Author's Notes:
I am a mere slave to my muse's whims. She stands over me right now, the whip at the ready… little witch. XD
This is the raw chapter and like all good things in life, is subject to revision from time to time.
Read as always… review at your leisure. Enjoy.
This story is dedicated to one of my betas and favorite reviewers, Judo Creature.
Thanks for your support and hard work on the stories. It was an honor for me to make your dream of a Hana/Kankuro pairing a reality.
Thanks to the readers who have left reviews. It's always wonderful to hear your thoughts, especially you, blazedadragon. Your refreshing commentary always amuses me to no end and I always feel inspired to write something naughty into the next chapter… is that a bad thing? XD
A sentence in Italics denotes the private thoughts of an individual character.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and I don't make a profit from it either... That's just the way it goes… I'm just here to write and eat the free popcorn.
Chapter 2 - A Client to die for
"I know you're anxious to spend some time with me before you need to get back to work, sweetheart…but people are staring." murmured an amused voice behind him in a sultry tone.
Kankuro suddenly stopped stalking down the hallway in mid stride and looked back at the woman he was towing along behind him. She seemed unfazed by his odd behavior but he could tell from the startled looks he was receiving from other employees who had stopped to stare that they certainly weren't used to it.
Shit… the last thing he wanted for them to be gossip fodder for the company rumor mill… Yeah, he could well imagine how strange this looked… the resident workaholic, suddenly in the company of a desirable woman.
He felt a tingling sensation shoot up his arm then as he felt her feather light caress on his exposed wrist. Kankuro darted his attention back to the alluring woman he still held by the hand.
"I'm sorry, Emiko… I was…overcome by the moment," said the large man with the kabuki styled tattoos, fully realizing that his so-called apology was very tongue in cheek.
Hmmmph… she didn't believe that for one second.
"Smart ass…" murmured the young woman under her breath before remarking in a louder voice, "Sweetheart, why don't we take our time… I know that's a novel concept for you to grasp but I imagine you will soon pick it up in no time at all…"
Kankuro's dark emerald eye's narrowed as her last comment scored a couple of knowing chuckles from curious onlookers still lurking in the corridor.
Hana took advantage of his distraction to loop her arm around his to pull him closer to her before quietly remarking, "I think we've given them more than enough to think about, don't you… why don't you show me to your lab and we can talk there."
Kankuro nodded his agreement and gave the brunette a lop-sided smile before continuing to walk down the hallway in companionable silence.
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It was the man's comment that alerted Hana that something wasn't right.
"Hmmm… I was sure I locked this door before I left for that meeting." said Kankuro off- handedly before stepping forward to push open the door.
The young woman suddenly wrapped her arm tighter around the large man's own and gave a sharp imperceptible negative shake of her head.
"Don't go in yet, Kankuro… apart from the door, is there anything else that strikes you as looking out of place or odd." whispered Hana in his ear.
The tattooed man frowned, quickly scanning the room from the doorway before murmuring, "Yeah… there is… I don't as a rule, receive packages in my lab."
Hana's eyes widened at that comment before she yanked the man backwards.
"Run, Kankuro…now." said the brunette in a deceptively calm voice, getting slightly behind and pushing him forward.
She could see he was about to protest but Hana interrupted, "Please…don't argue."
They had managed to get to where the hallway turned the corner, when the lab exploded, knocking the couple to the ground and showering them with debris and building dust.
"Shit!" muttered Kankuro as he hit the marble floor and felt the slight pressure of the woman's weight against his back, her arms cradling around his head.
"Yeah, shit… would be a good word right about now…" murmured Hana with a small hint of amusement in her voice as she coughed.
She was amused?!
"You think this is funny?" hissed out Kankuro from under Hana's lithe body.
"It always is when you manage to survive being blown to bits." replied a muffled female voice on top of him, coughing again before asking in a serious undertone, "Are you okay? Any cuts, abrasions, broken bones?"
Fuck! If it hadn't have been for the woman currently sprawled on top of him, he would have seriously bought the farm this morning.
