Happy Accidents

Chapter 5: Bygones

Socially speaking, this was the worst situation Sakura had ever found herself in. One wrong move and she could see herself canned for lack of professionalism. Not a case she wanted to argue, that was for sure.

"I--" She stammered, feeling her face start turning redder and redder with embarrassment. He seemed to notice, shrugging it off.

"Forget it. It was just an accident." Accident or not, she could swear there was the faintest colour to his cheeks, though he seemed to be doing his best not to draw attention to it. "Just don't let it happen again."

She swallowed bard, nodding. "Oh, um, I guess since you're here, we can go over the--findings. Um, what I found, I mean." Now she was a stammering mess, stiffly making her way to the table.

"My initial examination was incorrect in some areas. Upon closer inspection, our victim is female, no more than twenty-three, with notable fractures on either hand. Slight remodelling suggests that these were sustained at the start of or during her capture and that based on wear and strain to the wrists and ankles, she was likely bound and tortured. The damage to the orbital bone suggests her eyes were removed post-mortem, compared to the perimortem damage to the hands, wrists, and ankles."

"What about the damage to the skull?" He asked curiously.

"That's what gets me. The M.O. of the gunshot with the torture doesn't fit. We're missing something. A gunshot somewhere else on the body, I could believe, but right now, I can't tell if that happened or not. I'll have to clean the bones and examine them directly to determine what I can. Right now, something just isn't adding up." She didn't like it when things didn't quite fall into place. Behaviour was a series of patterns, and a lack thereof was usually a bad sign when it came to crime.

"Hn... frustrating," he mumbled as he scribbled down a few more notes, flipping it shut before staring at her. "You've been down here since we got back. Go get your bones cleaned and go home. They won't be going anywhere any time soon." He was turning to leave wordlessly as usual before Sakura snapped her gloves off and raced toward him.

"H-hey, wait!" She called, and he turned around with a curious expression, standing with his hands in the pockets of his dress pants.

"Hmm?" He asked.

"I, uh... could I maybe buy you a drink? You know, for the whole... photo thing." She needed to do something. She felt pretty terrible. He seemed to think about it, a smirk tugging the corners of his lips before he turned around, raising a hand in a goodbye wave.

"Maybe next time." Ouch. She was blown off just like that. She just wanted to make amends. Why wouldn't he let her? And why the hell was he smirking like that? Huffing grumpily, Sakura plopped down in her office chair, sighing. He was so... hot and cold. One moment he was warm and comfortable; the next, he felt like the polar vortex. And yet, something was endearing about it. About him. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but he seemed... genuinely kind. Perhaps a bit socially awkward, but he didn't seem to be intentionally malicious. He cared, in whatever weird way suited him.

Deciding to take his advice, she got up and started the process to clean the bones for tomorrow, wishing she wasn't yawning so much. By the time she left, it was pretty late, and she certainly wasn't going to be up much later. Regardless, she made her way to her car, slowing down as she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck rising. It felt like she was being watched, but she was too afraid to turn around. Sure, she was trained in self-defence, but that could only go so far in some situations at the end of the day.

Taking the plunge and looking behind her, she thought she saw something move in the shadows of the parking structure but quickly turned around as she heard a car door open and close. The sound startled her, but she promptly calmed as she saw the detective in front of her.

"D-detective Uchiha," she stammered, feeling her heart racing and full of adrenaline. "I-I thought you went home." She'd thought she was the last one left.

"...Forgot something," he muttered absently, his gaze trained on... something. Something behind her? She couldn't tell. Whatever it was, she was freaked the hell out and just wanted to go home. His gaze flicked down back to her, his taller stature making him crane his neck down just slightly to look at her. "Go home," he said bluntly.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she fumbled for her keys to unlock the door of her car, nodding. "Y-yeah. I'll see you tomorrow," she said with a nod as she started to get in.

"Hey." His sharp voice brought her attention back. He stared at her with a deadpan expression, but there was a seriousness on his face. "Call me if you need anything." His tone made it feel like he meant if it was work-related, but his expression held something else behind it, something she couldn't quite pinpoint just yet.

"Yeah... I will," she said with a slight nod as she closed the door to her car, starting it up. With a small wave, she pulled out of her spot and was on her way, annoyed that he seemed always to leave her with more questions than answers. It was like every time they spoke; she wanted to ask him so many more things, none of which she could pinpoint why.

Reaching her home, she deposited her things and quickly ran a bath, throwing together a small, light meal that she could munch on while the tub filled. A good soak in some hot water would relax her and give her time to think. Sinking into the warm water, she leaned back and stared at the ceiling, mentally trying to organize her thoughts. She compartmentalized everything as best she could; there were facts on the case from her examination that she was mentally listing and organizing, followed by everything she'd learned about the detective so far.

With the latter, she determined she needed more, and she was going to do a little investigation of her own. Reaching for her phone, she started to enter search parameters, and after a few searches, she came across something.

A news article. Two dead in a house fire, child survives. Reading through the paper... was a challenging read. The cause of the fire was suspected arson but not confirmed; the bodies of the two adults were set with an accelerant. They had two sons; one was twelve and had gone missing after the fire, and the youngest—age seven—was left with burns to a third of his torso, both hands and arms, and parts of his legs. Not severe, but extensive. Gruesome, to say the least. The story was horrifying.

The detective did seem to wear gloves...but that could just be a habit. She hadn't seen him without them, though.

She searched further, looking for the name of the missing child. She found articles on gang activity, and the more she dug, the less it seemed to make sense. It sounded as if the child, at age twelve, had become part of a gang; his identity was unconfirmed by sources. A gang by the name of Akatsuki, whose exploits were coming closer and closer to that of a mafia. Much more significant than a street gang...

As she dried her hair and got dressed in her pyjamas, she wondered if he'd ever tell her at some point. She felt a little guilty snooping on his life like that, but his behaviour made sense if what she read was true. Some of the articles implied the older sibling was responsible for the fires; it'd left the youngest boy orphaned with no family to take care of him. She was just imagining being in the condition he would have, undergoing skin grafts and rehabilitation, all while an orphan forced into foster care? It made the young doctor's heart wrench to think about. No wonder he seemed to keep people at arm's length.

She'd ask him about it... one day. Not soon, but at some point. What she did know was that starting tomorrow, she would do better to show him he could trust her. She'd be more amicable. More patient. Probably a little more strict and vocal, but in a kind way. Trust would go a long way between them, without a doubt.