Chapter 5:
There was no sleep to be had for Sakura that night. Every time she came close she felt herself falling, and phantom strings dancing along her limbs causing her to jerk herself back awake. Despite Naruto's light snoring, which had at one time annoyed her, but was now a comfort, she could not bring herself to chance going back to another dream like that.
By the time the morning sun began peaking through the blinds on the window, Sakura was just staring numbly into space. This was the second night in a row that she had gotten maybe an hour of sleep. Despite being used to running on little sleep this was pushing it for her. The hard run to Suna, the cure for Kankuro, then another run after the akatsuki. Fight after fight... she was exhausted. Swallowing hard she rubbed her eyes and turned over burying her head in the pillow.
"Did you have a nice dream?"
The mocking words of her enemy made her shiver uncomfortably. No, she did not, and it wasn't something she wanted a repeat of.
A knocked sounded on the door and Naruto's head shot up from his position on the ground. Looking around groggily the blonde got up and made his way to the door and opened it to reveal their captain and previous sensei.
"What do you want?" Naruto groused, not happy to be woken up at the crack of dawn.
"Good morning to you to." The silver haired ninja looked as unflappable as ever. "Pack up, we're leaving in 20 minutes."
Naruto put a hand to his face and grumbled but retreated, begining to pack up the few things he had. Kakashi stood there for a moment before his eye slid to the pink lump on the bed and he blinked, letting his surprise show for a moment before it was gone.
Casually he wandered over and sat on the edge of the bed before gingerly touching her shoulder and watching her jump a mile and spin around, her eyes wild. Sakura looked like hell, her short hair was a mess and the dark marks under her eyes were sure to give the kazekage a run for his money. He watched her look around frantically before settling on him and she calmed down.
"What is it?" She asked, digging the heel of her palm into her eye.
"We'll be leaving in 20 minutes, time to get up." His tone was light and teasing but she honestly look miserable.
With a nod she got up and left to go to her own room. Kakashi glaced at Naruto who was suspiciously quiet as he too watched her leave.
With a sigh, the older man decided now was not the time to pry. He was sure to get the full version when they reported to the hokage.
Sakura couldn't believe she had almost fallen asleep again. The darkness had been so inviting but she silently thanked her former teacher for getting her attention before it was too late.
The thought made her stop for a moment. Too late for what? It was just a dream. It shouldn't keep her from getting her much needed sleep... but it felt so real. On an instinctual level she knew something was wrong despite her rational mind telling her to brush it off. It was just a nightmare, she used to have them after her mission to wave and the chunnin exams. Just like those, this one would go away in time as well.
Putting it out of her mind, she moved on autopilot. Most of her stuff was still at the hospital where she left it. She was certain she could get it and be at the gates in time.
As she left the building and greeted the morning, she found it to be surprisingly cool for the desert. The sun was painting the sky in a pastel gradient which could be seen even over the high walls of the village. The cool air helped her wake up more and clear her head, allowing her to quickly make her way to the hospital.
Once she had gotten her stuff, she met the boys at the front gate but she was surprised to see they weren't alone. Gaara and his siblings were also there flanked by several guards. Apparently they had come to bid them farewell, and safe travels. She was a bit surprised when Kankuro hobbled up to her, still on his crutches, as she approached the gate.
"Thanks again for the save." He smiled casually and she nodded.
"No problem, it's my job." Sakura replied easily.
"I wanted to hear about how you of all people took down someone like Sasori but I guess I'll just have to settle for the official report when it comes out." He smirked and she gave him a playful punch.
"Watch it or I'll show you just how I took him down." Despite her exhaustion, she appreciated the easy banter with the sand ninja.
"Oh ho, one S-class ninja under her belt and suddenly she's unstoppable." The older teen teased, catching her next punch. His face softened then.
"Seriously though, take care of yourself." Sakura sighed but gave a noise that she heard him as she pulled back. He didn't look nearly as ridiculous as he usually did without the face paint and hood. It did wonders for his features.
She turned to her team who were finishing up chatting with Gaara who offered Naruto a hand shake. The way the blonde was shaking you would have thought he had just been given the position of his dreams. Instead he grasped the kazekages hand firmly and then pulled the red head into a man hug which surprised the other beast carrier.
