Chapter 25. For Whom the Bell Tolls
"It is only the living who grieve. The dead feel no pain."
|Naruto|
"Sakura-chan." I called her name in a low voice as I stepped up beside her, "Daijōbu?"
She shot me a smile and nodded, "Mm, I'm fine."
I bit my lip as she returned her attention to the funeral proceedings ahead. Once the priest finished his speech and made his way over to the coffin, I put my arm around Sakura and pulled her close.
"It's not good to bottle it all up." I advised her quietly, "Whatever you're feeling, you can let it out, ya know. Nobody will judge you if you do."
Maybe it was my imagination but for a moment I felt her stiffen in my hold. However, just as I opened my mouth to continue to encourage her to open up, the priest called for the immediate family to come forward. With an unnatural quickness, Sakura slipped out from under my arm to join him up front, and Sarada followed shortly after.
The two of them grabbed a pinch of incense and held it to their forehead before dropping it into the lotus burner in the priest's hand. After which, they faced the portrait of Mebuki that had been positioned behind the coffin and clapped their hands together in prayer.
They remained like that for a moment and then, as if they had been silently communicating, the two returned their hands to their sides and opened their eyes at the same time. I watched as they stepped back to give the priest the spotlight again, and this time he called for all other relatives and friends to come up and pay their respects.
I got behind Shikamaru as everyone made a single-file line to come up to the coffin, and he handed me a yellow chrysanthemum from a basket on a nearby seat. His elbow brushed my casted arm as he turned back, and I silently winced but gave him a thumbs up when he raised his eyebrows apologetically.
Today was not about me.
When I got to the front, I laid the chrysanthemum over the top of the coffin and stared at Mebuki's portrait. I hadn't known Sakura's mom as well as someone like Ino might've, but I'd found myself having dinner with her family numerous times during my high school years and her mother had never once treated me poorly.
'May you rest in peace.' I quietly prayed before making my way back to my seat.
From where I stood, I couldn't see Sakura's face as her back was now turned to me, but Sarada was holding her hand and seemed to be saying something important to her because Sakura tilted her head and nodded as she spoke.
When she was done, Sakura pointed towards the side door and told Sarada something that led to her dropping her hand and making her way for the door. I watched as the teen left and surmised that she must've been asking where the bathroom was.
With that interaction over, I returned my attention to Sakura and couldn't help the pang of pain tugging at my heart when I looked at her. She'd been a complete mess at her father's funeral and yeah you could make the excuse that she was a teen then and maybe more emotional, but to not shed a single tear at her mother's funeral? It unnerved me, and the others had noticed it too.
Once everyone had finished paying their respects, we shuffled out into the hall while Sakura hung back to talk to the priest about something. That's when Tenten started the discussion.
"Min-na, I'm worried about Sakura." She stated plainly.
"Me too. I know everyone has their own way of grieving but…" Temari shook her head, "There's nothing like losing a mother. No matter what face she puts on now, I know she's suffering."
Sai crossed his arms, "And I saw that smile she gave Naruto. Believe me when I say I can tell the difference between a real one and a fake one."
As each person shared their opinion, I found myself zoning out and recalling when everyone had arrived at the funeral home.
Shikamaru and I were standing outside to make sure people didn't miss the place, and although we'd been holding a light conversation, I could tell that he wanted to ask me about my divorce now that it was public knowledge.
However, Sai came along like a blessing in disguise to take Shikamaru's attention off me.
"Sai?" Shikamaru called his name in disbelief as Sai approached us, "You're back in the country?"
"I just got back." Sai effortlessly lied as they shook hands, "I'd say it was perfect timing but considering the occasion…"
His appearance had changed since I'd last seen him, no longer sporting that man of the wild beard, and instead wore his clean-shaven look that everyone knew him for.
"Yeah, probably best to keep that one to yourself." Shikamaru chuckled as he patted Sai's shoulder, ushering him in, "Ino know you're here?"
Sai nodded, "She was the first one I contacted once I touched down. And she's the one who told me about Sakura's loss."
As Sai passed me, we exchanged looks and came to a mutual agreement: later. Everything we wanted to say to each other, every question we had would be addressed later.
While Shikamaru led Sai inside to direct him to the viewing room, I remained at attention by the door. A part of me wanted to go back inside as anyone who I would recognize had already arrived, but I told myself to stay put until Shikamaru returned.
Buddha saw it fit to test me because as soon as I made up my mind to stay at my post, a matte-black Lexus worth more than what I made in a year pulled up in front. The 5% tint added to the layer of mystery surrounding the car's inhabitants, which was why I was shocked when Hinata stepped out from the passenger side.
As she shut the car door, she looked up and met my eyes, and I watched a streak of panic shoot across her face. It was clear she hadn't seen me beforehand and yet it was too late to get back into the car. With an awkward expression, she approached me.
"H-Hey, Hinata." I greeted her hesitantly, scratching the back of my head with my hand, "How've you been?"
"I'm…okay." She answered with equal timidness before motioning to my cast arm, "What about you? Will you be taking that off anytime soon or…?"
I looked down at it and groaned, "I've been asking the doctors the same thing each time I go back, ya know! 'Patience, Naruto, patience' they keep saying. Well, it's kinda hard to be patient when I have to eat my ramen half as fast as I usually do!"
Hinata tilted her head to one side, "Are you allowed to eat ramen? I thought they said no hot foods."
"N-No, I mean," I stuttered as I realized she'd caught me, "I just have a bowl every night and day, err—every now and then! Nothing too crazy, ya know."
Hinata looked at me and laughed, and I found myself laughing alongside her. As our laughter came to an end, she wiped her eyes and shook her head.
"You're really something else, Naruto-kun." Her tone turned somewhat wistful towards the end as she looked up at me.
I smiled, "Yeah? Well, you were one of the first to tell me so."
We stared at each other for a bit, and I forced myself to say something so as to prevent the mood from becoming stiff.
"Your hair is longer." I cleared my throat as I complimented her, "It looks nice."
And it wasn't a lie. The last time I'd seen her, she had that shoulder-length bob. Now her hair extended past her shoulders and ended right on her upper back.
