A/N: Sasori becomes the bearer of bad news, and Sasuke is pissed.
Sasuke lasted all of half an hour doing homework with Naruto until he told him he was going to take a nap in his room. As soon as he could slip away from Naruto, he took it. He quickly got into his costume and slipped out the window - an admittedly difficult escape, but he'd take it. He crawled down the side of the building and towards the direction of Sasori's apartment.
As soon as he touched down on the balcony, he tried to peek through the glass sliding door. Unfortunately, the curtains were drawn. Either they were still out, or Sasori was up to some 'business' again. Trying to peek through the slit in the curtain proved ineffectual too, because the entire living area was empty. Not a person in sight.
He looked towards Sakura's window, but the curtains were drawn there too. Either she was in bed or out. Something didn't feel right about it, however. Sasuke tried to pry the window open, but it didn't budge. Locked.
He peeked through the slit in the curtains and a frown settled on his face.
Her bed was disheveled. Empty.
He huffed an irritated sigh before shooting webbing across the way and swinging from the building.
"C'mon, Sakura," he muttered to himself as he swung across the city. "Where would she be…?"
A scream of help from an alley forced him to put his thoughts on the backburner. Kissing his teeth, Spidey swept down to deal with the issue.
"There you are!" Naruto exclaimed when he returned. "Geez, dude, I was worried! Do you always lock your door when you take naps or is that a new habit?"
Sasuke felt only a little guilty about that; he knew that if he didn't, however, Naruto would go in and notice him gone. "Sorry," he said instead.
Naruto rolled his eyes and patted him on the back with a grin. "It's no worry, dude, I do the same sometimes. You know you can trust me though, right?"
Dammit, the guilt in his heart grew at that. He nodded his head silently.
"Cool. You're my bro, teme." He winked. "Remember that."
"Like you'd let me forget," he snarked back.
He gave his friend a half-smile when he shoved him with his arm.
"Anyway! How about we go see Sakura-chan again?" The blond perked up. "It's been hours, they've gotta be back by now!"
"At least Sasori would," he added quietly. "Alright, let's go."
The two got on some flip-flops and headed down the hall to Sasori's door.
Sasuke knocked again before stepping back.
"You hear anything?" Naruto whispered.
The black-haired boy paused for a moment, concentrating. Then he shook his head. "Nothing."
"Man, that's weird," the blond huffed. He folded his arms across his chest. "I'm starting to worry. If she was that sick, he wouldn't just take her with him, would he?"
"He's not that cruel," Sasuke agreed with a shake of his head. He narrowed his eyes at the door. "What the hell is he doing?"
"What the hell is who doing?" A voice replied from near the stairs, causing Sasuke to flinch.
Both boys stared in surprise as Sasori hobbled closer, his crutches a rhythmic thump against the carpet. His face was bandaged and twisted into a displeased frown.
"What the hell happened to you?" Naruto asked, gaping openly.
"Car accident, had to give a statement." He grunted. "You weren't looking for me, were you?"
"We have been," Sasuke replied, stepping forward with a frown of his own. "And if you're here…"
Sasori's scowl deepened. "Difficult situation, kid. Since you're close to Sakura, I'll help you out this one time by telling you inside."
Sasuke's heart fell a little. Still, he nodded his agreement and he and Naruto stepped out of the way so that Sasori could approach the door. He paused, reaching for his jacket pocket and fiddling with his keys for a moment before unlocking it and pushing it open.
He glanced at the boys. "Well?"
Naruto glanced at Sasuke. With a grim nod, he followed him inside.
Sasori shut the door behind them with a heavy sigh.
"So what happened?" Naruto questioned. "You look like hell."
"I just got out of hell, thanks," the redhead snarked back. "We were on our way back from the clinic. Some jackass slams into the side of the car and we crash into the side of a building. I twisted my ankle, but Sakura's fine - and then some guy rushes the car and drags her out while she's screaming bloody murder."
Naruto's mouth dropped open. Sasuke's heart plummeted all the way into the pit of his gut.
"I didn't get to see the guy's face, but I saw a symbol on his back." His amber eyes narrowed in disgust, and he hissed, "The Snake. Orochimaru."
"As in, the same guy my parents died trying to put behind bars?" The black-haired boy snapped, his fists clenching. "That bastard is still kicking?"
"Still too stubborn to die," Sasori agreed with a dark look. "And now he's got my cousin. I don't know what in the hell he wants, but I'll be damned if I let him put his slimy hands on her just to get to me."
"Like hell we're gonna stand for this!" Naruto exclaimed, nudging Sasuke in the ribs. "Right? Sasuke?"
"The police won't do anything," he grumbled. "That's why my parents died. They were in on it."
"And the same officers involved in that incident are still on the force today," Sasori added with a grimace of pain as he flopped onto the couch. "I know that sleaze Danzou won't do shit."
"You think they're working together?" Sasuke questioned.
"With the way things are going, with how crime is rising and now suddenly Orochimaru is showing his ugly face around New York again?" Sasori gave him a deadpan look. "You'd have to be a fucking idiot not to see the parallels."
The living room was silent, tense, for several seconds.
"So… so what do we do?" Naruto's voice was uncharacteristically quiet.
"What you're going to do is stay out of it." Sasori pointed to the boys. "I know you've got a grudge against that damned snake - hell, we all do - but I'm not gonna let a couple of kids get caught in the crossfire."
"I'm fourteen," Sasuke snapped.
"You're young," Sasori rebutted, his half-lidded eyes stern. "Sakura would not want you to be out there getting hurt on her behalf."
Sasuke's eyes narrowed. His lip curled back in a sneer. "Don't you pull that card, Akasuna," he growled.
"You think her kidnapping hurts? I'm her fucking guardian, kid," the redhead barked a sardonic laugh. "She's the only family I have left. My deadbeat uncle sure isn't gonna talk to me. I promised her mom I'd protect her with my life, and I'm not going back on that now."
"And neither am I," the black-haired boy challenged. "She's my friend."
The two had a staredown for several tense seconds before Naruto butted in.
"Yeah, to hell with staying out of it." He agreed. "Sakura-chan's our friend. If anything, we're gonna do everything we can to get her back."
Sasori's gaze flickered to the blond's for a moment before he turned back to Sasuke. The teenager stared back, challenging him.
Finally, he closed his eyes with a resigned, heavy sigh. "Damned brats these days… fine, you can help."
Sasuke's tense shoulders relaxed a bit, and Naruto's face broke into a grin.
"But!" Sasori interjected, making them take pause as he opened his eyes again, "Only with the Akatsuki's help. You hear me? No running off and trying to be some kind of hero on your own. You have no idea how tense things are right now, and doing something stupid is gonna get you killed."
"Do we have a deal?" He asked, leaning forward. His hand extended.
"On one condition," Sasuke replied with a steely voice. "You leave that slippery son of a bitch to me."
Naruto openly gaped at him, and even the older redhead chuckled.
"Alright, alright, for Itachi I can promise you the final blow." He smiled, all teeth. "Now, deal?"
Sasuke took his tattooed hand and shook it firmly. "Deal."
A/N: And thus, the stakes rise higher.
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