Salvation
Chapter 21: Hope
Sasuke awoke early, not really having slept the night before. He looked around him at his sleeping teammates. Naruto was snoring loudly just a few feet away from him. He wondered to himself how Naruto could sleep like that while on a mission. He put the thought from his mind because Naruto was so utterly complex he would never understand the kid, so it's best not to even think about it.
Sakura was sleeping soundly, a little too close to their charge for Sasuke's taste. She looked rather peaceful he had to say as he looked at her, but there was still a foul taste in his mouth. Something was amiss and it bothered him to no end.
Sasuke saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and he turned to see Kakashi getting up, leaning against a tree.
"Morning Sasuke," Kakashi said, before pulling out his pack and throwing things in it.
Sasuke didn't say anything, just nodded his head. He wasn't in the mood for useless talking at the moment.
"We should get them up and get going. We've got a few more days travel, and we'll be arriving at Mist."
Sasuke didn't really feel like moving, so he did the one thing he knew that would wake them all up. Grabbing a rock from the ground, he threw it at Naruto, hitting him square in the head. He jumped up quicker than lighting, looking around at everyone.
"What the hell!" Naruto screamed, rubbing his head from the rock's impact. The sudden outburst caused Sakura and Gin to jump up as well, both looking around to see what was going on.
"Well, now that you're up, get packed. We've got to get moving," Kakashi said and Sasuke couldn't hold the smirk that marked his face. Sometimes it was fun being a cold-hearted bastard.
*************
Sakura groaned and tried hard not to move her body. When she did, she let out a piercing scream. She had never felt so much pain in her life. She was lying down on the ground in her cell. They had dropped her broken body on the ground after hours and hours of torture.
Sakura shuddered when she thought back to what they did. They had cut her, beat her, prodded her, and so much more. They hung her upside down, making shallow cuts in her legs and arms, watching as she became dizzy not only from the fact that all her blood was rushing to her head, bust also because of the blood loss.
They burnt her with hot torches, branding symbols on her body. Symbols she would forever have burned into her skin. If she had chakra, she could heal herself, making sure that scars didn't remain, but they would never allow that. They didn't give her anything, no pain medication, nothing. They had deliberately kept her conscious during the whole thing. They watched as she screamed with every slice, growled with every poke of the needle. All she could do was scream and yell. She was so helpless.
They didn't ask her questions or probe her mind about facts of Konoha or their elite ninjas. Actually, they barely spoke at all during the whole thing. She had asked them over and over again why they were doing this to her, but she was only met with silence. In the end, she was begging, pleading with them to stop. She had taken all the pain she could and her body would allow no more. They must have noticed this too, because they had freed her. At that moment, Sakura had wanted to jump off the gurney and run for the exit, but she couldn't move. She screamed at her hands to move, her legs to kick, but they would not. They had taken all the abuse they could.
So Sakura was grabbed and thrown over the shoulder of the man who had originally come and got her. He didn't walk softly to keep from hurting her wounds. He actually held her a little too tight and Sakura whimpered the entire way to her cell. And when he had thrown her in and her body hit the ground with a sickening crack, Sakura swore people in another planet could hear the scream that emitted from her blood caked mouth.
With everything she had, she pulled herself to the corner using her only good arm, and without protest she fell asleep.
Her mind was now well rested, but that only meant she felt the pain more intensely then before. She felt everything.
She forced herself into a sitting position taking inventory of her injuries.
She had three broken ribs, a broken arm, a fractured ankle, and a shattered cheekbone. Her body was riddled with at least a hundred small cuts and needle punctures. She had symbols she didn't recognize line her arms and the middle of her back. And that was just the physical damage she had received. Her mental state was one she didn't want to think about at the moment. She knew this was an experience that would long haunt her.
She heard movement and Sakura couldn't help but start to cry. She couldn't go through it all again, she just couldn't. The door jingled and Sakura curled into the smallest ball she could, tucking her head between her knees, and she began to chant. "Please leave me alone. Please don't take me. I can't survive this again."
She felt so weak, useless, and, most of all, ashamed. Here she was, the apprentice to the Hokage, and she was pleading for her life, her sanity. What would Tsunade think? Kakashi? Naruto? Sasuke? They would be embarrassed for her and disappointed in her lack of will power. She just couldn't break her mind out of the cycle it was one: one of complete disarray.
Sakura heard the door open and her voice only got louder. Whoever it was, came in quietly.
"Miss Sakura," a small voice said, and Sakura's head jerked up. There in front of her stood the servant girl, Yuna.
"Yuna!" Sakura exclaimed as tears poured down her face in relief.
"I've brought you some food. Here's also some towels, bandages, and some water to clean up with," Yuna explained. She carefully put out all of the items she had brought, stacking them neatly on the ground.
"Are they coming for me again?" Sakura asked and Yuna brushed the hair from her eyes.
"No, they won't," Yuna began. It looked like she was about to speak some more, but she stopped.
