Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Falls Apart ❯ The Secrets I Keep... ( Chapter 2 )

Falls Apart

 

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot…I'm merely borrowing characters to use them as puppets to animate my plot! *Naruto characters: *sweat drop**

 

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Crying Out

By Shinedown

 

Don't use a weakness
Don't change the subject,
Don't ask the questions if you fear the answer
You look distorted
Lets make you clearer
Let's flip the switch and use the smoke and mirrors
Re-invent yourself today
Re-invent your world today

Crying out for the last time
Clear a space for the warning signs
Crying out for the last time
And there's no turning back now that you've opened up to your mind

What guides your vision
What holds the balance
Don't think that I can't see you shake and tremble
Well I know your nervous this world is scary
You have to let go all the madness you carry

Re-invent yourself today
Re-invent your world today

CHORUS

There is no turning back now
Everything you've ever wanted
Everything in this moment
There is no turning back now

 

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Chapter Two: The Secrets I Keep…

 

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Sakura collapsed against the back of her door, tears filling her eyes again. He knew! He knew her secret! Her sin, her guilt, her punishment! He knew it all! And now, she had burdened another with her pain, when it was supposed to be only hers to bear. She pulled her knees up to her chin and hugged them close, trying to find warmth and feeling in a home and life that sucked it all away. Living with Sasuke was like living with a black hole. He sucked light and warmth in with abandon, like he would never be filled. Sakura knew why he did it, even if he didn't himself. He was searching for what he lost. For everything he had lost. The drinking, the sleeping around, inflicting pain upon his wife…it all had a reason behind it.

 

He was looking for the power he lost when Orochimaru died.

 

He was searching for a reason to live after his only purpose of killing his brother had been fulfilled.

 

He was searching for the love and family that had been ripped away from him mercilessly.

 

And it was a problem, because he would never be able to find what he was so desperately looking for. And this was a reason, next to the fear, that Sakura let him have his way. Because she could never forget the boy Sasuke used to be. Every time she looked into his angry, empty sharingan eye, she hoped beyond hope to glimpse the boy who held a dream and an ambition. The boy who loved his friends, even if he wasn't good at expressing it. And that was a reason she wouldn't tell a soul. And it was the reason she wanted to be the one to heal him.

 

Sakura fell into her customary daze, loosing track of time. She jolted when she felt the door press on her back, the tell tale scent of hard liquor and perfume alerting her to who was on the other side of the door. Terror filled her as she scrambled away to allow her husband entrance. Angering him meant she may not wake up in a few days, so she avoided it as much as she could. The door finally opened all the way, revealing Sasuke leaning on the door jamb, his sharingan eyes leering at her with hatred, distain, and unrestrained lust. Violence lived in those eyes. He stumbled forward to where Sakura was quivering on the floor. Instead of grabbing her head in usual fashion, he clumsily leaned over to breath heavily into her ear. “I hear you put Kakashi-sensei into the hospital Sakura. Such power and strength, yet here you are…cowering on the floor at my feet. Like you should be. But I'm upset that you don't put up a fight if that much power resides within you. It would be much more fun to take you if you fought back.” Sakura was violently shaking now, her eyes leaking tears as she sat frozen, pinned by those sharingan eyes. She quickly found herself backhanded, thrown against the wall. She felt some blood trickle down to her chin and she hesitantly wiped it away.

 

Sasuke was back in front of her before she could blink, her face roughly gripped in his calloused, cold hands. He was always cold; every bit of him was like ice. In the back of her mind, she vaguely remembered her chin being held reverently by warm, rough hands earlier that night. Her face soon collided with the wooden floor beneath her. “Woman! Do not daze out like you usually do! Not that I know you can fight! You will be coherent! You will push back!” Sakura sobbed. She couldn't possibly hit him. She never could. It never entered her mind, even after all that he had put her through. She cried out as she felt her arm being taken in his strong grip and twisted around. She heard the snap and bit her lip to contain her cry of pain. She tasted the blood as her teeth sunk into her flesh. She sought the pain. How was now any different? Because she didn't want to remember…

