Chapter 14
The seas were still roiling when they docked, the wind gusting across the ocean and sending spray out over the pier, slicking the wooden boards. Sasuke followed Kakashi down the ramp, his hands manacled in front of him. The rest of the shinobi and kunoichi touched down on solid ground, and they formed a formation around their prisoner. A small crowd had already gathered, farther away, apprehensive about the infamous rogue ninja. Sakura went cold upon seeing them – word had spread far faster than she'd hoped. She turned to Kakashi and opened her mouth, but her former teacher gave her a sharp nod. He'd picked up what she had, and he knew it meant trouble. Sasuke's head now had a price, and every ninja in the world would be hunting him. It wouldn't be long before word got out of Mist that Sasuke was there, either, and that he was in the company of a large band of Konoha ninja.
"I have enough soldier pills for all of us," Sakura murmured to Kakashi, her eyes darting around the many villagers littering the streets. Her voice was quiet, but Sasuke still picked up her words. "We can leave now – we won't have to make any stops unless it's absolutely necessary. It'll be rough, but it's doable." With that sentence, Sasuke pieced it all together – the group waiting at the dock could have simply heard that he was there, after all, he was an internationally wanted criminal… but with Sakura and Kakashi's urgency to return to Konoha, with such a large cell of ninja, Sasuke surmised there must be a hefty bounty on his head. He relished the challenge.
"We're leaving for Konoha now," Sakura announced to the group. "If any of you need soldier pills, I have them. Keep your eyes open," she finished, turning back around to her position in formation. They passed across the Great Naruto bridge, and never did Sakura think that all of Team 7 would ever cross it again together. It brought her no joy. Sasuke was subdued in chains and seals, and they were no longer a team. Sakura looked out over the rough seas, feeling as tumultuous as the waves. Dark clouds rolled in over the shore, and the sky soon threatened to split open. As they stepped onto solid land, the first several raindrops fell, wind ruffling their hair. The group pressed on through the forest, sticking to the path, highly alert to the environment around them. The rain fell harder, soaking into their hair and clothing, quickly drenching them in a torrential downpour. Shino lifted a finger, and a web of bugs scattered from beneath his cloak, fanning out in a large, defensive circle around them, quickly fading from view. Sakura shuddered inwardly at the sight, and focused on the greenery around them, keeping her eyes and ears open as they transitioned from the path and melded into the forest. Tenten, Neji, Hinata, Shino, Lee and Kiba took to the trees, leaping silently above them, keeping in formation. Sai painted various ink creatures and they slithered off his scroll, disappearing into the wildlife around them, silent and otherworldly. Sasuke kept careful watch of all the ninja, watching their jutsu, learning their tactics, their skills. He observed silently, filing all the information away for later usage.
"Wait," Sakura suddenly flung her arm out, stopping abruptly, having just caught the faintest thread of chakra. The ninja halted behind her, on high alert, waiting for Sakura's signal. "Ninja. In front of us. There could be more, I don't know how powerful he is, either. He let his signature slip on accident. Get ready," she murmured, chakra scalpels flickering to life in her hands, the molded energy forming protective spikes above her knuckles. They looked slightly different from Kabuto's, Sasuke noted. The energy blades' edges were a lot clearer and cleaner, and they were so ethereal they seemed like shimmering air in Sakura's hands. Sasuke had to look hard to see the outlines of what she'd molded, whereas Kabuto's had glowed fiercely in his fists. Naruto broke out of formation and joined Sakura at her side, and they shared a glance. Sasuke noted the development callously, sneering at their proximity to each other. Several birds sang, low and sweet, and the slow, sweeping rustle of the wind through the trees brought a deadly calm to the ninja gathered around Sasuke. Sakura gave a sudden start, leaning forward in anticipation, and though no one else sensed anything, she was off like a shot, bounding through the forest, fluidly ducking beneath branches with Naruto beside her. Short, sharp yells echoed through the forest, and the rest of the ninja took off, with Kakashi, Sai, Neji, and Shikamaru drawing closer to Sasuke. Explosions sounded, and several trees collapsed, sending wildlife shrieking, a cacophony of sounds emerging from the dense wood in front of them.
