Happy New year, everyone! It has barely kicked in but I have high hopes for this year, believe it!
This chapter is a bit lengthy but I hope you enjoy it regardless. Big thanks to Aurelliawii08 and MariaPau25 for their awesome reviews, and also to my guest reviewers. Muah!!!
To silent readers, please just drop a word or two of how much you hate or like the story. It'd help a great deal.
CHAPTER 16
The mansion was unusually still. Quiet and dry of all energy. She hated it. She hated that she didn't have her playmate nearby, hated the fact that there was no real source of entertainment for her and absolutely loathed the fact that she, confined to the four walls of the huge house, could not go out in search of her prey.
Perhaps she had exerted too much force. What more did she expect from a mere, useless human? For such a being to be completely destabilized from a little push. Humans were despicable creatures, indeed.
Regardless of how angry she felt at their absence, she derived a bitter sense of victory. That human deserved what befell her. For she had severed what transcendental connection she shared with the little Sarada by putting that necklace on her and had distorted the spiritual flow in her playfield with that cursed object she hid in the house. The only form of reparation she could deliver was to quench the little fire which burned within the feeble human.
She could only imagine the look of anguish the mortal had on her face at the discovery. Humans, she knew, had such sentimentality for their offsprings, something she could never understand.
She swore by her name, Kaguya, that she would break her, toy with her and devour her when the time was ripe. Due to the restrictions the foolish human had placed in the household, there was only so much fun she could inevitably have. But as long as both mother and child bore her mark, their minds were at her mercy. They would dream dreams that were capable of breaking any human mind and will, and would slowly yet surely cling to the edge of sanity as she deemed fit. In such dreams, their minds would scarcely be able to tell the difference between reality and illusion. Indeed, there would be a vague division between the two realities.
Her resolve was absolute. Resilient.
A deep frown settled on her smooth pale face as she stood at the base of the stairs, roving pearl eyes around with frustrated disgust. Soon, all her pieces would be set on the board.
They shall be her pawn.
And in place of a queen, a terror she would be.
The next day, Sakura noted, to her utmost disappoinment, that she had not caught a wisp of Sasuke at all. A tiny voice in her head told her he needed space, time to think, to face her again inorder to come to a compromise. Yet even she did not buy the excuse.
He took her explanation the wrong way. He probably was not thinking along the same lines with her. He probably did not believe the whole Suki story. Realization of this fact pulled a trigger within Sakura which dulled her sense of reasoning along with the determination she'd felt when she had fiercely fought for full recovery.
Sasuke didn't even stop to think of Suki no matter how dire she tried to paint the situation.
She was alone in this.
Drowning in her newly awakened state of desolation, she stared dazedly ahead of her. It was the darn ceiling again. For how long would she have that white surface stare down at her so mockingly?
Still in her quiet, mindless suffering, her ears perked at the lone voice which echoed in the whole room and out the halls.
"The nurses told me you ignored their calls for your physical therapy." The taut voice of Kabuto Yakushi sighed. "Dr Uchiha, you of all people should know how imp-"
"Discharge me already, Yakushi." She turned to him, face hardened with frustration, though the power in her words were not as intense.
"Not until I say you're fully recovered, no." He dismissed. "You've been showing steady progress-"
"I'm not asking twice, Kabuto." The authority in her voice shocked both she and the doctor before her. Where was that inner damned self-reproach gripping her earlier?
"Complete your treatment and then I'll sign your papers." The man said, unyielding even in the face of his superior.
Pushing herself up into a sitting position amidst pulses of pain, she made sure to shoot more daggers through those round glasses he wore. "At least make me an outpatient. I've healed enough. Let me get my treatments from home."
Pinning his clipboard securely under his armpit, the doctor adjusted his round lens, a minute smirk on his face. "I don't need to remind you of your status in this hospital. The board would have my neck if I made err... unwise decisions."
Sakura snorted, casting defeated yet daring eyes to the feet of her bed. "On second thought, I don't need anyone's permission to leave."
Kabuto emitted a light, short chuckle. "The fact that you haven't pulled through with that threat further reinforces my reason for your staying put." He smiled at the sharp look she hurdled his way, seemingly unfazed. "You will continue with your therapy tomorrow."
"All this ends if I say no, you know that?"
Once again, the doctor failed to hide his egoistic smirk. "All this worsens if I question your mental- sorry, physical state in my assessment."
Gradually, a look of shock, horror and... panic flashed across Sakura's face, contorting into an even worse state of anxiety when a knowing smirk crept up the doctor's proud face. His slip up was too deliberate to be a mistake. What did he mean by that? What did he know?
"Ahh..." He drawled, releasing the clipboard into the confines of his hands. "I read through your medical history... Post-partum depression isn't that big of a deal but it is a risk factor, especially now, given your recent developments." Sakura watched on with horror at how he skipped through the papers on his clipboard, all the while maintaining his monotonous way of speaking. "You just had a miscarriage. We can't rule out the possibility of depression and mental degradation. So until your physical therapy is finished and until we've run a proper mental examination on you, you can't leave the hospital."
