Creature Feature Deki Café
Hyuga Neji: blanc
"Sakura!" A brown-haired nurse ran down the narrow hallways with blinding speed. She nearly crashed into a doctor as she turned a corner, but quickly flung her body aside and continued towards her destination. Her stethoscope flailed around like mad as she climbed up the stairs.
She stopped dead in her tracts and fell flat on her face just as the woman she was looking for walked out of a patient's room with a clipboard in hand. Sakura jumped back in surprise, but quickly recovered and rushed over to help her fellow colleague. The nurse heaved air into her raging lungs and latched onto Sakura's shoulders.
"You have...to come...downstairs!" She panted with great desperation.
"Why, what happened? Is everything alright?"
"No it's not alright!" She shook the woman rather violently, "It's that damn 35B patient! She's throwing the fit of the century and nearly stabbed another nurse with a scalpel!"
Sakura looked into the bulging eyes of Misaki and knew in that instant who she was talking about. She closed her eyes and opened them slowly, irritation clearly written all over her face. The hospital clearly did not pay her enough to deal with all this. She wasn't even an employee for crying out loud! With a determined look, she helped the poor girl onto her feet and handed her the clipboard.
"This is Ryuta's, he needs to take his medication and have this sugar intake checked. I will deal with all this, you go on with your duties."
Misaki almost sang with joy, but knew that was inappropriate so she instead threw herself into Sakura's arms and hugged her greatly.
"Thank you! Thank you so much!"
She couldn't help but smile and patted the nurse on the head, beckoning her on her way. After informing the rest of the crew members that she was off to see the 'white-haired demoness,' as the others like to call her, and received plentiful wishes of good luck and many more sympathy nods. They all knew of aware of the odd relationship between the intern and the patient, but what they could not understand was how the only person who could placate the troubled child was Sakura herself. She did nothing but speak kind words and bring her small treats, something she had done for others, but it had never reached a level of obsession – until now.
Grabbing a couple shots of morphine, she stuffed them into her breast pocket and made sure they were hidden safely. Ghost was harmless most of the time, except when she threw a tantrum, but one could never know if something were to go wrong so she wanted to be prepared just in case. As she headed down the stairs and rounded the corners, she noticed more and more apprehensive looks on the nurses' faces.
Even before she reached the door, sounds of clashing and heavy objects being thrown around had reached her ears. A sigh of indignation escaped her rosy lips and she closed her hand around the doorknob.
The loud noises stopped once she stepped inside and in the middle of the sea of chaos and broken chairs stood a long figure covered from head to toe in toilet paper. The petit girl, wearing a black hoodie and silver scarf that covered the lower portion of her face, moved her arms up and down in a flapping motion, and stared into space with a hidden look in her eyes. Sakura immediately knew she was in a bad mood and slowly made her way to the girl, avoiding all the broken glass and shattered pieces of wood.
"I really hope your insurance covers all of this."
"Caw, caw."
This girl was nightmare, a living, breathing headache that sought to frustrate the living hell out of every doctor, nurse, and intern alive. She moved aside the fallen cabinet and tried to make a grab at her, but the cunning little thing jumped away and skipped to the other side of the room.
"Ghost, I am warning you now; we can do this the easy way or my way."
"Moo..."
"Will you stop that?"
"Oink."
She all but lunged at the girl and wrapped her arms around her body. The tiny child struggled and hissed wildly as she was carried to the bed with ease and strapped down until she couldn't move. Her body lifted itself off the bed, trying to free herself but to no avail. Sakura really wanted to pity the poor kid, but her growing aggravation prevented her from doing so. It had been going on for dayss now, Ghost's attitude and personality had for some reason taken a dramatic shift and now she was nothing more but a unruly brat. Ah yes, she remembered the good old days when the white-haired girl was nothing but a sweet, quite child. What the hell happened?
"So tell me, Ghost, why did you destroy a perfectly good hospital room?"
Sakura placed her hands on her waist, giving the girl a stern look.
Ghost stopped moving and spared a glance at the woman. They were both silent for a few minutes, neither wanting to speak and waiting for the other to go first. Suddenly, out of no where, she started chuckling. An angry tick mark pulsated on Sakura's head and it took every ounce in her to not smack some sense into the girl.
"They were trying to take my hood down and look at my face; no one looks at my face."
