You Wear Insanity Well
Rated: M for mature content and mostly language
Disclaimer: If I owned anything here…well than I probably wouldn't be here…
Summary: "I wouldn't ask this from you unless it was an emergency. Mind you, I still hate you, you bastard, but this isn't about me. Just help me please? Help me save my baby."
Note: Time zones. They are very confusing.
Note2: Oh god, it's finally done. Dialogue heavy, when compared to the last one. I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reviewing! Three reviews for this full chapter is the magic number :D
09: Run Forward
(even if you block me, i'll break through and keep going)
McLean, Virginia, United States
08:30 UTC
Tenten blearily rubbed at her eyes, letting a yawn loose as she padded downstairs in her slippers. Pushing back some loose strands of hair from her ponytail, Tenten glanced at the clock as she walked into the kitchen. Mildly amused at the late hour, Tenten put on a pot of boiling water.
Tea cup settled faithfully in her hand, Tenten walked into the study area. Smiling, Tenten was happy to see the sun pouring in from the large bay window. Really, it had been far too dreary lately and Thanksgiving hadn't even past yet. Settling herself in a comfortable chair and placing her tea cup down on the desk, Tenten jiggled the mouse and watched as the monitor buzzed to life.
Wearily glancing around the study, Tenten furtively typed the password in. Although she had thoroughly combed the house for any bugs or other devices, Tenten still could not be entirely sure that the house was clean. The thought infuriated her.
Opening up Microsoft Outlook, Tenten blew out a bleary sigh as she sifted through new emails. There was a coupon from Barnes and Noble; a couple of sales going on at various clothes stores where she had purchased stuff before; an email from Amazon telling her to rate her latest transactions – all junk by Tenten's standards. Then there was the actual junk mail. Moving to delete it all, an unknown email address caught Tenten's eyes. Pausing, she found that someone had sent her a greeting card.
Tenten sat back, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Who would be sending her online greeting cards? Hesitantly, she moved the mouse so that the arrow hovered just above the link to open it. She was weary. She didn't want it to be some hacker's virus that downloaded all of her personal information and passwords when she opened it.
Curiosity getting the better of her, Tenten opened the email.
Thinking of You, the card title read and it showed a happy flower with a pensive looking bee sitting on one of the petals. Tenten scoffed, thinking about how cheesy it was. She never really did understand America's obsession with greeting cards.
Opening it, she paused, leaning in closer. The personal message inside was very short.
NH –
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Hope to see you there,
Christopher O'Connor
Oddly enough, it seemed to be addressed to Neji. The question was, who was Christopher O'Connor?
And what the hell was in Ann Arbor?
Mohammed V International Airport
Casablanca, Morocco
01:15 UTC
"See, what did I tell you, Sakura?" Said Naruto with a wide grin. "A dead man's money can really go a long way." Naruto said proudly as they briskly strode toward Terminal 3.
"Shut up!" Hissed Sakura, eyes furtively darting around the airport before she turned and punched Naruto in the arm. "You don't just say things like that out loud! Do you want us to get arrested?"
"Damn." Grumbled Naruto, massaging his assaulted arm. "For someone so slight, you sure do pack a punch. Tone it down, will you?" He said, giving Sakura a hurt look. "I'm still injured you know. And it's not like anyone heard me."
"You never know." Said Sakura. "I thought you said we should assume there are eyes and ears everywhere."
Naruto scowled. "Well…yeah, I guess I did say that…so I suppose it is a good point." He acquiesced. "But you don't have to punch me!"
"Grow up." Said Sakura, hardly sparing him a look. "You would think for someone so…practiced such as yourself that you wouldn't be such a big baby." She said, hitching her canvas bag higher on her shoulder.
Naruto wisely didn't respond, knowing that he would lose the argument anyway. Sakura picked up the shopping bag she was carrying and rummaged through it, pulling out a plain looking cell phone in clear, plastic packaging. "God…" She murmured. "It's just so…ugly."
