Chapter Two

My lids stuck together as I rolled my eyes around to wake up. Unfortunately, I wasn't one of those miraculous people who shot up first thing in the morning and was ready to face the day. Like everything else, I tended to take my sweet time waking up.

I took even longer today. In fact, I dreaded waking up into the nightmare I remembered from the day before. The whole room I was in felt alien and the bed I was laying on was not my own. I didn't sense Sasuke's presence outright like I should have, which annoyed me. Maybe I had become useless or perhaps he had gone to a level reserved for S-class criminals, to which my puny skills couldn't even compare.

"Are you going to wake up or not?" Sasuke finally snapped. I yawned without opening my eyes and tried to roll over. That didn't work too well. Especially when your captor construes your actions as insolent and grabs you. "If not, I will just have to ensure your consciousness myself."

Suddenly I was hefted in the air yet again. It wasn't any less humiliating than the first time. By the time I got my eyes completely open, I was falling. My butt hit very cold, very hard porcelain. Then a stream of ice-cold water washed over me making me jerk and curse. I hate cold showers.

"Clean up." Sasuke commanded, "It's bad enough I have to wash my sheets without smelling you too."

"Are you going to clean my clothing too or just outfit me with a dog collar?" I snapped back, now sitting in a puddle of cold, dirty water. My clothing sagged under the weight and clung to my skin. So much for being waterproof.

He started to walk out and I called to his back, "Hey! I can't do this alone."

He stopped and turned with a slight smirk, "So whom exactly were you showering with before then?"

My mouth snapped closed.

"I thought as much. Take your time; you've got plenty of it while I'm gone on a mission today." He added with a touch of sarcasm.

'I don't get it! I'm a genius not a psychologist!' That's what I wanted to scream. Instead I watched as a clean towel arched from the hallway and landed neatly just out of my reach. Bastard, he did that on purpose.

That was how I found myself struggling just to get out of my shredded pants. No matter how hard I tugged, they seemed to get tangled in my dead legs. True, I had feeling now, but that didn't matter much when I had no coordination or muscle strength to go with it. I'd say this was giving me negative points.

I hissed in irritation as my shin banged against the heavy rim for the second time. Who got bruises taking a shower? Even so, no matter how troublesome I considered it, I scrubbed every inch of my body thoroughly. I wanted to wash away the blood and gore that caked my body. I very much doubt that Ino and Chouji would like me to keep a part of them with me that way. Aside from that, there were spots that got extra attention. The places where Kabuto touched my skin were special hot spots that deserved to be rubbed raw. I forced myself to stop before they started bleeding, but I still did not feel clean enough.

Turning off the chilly spray of liquid that was still beating down was hard enough. It was placed at waist level so I had to prop myself up on the side, without impaling myself over it, and reach for the knob. A very old, cranky knob.

Exhausted, I collapsed in the draining water. I couldn't even begin to imagine how to drag myself out of the large tub. It was just beyond my capabilities at the moment. Instead I leaned back gingerly and listened to my stomach complain.

I knew for a fact that I had been stripped of anything useful long before. Kabuto probably confiscated it in one of his many cabinets. Even my suicide capsule was gone. Luckily it wasn't anything too special, just the standard issue. It does make you wonder about our chances of success though. I simply couldn't believe that the Hokage would purposely send us on a mission with a low success rate. Rather, I tend to see some dirty politics and wondered who originally asked the mission to be done.

Shaking my head, the puzzle pieces just didn't fit. Or at least not with the little information I had in my possession. There was no need to have a headache in addition to all of my other pains, so I simply concentrated on trying to get out.

It took five minutes for me to consider that I might just be trapped until someone pulled me out. It was like a spider in a porcelain sink. The smooth sides curved downward, slick with cold water and grit from my body. My blunt nails scrapped idly down the sides as I churned ideas in my mind for getting out. I didn't need some elaborate plan with pulleys and winches; I just needed something serviceable so I could go back to the nap I had been ripped from. Or at least get dry and pass out on the thin bathroom rug that covered the tile floor.

Needless to say, I was more than frustrated by the time Sasuke reentered with a pair of clean, if dubiously serviceable, clothing. He leaned against the wall with his left hip looking down at me with amusement glittering in dark eyes. I loathed the fact that he would sit there and have that holier-than-thou smirk on his smooth face, and I loathed the fact that I was going to have to beg. Yes, beg. My pride was screaming in agony at the mere thought.

Just as I convinced my mouth to open, I had to slam it shut. Sasuke had decided he had enough gloating because he strode over and hefted me out with one arm supporting my back and the other tucked up neatly behind my knees. My body toppled down to tuck against his chest, making the material of his shirt wet and sticky.

"I could have done that myself." I snapped after he dumped me on the floor. Grabbing the towel and trying to hide the dark splotches creeping across my pale skin, I rubbed vigorously at the beads of water. It was almost as if I made them go away, then just maybe my other problems would rub away as well.

"You were taking too long. I cannot allow it to be said my new toy drown himself while I was away, now can I? It would be a challenge to my competence and authority." Sasuke said with a hint of dark humor in his tone. "And you would look rather desperate. Perhaps it would do the opposite; perhaps it would strengthen my reputation as a vicious taskmaster. We all know the weak will bow out."

I huffed in distain, "Who's to say you didn't just murder me?"

"So you want me to gain reputation? How considerate of my new toy." He purred.

I stared at him with flat eyes. More than just his looks had changed. I always thought he was a little off since his clan was massacred. Normal people weren't such overachieving perfectionists. Normal people didn't sacrifice their life to some blind cause with such disregard to the comforts and pleasures in life. Yes, he had always been too serious for my tastes, but he had at least shown his barriers.

Now it seemed he had turned into a coward and hid behind cruel wit.

