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frostmarris · 5 years ago

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Ablaze

Yandere!Shisui/Yakuza!Sakura

notes: ok apparently i cant keep things simple. another drabble request that got out of hand.

this is for @lunarlegend11 who requested a yandere or yakuza shisui/sakura but i misread things, realized there was an OR, then went ahead and did both anyways

enjoy!

: :

Shisui wasn't in the habit of getting into strange cars without knowing where he was headed, but when a yakuza thug is the one to step out of a shiny black S-class Mercedes with windows tinted too dark to be legal and orders him to get in, he's not about to argue.

There's another well-dressed man inside and Shisui is forced to slide in next to him, sandwiched between the two stony-faced men when the first joins them inside. He hesitates to ask what's going on or where they're taking him, so he sits quietly and cautiously takes in as much visual information as he can.

The car races down the street and he attempts to keep track of the route without too noticeably looking out the windows, but one of the men shifts, crossing his arms across his chest, and Shisui glances down to see the tattoos peeking out from under his sleeve. His eye is drawn to the thick white outline of a simple circle nestled amongst the rolling waves and twisting tree branches and Shisui sits back, realizing who's car he's in. He's silent the rest of the drive and, before long, the vehicle stops and the door is opened by yet another yakuza. A sharp nudge from the man to his left urges Shisui to exit and he slides out, glancing around as he realizes he's in an underground parking garage.

He's led to an elevator and is taken up to the top floor, all without any sort of explanation. The elevator doors slide open to reveal a lobby of sorts, where a few other men and women are lounging. Some watch him pass by as he's led to the singular door at the end of a short hallway while others pay him little mind, obviously uninterested.

Shisui stands a little straighter as he realizes he's likely being taken to the boss, his head held high with just enough confidence to not come off as offensive.

The man walking in front of him at the lead opens the door and pushes it in, taking up a spot just to the right as Shisui is ushered in. It's an office, he realizes as he spots the desk at the center back. The lights are rather dim in the room and the chair behind the desk is empty, but he hears the sound of a page turning and looks to his left to see a woman sitting in a comfortable armchair. The lamp situated just behind her is giving off the most light and she sits with one leg crossed over the other, a file folder propped up on her knee. There's a small side table to her right with a short stack of documents situated next to a steaming mug, which she takes a delicate sip from as the door is shut behind Shisui and the two guards bar his exit.

But he can't tear his gaze away from the woman, silent as he takes in her appearance.

She's wearing a sleek black suit - obviously custom made as it fits her perfectly - with ruby cufflinks and a simple white circle outline pinned to the left lapel. The jacket is open and the top four buttons of the crisp white shirt underneath are undone, the fabric parted just enough to let a few of the tattoos around her collarbone peek out. Her hair - a darker, almost orange-ish pink under the yellow light of the lamp - is pulled up in a topknot with bangs, center-parted, framing her face. There's a simple purple diamond tattooed on the center of her forehead and her ears are pierced, simple diamond studs on each lobe.

Her eyeliner is winged, her lips painted red, and she doesn't look up from the document she's reading as she addresses him.

"Uchiha Shisui, yes?"

Her voice is softer than he'd been expecting and Shisui hesitates for too long, still staring wide-eyed at the woman.

"Answer Haruno-sama," One of the guards behind him grunts as he pushes him forward to stop just a few feet in front of her, obviously irritated with his lack of a response. The gruff voice and the confirmation of what family he was speaking to pulls Shisui from his stupor and he stands just a little straighter before he bows politely, trying to keep his tone even.

"Yes, that's me."

She nods, the light catching off the cherry blossom charm dangling from the ornamental pin in her hair, and flips the page over, grabbing a fountain pen from the side table. Her hand moves with a quick flick as she scratches a line through something on the paper and the room is silent besides the soft jazz music playing from an antique record player in the corner.

Shisui nearly jumps when she speaks again.

"You're the owner and executive chef of Restaurant Moeruki," She says, pausing for just a moment before her eyes finally cut up to him, looking at him for the first time since he'd arrived. He's rather startled by the intense green of her eyes but he catches himself before he can grow too distracted when she continues. "Correct?"

"Yes," He answers, almost unsurely. He has no clue what interests the yakuza have in his restaurant, but it definitely couldn't be good.

"Excellent!" She says, turning slightly to actually face him and her lips lifting with a slight smile.

(Shisui doesn't understand why seeing her so pleased makes his heart pound.)

She maintains that even smile as she speaks, propping one elbow on the armrest and the other on her thigh as she laces her fingers together.

"On March 28th, two weeks from now, you will close your dining room to the general public and host a banquet for myself and my family."

It's neither a request nor a demand - its a proclamation. One that leaves Shisui feeling shell-shocked.

"W-what?" He asks before he can stop himself, instantly regretting it when her smile falls slightly.

One of the guards behind him seems to take offense to him questioning his boss and the back of one of Shisui's knees is kicked in - not enough to injure him but enough to drop him to the floor with a surprised grunt.

The pink-haired woman clicks her tongue and sends the guard a disapproving look over Shisui's shoulder. The man bows his head and offers her an apology before taking up his spot next to the door again. She sits back, both of her arms laying on the armrests, and moves her crossed leg to catch the toe of her leather, stiletto-heeled boot under his chin. Shisui's head is tilted up and he's left in his kneeling position in front of her, that smile appearing on her face again.

Her boot lowers and she uncrosses her legs to stand, gesturing for Shisui to do so as well before she moves towards her desk. He stands, unable to tear his gaze away, and turns to watch her as she leans against a corner of the mahogany desk and crosses her arms over her chest, practically sitting on the tabletop.

"As I was saying," She continues, her gaze still on him. "March 28th. I've heard a fair deal of good things about Moeruki and wish to celebrate my birthday in your restaurant."

Shisui resists the urge to glance back at the man who had kicked him and bows, recovering much quicker than earlier with his response.

"I would be honored, Haruno-sama."

Her smile widens and she nods to one of the guards who then slips out of the room. As the door closes, she pushes off of the corner of the desk and moves around it to take her seat in a plush office chair, pulling a document towards her.

"As it will be a private event, your establishment will need to be closed to its regular patrons," She looks down - he immediately misses her gaze on him - and grabs a pen, writing something down as she continues. "But don't fret, Uchiha-kun. It will still be a full house and you will be paid handsomely for your hospitality."

She pauses to search through a drawer to her left and soon straightens with a small black business card in hand, a phone number printed in silver on one side and the Haruno family insignia on the other.

"My… event coordinator will be in contact with you to assist in booking entertainment and to pick out the courses for the dinner." She doesn't look up from the paper she's still writing on, the card caught between her fore and middle finger as she holds it out to him. "Your menu is one of the highlights of your restaurant so I wish to sample from it - with just a few additions."

Shisui reaches out to take the card, his knuckle just barely brushing her fingertip, and nods, inwardly trying not to imagine what sort of 'events' a mafia gang would need a coordinator for.

The door opens behind him and the guard returns, holding a thick envelope and a mobile phone. Her pen pauses and she looks up at Shisui as he's handed both, realizing the cellphone is likely a burner phone for contacting her coordinator.

He's suddenly aware of how her looking at him fills his chest with a pleased, warm feeling.

"Half of your payment now, half on the 29th," She nods to the heavy envelope, the weight of the cash inside the final piece of proof that this was really happening, and leans back in her chair, crossing her legs again as she maintains that easy smile and intense gaze. "Should my birthday celebration be a success, you will see a surge in business - this I can assure you, Uchiha-kun."

Shisui clutches the envelope, phone, and business card in a tight grip and bows once more, torn between apprehension and excitement.

"I look forward to serving you, Haruno-sama. Thank you for this opportunity."

: :

Haruno Sakura.

The name repeats over and over in Shisui's mind over the next two weeks.

He can't get her out of his head - that smile, the sound of her voice, those eyes - even despite the fact that one wrong move would likely lead to his death.

His staff are understandably distressed when he announces the banquet they'll be hosting in her honor, but they work diligently to make sure everything is prepared for the night to go off without a hitch. With all of the food and supplies ordered and the musicians booked, Restaurant Moeruki closes a day early to decorate the dining room according to the 'event coordinator's' direction. One of the private party rooms is spruced up even more so for the guest of honor and her entourage and Shisui elects to prepare their dishes himself. He's meticulous with the menu, looks over every detail of the decor personally, gives the pep talk of the century to his kitchen and waitstaff, and, by the day of Haruno Sakura's birthday, he's feeling confident that the evening will be a success.

The entire restaurant staff is waiting in the lobby to welcome their guests, with Shisui standing at the head of the lineup, his heart in his throat as she walks in.

Her pink hair is pulled up in an intricate bun, a flowering hairpin with dangling gems and charms tucked in on the left side, and, when she turns her head to speak to the woman at her arm, Shisui can see the detailed mandala design etched into her undercut at her nape. Her makeup is rather delicate but her lips are still blood red, parting as she laughs as she passes him by and enters the restaurant.

She's dressed in a spring yukata, the base fabric a simple organic design of pale greens and blues with falling cherry blossoms, the same shade as her hair, scattered over the bottom half and sleeves. The obi is a darker shade of pink and doesn't reach as high up her abdomen as traditionally. The charms hanging from the mint green cord tied around the middle of the obi jingle and dance with every step and Shisui nearly forgets himself as he watches her walk through the doors leading inside.

With a hushed voice he quickly reminds his staff to be careful yet polite and moves to escort Sakura and her entourage to their private dining room, doing his utmost to get her to look at and acknowledge him.

Once they're situated and drinks are quickly brought in, the music from the band easily reaching the room through the closed rice-paper door, Shisui excuses himself to head to the kitchen.

He returns, some minutes later, with the first course to personally send off the start of her meal, but is soon trapped in the kitchen as he oversees the rest of the meal. His only knowledge of what's happening in the restaurant and, specifically, the private room, is through reports from the waitstaff, who aren't sure whether to be relieved or more nervous the more the yakuza members drink.

Finally, as the banquet approaches its end, Shisui returns to present dessert and see her again for the first time in hours.

Her gaze passes right over him but lights up at the sight of the cake he'd hired a professional pastry chef to create and Shisui stays to play host, making sure that all of Sakura's needs are met.

Later in the evening, when the cake is gone and most of the lower subordinates are either drunkenly dozing or too engrossed in their own conversations to remember they're not at their headquarters, Shisui feels the oddest feeling begin to burn in his chest.

He's stood at attention with his other head host just next to the sliding door, at the ready for any of the special guests to make any manner of request. He tries to keep his gaze down respectfully, idly listening to the entourage's drunken conversation, but can't pull his attention away from her.

Sakura's face is flushed from the alcohol (he's lost track of how many bottles of sake and liquor they'd gone through) and she's pulled her arms out of the sleeves of her yukata, the fabric laying loosely around her waist, to combat the warmth of the room. The flush to her skin extends down her bare chest, her breasts uncovered and the tattoos over her shoulders and ribs exposed, but she is entirely unbothered by her partial nudity. She exudes an air of confidence that permeates the room, as comfortable in her bare skin as she would be with a shirt and jacket.

Her arms are strong and lean and the muscles of her shoulders and back are well-defined with her every move, though he only sees them when she turns or twists around. Shisui finds his gaze traveling from the head of the dragon curved over her right shoulder all the way down to where the tail appears across her left ribs. The remaining body of the dragon is tattooed across her back and, while her skin isn't as decorated as older bosses, he's sure that in a few years she'd have a multitude of new tattoos covering her arms and torso, with that traditional strip of unmarked skin running down the center of her body.

Shisui continues to watch her, taking in every detail as their conversation seems to fade out and all of the voices muddle together-

Until suddenly Sakura is laughing and his heart both clenches and soars.

It soars because her laugh is one of the most lovely things he's ever heard, almost bringing a reflexive smile to his own face.

But it clenches as she turns to the red-haired woman at her side, Sakura's arm around her waist as the unknown woman sits on her thigh, practically in her lap. The redhead, dressed in an expensive-looking velvet dress, says something that makes her laugh again but the words don't register in Shisui's mind - he's too focused, too lost, as Sakura catches the woman's chin between her thumb and forefinger, pulls her closer by the arm around her waist, and leans in, that intense green gaze centered entirely on her and not on him, not on him, why won't she look at him-

Sakura kisses the red-haired woman deeply and Shisui doesn't realize his hands have curled into tight fists at his side until the other host nudges his arm, his gaze full of confusion and concern.

Shisui is snapped out of his daze and glances to his employee, trying not to flinch when he quickly unclenches his hands and feels how close he'd come to making his fingernails cut into his palm. He puts on a reassuring smile that's dripping with lies and relaxes his stance, inwardly relieved that her lieutenant and the four other yakuza ranked directly under her right hand man hadn't noticed how intensely he'd been watching Sakura.

(His chest is aching, burning and tight and full of an anger he doesn't understand, fire caught in his throat and smoke in his lungs and the image of her kissing someone else - someone who wasn't him, why did he wish he was in her place why did his chest burn burn burn - replaying over and over in his mind.)

The laughter and drunken conversation continues for a while, with staff members coming and going with requests from the main party, until, finally, everything seems to wind down and it's apparent that the Haruno yakuza are ready to head home.

"Uchiha-kun."

Shisui looks up at the sound of her voice, in the middle of speaking quietly with one of his head waiters but quickly dropping the conversation to focus on Sakura. She beckons him with a curled finger, one arm in a yukata sleeve and the other still bare, and her gaze heavy from the alcohol and merrymaking.

"Come, sit with me for a moment," She commands, nodding to the empty cushion to her left. She's sitting with one leg crossed and the other propped up, her clothed arm resting on her raised knee while the red-haired woman lays next to her, her head on her thigh and her hair spilling into Sakura's lap. The yakuza boss wears the redhead's discarded glasses, perched on top of her head like a pair of shades, and sends Shisui a friendly smile as he kneels on the cushion.

"My compliments to you and your staff for this evening," Sakura says, her attention finally, finally focused entirely on Shisui (even though she's idly combing her fingers through her sleeping companion's red tresses) and he sends her an easy-going smile that completely belies the fire still burning in his chest and the crescent indents in his palms.

"I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself, Haruno-sama," Shisui replies smoothly, his head bowing so that he could force his gaze away from those red lips. "It's been an honor to serve you - and a bigger honor still to host your birthday celebration."

She laughs and he has to stop himself from looking up at her too suddenly, the ache in his chest waning at the sound of her joy and the sight of her eyes only on him.

"You're welcome back to the Restaurant Moeruki anytime, Haruno-sama."

(He so desperately wants to say her name, wants to say it aloud and taste it on his tongue and feel the breath he would use for the single word as it leaves his lungs, leaving behind a sacred emptiness because nothing could possibly fill the space.)

Her smile widens and his heart soars - only to crash yet again as she gathers the sleeping redhead in her arms and moves to stand, lifting and carrying the woman with ease. Shisui quickly stands as well, stepping aside as she heads towards the door of the private room, her subordinates filing out with tired yawns and a few drunken laughs.

"We will certainly be returning," Sakura says, turning to look at Shisui once more, "That, you can be assured of, Uchiha-kun."

She refocuses her attention on the woman in her arms and that ache returns as Shisui is forced to watch her softly mutter something in the redhead's ear, those red lips curved in a gentle smile when the woman shifts, rests her head in the crook of Sakura's neck, and drapes an arm over her clothed shoulder.

Sakura presses a kiss against the corner of her jaw as she turns away and Shisui feels something warm and wet drip down his fingers, belatedly realizing he'd clenched his hands into fists again.

He hides his bloody palms as he escorts the woman whose smile he desires more than anything ever before out through his restaurant, the flames growing in his chest contained behind a friendly facade with his lips sealed and a silent voice screaming in his lungs.

: :

Just as Sakura had promised, the restaurant sees a huge increase in business over the following month as they become one of the most popular establishments in the city. It's both a blessing and a curse - the surge in traffic brings in more money and opportunities while the looming presence of the yakuza leaves everyone on edge.

She returns thrice more that first month, reservations for herself and the higher ranking members always called in in advance and a few instructions given beforehand on whether they'd be making any special requests - such as off-menu dishes or what sort of music they wanted booked for the evening.

Shisui fortunately never has to close the entire restaurant again like he had for Sakura's birthday, but one of the private dining rooms quickly becomes reserved specifically for her party. The staff knows better than to ever take other guests into it - even when the restaurant is fully booked - just on the off chance that the Haruno family drops by unexpectedly for an impromptu dinner.

He always greets her at the door when she arrives with her entourage, always insists on preparing her meals himself, always checks in after the last dish is served, and always is the one to escort her out at the end of the evening.

He rarely has her undivided attention during her visits, no matter how desperately he craves it, until, at the end of her fourth meal at Moeruki, Sakura calls for him personally.

She's seated at the head of the table, like always, but the cushions at her right and left are vacant as the redhead and her first lieutenant are in the midst of a karaoke battle at the other side of the room. Most of the other men and women of the party are focused on cheering along but a few remain at the table, chatting with each other.

Sakura sits with her legs tucked neatly under her, dressed in a beautiful black kimono with a design of spider lily flowers cascading down from one of her shoulders, starting out white but becoming blood red by the time they reach the bottom hem. Her silver obi has an intricate geometric pattern and the other layers of her outfit provide red and white accents, matching the sparkling headpiece pinned into her pink hair, which is pulled up high on her head.

In front of her is a sake bottle and a single cup and she gestures for him to sit to her left when he enters, the other yakuza paying him little mind.

Her lips are a darker shade of red than usual and Shisui nearly misses her words when she speaks after he's taken his place beside her, too focused on how desperately he wishes he could feel them against his own and taste her laugh.

"-ve greatly enjoyed my meals here, Uchiha-kun," Sakura says, her gaze not on him as she carefully pours sake into the single cup. "And i would like to make my dining in Restaurant Moeruki a regular occurrence."

Her eyes cut up to him suddenly, intense and heavy as she looks at Shisui from under her lashes. His heart leaps to his throat and that now ever-present ache is lessened, the roaring fire calmed by her attention.

"If you find that agreeable," Sakura continues, lifting the cup to her lips and taking a delicate sip.

"Of course," Shisui answers, without hesitation. The music is still playing but he doesn't hear anyone singing, but he can't - doesn't want to - tear his gaze away from her own for even a moment. "It is a privilege to serve you, Haruno-sama-"

(Sakura, Sakura, Sakura -)

"-and we would be honored to continue doing so."

Her lips curl into that smile that he covets and the hand holding the sake cup moves towards him, offering it to Shisui. He takes the small glass, his fingers brushing her own, and can see where her lips had met the rim, a red mark left behind from her lipstick.

Had she not been scrutinizing him so closely, he likely would have turned the cup to press his lips where hers had been, an indirect kiss that would leave his lips tingling from the ghost of her presence.

But he doesn't turn the cup and simply brings it to his mouth as-is, suddenly realizing what was happening.

An informal sakazuki-goto - a pledge of loyalty.

Shisui drinks slowly, hoping it doesn't come off as hesitation, and sets the cup down, belatedly realizing that the other occupants of the room had laid witness to him pledging himself to the Haruno family.

Sakura smiles, chuckles, and reaches out to catch his chin between her forefinger and thumb once the entourage have returned their attention to the karaoke match. He's caught by surprise as she pulls him closer, his heartbeat drowning out his thoughts when she leans forward and closes her eyes.

Her lips press against just the corner of his mouth in a teasing kiss and Shisui is both ecstatic and distraught, so close to tasting her but finally receiving even the barest of skin contact from this beautiful, disastrous woman.

The fire in his chest bursts and crackles and the smoke in his lungs coil and smothers his breaths and he wants more than anything to turn his head to steal a proper kiss- to reach out an arm and curl it around her waist- to pull her flush to his chest and thread his fingers through her pink hair and kiss her as deeply as he does in his dreams and feel her body against his own and whisper in her ear just how desperately he craves her and and and-

But he controls himself, knowing such an action would likely lead to his death right here, right now, and pulls away only when she releases him, the corner of his mouth tingling.

His heart yearns and his chest aches and his blood boils when she turns away and he's dismissed, horrified to find that her kiss had been too light to even leave the slightest red mark behind.

: :

Shisui stands there next to the door to the walk-in, half hidden behind a tall rack of supplies and the table linens, to see one of the head waiters at the back exit just down the hall, the door propped open enough for him to see the younger man pass a key to a stranger in black.

It's late, late in the evening, the restaurant already closed and the guests and most of the staff all headed home and Shisui stares for a good long while, taking in the man's sunglasses and the sleeve of tattoos peeking out from under his jacket. They're speaking, but Shisui can't hear the words being exchanged, and the waiter turns to head back inside when the man pockets the key and leaves, looking nervous but pleased with with himself as he closes the back door.

His expression falls, however, when he sees Shisui standing there, his face paling slightly as his eyes go wide.

"U-uchiha-san! How… how long have you been there?"

Shisui steps closer, a heavy pit in his stomach as he approaches his staff member.

"What just happened?" Shisui asks, his voice soft and his tone calm even though he can feel something beginning to bubble inside him. "Who was that man? What was that key you gave him?"

The waiter looks more and more nervous with each question and he forces a shaky laugh, trying to play it all off, but then his eyes meet Shisui's intense gaze and he cracks, wringing his hands as he makes himself small.

"I-I'm just trying to help the restaurant! Trying to help you, sir!"

Shisui tilts his head and smiles his easy-going smile, resting his hands on his hips as he blocks the waiter' path.

"Trying to help me how?"

Brown eyes glance over his shoulder before refocusing on his face, sweat starting to bead on the man's forehead.

"E-ever since the yakuza- ever since they showed up, everything's been different," He insists, unsettled by Shisui's friendly expression. "Th-the staff- they act like things are okay now, b-but I know they're still nervous- still scared that one wrong move means they'll be shot or butchered."

"Haruno-sama and her affiliates' patronage to Restaurant Moeruki has brought us nothing but success and good business," Shisui responds evenly, his fingers twitching slightly.

The waiter's distress visibly increases and he shakes his head, starting to grow angry.

"N-no! It's their fault- her fault!" He steps forward, his expression somewhere between hopeful and frustrated. "You don't have to act like that, Uchiha-san! They're not here to see - I know you feel the same! We're trapped like rats, too afraid to even breathe, and it's all because of that damn woman."

The corner of Shisui's lip twitches and the friendly look on his face falls, his voice taking a warning tone.

"You shouldn't speak ill of our guests."

"She's not a guest!" The waiter says, reaching up to clutch his head as he turns around in anger, pacing as much as he can at the end of the hall. "Don't you see?! She's a viper that's going to have us all killed if she doesn't get her way! She's a monster with a pretty face! That's why-"

Each insult to Sakura makes Shisui's blood boil hotter and hotter, lava in his veins and smoldering ash in his lungs as he takes another step forward, pausing when the waiter cuts himself off.

"That's why, what? " Shisui asks gently, filled with anger on behalf of the dazzling, otherworldly woman he thinks about night and day.

It's been just over three months since her birthday and her visits come regularly, just as she said they would. She dines at Moeruki at least every two weeks, always in her private room with her party of high ranking subordinates and a few close companions. Over time, Shisui began to become a familiar sight amongst them, always joining them after their meal and growing closer and closer to Sakura.

He still coveted her gaze and her smile but each time he was the cause of her laugh or kept her attention centered on him as he told an amusing story, his heart filled with a joy that was almost painful. So close yet still so far from her, he would be patient and do all he could to earn her favor, to have her look only at him- smile only at him- love only him-

"-ith her gone, things will go back to normal!"

Shisui's attention snapped back to the waiter, a dark look on his eyes.

The man boldly continues, hoping to help his employer see reason.

"That's why I gave them the key. They'll come in through the back, quietly take her and those disgusting thugs out, and then everything will be fine again!" He reaches out to grip the front of Shisui's jacket, his knuckle white as he clenches the fabric in his fists. "We won't have to be afraid anymore!"

Shisui takes a slow, deep breath, his expression calm despite the rage behind his gaze.

"When that horrible woman is dead, everything will go back to normal and everything will be fine and-"

Shisui doesn't notice when his hand drops to the belt around his waist to remove one of his well-used knives from its holster - he's barely even aware when he plunges the blade into the waiters chest, his other hand raising to cover his mouth as he forces him backwards against the locked door.

All he feels is fire and anger and he stares down at the man as his face grows pale and he slides down, weakly grasping the front of Shisui's shirt as blood as red as her lips drips past his hand and down the waiter's chin.

Shisui smoothly removes his knife and stabs it into his abdomen again and again, his sleeves stained red and something wet splattering on his face and his hands moving on their own because this fool had dared to wish her dead.

There were many mistakes Shisui could look past, but threatening her - with her beautiful eyes and beautiful smile and beautiful laugh and all the power to make Shisui drop to his knees and pledge his life to her, if just for the privilege to feel her lips against his own for a fleeting moment - was not something he could forgive.

When he finally stood, Shisui looked down at the bloody body collapsed on the ground with neither panic nor guilt. There was no rush of adrenaline coursing through him or fear of what he'd just done - only a receding anger that gave way to a calm, his gaze calculating as he looks at the bloody knife in his hand.

Killing had been easy - easier than he ever imagined - and it was likely due to how dearly the fool had deserved it.

Shisui's eyebrows furrow and he cleans his knife off on his ruined jacket, his thoughts wonderfully calm. He lets out a breath, all the rage and fire and smoke inside him finally escaping for the first time ever without the aid of Sakura's smile and Sakura’s laugh and Sakura’s attention and Sakura’s-

Sakura.

He turns and there she is, leaning against the wall at the end of the hallway, her arms crossed over her chest and her surprised gaze on the crumpled body behind Shisui. He stands there, frozen in place, and stares at her, mentally urging her to move her gaze to him and away from the trash that doesn't deserve even a second of her attention.

She looks up at Shisui finally, finally, and smiles a calm smile that maybe doesn't fully understand what just happened.

"I'm glad to see that you're taking your place in the family seriously, Shisui-kun."

And she doesn't. She doesn't understand that he couldn't care less about the 'family'- doesn't understand how he would go to the ends of the earth for her, would fulfill her every wish and command, would kill and slaughter and destroy anything and everything all for her-

And that's okay. It's okay that she doesn't understand yet.

Because hearing her say his name, hearing her reserve a breath just for him, hearing her speak his given name for the first time since their very first meeting fills him with such an intense wave of cooling, refreshing joy - putting out those flames and clearing the smoke and tenderly kissing away the ache in his chest until his heart is soaring too high for anything to bring it crashing down.

Shisui slips his knife back into its holster and rubs the back of his head, ruffling his messy curls as he lets out a sheepish laugh and approaches her.

"I apologize for my employee's rash actions, Haruno-sama," Shisui says, smiling that friendly smile as he gazes at her with a love she doesn't understand yet. "It won't happen again."

She smiles up at him and they walk through the empty kitchen, him just a step behind her at her side.

"I'm sure it won't." Comes her voice, directed at him even though she's facing away. "I'll have the mess taken care of."

She pauses and glances back at him and his heart pounds like a schoolboy faced with his childhood crush.

"You can call me Sakura, Shisui-kun."

And his heart bursts in his chest, exploding as it overfills with more love and joy than the cosmos can hold - hidden behind his calm smile and his friendly eyes as he bows his head politely, wiping a drop of blood off of his cheek with his thumb.

"Thank you, Sakura-sama."

#shisaku #shisuisaku #sakura fic #thirrinwrites #thirrinfic #sakura's a yakuza boss and shisui's new to the yandere scene

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frostmarris · 8 years ago

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[Chapter One]

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summary: The locals are strange and there’s something about the lake that just does not sit right with her. Odd shapes caught in photos and eyes under the water - Sakura isn’t so sure she wants to get to the bottom of this mystery.

pairings: KisaSaku, ChojuSaku, SuiSaku, possible? ZabuSaku, and some platonic HakuSaku. maybe some others by the end.

notes: a small spooky fic im doing for halloween, featuring some kiri boys and sakuraaaa. hope you enjoy!

“And you’re sure none of the neighbors are secretly axe murderers, one wrong word away from chopping me up and using the bits for fish bait?”

A pause.

“It’s a left onto Greengrove, right?” Sakura frowned at her windshield, squinting at an upcoming sign and waited for a reply. She nudged her scarf down slightly and pursed her lips, resisting the urge to tap her phone screen and make sure the call hadn’t ended.

