"I-I spent the night here?" Sakura Haruno asked, heart jumping into her throat. She tugged self-consciously at the shirt that barely came past the curve of her bottom. Was this his shirt?
"Yes," Kakashi informed her, still massaging the towel into his damp, silver locks, "how do you feel?"
His eyes didn't travel downwards to her bare legs. They were dutifully locked on her face.
"My head hurts." It was the only thing that came to her scrambling mind.
To say that she was at a loss for words was an understatement. What had they done? Why was she practically naked beneath his top?
"I'm not surprised." He crossed to the kitchen, rounding the island counter and digging in the hanging cabinets wordlessly for several moments. He pulled out a vial filled to the brim with small, blue pills.
"Why am I here?"
He offered her the jar, purposefully avoiding her question. "How many do you think you need?"
She swallowed down a lump in her throat, still trying to wrap her head around the fact that she was at her sensei's apartment. He was acting so normal. Like nothing had happened. "Three?"
Kakashi dispensed three pills into his palm and stretched out his hand to her. She padded cautiously across the space and placed her hand beneath his own.
"What happened last night?"
"I daresay things got a little out of hand," he rolled off, once again reaching in his cupboard, back turned to her. This time, he pulled a tall glass from the lowest shelf and spun around, flipping on the tap and sticking it beneath the sputtering flow of water. She studied his black and red eyes trained downward at the filling glass. It felt as if he was avoiding her gaze.
So… something had happened. The thought caused her stomach to lurch uncomfortably. She felt almost delirious from the awkward possibilities of what might have transpired.
Why couldn't she remember? Had she really had so much to drink?
"How so?" Sakura asked, feigning casualty. In reality, she was dying to know. Her mind was buzzing. How had she gone from flirting with Ryuu to waking up in her teacher's bachelor pad? The only things she could think of were very salacious and inappropriate.
"Take those first," he said, gazing at her with the sort of intensity she only saw on the direst of missions.
Take what? She had already forgotten about the medicine cradled in her open palm.
He passed her the full glass.
Oh, right. She took it hesitantly before tossing the pills onto her tongue and knocking them back with a swig of water.
"Okay." This whole situation was so embarrassing. She needed to know what happened then and there, or she may explode. "Now tell me."
"Well—"
Three loud, sharp raps rang through the small apartment. They looked to the door in tandem before their eyes snapped to each other.
"Who is that?" Sakura whispered.
Wordlessly, Kakashi Hatake hung his head in exasperation. It was as if he already knew this had been coming. Like they had run out of time.
"Answer me, Kakashi-sensei! Who?" Sakura pressed, placing the glass of water on the island counter with a heavy thud.
"You might want to go finish getting dressed." He was already heading to the front door. As he reached for the knob, Sakura looked down and fully realized her state of undress. She hopped back into the room before he could pull it open.
She froze as she observed the space. This wasn't just any room. It was Kakashi's room. She had never been to his place, let alone his bedroom. The thought would have normally sent her into an existential spiral, but she didn't have time. There was someone at the door.
"Kakashi, sorry to bother you so early in the morning," she heard someone say in the distance.
Thinking quickly, her gaze flashed around the room. On the floor were the discarded remains of last night's outfit: her boots, the crimson dress, and her white headband. She couldn't wear that! It would expose far more than this borrowed shirt.
"Izumo. Kotetsu. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Though muffled through the walls and cracked door, Sakura could hear the reassuring calm tone of her sensei's voice.
Those two? She certainly did not want the two Jonin-level men sneaking a peek at her bare legs. Thinking quickly, Sakura ran to the dresser across the room, wrenching open the middle drawer. Her eyes landed on stacks of trousers and shorts folded neatly away inside. She pulled the nearest pair of pants and fumbled to pull them on.
They were so large on her that they dragged on the floor beneath her feet, threatening to trip her. She rolled up the legs frantically before grabbing a belt that was stored away in the drawer. There was no way these pants would stay on without help.
"Tsunade-sama is summoning you to her office."
"It's a bit early for a mission briefing."
"Erm– it's actually not for a mission."
A beat.
"I see."
Sakura neared the edge of the door. What should she do? Should she make herself known? No. Bad idea. She didn't want rumors to spread.
