Towards the Light

A/N: Hey everyone, Let me start by saying a massive apology on the lateness of this chapter. There has been a lot going on in my life at the moment which caused the delay… I will definitely try to make it up to you all!

Also, I would just like to say thank you to those two wonderful people that reviewed my last chapter and to everyone continuing to read my story. I write because I have a passion for it, but it is also you guys that keep me going with your encouragement and feedback on how I can improve.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the characters. That honour belongs to the outstandingly creative and illustrious Kishimoto.

Lets begin chapter 3.

Chapter Three: Rumours

It had been exactly two weeks since returning home and Sakura was pushing herself to the brink of exhaustion. She had decided to take extra shifts at the hospital, not only because they needed the extra support with the injured from the war, but as a distraction so she wouldn't have the time to sit and worry about the still undecided fate of Sasuke.

The news about his return home had spread throughout the village and with it, rumours about his imprisonment. One afternoon, Sakura had overheard two of the nurses talking, saying that Sasuke had completely destroyed a small village killing innocent people and children. This of course was not true and just a rumour, but as so many had been spreading, it looked to be the truth.

The whole village was waiting in anticipation for the announcement of the next Hokage, as they knew that with it would come the decision about Sasuke's fate. There had been no real news at this stage. Some had recommended that Naruto should be considered for the role of becoming Hokage. However after the war, the people needed someone older with more experience. Tsunade had even said that Naruto deserved time to rest and recuperate after the war, as without him, they knew they would have had no hope of winning the war.

And so the waiting game continued.

Sakura was at the Hospital taking on another extra shift. She was so immersed into her work, rushing around, that she didn't even notice two sets of concerned eyes watching her.

Naruto had heard from Ino about Sakura's behaviour. She had turned up at his apartment one afternoon and had shared her concerns for her friend. After that day, Naruto had taken it upon himself to make stops at the hospital to check in with Sakura. Most of the time, she would be so busy that she wouldn't even notice his presence; much like today. Naruto stood with Ino watching their friend rush around the hospital flitting from one room to another.

"I'm really worried about her Naruto. I feel like she's on the brink of dying from exhaustion!" exclaimed Ino.

"I don't think it's as dramatic as that, but…" Naruto trailed off as he noticed another medic approach Sakura.

"Sakura-san, I have a problem with one of the patients on the 3rd floor. I believe that the treatment prescribed isn't quite assisting in the levitation of her symptoms".

"Hmm… Would you like me to have a look?" said Sakura.

"Oh, would you? But I know that you have already taken on some of the other medic's patients too. I wouldn't want to overload you…" the medic's eyes changed to reflect sympathy as she continued "… especially at this time when Uch-"

"Honestly, its no problem at all" interrupted Sakura, smiling at her colleague before making her way to the elevator.

Naruto's mouth set into a hard line of concern. Ino noticed this and commented "She's been doing that a lot lately too. She's even tried taking some of my work".

"Hmm… but that's not what I'm worried about." Said Naruto.

"What do you mean?!" exclaimed Ino, now fully focused on Naruto and awaiting his response.

"Her smile" replied Naruto.

"Her smile? What about her smile? Isn't it a good thing she's smiling at least?"

"I would be happy about it, if I hadn't seen that smile before…" said Naruto slowly.

Naruto new that smile all too well, and he knew that it meant nothing good. Whenever she tried to hide anything from him, it never ended well. He knew that she was working herself to the bone as a way of trying to not focus on Sasuke. But just how long would this continue? Naruto had fought with the Elders to be granted permission to see Sasuke. He had only been granted supervised visits, but at least they didn't need to sneak in to see him like before. But Sakura hadn't even seen Sasuke since that first visit. Something was very wrong. He just hoped that he could get her to open up to someone about it, or even better, that a new Hokage would be appointed soon so that they could put this whole mess of Sasuke's arrest behind them.

Ino frowned, now understanding what Naruto had meant. She looked at the clock on the wall and turned back to Naruto.

"Naruto, I'll keep an eye on her and you go. Otherwise you'll miss your chance to visit Sasuke".

