Chains of Fate (Sequel to Silver Bells)
by Kaline Reine
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters/settings. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. This is just a fanfiction story.
This story is written for RukarioHadou and Sakura Uchiha belongs to her. c;
***WARNINGS: This story contains graphic adult content, hints at past abuse of various kinds, incest, violence, and explicit sex scenes. If you can't handle my sick and twisted mind then you, my friend, are reading the wrong story. It also may contain slight spoilers if you aren't completely caught up.
Chapter 20:
Sakura woke up in a daze. She had to wait for her eyes to adjust to the harsh light that was coming from the ceiling.
Wait... Ceiling? Hadn't she been outside?!
The cat girl sat straight up. She got tangled up in the covers that had been placed over her. Covers? She looked around to see that she was in a bed. It looked like she was in a hospital room. She checked herself for injuries, but didn't find any. Her stomach was getting quite large, and she felt like the babies were still there. She could feel them kicking her, occasionally.
The last thing she remembered was having an argument with Sasuke, after telling him she was pregnant with two new Uchihas. He hadn't reacted well and she was so afraid something bad might have happened.
She was all alone in this strange room and she'd been changed out of her Yukata. It looked like hospital clothes. Little dots of gray covered the mint teal gown. It had snaps in the back and along the sides. She wasn't in any pain right now, but she noticed she was hooked up to a lot of equipment. It looked like Konoha's hospital. She had no idea how she'd gotten here or why. It was very disorienting and confusing.
She reached behind her bed to press the emergency help button. She'd never had to use it before. She didn't hear anything, but the red button lit up. A few minutes later, someone came in to see her. A familiar busty blonde, with her hair in pigtails...
"Tsunade? What's going on?"
"One of the other doctors had checked you out first, but they called me when they realized who you were." Tsunade explained hastily. She seemed to be in a hurry. "I've checked all your vitals and they seem to be okay now. But we had to put you on an IV drip because you clearly haven't been eating much. You had us very worried."
"Where's Orochimaru? And do Kabuto and Itachi know I'm here?"
"We've notified them, yes. And Orochimaru is in the next room over, being treated for..." She flipped through several pages of charts and medical notes on a clipboard. "A stab wound. And paralysis. He hasn't regained consciousness yet, but he should recover in time."
"What about Sasuke? Did you see him? How did I even get here?"
"Sasuke? What are you talking about? I'm afraid no one knows what happened to either of you before you were brought here. A single mother found you on her way to work in the morning, just outside of town. She claimed you were lying on the ground, collapsed on top of Orochimaru, when she spotted you. She could tell you were pregnant and needed medical care, so she got help and instinctively brought you here. Want to tell me what's been going on?"
The way she said it implied that she was demanding an explanation. Tsunade wasn't in a rush, after all. She was pissed.
"Orochimaru and I were on a mission... We were supposed to find Sasuke, so we could tell him about the pregnancy. It involves the Uchiha clan, and he's going to be an Uncle and all, so I thought he'd want to know."
Tsunade scrunched up her nose, a sure sign that she was irritated. "And did you find him?"
"Yes. I told him about the pregnancy. He was not happy..." Sakura looked at the wall, never taking her eyes off one select spot. She couldn't focus on anything right now, and she definitely couldn't bring herself to make eye-contact with her doctor. "Things didn't turn out the way I'd hoped."
Tsunade placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Sakura... You wanted him to come back, didn't you?"
"..." The cat girl didn't speak.
"It's alright. We all do. It's just... He's such a trouble child, you know? I don't think anything will ever change his ways. You did the best you could."
"Actually... Now that I think about it, maybe things didn't turn out so bad... It could always be worse. And we did-"
"Don't be so proud of yourself just yet!" The blonde snapped. "I'm assuming that Orochimaru's wounds are due to an attack from Sasuke. You put yourself and your unborn children in grave danger."
"I know... In a way, I regret going. It wasn't worth it."
They heard a faint knock. Sakura craned her neck to try to see who it was, but she still couldn't see past the curtain that lined her bedside. Someone was at the door.
"Oh, looks like you have visitors. Come in!" Tsunade called to them.
Kabuto and Itachi walked in. Sakura's heart sank, as soon as she noticed the disappointed look on her husband's face. She'd made a promise to him and ended up letting him down. She knew the blonde woman was right... She'd put herself in great danger just by going.
"Silly woman. I told you not to go," Kabuto hugged her tight, being mindful of the IV still in her arm.
"I need to get this equipment off of you. You should be fine for now. You have to stay for a few more days before you can go home. I have to make sure nothing else is wrong. And you need to eat more often, missy." Tsunade scolded her like a mother.
"Alright, alright. I'm sorry..." Sakura sighed. "I really am... I never meant for things to turn out this way. But Sasuke must still care, at least a little. After all, he did bring me here."
"You don't know what happened," Itachi reminded her, gently. "It could have been someone else who brought you back to Konoha."
"You weren't there, you wouldn't understa-"
"Don't presume to tell me what I would understand! I've been a member of our clan longer than you've been alive. And it very much concerns me. I love you! Kabuto and Orochimaru love you too! We've all been really worried about you."
Kabuto stared at him in confusion, adjusting his glasses and trying not to add anything else to the fight. "Just calm down... She's been through a lot these past few days. We all have."
"I did keep my promise!" Sakura defended herself. "I didn't fight him. I still feel really bad about what I did. But Orochimaru did all the fighting. Not me."
She chose to leave out the little part about kicking Suigetsu's ass. She was in enough trouble as it is. ...And the bastard had it coming.
"I'm sorry..." Her brother leaned over and nuzzled her. "The fact that he most likely brought you here, or at the very least arranged to have you brought here, shows that he does care. Even if he's not willing to come back."
