Chapter 6

That night, after falling asleep, I was stunned to feel a presence in my head. It wasn't just any presence, either. It was Sasuke.

Just as I came to that conclusion, the man himself appeared before me, and we wordlessly stared at one another in surprise for a long time. Finally, he said, "This must be what Naruto was talking about." I nodded, surveying his appearance in awe.

Every morning after we escaped the asylum, Naruto would tell us about how he spoke with Hinata while sleeping. That's how he received the information on where to find her.

"Do you think this is gonna happen every night now?"

Sasuke shrugged, offering a hand for me to hold so both of us could test what sensations we could pick up in this state, "As if I need you to annoy me for even more hours of the day."

I rolled my eyes, intertwining our fingers and squeezing a bit more tightly than necessary, making him wince as he smirked, "Likewise, Jerk."

I could feel his hand in mine, but it wasn't quite as strong as if we were awake. I'd get a ghost of his emotions occasionally, but it wasn't constant and varied in strength. This would've scared me a few months ago, but now it's just another otherworldly occurrence.

Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair and looked around at the endless black space surrounding us, "What do we do now?"

He pulled my hand so I could step closer before sitting. I followed his lead, unsure. "Nothing we can do but wait until this ends, or we wake up, right?"

Red and black eyes studied my face as we sat silently for a moment before he suddenly asked, "After this is over, what are you gonna do?"

"We already had this conversation, didn't we? I'll probably continue studying and go back to school."

Sasuke paused, his lips turned down into a slight frown. I pulled his other hand into mine, so all our fingers were interlaced, and he'd have no choice but to acknowledge me, "Sasuke, what's wrong?"

His jaw flexed, and he glared at our hands, tightening his grip slightly, "Do you think you'll stay in a dorm?"

My mouth opened slightly as I took in his question. What he's trying to ask is if I'm going to remain close by in Konoha.

My brow furrowed, and I followed his lead, "I-I don't know yet. My parents have to be worried about me...." I didn't need to look up to see my response had left him disappointed, but he wouldn't say that out loud. That would be too sincere for him since I've pushed my luck with getting him to talk about his feelings as of late.

Before it could get too awkward, I tried to lighten the mood, "Look at the bright side! No matter what happens, we'll always see each other when we're asleep, right?"

My chest tightened when I bit the bullet and lifted my gaze to see his response. He's not doing it on purpose. I know he's not, but I can tell just by the look on his face that those lurking fears of abandonment are tearing his nerves to shreds right now.

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes, and I climbed up to my knees to hug his face to my chest, a blush coming to my face as I realized what I was doing. He froze in shock, but I forced myself to reassure him despite my bashfulness, "I'm not gonna leave you, okay? I promise. You don't have to worry. "

His hesitant arms slowly circled around my body, and he guided my legs around his waist so I sat atop his crossed legs. Sasuke didn't say anything but simply accepted my embrace. A small smile tugged at my lips as I kissed the top of his head.

One of these days, it won't be so hard for him to talk about the hard stuff, and I will wait patiently until it comes because he's already done the same for me.

~

Early the following day, right after sunrise, the five of us headed out intending to meet the Subakus' group at the place we discussed back in Konoha, an apartment building in number three hundred and one. As we got closer, about two or three blocks from our destination, Kiba swiftly turned and shoved Ino and Sai toward a nearby alleyway, motioning Sasuke and me to follow. We all crouched behind a giant dumpster, staring at the Inuzuka, who sensed something.

"They're hurt. I can smell all three of the Subakus' blood from this far away."

His voice was barely a whisper, and I matched its level as I hissed, "What about Matsuri and Shikamaru? Anything?"

He shook his head, "I think Shikamaru's is in there, too, but Matsuri's-" His mouth clamped shut, and his head turned, so his ear was facing the direction of the apartment building we were scouting out.

Everyone remained silent as we waited for him to relay information. When he did, he had a grim look on his face, "Temari, Shikamaru, and Matsuri have been captured. Gaara and Kankuro escaped. There are four people still searching the area for them."

