空の絆：Bonds of the Sky

by HanaIchi Ikari

SasuSaku. Haruno Sakura, a 14-year-old kunoichi, was captured by the Sound... transformed as a little girl! Now she's forced to be Uchiha Sasuke's servant, but it's safe to be around him. How will the story proceed? Altered starting from Naruto Shippuden.

8. The Rising Sun

A/N: I'm aware that you guys want to kill me. That's why I decided to make this a little longer than usual. I'm sure it won't replace that boiling frustration of waiting for years, but I tried! (Just be lucky that I'm getting into Naruto again AND that the reviews saying that I should update this motivated me to continue! *shot*)

空の絆: Bonds of the Sky
CH 8: The Rising Sun

"You called me, Tsunade-Sama?"

The blonde-haired Hokage did not face the summoned ninja. "Yes. This is a mission, but the search for Sakura is related to this." She crossed her arms and stared at the clear blue sky. "It's been over a year since she was captured. We've been sending out so many search parties, yet no one found a single clue!"

Yes, Haruno Sakura has not been found nor heard of. Every time Tsunade sent out a group to search for her, they ended up coming back with little or no lead. Her precious student hasn't been in contact for the past year. To be frank, she missed Sakura. Despite her tough demeanor, she had great love for the people of Konoha and the village.

"Tsunade-Sama, does this mean I will be part of the search party this time?"

"Yes," she replied. She finally turned around. "Rei, you will be. I've seen your progress this past year, and I think you're finally ready to be in one."

Rei was a 17-year-old who was born in a family of travelers. However, his family been killed after his birth. He had been captured by Orochimaru several times and made an escape every time. This time, he was freed willingly and headed to Konoha to deliver Sakura's message. Ever since he arrived to Konoha, he was taken in with warm welcome and rose up to the Chuunin rank.

"Tsunade-Sama, you have no idea how grateful I am to you and Konoha." Rei gave her a deep bow. "I was only delivering a message from Haruno Sakura, but the village took me in and helped me become who I am now." He raised his head with a thankful smile. "I have come to love Konoha immediately and would do anything to protect it."

Tsunade smiled. "You know, you sort of remind me of Naruto," she paused, "… well… the calmer version of him anyway." Rei chuckled. "I don't think I made a mistake when I assigned you to his team. What do you think so far?"

Rei laughed nervously. "Well, those two are quite… interesting. Naruto-Kun is a very energetic person. Sai-Kun can be a little strange, but I don't blame him. He tends to be, um, socially awkward."

He remembered when he was assigned to Team Kakashi as soon as he turned into a Chuunin. Naruto had complained and threatened him for being Sakura's replacement. However, he told them to think of him as a new addition to the team. As time passed, Naruto got along with Rei very well.

"Sai hasn't called you anything strange, has he?"

"He has. But I didn't really mind it." He scratched the back of his head. "In my point of view, I found it more flattering than offensive. I can't tell whether it's from respect or a random name." Rei shrugged it off. "So who will be in this party?"

"The people I mentioned: Naruto and Sai." Tsunade sat down on her chair and leaned her elbows against the desk. "Since Kakashi must rest, your team will have a different person going in his stead. He is an ANBU, but he will be acting as your captain." She looked at the clock. "He'll be here any moment now." On cue, a knock was heard behind the door.

Rei opened the door and found a rather tall man wearing an ANBU uniform. He felt slightly intimidated by the appearance, but shook it off. "Come in, sir, you must be the ANBU joining us, right?"

The ANBU only nodded in reply.

"Rei, this is Yamato. Yamato, this is Rei. Like I said before, he'll be your captain in place of Kakashi." Tsunade looked at the ANBU named Yamato. "I explained the situation to you this morning, so all you need to do is introduce yourself to Naruto and Sai."

"It's an honor indeed to take Kakashi-Senpai's place." He removed his mask to reveal his face. He seemed rather serious, but hey, that was what made them ANBU. Yamato then turned to Rei. "So you're Rei-Kun, right? It's nice to meet you. You can call me 'Captain Yamato'." Rei gladly shook his hand. "I heard some impressive things about you, by the way."

"Oh, you did?" Rei slightly blushed from embarrassment. "I wouldn't say impressive, but thank you."

