[say] chapter 2: and he looks like a
Woot. I'm going to post a chapter everyday. I'm going to motivate myself TO THE EXTREME!
...maybe I should stick to Naruto references from now on. Please read and comment, dattebayo. =)
"Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes when you fall, you fly."
- Sandman by Neil Gaiman
When Sakura slept, she didn't snore or toss and turn. Still, even just the sound of her breathing irked Sasuke to the point that he couldn't stand sleeping in the same room as her. She was fast asleep on the pale sofa on the other side of the room and Sasuke sat up, his gaze flickering to the rain streaked window and the balcony beyond.
He threw his feet over the side of the bed and stepped on something. He glanced down at it and picked up Sakura's medicinal pouch. Without even thinking, he opened it and pulled out a small storage scroll that fit into the palm of his hand perfectly. He performed a basic jutsu and it released a packet of photographs, bound tightly with a flimsy red rubber band.
Ripping off the rubber band, he began to flick through the photographs. The first one was of the new Team Kakashi with that annoying artist boy, Sai. Naruto wasn't as happy as Sasuke remembered him from their genin days, his eyes were more mature and he could see the hidden sadness within them. Sakura's gaze was the same as the defiant one she had fixed him with only a few hours ago and he moved onto the next photograph quickly.
It was of Naruto pushing Sai into a river. Looking at Sai's face made Sasuke uncomfortable, there was too much resemblance to himself there. Sai had a very confused, if not generally surprised expression on his face and Naruto was grinning widely at the camera.
As Sasuke flicked to the next photo, he stared at it for five minutes as if he couldn't fully process it.
Naruto was beaming, happier than Sasuke had ever seen him. Sakura's slender arms were thrown around his neck as he carried her effortlessly, much like Sasuke had hours before. It was the kiss she was planting on Naruto's whiskered cheek that confused him. He flipped the photograph onto its white, blank side, as if he was looking for an answer and his attention was drawn to the messy scrawl in the bottom right hand corner.
I decided you needed a photograph of us together.
Love you,
Naruto
PS. Keep this photo. When we get married, I'll frame it.
Looking through her photographs was a waste of his time, he didn't even know why he was doing it. He sat down and packed them back into her medical pouch hastily, staring out of the dreary window.
When Sasuke did nothing, elusive thoughts crept into his mind and made him think about things he no longer wanted to remember. He knew this all too well, which was why he always forced himself to do something. Most of the time he would go and train, but he couldn't leave Sakura alone now. She would try to escape if he gave her the chance.
He couldn't believe Naruto and Sakura were dating. The Sakura he knew had hated Naruto and all of his stupid attempts to woo her, she had always had her eyes set on him. She would never have agreed to be Naruto's girlfriend.
Blankets rustled behind him as Sakura woke. He continued to watch the raindrops trickle down the glass like teardrops, ignoring her, and she was quiet. Her eyes took in curve of his long, pale back, but she couldn't see how many scars marred the white skin even though she was sure there were many. There wasn't enough light in the room.
"He won't come for me," she said finally, breaking the silence. Sasuke made no effort to turn around to meet her gaze.
The thick navy blue blanket was pulled around her shoulders more securely, the room was cold. She wondered if Sasuke was cold, all he was wearing was a pair of dark slacks.
She didn't know if he was listening or not, but continued anyways, "Konoha won't allow it. They'll ban him from coming anywhere near the Akatsuki."
"That's never stopped Naruto in the past," Sasuke stated indifferently.
So he was listening.
Her hands clenched in the blankets as she tried to control her anger. He was speaking like he still knew Naruto like the back of his hand, but he hadn't been there for the past four years. He was always assuming, always underestimating and she hated him for that.
"He still thinks you'll return to Konoha if he tries hard enough," she told him, frowning, "He doesn't realize that you never will."
"At least one of you has noticed."
She snapped at him, "Don't you care?"
Silence fell over the room again.
"For four years, all Naruto ever thought about was you. He took every mission he could if it meant he was getting closer to you and he trained so hard, so that he'd be able to bring you back by force if he needed to. He misses you-"
"Don't waste your breath. I'll never return to Konoha," he interrupted her, turning at last to meet her glare.
She snapped, "I'm not doing this for your sake, asshole, I'm doing this for Naruto's."
He stood up then and walked towards her, each step firm and confident. Kneeling down so that they were at eye level, he stared at her. The look unnerved her and she pressed her back to the sofa, trying to put as much space between them as was possible.
"Do you pine over him like you used to do for me? Because I'm telling you, I don't think anybody on earth will ever take you seriously," he said harshly.
"Naruto loves me," she snarled at him angrily and instinctively.
