A Sweet Addiction (SasuTen) Chapter Two

Tenten woke up to ringing sound of footsteps on the stone floor above her. They were not the sharp click—clack of a woman's heel but heavier, more masculine tread. She heaved a sigh of relief with the realization that it couldn't be Karin—the woman who had shut her up in this horrible little hole.

At first she thought she would have suffocated. But there was air, musty and cold, coming through a small slit. It has been a whole week now since she had been lured and held captive by her red headed captor and her cronies; or was it two? She couldn't tell—it was impossible to distinguish between days and nights within her now pitch black surrounding. She had never been afraid of the dark, but she had never known darkness like this. It was complete. The weapon mistress thought that she would have gone stark, raving, lunatic mad with being shut up in such a small place—there was barely enough space to turn around. And as the days rolled by the huge rough stones seemed like there were actually moving, closing in on her—she'd eventually be crushed to death slowly, agonizingly by the big stones.

And if that didn't kill her, hunger and thirst would surely do the trick. She couldn't even remember what food tasted like. Honestly she would have just preferred if Orochimaru had killed her on the spot when he had learnt that his young apprentice had caught the intruder that had been causing such a stir in his hideout. But he had decided that Karin should have the privilege of disposing of their little parasite, saying that it was only fair since Tenten was her prisoner.

Karin was intent on making her death as slow and as painful as possible.

A ninja must not show emotions; it's a sign of weakness... she kept chanting to herself but it was pointless. The tears came anyways. She'd cry until there were no tears left, just dry sobs. Surprisingly it made her feel better. Her mind was clearer, her morale steadier. And she soon began to accept the fact that in a matter of days, her body would eventually give in to the lack of nutrients and she'd die. In fact she looked forward to her death. It would give her the oblivion she craved.

The only thing that she'd regret was having to make her team mates and friends search for her in vain, because she'd be a pile of bones gathering cobweb before they could even infiltrate Orochimaru's hideout. She thought about Neji, Lee, Naruto, Gai–sensei, Hinata, Sakura, and the others sacrificing themselves in order to complete an impossible, non—existent mission.

Occasionally Karin would stop by to mock and insult her—telling her how much of a useless kunoichi she was. It was true she thought grimly—she was useless, she had always been useless. Not having a family or possessing any unique abilities. Always playing backup or never being assigned to any real life–threatening missions. That's why it came as such a shocker when Tsunade had assigned her to this S–ranked mission. Maybe she had finally realized Tenten's worth or lack thereof and decided to put the poor kunoichi out of her misery by sending her to her death bed.

“A jutsu have been cast upon these rocks, if you try to use your chakra, it will literally suck your chakra directly out of you. And you'll die,” Karin had told her. “Then again, you'd be doing everyone a favour,” then there was that cruel laughter that Tenten had grown accustomed to. “Sasuke would be heartbroken if you didn't die by his hands, so don't go trying anything.”

Uchiha...how could she have forgotten those piercing onyx eyes?

The footsteps were getting louder.

Her heart started beating fast with expectation. She had reached the point where just having the stone rolled away would be paradise; where space and air and light would seem heaven–sent; where to see another human being—no matter whom—would make her happy.
Then fear set in. What did this person want with her? What would he do to her? She might be safer in her little burrow than in his hands, whoever he was.

The footsteps were coming nearer.

“Tenten?”

She began to whimper. It sounded like Kabuto. Maybe if she kept quiet he'd leave.

The voice was more urgent now. “Tenten?”

Mustering all her strength she bent her head to peek through the slit. Instinctively she jerked her head back from the red glare that stared her in the eyes. In an instant, she knew with terrible, stupefying clarity that it was Sasuke. And he was angry; she could sense it in the flare of his chakra.

“I know you're in there.”

