Secretly Insane here to give you yet another drama filled installment of Skittle Junkies!
I'm thinking of participating in the NaNoWriMo, so heads up this may be my last update till December. However, I know that many of you love this and need it almost like crack so I'll compromise. If I end up doing the challenge, I will still update this once more during the next month. If I don't, then you'll obviously see more than that. Deal? Now show me the love and read this before I get carpel tunnel.
***Skittle Junkies***
Sometime later, she had no way of knowing exactly how long, Nurse Karin returned to fetch her for the doctor. Sakura had not slept, though she had managed to doze for at least a few minutes. The combined lack of sleep and the failed attempts to do so left her feeling feverish as she pulled herself heavily from the bed. As she was lead along to the doctor's office she couldn't help notice her surroundings a little, if for no other reason than to distract her from her misery.
By all accounts the place was set up like a maze. Like the asylum was designed to trap both the body and the mind of its occupants. The hallways, like she imagined were identical in all asylums, were infinitely long, green waxed tile and lighted with eye searing UV bulbs that flickered every so often. On both sides of the hall were metal doors with latches instead of knobs, all of which appeared to need a key to open. Though she was sure some of them lead to adjoining hallways, none of them were marked. It was as if the asylum went to great lengths to make escape hard for both the patients and its staff.
Then abruptly, for the angles of the passageway lead to such deceit, the right wall disappeared in favor of a mesh reinforced glass that revealed a large sitting room. Inside were other residents, some watching tv, others sitting at tables writing or playing cards. It seemed peaceful, though warily so. At the far end was a window with an exchange slot and a watchful nurse who made notes on a clipboard.
"That's the living room. It's where the more behaved patients can socialize," Karin explained when Sakura had paused to get a better look. With a barely noticeable nod, the pinkette lowered her eyes once more and continued down the hall, following the nurses guiding prods on the shoulder.
"Here we are," Karin announced after a few more minutes of walking the endless hallway. They had stopped at one of the many unmarked doors, only pausing long enough to knock before entering.
Inside Sakura was bombarded with the smell of old books and ink. It took her a moment, longer perhaps than if she had not walked into a room filled from floor to ceiling with books, to realize she was not in a, albeit small, library. A large cherry wood desk dominated the center of the room; a black leather chair residing just behind it and a matching feinting couch nestled beneath a small window on the far side. Several steel filing cabinets sat unobtrusively behind the door while the rest of the wall space was crammed with books and plaques of various degrees.
"Welcome miss Haruno. My name is Doctor Kabuto Yakushi. I am the presiding specialist for this branch of the facility. Please take a seat," a pleasant voice beckoned.
Sakura scanned the room once more for the source of the voice. Honing in on the leather chair, she now realized that it had been previously turned away from them. The man that now looked at her with a smile had blonde hair and glasses. He was young compared to most doctors and he wore a white lab coat, a signature accessory for anyone in the medical or science field, but she could see a brown pressed suit beneath the folds.
So absorbed in these details, Sakura didn't move at first. It wasn't until Karin prodded her in the back that she shuffled over and sat softly on the edge of the couch.
"Will that be all doctor?" Karin asked crisply.
"Yes, for now. Thank you," the doctor acknowledged without taking his eyes away from the patient. With a parting smile and a nod to Sakura in encouragement, Nurse Karin left swiftly, the door closing with an audible snap.
"So, shall we start at the beginning then?" the doctor asked as he lifted a sheet of paper on his desk. When Sakura made no move to respond, he nodded as if she had asked a very wise question.
"Yes, yes. Too true. Where, at a time like this, is the beginning at which to start from? I believe that in order for a person to look for the good in life they must first face and grow from the ugly in it." As Doctor Yakushi talked he pushed his chair away from the desk so that he could roll it around to the side facing Sakura more comfortably. His eyes flashed with a passion as he continued.
"The cops, I'm afraid, want to have you evaluated. But they don't want to have you in the right state of mind beforehand. They think it'll compromise the evaluation. I on the other hand feel that it is paramount to discovering if you indeed have an underlying problem. And since I am the specialist on these matters, my opinion outweighs theirs," he explained slowly with a pause between each statement.