"No, I'm fine… what about you?" replied Kankuro softly, a little concerned, hearing the woman give a soft groan.
"Sweetheart, business attire really isn't conducive to my line of work… I've got some cuts and minor abrasions but I'll pull through… the important thing is that you're okay... as corny as that sounds," chuckled the woman softly into his ear.
They looked up as they both heard the sound of people running towards their location.
"Shit… Kankuro, we still need to talk…but now, is not the time." murmured Hana before resting her forehead against the man's back and grimacing at the sharp stab of pain.
She could hear the sirens in the distance, the sounds of people starting to gather not far from where the couple lay in a heap on the floor and knew that they were going to have company soon.
No – any conversation between them was going to have to wait until they had dealt with the police… First day on the job and it was already proving to be interesting.
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Hana sat in the back of the ambulance and gave a half smile as she received stitches for some of the deeper cuts.
"You okay?" murmured a deep masculine voice beside her.
"I've got a man with his hands all over my legs…what could be better than that?" replied the woman with the red fangs on her cheeks, the humor apparent in her voice.
Kankuro gave a wry chuckle at Hana's comment before clearing his throat softly and murmuring, "Detective Nara is here and he wants to ask you a few questions, Han...ney."
The brunette pulled the man close, pressing her lips onto his lean cheek before traveling up to the shell of his ear and whispering, "It's Emiko… never forget that."
The slip wasn't serious this time but Hana didn't want to let the man get away without receiving a little…punishment for his lapse.
Kankuro let out a sharp gasp at he felt the sting of her teeth nipping his ear lobe before she finally pulled away.
"Can you do that again, later?" growled Kankuro under his breath, not bothering to disguise the hopeful tone from his voice.
Hana gave the man with the kabuki tattoos a long look of consideration before murmuring seductively, "We'll see…why? Do you think you'll need to be punished later?"
They heard a disgruntled voice behind them sigh tiredly, "Hmph… How troublesome. Are you Kankuro Sabaku? I'd like to ask you some questions regarding what happened this morning…"
Kankuro nodded curtly at the police detective standing in front of the open ambulance with a bored expression on his face.
"Darling, I'll be back shortly to take you home, okay?" replied Kankuro softly to the young woman still getting patched up on the stretcher.
Hana nodded absently as the large man left and heard the detective direct another police officer to take him to the make shift interview room.
Hana sighed tiredly as she heard a tired male voice ask, "Can I ask you a few questions before I go to interview your boyfriend, Miss..."
"It's Tanaka... Emiko Tanaka, Detective Nara," replied Hana, nodding absently.
The police detective placed a hand on the EMT's shoulder and murmured, "Can you give us a few minutes, please?"
Hana felt the ambulance shift again and heard the back door of the ambulance softly click shut.
The young woman raised her head up from her folded arms as she heard a bored voice quietly say, "It's been a while, Emiko... so, how is that brother of yours?"
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"Yes, Shikamaru... it's been a while... He's doing as well as can be expected... considering," replied Hana softly as she felt the police detective kneel down beside the stretcher.
"And Hinata? Is she well?" asked Shikamaru hesitantly, not missing the woman's soft nod in response.
Yes, it had been a while since he had seen them all... She didn't want to dwell on the circumstances of that last time... it had been a sad period in all of their lives...
"So, what happened this morning?" continued the lazy voice with a serious undertone.
"I met with the clients this morning and was walking back to Mr. Sabaku's lab. We were about to enter when he commented that he thought he had locked the door prior to our morning meeting. I then prevented the client from entering the premises and asked him if there was anything he could immediately see that seemed out of place. When he told me that he never received packages in his lab, I grabbed the man and started running... you know the rest," replied Hana in a soft business like tone.
Detective Nara nodded thoughtfully and replied, "Good job as always... Emiko."
The man sat there staring into space before quietly murmuring, "He has no clue who his family has hired to protect him, does he?"
Hana gave the man a sharp look before answering in an equally bored tone, "Of course not and I'm hoping that he'll never find out. You know in our business that sort of information can get us both killed."
Shikamaru nodded in understanding and asked, "You got a number I can contact you on? I could use your help to put these creeps away sooner..."
