Disclaimer: CapturedByNoodles and Kizukatana do not own Naruto.

Warnings: Slight disturbing conversations, implications.

Kizu and Noodle's Author's Notes: This is it. Almost there. One more left after this. To everyone who's stuck around, thanks a bunch. We had fun writing this together, and now that we're at the homestretch, we're astounded we got this far. We probably wouldn't have without your positive support. So thanks guys.

Chapter 21 - Devils and Deals

"You seem relaxed, Naruto."

"Really?" Naruto scratched the back of his head with a sheepish smile, allowing himself to ease against the cushioned seat in the therapist's office. After almost a month, he supposed he was getting more used to these sessions. He didn't want to jump out of the window like the first few times, so that was a start. Hopefully the fact that the shrink had noticed meant he'd be back on active duty soon. "I'm more comfortable with this, I guess."

"I'm pleased to hear that," Kurenai returned the smile with one of her own and wrote something down on her notepad. After scribbling a few things Naruto couldn't make out, she put it away and looked into his eyes. "But has anything else been going on lately?" She asked probingly, tapping her pen rhythmically against her knee. "You look more… refreshed."

"I've been sleeping better," Naruto confessed. "The nightmares are coming a little less than usual."

"That's a good sign. Usually they persist much longer," she looked at him assessingly, and Naruto got the feeling she had a very specific question that she wanted him to answer. "Have their been any significant changes to your daily routine? Any new ways you've found to relax before bed?"

Naruto licked his lips. Sure there was. He and Sasuke were having sex. Every night. Several times. But he wasn't exactly comfortable telling the shrink that yet.

Sasuke had been true to his word that first night, and they had probably violated some medical laws on how many times a male orgasm could be achieved in an hour. It had been incredible. Whether it was that his body had just been too exhausted or his mind had been overwhelmed by images of Sasuke, that night was the first night he'd slept without a single nightmare.

Since then, Naruto knew his appetites been insatiable. Lucky for him, Sasuke seemed to be just as desperate to be together. Most evenings they barely made it through the front door before clothes were being ripped off and thrown aside.

They were draining each other to the brink of exhaustion.

Sooner or later, he knew everything was going to slow down. The spontaneous sex in different areas of his apartment would dwindle, and they'd both have to face reality. But for now, Naruto needed it. He needed Sasuke. And it felt so good to not always have to dream – to see warehouses, or bodies, or victims screams.

"Naruto?" Kurenai's voice abruptly halted his thoughts, and he noticed his eyes were glued to the floor. "Have their been any changes to your daily routine?" She repeated slowly this time, and Naruto clutched a piece of his pant leg.

"We've been… having a lot of sex," He tried to say it without a hint of embarrassment, but his voice ended up coming out hoarse. "I guess that's helped a lot."

"I see…" Naruto was pretty sure he caught the hints of a smirk on her lips. Kurenai leaned forward, her chin resting on her well manicured hands. "Well, that seems like it's been good for you. Anything else?"

"Ehrm… Not really. I mean… I guess I've been trying to stay in shape at home."

"Oh? How?"

"I installed a pull-up bar for my door." Naruto said lamely, scratching his cheek. "My friend Haku's been dropping by… he offered to let me practice in his dojo, but I don't know if I'm ready for that yet. It's near the site where I went undercover so…" He'd cross that bridge when he came to it. One step at a time.

"That's a wonderful idea," Kurenai looked pleased. "At least you've been taking steps to stay healthy."

Naruto nodded his head. When he did get back on the force, he didn't want to be physically weakened by sitting around and doing nothing all day, so he's been doing whatever he can at home to keep himself in good form. Plus, it was a good distraction from…

"I'm nervous," Naruto blurted out, causing Kurenai to lift an eyebrow in question. "About… testifying. I've always been the one helping the victims… I never thought I'd be the victim, you know?"

