(no subject)

[beachlass]

Story post - continues series from Diving

Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, not me.

Kakashi took up permanent residence in the hall outside Sasuke’s interrogation cell. Ibiki pretended that Kakashi was supposed to be there, and slowly tweaked the cell’s shielding so that Sasuke would be able to just barely feel his teacher’s presence. If he looked for it. Ibiki also informed the mission desk that they would not be sending out Kakashi or Sakura for a while, and sent a strong suggestion to Tsunade that Naruto be kept out of Konoha for as long as possible.

 

Then he brought in two of the more sadistic interrogators and left Kakashi outside while they beat Sasuke unconscious. Kakashi wasn’t even pretending to read when Ibiki sent the agents out, blood spatter on their vests and arms, and a medic’s order to file.

 

It was when the medic requested turned out to be Sakura that Kakashi began to worry about Ibiki’s plan. And how much it would take to break the young man whose brother was as adept as Ibiki at torture and who hadn’t spared family.  And why Ibiki would even try.

 

Sakura almost managed a professional detachment as she cleaned away blood and reduced swelling. She hadn’t much experience in the cells, and knew the other medics hated patching up prisoners so they could be broken up again and again. She hadn’t, however, heard many stories about medics being sent to work on people they knew.

 

Maybe traitors weren’t very common, and it was just her bad luck that her life intersected with some of the most notorious.

 

Sasuke was pale and cold. The bruises were stark against his skin – welts and even the almost black impression of fingerprints.

 

Sakura was kneeling over him, hands laced in his hair, and feeding chakra to reduce a concussion when Sasuke woke up. He blinked and winced, and watched her with careful dark eyes. Looking at her with his full attention, finally, in the way he hadn’t when they were younger, and his attention was all she wanted. When he whispered her name, she could hear the bruising in his throat – the rasp from having been choked.

 

She stood, and left the room without a glance behind. Punched a hole in the rock wall outside, and settled, shaking beside her teacher. He touched her hand briefly, and commented in an even tone, “You telegraphed that punch, and the follow through was non-existent.”

 

She laughed shakily and replied “Yeah, the wall probably saw it coming.” Kakashi bumped his shoulder against hers, and they sat quietly talking about taijutsu and then cooking and not about the young man lying beyond the open door, or the one who was still out on mission.

 

Ibiki leaned against the wall and watched Sasuke lie perfectly still. It was too dark to see his face, but Ibiki could see the uneven rise and fall of his chest, and the damp smell of the cell took on a slight salt-water edge. The door was left open, and when the conversation outside shifted, and two sets of footsteps quietly whispered down the hall and away, Sasuke finally curled in on himself.

Comments

[rurounitriv.livejournal.com]

Oh, damn that's a kick in the throat.

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

Yes, well... I think we all knew it was going to be painful when Ibiki had him locked in the cells.

Thanks for reading.

[na-no-nai.livejournal.com]

Wahhh! I'm so glad you're continuing this, even if it makes my guts twist. ♥ And yes, this icon is horribly inappropriate here.

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

Thanks. And the pony icon is always loved.

[thursday-kat.livejournal.com]

ooohh, lovely, lovely, lovely. so glad you've continued :)

loved the interaction between sakura and kakashi. can't wait to see what happens next *hugs*

hope things are going well in your neck of the woods!

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Things are going pretty well here - settling into new routines in our new place.

I've been shamefully neglecting lj for the ridiculous adventures here: http://crack-killtime.greatestjournal.com/

And you? Are things good? Are you thinking of moving cities?

[thursday-kat.livejournal.com]

killing time is hilarious. it always makes me giggle when i wander over there. (we miss you dearly over here at the lj but cannot fault you for it, the awesome is so totally cooler over there. *sings* fandom i love you but you're bringing me down...)

things are good. no real drama, just the usual 'are we gonna move yes/no' that we seem to go through every six months or so. this is the fifth time in two years, i'm finally learning not to stress over it any more. now i just stress over employability :P according to the palm reader at the ren fest, i won't make a major career change until i'm 37...so apparently i have nine more years to figure it out :D

good to hear that things are going well for you. is it beginning to feel more like home yet or are you still adjusting?

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

Hmmm... yes and yes. It's beginning to feel like home and we're still adjusting.

I really like the new house, but we've still got boxes that need unpacking, and there's STUFF still everywhere, and frankly, I just not very good at housework.

