[ Chapter Eight: More Real than A Dream ]

Sasuke reached the end portion of the road. Sakura's image led him there, but from that point he wasn't sure of what to do. He observed the area a little more. At the very end of the road, just before the closed-off mountain path, were small paths on both sides. One side was completely closed off, the other, like the path to the small mountain, was only partially cut off. Peering into the path with the partial opening, Sasuke saw what appeared to be a back alley.

Before setting foot in the back alley, Sasuke's stomach growled. It was almost three and he hadn't eaten since he woke up that morning. Deciding to get a bite to eat, Sasuke entered a food vendor's stall. It was a noodle shop, the kind of place Naruto would go to. The stall was crowded with hungry travelers, leaving no seats available for Sasuke. Not wanting to bother any of the eaters, Sasuke stood and waited for one of the customers to finish. Sasuke's face began to moisten from standing in a semi-covered stall with a large crowd and a busy kitchen in the back. Steam rose from boiling water, causing the humidity in the enclosed stall to rise. Uncomfortable though he was, Sasuke continued to wait. His hunger was enough to drive him to stand through anything.

After five minutes, Sasuke noticed a body near the side get up from the seat. He walked towards the moving body in order to close in on his target. The body stood up and to the side so that Sasuke could take the seat. After a few long moments, someone else took the seat. Sasuke and the original occupant of the seat stood still before each other.

"Sakura..." he whispered inaudibly.

Sasuke looked at Sakura with wide eyes. His face was so shocked that it didn't even know what meaning to express. Sakura looked at him and gave him a faint smile. Looking past his shoulder, Sakura walked out of the stall without even a word of hello or good-bye. Sasuke turned around to watch her walk out without a glance back at him. After standing unable to think, Sasuke ran outside after Sakura, but she was gone.

...

Sasuke was in the bed of a room in the inn. After seeing Sakura, Sasuke immediately checked into the inn closer to the mountain area. It had to be Sakura, he was sure of it. It was no dream that looked back at him in the stall; it was more real than a dream. He'd seen her for only a few moments, but the features of the woman he saw were unmistakably that of Sakura. Soft featured face, silky pink hair that barely brushed against her shoulders, and clear green eyes… All were features of her that didn't change. Her clothing was fairly similar to what she had always worn in the past except it was all black without the red longshirt. Her shorts went to just above her knees and hugged on her thighs just a little. As a top, Sakura wore a mesh sleeveless shirt that revealed skin except for her chest area which was covered by something of a bra in the appropriate area. The top was held up by a single strap that went cross her upper chest and over her shoulders. Other features, he noticed, changed about her. Three years is a long time, and certainly Sakura has changed since then. As he stood there in front of her that afternoon, Sasuke stared mostly at her eyes. They were almost peculiar to him; they looked different. They were still the same clear green eyes that had looked him many times before in the past, but there was something else in those eyes. Something Sasuke couldn't describe, but he could see it beneath the surface, like a scar just beneath the skin.

Sasuke got out of bed to look out the window. Down below a few travelers wandered about the street. The sound of singing drunkards could be heard from below. No area, be it a village or not, is complete without a bar or two. Even a village-less village, as Sasuke has heard Feint Village be called, has its group of shady people. Though they come and go like the rest of them, village drunkards and low-lives exist.

Sakura also exists. All this time, she'd been alive. Sasuke leaned his forehead against the window sill while still looking out.

He recalled the way Sakura walked passed him with such nonchalance. Sasuke didn't want to admit it, but it bothered him that she acted as if she didn't know him. It was almost puzzling, considering their history together. Maybe she was avoiding him for the years he spent ignoring her.

"All this time..." he said quietly "... What have you been doing all this time?"

-----

Sasuke entered the noodle stall he spotted Sakura in. The stall was almost empty compared to how full it was the day before. He sat down on one of the vacant seats.

"I'll have an order of chicken noodles, please." he said to the cook.

Of the few people who were in the stall, Sakura was not one of them. He turned to the cook.

"Sir, would you happen to know a young woman, looks like she's in her early twenties, pink hair, and green eyes?"
After a few moments of thought, the cook answered. "Why, yes, I do. She's something of a regular around here."
"Really?" Sasuke said with deeper interest "When does she come around?"
"It varies. She comes around once every few days... Orders the same thing each time: the supreme noodle bowl... It's kinda of funny when she does it. I asked her if it was her favorite, she said she didn't know. Strange answer, don't you think?"
Sasuke lowered his eyes slightly "A lot of things are strange..." he said in a whisper, then looking up he spoke again "I've been looking for her for a while... How has she seemed these days?"
"Can't really say... All I've seen her do is come in and eat her meal quietly. Which makes sense; there aren't many regulars in a place like this. She may be a vendor in another stall, or something; people don't usually stay here without some location specific business."

Sasuke sat back in silent thought.

-----

Sasuke sat on a bench across from the noodle stall. Sakura did in fact come and go every few days. After some thought, he decided to learn about what she has been doing before confronting her about her disappearance. She didn't appear to care or even realize everyone she knew thinks she's dead. It didn't make sense to him.

He tracked her movements into a semi-regular routine. The direction Sakura comes from varies from time to time, so Sasuke couldn't tell where she came from. Sometimes she would be gone for most of the day, other times she'd look around the vendors. Almost everyday she would come out to eat at different food stalls, including the noodle vendor. Where and when she went was inconsistent, Sasuke couldn't decipher a pattern in her vendor hopping. She did, however, go through the partially closed off path at the end of the road everyday. He would see her casually walk off towards the path, no one seeming to notice. The time of day she did that also varied, but Sasuke was sure she went there everyday.

