Day 3: Walls
A/N: Inspiration from the novel Delirium.
Disclaimer: I neither own Naruto nor Delirium. This story, though, is mine.
.the second world.
.
.
You're the only person in the world
I feel this way about
.
.
"Get in."
A man wearing navy blue slacks, a light blue polo, and a blue beret ushered a young girl inside a cell. His uniform and the baton that he was holding in his right hand indicated that he was an underling of the authorities around here; a mere worker bee.
She stepped inside the dark room reluctantly. She turned around to plead but was met with a shut door to her face. Pale shaky hands traced the rusted bolts of the metal door as she slowly slid down to her demise. It was cold inside, and the dripping of water could be faintly heard echoing in the soundless cell.
A sinner.
A defect.
A lover.
That was why she was here.
For the rest of the night, her sobs filled the silence. If anyone did hear her, no one cared.
She was one of the few survivors who have not been issued the procedure. Survivor might be too much of a word, but the rest of the population might as well be zombies without emotion. A decree has been made years ago that scientists have found a cure that could reduce the impediments of human labor, which is to remove people's emotions.
She was taken away just today when the roamers, the guards that patrol the streets, found her. She should have been cleared, as she's reached past the age of the procedure, yet they saw through her pretense and took her in for interrogation.
She was flawed. She never had the procedure.
Without defense against the law, she was put to prison.
Emotion is a weakness.
Was it so bad to feel?
Now everybody walked with empty eyes and lethargic movements. They still go through the motions of daily life, but it seems like a lifeless routine to her. They were dead. And she wished she was dead, but not like them.
Anything to get away from here.
The tears have slowed down from their torrent streaming, and her peridot eyes were swollen from her crying.
Her thin fingers raked the metal that kept her locked inside, futilely trying to escape or at least damage the thing, but it was of no use. She was surrounded by damp cement, and a very small barred window. There was no one and nothing for company but her misery.
As she realized that she would be spending the rest of her life in this prison, fresh tears fell from her eyes, and hiccups reverberated again, the sound bouncing on the walls.
"Oi. Could you shut your mouth? I'm trying to sleep."
A deep baritone voice interrupted her despair, and she turned to the direction of the voice. There, on the wall, was a crack the size of an average human hand. She could barely see the room next to hers as her eyes had yet to adjust to the darkness, but with the help of the moonlight seeping in through the high window, she saw him.
And there he was. So devilishly beautiful he looked like sin. Skin as pale as hers, dark lashes that framed dark eyes, and his hair that, she mused, seemed to defy gravity. His brows were perfectly arched, and his lips were pursed to a thin line. He looked so perfectly calm, yet his voice depicted that of annoyance. If he weren't locked up in this cell, she would've wondered if he had the procedure too.
"G-Gomen nasai..." She apologized to the other convict, bowing her pink head to the man. Her selfless nature scolded her for being inconsiderate to her other inmates. It was past midnight and she was the only one ushered in at this time of night.
"Hn. No use apologizing now; I'm already awake." He countered coldly. She flinched under his calculating stare. It felt like his coal spheres were boring into her soul the longer he stared at her through the hole.
With no one to talk to, she figured he would be her best bet to not losing her sanity. But did she dare talk to him? He looked...too intimidating, despite his attire of the regular gray pants and shirt that the prison issued. So she sat in silence, still facing him, while twiddling with her fingers.
After what seemed like an eternity, he sighed and decided to speak up. This girl seemed hopeless enough.
"...What is your offense?" He inquired, his tone sounding bored yet his eyes portrayed interest. It was not common for a girl to be put in prison; as far as he knew, the women in the population were among the first to have the procedure. He waited for her answer as she looked up, green eyes sparkling at the chance of a conversation. He took in her features slowly. In the moonlight, her rose-colored hair looked the shade of peaches, with a hint of lavender. Her eyes were swollen from her crying, yet after he asked her a question, the once dull orbs brightened to life.
"A-Ano... I was caught by by the police on duty tonight... It was past curfew and I was rushing home, that they asked for identification. It didn't get cleared by the machine because I didn't have the procedure.. I didn't want to. They said I was breaking the law because I'm three years past the legal age and I haven't had it yet..." She shyly answered him back.
