Chapter 8:..It Scares the Hell Out of Me
If I'm ever late for anything, this is it:
SCHOOL
PS: I swear, I think I use Uchiha Naruto jokes too much but...I just love it...
Blue eyes opened slowly, his vision still blurry. A quiet moan escaped from his mouth as he tried to regain his sight. He twiddled with his fingers and felt something rough around his body. There was rope tied around his body. He was sitting on a chair. He cursed silently to himself. He couldn't remember how he got to this place. One moment, he was leaving Hinata alone at Ichiraku's, walking down the alleys and the next thing he knew, a whole gang of men started attacking him. Then everything went black after that.
He looked around the room as much as possible. The walls were gray and steel-like, almost as if he was in a jail cell. He found no door in his view, probably behind him. The room was in complete darkness except for a noticable, blinking red light Naruto saw in the corner. He squinted his eye to get a better view of the source but before he could figure it out, the light went out.
Instead of lights to Naruto's eyes, it was replaced with the sound of several footsteps, growing closer and closer to Naruto. The sound stopped when Naruto felt that the people were surrounding him. Naruto guessed there were around two men around him and heard one of them reaching out for a knife in the slit. Naruto tried to remain calm under his unknown kidnappers, but sweat escaped from his forehead. One of them chuckled.
"I think we're done with this kid," He spoke in a deep, gruff voice.
"Che, I don't see why we even bothered to take the Uzumaki boy in the first place, when we got even better bait for that Uchiha's little rascal."
Naruto's eyes widen, his body growing colder than before. Horror flooded through his mind and he could only think of one person:
Sakura-chan...
Sakura's jade green eyes abruptly shot wide open. A burst of cold air swooped into her body upon regaining consciousness. She quickly sat up, her cheeks turning red from the frost around. She observed her surroundings, raising an eyebrow. She was caught off guard by what appeared to be a pig's head sitting on one of the metal racks. As she looked around, she noticed several dead animal bodies hanging from the ceiling by chains. She gulped a bit, telling herself that they were all dead and it should not frighten her.
There were no windows in the room, no light to shine her way out. Her movements faltered as she stood up but her legs were shaking. She hugged herself tightly, pulling the collar across her mouth. She was beginning to see her cold breath now. The room was growing colder with each second, much more than the last. She rubbed her arms back and forth to keep herself warm, but she knew she would not last long inside. She spun around, looking for any sign of escape. To her right was a huge door. She paced quickly towards it, attempting to open it with no avail. The door was locked. She punched it hard, hoping it would open. She cursed.
She pounced on the door again. "Let me out! Get me out of here! Somebody! Help!"
She gone on yelling, but no one responded. She gave one last punch to the door. She pressed her head against the cold, steel door. She breathed heavily, trying her best to keep her eyes open. She clutched her hands, needing to grip onto something before she would fall to the ground.
"Naruto...Sasuke-kun..." She muttered through her chapped lips. I gotta hold on...I gotta hold on for them...
Sasuke had barely moved an inch for the past minute of simply staring at the camera view. Naruto and Sakura. Weak and helpless to save themselves. There was no way out for them. No way for sure to know whether they could get out of not. No way to know whether Sasuke would ever see them again face to face after.
He felt like his tie around his neck had grown tighter, as if to suffocate him even more. It was hard for Sasuke to pretend that it had no effect on him whatsoever in front of Madara, but the second the screened flipped out, he had already lost. There was just something about seeing those two, hurt and weak, that brought out something foreign inside.
And it made Madara smirk. Leaning against his inclining chair, Madara looked the most relaxed he had ever been. He crossed his arms together, his dark eyes aimed only at Sasuke.
"What's the matter, Sasuke? Something bothering you during business talk?" Madara asked too comfortably.
Sasuke had nearly forgotten Madara was not only in the room, but that he was behind all of this. His fists tightened, his eyes stronger. Dark eyes glared with another.
"Let them go. Now," Sasuke demanded coldly.
This only amused Madara. "Not when business is still in session."
"You tell me where they are now or there won't be a deal at all," Sasuke shot back, slamming his hands on Madara's desk powerfully. Madara's cup of coffee spilled over his papers from the impact, not surprising him at all.
"Don't forget, Sasuke, that it is I who controls how things run here, not you."
"You want something from me, you better tell me where the hell those two are."
"I'm not the one that needs to settle this instantly, unlike you. Tell me, Sasuke, which one do you suppose would last longer? The one losing blood or the one who can only last so long in the cold?"
