Author's Notes: Hooray, another chapter! Hopefully I'll be able to update more now that it's summer.
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Title: Dear Annie
Rating: T (or PG-13)
Summary: [SasuSaku] Sakura is excellent about giving others advice about their love life, but she is absolutely clueless when it comes to her own!
Pairings: SasuSaku, NaruHina, NejiTen, ShikaIno
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
Chapter 21: Stranger Than Fiction
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Dear Readers,
Due to unfortunate circumstances, the "Dear Annie" column in the paper will be suspended until further notice. We sincerely apologize.
The Editor,
Aburame Shino
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Sasuke sat in the waiting room, tapping his foot to release some of his nerves. Truthfully, he hadn't been calm since he'd been woken up in the middle of the night two weeks ago. The trauma of watching her house burn and knowing she was inside…that was a feeling he doubted he'd ever forget. He'd gone to the hospital, but he hadn't been allowed to see her at all. In fact, no one had been allowed to see her. Even her mother hadn't been allowed, although Mrs. Haruno was dealing with some of her own problems right now. She was suffering severe burns and was recovering from a brain hemorrhage. The police tried to at least go see her to find out what happened, but every time they did the older woman was resting and was not to be disturbed.
After surgery, Sakura had immediately been placed into ICU, where she had remained for the last two weeks. For purposes of the investigation and evidence in case of a trial, the police had been given pictures of the damage to her body. Originally, Sasuke hadn't been allowed to look at these. It wasn't even that he wasn't authorized, but the first time he'd asked his cousin to look at them, the man had turned an unhealthy white and his hand shook. All Sasuke was given was a, "No. Absolutely not." Of course he'd persisted until someone finally gave, that person's face a mix of horror as well. He'd held the file in his hand for a moment, wondering if he really wanted to do this. What could be so bad that even Itachi had nightmares over it?
The moment he looked, he understood.
His knees had gone weak, and he'd collapsed into the nearest chair. Bile rose to his throat and he swallowed painfully to keep it down. These had obviously been taken in between the first healing sessions. He saw the bullet wounds easily because those were marked by stitches. Of course, that was what he had expected to see. What had made his hands shake was everything around the stitches. Blues and purples, reds and yellows. Her back was so discolored that he couldn't tell where one bruise ended and another began. In fact the only thing peppering her back were flashes of skin.
He dragged his eyes up, momentarily pausing at the very obvious hand-shaped bruise on her neck, and then up to her face. She had to be kept on her stomach, so her head was turned to the side, hair splayed out on the pillow. He'd automatically remembered when he would wake up earlier than her when she curled up against him and her hair had been splayed out then, tickling his arm. Of course, then she looked so peaceful that he would brush her hair out of her face and kiss her forehead without her realizing it, occasionally hearing her let out a content sigh in her sleep. Now though, her face was drawn and sickly pale in her drug-induced sleep, and she was obviously in a lot of pain.
Even thinking about it now made his stomach lurch.
What had really gotten him angry was when the doctors said that the bruises on her weren't even recent. None of them were from the day of the fire, but some dated back to a week before the incident. No one could even describe to him how murderous his face had gotten when Sasuke had seen the X-Rays. No broken bones, but plenty of calcium deposits marking where bones had been broken before. Dating back to childhood, the doctors said. It hadn't been the first time she'd ever been beaten like this, and the doctors said that if it hadn't been for the bullet wounds, it wouldn't even have been the worst she'd ever been injured.
The police had gone to Ino to ask questions, but that had proved to be entirely in vain. The blonde had gotten so hysteric that she'd had to be sedated. Even the second time they'd tried to ask her she'd cried so hard that a nurse had kicked them out of her hospital room. That had been two weeks ago, and since then Ino had gotten out of the hospital, but the police were reluctant to ask her again. Hinata and Tenten hadn't needed to be sedated, but they had started crying. They finally revealed that they didn't know much, since their friendship with Sakura had started later. Only Sakura, her mother, and Ino knew the whole story, and all three were unavailable for questioning.
They had placed Sakura in a normal room a few days ago. She'd woken up a few times, but doctors refused to let the police question her yet. Her state was still too fragile, they said. But today…they said if she was up to it today then she was allowed to have visitors. Itachi was in the waiting room with him, and Sasuke suspected that her friends weren't far. It was all Sasuke could do to keep from fidgeting in his seat. He had to force himself to stay calm and still, trying his best to imitate Itachi but failing.
