It was always loud in the Konoha Police Department and today was no exception. The constant clamor of complaints and crying, yelling and pleas of innocence only made up a fraction of the maddening din that caused Sasuke's head to pound. There were also the phones which never ceased to stop ringing, the arguing of the other detectives he often wondered why he called friends, and then there was his loud mouth blonde partner and, regrettably, best friend, who was yelling in his ear. All and all, Sasuke was having an incredibly difficult time filling out his case report.
"Will you shut up Naruto! I'm trying to fill out our report, which, interestingly enough, should be done by you since I filled out the last four."
Naruto let out an indignant huff. "Damn, Bastard. Did the stick go farther up your butt than usual this morning? And we both know you owe me big for dragging your ass back here. Besides you know how bad I am at case reports…Grandma always throws a bitch fit whenever I do them."
Sasuke sighed. It was true that he owed his best friend. He figured he probably owed Naruto his life given how he had saved Sasuke from completely ruining it. As far as he was concerned, writing all their case reports was nothing, and he'd gladly do it. Not that he'd ever tell Naruto that.
"And to think a loser like you might become Prime Minister. When you do, remind me to move to Suna."
Naruto chuckled at this. As much as Sasuke ragged on him, very few were more supportive of his dream than his best friend. It hadn't always been that way, but after Naruto had managed to track Sasuke down and bring him back, he had become one of his biggest supporters, though he was very quiet about it. Small things would give it away though. For instance, Sasuke never said "If" Naruto became the Prime Minister, but "When."
Though he enjoyed Sasuke's snide remark, it didn't escape his notice that he seemed grumpier and more tired than usual. And tactless as always, Naruto decided to comment on it.
"Seriously though, you ok? You're pissyer than usual which is weird since you're officially done with your probation today. I would have figured you'd be happy. Well, if that's possible for you, I mean."
At this, Sasuke looked up from his report, his eyes landing on the only picture on his desk. It was from four years ago when they were rookies, still in a four-man squad instead of partners. A twenty-two-year-old Sasuke stood on the left casting an annoyed glance away from Naruto who was glaring at him on his right. Their teacher and captain, Kakashi Hatake, was standing behind them, a hand on each of their heads, ruffling their hair. And front and center was the young woman with pink hair. It was still long back then; the picture had been taken before she cut it. Her eyes were closed, long dark eyelashes hiding soft green irises. It had been 1,372 days since he'd last seen her.
"Still haven't talked to Sakura-chan, huh?" Naruto said, watching his friend intently.
"She's avoiding me."
Naruto was about to respond but was cut off by a light tug on his shirt and a soft, "Naruto-kun." He turned, a warm smile blossoming at the sight of his gentle girlfriend.
"Hinata-chan!" Naruto greeted, his arms automatically wrapping around her in a gentle hug. "What are you doing over here? Do we have another joint case with Missing Persons?"
"Um, no, it's not that."
At those words, Sasuke turned back to his case report, finishing off the last pieces of information, tuning out the rest of the conversation. Sasuke liked Hinata well enough. As far as his colleagues went, he'd rather spend time with her than the vast majority of the others. And he wholeheartedly approved of her and Naruto. She was a good influence on him and seemed to be the only one capable of calming him down in any situation. But it annoyed him that in the past four months since he'd been back, the female he'd seen the most of was Hinata and not Sakura. It annoyed him that when Naruto dragged him to Ramen Bars after work, it was Hinata taking up the third bar stool, or when he and Naruto were doing some close combat practice, it was Hinata's pale gray eyes watching instead of Sakura's mint green ones.
"Anyways, Lady Tsunade wants to see you and Sasuke-kun in her office."
"You hear that, Bastard? Grandma wants to see us in her office, which either means we're in big trouble, or we've got a new case!" Naruto exclaimed enthusiastically, thumping Sasuke on the back.
Sasuke sighed and slipped the newly finished case report into a folder before standing up. "And why can't it be both, idiot."
"See, my optimisms rubbing off on you already!" Naruto beamed, turning a blinding smile to a giggling Hinata. "I'll see you at home, Hinata-chan!"
