Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
Summary: Between love and duty, an undercover agent finds herself caught in a dangerous game between three notorious gang leaders of Konoha. Alternate universe.
Kakashi. Asuma. Genma. X Kurenai.
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Shoot Me Down
By: kamenbutoukai
Chapter 5 – Chougenjitsushugi / Surrealism
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The atmosphere was surely more daunting than she had ever imagined. There was something wrong. Her eyes remained tightly closed throughout the course of action, almost fearful of what or who was in front of her. Even so, she was anxious to find out.
Kurenai gradually released her orbs to find herself mesmerized by a pair of mismatched colors. The obsidian and scarlet irises imprisoned her mind and thoughts. Everything.
Without even realizing her actions, she raised her face less than a breath from his. As she gazed deeper into his eyes, their eyelashes fluttered against each other lightly.
His body curved forwards, nearly looming over her. He, in response, stared squarely into her burgundy eyes. He removed one of his arms around her waist, and vigilantly raised it to rest his hand against her silky cheek.
Within a solitary movement, he devoured her rosy lips with his own. He sought entrance, and she instinctively permitted him in.
There was undeniably an incredible, distinctive taste, and at the flavor of it, they both craved for more. His arms enclosed around her waist possessively, while she ran her hands through his silken, silver tresses on impulse.
He pushed her against the door, closing it, isolating themselves from everything else. He placed teasing kisses along her jaw line and continued its way up to her lips, consuming her sweet, addicting savor. It was violent, yet tender at the same time. As expected, however unexpected from a gang leader.
He lightly sucked onto her lower lip, and at long last, released her from his lock.
Kurenai was breathless by the time he freed her worn-out mouth from the satisfying kiss. The silvery-haired man tilted his head slightly at her, and licked the remains of her essence off his lips.
Kurenai's eyes widened a little, and she lowered her gaze as realization spontaneously hit her.
What am I doing? I just kissed one of my objectives... she thought as thunder abruptly bolted through her.
She raised her head towards Kakashi, who still had his head slanted back. He removed both of his arms from his grasp, and he traced her lips thoughtfully with his fingers. He averted his eyes, and uttered a simple phrase before leaving the restroom.
"My gratitude for saving my life." As Kakashi turned his head from Kurenai, his lips brushed across her cheek. With that, Kakashi returned to the raging party taking place outside the hallway.
Kurenai stood in the same position, stunned by what presently took place.
Damn it, damn it, damn it...This wasn't suppose to happen!
She shook her head and washed her face, in attempt to conceal the color beginning to increase. Before returning to the bartending counter, she convinced herself that the kiss didn't mean anything, but a mere obligation by a gang leader for saving his life.
When Kurenai arrived, the bar was vacant, and the gang had already left. Tenten and Temari were carrying stacks of plates, while Hinata placed a large number of clean glasses back into the cupboards. Jiraiya stood by the counter, eyeing Kurenai with bizarre interest sparked in his eyes.
"What's wrong Kurenai?" he asked. "You look flushed…"
The other girls turned to look at her with curiosity and giggled to themselves as Jiraiya's statement was confirmed. Kurenai merely shrugged her shoulders.
"It was getting hot, and making drinks isn't as easy as you think," she replied calmly. But the racing of heartbeat could have told a different story.
"So what do you think of the gang leaders?" he questioned roguishly. "They're quite unique, don't you agree?"
"…" Kurenai scowled at him and helped placing the plates into a sink. "I admit that they're rather interesting."
Jiraiya raised an eyebrow with awareness.
"Oh? I believe that they're reasonably attracted to you."
He laughed to himself playfully. Kurenai simply ignored his words as she continued to clear the tables.
"Are Sakura and Ino still in the change room?" Tenten asked as she approached Hinata. Temari placed her hands on her hips and sighed.
"They probably are," Temari said.
The small group continued to clear the bar in silence. Sakura and Ino came out of the change room after the others finished their tasks with the tables and dishes. Jiraiya allowed them to leave at that moment, and Kurenai and the three other girls proceeded to the change room.
Kurenai was quite relieved to rip her uniform off of her, and she would rather stick to her cargo pants and long-sleeved shirt. She said her goodbyes to the group and left the change room. Before she departed from the entrance, Jiraiya told her that he would call her if there was any work the next day.
