Chapter Eight
The Suspension

For the most part, Sakura had been left alone the entire day to work, which she had been thankful for. After her small encounter with Itachi earlier that morning all she wanted to do was be left alone. She was tired of worrying about her pregnancy and being angry at Itachi and Kiba, and so when no one had come to see her, she had been grateful and relieved when she was able to finish the files that she hadn't gotten to the night before.

She was just about done when her computer beeped, signaling that the results of a test were ready. Confused, Sakura just stared at her black monitor. She hadn't been running any tests and as far as she knew, Karin was taking a personal day and Temari had been upstairs with Gaara all day. Nonetheless, she stood up and walked over to her computer, taking a seat on the rolling chair in front of it. Quietly, she turned the monitor on before she clicked on the test results. Surprisingly a security screen popped up, asking for her password.

For a second Sakura hesitated. No one ever put security locks on an analysis, not even Karin, but she typed in her password and watched in surprise as the security screen fell away and allowed her to access the test results. Her eyes narrowed in confusion. She had never locked a test before. Then her eyes widened in realization. She had yesterday morning when she had retested her pregnancy test. Quickly Sakura striped away the rest of the privacy codes and pulled up the test to find one word was blinked across the screen.

Negative.

Silently, she just stared at the red, capitalized word until it began to blur as tears gathered in her eyes and fell down her cheeks. She just sat there not knowing how to react. The one word on her screen felt so anti-climatic. When her pregnancy test shown it was positive, there had been so many things running through her head she could barely keep up, but now she was so confused she didn't even know how to react.

That was it? She thought. She really had been sick.

And just like that, she felt something cold begin growing in her chest. The idea that she had been pregnant had terrified her enough to lose sleep at night, but now that she knew she wasn't, she was filled with a feeling she almost didn't recognize: loss.

"Sakura?" someone called softly.

Slowly she blinked and wiped her eyes with the palm of her hand before she turned in the chair. Ino was standing a few steps behind her with a confused expression on her face, but when she saw the moisture on her face, her expression turned worried. "What's wrong, sweetie?"

Sakura shook her head slowly. "I'm not pregnant," she whispered in almost confusion.

Ino looked taken aback before her eyes flickered to the monitor for a second. "Are you sure?"

She nodded numbly. "There's not enough progesterone in my system."

A conflicted expression settled on Ino's features as she placed a comforting arm around Sakura's shoulders and pulled her against her. "Well I guess that's best for the time being," she said sadly.

Sakura looked at her out of the corner of her eyes. "You're disappointed."

Her blonde friend just shrugged slightly. "I just always wanted our children to grow up together," she replied quietly.

Immediately Sakura pulled out of her arms and looked at her sharply. "You're pregnant?"

Ino fought to keep the smile off her face but eventually she lost the battle and she grinned. "With everything going on between you and Itachi, and you and Kiba I thought it was best not to tell you right now. I didn't want you to think that I only thinking about myself. But yes, I am," she finished softly.

Even against the sharp pain in her chest, Sakura smiled sincerely. She could see the conflict in Ino's eyes as if she regretted telling her, but at the same time there was relief; like she was glad the weight was finally off her chest. "How long have you known?" Sakura asked.

"About three weeks," she said slowly.

Sakura's eyes widened in surprise. That was about the time the case started. No wonder Ino had been acting so strangely towards her. She had been spending so much time with Temari that it must've felt like she was pushing Ino away.

Smiling, Sakura stood from her chair and embraced her best friend before she pulled back and stared at her, her grin still in place. "Does Shikamaru know?"

Ino raised a hand and wiped away the tears that had spilled out of her eyes. "No. I was going to tell him, but he's been so busy with this case that I can't seem to find the time. And besides, you know how he'd react."

The smile on Sakura's face slowly turned into a frown. She didn't agree with Ino's decision, but she wouldn't say anything against it. Shikamaru was always laid back, but if he found out that Ino was carrying his child while working as much as she was on their current case, he would have her yanked off before she could even voice her opinion. As wrong as it was, both women knew that keeping their pregnancy – both Ino's real one and Sakura's false positive – a secret for now was the best course of action.

