Hit the Floor Running
Rated: M, to be on the safe side
Pairings: SasuSaku, SasuHina
Disclaimer: Naruto (c) Masashi Kishimoto

Hit 11:

Naruto made a face as his eyes twitched. He scrunched his face up in effort to get rid of the bright light that was shining through his eyelids. Finally, he let out a yawn and his eyes drifted open. His sleepy eyes slowly adjusted and he found that he was lying on the bench under the window, the sunlight falling in bright rays.

He sat up and stretched his arms out and looked around. He was alone in the compartment. It took a moment for him to register that, but when he did he jumped up.

"Oh shit" He muttered before running out.

Naruto ran a hand through his disheveled hair as he looked desperately for Sakura.

'She couldn't have left right?' He thought frantically.

Then he saw Sakura sitting at a table near the window, surrounded by food. She had removed her tan jacket and pink scarf and had the sleeves of her white collared shirt rolled up and she devoured her food. Naruto rolled his eyes before giving out a sigh.

Naruto threw himself down on the cushioned bench across from her and raised his eyebrows at her.

"Good morning sunshine!" Sakura exclaimed, her mouth full of food.

Naruto yawned. "What the hell are you doing?" He asked.

"This food!" Sakura exclaimed, her eyes widening. "Its so good! I haven't had breakfast food this good in years!" She exclaimed.

She took a sip of orange juice. "Mmm!" She exclaimed heartedly. "I never thought orange juice could taste so good. Normally I'm a coffee person. You have to be when you're working late shifts at a hospital...taste it!" She thrust the glass out at Naruto.

Some juice slopped over the edges at her sudden thrust forward. Naruto backed away from her hand a little and shook his head.

Sakura shrugged her shoulders and retracted her arm as she took a bit of sausage. "You didn't get much sleep did you?"

"I had a lot to think about" Said Naruto. "But you did apparently"

Sakura took another sip of her juice. "For some reason, I feel totally refreshed!" She exclaimed.

She shoveled in a large mouthful of waffle doused in syrup, strawberries and whip cream into her mouth. "I had this dream…" She said with her mouthful.

Naruto froze a little, the events of last night coming back to him.

"I can't remember it very well…but it felt so good, so real…now I just feel great" She said, her eyes bright.

She shook her head in amazement and then spread some jam over a piece of toast and bit into it. "The food here is so fresh, its like they just made it now"

"They probably did" Said Naruto.

"Do you want some?" Asked Sakura, getting ready to push a plate of her food towards Naruto.

Naruto shook his head. "Sorry, the only thing I eat for breakfast is ramen"

"Ramen?" Said Sakura incredulously, her face screwed up in disgust.

"Yea!" Said Naruto, his eyes suddenly bright. "It's this delicious food that has…"

"Please" Said Sakura. "I'm Japanese, I grew up on packages of that stuff…but come on! All this delicious food and you want ramen!? What's wrong with you?" She exclaimed.

"Hey" Said Naruto, pulling off his jacket. He rested his elbows on the table. "I don't diss your waffles and orange juice and…"

Naruto looked incredulously around the table. "…toast and sausage…god, how much food do you have here?!"

"Your point?" Growled Sakura as she angrily took a bit of her eggs.

"Don't diss my ramen" Said Naruto with raised eyebrows.

"Whatever" Said Sakura turning to look out the window.

"Gosh it's beautiful here!" Said Sakura, eyeing the rolling green fields and bright blue sky that rushed past the window.

Naruto blanched and turned his head away from the table.

"What's that face?" Asked Sakura looking at him. "You don't think it's beautiful here?"

Naruto shrugged. "I was born here" He grumbled.

"Really?" Said Sakura. "But this is so beautiful…so charming and you are so…"

Then her eyes turned questioning. "You were born here? In Italy?"

"That's what I said" Droned Naruto.

Sakura didn't have time to respond because she suddenly clutched her stomach. "Oh god" She moaned.

"What?" Asked Naruto looking at her.

She groaned and hung her head. "I'm gonna die"

"What?" Said Naruto jumping forward in his seat. "What is it?"

Then he looked around. "The food?" He asked.

Sakura shook her head furiously. "Don't say it!" She hissed as she clung onto the frame of the window. "Stop it! Stop the rocking!" She groaned.

"It's a train!" Said Naruto. "How much did you eat anyway?"

