Madness Contagion

(IMPORTANT: I re-vamped chapter one & two & three, fixed up some of the annoying spelling mistakes, please forgive me, I have no beta reader because I suck. Also, I removed the old chapter four and made this one.)

Standard disclaimer applied.
If I owned Naruto, you should be expecting it to rain mountain dew and cigarettes.
Separately, of course.
No one wants soggy cigs.

'Oranges' – Sakura's own thoughts unless described as otherwise

'Oranges' – Sakura's dark thoughts, animalistic side.

Chapter Four; Wounds That Never Heal

Sasuke's sharringan was activated and his eyes bled crimson as he turned on his heel, katana already unsheathed, when a flash of pink came from the corner of his eye, and then disappeared, he instantly felt about him for a signature of chakra, a certain pink-haired woman's chakra at that, before slowly turning around, crimson met crimson as Sasuke met the cherry colored eyes of his training partner. "Mind explaining why you've assaulted me?"

The pinkette simply shrugged, "You startled me. Simply an instance of the 'wrong place, wrong time' effect. I apologize, Uchiha-San." She nodded. That however, did nothing to deflect Sasuke's disbelieving stare and she shrugged before turning on a heel and continuing down the hall toward Orochimaru, he had no choice but to follow, considering he was going the same way.

Fifteen Minutes Privy…

Sakura Haruno, was not having a good day, not that her days were ever good, per say. Today was just especially awful. She had gone to inform Jugo, one of Orochimaru's earlier experiments, that Kimimaro had… passed. He did not take it well, but surprisingly Sakura was able to subdue him. He had always reacted well to Sakura's presence; she would allow him to lay his head in her lap and would sing to him until he calmed down.

She had taken quite a liking to the orange-haired man, although he insisted he was dangerous and needed to be kept away from people, he never denied Sakura his company. Sakura felt his pain, and although she was able to keep down her insatiable lust for blood after years and years of training herself to do so, her split personality disorder might have aided her a bit, but Jugo had no such luck, and rarely left his cell, in fact, he had chained himself to a particularly large weight to ensure he wouldn't leave said cell.

Oh yes, back to her particularly bad day.

Sakura knew her limitations with Orochimaru's patience. She knew that while he didn't voice these rules, there were some that he simply expected her to know and follow. One of them, being that she didn't have full clearance to the dungeons where some other experiments dwelled. What she meant by full clearance, was she was allowed to visit some experiments, but merely for medical examinations and whatnot. If she had taken up Kabuto's offer to aid him in his experiments on the other prisoners, she would have been gifted full clearance.

But Sakura had made a promise to herself many years ago that she would not lose the last bit of humanity she had left, and while that little bit was withering and shriveling and starving, she still made sure it still clung to life.

So Sakura had entered a room she did not have clearance in, the same room she had been entering for the past two years, often with Kimimaro himself aiding her in getting past the guards. He was the only one of the sound four she could stand, to be quite honest.

She was interrupted by Kabuto and had to quickly excuse herself before she was discovered in off-limit areas, and thus in her haste Sasuke's presence had startled her, which lead her to where she was now.

Walking to Orochimaru-Sama's study with Sasuke in tow, either he had been called upon too or he was simply distrusting and following her, either were plausible excuses, she hadn't been on good terms with the Uchiha, and if she was she really wasn't aware, she hadn't taken the time to train or see him in quite some time, such trivial things weren't worth her time unless Orochimaru had instructed her to go and do so.

So the pinkette merely sighed and stretched luxuriously before knocking on the Snake Sannin's door, not that she really had to do that, it was merely a formality. As a small chuckle came from the other end, she took it as acceptance to enter the room, as she slowly walked around the white-skinned man's desk and took a seat, Sasuke mimicked her actions and came to stand before the desk, his eyes hard and face stoic as he crossed his arms over his chest and eyed the man before him.

He smiled, ignoring the arrogance spiraling off the raven-haired teen before offering a pleasant smile to the pinkette. "Hello, Hime. How was your mission?" He asked slyly, not missing the resistance that flashed through her crimson orbs as she kept her face contorted into lazy disinterest.

"Uneventful." She replied dryly.

"Oh, come now. Something interesting had to have happened with that month you were gone? I assure you, Kabuto and I were quite worried about our sweet little Hime." He said, his face showing farce concern and sarcastic interest, Sasuke seemed to have been drawn into the conversation as well, because his onyx eyes had began boring holes into the pinkette as well, clearly he hadn't known she had been placed on a mission.

