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*I'm not even mad, I'm just… you're just… I'm exhausted. I don't even have the words,* Inner Sakura said, plopping to the floor of Sakura's mind with a dull thud, *I give up. You're hopeless.*
And with that the alter ego proceeded to close her eyes and feign sleep.
Inner was almost never speechless, and while relieved at her decided silence, Sakura couldn't blame her for choosing to give up. She herself wanted nothing more than to shrug her shoulders at the absurdity of her current situation and then walk off into the sunset to start writing her autobiography entitled "Oh Well, I Tried."
Inner Sakura cracked an eye halfway open, *or you can call it: 'Sakura's guide to stepping in it,' or, 'how to ruin your life in ten easy steps' or 'what not to do when you're undercover?' or 'me, my Forehead and I.'*
*Are you done?* Sakura hissed.
*'No game: how to marry the sexiest man alive and remain kinda single,'* Inner Sakura paused for a second. *Now I'm done,* she said closing her eyes and pretending to sleep again. *Carry on, get us killed, see if I care.*
Sakura/Sou stifled a sigh before flinging herself against the cage like she had done many times before.
And like the numerous times that preceded it, *no one looked up,* Sou noted, grinding his teeth.
By the time Sou had made his way to the dressing room, Max was waiting for him only to inform him that both him and Shin are very talented indeed, but it would take a while for them to get a central spot on the main stage.
This meant that they will get to showcase their newly acquired dance moves while dangling in the cages overhead with a few other dancers.
After a few minutes from the start of the show though, they would be let down to "work the floor," Max said.
And when Sou inquired as to what that means the blonde lead-dancer gave a sly smile and said that he'd basically be, "a host who gives lap dances."
And with that Sou was ushered into the dressing room, put in what appeared to be a skin tight butler suit, complete with the white gloves and the double-breasted black tuxedo with the coattails. Sou did in fact look like a butler.
He was then asked to step in the cage and greet the people from above.
He obliged and a minute later the doors opened and the boy watched from above as women rushed into the place in droves. All made up and dressed in skimpy evening outfits as they giggled and shifted their eyes around the place in a mixture of excitement and timidity.
Meanwhile the dancers took to the stage and started doing their thing. Moves that would have made even Ino blush.
It was a rather spectacular display.
But Sou had a flirting competition to worry about… oh and a bad drug dealer to catch.
The boy put a lot of effort into replicating the dance moves he learned. He even took off his jacket, put it across his shoulder and posed mid dance to cast a smoldering look upon a group of women.
However, and much to the boy's chagrin no one was looking at him. Their attention was effortlessly caught by the scantily clad men on the stage as they proceeded to systematically lose their clothing while making everyone hot and bothered.
Sou contemplated stripping but as an undercover girl he wasn't really comfortable showing his body even if the Henge gave him a perfect male form. *There has to be another way,* Sou thought.
And Itachi seemed to have found it: a very good number of the women actually had their backs to the stage stock full of gyrating naked men and were instead ogling the bartender now doing an amazing job of turning drink-making into some kind of a weird mix between a juggling act and a modeling photo-shoot. He spun around, caught drinks midair and handed the girls their drinks with an air of dangerousness that had them oohing and aahing at his every move.
It didn't harm though that he was still clad in his leather outfit and acting like the most dangerous bartender in existence: a man who would just as soon kill you as fix you a martini.
The girls couldn't keep their eyes off of him and they definitely managed to keep their eyes away from the high-flying Sou.
Sou fumed. *That damned demon king is really committed to this,* he pondered as he watched the Uchiha fling a metallic cocktail shaker in the air, do a full spin, catch it and then proceed to empty the contents in a glass and hand it to a now swooning lady, before leaning in and touching her hand for the briefest of seconds and saying something that Sou couldn't possibly hear from his perch in the cage.
Sou pursed his lips, *he's shameless,* the boy/girl hissed, eyes glowing with pent up frustration. *Shisui has nothing on him,* he thought as he watched the Uchiha actually grab a girl's hand as she handed him money, contemplate it for a second and smirk before leaning in across the bar and whispering something straight in her ear. The girl thawed and Sou frowned, *now why is that sexy? He just looked at her hand and smirked, why the hell is that sexy? Do I not understand sexiness?*
*a…* Inner started.
*Don't answer that.*
And it was then that Max, now fully naked except for what could only be described as a leather jockstrap, exited the stage with the end of the opening dance.
The girls cheered loudly and screamed like there was no tomorrow.
'We're on,' Sou heard a voice echo in his head. He blinked for a second, it was Setsuna which must mean that the spying equipment have all gone online and now Sou, Shin, and Itachi could all hear Setsuna. Itachi was the only one equipped to answer back though and Shin and Sou were to only listen and do as instructed.
'We're receiving input from all the devices. So far we haven't identified anyone suspicious so keep a lookout for shady or coded conversations or people who look suspicious, if you find any, simply stand next to them and run a hand through your hair and we'll focus on the spying device nearest to them. Over.'
With that Setsuna's transmission ended. The next dance started with one of the veteran strippers taking the stage in a firefighter's outfit that was doomed to be ripped off of him within a few seconds.
That was Sou's cue to come down from the cage and start 'working the floor.'
He put his tailcoat back on, *yosh,* Sou thought as he pushed the cage's door open, *time to flirt!* he thought as he jumped down. *and identify the drug lord,* he added as an afterthought.