Temari was gaping before she grinned widely and began to snicker. Sakura rolled her eyes and walked forward, grabbing the blonde by the collar and pulling him away from the frozen red head who was watching after the other boy in silent wonder. Kakashi gave a half hearted wave as the trio began their trek back through the sandy dunes.
Despite leaving early, it took a full day and part way into the night for the leaf team to finally make it out of the desert. The greenery and tree's were a blessed sight for each one of them and they finally hunkered down under the canopy to catch up on some much needed rest. Kakashi volunteered first watch and Naruto was soon out like a light.
Sakura lay down staring up into the sky that could still be seen despite the tall oaks in the way. The stars greeted her eyes merrily.
God she was tired.
The girl had lagged behind almost the whole way but refused when they offered to stop. The sooner she was home, the sooner she could put everything behind her. She hadn't even realized her eyes had fallen closed when she felt the oddest sensation of being awake yet asleep. She could no longer move but she was aware of the wind blowing past her and her teammates. Yet at the same time she was aware of another place.
Images flickered in her mind, a structure that was well hidden in the rock. A river and other shinobi. She knew she should be sacred but she was too tired to even properly register who they were. Quiet voices came to her then, sounding all around her.
"What have we here?"
"Ignore her."
"Sasori's new puppet, yeah."
"She looks like a fine piece of-"
"...The nine tail's teammate."
"Could be useful..."
"Enough."
Sakura sucked in a breath and her eyes shot open. She looked around but the camp was quiet. Kakashi was in the tree with his book and Naruto was sprawled out in a heap, deep asleep.
The voices of the Akatsuki were ringing in her mind for there was literally nothing else that could be. That made no sense though, some of those voices had been new. Sakura didn't even realize her body was shaking until she looked at her hands which were quaking.
Rubbing her eyes she turned over, back to her team and closed her eyes again.
"What are you going to do with her?"
"She's my new weapon, an object, nothing more."
"What a waste."
"-Hope you know what your doing."
"She's still alive though..."
"Could spill our secrets of if she ever got away."
"-Physically incapable of that now."
The pinkette opened her unwilling eyes and sighed, holding back a shudder. Something was wrong but her in her delirious state she couldn't quiet put words to it.
"Sakura?" Kakashi voice startled her and she turned back over to look at him.
"You should get some sleep." He pointed out much to her annoyance.
Of course she needed sleep but...
"Maybe I should take first watch." She offered sitting up. The silver haired man watched her for a while before finally relenting and coming down from his perch.
With more effort than it should have been, Sakura got up and hopped up to the vacated branch and pulled her knee's up to her chest, zoning out into space. She couldn't avoid sleep much longer, they had another day and a half before they made it back home. As she gazed into the star filled sky she silently prayed that she could stay awake.
Yet even as she sent up her thoughts to the heavens, her vision began to tunnel. It was like she was viewing everything through binoculars as the view of the sky began to morph. Sakura blinked hard but her sight didn't clear. She saw a maze of hallways, cloaked figures moving around her, an odd room full of puppets hanging from strings on the ceiling.
Slap!
Sakura hadn't realized she had lifted her hand until she hit herself. The vision was gone and she felt awake again, if just for a moment. Looking around she clutched her hands together.
It was going to be a long night.
Crickets chirpped in a musical lull that would put most to sleep, but Sakura was nothing if not stubborn and refused to submit herself to her dreams. The forest was quiet and uninteresting but she forced herself to focus on every little detail to keep herself awake. It was all too soon when Kakashi woke back up from his light doze and walked up the tree to relieve Sakura of her guardianship.
"Go, sleep." It wasn't a suggestion.
it wasn't often that she heard the life or death tone in her sensei's voice but there it was. It was a command that brokered no arguments. Reluctantly she go up and almost fell off the branch. Readily she was caught by her commander and lowered to the ground.
"Sakura, look at me." Her head lulled to the side as she obeyed the order. His hands were on her shoulders, warm and firm. "This isn't normal, you need to tell me what's going on. I was going to wait till we got to the village but you are actively putting your team in danger right now."
A flicker of resentment flared in her chest as Sakura looked at her former mentor but it quickly fled as she looked into his eye. It was a look she hadn't seen often but he was scared. She blinked at him, going over his actions previously and came to the conclusion that Kakashi was terrified.