“Well, Zabuza has definitely killed a man, but I can’t vouch for the others. And, yes, a left onto Greengrove.”

“Hakuuu!” She could hear his laugh through the speakers of her car and she shot a glare down at her cell, groaning under her breath while she could practically hear the amused smile in his voice. “I’m being serious, Haku. If I get murdered, my death is on your hands.”

She’d been driving for a little over three and a half hours, the city and her cozy apartment far behind as she traveled deeper into the countryside and into the woods. The sun was high in the sky by now, the rays breaking through the canopy overhead and dotting her path with pretty beams, but each glimpse of the sky she spotted was marbled with the bleak colors of a November chill. The road she was following was fairly well-maintained and the small town she’d passed through only about ten minutes ago, before entering the forest proper, had seemed relatively pleasant enough, but it had been nearly a year since her last visit to Haku’s lakehouse and she still insisted that the location was spooky.

Lake Kiri, oh so appropriately named, was perpetually shrouded in mist and fog, rarely clearing even in the middle of summer, and she was not looking forward to housesitting the lakeside home for three weeks. But, she owed her friend a favor and the location could provide some nice shots for her portfolio.

Adjusting the heater, Sakura turned onto the next road and allowed her frown to deepen, imagining the pretty young man’s amused face clearly in her mind.

“I’m just joking, Sakura; don’t worry.” He gave another muffled chuckle at her derisive snort and continued. “Zabuza is ex-military and my other neighbor is a police officer. Even if a serial killer were to pop up on the lake, you’d be perfectly safe.”

She held back her mumble of “I bet the cop thing is just an act and they keep their victims in their basement,” and sighed, continuing down the road until it branched again. Flicking on her blinker on reflex, Sakura turned right onto a well-tread rocky road and took a sip of lukewarm coffee from her thermos.

“Fine, but I’m not socializing with the locals.”

“Aw,” Came Haku’s equally pretty voice, “I’m sure you’ll like Zabuza well enough when you meet him. He’s supposed to drop off a- Oh!”

She glanced down at her phone when he cut himself off suddenly, both wondering what had caught his attention and what he’d meant by meeting one of his neighbors.

“I think I see your car! I’ll meet you outside, hang on.”

Sakura could only let out a short hum of agreement before Haku ended the call and she broke through the tree line.

The road melted into a driveway that led up to the nice-looking house, the lawn lush with green grass and a few trees standing tall outside the building. Behind it, Sakura could see the lake – her lips thinning at the sight of rolling wisps of fog – and the small boathouse off to the side. The ground sloped up slightly, leading to the house, and Sakura could vividly remember the living room inside that looked out over the lake, part of the house supported by sturdy framework as it extended out over the water. Just as he’d said, Haku was waiting outside, standing on the porch and waving in greeting as she pulled up next to his jeep.

He quickly ran towards her when she parked, skipping the last two steps, a bright smile on his face and his enviously-long, black hair pulled up into a bun. The moment she stepped out of her car, she was tackled into a hug and nearly knocked over by the taller boy.

“It’s so good to see you!” A pause as he pulled back to look her over, holding her at arm’s-length. “You cut your hair!”

Smiling sheepishly, Sakura reached up to run her fingers through her pixie cut before dropping her hand to play with her scarf. “It’s only been a month since you were in Konoha! And, yeah, the hair is... well, it’s new.”

Haku gave a soft laugh and reached up to ruffle her hair, his brown eyes sparkling and excited.

“I like it! It’s cute.” At her pleased smile, he continued. “And I only got to visit for a day last time. I missed you, Sakura.”

Bright smile returning, Haku quickly pulled her close for another hug and pecked her cheek before moving to help her grab her luggage, chatting happily as they approached his house.

“I’ve got a couple hours before I need to get going so we can hang out for a bit, and, I promise, I’ll treat you to dinner as thanks when I get back.”

“Sounds like a deal.” Bulky camera bag slung over her shoulder, Sakura followed Haku up the porch and locked her car behind her, the tips of her ears turning red in response to the chill in the air.

“Seriously, I can’t thank you enough for this, Sakura. Usually I’m fine with leaving the house by itself – Zabuza stops by to water my plants if I’m gone for a while – but this is longest trip I’ve taken yet and I can’t take the rabbits with me nor do I want to leave them with someone else for so long.”

As if on cue, and no more than two steps past the door, two small masses of fur – one white and one grey – came bounding towards the pair, circling Haku’s feet before pausing next to her, sniffing her pants legs and boots. Smiling, Sakura crouched down and held her hand out, expression brightening when the pair quickly investigated, their noses pressed to her palm before the white rabbit gave her hand a lick, her little black paws on her knee, and the grey bun quickly circled her a couple times.

Haku paused, setting her suitcase aside, and chuckled under his breath as he crouched down as well, stroking the white rabbit.

“Looks like Mochi and Pebble remember you, Sakura. You’re one of the few lucky people they’ve taken a shine to over the years.”

With an amused grin, she reached over to pet Pebble, the smaller of the pair, when she stopped next to her free hand. Sakura’s ran her fingers over the darker grey spots on her forehead before she glanced up at the sound of soft thumps, smile faltering slightly.

Haku’s third and final rabbit, smaller than Mochi but larger than Pebble and covered in black fur marbled with brown spots, was watching them, crouched a few feet away and her brown ear twitching. A little hesitantly, Sakura held out a hand and waited before her expression fell into a deadpan when the bunny simply turned and hopped away, kicking her back feet up at Sakura.

“And Marzipan still hates me.”

Giggling to himself, Haku gave Mochi’s ears a few final scratches before standing and taking Sakura’s arm, leading her further into the house as the rabbits followed after them.

“She’ll warm up to you after you feed her, don’t worry. I think she knows I’m leaving so she’s acting a little passive aggressive. Now! Let’s get you settled in and I’ll make some hot chocolate.”

An hour and a half later found the pair on Haku’s couch, a second batch of hot cocoa in hand and the rabbits lazing around them. With Mochi in her lap, Pebble flopped next to her thigh, and Marzipan tucked under Haku’s knee as he sat cross-legged, Sakura inputted the list of emergency contacts and general numbers of importance into her phone while he flipped through one of her photo portfolios. Absentmindedly stroking the white bun, she glanced up to gaze out the glass doors leading to the small terrace that looked out over the misty lake for a moment before returning her attention to the list, pausing on the last name.

“You mentioned me probably meeting this Zabuza guy, right?” She finally asked as she finished keying in his number. Haku glanced up, expression shifting to one of remembrance before he nodded.

“Oh! Yes, he’s supposed to be dropping off a package for me when he gets back from town later this afternoon. I’ll be gone by then, but he already knows you’ll be here.”

“And who exactly is he again? You’ve mentioned him several times already but I don’t think I know him.”

He smiled at her confused expression, chuckling under his breath before carefully closing her portfolio.

“Zabuza is one of my neighbors – his home is the house closest to mine – and he’s been living on the lake for years longer than I have.” When she nodded in reply, his smiled turned a little more teasing, a playful glint in his eyes. “Big scary guy – could probably crush a man’s skull with just his hands if he tried hard enough. And definitely an axe murderer.”

Sakura sent him an unamused look and he laughed, reaching down to pet Marzipan’s back.

“Kidding, kidding. He’s a little intimidating at first, but a really nice guy once you get to know him. I think you’ll get along.”

Lips pursed, she slowly nodded, leaning back into the couch and smiling fondly when Pebbled shifted, moving to hop up next to Mochi. Sakura hummed under her breath for a moment before glancing over at Haku, eyebrow quirked and her mug of hot chocolate at her lips.

“And what about the other locals? Anyone to... watch out for?”

He reached over to massage the white bunny’s ear and looked thoughtful, turning his gaze out over the lake view.

“Chojuro, the police officer, is my other immediate neighbor and he’s really sweet, if a little shy. Do you still like to take early morning jogs?” At her nod, he continued, leaning back slightly when Marzipan moved out from under his knee and halfway into his lap. “Then you’ll probably meet him if you use the trail that circles the lake – he’s up for runs pretty early in the day.”

A pause as he took a sip of his hot cocoa.

“There are only seven houses around the lake and the two vacant ones are next to each other on the other side of Chojuro’s property. I’ve never personally met Zabuza’s other neighbor, Kisame, but they’re close friends so I hear about him sometimes.” He shrugged, brushing his long, parted bangs over his shoulder. “He works at home and he’s a bit of a recluse, so I doubt you’ll meet him.”

“And the last neighbor?”

Here, Haku’s lips pursed into a frown and he looked back at the lake, expression dry as he pointed into the distance.

“Suigetsu is a... character. He lives on the other side of the lake from me, fortunately. He’s, er... frustrating.” Sighing, he rubbed his forehead, obliging the brown rabbit with chin scratches when she nudged his free hand. “His brother is a lot nicer – more tolerable, at least – but I think he’s in Europe at the moment.”

A dutiful nod.

“So I should keep some pepper spray in hand if I happen to meet a ‘Suigetsu’, got it.”

Haku’s laugh was immediate and he quickly cooed down at the rabbits when they all jumped in surprise, composing himself as he grinned at Sakura.

“No, no! He’s not a bad guy or anything, just a little annoying. Suigetsu keeps to himself usually, so I don’t think you’ll end up meeting him.” She still looked a little dubious and he chuckled under his breath, sending her a lopsided smile. “Every town has that one kooky local – Suigetsu just so happens to fit that bill.”

It was about then that Haku pulled out his own cellphone and checked the time, giving a reluctant sigh as he gently moved Marzipan out of his lap.

“It’s about time I got going.” Lips turning down in a frown as he rose from his spot on the couch, he glanced around and mused aloud. “I already gave you the rabbits’ meal times and showed you where their supplies are...”

“Did you need help loading up your luggage?” Pebble and Mochi begrudgingly hopped out of her lap as Sakura moved to stand as well, all three of buns piling up next to each other as the Haku tried to make sure he wasn’t forgetting anything.

“No, no, I packed up the jeep earlier this morning. You’ve got the vet’s number and you said you still remember their general care routine – what else, what else...”

The pair moved out of the living room, Haku absentmindedly pocketing his phone and wallet, and towards the kitchen, the young man gesturing towards the fridge.

“Everything is pretty stocked up but keep receipts if you do any extra grocery shopping so that I can pay you back.” He quickly pressed his fingers to her lips when she looked like she was going to argue, his smile unfaltering. “And that’s not a request. It’s the least I can do!”

After spending a few moments to show her where various items and appliances were in the kitchen, they headed back towards the front door.

“WiFi password is on the nightstand next to the bed, I showed you where the laundry room is earlier, and, oh! The pizza place in town does deliver, just mention my name when they ask for the address. What am I forgetting?”

They’d finally made it to the door and Haku’s eyebrows were furrowed, his hands patting his pockets before he glanced over at the foyer table next to the entrance and his expression brightened with realization.

“Keys!”

Sakura accepted the ring of keys that he plucked out of a glass bowl on the table, checking a few of them over for a moment to find that they were all labeled. Grabbing his car keys from the bowl as well, Haku reached for a coat hung up on the coat rack next to the foyer table, sending her a smile as he pulled it on.

“House key, key to the boat house – feel free to use it if you’re in the mood for a ride on the lake, and my PO Box key.” The rabbits had joined them at this point, hopping up Haku as they seemed to realize that he was leaving and, smiling softly, he crouched down to offer goodbyes and pets. It was only a few moments later before he finally stood and pulled Sakura in for a hug, pecking her cheek once more.

“Give me a call if anything comes up or if you have any questions, okay?”

Smiling, she quickly returned the hug and moved to open the door for him when they separated, nodding as she replied and pocketed the keys.

“Have fun, Haku, and drive safe. I’ll keep you updated on how things are going!”

He gave a final coo to the buns before finally heading towards his jeep, sending Sakura a wave as he moved to climb in.

“See you in a few weeks, Sakura! And thanks again!”

She was careful not to let the rabbits run out, waving in reply and watching Haku back up and travel down the driveway. She waited until he disappeared through the trees before returning inside, rubbing at her arms to beat back the short chill from outside. The bunnies waited at the door for a few moments longer, Mochi standing up on her hind legs while Pebble and Marzipan sniffed at the bottom of the door, before they finally moved away and followed after her. Sakura shuffled carefully into the living room as the grey rabbit wove between her feet and, with a stretch, she pulled her phone out of her back pocket.

“You guys still have a couple hours until your official dinner time but Haku said your hay rack might need a refill about now. I’ll check on that and then we can see if he left his Netflix logged in...”

After the rabbits had been fed their fresh veggies and Sakura triple-checked to make sure their water bowls were full of clean water, she turned her attention to the fridge, hands on her hips as she tried to decide what to make for herself. There were a few toys scattered around the kitchen as Mochi hanged out around her, the other two buns running and playing in the living room with more toys, and she was careful to watch her step as she moved towards the pantry.

Eventually settling on a simple sandwich, Sakura prepared her dinner and grabbed a bottle of water before returning to the living room. She took her seat on the couch, legs crossed and tucked close and the rabbits burning off energy on the carpeted floor, and returned her attention to the TV. Aladdin was still paused, only about ten minutes into the movie – just as she’d left it, and she only made it a few scenes in before there was a sudden knock at the door.

She, of course, jumped in surprise and the rabbits froze, their attention turning in the direction of the front door, and Sakura glanced over her shoulder. Frowning to herself, she hesitated for a moment before finally remembering what Haku had said about his neighbor dropping off a package. She shrugged to herself, guessing that it was the neighbor at the door, and moved to stand, veering off her path to the front of the house to slip into the kitchen and leave her food on a counter, out of reach of the buns.

Sakura ran her fingers through her short hair as she approached the front door, unlocking it before carefully pulling it open and pausing as she stared up at the man in front of her.

He looked like he could very well be an entire foot taller than her, his shoulders broad and entire build muscular, and Sakura blinked as she took in his appearance, remembering Haku’s brief description of ‘Zabuza’.

If the man standing in front of her was, in fact, this mysterious Zabuza, intimidating was pretty damn accurate.

He was dressed pretty light considering the chill in the air of the early evening, the sleeves of his dark blue hoodie pushed halfway up his forearms and the jacket itself open over a black shirt. He was wearing a scarf, Sakura noted in slight relief, but it hid most of his lower face from view and she was left taking in the few details that she could see.

Short, messy, black hair and hard brown eyes that were narrowed as he looked her over as well, and shit, she’d been staring, hadn’t she?

“May I help you?”

He watched her for a moment longer, one hand shoved into the pocket of his jeans while the other held a package tucked up under his arm. The man gave a short huff and glanced over her shoulder before refocusing his steely gaze on her, shifting his weight to his other foot.

“You must be the friend that’s housesitting.” He finally replied, his voice deep but muffled behind the grey scarf. “Haku said you’d probably be here when I stopped by. Did he leave already?”

She resisted the urge to chew on her lip and moved out from behind the door to face him fully, suspicions confirmed.

“Yes and yes, he left a couple hours ago. I’m Sakura Haruno – you must be Zabuza?”

His posture shifted slightly, shoulders relaxing into a slight slouch, and he gave a curt nod before holding out the package.

“Good, he told you I’d be stopping by.” Another grunt as he nodded at her and she held back her frown, lips pressed tightly together.

“Zabuza Momochi,” When she moved to accept the box, she caught the slight change in his expression and realized that he was smirking at her from behind his scarf. “Welcome to Lake Kiri.”

She offered him an awkward smile in an attempt to hide her sudden nervousness.

“Oh, uhm, thanks, Zabuza.” Feeling the need to keep the conversation going, if just to be a polite, she shuffled her feet and rubbed the back of her head. “Do you have any tips as a local? Any places in town to recommend?”

There was another change in his expression, gaze cold and hard set as he looked down at her and an icy chill passed over the pair.

“Don’t go in the water.”

Sakura froze, eyes going wide as her gaze flickered to the side and she resisted the urge to glance over her shoulder.

Grip tightening around the box, she watched him hesitantly.

“W-why..? Is there something wr-”

His snort cut her off and he gave her a very dry look.

“It’s November. Even if the lake isn’t frozen over, the water is still colder than a snowman’s ass. You’ll just end up with hypothermia.”

The flush on her face was both due to the cold air and her embarrassment and Sakura coughed awkwardly into her fist, green gaze dropping down to the side as she mentally berated herself.

Duh, Sakura.

“R-right, of course. Thanks for the heads up...”

His amused grunt only furthered her embarrassment and Zabuza slipped his free hand into his pocket, that smirk returning as he watched her.

“There’s a bakery next to the post office.” He said after a moment and she glanced up, pink eyebrow quirked. “I recommend the blueberry glazed.”

She gave him a slow, nod in thanks and they stood silently for a few seconds before he shifted his weight to his other leg again. Rolling his shoulders in a shrug, he tipped his head towards her in a final nod as his gaze turned oddly thoughtful.

“Anyways, I’ll get going. Nice meeting you. Haku gave you my number?”

(It didn’t particularly sound like he meant it, but she appreciated the sentiment. He looked like he was more annoyed with the niceties than he was letting on, but she wasn’t about to say anything about it.)

At her nod, he turned, walking down the porch and towards a truck that she now noticed parked next to her car, a hand lifting from his pocket as he offered a short wave in farewell.

“O-oh! Nice meeting you too, Zabuza. Have a good night?”

She received a nod in reply and, in moments, he was making his way down the driveway and into the trees. Sakura stared after him for a few seconds, gaze following the glow of his brake lights, before she let out a sigh of relief, shoulders relaxing. Package tucked under her arm, she ran her fingers through her hair and quickly went back inside, taking a moment to lock the door once more.

She could now put a face to a name, one of four, and while first impressions hadn’t been too terrible, she wasn’t sure how she felt about this Zabuza guy. Intimidating, for sure. But she had a feeling that he had been trying not to act too sour towards her. Still, he was apparently pretty close friends with Haku, so that was reason enough to attempt to be friendly with him.

Hopefully she’d have similar luck with the other neighbors.

While the rabbits had their own cute little beds tucked into their large corner of Haku’s bedroom, complete with toys, fleece blankets, a little hidey-house, and bowl of water, Sakura wasn’t too surprised when she felt one hop up onto the bed later that night, sniffing at her face as she let out a groan. She couldn’t have been asleep for more than an hour and a quick peak at her phone confirmed that it was just past midnight. Rolling over onto her back, Sakura absentmindedly stroked the bun that was snuggling up against her chest, its nose tucked under her chin, and managed to spot white fur in the darkness of the room.

Draping an arm over her eyes, she let out a tired yawn.

Only to pause as her ears picked up the distant sound of water splashing.

Eyebrows furrowed, Sakura lowered her arm and glanced to her left - towards the window that faced the lake. Lips pursed, she listened for a moment longer and was just about to pass it off as her imagination when she heard far-away splashes again, Mochi nuzzling at her jaw as she frowned to herself.

Mumbling an apology to the rabbit, she slowly sat up and ultimately tucked the bun against her side when she didn’t hop off of her lap. Carefully supporting Mochi with her arm, Sakura slid off the edge of the bed and moved towards the windows, a hand raised to brush through her messy pink hair. With the rabbit snuggled into the crook of her arm, she pulled back a white curtain and peered out at misty lake, gaze narrowed as she tried to see anything through the rolling clouds of fog.

The moon bathed the lake with a soft glow, making the entire scene rather eerie and Sakura tried to convince herself that the chill creeping up her spine was completely plausible considering the cold weather. Fortunately, she saw no eyes in the mist or figures out on the water or spooky, unidentifiable shadows and, with a tired groan, she told herself that it was nothing, thank you very much.

Still, she was sure to double check the locks on the windows before pulling the curtains back into place, finally returning to the bed and mumbling a goodnight to Mochi when she took up a spot on her stomach, the pair quickly falling back asleep.

Had Sakura stayed at the window just a minute longer, she would have surely seen the distant shape rise out of the water, the fog drifting around it for a moment before it sank back down below the surface of the lake.

#thirrinwrites #thirrinfic #kirisaku #kisasaku #suisaku #chojusaku #though they havent shown up yet #also gonna tag #zabusaku #and hakusaku #though its mostly platonic at this point

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frostmarris · 8 years ago

Text

Sutures

pairing: Gaara/Sakura with some Neji/Sakura

summary: ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’ But just about everything is a possible enemy in a zombie apocalypse. Sakura crosses paths with a particular thief once more and has an unexpectedly pleasant night, trapped in a condemned building’s basement.

notes: i’m like 3 hours late for @vesperlionheart and @thefreckledone fluff friday, enemy prompt, but eeeeyyyy better late than never. some fluff in a pretty grim setting hello did you know i have a zombie apocalypse au (i have a couple other drabbles set in this universe that i wanna write one day)

Konoha had been more of a tourist destination – a vacation retreat – than an actual town. With the large fortress and temple, the meticulously cared for gardens, hot spring, multitude of places to eat, and the tall, sturdy, stone wall that encircled the village, tucked away in the middle of the forest, it all seemed like something out of a folk tale.

In the end, it was the wall that saved them.

When people first started to get sick, the townsfolk didn’t think much of it and simply cared for their ill as best as they could, slowly becoming more worried as they listened to the news that an epidemic had spread across Japan.

Had spread across the world.

When communications to the outside went down and those who had fallen ill began to... react, there was mass panic throughout the country.

It was that tall wall - strong and stone and unrelenting - that kept the walking corpses out and the people of Konoha safe.

The months passed and the townsfolk began to adjust to their new, dangerous, lives, reinforcing the wall with steel plates and chain-link fences and wooden spikes around the outer perimeter, posting guards up on the wall to watch the outside and keep the things out. They paid closer attention to their rations and supplies, learned how to defend themselves, and made sure none of the dead got in.

They sent out groups for supply runs, scavenging through nearby, abandoned towns – villages that hadn’t been quite so lucky, that had fallen victim to the virus – and bringing back what they found.

Within the wall, they were safe. There had only been a handful of outbreaks, but they were all handled quickly and efficiently, removing the corpses head’s and burning the bodies. They treated those who were injured as they began to learn more about the mysterious virus.

Those who hadn’t fallen sick were still susceptible to the bite of the zombies but, if you were fast enough and the bite was somewhere... removeable, those bitten didn’t always turn.

Sakura remembered when her childhood friend, that blond goof, Naruto, had been rushed into the clinic, his right hand bleeding and already beginning to turn that odd shade of ashen grey, streaked with purple and green and black veins, and the blood running from the bite darkening and oozing as the scent of death filled her senses.

She’d only started her apprenticeship under the clinic’s head doctor earlier that month – had only witnessed one other amputation before that day.

Tsunade, her mentor, had worked quickly, barking out orders to her assistant, Shizune, and Sakura, who worked together to hold Naruto down – no time to administer any sort of anesthetic, no time to do much more than nod grimly at his gasped consent to the procedure, the pain wracking his body and the dark veins creeping further up his arm.

The head doctor amputated just above his elbow, where the infection hadn’t yet managed to reach.

It was a grisly, gut-wrenching experience, for all parties – Naruto more-so, of course – but he was saved. He lived.

And Sakura decided she would do whatever she could to keep her home alive. She studied, she trained, she learned all she could from Tsunade and Shizune, having already been well on her way to pursuing a medical career before the world went to shit.

And the months passed, the town settled and the villagers kept mostly to themselves. They rarely saw other survivors, but, when refugees did happen to pass through the forest and stumble upon the village, they were taken in – cautiously, carefully, the appointed guards keeping an eye on the newcomers – if they asked for shelter. Some stayed, others simply accepted the respite before moving on, too distrusting of the village, of strangers in this apocalyptic world, to stick around.

And life was relatively peaceful.

It was early in the morning when they crossed paths.

Sakura was in the greenhouse, checking on a few of the plants she used for the home remedies, when she heard the door open behind her. She glanced over her shoulder, surprised to see the red-haired young man that they’d taken in a few days ago.

He and his two older siblings had arrived seeking temporary shelter and medical aid for the middle sibling – the elder of the two boys – and had been permitted into the village after some discussion from the town leaders. They’d kept an eye on them, lest the siblings turned out to be dangerous, but the three hadn’t caused any trouble, more concerned with the gunshot wound in the middle brother’s forearm – they’d run into a group of aggressive survivors earlier that week, they explained, and had luckily managed to escape mostly unharmed.

The redhead – Gaara, if she remembered correctly – looked just as shocked to see her and continued to stare, frozen in his spot by the entrance to the greenhouse, before she flashed him a smile, grabbing one of the misters for the plants.

“Mornin’, how’s your brother doing? His wound was healing up nicely when I checked him yesterday.”

“Doctor.” He greeted carefully, almost unsurely, as he took a quick glance around, expression blank with just an edge of uncomfortable.

“He’s... fine.”

She nodded, checking the Aloe Vera buddings before shooting him another glance over her shoulder. He as looking a little nervous, a little unnerved... Shrugging to herself, Sakura moved over to the lone apple tree in the greenhouse – it was supposed to have been moved to the nursery weeks ago, but one of the gardeners decided it might be nice to keep it in the greenhouse – picking an apple that looked ripe before tossing it to Gaara.

He fumbled with it for a moment, sending her a confused look. She smiled again, stuffing her hands into her lab coat after waving him off.

“’Apple a day keeps the doctor away’ and all. You look pretty hungry and communal breakfast isn’t until 8 AM.”

Gaara gave a slow nod, holding the apple hesitantly and looking anxious about something. She noticed, of course, and was about to ask him if he was okay when the intercom system in the greenhouse buzzed to life.

It emitted three short honks – like that of an airhorn – and Sakura spun around, rushing to the southern window of the greenhouse.

Konoha’s emergency warning system was fairly simple. Alarm bell rings for a breech in the outer wall, airhorn honks for other, less dire, emergencies. The number signaled which portion of the village the emergency was – which direction to head. One for North, two for East, three for South, and four for West. The intercom system was wired through the main buildings – the town hall, the clinic, the fortress, the temple, the greenhouse, the cafeteria, etc. – and there were speakers out in the streets, all loud enough for basically the entirety of the village to hear. The alarms only sounded once – a precautionary measure so as to not draw the attention of any wandering corpses nearby – but once was all Sakura needed to rush to action.

Through the window she could see smoke in the distance and, cursing under her breath, she rushed out of the greenhouse, forgetting all about Gaara and leaving him behind, much to his relief.

When the situation was handled and the fire was put out – a freak accident, no one could figure out what had exactly started it but, luckily, it hadn’t been too big of a problem – the villagers of Konoha quickly realized that something else was wrong.

The storerooms had been broken into – several of the shelves of canned food missing large, noticeable chunks of rations, an obvious amount of water bottles gone, extra clothing removed from the winter storage, etc. – and the door to the clinic was busted open. Sakura found a few of her cabinets still open, bottles of pain-killers and pain relievers, general cold and flu medicine, and a couple of the First Aid kits missing.

They’d been robbed.

And the three sibling refugees were nowhere to be found, one of the few automobiles that were supposed to be locked up in the communal garage gone as well.

Sakura was furious.

“Absolutely not.”

A week had passed and, when Sakura heard that a new scouting party would set out that Friday for a supply run and to finish scouring one of the larger towns fairly close by, she’d approached Neji, the lead of this particular expedition, with the intention of being added to the list of scouting volunteers.

“Why the hell not? I thought you guys didn’t turn down volunteers for supply runs unless they were kids or injured or something.”

Neji scoffed, replacing the batteries on one of the walkie-talkies before testing it out.

“Our admission process is a lot more thorough than that. Have you ever even killed a corpse before?”

Shooting him a glare, Sakura crossed her arms over her chest and pursed her lips for a moment before replying.

“You know I have, Neji. I used to go out with you guys on runs all the time.”

“That was before.”

“Before what?”

Neji passed the radio to one of the other volunteers before heading over to a table to grab a clipboard, inspecting the list of Priority Needs and frowning to himself when Sakura stubbornly followed after him.

“Well?” She persisted.

“Before you became a doctor.”

“So? What’s that got to do with anything?”

“You’re much more valuable now.” He sent her a serious look here, expression firm as his eyes met hers. “You’re not expendable.”

Sakura might have been flattered – okay, she had to kind of suppress a smile at his comment, resisting the urge to flutter her lashes at him – if Neji hadn’t just implied that he and the other volunteers were expendable.

Planting her hands on her hips, she narrowed her eyes at him, frown deepening.

“And you guys are?”

