Never Turn Your Back

-A TayMor and Addicted-to-GazettE collaboration...


Thank you all for the lovely response! All the follows, faves and reviews! Someone asked about Naruto and Kiba being CSI... Well, Kiba trains cadaver dogs, so I suppose he is a crime scene investigator, and Naruto and Sakura are ROOT agent partners and field agents. Hope that clears up any fog! Someone else asked for horrific scenes... we shall take it in mind and see where we can give you some of that! (^_^), now, onward to glory!...


A warning to be noticed: Dark themes ahead!


Chapter 3: Break Down

Amegakure no Sato
Dr. and Dr. Atsugas House of Healing
10: 42 am

"Tell us how you this makes you feel," Atsuga Shikaru asked, fixing kind brown eyes upon his and his wife's patient. It was uncommon, though not unheard of, for a patient to request the presence of both therapists. The blonde in front them shifted in her seat, blinking rapidly and wiping her eyes. She had come almost twenty minutes before, and had been expressing various problems she had.

"I... I don't really know... I just have this feeling..." she started, her voice weak and thin. She nervously twirled a lock of her hair.

"Can you try to describe the feeling?" Inora asked, leaning forward and giving a comforting smile. "No need to be shy; everything you tell us will be kept with confidentiality."

"Well I... I've been having dreams about... about murders..." the blonde, who introduced herself as Morita Kirie, said while sending a quick glance in Inora's direction.

"Can you describe any of them?" Shikaru asked, scratching out something in mostly illegible script on his notepad. The blonde blinked rapidly, covering her face with her hands. Inora crossed the room and placed a gentle hand on her back.

"It's okay, take your time," she said softly, her voice soothing. A shudder went through the blonde.

"Okay... I... I could see a room... it had bright paint on the walls... really colourful..." she started, then began shaking a little. "I'm... I'm sorry, I can't do this," she continued, jumping up and pacing. Inora sent a worried glance to her husband.

"Take a deep breath, Kirie-san," Shikaru said calmly. "Why don't you feel as if you can go on?" he asked softly, his voice a calming monotone. The blonde patient sent a worried glance their way.

"It's this room... Too bright... the colours are just like in my dream and I... I can't do this... I can't do this here," the blonde said, her words running into each other. Inora and Shikaru shared a look. "Oh Kami, oh Kami, oh Kami," the blonde continued, repeating the words over and over. Sending a discreet nod in her husband's direction, Inora got up and put her palm on Kirie's shoulder.

"If you like, we can take you to the back room," Inora suggested, her caring green gaze landing on Kirie's frightened blue one. Kirie paused, then gave a jerky nod, wordlessly agreeing with the suggestion to change location.

Shikaru got up from his chair and moved to open the therapy room door. Inora led the distraught blonde out of the room, keeping a warm hand to her back, and carried her past the receptionist, who was engrossed in a novel. Shikaru moved ahead, opening the door to their private office and allowing the two women to precede him.

Once seated inside, the therapy session began again.

"About these dreams," Shikaru started. "Can you remember any of the details?" He held his pen at the ready. The blonde blinked rapidly, and then swallowed.

"Um... There was this room... like I said... and I step inside it, and there by a desk is this man... he has brown eyes that are open... staring at me... but I," her voice broke there, and she whimpered a little before continuing, "... but I know... I know that he's dead because he... he has a bullet hole... right in the centre of his forehead... and there's blood... blood all over the wall behind him... so much blood..." Kirie stopped, visibly attempting to compose herself. Shikaru jotted down a few words on his notepad.

"Whenever you feel like you can continue, just go ahead, okay, Kirie?" the female therapist assured the patient. Kirie nodded and took a deep breath, continuing to describe her dream and what she thought had caused it.

"Then... then I look to the right of the man... and there is a woman on the ground... I can't really see her face, because she's... her blonde hair is all over her face... and it's soaked with blood and I... I can see the purple pumps on her feet... and the wedding ring on her hand... it's the same plain gold band that the man at the desk is wearing..." Kirie continued speaking, barely noticing Inora's uncomfortable glance at her purple pumps and gold wedding band.

"Can you remember any more details?" Shikaru asked, trying to figure out if there was more to this memory than Kirie might realize. The blonde nodded jerkily, sending a frightened look Shikaru's way. Licking her dry lips, Kirie fidgeted; hesitant to continue.

"I … I remember more, but you won't... you won't believe me," Kirie squeaked out, her eyebrows drawing together.

"Just try," Inora asked. "It was a dream, remember? We are just trying to know more. To know what we are dealing with," she stated gently.

"O-okay," Kirie managed, shifting a little in her seat and nervously playing with her hair. "The man, has long hair.. just like yours, Dr. Atsuga... and he... he looks a lot like you, and he's... Oh, Kami... he's wearing the same thing as you... and the woman... the woman is wearing the same thing as...Oh my god," Kirie breathed, sending a frightened glance at Inora.
"They are you guys," she whispered, shrinking into her chair. Shikaru sent a deadpan look discreetly at his wife. Yeah, right. Tired of playing games, and suspecting that something was off with this patient in particular, he put his notepad down on the desk, eyes flashing with remote signs of temper.

"What is it you're after?" he demanded in a cold voice. "Money? Some kind of sick thrills?"

The blonde paled at each angrily hissed accusation. Inora was slowly looking back and forth between the strange blonde and her husband's furious face.

