So I got zero reviews, but a lot of 'Story Alerts' and 'Favourite Story(s)'. You guys make me feel horrible. I'm not even sure if uploading this chapter was a good idea. Anyways, I hope you like it. There's a bit of humour, which will most likely not be funny. There's also fluff, despite the fact I haven't decided on a pairing. I'll probably be choosing it, since you guys won't review and tell me! Love you guys the same, though. –WTR

-x-

"The power of imagination makes us infinite."

[John Muir]

-x-

I woke up to a siren. Fire? Burglar? Air Raid? "The hell is making that noise!" I shouted, my voice muffled by my pillow. I felt something cold touch the back of my neck and instantly shot up. A grinning blonde stood in front of me. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, with her bangs covering half of her face. Her pale blue eyes twinkled mischievously at me.

"And you are?" I asked, refraining from releasing a string of colourful words. She seemed to notice this, so she cautiously reached the hand that didn't hold the ice pack out. Her grin appeared to falter. "Ino Yamanaka. I'm one of the female police officers?"

"Ah... Naruto Uzumaki. So, why, exactly... did you wake me up?" I said, shaking her hand. I kept my eyes on her, noticing every fidget, reaction, and movement. She pulled her hand away, and anxiously rubbed the back of her neck. I must have a death glare on my face... too bad.

"It wasn't me, really. It was the alarm clock. I just had to get you to stand up." She said, gesturing behind me to where the other men were stretching. "Oh, alright then. It's nice to meet you. And thank-you for waking me up." I hesitantly smiled at her. She gave a quick nod before turning away and using the same procedure on Lee. Sasuke was lying on his bed beside mine and was staring up at the ceiling. I reached over and poked him in the side. I waited for the reaction that I didn't get. Finally, he sent a glare my way before asking, "What do you want?"

"I want you to get up... and walk to the bathroom with me." I said, flinching at the whine in my voice.

"Since when do 23 year olds need someone to walk them to the bathroom?" He smirked at me, lifting his head a little.

"How did you know my age?" My eyes narrowed slightly. He chose not to answer, so I got up from my spot on my bed and pushed him off of his mattress. "I asked a question, I want an answer." I yelled, oblivious to the stares of everyone presently awake in the room. I stood over Sasuke, watching the raven frown at my display of anger.

"I looked at your profile, alright? Now move." He said. When I stepped aside a couple seconds later, he stood up and pushed past me. Stopping at the door, he called out, "Still want me to walk you to the bathroom? Get moving, fat ass."

-x-

After having gotten ready at the bathroom, I walked with Shikamaru to the dining hall. It turned out that every morning there was a large buffet. There were large assortments of muffins, eggs, French toast, pancakes, bacon, sausages, and waffles. I filled up my plate and headed over to the concession for a frosty glass of orange juice. As I walked back, I saw Ino sitting at a table close to ours, arguing with a... pink... haired woman. Being the idiot I am, I walked over and sat beside the pinkette. Her eyes widened in surprise when she heard me slam my plate down forcefully.

"Hiya, Ino. Good morning, ladies." I said, giving a cheerful smile. A woman with dark hair bowed her head, so I couldn't take a good look at her. However, the woman beside me was beautiful. She had bright green eyes and the rarest hair color. Her smile was timid, while her body was positioned in a confident way. Her chest was pushed outwards, her back was straight, and her legs were closed tightly together, turned slightly towards me.

"Good morning. I'm Sakura Haruno." She said, introducing herself. It was my turn to be surprised when I heard her voice and realized she was the slutty secretary hitting on my boss.

"N-Naruto U-Uzumaki... please excuse m-me." I could barely contain my laughter, so I picked up my plate and glass and headed out of the cafeteria. I travelled through the long hallways, finally reaching my destination. Setting my glass on the floor so I could knock on the door, I stood awkwardly out of place outside of Itachi's office. I picked my glass up off the floor so I wouldn't look like an idiot. When the door opened I saw Itachi in just a white T-shirt and a pair of jeans that were tightly fitted around the ankles.

"Mind if I eat my breakfast in here?" I asked, offering a small smile. Itachi arched his eyebrow at me before answering, "Is there something wrong with the dining hall?" He stepped aside anyways.

