HOLY BAJEEBIES YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! Haha, yeah... You can probably tell that I'm really happy to get over 200 reviews XD Well, I told you I'd give you the next chapter ASAP once I got over 200, so here it is: Chapter 22. Just please don't hunt me down at the end of this chapter *grins nervously before quietly shuffling towards the exit*

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only this story :)

Sasuke sat in his dank cell, watching rats scurry about, looking for an easy meal. He was feeling extremely weak, and he knew that that was the work of the Chakra Repressing Handcuffs.

Inside, he was seething. He couldn't believe that he had been found! How was that possible? Had Sakura betrayed him? There was no way that he, Sasuke Uchiha, could have been caught. He was too good for that. No, it had to be someone on the inside, and Sakura was currently the only suspect. Sasuke Uchiha didn't make mistakes like 'getting caught'. The idea was preposterous. If he was ever caught, it was through no fault of his own, and only because he had wanted to be caught.

But if Sakura had betrayed him, then… Why? How? When? He couldn't answer the Why.

Unless… Was she involved with Genma? That would explain a lot. When Genma came to investigate her home, she could have easily signalled to him that Sasuke was there. Sasuke would never have known. The more Sasuke thought about it, the more sense it made. Genma had offered Sakura his "company", and Sakura had asked him what they should do if he was caught. She still wouldn't add the suffix to his name, so he mustn't mean much to her. She must have been planning his capture all along.

Sasuke's chest started to hurt, knowing that he had been betrayed by one that he thought he had loved. One he had started to trust.

But still, the overall question of Why was there. Why would she betray him? Why would she despise him so much as to want him captured?

Because she knew that you loved her, fool, said the snake like voice in the back of his mind. Because she wanted to see you suffer. Haven't I told you before? She loves to see you suffer. She loves to see you in pain. Just like Itachi left you in pain for so many years. Haven't you learnt yet? Everyone who you give your heart to loves to leave you suffering.

And this time, Sasuke didn't fight the voice.

He embraced it.

"Tsunade Sama, please, you have to let him go!" Sakura cried to her mentor. She was so upset that Sasuke had been captured, and that he was now in a cell, like a common criminal.

"It's out of my hands, Sakura. It is up to the Elders now. Go and plead your case with them. You know that if it were up to me, he would be set free."

Sakura hung her head. She knew that it was true. "Has anyone told Naruto yet?" She asked, and Tsunade shook her head. "I'm going to go and tell him." She left the room and soon was standing outside of Naruto's door.

"Naruto!" She called, banging on the door. "Naruto, open up! You'll want to hear this!"

Naruto opened the door, orange jumpsuit in place. "Hey Sakura Chan. What's up? I was just going to go and meet Hinata Chan for some Ramen. You wanna come?" He asked her, his eyes lighting up.

Sakura didn't know how to say what she needed to, so she decided to be blunt. "Naruto, Sasuke's back, and he's in prison."

Naruto stood there, his mouth hanging open in shock. "Teme is… Back?" He finally managed to choke out. His mind was trying desperately to process the news.

"Hai." Sakura said softly. She needed Naruto's help. She needed people to come together to convince the Elders to let him go, and set him free with as minimal charges to his name as possible.

His face suddenly stretched into an impossibly wide grin. "TEME'S BACK!" He bounded through the streets and within a minute was standing infront of Tsunade. "Teme's back! Teme's back! Teme's back!" He kept shouting at her. He seemed incapable of saying anything else, and Tsunade sat there, almost afraid of the boy infront of her.

"Teme's back, Baa Chan! He's back and -"

"And he's in prison." Sakura had finally caught up to Naruto, and she broke the news quickly, hoping to get through to him before he broke something.

Unfortunately at that news, he looked ready to break someone. "He's WHAT?" He screamed at her.

"He's in prison, Naruto. I need your help to get him out. And no, that doesn't mean 'Break him out', it means 'Convince the Elders to let him go.'" She looked at him imploringly. "We can set up a good case for him, Naruto. We need as many people as possible to vouch for him."

"Did you want me to come down with you, Ms Haruno?" Asked the jailer, opening the heavy door for her.

"No thanks, there's no need." She smiled at him reassuringly, and made her way down the stairs and into the corridor. It was filled with flickering lights, which barely chased away the lingering shadows. The darkness down in the cells seemed unnatural. Complete. It almost felt alive. Writhing in a passionately deadly dance.

Sakura made her way past numerous cells. She could hear groaning, moans like the undead, calling for her with wordless whispers. Her flesh broke into goosebumps, and she walked faster. She had finally convinced Tsunade to let her see Sasuke. It had taken a few days, but she needed to see him, tell him that she would get him out, even if she died trying. She finally came to the last cell and inserted the key into the lock, opening the door.

"Sasuke?" She called softly, but received no reply. "Sasuke? It's me, Sakura." She walked carefully into the cell, senses alert. She couldn't sense him, and that unnerved her. She turned around and locked the door, slipping the key into her bra; the safest place to keep it on her at that time. If he tried to take it, she'd know right away. She branched out her Chakra, calling for his, waiting for him to respond. But there was nothing. Only darkness that could ensnare the very soul. Murmurs, promises of insanity, begging her to give in.

