What Happens Now...

I know I haven't updated in a while! PLEASE DON'T KILL ME! Like I've said before, college is taking over my life and by the time I'm done with all the work I have to do, the inspiration just isn't there. I hope this is good enough!

(Sasuke’s POV)
“Where is he?” Explanations were no longer needed. I needed to get my dobe away from that psycho medical-nin as soon as possible. There was no way that she was stable enough to discern between what was safe and what would kill her ‘prince’. Looking straight at Haruhi, I knew she could feel the panic that I refused to show.

“I don’t know yet, but she shouldn’t be too hard to find. I registered her chakra signature into my memory and using my kekkei genkai, following her trail should be easier for me.” I have no idea what this girl was capable of; of course I wasn’t about to take the time to care. If she told me she could find Naruto, I was going to believe her.

The girl wasted no time with any more question; much to my satisfaction. Taking off in a run, Haruhi seemed like she was possessed. Keeping right behind her, I used my sharingan to see if I could spot Naruto’s chakra; not wanting to put all of my faith in a small girl. Dust was licking at our heels as we rushed through the streets of Suna. Each passing second was too much to lose; too much was at stake to make unnecessary moves. I had no idea what kind of hell Naruto was going through right now, but I was going to do everything in my power to stop it. Trees start to appear in my peripheral vision, much to my confusion, but I dismiss them. Buildings are becoming scarce with even more forest replacing it. I never thought the Village Hidden in the Sand could produce such a lush forest, yet that was the furthest thing from my mind.

Without warning, Haruhi makes a dead stop. Kneeling down, she places her hands on the ground while her eyes close. I stood there staring at the girl. She hadn’t moved a muscle in a couple minutes and my impatience was starting to flare. We had a blonde to save from a love-sick psycho bitch, but all Haruhi was doing was kneeling down doing God knows what. Taking a step towards her, I grab her shoulder to get her attention.

“What are you..?”

“Found him.” She says as her eyes open and her head tilts back to bring me into her line of sight. My grip on her tightens only for a moment before I release her. She slowly stands, keeping her back towards me. “Sakura’s signature is strong beneath us and there appears to be another chakra signature with her; I’m assuming its Naruto.” Pausing, I see her muscles tense with something akin to fear. “Sasuke, the signature is weak…I don’t know if he’s going to…”

“How do we get down there?”I didn’t want to hear what the girl was about to say. All the possibilities were already in my head. She clearly doesn’t know how badly I could imagine how this situation to end. I’ve seen the most horrible things that no one should ever be exposed to. My family being murdered in one night, my brother betraying me, and worst of all was my last precious person to be beaten to the brink of death by the village he loved and trusted. I can handle all of that as long as he’s alive. Though I do imagine the worst, I can’t help, but hope for the best outcome. That despite everything that we’ve been through, we’ll still have our bond that has helped us through so much. Gathering her composure, Haruhi turns to face me.

“Unfortunately, I have no idea where the entrance is. My skills in genjutsu are horrible to say the least. That is assuming we are in a genjutsu.”

“Well, we’re in luck that one of the last Uchiha happens to be here.” Ignoring the look of pure shock on her face, I let my eyes slide shut; willing the sharingan to bleed into its place. Reopening my eyes in a flash, I pan the area for anything unusual. I just saw tree, after tree, after tree; nothing out of the ordinary. Frustration floods my mind, knowing my dobe was being submitted to unthinkable torture.

“Rahh!!!” I scream as I slam my fist into a near-by tree. Why is it that I can’t do anything to save the one person I care about? Hearing Haruhi gasp, I dismiss it as her fear of my sudden outburst of anger. Shooting my sharingan over to the girl, I’m surprised to find glee on her face instead of terror. Anger settled in the pit of my stomach, being temporarily replaced by confusion.

“Himitsu Forest…” The girl whispers in awe. “I can’t believe I forgot!” Anger was starting to overtake the confusion. What does any of this have to do with saving Naruto? Without me realizing it, Haruhi wanders off and quickly comes back with an armload of different plants. Confusion threatens to smother my anger, but I push it back. Running towards me, she stops a few inches short and practically shoves the weeds in my face. The grin she’s displaying almost cracks her face in two.

“Look at all these medicinal herbs! This is the secret forest that our medical-nin go to when they need to construct new medicines.” I have to use all my willpower not to shove this girl back and proceed to look for an entrance myself. How could I have been so stupid to trust a girl that doesn’t even look old enough to be a gennin! Clearly oblivious to my inner turmoil, Haruhi continues. “I’ve never been here personally, since I know nothing of constructing medicinal cures, but Gaara-sama has spoken of it. He also told me that they built a lab underground to make it easier for medical-nin to work.” Dropping her herbs, Haruhi paces over to a group of trees and glances at each of their trunks. Picking one tree in particular, she places her hands against the bark and green chakra starts flowing from her into the tree. Suddenly, the ground shifts and Haruhi jumps back from the tree. My body immediately readies itself for attack, not knowing what dangers were about to make themselves known. Haruhi lands safely by my side and gently claps my wrist. Shooting her a glance, she only points forward calmly.

