Sorry, late update! I promise to write when I have time! I want to switch between Silently Lost and The Prelude into One's Heart. They're both so much fun to write.

Summary: It was rumored that at the top of the building lived a monster, one locked up to never be seen. No one had ever seen it, heard it, nor even had evidence that it actually lived there. The only living proof was a large metal door locked with two locks and the faint and ghostly sound of desperate pleading, "...Please, save me."

Silently Lost

Agony

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She wasn't here, nowhere near him, gone, far away... And it frightened him. He ran, running around looking everywhere for her. Soon, he found himself sprinting, sprinting to find this troublesome girl, this annoying woman, that lonely girl.

He didn't even bother asking people anymore, all he wanted was to find her.

Naruto finally snapped him out of his frantic craze, "Hey, what's wrong?"

He panted, trying to find the right words. "Sakura,"

"Sakura? What about her?"

"...gone."

Soon, another person had joined his frantic hunt, and the two of them split up to sprint around the garden looking for her.

And the garden was quite large. If it weren't for Sakura's disappearance, he probably would have never noticed— not that he was glad that he did.

At the very end of the garden was a large fountain, so large that it took up most of the space in the area that it was in. He could hear the water against each other, the sound calming. In the night, the water glimmered, the moon's light dancing and reflecting off the crystal clear droplets. The sight radiated with beauty. If Sakura had wandered around, this was probably the first and only place she would be at. She would probably dance around the well, singing or laughing in joy.

And she was; however, she didn't sing or laugh, she just sat in silence, staring up at the moon. A wave of relief passed by him at the sight of her relaxing on the bench.

She looked beautiful today, her hair shimmering in the moon's rays, her eyes glimmering from the water's reflection, her dress ruffled at where she sat, and her long slender legs gracefully kicking back and forth.

Noticing him, she turned her alluring jade eyes toward him, her eyebrows high, as if questioning him. "Sasuke?"

He took the liberty to walk over and sit next to her, still somewhat trying to catch his breath from running and her herself. "Why didn't you tell me that you left."

"Ah," She sighed and looked up at the moon again and watched the dark clouds shuffle by, "the moon was just so beautiful, I couldn't help myself." She smiled, a faint and somewhat cynical smile, a smile that he had never seen before. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

His hand landed on her head with a feathery drop. "Want to talk?"

"What's there to talk about?" The cynical smile stayed there on her lips. She chuckled and replaced the cynical-ness with a more naive and sincere smile. "By the way, you're speech was very compelling. Very much like you."

"What do you mean?" He questioned, his eyes darting over to meet her's.

"Hmm..." she tapped her chin, her brows furrowed. "very simple and straight to the point, but behind those simple words is a deeper feeling. Very secretive."

He was surprised at her analysis. "Then I guess we're the same."

"Huh?"

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her up. "Let's go home."

"Un." Her smile's brightness countered the moon's light.

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She could remember his gaze on her, his eyes watching her, examining her, observing her like she was an animal. She would wake up in the middle of the night from nightmares of her past. This hadn't happened since she met Sasuke, and she was terrified. She remembered the pain of the knives, the sound of crying, screaming, begging, all for help. But didn't come for them. She remembered the cold concrete floor, the chilly nights, the unsanitary conditions, and the scent of metal.

She could remember everyone's pleading, crying, shrieking. It was driving her insane, mad with fear— so much that she didn't sleep at night. Being alone only enhanced the experience, the true horror. She would sit in a space between her dresser and her table, huddled up with her arms wrapped around her knees. Why did she remember? Why? Why? Why?

She didn't eat meat for a long time. She stuck to vegetables, but she could tell Sasuke was getting worried. So for one day, she sucked up her fears and cleaned a fish for dinner, but not without stopping every once in a while to get away from the feeling of cutting the poor creature.

She wanted to forget, to lose the memory of those years, but she was damned to carry the burden. Everyone's experiences were her's to shoulder.

I want to forget. I want to forget. I want to forget. I want to forget. Forget. Forget. Forget. This is nothing more than a dream, a fake feeling. Nothing is real. I. Am. Okay.

She would chant this every night while sitting her her corner, trying to cry herself to sleep, but the scenes of the children's agony and torment never faded. It was forever engraved into her mind.

