Naruto Fanfic - Prisoner of Nightmare

Chapter Nine: Binding Questions

   Uchiha Sasuke faced Kakashi-sensei with a grimace, face still ashen from the scene he had witnessed that morning. Sakura, who was standing beside him, didn't look any better. Cheers could faintly be heard from the village a few dozen metres away, all types of delicious smells permeating in the air as the villagers lost themselves in celebration.

   "To the shinobi!"

   "I wish I had stabbed that fucker myself! Hahaha!"

   "Drink! Drink! Drink!"

   All sorts of chants could be made out from the noise, joy and relief in their every word, but Sasuke couldn't feel either. Inari, Tazuna, and Tsunami had left some time ago to join in, leaving only the three of them inside.

   No, it was four.

   Sasuke snuck a glance at Uzumaki, who was still humming that discordant tune as he sat on the windowsill, the senbon he twirled glinting in the moonlight.

   Fear made him look away, and dread prevented him from glancing over again.

   The bridge was still vivid in his mind, and while he was no coward, Sasuke dearly wished he had taken more time dealing with the two thugs aiming to capture Inari and Tsunami. He wished that he had listened to the end of Inari's rambling thanks, he wished that he had ran slower.

   For when he finally arrived, all that remained of the battle was a screeching mist and his teammates looking on in horror. 

   No, not everyone. 

   Uzumaki's quiet laughter had been even louder than the screeching, fouler than that pile of corpses left behind, and more disturbing than the thing that had burst out of Gatō's chest

   And that humming, that fucking humming. 

   It grated on Sasuke's every nerve, low then high then lower and sharp then soft then sharper. There wasn't a pattern. There wasn't even a melody. Just a mixture of chaotic pitches that sounded like the broken, hateful cursing of a dying god.

   Of course, he hadn't said anything about it. Hadn't scolded or scowled like he would have it were anyone else, hadn't uttered a single word of complaint. Neither had Sakura, and neither had Kakashi-sensei. Only Inari had been foolhardy enough to whine, but he was whisked away by a pale-faced Tazuna before Uzumaki could even respond.

   It was Uzumaki's words that cut through the oppressive atmosphere, making Sasuke flinch, "I'm heading out."

   Kakashi-sensei gave an eye-smile. "Stay safe, Naruto-kun."

   Uzumaki started to hum again as he gave a half-hearted wave, jumping down from the windowsill. Sasuke watched as his figure disappeared into the darkened forest, accompanied only by that terrible tune.

   Sasuke walked over a closed the window, cutting off the sounds. He didn't know who sighed in relief first, maybe it was all of them.

   But it was Sakura who said something afterwards, "I checked the bodies, Kakashi-sensei."

   "And, what did you find?" Kakashi-sensei seemed lethargic, uninterested.

   Sakura hesitated. "I... They were too light. They weren't bleeding properly."

   Sasuke felt the hair rise on the back of his neck at the implication. While he didn't have any memories of the first massacre, having fallen asleep early, he remembered the bodies that were carried out of the complex in the morning.

   They had tried to cover them with a blanket, but the arms from one of the corpses slipped out from beneath during all the jostling. It had been withered and cracked, paler than death as it was moved by the breeze. The people handing the corpses seemed to have trouble, pulling too hard as though they were expecting more weight.