But that didn't mean she couldn't listen… Her foot padded forward cautiously, and the old wooden floorboard groaned loudly beneath her.
"Is someone here?"
She cringed. Great. Some ninja she was.
"I have a guest."
"Bring someone home from the bar, did you?" Kotetsu's tone was teasing, but she knew they were likely going to investigate.
She spun around, looking to the window. Yes! She could escape before they saw her!
"Sakura!" Kakashi called from the other end of the apartment and she froze in her tracks. Izumo and Kotetsu laughed in the distance. They didn't believe him.
The look on their faces when she gingerly made her way around the corner and revealed herself to the two older ninja could have been hung in a museum. It was an unadulterated glimpse of pure shock and disbelief.
"Good morning." Sakura greeted sheepishly.
. . .
Sakura Haruno had heard of the infamous 'Walk of Shame,' but had never participated in it herself.
Well... until today.
She shuffled along the busy Konoha street in Kakashi's oversized clothes while Izumo and Kotetsu flanked her and her teacher. The civilians milling about tossed them strange looks when they caught sight of her, and molten mortification bled across her cheeks. Of course this whole mess had to be a public spectacle.
The worst part of it all? She had no idea if this even constituted a walk of shame because she didn't remember a single damn thing from last night!
Izumo and Kotetsu's untimely arrival had inhibited any further digging on her part, and even now she kept stealing sideways glances at her sensei, as if merely looking at him could help untangle the mystery of what had happened.
Maybe she actually had only stayed the night, and nothing more! Kakashi may have dabbled in perversion with his smutty books, but she had never seen him display any lecherous behavior towards any woman in the years that she had known him. In fact, she couldn't imagine him pursuing anyone romantically... Let alone her.
But then came the little issue of her waking up in his bed and in his clothes. If it had been something casual she likely would have crashed on the couch, and though it wasn't unthinkable that he would have given her something warmer to wear to bed… why on earth had she been almost naked beneath the borrowed garment?
Something didn't add up, and even Izumo and Kotetsu seemed to take note. They kept shooting one another furtive glances when they thought she wasn't looking.
Sakura wanted to crawl out of her damn skin. This was so mortifying.
She snuck another look at her sensei. To her chagrin, she realized he looked like it was just another day for him. His hands were in his pockets as his eyes were trained on the clouds above. Did nothing phase this man?
Once on the top level of the Hokage Residence, Shizune's face colored the moment her black eyes landed on Sakura's attire. Her gaze scraped up to her face and over to Kakashi and back, mouth dropping open in shock.
"S-sakura-san, what are you—!" she gasped, gripping tight to the clipboard in her arms. "I mean… Kakashi! Thank you for coming at such short notice."
"Good morning," Kakashi greeted mildly.
"What is this about, Shizune-sama?" Sakura asked, her head throbbing. Were they in trouble? They must have been. And, for the love of God, when was this medicine going to kick in?
"Thank you for delivering them, gentlemen," Shizune dismissed the two Jonin, and they bowed respectfully before dipping away. She seemed to be pointedly ignoring Sakura's question.
Once they were gone, she turned her attention back to them, expression turning serious.
"Tsunade is waiting for you, Kakashi."
Sakura looked at Kakashi again, chest tightening in anxiety. Nothing was adding up. Why would Tsunade need to see him after a harmless night out with friends? What on earth happened while she had been blacked out?
"Lead the way," Kakashi rolled off lightly, as if this was completely normal.
Shizune nodded stiffly before turning on her heel and pushing open the door. They followed close behind.
Sakura's borrowed shoes clunked loudly against the wooden floor as she entered her shishou's office, and she wished desperately that they had allowed her to grab her own clothes before being summoned. As Shizune crossed the long space to join her station, Sakura's gaze followed her before landing where Tsunade sat.
The Hokage was flanked by half a dozen ninja, who Sakura paid no mind to. She was too busy sizing up her shishou, trying to wrap her head around why on earth she had summoned them there.
Tsunade's cinnamon eyes widened the moment she took in her student's disheveled appearance. Her suspicious gaze flicked to Kakashi and back to Sakura's face. It was a quick movement, but it spoke volumes. The Hokage was assuming the worst about what had conspired between the two of them.
