agesreading- Thank you! Hmmm… Kakashi… alive... Hmmm… Glad you liked that bit with Asuma. I really enjoyed writing it.
pink-strawberries- Thank you! I thought a little humor would help break the tension after all this seriousness!
ILoveSxS- Thanks!
01Trycia-chan01- Me too! It was so fun to write a little humor and it's always great writing slow burning SasuSaku. It's served best that way ;) Hmmm… A hug you say? Yeah, I think that Sasuke is already pretty strung out, poor guy.
ElevatedJewel- He surely does!
Tiger Priestess- Thank you! Everyone seemed to appreciate a naked Asuma breaking up the tension of all these overly dramatic character. Yes, maybe Kakashi will be around! Miss his face!
MissKonoha- Thank you so much! Yes, poor Sakura. It's so good she is in a peaceful place and has someone to protect her (if she'll allow it). You may be onto something there...
Anissa- Thank you!
xxxFlamingWingsxxx- LOL It is actually killed me holding off Naruto's whereabouts this long. I must pace myself! Thank you! Sasuke and Sakura are always best at a slow burn! The more tension the better! But, I think you'll get a little more development this chapter ;) Just a tad.
KassfromVenus- Thank you!
Minervana01- Thank you for reading my story! Glad you like it!
Waterlilly333- Thank you! Lot's of different point of views going on in that Uchiha household.
Cassandra Echizen- Yesh, Kakashi is my love! I miss them too! They'll be around, most at different times though!
saekuto- Aw! Thank you! Sasuke is very naive, which makes him endearing, but he also has some growing to do… and he also has to become more decisive lol. #hangintheresasuke.
LadyMartel4000- Thank you!
koolkidSwaggy- Indeed! Asuma is the best :)
Yami no Emi- :)
Sasukeluva 4eva- Aw! Thank you so much! Your review left me teary-eyed :*)
An additional thanks to all the guests' reviews and people who favorited and followed me or this story *sends Rock Lee hearts your way*
::Lonely Existence::
Chapter Ten: Breaking Stone
"Aren't you afraid of getting caught, Kurenai-san?" Sakura asked the dark-haired woman, who was pulling back her pink tresses in a simple and elegant bun. "It is forbidden for handmaids to keep lovers…you could be dismissed."
"I'm afraid all the time." Kurenai told her with a tired sigh. "You don't have to tell me how foolish I am, Sakura, I am more than well aware of that fact… I suppose that means I really must be in love, eh?"
Love… Sakura thought.
A wish of children, a cause of pain, and something she didn't quite understand anymore. Risking her life to obtain freedom someday, she could understand, but love? She studied the older woman's reflection in the mirror and could see a serene, yet coy, smile playing on her red lips… a sparkle in her cranberry eyes that the youth had not noticed before.
And, for a moment, the slave girl was jealous… she was certain she could never feel that way. That any chance of having lights dance in her eyes or a relentless smile tug at the corner of her lips was lost to her forever… whether she desired it or not.
"Thank you for agreeing to keep my secret." the handmaiden whispered gratefully. "I'm in your debt."
"No," Sakura informed her. "I will never have anyone indebted to me."
:::
"Invited by the groom personally?" Sasuke asked, rolling open the wedding invitation. "I feel honored."
Neji tsked. "Don't, Mother insisted that I deliver the invitations for my squad and their families in person, out of respect."
Sasuke rolled his eyes at his emotionally detached comrade. "Forgive me for assuming otherwise… I hear it's going to be quite the event."
"Yes, over four hundred guests… and Madara-sama himself will be there." Neji told him wearily. "I wouldn't have minded just a swift elopement, but Mother and Father insisted."
"You are their heir." Sasuke reminded him. "They'll want to show off… Remember Itachi's wedding?"
"Kami, yes." Neji replied. "I was just fourteen at the time, I thought that it would never end."
"Hopefully, it won't be such a strain this time around." Sasuke offered.
"No, I suppose not." Neji agreed, holding back a smile. "I'm lucky to anticipate Ten-Ten as my wife. She is a strong warrior and a fine woman… a far worse arrangement could have been made."
"...Do you love her at all?" Sasuke found himself asking before he could stop himself.
The Hyuga heir hesitated at the blunt question, but not for very long. "It's not as simple as that, she's been a comrade to me longer than she has been my betrothed… But, I'm sure I will grow to."
Sasuke nodded in understanding. "It was the same for Itachi and Hana."
"Why do you ask?" Neji inquired. "Has some unfortunate lady actually weaseled her way into your affections?"
