A Different Take – Chapter 6
They traveled on for two more days, making Sakura think they had probably traveled through and out of Fire Country. But she wasn't familiar enough with the area to say.
Sasuke followed her everywhere like a shadow since taking over prisoner duty, but despite her earlier attempts to force conversation he refused to explain himself any further.
She naturally woke with the sun, a habit most ninjas developed during their Jounin training. She climbed out of her sleeping bag and efficiently rolled it up and tossed it out of the tent. Her cuffs hindered her as she crawled after her roll. Once free of the tent she stood up, arching her back and stretching her hands high. She sighed as her back cracked and stretched further, higher; releasing tension from sleeping on the hard ground. It felt luxurious.
But that moment before Sasuke followed her out of the tent was one of the only moments she had alone for the rest of that day.
And the day that followed that one went about the same. Sasuke's watch over her ever vigilant.
Now they had moved from rolling hills to small mountains, the rocky terrain becoming more difficult to traverse. Every path seemed to climb up in a deep slope.
They made camp that night near the base of a smaller mountain range that Sakura thought looked vaguely familiar to her.
The next morning Sakura noticed Sasuke set a more relaxed pace as they wove between and up and down the mountain ranges. Perhaps they were nearing their destination?
They might have only been a few kilometers in distance from their destination, but the climb up the mountain took the better part of the morning. Sakura was still weak from her chakra depletion during capture, but she refused to ask Sasuke to stop for a break. Her legs burned but she pushed through, her Inner swearing profusely with each step.
Early in the afternoon they began to travel down into a valley between the peaks. Sakura was coated in sweat and had given up trying to cover her hard breathing hours ago, but the sight of the forest declining ahead forced her to crack a small smile of relief nonetheless.
The trip down flies by compared to the trek up and soon Sakura realizes the trees have begun to thin, creating a pathway through the previously dense foliage.
As they travel into the valley, a path begins to become discernable from the undergrowth. Barely noticeable at first, then clear in patches at a time until finally becoming a poorly groomed dirt path winding between the ancient trees. Sakura wonders if this means they are nearing their destination, but they continue until the sun is heavy in the sky, with less and less natural light breaking through the canopy for them to see by.
Surely now if feels as though they are descending again? It's hard to tell without being able to see more than a few meters ahead or behind herself through the heavy foliage, but there is the familiar pull of gravity each time she steps; her foot falls a little heavier to the ground.
A low brick wall suddenly emerges alongside the path, and the trees begin to thin. Although now there is so little light in the sky it barely makes a difference to their visibility. The forest changes from towering evergreens and ancient oaks with trunks larger than some of the houses in Konoha to younger trees and slim birches. The stifling weight of something that feels far more ancient than her lightens as well as they move into this new region of the forest. She had always felt comfort surrounded by nature. The smells and the sounds of the leaves in the wind soothed some of the pain she would always carry in her soul. There were many moral consequences to her line of work that weren't always easy to carry. Both as a healer and as a kunoichi.
They continue along a simple raised wood walkway across a rocky area before coming up to an old temple. Sakura's eyes snap to attention at the new scenery around her, fully alert after hours of hiking through trees that looked identical to the trees before and those before that. The archway looms before them now, easily reaching a story or two high. Old faded red doors that have clearly become victim to the ravages of time block their way. The paint is chipped and the wood splintering in areas. Sakura doubts she would even need to summon her enhanced strength to break through them.
Sasuke walks straight up to the doors and knocks loudly three times. After a moment's pause, the doors groan open just wide enough to pass through single file. Sasuke steps back and looks to her expectantly, making an impatient gesture for her to go first. She's far too tired to bother making things difficult for him at this point, so she concedes and steps softly through the doors.
As her gaze lands upon the scenery beyond the outer gate she realizes they have indeed entered an old temple. Contrary to the outside gate, the inner grounds are well kept. In front of her the dirt path becomes wood and bridges across a large pond, leading right up to the main building that rises proudly before her.
Sasuke comes to stand beside her, before leading ahead. Of course he would expect her to just follow, as she would've in the past. She's tempted for a moment not too, if only because she knows it would bother him. With a sigh she stifles her temper and follows after him as he steps onto the bridge. Now is not the time to cause a fuss, not when she's in completely unfamiliar territory with no idea of the numbers she may face. And chakra-less. She thinks bitterly.
