REWRITTEN

A/N: Dang, have I taken long AGAIN. (winces) But now, FINALLY, there's another chappy incoming. (cheers)

First off, thank you so much for those wonderful reviews! (HUGS) It's thanks to them this chappy saw daylight, ya know? (wink, wink) And naturally HUGE special thank yous to my unbelievable proofreader Serenityofthematrix for the awesome work!

Awkay, because you'll probably start throwing things if I don't cut the wait soon… Let's rock! (rubs hands together) I REALLY hope you'll have a good time with this one, un.

/ A seven-years-old Sasuke didn't have the slightest clue of what was happening while she slumped to the cold ground, absolutely all strength leaving her small, thin body and tears rolling painfully over the deep cuts on her cheeks. Her tiny fists balled and she grit her teeth as a voice she would've much rather forgotten resounded in her ears.

" You are weak and pathetic, Sasuke – worthless. What on earth would I do with subordinates like that?"

She'd go back, she declared to herself. And that day she'd show him exactly how much she was worth.

Slowly, however – as minutes turned to hours and she couldn't bring herself to move – she wondered if she'd even see the next dawn. Blood kept escaping from her multiple wounds, and although she was only a child in a lot of pain she knew the amount of crimson underneath her was far too much.

Just as she thought all hope was lost, however, whom she considered an angel appeared to her. She figured she gasped a little when a man with brown hair and gentle eyes of the same color kneeled before her. " Hey, are you alright?"

Although a part of her tried to message that she should've fought, escaped, when the man finally picked her up she relaxed to the surprisingly comfortable touch.

Because this was her second chance, and she knew she wouldn't be getting a third one.

That day her journey towards something very dark and sinister began. /

/ Eighteen-years-old Naruto was trembling more violently than ever in his life while he sat under the stern, all but merciless eyes of Danzo, who kept glancing constantly towards him while going through his file. " So, Namikaze…" The man snapped his file closed so loudly that he jumped. " Do you have any clue how huge trouble you are in right now?"

He nodded stiffly, his throat so tight that he feared he'd suffocate. " Y – Yeah."

" Good. Now…" The man leaned closer. " You've screwed up loyally – enough so to make me consider sending you to prison for the rest of your life. You can avoid that, if you agree to… do a little favor for me." Those chilling eyes gleamed when looking into his. " Do we have a deal?"

Once more he nodded, this time eagerly, unable to even imagine what would be ahead of him soon.

Because this was his second chance, and he knew he wouldn't be getting a third one.

That day he became Naruto Uzumaki. /

CHAPTER 10: Direct Hits

The new, actually rather homey safe house he'd moved into with Sasuke and Kiba only days earlier was almost eerily quiet when Naruto's eyes opened and he blinked, feeling confused after the much too realistic dream he'd just had.

His chest formed a tight, painful ball while his eyes locked to an alarm clock placed nearby. Only fifty hours and thirty six minutes to when he'd have to testify against Orochimaru.

Emitting a groan and shivering, he shifted around – only to notice that the other side of the bed was empty. For just a moment something close to terror flashed inside him, until he heard a tiny, distant sound that comforted him for some reason. Making barely any noise he got out of the bed and started to saunter towards the kitchen, following a beam of light. He couldn't help smiling a little at what he found.

There, right before his eyes, the 'tough and invincible super agent' Sasuke was sitting at a table with a mug of warmed up milk, looking out the window deep in thought and humming softly, probably not noticing it.

Adorable, was the only descriptive word that came to his mind.

" Exactly how long are you planning to stand there staring?" Sasuke's soft, amused tone indicated just how much had changed in only a few short days.

He grinned radiantly and walked up to the raven, giving her lips a heated kiss. It felt good to discover that the woman had finally stopped fighting to keep their relationship purely professional. " I had a nice view to look at, you know?" He then grew slightly more solemn, searching through her eyes. " Now what's up? I thought you'd already gotten over insomnia."

She looked away, her gaze darkening. " Hn."

And with that he understood. That was the closest to showing worry she could get. Nightmares… " Hey, Sasuke." He wrapped his arms around the woman, forcing her to look at him. " Everything's gonna be okay, you know?" He kissed the woman, nibbled her lower lip playfully, and was pleased to notice her joining the game. " So stop worrying so much."

She arched an eyebrow and put away the mug, her eyes flashing in a way he could only call suggestive. " What are you planning to do to convince me?"

