AN – Ok! So some people are confused or upset with Sakura's reaction to Naruto and Hinata, apparently some people were expecting a much happier and excited response. I would like to let you know that I'll be clearing that up in the next few chapters. I do have a reason for doing this. Anyway, on to chapter four!
Crossing Lines
Chapter Four
A small sliver of light flooded the otherwise dim and depressing cell Sasuke was confined in. He pulled the shabby blanket over his head and turned to face the wall to escape the offending light. After all, he'd spent the last few months in almost complete darkness. Approaching footsteps resonated through the small concrete room, and hesitated by the side of his futon. Curiously, Sasuke snuck a peek.
"Nice to see you're up. Now get out of the bed," Kakashi said brusquely. The Uchiha arched a defiant eyebrow at the Jounin, who simply stared him down patiently. Frustrated, Sasuke pushed the blanket away and stood silently. Kakashi tossed him a clean pair of clothes and exited the cell to give him some privacy. Slightly unsure of what was going on, he dressed in the unshapely stark white outfit and called Kakashi back in.
To his surprise, Shikamaru appeared in the doorway instead. "We're transferring you today," he stated, placing handcuffs on the Uchiha. "You're healed enough to be contained in a normal prison now. Since Naruto's on a mission, we can't determine how long you'll be kept there. We're trying to reach Sakura, but we're not having much luck there either," he explained while checking him for weapons.
Sasuke's expression remained stoic as they exited the cell. They found Kakashi was waiting at the first gate for them, and he assumed his position on Sasuke's left, Shikamaru to his right. The two Jounin nodded to the guards as they passed through three more gates and into the lobby of the hospital. Sasuke kept an eye out for Sakura while they checked out and left the building. He wasn't sure why, but he found himself unsuccessfully searching the streets for her.
Maybe it was a misplaced sense of pride, or a result of being confined in absolute solitude for a month that caused him to ask Shikamaru where she was hiding. When he informed him she was on a mission with Naruto, he just nodded and held his tongue. Apparently she hadn't been kidding when she said she wasn't coming back. The thought didn't sit right with him; but then again, he wasn't really complaining. It was nice not having to listen to her mindless babble every day. He'd noticed his incessant headaches disappeared shortly after she had too.
Before he knew it, they'd arrived at the prison where Sasuke went through intake all over again. He was forced to strip down and act completely submissive while a large, hefty man frisked him. All he could think about were the massive hands violating his personal space, and the sausage fingers that intrusively poked and prodded him. Finally, after four more hours of waiting, he was placed in his new cell. Alone.
Kakashi waved farewell as he disappeared through a door at the end of the long hallway. Sasuke examined his new room in dismay. The only benefit of his transfer was the toilet attached to the wall next to his cot; and the small, barred window that had a semi decent view of Konoha. That didn't really count though, because every time he looked out the window he was reminded of how much he hated the village. Not to mention the toilet backed up if you flushed toilet paper down it. He found that out the hard way.
He was currently sitting on his cot, cross-legged and staring vindictively at his reflection in the mirror. The floor was flooded and he was waiting quite patiently for one of the inept guards to notice the rather large stream of water flowing from his cell. It took forty minutes for one of them to start accusing him of trying to escape.
"Trust me, if I was trying, you'd know it," he scoffed, and resumed glaring at his reflection. The guard chucked a plunger at him through the bars of his cell and stalked off.
Sasuke quickly learned how inconvenient it was to have his cot directly under the barred window, considering it lacked the main component of a normal window. Glass.
Water, gravel, and trash constantly showered down on him from the street above while he was trying to relax and sleep. One day, he got so infuriated by it he started shouting unthinkable obscenities at a rather small child and his mother who happened to be passing by. The child had innocently tossed a sucker over his shoulder and it had rolled right through Sasuke's window and hopelessly entangled itself in his hair. He shot straight to his feet and began wringing the bars of the window as if they were the child's neck.
"GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE SHIT, I'M GOING TO SHOVE THIS FUCKING SUCKER SO FAR UP YOUR ASS YOU'LL TASTE IT!" he screamed, waving the cherry sucker ominously between the bars. The child shrieked in terror and ran off, his mother not far behind.