Eight days. The trial was in eight days, and he was without a doubt the star witness. Naruto was the police officer who got away. He was the only one of Hidan's victims to live through the torture and survive mostly unscathed, and now when he thought it was over, he was going to have to sit in a witness box and look at the very person who had tortured him. All while discussing every detail of what had happened to him. Like he didn't see it replayed enough times in his head when he went to sleep already.

"I'm scared…" Naruto found himself easily admitting, "I don't want to mess this up. It's… my only chance. This is my one shot to help get justice for all the people he's killed… But if I get nervous and stumble up there, everything we worked for goes down the drain. I don't know what I'll do if that happens..."

"That's a substantial amount of pressure you're feeling, Naruto," Kurenai said softly, leaning back in her chair. "And it's completely normal. Anyone in your position would be having those same fears. However, have you thought that maybe you're carrying too much on your shoulders?"

Naruto found Kurenai's eyes firmly locked on his.

"You said that if you stumble, everything you worked for goes down the drain… But Naruto, there is other evidence. You're not the only victim, and you have others in your corner that will help you, don't you?"

Naruto opened his mouth and just as quickly closed it. She was right. It was easy to forget that he did have people to help him along the way. Kiba, Kakashi, Sai - the entire police department had his back. Shikamaru was a genius prosecutor who would make sure he wasn't baited, and then there was Sasuke… who would be in the courtroom, supporting him. He wasn't in this alone. Yet…

"The system isn't perfect…" Naruto shakily said, echoing words that he's heard a lot in the past few years. "I've seen it happen… The bad guys get off, wait a little, then start all over again. More people get hurt."

He could remember it clearly. The first time Naruto saw someone who was guilty walk away, was during his first month on the force. A man had beaten his wife to death and claimed it was self defense. It was bullshit. Naruto knew he was guilty. Everyone did. But with a good attorney and a clean record, he walked away in smug satisfaction. Naruto remembered being so furious over it, he went to his dad, unable to believe what happened.

His dad just told him that if the perp didn't get his day in court, he'd get it in life. And sure enough, a week later, that same man was killed by an angry boyfriend of another woman he'd put in the hospital. From that point on, Naruto was a firm believer in karma, and his faith in it had saved him from a lot of anger and anxiety when he had to watch a bad guy get off scott free. But he wasn't sure that was enough now… Naruto wasn't sure that if Hidan got loose, if he could leave it all up to fate.

"I don't know if I could watch him walk if he got off. I don't think I could let that happen."

Kurenai heard the implied threat in his words. "You wouldn't be the first officer tempted to take matters into your own hands if the courts failed to deliver justice." But she didn't mention it in her reports.

She had seen a lot of cases in her time, and she knew the warning signs of when someone was about to go off the edge. Naruto was more stable than most, considering what he'd been through.

From what she'd read, the boyfriend was more of a risk than the young officer seated before her.

"Have you visited the station? Talked with any of your colleagues?"

Naruto nodded, his eyes lighting up at the subject change. "Yeah. I was worried that it would be… weird, but everyone's been pretty cool about it. Kiba dragged me in for target practice the other day, and it turned into sort of an impromptu welcome back party. But with guns."

Kurenai rolled her eyes, clearly not surprised at nature of the event. "That's good. That shows that you're comfortable in your work environment."

She looked at the blond for a moment, tapping her pen thoughtfully against her notepad. Finally nodding sharply to herself, she grabbed a paper and wrote something across the bottom.

"Here you go," she said, handing him the paper.

"What is it?" Naruto asked, slowly taking the paper.

"Your clearance form. You are authorized to resume your duties next week. Welcome back, Officer Uzumaki."

Naruto blinked, not sure how he felt about it. Was he ready? He honestly didn't know. But he couldn't help but feel relief that at least the shrink didn't think he was crazy. He wanted his life to be back to normal. This was the first step to that. "Are you for real? Seriously?"