She gazes around the courtyard as she follows him, the main building ahead of them extends out to the sides before partially wrapping around the rest of the courtyard. She can't help but wonder what the purpose of this base is. There's no question that it's remote location would make it very difficult to find, but that also made it a difficult base to supply. So why the need for such isolation?
Stepping off the bridge, she walks a few more steps before climbing up the stairs to the temple. Part way up the steps, Sasuke stops and relieves the Sound ninja of their duty, barely turning over his shoulder to address them before moving ahead. The men disperse without a word, likely just grateful to be free of Sasuke's cold and unpredictable nature.
Sasuke leads them through the doors and continues briskly through the temple. It's a beautiful sight to behold with ceilings stretching high above her and natural light filtering in through open windows high on the walls. The shoji along the sides of the room depict vibrantly colored paintings of what appear to be old forest legends. She makes no effort to keep pace with Sasuke, despite his feigned disinterest in her she knows he is keeping track of her every move with an accuracy that no other man could possibly hope to match. She's not totally convinced that she's afraid of him yet either. Something just isn't making sense, and she's not even sure she'll be able to figure it out. It is Sasuke after all. She had thought she had known him once, but he'd made it clear she had never truly known anything about him. Sasuke's mind was a fortress only one person had ever been able to break through, and he wasn't here now.
She walks leisurely through the temple before following through the same door she had seen Sasuke walk through moments before. Sure enough, he is waiting just beyond the door, his expression unreadable. Without a word he continues on, passing by a few more doors before he slides a panel open to reveal another courtyard behind the main building. The familiar layout of training grounds sprawls out across the yard, contained within the temple's outer wall. On it a handful of soldiers can be seen moving through different exercises, while other spar off to the side.
Sasuke heads left, walking along the raised walkway until they reach the door at the end. He slides it open and steps inside, Sakura following afterwards.
"Suigetsu."
"Where the hell have you been? You bastard, I waited for like two hours on the training field the other day!" a young man with shockingly white hair and sharp teeth shouts at Sasuke from within the room.
"Hn."
"Come on, don't you think I deserve an answer this time?" This man, Suigetsu whines. Sakura wonders if this is a regular routine of theirs, it's feels so typically Sasuke.
"Orochimaru summoned me for a mission." Sasuke says in way of the apology the shark man is obviously fishing for before turning away from him to address Sakura, "You can wash up here." He unlocks her cuffs with a quick release jutsu, letting them drop loudly to the ground. "I'll be back later."
Sakura reflexively rubs her wrists. Days in those cuffs had rubbed great red welts across them that stung even now that the cuffs had finally come off. Out of habit she unconsciously pushes chakra to the area, reminded immediately by the uncomfortable burning sensation along her Chakra vessels that her chakra is mostly inaccessible to her. But the little stream of energy she can manipulate helps to close the seeping welts to prevent infection, if little else.
With that he turns on his heel and makes to head back out the door, "Watch her." He orders Suigetsu as he leaves.
"Ehhhh! Wait, WAIT! Sasuke!" Suigetsu yells after him.
Asshole, she thinks. Before a glimmer of hope begins to grow within as she realizes her chances of learning her new surroundings will be a lot easier without his watchful eye on her.
She peels her eyes away from the door Sasuke left through to look at her new keeper and guard. This shark toothed Suigetsu. She tries to keep her gaze neutral as she takes note of her surroundings. Indeed, she now stood in what must've been the changing room for what looked like the bathing quarters of a hot spring.
She quickly evaluates Suigetsu. At first glance he appears unarmed, but that immediately makes Sakura's guard go up. Kekkai Genkai weren't uncommon among Orochimaru's followers. Why carry weapons you don't need?
"That bastard…" Suigetsu scratches the back of his head glaring at the door Sasuke left through. "He needs to loosen up. Seriously." He sighs, then startles when he remembers Sakura.
"Right. Suigetsu." He says in way of introduction, grinning broadly at her. He reaches out his hand to shake hers. "What's your name Pinky?"
"Sakura," she answers as she eyes the hand he offers. She reluctantly lifts her hand to grasp his and he shakes it with gusto, resting his other hand on her shoulder as he does so.
