Shisui had his fair share of weird and rare 'moments' in this life, or as he liked to call them 'weiraments'. One of them was when his memories as a toddler overcame his mind such that he acted as a three year old for five consecutive weeks during his first year in college. But it seemed that this was an even bigger 'weirament' he had ever encountered. The meal had gone rather uneventful as Karin cut it short since she had to go back to work and take Sarada to her babysitter. Sakura was nonetheless grateful for the interruption. With the work of a quick genjutsu, Itachi and Shisui wiped out her schoolmates' memories making it as though they never met in the first place.
And now as they huddled in Sakura's room, with the said girl pacing in the room impatiently, he couldn't help but wonder if she had it worse than him. She was gnawing on her thumb and had been doing so for the past five minutes and it was starting to grate on his nerves, if her eerie zombie march back to their residence was anything to go by. "Cut the act Sakura. Tell us what you know before we force it out of you, we're a team," Shisui spoke with a stern face. Sakura looked guiltily at him as she stopped pacing. "I'm sorry, I'm just surprised is all. It doesn't make sense why she should be here with Karin of all the people?" she said with a sigh as she joined the two Uchiha males on the floor.
"Do we need to remind you that we have no idea what you're talking about?" the curly haired boy pointed out. "Okay, I'm sorry. My heart tends to override my mind at times," she apologized. "That girl, the one who's Karin's daughter, she was Sasuke's daughter in my timeline. I used to spend a lot of time with her since Sasuke was away most of the time until her early teenage years when she became a genin," she explained. "But Karin wasn't her mother. She helped to deliver Sarada since Sasuke's wife gave birth during one of their travels but that's as far as their relationship went so I'm concerned why she has a different mother this time plus Sasuke had her when he was 21," she said as a frown marred her features.
She looked at the both of them, gauging their reactions. "Wait a sec, you mean Sasuke, the Sasuke Uchiha who was afraid of girls had a kid?!" Shisui exclaimed, baffled. Sakura nodded mutely. She looked at Itachi who had an eerily blank face. "Is everything alright?" she asked him. The Uchiha in question chuckled as he wiped a hand over his eyes. "I'm glad," he said with a soft smile gracing his face. "I never thought that Sasuke would have a child, let alone have someone who loved him enough to settle down with him," he said. Sakura's heart constricted in emotion. "Have a little faith in your brother," she said with a nervous chuckle. "Thank you for taking care of Sarada on behalf of Sasuke," he said as he bowed to the floor.
"Y-You don't have to bow. Plus Sasuke thanked me everytime so it's okay," she said with averted eyes. 'If only you knew,' she thought to herself. "Do you remember Sasuke's wife?" Shisui asked. 'No," she said as she schooled her face into a neutral expression. "But I do know that she was one of the strongest kunoichi of her time. She also loved Sasuke endlessly, she was devoted to him beyond imagination. At one point, I doubted that Sasuke actually loved her when he spent thirteen years without coming home but I later discovered that he kept in touch with her all those years, no matter how brief. Even though they weren't touchy feely but you could see it in their eyes," she told them. "Plus Sarada told me that her mom always 'glowed' in the morning whenever Sasuke was home, if you know what I mean," she added with a suggestive wink.
"Cut! We're not going to talk about my little cousin's sex life," Shisui exclaimed though she could tell he was enjoying it. "It seems you were pretty close to Sasuke's wife, weren't you?" Itachi said with a thoughtful look. "Duh, I was his teammate, the only female who could stand to be in his presence and not actually get scared by his mood swings," she said with an eye roll. "Sasuke had a really loyal teammate," Itachi thought out loud. "Yeah, I guess," she said as she looked away.
"Enough about Sasuke. We're here to recruit Karin. Plus an additional assignment of investigating why Sarada is with the wrong person and at the wrong time," Sakura said as she stood up. "I'm going to write a message to Fugaku-san about Sarada," she spoke and promptly left the room. "Is she aware that she left her phone in here?" Shisui asked. Itachi shook his head.
"I really feel like there's something that she's not telling us, particularly about 'Sasuke's devoted wife'," he said with air quotes. "Give her time, she'll come clean soon," Itachi sighed.
Sakura was walking in the streets. It was pretty late given the few pedestrians walking. However, her mind was occupied. She was going to have to come clean about her relationship with Sasuke but she just didn't want to. She felt she wasn't ready to meet her in-laws yet. In her past timeline, she always wondered how well Sasuke's family would receive her as his wife but now that she had the chance, she was running away like a coward. 'I'll tell them after this mission,' she thought with finality. They at least deserved to know.
In a brief moment, the world around her shifted and she was falling off a cliff. Wind slashed at every part of her exposed skin which was surprisingly bare with no clothes. 'Pft, this is way too easy,' she thought as she dispelled the genjutsu. Whereas the genjutsu lasted for a few minutes but it was only a few seconds in reality. She was back in Tokyo however she was in a dark alley. In front of her stood a single figure wearing a dark cloak with a hood which covered the face but left the mouth and cheeks exposed. Immediately, she tensed, preparing herself to fight if need arose. "Who are you?" she asked with narrowed eyes. "Sakura Haruno," the figure spoke, ignoring her question.
