Chapter 4

"It's not insane to imagine that sometimes even horrible people are searching for a way out of their own darkness." — Tahereh Mafi, Defy Me

The massive metal doors opened, revealing before us a cold, austere room - a space where time seems to have lost its most important battle. My heart pounded in pain, as if pierced by a sharp dagger. A carousel of lost memories was beginning to move slowly, painfully slowly, and my whole body felt pierced by thousands and thousands of venomous needles that were deeply ingrained in my flesh. Transient scraps flickered in a far corner of my twisted mind, bringing to the surface grim images of a beautiful woman whose fire had faded far too soon. I could see through an illusion that the white sheet covering the frozen body was being pulled, revealing a breathless wax face.

She had lost the fight with her life, just like last night's victim.

At the head of the dead, a female figure, shrouded in the contre-jour of the sunrise, rises discreetly, looking with foreign eyes and expressionless to nowhere. Rivers of cherry blossoms flowed majestically over her small, frail shoulders, bringing light with her — a warm, comforting light that overflowed with life and youth.

When she raised her mysterious apple-green eyes to us, I saw a grimace, an imperceptible start and a seductive smile, just for me.

So her name is Sakura. The reed that seemed to have taken root in my bed was called Sakura. Such a predictable name, given the unusual color of her hair and yet I would never have guessed.

But it certainly suited her perfectly.

"Sakura, these two gentlemen are Uchiha Itachi, the captain of the organized crime department, and Uchiha Obito, the deputy leader of the department. Now, please excuse me, but I have to retire. " said the blonde next to me, this time much calmer, more docile and I would even dare say that she had some affection in the way she spoke her name.

"My name is Haruno Sakura, a final year student at the medical school and an apprentice to the doctor. Master Orochimaru asked me to personally apologize to you. He wished he was here today, but he was rushed to the Pediatric Hospital for surgery that could not be postponed. Please take a seat. "

"Start baby, we don't have all day!" I heard Obito beside me.

"Obito, please keep a respectful language" I warned him nervously, whistling between my teeth "Please, Haruno-sama, excuse the inappropriate behavior of my colleague. Keep going!"

"Following the expertise performed this morning, it was found that the victims do not show recent traces of violence on the body. However, there are some scarred wounds, clear signs of past aggression. "

I could see her, I could hear her loud and clear, and yet her words seemed unable to touch me. My thoughts were far away. I dreamed with my eyes open to those lips of blood that arched provocatively, articulating the words, speaking like a spoiled child. She looked like a cuddly little girl trying hard to assert herself in the dirty world of adults. However, the childish image created by her innocent appearance and the beast in which she turned into a bedroom were at opposite poles. She had that something just hers - the femme fatale attitude that defined her simply drove me crazy. Just the memory of those soft, pressed lips on my skin made me shiver. Electric tingling ran through my entire body from top to bottom, waking me from my chronic numbness.

"Were those scars analyzed? Can you tell us how they came about? " my energetic Obito came into question again.

"Until now, their age could not be established exactly, but, following the measurements, we could say that they have been on her body for at least a year. They were made with a sharp blunt object, most likely a kunai, judging by their shape and diameter. " she faced Obito's annoying siege of questions with appalling calm.

I was somehow bored watching this exchange of acid remarks of the only two living people in the room, more like a bad tennis match, which is why I felt it was time to intervene. I was afraid that this recalcitrant attitude of Obito would disturb the silence of this professional conversation. I could feel the tension between the two increase and increase and keep exploding.

Well, to be totally honest with you, I wanted their useless talk to end as soon as possible so we could get the hell out of this morgue.

"Tell me, Haruno-sama, does the victim show any signs of sexual assault?"

"Unfortunately, yes, Uchiha-sama. The woman was raped before she died. "

"What is the time and cause of death?"

"The death occurred during sleep, due to a suspicious substance ingested. In other words, she was poisoned. Unfortunately, the analyzes do not show similarities with the substances known to the institute. We will need more time to detect the toxin, a more detailed analysis. The death occurred around 10:30 p.m., and it is absolutely necessary for you to know that the other nine victims had the same suspicious chemical composition in their blood. "

"I told you, Itachi! He wasn't even able to detect the poison. He's a useless student and all these idiots are making fun of us. "

Then the explosion occurred. Obito snorted angrily, tossing poisoned insults back and forth at my little cherry blossom. His infected, tired eyes looked at her contemptuously, mad with rage, as if she carried on her shoulders the whole guilt of everything that had happened tonight.

I understand him and yet I don't.

"I'm out of here!" he thundered, before slamming the door behind him, leaving me and Sakura alone with the body.

I then moved my gaze to her, to see a completely changed face. I could see a lot of pain in her beautiful, warm eyes. Obito's unthinking, random words were like a two-edged katana that cut into her soul mercilessly. Her large, gentle, angel-like eyes hid crystal tears behind her black lashes as she bit her lower lip in an unsuccessful attempt to hide her deep disappointment.

"I feel compelled to apologize for the nervous outburst of my comrade, Haruno-sama!"

"I ... I think I should ..." she tangled in her own words, trying to find herself.

