Author's Note:
Hello! I am so very sorry for the so very late update. I have been very busy in school and I wish for you to understand that huhu. But know that inspiration's already kicking in and so I'm going to write more these days! KEEP IN MIND THAT I WILL COMPLETE THIS STORY! I love you all so much huhu thank you for the positive reviews!
Anyways, I'm already working on the next chapter. This one's heavier on action.
Disclaimer:
Man is not truly free. He is chained by his historicity and structures. If this is so, then is it possible for me to own Naruto?
The sound of the leaves rustling along the wind that greeted Sakura's face calmed her nerves, despite how she was jumping from tree to tree at the moment under the noon sky.
Seven hours.
Uchiha Shisui and Haruno Sakura had been traveling in the forests for seven hours. Straight.
They did take a 5-minute water break two hours ago but that was pretty much the only period so far that was close to heaven for Sakura.
No conclusion nor idea dug into the walls of her brain as to why the team captain was so adamant about getting there in a day, to the point of neglecting their conditions and the possibility of energy depletion.
She wondered if it was a product of some harsh training he had undergone in the ANBU. Nonetheless, even if that was the case, it didn't qualify as an excuse to drag her along to his standards. More importantly, he was sick and therefore, his health must not be at the bottom of his priorities.
But even if he was sick, Shisui was still so damn fast.
As Sakura's right foot landed on another thick and sturdy branch, her legs halted as she paused to inhale huge amounts of oxygen.
Noticing the unmoving chakra signature from behind, Shisui ended his unnoticeable tracks on the branch that was positioned at several meters ahead of hers.
"I-I can't... keep up," the kunoichi panted in heavy breaths as she rested her elbow on the connected trunk to balance her shaky body.
Shisui turned to her and just eyed her with an indifferent expression. Sakura knew that he knew better than to force things to do the impossible, especially if it sacrificed a lot of important factors.
Sakura let in a mass of air and coughed while removing the cap of her water bottle. Her stomach grumbled softly for the tenth time and she wished that she had eaten an early lunch before they took off for the mission this morning. For Kami's sake, it was about 4 in the afternoon.
Shisui suggested in a dead tone, "Build a fire and I'll hunt for food." The words that left his seemingly unmoving lips came to the Haruno as a surprise, regardless of the tone he used. It was still an offer to show her that he was still concerned about her condition. Or maybe it was to ensure the chances of having a more successful and fruitful mission. Either way, it still lifted up the corners of her lips (inwardly).
Realizing something, she immediately waved her hand in the air in disagreement with much franticness. "Ah, it's okay. I have my packed lunch."
The Uchiha nodded and turned his back on her, about to drop himself from the branch. Then it hit Sakura's slowing brain: he was going to look for his own food.
"Shisui!" she called him with no amount of hesitation or time for further contemplation.
He turned his head to the left to view her through the corner of his eye, expecting her to answer in an instant and directly to the point.
Only then had it been clear to Sakura that the tension of the situation was significantly high in amount. He was still ignoring her as much as possible and even in the coldest ways. And she didn't even know why the hell he was acting like that in her presence. However, the current situation's awkwardness failed to hinder her will from talking to him.
She looked down nervously, replying in a shaky voice, "I, um... m-made one for you too."
She closed her eyes in fear of whatever his reaction might be, dreading the chances of facing an apathetic man in front of her. To her, she was reluctant to see a different Shisui, one that wasn't loud nor playful. It was too different for her to handle.
Slowly, Sakura raised her eyelids to look at him, and what she saw made her part her lips open.
Shisui looked as if he was frustrated and regretful, his eyebrows furrowed and his onyx eyes laid on her feet. It was the first time for her to see him in that way and it looked like he had been... hurt.
He leaped his way through her position with a mask of indifference. As soon as he had landed on her branch, two arms wrapped her petite body, enveloping her upper half. His chest pressed hard against hers and the touch of his hands on her revealed shoulders sent shivers snaking down her spine, leaving her dumbfounded by the simple act.
That was, until, he jumped down from the branch, carrying the two of them down to the ground.
