Zero Hour - Chapter 10: Truths and Lies
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.
Sai was sure this wasn't an accident. There was no way they were this easy to find. Last time Team Kakashi had had to resort to enemy intelligence to find Orochimaru's location, and this time they were going in blind. Their success now was an anomaly…or a trap.
"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled.
Sai looked up the steep slope of a cliff where Uchiha Sasuke, Yakushi Kabuto, and Orochimaru observed the remaining members of Team Kakashi, though Sasuke ignored Naruto's call.
"My, my, we have to stop meeting like this," Orochimaru said.
"You have something of ours," Kakashi said with false amity. "We'd like her back."
"If you're referring to Haruno Sakura," Kabuto said, "then you're a little late."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Naruto said.
Sai noticed red seeping into Naruto's eyes as the Kyuubi roiled within him. Yamato watched him, too, ready to suppress the demon chakra at a moment's notice.
"Just what it sounds like: She's no longer under our care."
"I'm sure I don't have to explain why I can't take your word for it," Kakashi said, pushing his hitai-ate up to reveal the Sharingan.
"And here I thought you were here for Sasuke again. Or have you given up?"
Sasuke still said nothing. He might have some idea of Sakura's fate.
"Tell us where she is," Sai said to Sasuke.
Sasuke's heavy gaze fell upon his replacement, and Sai wondered if he was just that—Sasuke's replacement. "She left."
That means she's still alive...
Kakashi picked up on the hidden meaning as well. "You let her go?"
"Not exactly," Orochimaru said. "But I did get what I wanted from her, so it's no difference to me."
Sasuke glanced at Orochimaru askance but revealed nothing of his thoughts.
"And what might that be?"
"Come now, Copy Ninja. I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise. And I do love surprises."
"Bastard, why didn't you get her outta there sooner?" Naruto shouted at Sasuke. "She's your teammate, y'know?"
"Oh Naruto, when will you learn? Sasuke-kun doesn't have a team anymore. He doesn't need you," Kabuto said.
"Come down here and say that again, asshole!"
Yamato put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, a silent warning.
"Orochimaru, let's go," Sasuke said. "You wanted to talk to them, and now you have. Stop wasting time."
Orochimaru smiled. "You're too impatient, and because of that you miss what's truly important. You still have much to learn, boy."
Naruto, taking advantage of the temporary distraction, fired up a Rasengan and ran up the cliff face.
"Enough of this," he said with eerie calm. "You're gonna tell me where Sakura-chan is, or I'm gonna shove this Rasengan down your throat!"
Kabuto took a threatening step forward in preparation for any sudden attack. Sunlight reflected off his glasses, and Sai noticed that they were taped across the bridge, as though they'd broken and Kabuto hadn't had time to procure a spare pair.
Orochimaru laughed. "You truly are Jiraiya's student, just as Sakura takes after Tsunade-hime. But believe me when I say there's no point to your chase. You won't find her on your own. If he's one thing, he's good at hiding."
"Who?" Naruto demanded. "You mean someone took her? Where are they?"
"Orochimaru-sama," Kabuto said. "It might be prudent…"
Orochimaru waved him off. "No, I think I've been more than helpful for one day. Besides, I have my own score to settle with him when the time is right."
Naruto was done talking. He ran at the Sound shinobi, Rasengan ready to tear them apart. Sai took off after him, brush and scroll at the ready.
"Naruto!" Yamato shouted.
But Naruto paid him no mind as he charged Orochimaru, red chakra billowing behind him. Sai sketched beast summons to back up Naruto in case things got ugly. A loud crack resounded just before Naruto could reach the snake Sannin, who hadn't even bothered to move an inch. Sai skidded to a halt at the edge of the cliff. Rasengan and Chidori clashed in a blinding display of light and sound. Sasuke and Naruto glared at each other over their respective power attacks, stuck in a stalemate.
"Get outta my way, bastard," Naruto growled, demon eyes slit in warning.
Sasuke stared down his ex teammate, marveling at how much stronger Naruto was now than he'd been during their last fight in the Valley of the End. As little as Orochimaru's death would pain him, Sasuke could not afford to lose the Sannin at this time. There were still some things left for Sasuke to learn before he returned to his life's goal. Sharingan eyes were cold and immovable despite Naruto's asphyxiating demon chakra.