Smiling softly, Sakura hugged Ino again as everything that had happened in the past week crashed down on her. Ino just wrapped her arms around the shorter woman and held her tightly as understanding passed between them.

After all, it had been Ino who kept her from plummeting into despair when everything had been falling apart. Ino had been the one to stay with her when she had cried herself to sleep every night, wondering if she should tell Itachi she was with his child. Ino had been the one who reassured her she would help with whatever decision Sakura made, whether she was going to keep the child or not. Ino had literally been her life support. Without her, Sakura would have given up on everything and everyone.

"Thanks, Ino," Sakura murmured quietly.

They pulled back from one another and wiped their eyes until their tears were gone as they laughed quietly. Still smiling, Sakura turned around and deleted the test results on her computer before she gave Ino her full attention. "Now then," she said still smiling, "why did you come down here?"

Ino nodded towards the clock. "I don't know if you checked your email but Shisui sent out a message saying he wanted a meeting with every investigator on the case at four. I figured that we have enough time to go get some lunch. What do you say?"

It seemed as if Ino's smile was infectious because a moment later, Sakura was smiling brighter than she had in a long time. "Okay," she agreed. "Where do you want to go?"

The blonde woman shrugged as Sakura turned her computer monitor off and closed her files. "I was thinking the usual café unless you want to go somewhere more private."

Sakura shook her head as the two women made their way out into the hall to the elevator. "The usual is fine," she replied.

The two women waited silently for the elevator doors to open before they stepped inside. Ino hit the button for the lobby and they stood in a comfortable silence as they rode up to the ground floor. When the doors opened again, they stepped out and started towards the front doors of the building.

"So why is Shisui calling a meeting?" Sakura asked as they walked outside.

Ino threw a glance at her and shoved her hands into her pockets against the slight cold as they started across the parking lot. "I'm not sure. I think it's to go over the case. Our deadline is tomorrow after all…" she ended quietly. Then she cleared her throat. "Though, I'm curious as to why Itachi didn't send out the email."

Sakura shrugged slightly as they reached the sidewalk and started down the street. "He's not here today," she replied. "He left earlier to meet with his friend, Kisame." She glanced at Ino. "You know, the really tall SAT that worked with us on the East coast Killer case."

Suddenly the blonde woman grabbed her wrist and jerked her to a stop as she paused in the middle of the sidewalk to look at her expectantly. "How do you know that? Did the two of you talk?"

A frown fell across Sakura's face and she gently pulled her wrist out of Ino's grasp before she continued walking with Ino close behind her. "Not really. I just saw him this morning and we had a short conversation."

A small stab of guilt hit Sakura when Ino's expectant expression fell and turned into something much sadder. "Oh," she murmured. Then her expression forcefully brightened. "What are they talking about?"

Sakura shrugged as they reached the café. She held the door open and let Ino walk in first before she followed her. "They're going over the case. Itachi said he wanted another set of eyes on the case and Kisame is surprisingly intelligent," she said, smiling to herself.

It was somewhat of an inner joke between her and Kisame. Last year sometime, Kisame had come to see Itachi at the department and Sakura had run into him. They had struck up a conversation and she had accidentally made the comment that he was "surprisingly intelligent for his looks." He had said it was because of his dashing good looks. She had said it was because of his dangerous, gangster I'm-going-to-kill-you-now appearance. It was a friendly argument that ended in Kisame punching her lightly in the arm as they walked into Itachi's office. It hadn't even crossed her mind that Itachi was watching them with a weird expression as she cuffed him on the shoulder, causing them to start another argument about how Kisame hit like a girl and Sakura was much too masculine.

That had been a good day.

"Do you think they'll find something we missed?" Ino asked. She glanced sideways at Sakura for a moment before her eyes returned to the menu on the board behind the counter.

A quiet sigh escaped Sakura as she too gazed absentmindedly at the red board. "I hope so. We don't have much time left."

