Chapter 1 – Involvement
Naruto swore under his breath.
The bastard.
He leapt from concealment, and hit the ground hard, running the second he made contact.
It wasn't so different from Konoha. It looked pretty similar.
Apart from the trees.
Around Konoha, there was life everywhere. Flowers, grass, trees, people.
Not in Sound.
Here, there were trees. Oh yes, there were plants. But they held no life. Naruto shivered. He felt… the trees hated each other. Bitter greens assaulted him, not the lush, ripe feel of the plants that hailed him from his home.
Sakura would have hated this place.
At that thought, he almost slowed, but he gritted his teeth and continued on.
It had been one week. One whole week since Sakura had gone missing.
He had gone to her house the next morning. When she hadn't answered the door, he had cautiously pushed it open. Alarm bells had rung in his head. The Sakura he knew locked the door at night, and anyway would have bashed his head in for entering without her permission. He walked through the empty apartment, his dread growing with each step he took. And when he had entered the tiny kitchen, he had been assaulted by a smell. The scent of copper.
There was shattered glass on the floor.
And blood. There was a pool of blood.
His rage gave him strength this night. He killed the guards of Sound without a second thought. This was not the Naruto they all knew. He had been hardened by the loss of someone he loved, and he was not going to let anything stand in the way while he tried to save them.
Which is exactly why he was where he was. In Sound.
After the one person he thought – he hoped – would help him, would be able to help him, save her.
Tsunade had already sent out God knows how many ANBU squads after her missing pupil.
It had not done one shred of good. They had all gone missing after the third day, presumed dead.
Kakashi… Kakashi would help Naruto. But he would want it officialised. Not without Tsunade's permission. And it was even a toss-up if Naruto had shared with him his purpose for his destination.
Gathering his chakra in his heels, Naruto leapt, lightly scaling the wall.
The man on the bed whipped around, hand reaching under the pillow for his kunai.
His dark hair gleamed. His obsidian orbs flashed with hate, then widened in surprise as he recognised the man in his room.
"Naruto," he hissed. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Naruto said nothing. He just stared at the man, his cerulean eyes still.
The man on the bed smirked. He recognised the signs. Naruto's pupils were dilating, turning into slits as he desperately tried to control it.
"Come to kill me, Naruto?" he whispered, gripping the kunai tighter. "You know you don't have a chance."
That sparked a reaction. Naruto growled, the whiskers on his cheeks beginning to recede.
"I'm not here for you, bastard," he spat.
The man on the bed raised a charcoal eyebrow, completely detached. "Hn. So why are you here?" he asked, sounding disinterested.
"Sakura."
"What about her?" he asked, his tone now definitely bored.
"She's missing, Sasuke."
Sasuke's heart missed a beat. His outward composure did not change at all, though.
"And why should I care? She's not here, if that's what you were thinking. I have no interest in a pink-haired weakling, and I highly doubt Orochimaru would need such a cumbersome article anyway," he statedcalmly.
But, unbidden, visions of the pink-haired kunoichi slipped through his mind. The way her emerald orbs lightened when she smiled, the way she had protected him in the forest during the Chuunin exams even though she was weak.
Hn. So what?
Naruto looked shocked. After all she had done for him, and he still didn't care?! Sure, he had broken his bonds, but...
Naruto's hope of saving Sakura crashed.
"You bastard," he whispered. "You actually don't give a shit, do you?"
Sasuke kept his face impassive. "I've broken my bonds."
"Broken your bonds my arse!" Naruto spat. He was so sick of that phrase. "Fuck, teme! You know she cared for you! And you still treat her like she's worth nothing! You always did! After all she did for you, after all she put up with from you, and you never said so much as thank you!"
Sasuke's eyes flickered. Naruto was wrong. He had said thank you.
Once.
"Your problems are no concern of mine," he said flatly, "And nor are your petty grudges. If you leave now, quietly, without making a scene, I will let you get away, and tell none of your visit." He paused, and a thought ran through his mind. "How did you find Sound? And how did you get in here undetected, anyway?"
Naruto smirked. "Undetected? Your guards are dead, teme. And I used the Kyuubi. Seems it's tracking powers are quite strong, particularly when harnessed by myself."
Sasuke took a second to absorb this information. Naruto had killed that many elites, huh? Seems he was stronger.
"I am not going to fight you tonight," he said evenly. "Just leave. Sakura's fate is no concern of mine."
Naruto's shoulders slumped. He turned, quickly, so Sasuke wouldn't see the tears brimming in his eyes.
"You were my last hope," he said quietly. "What if she is dead, Sasuke? What if I can't save her in time? Will you be able to live with the image of her, broken, empty?"
"Yes," said Sasuke coldly.
Naruto nodded. "I see that now. Here," he said bitterly, chucking something blindly over his shoulder.
Sasuke caught the wrapped object without blinking. "What is this?"
"She would have wanted you to have it," Naruto answered blankly. "I'll see you around, Sasuke."
And with that, he leapt out of the still-open window, hitting the ground with a soft thump, and running away into the night.
Sasuke turned the package over in his hands. With a slight hesitation, he ripped off the cloth cover.
What he saw made his heart stop.
It was the old picture of them. Team seven, in the height of their training.
Kakashi. Naruto. Him. And Sakura.
But something was off with Sakura's image. He frowned, as he ran his fingers over her form.
There was… a drop of something…
His eyes widened in realisation.
There was blood. Sakura's blood.
…
Naruto waited until he was safely in the shelter of the trees, before he let his emotions get the better of him.
He howled to the sky, the tears streaming down his face.
Sakura… no!
His body shook, as the beast within him longed to escape, to go back and cut Sasuke down for what he had done, what he had said, what he had refused.
Naruto was not angry. Anger would have required some form of rational thought. He was beyond it.
He shook his head, feeling a growl escape his throat, and shook his head again, trying desperately to regain control.
He howled again, throwing back his head, the tears coursing down his cheeks, digging his nails into his scalp, dragging them until he drew blood.
She was going to die.
Naruto wasn't strong enough. Not by himself. And God knows how many had already gone missing on the quest to restore his missing comrade. His missing friend…
And now, the last resort, his final chance…
Had denied him.
He raised his face to the heavens and howled again, feeling the beast stir within him at his terrible need for violence, for pain.
A foot nudged his leg.
"Fuck, dobe, get a grip! You'll wake the whole village up. How are we gonna get away without them noticing if you can't shut up for five seconds?!"
Naruto opened his anguished cerulean eyes, looking up in astonishment.
"Sa… Sasuke?"
"What about it?" he said ungraciously. "I owe her for the time in the Chuunin exams. It's nothing more than that."
He kicked Naruto's leg again.
"Hey! Cut it out!"
"Well get a move on, then," Sasuke snapped. "Do you want Sakura to die while I'm waiting for you to get your useless arse in gear?!"
Naruto scrambled to his feet. Sasuke surveyed him for a second.
"Hn."
And he strode off into the forest, Naruto on his heels.
…
Drip… drip… drip…
Hazy jade eyes opened, blinking slowly.
Huh? Where… where am I?
Pink strands fell in front of her slumped face. Her wrists were in chains, attached firmly to the stone wall.
She was on her knees.
How… how did I get here?
Where is 'here'?
She looked around the tiny room. The tiny cell.
A door opened.
She felt a sharp pain, a light thwacking sound, behind her head, her heart sinking at the sickening familiarity. She sent a flood of chakra to the spot, hoping it could sustain her for long enough...
Sakura whipped her head around, trying to close in on the person beside her.
But before she could get a good look, her vision faded once again, and she slumped in the chains that bound her.
The door closed behind her limp form.