Happy Accidents

Chapter 10: Emotions

Days had passed since she'd met Detective Uzumaki in the parking lot. Sakura had almost forgotten about her encounter with the strange man; she'd gone home, gone about her day, and gone about her work during the said day. No new evidence was surfacing on the murder of Kin Tsuchi. Before long, she and Detective Uchiha were being assigned new cases to work on until further information came to light.

Today was one of those new cases: a mugging and a shooting in an upscale neighbourhood, which was notably out of the ordinary. The mugging had occurred near the home of Konoha Hospital's Chief of Surgery, Dr. Tsunade Senju. Sakura remembered the woman well; she'd been one of the professors for a few of her medical classes, and she'd done well; Dr. Senju had also been on the committee for her thesis defence.

"ID in the left pocket identifies him as former mayor Hiruzen Sarutobi. Hadn't he just retired last week?" She asked curiously as she examined the wounds; Detective Uchiha was standing beside her, scribbling down notes as she spoke.

"Yeah. He retired to make way for a new mayor. Dr. Senju is one of the contenders for his spot, along with a few others. Suspicious that she was the one who found the body if you ask me."

"Nonsense," Sakura defended. "I know that it's always evidence, evidence, evidence until otherwise, but I was one of Dr. Senju's students. She was a ruthless teacher, her grading was the hardest I've ever faced, and she grilled me hard during my thesis defence... but she's also kind and willing to help her students when they need it. She's a surgeon. She saves lives." She couldn't imagine Dr. Senju doing such a thing.

"And surgeons are notoriously egotistical," he muttered. "Some of them act like they're gods because they can mean life or death for whoever ends up on their table. They're arrogant." He wasn't a fan of them.

"You know that as a pathologist, I hold a medical doctorate as they do. I have to have the same knowledge of anatomy they do and have to identify problems or injuries on a body... I just don't have to race the clock to fix them." All he did was reply with a grunt, scuffing his foot on the ground. Whatever was bothering him today had managed to turn his mood foul for some reason.

"Seems like there's significant damage to the head, likely blunt force trauma, and stab wounds to the left side of the chest. I'll know for sure during my full examination, but one of those is likely our cause of death. Based on the damage to the hands, he fought back against whoever was his attacker. I recall he was a martial arts expert, so it's plausible that he may have inflicted extensive damage to his assailant." She was undoubtedly awed by it; a man of his age as solid and able to defend himself was often unheard of. Nevertheless, it hadn't been enough, which was a saddening fact.

"So we're looking for someone who's taken quite a beating." Sakura looked up at him and nodded. "I'll send a BOLO out to the local emergency room and see what they can bring us. It's a long shot, but if they come in, we might be able to catch them," Sasuke said hopefully.

"Yeah. That's all we can hope for." She stood up and snapped off her gloves, tossing them into one of the portable biohazard bins. "Not much more I can do here until he's transported back. Lunch?" She asked, giving him a friendly smile. He stared at her, then glanced at the body, then back at her.

"Lunch... after this?" He asked almost incredulously.

"Yeah. I deal with this stuff every day. You think I would have been able to survive if I couldn't turn around and eat lunch right after?" He seemed distressed by that fact but said nothing, offering a grunt as they made their way back to his car. She wondered if he'd want to go anywhere particular.

"So... is that a yes on lunch, or..?" She asked, just wanting to confirm.

"Yeah. We should eat before we get into anything too deeply." Oddly amicable for him, but she wasn't going to complain. Food was food, and they both knew they worked best on a full stomach rather than an empty one. Now that she thought about it... he seemed to like working in her presence, from what she could tell. He seemed to avoid his own office most of the time if she was doing examinations for a case they were working on; he would spend his time at the small table near her break area kitchenette, a laptop plugged in nearby and case files neatly laid out. If there were details that needed to be looked up, he was quick to research them for her. He was more than just a partner; he was partly an assistant when she needed to look up specific details.