Summary: You're not supposed to fall in love with your captor, especially if he is a high-ranking member of the yakuza. Things just never seem to follow that law, however. Completely AU. Mainly Sasuke/Sakura. Rated for violence and language.
Pairings: Sasuke/Sakura, more will be revealed as the story progresses
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, at all. All the characters belong to Kishimoto Masashi-sensei. The only thing in this story that is mine will be the OCs and the plot itself.
Conspiracy of the Heart and Soul
Chapter Three – The Tempest, Sharingan
Beads of sweat were rolling down his forehead as he furiously typed on his laptop. It was a damn complex security system and he had to commend them for making his job difficult. His dark colored eyes continued gazing at the glowing LCD screen in front of him as his two companions shifted irritably. They were outside the Fujimori compound for the past ten minutes. Usually, it only took the genius with an IQ of over 200 about five minutes at most to override any security system but this was proving to be a very tough job for him. A faint smile found its way to his face as he began typing at a slower speed. "Bingo." Pressing enter, the computer began uploading the data into the security system's mainframe. 'Uploading successful' said a digital voice as the words appeared on the screen The gates opened as he unplugged his laptop. "That was troublesome." Sasuke snorted. Everything was troublesome to Nara Shikamaru. He was a lazy ass, despite being a genius as his IQ claimed.
"You haven't been doing so well lately. Anything on your mind?" asked the silver eyed one, Neji, as he and Sasuke waited for the genius hacker to finish packing up his tools. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and mumbled something about how people have been able to track down that someone was hacking into their security system's mainframe. He was supposed to upgrade all his tools, he bought everything needed already, but there was this mission and it couldn't be postponed. It didn't matter to Itachi what time the mission was accomplished, as long as it was deployed swiftly and efficiently. "Ah, it's the upgrades, isn't it?" Shikamaru nodded slowly as he strapped the last one down, making sure his beloved laptop was safe. The thing was custom made by he himself, no one else had anything like it. It would give all the legal companies a run for their money.
"Does it matter? Let's just complete this mission." Sasuke clenched his fist in anticipation as he waited for Shikamaru to sling the computer around his body. Even if he was basically a hacker and anything else to do with technology, which was easily provided for by their 'legal' business, he was still a pretty good marksman and could bash his way through, in and out of places. Soon enough, they began moving in the shadows. Neji was in front, Sasuke in the middle, and Shikamaru behind. A familiar tense air was around them, as it always was during every mission that they had to accomplish. This was no different. All they had to do was break in, find the bastard who was about to spill everything about Sharingan, kill him, and leave no trace of their existence behind. Shikamaru would take care of eradicating their finger prints, foot steps, everything.
They managed to move towards the actual building in five minutes, not too much commotion set in any way. Sasuke was itching to get this over and done with. Why he allowed himself to do his brother's dirty work, he didn't know. Itachi could have very well assigned Shikamaru, Neji, and another person to do this, it wasn't that difficult to sneak into the place and kill the man. But, he did say that they were impeccably guarded by not only one of the most elite security systems around but also many men to secure the grounds. The system proved tough though, but not tough enough to ward off the programs Shikamaru had uploaded into the mainframe. Nothing had yet to be invented that could stop Shikamaru into successfully hacking into the system. It had been in his blood, after all.
"Stop." Neji's low voice cut the air as Sasuke and Shikamaru gazed at the silver eyed man. "A couple of thugs are coming. You want one?" Sasuke shrugged as he crossed his arms. A faint smirk outlined Neji's face as his brain began to formulate a plan in order to beat them senseless. He could shoot them, but it'd be a waste of bullets even if he had extras jammed in a small pouch that hung at his side. He had a lot of them actually. "Guess that means they're all mine." Neji cracked his knuckles as an emphasis, deftly moving from one place to another in order to knock the two bodyguards unconscious. Neji enjoyed a good fight, every so often, and this was one of those times. It didn't mean, however, that he looked for fights. It was the other way around. The fights came looking for him.
Knuckles collided with their faces, blood smearing the pale skin covering the bones that were clenched. The guards didn't even have enough time to shout out for back up. No, Hyuuga Neji's attacks were far too quick for them. Their reaction time was slow, the main reason why his attacks seemed even faster than normal. The two darker eyed males leaned on opposite walls, watching the short brawl that was taking. In Neji's mind, it wasn't even worthy to be called a brawl, more of a sparring session really. He was just taking it easy, the reason why the fight was dragging out to such a long time. Soon enough, the two bodies fell. Their blood was spilling out of the wounds, surrounding their bodies as color began to drain from them. Neji was just standing there, wiping off the blood that had caked slightly on his knuckles. Turning around, Neji made a motion for the pair to walk out. It was safe for them to come out now, or at least, safe enough.