Sakura's mind was littered with innumerable questions about the act he had just done. However, by the time she'd heard an army of kunais stabbing the branch she had just perched on, all those confusions were dissolved into clarity.
"Bandits," Shisui whispered into her ear, raising every strand of hair in her body. Although the hug was done to protect her from chakra signatures she couldn't sense, the two were still standing on the ground with the same position and quite frankly, it made her feel anxious and flustered. Not at all prepared for battle.
He released her, allowing the kunoichi to almost lose her balance. Sakura mentally slapped herself to focus, readying herself for combat.
"How many?" she asked.
The Uchiha smoothly fished out a kunai from his pouch, replying, "Four. I'll go up and stop them."
Even though the fact that he was one of the best in ANBU had long been established in Konoha and her mind, surprise still tickled her brain into shock, making her think that he was a little crazy.
"I'm going to fight too!" she protested with eyebrows knitted.
The Uchiha looked up and responded, "I know, but you're running out of chakra from all that travelling."
And that was because of you! Inner Sakura growled.
However, somewhere deep down, she couldn't help but think that he was just concerned for her condition. She herself was aware of her own limits. She wasn't gifted with massive loads of chakra just like Naruto. More importantly, her shishou had stressed to her countless times that the medic should be the last one to die. Besides, it wasn't like she was going to be of no use. She was going to treat Shisui's wounds (if the hell he'd have).
Just then, something led her train of thoughts to a different railway.
"How are you going to stop them?" she questioned anxiously. The Uchiha glanced at her and couldn't help but notice the worry filled in her eyes and tone.
"I'm not going to use my Sharingan," he replied curtly.
Before she could even respond, the prodigy teleported his way to the top. She narrowed her eyes, hearing gasps coming from unfamiliar voices. Silence swept throughout the area for a few minutes, leaving her the option to look around and sense some more signatures while masking her own. Fortunately, there were none.
Suddenly, a blurred image of black appeared right in front of her until its dimensions formed Shisui's shape realistically. He had teleported his way from the scene, and still with a clean attire at that.
"Knocked them all out. They should wake up after two days," he informed her.
Sakura couldn't help but be sucked into a pool of awe at his manifestation of skill and talent. He was definitely at ANBU level. Furthermore, he had the potential to be elected as Hokage.
She immediately felt useless. Little thoughts began to scratch the walls of her mind and she so very much abhorred it.
"Do you need me to heal you?" she asked.
Shisui turned his back on her, replying, "I'm clean. Let's head now. At the rate we were going at, we'll arrive there tomorrow noon."
Now, the kunoichi could understand why he was so firm with the idea of travelling at full speed. She honestly didn't think that they'd get there in a day, but they actually could.
However, while it was certainly a good idea to her because it saved them time, she wasn't so sure about arriving there in one piece. An hour later, she would be dangerously low on chakra and she could pass out at any time. Earlier, when they were jumping from tree to tree, she didn't know whether she was too slow to catch up with her partner or he was already slowing down for her to adjust. Either way, it was going to be hell for her to manage the trip.
While she was deep down in her pool of thoughts, Shisui was eyeing her closely. He then broke the silence, "Let's head now and stop somewhere to camp out. Eat by then."
Ever so slowly, she lifted her chin up to gaze at him with soft eyes, trying her hardest to understand why he was suddenly being kind to her. She knew that he had noticed that she didn't have a big stamina. She couldn't make out why there was a change in treatment nor could she even get why he was being so cold to her in the first place. Asking him all the questions in her mind was not at all an option for her.
Anyhow, it made her dislike the mission a little less.
"We'll camp out here," Shisui said as he prepared his own sleeping bag. The two jounins travelled around three miles beyond the area where the bandits had passed out. The spot he chose was hidden and not that noticeable, therefore safe for them to settle in.
"I'll build a fire," Sakura offered after preparing her own sleeping bag and gathering timbers.
"No need," he replied. The Uchiha then stepped back and blew a mass of fire into the pile of wood, startling her.
Afterwards, Shisui stood up and announced, "I'll take first watch."
