"Evening, sweetheart."
Sakura's eyes narrowed at Suigetsu, who held a tray of food in his hands for her. He was grinning ear to ear, and Sakura mused that Orochimaru and his subjects would be seriously put out when she escaped; apparently, as far as entertainment went, she was a hot commodity.
See how you'll smirk when I hang every last one of you invaders, she thought venomously. She made no move to accept the food tray or even acknowledge his existence. After one glare dripping with animosity, she turned her attention back outside. From her perch on the window sill, she had an excellent view of the streets of Konoha, and to her dread, she saw that they were empty.
Suigetsu set the food down on her bed and approached her familiarly, like they were old friends. "Admiring the view?" he asked jocularly. "Bet it's nice after being down in the dungeons all that time."
"Leave," Sakura commanded. She was pleased to hear that her voice lost none of its authority. To her friends and loyal subjects of Konoha, she was as sweet and friendly as she looked. To her enemies, she retained a queenly air that commanded attention and respect.
"Now hold it there, sweetheart. That's not a very nice way to treat someone, you know?"
"Well forgive me for not being a gracious hostess," she spat.
"Kitty likes to scratch," he observed in obvious amusement. "But you might wanna trim those claws, cutie pie. Might increase your value."
He spoke as if appraising a piece of jewelry. Sakura turned to him once more, one eyebrow raised in suspicion. "Explain."
Suigetsu smirked. The gesture was repulsive, and he had the audacity to reach out and drag one cold finger down her jawline.
"Don't tell me they haven't told you yet," he said, amused. "But it makes sense. I doubt you'd have all this attitude if you knew what Orochimaru-sama's got in mind for you. Not the most original of ideas, but I'm sure you've read about what happens to the high-profile chick spoils of war, like yourself."
Sakura grabbed his wrist with enough pressure to bruise. Her eyes sparkled with defiance.
"So that's his plan for me, then," she interrogated. "Auction me off to one of his lackeys, like an animal?"
"Not just one, sweetheart," Suigetsu snapped. He wrenched his wrist free from her vice grip and grabbed her by the collar of her dress. "He's gonna rotate you out like a carriage wheel. I put my name in the bidding pool myself. Hopefully I get you first, but you're pretty enough to wait for."
Sakura was sickened by the way he was speaking to her, but in a way, she was relieved to know Orochimaru's plan. Even if it was horrible, part of her was satisfied to know something about what was going on around her.
There was no way, no way in hell, she would allow herself to be used the way Orochimaru projected. But now that she knew his next plan for her, she could think up a way to counter it.
She already had an idea. One that was incredibly dangerous and had a 10% chance of success, but frankly, anything was better than staying here, waiting to be prettied up and sold to the highest Oto bidder. She would need to be patient, careful, and above all, cunning.
"Scary shit, huh, princess?" Suigetsu chuckled, giving her a little shake. "Bet you wish you'd been nicer to me. Maybe I'd do you a favor, and do you before the others have a chance to."
Sakura opened her mouth to retort, but was interrupted by a deep, apathetic voice from the doorway.
"Let her go, Suigetsu," murmured Sasuke.
For a moment, she was exhilarated. Sasuke, coming to her defense? Her eyes widened as she stared at him, his tall, handsome frame standing confidently in the threshold, black eyes sweeping over the scene. Sakura was reminded, against her will, of nights spent wandering the streets of Konoha, her best friend at her side.
"It's stupid to go out at night like you do," Sasuke chastised her dully. "You're a princess. You make it easy for any kidnapper to-"
"Sasuke-kun, enough," Sakura interrupted. She held a first aid kit as the pair made their way to a little house two miles from the palace. "That's why you come with me. To protect me. And nag me. All the time. Nonstop. Every minute."
"Annoying," he scoffed.
"Careful, Sasuke-kun," she said teasingly, a smile in her eyes. "I'm a princess, remember? Keep calling me names, see if I don't lock you up the second I become queen!"
The memory was as painful as it was happy. The idea that Sasuke was coming here to save her, to help her, to look out for her like he'd always done, seemed far too good to be true.
"Let her go, Suigetsu," Sasuke repeated. "If you rough her up too much, her value to the bidders might decline."