"It's eleven-thirty. We should have finished this job earlier." Sasuke was annoyed, this was too easy a task and his brother had given it to him. Itachi knew how he felt about being given easy tasks. He was no small child. His major flaw, however, was underestimating everything by clearly basing his judgment on their looks or first impressions. Of course, not all is as it seems and it applies now. Various pairs of eyes were gleaming in the dark, with a shine of anticipation in them. These were the three that had overridden the security system said to be the best in all of Japan. These were the three who had been silent within the duration of their trespassing, then again everyone was really supposed to. These three, looked to be very young. They looked to be in their early twenties, really early. They were teenagers, late though, at the youngest. Still, they did do one of the things that people much older had a hard time doing and that thing was breaking into the Fujimori compound.
"Stop right there," said a man with a clear voice, donning a crisp black suit, his eyes covered by a pair of dark glasses. Sasuke raised an eyebrow as he stood in his position, Neji and Shikamaru doing so as well. The man, probably the leader of the bunch of third-rate guards that were surrounding them, looked calmly at them, his face etched with no emotion. "State your business and depending on it, the degree of your punishment can vary." Sasuke made no motion to speak, a blank look written on his face. "Speak." The man raised a gun, his finger ready to pull the trigger. Bang. "Speak or the next one is for you!" Smoke escaped from the gun, a familiar pattern of the grayed air rising from the weapon. "Well?" The man readied the gun for the next shot.
"Why should I? You'll be dead anyway so it'll be of no use." His voice was sharp and cold, the blood running through the veins of the bodyguards freezing the minute he spoke. Grunting the man pulled the trigger, the gun facing Sasuke. As soon as the smoke barring his vision cleared, his eyes widened. Sasuke was not in front of him. Trying to turn around, he couldn't. He felt something cold near his neck. It was a knife. Looking upwards, he saw the indifferent face of the younger of the Uchiha siblings. "I told you so." His voice was deathly cold, as if he were Death himself. His hands were clammy, even the air around him was. Closing his eyes, he pushed the metal towards the neck of the man and pulled it towards him slowly, in an excruciatingly slow manner. The bodyguard screamed, his body wracking with an enormous pain as he watched his blood drip from his neck. Soon enough, he was dead, dead even before the knife had been pulled out fully. It was a fatal blow to his artery, after all.
The other bodyguards stood their ground, their eyes focused on the three men, especially on the one who had just killed. They were trained professionals, supposed to risk their lives for the one who had employed them. Neji looked towards Shikamaru who just shrugged in return as he pulled out his dagger, his beloved laptop strapped securely to his body. Without any signal, the three moved forward, starting to kill all these men before they became actual witnesses. Their cool façade remained as they used their fists to knock their opponent unconscious then their knives to deal the fatal blow. They couldn't afford to waste their precious ammo on these thugs. They were too easy. They had a feeling that the stronger ones were still going to bar their way towards the man they were going to kill, Fujimori Kentaro.
Minutes later, a myriad of carcasses decorated the ground. Written on the faces of the bodyguards were looks that of shock and painful deaths. Sasuke and Neji were busy wiping the blood that had gotten on their clothes, arms, and faces. They had killed more men than Shikamaru had. The genius, on the other hand, was busy scanning the room with his laptop to see just how much evidence they had left. They hadn't left very much so it was an easy task for him. All he had to do was set a silvery cube, a machine, he had invented which would delete all traces of the signatures of the people programmed into it, whether it actual evidence or DNA, then self-destruct. It was clean, efficient, albeit loud.
"I'm done. Just let the Null Cube do its job, give it about a minute or so, and it'll be as if we were never here," said Shikamaru with his lazy drawl. Sasuke and Neji looked at him, their eyebrows raised. Shikamaru sighed. How he used to eradicate all traces of them before was a tedious task. He'd apply this gel and had a machine apply it to the entire room. It did a good job but the thing is, he had to stay behind and make sure that the machine was doing its job since it wasn't fully automated. Afterwards, he had to set up another machine to clean the mess. "Remember the process of old? When there was that sticky, clear gel and two machines? One was used to apply and the other to clean?" The two other males nodded. "Well, the Null Cube does the exact job and more. It sends out nanobots that I've programmed to eat every trace of DNA in its databank and anything that has our genetic coding. Then, it goes back to the Null Cube and it self-destructs. It's a pity for the machine but I've perfected it and figured out a way to mass produce it using the parts found in your company. It's a bit more expensive than my laptop but it does save us a hell of a lot of time." Shikamaru had a slight smug grin on his lazy face as he said all that.