"But... you haven't even eaten yet," Sakura protested with a significant amount of reluctance, clearly avoiding his eyes.
Shisui blinked a couple of times as if he was in deep contemplation. Gazing at her, he firmly spoke, "I'm not hungry."
As his back was turned onto her, Sakura felt a pang of pain shrouding her chest. No, it didn't make her sad for some inexplicable reason. Instead, it made her burst into boiling point.
She clenched her fists and planted her feet firmly on the ground, "Shisui!"
The prodigy turned around to face a woman with seething eyes. Sakura pulled out a paper bag from her backpack and then handed it to him.
"I made a packed lunch for you despite how you've been treating me," she said irritably as he accepted it lifelessly. "I don't know why you're being a douche, but at least let me know what I did. I-I..."
Sakura's voice faltered as she looked down at her feet. Unknowingly, she held her collar with her right hand, signalling the Uchiha just how uneasy she felt.
Reluctantly, she resumed, "I want to u-understand you."
There, she said it. She looked back at how she had decided that she wasn't going to pry and ask him questions. She didn't know what pushed her to voice out her feelings. Maybe it was because they were all bottled up inside of her that she couldn't anymore hold them all.
Much to her surprise, Shisui walked toward her and stopped a meter away from her spot, holding the packed lunch tightly. "I'm sorry. You didn't do anything. And..."
Sakura's eyes widened when the Uchiha crouched down a little and bent his knees so that their faces were aligned. "...thank you."
At the next second, a small smile crept into his lips, softening the kunoichi's face. However small it may be, it was still in a way warm.
Just then, his right hand reached for her left ear, gingerly tucking a loose strand beneath it, causing the Haruno's heart to madly race.
Realizing what he had just done, Shisui dropped his hand and averted his gaze to the trees. "Why don't we eat?" he suggested in an instant.
Sakura studied his face carefully and helplessly grinned at him, saying, "Kind now, aren't we?"
The prodigy ran a hand through his hair, messing it all up (quite sexily, Sakura admits). He bit his lip before replying, "Well, being like this flusters you, I suppose."
And it sure did.
That night, Sakura had a hard time trying to flush out the redness from her heating face.
Three awful days in hell. That pretty much summed up her trip to Tinland by boat.
The cabin reeked of alcohol and dead fish, and the wooden seats were pretty much old and brittle-looking for one to be able to feel comfortable relaxing for a span of three days. Ah, and the ride, the ride itself was enough to make the kunoichi sick. No, it didn't make her want to throw up. But it did make her want to throw herself out of the sea for having to bear with the awful smell of vomit from the kids and elders around her.
Shisui, on the other hand, had sat throughout the trip comfortably: sleeping, taking a nap, staying on guard, helping those in need of assistance, and secretly sharpening his tools.
Sakura just hoped that Tinland was worth the sickening experience.
Tinland was a small town from the West, almost located along the line of the prime meridian. According to what was taught in the Academy, it was occupied purely by civilians: there were no shinobis and people thought that ninjas were merely a myth. This was exactly the reason why Shisui and Sakura had to disguise themselves as civilians. Use of techniques — whether they were ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu — was strictly only allowed in extreme cases. So if they had to defend themselves, they had to fight the way civilians did.
Of course, even before Shisui and Sakura entered the ship, they had considered changing their clothes to blend within the townspeople. They had brought along with them a scroll that carried clothes, money, and other necessities. Sakura wore a dark red long-sleeved blouse, paired with white palazzo pants and brown sandals. On the other hand, Shisui wore a black coat over a white dress shirt, paired with black slacks and shoes. The two had taken off their forehead protectors to hide their status as ninjas.
Since Konoha was from Tinland, their names wouldn't easily give away their identities. They had decided that it was safe to use their names minus their surnames in registrations. While it would make little difference in Sakura's case, Shisui's last name was a tricky matter. The Uchihas were popular all over the East, but they were still known by some in the West.
As soon as the two had gotten off the plank between the ship and the bay, Sakura turned to his partner to ask about their plans, "Are we supposed to check in a hotel now?"
