DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or any other characters belonging to the Anime series. However, I do own the characters that were created by me – they will make their appearances in the later chapters.
Summary: Sakura and Tenten – both FBI Agents – are on a vital mission to eradicate one of America's largest and most feared Mafia Gangs. Sakura has no memory of her past. What happens as she finds the missing pieces when she encounters the mesmerizing, drop-dead attractive, Sasuke Uchiha, leader of the gang? PAIRINGS: Sasuke/Sakura with an equal share of Neji/Tenten. More pairings are included.
WARNING: This Fan-fiction contains VERY explicit content in later chapters. If sexual content, mild violence and aggressive language bother you, then it is advised that you discontinue reading this fiction immediately.
NOTE: 'Inner Sakura
'Thoughts' (Except for the short preface at the beginning of each chapter & Flashbacks)
Narrator's POV
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
Trust and Betrayal
Previously…
"You have information for me, and I want it now," Sakura demanded.
"Why so hasty? You know you have hours before you'll be able to make any contact with Orochimaru," Guren told her.
There was something about Guren's tone that pissed Sakura off to no end – a venomous; nasty tone. Why the sudden change of attitude.
"Plans have changed, Sakura Haruno," Guren said suddenly. Sakura gave Guren a questioning look.
"What are you talking about? What do you mean there's a change of plans?"
"Nothing in this world comes without a price, Sakura Haruno…"
Presently…
Sakura could hear, almost clearly, her heart beating in her chest. Everything else seemed to be at a standstill. At the moment, she hated herself for trusting Guren so easily. Now, everything was going wrong; and such a consequence was too shocking to accept.
"What do you want from me?" Sakura asked after a long silence between the two women. She did not take her eyes off Guren for even a second.
"The nuclear device Onikage has created," Guren answered.
Why did it always have to come down to this – it was all about the bomb.
"Why?" Sakura questioned, seriously. She wished she had her handgun at the moment.
"I'm not permitted by my authorities to give you exact details. However I'll tell you this – Ninjutsu Ops will not allow such a weapon to fall into the enemy's hands," Guren responded, "The time is now 9:00 A.M; you have until 10:45 A.M to bring me the device at this warehouse."
"And what happens if I don't comply?" Sakura asked.
"Onikage and all its affiliations will be annihilated. There will be no exceptions – every man woman and child associated with that Mafia will…die…"
At that point, Sakura felt as if her heart stopped beating. Every thought she had in mind was so mixed up, and 'confused' did not even begin to describe what she felt. She had to remind herself to breathe.
'Kagerou…Tenten…Temari and her unborn son would die if I don't obey Guren's orders…Sasuke would die…'
"There's one more thing I need to ask you to do," Guren continued.
"Haven't you asked for enough already?! What more do you and your fucking organization want?!" Sakura snapped.
"I need you to trust me, please," Guren said. Sakura scoffed.
"Trust me. I know what I'm doing. Everything I told you about my son was true. I know how you feel right now –"
"Do you?! You should stop lying. You have no idea what I'm thinking…as a former FBI Agent; as a friend; as a sister; as a wife and as a mother!"
Why did it always have to be her? Why was she always the one to choose in these kinds of situations? Sakura knew that asking such hopeless questions would get her nowhere.
'When Tsunade gave me that mission, I should have objected. If I hadn't met Sasuke, he might've been far better off; Kagerou would've been safe; Tenten would not have gotten raped. I wonder if I can even trust myself anymore…'
"Trust hurts, Guren…"
Sakura pulled into the garage. Still, she had not devised a way to get the bomb without alerting security and Sasuke. The last thing she wanted to do was drag Tenten into her dilemma. She got out of the car, forgetting to lock it and walked into the manor as calmly as possible.
As she entered, there were no Onikage members in sight. She felt her inner self calm down even more. That was, until…
"Where have you been?"
Sakura visibly jumped while her heart simultaneously skipped a beat.
"S-Sasuke…you gave me a scare," she stuttered, while simultaneously trying to make an excuse.
"I went out to get something for Tenten," she said smoothly.
"That's not what I heard from her," Sasuke replied in monotone. He did not make eye contact with her. He always did that whenever he was displeased with her.
"I'm sorry…I went to see a doctor. I didn't want to get you worried and that's why I lied just now," Sakura half-lied.
"What did you need to see the doctor about?"
