Hummingbird

Chapter 10: Sinners

"All sinners are equal before the Gods," – High Sparrow

Pushing the thick door to Gaara's room open, Sakura studied her feet as she turned around and closed it with no audible noise, manually turning the handle so it clicked into place. Her fingers piled her dress around her thighs, hiking it up, as she had not bothered to fasten it all properly, simply drawing the lapels closed to be decent enough to get back downstairs. She just needed to get to her room. The night was late and had grown quiet, the raucous party downstairs having ended over an hour ago.

There was an unexpected noise behind her, and Sakura froze as she heard a nearby door open and then close quietly. Turning mechanically, she almost let out a groan when she saw the now familiar figure leaving a nearby room.

When Shisui turned around to look at her, eyes wide, Sakura noticed his cheeks darken in embarrassment. He stood to his full height, but his shoulders were hunched, hand scratching the back of his neck. She could see an excuse bubbled at the tip of his lips. That's when Sakura noticed the door that he had come out of and the name on the plaque next to it. A small gasp escaped before she could stop it.

"Shisui!" she admonished automatically, pointing at the door. "The Tsuchikage?!"

In the dim hallway lights, she saw his cheeks grow darker, and he slouched. Dark eyes seemed to register her place, and whose door she had been coming out of, before a catlike grin spread over his lips. Shisui stood straighter, his eyebrows raised.

"Sakura!" he mocked her tone. "The Kazekage?"

Abashed, Sakura reached her hands behind her back, holding them there and twisting her fingers together. She couldn't meet his eye, and the older Uchiha chuckled a bit before opening his arm towards the other end of the hall, offering to let her walk first.

In silence, they glided down the hall until they reached one of the first rooms by the staircase. He pointed to a door on the left.

"This is mine and Itachi's room," he told her, opening it with a key. Sakura went to head towards the stairs, but his voice stopped her. "We never speak of this… ever?"

Nodding gratefully, she listened as his door opened further as she almost reached the far end of the hall. Suddenly, coming from the direction of the staircase, there was a larger figure in her way, staring down at her from behind a white mask painted to look like a cat. There was a crack running down the left side.

If she didn't know the chakra behind that mask, she would have probably lashed out in defense. Luckily, Itachi knew to keep out of arm's reach of her, especially if startled.

"There has been an attack and attempted kidnapping," he informed both her and Shisui succinctly, in the clipped and authoritative manner that spoke of years of experience. "Hyuuga Momoko and Hyuuga Norimoto were attacked and almost kidnapped by masked nin from an unknown village. We were able to fend off attackers, but there are some injuries. The Hokage requested your presence, Sakura-san. All other Leaf-nin below ANBU rank are to be sealed in their rooms until further notice."

Gaping like a fish out of water, Sakura blinked a few times before snapping back to attention.

"Right," she affirmed and moved around Itachi, sprinting down several flights of stairs. Itachi watched her go before turning back towards his older cousin.

"Sakura's room is on the second floor," he told Shisui, meeting his dark eyes behind his ivory mask. "Why was she up here with you?"

Shisui blinked a few times before moving further into their shared room, his posture becoming fidgety. He couldn't tell if Itachi's Sharingan was activated; if it was, it would make lying pointless, but he had to give it a try. He had promised Sakura not to mention it, after all.

"I found her stumbling up the stairs very inebriated. She couldn't tell me which room was hers, so I let her sleep it off on the couch," he lied, pointing into their dark room. "Is everything downstairs okay?"

Observing his cousin thoughtfully, noting the sudden change of subject, Itachi decided to leave it for now and affirmed that everything downstairs was under control. Although his bloodline limit was not activated, he could tell that there was some deception to what Shisui was claiming. He just did not know what.

He wasn't sure why, but he did not like the idea of Shisui and Sakura being together alone, especially if they were both intoxicated. Itachi knew that his cousin would never take advantage of his apprentice; if not because he possessed too much integrity, then because even a drunk Sakura could defend herself from unwanted advances. But the idea that they were together with inhibitions down didn't sit well in his stomach. His chest burned at the thought, fingers clenching involuntarily at his sides.

His inner turmoil did not seem go to unnoticed, as an uncharacteristically soft smile passed over Shisui's features. Noting, almost offhandedly, he said, "Nothing happened between Sakura and I, if that's what you're thinking."