"Sa-ku-ra," He repeats in a tune, "beautiful name for a beautiful girl." Sakura glares at his hand where it rests on her shoulder and then back up at Suigetsu, but he pays her no mind releasing her hand and using his other to guide her towards the exit to the baths.
"Right through here Pinky. Our one-stop shop to cleanliness, which y'know, they say is close to Godliness. So I'll just let you undress here and then we'll head on back." He rambles cheerfully on as they approach the bath entrance.
"You're coming in the baths with me?" Sakura interrupts him, unimpressed.
"Well, yeah. Sasuke said I had to watch you. How would I do so otherwise?" He replies innocently.
Sakura's Inner fumes.
"That's not happening." She retorts.
Then she takes a seat on a nearby bench and crosses her legs, indicating that she would not be going any further by choice. Not that she had gone anywhere thus far by choice, but she had a feeling she would get away with a lot more with this Suigetsu around than she did with Sasuke.
A bath, with soap and hot water sounded like absolute heaven right now, but like hell would she give any Sound ninja or followers of Orochimaru the satisfaction of seeing her naked. Like. Hell.
The temptation of a bath having been dangled in front of her and then so rudely taken away left her in a foul mood too.
"Aw. Come on… I was just kidding!" Suigetsu pouts, "Fine. Fine. I'll be waiting outside." He grumbles, and he drags his feet toward the door Sasuke had exited moments ago.
She sits frozen for a few moments, not entirely sure she believes him. But after a few minutes pass and he remains outside she begins to relax somewhat. Looking around, she spots a stack of towels in the corner, grabbing one. She faces her back towards the outside door and begins to pull off her clothes. They're stiff from days of dried sweat and blood and leave a lot to be desired in terms of smell. She wraps herself in a clean towel, and then grabs another since the moment that 'clean' towel touched her body it was no longer remotely clean. Then she heads out the exit to the baths.
Out the door, she follows a few flights of wooden stairs down a rocky slope that ends in a few rock pools, nestled in amount the trees. Judging by the steam she can see rising above them, they must be natural hot springs. She can't help the surge of excitement that rushes through her at the thought.
Picking up her pace she walks softly along the wooden platform at the base of the stairs and onto the rock face that surrounds the hot springs. She dips a foot into the nearest pool and sighs as the hot water caresses her toes.
She looks around, equally surprised and relieved when she confirms she is alone. Keeping her towel snuggly wrapped around her, she places her clean towel near the waters edge and begins to step into the bath. Once fully submerged she unwraps the now soaked towel, and tosses it unceremoniously onto the side.
The heat is blissful. The hot steam against her face and in her hair is heavenly. For a few minutes she simply lies her head back against the edge and closes her eyes, trying to block out everything else and enjoy it. Then she goes about cleaning herself off as best as she can using a chunk of natural soap she had found near the towels inside. It had an earthy scent to it that she couldn't place, but she didn't mind it.
It takes a while to scrub the dirt and grim from her hair and skin, but she enjoys the monotonous task.
Finishing up she pulls herself up onto the ledge of the bath, grateful for the darkness as the sun dips below the horizon. She wraps the towel around herself before wringing out her hair and combing it through with her fingers.
She felt like a whole new person. Ready to take on Sasuke. Orochimaru. Sound. Fucking bring it.
That is, until she stood up and her body reminded her how sore every muscle still was and the itchy crawling feeling she got all over her skin from being blocked from her chakra.
All in good time, she thinks with determination.
She still hasn't seen another guard since entering the baths, so seizing the opportunity she decides to take a look around.
She had barely gone a few steps in the opposite direction from the stairs before she heard a familiar voice behind her.
"And just where do you think you're going?" Teased a very content looking Suigetsu from in the bath she'd just gotten out of.
"Where the hell did you come from?" She hissed at him in answer.
"Me?" He feigned surprise, "I've been here the whole time." He reached his arms behind his head, reminding her painfully of Naruto for a moment before she shook the feeling off.
Unlikely, she thought.
But her curiosity got the better of her, "Oh really, and how is that?" She prodded him as she began to walk slowly back towards the bath.