"Y-you don't believe me?" the blonde patient gasped. "I knew it! I knew I should never have come," Kirie cried out, jumping to her feet and wrapping her arms around her own waist, hands disappearing into her open brown leather jacket. She moved towards the door and then paused. "That's why I knew I would have to convince you," she finished, turning around.

Shikaru's and Inora's eyes widened as they stared at their patient. All traces of distress faded into oblivion, the blonde stood before them, the gun in her hands pointed steadily in their direction.

Oh shit.


Amegakure no Sato
Outskirts of the man city...
10: 47 am

"Oh shit," the man muttered whimpering when the long haired mafioso shoved the barrel of a Beretta into his neck. Swallowing thickly, Jin tried to stop the shaking in his knees.

"I-I keep t-telling you, that I don't know what you're talking ab-about." His teeth knocked together harshly stuttering his speech. The man behind the gun didn't seem at all amused.

"I've had from several sources that over the last few weeks, you've been spotted in the gambling district with a man who fits a description of one of the men who took my little brother." Itachi spoke each word slowly, as if saying them to a mentally challenged or slow child. He pressed the steel gun farther into the thick skin under Jin's pudgy chin.

"So talk," he warned, tone dripping with ice.

The man shook his head again desperately, looking almost as if he were going to cry. His fat cheeks were starting to color from where Itachi had hit him earlier.

"I'm telling you, man," he stammered, his watery blue eyes darting frantically around for a way to escape. "I don't know anything! I'm not stupid enough to touch your family, man," he continued over a broken sob. Jin really did not want to die. He looked to the tall man standing behind the Akatsuki member with the gun and pleaded with him to stop his partner. "Please, man... move the gun... I don't know anything!" he bleated.

Kisame sighed as he watched the scene from the sidelines. When Itachi had come to the bank this morning and said his mother and brother were missing, he'd offered to help search for both Sasuke and Mikoto-san. Since then, for the last few hours actually, they'd been searching high and low for any leads as to where Itachi's family was located. So far, though, none of the people they 'questioned' knew anything, and Kisame had a sinking feeling that Jin was being honest.

"Itachi..." he said slowly, warningly from behind his partner. Itachi paused, his usually expressionless face twisted in anger and a hint of desperation. With a sound - a loud sound in Itachi's case - of frustration, Itachi struck the man across the face with the butt of his gun.


An Abandoned Warehouse

Mikoto's head snapped to the side from the force of the blow she received from the gun in the masked man's hand. Sasuke whimpered behind the gag as his mother, the woman who'd birthed and raised him, spat blood from her mouth to the concrete. The room was dark, the sole fluorescent light hanging from the ceiling to cast a morbid spotlight on the display before him. He struggled futilely against his bonds; rope digging into and burning his skin. His heart pounded and his stomach felt queasy. He flinched when one of her attackers lashed out with one foot, slamming the toe of his work boot into Mikoto delicate ribs. Her scream rang out in the room, piercing Sasuke's heart; embedding the sound into his memory.

"Think you can avoid paying your debts, can you, Sasuke-chan?" the man with the gun jeered as he savagely punched Mikoto in the stomach, sending blood and spittle flying from her mouth as she gasped hoarsely in pain.

Oh god.

"Stop," he tried to beg from behind his gag, tears stinging his eyes. They didn't overflow down his cheeks yet, the salty liquid as frozen as his body. After he'd been taken the afternoon before, the kidnappers had put a dark bag over Sasuke's head, and locked in him a small cell... at least, he'd assumed it was a cell from the clanging sound that came as a result of the gate being locked.

"What did you say, Sasuke-chan, eh?" the masked man continued, backhanding Mikoto with such force her chair scooted backwards a couple inches, the sound of the metal scraping over the floor making Sasuke flinch. "Maybe I couldn't hear you over your mom screaming," he taunted, tapping his gun thoughtfully against his chin.

This morning, he'd been given a lukewarm sandwich and then gagged and blindfolded. Sasuke had heard the feminine cries echoing down the halls the entire time that he'd been dragged from his cell and to another location, and then when the bag had been lifted, he'd almost hurled up the sandwich he'd eaten.

His mother had been tied to a chair underneath a dim light, bound and gagged. Under the harsh light, his mother had looked thin and gaunt, large bruises marring her skin and chest. Her hair had been in disarray, and it was obvious that she'd been crying. Burns dotted her arms and shoulders; little red polka-dots on her pale skin. Her lips had been swollen and bleeding, and both her eyes had large purple bruises surrounding them. Her forehead had been bleeding from where they had struck her, the blood trailing down her left cheek and dripping off her chin.

Right now, the men were still beating his mother, striking her over and over and ignoring her cries and pleas for them to stop. Bloody saliva was dripping down her chin, and Sasuke's heart squeezed from the pitiable notion that his mother could not even wipe the spittle from her face. He struggled against his bonds, but they were far too tight for him to escape. He struggled to go to her, but the man behind him held him securely in place. He struggled to look away from the sight, at least; unable to take it it, but the man behind him held his face turned in her direction, and whispered a harsh promise to pluck out Sasuke's eyeballs if he dared close them. Sasuke did not doubt that he would follow through on his promise.

Nothing I can do...powerless...pathetic...weak.

"Maybe you will know better than to fail to pay your debts, ne, Sasuke-chan," the man whispered hoarsely in Sasuke's ear. "Wouldn't want us to take your aunt next, would ya?" he taunted, his foul breath turning Sasuke's stomach.

