Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ Wasted Years ❯ Ch. 4: Shrouded in Scarlet ( Chapter 4 )

Wasted Years

by Mizerable

Ch. 4: Shrouded in Scarlet

* * *

It looked cheery, as far as hospital rooms went anyway. Overloaded with flowers from the Yamanaka's store, it gave the space a little more color and comfort. Sakura appreciated the gesture, especially now that her facial swelling had lessened enough for her to open both eyes to see it with. But more than anything, it was the company that held any real worth. Naruto, in particular. During her stay here, he barely left her side. In fact, he spent significantly more time here than even her own family. She wasn't able to find any words to show her appreciation, locked away in her head now of her own volition. Though he wasn't quite able to bring his usually cheerful personality into the room, either. But it was nice of him to come anyway. It helped to pass the hours.

Ino also came at least once a day, usually with Shikamaru and sometimes Chouji in tow. Team Eight was also making appearances more and more frequently. One particular time, Kiba had dropped by to leave Akamaru with her for an entire day. He claimed having a dog around tended to cheer people up. But Hinata in particular was a great help. She had a vast knowledge of herbal medicine and her treatment worked to relieve the pain somewhat. Though she somehow got the impression that having Naruto there at the same time made the girl more nervous than usual. At least some things hadn't changed.

But none of them knew about Itachi.

None of them knew the absolute truth about what happened in that hotel room. And she intended to keep it that way. What would they think if they knew what she did? The terrible things she had done with that man…

Kakashi never explained to her why that man possessed the Sharingan, either. But he was actively searching for him, hardly leaving him time to visit. She was okay with that, though. Her sensei was very dedicated in finding those two men and she could ask no more of him. After all, she always had Naruto by her side. He kept her distracted from remembering Sasuke never--

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto piped up. It was odd to hear him be so sullen all the time, though she supposed the same could be said for her. "When those guys held you captive…" he was fishing for his words. There didn't seem to be a right way to go about asking this but he had to know. At first, he figured she was so jumpy since she was probably just scared and in pain after the whole incident. But he'd caught bits and pieces of conversations between the nurses as well as the jounin of the village. He had to ask. "Those men…did they…"

"Just ask it," Sakura answered in a weary voice. She had grown quite sick of questions.

"Did they do…weird things to you?"

"Last I checked, it isn't normal to kidnap and torture people," Sakura snapped. She was really tired today and Naruto's questions were digging up what she was desperately trying to forget. Naruto frowned out of concern at that. He wasn't the most observant person but he was pretty sure she was hiding something from him. "Yeah, bad guys always hurt people. It's why they're the bad guys," Naruto clarified, "But-What I mean is--Did they…force you to---Oh, forget it." He was tired, too. He wasn't good at this sort of stuff and was just going to upset her, anyway. It was making his head all confused, just like what he saw at the teahouse. Thinking of that, Sasuke-

"Is it that obvious?" Sakura could feel the tears prickling her eyes again. It must have been painted all over her, what she had done. "Is it obvious that he raped me?"

Naruto felt his stomach burning, which meant he was probably going to get sick soon. Like he said, he wasn't as dumb as people still thought he was. He knew about all sorts of bad things that happened in the world. Once of them being forcing a girl to…to…

"…what?" a frightened gasp resonated through the room. It seemed Ino had dropped by for another visit. Sakura could feel her face flush. She really didn't want Ino to know. Ino, the girl who no matter what Sakura did, would always be the more beautiful, more confident girl. A girl that was always worth more. She would never be a whore.

After planting a soft kiss on her forehead, Ino stayed late into the night. She didn't speak of the incident again.

During the long silence brought after the sun vanished, Naruto tried to think about something else besides all the terrible things that happened to his Sakura-chan when he came across an increasingly familiar thought. Of all the many, many visitors Sakura received, not once had any of them been Sasuke.

If anyone was gonna really make Sakura-chan happy, it would be that bastard.

But after finding out where Sasuke lived, there was no one there to answer the door. Naruto had no idea that his other teammate was also laid out in a hospital bed with no sign of recovery. No one saw it a good idea to bring up this fact to any of the genin, either.