You're reading Killing Time? That's just really cool. *tempts you to apply*

[thursday-kat.livejournal.com]

whenever i move (which seems to be every two years or so) there is always a significant amount of boxes that only manage to get unpacked a few months before i pack everything up again. and usually, the only reason they get unpacked at all is because i will have managed to think i packed an important paper/card/thing in them and have tear them apart looking for said item. which is almost never there. i fail at organization :P and housekeeping too! messy kat!

is it weird being landlocked? (uh, you are right?)

i go over to killing time every once in awhile, just to check the hilarity. it does look awesome, but i've never rp'd and the thought of it terrifies me beyond belief D: fear of looking stupid and n00bish in front of many awesome peoples? yeah....i'm just gonna go hide in bed for awhile :P

are you playing or just watching?

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

I am landlocked and it is really weird. The air and weather feels different, and there's no beach to walk on.

I am playing at Killing Time - Kakashi. And I've never, ever rp'd before, and I'm not the only n00b there, so that can't be your excuse.

Neji would hate it on the island, don't you think? He could sit in a corner with Itachi, commiserating. And open up a clinic. And take up with Duo. Maybe they could open a hair salon, instead.

[thursday-kat.livejournal.com]

oh you're playing? *fidgets* but that...that...that makes it so much more seductive! *wails* and i have fic to write but hnnnnnn *curls into ball*

neji would definately hate the island :D so sunshiny and relaxed. where's the dedicated hard core intensity he's used to?!!? someone would have to calm him down. showing an interest in his beautiful hair would def. be a start! asking question about how he keeps it so healthy and shiny would be even better :)

your kakshi is hilarious, nice work there!!! does it suck up a lot of your time and/or are there people who are less active than others? come on beachy, convince me good :D

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

Some of us are more active than others, and I find people are pretty good about waiting/arranging when someone has a busy week IRL. (I've occasionally given a sort of general direction for Kakashi and bowed out when I know I'm going to be unavailable).

It is SO MUCH FUN, really, really. And Neji could totally trade hair tips with Duo (the Gundam pilot) - or with Itachi.

*tempts with cookies*

[thursday-kat.livejournal.com]

is it like a 'playing for several hours a most days of the week' busy or 'i could devote an hour two or three days a week' busy? because i have multiple fics in the work (challenge fics etc) plus a honey to spend time with and i'd be worried that i couldn't devote enough time to playing. because that's really no fun for anyone. :(

it looks like crazy good fun!!! from what i can tell, there are multiple plot lines going on yes? and you create your own as well as interacting within others? that's the point i get confuzzled at :P

mmmm....cookies....

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

More the hour or two a few times a week kind of busy.

And there are a number of plots going on... we conspire on aim chat frequently.

It is crazy good fun. And you could totally bring your handcuffs.

[thursday-kat.livejournal.com]

i think that i could swing the time commitment for the most part....

so you're encouraging me to keep working on the app. i copied six hours ago?!?! (any hints as to making it awesome? and what about the examples of fic. do they want links to stories or new writing or what? help please all knowing beachy :) )

oh god *whimpers*

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

A link to your stories should be fine. And our profiles (apps) are on the character journals, if you want to see what other people wrote.

I have heard a rumour that one of the mods had a fit of ack! No more ninjas! Need other characters! I will beg and whore out Kakashi's sexual favours on your behalf.

[thursday-kat.livejournal.com]

hmmm...maybe that's telling me something....

if i think about it for a bit, i might be able to come up with a non-ninja character to broaden the experience.

[itcomesinphases.livejournal.com]

MOAR!<3

*appologizes for lack of intelegent comment* *brain is fried by RL stuffs*

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

Thanks for reading.

[photoash.livejournal.com]

Wow what a brutal end to this one so far. O_O gah that was the real torture there seeing what Sasuke really left behind. Just wow at this series.

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

Thanks. Really, really - it's a treat to have someone read through and comment.

I actually have the next part of this plotted out (I've known for at least a year where it was headed.) - but I was so thoroughly jossed by canon, I kinda lost heart.

*considers*

And yeah - bleak, bleak, bleak. Probably didn't help with the writing.

[photoash.livejournal.com]

Heheh :) I try to be a good commenter I know that writers write for themselves but it's also fun to know what other people got out of it too! :) why else would we share our writing eh?

GAH you do?!?! I was going to ask next about if you had thoughts on the next one - so very exciting that you know where it's going! Hopefully you'll get inspired to write more soon? :)

I have a dumb question though - I was confused about Kakashi's motivations to be there... is it some mixture of guilt about the past and feeling like he should be there since it's his former student or is it something else motivating him?

[beachlass.livejournal.com]

I'll let it sit in the back of my head for a bit... see what surfaces.

I think Kakashi feels a sense of responsibility for Team 7. I'm not sure about guilt. I'll think about it some more.

And I think he knows that the basement cells with Ibiki and the interrogation squad is a really bad place to be... And it's not just Sasuke down there - Kakashi is there for Sakura, too.