KPD: Case Files

by Tiny.Dncer

konoha Police Department's violent crimes unit put their two best on a case that could have huge consequences if left unsolved. With medical expert and former squad member, Sakura, joining them, Sasuke and Naruto are sure their old squad 7 will be able to crack the case. Except, they didn't account for Sasuke's feelings towards Sakura complicating things. Crime drama AU.

15. Chapter 15

A/N: There's really no excuse for how long this took me to post. Look, it'll get finished when it's finished, but I promise I'll finish it. I'm not a fan of leaving things half done. If you want the excuse, I'm working on a bunch of stuff right now, so yay! Exciting! But also, aaahhh!

One review asked if I was a med student. Thank you so much for thinking that! I am not even a little bit. I was a theater kid lol...I have a deep interest in genetics, cellular biology, brain behavior, and psychology, but I haven't received any formal education in those fields past a high school level (with one or two courses in university). I do a lot of research for what I write in this, and I am working off some basic scientific theories and capabilities, but please no one take any medical advice from this story. It's all science fiction.

Anyways happy SS month!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

---

It was almost exactly a week since Squad 7 had first stood in front of Tsunade's desk, but unlike the first time, Sasuke felt full and supported. Having all three—four counting Kakashi—of them together, working together and getting along like they used to, may have been the best feeling in the world. Actually, it was even better than before. This time, Itachi wasn't the only thing on his mind. Slow simmering rage wasn't the only feeling filling him. This time, he and Sakura were together, her influence soothing him and granting his mind some peace from his personal tragedies. And he'd jump straight to the ninth layer of hell if anyone took that away from him.

"Is it too much to hope that you've got good news?" Tsunade muttered dryly.

"Eh, depends on how you define good, grandma." Naruto answered boisterously.

"Finding out a moral-less jackass has his sights set on my favorite student has been a headache enough for the shitty week." Tsunade muttered massaging her temples

"Are the senators giving you problems again, Shishou?" Sakura asked concerned.

"When aren't they? They practically live up my ass." The Prime Minister sighed before her amber eyes softened, fixing on Sakura. "Are you holding up ok?"

Sasuke knew he shouldn't be surprised. He knew the two were close. But he honestly never thought that the older woman could do soft and caring. She was always so vicious to him, not that he didn't deserve it. But he'd never seen her look or speak so gently to any of her subordinates. It was obvious though now, looking at her. She looked at Sakura like she was her own daughter, and a brief glance at his girlfriend revealed that the feelings were mutual. After having heard the way her parents spoke to and looked down on her, he understood. Tsunade had great expectations of Sakura, and when she met and inevitably exceeded them, Tsunade was rightfully proud of her. She was tough and hard, but she was truly supportive, teaching Sakura how to surpass her limits, reach her goals, and granted her the acknowledgement and pride she's worked so hard to earn.

"I'm managing. Don't worry Shishou, we'll take him out before he can get me." Sakura stated boldly. Sasuke knew immediately it was an act. He wasn't sure if Tsunade could tell though. From the way her eyes narrowed a little, it seemed like she could, but then she closed her eyes with a smirk, lightly shaking her head.

"You always were a tough one. Even before you were my student…" Sasuke couldn't decipher her words. Did she mean she believed Sakura or not?

"So should we rip the bandaid off, then?"

"Yeah go on. Report." Tsunade was all business now, straightening and looking at them all with a serious gaze.

"An informant, Uzumaki Karin, has revealed the meeting date, time, and location of a buy between Orochimaru and the Akatsuki. In exchange for protection, she wants to assist in setting up an operation."

"And you three are here to ask permission for that, correct?"

"That's right, Grandma! So do we have your ok?"

"Not if it's only the three of you plus her…you're sure she's trustworthy?"

"Absolutely." Sakura stated with an assuredness Sasuke didn't understand. What happened between those two? How had Karin had such a drastic change of heart?

Tsunade rested her hand on her chin, pondering the situation. "She's still here?"

"Yes."

"Send her in when you leave, I'll question her and make some assessments. If she's willing to become a Konoha citizen, I can extend protection to her and place her here as a consultant…"

"So we're cleared for the operation?" Naruto asked excitedly. He hoped Tsunade did allow Karin to stay…she said her name was Uzumaki, and he had questions.

"I didn't say that." Tsunade snapped, irritated, as she massaged her temples. "I can't allow just you three on an operation of this caliber. You're talking about Orochimaru and one or more members of the Akatsuki here. Orochimaru's insane, and the Akatsuki are some of the world's most wanted. All of the Great Nations have them in their bingo books, and Interpol has a whole unit dedicated to them…You know anything about which member's orchestrating this buy?"

"Not yet…" Sasuke had a feeling he knew where this was going.

"Will you be able to handle it if it's Itachi?" Sasuke opened his mouth but Tsunade cut him off irritably. "Think before you answer! I mean it, Uchiha, this case is about catching Orochimaru. In a perfect world you catch both, but this wold's far from perfect and reality is always going to bite you in the ass. So, if Itachi's there, can you keep it together and carry out your mission?"

Sasuke swallowed hard, glaring at her. He wanted this to be an easy answer. He wanted to be able to say he could, unequivocally…but the way the white hot rage was tearing through him just at the mention of Itachi's name…just at the thought of seeing him in the midst of a human trafficking deal…he wasn't so sure.

He felt soft fingers quickly brush over his white knuckles. They'd only been together a short while, but he'd know that touch anywhere. The reaction was immediate. His clenched fist relaxed, the rage burning through him soothed, as if someone injected him with aloe.

"Yes." He finally answered.

Tsunade studied him closely. She hadn't missed that little moment. She'd seen the way Sakura glanced over at him quickly, the way she'd quickly brushed her fingers over his hand…maybe, he would be alright.

"Fine. I'll allow it. But it won't just be you three…from here on out, I'm establishing a task force. You'll work with Squads 3,8, 10, and Sai. Uzumaki Karin is to help you in the planning and orchestration only. I can't allow a civilian to participate during the actual mission. Check in with Kakashi throughout and clear your final plan with me prior to acting. Am I clear?"

"You got it grandma! Let's go round up the others!" Naruto shouted in excitement, happy to finally be making some real progress.

Before the other two could react, he grabbed them and dragged them from the office.

---

The debriefing room never felt so full. It was weird to be working with everyone like this…Sasuke couldn't remember a time where they'd all been together, other than the promotional exams.

"All right, so this troublesome operation is to take down both Orochimaru and one or more unknown Akatsuki members. Am I understanding that right?"

"Yup! Pretty much!" Naruto answered cheerily.

"Damn, you three really landed yourselves the case from hell's ass crack and just had to drag the rest of us into the mess…what a drag."

"The Task Force wasn't our idea." Sasuke muttered. While he generally considered this group friends, or at the very least friendly acquaintances, all of them at once was…a lot. He much preferred working or speaking with them one or two at a time, at most. Although, really, he supposed he should have been better prepared. He'd predicted this would happen earlier in the week…but it had formed so quickly. That was the thing about Naruto. When he called, people came running to help. Whether it'd been an official order or not, all of them would have dropped everything in a heartbeat to assist him. So barely an hour after Tsunade issued the order, the entirety of the "Konoha 12," plus Sai and Karin gathered in the briefing room…Maybe the Dead Last really would make a good Prime Minister, with how quickly he could spur others to action.

"So to recap, Orochimaru is wanted in connection with the torture and murder of Shiin and Tayuya, charges of human trafficking, human experimentation, and suspected in the abduction of Ageha. He's likely responsible for the torture, experimentation, and murder of several yet unknown victims as well. He's known to work in conjunction with the infamous criminal organization known as the Akatsuki, buying humans to use as test subjects from them." Sakura summarized. "Thanks to intel from Karin, we now know the exact date, time and location of the next buy between the Akatsuki and Orochimaru."

"They'll be meeting in an abandon warehouse about 136 kilometers south of Konoha. It's a neutral location. Neither the Akatsuki nor Orochimaru uses it as a base, so they'll both have transportation out of there."

"Do exchanges always happen on neutral ground?" Sai asked.

"Yes. For meetings, the Akatsuki usually go to Orochimaru, but actual deals are always carried out on neutral turf."

Tenten got up and went to the computer, pulling up the floor plans, and electrical grid for the warehouse. "These are the blueprints for the building. They're public record, though not in the city database since they fall outside. But since it's still within the Land of Fire, we can access it. We shouldn't have jurisdictional issues either since this does fall within Konoha's greater territory."

"Why not meet in a no-mans land where none of the Five Great Nations could claim jurisdiction? Wouldn't that be better?" Shino asked, receiving a nudge from Kiba.

"Dude?! Don't give her any ideas!"

"…Remind me never to get on your bad side Shino…" Naruto muttered.

"How do you know you aren't already? That's because you did forget about me that one time…"

"Ah c'mon! You still goin on about that?! It was one time, y'know?!"

"How about we stay on track." Neji cut in, annoyed that Tenten was cut off and the meeting derailed.

"Yeah. Besides, Karin's not with them anymore, she's with us now." Sakura said with a light glare towards Kiba. Sasuke saw the corner of Karin's mouth twitch a little at that and once again wondered what magic Sakura could have worked to make Karin change so much.