“The reason Gaara-sama told me about this place was as a warning. Only medical-nin of Suna can open the lab’s entrance. I was to be careful of who I deemed a medical-nin since a lot of bad could be done in the lab. That’s why we have so few medical-nin in our ranks. It takes a lot for me to trust anyone enough to give them the honor of treating the people of Suna.” Dropping hold of my wrist, Haruhi claps her hands to her chest; a chill running down her spine. “But when I heard that an elite medical-nin from Konoha was to join our ranks and that she was a friend of Naruto, I didn’t even second guess her loyalty.” Tears were on the brink of running down her round cheeks. “I made Sakura one of us in less than an hour…she betrayed me not even a day later. She killed almost all my staff just so they couldn’t find her. It’s my fault that Naruto is in trouble!” Haruhi, finally let her emotions get the best of her as she sunk to her knees; her arms grasping her sides as she curled into herself. “It’s all my fault….” She whimpered.

Her actions reminded me all too much of Naruto. He constantly blames himself for what happens to others. Even me going to Orochimaru, Naruto shoulders that responsibility. Both have inhuman powers that people use against them, even though they had no control over their fate. Now I had this trembling girl who was trying to force everything upon herself. Kneeling down, I gather the girl in my arms and pass a reassuring hand through her hair. To say I was doing this for Haruhi would be a lie. What I really wanted was to comfort Naruto. To say that I was sorry. My damn Uchiha pride and need of control had pushed Naruto to the edge. He was already handling so much and I just had to break him that much more. “Forgive me…Naruto.” I whisper across Haruhi’s hair.

She tenses for only a second, but slowly wraps her small arms around my torso; burying her head into my shoulder. “You gotta go save him Sasuke. We can’t survive without him.” Thinking wasn’t getting Naruto out of any less danger. Getting up and pulling Haruhi along with me, I start towards the newly revealed hidden entrance.

“Stay behind me,” I tell the young girl. I had a feeling that she had no real talent as a ninja despite her gift in medical jutsu. Picking up speed, I run down the stone stairs and into the dank halls of the underground lair. Torches dimly lit up the long hallways, revealing the endless amount of doors embedded into the walls. Naruto must have faced a similar situation when he first came looking for me. At the time I just discredited him, thinking he was there only to stop my goal of killing my brother. I didn’t care or believe at the time that Orochimaru would actually take over my body.

Going up to the first door, I yank it open and I’m rewarded with an empty room. The next several doors revealed the same result. Frustration was quickly building. Soon I’m not even bothering to care about the door, kicking them down and peering in only for a brief second. Haruhi stayed silent behind me. It was probably for the best, knowing I would have lashed out at her if she tried to direct my actions. Door after door kept appearing and new hallways were starting to emerge. Another door, but no Naruto. Another door and Sakura gets one step closer to killing him. Another door and I lose more faith in myself, knowing I was failing the one person I promised to protect.

“GAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!” My head snaps to the left and my determination strengthens. That was his scream, Naruto’s, and I was going to do anything to stop it. Without thinking, my feet carry me towards his pained voice. We were so close to finding our goal, the doorway that lead to Naruto only a few yards away. Without warning, Haruhi runs past me, hate written across her face. Her figure disappears into the light of the room.

“GET AWAY FROM NARU….!!” Haruhi’s voice cuts off and not even a second later, I hear a thud. Adrenaline shoots through my system, my legs carrying me faster towards the room holding my only future. Light blinds me, but only for a couple of second. Merely a few feet in front of me is Haruhi, lying in a crumpled mass on the stone floor. My eyes swiftly fly forwards, landing on a sight I’ll never forget. On a steel table was Naruto, strapped down and bare-chested. Small cuts and burses covered his arms and upper torso. His midsection had a vertical running from his sternum down to his navel. Blood was already pouring out of the wound and pooling onto the table. That wasn’t what was the most upsetting. When I looked into his eyes, all I found was defeat, like he believed there was not hope left. The dazzling blue eyes that I’ve known for all my life were opaque and dull. My body wouldn’t move to comfort him. Somehow I knew that the look on his face was my fault. Naruto believed he wouldn’t be saved because I had reduced him to the point of relying on me entirely and I took that away that source of reliance only a few hours prior.