"Arigato, I'm growing it out." She thanked me as she ran her fingers through it, "You look…leaner. That wouldn't be because of a ramen diet though, would it?"
She gave me a playful look as she finished off her question and I grinned back in response, "Definitely not, ya know."
It seemed like these fluffy, affectionate exchanges would go on forever until a familiar, unpleasant voice called Hinata's name. Hinata turned around and I looked up to find the driver's side window of the Lexus rolled down as none other than Otsutsuki Toneri leaned out of it.
"Hinata, we have to go now or we'll get caught in traffic." Toneri warned her.
She nodded, "Right. Gomen."
I slipped my hand into my pocket to prevent her from seeing it curl into a fist as she turned back to me. She brought a black and silver envelope out from under her arm and looked at me uncertainly, and I muttered silent curses at Toneri for disrupting us.
"I was planning to walk in and give this myself but…" Hinata pursed her lips before holding out the envelope to me, "Can I trust you with this?"
I took it from her immediately and nodded, a little hurt by the question, "Of course, you don't even have to ask."
"I know but…arigato, hontōni." She thanked me as she returned her hands to her side, "I would've done it myself, but we've got somewhere to go."
It took everything in me not to ask where.
Based on her attire, I could guess that it wasn't somewhere particularly fun, but the negative side of my conscious informed me about the possibility of her having a change of clothes in the trunk. I shook my head free of hypotheticals just as Hinata turned to leave.
"I-It was nice seeing you!" I called out to her as she walked to the car, and she smiled over her shoulder.
As she made her way around the front, my path was unobstructed, leaving Toneri and I enough room to look at each other square on.
I clenched my jaw a few seconds into the stare off and waited for him to smirk, to sneer and show that he was still the pretentious douche I remembered. Instead, he gave me a real, genuine smile and I was completely thrown off my game.
As Hinata got in beside him and shut her car door, he said something to her and leaned close as he spoke. Whether or not they kissed I couldn't tell, because the window wound up before I could get a good look. Moments later, the Lexus sped off, and I watched them disappear down the street.
It was only once they were completely out of sight that Shikamaru came back outside.
"Naruto-kun?" Lee snapped his fingers in my face, "Daijōbu?"
"A-Aa, I'm fine." I blinked as I realized everyone's eyes were on me, "What were we saying?"
"We asked if Sakura said anything to you when you hugged her." Choji held his hands behind his head.
I shook my head, "No, she just told me that she was fine."
"Damn it, Sakura." Karui clicked her tongue, "We get it, you're strong; this is one of the times where you don't have to be."
Everyone hummed in agreement before the discussion started up again, and I left the group to head back to the viewing room. Just as I suspected, Sakura was still inside. She was standing by the coffin with her head down while Ino stood beside her with a loving arm over her shoulder.
The click of the door shutting behind me caused Ino to look back and Sakura did the same. Sakura's eyes were wider than normal, and her hands firmly clutching her sides were reminiscent of a kid trying their hardest not to cry, but I opted not to comment on it as I approached her.
"Sakura-cha—" I was cut off by her as she grabbed my head with two hands and pulled me into a kiss.
The kiss was ravenous and desperate, and I would've been glad to feed into it if it weren't for the fact that Ino was right there!
'What are you doing, Sakura-chan?' I mentally questioned her as I tried to pull back, 'We're not alone!'
As I failed to get out of Sakura's clutches, I lifted my eyes to Ino expecting to see shock, outrage, and disgust etched on her face. Instead, Ino wore a look of defeat, as if she'd been forced to accept something in the face of overwhelming evidence. It was then that I realized she already knew.
Before I could start to wonder when she'd found out or how long she'd known, Sakura released me and buried her head into my chest. I bit my tongue to keep from hissing as she applied pressure on my injured arm, and I'm glad I did.
"Please don't leave me like everyone else." Her voice was small and quiet, and Ino and I shared a look before I lifted my hand to her back and patted her reassuringly.
"I won't." I promised her as I kissed the top of her head, "I swear."
|Sarada|
"Psst, Sarada-chan." I rolled my eyes as a familiar annoying voice called out to me, "Here."
Sure enough, Sasori was the one seeking my attention, but unlike all of our previous encounters, this time there wasn't a hint of mischief on his face. In fact, he looked bereaved, and a bit…guilty?
"Give this ta yer mom for me." My gaze drifted down to his extended hand and the silvery black envelope he was holding, "I have ta run."
"You're not supposed to give the *koden directly to the deceased's family." I crossed my arms as I regarded him, "And where are you going?"
"I know it ain't proper etiquette but just—!" He grabbed my hand and forced the envelope into my hand before turning around and heading for the front, "And tell Sakura-san I said gomen. Hontōni, gomen."
I tilted my head to the side as I watched him leave and wondered what he meant by the oddly personal apology. Unfortunately, I didn't get much time to brainstorm possibilities because Inojin finally came out of the men's bathroom.
He looked up and assessed the lobby scene, and when our eyes met, he darted for the front doors just like I suspected he would.
Always one step ahead, I slid out right behind him and caught him the back of his suit just as the front doors clicked shut. He turned back to me and groaned, and I mirrored the sentiment.
"I should be the one groaning." I poked him in the forehead, "You've been ducking me for the past two weeks. What's up with you?"
"Nothing's up with me, it's all in your head." He moved to leave and I grabbed his arm, holding him in place.
"Come on, talk to me." I pleaded with him as I made him look at me, "Things were fine when your dad came back and you guys went home, but the next day you came to school and started ignoring my calls, not responding to my texts…what did I do wrong?"
"Heh." Inojin chuckled uncannily and I realized that he was bouncing on the balls of his feet, "You're a class act, you know that Sarada?"
I pulled my mouth into a thin line and fought off a sigh, "What does that mean?"
Clearly fed up, he yanked his arm away from me and cast a harsh glare my way, "For once in your fucking life, why don't you just think? You don't know anything that I could possibly be upset over?"
It had been a long time since Inojin had cursed at me, and it served to unnerve me as well as force me to reevaluate the situation and think about what I could've done. After a long pause, I turned to Inojin with genuine confusion and slowly shook my head.
Slapping a hand to his forehead, he shut his eyes, "Hontōni, you are so…it was the picture! The picture you posted two weeks ago!"
