Note:
this chapter is unedited and not proofread (06/08/24)
once again, then sections are in past tense. now sections are in present tense.
thank you so much to _meoowwxx on Twitter for the commissioned art for this fic! I absolutely adore it! full art on my twitter page ( mikawritesss)
chapter two: who's gonna stop us from waltzing back into rekindled flames?
Then
The professor was late.
It came to no one's surprise, though. People were still slowly filing into the room, some with hair and clothes wet by the sudden onslaught of rain.
Sasuke was always early, so he, thankfully, beat the poor weather.
The more students fill the room, the livelier it got. Mutters of complaints about the downpour, as well as conversations amongst friends and peers drowned out the reminder of what's outside.
Someone took the seat next to him, placing a book bag on the once empty space a short distance away from his laptop. Looking up, he found a pair of jade eyes looking back at him with a hopeful, expectant gaze.
"Mind if I sit here?" She asked.
"You already are, so who am I to stop you?" The response was curt. Nothing unusual coming from him. This attitude had been enough for others to cower and move away. Some hated him for it, and others found his unapproachable nature almost alluring, much to his dismay.
She, however, simply smiled at him before sitting down, seemingly unaffected by his bluntness. "Not a people person, are you?"
And she was trying to make conversation. "No one's ever said so, no."
This elicited a laugh.
He observed the woman with a newfound kindle of interest. He recognized the pink hair. It was a difficult to miss hue in the sea of more common-colored heads of hair in the room. That and it's no secret that she's one of the few students, if not the only one, getting high marks in this class.
Professor Suzume was notorious for being a hard professor to please. Constantly saying that her students were not trying as hard just because her class is one of philosophy. She thinks that the only way to battle this is by making her work unnecessarily more difficult. She clearly loves what she taught, though teaching it may not be her strong suit.
"At least you're aware."
The two sit in silence as the wait for the professor continues. She would sneak glances at him, attempting to do so slyly, but he caught her observing him. Whether her interest was more personal or that of a behavioral scientist studying him, he was still unsure. What he did know was that once he would stare back, she would look away.
But she didn't.
Instead, she looked embarrassed, hues of red coloring her cheeks at being caught, but despite it, she didn't shift her gaze.
"What?" He asked, staring back at sparkling jade.
She shook her head. "Nothing. I was just thinking."
He raised a brow. "Thinking while staring at my profile. About what, exactly?"
Her elbows rested on the edge of the desk, hands cradling her face as she continues her inspection of him unabashedly. "We've been in this class for the entire semester so far, and I don't think I've ever seen you talk with anyone."
"Not much need to," he replied. "Especially when it seems like I'm being watched by a random classmate."
She waved a dismissive hand, not at all offended by his tone. "You must be used to it. Everyone stares at you."
Sasuke shrugged. She had a point.
It was annoying, though.
"I'm just wondering, now that I'm up close, why they do." She let out a soundless chuckle. "Aside from the obvious."
"That being?"
It was difficult not to notice him. He's become quite known throughout campus for both his looks and unapproachable aura about him. Those who did speak with him tend to be dismissed rather harshly. Sakura wondered why that was. Was it a way to keep people away? Because if so, it wasn't effective. If anything, his popularity grew, and girls would try their best and muster up the courage to speak with him. Not quite unlike what she was doing at the moment.
Being completely honest, Sakura found him very attractive. It was shallow, she knew, to base affection on appearance alone. It's why she approached him to begin with. Perhaps after a conversation, the crush she'd been harboring will fade as it usually would with these kinds of fickle fascinations.
Tilting her head, eyes raking his form up and down in a slow perusal. "You don't seem like someone who fishes for compliments, but are you? You have to know. It's the whole mysterious tall, dark, and handsome aura you have going on."
He sighed.
"So you do know?"
"I had an idea, but that doesn't mean I have to like it."
"Such a curse, to be born with such good genes," she joked. "At least you're not insufferable about it."
"That would make me a narcissist."
She laughed, a light, joyous sound. "Aware, and he can make jokes. Why don't you talk to anyone?"
"You're assuming I don't have friends."
"Pretty much."
"Because you've been staring at me like some stalker from afar?"