.
*Fake it until you make it,* Sou sang in his head as he walked to a table filled with women.
Putting on his most charming smile, he made sure to talk in a voice lower than normal, "hey, I am Sou I'll be your host today… How may I help you beautiful ladies? Can I get you a drink?"
One of the girls blinked up at him; she was an attractive red-head with hair down to the middle of her back. She was wearing a pink halter-top and a tiny white skirt that couldn't even qualify as a belt. The girl then stood up and smiled at the boy, "that's a great idea," she said and exchanged a conspiratorial look with her friends. "We were just thinking about that," she added as her four friends also got to their feet.
"I will get you a drink no need to…" he trailed off as they started walking towards the bar with enthusiastic looks on their faces.
Sou sighed. *Great, I am now encouraging them to go talk to him.*
The beat picked up speed and Sou's attention was drawn to the door as five men walked in.
Looking across the place he saw both Itachi and Shin observing the group. A group of men in a male strip club was a bit conspicuous. *They could be gay, there's no rule stipulating that male strip clubs are only for women,* Sou pondered.
Still, they stood out given that there were no other male patrons.
The three officers watched as the men sat down at a table next to the stage. A second later though, Jay the club's choreographer made his way over towards them and greeted them like he knew them. The choreographer was wearing a golden sequin suit which he managed to pull off courtesy of his dark flowing locks and unfailing swag as well as the fact that he made the creative decision to go shirtless under the jacket.
'They seem to be regular clients,' Setsuna's voice echoed in their ears. 'we're listening in on their conversations just in case,' he added. 'over.'
The three officers once again got back to business.
Shin was at the other side of the club, also hosting, and seemed to be having a bit more luck than Sou, given that a few women were actually chatting with him and giggling.
Sou couldn't help but smile as he watched Shin completely zone out of the conversation with the girls as Aika, now wearing a knee-length blue dress, walked through the door and sat at a table nearby.
Sou could practically see the gears in Shin's mind turning as he contemplated walking over and talking to his crush before deciding on playing it cool and showing her that he is desired by other women. It's not like he had a choice though since Setsuna would kill him if he were to walk over to a fellow undercover officer.
Sou brought his attention back to his current situation. *I need to flirt, I can't even see him at the bar what with all the women standing in front of it.*
"Hey, I am Sou, what can I do for you…" he started as a few girls came bounding up to him, smiling wide.
"Hey, Sou-kun, are you a butler?" a blonde with short hair asked.
"Ah, yah… I mean, I can be anything you want me to be," he said, channeling Shisui.
The girl giggled and so did her two friends standing next to her.
"He's so cute," Sou heard one of the girls say in a whisper.
He wasn't going for cute, but why not? At least they like him.
"Does Sou-kun dance?" The blonde's dark haired friend questioned.
"Yes, but I do it up in that cage," he said coolly.
The girls seemed impressed, looking up with a 'wow.'
*luck seems to be smiling upon me… time to bust out a few lines and seal the deal,* Sou pondered.
He didn't have a chance to do that though as the girl beat him to it.
"I have a favor to ask you," the blonde started, grinning at the boy.
"Anything."
"Ano, would you introduce me to that bartender?" she said with a hopeful smile on her face.
"Oh come on!" Sou said despite himself, Sakura's temper seeping through. He quickly composed himself though. Cursing Itachi to the depths of hell, he said, "I mean, he's working right now so…"
"Please…" the blonde pleaded and her two friends behind her shifted their weights from one leg to the other anxiously. "This is our first time in a place like this and we're really nervous."
"Well, does it have to be the bartender, there are a lot of handsome dancers here, I am sure I can introduce you to someone that you'd find…"
"Please…" the girl interrupted again eyes glittering as she pouted. "Look at him, he's so handsome. I feel my heart pound in my chest every time I look at him. I really want to talk to him but there are too many girls at the bar and I am kinda scared I'd pass out if I just walk up to him and introduce myself. Please Sou-kun… please help."
Sou just blinked at the girl for the longest moment. He appeared to be calmly thinking but on the inside Sakura was a ball of rage, punching through walls in her mind and reducing her mental landscape to rubble, while inner Sakura nodded sagely at her, telling her that that's what she gets for running her mouth without thinking.
Drawing on every last bit of self-restraint he has, the boy gave an obliging smile, "sure. I'll introduce you to him. Follow me to the bar."
And then inner Sakura fell out of a chair laughing at Sakura's misfortune.
.
"Ano…" Sou started, he had let himself behind the bar since there was absolutely no way he would have gotten close to Itachi through the throng of ladies standing by to order.
"Yes," the Uchiha said, raising an eyebrow at the boy, he then gave an amused look as he saw a short haired blonde girl standing next to him, fidgeting.
"Q-san, this is Amaya-san, Amaya-san this is Q-san our bartender," Sou said, looking between the two.
"H…hey, Q-san," the girl said timidly.
Itachi's eyes narrowed a minute fraction. Sou couldn't blame him, they were supposed to be competing to see who got the most girls' attention and he's delivering a girl right to his doorstep.
*He must think this is some kind of trick,* Sou thought.
*Well, go ahead, tell him that it is no trick and that you're in fact that stupid,* Inner pitched in.
"Amaya-chan," Itachi said, pulling Sou out of his reverie. The boy couldn't help but notice the familiar honorific. But a second later Itachi surprised both Sou and the girl by offering her his hand.
