Chaos.
Panic.
With those two words, Sakura could describe what was happening.
Some people fled to their tents in panic, while others gathered their belongings and wanted to run as far away as possible. Hardly anyone realized that the planes were not coming at them. Everyone feared for their lives.
Sakura herself shuddered at the sight, but tried to remain calm. She had to get to Sarada as soon as possible.
"Let's go." Sasuke grabbed her hand. Sakura followed towards the tent.
They pushed through between people, trying not to be run over. The same message flew from the speakers that Sakura had no idea were here before - "Please remain calm. Be at the square in an hour."
"Do you think they'll attack us?" asked Sasuke.
"I have no idea." she felt a firmer grip on her hand "We'll find out soon enough."
After a while they found themselves in the tent. Mebuki was lying under a blanket, too tired for the noise outside to wake her. She probably hadn't slept in days. Sarada, on the other hand, was sitting in the corner, her arms wrapped around her body. She was frightened.
Sakura's eyes made contact with Sarada's.
"Mama!" the girl ran up and threw herself into her arms. Sakura squeezed her daughter tightly.
"I'm here, I'm here." she stroked Sarada's head, trying to reassure her at least a little. That's when she felt her daughter lift her head and circle.
"Who is it?"
"Sarada, it's your dad." Sakura said softly, and her voice almost cracked. Sarada pulled away from her mom and looked uncertainly at Sasuke.
"Papa?"
"Sarada." he pronounced his daughter's name for the first time. Hearing this, the girl ran to him and fell into his arms with all her strength. She couldn't stop herself from crying. Sakura even noticed Sasuke's moist eyes, but none of the drops ran down his cheek.
"Papa." she sobbed out. Sasuke continued to hug Sarada, then looked at Sakura and extended his hand towards her. She hesitated, not for lack of wanting to, but because she didn't want to interrupt this wonderful moment between father and daughter. However, she accepted Sasuke's hand, and he pulled her close.
Now the three of them were hugging, trying to make up for lost years. Sasuke spoke first. And what he said squeezed their hearts even tighter.
"You know I love you two."
Sakura felt tears flowing down. She cried from sadness, because Sasuke was only now able to say them, and from happiness, because even though she knew before that he loved her, she finally heard those words. And most of all, she cried from relief. Six years and they finally saw each other again, with an additional member of their little family.
"We love you too." Sakura replied between quick intakes of air. She needed to stop crying.
Sasuke kissed each forehead and stepped back.
"Let's sit down. We should talk." he pointed to a small mattress lying in the corner.
They walked over there and, as comfortable as the space allowed, sat down. Sakura had her feet under her bottom, Sarada wrapped her arms around her knees, and Sasuke sat in a cross-legged position.
"I would like to know what happened in Amegakure."
"I don't know if it's a good idea to talk about this in front of Sarada." quietly, so her daughter wouldn't hear, Sakura said. She didn't want Sarada to think that she didn't want her around for this conversation.
Sarada instead found that she would get ahead of her mother with her answer.
"We were attacked by two men and mom killed them." Sakura looked at Sarada in shock "I overheard your conversation with grandma, I'm sorry." she lowered her gaze to the floor.
"It's okay." Sakura smiled sadly "Now you know. How did you find us, anyway? And how did you know about Sarada?"
Sakura felt Sarada's piercing gaze. By not telling the truth, her daughter didn't even know that Sasuke didn't know of her existence.
"Izumi works for some people. She obtained your photo and some important information that finally led us here." he pulled the previously mentioned photo out of his pocket and handed it to Sakura. She looked at it closely and her hands began to shake. Sakura felt tears come out of her eyes.
"Mom?"
"Sakura?"
They both moved closer to her and watched with wide eyes. How much Sakura loved these two and their care.
"I just feel really bad about the fact that you two didn't know about each other. I should tell you." Sarada hugged her mother around the waist, and Sasuke grabbed Sakura's head from behind with the palm and brought it closer to the crease of his neck.
"You didn't do anything wrong, Sakura."
"I did-"
"We don't blame you, Mom."
"We're finally together, that's what matters." whispered Sasuke in reassurance.
"We don't know how long." Sakura didn't want to remind them, but they need to know what the world situation could entail.
"Forever, right dad?" Sarada lifted her large eyes to Sasuke.
"True. We're not going anywhere." he stroked his daughter's hair.
Sakura moved a little away from them. She wiped her tears and ran the fingers through her disheveled hair.
"There's something else we need to talk about." Sasuke communicated, looking meaningfully at Sakura.
"Sarada, why don't you go play with your toys a little further away?" the conversation they were about to have would be more private and even though Sarada was their daughter they knew they had to have it in person first.
The girl, seeing the looks on her parents' faces, nodded and moved away, picking up her backpack on the way, which she had packed her things into earlier.
"What exactly do you want to know?"
"Everything since we split up."
"That's a bit much." Sakura said uncertainly. She was embarrassed, even if she shouldn't be. After all, Sasuke was sitting in front of her, not some stranger. But then again, she hadn't seen him in so long, and all the events must have changed him somehow. Sakura wasn't sure if she could act like she used to or not after all. Because even if their feelings hadn't changed, six years was a long time.
"I would like to know, please." he put a strand of hair behind her ear that had fallen out from Sakura.
Without thinking, she caught his hand in hers and began to tell the story.
"The same day you told me to leave Konoha, I did. I knew even then that I was pregnant, so I chose a quiet place. I found an apartment and a job in Amegakure, I gave birth to Sarada in March at the hospital I worked at. My mother, friends and neighbor helped me as much as they could. I tried to find some information about you, but all anyone knew was that no one from the clan survived." she drew circles on the inside of Sasuke's hand "I lived with Sarada from day to day. That's it."
"Okay, it's my turn now. Itachi and I managed to escape through a secret exit from our neighborhood. It took us a long time to get to where we lived, but we finally settled in a very small village. I still don't know where it was exactly. We rarely went anywhere, we were just trying to survive. Izumi found and helped us."
Sakura put her hands in her lap. She wanted to ask something, but she didn't know if she should. She preferred that Sasuke not think badly of her for changing. Because she was still the same, just a little more damaged by the world than before. But she also had a right to know a few things.
"Why didn't you ever... give word that you were alive? Why didn't you look for me?" Sasuke's irises grew darker. She didn't want to make him angry.
"Sakura,-"
"Forget I asked."
"I had no way to give a sign of life. That could equate to death. There's no telling who that information would reach. I couldn't look for you, either. Itachi is sick, and I had no way to leave him. Even more so, going out on the streets for us was already dangerous, let alone out of town."
"I know, I didn't mean to sound selfish." she felt her shoulders tense under Sasuke's gaze. She lowered her head back down.
"You have every right to be angry." she shook her head "I have a right to be too, because you gave me no sign of life either. And I didn't know if you were alive."
"I thought you knew." she said shocked.
"They attacked my clan earlier than we expected. I had no idea if you had time to escape."
"I'm sorry."
"We don't have time to apologize. Let's forget about it and we'd better talk about what to do next."
Sasuke was right. The present was more important. The war had started, they had to survive somehow if they wanted to live like a normal family in the future.
"Maybe we can determine that after the meeting. Right now we don't know what it will be about."
"Good idea."
"Just promised me that no matter what, you will survive."
"All three of us will survive." he extended a small finger toward Sakura. This was how they used to make promises. Sakura linked her finger with Sasuke's and smiled.
Continuing to look into Sasuke's irises, she caught his face with both hands. She had to kiss him. She brought her lips together with Sasuke's, but a man entered their tent shortly after.
