Naruto had told her that Sasuke was fine, but she didn't believe him. He was hiding something and they knew. She didn't want to be kept in the dark but she didn't want to prob them any further. So, for hours she sat in the living room and waited, watching the front door. She didn't move an inch. She just waited. Naruto noticed how she couldn't take her eyes off the front door, even after he'd left for the Alpha's room to transfer his mate's things over, with the others and had come back.
He walked over to her. "Sakura chan?"
"Naruto, he's not back yet." Her eyes stayed fixated on the door but her voice sounded weak with worry.
He sighed. "You need to rest, Luna."
This time she looked at him. He could see the concern laced in her eyes. Wow, she's really worried about Sasuke.
"Naruto, you told me he was fine. That didn't look fine to me. He hasn't returned too. Are you sure nothing happened?" She didn't know what to think. He just up and left them without a word.
"He just needed a fresh of..." Naruto stopped talking when the door suddenly opened, Shikamaru and Jugo stopping down the stairs just in time.
Everywhere went still as two figures walked into the house. Kakashi and Sasuke. The white haired professor was holding onto the Alpha, who was barely conscious, huffing as he closed the door behind him and faced the people in the living room.
Sakura's eyes went wide when she noticed how disheveled and bloody her mate looked. She took one step forward but was stopped when Naruto placed a hand on her arm. One look from his former sensei and Naruto knew. He nodded before turning to Sakura, Jugo and Shikamaru walking over to help Kakashi with Sasuke.
"What happened to him?" She asked, her heart thumping loudly within her chest. Sasuke couldn't even look at her.
"The blood isn't his." Naruto told her simply, hearing her gasp. "Luna, you will have to excuse me, and stay here with Jugo." That was all he said before he went after Kakashi and Shikamaru to the alpha's room, leaving her with the orange haired lycan who was silent throughout.
Naruto locked the door as soon as they got to Sasuke's room, and watched as Kakashi helped him to the chair.
"I shouldn't be here." The Alpha managed to say in a grunt, wincing painfully. "Take me to the basement." The basement was basically a cell. It was scanty, safe for the sharp weapons sealed up in a corner and the cold, dark dungeon in the centre of it.
"His body is weakening and his beast is coming out. It would be the perfect place to keep him because we can't predict what his beast will do when he arrives." Kakashi said, stroking his chin and observing his former student as he doubled over.
Naruto looked at him. "How did you find him, Kaka sensei?"
"Say I was strolling out in the woods, doing nothing and happened to see him, in his second beast form, having wiped out ninety-nine percent of the demons who lurked in the shadows in hopes of feasting on the hearts of humans and those who slept, and he, having had all the bloodthirst, starts going through a predicament of his own." He looked at Shikamaru and Naruto.
It took a while before anyone talked. "You were following him? Why?"
"I can hear distrust in your voice, Naruto." He answered, holding the Beta's gaze.
"Because it doesn't sound believable. Everything that happens in life has a reason behind it." The spiky blonde said firmly.
Kakashi let out a light laugh. "Ok, you look like you're about to ram me down, I'll tell you. I went to the demons territory, you know, where they gather before dealing in their evil enterprise, to try to secure a passage to the underworld. If I couldn't get the globe in the human world, I was thinking of setting perimeters in Hell, since it's in their possession, maybe then I could get the globe." He chuckled through his mask, scratching the back of his head. "I know it's crazy."
"It is." Naruto frowned. "You could get caught and you could die. It is their territory. They have every advantage against you."
"Yeah," Shikamaru crossed his arms, "were you trying to die before the war, Kakashi sensei?"
The white haired lycan laughed. "I was thinking of saving myself from the stress really."
"That's not a joke." Sasuke said, groaning along the way.
Everyone turned to him as Kakashi muttered. "Too bad." Tough crowd, really. To think they always laughed at my jokes when they were little. An irkmark formed on his forehead as he became serious. This is no time for jokes. Sasuke is experiencing the heat and it's damaging his human body. Guess he hasn't marked her yet.
"I ..." Sasuke groaned, doubling over again. His whole body was on fire. The heat had become worse, so that even the potions couldn't work on it again, and his beast was coming out tonight. It was too early because it wasn't the full moon yet, but he guessed that it was because his body was weakening. In a matter of minutes, he'd give in to his feral side and lose control over himself. It was dangerous to stay here any longer, especially when his mate was within reach.