"Actually, I'm curious about Shino's point as well." Shikamaru interjected. "Was that really not taken into consideration when setting up deals, or are they all created with the potential to be traps?"

Karin pushed up her glasses with a huff. "It's not that it wasn't taken into consideration, it's just too hard to pull off, logistically. The only real no man's land is the ocean. Maritime law defers to the judgements of the captain. But it doesn't work well for actual deals and exchanges because too many third parties and variables are introduced. You have to get both parties and goods out on to the sea, which means you need to buy off a vessel which you can reliably captain, or get a sailor to do it for you, and ensure that they won't talk. You also have to get both parties to navigate ports—which are very busy and do fall in the jurisdiction of the country they're in—with their goods without being caught by witnesses or cameras. And if they are, they could now be charged with smuggling in addition to whatever other crimes were being committed. It's just more work. These deals and meets aren't meant to be traps. However, both Orochimaru and the Akatsuki always have contingencies and failsafes, and the Akastuki are always armed, so it's best you guys have a fallback as well."

"Speaking of plan B's, why don't we make a plan A first." Tenten drawled, twitching in annoyance at having been placed on hold for so long.

"Seconded." Neji agreed. Sasuke had to fight his smirk. The Hyuga was so whipped for Konoha's weapons mistress. Not that he had any right to laugh…one look from Sakura and he'd agree to anything.

"Right, so there are four entrances on each side of the warehouse, and a ceiling hatch. The area is surrounded by a barbed wire fence, with three gated openings on the north, south, and east sides. It's abandoned and power's been cut, so there's no way to open the gates without hot wiring."

"That'll be child's play for Orochimaru or any member of the Akatsuki." Karin added.

"Yeah. Do you know which gates they'll use? The warehouse is large and narrowing that down will help narrow down where in the facility they'll be meeting."

Karin shook her head. "It's not a detail they'd consider important. It's an abandoned facility. It won't be too hard to find the only other person there. "

"That makes it harder to know where to position ourselves ahead of time." Shikamaru muttered.

"We also have to keep in mind that this is a human trafficking deal. So there'll be innocents we need to rescue and secure as well." Sakura added.

Sasuke's eyes drifted to his girlfriend again, softening. She really was so caring…He knew for a fact that everyone at the table had been so caught up with the logistics of catching the bad guys that they'd completely forgot to consider the innocents that would be there. It was a good thing she was here to remind them, or else they'd have only remembered half way through a plan.

"That's right! We need to take that into account while coming up with the plan!" Ino was quick to support, sending a pointed look to Shikamaru.

"What if we divide into two groups? One on rescue and one on arrest?" Sai suggested.

"There's merit to that…actually if we divide into three groups, the third group can place trackers on their vehicles and block off access should they try to escape. The crucial part is where to place ourselves. If we…"

Sasuke's attention was grabbed by the vibrating of Sakura's phone. She glanced at it, her brow furrowing before setting it down and turning her attention back to the meeting. But no sooner had her phone stopped ringing, then it started ringing again.

"Who is it?" Sasuke asked quietly.

"Kabuto-senpai…There must be an emergency. I can't imagine why else he'd call."

The phone stopped ringing again, but once again he immediately called back. Sakura quickly made her way to the door, wincing a little in what Sasuke could bet was embarrassment, as she answered the phone to stop its disruption. Whatever she heard made her stop dead.

"Say that again…"

Everyone's eyes were now trained on Sakura. Sasuke saw her muscles tensing and noted the way her fist tightened around her phone. He had a very bad feeling about this…and Kabuto…why was that name familiar?

"Report it officially. I'll be there soon." She hung up and took a deep breath before turning to face the room. "A body was found in the hospital morgue."

"…What's so unusual about that?" Sai questioned. "Bodies are usually found in morgues, are they not?"

"It's got talons."

"Ah. I can see why that'd qualify as unusual."

Sasuke seriously wanted to punch his oblivious stand in. "We'll have to put this meeting on hold. Come on, Naruto." He said making his way to the door.

"Squad 8 should come too." Sakura said, her voice somewhat flat. Sasuke knew that she was putting up a front. She must have had the same bad feeling he did.

"Why should we—ow!" Kiba barked as Shino nudged him.

"Let's go. It's because this may pertain to our case as well."

"…Oh…" Kiba got up, joining squad 7 at the door.

"You guys can keep planning. The rest will come back after the crime scene's processed and I'll rejoin after I finish the autopsy."

Shikamaru gave a grave nod.

Squads' 7 and 8 walked out of a silent briefing room.

---

Sasuke knew his bad feeling had been right the second he caught a glimpse of the tiny body on the metal table. Sakura's tight expression confirmed it. That was Ageha. He, Naruto and Kiba immediately went to talk to Kabuto while Shino questioned to a nurse.

"KPD. We need to ask you a few questions."

Kabuto nodded tightly, his eyes wide, trying and failing to look anywhere but at the little body. Sasuke couldn't explain it, but he immediately didn't like the man.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, believe it! What's your name?" Naruto asked brightly, as if they were meeting at a party and not a crime scene. Kabuto blinked dazedly, caught off guard by Naruto's friendly interrogation style, especially after Sasuke's rather cold introduction.

"Y-Yakushi Kabuto. I've been a doctor here for 7 years."

"Woah! But you look so young though!" Kiba said, blinking in his surprise.

"I'm thirty…I started here when I was 23 but those first three years were residency…I wasn't a full doctor yet."

"That's incredible, Kabuto-niisan!"

"That's nothing compared to Sakura-san. To not only complete the full medical program, but be so skilled that she's able to become a full doctor and co-head of the hospital…and even start the expansion of mental health clinics…she's the incredible one."

Naruto beamed. He loved people complimenting his teammates…he took pride in their accomplishments almost as if they were his own. On the other hand, Sasuke's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Was he just being a jealous, territorial boyfriend, or had this man taken way too keen of an interest in Sakura? Something about the way he complimented her…it sounded more sinister than just hero worship to him…

"What were you doing when you found the body?" Sasuke asked, unable to keep the sharpness from his voice.

"A patient died so I was bringing their body down to the morgue. When I put it on one of the tables, I noticed there was a door ajar to one of the containment units, which is against protocol, and I wanted to make sure it was at least empty, so I opened it, but…the feet were…they didn't look human but…they weren't quite animal either. I pulled the table out to see and…" Kabuto's voice had gotten progressively more strained, his eyes shifting slowly towards the body before bouncing away rapidly, only to slowly shift towards it again.

"Have you ever seen anything like it before?" Kiba asked, despite knowing the answer. No one except them had seen anything like this before.

Kabuto didn't give an audible answer, settling for shaking his head, his eyes dropping to the floor.

Sasuke didn't like it. Kabuto's answers were consistent, the story made sense, it tracked with normal behavior, as did his current upset demeanor. But something about it seemed off…performative, in a way Sasuke didn't have evidence for and couldn't point to specifically, but just found off putting.

"Why'd you call Sakura first?" He snapped. There. That was an inconsistency he could focus on. Anyone else would have called the police, so why had he called Sakura?

"I…I wasn't sure what to do…" Kabuto shifted uncomfortably, his eyes again dragging to the body before bouncing back to Sasuke. "Sakura-san is the most level headed doctor in this hospital and the co-head. Even if she had been temporarily transferred, up until a week ago, she was still my boss…this sort of thing would be reported to her or placed on her to take care of…so I guess partly out of habit. But also…" He again glanced at the body, this time his eyes lingering. "She was Ageha's emergency contact."

"How do you know that's Ageha?" Sasuke questioned lowly. With every word this guy spoke, he bought it less and less.

"I don't but…" He sighed deeply. Remorseful. "I was her doctor, however briefly…that body is unrecognizable but…there are a few physical similarities…the height is the same, as is the hair color, texture and style, the eye size and shape was the same, and there was bruising consistent with three IVs…Ageha had to get three IVs because she ripped them out sometimes in her sleep. And with her going missing recently…I just thought…who else could it have been?"

Again, the answer was consistent. It made sense that her doctor would notice these sorts of things. And it wasn't uncommon for an employee to call a boss first during disturbing discoveries like these. It was a frequent occurrence for violent crimes when taking statements to hear that the first call had been made to an employer rather than them. Employees followed orders. When presented with a shocking and scary situation, they often defaulted to asking for orders first before thinking to do the obvious like calling the police. But still…with Kabuto, Sasuke found the answer too convenient. Doctors were not average employees. They were trained to make decisions and handle situations on their own. Maybe if Kabuto was a nurse, he'd be more inclined to believe it, but not a from a doctor.

Sasuke's gaze grew more and more hostile, and Kabuto seemed to be tensing up accordingly. He felt his eyes beginning to prickle, a tell tale sign that he was seconds from triggering his genetically enhanced vision. Naruto elbowed him harshly, sending him a look.

Get the fuck away, Bastard! You're scaring him too much. Let me take over.

He and Naruto had always been adept at silent conversation. It's partially what made them such a good team. They always knew what the other was thinking.

