Hey there, I haven't updated in a while and I think you all deserve one, so here we go
Chapter 7: Gutted
"That symbol, it's..."
-Knock-Knock-Knock-
Placing Sakura's shirt back down, he turned and answered the door just as Sakura hid behind the pole. Peering out, she gasped at the blurry sight
Red eyes...
Quickly hiding behind the pole she was tied to, Sakura held her breath. She evened her harsh breathing and listened to the conversation between the other men.
"So you're the one who's been sent to retrieve her?"
"Hn"
'Well that doesn't bloody help. That's a common Uchiha reply. It could still be either of them. So on the safe side; I need to get out of here...'
Sakura reached into her and pulled out a small blade from beneath her plain black hiate.
Two weeks into travelling with Itachi, he had forced her to abandon her leaf headband and had given her a plain one. He said it would be easier for them to travel that way, less people would recognise she was from Konoha.
Pushing a small amount of chakra into the blade, she slowly began to chip away at the chains around her hands.
"Very well, she's over here"
'Shit, this is taking too long' she began to cut faster
"She has a scar on her back that looks pretty bad; you may want to have a look at it"
"Hn"
They were getting closer...
The chain was almost broken...
Only a few feet away now...
A few slices left...
"Where is she?"
"What?"
"She's not here. What sort of game are you playing at?" snarled Sasuke
"I'm not, she was here a minute ago...look, she's cut her way out" said Ryuk holding up the broken chain and studying it
Sasuke turned away and began to walk towards the door.
"Don't worry, she won't get far, she's blind"
Sasuke stopped; eyes wide 'Why the hell is she blind? Just what did you do to her Itachi?'
--
"Phew, that was close"
Sakura sighed deeply and rubbed her sore wrists
Her body was fully exhausted now, and being blind did not help one bit
"How long did you think you could outrun me, Sakura?"
Her eyes widened as she dared to look up
Sasuke was surprised how fast she moved. He was sure her chakra was at its minimum, yet she was still able to manoeuvre so quickly.
But the real problem was that because she had so little chakra, it would make it harder to sense her movements.
But he was determined not to let her go...not again.
Closing his eyes, he let the wind blow around him, everything was so serene.
-SNAP-
'That way!'
--
Sakura hid behind a tree, cursing in her head. She heard the twig snap beneath her foot and was sure her heart had jumped out of her mouth then back in.
She could feel his chakra closing in on her now. Grabbing a few kunai and placing them between her knuckles, she readied them by her chest, ready to throw.
-THUMP-
This was it, time for her escape. Flinging her arm round, she was about to let go of the kunai's, but was stopped as a hand grabbed hold of her wrist.
Looking up at the enemy, her gaze dropped almost immediately and the kunai's fell from her grasp, implanting themselves in the ground.
"Why are you here?"
"I'm here to bring you home"
"What if I don't want to go home?"
"You really don't have a choice in the matter"
She scoffed
"So, why are you blind?"
"None of your business"
Sakura felt Sasuke's grip on her loosen
"Did he do this to you?"
"And what if he did?"
"Then I'll kill him"
Sakura's gaze darkened
"And what makes you think I'll let you kill him?"
Sasuke was taken back "you're defending him?"
"Maybe I am; I'm allowed t do what I want"
"Sakura...why?"
"Well for one thing, he sees me as more of an equal than you ever did"
Okay that was a lie, but she had to say something to him
"Sakura, I never wanted you to get hurt"
"So you refuse my love and break my heart, then knock me out and leave me on a bench. That's not hurting me?" she howled
"I didn't want you to follow me, I-"
"And I know you purposely scarred my back, but I want to know why"
"I knew it would slow you down, it would give me a better chance of finding you and-"
"Save it Sasuke, I'm not going back to Konoha"
"I'm not giving you a choice Sakura"
She then fell limp in his arms
"Oh she is going to kill me for doing that again" he sighed as he began his way back to Konoha.
--
-KNOCK-KNOCK-
"I'm coming, I'm coming" yawned Ryuk as he opened the door slowly
"Where is she?" asked a voice
"She? She who?"
"The pink haired kunoichi"
"On her way back to Konoha" he then looked closer at the man outside the door "hey, weren't you the one who picked her up?"
"Goodbye"
Then he vanished
"So my brother was sent to pick her up. This'll put me way behind schedule but I suppose I should way, it'll be better once her eyes are healed, then we'll continue as planned"
--
Sakura awoke in a panic as a bright light shone down onto her face
"Where am I?" she groaned
"Sakura" came a male's voice "your back in Konoha"
She moved her arms and legs
"Chained again, Naruto?"
"Sorry Sakura, we just can't lose you again"
"You lost me the day I ran away"
"And we're going to fix that" came another voice
"How nice, the whole of Team 7 back together again" sighed Sakura "shame it isn't going to last long..."
She felt Naruto move closer to her
"Sakura, what's happened to you?"
