Hello wonderful readers! If this is your first time finding my content, please note that this story is a SEQUEL to another of my stories by the name of Happy Accidents. If you have not read Happy Accidents yet, I highly recommend it! Bonded Souls is the continuation of Sasuke and Sakura's journey in the Naruto Modern Crime AU.
Please also note that this fic happens simultaneously with both Who Am I and Purpose and Expectation, two other fics that follow Ino/Sai and Naruto/Hinata, respectively. Much of their plot and investigations led to the current events in Bonded Souls, and their events will be necessary to portions of Bonded Souls' plot.
Happy reading!
"No matter what decision you make, Sakura, I will never stop fighting for you, and I will never stop loving you. I promise."
Sasuke's words echoed in Sakura's head repeatedly as she stood there and tried to comprehend what he was saying. She watched in shock as he rushed around the house, shoving things into a duffel bag: clothes, his extra weapons, anything sentimental he had. Sakura couldn't decide what she wanted to do; she was frozen in place, faced with one of the worst decisions in her life.
She could run with him, or she could let him leave her behind. And it was tearing her in two.
Seeing the shock and tears welling in her eyes, Sasuke stopped his rushing for a moment, coming over to her with a soft, caring expression. His hands, bare from his gloves, reached up to cup her face, wishing he wasn't putting her up to this decision.
"Listen to me, Sakura," he said softly, rubbing his thumbs over her cheekbones. "I want you to know that no matter your decision, I will love you the same. Nothing is going to change that, do you understand me? Nothing." He had a sinking feeling in his gut that he was going to have to leave her. That he was going to have to go, leaving her behind, unprotected. He hated that. He would have to make sure someone looked after her while he was gone if she wasn't coming. But he couldn't make this decision for her. It had to be her own. He had to trust her judgement. He knew he had no choice. If he got caught up in prison, it was likely the other inmates would kill him. He had too many enemies in there, and if he knew anything about Akatsuki, if he'd learned anything about the enemies they were facing, they would do everything they could to kill him. They'd make sure he wasn't in protective custody. They'd ensure he was in the general population, where he could be beaten and killed by any number of his enemies and out of the way.
Gently pressing his lips to her forehead, Sasuke rushed down the stairs to the basement, looking for more things he needed to pack.
The moment his hands left her cheeks, Sakura let her tears fall. She couldn't let him do this alone. He needed someone to look out for him, to be there for him... and like him, she was a sitting duck in a prison cell. Sure, she'd be in a women's prison, but that wasn't to say they wouldn't have heard of her or that they wouldn't try to take care of her on behalf of someone else. She couldn't survive prison. She was too soft, too gentle, and too kind. But on the run, with him? That she could survive. She could survive anything as long as they were together.
Triumphantly wiping the tears from her cheeks, she tore up the stairs and began stuffing things into a bag of her own, carrying it down the stairs. She locked gazes with Sasuke just as he threw the last few things into his bag, their eyes having a silent conversation; he understood that she was coming with him no matter what. With a nod, he zipped the duffel bag closed and grabbed her bag, directing her to fill one more if there was anything else she needed. She ran up and filled one last bag, scrambling down and tossing it in the back seat. It was most of her electronics and files she needed; if they were going to be on the run, she wouldn't leave without offline versions of her files that they could work on. Her work was important. She made sure to disconnect them from any wireless services she had; she'd deal with the technical aspects of ensuring they became untraceable later. She took her phone and turned it off, intending to deal with it at a later point when they were somewhere untraceable.
"Where are we going?" She asked.
"We're going to head out of town and find another vehicle that we can't be traced in, then head to the border of Fire Country and Rice Country. My father had some land up there that I inherited and sold to a few old friends from high school years ago. We haven't spoken in over a decade, but... well, I'm sure they won't mind a visit. It's secluded, up in the mountains, and we can easily bring in supplies. It's... going to be cold, though. I hope you brought a jacket... or three." He'd been prepared for something like this to happen; the moment Itachi had threatened Sakura, he'd been making preparations, slowly pulling out cash and hiding it around the house. He'd bought extra guns, unregistered, just for this moment; he'd hidden them as best he could. That was one thing he wasn't going to want to do was teach Sakura to shoot. He would have to, but he wouldn't want to.