The police were letting Itachi get her story. Sakura would be more comfortable sharing it with him than some complete stranger, and it wasn't like he didn't know what to do. Itachi would report it back to whichever cousin he was working under and they would decide what to do from there.
"Excuse me, Uchiha-san?"
Both brothers looked up to see a nurse at the doorway, looking a little flushed. Sasuke supposed it wasn't everyday that two members of the Uchiha Clan graced your presence, but it was hardly the time to get cocky about his looks now. He stopped fidgeting and gave the nurse his full attention.
"Haruno-san is awake and will see you now." She held up a hand when they both moved to stand up. "Just one."
Itachi looked down at his brother. "Stay here."
Sasuke plopped himself down as gracefully as he could, but that was a little difficult considering he was more than a little put out that Itachi got to see her first. It was for the best, though, he reasoned. She might get emotional if she saw him, or he might get emotional, and that wouldn't get anyone anywhere. By emotional, he'd probably get agitated and then do something or say something. It was for the best…
Then why did he feel like this? Like he needed to go run around the building to let out some energy. It was because she was awake…and he knew she was awake…yeah, that's it. His fingers were twitching for something to take his mind off of her. He needed a distraction, at least until Itachi got out of the room. Until he could go see her for himself. Hold her in his arms to make sure that she was really there and alive.
"Something bothering you, Sasuke?"
Said man turned towards the entrance to the waiting room and turned his best glare onto the blonde who entered. Ino sat down in a chair across from him and Sasuke stopped his tapping foot. He hadn't even realized the fidgeting had started again. Shikamaru walked in a few minutes later with coffee—the decent coffee-shop kind, not the hospital shit he'd been drinking for the last hour—for himself and his girlfriend. He sat down as well. Sasuke had to hide his surprise that Hinata and Tenten weren't there as well, not to mention Neji and Naruto.
"Have you heard anything?" Ino asked. The teasing tone from earlier had vanished, and now she looked at him with sincere eyes.
"Itachi is talking with her now."
The blonde nodded. "Good. It's almost over, then."
The Uchiha opened his mouth to ask her what was almost over, but Hinata and Tenten came into the room at that moment chatting, trying to keep the worry out of their voice but failing. They asked Ino for news and she relayed what Sasuke had just told her. They took seats near the blonde, and Sasuke noticed the arrival of Naruto and Neji out of the corner of his eye. He tilted his head upwards in a greeting, and they nodded back at him, Naruto giving out a "hey."
"—the flip side." Hinata sighed.
Sasuke dragged himself back to the girls' conversation, because listening to them was far more distracting than being trapped in his own head.
Ino rolled her eyes at whatever Hinata just said. "That's so corny. 'Catch you on the flip side?' Who even says that anymore?"
Tenten gave a small smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. "That's the last thing she said to us before she ditched school."
"Why did she ditch school?" Ino asked. "I mean, that's not a very Sakura-like thing to do. She's too much of a goody-two shoes."
"I don't know, but she was acting strangely. She was happy…and considering everything that happened…" The white-eyed girl trailed off.
"Everything that happened?" Sasuke asked. The women jumped a little, apparently having been in their own little world and not realizing anyone had been listening in. They averted their eyes from him almost immediately.
"Yeah…" Was Hinata's only explanation.
"She was just really quirky on the day she…" Tenten paused. "On that day. Hugged us both at lunch even though we had the next period together."
"You think she planned on skipping?"
"I don't know. But that's silly. It's not like she knew her life was in danger or anything."
They kept talking, but Sasuke didn't hear a word after that. He had frozen in his chair, his brain working around what he'd just heard. She'd talked to him after lunch…he'd been replaying the conversation over and over in his head for the past two weeks, holding onto his last image of her. But now…
"…nothing you could have done to keep us alive."
She'd said that…that day. He'd known that, but he'd been too distraught to really analyze what she'd said. His mind was probably playing tricks on him, because now when he thought about it…
"…nothing you could have done to keep me alive."
"'Catch you on the flip side.'"
"That was the last thing she said to us…" The flip side of what?…Life?
Sasuke abruptly stood up, and he must have looked pretty concerned because everyone in the room looked at him strangely. He walked for as long as he could stand to, and then halfway to her room he broke out into a jog. He finally knew…Their last conversation, he finally knew what had been so off about it. Why didn't he see it earlier?
"…it's not your fault."
And that kiss…
"Goodbye, Sasuke."
