Sakura couldn't stop the yawn that escaped her as she walked into the harsh fluorescent lighting in the clinic.
"Morning." She tiredly waved hello to the man that helped raise her, that she affectionately calls Papa Haru.
"Good morning Sakura-chan." He smiled at her as he took his white coat off to hang up, and replace with his cold weather jacket. "We had a quiet night here tonight." He paused when he saw her yawn again. "Do you need to sleep? I can stay longer if you need to go back to bed."
"No, no, I am fine, just waiting for this to kick in." She lifted her thermos up before taking a sip. "Thank you though, I'm good to take over." She stepped aside to allow him access to the front door.
"If you're sure." He gave her a pat on her head as he walked past her, something he picked up doing when she was little, and never grew out of it. "I'll see you later."
Sakura waved goodbye before heading back to her office. Shisui told her he was leaving this morning, and she wanted time to get a stocked first aid kit put together for him before he stopped by to say goodbye. She went into the supply closet and reached for various bandages, salves, pain medication and a kit for stitches; she made sure to include some of her homemade tea to help with recovery, as well as some other supplements to help with energy. She was just putting the last of the items in the pouch when she heard the bell on the clinic door ding. Before she could even call out to let the visitor know she would be right there, she felt strong, muscular arms wrap around her waist, and Shisui's face burrow into her neck.
"Good morning." He kissed the base of her neck and breathed her in. Sakura slowly turned her body around so that she was facing him in his arms and could look up at him.
"Good morning." She smiled, and stood on her tiptoes to give him a kiss. "I was just getting this ready for you." She lifted up the first aid kit. "I hope you have room for it." He gave her an endearing smile.
"Of course, thank you." He took the kit from her and put it in the pocket on his thigh. "I'm not sure how long I'll be this time." Sakura nodded in acknowledgement, but feeling a sting of disappointment. She didn't love it when he had to leave.
"I understand." She nervously chewed her bottom lip while looking up at him. "You'll be safe…right?" She had noticed his mask hanging on his hip, and knew that meant he was going on an anbu mission. He reached for her hand to slowly pull her back into his embrace, resting his chin on her head.
"I'll be careful, I promise." Sakura didn't say anything when she noticed he didn't necessarily agree that he would in fact be safe, and she tried not to feel too nervous. "I was thinking when I get back we should try out that new restaurant that just went in by where we get our dango from." Sakura appreciated him trying to lighten the mood.
"That's a great idea. I walked by it the other day and it smelled amazing."
"Then it's a date." He pulled back to look at her. "I'll come see you when I get back." She nodded up at him, before he leaned down to capture a kiss.
His lips moved tenderly against hers, as his hand came up to entangle itself in her hair. The smell of the forest after rain engulfed her, and dammit I can't even think straight around him. Sakura felt her back push up against the counter behind her, the edge of it bumping into her hips. She tried to adjust to get more comfortable, before she felt two large hands on the back of her thighs lift her up to sit on the counter.
Shisui brought one hand to rest on the cabinet behind her head, the other holding the back of her head in a caress. He stood in between her thighs, their bodies pressed together. Sakura brought her hands up to rest on the white armor on his chest. She loved how he looked in his uniform, she just wished it didn't mean he had to leave, or was at risk of danger. Wanting to touch more of him, not just his armor, her hands slid over to his shoulders and down his chiseled arms. It's as if her touch spurred him on, and he tilted his head to deepen the kiss, and she couldn't help the soft sound that escaped her lips.
The bell on the clinic door was a stark jolt back to reality, and they tentatively pulled apart, their foreheads resting together as they caught their breath. Their eyes caught and Shisui gave her that crooked smile that she loved, before giving her another chaste kiss.
"I'll come see you as soon as I'm back." Shisui leaned forward to kiss her forehead. Sakura nodded before she smiled up at him with a teasing glint in her eyes.
"Watch out for rocks, ok?" Shisui chuckled at their inside joke as he stood back and put his hands on her waist to lift her effortlessly down from the counter.
"Of course Dr. Haruno, I'll do my best." He gave her a wink and before slipping his mask.
