9-25-2011. Hi! I'm back! I've had the middle part of this chapter written since before I was even finished with the previous chapter, but the other parts were causing me problems which is why it took me so long :(
In any case and without more delay, here is the most recent chapter of the story!
Sasuke's pace slowed as he neared his room and looked around cautiously for any unusual signs. Kabuto wasn't in sight, which either meant he hadn't stopped by or that he had heard Sasuke coming and fled before being found out.
Standing outside his door, Sasuke paused and tried to see if he could sense the chakra of the woman in the room; if he could sense it, it meant that others could too. He felt a faint tinge of her chakra, but nothing that would catch the attention of someone walking down the hall. Sasuke thought Sakura might be suppressing her chakra a bit since it would usually be stronger at this distance, not that he was complaining; anything that kept her hidden was welcome to him at this point.
Turning the key in the lock and opening the door, Sasuke was greeted by a surprised Sakura sitting on his bed with a book. "Oh, Sasuke, you're back earlier than usual. Did you get tired of training?"
Sasuke nodded slightly as he dropped his training bag by his closet, thinking more about whether or not Kabuto knew about Sakura. It was obvious he hadn't stopped by and tried to enter the room, or else Sakura wouldn't be so calm. But that didn't mean Kabuto hadn't stood outside the door for a minute or two.
"Are you suppressing your chakra?" Sasuke asked suddenly.
Surprised at the out-of-the-blue question Sakura answered "Yeah, why?"
"I noticed I couldn't detect a strong chakra source while unlocking the door."
"Does it matter? I do it partially out of habit and partially since I sometimes hear people walking down the hall."
"Well, it doesn't hurt. It's probably a good thing to keep it lowered." Sasuke said more to himself than to Sakura.
"How come? Should I be worried about anything?" Questioned Sakura.
"No." Was Sasuke's quick reply. He didn't want Sakura to think there was anything out of the ordinary going on; it would be best to keep his recent suspicions regarding Kabuto and Orochimaru to himself.
Sasuke walked over to a chair and sat down. He wasn't used to having free time in the evenings since he usually trained late, showered, and then went to bed, but now that it was only early evening, he had to occupy himself. Looking over at the stack of books he had collected for Sakura he decided that he should try to read one in order to keep his mind off the day's events. He stood up, grabbed the first thing that caught his eye, sat back down, and opened the book. After reading the first paragraph, he found his mind wandering back to what Kabuto had said and analyzing it all for hidden meanings or hints. It was useless to worry about it, but Sasuke couldn't keep his mind off the possibility that he could have been found out.
Where had he gone wrong while covering his tracks? Obviously he messed up by not hiding his quick recovery since the last mission, but where else? He never let slip anything that might give him away since he rarely spoke to anyone, and he had gotten rid of her torn and bloodied clothes so that they wouldn't be found. Maybe Kabuto had counted the amount of chakra disabling bracelets and noticed one was missing? But why would that point to Sasuke as the culprit? No, that couldn't have been the reason.
When Sasuke sat and thought about it rationally, he realized that there was a good chance no one had discovered anything suspicious and he was simply reading too much into Kabuto's words. He really hadn't made any major mistakes in keeping his secret hidden and his worry was only paranoia. All he had to do was to continue acting the same as he always did and no one should suspect him of anything. In theory that was a good plan, but in reality he knew that something would have to be done about Sakura soon since she couldn't stay in his room forever.
The entire time he'd been thinking he had been looking over the words of the book, not really taking in their meaning. Realizing this, he turned back a few pages to the beginning and started again, determined this time to focus and not let his mind wander, but that proved futile as thoughts swirled in his head.
Sakura was watching Sasuke with a bemused expression on her face; he hardly ever took the time to sit still and read. As he stared at the book, she caught him glancing over to the door every few minutes or so, as if he was expecting someone to arrive. She could tell that he was agitated about something, but she knew he would never tell her. Even if she told him it was obvious there was something heavy weighing on his mind, he would only deny it and ignore her.
Having been on the same team as Sasuke and now through living with him, Sakura knew that he would have to come to the decision to tell her in his own time. If she really wanted to know she could ask him about it and convince him to let her in on his thoughts, but she thought it better to let him dwell on it alone for a while longer. Besides, Sakura had thoughts she wasn't ready to tell Sasuke about either.
