A/N: I'm not sure if a notification went out for chapter 8 uploaded in January as I never received an official email it was posted, so please note you may have to go back a chapter before reading this one. Happy reading!
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September 16, 2016 4:40 PM
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Sakura swayed softly to the hint of jazz music playing overhead in the autopsy room. She had become accustomed to filling silence in a manner other than sounds of cutting through flesh and metal tools clanging against metal trays as she performed the procedure.
She hummed to the tune, making quick work of sealing up incisions with her two coworkers when an alarm cut the music short.
Three heads turned to the clock, and Sakura smiled before addressing Kiri and Amai. "Looks like we should be about wrapping up here."
They did. Right at five o'clock, they finished their duties for the day. Anything left to wrap up with were things Sakura preferred to handle.
"You two go on ahead," she told the two men. "It wouldn't be right for all of us to make it late! I'll only be a few minutes after you guys."
Though hesitant, the pair obliged. They were picking up quickly on Sakura's routine, and this wasn't at all unusual from her last couple of days here to take off after them.
True to her word, Sakura took care of meticulously cleaning the lab as the two men prepped their stations for the morning. They were gone by the time she entered their shared office space.
Sakura moved to her computer, closing out her applications before logging off and shutting down for the weekend. Sakura cuffed her sleeves as she watched the screen go from blue to black, the sound of the computer fan whir fading to nothing.
In the middle of slinging her purse over her shoulder, the doors to the wing opened.
"I knew I'd still find you here," Ino announced herself.
Sakura fixed the lanyard around her neck, flipping her badge to face outwards as she turned abruptly to her friend. "Did you now?" she asked.
"I caught your guys on their way out. They mentioned you were still here." Ino sashayed into the lab, the same confidence and pep prominent in her step as usual. She smiled brilliantly. "Naturally I had to make sure you really were finishing up here. You know, since you have a knack for getting carried away."
Sakura laughed. "Well I'm happy to announce I just finished up here and I am good to go." Sakura joined Ino near the door, flicking off the lights and locking the door to the wing on their way out.
The pair fell into step with each other naturally. Years of friendship had done that to them. They carried bits of each other within them, the same mannerisms and interests and thoughts so in sync at times that one would think they shared the same mind.
Ino flashed her brows with a hint of suggestion as she stole a glance at Sakura. "Did you do something different? You look great."
Sakura's top two buttons on her white fitted button up blouse remained unfastened, displaying a white gold emerald pendant necklace that stopped just above her cleavage. Her black pencil skirt held the fabric of her shirt gently in place, pinching it fashionably at her waist. She donned nude heels to complete the look and a dainty steel bracelet watch around her wrist.
"Okay, ouch," Sakura huffed with a laugh, this time feigning insult. "And no, not that I recall." She tucked a face framing lock of hair behind her ear, the shorter parts of her fringe swept to the sides, creating a curtain effect that fit her well.
Ino hummed. "No, this feels different. It must be the hair," she decided.
If Sakura had subconsciously done something different, she hadn't realized it. But the low, messy bun at the back of Sakura's head held a beautiful wild casualness to it that made Sakura look cool and approachable. Flirty and fun.
Word spread like wildfire that the new medical examiner was a stunning woman with intelligence and a friendly demeanor to boot. Some speculated whether she was in a committed relationship or not. Others tried to pry that information out of those that knew her personally, Sasuke and Ino primarily. To their credit, they feigned ignorance and decidedly called people out on their nosiness.
But group events like this one Sakura and Ino were headed to usually extended invites to spouses and long-term partners of employees at the Bureau. Sakura arriving alone this evening would do nothing more than add fuel to the already burning fire.
Yakiniku Q, the restaurant that was decided on, was some fifteen minutes away on foot. Had the metro schedule lined up, they would have taken the train, but heading there by foot was what the women settled on.
Ino was first to enter when they arrived at Sakura's ushering.
It was a boisterous bunch inside, Sakura decided. She heard the group before she even stepped through the restaurant doors, and how they called out to Ino to join them.
But Ino knew drama and anticipation. She simply stepped aside and waved Sakura in. "It's you they're waiting for," she said with a grin.
