Echoes

Chapter Six

Take Your Work Home

Some bad language in this chapter.

It was nearing three o'clock in the morning when Sakura stepped into her apartment with a smile playing about her lips, and turned in the doorway to face Sasuke.

"Thank you for tonight, Sasuke. It was truly amazing."

She picked up the faint rustle of his clothes as he shifted to lean against the door frame. "No problem. Maybe next time we could go for a picnic? I don't think Metsuki is going to appreciate it if I keep stealing you away to places that he can't come."

Sakura laughed. "Yes, I suppose he's going to be in a sulk with me for a while, he would have usually met me at the door."

Sasuke looked past her and saw that there was indeed no sign of the lovable dog anywhere. "Ah well, next time I promise it will be a picnic and then Metsuki can come with us."

Sakura grinned rather wickedly. "What makes you so sure there will be a next time?" At the puzzled silence that followed her words she laughed again. "I'm only playing, I really did have a lovely time Sasuke. It's pretty late though, do you have the day off tomorrow?"

She heard a heavy sigh from the man in front of her. "Unfortunately no. Naruto and I have a lot of reports to fill out after what happened today... well yesterday I suppose. I'll call you tomorrow if I don't die of boredom first."

"Well then, goodnight Sasuke," Sakura breathed, smiling, before closing the door.

She deposited her bag on the table where the phone was situated and hung her coat up before heading through her apartment in search of her canine companion. The warmth of the flat was very evident after spending a few hours outside and so she also pulled off her sweater, leaving her much more comfortable in just her vest top. She balled the soft fabric up in her hand as she headed towards the kitchen with the intent of putting it in the washing machine.

"Metsuki!" She called as she walked. "Come here boy, Sasuke's promised to take both of us to the park next time." When she didn't hear the sound of padded footsteps, she tried again. "Metsuki, come here you silly dog! Don't you know it's your job to help me out?"

Laughing at the dog's stubbornness she turned into the kitchen, knowing that the Labrador would never turn his nose up at food. She had barely made it through the door, however, when she tripped over something lying on the floor.

Sakura groaned in pain at the strain she had just put on her wrists when she threw out her hands to catch herself. Pushing herself into sitting position and shoving her fallen sweater aside, Sakura reached back to identify what she had tripped over and found that it was an overturned plant pot that was usually situated between the kitchen and living room. Crawling in the direction of the living room she found that there were cushions and books scattered all over the floor. Sakura hissed in pain as her hand landed in some shattered glass, and after a little careful probing she found it was from a shattered photo frame.

From the little bit of floor that she had just explored by touch, she could safely assume that her apartment was trashed. Sakura frowned in confusion and felt a little bubble of panic rising inside of her. Her first guess would have been that Metsuki got restless in the few hours she had been out, but she knew that was highly unlikely. Guide dogs were trained not to disrupt any furnishings inside their master's home; it was imperative that things were left as they were. Sakura could guide herself around her apartment because she knew where everything was. To have things scattered on the floor when she could not see them was extremely dangerous; it could result in her breaking her neck rather than just spraining her wrist.

Besides, Metsuki would have definitely come rushing to her aid when she had cried out in surprise as she tripped.

Sakura felt that something was very wrong, Metsuki was nowhere to be found and her belongings had been rifled through... it was the middle of the night and she was very much alone. Heaving herself to her feet, she turned and began to make her way back to the hallway, she would have to call Ino and have her help her put her apartment back in order. As she passed through the doorway, she bumped into something rather large and very solid.

Stumbling back, her arms were suddenly gripped by two large hands that held her in place. Feeling her breath catch in fear, Sakura desperately tried to remove herself from the crushing grip.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" The breath that drifted into her nose was stale and smelled like smoke. "Sorry about the mess little lady but we'll be out of here soon. However, there is the little matter of you not telling anyone about this little encounter."

"I wouldn't bother," a new voice joined the conversation as Sakura fought like a wildcat to free herself. "She's blind."

Sakura stilled immediately. How did he know that? Her condition wasn't that obvious unless she had Metsuki or the distinctive white stick with her, and right now she had neither.

"How the hell do you know that?" The brute who still held her asked.

The man behind him snorted dryly. "Unlike you who immediately raided the place looking for jewellery, I looked around. All the books on the shelves are in Braille and there were some medical ID tags on the coffee table. This makes things easier for us. Just be thankful that the man who dropped her off didn't come in."

Sakura gritted her teeth and fought down the oppressive terror that had gripped her. The sick bastards had been in the apartment the whole time; they had watched her fall over her trashed possessions and they had obviously done something to Metsuki! There wasn't much she could do against two strong, apparently ruthless men, especially as she couldn't see them, but her lack of sight had never stopped her before. Her father had spent summers on the army bases teaching her how to defend herself against thugs like the ones that she faced now, and even without her sight she certainly wasn't going to surrender.

