#don’t let her fool you you could probably distract her with a laser pointer at the moment | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

silverfootstepswrites · 7 years ago

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title Witness summary The more I know me, the more I hate her. pairing itasaku, tobisaku, hot messes

There was a tipping point each night. When a lull fell over everything. Like raindrops that froze in midair. The sudden silence that settled into the cracks of the moment.

Usually, that was sometime between 2 and 3 in the morning. When the sleepy drunks had stumbled their way home. The clubs had closed their doors, blinking lights gone black for the night. Just the lingering smells of fried food and cheap cologne lingering.

It was the worst part of the night, in her opinion.

Sakura opened her eyes. Itachi lay on his side, facing her. His hair tangling across his face. Raising her left hand, she snapped beside his ear. He didn’t stir. She sat up, tilting her head to the side as she watched his breathing. She grasped his hand, held it up over his face. When she dropped it, it smacked down against his cheek. He frowned a little but didn’t move.

She slid out of bed to get dressed.

Obito met her in Sumida. His mouth covered, scarf pulled up high around his face.

It had been hours since the last train had left. The station was completely deserted. Sakura settled on the opposite end of the bench from him, her hands deep in the pockets of her coat.

“I’m surprised you haven’t tried to run,” she remarked.

“I’m saving you the job of drowning me in the river, I guess,” replied Obito, staring straight ahead. His eyes blank. He slouched down in his seat, legs spread.

Sakura sent out a text. Obito blinked when a bright red dot appeared on his chest. He sighed. When he shifted a little, the light followed him.

“That really isn’t necessary,” he told her.

“Humor me,” she replied. She picked at some lint on the front of her coat. Chin tucked against his chest, Obito nodded.

“Was Madara telling me the truth?” Sakura questioned, “About everything, I mean. No half-truths?”

Obito crossed his legs. Uncrossed them.

“As far as I can tell, yeah.”

“Why was he poking around and trying to make deals behind the Uchiha-gumi’s back? And supporting Yakushi Kabuto?” she went on.

“Don’t you already know that?” Obito retorted.

Sakura raised her pointer finger, flicked it upward. The red dot followed. Landing directly on Obito’s mouth.

“Humor me,” she said one more time.

“He always hated the Fifth. Thought he should have been made head. He kept saying how he would stir shit up to make things more fun. I think he was just trying to start some trouble for everyone. He always said it was easiest to get his way when everyone was distracted,” Obito replied. When Sakura smirked, his eyes flickered over to her. Gaze lingering.

“Okay. Let’s talk Hong Kong. What’ve you learned during your time playing Red Eyes Chiu?” asked Sakura. Obito squinted, rubbing his hands together for warmth. He glanced over at Sakura, who didn’t seem the least bit cold.

“That you’re all rich as hell. But you, especially,” he snorted. This time, she met his gaze. She was still smiling.

“You might be even richer than the Dragon Head of the 24K. Which is ridiculous. Because that guy probably shits gold,” Obito added.

“Why did he leave you in Hong Kong for all those years?” Sakura then asked. She saw the way Obito’s lips twitched. Nostrils flaring.

“Because he could. And because he was a shit brother,” he grumbled. And then he looked over at her, “But he was my brother. And you killed him.” Obito’s eyes were icy as he glared at her. And Sakura’s answering stare was just as frigid.

“He didn’t want you threatening his position. He thought you might want to take over the Kobe-Uchiha’s,” Sakura realized. Obito said nothing.

Sakura huffed out a breath. Watching the white clouds spill from her lips. Dissipating in the air. She turned to him, lips curling upwards.

“Do you want to?” she asked.

Obito snorted. “The Godaime is definitely going to reabsorb us into the Uchiha-gumi. There’s no way he’ll let us run independently after the shit my brother pulled.”

Sakura’s hand slapped down on the bench between them. Leaning in closer. Her eyes narrowing.

“I asked what you want,” she clarified.

Obito froze. Just his throat bobbing as he swallowed.

“....Yeah.”

The corner of her mouth quirked up. She stood, hands in her pockets.

“I’ll be in touch, Obito-kun,” she declared. And when she pulled her hands free, she dropped something into Obito’s lap. She walked away, heels tapping and echoing in the empty train station. The red laser lingered on Obito’s face until she was out of sight. He sat for a long time. Staring into his lap.

Obito put a warmer in each of his pockets. He stopped shivering almost immediately.

Itachi’s eyes opened as she answered the phone.

“Wei? Ah. Yeah. With me,” she said in Cantonese. Her gaze flickered down to him when she felt him shift. He inched across the bed, throwing his arm across her lap. He wormed his arms around her waist, cheek pressing to the outside of her thigh. She patted his head, fingers catching in the snarls in his long hair.

She felt him sigh.

“What about Fai Tsai?” asked Sakura. She watched Itachi’s eyes drift shut. Eyelashes tickling against her skin.

“He’s predictable. Just like you said. Took over part of the bus route. Shook up a bunch of vendors in the night market,” Sai reported. Sakura’s eyebrows rose.

“And?” she prompted.

Sai chuckled. “I took care of them, Boss. No worries.”

She often thought that Sai was like something out of a slasher movie. He wasn’t a bad marksman, and he had studied wushu for a number of years. But his skills with a knife were something to behold. He had mentioned that he had been studying to be a surgeon before he had joined up with Mad Dog Kakashi. And then been passed along to her. She sometimes wondered how his patients would have fared under his care.