And finally, Sasuke felt the first tear fall, cutting a path down his dirty cheek. After the first fell, another followed, then another, until his face was drenched and his shoulders shook with his sobs.

Kami...mom...I'm sorry...

Footsteps approached from behind. They sounded calm, composed, and as the broken man wept, he hated those footsteps. Yet even more than these men, he hated himself. It was all his fault. Their kidnapping, their being here, each blow his mother suffered; All of it. Every aspect of it. His sin.

Forgive me...forgive me...

The man holding him in place moved away, but Sasuke was couldn't move anyway, held in place by the shock of seeing his mother abused, and also his intense hatred for his kidnappers. The calm footsteps stopped directly behind Sasuke, and he could feel the blade of a knife scrape against his cheek for a moment.

"Hello, ne, Sasuke-chan," a new voice said, taunting Sasuke with the feminine honorific. This man's voice, in particular, made Sasuke's skin crawl. "You don't like seeing us beat on your mom, do you?" he asked slowly, sliding the blade of his knife almost in a caress on Sasuke's cheek. Sasuke didn't doubt the sharpness of the blade, so he held himself still. The masked man in front of him fisted Mikoto's hair in his hands and backhanded her again. Sasuke flinched at her pained whimper. Her eyes were currently swollen shut.

"I know you hate it, see," the man cajoled calmly, his manner scaring Sasuke more than the beating of his mother did. The man applied pressure on the blade, sliding it up Sasuke's cheek with enough force to break the skin. The knife slid easily through the cloth holding Sasuke's gag in place and an unseen hand pulled the saliva-soaked cloth from the Uchiha's mouth, dropping it to the floor with a faint 'plop'. Sasuke's eyes were glued to where the masked man was still slapping and punching his mother. Her body was now limp and unresponsive, and her cheeks so battered and bruised he could hardly recognize her anymore.

"I know you can't stand it. I know you want it to stop," the man said on a breath, gently tapping the flat of his sharp weapon on Sasuke's upper cheek so that with every movement, the tip of the blade brushed against Sasuke's long eyelashes. Sasuke's eyes widened as he focused on the silver of the blade directly in front of his left eye. "Now, listen very closely to what I am about to say..."


Amegakure no Sato
Dr. and Dr. Atsugas House of Healing
11:05 am

"Now, listen very closely to what I am about to say." Kirie's voice was steely and commanding. Her blue eyes flashed dangerously as she stared them down. She used her gun to wave Inora closer to Shikaru. The female therapist scuttled closer to her husband, her eyes narrowing and her hands clenching angrily.

"You two," Kirie gestured between them with the gun in her hand. On the outside she looked cool as a ice, even as the palm holding the gun became slippery with sweat. "You two are the biggest quacks I have ever seen," she snapped. "Therapists..." Kiries paused, shaking her head as she said the word. "I guess this must be how you keep your little information dealing gig legit," she mused, the gun in her hand not wavering for a second in its aim. "Call everything confidential while you trade your secrets, huh?"

Shikaru's eyes narrowed, and his fingers moved as he debated reaching for his own gun. Kirie's sharp eyes caught the movement, and she trained her weapon directly between the man's eyes.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Kirie ground out sharply. "What I would do, however, is start talking about Tayuya. I know you two have got your greasy little fingers on the information I need to have." Inora ground her teeth together and flashed her light blonde hair over her shoulder.

"And what makes you think we would do that?" she snapped her voice trembling with fury. Her eyes widened when Kirie flashed the shiny badge at her waist, previously hidden by her jacket.

"Because, Atsuga-san, regardless of how close you are to being on the other end of the law, I know you aren't stupid," Kirie continued. "Now, I have no intention of using this weapon on you, but I might be convinced to if you don't cooperate." Kirie's voice was hard and unyielding. "Now," she continued, directing the gun away from the faces of the therapists. "I want to know where Tayuya is gonna appear when she finally decides to crawl out of hiding."

Inora scowled, ready to tell their 'patient' to shove it up her ass, but shut her trap when her husband lifted a hand to silence her. Shikaru eyed the blonde woman for a few moments his fingers steepled and resting against his mouth as he contemplated his options.

"Alright," he said after a moment, his intelligent eyes trained on Kirie. His voice then took on a razor sharp edge as he said, "But here, you play by our rules."

"In this house, we trade information. Tell us something that we want to know first, and we'll see what we have on Tayuya," Inora interjected, catching on to Shikaru's train of thought - it was a skill honed over time-, her blue eyes glittering sharply as she eyed Kirie.

"Alright," Kirie said, a small, hard smile pushing to her lips. "Fair enough." She uncocked her gun and resumed her seat, crossing her legs. However, she made a point to keep the gun in her hand, resting the side of the weapon on her knee; a warning to the information dealers not to try anything funny.

"My name is Haruno Sakura, and I work with ROOT," she supplied. That was definitely information those two should know. It would prevent them from trying to send someone to finish her off, because they would know that she would be looked for. She watched as Inora's lips thinned as she smiled slightly, the expression not reaching her eyes. Good. The message had been understood. Sakura then looked to Shikaru. His eyes never wavered, remained deadly serious. That one would be harder to intimidate.

"Also, I came across a lead that includes Tayuya over in Konohagakure. She's linked to a series of crimes that-" Sakura stopped speaking as a light of understanding lit both Inora's and Shikaru's eyes before they smothered it and resumed their blank gazes. Sakura chuckled. "Don't mess with me," she warned, cocking the gun again. "You know something. Talk."