"Don't make me regret my decision." She said simply, standing up and extending her hand to shake his. "You're a good man, and a fine cop… Although I'm reinstating you, I still want you to continue to see me every other week for at least for the first two months. Am I clear?"

Naruto grabbed it and shook it firmly. His eyes shone brightly as he beamed at her, nodding his head vigorously and fighting the urge to dance around in celebration of his 'officially proclaimed' sanity.

"Thank you!"

"Well, well, well… look who it is! Officer Ass is officially back boys!" Kiba's voice greeted him the following week, along with several other cops who stood by the department entrance applauding. Word got around quickly that Naruto would be back on active duty, so when he opened the door to the precinct he was met with whistles and cheers as he did what Kiba called a 'victory march' to his post.

His best friend smiled good naturally at him, patting him once on the shoulder. And Naruto grinned, feeling his nerves from returning slipping away. He playfully slapped a few hands that mussed up his hair as he walked down the hall to his desk. When he turned the corner, Naruto needed to stop in his tracks and do a double take at the sight of Sai sitting on his chair, holding a bouquet of roses.

Kiba's lips twitched as he took a step back, and Naruto's eyes slanted at him suspiciously before rounding back on Sai.

"What the hell's going on?" He groaned, his left eye twitching when Sai closed the distance between them and then, to his horror, got on one knee.

Somewhere behind him Kiba bursted into hysterics and fell to the floor. Naruto could hear the resounding snickers from his fellow officers, and he resisted the urge to roundhouse kick the plastic smile off of Sai's face.

"Sai. Get up. Right now," Naruto growled, but he couldn't suppress the wavering smile on his own face. He guessed he kind of missed this.

"But dickless…" Naruto's expression fell. He didn't miss that name. "We're happy you're back. I missed you and your somewhat appealing penis, so I asked a few people what was the best way to welcome you, and they suggested I buy you flowers."

"That's really not necessary, Sai-"

"I'm not finished," Sai continued, still fucking smiling. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card, and Naruto swore he could hear Kiba dropping to the floor and muffling his snorts with his hands. "I also wrote you a poem. That's what people do, right? Express sentiments of joy for those they missed?"

Naruto had a bad feeling about this.

Sai cleared his throat and began to read:

"Roses are red,

Sasuke's balls were blue,

If you're still up for a threesome,

I would be, too."

The room went so silent they could have heard a pin drop. Naruto said nothing, his face strangely blank as he slowly walked up towards Sai and placed a hand on his shoulder. Kiba chuckled nervously, about to say something, when Naruto brought his knee up and drove it straight into Sai's crotch.

"You're a total, perverted jerk, you know that?" Naruto sighed, but he couldn't help but laugh and throw an arm around Sai. For all his bizarre behavior, Sai had worked his ass off to find him, and was still a good cop. And when he kept his dirty mouth shut, he was sometimes even a decent friend.

Naruto joked with his friends a bit more, got settled, then headed back to his desk to see how much paperwork he had to catch up on. No one said anything about his scars.

He was feeling good. Ready. Confident again.

Until Kakashi called him into his office with a request that he wasn't expecting.

Naruto stood outside the door to the hallway for Cell Block D. He knew that when Sasuke found out about what he was about to do, his boyfriend was going to straight-up kill him. But there really wasn't much of a choice.

Hidan was refusing to talk to anyone, not even his own attorney. Not only did that set the grounds for a mistrial (since he wasn't looking very competent to stand trial, and Orochimaru was already trying to set up that option for getting him off), but it also was a roadblock for the families of dozens of missing people waiting to get closure and find out what happened to their loved ones. And bring their bodies home for burial, if possible.

Hidan had said that the only person he would talk to was Naruto. He didn't care if his attorney was present or not, though of course Orochimaru was insisting that he at least be allowed to watch. He wouldn't say anything more about what exactly it was he was willing to say to Naruto, but at this point it was their only shot.