Coyly, the now blushing blonde took Itachi/Q's hand.
With a swift move the Uchiha drew the girl in but before she could collide with him, he hoisted her up by her waist and sat her on the bar.
The women standing by the bar gave a deafening squeal as Itachi proceeded to ask, "what would you like me to do now princess?" in a sultry tone.
The girl's mumbled reply was lost on Sou as he was very busy trying to glare a hole into Itachi's head.
*Shameless demon king!*
.
Grumbling something about life being unfair, Sou made his way across the main floor again.
He was not a good flirt, that much was clear and while good-looking he apparently fit under the 'cute' category not the 'handsome' or 'sexy' one, which was very problematic since the person he was competing with was the personification of these categories.
*Yup, I'm doomed,* Sou pondered.
The boy was contemplating burying his head in sand when someone came crashing right into him.
It was a beautiful curly haired blonde in a blue paisley dress. Sou caught her and almost lost his balance for a second, but he steadied himself and held the girl up.
"I'm so sorry," came the girl's muffled voice as she drew away from him.
"It's ok…" Sou trailed off, noticing something off with the girl. "Are you Ok?" he questioned.
"I'm fine," she said but the tears streaming from her eyes made it clear that she was not.
Drawing in a deep breath, Sou rested his hand on her shoulder, "please tell me what's wrong. Whatever it is, I would like to help," he said sincerely.
The girl paused for a second before nodding.
And with that Sou led her to a table and they sat down.
He soon learned that the girl's name was Mai and that it was her bachelorette evening and she was having second thoughts about marrying her husband.
"Why are you going through with it then?" He asked.
It was an arranged marriage with a man who her parents liked and her friends approved of and told her that she would be an idiot not to marry.
"I hope they appreciate how far you're willing to go to make them happy," Sou said. "You're gonna spend your entire life with a person you do not like in order not to disappoint them."
"What if I don't find someone else?" the girl questioned fervently.
"What if you do?" Sou answered, "Are you willing to spend your entire life wondering what if there's someone out there that could have loved you and you could have loved back. Don't listen to me; just follow your intuition, if you feel like this man is right for you then go for it. But you obviously don't, so why doom yourself to a relationship you don't want. You are a beautiful young woman, anyone would be lucky to have you. You deserve much better than this," the boy said genuinely.
"I really don't want to marry him. I don't even know him," she said. "And I don't even think he cares for me at all. He just wants to get his parents off his back about the whole marriage and children thing so that he could focus on his work."
Sou shook his head.
The girl blinked back the tears before launching herself into Sou's arms.
He held her for a very long time as she cried.
And by the time she pulled back her friends had come by and Sou helped her inform them of how she feels. They were very supportive and many other girls gathered around to watch the bizarre scene of a girl crying in a strip club and getting comforted by a stripper.
She then told of many instances where that man was not good to her and mistreated her.
"I saw him twice since we got engaged, and he cut them both short because he had to work," the girls shook their head at that one. "He also told me not to expect him to spend a lot of time at home and that I should have only as many kids as I could handle because he does not plan on pitching in at home."
This was met with a collective gasp.
"I thought I could do it, so I could give my parents what they wanted. His family and mine are business associates and they say that it would be good for everyone if we married. But I just can't, Sou-kun you're right, I just can't do that to myself," the girl said.
Sou smiled at her.
"I guess this is no longer a bachelorette party," one of the girl's friends said.
"But it's still cause for celebration," Sou said, getting to his feet and taking the girl's hand. The girl laughed even though her face was still wet with tears, as he flung her around and got her to twirl to the heavy beat. None of the girls were looking at the dancers though, as they watched the boy do everything in his power to get the girl out of her bad mood.
After the girl's spirits lifted enough for her to spend the rest of her evening with her friends, Sou moved on knowing exactly what he's gonna do. What happened seemed to completely change his luck as the girls now seemed to take notice of him. Some of them saw him help Amaya with Itachi/Q, and some of them admired how caring he was towards Mai.
All in all, the girls just seemed to want to hang out with him. He apparently was the most approachable guy in a place filled with intimidatingly handsome men, and in no time Sou was being asked to hang out with girls right and left.
He adopted a perfect host demeanor, helping the girls conquer their embarrassment, putting them at ease and even helping some of the more shy girls ask for lap-dances and overcome the initial trepidation of being in the unfamiliar setting of a strip club.
Sou soon realized that in a place like this the girls needed someone to help them break the ice and enjoy themselves more than they needed someone to flirt with them.
And so he assumed that role, now fully understanding why Max used the word 'host.'
"Come on in ladies," Sou said, greeting a few new comers at the door since they seemed to be contemplating stepping back outside.
The girls walked in and immediately blushed at the sight of all the naked men, both up in the cages and on the stage.
"You are our queens today," he said. "For this one night, please sit back and let us entertain you. Order us and we will oblige," he added, putting a white gloved hand in front of him and bowing like a real butler.
The girls giggled and blushed even harder as Sou walked them in.
Sou spent the next hour catering to the girls, not flirting with them, but fully adopting the butler persona and being mindful of their needs, helping them acclimate and comforting them when needed.
In no time he became known as the go to guy on the floor and he had girls lining up to be 'served' by him, which entailed him calling them 'my queen,' bowing, and 'making their dreams come true,' which basically meant that he got them both drinks and lap-dances.
