You Only Live Twice

Chapter 7: Cat and Mouse

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. - Anatole France

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He didn't know why he was so curious about it. He wasn't actually that kind of person. Sasuke rarely cared about anything that didn't really have to do something with him. But something changed that day he went to the Hyuuga estate. And he didn't necessarily like it. In fact, he could barely recognize himself.

So here he was now, in front of his father's office trying to think of a way to ask him for information. Fugaku Uchiha was the chief of the town and a close figure to the Hokage – the mayor. Getting information from that man was almost impossible, ever if you were his son.

Sasuke knocked on the massive mahogany double doors and waited for his father's stern voice to grant him permission to enter. When he finally got it, the raven haired boy walked into the cozy office. Thanks to Sasuke's mother the place looked nice and in order. If it was up to his father, he would have settled for a desk and a chair. There were a few plants and a nice couch in front of the desk. A fireplace, unused for years, was located opposite of the desk and the bookcase, right behind the chair, was filled with papers and old records.

Even if his mother had tried to make the place cozy and welcoming, the mere presence of Fugaku was enough to freeze your blood. He was a strict person with cold eyes and he almost never smiled. Sasuke himself have never seen him. Itachi had told him that he had seen their father smile once when he found out his wife was pregnant with Sasuke.

The young Uchiha hardly believed this story as Fugaku showed little to no interest for him. He was more concerned chasing convicts and helping other families as though theirs was okay. Fugaku was often absent from home, spending most of his time in the police station and dealing with criminals. Sasuke never really understood him and never really tried.

"Sasuke," came Fugaku's stern, cold voice. "What brings you here? Are you in trouble?"

Of course his father would think he visited him only because he is in trouble.

"No," answered Sasuke and closed the double doors behind him. He didn't sit on the couch since he didn't plan to stick around for long.

"Then, is it Naruto in trouble?" Sasuke could almost smirk at that. It was often that his father had to go the police station to bust Naruto out and bring him to Minato.

"No," was Sasuke's answer again. "I came here to ask you something."

"What is it?"

Even if Fugaku wasn't looking up from the papers Sasuke knew he was listening.

"I need information about someone."

Immediately, Fugaku looked up from his paper work to look sharply at his son, "You know that it's forbidden to share that kind of information with anybody outside the police."

Sasuke nodded, not really surprised by the answer, "I know but it's really important."

Fugaku raised an eyebrow, "Who exactly is that important that you have to come and ask me?"

"Suna's mayor's son, Kimimaro."

Fugaku narrowed his eyes and stood up from his comfortable chair behind the desk. He moved around the desk, never breaking eye contact from his son. When he reached the front of the desk, he leaned on it and crossed his thick arms, "Why do you want to know anything about the son of the mayor of Suna?"

"I don't know yet."

"The hell you don't."

Sasuke sighed and contemplated on the thought to forget about everything and go to his room. He knew his father would want to know what was going on but Sasuke wasn't sure himself. He remembered Sakura's frightened face in that video, remembered the state their room was left at. It all seemed fishy, not to mention serious.

"Is somebody in trouble, Sasuke?" his father's question interrupted his thoughts. His expecting gaze locked with his and for a moment Sasuke wanted to tell everything and ask for advice from his father. But the cold gaze reminded him that Fugaku was rarely his father. He would probably get advice to tell everything or he knows so that he wouldn't get judged.

"Forget about it," dismissed Sasuke. "It's nothing."

With that he turned around and opened the massive double doors. His father's voice stopped him from closing them behind him.

"Sasuke," Fugaku's voice was still stern and for a moment Sasuke thought he was going to be interrogated. The boy didn't turn his body around but stopped to indicate he was listening. Fugaku's voice was lower but still cold when he spoke up, "I have an early meeting tomorrow. I might go to bed early and accidently leave my computer on. You'll turn it off for me won't you?"

Sasuke could barely hide his surprise. He turned his head to look at Fugaku who was going around the desk to sit again. His father didn't look at him again which meant he wasn't discussing the situation further.

