The Guardian

What's Happened So Far: After an innocent encounter at club Lithium, Special Agent Uzumaki Naruto and partner Inuzuka Kiba are assigned to protect Uchiha Sasuke, the soul survivor of the powerful business magnate the Uchiha's-- who has a warrant for murder out on his head by none other than his very own brother. Who just happens to be Uchiha Itachi, the man who is responsible for the demise of the Uchiha family and who is allegedly the leader of the terrorist group known as the Akatsuki. The two agents go undercover and work to squeeze their way into the young heir's life in order to protect him from the danger of Akastuki, and hopefully to catch Uchiha Itachi and bring the terrorist group to their knees. A secret meeting with Mist, a drug trafficking group that is closely ensnared in Akatsuki's web may prove to be the FBI's break and their lead directly to Itachi. However, budding feelings between agent Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha may cause complications that no one could have predicted.

Operation 09: Initiate

"You'd better get up, dumbass. You're going to be late again."

Naruto frowned, blinking his eyes open as he struggled to process what the other was saying through the confusion he always felt when he woke up. The blond groaned and rolled onto his side so that the sun was no longer shining directly in his eyes. What the hell? He distinctly remembered shutting those curtains last night for this exact reason!

There was nothing worse than waking up with the sun in your eyes.

"Naruto, get up!" The voice growled, this time sounding truly agitated.

Naruto blinked at the use of his given name and forced his eyes open. He rolled over and shielded his eyes from the blinding sun with a raised arm and squinted up at his personal alarm clock. Sure enough, it was Sasuke who was standing next to his bed and looking sinfully good in a pair of plain jeans and a black tank.

"What do you want, teme?"

Sasuke crossed his arms and glared down at Naruto. "I want you to get up, stupid," He drawled, glancing at the clock mounted on Naruto's wall. "We're going to be late if you don't get a move on."

It took an enormous amount of effort for Naruto to get past the "I want you…" part of that sentence, but when he finally managed to register what had actually been said, he surged upright and began looking around desperately for clothes.

"Shit, school!" He swore as he struggled to disentangle himself from his bedding, though his urgency was only making him ensnare himself in the covers even further. "Gonna be late, gonna be late!"

"Chill out, dobe." Sasuke commanded emotionlessly. He didn't bother to look at Naruto as he tossed a handful of clothes at him and turned to leave the room. "You're covered."

Naruto gaped at the raven's retreating back, frozen in shock just as he had finally managed to disentangle one leg from the twisted covers. His body slowly began to tilt to one side as his weight overbalanced him, and rolled him unceremoniously off the bed to the floor, still entangled in his stubborn sheets. He looked up at the clothes that had been thrown on his disheveled comforter warily, as if unable to believe that the raven had actually done something to help him.

Well, it was an unlikely event.

Apparently, the unlikely was happening today.

The blonde agent hurriedly readied himself after thoroughly inspecting his clothes, brushing his teeth and half heartedly attempting to straighten out his hair before he ran to the living room. There he found Sasuke already waiting none-too-patiently with Naruto's book bag in one hand. Again, Naruto fought back any thoughts of disbelief and simply took the book bag from the raven, grabbing a pale wrist in one of his hands and proceeding to drag Sasuke from the apartment, pausing only to properly lock the door behind them.

Sasuke once again surprised the blonde by allowing himself to be drug across campus and into the Holt building, where their English class awaited them. They arrived with minutes to spare yet still managed to draw the eyes of everyone gathered in the room as they entered the classroom, Naruto still tugging Sasuke along behind him with a light grip on the raven's wrist. The two fell into their seats as one and worked to catch their breaths. They had just sprinted across the entire campus in the space of five minutes.

That would wear out anyone.

Trained FBI agents included.