Itachi's sharpened gaze landed on him again.

"It's not," he replied tersely. Shisui's smile got a little more mischievous, almost feral. But Itachi couldn't help but notice how the knot in his chest loosened at the words. Where Shisui had been fibbing before, there was no deception to him now. Nothing had happened between the two, and he was relieved. The question was: why?

"I'm going to get geared up. Where's everyone?" Shisui pulled him from his musings. Itachi glanced towards the stairs.

"They are in the mess hall," he informed.

The older of the two nodded, closing the door behind him. Itachi turned back and made his way back down the stairs. When he landed on the second floor, he chanced a look down the hall. Sakura was trembling, making weak hand signs to get into her rooms. He could tell she is panicking about her students. There was an attack. What if they had been harmed? Katsurou had the Sharingan, after all, and that was cousin to the Byakugan.

Like a wraith, he quickly and quietly glided into the hallway behind her. With her sensei watching, her hand signs become more firm and resolute. She was trying to hide her weakness, how her attack has affected her, but anyone who paid attention could see right through her. Tentatively, not sure if he was doing the right thing, he placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing a bit to comfort her.

"They are fine," he told her softly, but not lacking confidence. She nodded, finishing the seals and opening the door. She quickly flashed hand signs to put a sleeping jutsu over the inhabitants so they wouldn't wake from her moving throughout the room.

All three of her genin were sprawled out on the couches. Ryouichi was on the love seat, feet hanging over the end. It hadn't, up until now, occurred to Sakura that he had gotten so tall over the past year she had been teaching them.

Katsurou was sitting up, his head thrown back and resting the high back of the sofa, mouth hanging open. Chouko was laying long ways, her head on Katsurou's lap. Sakura noticed his hand tangled in her hair, as if he had fallen asleep running his hands through it. She felt like if she had come in a half hour earlier, she would have stumbled upon an intimate scene between the two young teenagers. She would have to watch them more closely.

She frowned and sighed, making her way to her genin. "Oh, little girl," she murmured wistfully, using gentle fingers to slide soft, eggplant colored hair out of her face. "Don't go falling in love with your Uchiha teammate. It never ends well."

Sakura and Chouko had never been more alike.

Itachi, standing in the door, heard her murmured words and felt his stomach drop with uncertainty. Clearly, she was more affected by her time with Team Seven, and Sasuke in particular, than he had originally realized.

Something about her words bothered him, but he couldn't pinpoint it. Perhaps it was the generalization of all Uchiha for Sasuke's mistakes. It would have to be analyzed later when there was more time. For now, they needed to focus on getting downstairs.

Sakura stood and moved across the room, closing the door to one of the bedrooms. Deciding to stay with her, he waited in silence until she emerged a few moments later, clad in black pants and a dark green sweater that was two sizes too big. She was pulling medical supplies from her backpack, cataloguing them internally, and placing them back in the bag.

"Were the injuries major?" she asked. He shook his head.

"The worst are moderate," he updated. If they had been major, he would have been more adamant about a rapid retreat to the mess hall.

Sakura slung her backpack over her shoulder, glancing at her genin. She released the sleeping jutsu on them, so they could wake if the need arose; besides a grunt from Katsurou, they stayed silent. Moving past Itachi, who followed her out, she ran down the stairs much faster now that she had shed her formal shoes for her shinobi sandals.

Four ANBU were standing guard outside the mess hall. Sakura pushed past them with Itachi in tow, not paying them any mind.

Tsunade was sitting by a nearby table with an IV in her arm. Sakura knew that the yellow liquid in the IV bag were fluids. Unbelievable, Sakura thought to herself. She's still drunk.

"Good, you're here," Tsunade greeted, yanking the IV out of her arm. "These incompetent fools don't know how to metabolize alcohol."

Sakura sighed, running over to her.

"That's because they weren't apprenticed by you! They don't need to know how to do this!" she chastised, but chakra was already channeling into her hands. Tsunade shrugged, unapologetic. Next to her, a chuunin medic named Kamin sighed deeply before moving off to treat some of the ANBU who were injured in the skirmish. Tsunade waved her away after Sakura jump started her system into sobering her up and avoiding a hangover.

