Chapter Two: Bury This Alive
"Sakura, you haven't changed a bit..."
She could feel his warm breath make it's way down her bare neck. "Still gorgeous..."
-Another white lie-
He was wrong. He had to be. There were too many impurities buried beneath her flesh, pathogens that found their way deep under Sakura's very skin. She was infected, slowly poisoning everything she touched. No, she was no longer gorgeous, not after she killed his dream.
"I'm on a mission." Sakura attempted to keep her body steady, but the charkra emitting from his curse seal made her nauseous; weak.
"Of course you are. You've become quite the shinobi." Sasuke's words were more of a paradox, even his tone was edged with mockery. Sasuke's time with Orochimaru had changed him for the worst.
Just like how Sakura's time with Sasuke changed her for the worst, as well.
The Anbu's lean arms wrapped around Sakura's waif body. Even though she had just been rescued from Sound, fear still chilled her bones. They were taking her back to Konoha. They were going to find out what she was so desperately trying to hide.
"I always was. You've just refused to take note of it." Maybe she was right, but Sasuke disregarded her retort for the time being. He had something else clouding his mind.
"Where are the others?" Sakura quickly snapped him out of thought and he released Sakura from his grip.
"Naruto, Tenten, and the rest of your team made their way to Sound. Don't worry, the girl is being taken care of. If you follow Sound's demands the mission should go smoothly." Sakura played with the fringe on her signature gloves. Something about the way he said 'demands' made her queasy. There was a catch.
"What exactly is he demanding from them?" Sasuke's glower twisted into a smirk, making Sakura even more uncomfortable.
"Oh, no, he isn't demanding anything from anyone. I am calling the shots tonight, and what I want is you."
-Dear God No.-
Tsunade shook her head. Sakura was in worse condition than she had imagined.
Tsunade's heart went out to her apprentice, whatever happened in Sound must've been sickening.
But she wasn't just concerned about the physical wounds Sakura suffered; No, Tsuande was more worried about the emotional damage inflicted upon her. Sasuke was involved, and Tsunade knew it. She just didn't know how.
"Tsunade, something odd came up in Sakura's physical, it's something you need to check out." Turning around the Hokage nodded to the medic nin, shifting the weight of her feet as the she handed her over the file. Looking through the chart Tsunade couldn't agree more; it was something odd alright. According to the chart...Sakura... she had been...
"You have a lot of nerve to think you can just walk away from me. You've known me long enough, you must realize that nothing gets in the way of my ambitions; my dreams." Sakura trembled nervously.
-Did he know?-
As Sasuke began to step dangerously closer, Sakura lost her footing and stumbled backwards. "You could've stayed in Sound. I thought you wanted us to be together. After all, you do love me."
Sakura covered her ears. At the time of her confession, what she felt seemed like love. But what twelve year old really knows the difference between immature lust and the true, grow old together, pure, unconditionally feeling of love?
Sakura didn't know what love was back then, and just like her twelve year old self, she still did not know now.
"No!" Sakura shouted. She didn't care about him anymore. She just wanted to get away. Away from him, her life, and the consequences he made her suffer.
"You..don't love me?" He was pushing her to the brink.
"I..I don't mean that. I just..." Sakura found herself drowning in her own words. She was being torn apart, from the inside and out; just like before.
It didn't take long for Sakura to grow weary of staying locked up in her chamber. Sure, Sasuke would occasionally drop in to check up on her; but it was his 'visits' that were making Sakura wither away.
Every time his calloused hands brushed her soft, luscious skin, she became ill.
At the same time, Sakura craved him.
She wanted to get lost in his rapture; burn with the passion that waged between them like wildfire.
If only she realized the consequences.
"Look, I'll do what you want for the sake of the mission. Just..." Sakura got caught in her own words. She was never a good negotiator.
Sasuke grinned, seemingly pleased. "In that case, you know exactly what I want."
Sasuke's malicious grin sent shockwaves throughout her body. At this point, Sakura feared for her life.
"Sakura, have you forgotten?" With the agility only a highly trained ninja could manage to pull off, Sasuke materialized behind Sakura.
"How'about I jumpstart your memory?"
Even though her body remained perfectly still, Sakura inwardly screamed.
-NO!-
His arms wrapped firmly around her waist and his face pressed against the nape of her neck. "Wouldn't it be nice if these moments could last forever?" Sakura bit her lip, wanting to answer no even though she knew it was a rhetorical question.
His grip around Sakura tightened causing her to whimper. Sasuke noticed this and decided to exploit the situation. "Does this hurt?" Sasuke pulled tighter and Sakura clenched her fists.
Shaking her head, Sakura wasn't sure how much longer she could put up with him. At least not her current condition.
By the time his hands were circling at the small of her back, Sakura's mind was already gone.
"I missed you," Sasuke whispered into Sakura's ear. Not that she was actually listening. She was far too concerned with the fact the it was coming back.
The guilt. The shame. The fear.
All of it accumulated to Sakura's abdomen. Quickly pulling back, she nearly threw-up on Sasuke's chest.
He raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong? Have I overwhelmed you?"
Words formed in Sakura's mouth but she dared not to speak. She just needed to know one thing.
"Sasuke, what do you want from me?" Her words stung. As if it already wasn't already painfully obvious.
"What I want? Oh, that is simple. I just want YOU."
Sakura found herself consumed in thought. How could he still want to touch her? Not after what she agreed to...
Kabuto was right, he would have found out the truth eventually, but that still didn't justify her actions. Sakura felt dizzy; Kabuto told her give it a few days. It'll all go away in time.
Sakura found some ill humor in the statement, treating her condition like it was some sort of sickness. Give it a few days, you'll recover. She shook her head. Somehow Sakura knew that this was no ordinary illness, and that she'll take this "disease" to her grave.
-Sasuke, what have I done?-
Sakura violently erupted into a fit of sobs, and Sasuke debated whether she had finally reached the edge of sanity; just like himself.
As Sakura continued to struggle inwardly, his body heat began to enthrall her. Soon her thoughts and feelings turned to a haze; over-masked by Sasuke's own desires.
By the time she reopened her eyes warm blood oozed its way down her medic-uniform, or what remained of it.
"Sakura?" Tenten? Rolling onto her side, Sakura's eyes met with the chocolate brown orbs belonging to the team's weapon specialist.
"That bastard. What has he done to you?" Tenten mumbled under her breath. This was not good.
Examining her wounds, to Sakura's relief the blood staining her shirt was not secreting out from her chest; but from another individual entirely.
Sasuke...
"By the time Naruto and I arrived here, it was...well.." Tenten shook her head, while Sakura sat up and scanned the area.
"Naruto...," Her voice sighed. "He managed to beat Sasuke up quite bad. If it wasn't for Sasuke's retreat, I'd say only one would have come out alive." Sakura clenched her fists, eyes swelling with tears.
"It's all my fault. I let him intimidate me. I should have told the truth... I..." By this time, Naruto appeared behind the trembling Sakura and Tenten took this as a sign to leave them alone.
Tenten understood that this was one of those rare cases when emotional wounds needed to be tended to before anything else.