During the long days she spent alone in the room while Sasuke was training, she had been thinking about her options. As she saw it, she had two major choices; she could either leave Sasuke, or stay with him. Facing those choices was like facing a fork in the road, with each path leading to completely different steps. She couldn't plan the next move without deciding to go one way or the other.
Staying with Sasuke meant that she would be looking at staying in the same room for an uncertain amount of time and facing an uncertain future. Leaving Sasuke would mean she could possibly regain the life she had been living before running into him. But could she really leave Sasuke after meeting him again? After thinking about it for days and playing out as many possibilities as she could imagine, she didn't think she would be able to. She had spent years thinking about him and wondering what he was doing and now she was a part of his life again, however small that part may be. If she could continue to be around him, it would make her happy. However much it broke her heart to think about never going back to Konoha, it killed her to think about never seeing Sasuke again.
Being with him had reawakened her old feelings and she could remember why she had loved him. He was everything she remembered, and more. Plus, this time at least, there was a possibility he felt something for her too, or why else would he have kissed her? He said it had "just come over him," but there had to be some emotion in order for that to have happened, right? Sasuke was, and would always be, an enigma, but he wouldn't be the same any other way.
What bothered her most about her plan to stay with Sasuke was that her friends in Konoha would never know how or why she disappeared. They would antagonize over her absence and always wonder what had happened. Surely some would think her dead, but others, like Naruto for example, would never give up hope for her safe return. She would become one of his many goals and he probably would try to find her as hard as he had tried to bring Sasuke back to the village. Could she really do that to Naruto? She had seen what Sasuke's abandonment had done to him and how much he had obsessed over trying to retrieve their teammate. Staying here would mean putting Naruto through all of the loss again.
It hurt to think about it but she had to make a decision, and who knew; maybe she would make it back to Konoha someday with Sasuke alongside her. If not, then maybe one day she could write a letter to Tsunade explaining the reasons behind her disappearance and to apologize for causing so much grief.
Sakura wasn't sure that the path she was picking was the best one, but for now it would have to do. However, if the right opportunity to leave presented itself, she might have to rethink her plan and take it. For now though, it didn't look like anything was going to change and she would spend more time sitting around Sasuke's room.
All the while Sakura had been mulling over her thoughts, Sasuke had been busy with his own. He knew that the only thing he could do at this point was to keep on pretending like everything was normal and not dwell too much on Kabuto. If he kept to his same routine it was likely that he wouldn't be bothered anymore by Orochimaru's puppet.
Sasuke looked down at the book he still held in his hand and gave up on trying to read it since there was no way he could concentrate. Getting off the chair Sasuke glanced at Sakura and noticed her staring unfocused at her book as if she had things on her mind as well. Although Sasuke was curious to know what she was thinking, he didn't think it right to ask. Hoping that a shower would help slightly to calm him before going to sleep, he headed toward the bathroom.
As Sasuke showered, Sakura prepared for bed. Climbing under the covers she continued to think about the benefits and costs of staying with Sasuke instead of trying to leave. It wasn't an easy decision, but she was at least going to live with it for the time being. Not that it mattered what she wanted since, in the end, her next move would depend on what Sasuke decided to do with her; at this point he was still the gatekeeper of her future.
After toweling off and putting on some clothes, Sasuke left the bathroom feeling no more at ease than he had earlier. Noticing that Sakura was already in bed he headed over to the light switch and turned it off before carefully making his way to the bed. He turned away from Sakura and shut his eyes hoping to fall quickly to sleep.
Before he knew it, he was standing alone and surrounded by complete darkness. Unsure of what to do he stood still, pausing to hear a sound of some sort or see something that would clue him in to what was going on. Slowly, a gray mist started creeping along the ground covering it in hazy forms. Feeling compelled to move forward, he began walking in a straight line. For some strange reason he felt like he should be searching for something. Picking up his pace he started walking faster, wondering where he could find the object of his newfound desire, but nothing revealed itself to him except the fog that was rolling in marginally faster.