Naruto groaned and rolled his eyes. "It's a Tracphone…it's supposed to be ugly. Man, I don't know," Said Naruto, shaking his head as he took of the baseball hat he was wearing and ran a hand through his hair, "Something about woman…you just don't understand the meaning of flying under the radar."
Indeed, in the past couple of hours, Sakura was getting the gist of exactly just what it meant to fly under the radar. After the nasty little incident in which Marcus was brutally disposed of, she and Naruto ran back to their apartment, with Sakura shoving as much of her personal belongings into her canvas bag as possible. Anything that she couldn't fit had to be left behind which made for some very tough decisions, all the while being pressured by Naruto to hurry up. Naruto, of course, had all his belonging neatly packed up in the black backpack he was carrying.
They had to hastily shove their last months rent, along with a little extra under their landlord's door, leaving the poor man without an explanation as to why the apartment would now be empty. Naruto explained it was always so much harder to pack up and leave when you were actually legally living somewhere – which was why he never owned a home in his entire life. It was usually a hotel room in whatever city he was staying, or he stayed with Shikamaru and Temari when he was in Florence, Sai's place when he was in Paris, and – if he ever had the guts to return to Rome – it would have been Grandpa Sarutobi's place there.
Sakura then had to explain via phone call to the director of the hospital that she worked at in Asilah that something had come up – an emergency and that she would have to take an indefinite leave of absence. Luckily, the director was a gracious man who respected Sakura and knew that she was a capable doctor that he could rely on – so he trusted her word implicitly. It only made Sakura feel worse because she didn't know if she would ever return.
Sakura sighed and glanced at the phone in her hand again before shoving it back in its bag. "I know, it's just…I miss my cherry red baby. Now it's scattered in pieces across Tangier with thousands of tourists and Moroccans alike trampling it. Not a very fitting end considering its service to me."
Naruto sighed, a grin marring his face before he flung an arm loosely around Sakura's shoulder. "You'll get over it."
McLean, Virginia, United States
08:40 UTC
Pale eyes shifted, an almost amused light dancing in them, but otherwise indifferent as they eyed the cell phone – its last vibration reverberating through the wood as the backlight faded out. 15 missed calls. It was probably safe to assume Anko was throwing a shit fit. Neji Hyuuga had never missed a day of work before – CIA related or otherwise, in all his years working a job. He would crawl to work, even if he was on the verge of death. He was diligent, organized and punctual; three qualities that potential employers would kill to have in an employee.
Yet today, Neji realized that something inside of him had changed. Perhaps he was being spiteful – like a surly child who refused to come out of his room because he was angry at his mother – but it was more than just that.
Someone was out to kill him, and if he stuck to what Anko thought was best for him, than his death was inevitable. Neji shifted his legs; loafers grating suddenly on the surface of wood and he was suddenly struck by the severity of it all. It wasn't a pleasant feeling – not in the slightest, Neji was coming to realize. Being a Hyuuga, it always seemed to lend to some air of indestructibility – as if no one could touch him, let alone harm him. And he supposed it had rubbed off in the way he conducted himself at the agency. Neji wouldn't go so far as to call himself cocky, but he definitely wasn't far from it. His cool attitude and demeanor made it seem as if he were infallible and unable to ever be hurt by the actions of himself and others.
There were only a few times where Neji had ever felt so precariously off balance and were he to be asked by another, he would have said it had never happened at all. The first time had been falling in love with Tenten. The feeling had come so quickly and with little warning that Neji was at first unsure what to do with himself. But love was a pleasant feeling, or at least it was supposed to be even if it was a first a little unnerving. The second time, however, had been much less…romantic.
Maybe he hadn't expected to be betrayed in such a low under the belt move. How naïve of him, especially when he thought he could hoard a secret against one of the greatest intelligence communities in the world. Anko said he must have known – how could he have not known when he was the subject of a supposed sex tape that he knew he never made. They were ashamed of him, they had told him – yet the whole thing had just been some ugly ruse; a punishment for probing too far into government secrets where they had expected him to fail.
