Lord Arakawa... Sakura knew who he was. He was the local lord of the area, someone she'd yet to do any investigating on. It seemed strange that he was coming to her small clinic; she'd only been here a day or two. Word seemed to travel fast. It was more likely that he had informants among the villagers. It was a good thing Sakura had ensured nobody saw Sasuke when she'd brought him into the clinic; she wouldn't put it past someone with those kinds of connections to have been the one behind the attackers he'd dealt with.
"Good afternoon," she greeted politely, giving her sweetest smile. "What can I do for you today, sir?" She knew she had to play every part of the gentle, demure doctor; it was the best way to maintain her cover. With this man being a person of interest, he was one person that she did not want to uncover her guise.
"I'm looking for the lovely doctor that's recently moved to cover this clinic. Is that you, miss?" He asked, looking her up and down. Sakura knew that look; it was the look of a man who liked women and liked to have them close by for personal reasons. Certainly not the kind of man that Sakura was into. She was more the strong, independent type; she preferred a man who would respect that. It was at this exact moment that she hated having to keep up a guise; it meant that she would have to play along with his... advances, in a way.
"That would indeed be me," she replied, allowing a girlish giggle to escape. "Ume Kobayashi." She offered the man a polite bow. "I'm so sorry, but I happen to be new to the area. You don't look like one of the villagers I've seen around, so I'm very sorry to say that I don't recognize you." After all, she was supposed to be from a foreign land and nothing more than a simple doctor; recognizing a local lord was not something she would likely do.
"Ah, my dear, you needn't apologize," he said as he took her hand, gently kissing the back of her knuckles. "I am Lord Nagihiko Arakawa. I govern this village as well as a few other small ones in the area." He was looking at her, taking in her every detail; Sakura suppressed a desire to back away, using the faintest touch of chakra to make her cheeks flush instead.
"I apologize for being so uninformed, my lord," Sakura replied apologetically. "I am new to the land, so I am not the most aware of those around here."
"You needn't apologize," he said as a hand reached up to touch a strand of her bangs. "Perhaps, though, you could make it up to me." There was a soft smile of desire on his face. The more he spoke, the more Sakura could tell the type; he was formal and respectful but with a hint of seductive flirtatiousness to go along with it. He was undoubtedly attractive, too; Sakura could see how any woman might swoon over him if they saw him.
"Make it up to you? How so?" An odd request, that was for sure.
"I'm having a little party in a couple of days. I want to invite you to partake formally. You needn't worry about dress; a kimono will do. I would certainly like to know more about you, Ume Kobayashi. You... intrigue me." He gave her a smile before backing out of the clinic, gaze trained on her until he had left.
As the exchange happened, Sasuke did his best to ignore the looks the man was giving Sakura. Some deep, hidden part of him was angered that this man would look at Sakura in such a way; he felt strangely possessive, fighting the urge to step forward and keep him away from her. His posture went stiff, and he kept a very close eye on the man; if anything were to happen to Sakura, or if she showed even the slightest hint of discomfort, he would step in without a word.
Unfortunately, the exchange left him with more time to think than he wanted. Deep down, he knew exactly what he was experiencing. It was pure, raw jealously, and a tiny part of him refused to admit that was why. He couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to get Sakura involved with him. Not like that. He couldn't help but think she deserved better than someone like him. Someone who wouldn't have treated her the way he did. He'd spent so long hurting her over and over again. Who was to say that he wouldn't end up doing the same?
He snapped back to reality as the man was leaving, clearing his throat and pretending he hadn't just been thinking about the pinkette. He watched as she went and closed the door, glad the day was finally over.
"Well, that determines what we'll be doing tonight," she said as she passed by him, working on organizing a few papers. "I want to look into Lord Arakawa's estate and see what we can find out about him before the party." She drew in a deep breath. She had a plan for the party, though she had a feeling Sasuke wasn't going to be the fondest of it.
"What do you plan to do about the party?" He asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice. He didn't like Lord Arakawa. The man gave off a disrespectful vibe that he wasn't fond of. The way he looked at Sakura—not just because it was Sakura, but because Sakura was a woman—irritated him. Perhaps it was being raised to respect women that had this effect on him, but any man who looked at a woman as if they were nothing more than a pretty plaything pissed him off. Sakura was far more than just a lovely woman. She was beautiful, intelligent, and tough as nails. She was the most competent person he knew. Smarter than him, even—and he was a notable prodigy.
"I plan to attend and see if I can, um... convince Lord Arakawa to speak with me privately." In most instances, she would have probably got the lord drunk until he passed out—or drugged him—but with Sasuke here, she had other means. Now that she thought about it, there was one plausible option. "Hey... Can the Sharingan—or your Rinnegan, whichever—alter a person's memory?" She asked, a thoughtful expression on her face.
"Through a Genjutsu, most likely. I've never tried it." Leave it to Sakura to make use of what assets she had handy. He was proud of her. "Why do you ask?"
