Author's note: I wonder if I'm going to be slaughtered for taking so long to update. Forgive me; I've been rather busy of late ! Hope the chapter is to your liking, please enjoy !
'Italics' are flashbacks/Inner-Sakura's thoughts or persons on other end of phones, and lyrics (haha)
'Bold Italics' are thoughts in flashbacks.
"Inner Animals"
'Where the hell are my interns?' Viridian eyes swept the surrounding area as Sakura moved swiftly down the hall, pink hair fluttering behind her.
"Oi, Sakura!" Sakura stopped cocking her head to the left as a tall sandy haired blonde clad in similar garb to her own descended the last few steps to the ground floor.
"Ah, Temari! Have you seen my interns? I'm beginning to think Tsunade-shishou really killed them," a thoughtful look crossed the rosette's face as she pondered such an event happening, "…not that it would be so bad for me." she added as an afterthought. Temari laughed as she slung an arm around the shorter girl's neck.
"Two were sent to the Pit, one's cleaning bedpans and the other is running labs. Of course, there's always the chance they could be getting it on in the On-Call room, too. Who knows. I'm much more interested in other things however, such as how last night went." The forest-eyed female flashed a roguish grin at Sakura who grimaced – that blonde bimbo of a best friend was going to get it – and decided to play the card of ignorance.
"Your cock tease of a brother and my imbecile of a best friend stood me up for over half the night. Honestly, wasting my only night off like that." Sakura replied casually running nimble fingers through long pink tresses to work out the slight knots in the unruly mass as a fleeting thought of scheduling a hair appointment crossed her mind.
"Oh? Is that all?" The sly tone indicated to Sakura that her nonchalance at last night's events had not thrown the taller female off the trail of what had really transpired; her assumption was proven correct when Temari continued to speak.
"A little canary happened to pass a wonderfully juicy little tidbit to me." The pinkette wanted nothing more than to wipe that shit-eating grin from her friend's face and a rather vivid image of sewing the woman's mouth shut was supplied from her Inner. On second thought, going right to the source of the problem sounded better. She rather enjoyed Temari's company.
"Which of the blue-eyed blonde children of the damned ran their big mouth so I know whose tongue to surgically remove?" She queried resuming her trek down the hallway with the Suna native falling into step beside her.
"Neither, actually. Gaara and I spoke this afternoon; he wanted to make sure you were all right, so of course I wanted to know what could possibly have happened for my socially inept brother to be worried for the wellbeing of someone other than himself and Naruto. He didn't say much, so I went straight to the source. I do want a detailed play by play from last night." Temari wiggled her brows suggestively as a lascivious grin formed on her lips.
"Gaara's more like a raccoon…" Sakura murmured arching a pink brow in thought as she contemplated the redhead's animal counterpart. Temari wasn't stupid by any means; it was obvious to her that Sakura was deliberately changing the subject; she'd play along for now if only to enhance the enjoyment she would acquire in reminding the woman later that she had not evaded the topic as she seemed to believe.
"Seriously? You're pondering the nature of my brother's inner creature?" the grin slipped from Temari's face to be replaced by one of incredulity, "Seriously?!"
"You started it, calling him a canary. You should have said 'a little tanuki', it would have been a rather cute mental image, and it fits him well enough. He's cute and cuddly looking, but has a prickly disposition. He's rather quick to attack when provoked, too." There was a long pause before Temari spoke again.
"Okay, for one, Gaara and cute don't go in the same sentence. Two, are you still drunk? Should I put you on a banana bag?" Sakura snorted; Gaara was very attractive; unfortunately, it seemed as if all the good-looking ones batted for the other team, much to the chagrin of the emerald-eyed beauty.
'The one last night sure seemed to be all for playing in our field!' Images rose unbidden in her mind's eye at Inner Sakura's declaration, causing a flush to stain her cheeks.
"Oh ho. What could little Sakura-chan be thinking about?" Sakura's attention was drawn back to her companion to find that stupid grin plastered on her face again; she glared.
"I'm perfectly sober! Last night is none of your business either!" The shrill beeping of her pager broke off the rest of her rant. Sakura sighed in relief, lifting the small black device to eye level.
