So, I woke up Sunday morning with this gnawing on my brain, and I've been writing like a crazy person since. It's mostly notes, but there's enough of an actual story that I decided to go ahead and post, just to see if people were even interested in this idea. I know I've read something similar to it before, where Sakura's a thief and Itachi's the chief of police or something like that. I'm sure that there are many fics out there that this one will resemble. I promise that it is not my intent to steal anyone's work, but if you think I'm getting a little too close, let me know.

Anyway, my sister requested some definitions when she read this, so I'll write them here in case you need to know too:

case: to watch a house or a business with the intention of figuring out how best to rob it, finding weak points in security and where valuables are stored and stuff like that

fence: a person to whom you can sell stolen goods, who will then dispose of them

bordello: a fancy name for brothel

(If any of these are incorrect, let me know and I'll fix them. Thanks.)

Oh yeah, one more thing: if the title seems uncannily familiar, I stole it from a Mercedes Lackey book that my sister said the story reminded her of. I'm really awful at thinking up titles, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to let me know!

Prologue

Deidara was pissed. The chest was empty, all valuables gone, hanging open in a mocking fashion. He had spent weeks casing this house. It had promised to be one of the biggest hauls of the year. And now—

Damn. The worst part, he thought, is that whoever beat me obviously just left a few minutes ago. Talk about adding insult to injury, yeah. Moreover, this wasn't the first time he had been in this situation — as a matter of fact, it was the third time this month someone had gotten to his target before he had. Whoever was doing this, he was good. Stepping forward, Deidara examined the chest in the forlorn hope of finding something the other man had missed.

He let out a hiss of excitement. There was a false bottom. It was tricky to see, but if you used the thin edge of a knife and pulled up . . . there! It was up. No jewels or important documents met his eyes as he peered in, though. Instead, a single, small sheet of cheap paper lay in the centre of the compartment. Picking it up, he read it quickly, then crumpled it in spasm of anger. Throwing it to the floor, he left the room the way he had come in.
In the darkness, the paper slowly unfolded, revealing its message:

Better luck next time, pretty boy.

~*~*~*~

Sakura lay on her bed, wedged into the narrow space that she called home: a tiny room at the top of one of the many brothels in the outer ring of the city. None of the girls would use it after three of them were killed there, and with considerable difficulty Sakura had been able to wheedle her way into renting it. It was cramped, uncomfortable, smelly and loud, but it was hers, and Sakura relished the little privacy it granted her.

She grinned up at the ceiling, remembering the note she had left after she finished cleaning out the last house. It had been a bit of a challenge to figure out where the blonde Akatsuki member was going to strike next, but it would surely be worth it. The Akatsuki couldn't ignore someone actively taunting them, after all.

Turing to the side, she settled in for the night's sleep. Tomorrow she would take the night's haul to Shikamaru, and then maybe she could afford to visit one of the public baths. Soon the Akatsuki would come and find her, and then she could bring them down and go back to Tsunade-sama.

Life was good.

Chapter One

Sakura woke up, rolling to lie on her back and letting out a sigh. She was exhausted from last night, the high of pulling one over on the Akatsuki forgotten. Still, this was no time to be moping about. Pushing aside the curtain that covered her tiny window, Sakura estimated that it was ten o'clock. She might as well go and get rid of the goods she'd acquired last night.

Sitting up, she sadly reflected on how much she missed having nightclothes and more than one outfit. All she had to do to be ready for the day was pull on her boots and finger-comb her hair into some approximation of order.

Reaching under her bed, she pulled out the bag she had stashed there. Carrying it openly in the daytime would be asking for trouble, but she had a basket she could fit most of it in, and she could probably borrow a skirt from one of the girls that lived in the bordello if she caught them in a good mood.

Before that, though, she'd have to sort out what would be safe to take to who. It wouldn't do to let any of her fences know exactly how well she had done last night; you could never tell when they'd get greedy and decide just to take everything and throw her body into an alley.

Within fifteen minutes, Sakura was heading out the door, dressed respectably in a skirt long enough to cover her un-ladylike boots and with her hair covered demurely. The items she had selected were nestled safely in a covered basket that swung from one arm. She walked briskly until she reached a tavern, where she turned in and went straight to the bar. At this time of day there were few people there, and she was able to get the owner's attention with little trouble.