She could feel Sasuke watching her and it made her uncomfortable; it reminded her of that man, that sick, twisted, hell-spawn of a human that was nothing like Sasuke. It was sickening that she was even comparing the two, but she didn't like the way he looked at her. It made her feel like he was observing her, like that man.

"Stop it."

"Huh?"

"Staring isn't polite."

"Are you okay?" He set the book he was reading down and continued to observe her. "You always seem to be in a daze."

She tried to smile, to reassure him that she was perfectly fine. "Wouldn't you be the one in a daze? With all the work you have, aren't you exhausted?"

He went back to reading his book. "There's not as much when you help out."

"Ah, is that so?"

She would always end off their conversation and wander off into the garden in the back of the house, sitting in the shade of the large tree watching clouds pass by. The daytime sky soothed her torment; its blue color refreshing, healing, soothing.

Sakura had been taking her pills diligently, wanting to get better, believing in the people trying to help her. But a day came when the pills stopped working. She had foretold the event, letting the cynical feeling of hate and distrust tug at her chest. Not wanting Tsunade to come and find out that she wasn't taking her pills, she would go out everyday to drop two pills in a stash that she made at the far end behind the tree. This way, she could count how many pills she had left before giving the prescription bottle back to Tsunade.

When Sasuke was at work, Tsunade would come and check on her to see if her condition worsened. She came by today, with her black bag and her white lab coat.

"How have you been feeling?" The hazel eyed woman would ask, her eyes fixed of check on Sakura.

Sakura hated the examinations, more than she had before. She felt that there were less things in the world to entertain her now. She could feel the cynical, sarcastic feeling overtake her. "Can't you tell by looking?"

"Snarky brat." Muttered the blonde woman.

Sakura took the small yellow bottle out from her pockets and showed it to the woman. "I finished the pills. Compliment me."

Tsunade would sigh and pat the girl's head. "Good girl."

They stayed like that for a while, the blonde woman stroking her head in silence. She could tell that the woman wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words to word it correctly. "What?"

"We," she started, then took a seat on the pillow in front of her. "think we might have a diagnosis for you."

"Enlighten me."

"Pulmonary edema, maybe."

"Maybe?"

She looked at the younger woman, a serious glint in her eyes. "I can only determine this if you've had an accident before, maybe you got into an accident and were injured. Trauma. I don't have your past medical records, so please answer honestly. If we act quickly enough we could save your life."

Sakura looked back at the woman and smiled. "I've never been in an accident before."

"Not even gotten hurt? Your heart, your lungs...?" Her voice seemed to trail off.

"Not once." Sakura replied, continually smiling.

The blonde woman sighed and pat the girl's head again. "Don't worry, we'll find a cure."

She could smile because she knew she wasn't sick, she didn't have a disease or illness. No matter how hard they tried, they would find nothing.

Because she was okay. Sakura was okay.

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The children huddled into the back corner of the cell, their hands holding another's hand. They whimpered, tears streaming down their cheeks. They wore rags, clothes barely covering them. The time when the men went out were pure bless, but of course, they didn't go out much. She huddled the children's heads, bonking their's on her's as a sign of care. "Don't worry, we'll leave someday. I promise."

"But I'm scared... the stuff they give us makes me hurt all over... Nee-chan, it hurts!"

"It hurts!"

"Hurts!"

They all busted out wailing; their cries echoing in the cell. Seeing them cry made her want to cry too. Who was she to kid herself? There was no way they could get out. They were weak— the men were strong, not to mention the weapons they had. There was no escaping this hell hole, but she had to stay strong for the children smaller than herself.

"Stop it!" She ushered, trying to stop the children's wailing. "We'll get out! So stop it!" Tears started to rim the edges of her eyes, so much that things became blurry. But she can't cry, not now. These children needed her.

They heard the slam of the door, and two men walked back into their hell. She gathered the children behind herself, trying to hide them from the next test.

That man walked by, his long dark hair swishing as he walked. Sakura hated his guts, he was an abomination, a tyrant.

He laughed upon seeing the children huddled in the cell. "Well... it looks like the population has dwindled..."

"You're disgusting." She spat, glaring at the man.

He laughed again, this time the chuckle deeper, filled with more madness. "I'm glad so many of you survived the last experiment. Sorry, it was a failure. Don't worry, the next one will work, I promise." He looked at the boy behind her and pointed at him. "You're first, Number 53.

