Dark Play (a Naruto Fanfiction) by Seth's Kiss:
A/N: Hello, ladies, gents and everyone else! As promised, here I am with an update...which I honestly thought I'd be late with. Again. But I'm NOT! I'm even way earlier than expected! ...Can I be proud of myself? Or is that too conceited of me? Either way, thank you, thank you so much for all the support each and every one of you guys are giving me. It really means a lot. THANK YOU! And, without further ado, everyone, on with the chapter!
Important Warnings: Blood, water and madness...it almost looks like a song title or the like. Also, a little bit of molestation, yet it still remains disconcerting. But the most disconcerting bit is Sakura narrating her past. It's full on gore and horror (I wrote that part on Halloween). So, please, do beware. It is NOT recommended for the faint-hearted.
Note: The timeline for this fanfic happens over an entire month (30/31 days), but I will not narrate the whole day with every chapter, just significant events that occur on each day or so...
Another Note: I've set up a poll on my profile, for a few short upcoming fics I'll be writing. Feel free to place a vote. It'll be open until the last day of December, so please don't hesitate. Thank you :) And to all those who have already placed their votes, thank you SO much!
Chapter 3: Cutting Edge
The first thing that gradually flooded within Sakura's hazy mind as she stirred slightly, was that she felt incredibly groggy, like she had spent her time sleeping recently. She also felt rather sore, the slightest of movements causing an ache throughout her every joint and every limb. But, with her disarrayed, extenuated senses, she couldn't even begin to fathom what it could all mean. It was probably best to simply fall back asleep. Now that sounded good.
Only, as she began to convince herself to do so, a faint frown found its way upon her features, as a second realization gradually kicked in.
A good part of her body was soaking wet. Or rather, a good part of her body was drenched in water.
Eyes flying wide open in absolute alarm, as events happening not too long ago jumpstarted her brain with a spark of fear, she hurriedly took in her surroundings with fright, green gaze darting around wildly, before coming to a sudden, screeching halt when awareness steadily took toll... The young woman was, point in fact, for some reason beyond her understanding, in her own bathroom - the one adjoined directly to her bedroom - with the light on, but dimmer than usual, like it had been tampered with.
What was truly distressing and very disturbing however, was that she was in her bathtub, almost lying in it, with all of her body - but her upper arms, neck and head - dipped under water, in a position that gave no room to movement, her wrists tightly roped together above her head - by those thin, black plastic DIY zippers - directly tied to the tub's water tap.
And, Sakura was clad in nothing but her pale blue undergarments. The young woman blinked hazily for a moment, before she reddened, completely mortified at the idea of being undressed - and apparently washed off, as she was no longer dirty with sludge - by someone other than herself. ...She didn't want to think about else may or may not have happened while she was out, but she knew this. She had to get herself free. Immediately.
After tugging vehemently at her bindings for a moment and doing so despite all the soreness, her breath then came out with an apprehensive strain to it, a strong tremble to her frame upon seeing that she was not going anywhere anytime soon. The ropes to her wrists were set tight.
And, although her legs had been left unrestricted, she couldn't really see how they'd be of any use to her at the moment given her position, not to mention the injury, healing slow but still lodged within one of them - the one she was given on the very first night.
Also, she unfortunately wasn't some James Bond character to flexibly free her way out either.
Something else had her apprehension at its highest peak. The water was of an odd appearance. It wasn't quite transparent, but wasn't really opaque either. It looked somewhat misty, steamy.
At first glance, Sakura would have simply, and dismissively, blamed it on the temperature of the water, only the latter wasn't that hot, more like lukewarm and quickly cooling.
So, she truly didn't know what to think of it, only that it made her uneasy...like any water did.
Restless and very distraught by her predicament, she leaned her head back, staring absently at the ceiling, wondering with slow growing terror what would become of her, whereas knowing that calling out for help would go unheard.
She had never regretted until this very moment, but the horrible truth of living alone in this quiet, rural area - and currently cut off all communication in addition to that - was that she had no one to call for help. Her cries would only be calling up her tormentors to doom her further.
And now that her thoughts had inadvertently brought them up, the young woman racked her brain to work out the reasons why those two brothers were doing this to her...only to realize that she knew nothing about them, not even their names, to speculate anything to begin with.
The only thing she knew was, in all their uninvited intrusion and brutal, cruel mishandling of her, that she wasn't dead.
And then, a cold chill abruptly ran the long of her spine as that voice occupying a corner of her mind quietly added a word to that sentence: 'Yet...'
She jumped out of her skin when, all of a sudden, the handle of the bathroom's door lowered, making a loud, abrupt sound that earned Sakura's undivided attention, as a series of goose bumps ran trails all over her body, heart rate dramatically escalating with trepidation.
The door then, little by little, slid open, doing so with torturing slowness, before revealing the youngest of the two siblings, a malevolent, unnerving smile to his lips as he stood there, arms crossed and leaning comfortably, lazily against the doorway.