"But I doubt there will be any work. After all, they rarely come here."
She nodded indifferently and left the bar after a day of tiring work. The night was rather getting cold, and yet again, Kurenai did not have a jacket to wear. She swore under her breath as she pulled out her cell phone. Kurenai pushed in a few numbers and waited for someone to pick up.
"Shikamaru speaking."
"Yo, there is something wrong with this gang," Kurenai moaned as she began her way home.
"How can you say that so suddenly? It's only the first day after all," Shikamaru replied. She turned onto her right.
"They don't even act like a gang. This is a complete waste of time," she said. "They seem like a bunch of wannabe gang people. They don't look like a full gang either."
It was silent on the other end. For minute, Kurenai thought Shikamaru hung up, but she could hear soft breathing still.
"Even so, they're more dominant than they seem. Despite the fact that there aren't a lot of members, they are all talented people who can inflict greater damage than you can imagine. Trust me, I know."
Kurenai laughed softly as she continued towards a dark alley.
"So…did anything else happen at the bar?" he asked. Kurenai hesitated. Should she tell him about the startling kiss that occurred within the restroom? She shook her head.
"No, nothing. It was like a reunion kinda thing. They were all just partying like a bunch of ordinary people," she responded. The hairs at the back of her head suddenly rose, and shivers ran down her back. She halted in her trek.
"I gotta go now Shikamaru. I'll talk to you later." She hung up the phone and turned around. There was nobody. Kurenai instinctively placed her hands out in front of her and listened to her senses. There was nothing in sight. But there was definitely someone watching her.
"Show yourself, you stalker…"she murmured to herself. There was a rustle. Kurenai whipped around and threw a fist. It was caught in a strong grip.
"As you wish."
Kurenai's eyes widened as she saw a tall form emerged over her. She was in the alley, and there was hardly any light. She couldn't even distinguish the stranger's facial features.
"Who are you?" she asked harshly. He laughed as he clutched her fist tighter.
"If you want to know, beat me in fight." There was a sense of playfulness and mock in his coarse tone. Kurenai wasn't going to back down from a challenge. She smirked.
She gave a strong round-house kick and hit his side. The man let go of her fist and stumbled. Before he could even return an attack, Kurenai punched him in the cheek and hurled an uppercut to his chin. His body fell to the ground. Kurenai drove her right leg upwards and rapidly thrust it towards his stomach. But in an instant movement, the stranger managed to escape the deadly attack by rolling off to one side. Her foot hit the ground instead, but it left a deep blow in the solid cement.
He grabbed her ankle and pulled it towards him. But she presented to him a kick in the head while midair as she was falling towards the ground. Kurenai broke her fall and landed on her feet.
"Had enough?" she asked in breathless anticipation. Her ankle felt like it was starting to swell up. It felt like the damned man twisted it.
Startlingly, he stood up from his position on the ground and wiped his lip. There were a few cracks as he did a few adjustments with his head and shoulders. His breathing became visible in little, white clouds.
"Eager for more," he responded. With that, he bolted towards her with quick, running steps. Kurenai's eyes widened just before she dodged a severe punch. He punched the wall behind her, and little pieces of bricks fell onto her head. Kurenai punched him firmly on his stomach, and she sidestepped from his body. He chuckled and pulled out objects from his jacket.
Initially, Kurenai thought it was a gun, but when he set them onto his fists, she could see that it had razor-sharp points that could seriously cut through flesh. They fit perfectly on his knuckles, and he held them out before him hazardously.
"So we're using weapons now, huh?" Kurenai laughed as she pulled out her own weapon. A kunai. They were quite old fashion. Only ninjas in the past have actually used them. But the art of the shinobi have always been passed down through the generations of the Yuuhi's. Kurenai twirled it expertly between her fingers and held a defensive stance carefully.
"Come."
He came running towards her, thrusting his armed fists in any direction towards her. In return, she skillfully dodged each attack while moving herself backwards. There was several times where she narrowly avoided his attacks, resulting to a slower reaction.
As soon as her back hit the wall behind, Kurenai began taking the offence side. She slashed her kunai towards him, forcing the stranger to defend himself. Her steps went more rapidly as her attacks became fiercer. Finally, she managed to hit slice him squarely on the shoulder.
