Summary- In the natural scheme of things, the dead stay dead. But in the world of ninjas, nothing's for certain anymore. Sasu/Saku.
&the boring and unfortunate [standard] [disclaimer] [is] rightfully [applied]. D: darn.
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chapter
1-3!
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March 21
Location- Waterfall
The deep green of the forest was black when night fell; Sakura dreamt that night with a shuddering sense of finality.
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Gray smeared everything she looked at. Clink. Clink. Clink. The metal chains clanked together as she swung her feet forwards, backwards, forwards, backwards. Her boots made a dull thud against the cement wall and scraped across the floor. Sakura flinched a little when the seaweed stuck to her toes. She looked down to shake it off just as a yell echoed from above, bouncing off the walls and carrying throughout the building. Guttural, pained, desperate- the yell made Sakura cringe. The sound of something heavy falling, then another voice followed before everything was silent again.
Sighing, she scrunched up her face and stared at the room. The palm of her hand started to itch and she tried to maneuver her fingers around the shiny, new manacles to scratch it. The metal clinked against the wall again, and Sakura started up swinging her feet. Laying her head back, she stared at the ceiling and focused on the steady sounds… The chipped blocks of the wall were rough against the calloused pads of her fingers. The cuffs on her wrists burned against raw flesh and she glared at the opposite wall. But there was nothing. As blank as a new canvas, she couldn't remember anything. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to think back, but it was a fuzzy feeling that blocked everything out that was before yesterday. Like a radio crackling and fizzing, off and disconnect.
She opened her eyes. There was a muffle from the other side of the wall. "Can y-…stop that?" Sakura turned her head to the side, nearly flat against the cold surface of the cement wall. The scar across her cheekbone bled onto the white, pasty surface. Someone was in the next room?, she thought. "Hey, who are you?" Curiosity peeked through the bars of pain and boredom. There was a pause, where it was so quiet that she could barely hear anything but her own breathing. Was she imagining things, too?
The voice replied, distinctly male and warbled through the barrier, "What does it matter?"
What did it matter? Sakura thought it mattered very much. "Why not tell me? It's not like you have anything better to do." Her voice croaked at the end and she realized for the first time how very, very thirsty she was.
"It really doesn't matter."
She thought she felt someone move outside the door and she lowered her voice. "Then you haven't been here long to have that attitude," she noted. The days blurred together with nothing to separate them, no sunrise or sunset, and there was just nothing. Nothing to do, to think, to mark as important. How long had she been here? She couldn't think past yesterday. Had it been weeks, months… or more than that? It was cold; maybe it was winter already?
"Or maybe I've just been here that long to have this attitude."
Sakura grunted. "But if you were here that long, we should have had this conversation before now. How long have you been in that room?" She couldn't remember anyone being moved. But it didn't matter; she didn't have to remember everything to get out of here.
Was that a sigh? "A while."
The walls were thick, but Sakura could hear his movements as he fiddled with the chains on his ankles. Looking forward, she leaned her head back again, flinching as the back of her head burned from the impact. A very small smile inched onto her lips as she said, "So what are you in for?"
"I'd hardly say this is like prison." His voice was deep, a little lazy. He reminded her of Shikamaru.
Shifting to the right, Sakura stretched out her left arm and it made a loud pop. Everywhere hurt, she thought. Although she hadn't woken up with any new wounds. Did that mean something different was being tried on her? ...Amnesia and mind jutsus? "I know, it's kind of part of being a ninja. But just answer the question."
"I guess for the same reason we're all here," he paused; he clicked his tongue and continued, "We all are or have something that they wa-"
Another scream fell through the floors. Sakura closed her eyes and let her chakra stretch throughout the building. It was hard to tell; barriers were put up to prevent that. Faintly, she could pinpoint a gathering of chakra signatures three levels above her, down the hall and to the right. Only... one or two people were below them. What was happening? Glancing up at the chains, Sakura turned her head. "Hey, can you get out of your binds?"