"Right. You and your… err… Null Cubes ought to do the trick," said Neji awkwardly, seeing as a whole mountain of information was just pounded into his brain. Well, okay, he was exaggerating but Shikamaru didn't have to make an in depth description of what the thing does. If he said that a Null Cube eradicates any trace of them in any scene where they had to kill, he would have been fine with that explanation but no; the genius just had to show off his latest invention. Shikamaru shrugged as he stood up from his position on the floor, his right hand fumbling in a small bag for one of the many Null Cubes he had brought with him for tonight's mission. Looking for a spot, he began thinking of a strategic place for it, in case someone comes in while it was still doing its job. A smile appeared on his face as he found it. Walking over, he picked out the Null Cube, the silvery box glittering in his hand. Stooping down, he set it up and added the final codes to its program before it started. "Can we go now?" asked Neji impatiently as he looked at Shikamaru who merely nodded.
"Let's go then," said Sasuke as he began walking towards the direction specified in the map his brother had given to him. While Neji and Shikamaru were talking about Null Cubes, he had figured out where they were and a route where they could go, where contact with any other people was probably very low. The two other male looked at their boss's younger brother before following him silently. Moments passed by ever so slowly as they moved forward, in the dark. The path the young Uchiha had chosen was a good one, hardly meeting anyone on the way to their destination. Silently, they moved faster, to not waste any time, more than they already have.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Fujimori Kentaro's Room
A man, roughly in his forties, early most likely, was sitting on the edge of his bed, a goose feather filled pillow near him. Atop the pillow was a bottle of alcohol, rum, and in his hand was a nearly empty one. Running a hand through his thin, graying oily black hair, he kept his gaze straight at the mirror. Something was wrong tonight. It was the twenty-seventh of the month and Itachi hadn't called him at all for any new weapons. It was a monthly meeting, when they talked about various weapons. If not, they were upgrades that he thought the yakuza might like. If they met any earlier or any later than the twenty-seventh of the month, it was because of some weapon shipments that he thought were good deals for the yakuza. And more cash for him besides that. He took another swig of rum, downing the alcohol slowly.
"Fuck," he growled as he threw the bottle, at the wall, the glass breaking into a multitude of shards, ready to scratch at anyone the minute they were touched. "What in hell does that boy think he's doing, delaying our monthly meeting and all?!" he rumbled, drunken undertones layering his voice. His dark eyes stared at the slightly soiled wall, because there were trickles of rum left in the dark green bottle. His nose scrunched up slightly, as the scent of the old rum, the one that had soiled his wall earlier, mixed with the scent of the rum that had just splashed on his wall. Grunting, he picked up the last bottle of rum, removed the cork, and took another swig.
He was nervous, very nervous, at the moment. Itachi had been notorious for giving certain men in the yakuza the duty to kill whoever had been threatening their existence. Any meetings that that person had with anyone within the yakuza, most especially if it had anything to do with Itachi and/or his younger brother were cancelled. Itachi assigned a team of three, sometimes four or five if the men weren't too experienced or if there were too many obstacles in the way of the mission, to do the job. One was a hacker, to override the security system's mainframe, armed with gadgetry made by the hands of their resident genius hacker, Nara Shikamaru. The other two were the men who would do most of the blood spilling during the mission. The extras always had the job of helping those two men. The mission was always executed in the dead of night, being completed early morning, very early morning.
Standing up, the former weapons supplier of Sharingan made his way to the bathroom, bringing the bottle of rum with him. It was a miracle he managed to get there without causing any ruckus of any sort. As soon as he reached the bathroom, he set down the rum on a small countertop and stared at the image reflected by the mirror, his own. Where was the honest businessman, supposed to have a good job at Uchiha Industries, huh? The excuse he always had ready for his family, whenever he came back home really late was that there was a long meeting and he and the other higher-ups spent such a long time deliberating it and it only ended now. He'd have dinner sent up to his room, eat it, then go back to sleep. What he really did was spend time in a bar, his arm wrapped around a different woman each time. The one thing they had in common, the women anyway, were that they all pleased him to no end.
The mirror misted slightly as he breathed. The air that had escaped his mouth stank of rum. His face scrunched up slightly as the infuriating scent of old rum mixed with new reached his nose. Oh how he hated that scent yet he loved the taste, like powdered sugar mixed with plain white. He loved the taste and scent of the sugar but how he detested the rotting scent it made when combined with alcohol. Stretching out his hand, he turned on the faucet, drenching his face with it, trying to get out of his drunken state, only to drink some more rum afterwards. The sound of running water was making drowned out the sound of the door creaking and three men entering his room, the assassins sent by Uchiha Itachi to successfully eradicate the existence of the threat named Fujimori Kentaro.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sharingan Headquarters
Sasuke cursed as he made his way towards his captive's room, his right hand clutching his bleeding left arm. The Fujimori put up a fight, much to his expectations. What he didn't expect, however, was that he had a bottle of rum with him and for him to use it to smash his left arm and soil his black overcoat and make it sticky, very sticky. Grumbling, he stretched out his right arm, blood soiling the doorknob, and twisting it open. He didn't trust his brother at all and he didn't know why he cared at all for the captive. Probably it was because he didn't anyone, no matter who it was, to be victim of his brother's cruelness. His eyes widened slightly as he took in the sight before him. Sakura was sitting on her bed, her knees pulled up close and Ino watching her with hawk eyes, only to look at his direction. 'Fuck. I can't wait for her to be here. Much better than seeing the bitch Ino every time I take a look at the hostage.'