"Heh heh heh" He chuckles, "I'm a member of the Hozuki clan, from Kirigakure. I can turn myself into water." He explains as he crosses his arms on the edge of the bath, making a show of flexing his arms.
Sakura has to refrain from rolling her eyes, "Hmm." She replies, as if pondering his answer.
Then without breaking her stride, Sakura steps and aims a strong kick directly at the side of Suigetsu's head. To her slight surprise, her foot meets liquid as his head dissolves and splatters water across the rock.
She looks on curiously as his head reforms.
"Hey! What was that for!?" He says once his head is solid once again.
"My curiosity." She replies, then turns to walk back up the stairs to where hopefully, Sasuke will be waiting so she can get away from this creep.
She hears Suigetsu mutter something under his breath before he climbs out after her.
When she reaches the changing room he has more or less caught up to her. How he has clothes on suddenly she doesn't understand, but it must be a part of his blood line ability. It would be fascinating if she were in any other situation.
To her disappointment Sasuke is not there when they walk into the changing room. So she grabs her clothes and continues out the door barefoot and wrapped in her towel, leaving Suigetsu sputtering behind her. She makes a right, heading back towards the main temple she and Sasuke had initially come out from. Ignoring Suigetsu's protests as he follows hastily after her.
After a few moments, he catches up enough to grab onto her forearm forcing her to come to an abrupt halt. For a man she had just watched dissolve on contact he held her arm with incredible strength, and despite a few attempts to shrug him off, his grip doesn't loosen.
Resigned, she turns towards him only to look right up into the dark eyes of one Sasuke Uchiha instead, with Suigetsu just visible over his broad shoulders pretending to look awkwardly anywhere else.
"I procured you some clothes," he raises an eyebrow pointedly at her towel, "Unless you would prefer what you have on. I'm sure Suigetsu would appreciate it."
Suigetsu looks over quickly at the mention of his name, ruining his act of nonchalance. Then sends her an appreciative look and indicates the towel as his choice of preference with a few meaningful glances.
Sakura glowers at him in return.
Sasuke notes her gaze over his shoulder, "Suigetsu, you can go." He dismisses him.
"You're not my boss…" He grumbles as he heads down the steps to cross the training field, probably to continue whatever it was he'd been doing before Sakura was thrown into his supervision.
"Fine." Sakura finally answers Sasuke. She relaxes her stiff frame and Sasuke lets go of her arm. She fights the urge to rub where his hand had been and follows him further down the deck behind the temple to another door that he slides open.
"Well, what now? Do we meet your evil over lord?" She asks him. He gives her an odd look over his shoulder, but says nothing to the remark.
She follows him into a moderately sized bedroom, it's impeccably tidy with very few signs of occupancy besides a towel hanging on what she assumes is the bathroom door, and a weapons rack in the corner.
When she notices the small cot on the far side of the room she pieces together her situation.
"Your room?" She asks him.
He nods.
"And my room?" She stammers out lamely.
"Yes. You'll be staying there." He indicates the cot with his chin.
"Great." She answers sarcastically. "I've always wanted a roommate."
He gives her a look out of the corner of his eye that she can't decipher, before he walks over to the dresser.
"The servants put together a few things for you." He indicates to a drawer, before pulling it open for her.
"Servants?" She says in disgust. "You never struck me as someone who took advantage of those who can't defend themselves."
He doesn't reply, but then again, she didn't really expect him too. He is surrounded by contradictions.
She walks up beside him and takes a peek into the drawer. He retreats to the bathroom, stopping in the doorway to ask, "Do I need to lock the door while I shower, or do you know better?"
She shoots a glare at him, refusing to dignify his question with a response. He's an idiot if he thinks he doesn't need to lock the door, but instead she says, "If I really wanted out of this room, a lock could hardly stop me." Although right now, it certainly would.
He may be in control, but just for now.
Sasuke just smirks, to her annoyance. "Maybe with your chakra, but you're welcome to try anyways." He nods his chin to the bedroom door, then he turns into the bathroom closing the door behind him. Moments later she can hear the distinctive sound of the water running.
"Why the hell did I have to use a public bath if he has a shower?" She grumbles to herself. Wondering if he is really so prissy that he simply didn't want her filth in his clean room.
The first thing she does is try the door, but sure enough – Sasuke Uchiha is not so unintelligent as to leave his prisoner in an unlocked cage, despite what he says.