Shikaru blew a breath out in a sigh.

"We don't know much. What we do know, or rather who we know, is someone who's able to tell you what you need," His eyes narrowed, but the next words were said evenly, with no emotion coloring his tone. "For the price of this name, you haven't given us enough payment. So you talk, and if I hear something I like, you get the name."

Sakura stared him down a bit, and was a bit disgruntled when the man across from her didn't back down an inch. Despite her irritation, the ROOT agent found herself impressed with the Info Broker's nerve. Nodding curtly, she leaned forward and began speaking.

They talked for a good hour, each party careful not to give too much, nor too little of what the other sought. In the end, both Sakura and Shikaru emerged from the discussion satisfied.

Inora, who had paced the room while the two talked, snapped once she sensed their business was concluded,"Alright you got what you need, so kindly get out of my house!"


Amegakure no Sato
2:15 pm

"I keep tellin' ya, the boss isn't taking visitors. Now, git outta here." The man scowled at them around a fat cuban cigar that hung from his tobacco stained lips. The door was then promptly slammed in their faces. Itachi took this action rather stoically, but his partner, true to form, was, well...not so stoic. The Hoshigaki's left eye twitched in annoyance.

"Oi...'Tachi?" Kisame stared blankly at the door in disbelief, "Do I look like a cat to you?"

"..." Itachi didn't say anything, but instead turned on his heel and calmly walked back down the steps leading to the sidewalk below. Scowling viciously now, Kisame stalked after his partner, the absolute image of wounded pride.

"How dare they treat us like filthy strays? Do they know who I am?" the Hoshigaki thumped his chest proudly. "I am the famous, the 'Great White' loan shark, Hoshigaki Kisame. Men tremble in my wake and pale at my approach. So explain to me why fatso back there did neither."

"It's not him," Itachi said simply. "If Sansetsu was the one, he would have done it for a reason, and then would have invited me in to make his demands. Therefore he has nothing to fear, because he did nothing," Itachi explained tiredly, pressing his fingertips to his eyes. Kisame sent his partner a look of ultimate suffering.

"Itachi... you're totally missing the point of the matter. There was no tremble, not even a 'meep' of respect," Kisame grumbled grouchily, "Kids these days have no respect."

"He is a good actor, but his palms were sweating, and the thump after he slammed the door was him leaning against it," the Uchiha said plainly, remotely opening the car. "He was scared, just not a total idiot." Itachi walked around to his side of the car and opened the door.

Kisame visibly brightened at this notion, trotting to the passenger side door. "You really think... I mean, of course he was! No one is left standing in our wake." Kisame climbed in, grinning happily, as he slammed his car door shut. After a slight pause it seemed to sink in finally what Itachi had said. He sent a disturbed look towards the driver's seat.

"You know, Itachi... I think that's the sweetest thing you've ever said to me...are you going soft on me, Uchiha?"

"Shut up..." Itachi said, squelching a smile. His humor dipped southward, though, as he started the car and rested his palm on the steering wheel. "We are running out of people to question. I don't understand why anyone outside of Amegakure would touch my family," he mused, ignoring Kisame.

"Are you sure you're not going soft on me Itachi...? Because I could swear that facial twitch thing you did just now almost resembled a smile." Itachi shot him a glare. "...Must've been my imagination. So...what do we do now? Where are we headed?"

Itachi sighed before responding, "We need more leads, but for now I need to prepare for the Masquerade Event. You're going to need a mask as well, I presume?" he asked, turning to Kisame a bit as they pulled away from the curb. Kisame, at this prompting, seemed to inflate impressively, a smug expression on his face.

"Nope." He declared it so casually that Itachi immediately had a bad feeling. His partner didn't do one-worded answers. It was far too simple for the bigger man's inner drama queen. Sure enough, the following silence was heavy with an expectancy of... something. Itachi blinked blankly, as the other man's face practically begged for the Uchiha to take the bait. Unfortunately for him, Kisame seemed to be forgetting who he was dealing with.

Turning back to the road, Itachi ignored the man, refusing to bite, choosing instead to smoothly pull the car into traffic with a simple, "Fine." It seemed this time, Itachi was the one who'd forgotten who he was dealing with.

Clearing his throat dramatically, Kisame prompted, "Don't you wanna know why?"

As he dead panned, his partner refused, "No." 'But you'll tell me anyway,' the Uchiha thought. He was right.

Grinning hugely, The Hoshigaki continued as if his partner hadn't answered, "The man sitting next to you, none other than the Hoshigaki Kisame, is taking a personal day from work. Why, you ask?" Itachi hadn't, in fact asked, but knowing better than to encourage his partner, he remained silent and merely glided into the turn only lane at the next stop light.

"Because I have a hot date."

There was a long pause in which the only sound was of the clicking turn signal light. Then Itachi finally spoke.

"Lying's a sin."

Kisame puffed up again, though this time it wasn't from self satisfaction, as he glared sullenly at Itachi.

"Below the belt. I call foul play."


Amegakure no Sato
Amegakure Regency Hotel
3:12 pm

"I call foul play," Sakura said laughingly, holding her phone to her ear with her shoulder as she locked the hotel room door with her foot. "There is no way you guys can hold an office party the one time I am not there! This was planned," she complained, dropping her armful of plastic bags on the bed and placing her hand on her hip.

