Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Chapter 2: Amaranth Red
Poison Brewing. Menesfield. A Change of Countenance.
The next morning, Sakura's perched lazily atop a stool, flipping though more news pages revealing the details of Hinata and Naruto's widely popular engagement. She likes to think that she's 'studying' her target, but maybe she's just refusing to admit that she might be slightly interested.
How did the Hero win the Princess's heart? Where will they be wed? Have they scheduled a date?
At the same time, there's about three glass jars of poison brewing simultaneously at varying heights over a fire burner. It's dangerous to initiate several chemical reactions like this all at once, but she decides to have some faith in her skill.
Since accepting her new bounty request to abduct the Hyuuga heir, Sakura forced herself up at the break of dawn to book a room at the Chemists' Lab to restock her supplies because at this point, she must have poisoned at least half of her victims. Some unlucky ones were poisoned to death, some just paralyzed until decapitation, and some were fortunate to have only been knocked unconscious. And for all this, her hard-earned title as the 'Poison Witch' – or more despicably, the 'Poison Tramp' – has gained her much renown throughout the continent.
In this day and age, soldiers and bounty hunters are commonly swordsmen, but not her. Even prior to working for Orochimaru, poison study came relatively easy to her. And it became no question that it would be her greatest asset. But so far, others have called it weak, cowardly, immoral even (she's a murderer for goodness sakes), but there's no denying that it's exceedingly useful for strategy and stealth, especially for someone who prefers not to fight in close combat like her.
Scattered all around her worktable lie several substances that she's gathered from her travels. Bloods of animals, rare venoms, alcohol solutions, some ammonia and other herbs and substances that could be of use. Earlier, Karin had quipped that all she needed was a witch's cauldron.
Turning the newspaper page, she finally admits to herself that the material is somewhat petty, so she sets it aside, deciding sensibly that she should be monitoring her bubbling solutions instead. Trapped underneath a hideous gasmask, she's finding it hard to breathe so she adjusts the straps just loose enough to prevent inhalation. As much as she enjoys experimenting and brewing poisons, the chemicals are dangerous. Thus, it a cardinal rule – no matter how uncomfortable and claustrophobic – to don the metal heavy, bug-eyed and bulky mask so she doesn't inhales the fumes.
After long minutes of silent observation, she jumps when there's an abrupt knock on the door.
"Sakura, it's me, Karin. I'm coming inside!"
Sakura realizes her mistake a bit too late and when she does, her eyes widen and adrenaline forces her to move. Just as the redhead is opening the door ajar, Sakura's already out of her seat and is hauling herself to slam the door back shut. A sharp pain seizes her right shoulder she hits the hardwood door with a loud thump and in the following seconds, she hears Karin stumbling backwards and groaning in protest on the other side of the door.
"Sakura, for goodness' sakes… you knocked my glasses off. Thanks for the warning," Karin grumbles sarcastically from the other side.
Sakura leans with her back against the door, panting mildly. "Sorry! I forgot to hang the warning sign. I'm brewing so wear a mask."
She hears Karin grumbling even more from the other side, probably from the shared sentiment of wearing the ill-fitting and abominable, but protective facemask. Regarding Karin, she also works under Orochimaru. Not as a bounty hunter, but as an assistant during his human experiments. And although the redhead can be critical and pushy sometimes, she's still the only one that Sakura can really tolerate so far.
This time when Karin's ready, Sakura opens the door for her with a sheepish smile and ushers her towards the worktable. Whilst Sakura makes a quick check at her solutions, Karin comfortably takes the seat across from her.
"The boss sent me…" the redhead starts, adjusting herself on the stool. "He wanted me to give you this."
Sakura pauses and looks up, catching the pouch Karin pulls out of her pocket and tosses to her. Shifting to an empty space on the worktable, Sakura carefully dumps the contents from the bag.
"It's just some coin. A parting gift for the road, I suppose." Karin explains.
"Oh. It seems that the Snake does have a heart," she jokes, while Karin shrugs in response. Sakura doesn't even bother to count them as she slides the coins back in the pouch and into her pocket quickly after. Directing her attention back to her experiments, she bends forward and carefully adjusts one of the jars higher on the pipe to let it cool. Meanwhile, Karin has taken to observing the disarray of labeled solutions scattered about on the desk. Finding herself particularly curious with one of them, the redhead carefully picks one up to hold at eye level.
"Lizard venom, huh? That's a rarity. They don't sell this at the black market. So tell me, how'd you get a hold of it?"
The pink-haired girl, half-listening and half-concentrating on her work, scoffs underneath her mask. "Karin, let's just assume that I resorted to doing something I wasn't proud of," she hints, removing one of the jars from its pipe holder after deeming it a failed trial.
Her companion throws her head back and barks out a laugh, well aware of Sakura's questionable methods of obtaining such rare substances – no doubt she's alluding to her obscure animal hunts and unjustifiably cruel methods of extracting venoms.
"So how's the lizard doing anyway?" Karin needles, knowing that Sakura is rolling her eyes underneath that mask.
"If you must know, it's still alive," she declares with an odd sense of pride. "The results were unsuccessful, so I let it go."