"Sou-kun,"
"Sou-kun, can you serve me,"
"No, me first, Sou-kun,"
"No I was here first,"
"No Sou-kun me and my friends are about to leave and we haven't been served by you…"
"Please Sou-kun,"
Taking one of the girls' hand and kissing it, Sou bowed, "yes my lady, I will do anything for you."
The girl swooned, and Sou flashed a victorious look Itachi's way, since he was now giving him a true run for his money.
The two exchanged a silent look, before they actually both smirked at the same time and turned away.
*Oh it's on,* Sou pondered. *I know what I'm doing now, and his dangerous bartender shtick can only get him so far.*
'We haven't identified anyone yet,' Sou heard Setsuna's voice in his ear. 'we have only 30 minutes left to the end of this first event. Shin, Sou, walk around and start looking for anything suspicious. We don't have a lot of time left.'
The two exchanged a look from across the room before proceeding to do as instructed. Sou excused himself and walked away from his adoring fans.
He had to start working now.
For fifteen minutes Sou walked around the place looking and listening for anything suspicious. But there was nothing.
Now it was getting tight, this mission could actually fail and the dangerous drug dealer that Sakura's Shishou seems to have taken enough of an interest in to send Anbu, would go undetected. He'd be free to bring dangerous drugs into Konoha.
Sakura couldn't allow that. Not if she can do anything about it.
Sou exchanged yet another glance with Shin, and shifted his eyes to inform his partner that he was going to the back. They hadn't seen anyone suspicious walk to the back of the club, but who knew, maybe they snuck in. And with Itachi stuck behind the bar for the rest of service he couldn't really investigate, so Sou took it upon himself to do that.
Walking to the back of the club and away from all the hustle and bustle and the watchful eyes of the patrons, Sou had every intention of sneaking into the offices to see if anyone was there.
He was about to dive into one of the offices when he heard a faint sound at the other end of the corridor, where the dressing room was.
He made his way over there. It was the end of the show, none of the dancers should be there at the time since everyone was instructed to be on the floor for the last few minutes of the show even if they're not performing in the final act.
Sou heard a faint clicking noise before he felt someone's presence approach. He quickly made his way to the other end of the corridor and dashed into the bathroom.
Waiting long enough for the person to walk down the corridor Sou then stepped out, bracing himself for a fight.
The tension in his body quickly dissipated though when he realized who it was.
"Jay," Sou said, blinking at the gold-clad choreographer who had a hand on his hip and was regarding Sou reproachfully from behind long glitter-dipped lashes.
"Why are you not on the floor? This is the final act."
"I was using the bathroom," Sou explained.
"Is everything ok?" the man questioned. "It's your first day, must be tough."
"I'm good," Sou said. "I'm getting used to it," he added.
"Alright then, get out there and show me what you got for those last few minutes. Wow me," Jay said, jazz hands and all.
Sou nodded, he took a few steps towards the stage area before stopping, "Ano, Jay-senpai," he started, turning back towards the man. "I did it," Sou said, "I actually managed to go through the entire show without taking my clothes off," Sou boasted.
Jay gave him a quizzical look before tilting his hip to the other side, "now that's no good, make sure to take it all off before the show ends. That's what pays the bills honey, we're strippers you know." And with that the man pushed Sou towards the main stage area.
Sou obliged, but his mind was racing furiously.
Once on the main floor, Sou made his way through the crowd, he didn't have time to answer the women who were calling out to him for he made a beeline straight for the bar and stepped behind it to stand right next to Itachi.
"Did you find anyone back there?" Itachi said under his breath, handing Sou a few cups.
"Only Jay," Sou said.
"So no one…"
"No, Jay is not Jay," Sou said quickly, as he filled the cups that Itachi handed him with whatever liquid was closest, pretending to be helping. But thankfully for them the final dance started and the girls all diverted their attention to the nude men on stage.
"Excuse me?"
"He's not himself. He told me to strip," Sou explained.
"You are a stripper at a strip club…" Itachi started.
"No, this morning when we were auditioning he made it a point to state that he felt like seduction is not a matter of nudity and was more about performance. This is why I was accepted. This guy would never tell me to take it all off, and he most definitely would not say it the way he did. That guy in there, I don't think he is the same Jay."
Itachi paused for a second, expression darkening, "you haven't known him for that long, are you sure?"
"I can't be sure, but I truly believe there is something very different about him. I was accepted because I put on a show and did not strip," Sou declared.
Itachi nodded and without preamble he dove under the bar as if to retrieve something. Yet Itachi was doing something more important, he was telling Setsuna to track Jay, go through all the footage of him from the beginning of the night, and to comb the surrounding area for anything unfamiliar.
"Comb the surrounding area?"Sou questioned.
"Jay has not been replaced, we've had our eyes on him all night, but If what you're saying is true then there is a strong possibility that the person we're after is not physically in the bar but is using some sort of hypnosis to possess Jay," Itachi said as he proceeded to mix a drink and hand it to Sou who was holding a tray.
"Something like the mind transfer Jutsu," Sou concluded.
Itachi nodded, looking impressed, "exactly," he said. "Now I have suspected something like that for a while since no one can morph into both men and women of different ages as fluidly as Yousuke does. But I had no proof. This could be a variant of the mind transfer technique. However, for Yousuke to do that, he would have to be someplace close."
