Control: Chapter Four:

I'm assuming you two understand what's going on now? Okay! Let's continue!

Refreshment for your brain: Sasuke had a fit when Sakura attempted to touch him and he totally left the hospital after attacking two nurses.

Note: Like it is here where I live, hurricane season is blasting through Konoha.

"Follow after him" Kakashi began coolly and calmly "I'll handle this." He began to help the nurses.

"Aa."

"Okay."

The two left Kakashi to do his deed.

Sakura and Naruto ran until their speed was at its limit to find Sasuke. He had already been through the hospital and out the door into the cold evening rain of the hurricane expected to come through in a few days. The two were outside in no less than two minutes.

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto shouted to the top of his lungs. He received no reply.

"Sasuke-kun! There's nothing to be afraid of! We're not here to hurt you!" Sakura said in the sweetest voice she could bring up. She sounded as if she knew exactly what she was doing, but the truth was she was in total disbelief the whole time. She didn't know why Sasuke was acting like this. It was completely out of character for him to act like that. He was always cool, cold, dark, and mainly collected. Now that she thought about it, a few days before he wound up missing, he had been acting a little strange. He seemed… definitely more drawn than usual and he'd taken a few sick days. Something was definitely on his mind then. Sakura heard while she was still waiting for Sasuke to awaken in the hospital that the note pinned to his hand stated that Itachi "borrowed him for awhile". Since the only trace of fabric on him was that sheet, and since he was tied and gagged, most from the village who gave a rat's ass about it thought that he was raped. Others who hated Sasuke with a passion insisted on Sasuke staging the whole thing just to seem innocent when his true intent was to get power from Orochimaru. When Sasuke was just brought to the hospital Sakura took notice of where his wounds were located. His arms, legs, face, and waist were covered in bruises, scratches, and marks. The more Sakura thought about it, the more she could tell he was in fact raped. She could also believe that Itachi did it. But why was her only other question. Perhaps to anger Sasuke more so he can have the urge to become stronger so he can one day kill Itachi?

What worried Sakura the most was not the whole rape issue. It was what she just witnessed. Why did Sasuke call out for his mother back there? Was he looking at her when he said that? Was he hallucinating? These many thoughts jumbled in her head as she and Naruto continued on their way to find there teammate.

The rain pelted down on Naruto and Sakura's heads. They left in such a hurry, they forgot their belongings, including their umbrellas.

After running and searching for minutes later, the rain began to beat harder and harder, making it harder for Naruto and Sakura to see, even with the seemingly unneeded streetlights, the village just looked like a cloud of fog.

"God dammit…" Naruto sighed, loud enough for Sakura to hear. "We're not gonna find him very easily in this rain. I can barely see the ground in front of me."

"Naruto, we have to keep looking for him. Something's not right about him and if we just let him wander around by himself, he could get into a lot of trouble!"

Naruto paused and looked at her a moment, and sighed again.

"Fine. But don't look at me if we catch a cold out here."

(edit: omg change the fricking scene i can't belive this)

Sasuke had run for a long time now. The rain had him soaking wet and he was beginning to feel feverish. He ran past many houses and stores until he reached a dark alley. He hid back there.

For awhile, he didn't realize that he was injured, now the pain was beginning to shoot up and down his body, causing him to cry out. His bandages were getting damaged and were peeling off because of the rain and he was now bleeding in several places. Sasuke felt lightheaded and his body was getting heavy. With his free arm (his other was in an arm sling), he embraced himself to keep warm a little. Though it just happened, the memory of the hospital was already beginning to fade. All he could remember of it was seeing his mother. Though it was an illusion, he thought it was real. She smiled at him with her arms out ready for one of those hugs she used to give him when he was little. He could hear her calling his name out, so he called back, only to see her disappear by the sound of Sakura's voice.

The wind began to pick up some and it was only getting colder. Sasuke looked into the sky as if he was trying to find something there for awhile. He soon gave in and curled up against the side of a building, still trying to keep warm and maybe sleep for that night, though he just woke up. It was clear that he had either not thought of his own home or he had forgotten it existed.

For at least ten minutes he attempted to sleep in the windy rain and darkness of the alley, but no such luck came to him. The memory of what Itachi did to him haunted him over and over again. Itachi had him away from home for about two weeks. Each day, Itachi would beat him, rape him, or make him do something that only a wild animal would do. Each day he would cry for someone to get him out of that hell his brother placed hi in, or he would try to run away, only to be beaten more.

When Itachi raped him that last time, it seemed more painful that all the other hundreds of times he did it in those past two weeks. Maybe it was because Sasuke put of more of a fight then. Or maybe it finally occurred to him who exactly was doing all of this to him. The one who he had always admired- the same one who always trained him to become stronger- the one who made him feel better if he didn't believe in his skills- that one who nursed him back to health if he got sick or injured- his own blood… That was his own big brother who caused him so much pain.

Too involved in his own thoughts, Sasuke didn't realize that he had been sobbing. His eyelids were getting heavier and heavier and his emotions more mixed and damaged.

(scene change)

"Sasuke-teme!"

"Sasuke-kun!"

Naruto and Sakura shouted in unison, looking in almost every nook and cranny of the village. It was still indeed windy and the rain had done nothing but hardened. It had almost been an hour since they started looking and not the first sign of Sasuke came to them. Naruto checked his watch which stopped at 9:30pm. Unfortunately, his watch wasn't very waterproof.

"For the love of God…" Naruto said while trying to get his watch to start up again.

"Is it broken?"

"Like hell it is."

Sakura looked at Naruto as if he was a different person. That's what he had been acting like for the past few days. Or more like ever since Sasuke disappeared. Unlike Sasuke, Naruto was a lighthearted, prankster kind of guy with a big heart and he could put sense into someone if they needed it. But now he was almost a little like Sasuke- cold and distant- like someone had ripped away a part of his heart.

Sakura knew very well that her team was falling apart once again, the first time being when Sasuke tried to run away to Orochimaru about a year ago. He was retrieved, but even then he just didn't seem the same. Neither did Naruto or Kakashi. Thinking of this only made Sakura more and more eager to find Sasuke so she could patch things up and maybe, just maybe they could be the way they were in the old times. A team- a real team.

Naruto and Sakura were just now getting to the "neglected" parts of the village (where the old buildings, ghettos, and such were). It looked especially dark and gloomy there. Added with the wind, rain, and now thunder and lightning- this place seemed very unfriendly to Sakura. Though the rain was especially loud- so loud she could hardly hear herself speak- she could hear the cats behind the alleys and the homeless children crying in fear of the harsh weather.

The two turned down a street filled with old stores that hadn't been opened in years, inns, and restaurants. Sakura mentally noted that she never wanted to go to that side of the village again. As they were passing an alley, Naruto thought he heard a cat whimpering agonizingly. He pulled a kunai from his pouch.

"Damned cat." Once we threw it, it made a dull land as if it landed in flesh. A sharp cry of pain that sounded mildly human soon came after that.

"Oh, my God, Naruto, what'd you hit?"

They both quickly came behind the alley to see what Naruto had hit. Though it was plenty dark, Naruto could faintly see that he did hit a human on the leg. The flickering streetlight at the far end of the alley finally lit up permanently, revealing that he in fact hit Sasuke.

How'd you like that for length? Did you two understand it?

Review… for the kittens… meow.