With a harsh rasping noise, the stone rolled back. The absolute, stygian blackness gave way to the glorious dimness. It took her eyes a while to adjust to the sudden burst of light within the hole. It took her mind a much longer time to fully acknowledge the fact that Uchiha Sasuke was standing at the opening of the hole, Sharingan activated and a dangerous scowl was evident on his deviously handsome features. For some unexplainable reason, her heart pounded uncontrollably in her chest and her nerves were jittery to the point where her stomach wouldn't stop churning—making her feel nauseous.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded. Apparently they had forgotten to fill the Uchiha in on their latest accomplishment.

She crept further down into the hole if that was possible. This was a confrontation that she was not looking forward to. If the rumours were true, then she had every reason to be afraid of this man. He was dangerous; with just one look he could kill her or send her off into a world of insanity—not that she wasn't on her way there already.

“Just kill me and get over with it,” she mumbled.

“Don't tempt me,” he warned, studying her for a moment then held out his hands for her to take it.

Brown eyes widen and her mouth gaped. Sasuke was offering her his hand. What for? She shook her head furiously and bumped her head on the stone roof. “No.”

“Come out,” he instructed, his voice like steel.

“No,” she challenged shakily.

“It wasn't a request. It was a command,” he said gingerly. Sasuke stood on his side of the hole, grating, unable to get his large frame through the opening. “Get out now Tenten, or I'll sent these rocks collapsing down on you,” she felt the ground beneath her began to tremble, and in that moment she knew Sasuke was not joking, if he said he'd kill her, he'd do it—in fact he might actually enjoy it.

And eerie chill crept up her spine and she was suddenly genuinely afraid of dying by the hands of the Uchiha. Tenten rushed out of the hole, forgetting to stoop and bumped her head in the roof once again. She squeezed through and fell into his outstretched arms. She was shaking so badly, he had to hold her very tight to hold her at all. She felt his hand stroke her hair and she knew in her bones that he was someone to fear, so why did she feel secure?

“Please just kill me,” she said fiercely, her voice trembling.

“I will...” he assured her with a low grunt. Then he swooped her up in his arms, and began to walk steadily down what looked like a well lit hallway. “Eventually.”

“What are you doing?” she felt curiously passive and inert; her body sluggish, her thinking slow and lethargic.

Sasuke took her to what looked like his room. Tenten blinked in confusion as he placed her in a chair and told her to stay there. She would have bolted out the door the moment that he had left but she couldn't; her limbs had failed her and she hadn't the courage to dare to disobey the Uchiha—she was paralyzed by fear brought on both by his intimating aura and the ordeal that she had just endured.

He returned with a bowl of steaming hot ramen and placed it in her unsteady hands. "Eat it," he ordered.

She flushed and refused, “I'd rather die.”

“That's fine by me,” he growled and sat down on his bed frowning at the stubborn brunette. Even on her death bed she was still as stubborn as he had remembered her to be—never wanting to accept aid for anyone as it made her feel powerless. In truth when he looked down at the fragile woman just barely managing to sit up on the chair, he sees a bit of himself—a vulnerable female duplicate of himself. And it infuriated him that her destitution was so contagious. He hated it. He supposed that this affinity was always there between himself and the weapon wielder.

The room felt silent and Sasuke was suddenly tempted to use his Sharingan to compel her to eat the damn bowl of ramen. She just sat there staring at the ramen as though it was nothing. She was still shaking, her skin was drained of all its colour and she looked a little under weight. How long did they have her cooped up in that hell hole?

He shot her a disapproving look but she just looked blankly into his dark eyes. He felt a tug in his chest when their eyes locked and he had to clench his fist at his sides to refrain from physically forcing her to eat. He felt constraint to not allow her to make herself starve to death. For some undiscovered reason he reckon that a part of him would slowly deteriorate knowing that he watched and allowed her to drive herself into ruination. “If you don't eat you'll die,” he told her solemnly.

“Then let it be...” she said feebly. “It's not like you care.”

He smirked, “You're right, I don't,” he admitted. “But I don't want to have to clean up a corpse.”

The remark came as no surprise; in fact it humoured her. “Then you should have just let me rot inside that hole,” she told him, earthen orbs looking paler than the last time he had gotten the chance to look at them.

