AN Oh man you guys are groovy. You keep me motivated! My heart swells with each review! Well, shit's about to get real. Hope you enjoy! And sorry it is so short, it just made more sense to split it into two! R&R xoxo
Bright Eyes / A Perfect Sonnet
Pedestrian Life: Chapter Eleven
Sakura tried to wipe the brilliant smile from her face, but all attempts were futile. Everything just seemed so right with the world. After purchasing a four-hundred dollar bottle of sake and taking her former mentor out to the races, her treat, Sakura had managed to get her full-time job back. Grant it, Tsunade had won a lot of money, which was never a good sign. But Sakura tried to shake off her suspicions in favor of appreciating her rigid schedule. Nine to five was something that made sense to Sakura. For weeks she had been all over the city, trying to keep herself distracted and busy, now she needn't look further than the hospital doors, the only difference now was that she actually wanted to spend her free time with her friends. She felt so satisfied. Sakura spared a glance at the time and took another long gulp of her morning coffee.
"You wont be late for your shift, will you?" Kakashi's lulling, deep voice broke her thoughts and she watched amused as he added three more teaspoons of sugar to his already sickeningly sweet coffee. She shook her head. This was the only time Sakura got to spend with Kakashi, or Gaikotsu rather. Early every morning she would drive to his hotel and they would eat breakfast in the attached restaurant. Although Sakura desperately wanted more, she would accept this for now. He under no circumstances would tell her which room he was in, and supplied no way to reach him, so she had make do. She was lucky he even allowed her to spend time with him, even if it was for two hours every other morning in a completely platonic setting. He had to explain several times to her that he couldn't be seen necking it with some girl in a hotel lobby, so it had to remain professional. Sakura supposed she could respect that.
"You must visit the dentist twice than the average person." He gave her a warm smile, showing off how truly perfect his teeth were, and making the fine lines at the corner of his eyes more defined. "You drink whiskey straight, but you can't stomach the taste of coffee?"
Kakashi shrugged, scratching the back of his head in an embarrassed manner Sakura found to be completely endearing. Picking up his book (Icha Icha inside of a Love in the Time of Cholera book jacket, which Sakura found to be an equally ridiculous book choice, but he had to remain 'covert') Kakashi took a long sip of his sugary coffee before sighing contentedly, licking the remaining sweetness from his lips, his eyes never leaving hers. 'He's torturing me. That or I'm being sensitive.'
Before Kakashi could get too engrossed in his novel, Sakura cleared her throat. "So how's the case coming?" Her voice was so low, so only he could hear. He replied with a long, stern look before speaking up.
"Pretty well. I've got a lot of what I need, really. All I lack is proof that the leader of the 'mob' is who I think it is. They've already got another CEO lined up when I finish, so I'm nearing the end. Thank god too, my face is actually all one even skin tone. I hardly recognize myself without the tan-lines." He smirked, forgetting his anger with her broaching this topic when Sakura's head tipped back, a beautifully musical laugh ringing throughout the restaurant. It was nice to see her smiling, she usually spent the first hour of every morning in a horrible mood, answering in grunts and rubbing her eyes like a tired child.
"So, Ino told me that Gaara made a pretty penny after his exhibition. Apparently someone bought all of the photographs of me that were on display." She smirked when Kakashi's eyes grew a hair larger for a moment. "I thought that was strange. But imagine my surprise when she said the buyer was none other than Ishimaru Gaikotsu himself. Now why would he go and do a thing like that?"
"Maybe his apartment was lacking in personality. Which is okay, because those pictures have more than enough to fill the house." He suggested innocently.
"Very inconspicuous." She joked, then her eye twitched with angry recognition. "Wait.. you mean you hung them up?"
"It's not as though I entertain guests often, Sakura-chan. Besides, maybe this will make you think twice before letting a young man take such risque pictures of you."
"Are you still pouting about that? Oh my god, you're ridiculous. Is there any way I can get you to stop bringing him up?"
Kakashi sat him book down and leaned back into his chair, a finger tapping thoughtfully against his bare lips. Suddenly, a wolfish grin spread across his face; he looked predatorily and deviant. Sakura shivered. "You could send me some pictures of yourself.. Preferably in the full monty."
"What am I, sixteen? And you refused to give me your new phone number!"