"I've changed"
"WELL CHANGE BACK!"
Both Naruto and Sakura looked towards Sasuke
Sakura's eyes narrowed as much as they could in their blind state "why should I?"
"Because this isn't you Sakura! You were nice, caring and happy"
"I AM happy"
"Stop lying to yourself, your better of here"
"How do you know what's better for me? You never cared about me"
Sasuke's eye widened at those words...those same words he had heard not too long ago.
-X-Flashback-X-
"I'm back" Sasuke called out shutting his apartment door
He received no reply so he walked into the kitchen and found Karin cooking
"Hi" he said
She nodded to show she had heard him and he sat down at the table. A few minutes later, food was on the table.
They ate in silence, until Karin broke it.
"When are you leaving?"
"Tomorrow morning"
She nodded again
"Are you going alone?"
"Yes"
Silence reined over the two for a few moments
"What are you going-"
"Why do you always go on?"
"Because I love you Sasuke, I want to know what's happening"
Sasuke turned away
"Sasuke! Why won't you ever acknowledge me? I'm 10 times better than that wench"
"SHUT UP!"
Karin looked surprised as Sasuke glared at her from across the table
"Don't...don't ever call her that"
"I don't see why not, it's the truth-ah!"
Karin gasped as she was suddenly thrown against the wall. She grasped at the hand that was currently around her throat and stared down at Sasuke's blood red eyes
"You are nothing compared to her!"
"You never cared about me, did you?"
He then dropped her walked away as she slumped to the ground, desperately drawing in breath
"Sasuke..." she reached out for him, tears at her eyes "please don't leave me"
He stopped at the door and waited a minute
"Goodbye Karin"
Then he was out the door and gone, just like that.
-X-End Flashback-X-
Sasuke looked down at the pink haired girl and felt his emotions rise
"Sakura...I've loved you all along"
What surprised him was that Sakura didn't even seem to flinch at his words
"Sasuke?"
"Hm?" he looked up at her
"Let me the fuck out of here!"
'She didn't care? Who are you Sakura?' Naruto asked himself
Sasuke slammed his fist next to her head and leaned in to her face
"I don't like what you've become Sakura. Now, you're going to reconsider and rejoin Konoha or I'm going to force you to"
"Eat shit"
She then head butted him with as much force as she could manage.
Sasuke fell backwards and grabbed his head in pain.
"You're not doing yourself any favours here Sakura" came Naruto's calm voice
"I shouldn't have to, I'm not staying here"
"but-"
"I don't even wear my hiate anymore, I'm a missing nin, so fucking treat me like one!"
Naruto stared at her "why are you almost blind?"
Sakura smirked "because I healed Itachi's eyes" making sure Sasuke heard her
He did and he was on her in an instant
"Why? Why would you do that? When he was so vulnerable"
"He took care of me when I needed it, which includes that damn scar you gave me on my back"
"Scar? What scar?" asked Naruto
"Go on Sasuke, show him the scar. Show him what you did to me in my dreams"
Naruto's breath hitched in his throat "where...where is it?"
Sakura looked at Sasuke waiting for him to answer, but when he didn't she said "on my back, between my shoulder blades"
He moved forward "show me"
For the first time being there, Sakura complied with the Hokage's wishes. Turning around, she allowed Naruto to lift up the back of her shirt, undo the bandages. She heard him gasp and knew Sasuke was in trouble.
"The Uchiha clan symbol..." he murmured then turned to Sasuke "we need to talk"
Sasuke followed Naruto out the door and towards the tower
--
Sakura sighed and closed her eyes, relishing in the silence
"You're not much are you?"
'Well that didn't last long did it?' she groaned in her head and turned around
'Oh my day just keeps getting better...'
"What do you want?"
"You're blind as well? Pathetic"
"Temporarily blind than you very much"
"What'd you do, poke yourself in the eye?"
"As fun as that sounds, no I didn't. I healed Itachi's eyes"
"What? But you know how Sasuke feels about him"
"Like I care. Karin"
"You know who I am?"
"Unfortunately, I could never forget your annoying voice"
"Why you-" she grabbed the collar of Sakura's shirt and shook her "I could kill you right now you know"
Sakura laughed
"What's so funny?"
She continued to laugh
"What's so damn funny?" repeated Karin
"If you kill me..." she paused and took a breath before looking directly at Karin "then Itachi will hunt you down and slaughter you"
She heard her gulp "why would he do that?"
"Because I'm the only medic who can heal his eyes, and he knows it"
"You're lying"
"Do you really want to risk it?"
Sakura felt Karin shift uncomfortably
"What makes you so much better than me?"
"To be honest, I don't give a shit. I don't even want to be here"
"But, what about Sasuke?"
"You can have him, I'm not particularly bothered"
'Only because you have the older, sexier brother' Sakura shushed her Inner
She suddenly felt Karin's chakra lighten "if I let you out, will you leave?"