"Well," she explained as she led the way back to the living area, "Normally I would get the lord in private and get him drunk or drugged and do whatever sort of investigation I could, but if we don't have to attempt to drug him, that's even better. If I could rely on a Genjutsu, which is something less traceable than drugs, that would be ideal. Any Genjutsu I use has the potential to be broken, but I know for a fact that anything you'll cast will be stronger and more potent." Sasuke wasn't a Genjutsu expert by any means, but his ocular Genjutsu were the strongest Sakura knew. She'd experienced them first-hand, after all.
"Yeah. Probably." He set his sword down by the door, slipping the haori off and draping it on the chair, followed by the eyepatch. It was annoying to wear; he'd rather not have to, but it was necessary for the disguise. Neither of them wanted to risk their cover being blown. He stretched and rolled his shoulders, letting out a long breath after.
"Tired?" Sakura asked with a chuckle. He shrugged in response, moving to the bedroom to change into his clothes. The haori and kimono were nice—incredibly so—but he wanted to preserve them for tomorrow. "I'll make something for us to eat," Sakura called from the kitchen as she started to prepare food. No rice balls for tonight; no, she was more inclined to have a lighter and healthier meal before they went out investigating. A chicken and spinach salad, with a couple of hard-boiled eggs, an apple, and almonds sprinkled over the top. She prepared two good-sized salads and drizzled the dressing over before setting it in front of Sasuke, who had taken a seat at the table.
"I left the apples out of yours," she said with a smile. "If you want them, just let me know. I know you're not fond of sweet things." She figured apples might be a little too much for him. He softly shook his head in response and dug into the salad, relishing the taste. Delicious and healthy, and the chicken—which had a nice strong lemon flavour—was terrific. He couldn't remember the last time he'd eaten a meal this wholesome. Sakura was an excellent cook.
"Okay. We'll wait for nightfall, and then we'll get going. Is there anything you noticed about Lord Arakawa, Sasuke-kun? Something I might have missed?" Sasuke pondered on that, chewing a piece of spinach slowly. Was it relevant to mention that he thought the lord was questionable? He was sure Sakura had noticed the way he leered at her.
"He's a degenerate," Sasuke eventually replied. "Reminds me of a certain someone..." Naruto, of course. Best friend or not, Naruto was a disgusting pervert sometimes. He'd heard tales of Naruto's mentor, Jiraiya, and he was deeply convinced that was where such behaviour came from.
Sakura watched the Uchiha's expression at his words, and then it clicked; she burst into laughter. "You're right! Well, sort of. Naruto's at least a more respectful degenerate." She couldn't help but giggle more, watching the deep frown on Sasuke's features. "Naruto wouldn't leer like the lord was." She was quiet for a moment before another thought came to her. "Bet he wouldn't leer so much if he knew what these fists could do," she said, playfully cracking her knuckles.
"...you're terrifying," Sasuke mumbled as he took a sip of water. Terrifying was putting it mildly. "No wonder Naruto's frightened of you. You already had a temper when we were kids. Now it's just worse." The expression on his face was a frown, but Sakura could see the hint of fear in it. Sasuke was treading carefully, she could tell; the last thing he wanted to do was piss her off.
That only elicited more laughter out of her. "I guess it is kind of terrifying when you first see it. That's not all I can do. Maybe I'll show you." She smirked widely.
"No thanks," he replied quickly. "I think I have an idea." No messing with Sakura. That was now a rule in his life. Never, ever piss Sakura off. Ever. He would crush her like a bug.
"Okay then, your loss. Maybe you'll see it anyway, who knows." She was enjoying the look on his face for some reason; Sasuke was rarely, if ever, afraid of anything. Even when he was, he wouldn't openly show it; even now, it was a subtle change in his expression and body language that indicated it.
"Okay. Let me get changed and ready, and we can leave in a little bit to get our investigation underway. Is there anything you need? Supplies, anything?" She had a healthy supply of weapons, courtesy of Tenten, in case she needed them.
"No, I should be fine. Did you find a scroll with my things when you found me?" He realized he hadn't seen the scroll. With one arm, he was limited in what he could carry, so most of his weapons had been sealed into scrolls.
"Yeah, I put it with the rest of my things so it wouldn't be discovered. I'll bring it for you." She dipped into the bedroom, changing into her outfit. Within moments she was back to looking like a proper shinobi; she wore her headband on top of her head as always, her long, pink hair flowing down to the middle of her back. Normally she'd wear it short, but longer had been more suitable for this particular mission. She had her medical pack, her holster, everything she needed; she held her gloves in one hand, bringing the requested scroll back out to Sasuke along with his cloak.
"Thanks," he mumbled as he took the cloak, expertly swinging it over his back and buttoning it with one hand before slipping the scroll into a hidden pocket on the inside. "I'm ready." He looked at Sakura in her new outfit; it was the same shade of red she always wore, and seeing her hair long was new. It'd been years since she had it long like this; the last time she'd worn it long was the Chuunin Exams from his recollection.
"Okay. We'll wait for the sun to finish setting, and we can go." The more they could find out about Lord Arakawa before the party, the better.