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Sakura heard a knock on her door before it opened. She tore her gaze away from the window and found black eyes looking at her, but they were the wrong ones. Uchiha Itachi came and sat in the chair beside her bed, and thankfully she didn't have to strain to look at him. The nurse was nice enough that when Sakura said she was ready for visitors she raised the bed enough so that the pink haired woman could sit up a little. This probably would have been more difficult laying down.
Thankfully, she had healed enough to where she was allowed to lay on her back. Sakura had been on her stomach for the first week and a half and the thought of going back to that position made her want to vomit.
"Itachi," she greeted.
"Sakura," he greeted back. "How are you feeling?"
"Better now, thank you." She smiled at him. "Well, I already know why you're here, so I won't waste your time. How much do you know already?"
She was surprised when that particular question earned her a frustrated face. She hadn't seen Itachi a whole lot, even while she was living at his house his presence was rare, but she'd never seen such an expression before. He must have really asked everyone and come up with very little. Suddenly, she was really curious about what exactly he'd found out.
"We don't know anything."
Sakura blinked at him. "Nothing?"
He shook his head. "Your mother is dealing with her own health issues, and your friends don't know enough. Yamanaka knows, but whenever we ask she starts crying and won't tell us. Your X-rays gave us some clue, but…"
The pink haired woman winced. "Ah…I see…so I'll start from the—"
Suddenly, the door slid open, and Sakura jerked in surprise. She looked up to see Sasuke with one hand on the doorframe. He was panting a little, and the look he was giving her wasn't exactly hostile, but it was stern enough that she flinched a little. He pinned her under his stare and Sakura found herself unable to move.
"Sasuke." Itachi snapped. "What—"
"You knew." The younger Uchiha accused, completely ignoring his brother.
Sakura turned a sad smile in his direction, averting her eyes and looking at the sheets. So he'd figured it out after all. "Yes." She admitted. "I knew."
He shut the door and came over to her bed, Itachi watching him warily from the other side. He put both hands on the bed and leaned over her. Sakura tried not to be intimidated, but she was failing. "You knew you were going to die and you did nothing." His voice sounded like it was just a few syllables away from cracking. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I couldn't. I didn't want to put you in danger."
"I could have helped you."
"He would have killed you!" Sakura finally looked up at him.
"He?" Sasuke's eyes went from curious and worried to deadly. It soothed Sakura's nerves a little to know that those eyes weren't meant for her.
"Your father?" Itachi asked. Two pairs of eyes immediately swung towards him. Sakura raised an eyebrow.
"So you found out that much, at least." She said.
"I just figured it out now. He's the only person who would have enough access to you to inflict as much damage as was in your X-rays. Your mother isn't that strong."
"Your father…?" Sasuke asked, and his voice lacked its earlier edge, instead he sounded curious and confused. "I met him."
Sakura nodded. "You did. That was the night he made me break up with you."
"…is that why you couldn't tell me?"
She nodded. "I'm about to give my statement to Itachi, why don't you stay? It will clear up everything." She patted the spot next to her on the bed. He still didn't sit. "Please?" She asked. He slowly sat down next to her, turning his body so that he could face her. His hand found hers on the bed, and he threaded their fingers together. Sakura squeezed his hand in response, giving him a small smile.
"So then…from the beginning…
"It wasn't always like…well, this. When I was little, we were pretty normal. I don't have a lot of memories from those times, but we were happy then. When I was five, my mom and I were in a taxi and it crashed. Pretty badly, since it killed the driver and knocked me and my mother unconscious. I woke up in the hospital in the same room as my mother, and we were both fine. No lasting damage. Actually, that accident is why my hair always stayed so short. The rescue people had to cut us out of the car, and somehow my hair had gotten tangled in some of the metal jutting out, so they just cut it. Ino cut her hair too so that I wouldn't feel so bad about it." Sakura cleared her throat. She and Ino had been so proud of their long hair…
"Anyway, my dad came to see us in the hospital." He'd walked right past Sakura, not sparing her a glance and going to cradle his wife. He didn't even acknowledge his daughter until someone said something about it. "I guess it was just too much for him, because we found out later he went to a bar that night. When we finally got to go home, he was mad all the time. He gradually started getting angrier and angrier…over the smallest things. I didn't understand what was going on then, but I can remember them fighting all the time. I think a lot of the fights were over my father drinking more than usual.
