Disclaimer: I, Lady Sassy Sas, do hereby disclaim all rights to the wonderful world that is Naruto.
Her gaze swept across the area, pin-pointing where the rest of the shinobi were, and stopping momentarily when she found Kinjo sitting in his usual place. Her smile faltered a bit when their eyes met but otherwise she didn't show any of her hesitation. Tonight was the most difficult yet, she hurt all over and it was hard to restrain the tears because of the pain. It was frustrating not being able to use her chakra properly.
Worst still, Kakashi had not stopped staring at her since she walked out onto the floor and neither had Genma. She ignored them as best she could but it wasn't easy. Walking in stilted movements she headed for the bar, got a drink and went to a booth.
"Hey there baby, what can I do for you tonight?" she sent a flirtatious look to the man in the booth.
He started, obviously not a regular. Sakura inwardly rolled her eyes at having to deal with a new customer but she smiled coyly at him and sat down beside him. "How about a drink?" She gestured at the bottle of saké she had set down on the table.
"Uh…sure?" the man was clearly uncomfortable.
Sakura poured a small amount into two dishes and offered one to him. When he took it off of her she smiled and drank hers. The man quickly followed.
"So what's your name?"
"S-Satoshi."
"You certainly look wise." She leant towards him and looked at him from beneath her lashes while resting her hand gently on his upper arm.
She felt him shiver slightly and then freeze. She watched as he doubted his decision to be here and after a few more seconds of internal argument he relaxed slightly.
"And what do I call you?" he asked.
"Yua."
"Yua-san, it's a pleasure to meet you." He smiled at her shyly.
Sakura smiled back gently, "Just Yua, please. We're not much for formality here."
Satoshi nodded in response and poured them more sake. As they minutes ticked by and they drank moderately, he relaxed even further and even started to have an easy-going conversation with her and even attempted to flirt back at her.
"You have a sharp mind, Satoshi, just like your name implies." She smiled warmly at him.
He laughed and scratched behind his ear. "Thank you, Yua."
They lapsed into comfortable silence until the manager of the floor appeared at the side of their booth and motioned at his watch. Yua nodded and looked at the young man beside her and put her hand on his forearm to get his attention.
"I'm afraid the session is over."
Satoshi nodded and the sparkle in his eye disappeared slightly, "Oh okay. Could I perhaps come back tomorrow and see you again?"
"It's up to you, Satoshi. You're the customer and you can request me if you want."
He nodded and stood up, helping her to her feet as well, "How do I do that?"
"Ask the Floor Manager."
"…Right…"
Sakura laughed, "I'll point him out."
After Satoshi had finished speaking to the Floor Manager she went over to him. "Who do I have next?"
"Booth Ten."
Sakura narrowed her eyes but nodded. She hated when he didn't give the answer to her question. Turning around she made her way to the booth and cursed as the injuries too their toll on her and she began to limp more prominently.
As she came to the booth she nearly stopped in horror. There were Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, Ino and Sai. Naruto and Hinata sat together as did Sasuke and Ino which meant she was to…flirt with Sai. How the hell does one flirt with a social delinquent? Sakura's mind raced as she put on a flirtatious smile and sat beside him.
"Hey handsome, what's your name?"
Sai gave a semi-fake smile before answering. "Is that sarcasm?"
Sakura's smile became a little more forced. "No, I was being sincere. I'm Yua." She batted her eyelashes at him.
"Is something in your eyes?"
I won't hit him. I won't scowl. I will stay calm.
"Why? Can you see something? Want to take a closer look?" she asked in a sultry tone. She scooted closer to him and brought her face an inch with his.
Sai glanced at the others for help but he saw Naruto sniggering away while Hinata tried to grab his attention again, and Sasuke and Ino just smirked at him. He was going to find no help from any of them.
Sakura had to bite back a smile as well. Instead, she leaned even closer to him before moving her mouth to the shell of his ear and whispered seductively. "Maybe you'd like to go somewhere more private for a look?"
She felt him stiffen in response, unsettled by her proximity, before he bolted up. "Excuse me." And rushed off.
