Chapter 6:
It was dark. A thick enveloping dark that refused to let its prey go easily.
She floated in nothingness for a while, blissfully not thinking. Who was she? What was she? She couldn't even remember what on earth she was doing there. It didn't matter, and it was nice.
For some strange reason she felt like there were to imaginary paths she could take. One was up and the other was down. To be honest she wanted to stay here in this limbo in the dark. It was cozy and comforting, she wanted more of that. Seemingly having thr decision made, it soon felt like she was floating upwards as if she'd been underwater.
Relucantly she came to, and her body felt like molasses had seeped into her joints. She couldnt really open her eyes, she was too far away for that. Everything felt unbearibly heavy. The blood in her veins felt sluggish and lethargy chained her muscles as she tried to move them. Slowly she became aware of a kink in her neck and wondered how that happened.
Now it was warm, unbearibly warm and she let out a small noise of protest. The plesantness of the heat was no longer there. Weather it made it out of her mouth was another matter. Possibly in reaction to her noise the heat left her.
Then she was cold, cold as ice but there were hands on her shoulders that were burning hot. She almost slipped back into the depths of her mind to escape but something niggled at her that such a move was a bad idea.
"Sakura..." She knew that voice. She couldn't put a face to it yet but she knew it. A flash of silver crossed her mind but it was so far away. The word though, right... that was her name. She'd actually forgotten her name for a moment.
"Sakura, you need to get up." The voice was insistent now, a lilting edge of worry lacing it. Sakura groaned, it was so hard and her body seemed so uninviting now with it all heavy. Had it always felt like that?
"Kakashi-Sensei, What's wrong with her?" Another voice chimed in. It irritated her slightly but she recognized it too. A flash of yellow and orange crossed her mindscape.
A warm hand pressed to her forehead. She could now feel the weight on her eye lids and the crust that had built up there.
"She has a fever." Her sensei said as the hands moved to cup her face. Something about that bothered her but what could it be? "You're going to work youself to death one of these days."
Finally she was able to open her eye's and all she could see were splotches of color. Gradually everything came into focus but still had that fuzzy quality to it.
"Ka-kashi?" She asked, her voice thick and tounge not working properly.
"Can you stand?" Sakura blinked and attempted to move her limbs but they felt like lead weights. They also felt a little too loose and noodlely for her taste. Heh, noodles. Sakura giggled lightly at the thought.
"I'll take that as a no." Her captain was exasperated. The copy ninja looked at her for a while before sighing. "I expected better from you."
Sakura's insides froze at the disappointment in his gaze and tone. She wanted to apologize but her reply came out garbled. Suddenly he shifted and his warmth was gone. She made a low sound of protest, she still felt so cold. Looking around she realized she was still in the tree she had climbed onto last night to keep watch. That was the reason for her neck, she had fallen asleep in a very uncomfortable position in a very uncomfortable tree.
How silly of her. How could she fall asleep on gaurd duty? Truthfully she didn't remember sleeping. Sakura thought she had been awake the whole time until...
Until what?
The girl frowned as she racked her brain trying to figure out what her mind was trying to tell her. She felt it was important. Even as she was picked up under the arms by her captain and brought to the ground she simply slumped against his hold like a rag doll.
Why was it so hard to move? He said she was running a fever but... it would have to be the worst one of her life to make her feel like this. Her head was full of cotton, her thoughts lazy and sluggish. Limbs refused to cooperate, legs like jelly and muscles not responding. Even Sakura's chakra network seemed to be in a battle with itself.
"Naruto, can you carry her?" Kakashi asked the younger boy who nodded easily.
With that, the team took back off through the forest towards home. The wind whipped through her pink locks as Naruto ran but Sakura took little notice as her eyes began to droop. The flashing colors of the tree's filled her vision in a blur and it was a struggle to stay awake. Naruto's wonderful heat didn't help, or the feeling of safety from being around her team.
Why couldn't she sleep again? Sakura wondered as she slumped even more heavily against the blonde.
"There will be nothing left of who you once were."
The voice sounded all around her and Sakura's head shot up looking around. Nothing but tree's whirring by. Breathing heavily, she snuggled her face into the back into her teammates neck, feeling the soft strands of his hair brushing against her forehead.
"Everything you are belongs to me."
The voice was closer, sounding as if it was spoken right next to her ear. Sakura jerked awake feeling disoriented. Her eyes were wide and she shuddered. That voice was as familiar as it was sinister, it creeped her out and made her hackles rise.
Her eyes began to droop once more and she heard a faint chuckle from the same voice. She moaned pitifully as she felt a pull from somewhere.
Suffice it to say she wasn't getting any rest today.
It was night by the time they hit the gates of the village. Sakura was barely holding on as it was. Every time she closed her eyes a new scene played before her. Mostly it was her fighting some shadowy figure she couldn't make out but it wasn't her fighting exactly. Not really. She could feel a secondary will oppsing her own and dictating her actions. She fought that power and her opponent which led to a swift defeat as she couldn't handle a war on both fronts.