A small slug materialized on the wet ground before Kakashi, and the piece of Katsuyu quickly informed them that it was an ambush, although no one was wounded yet. The slug faded from existence and slipped back into the other dimension, and a tree crashed through the forest, throwing up a cloud of dust and sending branches splintering.
"We need to get out of the forest," Shikamaru said, "We've got no visibility." The others agreed and they edged Sasuke toward the main road, keeping careful guard, moving silently through the underbrush. The sounds of battle seemed to follow them, and more often than not the ground beneath their feet shook with tremors. Sasuke noted that none of the men around him seemed fazed by the trembling earth, and though it piqued his curiosity, he was not too concerned about it. They reached the main path and glimpsed the warpath of destruction that filtered through the forest, and as the group tried to get a closer look, Naruto came hurtling out of the woods, thrown back in an explosive blast. His stomach was burnt and bleeding, his jacket and shirt burnt off, the remains of his shirt soldered to his smoldering skin. He howled in pain, blue chakra bleeding violent red as water ran into the wound. Sakura came sprinting out of the forest a second later, sending kunai hurtling back into the forest as she outstretched a rain-slicked hand to Naruto, healing his severe burns. Naruto groaned through his teeth, peeling the scraps of his blackened shirt away from his body, yelling as it took some skin with it. A burst of enemy ninja exploded from within the forest, their weapons flashing through the air, hurtling between the raindrops. Sakura sprung into action, deflecting and parrying, spinning across the path in a blur of red and pink, and she split the ground beneath her feet, and as she stomped and shattered the earth, the enemy shinobi lost their footing. Sakura stormed the sundered earth and killed mercilessly, her chakra scalpels flashing through the air, invisible from the distance, and Sasuke watched as she slashed and parried, moving fluidly around the ninja, shattering and splintering bones with her powerful, chakra-infused punches. It wasn't an earthquake or explosions he'd felt earlier – the tremors had been caused by Sakura all along.
"I'm glad she's on our side," Kakashi remarked cheerfully, and as the other ninja joined back in formation after their successful defense, Sasuke got to see the entire battlefield. The section of the forest was utterly destroyed, chunks of muddied earth lying askew, uprooted trees scattered in the chaos, crushing enemy ninja beneath them. Weaponry littered logs and bodies alike, and giant boulders pinned and crushed the enemy were they'd fallen. It was hard to believe that such strength came from such a delicate looking woman, but the facts didn't lie. Sakura stripped off her dusty gloves, stuffing them in a pouch, striding for Naruto, not giving pause to the devastation behind her, her hands glowing green as she placed them on the jinchuuriki's charred stomach. Naruto's teeth ground together as his body healed, the skin drawing together, and it itched uncomfortably tight as his skin crawled to meet each other and sealed off, leaving perfectly smooth, unmarred skin. Sakura let her hands drop from Naruto's now smooth skin as he sighed in relief, and turned to the rest of the ninja.
"Anyone else?" Sakura asked the gathered group, flicking her drenched hair out of her eyes, her sharp gaze running over every ninja, looking for telltale signs of injury. All shook their heads, and when Sakura was satisfied with her assessment, she turned to Kakashi.
"Let's head out," Kakashi said in a lazy drawl, and the group took to the trees, Sasuke between them, hidden and protected in their formation. They sailed amongst the greenery uninterrupted for hours, and as they crossed into the territory of Konoha, Sakura felt relief flood through her veins. The most dangerous part of the journey was over—they were by no means safe now, but not many shinobi would dare attack Sasuke so close to Konoha.
"Hey, Sakura?" Ino called from the right of the formation as they continued their run through the forest, not missing a beat as they flew effortlessly through the trees.