Sakura let out another groan. "Just…3 pieces of toast, that waffle there, some sausage….scrambled eggs, an omelet…." Sakura winced. "Some hash browns, that's all…"

"That's all?!" Exclaimed Naruto. "That like half the kitchen!"

"I'm gonna explode!" Yelled Sakura.

"No no no" Said Naruto hurriedly. "Look at the scenery!" He said, gesturing to the window. "How beautiful! Look at the cows….."

"Not the cows" Said Sakura with gritted teeth.

"No cows?" Asked Naruto.

"I just ate that cow!" She yelled. Sakura gripped the edge of the table.

Naruto looked down at the sausage on the table and then made a face, showing his recognition. Then, with one hand covering her mouth and the other hand holding her stomach, Sakura dashed to the bathroom.

As small and as infinitesimal as the hum of the stalling engine was in Sasuke's own secluded part of the jet; the noise still bothered him. Sasuke considered using his iPod to drown out the noise, but Sasuke knew that would only provide more noise in his time of concentration.

Sasuke pushed his hand through his silky black hair and rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt. He gave out an exasperated as he sorted through some papers and dumped some on the seat next to him and some other file folders on the pull out table in front of him.

Why was he having such a problem concentrating?

Sasuke stood up and strode towards the front of the private room and pressed the button on the intercom.

"Itachi" Sasuke barked. "When are we leaving?"

"You said you wanted to be left alone" Came Itachi's response before the line went dead.

Sasuke shook his head and returned to his seat. He dug his fingers into his hair and stared down at the papers before him. He really had to concentrate on his work now or it would eat away at him.

But really, when something was just so mindboggling that you couldn't even begin to fathom it; where was your incentive to even try?

Sasuke pulled out the first file from the folder on the seat next to him and laid it on the table. It was an old case report with the word 'RISERVATE' stamped in red across the front. Stapled to the report was a yellowing newspaper article. The front of it read in bold capital letters 'Elusive Basement Thief Steals Priceless Works'

Sasuke scanned through the report and the article taking in all the key information:
May 22nd, 1994- 2 paintings were stolen from the basement of the Galleria Nazionale D'Arte Antica in Rome.
1 painting was a Caravaggio, the 2nd was a Fiorentino- both small in size

The robbery took place during the afternoon- an odd time for a robbery Sasuke noted. The thief somehow had stolen away into the lower levels of the museum where the paintings were on wait for restoration. The paintings were taken out of the frames and there were 2 bullet holes in the monitoring cameras. They had each been hit from the side so the bullet precisely hit the main computer.

As Sasuke filed through the others, there stolen items were never the same: artwork, paintings, jewels and items of cultural significance...all worth millions of dollars.

December 31st, 1999 had been a turning point. Nine crown jewels stolen from the Ueno Royal Museum in Tokyo, Japan had been stolen, all at the same time. It was an impossible feat earning the thief the Japanese nickname Kyuubi meaning Nine Tails.

Sasuke obviously knew this person was no petty thief, but it also meant that either they were stealing for a personal collection, or selling the items. But the Black Market was impossible to hack unless you had an inside man and that took years before you could build up the right credibility.

There was no pattern to the thefts. They were never in the same city, never the same time of day, never the same time of year. That really frustrated Sasuke- he was used to working with patterns. The only pattern was that all the thefts resembled the first- the same gun used to shoot the video cameras in the same way. There was no definite proof that the same person had committed all these crimes, the gun was the only evidence Sasuke had. They could be copy cat incidents, but Sasuke still had the feeling it was his main guy. Unfortunately out of 14 years, there were still no leads. There were never any prints at the crime scene and the gun used was never found.

All of the artifacts were small enough for one person to carry, implying it was just one person. Sasuke also noted that in the beginning years, the thief stuck to Europe. Perhaps the thief was born in Europe? The thief didn't travel outside of Europe till 4 years after. Could the thief had been a kid, too young to travel? Sasuke shook his head and piched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. A kid stealing all this stuff? What would come next, aliens from outer space was stealing the stuff. The idea was ludicrous and Sasuke was losing his mind.

Hinata ran her hands down the front of her skirt, smoothing down the wrinkles before gently placing her hands in her lap. Hinata was feeling jittery and she could feel Itachi's eyes burning a hole through the side of her skull. She refused however, to spare a glance over to him. Perhaps there were magazines or something on the jet. There had to be, especially on a jet as fancy as this one. Perhaps if the jet took off or she occupied herself with something, Itachi would not feel the need to speak with her. With him sitting just across the aisle, it made her feel anxious.

