Chapter Text
There was no time to process the cold sting of the metal table as her body was tossed atop of it. Sakura hissed, trying to pull her arms and legs into herself, giving any attempt to avoid what was coming.
The smell of heated flesh lingered in the room, absolutely stifling and making her throat tighten.
It took four men to hold her down while the fifth in the room held the brand into the furnace. It crackled repeatedly, each sound making her flinch despite herself.
"You fucking pricks!" Sakura forced her head up and spat. She didn't know where it landed but she got a hint when a hand tightened against her ankle just for another to smack down against her thigh as a warning.
"It won't hurt so bad if you calm down...." The dark haired man with the branding iron said simply, "Just breathe." When he turned to face her, it was the first time he truly looked unfamiliar.
At first, she could have sworn there was something still there in his eyes- something human. But as he began to step toward her, with no fucking indication he felt anything at all, she knew it was hopeless. He wasn't the boy she once knew, and he likely never would be again.
The closer he got, the more she could feel the narrowed heat coming from the iron.
It terrified her, she felt sick and her body was trembling even as she still fought.
"No-no please-no don't!"
His hand pressed against her collarbone, pressing her harder against the table before he spoke with venom, "Stay still."
It was like he had whispered it, but it still rang in her ear like a bomb.
The heat was unbearable, the sizzling of her skin made her cry out like she never had before. Her throat burned but not nearly as bad as her skin. Gasping for air before screaming out again, her entire body gave out from its attempts at defense and simply grew numb at every place beside where her skin turned into fire. It was worse than she could have ever imagined, and when he pulled the iron away, she knew.....
Sakura was marked now. And that meant only one thing.
Control.
Forced loyalty.
The Uchihas fan now imprinted on her shoulder would be a waking reminder of the risks she was willing to take- but also the trap she had walked into.
She was in a den of fucking vipers, and the truth was- enduring their poison was the only option.