Disclaimer:
Oh, would you look at that? 2 chapters in 3 days! Anywaaay...
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: I edited Chapters 1 to 5. It was mostly the writing, but I made it clear in one chapter that the dream Sakura had had about her encounter with Madara was a memory of Team 7's joint mission with Shisui's ANBU squad.
Anyway, this is the longest chapter I've written. And I'm bothered by my writing style, because this one's a lot more straightforward. Also, with the whole thing about COVID-19 quarantine measures, I'm gonna be writing more frequently. Enjoy!
Noon had passed and while Sakura had gathered a pool of useful information from the people around, she still felt like she had a long road to go through to achieve both her mission as a ninja and her other one as a medic.
For several hours, the kunoichi had gone to public places, such as markets and restaurants, asking around about hospitals and clinics in town. Fortunately, Tinland was not a large place. Moreover, the civilians, although accustomed to a Westernized culture, talked in a certain Japanese dialect that was still understandable in some ways.
From her collection of data, she had noted the addresses of some medical institutions. With Tinland's small area and population, the number of institutions was countable by hand.
Since they were dealing with an unlicensed doctor, she could only assume so much. The target could have managed to slip into a hospital with illegal methods. After all, the benefits one could gain from landing a place in a hospital included promising financial returns, access to medical supplies and equipment, and a secure and professional image as a doctor. Yet, she also acknowledged that the idea of the man performing illegal experiments in a hospital without getting caught was a little too risky on his part.
There was another possibility. The illegitimate doctor could also utilize illegal means to set up his own clinic. With a professional-looking physical set-up, Sakura doubted civilians would exert effort into assessing the man's credibility.
Lastly, the man could also have resorted to the ways of Orochimaru and Kabuto. He could have created a secret base wherein he could perform his illegal and inhumane experiments.
There was still no reasonable way for her to narrow down her options. She needed investigating. After all, she had no idea how tight or loose Tinland's administering health department was when it came to ensuring the security and reliability of hospitals and clinics.
With all of that laid in the light, it was no mistake that Sakura would have a taxing time in solving all of this without Shisui at her side.
It was not entirely her fault. When she had woken up this morning, her partner was nowhere to be seen. She could not just wait for him. She did not want to just laze around.
Moreover, if she wanted to also take this time to collect some pieces of information that could aid in her formulation of a medicine for his disease, then it was best to do it in his absence. While Sakura was certain that he had an idea of her plan, she did not want to completely give away her intentions.
After all, if, in the past few months, Shisui knew that he was getting blind, then why did he make no effort to have himself healed? The medic did not want to think that he was doing it on purpose, that he was doing it for his own reasons.
She mentally shook her head. Right now, she had other important things to focus on. In the corner of her mind, she had been avoiding a certain subject for a while too long now.
Sakura held no doubts about the chance that Shisui would kill her.
Last night, she had gone against him. Shisui questioned the practicality of her wearing such a revealing outfit. Yet, she turned his back on him and defended that her disguise could be a useful asset.
She had even dared touching on an unfair argument, getting indignant about his superiority complex. Her fury had clouded her normally sound judgment, giving her the conclusion that Shisui was belittling her as a kunoichi.
Apparently (and the realization just had to dawn on her now), she had misjudged her partner. In spite of his advanced skills, he was not one to underestimate shinobis' capabilities. While he might have considered her plan as the easy route, perhaps, Shisui thought that the risk needed more calculating. After all, they were still testing the waters.
And thanks to her misjudgment, she allowed herself to walk right into the predator's trap. As a result, her physical identity was given away. Even worse, the enemy knew her name.
It was unfortunate, however, for her knowledge of last night's occurrences to end there. She was clueless about how Shisui managed to rescue her from the enemy. She was not even so certain if he had managed to save her without revealing the fact that they were shinobis.
With her small stock of knowledge, she was only left to infer. Sakura had met Tom, the man who had offered her some drinks. Although she had refused the alcoholic beverages, she had not considered the possibility that he had also spiked her water. Seeing as she had not noticed the man dropping solutions on her drinks, she could only assume that the bartender was an accomplice.