She rattles the knob a few more times in frustration, cursing her seal once again because with her chakra the thought of a simple locked doorknob containing her is comical. But the reality is, she doesn't have her chakra, and a simple locked doorknob is keeping her contained, and Sasuke is right. She wants to scream.
Then she refocuses on the drawer Sasuke showed her. Flipping quickly through the one side, there are a few pairs of loose black linen pants, shorts, T-shirts and tank tops. Not bad at all, she thinks, having had no idea what to expect. On the other side of the drawer are basic undergarments, thankfully all very plain and athletic looking, socks and cotton pajamas.
The sun has long since set, so she pulls out a pair of pajamas and quickly changes listening carefully to the sound of running water from the bathroom.
Then she walks over to the cot in the corner, her bed. It's a simple wood frame, with scratchy sheets but that doesn't bother her. Not after years of sleeping on the ground, or in trees; sometimes even in the rain. Or worse, snow.
There's a pair of shoes by the door she notices, a few pairs actually. Two that are notably smaller than the others, so she assumes these must be hers. One pair of slippers and a pair of simple runners. She slides on the slippers, grateful for something to put between the cold floor and her feet.
Then eyeing the other shoes, she picks up the most aerodynamic looking one and tosses it up a few times to test the balance of it in her hand. She turns toward the bathroom when she hears the water shut off on the other side of the wall, looking back at the shoe in her hand and then to the bathroom door.
Before Sasuke comes out she after hears a knock on the door. Followed by the sound of something being place on the ground outside.
When the bathroom door opens, she takes aim and whips the shoe with deadly accuracy at his head.
She didn't actually expect to catch him off guard or anything. She threw it simply because it made her feel better. Significantly.
But never one to be caught off guard, Sasuke easily snags the shoe from midair and sends her an unimpressed glare, only to meet Sakura's wide surprised eyes. He has a towel wrapped around his waist, leaving his abdomen, chest and glorious arms wide open to her appraising eyes.
She is well practiced at keeping her gaze purely medical from her years training under Tsunade in the hospital and in the field, and even more from the years since she took over running the hospital. But his half-naked body has an effect on her that no other man has ever elicited.
She can feel her heart kick up a notch and her face feels awfully warm as she moves her eyes up over the defined V of his obliques, to the hard cut line of his abs, up over tight pectorals and lean but beautifully defined biceps. That is certainly not the boy she grew up with. She bites her lip unconsciously before she comes crashing back to reality and abruptly turns away and heads toward her bed, her cheeks burning. Leaving a curious Sasuke standing in the bathroom doorway.
As Sakura turns away from him Sasuke moves toward the door, his hand that grasps the doorknob glowing with chakra that must unseal the lock, before reaching outside to pick up a tray from the ground and letting the door swing closed behind him.
"Dinner." He mutters, before placing it on the table between the door and her bed. Leaving it there he turns to the dresser on the other side of the room and pulls out some clothes.
The smells wafting from the tray make Sakura's mouth water, she hasn't had a real meal in nearly a week. She has to restrain herself from racing to the end of her bed to see what they've been brought.
It's nothing elaborate, some rice with fish and steamed veggies by the looks of it, but she is beyond excited all the same. She's starving.
Distracted by the food she barely pays notice to Sasuke until she hears the notable thump of his towel hitting the floor and she looks over in surprise, then immediately back at her plate. Trying to keep her cheeks from flushing further from the generous view of Sasuke's ass and muscled legs.
"Why are all the men here so quick to strip naked?" She groans.
"All the men…?" Sasuke replies after pulling on a pair of joggers.
Sakura doesn't even deign to answer. Instead pulling a bowl into her lap and digging in, trying to think about anything except how Sasuke might look naked. She doesn't have to fill in much now to complete that mental picture, making it all the harder to block out.
After an awkward moment of silence, Sasuke walks up to the end of her bed to take his dinner, and says "Aren't you a medic-nin?" He asks like it explains everything.
"I didn't realize you were so injured you needed to take all your clothes off." She raises her eyebrow at him. "What body part exactly, were you looking to have examined?"
He takes a seat on a chair by his desk to eat, his only response a grunted "Hn."
