Hehehe... hi guys... please don't kill me *cowers*. Can I just say that I am so freaking sorry. And can I say thank you so much for your reviews, they were all absolutely lovely. I know, it's been around two months since I last updated, and believe me that wasn't my choice. I'm in my second last term of school, and quite literally my life is just assessments and homework. I'm awake until 1 or 2 every morning finishing my homework, so I've barely had time to write anything. Please forgive this extremely overdue update, and I hope you find the wait worth it :)
A thousand thank yous to:
river of the sand
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crazymel2008
anon Really? Well, I suppose that as a ninja he would be... AU and OOC? :)
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Pepsian cola Hahaha, thank you so much :D A bajillion review? In my dreams... *drool*
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just me Ahh... well, I'm sad I didn't get to see you anyway love :( But we shall see each other soon! After November perhaps? My last exam ever is November 5th! XD
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Dah Hot Guy Oh yup, he's pissed alright... just a shame he can't be pissed for too long... ;)
red. rose. 019 YOU LIVE! XOXOXOX
Dedication: Sleep... Holy Bajeebies I freaking need sleep...
Chapter 17
.:{*}:.
Homeward Bound
Dear Sasuke,
I don't really know what to say. Goodbye, maybe? I've left Oto. I had to leave. I can't stay here. I've gone back home – back to Konoha. Please, I beg of you, please don't try to stop me. I don't want to die, and surely you can't hate me enough to have me die too, could you? I can't give away Hinata. She's my best friend, Sasuke. We both know that I'd sooner die before telling anyone about her.
Sasuke, I want to thank you. Thank you for… well… everything, I guess. I mean, I know now that my father was spying for Otogakure in the war, and I'll never forgive Oto or him for that. I don't understand why he betrayed us. But thank you for taking care of me as best as you were able, even if it was only out of respect for my father's wishes. And could you please thank Itachi as well? And wish him luck in his pursuit of Temari? I really hope that they get each other. They deserve each other. And – and thank Tenten as well. She was my serving girl most of the time, and I didn't get to say goodbye to her, so could you please just say thank you to her for me, please?
Before I finish this, I've left the other letter with you for a reason. See, I think that it's between three people, and they're plotting to kill you. It dropped from the dress of one of the serving girls. Her name is Karin, and she has red hair. I probably don't have to describe her to you, though. She's the one you turned to after Gaara. And Kabuto. His name sounds familiar. I think he was one of the ones who tortured me. I think that the third person might be Orochimaru, but I'm not sure. You might want to know why I'd want you to know about a plot against you, though you are still my enemy. Why I'd give you the ability to counter it.
Sasuke, I'm in love with you. And I'm sorry I never got the chance to tell you. I wanted to – Gods, I wanted to so much. I wish I'd figured it out sooner, but it was only after Gaara proposed that I did. And by then you'd moved on. That's also why I have to leave Oto; leave you. Being around you hurts, Sasuke. I think of you, and all I want is for you to be with me again. All I want is for you to hold me and wrap me in your arms again, like you use to. And I can't think like that. By all rights, you are my enemy! And being around you… it'll just hurt me and annoy you. I can't live like that: wanting someone that could never care for me. So I have to leave.
Please take the other letter seriously, even if you don't care for this one. I think I'd die if I heard that you had died too. I don't want you to die. So… please stay safe.
All my love,
Sakura.
The night was cold as Sakura and Naruto raced through the darkened wood, precariously mounted on the dark steed beneath them, trying desperately to evade the men behind them. They were half way across the open plain before the forest when a guard had shouted out, obviously having spotted them in their mad dash for safety and freedom, and they'd since been desperately trying to outrun them. Naruto continued to insist in her ear, his breathing ragged, that it was only a few hours more before the Konoha border was there and their quarry would be forced to retreat, lest they incite another war between the two lands; a war which neither could afford, either financially or in men.
The pounding hoof beats sounded closer behind them and Naruto urged the horse to go faster, vainly hoping that they could outrun their pursuers. There must have been at least half a dozen behind them, and they only seemed to be getting faster instead of slower, unlike Naruto and Sakura, who seemed to be getting slower with every passing moment. Neither could truly blame their horse though - it was carrying a far heavier load than any of the other horses, with not only two people, but supplies enough to last a week.