Sasuke nodded, releasing a deep exhale. "I'll go check in with Hinata." He said, flipping his notebook shut and stepping away to let Naruto's sunshiny warmth coax the suspicious witness into revealing more information.

He joined Hinata who was staring up at a security camera, tight lipped with narrowed eyes.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked, eyeing Kabuto suspiciously, while keeping Sakura within his periphery.

"There's nothing on the security cameras. Again." Hinata said, her pearly gaze traveling up to the cameras positioned throughout the room. "The Byakugan monitoring system is unbeatable, but this is the second time…"

"Is there anyway to check for tampering?"

"The cameras can't be tampered with. There's no way to. So they must have somehow gotten into the system directly." She took out her phone and began typing with a fury that didn't match her quiet voice and gentle personality. "I'm putting in a request with the company to check their backups."

"They wouldn't have any reason to cover it up, would they?"

"No. Most of the employees are Hyuga, and the ones who aren't are carefully vetted and vouched for by a Hyuga. They're very loyal to Konoha and the prime minister. They'd never cover something like this up."

"…That takes nepotism to a whole new level."

"Y-Yes. But it gives Neji-niisan and I easily attainable information so I guess I shouldn't complain."

"Hinata."

"Yes?"

"Kabuto…he matched the vocal profile my team got from Suigetsu and was questioned as a person of interest, right?"

"Yes. He had an alibi, though."

"A witness could attest to it?"

"N-Not a witness, but all hospital security systems logged his departure, and we have security footage placing him on Namikaze Blvd. around the time Ageha went missing."

"Hn…" Sasuke didn't like it. Maybe he was being too paranoid, but something about the man bothered him. He gave off a vibe Sasuke found off-putting, though he couldn't place why that was.

He shifted his focus to his girlfriend, who was stoically checking over the small body. He should probably check on her, both for a report and to see how she was.

Sasuke stopped on the opposite side of the metal table, glancing over the body. It looked less human than the other two—a full transformation. Leathery red brown skin, nails replaced with talons, enlarged ropey muscles, claw like feet, a smattering of scales around the wrists and ankles, and a scaled tail.

"Cause of death?" Sasuke asked gently, his eyes settling on Sakura.

"Likely her illness. I can't confirm until I do the autopsy, but I'm guessing the new bodily changes actually managed to pull away her white blood cells from attacking her organs…but by that point her body was too weak. She was able to undergo the full transformation. It probably prolonged her life a little. But once the transformation settled, her body was too weak to continue. Maintaining a new musculature, an entirely new appendage and change to the skin's organ expression would undoubtedly place too much of a strain on the heart and lungs. It's too much too quickly. These changes weren't encouraged slowly and carefully over time, they were forced on an already weakened body all at once. It'd be like never doing a strenuous workout a day in your life and then trying to lift 484 kilograms…" She trailed off, her face still carefully blank as she stared down at the tiny, monstrous body.

"Time of death?" He prodded, his tone still gentle.

"With the changes, I can't make an accurate guess because I don't know how they effect the decay process or how she was kept until she was placed here." The tightness in her tone was audible, her words clipped.

"Sakura…do you have to do an autopsy? Will it really tell you anything new?" He murmured.

Her stormy eyes finally pulled away from Ageha, locking with his own. A wet film coated her shining jade irises, though no tears fell.

"This is the first full transformation. That could be because of the test subject, or it could be because their experiment's changed…whatever chemical they're injecting might have gotten more refined. The only way to find out is doing the autopsy."

"And it has to be you?"

"That's why I'm on the case."

Sasuke sighed and nodded. He didn't care what else had to be done that day, the second she was done with that autopsy, he'd already decided he was taking her home.

Naruto joined them. "According to Kabuto, he was moving a body in here when he noticed one of the doors wasn't closed all the way, so he opened it to check and…" Naruto filled her in, glancing down in both sadness and revulsion at the little body.

"I'll get forensics to dust for prints. This confirms one suspicion though. There's definitely an accomplice within the hospital."

"Makes sense." Came Hinata's soft voice, as she lead the rest of team 8 over to them. "They'd have to have intimate knowledge of the security system…there's no way they could have slipped by twice without it."

"The card scanner for this room only registers one recent entry. That's because Kabuto is the only one who's come into this room since 10pm yesterday."

"And we're sure this Kabuto guy's clean?" Sasuke asked.

"His alibi for Ageha's kidnapping checked out, man. And it's not weird for a doctor to deliver a body to a morgue."

"That's the second time you've asked about Kabuto-san, Sasuke-kun." Hinata observed, peering at him keenly.

"Why you so suspicious, bastard? Paranoia or just a feeling?" Naruto asked. He knew Sasuke better than anyone…except maybe Sakura. But he and Sasuke had a deep understanding of each other, and he knew his best friend was prone to paranoia. He also knew his best friend had some pretty good hunches. The hard part was deciphering the two from each other.

"I'm not sure…" He really couldn't put his finger on it. Maybe it really was just paranoia, but something about Kabuto rubbed him the wrong way…what was it? The feeling he got from the man was just…slimy.

"He seemed properly freaked over this in my opinion." But despite his words, Naruto wasn't completely dismissing his friend's suspicion. It's not like they had any other helpful leads to pursue anyways.

"We should get back and report this to the group. It's because we're a task force now and must work together."

The others nodded in agreement at the statement, except for Sakura who wasn't listening at all, her eyes fixated on the body of her former patient.

"Sakura-chan?" Hinata questioned softly.

Sakura blinked and then looked up, her eyes landing on the crime scene cleanup team.

"Get the cadaver to the KPD lab within the next hour."

The cadaver…Sasuke could tell she was trying to emotionally distance herself.

"Let's go." Sakura agreed, turning back to Hinata and stepping away from the metal table.

Sasuke followed her out the door, once again feeling at a loss for how to comfort her. For one, they were in public, and the physical affection that passed between the two of them was for themselves only in the privacy of their apartment. For another, he wasn't sure if comfort worked the same way love languages did. Were they the same thing? And hold up…when had he started thinking of it as their apartment? Not that he minded but wasn't he getting ahead of himself? Why was he moving so fast with their relationship internally? True, there'd never been anyone else for him but her really, but she'd said take it slow and they'd already ended up living in the same apartment and sharing a bed…were they still "taking it slow"? And fuck! He had a case to focus on! When had he gotten so god damn bad at compartmentalizing?! This wasn't some random ass case, either. It was one that was profoundly effecting his precious girlfriend's life. He had to get his fucking act together.

Sasuke sighed and pinched at the bridge of his nose, coming up with his plan for the rest of the day. He'd focus on the case, and work as hard as he could on the task force until Sakura finished the autopsy. Then he was taking her home no matter what. He could work remotely if needed, but now that there was a whole task force on this and they weren't hunting down individual leads, but setting up an operation, there was going to be less to do individually. It probably wouldn't matter too much if he and Sakura clocked out early this once. He'd have to ask the Yamanaka how best to comfort her, since he didn't want to make Sakura responsible for her own comforting. The blond woman was his girlfriend's best friend, so she should know what to do.

Plan made, Sasuke set his shoulders straighter. This operation couldn't come soon enough.

---

"And you're sure it was the little girl?" Karin asked. Team 8, Naruto and Sasuke had reported back to the task force while Sakura went about the autopsy.

"Sakura-chan thinks so." Naruto answered. He was still eager to talk more with this woman—she might be a long lost cousin.

"Is she alright?" Karin asked, concern furrowing her brow while her fists tightened and eyes narrowed with an anger Sasuke didn't understand.

"I highly doubt it." Ino answered sadly. "Sakura cares for her patients deeply. Her only short coming as a doctor is not knowing how to emotionally distance herself. She's probably taking this really hard."

"Tch. Too soft." Karin muttered without venom, her eyes dropping to the table sadly.

"Security really didn't catch anything?" Neji asked Hinata, his brows furrowing in confusion. She shook her head.

"I-I've requested Hanabi send us all the recorded data for the hospital security system from the past month."

"Since the camera's can't be cheated, they'd have to hack the system directly. We should ask if there's been any malfunctions or bugs with the main system." Neji advised. Hinata nodded promptly.

"Either way, they'd have to be studying the s-system for some time, and have access to the hospital's monitoring center. The Byakugan mainframe can only be accessed through a Hyuga programed computer."

"That doesn't rule out too many people. It's because cleaning staff, maintenance, security, nurses, and doctors all have access to the monitoring center." Shino explained.

"The only ones who don't are cafeteria staff, then." Choji supplied.

"That really doesn't narrow it down, but we can rule out those who have no contact with Ugly." Sai said placidly. Sasuke still couldn't fathom how Sai derived Ugly as a nickname for Sakura. There was clearly something absurdly wrong with his eye sight.

"Forehead's the co-head of the hospital. Everyone has contact with her."

"But not all of them know which patients she sees. We can rule out anyone who hadn't seen Ageha's patient file."

"Which leaves only doctors and nurses…" Sasuke's eyes narrowed. Kabuto fell into that category. He'd been a match on the vocal profile. Ageha's case had been reassigned to him when Sakura had been transferred to the KPD…which meant he'd known Sakura was working on a case, and if he'd had a hand in Orochimaru's experiments, it wouldn't be hard for him to figure out which case Sakura was working. But he'd had an alibi…

"We should check out Kabuto again more thoroughly." He said, looking up at Shikamaru.

