So I have an actual outline for this fic, and unless something changes, it's going to be about 8 chapters, but the next few should be longer than the past few. My goal for this chapter had actually been like 5000 words but… that didn't happen. Oh well, it's still 4000 words, and the longest chapter yet.

Serendipity
Chapter Five

"I'm starting to think Sasuke's stalking you."

Sakura flicked a glance at Ino and picked up her glass. "What?" she asked, taking a long sip as her mind worked furiously. She was getting better at this acting thing.

"He's back again," Ino sang, smiling broadly. Obviously, she thought anything involving Sasuke was sure to make Sakura's day.

Yeah, right.

Sakura pasted a wan smile on her face but didn't turn around to look at him. She didn't want to see Sasuke – or Kiba – and had spent the last two weeks carefully avoiding either of them. It hadn't been easy; they seemed to be able to find her wherever she went. Sakura remembered how Sasuke had found Kiba – by tracking his chakra, he had said – and she supposed they could find her the same way, which meant that she was constantly on guard, one eye out for them.

"…my dad has a meeting with a sponsor, so the house is free tonight. You and Shikamaru wanna come over?" Naruto was saying as they approached. Sasuke nodded, though his eyes were on Sakura. Naruto followed his gaze and grinned. "Settle down, Romeo." To the two of them, he added, "Hey guys!"

"Uh, hi," Ino said slowly, glancing from Sasuke to Sakura. Sakura was frozen and pale in her seat, and Ino furrowed her eyebrows.

"Something wrong?" she whispered.

"No," she mumbled, because what could she say? That she didn't want to see Sasuke because he had betrayed her by allowing Kiba to keep an illusion on her so she could whore around with the mayor and everyone in his office and get their revenge? Ino would never believe her. Then again, maybe she would: she had the same background as Kiba and Sasuke, and Ino had always been very open-minded. But even if, by some chance, she did believe Sakura, then what? Wouldn't she be in the same trouble as her? Sakura couldn't risk that.

But she didn't really have another reason for her sudden animosity towards Sasuke, so she kept silent, picking at her salad, while Ino turned to the new arrivals.

"Back again?"

"Pizza is my second favorite food," Naruto said with a nod. "Can we sit with you?"

Ino darted Sakura a look and said, still smiling, "Actually, we're about to leave. We have class. Sorry!"

Naruto shrugged. "No problem." Then he turned to Sasuke, smirking. "She's busy."

Ino, gathering up her garbage, blinked. "Huh?" She looked from Sasuke to Naruto and back. "Did you need something?" She glanced again at Sakura, who felt her insides churn.

"He wanted to talk to Sakura," Naruto informed her. "I think he's too shy to ask her, though."

Sasuke looked annoyed. "Shut up."

Sakura crumpled up her napkin and slid out of the booth. She knew exactly why Sasuke had commissioned Naruto to get her attention, and it wasn't because he was shy. He had just wanted to catch her so he could talk to her – probably so he could threaten her as well – and what better way to do it than sandwiching her between their best friends?

Sakura was lucky that Ino was so perceptive. She stood from her seat, barely brushing past Sasuke as she went. She had yet to speak, and she could feel his eyes on her as she left, so she stuffed her hands into her jacket pockets so Ino couldn't see how hard she was clenching them.

"What was that all about?" Ino asked, sliding on her sunglasses and hitching her bag higher up her shoulder.

Sakura shrugged. "Thanks for that," she said.

Ino stared at her wordlessly for a moment. Then she glanced carelessly down at her nails, smiling a little wryly. "Fine. You don't want to talk about it? Fine. Just tell me one thing."

"Yeah?" Sakura prodded when she didn't continue.

Ino stared hard at her, mouth in a grim line. "Did Sasuke hurt you?" she asked seriously.

Not yet. Not directly. Sakura pulled her jacket tighter around herself and looked straight ahead, at the library rising up before them, Sarutobi Hall just beyond it, the tree-lined path winding around both, to the other buildings on campus.

"No," she said.

They walked on in stifling silence for a moment, until Sakura said, "Let's get coffee."

"Sure."

