Chapter 7: Time won't heal all wounds.

"It's way past dusk, don't ya think?"

Naruto had already repeated those words twice. In the two hours Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke had sat in the abandoned building Sasuke had found the night before, the only animals they'd seen were of the single, female verity. They were getting nowhere, fast.

"I wasn't going to say this," Sakura begins, squatting down lower under the windowsill. "But, do you think all of the men have been kidnapped?"

Sasuke shakes his head. There's a smell that this place brings him, that is not only unpleasant, but bothersome as well. He prefers the stench over Naruto's incessant questions, however. "It would be incredibly stupid of them to do a mass purge."

Stupid didn't mean impossible. The broken glass by her toes crunched as Sakura stepped back, hoping to stretch out her stiff ligaments. The darkness of this place made it almost impossible to see her teammates. "Maybe they think they can get away with it."

One of the witness testimonies on Sakura's scroll had mentioned missing couples—a male and his younger brother had vanished. Two older gents disappeared together. There was even a report of a bachelor party gone wrong. Still, a handful of people was a lot different than a group of twenty. There was a mystery here, and it needed to be uncovered.

"Today might be a house special," Naruto suggest. "Ya know, buy one bunny, get two free? Wait, I think that was a sign at the petshop in Konoha..."

"Or," Sakura says, sighing loudly, "they could be on high alert."

When Sakura mentions this, Naruto feels his heart drop.

While he was out gathering supplies, he had also stopped by a shop to purchase some new footwear. Running in the sewers the night before, the straps to his sandals had been snapped. They were made of twine and bamboo, not suited for traveling ninja at all. To top it off, Sasuke had pulled Naruto away from impending disaster before he could gather his shoes. Those bunnies must have seen it.

"Damn it,"

Which meant, nothing could be done; their only option was to face those women head on.

Sasuke is already walking away. He clenches his fists, wondering how he'd been so stupid to not notice why the hotel seemed to be on guard in the first place. Sakura wasn't even with them when it happened, and her perceptive skills had once again triumphed over his. Quietly, he leads Naruto and Sakura to the grate, entering first. Once the others heard the familiar slap of Sasuke's feet on the wet ground, they jump too.

Sakura had never seen such a peculiar building before. No light shined from an of the windows, giving the black, triangular building a foreboding atmosphere. Though it didn't look guarded, and everything was silent, Team 7 knew that this place had more to offer than what they saw on the outside. Biting the bullet, the three silently decide that they must cross the drawbridge.

If the rabbit-women decided to run out in that moment and cut off the attached rope, they would all be at their mercy.

Sakura takes the lead—she is the smallest and the most nimble. Not bothering to look back at her boys, she slides her palms along the rough rope of the drawbridge, thumping her feet over creaking wooden planks as she carried onward. Waving the others across, the trio run quickly to the base of the ominous building. Naruto is the first to speak.

"What do we do now?"

"The side," Sasuke mutters, inching towards the back corner. He directs them to a row of windows with small ledges. They were spaced about two feet away from each other, and the first one just so happened to be situated a good meter up. The sides of the castle had intricate stonework paneling, which would make it possible for them to mount and climb it, even with it's odd shape. Before Sakura can praise Sasuke, Naruto opens his mouth.

"Why isn't there a window there?" He points to the second opening from the top. "There's no glass on it."

"It's a skylight." Sasuke closes his eyes, remembering the details of his scroll. There were three openings scattered around. If they were elite ninja, he would suggest that they part from here. But they aren't ninja, right now. They are simply weak civilians in this strange world of monsters and demons."We'll have to shimmy up there."

Naruto starts peeling off his shoes before the man even finishes. "Since we can't use our chakra, we've got to do it the old fashioned way. Ya know, like sneaking into your neighbor's house as a kid."

"I haven't done that..." Sakura says unsurely. "Also, it's strange they'd have a skylight…underground, don't you think? This could be a trap."

As she speaks, she pulls out a blade from under her kimono and cuts a slit along the side of the silk fabric. "Still, this is our only hope of entrance." Catching the material as it falls to the ground, Sakura carves out long strips, which she wraps around her own feet to clutch the wet stone easier. "I suppose we have no other choice."

Satisfied with the slack she'd made from her tight-fitting dress, the woman ties a knot in the kimono and looks up, meeting Sasuke's eyes fully.

There it was again.

