The Attraction Effect
Summary: "Let's get this fairy tale out of your head and let's make it quick Sakura" He pulled his head back to stretch his neck, the muffled sound of splintering heard, followed by a soft groan, "While, metaphorically, we could say that if his team was in danger, Sasuke would cut his heart out and trade it, he'd still try to bargain with the enemy. But see, if it were her in this position…" He paused for effect, "he would cut his heart out himself and give it for free, metaphorically of course." It didn't ease the situation. AU Sasuke/Hinata
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of its characters.
This is an (AU) alternate universe fic and circles around spy life. It's all made up. Inspiration was drawn from all the spy movies and shows I've been watching lately.
Rated M, just in case. This is a Sasuke/Hinata fic, though Sakura does play a main role.
Chapter 1
This is the Team
Sakura was in a mood greater than good – as that seemed to be possible. She was ecstatic and was starting to believe that this was due to a golden entity or rule in the universe known as karma – good karma in this case – that stated that if you do good, good will come to you tenfold – or whatever the saying was. All that needed to be known was that she was in a good mood.
She had passed her analytical test with flying colors, known by her professor, Tsunade – who preferred to be called Lady Tsunade – as brilliant and thoughtful for her generation with the mind of an endless spinning wheel. "It's clockwork" Tsunade had said, a rare grin on her face, "Your brain that is. You see, it doesn't just collect information, analyze it, then spit it back out. We've got computers for that" A wry chuckle followed. "But yours, it takes whatever it's given and looks at it from all angles, tests it, and of course, analyzes it before giving us a final product that fits in the rest of the puzzle. That-" she had carelessly thrown back a stray curl of blonde hair that had tickled her pale skin moments ago, "is exactly what we need. You, Sakura, have received a high honor to join one of our best teams in Konoha."
"Which one?" she couldn't help but ask, smooth fingers curling into fists at the excitement, a small light of anticipation glimmering in emerald orbs. She had edged forward in her seat like a restless child – quite unbecoming for someone of her caliber as Tsunade would have said - in the dim conference room, a room known solely for judgment; for people who had slaved over their studies in the field had made it into the real world and for those who were going to endure another five years of endless theory work once more. It was impossible to get in without a sealed recommendation and even more impossible – let's humor the vocabulary - to get out without being shot on sight. Not that anyone would have wanted to leave the nicely kempt facility that promised prestige and fame through name as many who had left the training school had become great and monumental; no sarcasm intended.
"Number Seven" was the flat answer, and it would have seemed emotionless for someone who had commented Sakura on her brilliant mind, but a subtle response and a slight downward curve of the lady's elegant brows hinted worry. "Remember what you learned in here and take it with you to the real world, because one mistake means many lives gone. Do you understand that Sakura?" And the pink-haired female knew that that would be the last time she would hear such a commanding tone from her professor; the one who had taken her in without a doubt and made her into the person she was today – and that cliché was absolutely necessary to drive the point home.
"Yes Maim" and she had been ushered to the front door; a steel gate with a tremendous size, a direct contradiction from the white walls on the interior, meant to keep people wanted in and others not needed out. Sakura found herself uncharacteristically, but eagerly lean towards the door as it opened, the slight creaking sound it made as it groaned under its own weight stirred the pot of mixed emotions in her gut. There was a light and to most, it would have meant that it was somewhere around mid-day or that the sun was out, but to her, it meant that freedom was in front of her and that there was light at the end of the tunnel. For the five years she had been studying in the bleakness of the classrooms – metaphorically speaking, of course, for she had enjoyed Lady Tsunade's classes very much - she was now going to get the field experience she had been hoping for. It would make her parents proud, more so than when they had realized that she had been recommended into the analytical course by Tsunade herself.
(o)(O) 3:00pm (O)(o)
"It's a pleasure to finally meet the brains Tsunade was talking about" The male who chose to spoke was pale, unexpectedly pale – the sort of pale that would make people ask if he had seen a doctor lately of if he had some sort of illness that made him resemble a blank slate – and Sakura took note of that, which must have been obvious because the man smiled; a fake smile – she noted this mentally once again. He was dressed casually – consisting of all black, pants and a shirt - for someone in such an elaborate laboratory, which she discovered, was littered with weapons and other devices. Computers were everywhere and lights would go off blinking erratically every few seconds.
"Y-yes, and you must be Sai" she answered politely after a quick look around with discerning eyes, smoothly reaching out to grip his hand.
"Turtle"
She paused mid shake, "umm, what?"