"Are you sure this is the man?" Tsunade asked suddenly, breaking the thick, awkward silence that had settled over the room.
"Yes, this is him," an oddly familiar voice came, and Sakura was startled to find a man looming right behind the Hokage. She recognized his sandy blonde hair and the Suna Hita-ate, but it stopped there. This man had been beaten to a bloody pulp, and had been rendered unrecognizable even after a basic healing Jutsu. His arm was in a sling, a bandage across his right cheek.
"Ryuu!" Sakura gasped, unable to mask her shock. He was the last thing she had remembered before her night went dark. What had happened to him?! He cast her a look of distaste through his one unswollen eye.
"You know him?" Tsunade asked, realization flickering across her face.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama. I met him last night with my friends." She exchanged a brief, tense look with Shikamaru, who was stationed by the window. Behind the Hokage stood three nervous-looking Kona-nin and three Suna-nin, including Ryuu. To her surprise, she took note that Gaara was not there.
"And why are you here now?" Tsunade's voice was sharp. The young kunoichi fiddled with her sensei's long sleeves, pondering her question. Did that mean she could go? Had Kakashi been the only one needed?
"I-I don't know," Sakura whispered, face aflame.
"She spent the night with me," Kakashi announced to the room, he dragged up a pointed finger aimed right at Ryuu, "after I rescued her from him."
"Bullshit!" Ryuu spat, slamming a fist down on Tsunade's desk. Her shishou didn't react, save for a calm, raised hand. The Suna-nin retreated back behind her, a look of rage marring his already swollen features. "You attacked me out of nowhere! Completely unprompted!"
The pink-haired kunoichi stared in shock, confusion coursing through her. He had completely transformed from a handsome, mild-mannered ninja to a rage-filled monster. And what had Kakashi said? He had rescued her from him?
Had he been… hurting her? Doing something to her? The thought sent a terrible shiver down her spine.
"Sakura," Tsunade asked, cutting through her inner turmoil. "What happened last night?"
She tried fruitlessly to swallow down the lump in her throat.
"I went out with friends to the Amegakure bar on Main Street," she began after a moment, voice soft and hesitant. "We had a few drinks. Ryuu bought us a round of drinks, I think. I danced with my friends. I said hi to Kakashi-sensei… I-I was surprised he was even there. Then I went back to the bar. Ryuu was there? I think? It gets fuzzy after that."
"Who all else was there last night?"
Sakura listed them off: "Ino, Sai, Choji, Rock Lee, Tenten, Shino, Kiba… Shikamaru."
The lazy ninja stiffened in her peripherals, no doubt annoyed that he was about to be dragged into this.
Sure enough, Tsunade turned to him. "You were there?"
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
"And what did you see?" Her voice was hard, displeased. He sighed in response.
"I left early. I was only there when he bought our first round," he rolled off, shoving his hands in his pockets. "It was too loud, and I was tired."
That seemed about right to her. She hadn't noticed his presence the rest of the night.
"Why are we going around like this?" Ryuu snapped from swollen lips. "I told you that this is the guy! I want to see some repercussions."
"Kakashi, is it true that you attacked him?" the Hokage asked slowly, but by the look in her eyes, Sakura knew she already had her answer.
"I did," Kakashi said, voice suddenly going low and dark. "And you would have too, if you would have seen it."
Sakura's heart dropped into her stomach, and she looked at Kakashi. His black eye was trained on Ryuu, malice radiating off of him in waves.
"If I would have seen what?" Tsunade asked, voice darkening as well.
"This man forcing himself upon your student."
The floor shifted beneath her, and it took everything in her power not to fall over. Ryuu had what?! She dragged her gaze to the man in question, but he didn't even bother looking at her amidst the horrific allegation. Instead, he glared at her sensei, hatred in his eyes.
"Stop lying," he growled. "You're twisting what actually happened."
"Are you trying to insinuate that it was consensual?"
"She sure as shit wasn't saying no."
"She could barely stand up."
Panicked tears were pricking behind Sakura's eyes, but she did her best to swallow them down. Everyone was watching her. She didn't want to be a crybaby. She was grown now. Not a twelve-year-old girl.
