Gosh, I love you guys :D I have written over a thousand words in replies to all of your brilliant feedback for this chapter. I am so touched!
CasperInezz- *bows*The First Reviewer for Chapter 10, ladies and gentleman! Haha! Honestly, I leave lots of hints in my replies, but usually people skip them lol! Great catch! I was like… hmmm… Sasuke=Lighter, so… Naruto=Darker? BRILLIANT! Better than the default Sasuke sidekick/buddy that Naruto usually plays in SasuSaku stories, eh? Thank you so much! I hope you continue to read and leave your lovely observations! They make my day!
agesreading- Thank you! I loved writing the ending scene with Sasuke and Sakura. I LOVE when characters are vulnerable and comforted! It is so beautiful, because in life we always have to be so guarded! Aw, shux, Itachi and (canon) Sasuke are pretty effortless for me to write because I enjoy them so much!
ElevatedJewel- Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it :) Yes, Sakura still has got some of her spark in her, always great to write! And yes, dark Naruto! *rubs hands evily* Where shall this lead?
Tiger Priestess- Thank you for your review, darling! I probably will get into more of what happened to Kakashi once he left Jiro to serve Hashirama. It really killed him to leave Sakura behind! Itachi and Sakura will probably continue to have tension throughout most of the story, lol. They're different, yet very similar! I know, I love when strong characters let down their walls! You feel so relieved for them! Yes, hmmm… What of Naruto? And what of Itachi's plans? Hmmm…
Anissa- Thank you 3
ILoveSxS- Closer and closer! Muhahah… lol SSSASKEEEHHHHH!
01Trycia-chan01- LOL! I read your review for chapter 9 and I was like: "She's on to me! How did she know about the hug!?" YES! NARUTO! I'm having a blast with him! Happy New Year to you as well!
RobinSparkelz- Thank you! Yes, I'm having too much fun with the "Misplaced Quotes" lol.
Minervana- I know! Poor Naruto! Poor Sakura! Poor EVERYONE!
littlepocky- Everyone seems to be quite happy to have seen Naruto :) Yes and yes. You're totally right on! Can't wait for you to read more either ;)
xxxFlamingWingsxxx- Yes, Naruto and a SasuSaku hug, everything I need in my life. 100% agree with you on wishing fan fiction came in books, I usually don't read anything unless it's finished. Drives me nuts to wait! Happy New Year to you, m'dear! Thanks for reading!
Cassandra Echizen- Naruto might still be a bit of a loudmouth :) Yes, I love Mikoto too :) We'll have to wait and see what the future holds for the Uchiha family. Thank you!
Anilegna- You have been the only one to muse about that! I thought I would be getting tons of comments on that part, but I think Naruto's cameo kind of overshadowed it. But, yes, there is a reason for it and you've made a really good guess! Sakura definitely has a pull toward the shinobi life, we'll have to see if her dreams can ever come true!
lovesasusakuforever- Another kiss might be around the corner, they are growing closer ;) Thanks for both of your reviews, darling! Happy New Year!
meganmegoo- Thank you! Great to hear from you! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you as well.
Sanban-Thank you for the review!
Rainbow Sparkles- Yesh, I love this Sasuke. So sweet and boyish! I wouldn't say Sakura doesn't feel anything towards him ;)
Benjem- Yes, I love the role reversal too! So refreshing! Yet, also similar!
in-the-tsukuyomi- Ah, yes, I like ItaHana! It's just such a nice idea. I know, poor Naruto :( I'm putting him and Sakura through a lot! Are you kidding? I love receiving reviews from you guys, it makes my day! You guys are the best for leaving your thoughts! Not a one is pointless! Feedback is so essential to writing and it's just awesome you guys take the time to do so! Replying to reviews is actually how I start on each chapter and it makes me update much quicker! So keep em up! ;) I love it!
SailingNotSelling- Yes, badass Naruto :} And, poor Sasuke and poor Sakura :( Oh, drama will come. Believe me! :)
saekuto- Yep, it's Naruto! Hmmm… interesting thought.
