The scent of incense lingered at the tip of her nose.
It smelled wonderful.
Sakura lay face-down on the massage bed, her cheek resting against a soft towel, her whole body sinking into a level of relaxation she had never experienced before.
That fragrance slipped into her nose in delicate threads.
It was neither too strong nor too faint. It was perfectly balanced.
It made her drowsy, yet somehow reluctant to truly fall asleep.
What kind of incense is this?
The thought drifted hazily through her mind.
I should ask later... maybe buy some to bring back to Konoha... it might help with sleep...
She really had not been sleeping well lately.
Ever since Asuma-sensei died, she had nightmares every night.
She dreamed of those bloody scenes.
Dreamed of...
Her thoughts began to scatter.
Like feathers, like drifting willow fluff, floating weightlessly in midair with nowhere to land.
Then...
She felt her body growing hotter and hotter.
Not the kind of heat that hurt.
It was a strange warmth rising from deep inside her.
As though something were flowing through her blood.
Making every inch of her skin more sensitive than before.
Her mind grew increasingly muddled as well.
Thoughts she normally would never have, never dare to have,
started surfacing on their own.
So hot...
Why is it this hot...
Sakura's breathing turned uneven.
She wanted to turn over, to sit up, to do something - anything - to ease this strange agitation...
But her body felt too weak.
As if all her strength had been drained away.
At that moment...
The door opened.
A figure walked in.
Sakura forced her eyes open.
Through her blurred vision, she saw that face.
Black hair.
Sharp, cold features.
And those thin lips that always seemed faintly pressed together.
"S-Sasuke?"
Her voice came out soft enough that she barely recognized it herself, carrying a trace of disbelieving joy.
The person did not answer.
He only stepped closer in silence, looking down at her from above.
In those obsidian-like eyes,
there was a light she had never seen before...
Not indifference. Not distance.
But a kind of heat that made her heart race.
Sakura wanted to get up, wanted to confirm whether this was really a dream.
But her body would not obey her at all.
She could only remain there on the bed,
watching as that person drew closer and closer...
He picked up a bottle of oil from the side.
The amber liquid glimmered gently under the light.
Then...
a cool drop landed on Sakura's back.
It slid slowly down along her spine.
Then more oil followed, falling across her shoulders, her waist, and lower still.
"No..."
Sakura's voice trembled.
The moment the oil soaked through,
the already flimsy massage outfit became nearly transparent.
The thin cloth clung tightly to her skin, outlining curves that should not have been so clearly traced.
That faint, half-there layer of concealment
felt even more humiliating than having nothing on at all.
"Sasuke... don't..."
she whispered, her voice edged with pleading.
But the figure did not stop.
A hand settled against her back.
Warm and firm, carrying an irresistible pressure.
The oil spread beneath that touch,
seeping into her skin and her muscles with each slow movement...
and into every sensitive nerve ending.
Sakura bit her lip and buried her face in the towel.
No...
This is wrong...
She screamed it over and over in her heart.
But her body refused to listen.
Every inch of her skin greedily absorbed the warmth of those hands.
Every cell seemed to crave more contact.
Those hands were like magic.
Wherever they passed, they left fire in their wake.
Her reason was being burned away bit by bit.
More frightening still...
Today's Sasuke was so forceful.
His hands grew less restrained.
From her back to her waist, from her waist to...
"Sasuke!"
Sakura cried out sharply.
But that person still did not speak.
Only his actions told her...
that whatever he wanted today, he intended to take.
Her heartbeat raced so wildly it felt ready to burst out of her chest.
No...
This really is wrong...
But another voice inside her whispered:
It's Sasuke.
The Sasuke who had always ignored her.
The Sasuke whose eyes held only revenge, who never spared her a second glance.
And now...
for the first time, he was this bold, this forward.
This... intent on her.
At that thought, a secret flicker of joy rose inside her.
Her resistance weakened more and more.
Almost without realizing it, Sakura stopped fighting so hard.
Everything felt so strangely seamless.
If it was Sasuke...
then...
then maybe it was all right...
That was what she told herself.
And then...
A sharp sting snapped through her senses like a needle piercing skin.
Sakura shuddered violently.
In an instant, she was fully awake.
Her vision cleared at once...
And the face above her changed.
Not black hair.
Not those cold, sharp features.
Not the Sasuke she had longed for with all her heart.
It was...
Teizawa.
The Kazekage of the Sand Village.
That handsome face was lowered toward her now,
a faint, unreadable smile curving at the corner of his mouth.
There was a dangerous light in his deep-set eyes.
"Ah-!"
Sakura's scream exploded through the room.
Her whole body shook violently.
Not only from the sting, not only from fear,
but from the total destruction of that beautiful illusion.
It was not Sasuke.
It was not...
She wanted to struggle, to shove him away.
Wanted to flee this terrible room...
But her body was still weak.
Weak as mud.
Every attempt to resist amounted to nothing more than a futile twist.
"Y-you..."
Her eyes were wide as she stared at that face.
Her lips trembled so badly she could not complete a single sentence.
Teizawa looked down at her.
There was no guilt in his eyes. No panic.
Only a calmness that felt almost matter-of-fact.
"You're awake?"
His voice was low, carrying a trace of amusement.
Tears spilled from Sakura's eyes at once.
Not because of the sting. Not because of fear alone.
But because that beautiful illusion had been shattered completely.
She had thought it was Sasuke.
She had thought Sasuke had finally chosen to look at her.
She had thought...
But the truth was crueler than any nightmare.
"No... don't..."
She choked on the words, her voice breaking apart.
Teizawa looked at her in silence for a moment.
Then...
he bent closer and lowered his voice to a whisper.
"Don't be afraid."
The softness of it only made Sakura tremble harder.
"Very soon..."
His breath brushed lightly past her ear.
"You'll understand."
"N-no... that's not... I thought you were Sasuke..."
Her voice dissolved into sobs.
A cold smile touched Teizawa's lips.
Blind infatuation led nowhere good.
The investigation had only just begun.
And what came next for Sakura would begin here as well.
The doctored incense had worked disturbingly well.
Only someone from the Sand Village could use poison this skillfully.
After all, an aphrodisiac was still a kind of poison.
Teizawa said nothing more.
The room fell silent, heavy with Sakura's shattered confusion and grief.
What followed was swallowed by that silence.
(End of Chapter)
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