Greetings people

Greetings people! I've come once again in another chapter of 'Drifting No More'! So far, things have been getting pretty interesting as I lead you all on a rocky road of suspenseful fun, devious deeds, and maybe even… bitter betrayals. How many of these things will end up coming true in the end? Read on and find out for yourselves. Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto in any shape or form. Kishimoto-dono does. Enjoy!

"Iii" speech

Iii thoughts

"Iii" radio speech

Chapter 9: Snake Fangs & Old Nightmares

Slipping in proved to be unusually easy, unlike the last time he'd been there, and that'd been only a few weeks ago. Now, it seemed as if everyone had gone home for the night and wouldn't be back for at least a couple of hours. But upon coming to the lobby and the front offices, he saw that this wasn't quite what he thought it was. Wounded people were everywhere, moaning and whimpering as a bunch of dark clothed men wandered around the room with guns in their hands. Each looked sinister or insane, but none of them appeared all that smart.

Knowing better than to just jump out of his hiding place with his own guns out and blazing like a sheriff from the old westerns would do, the newcomer quickly bent down onto the cold tile floor to lay on his stomach, slowly but surely crawling his way towards the stair doors. Even though his face was perfectly apathetic, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty when one of the thugs decided to start brandishing his weapon at a sobbing woman on the floor, trying to keep a wounded man from bleeding to death after he'd been shot in the shoulder. From what he could tell, they were engaged.

As if against his better judgment, the man used the stair door as a shield as he boldly used his own gun to deliberately shoot the thug in the arm and leg before turning to run up the stairs, silently cursing to himself for even stopping to do so in the first place rather than just go on his way. No, for Uchiha Itachi, the night had only just begun.

--With Sasuke & Kiba

After shooting him in the leg, the thug still cursed and growled at them in his fury and pain over being taken off guard and being shot. Mainly about being shot. Beyond this constant angry bickering, the thug only glared and spit at them as Kiba kept watch while Sasuke collected all they both needed from the fallen man in order to take on a full force of highly paid monsters in human clothing. An extra gun and ammo for them both to share in case they either ran out or one of the weapons somehow became lost.

"Will that last us?" the brunette inquired from where he stood a few inches away from Sasuke was crouched over the fallen form of the cursing thug.

The raven-haired man just shrugged indifferently. "If I know the Vipers, maybe, maybe not."

Kiba froze, his expression going from shock to anger in less than two seconds as he quickly started talking again. "Maybe? No, no, no! Don't give me fuckin' 'maybes'! I need certainties here! I didn't sign up for this job to deal with 'maybes' of any kind! You gotta give me a straight answer here!"

"That was a straight answer." Sasuke growled, trying to keep from getting irritated at what was being said to him by the cop with the dialect of a surfer or a street gangster that didn't know when to shut up.

"It wasn't straight enough!" Kiba snapped as the urge to shoot the raven began to get a bit too strong.

"It'll have to do okay?" Sasuke said in annoyance before turning his midnight black eyes towards the man on the floor. "Look you, I don't care who you are or how much they're paying you, but you're going to tell us just how many of you there are roaming around or I'll start shooting you until you can't move. You got me?"

"Go to hell you traitorous punk!" the man snarled from where he lay on the floor, his face a twisted concoction of skin, muscle and hair. His eyes were burning with an anger that Kiba felt a little uncomfortable with.

BLAM. As the man screamed bloody murder, Sasuke calmly pulled the hammer back on the .9 mm gun in his hand after calmly putting another hole in the man's already wounded leg. Point blank no less. Without missing a beat and pointing the barrel right at the knee of the opposite leg, Sasuke kept his voice disturbingly neutral, Kiba looking on with a look of surprise as he wisely kept silent. "You listen here you alleyway piece of filth, I don't really give a shit about your opinion on me. All I want is how many of you there are. You got me? Or do you want to lose a knee instead?"

"O-okay! Okay! I'll talk! J-just—just don't shoot me again!" the man said through choked sobs and grunts of pain.

Nodding slightly at this answer, Sasuke kept his voice calm as he brought the gun up and away from the man's leg as he spoke. "I can roll with that. Now I'll ask again: how many are there?"