Thankfully, Karin doesn't prod the issue any further, her interest quickly renewed with the stack of news pages that Sakura had set aside earlier. Taking advantage of the silence, Sakura slips on a pair of gloves and retrieves one of the empty vials on her belt. With a look of concentration, she cautiously removes the cooling reaction and slowly pours it into the glass vial. Much to her delight, this one is a successful trial.
"Hm… this Uzumaki boy. Did you know him? I mean, at all? Back when you lived in Prath?" Karin asks, still mindlessly skimming through the news contents.
One hand at a time, Sakura removes her gloves and tosses them on the table. "Oh we were the very best of friends," she scoffs with a hint of sarcasm, despite the snapshots of largely forgotten and unwanted memories reeling in her mind.
Karin stops to look at the girl across her. "Hmm. I can't tell if you're joking."
Sakura instinctively pauses to look at her seriously, but then she remembers that Karin can't see her face with this mask over her head. "Alright, well maybe we weren't the best of friends, but… friends nonetheless. I mean, we were the same age, went to the same school… Bottom line, I grew up with him. I found him very annoying."
"Pfft. Well, you're obviously not friends anymore," Karin jests in humor. "What happened?"
Sakura rolls her eyes. "You know what happened. This…" she answers, motioning vaguely to nothing, but knowing Karin will get the message anyway. "…happened."
"Hmm. Tell me more," Karin badgers in a falsely sweet tone.
Sakura raises an eyebrow, slightly suspicious of her request, but cautiously allows herself to ponder in retrospection anyway. "Well… for one, if you remember, I was-"
"Whoa, whoa. Stop there. The question was a test. Sakura, you know I don't do backstories. Or any stories, for that matter," Karin says, closing the news pages shut and putting the material away.
On the other side, Sakura chides herself for falling for it. "Damn. I should have known this was going to be about your ludicrous life doctrine."
"Hey, watch it. It is not ludicrous. Don't deny it. And it's not just you, but everyone associated with that damn Snake. Even myself," Karin retorts defensively. "Has it ever crossed your mind why our stories always reek? Some of us are cowards. Others are washouts. And the rest of us are failures. I mean, we're all just walking disasters. We wouldn't be working for Orochimaru otherwise," she starts. "Let me tell you this, Sakura. If it's one thing I've learned in my time here, it's that Misery. Loves. Company," she enunciates clearly. "So… forgive me if I've no interest in sharing the details of your woes and misfortunes – I've enough of that of my own."
As much as Sakura hates to think so abstractly about life, Karin's bold words ring true.
For someone as unstable as the redhead, she's developed quite the perspective on life. It's flimsy philosophy at best, but it keeps her from falling off the edge. For one, Karin no longer dwells in the past. She only looks forward. Over the years, she's taken all of her memories, sealed it and thrown it behind her. Sakura hasn't found out what sort of terrible things the redhead has been through, but she knows Karin's never looked back. Because according to her, there are 'far better things ahead than any left behind'. True and insightful words, she has to admit. But although Sakura herself doesn't prefer to ground herself in the same reality, she admires Karin for constructing her own. It's actually made life more tolerable for the redhead.
And so, from the other side of the table, Sakura takes no offence. "Sorry about that."
Karin waves off her apology with nonchalance. "Don't be. I'm just a stickler," she jokes. Changing the topic, Karin gestures to the news pages tossed haphazardly on the desk. "So Prath, huh? Is that your next destination?"
"Uh-huh. I'm leaving next sunrise. Hopefully, I'll be at Menesfield in the afternoon, and then I'm riding to Prath afterwards." Deeming her last poison finished, Sakura carefully puts out the fire and removes the jar.
"It's been about… what, five years now? Are you going to see dear old Mother?" Karin asks with mild interest.
"Umm… six years, actually," she corrects, calculating the numbers in her head. "And no. Last I heard, my Mom moved out after I was gone. I haven't seen her since, not that she wants anything to do with me."
"Hmm. What a shame."
Sakura hears Karin's stool grinding against the wooden floorboards and she looks up, watching the redhead rising out of her seat. She can't decipher expressions accurately behind that mask, but Karin appears as if she has another errand to run.
"Well, I was just dropping by. I'm afraid I've other things to do. Best of luck in Prath. I know you despise it there, but come back in one piece, alright?"
Sakura gives her the faintest of smiles and nods her head. "Sure."
Once Karin shuts the door behind her, Sakura finds herself alone again. Doing a onceover of the different bloods and venoms still scattered on the table and considering the time that she has left, she sighs heavily. She's only finished two thus far and has many left to brew.
This is going to be a long day.
The next daybreak, before Sakura heads off for Menesfield, she decides a change in attire is suitable.
She'll have to blend with the crowd so she slips into a pair of fitting dark trousers, a fresh beige tunic and the same worn-out boots. Of course, women generally opt to wear dresses and long skirts in this time, but Sakura cannot take the chance of tripping on her own dress whilst she escapes restricted compounds. So for practicality's sake, she dons a pair of pants and pretends to be a traveler from a foreign land of odd fashion trends. And after tucking her hair back with an elastic and confirming her satchel full of poisons, she deems herself ready to go and heads off.