-

When half asleep Kiba almost entered the kitchen ten minutes later to get a glass of water, his eyes popped wide at the sight he met.

Clothes all over the floor, naked skin, moans and whispers…

He backed away, fighting to keep himself from gagging, and decided that he'd rather die of thirst than witness any more of this.

Once he left Orochimaru's base, Kimimaro had found himself filled with terror. For so many years that place had been his whole life, everything he'd believed in and absolutely all he'd had. And now he'd been thrown into the unknown.

Yet he didn't feel terrified only for himself, although staying in the shadows and avoiding people was nerve wrecking. TenTen… She'd risked her life, her everything, because of him. And soon he came to realize that he'd have to do something to help her, or he wouldn't be able to live with himself. That's why he finally stumbled into the about last place he could've imagined approaching.

As he barged through the doors of ANBU's base that early morning, at least thirty weapons were immediately darted towards him, making his heart hammer with sheer terror.

He'd never liked people all that much, and this situation was well enough to make him regret his decision of coming.

The male voice he soon heard did nothing to make him more convinced that he wasn't out of his mind. " What do you have there?" Turning his gaze, he met a rather old man who was looking at him with clearly apparent disgust.

" An intruder, Danzo", a female voice announced. Those words, apparently, came from a pink haired young woman, who was currently looking at him with a frown. " Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

At that moment – realizing that this was most likely his only chance to make things right – he braced himself and spoke, focusing on the woman's green eyes instead of all the weapons and that old man he considered chilling. " TenTen… She's in a trouble. You're the only ones who can help." She was working for Orochimaru – which made her the enemy of everyone in this building – but these people were nonetheless his only hope. (1)

He was mildly confused by the way the pinkette's eyes widened with shock.

" Take him into custody", the man – Danzo – ordered, so harshly that the hair in the back of his neck rose. " Something tells me we'll have a lot of fun with this one…"

Although she'd even been married to Suigetsu for a while and she'd had her fair share of lovers to share her bed, Sasuke was far from used to waking up with someone, let alone a client. That's why she blinked a little as she found herself waking up from a nap rather late that evening, and discovered that she was sitting in Naruto's lap, with the man's arms wrapped around her.

" You two fell asleep in the middle of the movie", Kiba, who was sitting on the opposite end of the couch, announced with a deeply amused expression. " You looked so cute that I didn't have the heart to wake you up."

Not sure how to feel about those words she first rubbed her face with one hand, then tried to pry the blond holding her into letting go without waking up. " Hn." Sure enough this embrace felt good to her, but that didn't make the situation any less confusing and uncomfortable.

Of course with her luck Naruto woke up to her motions. He frowned when realizing what she was doing. " 'u going?"

Surprisingly enough her expression and voice didn't give the turmoil inside away. " To get some water." Unable to stop herself she brushed his hair a little. " Go back to sleep."

Naruto shook his head, then stretched and yawned adorably. " Nah, I'm already awake, anyway. Besides, I've been sleeping too much." He looked at her for a moment, then frowned. " What's wrong? Your left eye's twitching."

She blinked uncharacteristically, wondering when the heck he'd learned to memorize that. " It's okay." Figuring that some further confirmation was needed she went on. " It's just… all in my head." That was the closest her pride allowed her to get to admitting she was confused, scared out of her mind and sure as hell not ready for talks of any sort.

The tiny smile that appeared to Naruto's face revealed he understood. Slowly, most likely not wanting to confuse her even further with moving too fast, he pushed himself upwards and kissed her gently. " 's okay", he murmured to her lips, resting his forehead against hers for just a second. " Take all the time you need, 'k? I mean, with the water."

At that she just had to smile.

For a dobe Naruto could be unbelievably understanding sometimes.

She couldn't help wondering if she would've allowed the situation to roll any further if the apartment's doorbell hadn't rang just then. She felt ready to growl a little, but grinned instead when seeing Naruto's nervous expression. " It's just Suigetsu, so relax. He was supposed to show up as backup today, remember?" With that she got up and walked up to open, paying no attention to the fact that her hand lingered on the man's as long as possible.

Sure enough, she found Suigetsu behind the door as soon as she opened. Her expression grew sour. " You're late."

He shrugged. " Only one hour." He stepped in, then came to think of something and handed her a bottle of water. " You mentioned being thirsty when you called, remember?"

Feeling mildly surprised by the fact that he'd actually remembered she accepted the offering, nodded and took a long gulp. " Thanks."

