Chapter 13: Without a trace

Anbu team leader, Hyuga Neji, was the only one of his five man team to return to the village three days after his team had left. He was in remarkably bad shape. Somehow, he had managed to drag himself to the village's entrance, despite his heavy injuries. There, he had grabbed the very first inhabitant he had met and told him to get Tsunade as fast as possible.

Despite the bad condition he was in, he kept himself upright and refused to accept help before Tsunade showed up. He reported the details of the mission to her. His team had been ambushed and attacked by almost twenty shinobi. The teammates had been separated from each other and even though Neji had tried everything to find his comrades, he had eventually been forced to return home to inform the Hokage of the dramatic events. There was a chance that there were even more of the enemy, which made them a threat to the entire village.

Neji blamed himself for leaving his teammates behind. After he'd told Tsunade everything he knew, he collapsed right there on the street.

Two days after Neji's return, the mangled corpse of his fallen comrade was located close to where the fight had originated. The other three Anbu shinobi, including Uchiha Sasuke, had vanished without a trace. Recovery teams were dispatched to find the missing ninjas, but they returned with no further information of the trios' whereabouts. After two weeks of extensive searching, all hope in finding the three men alive was given up. Sasuke Uchiha and his two teammates were declared dead.

For the better part of the day Sakura had been standing at her window observing the activity on the street in front of her apartment. It had been seven long days since her husband had been declared dead. To Sakura it felt unreal; she couldn't and wouldn't accept that. There had never been a corpse or any substantial proof that indicated he was really gone. Sasuke had just… disappeared. He was tough; after all he was the last Uchiha. He wouldn't allow himself get killed that easily.

She'd been right from the very beginning. It had been a big mistake for her husband to join the Anbu. Sasuke had put himself in danger and if he had really left her, she wouldn't forgive him until the day she died. Every night Sakura waited by the window for his return. She still hoped that some day he'd just knock at her door and stare at her indifferently, just like he used to do. But he never came.

The other two missing Anbu shinobi hadn't returned either. Sakura couldn't understand how this could have happened. She cursed Neji for saving only himself.  What sort of squad leader would behave so selfishly? It was his fault that Sasuke and the others had disappeared. If only Sasuke had come back home instead of him! Neji was still in a coma, but at least he was home alive. Eventually, he'd wake up and get better. What about Sasuke? Where was he? Was he still alive? Maybe being tortured by the enemy, maybe he was slowly bleeding to death somewhere, maybe he was injured or maybe… So many thoughts were running wildly through her head. It was all Neji's fault!

Sakura felt guilty as well.  She had actually been considering Kakashi's suggestion to leave Sasuke until she received the news that her husband was missing.  That she had even contemplated her former sensei's advice made her feel ashamed.  Now, all Sakura wanted was for Sasuke to come home to her.

She felt tired. Since Sasuke's disappearance she hadn't been sleeping well or eating right. She kept to herself and refused to talk to her friends. Ino, Naruto and even Kakashi had tried to talk to her about this, but she had sent them all away. At the moment, she didn't want to see anyone. She didn't want to hear them say that Sasuke was really dead or that there was  no chance of  him coming back. In her heart, she knew they were wrong. They had to be.

Exhausted, she shuffled into the bedroom and her eyes fell upon the shirt  he had left hanging over a chair. She picked it up and lay down on the bed, desperately hugging the shirt that smelled faintly of  him. "Sasuke…", she sobbed. "Please… come back."

Holding his shirt tightly, she cried herself to sleep.

-------

Somewhere in a secret location, two men were being held prisoner in a small darkroom. It was cold and both of them were shivering, but not just from the low temperature. They had been tortured; their bodies were covered in blood from  several injuries they'd received during interrogation. One of the Leaf ninja  had a broken arm; the other's backside was covered in bloody welts.  

"Why don't you do something?" The one with the broken arm pleaded. "I know that you can!" The other  didn't reply. "Do you want to die here? I can't get us out of here, but I can assure they won't find us immediately!"

The raven-haired man still said nothing.

"FUCK!" the young man hissed, his blue eyes searched for any emotion in the other's face. "Do you think someone from Konoha will come to help? The only thing we know for sure is that  two of us are dead. Maybe they got Neji-san too. Nobody knows where we are. We have to help ourselves or else we'll die in here!"

"I will not do it," the raven-haired ninja answered calmly.

"Dammit! Who do you think you are? You're an Anbu, goddammit! You have a fucking duty to make the mission a success and protect yourself and your comrades! Now activate that goddamn curse seal and GET US OUT OF HERE!"

"NO!!", he screamed and buried his face in his hands. "I will never allow the curse seal to consume me again!"

"Then do you want to die?  Do you want them torture you for information about our mission until they kill you? Don't you want to go back to your wife?" The dark haired man raised his head slowly. A smile crossed the other's lips. Finally, he had found a weak spot. "Do it, Sasuke! Get us out of here and I swear to you, I'll bring you home to your wife!"

The door was pushed open and someone growled, "Unless you made up your mind about giving us some answers, I advise you to shut your mouth! Or do you want another round of… questioning?"

"Do it, Sasuke!" his teammate hissed. "Do it now!"

Sasuke doubled over and pressed his hands against his head. He seemed to fight it, but the black marks were spreading over his pale skin like wild fire. The other watched him with relief. And when Sasuke's entire body was covered with the curse seal, he dropped his hands and stood up, staring at the man at the door. "You're as good as dead."

...tbc...