If she isn't lugging with her another person or decapitated head, the travelling portion is perhaps the most peaceful. Riding the paths through the grassy landscapes is a scenic route all on its own and the warm breeze splitting past her is nothing short of exhilarating. It's perhaps the best thing about these missions.
However, she eventually finds that there are as many drawbacks to travelling so frequently as she does. Ever since she started working for Orochimaru, she's never had a proper place to call home. During nights, she ends up having to pick from three options: (1) she could either find shelter at the nearest lodging, (2) she could pick a clean grassy spot and call it a bed, or (3) she could just not sleep at all. Sometimes, she finds herself yearning for stability, but at the end of the day, she knows deep down that she wouldn't change a thing.
According to Orochimaru, her supposed aide is supposed to arrive at sundown. So hours later, when the sky is still orange and she slows her horse down to read the rustic sign with a dully written 'Menesfield', she's surprised that she's early.
After checking her horse in a convenient stable housed at the village entrance, Sakura allows herself to breathe in her surroundings.
This town is so quaint. And relatively small too. The buildings here are made of old wooden frames and are capped at two floors. Largely considered a rest stop, this village houses more tourists and travelers more than permanent residents. And with this kind of demand, it's no question that sidelining all the narrow streets are shelters and inns, all advertising their 'quality' rooms on large wooden signs.
Moving forward, Sakura walks along the cobblestone path, shuffling past a farmer and his small herd of cattle towards the circular-shaped main clearing. A small fountain sits in the middle, where tourists stop to sit, read and converse with others, but she moves towards the bulletin board. Just like the village itself, this access point is terribly small and has room for only one meager panel tacked with years worth of old and outdated news.
She sighs. Not even five minutes here and she's already growing tired of the idle nature of this rest stop. She dislikes that this place is merely a stepping-stone to the actual mission grounds. That she can't leave, let alone get ahead with her plans until she's met this person. From past experiences, she's learned that waiting is the most aggravating thing when it has no purpose. And with regards to this meeting… she has yet to see any particular value to it.
With one look at the sunset sky, she lets out a long yawn. God, I am so tired. It finally registers to her that she hasn't slept properly in days. That last mission wasn't a walk in the park either, and she knows that this one won't be an easier. So in consideration of her 'well-being', she traverses to the nearest tavern.
If this meeting is so important, she'll leave it up to the other person to find her.
Tonight's pub is fairly quiet. Everyone here is either drunk or halfway there, but the bar is nearly empty so she should be somewhat grateful. Sitting at a corner barstool, the wide berth between her and the others makes it easy for her to observe the rest of the bar.
Some days are really good; some days she's really drunk, but it's night like these that she just wants the day to end. Sitting and waiting for someone with whom she has no pretext and has no desire of meeting feels like being stranded in limbo – time itself is put on hold until this individual shows up. Not only that, she's a tired mix of cold, hungry, empty and wasted, and all she can think of is maybe she should have taken a break after all. At this point, she's already teetering back and forth between forgetting and remembering her initial objective of being here.
Downing a shot of a foul smelling liquid, her face scrunches up and she hisses as the familiar burn of alcohol makes its way down to her stomach. Slapping the glass bottle down on the counter, Sakura sneaks a look at the bartender, whose expression is a blend between pity and tenderness.
He's been watching her down one after another, probably expecting her to lose it, but Sakura's built up an impressive tolerance over these past few years. Although she's already lost count of how many she's drunk today, she still feels perfectly aware despite feeling pleasantly lightheaded. And as she watches the bartender pour another drink into a glass, she shoots him a quizzical look when he sets the drink down right in front of her.
"From the man at the table. He's asking if you're interested," he says plainly, gesturing to a particular location behind her.
Sakura makes no attempt to look at her admirer. Instead, she pushes the glass back in the barman's direction. "Tch. I don't want it," she murmurs. Quickly tipping a few coins to pay her tab, Sakura takes this as her cue to leave and rises from her stool. She doesn't know if it's her unusual pink hair or the fact that she's always alone, but she's always had that tendency to attract the most raucous and sleazy men who insist on showing her a 'good time'. Adding the fact that she doesn't wholly trust her instincts right now, the last thing she wants to do now is cause trouble.
Sliding her coat on, she picks up her belongings and moves for the door. Considering her slightly intoxicated state, she's surprised at the decency of her balance and gait. Perhaps she didn't push it overboard after all.
"Hey sweets!" she hears a voice, loud and rowdy from across the room. She looks up ahead, unimpressed to see that it's her admirer calling out to her in his drunken stupor. "Be a darling, would ya? I'm doing you a favor! Bein' a gentleman and all!"
Sakura stops herself, pausing to look at the exuberant man and his cheering group of wasted friends with condolence and false empathy. He's the type of drunk who'll make noise just for the sake of making noise. The type who waves his bottle around while laughing obnoxiously at the stupidest jokes. Loud and harmless, really, but has a penchant for making messes.
She smiles daintily with false sweetness at the man. "Oh, you're no gentleman." And when she moves to walk past him, the man rises from his seat and intentionally maneuvers himself to block her path, probably from disapproval of her comment.