He shrugged, watching as she drank some more. It took moments before he spoke again, glancing swiftly towards Naruto. " So… I sense things are heating up nicely?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. " So what if they are?" Pieces then slid together and she shivered. " Don't tell you're down that road again. We've dealt this crap through already, remember?"

He shrugged once more, something strange flashing by his eyes. " I know. But you've gotta admit that those memories are pretty tempting sometimes. We had good times, too, remember?"

She rolled her eyes, focusing on the water once more.

-

Naruto was surprised to find a dark feeling seeping into his chest and stomach as he watched the ex-couple interact, exchange words he couldn't hear. He'd never been one prone to jealousy, but couldn't deny the surge inside him was dangerously close to that.

Kiba didn't make the situation any easier with pushing him forcefully, obviously ushering him to move. " What the heck are you doing? Go over there already!"

And before he even thought about it he'd walked up to Sasuke and wrapped his arms rather possessively around her waistline. To seal the impression Suigetsu was examining with keen eyes he all but bit the raven's neck.

Sasuke shivered with what he detected as pleasure, then gave him an inquisitive look. " What the heck are you doing?"

He shrugged, smiling as innocently as he possibly could. " Meh, just enjoying myself a little", he announced as though it'd been the simplest thing in the entire world.

Sasuke's eyebrow arched as she caught on. " I see."

He wasn't sure what he was about to do before he got interrupted by Suigetsu's voice. " Oh yeah, I actually had a message." The man's eyes seemed solemn. " Jiraiya called me, just before I came. He wants to see you both – apparently something new has come up with the case."

Sasuke frowned. " Are you sure it's a good idea to take Naruto out of the house?"

Suigetsu snorted, appearing throughout amused. " Oh c'mon, have a little faith. He's going with the two of us. How much danger could he possibly get in to?"

Naruto nodded eagerly, seeing a precious chance of getting out of the house appearing. " Yeah." He grinned. " I've got the two of you. Besides, we've gotta go and find out what Jiraiya wants. I'll be just fine."

Sasuke seemed far from fully trusting, but nodded stiffly anyway. " Alright."

" Are you going out?" Kiba's half asleep voice inquired.

" Yeah. Why?"

Kiba went back to resting on a couch and scratching his dog's, Akamaru's, fur. " Be good while I'm not keeping an eye on you."

He snorted. " Pervert." With that he took Sasuke's hand, the gesture so natural that he barely even noticed it. " C'mon, let's go before he comes up with anything more filthy."

Kiba rolled his eyes and folded his arms, muttering something like ' Very mature…' " Just come back soon, will you?"

Naruto fought the urge to laugh. " We will, don't worry." He then pulled Sasuke to motion, pleased to notice that the woman obligated without a complaint, and waved at Kiba. " You, behave while we're away."

Kiba all but glared. " See you later."

Suigetsu followed without much of a sound.

-

There was a frown on Sasuke's face while she followed Naruto out of the apartment, something close to queasiness building up in her stomach.

Something was wrong.

She woke from her thoughts when feeling Naruto poke her cheek gently. " Hey, I know that face." He looked at her with suspicion. " What's up?"

She shook her head because, in all honesty, she had no idea. " I just… felt a bit dizzy." Without noticing it she pulled Naruto just a little bit closer, sensing what felt like a threat. " Now let's move it."

Hayate had a feeling that he was stepping directly into a trap of some sort when he entered the tiny alleyway, his eyes darting around.

Fooling Orochimaru into letting him out like this had been hard. He hoped dearly he hadn't made a huge mistake.

" You're late."

Turning his gaze, he saw the purple haired woman who'd all but begged him to remember the last time they'd met. And suddenly it was very hard to maintain his cold façade. " I had some… trouble getting out." He folded his arms and frowned. " What the hell are we doing here? Didn't I make my point clear the last time around?"

She nodded somewhat stiffly, her eyes flashing. " Yeah, you did. And you also didn't give me a chance to state my point of view." She approached, no fear in her eyes although she must've known he was carrying a weapon. " If you want to know who you really are, you should listen to me."

His frown deepened. " Why should I trust you?"

Her gaze hardened. " Because you are Gekkou Hayate. You are one of the best men and agents I've ever met, the most kind hearted person who ever crossed my path. And I'm not about to stand back and watch how someone like Orochimaru swallows you whole and spits you into his own, personal hell."

By then she was stood so close that he felt uncomfortable. " I have no reason to believe you."