"Now, now, sweet thing," the sultry voice on the other end said. "It's not to say we don't miss you greatly. I, for one, would have loved to see the hilariously hot outfit you would have worn," Kiba continued. Sakura rolled her eyes and fingered the handle of the bag, inhaling the scent of the Amegakure takeout.

"Tell me again," she went on, lifting out a carton of stir-fried meat and vegetables. "How did you get my number, Kiba-san?" There was a pregnant pause over the line.

"Ah... It came to me in a dream," Kiba started, dropping his voice to one of mystery. "There was a light, shining from the Heavens, and a voice like Kami himself saying, 'Kiba-san... Sakura-chan's number is...'... and then, your number was-"

"Lies," Sakura stated firmly, dead-panning. Kiba sputtered from the other side of the line.

"B-But Sakura-chan, I swear it was-"

"Lies," she interrupted again, reaching back inside the bag for the pepper sauce. She took some chopsticks from the bag and snapped them apart as she sat at the edge of the bed. Shifting her phone to her other ear, while ignoring Kiba's claims that his dream was real, Sakura said, "One moment, Kiba."

"Eh?" Kiba asked, the same moment that Sakura said, "Itadakimasu."

"Wait, Sakura-chan... you're eating?" Kiba asked. "You're eating while talking to me on the phone? That's so sweet... showing a real comfort level with me there! So, can I get your address soon then?" the Inuzuka asked, real hope in his voice as well as the hint of a smile.

"Maybe if you dream it up," Sakura said, grinning before she took a bite.

"You wound me," Kiba continued, gasping as if mortally wounded. "By the way, what are you eating?" Sakura deadpanned.

"Why do you even want to know that?" Sakura asked, confused. She took another bite and a small moan escaped her. "So... good..." she muttered absently.

"That is precisely the reason," Kiba stated. "Those sounds you make... I've never been more jealous of cooked food before. How I wish I could be to one to be loved by your sweet lip-" Sakura hung up, throwing the phone to the bed and looking at it as if it had grown a head. What the hell was Kiba's deal? She scowled at the phone, her left eye twitching. It rang again.

"Agent Haruno," she answered before the Caller ID came up. Gross mistake.

"To be loved by your sweet lips. Cherished by their softne-" She hung up again. Contemplated throwing the device out the window... but changed her mind. The things could be damn expensive.

Sighing, Sakura finished the rest of her food in silence, glaring at the phone. She knew Kiba wasn't being serious when he said those things, but still. Sometimes the things he said... she wondered how he could spout such lines even as a joke...

Once finished, the pinkette disposed of her trash and, standing, went into the bathroom to disguise herself for Operation: Infiltrate.

15 Minutes Later...

Sakura eyed herself in the mirror, and gave herself a nod of approval. She'd donned a black wig cut in a stylishly uneven bob with heavy bangs - it was longer at the fronts than at the back - and expensive eyeliner - that she told herself was for the purposes of the mission, but she really knew better. She had put on a brand new white blouse that hugged her form impressively and paired it with crisp-looking grey pants that gave her a taller, more stately look. This she'd accessorized with a red beaded necklace and five-inch high red pumps.

She gave her head a sharp snap to watch the blunt ends of the haircut swing, and then bit her lower lip in momentary indecision. Deciding to add just a little more drama to the look, she used her liquid liner to give hers makeup a 'cat eye' effect, also darkening the line on the lower lid of her eye to give a much more defined look. Adding shiny, bold red lipstick, Sakura gave herself a small, satisfied grin. She looked nothing like herself. Which was perfect, of course. Before she forgot, Sakura put on a pair of grey contact lenses to give her stare a stronger, stonier effect.

Now she just needed to be who she looked like. A smart, sophisticated woman, who wasn't afraid to take charge and give orders. The epitome of a bold businesswoman taking on the world one job at a time. Meeting the eyes in the mirror, Haruno Sakura was no more.

Welcome to the world, one Arisawa Akako.


Raikage Auditorium
5:12 pm

Akako walked in, her strides long and confident with a briefcase in hand that she'd conveniently found on her unconscious predecessor. The same woman she had deposited in the back of the auditorium storeroom to sleep off the well...sleeping drug Akako had used on the woman to convince her to take a brief holiday. Nodding curtly to the security at the doors when they scrambled to open them for her, Akako breezed into the lobby and pulled off her sunglasses to survey her newest kingdom.

The place was pretty great all on its own, but with pursed lips, she decided it could be better. Shaking off the thoughts, Akako slipped the sunglasses in her coat pocket and went for the first order of business. The Caterer.

"You there! Where is the menu for the function?" Akako demanded sharply, catching the attention of several workers passing with collapsible tables.

"Uh... did you check Tawagawa-san?" one of them asked, eyeing her warily. Akako scowled.

"Tawagawa-san is not working here anymore. Is there anyone else that can give me the existing menu?" she snapped, glaring at the young man. She watched him gulp nervously, Adam's apple bobbing in his throat.

"Uh... the catering team is over by where we are setting up the tables," he said, pointing in the direction. Akako spared him a haughty look before stalking over in the direction he'd indicated. She didn't miss the looks of masculine appreciation from the other men. Good. Looks of masculine appreciation generally mean that she'd get what she wanted.

"Arisawa Akako," she stated, approaching someone with an ID marking them as the Assistant Head Caterer and extending a hand. After a very brief handshake, Akako took back her hand. "Tawagawa-san has been dismissed. Bring me up to date," she said sharply. The female assistant blinked rapidly, apparently surprised and disoriented. Akako was beginning to get impatient.

