Illusionist813: haha welcome back...And don't worry, everything will be alright soon! It's coming I promise!
CookiecrumbleMilkSplash0331: Welcome to the lovely world of reviewers. Uhm, here is the next chapter, and thank you for liking my story!
Sasusakufan9573: I agree, we should slap both of them on the back of the hand! haha...
HikariZaichuYami: I think you're right, but I think it's kinda weird that Sasuke is pmsing...hehe...Uhm, I changed the weight thing, thanks for pointing that out. I don't think they can shoot the lady, uhm, no guns...but i can think of many things that would be effective torture times! Stupid woman, thinking she's a medic and wanting to take the baby! SHE'S GONNA DIE! Oh wait, she did! Mwhahahahahhaha! And thanks for the message, that helped the inspiration!
Lee Wolf 10: Welcome to the reviewing land! I'm glad you like my story! And that it's something you like when it's not your usual cup of tea. That makes it so much better for me!
Kaydreams: I agree! The woman should have had more torturing! HOW DARE SHE! *grumbles and plots how to revive then torture, maim and kill woman again* Sasuke better be good!
Blue Wallpaper: I could see Tsuande running through the forest and knocking people over to get to Sakura. This chapter will explain while no one else went to talk to Sakura. And Kisame! Ohhh how he angered me! But it's okay now! And thanks for giving me the spell check. I don't have a beta, so I just do what I can.
TheBLOfSH: All of your Why's will be answered soon! Soon as in this chapter and the next!
Minniemousemom: Thanks, the last chapter, this one and the next chapter are my favorites! My babies so to speak...
Mistyfire: O_O well I think I just found Sakura's inner....I think a visit from Angel would be nice...for me though. (hahaha) Uhm, I think the pitchforks and textbooks would be good. Dancing ponies and homework could work too. FBI would work, for me again, but only if it's Booth from the show Bones. (Angel and Booth are played by the same actor)...Uhm, he broke Sakura yes, and he shall have to deal with it! You cried?!?! I didn't know I was that good a writer! haha
Empty-spaces: Thank you so much! Bipolar Sakura must be hard to deal with, so lets hope Sasuke lives. And you are correct, I do get a sadistic pleasure from making Sasuke suffer...hehe
Tiger Priestess: Poor Sakura! And yes, Sakura took a coma, forced as it was! And I lied! I'm Sorry! So this chapter was never supposed to be posted. It just randomly wrote itself and now I have to post it! Uhm...so this chapter is one I love too, but it's not the one everyone's been waiting for! I promise, the chapter after this one is the one you're waiting for!
Alayneni: I think that after this chapter you will be happy! But I've been wrong before, things will change eventually! Siding with Sasuke? First time for everything right?
Ben's Wife: Welcome to the review world...Or have you already reviewed and my mind just died on me? Uhm, here's what next! haha Enjoy!
Moonlight Ookami: Thank you! I think the last chapter, this chapter and the one after will be the best ever! Enjoy!
To Everyone!:I lied! I'm SORRY! So I know I said that this chapter was going to be the one everyone's waiting for...BUT! This one just randomly wrote itself, mocked my intelligence by needing to be posted before the one everyone is waiting for, and now here it is. This one is short I know, but again, Sasuke's side of things just had to be written and posted. *sigh* I THINK I did an okay job writing Sasuke...but I don't know...Uhm, ENJOY! And leave a Review! =)
-Lady-of-Laughter
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Sasuke had never been big on feelings, never could say what he wanted to with ease. For most of his life his emotions had consisted of scorn, pride and hatred. He had hardly had time to feel anything at all besides hatred, it was amazing in and of itself that he had even felt scorn or pride at any time. But somehow, and not even he knew how it was possible, she had done it.
Carefully built walls had been slowly infiltrated; protected emotions had taken a tiny ray of sun and warmth and locked it away deep inside. Sakura had been, even as an annoying child who needed protection, the cheerful and bright definition of life, even in her inadequacy. To know life was to know Sakura, to have her near and to feel the warmth of her gaze. The dazzle of her shining green eyes while above her head a soft halo of pink set her skin aglow in the light had drawn much attention.