"Threatening five year olds today, are we?" a voice called from the doorway. Sasuke whirled around and chucked the sucker at the intruder as if it were a kunai. Ino caught it seconds before it hit her and scoffed. She examined the sucker in distaste and dropped it, where it rolled momentarily and settled itself at the foot of Sasuke's cot. Irritated beyond reason, the Uchiha sat down and crossed his arms and legs defiantly. "Well I think you've successfully scared him into not littering for the rest of his life. Congratulations, you've done your good deed for today," she said sarcastically. Sasuke's patience shattered and he growled at her.
"What the hell are you doing here?" he spat. She feigned offence and sat down on the cot next to him. He immediately slid to the other edge of it.
"I'm here because I got a letter from Sakura this morning and she asked me to check on you," Ino answered. Sasuke's expression darkened exponentially upon hearing the pink haired kunoichi's name.
"I don't need to be 'checked' on," he fumed. His hatred for the Leaf Village and its citizens hadn't diminished in the slightest in the seven months he'd been held in their custody. In fact, it'd only strengthened his resolve to slaughter them. Sakura and Ino were no exception.
"Well, I'm just doing what I was asked to do. Though I don't know what she could possibly be expecting," Ino muttered and stood. She brushed the wrinkles out of her skirt and began walking for the door. "I'd say it was nice seeing you, but it wasn't," she called over her shoulder as the guard locked the cell door behind her again. Sasuke ignored her and silently fumed as he stared out the window. He felt her gaze linger on him for a few minutes before he heard her footsteps disappear around the corridor.
The air was thick and humid, and the sun beat down mercilessly on Sakura's back as she helped their host carry home bags of groceries from their latest trip to the market. The young woman had been watching her in concern out of her peripheral vision for ten minutes now and it was beginning to unnerve Sakura. She stopped and set the bags down next to her, wiping the sweat out of her eyes. She smiled reassuringly at the woman who'd graciously accepted them into her home upon their arrival.
"Is something bothering you today, Sakura?" Chiyo asked curiously, trying hard not to sound offensive.
Sakura sighed and replied, "Just worrying over things that don't matter." The woman smiled knowingly at her.
"Is it a boy?" she asked, motioning for Sakura to continue walking. She picked up her bags and followed obediently. Her silence seemed to confirm Chiyo's suspicions. "Would you mind explaining why you're fretting it if it doesn't matter?"
"I just know my worrying is useless is all. Just because I'm upset, it still doesn't change anything," Sakura sighed.
"Nothing is completely useless, Sakura," Chiyo reprimanded.
The beautiful two story house appeared as they turned a corner. Sakura had marveled at this structure since she'd arrived a week ago. It was built so skillfully it made her heart ache at its magnificence. This was the second village on the list Naruto had showed her. There were four total. They'd started in the Wind Country, visiting Suma first. Now they were in the Earth Country, visiting Iwa.
The Tsuchikage was in a meeting with Naruto now, and Sakura prayed it was going well. The Wind Country and the Fire Country had been enemies not too long ago. Though they were allied now, Naruto's new title as Hokage had caused some tension in this alliance and she could only hope his magnetic personality was doing its trick as she spoke.
"Do you really think so, Chiyo?" she asked as she set the bags down in the kitchen. The slate haired woman responded with a kind smile.
"Of course I do, Sakura. Why do you say it's pointless?" she questioned as she proceeded to put away the food they'd just purchased.
"Because… he… Sasuke is so single minded, he always has been. I don't think there's anything I could do at this point to help him. There's nothing in my power to save him. I'm lost, Chiyo," she admitted grudgingly. The woman finished putting things away in silence and sat at the kitchen table when she was done. She motioned for Sakura to sit next to her.
"So, this Sasuke, what's his story?" Chiyo asked, resting her chin in her hands. She waited patiently while the pink haired kunoichi composed her thoughts.
This was the final straw. Sasuke simply could not stand it anymore. He called for a guard and requested to be placed in a different cell. When he awoke that morning, he overheard a couple talking about him through the window on the street above. They'd been discussing his detainment, fear coloring their tones. They were worried he'd escape and wreak havoc on the village.
It infuriated him that he was trapped in the heart of the village he'd vowed to destroy with the chakra capacity of an infant. The sheer frustration was eating at his very core. He'd given up trying to remove the metal rods that pierced his skin at the most uncomfortable places. It was useless, and he'd accepted this after one of the rods had become infected from his pulling at it. He'd been visited by Tsunade's assistant, Shizune, who'd scolded and threatened him to no end. She warned him that if he attempted this again, she wouldn't allow him any medical treatment, and promised him his arm would rot off. He had no choice but to heed her warning.