"Today!" she snapped, tapping one red heel and glaring at the assistant. The assistant visibly jumped, very obviously trying to catch up.

"Uh..." she began, shaking her head as if to clear it. She handed Akako the menu, shuffling clumsily with the others in her hand. Some of the other caterers began edging away, as if afraid to get caught in the mighty Akako's wrath. Brushing a hand through her bangs in an arrogant gesture of impatience, Akako scowled as the assistant's clipboard fell from her hands.


Amegakure no Sato
Sako's Treasure Trove
7:17 pm

Crash!

Itachi turned to see a woman fumbling with some boxes that had dropped from a shelf. His eyes were involuntarily drawn to the rather well shaped rear end as she bent over and he-... Itachi spun back around, eyes narrowing. What was wrong with him? He was starting to believe that there must be something to what Kisame had been insinuating earlier... Was he getting soft?

First it had been the woman at the hotel, and now this one... He needed to get his mind off his anatomical preferences and onto how he was going to find his mother and brother. It had taken him a day to basically exhaust all the Amegakure-based people that he suspected would have had reason to take his family members. He was just about to successfully move on to more pressing subjects - or so he told himself, when the exact rear he'd been trying to forget bumped into the back of his legs, almost bowling him over. He knew this, because he looked.

"Uh, I am so sorry! Excuse me!" the female gushed, her head of bright pink hair still held down. Long, silky, and the color of spring cherry blossoms, the strands were escaping the cosmetic chopsticks she'd tried to tame them with, falling forward to brush her collar bone. That was precisely the reason Itachi's eyes were drawn to her chest, which was exposed due to her V-necked T-shirt. Or, so he told himself. His head tilted to the side as he inwardly pondered why it was exactly that he liked her chest in particular. They weren't too big... or too small... they were, in fact... rather perfect.

"I really didn't mean to bump into you," the woman continued, her voice snapping Itachi back to his usual self. He scowled at his inappropriate behaviour. Kisame must be rubbing off on him after all these years. Vaguely Itachi made a mental note to endeavor to ignore his partner with more tenacity, for such behavior was...It was disgusting. "It's just these things are awfully hard to balance because they are so big!" the woman went on speaking, oblivious to his thoughts, and even ending her sentence with a delightful giggle. Itachi frowned lightly. Suddenly, every response that came to mind was mildly suggestive, so Itachi found himself in the peculiar position of not knowing what to say.

It was peculiar, because usually, he chose not to speak. In this instance, however, he just couldn't. Instead, he knelt to help her pick up the fallen objects, all the while trying to convince himself that he wasn't really trying to catch a glimpse of her face. She kept her head down, however, crushing that possibility since he couldn't seem to find the words to say to make her look at him anyway. He thanked Kami that his partner, had 'refused' to accompany him on this shopping endeavor. For once his partner's childish attitude was working to his benefit, for if Kisame had been here... he'd have never heard the end of it.

Shaking off his partner's imaginary voice plaguing his thoughts, Itachi hefted the boxes he'd gathered and stood, placing them carefully back on the shelf. His pink haired assaulter rose with him, brushing her hands off along the way and thanking him for his help.

It was when she shook back the stray strands out of her face, that he finally saw her for the first time. How could he describe it? Her face was normal enough. Big green eyes set in a face with smooth skin, pretty pink lips pulled back in a smile, with a forehead that was perhaps a bit wide, but still, it suited her.

Itachi cocked his head to the side as he clinically committed each feature to memory to go with the rest of her. Separately, each feature might seem normal, but put all together, it made her look breathtakingly gorgeous. What was it that made her so irresistible... that made him want her?

A bit off-put by the intense punch of attraction, Itachi blinked down at her, nodding absently when she asked if he was alright. She looked a little uncomfortable by his silence, and for the first time in an incredibly long time, Itachi wished that he was a bit more sociable. It passed after a moment, though, because he was not getting soft. It must just be the situation with his family. That must be it. Despite his position as an Akatsuki, Itachi was rarely put in situations like this. Because people were usually too terrified of him to touch his family. He comforted himself with the feminine appreciation that lit her emerald eyes when she looked up at him.

The woman blinked disconcertedly for a short but awkward moment - awkward enough for Itachi to have to work to squelch the warmth of embarrassment crawling up his chest - and then she turned away from him.

"Ah... okay... that's good, then," she said breathily. "I'll just... go... over there," she muttered, her cheeks reddening slightly before she scooted slightly to the left to brush by him. As she did so he opened his mouth to say goodbye but stopped as, for some reason, something made her glance back up at him, a last shy parting glance that snared his attention. Just one glance and every aspect of his attention was focused on her. And he was rendered speechless. Again.

'It's her eyes,' he thought absently. 'That's what pulled you to her'. Blinking up at him, she flashed a small smile before flitting off to the other side of the store. With a bit of a start, Itachi realized belatedly that his heart rate was uncomfortably fast. He knew enough to know what that meant... but no one else was here, and no one else knew, so he didn't have to admit it, right? He thought this even as his eyes scanned the store for her unconsciously.

Reaching for a mask without really paying attention to the task anymore, Itachi headed off towards the register. Lost in thoughts about chance meetings, and strange women.