If they targeted me, a seemingly vulnerable woman, then that could only mean that they wanted to prey on me for sexual purposes, the kunoichi thought.
Sakura knew where her train of thoughts would lead her. The discussions taking place in her head were heading towards a dark alley. Yet, no matter how hard it was to accept, she had nothing to face but the bitter truth.
She concluded that the drug she had ingested had an effect on her hormonal levels. And seeing as the Godaime Hokage had classified this mission as A-rank, obviously, the drug was more powerful than she had expected.
And if Shisui had helped her in time, brought her to the pension unit, and either witnessed or aided in her purging process, then in all likelihood, he had tolerated being the object of her unusual behavior.
Her sexual assaults.
What a time to be alive!
Sakura mentally skinned her face. Shisui was right. She should have listened to him. Kami knows what his partner had to endure. Kami knows what horrifying things she had done and what horrifying things she had exposed!
Be rational, Sakura scolded herself. She was completely aware that dwelling on what had happened last night was a waste. There was no turning back.
She had to step up and apologize to his partner.
However, she could still not bring herself to face him. If she was going to face him now, at the very least, she had to make it up to him with useful information.
With that, she turned to a deserted alley and performed a transformation technique. Sakura made the mistake of appearing as a vulnerable woman last night. This time, she had to be more discreet and unnoticeable. Hence, she had disguised herself as a regular man.
She inhaled and exhaled, readying herself before traveling to the bar.
That morning, Shisui had left Sakura in the pension unit. As soon as he had observed that her body temperature was getting low and stable, he went out of the pension to search for a pharmacy. Luckily for him, he had arrived at a store that was only a walking distance from the pension.
He had planned on purchasing medicines for fever and headaches in case Sakura's condition worsened.
In the duration of his purchasing, Shisui pondered on the conclusion he had settled with last night. He had to be honest and clear with himself—he held Sakura dearly and valued her deeply.
It was incomparable to what he had felt from his first encounter with her. Back then, he had been interested in her, curious about her life. Even when he asked her out on a date just to test the waters, he had not held romantic feelings for her.
Last night, he had been confused about his feelings even to the point of using his thinking in a situation that demanded emotional evaluation. He did acknowledge that he did not know many things about Sakura, even now, but he was granted the blessing of seeing her for who she truly was. Perhaps, it was the way she kept on throwing surprises into his life. The new sides he would discover about her exhibited her pure kindness and that in its own made him realize that as a person, she was beautiful in her own way.
Maybe, feelings as deep as love did not necessitate closeness in terms of familiarity. After all, for Shisui, it had not taken him a long time to develop feelings for her.
Regaining awareness of the external world, Shisui handed coins to the cashier and made his way back to the pension.
As he briskly walked towards the area, he observed that there were no civilians in the vicinity at this time of the day. Shisui was no stranger to the idea of being alone. Yet, guilt began to creep its way into him when the thought of Sakura being alone in their room crossed his mind.
He had left Sakura without leaving a note nor giving her any hint at least that he would be back shortly. He figured that Sakura could get up and treat herself with medical ninjutsu. However, he saw no reason for her to actually go out.
When Shisui was about three blocks from the pension, he was immediately alerted by the absence of Sakura's chakra from the pension unit.
Fuck, he mentally screamed at himself. Anxiety began to suffocate him as his clouded mind projected the possibility of Sakura's death due to her illness.
With zero amount of hesitance, Shisui summoned his chakra and performed the Body Flicker Technique. In the next instant, he found himself standing inside the pension unit.
Immediately, he laid his eyes on the bed, surprised to find it empty and tidied. With enough swiftness, he scanned the surroundings and even took a look at potential hiding spots, even though the likeliness of his partner concealing herself in those areas was low.
Relief swept through him upon the realization that she had left. He cursed her for always working him up and worrying him.
Shisui noticed a piece of paper sitting on the end table. He approached the table, picked the small piece of paper, and read the note on it.
Out to gather information. I'm okay now. I will be back this evening.