"No, I just wanted someone... normal to talk to." I said, falling into the chair I had sat in yesterday after setting my breakfast down. Itachi sat down in his own chair before digging into his own breakfast.

"Itachi... do I get my first case today?"

Itachi took a sip of his glass of water before replying. "What makes you think you should get a case?"

"What makes you think I shouldn't get a case?" I retorted, glaring at him.

"Naruto..." He said in a warning tone. I stuffed half of my remaining scrambled eggs in my mouth, and opened it widely while staring pointedly at Itachi. He grimaced before saying, "Oh, two can play at that game!" He shoved a quarter of a pancake and half a sausage in to his mouth, chewed twice, and opened his mouth.

"Nuh-uh. You're not going to win this." I said, shovelling in some bacon and a piece of French toast. Chewing quickly, I leaned across the table, opened my mouth, and let the lump of chewed, salivated, food fall onto his plate. He gave a whimper of disgust.

"Naruto, that's taking it too far! What am I supposed to eat now?" He shouted. I flinched before returning back to my seat. Suddenly feeling guilty, I pushed my plate towards him. He looked up with a questioning gaze. Sighing, I stabbed a sausage and shoved it into his open mouth.

"Thanks?" He said, tilting his head in confusion as he munched.

"No problem. So please, please, can I get a case?" I pleaded. He gave a groan of discontentment, but opened one of his drawers anyways, and pulled out a cream coloured folder. He took out a packet of papers held together by a clip, scanned them briefly, before handing them over. Surprising me, he opened his mouth, looking at the plate of food in front of him.

"You want me to keep feeding you, Itachi-kun?" I teased, but lifted a piece of French toast up to his mouth anyways. Putting the fork down beside the plate, I read over the first page.

Tazuna Ibaraki, a bridge builder from the Land of Waves, is requesting body guards to escort him back to his hometown and protect him until the bridge is completed. He has requested simple protection, from thieves or troublemakers. This has been labelled a C-rank task.

"Is this the case you plan on giving me?" I asked, frowning at the words, 'Land of Waves'.

"Yes. Is there a problem with it?" Itachi mumbled. He was still chewing on the large piece of French toast I had fed him.

"L-land of W-waves, t-that means w-w-water right?" I asked, feeling my heart race. Sweat coated my hands, but I clenched them anyways.

"I would assume so... are you alright, Naruto? You're looking a little pale." Itachi said, leaning forward slightly. I gave a quick nod before answering hoarsely, "I can't. I c-can't take this c-case. I'm s-sorry."

"Why not?" Itachi questioned, narrowing his eyes at me. "I... I'm s-scared of l-large bodies of wa-w-water."

''Of water?''

''Yes! It's not as bad as being scared of spiders or the dark!'' I shouted defensively. He chuckled lightly, but got serious again.

''Why are you afraid of water?''

''I c-can't tell you...'' I muttered, lowering my head slightly.

''And why not?'' Itachi asked, raising his eyebrows.

''I just can't, okay?'' I glared darkly at him. He retaliated with a glare of his own. ''I'm your boss. I should know these types of things! Maybe if you told me why you're scared, I could help you!''

''You can't help me. That's the thing!''

''Do you have proof that I can't?''

''Yes. My girlfriend tried, but didn't succeed, obviously.'' I stated matter-of-factly. Itachi seemed to quiet down at this. ''Thanks for letting me eat in here. I won't bother you again.'' I sighed, standing up and taking my now empty plate and glass with me. When I was about to exit, my fork slid off my plate, and landed on the clean white carpet at the entrance. Frowning at the loud clatter, I bent down to pick it up. Naturally, the fork had been covered in syrup and grease. "Sorry. That might stain." I mumbled, my cheeks burning up. I left quietly, shutting the door behind me. "I don't think dramatic exits are my forte."

-x-

''What a dick! I told him specifically I couldn't take this one, and he gives it to me anyways!'' I screamed. Ino, Sasuke, and an older police man, Kakashi, stood beside me, tolerating the abuse on their ears. We were currently crowded outside of the Police headquarters, waiting for Tazuna to get here. The sky was a bright blue, while clouds casually drifted in and out of sight. The sun shone harshly, so stepping out into the sunlight left your eyes somewhat sore. Squinting my eyes at a passing butterfly, I got ready to complain again.