What irked Neji the most was that he had seemingly played right into the CIA's trap. His clandestine relationship with Tenten during her time as a CIA asset was exactly what the CIA needed to put Neji's job in jeopardy. It mattered not whether he and Tenten made a sex tape or not. What had mattered was that the elicit relationship had existed and that no one had knew about it.
Neji shifted angrily in his seat upon a vacated picnic table. The cold air gusted noiselessly around him; in the distance he could hear the sound of geese calling to each other followed the soft splashing of water. While he was obviously still pissed by Anko's revelation, he realized that there were far larger things to contend with than his own Hyuuga pride. There was some deep seeded secret hidden deep within the bowels of both the CIA, the Italian government, possibly even Interpol and maybe even every government agency in the world. An unfortunately for him and Naruto, it seemed as they had both been saddled with the job of taking it down.
The unceremonious ringing of Neji's cell phone quickly broke through his thoughts. With an inaudible sigh, Neji pulled his phone from his pocket, fully expecting to see that it was Anko once again calling him. He was caught off guard to find that it was instead Tenten calling him. Clearing his throat, Neji quickly answered the call.
"Tenten?"
"Neji," Said Tenten, her voice resounding through the earpiece. "You got the strangest e-greeting today."
Neji furrowed his eyebrows at her words. An electronic greeting card? Who on earth would be sending him on of those?
"From who? What was it for?" Neji asked carefully.
"Well," Said Tenten, and her voice sounded put out, "Unless you have a gay lover, which I find highly unlikely, I think someone is trying to send you a message."
Neji swung his legs quickly onto the sidewalk and pushed off from the picnic table and picked his way through the dead and yellowing grass, phone still clenched to his ear. "Tenten, what kind of message?"
Maybe Anko would get her wish; it seemed like he would be coming into work today.
INTERPOL National Central Bureau
Rome, Italy
09:28 UTC
His shoes were far too tight – at least for his liking. That was the first thought that went through Hiruzen Sarutobi's head as he strode through Interpol's plush lobby. It seemed a bit ridiculous that one could get so spoiled after only a couple weeks vacation, but, perhaps when you were old…
Giving his left foot a slight shake as he strode forward, he gave a slight nod to his secretary as she came bustling forward, sensible heels clacking on the ground as she looked dangerously close to falling and scattering the plethora of documents and folders she was holding in her arms. There was a look of both urgency and relief on her face.
"Good to see you again, Signor Direttore." His secretary said, giving a slight bow of her head as she fell instep with his stride. "I'm glad to see you back so soon."
"Yes, Alda, it does feel good to be back." Hiruzen sighed, almost wearily as he continued to walk forth to the elevator.
His secretary cleared her throat before bending her head to shuffle her fingers through the stack of documents in her arms. "A few items of business…" She said, her eyes peering up at Hiruzen before flicking downward once again. "I received a few memos regarding ah…condolences from the local law enforcement agencies…I wasn't sure if I should have had them forwarded to your home sir."
Hiruzen waved his in a dismal matter, indicating that it wasn't of any concern and that he would take a look at them later.
"You received several calls of extreme importance agencies of interest in France, Germany and Belgium. I forwarded the calls along to the Segretario Generale, but a follow up with both him and them is probably necessary and recommended. There were 12 Red Notices…"
"Alda," Said Hiruzen, interrupting his secretary's sentence. "I recognize that these are all matters of extreme importance and I will deal with them when I have time. Right now, however, I need you to phone Ispettore Capo Kakashi and let him know that I will meet him in his office in five minutes."
His secretary was silent for a moment before acknowledging his request with a slight nod of her head. "Right away Signor Direttore."
Hiruzen absentmindedly pushed the button for the elevator, watching as his secretary bustled off, more business in her steps than sway, and he wondered if he really was getting too old for this job.
Kakashi, was in his office as requested when Hiruzen arrived, leaning casually against his desk with his arms crossed. His tie was loose around his neck.
"Welcome back, Signor Direttore." Said Kakashi with a slight nod of his head as he uncrossed his arms and braced them against the edge of the desk.