He ignored her, brushing past to give a few orders to some of the other villagers hanging around – most of whom were trying to hide their smiles as they watched, amused at the doctor and the team leader’s exchange. Groaning, Sakura moved back into Neji’s line of sight, shooting him a slightly pleading look.

“C’mon, Neji. Please? Just one supply run? I can go as a field medic and stay out of combat, if that’s what you want.”

Eventually, after a few more minutes of her pestering and pleading, Neji finally seemed to break, sighing as his shoulders slumped and he sent her a long-suffering look.

“Why, Sakura?”

She hid her smile – victory! – but did bat her eyelashes at him, this time.

“I’m tired of being cooped up. I just want some fresh air and to make sure I’m not getting rusty with a blade.”

“Scalpels are blades.”

Sakura sent him an unimpressed look, unable to tell if he was being serious or if this was ever-stoic Hyuuga Neji’s attempt at making a joke.

“I need to restock the clinic too.”

“You can make a list; I’ll take care of it personally.”

“Neji.”

“Hn.”

She was just about ready to start arguing with him – demand that he allowed her to go. She wanted a little break from the clinic, that’s all! It’s not like she even had much to do besides reorganize the storeroom and administer band-aids to kids with skinned knees – when their attention was caught by two of the other volunteers in the scouting base.

“Oh, wouldn’t it be great if we had a medic accompany us on this run?” Said Tenten, her voice obviously forced loud enough for them to hear as she stood several feet away with Kiba, very pointedly not looking at Sakura or Neji.

Kiba nodded sagely, rubbing his chin before reaching down to give his hound, Akamaru, a pat. “Definitely. I’d feel so much safer if someone with some medical knowledge were to join us, just in case someone was to, maybe, get injured.”

Tenten nodded in return, feigning a thoughtful look for a moment before throwing her arms up in exasperation. “Oh, darn! But, I don’t think either Dr. Tsunade or Dr. Shizune have ever been on supply runs before! If only there was someone else we could ask to assist us!”

“Someone that knew how to kill zombies!” Kiba added, almost failing to smother his grin. “But just who could that possibly be?”

Neji shot them both a glare, eyes narrowed and arms crossed over his chest. But he was obviously fighting a losing battle and, after a moment, he looked back to Sakura, pinching the bridge of his nose as he sighed.

“Fine. You can come.”

He missed the pair of conspiring winks Tenten and Kiba sent Sakura from behind him, glancing away as the doctor grinned.

“If we get split into teams or the group gets separated,” Neji continued, glowering down at her, “Stick with me. Dr. Tsunade will have my head if you lose yours.”

“I can take care of myself, you know.” But, Sakura couldn’t keep herself from smiling up at him, excitement bubbling up. “But, got it. Thanks, Neji.”

He stormed off after that, aiming to finish setting up the preparations for the trip, but Sakura didn’t miss that slight quirk to his lips as he walked away.

They’d only been searching through the remains of the town for about twenty minutes when the horde passed through.

There had been a brief amount of panic amongst the group – six, including Sakura – but Neji had, of course, taken control, hissing out orders while the large mass of shambling corpses approached. And it all kind of blended together. Stabbing zombies in the head with daggers and larger blades – guns were a rare find in such a rural area but, luckily, Konoha’s stock of swords and knives that had originally been only for show for tourists, weren’t just cheap knock-offs and fake metal – and dodging rotting mouths, making her way back with the group before things went to shit.

She’d seen Tenten slicing a head off one corpse with her katana before she realized that a new horde was rounding one of the street corners, attracted by the sound of combat and snarls.

The group had scattered at Neij’s command to retreat, darting off down the remaining empty streets and away from the converging horde. Sakura had seen Neji to her left, running alongside her down the street as they were separated from the rest of the group and, inwardly, she was relieved.

He sent her a meaningful look before nodding, grabbing her wrist and leading her through the twists of the small city’s downtown – he’d been here before on other runs, he knew the layout of the town better than she did – before they passed by what looked like a run-down school (more-so than the rest of the buildings).

Neji shoved her towards the entrance as they passed a wall of overgrown hedges, tugging her down out of sight and crouching next to her for a moment before hissing out a reply when she sent him a confused look.

“We cleared it out two weeks ago, the front door is the only entrance that isn’t locked.” He nodded up at the short set of steps leading to the double doors of the school. “They’re still closed, so it should still be clear.”

Sakura nodded before sending him a slightly panicked look when he stood, backing away from the school.

“Where are you going?!” She kept her voice down, very much aware of the sound of the horde coming down the street.

“I’ll lead them away and circle back to pick you up after the horde has passed. Just stay inside until I get back.”

“But-”

“Now, Sakura.”

Lips pursed, she gave him a curt nod and rushed up the steps, the hedge-wall luckily keeping her out of the mass of corpses’ lines of sight as she hopped over the strip of police tape and tugged a door open to slip into the building, quickly pulling it closed behind her and catching sight of Neji racing back down the street outside.

Sighing, Sakura turned to face the interior of the old school, her frown deepening.

Those ‘CONDEMNED’ signs did not look very welcoming.

The school must have been abandoned long before the apocalypse came about, Sakura realized as she wandered through the building. Many of the walls looked rotted and there were a few holes in the flooring where the wood-work had given out. Just as Neji had said, there were plenty of decapitated corpses laying around, obviously disposed of by the scouting party that had checked out the school last time.

Still, Sakura decided to explore. Maybe she’d find something useful that the last group had missed.

Plus, it was a good distraction from her worry for the rest of her group.

She occasionally dropped her hand to the walkie-talkie strapped to her belt, resisting the urge to try to call one of the others. There was a chance that they were in a place that required them to be quiet and the sudden crackle of the radio coming to life could very well lead to someone’s death.

So, she’d just wait until someone else tried to contact her or for Neji to return.

The school was a lot bigger than she had initially thought and she spent a good fifteen minutes walking down the main halls, popping into random rooms to give them a cursory glance before continuing. She’d found a stick of chalk in one of the first classrooms and had quickly snatched it up, dragging the chalk along the wall as she walked to both guide her back if she happened to get lost and to give Neji a path to follow.

She’d yet to find the nurse’s office – her main goal – but did happen to come across what she guessed was originally the cafeteria. Picking her way over the discarded zombie bodies, Sakura headed towards the back of the large room, pushing through the doors into the back. The storeroom had been thoroughly raided but, nonetheless, she continued to search, only to jump in surprise when she heard a muffled thud somewhere in the distance.

She froze, ears straining to identify what the sound was and its possible source.

It’d sounded kind of like a door slamming shut, but she wasn’t about to just race back the way she’d come and hope it was Neji.

Instead, she exited the cafeteria, making her way back into the hallway and continuing down the way she was originally headed, listening carefully for any other suspicious sounds.

At some point, she swore she heard the sound of glass shattering.

Almost another ten minutes passed and Sakura had seen no sign of life – or of the undead – but she’s still on edge, glancing over her shoulder every few moments and rounding corners with a held breath. She’d yet to find anything useful and her radio was still silent at her side, the anxiety eating away at her nerves.

The main building of the school apparently connected with both an East and West wing and Sakura had come to the realization that this was probably more of a small University than a regular school, what with the crisscrossing hallways and large lecture halls.

She found the library before the nurse’s office and she popped her head inside for a quick look, itching to explore but well aware that there were too many opportunities for something to sneak up on her between the aisles of books. Sakura took a moment to frown to herself, however, when she realized that a great number of the shelves that she could see were empty, before she remembered that the building had been condemned before it was abandoned.

So, she pressed on, still leaving her chalk trail on the walls until eventually – finally – she found the infirmary. Grinning, Sakura slipped inside, bee-lining for the storage cabinets and hoping to find something useful that the original search party had overlooked.

Expression smug, Sakura left the nurse’s office with a few new rolls of forgotten gauze, a couple unopened packets of cotton balls, unused tongue compressors, some adhesive bandages, and three bottles of in-date rubbing alcohol. Sterile supplies were hard to come by, but she could understand why the original group might have passed over such unassuming items (the bottles of rubbing alcohol had actually been in one of the desk-drawers, so they might have just missed them entirely).

All in all, Sakura was fairly pleased with herself, patting her filled bag.

That is, until she realized she wasn’t alone.

Movement to her right caught her eye as she exited the infirmary and Sakura immediately froze, head snapping over to catch sight of a figure moving down the hall, away from her and towards the area she hadn’t yet explored.

They obviously weren’t a corpse – they walked carefully, gracefully – but she didn’t recognize their clothes, so they weren’t from her group. The hood of their jacket – black and worn with use, duct tape wrapped around the sleeves for added protection – was pulled up, blocking any details of their face, but Sakura kept her eye on the stranger, stepping backwards carefully. They hadn’t seemed to hear her yet and she had to keep her breathing quiet, uncertain whether they were friend or foe.

She’d only made it about seven steps back when she heard a snarl over her shoulder.

Sakura spun around, hand instantly dropping to the knife holstered on her hip, and slipping it out of its strap in one smooth move as she found a zombie shambling towards her, almost close enough to touch. Moving on instinct, she dodged its reach for her and jammed her blade into its forehead.

The corpse went limp almost instantly and she breathed a sigh of relief, retrieving her knife with a sharp tug as the body fell. Her relief was short-lived, however, as she heard movement behind her once more.

The noise of her brief scuffle had definitely caught the attention of the stranger, as they have spun around in surprise and are now facing her, the hood of their jacket fallen back to expose their face.

Sakura eyed the red hair and familiar face with a quickly deepening frown, dropping into a defensive stance as she recognized them – him.

“You!”

“Doctor.” Gaara greeted, looking uncomfortable and vaguely shocked.

Definitely foe.

She nearly growled under her breath, just about ready to start shouting at him for robbing her home after they offered him and his siblings shelter and help – she’d been taking care of his brother! – but, glancing down at the fully-dead zombie next to her, decided that making noise would be a bad idea.

He had a knife in his hand as well, watching her warily as his body tensed defensively. Blade at the ready, raised threateningly, Sakura glanced back over her shoulder once more before beginning to back away.

If one corpse had made it in somehow, there were bound to be others. And, though it had come from somewhere behind her, going forward – towards Gaara – was not an option.

It was time to leave the school.

They’re both silent, watching each other carefully, and, the moment Sakura made it past the edge of the corner of the hall and saw it continue to her left, she ran.

Paying close attention to the empty hallway in front of her, lest another corpse appear, and listening carefully for the sound of footsteps racing after her – she heard none, but her heart was still pounding with worry – Sakura continued back the way she’d originally come, skidding to a halt when she passed the double doors of the library.

Biting her lip, she quickly pushed past the doors, deciding that, if Gaara decided to chase her down, she could probably give him the slip amongst the rows of shelves.

She headed for the back of the library, past a few front-facing rows of bookshelves and into a lounging area and-

-And immediately regretted her decision.

There was a large bay window here at the back, facing out into a communal outside-area, with several lounge chairs and couches set up, a few tables and more simple chairs for studying nearby. The chairs and couches look to be in fairly good condition, though covered in dust.

The window, however, has been shattered, broken glass scattered inwards, away from the outside. Sakura might have taken this for a fortunate, quick exit, had there not been a pair of zombies shambling over windowsill.

The shards still in the frame of the window were slicing at their rotting skin, sending that vile, dead blood dripping out in near-coagulated globs as they groaned and snarled, their movement more invigorated at the sight of her.

Sakura made a quick move backwards, nearly shrieking as she heard another series of grunts behind her, and almost ran into another reanimated corpse. She swung her knife, missed, and quickly dodged out of its reach, running for the rows of bookshelves to hopefully lose the zombies.

She took a zig-zagging path through the rows, listening for the sounds of the corpses and quickly altering her path as new ones appeared as she ran. The library was bigger than she had anticipated but the worry of getting lost was overpowered by her burning goal of losing the undead that were undoubtedly following her.

They’re not fast, but they were relentless.

Sakura stumbled to a halt when she came across a fallen bookshelf, eyeing the broken wood under it – the floor had given out from the weight, it seemed – before simply leaping over it. The bookshelf itself covered the hole in the floor, the few books having long-since fallen into the darkness below, but she didn’t want to take the risk of it all collapsing under her added weight.

Three more sharp turns – only moments had passed since she’d started running, but it felt like forever – and Sakura stopped once more, breath caught in her throat as she found her path blocked by zombies. She cut left, doubling back and only vaguely aware of the sound of the corpses thudding against the shelving as they followed after her, walking into the bookshelves.

She heard the groan of the wood, mingling with the moans of the undead, before she saw the bookshelves begin to domino.

Sakura made another snap-decision to move left once more as another pair of zombies appeared in front of her, reaching out for her, and, a moment too late, she realized she’d made a mistake.

The bookshelf to her left was mid-fall, dropping towards her and she hesitated when she saw another wall of shelving in front of her, perpendicular to the shelves that were caught in a domino effect.

Moments, seconds, she spun around and saw corpses rounding the corner behind her for the briefest moment before a flash of red rushed towards her, someone tackling her to the ground – away from the zombies and out of the path of the falling bookshelf.

They both let out pained grunts as they hit the perpendicular shelving, which swayed dangerously from the impact, before they were aware of the sound of crumbling wood and the ground seemed to give out from under them.

Sakura was distinctly aware of the feeling of weightlessness and someone pulling her close before everything went dark.

She hadn’t passed out or anything, of course, but the fall had certainly left Sakura stunned for a few moments, coughing through the dust and rotten wood when she managed to sit up, collapsed on a pile of broken, old wood. Tugging the collar of her shirt up and over her mouth, Sakura tried to wave away the dust, groaning and coughing to herself as she tried to move.

She quickly realized that it was pitch-black down here – wherever here was – and her hand dropped to her bag, blindly searching around for the flashlight she had packed. After finding it, Sakura clicked it on and panned the light up, squinting up through the clouds of dust to make sense of her situation.

The would-be gaping hole above her – she wasn’t a very good judge of height, but that had to be at least eight feet – was covered by what she guessed was that perpendicular shelving, having apparently fallen towards the rest of the chaos when the floor had opened up, blocking both what could have been an exit but an entrance for corpses as well.

She sighed, unsure whether she should feel relieved or not, and moved to stand.

Only to scramble away, tumbling down the pile of broken wood, as her hand made contact with something soft and squishy.

Sakura fumbled with her flashlight, suddenly aware that her knife was missing, and pointed the beam at her previous spot.

She saw the red-hair first and came to the realization that, yes, someone had indeed tackled her out of the way.

Gaara was lying in a heap on the pile of rotten lumber, eyes closed and a small trail of blood dripping down from somewhere beyond his hairline. Sakura jumped to her feet, quickly regretting her decision as pain shot up her left leg, and backed away.

She watched the redhead’s still form for a few moments, conflicted as to whether she should keep an eye on him and wait for movement or check herself over for injuries. When Gaara made no move besides the subtle rise and fall of his chest as he laid on his back, she let out a shaky sigh, scanning the light over her limbs to check for blood.

Besides a few scrapes and splinters, she looked okay, though her left knee was sore – she must have landed on her leg oddly. Rubbing her forehead, she moved the beam back to the obviously unconscious man. Sakura watched him for a few moments more, biting her lip in worry, before she realized that the fabric of his jacket was darkening slightly near his right shoulder.

She hesitated only the briefest moment before cursing under her breath and rushing towards him, checking him over with a worried expression.

And that was when she found her knife.

It wasn’t embedded in his arm or anything, luckily, but it was under him, near his shoulder and obviously the source of the nasty gash on his upper arm.

The guilt hit her almost instantly.

Sakura quickly returned her knife to its holster on her hip and grabbed her bag before beginning to remove his jacket.

Enemy or not, she was a doctor.

Barely a minute after Sakura had finished wrapping up Gaara’s shoulder – there went all of that nice, new gauze – and moved him off of the rubble pile, the crackle and static of her radio coming to life pierced the silence, making her nearly jump out of her skin.

“-ello, Sakura? Are you there?”

She fumbled with the walkie-talkie for a moment, unclipping it from her belt as she quickly brought it up.

“Neji? Neji, is that you?”

She heard a sigh of relief come from the other end of the radio and she dropped to sit, shoulders slumping.

“Yes, it’s me. Are you alright? Are you still in the school?”

Sakura paused, glancing around the dark room before hesitantly replying.

“...Yes?”

“Sakura? What’s your status?”

She groaned, rubbing the back of her neck and glancing over at the still-unconscious Gaara.

“There was... an incident-“

“Are you alright?” Came Neji’s reply before she could finish, sounding more concerned than she would have expected. “Are you hurt?”

“No, no I’m fine.” Massaging her forehead, she decided to skip the specifics. “Zombies got in, floor collapsed, I’m under the library.”

A pause.

“...Under the library.”

“Yes. The ground collapsed but – luckily? – there’s shelving that’s blocking the way in.”

“And your way out.”

“Yup...”

She heard Neji sigh again, the muffled sound of movement, and a grunt.

“I’m going to need you to hang tight, Sakura, and wait there.”

“What.”

“It’s dark out already. I won’t be able to make it to you safely – I won’t be able to find you – until morning. Try to find an exit if you can, but stay in the school until I come and get you, got it? That initial horde was bigger than we thought; the streets aren’t safe right now.”

Sakura buried her face in her hands as she let out a groan of frustration, trying to ignore the fear starting to set in.

“Are... are the others okay?”

She could almost hear the near-smile in his voice – whether it was at her not arguing with him or some sort of unforeseen fondness, she didn’t know – when he replied.

“I made contact a little while ago. They found shelter and are camping out until morning.”

“You’re not with them?”

“Hn. I’m holed up in...” He trailed off, probably glancing around his surroundings. “I think it was a daycare. I managed to lose that horde but I’ve got the entrance barricaded and my eye on another escape route.”

“Alright...” Leaning back against the wall, Sakura tried to make herself relax, running her fingers through her short hair. “Stay safe.”

“You too. Get some rest, but keep an eye out. If anything happens, let me know.”

“Got it. See you in the morning?”

“The moment it’s light out, I’ll come get you.”

Sakura didn’t bother to hide her smile, sitting back and dropping the radio to her side as the connection cut off. Letting out a steadying breath, she glanced around the room, her flashlight turned off in an attempt to let her eyes adjust to the darkness. When that didn’t seem to do much, she flicked the light back on, setting it next to her and facing upwards to cast the light throughout the room.

She was in some sort of storeroom, it looked like – a basement for the library. There were more empty shelves down here, though a few had collapsed, and she was sure she’d be able to find a way out if she looked, but, for now, she just wanted to rest.

Her gaze dropped to Gaara, who she’d laid a few feet away, his folded up jacket under his head, and nearly shrieked in surprise.

The redhead was very much awake now, his steady, wary gaze on her as he laid there.

“How long were you listening?” She asked, a little unnerved – and flustered, embarrassed. Gosh, did he hear all of that?

He ignored her question, staring back at her long enough for her to sigh and look away, dropping the conversation.

“Doctor.” He greeted after a moment, in the way that Sakura was steadily beginning to grow used to.

“Gaara.”

He seemed a little surprised at that.

“...You remember my name.”

A statement, more than a question.

She shrugged, crossing her legs and trying to make herself comfortable.

After a few moments of awkward silence, he addressed her again, expression twisted slightly.

“Sa... Sakura?”

“Yup.”

“Ah.”

And the conversation died again until Gaara decided to try and sit up, letting out a slight wheeze as he accidentally put pressure on his injured arm. He managed to move into a sitting position and Sakura had to resist the urge to move to his side, fighting her instincts to check him over again. The redhead seemed to realize that his jacket had been removed and he was just wearing his grey T-shirt, eyeing the bandages wrapped around his shoulder.

“You, uhm...” Sakura paused slightly when he glanced up at her, his expression nearly blank now. Rubbing the back of her neck, she tried not to look too guilty. “You fell on my knife. Like, literally.”

Gaara was silent and she sighed before stiffening as she saw him reach for the strap on his belt that would have housed his own knife. When he found it missing, he looked back up at her, eyes narrowed questioningly. Lips pursed, she held his blade up, her knife strapped back in its place on her hip, before setting it down beside her, obviously not intending to give it back.

Letting out a barely noticeable grunt, Gaara moved to lean against the shelving behind him, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair before wincing, fingers brushing over the cut on his scalp. Sakura had cleaned it up, of course, but it’d been too shallow to really need any sort of wrapping and a bandage wouldn’t have really worked.

They sat in silence for a few moments before Sakrua let out an exasperated sigh, pulling her bag over and reaching around inside, not noticing how Gaara stiffened.

“Look, okay, I’m going to-“

“Kill me.”

Sakura’s head snapped up as she balked at him, expression horrified.

“What? No! God, no. I’m- I’m a doctor! I don’t-“

Gaara tilted his head back and closed his eyes, resting his head on the empty shelving as he seemed oddly relaxed, as if he’d accepted the thought that she was going to kill him and had already come to terms with it. And Sakura was at a loss, her hand still wrapped around the water bottle in her bag.

“Why the hell would I murder you, Gaara?”

“Justice is paid with blood, in this world.”

Sakura stared at him, wondering if she’d missed some other headwound of his.

“Why would I be seeking justice?” She spoke slowly, calmly, trying to make sense of what he was saying.

He opened his eyes slightly to look at her, his expression blank.

“We started a fire and robbed your town when you were all distracted.”

He had a point, Sakura realized.

Nonetheless, she reached up to rub her temples, tossing the plastic water bottle towards him.

“I’m trying to put that behind me. I’m not going to kill you – I’m not going to hurt you, Gaara.”

He considered the water for a moment before picking it up, watching her carefully.

“Why?”

Shrugging, Sakura gestured offhandedly, pulling out her other water bottle and quickly twisting off the cap.

“’The enemy of my enemy is my friend’ and all that jazz.”

At his blank look, she shot him a frown, her lips pursed as she squinted at him.

“Why did you save me, then?”

That seemed to draw a reaction from him and Gaara quickly looked away, his lips turned down in a frown as he glanced away from her, absentmindedly opening his water bottle before taking a sip.

Sighing, Sakura drew her legs up to her chest and laid her head back, letting her eyes close as she tried to think through her current situation. It was mere moments later when she heard the crinkle of plastic and something hit her knee. Cracking an eye open, she saw Gaara very pointedly ignoring her and a granola bar resting next to her foot. She smiled to herself and grabbed the bar, noticing the way he seemed to relax slightly at the sound of her opening the treat.

“So, Gaara, tell me about yourself.”

“You and your siblings have been on your own this entire time?”

“Ah.”

She let out a low whistle, undoing her wrapping on his shoulder since, apparently, the knife wound had been deeper than she realized and he’d bled through the gauze.

He gave the barest flinch and she muttered a soft apology, moving a little more carefully.

“We...” He paused, eyes on the ground as he let her do her work. “We joined a group for a while, but they were...”

She caught the way his fists clenched – not a reaction to what she was doing.

Shaking his head, Gaara sat back slightly, eyeing the First Aid kit she’d pulled out of her bag before finally glancing up at her.

“How long have you been a doctor, Doctor?”

Lips pursed, Sakura moved away to wash off her hands with the last of her water before splashing rubbing alcohol onto her hands and pulling on the medical gloves in her kit. Swabbed the suture needle with some of the disinfectant, she returned to Gaara’s side and swabbed his wound as well.

“I’m not officially a doctor – hang tight, this is gonna hurt – but I was studying medicine before the world ended.” She started the first of the stitches, biting her lip sympathetically at Gaara’s hisses, before continuing. “I was going to pursue a medical career anyways, so I went to the clinic and asked our head doctor to train me.”

She fell silent for a moment before realizing she hadn’t really answered his question.

“It’s been almost a year, I think. I started my apprenticeship pretty early on.”

Gaara gave a curt nod and they made idle chit-chat while she stitched him up – the conversation tense only because he was tense from the stitches – until she finally finished, swabbing the sutures and surrounding skin carefully to clean him up.

Hopefully the scent of the rubbing alcohol would overpower the smell of blood for any nearby zombies.

“All done.” Sakura said as she tugged off the gloves and stuffed the used cotton balls and gauze inside, tying them off. “Sorry that I don’t have any candy to offer you.”

Gaara surprised her by replying with the softest chuckle.

But then he seemed to realize what he was doing as well and quickly sobered up, grunting in thanks before allowing her to help him get his shirt back on.

Still, that looked kind of like a smile.

“It’s all about the trajectory.”

“Like this?”

Sakura sized up her target – a crude circle drawn on the wall with her bit of chalk – and aimed carefully before throwing her knife, frowning when it didn’t stick in the wood and simply bounced off into the dust.

“You’ve almost got it.” Gaara replied, holding his own knife in his hand – the uninjured arm, of course – and aiming at the target as well. “You just have to...”

He threw and it stuck about four inches deep into the wood.

She sent him a frown, eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“You told me you were right-handed. How the hell did you do that with your left?”

His smirk looked almost teasing.

“Uuuh, truth.”

Gaara didn’t look very impressed, but sighed.

“Biggest thing you’ve ever stolen and gotten away with.”

Sakura’s lips pursed at his question, finger at her chin.

“Before or after the apocalypse?”

She couldn’t help but laugh at his deadpan expression, sending him a grin before she shrugged, hands held up helplessly.

“I’ve never stolen anything in my life.”

Gaara looked a little disbelieving but, after sizing her up for a moment, decided that she probably was telling the truth.

“Right, fine, sure.”

“Truth or dare, Gaara?” She was still grinning, picking out the crumbs from inside the granola wrapper.

“Truth.”

Her grin dropped.

Right, okay. He was going to play that game.

“Fineee. What was your first date like? Did it end horribly? Most do, you know – well, except Ino’s. She’s got a track record of amazing first dates.”

Gaara simply shrugged.

“Never been on one.”

Lips pursed, Sakura crossed her arms, eyeing him with a frown. “That doesn’t count, I get another question.”

“What, that’s not fa-“

“First time you were ever asked out. You probably rejected them but, I wanna know what kind of person you usually attract. Or! Your first crush. Your pick; I want all of those juicy details.”

Gaara crossed his arms right back, eyeing her with another unamused look.

“No.”

Sakura wouldn’t admit to whining, but she definitely did, nudging his uninjured arm as she scooted closer. “Awww, c’mon. It’s so boring down here, entertain me with a story. First kiss?”

He looked away and pointedly ignored her and it took Sakura a moment to realize that vaguely uncomfortable expression of his was him being embarrassed – he was even pouting.

She gave his shoulder a sympathetic pat and he shrugged her off, shooting her a glower.

“It’s okay, buddy. It’s not that uncommon for people in their twenties to not have had their first kiss yet!”

His eyes narrowed and she had to stifle her smile, inwardly deciding that teasing him would be a little more fun.

“I mean, it is the apocalypse and all. Unless you wanna lock-lips with a corpse, you don’t tend to come across people you wanna smooch all that often.”

His expressions were cute and she teased him for a few moments longer, obviously not going to admit that she’d only been kissed, like, twice in her life. Eventually, she backed off, giggling to herself before sobering up as he turned to face her, eyes narrowed in a rather intimidating glare.

“Truth or dare, Sakura.”

A challenge.

“Dare.”

Why was he smirking now?

“Kiss me.”

Her smile dropped and she regarded him with a surprised look – why hadn’t she considered this possibility?

“Excuse me?’

Gaara was looking smug now and he shrugged, uncrossing and crossing his arms again.

“You heard me.”

They held each other’s gazes for a few moments longer, Sakura trying to calm her suddenly racing heart and Gaara looking smugger than she could have ever imagined. Finally, he broke the moment, sitting back as he stifled his chuckles into his fist, eyeing her with unveiled amusement.

“What. What.”

“Your expression was great, thanks. That’s what you get for trying to tease me.”

He continued to laugh to himself for another minute or so before Sakura sat up, lips pursed and expression challenging. Gaara’s chuckles died off when he realized that she was kneeling in front of him now, her face determined as she reached up to cup his steadily warming cheeks.

He looked more frightened – panicked, even – than amused now.

Gaara’s hands dropped to his side as Sakura drew closer, taller slightly as she kneeled and he sat, and guided his face up towards her, dipping down to brush her lips over his.

It was a soft kiss, barely a moment of contact before she pulled back and smiled down at him, inwardly smug at his shocked expression.

And then his hands rose to rest on her hips and he sat up, their lips meeting once again as he fought to keep down his grin.