"Why did you come here?" A voice echoed in the dark. Sakura could tell it was Sasuke's, but it sounded different. Darker. As if all the life that once resided there had been consumed by a depthless abyss.

"What do you mean? I came here to see you!"

She felt a presence behind her, and she turned quickly. As soon as she felt the presence, the disturbance in the dark, it was gone, and she was looking at a blank wall. "Sasuke? Where are you?" She started to feel afraid, but quickly pushed the fear down. He wouldn't hurt her, of that she was sure.

"I'm here, Sakura," his voice whispered in her right ear. She turned to that direction, but couldn't see anything.

"Here…" The voice was behind her, and she turned around again.

Nothing.

"Here…" To her left.

Nothing.

"Come to me, Sakura. Let me hold you. Let me feel your tongue explore every inch of my body." Sakura felt a tongue sliding up her neck, leaving a trail of gleaming saliva. She turned, but was only met with darkness.

A shiver went up Sakura's spine, and she thought she felt a finger running up her back.

"Sasuke, what are you talking about?" She was really feeling afraid now. She couldn't see anything. There was almost nothing but Sasuke's voice. Only that, and the writhing cesspool of screaming souls, begging to be released from the clutches of sanity. She could feel them, gnawing at her being, like starving rodents, whispering spite filled promises of an insane reality. Coercing her to allow herself to curl up in the numbing embrace of madness. Oblivion. The dark recesses of the mind, that which is only reserved for when all life is lost, when the foul stench in the air has turned to mouthless mutters, giving promises and threats of a safe insanity.

"You are not with me anymore, Sakura. You will not harm me again."

She felt tears in her eyes. "Sasuke, stop. You're frightening me," she choked. What had come over him? Why was he acting like this?

"Come now, Sakura. Don't you like my game?" His voice seemed to dance around her, like a shadow in a dark room. He was everywhere and nowhere. Next to her, inside of her, and on the other side of the earth. Mingling with madness, tasting it, feeding from it, pushing it away, living with it. Existing in a maelstrom of insanity. Sakura could feel it clinging to the walls like mould, drifting in the air like a foul odour. She was so frightened. She could feel her fear rippling through her body, and she knew that he would be able to sense it. She knew that he was feeding from it, breathing it in, as if it were his new lifeblood.

"Sasuke, please, stop this." She could feel his presence swirling around her, breathing in her fear.

"Sasuke, please… Come back to me. I'm sorry if I've hurt you. Don't do this. Don't fall into despair. I'll get you out of here. I'll get you out or I'll die trying. Don't give up now. Don't give up on me. Don't give up on us." Tears were streaming from her eyes and falling down her face. She didn't know what to do. What was going on? What had come over him?

The darkness halted in its dance for a moment, hesitating, before resuming, more frantic than before.

"Lies, Sakura. All you tell me are lies…" He hissed through the shadows. "I'm sick of your lies, Sakura. You will lie to me no more."

She only sensed him when it was too late. His hands were in a chokehold around her throat, and a small light, almost like a candle light, danced and licked around his eyes. A small break in the darkness. She was pushed up against the wall. Sasuke's face was morphed into a grimace, his features almost snakelike. Only his eyes showed a fleeting trace of sanity. It was barely there, a shadow of a ghost, but it sparked, screaming at her to save him. The air was pushed from her lungs, and she started to choke, heaving for oxygen that wouldn't come.

"Stop lying to me, Sakura. Stop. Now." His grip tightened around her throat. Her eyes rolled in the back of her head, and she berated herself as more tears escaped. Hadn't she promised herself that she wouldn't cry anymore? She was so angry with herself that she couldn't raise her hand to get him off her. She was perfectly capable, but she didn't want to fuel his hatred. She loved him too much.

"Sasuke…" She choked. Her eyes started to flicker, and the edges of her vision started to fade. She knew that she was about to die. There was no way out of the situation. Sasuke had finally given into insanity, and he seemed hell bent on killing her. But she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of believing that she was a liar. "Sasuke… Kun… I… I love… You…" Her world went black.

Teeheehee... Oh I'm evil, what with my annoying cliffhangers and constantly screwing around with the plot, but deep down you still love me, right? Right? I probably should have said this earlier, but I forgot to, so I'm going to say it now: I come from Australia, so some of the words I spell are different to the American spelling, and I don't particularly want to change it. So instead of spelling words like 'mom', 'color', 'realize', apologize', 'favor', etc, I spell them 'mum', 'colour', 'realise', apologise', 'favour', etc. So while many of you will probably be like 'this chick has horrible spelling', in Australia, it's the proper way to spell them :) Just so you know. Anyways, I've rambled on long enough, and you want that preview, don't you?

Chapter 23 - Voices

...Kill her. It's very simple, Sasuke. She's not dead yet. Her words are lies, Sasuke. All lies. She doesn't care for you, Sasuke. She wants to hurt you, Sasuke. She's lying to you, Sasuke. Kill her, Sasuke. She's almost dead Sasuke. Just a little more, Sasuke...

..."Sasuke... Kun... I... I love... You..."...

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