There it was, that feeling of drowning that Sasuke gave her. Her throat closes and her eyes sting, and it's like she's fighting for her breath as she frantically tries to break to the surface of the water. It was rare to see softness in his eyes, so rare that Sakura might as well be allergic to it. She mistakes his look for pity, and she bites her lip before speaking.

"I…won't let this outfit hinder me. I promise." Sakura refuses to be left behind.

Sometimes, in the strangest of moments, Sakura can remind Sasuke just how evil he truly used to be. Sometimes when she drops her eyes down low, and peeks beneath her lashes, he can feel the trepidation that clings to her skin. She is afraid of who he is, and of what he's done, and where he used to be. She thinks that he sees her as a nuisance, like he used to.

But, that was the farthest thing from the truth.

Watching as Sasuke grits his teeth and turns his head to the side, Sakura decides that she's safe for now. Though her powers were nothing compared to the almighty Uchiha and Uzumaki duo, she still finds pride in the feats she's progressed through.

Sakura has done amazing things. She has fought alongside and against living Gods. She's a healer, a warrior, and beast to be reckoned with. It doesn't matter if Sasuke sees her as a child—a kid sister, who follows him around noisily. This pastel haired, fair skinned woman has surpassed all expectations lined in front of her. Sasuke would just have to wait and see.

Biting her lip, she turns towards Naruto. "I've done a lot of thinking. I'm assuming whatever was in your scroll should be important when we get inside of this building. It may not be obvious right away. Be prepared to fight back and don't be afraid to run—you're only human, here. I don't want to drag your body to Konoha and bury you."

"Yeah, yeah," the man retorts. "I got it."

A second later, Naruto rocked on the balls of his feet and jumped, spanning the distance between the ground and the first window easily with his long-limbed body. He was either fox-like, or toad-like, and today he was the latter. Even without chakra, Naruto was amazingly stout. Sakura watched in amazement as his bare feet curled around various protrusions, expertly guiding himself up to the first frame like some sort of monkey.

Fox, toad, and monkey...Naruto was a man of many faces.

Once centered, he catches his breath and soared again, wrapping extended fingers around the open ledge of the skylight and heaving himself through. A silence follows as his body disappears. Sakura doesn't breathe so she can pick up the sound of painful grunts or clanging metal. She clasps her hands to her chest, straining her vision.

One second passes...then five...

Naruto pops his head out, cupping his hands around his mouth so his whisper can reach them. "I don't see anyone. Sasuke, throw the captain up here, then you can climb up after."

As the words drift down, Sakura pales.

Her mind worked through calculations she hadn't taken into account before. Somehow, Naruto and Sasuke had kept on growing through their adult life. Although she had been the same height as them before, both men stood at least two heads taller. The nostalgia of their reunion had muddied her mindset. She was not twelve anymore, and neither were they.

Shaking her head, she looks at the building once more. The lower portion was slanted, and cemented with decorative rock that shined with slickness, undoubtedly from the steamy mist that wafted from the onsen. It was almost impossible for her to jump over 2 feet into the air. For Sasuke and Naruto, it was easy.

Preparing for the worst, Sakura looks towards Sasuke, afraid of what he may say.

Sasuke can see the way her shoulders stiffen. The tremble from before comes back full force, and her hands shake again. As she gnaws on her bottom lip, like it could stop the uneasiness that pours throughout her., Sasuke finds himself frozen in his place.

"So...are you guys gonna come up here, or what? We don't have a lot of time, ya know."

Letting his body take action, Sasuke walks towards the slanted wall and positions his body directly under the opening, gauging the distance between himself and Naruto. The blond was right, they didn't have time to worry about silly things. Nothing would be different if he boosted her up. Sasuke would still be a man with many sins, and Sakura would still be broken-hearted and afraid.

When he looks at her, he sees a smile spread across her lips. Just like that, they're kids again. Just like that, her body fills with determination and trust and everything else involved with launching a human-being through a small hole to their possible doom. A pressure falls away from Sasuke's chest. "Just run at me as fast as you can."

When she tucks her head and crouches, Sasuke has no idea what he's in for.

Barreling towards him at a speed he didn't think was possible without chakra, Sakura cuts straight ahead. There's a brief moment of slow-motion that follows. Pebbles fly up from the ground in a dusty plume. Her hair halo's around her head. As her face comes nearer, Sasuke realizes that she has made no move to jump.

He pushes his arms outward, trying to halt this...this train, that has come off of it's tracks. But it's too late. The woman slams right into his chest, knocking the breath out of his body.