SakuMiChanNoGaara- :)
Purplecherry5- So, bless you for reading and reviewing every chapter! OMGERSH! I'll reply best I can to all your wonderful feedback!
Ch 1: Thank you! Yes, I've come across the servant/master AU before a couple times too, and Sasuke was always evil and abusive (for no reason) and it was just disturbing. I don't mind Sasuke being cold, but fans seem to go overboard with it, he's actually pretty tame even as the "villain" in the manga. Also, they go overboard with Sakura's level of tolerance of him (It's like they forgot she was going to kill him to save him from darkness and stop his murderous rampage). It's just not right. Trying to remedy that with this story.
Ch 2: Sasuke is very clueless and innocent in this story. I know, Sakura is my precious!
Ch3: Yes, Kakashi is her guardian angel :*) Kind of like in canon! We'll have to wait and see if he is alive. Ino probably is. I love Fugaku and Mikoto's characterizations! So fun to write!
Ch 4: Everyone is very concerned whether or not Kakashi is dead lol! We shall have to wait and see! I know! Lots of characters have not been confirmed dead or alive yet! I have a few characters I plan to kill off, but I'm still on the fence about most. Yes, I love little Sakura! She gives me life! Sasuke is not going to pleased, hopefully he can offer her comfort though!
Ch. 5: Sakura is safe with the Uchihas… for now...
Ch. 6: Yes, Thunder had me laughing out loud. Sasuke is such a dork! :) I love it! Sakura will be having none of Sasuke's naivety and mushiness lol… a little nod to Sasuke from canon.
Ch. 7: Why, thank you very much :) It's honestly been quite effortless to weave everything together. I just am very honest with myself of how I think the characters would react to their different life experiences. Mmmhmmm, the waterfall is symbolic. It's an escape from Sasuke's clan, a clan of fire and lightning, and it reflects his more peaceful nature in this alternate version of himself. Also, his attraction to the waterfall is symbolic to his pull toward Sakura, whose elements are earth and water. Yes, I'm very impressed with Sasuke in this chapter :D He's still got that impressive reservation! Yes, uh Naruto… about that…
Ch. 8: Itachi is just so brilliant and manipulative! Saucy weasel! Sasuke is smart too, I get that, but, I think Itachi and Sakura kind of blow him out of the water in that respect. Yes, Sakura's natural beauty is more prominent than anything they dress her up in. Sasuke knows that already ;)
Ch. 9: *nods* Yep, he's not going to be happy. Sasuke and Sakura are both seventeen-years-old. Sakura was in slavery for nine years total. She was taken when she was eight, she was fourteen when made a concubine, and she served Torou for two and a half years. Kakashi, if alive, would probably not like Sasuke, should they cross paths. Sakura is like his baby. Though I don't think Sasuke would like him very much either :D I know, I like Hana too (we share a name :D)! Itachi is probably my most canon of characters, he is very much linked to his original self.
Ch. 10: We're just getting started with Naruto ;) (Notice he came around in Chapter 10, like 10-10) Poor Sakura, I had an anxiety attack just thinking about that. Yes... Sakura confronting Itachi :) The bathtub scene :) NejiTen :) All the good things in life! THANK YOU FOR READING AND REVIEWING ALL THE WAY THROUGH! You are amazing! Hope you keeping reading, love!
SweetPea- Thank you :)
Sasukeluva 4eva- Thank you very much! :) Your praises and pointers are much appreciated! I'm more of a writer than a reader myself these days, as well. It's hard for me to find something that I can sit and enjoy, as I'm very particular about these characters and how they are handled. So, I know how you feel, and I am honored that my story lives up to yours, or frankly, anyone's expectations! Yes, because Naruto and Sasuke are like night and day, they should be paralleled as well in this story. I thought that since Sasuke is free of hatred, that it would be interesting to see Naruto possessed and consumed by it. Gives me quite a lot of new material to work with. It's quite exciting! Hope you have a wonderful New Year's Eve/Day yourself and good luck with your own writing projects.
