This chapter is a little shorter than usual but took me longer to be satisfied enough to post it, which is the reason for the late update. I'm still not completely happy, and this first scene feels rushed, but it is just a stepping stone to a larger aspect of this story.
Dangerous Temptations
.:. -/ \- .:..
Taking the Blame
Sasuke Uchiha knew Naruto Uzumaki, perhaps better than the baka knew himself. For example, he knew the blond would never get to sleep sitting in the front of that crappy Toyota, and he knew that he'd crawl into the back and lay down instead. They used to be friends, and perhaps sometimes, Sasuke missed that. But tonight was all about the pink haired police officer who had slapped him.
It wouldn't take long for Naruto to fall asleep in the back of the car, but Sasuke didn't want to risk him still being awake for this. He'd told him to turn the lights on and go to the window if he needed anything, not really thinking he would. But the baka was always so very naïve.
Sasuke stepped away from the window when he noticed someone leaving the car and moved toward his door. He wasn't desperate, not really, but there was something about this girl, and that part of his brain that didn't think stupid things was currently on a sabbatical. It could stay there and never come back as far as he was concerned.
The knock on the door came as a surprise however, and he glared through the eyehole in the wooden door, contemplating ignoring the person on the other side.
"Don't make me knock this door down."
Sasuke growled and flung it open. "Go away."
"Expecting someone?"
"No. I just don't want you here."
Itachi just chuckled. "Of course you do. Who else would bother to stop you from making another one of your stupid mistakes?"
He pushed past him, over the threshold and turned to face him, his happy demeanour suddenly nowhere to be seen. "Of course I know who you wanted to be knocking at your door."
Sasuke was confused. "How?"
Itachi just shrugged. "Call it intuition."
"More like you're spying on me."
"Don't flatter yourself. I wouldn't waste my time."
"Then what are you doing here?"
Itachi frowned at him. "You're playing a dangerous game."
"Of course I am."
"And that's why you're doing it, I get it, you need to incur our father's wrath in order to get even a side glance from the man. Just make sure he doesn't use that glance to beat you down."
Sasuke snorted. The old man hadn't hit him since he was a kid, the day before he started ignoring him altogether. He wasn't sure which was worse. But this wasn't just about Fugaku, it was also about him – about wanting a good fuck and deciding the pinkette would oblige. He always got what he wanted from a woman.
"He won't give me the satisfaction of knowing I got to him."
Itachi inhaled deeply and shook his head at him. "She isn't worth it, Sasuke. Let this go."
"No." Sasuke turned away from him now and gripped his apartment door (it was still open). "Don't make me call security," he snarled, when Itachi didn't move.
His brother wasn't surprised by the brush off and decided to leave before he said or did something they'd both regret. "Just be careful Sasuke. You may not believe it, but I really do have your best interest at heart."
"I know," Sasuke whispered so softly that his brother didn't hear him, and then slammed the door in his face.
Itachi just shook his head and strolled away. His otouto didn't seem to get it – he was putting the girl in a fire he couldn't possibly hope to control. Soon however, he was going to see the error of his ways… well, not soon, but eventually. He hoped. He always did start behaving when it was too late to change anything, let alone undo his mistakes.
Sasuke listened intently as his brother walked away, waiting for him to get off this floor impatiently. Why did the man have to be such an interfering baka? He waited a minute, trying to calm himself, but instead, growled loudly, grabbed a glass figurine off a nearby side table, and threw it against the wall. It broke apart on impact and he stared at the jagged edges of the broken pieces angrily. He was so distracted by the stupid thing that he didn't hear the first knock on his door this time. It wasn't Itachi again, was it? No, it had to be Sakura Haruno.
Sasuke took a deep breath and opened the door without making sure it was the pinkette. She narrowed her eyes at him and he swallowed heavily, feeling his pants tighten. It was time to relieve that particular problem.
He stepped aside and, against her better judgement, Sakura stepped into the room, her eyes darting around. He wondered what she was looking for, as she wasn't looking directly at him anymore. She had heard the shattering of glass and now noted the broken figurine. Someone was here, they had to be: why else would he have gotten angry enough to break something?
"I thought I heard someone else in here," she said curiously.
"There's no-one here but us," he said, closing the door and blocking her as she realised what he was doing.
'Great one Sakura,' she told herself. She shouldn't have come up here. "Well clearly you don't actually need anything, so I'll be going."
"Oh no, I don't think so."