"She liked me. She wanted to go with me. Ask her yourself."
"Is it customary in Suna for a girl to try and push you off of her when she likes you?"
"It's not my fault you were misconstruing the situation from the angle of the gutter you crawled out of."
It was then that a sharp knock came at the door, effectively silencing the two ninja.
"Come in!" Tsunade barked, rubbing at her temples.
Sakura craned her neck to watch Gaara enter, followed closely by Temari and Kankuro.
"Sorry we're late, Hokage-sama," Temari said.
Sakura bowed slightly at the arrival of the Kazekage, tears still pooling in her emerald eyes. Had this become an inter-village crisis? She supposed it would have.
"Kakashi. Sakura-san. My friends." Gaara greeted them both warmly, bowing in return. "What has happened?"
"It seems as though one of your men has overstayed his welcome," Kakashi rolled off cooly, jerking his head in the direction of Ryuu.
"Quiet, Hatake," Tsunade growled, "you're on my shit list right now."
It was then that Gaara looked to the end of the room, his lined eyes widening in shock.
"Ryuu?"
"Kazekage-sama! This man attacked me!" In that moment, Ryuu reminded Sakura distinctly of a seven-year-old boy tattling at recess. The realization tasted sour on her tongue. Had she actually liked this man last night?
"Why would he do that?" Kankuro asked, skepticism in his voice.
"What did you do?" Temari questioned evenly. Ryuu bristled.
"I didn't do anything!" he snapped indignantly, clearly upset that they weren't rushing to his immediate defense. It was unfortunate for him that both Sakura and Kakashi had a good relationship with the Sand siblings.
"Kakashi-sensei claims that Ryuu was forcing himself upon Sakura after their night out at a bar, so he attacked him. Unfortunately, Sakura doesn't remember anything," Shikamaru filled them in quickly. The matter was obviously important, but he relayed the information as if he was briefing some Genin on a mission to save a lost cat.
"How much did you drink, Sakura?" Temari asked, turning her sharp, teal eyes on her. The look was intense, focused.
The question caught the pink-haired kunoichi off guard and everyone in the room turned to look at her. She wanted to melt into a puddle. She was never drinking again. "I-I don't know? A glass of plum wine, three shots of sake…"
Without warning, a memory rose from the fog of her mind. A drink. Pink and sparkly. It had been special. Just for her.
"...And one last cocktail Ryuu ordered for me." She realized slowly and dragged her gaze to the Suna-nin. She remembered now. Everything had been fine up until that final cocktail. Why had that last drink in particular been so strong?
Everyone in the room turned their attention to the man in question. He blanched. "What? It's not my fault if she can't hold her drink."
Sakura wanted to stomp to the other side of the room and slap him across the universe. She had been holding her own perfectly well until that one weird drink, thank you very much! Sure, she had been a little tipsy, but everyone else had been, too!
Well, except for...
Her Sensei stared forward, his silver hair wild and upright as he stood at attention. She hadn't seen him drinking. If anyone would have an objective point of view of that night, it would have been him. If Kakashi said that she had been taken advantage of—no matter how hard a truth it was to face—she believed him.
"Three shots and two drinks may be enough to get drunk," Tsunade murmured, "but not enough to blackout. That's absurd."
"Maybe she's a lightweight," one of the other Suna-nin sneered as he eyed her petite figure in distaste, "look how skinny she is."
"Shut your mouth!" Sakura snapped, suddenly overcome with rage. "You don't know the first thing about me!"
"Sakura!" Tsunade barked, immediately putting her student in check.
"But—" She began when a heavy hand rested gently on her shoulder. She looked up to see Kakashi staring down at her. He shook his head. She wrinkled her nose in annoyance, feeling very much like a twelve-year-old girl being chastised to watch her tongue in front of their client. It was like going back in time.
"I'm sure we can get to the bottom of this," Gaara said diplomatically, raising his hands in an attempt to cool down the rising temperature of the room. "Let's all take a moment to calm down."
"Hokage-sama, may I approach?" Temari asked, voice tight with worry. Sakura looked at her friend, something stirring inside of her stomach. Why did she sound so nervous?