"…Oh." My heart dropped to my stomach as I instantly understood what he was referring to.
The most recent picture on my Insta was of me and Mitsuki in a tight embrace under the large Sakura tree in the garden he'd shown me around. Mitsuki had been the one to think of the caption, taking my phone and typing, "Love nature and nature will lead you to love."
It was cute, it was original, and it fit the post. Within the hour, I'd received a flurry of likes, along with comments from various classmates that all seemed to read something along the lines of "Sarada? 😏 Who is he?" I hadn't thought too deeply about the comments, responding with his name and the same emoji as an inside joke, but now that I was in Inojin's presence, all the little worries I had shoved to the back of my mind came jumping out in full force.
"Oh?!" He held his hands to his face and blew out a heavy breath before looking at me, "Anyway, now you know, right? So leave me alone."
"Inojin, wait." I begged him as he tried to leave once again, "I can explain."
"You don't have to explain anything." He replied, heading for the corner store up the street, "You made a choice that I just have to accept."
"…You're not really accepting it if you're choosing to drop me over it." I mumbled, and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as he stopped in his tracks.
"Are you serious?" He questioned after a moment, "There's no way you just said that."
The little voice in my head told me to keep quiet, to let him walk away and get his frustration out of his system, but the larger chunk of me wanted to speak my mind.
I placed a hand on my hip as I kept talking, "I mean, isn't it the truth? You're running from me so you don't have to deal with it."
"Kami in Heaven, Sarada!" Inojin erupted, coming back to me and grabbing me by the shoulders, "I told you I loved you and you chose someone else! What do you want me to do, put on pompoms and cheer on your relationship?"
"I—"
"Of course I'm running from you!" He continued to rant, somewhat shaking me as he spoke, "Do you know how much it hurts, knowing you're right within reach and I can't even hold you? You're up the street and I can't even come see you anymore because it would be weird."
I shook my head, "It wouldn't be—"
"For you." He emphasized, dropping his hands to his sides, "I'm an artist, Sarada, not an actor. I can't just pretend that I don't love you anymore. And I'm not gonna put myself in painful situations so things can seem normal."
I said nothing when it seemed as though Inojin had concluded his speech, as I had become painfully aware that the casual, easygoing actions I had taken had clearly caused him much heartache.
Inojin raised a hand to his face, and I watched as he swiped his thumb under his eyes before muttering, "fuck" under his breath.
"G-Gomennasai…" I offered quietly, dropping my eyes to the floor, no longer feeling confident enough to meet his gaze, "I didn't mean to—I would never…you're my friend, I love you."
"Don't." Inojin's voice stung with hurt, "Don't say another word."
'Shit, I shouldn't have…' I swallowed hard and felt a lump expand in my throat as I nodded.
"Everything alright out here?" I turned at the sound of Uncle Sai's voice and found him approaching us, "What's going on?"
"Nothing." Inojin answered him venomously, his fists tightening, "We're fine."
Uncle Sai cast him a quick glance before turning to me, "Sarada? Is that true?"
Inojin spoke again before I could answer, "Why are you here, Father?"
The bitterness in the latter term was hard to miss, and I began to suspect that things in the Yamanaka household weren't completely back to normal. In fact, based off of this little interaction I was witnessing, I was willing to bet that things were nowhere near it.
Uncle Sai held his hands up in preemptive surrender, "Just making sure you kids are alright."
At this, Inojin shoved his hands into his pockets and scoffed, "I don't know why I thought you would tell me the truth. It's clear you've got some questions for Sarada, so you should've just told me to get out of the way."
Inojin turned on his heel and began walking towards the corner store. It was only when he was out of earshot that Uncle Sai cleared his throat.
"…He wasn't wrong, but I did want to make sure you two were okay." Uncle Sai attempted to explain, "You believe me, right?"
I nodded and he let out a sigh of relief, "Good, good. So, how are things with you and Mitsuki?"
"What do you mean?" I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow as my uncle attempted to inquire about my love life, and he quickly waved his hands.
"Ah, well, it's just that his cousins took me to the hospital that one time and we exchanged pleasantries every now and then, but recently I haven't heard from them." Uncle Sai hurriedly elaborated, "So really, I'm asking about them, but I wanted to make sure you two were still together before asking about his family."
"Oh." I slowly nodded as I came to understand his logic, "Um, Mitsuki and I are fine and I…I haven't seen Kū or the others in a while. I don't really go over to his house anymore since we usually just go on dates in the city and then he takes me home. A-And I was never really close with his cousins like that, but I could ask him if you'd like."
Uncle Sai smiled, "Please do. And, if it's possible, could you give me his number? I'd like to reach out to him on my own about a couple other things."
"Okay…" I hesitantly agreed, bringing my phone out of my purse and sharing Mitsuki's contact with Uncle Sai.
Although he wasn't being the least bit oppressive or overbearing, I couldn't shake the feeling that this was one of the weirdest conversations I'd had in a while. Luckily, it came to an end once Uncle Sai confirmed that he had Mitsuki's number.
"Arigato, Sarada." Uncle Sai patted my shoulder gratefully before lowering his voice, "And I'm truly sorry about your grandmother. She was a kind soul."
I nodded as he released my shoulder and watched him walk back into the funeral home.
To be honest, the past two weeks had gone by in a dull, prosaic blur. Remembering what we had talked about, Mitsuki had taken me out on five separate dates over the past two weeks, but the news of my grandma's passing had overshadowed every outing, and I found it hard to enjoy myself.
It didn't help that I'd learned of it when I had gotten back from arguably one of the most defining nights of our relationship.
"Here." Mitsuki handed my phone back to me so I could look over the draft, "What do you think?"
"Love nature and nature will lead you to love?" I repeated the caption before looking up at him, "Who said that?"
"Me." He chuckled into my ear, "I thought of it just now."
"Did you really?" I couldn't help but raise my eyebrows in surprise at his intuitiveness, "Wow, Mitsuki. That's actually amazing."
"Arigato." He thanked me, and I could've sworn he was blushing, "You bring out the best in me."
I nudged him playfully and clicked post, "Cornball."
