~Bulletproof~ SasuSaku Mafia Story

Chapter 51 ~ Bringing Knives to Gunfights

A motorcycle zoomed down a secluded highway in the dead of night. Sasuke's head was clear. His fingers were gripping the handlebars with adrenaline. Missions were significantly more exciting when they felt personal.

Solo operations were a rare treat for Sasuke. While they increased the risk posed at hand, he appreciated not having to worry about the safety of anybody else. But that particular night, the task at hand was greater than just some mission. It signified something greater - a new beginning. The end of an era. With Sasori out of the picture, Sasuke would start a fresh chapter of his life. One he would share with Sakura.

He had memorized the road to Suna by now. As minutes turned to hours, the nature surrounding the highway turned from trees to sand dunes and misty air turned to sandy winds. After three hours, Sasuke could see the burned remains of the Akatsuki warehouse from a distance.

As expected, Sakura barely got any sleep that night. At 6 AM, she finally gave up on trying. She was clearly concerned about Sasuke, but the bigger issue for her was the fact that he left all alone with nobody to back him up. She gritted her teeth and got out of bed. Why didn't anybody insist on going with him for protection? She put on a t-shirt with some shorts and stormed to Shisui's room.

*What if he's sleeping? Fuck that, he'll sleep when he's dead!*

Sakura went downstairs, but caught herself before immediately opening Shisui's door. What if he slept naked, or something? She cleared her throat and banged loudly on the door.

To her surprise, Itachi Uchiha opened the door with a toothbrush in his mouth. Behind him, Sakura could see Izuna passed out on the bed with Shisui sitting up leaning on the wall. Sakura swallowed her tongue for a second.

"Good morning, Sakura," Itachi mumbled while brushing his teeth.

"Are you having a fucking sleepover?"

Shisui turned to Sakura and blew her a kiss.

"Why, wanna join?"

The angry look on Sakura's face wiped the grin off of Shisui's face,

"Fine, jeez, we were just catching up all night. My dear brother here couldn't even pull an all-nighter. You see, Ita had some sick stories from all his time away. Woah, pinky, what's the deal? You seem pissed. It's like 6 in the morning."

Sakura brushed past Itachi and stomped to the bed.

"How are you having fucking quality time over here when Sasuke is all alone doing fuck knows what?!"

Shisui rolled his eyes and lay down by his brother.

"Ah, so that's what this is about. You're freaked out about your sweetheart?"

"Fuck off, Shisui, he's not - well what if I am?! Why aren't you?!"

Itachi came out of the bathroom with his teeth brushed.

"We know exactly where he is and what he's doing."

"He could be dead in a ditch right now and nobody seems to care! Why didn't any of you go with him??"

Itachi and Shisui observed the panic in her voice. Shisui burst into laughter while Itachi sighed and approached Sakura.

"Solo missions are standard, Sakura. If anything, he decided to go alone. Sasuke is a very skilled fighter, and we trust his judgement. If he wants to go alone, he will go alone."

Sakura glared at Shisui, who clearly wasn't taking her seriously, before turning back to Itachi. He spoke before she could respond,

"Sakura, excuse my unsolicited advice, but it really is in your best interest to get used to this. Sasuke is a major player in the mafia world. This is not the first nor the last time he will go on dangerous solo missions. It's the baggage that comes with being.... involved with him."