They eat the rest of their dinner in silence.
Sakura cleans up her plate and places it back on the tray, then goes to the bathroom and isn't too surprised to see a toothbrush and comb laid out on a face towel for her.
She finds going through the regular motions of a nightly routine help calm her down, and after she is finished, she finds herself far more relaxed than before. She doesn't look at Sasuke as she exits the bathroom. She slides between the sheets on her bed and rolls over, facing her back pointedly towards his side of the room.
She mentally prepares herself to have a difficult time falling asleep but is surprised by how tired she is when her head hits the pillow, and how used to Sasuke sleeping nearby she has become over the past few nights. With her eyes closed, it feels exactly the same sleeping in the same room as it does sleeping in the same tent. Regardless, it's odd to her how quickly she got used to sleeping near him, after years apart.
She falls asleep easily before Sasuke has even put out the oil lamp.
Sasuke's not sure what to think of the look in Sakura's eyes when he comes out of the bathroom. Hungry, primal… it makes his dick twitch with arousal. He's not sure why he didn't bother to bring clothes into the washroom with him in the first place. But he finds now, that he's glad he didn't. And he's both relieved and disappointed when she looks away from her obvious admiration of his body.
He'd heard the knock from the bathroom, and just to give him something to distract himself with he goes to retrieve their dinner tray.
He could eat in the mess hall with everyone else, but he prefers not to. He had found there are few if any similarities between Orochimaru's followers and himself. He didn't admire Orochimaru like they did, he was simply and means to an end. A means to acquire power.
He stands, tray in his hands and observes Sakura as he turns to place the tray on the table next to the door. He wasn't keen on being her assigned ball and chain while she was kept here, but at the same time it provided him the perfect opportunity to look into Orochimaru's interests in Sakura without appearing suspicious. So for now, he reluctantly did as he was ordered.
He was both terrified she was here, and excited by the proximity of her. Which annoyed him. He should not; could not reveal any friendliness towards her. For her safety. Which would be easier if his stupid head could focus on logical thoughts – like how she might very well be killed, or raped, or tortured or experimented on… He just needs to keep his indifference.
He turned from the table and walked across the room to his dresser, pulling out simple black joggers, briefs and a black tee. A small part of him feels pretty smug imagining her reaction as he drops his towel to the floor. But in fairness, he had basically already seen her naked at Saito's. That lingerie set had left frighteningly little to the imagination, and Sakura hadn't made any effort to hide her body while she had been preoccupied with defending herself. Which if he was being honest with himself, was in and of itself a pretty effective defense if only because her body was so god damn distracting. The woman had no idea, it was maddening.
When she squeaks, "Why are all the men here so quick to strip naked?" his mood however fouls pretty quickly.
Suigetsu.
He pulls on briefs, tucking a not entirely soft member to the side before yanking on joggers. Followed by his T-shirt before walking back over to grab his bowl.
He also has suspicions that this task might double as a test of his loyalty; to his old teammates, to Konoha, he wasn't sure. Maybe both. Or maybe they just wanted to throw two volatile individuals together and see what happens. If Orochimaru and Kabuto share one thing in common, it's their fucked-up curiosity.
Sakura doesn't talk to him for the rest of the evening as she prepares for bed. He is so hyper-aware of her presence already that keeping track of her has been a simple task. So simple, he can't believe that three ninjas together could be so incompetent.
She falls asleep incredibly fast, a sign of how tolling the last weeks have been on her. He waits another hour to be certain, listening to the sound of her breathing and the steady beat of her heart. When she was awake, her heart varied between beating fast and going a mile a minute. Something about listening to her heart was becoming soothing. It's erratic pace reminding him of the Sakura he had left behind, a girl vastly different from the woman sleeping across the room right now.
Confident she's asleep, he slips outside and heads to Suigetsu's room. Not bothering to knock, he slides open the door and lets himself in.
Suigetsu lays on his bed, still in training clothes reading something that looks awfully similar to those novels Kakashi used to read all the time. He glances up at the sound of his door opening.
"Sasuke." He grins, "So who is this Sakura? Eh?"
"She's none of your concern."
"Awww, come'on Sasuke. No need to be like that, I'm just curious."
"It's your damn curiosity that crossed the line today."