"Take me away, now."
Naruto was conflicted. "What about the Luna? I feel bad that she's being kept in the dark."
"The time to tell her will come, soon... Right now, take me away from her."
"Your beast will harm her right?"
"He wouldn't hurt her." Lycan's beasts were overly protective of their mates than their human forms, they'd do anything to keep their other half safe. "But there's no telling how controlled he'll keep himself from marking her." How he hated being vulnerable.
Naruto's eyes widened. Marking her without her permission? Especially with his beast form... she could d..
"Ok, that's it." Kakashi walked over to help Sasuke up. "Someone help me tuck him in the dungeon."
"Tch." Sasuke frowned, even more when the professor laughed.
They passed through the back so that Sakura wouldn't see them. Hurriedly, they got to the basement, walked over to the gothic looking cell and placed the Alpha inside, then cuffed him with the rusty shackles on the cold ground. It wouldn't hold much when the beast surfaces and goes feral, trying to escape, but it should just do.
Then they walked out and locked it with a gigantic padlock. For a moment, they stared at the Alpha as he groaned painfully, hissing hotly.
Naruto frowned. He knew it was unbearable, going through two gruelling pains at the same time, but this is what the Alpha wanted. He clenched his hands. He wanted the Luna to know about this.
"Don't..." Sasuke breathed out, heaving with a throbbing heart. He raised his head to look at them. "Don't let Sakura come down here. Guard her away from here and me with all your might."
Everyone went silent as they were met with red bloody eyes. Naruto clenched his fists harder. His chest tightened. He wanted to do something about his best friend's suffering but all he could do was watch. He closed his eyes, swallowing as he turned around.
"Let's go."
Everyone went upstairs, leaving the alpha in the dungeon, walking in silence until Kakashi spoke over his shoulder. "I'll be going out. I need to consult my men about the war, maybe catch the culprit."
"The spy would've been long gone, back to Danzo." Shikamaru said as they walked up the stairs.
"Uh, true." But who said there was just one?
As they closed the hard iron door behind them, the last thing they heard, from the dark end of the series of stony stairs before them, was an agonising and painful screech as if wrenched from the heart of the creature in the dungeon.
Sakura's head shot up, and so did her legs when she saw the professor, Naruto and Shikamaru coming down the stairs. She went towards them, Jugo rushing after her. "How is he?" A lot of questions were playing out in her head but she could only bring herself to ask one.
"He's resting, Sakura chan."
Sakura frowned when she noticed the sadness coursing through Naruto's eyes. She looked from him to Shikamaru, who looked less relaxed than usual. Something's up. "I want to see him."
"Lu..."
"I think," Kakashi butted in, "you shouldn't. You will be able to see him tomorrow. He needs rest now, and so do you."
Sakura looked at the ground. She felt bothered. She wanted to know what happened, but just as usual, they were keeping her in the dark. Did they think she was stupid? An irkmark formed on her brows. Fine, if they wanted a stupid Luna, they will get it. She nodded. "Yes, I...I think I do." When everything was clear, she would go and find her mate.
She saw them take him to his room, but it was also her room now. If they wanted to keep her away from him, they wouldn't let her go there. They also wouldn't let her back in her room, after what happened with the devil king. It left her with one option.
They had taken him to somewhere secluded.
She clenched her hands. And I will find it.
Kakashi walked over to the front door, waving a lazy hand. "I got to go." Then he stopped after opening it. "Don't do anything stupid now."
She knew he was talking to her but he knew better than to advice her on something she stubbornly wanted to accomplish. She didn't answer.
As the door closed, the men turned to Sakura. "Luna, I'll guide you to your room." Jugo said.
She nodded. "I feel sleepy too." She turned to Naruto and Shikamaru. "Is Sasuke up?" Tell me, tell me and let me catch a glimpse of your unease.
"Uh." Naruto spared the gamma a glance. "We took him somewhere to rest."
"Why?" She lowered her gaze, feigning sadness and ignorance. "Did something make him suspicious of me after the devil king's incident?"
"Oh no no no no, Luna. He just doesn't feel well."
"He murdered people, huh? The blood on his clothes? You said they weren't his."