Smirk widening sinisterly, he leisurely took one measured step forwards, relishing when she instantly jumped and recoiled as best as she could in response, sucking in a sharp breath as she trembled and shook in apprehension all the while.
Chuckling scathingly, the young man then locked his dark and cold, feral eyes with her wide fearful green gaze, as he drawled out forebodingly: "Ready to play some more, Haruno-san?"
Sakura could only shudder in response, holding in a scream as she desperately refrained from showing her horror to the other any further - not when he enjoyed her fear and agony so damn much - her dreadfully frightening situation getting worse with every passing instant.
Caught captive within her own home, entirely overtook by strangers - seemingly psychotic ones at that - she had been bruised, battered and cut, and was constantly threatened by them... The young woman was sincerely starting to regret not listening to her dear friends - Naruto in particular - when they all had told her to either take self-defence classes or legally get herself a gun since she decided to live all alone in a remote and desolate area, the middle of nowhere.
Then again...She had never been a good listener, alas, despite it always costing her afterwards.
The young woman was brought back to reality when her captor leisurely began taking slow, measured towards her, his features full of sinister and ill intent in spite of the smile to his lips.
With her ragged breath hitching badly within a throat clogged up due to panic, Sakura tensed, her anxiety as its highest. How she wish she could flee. Or better yet, just disappear into thin air, right here, right now, like the Little Mermaid did.
Only, for the latter, that happened due to a broken heart...which Sakura prayed to never have...
While he walked on forward with deadly grace to his step, the young male, his dark narrowed eyes screaming with lethalness, casually slipped a hand to the back of his belt, unhooking the dagger that sat there horizontally, before pulling it out by its handle, excruciatingly slow.
"I truly can't believe you had the gall to try and poison us. If my brother had died because of you..." he seethed in a low, quiet tone, features filled with a savage wrath, and Sakura, letting out a shriek, quickly snapped her eyes closed as he brusquely raised up his armed hand, as if to strike.
...Oh God. Was he-? Was he going to throw the dagger at her?! Where would it land? Would it cut deep? Wasn't she hurt enough?! But the hit she was so terribly anticipating never came.
"Regardless, that was rather fun," drawled the young male with a grin, previous show of ire evaporated into thin air as he lowered his hand again, before he warned lightly, sheer amusement dancing in the dark of his eyes "So do be careful, Haruno-san, or we just might get addicted. An advice for your own good..."
With wide, unblinking eyes, Sakura merely stared at him in silence, scared out of her skin. The mood swings these two brothers had were entirely and utterly unpredictable. ...Unsettling.
Speaking of which, despite being reluctant to know, why was the younger sibling by himself?
The younger woman stiffened. For some strange reason, being alone with this one out of the two invaders didn't sit well with her, making her feel particularly unwell and uneasy. Unsafe.
The younger brother, seemed to be far more...impulsive, compared to the other. And rashness - or recklessness - was a very, very dangerous trait to be face-to-face with, especially when entirely defenceless against it...
"Where...is-?" she began, trailing off as her eyes, broad with dread, glanced at the open door.
"My brother? Went out," he replied, before he smirked tauntingly "Why? Miss him already?"
"N-No, that's not why I...asked..." she stammered, her voice now completely dying out as the other now stood towering right over her, the side of the bathtub the only thing in the way of too much proximity between them.
And even so, Sakura saw him to be too close for comfort, feeling excessively self-conscious of his presence - and of her state of dress, or rather lack of, feeling somewhat grateful for the opaque state of the water. And her uneasiness was on point, because seconds later upon the first thought crossing her mind, the other sharply jabbed the blade forwards, aimed at her face.
Too shocked and taken aback to react or move in time, the young woman let a startled squeak as it narrowly - but intentionally - missed the side of her face, the deadly dagger now glinting ominously out of the corner of her eye - and close to merely seconds away from it.
Sakura stayed as still as a statue - her erratic breathing the only thing making her body move with shuddering quivers - for she had no wish to worsen whatever fate he had for her.
Observing her intently with that enigmatic and unsettlingly silent smirk of his, he then had the dulled side of the blade caress a slow path down her cheek as he spoke slowly: "I have to keep my earlier promise, Haruno-san. To carve you up. To make you bleed..."
Wha-?! When had he-? Oh. Yes, he had said that, hadn't he?
"How about I used one of your own knives against you, hm? Carve that pretty skin of yours? What do you think, Haruno-san?"
"Oh, no need to fear, dear," laughed the young dark-haired male as he witnessed her blanch, before he grinned widely, darkly "I'll put you back together nicely. When I'm done with you."
The young woman's heart plummeted to her violently churning stomach and drowned there.
...Had they not - well, it had principally been this one - already harmed her enough as it was?
Ever since the two trespassers had set foot in her home, she had been given a stab to the leg, another in the shoulder and she wore a gash to her forehead, without counting all the times they roughened her up and threw her around like a ragdoll. Yet...they wanted to do more?
As dramatic as it sounded, Sakura really hoped that a sudden heart attack would save her now.