"I'm fine," she muttered, irritated with her fluttering apprentice. "The Hyuuga boy requested to be treated by you. Go see to him."

Moving off, Sakura found Norimoto sitting in the corner on a table. His sister, looking a little frantic, was nearby. The rest of her team was surrounding her, comforting her, but she did not seem to be injured. Half a dozen ANBU operatives were in close proximity. When she approached, Norimoto seemed to perk up, his posture becoming straighter, and he even managed to smile a bit.

"Where are you injured?" Sakura asked briskly. The tension in the air was making her more serious as she matched the somber attitude of those around her. Norimoto held up his arm. It was swollen and purpling around his elbow, and she noticed more bruising up his tricep.

"Tsunade-sama suspects a concussion as well," he told her.

"What happened?" she asked, trying to get him talking. She would have to break and reset his arm since it hadn't been attended to right away.

"Moe-chan and I were outside to get fresh air. About fifteen or so masked shinobi came out of nowhere. They hit me in the head and then tried to take Moe-chan. I fought back, but they twisted my arm behind my back, breaking it and holding me down. Moe was able to defend herself for a moment. Then the ANBU who were assigned to us were able to intervene and fight. They managed to dispatch a few, but most retreated once the ANBU arrived," he told the story mechanically as her healing charka seeped into his head. He didn't have a concussion, but there was a good sized knot forming at the base of his skull.

"It sounds like it was an ambush," she commented. Internally, she was cataloguing the similarities to her own attack. She finished healing his head and move onto his dislocated and fractured arm. "Like they were expecting you to be out there."

He tried to shrug, but he couldn't with his arm held firmly in her hands. Seeming more to himself than to her, he muttered, "I wouldn't know how. We went out on a whim. It was warm inside."

Since he was distracted for a moment, she decided this was the time to reset the bone. Without warning, she yanked the end of his arm, hard and straight out in front of him. After a sharp intake of breath and a quietly whispered curse, he settled again, but his muscles stayed taught.

"Relax," she commanded and could feel his body become slightly more languid underneath her hands as he concentrated on not tensing his muscles.

She flooded chakra into the bone, sealing it back together and pushing soothing chakra into it. Her patient unwound further, slouching a bit in his seat. Poking her head around the guard of ANBU, she motioned for Kamin to bring her a sling. Once Norimoto's arm was set and hanging in a sling, she patted his shoulder with some affection. He smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"I'm glad you're okay," she told him earnestly.

"Thank you."

Across the room, Itachi watched Sakura's contact with the Hyuuga, and resolutely concluded that he did not like the way the jounin was interacting with his apprentice. He decided to make his way over when he saw Sakura's hand reach out and pat the other male on the shoulder affectionately, smiling at him. Before he realized what he was doing, he was around the guard of ANBU and standing in front of his kohai.

She blinked at him owlishly. And he realized that he didn't have anything specific to say, but there was a situation that could use her attention.

"Once you are finished here, I require your assistance," he finally stated, turning and walking away without waiting for a reply.

He exited the mess hall, and with some small satisfaction, noticed that she had followed him immediately. When they rounded the corner, he turned back to her. In her oversized sweater and with her hair tied in a messy bun, she looked tiny.

"What—" she began.

Before she could continue, he peeled off his mask. Blood dripped from a wound on his head. A blow from a hard hit during the skirmish had cracked his mask and cut his forehead, nose, and cheek in a few places. While it was relatively minor wound, it was bleeding quite profusely. Blood had pooled around his chin and lips. He watched it splatter onto the ground as it dripped from his mask. When he rubbed his fingers over the bridge of his nose, he felt where it had begun to dry.

His musings were interrupted by her gasp. Hands braced on his shoulders, Sakura stood on her tip-toes to observe his wounds closer. She was very close to him, her light breath ghosting over his face in worried pants.

"What happened?" she asked.

"I was hit with the hilt of a katana," he explained. Sakura set her backpack on the ground and began to rifle through it. When her hand reemerged, she had a terrycloth towel in her hands. She grabbed the water bottle that was in her backpack and dumped some onto the towel. "The force cracked the inside of my mask, and my face was cut."

She pressed her hands to his chest, guiding him to a nearby chair. Now clinical, as she was with her patients, she evaluated the wound carefully. There was a gash and a bruise forming across his forehead. There was another small cut under his eye and one on his cheek.