"The boss has to be pissed at me." Hidan grumbled, "There's no way that out of everyone there, I'm the one who got stuck playing chauffeur to two dorky teens."
Mitsuki snickered, "Sucks to suck, doesn't it?"
As he said this, Mitsuki ran his free hand up my arm and across my chest before cupping my chin. I placed a hand on his arm to hold myself steady as we kissed.
"Hey!" Hidan barked, "Nobody's allowed to have sex in the back of this car but me!"
Mitsuki's other hand went to my waist and rubbed light circles into my side with his thumb ass he murmured against my lips, "We're just kissing…"
Once his words had left his mouth, he bit down on my lower lip enough for me to feel a sting, and I found myself smiling against his lips as the heat ran through my mouth.
"I don't give a fuck if you're just staring into each other's eyes like love birds!" Hidan snapped, "Knock it off before I crash this car!"
With one final swipe of his tongue over my own, Mitsuki leaned back and scooted over before helping me out of his lap and into the seat beside him. I slid my arm out from around his neck as I settled into the seat, and he slipped his arm around mine, still keeping us close together.
"Fucking hell…" Hidan muttered, glaring at us in the mirror before returning his attention to the road.
Mitsuki turned to me suddenly with a concerned look on his face, "Won't your mom be mad that you're coming home this late on a school night?"
I shrugged my shoulders, "Nothing we can do now."
"Still…" Mitsuki seemed to be pouting, "What if she grounds you again?"
I tapped his cheek and laughed, "Don't worry, I'll definitely find a way to see you."
At this, Mitsuki shook his head and smiled before leaning down to kiss me.
Hidan reminded us of his presence with an audible retch, "What did I say?!"
Mitsuki groaned and smacked his face, clearly at his wits' end, "Will you just shut the fuck up?"
I couldn't help but laugh seeing Mitsuki so riled up, and Hidan cursed over his shoulder as the car came to a slow.
"Fuck you, twerp. Next time they tell me to drive you, you're walking. Alright girl, we're here. Get out." Hidan didn't bother saying goodbye like a normal person, but I wasn't the least bit bothered by his attitude.
I opened the passenger door and stepped out, looking up at my house with a bit of uncertainty. A car I didn't recognize was parked in front of Aunt Ino's in the driveway, and I wondered who it could belong to. As I stood on the walkway and tried to run through potential guests, Mitsuki's voice made me turn back to him.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" He leaned forward, ready to step out of the car, "Even if you don't want me to explain, just being there might be—"
I immediately shook my head before returning to the car, "I'll be fine, I promise."
Kami knew the last thing I needed was for Mama to see Mitsuki with me when it was half past ten at night.
I took his hand in mine and squeezed it for added assurance, and he let out a deep breath before nodding, "If you say so."
With a quick kiss to the forehead, I bid him goodnight and I could feel his eyes on me as I went and unlocked my front door. Once the door opened, I heard Hidan peel off into the night and smiled to myself.
My smile soon fell from my face when I looked to my right and found Uncle Sai, Aunt Ino, Mama, Inojin, and some woman I'd never seen before sitting in the living room.
"G-Good evening…" I greeted everyone awkwardly, seeing that it was too late for me to dart upstairs to my room.
When Mama looked at me, her face was devoid of anger or worry, the two emotions I had expected to be confronting upon my return. Instead, she just looked…miserable.
"Where have you been?" I shivered at the abnormal quiet level her voice was in.
"With a friend." I answered vaguely, knowing that had Mama been in any other mood, she might've further pushed the subject.
But just as her tired visage led me to believe, she simply nodded and accepted the answer, "Well, go on upstairs. Oyasumi."
"Oyasumi…" I returned the goodnight before heading to my room, wondering what the bizarre scene I'd just encountered was all about.
It was later on that Aunt Ino knocked on my door to deliver the bad news.
"Sarada-chan," Aunt Ino's voice shook me out of my thoughts, and I looked up to find her approaching me, "It's time."
With a nod, I checked my phone to make sure it was on silent before following after her.
*Koden is the gift money offered t0 the deceased at a Japanese funeral
|Ino|
I watched as Sakura passed a fragment of her mother's bone to Sarada and then as Sarada took the piece and placed it into the urn. As they repeated this process multiple times, it occurred to me that Sakura's shoulders sank lower and lower with each piece, and by the time they'd reached the hyoid bone, it seemed as though Sakura would collapse any moment.
Thankfully, she managed to get through the deboning process without incident, and once the crematorium technician had made sure that there were no bones remaining, he took the pairs of chopsticks from her and Sarada's hands before nodding to them.
Sakura stepped back shakily, and I moved to give her a supporting hand but stopped when Sarada came to her mother's side and hugged her tightly. After a moment, Sakura wrapped her arms around her daughter, and the two remained in a tight embrace.
I realized that this wasn't the type of thing for me to interrupt and remained against the wall with my hands behind my back, ready to offer comfort at a moment's notice. However, the sound of the door creaking open drew my attention away from the heartwarming sight in front of me.
At the door stood Sai, holding his phone to his ear with one hand and waving me over with the other. With a silent sigh, I stepped off of the wall and went to him as quietly as possible. I made sure to shut the door gently so as not to disturb those inside and turned to him with little patience.
"What—?"
He raised a finger to his lips before humming to the person on the line, "Mm, she doesn't suspect anything. I'll come by tomorrow and we can get a phone tap set up and try to get some information out of this kid."
I crossed my arms and tapped my foot as he wrapped up his call, "Right, right. Alright, have a nice day."
When he turned to me, it was clear that he knew I was anything but impressed and he offered me a light smile as he held my shoulders, "How are you doing?"
"Fine." I kept my arms crossed as I regarded him, "Who was that?"
He lifted his hands to my cheeks and answered after a moment of hesitation, "…Hinoto-san."
"Why am I not surprised?" I scoffed as I pulled his hands down, shaking my head, "So? Who are you guys spying on this time?"
He tilted his head for me to lower my voice before pulling me close and speaking into my ear, "Sarada's boyfriend; we found the cousin that wasn't at the house when the raid went down, but no one's seen the other one that escaped."
"S-So what's the problem?" I cursed myself for stuttering, "Is he dangerous?"
