Why was she crying? Kiba was a drug dealer; a low-life, a theif, and an attempted murderer. No tears should be shed for a man with that kind of rap sheet. She pulled over in a seemingly random parking lot and abruptly stopped her vehicle. She put the car in park and tightened her grip on the steering wheel as she stared into space. It was surreal. She reached into the glovebox of her car and retrieved a tissue wot wipe her face.
Her emotions were a mix between fear and sorrow. Kiba was assassinated as he predicted he'd be. What did he know that she didn't? Sakura's mind began to wonder upon the multitude of possibilities before her eyes grazed over the clock in the dashboard.
"Oh SHIT!" She yelled into the air. She was late for her meetup. She needed to be at the grocery store 2 minutes ago.
Sakura wiped the tears from her face and began to look to see where her current location was. She looked left and saw that was at the grocery store she needed to be at. She pulled into the parking and parked in a spot near the back of the parking lot. She deployed the mirror on the visor above her head and studied her appearance once more. Her makeup was slightly smeared, but still intact. She looked down to see that she was wearing a black t-shirt as instructed. Sakura leaned over and reached into her glove box again. In the glovebox, she had her wallet she used that false identity and some cash. Next to it was her police badge. She grabbed her wallet let out a sigh gathered herself and got out of the car.
Her mind was racing who was she supposed to be meeting here? She'd been with Kiba during a few of his handoffs. Kiba. He's dead. She can't rely on him anymore. He is dead. Sakura shook her head and continued to walk towards the store.
Once inside she picked up a handbasket and walked further into the store. She was too unfocused to know what or ever who she was looking for. She felt a ring and a vibration in her pocket. She took out her phone and saw it was still off. She rolled her eyes and reached for her other phone from her other pocket- the phone from Itachi. It read "BLOCKED NUMBER" She quickly answered the phone.
"Hello," She spoke.
"You're late," the voice said directly. It was oddly familiar, but she couldn't place the voice.
"Itachi?" She asked
"You're late I don't like to be kept waiting." The voice repeated.
"Well. I'm here, by the produce section." She interrupted.
"Be ready." That was all the voice said before the call ended.
Sakura rolled her eyes. Whoever this person was she knew one thing and that was how rude they were. She had done this a few times before with Kiba. She and Kiba would arrive with the product and someone else would bring money and they would carry out an exchange.
The call ended suddenly as someone bumped into her. Sakura dropped her basket and knelt to pick it up. Once she reached the ground she noticed her basket had a rectangular object in it.
The object looked to wrapped in a plastic bag and taped with duct tape three times over. She timidly reached down to grab the item. It felt solid, but also like it was full of a substance that was powder-like. Coke. Sakura put the item back down and stood up to see if she saw the figure that left the item on her basket. She did not, they were gone before she could even put two and two together.
She grabbed her basket with drugs in it and walked onward through the store. Who dropped those drugs in her basket and why? She didn't exchange money with them, did she? Sakura checked her pockets as she walked through the store. Her wallet and cash were still intact.
Sakura discretely left the grocery with her item in her basket until she reached her car. She was puzzled. Without Kiba around, who did she deliver this product to? She had no idea where Itachi lived or what to do with it. She certainly couldn't just drive around with the substance hanging out in her car. Uncertain of what to do she started her car just as her phone from Itachi rang. She answered.
"Hello?" She started.
"2556 W. Cravenwood Lane. You have 15minutes to be here." The voice replied. It sounded male, but not Itachi nor was it man from earlier.
"Wait who is this?" She questioned.
"2556 W. Cravenwood Lane." It replied. "15. Minutes."
Sakura paused. "Wait wait! That's on the other side of town."
"15 minutes" The voice replied before the call ended.
"What is going on" Sakura said aloud in her car. She switched into drive and took off in that direction.
She drove like she was in a police chase- running traffic lights, exceeding the speed limit, driving on the curb. She didn't want to know what would happen if she was late, but her adrenaline was still elevated from witnessing Kiba's murder. Before she knew it, she was at the address. It was a marina. Did they rush her to meet at a marina? Just as she was processing her current location, a figure knocked on her door.
Sakura let out a scream. The name at her window was tall or was it just because his hair was very pointy? His hair was dark blue and spiked upwards.
Sakura cracked the window before speaking.
"May I help you?" She asked in a defensive tone. As she finished speaking he immediately spoke.
"Are you the one who has my drugs? Or am I looking for some other pink-haired bimbo?" His tone was dismissive and arrogant. She took a moment to compose herself.
"Probably." She coly replied.
"Good. Hand them over." He presented her with a large wad of cash.
"Gladly." She sarcastically replied. "Any particular reason you had me meet you way out here?" She asked the man aloud.
"Because I got a thing for water shorty." He deadpanned to her.