She felt every strike, every stab, every tear in her muscles as she forced them to obey her and not the phantom master behind her.
As she fell to her opponent she would jerk awake feeling sore and in pain. It confused her because she hadn't moved from her teammates back unless he was setting her down for a short break. Her movements were sluggish and mechanical as she ate and drank what little she needed to keep going. Her sensei would comment and she would just look at him blankly. She wasn't hungry or thirsty, she just wanted to sleep.
Yet sleep wouldn't come to her. No blessed release would take hold of her mind.
The worst was the last instance of her eyes closing. It had been dark and for a moment she had cheered in victory that she could finally rest when his damn voice came to her again. His stupid drawl was the one thing that she could hear clearly. Even Narutos chatter seemed more like giberish background noise to her ears, but the voice of her enemy was clear as crystal.
"You're performance today was unacceptable."
She wanted to make a snide comment but the only thing that came out was a low growl.
"Sakura, what's up?" Her blonde teammate asked from far away. She was in that weird space between sleep and wakefulness. she could feel her body lying, clinging to the warmth of her companion but she could also see another scene before her and it was one that made her freeze up.
She meant to say, "it's nothing," but it came out in a undecipherable mess.
Why she refused to talk about this was actually a question that hadn't crossed her mind yet. By all rights she should ask for help because something was wrong but...
"Thinking of spilling secrets again?"
Right, that.
It was getting harder to tell what was real anymore. The only constant she was begining to have was the clear voice in her mind and he was unhelpful to say the least. He was at once grounding and confusing, claiming her victory was a fantasy, but also chiding her for her actions in the waking world. It was driving her mad.
"If you keep fighting me I'll be forced to move up my plans for you."
A feeling of anxiety coiled in her gut. What plans was he talking about?
She tried to calm herself down, any plans would be for her dream self but, but since when did she have a continuous nightmare like this? Nightmares were common for her after certain events but it was usually a replay of the scene or a verison of it going wrong. Not... whatever this was.
"Your will power is truly astounding but it's getting in the way. I can't have a disobedient weapon."
'Maybe your jutsu isn't as good as you thought it was.' Sakura replied mentally. Sakura hadn't meant to indulge the voice in her head, but if he thought she was just going to roll over and give herself to him the bastard had another thing coming.
Regret flared just as she felt a spike enter her skull. She let out a moan of pain which was more like a screech in her head. To her team they probably figured it was from the fever, which still had not broken, and not the sudden throbbing of her head.
The pounding didn't subside and she could feel displeasure rolling off of the puppet master.
"I'll admit, your the first one I've used this jutsu on. There are a few kinks to work out as with all things but I will not tolerate your disrespect."
She did respect him truthfully. She respected his prowess in battle, his ingenuity and his intellect. As an opponent and fellow shinobi she did hold respect for him. But he was also someone who fought his own family, who abandoned his village and pursed something that could never be obtained. As a man she didn't respect him what so ever, he hadn't earned it.
As the pain subsided she wondered at the kinks he was talking about. Were they ones she could use to her advantage? Obviously something went wrong because she interuppted the jutsu by killing him-!
"Back to that are we?"
Sakura's eyes shot open as she tried to take deep breaths. That's right, how had she forgotten about that? He was dead, dead, dead-
"I know you're young but one thing I never took you for was a fool."
Wait, why was she still hearing his voice with her eyes open?
Sakura blinked hard and nothing changed, the tree's were zooming by. The sun had finally dipped below the horizon leaving the cloudy skies to be shared with the moon.
"As if you could ever kill me."
Sakura move her head to the other side to see Kakashi running along side them with ease. He seemed as unbothered as ever. He did seem fuzzy around the edges though. Perhaps it's was just the lack of sleep getting to her.
"Your imagination is quiet impressive, though wasted on your current endevour."
"Shut up." She mumbled to herself. Sakura knew her team heard her but either ignored her or could think of nothing to say. Then again she had been making small noises all throughout the trip so who knew what her fellow shinobi were thinking.
The voice in her head quieted and for that she was immensely greatful, but she didn't dare close her eyes again. Even if they were so heavy it felt like literal weights were attached to them.
"When we get to the village take her straight to the hospital." She heard Kakashi say and felt Naruto nod in response.
"What about the old lady?" The blonde asked rather loudly, or maybe it just seemed louder than usual because of her current state.
"I'll give the initial report to the hokage," Their captain replied easily but she could pick up the strain in his voice. "Just meet be back at the tower once you drop her off."
Naruto gave an affirmative as they bounded through the gate without stopping. Sakura blandly wondered why the gaurds just let ninja running full tilt into the village but then again it's not like they could have stopped her team when they were determined on something. She held on tighter to her friend as he took to the roof tops and began hopping to his destinstion.
