Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Sacrifice ❯ Escape ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter Seven: Escape

 

Sakura found herself waking up for the second time in an unfamiliar room, this time in a sitting fetal position, her head in her knees. She moaned and rubbed her temples. Then she realized that she could. She stared at her wrists. They were unbound. Her ankles, however, were still bound together, this time with coarse rope. She tried to stand up, but the rope scratched against her legs, and she winced in discomfort. Discomfort, but not pain. She vowed not to make the same mistake she had made before. She took in her surroundings. The room she was in now was a little smaller than the first. And there was even a window, letting in a bit of sunlight and wind. However, it was much still too small for her to squeeze through. The walls were bare but there were designs carved into it. The ground was soft, and when she ran her hand over it, she realized that it was carpet. Ugly, brown carpet, but at least it looked and smelled clean. She turned her attention to the door. It was about a three yards from her and wooden, most likely barred on the other side. She patted the carpet again. It was lumpy in some places. Maybe there was something under it?

The room was definitely more pleasant, but why had she been moved here? She wracked her brain for ideas. She had fainted on her own accord, mostly from the realization that Kabuto had the skills and manpower to actually kill Sasuke. But as to why she was here, she still couldn't understand. There was no way that her captors would want her to be comfortable. It simply made no sense.

As for her, she didn't plan on staying, even if they supplied her with a luxurious lounge next. She felt for her headband. It was still there. Their mistake, she thought triumphantly. She removed it and tore apart the stitching on the reverse side of the metal plate carefully. There was another metal plate that shouldn't have been there, according to regulation. But Sakura Haruno always goes on missions prepared. She removed the plate. It was just there for her protection. But the blade hidden above it wasn't. It was a small dagger, about four inches long with a half-inch handle. It was a gift from Ino for her fourteenth birthday. In case of emergencies, she'd said. When Sakura got back to Konoha, she'd make sure to thank Ino.

She slipped the blade between her ankles and cut the knot off the rope in one swift motion. She looked at the knife admiringly. It really was some gift! Sharp and lethal, thought Sakura. Just like Ino when she was mad. A smile tugged at her lips, but it was no time to laugh and reminisce. She gathered up the rest of the rope and wound it around her arm, leaving one end in her hand for quick use. She began to search the room for something, anything that would help her. She began by tearing up the carpet. To her surprise, this was pretty easy. It soon became clear that the carpet was only glued down on the edges. Once she lifted up a corner, the rest came without difficulty. It would have been much faster, but Sakura had to be careful not to make any noise. After twenty minutes, the carpet was rolled up and standing in a corner. The floor was made of wood.

Sakura couldn't say that what she found was treasure, because she really couldn't. She found a couple of dead bugs, a small bottle of crimson, bubbling liquid, a silver coin, a few screws and nails, and two necklaces. One had a broken crystal and the other was made of dull pearls. The crystal one might have been pretty at some point, but now it was destroyed and scratched. What could she do with these? Sakura rubbed it, deep in thought. Then she winced. The crystal part had broken off, leaving many sharp points. Even as she watched, a small droplet of blood formed on her fingertip. She licked it off and grimaced. She disliked blood over everything. She hated to admit it, but even as a Healer, she was a little squeamish.

All of a sudden, she could hear someone reaching for the door. She scrambled to her feet and quietly took her place at the door. She could hear the person at the other end swear softly while fumbling with the door. When the door opened and the person stepped into the room, she lashed out with the rope and caught them in the face. It was a young man that she recognized as one of Kabuto's lackeys. She caught him as he fell to his knees and tied him up. He looked at her, frightened, and opened his mouth as if to scream. She covered his mouth and looked around desperately for a gag, anything to stop him from making noise. Then she realized that he had been carrying something. It was a small leather pouch. There was writing on it and it was addressed to her. She stared at the man. He had gone quiet and was shaking his head back and forth, trying to get her hand off of him. She stared at the pouch, then at the man. Should she trust him and reach for the pouch? She took a chance and slowly removed her hand…

 

 

Sunlight streamed through the window, bathing a sleeping Sasuke in warm light. The door opened and Ikimono walked in. She began to open the window and Sasuke stirred. He sat up and blinked sleep from his eyes.

She turned around in alarm. “Oh, I'm so sorry, Sasuke! I didn't mean to wake you up! I just thought that you'd like some fresh air. This place is beautiful in the summer.”

He shook his head sleepily. “It's okay. I can't oversleep. I have things to do.”

She looked at him curiously. “Things to do?

He stared at her. That was right. What did he have to do, anyway? In fact, he'd forgotten why he'd come. He stayed quiet. He was suddenly very confused. “I…”

“Oh, don't worry about it!” She bustled from the room. “Let's have some breakfast!”

He sat up in bed and stared at the blanket. There was something nagging at his head. Something was wrong, he had forgotten to do something…but what was it? Ikimono popped back into the room. She was grinning from ear to ear, holding two trays full of food.

“I thought you might like breakfast in bed, so I brought it here.” She was genuinely happy to see him, he thought. That was strange.

“Thank you.”

“You don't have to be so formal this time. Just eat!” She brought in a chair from the next room and sat by his bed, balancing one tray on her knee and put the other in his lap. There was tomago kake gohan, miso soup, tsukemono, and himono. On the side were fresh fruit salads, containing amanatsu, chestnuts, almonds, pears, bananas, cranberries, strawberries, blueberries, and yuzu. The meal was beautiful as well as delicious.

As Sasuke speared a strawberry, something clicked in his mind. Pink…what did that remind him of? He scrunched up his forehead, thinking. Ikimono laughed. “Sasuke-kun, you look so cute like that! Is there something wrong with your salad?”