"I wouldn't go that far." Folding her arms above her chest, she leaned back onto the chair. "I'm just curious."
"That's dangerous."
"And that is a cliché."
The class quieted down suddenly, prompting the two to shift their attention to the front of the class where Professor Suzume had finally arrived, hair slightly damp and mood obviously sour.
The pair don't speak as the class started and progressed.
Sasuke expected her to keep on with conversation, but much to his relief, she didn't. Instead, she was entirely absorbed by the lesson, and he found himself glancing at her every now and then.
It's uncharacteristic for him to be the one doing the unabashed staring, and he didn't know why. She wasn't the only one who has approached him with hopeful eyes, but so far, she had been one of the few that didn't seem too bothered by the bite in his words.
Not knowing was annoying him.
She was annoying him.
At one point, she met his eye and tilted her head, a silent question between them. He responded with a quirk of a brow.
"Were you not listening?"
"Not particularly," he said truthfully.
A soft blush on her cheeks that made a reappearance. "She just announced the big essay project can be done in pairs."
He didn't want to care. He'd done everything in this class alone so far with acceptable grades, though he'd be kidding himself in thinking he was okay with acceptable.
It just so happened he's sitting next to one of the few who somehow exceled in the class.
She's grinning at his silence, amused by what she thinks is him overthinking.
"If you want, I could help you."
Her overconfidence should astound him, yet it does not. She knew she's intelligent. It would be more infuriating if she feigned humility. Still, he had his pride, and what a damned thing it was.
Sakura found him fascinating. Asking others for help appeared to be one of his things. For all his good looks and standoffish charm, he was bound to have some sort of arrogance. He seemed fiercely independent on the outside, so his reluctance came to no surprise. It did, however, sate her inquisitiveness.
She blamed her nosiness on her best friend, Ino. It was apparently contagious.
The class reached its end, and people stood, readying to leave. Some were already leaving, bags packed even before the professor ended her lecture.
As Sakura carefully tucked her laptop into her bag, she stood by the aisle, allowing people to move out of their seats without her blocking their path. She didn't really need to, though, since everyone else was walking out of their seats and onto the opposite aisle. Looking up, she realized that Sasuke was standing but not moving from his seat, and he was still watching her.
She looked away briefly, focusing on her bag and zipping it closed before standing upright.
"I'll take you up on your offer," he said, before walking past her.
"You are?!"
Truthfully, she didn't really think he would. She just figured it wouldn't hurt to ask.
He continued walking up the path to the exit, and quickly, she grabs her bag and trailed after him. "Hey, wait!"
The rain had finally stopped. Sunlight peeked through the clouds, giving glimpses of warmth.
Sakura couldn't help but smile as he stopped and turned to her, a red hue on the tip of his ears. It would appear someone that looked as perfect as he did was still human after all.
Now
The overhead lights flicker.
Streams of crimson trickle onto the already stained cement. Hands strung up and held together by thick lines of rope lift his barely alive body off the ground as the light in the man's eyes dim. Dark bruises color his skin, deep cuts only continue the spill of the dye used to splatter the floor to produce a grim, troubling picture.
There's a croaking sound escaping the man's lips. His lips struggle to form the words. It all comes out in gargled noises. However, two words, released in a last exhale of breath, answers his most important question.
"The doctor…"
The flickering stops. The only source of light left in the room is the one emanating from Sasuke's phone as he checks the time.
It took seven hours.
Out of the five men that were tasked to take her last night, they had only left him for questioning. He had hoped they would get more out of him, but it seems he was eager to follow the same fate his comrades saw.
"He held out for longer than I thought he would," Obito says as he grabs a knife from the display on the wall, turning on the flashlight of his own phone. "All to say what we already basically know."
"Tch." Sasuke heads for the door, removing the discolored rubber gloves from his fingers and leaving it on the nearest metal table. "When the fuck are you going to fix the lighting in here?"
"This is my space, cuz." He spreads his arms before cutting the rope holding the corpse up, and it falls with a wet thud. "And it's for dramatic effect."
The utter joy in his face would be eerie if Sasuke isn't already aware of the fact that his cousin is putting up a front. Or perhaps he'd been playing this role for so long that he truly does enjoy this part of the job.