Realization slammed into her and her knee's nearly buckled. This whole time she had thought he was codling her and doubting her, but she had scared him. He had thought he lost someone else precious to him and, if his past was any indication, he blamed himself. She gazed wide eye'd up at her captain speechless for a moment before she realized she was crying. Silent tears slid down her cheeks and she convinced herself her eyes were just watering from lack of sleep. Gingerly she crept a hand up and wiped them away.
"I'm sorry..." Sakura whispered at a loss for what to say.
"Don't be sorry, just tell me what happened." When she wasn't forth coming his fingers loosened from her shoulders and his gaze softened. "I won't be upset. We shouldn't have let them separate us like that. You had to face more than you ever had before, it's okay if it was too much Sakura."
"I already told you what happened." She said mechanically.
"Not all of it. Something hit you harder than just a battle," Kakashi countered.
Sakura couldn't look at him anymore and dropped her gaze ashamed. "He..."
Her sensei waited patiently, rubbing her arms a little in comfort. It was a little awkward, but she expected nothing less from him. It relaxed her slightly and she found her voice.
"He said he made a technique for a new type of puppet and was going to try it out on me." She choked out the words, wincing at how she sounded. Her captain said nothing and waited for her to continue. "He was so close to doing it..."
Kakashi nodded and ruffled her hair.
"Oh Sakura." He sighed and she looked up at him but realized that something was wrong.
"You should know better than to go giving out my secrets to people."
The voice was wrong and her vision went askew as she gasped in realization. Her skull throbbed suddenly as pain exploded behind her eyes. When had she fallen asleep? She was dreaming, she was...
"You're lucky I caught you before you went spilling your guts, but I won't be so lientent next time."
She wasn't gazing at her former mentor any longer. In his place was her worst nightmare. The hands on her shoulders slid up her neck and cupped her face. She was too stunned to move away from the vile man's touch.
"This was a test Sakura, a test you failed." The puppeteer murmured to the captive pinkette.
"You're dead, I'm dreaming." She replied back, eyes unfocused as she tried to understand what was happening.
"Does that make this any less real?" Sasori asked, his voice dark and malicious. "Did you really think you could get away from me so easily?"
Truthfully no she didn't, her escape was a miracle in and of itself. A few last ditch efforts crossed with pure luck. She had hoped though, oh how she had hoped he had been gone forever, but in her heart she feared it wasn't true.
"That's right." He agreed to her mental musings. "This whole world where you won is nothing more than a fantasy. A daydream you surrendered youself to escape reality. Pathetic really."
Sakura shook her head as much as she was able but he brought his face closer to her so she was forced to look into his light colored eye's. They would have been beautiful if not for the madness sparking within their depths. His shaggy hair fanned out around his face giving him and effortless look.
"You're wrong." She argued a hint of defiance coming into her tone.
Despite the shock, she could feel herself begin to rally and she was starting to get angry. It wasn't much, and she felt so tired still that it was hard to act upon, but it was there. She grasped onto the shred of rebellion with all her might and glared back at the looming puppet master.
"You're the one whose pathetic!" Sakura snarled, energy rekindling into a blaze behind her eyes. "You want to talk about escaping? How about ditching your human body to become an abomination? How about trying to kill your own kin? How about abandoning your village like a coward!"
Sakura was breathing hard and she saw Sasori's face blank out into an emotionless mask for a time before the corners of his lips twitched up giving a small smile. It was probably the creepiest thing she'd seen in a while. Dread and anticipation suddenly coursed through her veins and she sucked in a breath.
"My, my," The puppeteer drawled, looking away from her for a moment. "So you still have that fire even after all this time and effort."
Sasori's gaze shifted around until it fell back on her and his thumbs began moving in patters along the flesh of cheek.
"I'm not a patient person," He began, his grip getting firmer. As he spoke Sakura felt her vision failing her and her eyes began to fall closed. "But for you? For you I will gladly take my time breaking you apart piece by piece. By the time I'm done, there will be nothing left of who you once were."
His voice was farther away now, but a whisper all around her.
"Everything you are belongs to me, and I'll make sure you never forget it..."
A/N: I didn't plan for Sasori to be in this chapter. Or even the next chapter, but the bastard is hard to ignore when he demands screen time. Seriously one moment I was chugging along and the next he just took over. Asshole.