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There's a ringing in her ears. She hears Yahiko talking, but can't make sense of the words. "I don't understand," she says softly, all too aware of Shisui just a few paces behind her. "Pein, what's going on?"

Yahiko sighs, and Sakura can picture him now, his orange hair wild and his mouth set in an uncharacteristic grimace, the one she'd seen too often in the days leading up to her departure from Ame. "He's not doing well," Yahiko says for the second time, or the third, or the fourth. Sakura's lost count; all she knows is it doesn't make any more sense now than it did when he first said it. "You need to come back."

"I can't," Sakura tells him. "You know I can't. If he needs the surgery, find another doctor, one who's willing to do it. I don't care if it's not someone from the family." Too much – she's revealing too much, when she's certain Shisui can hear her every word, but her heart is a hummingbird in her chest, beating too-fast and too-frantic. Panic creeps up her throat like bile. "

There's a moment of silence that drags on for too long. A deep, measured breath. And then, "You should be here for him, Sakura. He doesn't have much time left."

Her next breath is ragged, on the edge of a sob. "Find another doctor." She disconnects the call and takes a moment to calm down, counting her breaths until her heart slows. She's too young for this – too young to be in Konoha, too young to be the one they sent; Sakura's not the best actor out of all of them, but she's the one least likely to be noticed and the one least likely to be missed. She needs see this through.

Shisui's voice is soft. "Are you alright?" he asks, and Sakura wishes, for a moment, that she could be honest.

Instead, she turns back to him and says, "I'm fine, Uchiha-san. Thank you."

Hesitantly, Shisui adds, "I know you don't know me, but if you want to talk…"

"I don't even want to think right now," she admits, "let alone talk." That's three times now, that she's let her guard down in front of him. She'll regret it, tomorrow, but tonight… Yahiko knows she can't leave Konoha yet. And maybe he thought he was doing her a kindness in contacting her, but Sakura means it: she doesn't want to think right now. She doesn't want to do much of anything, except curl up and cry, but there's no one here to comfort her, and tears won't change her situation.

She sits back down beside Shisui, dimly aware of the water seeping into her jeans. It's raining again, a drizzle that's likely to pick up, if the dark clouds overhead are any indication. He's silent for a long moment, and Sakura is drowning in it, this silence, drowning in her own thoughts. Ame's only a few hours away, so she could go and come back, but the thought of going back to that hospital room, terrifyingly white and sterile and smelling of chemicals – especially empty-handed – fills her with dread.

"If you –" Shisui cuts himself off by clearing his throat. "If you don't want to be alone tonight," he says, and there's absolutely no judgement in his voice, nothing except kindness and a soft sort of shyness, "we can do something."

"Do something?" Sakura repeats. She glances up at him – he's not looking at her, and his hand is in his hair. A nervous habit, maybe.

"You said you didn't want to think." Shisui glances at her, and there's an almost-smile playing at his lips. "I figured I could distract you, if you'd like."

It's almost embarrassing, that this man she's just met is offering his company to comfort her, but… He's right. Sakura doesn't want to be alone. She doesn't think she can trust Shisui – isn't even sure she can trust Itachi, even if Sasuke says she can – but he doesn't seem the type to question her when she's so obviously upset. And… A distraction would be welcome. "I think I'll take you up on that," Sakura says, letting her eyes slip closed as she tilts her face up to the rain. It's cold, but she doesn't mind. It keeps her thoughts from slipping back to Ame, keeps her grounded in the present.

"I have to stop by the office, but I'll meet you by the pier at four?"

Sakura doesn't open her eyes, just nods. She waits until the sound of footsteps has faded completely and she's sure she's alone before breaking down in tears.

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When Shisui arrives at the police station, he expects to find Itachi hunched over his desk like usual, claiming that he's working even though Shisui knows that they don't have any active cases. Today, though, he's leaning back in his chair when Shisui bursts through the door, soaked to the bone and freezing. Itachi doesn't look away from the paper in his hand – and that in itself is odd, that he's just staring broodingly at a piece of paper – as he says, "Towels are under the sink. Try not to get water all over the floor."