The two continued walking slowly on the ground. The kunoichi looked at Shisui's face for any sign that could represent a potential answer. It seemed that he was still in deep contemplation. It would be difficult for them to find a vacant room in hotels now since there were so many people, but it would be difficult as well to search for hotels at night while making sure they weren't using chakra. However, they were shinobis, which meant that it wouldn't be much of a challenge for them to look for a hotel without attracting much attention.
"Staying in a hotel would be too expensive, seeing as we will be staying here for a couple of weeks," the Uchiha finally spoke.
Ah, so he's more worried about that, Sakura thought in surprise. She replied, "So, what's the best option? Staying in a pension unit?"
"Yes. Let's start the search now."
"And the doctor?"
"We'll figure out a plan once we check in."
And so the two walked together around the streets of Tinland, admiring the old-fashioned way the town worked. There were a few towers, but most buildings reached only a 3-story height. Townspeople looked like they always wore their Sunday's best every single day, very far from the simple ways of Konoha citizens.
After thirty minutes or so, with the help of their sharpened senses, they found a small yet lovely pension house, one that was adorned with flowers of all colors in its parts. Fortunately, it was located in the middle of the town.
At first, Shisui and Sakura had troubles with registering, because the staff at the counter demanded a surname. Apparently, Konoha's information of Tinland was unchecked. Every single person in town had a last name.
Shisui, the quick-thinker, apologized to the woman at the counter, telling her that he and Sakura had just been married, and so it was a little bit awkward for them to use his last name. The woman at the counter just shrugged it off without much care, luckily. The made up last name was a little "Westernized", but it was not too awkward when combined to their given names. They went with "Rio".
And that was it. Rio Sakura and Rio Shisui had two missions: to assassinate the unlicensed doctor and to act like a married couple.
As soon as the "couple" entered their unit, they immediately settled down. Settling down for them was hiding their scrolls (a.k.a. luggages) in dark areas and casting a genjutsu on them to appear as bags to civilians.
The unit had one double bed, two sofas, a bathroom, and surprisingly, a small kitchen. Sakura thought that pension units didn't need kitchens, as pension houses already served meals for occupants in their dining areas.
Sakura propped herself on the bed, disappointed to feel a thin layer of foam beneath her. To sleep on a hard bed was not so much of a reward for people who travelled non-stop.
Of course, while Sakura had considered the fact that the mission meant nightly chances to sleep next to her partner in a bed, it was still too much for her to handle. Sure, she had slept with Shisui before in his house, but that was a one-time thing, and this was a one-month!
Slowly, the kunoichi turned her body to face Shisui, who was preparing a set of kunai in his pouch. The pouch was hidden inside his coat.
Sakura broke the silence, "I thought we're supposed to defend ourselves the way civilians do."
Shisui didn't bother to look at her as he continued to pack his weapons. He replied, "That means that you have to be smart enough to use your skillset in public. You're only supposed to defend yourself that way if you cause a scene that attracts too many eyes."
Sakura nodded in understanding. "So, what are we going to do?"
"We're going to get some information about the doctor in a bar. If he's an unlicensed doctor, this most likely means that he attracts patients by appearing professional, but actually uses illegal methods."
The kunoichi prepared her tools. "Why do we have to research in a bar?"
Shisui replied flatly, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Because he abducts women for experiments. There are a lot of vulnerable women in bars."
Sakura tilted her head. It would be easy for her partner to blend within the crowd with what he was already wearing, but what she was wearing was a little too... conservative. She needed to adapt.
As a result, she took some clothes from her scroll and changed in the comfort room. As soon as she was done, she exited the area and continued preparing her tools in the living room.
Shisui, who was almost done readying himself, looked at her through the corner of his eyes. A few seconds later, he quit staring and finished his preparations.
But even he, the master of masking emotions, couldn't contain himself.
"What are you wearing?" he questioned.
Sakura turned to him, then checked her attire, and turned to him again, confused. "Why? Is it too noticeable?"
She was wearing a sleeveless v-neck blouse that almost showed her navel, paired with a pencil skirt that with a slit near the middle that revealed her inner thigh.