Sasuke's breath cut short upon hearing Madara's words. He went rigid.
"Extreme hypothermia: a condition where one's body cannot maintain a constant temperature, therefore causing hypothermia to one within thirty minutes staying in the cold. I didn't know those things were actually serious, Sasuke. Was she really worth the trouble of visiting the hospital everyday for three years?"
Sasuke did not respond. His body flinched for a second, trying to hide his surprise of Madara's knowledge. He knew it. It was only a matter of time. And now it would be his demise.
"Sasuke, choose your decisions wisely as I offer you another path. I know you don't want to end up like your family, especially Itachi."
Sasuke stared at Madara, undecided on what to do, unknowing of what he wanted, and unsure of what would happen.
Sasuke immediately jammed the keys into ignition, ignoring his seat belt, and drove his car zooming out of the parking lot. Once he reached the streets, Sasuke began zooming around Fire District, unable to sit still behind the wheel. He drove straight past a red light but Sasuke didn't care at the moment. He didn't care about where he was or what he was doing right now. All that mattered was that he got there as fast as he could. He was panicking now. He was going well over the speed limit in such a crowded area, the Upper Side, but everything was a blur to him now.
Madara had given him one address. One set of direction that led to one place. Sasuke gulped with every anticipation of not where, but who, it would lead him to. He was silently praying that both were there, but knowing Madara, that could not be possible. The man played games all the time, with the company and his own family. Sasuke didn't know how he was still alive under that man's watch.
He made a sharp turn on the next street, nearly crashing into the curb. His eyes were constantly bouncing back and forth, waiting each second that the next street would be the last. Finally, he was able to breath when he reached the building. It looked like an abandoned factory, an unusual sight in the Upper District. Wired gates surrounded the premises and the chain had been broken. Sasuke abruptly pulled next to the curb, dashed out of his car, and furiously slammed the front door open. He hesitated for a moment to go on, analyzing his area.
The hallway was dark and gloomy, one of the lights hanging only by the cord. Several of the doors to other rooms were hanging only by their hinges that remain. His eyes darted back and forth with each step inside.
"Naruto! Sakura!" His voice echoed across the hallway. No response. He clenched his fists as he began to run down the hallway.
He kept on running and running down the hallway, but nothing seem to make sense to him. All the rooms were open, usually with no doors in the way. He didn't understand how he was supposed to find his friends in this place, when it seem like they wouldn't be. Had Madara tricked him? Sasuke wouldn't be surprised, but as much as he wanted to leave this place, he had to make sure. Naruto was bleeding to death. Sakura was freezing. Sasuke had to be quick, no, he needed to be quick.
Suddenly, he heard a noise. Sasuke stopped. He looked next to him, only a wall. As he stepped closer to the wall, the noise was getting louder. There were people's voices on the other side. Sasuke jerked back when a loud thump went right to the wall. Immediately, he turned right, sprinting down until he found the right door. It was the only one that was still held and locked. Not even taking a second thought, Sasuke took a step back and aimed a hard kick at the wooden door. The door slammed smack to the ground as Sasuke entered the room. His eyes widened in disbelief at the scene before him.
"No..."
Crouched over two unconscious bodies was a blond boy, blood sneaking out of his mouth. He panted heavily with his bruised hands. His clothes were dirty and red from the blood that popped at several different places over his body. Naruto wiped the blood away from his mouth slowly. As he stood up, his eyes were just like Sasuke's: Wide in disbelief and shock. Naruto's jaw dropped slightly. Before Sasuke could utter a word, Naruto beat him to it. Within a second, Naruto had grabbed Sasuke by his collar, his teeth gritted.
"What the hell are you doing here, teme?" Naruto screamed into Sasuke's face angrily. "You're supposed to be taking care of Sakura-chan!"
"You're the one to talk, dobe! You were supposed to keep an eye out for her!" Sasuke argued back ferociously. "Where is she?"
"That's what I wanna know! What the hell is going on here, Sasuke? Those men took her too and I wanna know why right now!" Naruto demanded, his voice cracking. Sasuke grabbed Naruto's hands away from him, his temper growing higher and higher with each word Naruto said.
"I don't need to tell you anything," Sasuke gritted as he shoved Naruto to the side. "Help me find her."
Once again, Naruto grabbed for Sasuke by the shoulder and spun him around. Sasuke could see the fire that was burning all over Naruto's face. It was as if he was transforming into a monster, one that only came when problems occured between him or Sakura.