"Perhaps you would like to look at this"

She jumped at the voice and her head snapped to Itachi who was holding out a folded newspaper towards her. Hinata let her pearly eyes settle on Itachi's face and she could feel her cheeks grow hot. It was almost as if he read her thoughts or worse…could sense her discomfort. Sometimes Hinata was amazed by the fact that both of the Uchiha brothers were not married, because they were clearly the cream of the crop. Itachi was a few years older than Sasuke and herself but that certainly didn't take away from any of the attractiveness he held. In fact, Hinata was almost embarrassed to admit to herself that Itachi held some level of desire that even Sasuke didn't have. He was tall, a bit taller than Sasuke. His skin held the same pale creamy glean that all the Uchiha's seemed to posses. His dark was silky and long and pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His dark bangs framed his face and Hinata could see the maturity lines etched in his face. Maybe they were from taking on so much at an early age. His eyes were both dark and sharp, but Hinata realized that there was a certain air of calmness surrounding the older Uchiha. He was defiantly confident in every way and held an air of superiority. Hinata realized that she was staring and quickly took the newspaper from him and turned front again.

"You're an amusing woman, Hinata Hyuuga" Commented Itachi as he got up from his seat and made his way up front.

Hinata's eyebrows furrowed. What did that mean? She shook her head and mindlessly leafed through the days newspaper. It was the Corriere della Sera, the same newspaper she received everyday in her own home. When Hinata reached the society pages, Hinata couldn't help but frown. She could not seem to grasp her mind around the concept of why money and stature was what everyone concerned themselves with all the time. Hinata would much rather have them focus on the person rather than the name. Of course, that was not the case, even for her.

Her father, Hiashi Hyuuga was CEO to the Hyuuga Corporation, an Italian company so big, it rivaled the Uchiha's. And Hinata, being the oldest daughter in a family of no sons made her the heir. Hiashi knew it from the very beginning and started to train Hinata in the rules of business and society from the very start. But Hinata was a shy child and didn't want to exert herself. She didn't stand out and excel like some of the other prominent child of her age group did. And that was when Hanabi came along. As her younger sister grew older, as much as Hiashi didn't want to think it, there was much more hope of Hanabi becoming the heir. Hanabi was a bold child and grew under her sister's wing and her father's tutelage. Hanabi was beautiful and bold and daring as a teenager and in ways, Hinata started to look up to her younger sister. While the other kids of Hinata's age group started going to parties and drinking the night away; away from the prying eyes of their prominent parents, Hinata was only too happy not to join in. Hanabi however, thought otherwise.

The finally blow came when Hinata and Hanabi's mother died. Hinata was devastated and although you couldn't tell, Hanabi and Hiashi were also. While Hinata openly expressed her grieving, Hiashi hid his behind a layer of stoic facial expressions and total domination in the corporate world. Hanabi disguised hers as the freedom she had always wanted by becoming more wild than ever. Only Hinata knew of her sister's secret life and while she tried to stop her, she was helpless against Hanabi's supremely stronger will. Then, Hanabi was caught in a scandal. A scandal that littered the tabloids and the newspapers for weeks and even in the Corriere della Sera Hinata was holding right now. Hanabi had been caught in a love triangle with Hiashi's newly acquired business partner and his wife no less. Not to mention that said business partner was old enough to be Hanabi's father. It turned into a sex scandal when the older man foolishly admitted that he had been intimate with Hanabi for weeks now. Hanabi was labeled a promiscuous slut and Hiashi an unstable father. If he couldn't control his own daughter, how was he expected to control his company? Hiashi responded with more vigilance than ever and Hanabi was discredited as ever being in position for CEO.

That was a few years ago, but both Hanabi and even Hinata were still experiencing the spillover effects. Men that Hinata associated regarded her in a way where they expected her to have the same likeliness as her sister. Hinata despised that look.

And now, she was with Sasuke. She had actually followed in Hanabi's footsteps and became the other woman! How the public would have a field day when they found out! They were going to say Sasuke was one of her victims and she had lured him through sexual attraction. It wasn't true, but it really bothered her. There was no excuse for what she did.