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Six- Or Maybe Five- Years Ago

Sasuke slipped through the back door of the hotel and slunk past the kitchen staff with none of them the wiser. The radio perched on top of the microwave was blasting the Gazette's newest release and the overall clatter of the kitchen masked the sound of his wet shoes on the tile. The raven ducked into the nearest closest and pulled off his galoshes, stuffing them into his small bag along with his knives and gun.

His mission had gone smoothly enough at first. He'd slit the old lady's throat and even had time to grab an apple off of her table when the maid had suddenly arrived. According to his intel she wasn't supposed to arrive for another hour. She sure as hell picked a bad day to come early. Needless to say her screams had attracted the police rather quickly and he'd been forced to run for it.

He growled, frustrated as he pulled off the detachable hood from his waterproof trench and shoved it into the bag as well. He'd be having a talk with a certain Hyuuga when he got back to headquarters. Screw ups like this were intolerable. It also meant that he'd have to go find the maid- at his own convenience of course- and kill her as well. Tie up the loose ends and all that. He couldn't have some lady parading around every television talk show in Tokyo blabbering on about how her precious Kyoko-sama had been brutally murdered before her eyes. Shit like that tended to float around the gossip mill for months. Better to go and strangle her before the media got a hold of her. Nip it in the bud.

He pulled off his coat and reversed it, before pulling it on again, shivering as the wet fabric ran across the warm skin of his arms. He zipped up his bag before he ran a hand through his hair, thankful that his hood had kept it dry, before he carefully exited the closet, the sound of the Gazette still echoing in his ears as he opened the nearest door and walked into the main lobby area. It was crowded and no one noticed that he'd come through the 'employees only' door, too busy going about their own business to notice a single stranger.

He was just making his way over to the elevators when the entrance doors suddenly flung open. Sasuke swore when he saw the brigade of officers that'd been chasing him storm into the lobby.

It just wasn't his day.

He pressed the call button, hoping that he could slip away unnoticed when one son of a bitch suddenly called out, "There, by the elevators!"

He resisted the urge to punch the wall and instead turned around to find the entire lobby watching him. Just great. Just fucking great. He quickly brushed away his bangs to get them out of his eyes so that he could assess the situation.

"Can I help you all with something?"

Suddenly all of the officers were rushing towards him like madmen, slipping on the wet tile as they did.

"Stop right there!" one of them yelled.

Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes. It wasn't like he really had anywhere to go.

"I haven't even moved," he idly pointed out, shifting his weight to his hip. With nowhere to go he played it cool, looking surprised as the first officer to reach him grabbed his arms and began cuffing him. Another hand soon clamped on to his upper arm and he couldn't help but wince as the pressure irritated the bone deep bruise from his last spare with Itachi.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" A voice yelled out from amongst the crowd, and when Sasuke looked up he froze.

There was a blond man coming towards him, his hair still damp from the rain, with eyes as blue as the afternoon sky. He stood above the crowd by at least a head; a speck of yellow sunlight in a sea of ink and brown earth. He'd seen a lot of Gaijin in his time, but never one so...exotic.

"He hasn't done anything," the man yelled in accented Japanese.

Sasuke couldn't help but stare, his eyes roaming over the odd tattoos or maybe scars that spanned those tan cheeks.

"We're arresting a suspect, now stand back," the man in charge ordered and Sasuke felt a flash of annoyance as his view of the tall blond was blocked off.

"He's just trying to get up to his room!"

The raven hummed thoughtfully to himself, vaguely wondering why such a man would come to his defence. The pair was still arguing but Sasuke's mind was wandering- although his eyes certainly weren't. Maybe he wanted something- it wouldn't be the first time a man had thought that doing him a favour would earn him a few favours of his own. The favourmost of them earned was a bullet between the eyes but quite frankly, this one was different. He'd probably shoot him in the chest rather than risk accidently hitting one of those bright blue eyes that were in such contrast to his own.

"... need to calm down and think this through," The blond was trying to use reason now and judging by the lieutenant's tense shoulders, it was actually working. "He didn't enter through the main doors, he's not tracking in water, and his hair isn't damp. He either hasn't been outside, or he's been here long enough to dry off. He's not your guy."

Oh, how wrong he was, but no one had to know that little fact.