Over the years, as she grew and matured, Sakura had become a beautiful and vibrant symbol of life. And to Sasuke, who had been hidden away and trained in a world of complete darkness and hate, even the smallest ray of light seemed glaring. To him, the man who was practically the opposite of Sakura, he didn't think that he would ever be able to live for half a second should that light be extinguished.
Sasuke knew he was still labeled a traitor by some of the more angry older citizens of the village. And who could blame them, the older ones remembered him leaving, and they remembered hearing about everything he had ever done while being a missing-nin. Years of training and life in Sound had changed him, adding to the hate and scorn that was so prevalent in his life.
He was a symbol of darkness and death to the world just as Sakrua was the symbol of life and light. Sasuke had grown into a man in a place where he had to be strong or die, where he had to become the silent night just to be able to move from his room. Training and opened his eyes to harsh truths, not all mentors were going to make sure you didn't die in the process of training.
Yes, it was true that Orochimaru had never let him die no matter how taxing the training, but that was mostly Kabuto's duty. Make sure the Uchiha boy didn't die so that the body could be used for Orochimaru at the correct time. At times the whisperings of new Sound recruits could be heard talking about him. Things like that Sasuke had always recalled with a sadistic pleasure.
Empty onyx eyes could almost literally pierce a heart if a person merely stepped in his way while in the hallways. Should he activate his Sharingan and his eyes bleed with a crimson light, death was soon to visit the object of his displeasure. Raven black hair was the representation of his heart, black and unfeeling. His body, though making every girl swoon at the thought of just touching him, was a lethal weapon in and of itself. It was a simple fact in Sound, death by the hands of the Uchiha would be unpleasant.
Akatsuki had been much the same, only he had not lived in the shadows or underground. He had lived his dark world while walking in the sunshine of the world. But by that time the darkness had been inside, snuffing out any small hint of light. His heart had truly become black with hatred and unsatisfying revenge. The truth about his brother had nearly sent him over the brink and into insanity.
Only the renewed revenge of taking down Akatsuki had kept him in sane, but that had lasted only so long. After a few years the hatred had dimmed, but there had not been much to live for. Dismantling Sound had been his last objective before he had decided to wander the world, hopefully finding something to occupy his mind. The thought of returning to Konoha had drawn him in, he had wanted to go home, but he hadn't known if he would be able to manage it.
And then he had been captured, and the sight of Sakura, older and more mature, had nearly knocked from his head the sense that had made his strategizing effective. She had that effect on people. He knew that it was something of the same with Ino, both women walked into a room and every male would snap their heads in the direction of the women in complete attention.
Every head looked in his direction, but that was for the simple reason that he was dangerous. Even the densest civilian would eventually turn, tuck tail and flee if Sasuke so much as grunted in disapproval over something. And yet, over the years one ray of light had refused, in the most annoying way, to die out. Like its owner the light had continued to shine brightly in the most hidden recesses of the dark mind.
In his own world, back in the Uchiha complex, she had been there. To his dark mind even with its hatred, she had found some way to brighten his world, to shower just a sprinkle of hope. And that light had grown and expanded after he had married her, her light and life, even in her anger, had brought to his shrouded world the light that his heart had longed for.
And as Sasuke paced in a rhythmic walk forward, turn and walk back, while letting fury funnel through his viens, his mind drew only a dark blank. There was only one simple fact about Uchiha Sasuke that anyone who cared to look would see. Uchiha Sakura was hope, life and the very reason his heart beat on. That she was his world would have been clear to anyone who looked hard enough, anyone looking would have seen that without Sakura, Sasuke was nothing but a hollow shell.
The pacing continued, as it had all night, he couldn't sleep without her next to him. As crude as it sounded nothing would change it, without her in his bed, Sasuke couldn't sleep well or even very long. She was the anchor to the world that kept his mind from drowning in the darkness. She was his life's light. And the darkness was creeping back, seeking to suffocate him from living his life to the fullest yet again.