Sakura's heartbeat hammered loudly in her ears; she could feel the desperate pulse in her throat, almost choking her with the sickening thud. Closing her eyes, she screamed in her head, 'Kami, please, let us escape! Let us get away! Please!'
"Not too much further now, Sakura Chan," Naruto panted in her ear, exhaustion prevalent in his voice. "Just across the river and we're there, I promise. It's only an hour away at most."
It was the last thing spoken between them for a while, as Naruto spurred the horse to ride faster, faster! and the men behind them became slowly, steadily louder, until Sakura could feel their eyes boring into the back of hers and Naruto's skull, intent upon reaching the two of them and beating them both to within an inch of their lives.
The thud of the horse's hooves seemed synced with Sakura's heart, galloping at a mad, a wild pace, next to breaking through the muscles in her chest. The rush bordered on pain, yet Sakura could not concentrate on that at that moment. To concentrate on anything other than the race could mean failure. And she could not fail.
She could hear voices now, men shouting orders at their comrades, though the words were muffled by the beat of her heart and horse hooves. Yet the sound sent shivers up her spine; further proof as to just how close they were. Sakura felt a shudder run through the horse and its heartbeat speeding up beneath her; so fast she could barely tell one beat from the other.
"There's the river, Sakura Chan!" Naruto panted in her ear, and her eyes alighted upon a trail of silver silently meandering its way through the forest and reflecting the dimming moon. "Just a bit further and we're safe."
She felt her tense muscles begin to relax as relief trickled down her spine – but too quickly did it come, as she felt another, more violent spasm wrack the animal beneath them as it gave out a hair-raising shriek.
Before she knew it, the horse collapsed beneath her and she and Naruto flew in to the dirt.
No, was the first thought to claim his mind. No. His brain denied the words on the page, though his being screamed that it was true. She can't be gone. Not after last night. Not after everything we… Sasuke shook his head and closed his eyes, opening them again with the faint hope that she would be standing in front of him, laughing at the frightened look on his face.
But she wasn't there. Of course she wasn't. Sakura had gone back to Konoha, as much as he loathed admitting it. She had gone back to Konoha, leaving him. She had gone back to her Lady Hinata. Sasuke grit his teeth and fought down a surge of anger. Rage would be useless in such a situation. He slumped back down on to the corner of his bed, feeling that stupid sense of abandonment wash over him. He couldn't help but feel selfish: it was in his nature. He wanted her back. Naturally, that was nigh on impossible.
Suddenly remembering the second note she had talked of, he sat up and leaned over to the small table, gingerly picking up the folded piece of parchment. His eyes flew over the inked words, and he could feel bile begin to rise up his throat. Itachi had to know of this.
Sasuke swung his legs over the side of his bed and immediately began to dress into light breeches and a loose shirt, forcing back memories of the previous night when he'd near torn them from his body. He couldn't think about that – it would only get in the way of what he had to do; in the way of his duty, which he begrudgingly admitted was first and foremost to his people. He had to stop possible mutiny whilst he was still capable.
Mourning and weeping and in general acting like a spoilt brat did absolutely nothing, he had finally figured out. He had taken too long to learn that, and had lost Sakura because of it. The least he could do now was try and save himself and his brother.
The corridors were relatively deserted as Sasuke walked through them, and he couldn't help but note the strangeness of that fact. It was nearing midday – where was everyone? The few servants he passed were skittish and their eyes darted to and fro, like weary beasts fearing the predator. They paid him no heed, and acted as if he was a mere phantom – as if he wasn't truly there. The closed giant double doors of the Hall appeared in his vision and he made a beeline for them, intending to question Itachi on the strangeness of it all.
He was unprepared for the site that met his eyes the moment he entered the Hall.
The hall was empty save two people: his brother and Orochimaru.