"I'd hand it over in a second for a promise like that."
"No deal." She said firmly, arms crossed over her chest defensively, but her eyes were shining brilliantly with mirth. Suddenly a loud, sharp beep sounded at her hip, causing Kakashi's handsome face to pull into a visible scowl. Sakura pulled her beeper up and sighed as she examined it. "I've got to go, there's an emergency at the hospital."
She looked up to meet Kakashi's eyes and he gave her an understanding smile. With utmost subtlety, he slid his hand across the the red tablecloth and brushed his fingers with hers. Sakura felt her pulse jump erratically at the contact. Then abandoning his gesture quickly, Kakashi flicked his wrist flippantly. "Go, save lives."
"Yes sir." She saluted, then straightened her champagne pantsuit, which made her look years older. Gathering her things Sakura rushed out the door, throwing him a warm smile over her shoulder before disappearing out the door.
...
"Doctor Haruno." Sakura whipped around to give the young nurse an exhausted, pleading look. Sakura could see guilt in Juniper's eyes. "I know I'm supposed to accompany you on these last few patients, but my sister's flight got in early.."
The rosette chewed her pen thoughtfully for a moment before sighing in defeat. Juniper hadn't seen her sister in years. "Sure, go ahead. I can handle this one on my own."
"Thanks Sakura!" Juniper bowed deeply before rushing off. Chuckling to herself, Sakura waltzed over to her hopefully last patient's door and grabbed the file. Her eyes widened at the name, sparking a sense of familiarity Sakura couldn't quite put her finger on. 'Where have I heard the name Deidara?' She shrugged, pushing the door open and quietly closing it behind her before turning to lock eyes with her patient. Sakura felt her stomach drop. How ironic. Trying to remain professional, she walked towards his beautiful, smirking face, ignoring the malevolent look in his oceanic eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but he beat her to it.
"So, Pinky. Do these rooms have recording equipment installed or just cameras?" His voice was the voice of a wise-cracking, pompous ass and Sakura wanted to smack that look off his face, not just for his attitude, but because she recognized him from the pub. But once his words registered with her, she began chewing on her pen, confused.
"Well, you see, the thing is, now try not to react.. The thing is, I've got this entire wing of the hospital rigged with explosives." He held out a small remote and Sakura felt the colour drain from her face, her emerald eyes turning grey with pure horror. "And I'm willing to detonate them unless you calmly follow me outside, then you will tell me everything I need to know. How does that sound Haruno Sakura, hmm?"
Her mind was reeling, trying to absorb this turn of events. She knew who he was now. Deidara was an artist, a club owner, and had been questioned for three different scandals involving the bombing of two government buildings and a small bridge, he was never convicted. She knew he wasn't joking. Nodding, she set his file on the bed and turned towards the door, he entire body trembling with fear.
"May I change out of my scrubs?" He spared a glance at her dirty scrubs, missing the calculating look in her eyes, he shrugged and followed her a few paces behind as she walked to her office. Once inside, Deidara politely turned his back as she slipped out of her scrubs and into her clothes, seemingly oblivious that she was typing silently on her phone, thankful she had thought to have at least one person at the police department's number on her phone. Her hands shaking violently.
Tenzou, Konoha Veterans Hospital. Please hurry. Bomb threat. West wing. Trouble. Deidara.
Quickly pressing send, she sat her phone on her desk silently and turned around. "Ready." She whispered.
"Not sure why you wanted to change with what's going to happen to you." He chuckled and walk out the door, Sakura followed silently, regarding few people as she left. Once in the parking lot, she stepped inside an unmarked, black car and felt as someone in the seat behind her wrapped a blindfold around her head and roughly stuck a gun to the base of her neck. Hot tears began to soak through the blindfold, but Sakura remained silent, hoping in just a matter of moments she would wake up from this dream. There was no way she would ever feel as terrified as she did in that very moment, not just for her, but for those innocent people, and for Kakashi. Because if Deidara was kidnapping her, that only meant that something had gone terribly wrong, and they knew to use her as leverage. Goddamn it.
...
"Kakashi, we have a situation. We need you to come down to the station immediately."