Sakura had heard stories, disturbing ones of how manipulative Kabuto Yakushi was but that's all they were. Stories. Never had she witnessed his cruelty. Never had she been on the receiving end. Now, as she stared, mouth partially agape at the figure before her, she realized with sickening anger the kind of snake he was. Pinning her in this very walls to sate his entertainment, for she knew no reason why he would be so adamant about her receiving treatment. It's not like they were best of friends, nor was he that much of a conformist. In his sick twisted way, he enjoyed this.
He must've read the disgust and horror etched on her face and known the direction her train of thought went. Then with a sigh and short intake of air, he said. "I know we don't see eye to eye on a lot of things, Dr Uchiha but believe me, our bad blood has nothing to do with this. I'm simply following orders."
Swallowing thickly, she croaked. "Whose?"
His body angled for the door, "Who else's? The members of the board, of course. Rest well, Dr. Uchiha, we'll continue our session tomorrow. But I can assure you it wouldn't take long before you get discharged. You can change your room if it isn't to your liking any longer."
He shut the door behind him, leaving a distraught Sakura in the bright room, staring disdainfully at her pale palms on the sheets. Her eyes stung but no trail of tears pooled at their corners nor threatened to fall. She'd finished all the watery substance she had to dispell. Now only her mind careened with thoughts.
She really was alone.
Just as Mebuki arrived at the hospital that morning and after getting a word of greeting from Sasuke in the hallway, she ventured to her daughter's room. But the sight she met at the entrance, pushed her to change her destination. Sakura laid almost lifeless as she stared dully at the ceiling, so hard that she barely noticed Mebuki's presence.
Without thinking, she barged into the office she'd walked to, biting her lip when regret crept up on her at the interruption she noticed she just caused.
"Mebuki!" Tsunade, alert with panic, almost jumped from her seat. The person, an elderly man, seated across her visibly tensed.
The old Haruno smoothened her gown. "Pardon me. I'll come back after you're done."
"No, it's alright." The man waved, rising to his feet. "I was just about to leave. Dr. Tsunade, do not forget what we discussed." At the frown on the busty woman's face, Mebuki could tell it wasn't a pleasant meeting.
When the door had slid shut behind her, she moved to occupy the seat opposite the blonde woman. "Is there a problem?" She asked.
Tsunade sighed. "It's work-related. A lot of old fools won't give me a break. What's wrong? Why were you looking for me?"
The woman squirmed on the chair, uncomfortable as to how to proceed. "Well, when will Sakura be allowed to leave? I believe she's well enough to go home. Having Sarada all over the place without her mother doesn't sit well with me."
Hard amber eyes stared back in response. Tsunade leaned into her chair, it reclined under her weight. "I feel the same way, Mebuki but she's in a tight spot as it is."
"I don't understand. How? Isn't she out of the woods yet?"
"As far as her physical rehabilitation goes, she's almost there. But that's not their main concern right now."
"Whose main concern?"
Tsunade released an exasperated sigh. "The hospital board."
Confused, Mebuki leaned towards the table. "What do they have to do with anything?"
Gradually, Tsunade reached for a small plastic container in one of her drawers, popping two pills from it, using her cup of tea to push it down her throat. "You know how companies work? You can build it from scratch, have it under name but still lose it to some bloodthirsty, greedy recruits... That's basically the same thing we face here."
Perturbed, Mebuki shook her head. "You still haven't answered my question."
Reclining into her seat while trailing her middle finger up and down the bridge of her nose with her eyes closed, Tsunade replied. "Sakura's the owner of this building but basically it's a co-ownership since I run it most times. However, it's registered under her name so technically, it's hers. But she doesn't have the full power or authority. As there are different departments within the hospital, there are different heads of these departments. These heads form the board of say... directors."
"All decisions arrived at for the safety and good of the hospital are from the unanimous votes at their table. But ever since Sarada's birth, some board members have been rearing their ugly heads, seeking to strip Sakura of her position in the hospital."
Mebuki gaped. "Why? Did they think her duties as a mother would be a problem?"
"No." Tsunade scoffed. "She was diagnosed with post-partum depression. Since then, her movements within the hospital have been monitored. When she and Sasuke decided that she pulled out from major hospital work to spend more time with Sarada, they misinterpreted the whole thing as Sakura seeking reprieve due to mental health issues. They've practically been on my case since then because I cover up for her and on hers because they don't trust her sense of judgement."
"And now, she just had a miscarriage. Getting a full mental evaluation out of her is more important than the progress of her physical therapy. That's why they pinned Yakushi on her. Those bastards."
Shocked at the revelation, Mebuki pressed her back against the chair, her thoughts reeling in various angles for her daughter's situation. "Does she know?"
"No." Tsunade divulged. "We kept her in the dark. She doesn't have to know that the whole world thinks she's insane. It wouldn't help her case." But as it seemed, Tsunade doubted it was a wise decision to leave her out of the loop. Though she got updates from Sasuke about her health, she needed additional assurance from her niece that she wouldn't be caught slipping. She realized she had not tied all loose ends like she thought she had. Knowing Kabuto, he might already be on the verge of frustrating Sakura, essentially to get her to crack or give the board members an excuse, a premise to act upon.
It was the sound of Mebuki's voice that ushered her back to reality. "Why is all this happening to Sakura? What did she do to deserve this?"