"Aww was' wrong, sweetheart? Why dun' you give me a chance? Who knows… maybe I could change your mind?" he slurs, wiggling his eyebrows at her while his cohort of friends laugh and roar out in encouragement behind him. Sakura sighs; this night is quickly taking a turn for the worst. Sizing up her 'admirer', she notes that he's larger than she had estimated (but nothing she can't handle hopefully), but standing firm, she just smiles and refuses to give him the pleasure of being intimidated.
"Come on, les' go back to ma place. I can show you a few tricks…" he suggests, grinning wildly as he opens his arms in a welcome gesture. "Think about it. I mean, we're all jus' tryin' to have a good time here, right?" Even as he's stepping closer to her, Sakura doesn't budge. With his state of mind, he probably thinks his approach his working – that she's loosening up to him – but thankfully she knows better.
"Is that so? You know, I can show you a few tricks as well," she remarks slyly. The large man raises an eyebrow at her bold suggestion and stops within an elbow's length from her. But the second she notices him reaching out to touch her face, Sakura takes the added boost from her ingested liquor and strikes him hard. Her palm meeting the right side of his face with a loud clack, he subsequently doubles over one of the tables. How's that for a trick?
"What da fuck! You bitch-"
Taking the upper hand, Sakura holds him down by the head before he can attempt to get up, mildly pressing her weight into her hand to keep him from moving. "Take that back, you prick," she threatens, shifting more of her weight on him to add to the message.
"Pfft. You wretched whore-"
She muffles his drunk mouth against the table, effectively shutting him up. Looking up ahead, she notices that her actions have caused quite an uproar from his buddies, some who stare in disbelief, some who laugh noisily at their friend's unfortunate position and some who look prepared to avenge him.
From behind, Sakura feels a hand on her shoulder. She turns to find that same bartender, whose expression has now changed into one of disappointment. Tch. Damn it. She's been in enough bar fights to know where this is heading, so she saves him the talk and releases the man, who slumps down to the floor from somehow passing out in between.
"Ma'am, I think you know the deal. We don't want anymore trouble here," the same bartender approaches gently.
Appreciating his civility in dismissing her – unlike her admirer – Sakura just sighs. Of course, it's quite embarrassing to be given the boot, but she supposes it's well deserved. Comparing herself with the man lying unconscious on the floor over his own drool, she certainly got the better hand in the squabble. Maybe she did go overboard this time round.
"Fine," she says gruffly as she fixes her clothing. "But I can kick my own ass out."
She can feel all the waiting eyes staring down her back as she stalks out the door to the cold night. At this point, she doesn't really know what to do, considering she's just reached a low point in her mission (and life in general), but perhaps the only solution is to sleep on it. Hugging herself tighter to rid of the chilly air, she moves to step onto the street until she hears movement behind her.
"Sakura, is that you?"
As if caught red-handed, she turns around warily and sure enough, over there by the tavern entrance and leaning by the wall is someone hiding in the shadows. When he approaches closer and steps into the moonlight, Sakura slowly widens her eyes and quickly drops her hands.
Oh you have got to be kidding me. Frozen with shock, she remains still even when he draws closer. It seems he's trying to get a better look to confirm that it's indeed her, but she has no need to look further once she sees those same dead and lifeless eyes.
"Do you still remember me?" he says, monotone voice still the same as ever.
Sakura scoffs. "How could I forget? You rejected me, remember? Several times, too." she answers in half-seriousness and half-humor.
As expected, Sasuke remains apathetic to her remark. Seems like nothing has changed.
"You work for the Snake?" he asks.
Her thoughts confirmed, Sakura sighs heavily – one of her worst nightmares has just materialized right before her eyes. God, she hopes he didn't witness her small violent escapade at the bar. Pushing the thought to the back of her head, she nods her head and gestures to the alleyway up ahead.
"Follow me."
Sakura removes them from the street and leads him to the back of the tavern. The small area is secluded, empty, desolate and most importantly, private. While he takes to leaning against the fence, Sakura moves to sit herself at the steps by the door, still hugging herself at the cold and chilly air.
Finally getting a better look, the first thing she notices is his ridiculous hair. Still a dark shade of black, but spikes up in the back and frames his face in the front. It stops just above his shoulders, much like her hair. Sasuke also wears a dark ensemble to match, a black cloak draped loosely across his shoulders and reaching his knees. Dark pants are tucked into black boots and a sword peeks out dangerously at his side. Much taller than she remembers, he looks the spitting image of someone she would avoid.
Sakura admits that she had an idea of where Sasuke went after he deserted Prath. And although she never knew for certain (until now), she was aware that Orochimaru's name was involved in the mix. Had she thought about this when she agreed to participate in the Snake's endeavors? Not at all. The Uchiha's name never warranted inclusion and they've operated under different circumstances this entire time. It took them about six years in this business to finally cross paths.
When she was younger, this is definitely not how she envisioned their reunion. She once thought that it would take a miracle. That once he overcame his desire for revenge, he would realize what's truly important. She thought he would be the one to come back. She would have never guessed that it would be her moving to his territory.