Shisui was no medical ninja, but it was common sense that newly recovered ninjas were not allowed to take on strenuous activities. And while Sakura was a medical ninja herself, and an extremely skilled one at that, the Uchiha knew that her stubbornness matched that of Naruto.
Tinland's bar opened at 3 PM. Although less people occupied the dance floor around that time, it still came as a surprise to the average civilian that there would be people present at such an early time.
However, the experienced bar-goer would know that people who went to the bar at such a time could not have been too bored out of their minds to wait for the peak hour.
Without a doubt, these people had their reasons. For sexually active teenagers, it could be wanting to get all wild with a low chance of being found out. For the stereotypical drunkard, it could be wanting to get over the wife who had abandoned him.
But for Sakura, it was to obtain intel from people who were involved in the previous night's tragic, tragic incident.
However, one would not find a pink-haired woman in the desert-like dance floor. In lieu, one would see a tall man with black slicked back hair and brown eyes, clad in a regular white shirt and a pair of ripped jeans.
Sakura, in the form of the built man, approached the drinking station. The bartender who stood in front of the shelf of bottles was the same bartender she had seen last night. Blonde and pale in a thin frame.
In a deep voice, she ordered him to bring her two shots of their fine whiskey. In her eyes, the bartender did not seem to think that she was more important than a regular drunkard. Sakura thought in disgust that perhaps, men in Tinland's society were used to objectifying women.
The kunoichi in disguise waited for her drink. And no, she had no plans of having herself drugged again. She took a swift scan of her surroundings, as if she was in search of a woman to dance with. It took her a simple glimpse to note that Tom was nowhere in sight. It was likely that he only visited the bar at nighttime.
The drinking station consisted of a long table with several bar stools on the side near the dance floor. From Sakura's frame of reference, she had sat at the rightmost stool.
Through the corner of her eyes, she observed a man and woman sitting at the opposite end. The man was offering the woman a beverage, and the woman had happily chugged the liquid and drank a glass of water afterwards.
Sakura did not think it was of any significance. She had entered the bar a tad bit early and maybe the bartender only gave drugs when Tom was present. Either way, she and Shisui needed to interrogate the bartender about his involvement soon.
Moments later, Sakura noticed that the woman who had been given a drink showed no signs of intoxication and unusual behavior. She knew that it had taken her body less time to succumb to the drug's effects. This could only mean that the woman had consumed real liquor and water.
As soon as the blonde bartender placed a tray of whiskey shots on the table, Sakura handed the exact amount of money. With her decision of abstaining from drinking, she contemplated on her next move.
At that moment, the entrance opened to reveal a familiar brunette, drawing the attention of several people, especially Sakura's.
Tom.
This is my chance, the kunoichi thought.
Tom waltzed his way towards the drinking station and took a seat on a stool that was two seats away from Sakura's. He did not seem to pay any heed to her, which meant that her disguise served its purpose.
So Tom even comes this early, the pinkette mentally noted.
Tom turned to the couple whom Sakura was eyeing earlier. Even with his back almost turned on her, she did not miss the knowing glint on his eyes as he exchanged glances with the man who had been accompanying the woman. And hell, they could be dumber when it came to keeping their intentions low—they even nodded at the bartender without any word.
A few moments later, Sakura noticed that the bartender had served Tom a tray of two drinks. From her point of view, she could make out the unnatural activity in the solution's effervescence. With giant bubbles rapidly rising from the bottom, a child could even tell that something had just been dropped to effect the chemical reaction.
The bartender bowed his head to the three before entering the storage room beside the shelf of drinks.
Sakura noticed that Tom was not rushing the situation. He was trying to start a casual conversation with the couple. Men like you are trash, Inner Sakura bellowed.
But the kunoichi was not here to watch. She and Shisui had already known that this kind of activity was taking place. She had to dig deeper for more intel.
In the sleekest and swiftest manner, the shinobi performed a simple transformation technique on the whiskey shots she had ordered, disguising them as the same drinks that Tom had. Ever so slowly, she switched her drinks with Tom's and walked away from the station, carrying the drinks with her.