Fearing for his life and shaking like a wet cat, the rather large man could only stutter as he responded to the raven's question. "A-at least fifteen! Maybe less… but probably no more than fifteen."

"Why so many? Why not just two?" Kiba growled from behind Sasuke, looking just a little confused at such a thing as sending such a large group of men to get rid of one person. Almost like their boss had a habit of overdoing things.

Still shaking from pain and a little bit of fear, the man went on. "H-he wanted to be sure that the job would get done before tomorrow. That's all I know I swear!"

"Tomorrow? What's so special about tomorrow?" Sasuke inquired, instantly curious in as to why the Vipers wanted him dead before the following morning.

The man just quickly shook his head, eyes filled with tears and agony trying to help him gain leverage, maybe even some mercy on the side. "I-I don't know! I'm just a field guy! No one tells me anything!"

A bit skeptical of this, Sasuke's blank face shifted a little with suspicion and curiosity over why his death had a time limit. "You're sure?"

"Y-yeah! I-I'm sure!" the man stammered fearfully, hoping his words were enough to spare him getting shot again.

"If you're lying--!" Kiba warned from above, his own gun in hand as he started to point it down at the fallen figure of the shivering thug.

This was enough to nearly make him scream from terror. "I'm not! I swear!"

"Okay then. Good night." Without missing a beat or blinking an eye, Sasuke had a syringe in his hand and had brought it down on the man's arm. Within seconds of the clear liquid exiting the small tube, the man on the floor was out cold.

Kiba was more than just surprised at this outcome, his eyes wide with amazement over such an act. "What the--?! What the fuck! Dude! Where'd you get that thing?"

"The hospital room." The raven said coolly, tossing the syringe into the nearest garbage bin within range as he got up and started walking down the hall.

"And what, exactly, was in it?" Kiba demanded, following not far behind.

Sasuke just shrugged casually at this question, as though it didn't really bother him that much as it had Kiba. "Just some anesthetic. He should be fine unless he bleeds to death. C'mon, we should get moving before one of his friends show up."

"But we should report this first. I'm sure that FBI dude would like to know what the fuck's goin' on down here." to the brunette, this was a solid truth. Moving around with their counterparts in the dark was a bad idea. It was possible one of them would get shot, and none of the others would be the wiser as their positions became compromised.

Sasuke just rolled his eyes in annoyance, but nodded. "Fine, whatever. Just make it quick okay? We probably don't have a lot of time."

Kiba didn't waste any time as he brought the small black device to his lips, using one of his fingers to press one of the buttons down before saying. "Nara, this is Inuzuka do you read?"

There was a slight crackle of static, but his response was a bit immediate as the man's lazy voice came over the line. "I read ya loud and clear. What's goin' on?"

Without missing a beat, Kiba pressed the button down again to respond. "We just got some info from one of our crazy friends. It seems there's at least fifteen of them at best. We'll probably have to track down another one to confirm."

A little silence followed, as if the other man was in thought. But his response came not too soon after this pause in conversation. "Uh huh. I get ya. By any chance have you guys seen Kakashi? He went to find Iruka and he hasn't come back yet."

Kiba couldn't help but feel confused by this new piece of information, meeting the raven's black eyes, which flashed with what looked like concern. "That's odd. We'll check it out on our way down. Are the stairs okay?"

"They should be. Things have been pretty quiet so far so I don't see why not. Just be careful though. You never know when one of those bastards might come poppin' outta nowhere." Shikamaru warned, his own concern bleeding through his lazy drawl.

"Roger that. Over and out." Putting the radio away, Kiba nodded in Sasuke's direction, quickly taking the lead towards the stairs. "Let's go."

--With Kakashi

Ever since he was a kid, he'd been somewhat afraid of his dad. Mainly since the man had a habit of being overbearing and practically ominous up until the day he died after a failed drug bust. The silver haired boy had already lost his mother after a few years and was admitted to foster care, where he faced scary, older boys and freakishly scary older and younger girls. Which was probably why, later in life and after serving a number of harsh years as a cop did he find himself attracted to Umino Iruka's unusual but heart-warming kindness and tolerance with the cruel and unusual.

