The earpiece in Sasori's ear buzzed with the lack of talking. He almost preferred the silence to the constant chattering of his teammates, two of which were perfectly hidden a few yards back in the thick forest that made up this forsaken chunk of Mist. Though the continued yacking from the Suna Anbu served some purpose that the droning sound didn't.
Sasori was able to pick up on the latest gossip they had heard in Iwa. He now had the upper hand the next time he came up upon the blond thorn in his side.
The earpiece chirped with an incoming signal. He quickly tapped his ear, allowing the signal to come through.
"Alright, Snake, Tortoise, take the next right, the guards are switching out. The Daimyo should still be in the jasmine district. Let's get in and out—I saw some interesting subjects in the inn I would love to chat up." The feminine voice belonged to. . . Rat, if he remembered correctly. The other members were Fox, who kept watch with Rat, and Oryx, who was collecting info in the village.
A competent team if Sasori had to give credit, gossip aside.
Sasori nodded and gave a brief hand sign to Snake, signaling they move together. Breaking free of the lilac bushes, they quickly moved to the base of the compound.
A five-person team seemed excessive, but the intel they received warranted it. A heavily guarded compound, possibly S class, traps, and animals that could do some serious damage.
Still, Sasori felt insulted.
These scrolls had better be worth taking up my time.
He had to scrap his current experiment and burn the work to make sure nothing went wrong while he was away. A total waste of time. He would have someone's head after this. He wasn't even in Anbu anymore. But no, he had to let his ego get stroked. A moment of weakness that wouldn't be repeated.
The floors creaked ahead of them.
He quickly slid up a wall, perching in the corner as a guard turned a corner and started down the hall. He looked to Snake, their light outline evident behind a pair of sliding doors. A slight glimmer shone through the paper. Smart move. They had the quick tactical advantage if anything went wrong.
The guard passed by without pause, the heavy scent of incense carried behind him. His nose scrunched up. Either the man didn't wash, or he was eager to hide evidence of anything that could leave a fragrant trace.
The earpiece chirped again. Again, he tapped it, allowing the signal in as he dropped to the floor and slid the door open for Snake.
"Once you reach the Tsubo-Niwa, head north, there you guys should find the stairs. Get to the top quick as you can. You may be able to climb up between the stairs,—almost undetectable. We haven't spotted any guards past the third story. Nakamura's room should be somewhere around the top, if not, be the very top. Info isn't solid, do your best." Rat spoke.
Fox cut her off, a great contrast with his bass voice. "And hopefully the scroll too. We'll let you know the moment we see movement. Over, and out."
"Tortoise and Snake affirm details. Rodger." Sasori whispered.
This is a drag.
He almost froze, then shook his head as he realized what exactly he had just thought.
The Tsubo-Niwa was a breathtaking room filled with magical scents that were totally unbefitting to the man who owned it. Small plants littered the room, many of which he could find excellent use of, and some which were almost impossible to grow even in the greenhouses of Suna. He would be passing through this room again on his way out.
The stairs were scaled easily and in almost no time at all. Sasori recoiled as he wiped the dust off his fingers. Hopefully, it was dark enough that no one would notice the tracks in the dust. And if they did hopefully he and his team would be long gone.
Entering the top floor, which did end up being one wide open room, proved no difficulty either. The lack of traps almost set Sasori off guard, but the realization that an arrogant man never thinks himself in danger set him at ease.
No matter the wide space, or the vents outside, the room stunk of sex and blood. Not a good combination in his mind.
He pressed a finger to his earpiece and waited for the tone letting him know he'd been patched through. "We're in."
"Perfect." Rat spoke. "You're looking for three scrolls, possibly larger than your forearm in length, intel doesn't say how thick they are. Green binding string with a black wax seal. It's imperative that the seal remain intact."
Snake nodded his head and spoke. "Got it sunshine, we'll be down in no time at all." Snake had a smooth voice and way of speaking with others that had Sasori wanting to pluck the man's eyelashes out.
They split up and set about the room. Sasori did his best in disregarding the copious amount of drugs and paraphilic drawings that were lying about lest they taint his perfectly pure mind.
Sloppy, leaving evidence like this just lying about.
The earpiece buzzed, cutting through the signal patch in feature. "You've got incoming. Hide!"