A triumphant smirk spread across his face, illuminated by a flash of silent lightning from the window. He was tragically handsome and he told her in a voice like velvet, "If that's the case, then he'll come for you."
He watched in satisfaction as her face fell and hundreds of conflicting emotions battled against one another. She was too easy to read and even easier to manipulate, Sasuke's smirk only grew.
"You-" she hissed at him.
- and when you have enough hatred, come look for me again and Sasuke hated him, becoming obsessed with hatred and revenge, and only when it was too late -
"I hate you!" she snarled, pulling back a fist to punch him.
He watched her fist fly towards him. Even without any chakra, Sakura could easily break his neck with one hit. He wanted to see if she'd ever truly be able to bring herself to kill him, and even though it was reckless and stupid, he made no move to dodge the hit. He didn't believe she'd be able to kill him because he was so convinced she still loved him.
His head cracked to the side.
Her angry breaths filled the quiet room, in, out, in, out. Green eyes blazed like fire and he swore he could almost hear the crackle, her face flushed pink with anger. He slowly turned his head to meet her gaze once again.
"You're only alive because if I kill you, Naruto will never forgive me," she spat at him.
It sounded like an excuse to the both of their ears, but Sakura didn't want to read any deeper into it. She had spent so long getting over Sasuke and she had Naruto now and she loved him, loved him more than she had ever loved Sasuke.
His jaw was sore, but nothing was broken. He lifted a hand and touched her cheek with his fingers. She flinched at the cold touch and when she pulled her face away, he gripped her chin tightly and forced her to look at him.
She began, "Don't-"
And she stopped as his fingertips ghosted over her lips. They were as cold as ice and she shivered suddenly. Her breath caught in her throat as his crimson gaze penetrated through her very soul, as if he was searching for something.
She finally found her voice. "Don't do this to Naruto."
Something flashed in the depths of his bloody eyes for the briefest of moments. He released her chin like she had burned him and returned to his bed, staring at the endless rain outside. He ignored her once more and after staring at his figure for a while longer, she fell asleep.
Frustration seeped out of every pore of Naruto's body and he smashed a fist against the walls that confined him. He was being held in one of highest security criminal cells, making it impossible for him to escape. The walls were made of a special chakra metal that was designed to suck away one specific person's chakra.
Naruto let out a loud, mangled shout and punched the wall with his fists as hard as he could again and again. The skin of his knuckles was splitting and it wouldn't be long before they started bleeding, but he needed to get out-
"Stop making things more troublesome. You're giving the council more reason to keep you in there," a voice commented and Naruto glanced up at a small speaker where it had come from in the corner of the room.
"Shut up, Shikamaru. It's not like any you're doing anything to help Sakura," Naruto spat back at it.
There was a tense silence on the other end. Naruto had struck a nerve, but Shikamaru recovered quickly.
"I know you're angry, but you're going to have to calm down. You're only in there until your chakra's recognized in the force field. If you can prove to the council that you're in control of yourself, then Tsunade-hime might be able to convince them to let you go after Sakura with a team," he tried to make Naruto see reason.
Konoha was surrounded by a chakra force field that detected everyone that passed through it and it was controlled by a special division. The force field was being manipulated so that it would recognize Naruto's chakra and refuse to let him out of Konoha- like an impenetrable wall.
The erratic blonde's teeth grit against one another as he bared his teeth in an animalistic snarl. His cerulean eyes were a dark ocean blue with rage. "Sakura might be dead by then. We need to save her now-"
Shikamaru interrupted, "Would you risk Konoha for Sakura?"
- painful decisions you have to make as Hokage and Naruto watched as Tsunade stared at a picture of a man with hair of clouds and tearstains of blood, her eyes clouded over with all that was and maybe could have been -
"Is one life really more important hundreds of others?" he pressed Naruto.
"This isn't a god damned game of shogi!"
Silence reigned over the other end of the line at Naruto's outburst. The emotional jinchuuriki hissed, "No life is worth more than another one. If I can save even one person then I'll save them, no matter what."
Shikamaru's voice was weary as he finished dismissively, "You're not going to get out of there any other way, Naruto. Remember what I said."
Sakura awoke to the unmistakable sound of a running shower and, glancing around the room blearily, she found herself alone. The door of the bathroom to her left was slightly ajar, casting yellow fluorescent light across the dull white carpet and smoke rolled lazily out through the gap. It was still raining - did it ever stop raining in Ame? - and she quietly stood up, making her way over to the glass doors that led to the balcony.
This was the chance she had been waiting for. She had seen Sasuke walk out onto the balcony more than once the night before and she had tested the doorknob herself- it wasn't locked at all. Any ninjas who jumped from the balcony to the ground hundreds of feet below would die instantly unless they used a jutsu, so there hadn't been a need for him to lock the door since she didn't have any chakra. Even so, Sakura was desperate.
