Salvation

Chapter 11: Consequences

Sasuke stood on the branch looking down at the scene before him.  He watched as the two sound-nin faced him.  He glared hard at them and tried to control his anger.

He got there only moments before.  He watched as the one man climbed on top of Sakura, and he knew he had to do something and quick.  He wanted to jump down and knock the guy away from Sakura, but he didn’t want to risk hurting her, so he decided it would be best to throw an exploding tag to get their attention.

Sasuke looked over at Sakura, taking in her shaking form.  She was covered in blood.  Gashes lined her body and her shirt was ripped down the middle exposing her bra.  Her arms and feet were both bound and she had a number of bruises on her face.  Her left eye was swelling and her pink hair was matted to her forehead with blood and sweat.

But what caught Sasuke’s attention the most was the look in her eyes.  Sakura’s eyes showed everything about her.  She couldn’t hide anything from anyone if they really looked into her eyes, and what Sasuke saw now was fear.  Not just a little fear, Sasuke could tell she was scared out of her mind.

Her wide eyes were looking at him, and he could see a flicker of hope flash through her emerald orbs.

“Who the hell are you?” the one closer to him said.  Sasuke looked at him, his sharingan blazing, and his fists clenched.

“Get the fuck off of her,” he said, surprising even himself with how much hate was filled within that one sentence.

“When asked a question, one should always respond with an answer,” the one of top of Sakura said.  Sasuke met his eyes and he could see the arrogance wafting off of him.

“I said, get off of her now,” Sasuke said, trying to calm himself.  He had to figure out how to get Sakura out of there so he could take them both out.  He could tell she was completely exhausted and the fact she had no chakra to heal herself or help him fight was crippling.

Sasuke watched as Kin smirked.  He reached down and grabbed Sakura’s hair, jerking her head back.

Sakura’s scream was muffled, but Sasuke could tell she was in pain.

Kin took the knife, tracing Sakura’s neck with it.  Not enough to cut, but with a little more pressure he could easily kill her.

Sasuke’s teeth were grinding together as he tried to calm himself.  When had he ever been this mad?  Only when facing Itachi, so why now was he so angry?  He needed to get a hold of his emotions before he made rash decisions which could easily get Sakura killed.

“She’s quite a catch, huh,” Kin said, continuing to move the knife across Sakura’s neck.

“You should have heard her screaming and yelling for us to stop.  I’ve never heard a sweeter sound, and I do come from The Hidden Village of Sound.”

Kin placed the knife closer to Sakura’s skin, drawing blood.  The red liquid flowed down her neck, over her bra, and down her stomach.

Sakura flinched from the pain, but she didn’t scream.  She wasn’t going to give the guy any satisfaction.

Inside Sakura was elated.  Sasuke was here, which meant she was going to be safe.  The guy was only trying to get a rise out of Sasuke.  Good luck with that.  He wouldn’t flinch if you threw a knife by his head.  He’d just laugh and tell you that you needed to train more.

Sakura’s head was still being pulled back, but she could see Sasuke still standing on the tree above them.  He’s probably trying to work out a plan right now.  Well, hurry the hell up Sasuke.  I want this asshole off of me.

Sasuke knew he had to think of something quick, or things were going to get bad really quick.  He looked at his surroundings, and an idea clicked.   In an instant, he was gone.

Sakura saw Sasuke disappear from sight, and for a second she panicked.  What if he left me?  They’ll kill me or worse, keep me as their play thing.  I can’t let that happen.  Sasuke, please don’t leave me!

Sakura’s eyes frantically searched for Sasuke.

“Where the hell did he go?”  Saizo said, and Kin looked around.  He lowered the knife a little, and let go of Sakura’s hair, but he still did not move from his spot on top of her.

Suddenly, Sasuke appeared from the right.  He leapt up, effectively kicking Saizo in the side, sending him careening to the ground.

Kin leapt up, ready to attack.  Arms suddenly grabbed Sakura from behind, pulling her behind a tree.

Sakura’s heart began to race, wondering who now had their hands on her.  She was turned around, coming face to face with Sasuke.  Her eyes widened at the sight of him.

“That’s my clone in their, Sakura, so I don’t have much time.  I’m going to untie you and I want you to get as far away from here as possible,” Sasuke told her.

He untied the cloth from her mouth, and then began working on untying her arms and legs.

