PAIN TRANSFER:
Chapter One: The Beginning of it all.
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Sakura’s point of view-
"How much did you love him?" Naruto asked randomly. We had been sitting in his apartment talking about the "old days".
"More than life itself." I replied, knowing without even having to guess, who Naruto was talking about.
"Would you really do anything for him?"
It didn't even take a moment's hesitation to answer, "Yes, I really would."
"Sakura…" Naruto trailed off.
"Yes…?"
The young ninja paused before continuing with a soft voice, highly unusual for him. "Remember when Hinata and I went to the Sound Village for our honeymoon?"
I wearily smiled slightly, "Of course I remember Naruto, it was only a few weeks ago."
Naruto returned my smile with a grin of embarrassment. "Oh, yeah, well, when Hinata-chan and I were there, I heard something…" he trailed off.
"Naruto," I sighed. "Please, I have to met Tsunade-sama soon, get to the point."
"Sakura…from what I heard, Sasuke is hiding in the Sound Village."
I instantly froze, my body tensed at the mention of his name. Naruto and I had always had a silent agreement that neither of us would say his name ever again after he left.
I looked down at the ground, suddenly finding my shoes very interesting. I lost my voice, only able to whisper now, "Naruto, why didn't you tell me this before?"
"Sakura-chan, I wanted to, but I was worried about how you were going to react, I didn't want to get your hopes up into finding Sasuke, only to be disappointed with another rumor." Naruto turned his head in shame.
It was true; Naruto and I had been let down several times whenever we heard that he had been spotted. It was always the same routine; get just a whiff of a chance that we might find Sasuke, and then Naruto and I (and sometimes Hinata) would head of to the location that was whispered to be the home of the powerful Uchiha prodigy. But as every other lead we had, this one also turned out to be false.
"Naruto…?" I was afraid to ask.
"Yeah, Sakura-chan?"
I looked in his eyes. "Do…do you think we should go?" The deep sea of blue twisted at every word I said.
He continued to return my stare. "I really don't know Sakura. I want to go, but--…but I just don't think he's going to be there. Sakura, we've been searching for him for six years! I really don't think we're going to find him anymore." Naruto put his hand on my shoulder. "I'm sorry…"
Tears blurred my vision. The only thing visible was the color of Naruto's orange and black jacket. I removed his hand from my shoulder and leaned my head against his chest in a hug. I was now silently crying on him. There was a small sound of footsteps and Hinata walked in.
"Sakura-chan?" her soft voice barley audible. "Are you okay? What's wrong?" She rubbed my back, and gave my shoulder a gentle tug so she could see my tear-stained face. The recognizable, legendary Hyuga eyes comforted me. Soft lavender eyes met my jade ones. I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't find any words to form that would explain why I was crying on one of my closest friend's husband, like a pathetic three-year old. I didn't want to say it out loud that I was crying over Sasuke. So I didn't say anything at all.
And you know what? Hinata understood, even without me saying anything; she understood that I needed her and Naruto to be there for me. She understood that I didn't want to cry for Sasuke anymore, but that I couldn't help myself, she understood that I was in pain and that reality had given me an awful shock; that I was never going to find the man that I spent six years mourning over. And that's the best thing about Hinata; that I could've destroyed her living room, vandalized her house, or even ran away from Konoha, but Hinata, she would have understood.
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When I woke up it took me about a few minutes to identify where I was, Hinata and Naruto's apartment. They must have settled me on the couch after I fell asleep on Naruto's shoulder. Groggily, I sat up and removed the blanket that one of the two placed over me while I was asleep. I folded the blanket and quickly wrote a thank you note, and then I placed it on the blanket. I exited their apartment and headed for my own. 'I missed my meeting with Tsunade-sama…' I realized, but didn't care. It was too late anyhow, so I continued walking to my apartment.
I was still walking , when suddenly I realized, that I really didn't want to go back home. It held too many memories of the years of grief that I suffered after Sasuke left. And from this day on, I was determined to forget about the Uchiha clan survivor.