Whereas she was lost in her thoughts but still eyeing the other warily, the dark-haired male stared right back at her in silence, typically entertained by how uncomfortable it made the young pink-haired woman feel, but too preoccupied to pay it any attention for now.
Despite initially dismissing her to be the average 'pest' he and his older sibling were generally confronted to, the younger brother had to be honest and acknowledge - but not out loud - that, in barely forty-eight hours, this young woman had proved to be quite...different from the rest.
While others would flee, this one tried - with an emphasis on tried, for her attempts were truly pathetic - to fight back, so far no one but her considering - and daring - to harm them head on.
While others would instantly beg for their lives, this one, though evidently afraid, would merely cower in silence, only beseeching them when her limits were attained, not right off the bat. And, on top of all that, her limits appeared to be quite enduring, both mental and physical.
In all honesty, though he had heard of it, he had never seen anyone heal as quickly as she did, so far the blood of her injuries, recent and former, clotting at an alarmingly accelerated rate, and without any infections. ...What an odd one he and his older brother have stumbled upon.
"Do you know why I use blades, Haruno-san?" he asked her in a light tone, saying so rather suddenly and completely out of the blue as he knelt "Why my brother and I really like them?"
Very quiet and still, she didn't answer, not sure if she should, not sure if she wanted to know...
"They're quiet, not noisy like guns are. Guns make a lot of noise and, if they hit the right spot, the only response will be silence," he elaborated easily as he brought his dagger back towards him and gazed admiringly, lovingly at the dimmed shine reflected off the blade "But if you use a knife, or any sharp weapon in all their discretion, they draw the prettiest of sounds."
She cried out when he swiftly lashed out and sliced out at her skin without warning, leaving a faint paper cut-like diagonal trail along her once intact and healthy calf, drawing blood that slowly, steadily dyed the water, turning it a sickly pinkish-white colour.
"See? It's like music," he uttered softly, an eerily elated expression etched within his features, as she trembled in silence, straining to regulate both her uneven breathing and heart rate.
...It was truly strange, how the brain worked in certain given situations compared to others.
At times, the young woman thought of him and his brother to be rather attractive. Other times, like now, she was downright terrorized by the look on their faces, distorted by their insanity...
Grimacing, she let out a faint whimper as the new searing and vivid sting had yet to subside, actually getting worse instead. It wasn't that the incision pained her, for he hadn't sliced her that deeply for it to hurt this much. It was the water that was in contact with her.
By seeping directly along the now open wound, it let out a strong stinging sensation, burning her viciously, from the outside and the inside of the injury.
"Hurts?" he questioned, with an air feigned gentleness and gullibility that made him look even scarier, before he chuckled scathingly, arching an eyebrow tauntingly "Can you guess why?"
Distressed and distraught over her complete and utter defencelessness, faint irritation piqued curtly and viciously at Sakura, for she was not at all in the mood to deal with guessing games.
She wanted to scream at him and at same time, wanted to curl up on herself and cry. She was totally drained and nearly borderline hysterical, all in addition to the burning agony she felt.
So, NO. She had absolutely no bloody idea why the water was stinging her injury so fiercely.
'Screw him,' hissed an angry voice in her head, one Sakura was pretty sure was actually hers.
"No idea at all?" he persisted, grinning wide as if he somehow knew exactly what was on the young woman's mind from her expression "How about...now?"
Abruptly seizing her long hair in a vicious knot and forcing her to arch her neck backwards at a nasty angle, he dunk her head under the water just as she parted her lips to scream.
The young woman gagged, hastily trying to get herself back up and spit out the water which was already halfway down her throat as she choked, the taste of it assaulting her taste buds.
And then, with the struggle being in vain, Sakura inwardly froze, horrific realization dawning upon her. It tasted salty.
There was salt in the water. A freak load of it. No wonder it...
"Stings like a bitch, doesn't it?" smirked the young dark-haired male straight in her face as he then pulled her right back out, watching her with dark amusement as she coughed and gasped.
Struggling to catch her breath despite the submerging being quite brief, Sakura reassessed her situation, momentarily but radically detaching her inner world from her current apprehension and aching, separating herself completely from the moment, withdrawing deep into herself...
So, she was tied up and injured, practically naked and plunged up to her neck in salty water, with a rather psychotic, possibly murderous, individual who literally had her life in his hands.
Dear God...Was she going to die here? In her own bathtub? ...She was, wasn't she?
Sakura could picture the news' headlines, days after her corpse was discovered by authorities: "YOUNG WOMAN, IN HER MID-TWENTIES, FOUND BRUTALLY MURDERED IN HER BATHTUB."
The news wouldn't even bother with the courtesy of giving her the necessary privacy to say 'in her home' instead. Whatever hooked the undivided attention of the viewers, she supposed.
...How sad was that?
Hence, she really couldn't help but ask, the words flowing past her lips before she could even register them: "...Are you and your brother going to kill me?"
Not saying a word yet, he stared at her with a slowly raising eyebrow, regarding her intently.
There was not a single trace of fear in the young woman's features or voice, not a stutter to it.