When Sakura had safely exited the bar, she sealed the drinks in a scroll, making sure that no civilian (nor shinobi) was present in the vicinity. She was grateful that Tinland was a developing town of civilians. They held no beliefs in the existence of ninjas.
However, Sakura was fully aware that Tom was a shinobi. Hence, her transformation technique could be undone right there and then. Yet, it did not matter to her.
If Tom noticed that it was a mere transformation, he would not undo it. After all, it could give away whatever malicious intentions he had had.
If the technique were undone, she was sure that Tom would do everything in his power to conceal the situation from the civilians present. Even though there were only a few people in the bar, he would not give them an important clue about his identity—a clue that could explain his illegal methods, a clue that could attract the town's police.
And even if he would realize that shinobis were present in Tinland to stop him, it was not as if she and Shisui would waste time in accomplishing the mission. They would soon reveal their identities to him anyway.
Anyhow, the top of Sakura's priorities at the moment was to study the chemical composition of the drinks she had saved.
When Sakura was drawing closer to the pension, she undid her henge and reverted herself back.
The minute she entered their pension unit, surprise took her upon realizing that Shisui had still not returned home. She glanced at the empty end table where she had placed her note for him earlier, realizing that the Uchiha had taken it and therefore read it.
Where the hell is that guy?
The kunoichi decided to use the time to examine the drinks. She took out her scroll, performed an unsealing jutsu, and laid out the two glasses of spiked liquor before her. Channeling green chakra to her hands, she drew her hands close to the drinks, submerging the green halo in the liquid before raising her hands again. She had successfully caught blobs of the drug's content with her chakra control.
The medic-nin transferred the dark blobs into a separate container and then disposed the liquor. She carefully took a whiff of the substance, making sure that she would not be overpowered. From that, she mentally created a list of herbs that composed the drug. Most of the herbs could be bought from the common herb market.
However, one was a rare type that grew under strictly specific conditions. What was the name of the herb again? Xennyl? she recalled.
After taking a physical note of the herbs, Sakura decided to change into her casual attire. It was around 5 PM and she was sure that when Shisui returned, they would go out to eat dinner. For Kami's sake, her stomach was rumbling and grumbling. Blame it on her stubborn self who had chosen to prioritize the mission instead of her health.
Where the hell was Shisui anyway?
As if on cue, Shisui's body appeared right in front of her from thin air, flickering in flashes until it became a solid human figure. One could not say that Sakura had violently jerked in surprise. It looked more like her soul was about to abandon her body.
"Shannaro! You scared me!" Sakura exclaimed as she rested her hand on her chest. It had been quite some time since Shisui had pulled off his "Operation Surprise Sakura Every Time You See Her" with his teleportation asset.
"Where the hell have you been?"
And for some inexplicable reason, the sharp ringing of his words came more as a surprise to the kunoichi. For a brief moment, she tilted her head questioningly and studied the Uchiha's seething eyes.
Shisui was throwing her a piercing glare, his face exhibiting a wave of emotions that she had first experienced from him—a spectrum that could not quite fathom.
In that moment, her mouth had parted with no words to spew out. Nevertheless, she compacted her composure and bored her eyes directly into his.
"I'm pretty sure I left a note," she remarked, the words barely slipping away from her tongue. Upsetting Shisui was the last thing she wanted. Yet, in her current position, she had to build her defense, which necessitated sound reason.
Shisui narrowed his eyes coolly at her reply, his facial expression becoming more and more incomprehensible, unbreakable for Sakura's understanding. "You were sick, Sakura. You know better than anyone that you should be protecting yourself."
So, that was what it was about? She mentally snorted. She was so wrong about thinking that Shisui had not meant to imply that she was weak yesterday.
"I'm a medical ninja, Shisui. I can handle myself. Will it shut you up if I show you the samples I have collected?" she barked at him.
"That's not the point," he immediately responded, as if he was going to cut whatever she was going to say next. "You could have at least told me your specific plans or where you were going."
Confusion settled in Sakura, as she was unsure about how to take his lack of acknowledgement in her efforts to contribute to the mission's progress.