A smiling brunette took their order and made their sandwiches for them as Ino pulled out her wallet and paid for the both of them. Sakura smiled her thanks and took her tray before she led them to a table in the far corner of the open room by the window so they could watch the cars go by. Silently, they both dug into their meal and watched people as they walked by on the sidewalk, lost in both their own thoughts. Eventually Ino cleared her throat and set her sandwich down to take a sip of her water. "So," she said, "now what?"

Sakura looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Are you going to try and fix things between you and Itachi?" she asked carefully.

Slowly Sakura set her own sandwich down and picked up her mug of coffee to hide her sad expression. She cleared her throat quietly and took a sip from her cup as she watched the cars outside drive by. "I'm not sure it can be fixed," Sakura said quietly.

Ino frowned in confusion. "I thought you guys talked this morning?"

Sakura closed her eyes as she remembered what had happened between her and Itachi. She could still clearly remember the anger and guilt that went through her when he even mentioned talking it out. She snorted quietly to herself when she realized she had no reason to feel guilty anymore. There wasn't anything to hide from him now. Besides how were they supposed to have a healthy relationship when she couldn't even tell him that she had suspected that she was with his child?

The answer was they couldn't. She didn't think her relationship with Itachi would ever be the same again. And the scariest question was did she even want a relationship with him anymore? He had already chipped and cracked her heart. The only thing left for him to do was drop it and break it completely. She already knew she couldn't handle that. She had already cried enough this past week. She didn't want to anymore.

"One conversation can't fix a problem this big," she replied quietly.

The frown on Ino's face deepened, but before she could reply a shadow fell across their table. Both women looked up and stared in surprise as Temari stopped next to their table with a cup of coffee in hand. "Hey, Sakura, Ino."

Sakura smiled softly. "Hey, Temari."

Ino smiled slightly but she didn't reply as Temari turned to Sakura. "Do you mind if I join you? I wanted to ask you something." the dark blonde woman asked.

Silently, Sakura glanced at Ino. She could see the small frown on her face and Sakura bit her lip for a moment before she turned back to Temari. "Can it wait? I promised Ino lunch."

Temari blinked. She looked from Sakura to Ino and then back before she nodded slightly. "Oh, of course," she smiled. "I didn't mean to interrupt. I'll see you back at the department then?"

With a small smile, Sakura nodded and watched her old friend leave before she turned back to Ino. The blonde woman wasn't watching her though. She was watching Temari as she walked out of the café and started back down the street in the direction of the department. "She's a good person," Ino finally murmured. "I can see why you guys are friends."

Sakura nodded slowly. "Yeah." She fell quiet for a few more moments before she finally looked up at Ino and forced a smile onto her face. "So how are you going to tell Shikamaru?"

Surprisingly, Ino's cheeks reddened and she looked away as she consciously brushed a blonde hair out of her face. "I was going to wait until the end of the case."

The smile on Sakura's face fell and she shook her head. "No, tell him tonight," she said seriously. "Don't keep this from him. It'll only worry him."

Ino's blush quickly faded and her expression turned sober as she stared back at Sakura critically. "Just like how you worried Itachi."

Purposely, Sakura turned her gaze away from her best friend and stared out the window. The afternoon was overcast and grey – much like her mood – but there were plenty of people still out on the streets, laughing and smiling with each other. It felt so strange to see other people's happiness now that she thought about it. She wasn't being self-centered. It was just that there was so much depression and worry and tension in the department that happiness seemed like such an impossible thing lately. The only thing she had smiled about lately was Ino's pregnancy and even then she could feel her heart breaking with her own loss.

Slowly Sakura closed her eyes and pursed her lips together as a frown forcefully pulled the corners of her lips downward. She could feel tears forming in her eyes as a series of thoughts crossed her mind and she had to pinch her eyelids together to force them back before she could finally open her eyes again and look at her best friend. "He wasn't worried about me. He just wanted me to get over whatever it was that was bothering me so I could focus on the case again. It's what makes him so good at his job," she smiled sadly. "No distractions."

