Chapter 21: Game Over
"It's the game of life. Do I win or do I lose? One day they're gonna shut the game down. I gotta have as much fun and go around the board as many times as I can before it's my turn to leave."
Kurokage Headquarters
5:49 PM
Tonight's events would determine the winner of a certain game called life. Anko was determined to not lose. She never lost. It wasn't in her nature to accept defeat or call it quits. She was vicious and never ran away from battles. She was not going to lose, especially not to that traitorous girl, Haruno.
Anko glared severely at all her men that stood before her. "Tonight," she began dramatically, "Our objective is to ensure that Sakura and her little posse" she spat out the word 'posse' with absolute hatred, "do not rescue Hinata Hyuuga." She pulled out her pocket knife and unsheathed it. She reached out to cut one of the men on the arm, the red blood dripped out on to the metal knife with a soft splatter.
The man did not make a sound but his unease was evident. "A-Anko-sama…" his voice faltered. He started at his wound with alarm.
She merely gave him a lazy smile, "You," she purred, "I'll put you in charge. I want you to assign people to patrol around the perimeter, around Hinata's room, everywhere and when you see Sakura Haruno or Naara I want you to call me ASAP." Her eyes glittered dangerously and she brought the blood splattered knife to her tongue. She licked it once with a satisfied smile.
The man hesitated as he spoke, "If I may continue, where will you be?" his eyes flickered nervously from side to side.
She let out a scoff, "Why, you can't expect Madara and I to be cooped up with the Hyuuga girl in that stuffy room!" She rolled her eyes, "We'll be enjoying the party of course. We want to be able to greet certain guests!" Anko flipped her purple hair carelessly.
He nodded, "Of course." He whispered. "I understand. Our firearms are ready and so are all the security formations." His voice was barely loud enough.
Anko gave him a cold look, "Good. Prepare for tonight. I don't accept failures." She hissed out.
"Now, now." Madara's voice came from the shadows. The lavender-haired woman turned to face her newfound accomplice.
"Madara." She greeted shortly. "I thought you weren't going to get involved in my preparations." She ventured cautiously.
He gave her a short nod, "I did. I just came to see how things were going. I'm merely observing." He shrugged and then turned, "Just a note of advice…" he trailed off.
Anko started at his back curiously, "What?" she demanded.
"When it comes to it, you can't hope to outsmart their conglomerate of FBI agents and police captains."
She was startled at his claim and a little unnerved, "Are you saying that I give up—"
"I'm saying that you need to play dirty. Bring out your firearms. Manipulate them. You know Sakura and Shikamaru, don't you? Use their weaknesses. Don't think that they won't have some sort of strategy up their sleeves." He replied icily.
She backed down as she understood what he implied, "I realized that already." She snapped. "I know just how good of a strategist Shikamaru is. I realize that Sakura is an elite agent. However, I know they're weaknesses and I've already taken them into considering."
She paused with a toothy grin, "Trust me, i've got this covered. They're going down." She turned to leave, her stilettos clicking against the pavement, "Now, if you excuse me, I have a disguise to get into."
Madara watched her leave and his lips curved upward. Tonight would be the turning point, he mused. Tonight, things would have to get messy if he wanted to win. However, if that was what it took, then he had no qualms about resorting to such means.
Koizumi Banquet
7:39 PM
"So how do we go about this?" Naruto questioned curiously. He pulled a chair next to Sakura and opened his packet of pretzels. Sakura glanced at her blonde friend before pulling Sasuke's jacket closer around her shoulders. He had lent it to her, after seeing her blood-stained shirt.
Everybody was gathered in the largest interrogation room planning the rescue of Hinata. Tenten sat idly on one end with Ino standing behind her, fixing her bun while Temari was seated right next to Shikamaru privately conversing with him. Gaara and Kankuro were discussing what type of firearms they had access to. Sasuke thrummed on the table seated on Sakura's left and speaking occasionally. Itachi and Sayuki sat and kept to themselves, but their eyes were trained on the blueprint that Shikamaru had rolled out on the table.
"We start with some background information." Sai responded. "Easy as that."
Sakura scooted closer to the table, "Yeah, so what is this Koizumi banquet?" she asked curiously.
"I guess I'll explain, since I've actually met them." Sasuke spoke. "They're a family run major corporation that is currently the second fastest growing business in Asia. They sell mainly manufacturing goods an all that stuff. There are four senior executives, they're all siblings."
Itachi pondered this for a second, "Tell me this, brother. Are they close like we are?" He asked with a cold smile.
Sasuke scowled at his brother, "They are close." He refused to answer if he and Itachi were close or not. After Itachi's revelation, he wasn't sure how close they were anyways. "They split responsibilities and run the company in four sectors. The eldest are twins, Akira and Aiko. Aiko, he is the more social one and runs all social relations. I've met him more than once. Akira, she likes to keep to herself and doesn't go out in public often. She runs the core operations of Koizumi Corporations. The middle child is another man called Atsuko. I haven't met him yet, but from what I hear, he gets very hotheaded sometimes. The last sibling is the youngest, Akane. She's the shrewdest and the most collected out of all the siblings despite her young age. She's partially why they're so successful, because of her negotiation prowess. Every year, they host a banquet to celebrate their company's success. They invite all their trading partners and business relations, which includes me. I received an invitation a couple of weeks back. It's a really elite event. You even have to register and get your date approved." He snorted.