Tsunade had no words for her but shared in her sentiment. "At least you're not blaming Sasuke this time around."
The woman looked as if she'd been slapped, lowering her head a bit to avoid Tsunade's growing smirk. "Oh curse my mood swings!"
"I'll let her stay for a day or two, then make sure they send her home."
Mebuki nodded. "Have you... have you seen her lately? She looks worse for wear." Her voice croaked as she spoke, feeling a bitter taste in her gut when pictures of her daughter's downcast face crossed her memory.
Tsunade's expression mirrored hers. "I know. That's why I need to get her out as soon as possible. Knowing her fragile state, she'd break down eventually. I don't want that to happen in front of the wolves."
After a few consideration, Mebuki posed the question she felt pinching the base of her tongue. "What's your take on her mental state? It's no secret you think she needs help."
Visibly caught off guard, Tsunade drummed on the table with her fingers, eyes shut so as not to betray her inner guilt. "Sakura has done and said things that are... questionable."
"She hasn't had therapy for a long time now because she refused it but it doesn't get better by the day." She continued. "What I realized, however, is that it doesn't affect her work life. But I don't know, Mebuki. I just don't understand her..."
The old woman looked on, not knowing what else to say or do. She was always useless whenever it came to her daughter.
"Papa!"
An excited Sarada ran towards the tall Uchiha as he emerged from the main door of the Naruto's house. Her little body rammed into him, hugging his legs while shooting happy irises up at him. Sasuke simply held her by her shoulder, pinning her more closer to himself in the short embrace before she broke free.
"Would you like me to get you something to eat or drink, Sasuke?" The warm voice of Hinata, who had beckoned him in, drifted around him as she walked towards the kitchen.
"Just water would do." He responded.
Sarada circled around him, running with the giddiness which awoken in her at the sight of her father, until he plopped on a settee in the living room. "Papa, are we going to see Mama?"
"Soon."
His glass of water arrived soon. He offered a word of thanks before downing it. A quick glance at his wristwatch, it was quarter to noon. Just an hour since he left the hospital and went home to freshen up.
"Look how happy she is to see you." Naruto alighted into the room, sitting just beside the male Uchiha. He wore a cream and grey striped tee on navy blue shorts. Noting the semi-slouched figure of his friend and the extra dull look on his face. "What's up?"
Cerulean eyes darted questionably to Sasuke whose attention was on Sarada, who after jumping about some minutes ago had wedged herself in-between her father's legs, leaning into her father's hunched form. He assumed he needed privacy. And the daddy's girl in their midst did not look like she was about to let them be. Quietly, he ventured. "Sarada, why don't you go see what Boruto's up to? He's awfully quiet upstairs."
The little Uchiha frowned at the order, shooting angry arrows at Naruto for daring to interrupt her moment with her father. When she didn't look like she was going to budge, Sasuke spoke. "Go get your things, Sarada. I'll call you when we're leaving."
Betrayed that her father also wanted her out of earshot, she pouted and trudged up the stairs before disappearing from sight.
Now having his full, undivided attention, Naruto continued his interrogation. "So why do you look so bummed? How's Sakura?"
"She's fine." He shrugged, leaning into the soft, leather chair in a lax manner before pinching the bridge of his nose. "Her mother's with her."
"Did you and Aunt Mebuki have a fight again?"
"No." The woman surprisingly mellowed after Sakura woke up, following her accident. Sasuke begged to know why but he assumed she did not want to get on Sakura's bad side by openly antagonizing him. "She's laid back for a while now."
Unsatisfied, Naruto yet again, pried. "Then what's the problem?"
Deep down he knew but he needed Sasuke to spell it out in clear words. "Sakura." He stated, exhausted. "She... we talked last night. It didn't end well."
"Obviously." Naruto scratched the back of his head, dreading where the discussion was going. "What happened?"
"I don't know what to do again, Naruto." He ceded, drawing a near shocked expression from the blonde man. Since his marriage to Sakura, Naruto had been something more than a confidant to him. He'd run to him for advice whenever it came to marriage problems but there was only so much he could share with his best friend, given the fact that work always got in the way and they barely spoke of deep women issues. But he was about to reveal the details of Sakura's recent behavior to him.
Naruto considered the weight of his words. "Is she still hung up on the miscarriage?" Sasuke shifted in his seat. "If that's the case, it's completely normal, Sasuke. These things take time to heal."
Sasuke emitted a low grumble. "It's not that." Even the fact that she'd not talked about the miscarriage scared the shit out of him. He sensed a potential breakdown soon.
"Then what?"
Meeting his eyes, he uttered the words that have disturbed him for days now. "She said she was pushed down the stairs."
"What?" Wide-eyed, Naruto was at the edge of his seat. "What are you saying? She told the doctor she fell..."
Ignoring his state of panic, Sasuke explained Tsunade's hypothesis and what prompted him to ask the question in the first place. Somehow, he felt Naruto wasn't listening. He was still shocked at the initial revelation.
"So who... who pushed her?" He said barely over a whisper. "Did she see who? Have you reported it? Why... why did she lie about it?"
"Because I told her to..." Those words sounded like a question, but with the way he shrugged his shoulder indicated the hint of sarcasm and stress in his tone.