"She's safe," Sasuke said, soft enough so that only Naruto would hear over the roar of the Chidori.
"You don't know—"
"I do. She won't die so easily."
Not after what Kabuto put her through.
Naruto couldn't find words to respond to that. He was so surprised that he let up. Seeing an opening, Sasuke shoved Naruto away, sending the blond crashing into the ground under the force of both their attacks. Kakashi and Yamato, in the meantime, had joined the rest of the group on top of the cliff and stood their ground. Sasuke let his Chidori fizzle out.
"Well, as amusing as this reunion has been, we must be going now. Kabuto, Sasuke."
Kabuto backed away from Team Kakashi, while Orochimaru turned his back on them, unconcerned. Sasuke followed suit. The Sound shinobi faded into the surrounding forest, and all traces that they'd been there left with them save for the faint smell of ozone leftover from Sasuke's Chidori.
Sai was the first to speak. "What did he say?"
Naruto stared at the place where the friend he'd been chasing for the better part of three years had eluded him once more, this time by Naruto's own volition. "He said she's safe."
Kakashi sighed. "She could be anywhere."
"I believe him," Naruto said. "Sasuke wouldn't lie to me about this, y'know?"
"Sasuke's with Sound," Yamato said.
"If Naruto says he believes Sasuke, then I believe him, too," Sai said. "Sasuke's still our teammate, right?"
Naruto grinned. "…Yeah, that's right."
Sai smiled his fake smile and thought he was starting to understand these things called 'bonds' a little more every day.
"What did you tell the Jinchuuriki?"
Sasuke didn't bother looking at Orochimaru when he posed the question, knowing there was a right and a wrong way to answer. Instead of giving the man the satisfaction, he remained silent. Silence usually spared him whatever manipulation or torture Orochimaru had planned. He'd learned that the hard way.
"Did you tell him about Sasori?" Kabuto asked.
Eyes focused on the path ahead, Sasuke recalled that night weeks ago. The Sound nin's shouting roused him, and he'd arrived in time to witness the end of the internecine. It couldn't have been Sakura's doing, he'd thought. This level of merciless carnage didn't suit her, especially since he knew how weak she was thanks to Kabuto's gruesome methods. Curious, he scaled the wall and followed the shadow he'd seen disappear over the side.
He didn't notice the trap until he was upon it. Some kind of sentient, black substance, sand perhaps, writhed before him. Pale moonlight reflected Sasuke's Sharingan and revealed two cloaked figures, one of which was floating. Chakra strings connected them.
The puppet technique.
Cold, amber eyes locked with his, but the intruder made no move to run. Sakura was passed out in the unknown shinobi's arms.
"You're Itachi's little brother."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the mention of his hated brother. "Who are you?"
"That's not important. Run back to your master, boy."
Sasuke didn't care about this man's rude demeanor. He'd grown accustomed to malice over the years. "What're you going to do with her?"
The redheaded shinobi smirked. "Care to try and stop me?"
Judging from the ruthless massacre this man had wrought and Sasuke's admitted unfamiliarity with the puppet technique, Sasuke was disinclined to engage this person. No normal shinobi would ever dare intrude on Orochimaru's secret base. This person was a different kind of monster. Sasuke could tell by the calmness the man exuded, his confident posture, and his lack of hurry despite having been discovered. Insidious, but carefully controlled. Dangerous in ways few were.
"No," Sasuke said. He was about to leave, but a thought occurred to him in passing. "Are you going to kill her?"
"That would be a waste."
Sasuke showed the unknown shinobi his back, satisfied with this. "Fine."
"Uchiha Sasuke."
Sasuke paused and waited.
"...If you want to survive Orochimaru, I suggest you start playing the game by your own rules."
When Sasuke looked back, the intruder was gone and Sakura with him. It wasn't until later, when Orochimaru had inspected the bodies piled high in the courtyard, that he'd learned the identity of the midnight intruder. Sasuke had never seen Orochimaru so eerily silent, troubled, until then. Akasuna no Sasori had been Orochimaru's partner in Akatsuki, and someone he now considered an important enemy. In retrospect, Sasuke was glad he hadn't engaged Sasori, not that he would have, anyway. Facing an Akatsuki would have been more trouble than it was worth.