"Don't bother with the civilities." Said Hiruzen smiling as he closed the door. "I'm too old and you're too old a friend."
"A smile." Said Kakashi. "It's good to see one on your face again. And who said it was a civility?"
"You can't fool an old man." Remarked Hiruzen moving around Kakashi's desk to sit down in the chair. "I pulled myself out of the house to tell you that I will back that boy Shikamaru if need be in the custody hearing if need be." He said, jumping straight to the point.
Kakashi broke away from his desk and turned around, not saying anything.
"I'm too old to be taking care of another forgotten grandchild, hell only knows that I can't change a diaper – Biwako always took care of that messy bit." He said, chuckling to himself.
"She'll have a good life with him." Said Hiruzen, suddenly serious. "Perhaps not as good a one she would have had with her real parents, but I think it'll come pretty damn close. And I think," Said Hiruzen clasping his hands together. "That Shikamaru Nara might be the only way that child can escape from this web, this web of lies, secrets, deceit and death that has me, you, Konohamaru, that poor Uzumaki boy and maybe even that beautiful Haruno girl caught up in it."
Aboard Royal Air Maroc
02:20 UTC
"Kill Neji!"
Naruto spun around, eyes roving the airplane to make sure no one had heard. Luckily, most of the passengers aboard the aircraft already had headphones plugged into their ears and were either watching TV or sleeping, blankets curled up to their necks. "Not so loud!" Naruto whispered urgently, turning back to Sakura.
Sakura rolled her eyes and shook her head. "But why? You said that he visited you, that's not against some secret…law or something is it?" She whispered.
"No…" Said Naruto, his voice a low monotone. "But he gave me…stuff…"
Sakura's green eyes turned sharp at Naruto's words. "Stuff?" She hissed, peering at Naruto. "Could you be anymore vague?"
Naruto felt a small prick of annoyance at Sakura's tone flare up inside of him, but it was squelched almost immediately by the more overwhelming feeling to placate Sakura rather than fuel her on. His mouth twitched into a subtle hint of a smile despite himself. "Classified stuff." He murmured back. "Stuff he really wasn't supposed to show me I guess."
A light shifted in Sakura's eyes and she turned away, staring distantly into the vast expanse of early morning sky that was visibly available through the small slit of the window shade. "And you're going to say it is confidential enough that you can't tell me. Am I right?"
Naruto turned toward Sakura, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Sakura sighed, her shoulders heaved wearily with the motion as she slowly turned her head toward Naruto. "I wasn't going to bring this up…" She murmured reluctantly, "But now I think I'm going to have to."
Naruto shut his eyes briefly as he mentally braced himself for whatever Sakura had to say. "What?"
Sakura took a deep breath before continuing. "You've been lying to me and keeping secrets and it took an assassin trying to kill me before you decided to tell me the truth. Why?" She stressed, her eyes wide with confusion, as if she was desperately trying to fit the pieces together in her head.
"He was trying to kill you!" Naruto stressed, his voice bordering on defensive. "And I didn't want you to worry. Can't you understand that?" His voice was harsh as he stared at Sakura and his breathing was deep. He almost instantly regretted his tone, but he was surprised to find that Sakura's own temper didn't flare up at his words. Instead, her eyes had turned sympathetic as she stared at him and her face seemed sad.
"Before Marcus." She said simply.
Naruto leaned back and pursed his lips, caught off guard by Sakura's words. She was telling the truth. He had been keeping secrets from her – long before Marcus had shown up on the scene. Why?
"I was…afraid."
Sakura didn't respond, instead slowly moving her hand until it encompassed Naruto's, giving it a slight squeeze, as if she were encouraging him to continue.
Naruto turned his head away from Sakura as his eyes drifted over the other passengers aboard the plane. He could still feel her small warm hand atop of his, comforting him, urging him to go on. But he didn't know how to continue. It wasn't that he wasn't used to telling the truth – he certainly had no problem telling Sakura the truth since he trusted her. But for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to open up to her completely. There was still some small part of himself that was buried, deep inside of him that he didn't want anyone to see.
