..Chapter Twenty..
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She didn't look back as they took him away, she hardly spared him a glance after the door to her room opened and they strapped the chakra bracers on his arms and legs. Instead, she busied herself with gathering her things and putting her uniform on. She hid her feelings, her aggression, her fears and her turmoil under a mask of perfect disinterest.
She flexed her hands after she slid her gloves on and checked her arm guards, the silver glinting in the light as she clamped them in place. Her jaw set as she caught his lazy gaze mirrored in the reflection. She did not pause or stare as she continued on to her leg guards.
"Haruno-san," a soft voice said behind her.
"Yes?" she muttered as she sat and clamped them in to place, snapping them closed perhaps a bit too harshly. Her face... she forced it to remain impassive as they finally left, his back barely visible to her as they vanished out of her room. Her stomach turned when she couldn't see him anymore, not even out of the corner of her eye.
"Come with me. Kaoru-sama wishes to speak with you."
"Very well," she replied, standing. The final piece shifted into place snugly and solidly secured onto her back. Perhaps now more than ever, the blade felt heavy, subtly reminding her of just how all of this had started; reminding her of why Kakashi hadn't wanted her joining the elite rank to begin with.
She briefly wondered, had she known months ago what she knew now, would she have joined at all? This one was one of the many thoughts reeking havoc on her mind. Logically, she knew none of this was her fault. But logic and emotion were two entirely different things. Sakura, underneath it all, couldn't totally deny that she was still that person she'd claimed months ago she'd wanted to be rid of. Layers of duty, discipline and years of learning covered that girl from sight. It kept her locked and hidden away so she could do what needed to be done. But, it was that girl, the one that cried, the one that laughed and smiled, the one that once trailed after Sasuke that now worried the most over Kakashi. It was that little girl that loved him.
She couldn't forget the look of fear in his eyes, the pain... How was he going to do this? How? It had been hard enough for her to deal with that man in Mystic Falls, someone she had no emotional connection to at all. How was he going to overcome fear, his memories, and do what he came here to do?
Granted, it wasn't easier for her when she thought he'd have to do this with someone else, someone he didn't know; but, this was... madness. It had to be. And it would have been nice to think she had a choice, a say, in whether or not he went through with it; but, she didn't. In the end, Kakashi was right. Sending anyone else back here after they fled would be suicide. By the time they could get anyone in, it would be too late and problems would begin to erupt with the flow of food and supplies into Fire Country.
"This way, please," she heard the serving woman say.
Sakura nodded once, allowing herself to be directed.
She really had to stop thinking about what she couldn't change, what she couldn't do. She had her own part in all of this. It was hard not to worry about him, to agonize over what was going to be done with him.
Suddenly, she wished she could ask him herself. How did you do it when it was me? How did you deal with it all, knowing what was to come? How did you stop yourself from botching the whole mission?
Her part, what she had to endure, it wasn't worse; it made her ache though. Not showing that pain, coiling it to a place deep within her chest... it was so hard. She had to though. She had to reflect upon everything he'd taught her and do what she knew she had to for the better of Konoha and Fire Country.
Her eyes scanned the dark hallway they entered after having taken a flight of stairs upward. She needed to get her bearings on where she was; if not for the mission then to at least to think sanely, to have something else to focus on.
It wasn't unlike many military structures she'd seen before. There was that expected lack of decoration and draw of simplicity. Everything was wood with dark, rich brown and a hint of red. It wasn't entirely dark. The glow of light along the walls in the form of small lamps indicated the structure was getting electricity from somewhere. Perhaps hydroelectric power? Her mind started to work on a number of inquiries as she logged away her observations. Quickly enough, though, before she could think too much on it, she found herself stopping in front of a door.
Sakura watched as the young serving woman knocked and appeared to await some sort of response. She overheard the sound of murmurs and whispers from within. The sounds of voices rolled, one right over the other before going altogether silent at the maid's interruption.
"Enter," Sakura clearly heard. The woman before her reached for the door and slowly slid it open to her right. The sound of wood making friction against wood echoed within her thoughts until the the clap of the door hitting its end-point sounded. She resisted the urge to jump as her bright, green eyes settled on the room full of men (and some women) all sitting about a long table.