Frustrated, Naruto turned fully to face his friend on the settee. "Sasuke, break it down to me, would you?"
A pause, then Sasuke's baritone voice stated. "She said it was Suki... Sarada's imaginary friend."
A mixture of horror and bewilderment wrapped around Naruto's face, his eyes widened with sickening realization.
"She claimed Sarada confirmed it. The demon she'd being seeing had been Suki all along." He decided against divulging the main factor that had caused their fight the night before. The less he thought or spoke about it, the better, he reasoned.
Naruto broke down in cold sweat, running shaky hands through his hair. "Do you think the miscarriage worsened it? Have you told Gran Tsunade?"
Sasuke remained quiet.
"You know it's worse than before, Sasuke. You have to tell her."
"And then what?" He rounded on him, on edge at his seat as he clasped agitated fingers against each other with his elbows on his knees for support. "They take her to a mental hospital, jeopardize her career and leave Sarada without her mother?"
"I'm just as pained at the situation as you are, Sasuke." Naruto refuted. "But we have to do something before it gets worse! She's already talking to Sarada about these things, who knows what she might do next?"
Sasuke's lips remained pursed as he listened on. "Sasuke, she might hurt herself in the process if she doesn't hurt others."
A bitter chuckle, short and pained reached Naruto's ears. "I told her I'd listen... told her I'd try to understand her." But instead I hurt her further by getting angry, he completed within the confines of his mind.
"I'll handle it." He spoke more to himself than to Naruto. "There's no need for any other person to know. I'll keep a close watch on her, see how her treatment progresses-"
"Or regresses." Naruto countered. "You can't keep this hidden for long, Sasuke."
His teeth gritted painfully. Then out of the blue, he surprised himself with what he said next. "She looked... normal."
"What do you mean?"
Onyx eyes thought back to the heated conversations they've had, to how her sense of logic still burned in her eyes, to how everything she said or did looked remotely sane until the topic took a turn to the supernatural. "She's... She would've told everyone about it regardless. But she still knows when to and not to act."
"Are you saying you believe her?"
Did he? There was no asking it, he never dreamed of her story being true talk less of believed it to be so. "I'm saying she's not all out of it. I can take care of it."
He hoped.
He prayed.
After her discussion with Tsunade, Mebuki went back to her daughter's side. Since her awakening, Sakura had not really engaged her in a conversation. In actuality, it was only Sasuke she spoke gingerly to, although most of the time, their conversations were heated.
Now, Mebuki sat beside her bed, determined to get some sort of reaction from her daughter by all means. She was seated when she walked in, more dejected than she had been when she saw her earlier on. Gently, she dropped her bag by the side, bringing out a plate full of diced fruits. "I brought your favorite fruit salad." She announced, placing the contents on the bed near Sakura's unmoving form.
Dull emeralds eyed the set of plates on display beside her. "Also yoghurt, in case you want to pour it in the salad, like you love doing." She chatted animatedly, spying on her daughter's face as she went on. "This one is rice and this is chicken soup." She pointed at the different plates. "I didn't know what you wanted so I brought everything. I'm sure it's enough to go round... for Sarada and Sasuke too."
Still no reply.
"Or," she peered at her drooping lids, "do you want me to get something else?"
Finally, she roused something from her. "No. I'm not hungry."
Then she slipped back under her covers, returning to her usual position on the bed.
"But Sasuke told me you haven't eaten anything this morning. Try to put something in your stomach, dear."
Sakura exhaled, casting tired eyes at her mother. "I'll eat those later."
Resigning to defeat, Mebuki lowered the plates onto the bedside tables stacking them on top each other while thinking of a new approach. "Aren't you going for therapy today?"
Sakura wasn't looking at her anymore. Her eyes were shut tight. "Tomorrow." She said monotonously. "Can you please shut the blinds? I want to sleep."
Motioning towards the windows, Mebuki stopped in her tracks. This wasn't the plan. She could not let Sakura brush her off so easily. She was back on her seat immediately, failing to do as Sakura ordered. When she noticed her mother had not done what she asked, she revealed those dull shades of green to her once more.
"Sakura, you haven't spoken a word to me since you woke up." Mebuki started, not liking the uninterested look she kept receiving from her daughter. "I know I can't ask for much, but at least let me in on what's going on."
Sakura blinked, not in the mood to patronize her.
"I hear bits and pieces from everyone but you. Can't we move on from this? I'm not getting any younger and you know that. I just want to be at peace with my daughter. Please grant this one favor."
After a few heartbeats, Sakura finally spoke words as sharp as glass shards. "They think I'm crazy. But I don't blame them for it."
When Kabuto left her, she entered another round of soul searching. For a long time, she'd thought her folks were the problem but what if... what if she was the one with the problem? What if, truly, she was out of her wits? After all, insane people believed their sick, twisted world's existed, even if it were in their minds. What if the idea of Suki was just her mind playing tricks on her? And if that were true, it would mean she was in real danger. Because nothing in this world could possibly be stronger than the mind. It would mean her mind was solely responsible for pushing her down the stairs. It would mean she indeed needed help.
"No."
The sound of her mother's voice compelled her back to their conversation.
"No, you're not crazy, Sakura."
Her words elicited a pained chortle from the female Uchiha. "How would you know? You've been absent since Sarada's birth."