 

Her arm dropped to the floor as Sasuke released it. Her green eyes observed the strange angle at which her upper arm was and knew that tomorrow she wouldn't be leaving the house. Sasuke snorted from above. “No worries. I'll get you to fight back, even if I have to kill that scum that was embracing you earlier tonight.” Sakura's eyes widened in shock. He…he had seen… “I didn't place you to be a whore Sakura. I'm very disappointed. But no worries. After I have my way with him, you'll only have me. Maybe then you'll fight back.” He smirked, then delivered a swift kick to her side. He stumbled back to the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Sakura lay where he had left her on the floor, her mind whirling over the danger her friends had no entered. It was fine if only she received the punishment, but her friends…? Sakura's eyes finally closed a bit and tears softly, but quickly, worked their way down her face. Slowly she began to sit up, and then she moved herself over to the spare bedroom. She didn't want another swift kick while Sasuke was leaving in the morning. She took off her shirt and began tending to her broken bone, all the while lamenting over Sasuke's discovery.

 

`Shikamaru…what have you done…?'

 

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Shikamaru sighed as he walked through the Konoha streets. It had taken all of his self-restraint last night not to grab Sakura and drag her away from her problems. But to an extent, he understood some of her logic. She was extremely powerful and could take the beatings Sasuke laid on her. If it were him, he would've broken long ago. Sakura would prefer to be the one hurt if it meant no one else was. This was her sense of honor, her sense of sacrifice. His hands curled into fists inside his pant's pockets. But her damn sense of pride was going to get her killed. Then where would Sasuke turn his sadistic tendencies to?

 

He easily avoided bumping into the inhabitants of the village during the busy hour. He glanced up at his destination, eyeballing the large fire kanji on it with distaste. Of all the times for Tsunade-sama to call upon him… He thought back to last night, after watching Sakura walk into the house. When he had turned to walk away, he been terrified to find two red eyes following his every move. He knew…and that placed Sakura in danger. But he couldn't do anything until Sakura asked for help. Until that time, he was burdened with the knowledge that he had inadvertently placed Sakura in more pain. He silently cursed his lapse in judgment. Usually he was better than that. Once again he had failed to keep a team mate safe. He cleared his mind as he found himself in front of the Godaime Hokage's door, knowing a mission was more than likely awaiting him on the other side. One that would leave Sakura even more defenseless.

 

He politely knocked three times and walked in upon Tsunade permitting him entrance. He glared at the imposing woman, thinking of all the trouble she was causing him. “Oi, Shikamaru-san. Just the jounin I needed to see. I have a mission for you.” Shikamaru let his displeasure show further, his brows creasing and his frown deepening. His expertise was needed here in Konoha, not somewhere else. Stupid, troublesome woman…

 

He was surprised when the blonde woman suddenly became very serious, worry clouding her normally fiery eyes. “Kakashi-san came to me today. He is very worried about the relationship between the Uchiha couple. He states that Sakura only trains with him nowadays, yet injuries he knows he didn't inflict appear on her body. They were only glimpses, but he sees them so often to know that even Sakura is not clumsy enough to get that many by mistake. Kakashi would take care of this himself, but problems have arisen in the Water Country that only he can take care of. He suggested you.” Shikamaru's face had paled considerably, but he attempted to cover his uneasiness with the mission he had been assigned. But this was good. He could stop others from investigating it to spare Sakura more pain until she was ready to strike.