"TELL ME WHAT YOU DID THIS TIME, YOU BASTARD!"
"I don't have time, Naruto! She's in a fucking freezer right now and if we don't find her now, then we will never see her again!" Sasuke yelled tormently to Naruto's face, his anger seething with each word.
Naruto let go of Sasuke. His anger and disappointment was now replaced with horror, as if somebody had shot him with a gun. He was shaking, unable to stand still.
"N-N-No...it's not true..." Naruto breathed out.
Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Naruto, what the hell are you talking about?"
Sasuke could sense the hesitation flowing through Naruto's face. The blond boy took in a huge gulp and spoke.
"Sasuke, this place used to be a slaughterhouse."
The realization hit the two hard. They stood in silence for the longest time when they shouldn't. They were too overcome by the mistake that the other had made. Naruto and Sakura were indeed in the same place, but now it Sasuke had screwed things up. He should have gone to her first. He should have kept an eye on her first. He shouldn't have left her alone in his apartment. He should have been more careful. And out of all the places Madara could have taken those two to, it had to be one of those...
Naruto and Sasuke dashed out of the room and found the stairs down to the basement. As the went down, the room began to grow darker and colder and Sasuke finally realized how this was the perfect choice to ruin Sakura here. His skin was instantly dry and his body shivered once they reached the bottom of the basement. Relief swooped the two when they found a huge, metal door to the sound. Cold air was bursting through the sides of the door and the two could only guess what was on the other side.
"SAKURA-CHAN! SAKURA-CHAN!" Naruto cried as he slammed the door.
"Shut up and help me open the lock, idiot!" Sasuke yelled as he grabbed onto the handle with rods surrounding it. Naruto quickly went to Sasuke's side and held on the other end. Mustering all their strength, Naruto and Sasuke turned the latch clockwise. Each second it took to make the turn was an anticipation of whether she was really behind there. The two broke sweat on their forehead, but it didn't matter. They were only concentrated on opening the door and hoping that the pink-hair girl would be behind it.
A click was heard. Sasuke and Naruto looked at each other for a second before pulling the door away. When they made a big enough opening, the let go of the latch and ran into the freezer. A new level of cold air bursted right into their bodies and it felt like an invisible blizzard had attacked them. Shivering, Naruto looked everywhere in the room, panicking.
"SAKURA-CHAN! SAKURA-CHAN-" Naruto stopped dead at the sight before him and Sasuke soon followed suit.
In front of them was Sakura sitting against the steel wall, crouched like a ball. Her skin was ghostly pale and her lips chapped from the extreme temperatures in here. Her thin jacket did not keep her warm at all, her arms hugging herself to death. Her knees buckled next to each other, her chin resting on it. The only thing that said "life" was the brightness her green eyes held when they fluttered open. Her eyes widened when she saw Naruto and Sasuke standing before her. She looked up, her knees lowered.
"N-N-Naruto? S-S-Sasuke-kun? How did..." She was at a loss of words as she tried to stand up. However, she ended up falling back against the wall. Sasuke immediately crouched in front of her as her head laid against the wall. Sasuke reached for her head, but her eyes were hesitant. Sasuke stared at her emotionless, making her unable to read him at all. Breathing heavily, she gave up and allowed Sasuke's touch to her. He placed his hand on her forehead and moved to her cheeks. They were frightenly cold to his hands, almost like ice.
He took off his jacket, covering Sakura's body with it. She flinched slightly as he wavered the jacket around her body. She looked at it uncomfortably, her eyes drawn to the ground.
"S-S-Sasuke, d-don't, I'm fine-"
She gasped as she felt Sasuke's hand slam her back against the wall.
"Sasuke, what the hell was that?" Naruto yelled at his sudden actions. But he stopped when he saw Sasuke's face. His eyes were a storm now. He glared at Sakura with what seem to be the utmost hate and anger inside, but it would not agree with his words.
"Are you stupid, Sakura? You have a fucking fever, you're skin's ice cold, you're shivering to no end, and you say you're fine? Goddamnit, Sakura, you're so stupid!"
"Who said I need your help, you selfish bastard?" She screamed at his face, her pissed expression obvious on her face.
"Yes you do; you're just being stubborn right now! Do you think I want you freezing to death in here? Did you really think that I wouldn't come? If you thought that, then you are truly the most stupidest girl I know!"
Sakura stared at him wide-eyed in complete shock. Her lips were slightly parted, no words leaving her mouth. She wasn't sure what to say after his outburst. In fact, she didn't plan on saying anything. She never did in this kind of situation.