She knew Ghost liked to keep herself concealed, for whatever reason Ghost had an unusual fear of her identity being revealed. At first they had all assumed it was because she was rather shy of having people see her face after the accident, but as time went by it started a rather darker turn. She would claw, bite, and even harm anyone who tried to remove her clothing. Sakura was no exception, and the light scar on her right arm was proof of that. However, this was a hospital, and all hospitals had protocol; no one was above these rules.
"Ghost, I am sorry but I really don't care. What you've done," Sakura motioned with her hands to the mess behind her, "was way out of line."
"Bark."
"I'm serious!"
Even if it couldn't be seen, the girl pouted and crossed her arms over her chest. "Why are you being so mean?"
"Because for the past several days, you have been acting up young lady and no one here appreciates your attitude."
"You're starting to sound like my mother; I hate my mother."
Sakura's eye widened slightly, but they quickly narrowed, "Well I'm sorry you feel that way, but we have rules in institutions and in order to fit into these norms, you have to follow them."
With slow movements, Ghost proceeded to take the toilet paper off of her piece by piece. "Rules mean nothing to me."
"That may be, but you were assigned under my name and what I say goes." Sakura walked over to the dangling telephone and speed dialed a number, "Hana, I need another kit, the one in here was destroyed." She hung up and walked to the door, "When I come back, I expect to see your face."
Ghost mimicked her words with a nasally voice and gave her the cold shoulder. As she closed the door and headed for the supply department, she could vaguely hear something hitting the mirror and shattering it.
Sakura pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. She wasn't sure how much longer she could put up with this. Her heart was breaking, because although she made a commitment to never abandon someone who needed her, there was just so much a single person could take. It was elementary school, middle school, and high school all over again. Her weakness was trying it break through and the last thing she wanted was to ask for help and become a burden again.
She stopped at the corner of the hallway and took a long, deep breath. What was she thinking? She was Haruno Sakura goddamn it, the daughter of Tokyo's most predominant councilmen and newspaper editor. All her life, she had wanted to prove her worth and be something other than the rich man's kid, and here she was, an intern in one of the finest hospitals in all of Japan and in the process of having a mental breakdown all because of one unhappy brat?
Her ancestors must have been rolling in their graves, Harunos never quit! She had a backbone made of titanium steel and damn it, she was so much more better than this. There was no way in hell she was going to go home crying and all because of one little girl. If she had to play wicked witch then so be it, no one was going to take her down. Her hands curled into shaking fists and fell back to her side, then she continued on towards the supply department.
Hana looked up from her magazine as she sensed a new presence arriving.
"Ah, Haruno - "
"Gimme a thermometer!"
"Wha-"
"And a Sphygmomanometer!"
"O-okay. . ."
"Just give me everything! I've got a brat who needs a lesson in manners!"
There was no room for silly chit-chat or nonsensical time-wasting. Sakura drummed her fingers on the counter and glared at the woman to mover faster. After the nurse quickly shoved everything into a plastic briefcase and handed it to her, she raced back to the room.
When she had returned, everything was awfully quite. Ghost was no longer on the bed, but light was shining through the tiny slit from the bathroom door, indicating where she was. Whispered mumbling could be heard, but not understood, it clearly wasn't any language Sakura knew of. Carefully, she maneuvered her way around the rubble and gently opened the door.
She was sitting on the edge of the tub, her back turned towards Sakura. The hood was down and the scarfed bunched up around her neck. Ghost's hair shone like a florescent beckon, blinding anyone who looked at it for too long. Under the dim glow of the flickering light blub, she looked rather inhuman – and combined with her hushed speaking, it sort of remind Sakura of those scary asian horror films where the first girl always dies.
Sakura did not want to be that girl.
"Uh. . . Ghost?"
"Look what you made me do."
She flicked the light switch on and off, but the light remained the same. At this point her nerves were starting to get the better of her, and though she had a duty to attend to, she would most certainly to stick around the girl was going to make groaning noises and come after her.
"U-um, I think we should head back where there is better light - "
Slowly, Ghost began to turn her body around. Sakura's heart beat against her rib cage so loudly she was sure people in the next city could hear her. Her body suddenly felt very hot and the dire need to escape was escalating. Her fingers began to shake, the hairs on the back of her next stood on end as Ghost finally faced her.
What she saw next nearly forced a shrill scream out of her.
Sakura had seen many burn victims before, she used to work with children of such situations and was never once uncomfortable with them at all. She adored children and her heart went out to anyone affected by such terrible circumstances. However, being one of the top five students at her university, she knew right at this very moment that whatever she was looking at was no accident.