"We're about to have a meeting. Move." he said unkindly. Sakura looked at him. He had his usual blond hair and uniform-like clothing. She had never seen someone like that here before.
"We'll be there soon."
"I'm supposed to lead you, those are the orders." Sakura looked at Sasuke. It was strange.
Sasuke got up and walked over to Sakura's mother to wake her up. She instead walked over to the mattress. Sarada was playing behind a crate and couldn't be seen, so Sakura took the opportunity.
"Sarada, stay here and lay low." she whispered very quietly and picked up her backpack from the ground. She placed it on the crate so as not to arouse suspicion she walked over to this spot and did nothing.
Mebuki looked at Sakura and she nodded her head negatively. Sasuke put a hand on Sakura's back and the three of them walked out of the tent.
They followed the man all the way to the square. There were already a large number of people there. In the crowd, Sakura spotted her friends and waved to them. They headed in their direction.
"What do you think they want to tell us?" asked Ino.
"Probably something related to the war." replied Sakura, who could feel Naruto looking at her and Sasuke the whole time. He didn't say anything though, he just grabbed Hinata by the waist.
"Welcome everyone here." a deep male voice finally spoke "You are probably wondering what is currently going on. I am already coming with an explanation." he tossed his long hair back "The Fire Country has been attacked by the Wind Country, and the Earth Country has invaded the Water Country. The other places are safe for now." something didn't add up for Sakura. She had always thought that Danzo was the one who wanted to conquer the world, so he would be the one to make the first move. And here she learns about his land being attacked "Unfortunately everyone wants you dead. You are refugees and cursed. You will not find peace here. That is why I have already prepared for this possibility with my people beforehand." only now Sakura looked around. On all sides stood people in the uniforms she had seen earlier from that man.
There was no way out of here. Every person here had to listen and follow the orders they would give them.
"I have built a safe place for all of you. I can't take everyone there at once, so please divide into two groups. Women and men." he showed with the hands where who should go.
No one questioned his words, people were too scared.
Sakura was grabbed by the forearm by Ino, and Sasuke helped his tired brother to the other side. They threw each other a fleeting glance.
"I don't like this." Ino whispered.
"Me neither."
Once everyone was on their good sides, the man spoke again.
"Now my men will take care of further sorting. Later today we will transport one part of you there."
The four men approached the group of women.
"Line up." ordered one of them and they all obeyed.
Sakura noticed that two of them had a piece of paper in front of them and were writing something on them. They were probably taking notes. That meant they would know the exact numbers of people to exile. Sakura had no way to get out of this.
"Priority gets you." he pointed at the woman with pink hair while making a disgusted face "Then the children and the sick."
According to Sakura, the second and third ones should be the first in order, but she wasn't going to argue.
"Any person we designate will step forward."
Two men started at the two beginnings of the line to designate people. Those who came out turned out to be women with hair colors other than pink. That left a few women looking weak or ill. That included Mebuki, which meant Sakura wasn't alone at least, but she probably preferred her mom to stay here.
"The people who are left in line please stay put, the rest can disperse."
"But my daughter is standing in line."
"It happens." replied the guard dryly.
"You can't separate me from her!" she almost started to cry.
"I will not repeat myself." the man wanted to approach the woman, but she quickly ran to her daughter and grabbed her arms. She didn't get to take the child, however, because the other guard came up and separated them, throwing the woman to the side so hard that she fell. Sakura saw Hinata help her up.
The girl began to cry, but was quickly calmed by the older woman.
No one else spoke up. The women pulled out of line headed for their tents, while Sakura and the others stayed put.
"We'll count you right away, and then you'll go back to the square again. That's where you'll get your final briefing."
After three minutes, one of the men approached Sakura. He looked her over from top to bottom, looked at her eyes, and looked closely at her hair. Then he held out the notes in front of him.
"Name."
"Suzuki Mai." Sakura made them up quickly. It was safer if they didn't know her real identity.
Sakura watched as the man next to her wrote the number 051-X1. Then he brushed her hair away from her left side and with an alcohol-smelling marker, wrote something on her neck. He walked on.
She looked around to see where Mebuki was located. She was practically at the very end, so Sakura decided not to wait. She moved into the plaza.
As she entered, she noticed Itachi in the distance. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen, so he was probably staying here. Sakura was glad. She would have someone to leave Sarada with, since she wasn't going to take her with her. Something was very wrong here.
Walking up to Itachi, Sakura found him looking even paler than before. The sickness must have spread quickly.
"I don't know if I'm happy to see you here."
"I can say the same, Itachi." she smiled. She didn't have much contact with Sasuke's brother, but sometimes Sakura happened to talk to him. She considered Itachi to be a very smart and intelligent man.
"Well, Sasuke won't be happy about that for sure."
"At least he'll have Sarada by his side."
"And Izumi." he coughed "I assume I have a number written on my neck too."
"Hm?"
"Here." he pointed to himself. Sakura looked and saw 012-XX1 written in black.
They had marked them.
Writing a number on a piece of paper was different than writing it on your skin. Sakura felt like some animal in line for the slaughterhouse.
"You're mad." he stated as he noticed Sakura breathing loudly and trying to blot out the writing with her hand.
"And how could I not be."
"Welcome back to everyone who stayed." the long-haired, very pale man spoke again. This time a boy with gray hair stood next to him "Congratulations on being chosen. In half an hour here. You will be sent to a safer place. Please be punctual." he turned off the microphone and stepped down from the platform disappearing somewhere in the depths.
"Is that it?" asked Mebuki.
"As you can see."
"Sa-" before her mom had time to say Sakura's real name, she stopped her. She couldn't give out a lie.
"Call me Mai."
"I see we chose similar tactics." Itachi spoke up.
"Oh, I didn't think of that." frowned Mebuki slightly.
"It's okay, mom." Sakura put a hand on her shoulder "Let's go pack."
The three of them headed for the tent exit. Itachi turned to the right.
"I'll see you in the square." he said goodbye and followed the crowd.
Sakura and Mebuki quickly found their way in. Walking in, Sasuke jumped up from his seat.
"You can't go there, Sakura."
"I have to, they counted everyone." she showed him her number. The expression on Sasuke's face now expressed rage.
"What about Sarada?"
"She'll stay with you." Sakura picked up her backpack from the floor and pulled Sarada's things out of it. She didn't know how long she would stay in the place they were taking her to, so she preferred to take more clothes as a backup. She didn't take anything else out of her it.
"Sakura, I know I'm her father, but I never-"
"You can handle it, Sasuke." she moved the box gently to the side to make room for Sarada's backpack. It couldn't be conspicuous, because if someone noticed it and looked through the contents they would immediately realize it belonged to a child.
Suddenly an engraved inscription caught Sakura's eye. It was very cursive and jagged, as if written quickly, but she could read it.
Run.
It took Sakura's breath away. Was she supposed to take these words seriously, or with detachment? Who wrote them and when? Maybe this box came from some other place?
Sakura, however, was sure of one thing now.
"Mom, do you happen to have a map?" she turned to Mebuki, who was finishing packing her things.
"I'll give it to you right away, honey." she reached into her locker. After a moment, she handed the piece of paper to Sakura.
Sakura picked up a red marker from the ground and walked over to Sasuke with it.
"I have a plan." everyone's eyes, even as she spoke to just one person, turned to her "I don't like this place. I don't want you to stay here with Sarada. That's why, from what we've learned, we know where it's safest for now." she marked a small village in a circle "You will head to Shimogakure."
"How do we escape?"
"There is forest everywhere around this camp. It's the best place to hide."
"And the guards?"
"They can't imprison us here after all." Mebuki interjected.
"But they do." she folded and handed Sasuke the map "The guards can be circumvented somehow. You'll find a way."