Sai shook his head against me, "It's not that. I told you that we got a no-knock warrant and the circumstances around the operation didn't fully justify it. If word got out about how some strings were pulled for this to happen, there would be an uproar."
"Why?" I questioned, pulling back to look him in the eyes, "What's he gonna do? Go to the police? They're criminals, you said so yourself. Nobody will believe him once they know his history."
"History won't matter once he tells the world that the police killed two of his cousins, Ino." He told me in a quiet voice, "I…I knew they had weapons and I didn't want to risk a firefight, so I ordered the officers to go in guns blazing."
"Sai…you told me that youngest was barely eighteen."
"I had no choice." He shut his eyes as he released me, "They were corrupting this city, spreading those drugs and profiting off of others' suffering. You know they even got to Inojin."
Something dawned on me, and I grabbed Sai's arm, "Speaking of which, does Hinoto…?"
"Know?" He shook his head and I let out a sigh of relief, "And she never will. Nobody knows but us."
"And Sarada. And Naruto." I added after some thought, and Sai chuckled.
"They won't be a problem." He smiled, and I found myself giving him the same look, "I'm glad that I told you everything. I missed…this. Being able to talk to you. Being with you."
He took my hand in his, and I looked down at our intertwined hands before bringing my gaze back to his face.
"I missed you too." I admitted to him before turning away, "But now isn't the time for this. Sakura needs me."
"Of course." Sai agreed with me just as the door to the inner room opened.
Sakura stepped out holding a golden urn with the kanji for "budding" engraved on it. I placed a sympathetic hand on her shoulder before pulling her in for a hug, and I felt her melt into my arms.
"Arigato." Sakura whispered so that I only I would hear, "Hontōni, arigato."
When she pulled back from me, I nodded, and we made our way to the front doors. At least for the now, the funeral process had come to an end.
It didn't feel right separating so soon, especially when I knew that Sakura was struggling to keep herself afloat. A sense of dread filled me as I watched her hand Sarada the urn before climbing into the driver's seat, and I offered to come by her house later tonight.
"You don't need to." She waved her hand as she buckled her seat belt, "I know you have your own life."
Her eyes flicked to Sai as he got into our car, and I immediately felt guilty.
I flashed her a "call me" sign with my fingers before exchanging goodbyes and getting into the passenger seat beside Sai. He placed a hand on my knee, and I placed my hand over his before glancing at Inojin in the back.
With his headphones on and his eyes shut, he made it clear that he didn't want to be spoken to.
I took the chance to lean against the window and watch the scenery rush past us as we drove home. Some time into this silent drive, I spaced out an found myself running over the talk with Sai that had brought us back together.
"May we come in?" The pregnant woman repeated, her smile ever-growing.
As flabbergasted as I was, I stepped back so they could enter the house, "Y-Yeah, yeah sure."
She nodded to me as she slipped inside, and Sai did the same. I shut the door behind them and ushered them into the living room before taking a seat on the sofa. Sai took a seat beside me, although he was smart enough to leave a sizeable gap between us, and the woman sat across from us.
When she brushed her bangs out of her face, I felt my blood run cold as I came to realize who she was.
"Are you…Carmen?" I asked, peering at her hesitantly.
She nodded her head, "The one and only."
With a gulp, I glanced at Sai trying to read his reaction, but found his face no more tense than it had been. A million thoughts began to run through my mind about why the two were here.
Was Sai bringing his mistress here to say that things were over between us? That he had chosen her? But if that was the case, did he really need to rub it in my face? A simple letter or photo would do, especially since Carmen seemed to be well-experienced with sending things in the mail.
The silence we were enveloped in was quickly cut into by Carmen leaning back and waving her hand, "Gomen, Sai-sama but can you please get on with it already? I'm tired of smiling."
I blinked at the 180° her personality did before I turned to Sai for answers. With his hands folded in his lap, he looked me in my eyes and began to speak.
"Ino, about everything up until now, gomen." He bowed to me, "Hontōni, gomen. I…I've been keeping the truth from you for a long time but that all ends tonight. No more lies."
"A-Alright." I agreed as he straightened up.
He took one of my hands in his and clutched it tightly before continuing, "All these years, I've told you that I'm an artist and that I sell my paintings to make a living, but the truth is that I work with the ANBU. I'm the chief."
"ANBU?" I blinked as I digested his words, "As in the *Advancement of the Nation's Bureaucratic Unanimity? You're the chief of that ANBU?"
Sai nodded and squeezed my hand lightly, "When I left nine months ago, I told you I was going on an international art tour to showcase my work, but that was a lie. I've really been investigating the movements of a dangerous organization known as Kara and—"
"Wait." I couldn't stop myself from interrupting, and I turned my attention to Carmen, "Before you say anything else, who is she? And what's the story behind those pictures and that letter?"
Carmen took the chance to sit up and move forward, "Ino-sama, I can assure you that there is nothing going on between me and the chief. As handsome as he is, he made it clear that he had no intention of going beyond what was required for our cover."
Brushing aside the fact that this woman had clearly tried to make a pass at him, I pointed at the obvious elephant in the room, "But…you're pregnant?"
Carmen unzipped her jacket and tossed it aside before lifting up her shirt to reveal a rubbery pregnancy mold over her abdomen.
"It was all fake." Carmen grinned as she rolled her shirt back down, "I'm supposed to be his French mistress turned headache once I became 'pregnant' as a way to stir up trouble and keep eyes off him."
"And my name's not even Carmen," She continued, "The reason why I can speak perfect Japanese is because I was born right here in Konoha. My real name is Hinoto."
I let go of Sai to hold my head in my hands as my reality rapidly fell inward. Sai placed a gentle hand on my shoulder and moved closer to me.
"I know it's a lot to find out so soon, but bear with it." He pleaded with me.
"Why now?" I questioned, looking up at him in confusion, "You've been in the ANBU for a long time, right? Why are you telling me now?"
Hinoto got up and moved past us, leaving the living room in search of a bathroom and Sai sighed before answering me.
"I…spoke with Naruto a couple hours ago and he made me realize that if the cost of keeping these secrets was losing you, was losing my family, then none of this would even matter."