They were self inflicted wounds.
Up until the middle of her nose everything was normal. Her eyes may have been a rather strange color, but nothing to be concerned – or frightened about – however, everything passed was a nightmare. The bottom of her nose was so thinned out it hardly looked like it was there. Her lips were gone and so she bared her mangled, pointy teeth at Sakura like a hound of out hell. The skin around her face was so badly charred and the color of bleeding red, the flesh pulsated with every breath Ghost took.
"What . . ." She spoke without thought, all thinking was lost to the scene laid out before her.
"lufituaeb I ma?"
At that moment, the lights had went out and Sakura was suddenly dead to the world.
"How do you like your tea master?"
"Is there anything else I can get you master?"
"I'm sorry master, but you are not allowed to touch my butt."
The silver haired man smiled lazily and stroked her thigh with his long, slender finger. Every now and then he'd accidentally brush her heated core with a gentle caress and marveled in her heated moan. The aroma of oak and rice whine overwhelmed her and gave her a high his fingers couldn't.
"You're responding quit well Sakura."
"Master . . ."
"Yes my dear, who is your master?"
"Ms. Haruno."
Suddenly his voice wasn't so kind anymore. His petting had stopped and his eyes suddenly became hard.
"Master?"
"Ms. Haruno, please wake up."
One by one, the tables started to disappear and the man before her had vanished. Now, instead of wearing her uniform, she was completely naked as a newborn babe.
"Ms. Haruno!"
"W-wha?"
She blinked her eyes open and swatted away the hand hovering above her face. She shielded her eyes from the bright light and slowly got up, feeling slightly dizzy from the movement. Someone handed her a cup of water and she gratefully took it, drinking everything down to the last drop. She set the cup down and looked at her surroundings.
This wasn't a patient's room, it wasn't even her boss's room. She had no idea where the hell this place was, but from the luxurious furniture to the certificates and degrees hanging on the wall she could tell she was in the presence of someone who held high power. Her eyes roamed the room eagerly and looked everywhere except where front desk was.
The glass wall gave her a magnificent view of all of Tokyo, she could even see the hospital from here, and a sudden surge of envy flowed through her veins. Someday, she was going to have a nice office like this, but everything was going to be pink and frilly. At that her gazing stop and the sudden realization that she spent way too much time at the café. She covered her face with her hands and groaned. Hell, she even had an erotic dream about one of her costumers!
A rough cough at the front interrupted her thoughts.
Immediately she gasped and quickly removed her hands and finally noticed the other figure sitting in the overly stuffed leather chair, behind the oak desk. The first thing she noticed about him were his eyes, his pale, pale eyes like almost looked like snow. She was completely and utterly captivated by them. The man's face remained blank and impassive, he showed absolutely no sympathy for her predicament at the current moment. Aside from the scowl, he had on a pair of dark rimmed glasses and wearing a black suit that looked sinfully gorgeous on him. His long, flowing hair was tied into a pony-tail and throw carelessly around his shoulder.
"Now that you're awake," Sakura bit into her fist, was that really his voice?
He took out a clipboard and readjusted his glasses, "Haruno Sakura, age twenty, intern at Tokyo Medical, and a student at the University," He flipped through more pages, "It also says you are a maid at the Creature Feature Deki Café." The look he gave her spoke volumes.
She merely bit her lip and shrugged.
"Do you know where you are, Ms. Haruno?"
"Not in the least."
"This is a psychiatric office and I am the head psychologist."
Her eyes bugged out, "What? I'm not crazy! What am I doing here?"
He held up a hand to silence her and immediately she closed her mouth, "Relax, we know you aren't. You're in here because you fainted while on duty with a dangerous patient."
"I-I fainted?"
"Don't you remember?"
To be honest, her head was a little fuzzy and things were slightly blurry. In fact, the raging headache she had was not helping in the least. But she wanted to remember and she wanted to know why she was here when she should be at the hospital. She grabbed the cup and poured herself another drink from the cooler. Slowly, she finished her cup all the while looking outside longingly.
"The last thing I remember was being very irritated at something."
The man rested his head on his palm, "And why was that?"
"I don't really know, something pissed me off so much I left in a storm."
He scribbled notes down but nodded his head for he to continue.
"I was heading toward the supply department and I actually yelled at Hana . . . I should probably apologize to her. Anyways, after I got the supplies I headed back to the room and then everything went black."