"We're just getting information for now. Are you planning on getting abducted?" he sharply said, much to the pinkette's surprise.
Here she was again, seen as a weak little girl.
"Well, I'm capable of defending myself. Also, I'm not stupid enough to not know our plan," she yelled.
The Uchiha just stared into her eyes, as if he was studying the fire in them, the fire that pushed her to break. Afterwards, he walked past through her and headed out, signalling her that it was not important.
For the sake of this damn mission, Inner Sakura said with rolling eyes. Sakura then followed him into the bar.
Tinland's bar was surprisingly big, and what was even more surprising was the fact that a lot of people wore revealing clothes, in contrast to the folks' conservative everyday clothes.
Satisfied with her decision in picking clothes, Sakura readied herself with a not so innocent attitude.
She and Shisui had planned to split and collect information on their own, as they were both capable and it would be much more efficient.
Now, where should I start? the pinkette thought to herself. She couldn't see Shisui anymore, and he was good at masking his chakra signature. She couldn't sit with people in their tables, but she might as well start at the dance floor and look for a friendly person.
And so she proceeded to the area. Loud music was playing, but it didn't bother her auditory processing. She was, after all, a trained kunoichi.
There were a lot more men in the dance floor than women. Some were looking at her, interested. Some simply looked at her hair. Most townsfolk had brown hair, which made her seem like an obvious outsider.
All of a sudden, a tall handsome man with blue eyes and chestnut brown hair approached her. He was wearing a white polo that had the upper area unbuttoned, revealing his chest. Inner Sakura screamed in delight.
"Is it your first time here in the bar?" he asked with a smile that showed a dimple on his right cheek.
"Yeah!" Sakura screamed over the loud music.
"What's your name?" the man asked.
The Haruno contemplated for a moment, wondering if it was better to make up a name or use her registered name. She was Sakura Rio in Tinland, and maybe it was better to have consistency. "Sakura. You?"
"Tom, nice to meet you," he said as he shook her hand. "You mind if we dance?"
Momentarily, the rosette blushed. No one — not even Rock Lee — had ever asked her to a dance. She figured that it would be okay, as she would get some information out of him later when they would get "comfortable".
The moment Sakura agreed, the party music gradually transitioned into slow dance music, which signaled everyone on the dance floor to grab a partner.
The pinkette shifted awkwardly, because she had just met the man and now, they were going to dance like a couple. Noticing her uneasiness, Tom smiled at her warmly. "Come on, it's just a dance."
Reluctantly, Sakura placed her right hand on his left shoulder and held his right hand with her left. When Tom positioned his left hand on her right waist, they slowly started dancing.
Admittedly, Sakura did find him charming. However, it went without saying that she didn't let her guard down. Tom could be connected to the doctor they were looking for, or worse, be the target himself. She couldn't just ask directly without establishing the foundations of a relationship.
After minutes of just dancing, Tom offered to buy the kunoichi a drink. And despite her attempts to say that she was fine and that she could buy on her own, the man insisted, led her to the bar station, and eventually bought her two drinks.
"I didn't know what you wanted, so I bought you a non-alcoholic drink and a strong one," Tom said.
Ah, the drinks, Sakura thought. She had handled numerous cases about people getting poisoned because of drinks, and she was most certainly not going to let herself be a victim.
"I'm sorry, but I really don't feel like drinking. Don't worry, I'll pay for the drinks," she said.
Tom didn't flinch, nor did it seem like he was bitter about it. He just smiled and nodded in understanding.
"I'd like water, please," Sakura requested as she caught the attention of the bartender. The bartender quickly served her a glass of water.
After drinking the glass, she turned to Tom, who was staring at her pink hair. "What? You've never seen a girl with flashing pink hair before?" she joked.
Tom chuckled and said, "That's not it, but I just don't think I've seen you in this town before."
Before Sakura could answer, she felt something odd inside her body. Her trained senses alerted her that a foreign chemical solution had invaded her system.
Countless beads of sweat rolled down her face, and her hands and legs trembled violently.
