almost imperceptible look of relief. She didn't even try to pretend like she understood it. She simply returned to her seat and continued to watch them.

Sai grabbed him by the hair again. "Kneel."

The man complied.

Sai moved in front of the man and unzipped his pants. He reached into his fly and extracted his erect penis. He had to bend over slightly to get it out of his tight pants.

She gasped, and her surprise in having gasped that almost made her gasp again. When she wondered why Sai's erection was more shocking, she realized that it was because he was already dressed. Nudity's always more conspicuous when there's clothing to contrast it against. Beyond that, she realized that Sai was someone she knew. Image Naruto naked. That would be a shock. Or Iruka-sensei. Or Kakashi. Yes, it certainly would be shocking if I saw Kakashi without his clothes. Lying back on a hot summer afternoon with no one around. Stroking himself. And him calling me over, whispering in my ear, telling me to-

"Put it in your mouth, cock-sucker." Sai slapped the man's face. "Suck it. Like this."

Sai grabbed the man's head and shoved his erection into the man's open mouth. He then began fucking his face.

As she watched, Sakura had another feeling of déjà vu. Then she realized where she had seen this before. It was exactly like the scene from the videotape.

But something was different. Instead of a self-satisfied smirk, Sai looked down on his uke with an utterly rapt focus. It was as if he was studying him, gauging his every reaction, taking in every subtle shift in his mood.

She squirmed in her chair again. It took her a while to figure out her fidgeting was more rhythmic this time. She was squeezing her thighs together as she ground her bottom against the seat of her chair. When she realized that she was behaving shamefully, she sat up straight and forced herself not to think of dirty things.

Which was impossible. Sai's cock. The man's lips. The muscles of his arms. His chest. His thick penis. The aromas of leather and sweat and masculine bodies. The smell of sex. The sound of Sai's hot, quick breathing. The strained look on the uke's face, half tortured and half beatific.

Sai broke the silence. "Look at her. She's watching you. As you suck my dick."

She saw his eyes open at look over at her. They were filled with a pitiful sadness. A tear began to form.

"She's watching you, faggot. As I shoot my cum down your throat."

He suddenly pulled the man's head in toward him. His body jerked. She knew that he was ejaculating into him.

Tears welled up in the man's eyes when Sai pulled out. A few drops rolled down the man's face. Then he collapsed into a heap on the floor. He began to sob loudly.

Sai quickly zipped himself up and grabbed Sakura's wrist. "Time to go. Now." When she hesitated, he said, "I'll buy you some dessert. My treat. Let's go. Now."

She let him pull her from the room. She stopped and looked back at the blubbering man.

Sai pulled at her wrist. "Let's get out of here. Leave the man a little dignity."

She stopped at the building's door. "Aren't you going to...? I mean, how can you treat your lover like-"

"He's not my lover. He isn't even gay. Come on. Let's go. I'll buy."

Outside, she held the door open for a moment and listened to the man wail. Then, with a heavy heart, she closed the door and followed Sai back to the bridge.