There was a shrill squeak as a tap was turned off and the sound of running water came to a halt. Sasuke emerged from the shower wearing a pair of navy slacks and his eyes narrowed suspiciously when he found that Sakura wasn't sleeping on the sofa where he had last left her. There was a flurry of movement outside on the balcony and he met Sakura's wide, terrified eyes from where she stood on the slippery metal guard railing.
She seemed absolutely frozen as he opened the glass door to the balcony and he frowned at her in disapproval. He commanded her, "Come down from there."
"S-Sasuke…" she stuttered, shocked that she had been caught.
He waited expectantly for her to step down and go back to the sofa obediently, she had been caught trying to escape and it was unlikely she'd try it again. Sakura had never been determined or stubborn or any of those things and was easily intimidated, Sasuke could read her like a book. She didn't have any chakra and she hadn't secured herself to the railing with it. She was weak and drugged, and as she began to step down, Sasuke saw her legs wobble and knew she had fallen before it happened.
He grabbed at her wrist as she fell but her skin was slippery with rainwater and it slid right through his fingers. He swore inwardly as she plummeted through the air heavily and missed the grin of triumph on her face.
Sakura knew she would be fine. The building was so high that it created a strong up drift, in other words, the wind would be rushing strongly up the side of the building. She had known from the moment she saw the raindrops falling outside the window, they fell almost horizontally as a result of the wind pushing them back up. When Sakura jumped over the side of the building, she had spread her body to create as much wind resistance as was possible and the wind had begun to try and push her back up.
She had her storage scroll in her back pocket and she had prepared the white blanket she had slept in, as well as a shirt of hers. She had tied it so that the knotted blanket would look like a human being from far away and the unmistakable crimson of her shirt would lead anyone to think that it was her. Using the metal from one of her stiletto buckles, she had made a grappling hook and she gripped it tightly, prepared to throw it soon to latch onto one of the stone figures on the side of the building. While she was swinging to safety, she would release the fake dummy Sakura and nobody would know any better. Even Sasuke's Sharingan wouldn't be able to see that far.
Just as she prepared to take the grappling hook out of her storage scroll, something strong and warm and completely unexpected wrapped around her waist.
Sasuke had jumped over the edge to save her.
His dark hair was plastered to his alabaster face with rain and his Sharingan eyes were distracted, flashing from side to side. His arm was tight around her waist and he pulled her closer, forcing her to press her hands against his muscular chest. There was a flash of lightning and it illuminated everything. Their faces were so close that Sakura could count each individual raindrop that slid down his flawless skin.
He looks like a hero-
Sakura hardly realized it when they froze in midair, a mere two centimetres from the ground. She had completely missed the fact that Sasuke had used a wind jutsu and only snapped out of her reverie when he glanced down at her, his crimson eyes clashing with her emerald ones.
His hand tightened on her waist and their faces were pulled impossibly close. Sasuke's hot breath spiralled over her mouth and his eyes captivated hers effortlessly. Was it her imagination or was he growing closer-
"You forgot to scream," he told her quietly.
She didn't process what he said for the first five seconds and then recognition dawned on her. Her storage scroll was yanked roughly out of her back pocket and she let out a yelp of protest as she tried to get it back from Sasuke.
"No, don't- give it back!" she insisted.
He raised an eyebrow and opened the storage scroll. Her Sakura dummy and makeshift grappling hook fell out first, then all of her photographs and medical revision scrolls. She swore and fell to her knees, gathering up her photographs and scrolls before the rain could damage them any further.
Sasuke stared at the dummy and the grappling hook. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then he shut it again and shook his head in disbelief. Shutting the storage scroll, he grabbed the medical scrolls and photographs from her hands and held them in a bundle with the storage scroll.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu," he said calmly.
Blinding panic filled Sakura as the flame erupted from his mouth and she had to stop him from burning her photographs, she couldn't let all her memories turn to ash and she reacted-
Sasuke's head cracked to the side as she punched him.
The chakra flame that erupted from his mouth burned one of the stone monuments overhanging the tower into nothing and the both of them were absolutely shocked. There was a stunned pause.
And then triumph and pride flooded through Sakura. She wanted to laugh, but she held it in as Sasuke slowly turned his head to face her.
She didn't even see his fist coming until she skidded across the floor painfully, spraying rainwater everywhere. Her cheek throbbed painfully and she looked up at Sasuke with venomous emerald eyes. The items in Sasuke's hands began to burn and he threw them carelessly onto the pavement. The flame couldn't be put out by ordinary rainwater, it was made from chakra, and the base urge to save her photos filled her. She wanted to scramble across the floor and save them before it was too late, but she refused to bend down at Sasuke's feet and kill whatever pride she had left.