Sasori flung himself up into the upper corner of the room and settled himself on a raptor, the bed and desk within his line of sight through his mask. He moved into a crouch, ready to dart down at a moment's notice.
He gagged as his fingers came into contact with something wet, and sticky. He didn't know if he should be hoping for bird excrement or blood.
Snack quickly slid under the raised platform that the bed lay on.
Sasori could feel his heart pounding in his chest and two sets of footsteps grew closer. One set heavy and stumbling. The other set was light and stumbling to a degree, but the pattern was unusual—almost sounding forced.
The screen door slid open and the Daimyo practically fell into the room, bringing an immediate stench of booze and sweat. He was younger than Sasori had imagined, and stronger looking. A man in his prime was a harder target to neutralize than a fat, old haggard man.
Next in was a woman clad in lace and leather, a floral yukata held up by the bend of her elbows. Her hair brushing against her shoulders, a dark red color that matched the rouge of her cheeks and lips—though it was smeared halfway down her neck.
Sasori ran his fingers over the small vial tucked away in his pocket. If need be he'd gas the room and fix Snake later, or simply count him as a casualty. Either way, the mission would go on.
"See, isn't it much nicer to be in your own home? We can do whatever we want here—all night." Her voice purred, halting Sasori's actions a moment.
"You're right doll-face." Nakamura's voice slurred and hiccuped. He pulled the rest of the yukata off the woman and tossed it to the floor, fully exposing the lingerie the woman wore against her creamy skin.
"Why don't you lie on down, get yourself comfortable." The woman pressed her hands against his shoulders, carefully pushing him down against the bed.
Sasori felt bad for his comrade.
"Why don't you join me?" Nakamura smirked as he grabbed and pulled the woman underneath him, pulling an excited, shrill noise from the woman. She made quick work with the top of the man's yukata, exposing the scarred skin of his back, and adding some fresh ones with her nails. The man's yukata was quickly tossed aside, giving Sasori an eyeful he hoped he could purge from his memory.
The woman drew the man into a kiss, a loud kiss, that had Sasori's stomach churning.
He looked away a moment, only looking back when he realized that he would refuse any other missions after this, so he just had to suck it up and keep watch for anything that could give him the upper hand.
"So, what's got you all paranoid anywho? You seem like such a big strong man, I wouldn't think anything would scare you?" The woman purred, dragging her nails down his arms in a delicate pattern, and anywhere that the man couldn't see.
"Ha!" Nakamura laughed, "I ain't scared of anything princess. I'm just a smart guy—smart guys have a lot of enemies sadly. But have no fears, I'll protect you." His voice had Sasori wanting to rip the bones of his ears out. The attempt at sounding macho was repulsive. He hoped the woman was being paid enough for this.
The Daimyo sounded like a total fool.
"So, what do you do big guy?" The woman started trailing kisses down his neck.
"I keep the people of this land safe, in exchange for," he belched. "Exchange for things. Services, money, food, women." He purred and leaned down, almost crushing the woman beneath him as he pecked at her neck and collar bone.
She grunted a moment before speaking again. "What kind of women are we talking about? I'm growing green with envy." She lifted his head again, placing a peck on his lips.
Sasori furrowed his brow. These were extremely leading questions for a prostitute—
He squinted. The marks on the man's back were growing irritated, small black threads bleeding from each scratch.
She looked up, and if Sasori didn't know any better, locked eyes with him.
That isn't a prostitute.
"I like my girls very youthful, like you, Cherry." The man faltered on his arms a moment, losing his balance. "Wha—"
Cherry bucked her hips and flipped the man, now pinning him to the bed. "Come on, tell me. How youthful? Don't tell me the reason you're stalling is that I'm too old for you?"
"I like em' young, but not that young you sicko." The man flung a fist forward at an alarming speed for a drunk man.
The woman caught it without flinching. Sasori could see her hand squeezing him, and soon a crack sounded through the air.
"We have intel that says otherwise. Now, when I search this room, I'm not going to find anything incriminating, am I?" Her voice leveled out to a steady alto, and red hair bled to—
"Wait. You're that Hokage's bit—" Nakauma slumped down, his body going still.