"I've been nauseous from time to time. I realized it wasn't normal, so that's why I went to the doctor; and she recommended some pills for me…"
"Hn, did the doctor do an examination?" Sasuke asked.
"Yes. Nothing's wrong with me. She said there's a stomach virus going around…"
Sasuke said nothing after that. He just walked up to her and planted a kiss on her forehead. She knew it meant 'I hope you feel better'. Instantly, she felt a spasm of guilt rush through her chest. She hated lying to him.
'But I'm doing this for him, right?'
Even so, this was still called betrayal; and nevertheless betrayal is always, by all means, unforgivable. Just thinking about what she was about to do, was beginning to drive her insane.
Betrayal kills…
Tenten fixed the covers of the bed neatly over the bed spread and then fluffed the pillows. So far, she had not gotten any information on Orochimaru. She was beginning to think that he would never be put down. Tenten shook her head. 'I will not give up; not after what he did to me…'
There was a knock at the door.
"Come in," Tenten announced. She was surprised to see who it was…
"Hinata?"
"Tenten…um…here…" Hinata said, stretching her hand out which held her cell phone. Tenten shot her an inquiring look, took the phone and pressed it against her ear.
"Hello?" Tenten spoke.
"I'm sorry for leaving without letting you know," said the familiar voice.
"N-Neji?" she stuttered. Tenten heard what she thought was a soft chuckle, on the other line.
"Hn, I'm on a personal mission. It involves family matters. How are you feeling?"
"Good…I guess. Thanks," Tenten replied. She felt a little awkward. Why did Neji call, apologize and ask about her health? It was not like him at all…not that she did not like the attention, especially coming from the Neji Hyuuga.
"That's good to hear. I must go now. Tell Hinata that I'll call again soon," Neji said.
"Okay. Neji?" Tenten called his name to get his attention.
"What is it, Tenten?" he asked.
"Be careful…" she answered, almost in a whisper. She had the urge to say that before, but was unsure of how to do so. She was, for the first time in her life, shy…
"You should not concern yourself with me, Tenten; however I'll try my hardest to do as you wish…"
The call was disconnected. Tenten handed the phone to its owner.
"Hinata," Tenten began, "Is it possible for you to fill me in on Neji's current mission?"
Sakura locked herself inside the toilet so she could examine the blueprints of the manor carefully. As expected, there was a large basement at the bottom of the building; the chances that the nuclear device could be kept there were large. Sakura exhaled. She would worry of ways to smuggle the weapon out of the building later. Right now, she needed to concentrate on getting down to the basement unnoticed.
She rolled up the large sheet and fitted it underneath one of the cabinets. Then she unlocked the bathroom door and made her way out of the bedroom.
On her way down the corridor, she came in contact with Temari – one of the people she tried to avoid the most.
"Hey! You're back already? What did the doctor say about the –" Temari began, but was interrupted by Sakura's harsh response.
"It's fine, Temari..."
Sakura pushed Temari out of her way, gently and continued walking, leaving a puzzled Temari standing still, in the middle of the hallway…
Ino stared at the ceiling. His face appeared in her mind constantly. His fake smile…
'Sai…'
Last night, she found out so much from him. But still, there was more to know; more to know not only about Onikage and Sakura, but him…
"Like what you see?" she heard a man beside her ask, referring to the paintings.
Ino turned her head quickly to the direction from which the voice came. As her cerulean eyes met his onyx ones, she felt both shocked and lucky at the same time. Things could not have gotten better than this. A smile crept across her face, knowing that luck was on her side – the man she was staring at just so happened to be Sai. And if she recalled correctly, Sai was one of the main members of Onikage.
"Actually, I'm impressed," Ino said, continuing the conversation. She could not be happier than she already was.
'I hope Kakashi is getting all this…'
"Did you paint all those art pieces?" Ino asked.
"Yeah, I did," Sai answered, smiling. And to be honest, Ino thought that it was the most fake smile she had ever seen.
'This guy is interesting…'
"Sai…"
Sai turned to his right, where Sasuke Uchiha stood. For a moment, Ino felt a hollow feeling in her stomach. Did they figure out that she was an undercover FBI Agent? She tried her hardest not to show it.
"I'm heading out. Itachi wants to see me," Sasuke continued. Sai nodded and watched Sasuke disappear into the crowd before turning back to Ino.
"I'm sorry about that," he apologized.
"It's okay," Ino assure him, "So…you're name is Sai?"
He nodded.
"I'm…Ino," she introduced, "it's nice to meet you."