It was Iruka's kind smiles and caring gaze that practically made him feel as if his muscled legs were jelly and his steeled heart was worth putting on his sleeve. Never, in all his life, did he ever open up to others. And even if he did, it was with the strictest of confidence. But with Iruka, it seemed as if he'd been able to do it ever since day 1 of his existence and could perform his 'True Me' act once again. Sometimes the other man looked so cute, he had to wonder if there really were butterflies in his stomach, fluttering around and making him more and more nervous with each passing second.

Though he clearly remembered Naruto's warning, Kakashi vaguely wondered if there'd be any heart left for him to break after catching sight of the scene before him now as he let his now stiff arms go limp. His heart, once beating very fast, now seemed to stop working as his veins filled with ice water. Somehow putting his gun away, the silver haired police chief ran forward and whipped Iruka around, trying to find any sign of life in the brunette that stood almost lifelessly before the corpse of the white haired man lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood. Not even bothering to think of how or why the other man was there, dead or not, Kakashi's main concern was Iruka.

"Iruka? Iruka? 'Ruka-chan? Are you okay? Speak to me!" he demanded as loudly as his gasping lungs and shaky voice would allow.

Much to his horror, the tan skinned, brown haired, chocolate brown eyed man just stood and stared blankly at nothing, not even seeing Kakashi at all. Fearing the worst had come true, Kakashi tried to remain calm as he gently shook the man he held by the shoulders in the hopes that his words would come through to him.

"Iruka? Iruka please! Oh c'mon Iruka! Snap out of it. Wake up and say something! Anything!!" he could already feel his single eye tearing up, his vision going blurry as he continued to shake the man in front of him. "C'mon Iruka! Please say something! SAY SOMETHING!!"

When he still got no response from him, Kakashi knew that drastic measures needed to be taken. Knowing he'd hate himself for it later, the silver haired man drew a hand back and took a well-aimed swing. SLAP! The sound of flesh hitting flesh rang in his ears and through the empty halls of the hospital. Kakashi winced as Iruka finally moved, eyes wide and full of shock as a hand slowly came up to touch the cheek that'd been slapped so harshly.

The brunette could only stare in wide eyed surprise as his boyfriend and coworker began to shake, his single eye invisible until he lifted his head a little to reveal that it was a grey colored eye filled with pain and fear. Before he could say anything, Iruka suddenly found himself in a hug, warm arms surrounding him as the older man continued to shake like a leaf, his voice and words muffled against cloth, skin and thankful sobs.

"K-Kakashi?" Iruka said, uncertainty making up his tone as the other man pulled back to hold him by the shoulders.

"D-don't do that ever… ever again!" he said almost weakly, a slight stutter nearly making it break in-between words.

Iruka blinked at the teary eyed man in front of him before giving him a warm, apologetic smile. "I'm sorry. It was just—"

"You don't have to say it. He's not here anymore." Was the sudden reply, cutting him off as he paused to smile in return. "But I am."

"Thanks Kakashi." Even though he couldn't exactly see the smile through the scarf he wore all the time, Iruka knew that Kakashi had indeed smiled at him from how the single eye crinkled a little to compensate for the muscle action involved. He knew full well what to look for after two weeks of dating.

To break the sudden silence, Kakashi was talking a little nervously, the single eye looking away in shame of his actions, letting his arms drop to his sides. "Sorry I had to do that. Y-you wouldn't say anything."

Iruka just smiled wider. "I forgive you. But… where's Naruto? I thought you upstairs with him, that FBI agent and Kiba."

"We were but Kiba caught Sasuke supposedly trying to make a run for it. He's with him now."

"W-what?!" the smile was gone, replaced by shock and confusion. "I thought Sasuke was sleeping!"

Kakashi just shrugged at the question. "Apparently he's oddly resilient when it comes to situations like these. But Kiba said that he had a plan of some sort. Kiba insisted on helping so now they're on their way downstairs to do whatever devil's work that has to be done."

"And how are they getting downstairs if the elevator and stairs are probably crawling with these mindless thugs?" Kakashi immediately sensed danger from Iruka's suddenly serious tone. If he was lucky, he'd only walk away with ringing ears.