Shikamaru slid his gaze over to Sasuke as casually as possible, yet couldn't hide his blink of shock when he found the raven leaning up in his seat with his arms braced on his desk, smirking slightly at something the blonde in front of him was saying as Naruto leaned his head back a bit so the two could easily converse. The raven haired drummer looked at Neji, his eyes now comically wide with confusion. He simply mouthed "what the hell?" to his long haired friend.

Neji shook his head slightly in return, shrugging. He couldn't explain Sasuke's behavior either.

Not that anyone was complaining about it. In fact, the three members of the band spent the next minute or so watching their friend banter with the blonde haired man sitting in front of him, all wearing various degrees of half-smiles at the sight. It was the first time in more years than any of them cared to count that they had seen Sasuke let his guard down around someone that wasn't the three of them or his guardian. In fact, it was all that the band could do not to stare at the two men.

Just then, Iruka decided to arrive to class at the precise time that Kiba ran inside. The professor just barely managed to dodge the overeager brunette and escape being knocked to the ground by the oblivious student, who simply ran straight to the empty desk in front of Naruto and fell into his chair, panting loudly and dropping his book bag on the floor. Kiba's stuff promptly spilled from his bag, earning a loud cry of "fuck!" from the brunette as he scrambled to chase down his pens that were now rolling away from his desk.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a bemused look as Kiba hit the floor in pursuit of his pens. Then the pair promptly burst out into laughter.

Neji and Shikamaru both blinked at the sound, though they soon joined their friends and the rest of the class in laughing at Kiba's mishap as the brunette somehow managed to get himself stuck under a desk while he was attempting to retrieve a pen. What was funnier than Kiba getting stuck beneath a desk with his butt in the air, one hand outstretched towards the ever elusive pen? The fact that there was someone sitting in the aforementioned desk. And that this someone was Hinata.

And Hinata had absolutely no idea what to do at her predicament.

Naruto dropped his head back onto Sasuke's desk now, a hand covering his eyes as he howled with laughter at the sight his partner was making. He was glad for once that they were undercover on this mission. No one would have believed him if he'd told them that the man who was now attempting to squirm out from under the desk was actually a highly trained, highly dangerous FBI agent. Hell, it was moments like this that even Naruto found such a fact hard to believe.

Kiba certainly wasn't helping himself with the unmanly squawks that he was making now as he struggled to un-stick himself from beneath the desk. His face was burning bright red and he was stammering out apologies to Hinata, who was also trapped in the desk as she couldn't free her legs enough for her to be able to stand because they were also stuck under the desk with Kiba. The poor girl was as red as Kiba, though she was also giggling uncontrollably as she watched hew new pseudo-boyfriend struggle uselessly to free himself.

With a long suffering sigh that Iruka hoped hid the fact that he too had been doubled over with laughter just seconds ago, the teacher made his way over to Kiba. "Akamaru-san, calm down. You're just going to get yourself even more stuck if you keep squirming." He said in what he hoped was a calming voice, though he couldn't help that his voice shook ever so slightly with laughter. " Stay still and I can get you out!"

Kiba grudgingly stayed still, his hand now cradling his cheek as if the situation was simply boring and his expression sulking. However, the brunette's bright red face gave away his embarrassment the situation he was currently-- literally-- stuck in.

Naruto continued to cackle as Iruka proceeded to maneuver Kiba out from beneath the desk--slowly and awkwardly, but surely. He dropped his hands from his eyes finally to find that Sasuke was also bent over laughing, and if the sound of the raven's laughter alone wasn't enough to cause Naruto's stomach to flutter, the fact that the raven had unwittingly bent so his face was directly over Naruto's certainly did the trick.

Naruto's laughter cut off abruptly and he simply stared at Sasuke's face, suddenly so close to his own.

Naruto watched as Sasuke's eyes opened slowly, still wrinkled slightly in the corners with mirth. He watched as the expression slowly relaxed into a look of surprise, which then slowly melted into one of uncertainty. Naruto's breath caught in his throat at the sudden flash of vulnerability he found in those onyx eyes.

