The walls were covered in blood, and Sasuke was slumped in one corner, apparently dead. At Sakura's shrill scream, however, he looked up. His dark eyes studied the people in front of him, just as they studied him.
Sakura was staring at him in horror. Blood was pooled all around him, and a few things had been scribbled on the walls with it, though the handwriting was undecipherable. She collapsed to her knees, her mouth slack, at a loss for words.
Naruto froze. Hinata was more worried about him than Sasuke- he was shaking violently, his gaze locked on the pathetic figure in the cell. His expression was a painful mixture of revulsion, happiness, sorrow, and rage. Hinata slipped her hand into his and tried to avoid looking at Sasuke.
The masks of the four ANBU hid their emotions. They were simply painted statues, part of the background scenery, and meant nothing. Hinata briefly wished Naruto had a mask as well- he looked so injured. But she shook that thought off, realizing that it was better for her to see how this ordeal actually affected him.
Then Sasuke smiled.
“Hey, guys.” He nodded in greeting, his long, greasy black hair spilling over his face. His eyes were dull and his skin was even paler than usual. In all, he looked like someone that had been severely ill for a long time without even realizing it.
Sakura was the first to react. “S...Sasuke...kun?”
“Good to see you, Sakura. You look really fantastic.”
Sakura blinked, thoroughly confused. Then Naruto spoke up. “How...why...what have you been doing?” he asked, his voice nearly a snarl. “Where have you been all these years?”
Laughing, Sasuke replied lightly, “Oh, me? I've been going insane. And just wandering around, you know? Sorry 'bout attacking you earlier. I didn't recognize you.”
“Going insane?” Hinata repeated, her white eyes wide.
“Of course,” Sasuke answered, as if it were the most logical thing in the world. “See, there was this mirror, and there was red- eyes and blood- and then some snow. Some blood here, too.” He was being perfectly rational and exceptionally cheerful.
“But, when I decided that I was crazy, I didn't really think of that curse ol' Snakey gave me, and it's been really annoying me. I think it helped me with these decorations, though, so I guess it isn't all that bad.”
Sakura's eyes drifted to some of the writing. “What does it say, Sasuke?” she managed to whisper.
“Hmm? Well, I'm not really sure. What does it say?” He looked beside him at some blood scrawled on the floor. “Let's see. This one says 'kill the mirror kill the mirror kill the mirror'. Odd. And then that one, that one says 'slaughter the houses burn in black and white and pain and red and red and red and bloody bloody red'.”
Sasuke practically giggled. "This is weird stuff! I wonder who wrote it? Oh, here's another! Listen to this one- 'the sky is red and black and moving too quickly i think he's making it move that quickly but why is everything else so slow so slow showing blood and death and oh please no please please please he killed them he killed them he killed them how why why please no please no it hurts'. Weird!”
Sakura was frozen now, and Naruto took over the speaking. Hinata stared at everything, too frightened to move.
“Why did you leave Orochimaru? You were there, weren't you?”
Sasuke looked to be in deep thought for a few moments, then he nodded thoughtfully. “The mirror told me that I was insane, and why would it lie? I was the one that had been lying, after all. The mirror showed me the truth. There wasn't any point in continuing training to kill myself, after all.”
Naruto pressed on, his revulsion blatant now. “What about Itachi?”
“Oh, him? I don't really care now. I'm not him anymore. That's one advantage of being insane. No more being Itachi for me!” Sasuke chuckled, pleased at what seemed to be a clever joke to him.
“But the problem with being insane is that you kind of forget things for no reason at all, or think things happened that never did. Like when I attacked and tried to kill Choji? Or when I forgot to give my mom a birthday present? I think I may have been a little insane then, too, but I never noticed it.”
“You never tried to kill Choji,” Sakura rasped.
Sasuke frowned. “Oh. It must have been Tenten, then.”
Sakura remained silent.
Then, Sasuke frowned. “Well, what are you guys doing here anyway? Oh, I know. Come to get me out of here? I forgot my key somewhere, so I accidentally locked myself in my own apartment. I know, really forgetful of me, sorry. I'll try to remember not to lock myself in next time.”
When no one replied, Sasuke continued. “I mean, really, where did I put that key? I've been missing it for ages. Or did I even have it? I don't remember what it may have looked like or felt like. Wait, no, I recall it now! It was wood. I accidentally left it in my room. I think I burned it after something happened...”
His brow creased, deep in thought, only to be replaced by a childish grin. “Yeah! It was covered in blood- I must've had a bloody nose or something- and I burned it because it smelled bad. But...something else smelled bad too, and I really don't know what it was. That's irritating. What do you guys think the other smell was?”
He was facing a splash of blood on the far side of the wall. After staring at intently for a few moments, Sasuke nodded. “Oh, I see. You say it was what was left of my clan's blood...?”
Something angry flickered behind his eyes and he laughed madly, a roaring, uncontrollable, laughter. It ended abruptly, leaving the prison deathly silent. “Don't be ridiculous. I've never had a clan. You and I both know that.”
Hinata's eyes drifted from Sasuke back to Naruto and Sakura. She shivered and buried her face in Naruto's shoulder, not wanting to see more. Both of Sasuke's prior teammates were crying.
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Chapter notes: I'm rather pleased with this chapter, though a bit confused as well as to how I can write about insane people so easily.