Tenten mused this for a second, "Huh. So it'll be hard to sneak somebody in if we don't have people on the inside."
Temari nodded, "We know. That's why we're planning to use Naruto."
Naruto looked up startled, "Eh? What do you mean, 'use' me?" he frowned.
Shikamaru simply stared at Naruto for a moment before proceeding, "Good. You have a good face for this." He murmured more to himself than Naruto.
Sayuki, who stood beside him chuckled, "Are you planning what I think you're planning?" she had a little smirk on her face.
The pineapple haired man nodded at the lady's question. "Yes. Naruto will carry out Phase 1 of my plan." He declared.
Naruto blanched, "Phase 1? And what do you mean I have a 'good face' for this?" He questioned anxiously as he rubbed his chin.
Sakura rolled her eyes, "He means you don't have a striking face." She answered for him.
He frowned, "Is that bad?" he started to touch his face self-consciously.
Sayuki chuckled, "No, it just means that it's not easily recognizable." She gestured to Gaara, "People like Gaara have striking faces, you know, they have noticeable features. It makes it hard for them to go undercover. However, you, have simple features. Put on some contacts and a wig and you're easily unidentifiable." She explained.
Shikamaru nodded, "Exactly. Phase 1 is solely dependent on your abilities."
Sasuke let out a groan, "Oh, God, we're screwed." Sakura elbowed him but a small smile graced her lips.
"Hey!" Naruto protested. "I can do this." He insisted. "What's the plan?" he smacked his fist down on the table in an attempt to show authority, but it hurt more than he thought. "Shit." He muttered. Sasuke snickered at him but went silent at Naruto's glares.
"Good." Shikamaru smiled wearily. "Glad to hear you're up to it." He looked over at Temari who was scrawling down notes on a pad of paper, "You finished, yet?"
She nodded and held up the pad for him to see, "Yes, all positions are written down." She grinned, "May I?"
He sighed, "I suppose. Here are all the positions you guys will be taking. So listen up." He ordered lazily. Everybody perked up and looked expectantly at Temari who had a devilish grin upon her face.
She cleared her throat, "Shikamaru and I will be working from here and connecting wit you guys through ear buds. We'll help you guys out and if we see any obstacles heading your way, we'll alarm you. Now, Phase 1: Naruto will infiltrate security. You are to take out one of the entry guards on shift and take his spot. You're role is key as without you, there's no way for Sakura, Tenten, and Sai to enter. We made up aliases for you three, however, there's a pre-made entry list that only permits registered people in the banquet hall. Therefore, Naruto will be carrying a fake guest list with your aliases name on it, got it? Sasuke will also be entering, but seeing as the Koizumi's actually invited him we didn't need to invent an alias for him." Temari glanced at Naruto, "Think you can pull this off?"
The blonde grinned, "I know I can." He answered confidently.Naruto's muscles bunched up as he watched two guards walking around the entrance that was roped off with a velvet rope. One guard was scrawnier than the other and more meek looking, that was the one that he was going to take out, he decided. In his hand he held a gray duffel bag that contained the uniform and disguise that he needed, everything was set.
He jogged up to the guards with a cheery smile, "Hey there!"
The two guards looked up warily, "Hey, need something?" The more muscular one asked gruffly.
Naruto put on a sheepish smile, "Yeaah, here's the thing. I work with the decorating crew that Koizumi-san hired. We need one more person to do some heavy-lifting, think one of you could do it?"
The two men hesitated, not really wanting to and Naruto saw this. He plastered a sneer upon his face, "Well, I see. There's stronger guys, down the next door, I'll go ask-"
They took the bait. "Hey, wait! Tokki, go with him." The muscular man commanded the other scrawny guy. Naruto grinned triumphantly, perfect.Tokki's face wrinkled up in displeasure but he followed as Naruto went down the stony stairs, out of the other security guard's sight.
Shikamaru's voice crackled into Naruto's ear, "Walk for a distance before knocking him out."
"Got it." He murmurred softly. Naruto gestured to Tokki, "It's just right over there." They walked for a little bit before they turned a corner into a secluded narrow path where bushes grew thick on the side of the pavement.
Naruto let out a little gasp, "Oh my, is that a sea gull?" he asked in exaggerated excitement.
Tokki squinted off into the distance, "Wha-THUNK!" His words were caught off as Naruto hit the back of his head. Just enough to knock him out but not hard enough to cause any brain damamge. Naruto caught Tokki's body as it slumped down. He dragged the (thankfully) skinny man and laid him down beneath the thick bushes. The leaves concelaed the body and it was nearly impossible to discern. He unzipped his duffel bag and pulled out a syringe full of a toxin that put its victim to sleep for 6 hours. Plenty of time for a short nap. Naruto took Tokki's arm and slid in the needle painlessly. He withdrew it and then discarded of it.
He rummaged around some more in his duffel bag until he found the bright blue security uniform that was identical to Tokki's. He also pulled out a brown wig and a moustache that he personally thought would make him look more of a pedophile than a security officer. He shrugged, it was time to get to work.