"But in a way, it's also something of a giant 'fuck you' from Sasuke." Kabuto argued. "He was so close to Konoha, and we still couldn't catch him. No one even knew."
"That's true," Itachi agreed. "He's kind of washed his hands of the situation. Now that he knows we're looking for him, it will be impossible to find him."
"You're both right... It will be impossible now." Sakura's tail twitched on the bed, as Tsunade pulled the needle out of her arm. She winced, letting out a low-pitched hiss.
Her older brother took a deep breath before he spoke. "Don't feel like this mission was a failure. You were still able to accomplish what you set out to. Not many Shinobi could have run into him and lived to tell about it. You got the message to him. So it was still a successful mission."
The cat girl smiled. "You know what? That's a good point." She was glad Itachi had pointed that out.
"I almost forgot," Tsunade interrupted them. She gave a piece of paper to Sakura.
She unfolded the crumpled piece of paper very carefully, almost afraid of what may lie within it. There were only a few words, scribbled hastily in what she knew to be Sasuke's handwriting. She read it out loud, not caring what the others thought. She had to know the truth and so did they.
"Sakura... If you're reading this, it means you've made it to the hospital in time. Suigetsu sends his apologies, and I do as well. I need some time to think about things. I made sure you got back to Konoha safely. It's the least I could do. I've respected your choices, so please respect mine. Don't bother coming after me. You should go about your business and just forget about me. Regards, Sasuke."
"So he really was the one who brought you here," Kabuto said. "Or at least made sure you were brought here safely."
She nodded. Her eyes appeared to be gazing at something far away... Sakura was lost in her own thoughts. She was trying to remember what had happened, but her memory was too foggy.
"I don't remember passing out, but I do recall being in a lot of pain. I refrained from fighting as much as I could. It was really bad... I'm glad I made it here in time."
"You should be on strict bedrest for the rest of your pregnancy, just to be safe." Tsunade was back to her scolding.
"Yes. And there really is no point in going after him," Itachi made sure to get his point across to her. "Each time we try it, he only pulls further away. It's time to let go, for the time being."
"I know..." The cat girl squeaked, feeling helpless.
"Could I have a few minutes to speak with my wife alone, please?" Kabuto felt bad about asking, but he saw no other way to do this. "I need to speak with her about something, in private."
Itachi narrowed his eyes. He knew that meant he was not wanted here. He didn't know what he said to say, but he couldn't very well insist on staying when he wasn't welcome. Up until now, they had always discussed things as a group. It was sort of suspicious, but he chose to overlook it.
"Yes, of course."
"We can go check on Orochimaru and see if he's awake?" Tsunade suggested, to which the Uchiha nodded.
He and Tsunade left the hospital room and went down the hall to check on him. No one had seen the Sannin since the fight, other than his medical treatment, but he was conscious now. That was good.
The three of them chatted, and they filled him in on everything that had happened since he was knocked out from the paralysis jutsu. He helped them piece together part of what had occurred during the initial meeting with Sasuke, as well. They even let him read the note Sasuke had left. Even Itachi had been worried about him.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Sakura asked, her tail twitching out of curiosity.
"While you were gone, I spoke with your father quite a bit. It seems that after doing some research, I've determined that in Konoha, it's legal to marry more than one person. Most only marry once because it's tradition... However, there's nothing in our laws to stop someone from marrying multiple people."
Her feline eyes glanced all around the room. Anywhere was fine, but she couldn't bring herself to look at him now. "I see... So you've found someone else. I can't say I bla-"
"No, it isn't like that at all!" Kabuto embraced her as tightly as he could. "I want to discuss the possibility of adding Itachi and Orochimaru to the marriage... That is, if it's okay with you. I just thought it should make everyone happy. But I haven't mentioned it to them yet."
"Oh that's so sweet of you! I didn't know we could do that but... It sounds wonderful. But are you sure this won't be a problem for you? I love you and your happiness matters to me most of all."
Her husband smiled charmingly at her. "I love you too. I mean, this isn't something we have to do. Truthfully, Itachi and I have gotten along well while you and Orochimaru were gone. I've been very busy lately and they've both helped us out a lot. I was worried sick about you ever since you left for this mission. I wish I'd gone with you..."
"I'm so sorry. I never meant to put you through all of this."
"It's alright. Itachi calmed me down, and assured me that Orochimaru would take good care of you, which he obviously did. He told me that shortly after he'd been infected by the demon all those years ago, they were partners in Akatsuki... And Orochimaru had told him of his feelings for you, during the rare moments that he was still himself. I think he must have a good heart, beneath everything else. But I've always known that. Otherwise, I would never have worked for him. And I'm more than willing to share you, as long as things continue to work out the way they have been. I don't see any harm in it."
"I'm so happyyyyy! That's really sweet!" Sakura squealed, as she returned his hug. "I know I'm supposed to be resting, but do you think we could do it before the babies are born?" Her hand came to rest on her stomach, as it did naturally lately.
"Of course. I'll run it by them and get their feelings on it before we make it official."
"Okay. We can all talk about it when we get home. But I don't want to have a big ceremony or anything. People are judgmental enough of us, as it is."
"Hm. I agree." He cuddled with her for a few minutes.
The cat girl began to purr. She was really feeling a lot better after getting the medical care that she needed. She couldn't wait to find out what they would say when they found out... She wasn't entirely certain that everyone was happy with the situation. So this would be a good way to find out everyone's true feelings and see if this could really work long-term or not.
More than anything, she appreciated the fact that they were willing to work together for her happiness, and for their own as well. They all loved and cared for each other a lot.
Several minutes later, Tsunade had knocked on the door. She needed to do more tests to check on Sakura and the babies. Itachi and Kabuto said their goodbyes, and Kabuto told Tsunade to contact him as soon as she was able to come home.