-----

Sasuke followed Sakura from twenty feet away. She didn't seem to sense his presence the whole time. Walking out of one of the stalls, Sakura started walking towards the partially closed off path. As she approached the break in the wood barrier, she looked around her casually, as if she were merely making she she didn't drop anything.

Fifteen minutes after she entered, Sasuke followed. Because he was not familiar with the terrain, he could only come in through the same way Sakura went. The opening in the barrier was very slight; it was barely enough for Sasuke, who was not an exceptionally tall person, to get through. The path on the other side was very narrow; it was obvious very few people went through that area. The path made a sharp turn to the left, making it run parallel to the main street of the village.

The trees and bushes between the path and the main road were so thick that Sasuke couldn't see the other side. The area he was in was not frequented often because people didn't know it exists. Sasuke saw a few large rundown stalls scattered around the path. No one else appeared to be around; it was completely quiet. Although they are abandoned, they were still covered enough that he would have to try to look in. Sasuke walked quietly from stall to stall, peeking inside to see if Sakura was there. After a few stalls, Sasuke located the one Sakura went into. The muffled sounds of two voices could barely be heard.

Sasuke pressed his back against the wall next to the opening of the stall. The sound of a man's voice could be heard.

"So... You are Sakura, yes?" the man said.
"Yes." Sakura replied in a faint, indifferent tone.
The man let out a lewd chuckle before speaking again "Ohohoho... You are a pretty one! I'm in for something, I bet."

The crude tone of the man's voice sounded alarmingly perverted to Sasuke. Quickly, but quietly, Sasuke looked into the stall. His eyes widened in both anger and wonder. The man sat on a worn-in mattress set on the floor. Sakura kneeled behind him while on her knees. Her hands rested lightly on his shoulders. The distance between her and the man was incredibly short. With slow, but deliberate movement, Sakura's chest brushed against the man's back, causing him to let out another crude chuckle followed by a hiccup. After getting a whiff of the air from inside, Sasuke realized the man was slightly drunk. He soon began to feel anger burn in him as he watched Sakura and the man in a semi-intimate position and the shameful state the man was in. The man reached down to undo his clothing while not moving away from his closeness to Sakura.

"You're not a real ninja, are ya?" the man asked while struggling with his belt. "I know some girls dress up because guys like it... There's nothing sexier than a ninja girl... Except... You know, I don't really want to get into that kung-fu fighting thing... You're not gonna hurt me, right?"

The man looked up at Sakura and hiccupped. Looking back down on him, Sakura shook her head and guided the man's look back to in front of him.

Sasuke, who was growing increasingly angry as he watched, stood there making sense of the situation. The idea of what was going on floated in his mind, but he couldn't make the connection---possibly because he didn't want to. It did occur to him that Sakura's garb was more revealing than usual. Although her body parts weren't hanging all over the place, he'd just realized her clothing was subtly inviting. Watching her now, he realized she was deliberately being sensual. Judging by what the man said, he and Sakura just met... Finally, he made the connection.

Sakura was a prostitute.

With a tightened fist, Sasuke focused again on Sakura. His insides were pounding, as if threatening to burst. Sasuke wanted to storm inside, grip onto Sakura's shoulders and shake her and shake her and shake her to her senses. He imagined him doing that and asking over and over again "What are you doing?! What are you doing?!" Sasuke could feel the emotions he would have if he really did so. Something inside of him was tearing him up, the pain of that something and the urgent need to get rid of it almost pushed tears into Sasuke's eyes. But most of all, Sasuke felt anger. Sakura was doing something stupid and that man was taking advantage of her. He couldn't stand it. But he forced himself to stay put. Knowing that it was too soon to go in and confront Sakura, Sasuke waited and watched.

Leaning over a little, Sakura lightly pressed her chest against the man's back again. Her hand traveled slowly from the man's shoulder down his upper arm and to his outer forearm. Before reaching his hand, Sakura's hand slipped away to her side. Sakura moved her face so that it was next to the man's. Sakura's control over what was going on compelled the man to only sit and let her do what she pleased. He was sure that whatever Sakura was going to do, he would enjoy it. Lowering her head so that her face was next to his, she covered his mouth with her left hand to prevent him from speaking and ruining the moment.

"Relax..." she whispered.

Sasuke knew that was when the "action" was going to begin. Unable to control himself any longer, Sasuke moved to stop Sakura. The man, who also realized Sakura was going to get bolder, was about to let out another crude chuckle... However, a quiet gasp escaped instead.

Sasuke stopped.

The man fell forward with his eyes wide open in shock. With his face in the ground, blood soon began to pool around the man's body; his throat had just been slit. Standing up, Sakura whipped off the blood from her kunai which she held in her right hand.

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Author's Notes: Sakura's look is based off a fanart that I've seen around on the internet. It's a slightly raunchy picture of Sakura sticking out her tongue blindfolded by her head protector. Her hands are tied in front of her while holding onto a small sword. In this picture, her red shirt is opened and her chest is rather large and hanging out from the bottom. The Sakura in this fanfic looks something like that, clothes-wise except without the shirt. Also, my version of Sakura isn't quite so raunchy, despite her business in the back alley.

And for Feint Village... Feint Village was actually inspired by my trip to Hawaii. The International Market, a long street with vendors, was a few blocks away from my family's hotel. I have a thing for that kind of merchants and the atmosphere they work in. So I had to have Feint Village the way it is. I like the idea so much that I made a map of the area. You can find the map on my site which I can't display here. The link is on my profile, go to chapter 8 for this fic to find the pic.

Keep in mind the map is not to scale and that I have way too much time on my hands. :P