As soon as the Taka members vanished and Sasuke was completely imprisoned…
Gaara collapsed.
His body slumped to the ground -as soon as it did that, a second burst of blinding light burst from Sasuke's prison and a moment later there stood the Uchiha, sprawled face down on the ground, no longer encased but still unconscious.
Sakura's eyes widened in horror as she took in the sight of both injured men, lying by her feet.
Her mind was torn between who to help first.
Finally, she knelt down next to the Uchiha. Careful and fearful, she checked his vitals; thank god he was still alive. Though, the pulse line felt weird and unnaturally slow…
Sakura got up to check on the Gaara's form next. He also, thank the heavens, was still alive. His pulse line while more sporadic -actually sounded better to Sakura, for she at least knew how to treat it.
The pinkette stood up and made to stand but a sudden shifting of chakras behind her, made her stop. She could tell they were still in the forest area but within extreme proximity.
She had to hurry.
Summoning up strength, above her injuries, she managed to drag both Gaara and Sasuke (one at a time) behind a nearby bush before jumping behind the area and hunching down too.
As soon as she did that, a group of ANBU ops that Sakura couldn't see the armbands of, came into the clearing where they just were.
"Sense them," the leading ANBU instructed towards his close by colleague and Sakura immediately felt relief flood through her body; she had no outward chakra right now and as a medical-nin, she knew the unconscious people had barely any either.
Sakura waited and sure enough the sensory ninja shook their head, before the ANBU leader growled in frustration. Then the group left.
The pink haired kunoichi knew she was lucky. If she had gotten caught, then they would have undoubtedly catch Sasuke, arrest him, then most likely execute him, and she didn't want-
Wait, no she DID want Sasuke to get…
Sakura sighed and bit lip, before her eyes cast down towards the sleeping Uchiha. No, no she didn't. As much as she was conflicted about her feelings towards the man she didn't want to see him get turned over towards people that would surely kill him. She didn't want to see him get hurt.
The first thing Sakura did, once she'd made sure no more ANBU ops were going to come out and ambush her, was go back to the beach campsite and move everything into the shrouded forest. The trees gave far more coverage and she couldn't afford to stay in an open area like that anymore.
She chose a small tiny clear area between three trees; there was barely any room for all three of them: once she'd placed Gaara and Sasuke flat on their backs, Sakura was left with just a small corner, only enough room to sit with her knees drawn up to her chin. It was uncomfortable but she could make do with it.
It was about time she started taking care of someone else.
Once those things were done, Sakura searched both Sasuke and Gaara's persons. She did this for two reasons: one, she wanted to know if any of them had anything else that could help her protect the camp better; two, she wanted to prepare herself for when either of them woke up, in case, one of them carried something dangerous (even if it was unintentional, in Gaara's case).
She took out everything on both men's bodies (that she'd searched with blushing cheeks and tentative hands, even with Sasuke) and laid out everything on top of their slowly rising/falling chests.
Neither of them had much on them. For Gaara, she found a leather skinned canteen; a gold medallion that had red string dangling on all edges, Suna's emblem smelted into it on one side and then Gaara's surname on the back in Kanji; a bottle of medicinal powder for treatment of all flesh wounds along with a thick roll of unused gauze, which Sakura was very happy to find; and a red bound book, which she decided to examine later.
On Sasuke: there was also a canteen, this one slightly bigger and made of thick plastic and rubber; a strange crystal ball that didn't seem any bit special at first but when Sakura touched it –she actually felt warmth; a long slender bottle of iodine, that she was also happy to find; and four flare rockets, each one the size of her pinky finger.
Taking the two canteens, Sakura went to the creek to fill them up and then dropped in a Teek leaf (that she'd picked up on the way to the creek) into each one to purify them. The iodine could purify the water too of bacteria but Sakura didn't want to use the small amount she had; it was far more efficient in treating physical wounds, if needed.
She also looked for more Koriko leaves, for the second bandage change she had to do for Gaara. To her amazement and fortune, Sakura found a huge stash of them beneath a thick dead Orma tree. There was way more than enough to last Gaara thru all his changes but Sakura took all of it still, just in case someone else came into another critical wound.
On her way back, she also dug up a round of edible tubers and shrooms for dinner. It wouldn't be the most filling meal but Sakura knew these were incredibly nutritious. She'd dug up enough for three people, even though part of her hoped that Sasuke wouldn't wake up before Gaara did.
