Behind These Eyes: Chapter 10
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, I'm just borrowing them for the purpose of this fic, which I'm not making a penny from.
A/N: Thank you so much for all your reviews and for following this story so far. It's coming to an end! Only a few more chapters to go! Oh! And thank you to doctor-chan124 for pointing out how a starved person should actually be treated. Apparently I was a lot more accurate than I thought! Woo hoo:D
Enjoy!
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(Sasuke's point of view)
Two weeks earlier…
"HE DID WHAT?" I hear my master yelling from upstairs.
A few minutes ago I was dragged back here and dumped outside my master's house, only to be eventually dragged inside and locked in the basement while they tell him what happened to my last client. I want to get up but my entire body hurts. They tied me up so I couldn't get away and took turns beating me, but I deserve it. I killed a man, and I'm surprised I'm still breathing right now. I'm not sure for how much longer though, because once my master gets hold of me it's going to be the end. I know it is because he won't show me any mercy. He never has in the past and it's unlikely he will now.
My head feels light and my heart continues to pound painfully against the inside of my chest. I want him to get this over with. It's bad enough knowing I'm going to be put to death, but not knowing when or how is probably enough to kill me in itself. My heart feels like it's going to burst and I wish it would.
No matter how I try to lie, I can't get comfortable. Both my sides are bruised badly and simply breathing is the most painful thing in the world right now. I think they must have broken some ribs. The pain is familiar, I've experienced it all before in the past, but because I'm familiar with it doesn't mean I'm used to it. I wish my body would just pass out so I don't have to deal with this anymore. Trying to take deep breaths, I screw shut my swollen eyes and try to tolerate the pain. It will be all over soon anyway.
They were merciless as they kicked and punched me, my cries of pain almost spurring them on. I'm told them I was sorry, over and over again, but it made no difference and didn't stop the stinging pain of a fist passing against my face, or the deep pain of a foot digging into my stomach. I pulled desperately against my restraints but there was no getting away. So eventually I gave up, curled up into a little ball and let them have their way with me. I wish I was already dead from the injuries.
Strangely enough, my memories of the kind, silver-haired man worked to comfort me a little, reminding me that through all of this there is at least one person who actually cares, one person who would never treat me like this. I wished he was there to stop everything, pick me up in his strong arms and carry me away from that place. But it never happened and as much as I long too, I'll probably never see him again. I bet he's already forgotten about me and moved on to some other boy instead. I've become used to it though. People only want me for sex and once they've had me, they tend to forget all about me and move on to the next one like I never actually existed. That's just how it works. But I like to think that he remembers me, it's a comforting thought.
I try to drown it out, but I can still hear the conversation my master is having with my tormentors upstairs. In a way, I don't want to know what they're planning to do to me. I just want them to do it and get it over with.
"You'll have to get rid of him!" I hear the sound of my master's wife's voice coming from upstairs. She's no better than he is. It doesn't bother her in the slightest to walk on past even when she sees her husband beating his slaves. She couldn't care less what happens to us, as long as we keep bringing in enough money for her to live in a bigger house than her friends do and keep her big, flashy car on the road. She probably wouldn't bat an eyelid if she saw one of us being stabbed to death.
"He's our biggest source of income!" my master yells. "He brings in almost half of our annual income by himself, and he's by far the most beautiful one we've got! Do you know how much it would cost to replace him with one equally as pretty? The clients like them to be small, beautiful and feminine looking in build and appearance and the slave dealers know that! A new one just as pretty as him would cost a year's earnings!"
"Well go back to the place where you found him then! And do you really think he'll still be our biggest source of income when it gets around that he's a danger to his clients? We'll be ruined if you don't dispose of him quickly enough! You know how competitive it is out there. The second the other stall owners hear about this, it'll be spread around like a wildfire in a deliberate attempt to ruin us! GET RID OF HIM!" she yells in response.
"The reason we could afford him in the first place is because we bought him young! We might be able to afford another pretty little thing like him if we buy them as children and wait nearly a decade for them to mature! You know they're getting stricter about child prostitutes around here. It's not like it was ten years ago when Sasuke was little and the authorities would take a bribe and turn a blind eye!"
"I don't care. Get rid of him or else we're ruined."
"And where do you suppose I send him? Nobody is going to want to buy him in the state he's in!" my master states. "And I don't have the contact details of anyone who expressed interest in buying him before the 'incident.'"
"Either kill him or sell him to one of the factories outside town. You'll not get much for him, but they'll take pretty much anything as long as it can still walk. It's a quick method of disposal and we'll have a bit more money in our pockets than we'd have if we simply killed him."
I've heard about those factories they're talking about. My blood runs cold. That's where they send the old and the sick to be pretty much worked to death. Please, please kill me now instead. Please kill me, don't send me there! It's just the equivalent of a slow, painful death rather than a quick one right now. Do anything! Slit my throat, shoot me in the head, poison me… but please don't send me there!
Tears stream down my face as I hear footsteps getting closer to where I've been imprisoned. The door opens and I bury my face into my hands. He gets closer and closer, the look on his face is that of infuriation. He grabs my arm and roughly drags me to my feet, my broken ribs become even more unbearably painful, the sharp pain spreading to every inch of my body causing me to cry out. Before I realise what's happening, he's dragging me out of the basement and outside of the house, not caring in the least about how much pain I'm in.
