#authentiques

"Fine." To her surprise, he acquiesced.

"We'll start with a simple olfactory illusion. Get ready."

Sakura nodded, repositioning her fingers and hesitantly meeting his stare.

Chakra began to shift around them, the blood-coloured kekkei genkai piercing through her without mercy. She felt a flare of something in her gut and her underarms pricked with sweat as the tomoe began to spin. Slowly at first and then faster, faster, until she could't follow the movement and they blended into a single whirl.

Taking even breaths, she studied the light reflecting in his pupils and willed her heartbeat to steady. But before Sakura knew it she was lost in their dance, her arms slackening. It took her a second to register the smell of smoke and remember what she was supposed to be doing.

"K-Kai!" she yelled, stumbling over the word.

. . .

Excerpt from Authentiques, chapter 18

Summary: Unbeknownst to the civilian world, Haruno Sakura is inaugurated into the shinobi society during her college freshman year. And her sensei? None other than the cold prodigy, Uchiha Sasuke. Slight AU

Romance/Adventure - Sasuke U., Sakura H.

"Ah, and who is this cherry blossom beauty?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed as someone he definitely had no desire to see, much less greet, slid up behind the pinkette. Sakura turned in alarm upon his approach, fire blazing in her eyes at the hand that had brushed slyly against her waist.

That goddamned pest, what the hell was he doing here?

"Why do you always get the good ones, huh Sasuke?" the man questioned, a lecherous smile forming on his ever-pallid lips. Sasuke could feel the discomfort rolling from Sakura in waves, but she seemed too shocked to say or do anything.

"Hōzuki Suigetsu, pinky," her hand was suddenly being raised to his lips, "pleasure-"

Eyes flashing, Sasuke slapped the man's cold arm away from her, placing himself between them. His own sharingan flash briefly in the lilac eyes opposite him, the warmth of Sakura's small frame at his back.

"Suigetsu," he snarled quietly, not wanting to garner the attention of those around them, "Leave, or I will make you."

He couldn't believe it- what was his mother thinking, inviting just anyone to their gathering? …On second thought, Mikoto herself had probably passed on the planning of such details to someone else.

Sakura shifted behind him then, breaking through his train of thought. Suigetsu's mouth twitched in displeasure at the threat, nostrils flaring briefly before he muttered something and walked away.

Sasuke's eyes followed him as he disappeared behind a trio of elderly women, wondering just who else he was going to run into before the night was over. The sound of a chair scraping against the floor drew his attention and he whipped around, still on edge after his encounter with the face from his dark past.

A startled Sakura stood before him, one hand on the chair and the other subconsciously clutching her dress. They'd been doing relatively well all night, it was unfortunate that she had to encounter the slimy swordsman from the land of the Mist.

He felt his shoulders relax as he looked her over.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she responded. The curiosity in her eyes was clear as day, however she must have decided it wouldn't do well to ask, as she kept silent.

Excerpt from Authentiques, chapter 11

His expression twisted sourly at the defeat, almost manic in its intensity. A shiver ran down her spine as she tried in vain to recall the times when he was cold, expressionless and unreadable. The Sasuke before her now radiated emotion from his very core, leaving her near entranced.

"Alright, that was good! Nice job Sasuke, you got me quite a few times." Kakashi light acknowledgement broke her focus. He offered the young ninja a helping hand, relieving him of his weight.

Sasuke ignored the good-natured gesture and rose from the ground without a word, angrily brushing dirt from his neck and chin.

"Holy shit Teme, that was amazing!" Naruto hollered in admiration, springing up in his excitement. "I'd wondered why you of all people were chosen to be a sensei, but I guess you've kinda proven yourself."

Sakura snorted, her eyes trained on Sasuke's bloody shoulder.

"Well, it certainly wasn't because of his his prodigious human relation skills..." she mumbled, earning a chuckle from the dirtied Kakashi who was otherwise without serious injury. Naruto roared with laughter.

"She's right, you know." the blonde patted his roommate on the back.

Sasuke glared at her and she responded with a saccharine smile, cracking open a bottle of water and passing it to him. He snatched it rudely from her hand, downing the contents in one go. She couldn't keep her eyes off him.

Was he even human? His shoulder had been ripped into but he just stood there like nothing had happened. The impenetrable mask was back, along with the black of his eyes. She could hardly form a relation between the face she was looking at now and the adrenaline drenched expression from before. It brought to memory his near decency that had aroused her suspicions at the ball- just who was Sasuke Uchiha?

Excerpt from Authentiques chapter 12