"Kabuto again? You won't lay off that guy, huh? He had an alibi." Kiba countered.

"But he does check a lot of boxes, y'know?" Naruto defended. "It couldn't hurt. If he's clean, he's clean. Believe it! But we got nothin' else to go with so why not? Besides, if he comes out clean, I can make fun of the Bastard for being paranoid, so it's a no lose situation."

"You realize if I'm right, I get to say I told you so, Idiot." Sasuke shot back.

"It's genuinely baffling you two are violent crime's best. Seriously, how do you two get anything done?" Tenten muttered rolling her eyes.

"You're just jealous! Believe it!" Naruto shouted pointing his finger at her.

"I find their banter a youthful display of camaraderie!" Lee defended.

"TenTen's accurate assessment aside," Shikamaru drawled lazily, ignoring Naruto's cry of protest, "you two make a good point." Whatever he was going to say next was interrupted by a knock on the door. Kakashi walked in followed by Temari and Gaara. Everyone rose to their feet, some in surprise, some out of respect for Suna's Prime Minister.

"Temari?!" Shikamaru's eyes widened in surprise, his face flushing a little. She'd left for Suna shortly after their conversation about marriage. She went back and forth frequently, but whether it was for work or just for him, she'd always told him beforehand, which she'd neglected to do this time.

"Gaara!" Naruto shouted in excitement. "Long time no see!"

"It has been a while." Gaara agreed with a small smile.

Sasuke caught how Gaara's aquamarine eyes scanned him with both acceptance and slight distrust. He couldn't help recalling what Shikamaru said. Gaara was apparently in love with Sakura. And the thought had his eyes narrowing distrustfully on the red head.

"What…what are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked after clearing his throat.

Temari gave him a brief look, which was somehow simultaneously soft and wickedly teasing at the same time, before holding up a red folder.

"We've got some bad news for you." Gaara nodded as if to back up her statement.

Everyone took their seats while Kakashi leaned against the wall, giving the floor to Suna's Prime Minister.

"You requested some information on Sasori. He was a member of Suna's ANBU Black Ops. He deserted many years ago, when it was discovered he was responsible for a slew of abductions around the greater Suna province. He—"

He was cut off by the door opening, all eyes jumping to a very stiff Sakura. She blinked a little in surprise at the red head in front of her.

"Prime Minister Subaku?"

"How many times must I tell you, there's no need to be so formal with me, Sakura." He answered, his expression softer than Sasuke had ever seen Gaara look.

"Sorry Gaara." Sakura answered with a small smile. "It's just surprising to see you. Good, but surprising." Sasuke didn't miss the way Gaara smiled warmly at the words, his jaw clenching in annoyance at the exchange. "I interrupted something, didn't I?"

"Information on the Akatsuki member, Sasori." Temari answered, though she gave Sakura a smile and wave in greeting—the two were friends after all.

Sakura nodded and took her seat next to Sasuke, her attention fully on the topic at hand, though her body still held the residual tension she'd walked in with. He really wanted to reach out to her, but now wasn't the time…

"Sasori had always had a propensity for puppets. Many of his assassination methods involved remote controlled puppets rigged with weapons, explosives and poisons." Gaara continued. "We believe he was actually responsible for the poison you saved Kankuro from, Sakura." He gave Sakura a fond look that had Sasuke's blood boiling.

"How is that related to the abductions?" Ino asked.

"His fixation with puppets took a dark turn. He started abducting and killing humans, cleaning out their bodies and loading them up with weapons, explosives and poisons, turning them into human puppets."

"He didn't…like, remote control them, did he?" Choji asked looking like he was about to lose his lunch.

"No. He left them posed in places for people to find. Many of the traps inside the bodies were on timers, or motion activated, so they wouldn't go off until the body was found. He used his skills as an ANBU to evade capture and got away, going to ground fifteen years ago."

"Suna has an active search running for any similar cases reported across the continent. There have been a sporadic few over the years in other countries, but by the time we get through all the red tape, he's long gone. Twice there have been reports of similar cases within the time frame of a couple days, but on opposite ends of the continent." Temari furthered. "We'd lost all track of him, until you guys brought it up, which is why we're here."

"He's the most wanted criminal in Suna, giving our village a bad name for far too long. It's unsurprising to hear that he's joined up with the likes of the Akatsuki."

Everyone sat very still, digesting the horror they'd just heard.

"Wow. There's really a whole organization of the creepiest, psychotic, mother fucking monsters alive, all working together. You'd think that shit only happens in manga." Sakura said flatly.

"Fair Sakura is right! How come no one has taken them out yet?" Lee agreed.

"They're too good at staying under the radar. We've never had enough intel individually or internationally to go after them. Although, that's part of why we're here." Temari sighed.

"Well…it's a drag but the more we know about each member of the Akatsuki, no matter how fucked up, the better prepared we'll be. You said they work in pairs, right?"

"Yup. They're an evil organization that swears by the buddy system." Karin affirmed. There was a ripple of sniggers and smirks at her word choice. Even Sasuke had to admit, there was something funny about the image of the most evil organization in the world swearing by the same method used to wrangle kindergarteners.

"I have a meeting I must get to with Prime Minister Tsunade. We're discussing assembling the other nation's leadership to discuss finally taking action against the Akastuki threat, but I wanted to deliver this information personally. It was good to see you all again." Though as he said it, his eyes landed squarely on Sakura, who gave him a small smile. Sasuke had to battle the urge to start an international incident.

Gaara left the room, followed by Temari, after a brief moment of heated eye contact with Shikamaru…he better get moving on that marriage proposal soon.

"Alright…" Shikamaru cleared his throat a little, recovering from whatever effect Temari had on him. "Well, continuing with the upsetting news party, did you find out anything new, Sakura?" He asked, though his tone gentled a little. None of them were under the illusion that handling this body had been easy for her.

"Nothing that particularly helps us. It's impossible to make a positive identification from genetic sequencing because her genetic material has gone through a complete change. But the white blood cell count was exceedingly high, consistent with Ageha's average cell counts, and given the size, gender, and location the body was found…it's definitely Ageha…I'm sorry." She said, her gaze dropping to Karin, who sat with her eyes narrowed and fists clenched tightly.

The red haired woman shook her head slowly. "It's fine. You told me there was a high likelihood of this happening. When her body's released, let me pay for the funeral."

Sasuke once again wondered what happened in the interrogation room for Karin to have changed so much. Sakura really was a miracle worker…

Sakura's eyes softened as she nodded at Karin, despite the fact that her tension didn't drop. "Of course. This is the first full transformation that seems like it would have been stable if not for the condition of the test subject." Her tone was clinical, detached. He supposed it needed to be for her to get through this. "She survived and seemed to have lasted through the initial transformation and maintained some control over it. This could be because they're refining the chemical delivery process, or it could have to do with her young cells being more adaptable. It's likely a combination of both. She only died because of her previously weakened state. All in all, they probably consider her a success. The first for the curse mark project that we know of."

"Even though she didn't survive?" Sai asked.

"It's not about whether she lived or died, but why she did. Her death ended up being more or less unrelated to the experiment…it may have exacerbated it, but not by much. Her body was already weak when they started. She was on borrowed time even while safely in the hospital. The abduction and move to whatever lab she was brought likely destabilized her. There was no way she was surviving the experiment. The question was would she die from the experiment, or would she die because she was dying. It was because she was dying, so the experiment was a success."

"If they've succeeded with this experiment, is it over? Or is there a second round?"

"Based on Orochimaru's personality profile, and that this is ultimately a precursor to morphing someone else's DNA to match his own, there's gonna be a second round." Ino concluded grimly. "In a lab, this is where you start picking your subjects more carefully. The question is, what's he looking for in a subject?"

"It depends on what he decides to use as his ultimate method. If he pursues gene implanting or gene matching, his subject would need to be someone whose cells and genetics are more malleable. If it's gene splicing…well it could really be anyone I guess, so it'd come down to personal preference." Sakura explained.

"But if the purpose of this is to prolong his life by switching bodies, he'd want a body that's strong…" Sasuke said, speaking for the first time since Sakura entered the room, his eyes trained worriedly on her. His girlfriend was abnormally strong. She'd dislocated his shoulder with one hit, and broken all of the sandbags in one Gai's gyms. Wasn't she exactly what Orochimaru would want?

"That's true." Ino acknowledged. "Everything in his profile is about power and advancement. But, our societies are largely patriarchal. When it comes to power, men hold more of it than women do. So it's likely whatever body he ultimately picks for his final product will be male."

Sasuke had to hand it to the blonde. She really was perceptive…she'd know exactly what he'd been worried about when he'd voiced his statement. Or, was he just becoming too easy to read? That was a disconcerting thought.

"Since we don't have enough to go on, and knowing he's got other running experiments, let's not get too hyper fixated on narrowing down his victim pool." Shikamaru cut in. "Sakura, were you able to find anything else? Any sort of signature?"

"Whatever chemical delivery system was used, seems to have burned away upon the completed, stable transformation."

"Then there's no new leads there. What do you know about Kabuto?"