"I'd like some water, if it's not too troublesome," she said pleasantly. He grinned, recognizing her from former visits, and said, "I don't have any up here. You can get some for yourself in the back room."

Flipping a switch under the counter, he nodded at her before turning to another customer, and she gave him a smile in return as she went to the back room. There she walked over to a wall and pushed on a board that protruded slightly. The wall swung back, revealing a small, cramped room. A black-haired youth looked up from his book with every indication of disinterest, but grinned and exclaimed, "Sakura!" in a delighted tone after seeing who it was. He then added, "Do you have anything good for me?"

Sakura smirked back at him. "Don't I always? Actually though, I had a particularly good haul last night."

Sauntering over to his desk, she set her basket down with a heavy thud. Shikamaru raised an eyebrow at that and reached to pull it over to himself. He extracted two heavy golden goblets, several necklaces and a handful of unset gems. Removing an eyepiece from his desk, he examined them with a professional eye before looking up at Sakura calculatingly and saying, "I suppose these may be worth something. I'll have to melt down the cups and the jewelry, though, and that's always troublesome. So, I think . . . five gold eagles?" Translation: Any progress?

Sakura laughed, beginning to gather the stolen goods and put them back in the basket as Shikamaru watched in mild alarm. "Please, Shika." His eye ticked almost imperceptibly at the nickname as she went on, "This lot is worth at least thirty. I hope you're not trying to cheat me." No, everything is the same.

They then fell to haggling in earnest, eventually settling on the price of seventeen eagles and eight hawks. Shikamaru grudgingly counted out the money into a pouch, and then asked almost absently, "So, can I expect any more from you soon?"

"Maybe," she replied with a wink. "I've been flirting with a guard at one of the bigger houses, and I think I may be able to get in before long." They're starting to notice me.

A corner of his mouth quirked up, and Shikamaru said, "Excellent," with considerable satisfaction. Sakura stood, satisfied that her message would be passed on to Jiraiya, and exited with a careless wave, leaving the fence/contact behind.

~*~*~*~

About half way home, Sakura became aware that she was being followed. A man wearing a dark cloak had been trailing her for the past five minutes. She paused, pretending to admire some jewelry at one of the market stalls. There she formulated a plan of escape, calculating exactly where she was and how she could get away. Abandoning the stall, she moved on. A bit further down the road, she abruptly turned into a convenient alehouse, breaking into a run as soon as the door shut behind her. She dodged around patrons and raced through the kitchen to escape via the back door. There she doubled back, weaving an elaborate path designed to take her away from this part of the market while escaping detection. Finally she took a deep breath. She was safe.

Sakura turned to take a shortcut home when a heavy arm clamped down around her shoulders, holding a discreet knife just shy of her heart, and a voice hissed in her ear, "Act natural, bitch, or I'll—"

Before he could elaborate exactly what he'd do to her, she'd seized the hand holding the knife and sent a burst of magic to her arms, allowing her to throw it off and spin away. She ducked into the crowd, heading for one of her hidey-holes. This bastard — whoever he was — thought he could catch her on her own turf? Let him try. She'd had weeks to master the twisting, labyrinthine streets of the market, and—

And he'd had years. As she ducked into another alleyway, a strong hand grabbed her by the hair and slammed her face-first into the wall. "You fucking cunt," panted the man. She twisted enough to let her see him clearly for the first time. A tall man with furious purple eyes and silver hair stared down at her, still cursing, and began to haul her out of the alley with considerably more vigilance than he'd shown before. Acting as if the blow to her head had done more damage than it had, Sakura allowed herself to be led as she slowly slid a knife into each hand.

Her chance came when he took a shortcut into another alley, and she stabbed towards his heart and the hand holding her hair simultaneously. She felt the blades hit home as she ducked away, backing cautiously towards the alley entrance. The man stared at her, but instead of falling slowly to the ground as she expected, he shot her a smile that somehow terrified her far more than the threats he'd used before. Then, with a sickening squelch, he pulled the blade out of his chest and slowly licked his blood off it, grinning madly all the while.

Sakura turned tail and ran.