Sakura wasn’t sure exactly how many kisses they shared, but it was a pleasant experience – something light and enjoyable to forget the fact that the world was dying and decaying around them, if for a few sweet minutes.

And, eventually, they decided to rest, hesitant at first to do anything more than lay next to each other. But it was cold down in the library’s basement and, of course, they resorted to sharing body heat as they slept. While the pair did no more than share a few kisses – and maybe a few more before they settled down to sleep-

(Gaara blushed so cutely when she pecked his forehead, she couldn’t get enough of it, and he retaliated with kissing her hands, smirking smugly when she grew flustered.)

-and cuddling up together more easily than they would admit in the morning – the night passed in comfortable, casual intimacy.

When the morning came, however, Sakura was met with a very obvious lack of her new companion, the space next to her empty. In a panicked flurry that she would later be ashamed to remember, she checked her belongings, but found them just as she’d left them, nothing missing or out of place.

Except that piece of chalk.

Standing and stretching, a little forlorn to find Gaara missing, Sakura glanced around and noticed the chalk trail drawn over a nearby wall. She gave a slight smile and followed the path, fingers brushing over the chalk line as it led her to a door, which was closed securely but unlocked.

Following the chalk, she traveled up a short set of stairs, through another closed door, and out into one of the school’s hallways. There were a few corpses lying around, some of which looked pretty freshly killed, and Sakura ran her fingers through her hair, glancing down when her radio crackled to life.

“I’m at the school’s entrance, are you still okay?” Came Neji’s voice, determined with an edge of concern.

Glancing down at herself, Sakura shrugged before smiling and retrieving the radio. There was no sign of Gaara, and she doubted she’d see him on her way out, but, she had a good feeling that she’d see him again, one day.

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

#gaasaku #nejisaku #thirrinwrites #thirrinfic #thirrinspeaks #eeeeyyyyy its 3:30 am im sleep #naruto was supposed to cme back into play but i forgot #maybe in one of the other fics if i make more drabbles in this universe hell show up #it was originally gonna be titled hotblooded and there would be more fighting but i got sleepy

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frostmarris · 8 years ago

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“kakashi is a shitty sensei” drabble for @mouseymightymarvellous !!

basically a condensed version of a fic I wanna write one day hehe

It was only natural for Kakashi to assume that his duties as the sensei for his genin team would be put on hold when two of his three students left Konoha (one for definitely more controversial reasons than the other).

However, maybe he should have considered the fact that his remaining student might still be interested in continuing her training with him.

A full week passed after Naruto left to train abroad with Jiraiya - a touching farewell at the Konoha gate where both Kakashi and Sakura wished Naruto luck on his training - and, unbeknownst to Kakashi, Sakura continued to head to the bridge Team 7 met at before training, every morning. Of course, for the first two days, she waited because she was never under the impression that Kakashi would no longer be her sensei (and she waited well past the time her tardy teacher usually finally made his appearance before returning home, confused and upset) but, by the third day, she stood on the bridge for more sentimental reasons, quietly contemplating the small stream below as she wondered how her teammates were doing and why her sensei seemed to be avoiding her.

(He wasn’t doing it on purpose, he’d just kind of… forgotten about her.)

It was after that first week that Sakura requested an audience with the new Hokage and asked Tsunade to train her.

She later sought Kakashi out on her own and informed him that she’s started an apprenticeship under the Godaime.

Kakashi is, of course, surprised by the news but he smiled fondly and ruffled her hair before wishing the young kunoichi luck.

He didn’t catch the way her expression turned crestfallen and he never could have guessed her thoughts - “Why is Kakashi-sensei so quick to accept the news? Does he not want to be my sensei at all? - and they part ways.

Kakashi saw very little of his pink-haired (former) student over the passing months, mostly because he spent very little time in the village as he was often out on missions to fill his now abundant free-time.

But, as the months passed, he began to notice the oddest things.

Asuma was the first to approach him, clapping him on the back as he was wandering the streets of the village. The first thing out of his mouth is a question in regards to his training with his former genin team. Kakashi is confused but Asuma doesn’t seem to notice, mentioning briefly that Sakura has seemed to long-since perfected walking on water and was even giving pointers to his team.

Kakashi smiled weakly and nodded and Asuma bid him farewell.

Inwardly, the Copy Nin couldn’t recall ever actually teaching his student the technique.

But, he shrugged it off, remembering fondly how she quickly perfected walking up trees and figured she must have figured it out on her own, the clever girl.

However, he ignored the odd feeling of guilt he had at the thought.

Kurenai is next.

She caught him at one of the cafés and immediately started bombarding him with questions about what sort of training techniques Sakura tended to thrive under. From her chatter, Kakashi is able to deduce that, for some reason, Sakura has started spending some training time with Team 8. Kurenai offered many compliments in regards to the pink-haired kunoichi and asked him which techniques she’s already mastered, so she need not waste time in the future.

He was a little confused and offered the barest of responses - "Yes, well, she’s usually good with any sort of instruction. I usually only needed to give her directions once and she’d have a better grasp on the concepts than the boys, so I’d usually focus on them. I’m sure she’s gotten down whatever techniques she’s attempted.” - and Kurenai frowned in response.

He assumed she was merely unsatisfied with his (as usual) lackluster responses, and they part ways.

It happened again and again.

Various nin make passing comments to Kakashi, congratulating him on his clever kunoichi student and complementing her growing skills - Shizune, Asuma, Kurenai, Gai, Ebisu, even Genma - and, piece by piece, he began to figure out that Sakura was seeking guidance from other Jounins and senseis. Inwardly, he was proud of her tenacity but, even deeper, he was slightly confused.

Were they all really talking about HIS former student? He’d never noticed much of interest in her abilities besides her near-perfect chakra control but, then again, maybe they were just seeing details he hadn’t.

Two years have passed and Naruto has returned and, as Kakashi sat at the bar, staring down at his drink, he contemplated the rehash of the bell test he has just put his two former students through. Gai plopped down next to him suddenly, quick to notice his wide-eyed look.

“You’re looking a little bewildered there, Rival! I heard Naruto returned so I can imagine that you’re in awe of how much he’s undoubtedly grown!”

“Yes and, well…”

“And?”

“Sakura. She’s-”

“Ah, yes!” Gai interrupted, clapping Kakashi on the back. “How is the young lady? My beautiful students always enjoy sparring with the lovely Sakura! I’ll have to invite her to a training match again sometime.”

Kakashi buried his face in his hands, replaying how his former student had destroyed the ground with a single punch - sweet, tiny Sakura who had never been too gifted in taijutsu, except for the occasional burst of surprising strength.

“She’s so strong, Gai. Ridiculously strong. How did she learn how to do that.”

Gai was eerily quiet and Kakashi finally glanced up, shocked to find his rival regarding him with a confused, yet surprised look.

Kakashi paused before reiterating, speaking carefully.

“She reduced the field to rubble with a punch. She DECIMATED the earth with such ease, it was terrifying.”

“Yes.”

Kakashi’s mind was reeling, unable to grasp why Gai was giving him such a matter-of-fact look.

“You didn’t know the young Miss Sakura could do that?”

Kakashi felt like he was swimming through the air, the world spinning around him while everyone carried on as if nothing new was happening.

“I knew she had some impressive bursts of strength, but I’ve never…”

Gai laughed, almost awkwardly, and gave Kakashi’s shoulder a sympathetic pat.

“What do you think she’s been learning while she’s been apprenticed to our Hogake?”

And, suddenly, Kakashi felt like a very unsatisfactory, neglectful sensei.

#thirrinwrites #kakasaku #not really it's more teacher+student platonic relationship #maybe one day i'll expand more on this

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frostmarris · 5 years ago

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Sea Shanty

Shipwrecked!Suigetsu/Mermaid!Sakura

summary: A storm leaves Suigetsu shipwrecked and alone. Well, not completely alone. What's it like to owe a life debt to a mermaid?

a late get well gift for @kyoties !

mermaid sakura is such a weakness of mine lol

: :

The storm came abruptly and without warning, bearing down on the ship and its crew with merciless glee as they were thrown and tossed about. The winds, just as much as the waves, seemed insistent on never letting any of the crew members regain their footing for even a moment and Suigetsu was fairly certain he saw a man fall overboard and into the violent water below. He didn't know for sure and he didn't want to think about it as the waves would certainly smash the body back up against the side of the ship before dragging it under.

At this moment, as his world becomes water and wind and rain, he can't remember a time in his life when he'd been dry. His clothes are soaked through and he can feel the chill right down to his bone, the rain falling hard enough to hurt against his bare skin. He can barely hear the orders being shouted above deck, the roar of the wind and the crash of the sea deafening and silencing everything besides the occasional boom of thunder, but he fulfills his duties to the best of his abilities. He ties down what he can and helps other men with the rigging and is suddenly sent stumbling when a stray elbow strikes his face.

He is knocked against the deck railing and has a clear view of the angry waves smashing against the side of the ship, feeling everything rock to one side and get terribly close to pushing him off-balance. Suigetsu gets a face full of salt water for his troubles, but, before he can pull himself away, he spots something under the water.

There, further out where the waves aren't so violent, he swears he sees a face beneath the layer of seafoam. An icy chill, colder than the storm, fills him briefly as he thinks its the face of a crew member who'd been swept out to sea, but then the eyes blink and he realizes that it's watching the ship be tossed about from a safe distance. Just as it seems to meet Suigetsu's bewildered gaze, the ship rocks back the other way and the momentum pulls him away from the railing.

The next few moments are a blur and, before he can tell what's happening, Suigetsu suddenly realizes he doesn't know what's up and what's down and his lungs are both freezing and burning as his eyes sting and his fingers grow numb. The taste of salt on his tongue is stronger than it should be from mere ocean spray and he comes to the horrific realization that he's under water. The ocean both surrounds and fills him, in his mouth and in his stomach and in his lungs, and he desperately starts kicking, hoping he's facing the surface. Just moments after he breaks through and feels air on his face, coughing up seawater and trying to catch a breath, a wave comes crashing down on top of him.

It submerges him once more and drags him down with the force, what little breath he'd managed to obtain quickly knocked out of him. Disoriented, he desperately tries to swim for the surface again but feels his limbs going numb from the cold and his head light from the lack of air. Suigetsu forces his eyes open as a last-ditch effort to try to find the surface and thinks he can see the moon. It appears from behind the storm clouds briefly, distorted by the movement of the ocean water and so far away - too far and too late. He reaches towards it and the surface, the last of his breath bubbling out around his mouth in an unheard cry, and the light of the moon disappears once more.

There's only darkness around him. Darkness and an icy chill that's seeping into his bones, clutching at his heart, until, suddenly, there's warmth.

It's faint and vaguely lost through the encroaching numbness of his skin, but it wraps around him gently in a tender embrace. Strongest at his back, the warmth clutches him close and he only realizes he's reached the surface once more when he reflexively takes a deep breath. He looks down, sees pale arms wrapped around his chest through the black spots in his vision, and turns his head to try to take a look at his rescuer. Suigetsu feels something brush his legs as he recognizes the face from earlier and succumbs to the darkness, passing out as he's gently pulled through the water and away from the capsized ship.

: :

When Suigetsu comes to, it's with the taste of the sea on his tongue and the feeling of a terrible headache splitting his skull. He groans and reaches up to rub at his forehead, wincing at a tender bump under his still-damn bangs and hissing under his breath before he tries to sit up. The bare skin of his arms scrape against rock and he carefully cracks an eye open, relieved to find himself in the shade rather than faced with the bright morning sun. A quick glance around reveals that he's half-submerged in a tide pool, his upper half laying on the rocky edge and his legs in the water.

It's not terribly deep and his knees scrape against more rock as well as sea grass, a pair of fish scavenging for algae near his ankles darting away at the movement. Groaning again, Suigetsu manages to roll onto his back and doesn't mind the way the rock digs into him through his tattered shirt. He takes a deep breath and closes his eyes, breathing in the calm air and feeling the water of the pool lap against his legs and waist as he tries to recall what had happened.

A cloud, white and friendly, rolls by overhead to darken his patch of shade even more so and Suigetsu thinks back to the ship, recalling how he'd been knocked about, banged his head against the railing, and been sent over the edge and into the water. He'd been drowning, pulled under by the power of the ocean and as good as dead.

But something - someone had saved him and pulled him to the surface, warm and gentle despite their firm, determined grip on his body.

And had apparently dragged him ashore, judging by his current situation.

Suigetsu opens his eyes and his violet gaze travels over the rocky shore, taking in the sight of numerous tide pools and the ocean ahead. A stretch of about ten feet of rock separates him from the water and, as he twists to look behind him, he can see where the tide pools give way to more solid stone. A beach begins out to his right in the distance, the white sand nearly blinding in the sun, and feeds into dunes and tall grass as the earth slopes up. Directly behind him and out to his left is a tall cliffside, casting the shadow that's blanketing him. It stands tall and towering for a fair distance, even as the rocky shore suddenly drops off and leaves the ocean waves to break against the cliff's face.

He sighs and runs a hand through his white hair, gritty with sea salt as the water is starting to dry. Heaving himself up and onto the edge of the tide pool, he pulls his legs fully out of the water and lays back for a few moments, trying to decide what to do. His brief inspection of his surroundings hadn't shown any other signs of life - no row boats pulled up onto the beach and no bodies washed up like himself. From what he could remember, they hadn't been anywhere near the next port city before the storm hut, so it was very likely that he'd been brought to an uninhabited island.

Suigetsu frowns to himself, trying to recall the face of his rescuer. His memories are fuzzy, but fierce, determined eyes appear in his mind and his frown deepens as he stares up at the sky. Had they joined him on the island? Why weren't they here now, waiting for him to wake up?

Or had they been swept away before they could get themself to safety?

Sighing, Suigetsu sits up and decides to explore the beach. Maybe supplies from the ship had washed up or other survivors had set up camp in the woods.

Once he's standing, he finally spots the scrap of cloth hanging over the edge of another, larger tide pool between his own and the ocean. Suigetsu blinks, recognizing it as the sleeve to his jacket, and hurriedly moves to retrieve it - only to stop as he glances into the tide pool of itself and sees something curled up under the water.

It's a girl, he realizes after a moment of shocked confusion, but also definitely not . Long, coral pink hair spills over her shoulders and down her back as she lays curled up on her side on a bed of sea grass, her sleeping expression serene. The ledge she's laying on isn't the deepest part of the large pool, but she's fully submerged and Suigetsu would have been concerned had it not been for her scaled, aqua green tail.

Each scale glimmers and shines, even despite the shade of the cliffside, and her fins that fade to a paler shade of green are nearly translucent at the ends. Smaller patches of the scales are scattered over the shoulder and arm he can see and over her cheekbones, disappearing under her hair. A pointed ear pokes out from the stream of pink and the long, flowing fins at the end of her tail drape over the side of the ledge.

Her arm is tucked up close to her chest but he can still see the rise and fall of her breathing and her fins twitch occasionally, further confirming that he's looking at a very real, very alive, mermaid.

Suigetsu takes a cautious step forward and realizes that she's clutching the other sleeve of his grey jacket. As he debates whether he should try to retrieve it, she shifts and uncurls, air bubbles floating up to the surface of the water as she yawns and her tail stretches out. One of her arms reaches up and out of the water in a stretch and she pauses, seemingly caught off-guard by the feeling of air on her skin and scales and she immediately spots him when she opens her eyes.

Suigetsu gets a good look at familiar green eyes before she hurriedly slips off the edge of the tide pool shelf and into the deeper pocket of water. He quickly drops to his knees and peers over the side of the rocky edge to search for her, realizing why he recognized her eyes. The pool is deeper than he expected and he can barely see her tucked up against the rocks at the bottom, staring up at him. He searches through the shadows and stoney edges but can't find a path out of the tide pool and, as he sits back and looks out to the nearby ocean, he quickly comes to a conclusion.

"You saved me," Suigetsu says aloud, hoping the mermaid can hear him under the water as he grips the edge and stares down at her. He continues, already convinced that she'd been the one to pull him up from the depths of the ocean. "You dragged me ashore but got trapped here when low tide came. Didn't you?"

She simply stares back up at him with an unblinking gaze, her hair settling around her and her tail giving a short twitch. Suigetsu panics slightly at her silence - maybe she doesn't even understand him - but then she moves, her body relaxing as she sits up slightly and nods.

He's instantly grinning and moves forward, reaching into the water to hold out a hand towards her in offering. The mermaid hesitates, gaze flickering to his open hand, before pushing off from the bottom of the tide pool and floating up. Her hand is warm against his and Suigetsu gently pulls her back up onto the ledge of seagrass, relieved when she doesn't seem bothered by poking her head and torso up out of the water.

The gills lining the sides of her neck and along her ribs open once before sealing shut and she takes a breath of air, reaching up to tuck a wet strand of pink hair behind her ear. It's long enough to trail into the water, flat and clinging against her back and her bare - Suigetsu tries not to let his gaze travel downwards, his cheeks lighting up with pink - chest.

The two inspect each other for a long moment before he finally moves, changing positions to sit on the upper ledge and let his legs dangle in the water. Seagrass brushing against his bare feet, Suigetsu smiles at the mermaid, feeling a little breathless at being faced with a living folk tale.

"Thank you. For saving me." He reaches up, grinning sheepishly as he rubs the back of his neck and ruffles his white hair. "I'm sorry that you got stuck here 'cause of me though."

She doesn't say anything, green eyes following the movement of his arm, but smiles and shakes her head. Turning her head, she looks out to the nearby ocean and shrugs, lifting a cupped hand out of the water and letting it spill back unto the pool.

"I don't know when the tide'll come back in," Suigetsu admits, guessing her thoughts. She can obviously understand him, but he's curious as to why she won't speak.

She shrugs again and leans back, settling on her makeshift bed, and he gets a better look at her. Disregarding the fins, she wasn't that big . Her tail was about 2/3rds of her body but surely she couldn't be that heavy…

Suigetsu looks to the strip of rock separating her from the ocean, assessing the distance as he frowns to himself. Yeah, he could totally do this.

"I think I could carry you over to the water," He announces, glancing over to gauge her reaction. The mermaid looks up at him in surprise before she pauses thoughtfully, her eyes roving over him assessingly as she frowns to herself.

"No, really," Suigetsu pulls his legs from the water and moves to his feet, crouching down as he holds out an arm. He grins down at her, fairly certain that she wasn't all that heavy. "It's better than having to wait for the water to rise!"

She hesitates for a moment, glancing over the strip of rock between her and the water, before offering a nervous smile and nodding. Suigetsu's grin grows determined as she reaches up towards him and he hooks an arm under her shoulder and wraps it around her, carefully pulling her higher out of the pool. Her arms curl around his neck and, once he can reach, his free arm hooks under her tail about where knees would be on a human. Taking care to keep his hands away from anywhere appropriate, Suigetsu slowly stands out of his crouch and takes a moment to find his balance.

She is lighter than he'd been expecting and he adjusts his hold slightly, curious at the feeling of her scales against his skin. He turns and, as the last of her trailing fins leave the water, they both realize that something odd is happening. Rather than smooth scales under his hand, he suddenly feels warm skin and they both look down to her tail, shocked to see it change.

It turns to water and drips off her form, sparkling scales falling like stars, and she gasps, attempting to move her new pair of very human legs but barely managing more than a twitch. Suigetsu stares before glancing to her face, reading her expression. While she doesn't seem to be in any pain from the change, she's obviously startled by it. Must be her… first time out of the water or something.

She sends him a wary, concerned look, managing to kick one of her legs slightly, and he replies with a reassuring smile.

"Let's… let's get you into the water. I bet it's just a temporary thing." He's never met a mermaid before so, of course , he has no idea if that's true, but it's the best solution he has and he doesn't want her to get freaked out.

With a small nod and her eyes still pinned to her legs, she tightens her hold around his neck and Suigetsu quickly, yet carefully, carries her over to the edge of the rocky shore. It's only a few short strides and she's even lighter without her tail, but the rocks are uneven and jagged so he's cautious with where he steps. The ocean is fortunately calm and there's no danger of the gentle waves smashing her against the rocks the moment she's back in the water, but he still slowly crouches back down until he's on his knees. Leaning out as far as he can without losing his balance, he carefully slips the mermaid into the water and holds his breath as he releases her.

She disappears under the surface and, for a few anxious moments, Suigetsu grips the edge of the rocks and peers down into the water. Then there's a flick of a pale green fin a few feet out and she pops back up, a wide smile on her face as she grabs the edge and rises to pecks his cheek.

He's stunned for a moment before he grins, letting out a relieved laugh.

"I wouldn't say we're even, since you saved my life and you would have probably been fine in the tide pool for a few hours," Suigetsu sits back, his grin widening as she rests her crossed arms on the stones and smiles up at him. Her returned tail splashes behind her, flinging water at him as he chuckles, his cheek still tingling from her kiss. "But I guess this is a step towards repaying you."

: :

"So, what is your name?"

After wandering the shore for hours, the mermaid following along beside him in the water, he'd eventually found a lagoon on the west side of the island and had decided to set up shelter there. His lean-to is set up at the edge of the beach, a decent effort after searching the nearby woods for materials, but he finds himself spending most of his time on the outcropping of rock that stretches out against another cliff. The small waterfall nearby gave him a source of freshwater and the lagoon itself seemed to be filled with fish, but rocks were large and flat and just the right place for him to sit and chat with her.

Well, 'chat' wasn't quite accurate.

It's the next evening now and they're enjoying a meal of fish as they relax on the rocks, her seat leaving her mostly submerged. She still hasn't spoken and Suigetsu hasn't pried, but he is curious. He'd introduced himself yesterday with little reply from her other than a smile and a nod and he didn't want to keep referring to her as 'the mermaid' in his thoughts.

She pauses, picking raw fish meat off of bones while he takes bites from the cooked one he'd skewered on a stick, and starts to open her mouth to answer. Hopeful, he leans forward, but she hesitates, frowns, and shuts her mouth with a click.

Suigetsu sighs but shrugs it off, taking another bite of his dinner.

"Ah, I get," He says, grinning down at her. "It's some sort of secret mermaid language that my human ears couldn't understand, huh?"

She laughs and it's the most lovely thing - even if her canine teeth are a little too sharp, a little too long - and his grin widens, feeling himself lean closer to her. When her laughter trails off and she tucks her pink hair behind her pointed ears, Suigetsu finally catches himself and leans back again, having come very close to falling into the water.

"Well," He continues, looking thoughtful as he rubs his chin. "How about I give you a nickname in my language?"

She regards him curiously and sets aside the scraps from her meal, nodding eagerly in agreement a moment later.

Suigetsu sits back and hums, looking up at the sky as he tries to think of what to call her. Quiet for a few moments, it's when he looks back down at her that he has an idea, unable to resist the urge to lean forward and catch a stray strand of her hair around his finger.

"Back home, there are these trees that bloom with flowers during the spring." He explains, letting her hair sleep through his fingers as she gazes up at him with those green eyes. Catching himself again, Suigetsu pulls away and tries to fight off his blush as he continues.

"They're, uh, the same color as your hair - that's what I'm getting at." Her head tilts, obviously curious, and his grin turns a little sheepish. "S-so, how about 'Sakura'?"

He waits for her reaction, trying to read her expression as she looks thoughtful for a few seconds. And then she's smiling brightly and nodding her approval. Suigetsu relaxes, returns the smile, and feels his chest grow warm.

"Sakura it is then."

: :

"Let her go."

Sakura makes a pained sound as one of the surviving crew members pulls her up higher with his fistful of her hair, sand clinging to her bare legs and a few of her fallen scales scattered over the beach. She's gripping the man's wrist, nails biting into his skin, and Suigetsu is standing some 15 feet away, another crewmate behind him and restraining his arms. Held back as he is, he can't intervene and is left turning his furious gaze on the man holding Sakura, demanding she be freed while the group of shipwreck survivors stand in a loose circle around them.

"It's a sea witch, boy." The man growls, ignoring the way her nails are making him bleed. "It's gone and put its siren spell on you!"

It's been two weeks since Suigetsu first woke up on the island. The first half he'd spent on his own with Sakura, days spent swimming in the lagoon and sharing fish they caught together, contented with their one-sided conversations and watching the sun set out over the ocean's horizon. She must have known where to find the shipwreck because, on more than one occasion, she brought scavenged tools and materials back to him after short disappearances that left him missing her more and more. Rope and cloth that were perfectly usable once they'd been dried out in the sun, a knife that wasn't too rusted, and a small, waterlogged telescope - such useful items that he immediately put to good use.

But then he'd stumbled upon the surviving crew from his ship. He'd been out collecting kindling for a fire when he'd bumped into one of the older men, who had quickly recognized Suigetsu and excitedly led him back to the camp they'd set up on the other side of the island. Met with mixed responses, he'd reluctantly joined their camp and had taken to sneaking away during the day to visit Sakura. He'd been wary of the crew's response to a living mermaid and had tried to keep the meetings as secret as possible.

But not secret enough.

"Just let her go!" Suigetsu growls again, eyeing the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Still unused to the human legs she gains when she's outside of the water, Sakura has little strength in them to support her body and she can't get enough leverage on the sailor's arm to alleviate the pressure. She'd been dragged out of the water just a little while ago and the scrapes and scratches from the rocks were still raw and bright in her skin, but no one besides Suigetsu seems to care for her safety.

"She hasn't done anything- hasn't hurt anyone!" He insists, angered by one of the crew's scoffs. "Release her!"

"I bet the damned creature is what sank the ship in the first place!" One of the crew says, brandishing his crudely made fishing spear. "Every sailor knows sirens will sink a whole ship just to drown the crew! If not to eat them alive!"

"She's not a siren." Suigetsu hisses, struggling against the man holding his arms. He knows the difference; he'd grown up on stories about all the creatures of the sea! Mermaids bring luck to sailors! And this one had saved his life.

"Sakura is my friend. She saved me from drowning!" Surely they could see reason, could see that she wasn't a danger to any of them.

He glances away from the men surrounding them to look to Sakura, blinking in confusion as he realizes that she's staring right at him, a concerning and almost apologetic expression on her face.

"The boy's calling it by name," Another sailor laments, as if it were a great tragedy. "The witch's got a firm grip on him now."

There's a murmur of agreement amongst the crew and the man gripping Sakura's hair holds up the knife he'd stolen from Suigetsu, pressing it close to her throat. She freezes in alarm, eyes flickering down to the blade, and bites down on her lip, trying to strain her neck away.

"Aye, lad." The sailor grunts, tightening his hold on her pink hair. "Once the creature is dead, you should be freed from its spell."

"NO!" Suigetsu's struggling turns violent and he manages to slam his head back to smash against a nose, the sailor restraining him letting out a pained shout and releasing his arms. He rushes towards Sakura but is tackled to the ground by two more crew, soon finding himself pinned down by a heavy boot on his back and sand digging into his cheek. Looking up, he finds the men regarding him with mixtures of anger and pity and Sakura's gaze full of concern as she tries to stay still.

The knife against her throat is pressing hard enough ro draw blood and Suigetsu lets out a furious growl, uncaring of the sand that gets in his mouth as he bares his teeth at the one threatening Sakura.

"He might be too far gone…" One man murmurs, earning a few hushed agreements. They watch him warily, as if he would try to attack at any moment.

"Days alone with the sea witch," Says a voice above him, likely from the one pinning him down. The boot is lifted suddenly, but, before Suigetsu can get away, a hand grabs a fistful of white hair and yanks him up.

"His mind's gone, lost to the creature's will," Growls that same voice, the other men watching grimly but not moving to intervene. "Best just to put the boy out of his misery."

Suigetsu sees the knife before the words fully register, the blade appearing out of the corner of his eye. He looks to Sakura and her green eyes are wide with panic, a thin stream of blood running down her throat.

And then she closes her eyes, parts her lips, and the world seems to come to a stop.

The blade stops inches from his throat as the sailor holding him suddenly freezes. All of the men suddenly stop moving, their eyes glazing over as the unnatural stillness takes control of their bodies. Suigetsu can feel a numbness in his limbs, tingling at his fingertips and sending a shiver up his spine, but he can still move . He shoves the hand holding the knife away from his neck and stumbles forward, the fist in his hair going slack and letting him slip free.

The sound of his own hands hitting the sand is muffled and distant to his ears and, finally, Suigetsu notices the singing.