"Well, I got a thing for kicking arrogant mens' assess." She sharply replied.
The man tilted his head back while releasing a roaring laugh. "Uchiha-sama was right about you. You are a bit of a spitfire."
She lowered the window further and handed him the product and he handed her some cash then reached into his pocket with the other hand to give something else. A small black felt bag with a simple drawstring.
"Give this to your boss. I owed him for last time." He said to her.
"Fine. The hell is this." She inquired. The man raised an eyebrow.
"If you know what's good for you, you won't ask those kinds of questions." He said in a serious tone.
Sakura held steady under his gaze.
The man immediately began to laugh. Sakura took notice of his sharpened teeth. "It's just diamonds. Relax." She placed the sack on her lap and rolled her eyes.
"Since you and I will be working together, I guess it's only polite we learn each other's names." She started.
"You can just call me by my nickname-" He began.
"Nope. I want your real name." Sakura interrupted.
The man paused before speaking. "Ok then. Fine. Call me Kisame."
"I'd love to say, that I'm pleased to meet you-" She began. Now it was Kisame's turn to interrupt her.
"Then say you are pleased to meet me." He finished.
There was a silence.
"I'm Sakura." She started.
"What beautiful name for my beautiful future wife." His attempt at flirting notwithstanding to Sakura.
"Oh, you know another Sakura?" She countered.
He roared another laugh with his head tilted back.
"I supposed I should be going, Uchiha-sama should be calling you any moment now." He stated in a less excited tone.
Right on cue, her phone rang. Sakura looked down to see who it was. The screen read "BLOCKED NUMBER" again.
"Hello?" She answered.
"I'll send you an address. Meet me there. It isn't too far from where you're at." Then the call ended. This time she knew the voice belonged to Itachi.
Sakura looked up to see the man had left. Her phone vibrated again, this time a text with an address. 1862 Allenwood Lane. She rolled her window up and put the car in drive. She had no idea where Kisame was, but she wasn't too thrilled about the sinking feeling she had in her gut about things.
Sakura arrived to the address provided via text. It was an empty parking lot with nothing in it except a black limo.
"Subtle," Sakura said aloud in her car referring to Itachi's luxurious ride.
She parked in a parking space next to the limo. She gathered the cash and diamonds. She reached into her glovebox and found her police badge. Something inside of her compelled her to stuff it into the crevice between the driver's seat and center consul. She and Naruto worked this code out as a way to communicate with each other. A badge between the center consul and driver's seat meant she was fine. A badge between the passenger seat and center consul meant she was in distress. The chances of Naruto finding her were slim, but it was their way of communicating.
As she exited the car, Tenten got out from the back of the limo with a gun handy. Using the gun, Tenten gestured for Sakura to raise her hands in the air. Tenten briskly patted Sakura down. Sakura noted how the rain had lightened up.
"Beautiful day to get frisked, huh Tenten?" Sakura joked with the stoic woman.
"Or to get shot." Tenten coldly replied as she finished her pat-down. Tenten reached for the money and small bag in Sakura's hands. Sakura pulled her hand away.
"This is for the boss man." She replied.
"I will examine it before it goes anywhere near Uchich-sama." Tenten countered. "Of course, I could always take it by force."
As Tenten finished her sentence, the rear window opened to reveal Itachi's face.
"Get in." He simply said.
Sakura smirked a Tenten before approaching the door to the limo and entering. Tenten followed her in. Gun remaining ready.
"I have your money and some diamonds too." Sakura said presenting the items to him.
"Hn." The man replied. Taking the items and immediately giving them to Tenten. Now it was Tenten's turn to smirk. Itachi knocked twice on the glass and the limo driver took began to drive away from their location.
Sakura felt uneasy that they were leaving but played it cool.
"Where are we headed?" She asked calmly.
"Sakura." He began. "I thought I'd give you an opportunity to meet a valued associate of mine."
"Well, I'm not exactly as well dressed as you are for such a meeting." Sakura replied taking notice that he was wearing a nice black three-piece suit and Tenten was dressed rather nicely as well, even with a firearm in hand.
"Not now, but tonight, I'll give you a few hours to get yourself together. If things go well, this could open some rather significant doors for you." Itachi replied.
Sakura raised an eyebrow. "That has to be the most syllables I've ever heard you say." She joked. Itachi fell silent. Tenten cocked her gun.
Sakura began again. "My apologies. I didn't realize the reality of the situation. May I ask why I am meeting such a valued associate so soon?" It was a valid question.
"No. you may not," Itachi replied. "Let's just say, your skillset is going to be tested." He added.
"Tested?" She parroted. "I see. Is this part of the job interview?"
"Correct. Your interview is still in progress." He rebuttabled. "But this is your chance to prove yourself."
"I see." Sakura replied as the limo came to a stop.