After he had disguised, he headed back to the entry where the muscular man stood there, he adjusted his moustache for the gazillionth time and he approached, "Hey!" he called out in a low voice.
The man turned, "Hey. Me and Tokki got this covered, where are you supposed to be?" he asked with an arched eyebrow.
Naruto shook his head with a regretful sigh, "You see, Tokki got hurt helping the decorating crew. Koizumi-san asked me to step in."
"Which Koizumi sibling?" he asked suspiciously.
"Who else? Akane did." Naruto answered, proud that he had remembered the girl's name.
"Oh." The man replied. "Well, nice to meet ya. Name is Shigeru." He extended a hand, and Naruto took it firmly.
"Shigeru, huh? My name is…" and in that moment Naruto blanked out. He couldn't remember his alias! He began to panic, "My name is O-Oturan." He replied weakly.
Shikamaru facepalmed as he heard Naruto's reply over the mic. Oturan? Oturan?
Temari hit herself on the forehead, "Oh god. That's the best he could think of? That's his own name backwards!" she hissed out. She didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his idioticness.
Shigeru raised his eyebrow, "That's quite a name. Anyways, do you have your guest list?"
Naruto nodded and pulled out the fake guest list he had gotten from Shikamaru, "Right here!" Shigerun nodded satisfactorily and then became silent. An awkward silence settled between the two, "Sooo…" Naruto began.
Shikamaru's voice crackled in his ear once more, "Just shut it. We can't have you slipping up. Oturan, really?" he asked dryly.
Naruto protested, "Hey!" but then remebered that he was wearing an earbud. Shigeru shot him a strange look. "H-Hey! I meant, it's gonna be a heck of a party, right?" he added hastily.
Shigeru shrugged, "Dunno. I can't wait for my shift to be over." He drawled out. "It hasn't even started. Just a few more minutes." He muttered.
Naruto nodded and soon guests began arriving. He played his role of the obedient entry guard perfectly. It wasn't that hard to do after all, it was check the ID, check off the name, check the ID check off the name. A most tedious task that left Naruto wondering where the hell Sasuke and Sakura were so that they could move on to Phase 2.
And then he spotted Sasuke pulling up in his own limo. He stayed near his car however, waiting for Sakura to arrive in her own limo.
Sasuke thrummed his fingers against the shiny doors of his car. Adrenaline pumped through his veins getting him ready for what was coming. He was about to see Madara fall and he was going to relish every second of it. He smirked, if they succedded in this, then hopefully everything was going to return to normal. Or what was normal for him at least. He looked around for a bit and then he spotted Sakura's designated limo. It pulled up in the space next to his own limo and the door slowly opened.
Sasuke's jaw pratically fell on the floor as he saw Sakura step out of the limo in her disguise. The green-eyed rosette was replaced by a tall, toned french woman with platinum blonde hair and wide hazel eyes. She wore a sequined mini dress and rose colored stilettos. Sasuke was amazed by Sakura's attention to detail. She had slightly thickened her eyebrows and exaggerated the arch and had even put in circle contact lenses so that her eyes appeared bigger than ususal.
She smirked as she saw his expression, "I take it that I look alright?" she asked teasingly. She linked a slender arm around his and pulled him along, "Let's kick some ass, ne?" He nodded with a confident half smile as they approached the entrance.
Naruto stood there looking uncomfortable in the bright blue security uniform as toyed with his fake moustache. His bright blonde hair had been replaced by a floppy brown haired wig. He stood next to a real security officer who had on a bored expression. He perked up immediately when he saw Sakura coming his way. He coughed politely, "Ahem, ma'am! Your name?"
Sakura threw a coy smile in his direction, "Charlotte Roux, I come from France all the way to be his date." She gestured to Sasuke as she spoke in a perfect French accent. "He drags me from my show to be with him tonight." She winked at the officer.
He stuttered, "Ah- you're a performer?" he asked.
She shook her head, her blonde hair swishing to and fro. "Non, I model for Christian Lacroix! C'est une honte de le rater, non?" she held out her hand for him to kiss.
The security guard had no idea what she stated but knew it was a question. "Oui, oui!" he grinned and grabbed her hand eagerly. Sasuke glared at the man and pulled Sakura's hand back. "Can we get in already?" he asked irritably.
Flustered, the guard grabbed the clipboard, "Ah, yes! You name, mister?"
Sasuke crossed his arms and motioned for Naruto to get ready, "Sasuke Uchiha."
"And Charlotte Roux!" Sakura chimed in once more, her full red lips pouted.
The guard skimmed through the list and he looked up apollogetically, "There's only Sasuke Uchiha, there's no Charlotte Roux. I'm afraid, guests had to be registered beforehand with the Koizumi family."
Naruto cleared his throat, "There must be a misprint on your list. She's on my list." He made a dramatic showing of the list, "Right there. Charlotte Roux." He shot a wink at Sasuke.
The guard frowned as he looked over on Naruto's list, "Hn. Must be a misprint on my list. That's strange." He mused.
