Darkness That Binds Him (ItaNaru) |Under Editing|

Chapter~ 9

Suffocating would be the only word to describe the atmosphere surrounding the room's occupants. The aftermath of Sasuke's second appearance had officially put Konohagakure into a state of chaos. Parents kept their children inside and store owners were cautious of who they let inside. Several shinobi teams had been sent out to search the village for the Uchiha, though most were certain that he was using one of the many undiscovered but widely rumored secret entrances within the Uchiha compound to gain access to the village. Needless to say, all of the searches turned up nothing. The teams were pulled back, but most stayed on alert. Tsunade acknowledged the futility of the search efforts to herself. She knew that if Sasuke wanted to get back inside the village, he would. However, Tsunade was determined to do everything she could to keep her village safe.

Sakura stood deathly still by the door, her face still unusually pale from the shock of yesterday's news. Subconsciously her eyes drifted to Tsunade, watching quietly as she ran yet another diagnostic test on her teamma—no, on Naruto. She hadn't been able to call him "teammate" in so long.

Comrade, teammate, friend, brother.

None of those terms meant anything anymore. Was it even possible that just over a year had passed since the... mistake? 14 months....it felt like an eternity since she last thought of Naruto in any of those terms.

Betrayer, Rapist, Demon.

She winced at that last word. She knew Naruto was far from any of those. She wasn't ignorant of the rumors over the past year that had been circulated by the villagers and shinobi that knew of Naruto's secret. The guesses usually ranged somewhere between Naruto was finally showing his true colors and that Naruto was the incarnate of the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Even though she never mentioned anything from that time, she briefly wondered if she ever questioned what was being said. Part of her had blamed Sasuke. You would think that after Sasuke's defection, Naruto's and her relationship would have grown. It had, but it wasn't what she now knew it could have been. Another part of her blamed it on the demon inside of him. Maybe its influence had finally seeped into him, like some said. Lastly, in a deeper part of herself, one that she never wanted to acknowledge, she blamed herself. Her thoughts had been so focused on the hurt that she was consumed by that she had never questioned her actions as of late. Sasuke leaving (to be honest with herself, she had never really gotten over it), her ra—assault by her assumed friend, then finding out the truth, dealing with 5 months of heart wrenching guilt, and now this? She could blame it on the shock of it all, but even that only went so far.

Emerging from her morbid thoughts, her eyes followed the glow of the healing justu against pale skin, flinching slightly when she caught sight of blue eyes.

There was something about Naruto's eyes that made her skin crawl.

She didn't dwell on the thought long as Iruka walked stiffly into the room. The force of the door opening beside her was enough to force her step back for fear of it colliding with her face. Hurt passed over her before it was replaced with shame when Iruka glanced at her.

Not wanting to risk her former teacher's wrath, she took one last glance at Naruto and exited the room, softly closing the door behind her.

From the corner of his eye, Iruka saw Sakura leave. He knew she was avoiding him, but he honestly couldn't care less. At least she could take a hint when it was given to her, unlike some people.

Facing the bed, he narrowed his eyes as he watched the Godaime Hokage check over Naruto. That was all she seemed to be doing lately. That and asking Naruto simple questions, like if he remembered what his name was or what village he lived in. Unfortunately the blonde never answered her. Iruka didn't know if he felt impassive or frustrated at that.