It's soft and haunting, a melody rather than an actual song, and he feels the numbness creep up his limbs again before he shakes his head, clearing the fog in his mind. The voice is beautiful, mesmerizing and with just a slight rough edge to it - the voice of someone who's lived their life breathing in the sea's wind and tasting the salt in the air.

He doesn't realize his attention is being actively drawn away from the source until Suigetsu turns his head towards Sakura to watch her as she sings.

Her eyebrows are furrowed in concentration and the blade that had been held against her throat has been lowered. Pink hair falls loosely down her back and shoulders as she sits with her legs limp under her, the sailor's hand still outstretched and his fingers curled but empty.

Sakura's voice fills him entirely and with ease, caught in his own lungs and heavy in his heart, drowning out its beat and caressing his thoughts with a tender touch. But it flows through him just as easily, feeling returning to his limbs as she slowly opens her eyes, her pupils now narrowed to slits, and looks at him. Her gaze is full of remorse, even though he knows she's actively trying to omit him from the binding effects of her song. Suigetsu stares back at her, just as mesmerized as the men but not under her control.

Her soft gaze lingers on him for a few moments longer as she sings before her expression turns determined and vicious. Sakura moves her legs out from under her and forces herself to rise, managing to stand on wobbly legs. She takes a deep breath, her song pausing for just a moment, and steadies herself before holding her head high and walking forward. Her strides grow in strength and confidence and, though Suigetsu so desperately wants to move to her side to aid her, he finds himself stuck in place as he kneels in the sand.

The crew, however, seem to have no such difficulty now and follow Sakura in a trance and she heads towards the water. Her hands raise and turn, her palms facing the sky now cast in the warm tones of the sunset ahead of her. Her voice drowns out the other sounds of the beach and Suigetsu manages to turn to watch her lead the men to the ocean, unable to fully rise despite his efforts.

As the first gentle wave touches her feet, she turns to face him.

The sun is at her back, silhouetting her body with golden rays and shadowing the dark expression on her face. Still she sings, a true siren's call as she slowly walks backwards into the ocean, her gaze on Suigetsu while the men who would have them both killed follow her into the water. The sailors disappear under the waves one by one, walking until the shore is left behind and all that remains is Sakura's voice, until, that too, suddenly vanishes.

All is silent for a moment more before the sounds of the beach and the woods behind him suddenly burst to life once more. Everything remains still, but from a resolute calm rather than an unnatural spell, and Suigetsu watches the idle waves for some minutes, searching for signs of life - for the splash of fins, coral pink hair, and green eyes full of a warmth meant only for him.

He stays there, kneeling in the sand, until long after the sun has set and the sky turns dark.

: :

Suigetsu finds her, some hours later when he'd finally pulled himself to his feet and began to wander the shoreline, at the tide pools where he'd first officially met her.

The tide is receding, giving him ample footing to walk out to where he can see Sakura as she sits on the edge of the rocks and gazes up at the moon. She doesn't turn as he approaches, but she can undoubtedly hear him, and he quietly sits down next to her.

There's blood on her face, concentrated around her mouth, and he knows it's not her own. Sakura doesn't look at him, but he can feel her hesitance radiating off of her and he's fairly certain she's watching him out of the corner of her eye. They sit silently for some minutes and she slowly relaxes and, finally, Suigetsu leans back.

Hands braced behind him, he smiles up at the moon.

"That's twice you've gone and saved my life now." He says, turning his head slightly towards her. "I suppose that means I owe you double the debt."

Sakura laughs softly, leaning closer to him until her head is resting on his shoulder. She licks her lips then wipes at her mouth with the heel of her hand and her inner wrist, removing most of the blood.

"Yes," She replies, oh so softly. It's just a whisper, but even that is enough to make his fingertips numb and have him leaning closer to her, utterly intoxicated. "I suppose it does."

His fingers are sliding through her hair, one hand at the nape of her neck and the other at her waist as he pulls her closer. Her own find his face, cupping his jaw and playing with his white bangs as she gazes up at him, warm and content as she knows he does this of his own volition.

Suigetsu kisses her, tastes iron and salt and Sakura, and his heart sings.

#suisaku #suigetsu #haruno sakura #sakura fic #thirrinwrites #thirrinfic #finally finished it aaaa

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frostmarris · 8 years ago

Text

The Fine Print - Pocket Change

[ Part One ]

a continuation of my Demon!Hidan/Sakura Inheritance prompt drabble for halloween!

now with 100% more Kakuzu

i dont particularly plan on writing another part after this, but if enough people really want one...... we’ll see

enjoy!

“That’s a pretty annoying curse you’ve got there.”

Sakura’s head snapped up in surprise, quickly looking over her left shoulder to the figure standing behind her. He was tall, to say the least. Tanned skin, dark hair long and loose, most of his facial features obscured by clothing...

She eyed the black scarf covering the lower half of his face for a moment before glancing at the reflective aviators hiding his eyes, quickly realizing that she was staring at him in confusion. She brushed his attire – dark jacket over a smoky-green shirt and black pants – off without a second thought, deeming it fairly appropriate for the cold weather they were experiencing.

There was an odd fluttering glimmer that she noticed out of the corner of her eye, but that was something she’d come to grow used to when she was out with Hidan.

His words finally sunk in after a moment and Sakura turned in her seat, facing the stranger as she frowned up at him. She was outside, enjoying lunch on the patio seating of what had become Hidan’s favorite Italian restaurant in town and sipping coffee while she waited. The demon had left only a minute ago for the restroom, leaving her alone with a few other patrons sitting outside and their basket of warm breadsticks. The umbrella canopy provided a nice shade and the white fence behind her that separated the restaurant seating from the street only reached about navel-high for the mystery man.

“Pardon me?”

He rolled his shoulders, head inclining towards her slightly.

“Binding spell, but some pretty loose terms of service from what I can see. No thread for repercussions if the deal isn’t fulfilled, but it has no expiry date.”

Sakura was really staring now.

“I don’t see a signature or a real contract, but it’s got a pretty tight grip. Let me guess, you got tricked into touching the source or offering up a piece of you? Blood contracts are hard to break, but there’s a pretty easy fix if it’s bound through something like hair.”

“I opened a book.” Sakura found herself saying, eyebrows quickly furrowing as she caught herself. “How did you know all of that?”

He shifted, tilting his head down a little more as one hand raised to nudge down his sunglasses, peering down at her over the rim. Sakura was met with the oddest pair of eyes she’d ever seen and she stared all the harder, taking in the dark red sclera and glassy, pupil-less, green irises. He met her gaze for a moment longer before his eyes flickered down pointedly, leading her to follow his attention to her left hand.

She clenched it into a fist on reflex, imagining she could feel the burn of the rune marking her palm.

When she looked up again, he was pushing the sunglasses back up his nose, hand dropping into the pocket of his jacket. Sakura eyed him curiously, offering a slow, begrudging nod as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“Cool eyes. Do you make it a habit of going around and peaking at other people’s curses?”

“If I spot a potential profit, yes.” His deep voice was slightly muffled by the scarf, but Sakura couldn’t say she didn’t find it pleasant. She had a very distinct feeling that he was smirking at her, behind the cloth.

“Profit?”

He shrugged nonchalantly, but Sakura could spot an incoming sales pitch when she saw one.

“I’m fairly adept at breaking curses. I can read the terms, pick apart contracts, find loopholes, shatter the restraints... Yours looks annoying, but it shouldn’t be too difficult to unbind you from that book.”

Sakura blinked – the thought of being done with repaying these dumb debts was pretty enticing.

“You sound pretty confident.”

She could hear the smirk in his voice with his reply this time.

“I’ve never taken on a curse and failed to provide results that satisfied a customer.”

Her skeptical expression morphed in a rather curious frown, watching him carefully before she finally replied, making sure her voice didn’t sound too hopeful.

“You’re serious? Can you really break this dumb curse?”

“For a price.”

Sakura’s eyes narrowed and the skeptical look was back.

“What kind of price?”

He gave another nonchalant shrug.

“One that would be determined at a later date.”

Instantly, that bubble of hope popped and her expression fell into an unamused deadpan, regarding him for another moment before turning back to face her table.

“Not a chance. I’m not getting into anything unless I know all the details up front. Have a nice day, buddy.”

She could hear shifting fabric and assumed he was shrugging again, resisting the urge to glance over her shoulder at his grumble of, “Suit yourself.” before she heard retreating footsteps. She was left alone to her thoughts for a couple minutes, ignoring that lingering shimmer that she caught out of the corner of her eye with practiced ease, until Hidan finally returned.

He ran a hand through his silver hair as he approached, dropping down into his chair as he eyed her thoughtful expression with a raised eyebrow. Sakura cut off his inevitable comment with a shake of her head, picking up her mug for another sip of coffee before they simply chatted and waited for their food. A nice change from worrying and planning and trying to repay those dumb debts Uncle Maseo had saddled her with.

She was in too deep at this point – she’d put too much effort into this ‘project’ to just up and quit before she saw it through to the end. It had been over four months already and that’s just too much dedicated time to simply walk away from.

Besides, she’d grown pretty used to her demonic houseguest.

About halfway through their meal, Sakura found herself watching him with a fond smile, her chin in her hand and pasta still twirled around her fork. A thought eventually occurred to her and Hidan glanced up just in time to catch her smile slip into a small frown, her eyebrows furrowed and a breadstick half shoved into his mouth.

“What’s up, princess.”

She shook her head, gaze dropping back down her to her pasta and missing the way he pursed his lips at her.

“I know that look. What’s on your mind?”

Sakura sighed, leaning back in her seat as she regarded him thoughtfully.

“What’s gonna happen when we finally get done with these IOUs?”

“I’ll be free to leave and you get your couch back.” Hidan shrugged, swiping the end of a breadstick through his pasta sauce and missing the look – disappointed, apprehensive, saddened - in her eye.

“And it’s all over and done? Just like that?”

Silver eyebrow furrowed and he scrutinized her for a moment, taking in her pouting lips, pulled down in a frown, and her downcast gaze pinned to a fallen brown leaf to her right. Hidan stared long and hard for a bit before it seemed to click and he snickered, sending her a smug, teasing look.

“You’re gonna fuckin’ miss me, aren’t you?”

Sakura’s attention snapped back to him, her cheeks quickly flushing red as her eyes narrowed.

He simply laughed, grinning widely at her and waggling his eyebrows.

“Aaww, you actually fucking like me, don’t you?”

“Sh-shut up!”

“Love you too, princess!”

It was almost three weeks later and Sakura had gone through absolute hell gathering the next set of items for what was ranked in the Top Five Weirdest IOUs in the List.

· August 15, 1965 – Kakuzu Akumataki: Three incisor teeth (human or canine), any form of currency that’s no longer in circulation, and an offering of Ankimo, homecooked. (Note: Don’t go into his house this time. Tricksy bastard.)

She’d scoured seven different antique shops before finally finding an Italian Lira and the teeth (two canine, one human, and all entirely disgusting), picking up groceries for the ‘offering’ on the way home after she had all of the items.

The entire entry in the journal set off so many alarms and she couldn’t wait to get this over and done with.

Fortunately, this ‘Kakuzu’ was one of the names she’d managed to find in one of Uncle Maseo’s three address books. The phone number listed had been out of service but a quick GPS search proved that there was still a house standing at the address.

Another one of the few names that lived nearby, luckily.

With the Tupperware container in hand and the box containing the teeth and money under her arm, Sakura followed the path up to the unassuming-looking house, eyeing the well-maintained (if slightly brown) hedges as she heard the door to her car close behind her. She glanced over her shoulder to see Hidan pausing at the curb, frowning at the house before slowly following after her. She waited in the middle of the yard and waited for him to join her, eyebrow quirked at his unusually stiff posture and the furrow of his brows.

“Something’s off about this place.” He said before she could ask him what was wrong, narrowed, magenta eyes darting from side to side suspiciously. “Don’t fuckin’ like it.”

She inwardly agreed, resisting the urge to pull her coat tighter around her. It felt like there was a deeper chill to the air here and she swore the sky hadn’t looked that grey during the drive over. But, the sooner she got this over with, the sooner they could return home.

“We’ll make it quick and I’ll make hot chocolate when we get back to my apartment. Deal?”

Hidan’s lips pursed and he gave a short nod, crossing his arms as he followed her up to the porch of the house. She caught him reaching over to snag a stray shirt thread out of her hair and she put on her friendliest smile before reaching to ring the doorbell. It was quiet for a few moments, the air still and those glimmers dancing on the edge of her awareness, until, finally, the door opened and she smiled up the man in front of her, her head bobbing in greeting.

“Hello, I’m Sakura Haruno. I’m looking f- Wait.” She paused, not noticing how Hidan had stiffened next to her when the door had opened and, instead, squinting up at the dark-haired man standing in the doorway. “Don’t I know you?”

“Surprised you recognized me.” An surprisingly familiar voice answered from behind a surgical mask before the man lowered his sunglasses, peering at her with oddly colored eyes over the rim, just like before. “I doubt you’ve changed your mind about my offer, so, how can I help you?”

The same man from the restaurant, weeks ago.

“Don’t fucking answer that.” Came Hidan’s voice, practically a growl, as he quickly stepped forward, moving in front of her and his posture practically screaming impending confrontation.

“We’re here to make a delivery. That’s fucking it.”

Really damn confused, Sakura peered around Hidan and nudged him aside, sending him a questioning look before returning her attention to the dark-haired man.

“Are you Kakuzu Akumataki?”

He gave a curt nod, but, from the way his head was raised and with the sunglasses hiding his gaze, she had the distinct feeling that he was watching Hidan behind her. Crossing his arms, he replied.

“What do you want.”

That odd camaraderie from weeks ago that had reminded Sakura of a well-seasoned salesman was gone now and she wanted nothing more than to get back into her car and drive off with Hidan. Nonetheless, she quickly held out the Tupperware holding the Ankimo and the box of teeth and money, her friendly smile gone as well.

“Courtesy of Maseo Haruno.”

This man certainly didn’t look over 50 years old, but she couldn’t necessarily see his entire face, now could she? Still, his head dropped slightly and he looked down at the offered items, a hum of recognition sounding from the back of his throat.

“Homemade Ankimo, three incisors – one human and two canine, and an Italian Lira.” She said, chewing on the inside of her cheek.

He fully removed the sunglasses now and slipped them into his pocket before taking the container and box, tucking the latter under his arm before popping the lid on the former. He reached up to pull down the surgical mask and Sakura nearly took a step backwards in surprise, eyes wide at the sight of years-old scaring that traveled from the corners of his mouth and across his cheeks, disappearing under the dark hair framing his face, and tattooed stitches following the path of the scars.

At least, she hoped they were tattoos.

(Still, despite the scars and stiches, he had a pretty nice face.

Too bad he was setting off a whole bunch of really unsettling vibes and made her want to run away and never look back.)

He sniffed the Ankimo and sent her a rather amused look at her reaction, making no move to pull the mask back up into place as he resealed the lid on the container.

“I was beginning to think I’d never get my payment from old Maseo.” Kakuzu paused, his weight shifting from one foot to the other before he quirked an eyebrow at Sakura, ignoring Hidan entirely now. His smile was frightening and Sakura wasn’t sure if it was an attempt at friendliness or to try and scare her.

“Would you like to come in?”

Sakura instantly thought back to that little note Uncle Maseo had left on Kakuzu’s entry in the journal and a dry look instantly fell into place on her face, arms dropping to her side as she resisted the urge to peer past him and into the dark interior of his home.

“No thanks, have a nice day. Keep the container.”

His frown was just as unnerving and Sakura quickly took Hidan’s arm, turning away from Kakuzu and his creepy house and heading back towards her car. Glancing over her shoulder, she could see the silver-haired demon still sending glares back at the other man and he didn’t tear his gaze away until they turned a corner down the block and headed home.

“That fucking guy wasn’t human.” He eventually muttered, his expression still sour and his shoulders stiff.

“Yeah,” Sakura murmured in reply, lips pressed in a tight frown. “I gathered that.”

Hidan gave a snort before sitting back in his seat and, sighing tiredly, Sakura rubbed her forehead and tried to keep her eyes on the road.

"Demon or something?"

Hidan's nod was curt and hard, his arms crossed over his chest as he stared out the windshield.

"Pretty damn sure. And what the fuck did he mean by "changed your mind about my offer," Sak?" His voice took on a mocking higher pitch when he quoted the other man, very much in contrast to Kakuzu's deeper voice and Sakura allowed herself a quick smile. "How did you know him?"

She glanced over to catch him peering at her with a frustrated squint and, chewing her lip for a moment, she replied.

"He popped up a few weeks ago, saying he could see my curse or something and offered to unbind me from the book." A pause. "For a price."

Hidan bristled, lip raised in a snarl, and, misinterpreting his response, Sakura quickly continued.

"I told him to fuck off. I never thought I'd run into him again."

"Fucking vague ass. I know that type, he would have tricked you into owing him a debt to claim at his fucking leisure. Indefinite indentured servitude or your soul in his gullet if you weren't careful."

She glanced over in shock, eyes wide and quickly remembering Hidan's reaction from earlier.

"- so, how may I help you?"

"Don't fucking answer that."

Sakura sent him a small smile and they eventually arrived back at her apartment, the air outside still cold and crisp. Hidan slung an arm over her shoulder as they made their way to the door and his glamour instantly dissipated once they were inside, his shoulders rolling as he gave a satisfied groan. She barely even batted an eye as his skin took on that familiar pitch-black hue and the skeletal marking appeared, the grey ram horns materializing from his head, starting at his skull and curling out with wisps of smoke. Peeling off her coat, she raised up on her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss to his cheek, smiling at the surprised look he sent her.

"Thanks for looking out for me."

With a wicked grin, Hidan scooped her up into his arms and carried her towards the couch, snickering at her squeal and chorus of giggles.

Two months later found the pair curled up on Sakura's sofa, the journal in her hands, Hidan's arm casually wrapped around her, and some cooking show on the TV. She was browsing a fresh page of IOUs, trying to decide on which to tackle next while he simply relaxed.

Turning the page, Sakura paused, staring down in confusion at the next batch of debts. In succession were three entries that left her mind reeling, pulling away from her comfortable spot pressed against Hidan's side to sit up straight.

Eyebrow quirked, he sent her a look and lowered the volume on the TV.

"Problem? Another grave robbery? That was pretty fucking fun, all things considered."

Sakura was hunched over the journal, staring down at names she couldn't understand, much less pronounce, before finally replying.

"These can't be real. Where the hell am I supposed to get a manticore claw, a vial of gnome tears, and a scarf made from spider silk. Is this a joke?!"

Hidan leaned forward to peer over her shoulder before sending her a bemused look.

"You've had a demon fuckin' crashing on your couch for over half a year. And you're questioning the existence of damn gnomes?"

"I thought this was an isolated incident." She replied, frowning down at the accursed journal. "Where on Earth am I supposed to get this shit?"

He looked thoughtful for a moment before taking the book from her hands, reading over the otherworldly lettering of the names, complete with simple - laughable - human nicknames, as he trailed a clawed finger down the page. Reaching over, he gave her shoulder a pat and she groaned in frustration, her face buried in her hands.

"I think I know a place."

“You ready?”

“Is this seriously happening?” Sakura mumbled, buttoning up her dark red coat and nudging her bag with a foot. “A goblin market?”

Hidan snorted, finishing up his indecipherable scribbles – she was sure they meant something, but she sure as hell couldn’t understand them – on her bathroom door before tossing the piece of chalk over his shoulder, the white chunk disappearing in a puff of smoke.

“It’s your best bet for getting that shit. Hand me your ribbon.”

Sighing, Sakura passed the red strip of silk over, eyebrow quirked when he tied it around his wrist, before leaning against the hallway wall.

“Can’t you just go yourself? I could give you some money – you know what you’re doing and what to expect...”

Sending her a bemused chuckle, he pressed his palm against the center of the door, nodding in satisfaction as the chalk symbols glowed red for a moment. Hidan was only disguised with partial glamour at the moment, his skin the more human – if still a little grey – tone and the tattoos faint, but his horns very present and noticeable, dressed in a black shirt, dark grey trench coat, and jeans.

“I’m not allowed back on the premises unless I’m in the company of a master.”

Eyebrows furrowed, Sakura sent him a questioning look and slowly picked up her messenger bag.

“What? A master? What do you mean?”

His lips pursed and he shrugged nonchalantly, running his hand through his hair.

“I’m a tasking demon. I get summoned when someone needs something done – usually offing some poor sap – and I hang around until the ‘master’ is satisfied.” A thoughtful frown as he paused. “I usually get paid with the souls of my targets and, let me tell you, I was fucking pissed when I realized that old coot Maseo found a fucking loophole and left me with just room and board as compensation this time.”

Sakura was staring at him. Staring hard.

“You... kill peo-?!” she cut herself off, furiously rubbing her temples. “Why am I only just hearing about this now?”

Another shrug and he very pointedly didn’t look at her.

“Y’never fuckin’ asked.”

With a long-suffering sigh, Sakura ran her hand down her face before pulling her hair back into a ponytail, frowning at his following response.

“My last job was, like, a decade ago.”

“Whatever. Whatever. I’m not going to think about this right now. Let’s just get it over with.” She caught how his shoulders relaxed and he sent her a vaguely relieved look, offering his arm when she moved to stand on one leg to adjust her boot.

“Is this- are you going to get in trouble since Uncle Maseo is dead and not actually around to chaperone?”

Hidan looked thoughtful before sending her a smug look.

“Technically, you’re my master. Mistress?” At her confused look, he continued, grinning down at her. “You summoned me to ‘motivate’ you to repay those IOUs. I’m your demon, princess.”

She blinked, watching him unsuredly, and he sent her a suggestive look, gaze rather smoldering.

“Kinda kinky, huh?”

Cheeks turning red in a matter of seconds, Sakura shoved her bag into his face with an indignant sound, huffing at his amused laughs and glaring up at him. Giving a light kick to his shin, she quickly tried to change the subject and fight down her blush.

“What’s the ribbon for? I thought you were going to stick it to the door or something.”

Her blush was quick to return at his reply, his smug look never faltering.

“Master’s mark. We can always use a dog collar or something if you’d pref-”

“Shut up! Nevermind!”

Still, she sent her flustered gaze at the hair ribbon wrapped around his wrist, ignoring the look he was sending her. Sighing, she prodded his chest with a finger, eyes narrowed as she faced the smirking demon.

“Is there anything else I should know about before we leave?”

His amused expression fell into a surprisingly serious look and Sakura’s lips thinned, oddly concerned.

“Stay close and leave the bartering to me.” At her hesitant nod, he continued, reaching down to adjust the collar of her coat. “If we do get separated and some asshole tries to start shit with you, show them my mark.”

He took her left wrist in hand and held it up in example, magenta eyes meeting her green gaze.

“Shove your fucking palm in their face until they get the hint if you have to. And don’t take any damn deals if they involve payment with anything other than cold hard cash. Someone asks for even just a single hair and you turn and walk away, got it?”

Another nod in reply and he turned her around, snapping his fingers to summon a black ribbon before styling her ponytail into a bun and, with a start, Sakura realized that he was fussing over her.

“And you sure as hell don’t give anyone even a drop of blood. In fact, don’t even tell anyone your name – especially not your full name.”

“Just cash.” She finally answered when she turned back to face him, earning a nod in approval before she paused unsurely. “Are human, American dollars really okay? Don’t I need, like, gold and silver and gems and shit?”

“Nah, you’ll be cool with the human cash. The market vendors accept pretty much any form of currency, but you gotta fuckin’ specify how you want your change.”

At Sakura’s frown, Hidan simply grinned, looped his arm through hers, and turned her towards the bathroom door. “Like I said, just leave the bartering to me.”

As he reached for the doorknob, the demon suddenly paused, his expression thoughtful when she glanced up at him.

“Shit, right. One last thing.”

With a snap of his fingers and a large puff of smoke, Hidan summoned a vicious looking scythe, the trio of blades an unsettling crimson red with white accents, and he held the weapon with a practiced ease that Sakura found really unnerving. There was the briefest smell of sulfur in the air and her nose wrinkled at the scent before it thankfully disappeared. Catching her staring unsurely at the scythe, the demon offered her a lopsided grin and pulled her closer, giving it an easy spin in his other hand.

“Just so any potential shitheads know I’m not fuckin’ around. You ready, princess?”

Sakura let out a sigh and gave him a reluctant nod, adjusting her grip on her messenger bag.

“As I’ll ever be.”

They, of course, did end up getting separated.

They’d only managed to find the manticore claw and were heading down the main street of the goblin market after the merchant suggested checking out a stall further down that sold a pretty wide assortment of clothing – their best bet for the spider silk scarf – when Sakura had been forced to let go of Hidan’s arm. A large group had passed down the busy street, forging their own path, and ultimately made her slip her arm out of the demon’s hold to keep out of their way.

And, just like that, Hidan disappeared.

It must have been some sort of weird magic or something, because, no matter where she looked, Sakura couldn’t see that familiar silver hair or the awful red blades of his weapon. She considered calling for him but the fact that she didn’t hear his voice amongst the crowd of creatures – she was doing a fairly good job of not staring at any of the more monstrous shoppers – implied that he wasn’t nearby. Wringing her hands, fingers tracing the rune on her palm, she looked around as best as she could before continuing down the way she was originally headed, hoping that she’d find the shop they were making their way towards.

It was midday here, the sun high even though it had been early morning when they’d left and they couldn’t have been browsing the market for more than forty-five minutes, and Sakura was thankful for her coat, eyeing the snow around her with pursed lips. The moment Hidan had opened the door to the bathroom, a cold wind had swept over them, blowing snowflakes into her apartment and showing her a view that was most definitely not her restroom. The market was bustling and lively, full of strange looking people and creatures and Sakura was a little overwhelmed by her senses. Scents she couldn’t identify, inhuman sounds that she’d never heard before, beasts and monsters mingling with normal looking humans...

And now she was alone and lost.

Running her hands down her face, Sakura continued walking and, after a minute or so, her tight, worried frown turned into one of confusion. While she had been on a wide, long street that stretched on into the distance for nearly a mile, she was now faced with a dead-end, a few small stalls and a tall building in front of her.

Biting her lip, she turned around and froze in shock, finding a smaller alley behind her where there should have been the main street of the market.

‘What the hell is going on?’

She turned again, reluctantly, and found the dead-end missing. Instead, she realized that she was now facing another street, standing in the entryway of a branching alley. Deciding that she preferred the busy street over the alley behind her – she was almost afraid to look back, sure that she’d find something else and the street in front of her would disappear – Sakura stepped onto the snow-covered road.

It was definitely not the main area of the market, this street lined with fewer shops and vendors and even less pedestrians. Letting out a shaky sigh, she gripped the strap of her bag and tried to search for Hidan – or at least something familiar.

“Out of the way!”

She’d only been walking for a few moments and she quickly glanced over her shoulder at the shout behind her, jumping to her right when she saw an oncoming cart rolling down the street. Sakura couldn’t identify the... beast that was pulling the cart and she moved further out of it’s way as it passed, ducking into a shop behind her.

“Welcome!”

Turning slightly, Sakura found herself facing a pretty, young woman, obviously the one that had greeted her. She managed a hesitant hello in reply and glanced around the shop, figuring that the brown-hair woman was the owner – or at least the shop keep – as she bustled around the small shop with a bundle of cloth in her arms.

“Anything I can help you with, miss? Looking for something in particular?”

Sakura eyed the piles and racks of fabric and clothing with growing excitement – finally, some luck! – before turning back to the brunette. Her green gaze brushed over the deer antlers sprouting from her head and she was now aware of the sound of hooves on wooden flooring, but she resisted the urge to glance down to confirm her suspicions.

“Yes, actually. You wouldn’t happen to have any scarves made from spider silk, would you?”

The woman looked thoughtful for a moment, reaching up to tuck a stray hair back into one of her twin buns before turning away, mumbling under her breath before finally replying.

“I think I might have some left in the back, actually. Just a moment while I go check! Feel free to keep browsing, miss.”

‘Jackpot!’

Smiling to herself, Sakura walked around the small shop, ducking under cloth that was hung from the ceiling and trailing her fingers over the fabrics. Some of the clothes and coils of cloth seemed fairly normal, but she remained wary, eyeing robes that changed colors every time she blinked, inspecting strips of fabric that smelled like fresh flowers, and hesitantly touching a jacket that was emblazoned with an image of a desert, the sun and sand and cacti meticulously embroidered onto the silk. The cloth was warm to the touch and she marveled silently to herself, warming her fingers for a few moments before pulling away.