Sakura batted her eyelashes, "A misprint? Well, I'm still able to get in right?" she asked with a worried look on her porcleain face.
The guard cleared his throat, "Of course! Here you are…" he unhooked the velvet rope and bowed a little too deeply, "After you!"
Sasuke shot him one final glare while Sakura batted her eyelashes again and gave him a sultry smile. "Thank you soo much!" she gushed and then walked through confidently. She murmurred over her mic, "We're in, Shikamaru."
"Excellent. Procced as we have planned, Tenten and Sai are still preparing. They'll be in in about fifteen minutes." He responded.
She nodded and pulled Sasuke closer to her, "So where exactly are these Koizumi siblings?" She asked with mild interest.
Sasuke scanned the crowd of society's elite and spotted the four almost immediately. He nudged Sakura and pointed subtly over to the four siblings. She nodded and pulled him forward, in the direction of the siblings. Their job was to chat up the siblings before Tenten and Sai went into action.
As the neared the family, the smallest of them, a girl with black hair tinged with blue noticed them first. She peered at them with curious green-grey eyes. It was obvious that she recognized Sasuke and she whispered to her siblings, making them aware of Sasuke's arrival as well.
The sibling, a man with spiky black hair with faint pink streaks stepped forward and smiled charismatically, "Pleasure seeing you again Uchiha." He extended his hand forward and Sauke shook it warmly.
"Likewise, Aiko. How has your family been?" Sasuke enquired politely. Sakura made a mental note. The tallest sibling was Aiko. And if she was correct, he was also one of the set ot twins.
"We've been fine." A smooth voice replied. The voice belonged to the other female who Sakura deduced was Aiko's twin, Akira. She had dark pink hair and observant green eyes. Her eyes flickered over to Sakura, "I don't think we've met your guest before."
Sakura took this as a cue to introduce herself, "My name is Charlotte Roux, I met Sasuke in Paris." She stated in a thick french accent. "It is a pleasure to be here." She smiled charmingly.
The remaining brother, Atsuko grinned and acknowledged Sakura with a friendly nod of the head. "Please enjoy your time here then, Miss Roux." He had pitch black hair and a stunning pair of emerald eyes that looked at Sakura keenly.
Akane spoke up finally, "How long are you planning to stay in Japan, Miss Roux?" the youngest enquired.
Sakura pretended to play with strande of blonde hair, "For just a couple days, I have to be back in time for Fashion Week. I am a model, you see. I've had the opportunity of coming over to Japan for just a couple of times, I hope to visit more often." She tried to babble on.
An awkward silence settle over the group of six and Aiko cleared his throat, "Well, if you excuse us, we have to make preparations for our opening speech and commencement ceremony. It was a pleaure meeting you, Miss Roux." He flashed a brilliant smile at Sakura to which Sasuke responded with a little hiss.
Sakura nodded, "It was a pleaure as well." The four siblings walked away and Akane gave one last, curious, backward glance at Sakura.
Sasuke blinked, "Well, that was awkard." He surmised.
She snorted, "Of course it was. I'm supposed to be a ditzy model and they're hard-working business moguls. You weren't thinking that we were going to chat about girl things were you?" She asked in amusement.
"Not really." He admitted and he leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips. She giggled against his touch and kissed him back playfully.
"Are you sure now's a good time?" she teased him.
"I always have good timing." He replied with a smug smirk. He leaned in for another kiss but his earpiece crackled.
"Tenten and Sai are moving in, time for Phase 3!" Temari chimed in his ear. "Sure you can pull this off Uchiha?" she taunted.
Sasuke growled, "Don't push it, Sabaku." He motioned to Sakura, "Just remember to keep an eye out for Gaara."
Sakura nodded and she looked over at the bar, Gaara was tending to a customer and he wore a sharp waiter outfit. He looked highly uncomfortable but didn't stand out in the crowd. Good, everything was in place, it was time for things to start going.
"No, no way." Sakura shook her head as she heard what Temari and Shikamaru had planned for her.
Temari gave her a scathing look, "This is for Hinata." She reminded.
"I know, but, I mean, come on, a French supermodel?" Sakura demanded. They couldn't be serious. They were asking her to disguise as a model in order to be Sasuke's date?
"Why not?" Sasuke grinned trying to conjure up a mental image of Sakura in guise as a French model. She whacked him on the shoulder and crossed her arms.
Temari shrugged. "Our plans, our way. Besides, Sasuke has been known to be a sucker for models. Just go with the story."
Sasuke shot Temari a glare and Sakura leaned back. "Fine." She huffed. "I suppose, I need to brush up on my French anyways." She glared at her FBI sister, "You're so lucky that this is for Hinata and not for some stupid mission."
Temari chuckled, "I know. Phase 2: Sasuke and Sakura infiltrate the banquet. Naruto will allow you in and you'll mingle with guests. Be sure to keep an eye out for Anko or one of her aliases. Gaara will be inside as well, in the guise of a bartender. He'll be on the lookout as well. Then this is where Tenten and Sai come in…this is Phase 3."