"And why is that?"
Sakura threw her hands in the hand, "How should I know? You're the doctor, you tell me!"
"Surely you must have seen or done something to cause such a traumatic reaction, no one just faints in the middle of the day without reason."
"Well sorry, my head hurts and I feel really clammy right now. I mean just look at me! My hands are still shaking and my skin's covered in sweat!"
The doctor gave her an expected look and it took everything in her to not squirm. She felt like he was analyzing her like she would to her own patients, at least now she understood why they were so uncomfortable. If he was going to declare her insane and lock her up in the looney bin, he had another thing coming. She leaned in slightly and read the name etched into the golden plate.
"Doctor Hyuga Neji is it?"
He nodded.
"Look, I don't know what's going on or why I fainted, but I really have a lot to do today and I have to get my rounds checked before heading to work - "
"You were found bleeding on the floor."
She jerked her head up. Eyes wide with shock, her mouth opened and closed like a gaping fish.
I-I . . . what?
Her stomach churned violently and she felt nauseous all over again. The cup slipped from her hand and landed with a cushioned thud on the floor. Water seeped into the carpet and darkened the floor. She breathed in heavily and gripped her head almost painfully. Her eyes sunk into the back of her skull as she tried to fathom this revolting information.
Sensing her panic state, the Neji immediately rushed to her side and firmly gripped her shoulders. He slid her up the sofa and tried to keep her steadfast and calm. Looking deeply into her eyes, he instructed her to take deep and steady breaths. She looked about ready to have a total mental breakdown and the last thing he wanted was Tsunade wringing his neck for causing a premature death of her best intern.
"Sakura, what I'm about to tell you may trigger some memories from your subconscious level. We need to know what happened in that room or Ghost will be taking permanent residence in a mental facility."
At the sound of Ghost's name she involuntarily flinched. Neji took note of that before coming to her side and sitting next to her. He rubbed her arms soothingly as she leaned back against the cushion. She looked so completely and utterly lost that it actually touched a cord in Neji's heart. He grabbed a pillow and placed it under her head.
"You were found on the floor bleeding from your mouth, nose and ears. A was sent nurse looking for you when you failed to show up for the briefing. They said Ghost was hovering over you and threw a fit when they forcefully removed her from the room. You've been unconscious for about two hours."
She gave Neji and odd look, "But that doesn't make any sense, why would they do that to Ghost?"
"Shizune said something about her face - "
A shrill cry came from the other side and Sakura turned to the noise. The closet door opened and out came a badly disfigures being wrapped in a black cloak. It's skin on it's hands were peeled so far back the muscles and flesh underneath could easily be seen. It's fingernails dangled at the tip and some even feel out as it crawled towards her. It gave a deep and guttural growl as it lifted it's head. And then it smiled.
She screamed.
Sakura tore herself out of Neji's arms and slammed her back against the glass wall. She cried hysterically and pointed towards the closet. Her glossy eyes were wide with horror and the blood curdling screaming that shook the very room never stopped. Neji jumped from his seat and tried to get a grip on her, but she was shaking fiercely.
"There! It's there, look at it!"
He looked towards where she was pointing and saw nothing, just empty space save for the potted plants and the closed closet door.
"Sakura, what is it? What do you see?" He had to raise his voice in order for her to hear.
"It's face, oh god look at it's face! She's burnt! She can't be human!"
He grabbed her arms and pinned them above her head and pushed his body against hers, anything to calm her down. But she continued to thrash as if her life depended on it. Her screaming got louder and though he should have been worried someone might hear, the only thing he cared about at this moment was trying to calm her down.
"Sakura, look at me!"
"No, no she's coming for me! Let me go, I need to get out of here!"
That thing was getting closer now, it was only a few feet away. The noises it made could haunt her dreams, the cracking and twisting of bones and the low, guttural noises of a dying child echoed across the shrinking room. Her body told her to run, to make a mad dash for the door and leave this place forever, but someone was holding her down and not letting her go.
"Sakura!"
His voice brought her back to reality and suddenly the crawling mess of flesh was no longer there. She fell to her knees, breathing harshly as she clutched desperately onto Neji's arms. She buried her face into his chest and tried to still her chattering teeth. He was so, so warm. She felt safe here in his arms and never wanted to leave. In his arms she felt protected.
Her entire body was covered in sweat, the scrubs she was wearing was completely filthy and smelt like rotten meat. But neither Neji nor Sakura cared at that moment.