As she watched the photos burn, a lump formed in her throat and she felt like she was making a mistake. Sasuke wasn't watching the photographs, he was watching her for a reaction. He wasn't sure what he was looking for but he felt satisfied when he saw the lost, hurt look on her face. The photograph of her and Naruto was curling up and barely any of it remained as it was eaten away by fire. Only a part of Naruto's message was readable.
Love you
She should have picked up those photos. She should have, she shouldn't have cared what the hell Sasuke thought of her, she should have just bent down and picked them up because those photos were more important to her than Sasuke would ever be. Something like a sob choked her throat and she refused to let it out as the fire consumed Naruto's words and the memory.
- you're not cute she had teased Naruto and in a split second, he had picked her up effortlessly and thrown her onto his back, heading towards a river and she pretended to struggle as they both kept laughing -
"If you try to escape again, your punishment will be much harsher," Sasuke's voice was firm and final.
She raised her head and he couldn't make out the expression in her eyes. Her voice was harsh as she snarled at him, "Any punishment is better than staying with you."
She might as well have been talking to a brick wall, her words had absolutely no effect on Sasuke. And it wasn't as though what she said made a difference- spiteful words wouldn't keep the fire from destroying her memories.
Next chapter preview : Maybe it was an overreaction
"Just take off your clothes."
"I'm Houzuki Suigetsu."
"Don't touch her."
I don't understand half of this story.
Is this really a sasusaku story? They just seem to be killing each other all the time.
It'll get to sasusaku eventually. I develop relationships at a really slow pace (sorry!) and since I actually hate Sasuke my writing might be a bit biased.
You hate Sasuke? Then why the hell are you writing a sasusaku?
At the end of the day, Naruto is going to end narusaku or sasusaku so I'm going with the flow. It's too much to hope for Itachi or Deidara to come back to life and sweep Sakura off of her feet, no matter how much I want it to happen. I was also really inspired by a story called Colour Theory by BlueGreenApples (that stuff is genius).
Sakura just keeps on punching Sasuke. You'd think he'd get more pissed.
Yeah, Sasuke's going to have a really bad black eye. Every time she's punched him, he's found a way to punish her- either by hitting her back or burning her photographs. Admittedly, he should maybe be doing more to stop her, but he's still a little bit more lenient with her.
What was the jutsu Sasuke used to burn Sakura's photos?
I'm not sure what the English translation is, but it's the jutsu where he creates a giantic fireball. I think Sasuke would be able to control the size of his fireball though, he wouldn't create a huge one just to destroy photos. :P
Can I have your autograph?
Wow. Wow, I'm really going to get insanely big headed because of you people but OF COURSE YOU CAN.
What's Itachi got to do with anything? Isn't he…you know…dead?
His death affected Sasuke really deeply and of course, that's the reason Sasuke's all for destroying Konoha. Sasuke wanting to destroy Konoha becomes a major theme in this story eventually.
How'd Karin beat Sakura?! Sakura's the best!
This wasn't really properly explained, I'm sorry. Sakura was owning Karin initially, but then she felt Naruto release Kyuubi and hesitated. Karin stuck a needle in Sakura's gut that knocked her out and made her paralyzed while Sakura was distracted. So really, it's all Naruto's fault, even if I love him to bits.
Which Konoha nin did Suigetsu kill? And is Suigetsu in the next chapter?!
Random ones. Don't worry, they were just really there to give him an edge. (gosh, that sounds so morbid.) Um, yes, in the preview it clearly has him introducing himself. He meets Sakura properly.
When can I expect the next chapter?
I usually update every two weeks, but if I'm struggling then it's a bit longer.
Hey, wait a minute. Wasn't the preview different in chapter 1?
Um, yes it was actually. At first, this was going to be some really angsty chapter where Sasuke ditches Sakura for a mission and puts her in Suigetsu's care. Then Suigetsu proceeds to torture her to the point that he can't heal her and she's dying, and then lovely Juugo goes and rats him out to Sasuke. Sasuke comes back, throws a fit and saves Sakura. I deleted that though because I had a good think about Suigetsu's character and even though he likes torturing people, hanging out with Team Hawk has changed him a bit for the better and he's not so stupid he'd screw with the hostage.
Why did ffnet suddenly change their layout for the author's section?!
I know! I saw it and I was like, "Oh my God, what do I press to update?" You guys nearly didn't havave a new chapter because of it. :) Nah, I'm just kidding, of course I'd find a way to update even if it meant I had to hack the system.
Thanks to all the people who put questions in or reviewed. Hopefully that answers all of your questions. If it doesn't, drop me a review. : )
Selandora (has a really nasty sunburn.)