"Hn. Rebellious now, are we?" He smirked at her discomfort as he saw a blush slowly creep up to her porcelain cheeks.
"A-Ah! Iie.. I was merely fulfilling the wish my mother had for me... Before she handed herself over to the authorities..." She explained. He noticed the hatred she put into the last word, and he wondered aloud that it didn't suit her.
"Excuse me?" The girl inquired. She was the very epitome of spring to him, he thought to himself.
"I said, it doesn't suit you. Bitterness." He stated plainly. It wasn't even a compliment; he never compliments anyone.
"A.. Arigato?" She tilted her head to the side, not quite sure how to react to his statement.
"Aa." He grunted. He turned his head to the side, looking like he's lost interest in her, and was about to sleep when a voice cut through the crack.
"M-Mister!" She exclaimed. I hope I didn't make him mad...
"Do you always stutter this much? Tch, annoying." He muttered the last part under his breath before he said, "What is it, girl?"
"Ah.. H-Hai.. It's just that I don't know you, so..." She scratched the back of her head. She was just trying to make conversation, and it seemed like this man was a poor target to talk to. "What's your name?" She finally asked him, looking up through her mauve lashes curiously.
"..." It seemed to her that he was pondering on telling her his name or not. "Sasuke." He finally replied after a few seconds. He turned towards her again and stared at her blankly. She blinked at him, wondering if there was something on her face all of a sudden, when it clicked. "A-ah! Mine's Sakura. N-Nice to meet you!"
"Hn." With the last word said, he turned to his side and closed his eyes, trying to catch up on his disturbed sleep.
Sakura gulped and congratulated herself for being brave in her conversation with the stranger-no, Sasuke. She smiled happily; at least she had someone to talk to here. She'd make a friend out of him.
And the name felt right on her lips.
Sleep finally overcame her, and before her eyelids drooped to a close, a final thought crept in her mind.
Oyasumi nasai, Sasuke-kun.
A few days passed since their first encounter, and everyday she seemed to be more talkative than before. She'd ask him about menial things, and he'd reply with a grunt when he finds her annoying (which was a lot, she thought), and answer in one-worded sentences when he wants the questioning to be over with. Ocassionally, he'd ask her questions too. Most of the time, though, it was just her doing the talking. But today, she decided to get to know him a little better.
"Why are you here, Sasuke-kun?" She asked him with the same pair of bright green eyes that always glimmered with curiosity with every question he'd ask him. He could never refuse answering her, despite her being a nuisance sometimes.
He tensed immediately as her question settled in, and in that short moment he was forced to relive the memories he had of that night. She approached the crack worriedly, even extending her hand out to him in concern, but she knew she cannot reach him. He looked even paler than most days, and his black eyes were slightly dilated, like he was in shock. A bit of sweat trickled down his chin, and his hands were shaking.
"S-Sasuke-kun? Are you alright?" She pried gently, anxiety dousing her words.
His head was bowed now, and shadows covered up his face so that she couldn't read it. Pain gripped her heart as she saw him convulse visibly. In anger, perhaps? Maybe it's trauma triggered from a memory.
"It's none of your fucking business." He said in a low voice as he looked at her. In the dimming rays of sunlight, his eyes looked like they were crimson, and the darkness that his bangs cast against his eyes made it a mixture of black and red orbs.
She thought him to be intimidating, but never was she afraid of him, until now.
As she looked at him, she slowly cowered to the farthest corner of the room, away from him. She wanted to look away, but his eyes put her under a spell that she couldn't look away.
When she finally gathered her senses, she looked down apologetically and said, "I'm sorry... I'll never ask again." She turned away from him and closed her eyes, trying to sleep even though it was only late afternoon. She had to find an excuse not to look at him, not to speak to him. It wasn't like she was obligated to, but she thought friends had a commitment of sorts, right? Or perhaps it was just a one-sided friendship to him.
A lone tear slid down her face, and neither of them spoke for the rest of the night.
It has been one full week since she hasn't spoken to him. One week, eight hours, thirty-two minutes and nine seconds to be exact. And counting. Heck, he didn't even know why he was counting.
But it irked him to no end that she wouldn't face him. He'd come to know that heart-shaped face of hers by the length of her stay, and he'd become familiar with the sight of her. She's always been on the giving end, and he would merely grunt at her in response because that's who he is.