Tsunade cleared her throat. "Anyways, make your introductions and get on with the mission. This mission is mainly to intercept Sasori's spy that's working under Orochimaru, so you can obtain information on Orochimaru, Sasuke… and Sakura. Are we clear?"

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Good, now go and introduce yourself, Yamato." The two left the office, leaving Tsunade to think. "A year… What's happening over there, Sakura?"

~.~.~

Meanwhile, somewhere far away… (Sasuke's POV)

Orochimaru had moved to a new hideout. There were two things that Sakura hated the most at the moment. One, it was another underground hideout. Two, she couldn't heal her injuries as fast as she used to.

Sakura was setting up her futon next to my bed. I couldn't help but keep glancing at the injuries she received a few a days ago. What happened that night to cause such trauma?

"Can you not stare? If I had enough chakra, I would've been able to heal this within minutes." Her voice was still the same it ever was. She sat down on the blanket and touched her injury. "…" A faint cloud of green chakra covered her hand as she touched her injuries. The swelling on her eye had disappeared, but the bruise remained.

"You're still not planning to tell me who did that to you?" It was a pointless question, but I asked anyways.

Sakura shook her head. "Stop asking me that. I'm not going to answer you, no matter what." She faced away from me and continued her long self-healing session. "Do you hate me?"

I didn't answer. I sat on the bed and turned on the lamp. The light dimly lit the dark room. I looked at Sakura healing herself. She was still in a child's body. She called herself Ayame before I discovered her true identity. I still have to call her that whenever I'm around Orochimaru and Kabuto.

"When will you be done?" I asked.

"Why?" she softly responded. "Something you want to ask?"

"You never told me anything else about that condition of yours."

Sakura's eyes averted from her wound to me. Her emerald orbs were not as shining as they used to. They looked so barren, compared to a few days ago. "Why would I tell you?" She shifted her concentration back to healing and stayed silent.

I rolled my eyes, knowing that it would be impossible to ask any further. I may have cut all ties with Team 7, but it didn't mean I forgot about them. If Sakura was in such a focused mood, it was best not to pester her. I still remembered the days when Sakura would brutally beat Naruto for the tiniest mistakes. Well… that word was in Naruto's terms, anyways.

An hour had passed, and Sakura hadn't moved an inch. She remained where she was, still healing her injuries. Most of them faded into scars, but there was one deep wound on her right leg. The medics wrapped bandages around it, but she also made an effort in healing it faster. It couldn't even take her a full day to lessen the pain.

After a few more minutes, I heard a sigh and the sound of soft plop. It seemed she ran out of energy to go on any further. However, I had to admit I was impressed. Even as a kid, she had good endurance and steady chakra output.

That's when realization had hit me. I was slowly growing attached to her. I felt a small anger burning inside. But I deserved it. My only goal was to kill Itachi, my older brother who slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan. I was certain I erased the unnecessary feelings.

"Damn…" A stinging hiss escaped Sakura's lips.

"…"

Nevertheless, I couldn't stop that faint warmth in my chest. Was it because I felt pity for her?

~.~.~

"Sasuke!"

Not again…

I turned around, expecting to see the long-haired Sakura. Instead, I saw Aya – I mean, Sakura – tugging at my sleeves. She had a bright smile on her face.

"Hey!" The child version of Sakura kept tugging at my sleeves with excitement.

I knew it was a dream, but I couldn't help but ask, "What?"

She opened her arms out wide, grinning. "I really love you, Sasuke Nii-Chan! You're the best big brother ever!"

"… What?" The first line made the moment awkward. But when she said 'nii-chan' and 'big brother', that was when everything collapsed into a messy mound of confusion.

"Geez, why are you making me say it again?" she whined. "It's really hard to muster enough courage to say that out loud, you know!" Sakura took a deep breath and smiled again. "You're the best older brother I ever had, Sasuke Nii-Chan. I absolutely love you to death!"

This dream was the complete opposite of those other dreams I had. This dream didn't leave me in confusion like the first recurring dream. This left me completely dumbfounded. I couldn't find the right words to say about this.

~.~.~

My eyes snapped open as soon as the dream ended. The only thing my mind was filled with was that dream. What the fuck did it mean this time?

"Ah." I turned my head to look at Sakura, who was staring at me with puzzled eyes. "You're finally awake."

