(Naruto) Ghost XVI
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Mission 15:
MIA
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It's the room again, the dark and light patterns throwing her off for a moment before she reorients herself. She's sitting on the bed this time, facing the window.
He is behind her, silent as usual. Nothing malicious about it, just a lazy stare.
"..." Her mouth, it's useless here. She opens it, pushes her words, but they stop at the entrance. They remain trapped and she feels like she's in kindergarten again, bullied by the popular girls, unable to say anything.
Yet, even here, in this dream world, her eyes slowly close, fatigue hitting her. How can she be tired in a dream? It makes no sense, yet dreams aren't supposed to make sense.
We'll meet again, he says (thinks? she can feel the message, like she can feel the sad smile on his face, but how?)
She drifts away again.
-x-
When they were young, Sasuke once told her he had a lot of plans for his future. She sat beside him, listening to his words as they slowly and carefully slipped out. The breeze was chilly but she didn't mind.
There were so many items on that list, childish dreams that had no place in the real world, in their world.
(Beat Naruto at everything, teach Sakura how to properly defend herself, do the most missions...)
It was no surprise, really, that when he disappeared from their lives for those years, disappeared without a word or trace, those dreams disappeared with him. There were no letters, no phone calls, nothing until he suddenly came back.
That was when the change became apparent.
There were no more talks about beating his brother, about making his father notice him, about helping his mother recover. He spent less and less time with Naruto and her and any moment they did have was spent training or studying.
Naruto didn't mind the training as much but sometimes he would like to take breaks. The one time he got to play a prank on Sasuke was also the last. He mentioned something about children's games and work and...withdrew. Into the cocoon he surrounded himself with.
Sure, sometimes he would be sarcastic or give a smirk or say something, do something that would make them think he was the same boy they grew up with.
Those were false hopes, dashed quicker than they rose.
Sakura, for her part, didn't try to talk to him like before, already knowing what his response would be. She was smart enough to know he had changed and why.
After all, he had moved on to the real world and small things like friends didn't belong there.
-x-
She lies there, dizzy and disoriented. The metal bars are cool to the touch, causing her to shiver and curl up.
Where is she--oh, that's right. She was captured while Sasuke managed to escape.
At least he has the data. The mission wasn't a complete failure.
(And there is something in her that cries, just a little, because there is no more protection, arms pulling her to safety. All she has now are unknowns and a certainty that each breath might be her last.)
Sakura raises her head slightly, trying to judge where she is.
The cage surrounds her, keeping her in a small enclosed area. Beyond that, there are steely grey machines set a few steps apart, with a table with straps beside each one. Wires criss-cross on the floor and a giant monitor takes up an entire wall. Nearby a young woman with blonde hair is typing on a laptop, glancing from that screen to the screen of a computer in front of her.
"She's awake," someone says. Looking away from the girl, she sees a man with a strange marks on his face. It's hard to judge his age but she recognizes him as the one they nearly fought with.
The girl responds to him in some foreign language--German, Sakura thinks--before the man disappears from the room. She remains silent and Sakura rests her head back down, tired.
She needs to think of an escape strategy. She doesn't have any more pills and their effects have all but vanished. Carefully patting herself, she finds none of her hidden weapons or any of her tools. Basically, she's stuck with nothing.
She's a spy, she can handle this. If need be, she'll just keep her mouth shut and wait for them to kill her. Or give them fake information if they try too hard.
Maybe she should bite off her tongue then...
She lifts her head again, along with her torso and rests on the wall. Sakura's still there, thinking, when he walks in.
She might never have actually seen his face before, never heard this man's voice, but she knows without a doubt that this red-haired man is the person from her dreams.
-x-
He runs because that is all he knows.
Even now, when he's stronger, it's still all he can do. Even when he promised that he'd never do it again (wouldn't leave his wounded mother lying there, her blood pooling, that knife glinting), his first instinct is to run.
So Sasuke runs, out into the forest, past the trees and ferns that whip at him like an angry trainer.