Her head lifted and she scanned the room with hurried eyes, "Where am I?"
"You're in my psychiatric office remember?"
"O-oh right, right. My god, what was that thing?"
Neji gently brushed aside strands of hair from her sticky face, "Sakura, what exactly did you see?"
Her eyes were wide as saucers as she looked at her, "Something horribly wrong."
He nodded and helped her to her feet, guiding her to the couch, "Can you describe it to me?"
She glanced at him quickly before averting her eyes to the closet, "I think . . . I think it was Ghost."
His eyes narrowed, "I don't understand, you saw Ghost?"
Her chest heaved as she tried to catch a breath,"I remember now, I remember why I fainted. After I came back with the supplies, she was sitting in the bathroom with her hood down and scarf off. She turned to look at me and . . . it was the most horrible thing I've ever seen, and I'm a medic, I've seen some terrible stuff! But she was missing skin and lips. Her eyes were so scary, they looked me like I was meat or something. I was so afraid, but I just couldn't move, I felt trapped." She finally turned to him and grabbed his hand, "You don't think I'm crazy do you? I'm being totally serious right now!"
He placed the hand she wasn't grabbing on her shoulder and smiled, "Sakura, I believe you. When you were found, some of your blood was on Ghost. They have her in custody right now, she isn't coming near you anytime soon."
Sakura let out a sigh of relief, "But, they aren't going to do anything to her right? I mean, even if she did hurt me I doubt it was on purpose. If she has a mental problem, she should get help. I don't want them doing anything to her."
Her worry for her patient, despite everything that had happened, made him smile a little more. She took notice of this and quickly looked away. The man looked way too beautiful for his own good and it was doing funny things to her insides.
"Sakura, do you plan on holding my hand the whole day?"
"Huh?" Looking down and realized she was still squeezing him and snatched her hand back, "Sorry! I'm normally not this touchy-feely, or dramatic. I didn't even know I was capable of screaming that loud."
"It's alright, I've been doing this for a while now. You get used to everything in the end."
She ran a hand through her hair, "Why did they take me here instead of keeping me at the hospital?"
"Shizune wanted to keep you over there, but . . ."
"But?"
Neji took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, "Through the persistent whining of one Hatake Kakashi, you were taken here instead. He took you here himself despite the other staff member's protest."
She turned her head so quickly she caught a bad case of whiplash, "Kakashi? He was at the hospital?"
"Yes, he said he had an physical with you that day and refused to reschedule his appointment with anyone else. When he heard you had fainted, he nearly kidnapped you just to take you here."
"Wait, wait, wait!" She leaped from her seat and gave him an incredulous look, "I had an appointment with Kakashi?"
Neji shrugged, "How should I know? I don't manage your schedule."
"I don't get it why would he - "
Just then the door burst open with a loud bang as it slammed to the wall. Both occupants turned to the source of commotion. Kakashi stood slouched and nonchalant in the middle of the doorway with an expressionless look on his face, or at least the part that wasn't hidden by his scarf. Neji rolled his eyes and went to grab himself a glass of brandy, already feeling the headache forming.
However, Kakashi hadn't even noticed his colleague was even in the room as his eye was soley concentrated on Sakura.
"Yo."
"You, what the hell are you doing here?" She pointed an accusing finger at him.
"Well hello to you too, I see you're up and running."
Sakura marched right up to the man and started jabbing her finger into his chest as she screeched in hi face. "What's this I hear about an appointment I've never written down, or you bringing me here without my consent!"
"What, don't a get a thank you? A hug at least? You know I did carry you all the way up here."
So that was why she could smell some of this scent on her. Her lips were set in a very firm line, and he had to remind himself and that all the trouble her went through was worth it. His eye creased in a happy manner as he gently guided her to the couch.
"I haven't seen you in a while and missed you dearly. I stopped by the hospital this morning, but they told me you were very busy, so I wrote my name down on your check list."
She cocked an eyebrow, "You can't just do that, we have very tight schedules, no one can just claim a nurse."
He played with curl of pink hair and continued to smile at her like he knew something she didn't. "I can be a very persuasive man."
"If you wanted to see me so much you could have just gone to the cafe."
"I tried! But you were always so busy, and we work on different schedules. I'm busy writing books, you're busy serving tea and saving lives."
Neji snorted into his drink before emptying it in one gulp.