She heard him mumble something and move around, then, "Yeah, I can." Bracing her hands together, she ripped through the bars on her hands and yanked her feet out of theirs. She held her hands together and broke off the genjutsu before she slipped out of the door. Her hands felt like they were on fire. The door beside her opened and someone lumbered into the hall. He was scrawny and tall. And shaggy, was all she could think. She wondered why she hadn't heard his binds break. "What do you mean what 'they' want?"
He stared at her and nodded up at the floors above them. "The Akatsuki. You couldn't tell with the barriers. Check for yourself if you don't believe me."
A string of voices filtered down to where they were and she realized that she recognized some of them. Shaking her head, she answered, "No, I believe you." It made sense. Then this was also one of their hideouts. No wonder there was so much blood on the walls. She remembered the ones streaking across the floor in the room, the ones that were the size of her hands.
"Wait, what are you going to do?"
"Just keep going down." She looked down the hall. She wanted to find her stuff, but that might not be able to happen. Because she certainly didn't have any weapons or very much clothing. The man beside her was hesitating, and she made a half-motion to push him away from her. "Get out of here or this building's gonna fall on you."
He had brown eyes -that was last thing she thought. "Fine. Don't get caught." Then he made some hand seal she'd never seen before, and looked at her again, saying, "There's no point in remembering everything, so don't try, alright?" before he disappeared. Sakura grunted, acutely aware of what she looked like; the blood was starting to itch. She ran down the left hallway towards the stairs, the floor echoing her slight steps. Chakra signatures began to move above her. She jumped down the flight of stairs and went through a doorway. There was one more level to go. Right as she thought that, she felt three guards in front of the next stairs and the ones above swiftly making their way down. Sakura turned the corner and cringed as a senbon landed squarely on her leg. The blood seeped through her black cloak, warm and wet against her skin. The muscle twitched violently under the silver needle. Poison. She jumped up and swore under her breath, just as her fist collided with flesh and rock, a quake running through the building as it tore itself apart.
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"Sakura!" Dimly, she registered hands on her shoulders. "Hey, sleepyhead! Come on, wake up!" Sakura made a half-hearted attempt to slap the hands away and leaned up with her hands, groaning at the headache pounding behind her eyes and in her temples. "You got a headache?!" the speaker said, much too loudly to be considerate. She grunted. "Yes, Suigetsu. So stop yelling."
She heard him chuckle and move away from her, and she laid a hand over her eyes, wiping the sleep away. Squinting, Sakura looked upwards at the sky; the sun was nearly at seven. Purples and blacks spotted her vision from the headache and she reached for her bag. She set it in her lap and rummaged for something that would help.
"I'm not used to you not being awake. You're always awake." Suigetsu sat next to a tree, his sword lying beside him.
She normally didn't have dreams like that, either. Shrugging her shoulders, Sakura opened her mouth to reply and a yawn cut her off. She heard Suigetsu laugh a little. Trying again, she said, "Just one of those days, I guess." Moving her legs in front of her, Sakura crossed them and glanced down at the thick moss on the forest floor. It groaned under her weight and she shook her head. "I think I'm about ready to leave Waterfall."
"Then it's your lucky day!" said Suigetsu, smiling with his sharp teeth. "We'll be traveling you know, the usual. Twenty-five hours each day so we can camp in a damp forest. Sasuke takes great care of us." The last part Suigetsu added just as Sasuke walked past him. Sakura laughed a little at that, earning a curious glance from Sasuke before he leaned over the fire, holding a line of fish.
Sakura got the feeling he almost didn't say anything. "Well, I brought you food, didn't I, Suigetsu?" His tone lacked just some of his normal apathy. Sakura closed her eyes as he talked; he was much quieter then Suigetsu. His voice was deep and… She chuckled to herself. He'd be offended if she said his voice was soft, of all things.
Suigetsu sniffed the air appreciatively and laughed in response, "Only because I bothered you about it!"
"I still brought it." A typical Sasuke rebuttal. Sakura rolled her eyes and looked back into her bag. Rifling through all the jars, she finally found the little bottle full of capsules and she popped one pill into her mouth. It left a pasty taste in her mouth, but the pounding obediently quieted.