It was at that moment he turned quickly around; sure that someone had been watching him and preparing to come at him from behind. However, no one was there; it was just the same misty darkness. As he slowly turned back the way he had been walking, he caught sight of a flicker of movement. Sasuke ran toward the spot he had seen the disturbance and looked around for whatever had caused it. The same movement occurred a little beyond where he was standing and he started to run after it, sure it was what he had been so eager to find earlier.
As he ran faster, the fog rolled in more quickly and made it harder to see the vague form that had coalesced in front of him. Every time he thought he was getting closer to the form, it would flit further away from him, almost urging him to follow. And then the feeling of being watched was back, stronger than before as he continued to chase the figure before him. Glancing over his shoulder he thought he saw someone behind him, but couldn't be sure due to the thickening mist obscuring his view and making it hard to breathe.
Agonizingly close to the form he was chasing he was distracted once again by his pursuer. Frustrated over the fact that he couldn't shake the feeling of being followed he stopped and tried to face down whatever was behind him. A cloud of fog more dense than the rest of the surroundings came toward him at great speed and Sasuke jumped out of the way.
When the cloud didn't return he continued his search for the figure that had been evading his capture, but it was nowhere to be found. He started running again, but the suffocating mist was making it harder to breathe and he slowed to a walk, laboring to get enough air to continue on. Just as he caught a clear sight of the form he had been chasing, he felt a hand grasp his shoulder and pull him backward into stifling darkness.
Sasuke sat bolt upright in bed, panting and trying to catch his breath. He felt like he needed to run from something but had no idea why. It was then he remembered his dream. It had felt so life-like that he wasn't sure at first how he had gotten into his bed from the place he had been. He looked around his room, trying to see through the darkness in order to make sure there was nothing there.
Suddenly he felt a hand touch his left arm and he nearly jumped out of his skin in surprise and fear. Jerking his arm away he realized it was only Sakura reaching out to him in the darkness. "What's wrong?" She asked sleepily, sitting up beside him in bed.
Sasuke was ready to deny his problems and claim it was nothing, but the after-effects of the dream still gripped him and he replied "N-nightmare."
"Do you feel like telling me about it?" Inquired Sakura.
When Sasuke kept silent she said "Well, no matter. It's over now, just try to relax."
She put a hand on his back and slowly drew it back and forth in a calming motion, hoping to ease his fright. If she had been more awake, she would have hesitated before starting to rub his back, but in her sleepy state she didn't think too hard on it or the fact that seeing Sasuke this jumpy was a rare occurrence. Sasuke sat still and let her gently ease his tension, surprised at how quickly she had been able to console him. The dream was still very much on his mind, but he began to shift back into reality.
As his breathing slowed to a normal pace Sakura leaned her head against his left shoulder and stayed there for a moment, letting Sasuke know without using words that she was there for him. After a few minutes sitting together, he turned toward her slightly, unable to see her clearly in the darkness but able to fill in her face from memory. Her tired eyes reflected what little light there was in the room as they looked at each other. Sakura moved slowly toward him and before he knew what was happening, she kissed him on the forehead, lingering for a moment before lying back down on the bed.
Stunned, he sat stock still for a moment before lying down and facing her, trying to understand the feelings that were coursing through him. Sakura reached out and found his hand on the bed between them and held it gently as she fell back asleep. Although Sasuke felt too confused and distracted to sleep, he soon relinquished himself to slumber as well.
-0-0-
Sasuke's coal black eyes opened as he slowly woke up, trying to figure out what felt so different about that morning.
The reason was made apparent when he looked and saw Sakura snuggled into his chest, his arm comfortably draped over her. What the hell? He thought to himself before remembering the events that had transpired in the middle of the night. Thinking about it now, he felt stupid for being so frightened by his nightmare. He could charge headfirst into a battle without blinking, but he couldn't even handle a simple dream? Sakura must have thought me incapable and childish.
Sasuke exhaled quietly in agitation wondering if he could ever look her in the face again after last night's moment of weakness. However, she hadn't seemed to mind consoling him. She didn't push him to share what had startled him nor did she make him feel bad about being scared of a dream. In actuality, she helped calm him. Even more importantly; she had made him feel safe. Sasuke spent most of his time on edge, so having time when he was at peace was rare.
