Chapter Text
She lightly nurses her hand, one eye on Sasuke as he sits there in a stony silence. His limbs are bound and chakra inaccessible and she knows it is safe to say that he can’t escape on his own. There’s dried blood on his nose from where she punched him.
She can still hear the sickening crack as her stinging fist left his face, the crazed gleam in Sasuke’s eyes as he fought. Still see Naruto, a blur of Kyuubi chakra, as he fought tooth and nail.
Now, nearly back in Konoha, she thinks she should feel some sort of satisfaction. He knows how strong she is. They are finally going to come home with him. Team Seven is whole once more.
Everything is how they wanted it.
And still, there is a hole in her, born from that night when the moon was bright and his figure distant. It eats at her as she stands there, watching him. There is nothing, no pleasure or joy or even relief, just a feeling of tiredness overcoming her as she waits for Naruto to come back.
He says nothing, hasn’t spoken a word since he woke up. Just tested the wires once and then remained still.
This worries her. She cannot fathom why, only that something is wrong with this uncharacteristic silence.
As she hears Naruto come crashing back through the forest, she catches a slight shift in Sasuke’s countenance. A small quirk of the lips, a narrowing of his eyebrows, and she can see the madness that has taken over him.
Oh, she thinks faintly as the expression fades once more, that must be it.
It’s not Sasuke they’re bringing home.