The glass of water, she thought in her head, frustrated at herself. The man had not expected her to refuse the drinks that had chemicals in them, but he had a backup: the glass of water.
But how?
Sakura most definitely did not see him pour anything into the drinks. Perhaps, the bartender was an associate?
The kunoichi, still struggling to keep her balance, found herself losing control of her senses. She couldn't stand or perform a jutsu. She couldn't even think clearly.
Then, realization hit her. Tom was the man they were searching for.
"The water... you..." Sakura attempted to speak. She was desperate: it was as if she was way past tipsiness and already getting drunk.
She needed to alert Shisui. She needed to make a scene. Yet, her body was failing her. Minute by minute, she was becoming... vulnerable.
She turned to Tom and she felt something screaming inside her chest. Slowly, Sakura stroke his face with her gentle hands and slyly stared at his lips. For some odd reason, she wanted to know what they tasted like, and so she slowly moved her face closer to his.
Uchiha Shisui had always accomplished the tasks assigned to him.
He had already gathered enough information from some civilians. The doctor's name, clinic address, and physical features were all in his book. He had even recorded a brief history of his accomplishments in the field of medicine, most of which were obviously fake.
As he jostled his way through the dance floor, he noticed that some women were eyeing him knowingly. Yet, as any other Uchiha, he thought of them as thin air.
Now that Shisui was done with his part, he wondered how his partner was doing. Deep down, he felt guilty about how he had been treating her over the past few days. He had found himself warming up to her after the festival, especially upon realizing that she was determined to heal him.
Ever since, he could not stop thinking about how she had planted a firm kiss on his cheek.
Yet, her warm nature had its downs as well. He liked how she was caring towards her teammates, but while he had long known about her feelings for a certain cousin, it irritated him how she had looked away from him just like that, even if they had spent precious time together. It was downright annoying, and maybe a little painful.
Even though they had sort of made up, he still managed to give her a reason to hate him when he had made it seem to her that the idea of wearing clothes that would help her blend within the crowd was plain stupid. He didn't know why he hated it. Certainly, it wasn't because he hated it if she attracted too many people, but it was because he didn't want her to be in danger. Yes, she was a good fighter, but deep down, he wanted to be sure that she was safe at all times.
The Uchiha shrugged off his thoughts. He couldn't allow himself to be distracted at a moment like this. Even though he was technically done, he still had some time left before he would meet up with his partner. Maybe he could survey the area and know if any man could accurately match the physical description he had of the target doctor.
He narrowed his black eyes and silently examined the scene around him.
Over the bar station, the sight of a brown-haired man grabbed his attention. Maybe if he could look a little more closely, he could confirm if the person matched the details in his updated hit book.
Much to his surprise, the man resembled well the person whom the civilians had drawn out in his mind.
Chestnut brown hair, blue eyes, tall...
And there was flashing pink hair.
He eyed the scene more closely to know whether his two suspicions were true or not: if the man he had seen was the doctor they were assigned to assassinate, and if the pink-haired woman he had seen was his partner.
Jitters littered his space of thoughts, as feelings of worry began to build up in his chest. If it was Sakura, there were so many probable cases to happen, most of which involved her getting caught up in danger. Fuck, he thought.
Seconds after he scanned the scene, his narrowed eyes widened as he comprehended the situation before him.
His partner was making out with a damned criminal.
Minutes of kissing a man she barely knew made Sakura feel like she was in an unearthly place, where she could just kiss away the heat and tension her body was intensely feeling.
She didn't know what came into her, but she was more than happy with what had happened. Even if it had just been a few moments, it felt like she could just be a woman, a woman who could do anything she pleased.
Tom pulled away from the kiss, much to Sakura's disappointment. She wanted more, but she did love the fact that he had broken away just to tease her.
"Let's go to my house," the brunette suggested. At that moment, Sakura was readier than ever to throw herself on his bed and pull him under the sheets with her.
The man hit the back of her neck with his knuckles, knocking her out. He then roughly lifted her up, carrying her body over his right shoulder, with her bottom and back facing forward. It didn't attract too much attention, as there were lots of similar cases in the infamous bar.