The look on Ino's face told her that she wanted to argue, but she kept her mouth firmly closed for the first time in years as she turned her attention to the water in front of her. Silently, Sakura did the same with her coffee and watched the cars drive by outside until she received a text message from Temari, stating that they were beginning to gather for their meeting. Apparently Ino received the same text because a moment later she too opened her phone and closed it a moment later. Together, they stood up and threw the wrappers from their lunch away before they walked back to the department.

When they finally reached the elevator, Sakura smiled at Ino and exchanged a small hug with her before she took the stairs down to her lab to collect her things. Karin was there when she arrived, but the two women hardly glanced at each other as Sakura picked up the files she needed before she headed back to the elevator and pressed the button to go up.

Most officers were already in the conference room, sitting or standing around as they waited for their superiors. Ino was sitting next to Shikamaru with an unreadable expression on her face and their hands entwined while Naruto chatted animatedly with Kakashi. He looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there at the moment, but when he caught Sakura's gaze he smiled and nodded slightly before she continued and stood on the far side of the room with her files on a nearby table.

A couple of minutes later, Shisui and Sasuke walked in and began the meeting. Shisui was the first to speak. "As you all know, we are expecting another photograph some time tomorrow," he said with the most serious expression on his face that Sakura had ever seen. "If or when we receive this photo, it will mean that we now have eight dead children on our hands. Has anyone found any leads that may prevent this from happening?" he asked as his gaze landed on each and every person in the room.

A long silence stretched out as every officer glanced at each other, but it was Kakashi that finally broke the thick tension. "Every mailperson with medical background has either been checked out or is on vacation," he said. "Most of those who are missing have been tracked down and are either on the opposite side of the country or not in the country at all."

Sasuke sat forward in his chair. "Most of those?"

Shikamaru nodded. "There are a handful of others who we have been unable to find," he explained as he flipped open his file. "Mori Oyone and Kumadori, Kimura Kusuna, Yakushi Kabuto, and Aiko Kiri have yet to be accounted for," he listed. "All of them dropped out of medical school. We're really focusing on finding Kimara Kusuna after she was kicked out of med school for illegally treating a patient. She has a brother that lives in Tokyo but he too is missing."

Sasuke nodded slowly. "Is there anything else that can help us?"

Kankuro spoke up this time. "I've been looking through the registry of children that have been reported missing in the past week. So far there have been twenty-one boys between the age of eight and eleven and nearly thirty girls around the ages of six and thirteen," he said.

Shisui nodded. "Have you compared those who are missing to the profile the killer has been using?"

"We've cancelled out any boys," Kiba said. He was leaning against the wall opposite to Sakura with his arms crossed and an unreadable expression on his face that made Sakura's skin crawl. His shoulders were slightly tense and the tone of his voice made her flinch at how cold it was. "And so far the killer has only taken girls between the ages of eight and thirteen."

Sasuke's eyes flashed to Shisui before returning to Kiba. "How many does that leave us with?"

"Taking into account their ethnicity and city," Kiba answered, "fifteen."

Sasuke sighed loudly through his nose. "That's not good enough." Then his eyes turned to her. "Sakura, what can you tell us?"

Her eyebrow rose. "I don't have any evidence," she said. "There's nothing I can tell you."

Shisui frowned. "Can you tell us something new you found from previous victims? Maybe similarities in their COD or the location they were found in? Anything?"

A frown fell across her face as she shook her head. "You'd have to ask Shizune about their COD and I didn't notice anything similar about any of them other than their…" she trailed off as something suddenly hit her. "Their location?" she murmured almost to herself.

"What about where they were found or perhaps where they were kidnapped from?" he pressed.

Sakura narrowed her eyes thoughtfully and crossed her arms as she thought back to all the pictures she had looked through nearly a month ago of all the victims. "I'm not completely certain, but I believe all the victims were found in forest areas or areas with a lot of trees," she finally said. "I would have to go back and look at the pictures to confirm it, but I think that they were."

Something lit up in Shisui's eyes and he glanced at Sasuke before returning his gaze to Sakura. "Very well. Do it when you get the chance," he said.