"Yeah?" Sakura called back, spitting strands of hair from her mouth, the wind picking up through the trees as the sky darkened overhead. Konoha's perpetual greenery was due to the heavy rainfall it received each year, and though it made travel quite miserable sometimes, it was responsible for Fire Country's endless beauty. Sakura desperately hoped they'd make it to the city before rainfall—she was almost dry, for gods' sake.
"Can you take over my Monday morning shift? I have to go see Ibiki and I forgot to switch my schedule before we left," Ino said, and it all felt so surreal, like they hadn't just retrieved the most notorious criminal of their generation. Sakura shook her head at the bizarreness of it at all, running through her own schedule through her head.
"Yeah, I can do it, you owe me, though," Sakura decided, surmising she'd spent too much time away from the hospital. The institution always had work to be done, and Sakura had been away for far too long. She cringed when she thought of the reports that must be stacked high on her desk, and tucked the thought away for another time. Sakura chanced a glance at Sasuke, and the look on his face was thunderous. He looked beyond furious—his eyes were full of unfettered loathing, and Sakura was almost taken aback by his obvious malevolence. Almost. His lips were drawn tight, his fists gripped tight in their manacles, and Sakura knew that if he thought he could escape, he'd be fighting them tooth and nail. His eyes were dark and marked with purple circles, and he still looked sallow and unwell. His fury overshadowed how gaunt he was, however, and Sakura smiled bitterly. Sasuke was physically and emotionally bent and broken, his system littered with drug abuse and his mind destroyed by the men who'd used him to further their own dark and twisted goals.
The rest of the journey was spent in silence, save for the tapping of their feet against the branches, and the rustling of their clothes. The tension in the air was so thick that one could cut it with a knife, and as the large, painted gates of Konoha came into view, Sasuke was absolutely murderous. He mutely seethed, the turn of his mouth sour and snarled and his countenance stony. No one said anything until they reached the red gates, when they passed through the checkpoint.
Word spread swiftly through the main street, where civilians and ninja alike played a game of telephone, shouting and whispering in equal measures. The Konoha Eleven swiftly moved to a wider formation around Sasuke, giving him a wide berth from the curious crowd. Sakura kept her hand close to her kunai pouch, ready to defend Sasuke from any attempted attacks. There were many who believed Sasuke had to pay for his crimes—and the justice they believed right was death. Sasuke was unfazed by it all, uncaring, and Sakura wondered if he even noticed the people jeering at him, threatening him, besmirching his name. Sasuke gave no sign that he noticed anything but the path before him, and the rest of the ninja did the same. They didn't interact with the excited crowd, save for clearing a space to walk through.
All was mostly calm until a bereaved vendor starting throwing his decaying fruit, and although Sasuke managed to dodge most of them, the straight run to Konoha from Mist, combined with his weakened state and malnourished body had earned him several straight shots to the body. His clothes now splattered with tomato residue—how ironic, Sakura thought—Sasuke continued down the road, dodging thrown objects from the crowd, not affected in the slightest by the insults.
"You monster!" someone cried, and when someone deep within the crowd lobbed their trash at Sasuke, Sakura decided she'd had enough. She deflected the rubbish easily, sending it volleying back toward the direction it came from. She'd dodged the other projectiles targeting Sasuke, not parrying any of them, but enough was enough. It was medieval, really, and Sakura looked coldly at the gathered throng of people. If Sasuke had been healthy and able to dodge all that was thrown his way, Sakura would not have intervened, but with things as they were, anger bubbled up inside her. Sasuke was ill and his strength was rapidly waning, and though he adamantly refused to show it, he couldn't pull the wool over Sakura's eyes. Sakura closed her eyes, and although she was physically exhausted from the trek back to Konoha, and the battle that had ensued, she was by no means low on chakra. She created a net of chakra and laced it around Sasuke, and the terrible look he gave her almost stopped her in her tracks. Sakura pressed resolutely onward, however, and the chakra shield stayed in place. She contemplated telling Sasuke why she'd put the barrier up, but relented. He didn't deserve that much from her.