I sat up from the bed, rubbing my eyes. As I adjusted my vision to the dim light, Sakura folded her futon up. "What time is it?"

"Judging by how much time had passed, I'm guessing a little before dinnertime."

I was surprised by the question I asked next. "Are you feeling strange?"

Sakura stopped to look at me. "Strange? Well, other than the throbbing pain of this wound, not at all." She pushed her futon beside my bed and sighed. "Do you want me to get the dinner again? I don't mind." I didn't hear anything wrong. She sounded normal, her usual self. What was I looking for?

"No," I replied with a serious tone. "I'm going with you this time." I wasn't sure whether it was my imagination or not, but I thought she looked a little more relieved when I said that. "Let's go." We walked outside my room and headed for the dining room.

"Ah, does Orochimaru have an underground fetish or something…?" Sakura limped a few feet behind me as she complained. However, when we were close to the dining room, she caught up to me (by limping). I froze when she hesitantly gripped my finger. I looked at her, but her head was lowered. She then released me with a small apology.

"Do you want to stay out here until I come back?"

"No, I'll go in," she replied. Even if she did have a confident look on her face, I took a hold of her wrist and walked inside with her. "…" She stayed as silent as possible. We grabbed what we usually ate and passed Orochimaru's table.

"Ah, Sasuke-Kun," Kabuto called. Thump. "I see you brought your slave with you." Thump. "You seem to be letting her roam around freely without your supervision. What happened these past few months?" Thump. I didn't feel much either. I felt Sakura's pulse beating normally. It was like she had absolutely no fear whatsoever at the moment.

I ignored him as usual. "It's none of your business." I proceeded to drag Sakura out of the dining room.

But of course, I knew Orochimaru wouldn't let go so easily this time. "Sasuke-Kun, do you anything about this Ayame child?" THUMP. Her pulse increased at her previous name. She was in a bad situation. "Do you know about her true identity?" THUMP.

"I know. Do you really think I wouldn't know after all this time?" Thump. She couldn't take it anymore. I felt her arm twitch in my hand. "We're going. Let's go." We finally exited the dining room. As soon as we did, I felt her pulse rate decrease. She was strong, I had to admit. Anyone would've panicked if Orochimaru asked that question, though.

But something felt wrong. I dug deep into my thoughts, wondering what just happened. Was I thinking too much? Click.

"Sa-Sasuke…!" she quietly called out. "You're s-squeezing my arm too tight! It hurts!"

Red. All I saw was the color red. My mind was going through a catalogue of ways to murder. I felt my heartbeat racing fast. The most important thing was… that pain was piercing my heart as if someone shot an arrow at it. Images of pink hair ran throughout my head. My body felt like an empty shell of this feeling. Unknowingly, I tightened my grip around Sakura's wrist.

At this point, she was kicking me with her left leg. "Damn it, I said to let go of me! You're breaking my arm!" she cried.

I snapped out of my thoughts and released her. "…" What was this feeling inside me? Did I actually want to kill Sakura now? No, it didn't feel like it at all. I didn't get it. Nothing came up to mind.

Sakura rubbed her arm, which now turned a burning pink. "What's wrong? You suddenly stopped and… I-I felt a murderous intent from you." She looked up at me with concerned eyes. "Sasuke, what happened? Did you remember something really bad?"

"Your words may be a lie, but your body says everything," I muttered. "Try to make it harder for me next time, would you?" I stared at her and headed to my room. I heard her footsteps following me.

She cocked a brow and asked, "What do you mean?" I didn't reply. I turned the knob, opened the door, and let Sakura inside. "Sasuke? Where are you going?"

Her voice cracked at the last sentence. I knew it. Sakura could lie with words, but there was no doubt that her body couldn't. "Training. It's time I take over Orochimaru." I shut the door before she could even protest. I already knew the deep meaning behind it.

"What?" Don't leave.

~.~.~

Sakura's POV…

Damn this tiny body!

I rubbed the area where Sasuke grabbed, hissing at the searing pain. If I was back to normal, I wouldn't have been fazed by this strength. However, the body of a child was very fragile. There was no way any kid would've been able to withstand Sasuke's strength. At the moment, I was too busy cringing at the throbbing of my arm to care about my other injuries.

As soon as the throbbing faded, I ate my dinner, which was only a glass of water and some rice balls. I then resumed healing the large wound on my leg. It didn't matter about my arm. I knew I could heal it within a day.