Itachi was struggling fiercely against Orochimaru's arms, being innately careful of the dagger held firmly against the soft skin at his throat. One arm was shaking with the effort it took to push away Orochimaru's offending dagger, the other had curled itself in Orochimaru's oily hair, hoping to create enough pain from pulling it that he might be momentarily distracted. It was painfully obvious that Orochimaru had caught Itachi unaware, intending to slit his throat without too much struggle. He hadn't counted on Itachi's quick reflexes, which was probably why they were caught in the deadly game where one too sudden movement would spell Itachi's death.
Upon hearing the door open, Orochimaru and Itachi turned to look at Sasuke's prone figure, one's eyes flooding with relief, the other with annoyance and not a little anger.
The slight hesitation in Orochimaru's movements was all Itachi needed to turn the fight in his favour. Using the one hand to roughly force the dagger away from his throat, Itachi quickly spun around to face Orochimaru and head butted him, knocking the older man out.
Itachi was panting as Sasuke ran up to him, finally having broken free of his shocked stupor.
"Good timing, little brother," Itachi said gratefully as Sasuke placed his hand reassuringly on the older Uchiha's back. "If it weren't for his shadow falling across the floor at the last second I would have been done for." Sasuke swiftly bent down to retrieve the dagger from Orochimaru's prone form.
"What are we going to do with him?" Sasuke asked, prodding Orochimaru's unconscious body with his toe.
"Tie him up and lock him up in the dungeons for questioning. Figure out what his motives were," Itachi responded.
"I think already know his motives," Sasuke said quickly. "It's why I came to see you."
Itachi shot Sasuke an unfathomable look, before calling out to any guards within the vicinity. Within a matter of seconds two came rushing in (Sasuke wondered briefly where they had been when Orochimaru was attacking Itachi, and resolved to question them about it later) and tied Orochimaru's hands together before picking him up and taking him down to the dungeons. As soon as they were out of sight Itachi turned to face his younger brother, a suspicious look adorning his features.
"What do you know?" he demanded, and Sasuke ran a hand through his hair. Where to begin? The words stuck in his throat, nearly chocking him. He could barely force them out.
"Sakura ran away last night," he eventually managed to say with effort. He could see that Itachi was about to say something, and quickly continued before he could interrupt. "She's gone back to Konoha. She -"
"Sasuke I know," Itachi said, interrupting anyway. "Last night one of the guards saw them escaping, and they are presumably being chased by another half dozen guards as we speak. The guards had already begun the chase before I could send word to let them go, and they would have been too far gone to send someone after them. We can only pray that she manages to escape."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes at his brother. "You say 'them', yet isn't it only Sakura who is escaping?"
Itachi shook his head. "There was an unidentified male with her."
"Gaara?"
"No, he had blond hair."
Sasuke looked away as he pondered who the stranger could be. "I have to go after her," he eventually conceded and turned to look at Itachi.
"You can't," Itachi snapped back, his temper flaring briefly before he managed to quell it behind his cool façade. "Your duty is first and foremost to the people of Otogakure. She will be killed if she is brought back here after trying to escape. You must learn to get your priorities right, little brother. You're still incredibly naïve and selfish. You can't go about risking your country for one woman. Would you risk thousands of innocent lives for her?"
Slowly, morosely, Sasuke shook his head, though inside he was screaming yes.
"You are learning, then." He put his arm about Sasuke's shoulders and led him over to a row of benches. "Now tell me what you know about Orochimaru's possible motives."
Sasuke sighed and looked fixatedly at his clenched hands. "Orochimaru was planning to take the throne along with the aid of a serving girl named Karin and the physician Kabuto. Sakura left me this note which she claims fell from Karin's dress." He handed Itachi the note and watched him as he read it, his eyes quickly turning from surprise into unbridled fury.
"Orochimaru probably knows who killed our parents and sister," Itachi hissed. "We must find Kabuto and Karin and lock them up, question them, whatever is necessary. We must eradicate this threat. It has gone too far."
As soon as he finished the two guards came back, and Itachi strode up to them immediately. "You go and find the maid that goes by the name of Karin and arrest her," he said to one. "You go and arrest the physician Kabuto," he ordered the other. "If they ask why they are being arrested, they are accused of treason. Dismissed."