Kakashi looked over at him lazily, but anyone who knew the man as well as Neji was aware that was a look of warning. And anyone who was on the receiving end would do wisely and shut up. But this was Hyuga Neji and the only thing he was afraid of was growing grey hair. And so he poured himself another drink and continued to stare out the window.
"Anyways, why didn't you just leave me at the hospital?" Sakura curled her lips inward and placed her hands on her hips.
She looked rather adorable and Kakashi wanted nothing more than to scoop her up in his arms and kiss away all her troubles, but he knew she'd probably pulverize him if he even so much as made a move. His arm casually draped itself over her shoulders as she waited for his excuse.
"Well to be honest, I didn't think it was that safe of a place to begin with. When they tried removing you from the room, that child nearly clawed a security guard's eye out to get to you. Everyone was afraid she would try to break out from custody to get to you."
Sakura could feel an uncomfortable churning in her stomach as she tried digesting this new information. Her life was in danger, she didn't even know if she wanted to go outside anymore.
"Did they get a look at her face?"
"No, it was already covered by the time they reached you."
She shivered slightly and Kakashi tightened his arm around her.
"But why was I bleeding?"
"That we do not know, Ghost won't say and as far as Shizune could tell you weren't harmed in any way."
She shifted a little, "So what, I just suddenly started bleeding out of nowhere?"
"Pretty much."
Looking down on her ruined scrubs, she saw blotches and huge stains of blood and sweat. However, what really caught her attention were the tiny finger prints scattered here and there, some were even on her arms. She hadn't looked in a mirror since waking up, but could already imagine how disgusting she looked. If she went to work like this someone was going to call the cops and accuse her of mass murder.
"I need to go home and change."
"Why?"
She huffed, "Um, hello! Look at me, I look I just walked out of a slaughter house!"
"I don't know, I still think you look rather pretty."
She rolled her eyes and was about to make a crude retort when she noticed how close Kakashi had gotten. She tried moving back, but he wouldn't allow that and kept her in place with his arm.
"Kakashi, that is sexual harrassment. I suggest you remove yourself from her right now."
The silver-haired man turned to his partner and glared, "Aw, do I detect a hint of jealousy?"
"This woman was discovered bloodied up in a hospital room, nearly had a mental breakdown, and just found out a mentally disturbed child is after her and you have the audacity to hit on her. Sometimes I wonder why you haven't been thrown in jail yet."
"Hey!" Sakura shouted, interrupting their little spat, "How the hell do you two know each other?"
"The publishing department is on the lower level of this building. We share the same meeting office every now and then. Plus I've known the kid since he was in high school."
"I am hardly a child." Neji mumbled. He took another swing of his drink and walked over to the pair. He carelessly threw Kakashi's arm off of her and gently lifted Sakura to her feet.
"I will prescribe you some medication for your nerves and get you a new set of clothing, if you still intend to go to work I suggest you stop by your house first so get cleaned up."
Sakura nodded and followed him as he walked towards the door. Kakashi, not one to be ignored or left behind, was immediately at Sakura's side, much to Neji's aggravation. They passed by several conference rooms where groups of men and women were having their usual meetings. Each and every one of them stopped as they watched their head psychiatrist lead a bloodied girl and slouching man down the hall. It was a rather odd sight, but no one said anything and pretended they had seen nothing.
They walked into the men's locker room where Neji grabbed an extra pair of working clothes from the supply closet. He handed them off to Sakura and instructed her to get changed and wash her face.
"You're not going anywhere, Kakashi." He grabbed the older man's collar, preventing him from following the girl into the stalls.
After a few minutes she reemerged looking less flustered for dirty than before. The clothing were a little too big, so the shirt slid off her shoulder most of the time. Kakashi wanted to desperately run his hands all over her skin, was it really as soft as it looked? But alas, he was being held down like a dog as Neji kept a tight leash on him. He grumbled something about writing him as a character in his next book and immediately killing him off.
"Are you all set?"
Sakura smiled, "Yep."
"Then let's get the medication and I'll take you to your home."
"What?" Kakashi cried scandleously.
"O-oh, there's no need Neji, I can take a bus, I wouldn't want you to go out of your way for me!" She blushed wildly, shaking her head back and forth.
"It's no big deal, I'm worried for your safety. If something were to happen to you and I'm not there, it would kill me. "
She felt giddy inside, like a child with a schoolyard crush. His eyes never left hers and it took everything she had not to melt into his arms. His sincerity made her blush even more, she never met a man so kind of generous has Neji before. It was completely foolish of her to be feeling this way, because she just met him, but when he smiled . . . she was dead.
