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Chapter 19
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Penalty
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I sat on a cold, built-in cemented chair against the wall. The room was white and most of the materials there were made of steel or aluminum. It was one of the probation rooms of Mortis Guild, specifically number eight, based from what I saw on the door label before I was escorted in three hours ago.
It was the first time I'd been in the Mortis Guild headquarters. I didn't get to see where it was exactly located in the city since there were hardly any windows on the back of the van. I was escorted hastily and I couldn't even tell what floor we were. I just remembered seeing the thick, polished white walls and glasses all over the restricted building.
I didn't even know what time it was. Perhaps midnight or nearly dawn.
It didn't matter… It was christmas eve. And everything turned into a mess.
Sasori sat soundlessly beside me, his head bowed low and fingers clasped together as he rested his elbows on his bent legs. His shoulders were slumped down. He arrived a few minutes earlier than the senior rogues in the room.
Tsunade stood in front of us, standing tall with her arms resting on her sides, wearing her white coat uniform at this late hour. She walked in a few minutes ago with Kakashi and Asuma. Both of them stood some feet away behind her. Kakashi held a pack of ice against the side of his sore face. He didn't look like he wanted to be there at all. Asuma kept his hands inside his pockets and wordlessly watched us and the headmistress.
I didn't have to look up to know there was fury in her eyes.
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT COULD'VE HAPPENED TO YOU?!" she bellowed in the silent room. Her hands with tinted nails balled into fists on her sides. "Do you know how wreckless that was?! THIS ISN"T A STUPID CHILDISH GAME!"
Her roaring voice echoed in the room. I couldn't look at her straight in the eyes. Even Kakashi and Asuma couldn't look at us.
"Do you think you're being a pro, Haruno? That you couldn't contain yourself in getting involved in this assignment?"
I felt my fingers cringed. I'd never seen her this enraged at me.
"It was my fault, Tsunade-sama." Sasori murmured, his head still bowed low. "I told her about it. I thought she had to know."
"You're a goddamn moron!" Tsunade turned her angered eyes to him. "Do you want her to see Sarutobi get murdered in her eyes tonight? Didn't it even occur to your screwed up head the reason why we keep risky things like this to ourselves?"
Sasori didn't answer anymore.
"I expected more from you, Akasuna! You've crossed the line. You'll get more people killed in this kind of stunt!"
"I'm sorry." It was all I could utter as I stared down at the polished floor, gripping the cloth of my pants now.
Tsunade pressed her forehead with her balled fist out of frustration, trying to contain herself.
"I… I was just really worried about my grandfather. I wasn't thinking. I was afraid to lose him and…" I swallowed to keep my tears from falling. I remembered the last scene I saw before I was taken in that confinement. His blood was spreading out on the white snow.
"I expected more from you two! Especially you." Tsunade looked at me in aggravation. "You can't keep on letting your jumbled feelings get the better of you! STUPIDITY IS NOT AN EXCUSE!"
I bowed my head lower, trying to hide my face as the first tear came and fell from my eye, down to the back of my hand. My hair dropped down, keeping my face a bit hidden from their sight. I wasn't crying because of self pity, I was crumbling inside because I hated myself and all I could think of was the last moment I saw Sarutobi.
Tsunade gave a long and heavy sigh, resting her hands on her hips and looking down at us again. The wrinkles on her face were starting to show now.
"In any case… Sarutobi is alive." She said in a moderate tone, trying to keep her face uncoiled with anger. "But you can't see him."
And with that, she turned around and started walking towards the door in her high heels. She stopped in front of Kakashi, her head held straight.
"You better straighten that student or else I'll hammer them myself!" She barked at him before turning and exiting to the door.
Asuma took one look at us, shook his head then followed Tsunade out of the room. Two other rogues met them at the hallway, escorting them out. I heard Tsunade's voice once more as they exited. "Where's Unit Three? They messed up their stupid formation!" The sounds of their footsteps soon disappeared.