"Don't worry Lieutenant; I'm sure you'll catch your guy!"

Sasuke glanced up just in time to see the smile that the man gave the officer, and for a moment his heart seemed to shudder to a stop in his chest. The cuffs were coming off his wrists but Sasuke was still frozen in place. It was like there was a burst of warmth in his chest- an explosion of feeling that he couldn't explain. He wanted to speak to this man, to know him, to touch him. The desire was so strong that he had to stop himself from reaching out towards the blond. It was as if in that moment the centre of his universe had shifted. And it was also in that moment that the elevator dinged behind him.

His saviour was distracted for the time being so he practically jumped into the small cabin, punching the number three so hard it wouldn't have surprised him if the button broke. The doors were just sliding shut as the guy turned around, a look of shock appearing on his face.

"Hey you bastard!"

A smirk came to his face as he resisted the urge to laugh at the man's tone. When the doors slid shut he fell back against the elevator wall, a true smile coming to his face. Well, maybe this was his day after all.

Five-or maybe six- Years Later.

The drive to the outskirts of town was a long one given the heavy traffic, but a familiar one. While Sasuke was under the impression that he belonged to an architectural firm, Naruto was in fact one of Leaf's top agents.

The car sped along the main road until the buildings and traffic began to thin and soon enough there was nothing but farmland for miles around. The sun was just beginning to set, washing the fields in gold and red as he sped past them. He could see the mostly glass building off in the distance glinting in the light, the setting sun reflected on its facade.

He could tell the parking lot was almost deserted which wasn't surprising given that many short term missions started on Friday and were wrapped up by Monday. He pressed the pedal to the floor, smiling to himself as the Challenger barrelled down the road. He took the final turn like he always did: fast and wide, before rolling into the lot and pulling into his normal space. Naruto climbed out, grabbing his gym bag before he slammed the door behind him. The main door required a security pass, a seven digit password and finger print recognition. He rolled his shoulders beneath his leather jacket as he waited for the computer to process his print, idly wondering if he'd make it home for a late dinner.

Sasuke had the tendency to be a prickly bastard at times, but he was one hell of a cook and normally demanded that they both sit down together every evening lest Naruto face his wrath. Lately, the daily dinners had dissolved into weekly events that passed quietly without much conversation, but Naruto remembered the days when they'd sit on the couch together, Sasuke curled up against his side as they ate off each other's plates with a movie playing in the background.

The door beeped as it unlocked and he pulled it open and found himself in the brightly lit lobby. The walls were lined with old blueprints and different framed photos of buildings from around the world and varying time periods. Ino was sitting behind her desk, her nails clacking on the keyboard of the computer perched in front of her. His fellow blonde glanced up at his entrance, sending a wave in his general direction before turning back to her work.

"Running a little late aren't you?" she called without looking up.

"Yeah," he admitted as he adjusted his bag and made his way over. "Sasuke and I had an appointment."

"And how's he doing?" she asked, finally looking up. Ino had never really had much interest in his private life until she'd happened to come across a picture of his wedding photo on his desk a few years back.

"Ah, he's fine I guess. He's still being pretty distant."

He had a feeling she was one of those girls who liked seeing guys together. If so, he and Sasuke were apparently her fix.

"You should take him out for dinner. Romance him a little!" She cried, her nails now clacking against the dark wood of the tabletop. "Show him off a bit. A night on the town would be perfect."

Naruto considered the suggestion for a moment. It would be an understatement to say that they hadn't gone out in a while. The last time they'd really gone anywhere just the two of them was for Naruto's birthday three months ago.

"I don't know..." he hesitated, leaning against the desk as he set his bag down on the tile floor. "Right now, it might be a little awkward. He doesn't want to talk to me."

Sasuke had a way of staring blankly when he had nothing to say, and it could be a little unnerving at times. Sasuke's eyes always had a way of making him nervous. In the beginning, it'd been a good nervous- the butterflies in the stomach, I just want to kiss you- nervous. But lately it was more of a holy shit stop staring into my fucking soul kind of nervous. It had become an accusatory stare; as if Sasuke knew that he was being lied to about...well, basically everything.

"I'm telling you, dress him up, take him out, remind him why he married you and he'll be putty in your hands," she assured with a flick of her hair.