MissKonoha- Thank you, ma'am! Yep, Naruto has arrived!
Pink-Blue Destiny- Glad to hear from you, m'dear! You're on to something! I like the idea of forging team 7.
SoSymmetrical- Ch. 6: Thank you! So glad you like it! Yes, I really enjoy these alternate versions of the characters. Though, I tried to steer away from the Road to Ninja scheme of having them the opposites of their canon personalities for no reason, and instead have them forged by their alternate backgrounds. Yes! Sasuke and Sakura are actually very similar characters when you strip down the layers. They were both kids who wanted to be accepted by the person they admired most, they were both insecure about their shortcomings, they both had a sibling or a sibling figure they wanted to surpass, they both wanted the same things (a family) and they both were driven by love. So, yes, I could very much see Sakura being very similar to Sasuke had she gone through the same hardships he had. Thank you very much, I was hoping the pace wasn't too slow for people! But, it's important for me that Sakura's healing slowly happens throughout the story and not right away :D
Ch. 7: Favorite bit of writing I did, their argument :)
Ch. 10: Yes! Such a tender moment! And, wooo Naruto!
DiaG14: Thank you! Hmmm... what will Sakura do? Read on to find out ;)
::Lonely Existence::
Chapter Eleven: Wild and Caged
"I told you," she whispered, wiping away her tears, as he handed her a hot cup of tea. "You're not supposed to do that."
"For not being the slave," he mumbled. "I sure get ordered around a lot… just drink. I've told Kurenai that you're ill."
Sakura sighed shakily, sipping the boiling hot beverage, only for her nose to crinkle. "This is chamomile."
"Yes, there are other teas besides jasmine." he replied, taking a seat beside her on the sofa. It's calming effect would be good for her. She was fully dressed now, back in her night attire, her shawl and a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.
"None that matter." she murmured.
He didn't smile like he would have when he first had met her… not with the sight of her tarnished skin and tormented eyes still haunting him.
Silence stretched between them as the storm raged on outside, the winds and the rain becoming more hostile with every passing minute. Sasuke kept his eyes on her determinedly, but she just stared down at her boiling beverage, reluctant and emotionally drained.
"You have to say something." he told her after a long while, placing a careful hand on her knee, to grasp her attention. He had given her plenty of time to calm down. "...Anything."
Her clouded eyes flickered to his, veiled by the white steam of the herbal tea.
He didn't know what he was asking, this sheltered and privileged boy who never had any real qualms to deal with in his life... Maybe once she told him he would stop this foolish quest to try and save her. She wasn't the innocent damsel in distress that he thought she was and someone as pure as he was did not belong in such a tainted place as her heart.
"Who did this to you?" he asked again, his voice gentle, but with an edge of anger. "And why?"
"I used to run away too." she spoke up, trying unsuccessfully to keep what was left of her composure. "...But, I was never able to get to a place where he couldn't find me." she continued. "There were repercussions for that."
Sasuke felt the restriction in his chest tighten further. "The General?"
Sakura shook her head. "He was the lesser of the two evils."
Sasuke exhaled slowly through his nose, closing his eyes and trying to keep himself calm. Then it was his son, the one Itachi had spoken of…
Torou.
Now he could name the man he wanted to kill, wanted to make suffer. It was a shame he was already dead… this monster who defiled and beat an innocent was too good for him.
Being as broken and jaded as she was, Sasuke was sure that her abuse was not limited to the lashings on her back… he sensed there were many more eternal scars within her that would never fully heal.
"How did you ever come to find yourself in that place?" he asked her, letting out a shallow breath.
"My parents couldn't pay their taxes for the war," she answered, keeping her most repressed memory from resurfacing. "I was taken as compensation to work off their debts."
"...How long?" he asked. How long had she been in that darkness?
"I was eight at the time…" she replied thoughtfully. "So, it will be nine years soon."