After a moment, Tsunade nodded her assent, and the Sand kunoichi strode across the space with purpose. Once at her desk, Temari leaned forward to whisper something in the Sannin's ear. Sakura strained to hear, but she was too quiet.
After a few moments, Tsunade's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"Take her. We will wait here," Tsunade announced softly. "Shizune, you go too."
"Yes, Tsunade-sama!" Shizune chirped, standing stiffly at attention.
She froze. Take her? Did Tsunade mean Sakura? Where was she going?
"Come on, Sakura," Temari said, shooting one last suspicious glance at Ryuu before turning on her heel and exiting the office. She hesitated, unable to comprehend what was going on.
Were they really just going to leave when all of this was still unresolved? What about Kakashi-sensei?
Shizune shuffled across the floor, grabbing Sakura by her wrist before dragging her from the room. She shut the door, but not before the pink-haired kunoichi's eyes locked with Kakashi's as he watched her leave. Fear rose in her throat in response to him disappearing from view.
Would he be okay?
"Let's go," Temari ordered, her voice sharp with anger. Sakura cringed. Why was she mad? Was she mad at her? The idea made her stomach squirm unpleasantly. She hadn't done anything wrong! She had only gone out with friends!
The last thing she had wanted was to create a rift between their villages.
"Where?" Shizune asked, apparently as lost as Sakura was.
"The Hospital," Temari answered evenly.
. . .
"Drugged?" Sakura asked in disbelief. They stood in the waiting room of Konoha's hospital, waiting on her bloodwork. "Like… poisoned?"
"Exactly," Temari deadpanned, a grim look on her tan face.
"That's insane!" she returned, unable to wrap her mind around the concept. She had never heard of anyone being poisoned outside of the battlefield! Besides assassination attempts, but that was a different matter entirely! She was not important enough to try and kill, and she had only lost her memory. Not her life. "I didn't die! I'm not in the hospital! I'm perfectly fine."
Shizune and Temari exchanged a furtive glance.
"What?" Sakura asked, suddenly aware that she was on the outside of something important. Something big.
"Sakura-san," Shizune began, looking uncomfortable, "not all poisons kill. Some inhibit judgment."
"Some knock you out," Temari added.
"There are a few that keep you conscious but hinder your ability to think critically."
"And some that do all of that, and wipe your memory."
Sakura stood in shock. She had never heard of any poisons with those properties. What kind of Ninja would ever use them off of the battlefield?
"What? Why?" she asked, voice pitched up in panic. All of those symptoms sounded ominously familiar. Had she actually been poisoned by Ryuu?
"The Leaf Village is very safe," Shizune began, eyebrows turning up in concerned sadness, "but girls in other villages cannot afford to live in such ignorant bliss."
Something akin to anger coursed through her at that. Was Shizune trying to insinuate that she was naive? The thought made her bristle. Sakura Haruno had seen dozens of men die, she had even killed a few of them. She had lost the love of her life to a predator. A monster. She had witnessed blood and cruelty and torture. Sakura was a lot of things, but she was not naive.
"We have had a string of rape cases in my village for the last few months," Temari whispered, as to not be overheard by the other patients in the waiting room. "I've been investigating it. All of the girls have traces of a specific poison in their bloodstream. The essence of a cactus that is incredibly rare. It causes dizziness, trouble controlling your muscles, amnesia, loss of inhibitions, and loss of consciousness."
Sakura's mind shuddered to a halt, limbs going rigid with fear. No. Had… had she been—
"I believe Kakashi-sensei found you before anything escalated to that point," Temari noted clinically, slipping into detective mode seamlessly.
"Did you wake up with soreness between your legs?" Shizune asked, voice tight with worry. Sakura's face warmed in mortification. That was such a personal question, and Sakura had never bridged the topic of sex with her mentor.
"No. Not at all," she whispered back, recalling her morning with a spinning head. She felt stupid for ever thinking that she had done anything salacious with her Sensei. Of course she hadn't! Kakashi Hatake would have never laid a hand on his student. He had been protecting her. Shielding her. "I had a migraine, but that's it."
"That's good," Temari said, relief flashing across her face only briefly before darkening substantially. "But if this comes back positive… I've got my guy."