She stilled.
She felt the tension immediately, like the instant clap of the door, lightening---quick, sudden and intense. Their eyes pressed upon her as if waiting for her to say something, do something, daring her to run under the heat of their penetrating gaze. To compare herself to some insect under a proverbial microscope seemed weak at best.
Her body felt stiff, tight and unwilling to move for the briefest of moments. For a second, she asked herself who she was kidding, what was she doing here and just who in the hell thought it was a good idea. Was she really any different from the girl months ago, years ago?
For a passing of time, however small, she couldn't find air, she couldn't draw breath into her chest, her lungs. Her thoughts halted and she wondered if her heart had as well, as her body seemed to.
Such a room packed full of a ... large angry stream of chakra... the intensity of it... Sakura felt as though she were being swallowed whole by a beast she couldn't fend off.
"Glad you could join us... Haruno-san..." a voice drew her in, tugging at her from the center of the room almost. Her eyes moved there, to the far back where one end of the table started. It was during this moment she regained some of her clarity and a blatantly obvious revelation. She hadn't felt it before because she hadn't been prepared. It was like teetering on the edge of a cliff, only you didn't realize until just suddenly you were about to fall over. And then, you looked down, drawn into the height and actual knowledge that you could very well die. Then someone pulled you back, lifting you from the possibility of your demise and it's then you catch enough footing on that small ledge to analyze just where you are and what's going on.
Really, that's what happened... and in her analyzation she realized the raw, intense pressure of chakra in the room was not so much the occupants, no, but the man at the head of the table. Her first impression of him seemed like a fluffy bunny in comparison to the beast of energy now before her.
"Don't forget to breathe," she heard him say.
Laughter echoed.
She didn't find it funny, not in the least; but, she chose not to react right away. Now more than ever did she realize she was at their mercy---his. Sakura had to choose her actions and her words wisely. If this were some kind of test, something everyone in the room perhaps had undergone, failing wasn't an option. With this in mind, she kept her features schooled and impassive as ever. She imagined that the mask she donned was real, much like her team mate's, and she had nothing to fear because it covered her. They could not see her real fear, her real distress.
This is what she told herself as she stepped into the room fully and the door was shut behind her.
She couldn't tell, but, she wondered if that pressure was solely targeted on her, or if it encompassed every crevice of the room, if it affected everyone around her.
It stopped.
Just like that.... it was gone. She did her very best to remain unaffected. The desire to crumble to her knees was a great one. She felt her body tremble, once, as if a small aftershock ran across her skin, bones and muscle fiber. She wanted to suck in air almost immediately. She wanted to fill her lungs hungrily and cough. Coughing would have felt good about then.
Real good.
Instead she exhaled... she exhaled to take some of that pressure off the top, to release the edge that now, and only now, ebbed away. Forcing her nerves to still, when all she wanted to do was scream, felt unnatural.
"Come," 'The Beast' invited her with his dew dripping words filled with both liquid desire and trepidation. His eyes seemed to read her every aspect as he indicated to the empty seat closest to him. Had it been empty before? Or had the former occupant suddenly vacated it the moment anyone even had an inkling of an idea he would want her there at his right?
Now that she could move again she wasn't sure she wanted to, even knowing she had to. She did though, slowly, making her way around to one side of the table and towards where he'd indicated. It took seconds, she was sure; but, to Haruno Sakura... that walk felt like hours, ages even. The last place she wanted to be was right next to a man she both feared and hated.
If his presence wasn't enough, still, to make her rigid then the table full of silent ... staring... shinobi would have been. Their eyes followed her, some smirking, some glaring, some---perhaps---sizing her up. Were they? Was she seen as some sort of threat here?
Green, blue, brown, violet, orange... amber... Each set mixed, melted and zeroed in. The colors burned patterns into her flesh, her mind, and emblazoned their feelings, their own angry chakra, onto her.
Time stopped.
Pain flashed across her stomach and then---quickly---her back. Everything happened so quickly, so fast. One moment she was walking, reaching for the back of the chair where she was suppose to sit and next ... the world was crumbling around her. Her hair was in her face and sawdust, splinters, floated about for mere moments. Debris in the form of some sort of table or nightstand was a broken mess about her.