“I found some!” Came a call from the back of the shop after a couple minutes and, inwardly cheering in victory, Sakura quickly made her way towards the back counter, attention quickly dropping to the small bundle of scarves in the proud brunette’s hands.

“Genuine spider silk. Take your pick, miss!”

Sakura adjusted her messenger bag and looked over the three scarves, eyebrows furrowing after a moment before she looked up at the woman.

“How much are they apiece?”

The shop keep looked her over with calculating brown eyes, expression thoughtful before she smiled.

“Depends on what currency you’re using.”

“Human dollars? American.”

The thoughtful look returned and she rubbed her chin as she looked up at the ceiling, humming under her breath. Sakura waited patiently, trying to figure out what would be a reasonable price in comparison, and now noticed that the woman’s ears were long and pointed. After a few moments, she finally replied, reaching down to spread the scarves out a little more.

“I’ll sell you one for $15.” She shrugged, before eyeing her hair. “$5 if you trade me that ribbon as well.”

Sakura resisted the urge to reach up and touch the black ribbon Hidan had tied her hair back with and, had he not given her that warning before they left, she might have considered the offer. With a friendly smile, she reached into her messenger bag and pulled out her wallet.

“$15 sounds good, thanks.”

The woman didn’t seem bothered and simply nodded, returning the smile before turning away for a moment as Sakura looked over the scarves again. She eventually settled on the one marbled with blue, black, and grey, stars dotting the fabric and a crescent moon embroidered onto one end. When she picked it up and moved the other two aside, her attention was caught by a shimmer below the glass top of the counter.

She blinked, eyebrow quirked as she peered down at the shelf of odd knickknacks and jewelry, and noticed what had caught her eye.

It was a lump of coral, she realized as she stared down at it, covered in iridescent barnacles and just small enough to fit in the palm of her hand. The rough exterior was aged and sun bleached to a light grey and she crouched in front of the counter to get a closer look, watching as the rainbow sheen of the barnacles glimmered under the light.

“Find something you like?”

Sakura quickly glanced up at the woman’s question, cheeks flushing slightly in surprise at being caught, before she looked back at the coral. Biting her lip, she thought to herself – she could vaguely remember spotting coral on the list of IOUs but, even if she was just imagining that, there was no reason she couldn’t buy something for herself. It was... oddly pretty. And it’d caught her eye, so, maybe, that meant something.

“How much for the coral?”

The brunette moved to open the back of the counter and took the lump in hand, turning it and looking it over as she straightened before glancing up at Sakura with a shrug.

“Ugly little thing – I think I found it when I went snorkeling a few years back. Do you have any new pennies? I’ll give it to you for something shiny.”

Blinking in surprise – that seemed like an odd trade – Sakura searched through her messenger bag for her coinpurse, setting the scarf back on the countertop. She managed to dig out about five brand new pennies and a quarter, all of the coins shiny and clean. Handing over the cash and loose change, Sakura waited for the brunette to pack up her purchases, humming under her breath.

Some pretty decent luck, despite losing Hidan.

“Thank you for your business and be sure to stop by again! The shop’s a weaponry on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays!”

Sakura offered a farewell in return as she headed towards the front of the shop, the lump of coral wrapped in tissue paper and resting on top of the scarf as both items sat in the plain brown gift bag in her hand. She was relieved to find that the street outside hadn’t changed and, watching as snow began to fall, she continued down the road to search for either the remaining item or Hidan.

She’d only made it past about two more shops when she suddenly felt an arm wrap around her waist from behind and she was pulled into the air, her gasp of surprise quickly turning into an alarmed squeal as she was thrown over a broad shoulder.

“Finally fuckin’ found you!”

Her shriek was cut off as she glanced over her shoulder, heart still racing, and found herself looking at the back of Hidan’s familiar head, one of his horns pressed against the side of her hip and his arm holding down the back of her thighs.

“H-Hidan! Put me down!”

“Hell no.” He turned his head slightly and shot her a frown, his lips pursed. “Do you have any idea how long I’ve been looking for you? Not taking any damn chances and risking losing you again, Sakura.”

“This is ridiculous – I can walk, thank you – and it’s only been-” Sakura cut herself off as she glanced up, alarmed to find that the sun was suspiciously low in the sky.

He noticed that her wide eyes had turned to the darkening sky and he gave a frustrated sigh, shifting her slightly when she suddenly shivered. It had grown much colder than when they had left that morning. Removing her from his shoulder and, instead, pressing her against his chest and carrying her in a bridal hold, Hidan traveled down the fairly empty street. Sakura shot a glance down at the white covered ground and her eyebrows furrowed as the snow deepened to shin height, deciding not to argue.

“...this place is weird.” She hooked an arm around the back of his neck and huddled close, tugging up the collar of her coat to fight back the chill as she sighed.

Snorting, Hidan rolled his eyes and adjusted his grip on her before he replied, the annoyed tone slowly melting away.

“That’s why I told you to stick close. Why’d you have to fuckin wander off like that?”

“I didn’t wander off!” She shot him a frown, poking him in the chest as her eyes narrowed. “We got separated and you disappeared.”

“You disappeared.” Still, he let out a huff and glanced down at the bag in her lap, a silver eyebrow quirked and his gaze suspicious. “Find something?”

Nodding to herself, Sakura pulled the scarf partially out of the bag to show him before slipping it back in, relaxing in his arms.

“Got the scarf and a little something for myself – all of it paid for in cash, don’t worry. Any luck with the gnome tears?”

Hidan grinned and shifted her body, holding her with one arm while he dropped his free hand to his coat pocket and pulled out a small, corked bottle, half-filled with clear liquid. Sakura smiled and let out a sigh of relief, resting her cheek on his shoulder and wrapping her other arm around his neck as well.

“Perfect. This went pretty well, all things considered.”

With a hum and a satisfied smirk, the demon picked up his pace through the snow and glanced down at her.

“Looks like we’re all set. Ready to get the fuck outta here?”

Sakura leaned up to press a quick, pleased kiss to his cheek, only fueling the smug look on his face, before replying.

“Hell yes.”

It’s two days later and Sakura is alone in her apartment, laying across the couch and waiting for Hidan to return with takeout. She held the coral from the goblin market carefully in her fingers, turning it this way and that and watching the light glint off the barnacles as she inspected the chunk. Absentmindedly prodding one of the lumps with a finger, she froze when she felt something shift under her hold, quickly sitting up and squinting down at the coral.

With a frown, Sakura nudged the barnacle again and let out a sigh when it popped free, shoulders slumping. It had looked like the barnacle had been fused to the coral, nearly petrified and all one solid piece, but she’d assumed wrong. Moving closer to the coffee table, she inspected the rest of the coral and began to meticulously test the grip of the other barnacles, eventually managing to pop them all off.

Her frown only deepened when she noticed the crack running down one side of the coral.

Overcome with curiosity now and urged into action, she picked at the crack for a few moments, digging her fingernails between it and her eyebrows raising when she managed to pry the coral apart. It was hollow inside, she realized, and most definitely not coral. Pealing the husk away, Sakura finally found herself holding a white needle, curiosity quickly melting into confusion as she stared down at the odd object resting on the crumbled casing.

It wasn’t a particularly thin needle – about twice the width of a normal sewing needle - but still small enough to fit in her palm and wickedly sharp. It looked hand carved, sleek and shiny like polished ivory, with a small hole drilled into the thicker end and, with a start, Sakura realized it was a bone needle.

Plucking the larger chunks of the husk out of her palm, she cleared away the excess debris and finally brushed her fingers over the needle itself, just as the door to the apartment opened. Hidan entered, takeout in his grip, and eyed her hands with furrowed brows.

“What the hell is tha-?”

He didn’t get to finish his question however, as the door slammed shut behind him and the temperature in the room dropped several degrees, their breaths visible with small clouds of frosted air, and Sakura jumped to her feet in surprise. Hidan dropped the food, his glamour instantly melting away, and hurried over to her side, quickly reaching for her as the lights began to flicker.

His hands were just a hairbreadth away from her own when she shrieked, the bone needle glowing as it burned white hot and suddenly lifted free from her fingers.

They both stared in shock at the floating needle before Sakura scrambled backwards as it turned to point at her, falling back onto the couch and shouting a curse when it dived at her. She felt something unseen grab her, holding her forearm in a tight grip, and found herself unable to move as her left hand was pulled out away from her, her wrist facing upwards.

A shimmering black thread suddenly materialized from the end of the needle, looping through the hole and trailing outwards, and Hidan realized what was happening moments before she did.

He let out a snarl, desperately trying to snatch the needle or the thread while Sakura let out a strained whimper, frozen to her spot on the couch by some force that she couldn’t see. The bone needle easily dodged Hidan’s hands and more black threads materialized in the air, shooting towards him and looping around his body. He quickly raised a hand to his face when a thread wrapped around his neck, his teeth bared as he was forced to stand still. Struggling only made the threads tighten, each slight movement followed by hiss as they bit deeper into his skin, but, with his arm caught between his throat and the threads, he wasn’t in danger of being strangled.

Turning his gaze back to Sakura, his angry expression fell to one of horror as he watched the needle move closer to her exposed wrist, her terrified eyes wide and pinned to the sharp point of the bone. It happened quickly, but was far from painless, a scream caught in her throat as she managed to let out a high whimper.

Threads be damned, Hidan struggled violently and ignored the sharp bite of the unyielding black strings as they easily cut into his exposed skin, but he couldn’t free himself fast enough.

It burned more than it stung, Sakura realized through her tears, as the glowing needle pierced her skin in quick succession, threading a row of vertical, black stitches onto her wrist along some unseen horizontal line, inches down from Hidan’s rune on her palm. There was only a small trickle of blood where the bone punctured her wrist, but Sakura’s hand was shaking by the time it was finally finished, her breath escaping in short rasps. The ends of the black thread severed themselves and she had a moment to watch as the excess thread between the stitches disappeared and the black lines seem to absorb into her skin, melting down with a sharp burn before she realized that they looked more like tattoos now, etched onto her skin, rather than through it.

The needle dropped into her outstretched palm and she felt something close her hand around it.

With nothing holding her back anymore and finally able to move, Sakura practically threw the needle onto the coffee table, scrambling away from it and jumping to her feet as she reached for Hidan. She tore at the threads still wrapped around his limbs before they too began to melt away, his skin lined with thin cuts from where they had bit too deep. She clung to him, tears in her eyes despite there being no lingering pain in her wrist.

But it was far from over.

The pair didn’t get a chance to speak, the lights suddenly cutting out completely, but he held her close, teeth bared and magenta eyes furious as he scanned the room. Something shifted near the floor and the room suddenly filled with shin-high black smoke, seeping up from between the floorboards. A red glow began to build mere feet away from them, spreading outwards into a large circle while the smoke swirled around the edges, clearing an open space.

They watched silently as the glowing red marks became clearer, forming a pair of perfect circles, one inside the other, and symbols sprung to life, one by one, around the inner ring. Sakura half expected a pentagram to appear but, instead, the glowing streaks drew an odd arrow-like rune onto her floorboards in the center of inner circle.

She could suddenly smell the tell-tale scent of scorched wood and she quickly realized that the strange markings were being burned into her floor.

The black smoke continued to roll around them and the living room was illuminated only by the red glow of the circle and its symbols. Sakura shot a quick glance up at Hidan, his expression enraged as his eyes jumped from marking to marking, and she quickly figured out that he could understand the runes. He wrapped an arm around her waist and moved her behind him as the red markings began to glow brighter and brighter, shimmering black threads rising and writhing from the circle, growing larger and thicker with every passing moment. The smoke around their legs converged inwards, collecting in the center of the circle and smothering the threads and Sakura swore she smelled blood.

There was a flash of blindingly bright white light and they turned away, letting out sounds of surprise as they shielded their eyes, before quickly looking back at the circle when the light faded away, staring at the plume of smoke that was quickly beginning to dissipate.

The lights of her apartment came back on and there was Kakuzu, standing in the center of the scorch marks.

Wearing nothing but a towel around his waist and his hair still dripping wet.

Sakura could very easily see the multitude of scars and stitch-marks littering his body now – she resisted the urge to glance down at the new, matching markings on her wrist - but she was surprised to note the large pair of twisting, ebony black horns jutting out from his forehead and the pair of thick black bands tattooed onto both of his forearms, those odd eyes of his confused as he looked around the room in shock. She moved out from behind Hidan slightly and his attention was instantly on the pair, staring hard at them for a moment before his gaze flickered to the coffee table.

Kakuzu’s eyes landed on the bone needle laying innocently on the tabletop and his eyes widened, staring at it in disbelief. He suddenly looked back at Sakura and she nearly took a step back when she realized how unbelievably pissed he looked.

He raised a hand and pointed at the needle, glare vicious and fanged teeth bared.

“Where the hell did you find that?!”

#thirrinwrites #thirrinfics #hidasaku #and some slight #kakusaku #it takes a bit of a Turn at the end oops #im gonna post this and the first part to ffnet sometime

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frostmarris · 7 years ago

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[Chapter Two]

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notes: this is long overdue and I have no excuses besides the fact that I just lost all fic muse for a few months

hope you enjoy!

Sakura awoke to the sound of her alarm and the feeling of a warm weight on her back.

Face pressed into the pillow, she groggily noted that she must have rolled over and fallen asleep on her stomach at some point during the night and muffled her groan as she reached for her cellphone. Turning off the alarm, she ran her fingers through her short hair and shifted, eyebrows furrowing as she fully acknowledged the small creature sleeping on the small of her back.

"Mochiii," She mumbled into the pillow, half-heartedly reaching back and attempting to nudge the rabbit, "You gotta move. I need to get uuup."

When the rabbit didn't move, Sakura slowly began to roll over, hoping that the movement would convince the bun to hop off her back. She was nearly on her side when she felt the weight shift, sliding off of her and onto the mattress.

She sat up and, with a moment of surprise, realized that it was Marzipan that had been sleeping on her, the rabbit sending her a sleepy glance as her ears twitched. Glancing towards the rabbits' corner, she could see Mochi and Pebble piled up on one of the small pet-beds and, with a yawn, she gave a quick stretch. The black rabbit replied with a small yawn as well before moving to nestle under her pillow, chasing the lingering warmth of Sakura's body heat.

Shrugging to herself, she simply grabbed her phone and slid off of the bed, stumbling towards the bathroom as she rubbed at her face. It was still fairly early in the morning – earlier than the time Haku said the rabbits were usually up and about – and Sakura deemed this a perfect time to get a jog out of the way, moving to wash her face and freshen up.

Minutes later, she was dressed in a light hoodie, sweatpants, and her workout shoes, sparing a few moments to clean the rabbits' litter box, restock their hay rack with fresh hay, and double check their water bowls before heading to the kitchen. A bottle of water in hand and the ring of keys and her phone in her pocket, Sakura set out, popping an earbud in as she closed the front door behind her. She was met with a blanket of early-morning fog, thick mist drifting over Haku's lawn and stretching out towards the nearby trees, and she frowned to herself in distaste, lips pursed as she pulled up the hood of her jacket.

Still, the sun was rising and there was no point in wasting the morning.

Remembering Haku's directions to the hiking path that circled the lake, Sakura broke out in a brisk walk and eventually found herself threading through the forest, following the well-tread path as she breathed the crisp morning air in through her nose. Through the breaks in the trees, she could occasionally see the edge of the lake in the distance, the mist even thicker as it floated over the still water. Taking note of the time, Sakura turned her focus to the path, watching out for rocks or fallen tree limbs and losing herself in her thoughts as her body went into autopilot as she jogged.

She planned on only running for about fifteen minutes before turning back for the return home – a short half hour jog to get a feel for the lake and hoping to eventually work out a schedule where she could run the full path in the mornings. Lake Kiri wasn't a particularly large lake, only about seven miles long in its circumference, but she didn't want to leave the rabbits alone for too long just yet and she was still convinced that the place was creepy.

The path curved inwards, following the crescent shape of the lake, and Sakura was only about ten minutes into her morning jog when she became aware of a voice calling behind her.

She slowed unsurely, pausing the music that was playing on her phone and popping out the earbud as she glanced over her shoulder after convincing herself that no, she should not start running at a full sprint. Fortunately, the fog wasn't too thick and the figure behind her didn't emerge from the mist like something out of a horror movie.

Instead, the young man jogging after her offered a wave as he neared, fairly easy to see through the early-morning mist, and Sakura could get a better look of him as he approached her.

He was dressed in a light blue shirt and black athletics pants, though he seemed unbothered by the chill in the air. There was a light sheen of sweat on his forehead, making his short sky-blue hair stick to his skin, and he adjusted his thick-rimmed glasses as he stopped, offering Sakura a sheepish smile.

"Hah, s-sorry-" He took a moment to catch his breath and Sakura allowed her gaze to travel over the well-toned muscles of his arms and the way his shirt clung to the rest of his torso, brushing back the hood of her jacket as she regarded him.

"Sorry to bother you, but I-" He cut himself off again, holding up one of his hands and showing her what suspiciously looked like Haku's keys. "I saw this while I was- Well, I'm just wondering if they're yours..?"

Blinking in surprise, Sakura pat the pockets of her jacket before frowning, turning her attention to her hoodie fully as she realized that, yes, her pockets were empty. Glancing back up at the man, she returned the sheepish smile and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, reaching out to accept the keys.

"Shit, yeah, those're my keys. I must have dropped them earlier..."

He smiled, nodding in understanding before gesturing back the way he'd come. "I, ah, saw them while I was running the trail and figured someone must have lost them. Then I saw you around the bend and, well..."

Sending him a thankful look, Sakura pocketed the keyring once more and tried to fight down her embarrassed flush, hoping she could just pass it off as a byproduct of the chilly morning. As much as she would have liked to believe that she probably would have seen the keys on her way back, she'd been so lost in her thoughts earlier that she most likely would have just passed them by.

And ended up locked out of Haku's house.

"Seriously," she started, stuffing her hands into the pocket of her hoodie, "I can't thank you enough, uhm...?"

Sakura trailed off when she realized she didn't know the man's name, hoping her question was obvious enough with the look she sent him.

"Oh!" Luckily, he seemed to understand. "I'm Chōjūrō."

Neighbor number two, check.

"I..." Rubbing the back of his neck, Chōjūrō glanced from her to the direction of the lake, an eyebrow quirked when he returned his attention to Sakura. "I don't think I've seen you around before. Are you new in town?"

"Sakura." She answered, rocking on her heels. "And, oh, no, no. I'm just house-sitting for Haku!"

His smile lessened slightly at that, dark eyes glancing towards the lake again.

"You're staying on the la-?" Cutting himself off, Chōjūrō absentmindedly bit his lower lip before sending her a weak smile. "House-sitting? Haku's place? Is he- Uhm, he's out of town then?"

Sakura hesitated with her reply, catching how he responded – even less relaxed, a nervous twitch at his finger, his gaze unable to keep from drifting to the water – and deciding to mentally file it away for future reference.

"He's gone to the Polar Rhapsody in Salekhard." At his confused look she quickly continued, one hand leaving the jacket's pocket to fiddle with the drawstring for the hood. "International ice and snow sculpture contest in Russia. He'll be back in few weeks, so I'm watching his house and taking care of the rabbits."

Chōjūrō gave a slow nod of understanding, absentmindedly rubbing his arm as his lips thinned with a thoughtful frown. When his attention focused on Sakura once more he looked like he wanted to say something but, after his jaw clenched and he gave her that sheepish smile again, the young man simply offered her a wave in farewell.

"Well I, ah- I gotta finish my run before I head into the station." A pause, his expression friendly. "Was nice meeting you. See you around, Sakura?"

She returned the smile, nodding in reply before waving as well. "Yeah! I'm sure I'll bump into you again. Nice meeting you too, Chōjūrō."

Tamping the toe of his shoe into the ground, he gave his chin a quick scratch before continuing down the trail once more, breaking into a brisk jog and disappearing through the trees.

'Nice guy.' Sakura thought to herself, double-checking to make sure the keys were in her pocket before heading back the way she and Chōjūrō had come. He didn't seem like the axe-murdering sort and perhaps she wouldn't mind sharing a run with him in the mornings to come. Rolling her shoulders in a shrug and pulling up her hood once more, she made her way back towards Haku's house, humming under her breath along to the music in her ear.

Slipping back into the lake house, Sakura was immediately met with the rabbits as all three of the little critters circled around her, sniffing at her shoes and peering up at her curiously.

"Breakfast time?"

She lost herself in her thoughts as she fed the rabbits, rubbing at her arms to fight back the chill from the morning and, when the buns were taken care of, Sakura bee-lined for the bathroom. A quick steamy shower to wash away the last of the cold and she dressed in clean, comfortable clothes, satisfied with her morning.

And the rest of the day passed uneventfully.

She spent the rest of her time playing with the rabbits, making sure they were happy and active and grooming them when they decided to settle down, and laying around with the three during the blissful rest periods. Between her laptop and the TV and the bunnies, she didn't really have a moment to be bored and Sakura went to bed that night after a status update with Haku, fully expecting to fall into a simple routine in the days to come.

Snuggled up under the warm covers, it was no wonder that Sakura slept peacefully through the night. Her sleep went uninterrupted and the dying wail of an animal that sounded at some point during the night, a quick cry of anguish before a sharp silence fell once more, was much too far in the distance to have awoken Sakura, much less be heard even if she was awake.

The night passed and morning came and Sakura woke up feeling well-rested and relaxed, a content smile on her face. Pebble was on her chest this morning, nose under her chin and little grey paws tucked under the rest of her body. After giving the rabbit a few good morning strokes, Sakura carefully set her aside and rolled out of bed, hands in the air as she stretched and let out a comfortable groan.

And the morning routine repeated.

Sakura was only about twenty minutes into her jog, hoping to cover more ground today, when she broke through the trees, following the path as it passed over a slight hill. The lake laid to her almost immediate right and the edge of the hill sloped down to the water, tall grass and reeds traveling up the almost-cliff, and Sakura paused, looking out over the misty water. The lake stretched on into the distance, the opposite shore lost through the fog, and she shoved her hands into the pocket of her hoodie as she took in a deep breath of the chilly air.

In the horizon, the first few rays of the sun began to appear and she allowed herself a few moments to watch the sunrise, cheeks pink with a flush from the cold morning. She could hear birds calling in the forest behind her and a breeze blew through the tree limbs, adding to the quiet and serenity but fortunately not cutting through the barrier of her jacket.

After she had her fill of watching the dawn break, Sakura turned and reached her arms behind her, sighing happily when her joints popped and shuffling her feet before she paused, frowning down at her shoes. Untied laces, of course – she'd noticed that one shoe felt a little loose.

Crouching down to retie her shoelace, it was only due to a chance glance to her right that she noticed the splatter of red coating the grass about two feet off the path.

Sakura froze, quickly identifying the red as blood, before she turned her searching eyes to the rest of the surrounding flora, her heart beginning to race. The blood splatter was fortunately contained to a small specific area, but as, Sakura stood, she could see more red leading towards the edge of the hill and closer to the lake. She bit her lip, her phone already in her hand, and tried to decide what to do.

The smart thing would be to call the police – maybe Chōjūrō was nearby even – but she couldn't just leave without making sure there wasn't someone hurt and in need of help down below. She stood as tall as she could and attempted to peer over the edge of the hill to try to see down to the bank without leaving the path. But the cliff's edge was too far off and the down-slope too steep and Sakura cursed her kind heart as she quickly began to wade through the tall grass off the path. The underbrush was still too thick for her to make out what might lay at the by the lake's water from her spot at the edge of the hill's cliff and she hesitated a moment longer, glancing down either way of the hiking trail, before carefully beginning her descent.

Sakura only made it down about two steps when she realized how big of a mistake taking the slope down straight on was, the earth shifting under her feet and sending her sliding down the hill. Her shout of surprise rang clearly through the quiet air and she stumbled as the dirt shifted to sand, falling to her knees just feet away from a massive brown and bloodied body.

"SHIT!"

Sakura's exclaim echoed into the distance and she scrambled to her feet, hurriedly brushing sand off of her hands as she stared wide-eyed at the nearly unrecognizable corpse of a bear.

Stumbling backwards, she took in the sight of the exposed bone and shredded flesh and fur, one arm entirely missing – ripped right from the shoulder socket – and the rest of the beast's body in only slightly better shape. Long claw marks were raked across the bear's face, completely destroying one eye and exposing the bare flesh of its jaw to the air. It laid in a heap on its side, its mangled rear legs halfway into the water and bloody sand caked on the rest of its body.

The smell of blood was heavy, so close to the corpse, but she couldn't smell any too-terrible rot just yet.

Meaning it hadn't been dead for very long.

Sakura barely had a moment to consider that worrying thought when she heard hurried movement behind her, quickly spinning around and slipping into a startled, defensive stance, as she saw someone slide down the slope towards her.

She only slightly relaxed when she noticed familiar blue hair.

"Are you alright?!" Chōjūrō exclaimed, pushing through the last of the grass as he met the bank. "What happ-?!"

His question was cut off as he was faced with the alarmed form of Sakura, standing mere feet away from the bloodied body of a dead bear. She caught the way he seemed to relax slightly before his gaze darted to the lake, carefully stepping forward after a moment to lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright, Sakura? I heard your shout and..."

She gave a slow nod, glancing at the bear again before crossing her arms over her chest to hug herself.

"Y-yeah, just a little spooked. I saw some blood near the path," she nodded up at the hill here, shifting her weight from foot to foot, "Thought someone might have been hurt so I..."

Chōjūrō gave her a gentle smile, understanding but a little concerned, before nudging her back away from the bear and towards the hill. Stepping forward himself, he crouched down next to the corpse and examined it for a moment before turning his attention once more towards the misty water, a tight frown on his face.

He gazed thoughtfully at the fog for a few moments before Sakura finally moved, taking a hesitant step forward and pulling her jacket tighter around her.

"Chōjūrō..?"

His dark eyes flickered to her as he was pulled from his thoughts and he stood, reaching up to adjust his glasses as he turned towards her.

"Another bear."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. "Huh?"

He brushed the sand off his knees before addressing her, that frown never faltering.

"It looks like it was mauled by another bear. A territory dispute or just a general fight turned nasty."

She sent a nervous glance towards the forest nearby and Chōjūrō's expression softened, reaching out to pat her arm comfortingly before pulling his cellphone out of his pocket.

"It's been dead for at least a couple hours," he said reassuringly, circling the body as he snapped quick photos of the scene, "The other bear would be long gone by now, don't worry."

Sakura squirmed uncomfortably as she watched him, far from relieved.

"Does this- Are there a lot of bears in this area?"

Chōjūrō sent her a comforting smile, pocketing his phone when he was satisfied with the photos, before resting a hand on her back. Carefully helping her up a less steep slope to the top of the hill, they made it back towards the path, his voice encouraging.

"It's not uncommon, no, but the bear population isn't too big around Lake Kiri and the forest. They don't wander so close that often, but I'll let the wildlife rangers in Sasaina know about this when I get to the station and post a notice to be on the lookout for straying bears."

He paused, that sheepish smile from the day before returning.

"Do you want me to walk you home?"

Sakura replied with a quick nod and thankful smile and the pair turned to face the way Sakura had originally come, the air still a little tense as they walked back towards Haku's home. Chōjūrō attempted to calm her nerves with a bit of small talk, evoking a series of questions from Sakura about his history with the town and, though she didn't mention it, she noticed how he seemed to steer the conversation away from the topic of the lake itself.

Hm.

By the time they made it back to Haku's house, he had gone through two anecdotes about some rather amusing occurrences during his time on Kiri's small police force – "Try as I might, I just could not convince Mrs. Yobun that it was local kids that were moving her garden gnomes. She was insistent that they were coming to life at night." – and Sakura spoke a bit about her hometown, Konoha. Chōjūrō was kind enough to walk her to the door, hesitating for a moment before giving her his cellphone number.

"Don't hesitate to call if something comes up, alright?"

She offered him a bright smile in thanks and was pleasantly surprised to note the light blush that dusted his cheeks, his expression lightening with a grin.

"Thanks so much, Chōjūrō. Have a nice day?"

And he'd left looking rather pleased with himself, head held high and his smile wide considering their rather unorthodox meeting that morning, and Sakura went inside feeling more at ease than before.

