~Bulletproof~ SasuSaku Mafia Story

Chapter 19 ~ Mr. Perfectly Fine

Two separate vehicles left the Uchiha mansion around 7:00 AM. One of them was driven by Sasuke, with Shisui in his passenger's seat. The other contained Juugo with his team of backup.

Sasuke always preferred to work with smaller crews. Normally for an operation of this scale, others would bring at least twenty-five men. Sasuke brought eight. To him, it was quality over quantity. Danzo's men would for sure accompany him to their meeting, and would definitely outnumber Sasuke's men. Still, he was confident in his own abilities.

The two cars drove in the morning mist. The sun was yet to rise. It was going to be a crucial operation. Danzo had to go, it was about damn time. If it was not sure before, his attack on Sakura had solidified his demise. Shisui and Sasuke shared a pack of cigarettes. The drive was silent. Both wore remote earpieces with Izuna on the other end live reporting the digital surveillance intel received by Tobi in real time. Classic arrangement.

Sakura woke up exhausted early in the morning. The was awakened by the multiple footsteps and car doors slamming nearby. The hospital was on ground level near the main entrance for quick transportation of patients, so Sakura heard all the fuss outside. She sat up and yawned. The squad must have departed to meet Danzo. Sakura shivered in cold sweat. Hopefully, her suggested hideout location would be indeed a good choice.

She pledged not to think about last night's events any more. He had toyed with her successfully, and she was going to have none of that. Indeed, no way he would get away with this. She had concluded last night while her flustered face was buried in a pillow that she'd somehow get him back, and make him feel as embarrassed and vulnerable as he had made her feel then.

Either way, she had bigger things to worry about, such as Suigetsu. His surgery was scheduled for that morning, which means he could have been on an operating table in that very moment. She also wondered if Ino ever received her message. And what was Naruto up to? Was anyone looking for her at this point? What if-

Her stream of thoughts was interrupted when Orochimaru walked in the room while reading his notes.

"You're awake, dear, very good. Let's look at your wounds. If all goes well, you should be able to walk within a few hours."

"How is Suigetsu, Doctor?"

"He's almost ready for surgery. Now, let's look at your stitches..." Orochimaru carefully removed the bandages from around Sakura's waist. Her wound felt a bit better. The doctor put some sort of stinging ointment on the wound. Sakura bit her lip.

"This ointment should kill any remaining bacteria. Take these painkillers before eating. Once the ointment is fully absorbed by your skin, you should be able to walk normally."

Sakura thanked Orochimaru as he left the room to tend to Suigetsu. She took the painkillers and leaned back onto the wall behind her bed. Today, a man was going to die - and she had helped make this happen. She felt incredibly nauseous all of a sudden. Yes, some people were objectively evil and cruel, but who was to judge who lived or died? Did she, or even someone like Sasuke, have the right to decide who lived or died?

Sakura thought about what Sasuke had told her a bit ago about the world not having any justice. What a sad way to see the world, she thought. But it made sense. If Sasuke did not believe in a just world, it made sense to her why he was so easy to decide who deserved literal death. That's what frustrated Sakura so much: Sasuke's every single vile action made sense to her when she put herself in his shoes. His actions were logical and practical from his perspective - he did not do things that were violent for the sake of being violent. It was justice - or whatever justice meant in Sasuke's world.

She sighed and closed her eyes momentarily, which turned into some additional sleep. She woke up again around 9:00 AM and immediately noticed the reduced pain in her wound. That ointment had worked wonders - the swelling had reduced, and moving her torso no longer caused her an ache. Sakura carefully pulled herself up from the bed and walked around in small steps. It was going very smoothly. Where was this ointment last night?!