Hey everyone, I am back again with this new chapter and more frequent updates. So like I said one chapter every day. This one is early because I wanted to make up for being so sloppy. Don't forget to review/fav.
It had been quite some time now since their captive had been confined to a tree and held onto by wires tied to a series of traps and alarms if he were to struggle out of him.
The trio stood under another tree contriving ways to make the best of the situation because they feared the involvement of the rest of the 'Second Sanctum' and being confronted by them due to their encounter with their teammate.
It only dawned upon Sasuke minutes later the idea Sakura had suggested before but only this time it was designed well to fit into their strategy. Although he was initially skeptical to agree with the idea, he was more worried about how close quarters Sakura would be with the enemy endangering herself if she were to get caught. His body trembled convulsively at the thought. Instantly Sakura's hand rested on his shoulder holding him still and appeasing his stress. Their eyes met in an enduring gaze while Naruto cleared his throat to get back their attention to what their plan of action should be since wasting time away would only result in the terrorist group to begin suspecting foul play and sending men out for their teammate.
Sasuke's arm jerked, placing it only the hilt of his Kusanagi, drawing it out slowly, it's sheath lay placid around his waist as he drove forward aiming it at the captive as Sakura leaped behind him.
"Tell us what you know about this, Second Sanctum?" he demanded of the man who was tied to the tree. Blood trickled from his crown and lips, from the beating Naruto gave him while Sasuke tied him down. The neckline of his shirt drenched with the blood that collected at his collarbone and he coughed several times spitting blood a few inches away from Sasuke, who stood aiming his sword at the captive's throat.
Sakura held onto Sasuke's arm stopping him from doing anything unprompted, his eyes drew toward her scanning them and realizing how alarmed she was. Naruto stood a few feet away from them not realizing the purpose of Sasuke's actions but continued to stay there knowing very well that this would be the only resolve before any body jumped them into combat.
Sakura knelt before the captive, brushed the blood off his skin using a small towel and pressed it against his crown, applying chakra to his forehead with her free hand while Sasuke stood awaiting a response. He realized it would be best if he played the interrogator and Sakura played the pacifist. A psychology bound to breach the man's conscience.
The captive sighed, as his breathing quivered relentlessly while the pain in his crown subsided. His gaze now transfixed to Sakura's who was focusing on healing him while wiping away as much blood as possible. She turned to face his eyes as they made eye contact only for a brief second, "I think I asked you a question, what is it that you know about the Second Sanctum?" he asked more crudely.
"En-enough to cripple the-their defenses," he replied spurting out more blood, which Sakura wiped as she turned her head to face Sasuke with a concerned expression.
"And you shall reveal them to us?" Sasuke exacted on his demand.
"Not unless I get what I want," the man spoke more clearly now. Sakura finished bandaging his wound and pressed his head onto the towel she had wrapped to support his neck and head and he lay there with more ease.
"What is it that you want then?"
"Asylum in the Land of Fire and a pardon for all my crimes with protection, in exchange for all the information I hold".
"Hmph, I'd have figured," Sasuke's responded quickly.
The trio exchanged glances before deciding it would be better to send word to the village about these developments before taking matters into their own hands. Sasuke summoned a messenger hawk, after scribbling onto a piece of paper and sealing it with a jutsu. He embedded it into the Hawk's carrier case and sent it away.
Naruto stepped forward, kneeling beside the man and searched his belongings, raking his hands across his pockets and checking every fold and inch of his body. Sakura got up and stood beside Sasuke as they exchanged stares, "Do you think he's going to talk before any word comes back?" she asked him.
"He's more than going to just talk. I'll make sure of it," Sasuke replied, looking at her assuringly.
"But do we believe everything he says?" her eyes showed concern.
"That is a problem we'll have to deal with once he spills".
Naruto turned backward pulling out a small textbook and a few weapons from his search and placed it on the grass for his teammates to see while probing the book intently.
"Why were you sent to look for the medic?" Sasuke spoke after glancing over all the weapons he possessed that didn't reveal much except that they were ordinary and their make wasn't anything special. They could belong to any other shinobi.
"Our camp's only medic died in the last siege, so we were to recruit another and so I was sent to look for a specific medic in the village of Yamasaki who is known for her healing abilities and skilled poison making".
Naruto's head titled back, the Yamasaki village was just a few kilometers from where they were and although this incident had caused them to slack on their journey it did give them the upper hand.
"Why do you seek asylum?" Naruto finally broke his silence. Sakura's turned her face to him almost appalled he had managed to ask a reasonable question.