Unfortunately for her, the one thing that separates Sasuke from all the other lunatics is her past connection with him. He knew her when he was younger, might even remember the way she once saw him a prize. She always held him to a higher standing, fought to receive even the slightest bit of attention. Looking back now, she likes to think that she's changed from her younger self, possibly much milder now, not quite as crazy (debatable), but definitely no longer naïve. She doubts that Sasuke has changed at all. Here is someone who used to look down on her so much. Someone who used to reject all her advances and attempts to be friendly with him and now here he stands, that same stone-cold look painted on his face. Well, if he does give her any, she certainly won't take any of his shit tonight. Why she offered herself to him on that fateful night so many years ago? She can't recall anymore.
"So… How'd someone like you end up here?" he says, a hint of judgment and criticism lining his words.
Sakura inwardly affirms her own suspicions – Yup. Hasn't changed one bit. And she cringes and ponders at the insensitive words 'someone like you'. What is that supposed to mean? Just to annoy him intentionally – goodness, she never once imagined she would do this – she shoots him a nonchalant look and casually shrugs her shoulders. "I took a horse. How else?"
His stoic façade is betrayed just by a hint of annoyance, and that's enough for her to receive an odd sense of pleasure and satisfaction. Deciding that she got what she wanted, she decides to let up her joke and answer him somewhat seriously. "It's a long story."
He raises an eyebrow at her. "You turned your back on Prath?"
"I suppose," she says, deadpan.
He scoffs in that familiar, arrogant, cold and distant manner; one that screams of his ever-present superiority complex. And she hates the way the corner of his mouth tilt upward just slightly for a small smirk. "Pfft. As if. I don't believe it."
Now it's her turn to raise an eyebrow at him. Gesturing to all of her miserable self and their shoddy surroundings, she attempts to make the idea more glaringly clear. "Umm, I'm right here, aren't I? Right in front of you? What, you think I'm not strong enough to leave?"
"Che. Last I remember, you weren't exactly the rebellious kind," he jeers, serving only to raise the tension between them. She remembers now that he had a knack for doing this.
Brushing off his attempt to provoke her, Sakura retaliates back. "Hmm. Funny how you talk as if you actually knew me, because last I remember…" And she deadpans her expression here. "…You never once gave me the light of day."
Sasuke narrows his eyes at her. "So what is it then? Did you kill someone? Did you break the rules? Or are you just bar-hopping around, looking to pick fights-"
"So how about you, Sasuke? What have you been up to?" she fires the question right back at him, cutting him off, voice raised, and ire building up. Who does he think he is? Not even ten minutes into their meeting, he's already irked her to the brink. If he wants to jab at all her sore spots, then he forgets that she's just as prepared to play the game herself. "Sasuke, are you still hell-bent on revenge? Did you gain the power you sought? Have you finally avenged your precious family? Are you still so intent on killing others just so they can taste your damn hatred-"
Within a flash, he's standing beside her, the tip of his sword pointed precariously at her neck. Sakura, effectively silenced, swallows hard and narrow her eyes in disbelief.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Sasuke seethes, the heavy threat felt in his voice.
Risking a bold move – she's certain that Sasuke would not hesitate to kill her – Sakura gently palms the flat edge of his sword and mildly pushes it to the side. When he doesn't retaliate, Sakura sighs inaudibly and re-entertains the idea that maybe Sasuke has changed slightly.
Slowly rising to her feet, she dusts herself off and paces a reasonable and cautious distance from him. Tch. You point a sword at me and I'm the asshole? Taking a few minutes to recover from that minor lapse, Sakura shifts to him, maintaining neutral tone in her voice.
"Alright, fine. I admit. I got ahead of myself back there, but come on, you refuse to give me any sort of credit, even as I'm standing here right in front of you. Kind of a jackass move if you ask me," she starts, to which he gives her that same look of skepticism. Taking a deep breath, she continues, but this time her tone less forgiving and more accusing. "…You know, I thought you'd have grown out of it, but you still have that same shit attitude as before. I mean, I might have tolerated it in the past, but don't count on me putting up with it now. I'm not stupid. Also…" Sakura breathes for just a moment, taking the chance to revel and rejoice in this statement because it's as if a heavy weight has just been lifted off her chest. "…Sasuke, I'm not the same person as I was. I don't love you anymore."
He stops, seemingly to fully absorb her words and hopefully, realize that things really have changed. Letting the fact sink in for both him and herself, Sakura rests against a nearby wall and slumps down to the ground again. Exhaling deeply, she stretches her legs out in front of her and looks up to the starry sky. She steals a quick glance at Sasuke, who remains motionless and expressionless as he was before. Considering his silence, Sakura continues filling their conversation, but this time, with less spite.
"Sasuke, do you remember the first time you called me annoying?" she asks rather spontaneously. As expected, he doesn't respond. Of course he doesn't remember. He didn't remember the first time I asked either. Not bothering to rehash the moment as she did before, Sakura takes his silence as a cue to continue. "I've changed since then. And yeah, I've become an asshole in the process, but at least I'm no longer in Prath. And as much as you hate to believe it, that's the one thing we have in common here."
