In the past forty-eight hours Haruno Sakura had been locked out of her apartment, shot at, held hostage by a gunman, kidnapped and held captive by her mysterious but extraordinarily good-looking next-door neighbour, tossed into a car trunk, taken to a shady back-alley hideout entrance where she was certain she would be murdered, interrogated (but thankfully not tortured), employed into an unknown and probably dangerous organization by her beloved professor – and finally, put under the charge of aforementioned extraordinarily good-looking next door neighbour. In short: the past two days had been a roller-coaster of unpredictable twists and turns, new terrifying heights and improbable discoveries. There was no other explanation for it – she was in shock. Otherwise she would not have agreed to the insane proposition made to her by Professor Tsunade – no matter how tempting the prospect of private tutoring from her mentor was. She could not simply drop all of her classes. Even if she was mentored by the best, without a practising license she could not enter into the medical world that had been her goal since she was a child.
"Wait." Sakura said for what felt like the hundredth time, pinching the bridge of her nose in between her fingers as she tried to come to grips with the onslaught of new information. "Slow down. This is absurd. You're trying to have me believe...?"
Her new superior, Sasuke, as she routinely heard him called, let out an irritated sigh. He was neither very patient or good at explaining things, although perhaps she was biased due to her fierce dislike of him. After all, the man had kept her prisoner in his bedroom for two days (which was not nearly as exciting as it sounded.) And then there was that attitude: the insufferable air he carried about him of someone who thought he was better than everyone else.
"We are an intelligence organization called Konoha. Our purpose is to combat the evil and corruption affecting the governing body of this country. Our enemy is the Akatsuki: a group of unknown individuals who want to seize control of the country. They're a terrorist organization with deep roots in the cabinet. Unbeknownst to you an unseen war has been waging for this country's future for years."
They were still in the same dimly-lit underground complex she had been brought to, although now she and Sasuke had relocated to a private room – which looked much like the interrogation room she had been in previously, minus the flower-pattern wallpaper. She was separated from Sasuke by a metal table, and behind him was a mirror – probably a one-way mirror, if she had to guess, like the ones they used on television in police and spy movies.
She felt like she had been caught up in a spy movie.
"I've never heard of any of this." she said, desperate for more explanation – and for proof. The man was being both maddeningly curt and vague, but what he had told her thusfar was a hard story to swallow. The loud-mouthed blond one was no longer with them, and neither was her professor. She felt stressed and anxious to be alone with Sasuke. The one named Naruto might have been obnoxious, but his simpleminded kindness put her at ease. Sasuke was ... intense. "How am I supposed to believe it?"
"It doesn't matter to me whether or not you believe it." Sasuke scoffed. "But it is reality, and that reality is that now that you've gotten yourself involved, you either work for us or you will be silenced."
"Silenced." she repeated, a chill running down her spine.
"Killed." he clarified. "That's the way of things. You've seen too much; you know too much. They'll never find the body and that will be the end of things for you."
"Tsunade would never allow that." she breathed out, but there was no confidence behind her words.
"She wouldn't have a choice. Lady Tsunade is our leader – the Hokage. She has an organization and a country to protect. We do not allow sentiments to colour our decision-making. You will be micro-chipped and kept under close surveillance until your loyalty is assured. Either we'll have you relocated to a secure safe-house or kept here at the complex."
"Wait." Sakura said (this time for the one-hundredth and first time) holding up her hand to interrupt him. "I need to go home. My roommates and my friends will all be worried about me. I've missed my classes, missed my shifts at work..."
"Your home is wherever I decide to put you now." Sasuke stated coldly. "I don't think you realize the position that you're in. Many would not be given the same chance that you have. You are alive only because Lady Tsunade sees something in you that makes her believe you will become a worthwhile agent. This is your life now. You will have to limit your contact with civilians. You will not be able to talk about your work with anyone – not your friends, not your family. That is the first and most important rule of Konoha: don't involve civilians."
"But," Sakura interjected, growing increasingly frustrated with this man and his haughtiness. (And his hotness. Oh, how she was frustrated by his hotness.) "You involved me. That's why I'm here, isn't it? You did this to me. This is your fault."
A muscled in his perfectly chiseled jaw ticked. "You were the one who came barging into my apartment that night, nearly getting us both killed. Didn't your mother ever warn you not to go wandering into the houses of strange men after dark?"
Sakura gave no immediate reply, falling silent. If only she hadn't forgotten her key that morning. If only she hadn't forgotten her phone with her key. If only she had thought to ask Tenten if she could stay at her place for the night instead of waiting hours outside her apartment for Hinata or Ino to come home – then maybe none of this would have happened. She felt her eyes begin to prickle and threaten to tear at the thought, but fought it back. A thought occurred to her then: "what happened to the man? The one in your apartment? The one who tried to kill you?"
Without missing a beat, Sasuke replied: "he was silenced."
"Killed."