He smiled calmly – that fake smile again. "It was a stroke of genius you know. Your eyes" he pointed out, quite pleased, "are a lovely shade of green, like a Turtle. So your code name is in fact, going to be turtle. Nice name, yes? Because I'm sure Tsunade told you that the second you leave the facility and come into our custody, you become a part of our team, like a limb to a body" He noticed Sakura's smile at that, "But don't get comfortable with that term because that means when one of us is hit, the rest suffers. It comes with being ANBU. We do exactly what our leader says and we do it together seamlessly. Usually that requires training together, but the Lady insists that you'll fit right in." He stopped to do something on a touch screen at his left, swiveling calmly in his chair before looking back at Sakura. "That's good for us…and you, I suppose …Turtle"
Said female blinked in response, "Umm, yes, I see. So what should I call you?"
He mimicked her, "Umm, well, Sai of course" Then he smiled again and he seemed to toss those around as easily as his sarcasm, Sakura dryly noted, "Only inside the zoo, we call each other by our given names" He urged on at the confused look, "Zoo, as in our base. Code name again you see" At the pinkette's nod, he continued slowly, "Outside of the zoo" he gestured with his hands, "I'm called sloth. Naruto is fox and Sasuke is raven. Got it?"
"The rest of our teammates I presume" she replied at the extra information.
"Smart girl" he turned to grab her a chair, swiveling it effortlessly to her side – he seemed to favor the swiveling seats – and continued, "The other two are out on a mission, but the minute they get back, we introduce you and then de-brief" another smile followed, "I'm afraid we won't have a welcoming party"
Sakura only nodded and took the chair, "So what do I do first?"
There was silence on the other end for a second before that smile was plastered on his face again, "Wow, down to business already. It's great having a newbie." He rolled in his chair as she thought of whether he was being sarcastic again or not, "Nothing to do really, hence the name I received, or maybe it's cause people think I'm lazy, or something like that" He shrugged it off carelessly.
She was stunned for a moment. "W-well, ok" and turned to stare blankly at the computer screen, praying to not have an awkward situation.
Awkward silence settled like a mist over the room almost immediately.
There was a sigh, "Alright Sakura, if it's killing you to not be doing anything, I suppose I can hand you some files to analyze." He stood and went through a well hidden door in the corner of the room that she had never seen before; there probably was a very obvious purpose to it. "Constantly tapping your feet on the floor was driving me crazy you know" he stated bluntly, voice muffled from being in the other room, "Women and their heels and their blouses and whatever…" The rest was muffled, but he came out seconds later –quick enough to catch her pink cheeks lighting into a soft red – and placed said files gently in front of her on the glass table. "These files are a puzzle" he continued, seating himself once again, "For me at least, but what do I know? I'm just a mechanist and the other two are just ANBU spies, so there's no hope in them." Sai was back to being occupied with his touch screen when it went off with a soft beep. "See what you can figure out with that information and report your findings to me asap"
He looked to be busy so as Sakura started to open the page and pull out her portable touch screen, Sai cut in again, frazzling her, "Oh yes, one more thing." He looked directly at her, "The moment Sasuke comes back, I think its best that you hide those files. It's still sort of a soft spot for him" His smile almost turned into a grimace, "You'll notice him right away. Tall, dark and broody. Completely cruel but amazing at his job. Naruto though…" a genuine quirk of the lips, "…is special"
He gave her no time for questions and went back to work.
Sakura opened the file and skimmed the first page in interest, then it turned into intrigue.
A girl?
She was the same age as her, 23. There was a picture on the far right of an opal eyed woman with jet black hair that trailed a little past her shoulders. She was smiling timidly.
Emerald orbs lowered to the stats.
Name: Hyuuga Hinata
Age:23
Description: Father owns a small company known as Hyuuga Corp. Deceased wife. No criminal record on all members.
Civilian.
Missing.
Sakura frowned. The description was small, if not minimal. A civilian? She bit her pen. It was a habit she had gotten over the years whenever information presented herself. What makes her special? And she flipped to the next page, the soft crinkling sound it made served as the small noise the room would make apart from Sai's occasional yawns.
There were a lot of marks on the next page, some highlights and some pen work with the occasional drag of a pencil that had been erased poorly.
The page was written in an almost eligible scrawl.
Whereabouts of Hyuuga Hinata are unknown as she has been missing since December. Suna has been searched and the best lead implies that Kirigakure is the most likely location at the moment. The place will be searched in early January. With the request of aid, the estimated time of a full grid search would take a total of a month and three days, granted that any local spies in the vincity do not wage a war or begin a feud…
She skimmed to the end.
It was marked three years ago. She's been missing for three years and it seems that finding her is crucial because 'aid' was requested. She bit her lip. But she's a civilian. Does she have information that's important to the – but no, it would have been listed on her stats page. There's something missing if all of Suna was searched and they had their sights set on Kirigakure right after.