The crowd continued to pelt things at Sasuke, but they mysteriously missed, falling to the ground harmlessly, never having reached their target. Only the ninja in the formation noticed, but they made no comment, each surmising that Sakura had to have good reason for it. The road seemed endless, but eventually the Hokage tower came into view, and the group breathed a collective sigh of relief. They'd all managed to avoid the disgusting projectiles launched at Sasuke, but they didn't want to stay in an area of risk much longer. The crowd was mutinous, and as they lobbied together, the pack craze mentality infected them all. The sooner Sasuke got into the heavily guarded building, away from prying public eyes, the better. The guards swiftly let them into the building, barring the public from entering, cutting them off at the door. The enraged shouts and screams from the closed doors behind them echoed into the hallways, and Sasuke marched resolutely onward. They filed into the Hokage's office in suffocating silence, and the honey haired woman eyed Sasuke shrewdly.
"Dismissed," the Godaime said to all but Team 7, and the rest of the retrieval team disappeared, leaving nothing but quiet disapproval in their wake. Tsunade leaned back in her chair, a fingernail tapping resolutely at the mug of steaming tea on her desk. She ran a finger along the mouth of the cup, considering, running her calculating gaze over the last Uchiha. At last she spoke, meeting his gaze head on. "This is the last place you are safe," Tsunade ruminated, taking pause to let the words seek in. "Elsewhere, there is a worldwide bounty on your head. Just your head—not the rest of your body. You have been taken out of Konoha's bingo book only partly because of your teammates, and mostly because your clan deserves to prosper. The Council has betrayed the village, however, and placed that very bounty I just mentioned on your traitorous head. This is your last safe place, but it's almost if not as dangerous as the rest. Only those whom are loyal to me will serve as your guards. As soon as you leave this office, you will be escorted to a secret underground location within the village—those whereabouts will only be known to my closets confidants, and your guards. Your clan deserves more than this corruption, Uchiha, but you do not deserve this. Keep that in mind." Tsunade dismissed Sasuke with that sentence, and Kakashi and Sai moved toward the door, placing a heavy, black bag over Sasuke's head. Sasuke was shunted stiffly out of the office, and only Naruto and Sakura remained. Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but Tsunade held up a hand, silencing him before he uttered a single syllable. "Yes, Naruto, you will be on guard. Sakura, too, although you will be more of his medic."
"Sasuke is suffering heavily from drug withdrawal, and he is malnourished. I'll need to set up a discreet supply through the hospital," Sakura said, her eyes hard and her spine straight. Tsunade wordlessly granted affirmation, and she offered Sakura a proud nod. Naruto was speechless, for once, and he stood mutely beside Sakura, awaiting further instructions. Tsunade handed Sakura a compact scroll, which detailed the locations of Sasuke's quarters. Sakura unfurled the document, which had been covered in various seals and precautions, and as soon as she and Naruto learned the location and prepared to teleport, the scroll set itself aflame, destroying all evidence.
"Go," Tsunade murmured, and the pair vanished in a heartbeat, whisked away under the vast fields of the Nara clan.
"Wow," was the first thing Naruto uttered, staring in undisguised awe at the large foyer they stood in. Prancing deer covered the wallpaper around the room, and it was hard to believe they were now underground—except for the windowless rooms, of course. Sakura nodded her agreement, staring at the beautiful murals painted on the walls, doubtlessly very, very old. She stepped forward, entering through the arch at the end of the room, and they found themselves in a living space, decorated with bookshelves upon bookshelves, several couches in the middle, with more archways offshooting down various hallways. To the pair's surprise, the Konoha Eleven, plus Suigetsu and Karin, waited for them on the couches, lounging around lazily, changed into different clothes.
"Since Sasuke's high profile for now, we'll be switching off 24-hour shifts for a week around the compound—and see how things go from there," Tenten explained to Naruto and Sakura, and the room clamored as they asked why Naruto and Sakura had stayed behind.