"And," Sakura added with a sly grin, "You can tell me where you were so late last night. Another Forensics paper, perhaps?"

Ino stuck her tongue out at her, and Sakura laughed. Whatever else was going on in her life, she would always be grateful for Ino, even if only for the distraction she offered.

An hour of gossip and coffee with Ino, two hours of furious note-taking, and sparse conversation with the shy girl who lent her a pen – Hinata – later, and Sakura had almost forgotten what was waiting for her outside the auditorium doors.

Almost. But not quite.

So when she stepped out of her Biology lecture, it wasn't as much of a shock to find Sasuke sitting on a bench in the corridor, waiting for her. He was listening to his iPod, but when he caught sight of Sakura, who had stopped rather abruptly in the middle of the hall upon seeing him, he took his earphones out and stood up.

Sakura wasn't sure she wanted to talk to him, or even listen to him, so she spun on her heel, striding down the opposite corridor to the doors opening onto the parking lot.

Predictably, Sasuke didn't call out after her, but Sakura could hear him behind her. His strides were longer, his steps quicker, and when she went to push open the first set of doors leading outside, he was already there, his hand closing over hers.

"Sakura," he said, his breath ghosting over the back of her neck.

Sakura didn't turn around.

"Sakura," he pressed, more insistent now. He put his hands on her shoulders, forcibly turning her to face him. She refused to look at him.

"Sakura," he said again, and there was a hint of something almost – but not quite – like desperation in his voice. Sakura set her jaw and refused to succumb. Sasuke sighed.

"I told you that Danzo couldn't get past my brother to my family. Do you remember?"

Sasuke's voice was soft, and Sakura snuck a peek at him from the corner of her eye. He wasn't looking at her, instead staring past her and out the double doors into the nearly-empty back parking lot.

"My brother was – is – extremely strong. He was smart and a quick learner, and he picked up everything he learned in his shinobi training faster than my father could teach him. He was a prodigy, especially with the Sharingan."

He looked back at her, and Sakura realized with some surprise that she had turned fully to face him. Sasuke's gaze bore into her as he went on.

"Because of that, Danzo took my brother. He's the only person I have left, and I don't know where he is. I haven't seen him for over ten years."

Sakura's eyes were wide with shock. "Sasuke…" she began, but he held up a hand to stop her.

"I'm telling you this for a reason, Sakura. I'm not a bad guy for wanting you to help us, and neither is Kiba. We've just lost a lot, and you can help us get something back." He stepped back from her, face blank once again. "It's something to think about."

Sakura didn't move as she watched him go. Then, when she was alone once again in the corridor, she sighed, pushed open the door, and stepped outside into the bright sunlight.

It was time she found Kiba.

-x-

"Here's the thing," Kiba said, sliding a picture across the table. Sakura picked it up warily. Sasuke leaned closer so he could examine it with her. A young man, a few years older than herself, with spiky dark hair and dark eyes stared up at her. There was a long, thin bandage running over the bridge of his nose and across his cheeks, but he was fairly good-looking, Sakura supposed, her stomach turning.

"The elections are in exactly six months," Kiba went on. "This means we have a lot to do before then. Our first step is discrediting Danzo's party." He tapped a finger against the picture. "This guy's name is Kotetsu. He's kind of new, not that important – but he has access to all of Danzo's schedules, and a lot of information about some of the most important guys. We're building up, see?"

Kiba grinned at her. Sakura concentrated on the photo, refusing to look at him. Beside her, Sasuke was quiet, his knee bumping against hers under the table.

"Also," Kiba said casually when Sakura didn't reply, "He's a younger guy, mid-twenties, something of an idiot, and has a bit of a weakness for pretty girls." He tucked the picture away into his binder and eyed her carefully. "You won't have to do much of anything. Flutter your eyelashes a bit. Maybe giggle. He'll be putty in your hands."

Sakura swallowed past her nausea. "Giggle? What kind of self-respecting girl does that?"

Kiba smiled in a way that left Sakura cold. "Since when are you a self-respecting girl?"