"Technically, they weren't people."
"Oh." Sakura's eyes widened in relief and she sighed. "Thank goodness, I thought he had gone on a rampage."
"Heh, apparently..." Naruto forced a grin.
"Luna." Shikamaru looked at her knowingly.
She sighed. "I'll go up now." She looked at the wall clock. 1:30am. It was past her study schedule. "Would I really be able to see him tomorrow morning? He's not going to hide his face from me again?" I will find out what is happening.
"Yes, you would, Luna." Shikamaru nodded.
Sakura glanced at Naruto as she was led upstairs by Jugo. He looks conflicted. Then she looked up at Jugo and noticed his eyes glazing over. They're mind linking him. She scowled. She hated being treated as though she were an ignorant. It got her curious and it challenged her to explore daring obstacles.
"I already told Jugo not to let the Luna out of his sight." Shikamaru told Naruto as soon as the Luna was out of sight.
He sighed. "That's good. She looked like she wanted to dissect my soul and read into it herself."
"She's suspicious of the situation, that's what."
Naruto huffed out a heavy sigh. He wants to tell her but he can't. There's a probability that she will die, but he wants to believe that the beast won't harm her at all.
I:47
Sakura tore her eyes away from the wall clock in Sasuke's bedroom as she paced about. She'd been here, for minutes, thinking of a way to escape from the monitoring eyes of Jugo, who stood just outside the door. And she was sure his ears were sharp enough to catch the smallest sound, even a pin drop.
She sighed and sat at the edge of the bed, going silent for awhile. Her eyes ravaged the whole room, it still looked the same. She remembered fainting here after she'd just seen his beast form. He said something about a second form only royal bloods had? Was it... She shook her head. She couldn't remember, but days after that, things had been crazy. He was nice along the way though. Sure, he was straight forward and sharp as a bread cutter, but so was he blunt.
So far, during her days here, she'd seen both his good, subtle and bad side. She'd seen his small smile whenever his men said or did something funny or whenever she got excited over the shows they watched on the TV. He hardly watched it, she used to cajole him into watching with her.
"You're making me an accomplice of your humanoid rituals." He would say.
She chuckled lightly, watching the bright moon out the window. He might not have realised, but he was really, really funny. Her eyebrows pulled together worriedly. She wanted to see him. Not only that, her heart longed to see him well again. She wanted him to be his usual straightforward self. Sometimes he could be as open as a window, you could tell how he's feeling right off...
Sakura stopped thinking and straightened up. Window! She looked from the moon to the dim-lit lamp on the table. She could jump down from the window, and come in through the back door, or through the little trap door, where she suspected a basement resided.
One time, while she was home alone, she had scouted the mansion, trying to have everything sketched out in her head so she could stop getting lost and have Jugo take her everywhere. She had seen the basement and had wondered what type it was to mostly look like a medieval dungeon. There wasn't a thing kept in there, it was just dry.
She would check there before anywhere else in the house. Somehow, her gut feeling kept bugging her that Sasuke was there. It made her falter for a moment because she knew his men wouldn't keep him down there except he was a threat to them himself. She let out a shaky breath. Now, she really wanted to know what was going on. She put out the light in the lamp and the room went dark, only the dim light from the moon above lit it. She looked at door, waiting and watching, silent all through.
Then there was the knock. She didn't answer. Another one came, she didn't say anything. Just as the knob was pushed down and the door was about to open, she spoke in an irritated voice.
"You are really disturbing my sleep, Jugo." The door knob was released. "Do I need to waken from my slumber anytime you knock so I can answer you?"
"I apologize, Luna." Then the door was closed shut.
She stayed silent, watching the door for few minutes before she smiled. Nice acting, Sakura. You'll forgive me, Jugo. She tiptoed over to the lengthy window, looking down at it. Now, how do I get down from here without making a sound?
She thought for awhile. It was impossible. There was no way she wouldn't make noise from here. But she would try anyway. She walked out of the lengthy window to the balcony, closing it gently, tiptoeing slowly and carefully, so that she wouldn't make a single sound. She should know, living in the orphanage made her an expert in sneaking out quietly.