He was brought out of his ruminations by a movement from Sakura and he realized he was still holding her closely. He wanted to get up without disturbing her but didn't know if he could lift his arm and roll away softly enough.
As he was trying to figure out what to do, Sakura woke up. Her green eyes found his dark ones and they looked at each other from only a few inches apart. Almost at the same time, Sasuke drew his arm back and Sakura moved away from him, feeling her cheeks burn in an embarrassed blush. "S-sorry." She stammered, avoiding his eyes.
Unsure of how to respond he simply replied with "Hn" as he got out of bed and headed toward the bathroom with a change of clothes, glad to get away from the awkward situation. When finished, he walked back into the main room and said "I'm going to go train, I'll be back later." With that he exited into the hallway, leaving Sakura alone with her frenzied thoughts.
"Have you noticed?" Kabuto asked later that afternoon as he walked into the open room where Orochimaru sat.
"Noticed what, Kabuto? There is a lot that goes on around here." Orochimaru replied, even though he had an inkling as to what his assistant was talking about. Little went on in his compound without his knowing, plus he had servants who served as extra sets of eyes and ears and informed him of the goings on.
"It's about Sasuke. Have you seen him lately? I ran into him recently and noticed his wounds from his last mission were completely healed, he wasn't even wearing bandages! If I understood your description of his state, he sounded pretty beaten up. It should have taken much longer for the damage to heal without a trace."
"Really? No, I haven't seen him since he reported the end of the mission on which I sent him. You say he has completely healed? That is curious; I'll have to go pay him a visit during his training soon. But, that finding might play into some other observations I've made and have been pondering." Orochimaru paused before sharing the rest of his views. Maybe he should let Kabuto speak first; it might provide him with more information before revealing his theory on the subject. "But first, Kabuto, how about you tell me your suspicions."
"Well Orochimaru-sama, when I noticed Sasuke didn't show any after-effects from the injuries he sustained, I went to the other healers in the compound to see if any of them had seen to him, which they hadn't. I questioned some servants about whether or not Sasuke seemed different and they said they think he has been taking food to his room instead of eating in the kitchens like he usually does. While that is not necessarily cause for concern, I did detect a different quality about him when I saw him recently."
Kabuto went silent for a bit, waiting to see if Orochimaru would interject his opinion. When he didn't, Kabuto continued. "Other than being more rude to me than usual, it seemed as if he had a lingering chakra around him that wasn't his. Now I know I could be wrong in this, but I suspect that he has someone staying with him in his room, and this person must have some sort of knowledge in medical ninjutsu. They must have healed him, which would explain the strange chakra traces around him." Kabuto explained.
"I'm impressed, Kabuto, both by your deductive reasoning and your skill in the finer points of chakra detection. I've recently come to the same conclusion as you, although I gathered some of it by slightly different means. I too have noticed faint hints of a strange chakra around him when he has reported to me. That aspect of chakra detection can be tricky since the affect is usually incredibly inconspicuous and almost nonexistent most of the time."
"I assume it must have stemmed from the extensive medical work it would have taken to heal Sasuke completely." Kabuto stated, glad to have his suspicions affirmed.
"Indeed. Also, some of my servants have told me that the water for the shower runs twice as often. I think the idea that someone is staying with him may be correct." Said Orochimaru.
"Who do you think it is Orochimaru-sama? I wasn't able to identify the chakra signature around him, but it seemed familiar. I want to say it's somebody from Konoha, but I can't be sure." Kabuto offered.
Pleased, Orochimaru smiled slightly and said "Once again Kabuto, you have proven to be correct. While you are very skilled in healing, I have a better memory for identifying chakra. The strange chakra to belong to a Konoha citizen. Do you have any idea which one?" Although he knew the answer, Orochimaru wanted to see whether or not Kabuto would be able to place it on his own.
"Not specifically, but for some reason I do seem to remember it in connection to the Nine-Tails."
"Very astute of you. I believe the chakra to belong to the pink-haired teammate of Sasuke and the Nine-Tails."
"Ah! That makes sense. What was her name again? Something along the lines of Sakura, right? I probably have information on her somewhere. Isn't she training with the Hokage Tsunade currently? That would definitely explain her healing abilities."