"They don't want you to know you are their prime suspect at the moment." At this Sakura gasped and looked for the first time up at him, her eyes tearing once more.
"Yes, they have yet to find any proof of anyone else inside that house besides you and the victim. So the fact that they want this evaluation is a ploy to get you to talk. The fact that you haven't said anything since the event worries them. The detectives in charge of the case are expecting me to get a confession out of this evaluation, or a lead to another possible assailant if you have any knowledge of it."
Sakura drew her knees up to her chest, her head swaying back and forth. Tears dripped onto her scrubs, running down the repellent material onto the couch. Doctor Kabuto tilted his head to one side, observing her reaction with avid interest.
"I thought you should know the truth of it. My job will be to ask you questions. If you can, answer them. I hold no judgments, either way."
Grabbing the paper again from his desk and a thin book from the nearest shelf, he snatched a pen from his pocket and held it at the ready. Seeing her tense posture, he added, "After it is over, you have a couple visitors that would like a moment of your time. So at least you have something to look forward to, eh?"
Sakura lifted her eyes a fraction, but made no sound but to rub her already reddened eyes.
***Skittle Junkies***
The evaluation went on for about forty five minutes, with little success. Every question he asked pertaining to her life or her relationship with the "victim" she refused to respond to with anything other than tears. She shook her head in response to most of the yes or no questions, provided they weren't about the aforementioned subjects. And no response at all was made when he pulled out the ink blots.
Afterward Doctor Yakushi called Nurse Karin back in to take Sakura to one of the visitors rooms. He seemed more tense and agitated than before, like he had felt short changed at not getting the answers to the questions he asked. Sakura couldn't care either way. She wasn't going to give him some confession, because she hadn't done anything.
Again she walked the empty halls. The living room was emptier than before as she passed. One of the orderlies was setting up a circle of chairs in the center of the room. Karin didn't speak this time as she guided Sakura up the hall, passing her still open room without pause. The dark haired woman turned into a room just shy of the main swinging doors that the pinkette knew lead to the front lobby.
Inside the room was a light shade of dull tan with a simple metal table and two fold out chairs. It had a mesh reinforced glass window that looked out over the grounds. It was filled with the natural bright light of an unseasonably sunny day while it still retained the calm silence of solitude.
"Take a seat. I'll send in the first of your visitors," the nurse instructed as she pointed at the chairs.
The moment between was brief before Sakura leapt into the arms of Ino and Naruto. All three held each other tightly for a few seconds.
"Sakura I can't believe they put you in here. They didn't tell us until this morning!" Ino cried as she led her friend to one of the chairs. Kneeling beside her, Ino stroked her pink locks in a comforting way while Sakura held the other hand with both of hers.
"Yea, we went to see you and they said you'd been transferred. We had to harass the police at the station to find out where, which took forever seeing as the hospital could have just told us. But no it was all "patient confidentiality" this and "against hospital policy" that," Naruto chimed in angrily as he straddled the other free seat.
Sakura looked at her friends until the anguish engulfed her once more and she lowered her face as her sobs choked the breath from her. Her head ached from crying and her face burned from wiping tears and snot away. She tightened her grip on ino's hand when a particularly hard sob twisted her tormented face.
"Oh hon it'll be ok. We've already talked to the people here. They said that this is the out patient wing of the asylum. You won't have to stay long. A few days at most. Just until they get everything sorted out," Ino cooed as she rubbed her friends' back.
"Yea, like they do group therapy and celebrity rehab. Keep an eye on people who are, ya know, having a hard time with things," Naruto tried to supply. His usual smile faltered as he watched his best friend fall apart.
"Look Sakura. I don't know what happened, nobody does. If only you could tell them then maybe you wouldn't have to stay here." One blonde reached over and smacked the other blonde upside the head as Sakura looked most despairingly at the floor.
"Idiot, the hospital already told you she can't help that. She's suffering from something traumatic. She'll talk again when her mind refigures out how," Ino barked.