The two guards nodded and immediately left the hall in search of their quarry, Itachi turning to leave after them, a look of determination etched into his features.
"Itachi," Sasuke called out before Itachi left the hall. "The corridors are nearly deserted. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
Itachi stilled, thinking hard. "Something smells rotten here, Sasuke," he eventually said. "Keep your guard up."
Naruto and Sakura panted heavily in the undergrowth, listening hard for any approaching men. The sound of birds and bugs sang about her, and she strained her ears and quietened her breath for the sound of any misplaced footsteps. Sakura was sure that she had a broken rib from when the horse had died beneath her, along with a deep cut along her brow and a sprained wrist. She conceded that her injuries could have been far worse, and was grateful that it wasn't direr. Naruto on the other hand probably had a broken wrist and around three broken fingers, a few broken ribs and his shoulder had been dislocated upon the fall. She figured that it was a miracle they were both still alive.
Sakura felt a shudder race through her spine as she remembered those few panic filled moments after the horse had died. She and Naruto had been flung off the horse, Naruto landing painfully on his side and Sakura hitting her head on a particularly tough piece of earth, nearly knocking herself unconscious. Through the dizzy haze in her brain she had been able to discern Naruto's panic-stricken voice and felt his hand grasping hers, tugging her away to some bushes and out of the eyes of the riders who had begun to descend upon the dead equine.
Luckily for the both of them, they hadn't been spotted, and in the panic made by the men chasing them they had been able to move away further downstream, where they had found a shallow stretch of water to cross and race to the other side where they would hopefully be safe. Sakura didn't think she'd ever run so fast in her life, though her concussion and the reminiscent adrenaline was probably making the memory appear more hasty than what had happened. Neither of them had dared stop until they were around a league away from the river, and then they had literally fallen down, completely exhausted, into the bracken. All of their supplies had been lost with the horse, along with any basic medical supplies Sakura had brought and blankets to keep them warm.
The sun had risen towards the middle of the sky by that stage, and the river was nowhere to be seen. Yet they still feared the men chasing after them and dragging them back to Otogakure. If it came to a fight, neither would be of any use. Naruto would probably be slaughtered and Sakura would be tortured and executed.
Sakura's head pounded to the beat of her concussion – loudly reminding her of her broken ribs and the blood-loss from her head. She felt as if her skull was being cleaved in two with a blunt hammer. She promptly turned around and vomited into the ferns, feeling her adrenaline escape with the puke and quelling the scream that rose amongst the bile as the action hurt her chest. She continued to dry-heave for a few minutes longer, until her body was happy that it had nothing left to bring up. Sweaty and shaking, she turned to face Naruto.
Most of the colour had drained from his face, leaving him wan in the encroaching sunlight. She concluded that it was a result of the pain and exhaustion, as his eyes were shut tight and his breath was coming in short, rapid gasps. He must have sensed her gaze, as a cerulean slit between his eyelids appeared and he croaked, "Sakura, do you think you could pop my shoulder back in?" His voice was barely louder than a whisper. "I can't get my wrist to move and do it." She nodded slowly and stumbled over to him, careful of her own wrist, and popped the joint back into its socket as best as she was able to. Naruto let out a muffled scream as pain from the action tore through his body, then slumped back down.
"Well this is shit," he sighed, and let out a pained laugh. "Is your head okay, Sakura Chan? It looks pretty bad from here. Half your head is covered in blood."
"I think I'm concussed," she muttered and ungracefully slumped down next to him, curling against his side in search of comfort and warmth.
"Anything I can do?"
She smiled, grateful for the care in his voice. "Let's sleep for a bit and try to get some energy back before moving again."
He nodded, and drifted off next to her.
.:{*}:.
When they woke, dawn was beginning to break over the horizon. Disturbed by the silky sunlight, Sakura's eyes began to flutter open, and she gingery rose with a yawn. Beside her, Naruto began to stir.
"How's your shoulder, Naruto?" she asked groggily when they were both awake enough to understand sentences.