Shisui ruffles Itachi's hair gratefully as he passes, ignoring his cousin's irritated noise. From the bathroom, he calls, "What's on that paper that you're staring at it so intently?" He tugs his jeans off, shuddering at the feel of wet denim on his skin.

By the time Itachi replies, Shisui's fully dressed in dry clothes and looking for a comb. "It's Sasuke's missing persons report," Itachi says, slow and calm, like he didn't just casually bring up his missing little brother. Shisui's heart skips a beat.

"Why?" he asks, walking back out from the bathroom. "Itachi, you're the one who told your parents not to file that. You said I both know Sasuke left on his own."

"I know," Itachi sighs. Shisui's heart sinks. Itachi is too young to have this weight on his shoulders. He adored Sasuke, and Sasuke worshipped him, right up until the day he left. "I just thought – I never really tried to find him. I could have asked Madara for help, or Obito –" Itachi cuts himself off, flushing. Shisui waves him off when he opens his mouth to apologize.

"Obito's my brother," Shisui says firmly, "so you don't have to say sorry just because you brought him up. Not like Madara doesn't do it all the time." He sits down at his desk, for once not propping his feet up on it the way he knows Itachi hates. Shisui runs his hands through his hair, trying to shape the wet, messy curls into something presentable.

Itachi notices this and gracefully changes the subject away from family. "Are you going out tonight?"

"Yeah, with Sakura." Shisui glances at Itachi out of the corner of his eyes, hoping to gauge his cousin's reaction. Stoic, Shisui thinks idly, but then when is Itachi not?

After a long moment, Itachi says, "Your hair looks fine, so stop touching it." He sets the paper down on his desk swivels his chair so he's facing Shisui. He looks like he's on the verge of saying something else, but he just smiles, a little half-heartedly, "Have fun."

"Call if you need me," Shisui says, standing and pulling his jacket on. "I doubt anything will happen, but it's better to interrupt me than have Izuna come into town without Madara."

That makes Itachi's expression cloud over. "Have you heard anything from Madara? He's a few days late."

"He's always a few days late," Shisui tells him. "There's nothing to worry about; he'll come home eventually."

Itachi sighs, rubs a hand over his face. "Alright, alright. Now leave, it's rude to keep a pretty girl waiting." Shisui raises an eyebrow at him, a silent like you'd know anything about that, and waves over his shoulder as he jogs out of the station. Itachi might not have experience with girls but he's right – Shisui doesn't want to keep Sakura waiting.

She's waiting on the pier when Shisui arrives, although a quick glance at his phone shows that it's still two minutes to four. She hasn't changed, and even though it's more casual than her usual clothes, Shisui doesn't mind; it's a more real side to her, he thinks, ripped jeans and messy hair and oversized sweaters and high-top converse. She looks up as he approaches, and smiles, a shade closer to genuine than her usual smiles. Sakura's eyes are still red-rimmed, and Shisui's heart does a little flip at the thought of her crying.

"Hi," he breathes, and Shisui thinks this is the stupidest thing he's done. For all Itachi's reasoning, Sakura is still someone he knows absolutely nothing about and there's a voice in the back of his head that sounds suspiciously like Ino warning him to be careful.

Sakura's smile is breathtaking because it's entirely genuine, directed wholly at him. "Hi," she says, and he notices that her nose scrunches up a little when she smiles. "So? What's my distraction?"

"Tide-pooling," Shisui tells her. He smiles and hopes she can't see how nervous he is. "There isn't much to do in Konoha."

"I haven't been tide-pooling since I was little," Sakura says. She lets her shoulder brush against his as they start walking down onto the beach. "Do you go often?"

"Itachi and I used to bring his little brother." Shisui smiles at the memory of Sasuke, five years old, holding a starfish out to Itachi solemnly. "The older he got, though, the less time he spent at the tide pools. He used to stand at the edge of the water and look out over the horizon, like he was waiting for a ship to come and take him away."

Sakura hums thoughtfully. Then, instead of asking Shisui about Sasuke, or changing the subject completely, she asks, "Did you ever look for a ship? To take you away?"