"It doesn't hurt to try, you know?" Naruto groaned as he rubbed the now sore spot. "Then again that did hurt, so maybe that rule doesn't apply?"
"Anyway, we just want you to know that we are here for you. We'll come by and visit everyday until they let you out," Ino resumed rubbing her now hiccupping friends back.
"Yea so hurry up and tell them what happened ok? The sooner they know, the sooner you get out and the real killer gets caught," Naruto encouraged with another of his illuminating smiles. Sakura didn't say anything, but she smiled weakly back.
All three jumped when the door opened suddenly. Karin popped her head in with a smile.
"Sorry guys, but visits must be brief. You can come back again tomorrow if you like." Each of her friends took their time saying farewell and hugging her tight before departing. She didn't want to see them go, but couldn't muster the energy to put up much of a fight.
"You have just one other visitor today. I'll go fetch him," Karin reminded her before she closed the door once more. Time seemed to drag out far longer this time as she waited for whoever was making their appearance. She wondered if it was one of the detectives come to question her again. When the door opened again, her stomach dropped and her heart raced.
A tall man in a black suit with jet black hair and frighteningly familiar eyes stared at her as he walked silently around the table to face her. The man before her was Sasuke's brother, Itachi.
Being an agent for the government meant that he was hard man to find even if you wanted to see him. He rarely made an appearance in his little brother's lives, but when he did it was often to rain down hell upon their heads. So when he looked so coldly at her, one of the few things he thought Sasuke had done right, she couldn't help but shiver.
"Miss Haruno. I am here as a representative for my murdered brother, Sasuke Uchiha. My purpose is simple and concise on this matter," he stated with barely an inflection in his voice. "I believe, as do the police, that you have caused the untimely death of Sasuke. Therefore, I want you to know that I will use whatever influence I have to make sure that you pay for that crime. The law may be lenient on those who manage to claim insanity, but you will not be spared from me. If you make that plea, I will make sure that you never get the chance to see the light of day again."
Sakura felt her chest ache with the need to breath, but she just couldn't bring herself to move. His words seemed to bounce off her, at least for now, as she stared at his face, so like Sasukes. Then she saw the rivets of blood run down his chest and she had to turn her eyes away. Itachi wasn't bleeding, she kept thinking. Sasuke, he bled. Images flashed before her eyes of Sasuke running at her, blood spurting from his chest. His crimson covered hands holding her inches from his own.
"Miss Haruno. Are you listening to me?" he asked.
'Even his voice sounds like his', she thought as she flinched, caught in the vision of her dead lover. 'Please, don't say my name.'
"Sakura," Itachi tried again a bit more forcefully.
The sound of her name was like a trigger. Itachi took a step back as she hopped out of her chair with a strangled cry. Rushing at the door, she pulled it open and dashed down the hall. The first open door she came upon, which happened to be her room, Sakura dove onto the bed and resumed the fetal position while covering her ears with her hands.
Echoes of her name in Sasuke's voice chanted to her. Some pleading some screaming, others whispering and growling. Over and over he called her, though she knew he was dead. Sasuke was never going to call her name again.
"Sakura! Here she is!" Karin yelled down the hall when she looked in at the curled up girl.
"It's ok Sakura. We're going to give you something to calm down. Easy does it now," she said in a softer voice as two orderlies dressed in identical white uniforms came into the room behind her. Two strong sets of hands pressed on her arms and legs to keep her still. Sakura lifted her head just in time to see the needle and feel the sharp prickle of pain in her thigh.
"Its ok boys, you can let her go now. This one won't give us any trouble for a while yet." Karin folded the protector over the syringe and deposited it in the sharps box on her tray before leaving with the orderlies.
Sakura watched them leave as a thick gauzy sensation muffled the world around her. Part of her felt relieved. For a while, at least, she wouldn't have to think. Wouldn't have to see these images of an over stimulated imagination. Best of all, she wouldn't have to cry. She didn't think she'd have any more water in her body to cry another droplet anyway.
After a few heavy blinks, her eyes stayed shut.
Dun Dun Duunnnn! XD I can't help it, sometimes it just feels right.