"Hurts, but it's better than yesterday. How 'bout your head?"
The roseate ran light fingers across her temples and closed her eyes as a dull throb resonated through her skull. "Better than yesterday," she muttered. "We'd better get moving soon. We'll walk for a few hours and I'll find some berries and nuts for us to eat along the way. That'll hopefully stop the hunger pains. Do you still have a knife on you?"
He nodded.
"Good. If we can attach that to a stick then we might get some fish tonight. We lost all our supplies with the horse, so the best we can do for warmth is start a fire and huddle together. If you're still in pain tonight I'll find an herb to dull it, okay? We should go."
Slowly they began to rise, mindful of their injuries and using the sun to figure out the general direction of Konoha. It would take them a week to walk at least, Sakura calculated. But with her herbal knowledge and Naruto's military training, they should be able to get back in one piece.
Their pace was slow and the terrain was difficult to navigate. But the place was abundant with plant life, and Sakura was soon able to find a few handfuls of berries and small fruits and roots which would help dull their hunger for a while at least. The food helped settle the queasiness in her stomach, and when they found a slow moving stream they drank gratefully.
The winds began to pick up once the sun had risen half way through the sky, and Sakura could feel the tell-tale autumnal chill in the air. The nights were only going to get colder, but she was sure that she and Naruto would get through them well enough.
She stopped them both just before sunset near a small lake, saying that they would make camp there for the night. She found some strong vine and helped Naruto attach his knife to the end of a sturdy stick, then began to get a fire prepared as he went fishing. He returned just as the sky was painting itself a rustic gold, two fish in hand, along with a rabbit he'd managed to skewer, and started to light the fire while Sakura gutted the animals and skinned the rabbit. Sakura placed chunks of meat on a large flat stone she found, and watched as they roasted on the warming stone. For the first time that day, she felt confident that they would be alright.
She slept peacefully that night.
Orochimaru's ochre eyes looked at the two Uchiha brothers as they stood before him. He couldn't be sure how long he had been down there. A day could be easily mistaken for eternity, so he kept his mouth shut and didn't ask them. Besides, if he did, they would probably have him beaten again.
"We'll ask again, Orochimaru," Itachi said in his typical calm monotone. "Tell us who killed our family and why you were trying to kill us, and we'll grant you a swift death."
From the corner of his eye, Orochimaru was able to make out the glint of steel as the torturer cleaned the blade of blood.
"You've been down here two days, Orochimaru," Sasuke hissed. "I'm sure it must feel like much longer than that."
Orochimaru felt his chest sink at those words. Two days? Had it only been two days? He felt sick.
"We can keep you here, alive, for as long as we want, Orochimaru. Best just tell us and get it over with."
Orochimaru sent a glare at the two brothers, feeling his resolve begin to weaken. In the cell next to his, he heard Karin shriek in agony and flinched at the sound. Annoying woman. Always been too loud, he thought.
Itachi sighed and motioned for the executioner to continue. They were getting nowhere.
The brutish man stepped forward, a psychotic grin on his thin lips and a crazed fire in his eyes. Orochimaru would have laughed at the stupid look on his face if it weren't for the blade in his hands.
"Start with the feet," Sasuke said. "He won't need those again."
They left the room just in time to hear Orochimaru's first scream of pain.
The winds left a biting chill deep in Sakura's bones and her teeth chattered with the cold. They had been walking for around a week now, and she continued to keep her eyes on the horizon, looking for Konoha. Looking for her home.
"Sakura," Naruto suddenly called, and she turned her head to face him.
"I've found the road," he said, jogging up to her with a gleeful smile on his face. "I've found the main road leading back to Konoha. It's just over here."
She followed him through the undergrowth and before long a large strip of winding dirt opened up before them leading towards Konoha. She felt her throat close up and happiness swim through her.
"It should be only a few more hours, Sakura Chan. A few more hours and we're finally there." She turned to look at him and saw tears in his eyes, before he beckoned her to walk next to him.