He hugged me once he was finished speaking, and I found myself returning the hug and shutting my eyes against his shoulder. We remained like that for a bit before I pulled back as something suddenly came to mind.
"Are you going to tell Inojin?"
Just like I'd guessed, Sai shook his head, and I immediately saw a problem, "But if he doesn't know then how are we going to explain everything? He wouldn't tell a soul, Sai-kun, he's our son."
"I would've agreed with you if Naruto hadn't told me that he's been doing drugs." Sai refuted in a low voice, "A junkie will give up anything for their next fix, and I'm not saying that he's gotten to that level but—"
"Hold on." I quickly held up a hand and shook my head, "Drugs? No, that's impossible. I would know."
Sai touched my arm gently, "There's a lot of things you don't know but it's not your fault."
"Kami…" I rubbed my forehead, "Okay, let's say he's out for now. What about Sakura? There's no way she'll accept anything other than the truth."
"Don't worry, I have a story that will work for the both of them, though you'll have to put up with an attitude from them for a while." He lifted me to my feet, "Call them; I'll put the lie in their heads now and tell you everything else when we get home."
"There's more?" I could help but murmur, daunted by how much more I would learn.
With a kiss to my forehead, Sai smiled, "Like I said, no more lies."
The story Sakura and Inojin heard was that Sai had brought "Carmen" over from France to give her support during birth and that once this child was born, Sai would fork over all parental rights and only be providing her monetary support. I tried not to be too distressed by Sakura's hard gaze, as I knew she was considering Sai to be the devil's incarnate, and me a low-level demon for seemingly agreeing with this approach.
It tore at my heart to see Inojin regard me with such disgust as Sai and I held hands, but I forced myself to remain somewhat poker faced knowing that this would all be swept under the rug one day.
The notion didn't help to relieve how shitty I felt though, and it was clear that although a couple weeks had passed, the two of them still hadn't completely forgiven me for taking Sai back. Hell, Inojin straight up detested me because of it.
With a silent sigh, I turned away from the window and towards Sai, reaching out to touch his cheek for some sort of relief. He held my hand against his face before bringing it down and placing a light kiss on the back of my hand. A smile broke out on my face at the gesture, and I knew that despite our current troubles, everything would be just fine.
*ANBU actually stands for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai which is the romaji of actual Japanese being pronounced but I obviously couldn't use that for practical reasons, so I came up with my own meaning for the acronym.
|Hinata|
"Gomen." Toneri apologized as he pulled into my driveway, "I can see you didn't enjoy yourself today."
I shook my head quickly to counter his claims, "It's not that I didn't enjoy myself, I just…haven't been in that kind of environment in a long time."
"And I ruined your peace by bringing you with me." Toneri held his face with hand, "Forgive me, Hinata."
"There's nothing to apologize for." I touched his arm and urged me to look at him, "I had fun, I promise."
He shook his head before offering me a weak smile, "You're cute when you lie."
Before I could respond, I heard the car doors unlock and Toneri shifted as he motioned towards the house, "I'm sure your kids are waiting for you. Don't let me keep you any longer."
With a sigh, I unbuckled my seatbelt and stepped out of the car. Once I shut the door, Toneri rolled the window down and told me about how work would be picking up.
"I probably won't be able to take you out at all next week, but we'll see." He tilted his head as he changed gears, "I'll call you?"
I nodded, "Aa. Keep me posted."
He smiled before backing out of the driveway and I waved him off. Once his car was down the street, I turned to the house and caught the blinds of the front window snap shut, as if someone had been peering out of them. I climbed the front steps and slipped out of my shoes as soon as the front door shut behind me.
In the living room, Himawari and Boruto sat on the couch, each doing their best to seem nonchalant but failing miserably. For one, the book Boruto was "reading" was upside down, and the Rubik's cube Himawari was fiddling with had already been solved. I opted not to comment on their blatant spying and instead asked them about their day.
"Same old, same old, ya know." Boruto shrugged his shoulders, "Nothing really happened."
Himawari smacked her brother's arm before turning to me excitedly, "That's not true, Onii-chan! Mama, they brought dogs to school today!"
"Dogs?" I raised an eyebrow at the news.
Boruto scratched his head, "Oh yeah, they did a random search today, looking for this new drug called shabu."
My eyes slightly widened at the revelation, "And did anything come up?"
"What? Of course not." Boruto waved his hand dismissively, "Come on Ka-chan, nobody would be dumb enough to bring drugs to school when Iruka-sensei makes that same boring speech at the start of each semester, ya know."
I laughed before turning to leave, "I guess you're right. So what are you guys feeling for dinner? I'm thinking *Takikomi?"
Himawari called for my attention, "Ah, don't worry about dinner, Mama. Onii-chan ordered pizza for us."
"O-Okay." I nodded, a little taken aback at not having to cook for once, "Was it because I took too long or…?"
"Nothing like that." Himawari assured me and got up to give me a hug.
"We just figured you'd be tired after your outing." Boruto clarified, getting up from the sofa and stretching, "To come back and start cooking would be too much, ya know."
He approached me with his hands behind his head and a wide grin, and I ruffled his hair as Himawari released me.
I couldn't pass up the opportunity to tease him, "Hm? So Boruto turns sixteen and becomes responsible, ne?"
Boruto shook my hand away before crossing his arms and playfully pouting, "What's that supposed to mean? I've always been responsible, ya know."
"Aa, you both are." I chuckled before heading out of the living room, "Well, if there's anything you two need from me, I'll be in my room."
"Should we bring you some pizza?" Himawari asked.
"No, I ate enough for the day." I answered before heading up the stairs.
Once I was in my room, I set my purse down on my bed and removed my jewelry before heading to the bathroom to wash my face. After I had toweled away any excess water, I changed into my pajamas and prepared myself for an early slumber. It might've only been half past seven, but that noble family luncheon I'd attended had taken a lot out of me.
I dimmed the lights in my room before getting under the covers and shutting my eyes. Of course, since the brain couldn't just shut off right away, I was forced to recall the most stressful moment of the day as my mind began the process for sleep.
Seeing Naruto had been nerve-racking as well as refreshing. Ever since we'd finalized our divorce last Monday, I'd had trouble growing accustomed to his removal from my life. Now that his things were completely gone, I had a closet with unnecessary space, numerous drawers to fill, and an open driveway.