* * *

The sunlight pouring through the window made the stark whiteness of the room a little more blinding to his sensitive eyes. After sorting through his disorientation, he realized he was in a hospital bed. His brain was still too fuzzy to really get frustrated about it just yet. For now, he just stared at the empty blankness of the ceiling, feeling vaguely irritated by the hum of the florescent lights and the beep of the heart monitor. Minutes drifted by before he finally felt compelled to sit up.

He wasn't all that surprised that there were no flowers, but the fact that Sakura wasn't wasting all her time by his side was tad startling. More puzzling was he wasn't as comforted as he anticipated feeling when she wouldn't be there anymore. Being alone was what he wanted, what he needed…but something about the whole situation was disconcerting. Once his mind cleared a bit, he realized it wasn't the fact that she wasn't there to be the exact reason he was troubled. He remembered that she probably told Kakashi what he did to her under the control of the curse seal and that, perhaps, she wasn't even allowed to see him anymore. He could understand that. In fact, it was his hope that it was the case.

However, his gut feeling was that something worse happened.

There was this empty pit of dread settling in his stomach and worsening with every passing moment, compelling him to flee from this room. An unexpected bout of claustrophobia was making it difficult to breathe, as well. One harsh tug ripped away the tubing and wires that were stuck in his flesh before stalking out the door. The Anbu waiting on the other side were the first indicator that something was really wrong.

All the while, the disconnected monitor continued to sing in the key of flatline "Sasuke is dead."

* * *

Despite better judgment to force the kid back to bed, the younger Uchiha boy was no longer a suspect so it seemed rather unnecessary to keep him under lockdown, per say. It would still be easy enough to keep an eye on him in his weakened state.

In fact, to Sasuke it seemed there was more than the needed amount of Anbu in this place. He was growing more and more wary as it seemed his instincts were right in that there was a serious problem. One that went beyond his personal situation. Wandering through the halls of the hospital was filling him with an even greater confusion on top of everything else. Why was everyone he passed giving him those strange looks, anyway? Was it such a shock that the so-called genius wound up here? It's not like this was the first time he had been admitted to the hospital. Not by a long shot.

It was then that he spotted Team Eight enter one of the rooms. It struck him as a little unusual for all of them to be there together visiting someone. It meant it was probably someone he knew, as well. Was Asuma injured? It would have to be serious to put a jounin in a place like this. This was, after all, the Intensive Care Unit. Upon further investigation, the name residing on the door to indicate whom the patient on the other side was Haruno.

Sakura Haruno.

* * *

They all knew now. Of course Naruto hadn't meant to let it slip. He had just become so upset as the group conversed about the enemy. Unsurprisingly, he looked petrified while awaiting her response but she didn't have much of one. It was the truth and she couldn't hide from it. It was only their faces she wanted to run from. Judging from all the pity in their eyes, they felt bad that she was too weak to protect herself. She could probably assume Ino and Hinata were secretly grateful it was her and not them. Not that she could blame them.

She only felt real hurt coming from Naruto, as he was too simple to feel bad about her being weak or to even realize she was. He was most likely wondering why he hadn't been strong enough to know she was in danger and, therefore, save her.

God, Naruto…you're gonna kill me if you keep carrying on like this. It hurts too damn much to know you care.

He really did care about her. A long time ago, she would have thought it was just a silly crush on his part. But that really wasn't the case at all. Naruto was here trying to support her, without asking for anything in return. His feelings were just so pure and determined-

"Sakura?"

It came out barely above a whisper but everyone's heads snapped over in the direction the voice came from.

"Sasuke-kun…" she gasped. After all this time had passed, he finally appeared out of nowhere. He seemed puzzled, though. Almost as if he didn't know what happened. But how would that even be possible? The whole village was on alert so surely he had to know why by now.

"What-"

"Sasuke, you bastard!" Naruto shouted, "Don't play dumb! How could you not know?"

"I just woke up," he answered flatly.

"What the hell's that supposed to mean?" Naruto growled, "Were you in a fucking coma!?"

"Yeah," came the next abrupt answer, catching Naruto by surprise.

It wasn't until now that he realized Sasuke was dressed in bleached white hospital clothing, bleeding his pale skin of what little coloring it had. Naruto didn't know Sasuke got hurt, too. He didn't look injured, though. More than anything, he just looked absolutely exhausted. In a flash he suddenly remembered all the trouble Sasuke seemed to have been going through. It had been pushed aside in Naruto's mind, forgotten, after Sakura was attacked.