 

Tsunade was surprised to see the color drain away as Shikamaru struggled to hide his slip-up. “Tsunade-sama, it is rude to intrude on others' private lives. Besides, who really can stand a chance against Uchiha Sasuke if we angered him?” Tsunade raised an eyebrow. “Nara-san, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you were terrified of this mission. Sasuke has been known to make mistakes. Though his sharingan covers for his brashness while angered, even it can fail him. Unlike the Byakugan, the sharingan can only see what is in front of it. Sasuke does not have eyes in the back of his head. I am assigning you for many reasons. One, personal detachment from the parties involved. Two, I have faith in Kakashi-san's faith in you. And three, you possess the greatest mind Konoha has ever seen. If you can't come up with something to defeat Sasuke, assuming he's guilty, then this village has lost all hope.” Shikamaru winced at Tsunade. “You place too much faith in the abilities of others, Hokage-sama. But I will do as I am told and look into this `suspicion.' I doubt that there will be anything to find. Sakura, being the loudmouth she is, surely wouldn't keep quiet about such a serious thing. If that is all, I shall make my exit now.” When Tsunade hesitantly nodded, Shikamaru gave a stiff, shallow bow before walking out. He paused, hand on the door knob when a meek voice rose to meet his ears. “Fear can make even the most bold and strong bow down in weakness. Please Shikamaru, Sakura is like the daughter I never had…I've passed down my legacy to her.” He held his stance for a few seconds, then walked out without saying a word. `I was devoted to this mission before you asked it of me Tsunade. I'll free her if it kills me.'

 

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Sakura groaned as she snapped out of her daze, finally noticing the sunlight filtering through the window onto where she was sitting. She bit her lip to stop the hiss of pain from escaping as she jostled her broken, but bound arm. Last night came careening back into her mind, and her eyes misted over. She was in deep shit now. He knew that she could beat out Kakashi in a fight.

 

Composing herself a bit, she stood and walked out to the kitchen. As she glanced about, she realized that the only thing used in there anymore was the coffee maker. She used to remember making meals as she waited for Sasuke to come home, some her first and only happy memories with her husband. Running her fingers over one of the dusty counters, she noticed a note sitting on the dining room table through the doorway. Shaken, a pit suddenly appearing in her stomach, she approached the folded note with the caution one approaches something dangerous. One hand over her broken arm in reminder of last night, she took a few seconds to just stare the note down, contemplating what Sasuke could possibly want to communicate to her. Slowly, she released her arm and picked up the yellowed parchment, unfolding it to reveal neat, perfect handwriting.

 

My Dear Sakura,

I suggest you get healed before tonight. I don't want my favorite toy broken before I really begin to play with it. I look forward to you struggling beneath me, crying and begging for mercy after I break you again. If you fucking run to the nerd-boy, I'll personally see to it that he dies a slow death right in front of you.

Love,

Your Husband

 

Sakura dropped to her knees, covering her mouth with the unhurt hand. She needed to keep Shikamaru away. She needed him to go away. She refused to be responsible for him becoming hurt. Dropping the note on the floor, she stood and walked to the front door. She needed to get to the hospital. She would be unable to heal herself because she couldn't perform the jutsus necessary to reform the bone. But what could she possibly say? She fell down? Because that would explain the bruises on her face perfectly well. And not even Kakashi could land this much damage on her…well, she would just have to lie her way through Tsunade. Like how she had lied through the past few years. She was flawless at executing them now, it was like breathing. Stepping out into the bright sun, she prepared herself for the agonizing day ahead of her.

 

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Shikamaru slowly trudged through the streets, heading toward Sakura's house with the intention of telling her that he would help her whether she liked it or not and that he had the Hokage's permission to raise hell. That intention was wiped from his mind when a punch was planted on his right cheek. Spewing curses at his attacker, he whirled around, fully intending to beat the crap out of whoever had dared attack him without reason. Using the momentum from turning around, he started to swing a left hook at his aggressor, but stopped in shock just centimeters from said aggressor's face. Standing before him was a fuming Naruto, who looked like he was seconds from unleashing the growling Kyuubi on the unsuspecting Nara. Pointed teeth bared, claws extended, and eyes full of murderous intent, Naruto swung again at Shikamaru. “You'd fucking dare to lay a finger on Sakura, you ungrateful bastard!” Shikamaru wasted no time in binding Naruto in his shadow jutsu.