But this leg was my main problem. If all I can do is limp, there was no way I'd be of any use anymore. Then soon…

I'll be killed. The thought lingered for a long time. My body turned numb, cold sweat was dripping down my cheek, and I shut up my eyes. That horrifying scene replayed in my eyes. Stop. Stop! STOP! I quickly thought of something else to distract me from it.

"Calm down, Sakura. That was only once. You're not going to make the same mistake again," I kept telling myself.

I stopped the healing and checked my leg. I moved it as much as possible. A smile made its way to my face. My leg was now able to move without a problem. Yes, of course I was satisfied! I can finally train and walk as much as I want! But that didn't mean all the tissues and muscle inside were healed. If I left this alone, something worse would've happened.

"Just a few more minutes and I'll be done."

Somehow, I felt as if my power was growing day by day. Was the collar weakening? Or was my power really increasing? I didn't know. The one mystery that I couldn't figure out was this collar. There was no way to unlock it, to break it, or weaken it. If I tried to break it, who knows what could happen? That was one risk I wasn't willing to take. It didn't seem as if time would weaken this either.

Just like Shikamaru would say, "This is troublesome."

If only I can truly be Ayame… I would have no fear, no common sense, and no complaints as a child… My eyes widened at that sudden thought. What was I thinking? To be Ayame? Then, my eyelids lowered. Actually, I thought that wasn't a bad idea. If I really was Ayame, maybe I would forget all this and go on with my life.

I clutched the shirt I was wearing. It was the Uchiha shirt that Sasuke lent to me on the first day. "… It's been a long time, hasn't it…?" The healing session stopped and I plopped onto my futon. It was soft, but cold. I wanted to get inside the covers, but my body was too exhausted to move. My eyes slowly closed and I fell asleep.

That night, I had a bloody nightmare. I couldn't describe it well, but my stomach was in knots just watching it.

Sasuke entered the room and saw me on top of the blanket. He sighed and shook his head.

"Help me… somebody…" I cried. There was blood dripping from me everywhere. No one answered. Nothing but darkness.

"What are you doing?" He slightly shook me. "… Hey."

In the darkness, I felt something. It felt like… a warm light. "Hey," it faintly called out. I looked up. There was a tiny dot of light ahead. "Sakura." I could barely hear my name.

"… Not waking up…" he muttered. He sighed as he awkwardly carried my little body in his arm and lifted the blanket. He then set me gently on the mattress and covered me.

The light grew bigger as I chased after it. "Sakura." My name was said clearly this time.

Sasuke patted the blanket before standing up. "… Hgg…" He looked back at me, seeing tears decorate my eyelashes. He crouched back down next to me, looking confused. He then wiped the tears away.

I entered the light, and it embraced me. It surrounded me. I felt comfortable warmth that kept me safe in its arms. "It'll be over… soon."

My eyes fluttered open as I regained consciousness. "What time is it…?" I sat up, but noticed that the blanket was on my body. "I thought I… Never mind." I checked the clock on top of the drawers. It was late in the morning already! "Oh shit!" I perked from bed and proceeded to go to the restroom… until I saw a plate of rice balls prepared.

A note was placed next to it saying, "Eat up. We'll be moving today." Not again… I wanted to cry at how much we were moving lately. This was going be the seventh move this month! Just what in the world was going on here?

I grabbed the plate and leaning against the wall. I took a bite of the rice ball, noting how delicious it tasted today. "Hmmm… I wonder what's gotten into the cooks…" I continued eating until I was done.

But I didn't think that Sasuke was up to something I told him not to do.

Hours had passed, and Sasuke still hasn't returned yet. I was growing bored inside the room. As much as I wanted to go outside, something told me I should stay back. But another part of me suddenly started screaming to go out and find Sasuke. What did I choose to do? I found myself running outside in a panic.

"Sasuke! Sasuke! Sasuke!" I opened every door within my reach. No one was there.

That was the strangest part.

NO ONE WAS HERE. NO ONE WAS ANYWHERE.

"Is this… genjutsu…?" I shut my eyes and concentrated on my chakra state. No, my chakra was fine. It wasn't being manipulated in any way. Then, why wasn't anyone in their rooms? Were they all outside? "Fuck, where is Sasuke?" I closed my eyes and focused on his chakra signature. My head whipped to the opposite direction of where I came from.