"I'm totally aware that this is a dyad mission, but you already did your part last night. I at least needed to make up for that," Sakura defended, hesitant about how she was displaying herself. She carried an ounce of guilt for having dropped the burden on him in the previous night, but she was also infuriated by his lack of trust in her skills.
For a split-second, Shisui widened his eyes a little at the woman's honesty. But anger still dominated the surge of feelings that wrapped his chest. Shisui wanted to free the heavy load in his chest, but it was challenging for him to compact it into coherent sentences.
He turned his back on her, began walking, and dismissed the conversation, "You don't get it."
With her mouth agape and her brain screaming insults and curses, Sakura glared at the back of his clothes. He was not wearing his usual outfit with the Uchiha crest for security reasons, but as Sakura stared at his crestless back, she gritted her teeth and thought that Shisui was acting all high and mighty like other Uchihas!
And Sakura could not accept it.
"What is it that I don't understand? Why don't you actually face me and tell me everything? You're always keeping everything to yourself!" she cried at him, causing him to halt in his tracks.
"Just like after our date, you suddenly become an asshole and then I have to wonder what the hell I did to deserve the treatment!" Sakura screeched with eyebrows knitted, noticing that the Uchiha stiffened upon hearing her opening line.
Yet, even with her effort to free her unsettling thoughts and feelings, the man just turned to stare at her with a blank expression.
The sight of empty action brought a piercing pang of pain clenched Sakura's chest. She felt her old self unwrap itself from the back of her heart. She could not take it anymore.
Her eyes glistened in a washed out shade of red and let loose a stream of tears.
And however childish one would regard her as for showing weakness, for bringing back the soft little girl from the past, she could not give a damn, for she could not think of anything at the moment except how Shisui treated her with such indifference.
Childish as she might be, Sakura exited the room through the window and ran to wherever her feet could bring her.
In the fall of night, she just ran and ran without a care in the world, without bothering to turn around and check if Shisui was chasing her.
She just wanted to get away from him.
Night had fallen and the crescent moon had risen. The celestial body illuminated the earth beneath it, painting thin shadows on the land and blinking sheen on the sea.
The image of Tinland Bay at night overflowed with peace: only a small number of boats were out on the sea. The dockage involved little activity; shipmen were in no rush and under no pressure to load and unload packages.
The simplicity of the view before Sakura was the beauty of it all. The sound of waves softly crashing against the pillars of the pier entered her ears like a lullaby, as if to sing to her a song of comfort.
There she was in the form of a woman with chestnut brown hair and pale skin, sitting at the edge of the pier and casting a long and morose look at the horizons. The line where the brooding heavens and wistful sea met cleared the tension that had escalated inside her earlier. Sullen and deep in thought, she was comforted by solitude.
Her sight was attuned to the island that was a few miles away from the mainland. The island was covered by black clouds and an austere weather, very much in contrast to the fine weather main Tinland was experiencing. And Sakura just felt like she saw herself in that difference.
She was pained by Shisui's indifference towards her feelings and his lack of trust in her strengths. Normally, Sakura tended to the needs of people around her first, always pushing herself to secure the emotional well-being of the people dear to her. Reflecting on how Shisui had treated her caused her to ache; it was depressing to think that he had not at least tried to understand her.
And it was like a fragile insecurity of hers, which had been buried in the deepest corners of her mind, had been forcibly pulled back to the surface. Her failures would always remind her of the weak little girl she used to be, always showing weakness and not bothering to work on her incompetence.
And even now, with her idea of merely staring at the horizons and leaving her partner, she was showing a hint of weakness.
She could not blame Shisui for regarding her as weak and inferior. He was right. And for that, she hated herself.
And it just certainly felt like she was in some cheap shoujo manga when she heard footsteps getting louder and saw human shadows getting larger.
The shadows belonged to two men who appeared like they were in their early thirties. "Me time" was definitely impossible for Sakura.
"Hey there, lady. Why are you alone tonight?" one of them questioned.
The sound of knee bones cracking made it clear to her that the man had just bent. Sakura could only rely on some of her senses. After all, she had no plans to turn around and face them. She was too irritated to entertain anyone and her face looked like that of a drama actress who was forced to cry for multiple times.
