Disclaimer: Naruto is property of Masashi Kishimoto. Shefalls claims no right to any characters. Shefalls does, however, claim the plot of Snake Bound and emphasizes she's not opposed to sharing – if permission is properly asked.
A/N
This is an AU. OCC is 100% guaranteed, as well as many liberties taken with… everything.
I regret nothing.
Your reviews are always welcome!
Bound, adjective: going or ready to go toward a specified place.
Snake Bound
Prologue
Konoha after the joint Sand and Sound invasion was a pitiful place.
Even in the dark of a cloudy night it was impossible to hide the destruction, the total proof of ineptitude, the evidence of weakness. Crumbles infrastructure, burnt down training grounds and facilities, hundreds of freshly dug graves in the already over-flowing cemetery. The few streets unharmed by the hostile forces were deserted, people barricaded into their homes and refused to come out – refused to offer shelters to those less lucky, refused to share space, refused to be anything but selfish. No shops were open, no donations forthcoming. But such were civilians, Sasuke thought wryly. They were leeches, depending on shinobi for protection but giving nothing in return. Parasites. And Konoha tolerated them too much. The village gave, and gave, and continued to give, bleeding its military might dry. It was unsurprising Konoha's walls were so easily breached, that its shinobi could be beat down so quickly. Though Konoha won against its attackers, it wasn't truly a victory.
It was survival, and very barely achieved.
Usually Sasuke liked the quiet. It surrounded him every day in the desolate Uchiha district, where no one else resided. No one wanted to live in a ghost-town, and Sasuke liked it this way. Only Uchiha belonged in the district. Everybody else were outsiders, strangers, not to be trusted. These rules were the bread and butter of his clan, the way he had been raised: serve Konoha, but second to the clan. Uchiha came first, Uchiha were the most important, Uchiha can only trust Uchiha.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes and glared out of the window of his hospital room. Now he hated the quiet. It gave him time to think, to remember and to reconsider everything. He remembered the Uchiha rules, chanted them to himself every day, and he still failed to follow as he should've. Still let weakness slip into his blood stream and bones.
He began to trust Team 7.
Sasuke trusted Hatake Kakashi to be a lazy, perverted fool who would flood the ground with the blood of those stupid enough to attack his students.
Sasuke trusted Haruno Sakura to be an annoyance, to cater to his every whim. He also trusted her to watch his back to her very last breath and not complain once.
Sasuke trusted Uzumaki Naruto to be a complete usuratonkachi, a stumbling idiot, a waste of space. He also trusted Naruto with his life.
This trust was weakness. These bonds, that only strengthened the more Kakashi was late, the more Sakura simpered, and the louder Naruto got, these bonds were poison. They weakened Sasuke's resolve to get his vengeance, to achieve justice for his clan, so that his family may rest in peace.
They got in Sasuke's way.
Determined to be weak no more, Sasuke waited for the final chakra signature around the hospital to disappear. Then he got up, put on the clean clothes Sakura had brought him, threw his forehead protector on the bed flippantly and left out the window.
It was time to follow power over weakness.
Sasuke expected to be stopped.
He wasn't a moron, he realised there were ANBU crawling all over Konoha right now, in the wake of the disastrous chunin exams. So he smothered his chakra to the best of his ability like Kakashi had taught, pumped as little as he could through his legs and ran – soundlessly over rooftops, fences and dusty streets. All the way to the main gate.
He expected to be stopped.
His muscles coiled in expectation of violence. His chakra, tightly supressed, was still ready to spring to the forefront and activate his sharingan immediately. His blood boiled and his bones shook, excitement and fear wrestling in Sasuke's stomach, one seeking dominance over the other but neither giving an inch.
He expected to be stopped.
But not by Sakura.
"Sasuke-kun."
She sat on the bench by the gate, her freshly cut her uncombed and her face pale. There were bags under her dull green eyes, her eyes were puffy and red rimmed, her lips chewed raw. Sasuke viciously stomped down the brief flare of guilt – she looked like this because of him, he knew. Like a beaten down animal.
"Sakura." He said flatly, his voice as empty as always when he talked to her.
Not that Sasuke addressed Sakura often.