Tenten checked her reflection in her compact mirror one last time and she shuddered with some degree of revulsion. She looked so old. Sayuki had done Tenten's makeup to make her look like a 50-something year old Chinese woman and it looked so real that Tenten constantly had to keep touching her wrinkled face. The changes done to her face were drastic. She now had bags under her eyes, wrinkles on her forehead, sunspots everywhere. She donned a cropped black wig and a blue one-piece business suit that completed her look. She was posing as Chinese business mogul Lei Fang with her translator and attendant Sheng.
She glanced over at Sai who was now putting final touches on his 'Sheng' disguise. He straightened out his bow tie and his bowl cut wig. "How do I look?" he asked with a cheeky grin.
"Better than me." She grumbled.
He nodded, "You look like my grandma." He commented breezily. She frowned at this but shrugged it off, after all, that was the point, to look old. "Let's review the steps." He suggested.
She nodded, "Okay. Step 1, get in. Step 2, cause a scene. Step 3, Swipe security badge. Step 4, hand badge to Sasuke. Step 5, sit back and relax." She finished with a smug smile. "Easy enough."
He shrugged, "It should be. Remember though, you can't speak Japanese, only Chinese." He reminded.
She shrugged, "I got it, I got it. Let's go in already." She urged on impatiently.
He nodded in agreement. They left the car and immediately, Tenten hunched over and Sai took her arm, as if aiding the old woman. He approached the entry and saw Naruto in a uniform with another security guard.
Naruto recognized the two and gave them a wink. He turned to the other security guard; "I can check these two in." he called. "Names?" he asked with a smirk.
"Lei Fang and Sheng, we are business representatives from China." Sai politely explained.
Naruto nodded, "I see. Your names are right here." He crossed out the names and unhooked the velvet rope. "Enjoy the night." He called with a knowing look.
They stepped in and Tenten sucked in a breath, she could do this.
Shikamaru's voice came over Tenten's earpiece. "Good, you're in. I'll tell Gaara to move in now." He replied.
Tenten nodded and she saw Gaara making her way over. Hurriedly she pretended to be engaged in a conversation with Sai as people started to notice her arrival.
Gaara approached the two with a tray holding glasses of wine. "Evening." He greeted smoothly, "Can I interest you in a drink?"
Sai nodded, "One drink for my boss, here." Gaara nodded and lifted the glass to give it to Tenten but 'accidentally' spilt it on the front of Tenten's dress.
Gaara let out a little gasp and exclaimed loudly, "Oh my God! I'm sooo sorry!" He put a little effeminate touch to his voice. "Oh God that was stupid of me!"
Tenten looked down at her dress in horror and she made her face turn red, "Shàngdì!" She spluttered. "Nǐ zěnme gǎn! Nǐ zhī bù zhīdào zhège fèiyòng duōshǎo!" She demanded Gaara. God! How dare you? Do you know how much this cost?
Gaara who acted utterly confused turn to Sheng, "What is she saying? Does she not understand Japanese? Can you tell her I apologize?" he asked frantically.
Sai turned to Tenten, "Lei Fang! Qǐng bǎochí ānjìng! Gāi míng nánzǐ shuō, tā shì hěn bàoqiàn!" he tried to quiet her but to no avail. Please keep quiet! The man says that he is sorry!
Tenten shrieked on as she saw the damage done to her expensive dress. "Tā dehuà yìwèizhe shénme! Xiàng tā zhèyàng de nóngmín yīnggāi zhīdào zìjǐ de wèizhì!" His words mean nothing! A peasant like him ought to know his place!
People were now starting to gather and they murmured as they saw Tenten yell out Chinese. Tenten decided to take things up a notch while people were watching. She glared at Gaara and shoved him down to the floor. "Wèi nín fúwù de quánlì!" she roared.
Gasps were audible as Gaara crashed to the floor. Immediately she felt hands on her shoulder trying to restrain her. She turned to see security guards standing behind her with gruff expressions. She took one by the shirt and screamed at him in Chinese to distract him from her other hand reaching down to his pants where his ID was clipped on. She continued to yell at him while she slowly unclipped the metal card and slipped it inside her sleeve.
Just as she had finished this she felt a tap at her shoulder and she whirled around to face the hostess of the banquet, Akira who stood with a disapproving look upon her face. "Miss, Lei Fang, please refrain from harassing her employees. We sincerely apologize and promise to pay for the damages. However, we cannot tolerate your violence." She spoke coldly.
Sai, next to her, pretended to translate for her in hushed whispers. Tenten nodded at Akira's words and she turned around haughtily, smiling at her accomplishment. She had actually managed to pull it off! She had gotten the ID card for Sasuke…a complete success. Sai murmured, "Step 4."
She nodded and proceeded in the crowd of people before spotting Sasuke next to Charlotte Roux a.k.a. Sakura. She knew that Shikamaru had told him that Tenten was coming so she wasted no time in walking smoothly over. She brushed against his back and she handed the card to him discreetly while passing by. Step 4 completed.
Sasuke felt a faint grin come to his lips as he felt the metal card being placed in his hands. He knew Tenten would be able to do it. He turned back to Sakura and slipped her the ID card. "Good luck." He murmured and enveloped her in a hug. "Don't die on me." He ordered sternly.