Naruto hated leaving Sakura, knowing that something was wrong, but he knew that Ino would be there for Sakura. So he thanked Ino and asked that she keep him updated, before he left towards the prison.

As Naruto walked down the passageway to Sasuke's cell, Sasuke noted Sakura's absence. At first he had just gone along with the reasons that Naruto had given him, but now it seemed strange. Something was wrong, and one look at Naruto's face when he remarked on Sakura's absence, confirmed it. There was something that Naruto was keeping from him. But why?

Even though he knew that Sakura had changed a lot over the years since he left the village, he still wouldn't think that she would be the type of person to not see him. Especially when she was prepared to go against ANBU to prevent his arrest. Perhaps she was still angry at him for putting her under a genjutsu. Surely she still didn't hold that against him. If that's the reason, then perhaps she hasn't changed as much as he thought she had. Although, if that were the case, why keep it a secret?

"Naruto, what's really going on? Just because I'm behind bars, doesn't mean I become stupid." Said Sasuke in a serious voice.

"Wrong?! Nothing's wrong. Everything is perfectly fine! A-ha-ha" said Naruto nervously.
Sasuke gave him a look.

Naruto sighed loudly. "I'm sorry Sasuke, it's just that with all the things you have to deal with at the moment, I just didn't want to add to your list. Especially when I don't even fully understand what's going on…"

Sasuke nodded motioning for Naruto to continue.

"Ino and I have noticed that Sakura has been behaving strangely since you got arrested. She's been taking extra shifts at the hospital and even taking on some of the other medics work."

"So far, I fail to see how this is something negative. If she thinks she can take on the extra work, then let her." Said Sasuke calmly.

"Sasuke, you have not been here to understand the things that Sakura does when something is wrong. The extra work is to keep her from focussing on something that is upsetting her. It obviously has something to do with your arrest, but I haven't been able to understand why she won't come and see you".

Sasuke sat still for a moment to sink in what Naruto had just told him.

"Bring her here with you tomorrow" replied Sasuke.

Utterly shocked, Naruto managed to form a reply "But she won't come. How-"

"Just bring her. I'm sure Ino and yourself can come up with a plan".

"I can try, but I won't promise anything. Any more news on your situation?"

"No. Nothing."

"I see…" said Naruto as he directed his eyes to the ground. Naruto hated seeing his friend locked up in here. The people are praising him for all he did during the war, but he couldn't have done it without Sasuke and this is how they are thanking him.

Naruto lifted his head and offered his friend a smile "Well I'll be back tomorrow then." Said Naruto, whist getting to his feet.

"Aa" replied Sasuke as he nodded and watched his friend leave.

Sasuke knew that Sakura was stubborn. Once she had her mind set on something, there was usually no changing it, and that the use of force was the only way to get her to stray from her path of action. He knew that much about Sakura from experience. Naruto and Ino would have a very hard time trying to force her to come to the prison. Sasuke smirked at the thought. If only he wasn't stuck here in this prison cell. Yes, he knew he needed to atone for his sins but he also needed to do that in terms of being there for Naruto and Sakura. He had believed that him being in prison would help alleviate the situation, by showing that he wasn't going to leave or run from his punishment, not make it worse.

If Naruto indeed succeeds in bringing Sakura to his prison cell, what would he say to her? Sasuke pondered this long after he heard the large main door of the prison slam shut.

Ever since Sakura woke up the next morning, she knew something strange was going on. She got up and made herself ready for work. As she walked out her front door, she was greeted by Ino.

"Ino!? What are you doing here?" Said a startled Sakura.

Ino gave her friend a large smile. "I thought that I would make an effort as a friend. I thought we could walk to work together."

"That's really nice of you Ino. But it's 5am. Doesn't your shift start at 11am today?" said Sakura giving Ino a confused look.

"Y-yes it did. But uh another medic needed to start later today so I'm doing her shift for her." Ino hoped Sakura believed her. Naruto was depending on her.

"Oh I see. Why didn't you say so? Lets go then." Said Sakura with a smile, which put Ino at ease.