She stood above him, analytical eyes cataloguing his injuries. The wounds were minor, and she was able to take a deep breath to calm down. After she removed as much blood as she could with the wet towel, she went to work healing the cuts, closing them up with practiced efficiency. Wiping the remaining blood off when she was complete, she tossed the soiled towel into the trash bin.

"Done," she told him.

He stood, but she hadn't taken a step back, so they were standing close together, almost toe to toe. She had to crane her neck up to look at his face. His eyes were soft and tired; the weary stress lines, which drew from the corners of his eyes and across the tops of the cheeks, were deeper than normal.

As stressful as this trip had been on her, the ANBU who were responsible for their safety had been working long hours almost around the clock to protect them, and were likely under more pressure than she could know. But, she thought to herself, this time next year, she could be one of the protection detail.

She looked down, fingers clenched, her nails forming crescent moons on the inside of her palm. The adrenaline of healing injured patients was wearing off, and the long days were catching up to her.

The moment Itachi told her there had been an attack she had to force herself not to panic. Worried over her genin, she decided to first check on them. She was very embarrassed that Itachi had found her in a minute of weakness. It had been a struggle to try to hide it from those around her, but instead of getting better, as time went on, the cracks in her armor were really starting to show. Damn it, she was so weak.

"Everyone is fine," he told her, snapping her from her internal reprimand.

Sakura held her fist tighter as she tried to keep from shaking. Itachi was comforting her, and she just wished she would disappear. Weak, weak, weak. She fought the formation of tears behind her eyes, and her entire body felt hot with shame, searing, as if it were a brand, across her chest, neck, and face.

His hands on her shoulders made her jump. Slowly, so slowly that she could not possibly mistake his intention, she felt his hands slide across her back as his arms wrapped around her shoulders. Pulling her tightly against his chest, all she could smell, see, and feel, was him. Her stomach flipped again, and for the second time that night, she felt her insides erupt in nervous flutters.

"You did well," he iterated.

She felt the vibrations of his chest underneath her ear more than she heard him. After a moment of standing as stiff as a board, she willed her arms to move. Her fingers released their death grip, and her arms encircled his waist. When he didn't pull away from her, she tightened her hold, using him to anchor her to reality.

She wasn't in a forest. There wasn't a group of shinobi chasing her. Her genin were asleep upstairs. There had been an attack, but others were working on tracking the enemy. Right now, in this moment, she was safe, she told herself.

Shisui peeked around the corner where he had seen his baby cousin and the kunoichi who had captured his attention, whether he knew it or not, wandered off to. What he found was better than he was prepared for. As emotionally stunted and awkward as Itachi was, he did have a knack for knowing what another needed at any given time.

Shisui watched as Sakura returned Itachi's hug, squeezing him tight as the two stood without words in the hallway. Backtracking, he returned to the door that he had snuck through just moments before, having masked his chakra to sneak up on his cousin.

Itachi released her when she pulled back, just as the door from the mess hall to the hallway opened loudly. Although he wasn't fooled by Shisui's sneaking around to see this quiet moment, he appreciated his cousin's efforts in making noise for Sakura's sake. He didn't want her to feel unnecessarily embarrassed.

Already feeling silly and self-conscious, Sakura pulled back, refusing to meet his eye as she stepped a few paces away from him as footsteps approached. A whistling Shisui rounded the corner.

"Ah, there you two are!" he greeted enthusiastically. "Hokage-sama wants all Konoha shinobi rallied and packed within the hour. Due to the threat, we're leaving early. She'll be in peace meetings with the rest of the Kage until we go. I guess she's pretty pissed at the Raikage for his security. She's just shy of accusing him of setting it up."

Grumbling, Sakura zipped up her backpack and lifted it onto her back.

"I better find her," she concluded, still refusing to meet Itachi's eye. Her stomach was doing flips, and she couldn't help but want to smile for some weird reason. She had to force her lips to stay set in a serious frown. "She's going to be hungover, and we don't need her starting a war because her alcohol didn't metabolize fast enough."

"I will wake your genin to have them pack up their things," Itachi offered. Finally looking up at him with wide emerald eyes, Sakura felt a blush rise to her cheeks. Nodding with a quiet thank you, Sakura scurried away past Shisui.