Hesitating no longer, Sakura brought down the heel of her foot onto where she guessed her captor's foot was and smirked inwardly when it made direct contact with his instep. Bringing her knee up sharply to his crotch, she pushed him away as he let go of her arms to hold his groin in pain. The sound of two bodies landing on the floor let Sakura know that the beast of a man had just fallen on his partner.

Hurrying past the grunts and shouts on the floor, Sakura's hands wildly searched for the table and the phone in the hallway. Her hand had only managed to pick up the receiver before the phone was yanked from her, straight out of the telephone line in the wall and thrown down the hall where it landed with a clatter.

A large hand roughly grabbed the back of her hair before forcing her head down with brutal force until it made contact with the hardwood table. Sakura screamed in pain as blood poured from her forehead and nose.

"Bitch!" An angry yell roared into her ears before she was thrown to the floor. Her bare arms scraped against the tatami mats as she tumbled a little ways down the hall. Then, before she could catch her breath, one of the men was on her, sending harsh slaps to her face and twisting his hands around her neck before beating her head on the hard floor.

Sakura could barely breathe, and the strangled sobs escaping her mouth weren't making matters any better.

"That's enough!" The second, calmer voice bit out. "She can't identify us to the police and we'll get away with this. But if you kill her they won't give up so easily and you'll find yourself printing number-plates for the rest of your life."

The hands around her neck loosened and Sakura gasped for air, her face on fire and her dark world tipping dangerously. "But we can't just leave her. She'll call for help before we can get away."

"No," the second man agreed. "Tie her up, gag her and put her in a closet or something. It'll be a while before anyone finds her, it looks like she lives alone."

The following moments were a complete blur to Sakura as she found herself being dragged through her home. She couldn't orientate herself any more and had no idea whether she was in the living room, bathroom or bedroom.

The familiar rough hands gripped her wrists and bound them behind her back before a piece of rough material was forced into her bloody mouth. A hard shove on her back sent Sakura sprawling forward before she made contact with a wall and crumpled to the floor.

"Try not to choke bitch," were the last words she heard before the door to wherever she had been placed as slammed shut with tremendous force.

Sakura shakily turned herself around to rest against the wall before her energy gave out completely and she was left with nothing but the burning of her wounds and the warm trails of her tears.

Around six hours later, Ino Yamanaka left her family's flower shop, glad that she had the day off, and headed in the direction of her best friend's apartment. Ino was sure that Sasuke would have called her to make plans at some point the previous day and she wanted all the gossip. There was a spring in her step as she made the ten minute walk to Sakura's apartment building.

Entering the bright sun-lit foyer, Ino practically skipped over to the lifts before getting into one and pressing the button for the third floor. There were times when it was nice to take the stairs, but this was not one of them; Ino was feeling pleasantly lazy today.

The doors opened onto the third floor and Ino looked towards the door directly opposite the lifts. She frowned however, when she saw the door was ajar.

Sakura never left her door open like that.

Quickly making her way over to her friend's flat, Ino pushed open the door and felt her jaw drop in shock. The small table that stood in the hallway was on its side, the phone that usually stood on it was further down the hall on the floor. Ino stepped further into the apartment with a horrible feeling building inside. The anxious feeling almost burst as a scream from her mouth when she saw a large, red smear on the floor.

Blood.

"Sakura!" Ino yelled in a blind panic. She rushed into the kitchen and saw that the cupboards and drawers had been ransacked, the living room was a total tip, Sakura's television and music system were missing from the end of the room as were many of the vases that Ino had brought for her, just because she knew Sakura would love to fill them with flowers. Ino stepped forward cautiously and paused as her foot stepped on something soft. Looking down she saw a broken picture frame and beside it, one of Sakura's tops, rumbled and carelessly thrown on the ground – that was not like Sakura at all.

"Sakura!"

Her panic was rising now. She raced back through the kitchen and into the hallway, looking in rooms as she went. The guest room looked pretty much untouched but she could hear a low crying noise coming from the closet on the other side of the room. Wasting no time, she ran to the door and yanked it open.

"Oh, Metsuki!" Inside the cramped space stood Sakura's dear four-legged friend. He had obviously been trapped in the small space for quite some time. His feet were matted with blood, and judging by the deep gouges in the door, Ino could only assume that he had tried clawing his way through the solid wood door of the closet. Falling to her knees, the blonde girl soothed the dog who seemed most distrustful of her, which was of little surprise considering someone had locked him away for who knew how long.

"Metsuki," Ino said, scratching the poor animal behind his ears. "Can you help me find Sakura? I don't know where she is and-" Her voice broke but the Labrador seemed to understand because he immediately ran from the closet and across the bedroom. His paws skidded on the wooden floor before he found his footing and scrambled towards Sakura's bedroom.

Ino was close behind and paused in shock as Metsuki pawed desperately at Sakura's closet.

"Surely not…"

Ino leapt across the room and practically pulled the door off its hinges. She gazed into the small storage room and tears overflowed from her eyes.

"Sakura!"

