title: 7:31
prompt: SASUSAKU MONTH ON LJ! 2012
rating: T-M
summary: oo2: He's keeping her hostage, but he must let her go.
REVISED 6.30.14
.oo2.
Hostage
She felt cold metal against her throat and a hand holding her hair tight in a fist. Refusing to turn her head to meet the eyes of her captor, she growled instead, hoping that she would intimidate him.
Sasuke chuckled, loosening his grip on her hair while still holding the kunai against her throat.
"Sakura, Sakura, Sakura," he said, shaking his head while smirking. "Are you trying to scare me?"
She didn't want to respond to his taunts, but spat at him instead. It landed on his cheek, which he brushed away with the back of his hand.
"Feisty, aren't you? You've grown some backbone."
The remark hit her hard, especially coming from Sasuke.
"Nothing to say now?" he took the kunai away from her throat and massaged her scalp. "It must hurt." Was he referring to her hair or the comment?
"Don't touch me," she snarled, pushing him away. He raised his eyebrows, obviously amused by her behavior.
"You sure wouldn't have said that four years ago," he smirked, twirling the knife around his finger. "My, how you've changed."
Sakura wanted nothing more than to lunge at his throat, taking the kunai and slitting it. But she decided against it. Plus, her feet were bound in chains against the rock walls of the cave he was holding her hostage at.
He crouched in front of her. "Tell me where Naruto is." All traces of the half-assed amusement were gone, and his face had immediately become serious and cold.
"Never."
Sasuke took her collar in his hands and she felt her throat clench. "Sakura." He said her name with such coldness that she wondered where the Sasuke who had been on the same team as her went. "Tell me where Naruto is."
"I won't."
"You can't or you won't?"
"I won't."
Suddenly, he slapped her across the face. She flinched, feeling the sting of his hand against her cheek. But she continued to stare at him with a straight face.
"Are you going to tell me now, Sakura?"
"No."
He raised his hand for another slap, but watched as she quickly turned her head to the side and was ready for the hit. Instead, he lowered his hand and loosened the grip on her collar.
"I'll be back," he muttered, pocketing the kunai knife and leaving her chained against the wall.
The moment he left, Sakura didn't know what to do. She had never experienced the swirl of emotions she was feeling now.
A warm tear fell down her bruised cheek.
.
.
.
"Still nothing?" Suigetsu asked as Sasuke walked to the part of the cave where their storage supplies were. He, Juugo, and Karin were sitting around in a circle near a small fire, warming their hands. "Can I go and talk to her? I'm interested in seeing how your old teammate looked like."
"No," Sasuke said, with a little more ferocity than he wanted. Suigetsu jumped back, obviously surprised by his leader's response.
"Whoa, alright. Chill out." He backed away more into the circle. "Then sit down. Have some dried fish," he said, handing Sasuke a package of food.
"I don't want any." Sasuke walked away, wanting to go to his temporary room, before Karin stopped him.
"Sasuke-kun!" she said.
He rolled his eyes and turned around. "What?"
Karin, too, was surprised by his emotion. "I—I…"
"Forget it," he turned back again. "Leave me alone for now. I need time to think about how to get the Jinchuuriki."
.
.
.
Sasuke lied down on his futon, staring up at the rocks. Capturing Sakura was so easy. While she and the rest of the guys he used to know were on their mission, she had been separated from the group. And it was there that he drugged her and took her.
He imagined that there would have been more of a struggle, considering how powerful she'd gotten over the years. And how beautiful.
Sasuke shook his head quickly and slapped his forehead. He shouldn't be thinking of a girl when he had a mission to do! Especially when that mission involved Sakura and his best friend.
He stared at the hand that had slapped his hostage. His teammate. His friend.
His companion.
Suddenly, he clenched his hand into a fist, feeling his nails break the skin. Cursing, he unclenched his fist, feeling the blood seep down from his palm. He'd have to cut his nails soon.
.
.
.
Sakura was tired and lonely. She hadn't had anything to eat for the longest time and was so hungry.
She sat there in the dark for a while, counting the seconds that had gone by since Sasuke left her in the dark. Both four years ago and right now.
Two thousand sixteen, she thought, continuing to try and break out of the chains at her feet that held her securely. Two thousand seventeen.
Sakura gave up. There was no use. She was tired and had no nourishment for any more effort without straining herself.
"I can't do anything," she shouted, angry at herself. "I hate it!"