Naruto hummed in consideration before nodding. "You know, you're right. Our anniversary is in a few days, I'll take him out then."

Ino sighed in exasperation, her hands coming up to cradle her head. "Naruto," she practically whined. "Please don't tell me that you had no intention of taking him out for your anniversary before this."

Said blonde scratched his cheek shyly as he nodded. Ino gave him a look that assured him that he was, in fact, terribly pathetic and somewhat mentally challenged.

"We've both been busy!" He growled defensively. Ino only waved him off, apparently fed up and ready to get back to work.

"Just go," she huffed. "Get out of my sight you unromantic moron."

With that lovely dismissal Naruto snatched up his bag and made his way over to the wooden stairs that led up to the second level where the offices were held. When he opened the French door that led to his own the blonde found Sakura waiting for him behind his desk, looking as pretty and peeved as ever.

"Naruto, do you even comprehend the concept of arriving on time?" She groused with the armrests of his chair clasped tightly in her iron grip. "You were supposed to be here an hour ago. Lord knows actually getting to the damn club on time is out of the question now which puts this entire operation—

"Calm down," he said breezily, dismissing her concerns with the idle wave of his hand. The pink haired woman gave him a dark look, as if daring him to make an excuse.

"Sasuke and I had the appointment with Iruka today."

Her look softened as she finally released her death grip on his chair. "And how did it go? Did you manage to sort anything out?"

It'd been at Sakura's party that they'd won the raffle for the appointments with Iruka. Naruto had a pretty good hunch that she'd rigged the thing so they'd win them and he couldn't say he wasn't grateful. She'd been a steadfast friend of his since their first day of training, and when he'd first begun looking for homes with Sasuke it'd been her who'd showed him the listing for their current house. They'd dated once upon a time, but he'd met Sasuke and she'd met Lee and they saw each other more as friends- siblings even.

Naruto shrugged, sitting down on the desk seeing as his chair was otherwise occupied. "Not really. This was the second appointment..."

"So there's still time," Sakura said with a tight smile. "Just be your normal persistent self and things will work out."

She sounded so sure, but Naruto had his doubts. He'd been persistent for the better part of two years and it'd done jack shit.

"You've got a mission out in the desert on Sunday, so tell Sasuke you'll be gone for a meeting," Sakura said suddenly, tossing him a small USB stick which he caught easily. "Everything's on there. Kiba will back you up if you need, but I think you'll be fine. Wear sun block. Now, grab your shit and get the hell out of here before Tsunade has your ass," she laughed, giving him a shove.

The blonde smiled back and picked up the file and the money case he'd come for before he vacated the room, leaving Sakura to show herself out. The door clicked shut behind the blonde and the smile quickly slipped from Sakura's face as he held her head in her hands.

"Oh God," she whispered raggedly, her nails digging sharply into her cheeks. "What did I just do?"

Naruto was like a brother to her, and she'd just betrayed him in the worst possible way. She swallowed back the bile that rolled like acid up her throat. She was tempted to run after Naruto and tell him the truth, but she remembered what Tsunade had said and stayed where she was. Green eyes peered at the wedding photo perched safely on the desk. Two faces stared back at her, filled with pure joy and love. She reached for it and swore loudly when her fingers knocked it sending it crashing to the floor.

Sakura stood quickly, the chair thumping against the window in her haste. The glass crunched on her shoes as she stared down at the now shattered frame. Tears began slipping from her eyes as she leaned down and started picking up the shards.

"I'm sorry," she cried, heartbroken over what she'd done. "I'm so sorry."

Sakura was right in the fact that Naruto was late getting to the club. There was already a long line of people, beads of sweat on their bare skin glistening in the neon light of the club's sign. Women fanned themselves with their manicured hands and hiked up provocatively high skirts even higher. Men were rolling up their sleeves and unbuttoning their shirts as they suffered through the warm night in their slacks. Naruto was feeling the heat himself, clothed in a white dress shirt and a grey button up vest left over from a three piece suit he'd ruined a while back. He left the top buttons of his shirt undone to try and ward off the sticky warmth, but he'd be relieved once he was inside.

