Testing Fate: A MadaSaku Love Story

Chapter 20

"You like strawberries, right?"

Sakura tore her eyes from the computer screen to see Tobi sitting a drink on the desk. Then, he sat by her side, sipping his own with a big grin.

The trio was at a cybercafe so the woman could try to figure out what book Sasuke had been referring to, though she didn't tell the faux-cheerful man that. Madara was there so she wouldn't be alone, and Tobi followed them both because he didn't have any work to do today but didn't want to stay home.

Narrowing her eyes, Sakura looked at the drink. It was from the cafe in the building, meaning the lid wasn't sealed. That also meant it was possible to slip something into it undetected.

'...I do really like strawberry flavored things, but....' Stealing her resolve, the woman swallowed before focusing on the screen again. She told herself not to trust anyone except Madara and planned to stick to that mindset.

"Haha, you still don't trust me, huh? Here, look," Tobi offered warmly. The man then took the lid off the drink, took a sip to prove it wasn't poisoned, and replaced it with a triumphant look, "There you go, Ku-su-ri!"

The Haruno woman's brow twitched in annoyance at the sing-song way he said her fake name, as though teasing her, but swallowed her pride and sipped the drink. Her anger faltered when the sweet liquid met her tongue, 'Damn it, that's good. ...I'll let him off the hook just this once.'

Her boyfriend, or fake husband, said amusedly, "Careful, Dear. He'll realize how easy it is to win you over with food."

"I'm trying to focus, Dear," she retorted, though the soft pink on her cheeks was undeniable.

The trio became silent. Madara seemed to be going through the public records of Konoha's police force, while Tobi was simply playing a shooting game without a care in the world. Sakura sighed, shaking her head before turning her attention back to the screen.

'The Ballad of Senshi; that's not it. We did that for a book report, but it wasn't the right year. Orodoki no Ai.... Sasuke didn't do a report on that one because we chose our books then. It wasn't a group project. What else...?'

Sakura wished she could simply log into her school email to review her previous assignments but couldn't because it might be monitored. If she logged in, the police may be notified of her current location, which would ruin everything. So, the woman was blindly trying to recall all the stories she and her ex-boyfriend studied.

"Do you enjoy reading?" Tobi whispered, half-hunched over the keyboard with his eyes glued to the screen as he played the game with hyper-focus.

She pretended not to hear him because if she didn't, she'd have to bluntly tell him to stop trying to be friendly, which may make things awkward. Also, she may accidentally let it slip that she'd been given a lead by Sasuke when she told him that she hadn't. Instead, she changed her search for the third time.

'Popular books for modern high-schoolers. It's more vague than the others, but nothing's worked yet, so I don't have much choice.'

Scrolling absently through the list of books, the woman sipped her drink with dull eyes. They'd been at it for two days now, trying to determine what story Sasuke had referred to. Nothing popped up that jolted her memory, even after hours of searching, so the trio gave up for the evening and returned to the house.

When they did, she ended up admitting to Tobi what she was looking for. He wasn't surprised and even complimented her for being so cautious.

After dinner, Sakura paced absently in the family room while the men conversed at the dining table.