The moment he finished his explanation, his head turned again, this time in the direction further down the alleyway we'd ducked into. The look on his face was filled with panic and dread. Rather than sit and listen, he started moving, running as quickly as possible while making the slightest noise. The rest of us followed.

Adrenaline and anxiety fueled my movements as I stared at the Inuzuka man's back. He's being uncharacteristically brash. Usually, he's one of the most cautious of us all, minus maybe Shikamaru or Neji.

The fast pace of my heartbeat rose into my throat as we stealthily approached the apartment building, hiding behind anything possible along the way. I was next to Kiba behind a large advertisement board, Ino was a yard or so behind us, kneeling behind a small car, and the Uchihas were a bit behind her in between two buildings.

Chancing a peek around the edge of our cover, my eyes landed on Gaara himself, and I realized why Kiba was acting so desperate. The youngest Subaku was carrying his older brother on his back, and it looked like Kankuro was unconscious. He was crouched on the roof above one of the balconies on the third floor. I couldn't see his face from this distance, but his body language said he was tired. If Kiba's picking up the scent of their blood, they're likely both injured.

I searched the area quickly, coming up with a plan. Two inhabited people were outside, and we'd seen one go into the building, so one was out of sight somewhere, probably also inside.

My teeth grit as I confirmed my steps to pull this off. Without pausing, I saw an opening to move and dashed across the street to slide into an alleyway that let me see part of the backside of the apartment building. I saw Ino giving me a warning look, silently telling me not to go off alone like she thought I was about to. The woman knows me well. What can I say?

I whispered quietly to myself, knowing Kiba could hear me clearly despite being so far away, "I'm going to get them to chase me into the building to the top floor. You four follow and get the boys. There's a pool in the back. I'll make it."

The man did indeed hear me but shook his head quickly, making a "no" signal with his arms. I knew he'd say it's too risky, but we don't have time to devise another plan before the Subaku brothers are discovered.

"If something happens and I can't meet you here, don't wait for me. We'll meet at the town hall by dark, okay?" The Inuzuka's silent objections got more assertive, but I ignored him and focused on the two people outside the building.

Panic and anger ran through me, coming from Sasuke, as I took off in a sprint when the moment arose that both of the inhabited's backs were turned. I don't have any weapons, but with strength like mine, I really don't need one.

My adrenaline spiked when I launched myself onto the back of the closest one, immediately knocking them out with a quick hit to just the right spot on their neck. Their body fell lifelessly, and I turned to see the other one notice me.

"Put your hands behind your head and get on the ground, human."

I ignored him and dashed into the apartment building, immediately beginning to climb the stairs while trying to make as much noise as possible to draw out the remaining two, "Come get me, assholes!"

As I passed it, one of the doors opened, and I narrowly dodged an incredibly muscular man's attempt to grab me, continuing up the steps.

I ran into the fourth and final person on the third floor, and they saw me before I saw them. He tried to land a couple hits, but I easily dodged them and knocked his feet out from under him with my leg as I dashed past him and rounded the last long set of stairs to the top floor.

"Stop, human. There is no escape."

It took another minute for me to get to the correct hall on the top floor that faced the direction of the pool, and it felt like my heart was about to explode when I realized there weren't any windows.

My feet kept moving because if I paused for more than a moment, the three chasers would come close enough to reach me. I cursed under my breath as I sprinted right for the wall at the end of the hallway. If there isn't a window to escape through, I'll just have to create one.

Crossing my arms in front of my face, I lowered my upper body slightly to try and minimize the damage this stupid maneuver would undoubtedly cause. My eyes squeezed in anticipation upon impact, and I forced myself not to slow down or relent. It hurt like hell, but the wall gave way, and suddenly there wasn't any floor beneath my feet.