Like a burn on her flesh, Mebuki swallowed the pain. "But I've been following you up, at least. Even if you shut me out, I still cared enough to get updates. From Tsunade, your friends and... and even Sasuke."
"Oh." She replied, unmoved.
A sigh fell off Mebuki's lips. "Just tell me. What's your story?"
Facing the ceiling, she replied in a detached monotone. "Nothing. It barely matters anymore."
It barely did.
"Sakura," Mebuki pleaded, "please."
"I really have a headache, mother." Emerald eyes fell behind closed lids. "We'll talk some other time, I promise."
Wordlessly, Mebuki, hurt and defeated, closed the blinds and left the room, finding a safe and quiet place to let her tears fall.
On their way to the hospital, Sasuke noticed two things amiss about his daughter. She was unusually quiet; and was somewhat clingy than before. He didn't help the way his eyes drifted to her neckline every now and then as he looked with nervous apprehension at the accessory tucked in her shirt.
Bringing his car to a halt by the roadside, he watched as her questioning gaze fell on his curious ones through the rear view mirror. Turning his face to the back completely, he gave her his full attention. "Is something wrong, Sarada?"
She blinked, not understanding the weighted question. "How, Papa?"
"You're awfully quiet. Are you hungry?"
She shook her head. "I ate at Uncle Naruto's this morning."
He nodded. "So what's the matter?" He needed to get to the root of her unusual behavior.
She didn't say anything, only looked on with what Sasuke felt was a saddened and exhausted expression. At long last, she dismissed his query. "Nothing."
Oh it was all the more something. Frowning, Sasuke reached out, placing his left palm flat on her forehead to check her temperature. "Do you feel queasy? Sleep well last night?"
Sarada's thoughts drifted to the dream she had the previous night which shook her awake later in the night when she found Naruto in the kitchen. Her dreams have been becoming scarier each night and though she could not remember most of the details, she knew the main character of most of them. Suki.
But there was no way she could really tell if her dear innocent friend was truly behind those frightening dreams or if they truly were just innocent nightmares.
"You're not burning up." He sighed in relief but noticed the sad frown on her face and barely conceivable pout she put on.
"I-" she began, before raising downcast orbs at her father, "I miss sleeping with Mama." Her statement caught him by mild surprise. "I've been having nightmares since..."
She strained, wasn't sure when it had started.
"Nightmares?"
"Mmhmm." She nodded. "Mama is always in them. She's always hurt."
Sasuke's frown deepened. How often was it that she'd been so disturbed. His mind couldn't help but wander back to the necklace on her neck. With such gentleness of a surgeon, he ventured, "Sarada...?"
Said girl blinked curious innocence at Sasuke.
"That necklace... where did you get it from?"
Her face perked a bit above average. "Mama gave it to me." She beamed silently, discarding the inner distress she felt a moment ago. Bringing the accessory out into view, she smiled at father. "Do you like it, Papa?"
Sasuke eyed it with careful slits. It looked nothing sinister like he thought but he was still convinced it was a dangerous device and had to be put as far away from his daughter as physically possible. Masking his gentle anger, he feigned a little smile. "Aa."
Knowing his daughter, no sort of excuse would be bright enough to get her to remove it now, especially since they were on their way to see the very person who gave it to her. He would take it when she fell asleep, he decided.
Satisfied with her brightened face, he was about to turn to hit the road once more when a thought popped up in his mind.
Now was a good time to do it, he reasoned.
N the inner walls of his logical reasoning, he knew this to be the most insane question he'd ever ask his daughter, but what gives? It's for the sake of Sakura, to put her words to test and see if any truth comes out of it. All traces of mirth gradually receded on Sarada's face at the calculating gaze her father held on her and was replaced by innocent confusion. "Is something wrong, Papa?"
Snapped by the sound of her voice, Sasuke adjusted properly in his seat, almost leaning a bit too backwards with his front and his left hand was on the passenger's seat seeking equilibrium.
"Sarada..." He trailed off, unsure of how to pose the question, also having second thoughts about asking it at all. A low growl escaped his lips when he won the inner battle between uncertainty and cowardice. Her doe eyes implored him to speak more. Undeterred, he obliged. "Has- How is... Suki...?"
Sarada stared off, dazed for a mini second before a snap of awakening took over her while her mind did a double take. "Suki?"
"She's..." Should she tell her father she'd been having nightmares? She was smart to know Suki was an imaginary friend since even Chocho, her best friend, had never interacted with her throughout the course of their playtime. If she slipped up and said more than was necessary, her father would surely ban or reduce her TV time, he might pass it off as something that had happened because of the plenty movies she watches. At the thought, she pursed her lips before proceeding. "I haven't seen her for a while."
Which was in fact, no lie.
Sasuke hands were clammy. She claimed she hasn't seen her for sometime. Is that a good thing? Did it mean she had outgrown her toy? Or was the amulet responsible? "Since when?"
"I don't know." She shrugged, honestly.
"Was it before Mama's accident?"
Her notes scrunched in thought, then she shook her head. "Can't remember. Why are you asking, Papa?"