Kakashi stood near the opened door for a moment, watching them vanish from sight as he held the pack of ice beside his bruised face. He walked over to us and placed the ice at the edge of the table near to where we were sitting in silence.
"She hates stubborn rogues, especially the student ones." He mumbled, looking down at us on the cold chair. "What you did was careless and just plain dumb. I think she already made clear about that so I don't want to go any further."
"I'll accept all punishments from the rules I've violated." I said weakly, still trying to keep a straight face. Knowing Sarutobi was still alive had given me a tiny bit of hope somehow.
"Don't say that." Sasori said in a glare, looking at the side of my face. "If there's anyone to blame, it's obviously me."
"Since both of you have violated two codes in the contract, namely Code 401 as being an unidentified rogue student in a restricted assignment, and Code 303 as sharing confidential info outside the assigned team, the penalty is for under confinement here. The exact hours or days of penalty is not yet decided by the council, but it starts tonight and I'm sorry to say you'll be spending the next three days here, that I'm sure of. But beyond that, I can't say yet how long they would intend to keep you here. Community service is also part of the confinement. You will also be under strict probation for the next few weeks and might lose your records, positions or applications as a student rogue if such circumstances continues to get out of hand." Kakashi spoke calmly. They've already spoken with some of the Interrogation Unit members before coming here. I assumed he and Tsunade had already discussed this with some of the members of the council just a while ago.
Sasori didn't look surprised at all. He listened to him with a blank expression. I didn't think it was the first time he had been here. He looked so much like a delinquent now, with his red hair and piercing stare. A part of me was glad he wasn't seriously injured or anything.
"So we'll just be locked up here the whole night while Sarutobi's in the emergency room." I mumbled, mostly to myself, getting the info to sink in my pathetic head.
Kakashi was silent for a minute. There was a look of pity on his face. I could tell it even if half of it was covered with his mask.
"He's in critical condition but he's in the hospital now with the other injured staff." He said. "The cut was deep and barely missed his heart. Sasuke already informed your parents about it. But we can't let them see him until he's stable. No one can go in his room except for some selected nurses and a doctor."
Hearing it gave me a small relief. I noticed the uncomfortable expression on Sasori's face when he heard Sasuke's name.
"Is he going to make it?" I asked in a cracked voice.
Kakashi shook his head feebly. "On the condition that he's in, I…" He wasn't able to finish the first sentence. "Sarutobi is a a tough man… We can't tell you which hospital he's in. It's the council's orders."
I didn't speak any further. He knew I understood.
The door from the corridor outside of our room was pushed open once again with a loud thud and hasty footsteps echoed from the other side of the walls. Sasuke was in the room in a second, bandages wrapped around one of his upper arm. He was wearing a plain shirt and jeans. He crossed the room in a few fast strides.
Sasori stood up from his seat the moment he saw him, as if everything was automatic. Sasuke swiftly went passed Kakashi and his fist immediately collided against the side of Sasori's face.
"You fucking asshole!" he cursed as Kakashi rashly grabbed him by the arms and Sasori stumbled a foot backwards, his left cheek reddening instantly. I could see the anger on his face. "Do you know what you could've done?"
I stepped between them. Sasori was infuriated and was trying to get a hold of him.
"You don't know a fucking thing, Uchiha! Is that all you can do?" Sasori snarled, trying to shove me away between.
And they were shouting in fury and Kakashi was pulling the other.
"Calm down, boys! We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt further now, would we?" he called.
"You just can't shut your stupid mouth up, can you? You just had to screw everything up because of your infatuation with her!" Sasuke yelled in anger.
"Unlike you— Your love is your loyalty to your duty, right?" Sasori mocked.
"Enough!" I shouted at them.
"We've already had a rough night, ladies, no need to make it worse." Kakashi stated calmly, still holding Sasuke's arms from behind.