"Sakura..." Sasuke clenched his jaw. She could see the pain in his eyes at their parting again. She didn't want it herself, but there was no other choice.
"When I get there and it turns out that this place really is better, I'll find you and take you there, if they don't send you sooner. But if it's worse, I'll run away and find you."
"I want you both beside me forever." he whispered.
"I want that too, Sasuke." she touched his cheek "I promise that no matter what, I will find you along with Itachi and we will be together again." Sasuke kissed Sakura on the forehead.
"Mom?" Sarada spoke up for the first time since Sakura's arrival.
"Yes, dear?"
"Where are you going?"
She was so innocent. Sakura's heart squeezed at the thought of leaving her even for a moment. For Sarada, she would promise herself to get back to them even sooner.
"To a certain place."
"Why won't you tell me?" anger and sadness were evident in her large, childlike eyes.
"I don't know myself, Sarada." Sakura reached out and her daughter hugged her. Hugging Sarada tightly and kissing her cheek, Sakura tried to hold back tears.
"You'll come back, won't you?"
"Of course I will."
She pulled away from her daughter, then as Itachi and Izumi walked inside. Sasuke's brother carried a small backpack in his hand.
"They're searching every tent so they don't miss anyone." informed the girl.
Sakura quickly started looking around. She had to hide Sarada somewhere if she wanted to leave her here.
Looking closely at the room, she couldn't find anything useful.
"Under the crate." Sasuke stood beside her and pointed to a piece of furniture.
"Good idea." tucking her backpack under the crate, Sakura waved her hand to Sarada to hurry up.
The girl ran over to her grandmother, giving her one last hug and finally slipped under the wooden piece of furniture.
"Sarada remember, be good to your dad and obey him. I will join you soon. Now don't move or make any sounds. This is for your own good, mommy loves you very much." after those words, Sakura lowered the box down. She stepped back to check that she was sure nothing was visible and once she was sure of Sarada's safety, she walked over to Sasuke.
"We have to go." Itachi said. Sakura nodded her head.
"Wait." Sasuke grabbed her arm. He searched his pockets and pulled out a small box from one "This will be our promise this time." he opened it and grabbed a ring in his fingers. The same one Sakura had once seen on his mother.
"Sasuke, don't-"
"I don't have another, so I'll use this one." he looked at Sakura waiting for her approval. She smiled and Sasuke slowly placed it on her ring finger on her right hand "Sakura, now you have the responsibility to survive." he said it in a slightly joking tone "I will wait for the day when I can finally proudly call you my wife."
Sakura kissed Sasuke hard. He returned it with the same fierceness.
"And I can't wait for you to be my husband."
If a third person saw this, they might have said it was goodbye. But they knew better.
It was a promise that would come true. A promise that gave hope for a better tomorrow.
A promise that meant rebuilding a relationship from six years ago, bonding anew, and in due time, coming out for each other while creating a wonderful family.
This gesture was a symbol of their undying love, despite the difficulties, and a gesture that should have happened years ago.
"Go now." Sasuke urged her. Sakura gave him one last look and left, putting the image of the people most important to her into a drawer of memories that were never to fade.
She walked out of the tent following Itachi into the square. Mebuki trailed behind them.
Reaching the venue, Sakura saw a crowd of people. There were about two hundred of them, which meant that about a hundred were staying here. Each person had a small backpack with them.
"Please line up in one of the five queues." this time the gray haired boy spoke. The man from the speech was nowhere to be seen.
Sakura led Itachi and Mebuki to one queue. There were five people standing in front of them. She quickly found herself in front of a guard.
Looking at the man closely, Sakura wondered if this was a joke. In front of her stood Sai. She had talked to him about three times in her life, but she was sure he was from Konoha. So what was he doing here?
"Hands off." he said in a monotone voice. Sakura followed the command.
He definitely recognized her, she saw the momentary glint in his eye. He ran his hand over her entire body, thoroughly searching every nook and cranny. Sai stopped his hand in place. Sakura tensed up. She had the knife there that she had taken with her from home earlier. She had forgotten to take it out.
"I invite you there." he pointed with his hand to a cluster of people. He didn't take the knife or give Sakura away.
She moved away as fast as she could. No matter which side Sai was on, what was important now was his letting Sakura go. She thanked him in spirit for that.
Sakura waited a moment for her companions, and once they were beside her she moved forward. There was only one train standing on the platform, which was strange. Sakura knew there wasn't enough room in it for that many people.
There was one guard standing at each of the four cars. He was noting down in his notebook who had gone inside, casually searching through backpacks.
Sakura stepped in front of the older woman. The man reached for the old woman's luggage, then searched it and took out a metal tool.
"What's this?"
"A nail file. I need it, I hurt myself a lot." replied the woman calmly. The guard, however, tossed the entire backpack into the trash can next to her.
"You won't need it anymore." he grabbed the woman by the arm and pushed her into the carriage.
"What are you doing?" the woman looked confused and frightened. Sakura wanted to intervene, but then she noticed the look on the men's faces and knew it would end badly. And she didn't want to put Itachi or her mother in danger.
Because of the force of the blow and the woman's older age, the vein in her leg ruptured and blood began to pour in a torrent. The guard didn't even look at her. He was not interested in the red ooze staining the wagon that was supposed to hold two hundred people. He was not interested in the life of the old woman and the consequences of the unbandaged wound. He stood like a rock with his face impassive and obeyed orders.
"Next." Sakura, horrified by the sight and the whole scene earlier, approached slowly. She saw a cross being placed in place of her number. Then she stepped into the carriage.
She helped Itachi get in, and then Mebuki, whose luggage was also thrown out, but her mom didn't even protest. She was afraid. And they were supposedly supposed to feel safe.
"Come to the window." Sakura motioned to the rather large window at the end of the carriage. Not many people had gotten in yet, so they had to find the best seats possible. It would be too stuffy later, and there were no seats here either. People would crowd in and squeeze among themselves.
"This whole behavior is so... inhuman." Mebuki said angrily. Only now did she look angry about being deprived of her property.
"I've never heard of this place before. In fact, I was wondering why you guys went here."
"Maybe it was because you rarely left the house. You know what I mean."
"Izumi would tell us so. And she was surprised too." Sakura opened the window. She needed some fresh air.
"Do you think this is run by someone else? Specially hidden?" Mebuki couldn't keep up with their train of thought, but she tried to fit into the conversation. Even just asking questions.
"Yes. Some big country."
"...Konoha." a pair of eyes turned to Sakura "Sai was there. I don't know him very well, but I'm sure where he came from."
"But this place was to protect us from... from Danzo." Mebuki looked horrified.
Sakura pulled herself up from her seat. She couldn't leave her daughter and Sasuke here. They had to know, to escape. Escaping the train was the only way to save them. They couldn't stay here a minute longer.
A large hand grabbed Sakura's shoulder. She looked furiously at Itachi.
"Where are you going?"
"Save my daughter and your brother."
"We shouldn't jump to conclusions. We may be wrong."
"That guessing will get us killed someday." he did not speak again.
The train moved. The movement was so sudden that Sakura almost fell.
"No, no, no, no."
Her chance had passed. Now she could single file to their destination and try to escape from it.
Sakura watched as her mother sat down on the floor, leaned her head against the wall and tried to take a nap. Itachi, for his part, stood by the window and watched the changing landscape.
"Why did you stop me! If you hadn't done that then..." she had no idea what to say next. She only looked angrily at Itachi. She needed to get her negative emotions out.
"What would it have gotten you? They would have thrown you back in here anyway."
"I would at least try! I...I."
"I know, separation is hard." he said it in a calm tone.