Before he could pause to think about it, Naruto was reaching up and putting a hand behind Sasuke's head and lowering Sasuke's face to his. His eyes were locked on onyx as he did so, carefully gauging the singer's reaction as he easily closed the distance between their faces. He found something in Sasuke's expression that made his blood heat in his veins with anticipation, yet seconds before their lips could brush a hand on Naruto's shirt jerked him upright, and at the exact same time Sasuke suddenly disappeared from Naruto's line of sight.

Naruto blinked as he was forced to sit up and meet his partner's surprisingly dark expression. His eyes fell to Kiba's hand which was clenched tightly in his shirt and still had yet to let go. He brought his gaze back to Kiba, still blinking through the confusion caused by his Sasuke-induced haze.

Behind him, three men were all surrounding Sasuke's desk and exchanging hushed words. Gaara's hand was in the back of Sasuke's shirt, clenched much like Kiba's was on Naruto's, and Shikamaru and Neji were pressing in on either side of the raven's desk. In the middle of the commotion sat Sasuke, who was looking as dazed as Naruto felt. When Naruto turned slightly to gain a glimpse of the raven, it was to meet eyes that were equally wide in shock as his own.

R-2-F

Band practice that night was… tense… to say the least.

Initially the band had smothered Sasuke with their worry over what had nearly happened with Naruto back in the classroom, but now it was almost as if the other three were giving their lead singer the cold shoulder. Sasuke frowned from his place on a stool that had been placed center stage. They were currently taking a break from warming up so that Sasuke didn't strain his voice too much before the show, and so Gaara could replace a few strings on his guitar that were wearing too thin for his taste.

The line outside was already beginning to form. A glance at the clock proved that Lithium opened in forty-five minutes, so Sasuke was sure to catch Neji's eye and then glance at the clock. The longer haired raven simply nodded in understanding and relayed the message to the other two. Shikamaru stood and headed backstage while Gaara took a few more minutes to finish tuning his guitar. Neji and Sasuke followed Shikamaru into the back to go through wardrobe change and take a short break before the show.

Still, Sasuke was more than vaguely annoyed to note that his bandmates seemed to continue to avoid meeting his eye.

R-2-F

Shikamaru glanced up when he heard footsteps behind him and found Neji and Gaara coming to stand behind him. A simple glimpse over the backstage area would prove that Sasuke was busy changing and was currently engaged in an argument with Kakashi over how much skin was "proper" to show while on stage. Shikamaru allowed his face to slip into a scowl once he was sure that the lead singer was otherwise occupied.

"I don't like him." Gaara stated simply, his voice flat and eyes narrowed.

Neji nodded his head in agreement. "I have nothing personal against Ashiya, don't get me wrong. There's just something off about him and Akamaru." He fixed Shikmaru with a loaded look. "And I'm not too fond of the way Ashiya keeps ogling Sasuke."

Gaara nodded once in agreement, brow furrowing further.

Shikamaru sighed, leaning against the table that was now to his back. "It's not our business who wants to "ogle" Uchiha." His voice was just as bored as ever. "Aside from that, though. There is something off about those two."

"And Sasuke is beginning to become attached." Gaara once again intoned.

Neji blinked at his friend, though whether it was from the surprise that came with acknowledging the truth in Gaara's statement, or from the fact that Gaara was contributing so much to the conversation, even Neji wasn't sure. "Gaara's right." He shook his head and looked at Shikamaru again. "This can only end badly."

"If it ends badly things will get troublesome again." Shikamaru's scowl turned dark. "I'm not fond on the idea of trying to piece Uchiha back together if something goes wrong."

Neji's eyes narrowed at that and he hit the drummer none to lightly across his chest. "No one's asking you to." He challenged, his gaze icy.

Shikamaru rubbed at his chest sourly. "No one has to." His tone was just as challenging.