"Sakura." He finally murmured, his voice so faint that Sakura had to strain her ears and lean in closer to hear him. "You lived with your parents your whole life. So you can imagine that it might be a little strange for me to find how who mine were, let alone that they even existed."
Sakura paused, eyes widening slightly at the mention of Naruto's parents. "That's what was in the file Neji gave you?" She whispered urgently. "Oh Naruto!" She cried, flinging her arms and upper body around Naruto, effectively disturbing the passenger sitting next to Naruto who grumbled angrily before turning his body away. Sakura buried her face into the crook of Naruto's neck as he sighed into her hair.
"I'm sorry." She murmured, fingertips gently rubbing his neck. "I didn't know."
"Troublesome woman." Naruto murmured back, borrowing a line from his best friend as a light smile touched his face. "How were you supposed to know? I should have been brave enough to tell you."
Sakura pulled away and gave him a wry smile. "Tell me about these things next time." She said, bringing a hand up to flick Naruto on the forehead.
"Ow." Naruto mouthed as he brought up a finger to soothe his hurt forehead as Sakura turned to look out the window. "Don't you want to know more?"
"That's up to you." Said Sakura, turning to give him an honest stare.
INTERPOL National Central Bureau
Rome, Italy
11:58 UTC
Sasuke sat back in his seat and tossed his head back, giving out an exasperated sigh while his fingers combed through the unruly black locks framing his face. On his desk sat several different stacks of file folders and an assortment of other papers that literally covered his entire desk and keyboard. Blowing out another sigh, Sasuke sat back up, straightening out his clothes in the process as his dark eyes blinked a few times – they were bleary from having stared at finely printed text and his computer monitor for far too long.
Shuffling through the papers that covered his desk, Sasuke searched desperately for the small bottle of solution that he knew that he had – he needed it if he wanted to combat his frequently dry eyes. Finally finding it hidden behind the stack of files detailing Asuma's psych evolutions and under some other papers, Sasuke unscrewed the cap and tipped his head back, feeling the refreshing liquid drop into his eyes.
"Dry eyes…again?" Asked a mildly amused voice.
Sasuke sputtered at the distraction, instead squeezing the bottle so that the solution splashed onto his cheeks. Angrily wiping his face with the back of his hand, Sasuke sat up to find Kakashi perched on top of his desk; squashing a horde of papers.
"What the hell are you doing here Kakashi? I have a lot of work to do." Sasuke deadpanned.
Kakashi shrugged, almost looking pleased which was a drastic change from his usual expression over the past week or so. "The Director returned today."
"And did he say anything of interest concerning Asuma's case?" Sasuke asked, turning his attention away from Kakashi and toward straightening out the papers that covered his desk.
"Asuma's…case?" Said Kakashi frowning. "No…"
"Then, sorry, but I don't want to hear it." Sasuke groused.
Kakashi chose not to comment, instead opting to watch Sasuke solemnly with his lone eye as Sasuke bustled around his desk, straightening and flipping through file folders that the older man knew for a fact that Sasuke had already dissected each and every document that was currently present on his desk. With an angered and exasperated sigh, Sasuke attempted to pull the documents that Kakashi was sitting on from underneath his butt until Kakashi hopped off the desk and leaned against it instead.
Sasuke didn't bother to offer any thanks, instead shooting an offending glare at the grey haired man, as if to say he wasn't helping at all.
"Would you like to use your words?" Kakashi offered listlessly.
Sasuke dropped the papers he was holding with a grunt and slammed his fist on the desk. Kakashi didn't flinch. "There isn't a thing in all this shit. Not one fucking thing."
Kakashi closed his eyes briefly before reopening them.
"I had a hunch. I had a hunch, and I followed it, only to land up to my knees in shit. Goddammit." Muttered Sasuke.
"The psych evaluations…?" Asked Kakashi, although he already knew the answer.
"Normal." Sasuke grunted. "His responses were normal, no different earlier assessments, even when compared to evaluations first taken when he entered the agency."