However, she decided to stay in for the rest of the day, just in case.

The rabbits didn't act any differently and she inwardly wondered if they would be able to tell if a bear happened to wander too close to the house, deciding to keep an eye on them as she bundled herself up on the couch. With a mug of hot chocolate on the coffee table and Mochi in her lap, Sakura browsed google for safety tips in case of bear attacks and shot Haku an email about the news.

And two boring days passed.

Sakura decided to forgo her morning jog – as nice as Chōjūrō was, not chatting with him was a sacrifice she was willing to make. He did, however, shoot her a text to check up on her the next day and she found herself smiling down at her phone as she replied, flattered by his concern – but she was getting antsy from being cooped up inside for so long. Not in the mood for cereal, nor really interested in making something else herself, she grabbed the keyring – double-checking for Haku's P.O. Box key - and figured it might be nice to explore the town. With the rabbits fed and thoroughly supplied with fresh hay and water, she made her way outside and spared a few moments to begrudgingly admire the misty morning.

The sun was already risen and she beat the cold back with a beanie and warm coat, lips only slightly pursed as she took in her surroundings. Under the fog, when the sunlight hit just right, Sakura could see a slight frost covering the grass, catching the glint of the sunrays through the thinner wisps of mist.

Fingers drumming on her camera bag, the strap slung over her shoulder and a comforting weight against her side, Sakura reluctantly admitted that the scene was nice and only a little spooky. Unable to resist, she removed her camera and moved through the yard to find the best shot.

She'd yet to touch her camera in the three short days she'd been at Haku's, well aware that if she started snapping photos of the rabbits, she'd be unable to stop. There was still plenty of time for nature photos and she didn't wasn't to exhaust her surroundings just yet.

Satisfied with her shots, Sakura slipped into her car and waited for the heat to kick in before she made her way down the drive and towards the town.

Kiri proper looked just the same as it had when she passed through earlier that week, but she paid closer attention to the store fronts and buildings this time, traveling along Mainstreet and searching for the post office. Entering from the North, most of the shops followed along the road that passed through the town, hoping to draw tourists and passersby in.

Mainstreet Kiri ran perpendicular to the road that cut through it, closer to the Southern entrance to the town and arguably the busiest area in town as it's 'downtown'. City Hall, the post office, police station, a hardware store, bakery... There were several major stops along the strip and but the town was small and the street was quiet this morning, only a few townsfolk out and about in the - fortunately thinner than the lake – mist.

Pulling up outside the post office, Sakura hopped out her car and dug the P.O. Box key out of her pocket, trying to ignore the glance a pair of pedestrians sent her.

They could probably tell that she wasn't a local.

In and out, returning with a small pile of mail, Sakura simply deposited the envelopes in her car and returned to the street, purse slung over her shoulders and camera in hand as she leisured down the strip.

She snapped photos of whatever happened to catch her eye, just something to keep her mind off the Bear Problem as she explored. A peak of a rooftop garden, moss spilling over the edge and down the front of the building, the flash of headlights breaking through the mist, a sleeping crow perched on the wooden beam of a powerline – as well as three consecutive photos of the bird waking, ruffling its feathers, and taking to the sky -, small leaves of a sidewalk shrubbery weighed down by the dew of the mist...

Sakura paused when she realized that she'd met the end of the street, glancing up from her camera gallery to look around as she took note of the shops and buildings around her. Her eye was caught by a neon 'OPEN' sign across the street and it only took a quick look at the words 'Fresh pies baked daily!' and the distant smell of breakfast to send her stomach into a growling fit as she remembered her original reason for coming into town.

Returning her camera to its carrier, she hurried across the street and into the block-corner diner, a bell chiming over the door as she stepped through.

It was quiet inside, the low thrum of some local radio station keeping the restaurant from being nearly silent, and Sakura paused, glancing up at a call from towards the back of the building.

"Welcome - go ahead and seat yourself! I'll be right there!"

Tapping her fingers against the strap of her camera bag, she moved over to a window-side booth, glancing around the diner. The building itself was sat on the corner of the block, giving two of the four walls decent views out onto the misty street outside, with the door in the middle of the side that faced Mainstreet. There were booths lining the walls and a few tables were situated on either side of the entrance, with a long L-shaped bar further inwards and blocking off the entrance to the kitchen and back counters.

Her gaze traveled over the abundant nautical décor dressing the diner as she took a seat, lips quirking. There were fishing nets strung between points on the ceiling, realistic fake fish mounted to the blue-painted walls, an anchor pattern printed on the tables under the glass tops, the side of the bar styled to look like ship planking... Sakura's attention dropped to a rack near the entrance that held several different stacks of travel brochures and maps of the area, her head tilting in understanding.

A tourist stop, she guessed.

Made sense. The main road into the woods ran straight through the town and there were several popular camping spots further into the forest as it melted into the state-run public park, along with a few more public lakes – not including Lake Kiri, of course.

There were only a handful of other people in the diner – a couple seated in a booth on the other side of the door and a map spread out over their table, a man at the long bar with a half-eaten omelet on the plate beside him and a steaming mug in his hand, and an elderly woman sitting at one of the tables near Sakura, skimming what looked like a local paper.

She'd been sitting for barely a minute when she saw a young woman push through the swinging door that led into the back, the brown-haired waitress brushing through the open gap of the bar and heading towards Sakura with what looked like a menu in her hand and a smile on her face.

"Mornin'!" The woman greeted, laying the single-sheet menu down in front of her. "Welcome in, I'm Mariko. Can I get you started with something to drink, Miss?"

Sakura returned the smile, fingers on the laminated page. "Just a water for now, please."

Mariko nodded and turned away, leaving Sakura to look over her menu – breakfast menu, she realized as she looked down. There were no seafood items on the page but she was sure that the diner's lunch and dinner menu didn't follow suit. Absentmindedly tapping her foot, she glanced over the food options and was aware of Mariko returning a minute later, her glass of water in hand.

"See anything you like, Miss? What can I get you?"

Another smile and Sakura glanced back down at the combo plates to reaffirm her choice, locking her ankles together under the table.

"The French toast and two eggs, please?"

"Of course! Mariko replied, pulling out a little notepad and pen. "How'd you like those eggs?"

"Sunny side up."

"Bacon or sausage?"

"Bacon, please."

"Alright! Anything else, Miss?"

Sakura's eyes dropped back down once more, lips pursed slightly as she looked at the breakfast drink options before returning her attention to Mariko.

"Actually, a hot chocolate as well?"

The brunette giggled, scribbling it down. "Marshmallows?"

Sakura's sheepish smile turned into a wider grin. "Of course."

Nodding to herself, Mariko gathered her menu and turned away once more to return to the back, leaving Sakura to herself. Taking a sip of water, she leaned back in her seat and pulled out her phone, glancing up as Mariko pushed through the doors to the kitchen, a pot of coffee in hand. The waitress made her rounds to the other guests, checking on them and refilling cups and taking empty plates.

Her back to the door, Sakura replied to a few texts and was vaguely aware of the sound of the bell over the entrance ringing some moments later, only glancing up from her cellphone when she heard Mariko's greeting.

"Oh-! Mornin' Officer! Here for breakfast?"

"No, sorry, Mariko."

Sakura turned her head at the familiar voice and there was Chōjūrō, dressed in his Kiri Police uniform and his lips turned down in a small frown.

"I just need to speak with Zabuza."

Zabuza?

She hadn't seen the tall man when she'd first come in but Mariko gave an offhanded nod of understanding before moving to the bar, facing the window into the kitchen.

"Hey, Zabuza!" There was a distant grunt of reply from inside, followed by the sizzle of a grill. "Officer Chōjūrō is asking for you again."

Sakura's eyebrows furrowed. Was this a common thing?

It was quiet for a moment, Chōjūrō moving to the counter – he didn't notice Sakrua and she realized that she was still wearing her beanie – before the door to the kitchen swung open and there was Zabuza as well.

He was dressed in a plain black shirt, the sleeves pushed up to his elbows, and jeans, with a fairly clean apron over his clothes, a dishtowel thrown over his shoulder, and a medical mask over the lower half of his face. Zabuza moved out from behind the bar and Chōjūrō approached, Sakura jumping slightly when Zabuza's eyes suddenly landed on her. His eyebrows furrowed and his jaw moved slightly into what she guessed was a confused frown and, on a whim, Sakura reached up to pull off her hat, running her fingers through her short pink hair as she offered Haku's neighbor a sheepish wave.

Recognition crossed over his eyes – it had been a few days since their first and only meeting – and Chōjūrō must have caught his stare because he turned to follow Zabuza's gaze.

The officer jerked slightly in surprise, glancing back to the taller man, before sending her that familiar shy smile.

"O-oh! Good morning, Sakura. I didn't see you there..."

"Morning, Chōjūrō." She paused, looking back at the dark-haired man still frowning at her. "And Zabuza."

He looked thoughtful for a moment, ignoring Chōjūrō glance before he leaned back against the counter, arms crossing over his chest.

"French toast?"

It took her a moment to realize that he was talking about her order and, eyebrow quirked, she nodded.

"You're the..." Another pause and she frowned at the surgical mask he was wearing. "Chef?"

Even under the mask, she could see his expression fall into a deadpan.

"I'm not sick."

"That's just Zabuza's shitty fashion sense!" Mariko chirped, suddenly appearing with Sakura's hot chocolate and completely unbothered by the scene.

"R-right..." Sakura trailed off and Chōjūrō took a hesitant step towards her, looking as if he wanted to say something, but the taller man caught his arm and gave him a pointed look.

"You needed to talk?"

Another glance to Sakura, his expression falling into a tight frown, and the blue-haired officer nodded, following after Zabuza when he jerked his head in the direction of kitchen. The pair moved past the bar and disappeared behind the door, leaving Sakura to frown after them, drumming her fingers against her mug of hot chocolate.

It was quiet in the diner except for the soft murmuring from the couple with the map and Mariko's humming and, turning to look out the window to the street, Sakura tried not to think too much on Zabuza and Chōjūrō's odd impromptu meeting. They were neighbors as well, technically.

Probably just something to do with the lake-side neighborhood.

Eventually, the couple in the other booth left and, a minute later, Chōjūrō emerged from the kitchen, his thoughtful frown shifting to a weak smile when he looked to Sakura once more. He reached up to run a hand through his blue hair, nodding in greeting as he spoke.

"Nice seeing you again, Sakura. I hope you've been well."

She quirked a brow at him before offering a smile, deciding not to question what that had all been about.

"Nice to see you too, Chōjūrō. Just a little spooked still about the bear thing."

His smile turned a little softer at her shrug and he stepped forward, looking like he wanted to say something more, again, before the radio on his belt buzzed to life, the message lost in the crackle of static. Sighing, Chōjūrō sent her an apologetic look and a quick wave.

"I've got to get going, sorry. Enjoy your breakfast! Zabuza makes a mean omelet – for future reference."

She laughed and returned the wave, wishing the young man a good day and watching him leave. Inwardly, she caught herself pondering again what they could have been talking about. Police business on Chōjūrō's part seemed logical but she didn't want to think too deeply about what that would mean for Zabuza.

Lips pursed, Sakura took a sip of her cocoa and unlocked her phone, checking unread messages. It was only a few minutes later when Mariko returned, her breakfast in hand, and quickly set the plate in front of her as the waitress sent her a rather amused smile.

French toast, eggs, bacon, syrup– strawberries? They were piled on top of the French toast, fresh and bright and sliced in halves, and Sakura couldn't recall seeing them listed under the combo items on the menu.

Blinking down at her plate, Sakura glanced to Mariko's retreating back before moving her gaze to the window into the kitchen, lips lifting in a smile.

The next day, it was slightly warmer out than the entire previous week.

Sakura stood in front of the large living room window that looked out over the lake, watching the mist roll by as she finished off a grilled cheese sandwich. The fog was lighter today as well and she couldn't help glancing over to where she knew the boathouse sat, inwardly fighting a losing battle with herself.

Letting out a defeated sigh, she grabbed a hoodie and her waterproof camera, accepting the fact that this would probably be the best weather she'd receive during her stay. Snatching up the ring of keys as well, she headed out the backdoor and made her way towards the boat house, turning her face towards the sun.

With the shed unlocked and keys clipped to her belt-loop, it wasn't much longer until Sakura was sat in the blue-painted rowboat and paddling out onto the water. It took her a few moments to re-familiarize herself with the oars – remembering her last summer-time visit to Haku's house. They'd spent one afternoon out on the lake, a picnic basket in the rowboat and several blankets laid out over the seat and bottom as they'd laid back to watch the clouds and Sakura smiled fondly at the memory, glancing up at the sky.

She was relieved to note that it wasn't entirely overcast and, once she was some twenty-or-so feet away from the bank, she pulled out her camera, fingering the attached strap.

It was a little chillier out over the water, but she had absolutely no intentions of swimming, reluctant to even reach over the side of the boat to test the water with her fingers. Instead, she turned to face Haku's house, snapping a few shots with the light mist rolling over the lawn before scanning her surroundings. With a few more photos of the forest edge, a flock of birds passing by overhead, the still water itself, one of the other lake-side houses, and a pair of deer stopped at the lake's shore a distance away, Sakura sat back and hung the camera around her neck

Alright, so she could see why Haku liked living out here so much.

Once she got over the mist, it was a pretty nice place – quiet and peaceful and, when the weather warmed up, the perfect rural home.

She laid back, watching the cloudy sky as she closed her eyes and listened to the lake, giving a content sigh and letting the boat drift. There wasn't much to listen to besides a few birds in the distance, but it was calming and Sakura slowly relaxed, arms crossed behind her head. She couldn't have been laying in the boat for any longer than a couple minutes when something suddenly bumped into the side, the thud breaking the quiet and rocking the boat. Sakura frowned and sat up, wondering if she'd drifted back to the shore.

But, glancing around, she found herself surrounded only by water, the shore now a good fifty feet off.

Driftwood, maybe?

Before she could lean back again, there was another thud, this time against the bottom of the boat. The force jostled her forward, knees hitting wood and her camera swinging on the strap around her neck

"W-what the-?"

Anther thud from below, this time more to the side and rocking the boat enough for her to panic, fearing she'd be tipped over. Sakura sat up on her knees and gripped the sides to brace herself, glancing around worried as she tried to stay still. She'd drifted a little further over the water during her distraction and she looked to the nearest shoreline, eyeing an outcropping of rocks that a dead tree had fallen near, gnarled roots climbing over the stones towards the water.

All was calm for a few moments and she hesitantly looked to her right, peering over the side and down at the water.

Was someone fucking with her?

One hand on her camera, she carefully removed it and reached for the case, finger tracing the capture button out of habit as she decided it was time to head back to the shore.

No sooner than she'd moved back into her seat and unzipped the case, she heard a splash and something suddenly barreled into her left side hard, knocking her full-force over the side and her shout cut off as she hit the water.

Cold was an understatement.

The icy chill bit at her bare face and the shock was enough to draw a sharp gasp from her, mouth filling with water and her legs kicking wildly on instinct. She tried to open her eyes to search for up but her body fought against her, refusing to subject her eyes to the cold. Swinging her arms out, searching blindly for purchase, she felt herself fumble with the camera, tensing enough to press, trigger, and hold the capture button.

Icy water brought slowly creeping numbness and, one moment, the camera was in hand and, the next, it was gone, though Sakura's mind was too focused on air and out to notice. Legs pumping as she kicked at the water, she was barely able to hope she was heading upwards and, instead, fought the desperate urge to breathe. The bite of the cold almost overpowered the feeling of air on her face and it was only the sudden clarity of her hearing that made her realize she'd broken through the surface. Gasping and choking, she forced her eyes open and tried to focus, everything broken and pieced together in her desperate shock.

That fallen tree, the shore still too far off for comfort, a distant shout and splash somewhere far behind her, and then something warm and sharp wrapped around her ankle.

Sakura had just enough time to take a deep, frantic breath, before she was pulled under and her world became water once more.

#thirrinwrites #thirrinfic #kirisaku #zabusaku #chojurosaku #chojusaku #what is their ship name even #search lights

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frostmarris · 8 years ago

Note

For the inheritance thing I would love to read #6 with literally anyone

6. “you died and left me to repay a bunch of really weird IOUs”

sorry for the wait anon! enjoy some hidasaku!!

EDIT: here’s [ Part Two ] !

The Fine Print - Inheritance

By no means did Sakura feel obligatedto repay the extensive list of bizarre IOU’s her great-great uncle had left her- all meticulously detailed and listed in a journal that Sakura had mistakenfor a cookbook when she’d been going through the old coot’s attic - but, if shewanted to get rid of that damned rune burned onto her palm and the demonhaunting her apartment, it looked like she was shit out of luck until shefinished repaying his debts.

Okay, technically the list hadn’t been explicitly left for her. When Uncle Maseo had passed peacefully inhis sleep earlier that week, her parents had been alerted of what he’d writtenin his ‘will’.

“I plan on outliving everyonebut if I happen to kick the bucket early, tell whoever’s left of blood relationthat they can have what they want out of all my worldly possessions. Except mystuffed rat, the one with the super glued googly eyes. I better be buried withthat or I’m coming back.”

Uncle Maseo had always been an… eccentric fellow. And Sakura hadalways suspected that he’d dabbled a little in black magic but this was ridiculous.

The moment she’d opened that damned book, picking through thedusty, forgotten contents of his attic for somethingworth keeping while she helped clean up, there’d been a flash of light and abrief message on the front page, which appeared just long enough for her totake note of in her sudden stupor.

“This shit’s your problemnow, have fun.”

And then she’d felt a burning sensation in her palm, shrieking inpanic as an odd symbol appeared on her skin. A crack of thunder, the painstopping just as quickly as it had begun, and then an eerie calmness in theair. The message was gone but the rune refused to leave, now looking more likesomeone had drawn on her palm with a permanent marker.

She’d panicked a bit at the discovery, rubbing her hand againsther pants vigorously, before turning her attention to the book in her hand. Sakurahad quickly flipped through the journal, expression turning into one ofconfusion as she read.

· September 12,1945 – Ken Ito: $35 and a box turtle.

· August 5, 1942 –Jeremy Smith: One jar of strawberry jam and 12 pounds of sugar.

· January ???,1956 – Madame Babineaux: Lock of fox fur, cut with silver scissors and wrappedin velvet.

· May 24, 2001 -Old Lady With Mulberry-Wood Cane, Met in the Park: Vial of virgin blood and 12new pennies. (Note: Do NOT use human blood, the old hag never specified thesource anyways.)

· October 13, 1975– Mr. and Mrs. Shuzo Gato: One peach tree sapling.

· July ???, ??? – FÖRSTNER, that jackass: Claims I owe him two new shirts and bride, willaccept a gecko and AT LEAST $20.

· April 18, 2007 -Rebecca Ohayashi: Two coconuts and an iguana.

And the list went on, each item more obscure and strange than thelast. The dates were out of order, the names unfamiliar, and the footnotes wereof no help. Through a few extra notes, she at least managed to figure out thatthe lists were of things Uncle Maseo owed,rather than received.

Some were already crossed out and while that might have beencomforting in theory, she wasn’t so sure she wanted to know how he had managedto get ahold of items like “a human kidney” and, unrelated, “threeindex fingers.”

Scratching at her palm, Sakura had shoved the journal back intothe dusty box in the attic and made a hasty retreat. There was no telling whatother creepy things were lurking in the old man’s house and she wasn’t too inclinedto find out. And like hell she waskeeping that weird, probably cursed journal.

Three hours later found her back at her apartment, fresh out of ashower and rubbing hand sanitizer onto that weird symbol still on her palm tono avail. Dressed in pajamas, phone in the crook of her arm, and her hairbundled up in a towel, Sakura made her way into her living room, frustrated tono end but hoping that a movie might calm her down.

Only, she quickly became aware that she wasn’t alone.

Sakura paused in the entryway to her living room, balking at thesight of an unfamiliar man sitting on her couch, all casual and relaxed - as ifhe belonged there.

Silver hair, magenta eyes, pitch black skin covered in bone-whiteskeleton-like tattoos, twisted, ash-greyhorns jutting out of his skull and curving like a ram’s -

And a very familiar journal in his hands.

“The fuckin’ squirrels are gonna be hell to catch,” he saidwithout looking up at her – though he was obviously aware of her presence –before turning a page in the journal. “But, I’ll be more impressed if youactually go through with the grave-robbery.”

Sakura screamed.

He looked a little amused as she scrambled back out of the roomand rushed into the kitchen, grabbing a knife and fumbling with her cellphone.Rushing back to her living room, she found the strange man still on her couch and,trying not to let her hands shake, she brandished both her knife and phone.

“I don’t know who the hell you are or how you got in here but youbetter get the fuck out! I’m callingthe cops!”

His smirk turned into more a sneer and he simply snapped hisfingers, posture still unsettlingly relaxed. Almost instantly there was searingpain in one of her hands as the knife turned red hot and she gave a shriek, amix of pain and surprise, before dropping the blade as it quite literallyburned her. It cooled the moment it hit the ground, resting innocently on hercarpet as she stared down at it. Quickly becoming aware of a distinct emptiness in her other hand, Sakura glancedto it and realized her phone was missing.

Looking back to the intruder, she could only stare in both bafflementand horror as she noticed he was nowholding her phone. She’d only been halfway through dialing the emergency numberwhen it had been magicked out of her hand and, with a smirk, the man turned hercellphone off before tossing it carelessly onto the seat beside him.

Sakura gaped openly, carefully touching her sore fingertips as shesearched for some way to respond.

"Who the hell are you?”

“Hidan.” He replied with a shrug.

She swayed backwards slightly, expression hesitant. She… hadn’tactually expected him to answer.

“Alright… Hidan.”She spoke carefully and glanced around, almost searching for some sort of portalto Hell, because this guy definitelywasn’t human. She took another moment to look over those odd tattoos –which she had a very ample view of due to the fact that he was only dressed ina pair of dark grey pants - and the hornsbefore rubbing her face.

“Why are you here…?”

His expression turnedannoyed and he simply held up the journal, waving it at her.

“That old asshatmanaged to actually get a curse right for once.”

Eyebrows furrowed,Sakura carefully leaned against the doorframe, gaze zeroed in on the book. “UncleMaseo..?”

“Duh.”

Resisting the urge togrit her teeth, she massaged her temples and shot Hidan a glare. “What the hellis going on?”

He made a face ather, snorting before snapping the journal open again, and hunching over slightlyas he squinted at the pages. Running a clawed finger over a page, not hardenough to actually rip the paper, he sneered again before leaning back andkicking his legs up to rest on her coffee table.

“As far as I cantell, I’m stuck here until someone –hint, it’s you, princess – repays the old coot’s debts.”

“E-excuse me?”

Hidan gave heranother annoyed look, ignoring the glare she was shooting his crossed legs onher table, and shook the book at her again.

“Ya dense or somethin’?I’m bound to this damned journal and I’d highly suggest you get your cute assin gear and start paying back these IOUs or this is gonna be one hell of afucking shitty sleepover.”

Ignoring his commentin favor of stomping over and kicking at his legs before snatching the journal,Sakura frowned down at the neat handwriting.

“If you’re… bound to this thing, why don’t you justleave and take it with you? Why the hell do you have to be here?”

A scoff, at whichSakura pursed her lips in distaste.

“Don’t you think Iwould have fuckin’ hit the road already if I could?”

Nearly screaming infrustration, Sakura stomped her way back into the kitchen, vaguely aware ofHidan leisurely rising from the couch and following after her as she rummagedaround in the drawers next to the oven. Finally finding a box of matches, she litone and held it to the journal, teeth gritting as she waited for the pages tocatch before dropping it into her empty sink. Spinning back around, she plantedher hands on her hips and nodded towards the small fire burning behind her.

“There! Problemsolved.”

A little drastic but –

“Think again,princess.”

Hidan sent her a lessthan impressed look and crossed his arms, sneering at her sink. Almostreluctantly, Sakura turned around and looked down in unveiled horror at thejournal, the entirety of the book engulfed in flame but, somehow, perfectly fine.

Making an odd,half-choked sound, Sakura numbly turned on the water faucet, waiting until theflames were extinguished before hesitantly picking the book up. It wasn’t evenwarm – wasn’t even wet – and Sakurasent the demon a rather pleading look over her shoulder.

“What the hell evenis this journal?”

He shrugged andleaned against her stove, arms crossed over his bare chest.

“It’s cursed, obviously.”

“And just what does that have to do with me?!”

Another sneer, thoughthis one seemed more bemused than the last, and he grabbed her wrist, holdingup her hand with the odd symbol marking her palm. Dropping her arm, he turnedhis back to her and jabbed a thumb at the back of his neck. There, just a fewshades lighter than his skin, was an identical rune. An inverted triangleinside a simple circle.

“You’re cursed. That fuckin’ mark is mine.”

“And why am I cursed?”

He spun back aroundand sent her a frustrated look, lip pulled up as he nearly growled inirritation.

“Cause you fuckingopened that damned book!”

Rubbing at her face,Sakura gave a tired sigh and groaned under her breath. ‘This shit’s you’re problem now.’ The journal had said. ‘Have fun.’

Right.

Leaning against hersink, she flipped open the journal and started skimming the pages. From whatshe could see, a majority of the items had already been scratched through. Butthere were still pages of IOUs.

“So,” She finallysaid after a moment, glancing up at Hidan, “I just need to finish paying backthe rest of the stuff on the list and you’ll leave?”

“Probably.”

Resisting the urge toslap him, Sakura grit her teeth and dropped her gaze back down at the pages,eyes narrowing.

“Where the hell am I supposed to get a Fabergeegg?!”

He sent her anothershrug, lips twisted in a smug smirk. “I’m not here to help you, princess. Myjob is to just haunt the shit outta you and make sure you pay back the old man’sdebts. Where and how you get the shit isn’t my problem.”

Sighing, Sakuradropped the book onto her counter and tugged the towel off her head, runningher fingers through her still slightly-damn hair.

“Fine. And stop calling me ‘princess’.”

She missed the way herolled his odd purple eyes at her, silver eyebrow raised. “Well, I don’t knowyour fuckin’ name, now do I, princess?”

Flushing slightly,Sakura draped the towel over her arm and moved to leave the kitchen, grabbingthe book after a second thought.

“Oh, uhm. I’m Sakura.”

She pointedly ignoredhis grin but was aware of Hidan following after her, the light catching andglinting off the curves of his horns.

“Well, Sakura,” He draped an arm over hershoulders, acting much too buddy-buddy for her tastes – which she made apparentby pursing her lips before attempting to squirm out from under his arm. “Where’sthe guest room? I could use a looong, fuckin’ nap.”

She made a face andshoved him off of her, lip curled and the journal clutched to her chest.

“No. You are not a house guest.”

“Then where the fuckam I sleeping?”

Sakura sent a pointedlook at the couch he’d been lounging on earlier and he quickly shot her aglare.

“I could be here formonths – like hell I’m sleeping on yourdamned couch!”

Sakura tapped herfoot impatiently, her messenger back slung over her shoulder and a box underone arm as she scrolled through her phone with her free hand. It was a prettynice day out, but she could see storm clouds rolling in from the distance andshe really didn’t want to get stuckin the rain.

“Pizza tonight?” Shecalled over her shoulder, not bothering to glance back at Hidan, who wasleaning against the porch railing of the nice suburban house they were visiting,her gaze still glued to her phone screen.

Arms crossed, thedemon shrugged and flicked a leaf off the black sleeve of his – admittedly,damn nice – suit, looking very out ofplace next to her. His horns, oddly colored skin, and tattoos were hiddenbehind his glamour, silver hair still slicked back and magenta eyes bored as heglanced around his surroundings with distaste. His skin still looked a littlegrey and there was no hiding the rune burned on the back of his neck – her matchingmark still present on her palm – but Sakura was more than relieved that he wasn’trunning around without a shirt.

“Depends,” Hidananswered, absentmindedly picking at his teeth, “You makin’ it from scratch orare we ordering?”

It had been a littleover a month since the demon had first ‘arrived’ and, after the long process ofsorting out which IOUs Sakura would need to handle, scouring Uncle Maseo’shouse for an address book or somethingthat would at least give her a head start on matching names to actual people,she’d finally begun repaying his debts. So far, she’d had pretty decent luckfinding the people on the list and delivering the items Uncle Maseo had owed,with Hidan as a near constant companion.