"…" I ran as fast as my legs could let me. As I neared Sasuke's location, I felt an intense chill crawling down my spine. This chill felt venomous, powerful, and inhuman. The overwhelming chakra was bringing me down with its pressure. My legs felt heavy from the atmosphere. I wanted to get out, but I wanted to find Sasuke also.

I stopped a few feet beside Orochimaru's room. My eyes widened at the pile of rubble coming from his room. There were sliced wooden pieces of the door all over the floor. I heard sounds of a blade slicing flesh-like things. I heard multiple thuds and saw something big and white falling out of the doorway. My heart and stomach were tied into knots when I realized they were snake heads.

Paralysis struck me. My body refused to move even an inch. "Sa… Sasuke…" I continued to hear crashing sounds, breaking wood, and falling piles of rubble. The more sounds I heard, the more I wanted to run in and carry that damn Uchiha out.

Suddenly, everything became silent. A loud thud echoed through the hallways. Soon, an ear-piercing hiss pounded against my ears. "…" My mouth opened, but nothing came out.

"You wanted to take over people's bodies so badly… you experimented on your own…" I heard him state. Then, I heard more hissing, crashing, and slashing sounds. Suddenly, Sasuke's chakra changed. It felt colder and deadlier. That was when I saw more snake heads and blood spurting out from the room.

I could take it anymore. I fell on my knees and vomited. I was quite used to human blood, but the sight of blood following snake heads was just disgusting. This was uncommon, something you never see. I gritted my teeth and staggered over to Orochimaru's room. Whatever was there… I was ready to face it. The moment I peeked in the room, I wanted to vomit again.

Sasuke (normal) was kneeling on the floor, grunting. I also felt it. There was paralyzing venom in the air. But that was not what made me want to throw up my breakfast. It was that large, white, hideous snake that was extremely eerily familiar to the legendary Sannin. The body consisted of not scales, but white snakes. Is that really… Orochimaru…? It loomed over Sasuke, opening its mouth wide.

Like I'll let you! I threw some senbon at his face, only attempting to distract Orochimaru. Of course, it didn't affect much. I did say that it didn't affect much, right? His eyes averted to me for a moment, and that's when Sasuke used the chance. His eyes changed into the Sharingan as he glared into the serpent's eyes. The serpent stopped and dropped to the floor.

Neither Sasuke nor Orochimaru moved. They remained frozen. Something was occurring within them. But I couldn't figure out what.

After a few minutes, the serpent spewed blood out of its mouth and stopped moving. Sasuke looked up and turned his head to me. He only saw me staring at someone else.

"Ka-Kabuto…" I stuttered.

Without another word, Sasuke motioned to me to follow him. We both walked past the medic.

"Which one," Kabuto gasped, "are you?"

My first impulse was to kick Sasuke and run away. I didn't think that it actually could've been Orochimaru who took over Sasuke. Why do I know about Orochimaru's take-over-a-body technique? I remembered when Naruto and I went alone to find Sasuke. We were in the hideout Orochimaru and Sasuke was previously in. It was a memory I've always wanted to erase.

"Which one do you think?"

"…" I kicked Sasuke and attempted to run for it. Of course, he already grabbed hold of me before I could even turn around.

Kabuto fell silent. When I looked, he seemed to be under a genjutsu… or something like that. Sasuke must've been using his Sharingan on him. The horrible thing was that I stared into Sasuke's eyes too. I felt like I was sucked inside his mind.

It was dark. The substance under my feet felt like a ground of flesh. My stomach was churning again. "Ugh… I seriously don't want to risk any more vomiting…" I then saw two "statues" ahead. Kabuto was more near those things than me. I squinted my eyes to see what was going on. However, something blocked my vision.

It was like a hand was covering my eyes.

"It's better if you don't see this," Sasuke muttered. I only heard the desperate protests of Orochimaru and a lot of sounds of "moving flesh".

"Wait, what did you do?" I asked. Before he answered, I was thrown back into reality. I saw Kabuto looking more shocked than ever. "What…?"