So instead of returning to my apartment, I continued walking down the roads, not really caring where they took me.
And of all random places, they took me to the gates of Konoha. It was still dark but I could see the faint outline of trees and the leaves that danced on them as the wind blew by. I stood there too long for me to actually know how long I really was there. Just standing there…standing….standing…standing….
I don't even remember about what I was thinking at the time, but suddenly I was walking through the gates, past the half-sober guards. I guess they were still drowsy or they didn't see me because I walked out of village without anybody stopping me. I walked into the forest. I don't even know what I was looking for at the time; I guess it was to prove to myself that there was actual life outside of Konoha. To prove that I was the only person who really was still crying over Sasuke. I don't really know…all I do know is that my subconscious led me to a small creek.
The sun was barely peaking over the horizon by now; orange and black met each other in the half-day, half-night time sky. I stared at the sky then at the creek. I was tried, I needed sleep and I needed a life. I started heading back home, but before I could take more than ten steps there was a pain-filled scream that sent shivers up my spine. This immediately put in my panic mode.
I ran into the forest, looking for the source of the sound. Shoving and slapping low branches out of my way, I ran as fast as my legs would take me without tripping. I continued running, and came to a sudden halt when I found what I was looking for; there was a young man laying on the floor, his back facing me, grunting and groaning with the unmistakable sound of suffering. I kneeled down on the ground and grabbed the man's shoulders, pulling him to face me.
I honestly didn't expect to see who I found ever again after today.
My throat became dry and my voice lowed itself into a hoarse whisper, "Sasuke-kun…"
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Of, course I took him back to Konoha. I turned him to Tsunade, who immediately sent him to the hospital. She then sent me home, but I refused; insisting that I stay with my former teammate. I spent the rest of the night with Sasuke, refusing to let my feelings for him get in the way. I treated him like I would have if he were any other regular patient. I put my medic training to the test, trying to figure out what was the cause of Sasuke's pain. His screams and shouts filled the silent halls of the hospital. His yells sounding so demonic it bled into deaf ears, as if trying to crawl into your conscious. It made me want to reach out to him and comfort him with everything I had, but I wouldn't allow myself; I spent too much time crying over the boy who betrayed me. And now this man was just going to have to suffer the consequences.
It had already been hours after I brought Sasuke into the hospital, but his shouts were still echoing in my ears as I closed the door to his room. I sat down in a hall chair, hoping the silence would help me think. But the silence only made my ear itch for sound.
I slouched in my chair, exhausted. I really didn't know what to do. I wish Naruto or Hinata or even Ino-pig was here. At least they would keep themselves useful, unlike me. I was useless to make Sasuke's pain go away, as usual. I couldn't do it when he was still living in the village, when we were young, so what made me even start to think that I could do it now?
I rubbed my temples, trying to get rid of the headache that had snuck up on me.
I really didn’t know what to do, and it pissed me off that I was considered a failure as a medic-nin because I couldn’t help Sasuke. I racked my brain looking for something, anything that could help me. Everything that Tsunade had taught me was screwed into my memory system, but I couldn’t think of one thing that would help me. I spent countless minutes searching through my mind, trying to remember a useful jutsu or something. And that’s when it hit me. Oh, how could I have been so stupid to forget this?
I remembered a forbidden jutsu that Tsunade-sama had once taught me. It was to take away the pain of others by transferring it to you. It had become forbidden when the creator of the jutsu started to get rid of his pain by sending it over to other innocent people. And it was known to drive it's testers to the brink of insanity. It was truly a maddening jutsu.
"Only use it when it is absolutely necessary, only in a life-or-death situation of an extremely important person . It is a deadly jutsu sometimes. Don’t ever use it on a regular patient; because although it is our job to keep others alive, we cannot risk our own lives in the process. There are always more people to be saved. I'm trusting you to be wise with this knowledge Sakura." Tsunade-sama had warned me.
The jutsu could kill me…? It was deadly…?