So the two started walking together in the direction of the hospital. Ino looked over her shoulder for a moment. 'Ok Naruto, part 1 is complete. Now you better uphold your side!' thought Ino. She had no idea whether their plan would indeed work. She was very surprised that Sakura hadn't suspected anything when she found her on her doorstep.

Ino was pulled from her thoughts about the plan as Sakura spoke.

"Hey Ino, whoever the medic was that you swapped shifts with… they did tell you that the early morning shifts today are a 10 hour shift right?" said Sakura turning her head to face her friend.

"Of course I know that! Don't be silly Sakura" laughed Ino through a forced smile. Ino then sighed. 'This is going to be a long day… Naruto owes me big time!' thought Ino, as she and Sakura continued on their way to work.

As Sakura and Ino began to walk through the main doors of the hospital they greeted the man at the reception counter.

"Ohayou Kei-san!" said Sakura smiling as she proceeded to walk through the main open area of the hospital. Ino wanting to keep up appearances around Sakura, offered Kei a greeting also.

"O-ohayou" said Ino slightly nervously.

"Ohay- Ino-san? What are you doing here? Isn't your shift later this morning?" Kei said rather confused.

Ino froze for a split second. 'Oh no. I will not have this plan ruined before it has only begun!'

Ino walked over to the counter. "Yes, but I swapped shifts with someone else so that's why I'm here early!" laughed Ino.

Kei frowned, still looking confused. "That's odd because no one has informed me of a shift swap. Are you sure-"

Kei was cut off as Ino put her hand over his mouth. "Shh! I have a very important mission and I will not have you ruin it Kei! So what will it take to have you forget that I'm not meant to be here?" Whispered Ino in a rather aggressive tone.

Ino moved her hand just enough for Kei to reply.

Kei looked very nervous. He gulped as he stuttered out his reply. "G-go on a d-date with m-me?"

'No, no, no! anything but that!' Ino sighed. "Done."

With that she turned and hurried down the hallway to catch up with her fiend. 'Oh Sakura, the things I do for you…'.

Ino had been acting strange all day. I felt her hovering around me and whenever one of the other medics asked me to take on extra patients or to check out a patient under their care, she would immediately jump in and take care of it. I thought that she was just eager or being nice at first, but after the fifth time it seemed like something was up. Just what was she up to?

We both took our break with just a few hours of our shift left to go.

"Ino…" Sakura started.

"Yes?" She said, almost sitting on the edge of her chair.

"I have noticed that you seem to be very eager today to take on extra work. Is there any reason why?" She looked at Ino's face and she seemed to panic a little, though she hid it very well. If she wasn't her best friend, she probably wouldn't have even noticed.

"I didn't even notice! You know what they say. Stay busy and the day will fly by!" Ino said with a laugh.

"Oh, ok. I thought that something might be wrong"

"No, no! Nothing is wrong. Why would something be wrong?" Ino said rather quickly.

"No, reason. I'm glad everything is ok." said Sakura with a smile, though she wasn't convinced. Something was up, and she was going to get to the bottom of it!

It was near the end of the shift and Ino was getting a bit nervous. Naruto should be coming any minute now. She hoped that he knew what he was doing. She had done most of her part, but now it was his turn.

Naruto came to the hospital just as her and Sakura had gone to get some fresh air. Ino felt her hold her breath a little. Here we go.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" said Sakura clearly confused by seeing her teammate here of all places.

"Well you see Sakura-chan, I was… I was just.. err…" Naruto scratched his head.

"You just what?" Asked Sakura.

Ino mentally face-palmed herself. She could not believe it. Well I mean she could. It is Naruto. But they had gone over the plan multiple times!

"Sakura, I was just wondering if maybe you would… If maybe you could-"

"Naruto, if you don't hurry up and spit it out already, I'm going to either punch it out of you or just go back to work?" said Sakura, clearly starting to get annoyed now. Naruto usually wasn't this. Not around Sakura any more. No wonder she wasn't buying it.

