Stockholm Syndrome
endel- Thank you. I'm glad you liked the chapter. Yes, Sakura found out most of it, but it's time for a little bit more detective work. I know! When I first heard the lullaby, I was like, aww so cute! But just recently, I was really thinking about the words and I was like, wow, not the greatest thing to be telling your kids at night, you know what I mean? Thanks for the comment! (gives you a cookie)
narubby23- Thank you very much. Actually, I'm really glad you asked that. When I started this, I was hoping somone would ask. (gives you a cookie) Hooray for you! Anyway, I actually dreamed of the court scene that you will see in the next chapter. It was so awesome and vivid. I needed to write it, so then I started to, but then I realized I needed to start out slow then lead up to the scene I dreamed. Thank you for asking! I hope you like the scene that started the story! Thanks for the comment!
xXMewzikLuverXx- Yes, it's a good thing Sakura-chan is alive! ^.^ Thank you for the comment! (gives you a cookie too!)
Lynii- I'm so happy that you like it and am curious! Do you really? I'm glad, I have such a tough time keeping characters the same through the entire story, I think so far I'm doing a good job. Finally, thankies for the comment! (hands you a cookie too!)
A/N: Please enjoy!
Tsunade's POV
I stare at my boss. "What did you say?" I ask after a moment of pregnant silence. Mr. Kimbo sighs like I take up too much of his time. I feel a stab of fury but I push it down and force myself to hear him as he starts talking again.
"I said, I believe it is time for Itachi Uchiha to be brought back to the Institute for care. He doesn't seem to be getting what he needs at home so he is better off here." Mr. Kimbo drawls out slowly like I'm dumb.
Climbing to my feet I say, "Now, Sir, Itachi is doing a whole lot better. For two years we couldn't even get him to look at us, now that he's home, he's looking at people and communicating silently to people to get messages across." I tell him, expecting a happy reaction at the fact that Itachi is so close to talking again. I'm surprised when he narrows his eyes.
"And how long do you think that will be, Ms. Senju? How long until this boy is able to talk and tell the world about that night, hm?" He growls. I stumble back a moment, surprised by his hostility.
"Um... possibly a few days, or weeks, maybe a month or two, but sir, he is getting better. He will talk soon." I say hopefully, again. Mr. Kimbo looks impassive.
He sighs like he's dealing with a child. "Tsunade, Itachi going home was just a test trial. You're right, he's showing improvement, but now it is time for him to return to the Institute. " he tells me. I open my mouth to protest once again when he explodes at me. "This is an important case, Tsunade. I want the boy back here, in the next week or there will be consequences." he snarls and is out my door in a matter of seconds. I falter slightly, unable to hold down my surprise. What is with him?
Slowly, I grab my purse and rush out the door, telling my secratary to hold all my meetings and calls until I return. Swiftly, I fly down 3 flights of stairs and into the company parking lot and into my car all within 5 minutes.
I knock on the Uchiha's door, my heart pounding loudly in my chest. The door finally opens to reveal a young maid. She smiles.
"Hello, Ms. Senju, I'm sorry. Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha are not here at the moment as is Sasuke and Itachi. They have all left for Kohona Hospital there seems to of been an accident." the maid tells me. I clear my throat and swallow dryly.
"OK, thank you." I turn on my heel and jump back into my car and drive to the hospital. My heart pounding loudly in my ears.
Is everyone OK? What could have happened? Did something happen to Itachi? No, they would have called me if he had some kind of mental breakdown... although, rational thought is impossible when someone you love is in danger so there is always the chance. Then again, it could always be one of the other members...
I hit the brakes the light suddenly turns red. The car behind me honks his horn. Some guy calls out profanities. I ignore him and try to calm down my breathing.
Everything will be OK...
Everything will be OK...
Everything will not be OK!
Mr. Kimbo wants to take Itachi away from his family. I mean, he must be doing it for the boy's health, but I just can't see it. Itachi should be at home, he is getting better. Why can't Mr. Kimbo see that?