Rubbing his chin innocently, the police chief decided to just come out with it before he got himself into trouble. "I believe they're using either the ventilation system or the laundry chute."

"Without ROPES?!" Iruka exclaimed in horror, taking his turn in shaking Kakashi half to death. "Is that guy insane?!"

Trying to keep his brain from spinning in his skull, Kakashi tried to remain perfectly calm in the face of his koi's fierce anger. "I don't think so but you can make an inquiry when all of this is over."

"Inquiry my ass! I'm gonna skin that boy alive!!" Iruka roared, letting Kakashi go as he started pacing a bit, nearly making the silver haired police chief to lose his balance.

"Uh… 'Ruka-chan…." He said tentatively, hoping he could calm the man down a bit without getting killed.

"What?!" the brunette snapped, making Kakashi flinch at the harshness of the question sent his way.

"Isn't that a little graphic?" he asked, a nervous chuckle escaping his throat.

Iruka's face gained another shade of angry red. "Like hell!"

"I didn't say Naruto went with him--."

"I don't care! Regardless of who's with him, it's still reckless! Even if you went with him I'd be pissed!" Iruka yelled into the quiet as Kakashi's expression shifted from nervous to amused.

"I can see that."

Turning to face the police chief, Iruka glared at Kakashi, his voice perfectly serious and grim. "Does Kiba know exactly what he's doing?"

Kakashi merely shrugged at this question. "Not sure, but I hope so."

"Are you being honest, or are you just saying that just to escape a scolding?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow at the other man's response.

"How about both?"

"Kakashi!" the brunette exclaimed, showing his annoyance and growing anger.

The police chief waved his hands defensively, hoping to calm his koi down before he got even angrier. "I'm serious!"

"You better be." Iruka said, his tone coming down to a worried murmur. "You'd better be serious."

--With Kiba & Sasuke

After shooting and knocking out the gang thug a few minutes before, both males were once again on the move. With Sasuke leading the way, Kiba trailed behind, looking all around to ensure they weren't being followed. He'd leave the sneaking around to the raven-haired man in front of him.

"So how'd you get mixed up with these guys anyway?" Kiba asked suddenly, hoping to gain some information about the man from his own mouth. That way, there'd be no more misunderstandings, or at least avoid them entirely.

Glancing back, Sasuke just scowled at him, apparently displeased by the sudden question about his life. "I don't think now's the best time to be discussing this."

"But I do."

The raven's scowl deepened to a nasty glare, his voice harsh and his face showing hints of annoyance and hidden rage ready to boil over. "Well I don't. So deal with it."

Kiba allowed a tense pause before daring to speak again. "Touchy subject?"

"Not even close." Sasuke growled, keeping his voice low as he peeked one of his midnight black, slanted eyes around a corner before letting the rest of his head follow.

The fanged cop nodded sagely almost to himself, deciding to take a different approach to the conversation. "If that's how it's gonna be, then at least tell me why you left 'em."

Sasuke paused, looking back at the brunette, his scowl having given way to surprise before shifting to contemplation. "I… I tried to keep from getting in too deep. From becoming soulless, uncaring monsters that prowled the streets for money or power, like them. So I tried to leave. Only… their leader didn't really buy into my 'I've had enough of this crap' speech and tried to have me shot then and there."

"And you lived?" Kiba exclaimed, naturally surprised at this new piece of information about the raven-haired man in front of him.

The raven only shrugged nonchalantly, perfectly casual by now. "Only because I'd predicted that he'd probably react that way and managed to fight back long enough to make a clean get away. Not to mention the fact that I'd call the police a few minutes before going inside to tell them I was quitting."

"You're a whistle-blower?! Seriously?" Kiba exclaimed again, sent into pure shock and amazement at the other man's feats.

Sasuke shrugged again, the ghost of a smirk on his face. "Seriously. The guy they had investigating the whole thing didn't even have to turn me to get information. But I could only get so much without looking suspicious."

"Whoa. So you really worked both sides?" the brunette inquired, truly incredulous that the raven was capable of such things.

