Title: Duped

Rating: T

Prompt: Duped SSM Day 21

Warning(s):

Notes: This takes place after chapter 2: rebel.

Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to its owners.

-S-

On the floor beside the bed laid Sakura's luggage. It wasn't much since the planned stay was only for three weeks. Also, Sasuke had packed most of it, grabbing essentials from Sakura's closet and dresser, because he was a more experienced traveler and knew what to pack.

Sakura paced back and forth contemplating how to escape from the vacation house. She tired the obvious options first: the windows had some sort of number pad lock attached and Sasuke's birthday was not the passcode; the doors had the same lock. As she rummaged through the house, she noticed it really was well stocked. Sasuke was even considerate enough to include several varieties of microwaveable dango. Looking in the closets resulted in a multitude of plain white shirts and pants in varying shades of blue. A first aid kit with small jars of bacta* was also available in the bathroom cabinet. There were enough supplies in the house to last for months.

But well-stocked or not, Sakura refused to just sit idly.

Sasuke, stubborn fool that he is, had ignored all warnings and blatantly disobeyed orders to go on yet another wild bantha* chase. And he was using her in his schemes again; only this time more preparations were made.

-S-

The first time Sasuke involved Sakura on his personal missions was a few months ago. Sasuke and Kakashi were back on Coruscant for a week after two months of patrolling the Outer Rim and chasing down illegal smugglers.

Sakura's parents were visiting relatives on Alderaan but she was unable to join them because her exam was scheduled on the day of their departure. It would be her first time alone at home but it was only for a short while and they lived in a safe area. But Sakura's father, a good friend of Kakashi's had heard of their return to Coruscant. We know you're on vacation, but since you're such a great friend will you check on our daughter while we're gone? It must have been something like that. The favor was easily granted and how convenient that Kakashi had a padawan that was currently not doing anything. That was most certainly not the Jedi way. So Master Kakashi passed the task onto Sasuke.

At first, Sasuke was reasonably annoyed because he planned to use his vacation time to build a new lightsaber and make upgrades to his ship. But upon finding out the reason why he was stuck on bodyguard duty in the first place, he offered to take Sakura to Alderaan.

However, there is no such thing as a free trip. In exchange for transporting Sakura, Sasuke would attend to other duties along the way.

Sasuke borrowed a starship and brought along his R2D2 on the trip. He left it in orbit near Bespin and entered Cloud City aboard his starfighter. He left Sakura aboard the ship with R2 taking over the piloting. For two days, Sasuke would leave the starship for a few hours aboard his starfighter and venture into Cloud City. Then, he would return to share a meal with Sakura and go to sleep.

Sakura asked him what they were doing in Cloud City and Sasuke had truthfully explained that he was looking for machine parts. When Sakura pointed out that Cloud City was a dangerous place and that he would most likely be conned into buying counterfeits, Sasuke had cryptically replied, "I know when they're lying."

That was when she realized that Sasuke's true purpose wasn't scavenging. Bespin was known for its corruption and was filled with criminals. It was more likely that Sasuke was hunting for information under the guise of a customer.

On the second day, Sasuke came back with a new hyperdrive generator and extra fuel. When they arrived on Alderaan two days later than expected, Sasuke had smoothly explained that they were delayed due to some technical issues but they were easily resolved.

-S-

This time, Sakura suspected that Sasuke was headed towards a different destination. Being delayed for two days was normal. Sasuke could have easily repeated the routine and they could have stayed longer before going to Alderaan. So, Sakura figured this wasn't just information gathering. Sasuke must be doing something on a larger scale. By bringing Sakura along, Sasuke had executed an excellent plan and the Jedi Council was duped.

-S-

1) bacta is this healing goo that the Star Wars Universe uses.

2) Bantha… is an animal in the Star Wars Universe. I wanted to use the "wild goose chase" idiom but thought it would be funny to use bantha instead.

3) When I use time measurements like days and months, I'm using the same as on Earth to keep it simple.

4) Not the best chapter, I know. I just had to write something to get back into writing. Will probably be edited after chapter 5 is posted.

5) Sorry for not updating in a while. Happy Holidays!