"Hey, man. If you're not up to it it's totally ok. We can get this guy some other way. You don't need to go in there," Kiba said. While Hidan had been adamant that there be no other cop with Naruto, Kiba had at least accompanied Naruto down with Kakashi to the prison. If for no other reason than he would be able to offer at least that when Sasuke came for his balls later.

"Nah, I'm good. I got this," Naruto said, trying to convince both himself and Kiba at the same time. There were cameras in Hidan's cell, so he knew Kakashi and Kiba would hear what was said.

"The guard will accompany you down," Kakashi said. "We'll be in the observation room. If anything starts to get out of control or if you just have had enough, all you have to do is stand up and walk out. He is shackled, and you aren't going to go into the cell with him. There is nothing that he can do to you."

Naruto nodded. He could handle this. He was going to have to face the psycho in the courtroom anyway. He figured he might as well get used to it now. And he'd be lying if he didn't admit he'd get some satisfaction seeing the guy behind bars in in shackles.

Taking a steadying breath, Naruto opened the door and stepped inside the room.

Hidan looked up from where he was shackled, lounging on the thin metal bed. The guard was standing off to the side of the door, his eyes trained on the serial killer to make sure there were no surprises.

Naruto forced himself not to flinch as Hidan ran his eyes over his body, and managed not to shudder when the killer licked his lips.

"As tempting as ever, heathen," Hidan said, smirking. His eyes went to Naruto's face, and the thin scars that were no longer covered by bandages. He frowned slightly, the scars not being disfiguring the way he had hoped. "If anything, you look even more tempting. Like a naughty little fox… I will have to do a better job next time. The cuts were too clean."

"What do you want?" Naruto said, his voice hard and cold, noticing the bandages and padding underneath and around Hidan's crotch area from where he was shot. He wasn't going to let this guy fuck with his head. He was stronger than that. He'd won. Hidan had lost. End of story.

"What do I want? What do I want?" Hidan started to laugh. "To get the fuck out, but not everyone gets what they want in life. Boo-hoo for me."

"You said that if you could talk to me, you would tell us where the other bodies are," Naruto said forcefully.

"Is that what that pussy cop told you? I didn't say that. Hahahaha, why the fuck would I help them make their case against me? Are you crazy? Besides… I have no clue what you're talking about."

Naruto leaned forward, resting his hands on the bar to the cell, trying to convince Hidan that there was something in it for him. "They can take the death penalty off the table. They could make the facility you stay in less of a hell-hole."

Hidan stood to his feet as his restraints would allow. "Will they give me you?"

Naruto jerked back from the bars, and the guard stepped forward.

"What?!" Naruto's face drained of blood at the light of madness and fixation that shone from Hidan's eyes.

"You heard me. I don't give a shit about where I'm going or how I'm dying. My lord Jashin is going to make sure that my trip is nice and comfortable… but, if I could have you, to finish what I started, I think that might jog my memory about a few things." Hidan's lips curved upwards into a maniacal sneer, and his voice sank to a whisper. "That's my price. I'll tell them where the bodies are. But only if they give me you."

"That's… that's…" Naruto took a stumbling step back.

"Let me know when you have an answer. Until then I have nothing more to fucking say."

Naruto's eyes met the guard's, and they exchanged a look of mutual horror at what the killer had just proposed.

The guardstood next to the bars, glaring in at the prisoner in his cell. "Ok, you sick fuck. Sit your ass back down."

Hidan's eyes bore into Naruto's as the blond turned and walked back to the exit, gleaming in triumph as he saw the conflict and fear in the blue eyes.

"I'll be waiting for you, sinner."

Kiba was already out of the observation room before Naruto stumbled out the door, his face white.

"Shit, Naruto. Are you ok? We never should have let that guy get you alone. Fuck! I'm so sorry. Let me drive you back to your apartment. Shit, Sasuke is going to kill me."