Satisfied with all she'd accomplished, Sakura trekked back to the campsite.
Once she got back, the pinkette shyly undid the now soiled bandages around Gaara's stomach before inching his moist black tunic up to his ribcage. Sakura normally wouldn't have any issues with seeing a patient of hers like this, she was a professional after all –but just because she'd now officially kissed the Kazekage, she found her face pluming red.
Sakura ignored it however and continued working. She cleansed it first with some water then a few drops of iodine over the wound that now looked much better than before, before packing onto it another round of regurgitated Koriko leaves. Sakura re-bandaged it with the roll of gauze she'd found on him.
By the time she was done the sun was already low and orange by then. Visibility decreased significantly around Sakura and she shivered when she heard several owls hooting above her. Her breathing caught in her chest and Sakura (in a shameless pathetic way) kind of wished one of the men around her was awake right now just to protect her.
In the end, Sakura made up her mind by just settling in between both of them.
When morning came around, neither of the men had yet to wake up and Sakura was starting to worry.
Her hands fell to Gaara's forehead and then Sasuke's, checking each of their temperatures respectively. Neither of them were feverish but…sleeping this much wasn't regular.
Her mind traversed all the medical books she'd ever read about excess sleep symptoms for shinobis…they were usually the result of…chakra overuse. If she was still a medical-nin, Sakura could apply a multitude of medicinal chakra procedures to try and awake them but now, as she stood by herself, the pinkette had nothing on her.
Literally, all she could do was wait.
As she sat, on her legs, kneeling between both men, Sakura suddenly felt a painful hunger inside her abdomen. It was only then did she realize that she hadn't eaten any of the food she'd gathered last night.
The kunoichi couldn't risk lighting a fire; the smoke would easily attract people to their location, so she just ate the tubers raw. They had an Earthy grit like taste, like uncooked potatoes but Sakura stomached it.
It was only after a few bites did Sakura lose her appetite again, mainly from worry about the two men. If she was already hungry, how long could they last without sustenance? The pinkette knew this answer from her medical textbooks: for a trained athletic ninja, less than 3 days before muscular atrophy. Then their body would start cannibalizing itself.
Before the third day, she had to get them awake, somehow. Sakura decided on this as she tilted Gaara's head up so that she could slowly tip some water from the canteen into his mouth. She made sure the angle was high enough so that it would miss all his nasal canals and go straight to his stomach. When he'd drank enough, Sakura leaned his head back down to the ground, satisfied.
She moved to the Uchiha and did the same thing for him. His head was slightly heavier than Gaara's so Sakura had to lean it against her knees (as she kneeled with them in front of her) to give herself the appropriate angle to tip the canteen.
As soon as her hand touched his face, Sasuke's palm shot up and immediately clenched around Sakura's.
The pinkette yelped and spilled the entire canteen in her shock that he'd awoken. A mix of emotions filled her in that second: elation, shock, fear, excitement…apprehension. But then Sakura saw that his eyes were still closed and Sasuke was speaking in his sleep: "Sakura…"
Even in his sleep…he dreamed about her? This thought sent a light butterfly feeling into the pinkette's chest. Before she knew it, Sakura was smiling.
Very gently, she tried to pry her hand free from his grip but Sasuke only hung on tighter. She moved so that she could sit beside him, as he lied flat on his back. The kunoichi leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead, whispering above it: "It's alright, Sasuke. It's okay."
But he still wouldn't let go. His grip continued to be tight as ever as he said: "You're mine…you need me. You love me."
The pinkette immediately flushed crimson here. Was it that obvious? She didn't even have to say anything, for him to know about her feelings?
Or…was he referring to her…past self?
She couldn't believe it hadn't occurred to her until now but the two of them…must have had something, before her memory loss, right?
Sakura just wished she could remember. Maybe she would finally understand why he'd raped her.
The memory still stood vivid inside her memories: the first time he'd forced himself on her. Usually he let her off, easily enough, if she started sobbing or pleading with him, agreeing to do anything if he would just stop but, that one day, he was completely adamant.
The sky was unbearably cloudy, even though it was early morning. The wind ripped at Sakura's loose white robes as she was once again pulled by the Uchiha, this time through a green grassy meadow. It was obvious they were trekking through a cemetery. Broken stone grave markers were the only things unmoved by the torrid winds across the green plane.