It's a question he has for himself, too.
Suigetsu and Karin are waiting by the door he exits, and as soon as the door shuts, the two follow him as he walks through the hall of closed doors to the elevators.
"Update."
They share a look before Karin adjusts her glasses. "Police are all over the neighborhood. Our informant reported that there were some witnesses that had called in to report they heard screaming, but they were from farther down the street. The neighbors closest to the house were all knocked out."
"The Snakes pulled quite the stunt last night for this doctor chick," Suigetsu says. "Used some kind of knockout gas before killing the cop on patrol. I guess KPD had some sense after Jirobo's murder and thought to have her watched. Poor execution, though, as always."
Rolling her eyes at Suigetsu's remarks, Karin presses the elevator button as they all stop and wait. "We were given a heads up by our informant that PD was going to stop by the doctor's house to check on her. Thankfully, the informant was involved, so the questioning about who answered the door wasn't too deep. Ms. Izumi had it handled, and they know the doctor is basically unharmed."
Sasuke couldn't help the tightness in his jaw at her wording.
Unharmed.
"He shouldn't have had the chance to put his hands on her."
The two wince at the bite in his tone.
Suigetsu, Karin, and Juugo were watching the doctor carefully as per his orders. They followed her from the hospital to her home but were distracted when they caught the attention of four of the Snakes waiting for her. That's when the fifth decided to try and grab her.
Silence envelopes the small space of the elevator car, Sasuke's sour mood overtaking the confined space, bouncing off the metal walls.
Suigetsu couldn't understand why the boss is as snippy about it as he is. It's been handled, and a neat and tidy bow has basically wrapped around the situation seeing as they thwarted The Snakes in a very last-minute operation.
Usually, Sasuke doesn't care about how perfect a plan goes so long as the goal is met, so what is different about this case? Was it because he had to step in himself? For all he knew about the boss, he seemed to enjoy taking part in the action, so that cannot be it.
If he were to be honest, things have been strange ever since he found out The Snakes have been mucking about in Uchiha territory. Konoha City was Uchiha's kingdom, and anyone stupid enough to even attempt trying to steal a portion of what this notorious family owns has always met the same ill fate.
Could he see it as a mockery of his leadership that they decide to play around the city while he's at the helm of this syndicate? Or is the Head still pissed that Sasuke managed to take some of their men from them?
Suigetsu smirks at the thought. If it's the latter, it's vindicating. After all these years, pissing off the Head is still such a satisfying feeling.
"Is Juugo still on watch?"
Karin frowns at the question. "Yes. Ms. Izumi has just left.
The elevator pings, and they reach the ground floor of the base. "Call the car."
As Sasuke walks off, Suigetsu takes a step out and watches as the people walking about make way for his path. With a sigh, he shakes his head. "He didn't even say where he wanted to go."
"It's obvious where," he hears Karin say from behind him, prompting him to turn and see the venomous look in her eyes.
Lifting a hand to block the elevator door from closing, he simply watches as something simmers from within her. But with a deep intake of breath, she calms herself, eyes closed in a silent meditation he's seen her practice whenever her anger threatened to boil to the surface.
Once again, she adjusts her glasses, the telltale sign of her getting back into the character she's molded herself into, and steps out onto the main floor. She walks past him in hurried steps, trailing after the boss as she always has.
Suigetsu shakes his head. Her jealousy has reared its ugly head. Perhaps there is more to this doctor than they all realized. Whatever it could be, it seems to be enough to bother Karin.
'Doctor Sakura Haruno,' he thinks.
A grin lifts his lips, mischievous and menacing. This may turn out more fun than he anticipated.
Sakura wakes in her bed, tucked in between her white sheets and duvet. The window is open, letting in a fresh breeze that has her green curtains softly swaying.
It should be of some comfort, to wake in a familiar place after what must have been the most harrowing and lifelike dream she's ever had. But she knows deluding herself into thinking that the events that happened last night were merely a figment of her own imagination would only be futile.
She could still feel the relentless hammering of her heart against her chest, could still hear the drumming in her ears and feel the sweat on her palms. She'd experienced true terror last night. Yet here she is, in the comfort of her own bed, in her own room.
