Sasuke and Sakura were up promptly the next morning, packing their things as they waited for Karin's arrival. She'd prepared for the chance that they would come with her, knowing Sasuke wouldn't pass up the offer. They needed something to do, and the more Karin could offer them for intellectual stimulation, the better.
Sasuke and Sakura rode one of the snowmobiles while Karin rode the second, stashing them in a shed further down the mountain. After that, they took up a spot in the back seat of Karin's large truck, doing their best to stay out of sight. Karin took every back road to avoid other vehicles that she could, breathing a sigh of relief once they reached the house. It was evening by the time they'd stopped taking the back roads, hauling their things up to one of the spare rooms Karin had set up last night.
Sasuke's burner phone rang, and he pulled it out, looking at the caller I.D. It was the number for Naruto's burner. He opened the phone, remaining silent until he waited for something to be said. He had to be sure that it was Naruto he was talking to.
"Ramen's the best," the blonde said over the line, and Sasuke could hear the seriousness in his tone. Usually, a comment like that would have been full of Naruto's usual optimistic outlook on life; this time, it was different.
"For fuck's sake," he replied, running a hand over his face. "Way to take your goddamn time." How the hell had it taken Naruto this long to get back to them? It'd been well over a week with no word from anyone back in Konoha City. He saw Karin and Sakura staring at them and held up a finger, wanting to ensure that Naruto had information for them before bothering to put it on speaker.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, I know," Naruto griped. Sasuke could hear him talking to someone else on the line, though he couldn't tell who. He was telling them not to get out of the car and to lock the doors... Why? Oh, now it was time to let loose the dogs of war. He moved to the counter and hit the speaker button, biting his lip in frustration.
"Naruto, what the hell is going on? You're on speaker, by the way. Sakura and Karin are here." The girls looked at him expectantly, then looked at the phone, waiting for Naruto's answer.
"Yeah, Sasuke, that's the problem. I don't really have an answer for you. Hold on." Sasuke looked at Sakura, who mouthed something at him and shook her head. She was just as frustrated as Sasuke, though she was less open about it; she just wanted to make sure everyone was okay. Sasuke was rooting for answers to whatever the hell was going on there. They heard the sound of knocking on something, then a few seconds later, a loud crash. Sasuke knew that sound all too well.
"You know I know what the sound of kicking a door down sounds like, right?" What the hell was Naruto doing, breaking and entering? Sakura's eyes widened at Sasuke's ability to pick up what the sounds were; she would never have picked that kind of thing up. This whole conversation was making her nervous; she'd started to shift her weight back and forth, wringing her hands in front of her.
"For fuck's sake." Naruto's words frustrated Sasuke even more, but he wasn't the first to speak; Sakura was quick to answer, slamming her hands down on the counter.
"What? Talk to us, Naruto!" Her voice was firm and demanding. She was tired of the jerking around. He seemed to ignore them, focusing on something else, but why would he call them if he didn't have answers? What kind of ridiculousness was this?!
"Listen, I-Hinata's been kidnapped." Sakura's mouth opened in shock. Hinata? Since when had Hinata become involved in things? This was news to both Sakura and Sasuke. "They were going for her sister, Hanabi, but she got grabbed, and Neji got shot trying to stop them. I tried to call Sai, but I can't find him anywhere, and he was staying at the safe house with Ino. She's nowhere to be fou- damn it!"
"What?!" Sasuke demanded.
"Sai's in bad shape, and Ino's nowhere to be found. This had to be a double attempt... Hanabi's the heiress to Hyuga Securities Industries, and we've been looking into their Akatsuki involvement, and Ino... Fuck, you don't know about that, either. Yeah, shit. Akatsuki came after you two because when Ino went to pick up things from your house, Sakura, the damn place blew up... and they found a body inside. Idate Shimura's body." Idate Shimura, as in... Itachi. Sasuke's brother. No, that didn't make any sense.
Sakura felt her body go cold all over at the news.
"What?" She said breathlessly as she stared at the phone sitting on the counter. Naruto's words had sunk in too quickly. Ino was missing? Not only that but she was kidnapped? And Hinata—someone had come for him? Neji was shot, on the verge of death? Sai was injured, too? Ino had been in the hospital? Her house had blown up? Idate-Itachi? Was it really him? Was he dead? If he was, then why were there constant threats on her friends happening left, right, and center?
Sakura couldn't keep a hold on her thoughts. They raced past her like cars on a Formula One track, whizzing by before they could even settle in only to circle back around. She felt tears in her eyes, felt her arms go stiff, her whole body tensing like she needed to escape. She took one step back, then another; any words that were said felt like they came to her through a long tunnel, making her unable to focus on them.
Sasuke watched in horror as Sakura's demeanour notably changed. He called her name, gingerly setting the phone down as he shushed Naruto. Karin, too, could see what was happening; she had her hands over her mouth in shock, struggling to comprehend the situation herself.
"Sakura?" Sasuke called again, but the pinkette couldn't form the words to respond to him. Her chest heaved with breaths, heart racing in her chest as the adrenaline started to take over. She took another step backwards, her back hitting the wall as she pressed against it; the sudden feeling of being trapped hit her like a wave, and she let out a terrified wail as she sank to the ground.
