Shisui ran his hands through his hair as the hot water ran down his body. He finally made it home, and couldn't get cleaned up fast enough. It was late, but he was feeling selfish and he needed to see Sakura. The darkness was closing in on him, and he longed for her breath of fresh air to bring the light back. Maybe I need to cut back on missions for a few weeks… If it wasn't for Orochimaru causing disturbances, he might have been able to.
Shisui grabbed a towel and pulled a pair of clean clothes out of his drawers. When did Sakura start feeling like home more than my actual home? He ran his hands through his hair to help it set as it dried, took one last look in the mirror, and decided to call it good.
Using his shunshin, he made his way to a nearby restaurant. If he was going to show up this late in the evening, he figured he'd better come with a treat. Sakura had a sweet tooth and always had dessert in the evenings, so he wanted to surprise her with some anmitsu.
He saw the light from her living room lamp peeking around her curtains, and he was almost certain she was sitting in her favorite oversized chair reading a book. He gave three quick knocks on her door, and heard her feet padding towards it as she made her way to open it.
His heart nearly stopped. When the door opened, instead of the sweet reprieve he thought he would feel from seeing her, he instead felt his stomach drop and ice run through his veins. A level of rage he hadn't felt in a long time nearly overtook him. Everything moved in slow motion, almost like an out of body experience. He stepped inside, the bag of anmitsu falling to the floor forgotten. As if his hand had a mind of its own, it instantly, and gently, reached up to touch the bruise maring her cheek.
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"Who did this to you?" Sakura had never heard Shisui's voice this way before. Deep and raw, as if he could barely contain the anger he was feeling. But what shocked her the most, was when she looked into his eyes. It was not his usual onyx staring back at her. Instead she saw crimson; eyes as deep as blood. Even though she didn't know exactly what she was looking at, she had enough sense to know that whatever it was, they were dangerous.
And the way he asked who hurt her…she nearly shivered. She was almost sure in that moment, that all she would have to do is point and he would kill for her. He is a shinobi, and a good one at that. Sometimes I forget what he is capable of. She nearly shuddered thinking about what it must feel like to face him on the battlefield.
She brought her hand up to touch his, hoping her calming touch would bring him back.
"It's ok Shisui. He was apprehended…I'm ok." She calmly spoke to him, watching his eyes slowly move across her face and down her body, looking for any other sign of injury. He brought her hand with his down to his chest and held it close, as if he needed reassurance that she was indeed ok.
"What happened, Sakura." She took a deep breath, searching his face.
"Someone broke into the clinic. I think they were surprised to find me in my office so late. Shinobi forces took over the case…apparently it was a missing-nin from another village." She shook her head thinking back to that night. "One of our shinobi told me the running theory at the time was that the suspect assumed that if he and his guys targeted civilian run businesses, they'd be able to get away with food and other medical supplies without much trouble." He gave her a nod, processing what she told him.
"He was taken in?" She gave a quick nod of her head, almost feeling lost in his swirling eyes.
"I was lucky that one of our shinobi was just a couple shops over and heard the commotion." She paused, her mind flashing back to the break-in. "He showed up at just the right time." She brought her other hand up to hold his. She quickly regretted what she did, since he instantly spotted the purple bruising. He lifted her hand up between the two of them, and turned it left and right, staring, almost as if he was reading it.
He surprised her by letting out a little huff, somewhere close to a chuckle.
"Did you land one on them?" She felt the ice start to thaw, and she smiled up at him.
"I couldn't just let him get away with what he was doing without at least landing one hit on him." Her eyes lit up, pride lacing her voice.
His face finally started to relax, and she saw his lip quirk up into a smirk.
"That's my girl."
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"I forgot how much I love anmitsu." Sakura took another bite, enjoying the sweetness and fresh fruit. "Thank you for spoiling me." Shisui smiled over at her, as he took a bite of his own.
"It's becoming one of my favorite pastimes." There's that blush I love. They sat next to each other on her couch, facing towards each other with their backs leaning against the sides.
"Did your mission go ok?"
"It went well enough. Nothing too exciting happened, and we all made it back in one piece." He scooped the last of his dessert up on his spoon and took a bite. Sakura stood up to clean up after them.