"I don't remember what I did to make him hit me for the first time—" Sakura felt Sasuke's hand squeeze hers. It was probably reflex. "—but I was sent to my room while my parents fought about it. That was…when I was six, I think. I can't really remember. He didn't always hit me, but I walked on eggshells around him just in case. I do remember that he hit me enough that my mom had to cover my bruises every morning before I went to school. There was a period when all I could wear were long sleeves so no one could see my arms." She saw Sasuke's eyes widen a little out of the corner of her eye, and knew that he'd just realized the reason behind her particular choice of attire when she said her goodbyes. "Those were the bad times. From what I can remember, he started coming home drunk all the time. I didn't realize what was happening then, but he just seemed to snap for no reason. He left after that. I think he met some people at the bars he always went to and got involved with some pretty shady people. Of course, that's just speculation. I have no idea why he left.
"When I was nine, he came back and begged my mother to take him back. He said he'd changed and had gotten over his alcoholism. My mom eventually took him back, because despite everything she still loved him. The truth was, he had gotten over his addiction to alcohol, but it just meant he didn't need it anymore to hurt us. I thought before was bad, but that was the period when all those bones you saw in my X-ray got broken. I don't know the reason he was so ridiculously violent, but he nearly killed us on several occasions." She looked at Sasuke when he growled. "That time you were helping me with the burn on my side, and I told you I was self conscious?" He nodded, remembering sitting her down on the side of the bathtub. "I'm not really that self conscious, I just didn't want you to see this." She pulled up her shirt a little ways so that he could see the ugly white scar under her ribs. "That's from my mother's curling iron. I had just gotten a B on a test in math." She paused in her story while he traced the outline of it with his fingers, his face tense with repressed anger. Sakura shivered under his touch. She dropped her shirt when he was done.
"We never called the cops because he was blackmailing us. My mother is originally from Suna, and she wasn't a citizen at that time. I think she was only allowed to stay because of my father's Konoha citizenship, so he threatened to divorce her and have her deported. Since I was born here, I would end up staying with him. In the end, my mom just had to cooperate to keep me safe. She eventually became a citizen, though, just without my father's knowledge.
"He left the second time when I was thirteen by taking us to Suna and dumping us in the worst part of town. His blackmail didn't work anymore, so he just left us. We had to just keep moving through until my mom found a payphone to call her sister to come get us. The cops didn't get involved that time, either. I didn't care about that though, I just wanted to get back to the better part of the city. We were propositioned more than once, and some men cornered us, but we got away.
"I thought that was the last I saw of him until I had a dream about him a few weeks ago. My father used to be a ninja, and he was a genjutsu expert, so he basically taunted me that he was coming. He did the same thing when I was nine, too. He's older though, and probably out of practice especially with taijutsu, which is probably why he resorted to guns. The break ins, the fire, my mother's injuries…those were all his doing. I even found gunpowder in the bushes behind the house." She saw Sasuke freeze, remembering when she had been pretending to turn on the sprinklers. She swallowed hard. "When my mother lost her memory, that just gave him the perfect chance, especially since he was behind her memory loss. I found out he'd come back for good when I moved out of your house. My mother didn't remember anything, so this time he was blackmailing me. He planted bombs under the house, and threatened to kill my mother with them if I said anything.
"The night you met him was the night that he made me break up with you, Sasuke. I think it was when we went to the movies that he researched you and learned you had pretty close ties with the police. After that, he forbade me from seeing you.
"Ino…found out about him. I wasn't supposed to let anyone know that he was back, but Ino came to my house one night to see why I was acting so strangely at school. That was the night…" Sakura felt her voice starting to shake. "That was the night he shot her. He blamed it on a dive-by shooting since she agreed to keep her mouth shut. He made a deal with her that if she stuck to that story, he wouldn't kill her, or me, or my mother.
"I don't know how, but somehow he found out about you walking me home, when you told me you would grant me the space I wanted. He'd sent my mother away somewhere—I don't know where—so there was no one around to stop him when he…" The first tear fell just remembering how it felt to be so helpless as he hit her over and over. "That was the night I got all the bruises on my back…he…I couldn't move, couldn't heal myself…" Her voice got quiet. "Tenten and Hinata found me three days later in the same position he left me in. Tenten gave me a little of my chakra to heal the worst of it but…" She watched her hands fist the sheets. Sakura tried to wipe the tears away but her attempts were in vain. As soon as she wiped one away two more would replace it.