She crossed her arms and leaned further into her chair, "As I said before, uneventful. I carried out the task you requested of me without interference." She spoke; Orochimaru felt a grin of satisfaction touch his face, the pinkette was not one to give out information easily, ever the tightly sealed secret-keeper, this one.

She looked away from the man's sickly yellow eyes, finding a crack in the wall much more interesting at the moment. At her actions, Orochimaru sighed and lazily took his predatory gaze to the Uchiha, "How is your training coming along, Sasuke-Kun?" He grinned, as if he were in on some secret joke with the Uchiha. Sakura repressed a snort at their antics, he was shoving it in her face that Sasuke was getting training with his curse seal, she was well aware. This was highly unprofessional, even for the snake bastard.

"What is this about?" Sasuke snorted.

Sakura commended his patience. (Sarcasm, of course.) And repressed an eye roll as she continued staring blankly at the wall, this was a tremendous waste of her time. She could be mixing poisons in her lab right now, or talking with Jugo, depends on weather Kabuto had left the dungeons yet. Probably not, he's down there for hours at a time, usually.

As the pinkette turned her gaze back to the pale skinned man he looked quite pleased she had indeed joined the conversation,

I wander what his head would look like on a pike.

Indeed.

I wander how much blood we could make him spill in less than two minutes.

Indeed.

I wander-

"Hime? Darling, must you daydream while I'm talking to you?" Orochimaru sighed, pulling Sakura from her musings as she joined the attentive conversation with a sadistic grin of insanity that Orochimaru happily returned, causing a sense of discomfort to rise within the pit of Sasuke's stomach, while it didn't show, Sakura with her keen beast senses, could smell the spike of adrenaline in his already overly-potent blood.

Sakura dropped her grin in a second, her face returning to a calm relaxed monotone as she faced her momentary sensei, Orochimaru however, did not lose his grin as easily, and it slowly faded as he heaved a happy sigh, "Well, since both of you are now listening. I'd like you two to go on a mission." He said happily.

The pinkette's eyebrow rose in silent question, "Isn't Uchiha-San being hunted for?"

Orochimaru wasted no time pondering on her words before he continued, "At the moment, no. His teammate has gone off to play ninja with Jariya somewhere. Besides, this will be a simple mission to the Land of Snow." He drawled out as if it were a chore to describe.

"What kind of mission?" Sasuke spoke, his voice a cool baritone but with the underlying spike of annoyance he seemed to carry around with him constantly.

"Simply going to clean up a rather large mess one of my spies has left me, oh how I detest those with loose lips." He sighed dramatically, and it took everything Sakura and Sasuke had to conceal their unfathomable annoyance at the man before them.

"Hai."

"Hn."

-X-X-X-

Okay, the two were not very enthusiastic about the mission; in fact, they were probably less than not enthusiastic. Sasuke, because he wasn't partial to cold weather, Sakura, because while she adored cold weather, she didn't particularly enjoy Sasuke's company. Not that anyone cold blame her. He was especially moody as of late and Sakura's short temper made them dislike each other even more.

The temperature seemed to be dropping the further they got from Oto, where the natural temperature wasn't so warm to begin with, merely humid enough to create the illusion of heat. Sakura and Sasuke were clad in their normal clothing, Sakura's Pin-stripe dress and Sasuke in his Oto nin uniform, both with a long black cloak to cover themselves.

The silence was heavy as they walked through the muddy, swampy area that was Oto. Not that Sakura was complaining, she'd lived in these mucky, dreary parts for as long as she bothered to remember, the last four years. Everything before that was unimportant, she was no longer a part of Konoha, she was no longer an academy student. She didn't have friends anymore, she couldn't afford friends anymore.

While Sakura was lost in her musings Sasuke was stealing glances at her from the corner of his eye. The way she moved was so contradictory to reality, it was like she was floating on air instead of walking, even with the mucky, unstable ground she moved effortlessly and flawlessly.

The pinkette's cherry colored eyes flashed to him and he returned his gaze forward, the two continued in silence to the direction of Snow.

Hours passed before the two decided to make camp, Sasuke had started a fire while Sakura searched and secured the perimeter with effective and unnoticeable traps and some high-level genjustu, one could not be too careful.