Below she could make out the night life of the village as it bustled around them. The chatter and noise gave her a bit of a headache but she couldn't help but marvel how different it was form the village they just came from. Then again if the hokage had been kidnapped she doubted anyone would be out and about.
As they raced along, hospital coming into view, Sakura began to feel a tug on her conciousness. At first she didn't even register it as a thing before it became more insessant. The buildings began to blur in a mirad of colors and shapes, the sounds become distorted as reality began to slip through her fingers.
"Hang on Sakura, we're almost there." Naruto's voice rang in her head but it didn't sound quite right. She gave a noise of affirmation as he landed in front of the tall structure that seemed to grow bigger each passing moment. It loomed overhead and a feeling of forboading siezed her veins.
"We shouldn't be here." Sakura muttered, her voice weak.
As they walked through the doors, darkness was replaced by blinding light. Blinking a few yimes the pinkette tried to get her bearings but she became more and more disoriented. Voices came in and out of focus as her heart sped up.
"What happened?" Asked a kind voice which sounded vaugely familiar.
"Severe exhaustion, from the look of it" Sakura turned in a daze to see a humanoid form.
"She's had a fever since this morning and can't sleep, can you help her or not?" That was Naruto, it had to be.
"We'll get her a sedative and some fluids, help her sleep it off." Replied the first voice again.
Something in her mind sparked at the word sedative. They were going to force her to sleep. Fear suddenly gripped her and she thrashed in the hands that took her from her teammate. She couldn't sleep, she'd be stuck at the whims of her nightmares and the man that waited within them. She had to stay awake.
"No!" Her voice was stronger than she thought, and more shadows rushed to subdue her.
Sakura's attempts to fight were no where near as strong as she wanted but her body was not responding. soon she felt a prick of a needle and everything began to melt away.
The tugging on her mind became a pull that was familiar and sudden she was drawn back in her own head.
Her last concious thought was a cry for help before it all went to black.
Snapping awake with a gasp, Sakura looked around wildly without taking in any of her surroundings. Her muscles spasmed but otherwised remained still. While her heart was thundering in her chest, light and shadow started to take form.
Was she in a hospital bed? She knew she was laying down. She clearly remembered getting to the hospital, as trippy as that whole journey was. Her mind felt clearer now than it had been what felt like moments before. She probably just really needed to sleep it off.
She amost relaxed before she heard a noise beside her and nearly had a heart attack.
Amber eyes were looking at her critically.
"Finally awake."
His voice was crisp and annoyed. The puppeteer put down what she could barely make out as a syringe. Things began to come into more focus and she realized this was the room she had been getting glances of the entire trip back home.
One of Sasori's workshops her mind supplied. She glaced back at the puppet master and he looked the same as he had when he had first hopped out of Hiruko. He had all his limbs again and was wearing the akatsuki's signsture cloak. When had that happened?
A flash of something, a memory perhaps, of putting his heart into another body filled her sight before dimming. So she had transfered him to another vessel then.
How she knew that would have worried her, but suddenly pain slammed into her body. She let out a whine as she felt every wound as if it was fresh. Her thoughts went back to the fights she had with the phantoms and the damaged she sustained from each battle. Immediately she tried to call up her chakra to relieve the pain but it wouldnt obey.
"It's your own fault you got injured." Came the red heads unwanted commentary. He sounded mildly annoyed which she took to mean he was pissed. "Your fighting me caused unessary harm to youself so you can wait to heal."
Sakura found the strength to glare at him and the vindictive bastard had the gall to roll his eyes.
"I thought perhaps leaving your mind to that dream of yours would make you more pliable, but I can see now that's not the case." His tone was long suffered and it rose her hackles. As if she was burdoning him just by refusing to fall into whatever place he deemed necessary.
'What do you mean?' Sakura snarled mentally, she knew he could hear her thoughts and hopped he could feel her ire.
"I already told you little girl, I won't repeat myself." He said with finality and moved away, seemly disintered in continuing their little spat.
Sakura began to struggle in earnest, only getting so far as barely twitching her fingers. Adreneline and pain coursed through her body and she realized that must have been what the syringe was for. It was to wake... her... up.
Time froze and her eye's widened. Sakura recalled a previous conversation, and surprisingly the memory wasnt as fuzzy as some of her other more recent ones.
"-a fantasy. A daydream you surrendered youself to escape reality."
She stopped her struggling and all at once her body, which had been at war with itself, relaxed and began to naturally heal. Completely slack, Sakura stared up at the ceiling.
She couldn't believe it, she wouldn't believe it.
Her mind rebelled at the thought but her wounds throbbed, her chakra raced and her blood seeped. The fire inside her dimmed as she reached the conclusion he had wanted her to all this time.
It had been a dream.
A/N: I wrote out this chapter, read through it and just hated it. I genuinely despised it. It was awful and I was pissed because that was a waste of a couple hours and 3.5k words. I went back through then and tried again and I like this much better. I was originally going to take it in another direction but well, when the muse makes demands the writer must obey.