"A nice, slow-acting paralytic. While I didn't get as much out of your mouth as I would have liked, I'm more than satisfied to start my search now. Your breath is horrible and I swear if another set of lips touch me before I die, it'll be too soon." She grinned and climbed off the man, picking up her yukata on her way and fully tying it about herself. "So, what are you here for?" She strutted about the room, digging through piles Sasori and Snake had already combed through.
Sasori let himself drop to the floor, still landing without a sound. He watched as Snake slid out from under the platform, giving a low whistle as he visibly looked Sakura up and down. The man's eyes went wide as they stepped into view.
"Hello, cutie. We've received information that he could be harboring information about a drug trafficking ring that's been seen running through our lovely village. From the looks of this place, we've hit gold. You might too." Snake answered, and Sasori enjoyed the grin that grew on Sakura's face.
She turned back to the Daimyo. "Nod if you've got them—you should still be able to do that. And, if I find out you've been lying, you'll be quite sorry." Her voice was honey, vinegared, but still, Sasori felt himself becoming as a bee.
The man looked to be struggling, attempting to. Slowly, he nodded his head.
"Alright, your corporation is noted." She turned to look at him. Sasori wondered if she knew who he was. "We're looking into something of a similar vein, humans, not drugs. The rest of the compound has checked out clean, but we figured the best way to get access here was to be invited. You were here before me, point me in the right direction?"
Sasori simply nodded his head, perhaps a bit too quickly, and pointed to a stack of scrolls in the corner.
"Thanks. If I find something that seems a bit off, I'll let you know." She smiled and patted his shoulder.
He wanted to die.
Without thinking, he gripped her shoulder and pointed to her nails, and then Nakamura's back.
"Nail oil. You're right—I should wipe it off." Sakura quickly responded, wiggling her fingers at him a moment before picking up Nakamura's yukata off the floor and scrubbing her nails against it.
Not the answer he wanted, but still, she was right.
Off she went, searching about the room.
It took fifteen minutes to gather up all the items they needed, and for Sasori to almost break one of the seals on the targeted scrolls as he was packing it away.
Snake approved an incoming chirp.
"I take it by the lack of screaming, that you guys are alright?" Sasori opened his mouth to respond but was quickly cut off. "That and a few neighbors have made themselves cozy in our spot."
Sasori could hear loud chattering come in through the earpiece and recognized Naruto's voice instantly.
"We've got what we need and are heading your way now." Snake responded.
"Roger. See you in a few."
Snake pushed open the window and signaled to the group, Sasori held back, watching as Sakura struck Nakamura on the back of his neck, rendering him unconscious.
"I don't care if you got here first, I technically had him first. Konoha gets first shot."
"No arguments there, we'll try him when you're done." Snake said, tacking on a two-finger salute to her.
"Perfect. Now, you two head out first, I don't need either of you catching more of a peek than you already had." She touched a finger to her ear as she hauled the man over her opposite shoulder. "Target acquired, the material has been confiscated. You're clear to move in, and clear the rest out. Hopefully, we can find where he's got the girls with what I've got tonight." She made a move forward.
"Actually," Sasori finally found his voice. He smirked as Sakura stumbled a moment as she must have realized who exactly was in front of her. Sasori held his stance straighter as he continued. "There's a lovely tsubo-Niwa here that I'm going to peruse a moment—I spotted a few rare specimens that I'm sure you'd love to get your hands on as well. No one would mind if we uprooted them I'm sure." He rambled.
Her smile glowed. He smelled the jasmine oil she must have been drenched in as she approached him. "That sounds wonderful. I'm sure we can take care of any problems that could arise. Besides, Sasuke was ready to murder someone the moment he saw what I was wearing. We'll be perfectly safe to shop about a moment." She handed Nakamura over to Snake with a glare and instructions to hand him right over to the Konoha Anbu at their camp.
Sakura quickly took his hand in hers, her palm was soft, a harsh contrast to her fingertips and knuckles. "You'll have to tell me your thoughts on the oil—can you guess the base?" She smirked.
He chuckled. "I'm going to assume it was the flir dust Chiyo has been working on. We've both had our fun with it, it seems."
She gave him a sideways glance, stopping at the door just before opening it. "And how did you get your hands on it? She said it's been under lock and key, that mine were the only other eyes to see it."
Sasori angled his mask up enough to give her a smirk. "That's what she thinks."
Tsubo-Niwa - A small, indoor garden.