Pain floods through my hands. I blink and release my tight grip on the steering wheel. My hands ache. Something is wrong, so wrong...
It turns out that a friend of Sasuke and Itachi's was hit by a car and is now in a self induced coma. I fear for Itachi's mental stability.
Mr. and Mrs. Uchiha were devastated and insisted that Itachi needs to be with them. Sasuke and Itachi were nowhere in sight as I talk to Fugaku and Mikoto in the waiting room.
"Why would he take my baby away?" Mikoto sobs. My heart aches and I feel terrible for being the one to tell them what the next corse of action was.
Mr. Kimbo's words echo in my head. "This was a test trial..."
"This was a test trial..."
"...it's time for him to return tot he Institute."
I bit my lip and softly relay the message back to the nearly self-destructive mother and the cold and calculating father. Both hold looks of horror.
"Can't we fight this?" Fugaku asks, voice low and dangerous. "Itachi is doing better, why send him back?"
I sigh. "Yes, he is doing better. Mr. Kimbo wants him back now..."
"But can we fight this?" Fugaku repeats, black eyes burrowing through my brown ones. I could see Itachi in his eyes. He may be a tough father, but he loves his son so much.
I nod. "Yes," I hesitate before continuing in the strongest voice I can muster. "You will need to take the company to court to testify that Itachi should stay at home instead of going back. It's easy for you to say that he is now looking at people and showing some sort of expressions, but it can always be argued with the fact that Therapists know best."
Sakura's POV
I peel my eyes open. All kinds of thoughts swim around in my head. Scenarios run through my head and for a moment I don't understand what case they were for, but then I knew. It was for Itachi's case. And after thinking over all my notes, I realised that I was right, or at least so close to the truth.
I take in my surroundings to finally tell the I am in a hospital. There is a nurse opening the blinds, an early noon light shines through the window. The woman breaths deeply and smiles lightly, then turns to me and gasps.
"Oh! Your finally awake! Wait here, I'll go call your mom and get the doctor." the woman rushes out of the room before I can even open my mouth to speak. I swallow dryly and realise that I'm thirsty. I look around and notice my book bag and some cloths on the table off in the corner. I sit up slowly and pull out the tubes on my arms and out of my nose and mouth. Suddenly, the beating that was suppose to monitor my heart flat lines when I take the wires off.
I numbly put my cloths on and toss the paper dress thing on the floor and grab my backpack. I wobble slightly, but mannage to walk over to the window and pray I'm not up high so I can jump and not get hurt. Fortunetly, I'm on the first floor. Luck was on my side. I loft myself onto the edge and swing my legs around and push off, landing saftly on my feet.
I sway, my head spinning. I ignore it and flatten my skirt slightly and run as fast as my numb legs can carry me when I hear voices calling out my name, I kick it into high gear.
I stop after a few minutes of running. I'm out of breath and the world is spinning and topsy turby. I shake the feeling of nausea away and walk into the nearest building. It's a convenient store. I quickly get a cold water from the freezer section of the store and dig around in my pocket for change as I walk up to the front of the store.
I'm broke. I sigh and am about to lay the bottle back down when someone says, "Take it, pay me later."
I look up and notice it's James. A friend of my dads. Long brown hair and sky blue eyes. He smiles at my flabbergasted look. "James? You work here?"
He nods and smiles that familiar smile. "Yep, you're doing a case, right? Go on, go. Come pay me later. You have no money, right?" he raises a thin eyebrow.
I gap, nodding slowly. He smiles more fatherly. He was real good friends with my dad, they grew up together. "Thank you, James, I promise, I'll pay you back." I rasp, backing up and finally smiling. He waves and looks down at his magazine. I turn to leave then stop and turn back to the man behind the counter. "James, can you tell me where the old orphanage is?"
I look up from the address on the paper, my heart pounding. I take a swing of my water, it almost half empty. I lay it back into my backpack and walk into the orphanage. If what I need isn't here, then I think this entire case is a dead end. I think I know what happened, I just now need solid proof.
That, and a dead body.