At the same time he stumbled on his feet, Kurenai's injured ankle cracked under pressure. She gasped at the sudden pain and fell to the ground. Her head hit the cement roughly and knocked the breath out of her system. Kurenai coughed a few times before turning her neck to look at her fallen opponent, who was lying a mere meter away from her own body.
His hand clutched the fresh wound she gave, which poured blood around him. He made no sound, however. There was no struggle, just silence.
Kurenai struggled to sit up, and just realized that there were several scratches on her arms. She grasped her ankle and tried to regulate her breathing.
"You're a tough lady after all," he randomly said. "I'd never expect some violence out of a woman like you."
Kurenai knitted her eyebrows together. Was she supposed to know him already?
"You were a difficult opponent as well," she said in a quiet tone. It was silent once again.
"Can you tell me who you are now?" Her voice cut through the stillness. She glanced at him from the side of her eye, expecting an answer.
He sat up without trouble, despite his injury.
"I'm surprised you don't remember, Kurenai." He turned his head towards her. "After all, it was only a few hours prior to this event when I met you."
Kurenai's eyes widened as she continued to stare at her opponent with a stunned expression.
He's one of the Unknown?
"But I'll just leave myself unidentified for you to find out soon." He stood up and left as swiftly as the wind. Once again, her encounter with yet another member of the Unknown seemed virtually peculiar and nonexistent. But then again, she should have expected that from them in the first place.
Kurenai laughed to herself as she pulled out her cell phone. She dialed the same number as before and waited for a reply.
"Hello. We've been waiting for you to call back," Hayate answered.
"Yeah, I just had an amusing incident occur right now. I'm currently in a dark alley near the bar. My ankle is injured and I'm unable to walk. So…you guys have to come get me," Kurenai said, almost embarrassed.
"What happened?"
"I'll explain after. Just come get me before I pass out here," she said tiredly.
"On our way." They hung up.
Kurenai laid her back onto the ground and closed her eyes.
I should have never accepted this assignment.
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Shikamaru grunted as he helped carry Kurenai to her couch. Hayate locked the door behind them and went to the bathroom to get her first-aid kit. By the time Kurenai was placed securely on the couch, Shikamaru was out of breath.
"Man, I need to get more exercise," he mumbled as he took a seat across from her. Hayate came out and handed her the kit. Kurenai didn't like being treated by others; Hayate already knew that.
Kurenai took out a little bottle and spread the contents onto her ankle that reduced the pain, and then wrapped it tightly with a bandage. She grimaced as she wiped the scratches on her arms with alcohol.
"Do you mind telling us what happened?" Hayate asked with curiosity. Kurenai stopped her actions to look at them seriously.
"I was attacked by one of the Unknown," she solemnly replied. Shikamaru rubbed the back of his neck.
"It's not possible that they have already discovered your true identity," he thought outwardly. "Did you give them any information that might have so?"
Kurenai shook her head.
"No. I haven't actually had a conversation with them yet. Just a few small talks, but nothing was released that could jeopardize the mission," she replied. "But my assailant was most definitely one of the Unknown."
"Do you have any details about him?" Hayate asked. "Appearances, behaviors, fighting techniques?"
Kurenai paused for a moment.
"He was tall, and was rather confident in his skills. But hand-to-hand combat was not one of his strengths. He used a weapon that could be worn around his knuckles, which would be used to injure his victims severely with punches and such," said Kurenai as she tried to recall all the possible details.
"A weapon worn on his knuckles? You should know who it is, Kurenai," Shikamaru said, leaning in towards her. "Sarutobi Asuma."
Her mind suddenly clicked in as she remembered within the documents she received from Tsunade, Sarutobi Asuma's recognized weapons were Knuckle Knives. Kurenai mentally cursed herself for her lack of attention and observation.
"But why would he attack me? I don't think there is a reason for any violence after just one encounter," Kurenai said.
They remained in silence, thinking of an answer for such a complicated question.
"He wanted to test you," Shikamaru said, drilling his eyes in hers for the first time ever with such force. "Sarutobi wanted to find something out, something about you. He knows that you're not just an ordinary person."
Kurenai's legs twitched.