Not just that, but there was also absolutely no hint of any emotion whatsoever.
...Something had changed. Drastically. And he had completely missed when it had happened.
It was as if she had suddenly shut down. Or cut herself off from her surroundings. Either way, she looked totally detached, lifeless.
The young man tilted his head with curiosity as he slowly let go of her hair, the damp pink locks slipping through his fingers before returning to Sakura's side, sticking to bare shoulders.
What a truly odd one this woman was.
Regardless, he was having none of...whatever this was. Toying around with an unresponsive prey was no fun at all. And if she thought that playing possum was going to benefit her in any way, well, she had better think again...
"We're not going to kill you, Haruno-san," he said simply, eyes shining as he smoothly stood before causally sliding into the bathtub, before his now wet leather-clad legs touched hers as he lazily lowered himself, straddling her whilst she tensed at the contact "Not yet anyways."
And, now, the whole aspect of dying later seemed only worse...if affliction had to come first.
"...If you're going to kill me in the end, why don't you just kill me now?"
"There's no fun in that," stated the other crudely, considering her closely as he neared his face to hers, before arching an eyebrow at her inquisitively "Unless you want to die, Haruno-san?"
With her voice failing her, Sakura could only stare, her wide green eyes not once leaving the predator's dangerous dark gaze, despite feeling - the more and the longer she looked into the darkness of his eyes - as though she was being devoured by it. Little by little.
...He was really close. Too close. And it took her a lot of effort to remember that he'd uttered a question and even more effort than that to reply, eventually shaking her head slowly.
At that, contempt and scorn instilled themselves within his features as he smirked whereas he shifted again, moving away slightly: "I thought not. None of you ever do."
Sakura's brow crinkled faintly in confusion at his words, but did not dare inquire upon them...
She did however let her mind continue to have its detached moment.
"Would you...want to die?" she countered in a soft whisper, watching on steadily as he stilled.
With his face suddenly a blank mask, the young male slowly cast her a glance with narrowed eyes, his tone clipped and cold: "That's totally irrelevant, Haruno-san."
Though still in her lethargic, disconnected state, Sakura felt a hint of hope surge through her. It wasn't much, but the young woman had managed to get a reaction out of him.
...Good. She had to hurry and carry on talking then. Maybe she could reason him...She hoped.
"Is it though? Because you're speaking as if I should want to die," she declared, emphasizing her point by boldly staring him dead in the eye, hoping he'd somehow catch a glimpse of her adamant desire to live "But if you have no wish to die, what makes you think that I wou-?"
Green blown wide in panic, the young woman immediately cut herself off, her breath hitched aloud, erratic and strained, for he had his favoured dagger pressed up right against her inner thigh, with deadly intimacy.
She froze in fear. One single nick at the soft flesh there, and she'd bleed out. Bleed to death...
His black eyes were wide, portraying ferocity and something else she couldn't quite pinpoint, while he stared at her, unsure why her attitude was starting to seriously annoy him. But it was.
"Quiet. You know nothing," he drawled out lowly, dangerously "So don't try. It doesn't mean because we're chatting away nice and all, that you forget your place, woman."
True. This was probably the longest - and uncut - conversation she had had with one of them. Stranger still, it was with the one that terrified her the most.
"Now," warned the dark-haired male, smoothly using his free hand to run his gloved fingers across her trembling lips as to emphasis his next threat "Not. Another. Word."
And so he went, one hand leisurely touching her skin in light caresses, while the other hand, still faithfully armed with his dagger, randomly left sporadic incisions anywhere on her body when she least expected it - the salted water burning each cut - all whereas Sakura squirmed and shuddered in pain, embarrassment and fearful anticipation, her eyes closed shut.
How far was he going to take this? Would he-? She hoped and prayed to the seven heavens and hells that he - and his brother - wouldn't.
Anything but that. As adamant as she was to live, she'd rather much die if they did that to her.
That being so, with dark, bottomless eyes riveted upon her features, he wasn't even casting a glance at her body, nor did his invasive fingers roam anywhere near her most intimate places.
The young male didn't even seem to be doing this out of curiosity or some sort of horny need.
Again, it was just to relish in her discomfort and distress.
Just how sadistic could they be? And how far did that sadism go?
'You're going to let him do this to you? Where's your bravery, huh? Fight! DO something!'
'I can't even MOVE!' mentally yelled back Sakura as that voice in her head shouted at her.
'You can move your lips, can't you?!' it sneered at her, as if she was the biggest idiot alive.
"W-Wait-!"
She didn't get to say more however as the dark-haired male, very much irritated now, expertly jabbed his dagger straight into her mouth, wedging it right between her tongue and her upper teeth, not bringing her any injury - as he timed it perfectly to slip it in - but effectively halting all level of speech.
"Hey, deaf girl," he whispered impatiently, eyes narrowed darkly "What did I just tell you?"
Sakura stilled, eyes wide. The dagger was too close to cutting her if she ever dared to speak, as it was rather deep in. She could easily taste the smooth, cold metal of the blade, as well as the taste of salt and the dim metallic taste of blood. Her own blood. And it made her nauseous. However, even so, once again, her need for survival was stronger than her will to die.