She looked over the balcony, seeing dull coloured grass laying beneath before climbing over it, holding into the little humps of rocks or ridge spaces in the building, thankful for the little height. Professionally, she climbed down, wincing each time she thought the tiny sound that was made or the creaking of the nocturnal animals would give her away.
Soon afterwards, after enduring the uneasy and uncomfortable climb down, she landed on the grass. She hissed in a whisper, bending over and tiptoeing to the back of the mansion.
Few seconds later, she was before the trapdoor. It was locked. She heaved out a sigh and looked around before bringing out a key from the pocket of the shorts she wore underneath her white nightgown Sasuke bought for her.
She had brought keys to almost all the doors in the house, just in case they tried to kidnap her and lock her up somewhere. But of course, that was when she just started living here.
Gently and carefully, she opened it. She pulled up the small doors slowly, looking up towards the windows in the building. It was far from her room so Jugo might not, might not, be able to pick up a sound but she shouldn't count her luck yet. She climbed down the stairs underneath the trap door and walked around the suspicious bundles bound in a corner, towards the dungeon.
As soon as she got to the dungeon, the first thing she saw was a big hole in the iron cell barricade, then the next was a weirdly winged man standing in a corner of the cell, looking out of the tiny window high up near the stony wall.
She stood in front of the hole as she stared at the figure, unable to move. Her eyes were wide and her heart was thumping like crazy. She didn't know what to think, only that Sasuke wasn't in the cell. Subtly, she reached for a iron rod resting on a wall behind her and clasped it at her back. Then she let out a shaky breath and the man turned around, slowly at first, then all the way through.
She was fidgeting all over but that didn't stop her from questioning. "What have you done to Sasuke?" The man beast or whatever this uniquely coloured wild haired supernatural being was called, suddenly took steps toward her and stopped, his bloody eyes going wide as if not expecting her to be here.
She frowned and took a step back, watching as he moved away. His body language was weird. It was as if he was relieved to see her but didn't want her here. "Who...who are you?" She asked, tightening the rod behind her. One wrong move and she'll hit him hard across the head. That'll buy her small time to run up the trap door... at least.
He regarded her for awhile before answering, and when he did, his voice was disturbingly distorted. "Mate."
Sakura blinked rapidly and her brain churned. Mate? That would mean... She stared at the man. "Sasuke?"
She dropped the rod in her hand and walked into the cell, towards him. "What... what happened?" Her voice was shaky.
She frowned confusedly. He wasn't in his beast form nor in a form she recognised, so this must be. "This...this is your second form? You said only the royal blood possessed it." He didn't say anything.
She looked around. "Why...why are you here? Why did they lock you up in this dark and cold place?" What did you do? Surely, it wasn't great enough to keep you locked up in here. She tried to approach him but all he did was avoid her. To be honest, she was hurt. She wanted to know what was going on but he looked like all he wanted to do was run away from her. She felt apprehensive, but other than that, she felt her heart being cut. It was another thing to be treated like you didn't exist by someone who treated you like you were a part of their existence.
She shook her head. No, something was wrong. Sasuke wasn't like this. He did ignore you sometimes but he'd show you that he was listening, either through mindless grunts or at the nod of his head.
A thought crossed her mind. Can it be? The heat? He was still suffering from it. She observed him. He gave her distance, paying attention to the moon outside the small window.
"Mark me."
She didn't know when the words spewed out of her mouth but she knew that was what she wanted. It was not pity. No. She didn't want to see him suffer in silence. She wanted him to be his old straightforward, cocky self and give her and the others those small smiles. And if it meant her life being on the line, he will be able to be well, live well. She didn't like the sound of lava being in the stead of blood. It must've been unbearable, even for him as an Alpha.
He turned around to look at her, but he didn't move.
She understood. He had been fighting himself since she walked into the dungeon, but no more. She frowned in determination as she walked to him and stood before him, matching his bloody eyes with her fierce ones. If he was to suffer, as his mate, she will take part in it too. All this time he'd been giving and she'd been receiving, it was time she gave too. "Mark me. I give you permission."
A moment of silence passed between them before his hand rose behind her, caressing the small of her back to her nape, bringing her closer to him, his head bent, buried in the curve of her neck. Her body tensed as she felt his breath fan against her skin, then he lapped it, grunting incoherently. She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around his broad rough back. "It's okay, Sasuke, you can mark me." I can endure it.