With a small smirk Sasuke closed the double doors and went to see his mother.


When morning came and Sasuke went to his father's office, he still didn't expect to see the computer on. Last night's conversation still seemed surreal to him but when he entered the room, he was proved wrong.

Closing the massive doors behind him as silently as he could, he went around the desk and sat on the chair. The data base was open as if waiting for him. Working quickly on the key board he cursed when around one thousand people named Kimimaro appeared on the screen.

It took him abound an hour to find the exact person he was looking for. When Sasuke opened the file, he almost fell off the chair. Most of the information wasn't official and probably only his father and few other people had it. And it wasn't pretty.

Gambling, drug dealing, stealing, alcohol. There wasn't a thing that guy hadn't done. He should have been in jail if not for his father's position. But that wasn't the most interesting part of all. The guy had been working in the Hyuuga Company as an assistant to the head. Wasn't the head of the company Neji's uncle and Hinata's father? Wasn't that guy Sakura's boyfriend? Did they even know about this? Was this why they were running away?

He hoped that the information he got would solve everything in his head but it did just the opposite. More and more questions started popping in his head. Maybe it was time he told the other guys about this. Since Neji knew the guy, there was possibility that he could solve everything that was missing.

Sasuke pulled out a flash drive and copied the files onto it. He was sure his father didn't have that in mind when he let him go through his computer but now he could care less. Something told him that danger was coming their way in the speed of sound.

Shoving a few random books, Sasuke went out of the house and towards school where he hopped to get answers.

His mother, Mikoto, watched with worried eyes as he pulled out of the driveway and soon disappeared from the view, "Just what is going on?"


When Sakura arrived at school she knew something's going to happen today, and not necessarily good. Ever since she got out of the van at the school parking lot, she felt eyes on her. Looking around she saw nothing but kids talking to each other, couples kissing, a few guys pushing each other. Everything around her screamed normal. And that fact itself was what made her uneasy.

The other thing was that Neji and his company wasn't around to bug them like usual. It seemed like the other girls picked it up too as they looked around, expecting to see them anytime. Sasuke's car was already parked which meant he and Naruto were already in the school. Neji's was also there but nobody was around.

"Do any of you have a weird feeling or I'm just paranoid?" asked Tenten, as she stared at Neji's car.

"No, I have it too," nodded Ino with a grim expression but it soon turned into a grin. "But that doesn't mean you aren't usually paranoid."

Tenten tore her eyes from the shiny care to glare at the grinning blonde, "I am not paranoid."

Ino gave her an 'are-you-serious' look, "Oh, right. So it was Hinata who thought that aliens took her hairbrush so they could copy her DNA and make clones of her that would later take over the world. And it was only under the table."

"Not funny. I almost got a heart attack." Countered Tenten and stuck her tongue.

Sakura laughed at her friends' antics but the funny feeling that somebody was watching her didn't go away. She looked around once more and finally met the stare that had bothered her since her arrival.

Idate was staring at her from across the parking lot. She often caught him staring at them which unnerved her. At first, she thought he had a crush on one of the girls but he didn't look at them with adoration or affection. His eyes were narrowed and calculative and even a bit scary. It was almost as if he was monitoring them. Or maybe she was just paranoid and jumpy.

Yeah, that must be it. Brushing all thoughts aside she turned to her friends only to find Ino and Tenten in each other's faces. Hinata was quietly trying to break them up while Temari was having fun watching them. It was time for Sakura to separate them, before they caused a scene.


"So why are we here again an hour before school starts?" asked Naruto as he looked over the rail of the school roof top. The parking lot down was empty, which is the first time he'd seen it like that. Maybe it was because he'd never been so early for school. Usually he was late.

"Because Sasuke wants to tell us something," answered Shikamaru, half asleep. It was a surprise that he was actually here since he had hard time waking up early in the morning.

"I know that but couldn't he use the phone. I feel like a chick waiting for the latest gossip in the school," whined the blond and looked around for his dark haired friend. "Where's he anyway?"

