A Deep Cry

Chapter 21

He felt a stroke on his cheek. He flinched and gasped. He was quivering. He slightly titled his head and moaned. He just realized that he somehow fell asleep on the cold floor.

When he woke up, he found his hands and legs unchained. But he was in the same filthy room with the awful odor that his nose refuses to adjust too. He shifted to his side and moaned. His head hurt. It was still spinning.

He sat up with much effort and scanned the place. The corpse of the guy that Sai killed was still there. He couldn't ignore it. He felt sick from looking at it and started throwing up.

The door opened up slowly. He raised his tired eyes and stared at it. A masked boy walked in. Sasuke knew him. He called,

"Sai?"

"….."

"Is that you?"

"….."

"It's you, isn't it?"

"….."

"I know it's you!"

"…."

"Answer me, dammit!"

"You have a phone call."

"Ha…!"

He blinked while following the masked boy with his eyes. The boy kneeled near him and said,

"Talk to him. He wants to know that you're still alive."

Sasuke gasped and opened his eyes widely. His eyebrows were lowered. He asked,

"Why are you doing this, Sai? Don't use me like this!"

"Tell him to come get you."

Sasuke shook his head and begged,

"No! Sai! Stop this! Please! You can't do this! You can't be doing this! This isn't you!"

"It's Naruto. Tell him to come save you."

"Why… why are dragging people into this? What's your purpose? Why Naruto?"

"Not just Naruto. You're brother too."

Sasuke jolted. He shook his head in rejection and begged more,

"Please don't do this, Sai! Not to my brother… not to my friend... Please… This isn't you… You can't—

"Shhhh. It's ringing."

Sasuke gaped his mouth and lowered his head,

"There is nothing I could do about this… there is nothing I could say to stop them from coming… I'm helpless…

I don't even know why this is happening… I can't escape it…

I'm being used, as a bait to trap my brother and friend…!

This is the worst…!

Why did I let something like this happen…?"

Sasuke murmured with his wide opened eyes starring idly at the filthy floor,

"No matter what I say… no matter what I say or how much I beg… you just won't stop doing this… would you, Sai?"

Sai put the phone near Sasuke's cheek and said,

"Talk to him."

Sasuke gazed at Sai's eyes sadly. He then shifted his pupils slowly to the corner of his eyes and sealed his lips. He shut his eyes and let two lonely tears wet his eyelashes.

He could hear someone breathing at the other end of the line. He knew it was Naruto. Itachi wouldn't breath restlessly like that. Itachi was always capable of keeping his calmness.

Sasuke could tell that Naruto was terrified. He could picture his worried blue eyes wavering anxiously over this. He couldn't drag him into this. He shivered in tears, knowing that nothing he'd say would stop them from coming…

"Why is this happening? Why did I let them take me hostage?

Why am I dragging everyone into this? What is this? What's going on?

Please… make it stop…"

He thought maybe if he at least warned them. Then they wouldn't come unprepared. It's all he could think of… It's all he could do… He murmured with a thin tear sliding against his sore cheek,

"It's... a trap… don't…—

He couldn't even finish that line. His face was grabbed and his eyes were covered. He was pushed backwards until he fell on his back and hit his head against the cold floor. He let a cry of pain escape his lips.

"Uuuhhhh…"

He heard someone talk on the phone. It wasn't Sai's voice. He heard him say,

"He's fucking alive. That's all you need to know. Happy now?"

"Easy now. I still have your precious little friend here. Behave."

"We weren't going too but he made us hurt him… a little."

"This is your fault. I suggest you go think about the mistake you've done until the time we meet."

He didn't move. Sai's hand was still covering his eyes. He thought,

"Mistake? What mistake? What is he talking about? Is this some kind of punishment? For what?"

Sasuke asked in a voice full of pain,

"What do you plan to do to them?"

"You need to go to sleep now. Your role is done."