''Shut up, dobe. The point of this case isn't to complain, it's to escort this man back to his hometown.'' Sasuke said, halting my next insulting sentence. Ino appeared amused, while Kakashi was too busy reading a pornographic novel to notice.

''Alright, sorry, I just don't particularly enjoy oceans.'' I apologized quietly. We waited in silence for a couple minutes before the bridge builder finally arrived.

''So they expect me to just trust you brats with my life?'' He muttered, clutching onto his backpack tightly.

''Brat? Don't underestimate me, old man!'' I shouted. I was just itching to pound him to dust, but Kakashi put a hand on my shoulder, briefly delaying my rising anger.

''Who you calling old man, ya runt!''He yelled, pointing a tanned finger at me.

''You of course, you're the only old man here, geezer... except for Benjamin Button here, with the bizarre hair color! Almost as weird as that slutty secretary, she has pink hair. I mean, who the hell is born with pink hair? Is that even natural? If I was-'' As usual, my rant was cut short by the bastard.

''Let's go already. I want to get this over with.'' He said. Infuriated by his interrupted, I couldn't help but insult him. ''Yeah, so you can go mope alone.''

''The hell, dobe? What about me gives you the impression that I'm emo?''

''I don't know, Sasuke. How about everything.''

''Guys, shut the hell up. Or I will break your jaws.'' Ino muttered dangerously. We all turned to look at her. She was cracking her knuckles, adding to the whole 'Hi, I'm a crazy bitch who can break you in half,' scenario.

''Sure, sure. Let's go.'' I managed to say. She was just releasing malicious intent into the air. It was clogging my windpipes. We quickly filed into the car, Sasuke taking the wheel while I took the seat next to his. Ino and Kakashi sandwiched Tazuna in the back. I didn't miss Sasuke's flinch when Ino shouted for him to drive.

''She clogging up your windpipes too?'' I asked. Sasuke briefly turned to look at me. ''What have you been smoking?''

-x-

We had been traveling for quite a while when the car rolled over a puddle, and the muddy water that now surrounded the car rendered vision useless. So we all got out, stared at the car in amusement, and reached for towels to wipe off the mud. Kakashi seemed to gaze thoughtfully at the puddle, watching us work, before I wet the tip of my towel, rolled it up tightly, and snapped it at him.

"Does anybody else find that odd?" Ino said, leaning back to stare at the window she had cleaned.

"Find what odd?" I questioned, giving one last swipe at the windshield.

"It hasn't rained for weeks... yet there's a huge puddle in the middle of the road."

"Irrigation? Hoses?" I said mockingly.

"Shut up, Uzumaki." She bit back.

"Oooh. Mad, Yamanaka?" I teased. She glared at me before repeating, "Seriously though. It's... odd. Slightly unsettling."

"I agree, Ino." Kakashi said, startling both Sasuke and me while Ino beamed proudly. Before she could say anything to shove it in our faces, though, a loud noise distracted us, which resulted in a small hole in the car.

"Someone's shooting us!" I shouted at my fellow police men. "No shit!" Ino said, pulling me behind the car with her. I pulled out my HK 45, and ignoring Sasuke's protests, aimed it at the trees we were being shot at from. A figure stepped out onto the road, and immediately after I pulled the trigger, I heard a clicking beside me, and the sting of cold metal being pushed against my temple.

"Move, and you die. Scream, you die." A raspy voice said. I felt the warmth of their breath, and I smelled it too. I stopped myself from commenting on the unpleasant smell.

"Those are very unfortunate circumstances." I said, managing to keep my sense of humour. The man wrapped his other hand around my wrist, holding them together. Slowly, he led me backwards. I watched as Ino and Sasuke shot at the other man from behind the car, as Kakashi held Tazuna to the floor, as they didn't even notice I was being pulled away into the dark forest.

"No, I guess not. If you don't try anything, I might not kill you. Don't get your hopes up though." The man replied. I smiled slighty, but the smile was wiped away when I felt the impact of metal entering my flesh. I had to bite my lip to keep from crying out. My right hand was now bleeding profusely, staining the dirt beneath it.