"Uchiha, get out of my way." She swallowed heavily as he grabbed her wrists and her stupid reflexes were too slow to stop him. "Let me go."
"Sorry," he said, pushing her up against the wall. "But I have to pay you back for that slap you gave me. You're going to give me what I want, Officer Haruno."
He stroked her cheek, his eyes hard on hers. "Sa-ku-ra," he whispered, sending a shiver down her spine.
The slight trembling of her body did not go unnoticed by the arrogant Uchiha, and he smirked at her. She swallowed heavily, unable to wriggle out of his grip; her body simply refused to move. So that was how he managed to kiss her… her stupid hormones. His lips were on hers and she closed her eyes, forgetting that she wasn't supposed to be here, and opening her mouth to him. She didn't wrap her arms around him, she didn't move an inch, but the moan that escaped her mouth only served to drive him on and Sasuke gripped her waist fiercely as he pressed the hardness of his body against hers.
She was giving in, little by little, despite the warning bells now going off in her head, and just needed one more push. But Sasuke realised too late he should have slipped some kind of sleeping pill into Naruto's coffee or something because just as he was entertaining the idea of prying the pinkette off of the wall and throwing her onto his bed a loud, irritating voice sounded from the other side of his apartment door.
This served to knock some sense into Sakura and she broke the kiss, pushing the Uchiha away from herself. She was flushed and beet red when Naruto Uzumaki knocked down Sasuke's door.
"Get away from her you fucking inbred teme!"
.:. -/ \- .:.
The next day found Sakura with nothing to do but bury her face in her hands. She felt so ashamed, so stupid, and used. What was she thinking going up to the Uchiha's apartment alone? Now Jiraiya was bearing the brunt of the infamous Uchiha fury, and she didn't have the courage to storm in there and take full blame. She couldn't remember another time she'd felt this lame, not even in her early days of training, or her first case. She was so stupid!
And of course, there were fireworks. The matriarch of the Uchiha clan had just insulted the Superintendent General, implying impotence and recommending he step down from his position and hand it over to someone who actually knew what they were doing. Jiraiya's response was extremely colourful, to say the least, and left the entire precinct hanging on every word. Nobody was doing their work, just listening to the obscenities coming from these respected figures hidden behind dry walls and a locked door. But Sakura on the other hand, was feeling more guilty with every obscenity screeching from that woman's mouth. They wouldn't be having this argument if she'd just woken Naruto up and hadn't gone up to Sasuke's apartment alone.
'Stop dwelling,' she snapped at herself. But it was easier said than done.
And just like that, she remembered that Naruto was also in that room (for some reason, even his voice had disappeared under the grating sounds of the matriarch and Superintendant General), and that he'd insisted on writing up the incident report, alone. After all, she was a part of the incident in question. Her guilt deepened at that thought and just as she was taking a deep breath, two very familiar figures exited the nearby elevator drawing stares away from the feuding adults. It was Itachi Uchiha and… Sasuke. The older brother had his hand on his otouto's shoulder, steering him. This was why, upon spotting the pinkette, Sasuke made no move toward her. He wasn't smirking at her or anything either, but the knowing look on that devilishly handsome face made her tremble slightly before they disappeared into Jiraiya's office.
Sakura wasn't sure what was going on. Was she being reprimanded or defended? Itachi wasn't yelling, but she could hear his voice as clear as day. Apparently, Sasuke had a thing for her and in the current climate, it was too dangerous to have him anywhere near her. He was blaming the entire affair on Sasuke, and she wondered for a moment what kind of brother did that. But she supposed he was right. Sakura was stupid for going up there, but Sasuke had lured her under false pretences and attempted to seduce an officer of the law.
It sounded so proper, coming from Itachi. In a matter of seconds, the precinct started to bustle again, realising the real show was over.
"You're not being reprimanded," Kakashi Hatake said, coming out of nowhere and startling her.
She groaned. "Don't do that."
He chuckled, his face half hidden in shadow, as it always seemed to be these days. Did he find himself unattractive or something?
"I know you can look after yourself," he said, "and Jiraiya knows it too. Naruto, not so much. But my point is that this isn't about seeing some damsel in distress and wanting to be her knight in shining armour."
Sakura moved closer to him, leaning against the wall, but instead of looking up at him, she let her eyes survey the precinct solemnly. She knew he knew that she worried about that – ever since she'd met Kakashi, Jiraiya, Naruto, Tsunade, and even Ino, they often acted like she was made of crystal; so easy to break. But it was a moot point with Naruto, who would always treat her like she couldn't handle herself. Sakura had another concern right now.