She frowned then at the look in his large, sympathetic eyes.
"Please, stop looking at me like that."
"...Like, what?" he asked, brows furrowing.
"Like I'm some poor, wounded animal that you want to nurse back to health." she explained bitterly. "You're an entitled shinobi who has no idea what it's like to be helpless, to be unable to defend yourself, I don't need or want your sympathy!"
"That's not how I see you." he spoke up defensively. In truth, he was amazed by her. Amazed how she had endured so much for so long. "I could never begin to understand your pain, but how can you expect me to feel nothing after what you've told me? After what I've seen?"
She scowled against her tears, and turned her head away sharply. Hating him for his pity, but hating herself more for being so weak.
"I can't go on ignoring that you're suffering." he spoke, squeezing her knee ever so slightly. "...I want to help you."
"There's nothing you can do." she replied quietly, her tone dismissive.
"...I think there is." he said slowly in realization, an idea coming mind. Something he wished he thought of sooner.
:::
"Not interested." the youth replied boredly, flicking pebbles in the air as he lay flat on the floor of the cave.
"Fine." Tsunade replied with a shrug, rising from her perch against the wall. "No skin off my nose, stay down here and rot for all I care."
"I will." he replied indignantly. "I like it here."
The blonde woman huffed, turning to make her leave, she'd done what Hashirama has asked of her. If he thought that she was going to stay and try and convince the kid, her grandfather had another thing coming.
"So I hear I should extend my sympathies." the boy mused. "With your husband and brother being killed and all."
Tsunade's heels came to a resounding halt. "Careful, brat." her voice was dark.
"Heh," the jinchuuriki chuckled, suddenly standing beside the bars of his cell. "And Jiraiya too… you and I have so much in common, Granny, we both have no one left."
"Shut up." she shot out darkly, turning to face him, feeling her fist tighten with her almighty strength.
The Namikaze boy tilted his head at her, a mocking and deranged look in his red eyes. "I'm so sorry, did I hurt your feelings?"
"I won't take it too personally." Tsunade sighed after a long tense pause. "I know it's mostly the fox talking."
"Shhh…He can hear you, you know." he sang out a warning. "He's speaking to me right now."
"And what's he saying?" Tsunade asked, unfazed.
"He wants me to kill you." the boy told her, throwing his head back chuckling.
Tsunade only sighed again sadly, it was a shame the boy she once had known had long been gone… it would have done her good to see him again. Her grandfather was a fool if he thought that they could call upon him to fight for them.
She turned to leave, for good this time.
"Tell Old Man Hashirama that I said 'hi'." he called after her in the midst of his insane laughter. "That is if Madara hasn't wiped you all out before that."
:::
She'd fallen asleep on the sofa, yet she awoke in his bed, when a bundle of clothes was tossed over her, jolting her into consciousness. She cursed under her breath, unsure what time of day it was or what was going on.
Squinting against gray light, she peered up from the pillow to see Sasuke looming over her expectantly, wearing his black training attire, his forearms and chest bound with white linen.
"What…" she began, her head pounding slightly.
"The storm is over." he told her. "Get changed, you're coming with me."
"Where?" she asked, sitting up and lifting up the attire he had thrown at her to examine it better. It wasn't a silk dress with pretty flowers embroidered on it, it was a black karate gi made of a light canvas-like material and a red sash to fit it around the waist.
"To the training grounds." he informed her.
:::
"Where are you going, Papa?" Kaizen asked his father, tugging at his pant leg when he saw him packing. "You just got back!"
"I know I did," Itachi replied, lowering himself to his son's level. "I'm sorry, but I have another important mission to do."
"When will you be back?" the boy asked him with a sad pout.
"Soon," the Uchiha heir vowed softly, brushing his middle and index finger over his child's forehead, as he done to Sasuke when they were young. "I promise you."
"You say that every time!" Kaizen whined.