That she had left, knowing that she was pregnant, upset him enough without the knowledge that she was facing down three Akatsuki members. In his agonized waiting Sasuke was unaware of the many muscles jumping at the stress levels he was harboring. His mind couldn't hardly function enough to understand how she could have justified leaving, let alone conjure up how she would win in this battle against people he knew to be just about unbeatable.
His heart, growing cold and hard once again without the life that Sakura made it feel, was starting to tear. He hadn't known it was possible, yet his heart ached physically for no reason. To say that Sasuke was brooding in silent anxiety and anger was an understatement. Just a while ago Naruto had visited, but that had ended badly. Sasuke wasn't even sure what had transpired, but he remembered Naruto running from the house while Sasuke had released some of his pent up anger by tossing a chair out a window.
He hadn't told anyone yet that Sakura was pregnant; he couldn't bring himself to say it to anyone just yet. It was a secret, his secret with his wife. But Sasuke was waiting for the word; Sakura hadn't said anything via bells in some time. The fact that Kakashi had allowed twice the allotted time to pass without starting to worry angered him. Most claimed that she had simply fallen asleep without being able to send in a message.
They had allowed her another day, and then another, and yet another day. But after today, if Kakashi did nothing, Sasuke would go retrieve his wife from where ever she was. Whether he went alone or not, Sasuke was going to get his wife home safely. A knock at his door had Sasuke striding that way with a purposeful gait. Yanking the door open with more force than was truly necessary, Sasuke scowled.
The Jounin at the door visibly quaked, but at least it wasn't one of the Uchiha clan children as it had been yesterday. They hadn't been by lately, and Sasuke knew it was because of his mood. But he didn't care, Sasuke wanted his wife home, and he wanted her home now.
"Th-the Hokage w-wants to see y-you." After the man's stuttered message was out the Jounin was gone, obviously fleeing the wrath that Sasuke might have decided to take out on the terrified man. Lifting the pack by the door, that had been packed and waiting since the day Sakura left, Sasuke was gone. Immediately Sasuke was in the Hokage's office, mentally swearing to himself that if Kakashi stated that a mission was ready for Sasuke, one that did not involve him retrieving his wife, Sasuke wasn't sure if he would be allowed to live let alone live in the village after taking action.
"Here is the mission. You're the leader. With you are Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, Sai, Mayumi, Kiba and Emiko. Added to that will be four medics, I'm taking no chances, I've waited too long as it is." Kakashi let Sasuke read the mission scroll, silently feeling intense guilt; he should have sent them long ago to get Sakura.
"I want Tsunade on the mission." Even though Kakashi knew that Sasuke could be demanding, he hadn't known that Sasuke would go that far. Sasuke didn't particularly care what anyone thought, he would have Tsunade as a medic on this mission, and there would be no arguing about it. Sure it was impertinent to demand anyone for a mission, let alone the former Hokage and current head doctor. But this was Sakura they were going after.
"Sasuke, I think the medics chosen will be fine, Tsuande chose them herself, and they are all capable." Irritation set in and the fathomless onyx eyes glinted with the dreaded lethal warning. Only a fool would have disregarded that look, and Kakashi, though perverted and never punctual, was not a fool. With a glance at Shizune, who stood off to the side, Kakashi glanced at the others assembled.
Naruto was cringing, Shiakamaru looked on with a lifted brow, Emiko and Mayumi stood tense, Kiba and Sai had involuntarily strayed a few inches towards their respective Haruno girl with distinct protective tendencies of movement while Hinata stood slightly behind Naruto with a look of worry in her pearly eyes. They had every reason to be tense; the aura of Sasuke chakra was nearly thick enough to choke those in the room.
"She's pregnant." Sasuke's voice sliced through the air, stern and uncompromising. A gasp from all four girls told him that he was understood. Kiba and Sai exchanged uneasy glances while Shikamaru's eyes widened in horror. Shizune had simply spun on her heels and run, to Tsunade if Sasuke was allowed to guess. Kakashi's face, hidden as it was, showed shock, now he understood why Sasuke was so agitated. Sasuke would want the best medic on the journey, because Sakura's could be in a very bad position.