It took a minute for Sasuke to calm down and rest his arms on his sides, his furious stare shifting from Sasori to me. First I saw anger, then as I looked back at his expressive eyes, I saw that tinge of hurt again, as if I'd betrayed him.
"You really don't trust me." He spoke to me in a low voice.
I couldn't respond because of the shame and only looked down on the lifeless floor.
He gave one final look at me and Sasori before turning around and heading to the door.
"How's Naruto?" Kakashi asked before he could completely disappear from the door frame.
Sasuke paused and didn't turn around to look at him when he spoke in a hushed and tired voice. "He's stable. But not yet awake."
Kakashi gave one nod and he exited the room.
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My mother was going hysterical over the phone. She was crying and she didn't know what was going on. She couldn't exactly understand why I couldn't get home during this christmas holidays and she and my dad were only able to visit and see my unconscious grandfather this morning. Two days had already gone by after the chaotic incident at the Lantern Festival and it had sent dreadful panic over the local residents. Different rumors had spread about the incident, ranging from terrorist attacks to secret society feuds. The truth, like always, was never revealed.
"Why are they locking you up? Just tell me honestly if you're in jail and we'll do something about it." She cried from the other end of the line.
"No, mom. I told you I'm doing community service for the government. I can't tell you which division because it's confidential. I'm really sorry, mom. I do want to be home this holiday." I said.
"That's what your boyfriend told me, too, and I couldn't get more info out of him." She whimpered.
"He's not my boyfriend, mom. Sasuke's just one of the unit's reps." I reminded her again. "I'll try to get home as soon as I can, okay? These days are the only open slots they have for community work and it's part of the school's requirements."
"This is getting out of hand. And you haven't even visited your grandfather! I don't know if he's going to make it. He's been unconscious for days. They won't let us stay for more than an hour. I've been complaining at their help desk over and over again and they couldn't do anything about it." She sobbed.
"I will visit him." I lied, trying to make everything sound better.
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I wiped the glass walls clean quietly in one of the administrative rooms. I didn't want to think about anything else and concentrated on the spot that I was making spotless. I knew thinking about Sarutobi would send me sobbing while on the job, and I was exhausted of it.
Shizune, one of the top nurses in the guild, gave me a pile of new clothes on my first day of community service. They had private bedrooms on one of the floors but I wasn't given any. Instead, I slept in one of the probation rooms, using the built-in cemented chairs as my bed. I was given one pillow and a blanket. It was cold at night so I could barely sleep. The skin under my eyes were growing dark each day. I haven't had any good rest since the incident.
My responsibilities for the community service included keeping the walls and floors on the whole second floor of the building clean, which mostly consisted of board rooms and administrative offices. I also transferred folders and files to other cabinets. And there was this fat woman from the transaction department that kept on bossing me around, although I had no idea who she was. She was insanely irritating most of the time. A lot of people comes and goes everyday without even looking at me straight in the eyes.
I had hit the bottom.
Nonetheless, I'd gotten curious of how things work in the Mortis Guild office. I didn't see top officials often since most of the time I was at the back offices, but what got me interested in the building itself were the areas per floor. The building has this sophisticated, bullet-proof glasses theme but each floor almost differs in interiors, depending on what they had on that area. There was the weaponry and artillery floor, and it was like a huge training ground complete with passcodes and soundproof cushions. There was also this floor where the library was, and literally, it was just one gigantic library with towering shelves and books of different kinds. The building was set inside a private compound with vast grounds and fields. The entrance gates were far from it so it was hard to see the surrounding streets.
There was a tap at the opened door and I looked up to see Sasori walking inside. I was sitting on the floor and was wiping the bottom of the glass wall. He had changed clothes. The dark spot on his cheek from Sasuke's punch was fading now.
Like me, he was assigned on keeping some of the areas clean, particularly the corridors and checking the incoming technical utilities. He slept in the probation room next to mine but we didn't get to see each other often. Our time schedule of work varied.