The more they walked the more Sakura became unnerved but she didn't dare resist Sasuke anymore, knowing very well that it only invoked his anger. By then she'd already lost use of her chakra points.
Sasuke pulled her straight through the ominous land, never faltering once to stare at the creepy surroundings whereas Sakura felt her heart get colder and colder the deeper they delved. Subconsciously, she drew closer to Sasuke for comfort. The man, for once, didn't take notice or didn't care. Eventually, they reached an unmarked grave of gray slate. It stood erect in an ominous oval, the height of a toddler, stabbed straight into the solid ground.
"Kneel." Sasuske suddenly ordered. Sakura reacted with confusion, sending him a questioning look.
The man had no patience today.
Sakura was forced to her knees by an iron hand on her shoulder. The cold hard Earth felt like an ice block stabbing into her flesh. Sasuke knelt down next to her.
"Itachi…" the man spoke in a voice, barely louder than the howling winds. Sakura could barely hear him.
Itachi? Who in the world was that?
"Forgive me…" she heard him say after a moment; for the time being, it seemed like he was ignoring her. Sakura wondered if she could…
As she took the moment to look around her surroundings, taking in every nook and cranny for a potential hiding place or escape route, Sakura didn't catch anything that Sasuke said to the tombstone.
Finally, when she heard her own name, Sakura turned back to stare at the dark haired man again: "…finally found her…and I'm never letting her go again."
Sakura panicked at this statement. She couldn't help leaning away from the man as he turned to face her for the first time since they'd arrived in the cemetery.
His eyes were unbearably cold.
Run. Run. Run.
No…she couldn't risk angering him…
Those eyes were boring straight down onto her. For the first time, in a while now, Sakura wondered if he was going to kill her.
Run!
Sakura for some reason couldn't will her feet to listen.
Before she knew it, Sasuke had grabbed a hold of her by the back of her neck. It was obvious to Sakura, what he intended to do, as it had already happened many times before.
In an instant their mouths were smashed together. His tongue ravaged her mouth with unending fury…or passion? Sakura couldn't tell. Instead of fighting him like she always did, Sakura immediately started backing out.
The instant she did this Sasuke increased his ferocity tenfold. She was shoved straight onto the cold green plane, right above Itachi's grave, not that Sakura still had any idea who the person was.
Sakura was pinned on her back as the freezing dirt dug straight into her skin, causing her to shiver. Her eyes caught sight of the torrent sky for one second before Sasuke came to cover her body completely. Dawn was turning to noon and the clouds had become even darker, obscuring most of the sun.
Their color and shape told that it would rain soon, not that Sakura noticed because Sasuke's hands were once again wandering dangerously across her body.
Sakura didn't cry this time, perhaps having grown slightly accustomed to his molestations and immediately skipped to what she knew would stop him: "Please Sasuke, I'm sorry…I-I didn't mean to offend you, whatever it was that I had done."
But this time the man ignored her, his hands had already undone the sash around her waist.
Sakura bit her lower lip, then tried again more ardently this time: "Sasuke…if you want me to say something…anything. I'll do it!"
Still no reaction. One hand at her collar and another at her abdomen, Sasuke simultaneously tore open both her collar and leggings.
Sakura finally screamed. She started fighting him tooth and nail but by then Sasuke was all but straddling her; he stayed completely on top her as he split apart her legs by jamming his knees in between them. Sakura screamed again and tried hitting him with her hands but he caught them easily enough.
He went back to kissing her body, this time on her breasts. When his beautiful lips covered one of her nipples Sakura buckled, gasping in shock.
In that moment, it started to rain.
Beads of water dropped down on them in an unending sheet, quickly soaking both of them to the bone but Sasuke didn't get any bit deterred from his objective.
Sakura cried loud when his hand came down low to grip the waist band of her pants, tugging on it hard. The water made it harder to undress her and Sakura used that to her advantage, desperate to get him to stop.
"Please Sasuke! Don't do this!"
Never did Sakura picture her first time like this.
As if that infuriated him more, the man came to grip her jawline and wrench her back kissing him. It was obvious he wanted to shut her up.
Sakura screamed into the kiss when he finally pushed the waistband of both her leggings and underwear down-
A boom of lightning cracked through the air; it struck somewhere far from them, but the noise took them by surprise. Sakura took that moment of his lapsed judgment to try and break free, shoving him to the side and scrambling to her feet while pulling her clothes back up.