It seemed as if there was nothing Sasuke had a choice in anymore. He was brought meals three times a day. The lights went out at nine p.m. and came on at seven a.m. He wasn't allowed to leave his cell under any circumstances. He was allowed no human contact unless Sakura or Tsunade ordered it. The guards stood watch outside his cell 24/7. He had no privacy and no entertainment other than his thoughts, which weren't very entertaining at all. He tired easily and snapped at everything. He longed to be doing something, anything, to take his mind off of how utterly miserable and bored he was.
The guard had told him his request would be relayed to Tsunade, and she would decide to accept it or decline it. He was stuck here for now, staring hopelessly into the mirror across the room where his reflection mocked him. Irritation overwhelmed him and he chucked one of his shoes at the offending object, shattering it. A guard came running, only to find Sasuke lying on his cot facing the wall. The guard observed the sight in silence and returned to his position outside of the Uchiha's cell. He was used to Sasuke's random fits of violence and learned to pay them no mind.
Every escape attempt of the Uchiha's had failed miserably, and most were just laughable. With no chakra, Sasuke couldn't even run five laps around his cell, let alone try to fight off hoards of Anbu guards. Most of his time was spent concocting new escape plans, but the majority of them were too pathetic to even attempt.
He found himself pondering if Sakura would really stay true to her word and never visit him again. He wondered if she really had left him to rot in this god forsaken cell, alone for eternity, which didn't seem like the Sakura he knew at all. He couldn't decide if he wanted it that way or not. At first, solitude was easier than having her incessant presence nagging him, but now, trapped in his own head for seven months, he began to desire the very same nuisance he'd once become infuriated at. He wanted someone, anyone, anything, to disrupt his self-destructive thought process.
"I see," Chiyo said, standing and walking to the sink. She poured herself a glass of water and offered one to Sakura. "So this boy, Sasuke, he was your comrade?" The pink haired kunoichi nodded affirmative. "And he betrayed the entire village, not just you. He put countless lives in danger for his own selfish reasons. He put your life in danger, tried to kill you in fact, how can you still love him so?" the raven haired woman asked, resuming her seat at the table across from Sakura.
"For a while I convinced myself I didn't. I mean, Sasuke was running rampant, terrorizing villages, destroying homes, ripping apart families. Who could love something like that? But when I was fighting with him, just before we captured him and returned him to Konohagakure, I realized how pathetic my attempts to fool myself were. My desperation to save him is the most powerful thing I've ever felt. It still eats away at me, it's all I can think of, and I still have no idea what I could possibly say or do to make him see the light again. He is still Sasuke, he's still the only boy I've ever loved, and love is one of the strongest emotions there are. It doesn't just vanish, and it never completely goes away. It takes time, and dedication to erase those feelings. Something I guess I just don't possess," Sakura explained, twiddling her thumbs nervously.
"I can see you're much too mature for your age. No seventeen year old girl should know a love that deep or pure. It's something you're supposed to gain with age. But have you ever heard the saying 'If you love something let it go, and if it returns, you'll know it was meant to be'?" Chiyo asked.
"Yes, I've heard it," Sakura replied.
"Well, maybe you should try it. Let him go, and someday, if he returns, you'll know it was because of you. It sounds like you're the only thing that could possibly bring him back," she advised.
"I just don't know if I could risk it. I just got him back, what if he decides to leave again? There aren't any second chances this time. If he leaves again, he will be hunted down by the Anbu and killed," she explained.
"Then avoid him. Let him think that you're gone, that you've abandoned him. Maybe the time to himself will remind him that he's been defeated, and that struggling like this is futile. He'll have to accept defeat sometime. Whether it's next month, or next year, or years to come, he'll break eventually. No one can live in denial forever," Chiyo said, placing a hand on top of the other woman's to stop her fidgeting. "Wait until he comes to you. He will, eventually, trust me," she assured her with a small smile. Sakura relaxed in her chair, feeling a little less overwhelmed than before. She pondered Chiyo's words in silence, seeing the wisdom and experience in her advice. Slowly, she stood and nodded.
"Okay, then that's what I'll do," she whispered, and set her glass down on the table.
AN - Omgsh I am SO sorry this chapter took so long to write. My computer crashed a couple months ago and I lost everything. I had to rewrite the entire thing from memory. It was absolutely terrible, I hope it never happens again. But anyway, now that it's back up and running I'll be continuing crossing lines. And again, sorry for the delay, and don't forget to review!