Her eyes flashed with something that looked like sadness. " I know. And in all honesty, I never expected you to." With those words something extremely sharp hit his neck, making him feel light headed in a matter of seconds.

He gasped faintly, looking into her eyes that showed half a dozen emotions he couldn't read. " What…?!" he choked out while the image of her face started to blur right before his eyes. What the hell did you do to me?

" Did you really think I was going to give up just like that?"

-

Yuugao closed her eyes while she felt Hayate fight against falling asleep in her embrace, using all her willpower into keeping tears at bay.

She was doing the right thing, she reminded herself. This was the only way there was to get Hayate back, to pull him out of that darkness.

" It's alright", she murmured although he'd already fallen limp, darting the words more to herself than him. Her hold on him tightened, became protective, while one tear slipped. " It's alright… Everything's going to work out, trust me."

" Is it done?" Genma's voice managed to startle her. Turning her gaze, she met the man's eyes full of what looked like worry. " Is he…?"

She nodded sharply. " Let's take him home."

They'd done what they could. Now she could only wish it hadn't been too late.

Meanwhile in ANBU's base Kakashi knew to expect trouble when Danzo appeared to him with a stormy expression. " Hatake, what have I told you about unauthorized missions?" the older man snarled, eyes narrowing viciously.

His eyes grew hard as he understood exactly what this was about. " Hayate is one of ANBU's best agents", he quipped. " You may not give a damn about him, but I wasn't about to let him rot away in Orochimaru's hands when I finally got the chance to help set him free."

" You endangered the lives of two excellent agents!" Danzo snarled, his fists balling so that he was surprised the man didn't use them. " Not to even mention how idiotic of a move it was to contact Hayate. What if your attempts had been discovered? Orochimaru would've undoubtedly taken that opportunity to charge against us."

" I was well aware of the risks", he snarled. " And I found the benefits much greater."

" That was your last stupid move", Danzo announced after a couple of moment's still, hard silence, and folded his arms. " I won't tolerate subordinates who defy every single one of my rules. As from today both you and Yuugao are suspended until further notice. Understood?"

He was just about to argue back when Sakura appeared to them with an expression that immediately alarmed him. He frowned. " What's wrong? Did you manage to contact TenTen?"

He felt a pang when she shook her head, then a shiver of dread when he saw her swallow. " Sai just contacted me", she announced in an unnaturally tight tone. " He's been keeping an eye on Orochimaru, and lately there's been suspicious movement. Something's badly wrong."

In Orochimaru's base, Kabuto brought his hand to a device placed behind his left ear. " It's go time."

Without saying a word he cut the connection, prepared his gun and left.

While walking towards the courthouse and working her hardest to keep an eye on their surroundings, Sasuke kept wondering what the undeniable feeling of something being wrong nagging in the back of her head was all about. In many occasions she was almost sure she felt someone watching them, but as she glanced around she saw no one.

What the heck could possibly be wrong, anyway? This was just a quick visit to the courthouse, which was located only two blocks from the safe house, and she had Suigetsu as her aid. Everything was supposed to be fine.

" Sasuke, what the heck is going on?" There was clearly distinguishable worry in Naruto's tone, and she wished she could've appeared reassuring. " You're acting even more paranoid than usual."

Her eyebrows furrowed, and without noticing it she tightened her hold on Naruto's hand and took a protective step closer to him. " I'm… not sure. This is just a feeling." Just then a wave of dizziness washed over her, and she blinked once while swaying slightly.

Naruto, of course, noticed this and pulled her to a stop. " Hey, what's going on? You just went all pale."

Suigetsu also seemed worried. " Are you feeling sick?"

She frowned, her head spinning uncomfortably, and leaned her hand against Naruto for support. She gasped faintly, feeling much too familiar, uncomfortable squirming in her stomach. And at that moment she understood exactly what was going on.

That scent of eucalyptus and oil that wouldn't leave her alone… She'd been…

Shit…!

" Sasuke?" Naruto's face and eyes radiated utter worry. " What's wrong?"

She looked at him as sternly as she possibly could, hoping from the bottom of her heart that he wouldn't be an idiot to start out a fight. " Get as far away from here as you can, okay?" Because things were about to get very, very ugly – that much she knew, although she could barely think. She then looked towards Suigetsu. " Take him to the safe house, now."

Suigetsu gave her a deep frown that obviously demanded answers.

Naruto frowned as well, obviously not liking her words. " Why? Sasuke, what the hell's going on?"