Sasuke's jaw clenched. He didn't know for sure but what he was more than certain of was that he would remove the charmed object on his daughter. What the hell was he expecting? Even his daughter had not heard from the so called Suki that Sakura had claimed to see.
The situation was ugly and he was danmnned tired of it. By the heavens, he was!
Turning back to the steering wheel, he started ignition and hit acceleration. "Nothing."
He wondered his reason for asking.
A wild, strange sound assaulted her ears. It was a serene, beautiful sound to behold, echoing all around her. Her eyes fluttered open, she was still in the hospital, and her arm still ached like before. Her mind became fully aware of the sound drifting into her room. Everywhere was dead quiet, save for that particular, distinct wailing.
Listening intently to the loud noise, she matched the sound to that of a crying infant. Subsequently, it took a moment before her fuzzy mind realized where the sound was coming from. It was not far from where she was, just outside her room. Gently, she peeled the covers off her body and threw her legs down from the bed. It still hurt. It was heavy. Her bleak eyes wandered round the orange-lit room. Through the blinds, sunset cast a warm illumination into the room.
The echo which pulled her from her slumber, pulled her attention once more to the door, from which the sound emitted. With great difficulty, she trudged out of the room, using the wall for support as she did so.
Coming into the hallway, she scarcely saw a single soul. There was no one in sight. Staff not patients. The whole room was deserted. Emerald eyes traced the empty halls. Had they moved her to another VIP room? If that were the case, it would explain the lack of activity and attendants.
On her silent command, her legs carried her to the source of the wild alarm. A door was nearly in sight, the loud cry drew closer.
On getting to the entrance of the room, Sakura drew in a sharp breath.
"Oh you're up." The sweet voice of her husband, Sasuke, surprised her.
"Papa, why is he crying so much?" Sarada asked as she peered into the bundle of cloth Sasuke carried in his arms. "Is he hungry?"
A heavy presence enveloped the space behind her, jolting her into the room. "Maybe he wants his mother." It was Tsunade.
Mother? Who were they referring to? What were they talking about?
Her lips were quick to utter words of confusion. "Mother? What do you mean?"
"You, silly." Tsunade patted her shoulder. "Go on. We really can't stand the sight of all that tears."
Wide green eyes stared, stupefied at the faces before her. As she stood barely aright in the middle of the room, having no body or object for support, she merely gawked at the bundle in Sasuke's arms. Its cries increased in tempo, but the smile plastered on everyone's face made the scenario all the more disconcerting.
Before she knew it, she felt soft fabric pressed against her chest. Blinking, soft onyx eyes beckoned her to accept the offering. On instinct, with her eyes still trained on Sasuke's, she accepted the bundle. The little offering produced a piercing cry. Finally bringing her gaze down to her arms, Sakura's heart did a backflip at the sight.
It was a little baby.
She couldn't tell the gender but she distinctly remembered them calling the babe a he. His eyes were lost to the world as they remained shut in agony while he cried. There was a little head warmer atop his head, shielding the colour of his hair from view. His hands were balled into tiny fists standing inches away from his face as he wailed. Sakura took in every detail of the specie she held enclosed in her arms.
He was beautiful.
"What are you waiting for, Mama? Make him stop crying." Sarada beseeched beside her.
"What's wrong, Sakura?"
It took Sasuke's finger on her cheek wiping a falling tear for her to know she was crying. Her eyes met his immediately. "Is this real?"
"Of course." Sasuke nodded. Dropping his eyes to the baby. "Look at him."
She did.
"I can't believe this." Sakura shook her head, tears rolled freely. "Shh-shh..." She rocked the little infant until he calmed down, breathing evenly before relaxing in sleep.
Amazed, she looked at everyone in the room. They had the same lovely smile stitched on their faces.
"You look happy." A voice said behind her.
In her moment of ease, she nodded, not caring who had spoken. "I am happy."
A deep-throated chuckle snapped her back to the strange voice she head behind her. Whirling around to find the source, she froze.
There was nothing there.
A light frown crept across her forehead, then she dismissed the feeling of augury and went back to cradling the bundle in her arms...
...only for the blood in her veins to freeze over at the sight she met.
Her arms felt heavy, and as it flexed under the weight it carried, a distinct squishing sound sang to her ears. With slow intensity, blotches of red were seeping out of the once soft and white skin of the babe, and plump flesh slowly deflated, dissolved until it was lean bloodied skin on bone her eyes saw. Harsh, short bursts of air echoed in her ears. It took time before she knew the horrid sound was coming from her lungs and out her parted mouth. Wide, horrified green eyes stared in a sick entrance at the thing she carried.
Her frame, shaking and rooted in position, almost collapsed and it would have if it could. A loud thumping sound came from within her, her throat itched to produce sound- a scream, a sob, a shriek... anything- but only raspy, hyperventilating breaths met her ears rocking in tempo with her heaving chest. The squishing sound became abnormally louder this time, and her heart slammed aggravatingly in her chest when her slowly functional brain registered the sound to be akin to crushed bones in a sack. Like glass shards in a ziploc filled with water.
Scream! She willed herself yet nothing came, only for her pulse to quicken when she realized she was frozen in place. As much as she wanted to tear her gaze off the bloodied thing in her arms, she couldn't. The once healthy baby had been reduced to a bloodied, broken mess. Its eyes- ones she had not even dared to see nor was given the chance to- had sunk into the hole of its sockets and the once tiny and beautiful mouth which had been producing loud sounds of cry few seconds ago stood agape in an 'O' manner that seemed physically impossible even in its bony form.