"Well?" Orochimaru's question pulled him from the mists of memory.
Sasuke pressed his lips together in a grim line. He didn't know why Sasori, someone who'd probably worked with Itachi in the past as an ally, would do him any favors. But Sasuke knew that the man was right. He would do well to heed the advice and not worry about the whys.
"No."
Orochimaru peered at his star pupil, searching for cracks in his armor. He found none.
Perhaps I've trained him too well.
The days dragged on despite the amount of time Sakura spent sleeping. No matter how much she rested, she still felt like stampeding elephants had run her over. Every day she attempted to access her chakra, and every time she ended up suffering painful repercussions. But she could sustain it longer every day, and this alone assuaged her doubts.
Sasori was gone most of the time. Whether he was somewhere behind one of the many locked doors she'd encountered in her exploration of the castle or off the premises, she could not be sure. He hadn't summoned her to dine with him again since the first night, so she took her meals in the smaller basement kitchen unperturbed. Sometimes Kaori would sit and chat with her, but those conversations were mundane; the brunette woman never had anything of substance to say.
Yeah, because she's brainwashed.
Sasori's mind control, while deplorable, was morbidly fascinating. It didn't seem like Kaori was in any physical pain, at least.
At one point Sakura ran into one of the cooks on the basement floor. He was carrying a box of supplies, including medications and various construction tools. Judging by his flushed face, winter clothing, and the snow in his hair, there was an exit around here.
She spent two hours looking for the exit that day to no avail. And all she had to show for herself by the end of it was sweat and an aching knee.
The one highlight of her exploration of the castle, however, was the discovery of the largest library Sakura had ever seen. Like most of the other rooms, this one had high ceilings and wide windows with heavy drapes. The first thing she did was to pull back the curtains. Then she took a private moment to drool over the prodigious amount of books crammed into the ceiling-high shelves.
Scattered among the shelving and above the large hearth was more beautiful garniture, immaculate. The furniture was also uncovered, and ashes in the fireplace suggested this room saw regular use.
Sakura perused the eclectic collection of works, which boasted everything from historical military tactics to fantasy epics to art and architecture. She settled for a biography of a warrior from long ago. Plopping down on one of the couches near the fire, Sakura began to read.
"I was wondering when you'd find this room."
After several days without seeing much of Sasori, the mere sound of his voice put her on edge. He strode into the room as though he owned the place and examined the titles on a nearby shelf.
"You could have told me there was a library here, you know," Sakura said. "It would've been nice to have something to pass the time these last few days instead of staring at the wall."
"You've been sleeping most of the time. Reading would only keep you awake and slow down your recovery."
"Oh," Sakura said, not having expected that. It was nice, in a roundabout way.
He said nothing and ran his fingers over the book spines on the next shelf over. Perhaps he couldn't decide on what to read.
"Do you... Are you looking for something in particular?" Sakura asked.
"Are you offering to help look?"
She could hear the smirk in his voice, and her stomach twisted in embarrassment, although there was nothing to be ashamed of. "You look a little lost over there."
He selected a book from the shelf and settled on the couch opposite her. "I've read most of these already."
Sakura closed her book. "Where do you go during the day?"
"Here and there." He got that now familiar lazy look she didn't trust for a minute.
"I can't imagine what keeps you so busy now that you're apparently not with Akatsuki anymore."
Sakura held her breath as Sasori scrutinized her, wondering if she'd said too much.
"It's because I'm not with Akatsuki anymore that I'm so busy."
"Are they looking for you?"
Sasori leaned back among the throw pillows, the ghost of amusement softening his features. "They don't know about this place. Or about you."
Sakura crossed her arms and fought the urge to look away. "Why would they even care about me? It's you they're after."
"If word got out that I had an elite medical ninja helping me, you could become a target."
He wanted to scare her, make her think powerful missing nin would come after her and murder her in her sleep, probably for some twisted desire to see her squirm.
Sadly, it was working.
"If my life or the lives of the people I care about are in jeopardy because of our arrangement—"
"Relax, Sakura." He resumed his reading. "Akatsuki are the least of my worries."