Amegakure no Sato
Shopping District - Jun's Health Food Store
9:27 pm

Sakura stared blankly at the items on the shelf, her mind sticking with surprising tenacity to the man from the costume store. His eyes had been so intense, even if he'd not said a word. That was surprising. They - men - usually at least said something. Sakura felt a small smile tip her lips when she thought about his features. 'Refined' was the word she would choose to describe him. He was also ridiculously good looking. And had an equally impressive body, all muscle tone and zero body fat. Her inner perv, yes, that one that she had to keep safely hidden from Kiba and Neji, was turned up to full power now, filling her head with thoughts... thoughts that she had to say were straying rather far from 'innocent'.

She giggled, swiping two packs of poppy seeds from the rack and dropping them into her basket. Akako's trip to the auditorium had yielded a lot of very useful information. Information she could use to her advantage on Saturday. This was a mission Sakura was determined to use to show her full potential. She was, after all, going solo. ROOT did not have much jurisdiction, if any, in Amegakure, even though the organization still had some pull. Trailing through the isles, Sakura spotted another important herb. Valerian root. She smiled, taking up the package and adding it to her basket.

Sakura grinned, thinking about the plan she had in mind and continued strolling through the isles. Her inner pervert still running rampant in her mind, Sakura found herself randomly giggling. A couple other shoppers sent her wary glances as she passed them, which only made her giggle more. Sakura reached the section of the store that displayed bottled herbs and spices and took up a small bottle of cinnamon, as well as a bottle of the essence of vanilla. The vanilla she sniffed before placing it into her basket, and, finding the scent a bit weak, she put it back and chose a stronger brand.

Glancing at the time, Sakura stifled a little shriek. She had two more stops to make and generally, all stores closed by eleven, so she ran to the cashier and hurriedly loaded her items onto the counter. The man behind the register, who she assumed to be Jun-san, was incredibly old, and gave her a wide, toothy smile. Sakura grinned back, until he took two years to cash her goods out. She felt her mood sprinting towards annoyance. What was with Amegakure and the slow service? Was it a culture? If so, she wanted to get out of here ASAP!

Two years older... okay fine, two minutes older... Sakura stormed out of Jun's Health Food store and jogged to her car. She rested the groceries on the floor of the car and hopped in, locking the door behind her and driving off to the market, which was just about closed. Leaving the car running, Sakura jumped out and sprinted over to the shrimp and lobster salesman. The shrimp and lobster salesman who was packing up. NO, no, no!

"Uhh, hello!" she said cheerily, grinning at the man who turned to her, a look of decided annoyance on his face. "Can I just make a quick purchase? Just some prawns, please!" she begged, pleading at him with her eyes. The man looked like he was about to refuse, then he rolled his eyes.

"How many?"


Amegakure no Sato
Residential Area
10:02 pm

Fifteen. That's how many times Itachi seriously contemplated going back to the store and looking for his pink-haired freight train. The one that had nearly bowled him over. The one with the big green eyes that...argh! What was wrong with him? Itachi shook the thoughts of her away, sobering as he turned into the driveway to his mother's house. A heaviness settled around Itachi; he'd not been able to find a single clue.

There was one niggling thought bouncing around Itachi's mind, one unrelenting suspicion, but he tucked it away, because every time the thought came to the forefront of his mind, he got so angry... so unbelievably angry he did not know what he might be capable of doing. He parked in the driveway and remotely locked the car door after sliding out.

Itachi stalked to the front door and opened it, intent on poring over every document in the house to find some clue as to who had kidnapped his mother and brother, and why. He stalked inside, intent on finding said documents, but what he found was not what he'd intended to find at all.

What he found was his mother.

She was sprawled on the carpet, as if dumped there unceremoniously, in a pool of her own blood. Her face was battered almost beyond recognition, and her skin was bruised and burned, with long lacerations that Itachi knew only came from the application of a whip. He found himself running over to her and scooping her into his arms. The fear for her safety overrode the burning anger surging up in him.

"Okaa-san," he intoned, feeling immeasurable relief well up in him when she moaned. "Who did this to you?" he asked, pulling her against him. He didn't ask if she was okay, because, clearly, she wasn't.

"S-s-sasuke... f-find...S-sasuke..." she gasped on weak breaths, too weak to even open her eyes. Itachi felt his brows knit together, and fear grip his body. Never before had he felt fear like this. Fear for his mother's safety. Itachi reached for his phone, hurriedly typed '911' and sent the call.

"Okaa-san," he called again, desperately hoping she would stay alive; she was beaten up really badly. "Okaa-san, do you remember anything?"

"S...Sasuke..." she mumbled softly, and Itachi needed no doctor to tell him she was fading, and fast. "Sas..." was all she managed before she went completely limp in his arms. Itachi put his fingers to her neck, feeling the incredibly weak pulse beating there. It slowed dangerously, then stopped altogether.

Itachi felt a burning pain crash through his entire body, and for the first time since his father died when he was a child, the Uchiha cried. And then the anger pushed away the sadness, its dark presence stilling his grief, if only for a time. He knew who could help him.

It was time to go to Sunagakure.


Amegakure no Sato
Shopping District - The Health Drink
10:25 pm

The health what now? Shaking her head at the odd title, Sakura was about to walk inside when she noticed the sign. The sheer oddity of it stopped her in her tracks.