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What are we missing? Shisui's anbu team arrived at the location that Kakashi marked on a map showing where they found Orochimaru's abandoned base, and subsequently followed in the direction the tracks went cold. They spent days traveling in various directions to try to pick up a fresh scent, only to be left empty handed. It's as if Orochimaru just disappeared. There hadn't even been any recent rumblings from their contacts about movement, which wasn't something that usually happened.
Why is he building an army, and what is he experimenting with? What is his endgame?
"Let's make camp for the night." Shisui turned to Itachi, "Send a crow to the Hokage, see if she wants us to keep looking or report back." Itachi gave a quick nod before calling on his summons.
Shisui and Genma went about getting a make-shift camp set up, before Shisui went to double check their perimeter. Itachi joined him as he made his way back.
"We are to report back. Since we've left there have been other teams sent to scout other locations, and she doesn't want too many out of the village at one time."
"Where were the other teams sent?"
"They're fanning out in various directions outside the village in an attempt to cover a large area." They sat on their bedrolls under the stars, not willing to set a fire for risk of being seen, and having been traveling for a few weeks now and sick of putting up their tents every night. And no tents meant better ears and a quicker reaction time.
Shisui sat with his back against the tree since he had first watch. If I was Orochimaru, what would my goal and strategy be? Shisui went over different offensive and defensive tactics and motives, as if going down a checklist.
"Itachi, you awake?" Itachi turned his head to Shisui, before sitting up and walking over to sit by Shisui.
"Over the past couple months we've been moving farther and farther away from Konoha to track down Orochimaru." He paused, as if doing calculations. "What if it's a distraction, and while we have teams moving further outside of the village to clean up messes and threats he's left behind…what if Orochimaru is actually doubling back and getting closer to it?" Shisui looked over to see Itachi's gaze lift his own mind, turning through the possibilities.
"If that's the case, that would mean Orochimaru is trying to draw Konoha defenses away, leaving it in a vulnerable position." Shisui hn'd.
"It would make sense. He's been bouncing around, not staying in one place, causing our teams to constantly be on the move. He has a grudge against Konoha." Itachi shrugged his shoulders, "If Konoha is potentially his intended target, then he wouldn't want to move a growing army away from it."
"We need to get back. Tonight." Shisui stood up to walk over to wake Genma and pack up his belongings, Itachi following close behind to do the same.
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Team Shisui was only about a day out from Konoha when they came across a scene that made the blood in their veins run cold. The smell of death was the first thing to alert them that something was wrong. Shisui jumped from branch to branch, trying to find where the scent of blood and death was coming from. He saw Genma hop down to the forest floor in front of him, Itachi and himself quick to follow.
Shisui had seen a lot of darkness in his life, but this scene was one that would join the rest in his file of hard to accept memories. There in front of them, lay a slaughtered team of young Konoha chuunin.
They walked slowly on high alert, their eyes constantly moving to both check their security in this location, and to hopefully come across any survivors. A quick look with the sharingan was all it took to see that it was clear there were no survivors.
"This is a fucking massacre." Genma whispered out loud what the other two were thinking. They knelt down gingerly by their fallen young comrades; it seemed as if their team was caught off guard and didn't even have a chance to fight back. They weren't clean kills either, it was as if it was staged, like the attackers were trying to send a message with the scene they left behind on display.
Shisui felt anger welling up inside at the injustice of what happened to this team. Chuunin were never usually sent on a high enough ranking mission to warrant this type of confrontation, especially since it seemed they did not have a jounin leader accompanying them. Based on the looks of what happened, it was most likely a targeted attack.
"This is a message. They were meant to be found like this." Itachi said, as he stood up to again survey the area.
"We need to get them home." Genma said as he laid out a parchment with a seal on it.
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The wood of Tsunade's desk cracked upon hearing the report and tragic news of one of their chuunin teams. Their wounds were similar to the ones she had seen on a team that turned up in her hospital a few weeks back, wounds received from an individual they knew with certainty was tied to Orochimaru.
She reached for a bottle from her bottom drawer and gave everyone a look as if daring them to say anything about her opening it. "Orochimaru hated the fact that the village gave up its support of his 'research' and in his mind, turned against him. He's a sick bastard with a brilliant mind." She tipped her head back and took a swig straight from the bottle when she couldn't find her cup. "Did you know that he was once considered to be the Fourth?" She huffed a laugh. "Perhaps his intent is to come back to be the Sixth." Her eyes turned to steel. "I think you might be right about him coming to us. We need to call some of our teams back to Konoha and tighten our defenses around the village." She turned to Itachi, "I will have scrolls drawn up immediately, will you send your summons to deliver them?" Itachi nodded in affirmation.