"No." Sasuke shook his head in denial, not allowing his thoughts to travel back to where they had been frequenting too often lately. "I…" He just couldn't imagine marrying someone unless he genuinely loved them.
:::
"Oh, I'm so excited!" Mikoto exclaimed happily, upon Sasuke giving her the wedding invitation during afternoon tea. "It's been so long since we've gone to a wedding, and in the autumn! It will be so beautiful!"
Sasuke wasn't surprised by her reaction. His mother was a hopeless romantic. She had had the time of her life preparing for Itachi's wedding. The younger Uchiha frowned at the thought of his older brother, at the information he was keeping from his parents. He had honestly never lied to them before...He never had a need to.
But now, he suspected that withholding the truth of Itachi's treason from them would be the first of many lies to come.
"Sasuke." Fugaku spoke, lowering his cup, noticing the change in his younger son's demeanor. "Is everything alright?"
The youth's dark eyes shifted to his father's, unable to see him as he had before.
Was it true that he played a hand in the slaughter of innocents? There were few shinobi that didn't have some form of blood on their hands… but to have so passively assisted in such a massacre… Sasuke would have never thought his father capable.
"Sasuke?" His mother called him out of his thoughts, when he did not answer his father right away.
"Yes, I'm fine." Sasuke assured them, diverting their attention back to what Neji and the wedding.
Already another lie.
:::
"F-fire." she stammered, her voice shaking with pain.
She could see out the window that smoke billowing over the valley and yellow flames were engulfing the roofs of the neighboring village.
The fourth lash never fell upon her, as Torou halted mid-strike. "What?"
"Fire." she repeated hoarsely, lifting her bonded hands toward the open window. "There's a fire!"
The Senju heir's sea-green eyes looked sharply out the window, before cursing under his breath. "Damn those Uchiha."
Chained to the pillar she had grown accustomed to over the last three years, she looked over her shoulder to see her master ready himself for battle.
"Don't worry, my love." he told her, securing his sword around his waist as he began to make his leave. "I'll have killed them all before they reach anywhere near here."
"Wait!" Sakura called after him, clanking her cuffs against the pillar, her back burning in pain. "Let me down!"
He chuckled before returning to her, pulling the key to her chains from his sleeve. "Don't trust me to come back for you?"
The key dropped to the ground with a hollow chime, just perfectly out of the reach of her feet.
He then snatched the back of her neck, turning her face up toward his to kiss her soundly. "Oh, Sakura, I'll always come back for you."
Pulling away, his teeth tugging at her lower lip mockingly, he smiled at the sheer hate radiating in her eyes. "Besides, what if you were to run away from me again? I couldn't allow that, now could I?"
With that, he was gone, leaving her with no means to escape… to survive.
As the fires and war cries grew closer and louder, the young woman slowly sank to the floor in defeat... it seemed she was actually going to die this time.
She just hoped that she would be dead before he returned.
:::
The weeks went by as the dusky green of August faded into the gold of September.
The season of change was at hand.
Shisui sent word that their squad would have to leave for another mission at the end of the month. Madara had ordered for more active patrols on the borders, unsure where or when Hashirama's forces would retaliate against him.
The Senju could not afford a full scale invasion after suffering such a loss, but that didn't mean a more integral attack could not be anticipated. This was a threat that required an increase in scouts than it did soldiers.
Sasuke exhaled heavily.
He couldn't keep avoiding his decision forever… he couldn't continue accepting missions from Madara like he was some loyal servant while he awaited Itachi to carry out the assassination.
Tossing the summon aside unto the floor, he threw an arm over his eyes and let out a hiss of frustration.
"Something wrong?" Sakura asked him, entering the room with an armful of books from the library.
Sasuke lifted his arm and inclined his head to acknowledge her. Things between them had gone as normal, but there had been a drift since her audience with Itachi. What little connection he had managed to tie with her had been severed with what he had learned about her past.
"It's nothing." he replied, letting his head fall back to the pillow.
"I see." she dismissed.
His eyes slid back to her to see that she had settled in her favorite place beside the window, and was already enraptured with a green leather book with a jasmine engraved in its center.
Sasuke frowned. He wished that he could be so easily distracted… so uncaring.
"I received a mission summons today." he informed her.
"Ah," she replied, not looking up from her book. "When do you leave?"
"I shouldn't go." he told her. "I have yet to decide where my loyalties lie."
"You should side with who you feel is in the right." Sakura told him as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
"What is right?" he couldn't help but feel angry at her dismissiveness. Didn't she care about anything besides her Kakashi's safety? "Siding with my brother and endangering the lives of my family or siding with Madara as he wipes out an entire civilization?"