Sakura understood. Itachi was experiencing the same thing. Whatever connection he had with that girl was more than friendship.
"Did you say goodbye to Izumi?" she asked, though it was obvious.
"I had to, we're going into the unknown after all." he only looked at Sakura for a split second "She'll be fine." he added in a whisper.
Sakura stopped across from him and silently watched the sights outside the window. There were fields and lakes everywhere. Nothing out of the ordinary. Until the grounds began to look all too familiar.
The outskirts of Konoha.
She remembered them very well, she used to come here with her friends and Sasuke for camping.
They were entering enemy territory. And the sounds of the war beginning, could be heard in the distance.
This was where the lion's mouth was located.
"Looks like we were right." Itachi commented. Sakura's lip began to twitch.
She turned away from the window and was confronted with a sight she had previously avoided. The stench of sweat and other unpleasant odors wafted to her nostrils. People were sitting or kneeling in every corner, and only a few continued to stand. No one was prepared for such a long journey in such conditions. Sakura also caught sight of two lonely children with tears dried on their cheeks. It was frightening. And even worse was the ignorance, the blindness of these poor people. They thought they were really going to eden.
They believed in a better tomorrow. But would they live to see that tomorrow?
Sakura wondered how long they had been driving. At least three hours must have passed. That meant they would be at their destination soon. She decided to rest for a while. She walked over to her mother and sat down next to her, resting the head against her shoulder. She had no strength for anything. She had to think.
When they reached their destination, she would have to get to know the area. That way she would know possible escape routes. Sakura swore to herself to leave the place they were going to by tomorrow with Itachi and Mebuki. The other option she did not accept. She would never again be separated from Sasuke and Sarada.
The screech of metal rubbing against metal reached Sakura's ears. They had arrived.
A large door opened showing a bunch of people dressed in blue uniforms on the other side. They had two pistols at their sides and held batons in their hands.
"Get out." shouted the largest of them.
All the people on the train shuddered. They slowly began to lift their luggage from the ground. However, the guards did not like their pace. One of them fired his gun warningly.
This revived them. Sakura picked herself up and helped her mother along the way. Itachi was already standing with his backpack on his back, waiting for them. Sakura could see his face getting even paler. He slowly looked like a corpse.
Walking behind the trailing crowd, Sakura could barely breathe. As she exited the carriage, she nearly tripped and fell face first into the mud. Luckily, Itachi caught her at the last moment.
Sasuke's brother helped Mebuki out as well. Once the three of them were standing on the ground, they moved towards the huge metal door.
There was a forest all around, but much of it looked like it was dying. The smell of smoke was in the air, and there was mud underfoot.
It was horrible out here.
And this was just the beginning.
Sakura heard a few more gunshots in the background. She didn't know if anyone was hurt or not. What bothered Sakura the most was that she didn't care much. Each of them had ended up in this horrible place because they trusted the other too much. Now they were fighting for themselves, not others.
Finally, they were able to pass through the gate. A horrible sight stretched before Sakura's eyes. The whole place was a small circle, with a few houses against the wall. All sorts of things were scattered around inside, from boards to clothes, even children's clothes. In the air, Sakura could only sense death lurking.
"Head for the tables!" shouted various men alternately. Sakura only now saw how many guards were standing and cordoning off the way to the rest of this place. As she assumed, no one would go further without noticing first.
Sakura wanted to pull Itachi and Mebuki into line with her, but her mother was pushed aside by the crowd and ended up in the second row.
"She'll be fine." Itachi assured her. Sakura didn't doubt it, she was just worried.
Surprisingly the queue moved fast enough that after a while it was Sakura's turn.
"Show your number." she reluctantly but compulsively pushed her hair aside. Further the vision of being marked was sickening to Sakura "This is your new home." he handed her a slip of paper with another number - I4.
Sakura nodded and moved aside to wait for Itachi. However, she felt a firm grip on her forearm.
"Don't just stand there," the woman hissed through her teeth and pushed Sakura. Not expecting it, she fell on her butt, slapping it hard. Sakura quickly picked herself up and moved away to a safe distance.
Moments later, Itachi was beside her.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah." she didn't want them to worry about her. She could handle herself, she had been doing it for a few years now.
"I assume we have the same block." he showed a piece of paper with the same number as Sakura's.
"Fortunately, yes."
"Your mother however does not look happy." Sakura looked at Mebuki. She twisted her face into a grimace and looked at the man in front of her with displeasure.
Sakura watched as her mother picked up the piece of paper and headed towards them.
"Not only did they deprive me of my luggage but on top of that, they gave me a seat where the other five people were." she showed the number - II2
"If as many as six people are to fit in one place, it must be big." she tried to comfort Mebuki.
"The other option I don't accept."
They smiled one last time at each other and moved into the depths of the deadly place.
They walked slowly, trying to delay the inevitable. They entered a small street that forked in two directions. There was a large sign in the middle, and on it was a sign that read - 'RIGHT DISCRETE NUMBER ONE LEFT DISCRETE NUMBER TWO'.
This meant that Sakura would be separated from her mother more than she imagined.
"Then I'll go, I'm very tired. I'll see you tomorrow." Mebuki walked over to Sakura and hugged her daughter as tightly as if it would be the last time. She only sent Itachi a quick glance.
"Good night, mom."
Sakura looked for a moment at her mother moving away. She wanted so much to have her beside her now. But as she could see, fate was not so kind.
"Let's go." Itachi pulled Sakura gently by the sleeve.
They went to the right, looking carefully at the house numbers. There weren't many of them. Sakura had previously only counted three where Mebuki was headed, and here there were six. She didn't know how so many people were supposed to be accommodated in such a small amount of space. Sakura already knew who created this place, and Danzo hated them, but he could at least try to make it look reasonably good. After all, most people had no idea where they were, so the better looking the place was, the more they would believe the illusion of safety.
"Here." Itachi informed.
"But it's... small." Sakura looked closely at the house from the outside. The plaster from the walls was falling off, and she could see mold in the corners.
"Maybe there's more room inside."
It wasn't.
Sakura looked stunned at the ten hard beds. Five on the bottom, five on top. In the corner she noticed only four blankets and six pillows. This place looked like it wanted to show them that they wouldn't be staying here long.
"Hi." a quiet voice came to them from the side. Only now did Sakura see the young girl sitting in the corner.
"Hey." she replied.
"I'm occupying this bed." she pointed to the seat below.
"We don't care anyway."
"Hmm, maybe even better." the woman stood up and walked over to Itachi "Why are you so pale?"
"I'm sick."
"Ahh, then I don't see much of a future for you." Sakura wanted to interject because she thought the girl was exaggerating, but Itachi didn't look touched.
"Possibly."
"Actually, I don't bode a long future for everyone here." Sakura blinked a few times.
"Do you know where we are?"
"Silly question, sweetie. Of course I know, I grew up in this area." she picked up some paper from the ground "If my hopeless dead boyfriend hadn't asked me to find his mother in the camp, maybe I would have been killed by bombs and not people." she shook " I shiver at the thought of it. I never wanted to die at the hands of a human." she handed the note to Sakura.
"What is it?"
"Read it and you'll find out." she lay back on the bed "I'm Katahana, by the way."
"Mai."
Katahana closed her eyelids, and Sakura began to read.
There were only two things written on the piece of paper - no going out after dark and a meeting first thing in the morning in the square. Sakura flipped the piece of paper over to see for sure if that was all, but found nothing else.
Itachi sat down on the bed. He looked very tired. Had he taken some kind of break these past few days? Sakura knew he shouldn't overtire his body, it could lead to his death.
"And what did you find out?"