"Tsunade's pregnant? Is that even possible? And what does that have to do with us going to get Sakura?" And then there was Naruto. The dobe just had to go above and beyond the limitations of idiocy and beat out everyone to reach a new level. Different noises of disgust came from everyone in the room as Sasuke rounded on Naruto.
"Sakura. Sakura is pregnant, dobe." Sasuke's words were given dead pan, not that it did anything to Naruto, who merely went slack jawed. Then chaos broke out as Tsunade barged into the office, demanding to know the truth. During her tirade Sasuke was sure he had heard a few choice words and threats aimed at him. After a few moments of everyone trying to explain, Sasuke stopped the pandimonum with one spoken word.
"Stop." Sasuke had more command than any Hokage at that moment, every head turned to stare at him. With only a few short words Sasuke had demanded that they be at the main gate in twenty minutes, and that Tsunade had better be among those headed out. Tsunade glared, but she gave no objection, instead she turned and stalked out of the office in a fine fury.
From then on it was mind numbing prepetition and terse demands to know what, if anything, the Haruno girls could hear from Sakura. For a week they traveled, to the place where Kakashi had sent Sakura and then followed her trail to an old Sound base. Finding himself at a previous home Sasuke felt the familiar shutters of Sound training kicking back in. The worst thing in his mind at seeing the base was that his skin crawled with the singular thought that Sakura was in a Sound base.
Broken branches in the surrounding area told them a fight had occurred. With Kiba and Akamaru's help they had picked up Sakura's trail for a while. But after only a short while the faint scent had vanished. Time and anxiety was working against Sasuke as they traveled, the Haruno girls keeping up a steady stream of calls for Sakura to answer.
Finally, after waiting what seemed to be an eternity to Sasuke, the Haruno girls stopped from eating breakfast and snapped to attention. Both stood frozen facing the same direction with expressions of intense concentration. Silence blanketed the clearing as every person stilled all movement to listen for a sound they would never hear.
Instantly the two Haruno girls sprang into action, hastily grabbing their things and yelling for everyone to follow them. The flight of ninja into the tress was immediate and silent, as they went Sasuke gave an order that made everyone rebel inwardly, even as they outwardly nodded in understanding. They understood that it was important to keep their distance, just in case, but that didn't mean they were happy with it.
"If it's unsafe for her to be around people, no one is to approach her but me. The only one who should be near her other than myself is Tsuande. Understood?" Sasuke's demand was spoken with a deep warning tone; anyone going against his will would meet with instantaneous horror. Naruto went red with suppressed anger, but Tsunade was the only one to make a sound, and she merely snorted in anger as she glared at Sasuke.
Sasuke knew very well that Tsunade would have had his head on a silver platter if she had the choice. But it was out of her hands, if Sakura was alive and pregnant, Sasuke would be needed. But that wouldn't stop her from glaring a hole into his back until her eyes fell out. Sasuke couldn't care less about that though; his mind was wholly and completely consumed with finding his wife and securing her to a safe position.
After a short time the Haruno girls halted, holding silent and still while listening. When they said that Sakura was no long communitacting with her bells, Sasuke had Kiba try to find any scent, thinking that it was possible that any passerby in this area would be in league with Kisame. Although it was very likely that no one in league with Kisame would live for more than half a millisecond should Sasuke get within ten miles of the person.
When Kiba said he could get nothing regarding a scent, Sasuke gave the order to continue on in the direction they had been going. Sasuke was a patient man, he was well known for his control and ability to wait things out. Hadn't he waited years to get revenge? Hadn't he waited and plan and been in control? Yes, he had, and yet Sasuke found himself slipping in the patience department.
As the days past in travel Sasuke fought to drown his rising irritation and frustration in cold calculating fury. As they traveled he became more quiet and stern, going so far as to revert back to Sound training and becoming aloof. He kept himself away from everyone, watching in silence and keeping everyone at arm's length. Blank stares were quickly returning to the number one look that was seen on Sasuke's face.