That hurt. Sakura barely managed to bite back a retort, glancing away from where Kiba was smirking at her. Just over two weeks ago, she had sat with Kiba in the same place, drinking coffee. He had been so friendly, even the first time she had ever spoken to him, and she had been so surprised – but pleasantly so. She wondered if, even then, he had been planning his genjutsu.

When Sakura had finally found Kiba, just as he was walking into his dorm building, it had taken a lot of effort just to speak to him. Her palms had been sweating, her heart pounding, all her instincts screaming at her to get away from him, the man who was clearly a threat to her life, but she had steeled herself.

She couldn't forget the way Sasuke had looked straight through her as he spoke about his missing older brother. It had broken her heart, and Sakura couldn't bring herself to forget it.

"Where have you been lately?" he had asked, eyes gleaming with a light Sakura didn't like.

She ignored the question. "I'm ready to help you," she said.

"Not that you had a choice," Kiba reminded her, "But okay. We'll talk tomorrow."

They had exchanged numbers then, and Kiba had texted her about their meeting just before she went to bed. Sakura had spent the rest of the night tossing and turning.

She still felt as if she had made a mistake in agreeing to this.

Her thoughts must have been reflected in her expression, because Sasuke shifted beside her, and when she looked at him, he was glaring rather intensely at Kiba.

"Stop trying to discourage her," he said. "She's already agreed to do this for us."

"For you, maybe," Kiba agreed. "She hates me." He didn't look too bothered.

"I wonder why," Sakura snapped before she could help herself. Kiba turned to look at her, and she sucked in a breath – but he just smiled, more pleasantly than he had in weeks.

"It's okay," he said with a shrug, "I don't like you much, either."

Sakura grit her teeth, trying to calm herself. "Can I ask you a question?" she said, trying to keep her voice even.

"You mean another one?"

Sakura ignored him, leaning forward in her seat, palms flat against the table, fingers splayed. "Can you tell me why you chose me? I mean – there are prettier girls at Konoha U, and you wouldn't have had to put on a genjutsu, and maybe they would even be more willing and—"

Kiba held up a hand, and Sakura fell silent. She could feel Sasuke watching her, and her cheeks burned – especially when Kiba said, "Got any girls in mind? I'm sure they could trade places with you."

The prettiest girl Sakura knew – the prettiest girl she had ever met – was Ino. But what kind of horrible person would offer up their own best friend to such a twisted fate?

"I picked you for a number of reasons," Kiba said, "You're smart, you're good with people, and you were so upset with your score that it was easy to manipulate you." Sakura winced, and Kiba took a long sip of his coffee. "But most of it," he continued, "Was because of your family."

Sakura stared at him. "My family?"

"Your dad is rich. Influential. You could get in to the government offices easily enough," he said. "And, more importantly, you have no shinobi background."

"So Danzo has no reason to suspect you," Sasuke finished, nodding.

Sakura slumped in her seat, propping her cheek in her upturned palm, and thought this over. "Okay," she said after a moment. "Can I ask you another question?" Kiba smiled, obviously amused. "What makes you think this will work?"

"It's politics, Sakura," Kiba explained patiently. "The dirtier the strategy, the more effective."

Sakura didn't believe that, though.

No matter what Kiba said, Sakura knew that beauty was only skin-deep. Kiba might have thought she had no other option besides her appearance, but Sakura knew that people weren't so shallow. There were other ways to get what you wanted, and Sakura was smart enough to use them.

She would show Kiba. She didn't need to be beautiful to get by in life.

So she smoothed down her skirt, combed her fingers through her hair, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door in front of her.

"Come in," called a voice, and Sakura pushed open the door.

And there was Kotetsu, looking much the same as he had in his picture, if a bit more weary. He was in a white collared shirt and black pants, and he looked surprised to see her.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

Sakura steeled herself, drew in another deep breath – and smiled. "Hi," she greeted cheerfully, trying to imitate the way Ino acted whenever meeting someone, "I'm looking for a man named Kotetsu? Hagane Kotetsu?"

"Oh," Kotetsu said. He rose from his seat, looking flustered. "Uh, that's me. How can I help you?"

Sakura pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. "Well, actually," she began, taking the seat Kotetsu was waving her towards. "I'm doing this project for school. I'm, um, in the PoliSci association at Konoha U, and we're promoting Danzo's campaign." Sakura held her breath, hoping Kiba's lie would work.