"And what were you looking for?" Kakashi asked softly.
"Something…anything. Hints that there was someone after him, or that something was wrong. I mean, he never said anything to anyone, so I thought maybe he could have passed a clue in his evaluations, hoping it would get picked up…" Sasuke trailed off and shook his head.
"The only thing I could find," Said Sasuke, picking back up again, "Was that his last psych evaluation, taken a few months ago showed slightly elevated stress levels." Sasuke paused, plucking a file folder off the top of one of the stacks. Flipping it open, Sasuke thumbed through the sheets of paper before stopping on one. "The psychologist left a note, saying that the stress levels might have been caused by what they believed was a mild condition of paranoia, however nothing else in Asuma's evaluation could prove this theory. There was also a memo regarding Asuma's interesting responses to his Rorschach Test, but I'll be damned if I know what that means." Sighed Sasuke closing the folder.
Kakashi furrowed his eyebrows and tapped his chin. Paranoia? "What about his current case, the one involving the NATO officers…?"
Sasuke nodded his head and reached for another folder, this one much bigger than the last. "He was coordinating with several foreign agencies that were looking into the disappearance of former NATO officers, all having mysteriously disappeared within the last decade. While the case itself might be suspicious, nothing leads me to believe it was dangerous."
Kakashi sighed. NATO, also known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was an intergovernmental military alliance, formed based on the North Atlantic Treaty which came into being in the aftermath of WWII. The organization was basically responsible for an assembly of forces for mutual defense if attacked by an outside party. The disappearance of its officers could have been caused by a variety of things. Perhaps revenge caused by a person wronged by NATO's doing. It could have even been a sect in the officer's own government, calling for said officer to go into hiding. Or…
Kakashi froze, not liking the direction that his thoughts were heading. "Sasuke…" Said Kakashi, still mentally debating as to whether he should voice the question or not. "There wasn't any mention of the ITP was there?"
Please say no.
Sasuke's head snapped up violently as he stared at Kakashi. "No…" He said almost hesitatingly. "I saw nothing that could lead to that conclusion."
Kakashi, his mind already spinning, merely nodded his head, as if it were all he could do from saying 'good…thank God'.
Sasuke stared dismally down into the papers still covering his desk. His fingers clenched and unclenched. Why the hell was he suddenly so scared?
Kakashi pushed away from Sasuke's desk and pushed his hands in his pockets. "Maybe…maybe we need to accept the fact that Asuma's suicide was not provoked by anything. None of us want to believe it…but it could very well be the truth." He said softly, his voice morbid. "So take it easy Sasuke, take a break."
I don't want you to end up like him.
Sasuke looked toward Kakashi, through the fringe of his hair and gave him that slow but sure Uchiha smirk. "Don't worry."
I'll make sure not to end up like him.
Aboard Royal Air Maroc
02:59 UTC
It wasn't very often that someone could say that their life was being turned upside down, yet Sakura found herself thinking this on multiple occasions – all within the last year. Sakura didn't think herself especially special or extraordinary, in fact she liked to think herself cut from the same ordinary cloth that made up white suburban America.
When Sakura's Kindergarten teacher Mrs. Morrison – a tall bespectacled woman who wore her hair curly and looked like she borrowed her dresses from Ms. Frizzle herself had asked the class where they imagined themselves in twenty years, Sakura had kept things practical. She imagined herself as a vet, living in Michigan with a good looking husband and two children. She had also imagined herself as owning a pet giraffe, but hey, Sakura liked to dream as well...even if they were tamer when compared to her cousin Karin who had proclaimed she would own a unicorn farm in South America and be married to the President of the United States.
Even though she had kept things fairly realistic, it was almost a shock to Sakura that she was probably the farthest from her prediction as she ever could be. Unmarried, currently unemployed, homeless and also running for her life from nameless assassins. Again.
Sakura squeezed her eyes shut, slowly massaging her temples with her finger tips as she blew out a sigh that pushed her bangs away from her face. She was trying to put things into perspective, but she wasn't sure what that could be considered nowadays.