"Ah, she told you about that eh." He chuckles nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I was just having some fun, just joking. Joking! Obviously I wasn't in the water when she was." He races to backtrack, then mumbles, "Tempting as that was…"
Sasuke takes slow purposeful steps towards where Suigetsu sits on his bed, enjoying the growing look of fear in Suigetsu's eyes.
"She's a prisoner and a guest. I don't think Orochimaru would not take lightly to your jokes."
"It's not like you told me who she was man, you just dropped her off!" Suigetsu replies desperately.
Sasuke comes to a stop at the edge and leans in toward Suigetsu, resting a hand on his shoulder as he does so.
"You will guard Sakura, as is your damn job, when asked. And should something happen again, know that you'll be lucky to be dealing with me," Sasuke let some electrical charge pass from his hand into Suigutsu's shoulder for emphasis. "And not Orochimaru."
Suigetsu nodded quickly, his eyes wide and unblinking as Sasuke turned and left the room as quickly as he came.
He had no idea what Orochimaru wanted from Sakura, and he certainly hadn't tasked Sasuke with looking out for her well fair. But it was a fair guess that Sakura was alive because he needed something she had; and with Orochimaru the only thing he coveted more than Kekkai Genkai and immortality was knowledge. Eventually Sasuke knows that Orochimaru will resort to threats or even torture to get what he wants, but he prefers to play with his food first. He'll try and charm her, convince her of the good it would do people if she helped him. It would mostly be bullshit, of course. But that's how he operated.
If Sasukes suspicions are correct, Sakura must know some technique that Orochimaru wants, and badly if he would openly kidnap such a high ranking Konoha kunoichi. Sakura was right that Naruto would notice her missing. Hell, he would be only one of the many ninja they would send hot on her trail.
Even still, Orochimaru was undeniably a brilliant man and likely confident that they would not be able to follow her here. There's no doubt he selected this base with care. The forest they're surrounded by is one of the oldest on the continent. It's ancient trees nearly untouched by the outside world. Many legends circulate Sound surrounding the mountain ranges and valleys this forest spans.
Sasuke was no amateur in tracking either. Unbeknownst to Sakura, Sasuke had sent a number of his snake summons off in various directions with his shirt fabric soaked in her blood the night he was ordered to take her in. The shirt he wrapped around her wound before she healed provided the perfect blend of their scents, and the chances of Konoha ninja being able to follow all the trails to the end before the scent disappears is unlikely.
Activating his Sharingan as he returned to his room, he's able to easily see Sakura laying in the same position as when he had left. Sleeping soundly. With extreme care not to wake her, he crossed the room quietly and climbed into his bed.
It was a long while before he is able to find sleep though.
Sakura consumed his thoughts. As she had since that day, so long ago. The day he left. And the day he had promised he would come back. But so many things had changed since that day, how could he possibly ever just go home? It was far more complicated now.
And then Sakura, being here. That complicated things too, a lot of things. Especially how he felt, because truly he didn't know what to say to the woman he has dreamt about every night for the past, god he didn't even know how many years. Especially after he kidnapped her for her sworn enemy.
How had he found himself in such a fucked up backwards situation?
Sakura was the one person he didn't want Orochimaru or Kabuto near, at any cost. Yet here he was, having kidnapped and hand delivered her here for them.
He was so close to being able to rid himself of Orochimaru altogether; so close to being able to kill Itachi.
How this would affect those plans he wasn't sure yet.
He glanced over at her sleeping form again, finding some reassurance in her steady breathing.
There was his chance at a life after his nightmare was over. This tiny mysterious thing that could break bones and uproot trees with her bare hands, who could push herself through crippling pain, who could kill without blinking. This woman the girl he loved had grown into and yet, she was still the same Sakura.
He would have to keep his cards close to his chest; she had slipped through his fingers before. Circumstances out of his hands, but this time there was no chance in hell would he lose her.
He could play the long game, and he could play it better than anyone.
Hopefully, better than even Orochimaru himself.
A/N
Hey all, it's been a little while! I have a chapter for both other stories drafted and in final edits. I will post those soon. I do plan to finish everything I've started; but I'm a full time professional student now, and my time for anything besides studying is very very slim I'm afraid.
As always, I appreciate your continued support