{Unchained} - SasuSaku Asylum Story

{Through Smoke Rings}

"What the fuck kind of question is that, Sakura?!" Ino almost yelled into the phone. She was having a very calm evening after her contemporary fashion class midterm, so she called Sakura to collect some gossip. Instead, Sakura hit her with this bullshit.

"Ino, I was just asking-"

"What do you mean 'do I really like you as a friend'? Where is this shit coming from?"

"I was just thinking of high school, and..."

"Oh my god, is this about Karin again? Why are you thinking about this now?"

"This is stupid, Ino. Forget it. How are things with Sai?" Sakura sat on the floor by her window with her knees against her chest.

The evening had been more restless than she wanted to admit. Her meeting with Tsunade had to be rescheduled due to some medical conference, so Sakura had the entire evening to spend by herself.

And before she knew it, her head started to spiral with every awkward or unpleasant social experience she's ever had in her life. It just so happens that there were quite a few.

She thought back to how she was teased in elementary school for preferring to eat her lunch in the corner by herself. All adults thought she was seeking attention, while her classmates thought she was a weirdo.

Sakura then thought about middle school, and how her little dead body fiasco caused people to look at her weird for years, though no one had the balls to say it to her face. Somehow, it was worse. Having everyone whisper and stare her down during recess, but collectively deny it when Sakura tried to address it.

Her entire life was governed by unintentionally making others feel uncomfortable.

High school was rough, because that's when cliques started to form around her. Karin, the stereotypical popular mean girl, had a great time antagonizing Sakura for her unusual behaviors in and out of class. During their biology classes, Sakura would often ask detailed questions about human anatomy and blood flow, causing teachers to politely invite her to office hours instead. She'd also often opt in to work on group projects alone, claiming she had a hard time collaborating with classmates.

She had her working style, her own schedule, rules, standards, and process. Working with others was always a waste of time. She knew she wanted a career where she'd work on projects alone, and she finally got this career.

Her project was Sasuke Uchiha, and she was all alone on this.

"To hell with Sai, bitch. Why are you asking me these weird questions?!"

"Sorry, Ino, I guess I'm just in a weird headspace." Her voice was fading out, causing Ino to max out the volume on her phone.

"Look, I don't know what's going on with you, but I don't secretly hate you. I think you're pretty cool, and so do others."

"What others?" Sakura sighed, "You're like, the only person who didn't make me feel like a freak."

"Look, you can't be mentally stuck in high school. We were goddamn teenagers, and teenagers can't always appreciate people they don't understand. We're adults now, babe."

"I-"

"Wait, is this about the psycho you're working with?"

"What?! No!"

"The timing is suspicious... Plus, you have refused to talk about this." Ino usually sounded chipper, but this was serious.

"That's because I'm not allowed to!" Sakura groaned. "And this has nothing to do with him. I guess I was just reflecting."