"Hey, not all of us are S-class criminals here. The last thing I need is to put myself at unnecessary risk by helping you."
"Then I suggest you keep our arrangement to yourself when you do return to Konoha. Akatsuki have eyes and ears everywhere."
She scowled. Telling anyone about any of this would force her to reveal what really happened at the Tenchi Bridge. She could be branded an accomplice to a murderer. He was right. For both their sakes, she'd have to keep the truth of all this under wraps, at least until it was all over and there was no further risk to the people she cared about.
The fire crackled and Sasori crossed his legs on the couch to get comfortable. Sakura pretended to go back to her reading. She had to admit he looked like a normal person like this. It would be so easy to forget who he was. He didn't look like a villain at all.
But she couldn't forget how he'd forced her to touch him against her will at dinner. Sasori was a master manipulator, and she was probably no more than a pawn to bend to his whims. She doubted he saw her as a real person beyond what he required of her. She was just a means to an end. It stung, but not for the reasons she would have thought. She was better than that. He knew she was better than that…
"You're staring."
Sakura's heart leaped into her throat at the thought that this looked like much more than it really was. She was not staring.
"What are you reading?" she asked, smothering any lingering feelings of embarrassment.
"A medical text. Your reaction to the chakra sealing agent raised some questions."
"Oh." She perked up. "That reminds me, I didn't know you were so interested in medicine."
"I didn't say that. I'm only interested in acquiring knowledge, especially when I encounter something I've never seen before."
She let that one slide. "What kind of questions did you have?"
"None I can't answer for myself."
"You're really going to play the tough guy when I'm offering so nicely?"
As soon as she said the words, she wished she hadn't. Unlike her teammates, Sasori wasn't the best at taking a joke.
He closed the book with a snap, but she saw no signs of teeth or claws emerging behind his carefully constructed façade. "All right, I'll hear your opinion."
"Oh," Sakura said, a pleasantly surprised. "Okay then."
He told her about how he'd created the original formula for the awful chakra serum Kabuto had given her and how its original purpose was for use in interrogations, a one-time dosage. When she asked why, Sasori explained that Akatsuki always killed prisoners after interrogation, so one dose was enough. Sakura tried to pretend like she hadn't heard that part and launched into a discussion about chakra sealing and its side effects.
They ended up talking for the better part of the afternoon, shifting topics from Sakura's recovery to chakra's role in medicine in general. Needless to say, Sakura was impressed with Sasori's remarkable erudition on the subject. He'd spent far more time studying her trade than the average shinobi, and based on her recovery he was capable of applying theory to practice to some degree. After a while, she almost forgot to whom she was speaking as she relaxed in her comfort zone, discussing her passion with someone who could appreciate it on a level her teammates and most friends in Konoha couldn't meet.
"I don't mean anything by this, but I don't know why someone like you would bother with medical ninjutsu. I mean, you were a puppet for so long and never would've needed it," Sakura said.
"It's necessary to prepare for the worst case scenarios. Besides, medical knowledge is a requirement for creating human puppets and poisons."
She was sorry she mentioned it now, her thoughts drifting to his Third Kazekage puppet and the knowledge that it had been a real person once. Still, she wondered. How had he done it? Chiyo had said he was the only person capable of turning people into puppets.
"You want to know how I create human puppets." His honey eyes glowed at the topic he favored most.
"Why would I?"
"Because I can see it in your eyes. You're curious." He leaned forward across the small table separating them to see her better. "Most shinobi simply kill and move on. Only medical ninja stop to ask 'why' and 'how'. In a way, they're always closer to death than others."
The way he said it made the whole thing sound darker than she would have liked. "I suppose that's one way to put it."
Sasori stood up. "I have some things I need to take care of now."
"Oh, okay." She'd enjoyed their conversation once it took a turn for the academic and hadn't expected him to leave so soon.
He walked around her couch and put a hand on her shoulder, his weight warm and gentle. "I'll see you tonight."