At this point, she expects him to leave. Walk away. There's no reason he would want to stay. Sasuke barely listens to people, let alone someone who just insulted him. Even after six years, she's probably still not worth his time. "Anyway, since you're still here… You're curious how I got here? Here's the short version: I just stopped giving a damn. That's it. Up to you how you want to take it. Not like it matters anyway." Or in other words, it's not like I matter anyway.
"Sakura," he finally speaks up, catching her full attention. "…your pass, I can't give it."
Legitimately confused, Sakura furrows her eyebrows at him. "My what?"
"Your identification pass. I can't give it to you. At least, not at this moment."
She blinks a couple of times. It seems that during all of that not-so-gentle banter, she had forgotten her original purpose of being here. And now that she does remember, she can't help but be slightly pissed. Sighing, she hunches forward and props her elbows against her knees, directing him a look of uncertainty. "When can you give it then? No pressure, but my deadline is fast approaching."
"I can give it to you tomorrow. At dawn. When no one is watching."
Sakura scrunches up her face in confusion. "Sasuke, if you're concerned about privacy, I'm more than willing to get out of here-"
"That's… not the point. Look, if you really want to succeed this mission, it's better if you just do as I say," he says, inciting an offended look from her. "…Sakura, when the last time you've been to Prath?"
"Six years," she answers almost robotically.
"Then you're obviously outdated," he retaliates, but she senses no underlying spite in his tone this time round. "The city… it's not like before. It looks a lot different now ever since the Fox terrorized it. Underwent countless renovations, changes, repairs… I take it you're conscientious with your plans, so unless you're planning to risk it and head over there with as little thought as possible, then I'm not stopping you."
She stares blankly at him, still confused. "Can you clarify what you mean by that?"
Sasuke shakes his head. "You'll see when you get there."
Clearly meant to be left in the dark, Sakura doesn't budge the issue any further. She supposes that she'll get a better understanding once she arrives. Still though, nothing should surprise her at this point. Grudgingly, she forces herself to be agreeable with him and holds her tongue for sharp words. "…Fine, I'll bite. Where do I meet you tomorrow?"
"The West entrance. By the bridge. You know the place?"
She contemplates only for a short second. "I do."
He gets up to leave, obviously with no farewell or goodbye whatsoever, and Sakura doesn't bother to watch him as he goes. But as he moves to turn the corner, she hears his voice calling her out one last time.
"Before I go, Sakura, I'm curious. Naruto… Does he know you're here?" he asks plainly.
Sakura regards him, dead and tired eyes on her face, and shakes her head. "No."
Shifting his gaze forward, he mutters his usual 'hn', before moving once again. This time, she watches until he disappears, eyes locked on the swish of his cape until he is entirely out of sight.
From what she gathers up until this point, Orochimaru sent two convicts from Prath to wreck havoc back in this corrupted city. Was he assuming that she would have more drive? More motivation? More incentive? In utter disappointment, Sakura scoffs. She thought he knew her better: Sakura's not one to bask in retribution and revenge. He's got the wrong person in mind.
She rolls her eyes. What an idiot.
When the sun is barely even rising the next day, Sakura is already standing at the bridge. She woke up with mild headache this morning, but she's experienced a lot worse. As per routine, she downed a couple glasses of water, had a cup of tea and much of her hangover was long gone. And now as the cold and chilly air settles around her, Sakura leans against the cool railing and rubs her arms up and down, waiting impatiently for Sasuke's arrival – she's just recently discovered that her early arrival will do nothing to hasten this part of the journey.
When she finally sees him in the distance – walking slower than she would prefer – she finally straightens up from her uncomfortable stance and crosses her arms. He looks a lot more pleasant – as pleasant as Sasuke Uchiha can get – and more importantly, much less hostile than yesterday.
"Morning," she greets, omitting the 'good' out of the expression. He simply nods back in his own passive, recluse, and personalized way of greeting. Even with this, their encounter is already turning out much better than the first. Maybe the two of them can just silently forgo the events of last night and start somewhat fresh.
Out of his coat, she watches as he pulls out a handful of documents and extends them to her. "Here. Mira Sato. Your new name. A practicing medic from an extended rural village, intending to train under a mentor at one of the Prath clinics," he explains dully.
Sakura flips and skims through each of the documents, slightly taken aback by the enormous amount of content in her hands. Legal passport with personal information, formal invitation for her apprenticeship in Prath, a year's contract signed for her stay, a guard's pass, letter of approval from the council, assigned living quarters…
She looks back up at Sasuke, aghast, confused and searching for answers. Why so much content? Why so much effort in retrieving something that's real? While she admits that her knowledge of the city is a bit outdated, she knows well enough that these inked seals were not made through forgery. This is something she can confirm from personal experience. "Sasuke, what is this? This looks like a ton of junk. And by the looks of it, this is a real person."
Sasuke casually shrugs his shoulders and dismisses her concern with a void and vacant stare. "I was instructed to make it as real as possible. Besides, you will need all of that to get inside Prath's borders."
Sakura looks down at the stack in her hands once again, deranged and confused thoughts still swirling in her head. "…Is that so? Then, if I might ask… where is this poor girl? What did you do to her?"
He shakes his head. "That's none of your concern. She was taken care of."