Sometimes he'd catch her looking through the crack and he'd open his mouth to say something, but she'd quickly look away, but not before giving him that familiar look he's been used to the whole week.
Fear.
And like bitterness, it didn't suit her. Especially if he was the one she feared.
He tried his best to strike up a topic, any topic, but he was Uchiha Sasuke. His tongue might as well be cut off for its lack of use.
...
Uchiha.
How he detested the name now.
He didn't even know why he trusted her; she might as well be a stranger to him. Or...a friend, perhaps? He never had any. She's the closest to one he'll ever have.
He didn't like reliving his past, but he didn't like being feared either.
Sakura.
H-Hai, Sasuke-kun?
It doesn't suit you.
It didn't suit her.
"I...killed someone." He finally spoke up after a long week of solitude and silence. She jumped a little at the sound, surprised that he, among the two of them, was the one to initiate a conversation. She still had that look in her viridian eyes, but seeing the slight guilt on his face made the pair soften. "Wh-Who?"
Ah, so she was back to stuttering basis again. Good going, Uchiha.
"My brother." He spoke nonchalantly, like it was nothing of importance. A flash of terror again in her green orbs, and she backed up against the wall instinctively at his confession. His words triggered that same panic in her the day he looked like the devil. He looked away, not wanting to scare her even further.
He seemed reluctant with his words. And Sakura could see pain in his eyes, like he was uncomfortable with her acting like that. She slowly approached him in penance, getting closer to him again to inquire about the whole story.
"...Why?" She asked after a few more seconds of contemplation. He wasn't so bad after all. Maybe she just crossed the line that day? She hid a small smile from him as she looked at him, anticipating his reply.
He finally glanced her way then, wondering if she'd flinch under his gaze again. But she didn't waver, not this time.
"He forced the procedure on my family. He was one of the assistants of the lead scientists, and he was ordered by the authority to do so. My father and mother were planning an uprising against the government, when Itachi... He ruined everything. He fucking turned them into one of those things." He told her as he tried to contain his rage. He must not lose control, not with her around.
She reached out to the crack on the wall, her fingers skimming the hard edges of the cement. She meant for it to be a sign of affection, of concern. If only she could embrace him, then she could let him know how much she wants to comfort him. But this was the best she could do.
"I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun... And also for the other day... I must have triggered something unhappy, and I shouldn't have done that... Gomen ne!" She turned her gaze back down to the floor, her pink brows furrowed in apology. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes, a product of her compassion.
"...Hn. It's nothing, Sakura." And like how he'd always end their talks, he turns his head away from her. Too bad he missed the thankful smile she gave his way.
Months had passed since then. They talk more amiably than before. Ever since he opened up to her, she's been more cheery and talkative with him. He doesn't seem to grunt as much anymore, and that was good progress to her. His eyes have been softening up to her sight more and more, and as the days passed in those months, she wondered why she was scared of him in the first place.
To him, her smiles were a breath of fresh air, and everyday he finds that he could breathe a little more each day, what with the walls closing in on them.
She was his piece of heaven.
But one day they opened her metal door.
One of the blue guards came and grabbed her by the arm, and at that moment all he saw was red. And she looked at him, fear once again in her eyes, but this name not because of him, but because she was being taken away from him.
"S-Sasuke-kun!" She screamed as she struggled, trying not to be dragged out of the cell.
"Resistance is futile. You will have the procedure." The guard said emotionlessly.
"N-No! I refuse to be one of you heartless zombies!" He watched her scream, and his eyes narrowed at the blank-faced guard that dared take her away. He clawed through the crack, trying to do anything, anything that could possibly help her. He's injuring his palms and the tips of his fingers trying to get to her, he's banging against the cement.
He'll do anything for her.
But as he watched her helplessly be dragged outside her cell, she murmured the words that would make and break him.
Sasuke-kun...
I love you.
Pink and green. Those eyes that feared him, smiled at him, and now proclaimed her affection.
Then red.
It was all he saw before he lost all sanity.
.
.
"In all these worlds, I will make you feel pain."
A memory. A transmission-
Laughter. "Sasuke-kun! I love you so, so much!"
Why...
St-
"I-.. lo-e, s-..uch!"
Just stop trying to take her away from me.
Day 3 end. Please review!