It was too good to be true.
Her heart sank at his words, and she didn't even feel Suigetsu release her. Instead, there was a roaring in her ears, a familiar crushing horror at the thought that the boy she had once loved was now one of her greatest enemies. There was nothing in his eyes, no warmth, no light, nothing.
Not for the first time, Sakura was reminded that the Sasuke she once knew was dead.
"Sasuke!" exclaimed Suigetsu. "I heard you were back. Where the hell have you been?"
"Traveling," Sasuke returned noncommittally. He kept his gaze locked on Sakura, who met it with ferocity.
"You on babysitting duty now?" Suigetsu asked with a laugh. "Good luck with this one. Pretty as all hell, but I think she's got fangs."
With that, he clapped his old comrade on the back and blew a kiss to a frozen Sakura. "See you around, sweetheart! Here's hoping I got the winning bid!" With that, he swept out of the room and shut the door behind him, leaving Sakura trapped alone in a room with Sasuke.
Perfect.
xoxoxo
Seeing Suigetsu manhandle Sakura made his blood boil. Sasuke knew that after all that had happened and all he had seen in the palace over the last few days, watching someone grab Sakura by the collar was relatively tame.
But old habits died hard, and Sasuke's first instinct was to intervene. Remembering his charade at the last minute, he schooled his features into a mask of apathy and ordered Suigetsu to release her.
Sakura looked around at him. She appeared to be in much better health; clean and refreshed, in a simple dress with her hair pulled back, as lovely as always. The way she looked at him was with a mixture of disbelief and hope. His stomach sank; she thought he was coming to rescue her. And while that was true, he couldn't let her know.
He barely heard the conversation with Suigetsu, registering only that Suigetsu had placed a bid for Sakura as well, before his old comrade left them alone together.
Sakura was on her feet in a second. Her eyes narrowed in hate, her lips curled into a sneer.
"What are you doing here?" she hissed.
Sasuke, despite the fact that her vitriole was directed towards him, was glad that she still had venom within her. The horrific events of the last few weeks, coupled with the threat of what was to befall her in three days time, should have broken her, but she remained as strong and unbendable as ever. He regarded her coolly and replied, "Babysitting duty."
Her green eyes flamed, and she spat, "I have a better idea. Leave me. It shouldn't be a problem, you've become quite good at it."
Her words stung, but he deserved them. Keeping his face an emotionless mask, he approached her and watched as she backed away, eyeing him with the wariness of a cornered rabbit.
"Still going on about that?" he sneered.
"Like I'd waste one more moment on you."
"Sarcasm isn't attractive. Make sure you keep that smart mouth of yours shut at the auction on Tuesday." Sasuke's words were chosen carefully. Even though they were cruel, he was trying to tell her what was going on, and when. It sounded, from her conversation with Suigetsu, that she already knew what Orochimaru had in mind for her. Sasuke needed to subtly clue her in as to when, and how the process would occur.
"You bastard," she hissed. "You couldn't wait to come back here and see what your old master's done. You were gone for years until he takes over...kills my parents, kills our people, and the second we're overthrown, you come back just to throw it back in our faces. May you burn in hell, you traitor."
"Big words for a prisoner," Sasuke whispered.
"Get out."
He couldn't leave her just yet; she needed to have all the information. The better informed she was, the better she could prepare herself. He had to keep her talking, keep her angry. "And what if I decide to try my luck at the auction?" he asked softly. Her eyes went wide.
"It's not exactly what our parents had in mind, is it?" He smirked cruelly down at her and took another step her way. "When they talked of having us married?"
"I would rather burn than marry you!" Sakura hissed. "I was engaged to a boy who died years ago! Yet you come here with his face and voice and seek ways to further destroy me, but you can't! I will kill you myself Sasuke!"
"You're as stubborn as ever," he countered coldly. "That must be what attracts Orochimaru so." Pay attention, Sakura, he thought desperately. Listen to what I'm telling you. "There's talk that he'll place a bid on you as well. You must really entertain him."
The anger on her face was replaced with disgust.
"I will not be treated as some prize at a cattle auction!" Sakura snapped. "You can tell all of your Oto lackeys that whoever 'wins me' can expect a dagger right between their-"
"Language, Your Highness."