She remained silent when she returned, perching herself in a high tree branch, still silent and calm as she rested her back against the surface of the tree, glancing over at the Uchiha male who was sitting by the fire, onyx eyes staring deeply into the flames with such contempt, Sakura was surprised the flames did not rise and spark in defense of his icy glare. She didn't ask, she didn't really care. It was none of her business, the fact that he had even come to Orochimaru's base had disrupted her normal schedule more than she would have liked to tolerate, he was simply a casualty, another toy for Orochimaru to play with until he grew bored of and tossed away like garbage.

Just like you. The darker thoughts were returning more often than usual, and Sakura's eyes narrowed in the darkness despite herself. She usually tried to keep a calm composure, but being around the Uchiha made her curse seal burn and pulse. It was like he was unknowingly trying to lull her into her transformative state, a state where her mind was not her own, split into two personalities; her curse mark would not take over her mind like it could have the others, no. Her 'gift' was also a curse, for she herself could someday become the voice in the back of her darker half's own mind.

The thought brought a frown to her plump lips; she couldn't fathom the idea of imprisonment. It terrified her. She was not able to handle the feeling of being confined, it pushed her back to the recesses of her own mind, and her split personality would take over as a self-defense mechanism, she didn't want to lose control, how much would she have fallen if she allowed herself to lose the war between herself.

The pinkette closed her eyes, and pondered a thought she held sacred. Being a civilian, what would she have been like if she had chosen the path her former mother had wanted for her? Would she farm? Or perhaps she would have become a miko, a priestess, protecting and working at a sacred shrine, giving others purpose for life instead of taking it away…

She bit the inside of her cheek and opened her eyes, a deep, heartbreaking sadness rolling in them, No, such thoughts are dangerous, I cannot change what has been done. I'm not… fit for such a lifestyle anymore. She thought to herself, and her gaze once more shifted to her brooding companion, who had laid out a sleeping mat, and was now lying with his arms folded behind his head, eyes closed, she was well aware he was not asleep, and if he was it was a conscious light sleep. That was probably best; she was, after all, a monster that could not be trusted.

No one could ever trust you, not like I can. The voice in her mind chided, the demon that haunted every waking moment of her seemingly unending existence took on the illusionary form inside her mind, a set of glowing evergreen eyes, and a lipless mouth, always wearing a Cheshire grin, jagged, needles of teeth seemingly making the mouth unable to fully close.

Than no one will ever trust me.

No one will ever protect you, not like I do.

Than no one will ever protect me.

No one will ever love you, not like I do.

You do not love me.

No one will ever see you, not like I do.

You do not see me, not even I can see me.

No one will ever consume you, not like I do.

I do not wish to be consumed.

No one will ever control you, not like I can.

You do not control me.

No one will ever take away the loneliness, not like I can.

Get out of my head. Her final thought came out dangerous and spiteful, she's yet to realize her fingernails were now bleeding from being heavily pressed into the bark of the thick branch she was clutching as if it were a lifeline, trying to sooth her chaotic mind, her glossy eyes traveled to the moon that seemed to hover above the very clearing they were in. The moonlight casting a glow over her form, making her seem ethereal, divine, unnatural, inhuman.

"Am I… am I real?" She felt the words escape her lips before her mind could stop them, she pondered over her thoughts a moment, before raising two, small porcelain hands before her face, staring at the appendages in wander, was she… was she even real? In reality, she no longer existed; no one saw or cared for her. Slowly, she blinked, and dripping red liquid appeared on her hands, nearly purple beneath the glow of the moonlight, her eyes widened a fraction at her blood soaked hands, was this her purpose?

Would she be damned to live by these blood soaked hands, never to be cleansed? Was she really…. Was she really a monster? Was there no human left in her anymore? Was the mere thought of her humanity an illusion? Did she even exist anymore-

"Sakura."

A voice pulled her from her thoughts, and the blood on her hands vanished. Her crimson gaze traveled to the Uchiha male who was stoically staring at her, annoyance rolling off his form in waves, but she was too dazed to notice, and after blinking a few moments, and once again glancing at her now clean hands, she looked back to the Uchiha.

"Hm?" She questioned, her tone light, not expressing the inner turmoil that had taken effect moments before.

"You're breathing too loudly." Was his stoic response, she arched a thin, pink brow at him.

"I apologize, Uchiha-San. I was unaware." She said dryly, standing to straighten out her dress and land gracefully at the bottom of the high tree soundlessly. She made her way to the fire, the orange glow casting over her features made her already bright, glassy cherry eyes seem like burning flames, her hair looking a dull orange, she looked darker, grim, like death itself.