"We're going out tonight." Katahana turned around abruptly after Sakura's words.
"Are you crazy? You're going to die."
"I can handle it."
"Girl, you don't seem to understand the seriousness of the situation!"
"I understand perfectly, that's why I need to learn as much as possible. I need to get away from here. I have a family and I won't leave them." she looked at Katahana hard "All the more reason we've only known each other for ten minutes, why are you so worried about us?"
"We are the same." she pointed to her hair "No matter how much I know someone, I will not let my people die. I will go with you."
"We'll be more vulnerable then." Itachi spoke up.
"You'll be more useful to us by staying here and taking cover just in case."
Katahana looked at them suspiciously, then turned her back on the bed.
"Be that as it may."
A moment later, two more people walked in. No one said hello. Sakura handed a card to the new arrivals and told them to pass on.
After three hours, it was completely dark outside and people were already asleep. Sakura got off the bed upstairs and walked over to Itachi. She shook him to wake him up. Katahana looked at her with eyes glowing in the darkness.
Itachi opened the eyes. His whites were bloodshot and hair was sticky against his forehead.
"Are you feeling okay?"
"Yes." he raised himself up on his elbows.
"W-wait." Sakura tried to stop him from getting up. He looked like he was about to fall "I can go by myself."
"If something happened to you, Sasuke wouldn't forgive me."
"Like if something happened to you-"
"Sakura, Sakura," Itachi whispered very quietly so no one would hear "I'm the older brother for a reason. It's my duty to protect Sasuke and everything that matters most to him." Sakura wanted to protest once more, but Itachi was already heading for the exit.
Taking the blanket, she rushed over to Itachi. She threw the material over his shoulders and they both walked out into the cold, stinking air.
They walked slowly looking in all directions. They saw no one outside so far. It was as if all the guards had evaporated somewhere.
They didn't talk to each other so as not to accidentally draw attention to themselves. They both promised in their spirit to get out of here alive.
Sakura approached almost every one of the houses. She cautiously peeked through the windows and looked to see what was inside. Usually it was just sleeping people, but sometimes she saw clusters of weapons.
The roads were made of sand, but because of the slight rainfall, they were treading on mud. Sakura noticed a child's clothes in one puddle. It was all tattered and looked like it was about a few months old.
Which meant they most likely weren't the first ones here. Mebuki had talked about sending their people into the unknown. Maybe this was the place she was talking about.
"Look over there." Itachi pointed to a concrete building, larger than the other houses. There was a light on inside.
"Let's go over there." Sakura pulled him along and stood next to a small window. There was little to see, but she tried to notice as much as possible.
"The windows are soundproof." Itachi remarked.
"I think there are watchmen in there."
"Maybe it's their house." Sakura was already about to nod when an older woman she had seen earlier caught her eye. She had a cloth wrapped around her leg, but blood continued to ooze from the wound.
"What did they bring them here for?"
"Research?"
"Nothing like that was written on that piece of paper."
"Then maybe the other part has today and we have tomorrow."
"You sound like you just want to lie to me that everything will be fine. I'm well aware of what's going on here, Itachi, and I've been through too much to think positively." Sakura didn't want to sound pretentious. She had to make Itachi realize that most people weren't going to make it out of this place, and she wasn't a weak woman who got shivers at the thought of death.
"I don't know Sakura what's about to happen." he said resignedly.
As Sakura looked at him longer, she noticed even more enlarged wrinkles running from his eye. His skin was slowly turning gray and his lips were turning blue. She wanted to believe that Itachi would have enough strength to escape, but thinking about it, she was starting to doubt it more.
Nevertheless, she would not let him die. They will both get out of this prison, and Sasuke will have all the people he loves next to him again.
"Isn't that your mom?"
Sakura strained her gaze. She tried to find Mebuki somewhere, but all the time she had a man and an old lady in front of her eyes.
"I can't see."
"Stand here." Itachi shifted slightly thus giving Sakura space.
She caught sight of her mother. Mebuki looked displeased. Sakura wasn't surprised at all, her mother didn't like being up at such late hours. She believed that the longer she slept the younger she looked.
"Itachi, can we, you know, can we get her out of there somehow?"
"There are guards swarming inside. There's nothing we can do, Sakura."
"But what if she gets hurt? She's my mother and I won't let her die. It's still too early, they can't take her away from me." Sakura felt terror engulfing her whole body. She hadn't panicked before. She knew that what must happen would happen, but Mebuki's presence among these people changed everything.
"Maybe we really should be of good cheer. You will meet your mom tomorrow-"
No matter how soundproof those glass panes were, the sound a couple of guns made at once was too loud to mask.
Sakura watched with tears in her eyes as the bullet hit her mom's head. Mebuki fell dead, face down on the ground, leaving only a trail of blood on the wall. With that, she left Sakura without her parents.
Mebuki was in no hurry at all to visit Kizashi.
Sakura's scream was muffled by Itachi's hand. He grabbed her around the waist to keep her from falling to the knees and dragged her into a dark alley. The guards started to leave the room, they had to take cover.
Sakura shook in the boy's arms, trying to erase that scene from her mind. She had been here such a short time, and she had already managed to lose one person. How many of them would actually manage to escape from here?
Itachi retreated further and further into the darkness. No one could see them, or else they would end up like those people.
"Did you hear that?" a male voice came to Sakura's ears. And it wasn't Itachi's at all.
"It's probably nothing."
"I'll check."
"Come on, you're just wasting time."
"Better be vigilant."
"Are you that eager to please Orochimaru and Danzo?"
It was the first time Sakura had heard that name. Orochimaru? Maybe it was the man from the camp. But which one?
She felt Itachi tugging her back even further. They found themselves in danger. There was only a dead end at the back. They had nowhere to run.
Itachi let go of Sakura and quickly ran on. He did it quietly enough, but it came with difficulty. Sakura rushed after him.
"We're going to die." she said.
"No. Help me get this grate off." Sakura walked over to him and caught the metal in her hands. It wasn't as heavy as she expected.
In one motion, she got rid of the grating. Before them stretched a black abyss. It stank a little there, but it didn't look like sewage. It had to be some kind of tunnel. Off to the side was a ladder.
"Go first."
"Sakura, I already told you something."
"Itachi, we don't have-" she didn't finish as she noticed the guard already being almost beside them. He couldn't see them yet, but he wasn't that far away.
Sakura grabbed onto the first rung and got down as fast as she could. Itachi climbed right after her, closing the opening behind him.
Landing downstairs, they looked around the room. Or more so they visualized it, as it was literally pitch black in here.
"I think I found the door." Sakura deliberated the doorframe with her hand "I'm opening it."
Itachi was next to her within a second. Sakura took out her knife and handed it to him. They opened the door slowly, then ducked to the side. When they didn't hear anything suspicious they leaned their heads out. A candle was burning in the room. Someone had to be here.
She showed Itachi to enter. He moved behind her.
They had only taken two steps when Sakura felt the blade against her neck. They stood still.
"Put the weapon down, we don't want to hurt you." Itachi spoke up. He put the knife he had been holding in his hand earlier into his pocket. He didn't want to scare the girl.
"Why should I believe you?" she squeezed through her teeth.
"See my hair?" asked Sakura softly.
"It might be dyed."
"You really think someone would dye their hair a color that is only associated with a quick death these days?"
"I've spent too much time here not to believe in the impossible."
"Trust us." Itachi said again. The girl looked at him with raised eyebrows.
"You're not good at convincing people." she enveloped them with a watchful gaze, then pointed a finger at Itachi "Put the knife down."
He took out his weapon and threw it on the floor. The girl lowered the blade. Sakura felt his hands touching her all over her body. She looked for other tools. When she found nothing, she stepped back.