"Good. Go home, rest up. Our teams should be back within the next few days. In the meantime I will send instructions out to fortify our walls, and raise our security status." She waved towards the door, "dismissed."
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Shisui put his arm around Sakura as they left the restaurant to help shield her from the chilly air. After returning from his mission and tending to his responsibilities, he was quick to find Sakura.
"It's official, the Fire Cafe is definitely in my top three places to eat, I'm glad we finally tried it." Sakura smiled up at him, "Thank you for dinner." Shisui leaned down to kiss the top of her head.
"Thank you for coming with me. What do you say we pick up some dessert and go back to my place and get a fire started?" The breeze strolled past them and Sakura leaned further into Shisui's side to fight off the chill.
"Well I'd have to say that's the best idea you've ever had." Sakura shivered as Shisui steered them over to a bakery that was on the way to his house, and they picked out an assortment of goods to take back with them.
Shisui unlocked the door to his home, and they walked together into the kitchen.
"Go ahead and make yourself at home, I'll get some tea going." He started to fill his kettle with water as Sakura wandered into the living area, quickly spotting wood stacked neatly on an iron shelf in the corner.
"Do you have any matches?" Sakura knelt down to put wood into the fireplace, and was joined shortly after by Shisui. She raised her eyebrow at him in question when he didn't answer, and saw a smirk pull on his lips.
"Don't worry, I got it." He brought his hand up and used a small katon to bring it to life. Sakura's eyes widened in shock before turning to Shisui, her jaw slack.
"I guess it's a party trick of mine." He gave her a boyish grin and Sakura threw her head back in a laugh.
"Shisui, I tell you what, there is nothing about you that is boring. You just keep surprising me." She slowly stood up to go back to the kitchen to fetch their dessert and tend to the tea. She set them neatly on a wooden tray that Shisui had laid out while Shisui went to the hall closet to grab some blankets to lay out in front of the fire.
"You were gone for a while this time." Sakura said as she bit into her dorayaki. "Did everything go ok?" She eyed Shisui as she chewed on her dessert. She anticipated him giving a generic answer as usual, so she had to depend his facial expressions for the real answer. He may be an Uchiha, but she felt she was able to read him fairly well at this point, and compared to his other family members, he was much more expressive.
"It didn't turn out the way we had hoped…but we returned safely." She saw shadows in his eye, as if he was being haunted by a memory that he covered up with a smile.
"I know we don't usually talk about the details of these things. But I hope you know I'm here if you ever need to talk." She smiled gently to him as she reached for his hand to give it a squeeze. "I know how to keep secrets, too." His eyes reached hers, and it looked like he was wrestling with his thoughts, as if he was tempted to listen.
Shisui swallowed his bite and put his food down, turning to face her fully.
"Sakura…are you really ok with this?" He gestured between the two of them. "I know we haven't really had an actual conversation about what's happening between us, and if I'm being honest, I've been worried about what spending so much time with someone like me could do to negatively affect your life." Sakura faced him fully, confusion written in her features.
"What do you mean, someone like you?" He took a deep breath, searching for the right words.
"I don't exactly have a profession that makes things easy when it comes to relationships." Sakura thought about what he said, and gave a tentative nod, giving him the opportunity to keep speaking if he had more on his mind.
"I don't exactly have an easy past either, and I am still coming to terms with that." He broke eye contact and looked to the side as if ashamed. She saw the muscle in his jaw twitch from him clenching his teeth. "You saw the fallout of that when you stayed with me the last time you were here." Bringing up his nightmares sent memories flying through his head, as if flipping the pages of a book. Shisui felt Sakura's soft hand cup his cheek, and gently turned him back to face her.