"Sasuke's to stay here until Tsunade-sama says otherwise; she didn't say anything else," Sakura explained to the group, and they soon all dissolved into individual topics and conversations, discussing the fight they had on the way to Konoha, talking about the country of Wave and Mist, delving into political discussions and lighthearted jokes. Sakura sat on a dark, plush couch next to Naruto and Hinata for a while, engaging in conversation and witty banter, teasing her friends and laughing with them until she built up enough muster to face Sasuke. She stood, excusing herself from the room, and braced herself for her soon-to-be traumatic encounter. Sasuke needed constant medical attention, and no matter how unpleasant it was, Sakura had to do it. She stepped down the long, well-lit hallway, finding Sasuke's feeble, barely tangible chakra signature pulsing in the room at the far end of the corridor. Each step Sakura took seemed heavier and heavier, and she felt as if she would sink into the floor as she drew closer to Sasuke. His chakra roiled with turbulence the closer she got, no longer the faint pulse it had been—up close it raged and seethed inside him, what little bit was there, anyway. Sakura smoothed the front of her shirt down and shook her hair out of her face, frowning in annoyance as the strands slipped over her shoulders and tickled her bare arms; maybe Ino could trim it for her.
"Sasuke?" Sakura called, her voice strong, steeling herself for what was to come. She turned the polished knob, finding no resistance, and stepped into the room. The minute she closed the door behind her, Sakura thought she would suffocate. Sasuke's aura was so dark, so angry, so hateful, and his energy sank into Sakura, and not in a good way. Sakura locked eyes with Sasuke, approaching him like a dangerous, caged animal. "It's time for your medicine. I'm going to put you on methadone, and gradually wean you off of it—it'll stop your withdrawal symptoms, and will provide no cravings when I lower the dosage." Sakura stuck carefully to only the topic of his physical health, not touching any other topic, not wanting to provoke him. "You can trust me," Sakura said, the words tumbling out of her mouth, and she watched how Sasuke's eyes and the corner of his mouth tightened, and halfway through her sentence, she immediately knew it was the wrong thing to say. Sasuke's eyes darkened but he said nothing, and for that Sakura was grateful. Sasuke had been betrayed by almost everyone he had ever known, and he had no trust to give anymore. "Sorry," Sakura quickly amended. She hastily pressed forward, a hand jumping up to her hair in nervous habit. "I'm also placing you on a high calorie diet, to regain weight and provide you with the nutrition you haven't been getting. It'll get your body back to normal and you'll be able to start training again. Your eyes have healed, but if you feel any pain in them at all, tell me immediately. You risk losing your eyes again if you don't tell me." Sakura started to move toward the door, and Sasuke's eyes followed her, though he hadn't said anything at all. He was propped up against the headboard of the bed, no longer manacled, and Sakura could see that he was exhausted, although he didn't show it. Sakura opened the door behind her, still facing Sasuke, and as she backed out of the sparsely decorated, highly sealed and warded room, she said very softly, "Naruto and I just want you to be happy."
Sakura didn't stick around to see Sasuke's response, and closed the door, looking at the solid wood in front of her nose. She sighed and turned around, padding down the hallway, suddenly feeling bone-weary and aching in all the wrong places. Sasuke sat silently on the bed, unmoving, and he'd had no response for Sakura, even if she'd waited. He didn't react at all, but he'd heard her words clearly enough. There was no "I want you to stay", no "we need you", no "talk to us"; no begging, no pleading, no simpering. She hadn't told him to trust them, and she hadn't asked him anything at all. Not even why he'd tried to kill her, or Naruto, or why he was hiding out in Wave. Sasuke quietly furled and unfurled his hands, closing them gently, fingers curling into his palms, and he stared at his hands, deep in thought. He hadn't felt even the slightest tinge of furious bitterness at Sakura's words, like he once would've—he only felt empty.
Methadone is a drug that patients are prescribed when being weaned off opioids, generally for severe cases; it takes away withdrawal symptoms, and while it reduces drug cravings, it doesn't produce the euphoria/high that the patients are used to with the opioid, and thus doesn't present the danger of possible addiction since it provides no pleasure.