"How're you doing?" he asked as he helped me stood up.
I wiped my hands on the side of the baggy pants. Most of the clothes given to me were a bit bigger than my size. "Fine. Just about to be finished here. Where've you been?"
"I was carrying some boxes to the storage room this morning when I got a call from Yamato." Yamato was one of Sasori's professor in Ame Institute. He rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke. "Apparently, I'm going to be transferred to the police station in Akihabara Road this afternoon and continue my community service there until the end of the week. He'll be picking me up at 4PM."
"What? What're you going to do there?"
He shrugged his shoulders. "Have no idea. Some assistance-shit, I suppose. You know, I think it's your jealous boyfriend who requested for it. Probably paranoid that we're together here all the time."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm pretty sure he doesn't give a damn about us right now. And he's just a silly student. He doesn't have the authority to decide about these things with the guild."
"Well, he does his own thing. He has a creepy, weird way of making things go his way." Sasori muttered with a mocking grimace.
He straightened up, sighed and looked at me thoughtfully with his childlike brown eyes. "So. You'll be all right here?"
I nodded. "Yeah… although I have no idea until how long I'll be here."
"Any news about the old Commander?"
"Last time I got a call from Kakashi he said he's still unconscious." I said.
There was a moment of silence and he just watched me.
"I'm sorry, Sakura. I shouldn't have gotten you involved. They're right, you know. It was a careless move and just plain selfish." He murmured. "You would've been in the hospital taking care of him right now if I didn't tell you about that assignment."
I shook my head. "It was me who lied to you. I'm actually glad you told me. I was the ignorant one and I couldn't even afford to take pity of myself."
He took a step closer and hugged me. I leaned my face against the crook of his neck. I could smell his fragrance from his soft red hairs.
"Don't worry, you'll be out of here in no time. I'll try to come by when I can." He whispered. He held me tight for a few more seconds before releasing me and walking out of the door without looking back.
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I was carrying stocks of papers and was walking across the side of the grassy grounds one afternoon, on my way from the storage room to the recycling area. I saw some familiar faces huddled together at the side of the field, sitting on the grasses in a circle.
Some of them were from my school: Kiba, Shino and Sasuke.
They were sitting there quietly with three senior rogues. Perhaps discussing some missions or updates. They weren't in their formal uniforms.
Sasuke saw me from the other side of the grounds. I saw his eyes drifted toward me and they met mine for a short moment. I couldn't read his thoughts. And he turned them away as if he didn't recognize me at all. Just listening back to what his comrades were saying.
He has always been like that whenever he's mad at me. Looking at me one moment then turning away as if nothing happened.
I heard from the news showing on a television screen in one of the hallways the other day that he had been seen with that famous Karin again. They were at the Narita Airport Terminal together with a group of people. Seemed like he'd been really busy these days. It didn't surprise me they had a second interlude. From the way Karin was looking at him when we were in Hakuba, it was obvious she was engrossed with him.
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It was nearly the end of the week when I saw him again.
I couldn't sleep one night and I was just writing down some made up stories on a piece of paper under an old lamp in the room where I'd been sleeping. It was almost midnight and I couldn't clear my thoughts so I started coming up with fiction stories to entertain myself.
There was a sudden tap on the door. I stared at it for a minute, thinking if the sound was just from my imagination.
Then there was another tap again, a bit louder and impatient this time. I got up and walked toward it. I quietly turned the door knob and pulled the door just a few inches away, leaving a small gap to peer outside.
I saw one of his dark gray eyes against the mellow light coming out of the room through the gap. Sasuke was there. He was wearing a hoodie, his hands inside his pockets and his face held that cold stare. All I could see behind him was darkness. The building was closed at this late hour.
"What d'you want?" I said, wondering what he was doing here at a time like this.
"Get dress. I've come to take you to the old Commander. You'll see him but just this once." He said in that snobbish attitude of his. "So hurry the fuck up."
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