“Maybe I should have,” he growled, and in the space of a heartbeat he was by her side, roughly grabbing her by her shirt collar. Her feet hung in mid-air. The bowl of ramen fell from her hands to the ground and spilled its content on to the rug. “Don't tempt me Tenten. I will kill you without a second thought,” his red eyes boring into her bronze ones.

His hand snaked around her throat and he fought with himself to keep from strangling her—he felt helpless looking at her as if he were the one suffering in her place. He looked down at her dirt–encrusted clothes and grimaced, “I want you to go get cleaned up and you will eat the next bowl of ramen without any resistance,” he said, Sharingan spinning.

She nodded in compliance and he released her, letting her fall to the ground with a heavy thud. She gasped and scramble to her feet. He didn't know how else to express himself, violence was his way of nature.

He never intended to wage war against his friends but they were insistent upon defending the village that destroyed him. And because of their lack of understanding and compassion towards his decision, he promised himself that whoever got in the way would perish along with the place they had grown to call home.

Tenten wasn’t an exception, she was a complication.

"When I was younger I saw my daddy cry
And curse at the wind.
He broke his own heart and I watched
As he tried to reassemble it."

He watched as she staggered towards the direction of his bathroom and doubted that she could even handle to take a shower in her condition. He knew they'd be hell to pay when Orochimaru found out that he has been entertaining the prisoner in his quarters but he didn't care. He couldn't allow them to continue mistreating her the way they were. Perhaps it was because of his personal feelings towards the brunette but there was just something so barbaric about what they were doing to her... to him.

Tenten went into the bathroom and took off the pink sweat shirt and the jeans that she had been wearing for as long as her nearly unconscious mind could remember. They smelled mouldy and damp. Her bra and bikini panties followed. She sat on the edge of the tub then stared apathetically at the pile of clothes. She felt like the empty shell of a human being. It was ridiculous, but suddenly she didn't have the strength to turn on the tap. She didn't even trust herself to not slip into the tub and fall.

A numbing listlessness stole over her. She felt claustrophobic. She realized it was her minds way of protecting her from the ordeal that she had been undergoing for so long. Later she would be able to confront it, but not now. It was like a combat fatigue. She tried to rouse herself, but was unable to. So she just sat there, for how long, she didn't know.

When Sasuke tapped on the bathroom door, she didn't answer. She had forgotten everything for a moment and was wondering who was knocking on the door. She was reaching for her clothes when he came in. His look changed from worried to consternation when he saw her. Then the furrowed lines in his face vanished, but the activated Sharingan was still in place.

He took a large bath towel off the rack and wrapped it around her. His hands were strong and reassuring on her body; the towel deliciously warm and soft. Tenten closed her eyes a moment, relishing the sensation.

Taking her by the shoulders, he half lifted her from the edge of the tub. “Sit over there,” he commanded gruffly. “I'll run the water for you.”

He felt that familiar tug in his chest again when those traumatized chocolate eyes locked with his. He deactivated his Sharingan and gave her a look of understanding.

She sat down obediently and listened to the rush of water as Sasuke turned both taps on.

“Alright, Tenten,” he said and she stood. The towel dropped and she stared down at it stupidly. I really ought to pick that up.

Sasuke looked at her, his glance running down, then up her body. He felt his cheeks burned when he it finally kicked in that he was gawking at her. She was incredibly beautiful. Slender, with waist you could fit both hands around, but with full up tilting breast and long, elegant legs. He helped her into the tub and turned away mentally punching himself. But he wasn't just a ruthless, rogue ninja, he was a man too. And no man who claims to be a real man would pass up the opportunity to acknowledge true feminine beauty when he sees it.

For a second, the idea of sleeping with her right then and there flashed across his mind. She wouldn't resist—in the state she was in, she'd hardly know what was happening. The idea left just as quickly as it came, washed away by a tide of repugnance at the very thought of doing such a thing.