Itachi watched her round the corner back towards the mess hall before sliding his onyx gaze to Shisui. Once again, there was a playful grin taking over his jovial features. It was as if he was bursting with a secret that he couldn't keep to himself. Finally, in an excited voice barely above a whisper, he pointed at his younger cousin almost accusingly, "You like her."

Taken aback, Itachi couldn't help but stay silent. Like Sakura? Did he? It would explain the burning in his chest that he could vaguely place as jealousy and the way his eyes seemed to follow her even when she wasn't looking. It would explain why his mind would wander to her throughout the day, contemplating what she could be doing, if she was reading a book he suggested or training with her genin.

Shaking the thoughts away, Itachi chose to ignore his best friend's observations.

"Come," he commanded his cousin. "Aid me in waking Sakura's genin to prepare for the trip home."

Laughing heartily, Shisui threw his arm around Itachi's shoulders. His cousin tensed under the contact.

"Yes, baby cousin," he agreed. "Let's go home."

X

Shisui sat at the dining room table in his aunt's house. In the other room, he listened as Fugaku informed his sons of the two possible brides that would be traveling to Konoha from a neighboring civilian village. They were the favorite nieces of the Fire Daimyo.

As usual, there was no overt dissent from his sons, but Fugaku's volume was rising at the perceived attitude that his children were presenting. Anything less than firm enthusiasm would be viewed as disrespectful. There were the normal words being thrown around: duty, heir, responsibility, clan. Shisui rolled his eyes. The front door slid open, and Mikoto walked in.

"Ah, they're still in there," she groaned in exasperation.

She placed her groceries on the counter. Shisui had offered to go with her, but she had refused, leaving him as a buffer in case the meeting turned ugly. Really, Shisui just wanted to go home.

They had only been back from Kumo for a few hours when Fugaku found Sasuke hiding in his room and dragged them both into a meeting. Shisui had even showered there; he and Itachi were going to write up their mission reports, so they would be done and could relax until missions started back up again the next week. He hadn't been home in almost two weeks.

Both Itachi and Shisui had missed clan meetings while they were away. Shisui supposed he would have to find his father for more information later.

As he helped his aunt put the groceries into their proper place, he felt her intense stare on his back. He knew what information she wanted.

"They danced," he told her, choosing to keep Itachi's jealousy and the intimate hug he had witnessed to himself.

Revealing that information would make him feel dirty, and although he promised to keep tabs on Itachi's burgeoning relationship with Sakura, Shisui didn't feel comfortable divulging that bit of news. He turned and found Mikoto smiling at him, eyes glittering with curiosity. She wanted more.

"Do you think he likes her?" she asked conspiratorially. "In that way?"

Shisui nodded, storing rice in the cupboard. Mikoto sidled up to him, her smile wide and genuine.

"Do you think she likes him? What do you know about her?" she asked. "About her former boyfriends and such? Surely, nobody as good as Itachi? Does he have any competition? Not that they'd really even be competition, that is."

Shisui almost laughed thinking about all of the information he had gathered about Sakura's former lovers on this trip. Instead, he turned thoughtful, truly ruminating on the men who he knew Sakura had relations with.

"I think Sakura returns his feelings," he conceded. Mikoto could tell that he wasn't done, and she waited patiently for him to explain further. "I think she chooses men who she knows are unattainable in some way. She was hurt in the past, and I think she selects men who she knows she can close herself off to."

"Hm," Mikoto hummed, tapping her chin with her forefinger.

She pressed her hip into the counter, holding her weight there. She knew of Sakura's confession to Sasuke seven years ago. It was the worst kept secret in the Uchiha clan, but it hadn't been mentioned in years; not since she had left Team Seven.

"We'll just have to try harder!" Mikoto decided resolutely, pounding her fist into her open palm determinedly. "We just need to make Sakura realize that Itachi is her perfect match."

Smiling at her antics, Shisui's attention shifted when he heard the door to the office open sharply. Sasuke walked out first and made a beeline for the stairs, taking two at a time up to his bedroom. Itachi walked out next, mouth and eyes tight with strain. He passed by them without acknowledging them and left the house quietly.