"I'm glad." She reached for his empty dish and walked to her kitchen.
"I was talking with Itachi. I guess Mikoto keeps bringing up that she wants to have us all over again for another dinner next time we're all home from missions…I was hoping you would like to join us." Sakura loved the sheepish look on his face, and couldn't help teasing him a bit.
"Shisui, are you asking me out?" She teased, looking back at him as she set the dishes in the sink. He stood up to follow her into the kitchen, and as she turned to face him, she was almost abruptly backed up against the counter. Shisui stood so close to her, and she couldn't help but revel in it. He was so tall compared to her petite form, and he had to look down to meet her upturned gaze. He tucked a stray lock behind her ear, as he softly smiled down at her.
"When we go out on our first date, it will most definitely not be a family dinner." She felt the playful atmosphere shift to something…deeper. His gaze shifted to her cheek, and his thumb gently grazed over it, as if he was willing the bruise to disappear.
"So…you will be asking me out?" She looked into his eyes hopefully when he brought his attention back. They'd spent so much time together recently, but they'd never actually broached the obvious barrier to take their relationship to the next level. The attraction was there, but they seemed to be taking their time and letting things move at a natural pace for them.
"The fall festival is coming up….I was hoping you would join me."
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The first stop he made the next day was to anbu headquarters. He needed answers and Shisui knew he would get them there. Apparently the nin they apprehended were hoping to make their way to join Orochimaru's forces, and made a pit stop in Konoha for supplies. Here he had been outside of the village trying to hunt people like them down, and apparently all he needed to do was stay home. I should have been here to protect her.
The nin were still being held at T&I, and he intended to go down and pay them a visit. And if Ibiki hadn't have already been there when he showed up, he might have conducted some active questioning of his own.
Ibiki nodded at him as he walked through the door.
"Uchiha, what can I do for you?" Shisui gave a brief glance around, trying to get a lay of the land.
"I heard you had some nin brought in while I was away. Apparently they'd been making a mess in the civilian district." Ibiki stood and jerked his head in a motion to let Shisui know to follow him. They walked a few doors down and came to a room that had a window in it that would allow them to see in, but not for anyone to see out.
He saw one individual sitting at the table with his hands cuffed. But what really drew him in, was the bruise and crookedness of his nose.
"I'm pretty sure we've gotten as much out of them as we can. They're pretty unimportant in regards to knowing what's actually happening in Orochimaru's camp. All we know is they were passing through fire country to make their way over to a rendezvous point near Iron to meet up with a growing faction over there." Shisui stood still, absorbing what Ibiki told him, and adding that knowledge to the puzzle that they were trying to solve regarding Orochimaru.
"His face?" Shisui suspected he was the one who attacked Sakura, but he wanted confirmation. Ibiki gave a quick burley laugh.
"Tried to rob the wrong woman. She must have a backbone of steel to be brave enough to stand up to a shinobi raiding her clinic. Luckily Kakashi was just a couple doors down at a bookshop and he heard the commotion." I'll need to thank Kakashi the next time I see him.
Shisui couldn't help the satisfaction that he felt knowing that Sakura was the one to cause those injuries to him. Shisui nearly smirked thinking about how feisty she can get when her temper flares. He gave a nod to Ibiki and moved to make his way out.
"Do me a favor? Let me know if you get anything else out of him."
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Sakura stared at herself in her mirror, analyzing every inch of her appearance, looking for anything that needed fixed. Which felt ridiculous, because she knew Shisui well enough to know that he wasn't the type to expect perfection; he seemed to like her just the way she was. That being said, Maki gave her some tips on what she could do for her appearance, and Sakura did her best to execute it.
She looked at her navy blue kimono, with pink petals dancing along the bottom. She had her hair pulled back and twisted in a neat bun at the base of her neck, set with a decorative silver clip; bits of hair were already rebelling and starting to fall to frame her face. Her makeup was minimal, but still a bit more than she would wear on any other day. She was grateful that the bruising was nearly gone and it took just a bit of concealer to hide the rest of it.
A knock sounded at her door, and her heart started involuntarily beating faster. She gave one final turn in her mirror, and went to greet Shisui.