"Gotta go, see ya!" She declared with a smile at successfully escaping without having to divulge last night's excursion.
"We'll talk later, Haruno!" Temari's voice flowed after her, amusement lacing the tone. Damn, she hadn't escaped scot-free after all.
.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.
Sakura spent the next several hours running around the hospital carrying out various tasks as chief resident and several more performing open-heart surgery with the head of Cardiology, Shiranui Shizune, whose husband, Genma, worked in Plastics. The petite raven-haired female was the first apprentice of Hidden Leaf's chief, Tsunade. She was like an older sister to Sakura, watching over her and making sure that she remained healthy under the rigorous tutelage of the busty blonde hospital head. The soothing voice of Shizune drew her from reminiscing.
"Very good Sakura, you closed up the heart beautifully." Emerald rose to meet ebony, a fond smile on Shizune's face encouraging her.
"Thank you, Shizune-neesan." Sakura found herself returning the smile and proceeded to close the open chest cavity, her hands steady, and each stitch made with deft precision.
.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.
Steam filled the shower stall, a light sheen of perspiration and fog decorating the textured glass door. Water poured in a thick stream from a trio of faucets lining the ceiling over the titian haired male below, the adjoining navy tiled walls both held an identical duo of faucets running perpendicular to the ones overhead; a steady jet of warm liquid flowing forth to rinse the man. A waterproof screen and keypad, situated just inside the stall for easy access, controlled the pressure and temperature of the water.
A large, lean hand pressed against the slick tile for support as the male's head lolled back and a groan was heard. Water ran in rivulets over the upturned face, wet locks clinging to equally damp skin, smooth lips parted, panting as slanted lids closed over exotically ringed eyes. Hips jerked with each pump made over firm heated flesh while memories replayed in vivid detail, spurring his action on.
.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.
She stood bare before him save for the low riding scarlet boy-cut panties with lace edging.
"Come to me, Tenshi." Her viridian eyes darkened with desire and she began to slink slowly towards him with all the grace of a feline stalking its prey – a surprising feat to accomplish in her rather inebriated state. He followed her movements with rapt attention as she approached, coming to a halt between his parted legs, close but still not touching.
Her pert breasts fell just below eye level, the perfect height for him to lean in to taste the creamy flesh. A rosy nipple topped the crown of each mound surrounded by a dusky pink areola. His gaze moved over the rest of the exposed ivory skin, stopping to study the thin horizontal scar just above her left hipbone. His hand rose to trace the pale pink tissue, the edge of his mouth quirking when she shuddered. Curious, his arm slipped behind her back to search for a matching scar. He wondered briefly on the history behind the mark, but did not dwell long on it as he pressed his palm to the small of her back, drawing her forward.
Slender fingers tangled in the wild locks of his hair as he took a hardened bud between his teeth, tugging the sensitive nub before lips enclosed around it and a tongue swirled over the tip teasingly. She pulled at the strands her fingers were woven into and curved her back to offer more of the supple flesh to the moist warmth of his mouth, a mewl of pleasure bubbling from her throat.
.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.
Pein groaned as the sound echoed in his mind, thumb gliding over the head of his shaft followed by a quick squeeze and firm tug before he came, spilling onto his hand with a grunt. He stood beneath the pressurized water with closed eyes for several moments as the remains were rinsed from his body, exiting the shower soon after. He wrapped a fluffy white towel around his waist as he moved to stand before the Linea Aqua double basin vanity. Two navy ceramic basins sat atop a tempered glass counter top, a stainless steel base supporting the solid hardwood cabinet and matching freestanding side storage shelf and cabinet. A simple, borderless rectangular mirror adorned the wall above the sinks; a two by four stained in the same rich color of the cabinets positioned just below the mirror. Resting atop the freestanding shelf and cabinet were several pieces of jewelry. The first item removed from the pile was a simple silver ring, a red gem centered in it with the kanji for 'zero' in it that he slipped on to the thumb of his right hand. From there he proceeded to attach the numerous facial piercings; ears, lip, and nose. The last to be put in place was a barbell that he placed through his left nipple and capped with a metal bead.