Clutching on to the documents, Sakura narrows her eyes at Sasuke accusingly, wondering what 'taken care of' really means, but seeing as Sasuke's probably too much of a hard-ass to admit what he's done, she lets it go. From behind, Sakura pulls out a clean sack and starts arranging the files inside. "By the way, if you're expecting me to attend this girl's internship to keep up this façade, don't count on it. I don't do medicinal practice."
Sasuke raises a quizzical eyebrow at her warning, but not one to be too concerned with trivial things, he shrugs it off with indifference that she doesn't even notice. "...I don't think that will be a problem."
"Good," she says, glancing up at him again and quickly changing the subject. "Now, with regards to your role in this mission, I want to know how often you're planning on showing up."
He sighs inaudibly, shifting his gaze to the side and onto the waters below in thought. "… weekly perhaps? I'm not sure if Orochimaru mentioned this, but I have another mission of my own to complete."
Sakura scoffs lightly. "And what is that? Planning to abduct someone too?"
He shakes his head, gaze still lingering out in the distance. "That's… none of your concern."
Seems like nothing is of my concern. Sakura sighs, concluding that this is as far as Sasuke will ever open up. It's odd though. Last night, he was cruel, demeaning and threatened her with his sword. This morning, on the other hand, he's completely stringent and strict business with her. She supposes she should be thankful.
Holding up her sack, she nods her head at him in genuine gratitude. "…Well then. Thanks for this. If I wasn't ready before, I suppose I'm ready now. I guess all I really need to do is look like her, am I right?" she jokes, laughing at her own basic quip. When she catches the stoic expression on his face though, her laughter dies down to an awkward and lonely chuckle. Clearly, Sasuke really refuses to find no humor in anything. Apparently still an inappropriate time to joke.
She clears her throat, recovering from the awkward encounter, and opens her mouth to continue when he cuts her off.
"Sakura, I'm not finished."
Her eyebrows knit together in confusion. "Huh?"
He eyes her up and down, seemingly for no reason other than to make her more suspicious, and unexpectedly closes his eyes. His face scrunches up in concentration, lines appearing in the sides of his eyes and Sakura leans in closer, curious and confused at the same time. A momentary silence stretches between them, each passing second leaving Sakura thinking that this is just a ruse.
"Sasuke, what are you-"
He opens his eyes again.
And when she finally sees it, her words are cut off by a sharp gasp and she averts her gaze so fast she might get whiplash. What the heck is he thinking? She has little idea what to do, but she does know the number one rule to counter it: don't look. How could she be so stupid? Or in other words, how could he be so stupid?
"Are you trying to fucking kill me, Uchiha? Really? Are we doing this again?" she hisses sharply, backing away slowly and lifting a hand to shield her face.
"Calm down. I'm not going to use it like that."
"Than what could you possibly need your Sharingan for?" she demands crossly, her thoughts a weird concoction of anger, confusion, shock and oddly enough, fear.
She can hear him sighing from the other side. "I'm going to change you."
"Change me?"
"Yes. Change you. It's as you said: All you need to do now is look like her," he explains slowly, as if talking to a child.
This is when she pauses to think. Clears her mind for just a second and rethinks about what she said. Look like her? Can he really do that?
A full minute of silence passes as she contemplates between do and don't. And while she her rational mind is telling her don't, Sakura doesn't know where to draw the line. She never does. At this point, she's crossed so many lines and taken enough risks that her life is but a wonder. So in this situation, where she's given the choice between safety and risk, she knows that she tends to lean towards the latter.
At the end of the day, she realizes that she actually doesn't have much of a choice; just as her heart continually seeks for more, she eventually gives in to her curiosity.
She starts by lowering her hand. And then looking straight at his middle, still avoiding the red hues of those deceitful eyes.
"Sakura, I'm not-"
"I know! This isn't easy. Just… hold on." she retorts. Taking a deep breath, she shifts her gaze back to his eyes in one fluid motion, mentally prepared for any unusual illusions or hallucinations, but also physically unprepared for countering them.
Just as she remembers, his eyes have turned a blood red, a simple circular pattern drawn there in black. It's not as intimidating as she recalls – kind of a letdown, to be honest – but she's not one to underestimate its power. The Sharingan is known to throw people's minds off balance, thus giving the user the ultimate advantage. Fortunately, nothing seems to have happened. Nothing hurts. Nothing is different. Nothing's changed (yet) and she exhales softly in relief.
"…Alright, Uchiha. I'm looking. But I swear, if you do something-"
"Damn it, Sakura. Just shut up for a sec." He takes a step closer, and while her instincts tell her to back away, she fights against it. "All you have to do is look."
She does as he says, focusing entirely on his deep reds with complete vulnerability. Nothing happens within the first few moments and just when she's starting to regret this altogether, she starts to feel the lightheadedness sinking in. She thinks it's normal at first, possibly the morning's tiredness or exhaustion catching up to her, but then the weakness spreads. It starts at her face, then to her chest, radiating to her arms and slowly enveloping her lower limbs. What the…
She can't pinpoint when it happens, but soon enough, it becomes increasingly difficult to stay focused on his unchanging eyes. She can't move, can't lift her arms and certainly can't fight it. And of all sudden, she's forced to stop thinking altogether. At one point, she feels a hand on her shoulder, straightening her position and steadying her.