Sakura nodded before she leaned back against the wall and fell back into her own thoughts. She tried to remember all the pictures mentally as Shisui continued on with the meeting. Even the picture with the girl leaning on the door, Sakura could have sworn there were some trees in the window next to it. She just had to wait for the meeting to end before she could double check.

About ten minutes later, Shisui called the meeting to a close, unnecessarily telling everyone to inform both him and Sasuke if they found anything new. Naruto and Kakashi were the first ones out the door, followed closely by Gaara, Kankuro and Temari. The blonde woman was so engrossed in her discussion with her two friends that she didn't even notice Sakura and she shrugged it off that whatever she had to say to her earlier probably wasn't too terribly important.

Sasuke and Shisui passed her as she collected her files and her mind fell back to the pictures as she flipped open the top file and began to read its contents. It didn't reach her busy mind that she was one of the last ones in the conference room until she heard the door click closed and a voice speak: "I've been meaning to talk to you."

Immediately Sakura stopped and quickly picked her head up as she turned around to see Kiba standing a few feet away from her. Sharply, she snapped her file closed with a slight glare and held the small pile to her chest. "You know, it's a really bad time," she said coldly.

A smirk crawled onto his face and he set the file he was holding down onto a nearby table without taking his eyes off of her. "With you, it always seemed to be a bad time. Why is that, Sakura?" he drawled out. "Perhaps it's because you want to save that time to make up with your little boy toy?"

The glare on her face darkened and she felt her skin heat up with her anger. Loudly, she threw the files in her hands down onto the table next to her hip and crossed her arms as she faced him fully. "I'm so fucking tired of you pulling me around and playing games with me," she said evenly with an undertone of venom. "Why don't you tell me is it that you want? When I left, I took everything I owned and left everything that was yours. So tell me why you're here? I know this case wasn't originally yours. It has Yashamaru's name on the files."

Kiba's smirk widened. "You act like you don't remember, Sakura," he said sickeningly sweet. "All the wonderful times we had, all the games we played, all the things we did."

Angrily, Sakura's arms tightened around herself. She opened her mouth to retort with a sharp reply only for the words to get caught in her throat. That was just it; she didn't remember. She didn't remember most of it. She didn't have psychological issues. She should have remembered being in the hospital and being thrown against whatever the hell it was that put her there in the first place.

With wide eyes, Sakura looked at Kiba intensely. "I don't remember any of it," she murmured lightly. Then her voice hardened. "Why don't I remember?"

Kiba just shrugged slightly, uncaringly. "I can be very distracting." His face turned caring in a mocking way. "And I took very good care of you after your little falls."

The look he sent her made the retort she wanted to spit back at him get stuck in her throat. She had seen that look before; a long time ago. And it made images surface in Sakura's mind. Through her mind's eye, she could see the two of them lying naked together in bed. Her memory flashed to him offering her two vicodin pills and a glass of water before his lips pressed into the hollow of her throat. She could vaguely remember herself swallowing the pills and placing the water glass back on the nightstand before her hands slid up to his shoulder. Then the scene fast-forwarded to them coupling as she arched her back and his hands wonder down to her-.

Sharply, Sakura forced the images away only for more to take their place. She could feel Kiba placing light kisses on shoulders as they came down from their high. Then he reached for her water glass again and placed two more pills in her hand as he whispered words she couldn't hear with that mocking caring look on his face. Without hesitating, she took them from him and groaned quietly when his hands touched her again. Once her water glass was empty and back on the night stand his light touches turned more demanding and possessive as everything hazed over.

Abruptly, Sakura blinked them back and stared at Kiba in something akin to horror. "You drugged me," she said in blatant disbelief. She was so shocked her voice was barely that of a whisper. "You got me high and then took advantage of me?"

He just looked at her with an expression she didn't recognize. "Don't look so surprised. You used to get very aroused when you were high." When she just continued to stare at him in horror, he shrugged. "All's fair in love and war."

Sakura shook her head slowly as the scenes played over in her mind. "No, it's not." She swallowed thickly before she clenched her teeth and her shoulders tensed. She was angry – downright pissed off – and the only thing she could think was thank god she hadn't become addicted. Her entire life could have turned upside down because of what he did to her, but the fact that it didn't was the only comfort she had. "You fucking bastard," she hissed. "I will report this."

