[ Chapter 2: Blown by the Wind ]
Hours had passed and Sasuke was still sat up awake. Sleep was an elusive ally. Since the end of spring, he hadn't been able to find it much. It came to him out of pity, only after he'd been awake torturing himself for hours on end. Being alone in his apartment, in his life, not even sleep was willing to be a stable companion. A part of him figured he deserved it. Perhaps it was a punishment. Sinking into his bed, Sasuke leaned his head against the wall as he'd done earlier. It began at the end of spring.
(begin flashback)
Sasuke sat on a rock in the familiar training ground. Leaning over with his elbows on his thighs, Sasuke panted for breath. His clothing was tattered, his body was cut and bruised everywhere. A battle had just taken place, but all Sasuke could register was the rising nausea and the throb in his head. Kakashi knelt before him, placing a medical to his side.
"I don't know how you did it, Sasuke." Kakashi said "But you lucked out. I'm not undermining you as a warrior, you know and I know that your current abilities, strength, and skills still fall behind that of Itachi. But you beat him somehow. It must have been luck."
Sasuke coughed violently. Tremors of pain began ripping through his body. Falling to the ground, Sasuke's cough began to muffle. On all fours, his muffle coughs continued. With a final gulp, Sasuke spat out a great deal of blood. Waiting for the bout to finish, Kakashi tried to straighten Sasuske up.
"You're lucky to even be alive." said the sensei.
"A-am... I really so... lucky?" Sasuke struggled in his utterance.
Kakashi didn't reply, knowing what Sasuke meant.Revenge had been the only thing Sasuke aimed for, beyond that, the young man had nothing in mind. Kakashi figured Sasuke didn't care so much for living after revenge, especially since he was in such pain at the moment. Kakashi tended to Sasuke's critical wounds. It sufficed for the time being, but he still had to get Sasuke to a hospital.
"There. Now, let's get you to a hospital. You've had quite a battle, I imagine."
Sasuke gave a weak nod. After a few moments of thought, Sasuke spoke.
"... How did everyone else hold up... while I was gone?"
"Not a lot of people were aware that you were even gone."
"I see... The rest of the team?"
"Naruto made quite a reaction at the news. He was ready to go out and find you, but we were able to stop him..."
"... And Sakura?"
A moment of silence filled the air before Kakashi made his reply.
"Apparently Sakura went missing around the same time you were. You said she wasn't with you, right?"
Sasuke nodded.
"We suspect she somehow found out about your disappearance before the rest of us. Something must have happened to her while in your pursuit."
"I see."
"Right now we haven't found anything about her current location... But hopefully, she'll turn up."
Silence filled the air once again. Deciding not to pursue further conversation, Kakashi pulled one of Sasuke's arms over his shoulder, aiding him in the walk back to the village. It had been nearly a week since Sasuke ran off without a trace. By then it was obvious Sasuke did it to exact his revenge, but why he did it so suddenly was unknown to Kakashi. He knew Sasuke wasn't a fool. Sasuke had been well aware that he had a long way to go before catching up to his brother; challenging Itachi at his current level was a reckless move. But the move was made and Sasuke had been lucky enough to even come out alive. Aware of Sasuke's physical state as well as the mental toll of revenge took on him, Kakashi decided to remain silent. Aside from the battle between Sasuke and Itachi, other things had been going on, namely the disappearance of Sakura. Perhaps it wasn't the time for Kakashi to bring any of the other issues up, at least not until Sasuke was in a better condition to take them in.
"Kakashi-sensei..." Sasuke said blankly.
"What is it?"
"How did that story go? The one told by that Chinese client?"
"The one about mountains?"
"That one."
"Let's see... It had something to do with people who had secrets... It is said that if a person has a secret he or she doesn't want to share, that person should climb up a mountain, carve a hole in a tree, tell the secret and cover it with mud. That secret, whatever it may be, will remain there for no one to discover... I don't recall the original context of the story.. I think it had something to do with love or something..."
"... But that was the one I was thinking of... I think I remember now."
Sasuke-kun...
Sasuke woke up silently gasping for breath, her voice still softly echoing in his ears. He hissed in pain as he felt serverely sore all over. He was sore and he was tired. Staring up from his laying position, Sasuke noted the unfamiliar ceiling. He was in the hospital. It had been one week since he got there. Two weeks since...
"You're up." a voice said flatly. "It figures. I knew you wouldn't die."