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(Still Sasuke's point of view)
"We'll put him to good use," a severe looking man, with an un-nerving smile sneers as he runs his finger along my bruised and swollen cheek. "An ex-whore then? You can have the added responsibility of being a stress reliever for the workers here." He laughed, running his hand across my ass, stopping between my thighs, causing me to immediately tense up. Why couldn't my master have just killed me? Why has be brought me here?
"So we have a deal then?" my master smiles and reaches out to shake my new tormentor's hand.
"It's a deal. The kid is sick and scrawny and I doubt he'll last long. But that's the point of this place isn't it? Somewhere to dump the useless."
I watch nervously as a small amount of money is exchanged for me, the whole time my heart's in my mouth. A split second later I'm no longer the property of my ex-master. This other maniac owns me now, and I dread to think what he's going to do with me.
I watch my old master walk away without even a second thought, despite owning me for the past eight years and despite all the money I've made him over that period. I've let strangers touch me, abuse me and fuck me so that he could live the lifestyle he and his wife enjoy. I've been through hell for him, and not once did I lash out until this point. I obediently allowed strangers to do whatever the hell they wanted to me with me without protest. I make one mistake and this is where I end up. He really is merciless.
My eyes gaze around my new home and once again I wish for death. Everyone here looks miserable, starved and exhausted. I guess I'm going to fit in just fine…
My thoughts are disrupted when my new master grabs me violently by the shoulder and jerks me around to face him, causing me to cry out in pain again. He tells me to 'shut the fuck up' and pushes me forward. I force myself hold in the cries of pain this time, despite the fact that my entire body is sore, broken and bruised. I haven't eaten in days either. I've been so ill over the past month or so that I can't manage to eat properly, and already my ribs are visible. I don't think I'm going to get any better in this place. It's the end. But as I've said many times before, I'm a murderer and I don't deserve any sort of kind treatment, however much I wish for it. I'm not going to put up any fight. They can do what they want with me.
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(Still Sasuke's point of view)
A week and a few days later…
My vision is blurry, but suddenly I can see a bit of colour where there has previously only been darkness. I think there are people standing over me. They're saying something but I can't make it out. Whatever it is, it's echoing over and over again in my head, but it's incomprehensible. Where am I? The last thing I can remember is the hunger, pain and cold becoming too much, before a blanket of darkness swept over me as I collapsed to the ground.
I'm not lying on the ground… I don't think. I can't remember anything. How long have I been sleeping for? I try to move but the familiar pain from before engulfs me. There's someone holding me still, someone else with a needle. I struggle to try and focus on them but it's not working, I can't make out their faces. What are they doing? Don't they know I'm a murderer? A sharp pain catches my attention as the needle is pushed into my arm. I want to struggle free and get up, but my body won't let me. It's frozen to the spot. I don't understand.
There's a hand stroking my cheek softly, they're whispering something but I can't make it out.
"I'm a murderer, let me die…" I manage to whisper before the wave of darkness engulfs me all over again.
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(Kakashi's point of view)
"You're not a murderer Sasuke. They where playing cruel games with your head. You didn't kill anybody!" I cry, hoping that he can hear me, but his eyes have already flickered shut again.
"He can't hear you," Tsunade responds coldly, obviously not sharing the same emotional response I have from hearing the boy's voice again.
"How do you know?" I shout.
"Because I'm the doctor and you're not."
"But…"
"And I also administered him with a strong painkiller, so it's probably knocked him out again for a little while." Tsunade folds her arms and looks disapprovingly at me. She always seems to have that look on her face. I don't know what her problem is.
"When can I take him home with me?" I ask, hoping to break the awkward silence.
"Tomorrow I guess. He's been here a week already and he's not dead yet, so I think he'll probably pull through. Just make sure you watch him like a hawk, and bring him back here if he experiences the slightest complication."
"I know he's been here a week. You promised me I could take him home after three days." I squint my eyes angrily at her.
"Well, I lied. To be honest I didn't think he'd last that long, and now that he has, I want to make sure he's going to be alright before I send him out of my sight."
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(Still Kakashi's point of view)
The next day….
As I carry Sasuke to my car, his eyes have flickered open again and as usual he's trying to focus on me, however successfully, I don't know. I'm just relieved he's still here, and I can begin to make things up to him. For the time being I guess it would be best if he slept in the bed with me so I can watch over him during the night. As he gets better he can have his own room. I'm so lost in thoughts of what way would be best to decorate his bedroom and what colour scheme I should use, I almost miss the faint, shaky whisper that escapes from his mouth.
"K..Kakashi?"
The shock causes me to stop dead in my tracks and stare directly into the boy's eyes, unable to hold back the tears from running down my cheeks. For the first time in what seems like forever, they are not tears of sadness, worry or regret.
End of Chapter 10
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Thank you for reading! I can't believe we're at chapter 10 already! Not much further to go until the end of the story! I meant to have a bit more of a 'conscious' Sasuke in this fic, but the way this chapter worked out, it didn't really happen. But next chapter he'll be much more aware of what's going on, and maybe he'll even feel a bit better.
Next chapter: Kakashi and Sasuke's relationship starts the initial stages of blossoming, but could Sasuke's trust issues get in the way of their happiness? Will he ever be able to put his past behind him and look forward to a new life of freedom from slavery?
Please review and let me know if you still like how the story is turning out! And thank you for not flaming me about my lack of medical knowledge in the previous chapter lol. See you next chapter:D
Laura xx