Her best friend. She might lose her best friend. What had she done to deserve this? Why was this happening to her? Was this a coincidence? Had she been wrong to take this job months ago? Was this because she'd chosen to run? Should she have turned herself in? Should she think about turning herself in? Would they release Ino if she did? What had they done to her? Was she even alive? Scenarios and questions rushed through Sakura's mind as she started to hyperventilate, the edges of her vision blurring as she struggled to draw in breaths.
Sasuke was kneeling before her in an instant, feeling the anxiety creep up in his own body as he watched her reaction. How much had she been holding back, he wondered? He knew Sakura was strong, but this... this has pushed her over the edge, making him wonder just how long she'd been teetering on that edge without him noticing.
"Sakura, listen to me," he said calmly, reaching for her hands.
"No, I can't, I can't." Sakura spoke so rapidly he almost couldn't make out her words. "Ino, she's—what if she's not okay? What if they've already done something to her? She was there, in the hospital, and I—" And in came the guilt. The fact that her best friend woke up in a hospital bed, and Sakura wasn't there. She hadn't been there like Ino had for her when the situation was reversed.
"She's scared and terrified, and her best friend is missing, and I— what do we do? We aren't going to make it home. This is it. This is our lives now."
Sakura rambled and ranted, trembling uncontrollably as she sat there.
"No, Sakura, we will figure this out," Sasuke coaxed, wishing he could believe that. At the moment, he had to. Unfortunately, all his training couldn't have prepared him for this. It was one thing to coax and calm down a stranger. It was another thing when it was happening to the person you loved more than anything in the world.
"No!" Sakura denied, tearing her hands away from him as she tried to curl in tighter on herself. Her hands pressed to the side of her head, a mix of sobs and heavy breaths coming from her. "I can't do this, I can't anymore. I'm never... my life is over, the life I dreamed of is dead, and I'm just... I'm just a fugitive, reduced to a worthless life as a transient, never doing anything or going anywhere, I... I can't... I can't do this. I should've never..." Her rambling turned to heavy sobs as she pressed the heels of her hands to her forehead, balled into fists from the tension in her body.
Watching her like this, Sasuke could feel his heart breaking in two. He felt like, on some level, this was his fault. He should have given up on looking into Akatsuki's movements and Itachi's guilt despite Sakura's insistence. He should have known better. He should have heeded his brother's warning. Though his police training helped him stay calm in this kind of situation, he knew there wasn't much he could do for Sakura. She needed help-professional help-and there was no way to get that. Not in the situation they were in right now.
And right now, that made him feel helpless. He watched as Sakura stood, pacing and rambling as tears streamed down her face; he approached her carefully and cautiously, doing his best to listen to her rambles as she prattled on. Even he couldn't find the words to talk her down; he didn't know what to say to her. Anything he wanted to say, he wasn't going to sound convincing because even he was beginning to doubt their chances.
Sakura tried to stop her thoughts racing as she prattled around Karin's living room, but words and phrases just came out without so much as a thought; her ability to even logically process what she was saying had flown out the window. She felt like she was looking at everything through a tunnel. It became harder and harder to breathe; she felt like she had to gasp for air. Her vision started to go blurry, then darkened at the edges as a wave of dizziness hit her. A second wave hit, and she felt her body lurch forward, the ground rushing up to meet her as her vision went black.
Sasuke caught her just before she hit the ground, partly relieved that she'd stopped rambling but concerned for her physical state. He remembered she'd mentioned she was inclined to fainting episodes, though he'd only ever seen it happen once. Fainting in this kind of stressful situation wasn't a surprise if that was the case. He looked at Karin, feeling more lost than ever and hoping his friend had some advice to give.
"Go look after her," she said with a wave of her hand. "I'll get whatever details I can from Naru-"
"Hey! What the fuck?" Naruto snapped over the phone. "What the hell is going on over there? Is she okay? Did something happen?"
Karin picked up the phone, sighing with frustration as she watched Sasuke carry Sakura back to one of the bedrooms. "It's fine. Sakura devolved into a panic attack from the news and fainted." She closed her eyes. "Shit-okay, listen up. I may not know her that well, but I know for a fact that she can't handle much more of this on-the-run bullshit, and Sasuke... Fuck, I don't know if he can handle much more of it, either. Just-fuck. I'll keep the burner for now so he can look after her, but whenever you find something out, you call me. Jugo and I run a bail bonds slash P.I. business. I will call him, and we'll start looking for whatever we can and update you. Just-find their friends. For fuck's sake, find them."
A/N: Hey everyone! I just wanted to throw a teensy apology for not updating as soon as I would have liked. I had a work trip right after the last update (thought I would have time to write, but it was a cesspool of chaos), then had to play catch-up at work for the week after, followed by Thanksgiving... and realistically, October to February is absurdly busy at work for me. As a result, my updates probably won't come as often, as I just won't have as much time to write. But don't fret! I definitely will still be updating my stories and still writing, it just may take longer to get chapters out.