As from that second everything happened so fast that her dizzy head couldn't keep up with it all. There was a gunshot – so deviously silent and unexpected that she simply couldn't see it before it was much too late.

Her eyes widened a fraction.

-

Naruto's heart hammered as he – despite the fact that the shooter was probably using a silencer – heard the shot much too well. There was an extremely soft sound he couldn't recognize, after which time stood absolutely still, waiting and holdings its breath.

Then – so suddenly he just had to cry out – Sasuke's legs gave way, and she slumped backwards against him. Despite his state of shock he managed to catch her, right before she would've been out of his reach. " Sasuke…!" he managed while falling to his knees to the street, with the raven held securely in his arms.

Suigetsu also knelt beside them, obviously trying to keep an eye on their surroundings and appearing as close to frantic as he possibly could. " What the hell happened?!"

Frantically his blue eyes examined her dark outfit, desperately trying to look for the wound. And sure enough, soon he spotted a dark stain growing somewhere between the woman's chest and stomach. Suddenly he wished he would've listened better during anatomy lessons, so he would've known how severe the damage was.

" Naruto." Although Sasuke's voice was harsh her face looked terrifyingly pale, gave everything away. " Stop gawking and run, understood?"

He shook his head frantically, remained exactly where he was. Of course he knew that the shooter was out there, most likely approaching, but he wasn't about to run, not this time. " Do you seriously think I'd go without you?" His voice sounded pathetically choked, nearly desperate. He blinked furiously when his gaze blurred all of a sudden, never noticing that he trembled violently. " Can… Can you get up? We need to go."

Sasuke gave him a look of disbelief before breaking into dangerously wet coughs. " R – Run, you dam i– idiot…", she snarled between the coughs. " He… He's…"

He barely even heard, because all the attention of his terrified mind was locked to the strands of blood he could see nearby Sasuke's mouth. A doctor or not, he realized that was not a good sign. There was no time to waste.

He swallowed thickly, but the lump in his throat didn't disappear. " S – Sasuke, c'mon…" He thought about moving her, only to understand that he didn't dare to do a thing. What if he'd make even more damage? " Please…"

Sasuke seemed to take a deep breath before refocusing on him, her eyes already much hazier than before – dangerously so. " Run."

Suigetsu rested a slightly trembling hand to his shoulder. " Let's go, right now."

He didn't budge from where he was. And just then steps were heard, accompanied by a voice he knew much too well. " Well, well… Why do I have a feeling that we've met like this before?"

He turned his flaming, teary gaze, placing himself protectively above Sasuke, to meet Kabuto's smug, amused face. " You… asshole…", he snarled in a choked tone. " You… You…!"

A gun that shone like silver in moonlight was lifted. " Sorry about this. This is nothing personal." The man's gaze then moved to somewhere behind him. Then, to his shock, those eyes moved towards Suigetsu. " Now stop glaring at me and take care of him like you were supposed to, will you – you want your reward, right? We can fight about this later."

And before he could do as much as think, he cried out when something sharp hit his neck. Soon enough his head started to grow hazy, and his vision dimmed in a terrifying speed.

The last thing he saw before darkness came was Sasuke's eyelids slipping all the way closed, and her hand falling from the weapon she'd tried to pull.

His tears fell to her face as he fell limply into darkness, unaware of the fact that Kabuto's unreliable arms caught him.

Sasuke…!

-

Quite understandably none of them knew about the two figures stood on a nearby roof, observing them.

Hidan's eyes flashed while he watched Naruto get dragged away. " Shit. They got to him before we did." The man then glanced towards Itachi, who was stood beside him with an unreadable expression. He couldn't help wondering what was going on in the man's head.

" Go", Itachi ordered in a tone that almost managed to fool him. " I'll follow you in a minute."

He darted a suspicious glance towards the Uchiha. " If you promise you won't do anything idiotic", he announced.

Itachi's look was all the response he needed. Without saying a word he turned around and started to walk away.

He didn't know what the Uchiha had in mind, but he did know that there was hell to pay.

TBC??

1) Kimimaro still thinks TenTen's one of Orochimaru's employees, remember? After all, she is/was a spy.

A/N: Uh oh… (sweatdrops) And here I did it again. (winces)

So… Whadda ya guys say – do you want to see more of this story, or is it 'bye time'? It's your call, un. (nod, nod)

Heeh, especially with that ending I think it's time for me to tune out. (grins sheepishly – and RUNS)

Bye for now, folks!

Be good!