"Go over there. And you to me." Itachi squatted down. She searched him too "Have you eaten anything?"
"No."
"I can see." she pointed to the spot next to Sakura "There."
They both stood against the wall. Sakura thought for a moment that they were going to be tied up or something, but the girl just watched them vigilantly with her black eyes. Her hair was tied up and very dirty. Sakura tried to judge what color they were, but it was hard. They looked very dark with a touch of pink. The girl's clothes were practically black and stank.
"How long have you been here?" asked Sakura "And who are you anyway?"
"So there's no getting around the story." she took a chair from the corner and placed it in front of them "This is the first time I will be telling my life story, I feel excited." with a smile on her face she sat down in the chair.
"You look like an Uchiha." Itachi spoke up.
"Good observation, cousin."
"Cousin?"
"We come from the same clan, can't I call you that?"
"I have no problem with that. I'm more puzzled as to why you're alive." she laughed.
"You really want your clan dead." Itachi wanted to speak up, but she silenced him with a nod "Let's get to the point. It's been reported in the media that all the Uchiha are dead, but as you can see that's not true. Danzo cared most about causing panic and killing the most important people. He didn't have time to worry about the rest. That's why this place was created." Sakura only now saw the many scars on her face "They brought everyone who was left here. Of course they knew that you and your brother were alive, but we'll get to that later. You see you could call this place a labor camp. We have been forced into slave labor, for over five years. Three months ago they exterminated those who were not yet dead."
"How did you manage to survive?"
"Oh, it wasn't that hard. I holed up here with two other people. We gathered supplies of food and drink. We managed to survive those three months until my companions were captured. I was left alone then."
"When was that?"
"About a week ago. Now I know they must have prepared the place for your arrival." she tapped the chair
"Maybe," Sakura mused "maybe you know something about my people being sent down?"
"Yes. Working here and being surrounded by everyone else it's easy to get that kind of information. I've talked to a few people. Some said they were caught walking normally on the street and sent here. Others told of some camp that supposedly provided safety."
"You probably mean the same one as ours." Itachi said.
"Hmm, that means that place over there has become more popular. And that's news to me."
"As far as this place is concerned, there is only one?"
"That's the only one I know of."
"You were talking about me and my brother earlier. If they knew we were alive, why didn't they look for us?"
"You really think so? I managed to overhear the guards a few times. They complained about Danzo giving them orders to find you at all costs. As you can see, they succeeded."
"We came to that camp by ourselves. They didn't find us."
"I didn't think you guys were that stupid." she muttered under her breath "And who are you?" she waved her head at Sakura.
"Suzuki Mai."
"Real name."
"Why are you judging me for lying?" she looked at the woman menacingly.
"It sounds cheesy. A name."
"You first." the girl sighed.
"Uchiha Misaki. Satisfied?" she nodded.
"Sakura. Haruno Sakura." Misaki waved her hand.
"I don't know you. So maybe you can tell me Itachi, why you decided to come there. Were you so fooled by the security?"
"Because of her." he pointed at Sakura.
"Congrats girl, you brought a death sentence on them all." she clapped her hands together.
"Don't talk about things you have no idea about." Sakura hissed.
"Ohh, then maybe you can tell me what it was like."
"They wanted to kill me and my daughter for being with an Uchiha." Misaki tapped her chin.
"I see, which means you were doing the baiting." they looked at her in shock "Well what? It's easy to deduce. Did Sasuke know about her having a family?" Itachi shook his head "See? They used you as bait."
"I didn't want to check on anyone's misfortune." Sakura whispered, and tears welled up in her eyes anew. She saw her mother's death again.
"Don't blame yourself so much anymore." Misaki stood up from her chair "You should re-treat your wounds." Sakura glanced down. She was right, the bandages were already dirty and a little red "Do you have any more questions? We don't have much time."
"I do." she spoke up "Do you know why this place is split in two?"
"I know, they probably sent you to one and two." Sakura confirmed "The ones going to two are the people who need to be killed right away. Mostly people who are wanted early or singled out, and just plain old people."
"But my-my mother," she barely caught her breath, "she wasn't old. If I was only going to be used as bait, why did they take her there. And why did they kill my father?"
"Look honey," Misaki said helplessly, "I'm not omniscient, how am I supposed to know that. Around here, everyone's fucked in the head."
"But-"
"Go now."
"We want to escape from here." Itachi finally spoke up.
"Not only stupid but also knocked up." she sighed "Do you really think you're going to make it?"
"It has to." Sakura said hardily.
"Good luck." she chuckled sarcastically.
"Join us." Sakura grabbed Misaki's arm.
"Join? What do you guys want to make some kind of revolution here?"
"Yes."
"So you want to put innocent people to die."
"They would die here anyway." Sakura didn't look the girl in the eye, ashamed of her words "Some will have the opportunity to start their lives over."
"You're too positive."
"Now I'm just trying to tell myself that. So?"
"I won't join." Sakura lowered her head "But if you manage to cause a ruckus, I will take advantage of the situation and try to escape."
"Do as you wish." Itachi said.
"Just tell me, what's it like outside?"
"Dangerous."
"The war has started."
"Ah, well, everyone expected it. Take care." she said sarcastically.
Sakura and Itachi disappeared behind the door.
Meeting this girl was shocking. They didn't think any Uchiha, besides Sasuke and Itachi, were still alive. But talking to Misaki gave them a lot of useful information. They won't leave the real history of the Uchiha clan in the shadows, people should find out what kind of hell Danzo put up and what he's doing still. They will fight for their rights.
"How do you expect to convince all these people to rebel?"
"I don't know yet."
"When do you want to do it."
"Today."
"Sakura, I don't want to spoil your dreams, but-"
"No more talking, Itachi. We need to get to our house as soon as possible and not get caught."
Sakura climbed the ladder first. She climbed rung by rung until she reached the top. She slid the grate aside and looked outside. No one was there. She gave a sign to Itachi.
Pulling herself up to the surface, she helped her companion along. They looked around carefully once more and started down the same path as before.
It took them a little longer to reach the place than before, they had to be very alert. They ran into the room panting.
"What took you two so long?" Katahana looked angry and worried at the same time.
"We had a little setback."
"Did you learn anything?"
"Yes," Sakura said quietly. She was in no condition to speak further.
"They've already started murdering people, we'll be next."
"Murder?" a male voice spoke up. Some young boy was looking at them with a calm look on his face.
"That' s bullshit to me." this time a woman, looking about forty years old spoke up "Come on child, let us finally get some sleep."
Sakura looked at her angrily. How could she be so calm after what she heard? Did she really think Sakura could lie?
"Do you know where you are?" spoke Katahana loudly "No? Then goddamn listen!" she pounded her fist against the wall "It happens that they sent us all to Konoha." a few people looked at her in shock "Yes, you hear correctly. We are in enemy territory that wants us dead. So either move your asses and get out of here together, or you'll be dead tomorrow!"
The men moved restlessly. They must have had visions of death before their eyes. Every road led to it. But if they were destined to die here, they should do so by fighting. They couldn't die like Sakura's mother, submitting to their fate. They deserved a beautiful death.
And Sakura deserved to avenge her mother.
"How do you want to escape?"
"We need to create chaos."
"Ideas?"
"We'll start a fire." say Itachi "We need to find a fire and something flammable. We'll ignite the houses."
Sakura touched the wood. It was very dry and old, there would be no problem lighting it. The only problem would be the fire.
"Anyone know how to make fire?"
"Me." the boy spoke up again "I was a Boy Scout. I always carry a flint and a rock."