The boy whimpered, hiding behind her. She was trembling as well, she didn't want to be the first to feel pain, but he was so much younger than her. She walked forward and glared. "I'll take his place."

The man smiled and reached out a hand to stroke her hair. "Of course, Number 13. Aren't you noble, protecting the ones younger than you." He crouched low and smiled, one hand on the bars and the other caressing her cheek. "You know, you were always my favorite, Number 13. Out of all the test subjects that were brought here, you've lived the longest. Such an obedient girl."

She continued to glare at the man. "If they're such failures, then let them go."

"Ah, indeed, how noble." He laughed and pat her head. "But I can't just let you go. You'd die outside."

He opened the cell and pulled her out. She didn't protest, it was to help the children, her friends.

"Nee-chan..." They whimpered.

She looked behind and smiled. "It's okay, I'll be fine."

He strapped her down to the table and took out the necessary tools to experiment on her. The blinding white light above her blurred her vision, making everything twisted. She could faintly see the forms of him and his assistant. She saw the glint of the scalpel and began to panic. "Ah, don't worry, we're not using that today."

She stared at the man, wondering what he had in store for her. His assistant took out a needle and cleaned the device that was to enter into her. The vile liquid's scarlet glint caught her attention; she began to whimpering, letting the fear overtake her senses. His assistant spoke, his gray eyes shimmering with excitement. She began breathing irregularly. "Don't freak out, it'll only hurt a bit. This will work, definitely."

He pushed the needle into her arm, the vile liquid pouring into her body. It was hot, so hot that she thought she had caught fire. For a while, she had no reaction other than the heat engulfing her, then it hit her. Excruciating pain flooded her entire being, she screamed, convulsing in agony. She struggled to breathe, like being drowned thousands of miles underwater. Tears flooded from her eyes; the pain was too much, even if she had done this many times, the pain never got any better. It got worse with each second, her nerves taut with torment.

She ran out of breathe to scream; the only noise was the sound of her nails on the metal table, her mouth gasping for air, and her body struggling to be released from the leather straps.

She began coughing up fluid. She wasn't aware of anything going on, the pain was so immense that she was barely conscious.

It was hot, so hot, so hot that she felt she was going insane, like her mind was melting.

"She's overheating."

"...Ice."

"...yes...fa...il...ure...?"

The voices were fading, felt like she was departing from reality, from life.

Good, that would be better than this, experiencing pain every day.

"...n...o..."

She blacked out, everything turning blurry.

She was glad. This would end her suffering.

The next time she awoke, she was in the cell with the other children, with an ice pack on her head. The children also had ice packs on their heads. She brightened up in relief and struggled to lift herself up. She extended her hand to prodded the little boy next to her. "We did it!"

He didn't budge. She thought that maybe he was still unconscious, but all of the children were just laying there. And then she saw the scarlet liquid staining her hands and the feeling of horror entangled its sick vines around her.

She nudged the girl on her left. "Hey, wake up."

Then another, and another, and another. "Hey, get up!"

The only sound in the vicinity was her pleading echos and the slick oozing of thick scarlet blood. "GET UP!"

"Ah," She whirled around to face the devil himself, a smile upon his face. "looks like I was right. You are my favorite. Don't you just look beautiful painted red."

She stared at her hands in horror, the liquid dripping from her fingertips, down to the already painted floor.

They were dead.

Sakura woke up in cold sweat, her eyes wide and her mouth panting for air. She stared at her hands to see no red. A flood of relief hit her, it was a nightmare, just a dream. She felt a nudge and found her cat headbutting her side; lifting up a hand, she petted the small animal. She tried to regulate her breathing as it was all haphazard and chaotic. Fisting her sheets, the girl ducked underneath and screamed into her pillows, muffling the noise.

The pain began to return, she could feel her body begin to reject itself again. It was as if her body was folding inside out, but she endured it for Sasuke. She didn't want to burden him. He had already shown her the world, let alone taken her in. There was no way for her to repay him, so she wouldn't bother him with her problems.

She didn't sleep for the rest of the night.

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Sasuke found Sakura to be quite strange nowadays; she rarely talked, rarely ate, and rarely smiled. She didn't even want to read. She seldom left her room, only leaving for water or for dinner; they didn't even talk during their meal. He thought that maybe she was sick again, trying to hide her condition from him again, so he asked her.

