It took a few minutes after Temari's departure for Shikamaru's thoughts to settle. He wished he had asked more questions, but she had a way of surprising him and taking control of their conversations. It threw him. It was troublesome… though less troublesome than the realization that part of him liked it. He sighed. He didn't have time to be thinking about some murderous dame, he had business to take care of.
With a shake of his head to clear his thoughts, Shikamaru pulled the drawer of his desk open to grab a bottle of scotch and the piece of paper with Sakura's work number on it. He poured himself a glass and took a deep drink before calling her, feeling a burning in his throat which matched the burning in his chest and face.
"Hello, you've reached the Konoha District Attorney's office. This is Sakura. How can I help you?" Her tone was as light as her cotton candy hair and her voice even sweeter.
"Hey Sakura. This is Detective Nara. We need to talk."
"Oh. Hello… um… Sir." Her voice held the ghost of its former tone, but her words were more awkward and forced. "I don't know if that is something we can do." It was obvious that she wasn't alone and able to talk.
"Can you stop by my office after you get done with work?"
"Sure, not a problem."
"Be careful that you're not followed."
There was a pause from Sakura. An unspoken question of what had happened to make him say such a thing but it was left unsaid. She would ask her questions later and she only replied with, "Have a good day," before she hung up.
It would be easier and most likely safer to talk in his office anyway, even if it meant he'd have to look into her big green eyes and lie to her face. Even if it meant he would have to explain away his injuries and sorry state. Something told him she wouldn't buy a simple lie that he had just fallen down some stairs. Not to mention, whatever he told her, there was also the chance she would tell Ino.
He groaned at the quickly spiraling level of complexity and work that everything seemed hell bent on. Why are things never easy?
The smartest choice would be telling her a version of the truth. Sure, he'd confirm (yet again), that Sasuke wasn't cheating. But now that Shikamaru knew what Sasuke was actually involved in... hell, what they were both involved in, he couldn't have Sakura knowing the full truth either. He had seen the determination in her eyes, and knew she wasn't one to let this go. Not one to meekly step back and stay out of the way. It's why she had come to him in the first place.
So he'd need to come up with something close to the truth, but something to deter her from looking closer into Sasuke's activities. Though he didn't know what that would be just yet.
What a drag.
Shikamaru carefully pushed himself up out of his chair. Swiping his drink from the desk he continued his shuffle to Asuma's office. His hand hesitated in the air, mid reach, for a moment as he steeled himself. Part of him still needed to remind himself that he wouldn't see Asuma's lazy smile looking up from notes on his desk and offering help nor hear Asuma's admonishment for the drink in his hand already at this afternoon hour.
Unbidden by Shikamaru's conscious mind, his hand gripped the handle, turned it, and the door swung open.
Anyone who tells you to move on has never lost someone close to them. Never had loss alter them to the very core of their being (always carrying it with you). Or, maybe worse, felt the emptiness left in the spaces that a loved one used to occupy.
This was that. The stale smell of old smoke still lingered here. Only a light layer of dust dared to disturb the unintentional shrine of Asuma's office. If Shikamaru couldn't move on from the changes Asuma's death had made to who he was, then he wasn't about to allow Asuma's office to.
Straight ahead light streamed through the partially closed blinds from the windows on the right and onto the clear and neat desk.
Shikamaru's throat tightened but he swallowed hard and moved inside, lightly running his hand along the top of one of the client chairs. He had to do this. If Asuma had been working on this case, he would have notes. He had always been surprisingly neat when it came to work, despite the laid back attitude he often portrayed. That was something that they had in common, really - they both cared more than they let on. It had been obvious the moment Shikamaru first saw the neat, organized, and meticulous case files Asuma built.
Now those very notes were what Shikamaru needed to find, and he knew Ausuma would have stashed them away somewhere in his office. The question was just where. Shikamaru began to go through the drawers of the files that sat pushed against the wall on the left. He was unsurprised when he found information on all their other cases, but nothing that tied to this one.
If he was trying to keep Shikamaru in the dark and out of the case to protect him, and if he knew it was even half as dangerous as it turned out to be, Asuma would have hidden anything to do with it file for a couple of reasons. First, tucked away so Shikamaru wouldn't stumble upon it by accident. And second, so anyone who showed up to search it wouldn't find it either.
Shikamaru eased down into Asuma's chair and half heartedly searched through the desk drawers and contents. No secret panels and nothing off. He then brought his hands together as he thought. His eyes scanned over the desk and came to rest on the photo of a smiling Kurenai... Asuma's widow. Shikamaru's first instinct was to turn away but instead he stared at the photo, instead. Leaving his mind to wander.
Asuma was loyal to the core, and he loved her something fierce. Shikamaru moved the picture, checking the frame and the area it sat. Still nothing.
As he sat there a memory he tried to ignore many times before pushed to the front of his mind. After Asuma's funeral, Shikamaru had shown up at Kurenai's home with a pot of poppy flowers that had been in Asuma's office next to the window. He hadn't been able to get himself to go to the funeral. So, he didn't know what processed him then, but he had taken them to her. He rationalized that there was no way that he would be able to keep it alive, but maybe he wanted to see her. Maybe he wanted to apologize for Asuma's death, even if an apology could never come close to being enough.
At first glance at the pot in his arms, Kurenai had fallen to pieces in her doorway. It was unusual to see the woman cry. Her and Asuma were often so careful with their displays of emotions, even between each other if others were around. Eventually she had pulled it together enough to drag him inside. Tears still streamed down her face as she quietly told him how they were the same type of flowers that Asuma had gifted her on their first date. How she had given him this plant for his office to remind him of her. How it was "their" flower as she arranged it in the window sill. A symbol of love between the two.
Kurenai had thanked Shikamaru for bringing them to her, saying something about feeling as if Asuma had played a part in bringing them to her that day. He could only half listen as the air caught in his throat. Shikamaru could barely get words to push by his lips, let alone try to make amends.
The vivid recalled memory now caused Shikamaru to turn to face the window. A water ring on the floor from the pot still marked it's spot, the flowers long gone. He moved to it and crouched, running his fingers along the edge of the stain. The only sign that they had been here. But as traced the ring he felt a raised edge of the floorboard. Drawing his attention to the little nicks in the wood surrounding that could be caused by being pried up in the past.
He grabbed a letter opener from the desk and worked to leverage it under an edge to do the same. Once free, Shikamaru spotted files. He pulled them out and flipped through them open to confirm. Of course, they were exactly what he was looking to find.
Once again, he'd come to Asuma's office for help and it was given.
Author's note:
So next chapter we'll be seeing Sakura again, which I originally planned on doing this chapter - but it was getting long and with the other plans I have that come with her, this just seemed like this was a good stopping point.
If anyone is interested, I have been planning on making a post on my Tumblr ( OstaraNight) with music and movies that helped inspire me to write this. Maybe it's a pipe dream that anyone has interest in such a thing, but you never know. XD
I appreciate reviews - they seriously help motivate me and make me smile!