Even Itachi has never asked Shisui if he ever wanted to leave Konoha. Obito, Shisui supposes, has come the closest, but that where Obito spits it as a challenge – Would you leave Konoha, then? If it would change things? – there's only honest curiosity in Sakura's expression. "I never looked for a ship," he tells her. "Konoha's a seaside town, but it's not a harbor."

Her laugh is sweet and unexpected. "I suppose that's true. You've never wanted to leave, then?"

"I didn't say that." Shisui smiles at her, a little wistful. "Most people don't leave Konoha. We're here," he tells her, stopping at the edge of the rocks. The tide is still going out, so only a few tide pools are visible, but they're still teeming with life.

Immediately, Sakura crouches down and reaches into the closest pool, gently poking the closest starfish. Seeing her here is so different from seeing her in the diner. Haruno Sakura, he thinks, even as that Ino-voice reminds him that there isn't a Haruno Sakura, is a girl who wears dresses like armor. Seeing her here is like seeing her laid bare, her every mask stripped off in favor of smiling down at a starfish with unhidden delight. Shisui smiles and kneels down beside her, leaning over the edge of the pool. "The worst thing about living in Ame," Sakura tells him, lowering her voice like she's telling him a secret, "is that there aren't any beaches for miles. There's always rain, but it's hours away from the coast."

"Do you like the rain?" he asks, because she seems suited to it – luckily, it's not raining anymore, although there's fog rolling in and the air is still heavy with water, but he remembers vividly how she'd looked in the park, soaking wet and somehow still as lovely as ever.

Sakura takes a moment to reply, too engrossed in watching a little fish swim up to and around her fingers, investigating. "I don't mind it," she says softly. "Everything is cleaner after rain." The wind picks up and Sakura shivers, leaning closer to Shisui.

Without thinking, he slides his jacket off and wraps it around Sakura's slender shoulders. "It's probably warmer in Ame, though." Sakura hums in agreement and slides her arms though the sleeves, even as she leans closer, her shoulder brushing his.

"Thank you," Sakura says, and her voice is gentle and timid, "for bringing me out here. The call, earlier –"

"You don't have to tell me," Shisui interrupts quietly. "Not if you don't want to."

Sakura pulls back a little so she can look up at him. He finds himself lost in her eyes, spring-green, so unlike anyone else he's met. "I want to," she says, and her expression now is the most open he's seen it. "It was from a friend in Ame. My cousin is sick and I… It's selfish of me, but I came here because the thought of spending one more day in his hospital room…"

"I understand," Shisui says soothingly, because Sakura's eyes are blurry with tears. She looks young, like this. He's seen this with Madara – whenever Izuna's health takes a turn for the worse, Madara either refuses to leave his side or leaves the town, unable to cope with his younger brother's illness. Shisui feels for Sakura; she can't be much older than Ino, and it sounds like she's carrying this alone. (There's a part of him, though, that wonders if this will help him find out who she really is. He knows she has a cousin now, one that's hospitalized in Ame, and he heard the name of her friend when she was on the phone – Pein isn't exactly a common name.) He pushes that thought away – really, Izuna must be rubbing off on him, because there's a girl on the verge of tears in front of him and Shisui is thinking about investigating – and wraps his arm around Sakura, pulling her securely against her side. "I'm sorry I didn't distract you very well," he tells her.

She laughs, and it's still a pretty sound, even colored by tears. "This is much better than sitting alone," Sakura assures him. "Thank you, Shisui." It's the first time she's said his name, and Shisui's heart skips a beat.

"We should probably head back," he says dumbly. "It's getting dark." He stands carefully, then holds his hand out to help Sakura up. Shisui doesn't let go of her hand, even after she's standing. They walk back along the beach, but Sakura stops once the lights of Konoha are visible through the fog.

"Shisui," she says again, and there's something about the way her voice wraps around his name. He tugs her closer by their joined hands.

"Sakura?" He glances down at her lips before he can stop himself.

"Thank you," she says again, "for tonight." And then she's surging up to press her lips to his. Shisui wraps his arms around her waist and crushes her against him. Her hands are in his hair and her lips are chapped and he thinks he could kiss her forever –

And then a scream splits the night, and Sakura pulls away, looking down the beach. Shisui steps away from her, his heart beating embarrassingly fast, and scans the beach. The fog is too thick to see far, but…

There, further down, he can see police lights, even through the fog. His phone buzzes, and he answers it without looking. "Itachi, what's going on?"