 

“Naruto, what the hell are you talking about?” The blonde man struggled against his unseen bonds, snarling at the man who bound him. “You fucking beat Sakura. You were the last to see her last night!” Shikamaru's eyes narrowed, already knowing what had happened. “Regardless of what you think Naruto, the only way in which I touched Sakura last night was to comfort her. Beyond that, I have not touched her nor seen her since last night. Now how about you use that brain you were supposedly born with and think things through before jumping to conclusions.” Shikamaru scowled, putting his hands back in his pockets. Muttering a, “Troublesome…” he watched as Naruto finally calmed down. The blonde still looked angry, but not murderously so. “Shikamaru, you can release me now. I won't attack you. But I'm still suspicious of you. If I find that you've lied to me, you'll find a three tailed Uzamaki Naruto slowly squeezing the life out of you.” Naruto sealed his threat with an unrestrained release of his massive chakra store. Sweat broke on Shikamaru's brow, not from fear, but from the sheer force that radiated off of Naruto. Shikamaru looked up into Naruto's eyes, his own brown orbs reflecting a strange emotion to Naruto. “If I am lying, then I will not hesitate to take my own life. I would never hurt Sakura, nor anyone of this village unless they intentionally caused harm.” With that, Shikamaru released Naruto from his jutsu. Naruto stood there for a moment, his blue eyes leering into Shikamaru's, searching for any sign of deception. And Shikamaru let him search freely. Seemingly satisfied, Naruto turned to walk away but called over his shoulder, “For your sake Nara, you'd better not hide anything or lie to me.” And then he disappeared like a shadow into the crowd.

 

Shikamaru scowled. So he was right. Sasuke had seen them last night and had beaten Sakura for it. He sighed and brought up his right hand to massage his temple in frustration. The things he got himself into. But he knew that this one time, it wasn't troublesome to him. Sakura's life was on the line, and he'd be damned if he let her down. He'd die before her if that is what it took to save her. He set off in the direction of Sakura's and Sasuke's house, fully intending to check on Sakura himself. In the blur of his thoughts, he had actually forgotten that Sakura couldn't possibly be at her home, for Naruto had seen her. Lost in his thoughts, he continued to wander through the crowd. Not paying too much attention to where he was going, but usually being very good at avoiding contact in busy places, Shikamaru was startled when he bumped very hard into another person,

 

His thoughts came snapping back to the present as his eyesight finally caught a head of pale pink tumbling to the ground, followed by a hiss of pain. Shocked, he looked down to see Sakura wincing, covered in bruises and gripping her arm in pain. Faint tears were in her eyes as she now glanced up irritated at the person who had so rudely slammed into her. She wasn't about to admit that she had been lost in a daze of her own, brought on by pain, fear, and a delectable numbness that had been beginning to set in.

 

Green eyes stared in badly disguised surprise at brown. “Shi-Shikamaru? What…” At the sound of Sakura's weak voice, Shikamaru snapped out of his personal world to kneel quickly next to Sakura, anger and worry lacing every movement. Gingerly, he reached out with a steady hand to brush against the large, ugly bruise on the kunoichi's cheek. His eyebrows drew together in fury. “How could he? Sakura, you can't stay with him anymore. I can't sit and watch you die a slow, painful death. As a friend and team mate, I cannot allow this to go any further.” Sakura looked away, the tears spilling over once again. What was wrong with her? Wasn't she supposed to be the most powerful ninja in the village next to Kakashi-sensei? And yet she broke down in tears every time the pain began for real. How pathetic… She began the struggle to stand back up without jarring too many of her injuries. Until she felt a hand on her shoulder gently but firmly stop her progress. She looked back up at Shikamaru. “You need to get to the hospital so that arm can be fixed. Here, allow me.” Shikamaru guided her back down to a seated position, her legs out in front of her. He walked over to her uninjured side and knelt back down, placing one arm around her shoulders, the other underneath her knees. “Place your arm so that I won't hurt it too much while carrying you. Sakura nodded, her face red with shame and embarrassment. She refused to look at the jounin, instead hissing as she brought her broken arm in front of her and supported it with the other on her stomach. A ninja who couldn't even defend herself. How humiliating…