He broke the fleeting contact, and Sakura twisted around to watch him leave. He'd stepped over an invisible line, but only enough to get her attention. She wanted to be repulsed, but the feeling wouldn't come. It was nothing reprehensible, just a simple tap. And yet, she couldn't help the twisting feeling in her stomach that told her she should have pushed him off, that he'd gone too far, that she'd let him. Hugging her knees to her chest, Sakura lay back on the couch and wished for sleep, anything to give her respite from Akasuna no Sasori.
The rest of the day was quiet and uneventful. Sakura woke from her nap in the library to a dying fire. Night was upon them, and her stomach rumbled for sustenance.
On her way downstairs she passed the lavish dining room. Notwithstanding her civil conversation with Sasori, Sakura couldn't not forget his earlier manipulation. He was still the villain, still a threat.
He'd said he would see her later tonight, but Sakura was disinclined to wait around. If Sasori had business with her, he'd probably invade her personal space later whether she liked it or not. Despite his rules about not going into her room without permission, she could not imagine him asking if he could pretty please come into her room for a chat.
Sakura walked to the basement kitchen, but voices gave her pause.
"...bad enough you knew about this."
"...think I wouldn't figure it out? You're...never change, yeah."
The hairs on the back of Sakura's neck stood on end as she tried to place the familiar voice conversing with Sasori. It was like trying to remember a dream after waking—the memory existed, but she had no context in which to ground it. She crept closer to the open kitchen doorway.
"Does he know you're here?" Sasori said. The poison in his tone reminded Sakura so much of his puppet self.
"Huh? Why d'you even care? He's an idiot."
"He's not what he seems."
"Whatever, you're being really paranoid—"
Something heavy slammed against a wall. Alarmed, Sakura peeked around the corner and paled.
"Wake up," Sasori hissed. "I'll kill you before he even realizes you're missing. Now answer me: Does he know where you are?"
Sasori had the newcomer against the wall with a hand around his throat.
"No. After we sealed the Three-Tails," the newcomer wheezed, "after, he went back to Rain to report. I came alone...family leave, yeah."
Sasori glared younger man, the joke lost on him.
"Sakura," Sasori said. "It's rude to lurk in doorways."
Sakura could not move. It was bad enough that someone had found them, but this person was Akatsuki. She knew those red clouds anywhere. Looking between Sasori and the intruder, she hesitated. It was the same fear she'd felt when she faced Orochimaru and did not know whether she would be alone in her plight.
He coughed, but Sasori held him steady.
"You," Sakura said, advancing.
One visible blue eye spared her a glance, and Sakura's fury ignited. Sasori picked that time to retract his hand.
"Deidara, you remember Haruno Sakura, I'm sure."
Sakura clenched her fists at the mention of that name. Deidara. Yes, she remembered him, all right. She remembered how he'd defiled Gaara's corpse and taunted Naruto with the murder of his friend. She remembered how much she'd wanted to punch a bloody hole through his cackling face.
"You!"Deidara exclaimed. "What the hell, Sasori? Why's she here?"
Sakura's hands shook, but she drew chakra to them anyway. One moment, she was standing in the doorway to the kitchen and the next she was advancing on Deidara, ready to smash his face in.
Deidara showed her his left palm, where a small mouth bore an explosive lump of clay in its pink tongue. Careless of the consequences, Sakura lunged. Just as they were about to clash, something stopped them.
"That's enough," Sasori said. "You'll tear this place apart, and then I'll have to kill you."
Sakura couldn't tell who Sasori was threatening with homicide, but with him it was best to assume the worst.
"Hey, she started it!"
Sasori rolled his eyes. Sakura, however, was even more upset than she'd been moments ago. She couldn't move, couldn't defend herself, and as her chakra faded a familiar pain singed every nerve ending in her body.
"Release me right now, or so help me I'll—"
She never finished her sentence. Sasori released her and she toppled to the ground on one knee, fresh pain blooming at the abrupt contact with hard stone. Deidara and Sasori loomed high above her.
When Sasori reached for her, she smacked his hand away. "Don't touch me."
Sasori kneeled down to her eye-level. If she weren't so furious, she may have feared his ire.
"You lied to me," Sakura said through clenched teeth. "You said you weren't Akatsuki anymore."
"Hey Sasori, you gonna explain what your killer's doing in your house? What is this, some kinky puppet thing?"