She laughed, "I'll try not to." She tried to make her voice sound light-hearted but she couldn't keep the anxious tone out of it. She slipped away from the crowd and left to go up the stairs to find her friend.
Naruto go the command from Temari that Tenten was successful. It was his turn now to act. He turned to Shigeru, "Damn I got to piss." He groaned. "Mind if I took a quick break?" he pleaded.
Shigeru rolled his eyes but nodded. "Hurry up." He complained.
Naruto nodded and then pretended to reach for his ID badge. "Aww. Man. Damnit all. I forgot my badge. Mind if I borrow yours?" he begged.
Shigeru eyed him suspiciously, "Are you serious?" he demanded. He unclipped his badge, "Sheesh, seriously." He muttered.
Naruto shot him a bright smile, "Thanks, man. I'll be back in not time!" he jogged off with the badge and entered the building through the back door. He slipped the card through the swipe and the door swung open. He was immediately greeted by a set of stairs that led to the rooftop. He hurriedly ran up the flight of stairs and reached the top of the stairs and heaved the door open.
"You're late." An icy tone informed Naruto.
Naruto winced as he viewed the older Uchiha. "Sorry about that. It wasn't my fault." He saw Itachi dressed in all black carrying a duffel bag. Sayuki and Ino were also there, similarly dressed. They greeted Naruto as well.
Ino looked at him, "It's a good thing you're here now. We can get in with the ID card then." She stated obviously.
Naruto nodded, "First of all, we need to get rid of the guards, which is why I brought this." He held up a walkie-talkie. He handed it to Sayuki. "You can imitate Anko's voice can't you?"
Sayuki grinned, "Of course I can. Is Kankuro ready?" Kankuro was to play a fake intruder in order to divert the guard's attention and get them to leave the area while they searched for Hinata.
He nodded. "Shikamaru says to proceed now." He relayed back.
Sayuki turned on the device and spoke into it, "All stations, I need immediate response!" she snapped into the walkie-talkie. Her voice sent chills down Naruto's spine.
A shaky voice answered, "Yes, Anko-sama?"
"I've spotted an intruder on the west side of the building near the woods. The intruder has brown hair and purple pain markings on both cheeks. I need all stations down there pronto! Make sure you take the back to ensure that none of the partygoers know your presence."
"A-All stations?" the man asked in disbelief.
"ALL. Did I stutter?" Sayuki snarled in Anko's voice.
"N-no, right away Anko-sama." He murmured obediently.
Itachi let out a low chuckle, "Brilliant as always." He complimented.
She smiled, "Of course. Let's go shall we?"
Meanwhile with Sakura…
Sakura continued down the flight of stairs until she reached a hallway that was ornately decorated and had multiple doors on each wall. She didn't know where to start; all she knew was that she was glad that Kankuro had diverted the guards so she had time to search. She moved cautiously knowing that there was the chance that guards still remained and she withdrew her gun.
Taking the badge she opened the first door and opened it carefully, only to see it empty. She didn't dare venture further as she knew there would be some kind of booby trap set up.
She let out a little frustrated noise and moved silently through the hall. She chose another door and was about to swipe the key card when she heard a scratching noise. She froze for a second and listened intently. Yes, she heard it clearer. A distinct scratching noise that was coming from one of the rooms next to her.
Her hear lurched forward in excitement as she realized that it had to be Hinata! She moved to swipe the door and the door unlocked. Just as she placed a hand on the doorknob a cold hand grasped her shoulder.
"So you managed to find her? That was pure luck." A cold voice stated in amusement.
Back in the Banquet Hall…
Sasuke waited anxiously for an update on what was going on. He was a little frustrated that he was left to wait for everybody else. Behind him, a group of girls swooned and tried to catch his attention but he brushed them off coldly. He didn't have time to mess around. He ground his teeth together, if he didn't hear anything within in the next minutes he was going to go in as well.
"Sasuke-kun! I didn't think you would attend to do recent events!" a man crowed behind him.
Sasuke knew that voice immediately. Madara Uchiha. He turned around to face his ex-mentor with a snarl and then stopped. A lithe red-haired woman with piercing golden eyes accompanied the man. It was not somebody that Sasuke knew at first glance but he quickly came to the realization that it was Anko disguised as her alias.
"Madara." He greeted with a short nod. "Have you come to wreak havoc on my life again?" he asked testily.
Anko stared at him with her gold eyes. "Hmph. This does not concern you little boy. It has to do with my agent who has betrayed you. I would think that you would be happy." Her lips curled downwards in a sneer.
He growled back, "I'm not. I'm sick of Kurokage and Akatsuki's meddling!" he spat out.
Madara let out an amused laugh, "So your allegiance no longer rests with me?" he questioned.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes, "It never did." He uttered out. His eyes flashed angrily and he could barely restrain himself from throttling Madara on the spot.
Anko giggled in the midst of silence, "You've got guts boy, I can see that." She took a sip of her Bloody Mary, "That's going to get you killed someday." She sneered.
Sasuke could only clench his jaw and remain silent. A beeping sound emitted from the inside of Anko's jacket and her mouth quirked upwards into a smirk. She withdrew her phone and opened it. "What is it?" she demanded.
Sasuke's ears pricked up and he listened in.