"Is that really necessary?" Kakashi swatted his younger colleague's hand away and straightened out his jacket.
Neji rolled his eyes, "If you haven't noticed, Sakura is still covered in blood; I highly doubt she won't go unnoticed in the general public."
"But why are you taking her home?"
Both gave the man a deadpanned look.
"Such little faith."
"Of course they would make me wait in the car."
Kakashi watched as Neji walk Sakura to her apartment and mumbled more self-pitying words to himself.
When they reached her door, Neji turned his head to the car and smirked when he made eye contact.
That smug little bastard.
"Well, here we are."
"Are you sure you still want to go to work? I'm sure your boss will understand if you miss a day."
She waved her hands, "No way, I need that paycheck! Plus I'm fine, really. I'm a tough girl! And I've got this too," She patted her pocket with the medication inside, "So you see, I'm perfectly fine."
Neji didn't look too convinced. Her earlier panic attack put them both on edge and the last thing he wanted was to not be at her side if she ever suffered another one. Somehow, the pink-haired woman managed to worm her way under his skin unlike any other patient he ever treated. Perhaps it was because she worked as maid and her natural charm had enchanted him, but either way he was intrigued by her.
Not to mention the fact that he was still worried about her.
"If you insist . . ."
"Why don't you come with me to the café."
The words spilled out before she even knew what she said.
They both stared at each other silently for a few seconds before Sakura's rapid excuses flew out of her mouth.
"I-I mean as a guest you know, not like a date or anything because we just met each other, but you could eat there and I could serve you and you could watch me just in case I freak out or anything, I'm sure my boss will understand - "
"I'd love to."
To say she was shocked was an understatement. "Whoa, really?"
Her breath caught in her throat and suddenly she was smiling so brightly it must have blinded him. Realizing how ridiculous she must look, she toned it down to a minimum. But honestly, who would be this happy in her shoes? One of the most the handsome men she had ever met had just agreed to go to dinner with her! Granted, he was going as a costumer and she was going to be his maid, but at least he'd be all hers for the evening.
Neji smiled, thought he was a little apprehensive about eating at that particular café. If anyone from work were to catch him even looking at the entrance door, his reputation as one of Japan's finest and most respectable psychiatrist would be down the drain before the end of the night. Then they'd start shoving him in the same category as that perverted Kakashi.
But just one look into Sakura's hopeful eyes and he knew it didn't even matter. So long as she kept looking at him like that it would be all worth it in the end.
With just one look, she found herself drowning in his eyes. But she caught herself leaning in and laughed nervously.
"I'll see in an hour bye!" She quickly opened the door and ran inside, slamming the door shut.
He stood there for a moment, his smile still in place. He could admit, on some level he did like the girl. He wasn't head over heels, but he could see himself with her company. Yes, it looked rather nice in his mind. And somewhere in his inner most perverted thoughts he really did want to see what she looked like in a maid outfit. He wouldn't mind being called master every now and then.
A loud honk from the car broke his train of thought and a quick scowl replaced his smile.
"How come I didn't get to say goodbye?"
Neji felt an angry tick on his head and vowed before he could go home and get ready, he would send in a request to his boss and have Kakashi reassigned to another department. Preferably somewhere on the other side of the city.
"Daemon!" Phantom ran pass the maids and nearly slammed into the wall as she made a mad dash to the elevator. She pulled the leveler harshly and jumped up and down impatiently before it stopped and the bell rang. Shoving open the door, she hurried to her husband's office and burst into the room. "Oh, Daemon . . ."
"Phantom,"
Sitting in place of her husband was not a man, but a great and terrible monster. He sat naked and slouched in the corner, his eyes distant and cold. His horns still had some skin hanging to them, indicating that he had just shed, but the pile of pale human flesh scattered across the room already gave that away. It smelt like charcoal and oil, and nothing like the sweet mango and vanilla Phantom was so used to.
She watched his tail move back and forth, black steam coming off the end. He was several feet taller than her, his head already reaching the ceiling and his horns digging into the roof. His clawed hands reached out to her and pulled her close to him. The smell overwhelmed her, and his rough scales did nothing to calm her distress. She buried her face into his chest and began to weep.
"I'm so scared, how could this be happening to us?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
His talon traced the scar on her shoulder. It had been aching for days and had finally emerged only hours ago.