Naruto turned and gripped Kiba by the front of his shirt. "You say one word about this to Sasuke and I will have your balls. I will tell him. But not now. The trial starts tomorrow, and the last thing we need is Sasuke attacking Hidan in the courtroom."

Kiba's eyes widened, but he remembered how Sasuke had looked with his gun leveled steadily, pointed at Hidan's head.

Slowly he nodded.

Naruto was right.

Sasuke sat in the back of the courtroom on the opening day of Hidan's trail. Shikamaru had done everything he could to get Hidan to cut a deal to reveal the locations of the other bodies. but the man had been adamant that there would be no deal. He wanted his day in court. He wanted the limelight. He wanted something that Shikamaru had not been able to offer.

It made Sasuke nervous. There was something that the man was planning, but he wasn't sure what. He scanned the courtroom. Naruto was sitting up front, alone. Shikamaru had told Naruto that the jury would be looking for him, and he knew that the blond's natural demeanor and open facial expressions would make him a sympathetic figure for the jury, especially if he appeared alone and vulnerable. Orochimaru had a habit of trying to twist witnesses credibility and accounts of what happened. The more Shikamaru could prepare for that, the better chance he had.

Sasuke observed his lover from a distance. He had never met a stronger person than Naruto. Despite everything that the young officer had been through, he was still here today, sitting less than thirty feet from the man who had tortured him and threatened him with rape and death. Sasuke had mixed feelings about the fact that Naruto was back on active duty. He struggled every morning to let the blond leave their apartment and go to work, not knowing when the next time was that he'd be put at risk.

But it was part of what made Naruto who he was, and Sasuke knew he'd have to accept it and learn to live with the anxiety.

The doors closed, signalling that the trial was about to start, sealing the media out to protect the identity of Haku and Naruto. Sasuke looked up, not particularly happy to see the face of the defense attorney for the serial killer enter the courtroom. It had been three years since he had seen Orochimaru face to face. He hoped he'd be able to avoid any direct communication with the snake.

Fortunately, the courtroom was packed due to the high profile nature of the case and the man didn't notice Sasuke, his attention fixed on the jury, and Naruto. Orochimaru was in his element, starting off his opening arguments by already laying the seeds (just shy of getting called on the carpet by the judge) for the potential of a police cover-up, evidence contamination, and bias by the District Attorney's office.

Sasuke ground his teeth. There was nothing that man wouldn't do for the win. Luckily, Nara seemed unperturbed by the thinly veiled accusations, his expression his usually slightly bored, sleepy look. Until it was his turn to address the jury. Sasuke smiled sadistically as he heard the younger man take apart Orochimaru's initial arguments bit by bit.

There was a brief break after the opening arguments while the witness lists and initial evidence exhibits were being prepared. Sasuke stood with the other observers, taking the opportunity to stretch his legs. He made his way to the men's room, not knowing how long the second session of the trial would last that day.

Sasuke stepped up to the urinal at the far end of the room and unzipped. He heard the door to the restroom open, but - obeying the firm men's room etiquette of keeping his eyes directly in front of him while at the stalls - didn't look to see who it was.

"Sasuke…" A voice hissed delightedly from just behind him. Sasuke flinched at the familiar voice. His head started to turn of its own accord before he snapped his eyes front again, trying to finish his business as soon as possible and get out of there. Orochimaru smiled slyly and - to Sasuke's abject horror - stepped toward the urinal next to him. With a soft hum, Sasuke could hear the other's zipper come undone.

Sasuke inwardly cringed, relishing in the silence that he hoped would continue throughout the unnerving ordeal. Unfortunately, he was instead greeted with Orochimaru's smug voice.

"It's been a long time. Three years, hm?" From the corner of his eye, Sasuke saw Orochimaru's head turned towards him, definitely not looking at his face. Sasuke's jaw clenched and he quickly finished and tucked himself back in, zipping up with unnecessary force.

"Don't talk to me unless it is about the case. Even then, don't talk to me without Shikamaru present," Sasuke said tersely as he walked over to the sinks, quickly washing his hands and taking care not to look in Orochimaru's direction at all.