They drove in silence for a long while, Sasuke searching for the right words to say. There were only two words he could come up with, though.
"I'm sorry," he said abruptly, breaking the silence between them. "I'm sorry that... that you've been caught up in all of this chaos." Part of it he knew was his fault; it had to do with his brother and his past.
"Don't apologize," Sakura replied softly. "I... this isn't your fault. I chose to get involved. I chose this job, I chose this career, and I chose you. I chose to come with you today. I chose to run with you. I'm not going to change that decision." She stared out at the road for a moment, then turned to him, briefly meeting his gaze before his eyes returned to the road.
"I'll always choose you," she said honestly. "Always."
Sasuke chuckled softly, a smile coming to his face. "You're so annoying when you do that, you know," he said endearingly, shaking his head. "So, so annoying."
Sakura's eyes widened. Annoying, huh? She would have been offended if not for the endearment in his voice. "Annoying how?"
"Just that you're always right at... well, the right moments. You're right when it counts. I hate that you're right because I hate being wrong." He smiled at her. "It's okay, though. If I'm wrong because you're right, I can accept it, albeit begrudgingly." As much as it struck deeply at his ego to be wrong, he was glad it was her that was in the right, especially in these situations. She could pull him out of his darkest places, turning his guilt into relief. He loved her so much for that. He loved everything about her. And he would do everything he could to keep her safe.
They drove for a few hours until Sasuke pulled off into a dark alleyway, checking one of the burner phones he had. He sent a text to one of his contacts, more specifically a CI he'd been using for several cases. Within moments they were out, waving at Sasuke to get in the vehicle; he grabbed his bag from the back as well as Sakura's and waved her out, getting her to climb in the back of the large vehicle with him. Their accompaniment drove for nearly an hour with them before pulling up to a house, getting out and handing Sasuke the keys in exchange for a wad of cash. He got into the driver's seat and turned back to Sakura.
"It's going to be a long drive to the border. Get some sleep. I'll drive and wake you when we're there. We'll have to go off-road, but I'll need your help to hide this thing when we get there." Not something he would have wanted to do on his own, especially not with a vehicle this size. He wanted her to be rested; they would have to hike quite a way to a small shed, where he knew he'd stored a couple of snowmobiles they could use to travel up there.
Sakura nodded and got as comfortable as she could manage in the back seat, doing her best to strap in and close her eyes. Hours passed as they travelled; she got some sleep at some point, though it wasn't the best sleep she'd had. Sasuke reached back and gently roused her, his touch startling her awake. "We're almost there," he said. "You should get dressed in something warmer." Rubbing her eyes, Sakura could see that the sun was already set over the horizon, but through the front windshield, she could see nothing but white under the headlights. Snow. It was light, but it was there. Even in the summertime... which meant they were somewhere at a very, very high elevation. The vehicle bumped side to side as they went, indicating they were not on the road.
"Is that... snow?" She asked incredulously.
"Yeah. We, uh, climbed in elevation pretty quickly. We're up high in the mountains, and you can only get there by back roads. You're going to want to put something warmer on, something you can comfortably hike in." That she could hike in? Were they going to hike up a mountain to get there? Sakura was baffled by that but quickly reached for her bag, digging out the warmest clothes she could find. Layers would be her best friend; she had some thick leggings she could fit underneath a couple of layers of sweatpants, along with a workout shirt, a sweater, and her warmest jacket over that. A couple of pairs of socks and some high boots later, and she was ready to trudge through the snow. She'd have to see if there was a way to invest in better winter gear while they were out; maybe they could make a run to one of the stores or have someone drop something off for them.
They both got out of the truck, though Sasuke quickly instructed her to get in the drivers' seat. She did as instructed, driving as deep into the brush as she could; then, once it was in as far as she could go, she left it in neutral, getting out to help Sasuke push it deeper into the brush. They moved bushes and broken branches back and did their best to cover it after getting their things out. Sakura regretted packing two bags; it was going to be a lot to carry. Luckily, Sasuke grabbed one of them and slung it on his back, along with the duffel over his shoulder, nodding at her before leading the way through the trees.