Sakura stared at him for a moment before speaking.  “I can’t leave you here,” Sakura said, watching as Sasuke untied her legs.

“What can you do, Sakura?  You’re useless right now,” Sasuke said, throwing the ropes on the ground.

Sakura’s eyes became watery at the comment.  She knew she couldn’t really do anything and what Sasuke had said was true, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less.  She had felt useless her whole life and she hated it.  She was finally starting to get over that, feeling that she was actually an asset in battle rather than a burden, but here she was again, being rescued.

Sasuke saw Sakura’s eyes convey many different emotions and he really didn’t know why. 

“Sakura, you need to go,” Sasuke told her and Sakura looked up at him.  She didn’t say anything, but nodded her head.

Sasuke looked up just in time to see his clone disappear.  He looked at Sakura one last time, motioning for her to go, and then he jumped into battle.  Sakura was hoping that Sasuke would at least offer her his shirt so she could cover up.  She felt so insecure and vulnerable with her chest exposed.  But, she knew he had his mind preoccupied by the two ninjas, so she didn’t say anything.  She would deal with it now and then she would borrow one of Hinata’s shirts when they reunited.  She pulled what little shirt she had left together as much as she could, trying to cover up, even if it was just a little.

Sakura looked back at Sasuke to see him fighting both Saizo and Kin at the same time.  She wanted to stay, worried that he might get hurt, but she knew better. These two sound-nin were nothing for Sasuke.  He would take care of the both of them in no time at all.

Sakura tried to stand, but her body protested.  Her ribs ached, the cuts were too many, and she knew she had lost a lot of blood.  Not enough to be life-threatening, but enough to make her weak, even more weak then she already was.

She couldn’t wait to get the vial from Orochimaru.  She wanted her chakra back.  Not just for herself, but also for Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke.  They needed her to be able to fight, not just be someone they had to watch out for.

She crawled away from the battle, keeping her pace slow so she wouldn’t do any other damage to her body.  Once she felt she was far enough away, she leaned against a tree, resting her head against the bark, and thinking about how much she hated being weak.

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“So, is the pink chick your girlfriend or something?”  Kin said, staring at Sasuke.  Saizo was lying on the ground, upside down.  Sasuke had taken him out with just a few punches, but Kin was proving to be quite the nuisance.

Sasuke didn’t say anything, but continued to stare, trying to figure out a plan.

Kin held up a knife higher, waving it in front of Sasuke.  “This was what we used to torture your little friend back there,” Kin said before licking the knife with his snake-like tongue.  In that instance, Sasuke was reminded of Orochimaru and more anger consumed him.  He hated Orochimaru almost as much as Itachi.  Even though the snake sannin was able to teach him quite a few powerful jutsus, he never respected him and he would never call him his teacher.

Sasuke felt his blood pump a little faster with Kin’s taunting.  The way he spoke of Sakura irked him, and what they had done to her, only fueled his anger.

“As soon as I kill you, I think I’ll go and find her.  I’m sure she’s not far from here.  And don’t worry, I won’t kill her.  I’ve been looking for someone to keep in my room for those lonely nights,” Kin said, smirking at Sasuke.  “I love it rough.  She’d learn to love it to.  I’ll break her, and it’ll be fun.  She’s so innocent, so pure.  You don’t find that much these days.  I can’t wait to watch her scream again.”

Sasuke didn’t know what made him do it, but before he realized what he had done, his arm was sticking through Kin’s chest, his chidori blazing on the other side.

Kin looked at him for a moment, blood trickling out of his mouth.  He didn’t say anything as he slumped forward.  Sasuke cancelled the chidori, throwing the ninja across the clearing, along with Saizo, who would have to see his dead friend laying on him when he woke up.

Sasuke looked down at his arm covered in blood, and for some reason, he didn’t feel sorry.  He wanted to kill that guy, and he felt good when he did that.  But, I took someone’s life.  I try not to kill, and I didn’t have to kill him.  I could have taken him out with just a few more hits or combos, and yet, I killed him.  Why?  Why did I do that?  I just remember him talking about Sakura, and…oh wait, Sakura!

Sasuke looked up and dashed in the direction he had sent Sakura.  He saw a blood trail, and followed it.  It was not very long before he rounded a tree to see Sakura leaning against it.

She looked up at him with sad eyes and she smiled.  “You’re okay, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura said.  Her eyes were a bit glassy and Sasuke knew she had been crying.