"My family was taken hostage by the First Sanctum so they could force me to serve their purposes on the promises of their release. But my wife was raped and killed and my children forced into labor when the group disbanded and regrouped into the Second Sanctum. I only wish to break free of their detainment and get my kids back once they are put an end to,"
"And you expect us to believe they let you go on an expedition on your own not fearing you'd turn on them?" Sakura intervened.
"They would kill my children if I didn't make it back, they always have that leverage on me".
The trio exchanged glances pondering over his statement actualizing the truth in them. Sakura knelt before the man cutting a couple of wires easing his movement so he could breathe easier. He thanked her. She placed a canteen on his dry lips as he sipped earnestly, in thirst as she watched how fatigued he appeared. Sasuke beckoned her to stop, as she moved the canteen away, closing it and rising on her step to stand beside him.
They let the man rest while the team decided to sit underneath the shade and recuperate right before it occurred to Sakura that they hadn't even thought of asking him his name. She quietly got up and walked to his direction to ask him. Just before she could kneel beside him in excuse to check his wounds before slipping the question, he spoke almost reading her mind, "It's Kametatsu," he tilted his face to look at her jade orbs that widened at his answer.
"How did you-"
"I have a special ability,"
"To what? Read people's minds?" she asked amusingly.
"No, rather their heartbeats".
Sakura's forehead wrinkled as she mulled over his statement.
"So a mere hiccup in my heartbeat told you I wanted to know your name?"
"Not a hiccup, just the increase in its pace. You seemed at peace when you sat beside your teammates and even when you were tending to my wounds. Something struck your mind and your heart raced afterward as you began walking toward me. I figured you were wanting to know my name since none of you bothered to ask me earlier," he explained.
"That is quite an interesting conclusion you made. How does your ability work exactly?" she asked while removing the towel from behind his neck and cleaning it before wiping his face to remove the residual blood that had dried on it.
"Through vibrations and sound. My ears function on an ultrasonic frequency, that's how".
"Interesting-" she was just about to check his bandages when she was yanked upward strongly, "-What are you doing?"
Sasuke pulled her toward him, holding her close to his chest, "Don't sympathize with him. We don't know a thing about them. Not unless he starts talking,"
Sakura's eyes narrowed into slits as she freed her hand, but continued to lean against his chest while he slipped his hand onto her waist pulling her away from the man.
She nudged his grip away, just when they were near Naruto she spoke irritatedly, "What the hell is your problem?"
"I don't want you indulging with him, do you understand?"
"And since when did you start making decisions for us?"
"Since you just proved you aren't capable of keeping your emotions in check,"
"Don't you start that bull shit with me again!"
"Guys! Guys!" Naruto finally decided to intervene although he enjoyed it whenever there was any tension between the two of them.
"What?" Sasuke and Sakura broke into a shout in unison.
"We shouldn't really be fighting at this point of time and instead extract whatever we can out of him," Naruto said pointing at Kametatsu.
"That was exactly what I was doing, and I did get to know his name in just the few seconds I had with him before our tyrannizing teammate here-" she pointed at Sasuke, "-decided to grab me and drag me over here".
Naruto's simpered at her statement looking at Sasuke, realizing his intentions but couldn't really agree with her. This man wasn't their friend, hell he was their enemy. For all they knew he was driving them into a trap which they would seamlessly get played into.
"I'll get started with him, meanwhile you two keep a look out," Sasuke stated.
"Got it!" Naruto responded sprinting into the trees leaving Sakura behind.
"And you, stay away from him before you get yourself killed, alright?" Sasuke looked over to her as obsidian eyes gazed into emerald. Locking into an unsettling stare before Naruto beckoned to her to come join him. Sakura dashed upward disappearing from his view. Sasuke walked toward Kametatsu emitting shrewd expressions taking a seat before him kneeling a leg up and placing a hand over it, his Kusanagi sat beside him and was in view of Kametatsu who jerked backward in alarm.
An hour passed away quickly as Sakura and Naruto scouted their surroundings deeming it safe for them to continue their operation while alternatively looking at their teammate below who was engaged in a persistent examination of their captive. The two were now sitting opposite each other on the branch of a tree a few meters from where Sasuke and Kametatsu were.
"You think he's telling the truth?" Naruto asked.
"That is for Sasuke to decide I suppose,"
"Hm, since when did you agree on that?" Naruto's lips pressed into a reprehensible smirk.
"Since he constantly keeps butting in, I believe he's the one with the magical hat, pulling every rabbit at the right time, dontcha agree?" Sakura's tone bordered on irritated and loony.
"When you say it like that, you make him sound like a hedonistic maniac," he shortly replied.