She has so many questions swimming in the ocean of her own mind. All of them floating on the surface in neon-colored signs she could not ignore. What did they want from her? Was there more of them? What would have happened to her had no one been there to stop the man that attacked her? And what was he doing there?
She sits upright on the bed, noticing the time on the clock on the bedside table. On a normal day, she would be freaked out that she slept through an entire workday, something she has never done and would never do. But at the moment, she doesn't care.
She has more pressing matters.
Before she could fully get out of bed, her bedroom door opens, surprising her. She stills, her feet barely touching the carpet cushioning it from the dark wood beneath.
"You're awake."
The man doesn't sound menacing, but still, there's a man she doesn't know in her house. There could be multiple for all she knows. Though, if he is there to hurt her, why hadn't they done so already when she was dead asleep and exhausted?
Slowly, she turns and meets onyx eyes. Though, not the same ones she had last nights. Not quite.
He graces her with a placating smile, as if to say he means her no harm. He stays by the doorframe.
"Who are you?" Sakura asks, gripping her duvet in hopes to ground herself.
"Someone on strict orders not to touch you." He raises his hands up, palms facing her as if to show her he's got nothing.
She observes the man. Onyx eyes, equally dark hair matching its hue, and pale skin. The resemblance is there, but not quite.
As if reading her internal trepidations, he speaks again. "I'm Shisui Uchiha."
She takes a deep, uneven breath.
"You're Sasuke's…" She trails off, her voice barely audible, unsure of her own question. "Brother?"
He shakes his head. "Cousin."
She nods slowly, trying to comprehend her situation. He seems harmless, but there's something in the way he's assessing her that makes her uncomfortable. It's as if he's trying to uncover all her secrets just by staring at her, like a zoo animal behind glass as its handler watches from afar.
"And you are Dr. Haruno, correct?"
Her lips form into a thin line. "I think you know that already seeing as you're in my house."
Her tone somehow makes his lips quirk into a small smile, though not entirely sincere. "I have one question."
He isn't here to terrify her. That is not his goal, yet there is something about him that sends a shiver down her spine, that tells her she should be on her guard. It's not that of immediate danger, but it warns her of the danger that's lurking beneath. She still isn't safe.
"Who are you to Sasuke?"
Her jaw clenches.
Her hold on the duvet tightens.
Her heart drops.
Yet somehow, she finds it in her to laugh.
What did she expect?
"No one important."
With how quickly he left and with no explanation as to why, that much is enough for her to come to that conclusion.
She stands. Shisui steps aside to allow her space as she makes her way through the door where she finds another man standing by the wall, arms folded and eyes alert. He looks at her for a moment, nodding as greeting before he looks away again.
'Who else is here?' She thinks.
In the kitchen, she grabs a clean glass from her cupboard and proceeds to press it into the water filter system on her fridge. She can tell Shisui is watching her as she does so, but she can't seem to bring herself to care much as yesterday's events come back to her.
The news of Patient One's death. The police saying they were going to have someone watch her for her safety and the vagueness as to why. The man that attacked her last night. And now, an Uchiha stands in her kitchen. Just not the one she wants answers from.
She drinks the entire glass of water at once before proceeding to fill it up once more.
She can put two and two together. She's been asleep all day, relatively safe and unharmed. Shisui was apparently 'ordered' not to touch her. His cousin is her ex-boyfriend, the same man that had killed her assailant last night before he could do anything worse to her.
"Are you guys with the police?"
She can hear Shisui scoff at the question. "Don't say that to Sasuke. That would only insult him."
"But you guys aren't here to hurt me?" She stares at the granite countertop, steeling herself.
"If we wanted you hurt, you would have been already."
"Then, what are you here for?" She looks up, finally meeting his gaze.
"You're caught up in something big now, Doctor." He puts his hands in his pocket. "And we're here on orders to keep you out of it as best we can."
She frowns. "You don't sound like you want to do this."
"You're mistaken." He smiles again, that same insincere smile he'd graced her earlier. "I'll do as I'm told, but I'm merely curious."
"About me?"
"About what it is about you that has my dear little cousin so affected," he says, his smile growing more earnest. "He's not one to care about pieces in the puzzle, so to speak. Which makes me think you're not a mere piece but something else."