So, although highly apprehensive, she swallowed nervously and forced herself to speak on, despite her struggling to do: "J-Just wait...Y- You don't have to do this."
Staring at her, the young dark-haired male didn't say anything at first, heightening her nerves. But the fact was that his dark gaze caught sight of her tongue accidently brushing the blade as she attempted to get her words around it...and he was given a few nasty ideas. ...Maybe later, they'd give it a try, when his brother came back.
"No," he then said, as though agreeing with her, before his expression turned dark, demented "I get to do this. I want to do this, because I - we - love doing this to pathetic people like you. The important thing to remember is, that the more it hurts you, the better it feels for us."
Seeing that she had lost what little chance she had of talking him out of this, Sakura fell silent, frightened yet resigned as she turned her head away from him, unable to look at him anymore.
The left side of his face, not touched by the faint light, was truly insidious and, dimmed as it was, it gave him an even more sinister air than ever.
...He scared her. Both brothers really did. And she wasn't ashamed to admit that in the least.
Seeing that she had finally shut up, he carefully retrieved his dagger and went back to his fun.
The opaque appearance of the water had by now faded a little and, for the first time, the dark-haired male's gaze was drawn to her body, something catching his attention and leading him to stare at it intently, ceasing all movement.
Uncomfortable under his scrutiny, which she noticed out of the corner of her eye, Sakura tried to twist her body to the side - as to hide the flank of her stomach from his piercing gaze - but he swiftly caught her hip and pinned it down with ease, refusing to let her do as she pleased.
Giving in to his restraint, she crossed her fingers in silence, dearly hoping he was not looking where she thought he was. But, unfortunately for her, that's exactly where he was looking.
"I was wondering, Haruno-san, what happened to you?" asked the young male, dark curious eyes riveted on the rather long and horribly jagged line, a scar extending from underneath her belly button to her left hip.
Weathered by age, as it appeared to have inhabited her body for several years, it was much darker compared to her skin, and its broad size and roughened ridges betrayed the truth that it had once been a very deep, very ghastly and, most surely, a very painful injury, dreadfully lacking the appropriately timed and required care, resulting in its current appearance.
The young male couldn't help but touch the tip of his gloved fingers to it in morbid interest: "This, right here. What is it?"
The mild contact to it sent her entire body jolting in response, as if she had been electrified, and out of every bout of fear he and his brother had drawn from those pretty green eyes, none of them could ever match the sheer terror now within them, like she was two seconds away from the verge of a violent panic attack.
It was as though the two siblings somehow paled significantly in comparison to the mystery reason that stood was behind this arcane scar that blemished her otherwise neat, creamy skin.
And though irked by this, the young man was rather intrigued and very much determined on unravelling the deep - and hopefully, not disappointing - secret embedded within this cicatrix.
"Did you do this to yourself?" he ventured as he slowly traced the uneven length of the once mutilated flesh, all while eyeing her fixatedly as she shuddered and shivered in silence "...No. You don't seem like the type. Someone did this to you... And looks like it was rather deep. Shall we have a little fun and bring this secret back to life, hm?"
...Bringing that scar back to life?! Those words were like the end of the young woman's entire existence, and she felt like outright hyperventilating as her heart nearly stopped beating.
She could not relive that moment. It would be just like dying, but worse. She'd lose her mind.
"N-No, no! NO!" she screamed stridently, twisting and thrashing, frantic in putting distances between his looming blade and her haunting scar "Please, don't-! ...NO! Please...Not there."
Shaken and distrait, Sakura was expecting him not to heed to her plea, to ignore it and just do as he wanted...which he could very well do.
But he did listen, halting his blade's trajectory midway and glancing up at her with curiosity in his eyes as he considered her silently, before he demanded: "Give me a reason not to then."
The young male's command sounded almost childish, but it still echoed loudly as blackmail...
Quivering horribly, the pink-haired woman blinked rapidly, very much distraught yet trying hard to remain here, in the present.
These past hours, Sakura had been repeatedly torn from reality and tossed back and forth into a heap of traumatic memories she'd been desperately trying to repress, to forget, to rid herself of. And, in truth, her isolation had a reason. Her choice for her future career had a reason. Her being so resolute on living had a reason. ...Her seeing a therapist every Sunday afternoon, for fourteen years now, also had a reason.
With even her best friends knowing only snippets of her background nightmares and torment, her past was really something she did not like remembering, nor talking about...especially not with a stranger bound on tormenting her ceaselessly before, ultimately, ending her life.
Trying to come up with a good cover story, she glanced away uncomfortably, biting her lip: "I-"
"A real reason, Haruno-san. No excuses, nor lies."
Damn it. He had seen through her yet again. ...Were he and his brother mind readers? Maybe.
With his face dangerously close to hers, just a breadth away, his dark eyes were like a hawk, gazing at her intently, ravenously, terrifyingly, as though waiting for one slip-up on her part that would allow him to dive in for the kill.