She blushed and gave a small wave good bye as Naruto marched off followed by an infinitely more poised Sasuke.
"Took you long enough, Moron!" Tsunade snapped as soon as the door opened.
"Speaking of being pissyer than usual…" Sasuke heard Naruto mutter under his breath.
Tsunade glared at him, before turning her sharp gaze on Sasuke, her lips forming a grim line. Sasuke returned her gaze with a blank stare. He understood her distaste for him. He had proven himself to be a liability on several fronts and she had enough to worry about as it was. She was Prime Minister of Konoha. And she was the chief of police, no one else being qualified for the role, although she delegated most of the work to Kakashi, who was the second in command. She was also the head of the hospital, that having been her job before her taking the role of Prime Minister. Much like how Kakashi handled the majority of the work at the police department, Shizune and Tsunade's beloved apprentice, Sakura, generally took care of all the work at the hospital. Tsunade would only step in for both the police or the hospital if it was an extreme emergency or crisis. And Sasuke had a lot of respect for the amount of work that she did and how well she kept things running.
Tsunade eyed the case file in Sasuke's hand before letting out a weary sigh. "Alright you two, listen up." Naruto turned serious as Tsunade stood up behind her desk, grimly opening a case file. "At 10pm last night a body was found on the outskirts on Konoha. The body was…severely disfigured." She flicked the case file across the desk and Sasuke and Naruto immediately moved in for a closer look. Naruto paled and Sasuke felt his stomach turn. Disfigured might not have been the right word. This body had been experimented on, in nauseating ways. Even if the death itself hadn't been a violent crime, everything else done to the body had been. "If this is who I suspect it is, there'll be a lot more bodies like this one."
"Who do you suspect?" Naruto asked, his voice hushed from horror.
"Orochimaru," the name hung heavy in the air, "though there's no proof of it yet. He was a classmate of mine. And brilliant. But he was power thirsty and it drove him mad." She looked down at the file again, her expression unreadable. "I almost didn't want to give this case to you, but I don't have much of a choice. You two are the best in Violent Crimes, and even before, squad 7 was one of the best we had."
Despite the greusome case they were facing Naruto smiled. He always loved when he and his team, whether it was just him and Sasuke or squad 7 on the whole, got recognized for their hard and well done work. Sasuke on the other hand felt something clench in his chest. Squad 7 had been one of the best, but they weren't squad 7 anymore. They were missing a key member. There was also something else about Tsunade's previous statement that flagged in his mind.
"Why didn't you want to give this case to us?" He asked, watching the police chief closely.
"If it is who I think it is, he is rumored to have ties with the criminal organization known as the Akatsuki." Sasuke stiffened at the name. "The same criminal organization that Itachi Uchiha is a supposed member of." Her eyes were fixed on Sasuke, watching for any sign that he might snap. "Can you handle it, Uchiha?"
"If you're thinking I'll go off like three years ago, you're mistaken. And I won't let this distract me from catching the culprit, Akatsuki affiliations or not. Make no mistake, I want Itachi to pay for his crimes, but I no longer have any intention of letting him turn me into a criminal in the process." Sasuke replied, levelly, though he felt the familiar surge of white hot anger pound through him persistently at the mere mention of his brother.
Tsunade gave a stern nod while Naruto beamed. "Well come on then! We've got a psycho mad scientist killer to catch!" Naruto yelled. He made to snatch the case file but Tsunade's hand slammed down on top of it.
"Wait a second Naruto! I haven't—"
She was cut off by the door opening. "You wanted to speak so me, M'lady?"
Sasuke's eyes went wide upon hearing her voice. He wasn't all that surprised to find that the rage still rushing through his veins instantly calmed at the sound of her voice. She had always had that effect on him. He turned to see her for the first time in 1,372 days, eyes still wide with the fact that the woman he had been trying to see and talk to for the past four months was now standing right there. Immediately, his wide eyes met her startled ones.
"Ah Sakura. Glad you're finally here," Lady Tsunade said with a smile.