He moved to the entrance of the bathroom, pulling the heavy wooden door open with ease and stepped into his bedroom. Ringed eyes stared blankly at the now vacant bed, trailing slowly to the scattered sheets on the floor, then to the open doorway. He strode purposefully out of his room and peered over the edge to the flat below just as the door of his apartment shut. Long legs carried him swiftly down the stairs and to the entrance. He stepped out into the small lobby only to find it empty.
This was definitely a first for Rin'Negan Pein. He re-entered his apartment slightly annoyed, partly amused, highly surprised, and intrigued. He was not promiscuous by any means, the few women he brought home were on very rare occasions, and they did not leave his bed willingly. Those women were usually shallow gold-diggers, beauties on the outside with no substance on the inside, and while he hardly cared to have a woman that he could connect to on an emotional level, he wanted one that was not after his name and his money, and caught his interest both physically and intellectually. He had a thing for uniquely featured natural beauties and those were quite hard to find. Pein wondered if perhaps she had not known who he was, as impossible as it seemed. He scoffed lightly at the notion that anyone could possibly not know who he was as he owned at least a third of the city.
He pulled the towel from his waist and set about getting dressed, he did have business to attend, throwing a brief glance at the clock by the bed – yes, business to attend and he was late. He tossed the rumpled blankets onto the unmade bed and glanced up as red flashed in his peripheral.
Red.
Red panties to be exact.
The corner of his mouth tilted up in an amused smirk as he moved towards the tall floor lamp to retrieve the garment. She'd left without any underwear on. A deep chuckle escaped him as he tossed the skimpy piece of cloth onto the bed and left the room. A woman had been in such a hurry to escape him that she'd run out without her panties. Either she did not remember the events that occurred the previous night, she was married, – though that hardly stopped any others – she did not know who he was, or she just did not care about his status. He was going to have to find her. Lucky for him, he knew of the loud blonde that had shouted her name in the club. Uzumaki Naruto was best friends with one of his closest friend's younger brother. His mind made up, he left the apartment to meet up with Uchiha Madara.
.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.
Uzumaki Naruto sneezed; a loud, obnoxious, embarrassing sneeze, one that seemed to shout to the world that his personality was just the same, but he was oblivious to the murmurs and looks of disapproval sent his way as he rubbed at his nose.
"Must you always make a scene when you're in public?" The blonde scowled at his ebony haired companion whose hair stuck up in the back closely resembling that of a chicken's ass. The thought made the scowl falter shortly before he remembered the haughty tone his friend had used.
"Excuse me for sneezing without asking permission first, Teme." He replied sarcastically, rolling his eyes skyward. Uchiha Sasuke scoffed.
"Dobe, why are you here?" Onyx narrowed as the blonde shrugged.
"Just thought I'd come see what was up…" Onyx narrowed further at the tone; something was up.
"Spill." Naruto fidgeted, shifting his weight from foot to foot.
"Well you see… I kind of forgot what I was supposed to get for Itsuki's birthday and what time it was… and how old he's turning!" Sasuke was silent as he contemplated murder.
"Uh, Sasuke, you're turning blue…" He released the breath he'd been holding through his nose, teeth clenched.
"You have three seconds to get out of here before I kill you." Naruto didn't wait for the countdown to begin as he darted from the room.
.o.o.o.o.o.o.o.
Sleep. All she wanted to do was go home and sleep. She caught a strong whiff of blood and bleach and latex, and decided that maybe a shower was in order first. Luckily, she hadn't run into Temari after their initial meeting and was likely home free for the rest of the night. It was going on twelve a.m. and she had to be in at six in the morning for a double shift. She hailed a cab outside the hospital; there were always at least two, but usually she drove.
It took twenty minutes to arrive at her house, a charming one-story with a wraparound porch and swing, a cobblestone pathway and unattached garage. She paid the driver before hurrying up the path, quickly unlocking the door to enter the safety of her home. She removed her shoes with a sigh of relief and proceeded upstairs for a much needed shower and then bed. She showered quickly, wetting her hair and washing her body – she would take a more thorough one later in the morning. She slipped on an old t-shirt that had probably belonged to Naruto at one point before climbing into bed. Sakura was out before her head hit the pillow.