The Contract

Here's a little something for any IzuSaku shippers. My writing's not the best, but I hope to improve soon. This is going to be a two/threeshot.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in any way! (Can't even think about owning Ford).

Warnings: Language in this chapter but there will be smut in soon.

Part one.

The trick was to do it before they even knew you were there.

It usually worked, except this time there was an unexpected entry to the scene. Izuna slunk back into the shadows, his expression stormy, exiting the alley before anyone realised what had happened, even though he was quite sure it would be a while before they were found.

The dead men he'd left behind in the shadows, to be more precise.

Shooting a wide grin at an old woman who walked past, he glanced down to make sure the blood wasn't visible as he slid his phone out of the pocket of his suit jacket, dialling a number he knew by heart. "It's done," he spoke as soon as he heard the familiar greeting.

"Good. Come on home, kid. Dinner's ready. Don's waiting." Hanging up, his grin faltered. He quickened his pace as he walked to the car he'd parked a few blocks away. Spotting it quickly, his grin widened as he gazed almost lovingly at the new and shiny Ford deluxe convertible. Whistling lowly, he slid into his seat and started the engine. As he looked up, he caught a splash of pink in the corner of his eye, and upon closer inspection, he realised it was a woman with pink hair.

A lovely one, actually.

One he'd been following around for nearly a month.

What were the chances that he'd see her now? He sat back in his seat, chuckling under his breath as he saw her shoot an irritable glare at a passer-by who whistled at her. Izuna continued to watch her as she hailed down a SkyView, practically jumping into the cab. He paused for a few seconds and felt the wound on his side throb.

Dinner would have to wait, he decided, aiming a dark glare at the whistling man, who then scurried off quickly.

The timing was very important.

He tried to look less cheerful as he followed the pink haired woman down the hallway, after having stumbled into her right outside the hospital, hands bloody and knife wound in clear sight. She had looked a bit hassled as he had asked her to help him even after she had tried to redirect him to the reception, telling her he had issues trusting people. He'd tried hard to not look too excited when he saw the light of recognition in her eyes.

While that was true, he could practically hear her think as she looked at him weirdly. '…but you don't exactly know me?' Trying to look as innocent as possible as she glanced at him suspiciously, they entered room number 14 (according to the sign) where she gestured for him to take seat on the bed. He took off his jacket, unbuttoning his bottle green button up wordlessly, an amused glint in his eyes as he watched her turn around with a first aid kit in her hands, only to blink in surprise to find him shirtless. She went to wash her hands with a flushed face and returned with a bowl of water.

"I hate wasting time," he told her as he turned and lifted his arms over his head so she took could take a look. She hummed as she began cleaning the wound.

"How did this happen?" She asked, hands gently moving the cloth she was using to clean, his skin warming wherever her fingers made direct contact with his skin.

"Almost got mugged." He watched her intently. "He pulled a knife on me," That bit was true. "But I can throw a punch or two. He ran when someone came to check what was going on."

"Well, you're lucky. I mean-it could have been worse. Should I call the police for you?" He almost burst out laughing at that.

"Um, no. I'll go down to the station myself." She nodded and didn't say anything after that.

He let his eyes trace her face a little more before they moved down. "Sakura Haruno," he said aloud, eyeing her name-tag. She looked up with a startled expression on her face. She looked back to wound, partly so she could avoid the almost hungry look in his eyes.

"How long have you been a doctor?" She didn't hesitate before answering.

"Two years now."

"Do you like it?" He smiled a little as her lips curved up, eyes shining.

"Yes, I love it." Silence again. He tried to think of any other topic that was appropriate. This was the first time he'd spoken to her properly, having run into her a few times.

On purpose, of course.

"What about you?" At his questioning gaze, she elaborated. "What do you do for a living?"

"I own a few bars," he told her easily. Again, not a lie. "Have you heard of Mangekyou? That's the most popular one, the others are still fairly new."

She nodded, smiling widening just a bit. "I've been there once. Two of my friends hang out there almost every week, actually." He nodded distractedly, eyes on her lips as she brought out the bandages. He wondered if he could get away with asking her out after she'd spoke about five sentences to him. And if she was married.

Well, so he couldn't muster up the courage to ask her to dinner.

Maybe some other time. That's what he told himself as he drove back home.

"Welcome back," Kagami called out as he drove up to the gate.

"Do you have an assignment?" he asked curiously after he rolled down the window.

"Nah. Came to have a chat with the guards, we're going to tighten up security. Something big's going to happen," he explained when Izuna raised a brow. "Talk to the Don."

"Alright, then." As he drove up the driveway, he saw Itachi standing right in front of the doors.