“Oh, no, it's great. It's just…looking at this reminds me of something.”

“Was it something you've eaten before?”

“No…I think it was something I was supposed to do. Someone…”

Ikimono suddenly seemed to be very interested in her chopsticks. “I…I don't know what you're talking about.”

Sasuke stared at her, warning signs going off in his head. But why? What could Ikimono have to do with his thoughts? He looked over to the window ledge. There was a china plate full of water on it, with flowers floating in it. He set his tray on a night table by his bed and walked over, admiring them. “These are beautiful, Ikimono. Did you pick these yourself?”

She joined him, flushing with pride. “Yes. I have flowering trees in my yard. I picked them this morning. Some of them smell really sweet.”

For some reason, Sasuke felt drawn to a pink flower right in the center. He prodded it. “Cherry blossoms,” said Ikimono, “When I moved here, there was this scraggly old tree. I did my best to nurse it back to health, and look! All my hard work paid off. Now the flowers are so beautiful.”

“Yes, they are.” On an impulse, he picked it up. There was still a bit of a stem to it. He tucked it behind Ikimono's ear, surprising them both. A slight breeze ruffled their hair, making it seem like a scene out of a movie. When he finally found his voice, his heart supplied the words. “Yes. It is beautiful.”

She blushed and hugged him. “You're too sweet.”

“Cherry blossoms…Sakura…” His eyes suddenly widened and he pulled away. “Sakura! How could I forget! Sakura! She was captured!” The memories flooded back to him. “I can't believe—I mean, me, of all people—she was captured by…” He struck a blank. “Who was she captured by?”

Ikimono stood by his side silently, not saying a word. Throughout all this, her face had turned pale and serious. There was some pain in her eyes. Finally, she spoke. “I think she was captured by Itachi.”

Sasuke's head snapped up. “What?”

“He could have captured her to get to you.” The happiness had drained from her face and there was a shield on her emotions. He couldn't read her eyes.

“But why…to get to me? How?”

Ikimono's mouth was set in such a straight line that the words were forced out from between her lips. “Do you love her?”

Sasuke was taken aback. “What?”

Her voice was insistent, hard. “Do you love her?”

It was the first time Sasuke had been asked this. Sakura's smiling face flashed in front of his eyes, her laughter in his ears, her words immortalized in his mind. Memory after memory replayed again and again. Sasuke looked at Ikimono. She couldn't restrain the hurt in her eyes.

“Do you love her?” She asked again, the intent behind her words showing clearly.

“I…” Sasuke felt like cotton was in his mouth. “I…”

 

 

The man didn't scream, shout, or yell. He simply stared at her and jerked his head towards the leather bag. He mouthed the words `open it'. Sakura looked at him suspiciously. `How do I know you're not trying to trick me?' she mouthed back. He just shrugged. She narrowed her eyes. But she reached for the package anyway, her eyes on him the entire time. The leather peeled back to reveal a weapon belt. Each pouch contained some sort of weapon. There was a note attached. It said:

 

Sakura, good luck. ~Kabuto

 

Things were just getting more and more confusing. But she put on the weapons belt anyway. It could come in handy, even if it was from an enemy. She glanced at the lackey. He smirked at her and jerked his head towards the doorway. There was a tray of food there. She looked at the man. He looked away. So that was his plan! Well, whether or not it was a clever ruse, she was hungry. She grabbed a bread roll and stuffed it in her mouth. There were a couple of candies too. She stuffed those in her pocket and poked her head out of the doorway. It was clear. She looked once more at the man. He was gesturing for her to come closer. She did.

He whispered, and she leaned closer to hear. His voice was hoarse and scratchy. “Go left, climb the first ladder you see, make a right, look out the window. It should be clear. We're not that high up. Jump out the window. You'll see a forest. Run into the forest. Keep on going straight, no matter what. You'll see the city you were originally in. There, you're on your own.”

“Why are you helping me?” Sakura was bewildered

“I have my orders. Now go.” And he began to scream.

That didn't really clear things up, but Sakura knew that it was definitely time to go. She could hear footsteps in the hall. She dashed out the door, eating the roll all the while. Someone yelled `Hey!' behind her, and she could hear the man behind her keep yelling. She glanced behind her, in time to duck a kunai aimed for her leg. If that had hit, she wouldn't be able to escape. She saw the ladder and began climbing. When her hand reached for the fifth rung from the top, an arrowhead grazed her hand. She cried out in pain, but kept on moving, this time faster. The faster she got out of here, the better.

As she rounded the corner, she ran into Kisame. His eyes widened and he reached for her arm, his lips curling into a snarl. But she held the element of surprise and she darted past him, to the window. She looked down. There was no one there, which was just as well. Kisame had recovered and was running after her, his hand reaching for his sword. She jumped, landed, and ran in a fluid movement. She could hear his awkward thud behind her. Good, she thought. It would take him some time to recover and she didn't plan on wasting a single second. She plunged into the woods, suddenly surrounded by darkness. It was a humid day, and the wetness in the air seemed to smother her, shortening her breath. She cursed the weather for being against her and kept on running.

“I can smell your blood, girl,” called Kisame, not too far away, realized Sakura with a sickening wrench at her heart, “You can't escape me, Sakura. I will hunt you down and I will kill you this time. Itachi can't stop me here. I'll say it was an accident.”

Sakura had reached a clearing. What Kisame said had piqued her interest. Itachi didn't want to kill her? She was curious and she hated herself for it. And so she stopped. And faced him.