"Gladly, but I need to heal my eyes first"
"How long will you need?"
"Five days"
"Okay, I'll be back in five days, at midnight"
Sakura nodded 'but can I really trust her?'
--
"Sasuke..." Naruto began sitting down "why did you do that?"
"I knew it would slow her down and restrict her fighting techniques"
"But Sasuke, that wound is severe. When did you do that?"
"About a month ago"
"And it still hasn't healed over?"
"I suspect it has multiple times, but knowing her, she refuses to listen to reason and has probably been in battle a few times"
"So why hasn't she been able to heal her eyes?"
"That scar drained all of her chakra when I put it there. Her chakra probably returned to her over the month, but then she healed Itachi's eyes, draining it all again"
"So she'll be able to build up some chakra soon?"
"I'd say about 5 days, but we should take precautions with her strength, regardless of what state she's in"
"And what precautions do you suggest we take Sasuke?" asked Naruto, even though he already knew what he was going to say
"Put her with me. I can handle her"
"Are you sure? She seems to hate you right about now"
"What's new these days?"
"And that's a very nice bruise forming on your forehead" he chuckled
Sasuke touched his forehead and winced in pain
"She caught me off guard"
"Sure"
Sasuke scoffed "I'll give you one in a minute if you're not careful"
"Easy, I'm only playing. So was that true what you said, about loving her all along?"
Sasuke nodded
"Then why didn't you tell her before, we probably wouldn't be in this situation right now if you did"
"I didn't want her to follow me, she was always distracting me. If I told her she'd become distracted and focus less on being a ninja"
"So you gave her the cold shoulder?"
"It worked didn't it?"
"I suppose it did, until you came home with Karin"
"I thought I could forget about her, turns out I was wrong. Karin's even more annoying than Sakura was when she was 12" she sighed
Naruto laughed lightly before saying "so have you split?"
"Not yet, but I'm planning to...soon"
"What if it doesn't work out with Sakura?"
"I'll make it work"
"You hurt her again and I swear I'll pummel you a hundred feet under!"
"I never wanted to hurt her; I just wanted her back, like the old days"
Naruto placed a hand on his best friends shoulder "it will be"
Sasuke nodded and stood up
"Oh Sasuke?" called Naruto
"Yeah?"
"How did you do that to her anyway?"
Sasuke frowned "something Orochimaru taught me, I swore I'd never use it...but I was desperate"
Then he gently closed the door and the room fell silent.
Sitting himself back down in his chair, Naruto stared at the picture of himself, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi when Team 7 first formed. His face saddened
"We all want the old you back Sakura..."
--
Karin had left a few hours ago, hers and Sakura's plan completed. Now they just had to wait it out.
In the meantime, Sakura just wanted to catch up on some much needed rest.
"Sakura?"
'So much for rest ever happening'
"Do you want me to heal or not?"
"Yes"
"Then I need to rest" she said closing her eyes
"You won't get much rest in here, we're moving you"
"To where?"
"My house"
"NO"
"What?"
"I'm not going with you, I'd rather stay here"
"You'll never heal properly in here"
Sakura sighed "you're only moving me in with you because I can't hurt you in my present...condition, aren't you?"
"Mostly, but I think it's time you and I have a little catch up"
"Oh fun" she groaned
She felt Sasuke unclick her wrists and feet. She could escape right now, but what was the point? He would only catch her again because of her lack of sight and chakra. So Sakura remained completely still.
"Not going to run then?" asked Sasuke
She shrugged "can't be bothered"
Sasuke smiled and Sakura gawped. Could she feel 'happiness' radiating off the Uchiha? Surely her lack of eyesight was affecting her brain. She was sure she would go loopy before Sasuke was happy.
She then felt him place something warm and light around her wrist
"What's this?" she asked pulling at it gently
"A chakra bracelet. While you're wearing that, I'll know exactly where you are and..." he gave it a slight tug "we're connected"
"Oh you just made my day"
"But there is one thing you'll like"
"And what's that?" she enquired
"I can allow you to use my chakra to speed up your healing"
'Now there's a thing that'll come in handy' she thought
"Fine"
"Good. Come on then"
He gave a tug on the string and she walked forward, but she flinched as he took her hand in his.
"Sakura..."
"Hm?"
"...I'm sorry"
"For what?"
"Hurting you"
Sakura looked at him "why did you do it?"
He stopped walking, causing Sakura to bump into him. She looked at his face awaiting an answer.
"I needed you back in my life"
Sakura felt her heart lurch forward, but she managed to hold her calm composure.
She opened her mouth to say something, but before she could answer, she was jerked forward as Sasuke began walking again.
'I doubt Karin will like this' they both thought at the same time
--
Wow, that was a long chapter. But I finally managed to get it up, hope you all like it.
See you in the next chapter, when I get round to writing it /sweatdrops\
x.x.x