She turned to ask Sai something, but he seemed to be staring straight ahead at one of the surveillance cameras. In sight was a shock of ruffled blonde hair and beside the frantic wave the man gave to the camera with a grin and a cheesy thumbs up sign, there was a raven-head beside him.
He leaned against the wall beside the doorframe. He said something and turned to knock on the door.
The sound resonated in the otherwise quiet room.
Sai frowned, standing up with a grace that didn't seem to belong to him. "I've got it. You just quickly close those files and return them on the corner left shelf in that backroom. Don't mess up" He gave a cool stare that seemed serious for once, "and then I need you to close the door and come back out… I'll introduce you to the rest of the team properly after" He took languid steps to the door as she hurriedly straightened the numerous sheets of paper neatly – as Sai's look and the scene called for it – and was about to enter the room when Sai called out, "Hurry for me would you Turtle?" He chuckled, but it seemed off – not light, as intended, but by then, Sakura wasn't focusing on his strange behavior, but putting the file in the empty left compartment as ordered and quickly shutting the door before approaching the male again.
In his place was cool midnight black eyes with a similar shock of hair that seemed almost tamed, though in odd angles which oddly, suited the male's face. "This is…" his voice was crisp and low, a tremor that travelled down Sakura's spine – and it would have been in a good sort of movie way if not for the barest ice at the edge and glassy look he portrayed so easily.
"Sakura-"
Sai was cut off abruptly, "-who was just in that room a second ago looking through personal files when we haven't even met her yet to see if she's a reliable asset." His voice never rose though it was angry. No, it was a dull monotone – which only made Sakura jump, waiting for him to snap out like a wild dog, "What were you looking at?"
Her brain froze – her lovely reliable brain that could have gotten her out of the situation. She would have immediately answered with the truth if not for Sai's equivalently frosty look.
"Nothi-"
"It was Hinata's files wasn't it?" he dismissed her as she met his back, "Sai, I don't need help and I definitely don't need help from someone who just came out of that useless school institute their running."
"Hey, calm down man" was the blonde's retort, presumably Naruto, "She's our new teammate, remember?" Though his voice had a certain rasp to it, it was low, gentle, and soft and it did wonders to calm the raven-head down as his once glassy gaze turned to a bored countenance. His shoulders slumped just a bit. "See? We're good now, so we're going to turn around slowly and make friends with the pretty girl behind us" He smiled sloppily at Sakura, followed by a wink.
Cool, Sasuke did just that.
She heard Sai let out a loud breath.
When Sasuke grasped her fingers for a handshake, she felt a shock go through her, something she couldn't explain, or possibly could. His hands had been frigid after all so it probably made her shiver a bit – no, of course, it wasn't one of those cliché love at first sight sort of things, cause that certainly didn't happen – so it was perfectly explainable.
"M'dear" and Naruto kissed the back of her palm after Sasuke's brisk welcome.
His smile was genuine.
(o)(O) 8:00pm (O)(o)
"Where's Sasuke?" Sakura said after a while, her voice soft in the lab.
Naruto had been wheeling around in the rolling chair, a pen in his left ear as he occasionally absent-mindedly marked something on a file before returning to his spinning. He was also wearing all black, and the blonde hair seemed to be a beacon in his environment. He hummed as he worked, so it was never quiet – something Sakura was beginning to appreciate – but the odd swear would escape him whenever something he found annoying on the sheet in front of him would wreak havoc. Despite his constant distracted state, he seemed intent on his work – an outstanding oxymoron, in a sense.
Sai was busying himself with something on the touch screen and was holding a square slab of metal that seemed important because every few seconds, he would glance at it with a glare marring his otherwise fine features – apart from the very pale skin – and then, he would return to something on the screen.
They turned to her.
"Back room" was the curt reply from them both, almost in complete unison before Sai returned to his work.
Naruto elaborated, "Sasuke is hard at work, so let's just leave it at that. And don't blame Sai" he cut in, earning a brief icy look from said male, "he just wanted to make you feel welcome, so he let you look a little through Hinata's file. Sasuke's a natural ass anyway."
"Naruto-"
"You see, Sai's just scared of Sasuke because those files are like Sasuke's babies and apparently it's not ok for anyone to look at them until Sasuke deems them worthy."
The blonde seemed to cringe at his own words, which Sakura struck as strange.
"Any way, he'll be out later, so why don't you get some sleep. We'll definitely have something for you to do tomorrow. Alright?"
Sakura nodded and stood, but let out a breath and stated, "What is Hinata?" she corrected herself confidently, "To this group I mean?"
The paler one of the two responded immediately, "A ghost" He jammed his finger on the touch screen and it sparked.
Naruto turned to his work.
"Go to sleep Sakura"
So she did.
I'd like to know how many people are actually interested in this story. Reviews are asked for and would be appreciated.