Surprisingly, Kiba looked indifferent. "Go ahead. There's no proof. You consented to having sex with me and I never forced the pills down your throat. You took them willingly."

Sakura's breath escaped through her nose raggedly as she fought to control herself. She knew he was right and the worst part was he knew it too. She didn't have any proof; just her word against his. Angrily, she ground her teeth together. "What right do you have to come back here?" she hissed.

He shrugged again. "I came to collect my property."

Still angry, Sakura narrowed her eyes in frustrated confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"When you left you actually did take something of mine," he said almost nonchalantly. "You left with my ring on your finger. It was my mother's and I want it back."

For a long moment Sakura stilled as understanding hit her. She stared at him and realized for the first time there was a deep worry set in his eyes as if he was afraid of what it would mean to lose his ring. And the moment she saw his uncertainty a cruel satisfaction filled her. She could clearly remember selling the ring over a week ago.

Normally, selling something so important as a family heirloom would make her feel guilty and downright terrible, and honestly she didn't even know that the ring belonged to his mother, but she was proud to realize she didn't care.

Slowly, a dark smirk twisted her lips into a cold smile. The look of almost desperation on his face made her feel so strong and empowered over him and she embraced the feeling. He had caused her hell for a good couple of years of her life and she could never forgive him. There were just some things that a person should never do and one of them was intentionally causing physical harm to their significant other.

With the smirk still on her face, Sakura crossed her arms and looked him directly in the eyes. "You know, the entire time we were together I was taken advantage of, lied to, beaten and abused to the point of being hospitalized, and cheated on. And now you want back the one thing that ever truly meant something to you." She just shook her head slightly as her cold smile returned. "What in the hell makes you think I'm just going to give it to you?"

A look of surprise flashed across his face before his eyes narrowed to something much more dangerous. "Where is it?" he asked. She could almost hear the sound of his teeth grinding together as he glared at her.

She grinned. "The local Pawn Shop," she said. The smirk on her face never left as she pulled her wallet out from her back pocket before she dug through it to find the receipt the store had given her. It took her a moment, but when she finally pulled it from the side pouch, she walked up to Kiba and shoved it into his hands. "You can look for it, but I'm not sure it'll still be there," she said casually as she placed her wallet back into her pocket. "Things like that sell quickly."

For a long moment, she just watched as he took the receipt and looked it over. His expression steadily grew darker and darker, but she merely smirked at him and looked him over once, wondering what she had ever seen in him. "When you came back, Kiba, you miscalculated. You didn't honestly think I would roll over and play dead after everything you did to me." Her smirk widened as Kiba slowly looked up at her and glared darkly. "I told you before I didn't need Itachi to protect me," she continued. "Whatever you have left planned for me, bring it on. I'm not scared of you."

Then she turned on her heels walked through the door, letting it close behind her loudly.

The sense of satisfaction never left her as she strode out the door and onto the main floor. Officers were busily working and the murmuring of a dozen voices together made the room buzz. It was so loud that she didn't realize someone was following her until a hand landed on her shoulder and forced her to turn around.

"You fucking bitch," Kiba snarled just before his fist connected with her jaw.

The power behind his swing sent her straight down onto the floor. She didn't even have enough time to catch herself before the side of her temple met with the white tiles. Pain exploded behind her eyes and a soft groan escaped her as the entire floor fell silent.

For a long moment, Sakura just laid there, physically stunned at the pain making her head swim, and she could only laugh at herself when she realized she probably deserved his abuse this time. Honestly, if this was how hard he had hit her before she wasn't surprised she never remembered his beatings. His attack was violent and mind-splittingly painful and it took her a moment to blink the spots out of her vision and pick her head up off the ground.

Slowly she pushed herself onto her hands and knees, and paused to reach up and feel the corner of her mouth to check for blood and rub out the pain in her jaw. When the pain slowly started to subside, she felt her anger boil to the surface. "I don't think you hit me hard enough," she said darkly as she slowly turned her gaze up to Kiba. He was still towering over her, absolutely radiating fury, but she just stared back threateningly. "I still remember it."