He's speaking in riddles. She has no idea what he's talking about, so she responds in the only way she thinks to. She responds with what she thinks is truth. "Again, I'm no one important."
Shisui shakes his head. "Quite the opposite, Doctor. You're very important. Only question now is how important are you?"
"There are a lot of questions, actually." She sets the glass down on the counter. "Like, who gave you your orders? And what exactly am I caught in the middle of?"
Shisui looks to the front door. "You were trained by Dr. Tsunade Senju, yes?"
Her eyes grow wide. "How did you-"
"So you are aware that with how brilliant she was, the more danger she found herself in?"
She grits her teeth, knowing all too well what he's alluding to.
"And considering you aren't completely terrified and shellshocked after what you endured, deep down you know why you're in danger."
Patient One.
All the secrecy surrounding him. The police's involvement.
Sakura pinches the bridge of her nose as her eyes shut tight. Tsunade had warned her in the past. She thought she had been careful. Apparently, she'd finally slipped.
She knew she shouldn't have accepted taking in Patient One, yet she did. Something in her subconscious mind had been telling her to do it. Was it intuition? A gut feeling? Whatever it was, something had compelled her into agreeing.
"No one should know I've been helping you," the older doctor told her. "I never take apprentices."
"Then, why take me?"
She smiled, then. "You remind me too much of myself."
"You say that like it's a bad thing."
"Too much of a good thing can become a bad thing. I just want to teach you not to do things that you'd regret."
"Because I remind you so much of you?"
"Yes."
"Then, maybe the first lesson you taught me should have been to stay away from the sake if we're going by regrets."
Tsunade smacked her in the head for the sass. "Don't question my lesson plan, kid. First rule is always to what?"
"Trust my gut."
It's laughable. Her first lesson ended up leading her to danger.
Tsunade was right. Sakura was too much like her.
"Who am I up against?" She asks.
"That," Shisui points a finger at her. "Is a question for the boss."
He smirks. "And he'll be here sooner than you think."
Before she could respond and as if on cue, the front door opens and in he walks. Sasuke Uchiha looks just as he did last night. As best as her memory can recall, it would seem he's wearing the same clothes, too.
Two people walk in with him, a man and a woman, staying by the wall as the door closes and he waltzes in with the same air of arrogance she remembers.
"Sakura," he says, voice softer than his subordinates have ever heard him speak before.
To Sakura, it only brings back heartache. She isn't sure if it has ever truly healed.
"Sasuke." She looks at him, uncertain yet defiant.
Always a conundrum to him. It's a relief that hasn't changed.
"What are you doing here?"
It happens in slow motion. The same picture of a smirk, but flashes of him in the past cover his face before it settles into who he is now.
More unapproachable.
More intimidating.
Scarier.
Yet deep down, she can't help but see the same man from the past.
She can see the same man she fell in love with.
And that frightens her most of all.
"You need my help."
End Notes:
oof this was a doozy of a chapter to write yall
we get more character intros and peeks into character and relationship dynamics. this will be quite a ride, and I only hope to pack emotional punches well but we're ways away right now. I'm really excited for y'all to see what's planned. my outline has me jumping off my seat at how excited I am for the drama dkjasdkjaskd
anyway, thanks again to Mel ( _meoowwxx) for the art. it's so gorgeous, right?! got me so inspired to write a future scene but we're not there yet sdjfhsjdkf we have a lot of building up to do.
ss characterization wise, I took Inspo from their genin selves for the then section of this chapter but ofc changed slightly because they are in college. as for the now section, I wanted it to give shippuden era ss.
tell me what y'all think in the comments!
now, we sing:
WHO'S GONNA STOP US FROM WALTZING BACK INTO REKINDLED FLAMES IF WE KNOW THE STEPS ANYWAY?
WE EMBROIDERED THE MEMORIES OF THE TIME I WAS AWAY STITCHING, "WE WERE JUST KIDS, BABE"
I SAID "I DON'T MIND. IT TAKES TIME." I THOUGHT I WAS BETTER SAFE AND STARRY EYED
I FELT AGLOW LIKE THIS NEVER BEFORE AND NEVER SINCE