Naruto was the only one who had tried to speak to Sasuke, but had finally gone back to Hinata in discouragement given the fact that Sasuke hadn't so much as glanced his way during the time he had tried speaking to him. Not until they got another message from Sakura and could keep traveling did Sasuke show any sign of being remotely human. And the only sign of humanity in Sasuke was his unbending fury, which, unbeknownst to the others covered the anxiety he felt for his wife.
Days later, finally having found a trace of Sakura's chakra signature, the group ran swiftly towards where her signature was. The bells called constantly, but they received no answer. For a while Sasuke had almost thought his heart would stop when her signature started fleeing from his group which was traveling swiftly. But then her signature was coming back to them, and relief coursed through him. Not that anyone would ever know that he felt such things.
With his group behind him Sasuke landed in a clearing, the others close behind him. The medics, other than Tsunade, were dressed as regular ANBU to keep speculation away if anyone saw a large group of ninja traveling with three medics. It would be a dead giveaway that they were after someone of importance who could be wounded. The only difference was that their bags were full of medical supplies opposed to weapons and the like.
A Kunai was lodged in a tree by Kiba's head, but hardly anyone noticed. A green glow surrounded Sakura's body while pink tattoo lines on her body were exposed by her ragged and ripped clothes. Her eyes, the mesmerizing green eyes that could make Sasuke a slave to Sakura's will with one look, seemed to shine all the brighter as the whites of her eyes gave off a soft pink glow.
Sasuke noticed that everyone had taken off their masks, staring at the battle field around them, and also the deceased Kisame. At the sight of Kisame's lifeless body and his wife standing in realatively good health, Sasuke moved. A blur in the light and unseen in shadows or the darkness of night Sasuke moved with unheard of speed, but never like he had when running to stand only feet from his wife.
From nowhere she had a Shuriken in her hand while he noticed her labored breathing. She looked like a ghost, so pale and thin, yet Sasuke couldn't think of a time she had ever been more beautiful or alive to him. The sudden and consuming urge to hold her and never let go nearly made Sasuke break his stone mask and move to pick her up.
"You came for me?" Her words, whispered in awe, struck him like a mace to the face, effectively pulling him from his second of near crumbling in composure. Sasuke felt his restraints break, every last vestige of control that Sasuke had ever gained over the years shattered and left Sasuke feeling numb. His mind went blank while he felt an anger that he hadn't known possible bring ever last nerve ending to life.
Not even his hatred for his brother had ever been near this level of anger. She didn't think he would come for her? What would possibly convince her that he wouldn't care to see her safely home? Hadn't he been the one to object to these missions? Did she have any inkling as to the worry that had eaten away at him? He hadn't even known he was capable of worry anymore!
With a harsh glare Sasuke spoke without considering his words, not once had he spoken without knowing what he wanted to say or meaning what he said. And yet Sakura said four little words and the brilliant mind of the Uchiha prodigy went out the window for a little stroll along the river bank! How she infuriated and confused him! And nothing confused him, until Sakura!
"You carry my son; of course I came for you!" His words came out in a hiss while his mind immediately began a barrage of cursing at himself. Even his mind knew better than to have said such a thing, yet his mouth had just blurted it out before his rational mind could dispose of such an abusive lie. Even his body rebelled against the lie, turning the burning anger in his gut into a cold stone of horror.
He didn't mean it, but Sasuke couldn't fathom where that had even come from. And as he watched his wife grow still Sasuke knew a dread that did it's best to turn him into a statue of sudden loss and devastation, even if his face gave no indication of the turmoil in his mind. But everything inside of him went still with dread when Sakura changed, in the blink of an eye the Sakura he knew was gone.