Kabuto thought silently to himself for a moment before asking "Forgive me for questioning your motives Orochimaru-sama, but if you knew about this, how come you haven't done anything about it?"
"Why should I care about Sasuke's whore?" Orochimaru said sardonically.
"Do you believe that to be the nature of their relationship?"
Thinking about it for a moment Orochimaru said "No, I guess not. But it hardly matters at this point. I haven't interfered because it hasn't caused me any trouble. Besides, I'm interested in how this is going to play out; Sasuke has never tried to keep a secret like this from me before."
The two were silent as they thought about what the next moves could be. Would Sasuke continue to keep quiet on this issue or would he eventually tell them. He had to come to them at some point because it was impossible to keep it a secret forever. After too long though, Orochimaru would have to confront Sasuke about his guest and inquire as to what Sasuke had been thinking. Did he really think a good captive would be a ninja from Konoha who had been determined to bring him home?
After talking about it for a long while, Tsunade and Kakashi had decided that the best plan of action would be to send Kakashi out after Sakura. He could use his summons to search for any traces of Sakura in the forest to see if he could find a lead. If he couldn't find one or if it led him to the tracker's last position near Orochimaru's suspected hideout, he was instructed to find out as much as he could without being noticed.
They debated sending Naruto with Kakashi on the mission since they knew he wouldn't give up until he searched every square inch of the forest, but they decided against it since they knew he would not be able to keep a low profile if they had to spy on the hideout. Getting both Sakura and Sasuke from Orochimaru's clutches would prove too much of a distraction for Naruto and he would compromise the secrecy this mission needed. Tsunade had wanted to send along at least one other person with Kakashi for she feared making the same mistake as she had with Sakura and she didn't want to lose Kakashi too, but he refused, saying that another person would only serve to slow him down.
At the moment, the silver haired ninja stood in front of the Hokage's desk as they went over the plan once again. It was early evening and Kakashi was going to set out at dawn the next day.
"Do you have everything you need?" asked Tsunade
"Yes. I've packed plenty of supplies and weapons, and I've had a chance to rest from my previous mission." The jounin told her.
"Are you sure I can't convince you to take someone along? An extra person could come in useful if you are attacked."
"Thanks for the offer, but the answer is still no. I don't plan on picking any fights, but if any come up I will try to get out of them as quickly as possible."
Tsunade frowned with worry and annoyance, she knew Kakashi could handle himself and if she wasn't going to change his mind she should just give up. "What will you do if you find evidence that Sakura really is in the area where we expect Orochimaru's hideout to be?"
"I will send you a message with information on the situation and await further notice. At that point, I think it would be worth it to send reinforcements who possess the skills needed to sneak into the compound. I won't do anything rash or without a plan." Kakashi said, then added jokingly "That's why we're not sending Naruto, remember?"
"Alright. Do you have any more questions?"
When Kakashi shook his head Tsunade sighed, she was nervous about this mission. Sending someone straight to a possible hideout of Orochimaru's was a dangerous gamble.
"In that case, I wish you luck tomorrow. And Kakashi, please do try to find Sakura, for me and for her friends. I don't think I could bear telling everyone that she might be gone for good."
Kakashi nodded in understanding. He didn't think he would be able to stand losing another of his students. First Sasuke and now possibly Sakura. The thought saddened him as he walked out of the Hokage's office, down the hall, and out into the darkening sky.
Did you like it? I hope so. I got super excited about posting this after I'd written the whole Sasuke-gets-comforted-by-Sakura scene haha. Also, I have no idea if someone could detect lingering chakra on another person, but for the sake of the story let's pretend it can happen. Who knows, maybe it does? I hope it doesn't seem weird that Kabuto was able to remember Sakura so quickly and have information on her, but I was thinking about how he had all those cards of info on people during the chunin exams and thought I could extend that to this. That was him with the cards though I think, right? And it would also make sense for him and Orochimaru to be aware of who the people closest to Sasuke were and what they are up to.
But yeah, so anyway. I have a notecard of things to include in this story that kind of map out how the rest of it is going to go (I bet you would like to get your hands on that, huh? hahaha). I don't want say that it's only going to be a few chapters longer and then have it not be, so when I say it's going to be like 2 chapters more, take that with a grain of salt because almost anything can happen.