Her head spun, dazed, from the impact. She was taken aback and completely caught off guard. Despite this her mind tried to formulate thought. Her eyes closed, tightened shut and then opened as she attempted to will the blur away.
Her jaw flexed and she winced only once, acknowledging she'd more than likely broken a rib, if not two. Someone had attacked her. Hit her. Anger boiled, brewed and brimmed as she lifted her fiery green gaze upward and looked for the perpetrator. Her eyes focused as they gradually met with an empty space void of the attacker. Silence cocooned her. If anyone was speaking, murmuring,laughing at her expense, she didn't hear it; she didn't acknowledge it.
Instead, she stood up as gracefully as she could manage and dusted herself off, all the while allowing her senses to roam. She'd been taken off guard because she hadn't been expecting an attack here, because her attention had been so closely tunneled on Kaoru and the tension of the room. Had that been their purpose the entire time? To mess with her? Or were one of his men acting of their own accord?
She reached for the chair again.
Her fingers barely brushed the oak frame. For a mere moment she felt the cold, hard surface beyond the leather of her gloves, chilling her. She felt the fragmented passing of time and the sudden movement of a ferocious blast of chakra; so quick, so sudden, she barely registered it coming her way.
He was fast.
She wasn't totally prepared.
Sakura swept back two paces and lifted her left forearm, glinting bracer reflecting in the dim lighting. Sparks erupted, steel spikes ground against metal and heating friction blazed halfheartedly across her flesh beneath. Chakra blasted along her arm and she drew strength from the techniques Tsunade-sama drilled into her while she firmly held her ground and willed her planted feet to stay put for fear that the behemoth that pressured into her would shift her back farther. Deflecting that blow had taken a lot, but she dare not give in while her fiery-green gaze glared upward.
He wasn't what she would initially expect from someone with so much speed at his disposal. His frame was thick with muscle and broad. He towered over her like a great oak, shadowing her body in a way that was meant to be intimidating. His grin reached all parts of his face, wrinkling and baring teeth sadistic with wistful thought. It was the same chilling smile she knew from men and women who took great obsession in tormenting and destroying others. In places like Mist, he would have once made a great shinobi she was sure.
Regardless, she wasn't going to give him the opportunity to hit her again.
She shifted her weight and reached with her free hand, forming a fist ripe with blue-green energy, and aimed towards his abdomen. Her hand hit air and suddenly he was gone. She turned swiftly, sensing movement, and deflected a kick to her stomach palm down and open. Her eyes caught his before he faded from sight once more. She kept her senses keen as she waited. She hated waiting; but, until she had more to go on regarding his techniques, she'd play it marginally safe.
There!
She shifted, bringing up her leg and drew her knee towards her. The ball of her foot connected with something hard, chakra blazing. The shifting of bodies was heard for a brief moment before the crack of wood once again sounded. This time, though, she wasn't the one on the floor in a mess of splinters and broken furniture.
He wasn't out for the count, no; but, he was pissed. She could see, in the dark depths of his black, abyssal eyes that he was excited as well. That didn't bode well and she readied herself for his next move while he moved to stand. He momentarily dusted himself off before taking a step towards her.
"Enough, Havoc." There was a distinct pause in the commanding tone. You would have had to be deaf not to have heard it, or an idiot. "That's enough for now."
Sakura made no move to withdraw until Havoc visibly relaxed and his chakra levels blatantly lowered considerably. Slowly, keeping her eye on him, she lowered her fists and disbursed the blaze of blue-green. She exhaled.
"Today's meeting is canceled. Dismissed," Kaoru ordered smoothly, looking briefly down at the broken table from where he still sat.
Sakura wasn't entirely sure what to think of the situation; but, she wasn't going to argue. She needed to appear as loyal and obedient as possible for the time being.
She turned only after the last of those present began to exit the room. The moment she turned her back though, he spoke up.
"Haruno, you stay."
That voice, once again directed at her, sent a combination of disgust and euphoria up her spine. The lyrical play on vowels and consonants, almost like a hymn of poetry in a purely sound communicated format, was the only way she could describe the tone. It was pleasing to the ear and she wondered how well he knew he affected those around him without even trying. She wondered how well she was going to be able to resist the impression he pressed onto others through the constant use of his blood-line technique.