Sakura took off in the direction of the entrance but before she'd even made it past three feet from Itachi's grave, Sasuke teleported to right before her, blocking her path. Sakura backed up hurriedly, turning to go in another direction but she was jerked back by her elbow.
Sasuke screamed in horror as her body fell into his; the moist clothes on his body caused her to be able to feel everything and it made her want to vomit.
In an instant, he'd shoved her hard into the granite wall circling the cemetery and right behind Itachi's grave.
He kept her limbs pinned as he once again grabbed a hold of her waistband and without warning shoved it down…
Her clothes got thrown in all different directions, slapping down heavily onto the sloppy Earth. Sakura's mind started going elsewhere, anywhere but on the cold hands touching her.
How had her life come to this?
What did she do to deserve this?
Was she not good enough as a child? Broken too many things for her parents to replace? Taken too many free samples at the grocery store? Gotten into too many fights with her family?
What exactly had culminated to her getting punished by this monster?
Sakura just wished she knew.
Eventually he finished, panting as he stayed on top of her. Sakura's head was turned to the side, facing some dead moss behind the tombstone of Itachi, whose ever grave it was that Sasuke had just raped her on top of.
Suddenly, she felt her tear streaked face wrenched by a hand on her chin, back to face Sasuke. She didn't glare, didn't glower, and didn't even scream at him. All she did was stare at him through lifeless green eyes.
He shoved her through the shower door before stepping in himself and sliding the glass door shut, their muddied clothes quickly staining the clean porcelain. The capacity was large enough so that Sakura could stand at the far end and still have three feet of distance between them. The man didn't seem intent on keeping her close to him right now.
Unfortunately, this was because he was currently focused on shucking himself of all his rain drenched clothes. Despite what had just occurred between them, Sakura turned around hurriedly when he made to remove his pants.
She heard the heavy clothes plop onto the tiled floor outside and then she felt arms encircling around her from behind, grasping the ties of her shirt. He was trying to take it off again.
"N-no, no…" Sakura cried while desperately fighting his hands.
Sasuke's jaw locked in anger. "You'll catch hypothermia if you stay in these any longer."
Sakura only continued shaking her head. "No, please!"
When he succeeded in tearing open her tunic nonetheless and started reaching for her pants, Sakura summoned all her strength to turn around, hurriedly shouting: "I'll do it myself!"
Sasuke, to her surprise, seemed satisfied with this option, because he stopped his ministrations.
Sakura realized with a silent lament that it was probably because he'd already gotten what he wanted from her. She silently wiped her tears away as they started to flow again…
In an instant, she was whirled around again, facing Sasuke once more. "What's the delay? You wait any longer and I'll-"
"I'm getting to it!" Sakura shrieked out, near wailing, before shoving him away once more. Sasuke seemed to be giving her slack right now, actually staying the distance from her.
He was probably afraid of driving her insane -Sakura rationalized- because there was no way he was doing it out of sympathy. Her entire body trembled as she faced the back wall while she pulled off her kimono top and then peeled off her white leggings along with her underwear. He hardly let her wear bras anymore, and this time had been no exception.
Sakura threw the garments outside of the shower and then turned back to facing the wall, hugging herself as she heard the shower turn on, obviously by the one other person inside the room.
She knew what was going to happen before it did: Sasuke jerked her by her elbow back to facing him. She desperately didn't want to look down so Sakura was forced to look directly at his face, into his eyes.
He really was too beautiful. What could have turned him into a psychopath?
She had to swallow the lump that had formed in her throat from the intense stare he was giving her. Sakura still hated him for raping her, nothing could change that.
But…
It was so hard to not get trapped by his gaze.
She tried to back away but immediately both hands of his landed on her shoulders and kept her where she was, mere millimeters from touching him. The warm water poured down on both of their cold rained on bodies, creating steam that completely obscured the bathroom.
All Sakura could see was Sasuke's beautiful face and the barest tops of his lean shoulders as he continued staring at her…with those blue…no red eyes of his…
Sakura gasped as he suddenly closed the distance between their mouths. Unlike all his other kisses, this one was soft and…comforting.
She wanted to fight him, wanted to look away but his eyes…they transfixed her.
Sakura broke off her reverie there, not wanting to think about that horrific day anymore. He'd taken her again in that shower and it was almost as bad as the cemetery.
Her gaze landed onto Sasuke's sleeping face, everything about the man was horrific.