"Kabuto-senpai? Nothing much, really. He's been working at the hospital longer than I have. He's a senior staff member, and one of the few doctors of a high enough skill level to take some of my cases when I was brought back here. He'd been given Ageha's case. She didn't like him very much because his smile made her uncomfortable and she felt like he spoke down to her…of course, she felt that way about most of the other doctors and nurses. She was in an intensive care unit. Not all of the staff there are well trained in handling children, so I chalked her complaints up to him being bad with kids. I'd never heard any of his other paitents complain, although overall I don't think he had the strongest bedside manner. Is he a suspect?" She really hadn't been paying attention at all when they'd discussed it earlier.

"He matched Suigetsu's vocal profile, although he had a strong alibi when Ageha got abducted. But dickless and anus-clencher over there have a bad feeling about his, so we're elevating him to a person of interest." Sai answered with his placid, out of place smile, ignoring Sasuke and Naruto's equally murderous glares.

Ino buried her face in her hands. "Sai…we've talked about the nicknames…"

"…Not in public?"

Ino nodded, sending him a gently reprimanding look with an infinite level of patience she granted to absolutely no one else.

"Sorry Beautiful…I must have forgotten."

Ino once again buried her now bright red face with her hands. "It's okay…just keep working on it." She muttered.

Sasuke watched the interaction torn between disgust and curiosity. Was this what couples were supposed to do? He didn't think he'd ever be able to say something like that to Sakura. Not with an audience…Hell, had he ever complimented Sakura's beauty before? Recently, he'd implied more than once that he found her attractive, but he never said it directly out loud…but those two, they always were rather public with their affections…

"Hm…it's hard to imagine. He's been a part of the hospital staff for such a long time. I'm not sure when he would have met Orochimaru…although, I don't know him personally all that well, so there's a chance I guess." Sakura answered, largely seeming to ignore the cute, or disgusting interaction, depending on who you asked. Sasuke noted the way her brow furrowed…she clearly didn't like the idea that Kabuto might be the accomplice. But Sakura always was the warm and trusting type. More than that, he'd come to learn that she took her role as a doctor very seriously. The idea that a full, oath-sworn, doctor would align themselves with Orochimaru would be highly upsetting to her. She'd known that the suspected accomplice was a hospital worker, but that could have been maintenance or custodial staff. She probably would have had an easier time with it if that was the case.

Shikamaru sighed.

"Choji, Kiba, look into this Kabuto guy. Ino, try coming up with a profile for this accomplice and then compare with Choji and Kiba to see if what you get matches Kabuto even a little. Hinata and Shino, you two go through the security footage and potential bug. Karin, we'll need you to keep up your job for now, but where we can safely monitor the communications, and when you're not coordinating deals, any information you can dig up on the Akatsuki and their members would be great. The rest of us will work on our plan for the operation. It would be really great if we could scout the location without flagging any suspicion."

"Leave that to me." Kakashi said from his spot against the wall. "Can't let you guys have all the fun. Besides, I did used to serve on ANBU."

Shikamaru nodded. "Thanks. Let's get to work."

The group nodded, dispersing to go about their various assignments.

Sakura was one of the first ones out of the room, and Sasuke made to follow, but a hand stopped him.

"Sasuke-kun." He turned to see bespectacled eyes looking up at him. Before he could shake her off, she said something completely unexpected. "Look out for her."

What?

"You're worried about Sakura?"

"Am I not allowed to be?" Karin asked. "There is such a thing as friendship between women, you know."

That was just bewildering…not that he showed it.

"You've had a change of heart."

"Look, she…that girl…she listened to me when no one ever had before. I owe her a lot."

"I know the feeling…I won't let anything happen to her."

Karin shifted her weight a little, a strange expression crossing her face, but it was fleeting. Despite her acceptance and apparent approval of Sakura, it seemed she still harbored some feelings for him. She may want Sakura to be happy, but it didn't make it any easier for her to hear Sasuke swear something like that for another woman.

Karin nodded and released his arm, walking out of the room.

Sasuke stared after her for a second, blankly, his mind still processing the strange interaction. It was the first time Karin had ever spoken to him without it being overly flirtatious. He definitely preferred it that way. Maybe, so long as she kept up this way, she'd turn out to be actually tolerable…He shook his head and left the room. He had to find Ino.

---

She hadn't been hard to find. She'd returned to her desk to begin profiling.

"Ino."

"Sasuke?" She asked in surprise. He never sought her out before.

"How…" He shifted uncomfortably, glancing around. He'd never asked for help before…never even came close unless it was from Naruto, Sakura, or Kakashi. "I'm going to take Sakura home…what's…what's the best way to comfort her?" God he should just stab himself in the eye with a chopstick. What the fuck was his problem?! Sakura was his girlfriend! He should know how to comfort her—though in his defense, they hadn't been together very long, but still. She always knew exactly what to say and do for him intuitively but he had to ask someone else?! That was just wrong. And embarrassing.

"Wow." Ino was staring at him wide eyed. "Okay, whoa. So you two really are like properly together. God that's wild. I swear she was having a break down to me about that like what…five days ago? Crazy…"

Sasuke twitched, impatience and embarrassment mixing uncomfortably in him.

"You really put her through the wringer! If I were her I would have moved on ages ago! How could you lead her on like that you asshole?! Seriously she should have had you begging on your knees for forgiveness, she's too nice."

"Ino…" He ground out, his patience wearing thin. "What does Sakura need when she's depressed?"

"You really should be figuring this out yourself you know, that's part of the whole relationship process." She said with a haughty hair flip.

For a painfully long moment, the two just stared at each other while he considered simply walking away. He didn't have time for this and she was really trying his non existent patience. But he didn't want to put the pressure on Sakura to tell him what to do…not right now.

"Please…help me." God did those words taste horrible coming out of his mouth.

"Well, Forehead's done a lot to help my socially inept boyfriend, so it's only fair I help hers."

And this was why he never talked to Ino. She definitely topped the list of coworkers he had the least tolerance for.

"The most important thing is to not let her be alone. Even if she tells you she wants alone time, it's probably just because she doesn't want you to see her crying. Stay with her. You don't have to necessarily talk, but just stay physically close to her. Touch isn't a primary love language for her, but it is how she likes to receive comfort. The other big thing is distraction. Sakura needs distractions from her emotions in order to process them and get to a place where she can talk them out. Or just run away from them, I guess, depending on what the problem is. When you left, she threw herself into study and work to a degree that was honestly concerning. But I think this is the kind of thing she'd process and talk out with a distraction. Her comfort foods—"

"She likes sweet things. Anmitsu, dango, and umeboshi." He at least knew that much.

"Yup. But if you want to get het to eat real food, omurice is best. As for cheering her up, put on some medical drama and let her make fun of it. She'll go on and on and completely miss the point that it's a tv show and not real life, but she's usually in a much better mood after. If not, just put on something Sci-Fi. She's a huge nerd so it's her favorite genre."

"Got it." He'd give her this at least, Ino was a great friend to Sakura. You only learned that kind of information about another person by going through it with them multiple times. And even if it pissed him off, he could also understand Ino's attitude towards him. Not everyone was as forgiving as Sakura, and, like any protective friend, Ino definitely hadn't forgiven him for what he'd put her through. But more importantly, Ino cared about Sakura's happiness, so despite everything, she'd do what she could to make sure Sasuke treated her best friend right.

"Wow. You're really taking this whole boyfriend thing seriously, that's so cute! Never thought you'd wait hand and foot on a girl. Where was this Sasuke four years ago when I still had a crush on you? Not that it matters, Sai's way better for me anyways."

Sasuke twitched, any gratitude he felt towards the blonde woman quickly starting to fade.

"You should buy her flowers some time—girls really love that, you know?"

"Isn't this shameless self promotion?" He asked dryly.

"It's not self promotion if it isn't my store."

"It's your mothers…"

"And its got the best flowers. Come on! How can you not know this? This is boyfriend 101!"

"That your mother's shop has the best flowers?" He shot back sarcastically. Like her own boyfriend knew all the rules of dating…although maybe he did, since he always read those books and magazine articles on social interaction and flirting…hell, was he actually losing to Sai?!

Ino gave an indignant hair flip. "I was talking about buying your girlfriend flowers."

Sasuke fought the urge to roll his eyes. Sakura hadn't mentioned gift giving as one of her main love languages and she wasn't most girls. She would probably prefer a book or a handwritten letter. Or something she could look at and be reminded of him—flowers withered too quickly.

"Thanks for the advice." He forced out, though it felt almost physically painful to say. He turned and walked away, determined to get Sakura home.

"Daffodils are her favorites!" Ino called after him.

He rolled his eyes, but despite his annoyance, he found himself mentally cataloguing the information.

---

It took surprisingly little effort to get Sakura to leave. He'd checked in with Shikamaru and Naruto about it to see if it was okay for them to go home, or if they were needed. But both readily agreed that Sakura needed time and since she was staying with Sasuke, he needed to be there with her. They could handle planning on their own for the rest of the day, though they assured him they'd call if they needed either of them to weigh in or do something.

Sakura was silent the whole car ride back, and Sasuke, ever weak with words, had no idea how to go about making conversation with an emotionally wounded female. He'd always had an easier time speaking with her than anyone else, except for maybe Naruto—though, it was debatable if that could actually be considered conversation. But that was rarely about emotions or deep shit, so he let the silence settle.

When they got to his apartment, Sakura B-lined for the couch and curled herself into a little ball. He watched her measured breathing become less and less measured, and knew immediately that she was crying.

"Touch isn't a primary love language for her, but it is how she likes to receive comfort."

Ino's advice sounded through his mind like a guide. He slowly made his way to the couch and sat next to her, putting his arm around her shoulder and gently pulling her into his side. Sakura responded immediately, uncurling herself from her ball and curling into his side, burying her face in his chest, her fists tightening on the fabric of his shirt. One of his arms wrapped around her while the other gently stroked through her hair.

"Sakura needs distractions from her emotions in order to process them and get to a place where she can talk them out."

Distraction…he needed to give her a distraction. What? What would work?

"My…my father was never openly affectionate with my mother. To me that was normal…but…occasionally I wondered what she saw in him. She was such a warm person and he…wasn't."

"That's okay Sasuke-kun…Sometimes a warm person needs someone who isn't to cool them down. A warm person with a warm person can be too overwhelming. The temperatures are too intense…"

Shit. Fuck. That wasn't at all what he wanted. She wasn't supposed to be comforting him, it was supposed to be the other way around. And God did she need it. Her tear choked voice was heart breaking enough. He hadn't heard her sound like that since the night he left.

"I love you with all my heart!"

No, this was wrong. He needed a distraction that didn't make her feel the need to comfort him. What? What could he talk about?

"Do you think Temari's staying with Shikamaru, or in some hotel with her brother?"

"…She usually stays with Shikamaru…" She sniffled quietly, her face still pressed into his chest.

"Tch. He's in trouble."

"What makes you say that?"

"He hasn't planned a proposal yet."

"He's gonna propose?" She asked, excitement briefly coloring her sad voice as she finally looked up at him.

"Hn. They talked about it the last time she was here. She got mad at him for not having asked yet."

"Sounds like her." Sakura murmured with a sad giggle. "He could just ask impulsively, you know? He might not plan it out too much."

"He plans everything. There's no way he wouldn't plan this."

"You're probably right." She settled her head back against his chest, tears still leaking from her eyes, though her uneven breathing had calmed a little. "Ah shit, I'm gonna owe Ino money."

"Why?"

"She and I had a bet about who'd be engaged first, those two, or Neji and TenTen."

"And you bet on Hyuga and TenTen?"

Sakura nodded.

"Hn. You could still win. Shikamaru's lazy. He'll stall as long as he can. And he'll want to come up with a plan. Hyuga's more proactive."

"She might propose to him though."

"Who? Temari?"

Sakura snorted. "No. TenTen. Temari might force Shikamaru to ask her, but she'd never do the asking herself."

"TenTen might." He acknowledged, happy that this distraction seemed to be going much better than his first attempt. "But the Hyugas are a conservative family. He'll think it his role to ask her."

"They might ask each other. Mutual proposition…"

"Hn. Maybe…" There was a long pause and he noticed Sakura's eyes growing glassier. He needed to keep the conversation going…that never had been a strength of his, and this wasn't really a topic he knew how to engage with. But he didn't trust himself to try starting a new conversation with how disastrously the first attempt went.

"I can't…picture TenTen in a dress…" A sentence he never thought would come out of his mouth.

"It's not really her style. She might just get married in a tux."

"The Hyuga wouldn't like that. Maybe a kimono. They're the types to have a traditional wedding."

"She'd probably be more willing to do that then wear a dress…"

The conversation lulled again. Why was this so hard? Was this what she felt like attempting to talk to him? He really was the worst…this was so uncomfortable.

"The dead last might end up doing it first."

"Naruto?!" Sakura pulled back again, looking up at him with her captivatingly green eyes in shock. The salt water of her tears somehow made her eyes look even greener and more alive, like leaves during a rain storm. He was so caught up looking at them he forgot he was supposed to answer right away.

"Aa…He's impulsive. He might." He smirked. "Should I join your bet with Yamanaka?"

"On Naruto?"

"Aa."

"Hell no. He's unpredictable enough that you'll end up winning."

"Glad you didn't pick up your mentors gambling talents."

Sakura gave a small smile. "I actually got pretty good at cards."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Good at cards?"

"I'm the one person Lady Tsunade refuses to play with now."

"She loses to everyone…what makes you so special?"

Sakura's smile grew a little bigger.

"She doesn't win or lose to me."

Sasuke's brow furrowed in confusion.

"Every match she plays with me ends in a draw."

"…How…?"

"A good magician never reveals their secrets, Sasuke-kun."

"Isn't the stereotype that the girl dates the loser magician?"

"Technically I never lost." Sakura answered, settling back against his side with a smile. Her tears had slowed significantly and her voice was a bit stronger.

The conversation lulled again as he continued to hold her close and stroke her hair, racking his brain for another topic. The smile slipped from her face.

"I know it's not my fault…Ageha…what happened…it's not my fault. And I really didn't know her that well. But she was my responsibility and…how could someone do that to a sick child?" Her tears picked up speed again, but her voice remained steady, though quiet.

Sasuke shifted her position, pulling her onto his lap. She seemed surprised by the action, but didn't hesitate to throw her arms around his neck and bury her face in the crook of his shoulder.

"This wouldn't have happened to her if I wasn't her doctor. If I hadn't made myself her emergency contact…"

"Sakura. No matter how she died…that girl never regretted you having been there for her."

"How do you know?"

"Because I never…Orphans don't…we don't usually get someone who's willing to be there for us. I…I never regretted how close I got with you…I regretted leaving you behind, though I'm still glad I didn't take you with me. It wouldn't have been right. I don't regret leaving…I needed to, to wake the fuck up. But Sakura…even if something happened to me because someone was targeting you…I'd never regret this. Knowing there's someone who cares about me…in this way…for an orphan who doesn't have anyone, you have no idea how comforting and precious that is. That girl would never regret having you there for her, even if it meant dying that way."

"Mm. Thank you." She whispered against his neck, her arms tightening around him.

They stayed like that for a while until Sakura's breathing evened out.

There was a long silence before Sasuke cleared his throat…he really couldn't believe the words that were about to come out of his mouth, but it had been bothering him since the briefing…

"Gaara likes you."

He felt her eyelashes flutter against his neck before she pulled away, looking up at him with…curiosity.

"Are you jealous, Sasuke-kun?"

"…Unfortunately." He didn't like that it bothered him. There were other men in Sakura's life that he knew she felt nothing deeper than friendship for. He didn't want to be the kind of man who told his girlfriend that she couldn't have male friends. He had no right to control or micromanage her life like that. And he couldn't blame Gaara for his feelings either. Sakura was…She was someone who only ever deserved to be cherished. He was shocked that there were men who knew her and weren't in love with her.

Sakura regarded him for a long moment before settling back into his chest, a small smile on her lips. "Whatever his feelings are for me, I've only ever seen him as a good friend, and he's never tried to push it past that. But I don't mind having to remind you if you forget, Sasuke-kun…for me there's only ever been you." Her voice was soft and gentle, weak from tears, but utterly sincere.

His arms tightened around her and he buried his face in her hair hiding his smile, breathing her in. He held her close to him for another few minutes, inhaling the light scent of her shampoo, relishing the warmth coursing through him, before refocusing on the task at hand. Comforting his precious girlfriend.

Sasuke scooped her up and set her down at the counter, ignoring her yelp of protest, before heading into the kitchen to make them food. He felt Sakura's eyes following him.

"What are you making?" She asked, her voice quiet and thick from her crying.

"Omurice."

"Ah. So you talked to Ino. That explains it."

Sasuke bristled. "You…always know exactly what to say and do when I'm upset, but I…I have no idea…and you need it, so…I asked her." He kept his eyes glued on the pan.

"Well I better. I didn't take all those psych courses and start a mental health wing in the hospital for no reason, you know?" Sakura answered with a light but genuine laugh. "But you do know, you could have asked me, right?"

"And make it your responsibility to cheer yourself up? As if. I should at least be able to do this much for you."

Sakura was silent for a long moment.

"For someone who claims to have no idea how to be in a romantic relationship, you're doing really well Sasuke-kun." He couldn't help the surge of warmth and pride he felt hearing her say that.

"You sure you're not just easy to please?"

"If I were easy to please, I would have been dating Lee-san for a while now. It's just you."

The back of his neck felt warm. He quickly slid the food onto plates and held one out for Sakura.

"Eat."

Her giggle made his temperature elevate several notches.

When they'd finished their food, and he'd taken Ino's advice and put on a medical drama...some show called Hundred Healings. He'd expected to find Sakura's commentary annoying based on how Ino had described it. But it was actually amusing to hear her get so worked up over inaccuracies in a dumb tv show. And surprisingly informative. Apparently Sakura had beef with medical dramas over how often they skipped doing chest compressions, and how badly they did them when the procedure was included. She critiqued their form, rhythm, strength…Sasuke now felt fairly certain he could deliver perfect chest compressions, should the need ever arise, just from listening to Sakura's corrections.

And he found that he wouldn't mind at all if all his nights were spent like this: Sakura snuggled against his side, watching medical shows together, and listening to her tear them to shreds…when this case was over, he didn't want her to leave.

---

Sasuke couldn't convince Sakura to take the next day off, although that was probably for the best. Sakura hated feeling useless and finishing this case would get right through to the root of her current problems. Besides, she needed to be there to make sure the rescue side of the operation wasn't neglected in favor of the busting side. And she needed some firearms practice…it had been a while after all. So the next day the two of them were back at the department, pouring all their energy into their respective tasks. There was a lot of planning, research, and work to be done. They were helping to craft different facets of the operation, so they weren't working as directly with each other as they had been the previous week. But Sasuke surprisingly found that he didn't mind too much. Their strengths were different and they were needed in different places, but at the end of their long days and sometimes nights, she was going home with him. Cooking with him, eating with him, showering in his bathroom and sharing his bed. They didn't have to work closely side by side, doing the same thing for him to know she was his partner.

It was a little shocking how well the Konoha 12 plus Sai and Karin worked together, but their generation of KPD had always taken the lesson of teamwork very seriously. Partially due to Naruto. He inspired everyone around him to lean heavily into their bonds and trust their friends for help. Sasuke yet again found himself marveling at the fact that Naruto might actually turn out to be an excellent Prime Minister. He probably wouldn't have the same problems Tsunade did with her senators, who always seemed to be at odds with her.

---

Five days after they'd found Ageha, the task force got a report of a break-in in SoKo. South Konoha was not a great area and break-ins happened frequently. It was below their pay grade and they wouldn't have even been informed of it if it weren't for the fact that it was Sakura's apartment. A pause fell over the briefing room when Izumo informed them.

"So…did you guys want to check it out? Or should I get some of my guys to look it over? I figured you'd want to know, since it's your apartment, Sakura."

Sakura sighed and buried her face in her hands, tiredly. "Yeah…thanks Izumo. We'll check it out."

"Right." Izumo gave a nod and pitying look before departing the room.

"It might not be related. SoKo sees a lot of break ins…" Tenten tried comfortingly.

"Yeah, Forehead, and you live near that sketchy park too."

"I've lived there since we started at the Police Academy, Pig, and I've never had a break in before. My address is in hospital records. The accomplice would have access to it, and wouldn't know that I'm not currently staying there unless they're actively tailing me."

"The report says the break in was at 2am. If it were just burglary they wouldn't have broken in so late. The expectation was that you'd be there. That makes this a home invasion." Sasuke said, eyeing his girlfriend with worry.

"Well it's to be expected," she sighed, her hands dropping from her face and flopping on to the table. "I'm a target. They'd make a more direct attack on me at some point. Well, I should go since it's my apartment. Who else?"

"I'm going with you." He answered immediately. There was no way she was going without him.

"I'll come too. Staring at blueprints so much is getting boring." TenTen added.

In his experience with the woman, TenTen was the active type and all this sitting and planning was probably driving her crazy. She wasn't as observant as a Hyuga, but she was good enough. And personality-wise, she was better than Yamanaka, or Sai. He would have preferred Hinata, Shino, or Shikamaru, but Hinata, Neji, Kakashi, and Shino were helping set up surveillance on the factory, and Shikamaru was needed here for planning. TenTen would do well enough. Their three man cell formed, they left to go check out Sakura's apartment.

---

The crime scene was…confusing. Her coffee table was knocked over, a mug was shattered, and some of her text books were on the floor. One of them was lying open. But the windows were intact, the locks weren't broken…everything had been previously locked. It was like they had a key. But that would mean they'd have to have lifted a key off Sakura at some point…she didn't keep a spare key.

They put on their gloves and shoe covers and slowly walked in, processing the scene.

"You never lost your key, right Sakura?" So TenTen had noticed it too.

"No…not that I can remember."

"It might not be recent, if the accomplice has worked in the hospital a long time." Sasuke pressed, examining the shattered mug.

"I've never lost my key, but I kept my purse in my office, which wasn't always locked because people needed to drop off paperwork for me. I've had long back to back surgeries before. There may have been enough time for someone to nab my key and make a copy. I don't remember seeing anything disturbed though."

"You wouldn't have had a reason to look. And yeah you're observant, but if you're coming out of back to back surgeries and don't know you should be on guard you may have missed something. Especially if they're good…which they are since they've evaded suspicion this long." TenTen noted. "Although, for someone so meticulous, the mess is a little…"

"Out of character?" Sakura supplied. Sasuke's eyes narrowed.

"Not necessarily. If they came here with the intent to abduct you, and you weren't here, they may want to try and scare you further." Just saying it infuriated him. The thought of anyone doing harm to her sent a raging burn through him, reminiscent of the rage he felt towards Itachi.

"He could have easily broken in and not left a trace with how skilled he is, so all this has to be intentional." TenTen agreed.

Sakura stopped in front of the open text book, reading the page carefully.

"They're sending another message."

Sasuke and TenTen joined her by the open book to see what she meant. The text book was about Genetics, and the particular page it was open to was about…actually he wasn't clear what it was about…there was too much medical jargon.

"You gettin' any of this?" TenTen asked quietly, leaning in to his side.

Sasuke slowly shook his head.

"Oh good. Glad I'm not the dumb ass in the room." She muttered, then louder, "Um, care to translate, Sakura?"

"It's a passage about genetic variation. It covers the different kinds of variations and the ways and times they occur. Inherited, non-inherited, De novo…it also covers mosacisim, and somatic mosacisim."

"It covers what, who, and what now?"

"De novo variations refer to new genetic variations that appear in children but not the parents. It's impossible to tell where the variation happens, whether it's in the egg or the sperm, but either way, all of the child's cells will carry the that variation. Mosacisim is when the genetic change happens during development, and somatic mosacisim refers to when a proportion of somatic cells carry the variant but others don't."

"Cool. So I followed, like, two thirds of that." TenTen grumbled.

"That's what their experiment is, right? They're forcing De novo variations?"

"Mm, they're creating entirely new variations on the genome, so yes, but technically Mosacisim is the more accurate descriptor. But we already know that, so why leave that message?" Sakura muttered, standing up.

Sasuke's brow furrowed. Why indeed? Why break in just to leave a message about what their experiment was? Although, the original intent was to break in to abduct Sakura...

"Maybe it's a threat. What they're planning to do to you." Sasuke growled. His fist clenched painfully, his whole body tense. He quickly closed his eyes and took a deep breath, Sakura's smile beaming through his eye lids and soothing some of his rage.

TenTen began snapping pictures for photo evidence before bagging up various pieces of mess.

"So, what's the likelihood we actually get a print from this?"

"Not high. There were no prints anywhere at the morgue." Not that he expected there would be. Anyone who'd been getting away with this kind of shit for this long wouldn't be so careless as to leave a prints anywhere. The unsub, who he'd bet his apartment was Kabuto, hadn't left a shred of forensic evidence anywhere so far. He'd almost respect the skill required, if the crime wasn't so sickening and currently threatening his girlfriend. Speaking of…

Sakura had wandered into her room, and Sasuke was quick to join her. The blankets were thrown off the bed, and a pillow was on the floor, but other than that, nothing seemed particularly messed up or out of place.

"Take the pictures you need. Then I'll check if anything's missing."

"Hn." Sasuke pulled out his phone camera and photographed various sections of the room, Sakura carefully going through her belongings once he was done. She stopped, staring at a hair brush on her nightstand, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Something missing?"

"No…I'm just not sure if this was here before…" Sasuke moved next to her, examining the hair brush. "Didn't you pack a brush?"

Despite the situation, Sakura laughed. "Most girls have more than one, Sasuke-kun." Her smile slipped back into thoughtfulness. "It's not unusual for me to pick up a brush from the bathroom, wander over here while brushing my hair, and leave it on my nightstand when I'm done…And I think there was a brush on my nightstand when I was last here, but I thought that was the one I packed…It might be nothing. I might be misremembering."

Sasuke snorted. That wasn't likely. In his experience, Sakura had perfect recall. He photographed the brush before bagging it as evidence. Then his eyes settled back on his girlfriend. She was biting her lip as she scanned over he bedroom, once a place where she more or less found safe, but now he could see from her tension the guarded alertness in her eyes, that clearly wasn't the case anymore. She shouldn't have to feel this unsafe in her own home. He really couldn't wait to get Orochimaru and his accomplice's (Kabuto. It was fucking Kabuto, he could feel it) asses locked up for life.

"Well…on the bright side, this gives us a pretty safe bet that there's no one directly tailing me." He could hear the forced optimism in her voice.

"Stop. You don't have to front with me."

"I'm serious. I'm not some weak, scaredy cat, crybaby anymore."

"I don't think you're weak." He hadn't thought her weak since the encounter with the Sound trio. Besides, no one was born strong. Even if he had thought her weak in the beginning, she'd grown, matured, and changed…and quite rapidly at that. That was the mark of an infinitely strong person, in his opinion…stronger than him, who'd been so hyper focused and hell bent on revenge, he hadn't been able to see or let in anything else. In fact, the only two feats he had that he considered strong were letting Naruto "talk" him into coming back, and really jumping into his relationship with Sakura.

Sakura paused for a long moment, before sighing. "Okay, Sasuke-kun. I'll drop the front later." She said turning to him and poking him in the middle of his forehead with two fingers. He immediately felt his face warm, along with a flood of images of both her and his family. It would never not daze him whenever she did that.

---

As they suspected, they didn't get any leads at Sakura's apartment other than the "message" that was sent to her via her own text book, which she and Ino went off to discuss. But ultimately it was decided to focus more on the operation on the whole. The plan was slowly coming together. They'd all more or less defaulted to letting Shikamaru take the lead for their strategy, and he was still trying to work out the best locations for everyone to be placed, but the task force had a rough plan. Shikamaru and Ino would be off sight, overseeing and coordinating through the live feed on everyone's body cams, and Byakugan surveillance cameras Kakashi, Neji, and Hinata had carefully hidden around the abandoned factory while scouting. Hinata and Shino had set up the necessary computer system, allowing them to see and monitor almost the full factory. Squad A, comprised of Choji, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata were on rescue while Squad B—Sasuke, Naruto, Neji, and Lee would go in for the bust and TenTen would provide them cover from a catwalk above. Squad C— Sai and Kakashi, had the more covert task of attempting to place trackers on their enemies' vehicles, and sabotage the exits, to force only one route out, making it easier to catch them. Since both Kakashi and Sai were formerly members of the Anbu black ops, it was a task more in their wheelhouse. Sakura would be on site on standby as a field medic, and would hang back until she was called in…hopefully her skills wouldn't be needed, no one would get hurt, and none of the hostages would be injured or sick…of course, in an operation like this, that wasn't likely, and no one was optimistic enough to believe Sakura wouldn't be needed.

Karin kept up her helpful streak, continuing her coordination of meet ups for the criminal underworld within the station, informing them of any new details that came up, as well as helping Shino with planting tracker bugs on the Akatsuki communications server. Much to her own surprise, the Konoha 12 women had adopted her into their group with unexpected ease, just as they had Temari.

The days ticked by quickly and it felt like it was the night before the op in practically no time at all. Everyone on the task force had been released early to make sure they got proper rest before it was go time. Sasuke sat at his counter, watching Sakura move about his kitchen as she cooked, muttering the different parts of the brain and the systems they contained under her breath…clearly she was anxious. Rightly so. This operation was dangerous, against some of the most evil enemies they'd ever had to put behind bars, one of which was targeting her directly. On top of that, she hadn't had to do anything like this in at least three and a half years.

"Sakura?"

"Hm?"

"Do…lets watch more of that show…Hundred Healings…"

"Don't tell me you actually like that medical drama?" She hadn't turned around, but he watched the way her muscles relaxed a little and could hear her amused smile in her voice.

He couldn't care less about the medical drama, but listening to all of Sakura's informative critiques and amusing criticisms had become one of his new favorite past times. And it always seemed to relax her and put her in a care free mood, which she definitely needed right now.

"Aa."

"Never would have pegged you for the type."

"And what type would you have pegged me as?"

"The intense action, news, or documentary type…although really, I can't imagine you just opting to turn on the TV."

"Surprise."

Sakura giggled.

---

He wondered if this was heaven. Sakura cuddled on his lap, getting comically worked up about medical inaccuracies on a dumb television show.

"Stay here." It slipped out before he was even aware of what he was saying.

Sakura quieted, her wide eyes locking onto him. "What?"

He bit his lip lightly, debating whether he should answer or not. He didn't want to make things uncomfortable. This was too fast right? Asking her to stay…it was too soon. They were supposed to be moving slowly, but they weren't really. Sure, they hadn't had sex yet, and their touching hadn't gone that far, but the way they frequently, heavily made out…he doubted they'd be able to stop themselves for much longer. He was having a harder and harder time controlling his urge to explore her body…an urge which only seemed to consume him more with every loving look and empathetic word she spoke to him. But physical desire aside, they'd been together fourteen days total. And she'd been staying with him almost that entire time because of the circumstances of the case. Her staying here was only supposed to be temporary, until the case was over and she was safe. It was too soon to move in with each other, but…but he really didn't want her to go. Yes, they may have only officially started dating fourteen days ago, but that year that they were together as squad 7…she'd said it herself, they'd been more than friends…So…was it too soon to ask?

"You want me to stay behind? We have a whole operation worked out and if this was a concern of yours you should have said something sooner!—"

Wait, what? She thought he was telling her to sit out the operation tomorrow? That's not what he was saying!

"—You know I can take care of my—"

"Sakura. You aren't weak, and an operation like this needs a field medic."

"Oh…then what are you…" He watched the confusion paint across her features.

"Is it that hard to believe I actually want you here?" He asked softly, repeating his question from the first time he'd asked her to stay with him. His eyes boring deeply into her own as his fingers gently wound themselves through her silky hair.

"Oh you're…you…you want me to keep living with you? After this mess is over?"

"Aa."

Her face flushed prettily and then her lips were against his, pushing firmly but gently…just like her. Firm but gentle. He was a bit taken aback by her sudden move, but he'd never push her away. Never again. Especially not when her tongue was dancing sensually through his mouth, causing gentle fire to course through his veins, pulsing in his groin…which she could probably feel since she was on his lap, but he couldn't find it in himself to be ashamed. She was his girlfriend, and he'd never act on the impulse without her full consent, but there was nothing wrong with her knowing the effect she had on him.

It was a long time before they broke apart to catch their breaths. Sasuke rested his forehead on hers, letting himself bask in the warm heat that was both exhilarating and calming.

"That was a yes, incase that wasn't clear." Sakura breathed, her breath fanning over his lips.

He smirked, bringing their lips together again, which once again remained innocent for all of two seconds before becoming more heated and insistent. He could taste the lavender tea she'd been drinking, mixed with pure unadulterated her. A refreshing taste that he didn't really have the words for, but when did he ever have the words for anything really? It didn't matter what it was. It was her, and he just wanted to keep tasting it forever.

When they broke away again, Sakura pulled back a bit further, looking into his eyes with that unguarded openness that drove him crazy, and amusement, and…love. She hadn't said it to him since the night he left, which he could fully understand, since that had probably traumatized her a little. As much as he'd love to hear those words coming from her again, she didn't need to say it. He could see it in her eyes as clearly as he could her actions.

"Since you own this place…I won't have to pay monetary rent will I?"

"Monetary rent?" He had a feeling he knew where this was going from the mischievous glint in her eye and it was making his temperature spike.

"Well…you know…I could pay you back in other ways…" She answered. For the moment he held her gaze, he read her immediately…he knew she was half joking but also half serious. This wasn't trading sexual favors for housing, but this was an invitation to go further. A clarification that she didn't mind how rapidly they were moving despite her original desire to go slow. And then her gaze dropped from his with a shyness that was so endearing, despite the still present mischievous glint. Fuck she was so…sexy. And since when had that word entered his vocabulary?

"Hn…do you want to start now, two weeks backpay? Or would you rather wait out the month?"

Sakura giggled. She understood his code just as clearly as he understood hers. "I don't like being in debt." Translation: I don't want to wait any more.

Sasuke swiftly grabbed the remote and turned off the TV, Hundred Healings long forgotten, before scooping Sakura up and bringing her to the bedroom, kicking the door shut with his foot. What better way to take their minds off of the anxiety provoking operation tomorrow? As far as he was concerned, tomorrow was ages away. For now, it was just him and her.

---

Author's note: So I think this chapter is like 40% case and 60% Sasuke being soft (and hard?) for Sakura. The next chapter's the operation, so it'll focus more on the case. They had sex at the end. I thought about writing a sex scene, I know I rated this M (that was mostly for the dark and disturbing themes of the case), but I can't do it. It would not be good and would probably ruin the story for everyone. They had sex. They liked it. I'll let your imaginations fill in the blanks. Although, I feel like in general Sasuke and Sakura's relationship is super soft. Like I think they're just super fluffy, soft, intimate and passionate as a couple, and I doubt anyone will be able to ever change my mind on that.

I think the only Konoha 12 character I really haven't used or interacted with at all is Choji...I don't know, I just don't have a strong grip on his personality...he's kinda just there, y'know? Also, I know Sai's nickname for Sasuke is "Traitor" but since he wasn't really a traitor in this, I decided to make Sai's nickname for him more in line with Sai's nickname for Naruto...Anus Clencher feels like it fits. Sakura's coping mechanism...it's canon that she throws herself into work to distract herself from her emotional problems. I feel like needing a distraction to process and emotionally give herself some space fits too...I'm like that with my problems. I can't talk about them without some form of distraction first. I will die on the Gaara loves Sakura hill. Like there's maybe only two or three pieces of canon evidence, the largest being Gaara Hiden, but I am convinced and I'm stubborn so again, no one's changing my mind on that.

Anyways, thank you all so much for sticking with this! I know I'm bad at updating in anything remotely resembling a timely manor, but like I said at the beginning, this will get done. Please keep reviewing, cause it gives me so much motivation to work on it! Thank you all for reading this far! :)