Tenten just sat dumbly in the tub of water staring at nothing in particular. What he did next, he had swallowed a lot of his pride to do. He knew it in his heart that if it were another female, he wouldn't be in here.

A ninja must never show emotions, it's a sign of weakness.

But he was completely hopeless against the certain power that she held over him.

He didn't know when it started but somewhere between escaping Sakura's advances and challenging the Hyuuga, Sasuke had found himself taking joy in the simpler things in life—and Tenten was as plain as simple as they came. And he had admired that about her, because before the Uchiha massacre, his life had been simple. He desired that simplicity though he knew the likes of such would never return to his clutches.

"And my momma swore
That she would never let herself forget.
And that was the day that I promised
I'd never sing of love if it does not exist."

He found comfort in knowing that simple Tenten was safe because the fact of the matter was…she was his second half... the completion to his existence. He had tried to fight that knowledge aside banishing it from his mind. But as the days had passed and he found a little bit of his old life in hers, he could no longer escape the truth. She took the form of his mother; without judgement, nurturing, fair and honest. That was the side of her that had drawn him at first. He soon discovered that her expertise with weapons and her willingness to lend a helping hand to others in that regards, reflected his exact memories of his brother. But what had disgusted him most about her likeness to Itachi, was her patriotism.

Like his father, she disliked any sign of weakness. This was the side of her that he could relate to the most. While not callous, she was keen on letting others know just how far she was willing to go to be declared the winner of a battle. Her perseverance intrigued him, and he admired her greatly for the great kunoichi that she was destined to be.

In some ways he had always envied her. How was it that she could live with the knowledge that she had no one? How was it that she could go home with a smile on her face knowing that there was no one there waiting for her? She grew up without ever knowing the love of a family, of a bond; of anyone. How did she survive it all—living in the shadows of her team mates and not being fully recognized for the potentials that she truly had? How? She made it look so easy to be insignificant and yet she was in every possible way, the only one that mattered. The only one out of Konoha's vast female population that he thought was of great significance.

Why was this? Because she was the lost half of himself.

"Maybe I know somewhere deep in my soul
That love never lasts.
And we've got to find other ways to make it alone.
Or keep a straight face."

“Open your eyes!” he instructed when she started tilting to one side, from obvious lack of sleep and energy. He sighed when she flung her eyes open only to have them helplessly fall back shut.

Sasuke looked down at the pathetic creature sitting in his bath tub and felt himself burn with an unwanted need to protect her. To keep that half of himself locked away from the rest of the world; he hated it. He didn't like to care, in fact it made him feel weak. But there was a certain strength that came with the realization—one that you can only understand if you've ever been in his shoes.

Reluctantly he began to pour water in her hair, watching it cling to her face, drenching her pale skin. He couldn't believe he was doing this!

She shuddered, when the water unexpectedly made contact with her cold, dirty flesh. She tensed when she felt his fingers in her hair as if she thought he would snap her neck any minute now. But he didn't... he was actually...massaging the scalp? Shampooing it and washing away weeks of grime and muck that had taken up residence in her long brown locks. His fingers creating a mesmerizing motion that seemed to mesh with the unsteady rhythmic beat of her heart.

He soaped her breasts and abdomen, her long, firm thighs and back. He washed her feet carefully and her slim arms and hands. The he rinsed off her body with a bath sponge, lifted her out of the tub and gently towelled her dry. He found a big cotton shirt in his closet. He eased it over her head, past her shoulders, and down her slender sides. After she got cleaned up he prepared another bowl of ramen and he fed the kunoichi who offered no resistance. Then he got the bed ready and when she had lain down, pulled the covers up over her. Sasuke sat on the bed next to her shaking his head.

Orochimaru was not going to like this at all.

But he felt inclined to allow her a chance to prove to both Konoha and herself that she could be greater than she already was. The village had shunned her, deemed her unworthy of the ninja name. And for that she should at least share a common goal. Watching Konoha fall to pieces...