"Sakura, you're swaying…" She knows this voice belongs to Sasuke, but the sound comes out hazy, like an echo of some sort. And she realizes that her hearing has been numbed as well.
It's hard to speak, hard to maintain focus, and it's damn near impossible to ask him what's going on and how far she needs to go with this. And when her vision starts blurring, all of a sudden, she's seeing two of him. She supposes this is where she should draw the line, but how can she? Her legs feel like jelly, about to crumble under her crushing weight because how can she feel so heavy and light at the same time?
Just when she's feeling the sensation that she's about to faint, she attempts to use the last of her dissipating consciousness to turn away, but that's when she feels it. Pain.
From the outside, she hears a faint whisper, "Sakura, this will hurt."
And then it does. Her body shudders and revolts against it, and he says the words just in time when there's a sudden stabbing pain in her middle, as if she's just been gutted through and through. She's no longer looking at him now, the sensations causing her to double over her stomach and drop to her knees at the sudden registration of hurt. The pain successfully emanates and branches out to all her limbs, missing no inch of skin or bone until it makes its way to her head where it hurts the most.
It comes as an intense migraine, and she lets out an earsplitting scream because she's never felt anything like this before. It's like an assault coming from the inside, with her body having no precedent or preparation to counter such pain, leaving her completely stunned and invaded. It's disturbing, it's trespassing and she's never felt so intruded before.
And the sensation is so odd, because she swears that she's feeling the change. Even as the numbness slowly ebbs away, she feels her face twitching and contorting in awkward ways, and her mind has to second-guess itself when she thinks that her legs and arms are compressing, shifting and changing ever so slightly.
Her vision is cloudy, hearing is fuzzy, but it feels like forever has passed before the pain actually starts to subside. Registering that she's on her knees, she tries to make sense of the stony floors, but fails to. Fortunately, the pain only lasts for a second more and just like that, a wave of numbness and reliefs overcomes her.
Just as she's about to collapse to the side, she feels a hand on one of her shoulders, keeping her steady once again. She knows it's Sasuke and that he's kneeled down to her level.
"Sakura, it's done. You can get up," he informs inconsiderably.
But can she get up? Probably not the best idea, but that doesn't mean she won't try. Fighting the surge of weakness, she blindly locates the railing bars beside her and uses it to drag herself onto her knees and then on to her feet. Once she's up, she leans her entire upper body over the rail in a desperate attempt catch her breath.
When she catches Sasuke's eyes again, they're no longer red, having transitioned back to its onyx black in between the transition. She gives him a confused look when he tips his head in the direction of the water, but when she follows his eyes and shifts her gaze to the slow waters below the bridge, the sight is enough to wake her up.
"Agh!" And she has to looks away immediately. All skepticism is erased when she takes a second look, confirming that indeed, her hair is no longer pink, eyes are no longer green and there is someone else in that reflection looking back at her. "Um…" she says unintelligently, still dumbstruck by it all.
Sasuke, still stoic and apathetic as ever, resumes dryly. "Sakura, you'll feel stiff for the rest of the day. Other than that, it will take some time getting used to. "
She can't help but look at her reflection again, still caught off guard by own face. Sakura swallows hard, finding that words suddenly hard to find and piece together. "Uhh… okay."
He nods his head at her, either ignoring or remaining oblivious to her shocked stature. "I'll find you in a week's time. Other than that, good luck." And with that, he starts walking in the same direction he came.
With her exhaustion, it's a struggle to simply speak, so she has to muster everything she has just to shout out the simple word, "Wait!"
He pauses mid-step, and just turns his head over his shoulder coolly. She's still gasping and breathing heavily, but she manages to speak in between loose breaths. "Sasuke, hey umm… about us, are we… We're good, right?"
There's an intense pause that follows afterwards as Sakura merely awaits his answer. And when he nods his head to affirm their relationship and turns back around, she feels an unexpected wave of relief. Whether or not Sasuke still she thinks she's annoying, it does not matter; she feels a burden lifted soaring off her mind anyway. Because after so many years of constant rejection and receiving the cold shoulder, maybe – just maybe – she and Sasuke are finally on decent terms. Not a goal she set herself to accomplish, but she likes to think that it's one less person she has to worry about.
She watches him leave as long as she can and when he's completely gone, she slumps back down against the railing in utter exhaustion. Sitting at the foot of the bridge, she reaches a hand up to admire her new features. Fingering through her new brown locks, she observes her smaller and frailer stature – it will definitely take some time getting used to her new skin. Of course, nothing is stopping the nausea stirring in the pit of her stomach at the novelty of her countenance, but she shifts her gaze northward anyway, in the direction of Prath.
A part of her is wondering if this whole charade has already gone too far, but whether or not she thinks it has, she supposes there's no going back now.
Thanks for reading. I'm aware that I've portrayed Sakura quite differently from her canon counterpart; however, this version of her has endured a different life. I understand the cause for concern, but I certainly hope you stick around to find out her story. Otherwise, I wish you a wonderful day. - MT