Sasori fisted the hand still controlling Deidara, and the blond slammed hard against the wall. Sasori's eyes never left Sakura.
"I'll deal with you later, Deidara." To Sakura he said, "I'm only going to say this once: I hate repeating myself. I already told you I'm not with Akatsuki. And I never lie."
Before Sakura could tell him just how much she doubted that, he hauled her roughly to her feet by the elbow.
"Leave us for now. Deidara and I have some things to discuss," Sasori said, nudging her toward the doorway.
Sakura paused at the threshold. Deidara glared at her, and Sasori had that heavy, cold look he got when he was impatient about something. She wanted to yell at him, unable to accept his proclamation when a red-blooded Akatsuki was here in that horrid black and red coat.
But the energy was gone, replaced by pain and something morose and shameful she couldn't quite explain as she stared between Sasori and Deidara, no longer recognizing anything. She trekked back to her room, her hot-blooded outrage reduced to embers at this point.
It was slow going with her new limp, but once she arrived she made sure to close and lock the door behind her. Minutes passed, long and lonely, as Sakura tried to process what she'd just witnessed. Akatsuki was here. Akatsuki knew about Sasori, and now they would know about her. It mattered little what the reality of her circumstances was; she was an accomplice. Deidara would report this all back to his boss. That is, if Sasori let him live.
Appetite lost, Sakura sank into bed and wished she could just wake up from this ghoulish nightmare. An insidious voice whispered from a dark corner of her mind that Sasori had betrayed whatever fantasy of an allegiance or truce their situation had created.
Worst of all, she'd actually been starting to believe it was real.
She couldn't tell how much time had passed since she collapsed onto the fluffy red duvet, but the hearth was nearly dark with only the pitiful skeleton of a blaze reduced to mere rutilant cinders. Sleep clawed at Sakura with long, rending nails, trying to pull her back to the dream world, but something in her gut told her that the quiet was not to be trusted. The room was too chilly, and no one had been in here since she slammed the door earlier.
Rubbing tired, red-rimmed eyes, Sakura shook the sleep away and slipped out of bed onto the carpeted floor. She shivered, hating how cold and stagnant the air in here felt without a big fire burning. But there were more pressing matters to worry about. Like Deidara, and if he was still here somewhere.
Drawing on a small bit of her chakra, Sakura healed her knee enough to support her weight as she walked. Every day she recovered a bit more, and that was another day closer to her homecoming. She unlocked her bedroom door and pushed it open, entering the dim stone corridor. If she didn't know better, she'd say this place was deserted of all life. Not a sound penetrated the thick silence as Sakura looked down the hallway in the direction of the cellar kitchen. Having skipped dinner, she was now ravenous. But considering what had transpired earlier in that very room, she hesitated.
Sasori already told her that he required her medical skills, and he'd said he planned on returning her to Konoha. If he meant what he said about never lying, then surely she need not fear for her safety from the likes of Deidara. She swallowed hard.
Assuming he wasn't lying about that, too...
"You're being ridiculous," she whispered out loud.
She would have been killed in her sleep if Deidara had, by some miracle, overpowered Sasori and still had energy to off her. The chances of that were low, knowing Sasori's strength first-hand like she did. Emboldened, but no less comforted by the thought, Sakura padded toward the kitchen, silent as a wraith.
When she arrived at her destination and the place looked empty, she couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped her. The last thing she needed right now was another confrontation. Looking toward the cupboards where she knew the cutlery was kept, Sakura crossed the room.
After rummaging about for a short moment, she closed the cabinet and turned to the refrigerator only to come face-to-face with Sasori. Sakura yelped and dropped the cup she'd been holding. It shattered on the stone floor, painfully loud in the silence.
"Sasori," she said, eyes wide and dilated in the darkness. "You scared me."
He looked lazy and calm leaning against the counter, watching her with those unreadable honey eyes. But the more closely Sakura looked as her initial surprise wore off, she decided that something about him seemed off.
"Oh, do I scare you?"
"No," she said, regretting her earlier word choice. "You just startled me is all."
He said nothing to that, just continued to watch her. Something about the way his eyes lingered bothered her, but she couldn't place why. "Where's Deidara?"