"There's our third VIP of the night!" Izumi stood joyfully, waving at Sakura the moment she spotted her. She excused herself and maneuvered herself around the others to meet Sakura and Ino as they strode over. Izumi smiled pleasantly and beckoned Sakura and Ino to follow her back.
Two tables were reserved in the back corner of the restaurant, each seating eight. Amai and Kiri were seated at one of the tables already with other faces Sakura recognized who were on scene in the forest only two days prior.
Sakura nodded at the two with a smile and flashed a wave at that table before arriving at the table just behind theirs, snug in the corner.
Izumi turned to Sakura with another grin. "We almost thought you wouldn't make it. Rumor had it you like to stay late. Guess it's true, after all," she said as the three took their seats.
Sakura greeted everyone present at the table and took the free corner seat next to Izumi. Sakura looked knowingly at Sasuke who sat at the other end of the table next to Shisui, and for his part, he turned away, not meeting her eyes as Ino slid into the seat next to him at the middle of the table.
Sakura chuckled. "Did Sasuke tell you that?"
"He may have said something along those lines," Izumi whispered, a playful smile on her lips.
Sakura laughed again, her cheeks flushing pink as she brushed her bangs back sheepishly. "I mean, I know I can get a little carried away," she admitted. "But rest assured there's no way I would miss something like this when everyone here has gone out of their way to make it possible."
"I can vouch for that," a woman said. "Sakura here was a bit of a workaholic at the hospital, too."
Sakura snapped her head over her shoulder, her gaze landing on a familiar sight. Her green eyes lit up, and Sakura shot to her feet with joy she hadn't felt in a couple of days.
"Doctor Nohara," Sakura said, pleasantly surprised by her presence.
Rin Nohara was an attending in the Konoha University Medical Center Pathology and Molecular Diagnostics department.
Sakura had known Rin for a few years now and admired her from the moment she first worked with her as a first-year resident. She was a brilliant woman, intelligent, thoughtful, kind, and caring.
"Sakura," Rin greeted back with a soft smile. "You can call me Rin, you know. It's been a while. How have you been?"
"Surviving," Sakura said. "It's been one heck of a year, honestly," she laughed sheepishly, "but I'm excited for what's ahead."
Ino's and Sasuke's ears perked up at that.
Sakura felt both blue and onyx eyes on her, intense gazes boring into her as they waited to hear more that never came. She brushed the feeling off with feigned oblivion and looked over Rin's shoulder, her lips parting slightly in question when she met the dark and friendly gaze of the man that stood closely behind her former coworker, hand on the small of her back.
Rin gave pause and looked over her shoulder. "Oh!" She moved aside and looped her arms through the man's with the most tender smile gracing her features.
Love. That was the only thing that expression could mean.
And the way the man smiled so sweetly back to Rin could have melted Sakura in her spot.
Adoration. Pure, plain, and simple.
"This is my partner, Obito," Rin introduced. "Have you two met already?"
"I don't think we have," Obito answered. "But I feel like I've heard a lot about you from everyone already."
Sakura shook her head in response to Rin's question as she extended her hand to meet Obito's. "I remember seeing you around the hospital here and there. It's nice to meet you." Sakura tilted her head curiously. She had to ask. "Who's this 'everyone' you speak of?"
A charming chuckle left him. "Too many to tell. But it's only been good things, I promise."
"Do you work at the station, too?"
"I do. In the Public Security Division."
Sakura's mouth formed an 'o' shape. She wasn't all too familiar with the Bureau structure, but she knew that the Public Security Division was a separate entity from Criminal Investigations. She would have to read up more on the structure of the agency, she decided. When the opportunity presented itself, of course.
"That's organized crime." As if reading Sakura's confusion, Sasuke filled her in from the other side.
Obito offered a wry smile as he took his seat but not after making sure Rin and Sakura found themselves seated comfortably first. He dropped his voice, keeping the conversation from spilling to surrounding tables. "Counterterrorism's a broader way of putting it."
Sakura nodded in understanding. "I see. I don't envy you. There's no shortage of work in your field."
Obito met her eye, and he and Rin let out a laugh at the same time. "I think the same can be said for you as well."