'Our trackers picked up on a chakra signature nearby, we've found his location,' Setsuna's voice sounded in their ears. 'It does seem to be some sort of mind-link Jutsu that he could launch from a distance. We're not sure how it operates yet.'
"Having an ability like that explains why our spying equipment did not pick up on any unusual conversations," Itachi said.
'Why is that?' Setsuna questioned.
"He's using telepathy to communicate with his associates," Sou finished the thought.
"Hn," Itachi concurred, casting an enigmatic look Sou's way.
'we'll start tracking him from this point onwards. He's sure to lead us to his associates, and if he doesn't we'll just apprehend him and make the bastard sing,' Setsuna declared. 'he seems to have already ended his hypnosis, Jay should be back to normal by now. Should we question him?'
"With a technique like that he shouldn't have any recollection of what happened over the past few hours. It would be a gap in his memory. But we will question him just in case," Itachi said. "Let's delay it though until we apprehend Yousuke so that he won't suspect that we're onto him."
'Hai,' Setsuna said. 'Shin, Sou, Aika, you may return. Actually you may go home for the night. Your mission is over; we'll cover your trails at the club. Just make sure that you're not being followed,' Setsuna ordered before pausing for a long moment. 'And… good work, new-guy,' he added. 'over.'
Sou was stunned, and the look of shock on his face was mirrored on Shin's at the other end of the bar.
Setsuna actually praised him.
Shin smirked and Sou shrugged before his attention was drawn to Itachi who was observing him closely.
"Well done, Shin-san," Itachi said.
"Thank you …" Sou trailed off as Itachi's hand shot up and for the quickest of seconds tousled Sou's hair.
It was so brief that Sou actually doubted that he imagined it. But the smirk on Itachi's face assured him that he hadn't.
*He knows!* Inner screamed as Sou established eye contact with the Uchiha.
"Also," Itachi started again. "Congratulations on your performance in our competition," Itachi said without supplying any further details in case Setsuna was still listening. "You have truly proven your aptitude," he added in a formal tone.
Sou blinked, Itachi just acknowledged Sou's flirting aptitude.
*Does… does he know?* Inner stammered.
.
It was dark outside and all Sakura wanted to do was release the Henge, go back home, and sleep. But she had to stop by Sou's place first and transport from there just in case someone was watching her.
Sou was now wearing a simple black shirt and jeans and was at least comfortable not to be an overly dressed butler anymore.
Sneaking in unnoticed by the landlady was something that Sou had become very familiar with throughout the week.
And so he made his way to his top floor apartment and summarily snuck in. The plan was to transport straight away, but the bed looked so enticing that the boy/girl couldn't help but plop himself on it with an appreciative sigh.
His mind was about to start an Inner-Sakura narrated montage of everything that happened that day when he heard a knock on the door.
He frowned. *The landlady,* he pondered, dread settling over him, now he's gonna have to find a way to convince her that he does not want her to come in and help him 'unwind.'
Grumbling, Sou made his way to the door and flung it open, he paused, "Shin…?"
"Hey buddy," the redhead greeted with a huge smile. Now wearing a blue shirt and Khaki pants the older boy stepped in, completely uninvited.
"What are you doing here?"
"What a horrible way to greet a guest," Shin pouted.
"But…" Sou didn't get to continue as more 'guests' arrived at his doorstep. Sou recognized three of them as some of the men who were with him at the strip club posing as strippers. However, some of them he didn't know at all.
"Hey, Kanata," one of them said, stepping past the boy.
"Where's the food?" Another wondered, walking in.
"Forget about the food, where's the liquor," a bigger man said.
"What a place," a slightly older man said. "Now that's a bachelor pad… man it sucks to be married."
"Hey Kanata-Kun," a familiar voice greeted and Sou who was busy glaring at the uninvited men turned towards the door again to see captain Naoki walking in. "Thank you for inviting me," he said courteously as he walked in.
The man greeted him and Sou stood back and watched as even more men walked in.
Gritting his teeth, he made his way over to Shin who had allowed himself to take a seat on Sou's bed.
"What's going on here? Who invited those people and why?"
Shin gave him a bored look, "I did," he said as if it was the most natural thing.
"Why would you…"
"To celebrate ya buddy," Shin declared. "They couldn't believe it when I told'em what ya did today. But what they couldn't believe even more was that cap'in Setsuna himself praised ya, so I got'em all to come over to a party at yur place so you could tell'em yourself and so we can do some shots in yur honor," he explained getting to his feet. "Now where's the liquor."
Sou shook his head, overwhelmed with it all, "I don't have any alcohol," Sou said and suddenly the room fell completely quiet as all the officers turned their eyes towards the boy with expressions of horror on their faces.
You could hear a pin drop.
Sou felt as if he had committed a crime.
He gulped and it seemed like a great time to heed Inner Sakura's patented advice and just run.
"Oh, that's ok… Shin go buy some liquor," Captain Naoki said and everyone seemed to exit their stunned zombie state and come back to life, now emitting noises of approval.
"Get some food too, he only has eggs and cheese in his fridge," another officer said.
"Ai'ght," Shin said, grabbing Sou by the back of his shirt and hauling him towards the door. "Let's go buddy."
"Why do I…"
"Ya don't think I'll pay fr all O' that myself do ya, now what kinda host would you be if ya allow that," Shin said laughingly and Sou just about strangled him.