"What are you talking about?" She asked.
Kakashi lowered his voice before responding. "There's a war coming. Everyone can feel it. Normally, the shit between the Sabaku and Uchiha is handled quietly, and without street fights or drive by shootings, but that's all about to change."
She glared at him. "How would you know that, even if it were true?"
"It is true Sakura, it is." He sighed. "You're being reassigned because of Sasuke, and it's not just for your sake, though admittedly, that is the driving force behind Jiraiya's decision. It won't end well if you let him manipulate you again."
"You make me sound like an easy mark."
"I apologise. But Sakura," he said drawing her eyes away from Jiraiya's office door. "Sasuke clearly has a thing for you, and these are dangerous people Saks. No matter what, I would suggest you avoid him at all costs."
"Well, that's easy," she said, poking tongue at him. Really, she wasn't a child. "I'm being reassigned and therefore have no reason to be anywhere near him ever again."
"If you truly believe that, then–"
"You don't know anything about the Uchiha."
The interrupting voice was familiar, and Sakura inhaled sharply. She'd only ever seen Gaara Sabaku once before, and that was under the dim lights of a night club – the dance floor and a V.I.P room set up in the back where they'd had sex. She'd wondered how much nicer he'd look if she hadn't had a few to drink. She was not disappointed, looking up into that slightly amused face, those pale green eyes… her eyes raked over his hair, and down at what he was wearing – a polo shirt and jeans – and she wondered what he was doing here.
Gaara noted her assessment of his appearance, and smirked. He remembered her too, after all, pink hair wasn't something someone saw too often, and hers seemed natural.
"What are you doing here Sabaku?" Kakashi asked him.
Gaara stared back, his face unreadable. "I got lost on the road of life."
Kakashi chuckled. "Touché."
"You two know each other?" Sakura asked, as Kakashi kept smiling at the red head.
"He stole my first girlfriend," Gaara said. "Something about being in a band being cooler than having a motorcycle gang."
Sakura was confused. "How old were you?"
"I was eight."
"You had a motorcycle gang at eight?"
"And I got my first tattoo at six."
"But how–"
"He's winding you up Saks," Kakashi said, and Gaara chuckled.
She stared at him, trying to remember how much of his body she'd seen in that night club room. It wasn't like it'd come with a bed and a shower for after sex hygiene, and she remembered that she'd kept her dress on, not to mention she'd been pinned to the wall the whole time.
"Do you have a tattoo?" She asked, genuinely interested.
"You don't remember?"
Sakura blushed and turned her face away as Kakashi stared at her.
"Sakura, when did you… uh, never mind, I don't want to know."
Gaara wouldn't let her off so easily however, and prodded her. "So you do remember?"
She nodded silently, remembering the kanji on his chest suddenly and sighed, ignoring the curious stare Kakashi was shooting in her direction despite his desire not to know. She would think it was pretty obvious. She was spared more of Gaara's ribbing when the door to the Superintendent General's office swung open.
Kakashi stood to attention upon noting the Uchiha. Sasuke was ignoring him, his eyes resting on Sakura instead. But even that didn't last once he noticed Gaara standing there, only inches from the pinkette and looking like a kid in a candy store. Sakura's face was still slightly blushed from Gaara's prodding and Sasuke was getting the right idea about what had just happened.
Pale green eyes met black as the two men stared at each other. But Sasuke kept walking, his mother's hand on his shoulder giving him no quarter to attack the Sabaku glaring daggers at him. Itachi followed in their wake, sparing Sakura and Gaara both curious glances before all three Uchiha disappeared into the elevator.
"Charming fellow," Kakashi said sarcastically as Naruto came bounding out next.
"You're wanted," he said to Sakura, who nodded and closed the door to Jiraiya's office behind herself.
Gaara watched her go. He'd been sniffing around the precinct to find out where Sasuke Uchiha was staying since the last time that brat had moved house. He had the perfect plan for his revenge lined up, but an even better one had just presented itself. He wanted the freak dead too, but it was too early for a direct attempt on the Uchiha's life, too early to avoid suspicions that he had something to do with it. Unlike Sasuke, he thought things through before he did them and had every intention of doing this the right way. Yes, the Uchiha would pay, and his obvious attraction to the pinkette was as good a place as any to begin his revenge.
.:. -/ \- .:.
+/_\+