Behind her she heard the sudden shout of surprise as her would-be captor dropped the knife and gave chase, but he was too late. Already she had lost herself in the crowd, weaving her way through the bodies. She could hear cursing grow fainter — she was getting away.

So he knew the turf too, huh? All right, then. Time to get sneaky.

~*~*~*~

"Troublesome," she gasped at the bartender as she flew through the room, having made her way back to the tavern. The man gaped at her, but thumbed the lever that would allow her safe access to the fence shop. She ran in, pushing through the hidden door with no hesitation and slamming it shut behind her. She turned and panted at Shikamaru, who was staring at her in amazement, "I need someplace to hide. Now."

"Dammit, Sakura, you know you can't—"

"Shikamaru," she cut him off. "I am your best supplier. I thought I might be your friend. Now, I know you must have someplace to hole yourself up in if someone comes calling who you don't want to see. I need to use it. Please."

He looked away for a moment, then sighed, groaning, "Troublesome woman." Standing up, he went over to a shelf and pushed up on it before walking back behind his desk and pulling a trapdoor that had opened slightly at his actions.

"Well?" he said, looking expectantly at Sakura. "Are you going or not?"

Sakura came over and looked hesitantly down into the dirt tunnel below. Shikamaru sighed, drawing her attention back to himself.

"It leads to the sewers," he said. "Now listen very carefully. I'm going to give you directions to get out near that whorehouse you live in. Trust me, you really don't want to get lost in there."

He went on to tell Sakura exactly how to get through the sewers, making her repeat it back to him, and then shoved her down the hole.

"Sakura," he called before he shut the trapdoor on her, "you owe me for this. Big time."

"I know," Sakura said. "I'll make it up to you, Shikamaru, I promise."

"You'd better."

And then he was gone, and Sakura was left to feel her way down the tunnel, which grew steadily more pungent. Finally she reached the junction where the cramped tunnel joined the sewers, and there she groped around until she found the lamp Shikamaru had promised would be there. Striking a steel and flint, she lit it and began her way home.

~*~*~*~

Sakura collapsed onto her bed, absently praying that it wouldn't break. This had not been a good day. She was exhausted and dirty, and she smelled, and . . .

And she wasn't alone.

She didn't even have time to draw a knife before a sweet-smelling cloth was clamped over her mouth and nose, a soft voice whispering, "Sorry, miss," in her ear.

And then everything went hazy before fading into black, and she knew no more.

So, the thing is, this is just a first, rough draft. A teaser, if you will. At this point, what I REALLY need is a beta, and I got fed up with trying to find one through the website's database, which is ridiculously inefficient. If you're interested, I'm looking for someone who will not only find errors in grammar, spelling and continuity, but who I can use as a sounding board for ideas. There are some things I'm not sure how to do (things I'm not even sure need to be done), and I really need someone who is willing to help me out and work with me.

I can write fairly well on my own (um. I think), but no one's too good for a beta. So, if you think you might want to do it, just leave a review and mention it.

Speaking of reviews, I need to know how many of you are curious about Sakura's past, because I've written an explanation, but I'm not sure how or where I should put it in, or even if it's necessary at all. If you leave a review (which I will love you forever for, by the way) I'm really asking five things about this fic to help me as I continue:

1. Does it flow? In other words, does the story move well, without being choppy or confusing? Because it makes sense to me, but I need to know that it makes sense to you too.

2. Is the relationship between Sakura and Shikamaru (spy and contact, respectively) clear enough, or do I need to make it more obvious?

3. Does the thing where Sakura and Shikamaru talk in code make sense?

4. Does using Japanese honorifics and name order (family name, personal name) in what's basically a western setting bother you?

5. Did anything in particular stand out to you as good or bad?

So, yeah. I guess in a sense I'm asking for you all to be my beta readers for this chapter, at least. Oh, and one last thing: as I said before, this is a first draft, meaning that it's subject to change, and the finished version probably will be different (and may include Sakura's past, depending on whether or not people care about that). If enough people like this and I can find a beta reader, I'll either update this story with the new version or add an author's note pointing to it. Um...I think that's all.

Pleeeeeeease review! You really don't have to answer my questions — those are just suggestions. I appreciate every review I get, no matter what it says. :)