"Only one of 'em for suckers." Sasuke just shrugged again as if he didn't even care all that much. "And now they want to kill me for it."

"That explains a lot."

Confused by this answer, Sasuke paused to turn and raise an eyebrow at the other man behind him in question. "Oh? How so?"

"Why you're so uptight—Ow!" the last remark coming from when Sasuke punched Kiba with his free hand in the shoulder, hard enough to cause considerable bruising and muscle ache.

"Don't push your luck Dog Face." The raven growled angrily, his voice dangerously close to an infuriated hiss.

Kiba just rubbed his shoulder, glaring at the man in front of him with seething rage and annoyance. "Damn that hurt! What the fuck!"

"Just keep it down! I thought I heard something."

Surely enough, they heard the sounds of rushing footsteps and loud angry shouting that became more discernable as it got closer, seeming to tell of a coming doom. Neither man thought twice when Kiba found an unlocked door to a closet and quickly whispered. "Quick! In here!"

Within seconds of shutting the door behind them, a single pair of running footsteps passed them by, a silent figure who only made noise when he breathed or took a step. Just behind him came the angry shouts and curses of what sounded to be very pissed off gang members. "After him!"

"He fuckin' shot Nat!" one shouted in turn, obviously enraged by the 'senseless' attack on one of their own by a stranger.

Several shots were fired, making the two men wince from their hiding place, the sound of running footsteps passing them by as they huddled on either side of the closed door, silently hoping that the men had left and wouldn't come back.

After a moment of silence went by, Kiba couldn't help but think aloud. "Is it just me… or did some guy somehow manage to get past those bozos?"

"If he isn't a cop, he's screwed if he doesn't find a place to be and fast." Sasuke grumbled as he eased the door open, poking his head out to see if it was clear. When he walked out into the bright, artificial light, Kiba knew the hallway was empty except for them.

"And if he is?" he had to inquire. Not knowing stuff about certain things was bad in his line of business.

Sasuke didn't hesitate. "Then he's screwed."

"How does that differ from the first one?" Kiba deadpanned, not really believing the raven-haired man who began walking towards the stairs like they'd been doing before avoiding some stampeding thugs.

The man in question merely shrugged. "He'll waste ammo trying to defend himself, run out and then probably get killed from ignorance and stupidity."

Kiba looked instantly worried, his eyes darting in the opposite direction of where they were going. "Shouldn't we help him?"

"We have our own problems Kiba!" Sasuke growled only to wince when he felt pain shoot up and down his still injured leg as if some little kid had kicked him right in the shin.

He hadn't realized he'd lost his balance until Kiba was suddenly right next to him, a look of concern and hidden anger twisting his already animalistic face as he practically snapped into the other man's ear. "I thought so! You need to stay put for a minute dude. That leg of yours ain't gonna help you if you don't rest."

Sasuke just tried to wriggle out of the brunette's hold, scowling with a mean stubbornness that Kiba was already familiar with. "Fuck that! We need to get downstairs if we want to get rid of these guys!"

"No way. That can wait." The brunette growled in turn, daring the man to protest further as he eased him onto the tile floor of the hallway. "Naruto'll kill me if something bad happens to you."

This statement was enough to bring about another silence, Sasuke slumping against the nearest wall to use a free hand to rub the bridge of his nose. He could only stare at the floor as he spoke. "Why does he care so much? I'm just some guy who happened to be in a convenience store when a bunch of street punks tried to rob it. How the hell does that suddenly make me so damn special?"

"Well, for one thing, I think he likes you."

Sasuke looked up, wide-eyed and surprised at this statement. "W-what?"

The brunette didn't seem to be joking by the look on his face. "I'm serious! He's never met anyone like you! It's only natural that he finds you so fascinating. There was another guy who was kinda like you but he creeped everybody out all the time. At least you know what emotions are."

"What was so creepy about the other guy?" he had to ask, looking a little confused by this sudden reference to another man he'd never met before.

Kiba just shrugged, looking a little relieved. "He'd fake everything. It's no wonder Kakashi transferred his creepy, perverted ass."

"Perverted?"

The brunette nodded grimly. "I'd really like not to get into that. That guy just had no shame. He'd probably walk around the precinct naked if he actually felt the urge."