Eyebrow quirked,Sakura looked back at him, locking her phone and slipping it into her pocket.

“Last time I attemptedmaking one from scratch, you tried to add a bunch of toppings from literal Hell.”

Hidan made a face,snorting at her response.

“Pickled bat wingsare fucking delicious.”

She was just about toreply, fully prepared to shoot down all of his disgusting suggestions, when the door finally opened and Sakuraquickly turned her attention forward once more.

Standing in thedoorway was a young woman, who regarded them with unveiled – albeit ratherannoyed - curiosity, her gaze darting from the pleasantly smiling pinkette tothe sour-looking man leaning against the wooden railing.

“That’s them, Mama.”The little boy clutching her leg – he’d been the one to first answer the doorbefore quickly rushing off to find his mother at Sakura’s beckoning – murmured shyly,half hiding behind the woman.

“May I help you..?”

Sakura put on hermost charming smile, shifting her hold on the box under her arm.

“Yes, good afternoon.My name is Sakura – is this Miguel Sorrentino’s residence?”

The woman’s eyebrows furrowedslightly and she shooed the boy away, crossing her arms as she regarded the twostrangers on her porch.

“Yes.”

Sakura’s smilewidened – check! – and nodded in thanks.

“May I speak withhim?”

“You’re about threemonths too late.” The woman deadpanned.

“O-oh?”

“He passed away inJanuary.”

Sakura blinked,taking in this information. She heard Hidan straighten behind her and quicklyoffered her hurried condolences to the woman before glancing back at him – theyhadn’t faced a roadblock like this one yet.

“Now what?” Shehissed at the demon, the other woman watching them with growing suspicion. “AmI expected to break into a cemetery or something?”

Hidan rubbed the backof his neck before shrugging, lips twisted in a confused grimace.

“How the hell shouldI know? Next of kin should be fine…? Maybe?”

Sakura quicklysnapped her attention back to the frowning woman, her smile more awkward thancharming now.

“You wouldn’t happento be rela-”

“I’m his granddaughter.”She interrupted with another deadpan, lips pursed and expression rather exasperated.

“Excellent! This isfor you, from Maseo Haruno.” Shoving the box into the woman’s arms, Sakura gavea quick bow and pulled a weathered journal out of her bag, quickly flipping itopen to a page towards the middle. While the other woman fumbled with the boxin surprise, Sakura grinned as she watched ‘December20, 1987 - Miguel Sorrentino’ magicallycross itself out.

“Perfect! Thanks somuch, ma’am!”

The woman sent thepair a bewildered look as they began to leave, carefully lifting the lid offthe box and peering inside before balking at its contents.

“Wait! What am Isupposed to do with a miniature tuba?!”

“Yes, have a niceday!” Sakura called, taking Hidan’s arm as she hurried down the street.

Once they were ablock or so away, she slipped her phone back out of her pocket and checked ‘Miguel Sorrentino – one miniature tuba’ off her own, digital list, Hidan walking nextto her and whistling happily.

“Another one dealtwith. And I’ll make a note that giving the stuff to family members works justfine if the original person is deceased.” She muttered to herself, scrollingthrough her notes for this annoying ‘project’. After a moment, she grimaced andlet out a sigh, shoving her cell back into her pocket.

“I’ve estimated thatI’m going to need at least$1,673 in cash for some of these IOUs. Notincluding the budget I’ll need for buyingsome of this shit.” Groaning in frustration, Sakura ran her hands down herface, frowning up at the darkening sky. As rain began to fall, she waspleasantly surprised to find the demon snapping his fingers to summon anumbrella, holding it over the pair of them as they walked.

“Why couldn’t the old manhave left me a small fortune too?”

Hidan hummed in reply,lips quirked in a smirk.

“How about some fuckin’salamander eyes? They taste just like olives, I swear.”

“Hell no!”

#hidasaku #thirrinwrites #thirrinanswers #3k words here u go anon thanks waiting ;w;#long post #gomen mobile readers #Anonymous

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frostmarris · 12 years ago

Note

Hm.. I'm going to have to ask for either Kisame/Sakura or Shikamaru/Sakura (honestly I can't remember if you've either of these so I just let you choose) please and thank you ^-^

I haven't done either so I'm gonna go with KisaSaku UvU thanks! I think I'll do a modern-day AU setting for this one eheheh

Who cooks normally?

Sakura tends to burn most of everything. Luckily, Kisame is a wonderful cook and always prepares the most delicious meals. Sometimes, they'll cook together but Sakura always ends making some sort of mess, not that Kisame minds.

How often do they fight?

They tend to bicker and Kisame has a bad habit of teasing her to a point where she starts throwing punches. Their arguments are usually over petty things but they don't last very long.

Nicknames for each other?

That's basically the teasing comes in. He'll call her Pinky or Shorty or Shrimp and she'll respond with Fishface and Blues Clues.

He has a fondness for petnames, however, and will endearingly call her Dollface or Flower or Cutie, after which Sakura would blush terribly and sheepishly punch his shoulder.

Who is more likely to pay for dinner?

Despite Sakura's insistence that she's perfectly capable of paying for her own meal, Kisame likes to pay the bill entirely, treating her to dinner.

Who steals the covers at night?

Kisame is basically a natural heater so he doesn't really have a need for cover (except on the coldest of winter nights), so there's plenty for Sakura to bundle up in. He likes to hold her in his sleep though, so she tends to end up a little too warm and tosses the covers in favor of curling up in his arms.

What would they get each other for gifts?

Kisame likes to surprise her with flowers every now and then and he always keeps track of what new books she wants, so he can keep an eye out when he happens to pass by a book store.

Kisame has a taste for alcohol and Sakura has no problem gifting him with a bottle of wine. He's also very interested in medieval weaponry, so she tends to buy him some sort of dagger or other weapon for Christmas or his birthday (which he happily adds to his growing collection).

Who kissed who first?

Sakura. It was supposed to be a quick goodnight kiss when he'd brought her home from their second date, but she liked the feel of his lips far too much and he thought the taste of her strawberry chapstick was delicious.

Who made the first move?

Kisame asked her out as sort of a bet from his friends. It was the eight day in a row he'd found her in the library and Deidara and Hidan had just happened to notice him staring at her.

Who remembers things?

Sakura's schedule can get a little hectic so she tends to be a little forgetful with dates, but she had an excellent memory for places and sights.

Kisame might not remember what she was wearing or how she had done up her hair (or if she'd done it up at all), but he knows what makes her laugh and what her favorite color is and her favorite foods and that she prefers to watch the sun rise rather than set.

Who started the relationship?

After their fifth date, Sakura sort of realized that they were technically a couple now and, after consulting Kisame, he agree, laughing happily.

Who cusses more?

Kisame has a potty mouth but Sakura can give him a run for him money when she's in a foul mood.

What would they do if the other one was hurt?

Sakura would immediately resort to her medical training and check him over, sticking bandages and applying ointments and demanding he tell her exactly who had decided to give him a black eye so that she could return the favor.

He scoops her up and continuously asks her if she's okay, no matter how many times she says she's fine, and sometimes treats her to ice cream because compared to him she's tiny and childlike.

#themehblogs #KisaSaku #Thirrinanswers #Thirrinwrites

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frostmarris · 4 years ago

Text

On the Shore

Kisame/Sakura, subtle/implied Zabuza/Sakura and Kakashi/Sakura - Fantasy AU

summary: The mist always brings strange things.

notes: for flowergirl for the Haruno Sakura Server's Annual Holiday Gift Exchange!! Some spooky magical nonsense lol

I'll be posting a draw to go with it in a moment!

: :

When the mist rolled across the lake, it always brought strange things with it.

Once, it had been a small boat. Nothing more than a tiny rowboat - the oars had been missing and there was no way to anchor it, so they'd been forced to wade out into the cold water and pull it ashore. They'd found a child curled up in the hull, clutching a blanket that shimmered under the light of their lanterns, the colors of the winter lights dancing across the fabric every time it moved. Long dark hair and snowflakes in his lashes, a timid voice and wide eyes that seemed to read into their souls.

Another time, there had been fire. Bright flames that refused to stay a single color, skittering across the calm waters of the lake and always remaining just out of reach. Fairie lights, he'd heard the elders murmur to each other. Kisame had managed to catch one, much to the shock of the other children, and he'd expected the flame to burn his hands. Instead, he'd only felt warmth and affection, spreading through him from the tips of his fingers to his very core. It had flickered yellow, then blue, a brilliant white, and then disappeared, the warmth in his hands remaining for several hours.

A sea serpent with scales like diamonds, cranes with feathers made of ice, a koi the size of a tree, a deep black cloak that'd they'd mistaken as oil until one boy had plucked it from the waters, a silver bell that - when rung - could be heard for miles... Gifts that remained in the water disappeared shortly after, never seen again and remaining only as stories and sightings, regaled over the dinner table or amongst friends. Those that were pulled from the lake, coveted and desired and loved and cherished, always stayed. The boy had grown into a young man, prettier than many of the local girls; the bell was placed in the town center, rung whenever the mist arrived; and Kisame's friend still wore the cloak which never frayed or tore no matter what trouble they'd got themselves into.

The mists came less and less frequently over the years. The last one had been over eight months ago and had brought gemstones, tiny and opalescent, ashore. No one in town had seen the arrival and they'd all thought that the mist had been a fluke, the first time in the history of the lake that nothing came from the water. But then, with the light of the next morning, they'd found the stones amongst the sand and rock of the lakeshore. Everyone had gone home with a handful, some pieces set into jewelry or locked away with other treasures.

Kisame kept one in his pocket for luck, occasionally reaching a hand into his jacket to make sure it was still there and run his fingers over the smooth surface.

: :

He was in the woods when he heard the bell ringing.

The tone, deep and melodic despite the silver bell being no larger than a tea kettle, carried through the trees and canopy of leaves, echoing around Kisame and making him glance up with a start. Task forgotten, he shouldered his rifle and began to hurry back to town, his heart pounding as his brisk walk evolved into a sprint. He ran across the open field of tall grass, the blades reaching up to his waste and waving in the wind like the waters of the lake. It wasn't the season for wildflowers and the air was cold with the coming winter, his breath apparent as puffs of white as he raced home.

He saw others running back to town as well. Some stopping in the middle of fieldwork or children cutting their games short as all rushed to the lake on the other side of town, the mists already reaching land. Kisame avoided carts and stragglers, wisps of mist reaching between buildings like curious fingers as it brought the usual darkness with it, and cut through an alley to heave himself up and over a brick wall before dropping down on the otherwise. His boots landed heavily on the cobblestone and he paused only a moment before he continued on, the stonework soon giving way to grass as he left the town itself and joined the growing sea of curious townsfolk as they approached the shore. The sky grew dark the closer to the lake he came as the heavy clouds blocked the sun, making everything seem dull and gray.

The people spread out, scattered around the lake's edge. Some of the more adventurous already stood shin-deep in the cold water as they tried to see through the heavy mist as it rolled in while others stayed on the pebble and sand of the bank, all waiting with bated breaths to see what would arrive.

Kisame wandered along the edge, well-aware that the gifts never came from the same place, and occasionally passed a neighbor or two, eyes never leaving the still waters. The air was quiet save for a few whispers and a breeze rustling rustling leaves of the sparse trees dotted around the lake and he found himself a fair distance from the town's edge, the lanterns and lights of the buildings and homes just a faint glow in the fog. There was a tension he could taste, heavy on his tongue, as he knew that some townsfolk sought competition in the mists, waiting to claim whatever gift the waters brought ashore.

(His friend was quite proud of one of the diamond scales he'd salvaged from the sand and Kisame himself kept a never-melting ice feather on his mantle.)

There was an exclamation from one of the trees nearby and Kisame glanced up to see one of the local boys in the branches, clutching the trunk as he pointed out into the mist. Those who'd gotten the same idea as Kisame to spread out all looked to the lake, breaths held until the bow of a boat pierced the fog. There was a chorus of sighs when they realized it's just one of the locals' fishing boats and people dispersed, continuing to wander the sjore or head back towards the town as they searched the mist. Kisame, however, remained, raising a hand in greeting as he realized it was Zabuza's boat.

His hand lowered slightly as his friend came into view, the rowboat still drifting towards the shore but the man's back to Kisame as he faced the way he'd come. One hand clutched the gunwale, knuckles white and gripping the wood edge, while his other hand delicately held a yellow rose. That black cloak sat high on his shoulders, nearly cutting off Kisame's view of the flower. Zabuza stared into the thick mist behind his boat, barely moving, and Kisame felt his breath catch in his chest again as he waited, only the two of them left now.

Spots of yellow began to appear on the water's surface. More roses, Kisame realized, all floating peacefully towards the shore. They seemed to be normal flowers, but he still found himself setting his rifle down and stepping into the lake, his boots thick and tall enough that he couldn't feel the chill as the water reached his ankles. His eyes were on the roses as they drifted towards him, but he spotted Zabuza stiffen in his peripheral and his head snapped up, shoulders tensing as a new color peeked through the mist.

Pink joined the dots of yellow and Kisame assumed it was simply more flowers. But, he soon realized it was most definitely not roses and stared wide-eyed as a person appeared through the mist, floating amongst the blossoms. He and Zabuza were both frozen in place, watching the unconscious woman as her body slowly drifted with the subtle current, the dark blue fabric of her gown blending in with the water. There was a beat before Kisame found himself hurrying forward. Ankle deep in the lake, then knee- waist- chest- wading through the water towards the pink-haired woman as she floated a yard or so away from Zabuza's boat. Kisame heard a splash as he neared her and was soon joined by his friend, the mist thickening around them. Yellow roses bumped against Kisame and drifted away, caught in the small waves his movement in the water produced until, finally, she was within reach.

He hesitated.

Her hair, petal pink even while soaked through, haloed her head while that dress, a deep, rich blue, spotted with white, glowing pearls that Kisame mistook at first as starlight, spread out around her legs, ruffled and feathering under and across the surface of the water. The deep plunge of the dress' neckline brought warmth to his face and had Kisame looking elsewhere, gaze traveling along the billowing sleeves to her delicate hands then back up. Her face was pale and flushed, pointed towards the dark sky and obviously lovely even though she was upside down to his view, with droplets caught in her pink lashes and brows. Her eyes were closed but her expression was peaceful, as if she were only sleeping, and finally, gently, Kisame reached out, gathering her in his arms as he waded back towards the shore. Zabuza, his boat forgotten, followed close behind, helping to make sure she never dipped below the water's surface, until they reached the bank.

Kisame could feel her breathing against his arms and she was warm despite the icy bite of the water, much to his relief. Once he could feel pebbles and sand under his boots again, he pulled her into a more secure embrace, carrying her in his arms as he rose out of the water. The dress was heavier than he was expecting, especially since it was soaked through, but nothing would pull her from his arms.

They'd obviously been spotted in the water as a small crowd had gathered nearby, quietly murmuring amongst themselves as they watched Kisame carry the mysterious woman out of the lake. She shivered in his arms once they were on land to Zabuza appeared at his side, his cloak already removed, always dry and untouched by the water, and he helped Kisame wrap it around her as her breaths appeared in puffs a white, similar to their own. He felt her shift and he paused, watching her face intently as her eyes slowly opened and she stared up at him.

Brilliant green, sparkling like gemstones, glanced between his face and Zabuza's, confused and lost.

: :

She couldn't remember much from before she woke up in his arms.

It wasn't too surprising. Haku couldn't remember anything from where he came from or how he'd ended up in that boat, even all these years later. It was extremely rare that a person came from the mists but, from all the instances throughout the history of the town, not one of them had memories of their previous lives. They came mostly as blank slates, with only their names and whatever the water brought with them.

Sakura.

There were several cherry blossom trees in town, mostly in gardens and the communal park, and he could easily liken her hair to blooming flowers. Surely wherever she came from had the same trees, even if it was a strange land of sea serpents and frozen cranes.

It was a full day before she spoke, those wide green eyes hesitant and suspicious of everyone that flocked to her, all so curious to see what the mist had brought. Several townsfolk, a few of the elders and some kindly mothers, offered to take her in and give her a home, but she'd clung to Kisame's arm and refused to leave his presence, her gaze wary. She only seemed tolerant of Kisame and Zabuza and, after the fog had disappeared and the sky was bright and sunny again, she finally told them her name. Her voice was soft, more confused than frightened, and they spoke gently to her, asking questions and trying to decipher her mysterious past until she eventually became frustrated with the gaps in her memories.

When her tears hit the wooden top of his old dining table, they clinked and clattered, transformed into glowing pearls that rolled across the grain to tumble to the floor.

They'd stared, all three shocked, until Sakura hesitantly gathered a few pearls, shining like fallen stars, in her hands and fell silent.

Kisame and Zabuza vowed to keep it secret.

: :

The mist returned only three weeks later.

He'd been in the middle of preparing dinner, a pot of water and pasta simmering on the stove and the kitchen smelling of garlic and tomatoes. Sakura was at the table, hemming one of the dresses his neighbor had given her-

(The blue gown wasn't practical for everyday use and while his shirts were big enough to be a dress on her smaller frame, she needed actual clothes of her own.)

-while she waited. While her memories of her life were missing, it seemed knowledge and skills remained and Sakura had turned out to be quite the seamstress. She'd already stitched an old rip in one of his coats and he'd been more than happy to bring her some finer threads at her sheepish request, a fluttering in his heart when he'd found the small embroidered designs on a few of his shirt collars.

Kisame had been absentmindedly brushing his thumb over the sailing ship on his collar when he'd heard the bell. Sakura glanced up, eyes full of confusion as he hurriedly turned off the stove and moved the pan of sauce off the heat. He realized then that he'd never told her what the bell meant and, a little flustered, he quickly explained.

"The mist is back," He repeated, grabbing a lantern and a coat that was only a little too big for her, "Let's go see what it's brought."

Sakura seemed... hesitant. But, at seeing the excitement in his gaze, she set down her needle and thread and stood, letting Kisame help her into the coat before following after him as more townsfolk hurried out of their homes and into the evening. The warm light of the setting sun soon disappeared in the mist and clouds and Kisame nearly tripped when he felt her slip her delicate hand into his, his face warming with a flush. He smiled down at Sakura, but she was peering into the mist, her eyebrows furrowed by her thoughts.

By the time they made it to the edge of the lake, the sky was dark and only the light of swinging lanterns broke the curtain of fog. Kisame felt a weight land on his shoulder and glanced over to see Zabuza, his hair wet and his clothing haphazard. There were a few lingering suds behind his ear and Kisame couldn't help but laugh, any water that dripped onto that black cloak simply rolling off.

"Were you in the middle of a shower, Zabuza? That's some rotten timing, huh?"

His friend grimaced at his taunting, but the sound of his name had Sakura glancing up, a bright smile appearing on her face. If the sudden hug she gave Zabuza left his cheeks flushing, Kisame fortunately kept his teasing to himself.

The three walked along the shore, eyes on the lake and lanterns held aloft as they searched for what strange beast or gift the mist had brought this time.

He startled when he heard the first howl.

It came from somewhere in the distance, echoing through the still air before silence returned once more. It returned a few moments later, and again and again, progressively getting closer until Kisame could hear someone shout in the distance. It went on for several minutes, a howl and a shout, someone spotting something in the mist somewhere along the lake's shore until, finally, he heard the sound of water splashing.

Kisame held his lanterns higher and the flame caught something through the fog. A glimmer, a flash of light, caught in the eyes of something in the mist. They paused in their aimless walking across the pebbles and sand and watched as the light caught again, the splashing closer now, until a shape emerged through the mist.

The silver-white of the wolf's coat camouflaged it well, helping it hide in the fog, but there was no obscuring that red eye. The beast stood on the water's surface, at least thirty feet out from the shore and much larger than an average wolf. It stared at the trio as it took another handful of steps forward, remaining a fair distance away as the distant sound of voices carried through the air.

Kisame felt Sakura's grip on his hand tighten and then go slack, her hand slipping out of his own. He glanced down at her, concerned, and found her staring ahead at the beast, an odd look in her eyes. Whether it was worry or recognition, he couldn't tell.

When he glanced back up, the wolf's position had changed. It sat calmly on the surface of the lake, as if the lake were solid stone, and, deep down, Kisame knew it wasn't looking at them, but at Sakura.

He looked to her once more, only to find that she'd left, her back disappearing in the mist on the store as she headed back into town without a word.

The wolf was gone when he looked back to the lake.

: :

Days later, Kisame woke with a start to the sound of a haunting howl.

He bolted upright in bed, heart pounding, and was silent for a few long moments, listening intently. The only sound he heard for the next fifteen minutes or so was that of the evening breeze rustling the curtains through his open window and the leaves swaying down below. With his bedroom on the second floor, he was unconcerned with leaving the window open and, when the night remained silent for another ten minutes, he let out a breath and laid back down, returning to sleep.

He awoke to a howl again some time later and this time, when he sat upright with his heart pounding and a cold sweat on his brow, he saw the wolf.

It stood next to his open window, so much larger this close, with the moonlight shining off that silver-white fur. Kisame felt his breath catch, ice gripping his heart as he found himself unable to move. The beast stared at him, that red eye glowing in the darkness, until the breeze returned and his curtains fluttered in the wind, obscuring his view of the creature entirely.

The next thing he knew, Kisame had been shoved down, a boot on his chest and a man with wild silver hair standing over him. He stared down at him with a familiar red eye, his expression grim and unreadable.

"Don't let her return."

Kisame blinked and the weight on his chest was immediately missing, the man gone without another sound.

He wasted no time in rushing out of bed, stumbling slightly as his sheets tangled with his legs as he threw open the door to his room and hurried down the hall. He slammed the door to Sakura's room open in his effort to rush inside and she sat up in bed with a shout, green eyes wide and frightened, and then confused, as she clutched a hand to her chest.

Kisame was filled with relief. After apologizing profusely and satisfying her questions, he returned to his own room, making sure to close and lock his window before laying back down in bed.

He didn't get much more sleep that night, the stranger's words repeating in his mind like a warning and plaguing his thoughts like a dark omen.

: :

The mist returned four times more over the winter.

Kisame felt his anxiety grow each time he heard the bell ring, his stomach in knots and his heart pounding even though he couldn't resist his curiosity. Sakura joined him each time and he never strayed far from her, clutching her small hand in his own and calmed only when she pressed against his side or clung to his arm. There was no more howling, but he swore he saw red out of the corner of his eye occasionally while he was out in town or out hunting in the woods.

Sakura was a constant in his life, her touch and her warmth a cherished gift in its own right. She shed pearls only a handful of times more - when she'd accidentally burned herself with the kettle, when one of their elderly neighbors passed, when they'd found an injured bird in the garden - and Kisame kept them locked away, wary of any of the townsfolk finding her secret and trying to take advantage of it.

Once, just weeks ago when Kisame gifted her a new sewing set and more fabric and thread than he could ever know what to do with, he'd been granted the opportunity to see what her joy could produce.

Her embrace was fire, spreading warmth throughout him as the sound of her laughter made his heart pounding in his ears. Happy tears rolled down her cheeks and, when they landed in the grass in the garden, they didn't find glowing pearls but, instead, tiny, perfect gems. More brilliant and dazzling than anything he'd ever seen in a jeweler's shop, with veins of pure gold running through their shining surfaces. They glowed gold, rather than white like the pearls, and Sakura seemed just as shocked as he did as they gathered the stones in their palms.

They were locked away with her other tears, but, knowing how they came to be, Kisame decided he wouldn't mind seeing more of them in the future.

He always found himself thinking of that locked box, tucked away under a loose floorboard, whenever the mists returned. He'd always known that the mist produced creatures and items that surely shouldn't be real, but surely the land they came from must have been even more fantastical than his wildest dreams if its people could create snow or turn into animals or make precious gemstones with their tears.

Surely it was a land that Sakura would want to return to.

(The thought always wrapped his heart in ice, his fingertips numb and his chest heavy just the idea of her leaving.)

A tree branch made of pure gold but light as a feather, a bear made of mist itself that swam through the water but never touched the shore, a candle with a blue flame carried by a floating lantern. Innocuous gifts with no true rhyme or reason. The bear had lingered for about twenty minutes before disappearing moments before the mist dispersed and the innkeeper, who'd found the candle, had hung the lantern outside the inn's door. He wasnt sure who had claimed the gold branch, it was likely hung over someone's mantle.

Kisame was in the woods again when he heard the bell that fourth time.

The other three times it had been early in the morning or late in the evening, all times when he was at home with Sakura and could accompany her to the lake.

Ice gripped his beard once more and he broke out into a sprint towards town.

He couldn't hear it at first, too distant and soft for him to notice over the sound of his pounding heart and his panting, but, as he reached town, he could hear something else amongst the deep ringing of the silver bell. It was a voice, singing a wordless, haunting melody, echoing through the buildings as it rode the mist through town.

Kisame didn't realize his pace had slowed until he found himself standing still in front of his house, his expression calm and his thoughts distant as he listened.

When he managed to pull himself from his daze, he realized the door to his home stood wide open.

He pushed himself to run, to hurry as he headed for the lake, passing townsfolk who stood still and unmoving, listening to the singing voice with glazed eyes and numb expressions.

When he made it to the lake, he was met with the rare sight of an empty shore.

But, for the first time in his memories, the mist had not arrived on calm waters. A storm was growing over the lake, lightning flashing in the clouds overhead and water turbulent with rolling waves, the fog thick and overwhelming as that singing voice filled his head once more. Kisame's gaze traveled slowly, his mind not processing what he saw until his eyes landed on pink and he stumbled forward with a start.

Sakura was at the edge of the water, boarding a silver gondola and taking the hand of cloaked figure. The silver hood obscured the face of the figure, but Kisame could see their mouth, open and moving as they sang and helped Sakura aboard, the long handle of their oar clutched in their free hand.

Kisame cried out her name, the weight in his chest growing heavier, and she paused, glancing back towards him. Her face was confused and frightened and she glanced around as if she didn't know where she was, looking to Kisame as tears rolled down her cheeks and pearls landed in the sand. But then the singing surged, as if spurned on by her distraction and her eyes went white, a calm expression taking the place of her fear.

Sakura turned away from him and, under the voice's thrall, took a seat in the boat.

He had to force his body to move, finding himself slowing and stopping again and again as he fought whatever power the singing had, until he finally reached the water. The gondola was a fair distance away by now but he could still see the pink of her hair through the mist. The chill of the water kept him distracted from the voice as he rushed forward, into the water and fighting the wild waves of the lake as thoughts and memories raced through his mind-

(Her embrace, her hand in his own, dinners together, a kiss under the stars, her fingers tracing old scars,, her laugh, her eyes, a warmth in his heart he'd never experienced)

-keeping his focus on his goal of reaching her. The boat seemed unaffected by the stormy waters and traveled deeper into the mist, growing further and further away from Kisame as he became more and more desperate and frightened.

Twice he lost sight as he was pulled under by the force of the storm, the water crashing over head and ice surrounding him until he broke through the surface once more, sputtering and coughing as he heaved mouthfuls of water and called out Sakura's name.

With a third time, she was lost.

Kisame managed to break through the water once more, but was filled with horror as he realized he could no longer see her, eyes searching the rolling water and the thick mist desperately for the silver boat or the pink of her hair. He could still barely hear the singing, somewhere in the distance and growing further and further away until it suddenly stopped. He felt his heart drop and was dragged back under the water by another crashing wave.

This time, he thought he might drown as he struggled to find the surface and fight the current, his chest burning now as he couldn't breathe.

But, just as dark spots were dancing on the edges of his vision, he felt a hand grab the back of his shirt and heave him out of the water. Kisame was tossed over the side of a boat, coughing up icy water and gasping for air. When he glanced up, he saw Zabuza, oars in hand and his expression concerned and grim as he watched him, soon helping to drag Kisame fully into his boat. He saw a flash of silver-white out of the corner of his eye and turned to see that strange man, standing on the surface of the water. A thick wisp of fog rolled between them and, when it cleared, the wolf stood in his place.

Without a word, the beast began heading forward into the mist.

Another look at Zabuza told Kisame everything he needed to know and he nodded, settling in the boat as his heavy heart yearned and worried, that last look on Sakura's face burned into his mind they followed the wolf across the lake and into the storm.

Never before had something from the mist returned to the mist. And never had any of the townsfolk dared to venture into it.

But, it seemed there was a first time for everything.

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