Just like it was years ago...
And then the real surprise came: Sasuke pulled Sakura into a tight embrace. His arms surrounded her tiny, cold body. His bangs covered his eyes as his head buried into the croon of her neck. There was a slight pause in between before he spoke.
"You're so stupid...It scares the hell out of me."
Ignoring the fact that his two best friends just had to amend things in the coldest room out of all the possible places tonight, Naruto only stared at scene and smiled sincerely.
At last...everything's back to normal...
And it would be for the night.
Naruto yawned loudly the next morning. He rubbed his eyes gently, blocking the sun's rays from his view. Eventually, his eyes adjusted as he sat up on his bed. His arms stretched to the ceiling as a content smile came to his face. Last night had been so tiresome for not just him, but Sasuke and Sakura as well. Things had ended on a good note. There was no more drama or tension between the two anymore. Sakura had stayed with Sasuke last night and Naruto was surprised that he was actually okay with it. Naruto expected himself to start protesting after the pictures from the blog yesterday but now that things were going so well, he guessed that trust was a good way to start. Sure, the two weren't exactly best friends yet but in time, they would warm up just like when they were all kids.
Naruto snickered evilly. "Hehehehe...and then friends will become lovers...and lovers will make Uchiha Naruto..."
Naruto squeaked when he heard a loud bang to his door. He cringed at the familiar, irritating voice behind it.
"UZUMAKI. NARUTO. OPEN. THIS. DOOR. A.S.A.P!" Ino screeched.
Reluctantly, Naruto got out of bed and unlocked his bedroom door. Just as he expected, Ino was standing in front of her with a hand on her hips and another on her cellphone. Just as always, she never looked pleased. This didn't make Naruto happy either.
"GODDAMNIT WOMAN IF YOU CAN GET UP THIS EARLY YOU MIGHT AS WELL JUST SNEAK UP TO SHIKAMARU'S PLACE INSTEAD-OW!" Naruto cried as Ino bonked him on the head.
"BAKA THIS IS SERIOUS STUFF!" She retorted, her face extremely red. "What on earth happened yesterday after that whole Rumy-Nin fiasco?"
Naruto only grinned in a gentlman's manner. "Well, let's just say...love is a strange thing."
Only bonk to the head. "Do you even know what I'm talking about? Oh wait, you never read!"
"Oh please, Ino, some people have things to do with their lives then track down how many people Rumy-Nin stalks," Naruto scowled.
"Oh it isn't just Rumy-Nin, Naruto. It made the morning papers," Ino stated darkly, She dug through her huge purse and pulled out a paper rollout. She handed to Naruto, who proceeded to open it. As he read the headline, Naruto's eyes widened in horror.
"No fucking way..."
"Yes, everything will be taken care of by my assistant while I'm away. Yes, make sure we get in contact with other executives right away. They need to remember who was responsible for bringing them up there. No, I'm sure they don't mind taking some rest for quite a while. Actually, extend that for 'to be determined." I was estimating that it would be a couple years but with the latest happenings, it can be as short as a few months. Why? Oh, because his birthday is coming up very quickly. I know it's months away but in business world, that goes by in a second. Yes, yes, time does fly. Now, my flight is about to board. It'll be another 15 hours before I can reach you again. Thank you."
The dark-haired woman ended the conversation with the touch of the button on her Blackberry. She tucked it in neatly into her black Prada purse, her only carry-on, as she walked up to the first-class line. She presented the American Airlines ticket and passport at the booth, the lady in charge taking a second look to make sure the passenger was really who she was. Long raven black hair, matching dark orbs, and pale skin matched the picture perfectly. The woman was indeed beautiful, even when wearing barely any makeup to enhance her already natural beauty. The lady in charge handed the ticket back to the woman, who proceed into the tunnel and the airplane. The flight attendant directed her to her seat in the first class. The dark-haired woman thanked the flight attendant and seated herself comfortably next to the window. The speakers turned on with the soothing voice of the flight attendant.
"Thank you for joining us at American Airlines from New York to Fire District, Japan. Before we take off, please pay attention to the safety procedures should any accidents or emergencies occur during this trip..."
As she awaited for the flight to take off, the woman took out a rolled up newspaper from her purse and began to read it. She smirked at the blaring headline on the front page:
UCHIHA SASUKE ARRESTED FOR BRAWLING WITH ROOTS CEO SHIMURA DANZO