"This is bad."
"Yeah, well no shit." Naruto grumbled, shifting slightly in his seat.
"Last year…the ITP, everything…" Murmured Sakura. "We were only scraping the surface. This? This is…heavy…" Said Sakura, sighing as she found herself unable to find a more appropriate word. Her fingers returned to massaging her temples.
Naruto's mouth twitched subtly at her choice of words, signifying that his sense of humor hadn't entirely evaporated with the urgency of the situation. He wasn't sure exactly what he found funny about Sakura's statement, but he found himself almost giggling in spite of it. Perhaps it was something that had to do with the severity of the situation and the fact that only such scenarios seemed to happen to the both of them that was making him giggle inside like a schoolgirl. Sakura seemed to notice this as one green eye shot open to stare at him with a crystal clear gaze and a hint of annoyance.
With extreme force and willpower, Naruto pulled his lips into a slight and serious frown that was more befitting for the situation.
"So…Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki." Sakura murmured. "What do you know about them?"
"Nothing. Not a fucking thing." Naruto sighed, almost in an exasperated tone.
"Did you Google them?"
Naruto bit back another bout of laughter in fear of inciting Sakura's easily fueled rage. He did, however find it funny how commonplace it had become to use a mere Internet search engine to perform the once tricky task of a background check. Plus, the words almost sounded funny coming from Sakura's serious tone of voice.
"Yes." Naruto answered diligently.
Sakura pursed her lips after a moment of silence and could not help connecting her current situation of prying answered from Naruto to pulling teeth. "And?" She asked, her tone rising slightly in volume.
Naruto's gaze was suddenly devoid of mirth. "Nothing." He answered earnestly. "My dad was some politician who died in a car crash off the River Po. It's all I could find."
Sakura turned away from him, tapping a slender finger against her lip. "A car crash off the river? Sounds suspicious if you ask me. What about your mom?"
Naruto shrugged. "Nothing. Not that I could find." He replied, shaking off the slight discomfort he felt at referring to people who were his 'parents'. He had always been considered an orphan, a thief, a delinquent, but never someone's son.
"Both of your parents have Japanese names." Said Sakura, suddenly staring at him intently.
Naruto turned and suddenly found himself gazing into her intense green eyes. He jerked back, surprised. "Jeez, Sakura…what…"
"You don't look Japanese…" Said Sakura, frowning as she leaned back into her seat.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Naruto grumbled.
Sakura shrugged nonchalantly. "Might make my dad like you more. My dad really liked the idea of Sasuke when he heard his name."
"That bastard isn't Japanese. What happened when he met him?" Naruto asked, smirking.
Sakura shrugged. "He was a little put out, but he ended up really liking him anyway." Naruto let out a subtle groan and pushed his head back into his seat. Great.
Sakura's eyes suddenly widened and she turned her head to look at Naruto, her pink hair whipping around her face. "That's it! You could be just like Sasuke!"
Naruto turned his head, hair rustling against the seat. "That's sweet Sakura, but some how I don't think Sasuke and I measure up…"
"Not about that." Said Sakura waving her hand. "What I mean is that Sasuke has a Japanese name, but he isn't actually Japanese. I mean, he had an ancestor way back when that was, but really it's just the name that's been passed down. Maybe the same thing happened to you." Sakura explained.
Sakura paused for a moment, her head tilted to the side as she seemed to be contemplating something. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed and her mouth pursed, causing Naruto to lightly smile at her expression. Breaking from her reverie, Sakura suddenly leaned over the arm rest, her face having suddenly morphed into a fierce determination as she reached over, her slender hands suddenly frisking him.
"Whoa, Sakura..." Said Naruto as his eyes first darted to the man sleeping next to him and then to scan the rest of the plane before resting on Sakura once again. "I know we haven't done it in a while, but do you really think this is the time and place?" Naruto whispered urgently as her hand dug into the pocket of his jeans. Seriously, couldn't she bother to warn him before giving him an unexpected pat down?