Gaara stepped smoothly between the two before the bickering could escalate. "We all know the lengths we will go through to protect Sasuke." He gave them both a level look. "Or so I'd hope."

Shikamaru and Neji both fell back a step, expressions equally chagrined.

Gaara seemed appeased at this and lowered his hands from either of their chests.

Sasuke chose that moment to return to the group, his expression so sour that it brought three identical smirks of bemusement to the other's faces. The raven stopped between Gaara and Shikamaru with his hands on his bared hips. "Do I look slutty to you?" He demanded, tone just as aggravated as his expression.

Sasuke's only answer was a chorus of snickers from his friends, which only served to pique his irritation. The raven haired singer threw his hands in the air and turned, storming back to the changing room and tugging on a simple black muscle shirt in exchange for the mesh shirt he'd been so set on wearing.

R-2-F

Naruto and Kiba had cheered loudly as Fatal Mortality finished playing later that night, both men equally drunk off of the heady mixture of alcohol and adrenaline from tonight's show. The two were currently leaning against the stage, waiting for the band to finish breaking down their set and come join them for a drink. Naruto was obviously eager for Sasuke to finish up, a fact that did not go unnoticed by anyone, except for possibly the raven in question and Naruto himself.

Kiba was being sure to keep a wary eye on Naruto tonight for fear of the blond agent doing something to completely jeopardize the mission. However, the brunette soon realized that he needn't worry about doing too much-- it seemed that Neji, Shikamaru, and Gaara had all had the same idea as Kiba. The three men had spent the majority of the show eyeing the blond distrustfully. Kiba just hoped that no one else in the audience had noticed how the entire band's attention had been focused on Naruto tonight during the show. It was already becoming an increasingly common occurrence for Sasuke to have eyes only for the blond while he sang.

Kiba was not looking forward to having to report this new development to Tsunade at their next meeting. Even now he was warring with himself over the ethics of telling his superior about the hopefully "innocent" attraction between his partner and their target. Kiba knew that his duty called for him to let the Director know of any potential complications that might surface that concerned the assignment. However, as Naruto's best friend…was his first duty to let Tsunade know about this budding infatuation between Uchiha and Naruto, or was it to trust Naruto to make the smart choice? And to more importantly give him the chance to make said choice before turning him over to the dogs?

Even now, Kiba still didn't have that answer.

Yet, when the realization struck him that just by watching Naruto's face he could tell without a doubt the second that the Uchiha had left the stage simply by the look of utter joy that spread unwarranted across his partner's face, Kiba felt that he had his answer.

"Teme!" Naruto called in order to attract Sasuke's searching gaze. The smile that split the blonde's face when the singer spotted him could have lit the entire club had he tried. Naruto moved in perfect sync with the singer as they worked to close the distance between them, the blonde grinning idiotically and Sasuke just allowing the slightest of smirks. It was all Kiba could do to keep up with his partner in the crowd.

That is, until they found their way blocked by a petite raven haired man that was most certainly not Uchiha Sasuke.

Rather, it was Momoichi Zabuza's right hand man, Haku.

And he appeared to be at Lithium on business.

Operation 09: Terminate

Author's Note: So.. Yeah. No excuses this time. This chapter may have been a bit rough, I hope not, but it has been nearly a year since I updated. Pathetic? Oh yeah. The reason I'm back here at all is because of you-- the reader's-- awesome feedback on this fic. To this day I keep getting new reviews or author adds or favorite story alerts, even after all this time! You guys seriously blow my mind. If it wasn't for you I will bluntly say that I had every intention of abandoning this fic. However, because of your feedback and dedication I got the kick in the rear I needed to pick up a pen (well, figuratively) and get back to work. Thank you so much, I'd forgotten how much I loved this story and, more importantly, why I'm a writing major in college in the first place.

Until next time-- and feedback will ensure that there will be a next time ;),

R2F

(God I missed writing that!)