His expression turned downright murderous and he moved to grab her again at the same moment Kakashi and Genma grasped his arms and jerked him backwards. Kiba fought against them and threw a long stream of colorful names at her, but they held him tightly. Sakura felt the muscles in her body begin to tense in her own rage, but before she could get to her feet and return his assault for her own, a loud yell rang throughout the floor. "You two in my office immediately!"

Instantly she recognized Shisui's voice and she cringed mentally. Shisui was normally a happy, energetic person and he rarely raised his voice to call for order, but when he did, it was usually out of anger, and it made everyone quiet immediately.

Without a word, Sakura slowly pushed herself up even as the pain in her head spiked and the edges of her vision turned black. She felt someone's helpful hand land on her upper arm – she guessed Naruto – as they tried to pull her onto her feet but she shook them off and forced herself to stand. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Kiba firmly shake Genma and Kakashi's hands off him before he stalked across the room and entered Shisui's office. Even from this distance, she could see the deep glare on Shisui's face, but she too ignored it for the time being as she walked into his office before he slammed the door closed behind them.

Sasuke was already inside with a dark glare on his face, but other than that, she couldn't tell what he was thinking. He merely glanced at his older cousin as he stopped in front of his desk and turned to look at both of them. "What the hell is going on?"

Neither of them spoke.

A loud, frustrated sigh escaped through his nose and he crossed his arms as he leaned against his desk. "You two have been going at each others' throats since the beginning of the case. I don't know what happened between you two and honestly I don't care, but I'm tired of it getting in the way of the case." His dark gaze shifted between her and Kiba, and she suddenly realized how much alike Shisui and Itachi could really be when pressed. His expression was just as unreadable as Itachi's seemed to be lately, though she could still see the anger that was raging underneath his calm façade. "I've had enough," Shisui finally said. "Inuzuka, you physically assaulted another officer. Please turn in your badge and gun. You're suspended until further notice."

Surprised, Sakura didn't dare glance at Kiba as silence fell around the room. She had never thought things would go so far and it made her realize in that moment that maybe she had been a little out of control lately. But she didn't let those thoughts go any further as she heard Kiba unclip his badge and gun from his belt before he approached Shisui's desk. He set his things down with a resounding thump before he turned around and brushed past her.

It wasn't until the door closed behind him that Sakura slowly let out the breath she had been holding. She closed her eyes in relief, but it was short lived as the pain in her jaw and head began pounding harder than before. She clenched her teeth together and pinched her eyes shut as she forced herself to take a deep breath. He had hit her harder than she realized.

Then Shisui sighed. "Sometimes I really hate my job," he murmured. He ran a hand over his face and stared at the ceiling for a moment before his eyes slowly turned down to her. "Are you alright?"

She nodded slowly, knowing he was still angry. "I'm fine."

The look he threw her told her he didn't believe her but he didn't say anything as he moved to sit behind his desk. Sasuke had a frown upon his face to match his cousin's but he eventually looked away to grab Kiba's things off Shisui's desk. "I'm going to call the Kanazawa department."

Shisui nodded before Sasuke left the room, silently closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, Sakura continued to stand silently in front of Shisui. She watched as his eyes dropped to the pile of paperwork next to his computer before a tired expression crossed his face. Guilt flooded her and she almost considered excusing herself, but Shisui hadn't dismissed her and she had something she needed to ask of him.

"Shisui," she said quietly, catching his attention. "Please don't tell Itachi about this."

His blank expression didn't change and his long silence made her stomach churn nervously. Eventually he pursed his lips together. "I have to write an incident report," he said evenly. "Whether he reads it or not is up to him."

For a moment Sakura didn't respond, but then she nodded in acceptance before she headed towards the door. She murmured a quiet thank you to him before she walked out and headed towards the elevator ignoring the stares that followed her and the call from Ino for her to wait.

She needed time alone; she needed to think.