"What do you want from me? You better speak now before I make you," she warned. Sensing no intention to reply, she flashed in front of himt, aiming a kick at the head. The figure didn't move and her foot connected with it, sending the person into the dumpsters at the end of the alley. She wasted no time to close the distance between them and hauled him off the ground by his collar. Using one hand, she ripped away the hood revealing a face she didn't recognize. What she noticed were the green pupilless eyes staring back at her. Blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
"Whatever you're doing, stop before the Commission comes," he spoke in a monotone voice. "The Commission? What's that?" she asked. She had never heard of a 'commission' before. "If you want to save your life, avoid the government at all costs," he said. 'What gibberish is he talking?' she thought to herself. "Don't poke your nose where it doesn't belong," he said again before his eyes lost their color and went limp in her arms.
She dropped him to the ground unceremoniously before checking his body for any credentials. There were none. She checked his body for any injuries and did a medical exam. Everything about him was normal except for the earring he was wearing on his left ear. On it was the kanji for the Allied Shinobi Forces which was crossed twice in the middle. That was interesting enough. Sealing his body in a scroll, she made her way back to her motel.
"Is that all he said?" Shisui asked. "As far as I can remember, yes," she replied easily. "Could anyone be aware of our other assignments?" she thought out loud. "Maybe, though I am surprised how anyone would come to know of it unless one of us told them," Itachi pointed out. "I guess so," she replied. "Did you talk to Fugaku?" Shisui asked. She shook her head no. "Let's wait a few days and come up with something solid before we send the information, what we have at the moment are guesses," the older boy spoke. "What about Karin?" Itachi asked.
"I'm going to visit her workplace tomorrow. I managed to place a tracker on Sarada before they left and she works at a pharmacy downtown," she told them as she rubbed her tired eyes. "Feeling sleepy?" Shisui asked. "A lot more than you think. I'm exhausted mentally more than physically. Tomorrow I'll be good as new," she said with a yawn. "Good night," she sighed as she ushered them out of her room. "Don't let the bed bugs bite," the curly haired boy teased. "They'll meet the wrath of my fist if they try," came the reply as she closed the door.
She had a much needed beauty sleep waiting for her.
The next morning, she got up later than usual by half an hour but it was still early. If she wanted to talk to Karin alone then she had to be early. It wasn't like she was going to agree on the first try. Dressed in a blue skirt and a maroon sweater with a cream shirt inside coupled with white sandals, she made her to the redhead's workplace. Her hair was down in the usual hairstyle except she was wearing a maroon ribbon. Ino always insisted that she show her forehead instead of covering it.
She arrived to find the older girl talking to a client who wanted tablets for high blood pressure. "I'm telling you, I can't give you those without a prescription from your doctor," Karin said with barely concealed impatience. "I don't need a doctor to tell me that my so-called wife is giving me BP. Now give me before I call your manager," the old man said with wispy grey hair, a receding hairline and toothless gums. "You're talking to the manager," she replied boredly. The man tsk'ed before limping away all the while muttering how troublesome women were in general. 'Wouldn't be too surprised if he turned out to be Shikamaru's grandfather,' she thought with an inward smile as she went to the redhead.
"Hello Karin," she greeted. "If it isn't Mrs. Uchiha, can't say that though in this timeline," she said as she studied her nails as if they were the most interesting thing. Annoyance was written in capital letters on the pinkette's face but she held her tongue. "I'm not here to fight. I just want to talk," she forced out. "As soon you can see, I'm occupied with my job now why you just hurry along before I force you myself," she said, her red eyes menacing. Immediately, the two females' chakra lashed out at each other, killing intent heavy in the room.
'I can easily kill her but I won't, for the sake of the mission and Sarada,' Sakura thought as she forced her chakra to withdraw. "Look, I'm still trying to figure out how you became Sarada's mother but that's not what I'm here for. I have an offer for you, in return we'll provide you with everything you need," she spoke diplomatically. "I don't want any handouts. I'm fine the way I am," Karin replied curtly. "It's not a handout. But we need your help, your fuinjutsu skills specifically," she told her. "What point of I'm not interested don't you understand?" the redhead shot back. "Please, I know you're not really happy to see me right now and I understand you entirely but please just think it through. I'll be back tomorrow if you're ready to hear me out," she said as she placed a piece of paper on the table with her name and number on it.
"Maybe if you didn't place a tracker on my daughter I'd actually listen to you," she scoffed in return. "Sorry about that. I didn't have any other option to find you," the medic replied. "There's this thing called the internet, try using it baka," the Uzumaki as she turned her head away in contempt. Sakura sighed and was just about to leave when her friends walked into the restaurant. "Sakura!" Both Naruto and Ino exclaimed at the sight of her. "Hey guys," she waved with a forced smile. 'Just what I needed,' she thought miserably.
Sorry for not updating. I really appreciate your continued support. Please don't forget to leave a review!
Tozoonana
AfricanFire