In the millisecond that I got a glimpse of the ground below, I realized I couldn't reach the pool without pushing off the building a bit to propel myself forward. My arms flailed out, and a small scream passed my lips when I caught myself with two hands on the balcony railing on the third floor. Pain erupted from my shoulders to my fingertips.

The throbbing sent waves of rage through me. I'm such a dumbass. This whole thing was stupid, and many things definitely got injured within both arms from what I'd just done.

"Do not move, human. We are coming to get you."

A panicked whine slid past my lips as I looked over my shoulder and saw how far away the ground was. It was so cold outside, but I was sweating, making my fingers slippery. I frantically looked around and realized there was another balcony on the third floor. Unconsciously, I wished I could see around the other side of the building to verify if the others had yet gotten to the Subaku brothers, but now wasn't the time to worry about anyone but myself.

The tendons in my arms, wrists, and fingers screamed as I rocked myself side to side to adjust my trajectory and land where I needed. When I let go, a pained huff left my lips, and I winced upon landing in a crouch. Both of my arms could barely move and fell lifelessly to my sides. I pleaded with whatever power within me had healed the gunshot wound on my calf that day at the asylum without me having to touch it to grant me the ability now that my life was on the line, but nothing happened.

A noise caught my attention above me, and I saw one of the inhabited people climbing over the edge of the balcony I'd just been hanging from, obviously aiming to jump down and capture me. Awkwardly, because my arms are useless, I got up onto the railing of the one I'm currently on, crouching to keep my balance.

Cursing, I studied the distance between the pool and where I was. The others better have gotten those two to safety with how hard I'm trying to keep these assholes distracted. Squeezing my eyes closed and taking a deep breath, I launched myself off the metal rail.

The surface was frozen, but luckily it was only an inch or two, and my body easily shattered it. Ice-cold water surrounded me only moments later, and I pushed off the pool's bottom to shoot upwards toward the surface. Oxygen flooded my lungs when I finally came up, and then I realized my mistake. It's a big one, too. I can stay afloat without my arms, but moving without them is hard. Turning onto my back, I kicked my feet as hard as possible but knew it wouldn't be fast enough.

Just as I suspected, moments later, I saw two men come from the back door of the building and start running toward the pool. Once they reached the edge, I hissed angrily through chattering teeth, "You saw what I did to that wall up there. If you come anywhere near me, I'm gonna kill you!"

They looked at one another, and the more muscular one spoke calmly, "I will disable her. Be prepared to assist me." Then he dove into the water.

Pain flowed through my arms as I tried to move them and swim to the edge, but I could barely lift them an inch, and the man got a hold on my shoulders almost instantly. I struggled, turning my body to try and kick him despite having nothing to push off of to put some force into it.

My head was shoved underwater, and I quickly realized they were trying to get me to pass out because it'd be less risky than continuing to fight. I ran out of air fast, eyes wide as I struggled to free myself from their firm grasp on my shoulders. The burning in my chest and lungs was terrifying but not as scary as the fact that I didn't know if either of these things learned how to perform CPR. They may be killing me right now, unintentionally.

Desperation flooded through me as I clung to the last strings of my consciousness, only to feel a tingling and burning run up and down my arms. It was too late when I realized I'd somehow healed them, and everything went black.

~

Something isn't right. In fact, something's completely and totally wrong. It feels like I just woke up, but I'm not entirely….awake? No, that's not quite it.

Slowly, the fog of sleep faded, and my memories of what happened came to me, and then I knew exactly what was going on. I failed to escape and was captured.

They got me.

They got all of me: my body, my dangerous strength, my healing abilities, and even my fucking mind. Their audacity was something else, something unbelievable, and it sent rage through me that shocked the rest of the haziness from my mind.

"This host is struggling." That's my voice, and it felt normal when the words left my lips, but I'm not actually the one saying them.

"You damn leech! Get the hell out of my body!"

A painful, icy feeling spread about the back of my neck like a spider web, the center being where it hurts the most.