"Please Yuna, please, just...," Sakura stopped, she knew that Yuna was too far broken to disobey her masters orders, but she had to get her to open up somehow. "I'm not asking you to help me, just talk to me. Help me understand what's going on."
Yuna didn't say anything. She stood up and headed for the door. "Please Yuna, please help me. Please, I'm begging you," Sakura said, struggling to keep her composure.
Yuna stopped and turned around. She looked at Sakura a moment. "They won't come for a while. They want your wounds to heal naturally, without chakra. They basically perform experiments on random people. I don't know why they do it, but they've been doing it for a very long time," Yuna told Sakura.
Yuna walked back over to Sakura and sat down. She grabbed the rag and began to wipe off some of Sakura's wounds. Sakura didn't say anything. She was happy to have someone help her out. She needed a friend to help her get through this.
As Yuna cleaned her wounds, she stood up and Sakura became frightened. On instinct, she reached out and grabbed Yuna's sleeve, giving it a slight tug. The sleeve flew up her arm and Sakura gasped. On Yuna's arm was the same markings Sakura was given. Yuna looked down in shock. She ripped her arm away, shoving the sleeve back down.
"Were you...," Sakura began. "Were you experimented on too?"
Yuna didn't say anything for a long time. Finally, Sakura saw her nod her head. "How long have you been here?"
"Fourteen years," Yuna said and Sakura gasped.
"Fourteen years? How old were you when you were captured. You can't be more than sixteen or seventeen," Sakura said.
Yuna smiled a little. "Well, people have said I look young for my age, but not that young. I'm actually twenty-seven."
Sakura couldn't hold the shocked look that came over her face. No way was this girl in front of her a twenty-seven year old woman.
"What happened?" Sakura asked.
"I don't really remember all that much. I do remember that I lived in a wonderful village before I was brought here. They gave me so many drugs and it just began to was away my memories. I remember I was a medic-nin, but I don't really remember how to do any of that now. I was on a team with two boys, but one of them died. That was right before I was brought here. Other than that, my memory escapes me. I don't even think my real name is Yuna," Yuna explained and Sakura felt such sympathy for this girl.
"I'm so sorry," Sakura said, not knowing what else to say.
Yuna just gave her a smile. "It's alright. I've come to accept it."
"No Yuna, you shouldn't accept it. We will get free from this place!" Sakura exclaimed.
"I use to say that everyday when I was first brought here, but no one has ever come for me," Yuna said, a sad look making its way across her features.
"Well, my team will come. They know I'm missing, so I'm sure there out there looking for me right now. It's only a matter of time," Sakura said and Yuna looked at her.
"I wish that were true. But they don't know you're missing," Yuna said.
"What?" Sakura asked.
"They have someone impersonating you right now. Sometimes they will just make it look like you died, and other times they will actually send one of their ninjas to play your role. They really only do that when they want something or need to know something important," Yuna explained.
"Well, they'll be able to tell the chakra's different," Sakura said, trying to convince herself more than Yuna.
"As soon as they got you hear, they took a sample of your chakra. They are able to replicate it and place that chakra signature into another woman. I believe her name is Karin. She has this special ability where she can take other's chakra and use it as her own," Yuna explained and Sakura felt her whole world tumble down.
"But, they will know it's not me. My teammates know me better than anyone. They will know a fake and then they will come find me," Sakura said, again to herself more than Yuna.
"For your sake, Sakura, I hope they do," Yuna said, before standing. "You should eat and wash up. I'm probably the only one you will see for a while, but one of the masters might come down and pay you a visit. They like to do that sometimes."
Sakura nodded her head sadly. Yuna gave her a smile before walking toward the door.
"Yuna," Sakura said, and Yuna turned to look at her. "What does it mean?" Sakura held up her arm and showed her the same markings.
"It means you belong to them," Yuna said, before heading out the door.
Sakura stared at the door, but she didn't really see it. She hoped, with all of her heart, that someone noticed she was gone.
************
Sasuke threw his junk into his hotel room before sitting on the edge of the bed. The mission had so far been a rather boring one and he wondered if this guy was truly a witness in such a high-profiled case.
Sasuke heard a knock on his door. "Come in," he said and the door opened. Sasuke turned to see Sakura coming in.
"Hey Sasuke-kun," Sakura said and Sasuke nodded his head.
"Is everything alright," Sasuke asked, wondering why Sakura had decided to come into his room, especially since she had made such a scene early about them all having their own rooms for once.
"Oh, yes," Sakura said. She walked over to him and sat beside him on the bed. "I just wanted to know what you were doing. We haven't been talking much lately."
Sasuke didn't say anything, frankly he didn't know what to say.
"Our charge, what do you think of him?" Sakura asked and Sasuke snorted.
"He's a prick," Sasuke said and Sakura just gave him a look.
"I think he's cute," Sakura said and Sasuke looked at her. Was she serious?