The other man asked, "Why don't you come with us then? You sure look like you need a little fun."
The sexual innuendo had unleashed Sakura's internal wrath. Inner Sakura was bellowing about how men were trash and throwing some shannaros.
She was not supposed to reveal any hint of being a shinobi, but at the moment, she could care less about their damned mission. Beside her laid a large piece of sedimentary rock. Without turning her face to them, she lifted the object and effortlessly crushed it by hand into powder with her unrivaled strength.
The two men jerked at her display of monstrosity and backed a few steps away from her. They decided to turn around and flee, bracing for their lives.
However, the second they made a complete rotation, a man with jet black hair and eyes appeared before them.
Sakura, who was still facing the horizons, stiffened upon sensing the familiar chakra.
Shisui sent a cold and piercing death glare at the two men, causing every strand of hair on their bodies to rise. His black eyes almost looked like they were trying to muffle murderous intent, as his sable irises flashed a faint yet dangerous glint of crimson red.
Without saying a word, the two men passed by the Uchiha and hastened their pace, fleeing from the dangerous situation they had walked into.
Sakura felt her chest tighten in apprehension as she heard Shisui's footsteps getting louder by the second. Unknowingly, she pursed her lips and clenched the collar of her shirt, still uncertain about how she should face the situation.
She did not know what to feel about the fact that Shisui had gone off and searched for her, which was possibly proof that he felt apologetic and that he did, in one way or another, care.
The kunoichi closed her eyes as she felt the Uchiha take a seat on the empty space at her left side.
"Sakura," his deep voice called out to her.
There was no change in her movements. She was still staring at the horizons, desperately hoping that the peaceful sight would match her inner world. From the corner of her eyes, she observed that Shisui had slightly turned his head to face her.
"Look at me."
It was that moment when Sakura decided to give the man a good look of how awfully pained she looked as she turned to his side. The light from the moon illuminated one side of her face, causing her dark circles, reddened eyes, and swelling eyelids to be utterly visible.
She could not decipher Shisui's change of expression upon her turning. And it became more incomprehensible for her when the raven-haired man slowly raised his right arm and gently stroked her left cheek. The touch effected a change in her physical appearance, reverting her to her original form with the pink hair and emerald eyes.
"I'm sorry," he whispered, gazing into her eyes with a genuine look of concern. He wiped the tears on her left eye and continued to caress her cheek's fair and supple skin.
"I didn't mean to hurt you. You're not weak, Sakura. I know you're capable of handling yourself," Shisui said in the most delicate tone his deep voice could use.
The weight in her chest lightened. His words alone soothed the surge of black emotions she had been enduring. However, she knew that there was still something he was yet to explain. And it hurt her a little to acknowledge that there was a "but" to his words of comfort.
"You're strong, but..." he cut himself off. He was uncertain about how to release his sentiments and compact them into coherent sentences. He had always been independent and private; he was the complete opposite of an open book.
However, Shisui noticed the half-filled emotion on Sakura's face. It made him frown to realize that she was expectant of any harsh remark he could spew out. He knew that he had to be thoroughly honest with his feelings.
"You're strong, but anything can happen to even the strongest people," he said in the most open way he could articulate his feelings. He knew that it sounded too logical, but it was still difficult for him to express, especially since he wanted to be careful about not giving away too much information.
But for the woman at his side, those words alone were enough for her to understand his message. She understood that that was Shisui's way of saying that she had worried him and that the idea of anything happening to her did not sit well with him.
Shisui removed his hand from her face and avoided her intense gaze; he was at a vulnerable position. He knew that Sakura was anything but stupid, and so something uneasy settled in him upon the realization that she could learn about his hidden feelings.
Much to his astonishment, he felt a warm touch lay on top of his hand. Sakura's hand fiddled with his fingers and then intertwined with his, as if forcing its way through without a care for his consent. Not that he disapproved of it.
Shisui slowly raised his chin to look at the kunoichi. Warmth coursed through him when he saw the angelic way she titled her head and smiled.