“Sakura,” Sasuke said, not too sure of what to do.  “Are you okay?”

Sakura shook her head.  “I think so,” she said.  “How did you find me?”

“Hinata found our camp.  She told us that you two were attacked and that you got separated,” Sasuke explained.  “Why did you come Sakura?  That was so careless of you.  I thought you were smarter than that.”

Sakura looked down, ashamed to be lectured by Sasuke.  “I just couldn’t leave the two of you to fix my mess.  It was my burden to bear, not yours,” Sakura answered and Sasuke could hear the remorse in her voice.  He wanted to berate her more, but felt it was best to leave it alone for now.  Sakura had just been through a horrible event, so he could cut her a little slack.

“Well, let’s go and meet up with Naruto and Hinata.  Can you stand?”  Sasuke asked and Sakura nodded again.

She grabbed the tree for support and attempted to lift herself.  She tried to hide the pain, but Sasuke could see it written all over her face.  She began to sweat even more from the strain, and Sasuke stopped her.

She grabbed her arm and looped it around his neck, supporting most of her weight.   He didn’t ask her why she lied, he already knew the answer.  It was just like Sakura to not ask for help.

“I’m sorry, Sasuke-kun, for being a burden,” Sakura said and Sasuke almost smiled.  “Thank you for saving me.  If you didn’t get there on time then they would have…”  Sakura stopped, not being able to finish her story.  A few tears leaked out of her eyes, but she brushed them away, ashamed.

“But I did, and they didn’t,” Sasuke replied, trying to bring some sort of comfort to her.  He saw Sakura’s lips turn upward and he felt a little better.

“What happened to Saizo and Kin?”  Sakura asked as the two began to walk toward where Naruto and Hinata were.

“They won’t be bothering us again,” Sasuke replied.  Sasuke didn’t want to tell her he had just killed one of them, he couldn’t right now.  Even though he knew that Sakura wouldn’t look down on him, there was still that thought that she might, and he couldn’t face that.

They continued to walk, and Sakura tried to hide her whimpers.  The pain was increasing and she knew she should stop and start to patch them up, but she was scared to ask Sasuke.  She didn’t want to annoy him.

Sasuke looked over and he knew Sakura was in more pain then she admitted.  Her wounds were bad.  He wished he knew something about healing, and then he could help her, but he didn’t.  He stopped and Sakura looked at him.  “Sakura, do you want to stop and treat some of your wounds?”  Sasuke asked and Sakura shook her head.

“No, I’ll be fine.  We can keep going,” Sakura said, but Sasuke could tell by the look in her eyes that she wanted to stop.

He grabbed Sakura’s hand, unhooking it from around his neck.  “I need to stop anyway so I can figure out exactly where Naruto and Hinata are.  Might as well fix some of your wounds,” Sasuke told her.

He helped Sakura to the ground and he pulled out some bandages and some salve from his pack.  “Here, take this and try and clean up some of your wounds,” Sasuke said, handing Sakura the objects.

Sakura put some cream on her fingers and rubbed it into the various cuts on her body.  It stung a little, but she bared the pain.  She couldn’t believe how many cuts she had.  There were probably fifty covering her body.  She felt so dirty and grimy from all the dried blood and dirt, and she couldn’t wait to wash herself. 

When she was finished, she closed the cream and gave it back to Sasuke.  She bandaged most of the bigger wounds, leaving some of the smaller ones exposed.  They weren’t that serious and they would heal on their own.

Her hair felt horrible and she knew she probably looked like a mess.  Her face hurt a little to move and she could feel swelling around her left eye.  It wasn’t enough to obscure her eyesight, but it still hurt like hell.

“How ugly do I look, Sasuke-kun,” Sakura asked, looking down at her hands.

“What kind of question is that,” Sasuke answered, not really sure why Sakura would ask.

“I know my face is all screwed up and my hair is all crazy.  I just wanted to know.  Nevermind, it’s a stupid question, forget it,” Sakura said, looking away.

Sasuke looked over at her and he didn’t know what to do.  He knew she was looking for some sort of validation that she didn’t look horrible.  She did look like hell, but hadn’t she just been through hell.  It was okay to look like that.  Why would she be worried about her appearance after going through something like that?  Girls, I will never understand them.