"Orochimaru-Sama… is… dead…?" He shook his head. "No, it's more like…"

Sasuke smirked, his Sharingan still activated. "I've taken over," he finished. "Let's go." Sasuke dragged me away from Kabuto. I only saw Kabuto stand there and look inside Orochimaru's room. Sometimes I've wondered about that white-haired man… Why did he choose to follow Orochimaru? What would've happened if he didn't?

"Where are we going?" I asked. "And let go of me! I can walk too, you know!" Sasuke released my hand and let me walk behind him. "Um, hey, did you maybe… I don't know… find the key to unlock this collar?"

"I didn't find anything," he replied.

I stopped walking. "Wait here! I'm gonna go ask Kabuto!"

"Wait." Too late.

I was already running back to the bloody room, expecting to find Kabuto in there. To be honest, I expected him to be crying over Orochimaru's dead… snake… body. "Kabuto!" Like I expected, Kabuto stepped out of Orochimaru's room. I stopped several feet away from him. "Where's the key to this collar?" I pointed to the restricting leather collar that still bound my neck.

Kabuto seemed a little too despaired to answer. It took a few seconds for him to get a hold of himself. "Orochimaru-Sama was the only one who had access to unlocking the collars. I have absolutely no power or key to unlock it. It was Orochimaru-Sama's creation." He nudged his glasses up. "Besides, that collar is more dangerous than you think. If you force it, you might even die."

My teeth were grinding against each other in anger and frustration. "Are you fucking kidding me? You're Orochimaru's lackey, aren't you? You're supposed to know how to unlock this thing!"

Sasuke suddenly teleported in front of me. "That's enough. We're going." He took me before I had a chance to protest and teleported somewhere else.

~.~.~

We arrived to what seemed like a laboratory full of testing tanks. They were filled with water… or whatever substance Orochimaru used.

"Hey! I may be a child, but that doesn't mean I can't go back on my own!" I shrieked. "Just let me return to Konoha! All you need to do is just say that I'm free, and I'll be on my way back home!" Sasuke didn't reply. A vein popped inside my forehead. "I said-!"

"Shut up," Sasuke snarled. We stopped in front of an ordinary tank.

There was nothing but water inside. I stared at the tank in confusion, but made no attempt to ask.

"I thought that was you," the water spoke, "So you really defeated Orochimaru, huh?"

My jaw dropped to the floor. I felt the color drain away from my face. "Th-the… the… the… w-water… sp-sp-spoke…?" That was all I could say. Nothing else came to mind. What a twisted place Orochimaru had… Actually, come to think of it, how in the world did he transfer all these stuff into all those hideouts?

"Yeah." Sasuke then moved his hand to his sword. "First, let's get you out of there." With quick and soundless moves, he sliced the glass into pieces and let the water pour out. The liquid surrounded our feet as the pool grew larger and larger.

"Finally…" The voice came from behind me. When I turned around, I saw something… no… someone materializing from the water. "Thanks, Sasuke."

"Ahhh, wha…?" My eye twitched. "Oh… SHIT."

"You're the first one, Suigetsu. Come with me," Sasuke demanded.

The water man named Suigetsu fully materialized from the water. However, he was naked. I wasn't fazed by the fact he had no clothes on. Compared to what I saw during medical training, this was nothing. But this certainly was something you don't see every day.

"Who are you?"

Suigetsu turned his attention to me. He looked shocked. "So… this is the rumored child named Ayame, eh?" He grinned, showing me a row of teeth as sharp as a shark's. "You're well-known among the slaves and experiments, kid."

I rolled my eyes. "Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but I'm actually a sixteen-year-old kunoichi."

"Are you serious?" Suigetsu snickered. "No way, you've got to be joking!"

"She's really sixteen," Sasuke confirmed. "She just used a technique that forces her body to become a child's." He cleared his throat. "Anyways, we have two more to go: Juugo from the North and Karin from the South."

Suigetsu looked slightly annoyed. "Those two? I can't even stand them." He chuckled. "Why did you choose them anyways?"

Knowing Sasuke, I was sure he would say something arrogant instead of the actual reason. "They just need to learn how to shut up. Now put some clothes on before we go."

"Well, at least you sound like a leader." Suigetsu chuckled as he scratched the back of his neck. Suddenly, he disappeared from sight. My eyes widened when I realized that he was behind Sasuke with an index finger pointed against his head.

There was tension in the air when Sasuke didn't budge or make a sound. He simply looked at Suigetsu's finger.