.
Coming back to his apartment, Sou realized two things, first the party goers almost doubled in number in his absence, and second even without his help those men seemed to have gained access to food, liquor, and were somehow playing music all over his tiny apartment.
Sou's apartment comprised only of a small living room, a tiny kitchen, a bathroom and a bedroom that was not separated from the living room so everyone who couldn't find a seat in the living room were now seated on the bed.
This, however, was such a tiny place for over thirty people to party comfortably and it didn't take Sou a long time to realize that his guests have spilled onto the adjoining roof.
Putting the liquor and the food that he bought down on the kitchen table and seeing them immediately disappear, Sou headed out to the roof to tell his guests to get back into the apartment because this was a public space for use of the entire building.
He had to rethink his statement through at the sight of his landlady standing arm in arm with Captain Naoki on the roof top.
"Oh, hey darling," his landlady AKA Koukou-chan greeted. "You should have told me you'd be having all these handsome men over, I would've worn something more suitable," she said with a wink and Sou remarked that much to Naoki's apparent discomfort the woman was indeed dressed in a yellow silk nightgown that barely covered anything.
"Lady Koukou brought us drinks and food, you have a very helpful landlady, Kanata-kun," Naoki said.
Koukou gave a musical laugh and clung onto Naoki's arm even tighter pushing closer to him, "lady Koukou," she repeated merrily. "Well, it's the least I could do, Sou-chan is my favorite tenant," she said with a wink at the young boy.
Sou smiled and backed away, leaving Naoki to his fate in favor of stepping back into the apartment and attempting to prevent any damage to the place now that the men seemed to be getting more rowdy.
The boy found the men having an arm wrestling contest. He tried to dissuade them since it was turning into a betting war and those who were losing were getting frustrated and starting small fights, but somehow he ended up participating.
Sitting arm in arm with a huge man, Sou drew in a breath. He recognized that man; he was one of the people who tortured him alongside Commander Lou on his first day at the force.
The boy listened as everyone declared that it was a sure bet that he'd lose and placed their money on his opponent.
"Go buddy!" Shin cheered him on.
"Nah, he ain't goin anywhere," the big man declared. "I tell ya what small fry, I'll play ya with my left arm and you can use both hands, how about that?"
Sou gave him an unimpressed look, "don't do me any favors," the boy said. "I tell you what…" he mimicked, "I will play you with my left hand and you can use both arms and get a friend to help you. How about that?"
The men watching broke into a bout of appreciative laughter and the man gave Sou a predatory look as they braced their hands on the table.
"Start," Shin said and the second he did, Sou drove the man's hand into the table almost immediately.
Silence descended on the room as the men were suspended in disbelief.
"Alright pay up, all of you," Sou said, grinning as he got to his feet. Sakura would have fist bumped the air and rubbed it in their faces but because she was modeling Sou after Sasuke she simply tucked her hands in her pockets and eyed them impassively.
The men broke into fits of cheering and whistling, before some of them started smacking Sou across the shoulders in congratulations.
"Go little man," one of the men said. "You're gonna make a fine officer, you didn't use any chakra either. Who knew," and the sentiment was shared by almost everyone watching.
This is why Sou found it quite strange when the raucous men suddenly went completely quiet.
*Oh, come on why did they stop congratulating us? That was fun,* Inner pouted.
Blinking in confusion, Sou turned around and followed their line of sight to the door.
He completely froze.
"Can I join?" came the very familiar voice of the Uchiha's clan heir, now dressed almost formally in black dress pants and a white shirt that he had tucked into his pants, with his hair in its side ponytail. He looked rather elegant and completely out of place in the rowdy party. "I heard you were having a party," he added.
At that the men raged again now heading towards their heir to welcome him.
In the next few minutes Sou learned that Itachi was indeed very popular amongst the members of the police force and that it actually wasn't out of the ordinary for him to drop by on gatherings like this and have a few drinks with the men.
It was actually one of the things that they admired about him.
Trying to steady himself, Sou walked up to Itachi and offered him a respectful greeting before excusing himself saying that he'd go get him a drink, only to run out onto the roof to think about how screwed he was.
"Kanata-Kun," captain Naoki who was still being harassed by the very persistent and now completely drunk Koukou said, desperate for someone to save him since his men were simply standing to the side and watching their polite Uchiha captain struggle under the woman's advances.
"Hey, Captain Naoki," Sou said, happy to have someone to talk to, the more busy he looks the less likely Itachi is to come for him.
"Can I talk to you," Naoki said. "It's about work. Umm… privileged information," Naoki said.
"Sure," Sou said.
"If you'd excuse me, lady Koukou, I have to discuss something important with him," Naoki lied, desperately pulling at his entrapped arm that she still held close to her chest.
"But… Nao-chaaaan," she argued and the men standing around snickered as the man's eyebrow twitched.
"A… Koukou-chan," Sou started. "My friend in there is looking for you. He desperately wants to talk to you."
"Your friend…"
"Yah, his name is Shin, you'll know him straightaway by the red hair," Sou said and Naoki smirked.
"Oh, I love redheads," the woman said, heading back into Sou's apartment immediately. A woman on a mission.
"Thanks," Naoki said, stepping closer to Sou. "I owe you," he said appreciatively.