She said nothing as she turned a page.
"Haven't you anything to say?" he asked expectantly, sitting up.
He needed something. Some form of opinion...guidance… a sign... from anyone… and she was the only one he could ask.
"It has nothing to do with me." she told him. "How can I have an opinion on the matter?"
"Nothing to do with you?" he asked incredulously. "This war affects everyone."
That was obviously the wrong thing to say.
She closed the book soundly, before turning her fierce green eyes upon him, they shined without a sliver of hesitance or fear.
Sasuke found himself both frightened and intrigued.
"This war is a squabble between two clans... no two overly entitled me, trying to assert their dominance as the most powerful being in the world, with no care for the countless innocents who suffer and die in their crossfire." she spoke. "I am a slave. I have been for the Senju and now the Uchiha, and I have no loyalty toward either, because no matter who triumphs in the end, my lord, the outcome is always the same for me."
Sasuke stared at her, stupefied.
"But, it's different for you." she told him, softening slightly. "Doing the right thing always requires sacrifice, but it's better than being a coward and letting terrible things happen to ensure your own safety… I know that better than most."
"...You think I should join Itachi."
"It's what you think that matters." she told him, somewhat sadly.
:::
Fire and smoke surrounded her, burning her skin and filling her lungs, making her limp. She would have liked to think she had remained dignified while facing death… but, that had not the case.
She had panicked and tried desperately to escape, pulling at her restraints till her wrists were raw, screaming for help till her throat was dry, but no one came… Torou would have been pleased to see her try and reach for the key, nearly dislocating her shoulder as she tried to stretch herself out and capture it with the tip of her toes.
When the flames crept up from under the door, she had slumped in exhaustion, the heat in the air becoming unbearable.
What was she doing anyway?
Why was she always so torn between striving for life and accepting death?
This wasn't so bad… The smoke would kill her before anything else… maybe it would be like falling asleep.
"Mama!"
Her eyes opened at the call…a wispy, otherworldly cry of a child... It sounded very much like her own voice, but different.
Who…? she blinked, searching the smoke, but there was no one there. The cry came again, but it was muffled and real this time around."Sakura!" followed by the sound of the door being knocked in roughly. "Sakura!"
…Kakashi?
The smoke was too heavy, she couldn't make him out, but she heard his heavy footsteps as he approached her and the key being retrieved.
"Kami…" he breathed as she felt her shackles clanking together as he freed her. "Come on, Sakura, get up. I have to get you out of here!"
He came back…
"Get up, Sakura!" he ordered.
She did.
:::
Sakura read into the night in the light of the candle clock, her eyes devouring every word, hoping to find some distraction…but her mind was too restless for that. Although, Sasuke's soft, even breathing across the room had a calming effect on her… this was the first time he had fallen asleep before she had.
She sighed, pushing back her hair... Sasuke wasn't the only one who had to make a decision that night. While exploring titles in the library early that evening, she had come across Itachi.
He was leaning against a shelf, his eyes traveling over an ancient text of shinobi mythos. "This library has been a lonely place since I left home… It's nice to see it has a full-time occupant again."
"Forgive me if I disturbed you, Itachi-sama." she apologized, half tempted to leave… but this was her opportunity to speak with him.
"I believe I should be the one apologizing to you." he told her, closing his book with a soft snap. "I think we got off on the wrong foot..."
"I'll tell you where you could find Kakashi, but you must give me your word that you are not intending to harm him." she interrupted him, wanting to get straight to the point. While she had decided to aid him, he still had shamed her, and she found herself unwilling to forgive that.
Itachi looked puzzled… and it was obvious that he wasn't used to being so. "You know Kakashi?"
"He was a guard where I was living before he went to serve under Hashirama." she explained. "While I am certain you are looking for a ghost, if Kakashi is alive, I will let him decide for himself if he want's to form an allyship with you."
Itachi's dark eyes studied her intently, deciding his moves carefully against this clever new player.
"I know of your plan, Sasuke told me." she went on, sensing his hesitation. "And I promise not to breathe a word of it to anyone so long as Kakashi is unharmed and not forced to go along with your scheme in anyway. Unlike your brother, I have no emotional attachment to you that would hold me back from revealing your mission to anyone if you were to break your word."
"I shouldn't be so surprised." Itachi sighed with a slight smirk. "I think my foolish little brother would tell you just about anything."
Sakura ignored that comment, not liking the way it settled within her. "Do we have a deal or not, my lord?"
"Yes, I believe we do, my dear."
:::
It was storming wildly when he awoke.