Shock disrupted my anger as I finally noticed what was before my eyes. It's Matsuri, but it isn't her at the same time. She looks unwell like she's sick or something. That shouldn't come as a surprise, given that she's standing there with no shirt over her bra.

Her voice was hoarse when she addressed me, or instead, the thing controlling me, "Just like the others, you must remain focused."

I desperately tried to get control of at least my mouth and failed, having no choice but to ask the foreign presence invading my mind, "Others? What others?"

My head turned, and I would've burst into tears if my body had reacted to my feelings. Temari, Shikamaru, and Hidan are all standing to my left.

"Hidan's here? What about the others? Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori!"

"The host is asking for information on the others."

I looked at Matsuri again and felt they were waiting for her approval. That's when it clicked that the one inside of my petite friend must be The Meishu, the one we've been searching for.

"Woman, I know you can hear me. The harder you resist, the more you'll suffer. I suggest surrendering for your own sake."

This one's manner of speaking is much different from all the other inhabited persons we've encountered, and I deduced that The Meishu's abilities must differ from what we're used to. However, I still tried to argue, "How about you go fuck yourself, Asshole! Let me have control of my body, and I'll show you 'painful'!"

"The host has become even more agitated."

Matsuri took a few more steps closer, and her eyes inspected me from head to toe, "You must somehow keep the human under control. This host's body has special abilities that offer a great advantage."

"Understood."

Feeling defeated, I simply stared at Matsuri. Her tan skin is pale with the slightest tint of blue. "Will you at least tell him she's gonna die if he doesn't take care of her body? She's freezing to death!"

"The Meishu's host does not possess special abilities. Whether it perishes or not is none of our concern."

Rage filled me, and I started yelling, cursing the thing out with all my might, but it just ignored me and followed the others out of the room. My anger only multiplied when I saw more familiar faces in the lobby at the bottom of the staircase.

They're all here: Deidara, Kisame, and Sasori. Even Obito's here, somehow. There's also that strange, orange-haired man with the odd eyes we ran into in Konoha after leaving the asylum. A couple other odd-looking people were with them, but the thing controlling my body didn't allow me to look any longer.

Powerless, I watched as my body stepped outside the building, and every ounce of hope of being rescued faded. At least a thousand, maybe more, inhabited people surround the large building.

Seeing them all standing completely still, with their attention focused solely on the building, was incredibly eerie. The air was so quiet.

My voice erupted loudly, "There are at least two dangerous hosts near this location. Both are male. There is a strong possibility more uninhabited humans are nearby as well. Attempt capture at all costs."

My fists clenched as I got angry, but I quickly lost control again. I don't even know how I did it in the first place. The thing inside me turned swiftly to the side to speak to Hidan, "My host is strong. I request that you take action should I lose control."

The silver-haired man spoke in a dull voice, unlike the one I'm so used to hearing, "Understood."

My body was sent on patrols with Hidan as a partner for the rest of the day. I tried, consistently, to fight for dominance over my body because I'll be damned if I was going to sit back and watch my strength be taken advantage of. Each time it felt like I was getting close to succeeding, my body would turn to face Hidan, and I'd be forced to tell him to prepare to kill me, which scared me into backing off. I couldn't just not fight, so I kept repeating the futile efforts.

Sasuke's emotions would come to me throughout the passing hours, but they were much weaker than I'd grown used to, like the thing inhabiting my body was somehow dumbing down the signal.

We returned at the end of the day and headed into a room down the hall from the entrance. It was full of blankets and pillows. They're using it as the barracks.

Hours later, I woke up with a start before realizing something important. I'm awake even though the thing inside me seems to still be asleep. I'm definitely not about to waste this opportunity. Struggling, I opened my eyes and shakily got up. I'm definitely not about to waste this opportunity.

It was like trying to control my body with a game controller; each button had a mountain of resistance. Each movement was forced and heavy. Nothing came naturally.

I went toward the door only to be shoved back into the backseat when the thing apparently awoke. It turned the lights on, and the others in the room awoke to look at me.