"You will pay for this… Sai… I promise…"

Sasuke felt a cold needle piercing through his neck. His body started going numb instantly. He murmured until he totally last his consciousness,

"I'll never forgive you for this… Sai… I won't ever forget this… I'll make sure—

Sai could feel the pain in Sasuke's voice and breaths. He didn't move for a moment. His head was lowered and his hands were still covering the dark eyes he was so found of. His mask was coving his face but it wasn't covering his pain of guilt. He shut Sasuke's eyes and wiped his tears gently with his fingers.

"Stop begging! Please just stop begging!

We have a code to honor.

"If a human learns about our existence, then that human must either die or become one of us."

I must honor that code. It protects us…

And… I don't want to go with either of those options…

I want you to stay alive, Sasuke… I want you to stay human…"

Sai knew that, for the proud Sasuke he knows, being used to lure his brother and his friends was the worst situation he could ever be put through. He knew that he was ready to die for their sakes. He knew that he wished he had the power to stop this. And He knew that Sasuke wished that he had never answered that ominous phone call…

Earlier that day, Sasuke received a call from an unknown caller. He ignored it but when the caller insisted. He answered,

"Yes?"

"Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Who is this?"

"A friend."

Sasuke crooked an eyebrow and asked,

"Don't you have a name?"

"I don't want to tell you my name."

"What do you want?"

"I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"About Naruto."

"What about him?"

"Meet me outside."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm near your house. Come outside for a second."

"What the…? I'm not interested."

"Fine… Do you know who attacked you at the university?"

Sasuke opened his eyes widely in a shock,

"Who the hell is this?"

"It was I!"

"Who are you?"

"I have a proof too! Come meet me."

Sasuke crooked his eyebrows and asked,

"What's your propose?"

"You clueless fool!" he laughed.

"Drop dead. I'm not interested in meeting you. Some fucked up logic you have there, you foolish bastard. You're expecting me to come meet you when you've just confessed that you were the one who attacked me? What the fuck is wrong with you? Are you even sober? I can't believe I let a moron like you come near me! I'm so offended I think I'm going to cry."

Sasuke ended the call. Even though he was putting a tough act, he was still shaken. His knees felt weak and his throat felt dry. He sat on his bed and grabbed the water bottle that was placed on the nightstand. He suddenly felt too tired and wanted to just drop his body on the bed. He opened the bottle and the lid fell off his shaky hand and hit the floor. He ignored it and lifted the bottle to his mouth, gulped the water greedily, spilling some on his chin. He exhaled then he threw his body on the bed and threw the bottle on the floor carelessly.

"What am I worried about? That was a bully…. Why am I so shaken by this?"

His phone rang again. He looked at it in anxiety. He glanced at the caller ID without touching the phone.

"Unknown."

He swallowed and stared with sharp, doubtful eyes…

"That's the same guy… What does he want? Is he threatening me? What should I do about this? Call the police?"

Sasuke picked the phone and declined the call. He dialed Itachi's number instead of the police. He didn't know why he did that. Itachi didn't answer. Sasuke shut the phone, and before he called anyone else, his phone started ringing again. Sasuke had to put his phone on silence to shut it.

He kept wondering who was that and why was he doing this. He got off the bed and walked to the window. He peeked then he gasped and leaned back.

" S… someone is there…!"

He turned the lights off and peeked again. His eyes opened widely! He could see a masked man wearing a gray cloak. The man was clearly looking at his window. He noticed the phone in his hand and that it was lit. He glanced at his own phone. It was still ringing.

Sasuke picked his phone, declined the call and before he dialed Shisui's number, the glass behind him suddenly scattered to pieces. Sasuke shut his eyes and covered his head instinctively. He then felt a firm hit on the back of his neck. He gasped and halted. He felt his body go numb and his brain shutting down. He lost his balance and fell while losing his consciousness slowly. His vision blurred and he started falling.

His eyelids shut. His body numbed. All voices died. And everything went black…

To be continued