Happy Accidents

Chapter 9: Suspects

"I swear I'm never going to figure him out," Sakura griped as she was examining the bones over again. She'd keyed into a phone call with Ino while she was working, needing to blow off some steam talking to her best friend. Ino was the only one who ever understood.

"Yeah? In what way, forehead? It's been two days. Is he at least being nicer?" The way the blonde said that, Sakura was almost sure something had happened.

"Yeah. What did you do to him? Or say to him?" Sakura asked suspiciously.

"Nothing. Not a word." That sounded unbelievable.

"Bullshit, you didn't," Sakura accused. "I know you, Ino!"

"Seriously! Not a word. Scout's honour. I just asked him about the case, figured out what warrants he needed and what ones we could get, met with the judge, and all was well. Not a word more than that." No matter her honest tone, Sakura didn't believe her friend one bit. If not words, then she had to have given the detective a look that scared him into being nice. Ino was nothing if not savage when given the opportunity.

"I don't believe you for a second. If you didn't tell him anything, you certainly gave him the stink eye. You can fool everyone else, but you can't fool me." Ino just responded with a laugh, always amused by the reaction to her usual shenanigans.

"Okay then, forehead. So, you're the one who called me. What was the glorious thing that happened today, hmm?" Of course, Ino figured that was the case. Why else would Sakura call? Chatting about boys was their thing. If they saw a cute one, then they'd have to spend their time gossiping about it.

"Okay, so I did a little research of my own last night. I found an article about a house fire, where an unnamed kid was the only survivor. Well, not only. Supposedly, the older brother wasn't home, and he went missing after that. It's suspected he started it. The youngest son survived, while both of their parents didn't make it."

"So you're saying..."

"That it's likely him? Yeah. The dates line up. His brother supposedly set their house on fire. He survived. Their parents didn't. His brother went missing after that, and... well, he burned himself on some coffee earlier, so I had to take off his glove, and... his hands are covered in scars. You can tell there were some small grafts to repair them, but even where the burns were minor, you can see the damage. I mentioned them like a curious physician, and he just... stayed quiet. He wouldn't say anything. I could tell it made him uncomfortable. God, I'm such a jerk."

"Sakura, no, you're not. You're the furthest thing from that. You saw something that undoubtedly caused him pain, and you empathized, like you always do." Leave it to Ino to point that out. "You asked because you have a big heart, not because you made him uncomfortable."

Sakura sighed. "I know. I just feel bad. Whatever it is, it must be hard on him. Maybe I should call him and apologize." She set the bone down she was looking at in the storage tray. "I'm getting nowhere with these bones. I think I'm just going to head home." She finished packing up, putting all her tools away quickly as she was speaking.

"Okay, forehead. Take care! And don't be too hard on yourself." The line clicked, and Sakura was left to finish cleaning and filling out her paperwork for the day.

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Once in the comfort of his own home, Sasuke finally felt comfortable enough to slip off his gloves, changing into more casual clothing. His home was the one place he didn't have to field the stares and questions, unlike at work. There he wore gloves and long sleeves for as long as he could manage it. Once in a while, he would remove them only in his office, as most deigned not to disturb him.