"What the fuck," He hissed as Sakura slammed into him. Her head hits his collarbone and she falls to the ground, like an inanimate porcelain doll. Doubling over, grasping his knees, Sasuke sucks in air as quickly as possible.

She was so small. Sakura didn't weigh a few pounds over 100—nothing in that compact body of hers should have hit him like that. As he huffs, Naruto's boyish laugh almost reverberated throughout the emptiness of the cave.

A deep redness inflamed Sakura's face.

"What the hell was that? Ha-ha! You tackled the shit out of him! Oh hell, ppffft..." Naruto pauses only to wipe the tears from his eyes. "You're supposed to jump! J-Jump up!"

Falling to her knees, Sakura grips both of Sasuke's shoulders. "I'm so sorry! You didn't say to jump. I thought you were going to do some cool ninja move and throw me up there! I didn't know. I really didn't know!"

Half expecting Sasuke to slap her hands away, she's surprised when he clutches them instead. Speaking softly and slowly, so he doesn't sound hurt, Sasuke presses his thumbs into the palms of her hands and looks directly into her eyes. There is no anger in those dark, onyx irises. "Try again,"

Just like that, swarms of butterflies come to life within her stomach, twirling cyclones. "Okay."

When she walks back to her spot, her knees nearly buckle. There's a hatred within her—an understanding that she shouldn't be doe-eyed during such an important mission. But...there's also acknowledgment, because she is still just a girl who is madly in love with a man who wants nothing to do with her. Any kindness he offers will always shake her. Any pressure he puts upon her skin will always make her feel feint.

It's just how it was.

Just like before, she's running again. There's a lightness to her step. When she reaches a close enough distance, the woman stretches out her arms and sails, ignoring the warmth of Sasuke's hands on her ribs. There's not enough force to drive her to Naruto, however, and Sasuke catches her as she descends.

"Grab me lower," She commands as she backs away. Her mind does not stray, even as embarrassing words leave her mouth. "If you can push from my thighs, I think I'll have enough momentum."

Sasuke, ever so diligently, obeys her. He watches her hair fly once more as she sprints with determination. He watches her clothing battle gravity, rising up as she plants her feet into the ground and lunges towards him. He closes his eyes, digs his hands into her lower waist, and shoves her into Naruto's arms using the thickness of her bottom as a boost.

She screamed the entire way up.

When Naruto's arms wrapped around her and pulled her through, his wild eyes scoured her expression. Mouth agape, irises in full view, Sakura gazed at Naruto with a exasperated expression as he roared in laughter. "He touched your ass!"

"Shut up!" She hissed back.

But nothing could stop him now. Naruto slams his fist into the ground as he rocks back and forth, unable to stifle his giggles. "How can I? You should have seen your face!"

"Just be quiet already!"

Sasuke pulls himself through, looping his legs into the window carefully. As soon as he's in, he slaps his hand over Naruto's mouth. "I hear footsteps."

Sure enough, a tapping sound started to echo. Footsteps scrambled down the passageway, heading directly towards the trio with every passing tick. Without having time to direct anyone, Sasuke crushed his foot into Naruto's chest, sending him sliding down the hall and out of sight.

Scrambling, Sakura rakes her toes against the floor to gain traction. Weightlessness captures her. In the jumble, realizes that realize Sasuke had gathered her into his arms and leapt for a small door—a laundry chute.

The suddenness of it all causes a squeak to flow from her lips before she could stop it. She clamps her own hand over her mouth.


The chute led them on a vertical ride to a laundry closet, which was too narrow to fit them both easily. Thinking quickly, Sasuke lifts Sakura onto a soap shelf, raising his finger to his lips to reiterate their silence. They could have been compromised.

There was a light above them—a bulb with a braided chain—but they knew better than to draw attention to the closet. They leave the channel dark, syncing their breaths as they trained sharp ears to the outside world.

Whoever—whatever—had been looking for them galloped straight past, no doubt thanks to Naruto who hustled down the hallway. Sakura clenches her fists together tightly, praying that he was agile and fast enough to run and stay safe.

He was so used to relying on his chakra and his abnormally fast healing ability. None of that carried on to this world. Naruto wouldn't have the strength to stay and fight.

Stray feet tapped by every few minutes, which meant everyone was on high alert. Sasuke had memorized the layout of this place well, however, which gave himself and Sakura a good advantage. If his memory served him well, the floor they'd just been on led right to a flight of stairs. The middle room of this triangular building was purposely blurred in the blueprint, so obviously, that was where they needed to go. If Naruto ran around long enough, he'd eventually make it there. That guy was filled with all sorts of dumb luck.