Sakura gulped, staring at her pale hands clenched in her lap. What exactly had she gotten herself into?
"Just as you will be," Sasuke continued, "if you put one toe out of line."
She lifted her green eyes to meet his, her heart giving an involuntary thump at the sheer intensity of his cool, black gaze. That was the hardened stare of a killer.
This was her new babysitter.
"Wait," she said (for the one hundredth and second time,) changing the topic and trying a new approach. He had to listen to reason. "You can't just leave me as a missing person forever. With the amount of fuss in the media ... I heard your TV on this morning – I'm in the news. I'll never be able to go outside. Ino and Hinata will never stop asking questions. You live next door to them. Sooner or later it's bound to cause problems. Just let me let them know that I'm alright. Let me go back home. I promise I won't try to run or tell anyone."
His expression remained hard and stoic but she could tell the gears in his mind were turning behind that dark, stormy gaze of his. "You can't be let out of my supervision. Not until your loyalty is completely assured."
Loyalty – that word again. What did that even mean?
"But I suppose you do have some point." he went on saying. "First we'll find a way to fix the situation, then I'll figure out where to keep you under surveillance. Then..." another sigh, "I guess we'll begin your training."
"Training?" Sakura blinked. "Training for what?"
"To make you useful." Came the reply. "Have you ever even fired a gun?"
She shook her head slowly; would she be expected to do so now? Would she be expected to shoot people? Would she become a killer, just like this man?
Another heavy sigh came from the man sitting across from her – he was clearly unimpressed with her answer. "Enough talking for now." he said. "It's time to go see Shizune."
(o)
"Hold out your right arm, please, palm up."
"OW!"
There was a loud click as the cool needle of the microchip gun was pressed against the woman's – Sakura's – forearm and the microchip embedded deep into her skin, leaving no trace behind but a trickle of blood running along her wrist and dripping onto the concrete floor. The injection site was quickly wiped dry and a bandage pressed over the spot. "Sorry. All done now." Shizune apologized calmly. "You might feel a bit of soreness in your arm for the next few days but it's perfectly normal."
Sasuke looked on impassively, his expression blank and inscrutable as ever as his new subordinate lifted her arm to her face and squinted at it. "What is it for?" she asked, as if there could be any other purpose for a micro-chip but the obvious.
"Keeping tabs on you." Sasuke answered her question nonetheless. The woman made a face and he was tempted to add that it was not exactly his idea of fun, either, to be saddled with such a temperamental and difficult creature as she, but in the end said nothing. This new arrangement was going to be difficult enough without constant squabbling. He had thought about going rogue for the briefest moment when Tsunade had assigned him the task of managing their new member. He was too important and valuable to waste his time monitoring some innocent doe-eyed girl whom had merely happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and there was a reason he had never been given trainees before; he didn't work well with others.
"Is there anything else?" Shizune asked politely, unaffected by the tension in the room.
"Have you pulled up her medical files? Is she all up to date on her vaccinations?"
"How did you get those? Those are private! And ... I'm not a pet dog." Sakura exclaimed. He ignored her.
"Good. Then that's everything for now, thank you." he told Shizune, who nodded her head before excusing herself. Sasuke turned to Sakura and addressed her next. "The microchip is enabled with a unique gps device that will allow us to track your whereabouts at all times. It is also used to gain access into the main base. If you remove it, we will know immediately, so I wouldn't recommend trying."
"This is an invasion of privacy." she protested, cradling her arm against her chest and frowning.
"I would suggest you get used to not having privacy." Sasuke shot back. "It's about to get worse from here on out." Naturally, her phone conversations and internet usage would be monitored, her room – wherever he eventually decided to put her – would be bugged with listening devices and cameras. Konoha would know where she was and what she was doing at all times. It was the same for all new members until they had earned themselves the unfailing trust of the Hokage. Their enemy was aware of them, and smart. One could never know when a spy might try to infiltrate their midst.
Contrary to hearing more complaints and arguments as he expected, Sakura's shoulders stooped, her green eyes downcast. He thought that she looked ... tired. Understandably so – he was tired as well, from listening to her struggles and muffled cries the past two nights in a row, concerned that some of the noise might leak through his sound-proofed walls and alert the neighbours. He supposed, however, from her point of view she'd had it worse than he. He glanced at her wrists and saw that there were chafe marks where he'd bound her – first with rope and then with handcuffs, untying her only so she could eat (although she had stubbornly refused to accept anything he had offered) or to let her go to the bathroom. He looked at his watch and then sighed. For now, the best thing would be for them both to get some rest, although first he would have to deal with the issue of how to make her 'reappear' without drawing police attention onto himself.