"Go with Tenten." He replied. Sakura looked out of the window. She didn't recognize where they were. "We're in the garment district." Sakura looked at the man with puzzlement. He read her mind.
"Will you be here when I get back?" She questioned.
Tenten opened the door and exited the limo waiting for Sakura to exit as well.
"Hn." The man replied.
"And we're back to single syllables," Sakura muttered as she exited the car.
Sakura followed Tenten as they walked a few steps and into a dress store. This was not what she was expecting. She and Tenten were approached by an elegantly dressed woman to which Tenten bowed and signaled for Sakura to follow suit as well. They bowed.
The woman nodded her head in return. Sakura noticed she was exceptionally beautiful. She had long red hair that extended down her back and to her heels. She was wearing a lowcut blue dress leaving very little to the imagination. In the background, a timid young man with glasses was busy tending to the other customers.
"Ah. Tenten. My darling how are!?" The woman replied with such a sweet tone.
Tenten flashed a toothy smile towards the woman. The woman turned slightly to address Sakura.
"Is this the one?" She loudly asked Tenten who was standing directly in front of her. Sakura shifted her weight onto her back right leg and put right hand on her hip.
"She's cute. I have just the dress for her." The red-headed woman spoke to Tenten discussing Sakura in the third person.
"Hi. My name is-" Sakura began before Tenten spoke over her.
"Not important. She is an associate of Uchiha-sama. That is all that matters." Tenten finished.
The red-headed woman began again. "Call me Mei. Work with Itachi-sama as well."
Sakura noted the way she addressed Itachi in a semi-formal manner. They must be on good terms.
"Well, I have this dress for you. It'll be perfect for your meeting." She added.
"Ok sounds wonderful," Tenten added finally storing her gun away.
Sakura followed the ladies to set nice dresses on an out-of-place rack. Sakura looked around and say the young man buzzing around from person to person. He seemed so, shy. Sakura tuned back in just in time to see Mei hand Tenten a lovely red gown. Tenten smiled as she held the gown up to herself in a nearby mirror. Sakura noted the red in the gown looked very similar to the color of Kiba's blood. She took and deep breath and buried the memory. She could grieve later on.
"It's.." Tenten began.
"Beautiful…right?" Mei finished. Her tone had changed into one of aggression. Her body language tensed.
"Absolutely." Tenten finished quickly. Mei relaxed.
"Excellent." Mei replied. "And for you dear." She started referring to Sakura. "The one in the black garment bag will be for you."
Sakura approached the bag and reached for the zipper. Before Tenten's hand had stopped her.
"We don't have time for 'say yes to the dress' we need to leave." Tenten spoke. The timid young and had placed Tenten's dress in a white garment bag.
"Ok. Geez." Sakura replied.
"Thank you Mei-sama." Tenten bowed, Sakura caught on and bowed in unison this time.
"Any time my dear Tenten." She added.
The ladies grabbed their respective garment bags and exited the shop. They walked back to the car and placed their bags in the trunk. Once they got back in, Itachi tapped the glass to signal the driver to go. They rode in silence until they arrived back at Sakura's car.
"We will meet you at Café Desjour at 8 pm. Do not be late." Tenten spoke.
"Sounds like a lovely time." Sakura semi-sarcastically replied. This elicited a smirk from Itachi. Sake took note of this before getting out of the car.
She grabbed her dress from the trunk of the limo and placed it into her car and began to drive home. On the way, she noticed she has driven in silence. Once she got home, she reached into her glovebox to grab her badge only to find it was not there. She remembered she placed it in between the seat and center consul. She attempted to retrieve it only to find it wasn't there. She panicked for a second. Why wasn't it there? Where was it….or….Who had it? Sakura quickly grabbed her dress and ran into her house and locked the door behind herself.
She slid down to the ground and began to sob. Why was she crying? It was just a badge that she had lost… on an undercover mission. She cried even harder once she remembered all that had happened in her day.
Kiba was murdered in front of her eyes in a graphic and vivid manner. She made her first independent drugs exchange, she met a few more of Itachi's associates and now she had to prepare for a formal dinner. To top it all off, she lost her badge on an undercover mission. She felt overwhelmed and nauseous. She ran to the bathroom to throw up. She hugged the toilet as if it offered her a source of comfort before crying a little more. She wiped her eyes and stood walked two steps over to her mirror and gave herself a pep talk.
"Ok. I can do this. I can do this I can do this."
She stripped and got into the shower. The hot water felt great against her skin. She washed her skin scrubbing away her problems over the last 24 hours. She needed to get her head in the game and end this game.
After completing her shower, she wrapped a towel around her long pink hair and another one around her body. She walked back towards the entryway and retrieved her garment bag.
"Let's see what she thought I'd look good in. She didn't even have my measurements." Sakura thought to herself.
She unzipped the bag and gasped the dress was beautiful.