Mikoto ran into Fugaku's office to find out what happened, but Shisui decided to follow his cousin. When he caught up to him, Itachi didn't recognize his presence. He just walked briskly through the compound and out onto the village streets, allowing Shisui to tag along behind him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he finally ventured.

Itachi shook his head once, so he let it drop. Although it was late into the afternoon, the streets of Konoha were bustling with shoppers, picking up last minute items for dinner and enjoying the cooling fall weather.

At first, Shisui didn't think that his cousin had a firm idea of where they were heading, but an idea seemed to form in his mind as they drew further into the main village square. Itachi decided to lead them to one of the weapons shops in town. They patronized this particular store often, as it stocked the brand of kunai and shuriken they both preferred.

Itachi immediately made his way to the window displays of weaponry, some of them specialized for particular types of chakra. He picked up informational cards about each item, weighing what looked to be a simple metal rod in his hands. Shisui eyed a few new brace of kunai, thinking that his current supply was running low. The shop attendant knew them well and let them shop in relative peace.

As Shisui chose his purchases and brought them to the pretty kunoichi running the store, he noticed a flash of pink winding through the market. So did Itachi. His cousin stalled for a brief moment before replacing the weapons he was studying and walking out the door, seemingly confident that Shisui would follow at some point. The flirtatious clerk batted her eyelashes prettily at him, distracting Shisui from his cousin for a few minutes as she wrapped his new kunai and placed them in a paper bag.

When he emerged from the store, he found Itachi at the meat stall with Sakura. She had a basket of vegetables in her arms. In the other was a canvas bag. To Shisui's amusement, he noticed Itachi holding two other canvas bags that were filled with food.

"Ah, the lovely Sakura-chan," Shisui greeted. He raised his eyebrows at Itachi, who ignored him. "Enjoying being home?"

Sakura had just finished pointing to the last of her selection, some chicken breasts that were on sale, when she turned to face them. She smiled brightly at Shisui.

"Yes," she admitted. "I will not miss that Kumo cold."

"I agree," Shisui nodded along, scratching his stubbly chin. He was in need of a good shave. "Although I hear that there were so many genin this round that they may hold another exam in a few months in Suna. I'm sure by the end of that trip, we'll be begging for the Kumo cold again."

"Yeah, I heard that too," she replied, shifting her basket on her hip as she took her wrapped purchases from the vendor. She handed him the requisite amount of ryou, and the three stepped away from the stall. "Shikamaru actually went straight to Suna from Kumo to start planning. That last night made a big mess of things."

She started walking in the direction of her home. Itachi fell into step beside her quietly. Shisui followed close behind, observing the two. Sakura looked up at his younger cousin, smiling. She asked him a question about the weapons shop they were just in. Meeting her eye, he replied quietly. Her smile got bigger. It didn't go unnoticed that they walked closer together than normal, arms almost brushing as they made their way into the civilian district where Sakura's home was located.

When they reached her house, Sakura let them in.

"I'm home!" she called out. There was a vague greeting from one of the rooms upstairs. The voice wasn't as familiar to Itachi. "Hey Tenten, Itachi and Shisui are here so you know!"

A young woman with brown hair tied in buns poked her head down the stairs, standing at the base of them with a curious look on her face. Of course, she had noticed the Uchiha heir hanging around her roommate for the past months, but he was rarely over when she or Ino were there. Usually, Sakura would just mention him offhandedly in conversation, not revealing much about the nature of their relationship. This was also the first time she had heard mention of the infamous body-flicker ninja being over.

"Hey!" she greeted with a smile. While Shisui greeted her with an enthusiastic wave and hi!, Itachi murmured hello quietly before moving onto the kitchen with his bags of groceries. "Are you two staying for dinner?"

Shisui looked at Sakura, who shrugged. She said, "It's just Neji, Sai, and Lee tonight, so there's plenty of food and room at the table. You're welcome to stay."

Before Itachi could object, which Shisui saw about to happen, he clamped his hand on his cousin's shoulder. With a grin, he agreed, "We'd love to."

Tenten went back upstairs, Sakura turned around to put away groceries, and Itachi glared at a silently laughing Shisui.

Author's Note: Thank you all for the reviews. Please continue to leave them, as they help my writing get better.

Stay sexy and avoid Shisui, seriously guys, at all costs. He'll find out your secrets.