"Are you happy, still?" An unfamiliar, chill voice spoke. It sounded eerily distant yet close... and eerily familiar the more it rang in her ears. It was shaky, womanly, sinister.
With a start, her body felt like lightweight and a mighty wave of relief washed over her when her taut muscles loosened. She could move now, but the worst of the shock had receded and the need to scream waned. Instead she raised her head to Sasuke's direction to seek solace and possibly get reassurance that her mind was playing tricks on her.
But no one was there.
In fact, no one was in the room with her.
Her eyes drifted back to her arms, it was still the same nightmare which stared up at her. The alarm bells in her head acted on instinct before her brain could act and she made a move to loosen her grip on the bundle she carried. But to her horror and confusion, it didn't budge. Her arms were like glue and perhaps had a master of their own since they dared to disobey her and let go of what was wedged between them. Her mouth felt parched. Another intense wave of apprehension and weakness slammed into her but her treacherous legs refused to buckle at her command.
Then the dreadful chuckle floated in the quiet space once more. "My, an awful mother you are."
Sakura whirled around, seeking the owner of the voice but found nothing. Finally, her throat seemed to gather enough strength and will and she sprouted into the murky room. "S-Suki?"
Could she dare to hope? That even the safety of her dream served no purpose in walling off this madness. She was aware this was a sick dream. A nightmare. But was it just hers? Did she do this? Or was the demon responsible?
Caught in her moment of daze, her all-too sharp ears streamed another sound around her. A splash, then a drop. Consecutive drips. Just before her frozen form. Suddenly her limbs felt like they were her own once again and stepped back, eyes darting frantically for the source of the dripping sound.
Glazed viridian eyes widened when she saw a pool of red liquid on the spot she formally stood.
What the hell was going on?
Seconds later, the dripping sound ensued once more and Sakura dared to look down, beyond what she carried in her arms- arms that immediately felt cold and slippery. A choked sob hurried out her lips at the realization that it was the being in her arms that produced the massive liquid on the floor.
Now, to her immense short relief, her legs gave way underneath her. On her knees, her shoulders shook as every inch of her- organs, nerves and limbs- went distinctly haywire. "W-Why?" She spoke to no one in particular, whipping her head in every direction as she did so. "Why me? Why Sarada?"
All too suddenly, a breeze of cold mist swarmed the room, surrounding her on all corners till it thickened in her line of vision. A figure emerged from the mist, tall and imposing, clothed in white.
Sakura's blood ran cold. She knew what-who it was even before espying its face. Still her legs felt like jelly, worsening all the more when the figure appeared in full bloom before her. Her eyes remained trained on the lower half of the figure her eyes could see, so she failed to capture the mild sneer on its face.
"You-You're t-the demon." Her voice was oddly shaky but she didn't know which emotion caused it. Fear or rage?
Suki did not care to react, Sakura noticed, instead her heart galloped when long gown she stared so strongly at folded as she bent to her level, shining narrowed pearly eyes her way. She looked slighted, insulted by the title to which she was called.
Filthy humans, the figure rebuked in her inner subconscious. Beings who fancied themselves to believe in absurdities. She had indulged it after their first meeting when she had all but cried nonsensical words to her mortal husband but being on the receiving end, hearing it in address- never had she felt so slighted.
"Demon?"
Sakura's breath hitched deeply in her throat. Now that she heard the voice loud and clear, devoid of any sinister taunting, she acknowledged to her abject horrified mortification, that it sounded oddly... beautiful. Warm. Not the regular contorted sort one would see in movies. It was as gentle as a siren's. Bewitching. But Sakura knew, knew in her gut that it was just a cover-up. Like a siren, she appeared stunning and bewitching but her evil was off the radar.
But this could really be a dream. One that she herself had concocted in sleep, Sakura reasoned. But for what reason would her dream make her look so bewitching? To what end?
The look of disgust walled off completely from Suki's face and was replaced by a blank, calculating one.
"Why?" Sakura found her asking, not to Suki but more to her crazed self. "Why? Why? Whyyyy?" Why was this happening?
Suki mistook her self-loathing for askance and prodded. "Sarada is but a plaything. A means to an end."
Wide-eyed at the revelation, Sakura gazed upon white eyes which revealed nothing.
"You interfered and as a price for such foolishness, here you are." She rallied on, her expression as blank as ever. "Gaze upon the consequences of your actions," Sakura looked at the dead baby in her arms, exhaling shakily that she did so, not of her own will but at the compelling force of Suki's silent command.
"This isn't real." Sakura breathed, shaking her head viciously. "I'm dreaming."
Suki narrowed her eyes once more but without disgust.
"I'm having a sick dream right now and would probably wake up forgetting all this-"
"You think this to be false?" Suki sliced in, tilting her head in askance.
Yes. Sakura agreed, more than convinced at this point. In what reality would she be conversing with a demon? In what reality did a demon even speak at lengths?