"Shisui…" Sakura took a deep breath and steeled her nerves to be so open with him about her feelings. "You're not scaring me away, and I don't want you to push me away either." She moved to her knees to scoot closer to him. "I had a good life before I met you. It could be slow, and at times a little mundane; I felt like something was missing. But then I met you and you brought a spark into my life and I realized that you're what I'd been missing." She paused to take a deep breath, a soft blush rising to her cheeks. "I know there's still a lot for me to learn about you, I mean, we've only known each other for a few months. But I want to know everything about you Shisui, the good and the bad." Her eyes searched his, her hands played anxiously with the hem of her shirt. "And about you being a shinobi…it's not easy for me when you have to leave, but I understand why you do it, and the least I can do is be here to support you and wait for you to come home."
Shisui felt his heart swell and his throat tighten as he took in Sakura and the words she spoke. He didn't feel worthy enough to receive such affection from her, but would spend everyday trying to earn it. He felt a smile tug at his lips.
"I don't deserve you" Sakura smiled back at him, eyes twinkling from the flickering of the fire.
"Yes you do." Sakura pushed up on her knees to get high enough to place a kiss to his lips. "I'm starting to think you don't see yourself the way I and so many others do, and I'm assuming it's because of everything you're healing from." She got a contemplative look on her face. "When and if you're ever ready, I'm here to share the burden with you." She brushed his wavy ebony locks away from his forehead before bringing her hand back down to rest alongside his cheek. A stern look graced her features, "Just don't push me away."
Shisui chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her waist to pull her closer into his embrace. Sakura brought her hands up to rub up and down his back in a soothing motion.
"Thank you Sakura." He whispered, before pulling back to grab her abandoned plate for her.
They settled back down on the blanket with their backs leaning against his couch for support, and enjoyed the crackling of the fire and the rest of their dessert..
"On our way home we came across some of our chuunin. It was a young team, maybe in their early teens." Sakura stilled, giving him time to talk. "It was like a massacre. They were clearly outmatched and it was a slaughter." Shisui paused, picturing their faces. "I don't think they even saw it coming." Sakura's heart ached thinking of the families receiving such tragic news of their loved ones. She gave his hand a comforting squeeze, grateful he felt comfortable to share this with her.
"I'm glad you found them so they could be brought back home to their families. I can't imagine how heart wrenching it must have been to see that."
"Sakura, will you do me a favor?" She nodded to him.
"Of course, what is it?"
"I need you to be extra careful for the next few weeks. If you're not with me, don't be out alone at night. And if you're ok with it, I have a knife I want you to carry around with you." Sakura gave a small nervous laugh.
"Ok Shisui, you're kind of freaking me out. What's going on?"
"You said you can keep a secret, right?" He asked with a tentative but serious smile, and she nodded her head in response. "I've been tracking a situation for a few months now. We have reason to believe that there could be an attack in or near the village." Sakura's eyes widened slightly as he continued. "We don't know for sure, but just in case I want to make sure that you have a way to defend yourself." He slowly stood, reaching for her hands to pull her up with him. He led her into the spare room that he used as his own personal armory.
Sakura stared in amazement at the different weapons that adorned the walls, some that she had never even heard of before. Shisui opened the closet and pulled out a large wooden box before setting it on the desk he had in the room. He unlatched the clasps to lift open the lid, and pulled out what he was looking for.
"I want you to carry this with you for a few weeks…just to be safe in the event I'm not with you and you need it." He held the knife out and pressed a lever to show her how to flip the blade out, before closing it again. It wasn't the biggest knife around, but for someone who was inexperienced it would do well enough in a situation where it might be needed. Shisui handed the knife to Sakura and had her practice opening and closing it a couple times before again asking her to be safe and prepared to defend herself if needed.
"Don't worry Shisui, I promise I'll keep this with me, and I'll be sure to watch my back." She gave him a reassuring smile as she held onto the knife in her hand since what she was wearing didn't have pockets. Shisui thanked her as he leaned down to kiss her forehead, and reached for her free hand to lead her back to the fire.
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A/N: I apologize for taking longer than usual to post this chapter. I've been staring at the bulk of this chapter for days, but have had a stressful week in my personal life that has made it hard for me to be able to clear my mind enough to fully focus as I edit it. I hope it is well received, and that my scattered mind isn't too obvious in my writing.
Thank you as always for your kind reviews. They make my day and encourage me to continue my writing. It makes me so happy knowing that there are others enjoying this story as much as I am.
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