His cousin's voice is grim. "Someone found a body washed up. Madara and Izuna are here already, but can you get down here?"

"Of course," Shisui says, already jogging towards the lights. Sakura trails behind him, her face pale. "I'll be there in a few minutes."

"Hurry," is all Itachi says before the line goes dead.

Sakura stays back when they arrive, not quite blending into the crowd that's gathered, but no one takes particular notice of her, which is an improvement. Shisui walks over to Itachi. "Who is it?" he asks lowly.

"Not sure yet." Itachi is frowning, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. "The body is…"

"Mutilated," Izuna says, and he's not cheerful but he's not visibly upset either. Shisui frowns, looking past Izuna to where Madara is crouched beside the body. He walks over to his uncle and leans down to study the body.

He keeps his voice soft as he asks Madara, "Any idea what did this?"

Madara looks up at him, his expression stony. "Not yet. I don't even know who it is – the face is shredded, either from rocks or by someone intentionally, and I we won't get any hits on fingerprints." He lifts the victim's right hand, and if Shisui were any less experienced, he thinks he would vomit. The fingers are all cut off at the first knuckle, only…

"Not a clean cut," he comments. "It almost looks like they were ripped off."

With a grimace, Madara lowers the hand. "That's my bet, as well." He looks past Shisui, and something like hope flashes across his face before his expression settles into something unreadable. "You should take her home," he says, and Shisui follows his gaze to Sakura. Her arms are wrapped around herself and she's pale, her eyes focused on the body. "I'm sorry to call you away from your date, but Izuna is still recovering and Itachi is, well…"

Shisui smiles wryly. "I know," he says. "I'll take her home and come back to help you finish processing the scene. Should I call Uncle Fugaku?"

Madara shakes his head. "No need to call him all the way out here; besides, it will only worry Mikoto."

Nodding, Shisui walks back the way he came. He holds his hand out to Sakura, and she takes it without hesitating, though her eyes flick to Itachi, who is watching them with a strange expression. "Don't you have to work now?" she asks as they begin walking towards the pier.

"I'll come back once you're home," Shisui tells her. "Madara can handle things until then."

Before Sakura can say anything, there's a shout from behind them. Shisui sighs, because he recognizes that voice, and turns around. Sure enough, Obito is jogging up with Rin. "I heard," Obito says by way of greeting. "Is everything okay?"

"Obito. Nothing we can't handle," Shisui says smoothly. "Madara's back, so –"

But Obito's already focused on Sakura, his gaze appraising. Sakura stares back, unimpressed. "Rin and I can walk her back, if you need to help Madara," Obito offers.

"That won't be necessary," Shisui says, exactly as Sakura says, "If it's not too much trouble."

"I'll be fine," Sakura tells Shisui, squeezing his hand. "It's not a far walk, and you should get back."

"If you're sure," Shisui says, uncertainty bleeding into his voice as he glances at his older brother. It's not that he doesn't trust Obito, but…

"I'm sure," Sakura smiles, confident. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Shisui says, absentminded. "Be safe." And then she's walking away with Obito and Rin – "I'm Nohara Rin," he hears Rin introduce herself cheerfully, and then, soft and sweet, "Haruno Sakura. And you must be Uchiha Obito?" – and Shisui's jogging back to Madara and the mutilated body on the beach, trying to shake the sense of foreboding that settled over him the minute Obito and Sakura locked eyes.

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me, writing this: shit i've never been tide pooling. lia how do you tide pool

lia, my long-suffering roommate: how have you never been tide pooling you're from washington

me:

me: so do you just look at stuff or

also yes, sudden kiss, but to be fair if i met shisui i would 100% kiss him in less than a day AND now one of the secrets belongs to shisui and sakura, instead of just sak ;)

i need to stop posting shit at 3 am oh my god - ending is a little meh but it's 3 am and i have class in the morning so #noregrets

things are happening now! bc obito and madara are the only two uchiha that can figure anything out i stg