Sasuke made no answer. The voice belonged to a blonde, blue-eyed ninja. He wasn't in his usual good cheer, though he did try to throw in something to lessen the air. It was a futile attempt though, Sasuke knew what was going on. There was no real reason to be cheerful at all. This caused Naruto to act greatly out of character, even he knew whatever antics he would usually muster up was not appropriate.
"It's been confirmed that Itachi is dead..." Naruto started "You probably know that since you were the one who..." he paused. For some reason he couldn't finish the sentence. "We haven't come up with a body. Kakashi-sensei said someone from his group probably swiped it..."
"And Sakura...?" Sasuke inwardly winced at his question. It wasn't painful to just him. Naruto, especially Naruto, was distressed at the news himself. He already asked and got an answer for it, but he somehow had to make sure. As a confirmation, Sasuke had to ask.
"She went after you when you left. We haven't seen a trace of her since. Itachi set up the moutain you fought on so that it was nearly physically impossible to get through. So we suspect..."
Again, Naruto was unable to finish. Sasuke was impressed that the hot-headed ninja was even able to control his feelings so well in his report. That he could keep his composure so well while Sakura was actually missing meant one of two things. One, Naruto had gotten better at staying calm. Or two, finding Sakura was hopeless and that there was no use in getting riled up with hopes of finding her. Sasuke wanted to tell himself that he should be impressed, that the latter possibility was the actual case.
"We'll search for her a little while longer... If a body doesn't come up, then we'll have to assume she's..."
A long silence.
"I see."
Sasuke, Naruto, and Kakashi sat across the table from Mrs. Haruno. The mother of their former ally looked terribly exhausted. Nearly a month had passed and Sakura had yet to be found.
"I thank you gentlement for coming to visit." she said wearily "Please, have some tea."
"Thank you." Kakashi said taking the cup they were offered. "It's the least we can do, really."
He looked towards Naruto and Sasuke. The two had been quiet since they got there. The original intention was to give hope to Mrs. Haruno for the whereabouts of her missing daughter. But Kakashi knew she was dead in their minds. An Anbu team had been disbatched to find her. Three weeks had passed and there was still nothing.
"We appreciate it. Sakura-chans's disappearance has been very difficult for us, but people around the village have been very kind and comforting... You haven't seen or heard anything about Sakura yet, Kakashi-san?"
"No, not yet." Kakashi replied.
"I didn't think so... It has been a while. The Anbu team heading the search checked the area Sasuke's fight occured. A few strands of her hair and shreds of her dress were found, but no body... I don't understand... It's as if a harsh winter wind stayed back to blew away a spring blossom... My dear Sakura-chan..."
Sasuke watched Mrs. Haruno from his place. Her red-rimmed eyes indicated that she had been deprived of a lot of sleep. She had been crying a great deal as well, probably doing an excess of that to make up for her lack of sleep.
"Mrs. Haruno..." the dark-hair youth started "If it hadn't been for me... Your daughter wouldn't have..."
Looking at the distressed state Mrs. Haruno was in, Sasuke found it hard to continue. Scooting back from his place, bowed until his forehead touched the ground.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Haruno. Your daughter's disappearance occured because of me..."
Mrs. Haruno looked at Sasuke's show of humility. She was aware that he wasn't known much for his politeness; the act even surprised her a little. Mrs. Haruno knelt beside him and pulled him up form his bowing position.
"There's no need to apologize, Sasuke-kun... It is a terrible thing to happen, but you needn't absorb the blame for her disappearance... It's not your fault."
Sasuke gave Mrs. Haruno a glance. Looking at her state made it impossible for him to smile.
(end flashback)
Sasuke sat up straight and turned to the dresser by his side. On it was a small, pink tea-cup with flower petals printed on the side. The inside was rimmed with an evaporated tea stain, the cup had been sitting there untouched for a while. Sasuke could still see the green tea that once filled it up. In its rippling reflection, Sasuke saw a pair of haunting emerald eyes.
----------Author's Note: For those of you who don't recognize it, the whole climb a mountain to barry a secret came from Wong Kar-Wai's movie "In the Mood for Love." I recommend that film if you like art movies. It's slow paced and has no action, but it really is visually stunning.In any case, another chapter long in coming. Expect subsequent chapters to be much the same. These days I've been lazy with fic writing which also explains why I didn't bother to proof read this chapter, sorry to those who are bothered by these things. Also excuse my poor attempts at cheap similies and metaphors; I'm trying. But if you get the gist, it's all good. Again, I'm having fun banging out ideas in these fics, thanks to those who also take the time to read them. Until next time, I bid thee adieu.