"I'm right here, idiot," came Sasuke's voice from the door. He was holding something in his hand; probably the thing he went to fetch from his locker. He went to Neji first and handed it to him without a word.

It was a small camera. Neji turned it on and started the only clip on the memory card. Sasuke finally spoke up while the video rolled, "I found this in the room we were looking around."

The other guys circled around Neji to get a better view. When the video was over pale eyes looked up from the display to meet onyx ones. "Why did you hide this when I asked you if you found something?"

"I wasn't sure if it was something important."

"And what changed your mind?"

Sasuke pulled out a flash drive from his pocket and gave it to Shikamaru, "I looked up the guy Sakura was talking about in the police database. Everything's in there but I couldn't put two and two together so maybe you should try."

Naruto gaped while Shikamaru inspected the little device, "How did you get to your dad's computer?"

Sasuke smirked and turned around to go down the stairs, "Miracle."

The remaining guys looked after him with raised brows but followed. Neji stood behind for a few more seconds, looking at the small camera in his hands, before following his friends. This was one step closer to finding out want was going on and all thanks to Sasuke. But that didn't excuse him from keeping it away from him.


The last thing Sai expected to see when he entered the art supply was to see a blonde girl struggling to reach up to one of the higher shelves. And it wasn't just a blonde girl, it was Ino. She was muttering something to herself the he couldn't quite get but he was sure she was cursing her height.

Without making a sound he leaned on the doorframe and crossed his arms. He smirked as she tried to jump to get the item she wanted and in the process knocked down a few of the other supplies on the ground. After cursing some more she bent down to pick them up and put them back on their place. But that also proved to be impossible.

Feeling a bit sorry for her he decided to make his presence known, "Do you need any help?"

Ino let out a startled shriek and dropped the item she had just gathered. She turned around with such panic in her eyes that he was almost taken aback. Sai didn't expect her to get so scared. But as soon as she saw him, her fear disappeared and her expression changed to one of relief and then one of annoyance.

"Don't sneak up on people like that. You almost gave me a heart attack."

The trembling hand she put over her heart was enough proof. He briefly wondered if that video had something to do with her jumpiness.

"Sorry, but you seemed so preoccupied you didn't notice me at all."

She blushed a little at the comment wondering how ridiculous she might have looked. But Sai found himself liking that scarlet color on her cheeks. A sneaky plan formed in his head.

"Let me help you as an apology," he offered and before Ino could turn him down he was behind her. She wasn't sure why he was there but he was close, so very close. She could feel his breath on the back of her neck, making the fine hairs stand up. How was he supposed to help her like that?

Her mental question was answered when he sneaked his large hands around her waist and lifted her up. Ok, that was a way to help her. But he could have also just taken the supplies and put them in their place by himself. Her fingers trembled as she hurried to put everything back into place and take the needed item.

When she was ready, he deliberately slid her down his own body slowly. Her eyes almost rolled at the back of her head. This might as well be the hottest moment in her life. Her feet hit the floor but didn't hold her up. By know she felt like jelly in his arms and he loved it.

She turned around with a bit effort and looked into the deep onyx eyes. Something in her snapped and she didn't feel like herself anymore. Her cheeks were flushed, her fine hairs all over her body were standing up and a familiar heat was forming in her lower belly.

"Kiss me," she whispered before she could contemplate what was going on. He was more than happy to oblige. He dived in and she welcomed him eagerly, tongues battling for dominance. His mouth was perfect on hers and Ino's eyes rolled at the back of her head yet again. She had done this before but she'd never felt something like this with anyone else. His roaming hands weren't helping the situation any better and before she could stop herself she moaned.

Sai smirked, seeming to like the sound and started working on another way to make that heavenly sound.

"Oh my god," she whispered when his kisses traveled from her mouth to her neck. But just when she thought the knot in her stomach was going to come undone he stopped. Opening her eyes she looked at him questioningly.

"I need to know something, " he said through heavy pants.

"What?" she asked impatiently.