Sasuke winced, feeling a bit grossed out by the thought of a strange man walking around in his birthday suit for no apparent reason. "That's… unnecessary."

"Now you know how I feel." Kiba grumbled as he turned to stare down the halls in search of any thugs who might've heard them talking or were just heading back for whatever reason.

"What?" Sasuke exclaimed, eyes filled with astonishment and then utter disgust at the visual that would make anyone cringe. "Holy crap! He actually--!"

Kiba didn't even look at him as he turned towards the stairs leading down to the next floor. "Let's just get moving. This conversation isn't going as I'd hoped."

The raven-haired man paused in getting to his feet, giving the dog-faced cop a suspicious glare. "And what did you 'hope' to talk about?"

"Whether or not you're just trying to run away again or you're actually trying to face your past." It was then that Kiba looked back at him, pinning him to the spot with a rather nasty glare, a bit too serious for once. "So? Which one is it?"

Sasuke merely stared at the other man before bracing against the sanitized, white hospital wall to unsteadily get to his feet to walk past his comrade in blue. "Let's get moving."

The glare intensified as Kiba grabbed Sasuke by the arm, forcing him to turn around so as to snarl into the raven's face. "You didn't answer my question Uchiha!"

Pulling his arm out of the rough grip and avoiding eye contact, Sasuke stared off to the side as he spoke in a quiet tone. "…. If you guys want me to leave when this is over, I'll understand. Besides, before the shooting at the store, I was planning on moving on anyhow."

"Wait, you can't mean--!" Kiba began to exclaim before ink black eyes, swirling with a deep sadness stopped him in his tracks.

"I'm not proud of what I've done. But it was the only way to find out who the real culprits were."

Kiba scowled at him, looking at the other man is if he were the biggest idiot on the planet. "You should've--!"

"Should've what? Waited for the police to chase their tails for a few years and then give up? Just sit around and wait for the case to go cold? If it was your parents, wouldn't you want to do something about it?" the raven snapped, glaring and enraged like he'd never seen before to where the brown haired cop nearly stepped back in surprise.

"Yeah but--!"

"Then don't patronize me!" Sasuke growled, ignoring the pain in his leg as he headed for the stairs again. "We only have so much time before those thugs come back to see if their new target doubled back on them."

Feeling a little out of place now but not wanting to lose track of the man he was sure his best friend had a crush on, Kiba silently moved to follow him, eyeing the empty hallway lit by bright, artificial lights. Satisfied that there was no one behind them, the brunette turned away and made to catch up to the man getting too far ahead of him.

--With Itachi

Running away had been a little more of a challenge than he'd previously thought it would be since the guys following him were probably wrestlers or track runners in their teens back when the system cared about their development. Now if only they'd strived for desk jobs, because then there wouldn't so damn many! He thought with rare, heartfelt emotion as he prepared to skid to make a turn on one of the many floors he'd rushed past in the hopes of finding his younger brother before the thugs did.

Please be there Sasuke, gods in heaven please let him be there. Desperately sprinting up another flight of stairs as the came closer to the floor his only sibling was on, Itachi rounded a corner and did find someone. But it wasn't his brother. Instead it was a lazy looking man with his brunette hair up in a ponytail that stuck out like bunch of dried plants. Coming to a rushed stop, Itachi stared at the stranger with a bit of surprise. This was definitely and unforeseen complication on his part.

The two men stood in silent observation of each other, each with their normally stoic faces with traces of surprise. Only Itachi let the surprise change to worry and fear when he jumped at the sound of a slamming door below, shouts of anger and loud running footsteps signaling that the gangsters had somehow caught up to him. Ink black eyes darting to the source of the noise before coming back to the stranger standing in his way, he knew he had to make a choice. Somehow get past the man and keep going, or make his stand and probably die a meaningless death.

But before he could so much as move, the stranger made the choice for him by suddenly relaxing, somehow finding a reason to smirk in triumph. "So you're Itachi Uchiha huh? We've been wondering where you've been all these years."