All this time, Sasuke was trying to recover. Alone.

"I'll be checking out of here as soon, but I want to know something. Who did this to you?"

The words wouldn't come out.

After not seeing Sasuke since that night, she hadn't expected him to come by now. And now to know the fact that he never opened that door that horrible night probably wasn't out of a lack of caring...This burden that he was forced to bear due to the curse seal was finally starting to kill him. She wanted to tell him so badly about how much she suffered and let him comfort her. But he was so weighed down with an immeasurable sadness, it would hurt him so terribly to know she was taken right from his doorstep. Had he been able to open it for her, she might not have been hurt at all. She had no interest in handing him that guilt.

"S-class criminals. Two of them," Ino jumped in, sensing Sakura's distress, "They kidnapped her and…." There was no way she could say the rest out loud.

"I want their names," Sasuke demanded, his voice staying calmer than it should have. Which was probably worse sign. "No one will tell us a damn thing," Kiba joined in, "They keep telling us that these dangerous freaks are out there but since we ain't on that level, they don't want us gettin' involved. So no names."

"I'll tell you," Sakura replied, catching everyone off-guard. They had no idea she knew their names. "The first man, the one who took me…he looked a little bit like a shark to me. Possibly a form Mist ninja. I think his name was Kisame." Sakura paused after this, now recalling the mysterious second man. The one who made her…

"The second man was…he was called…" Why did she have to start crying again? Goddamn it! Did she always have to be so weak? Sasuke gave her a nod, urging her to continue while Naruto gave a gentle squeeze to her hand. She was real hesitant about talking now, he realized. That second guy must have been the one who…

"You're reluctant about the second one," Sasuke's voice startled her. She really hadn't expected him to be that interested in knowing. "Was the second guy the more violent of the two?" Sakura shook her head vehemently, the sobs starting to grow out of control.

"Geez, couldn't you be a little nicer about this?" Shikamaru inquired, "She's been through hell-" He shut up after receiving a frosty glare from Sasuke.

But what was going on here did get Sasuke thinking. If the second one whom she wouldn't name was the less violent of the two, what could he have done to make her more upset-

Oh god.

His feet were moving to her bedside now even though he didn't want to get closer to anyone in the room. He still had no idea what the curse seal might make him do if near any of them. If he was getting the right impression of the situation, the last person who should be near Sakura was him. It was those few short weeks ago that he, too, almost-

"I'm not the type of person who knows how to comfort someone else," Sasuke was by the bedside now standing in the spot Naruto usually dwelled within. "I won't force you to say anything else." She didn't speak, save for a choked scream as her fingers wound themselves within the fabric of his shirt.

Always crying. All she could ever do was cry. She cried until Ino was there to be strong enough for the both of them. But she threw that away over a schoolgirl crush. The crush became something real but Sasuke had no feelings for her and stated it more times than she could count. He himself was troubled by something more important than romance. But now that she was weaker than even before Ino, she couldn't even be kind enough to latch onto someone who had even enough strength for himself.

"I didn't want to-I swear I didn't-He wouldn't-" A hand gently began to smooth her hair. "That's enough. Torturing yourself like this is useless."

Sasuke stared up at the ceiling, wondering vaguely that when Sakura woke up in this bed if she felt as lost as he did when he came to. He didn't even know why he was doing this. He just wanted to know who his enemies were so he could be prepared to deal with them. He knew she had gone through a rough time, but it wasn't his duty or obligation to stay here and spend "quality time" with her. He missed a lot of training so he really needed to make up for it. But when she wrapped her arms around his waist, his body reacted of its own volition and within moments he was seated by her side embracing her closely. He was completely and undeniably a fool.

Naruto could have screamed. He spent so much time here with Sakura and held her hand and talked with her but she still ran to Sasuke. He knew he couldn't blame the guy for not showing up until now. But, goddamn it! He kept rejecting Sakura, saying anything to turn her away and now was clutching her against him. And when Sakura got out of here and got better, he would go back to being cold to her. Why did he always do that to her?!