"You look stunning." Those words slipped quickly from Shisui's lips, as he shamelessly looked her up and down, causing Sakura's stomach to twist. "These are for you." He handed her a bouquet of flowers, a stunning colorful mix of roses, alstroemeria and blue cornflower. Does he know what these mean? She brought them up to enjoy the smell of them, and stepped back to invite him in.
"I love them, Shisui, thank you. Come on in, I need to put these in a vase." She walked back into her kitchen, setting the flowers on her table so she could get a vase prepared for them. She stood on her tiptoes trying to reach into the cabinet above her fridge, but her kimono restricted her movement. She was about to go grab a chair, when she felt Shisui's firm chest meld against her back, as his hand reached up and past hers to grab the vase. She turned slightly to look up at him. She was so close to him, and the smell of pine and sandalwood made her want to bury her face into his yukata and breathe him in.
"Thank you." Her voice nearly a whisper, as if she was too mesmerized by being so close to him. She took the vase he handed to her, and put her bouquet in the middle of her table to proudly display. Shisui held his hand out to her and she readily accepted it and followed him out the door.
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Sakura had been to the fall festival before, but she had never been to it like this. Shisui led her over to the side of town mostly frequented by shinobi, and it seemed they knew how to throw a celebration.
They walked hand in hand through the colorful foliage glittering the ground, colorful lanterns lining the walkway to provide light as the sun started to set. Sakura noticed every once in a while a lingering stare from a passerby, and she assumed it must be because they knew Shisui.
"Do you want to go see some of the game booths?" Shisui asked her.
"That sounds fun! The civilian district has so many different games and shows during the fall festival, I always enjoy them." Shisui looked over at her with a crooked smile on his face.
"I think you might like seeing some of the games that we play over here. They're a bit different than what I'm sure you're used to." He steered her over towards a nearby training ground that had been decorated for the occasion; there was a table on one end, with tall wood posts on the other far end of the clearing. Shisui took her to stand off to the side, as she watched a man step up to a line on the ground just next to the table.
"This is our version of darts." He pointed to the wooden posts, "There are modified dart boards attached to those wooden posts over there." Sakura nearly had to squint to even see the dart board, let alone the bullseye.
"I can barely even see the target!" She watched the man pull out a kunai, and she supposed she shouldn't have even been surprised to see him pull out a weapon, and not a dart. Sakura almost couldn't believe that someone could throw a knife that far and hit the board. But the man she saw lined up quickly proved her wrong. Shisui didn't look shocked or surprised like she was, so she assumed this must be a normal thing to be able to do amongst shinobi.
She looked around at a few other nearby games going on, and it seems like all of them managed to take basic festival games but with a twist, to take it up a notch and make it more challenging. While she was looking around, she saw Itachi and a couple other men walk up to the two of them.
"Shisui." Itachi nodded to him, "Sakura-san, it's good to see you again."
"You as well, Itachi-san." Sakura gave him a polite bow of her head.
"Woah, woah, wait a minute." A man she didn't recognize looked over at her, "Are you telling me this fine young woman is the reason we haven't seen Shisui around lately?" He smirked at her, his trademark senbon in between his teeth. He looked at her as if he was appraising a fine object.
"Genma, this is Sakura." Shisui gave Gemna a look, almost like a warning. "Sakura, this is Genma.
"Sakura-chan, it is very nice to meet you." He said as he gave her a wink, and sly smile. Sakura didn't know if she should be flattered by his apparent appreciation, or annoyed.
She stilled when the other person accompanying them took a step closer into the light, and she was able to get a better look at him.
"Wait… you're the one who helped me at the clinic." Sakura gave him a quick bow in gratitude. "I never got to properly thank you. I don't know what I would have done if you didn't show up when you did." Kakashi almost looked shy or uncomfortable with the attention he received now that everyone in the group was now looking at him.
"No need to thank me, I'm glad I was there at the right time." He gave a wave of his hand, as if it was no big deal.
"Sakura, this is Kakashi." Shisui looked back at Kakashi. "Thank you Kakashi. I'm glad you were there to protect her." When I couldn't.
"You know me, I'm drawn to damsels in distress." Kakashi gave his usual eye crinkle as he pulled an orange book out of his pocket, one that Sakura had snuck glances at before while at the bookstore (before promptly putting it back on the bookshelf). He's reading that in public?!