He could only blink in surprise before it gave way to suspicion. Very few knew his name, much less his face to begin with. So how did this guy know my name? Itachi thought as he spoke as tonelessly as humanly possible, moving to take a step backwards in case of an attack. "Okay. So you know my name. You like them?"

"Far from it. Name's Shikamaru Nara, FBI." The stranger said coolly, not even moving despite Itachi's small actions to run the other way. And right into angry thugs hoping to shoot him to death.

Itachi couldn't help but feel a slight chill travel up and down his spine. All the years he'd spent avoiding both the law and lawless were probably over. Narrowing his eyes more still, the older Uchiha tried to concoct a plan all the while thinking of why a federal agent was there. Only one thought went through his mind at this point. The Feds? Well shit, now I'm screwed.

Setting his jaw and ignoring the urge to rush past the man, Itachi kept his voice steady as he spoke again. "You goin' to arrest me?"

"Nope."

Huh? Confusion marred his smooth features as Itachi tried to comprehend the other man's odd response. "And why's that?"

Shikamaru only smirked knowingly in a way that only made Itachi even more confused than ever before. "Let's just say your brother's been doing more to find the real killers than you have."

"That's not what I've heard."

The federal agent merely let out a chuckle as he turned to open the door one of the many hallways to hold it open for them both to use. "Well then you didn't get the whole story now did you?"

Itachi looked even more suspicious of the brunette than he had a few moments prior to hearing the man's unusual answer. "How can I know that I can trust you?"

"You don't have much of a choice now do you?" Shikamaru inquired, indicating the loud shouts and footfalls from enraged gang members roaming the empty hospital stairs and hallways in search of their latest kill thrill. And so far, they weren't enjoying their luck.

Still hyped on adrenaline and on edge from nearly being shot full of holes, Itachi refused to think of the man before him as an ally to securing his innocence in the matter that'd plagued his mind for years. "Why should I believe what you say?"

Knowing better than to chuckle and smirk, the FBI agent instead took on a more serious expression, his bored tone lost in the currently grave circumstances. "I know the guys who've kept your brother, Sasuke, under their watchful eyes. And not to mention the fact that I was put in charge of the investigation when I was told he'd come back into public eye here in New York. Your brother's a pretty slippery guy, I'll tell ya that much."

"So? What? You're just going to tell me what my brother's been doing all these years while I was off elsewhere?" Itachi couldn't help but snap. He'd always been the most patient of the two brothers, but the fact that he was being constantly chased around was making him more nervous than he cared to be.

"Pretty much. I'd say his efforts in finding your parents' killers have been very crucial to my investigation. If not for him joining then leaving the White Vipers, and your disappearance, this case would've gone cold years ago."

Purely astonished by this piece of news, Itachi let his suspicion and fear of being arrested for something he didn't do give way to genuine shock at learning what his younger brother had done while in his absence. "He what?!"

"See? You don't know everything after all." the FBI agent smirked once more at the older man's expression before eyeing the empty space of the stairwell railing, making him finger the edge of the open door and retake his grim expression. "You comin' or do ya want to be shot?"

Itachi hesitated, eyes of ink black turning to the source of the constant yelling and running sounds from a few floors down. Sooner or later, the thugs would realize he'd kept going up and would be even angrier than ever. Seeing no other real choice, the older Uchiha quickly walked through the open doorway to take refuge in the empty hall with the Federal agent in tow, leaving the dimwitted grunts in the stairwells to rumble and curse to their last breath.

--With Naruto

As Shikamaru was dealing with a reluctant Itachi, Kiba and Sasuke were having their little 'civil' chat and Kakashi was bringing his boyfriend (and Naruto's guardian by law) back to reality, the blonde cop couldn't help but feel a little strange, standing in front of an elevator that wasn't showing any signs of use whatsoever. So, it was out of complete boredom and nervousness of the uncanny silence of the hospital's sanitized hallways that Naruto decided to try and see what was going on. But leaving his post without a word was always considered irresponsible. He had to radio in first.

Putting the small device to his mouth and pressing down the button on the side to activate it, Naruto spoke almost cautiously into the tiny speaker. "Nara? This is Uzumaki calling in. What's your status?"