Suddenly, something struck her, an odd feeling of whimsy, and she slowly came to sit beside the Uchiha, noticing by his low snarl, he didn't appreciate the invasion of his space. The pinkette however, paid it no mind as she stared into the dancing flames, watching it crack and sputter, shooting bright orange sparks to the air as it burned through air pockets in the branches used to sustain itself.

"Uchiha-San?" She asked quietly, her tone struck Sasuke oddly, she usually sounded neutral and calm, but her voice, while still seemingly stoic, held underlines of sorrow. He didn't respond, but Sakura really didn't think he would.

"Does your curse mark… does it make you… want to do things you normally wouldn't do?" She questioned slowly, her eyes cast into the flames, she seemed to be in a daze, like she was speaking to herself, then, her gaze shifted to the raven-haired teen beside her, and he couldn't help but notice the pain swirling deep in her eyes, she looked so pained, so broken. Sasuke pushed back the thought and forced himself up, his eyes cast forward into the darkened mass of trees, unable to look at the eyes of this woman any longer.

"We should keep moving." He replied stoically, dodging her question.

She didn't pry. She said nothing and she stood and nodded mechanically, Sasuke doused the fire, and then they were moving once more. Pushing forward, not speaking, not a sound was made of them or the animals that night.

Animals cower in the presence of beasts.

As they approached the village, Sakura's hand found itself on the hilt of the katana at her hip, the hood of her cloak hiding her face, the snow deep, nearly to the center of her calf as they trudged to the nearest inn, where they would be preparing for the mission later that day, Sasuke paid the elderly innkeeper, who didn't seem to notice his young age, and slipped him a room key.

The silence ensued as they entered the room, simple, two beds, one bathroom, not ratty in anyway, but not exactly luxurious. They didn't mind, they were both used to that. Sakura removed her traveling cloak and pack, placing both items on the bed nearest to the wall, while Sasuke repeated her actions.

"Here," Sakura said, tossing Sasuke what seemed to be a small, white, rectangular box. A henge bracelet, usually used by anbu so their disguises couldn't be discovered. Sasuke nodded and slipped the bracelet over his wrist as Sakura grabbed her pack and headed into the bathroom to change into her disguise.

Later that night, Rikudo Tashikowa, and a small cloaked figure, pushed their way through the luxurious strip bar. Rikudo was a tall, pale-skinned man with very handsome features, striking caecilian blue eyes and long onyx hair which he kept pulled back in a neat, low ponytail. He wore a dark black suit and white tie, the figure beside him was unseen and silent as they approached the bodyguard standing beside a large steel door in the back of the loud, strobe-light lit club, the man was nearly seven feet in height, his chest broad and arms massive, he was in fact, not a shinobi, but his strength was not to be underestimated.

The man gave a respectful bow to the wealthy and common Rikudo, who ushered the small form in with him, his face stoic and calm as he walked down the dimly lit hallway and to the last door, where a second bodyguard stood, this man was lean with dark lavender hair and striking jade eyes, he was, in fact, a shinobi, of at least Jonin rank. He seemed to gaze over both forms before nodding, he was checking for foul-play, perhaps if they were assassin shinobi, but in fact, saw nothing and allowed them to pass.

The room they entered was spacious and lovely, white marble floors, ten red velvet chairs in the form of an arc, all facing a stage in the back of the room, a bright crystal chandelier hung atop the ceiling, sparkling. The smell of cigar smoke drifted in the air, and a man in a red vest walked casually up to Rikudo, a tray of red wine poured into crystal glasses was offered, but the silent man simply raised a hand to shoo away the servant.

A door on the opposite side of the room opened, and a group of men in suits stopped their loud chatting and laughing, the leader, owner of the club grinned at the cloaked form standing beside Rikudo, approaching him with a sly smile on his wrinkled features. "How good to see you Rikudo, I trust you've brought a treasure with you today, you always do." The man stated, staring hungrily at the black clad form, "And so secretive, this one must be special." He winked.

Rikudo offered a crooked smirk, "Oh, she is."

Another servant then came and ushered the small form from the room, the men each took seats, the club owner in the center of the arch, one leg bent over the other. The men each wore a dirty grin as the lighting dimmed and lights on the stage brightened, the red velvet curtain not revealing anything.

Each man boasted of the 'treasures' that had bought from exotic lands.

"Mine's a real beauty, flawless skin, big, innocent eyes."

"This one's gotta' be the best I've seen in a long time, I just know she'll be the best."