“What are you doing here, Sasuke-kun?” Stiffening, my eyes flash over to the sound of ‘her’ sickening voice. The look on Sakura’s face was of innocent surprise. It was as if there was nothing wrong with Naruto lying cut open on a table beside her. Just now noticing the scalpel in her hand, she places it on a metal cart to her right and gives me her full attention. Putting her left hand on her hip and presents me a bored expression. “Came to ruin my beloved prince again? You already broke him, do you really need to shred his spirit even more?” My only response was my eyes widening. Had I really done that much to Naruto? Maybe I wasn’t the right person to be with him, but there was no way in hell I was going to let Sakura have him. Taking a step forward, I’m quickly halted by Sakura’s hand.

“I refuse to let you anywhere near him any longer. You almost tainted him past what was tolerable, but lucky for me, he finally came to his senses.” She drops her hand and makes her way back to Naruto’s side. Raising her right hand slowly, Sakura lightly caresses Naruto’s scarred cheek. It’s almost too much for me to bear. How dare she show affection for him when she’s causing him so much pain.

“Soon my beloved will be free from this horrible demon and we can finally be together.” Sakura then gradually lowered her head down towards Naruto’s face. My whole being knew what was going to happen next, but I refused to believe it. Her lips touched his. Time stopped. Nothing could erase that moment. My eyes drifted towards Naruto’s, hoping there was some sign of life in them. That’s when I saw it, the spark of life in him. Naruto didn’t want this. His eyes shone with disgust at Sakura’s action. Feeling rushed through me as my body finally wanted to react to this abomination.

Before she could even finish her little power trip, I was beside Sakura. My right hand whips out and grasps her chin, pulling her attention towards me. Her eyes widen and soon the room goes red. Bewilderment encases me for only a few seconds before I realize what was starting to happen. My sharingan had reached its final level, Mangekyou. Itachi was wrong.

Letting my hand drop from her vile face, Sakura whips herself from me. Confusion and fear are clear on her features. Her body was braced for attack, but there was nothing she could really do to defend herself. I had complete control here in our minds. I could do anything I wished. I remember all too clearly how Itachi fucked with my mind during our first encounter after the massacre. A sadistic smirk graced my lips. I knew exactly what I was going to do to her. I slowly approached her with practiced ease. Her eyes immediately locked with mine, terror growing more evident with each step.

“Get away from me!” She screams, throwing her arms across her chest to protect herself. My throat emits a dry laugh at her feeble attempts. With just a thought, Sakura becomes restrained on a very familiar looking steel table. Her eyes dart with panic, her body struggling against her restraints. Another thought passes through my mind and Naruto is here with us. He has the same sadistic smirk as I do, not at all flattering on his features. Sakura stops her flailing once her gaze locks with Naruto.

“Naruto! Help me!” Naruto doesn’t move, of course I knew he wouldn’t. He’s just a product of my genjutsu, nothing more. A scalpel appears in his hand and he steps up to the table holding our once teammate. He gently places the blade at the top of her sternum, a look of dread coming over Sakura’s features as she realizes that she has not escape. Her focus quickly shifts to me, tears coming out of her eyes.

“For the next 72 hours, Sakura, your body will be severed piece by piece. Every organ, every muscle will be separated and placed on the table next to you.” Her eyes widen as her head snaps to the table that suddenly appeared beside the one she was currently strapped to. More tears start to fall, but they have no affect on me. Naruto had probably cried too, trying desperately to convince her to stop. I swiftly grab her by the chin again to get her attention. “You will feel every pain that will be inflicted on you, there’s no way for you to escape. This is what happens when you fuck with my precious people.” With one last squeeze to her face, a fake smile makes its way onto my face. “Have fun, Sakura-chan.”

And with I turn my back and let pseudo-Naruto begin his work. Sakura’ screams fall deaf on my ears. She deserved all of what was happening and more. She had scarred Naruto not only physically, but mentally as well. I quickly open my actual eyes. They quickly find Sakura screaming on the floor, clutching at her body. Her eyes roll to the back of her head before finally passing out.

“Sauske….” My entire being focuses in on one point, Naruto. Without thinking, I sidestep Sakura to get to his side. My right hand gathers up his left and my left cradles his cheek.

“Naruto…I…I should have…”He stopped me with a fragile squeeze to my hand. His blue eyes search mine, trying to find something there.

“It’s ok. It….wasn’t fair…of ..me to blame you like I did.” His breathing comes out in sharp intakes and gasps. I’m losing him. Panic starts to seep into my veins. My hand grips his even tighter.

“Please Naruto, hang on…I came all this way for you!” Wetness stained my cheeks, but I didn’t want to acknowledge what that meant. A small smirk graces his pale features.

“I’m so tired Sasuke. I just…. want to…sleep. Can…can I just…sleep?” The luster was fading from his eyes.

“NO NARUTO! YOU HAVE TO STAY!!”

“NARUTO!!!”


Don't hate me! I know readers hate cliffhangers, but writers love them! Please review! It makes me write faster than one chapter per half year!