Across from her, Suigetsu jumped up from his spot and started walking to the fire (toward the food). While he moved past her, he leaned down and whispered, hand cupped to his face. "You know, it's weird with Karin being so quiet. No one's fussing at me or anything."
She looked over to the side of the camp; Karin had regained her spot on the same log and sat with her hands on her lap, still forming the same seal. Sakura grinned and batted him away toward the food. "Why, do you miss it?"
Rolling his eyes, Suigetsu sauntered off with a "Puh-lease" and dropped down beside Sasuke. Sakura zipped her bag shut and thought she heard Suigetsu say her name. Looking up, she saw Sasuke staring at Suigetsu with a weird expression on his face. He turned his head toward the fire and poked at it one more time. His back was to her, so she thought she saw his shoulders shrug. As an answer?
Suigetsu looked somewhat disappointed. What were they talking about? Sakura frowned at Sasuke's back, watching the rigid muscles move under his black shirt as he crouched forward. The smell of fish wafted through the air and Juugo dropped into the clearing.
Sasuke moved the fish out of the fire and sat back. "We'll eat and then we're heading to Grass. We'll be there a few hours after nightfall."
Suigetsu looked up from his fish, food hanging out of his mouth, and frowned. "Are we still being tailed?" he asked, wolfing down the rest of the fish. Juugo lumbered up from behind him and plopped down, his weight sinking the thick greenery on the floor. Gingerly, he took a fish and replied, "Karin hasn't said any different."
Suigetsu shrugged. "I guess…" he paused, "it's just weird that they haven't you know, done anything."
"We'll see what happens," Sasuke said. Sakura looked down and shook her head; it was just like him to say something like that. Every time Suigetsu obviously wanted an answer, Sasuke replied with the same "be ready for anything" attitude.
She looked up when she heard him call Karin's name and motion toward the food. Stiff, Karin slid off the log and walked to the fire. She was limping. Sakura stared at her leg and wondered if chakra exhaustion took its toll on certain parts of the body before others. But then wouldn't it-
"Sakura."
"Hm?" She looked up from her hands. Rolling his eyes at her, Sasuke dipped his head toward the fire. "Eat." The commands were actually easier to deal with now. Even if he did manage to always sound exasperated.
Sakura murmured to herself, "Oh" and lightly shook her head. "Yeah, in a sec." She opened her bag again and did a check of everything she had. Was she just being paranoid? But she felt… weird. Maybe it was only the dream she had.
"Do you feel okay?" She looked up again and smiled at Juugo. "Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks." He looked away quickly, hiding his face from her. For someone so big, Sakura thought, he sure didn't take advantage of his size. Throwing her bag off her lap, she stood up and leaned over the fire, picking out a medium sized fish. She plucked a leaf off one of the trees and set the fish in it. She was in the motion of sitting down in between Juugo and Sasuke when Suigetsu asked, "Nothing, Karin?"
Sakura could barely see her across the fire. Her hair blended in with the flames. "No. Still the same."
Looking over at Sasuke, Sakura wondered what he was thinking. What if Kisame and the other ninja were to show up if and when they found Itachi? That would complicate things, at the very least. Sasuke shifted his head to meet her eyes and she lifted an eyebrow when he kept staring; what? He shook his head and looked away.
"An inn! Finally!" Karin fell onto one of the lobby's sofas. She was almost likable when she was tired, Sakura mused. Most of the time when people were in pain, they were mean. She'd certainly seen a lot of people while they were in pain. But for Karin, she just didn't have any energy to bother anyone. Sakura squeezed her eyes shut; she almost felt bad for thinking that when she knew how tired Karin must be. Being a tracker was no joke. Almost felt bad, anyway.
The innkeeper threw the keys to Sasuke. Curiously, Karin sprang up from the sofa and eyed him, nearly purring, "I could stay in your room." Sakura wrinkled her nose and shared a look with Suigetsu.
"Ah, get over it, Karin." Suigetsu wiped his hand down his face. "You were doing so good, too! No slutty comments for almost three days!"
Karin's face turned red. She snapped her head towards his. "Oh just shut up, Suigetsu!"