Sakura stared after him in confusion and curiosity but inside her other self was laughing manically at his quick escape.
"Wow, I've never seen him that flustered before." Naruto laughed. "Even Sasuke can handle women better than that."
Sasuke glared at him. "Watch it, dobe."
"Or you'll do what?"
"Really want to know?"
"Go for it!"
Sasuke launched himself at the blonde and the grappled on the floor while Hinata looked at them in mild amusement and Ino looked bored. When the cerulean eyes turned to the hostess she sat up in alarm.
"Naruto, Sasuke! Stop it now." She said sharply and loud enough for them to hear how serious she was. Ignoring the others, Ino got up and took a couple of steps before she sat down beside Yua who was cowering behind her knees and shaking violently.
Sasuke was the first to stop and look up to see what Ino was concerned about. When he spotted the red-haired hostess he quickly got up, pulling Naruto with him and sat back down on the booth seat.
Naruto frowned at the hostess' reaction, wondering what was wrong. Hinata worried her lip and looked between the two.
"Hey, hey, hey. It's alright. They were just messing about, you know how boys their age get on; very few ever grow up." Ino rested her hand gently on the girl's upper arm trying to gain her attention.
Inside Sakura was trying her best not to lose her act. Ino thought that she was cowering due to fear but really seeing Naruto and Sasuke antagonise each other teasingly overwhelmed her with longing. She wanted so badly to throw her arms around Ino and cry her eyes out. She was fed up and wanted this mission to be over; to go home and get on with her life but that wouldn't happen until Kinjo was dead.
She felt Ino shaking her a little to get her attention but Sakura just tightened her arms around her legs further to stop herself from engulfing the blonde in a bear-hug.
"What's going on here?" somewhere on the edge of her mind Sakura recognised the voice as the Floor Manager. "Yua?"
"I don't know sir. She was flirting with our friend but he went to the restroom then those two over there were playing about and she sort of went like this." Ino explained from beside her.
Sakura heard the sound of clothes ruffling before large hand settled on her arms, "Yua? Yua, honey, answer me."
But Sakura wasn't going to the respond. She had shrunk in on herself and became unresponsive. She heard Ino say something and a few minutes later another male voice joined the others but unlike the others her ears perked up when he spoke.
"What happened?" Kakashi asked.
Ino and the others explained and she heard Kakashi sigh and the sound of him moving to join Ino and the Floor Manager in trying to get her attention. But rather than speaking to her, she felt a gloved hand gently push her hair away from her face and gently manoeuvre its way between her arm and head to cup her chin a raise her face for viewing.
Sakura's eyes met his and the look of hurt, pain and confusion in hers held his. Sakura knew she looked awful and that her tears had more than likely washed away her make-up showing parts of her bruises and cuts on her face.
She nearly threw herself at him when she saw the thinly disguised rage behind a veil of sympathy. It was hard. He was her partner and they confided in each other and comforted one another when needed. And right now, maybe more than ever, she needed him to comfort her. To hold her like a parent would hold a child and tell her it was just a bad dream and to protect her.
"Jesus. Not again, Yua." She barely registered the Floor Manager silently growl. She flinched when his hand came up to her face to gently trace the injuries. He quickly stopped and let his hand drop. "I'm going to have another word with Masamune."
Her silvery eyes looked to his in alarm and she started shaking her head rapidly. She felt the man sigh before grabbing her upper arms gently, "Yua, I'm going to have a word with him whether you want me to or not. I'm tired of seeing you come in here with various bruises and abrasions on your person when you left in perfectly fine condition the night before."
Sakura felt more tears well in her eyes. The Floor Manager –Kouki- may be an ass at times but under the tough exterior he was a gentle and compassionate man.
"Hey, now. Don't cry. A pretty face like yours shouldn't have such sorrow on it, hmm?" he smiled gently at her before it faded and he released his breath softly. "You're taking the rest of the night off."
Before anyone could do anything, Kouki had her in his arms. He turned and strode down the aisle getting the attention of the barman. He signalled that he was in charge while he took care of the girl in his arms.