 

Shikamaru waited until Sakura had stopped moving, then rose gracefully with the kunoichi in his arms. He stopped before moving forward to see if holding her was hurting her arm. Not seeing signs of fresh pain or discomfort, he began to walk forward. Sakura noted to herself that though Shikamaru always presented himself as rough around the edges, his skin was spectacularly smooth, as was his fluid walk.

 

Sakura shook her head. She couldn't think these things about someone else. She was married! She loved her husband, regardless of how he may treat her. Sakura then sighed to herself. Who was she kidding? She had more fear of Sasuke than did have love for him. She turned and buried her face into Shikamaru's face, not wanting him to see the tears that were leaking over again. She held her sobs in, but that didn't stop them from wracking her body. Shikamaru gave a gentle squeeze around Sakura's shoulders as he kept walking, looking straight ahead. He had seen the tears beginning to run out of her eyes before she had tucked her head against his torso, and was giving her space to grieve her poor fortune.

 

He had arrived at the hospital soon enough, but paused right outside the doors. Here was the point of no return. He walked through this door, and Sakura could never go back. A war would begin between Konoha and Sasuke if he became hostile again. He squeezed Sakura again, who had come up to see why Shikamaru had stopped. He looked down into her eyes, his face in his normal, but now worried scowl. “If we walk through these doors Sakura, you can't go back. I won't let you go back. You understand?”

 

Sakura let her eyes drift to the doors in front of them, a mixture of want and terror looming in them. After a few seconds, her eyes flickered with determination. “I…understand. Go Shikamaru, before I become too afraid of what he will do to you.” With her two cents in, she laid her head back on his chest, now taking note of the strong, steady heartbeat inside. Just like how he is steady, a constant within Konoha. As she felt him begin to move forward, she placed her good hand on his chest, halting his movements. She looked up at him from where her head rested. “Promise you won't leave me alone, not until we know he's gone and will never come back?”

 

Shikamaru's scowl softened. “That is a promise I cannot make. But I promise that I will safeguard you until my death. That is a promise I can make.” Sakura nodded her head and let him continue into the hospital, her hand now fisted in his fishnet shirt, grabbing onto the only thing besides pain that had gone through this ordeal with her from the beginning. She closed her eyes and heard a bustle of commotion surround them as they stepped into the emergency room, and cries as people spotted her battered condition in his arms. She closed her eyes in fear.

 

She felt herself being pried from Shikamaru and laid down onto a gurney. But her outrageously strong grip did not release from Shikamaru's shirt. “Don't leave me alone…” she whimpered. She then felt his rough, warm hands cover the one she had fisted in his shirt and make it release the fabric. Panicking that he was going to abandon him, her eyes flew open, searching for his face. Then she felt one of his hands hold hers in a firm grip. “I won't. I made a promise. The doctors will have to kill me before I leave you.” He gave her a small, comforting smile.

 

The gurney began to move forward and Shikamaru's hand never left hers. She smiled vaguely as she heard the nurses verbally attempt to pry Shikamaru away and his vindictive retorts and threats that followed. Her eyes were beginning to droop, and she felt a vague surprise.

 

Haruno Sakura was going to sleep for the first time in years.

 

She turned head to look with half-lidded eyes at Shikamaru. She mouthed a `thank you' as he looked down at her. He returned with a reassuring squeeze to her hand as they began moving through the hallways of the hospital. Sakura's eyes drifted shut as they entered the room where she was to be looked over and cared for, and she was swept into a blissful oblivion, with knowledge that when she came back, she would still be safe.

 

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A/N: Bwah! I was hoping to get as many words out this chapter as the last one, but alas… anyways, review and let me know what you think!