Sakura dared not move. Nor blink, afraid that would be an enough excuse to condemn herself.
"I- I don't want...t-to die," she eventually uttered slowly, her green eyes boring deep into his.
Though staying quiet, thin black eyebrows rose faintly as he regarded her carefully, curiously.
That was in no way a plea on her part. Merely a truth. She did not want to die...but, yet again, she was not begging for her life.
Did that mean that, later on when the time would eventually come, she'd let them kill her and die quietly, acceptingly, not even imploring them to let her live? ...He highly doubted that.
Seeing that he was nowhere near backing down from his inquiry whereas she was not at all looking forward to what he'd do to her if she kept on holding it in, she reluctantly relented, whilst also deciding to speak yet, very carefully, edit along the way.
"...Mom and Dad were doctors, with a relatively good reputation, who would do their best to nurse people back to health, even if it sometimes seemed impossible and no one else would do it," the young woman tentatively began, struggling to keep all her composure as she took an unwanted trip down memory lane, ambling down a path which was like eggshells "And my parents would do it, no matter the person's race, age or social status. They were utterly and completely unbiased, and so they never refused a patient. Never...except once."
Having the impression that he could guess where this was going, the dark-haired male parted his lips about to make his assumption, but then, at the very last second, decided against it, and continued to listen.
"I... I was six, when- When it happened. When he came knocking on the door, late one night. It was my father who opened the door. I wasn't asleep. It was my birthday the next day, and I was too excited to sleep. So, I was up in the corner at the top of the staircase. And I heard everything. The mons- The man, who I couldn't see at the time - it was too dark - said that he had come from far, having heard of my parents' reputation, and he wanted a certain surgery performed on him. He assured my father that it was harmless and that he needed it, even though, he wasn't sick, but the more the man talked, the edgier Dad got, insisting for the man to leave, before their talking turned into shouting."
With haunted, distant eyes, the young woman sounded like a scared little girl as she narrated, like she was actually six years old again.
And she was so deeply immersed in the depths of her past, that she didn't notice the elder brother manifesting at the bathroom door - back from who knows where - and now listening just as intently as his younger sibling, raptly taking in her every word, her every expression.
"I didn't understand at the time, but the procedure in itself was totally monstrous, inhuman. And that's why Dad refused, backed up by my mother, who had come forward to see what the commotion was about, worried that the shouting would wake me up - although I was already awake. But the man was mad, very, very mad with my parents' refusal, and promised them that they wouldn't live to regret them denying him this opportunity. Mom, not at all liking the threat, shut the door in the man's face. And, with that, my parents thought that that was the last they'd ever see of him. It wasn't... After that, I had crept back to bed, but bothered by the monster's warning, I still couldn't sleep. And then I heard the noises. Glass crashing. Mom shouting. Furniture falling. Dad yelling. In pain. They were both in pain. I wanted to run to them, but I couldn't move. I was scared. It's when Mom screamed - Mom had never screamed like that before - that I jumped out of bed and ran downstairs. Till this day, I wish I hadn't."
"That man killed your parents," said the younger male, not too sympathetic to her anguish but quite uneasy by this man and his drives "Just because they said no? Fuck. That's messed up."
...A villain criticizing another. But she didn't hear him, carrying on as if he had never spoken.
"It was still dark. I tripped and fell, in something wet. The lights then came on, and I was completely drenched in red. There was blood, too much blood. It was everywhere. On the tipped over sofa, on the cluttered floor, on the walls, on the TV screen, on the bookshelves. ...And it was also all over me. On my clothes, on my face, on my hands. I could even breathe it, although I could barely do so, the shock too much for me to bear. And that was before I saw my parents."
The elder brother wordlessly raised an eyebrow, now able to comprehend why she had had such a negative reaction before to being covered in that dish reddish-coloured she had made. Being exposed to blood at the age of six...Now doubt at all there'd be lingers of trauma after. However he had only loosely caught the idea of where the actual trauma plaguing her lied, because, though that night had been horrifying and heart-wrenching for her...that was not the only bit that had messed Sakura up.
"Dad (a loud, hysterical sob)... Dad, head hung low, had been pinned to the wall, crucified, his palms pierced by scalpels, his chest ripped open...everything that should have been inside missing. Gone. No heart, no lungs, no liver... Nothing, but an empty and ripped open ribcage, gushing with blood. There was nothing inside, because everything had been scattered on the floor. And I had tripped on Dad's intestines. And Mom - oh my God, Mom - was- She was headless, her head sliced off - which I found out later to have been thrown out the window - and her chest had been ripped open too, with the- with the man bent over her, carving out her organs one by one, doing to her what he had done to Dad. As I saw him doing that, I couldn't move. But I did scream. ...I didn't think. I just...couldn't help it. And then, he...h-he-"
Sakura choked on her breath, wanting, needing to stop there, but she was already in too deep, and, strapped on tight within the hellish, horrific roller-coaster in her mind, she couldn't stop: "He saw me...And so did I. Pale, very pale, almost white, dead, he looked like...like a snake, spoke like one too. With his eyes of cold, unfeeling gold, he saw me. And he smiled at me, a horrible, inhuman, serpentine smile, before he told me to watch him closely do what he did to my father. And then he- he- he ate Mom's face."