So…was Sasuke worth it? I crept back into the room. Sasuke was sleeping, but not peacefully, as I had hoped. Sasuke was grunting, tossing and turning, his hand was snaked around his neck as if he was ready to strangle himself. I hesitantly walked towards him, and tried to detached his hand from his neck; Sasuke made a small hissing noise from his mouth before allowing me to fully remove his hand. I winced. I could see why Sasuke was gripping his neck; the curse mark was still there, obvious to me now that it was the source of his pain. I wondered why I hadn't thought about his curse mark before. I truly am stupid, aren’t I?
I stared down at the handsome features of the Uchiha; wow, even while suffering and in misery; he still looked like a god. I brushed a strand of hair that had fallen on his check back onto his forehead. My hand pressed against his skin and my fingers lingered there for a moment.
A sanctuary feeling swept over me. And all the feelings that I had tried to rid of earlier today came rushing back into my body and mind. A wave of warmth flushed over me as I continued to stare at Sasuke.
Was Sasuke worth it…? Yes, he was. No matter what Sasuke did, no matter who he had become, I was still as in love with him as much as I was when we were on the same team, when we were young.
Yes, he was worth my heart, my soul…my life. I leaned in and gave Sasuke a small gentle kiss on his chapped and rough lips. "Remember, Sasuke-kun, whatever I do, I do it for you."
Then I closed my eyes and started making the hand signs that I knew would change my life forever. And exclaimed, "Pain Transfer Jutsu!"
At first I felt nothing, no ache at all. But then my breath was cut short by the pain from the flames of hell erupting in my body…
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Knives stabbed through my body. Flames ran up and down my spine. Sour, disgusting liquid shot down my lips and into my throaty. Someone was squeezing my lungs tight, making it hard for me to breath. I gasped out air, trying to actually keep myself alive. I felt pain rippling through my stomach in shock waves. Screaming was not even an option here; it would hurt just to move my mouth.
Falling to the ground was the hardest thing I ever had to do, as soon as my skin made contact with the floor, a thousand needles were shoved into my body, killing my sense of feeling, and now I couldn't feel anything but the torture that was sinking deeper and deeper in my mind, ready to make its scar.
'Sakura…' A voice was called out my name in my mind….mind?! I must have been going mad. I tried to lift myself from the floor. Big mistake; fire exploded in my arms, making them feel so weak. I was now trembling, I noticed; when I had I even began? My arms lay limp by my side. I couldn't move them anymore, they felt numb on the outside, but on the inside they were enduring pain like no other.
'Sakura, don't do that…I don't want to hurt you…' A silky hum of a male voice, once again, ran through my head.
Suddenly my body felt frozen all over, I couldn't feel or move any part of myself, the only things I could do was blink and breathe. A chilling sensation fell through my back before I felt myself slipping into unconsciousness.
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'Sakura…Sakura, wake up…' A voice purred through my thoughts.
'Who the hell are you?' I questioned the voice. I looked around me. It was all black, like an endless, dark, tunnel. I could see nothing but the faded outline of my figure.
'Why, Sakura, I'm so sad, how could you forget about me?' The smooth voice echoed.
'What do you want with me?' I took a fighting stance, not really knowing what I was going to do, or what I expected.
Then, it all made sense. 'Orochimaru!' I gasped. Of course! He was the person to give the curse mark to Sasuke in the first place!
'It's about time you remembered me, Cherry Blossom...'
'Don't call me that!' I hissed.
His voice chuckled, giving me goosebumps. 'I'll call you whatever I want to, Cherry Blossom.'
'What do you want with me?!' I demanded.
'What do you think I want Cherry Blossom?'
I growled at him. He only laughed. 'I want what everyone wants, power, authority, and immortality.'
'What do I have to do with any of this? I questioned, my voice heating up with the anxiety of the fact that he was dancing around my question.
'Well, Cherry Blossom, I was planning on using Sasuke's body, but you just wouldn't let me do that would you? Hm? So I guess you'll just have to do.'