"Let me make up for you, instead of him. Let's have a coffee, I'm pretty sure you had a night as hard as the two of us. "

"Why are you behaving so much towards me? " she finally gave free rein to her thoughts. "You could talk about ... you know ... Master Tsunade would have kicked me out the back door with no right of appeal if she had found out."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, young lady ..." I whispered in her ear, lightly touching the sensitive skin of her fine neck with my lips, before opening the door for her "After you, please!"

I could feel the tight chains around my neck starting to loosen. I was breathing more and more freely, although not even the sinister corridor, illuminated by the hanging neon lights that gave off a dim light that flickered annoyingly, did not give me too much sense of security. It was an improvement, though, and as we climbed the unfinished reinforced concrete stairs, leaving behind the deafening echo of our footsteps, I felt better. As we moved away from the underground, it was as if my spirit had taken control of my body - the lead weight of my limbs was disappearing, as was the feeling of disconnection.

I was back again, I the old one , I the lost one.

"What the hell?! That loser left with our car ... ugh! "

"Uchiha-sama, there is a traditional style cafe down this street. We can walk there. "

Our way to the place was not at all as I had imagined. We both drowned in awkward silence, interrupted only by the sound of our footsteps on the damp cobblestones. She walked humbly, her shoulders brought forward and her gaze fixed on the ground, keeping a safe distance between us - she was always two steps behind me. It seemed to me a shadow that merged with the urban landscape, swallowing it completely. I found myself wondering if her strong personality was an illusory theater, if she really was, an erased and docile being.

Where was the storm? What about crazy passion? Where was she?

"You know, Obito is not usually like that. He is one of the most pleasant agents of the department. It was ... a long night and we're all torn down. If what I think can make you feel better, I think you did admirably. "

"He was so rude ..."

"Indeed, but you have my word that this will not happen again." I turned to her, smiling politely, "This is it, isn't it?"

I had the impression that a large gray cloud had fallen over these women, thundering and flashing over her head. She was certainly affected by his words. Hell, there was no other way. She probably worked all her life to earn a place in such a prestigious institute, then a stranger comes, a nobody for her and throws poison and frustration.

I felt that she had a very noble sense of reason, of responsibility - she looked a lot like her, from that point of view.

"Yes Uchiha-sama, this is the place!"

She was right. This cafe was more than beautiful. It was like an oasis of calm in the middle of a churning ocean - a portal to an eternity, to a different world with the scent of the history of a dignified, long-gone Japan. The charm of archaic architecture warmed the modest room. Traditional touches with picturesque landscapes crowned the simple cherry wood walls, reminding me of old stories of brave samurai and limp ladies, locked in their fortified castles.

"I come here often ... there is something in this place that urges me to dream. It seems like a story to me ... "She was definitely a dreamer, inclined to classical romance. It made me think of a sick little girl, raised among her grandmother's ancient treasures, in a dusty bridge, where time flows latently, leaving no trace.

"I think we have drifted away from ourselves. We have uprooted ourselves from the past and are blindly groping through a corrupt world, seeking the light. "

"Uchiha-sama, do you feel like you're walking in the dark?"

I just smiled.

"I've been in the dark for a long time, Haruno-sama."

Needless to say, she was an intelligent woman, with hawk-like eyes, she knew perfectly well how to touch sensitive points. She walked confidently on a minefield, with the grace of a cherry blossom that floated lightly in the wind. She put salt on the wound, with that charming smile of hers, and she wasn't even aware of it. She had the same gentle, deer-like look as she twisted deeper and deeper into the kunai already stuck in my heart.

I likened her to an early spring day — she was capricious.

"Tell me, Uchiha-sama, what is the real purpose of this unexpected invitation?" she frowned at me, suddenly becoming very serious.

"I have a name, young lady. I allow you to use it ... we're already close enough, aren't we? "

I saw her alarmed. Behind those big eyes burned a mad horror, a fear that made his body tremble from all joints. Her small hands, which had hitherto moved freely, like a neurosurgeon, were now shaking uncontrollably on the white cup of coffee she was holding.

"Relax, please ... I don't want to hurt you. Everything that happened will remain between us. "

"Then what do you want, Uchiha-sama?"

The sexual tension between the two of us grew and grew, becoming overwhelming, impossible to ignore. I felt back in my teens, when hormones drove me crazy even at a girl's shy smile.

She was irresistible.

I felt like I was about to become one of the biggest fools of my life and I didn't even care so much anymore. I needed this girl, my whole body was longing painfully for her warmth as a beautiful woman. She had to be mine and only mine. All I had to do was fuck her night after night until she couldn't walk - to make her moan my name so much that she forgot hers.

"I offer you an agreement , my little cherry blossom. Are you willing to listen to my proposal? " I said this, looking intimidating in her confused eyes, trying to hide the mocking smile on my lips.

...

Hi everyone, I came up with chapter four. It's a bit of a lot of dialogue for my taste, but I hope you like it anyway.

I set out to update the story twice a month, and I sincerely hope it comes out.

I want to thank those who broke their time for feedback, it means a lot to me and I am very, very happy that you like this story.

Also, for those interested, I plan to post a new story about Sakura and Shisui soon, because they are very few and I think it's a shame.