Whenever Sakura could find the time to not be busy, she would often travel back to Seattle, the birthplace of her mother. Sakura was inspired by the environment she grew up in, the friendliness of her neighbourhood. She missed living there. But realistically, she felt that Philadelphia was the place she was meant to be in. Sakura felt on top of the world. Like she had everything now. A stable livelihood, beautiful apartment and an amazing assistant to boot. Now what? Sakura was in denial that she was missing something. Aiko would often hint at it but would receive a snicker from Sakura in response to her suggestive stares. "I do not need a man in my life right now," Sakura said one day while she was working in the office with Aiko. Aiko looked up from what she was doing and slightly moved her glasses further down the bridge of her nose, smirking. "Oh, come on. Don't you ever fantasize about being held in a man's arms? I know I do... And honestly the guys at the bar just aren't cutting it." Sakura rolled her eyes as she continued to fix up some papers.

The last few nights Sakura was subject to Aiko's nightly rants about a guy who totally wasn't her type at all, hitting on her. In Sakura's eyes, Aiko was wifey potential and she just couldn't understand why she would even bother to look for men in bars. There were plenty of other decent places to meet them. But Sakura didn't say that out loud. She wasn't one to talk, especially when she had never dated anyone before or knew the fundamentals of romantic relationships. She liked being an independent woman, free from the bullshit drama you get when you're 'in love' with somebody. Plus, isn't it bad to mix business with pleasure? Sakura felt like she would scare men away rather than attract them, especially if she was to date a guy who had no idea about the life of crime entailed. 

Other than being a firm believer in independence, Sakura simply had no time. From moving between multiple meetings in one day and dealing with other business arrangements, she simply had no time to dabble in romance any time soon. And there was just too much at stake at the moment. Sakura was booked and busy. Then there was Aiko. She was just too persistent to ignore, and one night she kept asking Sakura to go to the bar with her. At the time, Sakura was still locked up in her office, making Aiko go nuts. "You've been in here the whole day. And you look like you need a break. Nope. No buts. You're coming with me." Even as Sakura protested, Aiko was tempting her with food and Sakura hadn't even realized up until that moment that she hadn't eaten or drank all day.

Finally after much convincing, Sakura set aside work and went with Aiko to the bar. It wasn't too far of a walk from the office. When Sakura walked inside, she immediately approached the bar, her eyes scanning the variety of cocktails available on the menu. The bartender, his name was Shaun - apparently Aiko frequented this bar and knew the names of the workers really well - looked up and noticed Sakura. "Gin Rickey's a popular one these days. Care for it?" He said in a slick manner as he had a white cloth on his shoulder, leaning casually against the bar counter, waiting for her response.

"Uh.. hm," Sakura thought about it for a moment before smiling, "sure why not?" At her question, the bartender gave a brief nod and hurried away to prepare the drink. Meanwhile, Aiko was elsewhere, probably chatting up a guy or something. Sakura thought nothing of it and she sat by herself at the bar, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, hoping someone - anyone - would strike up a conversation with her. A man had been standing beside her ever since she walked up to the bar, little did she know that he was captivated by her beauty that went unnoticeable. By pretty much every man in the bar. But just as he was gonna shoot his shot, the bar's peaceful chatter changed drastically. Sakura got startled and she looked up, following where the sound was, until she saw what had happened.

Aiko, drunk as a motherfucker, standing between two guys trying to make them not kill each other on the spot. She noticed another man walk into the scene, but he was trying to make them stop trying to bash each other up. Sakura widened her eyes as she grabbed Aiko by the elbow, a bit too harshly, and led her outside past all the people cheering the two guys on. She propped Aiko up against a brick wall and held her by the arms. "What the fuck happened in there?" Aiko was struggling to talk but she managed to reply "oh, i dont know... theyre fighting over me. I think."

Sakura wanted to facepalm herself. This is exactly why she shouldve just stayed at the office. She let go of Aiko for a moment and tried to hail a cab, but no luck. Suddenly, a man tapped her lightly on the shoulder. Cleared his throat. Sakura hoped that he wasn't looking for any trouble, but she noticed that it was the same man who was trying to stop the fight from happening earlier, and she felt her shoulders relax. "Yes?" She said quickly, body slightly turned away from him while her eyes darting from left to right for any cabs passing by. "Hey I was just in the bar... was gonna ask you out too but uh.. yeah, your friend.. and those guys. Man, they really wanted to kill each other. Good thing I was there. Anyways, are you guys needing a lift? I can give you and your friend a ride back home." Sakura looked at Aiko, who looked like she was going to have a massive hangover in the morning, and she frowned slightly. 

"Sure I guess," she sighed. Then she smiled at the man. "Thanks, by the way. For what you did in there. I was afraid that one of the guys would miss a punch and accidentally knock my Aiko out. My name's Sakura by the way. And yours?"