Hana gave the detective a searching look before extracting a plain white business card from the nondescript envelope in her large hand bag and handed it over to the man.
"I see Hinata is still as efficient as always..." replied Shikamaru with a small smirk before standing up and walking over to the back door of the ambulance.
"Well, thanks for your help, Miss Tanaka. If you have any more information, you have my card." said Shikamaru in a loud professional tone, one of his dark eyebrows raised.
Hana turned slightly and replied with a small smirk, "Thanks, Detective Nara... I'm sure I will hear from you soon with an update."
Shikamaru nodded and turned away but not before whispering, "Just be careful, Emiko... and try not to fall in love with him..."
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Kankuro sat in the small meeting room drumming his fingers on the table in frustration, much to the annoyance of the police officer waiting in the room with him.
"Do you mind stopping that annoying tapping... it's starting to get on my nerves." growled the female police officer sitting in the chair near the door.
Kankuro pinned the blonde woman with another of his infamous bored and arrogant looks before continuing to drum his fingers on the table.
Quite frankly, he really didn't give a shit if he worked on the woman's last nerve...
There was a brisk tap on the door before the tall and equally bored visage of Detective Nara entered the room.
"Yamanaka, why don't you go check to see if the CSI team has arrived yet and I will talk to Mr. Sabaku," replied Shikamaru, not missing the relieved look of his subordinate as she flounced out of the room.
"I guess I managed to piss her off," drawled the large man still drumming his fingers on the table.
Shikamaru closed the door and leaned against it and replied with a small smirk, "It doesn't take much to piss off Ino."
"So, ask your questions, detective but make it quick... I want to get back to Emiko." growled out Kankuro, clearly at the end of his patience.
The police detective shrugged lazily before pushing away from the door and opening it up. He gestured that the man was free to go with a long sweep of his arm.
"No need, Mr. Sabaku...I got all I needed to know from Miss Tanaka and I am willing to bet that you won't be able to give any more information than what she has already provided. I suggest you and your girlfriend go home and relax for the remainder of the day. I'll be in touch with you if I have any more questions..." replied the officer lazily.
Kankuro stared at the police detective through narrowed eyes before shrugging and standing up from his chair.
"Okay... you're the boss, detective Nara... I'll see you later," said the large man with the kabuki tattoos before walking past the officer and out of the room.
Shikamaru shoved his hands in his pockets and watched in silence as the man stalked away in the direction of the ambulance.
It didn't take a genius like him to figure out where the large man was off to in such a hurry.
Yes – it was going to be interesting to see if Hana actually took his advice... the last thing he needed to see was another friend nursing a broken heart.
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Hana was waiting patiently for Kankuro's arrival when she caught sight of the dark haired man with the facial tattoos prowling over to her location.
"Akiko, I'm going to have to call you back... the boyfriend has arrived and you know how pissed he gets when I'm not paying him any attention... sure, I'll call you later...bye, Akiko." murmured the brunette into her cell phone before she ended the connection.
This was just what she needed on her first day... another attempt on this guy's life. She really needed to get some answers from him... like what the hell was so important about this project of his that was worth killing the man over…
"Who was that?" asked the dark haired man in a biting tone.
Hana raised an eyebrow, not surprised to see him looking so pissed off. Hell, she didn't blame him at all...
"My girlfriend, Akiko... she just canceling a date for drinks this evening. I just told her that I was going to be busy taking care of my man's needs..." replied the young woman, pinning him with a brief smoldering gaze.
Kankuro could feel his brain fry up from the images that little comment immediately placed into his mind.
It was official... he can fully blame this sudden burst of raging hormones on his non-existent love life. Why else would her suggestive words bother him so much?
A colorful tune rang out in the silence hanging between them, effectively dragging the large man out of his private musings.
Kankuro fished his cell phone out of his pocket with a frown and flipped it open to see who was calling.
"Fuck," murmured the man before reluctantly answering the phone.
"Yeah...yeah... I'm fine. There's no need to yell at me, Gaara. I'm not a two year old, you know..." grouched Kankuro into the cell phone, rolling his eyes as he continued to listen.
