Nothing But the Truth

Chapter 4: The Eye of a Tornado

AN: I'm so disgusted with this chapter that I can't even revise it. Yeah, it's that bad. So please take this chapter with a grain of salt and read it only for the plot points for the rest of the story, and forgive my horrible ineptitude at writing for this chapter. Thank you for your patience, and I promise that the rest of this story is better than these chapters. Thank you for reading and please review.

Updated 8/25/13

Nothing but the Truth

"I guess I should have reacted the way most of the other girls were, but I couldn't get myself to react. I felt very still and very empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo."

― Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

Sakura clutched the sides of her hair as her stomach upheaved. There was nothing there to come out seeing as she hadn't eaten in days– but she gagged nothing over her bed. Deidara and Tobi jumped back, confused as to what was going on. "Sakura-san?" Tobi inquired.

Her entire body was shaking uncontrollably as inside her mind, she fought to find inner-Sakura. "Where'd he put her?" she croaked as her body rocked back in forth. She needed inner-Sakura. The pesky demon in her head gave her so much strength. Without inner-Sakura, Itachi could easily break the mental barricade that divided her knowledge of Konoha from her consciousness. He would kill her. She was going to die.

Not only that, but inner-Sakura was there for protection. She did the dirty work. Anything Sakura couldn't handle, inner-Sakura was there to take over. Itachi had effectively removed her final and best defense. Jade eyes peered from behind wet lashes as the two Akatsuki members stared at her incredulously.

"It's alright, Sakura-san. He sealed her away so she couldn't hurt us," Tobi said sweetly. Even Deidara was having trouble remaining callous towards the kunoichi. She just looked so pitiful.

"Calm down, yeah. Everything's going to be fine," he said, leaning over her. His hands went into his pouch, but instead of pulling out clay, he pulled out a vial. He grabbed Sakura's wrists –which now featured four bracelets on each wrist to contain her chakra – and removed them from her hair. Tilting her chin back, Deidara uncapped the solution and poured it down her throat. "Sleep more, yeah."

Exhaustion immediately hit her as her stomach turned into warm mush. She felt Deidara's strong hands behind her neck as he guided her back down into bed. When did the Akatsuki get so damn nice? Was the last conscious thought that crossed her mind as sleep took her once again.

When Sakura awoke, she didn't know what time of day it was. There were no windows in this room either. Slowly, she began to move her body parts to make sure they were all there and still functioning. Attempting to ignore the silent panic that was creeping within her as she once again realized inner-Sakura wasn't there, she shifted so her legs were now hanging off the futon. She hoisted herself up into a sitting position.

Her head felt heavy and light all at the same time. Like she hadn't slept in days and then rested for only a few minutes. Twitching her toes, she determined she could bear weight. You can do this, Haruno. She told herself. Pain struck her heart when there was no inner-Sakura in the back of her mind, yelling "Sharanno!"

It was as if someone had taken her twin sister and effectively shoved her behind a wall. Sakura could feel inner-Sakura there, but she could not release her nor hear her. She groaned as she placed weight on her legs. Nothing hurt, but everything was uncomfortable. What'd he give me? She wondered to herself. She could remember nothing of the substance Deidara had slid down her throat except it felt warm within her and it was thick. Sleeping serum? It was the only thing she could think of that had that effect on a person.