"Ah… but Sasuke," Orochimaru practically purred his name, and he too zipped up his pants and casually walked toward the faucets. "Don't be so dull… can't we catch up, for old times sake?"

It hit Sasuke that he didn't even hear Orochimaru use the urinal, and that he had just been watching him this entire time… with his pants unzipped. He had had more than his share of creepy advances from the older attorney in the past. The man had made it clear that he was extremely interested in Sasuke on all levels. Orochimaru had cornered Sasuke in his office late one night after celebrating the win of a major case, and Sasuke had shoved the older man into the wall and stalked out. It was less than a week later that Sasuke had tendered his resignation and opened his own practice with Neji.

He had no desire to spend any time alone with the man, so he quickly turned to leave, his eyes widening in anger as he felt a hand grip his upper arm.

"Get. Your. Hands. Off. Me." Sasuke said, his voice low and threatening.

"Now, Sasuke… is that any way to treat the man who is going to seal Hidan's fate? I wonder if I should ask the court about the nature of your relationship with Officer Uzumaki? I'm sure the answer would be quite… lucrative."

Sasuke's back tensed. Of course, he had known that there would be a good chance that their relationship would come out, but the way Orochimaru was saying it was almost as though he thought it would influence the outcome of the trial. That shouldn't be possible, but Sasuke had learned long ago never to put anything past the man.

"So? Even if they find out about our relationship, it doesn't change the evidence."

"Oh… but it will change the jury's perception of Naruto Uzumaki. He's gone up against you in court several times, hasn't he? If I implied that your relationship had began who knows how long ago… and that it could have seemingly influenced all those trials, I wonder what those fools in the jury would think. Ah yes, this could turn into something much bigger..."

Sasuke felt the man's hand slide up from his arm to trail down along over his shoulder blade, then down his back to the base of his spine. Sasuke shuddered in revulsion at the touch. He knew that there were likely cameras in the courthouse, even in the bathrooms, so he couldn't just turn around and punch the guy in the face. He fought down his fury to weigh the man's threats. He jerked away from the touch, turning to glare at the man

"The judge would never allow you to insinuate that in court. It has no direct bearing on the case, and there is no evidence to support it," Sasuke said forcefully, knowing as the words left his mouth that he had seen Orochimaru get away with much worse.

Orochimaru suddenly smiled, as though he meant no harm from the beginning.

"Of course you're right about that… But I just wanted you to understand that if need be, I will be sure to pull out the necessary stops to bring the court's attention to the truth of the matter."

Sasuke snorted inelegantly at the word 'truth'. Both he and Orochimaru knew that 'truth' had nothing to do with the outcome of a trial. He clearly heard the implied threat. He wondered whether Orochimaru was just flexing his muscle, or if there was actually something the man wanted. He decided not to beat around the bush and wait to find out. "What do you want, Orochimaru?"

"What do I want?" Orochimaru's eyes lit up humorously, and his tongue ran along his bottom lip once before snaking back inside. "Sasuke... what ever gave you the impression that I wanted something from you?"

"I'm not going to play games," Sasuke said, turning and heading for the door. "You want to talk with me again, go through my father's office."

"I'm not the one playing games, Sasuke," Orochimaru's voice dropped to a level that sounded downright sinister, before leaning in and pressing his lips against the shell of Sasuke's ear, and he quietly hissed, "...You know what I want… Sasuke." Sasuke found himself pressed against the bathroom door as Orochimaru slid his body hard against Sasuke's.

Sasuke didn't hesitate as he brought his knee up sharply directly into Orochimaru's groin, not caring about the cameras and reveling in the agonized hiss that emerged from the older man's lips. "We're done here," Sasuke said as he slammed out of the bathroom.

He needed to find Shikamaru and tell him what was happening.

xXx

One more chapter...

Thanks for reading.