"Let's get some stuff straight, shall we?" Suigetsu warned. "Just because you took Orochimaru down doesn't mean you're in charge. Someone was bound to kill him eventually. You just got a better chance than every one of us."

"Your point?" Sasuke firmly asked.

"My point is… I have the advantage now. I might as well kill you right here in front of the little girl." My hand was about to touch the bag of senbon in my back pocket, until Suigetsu laughed. "Just kidding!" He took his hand away from Sasuke's head. "Man, your pulse didn't even change! You won me over." He shrugged. "I've heard of your strength before. Your team was the one who defeated my old senpai Momochi Zabuza, right?"

Momochi Zabuza… That took me back. "Those times… I have to admit were great." My eyes became clouded by the memory of the past. "Well, I will admit I was very annoying back then." That one word was enough to take me to the day when Sasuke left Konoha. "Ugh… Sometimes, it's so nostalgic that it sickens me. Fuck."

Suigetsu snickered again. "Ooh, you sure do have a colorful vocabulary for a child." He then reappeared before me, poking my cheek. "I guess you weren't lying, huh?" I noticed Sasuke's hand diving for his sword.

I slapped his hand away before Sasuke could even try anything to hurt him. "Of course I wasn't. What was your first thought when Sasuke confirmed it?" It was strange. I spent time with this Uchiha so much to the point where I didn't even add 'kun' to his name.

"Heh, what a feisty girl." Suigetsu whipped his hand in the air. "Hey, Sasuke! Mind if we take a detour? I need to retrieve something before we get the other two."

"Fine by me." Sasuke then turned his attention to me. "Where do you think you're going?"

I winced at the question. I'm pretty sure you know what I was trying to do. Yes, I was trying my futile attempts at escaping again. "Damn it," I hissed. One would've expected me to return to where Sasuke was, but this time was different. I made a run for the exit even though I knew there was no point. I arched my neck to see whether Sasuke was chasing me or not.

"You might want to look forward!" Suigetsu exclaimed.

I felt Sasuke's presence right in front of me. I couldn't stop my feet. I crashed right into his leg and fell on the ground. "You know what, Sasuke? I seriously want to know why you won't let me return to Konoha!"

Sasuke only gestured to Suigetsu to dress and return to where they were. Suigetsu shrugged and disappeared somewhere.

"Do you realize you're currently vulnerable to any type of attack with that collar and the state you're in?" Sasuke growled. "If anything were to-" He stopped mid-sentence. He pursed his lips and shook his head. "Whatever. I'm still not letting you go until we get that collar off."

"Tch, well…" I scoffed, "All the more reason for me to try and get this thing off now." I took out a senbon and approached the nearest water tank. The reflection of the glass was enough for me to see. I pulled down the collar of the shirt and looked at the back. During the one year I had, I made careful examinations of the collar. Apparently, there was a small metal lock in the back of the collar. Off all weapons, the senbon was thin and long enough for me to work the lock through.

As I continued to mess with the lock, Suigetsu appeared fully clothed. "So… What's the kid… uh… Ayame doing?"

"Ayame is just a name I used as a disguise." I pressed my head against the glass, concentrating on the lock. "My real name is Sakura."

"Heh, what a name. It actually fits you."

I looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about? My hair is…" I was shocked to see what I saw. There was pink. Pink hair… "Pink…?"

"You didn't realize?" Sasuke mumbled. "Your hair's been gradually returning to its original color."

My once lilac hair has returned to its original, beloved color. If my hair color was returning to normal, then what was happening to the rest of my body? I definitely knew that my body couldn't return back unless countered with an equally-powerful technique. "I didn't notice."

We finally stepped outside of the underground hideout. The sun wasn't out yet. It felt great to be outside again though – after what happened earlier.

"So, Sakura, was it? How did you end up in this miserable position?"

I glanced at Sasuke, wondering if caught that. He didn't seem to care. "I was on a mission, but I was ambushed while taking a break. I turned into this to prevent being killed." I scratched my head and sighed. "I'm pretty sure Konoha was always sending search teams for me… I miss them."

"And Sasuke's actually holding you against your own will, eh?"

I scoffed. "You're quite slow to realize, aren't you?"