Naruto eyed Sasuke suspiciously as they once again sat together in his office, trying to make headway with the now-notorious case.

"So, Teme, I heard from a friend of mine that you're very close to getting yourself a date with Sakura-chan." Naruto grinned and pushed his chair back onto its rear legs.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and carried on filling out paperwork at his desk, wondering why Naruto found it impossible to stay quiet. He wasn't surprised that Naruto knew about Sakura and their date, after all they had mutual friends with her.

"You're a bit behind the times Dobe, I went out with her last night. And before you ask, yes I'm going to see her again."

Naruto's chair came back down to earth with a 'thump'. "Really? That's great Teme! She sounds really nice. Can I meet her?"

Huffing out a sigh Sasuke placed another folder in his outbox tray. "I don't want to scare her off."

"Oh, very funny!" Naruto bit out sarcastically. He was about to carry on when Kakashi appeared in the doorway.

"Yo." He was studying a hastily torn-off print out that Sasuke recognised as a transcript of a phone call from the central switchboard.

"What's that?" Naruto said, standing up. "Have we got a case?"

"Not exactly, Shikamaru and Chouji are already on it, but you two might want to get up there too. " Kakashi murmured, looking up at Sasuke. "Sasuke, I couldn't help but overhear that you went on a date with that girl you knocked over."

"Yeah, so?"

"Her name was Sakura? She's blind?"

"Yes." Sasuke answered, unsure of what Kakashi was leading up to.

The silver haired man sighed before handing out the transcript to Sasuke. His onyx eyes had barely scanned the paper before he was already racing out the door, a confused Naruto running in his wake.

Apartment 302 had been sectioned off from the rest of the third floor by a strip of police tape, not enough to keep anyone out but enough to warn the curious people milling outside that this was now a crime scene and off-limits.

When Sasuke emerged from the stairwell, not having had the patience to wait for the lift, he bypassed the crowd of bodies and ducked under the blue and white tape. Naruto, to his credit, had remained unusually silent, apparently having grasped the severity of the situation.

The two men took a moment to survey the wrecked apartment before Chouji emerged from a door to the left with a camera in his hands and nodded at them. Sasuke walked past the larger man and found himself in a kitchen. Looking to his right he saw an adjoining living room, and amidst all the wreckage he saw the back of a pink-haired woman sitting on the sofa.

His sharp eyes managed to spot the dried blood matted in to her hair and his fists clenched. Shikamaru glanced up from his position sitting in front of Sakura, notepad in hand and nodded to him. A blonde woman sat next to Sakura glanced over her shoulder and Sasuke gathered that she was probably Ino, the friend Sakura had told him about..

Shikamaru said something to Sakura before he got up and headed towards Sasuke and Naruto. Sakura's blonde friend patted her shoulder before she too made her way into the kitchen. She moved past where the three men stood and headed to the kettle, filling it with water before switching it on.

Sasuke cast his eyes quickly through the notes Shikamaru had made during his talk with Sakura and felt an unprecedented amount of anger welling up inside. He nodded to Shikamaru and both he and Naruto left the room. After a moments deliberation, the blonde woman decided to do the same and soon the room was empty save Sasuke and Sakura.

Running a shaky hand through his hair he made his way over to where Sakura sat, her eyes downcast and sat on the sofa next to her. He saw that Metsuki was lying on the floor by her feet, looking pretty glum. He raised his furry head in welcome to Sasuke and the man reached down to give him a pat on the head and mumbled a soft greeting.

"Sasuke?"

Sakura had apparently recognised his voice and he looked up at her face for the first time. He immediately felt like killing something.

Her bright green eyes were rimmed with red from crying and the right one was swollen shut slightly from the large bruise blossoming around it. There was jagged cut on her hairline and the blood had trailed down her cheek like a trail of crimson tears. Her nose had obviously been bleeding and the blood stained her lips and chin, added to the large cut that had appeared on her lower lip. Sasuke's eyes also trailed across the purple marks that had been left around her neck from some sick bastard's hands. Her arms were also bruised in the shape of large fingers and the skin on her left arm had been scraped off horrendously.

"Sasuke?" Her voice, normally so bright and happy, was soft and slightly fearful. "Are you okay?"

Feeling something inside him break, Sasuke brought the petite woman to his chest and gently held her there, trying, in his own way, to protect her from more harm.

Sakura was still for a moment before she brought her arms around Sasuke's back and fisted his shirt in her hands.

It was a novel experience for Sasuke, being the one to initiate bodily contact with another person, but he could honestly say that it was... welcome.

Believe it or not this is one of the first scenes I wrote for this story... gosh it was so long ago! It's remained largely unchanged so I have no idea why it has taken so long to upload, although the fact that my second year of university is coming to a close would be a good guess. One more exam this Thursday and then four months off to concentrate on writing for pleasure rather than completing essays... pure heaven!

Thank you for all of your reviews and feedback, and as thanks please expect more regular updates over the summer – I have so many future chapters written already!