"Quiet." Sasuke was in front of her, holding a bowl of rice with a pair of chopsticks. "Eat."
He crouched in front of her again as she took the food, not bothering to say the prayer. Before the rice made its way into her mouth, she stopped.
"You could have poisoned this."
"I didn't."
She thrust the bowl towards him. "Then eat it."
He stared at her with his cold, deep eyes—and then took three bites before handing it back. She waited a couple minutes, made sure that he seemed alright, and began to slowly eat, Sasuke's taste still briefly on the chopsticks.
Then, after seeing that there was nothing wrong with the rice, she wolfed it down, handing the bowl back to him.
"I have a question," she asked.
Sasuke was surprised, but he didn't speak. He let her ask, assuming it would be about the place they were at or something about him or Naruto.
"Why did you chain only my legs? Why not my arms?"
He was silent at first. "Suigetsu made them. Something about losing more chakra and energy and more efficient."
"Oh."
He saw through the darkness that her cheek was still red. He lifted up his bloodied hand to caress it, but thought twice and lowered it. He wanted to ask her how she was, how the village was, and nothing about getting the Jinchuuriki, but couldn't find the words.
"I'm not going to tell you about Naruto," she said quietly. "I know you'll hate me for it. You probably already do. But he's my friend, and…so are you."
The fact that she still considered him a friend made him jerk up in surprise. He looked into her eyes. She was sincere.
"I can't let you do this," she whispered. She leaned over and took his hand, feeling the warmth surround her.
"Sasuke!" she said. "Y-You're bleeding!"
"Hn." He jerked his palm away.
"Stop." She took it back and examined it. "I wish I could heal you," she said. "But I have no chakra."
"It's nothing."
"Sasuke." She leaned over as much as she could without tugging at the chains. She wrapped her arms around him and enveloped him in a tight hug.
"I missed you."
He didn't know what to do, so he rested his hands on her back, not hugging her, but not pushing her away. He liked the feel of her arms around him, like that time in the hospital bed.
"I've got to go." He removed her arms gently from him and stood up, taking the empty bowl with him.
"Bye," she said softly.
He didn't respond.
.
.
.
"She's not giving us any information, Sasuke," Juugo said angrily. "We need to kill her."
"We're not killing her."
"Sasuke, if we let her go she'll tell everyone. And if we don't, she'll just be a burden to us."
"STOP!" Sasuke shouted. He was panting heavily. Karin, Suigetsu, and Juugo looked up to see what had caused this odd change in behavior.
"I'll figure something out," he said. "In the meantime, just leave me alone."
"Sasuke-kun," Karin began.
"Stop."
Leaving the room, he ran a hand through his hair. He didn't know what he was going to do. But he had to figure it out, soon.
.
midnight
.
Sakura was napping against the wall, her back sore from the rock.
"Get up," Sasuke said, shaking her awake. "Come on, Sakura. Get up."
"Nn—" she began, struggling to open her eyes. "W-What…"
"Let's go." He took the chains off her feet and carried her. She had probably forgotten what it was like to walk with her feet so numb.
"Where are you taking me?" she asked, her eyes adjusting to the lights.
"Back to your home."
She immediately opened her eyes at this. "What?"
"I'm taking you back to Konoha."
"B-But…Sasuke," she began.
"Do you not want to go back?"
"No! I do. I want to go back, but…" she caressed his cheek. "Will you come with me?"
He paused for a moment. "I can't."
Sakura didn't say anything. "Why are you letting me go?"
"Because I can't keep you hostage any longer."
"Do you ever miss me or the old team?"
He didn't want to admit that yes, he did miss them. "I don't have time to think about things like that."
Soon—Sakura didn't know how quick it had been—they were at a hill near the gate of Konoha, where Sasuke had left four years ago. He knew this place so well. Of course he would drop her off here.
"I guess this is goodbye," Sakura said, being let down by Sasuke.
"Yeah."
"Will I ever see you again?" she asked quietly, her voice cracking. He knew that she was trying not to cry.
"Perhaps."
She began to walk down the hill when she turned around and threw her arms around him, placing a soft kiss on his lips.
"I love you," she said. "I always have."
This time, he hugged her back, tightly but briefly. He let go, smirking.
"You're annoying."
She smiled through tears. "I know."
"Goodbye, Sakura," he said.
"Goodbye…" she closed her eyes, letting the tears fall. Opening them, she saw that he was gone. "Sasuke-kun."
Slight changes!