"Ouch, that hurts," Suigetsu teased. He took a sip from his water bottle. "Ah, that's refreshing." He then saw me staring at the bottle. "Oh this? I have to drink water frequently to keep my fluid levels up. I am made of water, after all."

"Ah, that makes sense. So where are we going?"

Suigetsu smirked. "We're going to the Country of Mist. I'm planning to take Zabuza-Senpai's sword as my own. Let's go."

Zabuza and Haku… They may have been assassins, but they were truly good to each other. They knew they cared about each other deep inside. It was a relationship that couldn't be broken. They shared a deep bond. I caught myself glancing at Sasuke. I looked away in irritation and walked ahead of them. "I'm not planning to run away…" Yet.

An hour had passed, and we haven't exited this thick forest yet. I grew tired of going over logs, tree roots, and large boulders. If only I had my sixteen-year-body instead of this six-year-old body… Plus, this collar was draining my chakra too. It was common to be exhausted at this point. Actually, anyone would've fainted already.

We were now traveling across a river. The current was much too fast and powerful to stand, so we had to resort to stepping stones.

I felt sick and dehydrated. My stomach threatened to throw out the last piece of food I had in it. I suddenly slipped on a mossy stone and fell backwards. A loud splash echoed as I was dragged away by the rapid current. I wanted to get out, but my strength was gone. My body refused to listen to my desperate pleads for help.

The river continued to wash me away. No rocks were in the way to stop me. Strangely, I felt the exhaustion finally catch up to my head. My vision became blurry, my eyelids slowly closed, and my consciousness was beginning to slip away.

~.~.~

It was dark where I was. There was only me.

Did I die? No, it felt different.

I used the time I had to think about what happened this past year. So much had happened after my capture.

What would if I was Ayame? I thought. Ayame was just an identity I created: an innocent six-year-old child who has no fear, no complaints, and no common sense. Just like my childhood version of me. I just wanted to get away from this situation, until the time was right.

I didn't want to forget Sasuke, though. Ayame would've thought of him as her older brother. Maybe he would care about Ayame more than me.

I want to be Ayame. I want to become her just so I can relax a little more.

There was something inside my head. It was like… something invisible knocking on the door of my head. I dug through all this mess in my brain and felt for that little door. I touched the warm knob and ever so slowly turned it until I heard a click. I opened the little door and saw a tiny light in front of me.

The light broke into several orbs and materialized into Ayame. I wasn't surprised.

Ayame gently grabbed my hand and looked up at me. Her innocent smile was enough for me know her intention. "I'm sorry I took a long time. You did very well, Sakura-Nee." She floated up to me and caressed my cheek. "You've went through enough. I'll be here, so when you feel better, just knock." She tapped on the door I opened.

"I…"

"Shh…" Ayame shook her head. "Just relax, Sakura-Nee. Once you're all better, knock, I'll answer, and I'll disappear. Take your time, Sakura-Nee." She kissed my hand and gently patted it.

We walked past each other through the door. I didn't look back. Behind this door, everything felt so peaceful and comfortable. I closed my eyes and dreamed of what Ayame was seeing. This was going to be a long and relieving sleep.

~.~.~

"Sakura! Sakura!" A voice called out to me. It sounded like Sasuke's voice. "Is there any remaining water in her lungs?"

"I'm sure I took it all out! She should be waking up by now."

My eyes fluttered open to see Sasuke and Suigetsu's face in my vision.

Suigetsu whistled. "Damn, that was a huge rush of adrenaline." He sat down and sighed. "You gave us a really big scare. One moment we hear a loud splash and you're gone."

Sasuke helped me sit up. "Can you breathe?"

I only looked at Sasuke. A smile made its way to my lips. "You saved me, right?"

"Looks like you're fine now," Sasuke sighed.

"Thanks, Sasuke Nii-Chan!"

Sasuke and Suigetsu's eyes widened at me. Sasuke was especially the most shocked.

Rays of sunlight broke the dark sky with its bright light. The sun gradually began to rise above the horizon, giving the sky a beautiful gradient of colors.

"Nii… Chan…?"

~.~.~

A/N: What? I wanted to try this idea out for a long time! xD Besides, I think it'll be useful later on. I hope this was a good enough chapter for you! I'm sorry I haven't updated it in 1 to 2 years! QAQ Forgive meeee!

Please review and tell me what you thought! ^^