He stood in front of her room, not sure how to enter. A knock would suffice, and he tapped on the sliding door two times.

No answer.

He tapped again. Tok, tok.

Still no answer. So he opened the door, and she was still laying in her futon, her body curled up beneath the thick sheets. "Hey."

The rustling of sheets let him know that she was indeed awake. She twisted from beneath and surmised that she had turned her back toward him. "Mn..."

It was four in the afternoon. Sakura never slept in late. She was always the first person up, usually barging into his room and nagging at him to wake up, so it surprised him to see her being so lazy.

He realized that maybe he was doing something wrong. While it is true that the two of them have been together now for quite a while, they (mostly Sasuke) had never taken the time to get to know each other. It wasn't like he wanted to, but maybe Sakura wished it.

He slowly strolled over to her rest place and sat down on the tatami mats next to her futon, his legs stretched out in front of him, his back to her. They didn't speak, not a sound was heard except for the occasional muffled mumbles from the woman beneath her sheets.

"Talk." He commanded.

He heard more rustling and looked over from the corner of his eye to see her sit up in her bed, her hair a mess. Her head faced the other direction, her hair shielding her face from his view. She said nothing, only sat there quietly. Sasuke was an impatient person, but this time, he felt no rush in forcing her to speak. If something was wrong, she would tell him in time.

Her cat strolled over and sat in the woman's lap, curled up in a ball with its tail draped over the bridge in its nose.

He noticed her slender form quivering, her hands fisting the sheets, and her breathing somewhat irregular. She was struggling to make out words to speak.

"Talk? What about?" She answered in time.

He knew it; she was hiding something, and it pissed him off. His patience wore away after realizing. In a swift and timely motion, he had her pinned on the futon, her physique and strength no match for his. Using both of his hands, he fastened her hands on either side of her head, her hair still covering his view. She struggled, her breathing become more and more haphazard. "No!" She protested, her voice a shrill shriek.

He tightened his grip on her and positioned his knees to block her lower body movement. A frown made its way to his face, his eyebrows furrowing in frustration. She had sunken to his level; she was running away from reality, something he had never wanted her to do, never to follow him. Sakura was better than him, she couldn't be put on the same level as him, not now, not ever.

"Don't run away!" He voiced. She shook her head, her hair still blocking her face, her eyes. "If something is wrong—"

"Shut up!" Her sudden protest startled him. Her breathing heavy now, her pants even more arbitrary than before. "What do you know? Huh? I didn't want to be like this! WHY AM I AT FAULT?"

She looked him straight in the eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks. In his moment of surprise, she ripped away from his grasp and escaped outside somewhere.

"Sakura!" His footsteps followed her's, his eyes watching her figure frantically try to escape. "Don't run away!"

She ran a few more meters before collapsing down on her knees, her form shivering and quivering. Letting her emotions rip out of her, she leaned back and screamed at the top of her lungs. The anguished tint in her shrill cry was heartbreaking; he ran and held her in his embrace, swiftly moving his limbs to safely secure her in his grasp.

"I don't want this anymore! I don't! No! NO! NO!" She resisted his embrace, her arms hitting and smashing against his shoulders and limbs, but he persisted forward. "I DON'T WANT TO BE LIKE THIS ANYMORE!"

"Be like what?" He growled, his voice whispered into her ear. "A coward?"

She stilled in his arms, her body limp and sullen. The most abysmal eyes he had ever seen laid their gaze upon his. "Yes."

"The weight is not just your's to shoulder." He murmured into her hair, stroking her back.

"But it is."

"Tell me what's bothering you."

"... I'm sorry. This won't ever happen again." She sniffled.

"It will if you don't tell me what's wrong."

"It won't."

He pushed her away and stared into her adamant eyes. There they were, the same strange cynical tainted green looking straight at him. "Let me tell you a story, Sasuke."

The mention of literature brought relief to his chest. "Go right ahead."

She stayed in his arms, her head rested on his shoulder and his head on her's. "It's about a girl by the name Number 53 who lived an agonizingly long and desolate life." She paused before continuing, her body beginning to quiver again.

"It's called Silently Lost."

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Sorry, I guess that was kind of like a cliff-hanger...

I feel that Sakura was very whiny in this chapter... I'm so sorry... I feel so sad after writing this though... Ahhhh D;

Please tell this sad writer what you think. Thanks again!

EnigmaLight—10:12