"You mock me," she whispered. "I trusted you. You were my friend. But you left me. You betrayed me. And now you return to mock me. There is a special place in hell reserved for traitors, Sasuke-kun." She spat his name like a curse. "And I will be sure to send you there myself."
She had lost none of her fire, none of her spirit, none of what made her Haruno Sakura. He almost smiled, but remembered that, in her mind anyway, they were enemies now.
"I'll leave you for now, Sakura," he murmured, and noticed that she flinched when he said her name. "But keep in mind that there is more than one traitor in Orochimaru's employ."
Her eyebrows raised in suspicion, but without another word, he left her alone in her room. The door locked behind him, and he made his way outside. He needed to clear his head and allow Sakura to clear hers.
Sasuke was reminded why he'd left Konoha in the first place. In his quest to become a better swordsman and avenge his fallen family, he'd allowed himself to become attached to people. Distracted. Naruto, Kiba, Shikamaru, Ino and the others, and none more than the princess herself. He left for Oto, broke the bonds that anchored him to Konoha, that anchored him to himself, and found, upon returning, that the bonds had been bent. Not broken.
Sakura was distracting. Perhaps more so now than she'd ever been, with her effortless beauty and her bone-deep confidence, her cunning and strength; even though she hated him, he still saw the little girl he'd spent so much of his youth protecting, hiding behind steely green eyes.
He could not afford distractions right now. This mission was too dangerous, and required him to be constantly on his guard, constantly in character. He'd long since relinquished any claim he might have had on Sakura, and even if his feelings for her was as strong as they had always been, they didn't matter. He did not deserve her, and he never would. His only duty now was to rescue her and reinstate her as queen, not to make any heartfelt personal confessions.
If he had his way, she would never know of his love for her. He would see to it that she was made queen, that her enemies were destroyed, and he would withdraw from her life once more, never to hurt her again.
His sharp ears caught the distant screech of a hawk. A great tawny one with enormous wings flew nearer and nearer to the palace grounds, before descending towards Sasuke with a scroll attached to its leg. Sasuke held out its arm and the hawk gripped onto it tightly, while he removed the message and sent it away again. He unfurled it quickly and read,
"Dear Chiha-kun,
All is well here! Our cousin from the East is visiting and he is very helpful with the housekeeping. As for your problem with the cherry blossom tree, the solution is simple...buy it yourself! Then you can decide how best to dig it up and replant it somewhere safe!
Love,
Granny"
Sasuke tore up the message, his brow furrowed in thought. The cousin from the East had to mean Gaara, of Suna kingdom; it sounded like Tsunade's recruitment mission had been a success, and Konoha now had an extremely powerful ally in Suna. That was good news.
As for Tsunade's solution to the problem with Sakura, he'd already arrived at that thought, but it was too risky. He could take money from his considerable inheritance to bid for Sakura at the auction, but he feared it would arouse Orochimaru's suspicion. There was already a (true) rumor circulating that he and Sakura had once been part of a marriage contract, to be put into effect on her 17th birthday. Sasuke had quashed that rumor for the time being, but what would it say to Orochimaru if he came out with his desire to bed the rebel prisoner?
But it could very well be the only way to save Sakura from the remorseless, ruthless Oto courtsmen who would be in the betting pool as well. He would have to convince Orochimaru that he was not doing it to help Sakura, but to hurt her. Orochimaru would really believe that Sasuke was an Oto loyalist if he would defile and traumatize the girl who'd once been promised to him.
It was a dangerous game to play, but Sasuke would rather blow his cover than allow Sakura to be used so despicably.
xoxoxo
Kabuto removed his glasses, polishing them off on his shirt before replacing them. His predatory gaze locked on Sasuke's back, the hawk on his arm, the message on its leg. His eyebrows raised.
Well, well, well, he thought, watching the hawk take flight, and Sasuke destroy the message he'd just received. Who on Earth could our dear Sasuke-kun be writing to?
xoxoxo
note.. Thanks again everyone for the reviews and favorites and alerts and the simple fact that someone is reading something that I'm writing. I appreciate it all so much, and I hope you're enjoying this story as much as I'm enjoying writing it. See you soon!