Sasuke, using his nocturnal eyes, looked behind him to the main door, only to find that there was no handle. He presses his back to it, but it does not budge.

"The latch is on the outside." Sakura whispers, remembering the way her grandmother's laundry room worked. "We'll have to go back up."

Moving his head back towards Sakura, Sasuke stills.

Although he did not have chakra, his Rinnegan remained. He could see the most obscure of details in the darkness of this closet. He could see the crimson flare of Sakura's cheeks from the closeness. The greens of her eyes contained a multitude of colors—chartreuse, bronze and flecks of gold.

He also noticed the tremble of her shoulders—how she refused to look in his direction—as if she were afraid.

Of course, she'd be afraid of him. Why wouldn't she be?

Sasuke squeezes his hands tightly on the shelf, trapping Sakura unintentionally. She seems to notice this, because her legs squish together, her head dips down, and she hides behind her hair like the little girl she used to be.

If someone could sit down and write out all of the inexcusable things Sasuke had done in his lifetime, it would make an entire scroll. He has fought, he has killed, and he has raised his hands to people who never deserved the pain of his fist. Although the reason Sasuke began traveling in the first place was to atone for some of those sins, the man knows it would take more than distance and time to heal their wounds.

His breath escaped him.

"You want us to climb up, right?" She asks, like her shoulders weren't trembling because of his proximity. "Or should we wait a few more minutes?"

Sasuke wants to verbalize words trapped in his head. He wants to tell her more than the apology he gave while she healed his wounds, after his battle with Naruto. He wants her to know that there's no excuse for how been treating her—that she's strong—that he doesn't need to fight with that blond moron anymore.

Throwing him off guard, Sakura laughs. It is not awkward or loud, nor does it hold humor. It just falls out; there's nothing more to it.

"You must think I'm an idiot." Suddenly she's looking at him again. Her eyes are determined and steady, as if she's standing up to some schoolyard bully. "Here I am, batting my eyelashes like a lovesick puppy, while we're in the middle of an important mission. We don't even know if Naruto is okay, and all that's in my head is the fact that you touched my butt thirty minutes ago. No wonder you always berate me. I should know better."

Furrowing his eyebrows together, Sasuke replies. "That's not what I was going to say."

His words obviously don't get through. "I'm messing up, still! Why am I talking when we should be silent? Next time, kick me down the hallway so I can at least be productive."

"Like I'd want to be in here with Naruto." He retorts. Surprisingly, Sakura slaps her hands over his lips.

"See, now when you say stuff like that, it makes me think things like: "Oh, so you want to be in here with me?" and that messes me up even more!"

Well, it wasn't an entirely untrue statement, but Sasuke decides it would be best to listen to her.

"Now, I'm going to climb up. If you can't, I'll sneak down the steps and unlock you myself. Then we can find Naruto and try to figure out what was in his scroll and how it will help us. Okay?"

"Okay,"

Moving her thighs away, Sakura tucks her legs under her body and raises herself to her full, underwhelming height. Without asking, Sasuke offers his shoulders for her to stand upon, and she presses her bare feet into them quickly. There was just enough room for her to shimmy up using her forearms, hips and toes, but Sasuke would certainly have a hard time. Holding her breath because of the echo, Sakura reaches the top in no time flat.

Before fumbling out into the hallway, the kunoichi lifts the wooden door and looks back and forth. There's no sound. There are no shadows. There isn't even an animal-like scent. Timidly ducking through, Sakura hits the ground running.

Since Sasuke was below, she knew that she had to look for a downstairs. There were a few paintings thrown to the floor, which must have happened during Naruto's chase. Careful not to disturb anything further, she tiptoes on, keeping her eyes peeled.

Finding a door, Sakura enters a room that smelled of jasmine and plum. Clothing was strewn everywhere, left behind hastily by women who had jobs to do. Sometimes, when in a hurry, important things might be misplaced. Sakura wasn't expecting a list of people who were missing or anything, but she wouldn't rule it out, either.

Sasuke could wait.

Opening drawers and sifting through closets, the kunoichi finds only useless things. There's an arrow, but now bow. There's a pair of boots, but they are much too big for Sakura to wear. There's a key, but nothing that needs to be unlocked.

Yet.

Snatching the strange object, Sakura steps back into the open, and finds a staircase farther down the hall. The door is heavy, metal, and locked. She tries the key, but it doesn't work. Cracking her fingers, she pulls a few pins from her hair and shoves one into the lock. Bending the other pin into an L shape, it takes the ninja only a few seconds to break in.