She turned to face him as the last person left the room and the door shut behind them. Her eyes met with his, showing she acknowledged his command. ANBU taught you not to speak unnecessarily no matter how badly you wanted to.
He stared on at her for a while. If you had to estimate a time one might say five minutes, perhaps no longer. His expression never wavered or changed. The smooth lines of his face seemed almost impassively non-responsive aside from the ever present smirk and the glint of something always looking to be about to happen in the depths of his amber hues. He stood, not too quickly or slowly, but, just enough that made him look relaxed and poised all at once. It was something she would liken to that of Kakashi; except, his stance, Kakashi's movements, were wholly more lazy than simply relaxed or leisurely. No, this man stood and moved as if he owned everything. He was nothing like an aristocrat. He was someone who wanted to make rules that suited him when they suited him. He was, at the same time, someone who appeared wholly at one with chaos. He seemed to thrive on disorder while tugging at its leash, willing it to do as he wished.
In her core, Sakura was frightened. She would not deny that to herself. She recognized this fear and held it as a healthy reminder, something that gave a person sense and an idea of what real self preservation was.
Kaoru was not frightening merely because of his presence, but, because of what his presence could do. She was more than aware of his euphoric control on people and wanted to be anything buy the fly in his web. She suddenly had the feeling that someone like Shikamaru would be far better suited for this game of politics and metaphorical chess.
"I assumed you were boasting," he said suddenly, his tone dripping with warm, decadent reverberations. His form zeroed in on her own as he began to pace about her only partway. He stopped at her immediate left, amber-cat-like hues locking in while his hands remained behind his back.
She couldn't respond for a moment, frozen almost as his voice draped over her like a silken, transparent blanket of warmth. "Boasting?" She asked, trying not to sound confused, but inquisitive so he might elaborate. Her voice came out soft, but, thankfully not confused. It was almost as if she were restating the word he used rather than questioning him.
"Yesterday," he appeared to muse, lids shutting part way over his eyes.
She nodded once, eyes narrowing. It was easily clear to her almost immediately. He had been testing her. Perhaps not her purpose here, but, her abilities.
"Are you surprised, Haruno?" he asked next, taking a step towards her. Distinctly, she heard the crunching of wood beneath his sandaled feet. Instinct told her to take a step back as he advanced on her, it told her to get as far away from here as possible.
She stayed her position, though, asking, "Should I be?"
He chuckled momentarily. "Cocky, I see. That's good," he continued to remark, his voice raising in light a bit. "It'll keep you alive... for a while."
He stood no less than a foot away from her by then. He wasn't invading her space, but, she could definitely feel him. His very aura permeated the air around her. She resisted the urge to swallow. "Commander?"
He stayed his place, smiling only in slight. "I don't trust you, Haruno."
"May I speak freely?" she asked, still not wanting to appear to be too much of an upstart... or a threat.
He laughed more fully this time, as if actually amused. His arms crossed over his chest while his equally amused amber depths watched her still. "Permission granted, Haruno."
She inhaled softly enough to go without much notice and then exhaled in much the same manner. She used her fear, her nerves, as a weapon or any tool in her shinobi arsenal. "To be perfectly honest, Kaoru-sama, I wouldn't expect you to trust any under your command. I don't consider it much of an insult that you don't trust me. In fact, I would be a bit concerned about your position as commander of this army, this base, if you did.
"I find it hard to believe you don't like me personally, though. Unless of course you've dug up something between yesterday and today and found the information displeasing... sir. The test today... was it personal or... do you use it on all the girls?" It was her turn to smile, to force that mask to pervade over her true feelings. That was the art of the ninja.
He was silent for a little while. That chaotic gaze almost held her prisoner as the pressure of his presence pushed on her, shoved her down. She was almost becoming accustomed to it.
"Hn..." he muttered, once again looking amused. His eyes shut briefly and he turned on his heel. "You're not an idiot, Haruno," he began. She could hear the methodical laughter in his voice. "Not by a long shot. And, you're not greedy either."