Rain plastered heavily against the window, casting watery shadows across the room and thunder rolled mildly in the distance. Rising out of bed, the Uchiha gathered his clothes to change for the day, only to still at the sound of trickling water. However, he had heard it a moment too late, he had already slid the washroom door open, and he was met with the sight of Sakura lifting herself from the waters of the bath.
He froze, too stunned by the sight of her white, elegant, and fully exposed body to move or speak, even when her jade eyes met his.
It was a mistake... He had thought that she would have been with Kurenai by this time.
Alarmed, she made a noise somewhere between a gasp and a cry, wrapping a towel around her frame and turning quickly to preserve her modesty. But, the action had been too hasty and the cloth dipped low down her back, revealing numerous scourge marks aligning the plains of her skin.
Sasuke's arousal was quickly cooled over at the horrific sight.
His eyes grew several shades darker as he took a shaky step forward.
Sakura remained very still, clutching the towel to her chest, her pulse beating wildly in shame and fear... the only sound in the nearly silent room was her shallow breathing as she listened to him slowly approach her pausing behind her.
Sasuke stared unabashedly at the white, jagged scars, his gaze narrowing as he counted every one. The black fire that had been burning within him since he had learned of her past now manifested into a white hot fury. He truly never had the desire to kill anyone until this moment. He never had this desire to avenge. On their own accord, his fingers reached out and brushed the longest most prominent scar. She trembled at his touch.
"Who did this to you?" he asked, his voice thick, dangerous.
"...They don't hurt anymore." she managed to whisper.
"Who was it?" Sasuke pressed.
One of her former masters?
Madara's soldiers?
Who?
"...Please, go." she pleaded, her voice straining as she tried to keep her emotions in check.
"Tell me, Sakura." he insisted, his hand rising to her bare shoulder, turning her around to face him. "You have to tell me."
She shook her head in resistance, her eyes were aligned with tears, and he could see then and there the torment she had gone through as she stared up into by her pain, by her vulnerability, he reached out his hand and gently took hold of her face.
"You can't keep it all locked up inside forever." he told her. "It's going to kill you."
A single tear fell from her eye, rolling off the thick fringe of her eyelash, glinting in the candlelight. Sasuke swallowed thickly, brushing the droplet away with the rough pad of his thumb.
Unable to bare the agony in her eyes any longer, he pulled her forward and she came to him, far too weary to resist his offer of comfort. She rested her head against his chest, dampening the fabric of his shirt with her soaking wet hair. His arms enclosed around her securely, overcome by her softness, by the smoothness of her alabaster skin, by the scent of rosewater filling his nostrils from her long tresses.
She fit so perfectly in his arms… like he had always been meant to hold her.
"Please," he whispered, cradling her head to him. "Tell me."
:::
"Your grandfather wishes for you to speak to him." Shizune told her lady, who was bent over a jug of sake and a shot glass as usual.
"Tell him if he wants to try and reason with the kid, he can go do it himself." Senju Tsunade snapped angrily, slamming her glass against the table.
"You're the only one the boy speaks to now that Jiraiya is gone." her handmaid told her. "Please, Tsunade-sama, your people cannot survive another attack… we must consider all options."
"He won't agree to it." Tsunade replied. "He likes his cage, it keeps him from killing people… besides he's lost a few screws since his mother died."
"Tsunade-sama." the black-haired woman pleaded. "You have to try."
The Senju princess sighed heavily, hoisting herself noisily from the war table. "Fine."
Going alone, without any guards, the golden-haired beauty traveled deep into the depths of the mountains where several prison cells had been hollowed out. She came to a halt in front of the largest, deepest cell, where a boy not yet seventeen lay with his head in his hands.
"Hey, Grandma." he greeted the woman without looking at her.
"Brat." she replied, too bitter and drunk to feel any sympathy.
He turned and sat up from the large boulder he was reclined upon, smirking wickedly, his eyes glowing red.
"Have you finally come to do the world a favor and kill me?"
a/n: Yes, I might have written another chapter over my "break". I think I might have a problem... Oh, well, good for you guys. There! You crazies! A Naruto sighting! Enjoy it, because that will have to hold you over for a while. Since Sasuke is just so shweet and pwecious , I thought I'd make Naruto a little darker.
And now a segment of Misplaced Quotes in the Naruto Universe:
Sasuke *drunk* At least we have each other.
Sakura: *also drunk* I love you so much.
Sasuke: I love you too.
Sakura: This is real.
Sasuke: I know.
Sakura: You're my husband.
Sasuke: You're my wife.
Sakura: You married me in front of people.
Sasuke: I did! I was there!