An unmarked vehicle by a public, well-lit park would do the trick nicely ... although, it would be hard for him to prepare a proper, safe location for her with the media buzz that was bound to follow, the police statements she would be required to give, her friends and family buzzing around her, and so on and so forth. After a few minutes of quiet thought he made up his mind what to do. Wordlessly, he walked over to the glass medicine cabinet anchored to the wall, opening a panel and skimming over the labels on each little bottle before finally making his selection: a small, clear liquid-filled vial. He grabbed an unused syringe next, filling it up with his back turned to Sakura before turning to face her slowly. She looked at him with distrust evident in her eyes, her gaze flicking quickly from the syringe in his hand to his face, and she stood up from her chair, stumbling hastily backwards.
"What are you doing with that? What did you just put in that syringe?" she demanded of him. "Don't come any closer or I'll-"
"You're annoying." he said, cutting her threat short, before cornering her and jabbing the needle into her thigh, pushing down the plunger and waiting for her to fall limply into his arms.
"There." he said to himself once he had done so, shifting her dead weight over his shoulder. "That's much better."
(o)
The next thing Sakura knew, she had woken up in a fresh, clean linen gown in a hospital bed, hooked up to an IV drip. Cheap fluorescent bars flickered overhead, and all sensation was being squeezed out of her hand by the teary-eyed Ino looming over her.
"Oh, Sakura." Ino sniffed. "You're awake! I'm so glad you're okay!"
"What ... happened?" Sakura muttered groggily, her mouth dry like it was filled with cotton; her mind was hazy and the world felt slightly disoriented and vague, coming back into focus slowly. She felt like she had been trapped in a sickeningly vivid dream world. She had been returning home from work after a shift at the bar, but she had been locked out of her apartment ... her neighbour, the gunman, Tsunade, Konoha – had it all been a dream?
"You've been missing for days." Ino explained gently. "We didn't know where you'd gone – we thought something terrible must have happened to you. We called the police ... everybody was searching for you. And then, out of nowhere, you turned up unconscious on a park bench. Some passerby walking their dog found you and called the police. They said you'd been ... drugged, but not ... assaulted or robbed. Do ... remember what happened to you at all? Who did this to you?"
"Who...?" Sakura repeated in a state of confusion. A blurry memory started coming back to her then: her neighbour, his dark eyes holding her captive as his approached, a syringe in his hand...
"Ino." A second, softer voice spoke. Hinata was here too? "Maybe we shouldn't make her talk about it."
"Y-you're right." Ino said. "Don't worry about trying to remember, Sakura. Just rest for right now. The important thing is that you're okay and you're back with us again. And look:" Ino's voice broke off in a quiet, subdued squeal. She sounded oddly excited for someone who's best friend had gone missing under suspicious circumstances only to turn up later on a park bench, drugged unconscious. "Look who came to visit you."
Her eyes followed Ino's bright gaze to the window, where who should be propped against the wall just next to it but one other than her mysterious, dark-haired neighbour. His piercing gaze was directed right at her.
So it had not been a dream, after all.
"This is Uchiha Sasuke, our neighbour. He said he wanted to come see that you were alright after hearing that you'd gone missing." Ino said, grinning like a cat that had caught the canary at Sakura, before batting her eyelashes coquettishly at Sasuke. If he was aware of her overt flirting, he didn't respond to it. "Isn't he just the sweetest thing ever?"
"Ah, yes." Sakura said tensely, her smile slightly strained. She couldn't help but wonder if that was even his real name. "How very kind of you."
She would find the time to punch him right in his pretty face later, when they were not in public. Revenge would be had for drugging her – and all the other terrible things he'd done. Now was her chance, she thought, to escape it all – but somehow she thought that even if she did scream or call for help it wouldn't make a difference; she would only be putting Hinata and Ino in danger as well.
"It was the neighbourly thing to do." Sasuke answered. "I'm only sorry that I didn't have the chance to introduce myself properly before this ... unfortunate circumstance."
His tone hardly contained a single ounce of sincerity or warmth, but Ino seemed taken in by him all the same. "No matter. Although, we are neighbours, so we should exchange cell numbers." she said.
Why did it bother her so much that Ino was flirting with Sasuke? Right, because he was dangerous. That was clearly the only reason why it irritated her. She had her friend's best interests at heart. It was utterly insane to think that she might be a little jealous.
"I don't have a cellphone." he denied her quickly.
"In this day and age?" Ino pressed. "We should remedy that."
A noncommittal "Hn." was his only reply. The breeze coming in through the window rustled his midnight-black hair. He had changed clothes since the last time she had seen him, now wearing a crisp blue button-down shirt and jeans that clung just in the right way to his perfectly shaped a––
Yes. She was definitely not in the least bit jealous of Ino or even remotely attracted to Uchiha Sasuke.
In honour of SasuSaku becoming canon. (Is that spoiler? .)
We're just not going to talk about the fact that I haven't updated this story in ... years. After re-reading the manga and watching a large chunk of the anime, I was struck by a sudden splurge of inspiration and decided to dust this ol' baby off. I sincerely doubt that anyone who initially followed this is still out there. XD But, if so, hey. Here's another chapter for you! Sorry for any continuity errors or whatelse not. It's been a while.