{Unchained} - SasuSaku Asylum Story

{Old Habits}

Sasuke remained against the wall with his handcuffed wrists hovering in the air by his chest. He looked down at his own fingers like they were the strangest thing in the world. The same fingers that were curled up against Sakura's cheek moments ago.

His skin yearned for more touch, more contact. Just tracing her face wasn't enough, he wanted to grab her and pull her in, see how she'd react to being touched the way his body was urging him to touch her.

Instead, she had removed herself from his grasp, and was now sitting at the table all safe and sound. Sasuke looked up at her with immense irritation. These chains were a massive inconvenience. He'd have to ask Izuna to figure something out later.

Sakura was just as startled by the little moment between them. His fingers felt freezing against her cheek, and her heart was exhausted from beating this fast for this long. Part of her was surprised she even survived such a close encounter. What the hell was she thinking? He could have strangled her again, broken her neck, and who knows how many other creative attacks he had up his sleeve.

She tried to fix the derailed session by asking about the next victim, but it felt wrong. All of it felt wrong. Maybe Sasuke heard the uncertainty in her voice and decided to remain silent. This was not how it was supposed to go. Any of it. This was not how psych evaluations worked. This is not how doctors engaged with their patients. She had messed up.

Sakura sat in silence with her eyes glued to the surface of the table. Her face must have conveyed the despair in her heart. She had failed as a doctor. She couldn't even handle her first patient without going down with the ship she couldn't abandon. Not only that, but Tsunade was scheduled to return from her medical conference later that day due to some schedule changes. What could she even tell Tsunade?

Everyone wanted Sakura to put this man on death row: doctors, victims' families, the court system, her colleagues, officers, guards, the public. Everyone. But after several sessions, she still didn't feel comfortable making that call. Not even close.

She sighed and buried her face in her palms. Sasuke observed in silence, which was something she greatly appreciated. He didn't taunt her or kick her when she was clearly feeling down. Her thoughts weren't that hard to read, especially considering how well Sasuke could relate to her turmoil. The version of himself he thought he knew would have jumped at the opportunity to squeeze the life out of her throat again. It felt good the first time, and he missed out on a chance to do it again. Why? Why was his instinct momentarily overridden by the need to be gentle? His old habits had suddenly taken a step back, and it was a truly disturbing thought.

"What's the matter, Doctor? Are you starting to hear voices, too?" Sasuke lowered his wrists and leaned forward as much as the chain on his neck would allow.

Sakura quickly looked up at the man in front of him. Time moved differently inside this ward. Each hour of conversation felt like years, but the familiarity with which he looked at her still threw her off. Still, his sudden interruption triggered a reaction in Sakura. This was no time to be contemplating her life choices. She had a job to do, and she needed to snap out of it.

"I apologize, Mr. Uchiha-"

"Mmmm..." He shook his head disapprovingly. Sakura hung her head in defeat.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. I got a bit distracted." She cleared her throat and quickly gathered her notes to avoid looking at his smug face after hearing her call him by his name. "L-let's continue. I believe there was one more victim after Yahiko."

"That they know of." He winked at Sakura with his arms crossed. The doctor looked anything but put together. Something was off.