...maybe I should stick to Naruto references from now on. Please read and comment, dattebayo. =)
"Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes when you fall, you fly."
- Sandman by Neil Gaiman
When Sakura slept, she didn't snore or toss and turn. Still, even just the sound of her breathing irked Sasuke to the point that he couldn't stand sleeping in the same room as her. She was fast asleep on the pale sofa on the other side of the room and Sasuke sat up, his gaze flickering to the rain streaked window and the balcony beyond.
He threw his feet over the side of the bed and stepped on something. He glanced down at it and picked up Sakura's medicinal pouch. Without even thinking, he opened it and pulled out a small storage scroll that fit into the palm of his hand perfectly. He performed a basic jutsu and it released a packet of photographs, bound tightly with a flimsy red rubber band.
Ripping off the rubber band, he began to flick through the photographs. The first one was of the new Team Kakashi with that annoying artist boy, Sai. Naruto wasn't as happy as Sasuke remembered him from their genin days, his eyes were more mature and he could see the hidden sadness within them. Sakura's gaze was the same as the defiant one she had fixed him with only a few hours ago and he moved onto the next photograph quickly.
It was of Naruto pushing Sai into a river. Looking at Sai's face made Sasuke uncomfortable, there was too much resemblance to himself there. Sai had a very confused, if not generally surprised expression on his face and Naruto was grinning widely at the camera.
As Sasuke flicked to the next photo, he stared at it for five minutes as if he couldn't fully process it.
Naruto was beaming, happier than Sasuke had ever seen him. Sakura's slender arms were thrown around his neck as he carried her effortlessly, much like Sasuke had hours before. It was the kiss she was planting on Naruto's whiskered cheek that confused him. He flipped the photograph onto its white, blank side, as if he was looking for an answer and his attention was drawn to the messy scrawl in the bottom right hand corner.
I decided you needed a photograph of us together.
Love you,
Naruto
PS. Keep this photo. When we get married, I'll frame it.
Looking through her photographs was a waste of his time, he didn't even know why he was doing it. He sat down and packed them back into her medical pouch hastily, staring out of the dreary window.
When Sasuke did nothing, elusive thoughts crept into his mind and made him think about things he no longer wanted to remember. He knew this all too well, which was why he always forced himself to do something. Most of the time he would go and train, but he couldn't leave Sakura alone now. She would try to escape if he gave her the chance.
He couldn't believe Naruto and Sakura were dating. The Sakura he knew had hated Naruto and all of his stupid attempts to woo her, she had always had her eyes set on him. She would never have agreed to be Naruto's girlfriend.
Blankets rustled behind him as Sakura woke. He continued to watch the raindrops trickle down the glass like teardrops, ignoring her, and she was quiet. Her eyes took in curve of his long, pale back, but she couldn't see how many scars marred the white skin even though she was sure there were many. There wasn't enough light in the room.
"He won't come for me," she said finally, breaking the silence. Sasuke made no effort to turn around to meet her gaze.
The thick navy blue blanket was pulled around her shoulders more securely, the room was cold. She wondered if Sasuke was cold, all he was wearing was a pair of dark slacks.
She didn't know if he was listening or not, but continued anyways, "Konoha won't allow it. They'll ban him from coming anywhere near the Akatsuki."
"That's never stopped Naruto in the past," Sasuke stated indifferently.
So he was listening.
Her hands clenched in the blankets as she tried to control her anger. He was speaking like he still knew Naruto like the back of his hand, but he hadn't been there for the past four years. He was always assuming, always underestimating and she hated him for that.
"He still thinks you'll return to Konoha if he tries hard enough," she told him, frowning, "He doesn't realize that you never will."
"At least one of you has noticed."
She snapped at him, "Don't you care?"
Silence fell over the room again.
"For four years, all Naruto ever thought about was you. He took every mission he could if it meant he was getting closer to you and he trained so hard, so that he'd be able to bring you back by force if he needed to. He misses you-"
"Don't waste your breath. I'll never return to Konoha," he interrupted her, turning at last to meet her glare.
She snapped, "I'm not doing this for your sake, asshole, I'm doing this for Naruto's."
He stood up then and walked towards her, each step firm and confident. Kneeling down so that they were at eye level, he stared at her. The look unnerved her and she pressed her back to the sofa, trying to put as much space between them as was possible.
"Do you pine over him like you used to do for me? Because I'm telling you, I don't think anybody on earth will ever take you seriously," he said harshly.
"Naruto loves me," she snarled at him angrily and instinctively.
A triumphant smirk spread across his face, illuminated by a flash of silent lightning from the window. He was tragically handsome and he told her in a voice like velvet, "If that's the case, then he'll come for you."