"Long creamy legs begging to be on someone's shoulders."

Then, the club owner, who had been silent ever since taking his seat, hushed the men down with a wave of his hand, as music began to play at a slow tempo, the sound of clicking heels pulling the men from their thoughts, the first woman walked on stage.

She had short, shoulder-length black hair and a clean-cut straight bang; her plump lips were striking red, and eyes bright green. She wore a lacy black bra and matching thong, red heels with strings like ballerina slippers that showed off her long, beautiful legs, she took a sultry spin, showing off her body to the men, who whistled and leered at her, sending compliments to the proud looking man who brought in such a lovely specimen.

"100,000 yen." One of the men said, raising a red paddle with the number '4' engraved into it. None of the men seemed willing to fight for the first woman out, so they all watched in mild interest as the man left with the woman.

This continued, more women in skimp clothing being sold for a night to greedy businessmen with a lust for young flesh. The beauties were uncompared, that is, until the last, cloaked figure stepped onto stage, the remaining four men grinned widely, their glances shifting to Rikudo, knowing him to be one to impress, always.

Slowly, a small porcelain hand with bright red nails unbuttoned the clasp of the cloak, and each man was left speechless. Even Rikudo, who brought this beauty, felt his nails dig into the arms of the lavish chair.

"So… exotic." One of the men said breathlessly. They were not leering and whistling like with the others, this one was different. A kind of beauty they had never seen before, so inhuman, so godlike, each man could not find the words to describe the woman before them.

Long, silvery pink curls hung down to perfectly curved hips, she was young, but it wasn't like they cared. Her plump and beautifully sculpted lips were painted a shimmering crimson red, like freshly drawn blood. Her skin was flawless and easily seen from the pair of tiny spandex shorts in the color of midnight blue, which could almost officially be classified as undergarments; she wore a shimmering diamond top which barely covered her breasts, still developing breasts. Her hauntingly beautiful, striking crimson eyes framed by impossibly long, smoky black lashes, red pumps adorned her feet. She was perfect. Seduction radiated off of her as she flashed the room a dazzling white smile.

"500,000 yen!" One of the men gasped out, followed by the others trying to outbid one another, until one, still calm, voice spoke up from the chaos.

"2,000,000 yen." The club owner said calmly. The rest returned to their seats scornfully, knowing they could not outbid the wealthy man.

Rikudo's eyes met with the exotic beauty's for little more than a second, before she disappeared through the steel doorway, the club owner in tow.

Rikudo walked into the room of the inn, lifting the sleeve of his suit to pull a silver bracelet from his wrist, at that, his hair began shortening and becoming spikier, he became shorter and his eyes changed to a dark onyx.

Moments later, the window slid open, and Sasuke's eyes traveled to the window, he watched Sakura enter, her revealing outfit and abdominal skin bathed in crimson. The moonlight caught her form, and Sasuke couldn't help the stirring in his abdomen as he looked at her, so tainted and evil, but so beautiful.

Sakura's cherry colored eyes which seemed to glow in the darkness caught his, the sadness from earlier had disappeared, she looked like a lioness, a predator, a carnal desire stirred in him once more as he watched her take a seat on the edge of the bed, and stare down at her hands, bloodstained hands, for several minutes.

Sasuke glanced over her once more, "Make yourself decent." He sneered, becoming sick of the stirring hormones she was causing and just wanting to return from the mission and continue his training, she seemed to snap out of a daze, blinking a few times before wordlessly retreating to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

Moments later he could hear the shower running, and he stared silently out the window, wandering just what was so haunting about Sakura Haruno… those eyes, perhaps.

An hour later, she walked out of the bathroom; Sasuke had never seen her in such informal dress, even in training. He then realized just how small she was; she barely even reached his shoulder. She wore a loose white shirt that hung to the middle of her thighs, and loose gray sweatpants that look like they might fall at any moment. Her eyes were swollen and slightly red, like she'd been crying.

Sasuke paid it no mind and rolled onto his side, his back to her.

He heard the squeak of a mattress, and a shift of weight on his own, "What are you doing, Sakura?" He questioned blandly, shocked when he felt a small arm wrap around him and her face being buried into his back, he could tell then that she was crying. His body was stiff, as if he moved something terrible would happen.

"Just… just let me lay here a little while." She whispered brokenly, her achingly melodic voice cutting the silence, without words to say Sasuke warily closed his eyes.

He did not dream that night… just blackness.

-X-X-X-