A sharp brittle sound emerged before increasing into choked laughter. It came from Sakura, shocking Suki in the process. Her laugh, however didn't meet her eyes. "I'm talking to a fucking demon. Can't believe my crazy mind is pulling a one-up on me."
Suki's eyes narrowed into maddening slits. If she stayed longer, she worried she might inevitably end her. For a worthless human such as this to make a mockery of her, she would seek retribution. Her mind was already her playground and she was sure to put it to good use, especially now that her mood, along with her plans have been soiled by the insolent woman before her.
With deathly accuracy, a long pale hand clamped on her upperarm, dragging her with such force she almost slammed into the chest of Suki. All traces of false amusement on Sakura's face had gone with the wind, leaving fear to take over in its wake. She squirmed, trying to break her arm free only to feel the tip of long nails sinking into her skin. A note of something trickling down the sore spot made her realize the long nails were drawing blood.
Sakura whimpered, feeling her eyes glaze over with unshed tears. Her breathing was shaky and raggedy. "Let go." Sakura faintly realized she'd dropped the death baby sometime ago when Suki dragged her and with her now freed arm, she pushed at the being. Nothing worked.
Unperturbed, Suki spoke with a daring smirk on her face. "Since you crave reality so much,"
"Get away from me!!!"
"I will grant it to you."
And that was all her weak mind registered before wide green orbs gazed upon the open red eye in-between Suki's pearly eyes.
She felt a little shuffling sound beside her and felt her heart pound furiously when the bony frame of the dead baby took form into a much older version, like a five-year old child and bounded for her on shaky legs.
Frozen on the floor on high alarm, Sakura released a horrified sob which doubled into ear-splitting screams when, within inches of her, the creature started making a move to claw at her. On instinct, she raised her arms up for protection, bearing the blunt of the attack.
"Stooppp!!!" She cried. "Please make it sto-op!!" When she dared to crack an eye open after she felt it was safe to do so, she found herself staring at a battalion of the same creature. The next thing that happened shook her to the core. The army which surrounded her slowly glitched before her eyes before turning into the figure of the person she knew and loved all too well.
"No-oo...!" She managed to choke out.
It was Sarada.
The minions then cranked weirdly, wide-eyed and grinning, like puppets on strings but more sinister, more... occultic.
Sakura covered her mouth to swallow both tears and scream but did a bad job at it. Why use her baby's face? Why were they tormenting her?! "Don't! Don't do that!!' She screamed at them. Slowly they marched towards her, encircling her,
"Stay back-" she swatted at them. "Don't- don't come any closer!!"
But it was futile. Her cries fell on deaf, controlled ears as they marched towards her burying her, as well as her screams till she saw a world of black and an imprint of red ringed orbs between white eyes.
The sound of mild crying echoed in the four walls of the room, drawing the attention of Mebuki and Tsunade who were somewhere outside the room. Suddenly, Sakura started flailing on the bed, jolting her head from one side to the other.
In a blink, Mebuki was by her side trying to hold her thrashing form in place. "Sakura?"
"Sakura, it's only a dream. Wake up."
But she wasn't listening, instead she released laboured puffs of air while withering and thrashing her arms in various direction. "Stay way fro-o me." She cried. Mebuki still had not succeeded in pinning her in place and just as Tsunade appeared on the other side of the bed, ready to administer a dose of anaesthetic, wide glazed emeralds shot open.
Finally recognizing her environment after blinking for a minute, she let out the rest of her sob, feeling an unfamiliar heat around her arms.
Both women who were by her side caught a nasty breath in their throat before exchanging foreboding looks at one another wordlessly.
Tsunade broke the silence, "What happened to your arm?"
Triggered by the question, and somewhat confused, Sakura raised her healing arm where the throbbing sensation was most blaring up into view and just like that, she saw angry red scratch marks, arranged in different angles and slowly releasing blood on the wound surface. Distantly, she knew where she got them from but before she could fully process anything, Tsunade tore an angry gaze from her form on the bed.
"No." Sakura breathed sharply, shaking her head with furious disbelief. "It wasn't me." She let out in hushed breath. Repeating the words over and over again while staring at her arms in shock.
"Oh God." She pinched the bridge of her nose, shaking her head in dismay before bounding for the door. Mebuki, feeling weak where she stood, plopped dejectedly on the bed, looking so forlorn at Sakura's shaken form as a lone tear dropped quickly from a wrinkled eye.
In a hush, shaky tone, only one mantra reigned supreme,
"It wasn't me."
Author's Note
Poor Sakura! The world just isn't on your side in this! And that crazy Suki woman just won't let you rest until you've hit rock bottom. My heart constricts for our Uchiha matriarch.
So I guess you're all wondering why Sakura's dream-like scene wasn't italicized. Well it's a distinct division between reality and fantasy. Call it a tsukuyomi, similar to Itachi's own. So as not to confuse our fellow readers, we'd treat it as a distant reality. Yeah, that works... I think?
I guess we were totally expecting Kaguya to be a scary, witchy mute but how can it work that way?! This isn't a movie! It's reality... Well of course, it's Sakura's reality...
Keep the reviews rolling in. If not I might just not have enough fuel for another update.
See you next chapter... which for the record, totally depends on your decision on whether or not to leave a review. (It's not blackmail, I promise). Tchau!