He watched in satisfaction as her face fell and hundreds of conflicting emotions battled against one another. She was too easy to read and even easier to manipulate, Sasuke's smirk only grew.
"You-" she hissed at him.
- and when you have enough hatred, come look for me again and Sasuke hated him, becoming obsessed with hatred and revenge, and only when it was too late -
"I hate you!" she snarled, pulling back a fist to punch him.
He watched her fist fly towards him. Even without any chakra, Sakura could easily break his neck with one hit. He wanted to see if she'd ever truly be able to bring herself to kill him, and even though it was reckless and stupid, he made no move to dodge the hit. He didn't believe she'd be able to kill him because he was so convinced she still loved him.
His head cracked to the side.
Her angry breaths filled the quiet room, in, out, in, out. Green eyes blazed like fire and he swore he could almost hear the crackle, her face flushed pink with anger. He slowly turned his head to meet her gaze once again.
"You're only alive because if I kill you, Naruto will never forgive me," she spat at him.
It sounded like an excuse to the both of their ears, but Sakura didn't want to read any deeper into it. She had spent so long getting over Sasuke and she had Naruto now and she loved him, loved him more than she had ever loved Sasuke.
His jaw was sore, but nothing was broken. He lifted a hand and touched her cheek with his fingers. She flinched at the cold touch and when she pulled her face away, he gripped her chin tightly and forced her to look at him.
She began, "Don't-"
And she stopped as his fingertips ghosted over her lips. They were as cold as ice and she shivered suddenly. Her breath caught in her throat as his crimson gaze penetrated through her very soul, as if he was searching for something.
She finally found her voice. "Don't do this to Naruto."
Something flashed in the depths of his bloody eyes for the briefest of moments. He released her chin like she had burned him and returned to his bed, staring at the endless rain outside. He ignored her once more and after staring at his figure for a while longer, she fell asleep.
Frustration seeped out of every pore of Naruto's body and he smashed a fist against the walls that confined him. He was being held in one of highest security criminal cells, making it impossible for him to escape. The walls were made of a special chakra metal that was designed to suck away one specific person's chakra.
Naruto let out a loud, mangled shout and punched the wall with his fists as hard as he could again and again. The skin of his knuckles was splitting and it wouldn't be long before they started bleeding, but he needed to get out-
"Stop making things more troublesome. You're giving the council more reason to keep you in there," a voice commented and Naruto glanced up at a small speaker where it had come from in the corner of the room.
"Shut up, Shikamaru. It's not like any you're doing anything to help Sakura," Naruto spat back at it.
There was a tense silence on the other end. Naruto had struck a nerve, but Shikamaru recovered quickly.
"I know you're angry, but you're going to have to calm down. You're only in there until your chakra's recognized in the force field. If you can prove to the council that you're in control of yourself, then Tsunade-hime might be able to convince them to let you go after Sakura with a team," he tried to make Naruto see reason.
Konoha was surrounded by a chakra force field that detected everyone that passed through it and it was controlled by a special division. The force field was being manipulated so that it would recognize Naruto's chakra and refuse to let him out of Konoha- like an impenetrable wall.
The erratic blonde's teeth grit against one another as he bared his teeth in an animalistic snarl. His cerulean eyes were a dark ocean blue with rage. "Sakura might be dead by then. We need to save her now-"
Shikamaru interrupted, "Would you risk Konoha for Sakura?"
- painful decisions you have to make as Hokage and Naruto watched as Tsunade stared at a picture of a man with hair of clouds and tearstains of blood, her eyes clouded over with all that was and maybe could have been -
"Is one life really more important hundreds of others?" he pressed Naruto.
"This isn't a god damned game of shogi!"
Silence reigned over the other end of the line at Naruto's outburst. The emotional jinchuuriki hissed, "No life is worth more than another one. If I can save even one person then I'll save them, no matter what."
Shikamaru's voice was weary as he finished dismissively, "You're not going to get out of there any other way, Naruto. Remember what I said."
Sakura awoke to the unmistakable sound of a running shower and, glancing around the room blearily, she found herself alone. The door of the bathroom to her left was slightly ajar, casting yellow fluorescent light across the dull white carpet and smoke rolled lazily out through the gap. It was still raining - did it ever stop raining in Ame? - and she quietly stood up, making her way over to the glass doors that led to the balcony.
This was the chance she had been waiting for. She had seen Sasuke walk out onto the balcony more than once the night before and she had tested the doorknob herself- it wasn't locked at all. Any ninjas who jumped from the balcony to the ground hundreds of feet below would die instantly unless they used a jutsu, so there hadn't been a need for him to lock the door since she didn't have any chakra. Even so, Sakura was desperate.