"Temari-san," Shizune whispered tightly. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be sorry." The sand kunoichi shook her head. "I'm the one who should be apologizing. If I had caught him sooner, we wouldn't be here. I had never thought to check out my brother's personal guard."
They sat for several moments, digesting the realization that this had been bigger than any of them had realized. How many girls had Ryuu hurt? How many victims had he made?
And was Sakura one of them?
"This is taking too long," the young kunoichi snapped and began pacing about the small space, so uncomfortable she felt as though she could crawl out of her own skin. She had to know. She couldn't keep waiting. "Maybe I should go and check on the results myself. I could move things along—"
"Stay, Sakura," Shizune ordered sternly. "You can't analyze your own blood for drugs. That's completely unethical."
"Unethical?" She whirled on the older woman, anger spiking inside of her. "Ryuu taking advantage of women—of me—is unethical. I should be able to get to the bottom of it myself."
"Shizune is right, Sakura." Temari placed her hands on Sakura's shoulders, effectively holding her in place. "We just need to wait and let someone else handle it."
"But—"
"Aren't they your colleagues back there?" her friend asked, voice hard. "Don't you trust them to do it right?"
Shame popped her defiance like a needle to a balloon. She deflated immediately, hanging her head. "You're right."
The minutes passed by at an excruciating crawl. She stood on shaking legs, chewing mercilessly at the dead skin around her nails. Temari had settled along the wall, arms crossed tightly over her ample chest. Shizune was sitting in one of the waiting room chairs, back as straight and stiff as a wooden board.
Eventually, the door to the lab opened, and Sakura saw her dark-haired colleague, Amaya, emerge into the space. She had a troubled look on her pretty face and an enclosed manila envelope in her hands.
That was not a good sign.
Whenever results were negative it was customary to deliver the news with a light-hearted air and a simple slip of paper. The official, heavy-looking folder paired with her coworker's expression told her everything she needed to know.
"Well?" Temari asked, breaking the silence.
"It came back positive for the chemicals you outlined," Amaya said, eyes flicking worriedly to Sakura. "I'm sorry."
The pink-haired kunoichi had already known, but the news still hit her like a chakra-infused punch to her stomach. The air rushed out of her, and her knees buckled until she stumbled backward into the nearest waiting room chair. The room spun around her, and she buried her face in her hands.
Sakura Haruno had been drugged. Poisoned.
Ryuu had intended to… to—
She couldn't even finish the thought. Before last night she had never even been kissed. The idea that some guy—some, some asshole had been moments away from taking her virginity?! She didn't know if she wanted to cry or throw up.
"Thank you, Amaya-san," Shizune said somewhere in the distance. Sakura was suddenly having a hard time focusing on her surroundings.
"I'm going to kill him." Temari's voice came, dark and deadly. "He's fucking dead."
. . .
The journey back to the Hokage Residence was an impossible juxtaposition— excruciatingly painful yet oddly numb. Instead of walking along the gravel streets, they had opted to hop along the rooftops to increase speed.
"It's not your fault," Shizune kept saying from beside her. "There was no way you could have known."
Sakura couldn't have responded to her even if she wanted to. She was in shock. Her perspective on the world had already been bleak, but in the span of a single morning, it had plummeted to an all-time low. Everything was grey.
Temari kept apologizing to her, which was even worse than her mentor's persistent reminders of her innocence in the matter.
When they arrived back at the large, formidable building, landing in the gravel with a graceful bound, Sakura felt as though she may puke.
She objectively knew that none of this was her fault, but an ugly voice inside of her kept whispering 'how stupid are you to accept a drink from a stranger? A foreigner you had just met? After Ino had warned you about men's intentions when buying women drinks. It was your fault.'
"Ready?" Shizune asked cautiously, noticing the pale look on her pupil's face. Sakura shook her head, tears blurring her view of the large double doors that lead into the main entrance of Tsunade's residence.
Stupid girl... Your fault. Naive little idiot. It was all your fault.
Tears began to stream down her cheeks, her inner shame pouring outwards. She felt dirty. Violated. Even if Kakashi had rescued her, she still couldn't remember just how far Ryuu had gone with her. Had he stolen her first kiss? Had he touched her in the places no boy had ever ventured before?