"He found out that I'd healed myself, and let me go to school the next day, but he made it pretty clear that it was going to be my last day there and I wasn't going to live much longer after that. He made me come home early and heal the bruises on my arms and paint my nails. When he finally called me downstairs there were people there. He said that they could take me and do whatever they wanted as long as they killed me in the end." Sasuke's hand tightened around hers, and he growled. "I fought against them and won, but then my father got his gun out, and then my mother arrived…" Looking back, it was all a frenzy of activity. "One of the men had a gun, so I reached for it and that's when he shot me…He had the detonator for the bombs in his hand but I shot anyway. I blacked out…and you know the rest."
Her voice had gone eerily quiet at the end of it. As much as she wanted to look at Itachi or Sasuke and give them a small smile, assure them she was at least going to be all right, she couldn't bring herself to raise her head. The wounds were still too fresh, not to mention she'd had ample time in a hospital room alone to relive it all, and that made all the pain she tried to banish come back full force. The nightmares were the worst though. At least in real life she could snap herself out of it…in her dreams she was trapped in that house. Sometimes her mind took her to places she didn't know existed, surrounded by three men and feeling terrified.
"Thank you, Sakura." Itachi said, standing up. "We have more than enough to go on. Feel better, okay?" Sakura nodded, and the older Uchiha made his way towards the door. "Sasuke, we should let her get her rest."
Sakura's hand tightened around Sasuke's, and he doubted she knew she was digging her nails into his skin. Sakura didn't want him to leave. The quiet would make her lose it, reliving those nightmares awake and in sleep. And this time, the men might not stop when she begged them to.
"Don't go." She pleaded, still not looking up.
Sasuke looked at his brother and then tilted his head towards the door, motioning him to leave. Itachi understood the message and nodded, leaving as quietly as possible. Coal black eyes shifted to the mass of pink hair before him, that being the only feature he could see with her head hanging like it was. Not for the first time he felt a stab of emotion run painfully through his body. He shifted closer, and Sakura abandoned his hand in favor of wrapping her arms around his neck. She buried her face in his shoulder and his arms wrapped around her and drew her close.
"I'm sorry…" She sobbed, clenching her fists in the back of his shirt. "I'm sorry…"
"Shh," Sasuke whispered, leaning his head against hers. "It's okay now."
"I…didn't want to…get you…killed." She cried.
"I'm okay." Sasuke said, kissing her shoulder.
"But…"
"Hey," he said gently, loosening one of his arms so that he could tilt her face upwards. "Everything is okay, and I will do everything in my power to keep you safe from now on. Okay?" He kissed her forehead when she nodded, pushing her back into his shoulder. "It's all over now."
The first sob escaped her throat, and Sakura clutched him tighter. Sasuke put his temple against hers, and silently vowed to hold her for as long as she needed him.
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Sakura woke up the next morning, feeling emotionally better. It was nice that she'd gotten to cry all she wanted, but her face felt taut from dried tears and she was sure she looked like crap. She turned her face towards the man next to her and gave a weak smile. Sasuke had stayed with her all night, holding her until she'd stopped crying and then falling asleep next to her. He was asleep now, looking peaceful behind the slight signs of stress on his face, one arm carefully wrapped around her middle. Sakura moved a lock of hair out of his face.
He hadn't left her at all yesterday, not even to go eat dinner. He hadn't talked much yesterday either, just whispered that it was going to be all right and everything was over now. Nothing could hurt her anymore. But there was still one thing that bothered her enough to pull her from sleep.
Quietly, Sakura slipped herself from his grasp and swung her feet over the side of the bed. Not for the first time, she was glad that after the major healing was done, she was allowed a shirt and pants rather than the stupid hospital gown. She doubted she would have been completely comfortable with the Uchiha holding her and sleeping next to her if one wrong move would give him an eyeful.
The pink haired woman steadied herself on the side of the bed and stood gingerly. This would be her first time walking in a while, so she was sure to take it slow. Warily, she looked at Sasuke and found him still asleep. Of course he had every right to be, it was abnormally early in the morning. Early enough that Sakura doubted the day shift had arrived at the hospital yet. She'd been sleeping off hours for the better part of two weeks, so Sakura was refreshed and for the first time thankful of having slept most of the day before.
They had removed her IV a few days ago, so there was nothing to stop her progress as she slowly exited her room, heading for the elevator. She had little doubt that Sasuke would be furious when he found out what she was doing, but it was something she needed to do before she could really put this behind her, and it was something she needed to do alone.
She rode the elevator to the basement, passing the different hallways until she came to a set of double doors, gulping at the lettering above them.
