Sakura rubbed her eyes. Dark circles curved under them. Sleep had seemed to elude her last night. Now she found herself out in front of Sasuke's house. There was no moon visible and no sun either. Musty colors streaked across the sky. Sasuke's small house looked very eerie and sad. Worry clouded her thoughts. Poor Sasuke. What was wrong with him?
Looking at the glow-in-the-dark watch on her wrist, Sakura observed it was 5 o'clock. If she hadn't been so worried about Sasuke, she would be asleep. However, nothing could stand between her and Sasuke.
"S-sakura…chan…"
Sakura turned to see a small, purple-haired girl wearing a hooded sweatshirt. Her soft white eyes looked thoughtfully straight ahead, as if she was blind, though she had one of the best pair of eyes in Konoha.
"Hinata-chan…what are you doing up so early?" Sakura asked.
"I…I was visiting….Kiba-kun…" Hinata hesitantly said, "He…tripped over a tree the other day…while showing off."
Hinata blushed and tried to stop herself from laughing. "K-Kiba-kun twisted his ankle and is in the hospital. Though…..I'm sure it's not funny for him…..it's so unusual to see him quietly sleeping or cooped up inside. It's so….unlike him. I'm sure he is finally showing his…innerself."
Sakura smiled. Her friend was so shy, yet she was so interesting. Hinata recognized everyone for who they were.
Hinata wiped a tear of laughter from her eye. "When Shino-kun…..gave him some…flowers as a get well present….and Kiba-kun saw that there was a bee in them….he must have jumped ten feet!"
Sakura laughed too. Hinata looked so happy in her current cell. Aburame Shino, the bug master, and Inuzaku Kiba the beast seemed a little rough for Hinata at first, but now those three got along perfectly with each other……unlike her. Naruto was always hanging on her and Sasuke barely noticed her. Competitions were all Sasuke and Naruto did with eachother and Sakura was usually the referee.
"Um…Hinata-chan." Sakura smiled slightly, "I have a question."
Hinata looked at Sakura, "Hai?"
At a loss of words, Sakura didn't know what to say. She felt a mix of jealousy, sadness, and confusion. Part of her wanted to ask Hinata for advice; another part wanted to cry on her shoulder; and yet another part, her very inner self, wanted to snap at her for clicking so well with her ninja cell. Finally, Sakura breathed out heavily.
"So… Has Sasuke-kun talked to you lately?
Hinata was temporarily taken aback by the awkward question.
"I…I don't know what you mean…" Hinata looked suspiciously at Sakura, "Did something happen between you and Sasuke?"
"Maybe… He just seems like he's…I don't know…" Sakura murmured quietly.
"If you want to talk to him, I just saw him on my way to the hospital." Hinata gave a sympathetic smile. "He's by the lake."
Sakura rubbed her arms. "I…I'm going to go see him. Thank you Hinata-chan."
The wind made heavy pounding sounds in her ears as Sakura took off running. She had to see him. Sasuke…what was wrong with him?
Leaves…they swirled around her…where was she…though she knew exactly where she was going, everything around her blurred and nullified itself into one solid indescribable color.
Sasuke…
Sasuke…
Sasuke…
Suddenly, Sakura's head hit hard against something. The force of the blow knocked her down, causing her to lose her breath temporarily. What did she run into? Looking up, Sakura observed a terrifyingly tall man. His belly drooped heavily over his belt and stubble grew grotesquely out of his double chin. Sakura sat on the ground absentmindedly. As a small breeze passed by them, the man's greasy hair moved, letting Sakura look at his forehead protector. He was from the hide-in-the-rocks village.
"Pretty cocky for a wench, aincha?" The man leered at Sakura, "Bumping into me like that."
Sakura forced herself to answer him back. "Wh-what are you doing here in Konoha? You're not allowed in our city without permission."
"I gave myself my own permission…"
With surprising speed, Sakura felt his chunky fingers grab her shoulders.
"I'm sure there's something you can do for me to pay me back for bumping into me…"
Running his tongue over his teeth, he advanced on Sakura, drawing her closer to him. With a powerful movement, the man shoved Sakura onto the ground against a building. If she hadn't have blocked his attack so fast, she would have suffered a broken ribcage.
"Heheh heh…I really love that body you got there." He bent down and brushed his grimy hand against her face.
"STOP YOU PERVERT!!!" Despite her fear, Sakura was growing mad. What was this guy's problem? "GET OFF M-" His hand slapped her roughly across the face, then forced her to the ground. He silenced her screams with a kiss. It tasted like tobacco, making Sakura gag. He roughly grabbed Sakura's waist and moved his hand to her chest. Sakura screamed loudly and tried to hit him. She managed to get several bruises on his face before he hit her forehead into the pavement………blackness………………….