"N-naruto-kun?" A tug on his sleeve indicated Hinata was next to him now. Why she chose to whisper as an attempt to be quiet when no one could hear her in the first place was beyond him. "We-We think they need some time a-alone," she stuttered. He hadn't even realized almost everyone was gone except for Kiba, who was waiting there for Hinata. He grit his teeth as he glanced over at the two on the bed, who also seemed oblivious to anyone else. "Fine. Whatever," Naruto spat before throwing the door open and storming out.

Sakura knew she hurt Naruto's feelings. She had someone who worshipped her and she ignored him when "something better" came along. And that "something better" probably would never hold her like this again. "These injuries…They were a lot worse when you were admitted here, I assume." Sasuke's voice made her jump and, in turn, reminded her she was still on the mend. It was odd for Sasuke to attempt conversation, and she supposed it was his way of showing his concern. More so than obliging her with a hug.

"Yes, they were much worse." Their usual conversation of silence resumed. Sasuke figured he would most likely be unable to get the second name from her but that was well enough. If that person still traveled with Kisame, it would be a safe bet Sasuke would meet both of them together, should their paths cross.

But for now, he prayed the curse seal wouldn't activate. The last thing he needed to do was traumatize her anymore than she already was. It wasn't out of any special feelings for her but rather the principle of the matter. There were certain things he would not do as a person, though he had come dangerously close with her already. "I have to leave," he finally said, "I'm pretty sure you understand why."

"But I know you wouldn't-"

"I wouldn't," he snapped, "But I have no control over the curse seal." He began to pull away by she clung to him tighter. "Stay," she whispered, "Please stay."

"You know I can't," he unwound her arms from around her, being mindful of injuries and hoping she wouldn't get startled before rising to his feet. He hadn't anticipated her to then wrap her arms around his neck and pull him down for a kiss. Sasuke had been taken completely by surprise, a rare occurrence that was choosing to make itself more and more familiar. After Sakura had been dragged through hell kicking and screaming, after being violated in such a horrible way, she still sought him.

He finally gathered the sense of mind to pull away from her.

"What the hell are-" She promptly shut him up with another determined kiss. And unlike the first time, he found his eyes drifting shut and his lips slowly responding.

What was she doing? Sasuke was afraid of hurting her and wanted to leave in order to protect her. Why was she throwing herself at him after everything she'd done with that man? After she'd kissed that man…Sasuke was kissing her back. The real Sasuke. Not the curse seal, not anything but himself. His hand wound itself in her hair and one kiss became two and two became many.

It was Sasuke who slipped his tongue in first.

His hands began to roam all over her but his touch didn't seem to hurt her wounds at all. It was so sweet it made her want to die. God, she didn't deserve this. Not after…She decided to pull away but Sasuke pursued. She just couldn't suppress the soft mewling sounds emerging from her voice when his tongue was dancing with hers. Those sweet sounds sent shivers down his spine. He pulled her closer to him while her hand slid through his hair. His own hand traveled over the swell of her chest, across her ribs. He slid beneath the fabric, over the soft skin of her back when the pain came.

Sasuke all but shoved her away from him before slapping a hand over the seal. He was such an idiot! "Sasuke-kun?" Sakura reached for him but one glare from his Sharingan eyes told her it would be better not to touch him. Itachi's eyes flashed through her mind and she moved away out of reflex. He stumbled to his feet and rested a hand against the wall to support himself. "I…never meant for this to happen." Sakura should have known it was coming but that didn't lessen the blow at all. "I don't apologize for a lot of things," Sasuke ground out through clenched teeth, "But what I just did to you was completely inexcusable."

"I didn't mean to make the seal activate," she whispered. She would not cry again. She would not cry again. She would not cry…

"Not your fault," he mumbled.

"Will you come see me again?" He gave her an incredulous glance. Being near her made him a very dangerous person and yet she still-"Is that such a good idea?"

"Just for a little while," Sakura fiddled with the blankets nervously, "You don't need to come close." He really shouldn't. The girl was messed up in ways he couldn't define and he would only hurt her. More importantly, this was just adding confusion to his mission. He didn't have time to make these visits. And above all else, he wasn't interested in her.