"You do?" she sounded exhilarated. "Excellent. Tell the others to confine her in the same room as well." Sasuke froze at these words. Was it Sakura that she was talking about?
There was a pause and then her tone darkened, "What do you mean it's only you?" she demanded. "Where are the other guards?"
She listened and then there was another deathly silence. "I didn't call a damn attack on some intruder! What intruder?" She inhaled sharply, "Do you mean to say that none of my guards are up there and they're in some godforsaken forest?" she growled.
"Shut up! I'll be there soon! I need you to restrain her to the best of your ability. She's a sneaky one." She slammed the phone close and turned to Madara, "It's time." She nodded.
Madara smiled wickedly and turned to leave. Anko turned to follow him but she glanced over her shoulder at Sasuke.
"Don't worry. I'll tell your girlfriend you said 'Hi'. I'm sure she'd like to hear it in her final moments." She winked and with a little smirk she left him alone.
And all Sasuke could do was stand there, frozen.
Anko moved down through the hallway with a silly, triumphant smile upon her face. She knew that she would win and Sakura would lose. It happened. Her guard had captured Sakura and she was about to get killed. Things couldn't be more perfect. She pulled out her gun and wrapped her long, slender fingers around it. Bloodlust raged through her system.
Madara, beside her, eyed her with a cautious eye. He seemed more at ease and less surprised at Sakura's capture but it didn't but Anko. Sakura was her's to kill.
Her heels clipped down the hallway and she turned down the corner to see a tall guard, with his face obscured by the visor helmet that came with the uniform. Sakura was in arms, struggling and trying to claw her way out of his grasp but to no avail. Sakura's face visibly paled as Anko came into view which sent delightful shivers down her spine. She nodded once in acknowledgement to the guard.
"As promised, Sakura Haruno." The guard shoved Sakura over to Anko's direction. Anko gripped Sakura by the shoulders with a toothy smile.
"Sakura, dear." She purred. "So noble of you to save Hinata, too bad your life is forfeit now." She turned to the guard. "Unlock it." She ordered.
The guard nodded once and pulled out his key card and swiped the door easily. He opened it easily. Anko pushed Sakura inside the room with a delighted giggle as she saw Hinata, still tied in her chair knocked out from the drugs she had been given earlier.
"There's your little friend you wanted to rescue!" she cooed. "Too bad you both have to die."
Madara motioned at the guard, "Tie Haruno up." He ordered, handing him a bundle of rope. The guard obliged and grabbed Sakura roughly. She tried to protest but he immediately gagged her. The only thing that Sakura could do was wriggle around like a little bug that Anko could easily squish. Sakura looked around wildly trying to find a possible escape route when the time came. Shit, this was even riskier than they had thought.
Anko walked around serenely and ordered the guard once more, "Walk up the girl." She demanded. The guard nodded and walked over to Hinata's slumped body on the chair. He picked up a bucket of cold water and poured it over her head.
Hinata gained consciousness with a start, she spluttered as water filled her mouth and nostrils. She let out an audible gasp as she saw Sakura gagged in a similar fashion. "Sakura!" she cried out. "Anko, please! Just let her go! I'll do anything!" she begged desperately.
Anko smirked, "Too late. Besides, I have things to sort out with Sakura as well." She turned to her ex-protégé. "Sakura, do you see how futile your revenge was now?"
Sakura could only snarl and glare at Anko. Her speech was only a garble of gibberish. The rage in Sakura's body was overwhelming. She wanted Anko caught, thrown in a cold cell for the rest of her life.
Madara smiled, "Let's stop playing with our food. I want to see some real action." He suggested while drawing out his own gun.
Anko grinned and cocked her gun as well. "Let's see…shall we start with the Hyuuga. I would love to see Sakura's reaction." Sakura's shrieks grew louder even despite the gag.
Hinata paled and she closed her eyes, tears running silently down her cheeks and she moved her mouth in little whispers. "Please…" she begged.
Anko ignored her and continued on. She held the gun up to shoot the Hyuuga straight through the head. She aimed and then-BANG! Anko let out a shriek of pain as a bullet lodged into her shoulder, blood went spurting everywhere, coating her cheeks.
Madara turned to Sakura to see how on earth she had slipped a gun and shot Anko but saw that she held no gun; only a smile graced her lips.
"You're getting sloppy, Madara." A low voice intoned from behind him. Madara turned slowly as he recognized the voice. He turned to face the guard who now removed his helmet to reveal Itachi. "Itachi." He stated, stunned.
Anko let out a hiss, "You! Shoot him Madara!" she screamed out. She in turn scrambled for her own gun and scurried over to Hinata. She pointed her gun at her head, "Shoot Itachi!"
Hinata lept up and knocked out the gun of Anko's hand and punched Anko to the floor, the ropes that once tied her hands, now falling to the floor. Madara turned to shoot at Hinata completely leaving his back exposed and Itachi took the opportunity and shot his shoulder as well.
Madara let out a little sound of shock and anger before falling to the floor as well in a heap. "H-How?" he gasped out. Anko's eyes conveyed the same amount of confusion and Sakura saw it and smiled in satisfaction. Itachi pulled the ropes off her hands and Sakura stood up, stretching out her arms she came to stand over Anko's limp body.