He walked out to the staff area and past the girls' rooms before taking a left and down another narrow corridor before stopping outside his office. He opened the door and walked into a spacious office with a desk and chair facing adjacent to the door and a sofa on the other side. He walked over and set Sakura down of the sofa.
"You can stay here and rest. I'll lock the door so nobody will disturb you, alright?"
It took her a moment to register what he was saying but she nodded her head when it did. He looked at her clearly searching for something but he got up a left quickly left. The lock of the door sounded and then his footsteps retreating down the hall.
Sakura sat there for five minutes, puling herself together and calming down. Two minutes later saw her by his desk and searching through the papers on it. When she didn't find anything she started rifling through the drawers but had no luck. All he had were receipts for the club and name of suppliers.
Sakura huffed in frustration and started to look around the rest of the room but came up with nothing. She hadn't really expected to find anything but she needed to be sure. Hearing the lock of the door turning she dashed back to the sofa, ignoring the pain it caused and lay down and pretended to sleep.
The door opened slowly and quietly and somebody entered without a sound – a shinobi. The door closed a couple of seconds later. Whoever it was made their way to her quickly, knelt down beside her and she sensed a hand being held close to her nose. It stayed for a few moments before retreating.
"She's asleep." Genma said in a low register so as not to disturb her.
"Thank goodness." Hinata murmured back.
Sakura listened as Genma moved away from her and started to rifle through the desk as well and she almost grinned when he huffed in irritation.
"You getting' anything?" he questioned the Hyuga.
"No. There's nothing in here."
"What about…?"
"She doesn't have an abnormal chakra level or control outside that of a civilian."
Genma grunted, "Damn."
"…Did you want it to be Sakura? She's beaten up pretty badly by the looks of it."
"You have no idea." He muttered before answering Hinata. "Of course I don't want it to be Sakura. Nobody should go through that kind of physical and/or mental torture but it would make our job a helluva lot easier, no?"
"Yes but that would also put her in more danger would it not?"
Genma didn't answer opting for retreating instead. "Come on; let's go before he comes back. There's nothing here."
"What about-"
"Leave her. She's not our concern."
Sakura felt the hesitation and reluctance from Hinata but the navy-haired girl didn't voice her concerns and followed her superior's orders. She also sensed Genma's gaze on her before he too left the room.
It was around one in the morning when Sakura found herself back in the apartment she rented. Usually after a horrible night like this she'd find any alcohol she had left and drown in it but not tonight.
Her emotions and her brain were too frayed and scattered to handle the alcohol. She walked over to the baby grand that Kinjo had given to her a year back when he found out she could sing and compose. She sat on the stool and skimmed the keys with the tips of her fingers.
She was too drained to compose or think of any original lyrics. She flipped through the sheet music she had but nothing made her want to play. She gazed at the keys with an empty look.
She ran through songs she knew how to play in her head and one stood out. The only problem was if she played that and Kakashi, his ninken or any of the others were watching her it would be a dead giveaway.
She decided against it and chose another one instead. But instead of singing she just played the music and listened to it as the hammers struck the chords and produced the notes. She closed her eyes and started to play more vigorously, letting the music flow through her and soothe all the physical and emotional pain she was going through.
"'Cause I need, I need a hand to hold. To hold me from the edge, the edge I'm sliding over slow. 'Cause I need, I need your hand to hold. To hold me from the edge. The edge I'm sliding past, hold onto me…" she sang quietly as she finished the song.
She sniffed and went to lie on top of her bed. She stared blankly at the ceiling as tears slowly leaked from her eyes. And as thoughts slowly drifted through her head one of them stood out the most that made her feel more harrowed than ever: If one thing was certain it was that her undercover skills had improved vastly. She would have been happy about it…if it didn't leave her stranded.
This is un-beta'd as well and not the best of quality (read: crap) but at least it's something...right?
I'm sorry if it's confusing with the jump in views ^^" I'm first to admit it's far from my best work but I'll try and make the next chapter more interesting and less jumpy (and hopefully not leave the update as long as this has been =/).
Read and review or lurk and read!
Lady Sassy Sas xXx