'What do you mean?!' Panic flooded my mind. Was he going to take over my body? Was he going to control my every thought?
But, of course, being in my own mind at the time being, Orochimaru heard my every panicked thought. He howled with laughter.
'So it's true, you really are the smartest kunoichi in Konoha after all, surpassed Tsunade herself, I heard. And my old teammate truly was powerful, tsk, too bad; she couldn't see how dominant she could have become if she had just come with me, but we all make mistakes…'
'Yes,' I agreed, and then hissed. 'And your mistake was trying to mess with me!'
'Sakura, Sakura…' Orochimaru scowled in a dangerous tone. '… It will truly be a pleasure to be in your body.'
And that was the last thing I heard before the pain started all over again. And I felt myself falling.
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'No! Please don't leave! I love you!'
I watched myself cling onto Sasuke, tears trickling down my checks. It was nighttime, and the darkness of the sky was the only thing that framed our bodies.
Suddenly Sasuke was behind me.
'Sakura…. Thank you…. '
Then he knocked the younger version of me out and laid me on the bench. Then my vision blurred. I didn't see myself anymore. I only saw blackness now; I was in the endless tunnel again.
'See, Cherry Blossom, see how bad Sasuke has treated you before? That is why we need to get rid of him!'
'Wait, what?!' I shouted. My head titled upward, although I didn't technically know where he was, and I was in no mood to pretend he was God; I lowered my head.
'Cherry Blossom, he knows of my plan, and when, or if he wakes up…' I growled at him. '…We can't have him telling everyone what I plan to do to your body, can we? We could have avoided this entire mess, Cherry Blossom, if you had just let me keep Sasuke-kun's body…'
'Never!' I hissed at him.
'Cherry Blossom, we need to kill Sasuke-kun. He could ruin everything!' Orochimaru's voice was filled with impatience.
'What makes you think I would ever want to help a traitor like you?' I spat at him.
Orochimaru chuckled, his laughter was like nails scratching down on a chalkboard, and pain filled my ears, hearing this monster's pleasure.
'My bold little Cherry Blossom, who ever said you could kill Sasuke-kun willingly?' His words echoed through my mind until it finally sunk in what he meant.
'Sasuke!' I felt myself falling through more darkness, and then I didn't remember anything else…
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When I finally woke up it seemed like it had been an eternity. My head hurt like hell, and the rest of my body felt numb. My eyes opened slowly. I glanced around the room. I didn't recognize any of it, that's for sure.
It was like nothing I had ever seen before; there were bloody, demonic bodies hanging from the ceiling. The cement walls were tainted with the stain and smell of dried blood. It smelled like old rust and saltwater. There were cages that were filled with dead bodies; syringes sticking out of random body parts, as if the, once alive, captured persons were being experimented on.
I closed my eyes trying to get rid of the images that were drilling themselves into my mind. The bodies hanging from the ceiling…. It was obvious that the people didn't give in without a fight. If they hadn't fought back, then why would there be whip marks lashed on their backs?. Scars were running deep into their flesh, as if branding them for life. Except that now, they weren't alive….
My eyes opened again, I flinched at the sudden brightness that made contact with my eyes. Someone was coming in the room, I realized, the light was from an open door. The door closed again and the abrupt darkness nearly blinded me. A man I didn't know walked towards me. I tired to move away more, the closer he got near me, but something held me, I looked down on the table my body had been brought to. Chakra strings, I saw. I still struggled against them, although I knew it was useless to, I still did. Maybe the little piece inside of me, the part that wasn't buried in logic, told me to struggle. So I struggle with all that I had, but with my body so numb, it didn't help my situation at all, I only succeed in making myself feel weaker.
The man laughed. "Cherry Blossom, that's not going to help you at all."
The man was right next to me now. I looked up at him. A sick smile played on his young face. Then it happened so quickly that I thought my eyes had played a trick on me; he face slowly dissolved, revealing a new one…Orochimaru.