Almost immediately and the blonde's grateful relief, the FBI agent's lazy voice sounded off over the channel, making him thankful no one had died on him just yet. "I read you Uzumaki. Things are pretty quiet on my end except we've got a new guest on our hands."

A new guest? What the hell!? Naruto thought, his fears arising again only for them to be fought down. He knew he had to stay calm. Keeping his voice as steady as possible, the blonde eventually asked. "What happened?"

"Let's just say that he stirred things up downstairs and that I might need a little help over here at the stair entrances." Shikamaru chuckled, not sounding all that concerned with maintaining their posts like they should.

Letting out a sigh of defeat, Naruto rolled his eyes before speaking again. "Fine, I'm on my way."

"Roger that." The man on the other end seeming to smirk in triumph before the line went dead, leaving the blonde in the eerie silence to stare at his walkie-talkie in utter confusion on what was really going on.

What the hell is going on today? First Sasuke comes up with a wild-ass plan and takes Kiba with him. Then Kakashi disappears to track down Iruka but hasn't radioed in with us yet. And now we've got some new guy? Did I miss a 'Weird Day Avoidance' meeting or something? Pushing away the confusing jumble of thoughts, Naruto put his firearm back in its holster and his walkie-talkie back into its clip as he turned away and began to walk to Shikamaru's location. Or at least he would have if the light sounds of the elevator coming to life didn't alert him, making him come to a stop. Turning back around as quickly as humanly possibly, Naruto instantly let his right hand fall onto the cold leather that covered the butt of his gun. A sweat as cold as his gun threatened to start its way down his face, already beginning to soak his hands as he gripped the handle almost like a lifeline.

Looking up, Naruto saw that the metal box was still a little ways off from reaching his floor, giving him all the more reason to get his walkie-talkie off his belt and in front of his mouth so he could be heard properly.

"Shikamaru." He said, trying to keep his voice steady. It was rare to get into a firefight, especially if it was one against five. Naruto didn't exactly want to be alone for this.

The radio came to life with short-lived static before the FBI agent's lazy voice sounded off over the line. "Huh? What is it?"

"We might have a problem."

A surprised pause followed before the man on the other end answered in a more emotional manner. "What? What's wrong?"

"Someone's coming up the elevator." Naruto could see his hand was starting to shake. But only a little as Shikamaru came close to making him jump out of his skin when he practically yelled over the line.

"Are you serious!?"

Nervousness gave way to irritation, even as the blonde watched the light switch from one number to the next. "I'm starin' right at the flashin' numbers dammit! How could I not be serious?"

This sent both parties into a temporary silence, making Naruto wonder if the federal agent was speaking to the unknown member. It was after a few more seconds that the radio crackled to life again. "Do you need us to come?"

"Not sure yet." Naruto said truthfully. Another number was lit up, leaving only one left before the doors would open, and the blonde would probably be in for the fight of his life.

"Stay in touch." The lazy voice almost demanded. A silent command in the form of a simple sentence. A promise of sorts.

"I'll try." The blonde said before putting the device away and bringing his gun back out of its holster to point at the two metal doors. Unsure of what he might face, Naruto Uzumaki mentally prepared himself as he stood his ground just as the small light lit up the floor number, let out a sharp bing, and the sight of opening doors became all that Naruto could focus on.

Wow. Things have gotten really crazy since last chapter! Hope you guys enjoyed this one to the fullest. It might've taken me a while but be prepared for chapter 10! I'll try to write it faster this time though… since you guys were forced to wait for so goddamn long. Anyway, here's what's to come!

Next chapter:

Chapter 10: End Of Suffering

As seen so far, Itachi finally joins the group to keep the enemy guessing but still have everybody else in the dark. Why did he run when he found out his parents were dead and left Sasuke by himself to his own devices? Is Itachi holding back a valuable piece of information vital to solving the Uchiha Couple murder? And what happened to Kakashi and Iruka? What exactly happened between Iruka and Mizuki that's left our favorite brunette so traumatized? Will Kiba be able to keep Sasuke from doing something crazy in time to save them all from certain death? Find out on the next all new chapter of 'Drifting No More' with the debut of:

Chapter 10: End Of Suffering!!