"Can I ask you for a favor then captain Naoki," Sou said, he had a plan brewing for his last day at the force and this seemed like a good moment to advance it.
"Go ahead," the Uchiha allowed, he was kinda drunk, recently liberated, and in a giving mood.
"Can you request my services for the first half of the day tomorrow?" Sou inquired. "It has been a tough couple of days and…"
"Sure," Naoki interrupted. "I get it," he added. "You'll be helping me with documentation for the first half of the day."
"Thank you so much, I…" Sou didn't get to continue though as Itachi stepped onto the roof. Sou could tell even with his back turned towards the door by the mixture of shock and excitement on the men's faces.
"Itachi-sama," captain Naoki greeted.
"Captain Naoki," Itachi said, making his way towards the man.
*Damn it.*
.
Sou had one objective for the rest of the party: to avoid one-on-one time with Itachi.
He did a bang up job of it too, until Naoki finally declared that it's about time they all left since they had work in the morning. The men grumbled but obliged, making their way out but not before saluting the 'lil man' by smacking him across the shoulders and pushing him around which are apparently positive gestures.
Sou stifled a sigh as he looked around the place for Itachi. He didn't see him walk out and the Uchiha did not greet him goodbye. But his landlady didn't either so maybe they weren't completely alone just yet.
His heart pounded slightly faster as he poked his head out onto the roof and just as he expected Itachi was standing right there.
He was actually standing above someone who was lying on the floor, passed out.
"Your landlady is unconscious," Itachi said matter of fact-ly before walking towards Sou.
The boy backed into his apartment, mind racing, and before he knew it Itachi was at his doorstep advancing on him with quick steps and slamming the door closed behind him.
He tried to back-away but Itachi's speed suddenly increased like a predator who has finally trapped the prey and sees no need for tact anymore.
With a quick step, Itachi trapped the startled Sou with an arm around his wrist and pulled him forward so he was standing inches away from him.
"Itachi-sama…"
"Just admit it," Itachi said in low tone, a ghost of a smirk on his lips.
"I… I…" Sou started, not really sure how to proceed.
"If you don't admit it I could just activate my sharingan," Itachi threatened. "That would give me undeniable proof that your chakra signature is one and the same," he added, eyes darkening.
And with that Sou saw a quick flash of crimson in Itachi's eyes and before he could think he had brought both his hands upwards and put them on Itachi's eyes, effectively covering them.
Itachi smirked, but before he could say anything the door flew open.
"Sou-chan," the drunken woman slurred. "They're all gone, and Koukou-chan is lonely why don't we play a little game of…"
"Koukou-chan…" Sou said, startled but not enough to remove his hands from Itachi's eyes.
The woman froze on the doorstep, eyes going wide.
A second later her shoulders slumped as she took in the scene of the two men standing dangerously close with one of them covering the other's eyes, "I knew it," she said with a shrug before turning around. "They say all the good ones are either gay or married. But nah, they ain't married, all the good ones are gay. Just my luck," she muttered as she descended the staircase outside Sou's apartment.
Sou drew his hands away, blinking after the woman. And Itachi took the opportunity to close the door before turning to face Sou.
He raised an eyebrow.
"Alright, alright, it's me," Sakura said, initiating a progression of seals before bringing a chakra laced finger to her throat.
Itachi watched amusedly as the silver haired boy turned into his pink haired wife, now dressed in clothes that were a bit too big for her after losing Sou's slightly wider frame. Said wife then brought a proficient hand to her throat and started manipulating her vocal chords in a way that was indeed quite efficient.
In no time, very familiar emerald eyes locked with his.
She frowned, "did you know all along?"
He eyed her calmly for a moment, "I know everything," he declared.
She wasn't impressed, "yah right."
Itachi gave her a once over, obviously entertained by her transformation back to herself. He then brought a hand up and touched the back of his hand to her face, his eyes unreadable.
"Itachi…?"
"Stay like this," he said in a tone that for some reason caused Sakura's heart to do a backflip.
She attempted to steady herself as he caressed her cheek almost too gently, before his other hand laced around her waist and drew her in so that they were standing chest to chest.
What startled Sakura was that she wasn't startled at all. As a matter of fact, standing that close to him was familiar, almost…comfortable.
She looked up at him, "are you gonna tell on me?"
Itachi gave her a questioning look.
"I mean, did I fail my anbu project? The terms were for no one to find out about my real identity and for me to tell no one about it. But you know now. You found out and you're the vice president so…"
"The terms were for no one at the police force to find out about it," Itachi interrupted. "I am not a part of the force; I am part of the leadership of Anbu. Normally I would know of your project beforehand but it was my choice to excuse myself. If I hadn't excused myself then I would have been legally required to keep your secret since I am an Anbu commander even if I have come to the police force as part of a joint mission."
"So…"
"You're fine; you did not fail," he said, leaning in a bit so that their foreheads were touching. "I must say though that for you to do something like this is suicidal, and I specifically ordered you not to get yourself murdered."
She smiled, "I have survived so far," she said with a shrug.
"Not without injury," his deep voice echoed. "I will need a list of all those involved in those trials you were put through on your first day at the force and a list of everyone you were asked to assist during your apprenticeship."
Sakura blinked and drew away from him, "wh…why?"
"General information gathering," Itachi said, arm still wrapped around her waist. "Consider it part of your report," he said enigmatically.