Before leaving the area, he glanced at the bartender knowingly and left some tip at the counter.
Before Tom could exit through the door, his eyes glinted at the sight of a woman with golden hair, wearing clothes that were much more revealing than Sakura's. The woman, who looked like she was a little tipsy, was standing near the door with her back rested on the wall. She gave him a flirt's eye before looking away.
Truth be told, it caused a voluptuous mass of mixed hormonal reactions inside his body. Yet, he thought that it was taxing to approach her when he was carrying another woman. He couldn't just leave the pink-haired girl on the floor and let her go, for she could report any cases against him. Yet, the woman with golden hair seemed to have a richer treasure with her, with her jet black eyes and delightful measurements. And what made the situation better was that she was asking for it, whereas Sakura had refused his offers earlier.
After moments of contemplating, Tom laid down the pinkette at the other side of the door. He thought about calling the bartender to help him up, but that was a little too risky.
He felt that if he approached the lady while bringing another woman with him, it would ruin his chances. Despite how the fact that the unknown woman had been flirty with him while he had held Sakura showed that she had a firm interest in him regardless, he still wanted to make sure that the opportunist within him got the gold.
And so Tom neared the mysterious woman and started a little chitchat, "Hey, I don't think I've seen you here before."
The woman's eyes sparkled with a sheen of playfulness. "Then you must not be observant."
Inwardly, Tom enjoyed the way she was carrying herself: she was obviously playing hard to get. But unlike any other typical flirt, she was keeping it smart and cool.
Before he could respond, the woman laid her hands on his shoulders, stroking them with meaning. She moved her lips closer to his right ear and whispered, "Why don't we have a little more action?"
The faint feeling of her moist lips on the tip of his ear sent every hair on his body to stand. It became hot and hard down there, and it was suddenly too difficult to refuse her.
The woman then nibbled his earlobe and planted a trail of kisses from his cheek to a corner of his lips. In turn, Tom smashed his lips against hers, as he could not contain his wild desires anymore. Things became even wilder when she invaded his mouth with her tongue, and its taste was... familiar.
He pulled away from the kiss, as soon as a realization had hit him.
The woman's mouth carried a fair amount of the chemical solution he had just given to Sakura earlier. And now, he literally got the taste of his own medicine.
Slowly, his senses began to fail him. The surroundings were dimming, and he could imagine the woman laughing down at him as he fell down to the floor. How the hell?
Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the doctor, Uchiha Shisui had gone off to carry Sakura on the way to the pension house under the cold, cold sky.
He carried her as he ran fast, making sure that no one would notice them. Sakura was sleeping innocently in his arms, and with her face that was slightly tinged red, she looked so... vulnerable.
Baka, he thought as he gazed at her face. Uchiha Shisui was a warm-natured person, unlike most Uchihas. Yet, it was still in his blood to have the tendency to dangerously boil up to madness and have the temper of a murderer's.
It angered him to death when he had seen how the criminal had taken advantage of Sakura's weak state and made out with her. At that moment, it was even difficult to look calm on the outside. He so badly wanted to break the man's bones and rip off his flesh alive.
As soon as Shisui had witnessed the intense make-out session between Sakura and the man, he immediately registered the happenings. From his point of view, he understood that the man had drugged her with either of the drinks near them, which could have meant that the bartender was an associate. The drug's effect was a burst of hormonal stress and reactions and dulling of one's senses. In an instant, he had created a shadow clone, transformed it into an attractive woman, and made it carry a mouthful of the solution to pour into the man's mouth through oral contact.
Luckily, Shisui's and Sakura's identities as shinobis were safe and they could still continue the mission with extra caution. The only thing that had been sacrificed from their first task was Sakura's physical identity, as the man had encountered her already on a close level.
Unfortunately, among all the misfortunes the Uchiha could bear with on this tiring day, Shisui was still left to survive a night with a seemingly drunk Sakura.
Author's Note:
Hola! For the next chapter, there will be an intense Shisui x Sakura moment hihihi. Stay updated!
I am now in love with Doctor Strange. Who isn't?
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