"What?" Sakura snapped, her hands pausing as she looked at him. "You're disgusting! I'm looking for your phone!"
Sighing, Naruto pushed Sakura's hands away before he reached into the pocket of his jacket and thrust his phone into Sakura's waiting hand, grumbling all the while. Crossing his arms over his chest and pushing back the thoughts in his mind as he thought about how illegal it was to get it on in an airplane bathroom, he watched as Sakura turned his phone on, the logo lighting up the screen.
His scolding from her earlier actions dying in his mouth, Naruto subtly glanced to see if any of the flight attendants were near by as Sakura navigated the phone's internet with her finger. "Sakura…you aren't supposed to have that on up here…" Naruto whispered, hating to be reprimanded by an angry flight attendant for using a cell phone.
"Shut up. If I want to Google at 30,000 feet then let me." Sakura snapped.
Naruto only smiled and shook his head.
Aboard Royal Air Maroc
06:06 UTC
A warm voice…
A warm sweet voice…
What was she saying?
"And then I told Mikoto no way. I mean, why would I, Kushina Uzumaki want to go all the way to Italy? All they do over there is eat spaghetti and stand around painting and sculpting all day. Psh, boooringgg. So then – "
"Are you filling the baby's mind with your wild fantasy stories again?"
"WHAT? – "
(The gentle touch of hair brushing a cheek)
" – My stories aren't that fantastical, in fact…"
Naruto jolted awake, half springing off his seat, startling a cheap fleece blanket from his shoulders. He put a tentative hand to his chest where he could feel his heart beating erratically. Taking his hand from his chest, he pushed back damp locks of hair from his sweaty forehead. His head was…cloudy; muddled. It hurt to think.
Shaking his head, he turned his head, his eyes resting on Sakura's prone form. Her head was slumped, resting against the closed window shade in a position that Naruto figured must be very uncomfortable. Another blanket – a clone of his own was tucked around her shoulders and an open copy of The Sky Catalogue – a gimmick by the airlines where they could sellcheap imitations of Moroccan products and ridiculously expensive Bose noise canceling headphones was open on her lap. Her breathing was deep and regulated unlike his own.
"Sir? Is something wrong?"
Naruto turned to see a pretty flight attendant; her hands perched on the handle of the cart in front of her looking at him with concern deep in her eyes.
"Uh, yeah…" Said Naruto, hand reaching up to ruffle through his hair, "I mean no." He said quickly, catching the drift of what he said as he looked at the flight attendant with wide frantic eyes as he tried to amend his previous statement.
Kushina Uzumaki. Hearing Sakura say his mother's name out loud, however many hours ago must have been the cause of the strange dream, Naruto rationalized through the slight pounding in his head. It was his own fear and if he had to admit it to himself – stupidity – that had caused him to not do a thorough search of his mother earlier. Sakura, on the other hand, had no such inhibitions as she found that not only was there a small village in Okinawa comprised of Uzumaki's, but that his mother had been the recipient of a prestigious international scholarship to Sapienza Universita di Roma as dictated by a short excerpt in an Italian newspaper.
The problem was, Naruto wasn't drunk, or high, or delirious, leaving Naruto baffled as to how it was even possible to have such a deranged dream anyway. And it certainly didn't explain why the dream felt so real, why he felt such a strong connection when he dreamt it.
Did he dream it? Or was he simply remembering?
Naruto quickly pushed the dangerous thought away as he heard the pretty flight attendant speak to him. He gazed at her curiously, his cheeks tingeing in pink at his embarrassment for not hearing her.
"Would you like a drink?" She asked again, her voice soft.
Naruto blew out a heated breath. "Coffee would be great."
She gave him a small smile as she nodded her head and bent down to retrieve the coffee pot. He watched her practiced hands retrieve a small mug to pour the coffee in. "Crème and sugar?"
"No." Said Naruto absentmindedly, his hand reaching out across the sleeping passenger sitting next to him. Cradling the cup in his hands, Naruto missed the sad sort of smile the flight attendant passed him as he stared dismally into the dark brew.