"Thank you for being honest, Shisui," she said. "I'm sorry about the trouble I caused you last night, too. But um... thank you for taking care of me as well."
Shisui noticed red streaks decorating her cheeks as she turned her eyes to any spot but his face. He raised his free arm, rested it on top of her head, and patted it a few times, disheveling her flashing hair in the process. He let out a soft chuckle, "You're too serious."
Sakura chuckled after him before turning her gaze to the sea in front of them, her facial expression changing into something serious, as if she was recalling a buried memory.
"When we fought, I just remembered my past self. I used to be weak and incompetent as a genin. Team 7 would always encourage me to do my best, but it still depressed me to think that my teammates were always many steps ahead of me," Sakura said as she shifted in her seat uncomfortably. "That's why I became sensitive about it earlier. I'm sorry for misunderstanding you," she ended, returning her look to him.
Shisui stared at her, as if he was also deep in thought. He squeezed her left hand tightly and said, "I'm not so sure if I'm in any position to say this, but I'm sure you did your best."
Sakura gently smiled at him.
He continued, "Naruto, Sasuke, and Kakashi-senpai were hardworking, but they had also been gifted with fortunate circumstances from the start. If you had worked yourself up from rock bottom to become the strong person you are now just with effort, I'm pretty sure you're capable of many, many things. After all, you're stubborn and pretty smart."
In that moment, Sakura's face lit up with pure gratitude and happiness. Warmth enveloped her heart, not just upon hearing his consoling words, but also upon realizing that he was being honest.
It was unusual for Shisui to talk too much, much more for him to discuss something personal. However, seeing the woman he held dear in a bleary state did not sit well with him. She just didn't deserve it.
Shisui thought about the feelings he held for the woman next to her. He mentally clutched his chest—did she too feel the same way about him? She had shown signs in the past, such as when she made an effort to visit him during a blackout with the obvious reason that he could have a hard time seeing, that moment when he had left her on their date and she had to search for him to heal him, and even at the beginning of their mission when she had prepared a packed lunch for him.
However, at this point, he was unsure if everything could have just revolved around her caring nature. As a medical ninja, she had sworn by the Hippocratic Oath. That instance when she had brought a packed lunch for him could have been her effort to reconcile with him, given that he had treated her coldly beforehand.
Shisui did not want to admit it, but he acknowledged the probability that Sakura still held traces of feelings for his cousin.
It hurt and irritated him at the same time.
Sakura spoke, "I sure do miss my team, though. Sasuke-kun could be-"
"Why is it Sasuke?" Shisui cut her off, the emotion behind the words concealed.
Sakura abruptly enlarged her eyes at the randomly spouted question, making it transparent that she had been caught off guard. She knew exactly just what he was talking about, but she could not make out why he wanted an answer, what her answer meant to him. Reluctantly, she scanned the Uchiha's face for any underlying meaning to the question, but he had masked it with a blank facade.
Her lips parted, giving away the uncertainty she felt about her response. Something was strangely different about the situation. She felt that if she had been asked the same question months ago, she would be able to give an answer right away. But right now, she could only look at Shisui with reluctance.
Realizing that she had just been staring at him this whole time, she composed herself and responded, "I guess it has always been him."
The pink-haired kunoichi knew that she had not actually answered Shisui's question and she could see it in the unwavering determination in his eyes, the determination to see through her. She knew that she had settled with the response that was most convenient, but she wondered if she was being honest.
With an unfathomable facial emotion, Shisui's strong gaze did not leave her still. Sakura could notice a bit of reluctance in his look, but slowly, he leaned his body towards hers, trying to close the distance between them until their faces were only several inches from each other. "What is he to you?" he asked in a deep, rough voice.
A comrade, a friend. Someone important. But how so?
Why did thinking about her response confuse her? Just why couldn't she answer honestly?
Sakura was anything but stupid. She knew that she was developing something for Shisui, but she reflected on all those years of staying loyal to Sasuke. All those years, she had exerted much effort into showing him just how much she loved him and cared for him. And she thought that her efforts had granted her progress with her last encounter with Sasuke. Sure, she was still unsure about how to take his treatment to her last time, but it definitely meant something had changed in the way he looked at her.