He chuckled, scratching the back of his neck as he did. "Ha, yeah. And my name is Keenan. Alright. It's getting late. Let's get you girls home."

"I'd like that very much," Sakura nodded.

Few weeks later

How quickly it came, Sakura thought to herself, and a part of her is happy about the decision she made to move to Detroit, but she still felt sad that was leaving the place where she was taught most things about the mafia. However, this was just the beginning. Detroit was going to be a new chapter of her life and she really wanted to accomplish a lot. Not just with her business but with her personal life as well. After the altercation few weeks ago at the bar, she went to bed that night feeling a little sorry for herself. She couldn't help but admit that going to sleep alone in a cold bed was really lame, and she often craved the feeling of being loved by a thug. Yeah, you heard it right. Sakura was attracted to the gangster-bad-boy types and she wasn't afraid to say it.

She wanted to be the Bonnie to someone's Clyde. Yet it was hard in this life to find someone that knew how to properly separate personal life from the business side. Sakura was scared to risk it all for one man, but maybe she'd find one that will make her think it'd be worth it in the end. She was yet to meet someone that would change her outlook on that part of her life but she wasn't going to give up, in fact she let Aiko arrange a few blind dates. Sakura was so uptight and careful with who she associated herself with and Aiko was pretty much the only person apart from Sakura's mother who could get through to her. To set the record straight, Aiko knew that her and Sakura didn't have the same taste in men but they did have the same morals. Respectful guys, yanno? Someone who can control their anger and not have to release through attacking women physically or verbally. 

The first date was traumatizing. Sakura chuckled to herself as she threw herself into her car wondering how Aiko ever thought she would suit a man that cared too much about the materialistic things in his life. Throughout the whole time he was speaking, Sakura was figuring out different ways she could ditch the date. Her ears were practically bleeding. Finally, she settled on saying that she didn't wanna be out too late because she had 'an important meeting' in the morning. When she got into bed she that night she couldn't have felt any better. She didn't really have a meeting in the morning either. What she did have though was another date. Aiko made Sakura clear her whole schedule for it.

It was okay though.

Sakura wouldn't have cleared her schedule if she couldn't afford to. Business was running smoothly. A new shipment was coming in. She had a few clients working with her and she was on her way to making big connections in the drug industry. Aiko was the one to help Sakura with her makeup and outfit. She really was gorgeous when she was all dolled up, but Aiko knew more than anyone that Sakura had such effortless beauty. Five in the morning, no makeup, sweatpants and hair going in different directions - that's when Aiko really saw Sakura's natural beauty. Just before Sakura walked out of the house, she looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled at the little sticky note stuck on it. It read: 'Yes, you look beautiful. We get it! Now get your ass out of here and make some cute memories for me. Love - Aiko.' Sakura's smile is warm. She loved that woman. 

Exiting the door, she looked towards her and saw her driver waiting. When she got inside the car, she gave the address for the driver to follow and he gave a brief nod before taking off. The meeting place was actually quite romantic. A secret lookout by the ocean as well as the amazing city lights on display. There was a shiny black vehicle parked on the side and she got out of the car, walking towards it. She wasn't quite sure if this was a set up and maybe some guy would come out any second to kidnap her but as she approached closer she noticed a figure from inside slowly move. Through the slightly tinted windows, she saw him moving.

Then he stepped out.

She stopped just in front of his door, looking beautiful as ever. And she wasn't expecting him to be so soft spoken when he opened his mouth. He stood at six foot one and had these captivating dark brown eyes. The only thing that Aiko told her was that he was a very feared man in Chile. Sakura lowkey liked the sound of that but she had to meet him first to judge him on anything else. "The view is amazing by the way," Sakura blurted out looking into his eyes.

"Not as amazing as the view I have in front of me right now," he replied in a smooth tone. She was taken aback when he decided to grab a hold of her hand, not before locking his car of course, then leading her to a bench conveniently positioned on the green hill looking out into the view. "This is my safe haven," he announced as he had his arms outstretched. Smiled. Sakura smiled back. She turned her attention back to the city lights and hummed a tune to herself. "Oh," she paused. "I didn't catch your name." 

"Keenan."

Wait. 

WHAT THE FUCK!? 

Sakura slightly gasped before backing away a bit from him with a crazy expression on her face. "Holy shit, I didn't recognize you.. You look so...-""Different?" He chuckled nervously before giving a shrug. "Yeah... The gym and the cocaine money does wonders. " He looks back at her, seeking her smile, but she seemed to be too surprised and shocked to even react. "I don't even wanna let go of this moment right now."

"It's just too good right? I understand."

A giggle erupts from her throat. "We've got to stop meeting like this." 