Hana raised an eyebrow as Kankuro gave a heavy sigh and handed her the phone, "He wants to talk to you, Emiko."
"Emiko speaking... yes, yes. Okay... no, stay there... we'll come and see you. Yes... see you soon." murmured Hana soothingly to the irate voice coming from the phone before hanging up.
"We need to go and see the boss man before we head for home, sweetheart. It seems this little attempt has gotten your brother's panties in a bunch," said the young woman calmly in an undertone, handing Kankuro back the cell phone.
The large man pushed the phone back into his pocket, grabbed Hana's hand and growled, "Well, we may as well get the shouting match out of the way then... Come on, Emiko...we mustn't keep the little dictator waiting..."
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"Gaara, you need to calm down... he's fine." replied Temari, trying to calm down the president of the company as he slammed the receiver down.
Gaara pushed his sister's hand off his shoulder and glared incensed at her.
"Temari, those fuckers almost succeeded in eliminating our brother... in his own fucking lab!" hissed Gaara outraged.
"Gaara, you need to settle down. They didn't succeed and that's the important thing," sighed the blonde before walking over to the bay window.
"Detective Nara has the utmost confidence in Emiko's ability to protect our brother. She has already proven herself more than capable at the task... a lot sooner than anyone had been expecting. It's testament to her expertise that those bastards failed," murmured Temari, staring out on the skyline.
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to settle her rattled nerves.
They were threatened enough by Kankuro to try and eliminate him in one of the places he was most comfortable in... it was truly terrifying to her.
Temari and Gaara looked over to the door as they heard a commotion outside in the reception area before their colorfully tattooed brother burst through the door with his leggy shadow in tow.
"Okay, Gaara... we're here. I suggest you get the ranting out of your system before we take up Detective Nara's suggestion and go home for the day," growled Kankuro, clearly pissed off.
A colorful little melody cut through the tension in the room as Hana pulled her cell phone out of her bag with her other hand.
"Hold that thought, gentlemen," murmured the young brunette with a small smile before she answered the phone.
"Akiko... yes, yes. No, we're chatting with his family before the boyfriend takes me home... yes, yes... that's fine," replied Hana to the person on the line.
Kankuro and Gaara continued to glare at each other until Hana's suddenly raised voice made them look at her in curiosity.
"What?! Are you sure that is the right thing to do? ...I see. No, I understand completely...no, you're absolutely correct... okay; I will let them know... when will we be expecting Hoshiko? Okay... I will let them know... thanks... I'll talk to you later, Akiko," murmured Hana before cutting the connection and walking over to the door to lock it.
"What's going on?" asked Gaara and Kankuro watching the woman intently.
"Well, Gaara - it looks like you are going to get your wish after all... you will be getting a new secretary on the books until we get this business sorted out," replied Hana in a calm voice.
"I don't understand," said Gaara with a frown.
"Akiko just told me that it looks like your company security has been compromised but it's hard to say how extensively right now. It appears that these guys may have an insider helping them out... Hoshiko is going to come out of retirement and will be assigned to keep an eye on things over here for a while. In the meantime, it looks like I will be moving in with lover boy here a lot sooner than we were both expecting." murmured the athletic brunette to her stunned audience.
Gaara continued to frown before his kanji tattoo jumped on his temple as he finally understood what the young woman was saying and replied in a shocked voice, "The woman who was here this morning is..."
"Yes, she was one of the best in the business until she decided to retire from the field a year ago and just work in the office," replied Hana in a deceptively casual tone.
Yes – she too had been shocked to hear that Hinata would be returning to fieldwork but understood the necessity after talking to Kiba. If there was a mole in the company network, they needed to track down the source and silence it before the situation got too dangerous. The security breach must be serious enough to require the petite woman's unique set of skills…
Hana turned to look at Kankuro and raising an elegant eyebrow asked, "Do you have a problem with the new living arrangements, darling?"