There was a shrill squeak as a tap was turned off and the sound of running water came to a halt. Sasuke emerged from the shower wearing a pair of navy slacks and his eyes narrowed suspiciously when he found that Sakura wasn't sleeping on the sofa where he had last left her. There was a flurry of movement outside on the balcony and he met Sakura's wide, terrified eyes from where she stood on the slippery metal guard railing.
She seemed absolutely frozen as he opened the glass door to the balcony and he frowned at her in disapproval. He commanded her, "Come down from there."
"S-Sasuke…" she stuttered, shocked that she had been caught.
He waited expectantly for her to step down and go back to the sofa obediently, she had been caught trying to escape and it was unlikely she'd try it again. Sakura had never been determined or stubborn or any of those things and was easily intimidated, Sasuke could read her like a book. She didn't have any chakra and she hadn't secured herself to the railing with it. She was weak and drugged, and as she began to step down, Sasuke saw her legs wobble and knew she had fallen before it happened.
He grabbed at her wrist as she fell but her skin was slippery with rainwater and it slid right through his fingers. He swore inwardly as she plummeted through the air heavily and missed the grin of triumph on her face.
Sakura knew she would be fine. The building was so high that it created a strong up drift, in other words, the wind would be rushing strongly up the side of the building. She had known from the moment she saw the raindrops falling outside the window, they fell almost horizontally as a result of the wind pushing them back up. When Sakura jumped over the side of the building, she had spread her body to create as much wind resistance as was possible and the wind had begun to try and push her back up.
She had her storage scroll in her back pocket and she had prepared the white blanket she had slept in, as well as a shirt of hers. She had tied it so that the knotted blanket would look like a human being from far away and the unmistakable crimson of her shirt would lead anyone to think that it was her. Using the metal from one of her stiletto buckles, she had made a grappling hook and she gripped it tightly, prepared to throw it soon to latch onto one of the stone figures on the side of the building. While she was swinging to safety, she would release the fake dummy Sakura and nobody would know any better. Even Sasuke's Sharingan wouldn't be able to see that far.
Just as she prepared to take the grappling hook out of her storage scroll, something strong and warm and completely unexpected wrapped around her waist.
Sasuke had jumped over the edge to save her.
His dark hair was plastered to his alabaster face with rain and his Sharingan eyes were distracted, flashing from side to side. His arm was tight around her waist and he pulled her closer, forcing her to press her hands against his muscular chest. There was a flash of lightning and it illuminated everything. Their faces were so close that Sakura could count each individual raindrop that slid down his flawless skin.
He looks like a hero-
Sakura hardly realized it when they froze in midair, a mere two centimetres from the ground. She had completely missed the fact that Sasuke had used a wind jutsu and only snapped out of her reverie when he glanced down at her, his crimson eyes clashing with her emerald ones.
His hand tightened on her waist and their faces were pulled impossibly close. Sasuke's hot breath spiralled over her mouth and his eyes captivated hers effortlessly. Was it her imagination or was he growing closer-
"You forgot to scream," he told her quietly.
She didn't process what he said for the first five seconds and then recognition dawned on her. Her storage scroll was yanked roughly out of her back pocket and she let out a yelp of protest as she tried to get it back from Sasuke.
"No, don't- give it back!" she insisted.
He raised an eyebrow and opened the storage scroll. Her Sakura dummy and makeshift grappling hook fell out first, then all of her photographs and medical revision scrolls. She swore and fell to her knees, gathering up her photographs and scrolls before the rain could damage them any further.
Sasuke stared at the dummy and the grappling hook. He opened his mouth as if to say something, then he shut it again and shook his head in disbelief. Shutting the storage scroll, he grabbed the medical scrolls and photographs from her hands and held them in a bundle with the storage scroll.
"Katon: Goukakyuu no jutsu," he said calmly.
Blinding panic filled Sakura as the flame erupted from his mouth and she had to stop him from burning her photographs, she couldn't let all her memories turn to ash and she reacted-
Sasuke's head cracked to the side as she punched him.
The chakra flame that erupted from his mouth burned one of the stone monuments overhanging the tower into nothing and the both of them were absolutely shocked. There was a stunned pause.
And then triumph and pride flooded through Sakura. She wanted to laugh, but she held it in as Sasuke slowly turned his head to face her.
She didn't even see his fist coming until she skidded across the floor painfully, spraying rainwater everywhere. Her cheek throbbed painfully and she looked up at Sasuke with venomous emerald eyes. The items in Sasuke's hands began to burn and he threw them carelessly onto the pavement. The flame couldn't be put out by ordinary rainwater, it was made from chakra, and the base urge to save her photos filled her. She wanted to scramble across the floor and save them before it was too late, but she refused to bend down at Sasuke's feet and kill whatever pride she had left.