Somewhere in the distance, a gun is shot into the air. Sakura widened her eyes, not moving an inch. He doesn't move. She gives it a second before saying quietly, "we've really got to fucking stop meeting like this."

NRA's mind was flooded with so much to be said and all NRA could come up with is one word. LAME 

NRA ran out of ink and to refill. Boring can be added to the list.

Even after four years of being involved in the mafia scene, one of the things that would never change was moments like this when Sakura would bump into asshole jerks like the one who decided to suddenly show up and make a few comments. This particular person seemed to be making his rounds on the streets, expressing his trashy opinions to different people and trying to stir the pot. Sakura howled with laughter. Then her face turned into dark rage. "You have so much to say about other people but I bet you can't think of a single good thing to say about yourself. Check yourself before you wreck yourself. Peace, hoe."

Sakura would've had more to say but Keenan held her back and he drove away from the lookout. There was another situation at hand. Why the fuck did the gun go off? Was someone in trouble? Sakura turned her head slightly and glanced at Keenan from the corner of her eye. His forehead was wrinkled with lines of concern for whatever problem had just occurred. Truth be told, Sakura was used to this kind of life. Something always had to fucking happen. Especially with The Detroit Partnership taking over. Someone was gonna die tonight, that's all she knew and that's all she needed to know. She had enough things to deal with back at home. Keenan not saying a word for a minute had Sakura concerned though so she began to ask.

"You think this is connected to you? Whatever... this is?" She looked at him, seeking for any kind of reaction or emotion on his face and she was given a sigh of frustration in response.

"I think so. I recently had an encounter with someone, who is actually one of the most wanted guys in Detroit and they may have gotten him. If he's dumb, he's gonna open his mouth and snitch on me. So... I'm a little fucked at the moment." 

So that's what it was. Keenan had someone they want. Sakura nodded slowly, pursing her lips and figuring out - what now? After a couple of minutes of following the direction where the gunshot came from, Sakura found that Keenan had driven them both to a brick office building located between a pizzeria and a laundry shop. The front of the building seemed to be a 24 hour gym as a cover up.

Smart. But then it hit her.

"Why are we here?" She inquired. He turned to her. Seriousness covering his face. "He usually spends his evenings here. And there is actually a gym here." Sakura listens, not daring to say anything else. This was serious now. Keenan could walk in and suddenly someone putting a bullet through his chest. Sakura had a gun thigh holster attached to her but she wasn't going to say anything about that yet. Sakura didn't bother waiting for Keenan to open her door and she stepped out, looking from left to right cautiously then taking the few steps toward the front entrance. Keenan being the gentleman he was stood in front of her and lifting up his gun that he had taken out from the inside of his coat pocket. Nothing. Not a sound. Not one person was here either. Which was weird. But then it all started to make sense. This was a fucking set up. They knew that Keenan would check this place first. Whoever fired the shot knew that Keenan would come here first more than any other place. It was his secret hangout. Sakura didn't know how to feel in that moment. She was on the verge of extreme anger and disturbing concern for her now good friend, Keenan. 

She didn't particularly enjoy the part where she would always run into trouble when meeting up with him, but - it is what she signed up for. Trouble was bound to happen in this life. Then all of a sudden a black van could be heard from outside. Men whose faces were covered in ski masks, tatted up to the neck and armed with pistols started flashing their guns in the direction of Sakura and Keenan. Luckily, just before they could kill one of them, Keenan noticed them before they did and he shouted in fury. "Get down, get down! Sakura!" The windows smashed as their bullets connected with the glass. Sakura had her arms above her head as she was down on the floor.

This was the moment when she told herself she had enough. Whatever the fuck was going on had to stop. The car drove away as quickly as they came and she looked at him while trying to steady her breathing. Beads of sweat were evident on the sides of Keenan's face and he held her face with both his hands. "I'm so sorry. I am so sorry. So. Sorry." Sakura's eyes fluttered shut slowly, cherishing the moment, but she opened her eyes again and gently removed his hands from his face. She sits for a moment. He drinks in her naturally dark waves of hair, pale skin and stubby little nose.

Sakura brings him back to reality when she shows the gun that she had kept attached to her since the beginning of the night. In his mind he's thinking about all the things that could go wrong, bringing her into this situation, but more than anything else he knew she was a strong woman - in all ways.

"You thought I wasn't going to come prepared for whatever situation we'd get in this time?" She got up on her two feet, brushing off the dust off her dress and started walking out the building. She couldn't hear Keenan's footsteps following behind her. She turned around, pretending to look confused and raised an eyebrow. "Let's go. We have to save your friend." He couldn't help but smile a little bit seeing her being her boss-self. It was refreshing. He walked over to the car, threw himself into the drivers seat and gripped the steering wheel like his life depended on it. 

"The only other place I could think of where they would have taken him is the manufacturing plant not too far from here."