By now, both brothers were very much disturbed by what they were being told. And here they thought they were crazy. They had both done a fair share dark and despicable things, and have also encountered a good number of dark and despicable people in their lives. But never have they ever harmed a child nor committed a crime in front of one. There were limits to insanity. If this individual was even human to begin with. It sounded as if she was talking of a beast...
"I hadn't seen that on my Dad - not with his head lowered like it had been. But I saw him doing it to my Mom. His sharp, pointed teeth sank into her skin, into her flesh, before tearing it up, chewing it and swallowing. I didn't last longer than that scene. I passed out... When I woke up again, I found that he had took me with him, that he had kidnapped me. And I-"
'And this is the part where you STOP, Sakura,' cautioned the voice in her head, once again being gentle, although it was truly a rare thing 'Go any deeper and you won't come back out.'
Grateful that it spoke up when she felt like she was going to go under, Sakura sobered, cutting her story short, saving herself: "And then I had to wait four years to run free from him. I... I stabbed him when he- when he wasn't paying attention. I kept on stabbing him, over and over, until he no longer moved."
They watched her with intrigue as a dark glint briefly crossed her green eyes, turning them wild for a fleeting moment before it vanished, as if it had never even existed in the first place.
"I left right after that. I ran and ran, and ran, until I was, one day, found, healed, nursed back to health and taken care of, up until this very day..." trailed off the young woman, drained as she ended her story there, with the siblings left stunned silent and mulling over her dark past...
It was only then that the younger brother realized that she had never answered his question. He had went and asked her about her scar, not a single thing about what she'd just told them. However, despite noting that she had abruptly went and omitted a large part of her story, he had the distinct impression that she had still managed to give him a reply to his query, at least in a manner she was capable of. Hence, if she had a scar, it was most unquestionably due to this terror of a man...who was very much disturbing, no doubt there. ...No wonder her fear of them was not that intense. She most certainly assumed that she had seen and lived worse. But did her telling them all this mean the young woman wanted them to feel sorry for her? ...No. He didn't think so. She didn't seem like the kind of person to want others to pity her...
"What was it like?" asked the younger brother, a totally, newly revealed aspect of this woman sparking his interest "Hurting him? Killing him? Tell me, Haruno-san. How did it feel like?"
Because if he understood correctly, according to what she had just told them, she had killed. She was a killer. Just like them. And that thought thrilled him to no end.
This time, his voice seemed to draw her out of her dark, afflicting and disturbing memories and back in to reality, green eyes hesitantly meeting his, yet very clearly showing him that she did not like his interrogation. Because his inquiries meant that she had to remember things she really didn't want to, to answer him. And she had done more than enough of exposing herself to them for today. Both figuratively and literally.
"He didn't die, as I found out later on, when I was older," she revealed, head sagging tiredly against one of her shoulders as she glanced at them wearily, witnessing their eyes widen at her next words "Besides, I had injured him to run away. I hadn't been aiming to kill."
Sakura mutely watched them both gawk at her, clearly bewildered by what she had just stated, the younger male, in particular, who just couldn't stop blinking, genuinely confused.
She hadn't been aiming to kill him? ...That made no sense. Hadn't this terror of a man killed her parents, kept her captive and quite possibly maimed and mistreated her? Besides, how on earth would a ten-year-old, with no medical practice, know where to hit in order not to kill?
A single glance over at his elder sibling and he could that tell the other was asking himself the same things too.
"And it felt horrible," she whispered on, eyes clutching closed but not at all helping to evade what she was unwillingly remembering "Horrible. It's not something I'd ever want to do ag-"
"You fuckin' little, lying hypocrite," uttered the younger sibling venomously all of a sudden, with a sharp, curt laugh, dark eyes gleaming harshly, hostilely.
Holding her tongue, she found that she knew why he was saying that, what he was referring to, and what he was accusing her of. And his next words only confirmed she'd guessed right.
"If you hate killing so much, then why did you try and poison Aniki and I, hm? That would have been killing, wouldn't it?" he pointed out vividly, smirking when she remained silent, before he grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him, whilst he allowed all his anger and resentment twist the knife deeper, wanting to hurt her vulnerable state even further "You enjoyed it, didn't you? Harming the man that took away those you loved, hoping he'd die for what he did to them, to you. As for not doing it ever again, I think you're lying about that too. I think...that if you ever met that man again, this time, you'll make sure he'll die. For good."
Once again, this guy brought the worst out of Sakura, who could only stare at him in horror. What was truly terrifying was that he was not incorrect. Point in fact, his words couldn't be more accurate. But he was describing a monster she dared not become, she could not become.
Like hell she'd ever be like that vile, evil beast. She'd rather be anyone, anyone at all but him.