"Welcome to your new home, Cherry Blossom."
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Two Days Later…
Switch into Sasuke's point of view:
My head was thumping into my skull; it felt like someone was knocking a hammer onto my head. I pressed my palm against my forehead, as if trying to squeeze the pain away. Wait; where was the rest of the pain? I moved my hand from my head, slowly; I was so sure that fire was going to cover my hand again. But…instead, I felt…nothing. Nothing…nothing….nothing? Instinctively, my hand flew to my neck, where was the curse mark? Was it gone? I slowly arose from the hospital mattress; still expecting to feel some sort of pain, but there was nothing. I don't get it, I don't fucking get it. What the hell happened?
Did something happen to Orochimaru? Did he die? Did he find a new body host…? A new body—Damn it! Sakura! My memories came flooding back to me…
FLASHBACK
I opened my eyes slowly. Everything was hazy and burry. I could hardly feel anything in my body; it was like I was paralyzed. I turned my gaze around the room I was in, it looked like a hospital. Something pink, on the ground caught my eyes. That's where my gaze landed on, on Haruno Sakura's body. She lay unconscious on the floor. She looked like a rag doll, sprawled across the floor, her hair spread diagonally on her farie-like face.
'What the hell happened?' I thought as I tried to lean up, with no success. 'Damn it, why do I have to be so weak?!'
The door to the hospital room opened and a man walked in. I'm guess he was a doctor here, I don't know. He walked next to me; ignoring Sakura's body. That pissed me off. I wanted desperately to shout at him to take Sakura and see what was wrong with her but my mouth wouldn't listen to my mind's commands.
The man leaned towards my right ear, his face out of my view.
"Don't worry Sasuke-kun; I'll take good care of her body." He whispered, his voice sounding so familiar, but I just couldn't figure out who he was.
He leaned back up and that's when I realized that I should've known who the voice belonged to the second I heard it. It was the voice of Orochimaru; the man's face was gone, now showing who the real man was.
He walked over to Sakura; bending down, he placed his filthy hands on her waist, picked her up, and threw her over his shoulder. He smirked. "Well, I guess I don't really need you after all Sasuke-kun. Farewell."
My mind screamed for my body to get up, to shout, to do something. But my body didn't obey.
He walked over to me again and raised his hand; I saw it coming towards me, and then, I black out. His chuckle ringing in my ears was the last thing I heard.
END OF FLASHBACK
Orochimaru, he had Sakura! The fucking bastard! What the hell was he going to do to her?! Was he taking over her body right at this moment? Is she fighting him this very second? Where are they? My mind desperately wanted to know the answers.
I walked towards the door and swung in open. The door slammed into the wall, making a crack. I walked into the hallway, it was empty, deserted except for the nurses' carts that were next to a few waiting chairs.
Where is everyone? I heard footsteps; I turned my head towards the sound.
Tsunade was walking towards me. With the perfect poker-face, she hardly gave me a glance before she said, "Go."
My voice was, miraculously, back. "What?" I asked, knowing my tone was being rude, but I didn't really care. Being a criminal, you can afford to not care.
Tsunade cleared her throat. "Go find Sakura."
"What? Why? You're letting me go?"
'Fool', I thought, 'you're about to let a criminal run free around your village?'
She sighed. "Yes, so long was you find her and bring her back, you are free to go." She rubbed her temples, as if suffering from a migraine. It was then that I realized how old she really looked; her eyes were filled with wisdom that only time could offer. Her eyes were weary and looked as if they were about to shut down. So this was the true side of Tsunade when Sakura was in trouble; not as the strongest Hokage, but a worried old woman who just wanted her daughter-like figure by her side again. An old woman who would even get a criminal to go look for her; for Tsunade, this was understandable.
I nodded my head; and then continued to walk out of the hallway; ready to give my life, if necessary, to get Sakura back.
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Chapter notes: Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Please read and review this chapter, and I hope you enjoy it. Bye. -Lyza