City of Night

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"What the hell are you doing, Sasuke?!" Sakura backed away as Sasuke stalked forward, Ino and Karin at his sides, leering down at her maliciously with long bared fangs while Sasuke snarled viciously, sharingan activated. His crimson eyes bored into her, fiery orbs of hatred and Sakura felt her knees go weak from terror as the burning Summit Hall vanished.

She breathed in cool and fresh evening air. They were in a grassy clearing, up on the surface, and the sky was black with clouds, covering the moon so that Sakura could only make out the bumpy outline of a tall mountain looming up in front of her.

She took a step toward it as the bright silver moon came out and illuminated the clearing. The mountain was revealed to her: a towering pile of corpses rising up in front of her with the moon's bright silver rays and Sakura froze and screamed in horror, her blood turning to ice in her veins. She backed away frantically as she recognised the corpses of Tenten, Hinata, Kiba and Neji, staring up the sky with dull and empty eyes. Her eyes wandered downwards, recognising Choji, Shikamaru, Temari and Tsunade and right at the bottom, gazing right at her with glassy and dead eyes, was Gaara.

Sakura screamed again, feeling herself go hollow, and fell to her knees as she gazed at the pile of dead in front of her numbly, barely feeling the tears running down her cheeks and dripping from her chin. She couldn't seem to feel anything but shock and a dull and steadily growing ache in her chest.

Three tall figures stood on top of the pile but Sakura didn't even have to look at them to know who they were.

"Ooh, the cherry blossom's crying!" Karin cackled nastily as she adjusted her glasses, "Isn't she pathetic, Sasuke?"

"Pathetic," he agreed emotionlessly looking down at her with blank and empty eyes and Sakura gazed up at the three dark figures numbly. "You made him do this," she said in a low voice before she screamed hysterically. "He isn't your puppet!"

Ino narrowed her glowing cyan eyes and growled through gritted teeth, "Sasuke is whatever I want him to be!"

"Then how can you expect him to love you?!" Sakura shot back before her voice cracked and she broke down into sobs. Ino screamed angrily from above her and shrieked. "Kill her, Sasuke! Kill her now! I never want to see her face again!"

Sakura heard Sasuke land lightly in front of her and tried to get to her feet and run, but she wasn't quick enough. Sasuke's fist collided with the back of her head and stars exploded in front of Sakura's eyes as she hit the ground, her head swimming and aching painfully so that it was difficult for her to see and breath.

"Sasuke," she whispered through ragged breaths before crying out as the toe of his shoe hit her in the ribcage and the bones shattered before healing themselves again, which was just as painful.

"Healer's Blood," Ino hissed from behind Sasuke with a nasty smile. "That means I can prolong your suffering and have Sasuke hit you as many times as I want before you die, human." Sasuke's foot hit Sakura in the mouth and she tasted blood, feeling it run down the corners of her lips and chin, and spat out a tooth, sobbing. "Sasuke," she begged as she received blow after blow, her injuries healing themselves before Sasuke reopened them again while Karin laughed and Ino sneered with contempt.

"Sakura!" Sakura shut her eyes tightly as she received a blow to the ribs once again. "Sakura!" That voice wasn't Sasuke's...

"Wake up, Sakura. You're dreaming!"

Someone shook Sakura's shoulders and she woke screaming, her body coated in sweat and her eyes searching the room frantically, wide and wild. They found Gaara standing over her bed, alive and alright, and Sakura seized the front of his robes tightly and buried her face in chest, sobbing hysterically while he stroked her hair gently and soothingly, stunned.