"I'M NOT!" cried out Sakura, tears of frustration and distress finally streaming free down her face as she shook her head fiercely and denied aloud his accusatory words, a horrible truth she utterly rejected with every fibre of her being "I will be NO ONE's murderer! I refuse to be a killer! I'm going to become a doctor! A REAL one! A GOOD one! Like my parents! And save lives, just like they did!"
"Save lives?" he echoed with a dark laugh, scathing derision alit, alive in his eyes and features as he openly mocked her inane hopes, his cruelty spiking even higher "How can you possibly hope to save others, if you can't even save yourself, idiot girl? Killer or not, you have blood on your hands, Haruno-san. Hands like that can't heal anyone. Ever."
Eyes doubling in size, the young woman paled and flinched back, like she had been slapped, once again letting the brothers witness a raw and delicious fear they had yet to induce in her...
Now those words just uttered were simply far too cruel, cutting at her shaper and deeper than any blade that had ever pierced her skin.
Of all the things Sakura wished she could forget or overlook, these words were now at the very top of her list. But not because she'd heard them from this young man's lips first. Rather, because she had been told these before, by the very monster she hated and feared.
"You can't keep me here forever! I. Will. LEAVE!" declared an eight-year-old Sakura, as she stomped her small foot, large green eyes bright with unshed tears "And I'll become a doctor, just like Mom and Dad!"
"You? A doctor?" drawled out the sibilant, serpentine voice of that beast, before he chuckled at her derisively "Don't make me laugh, child. Bloodied hands cannot heal, so do banish that thought from that pretty little head of yours."
Watching her slip back into a half-catatonic state as the darkness of her past swallowed her up again, the younger sibling finally let the issue go, faintly bored. Besides, the water was getting a tad too cold. They couldn't exactly let their new plaything freeze to death, now could they?
Swiftly getting up after pulling the plug to empty the tub, he stepped out of it, before halting in his steps and glancing back at her with an arched eyebrow. He had felt her staring at him, but he couldn't read what was in her eyes. Anger? Fear? Apprehension? Loathing? ...Self-loathing? A mixture of all that and something else he was unable to pinpoint?
"You're such a precious fool, Haruno-san, I'd almost feel sorry for you," he said, with that feigned nicety of his, before smirking scathingly as he walked off "That is, if I cared enough."
He crossed his elder brother on his way out, the latter who in turn made his way in to dump a few towels on Sakura's damp body, before cutting her loose from her bonds and telling her to quickly dry herself off.
Back outside as they waited for her to finish, the older sibling silently leaned against the now closed and locked door, his mind running wild and hectic like a dust devil.
Clearly, he and his younger brother had underestimated this one. And clearly, she was very different to what they were used to.
This woman had already been a victim once, so she knew, she understood what pain was. And that changed a lot of things for the two siblings, who weren't sure if this new, unexpected happenstance was a good thing or not. Nevertheless, she was very interesting...
Typically, their victims were individuals who knew nothing at all of real suffering, and their fear and dread of it was simply exquisite and downright exhilarating, as they steadily broke down under the two siblings' measured and meticulous torture.
But how to break what was already broken?
This specific woman, though still fragile, brittle, was in no way frail. She might have kept the majority of what had truly happened in her past to herself - four years was a long time - but only someone blind wouldn't see that she had suffered a lot more than she was letting on. So, she could take the hurt. At least, that's impression they were getting from this given angle.
Sakura Haruno was most likely a survivor. And survivors were very dangerous, unpredictable. ...Just like they were.
Hence, the question remained. Were they capable of outdoing whatever had been done to her?
The two brothers then wordlessly glanced at each other, both as usual thinking along the same lines, before very dark and ill intent crossed their features as they wickedly smirked in unison.
...Alright. Challenge accepted.
To be continued...
A/N: I can be a tad dramatic, I'll admit to that. MWAHAHAHAAAAAAA! ...Clears throat. Momentary madness aside, the following chapter should be updated on December 31st. Like I did for this chapter, if I end up finishing before schedule, I promise to update earlier. If I am capable of updating like this regularly and still be up-to-date with my other fics, I may not go on that previously announced hiatus after all. Let's cross our fingers on that, shall we?
So until then, ladies, gents and everybody else, take care! Bye!
Next Chapter, Preview:
"Like what you're learning so far, Haruno-san?" inquired a voice suddenly from behind her, causing her to jump, startled, and drop the remote control.
As it fell down with a dull thud, she hurriedly swirled around to see the exact same faces the news had been showing her. Her wide, rattled eyes then darted between the television and the two broadly smirking siblings, horrified by the truth she immediately grasped - thankfully, she was not that dumb - but utterly unable to make herself utter it into words, mouth totally dry.
"You... You- Y-You're-"
"Why yes, that would be us," chuckled the elder brother, sinisterly amused whilst he loosely wrapped an arm around his younger brother, who just grinned wider at the sight of her shock.
Sakura froze, unreservedly petrified out of her skin and mind.
Not only she now had a name to put to these two trespassers, but she also knew exactly what they were capable of. And just how horrendously worse her whole predicament had become...