"Sakura?" Temari's voice was far away, as though she was down a long tunnel.
Kakashi-sensei had to come to your rescue once again. You never got stronger. You've wasted the last six years. Stupid idiot. All your fault. Your fault. Your fault your fault your fault your—
"Sakura-san, please! Stop saying such horrible things!" Shizune cried, her voice thick with emotion. "It's not your fault!"
She blinked, looking through her tears at her friends. They were staring at her in horror… Had she said all of that out loud?
Feeling stupid for her slip up, she wiped at her wet eyes and shook her head.
"I'm sorry. You're right. Everything's okay," she lied, "I feel fine."
Temari didn't look like she believed her one bit, but she only nodded her head slowly. Shizune continued to stare at her with her wide, dark eyes.
"Let's just go and deliver this," Sakura dismissed, holding up the envelope containing her bloodwork results. "They're waiting for us."
. . .
To say that the atmosphere was tense in Tsunade's office was an understatement. The oxygen felt electrified. It felt as if Kakashi had just summoned his Chidori right before she had entered the room.
Speaking of the copy-nin, Sakura found him standing in the exact same spot she had left him in. Had he moved even a little? They had been gone for well over half an hour. At her arrival, he turned to look at her. His eyes narrowed in the direction of the envelope in her hand and back up to her face. It was a question.
She nodded in response, letting him know that it was as he suspected. Kakashi Hatake was a smart man, and one of the most intuitive ninja in the Leaf Village. He must have put two and two together already. He dragged his gaze back to the man in question, and Sakura followed suit. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she locked eyes with Ryuu. He was a predator. A rapist… and she had almost been his next victim.
"Thank you for waiting so patiently, Hokage-sama!" Shizune greeted breathlessly as she closed the door behind them.
"You have the results?" Tsunade asked, cutting right to the chase.
"I do, Shishou." Sakura raised the envelope and closed the space to her desk confidently, all the while without breaking eye contact with the Suna-nin. She wanted him to know that she was the one to deliver the news of his confirmed guilt.
Though she had been crying only moments ago, something about holding his prison sentence in her hands empowered her. His eyes flashed nervously down to the envelope being passed over to the Hokage, and she smirked. Got ya.
Tsunade ripped open the sealed flap and pulled the document out with a skilled flourish. Her brown eyes sped through the results, and she could see Ryuu tense. It wasn't the involuntary, nervous kind of tense. It was a deliberate flexing of his muscles. Like a runner about to break out into a sprint.
Something clicked inside of her at that. He was going to try and escape!
"Temari, you were right. Sakura was—"
Tsunade hadn't even finished her sentence when Ryuu had whirled around and bolted to the nearest open window with inhuman speed. It was unfortunate for him that Sakura had caught onto his plan early, and had already poured all of her available chakra into the muscles in her legs. She had launched herself over the desk and caught up to him in an instant, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and yanking him back roughly. She heard a garbled choke escape him as the material of his shirt strangled him. Then Temari was there, knocking him down with her oversized fan before firmly digging it into his back. He was pinned down.
The entire room sat in shocked silence, unable to wrap their minds around what had just happened; In the course of half a second, he had been flattened by the two eighteen-year-old kunoichi. Sakura took a shaky breath, glaring down at Ryuu in an odd mix of relief and hatred.
"Good catch, Sakura!" Kakashi called casually as if she had merely intercepted a stray kunai, rather than a criminal attempting an escape.
"Thanks, Kakashi-sensei," she called back, sending him a pleased smile. For the first time since she woke up, a semblance of satisfaction settled over her. Even if she still didn't fully remember what had gone on last night, this was enough for now.
"It's been you this whole time," Temari ground out, twisting the butt of her fan into the man's back. "You son of a bitch."
Ryuu groaned in pain. Sakura's pleasure only deepened. Music to her ears.
"You're hurting him!" one of the Suna Ninja cried in panic.
"Temari," Gaara warned. "Restraint. Please."
"Wait—can someone please fill me in?" Kankuro asked from beside his brother, scratching his painted cheek in confusion.
Tsunade stood from her seat, heaving a relieved sigh.