Words and teases were weapons of choice rather than blades. They were weapons he had learned to use well and guarded him like faithful nin dogs. They prowled in his throat and the tip of his tongue, eager to be loosed, eager to please their master. These words would tear and rip at any target at the flick of his tongue.

"I'm not your toy. If nothing else, I am a former comrade, one who went through a lot of troublesome actions on your behalf." I commented, trying to sound apathetic, as if there wasn't rage boiling at that injustice. Our help, our lives, which we put on the line to get him back, they were scorned and tossed aside. "Treat me with more respect than you would one of your little subordinates you fuck senseless and leave in a puddle of blood."

"At least they are useful to me."

I snorted, pulling on the shirt first. The soft cloth rustled and pressed gently against my skin. Without looking up, I reached for the pants. When they wouldn't slide towards me I growled and pulled. Still not retrieving them, I hissed a soft 'let go.' Suddenly the tension went slack and I went about trying to cover my bottom half.

It was difficult to both work my baby half and listen to Sasuke's pathetic words, so I chose to deal with the more important issue.

"I'm not interested in your sob story." I told him sharply, giving the material a tug over my left foot. It caught on my toe and pulled until I unhooked it. "In my opinion, the village and the Hokage and your teammates were far too forgiving of your trespasses. Forced salvation never succeeds. It seems to me like you enjoy your sins far too much to ever live a life as a decent ninja. Instead you want to be the best, the strongest, the most powerful. Ethics and friendship are nothing more than walls to be knocked down. They were in your way, so you destroyed them. It must be nice to have a world all about you."

Sensing danger, I looked up just in time to take a fist to the face. It took me by surprise and knocked me flat. Uncrossing my eyes, the first thing I noticed was the lack of smirk. In fact, his lush lips were twisted in rage as he stood over me with fists clenched.

"So you're objecting?" I sneered, spitting out some blood from where I bit the inside of my cheek. "Please, enlighten me. Justify yourself. Validate your reasons."

"It's none of your business." He said intently in a low, warning whisper. I almost thought he was going to strike me again. Instead he swooped down and grabbed the pants, and in the process almost tore off my lower legs. "Even the most useless of things can have a purpose. Your purpose doesn't involve a tongue."

"Oh, so no blowjobs? Good, because those are troublesome."

I expected to be hit for my cheeky insolence, but instead he stared down at me. I wondered what was going on in his mind as he looked down. Rather than show it, I simply tried to put on the rest of the provided clothing. It was slow and my muscles jerked in pain when I accidentally twisted the wrong way or caught on something.

"What?" I finally asked, calm and quiet. It never took me long to collect myself, no matter the rage or injustice that had riled me. It was just too much effort to hold onto such a writhing, thrashing, hot creature.

"Nothing."

"Sure." I muttered, finally completely dressed, "If it's nothing you can help me up, without punching me might I add. I'm not named Naruto, your personal punching bag."

Suddenly a palm was shoved under my nose. I studied it for a moment, as if the whorls and creases in the skin could divine Sasuke's intent towards me. An impatient shake made me latch on and scramble madly to get to my feet.

Tottering, I used the wall and the tub to catch myself.

Sasuke's nickname as a child should have been 'Impatient'. I couldn't begin to imagine how he spent long, dark nights plotting revenge and waiting for his chance to come. He didn't seem to even want to give me the chance to stagger out of the room myself. No, instead he had to grab my waist and clink us together. His strong fingers pressed into my hips and a stubborn concentrate was mirrored in his face.

I resented his help.

So why was I leaning on his shoulder, equally concentrating?

When we were close enough, he shrugged me hastily off onto his bed. He was right about the sheets; they had been stripped and taken away. Secretly I was relieved. Dealing with the gore and carnage had been bad enough in my nightmares, and I didn't need to relive it now. Even so, I wanted to climb back into scalding hot water to wash away the images, the memories that clung like tar and super glue.

I remembered as a child gluing Chouji's fingers together, and it was not entirely by accident. He had probably done some perceived slight and I retaliated. Of course, as amusing as it was to see him trying to pull them apart, it wasn't nearly so fun to be torn up and down for doing it by two sets of parents. And then there was the apology. How I loath apologizing. Something I had in common with Sasuke.

He was staring at me again. Was I really that fascinating? Even if I was, did he have to be leaning in that closely?

Well, he could just watch me fall over backward and stare up at the ceiling. I didn't care what he wanted; I just didn't care. There was no reason on earth why I should care. He was nothing to me. He was my enemy. He was a traitor and I was his captive. It was black and white, so why was I trying to introduce some gray? Monotony held an appeal for a good reason. It was uncomplicated.

"Sasuke, hurry up." The voice was still a good distance away, but the tone made it very clear the voice's owner was on her way and in a hurry. It took a few seconds before the woman entered, without knocking. She glanced at them with disinterest, "We need to go."

Sasuke reluctantly got up and met her gaze with an angry glare. She only shrugged at him and walked back out.

"We will finish this discussion. Later." He promised and I gave a lazy smile purely to piss him off, "Sure. If I'm not asleep."

He gave me a piecing look, "You won't be."

A/N: Enjoy. Thank the beta. Snort-er, drink coke.

utoto: The challenge was issued by fyyrrose. It's really simple: somehow, someway, I had to give Sasuke and Shika a relationship, implied or otherwise. Since she was having issues deciding who would be the uke, I decided to solve that problem too -

Fyyrrose: only the poor, pathetic readers like you who haven't caught up with the manga! Yes, making them a couple would be an injustice to Useless-turned-Somewhat-Useful. But I love that fluff! My fluff bites, literally (points to Mayfly Fantasy)...
that was fluff, right? No more terrifying people on the bus, okay? And now I'll never be able to hear the word 'miniskirt' without laughing again!