"But…"
She was about to argue but Itachi interrupted, "You've been avoiding me."
On that note Sakura was reminded of why she had been avoiding him, even before the strip club mission. She fought down a blush at the memory of what she had done the last time they were that close.
"N…No I have not… I…" she attempted.
He raised an eyebrow, "so you always duck under staircases and secure a clear path on your way out of the house?"
"A… Ano… it's just that…"
*Woman up Sakura,* She said in her mind.
She cleared her throat. "It's just that the last time we met…"
"You sexually harassed me," Itachi deadpanned and it was all Sakura could do not to gape at him.
"Wha… no I did not, I was intoxicated and I didn't know what I was doing…"
"That does not give you an excuse to violate my personal space the way you did," Itachi said and did indeed sound very serious. Too serious for a man who had an arm around her waist keeping her close to him as they had a conversation about how she 'sexually harassed' him.
"Bu…But…"
"And then you did the worst thing possible," Itachi pushed on.
Sakura expected him to continue but he just paused, eyeing her calmly, forcing her to ask: "what? What did I do that was worse?"
"You fell asleep," he said. "this time…" he added, hand interlacing with her hair and closing the distance between them again, before leaning in and bringing his mouth to her ear to whisper, "I won't let you get a moment of sleep," he finished and there was no fighting back that blush that overtook Sakura's face.
Before the girl could react, Itachi's lips were on hers, demandingly coaxing her to reciprocate. And she did almost immediately, surprising herself at how eager she was to touch him and have him hold her so tightly.
She was matching his kisses and that was driving him crazy. She was conscious now, and she held onto him with no hesitation for the very first time.
Itachi slid a hand under her shirt and up Sakura's back, caressing up the length of her spine, and before she could focus on the intoxicating motion, Itachi bit gently down on her lower lip.
The girl couldn't help but gasp, allowing Itachi to slide his tongue over her lips.
Leaning into him even more, Sakura allowed him to explore her mouth, proficiently moving his tongue across hers in a way that made it very hard to convince her knees to keep carrying her.
The girl didn't really know what to focus on, his tongue, his lips, his hand now moving slowly down her back or the intoxicating feel of that strong body she was now fully pressed up against.
She held onto him even tighter, kissing him just as fervently. And it was then that Sakura lost all perception of time.
It could have been a minute or an hour; all Sakura knew was that they had to part for breath at one point and it was very frustrating.
Itachi didn't let her be frustrated for long though as his lips were quickly on her. This time he placed a quick soft peck to hers, before moving to her cheek and then down her neck, placing open mouthed kisses at a slow enticing rhythm that had her shuddering under his touch.
Itachi slowed down his pace even further, savoring the way she arched into him with every peck he placed on her neck. He was a greedy man though and he wanted much more of her, so the second he reached the base of her neck he bit down, and enjoyed the way she gasped and pushed her entire body up against him in a way that was more than a bit delightful.
The Uchiha smirked against her neck.
She pouted, "don't smirk at me," she said playfully and rather breathlessly and he was sure that she had no idea how seductive her breathy tone was.
He licked the place where he bit and enjoyed the way she brought her hand up to the side of his face as if to hold him closer to her.
That was it for the Uchiha prince.
And before she knew it, Sakura was being hoisted up into Itachi's arms.
"Ita…"
She tailed off at the look in his eyes: beautiful dark eyes so intense, she didn't need an interpreter to tell her exactly what he was thinking. And for her to have that much of an impact on the normally stoic man was something that she couldn't begin to believe.
In no time Itachi had covered the area between them and the bed. He placed the girl down on it and Sakura felt her heart race with excitement as he kneeled down on the bed and climbed over her, supporting himself on his arms, body barely touching hers as he looked deep into her eyes.
Sakura blinked up at him not really knowing why he had stopped.
A second later it dawned on her; he was waiting for her approval.
Sakura surprised Itachi to no end by smiling, a ridiculously sweet, and utterly disarming smile that he wasn't expecting at all.
And a second later she continued in her pattern of surprising him by bringing her hand up, interlacing it in his hair and straining her neck upwards as she brought herself closer to him.
He thought she was gonna place a kiss on his lips, but she didn't.
"Sakura…" her name escaped his mouth as she pressed the slightest of pecks to his cheek.
Itachi's heart raced. He knew battle excitement and he got excited over women before. But this was… a very foreign type of excitement, a type of excitement where his chest tightens in a way that was a brand of painful that was so utterly enjoyable and quite delectable.
Her lips were soft and gentle, her gesture was almost too innocent, and when she drew back she smiled at him again, brilliant and disarming, before casting her eyes down with a small blush, and for a brief second he was completely lost, not knowing what to do next and how to react at all.
The truth of the matter is Itachi had no idea what was happening and he didn't plan to but he felt himself draw closer to her. Not kissing her, not caressing her, not ravishing her like he wanted to do a second before, but instead, he buried his head in her hair pressing his face closer to hers, as he rested his body on top of hers and felt her arms wrap around him instinctively.
He inhaled deeply.
"Itachi…?"
She questioned but he had absolutely nothing to say as an answer.
I wonder what's wrong with Itachi…? A cold, maybe?
This chapter is brought to you courtesy of my love for both Kurushitsuji and Magic Mike (like everyone else, I too love it for its intricate plot).
One day left, Sakura needs to make a move.
Poor girl can't catch a break.
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