Her eyes, still glowing faintly, lost the inner light of life. Her eyes turned to cold emeralds as she turned her now blank face away from him. The very light that had worked to make him the tiniest bit human vanished, the life that was Sakura fled like a blossom in a hurricane. Her body relaxed and Sasuke watched as she slightly sagged, just barely holding herself up as she spoke words that sent spikes of ice into his thawing heart.
"Then I'm afraid you've wasted your time. There was a lot of blood and pain, I've lost the baby. What was I thinking? As if you would actually come to get me, simply because I am me, I should have known better. Sorry." Like someone had sent a Chidori into his heart Sasuke felt acute pain, for himself or his wife he didn't know. But the loss weighed heavily on him, and that was when he really started to search her body for injury.
She seemed fine physically, but that meant nothing in the emotional and mental departments of a person's being. And all Sasuke could think was that if this hurt him so much, how much would it be hurting her? Again the urge to sweep her into the protective circle of his arms almost overwhelmed him, but the bitterness on her face hurt him the most.
She looked old, older than anyone her age had the right to look. She looked old, haggard and bitter, and Sasuke was well aware that it was entirely his fault. If he wasn't so set on making sure she arrived home safely, and was taken care of the rest of her life, Sasuke might very well have finally suffered from a mental break down and taken his own life for penance. But Sakura would need him now more than ever, even if she didn't want him.
A crash was heard as Sasuke became aware of his surroundings. Tsunade was rushing for Sakura, the three medics with their party all rising from where she had shoved them all out of her way. And then Sasuke found that he was no longer the center of Sakura's world as her eyes shifted to her mentor and mother figure.
"Sakura! My child! Why didn't tell us you were pregnant before leaving? The battle could have waited!" It was then that Tsunade took over the situation as her apprentice fell limply into her waiting arms. Sasuke contained the jealousy with an iron clad will, using a super human effort to keep himself from ripping Sakura away from Tsunade and into his own arms.
"I've lost the baby. Tell Sasuke he has wasted his time coming for his child. He should have stayed in Konoha and looked for new bride candidates in case I don't make it." Her words, spoke with a heart's anguish, hit like a javelin in the gut and an axe to the heart. Sasuke could honestly say that he would never take anyone other than Sakura as his wife, even if she died, Sasuke would never find another woman who would live up to her standards.
But the moment Sakura drifted into unconsciousness Tsunades did something Sasuke didn't expect. Setting Sakura on the ground, Tsunade swiftly checked over her apprentice and barked harsh orders over her shoulder. The rest of the group was to stay here and take care of the bodies; Sasuke and Tsunade were going home with Sakura, now.
The chakra needed to teleport home, from this place, would be dangerous for most, impossible for many. That Tsuande and Sasuke had a reserve of chakra big enough to get them home, though very possibly drained of most of their chakra, was lucky. From what Tsunade said, Sakura needed medical help, and now, or she might not make it. The others got to disposing of the body, and the others that were starting to smell since they had been out for two days.
As Tsunade ordered, Sasuke nodded his consent, and both Sasuke and Tsunade performed the needed hand signs to get them home. Tsuande made sure to have Sakura securely held in her protective arms before teleporting away. Both popped into the hospital emergency area, Tsunade sagging from the drain of chakra. Beside her Sasuke stood in stone cold silence, not completely drained of chakra, but he knew he would be pushing his luck if he tried anything more than walking up a tree.
As soon as Tsuande was aware of her surroundings she began yelling like a banshee. Ever nurse in the hospital heard the orders for a bed and immediate help. Sasuke could do nothing but stand in silence and watch with a scowl as the nurses and doctors ran up to help. The yell of 'hurry and clear the room, she's got a collapsed lung!' nearly made Sasuke lose control and fling every medical personnel out of his way to get to his wife.
If she died, Sasuke couldn't be sure that the doctors and nurses who failed would live. The Uchiha children would do fine without him if he had to be put in prison or executed, but so help him; he had lived so long without her. He had finally gotten the thing he had wanted. Sakura had filled the gaping hole in his heart and life, like nothing else ever had since the massacre of his clan.
She was his life and the reason his heart beat! He was literally nothing without her, an empty shell at best.