“The airport might be a bad idea right now, but Tenten is still in Tokyo, Boss. We could arrange for you to get to Shanghai by boat. And then get you a flight into Hong Kong,” suggested Sai.

Sakura glanced down at Itachi. He was still. Just his side rising and falling with each of his breaths. But just when she thought he might be sleeping again, his eyes fluttered open.

“Arrange for it in two days’ time. I still have a few things I need to take care of. By the way, put the Inuzuka-kai on our blacklist,” she said, her eyes drifting down to her bandaged arm. She was sure that it had scabbed over by now. But it ached whenever she moved her left wrist for any reason. It wasn’t deep enough for there to be nerve damage, but she wouldn’t be doing cartwheels on it anytime soon.

“This is going to drive me crazy. What happened?” asked Itachi later. He sat on the edge of the tub, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. Sakura let him take her left hand. Examined the ugly blackish-red line raking up the outside of her forearm. It cleaved the body of the tattooed phoenix in two.

Sakura clucked her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

“I was careless,” she tried to dismiss it. But Itachi held onto her hand. His eyes narrowing.

“With who?” he insisted.

Sakura sighed, trying to avoid his gaze.

“I heard you say Inuzuka’s name before,” Itachi told her.

Sakura sighed, head falling against the tile.

“You’re just too smart for me, Kumicho. How am I supposed to lie to you when you’re this hard to fool?” she remarked.

Itachi said nothing. He lowered her hand onto the edge of the tub, getting to his feet.

“Where are you going?” she called after him. She glimpsed him putting on his belt and then his coat as he walked back and forth. He stopped in front of the bathroom door. Hands bracing on either side of the doorway. Eyes black as coal.

“Don’t leave the hotel today,” Itachi told her. And then he was gone.

Sakura smiled. She ran her hands over her thighs. Down her calves. Wincing when the hot water touched her cut.

“Ridiculous man. Telling me what to do,” she laughed to herself.

The past sometimes felt like the pages of a book flipping by too quickly. Some of the days were blurs. Others, she lost completely. Sakura still remembered some events with startling clarity, though. Like the day when she had gotten the koi tattoo.

Orochimaru sat in the room with her, leafing through a magazine as the needle buzzed away. The black walls were covered with photos of past clients. She recognized many of them. Dirty Sam was up there, the intertwined snake and heart on his sternum on display. Hashirama and Tobirama had gotten their matching tattoos of Guan Yu here.

“Boss, you really don’t have to be here,” she told him for the second time. Wincing just a little as she felt the prickling in her skin.

“Nonsense. My cute subordinate was hurt defending me from a savage yakuza. How can I abandon her?” he replied without looking up. He licked the tip of his finger to turn to the next page.

She had come in last week to get the outline done. She liked this tattoo artist. He didn’t ask her stupid questions, or remark on the odd scars on her body. But that’s why a lot of people liked him. He was skilled and he kept his mouth shut. He had even set up mirrors to let her watch him as he did his work.

No one knew Orochimaru’s schedule better than she did. Which was why she was aware of just how busy he was. He was currently trying to get on the Huang Group’s good side. Their access to firearms through the Russians was something everyone envied. There weren’t many guns in Hong Kong, and the people who had them were at an obvious advantage.

“Luckily, I know a pretty girl who already knows their chairman,” Orochimaru had remarked to her weeks ago. Sakura screwed up her face.

“I dated his younger brother. It’s not like we have a real connection,” she had replied. But Orochimaru shook his head.

“Fatboy Huang is surprisingly sentimental. The girlfriend of his dead brother- he’d want to take care of you. Don’t underestimate how powerful someone’s death can be, Jing-Mei,” he had told her.

More than being painful, because it really wasn’t, getting a tattoo done was boring. She dozed off for parts of it, head pillowed on her arms.

Sakura blinked her eyes open when she heard Orochimaru’s footsteps. Polished black shoes crisp against the tile. The needle stopped. She felt the tattoo artist dab at the skin before he rolled back in his chair. Orochimaru leaned over her.

“Hmm...” he simply said.

Sakura twisted her head to look at him.

“It’s quite nice. You’ll like it,” Orochimaru assured her. And she smiled.

“I have to come back a third time to get it colored. I was planning on red,” she told him, putting her head back down. She heard the chair roll over again. The needle buzzing as it touched her skin.

“I look forward to that,” Orochimaru lied to her.

Because he had gone and gotten himself killed a week later.

She had gone back to the tattoo parlor. Gotten the koi filled in in black instead.

Leaning against the side of the tub, Sakura sighed for what felt like the millionth time. She stood and stepped out of the bath. Water trickling off her, pooling onto the tile as she stepped out of the bathroom. Leaving puddles in the shape of her feet as she walked over to the phone. She picked up the receiver to dial a number.

She waited for the line to ring. Two. Three. Four times.

“Hello?”

“Are you busy, Charlie?” she asked. Water dripping down into her eyes. She wiped it away with her free hand.

“Not too busy for you, Aunt Cheng,” he answered.

#eastern suns #writing #itasaku #triad!sakura x yakuza!itachi #tobisaku #triad!au

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