Her eyes followed his form as he moved across the room. The sound of splinters from the table popping under his sandaled feet didn't seem near as cutting to the atmosphere as they once had been.
"At first I assumed you were an imposter based on the information I gathered from Konoha," he continued. "You're described as one of the highest scoring to ever graduate the Academy, as someone with a high level chakra control and more recently execution, as one of the finest medical ninja directly under Tsunade-sama herself and," he edged slowly, deliberately, "one of Kakashi's former students. More recently, his partner." As he said all of this he made his way around the rubble and towards a small buffet cabinet. There, he poured some liquid from a bottle into a glass.
"Drink?" he offered, holding out the filled glass to her.
"No thank you," she replied tonelessly.
"Very well," he responded before taking a sip himself. He leaned back into the cabinet with his hips and crossed one leg, languidly, over the other. "You're considered well respected, well liked and if nothing else loyal above all. It would be in your vested interest to stay in Konoha. Becoming a missing nin makes no sense considering your character, Haruno.
"When I considered all of this, I came to a few conclusions."
"Did you," she stated more than asked, hiding her fear well. Was this all for naught? Were both she and Kakashi to be ratted out before they started? She felt the tingling of a sensation edge up her spine and spread to coil about in her stomach. Her nerves crawled as she waited for him to continue.
"Why are you here, Haruno?" he asked instead. "Why go through all the trouble of capturing your partner, dragging him here and leaving behind everything you knew? I might be arrogant, but, I doubt very seriously you would suggest your reasons have anything to do with myself."
You wouldn't believe me if I told you as much, Sakura mused. No, he wasn't an idiot. She wasn't either though. He didn't seem the type to ask such things directly though. It was almost odd. Then again, she didn't know him all that well yet. She'd keep the theory in mind, but, until she had more exposure she'd leave it as just that.
Thankfully, for her own sake, this had been one of the questions she'd anticipated him asking even before she knew who he was. The answer was too personal to her not to appear earnest.
"I tire of being the third wheel," she admitted, hands now on her hips. "Of my team, I am the only female, like most shinobi squads; however, I am also the one overlooked, underestimated and generally out-ranked. No matter how hard I work... I'm left behind," she explained. "If you want a reason for my defection, Kaoru-sama, it is this: I refuse to live in the shadow of my team."
Again there was silence. His eyes didn't remain on her the entire time, either. As he enjoyed his drink they closed now and again. As she finished her explanation they traveled back and settled on her, his gaze holding her own.
"Why come to me then?" he asked next, looking calm about the conversation.
Easy enough to answer. The corner of her mouth curled again. "I had no idea who was in charge. I just knew whoever was running things here was causing trouble for Fire Country. I see it as an opportunity to finally establish myself without the obvious annoyances."
He smiled in return. He set his glass down and pushed off the cabinet with little effort. His pace was slow as he made his way across the room towards her. "You're not an idiot, Haruno," he stated again when he finally stood before her. It was as if he were speaking to himself more than to her.
She raised a questioning brow on the exterior all the while telling her tormenting nerves within to quiet down.
"Hm..." he allowed as if he were momentarily laughing at her expense. "Report to Kairi in two hours. You'll have a mission then." He turned away from her and began to head towards another door across the room.
"Kairi?" she asked. "Where do I---."
"If you're worth keeping you'll find him before the mission starts to get the details, Haruno," he interrupted as he opened the door. He paused. "Oh, and, don't disappoint me... I have high hopes for you... Sakura." And then the door was closed.
For a moment Sakura was more bewildered than she was relieved. At the use of her name her stomach twisted again, but, this feeling only lasted another moment when she realized she had two hours to find someone named Kairi. If she didn't it could very well blow everything for her and Kakashi.
How did he do it?
AN :: I apologize this update took so long. School got the better of me. What can I say? Plus, I run a DnD game on Saturdays. Haven't been able to do that for a little while. To top matters off, I wasn't entirely sure how I wanted this chapter to go. I knew how, I suppose, I just wanted to get Kaoru 'perfect' in a way that coincides with my later chapters. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. I've read through for errors and misspellings.... but, if you see something bothersome I don't, let me know. Especially if it's repetitive.
---Blade