~Bulletproof~ SasuSaku Mafia Story

Chapter 39 ~ Hometown Skeptics

The police department looked different from how Sakura remembered it. The desks had been rearranged, offices moved around, some furniture replaced. She noticed her old desk was still there. The very desk where she first spoke with Sasuke.

However, the biggest change was how people looked at her. She walked by Rock Lee, Asuma, Kurenai, Gai, and several familiar faces. They looked at her with conflicted, skeptical smiles. She closed her eyes and kept walking with Shikamaru and Naruto on her either side. It was time to talk.

"Now, Sakura, the only reason we're in the interrogation room is to guarantee privacy. No recording equipment is on. We are just talking." Shikamaru sat down with Naruto next to him. Sakura decided to play along for now, and gave them men across from her a faint smile. It was the last Wednesday of August.

"It's good to have you here, Sakura." Naruto looked conflicted. He had a lot going on at home with Hinata.

"It's good to be back, Naruto. Thanks for giving me the much needed space."

Shikamaru tried to analyze Sakura's every detail and movement. While he was happy to have her back, he was a logical man. He understood the possibility that Sakura had been compromised, somehow. He had to stay alert.

"You look better, and seem to be adjusting well."

Of course, Sakura was a logical girl as well. She had over two weeks to prepare for this day, figure out what to say, and what to keep to herself. Naruto cleared his throat.

"So, Sakura, you know we have some questions about the Uchiha."

"Of course."

"We can start by giving you the floor."

"Well, where do I start? I'm assuming you know I was abducted by Zabuza and Haku."

Shikamaru, unlike Naruto, picked up on how calculated her each word was. He tried telling himself that this was normal. A lot had probably happened to her, so she needed rehearsing to know how to structure her thoughts, right?

"Yeah. Did they hurt you?" Naruto was clearly avoiding eye contact with her. There was a time in her life when this would have bothered her immensely. Right now, her mind was crystal clear.

She spent her days waiting at her window while Ino inevitably had to go to work during the day. Waiting for something, for someone, for anything. But, nothing ever happened. As a result, she had plenty of time to think.

"Not really, no. I don't think their goal was to hurt me in any way. I hurt them, but they never really fought back."

"And they took you directly to the mansion?"

"Yes. They gave me my own room, bathroom, everything. Again, the goal was not to hurt me."

"What was the goal?" Naruto took charge of the conversation as Shikamaru listened and observed.

"The goal was to figure out how we busted Sasuke. They had figured out the interns were involved, but didn't realize I used data analysis."

"How did they get this information out of you? Did they hurt you?"

"Again, no one hurt me at any point. I was simply told what would happen if I didn't."

"So, blackmailed?"

"Not quite. I was told about bloodshed it would cause Konoha if the mafia had to keep delaying their operations. It made sense to just tell them."

"You keep talking in passive tense, Sakura," Shikamaru interrupted.

"What do you mean?"

"Maybe go into who exactly told you all that?"

Sakura smiled at Shikamaru. He caught on quickly.