Naruto sighed. "I was actually just going to let you know that I was on my way to see Sasuke."

Ino's mouth hung open. He didn't… I cannot believe he backed out of our plan!

"Oh, well have a nice time. I've got to get back to work now." She said with a smile as she turned and headed back into the hospital.

Naruto sighed and turned his head towards the ground. He suddenly felt a chakra near him flicker with anger. He looked up in time to see Ino fist ready to punch him, but a little too late to dodge the attack. He went flying and rolled on the ground.

He stood up now clutching his red cheek. "Ino! What was that for!?"

"You know very well what they was for! How could you back out of the plan? All you had to do was perform the shadow clone jutsu and hold Sakura steady for me to enter her mind and get her to the prison!" said Ino still standing with her fists clenched. "I took on an extra shift, a 10 hour shift mind you, and had to agree to go on a date with Kai to make this happen and you back out? You better have a good reason!"

For a while, Naruto said nothing. He seemed to be pondering his response. "In the end I just couldn't do it. I don't want to force her. I'm worried it might send her backwards." He said as he looked down still deep in thought.

Well Ino couldn't really argue with that. "So what are you going to tell Sasuke?"

"The truth." He said as he turned and headed in the direction of the prison.

Naruto entered the prison with his features hard and deep in thought on what he would say to Sasuke. He hoped he wouldn't end up with two red cheeks tonight.

Before Sasuke could see Naruto, he knew that his plan to bring Sakura had failed. Did she really not want to see me so badly?

Naruto opened his mouth to speak but Sasuke beat him to it. "I can already guess." He said. "So much for your brilliant plan?"

"Hey! I'd like to see you come up with a plan to get Sakura here!" He exclaimed. "You know what she's like once she sets her mind on something."

That he actually did know. He had seen her strength in the war and how much effort and hard work she must have put in over the years. But more than that, how she never gave up on him.

"Fine then, Dobe. Listen carefully and you better not stuff this up." Said Sasuke in a serious tone.

Naruto nodded enthusiastically.

"Ok, well the first thing I need you to do is to come a bit closer to the bars."

"Closer to the bars?" asked Naruto clearly confused.

Sasuke sighed. "Yes, Dobe. I can't yell the plan out for every ninja and guard to hear".

"Oh! Right!" said Naruto as he moved closer.

The next thing he knew, he felt something cool and sharp being pressed into his neck and his head hitting one of the cell bars.

Soon everything went black.

Back at the hospital Ino had been called in to the main office as a message had come through. It was from the prison.

She then turned on her heals and rushed the message to Sakura.

"Sakura this message just came through!" she said trying to catch her breath.

"Ino, I'm quite busy at the moment. I'm sure it can wait." She said, about to rush off to another area of the hospital.

"No, it really can't!" she said as she grabbed Sakura and forced her to stop.

"This note is from the prison. An incident has happened. It involves Naruto". Ino said the last part slowly. Hoping that the news that something had happened to Naruto might make her stop and read the note.

With that, Sakura grabbed the note. She read it quickly and a serious expression emerged on her face. "Ino, I need you to take over for me."

"Hai! Be careful" she said.

When Sakura entered the prison, she did not know what to expect. The details in the message were not very clear. She concentrated hard and picked up on Naruto's chakra signature. It was flickering. Naruto was going in and out of consciousness.

She travelled swiftly through the prison, honing in on his location. There was one other chakra with him.

She was nearly there now. What could have happened? Did a prisoner get loose?

She turned the corner and felt a pang in her chest and her blood went cold.

There she saw Naruto, still in and out of consciousness with blood seeping from a wound to his head and a small trail of blood starting to drip from his neck as a kunai was being pressed into it. She trailed her eyes up the person's arm until her eyes met blood red and purple ones.

The person that had done this to Naruto, was Sasuke.

A/N: Thank you for reading yet another chapter!

Please leave a review on your thoughts.

Has the confinement of prison made Sasuke go crazy? Or was he never into the Team 7 reunion after all?

Find out in the next chapter! Please check my profile for the next chapter release date.

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