"Well, it's not like he wants you in his room-"
"So we can go now?" Sakura set her hand on her hip, fingering the edges of her red shirt, and glanced around the lobby. Cheap paintings, fairly new wallpaper, pretty clean in general, though. This was probably one of the nicer inns they'd stayed at. Her eyes landed on Sasuke. Originally, she would've thought he was one to buy from the more expensive inns.
Sasuke nodded and started walking down the hallway to the right. He stopped short and opened one of the first doors. Their room was also one of the larger ones, with a total of five beds. Leaning against the doorframe, Sakura studied the door to the bathroom. Karin was next to Sasuke, probably wondering which bed he was going to take, and Suigetsu had already collapsed on the soft covering of the first bed he found. Juugo lingered in the corner, setting his stuff down. Sliding into the room, Sakura slipped into what she assumed was the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Spacious, clean, and housing a bath tub –it was just what she was looking for.
She plugged the drain and delicately turned on the tap. Water came rushing out of the nozzle and she winced at its loudness. Oh, well. Everyone else was doing something, anyway. Sakura pulled the zipper down on her shirt and shrugged out of the clothing, letting it fall on the floor. She toed out of her boots and pulled down her skirt and shorts, pausing in front of the mirror. Maybe it was the lighting, but she felt like she looked… maybe skinnier? Or just… different. Looking down, Sakura turned off the tap and eased into the tub.
She wrapped her arms around her legs and set her chin on her knees. Closing her eyes, she listened to the tap, tap, tap of the dripping faucet and the sounds outside the door. Sasuke's thunderous chakra signature pulsed throughout the room. They'd done a lot of traveling, all the way to Grass Country. He was tired; he wasn't even bothering to mask any of his chakra. The dark circles around his eyes were getting more noticeable.
Opening her eyes, Sakura stared at the water rippling in front of her. It was kind of comforting, to be able to feel someone so easily. To someone else, he might seem like a murderer, which was what they all were, but… Of course things are always different when the one everyone was scared of wasn't your enemy. Sakura's mouth fell into a frown and she plunged her head under the water. But how long would that last? What would happen when he didn't need her anymore? (She frowned again. Why did she care?)
When she tip-toed out of the bathroom ten minutes later, she realized how very dark it had been when they stopped. She glanced at the clock and it was 1:15. Looking around the room, Sakura tried to find an empty bed. On the other side of the room was Sasuke, next to the wall, and then Juugo and Karin. So she moved to the fourth bed and slipped under the covers. Suigetsu shifted around in his bed to her left.
"Hey, Sakura?"
She turned her head and fought the closing of her eyes, whispering, "What?"
"… I've been wanting to ask you… and uh, what are you going to do when we're done?" Suigetsu looked away from the ceiling to her. Sakura smiled unsteadily at the question and shrugged. It wasn't something she had the answer to. Instead, she stared at him and asked, "Are you wondering what you're going to do, too?"
He rolled his head back towards the ceiling. "I guess so." It was weird to hear him speak seriously about something. Then he added, "The only reason I came with Sasuke was because I didn't have anything else to do."
That was the reason most everyone in this room was here. "Well… I've learned not to plan ahead too much. A lot of things can happen." What an understatement.
"Yeah," Suigetsu sighed, his voice as soft as she'd ever heard him. He looked back at her with a little excitement in his eyes. "But you know we'll be in Rain tomorrow. Well, today." She raised her eyebrows and he continued with, "I just feel like something big is gonna happen. Like it's the calm before the storm."
Sakura rolled onto her back and closed her eyes. The calm before the storm?
a/n.
(this one took me about a week more than the last. i didn't know how i wanted it to come off.) and only like two/three chapters left! and (hopefully) there'll be more fluffy whatnot in the next chapter, for those of you who are sure to ask. :P but i can promise no one will be randomly making out. this is supposed to be in-character, after all. anyway, thank you to everyone who read. and review! it's near the end, so you might as well, right? :D
hope you enjoyed. i'm gonna get my butt in gear to finish this soon. yep. plus, i've got a lot of stuff to include in the next chapter...