As if their hope and happiness had become adrenaline, their speed picked up until all the weariness seemed gone from their bones and the cold chill she hadn't been able to get rid of turned into warm fire. She was nearly home! After all those months in a strange land amongst strange people, she was finally nearly home. She could have started singing, such was her joy, and indeed she did start to hum a lively little ditty under her breath. Before long, Naruto joined in, and soon they were singing loudly and boisterously, completely off key, but they cared little.
"… And little Miss Frizzy,
Was all in a tizzy,
And the lumberjack lumbered in sight.
Said he to Miss Frizzy,
'I'll give you a tizzy,'
And they frizzied and tizzied all night."
"Hahaha!" Naruto crowed, clutching his side in laughter. "That one's my favourite. Always has been. Let's sing it again!"
They sang it over and over again until their voices went hoarse with laughter and song and the wildlife for miles around probably knew the story of Miss Frizzy and the lumberjack. And that was when they stopped.
Konoha had just appeared around the bend.
Sasuke's blood was boiling. Orochimaru still hadn't spoken, nor had Karin or Kabuto, and it was driving him insane. Most of his past week had been spent in the dungeons, fighting to keep thoughts of Sakura out of his head, until the claustrophobia had finally driven him from the underground keep.
He couldn't help but worry over her.
The guards had returned five days ago, heads down because they had lost Sakura and her unknown companion. A brief moment of relief had passed through his gut knowing that she had escaped – she wouldn't be tortured and killed, at least.
But their report said that their horse had died beneath them, and in their haste they had left everything behind. Blankets, food, medicine… everything. She was out there with someone, and she had nothing to keep her warm or to keep her healthy. And the horse had died beneath them! She would have been thrown into undergrowth and could have been seriously injured. An image of a broken, mangled Sakura drifted across his thoughts and he angrily pushed it aside. She had to be safe. He would feel it if she were not. He was sure of that. Besides, she wouldn't have escaped the soldiers if she had been seriously injured, would she?
Sasuke didn't know what to think.
His body was tense with pent up aggravation, the need to let some it go consuming him. He walked towards the barracks, katana at his hip, intent upon having one hell of a spar with Naruto. He'd need someone who could bear the brunt of his wrath, and apart from Itachi and Sentoki, Naruto was probably the only one who could handle it. Itachi was too busy ruling Otogakure and Sentoki would be too busy working with the council and helping the army.
Entering the barracks, he demanded that Naruto be brought before him. For a few minutes the area was a flurry of activity as men went searching for the blond male, until a shaking boy crept towards him and said in stammering, halting tones that Naruto hadn't been seen for around a week now. Not since the night that the Konoha whore had escaped.
And suddenly it all fell into place in Sasuke's mind.
Naruto. That… that idiot was Sakura's companion! He felt he could have stabbed something in rage at that moment, and felt that the boy was lucky to have moved away as quickly as he did. He could remember that time when they sparred. It seemed so long ago, yet there was definitely something in Naruto's body language to suggest that he knew Sakura.
"Could've fooled me," he retaliated, waiting for Naruto to right himself. "Normally, I wouldn't care. But you're distracted, and that's resulting in a poor spar. Sakura could do better than you, and I doubt that she's ever wielded so much as a knife."
Sasuke saw Naruto's shoulders tense at the mention of Sakura's name, and he was immediately on alert. "What do you know about Sakura?"
Naruto shrugged, and took up another fighting stance. "This and that. Why?"
It was Sasuke who made the first move that time. "You reacted like you know her. What I want to know is how."
Sweat was dripping down Naruto's brow with exertion as he held back Sasuke's sword. "I know of her, teme."
Know of her. Bah! He had probably been sent from Konoha to get her back. He remembered seeing them speaking at Itachi's birthday, though he presumed that it was just a friendly hello. And being sent from Konoha would explain why Sasuke (or indeed anyone) had never seen him before the war. Sasuke could have screamed in anger, but instead he raced back towards the castle and Itachi, intent on telling him this piece of Intel.
He found Itachi in the library, thumbing a book that he recognised as Yue's diary.
"Itachi, I know who Sakura's companion was."
Itachi raised interested eyes from the pages and set the book aside. "Who was it?"