The blonde strode past all the waiting customers and made his way up to the bouncer at the door. The large man only towered over him by a few inches but outweighed him by about a hundred pounds. Beading eyes looked him over as Naruto adjusted the sleek black glasses perched on his nose.

"I'm here to see Nelly."

Mr. Bouncer looked to the briefcase clasped tightly in the blonde's hand and Naruto let loose one of his winning smiles.

"I'm looking for a little action."

The man stared for a moment longer before giving a halting nod and signalling for him to follow as he disappeared through the door. Men and women alike booed and raged as he followed after the bouncer, sparing one woman a quick wink before shutting the door.

Now, Naruto wasn't entirely sure what this Nelly guy had done wrong. But he'd gotten on the bad side of some very powerful people and in doing that, signed his own death warrant.

The club was packed with gyrating bodies as he navigated through it, shoving people aside when they got in his way. The music was loud and the base was thumping through the floors. It was a high class club, but just a dance club none the less. It was what was in the back that made the place special. Since the club's opening the back rooms had been reserved for the use of private parties that wished to remain unseen.

The bouncer led him through a back door and into a dimly lit hallway. The man gave him one last glance before knocking on the nearest door and entering when a voice called out to him.

"What's up?" someone, presumably Nelly asked.

"Some guy's here to play."

There was a moment of silence before: "What's he look like?"

"Something off Wall Street."

Naruto grumbled at that, glancing down at his clothes. He did not look like some uptight accountant. There were several laughs before Nelly continued.

"Fuck it, send him in. We'll wipe the floor with him."

The bouncer peaked out the boor and waved him in. The room was small and filled with the rolling grey smog of cigarettes and cigars. Nelly was apparently a man in his twenties, maybe a little younger than Naruto himself with corn rows and a smirk a mile wide. Three other men were at the table, all of them looking over their hands and glancing to and from the pile of chips and cards in the centre of the table. Naruto smiled as he sat in the only free seat.

"Deal me in."

The other four men shared an amused look, having already written him off.

"How much you got on you?" Nelly asked as he began dealing.

Naruto pulled his brief case onto the table and opened it. The men whistled at the sight of the crisp clean bills inside.

"That's gotta be two g's in there man," one of them commented. "You must be gutsy as fuck walking around this part of town with that shit."

Naruto shrugged as he sat back in his chair and looked over his hand. "S'not too bad," he mumbled. "I can handle myself."

The others laughed before they fell into silence, once again focused on the game. Naruto dominated the first round, taking some satisfaction in Nelly's astounded face.

"Man, where the hell did you learn to play like this?"

"Ah, it's all math really," the blonde said casually. "It's basic probability really. You see—

"Alright, no math man. That crap hurts my head," Nelly grumbled as he grabbed a clean class from a nearby table and poured a large portion of vodka into it and set it in front of the Leaf agent. More rounds of cards, and shots followed. Naruto knocked back his fourth glass, pretending to be completely out of it.

"Crap. I had that one. I had it," he slurred as he through his hand down onto the table.

"Homes," one of the men started. "You've got fourteen different tells. Hell, you're William Tell."

One of the men broke out into the overture as they all laughed. Naruto slammed his hand down on the table, nearly knocking over the fifth glass that Nelly had poured him. "M' not!"

"Maybe sober," one of the muttered to another earning a laugh.

"Okay, okay," Nelly called, smiling when he noticed Naruto swaying slightly in his seat. "Bet's four hundred. You going to fold, call or raise?"

The blonde reached into his brief case and pulled out a wad of bills. "Okay. Two eighty, ninety, three ten...wait," he paused, staring vaguely into the distance, his glances beginning to slide down his nose. "Where was I? Oh, right," he muttered to himself.

The men around the table were laughing again, expecting an easy win like the last seven rounds.

"Seventy, eighty. Four hundred. That's your four hundred, and I raise you..." he reached into his pocket and pulled out a grenade.

The men stopped laughing, the smiles slipping from their faces like the cards through their fingers that were fluttering to the table top.

"Wall Street teaches you some stuff," Naruto said as he pulled the pin and rolled the grenade across the table. "Go big or go home, y'know?"

Nelly quickly stood, knocking his chair to the floor. "What the h—

Naruto pulled his gun from the waistband of his pants and went to work. God. He loved his job.

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ForeverFalling.