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The rest of the evening passed in a blur of sweets, fireworks, laughing and stolen glances. Sakura realized at one point that Shisui always seemed to be touching her, as if he needed to feel her and be connected. Whether it was holding hands, touching the small of her back as they walked, or even occasionally throwing his arm around her shoulders. It felt electric. It felt comforting. Sakura relished it, and never wanted it to end. She knew she was falling fast and she was falling hard.
They leisurely walked back to her apartment, enjoying the sounds of laughter in the distance, and the growing brightness of the stars as they walked away from the festival lights. They weren't quite ready for the night to end, so they found themselves sitting on a bench in the patch of trees near her apartments.
Sakura ran her fingers along the seam of the yukata along his chest.
"Have I told you yet that I love this look on you?" Sakura looked up at him with a flirty look in her eye. "You clean up nicely, Uchiha." He chuckled at her, always quick to join in on her playful banter.
"I could say the same about you Haruno." He said as his fingers gently rubbed a lock of her long hair between his fingers.
"I had a great time, thank you for taking me. You shinobi sure know how to throw a party." She winked at him, drawing out a laugh.
"We sure do. Sometimes a little too well." He paused for a moment. "You know Genma and Itachi, they're actually my teammates. And I frequently work and train with Kakashi as well. I'm glad you got to meet them." Shisui never usually spoke much about what he did as a shinobi, and she never pushed for information; she wasn't sure what she was allowed to ask, since it seemed like so much of what he did was secretive.
"I'm glad I got to meet them, they all seem wonderful. Even Genma." They both laughed at that.
"Genma loves his women. He's a shameless flirt, which can get him into trouble, but deep down he's just a loyal softy. But don't tell anyone I said that." He watched as Sakura used her pointer finger and thumb together, and ran them across her lips, as if sealing and locking a door.
"My lips are sealed." Shisui's gaze shifted to her lips as she said that, and Sakura instantly felt a shift in the air. His eyes seemed to darken just a shade, and the playfulness left them. In this moment, he felt more like a hunter, who finally found what he was searching for.
He brought his fingers up, and they ghosted over her bottom lip, as if hypnotized.
Sakura's heart started hammering inside her chest, so strong it made her wonder if it was audible. The look in his eyes and touch of his fingers on her lips sent a wave of heat through her stomach, and sent it tumbling.
His eyes shifted back to hers, questioning, hopeful. The gentle breeze played with his wavy ebony hair. In that moment, she knew that all he would have to do was ask, and she would be his forever. He slowly moved towards her, as if she was beaconing him like a siren.
He kissed her gently, tentatively, as if he was waiting for her to change her mind. But Sakura had no doubts, and she readily kissed him back. She was so lost in him, that she had no idea how much time passed before they both came up for air, their foreheads still touching.
Shisui smiled at her, his eyes held a certain spark in them. He was about to say something before he abruptly stopped, and he got a look of annoyance on his face; Sakura noticed the hand resting on her thigh made a fist, and she could see his jaw clench.
"Shisui-san, you're needed at the tower." A masked man appeared out of nowhere, and Sakura nearly jumped when she heard him speak before realizing he was standing near them. Shisui looked back at Sakura apologetically before letting the messenger know he was on his way.
"I'm sorry I have to cut this short." His eyes looked so conflicted, as if he felt stuck between his desire and his duty.
"It's ok…I understand Shisui." Sakura tried to reassure him, "I had an amazing night." His smile slowly returned, and his head tilted slightly, as if trying to get a better look at her. His hand came up to hold the side of her face, his thumb gently brushing her cheek.
"Me too. That was the best night I've had in a long time." His face turned slightly downcast, "I'm most likely being sent out of the village, but I'll come see you as soon as I can." Her hand came up to rest alongside his hand on her cheek.
"I'll be waiting." She leaned in towards him, "I better send you with something to remember me by." She smirked at him, and gave him a kiss he wouldn't quickly forget.
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A/N: Your reviews make me so happy, thank you for taking the time to write such kind words. This story is turning out a bit longer than I had originally intended, and I'm trying to decide if I should wrap it up soon like I had planned, or deep dive just a tiny bit more. That being said...I hope you enjoyed this chapter!