"Of course you would," Sasuke said and turned away from her. Suddenly he felt a had on his own. He looked down to see Sakura holding his hand. He looked back at her and she was looking at him rather oddly.
"He's not the only one I think is cute," Sakura admitted. She blushed slightly and Sasuke almost smiled. Something was just not right and he didn't know what.
Suddenly, before he could really think, Sakura had grabbed his head and put her lips on his own. She began kissing him and Sasuke felt very uncomfortable. The kiss was nothing like he would have imagined. It was dominating and sloppy, and dare he say, professional. It wasn't the kiss of someone inexperienced.
Sasuke pulled his head away, grabbing Sakura's shoulders and pushing her away. "Sakura, stop," Sasuke said and Sakura looked at him.
"What is it, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. "Do you not like me?"
Sasuke didn't say anything, he just looked at Sakura. Sakura grabbed her sleeve, pulling it down her arm as if she was about to take it off. Sasuke jumped off the bed, moving toward the window. "I think you should leave," Sasuke said.
"Why?" Sakura asked and Sasuke felt frustration building.
"Because, you're annoying and not the person I thought you were," Sasuke admitted, truthfully.
Sakura gave him a glare before jumping off the bed. "You know, maybe if you weren't so closed off all the time, you could actually feel something," Sakura said before opening the door and slamming it behind her.
Sasuke put his head to his hand. This was not something he wanted to deal with tonight. He decided it was best for him to wait it out tonight, and tomorrow, he would go and find Sakura to apologize.
**********
Sasuke didn't know how long he sat there staring out the window, but when he felt his eyes drooping he thought it was time to call it a night. He was about to get into bed when he heard some shouting in the hallway.
"Intruders! In the village! Everyone hide! They're killing every one they see!" a voice said and Sasuke wasted no time getting his stuff pack and heading into the hallway. The first thing he thought of was that he had to find Sakura and then their charge.
Rushing forward, he headed toward Sakura's room. Without thinking, he busted into the room and almost fell to the floor at what he saw. There, on the bed, were Sakura and Gin. They were passionately making out. Sasuke felt disgust and anger build up in his chest. Without thinking he rushed in and grabbed Gin by the neck. He hauled him off of Sakura and threw him against the wall.
Sasuke looked over at Sakura who just gaped at him. "Fix your clothes, we have intruders," Sasuke said before turning to Gin. "And you're lucky it's the mission to keep you alive or I would throw you out this window."
Sasuke couldn't take it anymore. He had to get out of there. He felt so many emotions running through him he didn't know where to start. Anger was definitely one, confusion was another, and one he would have to say was something close to sadness. Why would Sakura be doing that with him? From what he understood about Sakura she hadn't even been on a date, and yet she would make out with someone she just met. It threw him for a loop. He couldn't think about it right now. He had to take out his frustration somehow. So, he drew his sword and headed outside, making his way toward the enemy. He had a few bodies to pound.
***********
Sasuke didn't know how long he fought, but when he was done, he left many ninja badly beaten. He had abandoned his weapon from the start, wanting to punch his feelings out. He barely had a scratch. He looked over to see Kakashi and Naruto finishing off a few others. He saw Gin standing behind them, looking scared. What a baby! He looked around however, and he couldn't find Sakura.
"Where's Sakura," Sasuke asked and Naruto looked over at him.
"She went that way a little while ago, following some ninjas," Naruto told him.
"I'll go find here while you finish up," Sasuke said and Naruto nodded his head.
Sasuke took off in the direction Naruto had pointed out for him. He was walking up to a few buildings. He didn't hear any fighting, but he did hear some voices. He masked his chakra and slowly crept up to the sounds. He peeked around the corner to see a young boy looking up at Sakura. He had his arm around Sakura's leg.
"Please, help me. I don't know where my mom is," the boy shouted. Sasuke waited, knowing Sakura would try and calm the boy down, before making it her mission to find his mother, but it never happened. He watched as Sakura kicked the boy off of her, looking disgusted.
"Get away from me," she said and the boy began to cry. "Why are you crying? Who cares about your stupid mother? She's probably dead anyway. Get out of here!" Sakura screamed. The boy yelled before running in the opposite direction of Sasuke.
Sasuke couldn't believe it. No, he wouldn't believe it. He knew something was off from the start and this had just confirmed it. This was not Sakura, he knew that for a fact. So, if this wasn't Sakura, who was she and where was the real Sakura?
He dashed forward, grabbing the girl by her neck, holding her up against the wall. "Well, Sasuke-kun, if you liked it rough you could have just told me," the woman said and Sasuke just glared.
"Where is Sakura?" He asked through clenched teeth.
"Why, I'm right here!" the woman said and Sasuke clenched his hand tighter.
"I know you're not Sakura. Now, once again, who are you and where is Sakura?" Sasuke said again and the woman just smirked.
Sasuke glared again. This was going to be a little harder than he thought.
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