Sakura stared deadpan at the sign, and the sign stared right back. That's right. It. Stared. Back. The pinkette quickly walked away from the sign, disturbed with the googly eyes some kid had super glued onto it. Speaking of signs, and oddities, as she browsed up and down the aisles looking for the items on her list, Sakura began to find the store's name horribly ironic. For there was not a single bottle in the entire establishment, that held a liquid of any kind.

'Huh', Sakura mused to herself, 'talk about irony.'

Shaking her head to get rid of unproductive thoughts, Sakura reminded herself that she had to hurry before the store began to close. Hustling around the late night stragglers there to buy aspirin, Sakura arrived at the cosmetics aisle in record time. Pulling out the little piece of notepaper she had marked what she needed to buy of, the ROOT agent began to systematically work her way down the list.

Blush, mascara, manicure set and vaseline- thankfully all in one aisle - and, with a flourish Sakura checked them off her list. The pepper spray she found on an end display, and she took a moment to contemplate whether pepperspray counted against her no liquid medicine amusement. ..but, it wasn't something you would just drink, because...pepperspray couldn't be good for the body, right?

Knowing how picky she could be about her nail polish shades, Sakura passed up that part of the beauty aisle to leave for last, moving to the next item instead. Consulting her paper, she then looked up at the helpful labels hanging from the roof that listed what was down each isle. After that, finding the stuff on her list was a piece of cake.

Paper clips, and double sided tape, were found successfully on aisle seven. Which meant it was down to a battle of colors. Leaning over to scan the color choices, Sakura hummed and debated. Which was most 'Tayuya'?


Sunagakure no Sato
(The next day)
4:17 am

Red. The colour of his mother's blood on the carpet. The colour that refused to leave his mind.

It was also the color the man he'd driven tirelessly to visit was known for. Sasori of the Red Sand. Sasori, one of the many members of the Akatsuki, practiced a rather lucrative, though morbid business. He made the dead speak. Not literally, but with his analysis of them. He had a highly trained team of scientists - whom the the rest of the world jokingly referred to as 'puppets' - that aided him in his study of the human corpse and the reasons that caused it to become one.

The man was talented, and had somehow gotten permission from the top brass to take on work outside the organization. Sasori even worked with the Sunagakure police force and the ANBU, helping them to solve some of their harder cases. Sometimes, even cold cases were solved due to the skill of Sasori and his puppets. Itachi had called the man from before he left Amegakure, and had driven at breakneck speeds across the desert highway to get his mother's body all the way to Sunagakure.

Itachi pulled up outside Sasori's lab, stepping out of the car the same moment Sasori stepped out of the front doors.

"Are you alright?" the redhead asked his Akatsuki ally. The man before him had bags under his eyes and looked like hell. In all honesty the Akatsuki coroner had seen corpses who looked in better shape. Itachi opened his mouth to say he was fine, but bile and whatever food he had eaten the day before came out instead. Sasori did not comment but motioned for a miniature swarm of puppets to take Mikoto's gently wrapped body from the backseat of Itachi's car. He didn't touch or look at Itachi, knowing that this was not the way the Uchiha wanted to be seen, leaning over and heaving the way he currently was. So, he respectfully kept his eyes averted as he spoke to the dark haired man.

"I will get you some results in a few hours. Whatever can help you, but in return, you must eat and at least attempt to get some rest." With that said, he walked off in the direction of the lab.


Sunagakure no Sato
Red Sand Scientific and Medical Laboratory
6:15 pm

Itachi paced back and forth, albeit slowly, waiting for Sasori's mass spectrometer to print the results.

"Moving so much will not get the results any faster, Uchiha-senpai," Sasori said, his voice low and monotonous. He wasn't amused, or even annoyed, but was just stating a fact. Itachi stopped moving, knowing that Sasori was right. "This is very unlike you, Uchiha-senpai," the redhead commented further. "I will try to be as specific as possible in my analysis." His simple statement meant the world to Itachi. Even if it had come a step too late for his mother, the fact that Itachi finally had something solid to count on, to believe in, helped calm the turmoil in his heart. Even if it was only by a minuscule amount.

When all Sasori's results all came back, some two and a half hours later, the man lined up his puppets and had them read and analyze every bit of information to him. Every solid analysis, save one, that they came up with pulled Itachi even closer and closer to the suspicion that had been bothering him this whole time. The analysis that shocked him was Mikoto's drug abuse. The majority of the shock came at the notion that, after so much time doing what he did, Itachi had not picked up the signs, or he had ignored them.

However, the fibres they had found lodged in Mikoto's skin, the shape of the object used to smash her face so hard it fractured her skull in places, the residue of the cigarettes that had made the burn marks dotting her arms and chest, the soil found in her shoes and the bacteria from the air she had been in, all led to one conclusion.

"I don't know how to say this any other way, Uchiha-sama," Sasori said, upping the honorific attached to Itachi's surname because of the news he was about to bring. The scientist eyed the Uchiha uncomfortably, not believing he was about to say the actual words that encapsulated the entirety of the results.

"It appears your mother was killed by the Akatsuki."


CLIFFIE! LMAO! Okay, so we needed to end on a cliffie, because this chapter was, admittedly, a little slow. However, in order to put the story in a way that you could follow it, without handing the plot to you on a silver platter, this chapter was necessary. Okay, so if you notice with Sakura, when she's in character,we use the character's name to give it that 'becoming the character' vibe. We hope that was not too confusing! Anyways, we slaved for hours to bring this to you, so PLEASE REWARD US! Hahaha! *on bended knee, here* Reviewers make us type faster!