"Likewise," he replied, "I noticed your facial reaction when my friend showed up a moment ago – you seemed scared. May I ask why?"
That was when the hollow pit in her stomach returned…
"I...I could have sworn your friend looked like my ex boyfriend. And I got scared because my ex was a rather abusive person. I prefer not to talk about it," Ino lied smoothly.
Sai chuckled, "Don't worry. Sasuke's just a tricky resemblance. He's not all that violent. He seems to be a caring husband and from the way he treats his daughter, he's a great dad."
Ino remembered the little girl she saw with Sakura at the Diner. Was that Sasuke Uchiha's daughter?
"Your friend has a child already?" Ino asked, pretending to sound surprised.
"Yes. Why so shocked?" Sai asked.
"It's just that he looks so young. I bet his wife's really pretty," Ino said, hoping that Sai would add some info to that.
"She is. She has unusual physical features and her name suits her well – Sakura…"
Ino felt her insides shudder a little. Sakura was married to Sasuke Uchiha?
'Impossible…'
"Is something the matter?" Sai asked, breaking her chain of thoughts.
"I think I know someone by that name. I went to high school with a girl named Sakura. She had strange, but natural pink hair and beautiful emerald eyes. I never knew her too well on a personal level, but we were Biology lab partners once," Ino lied again.
"I see. I'm sorry, but, if you don't mind – what are you doing here? This casino consists of only Mafia affiliates," Sai said.
"My father was a member of a gang – a minor member. I don't know much about him. He died when I was three," Ino explained.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Sai said.
Ino sighed inwardly. This was going to be harder than she thought. If Sakura willfully married Sasuke Uchiha, retrieving her would be difficult. According to the law, Sakura would now be considered a criminal.
Ino took a sip of her drink.
"You're trying too hard," she heard him say.
"Sorry?" she said, with a confused expression.
Sai reached his hand out to trace Ino's jaw line…then her neck…and then, he violently tugged at her necklace, bursting it in the process.
"What are you –?"
"You were trying so hard that you completely blew your cover, agent," Sai said with a fake smile. "I'll give you ten minutes to get out of here. If you don't, I'll gather my associates," he continued, still smiling…
'Why did he do it? Why did he let me go?' Ino asked herself. Currently she was staying at a different motel from Kakashi's. She did not want to risk Kakashi being caught if Sai decided to follow her. Nevertheless, Ino wanted to get her friend back, therefore hiding and giving up were not acceptable options…
Sakura closed the door behind her as she entered the basement. Then she walked down the stairs. There were three other rooms on each side of the hall. On the walls, there were surveillance cameras.
"What are you doing down here?"
Sakura turned around, coming face to face with one of the guards.
"I was sent down here by Sasuke I get the nuclear device," Sakura lied.
"I need some form of identification to prove that you are from Onikage," the security said.
"I'm the wife of Sasuke Uchiha. Is that proof enough?" Sakura asked. The guard took one last look at Sakura before saying, "I'm sorry Ma'am, please forgive my rudeness. The device is in the second room to your right."
Sakura nodded and proceeded, following the guard's directions…
Sakura gazed around the warehouse, the bomb wrapped in a cloth in her right hand, the disk in the other. Sakura completed the task one hour.
"You finished earlier than I thought you would," Guren said. She was leaning on an old wooden table. Sakura walked over to Guren and handed the disk and weapon to her.
"Now," Sakura began, "I have one question. What is your organization going to do with that?"
The room was filled with the echoes of chuckling…
"Thank you for making my life so easy," said a familiar voice.
"Orochimaru…"
"GUREN!! I THOUGHT YOU WERE WORKING AGAINST OROCHIMARU!" Sakura snapped.
"I am! We can't let him get this device…let's go!"
"Don't you have a weapon?" Sakura asked as she ran.
"Yea…but it's in my car," Guren answered.
Unluckily for them, when they got to Guren's car, they found that the car tyres were punctured and the gun was gone. They were left with no other option but to try to escape Orochimaru on foot.
"This is what I get for trusting you, Guren. How did he know about our deal?" Sakura asked.
"I don't know," Guren answered.
They kept running; that was all they could do…
End of Chapter 23! I hadn't planned on ending it this way, but I have to help my mom in the kitchen. So, I apologize…
And please forgive the errors you may have come across while reading. I didn't get the chance to completely edit this chapter. All corrections will be made later.
NEXT CHAPTER: 29th Dec. 09
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!