Perhaps he should stop, try to find another way in. But it is a little too late for that, he's too far gone. Besides, he saw that door, saw the blueprints. This is the only entry point on this side and the other is too far away.
And he'll be damned if he wastes the information Sakura gave him.
(He grinds his teeth, anger coursing through his veins even more than this desire to run. It's pure, unadulterated anger: at Sakura for sacrificing herself, at those guards for capturing her, at himself for letting this happen.
He's weak. Once more. Useless, powerless, and that perhaps angers him the most.)
This is also suspicious, these lack of guards chasing him. There should be someone in these woods following him, trying to reclaim these documents.
But, if what Sakura mentioned was true...
A chill runs down Sasuke's spine as he emerges from the bushes, sprinting to his car. If what Sakura said was true, if that machine of theirs is operational, they wouldn't really need to.
With the push of a button, they could catch him and he wouldn't have a sign, a hint, as to what was happening.
-x-
"This it?" She gets up from her crouched position, raising her tinted shades slightly. It's cold and desolate in this area, this abandoned stretch she landed in.
"The town is a little further," Neji curtly replied, already rolling up his parachute. She follows his cue, gathering her bundle before she pauses once more.
"How much further?"
"Two to three hours by walking."
Tenten sighs, continuing with her work. "Only you would think that is just a little further." She gets up now, shouldering her pack, ignoring how the straps imprint on her skin. It's a long hike and they'd best be moving. "At least Sakura will be there," she smiles. "She knows exactly how I feel."
Or maybe not, because Tenten and Neji are more permanent partner-wise due to their squad, whereas Sakura gets to switch partners depending on the mission.
Still, she has Sasuke for this mission and he is just as bad as Neji.
Cheerfully thinking of this, she leads the way, humming lightly.
-x-
Temari glances at her brother, a mix of pity and fear welling in her eyes for a minute. For only a minute, and then it's gone, replaced with that strength she leaned on those past years.
"Is he tied down?" She asks, glancing at Kankuro and then the straps. "Last time he--"
"I know, I know," Kankuro sighs, getting up from his seat and confirming. "He broke some equipment and you took away my designs and I ended up starving for a week." His hands move quickly, effectively, and he tugs on a clamp before moving on to the next one. "Done."
"Good."
Sakura grimaces as she watches. That boy, his eyes wild and crazed as he struggles against his confinement, is the one from her dreams. She doesn't know how she knows this but the knowledge sinks deep in her bones.
Only, he's calmer in her dreams and here he looks like a madman, baring his teeth and growling. At moments, he gets a rare glimpse of thought and starts to threaten them.
Those moments are scarier than the others.
The other two in the room, that strange man who captured her and that woman with the four ponytails, turn their attention to her. She got their names, Kankuro and Temari, but other than that...she isn't sure of who they are.
Of what their relationship is with that boy, for Temari's face falls in shadow when she looks at him and Kankuro almost reaches out to touch him.
"Hmm...." Temari approaches her, tapping her chin lightly as she does so. "She matches the description. Gaara was lucid enough when he said it and the screens confirmed it."
"That's true."
"Then..." Temari looks at her for a moment before glancing down at her clipboard. "We'll strap her in as well."
"But--"
"Do it. Now." There is steel in her voice and Kankuro obliges quickly.
Sakura, for her part, struggles. Or at least, she tries to. Only that drug--what did they give her?--burns and eats away at her every movement, sinking her deeper and deeper into that black hole with every kick.
His hands are clammy against her skin, cool and sweaty and she jerks herself away even more violently.
"Come on," Kankuro mutters, reaching further in, and she swings her legs at him.
Only, the drug kicks in and she sinks into the abyss.
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A/N: So, um...I hope my explanation of why Sasuke tried to save Sakura came out clear enough.
Not quite out of love, but because he doesn’t want anyone else to die because of him. As for Sakura, I’m actually no closer to putting her feelings on the plate because every time I tried it came out wonky and so I shall leave it like this and try to put it in somewhere else.
*sighs*
Other than that, yay, the Gaara/Temari/Kankuro part of the plot is emerging.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN