A/N: This was all supposed to be a single chapter, but it came out 7k words, so I decided to post this early instead. It's a lil spicier than anything I've ever written, so kinda nervous for what y'all will think. Thank you to the lovely FictionalQuacker for beta-reading.
C/W: Sexual themes, recreational drug use, and mild dub-con themes (tagging to be super safe)
Chapter 14: Duplicity I
Sakura had to give credit where credit was due— Sasuke planted the seed two weeks ago in her head.
"Will it loosen his tongue?"
She tossed the lantern on the table and retrieved the glass jar from under the bathroom sink. She'd obtained it, along with a liter of clear solvent, from a crate of compounding supplies at the outpost. The fistful of black kokova pods, she pilfered from Higa's garden. When she left for the festival, the jar was clear. Now, the pods stained the liquid within the jar a pale lavender.
Infuse, emulsify, extract and administer. In four short steps, she could answer all their questions- on crystal gem, Scorpion, and Matsuo. All she had to do was give the intoxicant. Sakura steeled her resolve. What would Ino do? Morino Ibiki?
Okay, he wasn't the ethical standard to hold herself to.
Sakura inked the creation seal on lengths of toilet paper, arranged around the jar on the marble counter. She formed hand signs and infused the jar with her chakra. The purple solution darkened to ink and faded to clear. A faint aroma of cape jasmine confirmed emulsion.
"Saigenzai?" Sai asked. "No, I haven't. What is it?"
Recognition sparked in Sasuke's eyes.
"Liquid genjutsu. It's powerful and untestable," Sakura said. "Thespecific effect depends on the plant used in synthesis. Kokova has disinhibitive and hallucinogenic properties, and when used in saigenzai, it creates an aphrodisiac."
"How would that help?"
"The euphoria is intense. He'll remember his mood and physical sensations, but not conversations or faces."
Sai's brows rose. "Why haven't I heard of it?"
"It sets in too slowly to be useful in a fight," Sakura said. "We see it in clinic used mostly by former shinobi for stress relief. People don't talk about their vices."
Her gaze flitted to Sasuke.
Little moments like that unsettled her, unwelcome reminders of the parts of his past she didn't know about.
Sakura collected the saigenzai in a glass vial the size of her little finger. With each clear drop she extracted, the glass jar darkened to its original shade of purple. And the final step of crafting any poison…
She placed the last drop on her tongue; it was flavorless. She capped the vial and waited.
She drummed her fingers on the counter.
Not a twinge.
Come on… Sakura examined the jar. The pods looked thoroughly steeped, and the plants in Higa's greenhouse were vigorous and healthy. Was the solvent expired? Well-stocked outposts were unused outposts, and that crate had been shoved way back on the highest shelf…
Sasuke pulled it down after, she suspected, watching her struggle for far longer than necessary. His broad shoulders had tensed against his shirt, and his smirk as he set the crate in her arms told her he'd caught her looking. The room warmed. It didn't help that she knew exactly what laid underneath his clothes. And how those shoulders felt pinning her to the bed. If she hadn't passed out last night, how far would they have gone?
The empty ache between her legs built to a throb. Her nipples tightened into painful peaks, and suddenly, Sakura was standing in an oven. She needed to be touched, right now. Needed stimulation, she would do anything, would die if this went on…
Sakura cupped her breasts and the sensation of her cool hands on her bare skin made her gasp.
Wait, bare? Where were her clothes?
The room temperature plunged. The euphoria dissipated like a caress of velvet on her skin, and her breath returned. Sakura collected her bra from the sink and stepped into the cold shower, triumphant.
One step left.
Administer.
Of course, it was one thing to plan to poison Higa Masao in her head, and another thing entirely when the door to his chambers snapped shut, and she was standing before him in a dressing gown with a mic jabbing her breast.
His suite had been rearranged for the evening, lamps and candelabra ablaze, and the console cleared of empty bottles. The air smelled woodsy and expensive. The four-poster bed, piled in sham pillows, throws and covers, was a veritable piece of architecture. By the window, two cream chaise lounges faced a low table bearing assorted bottles and glasses.
Higa stood with carefully styled hair and a fresh shave.
Oh no.
"Forgive me for starting without you," he said.
She took a seat opposite of him. He opened a new bottle and filled her glass with a trembling stream of amber. Sakura tasted it, with a slow sense of sinking. "You remembered."
He leaned on his elbows, smelling of oak and bergamot. "Aimee liked white wine too."
There was an open bottle of sake before him. No, better the ceramic cup. She had to do it soon before the voice in her head whispering that this was heartless got any louder.
"Do I remind you of her?"
"Only in taste. You two are nothing alike." Higa's jaw tensed, and he shot to his feet. He stalked to the window. "This is insane."
Sakura dumped the vial into his cup. "What is?"
"Do you remember when we first met?"
"In your garden, yes."
"You looked so meek in that dress, but your hair was as bright as the flowers you walked past. I assumed you'd colored it for attention. My attention." He turned to her. "After the first night, I was convinced you were a honey trap or an assassin. Why would an herbalist from the middle of nowhere have a passing interest in me?"
Cold sweat beaded Sakura's neck. "Then, the dojo..."
"Was a test," he confirmed.
"I was terrified."
"Rightfully so. I acted unforgivably." He reclaimed his seat, gaze soft. "You've given me no reason to doubt your intentions in our time together, and you're uninterested in money. You've been entirely honest with me. I see now that you aren't meek but self-possessed, and— and—"
Higa drained the sake cup in one gulp. He wiped his palms against his legs. His words came out in a rush.
"Since the morning we spoke in this room, you have not left my mind. I'm bound by your words. Helpless in your gaze. You're the finest treasure I've ever possessed, and the most enchanting woman I'll ever know. Each day that passes is an unbearable reminder that I'm closer to losing you. If I haven't made it plain, I'm crazed for you."
The wineglass hung limp in Sakura's fingers.
Sasuke tuned out the faint rustling of leaves and the drowsy hum of ventilation fans dotting the roof. At his side, Sai crouched in tactical gear, his eyes the only sliver of his face visible between the black hood and mask. The radio receiver came to life. Higa's words carried clear in the night.
"I acted unforgivably…"
Higa's voice was unrecognizable, raw with unbridled tenderness. The last time Sasuke heard him speak to Sakura was at the gala. They were stiff with one another. She hadn't worn her mic yesterday.
When did they get so familiar?
"…if I haven't made it plain, I am crazed for you."
"I underestimated her," Sai mused.
His volume, his cadence— Higa rehearsed these words. There was a rustle of fabric, and all the hair on Sasuke's arms stood on end.
"You think I'm deranged."
"I'm… surprised. It's been two weeks."
"Two weeks that I have coveted you desperately."
A tight, burning sensation gathered in his chest. Sasuke hated the way she said his name. Had Sakura poisoned him yet? What the hell was she waiting for?
"You're not the man I expected either, in every way. You've been ceaselessly generous, shown me beauty and splendor—"
"She hasn't given the signal yet—"
The recorder crackled with static, cutting out the rest of Sakura's words. Higa was speaking again.
"… silks and diamonds… takeyou wherever you want… the floating isles of the Land of Summer? The jade caverns of the Serpent's Trace? Drink honey wine every night and never work a day. Stay with me."
The roof railing compressed in his fist with a steel groan, and Sasuke realized he was hanging off the edge. She's considering it, whispered a nasty piece of his brain.
Storm clouds blackened the night.
"That's very generous of you to offer, but I have to go home to my friends and family."
Sakura tried to keep the panic from her voice. Why wasn't it working? He drank every drop. Had she underestimated his tolerance, or did he have innate immunity to genjutsu?
"Am I so deplorable you'd refuse a blank check?"
She could stack the paralytic, but there was no telling how it would interact with the saigenzai. "It's not about money."
"Then why? Does your heart belong to another?" He drew to his full height.
"What?"
"Who is it? Who do you love?" Higa's hands fisted as he paced the room. "Is it Kyouya? He can't take his eyes off you. Gods, you two have played me for a fool. Did you spend your days with me and sneak away to his room at night? Laugh with him at all the things I said?"
"No, I—"
"He has nothing I can't buy. You're a fool to choose him over me. I could have him killed—"
"I'm not in love with him!" The window flashed white, and an ear-splitting clap of thunder startled her to her feet. "You said you trusted me."
Higa deflated at her words. Blood rose in his cheeks, and he threw the window open. Outside, the cypress trees bowed to the fury of the squall. The air tasted of impending rain and electricity.
Wait…
Even with the draft, his skin beaded with sweat. The saigenzai was working! It would only be minutes now before the euphoria set in. She needed to tie him down before he agitated.
"Come to bed."
His lips curled. "What's this? A pity fuck?" He followed her to the edge of the bed and climbed onto the covers.
The top posts were too far apart for his wingspan. He'd need to be against the headboard. She tapped the pillow. "Up here."
"If you think I'll say no, you're underestimating my character," he said, crawling to where she instructed. His movements were sluggish. Not long before she should give the signal. Hopefully, the storm outside would not interfere with the radio frequency.
She pressed him on his back and straddled his chest.
"Oh fuck," he breathed. "Fuck."
Sakura removed the lengths of silk bindings from her waist, under the robe. The most dangerous short-term risk of aphrodisiac saigenzai was a lack of spacial awareness. Afflicted individuals could injure themselves in the throes.
"Close your eyes," she said.
He squeezed his eyes shut and licked his lips. "You could have tied me up like this every night."
Sakura raised his head and blindfolded him. Excess sensory stimuli was uncomfortable. "We had an agreement."
His hands reached for her and dropped back to the sheets. His jaw slacked.
"How do you feel?" she tested.
"Hot."
"I'm sorry." She twisted another strip of silk around his wrist, tied a slip knot, and raised it to the bedpost—
The storm condensed into a single, furious mass of chakra, and it barreled through the window. The bed was yanked out from under her, with her breath.
Sasuke's arm clasped her waist like an iron vise. She caught a brief glimpse of a new seal on his forearm, smudged with ink, before he dumped her on the ground. He turned to Higa, and a hair-thin streak of lightning crackled up his arm, fracturing the air.
"What are you doing? I wasn't done." She jumped between them.
Sasuke snatched the bindings out of her hand, and set about tying Higa to the bedpost with all the grace of attempted amputation.
"Gentle, you'll break his wrist," Sakura cried. What was his problem? "Give me that."
He held the ties out of her reach, strong-arming her. Sai climbed through window. His left sleeve looked singed. His gaze flickered to Sasuke, and neither of them said a word. Both of their clothes were dry.
"You don't need restraints," Sai said blithely. "Bind him with your words."
Sakura yanked the ties from Sasuke's fist. "If we are friends at all, when we get back, you will purge this mission from your memory, along with everything you've heard, and we will never speak of this again."
Sai's eyes crinkled over his mask, and Sakura knew he would lord that mortifying conversation over her for years to come. She took a wide path around Sasuke, tied Higa's arms to the bedposts, and secured his feet together.
"How long do we have?" Sasuke groused.
"Less than an hour. His tolerance is higher than I expected. Are you recording?" Sakura asked.
"Yes," Sai said. "I can start in the foyer."
He left them alone in the bedroom. Sasuke watched her like a hawk, as though she'd ignored his signal and tackled him in the middle of securing the target.
"If you're going to stand there, could you put those eyes to use?" Sakura said. "There has to be a secret safe in here somewhere."
"They don't work like that," Sasuke said crossly.
Oh, what was the point of inter-dimensional time travel and commanding skeletal chakra titans if he couldn't see through walls?
She unclipped the mic, and his eyes zeroed in on her hand in her bra. The memory of him tugging the cup aside to kiss her breast resurfaced, and her satin dressing robe felt flimsy. Maybe there was some saigenzai left in her after all. Flustered, she set the mic on the bedside table. "Go," she mumbled.
She heard him leave, and she knelt by the head of the bed. "Masao, can you hear me?"
He stirred. "Who was that man?"
"It was Jun," she said. "But he left. It's just you and me. Can you answer some questions?"
"I need you."
"I know," she said. "But first, a few questions. Can you do that? Where do you keep your documents?"
...
The ledger turned out to be three shelves of cabinets, stuffed into the false wall behind the mounted katana, which served as a lever. The documents described a decade of Higa's investments and contracts, all summarized and bound on heavy stock paper.
While Sai and Sasuke filtered through the most recent stack, duplicating the important ones, Sakura marched through her list of questions on his contracts for crystal gem with the other shinobi nations. Toward the end, Higa's concentration lapsed.
"Iwa," she repeated. "Why did you give Iwa forty? What did they offer you?"
"Forty two percent of medium grade ore production shares to refund operational costs," he said. "Ninety million over ten years… Please."
Sakura scrawled furiously. She'd gotten the main points— the top three contenders for crystal gem were Iwa, Suna and Konoha. Hopefully, these extra details would mean something to the council. As she wrote, her neck prickled.
"What about Matsuo?" She tried a fresh approach. "Did you ever scout a mine there?"
"Never been there."
Each time she looked over, Sasuke was scanning through binders at a lightning pace or shoving papers back into the cabinet. Did he not trust her to interrogate Higa?
"There was an accident there ten years ago. A lot of people died."
"I wasn't there ten years ago," Higa said. "Come here, kitten. Kiss me."
Sakura whirled. Caught him.
Dark possession crawled to life in Sasuke's gaze as it dragged down the front of her robe. The sealing scroll was half-drawn in his hands.
"If you don't touch me, I'll die."
"Just one more," she said, unable to look away. Unexpected heat pooled in her belly.
"No more questions." Higa writhed on the sheets. "I need you right now—"
Sakura stroked his chest. He climaxed.
...
Once the shelves were back in place, the katana was in its display, and the room was in order, Sai and Sasuke dispersed their clones.
"Don't forget mine," Sakura said, untying Higa's arms. "He's waking up."
Sai added her notebook to his pile. "Six."
"Twelve," Sasuke said, refusing to look at her. "Let's regroup in the morning. Strong work."
They climbed out the window, locking it behind them.
Sakura dropped onto the bed, feeling dazed. She'd trained extra hard the a month leading up to this mission, fearing she'd be out of practice or out of shape. In the end, she hadn't needed any of it.
Higa's brows drew and his eyes opened. "How long was I asleep?" His voice was thick.
"Just a few minutes."
"Did you come?" He looked under the cover and sighed. "Don't answer that." He rolled to a seated position. "I suppose now you will talk sweetly to me and divest me of my other secrets."
Sakura stiffened, rising as well. "Depends on the secret."
"I've already told you it," he said, reaching for the water on his bedside table. "What's your answer?"
"To what?"
He didn't look at her. "My offer."
The amnesia must've kicked in sooner than she realized. "I'm flattered…"
"But?"
"I don't think it's in either of our best interests."
"Tell me more about my best interests."
"You should be with someone who loves you for you, not a contract," Sakura said. "Relationships are built on honesty."
"If I followed that advice, I would live a short life," he said. "I'd prefer a painted lie to the ugly truth any day."
Sakura thought of her last conversation with Kou, the one that ended them. "The pieces of you that you're hiding are the ones that matter most." As Kou had discovered, none too quickly.
"You think your lovers have all been honest with you?" Higa asked, heated. "You've never lied to a lover? If not yet, you will. Every relationship has its secrets. Most are built on them. At least I am under no pretenses."
Sakura bit back her retort.
At her silence, his grey eyes flashed with something like disappointment, as though he'd anticipated another debate with her. His tone flattened. "Your payment will be outside your room before nine in the morning. I have a meeting all day. You two will be gone by the time I return."
Sakura pulled the robe around her shoulders and walked to the door. "Goodbye, Masao."
"Wait," he said. "What's your name?"
"Tachibana Nanami." This time, she did not hesitate.
The door shut behind her. Sakura's heart rate steadied as she climbed down the stairs, through the now familiar corridors of the complex. Sasuke's room was on the far end, on the ground floor with the other guest suites. She found the door labeled Ito Kyouya and slipped inside. Immediately, she was pinned to the wall, his arm across her shoulders.
"Sorry," he said, when recognition set in. He dropped his arm but didn't step away. He'd changed into a loose cotton shirt and drawstring pants and seemed all the more tense for it. "How'd it go?"
"It went well," she said to his chest. He must have showered. His arms were clean of ink, and he smelled like the soap she liked. "He wants us gone by tomorrow night."
He made a derisive sound.
"What?" she asked.
"Surprising."
"That he wants us to leave early?"
"You heard what he said."
"Do you mean his proposal?" She peeked around his arm. Sasuke's room was a wreck: equipment scattered across the floor, the bedding pulled halfway off, and his sword unsheathed at the table. All of the lights were off. "Is everything alright, Sasuke-kun?"
He noticed the disarray at the same time and set about organizing with brutal swiftness. "It's fine. You did a good job."
Then why won't you look at me?
He had been restless all night, at odds with how he'd teased her this morning. "We didn't talk about tonight beforehand, but maybe we should have," Sakura said.
He jammed Kusanagi into its sheath. "Talk about what?"
"Is this about what I said to him?" He had to know she didn't mean that.
"You said what you had to," Sasuke said. "He believed you."
"I'm not sure what he believed… He asked me my name at the end, my real name," she said, biting her lip. "I don't think Masao was lying when he said he trusted me earlier though. He's hard to read."
Sasuke stiffened, forbidding chakra stirring to life under his skin. Sakura touched his elbow. At the contact, something flashed across his face, like that first night in her room.
He brushed her hand off. "Go pack."
She left.
When he pulled away like this, it was hard not to chase. She wanted to demand answers, demand to know what was wrong, because not knowing took her right back to the night at the village gates when he walked out of her life forever. It scared her when he hid his thoughts, wondering if he would up and disappear again with another piece of her heart.
She told herself she'd complied with the council's request for the safety of the village. But unconsciously, she'd complied out of selfishness. The Senju arm and the seal were a permanent tether to the village, in case he ever decided that citizenship was not worth a decade of toil.
Would he have stayed in Konoha without the seal? Or would he have been happier wandering around the world, with no warlords to protect and no defectors to hunt?
Sakura entered the hallway to her bedroom. The next time she saw it would be the last time. She locked her door...
… and jumped.
Blood red eyes bored into hers. The door met her spine solidly between her shoulder blades. Sasuke caged her between his arms, his chakra so thick and aggressive she was surprised it hadn't set off an alarm. His expression was drawn.
Her gaze fell immediately to his left forearm. Black marks branched from his wrist to his elbow. With horror, she realized she had been wrong back in Higa's bedroom: that wasn't a new seal.
That was his probation seal, cracking like an old dam against a torrent.
"You like him," he said.
A/N: I used to avoid reading OC fics, so I really appreciate that people have been interested in Higa's subplot haha. Just a few more chapters left in the Land of Stone! Feeling a little senti because I start school again in January and won't be able to write as much. This has been so much fun though. Thank you all for your lovely comments and support, and see y'all in 2021 ️!