Kotetsu smiled. "Oh, that's nice. Did you need some material?"

Sakura smiled back, relieved. "Of course. But, um, I was wondering if I could meet Danzo in person some time…?"

"Well, he's a busy man…"

"Could we just look at his schedule?" Sakura suggested quickly. "If he could even fit me in for twenty minutes, that would be perfect. Please?"

Sakura had clasped her hands together before her, lower lip jutted out in a slight pout. It was the method she had always used to get her way – with her parents when she was younger, and with Ino all throughout their friendship. It had always been meant to look cute, slightly pathetic, and sincere enough to garner sympathy. But the way Kotetsu was staring at her now made it clear that her pout wasn't quite working the way it always had.

"Yeah," he murmured. Then he blinked, cleared his throat, and turned to the laptop sitting on his desk. "Let me just pull it up…"

Sakura was silent as Kotetsu brought up Danzo's schedule. Now came the hard part, the part where Kiba was convinced she would need her new beauty for.

But rather than take the so-called easy way out and flirt with Kotetsu enough to convince him to give her the schedule, she simply straightened in her seat, looking every bit the model student she was, and said, "Could I have a copy of that?"

"Hm?"

"The schedule," Sakura said, as Kotetsu turned to face her. "So we know where to go, to report on things for the paper, you know."

Kotetsu frowned, thinking this over. "Are you on the paper?" he asked.

Sakura wasn't, but if it helped—"Yes," she said. "But I've just started." Then, although she didn't want to, she added, "I really need something to impress the editor, you know?"

Kotetsu smiled at her pointed look towards his computer screen. "Okay, but you can't show this to anyone," he said.

"I promise," she said, crossing her fingers behind her back.

-x-

Sakura felt sick to her stomach when she finally exited the building. The cold weather was finally a distant memory, the sun was shining, a gentle breeze sifted through her hair, but she didn't take any notice of these things. She felt dirty.

Kiba and Sasuke came up to her then, and she stopped.

"Got the goods?" Kiba asked, holding out a hand. When Sakura pulled out the square of folded paper from her purse, he smiled at her, a true, sincere smile. "Thanks."

"How was it?" Sasuke asked, falling into step beside her as they headed down the sidewalk towards the bus stop.

Sakura shrugged. She didn't know how she felt. While she was thankful that she hadn't had to do anything with Kotetsu, something about the way he had looked at her made her uncomfortable. It made her aware of how different things were now.

Kiba, ahead of them, turned suddenly. "Hey, Sakura!" he called, squinting in the sunlight. "We have someone else to meet now. Are you ready?"

No, she wasn't.

But she didn't really have a choice, so Sakura stifled a sigh and quickened her pace, Sasuke close at her heels. She had survived the first stage. How much worse could this one be?

-x-

In hindsight, Sakura should have known something was wrong when Kiba didn't move to prepare her until they had entered the new building. The heels of her boots clunked loudly against the hushed quiet of the pristine white lobby as Kiba led her and Sasuke to the elevators.

"Your next conquest"—Sakura frowned, but Kiba didn't seem to notice his wording—"Is a level higher than Kotetsu. This guy is Hijiri Shimon, who handles Danzo's publicity. He's a good person to talk to. Break him, and you get access to all of Danzo's public appearances – and just how to ruin them," Kiba said.

"Do you have a picture?"

"No, but we'll take you right to his door." Kiba stared up at the top of the doors, watching the numbers count upwards as they neared the twelfth floor.

Sasuke shifted beside Sakura, and she turned to see him folding his arms across his chest. "Why are we going with her?" he asked, eyes narrowed accusingly.

Kiba rubbed his temples tiredly. Letting his hand drop, he turned to face Sakura, who swallowed.

"Here's the thing," he said, spreading his arms, palms out. "This guy's going to be harder to convince. He's been in this line of work longer, he's naturally suspicious. He's definitely not as simple-minded as Kotetsu. That guy was a test, a stepping-stone." Kiba shrugged, and Sakura felt her stomach drop. "But this is where you're going to have to actually put my genjutsu to some use."