Yet, deep down, she could not deny that the thing she had developed for Shisui dominated the surge of feelings she was carrying. Perhaps, it was best for her to be truly, utterly, honest with herself.
Perhaps, deep in her heart, she knew she felt something real for Shisui—something that held a tinge of love? She was not so certain if she carried the same kind of romantic love she had felt towards Sasuke, but she knew, deep down, that her feelings were strong and that she did care.
And even though she had not sorted out the wave of feelings she was keeping, maybe it did not matter now. Maybe the only thing that she needed to focus on was the man beside her, the man who was looking at her.
All of a sudden, the woman broke free from her inner world of thinking when she felt a soft wet texture touch her forehead. Shisui had planted a kiss on her forehead and Sakura's lips parted at the sudden yet intimate gesture.
He then slowly leveled his face with hers, still keeping the distance between them close. He held a strong and serious gaze at her, his facial expression somehow softening and hardening at the same time.
"It bothers me, Sakura," he said in a deep, and raspy yet soft voice.
And her heart grasped the essence of his simple words. And it made something inside her explode into a surge of warmth.
That was why Sakura gently cupped his face with her hands, delicately caressing the skin on either side, and pulled him into a soft and gentle kiss. She closed her eyes at the contact, and her heart fluttered when she felt Shisui kiss her back.
The Uchiha's hands roamed around her back, pulling her petite figure closer into his body. His hands made their way to her shoulders and then to her hair, running his fingers through the smooth tresses and disheveling her hair in the process.
Sakura felt the rough motion of his lips against hers, making it apparent to her that he had always carried this degree of desire to kiss her yet kept it hidden. His lips stroked her plump lower lip continuously and the tension she felt with their bodies pressed hard and tight against each other caused her to part her lips and softly moan.
With her lips parted, Sakura felt Shisui's tongue enter and stroke her own in soothing motions. Feeling the hotness of their breaths and the roughness of his tongue against hers, she let out another moan. Sakura let her hands roam around the Uchiha's built chest, enjoying his attractive frame.
Their kiss then went a delicate turn. Slowly, the two pulled away from each other, feeling the warmth of their breaths against each other's necks. The night had been full of their attempts to decode the incomprehensible expressions they both displayed, but at this peaceful moment, they both gazed into each other's eyes in a way that only the two of them could understand.
And Sakura registered the event that had just taken place. Red maculated her white cheeks and Shisui couldn't help but smirk at her flustered self.
"You actually kissed my forehead!" she exclaimed in an attempt to steer their conversation into a not so awkward direction, looking anywhere but at him.
"That's what you're worried about?" Shisui retorted, looking at her incredulously.
"Well, duh. It's big and ugly," she said, pretending to pout like a child.
Much to her shock and disbelief, Shisui leaned forward and pressed his lips gently on her forehead, giving it a long kiss.
He pulled away from her and eyed her with a sly look and playful smirk, saying, "I don't think so."
The red streaks on Sakura's face grew even darker as her jade eyes significantly widened in diameter. "You...! Wha...?! Shannaro!" Sakura screamed at him wrathfully.
Shisui chuckled at her flustered self. However, Sakura's stomach grumbled in the midst of the silence, causing her already red face to grow even redder and Shisui's chuckle to turn into laughter.
Inner Sakura roared, Shannaro, kill me now!
Disclaimer: Hey, guys! I actually edited this chapter even after updating it. I was hesitant about Sakura's feelings for Shisui, about her actually developing something as deep as love for him. And I was surprised to read some reviews that shared the same opinion! Glad I was able to read your reviews. I apologize for the change in Sakura's perspective, but I feel like it's important for me to listen to your sides and do everything I can if it's geared towards the story's improvement. I hope you're not too disappointed hehehe.
Oh and by the way, I originally wanted this to be a romantic comedy, BUT IT SOMEHOW TURNED INTO A ROMANTIC DRAMA OR ROMANCE AND GENERAL TYPE.
I'm working on Chapter 15 already! Stay tuned!