"Ryuu drugged Sakura when he gave her that last cocktail," the Hokage announced to the room. "The only thing Kakashi Hatake is guilty of is rescuing my student from a terrible fate."
"Oh!" Kankuro gasped, eyes going wide in realization. He looked from his sister down to Ryuu. "He's the guy! The guy you've been looking for!"
Temari rolled her eyes before tucking away her fan behind her back and bending down to heave Ryuu up. Sakura watched as he was tugged around like nothing more than an oversized rag doll. The idea that this pathetic pulp of a man had been moments away from stealing her innocence filled her chest with red-hot rage. She should have gotten in a punch before Temari had knocked him over.
"I'm so sorry for this gap in security," Gaara apologized, voice heavy with regret. "It's our fault that your student was put in danger. We should have been more diligent—"
"Don't." Tsunade put her hand up in a firm gesture. "You are not responsible for every monster your village bears. Everyone knows the Leaf Village does not have the perfect track record."
She thought of her Shishou's teammate: Orochimaru. A sannin fallen from grace. She thought of her own, following in his tracks… Sasuke.
No. A village is not responsible for every rogue ninja.
"I'm innocent!" Ryuu spat as Temari forced his arms behind his back.
"Save it," Temari growled out. Several awkward moments passed. No one was sure what to say. This was a big deal. A huge deal. One of the Kazekage's most trusted soldiers was now deemed a criminal… a rapist.
There were no words.
…until Shikamaru found them.
"Well, at least it's all figured out, now," he sighed, breaking the tension considerably. If there was one thing the lackadaisical ninja was good for, it was to douse any heightened mood with his sleepy atmosphere.
"Sakura, you're free to go," Tsunade said, eyeing Kakashi's oversized close hanging loosely off her slim frame. "Go get some rest. A shower. A fresh change of clothes."
"But—"
"No buts," Tsunade said, "we can handle everything from here. You get the rest of the week off. No internship. No office work."
Sakura gaped, horrified. "But, Shishou!"
"I said no buts!" her boss barked. "Shizune! Escort her home!"
Feeling stung, Sakura allowed the dark-haired woman to usher her out of the room. It felt like she was being punished!
No work? No errands? No internship? What on earth had she done to deserve such a terrible fate?
She glanced one last time at the back of her Sensei's silver head before the door closed—once again—in her face. She hadn't even been able to thank him for saving her.
"Don't be upset, Sakura," Shizune soothed, walking her down the rounded staircase. "A week all to yourself! A vacation! Won't that be nice?"
Sakura didn't answer, she glared at Kakashi's borrowed shoes as she stepped down the stairs. Why couldn't she have stayed? She wanted to see how things had ended up! She wanted to see Ryuu brought to justice!
As they walked along the quiet Konoha street that lead to her house, Sakura's mind was whirling with the events of the morning. How had so much transpired in such a short period of time?
And the worst part of it all was that she didn't even really remember what happened. All she could do was try and piece together the little that Kakashi and Ryuu had relayed.
The Suna-nin had insinuated that she hadn't said no, yet Kakashi had very clearly told them all that when he found them she had been trying to push Ryuu off of her.
She wished she could just remember. How was it possible that the memories were just gone? It seemed highly unlikely that there was truly no recollection of the night's events.
Unless… were they still there? She stopped in her tracks, standing still in the middle of the narrow gravel street. What if they had been folded away somewhere deep in her mind?
With modern medicine and advanced healing jutsu, Sakura had been able to regrow muscle fibers, seal bone tissue, and regenerate blood cells in a matter of seconds.
"Sakura-san?" Shizune asked, stopped a few yards ahead of her. "Are you alright?"
She was staring hard at the ground, a million thoughts rattling around in her head all at once.
"…Sakura?" her voice came again, tight with worry.
"Would you be willing to help me with something?" Sakura asked, emerald eyes hardening alongside her resolve.
A/N: Thanks for waiting patiently! I'm currently hopping between this fic and another WIP. I have one or two more chapters for the other, so updates may be sporadic until that's finished! I hope you're enjoying this so far. I'm having a fucking blast, its hard to jump back to my other project hahahaha.
Please review, it is my lifeblood. It inspires me so much.