There are laundry buckets and washboards—and in the corner, a wooden door with a wrap-around latch.


Naruto kept still as the door beside him flew open.

"Where is it? Where is that ugly beast?"

Though he had quite a few things in mind to tell those doxy rabbits, he keeps his lips shut and hugs his knees closer to his chest.

The good thing about being so small was that the large bunny girls couldn't fit into certain places. He had had to change hiding spots a few times already, but the tiny space above this overstuffed closet was bound to be the last.

He practices a shape on the wall in the meantime. For some reason, when Naruto opened his scroll, there was just a boring black symbol drawn on. He's happy that Sakura told him the scroll was upside down, because he might have drawn it incorrectly. It was a "key" to something, but that was all he knew.

"He's not in here. Go down to the basement, there's a lot of hiding places there."

Refusing to move until 20 seconds had passed, Naruto finally made his way over the piles of clothing and whatnots. The room is empty, but ransacked. Girls were messy.

Opening the door, the man steps into the hallway and catches view of a shadow. It's not as large as a rabbit, and there are two of them, so he decides it's probably Sasuke and Sakura.

Whispering lowly, he says, "Believe it." There was a feminine groan. Yep, there's Sakura! "Guys, I'm over here."

When they round the corner, Naruto notices stern expressions on their faces. He's known them both long enough to understand when they've become serious. Either they had a plan, or they were about to make one.

Naruto's relieved.

"Sasuke knows where we have to go, I think." Sakura says, pulling Naruto in closely. "I'm passing over command from here on out. If we get to where we're supposed to get to…will you know what to do?"

"I should," the blond retorts. "I wasn't given a whole lot of information."

Sasuke nods and motions silently towards the opposite end of the hallway. Light on their feet, the shinobi make their way up a flight of steps with Sakura in the middle. It seems they are on the right track, because the place they enter into has only one door, and it glows a bright red.

"Maybe it's where the kidnapped men are being kept?" Naruto surmises. "No, wait. Most of them couldn't fit through that door."

Shaking her head as a shiver runs down her spine, Sakura grips Naruto's shoulder. "Maybe they don't go in in one piece."

Keeping on task, the onyx-haired Sasuke progresses onward. When his hand touches the door, it sends out an electric shock.

Lights start flashing, an incredibly loud siren blares, and the walls start closing in.

Panic flashes through Sakura. She shoves passed Sasuke and tries the door herself, but is blow to her feet by the jolt. "What do we do? What do we do?"

"Naruto!" Sasuke calls. "Think of your scroll! What do you need to do?"

Nodding quickly, Naruto draws the shape into the air. Though Sakura and Sasuke look at him with confusion, it doesn't stop him. He draws it on the floor, on both walls as they inch closer and finally by the glowing red door.

Nothing.

"Maybe you need to draw on the door!" Sakura says. "Try moving your finger quickly as soon as you touch the outside!"

"I'll try," He says, but the moment his finger presses against it, he's brought to his knees.

"We need a key," Sasuke says. "There's nowhere to put it, though."

Fumbling around her kimono, Sakura pulls forth a misshapen piece of metal. "Naruto, stick this on the door! It may hold off the electrical current long enough for you to write what you need to write!"

"Okay!"

Snatching the object, he does what is told, and to his surprise, it seems to work. Once the final line is drawn, the door opens and everything turns silent once more. Sucking in a deep breath, the three ninja quiet their pounding hearts.

"They know where we are now, so we don't have much time. I'm surprised they haven't captured us yet."

"They went to the basement, last I heard." Naruto replies. He steps his foot through the threshold without looking to see what lies beyond him. It is almost a deadly mistake.

A throng of poison-tipped arrows whip through the air, passing by Naruto's body as Sasuke flings him out of the way. "Pay attention!"

An exasperated sigh exits Sakura's mouth. "Just because we're being followed, it doesn't mean you can let your guard down. Let's go, but please, like Sasuke said, pay attention!"

"I know already!" Naruto calls, stepping into the room as previously planned. He takes a slow step, testing out the area.

There is nothing in there. The floor is solid and still, as his eyes drift upwards, he sees that there are rafters and railing that is just as empty as where he entered. Turning his back on the area, he cups his hand over his mouth. "Come on in. It's safe."

And just as soon as the words leave his mouth, a canon-like boom shakes the room.