"Great." asked the boy approaching her.
"I need some dry sticks and leaves."
Sakura ran out of the room, looking around to see if anyone was around. She walked over to the only tree. It was a little wet, but the leaves at the bottom should come in handy. Gathering a few, she saw some twigs under the canopy.
She ran back inside. Sakura threw the gathering of materials on the bed.
"It will take some time. The fire won't spread too fast." informed the boy.
"This is what we do. Now you light the fire here. Then you and you." she pointed to the two teenagers. They were small and looked agile "You will go to each house occupied by ours and tell everything you heard here. Pick up branches and leaves along the way. Even if people object you must light a fire, in every house."
"Yes, sir." they said together.
The boy got to work. He gathered the blankets and laid them on the floor. He threw the necessary things on top and set about making a fire. He had to keep the fire going long enough for the material to take care of it. After that, it should go downhill. The wood would catch the flames and the cabin would begin to burn.
"The rest of you listen up. Grab the rest of the blankets. You might need the material later to treat wounds or wash something off. Also, take any sharp, heavy, large tools with you. We need to defend ourselves with something."
Four of the five people nodded. Only the woman from earlier did nothing. She lay on the bed and stared at the actions of the others.
"You will have blood on your hands." she said that and turned to face the wall.
Sakury flinched at her words. She already had blood on her hands - the two men who had attacked her; the mother she hadn't saved. How many more of these people would there be?
She watched as Itachi sat down on the bed. He was very tired, he needed to rest as he wanted to escape.
Sakura pulled herself up from her seat and picked up the blanket. She walked into the small bathroom. There was some water left in the tub.
She took off her pants and blouse. She got rid of the bandages. Slowly she washed her wounds, wrapping the new material around them. Sakura looked at her reflection. The small piece of mirror perfectly showed the bags under her eyes, pale skin, wrinkles. And a number.
A number that reminded Sakura of who they thought she was - a worthless human who could rank lower than an animal.
A piece of gray soap lay on the sink. Sakura picked it up and soaked it in the water. She began scrubbing her neck. So hard that she almost scraped her skin off. However, it didn't do anything.
She slapped her hand against the mirror. It fell apart in the blink of an eye. Sakura bowed her head and tears started to run down her cheeks. She felt helpless.
Sakura tried to stifle her sobs by biting her hand, but it did very little.
Sakura didn't know how much time she spent in the bathroom. She smelled smoke. With red, swollen eyes, she walked out. The fire had already started to consume the floor. They had to get together.
"Everyone to the exit." Itachi left first, leading the rest behind him "You're leaving too." Sakura walked up to the woman.
"Leave me, child."
"If you don't move you'll die!"
"Just like my little girl." Sakura didn't understand and probably didn't even want to.
She tried to lift the woman up, but the smoke was irritating her throat more and more.
"Sakura, what are you doing?"
"I have to get her out of here." Itachi wasn't listening to her, he pulled Sakura against him. She wanted to get away, to explain to him that she couldn't leave this lady here. But nothing was getting through to him.
They left the building at the last minute. The fire had taken over the entire center. Sakura could see other buildings already burning around them.
"Now we will have to fight." he pressed a knife into her hand.
"Follow me the whole time. If you feel bad, speak up. We'll get out of this together, promise?" she stuck out her little finger to Itachi.
"I promise." he replied to Sakura, but didn't shake her finger.
"Smash whatever you have under the way, don't be afraid to hurt your enemies!" shouted Sakura and rushed along with Itachi in front of her.
Sakura saw the watchmen running towards the burning houses in the distance. They had batons and pistols with them.
"Calm down! Have everyone head to the gate!" they shouted. Sakura thanked in spirit for making their task easier. She just hoped that no one would attack these men.
Itachi's breathing was getting heavier. Sakura turned to him, reached out and supported him with her arm. They ran together, stumbling every now and then. There was only one goal in their minds - to get out and run so far away that no one could find them anymore.
Suddenly, Sakura heard a gunshot.
She turned around to look at what had happened. A man was lying on the ground. He didn't have any weapons in his hand, and his face had a calm, somewhat frightened expression, so Sakura assumed he didn't want to hurt the guard. So why did he die? Did Sakura make the right decision? Another person had died because of her.
"They get their orders through headphones." only now Sakura noticed it.
"Faster!" she yelled to him.
Sakura let go of Itachi, that way they would move faster. They could already see the gate. It was surrounded by only three guards. Itachi coughed heavily.
One of the men started running towards them, the rest had their weapons pointed at the others. Sakura seized the opportunity and dashed past the guard, reached out with her knife and cut his throat.
This drew the attention of the others.
They pointed their weapons at her.
However, she heard two gunshots from someone else - one from behind and one from the side.
Sasuke woke up from his dream. He had a nightmare again, but this time it was different. Before his eyes he saw the bodies of Sakura and Sarada. Massacred.
"Dad?" said Sarada uncertainly. Sasuke knew full well that she didn't know quite how to address him. She was scared, and on top of that, she was separated from Sakura.
Sasuke was sure that with small steps they would get there and there would be no restraint in their relationship. After all, he was her father and he would try his best.
But he also knew one thing, they didn't have time for baby steps. They needed to forget about this big decline in their relationship for now. They needed to learn to work together. There was no telling when Sakura would return.
Sakura.
Sasuke felt comfortable talking to her earlier. As if their breakup wasn't painful at all, and six years weren't lost. But here too, he knew that they would have to rebuild their relationship. It would not, however, be as difficult as acquiring a new one with Sarada.
"Yes?"
"Do you have anything to eat?" Sasuke sat down. He picked up his backpack and searched it thoroughly. Unfortunately, he found nothing.
"They don't give breakfast here?"
"I don't know." her stomach rumbled.
"Then let's go find out." Sasuke stood up and held out his hand to Sarada.
"Aunt Izumi told me not to leave this place."
"Hn, then hide so no one notices you. I'll look for food."
"Will you come back?" she looked at him with eyes so similar to Sakura's. They were beautiful and trusting, but he could see the fear there as well.
"I'll come back." he raised a small finger up in a sign of promise. He ruffled Sarada's hair and waited until she hid to go outside.
The camp grew quiet. Sasuke could see three people sitting outside, the rest were sitting in the tents. The vision of escaping to safety was their salvation, people were packing their things waiting for the second train to be announced.
For Sasuke, all these people were too well-disposed. Literally, not that far away from here, bombs were falling on the streets, and ordinary civilians could get shot. Because of that, he didn't enjoy the vision of shelter as much. There was always the possibility of war breaking out in that place as well.
Sasuke only wanted one thing in life - to spend the rest of his days with his family.
Walking towards Izumi's tent, a voice sounded in the speakers - "Please proceed to the square immediately, I repeat, please proceed to the square immediately."
There it was again. Sasuke, resigned, turned left. Sarada would unfortunately have to wait, now he had to listen to the dorky speech. He couldn't leave the meeting, as he could already see the guards entering the tents.
Yesterday he had warned his daughter about the possibility of evil men checking the tents. Sarada is too smart a girl to get caught.
Sasuke noticed Naruto approaching with Hinata.
"What do you think they will announce now?" his friend asked.
"Maybe they'll send the others?" said Hinata quietly.
"I doubt it. I assume we won't like what we hear at all."
"How is Sarada holding up?"
"I hope you took good care of her." heard Ino to his right.
"She feels good."
"And how do you like the role of father, dattebayo!?" Naruto walked in smiling from ear to ear.
"I have no reservations."
"I wonder when it will change." Sasuke looked annoyed at his friend. He wanted to say something, but paused when he noticed Naruto's smile.