"Damn it, oh Lord. It hurts! Shit!" I whispered harshly. Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them away.

"Never gotten shot before, eh, kid?" The man asked, chuckling softly at my reaction.

"No. It's my first day as a Police officer, and already I have a gun at my head. Just goes to tell you how much I'm not meant for this job." I gasped.

"When you've been on the job for as long as I have, getting shot becomes second nature to you. Don't worry, kid. I was just like you. Look where I am now?" The man said, sighing.

"Funny. You're comforting me while you're holding the gun to my head." I grimaced.

"I can't do much else, kid. I have a family to take care of." He said, but his hold slackened considerably.

"It's okay. I understand. So... why are you doing this anyways?" I asked, squirming a bit.

"..."

"I'm going to die anyways, sir. You might as well tell me..."

"We're after that bridge builder."

"What? Why? He's building a goddamn bridge!"

"Yes, I know. Gato's employed us. He wants us to get rid of him so the bridge can't be finished. That way, the Land of Waves will never be connected to land, so Gato can remain in control. He's managed to control everything, making the people of the Land of Waves poor."

"I see... he just wants to stay in control, to make more money, huh?"

"That's correct." Naruto sighed in relief when Sasuke turned to yell at him for not doing anything, and realizing he wasn't there.

"Sir... I'm sorry. But I've got to do this." I said. He had now loosened his grip enough for me to move. I quickly thrust my head back, feeling the crush of bone on my scalp. He gave a shout before aiming his gun at me. Quickly rolling out of the way, I got up and ran back to the car. In order to avoid getting shot, I weaved carefully through the trees, never stopping to allow a direct hit. When I finally reached the car, I slumped breathlessly down onto the ground and clutched my hand, letting out a cry of pain. Ino turned to look at me, never having noticed my absence, while Sasuke and Kakashi breathed out in relief. When Sasuke noticed my hand, however, he quickly took it into his own and began examining the wound. He turned my hand over, so it was facing him palm up.

"There's no exit wound, meaning the bullet is still lodged in there. That might become a problem..." He said, sighing. I let him wipe away the blood and wrap it an adhesive bandage. "Ino, how's it going over there?" I asked, flinching when Sasuke pulled tightly on the bandage.

"That's too tight!" I whimpered, moving my hand away. Ino looked down at my hand, horror clear on her face. "You got shot? When? Why wasn't I told! I am the paramedic!"

"It's supposed to be tight." Sasuke said angrily, gripping my hand.

"Sasuke insisted on doing it himself. He's a persistent bastard." I answered. Sasuke frowned at me, and I smiled. "He did a great job, though."

"The guy's taken care of. So when'd you- shit! Another one?" Ino shrieked.

"I'm not sure... when was the last time I took a dump, Sasuke?" I asked, turning towards the Uchiha. He scoffed before pointing his gun at the forest behind us. Realization dawned on me, and I quickly knocked their guns to the floor. They turned to look at me, and at the same moment said, "The hell, Naruto?"

"Don't shoot, please, don't!" I pleaded. Kakashi pushed Tazuna onto the floor behind us."Why not?" The grey haired officer asked. I shrugged slightly, keeping my eyes on the forest. "He took me captive... he has a family! He's just doing this for them! Maybe he'll have a change of heart."

I slowly stood up, my eyes piercing the dark shadow only I could see lurking in the trees. I walked towards it, completely oblivious to the looks of insanity that were being presented my way. I kept moving forward, with my hands raised in front of me in a sign of surrender. As soon as I reached the tree line, I was proved wrong.

I heard the sound long before I felt the impact. Three bullets simultaneously lodged themselves into my left forearm, my right thigh, and a couple of centimetres above my belly button. Pain seared through me, but it focused especially on the four bullet wounds I now had on my body. Blood was now staining my uniform, while a small trail of red trickled from my mouth and down my chin.

"NARUTO!" I heard Ino, Sasuke, and Kakashi cry. Gravity was now pulling me back.

I let the clouds lull me into a deep slumber.

-x-

So I hope that was somehow enjoyable. The ending was super cliché, but it just had to end that way. I don't mean to sound whiney, but the only way you'll get more of this is if you review. The lack of reviews is getting me down. No joke. Love you guys –WTR.