Sasori pushed off the counter and took a step toward her. "Around."
Sakura pressed her lips together, but held her ground despite his new proximity. "Why is he here? He's Akatsuki, and if I'm supposed to believe that you're not one of them anymore, then I think you better explain."
Sasori let out a sharp breath, as though amused. "Do you honestly think you're in any position to be making demands of me?"
This time Sakura did take a step back. She understood now why he was acting strangely. "You've been drinking."
"Perceptive," he said, though it sounded more sarcastic than sincere. He took another step toward her to compensate for the distance she'd put between them.
Sakura clenched her fists. "I need to hear it again. Tell me you're not with Akatsuki, and Deidara's not a threat."
He didn't respond as he continued to force her retreat toward the wall. She felt her back connect with cold stone, but Sakura kept her gaze as steady as she could. "Please," she implored. "I have to get back to Konoha..."
Sasori drew ever closer, placing one hand on the wall by her head but not touching her. His face was so close that Sakura could smell the alcohol on his breath. Immured between a stone wall and a man who could kill her without a second thought, she felt her pulse spike. Half-lidded honey eyes watched her, and Sakura tried to swallow the heart that had jumped into her throat.
"Sasori?"
The feel of a hand on her wrist all of a sudden made her gasp for want of breath. His touch seared her skin through her clothing despite the chill in the room. He was starting to alarm her again with this inappropriate proximity, and yet Sakura could not bring herself to look away. His breath was warm against her cheek.
"Sakura," he said, mimicking her.
A shiver ran up her spine as he spoke her name, rich and thick with cottonmouth. Whatever game he was playing, this was going way too far. Was it some new means of torture or mind manipulation, getting physically close to her like this? Unwilling to allow him to come any closer, she brought her hands up before her to shield her body and block any further advance. Open palms collided with his chest with a firm push, a warning, and Sakura could make out the steady beating of his heart beneath his clothing.
"Deidara is the least of your worries," he said, leaning back with her strength.
"Then what exactly should I be worried about?" she countered, not feeling the bravery she tried so hard to exude. "You?"
"That depends on what you're afraid of."
"Why are you doing this?"
"Why?" he repeated, the grip on her wrist firm but not squeezing.
Sakura remembered the last time Sasori had come so close to her. Back then, he'd used his chakra strings to restrain her as he invaded her personal space. He wasn't resorting to chakra now, but the violation was just as real now as it had been then. She squeezed her eyes shut. Normally, Sasori walked a fine line between calm and murderous. Under the influence of alcohol, Sakura wasn't sure she wanted to bet on his cooperation should she take the last step to push him away.
His fingers moved from her wrist to her chin, twisting it to the side as he examined her, searching for something. She wanted to scream, to rip his hand away, but her body would not obey. If he wanted to hurt her, why not just get it over with? Why pretend to be gentle? Tears of frustration stung her eyes.
"I never lie."
"Stop this," she said. "You're drunk. Please, don't ruin..."
His thumb dragged her chin upwards so they could see each other better. "People love to be manipulated," he said. "They want to be controlled so that they don't have to take responsibility for themselves."
Sakura's eyes flew open, her previous anger upon seeing Deidara returning.
Like hell.
"I don't want to be controlled," she said, pushing back on his chest with all her might.
Honey eyes watched her, the hazy light of inebriation dulled and replaced with something harder and far more lucid. Anger? Disappointment? A vision of Sasori's cracked face peering at her as she asked him what he was gave her shivers. In darkness, she could almost imagine his cracks showing now.
Sasori let his hands fall heavy at his sides. "I don't want to control you."
Green eyes widened in shock, but Sasori left the room before she could think of something to say. Alone and still pressed against the cold stone wall, Sakura remembered to breathe. The chill of the room bombarded her now that Sasori was gone, and with him the only source of heat in the room. She raised a trembling hand to her face, willing herself to calm down.
All alone once more, Sakura felt herself running in circles as the man she thought she'd pegged for the heartless machine reminded her that he was human, too. That he wasn't perfect. That some cracks could not disappear so easily. And, just maybe, that he listened more than he let on. It was with equal parts pride and trepidation that Sakura started to think she was more than a mere pawn to be cast in this game he'd involved her in.