"This host is intimidated by men and the threat of sexual assault. Should it appear I have lost control, use this information to disable it."

Terror. That's the only way to describe it. "How do you know that? …Are you going through my memories or something?"

"Yes. I have just witnessed many males attacking you. It usually takes between twenty-four and thirty-six hours for one of my kind to successfully process a host's entire memory."

Now I'm not sure what I should do. Is this all a bluff? Sure, they'll beat me and maybe even kill me, but they wouldn't go as far as… What if they do? I'm more terrified of that than being murdered. I know it's irrational, but it's still the truth. Do they even have the ability to perform those kinds of actions?

"We can perform any bodily functions humans are capable of."

"You're a fucking monster. The shit you're looking for doesn't even exist here, and you guys are hurting so many people. I hope you burn in hell."

"You know what our goal is?" My body moved, shutting the lights off and crossing the room to lay back down where it'd been when I awoke.

"It's called Dengen, right? There isn't any of it on land. The plant you guys saw is called Gosei. It's not your food. It's made in a factory in Iwa. It's fake."

"How do you know this?"

I scoffed internally, "If you have access to my memories, just look through them, you dick. Then go tell The Meishu exactly what I just told you and get the fuck out of my head while I'm still being nice about it."

"Memories can be falsified. You are being deceitful. Be silent now so I may rest." I tried to keep arguing, but the thing ignored me, and went back to sleep.

When I realized I was in control again, I couldn't bring myself to move, and it made me so angry with myself that I wanted to rip my own hair out. Fear kept me still. Fear kept me silent. Who knows how many people are dying right now because of these things. There's a slight chance I can do something about it by escaping, but I'm too scared of getting hurt.

A familiar self-hatred rose in my chest, and I realized tears were falling from my eyes even though they were closed.

A wave of concern and anger overcame me, and my eyes shot open. It's Sasuke. Oh God, he's so upset. His emotions are so clear and unmuddled now that my invader's asleep and no longer blocking the sensation.

My limbs shook as I clenched my fists and made myself remain still. Can the Uchiha man feel how sorry I am from here? Does he know I'm terrified right now?

Realization hit me, and I desperately tried to calm down and fall asleep, praying I'll be able to see him as I did last night. It took a long time, but I eventually managed it.

For a bit, it was like any other sleep, but then I was suddenly aware of the fact and sensed the arrival of his presence. He appeared instantly, and tears welled in my eyes at the unbridled rage on his face as he grabbed me. I stared, wide-eyed, up at his face as he all but yelled at me.

"What the fuck, Sakura! What the hell were you thinking? Where are you? The town hall's surrounded by the inhabited."

A shaky breath passed my lips, and my shoulders sank defeatedly, "I know."

The fingers around my upper arms tightened, and he shook me once, "So where are you then? Answer me!"

"S-Sasuke, stop!"

The wild rage in his eyes sank with surprise in an instant at my desperate tone as I burst into tears. His grip loosened slightly, and it was silent between us for a long time, my sniffling being the only sound.

Eventually, he tried again, this time much more softly, "Sakura, I need you to tell me where you are so I can come get you."

My brow furrowed, and I shook my head, knowing it was useless now. Even if Naruto and the others show up, everyone combined still won't stand a chance against all those enemies outside.

Slowly, Sasuke seemed to realize what was going on and shook his head, "You're not-"

I nodded, sinking further into my panic and falling into sobs, "Baby, I'm scared…."

For a moment, he was stunned but eventually overcame it and pulled me against his chest so he could attempt to comfort me, "We'll figure something out. Just hold on until we get there." I buried my face deeper into his chest, holding him tightly.

I'm no idiot. I know I'm doomed. I sealed my fate the moment I jumped off that balcony. Somehow, I managed to slow my crying enough to kiss him.

When we parted, I searched his face hopelessly, "Sasuke…I love-" He was gone before I could finish my sentence. Our connection was broken.