Its not that he hated her. Compared to other girls, especially during their time in the academy, Sakura was almost tolerable. The longer they were on a team together, the better she got. She adapted quickly, almost subconsciously. Sakura gave Sasuke what she thought he wanted and then she gave what Sasuke needed, wordlessly and without being asked, as if she sensed it before Sasuke realised it was necessary – and then gave. She gave the same to Kakashi and to Naruto, too. Sakura gave, even at the cost of herself. It's why she was so weak, Sasuke realised, a little too late. Because the three of them made her stay this way. Coddled her. Protected her with single-minded viciousness, so that Sakura would stay soft, pliable and giving.
They kept her how they needed her, not how she needed to be.
"You're going, aren't you?" Sakura asked quietly and tears glistened in her eyes.
'Crybaby,' Sasuke thought, but it lacked scorn. He couldn't find any towards her, not anymore.
"Please don't go!"
Sasuke had to commend Sakura on keeping her voice down, but still relaying her urgency. She had uncanny communicative skills. Probably because no one else on their team had any sort of social ability, so Sakura picked up the slack, because they needed her to.
"Sasuke-kun," Sakura hiccuped and Sasuke's lip curled in distaste. "I know you don't like me, I know I annoy you."
'Do you really?' Sasuke barely managed not to glower. What did she know, truly? This little kid.
"I know I'm weak, and useless, and not at all of any worth – but please!" Sakura sniffed, bravely attempting to maintain a semblance of coherence. "I – I love you so much, Sasuke-kun! I don't expect anything from you! I don't want anything from you, just – just stay here! Stay safe!"
Sasuke almost blinked.
He knew Sakura loved him, of course. Anyone with eyes could tell. But Sakura never said so. She clung to him, shoved her unwanted home cooking and attention at him whenever at all possible, flirted and asked Sasuke out nearly everyday. But she hadn't said the words.
Hadn't saddled him with unwanted confessions, with the baggage of unrequited feelings.
Not until now.
"I won't bother you anymore, I swear," Sakura carried on, completely unaware of Sasuke's quiet surprise. His pause at her first confession. "I'll train properly, I won't get in your way. I'll – I'll do my best to move on, Sasuke-kun! To just be your friend!"
His friend.
"Just please, please don't go to that monster!"
"Who said I want your friendship?" Sasuke hissed, and against his will he felt his chakra spike. Felt his sharingan spin into action.
Sakura immediately closed her eyes, the smart annoyance. So in-tune with him, she knew Sasuke didn't want to hurt her. Wouldn't' hurt her, even when openly angered.
Damn her, really.
"If you go," Sakura said levelly, despite the tears still running down her face, "I'll scream. ANBU will be here in less than ten seconds."
Too smart of an annoyance.
Sasuke was behind Sakura before she could open her mouth. His hand lashed out and struck her neck, and then she was falling, like deadweight, and for the first time Sasuke caught her.
He never held Sakura before, always left that type of thing to Naruto and Kakashi.
Never even grazed her with his arm while walking.
'Soft.' Sasuke thought flatly.
It was fitting. Sakura was soft – her skin, her clothing, her muscles. Everything about her was soft and completely unfit to be a kunoichi. She was so weak it was amazing the girl survived the exams – and not entirely through others' merit, either.
Sasuke placed Sakura on the bench and started walking away.
He made it ten paces before his stubborn streak kicked in, and Sasuke abruptly turned around. He walked back, observed the unconscious girl and considered.
Sakura was still crying, even when unconscious.
Honestly, she was so weak.
If Sasuke left, who the hell was going to keep her safe? Naruto?
'Can't risk it.' Sasuke decided. 'Plus, she'll go to the Hokage.'
He didn't doubt it. Sakura would wake up, realise he left her on a bench and run straight to Konoha's new leader to run her mouth. Not out of malice, there wasn't a malicious bone in Sakura's whole body, not when it came to Sasuke. She'll do it out of worry. Out of desperation.
Because she loved him.
Konoha will give chase, and it'll complicate things.
Sasuke 'tsked', picked the unconscious girl up and slung her onto his back. With Sakura's arms stretched before him, her lolling head over his shoulder and her legs wrapped loosely around Sasuke's waist, supported by his hands under he butt, Sasuke set out.
'I'm just taking care of any loopholes.' He told himself, while Sakura's breath tingled in his ear.
Liar, liar, his mind sang teasingly.
You're being selfish.
You're being an Uchiha.
By the time Sasuke met with Orochimaru's henchmen and crossed the border of Fire Country, he didn't care what made him do it anymore.
What mattered was he had taken Sakura along.
She was his responsibility now, a burden on his shoulders.
And she loved him, too, the idiot.