Sasuke found himself wondering exactly what Sakura had been through.  “What happened?”  Sasuke asked.

Sakura looked up to him for a moment before looking back down to her hands.  She was clasping them together on her lap.  “When me and Hinata got separated, they ran after me.  I tried to get away, but they found me.  They tied me up and started kicking me and punching me.   Then they took a knife and started to cut me all over.  And they were about to,” Sakura stopped, looking over at Sasuke, hoping he understood what she meant.  “well, you know, and then you showed up.”

Sasuke nodded his head.  He felt so lost.  He didn’t know what to do.  He knew Sakura needed comfort, but he didn’t know how to give it to her.  He could at least try.  “It seems like you went through hell and you tried to fight.  You made it out alive, without having any chakra, that’s more then a lot of people could do,”  Sasuke told her and Sakura looked up to him.

Sakura was a bit speechless.  If she wasn’t mistaken, that seemed to be some sort of semi-compliment coming from Sasuke.  She tried to meet his eyes, but he wasn’t looking at her, but instead out across the woods.

“Besides the cuts and the bruises on your face, do you have any other injuries?”  Sasuke asked, this time looking over at her.

“I think I have a few broken ribs,” Sakura answered him and Sasuke looked over to Sakura.  He was drawn to her chest and he could see the bruising around her ribcage. He then caught sight of the thin scar on her stomach.  He remembered Naruto telling him about how Sakura had fought Sasori, killed him, but was left with that scar.  Hmm, so that’s the scar.  I’ll have to ask her about that fight sometime. Wait, why can I see her chest?  Shouldn’t that be covered?  That’s when Sasuke realized that Sakura’s shirt was ripped.  He had forgotten about that.

He immediately turned away, his cheeks growing a little red.  He didn’t hesitate before pulling off his shirt and handing it to Sakura.  He was happy he had decided to wear an undershirt because he didn’t like to go around without a shirt on.

Sakura took a moment to grab the shirt.  She couldn’t believe that Sasuke was actually doing something like that.  Outside, she remained passive, but inside she couldn’t help but squeal in excitement.  “Thank you, Sasuke-kun,” she said, before slipping the shirt over her head.

Sasuke nodded his head.  Suddenly, a thought popped into his head.  “What happened to the other ninja?”  Sasuke asked.

Sakura looked at him, confused.  “What do you mean?” 

“Hinata said there were three sound-nin,” Sasuke told her.

“I don’t know.   I only saw two, the two back there, that’s it,” Sakura explained.

“Great, now we have another sound-nin out there somewhere,” Sasuke said, jumping up.

“No, you don’t,” a voice said, and Sasuke and Sakura turned around to see Naruto and Hinata standing just a few feet away from them.

“Dobe?”  Sasuke asked, staring at the two.

Naruto smirked.  “You can’t expect me to let you have all the fun,” Naruto said.

“Are you okay, Sakura?”  Hinata asked, coming over to look at Sakura.

“Sakura-chan!”  Naruto cried, running over to her.  “What the hell?  Teme, why did you let her get hurt?”

Sasuke scoffed a bit and Sakura looked at Naruto.  “No Naruto, Sasuke-kun saved me,” Sakura explained.

“Why, what happened?”  Naruto asked, his eyes filled with worry.

“It’s a long story,” Sakura said and Naruto looked at her.  She could tell he was about to ask for her to continue, but she didn’t feel like it tonight.  She was exhausted.  Just as Naruto was about to speak, Sasuke spoke up.

“I think we should get back to camp.  We need to be well rested for tomorrow,” Sasuke said and Sakura looked at him.  She caught his eyes, silently conveying a thank you.  Sasuke didn’t say anything but nodded his head in understanding.

Sakura tried to stand, and Naruto and Hinata helped her up.  She was a little sad about the fact that Sasuke wasn’t holding her anymore, but he did show quite a bit of concern for her and that was enough.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Sakura-chan,” Naruto asked and Sakura nodded her head.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.  I treated a few of my major wounds.  Once I get my chakra back, I’ll be able to heal myself in no time flat,” Sakura told them.

They seemed to except that answer and they all continued to walk back to the camp.  Sakura looked up at Sasuke walking in front of them.

She saw him constantly wiping his arm, and she could see the red stain covering it.  She knew it was blood.  He didn’t say anything about it, so she didn’t want to press it yet, but it was definitely something she was going to ask him about later.