The large man gave the brunette with the red fangs slashing down her cheek bones a long look of contemplation before murmuring in a sexy growl, "No, I'm fine with you moving in... the question is, are you fine with being around me 24/7? It may be too much for you to handle."
Temari swiveled around completely from the bay window and stared at Kankuro in amazement.
Did he just issue her a challenge? No way... was her workaholic brother being deliberately suggestive? He only met the woman this morning…unbelievable.
Temari looked over at Gaara and wasn't surprised to see her brother's tattoo climb up on his temple in response to the double entendre.
They were further startled to hear the young woman tilt her head and laugh in pure delight at Kankuro's antics before she replied, "Yeah, I think I can deal with you just fine... just don't be surprised if I suddenly have this overwhelming urge to punish you when you get out of line..."
A wolfish grin broke across his face in remembrance of his earlier punishment and with a devilish gleam in his dark emerald eyes, he murmured, "I'm looking forward to it."
Temari was starting to feel a little hot under the collar watching these two trade little pot shots at each other.
She cleared her throat and asked in a suspiciously strained voice, "So, when will we be expecting the new secretary to arrive?"
Hana looked over to the blonde in front of the bay window and shrugged.
"It depends on how quickly we can find a position in the company to place her... Akiko is currently looking at a list of management who has a need for a temporary secretary."
"Tell Akiko that won't be necessary... she can work for me until this issue is resolved," growled out a reply from an unexpected source.
Temari shot her youngest brother a shocked look. She certainly wasn't expecting him to act like this. If Temari didn't know any better, Gaara sounded almost...jealous.
Well, this is certainly a day for surprises... Either it's a sign of the apocalypse or Hell must be freezing over.
Temari made a mental note to check the drinking water for drugs as she looked in mild amusement at the glare that Gaara was shooting everyone in the room who dared to try and cross him on this. No, he was definitely determined to say his way in this matter and no one was going to change his mind.
Hana tried to contain the unholy look of glee that threatened to appear on her face and replied, "In that case, you'll probably see Hoshiko first thing in the morning. I will call Akiko back and let her know."
"Good luck, Gaara... you're going to need it if you think you have a chance in hell of trying to impress Hinata," thought the brunette woman privately.
Kankuro's voice cut into Hana's musings then and she looked up intrigued as the large man said, "It looks like work is out of the question for today, at least... unless you plan to give me a piece of your mind, Gaara... I think I will take Emiko home."
Gaara looked down at the paperwork in front of him and gave his brother a negligent wave before replying in a bored tone, "No, we're done for now... I'm satisfied that everything is in hand... I'll see you tomorrow."
Temari continued to observe both her brothers in silence, watching idly as Kankuro reached over and grabbed the leggy brunette by the wrist again and stalked over to the door once more.
She chuckled softly to herself when she heard Hana teasingly tell Kankuro, "You know, as much as I enjoy having you drag me around like your prized spoil of war… I think my wrist is going to snap off after a week of this…"
Kankuro cursed as he felt his face go red from his embarrassment and he released his grip on the woman's arm as though it was a red hot coal.
Gaara and Temari watched the entertainment going on in front of them as Hana looped an arm through one of Kankuro's own and accidentally bumped her hip against him. They could clearly hear their brother hiss a low growl at the contact before the couple unlocked the door and walked out of the large office.
"Hmmph. I never thought I'd see the day that Kankuro would have a sudden interest in a woman. He's always been too obsessed with his work," murmured Gaara in a dead pan voice.
I could say the same thing about you, Gaara… It's obvious you are equally affected by the thought of having Hinata around the office.
It amused the blonde no end to see these two notoriously emotionless brothers of hers were getting all primal over two women that they had only just met that morning.
Yes – it was going to be interesting to see what was going to happen around here in the immediate future… especially when it came time for the two women to leave upon completion of their respective assignments.
Will Kankuro and Gaara let them walk away into the sunset or persuade them to stay?
It was hard to say… they were after all her brothers and those two were difficult to read at the best of times…
Temari gave a small shrug before she walked over to the door and left the room.
As much as she enjoyed speculating on her brothers' fledgling love lives, they still had a business to run and that needed to come first.