Although I'd talked a big game about accepting things, it was incredibly hard the first two days, and I found myself in the basement, sifting through boxes in search of something that would take up my attention as well as satisfy my desire for him. In one box in particular, under a pile of Firefighter Monthly magazines, I found a particular book titled A Beginner's Guide to BDSM.
"From choking to whipping to spanking to anal, learn the basics of BDSM play in order to spice up life for you and your partner in the bedroom."
I made sure the coast was clear when I came upstairs, and quickly took the book back to my room. To my shock, I found that many pages had been bookmarked and dog-eared, with some of the passages even having highlights. As I read a couple lines, my face felt increasingly hot with every new erotic term I encountered, and I had to shut the book once I read the definition of rimming.
All these passages had been saved for a purpose and I realized that if that choking incident hadn't happened, Naruto had been planning to explore all these different scenarios and possibilities together. The thought distressed me.
On the one hand, a small part of me was glad that he had never attempted to go so far, but the other side of me was saddened at the idea of missing out on what could've been beautiful, passionate lovemaking that undoubtedly would've brought us closer together.
I slipped my hand into my pants and pressed a finger against my anus experimentally, trying to imagine it was Naruto broaching the tabooed area. It wasn't hard to imagine his sensual voice in my ear, murmuring for me to relax as he tried to move in.
As I pushed my finger further, my nail grazed my inner wall and I trembled before quickly removing my finger and standing up to wash my hands. Once I was done, I got back into my bed and clutched my hands tightly to my chest before curling up.
'Stop it, Hinata.' I scolded myself, 'Stop it. You can't do stuff like that by yourself.'
With that thought in mind, I shut my eyes and tried to sleep.
*Takikomi is mixed vegetable and mushroom fried rice
|Sasuke|
"I'm in the middle of something when the boy calls and says, 'Father, she wants to break up with me.' Not the kind of thing I'd expect him to use the emergency line for." Orochimaru shook his head, "Then he tells me about the Iwa brat and how he beat him up and they're lying in an alleyway, and blah, blah, blah. It's only when he says that he panicked and told her he loved her afterward that the gears in my head start turning."
"And you came up with the plan." Zetsu filled in.
"And I came up with the plan." Orochimaru repeated, nodding, "It was just pure luck that he happened to save her from the Iwa brat, but thanks to that, a foundation's already been set; she thinks of him as her knight in shining armor and we need to solidify that view. So, I call Hidan and tell him to go pick them up, then I go to Pain and ask him to play the villain."
Kisame poured Pain another glass of wine before smiling down at him, "Boss? Acting? Please tell me it went like I'm thinking."
"It was a performance worthy of Broadway." Orochimaru hiss laughed, "And Pain was the one who really tied it together. 'Dispose of her.' Ah, the poor girl went white."
Pain smirked before swirling his glass, "I was just feeding off of the energy in the room. It's Orochimaru's boy that really took the cake. 'Gomen, Chichiue, but I can't let you take her.' Such a cheesy line had her swooning."
Karin came back around and handed me a Suntory beery can before sitting down beside me. I immediately cracked the can open and lifted it to my lips to cover my growing frown.
"Honestly, how can a kid be so dumb?" Hidan snickered, crushing his empty can and tossing it by the trash, "If she would've stopped to think for a second, she could've easily called the boss's bluff. Killing an Uchiha? That would be the same as turning ourselves over to the police."
"Listen, when a girl's in love…" Kakuzu began, but couldn't bring himself to finish as laughter consumed him, "Oh Kami, this is the funniest thing ever! I wish I could've seen it in person."
Zetsu snorted before shaking his head, "You wouldn't have kept a straight face. None of us would have. Only Kami knows how Orochimaru and the boss didn't break character."
"Oh, I don't know." Deidara smirked, "Toshiaki-san can put on a mean poker face if the situation calls for it. And he's the one who came up with that other act when we first sent her home."
All eyes turned to me as Pain sipped his wine, "What do you say, Toshiaki? Would you have given yourself away?"
I took a moment to swallow my drink before lowering my can to the table and putting on a wide grin, "Oya, you know I'll always put the job first…but hearing how foolish she is, I might've cracked a smile when she wasn't looking."
The group howled and Kisame chuckled as he jostled me lightly. I forced myself to keep the grin up as I glanced at Karin, who had done well to plaster the same drunken smile on her face. She gave my knee a quick squeeze under the table before standing up and announcing our leave.
"While I'd love to stay here with you all and chat some more about the silly Uchiha girl, if Toshiaki-kun drinks anymore, it'll be impossible to wake him up in the morning." Karin joked as she tugged me to my feet.
"Aw, so soon?" Deidara jokingly whined and Hidan waved his hand.
"Let 'em go." Hidan's eyes glinted mischievously as he crossed his arms on the table, "I'm sure they have some other activities lined up for the night."
At this, Kakuzu whistled suggestively and the whole table laughed again. I made sure to give them all an individual middle finger before leaving the mess hall. Karin held my hand to the elevator, and it was only when we were both inside and the doors had shut that I shook her hold off to punch the back wall.
She said nothing as I hung my head in frustration, only gently taking my arm and pulling me out of the elevator since we'd reached the second floor. We shared no words on the way to our room and the need to conversate didn't appear once we were in the room.
"I'm…gonna shower." I quietly informed Karin before setting my keys down on the dresser.
I watched her give a simple nod as I kicked off my shoes and went into the bathroom. With a silent swiftness, I took out my contacts, removed my clothes and drew the curtains before turning on the water. I didn't bother waiting for it to warm up as I wanted the early bits of cold to shock some sense into me.
"Fuck…" I cursed under my breath as I shut my eyes, "Just…fuck."
When Karin and I had returned from Ame two weeks ago, I had only heard bits and snippets of what had gone on during our trip. It had horrified me to hear of the bombings that had been orchestrated and given the go ahead by Pain but with the damage already done, I was forced to fold my hands and push the knowledge of the carnage to the back of my mind.
However, learning that my daughter was being manipulated by the son of one of the worst members of the Gedō angered me beyond words. Even though there was still no way for me to intervene, this bit of info cut deeper, as I felt it was just another repercussion from my years of being a terrible husband and father.