As she watched the photos burn, a lump formed in her throat and she felt like she was making a mistake. Sasuke wasn't watching the photographs, he was watching her for a reaction. He wasn't sure what he was looking for but he felt satisfied when he saw the lost, hurt look on her face. The photograph of her and Naruto was curling up and barely any of it remained as it was eaten away by fire. Only a part of Naruto's message was readable.
Love you
She should have picked up those photos. She should have, she shouldn't have cared what the hell Sasuke thought of her, she should have just bent down and picked them up because those photos were more important to her than Sasuke would ever be. Something like a sob choked her throat and she refused to let it out as the fire consumed Naruto's words and the memory.
- you're not cute she had teased Naruto and in a split second, he had picked her up effortlessly and thrown her onto his back, heading towards a river and she pretended to struggle as they both kept laughing -
"If you try to escape again, your punishment will be much harsher," Sasuke's voice was firm and final.
She raised her head and he couldn't make out the expression in her eyes. Her voice was harsh as she snarled at him, "Any punishment is better than staying with you."
She might as well have been talking to a brick wall, her words had absolutely no effect on Sasuke. And it wasn't as though what she said made a difference- spiteful words wouldn't keep the fire from destroying her memories.
Next chapter preview : Maybe it was an overreaction
"Just take off your clothes."
"I'm Houzuki Suigetsu."
"Don't touch her."
I don't understand half of this story.
Is this really a sasusaku story? They just seem to be killing each other all the time.
It'll get to sasusaku eventually. I develop relationships at a really slow pace (sorry!) and since I actually hate Sasuke my writing might be a bit biased.
You hate Sasuke? Then why the hell are you writing a sasusaku?
At the end of the day, Naruto is going to end narusaku or sasusaku so I'm going with the flow. It's too much to hope for Itachi or Deidara to come back to life and sweep Sakura off of her feet, no matter how much I want it to happen. I was also really inspired by a story called Colour Theory by BlueGreenApples (that stuff is genius).
Sakura just keeps on punching Sasuke. You'd think he'd get more pissed.
Yeah, Sasuke's going to have a really bad black eye. Every time she's punched him, he's found a way to punish her- either by hitting her back or burning her photographs. Admittedly, he should maybe be doing more to stop her, but he's still a little bit more lenient with her.
What was the jutsu Sasuke used to burn Sakura's photos?
I'm not sure what the English translation is, but it's the jutsu where he creates a giantic fireball. I think Sasuke would be able to control the size of his fireball though, he wouldn't create a huge one just to destroy photos. :P
Can I have your autograph?
Wow. Wow, I'm really going to get insanely big headed because of you people but OF COURSE YOU CAN.
What's Itachi got to do with anything? Isn't he…you know…dead?
His death affected Sasuke really deeply and of course, that's the reason Sasuke's all for destroying Konoha. Sasuke wanting to destroy Konoha becomes a major theme in this story eventually.
How'd Karin beat Sakura?! Sakura's the best!
This wasn't really properly explained, I'm sorry. Sakura was owning Karin initially, but then she felt Naruto release Kyuubi and hesitated. Karin stuck a needle in Sakura's gut that knocked her out and made her paralyzed while Sakura was distracted. So really, it's all Naruto's fault, even if I love him to bits.
Which Konoha nin did Suigetsu kill? And is Suigetsu in the next chapter?!
Random ones. Don't worry, they were just really there to give him an edge. (gosh, that sounds so morbid.) Um, yes, in the preview it clearly has him introducing himself. He meets Sakura properly.
When can I expect the next chapter?
I usually update every two weeks, but if I'm struggling then it's a bit longer.
Hey, wait a minute. Wasn't the preview different in chapter 1?
Um, yes it was actually. At first, this was going to be some really angsty chapter where Sasuke ditches Sakura for a mission and puts her in Suigetsu's care. Then Suigetsu proceeds to torture her to the point that he can't heal her and she's dying, and then lovely Juugo goes and rats him out to Sasuke. Sasuke comes back, throws a fit and saves Sakura. I deleted that though because I had a good think about Suigetsu's character and even though he likes torturing people, hanging out with Team Hawk has changed him a bit for the better and he's not so stupid he'd screw with the hostage.
Why did ffnet suddenly change their layout for the author's section?!
I know! I saw it and I was like, "Oh my God, what do I press to update?" You guys nearly didn't havave a new chapter because of it. :) Nah, I'm just kidding, of course I'd find a way to update even if it meant I had to hack the system.
Thanks to all the people who put questions in or reviewed. Hopefully that answers all of your questions. If it doesn't, drop me a review. : )
Selandora (has a really nasty sunburn.)