"I'll try," he finally answered. It was vague enough to avoid promising one or the other. If he never showed up, it's not like he ever guaranteed he would. Not that it should matter if he broke a promise to her or not.

After Sasuke exited, Sakura would always wish later that she said, "I love you." Or at least "goodbye." How was she to know it was the last time they would ever see each other.

* * *

Sasuke was cursing himself out mentally in an infinite amount of ways as he headed towards the hospital exit. He was a complete moron and now in excruciating pain to top it all off. Hopefully he wouldn't be completely screwed over by the curse seal when he trained today. "So they just are letting the Uchiha kid go?"

"Yeah, it looks that way." Hmm, some Anbu were discussing him and he decided to conceal himself to find out why people who probably had a lot better things to do made him the topic of conversation. "Is that really such a good idea to have the kid go unprotected like that?"

"There are others watching him to make sure nothing happens." Great, the village thought of him as a threat now. He knew the curse seal brought a lot of problems and dangers, but these guys hadn't seen him like that. All they witnessed was him in a damn coma. "And from what I gather, those two psychos are trying to keep a low profile now. I doubt they'd go after him now." The criminals who hurt Sakura were interested in him? Was it because of the curse seal? Or…What if Orochimaru had been the second man? The one who forced Sakura to-

"For a guy trying to not draw attention to himself, it was pretty fucking stupid for Itachi to rape that poor girl."

His blood was roaring in his ears and his heart thundered in his chest. He was sure the conversation continued but he couldn't hear it above that ringing. The second man had been…The man who raped Sakura was…

**Foolish brother…If you wish to kill me…Hate me, despise me, and survive in an unsightly way…Run and run and cling onto life…**

It was finally happening. All the pain and loneliness he endured, all the training, everything was for right now. That man, Itachi Uchiha, had returned to the village and Sasuke could no longer run. He was an avenger and the time for his wrath had arrived. He was going to kill his brother.

Pausing briefly enough to gather weapons, Sasuke managed to sneak past the superior Anbu. Perhaps they understood his mission and granted him passage. Sasuke Uchiha fled the village of Konoha, the only home he had ever known, on a mission only he was capable of completing. And, secretly, he always knew this was the last time he would see it.

Perhaps his brother had been expecting him. Even though the hunt thoroughly searched for him for over two weeks now, Sasuke met him at the banks of a river about a four-day's journey away from Konoha. He thought his brother had come to finish their fight from seven years ago. But after his Chidori attack failed and his arm was snapped, he was casually tossed aside and Itachi began to depart. He vaguely registered the other man, who he assumed was Kisame, asking who Sasuke was. Itachi calmly answered it was his younger brother and it seemed he was fully content to just leave their fight unfinished yet again.

It was a foolish attack and he knew it. A straight-on run with a kunai wasn't going to fool anyone. This was why they always tell you at the Academy a shinobi must fight without emotion. But this was raw emotion he was fueled by. Raw emotion that was now feeding the curse seal. Itachi raised an eyebrow at this, remembering vaguely hearing Orochimaru had given him the mark. Of course, seal or not, he easily caught Sasuke by the wrist and was unharmed by the weapon. He contemplated breaking his other arm and leaving him but seeing what a disappointment Sasuke turned out to be, he realized his plan was also foolish. This boy would not become what he foresaw him being.

With a twist of the wrist and with Sasuke's own hand, the blade was plunged into the boy's side. Sasuke's Sharingan eyes were taken by surprise and his mouth opened to let the blood pour out. His hand slipped away from the kunai and now Itachi took hold of it. It, too, received a twist before the handle was used as a lever. The blade tore threw, across the abdomen and scooped out a gruesome path before resting in Itachi's fingers. Sasuke sagged against him before Itachi stepped away to let the body hit the ground.

Sasuke Uchiha, now a defeated man, could do nothing but stare at the sky and watched the clouds pass by. He'd lost all his color and could only exist in black and white before being shrouded in scarlet. It was a little strange to think about clouds and colors right now…It was different than the last time. Against Haku, he thought about all the things he could never finish. Maybe now that he knew his task was impossible, it made his thoughts a little clearer. He couldn't even feel the curse seal burning his flesh anymore. This must really be death.

As his eyes fluttered shut, Sasuke almost believed he could hear a woman's voice.

To be continued…