"Welcome back, cousin," the smiling man greeted him. "How was it?" He winced when the elder man rolled his eyes. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Seriously, don't," He said when he saw his younger cousin look a bit ashamed. "It was…the same as usual." He shrugged at the sympathetic look aimed at him. One of the main reasons he got along with Itachi so well was because while this life had its perks, neither of them were completely okay with murdering people in cold blood. The Don thought they were too soft and tried to give them assassination assignments as often as possible, thinking it would make them immune, in a sense.

It didn't.

"He wants to see us."

"Welcome back, brother." The Don yelled out jovially from his seat at the head of the table. At the age of thirty, the man was in his prime and determined to enjoy himself, which was apparent from the immodestly dressed women standing next to him. He gestured toward them, wordlessly telling them to clear out. "Now, how was the assignment? Glad you got him. I hated the little cunt."

"Yes, he definitely had it coming," Itachi murmured as he took a seat on the man's left, Izuna taking the one across from him. Their eyes zeroed in on the blood on his shirt, shoulders tensing minutely.

"That is…?"

"The reason I was late. Relax, Madara. He had Ukon with him. I got myself stitched up on my way home."

There was a pause.

"We do have a doctor or two here, you know," his brother told him flatly as he stood to check on his wound. Izuna could feel the tips of his ears burn as he recalled the doctor's small yet teasing grin from when she saw him off.

'Be careful on your way home!'

Madara narrowed his eyes at his dazed expression. "You've met a woman."

"I'm sorry?"

"Don't be shy, now. Tell us about her!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Tell meee."

"Why, so you can perform background checks on her?" he snapped, only to freeze up immediately.

His brother sobered up at once. "You can never be too careful-"

"No."

"Fine," he refrained from cheering when the Don sighed. "You're not an idiot, after all."

Itachi smiled at his little victory.

"Also, new target. We might not have to get rid of her right away, but read up on her. I'm putting you two on it. If the need arises, you'll probably have to do it in about…three months." He rolled his eyes as he took the folder and set it aside. He could do it later.

"Who is she?" His cousin asked, eyes dimming at the 'she'.

"A Senju."

Neither of them responded. The door opened all of a sudden, a head popping in through the crack.

"I'm going out," Sasuke informed them.

"Take Shisui-" Madara cut himself off when the door closed before he could finish his sentence. His companions chuckled as he grumbled about getting no respect.

"Gentlemen," Sakura greeted with a large smile on her face. Her friends looked up as she took one of the free seats. "Where's the third one?"

"He should be here any minute now," Sasuke told her, leaning out the booth to catch a quick glance at the entrance of the bar. "I told him I'll castrate him if he's late today."

"Sure you will," the blond next to him snorted. "It's not as if his pecker's your fav-" He yelped as Sasuke poked him harder in the side.

"Aw, Naruto's right," She cooed. "You love him too much."

"Ain't that the truth." All three of them looked up at the newest addition to the booth. The snickering started when the man bent down to plant a kiss on Sasuke's cheek and he blushed brightly.

"Neji! It's been too long," Sakura greeted him with a big hug.

"Of course it has. You've been too busy." She shrugged sheepishly as Naruto went to get them drinks. When he came back the man was sitting next to Sasuke with an arm draped around his shoulders. With a grin, he slid onto the seat next to his cousin. They chatted for a while before he decided to pick on her.

"So, Uncle's been asking Sakura if she has a man in her life…" He started in a conspirational tone, smirking when the girl choked on her drink.

"Hn."

"Oh?" Well, at least Neji caught on.

"And you were there when I told him very clearly that I don't."

"Then who was Mr Tall, Dark and Handsome?" The other two men perked up at once.

"Who, now?"

"The one who followed you like a lovesick puppy right into the hospital and into a room."

"Who-Ino. That woman needs to understand that gossip is not part of being a receptionist," she growled.

Neji told her to stop trying to change the subject.

"He had a knife wound. He ran into me outside the hospital." She tried to will her blush down.

"And?" Damn you, Sasuke.

"Okay, well. This is not a big deal in any way, but," Here she rushed. "You know that very good-looking guy I ran into in Ino's flowershop and at the newspaper stand? The one who was buying flowers for his grandmother? That was him."

They paused. Naruto decided to say it as the other two looked unwilling. "Um, are you sure he's not a stalker? I told you, that grandmother thing seemed kind of…fake."

"Yeah, buying flowers for his grandmother and telling the pretty girl he's been stalking-"

"Actually, he told me his grandmother tends to overwhelm him with questions, clings to him and likes to make snarky comments as soon as he enters the house so he thought the flowers would throw her off."

"Oh."

There was another pause.

"And?" Is there anything this man doesn't' see through?

"He seemed…interested."

"Is he married?"

"I don't know."

"What's his name?"

"I don't know."

"Does he have a big-"

"His knife wound was on his upper torso, Neji."

She proceeded to rant about her friend's perverted tendencies, and they moved onto the next topic smoothly.

It wasn't like she'd see him ever again.

Any thoughts? Please let me know!