Morgue.
She stood there for a moment in hesitation, reaching for the handles more than once before fear cowed her hand back against her side. She finally pulled a door open, despite her body's protests. She chose to ignore the way she shivered as unpleasant emotions rolled through her. She had to do this.
Sakura peeked into the cold room, relief washing through her when she realized the staff hadn't arrived yet. She went over to the wall of drawers, looking at a list beside it and feeling her hands shake when she saw the familiar name next to drawer 23. With a calming breath, Sakura pulled open the door that was waist level and pulled the drawer out in one swift movement. A wall of icy air washed over her, and Sakura shuddered.
She pulled back the plastic covering to reveal his face and shoulders, nearly crying again at the sight. He was badly burned, and despite him being in a refrigerated drawer for nearly two weeks the smell of rotting flesh hit Sakura's nose. Despite that though, the pieces of unaffected skin made her heart pound, as though he could sit up at any minute and beat her again. The sight made her weak in the knees, and she had to support herself on the wall of metal beside her.
"Father," she said, her voice lacking the pleasant tone reserved for greetings. "It hasn't been long enough…" Sakura ran her hand through her hair. She'd had a monologue prepared on the trip down here, but at the sight of him it left her head completely. "I suppose this would have been what you wanted, to haunt me even in death. To make me wake up screaming because I think you're still lurking around every corner. Well, whatever you're doing in the afterlife to scare me…it's working. I haven't stopped thinking about you. I've been reliving everything.
"But I also remember things before the accident. When we were happy…all three of us. And I wondered what happened to make you this way, to make you sell off your own daughter. It's not the first time I've wondered, but Mom doesn't like talking about it. Of course, I didn't come down here to question you. You've never let me do that anyway." She took a deep breath, staring at closed eyes that had once been so cruel.
"I'm tired. I'm tired of being afraid…of being paranoid. I'm not going to let you control me anymore. I told you once that I was going to be the best kunoichi, and I still am. That's one thing of mine that you've never been able to touch. All of my other dreams you killed before my eyes, but not this one. And even when I remember all the times you broke me, I have people now." Images of her friends and Sasuke flashed through her mind. "People who will help me pick up the pieces and make them so you can't taint them ever again. It won't be easy trying to forget you, but I think I'll manage.
"You know what nearly killed me at first though? I thought that I'd killed you. It would be just like you to turn me into a murderer as revenge…your last attempt to control me. But you know what they told me? I missed…The bullet wasn't even close, but apparently it scared you just enough to press the button. Your death was practically a suicide. You didn't even kill the three men you sent to kill me. But…even though I've thought about doing it before, I'm glad I wasn't the one who killed you. I'm glad I don't ever have to live with that.
"And I've met someone now. And I love him." A small smile appeared on her face. "You'll never be able to touch that, either.
"So goodbye, daddy. I wish it could have been different. Even though everything didn't work out for the best, I'm not going to live in fear anymore. I'm free to love…free to be myself…free to pursue my own dreams…with Sasuke…with mother…with my friends. We're going to be happy, and you? You're not going to stop me anymore." With one last look, Sakura grabbed the plastic to cover him again. It had gotten easier towards the end, and right now confidence swelled through her. She could make it.
With no warning, the doors opened and a wailing, brunette woman that Sakura had never seen before walked in. The pink haired medic dropped the sheet in surprise, especially when she was completely ignored. Instead, the woman took one look at the man lying before Sakura and let out a fierce cry, tears streaming down her cheeks as she threw herself on top of the body and sobbed.
Sakura's blood ran cold. Who was this woman that she would throw herself on top of the corpse of an abusive parent? Not to mention a body that was charred almost to the point where it was unrecognizable. Sakura swallowed and grimaced when the woman hugged the body tightly, the stench of decay working its way around the room. She stood there for a few moments, unsure of what to do.
"Excuse me," Sakura began warily when the woman's sobs died down a little. "Who are you?" Because really, she had every right to know who this mysterious woman was. Especially when the same woman had just despaired over the death of her father and the man who had abused her for a lifetime. The woman looked up with more than a few sniffles, finally realizing there was someone else in the room. Her chocolate brown eyes were full of sadness and anger behind the tears.
"I'm his wife."
And Sakura couldn't help but notice that she was very, very pregnant.
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Author's Notes: And thus concludes another chapter with a nail-biting cliffhanger. Uh oh! What is going to happen now? As always, please review and tell me what you think!