"Tenzou, why are you calling me? I'm at the office. What is it?" As if on cue, Temari burst through his door and flipped on the television sitting in the far corner of the office. There was a news anchor, reporting the massive evacuation of Konoha Veteran's Hospital due to an anonymous tip about a possible bomb threat, so far it had been determined that the perpetrator had used a new form of explosives, meaning only a few K-9 units were able to trace anything. Kakashi's eyes widened in horror.
"Haruno was the one that sent the tip, since then no one has seen her. She mentioned Deidara, and the hospital security tapes reveal her talking to him, then following him outside. She managed to send me a text, pretty clever girl. But she's in trouble, I know you're too close to this case, but-"
Kakashi hung up before Tenzou could finish, and he was out the door and on his way in a matter of seconds, Temari quickly behind him. He really couldn't understand how this happened. Since that night at the gallery, he had been so careful. He even made sure she had security for most hours of the day. How could this happen?
"Kakashi." The silver-haired man glanced up to see his team staring at him with pity. He honestly didn't recall the trip here. Anko was the one talking. "We've got the policemen not working the hospital doing a thoroughly sweep of the city. A witness at the hospital said he saw a pink haired girl entering a black car without any plates. We've got aerial patrol keeping a look out, but for right now we need to sit tight. As soon as we get a lead we'll head out."
She must have seen Kakashi's pained expression because her usual hard, unforgiving eyes softened. "I'm sorry, Kakashi. Just go get changed. We're all on communications until we get word. We're the only team not involved in anything else, so we have to wait. We wont have any backup for awhile, so stay strong." He nodded and watched as the others scattered to continue their work.
His heart was racing as he made his way to the locker room. After changing into his standard-issue vest and uniform, Kakashi removed his contacts and pulled the mask over his face before making his way to the break room, trying desperately to keep his emotions at bay.
"Here." He glanced up to see Temari holding out a large cup of coffee, he accepted gladly. She took the seat next to him and sat down a couple of donuts. Kakashi took a long gulp of the drink through his mask, it was incredibly sweet, with a hint of sour mash whiskey. Temari truly understood him.
"Sakura'a really something." The blonde-haired girl spoke. She was now dressed in her uniform and looked very tired. Noticing that she'd captured his attention, she continued. "I've known her for years. You know she graduated high school early? All her friends were so pissed. Scored third highest on her entrance exams in the entire state. I've never met someone so smart, but so stupid, before. She broke my brother's heart, you know." She sighed deeply, shaking her head.
"How?" Kakashi found himself speaking before he could stop himself, he was desperate to hear anything about the pink-haired girl he'd spent the last two weeks talking to. Although Sakura spoke fondly, and often, about her past, she never really mentioned the red-haired boy who had taken such lovely pictures of her.
"They were dating at the start of college. Sakura was only seventeen her first semester. After a few years of dating, Gaara proposed to her." Kakashi flinched suddenly at the huge chunk of Sakura's love-life he'd never been privy to, but he knew there must have been a reason to withhold such information. "But, the closer to the wedding they got, the more restless she became. Until one day she just snapped, I don't know why, Gaara never went into the details. They had an argument, and when my brother is angry it gets scary and out of hand fast. But, we were all so young, too young to get married."
"You are all still pretty young." Kakashi pointed out.
Temari shrugged. "A lot happened in the four years after that. Gaara and Sakura are friends now, but he's still in love with her, which makes me hate her for leaving him. I think Gaara deserves better than her." Kakashi couldn't help but tremble with anger at her comment, causing a small chuckle to sound in her throat. "But that doesn't mean she deserves this, Kakashi-taichou. I can understand why you'd fall in love with her, just because I don't like her doesn't mean I don't get it. So don't worry, we'll save her. Sakura's not the type of girl to roll over and give up."
Kakashi shook his head, unable to mask the anxiety in his eyes. "It's not that I'm worried she'll give up or anything.. I'm worried she'll try and protect me, say something stupid and get herself hurt." 'I'm worried she'll never be able to forgive me..'
"Yeah, she really does have a mouth on her." Temari stood up, placing a firm hand on Kakashi's shoulder. "Don't blame yourself, Kakashi. If she makes it back alive only to find that you've completely withdrawn into yourself again, I don't think she'll take it too well." Kakashi watched as she left the room, processing her words. When had these kids gotten to be so damn smart?
...
But as for me I'm coming to my final failure, I've killed myself with changes trying to make things better, but still ended up becoming something other than what I had planned to be