"I know," he sighed, ruffling his son's dark locks, rising to stand upright. "But, it's true, I'll be back before Neji-san's big wedding... Promise you'll look after your mother and the baby until I get back?"
"I promise, Papa." Kaizen nodded, bravely blinking away his tears.
"And do you remember what I told you?" Itachi asked him.
"Not to tell anyone about my baby brother," Kaizen recited with a roll of his eyes. "Or I'll ruin the surprise."
"Good boy," Itachi smiled slightly. "Though, you know you could very well be having a sister."
Kaizen scowled at that. "What?"
:::
"I shouldn't be here." she admonished him upon their arrival to a sparing circle that was structured deep within the forest of his father's land. "Kurenai-san…"
"Still thinks you're ill." Sasuke told her. "I'll have you back before you're missed."
"That's what you said last time." she replied pointedly.
He looked her over as he unpacked his satchel of weapons and various scrolls upon a long stone table that rested on the side of the training area. "Just relax."
She scowled at him, folding the sleeves of his old uniform up higher as they began to slip down over her hands once more.
"Sorry that doesn't fit as well as I hoped it would." he told her. "It was mine from when I was fourteen."
"You were tall for your age." she noted, sighing in frustration that it fit her so ill… that she was too small… it made it all the more obvious how out of place she was.
"What am I doing here?" she asked him tiredly, feeling that this endeavor was his most foolish one yet.
"That's not up to me." he told her, turning back to his task. "That's up to you."
She shook her head unable to deny how long she had desired a way to protect herself, to become stronger than anyone who had ever harmed her, but surely now it was too late to pursue such things. "...I have no knowledge of any of this… I've never had any kind of training."
"And I've never taught anyone before." he replied. "I've only been taught… I suppose we'll have to learn together."
Without warning, he tossed a kunai toward her, and to her surprise she caught it squarely around its handle.
"You think that this is so impossible," he informed her, as she stared down at the thin black knife. "But, you are not without any traits of a shinobi… you are naturally nimble, vigilant and analytical… you do have potential."
She glanced up at his words in surprise... No one had ever told her that before.
"And even if this all amounts to nothing," he told her. "It will prove at least to be an outlet for you."
A source of healing…
"How would I even begin?" she questioned in puzzlement.
Even if she did have the potential he spoke of, she had never been able to progress it. She knew well enough that ninja began their training as children… how could she possibly…
"Attack me." Sasuke ordered, taking long strides into the training circle so that they were facing each other.
"What?" she demanded.
He couldn't be serious.
"Taijutsu," he told her. "Basic hand-to-hand combat, is the first technique that a shinobi learns. I need to see how you fight."
"I don't fight." she reminded him. "I've never had any training, I've told you."
"Oh, you fight." Sasuke contradicted her. "There is no way you'd be alive now if you hadn't ever fought… you have a weapon, I don't, now take it and come at me as if I were a threat."
She looked down at the kunai and gripped it tighter in her hand. "...What if I injure you?"
"You should come at me with every intention of injuring me." he informed her. "Now attack me."
Of course. There was no way she could harm him, weapon or no weapon, he could counter her every attack effortlessly. That fact made her charge toward him, kunai ready… hating that she didn't pose even a fraction of a threat.
He caught her wrist immediately before she could make any contact, and she swung her free hand toward her throat, but in the next moment he had here turned around in an arm lock, her own kunai pointed at the back of her neck.
How was it possible to be so fast?
"You're an aggressive attacker," he concluded, releasing her immediately as she staggered several steps away. "Despite knowing I'm stronger, you didn't hold back."
"What good does that do if I'm dead?" she hissed in frustration. The truth was that she was good at taking beatings, not giving them.
"Just come at me again." he instructed. "Think first, try another way."
She did, this time trying to aim lower toward his ribs, but again, he deflected her, sending her off in another direction.
"Again." he repeated.
She growled under her breath, feeling anger claw at her chest. She hated this. She was already aware of her shortcomings… she was aware she couldn't do anything.
By Kami, she just wanted to lay a scratch on him.
