Blind Faith

Chapter 4: Blind Faith in Deals

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the horrid smell. It was a mixture of mold and mildew, and it stung my nose like vinegar. Next thing that was brought to my attention was the absolute silence. I could not think of one instance where I had heard so much nothingness before. It was all really eerie.

That silence was soon broken, though, by the sound of footsteps. They were soft at first but grew louder as they came closer. Metal scraped against stone, as what I guessed was a door pushed open across the slate flooring. My guess was that I was in some sort of a dungeon. Oh, just great. Absolutely fabulous. How could I honestly be considered a ninja, a jonin at that, when I kept getting captured? What kind of girl personally trained by Princess Tsunade would get herself trapped twice in half a year? Man, I sucked as a ninja.

A hand touching my cheek brought me back from my thoughts and into the present.

"I'm warning you now; no matter what you do, I will not give you any information. You might as well go ahead and let me go." I growled, trying to sound tough. The person did not reply verbally, but pulled their hand away from me. "Answer me!"

Suddenly, a wave of chakra hit me like a ton of bricks. It was full of awesome and yet evil power. It's electric and fiery current was one created by years of pain and hatred. I took this all in for a moment before coming to a rational conclusion of who was before me.

"Sasuke?" I murmured, sounding like a helpless child.

"Chidori," whispered the man before placing his hand on my waist. An electric current shot through his palm and into my body. A scream bubbled in my throat, echoing against the stone walls as it was released. I felt a snake slither up my torso and wrap around my neck, permitting me from making any more noise. Hisses and the chirping electricity filled my ears. My body started to go numb, and I realized that I was going to pass out soon.

Right before unconsciousness consumed me, the man murmured, "I'm sorry, Sakura."

Sasuke's P.O.V.

I threw another punch at the boulder, making it shatter into a million rock fragments. The cold air bit at my face and bare torso like a brutal punch, one that I absolutely deserved. Oh, whom was I kidding? I had just tortured my best friend. I deserved much more than just a slap.

Sure that I had calmed down enough to re-enter the hide out, I grabbed my shirt and katana and went back inside for a shower. The hot water would help me relax; or, at least that was the theory, anyway. It had worked before, but that was with simple anger. I was not angry with Karin or Madara or anything else stupid. No, I was mad at myself. The worst part was that I had logically explained my actions to myself already. I was ordered by my "boss" to do something, and I did it. I should be glad that I had done a good job, but I was not. And plus, it was not as if Sakura was my friend or anything like that. I had cut all ties off with anyone from my old life, so why did I care so much for her well being. Old feelings die hard, maybe? I am a wimp, definitely.

While musing over all of this, I had turned on the hot water and undressed. Stepping into the shower, I resolved that I would worry about all of this later, not while I was bathing. I was squirting some shampoo onto my head when I was greeted by an old memory. It was from back when I lived in Konaha, but I did not try to block it. Instead, I accepted the thoughts with open arms.

"Naruto!" I yelled, dunking the little idiot into the icy river.

"Hey, hey! It was just a idea!" he barked, trying to stand up underneath me and failing epically.

"Well it was a stupid idea, you dobe!" I growled.

"Sasuke has a point, Naruto," Kakashi noted, not looking up from his nasty book.

I sighed, pulling myself back onto the shore and redressing. While Naruto and I had been bathing in the river, he had suggested that we go and check up on Sakura who was also cleaning herself in another area nearby. I was not as angry with him for coming up with the idea as I was at myself for actually considering it. I did not even like Sakura! Even worse was the mental images that his plan had developed inside my mind.

I shook my head, knowing that Sakura would kill anyone who tried to peep at her while she bathed, even me whom she supposedly loved. Yep, best not to even think about it…

A laugh erupted from me as I thought of the incident. I had always wanted to ask Sakura if I had been correct in my assumption that she would murder any peeping tom caught in the act. Would she still feel the same today as back then?

My stomach did a little flip as I reminded myself that Sakura supposedly loved Naruto now. She was also a grown woman, unlike then. Maybe she would not be so opposed to Naruto as she would be to me seeing her while she bathed. Bile rose in the back of my throat. Sighing, I gave up the shower and turned off the water.

Once I was dressed and my hair was dry, I decided that I had better report to Madara. I shook my head angrily as I thought of his words from this morning. He had asked me to weaken Sakura so that she would not be such a bother as she would surely make herself. It was for "safety reasons," he had said. Bull crap. Madara just wanted to see me crack, which I definitely was not going to do. I was not the weak child I was before. He would not get the best of me that easily.

In all actuality, I had never been in Madara's room before. I supposed that it would be filled with books and scrolls since he had been absent from the world for so long. He had missed a lot during his "time away" as he called it. And knowing Madara, he would probably have a bunch of stupid masks littering the floor.

I was sadly mistaken.

After giving a quick knock on the door to signal my presence early, I stepped into Madara's room. The air was thick with cigarette smoke and girly laughter. When my eyes adjusted more, I saw that the room was small as mine but filled with luxurious couches and rugs, each sat on by a pretty girl. Amongst everything was Madara, laughing it up with his little gal-pals. The whole scene made me sick.

"What is all this crap?" I yelled.

Everyone jumped in surprise except the two of us. "Why, hello Sasuke. What brings you here?" Madara asked calmly.

"What indeed?" I growled, glaring at our audience. "Leave!" I demanded, my voice shaking so badly that I could barely muster up the words.

Once they were all gone, Madara stood, looking annoyed. "Well, now that you've ruined my evening, what do you want?"

I grabbed the collar of his coat and slammed him into the wall. "Why the crap did you have me capture Sakura when you already have women dying to bear you an heir?" I screamed, holding nothing back, boss or not.

"Because it isn't as fun with someone who likes you."

I pulled back my fist and snapped it forward, letting it collide with his face. "How dare you say that, you filthy rat!"

Suddenly, I was the one against the wall, and Madara was holding me hostage. "In case you haven't realized it yet, boy, I am the leader of this organization. I can do whatever I please, when I please. No one tells me what to do, unlike you. I've granted you mercy thus far because you are my relative but no longer will I. Do you understand?"

I nodded but did not loose my glare. He dropped me.

"Now, get going."

"Please, wait. Can we not come to some compromise? What if I transformed one of those girls to look different and made her hate you. Would you let Sakura go then?"

Madara studied me for a moment. "Why do you care so much for her?"

My gaze fell to my shoes. "She was a friend of mine at one time. I'm not as strong as thought I was since I apparently can't let go of old ties."

He looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded. "Alright, I have a deal for you. I will leave the girl alone, but you have to make her worthy of being apart of Akatsuki. If she is not a suitable member by next year, then I will kill her."

Although I wanted to shout and beg for him to let Sakura go completely, I knew that this was the best compromise that I was going to get. I had one year to make her an evil, killing machine, just like myself. Not exactly what I wanted, but well enough considering my other options. "What about an heir?"

Madara smirked, a devilish gleam in his eye. "I'll leave that up to you. You have one year…for both things." He pulled himself onto a couch and relaxed. "Now, go away. I have things to ponder."

I exited his room grumpily, a dark cloud hovering above me. Had I just made things easier on Sakura and me or worse?