"Sasuke-kun, you're hurt!" cried Ino as she ran towards him. She closed the door then pulled Sasuke over, trying to take a look at his wound. As she fussed on him, Sasuke took a look at Sakura who shot him a sour look, probably because he had kidnapped her. But, he wasn't quite sure if the look was directed at him or not. After all, she was looking towards Ino more than she was towards him. "Sasuke-kun, want me to make the pain go away?" asked Ino, trying to suggest something more than just cleaning up the bloody mess that was on his arm. Sasuke looked at her, his face emotionless and cold. His voice was even more cold and stinging than the look he had just given her.
"No. Go out and leave me alone with the hostage. I have some matters to talk about with her," said Sasuke. Ino was about to protest but Sasuke cut her again. "This is an order, Yamanaka. Go tend to Nara or Hyuuga or something, just leave me alone." Ino shot him a fake hurt look before obeying. Even if they were a couple, which was probably the last thing on Sasuke's mind, she would always have to obey him if he gave her an order. He was the second highest official in Sharingan, after all, only answering to his older brother. "So, what have you been up to while I was gone? Being screwed by my brother I suppose." He had never quite gotten over the fact that Itachi found his hostage hot.
Sakura stood up wordlessly as she walked over towards him. Without any second thought, she peeled off his over coat and lifted the sleeve that had covered the wound. Her face frowned as she continued gazing at his wound. Sasuke was too stunned to say anything else. She had just defied him and was now busy checking his wound for any infections of the sort. "This needs to be bandaged. Sit on my bed and I'll go bandage it," ordered Sakura quietly as she stood up straight, facing him. Sasuke stared at her before quietly complying. Moments later, he found himself shirtless; stretching out his arm towards her and a slightly flushed Sakura was in front of him, cleaning his wound and would eventually bandage his wounds.
"Why are you doing this? I kidnapped you, you know." It was an innocent enough question from him.
"Because you're human and all human beings deserve equal treatment, even if they degrade themselves to a level where you're at." It was an innocent enough answer from her.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tsuzuku…
Well, well, well. Seems that this story has become really dramatic, thus the change in genre. Also, there's a change in rating, mainly because of the violence in this chapter and the excessive swearing that have occurred and will most likely occur in future chapters. Even so, I really like this story a lot, even if this chapter really didn't have Sakura in it until the very end.
Can I just say that I made Shikamaru a GENIUS when I made him hack into the Fujimori compound's security system's mainframe and about the custom job he did that is his laptop and about the Null Cubes?! He has other inventions, of course, but in this chapter, all you get to meet are his laptop, the Null Cubes, and the phased out machines that used to do the work of the Null Cubes.
Neji is cool! He's cold and can easily perform the job assigned to him by Itachi, perfect for the mission sent out. The way he dealt with the first two bodyguards was swift and efficient! Sasuke, though he doesn't like to work often with Neji just because they always argue about whose better, respects him for his talent.
And yes, this is the way I made Sharingan deal with their threats. Quick, clean, and virtually a perfect set up because no one will ever find out it's them. After all, they do have a genius who makes sure their tracks are wiped out, right?
And again, I implore you to read Balance if you want a work of mine that's Semi-AU, drama, and about Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto. I really like it, even though it gets less attention than this fanfic. I think it's mainly because it's more Drama than anything else and people read Romance fanfics more than any other genre. The other genres are good too; if the author can pull the job off, if you know what I mean.
As usual, here's the chapter preview!
Next Chapter: Chapter Four – A Shot at Normality
Chapter Preview: "Can you at least tell me why you're doing this?!" she shouted as she pointed accusingly at Sasuke. The Uchiha had a smirk on his face as he waved off her query. Since that night he had pulled off his mission of killing Fujimori Kentaro, he had spent thirty minutes in her room, keeping an eye on her while he sent her guard out to do something. He felt nothing more towards her, it was the same since they had first met, but there was just something about her that made him feel human in the yakuza. Yes, he was destined to live a life full of crime and death but that didn't mean he could cling to every chance he got to live a life, a normal life. "Tell me!" she shrieked as she stomped over towards him, glowering at him. He merely smirked as he waved it off again.