There was a ding! as they reached their destination, and the elevator doors slid open. Kiba was the first one out, though Sakura hung back, legs shaking.

"I can't do this," she told Sasuke. It went against all her morals. It was sick. It was wrong.

"You can," Sasuke said. "You have to." He took her elbow, and pulled her gently out the door. Sakura's pulse quickened as they neared Kiba, who had stopped outside door 1217.

"We'll be right here when you come out," Kiba said. Then he pushed open the door, Sasuke let go of her elbow, and the next thing she knew, she was being shoved through the door.

The door clicked shut behind her, and Sakura swallowed, feeling trapped. Slowly, she lifted her gaze to the man sitting behind the desk, looking shocked by her entrance.

Hijiri Shimon was dark haired like Kotetsu, but his was longer and tamer, with bangs framing his face, and pale, unmarked skin. When he stood to greet her, Sakura swallowed. He was rather tall, and three or four years older than Kotetsu had been.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm, uh, Haruno Sakura," Sakura stammered. "I was hoping to meet you. I'm in the Political Science Association at Konoha U, and—"

"I'm sorry," Shimon said, cutting her off. "I'm very busy today. Perhaps you could make an appointment for next week? My secretary's not here today, but—"

Panicked, Sakura cut in: "This won't take long, Hijiri-san. Please, may I speak with you?"

He appraised her slowly, thoughtfully, and Sakura witnessed the change come over him as he fully took in Kiba's genjutsu. She resisted the urge to flinch away from his gaze, instead meeting it head-on.

If there was only one way to do this, she would just have to get it over with as quickly as possible.

"I'm desperate, Hijiri-san," she said. She imagined Sasuke and Kiba standing outside the door, maybe even listening, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'll do anything."

-x-

Sakura stepped into the shower, turning the heat up. She tipped her face towards the showerhead and before she knew it, she was sobbing openly. She was just glad that Ino wasn't home.

When she had left Hijiri's office, shutting the door softly behind her, Kiba had immediately pounced, eager for information.

"What did he—" Catching sight of her expression, Kiba – thankfully – stopped.

"Sakura?" Sasuke said.

Sakura was silent, and the two of them exchanged glances.

"How about we go to my place," Kiba said slowly, "And, ah, maybe you can eat or something and then we can… discuss."

Sakura shook her head. "I need to go home," she said. "I want to take a shower before Ino gets home."

Kiba seemed to want to protest, but one glance at Sasuke had him backing off, for which Sakura was grateful. "Okay," he said. "Whatever you say, Sakura."

Thinking about it now, Sakura had to smile bitterly. If that were true, then she never would have had to feel Shimon's hands all over her only an hour earlier.

They hadn't done anything, really. Not anything serious. But he had still slipped down the collar of her shirt and nuzzled her neck, had still let his hands wander over her back, her arms, her stomach, had still kissed her full on the mouth. All in exchange for information.

The water pounded down on her, but no matter how hard Sakura scrubbed at herself, she still felt dirty. She slid down to the stall floor, crying, until the shower water and her tears ran cold.

She dressed slowly, staring at herself in the mirror. Aside from her red-rimmed eyes, she looked no different. Still, Sasuke and Kiba had evidently seen something in her expression, since they had hurried her out of the building and into a taxi. While she leaned her head against the cool glass of the window, staring out into the street, the two of them whispered to each other, clearly arguing, all the way to her apartment.

Sasuke had followed her out of the cab and up to her door, and when she turned expectantly to him – for what, she didn't know. Apologies? Reassurances? – he only stared down at her, eyes pinched with regret, and reached up. When his fingers brushed her shoulder, she looked down to see him pulling up the strap of her tank top.

Sakura had shut the door on him then, and she wished she could do the same now, to slam the door on her experience so she never had to see it again.

Instead, Sakura padded, barefoot, into her bedroom, sat down at her desk in her pajamas, even though it was only six, opened her textbook, and began to read.

Life was a mess.

But life went on.

Kotetsu = one of Tsunade's assistants, Shimon = exam proctor and mind reader. Yay for Wikipedia.