He gripped her waist tighter and buried his head in her neck yet again. For a moment she thought he had changed his mind and was going to continue but he spoke up.

"What happened the night you left Suna?"

Ino froze and suddenly reality came back crushing on her. She pushed his shoulders and tried to move away but he held her firmly.

"I don't know what you are talking about. We just moved. There isn't anything behind it. Just because Neji thinks there is doesn't make it true."

"I know there's something."

Ino found it hard to breathe and felt claustrophobic. Bad memories came back to life and suddenly she wanted to cry.

"Let me go now," she whispered and looked away, trying to hide the tears. She pushed harder at his shoulders and he finally relented. Pushing his as far away as possible she circled him and exited the room.

Sai looked at the empty place between him and the wall where Ino had been just seconds ago. The only thing he could think of was what an idiot he was.


Shikamaru Nara never had any problems tracing someone. If somebody wanted to find something they went to him. He was the person for any kind of information you were seeking.

Yet the guy mentioned on Sakura's video was untraceable. It was like he didn't exist. And he was supposed to be a pretty popular guy, being the son of Suna's mayor. Sure he was mentioned here and there but there wasn't any specific information that proved to be useful.

"Troublesome," muttered Shikamaru and leaned back on his office chair. He had spent two hours researching and came out with nothing. And that was what made him twitchy and worried. If Shikamaru Nara couldn't find information about that guy then he must be something dangerous. Something dangerous that's backed up with authority.

Shikamaru figured that the mayor was covering everything for his son; that was obvious. But what the genius wanted to know is what they were hiding.

He was already getting a headache and Neji and Sasuke's constant calling wasn't helping him at all. He knew they were worried and wanted to know what's going on but putting pressure on him wasn't such a good idea.

Shikamaru Nara didn't like challenge. He just wanted to slack off on the bed or go out in the park to watch clouds. He usually stayed away from trouble. But today something in him changed.


When Temari returned home she excused herself from dinner and went straight to her room. She was sure she wasn't a good company right now.

Dropping her bag at the foot of the bed, she slumped down on the bed and just stared off into nothing. It has been a few months since they had been living in Konoha. Everything seemed to get back to normal- the girls were starting to be their energetic selves again; a few new friends were entering their life.

Yet Temari didn't feel like she was a part of that change. Memories still haunted her mind, nightmares woke her up in the middle of the night, and paranoia consumed her. She knew she would never be the same again, she would never have back what was taken from her. She would never have piece, she would never be free.

Temari always told herself she would never cry. Tears were useless, the only made you weaker. And weakness is something Temari resented ever since she was a little girl. He father had taught her and her two brothers to never show fear. He had imprinted on her brain that only the strongest survived.

Oh, he would probably roll in his own grave if he saw her running and hiding like a mouse.

A beeping sound from her laptop snapped her out of her thoughts. She had almost forgotten that she had left the thing on before going to school.

Even though the girl didn't want to move the beeping continued and whoever was writing to her was persistent. Sitting up from her comfortable bed, she pulled the computer on her lap and clicked on the orange window.

The user was unknown but that wasn't the strange thing. The message he or she had left sent shivers down her spine.

Shikotsumyaku: Hey

Shikotsumyaku: You there?

Shikotsumyaku: I know you are

Shikotsumyaku: Don't try to hide from me, Temari

Temari stared at the nickname for a while. She had never seen it before but he seemed to know her which freaked her out.

Tbiatch: Who are you?

Shikotsumyaku: That doesn't matter…

Shikotsumyaku: What matters is that I have found you…

Temari's blood froze. This couldn't be happening…she should wake up anytime now…anytime now…

Shikotsumyaku: And I'm coming…


A/N: I know you probably hate me for not updating for so long but I am a senior and this is an important year for me. I'll be having exams for universities and that is stressing enough.

Temari's nickname is awful I know but I couldn't think of anything else. Suggestions are acceptable.

Anyways, hope you have not given up on my story and you would review. Long reviews make me happy and criticism is welcomed but no flames please.