"We've been discovered." When he spoke his voice was neither soothing nor serene. It was harsh and full of venom. Her heart broke.
"But how? We were so careful, we never let anyone get too close."
His arms enveloped her, "Ghost." He snarled the name with all the rage in the world.
She burst into tears and forced herself closer to him, "I don't want to lose you!"
He inhaled her scent and squeezed tighter, breathing into her ear, "I'm going to protect you, nothing will ever harm you again. Amator mei."
When the doors opened, Sakura spotted a familiar face walk in, "Hey Neji!" She smiled and waved enthusiastically, making her way to the front.
However as she got closer, her smile slowly died as she realized he was not alone.
"Yo." Kakashi was far too cheerful for his own good. He grabbed her hand, pulled down his scarf, and gently kissed it.
She laughed awkwardly and slowly took back her slightly violated appendage, "Uh . . . hi . . ." She casually leaned towards Neji and whispered, "You brought him along?"
He sighed, "He insisted."
If she could have, she would have frowned. So much for a romantic "dinner" with Neji. He took notice of her cute pout and smirked.
"I reserved a table in the royal chambers."
Sakura blushed prettily and avoided his heated gaze. The "royal chambers" was known by many as the most romantic and rather erotic room in the entire café. It was usually reserved by boyfriends or husbands who wanted to surprise their significant others, or lovers looking to get into the mood for later on. But mostly it was used by the wealthy single looking for a hook up or a future companion.
Only the most experienced and oldest maids were allowed to work there. Sakura wasn't allowed anywhere near the area because she was still a beginning, and rather young to be around such a lewd area. The two security guards at the entrance made sure than anyone who entered was given special permission.
"I also requested one Haruno Sakura as my personal maid."
"R-really? I didn't even know guests could do that, Phantom made it clear I wasn't allowed there until I was at least twenty-five."
He stepped just a little closer to her, "I have my ways."
If she wasn't surrounded by hoards of maids and guests, she would have probably swooned and turned to mush. His eyes gleamed mischievously, the white of his eyes shining brightly as they gazed at her the way a man would to his lover. She forced herself to keep a professional facade and not switch into a squealing fangirl. But it really wasn't her fault. It should be made illegal for this man to walk and talk like that in public.
"Excellent." Like glass shattering, Kakashi's exuberant voice broke the mood.
Neji turned to the man, who was far too giddy to be back in natural environment, and said, "I only reserved it for one."
Instant;y, the man's smile dropped, "What? Even though you knew I was coming?"
"I believe she asked me to come and not you."
Kakashi turned to his pink-haired angel and clasped his hands together, "You want me here don't you? We haven't seen each other in so long and I've missed you dearly, you miss me too right?"
"Well . . ."
"If by 'miss' you mean 'restraining order' then yes, I am sure she misses you dearly."
"Listen pretty boy - "
"Hey, I have an idea!" Sakura quickly moved in front of Neji, putting her hands up in a defensive pose, "How about you sit in Castle Mania, it's right next to the Royal Chambers and when I'm not serving him I'll come by and join you! Does that sound good?"
The older man thought about it for a second before shifting back into this original happy state, "Oh Sakura, you know just what to do to make a man happy. Alright, I'll be seeing you in the castle."
She smiled widely and waited for him to be taken to his seat by another maid before turning back to her intended "date."
"Shall I take you to your seat then, master?"
It wasn't her intention to sound like a temptress, but from the way he looked at the very moment she wouldn't mind being a little naughty for just one tight. Besides, he said he was here to take care of her, and if that meant watching her every move then she'd make sure he'd see everything – in more ways than one.
Neji was slightly taken back by her rather seductive voice, but when he saw the hooded expression in her eyes he smirked and played along.
"If you would be so kind, my lady."
Amator mei = (Latin) My love
Wow, haven't updated this in a while. As per usual, it's because of school. University is so difficult. They actually think we bleed money. You have no idea how broke I am. But I still have time to write a whole new chapter haha.
So yeah, not overly the top romantical like my other chapters because I wanted to try something new for this one.
But I chose not to do it in the cafe because I think a new environment for different situations keeps the story fresh and interesting. Let me know what you guys think! I promise next chapter will have more cafe action! And romance! I'll also briefly mention the dinner scene with Sakura and Neji.
Oh, I'm also fixing up the other chapters since I don't have a beta or anything so there will be some changes here and there but they're really just spelling and grammar mistakes.
Loves and Kisses!