I hadn't shown Sarada enough affection growing up, and as much as it pained me to admit it, that was probably the reason why she was so attached to this boy. In just one night, he had taken the position of her protector and her provider, roles that were supposed to be reserved for me. It was no surprise then, to hear she was clinging to him so strongly.
'Even when you're not around, you still manage to mess everything up.' I chided myself as I lathered my body with soap.
Then there was the grey cloud that hung over the day due to the news of Sakura's mother passing. Sasori had returned in the afternoon looking ghostly pale, clearly guilt-ridden at having been the cause of Mebuki's death. I also felt my mood sadden as I learned of how dreary Sakura had been, but my empathy was halted by something Deidara said as the two of us conversed with him.
"Too bad the fire chief didn't die from his injuries." Deidara sighed, "This would've been the perfect time to make your move, she probably would've been all on you."
I blinked as I realized what Deidara just said, and I asked him to clarify.
"Oh yeah, you weren't here when Scorpion first told us." Deidara snapped his fingers before continuing, "Turns out the reason why he's having a hard time scoring this Sakura chick is because she's already banging Konoha's Fire Chief. I'm not saying Scorpion's ugly but, come on, a firefighter? That's every housewife's dream."
I tried to be as nonchalant as possible as I asked for more details but all I learned was that Naruto and Sakura had been seeing each other for about a month, and that Naruto had recently finalized his divorce with Hinata.
I grit my teeth as Naruto took Sasori's place in the nightmare that had continually plagued me since Karin had told me to give up on Sakura.
'Naruto?' I wondered to myself as I shut off the water, 'For Kami's sake Sakura, out of anyone in the world, it had to be Naruto?'
Yes, I'd been a shit husband and because of that I had little room to comment on her actions, but my best friend? My brother-in-arms? That's who she'd chosen to have an affair with? And Naruto…our bond was beyond words and yet he'd betrayed me?
I did my best to calm myself with deep steadying breaths as I stepped out of the shower but as I roughly wrapped the towel around my waist and aggressively brushed my teeth, it became clear that I would not be sleeping anytime soon.
I stepped out of the bathroom feeling clean as well as heated and grabbed some underwear out of one of my drawers in the dresser. After jumping into a pair of black boxers, I glanced over my shoulder and found Karin on the bed, already changed, and clicking through channels on the TV. I figured I was in the clear to remove my towel and tossed it aside before strolling over to the closet.
The first thing I laid eyes on were navy blue sweatpants and a grey t-shirt, and I pulled both items on before joining Karin in bed. She set the remote down just as I got in beside her and we made eye contact before I flicked my gaze to the TV. I instantly recognized the classic movie Icha Icha Paradise and raised a questioning eyebrow at Karin.
The light from the TV caused her lidded red eyes to glow with unmistakable desire, and my suspicions were confirmed as she placed a light hand on my abdomen. She leaned down painstakingly slowly, but the tension was finally shattered when her lips hitched against mine. The kiss was intense but not chaotic, and I snaked an arm around her waist to pull her closer.
The feel of her shuddering under my hand caused me to pull back at once, but Karin quickly grabbed my hand and returned it to its position.
"I'm okay." She breathed against my lips as she slid her other hand under my shirt and up my chest, "It's fine so…"
She guided my other hand to her cheek and leaned into my touch before shutting her eyes in anticipation. After a moment of internal conflict, I moved so that I was on top of her and tilted her chin up before attacking her neck. As I peppered her jaw with kisses, I slid an unsuspecting hand in between her legs and gently ran over her folds.
A moan died in Karin's throat when I backed off from adding anymore pressure but as I kissed my way down her body, little whines escaped her, and when I hitched her nightgown up and planted a firm kiss on her core, she gasped.
As my mouth hovered over Karin's heat, part of me wondered if doing this was the wisest decision. Sure, the mutual attraction we felt toward each other since the start of this mission had certainly grown over the weeks, but this relationship was supposed to be fake, a performance, and there was nothing fake about what we would eventually do if things continued.
Before I had a chance to fully make up my mind, the TV flashed white as the movie in the background was interrupted by an emergency broadcast.
"Good evening viewers, I'm Wagatsuma Junko reporting live from the Nagi Street Precinct where the Konoha Six have gathered to share some words on the current state of affairs!"
At the mention of The Six, I pulled myself up from Karin and turned around to get a look at the screen. Sure enough, Kakashi, Obito, Guy, Shisui, Itachi, and Sakasaki stood on the front steps of the precinct. A generic-looking podium had been outfitted with multiple mics and Kakashi stepped up to speak into it.
"It's no secret that Konoha has been plagued with many tragedies in the recent weeks, but as we mourn our losses, it is imperative that we stay resilient and that we stay vigilant." Kakashi stared into the camera, "I speak for my colleagues when I say that the city of Konoha goes above and beyond to live up to its phrase 'Mind the business that pays you.' Citizens, that mindset must be trashed for the coming days. If anyone sees anything suspicious or out of place, I implore you to call your local police station and report it. Only by coming together can we bring back the bustling city of fire known as Konoha. Arigato."
As Kakashi backed away from the podium, Sakasaki approached it and pointed a firm finger at the camera before hardening his face, "Don't screw this up. The information you hold is the key to making sure this city gets back on track and stays on track. We're counting on you."
My eyes widened as I recognized that beginning phrase, recalling it as the same words he'd said to me when it'd first been decided that I would go undercover.
This speech was a message for me, or rather me and Karin, and I understood it as advice for us to complete the mission no matter what we heard. I turned back to ask Karin what she thought of the message and my breath caught in my throat.
She had a hand in between her legs, another hand pinching a stiff nipple, and a look on her face that read, "Come finish what you started."
I returned to her with haste and once my lips came into contact with the wetness of her core, every other thought was pushed to the back of my mind.
A/N: Hey folks so I move to AO3 a while back but figured I owe it to some of the OG readers to continue updating on FF but it's come to my attention that I've kind of been neglecting my audience here. I leave little chapter notes on AO3 since they have a system for that but I haven't been doing that here so I'll be sure to be somewhat more involved(?) from now on.
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