"You let your pride get in the way." She whispered out, "Isn't that right, Sayuki?"
Hinata smirked and she grasped the skin of her neck to pull away at her prosthetic mask. She lifted it up and revealed her true identity. It was Sayuki with her cold golden eyes. She flipped out her blue-white hair, "Damn. That went better than expected." She let out a breath of relief."
Anko struggled to sit up, "Damn it. You used a decoy on me!" she snarled.
Sakura smiled confidently, "Thanks to Shikamaru's strategy and his knowledge of your predictable behavior, it was easy."
"So you managed to find her? That was pure luck." A cold voice stated in amusement.
Sakura turned around to see Itachi, Sayuki, Ino, and Naruto behind her, all dressed in black. She let out a sigh of relief and pulled off her blonde wig, "Yeah. I heard some noises and I followed it. It's like a scratching noise."
Naruto nodded and he swiped the card and entered in to see Hinata out cold and tied to a chair, she had wounds all over her body and cuts covered her arms. Naruto's face contorted into a furious expression and he raced over to cut the ropes free from her body. "Hinata!" he shook her body gently trying to awake her.
Ino cut in, "Just leave her. We can attend to her later when we smuggle her body out of here."
Sakura nodded in agreement, "Are you ready Sayuki?" She asked anxiously.
The older woman smiled, "Of course. My wounds are all painted on." She indicated to the bruises and cuts on her body that looked extremely realistic due to the professional make-up she had used. Sayuki pulled out a prosthetic mask and matching clothes that looked dirtied. She pulled on the prosthetic mask and wig expertly and touched it up in the hotel mirror. She then proceeded to undress and pull on the dirty clothes and in no time was finished. She looked exactly like Hinata and confidence surged through Sakura as she saw their plan coming together.
Itachi urged them to hurry, "Good. Sayuki get in the chair and I'll tie you up. Remember, you're out cold so act like it. Ino, Naruto, get Hinata out of here. I'll change into the guard uniform so then we can proceed."
Sakura nodded. They would make it seem like they had never been in this room and Sakura had been caught trying to rescue Hinata. It was a perfect plan and Shikamaru had known that once Anko thought she had Sakura, her guard would drop.
Itachi pulled out his walkie-talkie and proceeded to contact Anko. "Anko-sama, I have Sakura Haruno, I caught her trying to sneak into the hostage's room. How shall I proceed?"
Sakura grinned; it was time for the real show to begin.
"It's over." Sakura repeated softly. "You've lost this time, Anko and Madara. There's a squad of FBI and Tokyo Police Department forces outside. There's proof and witnesses that are going to put you where you belong."
Anko breathed heavily, NO. It was not going to end this way. She couldn't lose like this! She never lost! Sakura was not going to have it her way. She moved it lightning speed and she clutched the gun to her chest. She saw Sakura's face move into an expression of horror and saw that Itachi and Sayuki couldn't react fast enough; her bullet was going to kill Sakura.
She pulled the trigger and at the same time felt it being tossed out of her hand. She was being tackled down by a heavy body. The gun fell to the floor once more; the bullet went astray, lodging elsewhere. She heard Sakura let out a gasp of surprise as she saw who had save her from death.
Sasuke panted heavily as he held down the struggling woman. "Anko…" he growled. "Persistent aren't you?" he snarled out. He turned to see Sakura almost faint with relief and Sayuki handcuffing Madara. Itachi came forward with a little smile on his lips.
"Not too bad, little brother." He stated dryly.
"Is that the closest I'm going to get to a compliment?" Sasuke asked wryly. He took the handcuffs that his brother offered to him and he handcuffed Anko who was still trying to squirm free from his grasp. Sasuke stepped off of Anko's body and then felt himself being almost tackled to the floor by Sakura's embrace.
"You're a reckless idiot." She whispered against his shoulder. She hugged him tighter to her body with relief flowing through her mind. She had won. She had defeated her greatest enemy and came out semi-unscathed. Never had she felt so exhilarated and happy.
Sasuke smiled tiredly, "We did it, didn't we?" he replied softly. "We're free now to live a normal life. It can just be me and you." A genuine smile tugged at his lips and he let go of her to stare at her emerald eyes.
She smiled in return, "Yeah, we could live a normal life." She admitted. "But how much fun would that be?" she grinned teasingly and pulled on his tie to meet his lips. She practically melted at his touch and she wanted to stay like this forever…and…
"AHEM." Itachi cleared his throat. "Would the two lovebirds please find another time to make-out instead of doing it now when there are two world class criminals that need to be thrown in prison? Yeah? Thanks."
Sasuke reluctantly let go of Sakura and glared at his brother. "Sheesh…" he muttered under his breath.
Sakura let out a melodic laugh and pulled Sasuke by the hand, "Come on…let's go enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts." She suggested with a knowing smile.
And Sasuke knew it too. With Sakura being an FBI agent, she was a magnet for action and trouble. There was going to be a hell lot of more coming their way but right now, he wanted to remember this moment of victory with the two of them together, nothing in their way now.
And that was cause enough to celebrate.
END