"My sparring partner, Naruto. He only turned up after the war and he hasn't been seen since Sakura disappeared. He also seemed to know Sakura, though he denied it when I questioned him, and he has blond hair."
"I remember him," Itachi said. "Sakura and I watched as you tested him."
Sasuke nodded, deep in thought. "Have you found anything suspicious in the diary?" he suddenly asked, and to his surprise Itachi nodded.
"There is one small passage here which has kept me thinking for a while now. It's -"
Before he could finish his sentence, the doors to the library were flung open and a guard entered. "Orochimaru Sama has agreed to speak," he panted, and the two brothers immediately stood to leave, Yue's diary forgotten.
"Itachi," Sasuke began. "Do you know why so few people were about last week? There is still the feeling of fear amongst the servants. I do not like it. It feels like something is going to happen soon."
"I haven't had time to investigate it, Sasuke. Once Orochimaru has told us what he knows, I ask you to find out what is happening."
Sasuke nodded and held the door open for Itachi before following him down to the dungeons. They entered Orochimaru's cell and swallowed down bile as the smell of blood, sweat and piss reached their nostrils. As for Orochimaru… he was a mess.
His once fine clothes were tatters now, barely enough to cover his skin. Large patches of dried blood soaked through the piss-stained rags and his legs were bent at unnatural angles. Some of the open cuts had begun to weep and fester.
The cell smelt of fear and decay.
"You said you would speak to us," said Itachi, and Orochimaru nodded his head.
"Grant me a quick death as soon as you are able, and I will tell you what I am able to."
Itachi nodded in agreement. "Tell us today and I can arrange an execution tomorrow."
Orochimaru closed his eyes in defeat. "I hope that that will be soon enough." The snake sighed a broken breath and, with difficulty, lifted his head to look at the two brothers. "I am not in charge of this assault. I have never been in charge. Four years ago I was contacted by a man who proposed we take over Otogakure."
"Who was this man?" Sasuke interrupted, leaning forward so as to hear Orochimaru's voice better.
"I cannot say."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Cannot or will not?"
"Will not," Orochimaru amended. "I will not give his name. I fear him far more than I fear your torture, Sasuke Sama. Do not think you can get his name from me or Kabuto or Karin. We won't give you his name."
"Control your anger, little brother," Itachi whispered in Sasuke's ear before turning back to face Orochimaru. "What else do you know?"
Orochimaru drew in another rattling breath. "If anyone has the power to destroy you, it is him. I am not in charge, he is. Beware him."
As soon as they passed through the gates Sakura could have wept with relief and happiness.
Home. She was finally home.
She and Naruto went up to the sentry standing guard at the gate, and the man recognised Naruto almost instantly.
"Naruto San?" the man said slowly, as if the name felt foreign to him. "Is that truly you?"
"Aye," Naruto affirmed. "We wish to be taken to see Hyuuga Hinata immediately."
"Who is your companion?" the guard asked, eyeing Sakura wearily.
"This is Haruno Sakura. Believe me, Hinata will want to see her."
The guard nodded and went to turn around before a new voice entered the fray.
"Sakura?"
The roseate turned to look straight into the pearlescent eyes of Neji.
You know what my favourite part of this story has been so far? That ditty. I made it up spur of the moment and strangely enough I liked it. I thought it was funny XD
I cannot guarantee that I'll get the next chapter out soon. I'll do my best, but please don't expect one within a month or so. School is only going to continue to get worse, and even though my school holidays are coming they are going to be spent studying and preparing for my trial exams, which start literally the day I go back to school.
To those who haven't given up on this story, thank you a thousand times over, and could you please be so kind as to leave a review? It would be so appreciated, I don't think you realise. They're what's keeping this story alive and I absolutely love hearing from you :) So please do leave me a review. Maybe I'll even find time to write during the holidays :)
As always, please do not favourite this story without leaving a review, even if it is only once. Unfortunately, the majority of people seem to do that nowadays, and it's kinda upsetting :/
A thousand thank yous and hugs, xoxoxox - SapphireRivulet