"How spot on your description of his character was!" Sakura exclaimed in amusement.
There was a short spell of silence between then before Naruto spoke, "He likes to be in control you know. He doesn't like losing reigns on a certain course of action or command. He's always been that way,"
"Well then he might as well hold on to his bloody reigns and race his bloody horses into a minefield if he wishes but I am not enduring his bossiness anymore, you hear me?" she retorted. Naruto restlessly moved around in his seat, unnerved by her response twitching his eyebrows in disdain. Just as he began to speak again, Sasuke's voice broke his intent as he called them right away.
Naruto and Sakura landed on their feet as Sasuke walked over to them, Kametatsu sat still behind him while Sakura's eye strayed onto the view.
"We had quite the interesting conversation there," he spoke.
"What do you mean?" Naruto inquired.
"He agreed to a plan I devised for us to get us in and get him and his kids out of there, meanwhile we gather everything we need and get the hell outta here". Naruto and Sakura exchanged glances, exhilarated by his words.
"So what is it?" Sakura asked him.
"You'll be going with him posing as the medic".
Silence brooded amongst them, eyes hovered while all three stood there deep in thought.
"I knew it'd come down to this," Sakura replied to his statement.
"It's for the best Sakura,"
"I know, I don't disagree. I just feel this will be a lot more difficult than you anticipate,"
"And why is that?"
"You want to help him get him AND his kids out? All the while I collect intel on their forces and layout? The idea is far fetched".
Sasuke did not respond, he only placed his hand on her shoulder while gazing intently at her leaving her a little uneasy. Naruto broke his gaze as his eyes lowered giving his teammates some space.
"I will not let any harm befall you Sakura".
Her eyes suddenly began to glisten as a small tear emerged from her lower lid which was quickly brushed away by him. His thumb rested there as their eyes locked onto each other, before getting interrupted by Naruto who seemed annoyed by his teammates' constant mood swings.
"Can we get back to where we were before you get all mushy, you guys?"
Their stare broke and they both felt an embarrassing blush creep up onto their faces. Sakura redder than Sasuke.
After a few hours of their discussion and thorough planning, Sakura sat alongside Sasuke memorizing the names and keywords he instructed to her while Naruto walked up to Kametatsu cutting open his wires.
He was lifted up slowly while leaning into Naruto's arm and stood up. "So your name's Kametatsu right?"
"Yes"
"Damn, one of the frogs I summon's name is Gamatatsu. He's always complaining about how I don't give him any snacks but well that's just a frog you know," Naruto exclaimed.
The man looked at him peculiarly wondering if he was even sane in his head before leaping in his steps towards where Sasuke and Sakura sat.
"Are we ready yet?" Kametatsu inquired.
"We will depart first thing in the morning after you have regained your strength and Sakura here is completely familiar with your team back there. You can even tell her everything you just told me so that we can be on the same page. From the point of reaching Yamasaki, you both will be on your own. We will follow you keeping our distance to the camp you tell us of and keep a close watch for you two from there on," Sasuke stated the plan.
"Sounds about perfect then" Kametatsu replied before kneeling beside them and taking a seat.
Sakura got up and dusted her pants as she advanced into the woods after excusing herself from the rest. She wanted to breathe freely and feel easier than she did a few minutes ago. She was scared of the task that she was going to be put up to because she hadn't ever partaken in anything like this before. She sat down on a boulder placing her feet in front of her kneeling, rested her head on her knees and holding her body tightly to soothe her tension. She closed her eyes and visualized the calm waterfall beneath which she would stand to let all the water descend on her crashing her into its abyss all the while flaying her arms in tranquility. This was one of the brief psychological visualizations she was asked to picture in cognitive therapy back when she was being treated for her hallucinations.
A sudden touch on her shoulder woke her as she tilted her face to see who it was. Onyx eyes met her trepid emerald ones as he sat beside her lowering his arm onto his lap. She scooted over to give him more space as they sat there in silence. He could sense her tension and felt the immediate need to appease it but felt helpless looking onto her body that shivered indefinitely but gently.
He grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into his chest feeling her daze as she couldn't understand why he did so. It began stiff yet she leaned into him placing her arm on his chest and the other resting behind her. Her face planted near his heart could hear it distinctly beating against the surface while his arm traveled up brushing the skin of her jaw very gently and then resting there.
"I won't let anything happen to you," he spoke.
"I know".
AWWWW, SS moments make me weak in the knees. The new BORUTO episode did the same. I love SasuSaku. Next chapter coming up tomorrow so don't forget to follow and stay updated. Review/fav too! Please show your support if you like this story.