Sasuke missed him, a lot even. They had spent a wonderful couple of years together in the past, they could even consider each other brothers by now.
"Come on." Ino pulled them to the middle.
The two men were already standing on top. Sasuke looked at them in disgust. To him they looked like two snakes. Vicious, slimy and hissing snakes. They were not good people, anyone could see that.
"Thank you for coming." spoke up the black haired man "I must announce some unpleasant news to you." Sasuke felt himself starting to stress. What if it was about the people who went yesterday? What if something happened to Sakura and Itachi? He tried to calm himself down "During the night, the tracks leading to the safe place were knocked down. The soldiers made it all the way here. We have no way to evacuate, but we can fight." people began to whisper. They were anxious about this solution "I know none of you were prepared for this, and neither were we, but this is the only way out."
"We don't want to fight!"
"Let us out of here!"
"You promised a safe place!"
People tried to get to the men or leave the square. Chaos ensued. Another.
"Calm down!" the younger of the two spoke up, "Do you really want to leave here and be killed right away!? Without a fight, we won't survive. We'll try to rebuild the tracks as soon as possible, but we won't do anything now. Do you want to live in a free world?" some started to nod, others said yes "Then let's do everything we can to make this world free!"
Sasuke watched as everything quieted down. A few people only continued to try to leave the place, but they didn't stand a chance with the guards. He and his companions just stood and watched the whole event.
They had come here to get away from the fighting. They wanted peace, but they could not find it. None of them knew what they had to fight for. They felt no sense of belonging to any country. Konoha had once been their home, a home that had taken something precious from each of them.
They were lost and tired. They did not understand why they should die because of a sick madman who wanted to conquer the world.
Sasuke promised himself one thing. He would not rest until Danzo's head was lying next to his feet.
"We have received information about the possible location of the first soldiers. We'll send five people there." the guards guarding the order began to approach them.
Sasuke could see them looking at them. They already knew who they were sending.
"We're out of luck." Ino said.
"You guys go." the man indicated where they should go.
"The rest of you can scatter." The men, with relief on their faces, walked away to their tents.
Sasuke took two steps back. He had to think of something before Sarada started to get anxious. He had promised her he would return. He had only been acting as a father for a few hours, and already he couldn't keep his promise. Now he was beginning to regret not running away from this place yesterday when he still had a chance.
"And where are you going?" one of the guards asked.
"I have to say goodbye to someone."
"We don't have time for that." he pushed him forward.
Sasuke felt someone staring at him. He came across Izumi. She was standing not far away and looking at him with terrified eyes. This might have been Sasuke's only chance.
"It will take me two minutes. I have to say goodbye to her." he pointed at the girl.
One of the guards looked at his companion and nodded to him.
"I'll go with you."
In a few seconds Sasuke found himself next to Izumi.
"Sasuke, you..." she was lost, not knowing what to do. Not only had Itachi left her here, but Sasuke was going to go fight.
"Listen, Izumi," he put one arm around her and the other in his pocket. It had to look like a lovers goodbye so they wouldn't arouse suspicion "Here's the map." he slipped it into Izumi's pocket "You have a place marked on it. Get away from here with Sarada and go there. You're agile, you can handle it. Sarada shouldn't cause any problems."
"And you?"
"I don't know how long I'll be gone, but I'll come back to you guys."
"Promise?" Sasuke closed his eyes. He'd already failed to keep one promise, but he couldn't do the same with this one.
"I have no intention of dying."
"That's good, because... Do you think they'll come back?" she didn't have to say who she meant, because Sasuke knew perfectly well.
"If I don't find them there when I arrive, then even if I don't know where that safe place is, I'll go there and get them." Izumi laughed.
"I'll go with you then."
"Time's up." the guard poked Sasuke.
"Will you tell Sarada that I love her?" Izumi nodded.
They moved away from each other and each went their separate ways.
Sasuke reached his friends. They stood and discussed among themselves.
"Sasuke, maybe you can escape somehow?" whispered Naruto.
"You can't leave Sarada." added Hinata even more quietly.
"My daughter is in good hands." he turned to face his friend "I am not a coward. I'll go and do what I'm told, even if it's none of my business."
"I calculated our chances of escape." it was the first time Sasuke had heard Shikamaru after so many years. Even though he hadn't had a close relationship with him before, he still missed him. Or maybe he was homesick and looking for at least a part of it, in every possible thing? "They're too small. They will send two of their own with us. The nearest possible escape will be when we get back, but even that could be a failure. If five people suddenly disappear, they'll notice. And we all know very well that this whole camp is just a cover, and I assume Danzo is in charge."
"Danzo? Shikamaru let's not overreact." Ino said.
"I'm not exaggerating. Let's face it, it's more plausible than believing in the lone help of two random men. Where do you think they got the money to host us here? Why did they want to help others when they knew full well there was a death penalty for protecting them? Think about it."
"Sakura told me yesterday, too, that something was wrong here,"
"So, if this is just a cover-up, where were those people transported to?" asked Hinata.
"And what will happen to Sakura and Itachi?" added Naruto.
They fell silent. No one knew the answers to these questions.
"Come here." ordered one of the guards.
Each of them was given black pants, a bulletproof vest, an earpiece along with a microphone, and a rifle.
"Get dressed and let's go."
They put on everything they had and set off. They walked for twenty minutes in silence. One of the guards led the way while the other followed behind.
Coming out of the forest, Sasuke noticed the platforms. As he drove to this place they stopped before the last stop, so he hadn't seen the end of the road before.
It looked abandoned in a hurry. Crates, cards, and glass were scattered everywhere. Sand flew through the wind, and the only thing that could be smelled in the air was death. Slowly every place began to smell like this.
"You guys should check that place out."
Sasuke turned his head. Before his eyes he saw a large white building. Most likely it used to be a train station where people spent time waiting for their train. It must have been teeming with life in the past. Now it looked like an ordinary, forgotten place.
"You guys go ahead, we'll protect the back."
"Shouldn't one of you come in there with us?" spoke up Ino.
"This is a war, not a wish concert, honey." she sent a deadly look.
"Okay, listen to me now." all four turned to Shikamaru "Me, Hinata and Ino will go inside. Naruto will stand on the outside of the building and you Sasuke a little further away. That will be best."
"I didn't know you used to learn military strategy."
"Because I didn't teach, Ino. My father once told me to always do things in a way that causes the least amount of damage."
"Oi, no one dies today!" Naruto put his hand out in front of him "No funerals." they placed their hands on his.
"No funerals."
"Let's go."
They moved away, leaving the two guards behind. Shikamaru and Hinata went inside and headed upstairs. Ino stayed downstairs, scanning the grounds there. Naruto stood next to the front door and Sasuke about fifteen meters away.
"What are we actually looking for?" Sasuke heard Ino's voice in the earpiece.
"The presence of enemies." Shikamaru answered her.
"Well, it's obvious at first glance that there's no one here."
"Such orders."
"Have you searched every room, Ino?" asked Sasuke.
"Yes."
"Then back off. Hinata, you go downstairs."
"Why should she go down there?" asked Naruto stupidly.
"She's not needed upstairs since there's no one there. It would be better to look elsewhere. Shikamaru you can go down too."
"Right there... Wait, I think I found something."
Sasuke and the others waited for some sort of answer. Ino finally grabbed the handle and slowly opened the door.
"Oh my god..." they heard Hinata's terrified whisper.
"Shit, run!"
The building exploded.
For me, there always has to be a lot of action, and this chapter has plenty of it.
I had to finish the first part and add more drama, but from the next chapter Sasuke and Sakura will be like lovebirds
Let me know what you guys think!
[Sorry for the errors, but too much text ;p]