Rolling up her sleeves, she snarled as she charged again, aiming to take him out by his legs, only for him to gather up both her wrists and pin them behind her back with ease. Sakura cried out in frustration, as she reared and bucked to free herself, but Sasuke held her fast, showing just how futile her attempts were.
She struggled furiously, flooded with too many horrific memories, but it seemed the more she fought against him, the stronger his hold was.
"Let go!" she finally cried, her raspy voice breaking. "What's the point of all of this!?"
"Because you're angry." he told her, only a slight struggle in his voice as he held her. "You are so full of rage, you've burned yourself out... you need to channel it."
"How!?" she cried heatedly.
In the next second, she was pinned against the training poll, her own kunai pressed lightly to her throat. Sakura's breath was caught in her throat as she stared up into the dark abyss of his eyes as he looked down at her intently. Everything was suddenly far too warm. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath, her pulse beating wildly under her skin.
How easily he could kill her.
"I'm not going to lie to you," he whispered, his voice a husky baritone that would have made a lesser girl melt into a puddle. "You are at a disadvantage."
She gritted her teeth at his words, trying to will herself to come down from her flushed, emotional high.
"You're small, delicate... inexperienced." he went on. "It looks like you'll bruise if someone taps your shoulder too hard."
She began to struggle again, having heard quite enough, but he kept her in place. "But, don't you see? That's your advantage."
She stilled and glared at him, not understanding his meaning.
"You don't look like a threat, and no one would ever assume you to be one." he explained. "That is something that any shinobi would wish to possess."
"But I…" she quieted when he slid his hand down between their pinned frames and pulled a another kunai from his belt, pushing it up the sleeve of her right hand and pressing the handle to her wrist.
"If I was a real attacker." he told her, making sure she was paying attention. "You would have this on your person." he then slid the handle down to her hand for her to grasp. "But, as a shinobi, threatening a slave, I would never expect you to have something like that, least of all think you would know how to use it."
Sakura listened intently, feeling him take hold of her hand to guide her kunai. "If you're ever detained like this, the femoral artery is in your reach." he brought the knife to his lower thigh, right above the knee, showing her where to cut, making her swallow nervously.
"T-they'll bleed out." she realized, remembering the book she had read on anatomy.
"Almost instantly." he replied. "Same goes for here," he continued, bringing her knife from his thigh to graze up his side, under his arm. "And here," he concluded, making her swipe it across his lower back.
Sakura shuddered at the thought, keeping her eyes firmly fixed upon his.
"Do you understand?" he asked her.
She nodded solemnly.
"If it ever comes to that," he told her. "You have to strike true, absolutely no hesitation."
She nodded again as he released her and backed away. "You're not a weak woman, Sakura… you survived, they didn't."
She stared at him with wide shaking eyes, feeling her heart warm at his words.
"Let's begin again." he told her, helping her take the first stance of the basic Taijutsu.
:::
"Itachi has requested a month of leave." Obito told Fugaku as he poured himself a cup of tea.
"Has he?" Fugaku asked. "He had not told me… though I can see why, his last mission did put some strain on him."
"Madara found it odd, and wanted me to inquire about it." Obito went on. "That son of yours has been distant lately."
"Yes, I've noticed." the older Uchiha sighed. "I'll speak with him."
"Be sure that you do." Obito replied. "Madara-sama cannot being having any weak links among his kin if we are to finally eliminate the Senju."
a/n: 1. Sasuke helping Sakura deal with anger issues is hilarious to me. 2. Training her is great, Sasuke, but I don't think it will help with the sexual tension. 3. I decided I should show a little more of Naruto. 4. I cried while writing this because Itachi will never be a father in the original series :( 5. My baby nephew is asleep on me as I write this, so I'll have to do a proper edit in the near future... aka tomorrow.
And now a segment of Misplaced Quotes in the Naruto Universe:
Naruto: I love being Hokage. I don't know what I'm doing... but, I know I'm doing it really well.