“Are you going to kill me now?” he placed his hands on hers and quickly drew it back when he realized what he was doing.

“Don't appear so anxious, you might give me the wrong idea,” a smirk played at the corner of his lips.

Suddenly it all hit her. Sasuke had given her a bath. She had been stark naked and he had washed her, touched her everywhere, held onto her so she wouldn't fall while he patted her body dry. She closed her eyes against the embarrassment of it. Heat, like liquid fire, swept her body. She raised the blanket to her chin, so he wouldn't see her trembling beneath it. But it wasn't shame she was feeling now — it was a sense of completion, an eerie sense of relief.

As he was about to get up, he felt a fragile hand clasped his elbows. “What is it?”

He saw her stiffen, “Don't leave. Please,” she whimpered.

"And I've always lived like this
Keeping a comfortable distance.
And up until now I have sworn to myself
That I'm content with loneliness."

“No one will bother you in here Tenten. No one is that daring. Go get some rest,” he ordered.

But she wouldn't release his arm, no matter how much her limbs were protesting. “Please...”

He shrugged her off and scowled. Tenten's soft gaze vanished and her lips came firmly together. Their eyes locked again. “It is not in your place to request anything of me,” his voice was crisp and reeked with authority. But his brain was sending a different message out to his limbs for he took her in his arms when all her protective mechanisms had caved in and she started to cry.

“A ninja must never let his or her emotions get in the way of anything,” he said more to himself than her. He lay back on the bed and held her against him, smothering her hair, hating himself for being so weak towards her tears. “It's okay Tenten. Please don't cry,” he frowned; his mind dismal mist of frustration and exasperation.

She cried without stopping, and he just sat there listening to her ranting, whispering words that had no meaning but told her that he was there. And no matter how much he wanted to desert her and this strange feeling she was coercing into his chest, he couldn't—he was finally reunited with his second self, the half that felt, that cared, the half that he had neglected because his held him back.

She was the half that gave him purpose—the half to gave him drive. On look at her and he’d remember what Konoha had done to him. They left him an orphan—alone. Like Tenten. And though he wished he could bend his mind to his situation the way she tried to for hers; he couldn’t allow the death of his clan to go like that.

The difference between himself and the brunette was that she had never known the comfort of a family; hence she wouldn’t know the hurt he felt after losing his. No one deserved to feel as alone and as empty as he had felt. But he supposed the depth of her misery surpassed his because she was brought into this world alone. Not knowing who she was of ever truly feeling the sense of belonging everybody needs.

And that was why they would make the perfect team. He’d teach her to cope with the pain, to not care, to not feel and in return she’d teach him exactly how to do those things. He would need no one, nor would she; heck, they wouldn’t even need each other because they would become one.

She didn’t know it yet but together, they’d destroy the village…for what they did to him…to her.

Later after she had finally finished sobbing and emptied her insides of her fear, terror and sadness, she felt fatigue. But they both just laid there basking in the comfort of utter and complete soul–consolidation.

“A ninja must never allow personal attachments to deter his goals, but some goals are more important than others,” Sasuke said. “And those that are not as vital have to be delayed in order to facilitate the more significant things in life.” He was now holding her hand, his strong fingers tightening their grip. What was with the speech? “I was sent to kill you tonight,” he admitted and she gasped. “That was my goal.”

Did the temperature in the room suddenly drop?

“I've never failed an execution mission before,” he leaned closer. “Nothing gets in my way,” she heard the sound of metal against metal, a sound which would have been like music to her ears, but given the situation it was her death call. “But I think I'll risk the consequences this time...” She watched his lips descend to hers in a crescendo of excitement. His breath was warm against her lips before she felt the gentle pressure of his mouth over hers.

"Because none of it was ever worth the risk."

“...Because, you are the only exception.”

"I've got a tight grip on reality,
But I can't let go of what's in front of me here.
I know you're leaving in the morning when you wake up.
Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream."

“At least...that’s what I’m on my way to believing.”