"He most likely expected something from you. A challenge. Perhaps he wanted to see whether or not you were worthy of fighting over." Shikamaru continued to voice his thoughts in a stiff tone, but it seemed like he was no longer talking to Kurenai or Hayate.
Hayate knitted his eyebrows.
"What are you talking about Shikamaru?" Hayate asked, breaking the genius out of his trance. He looked initially surprised, but then he shrugged indifferently at them.
"I'm just thinking of possibilities here. But I guess we won't know anything unless we ask him directly, which we shouldn't do," he responded. "The best thing to do is pretend you don't know who your assailant was, and act like nothing happened. We can't risk anything."
Kurenai and Hayate agreed.
They helped Kurenai to her bedroom and returned to headquarters. Kurenai had some difficulties with changing and brushing her teeth, but she managed to do it all in the end. She placed herself onto her bed and stared outside the window.
What will tomorrow bring?
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A door creaked as it opened, and then closed. Heavy boots could be heard walking towards them. But the footsteps seemed sluggish and exhausted. He grunted a few times before coughing out some blood.
The other two immediately stood up and caught the man before he collapsed. They dragged him to the couch and laid him down. They instantly noticed the severe damage around his shoulder, which dispensed blood everywhere.
"Sarutobi…what happened to ya?" Genma asked with his eyebrows knitted together. "Were you attacked by Akatsuki?"
Asuma shook his head as he tried to control the bleeding of his injury. Kakashi ripped the shirt he wore and cleansed the wound with alcohol.
"I got my ass kicked by woman," Asuma replied through his clenched teeth. "She was one tough chick, I must say." He chuckled to himself.
Kakashi raised an eyebrow at him.
"By a woman?" he questioned. Genma looked at Asuma with interest, who confirmed the question with a nod. Genma roared with laughter as he placed a senbon in his mouth and Kakashi merely gave a blank stare.
"She would beat up you up too," Asuma growled. He bandaged the wound tightly and placed his elbows on his knees, leaning forward. "She's swift and specialized. Perhaps she has a background in martial arts."
Genma continued laughing until he ran out of breath. He slapped Asuma on the shoulder and scratched his nose.
"But you still got beat up by a woman," he said skeptically. "You're a gang leader for goodness sake! You still haven't mentioned who your female opponent was."
Asuma lit a cigarette and breathed in its essence, which calmed his senses. He grinned.
"The new waitress at The Cell," he responded. "Yue Kurenai."
After hearing this news, inquisitiveness flickered in Kakashi's eyes and the senbon from Genma's mouth dropped onto the floor with a clatter.
"Are you serious? She fought you after knowing you're part of a gang?" Genma asked incredulously. "She must be one crazy lady enough to challenge you and actually beat you in a fight."
"She didn't actually face up to me. I cornered her," Asuma said, releasing wisps of smoke into the air. "The woman didn't even know it was me."
"…How was she?" Genma asked mischievously. "Was she good?"
Asuma closed his eyes as strands of smoke from the cigarette danced.
"Incredible."
Genma smirked at Asuma as he muttered "lucky bastard" to himself.
"I thought you said you were going for a walk," Kakashi suddenly said. "There was nothing about attacking the new waitress we just recently met at the bar."
There was a rough force in his voice searching for a solid explanation. Kakashi almost looked irritated, but if he was, he hid it expertly.
"I was simply seeing if she was worthy enough of a challenge," Asuma clarified. "In any case, we wouldn't want to fight against each other for no reason."
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Kurenai suddenly sat up straight from her bed. Cold sweat rushed down her forehead and her breathing was erratic. The hammering of her heart was deafening in her ears and she looked around her room cautiously. The morning sunlight poured into her room, but clouds seemed to threaten to take over.
Kurenai glimpsed at her digital clock, which flashed 9:48 am at her. Hands trembled as she climbed out of her bed and walked to her bathroom. Instantly, Kurenai noticed that her ankle did not feel as agonizing as the night before. When she gazed at her reflection within the mirror, images of her nightmare dashed past her memory. Kurenai immediately looked away.
It happened so long ago. Why did she have to see it all over again?
She splashed her face with cold water and dried it. Each detail of her past was still etched into her mind. It was finally forgotten, but Kurenai knew that it would eventually reappear to haunt her. She would have to try again.
Kurenai returned to her room and quickly changed from her pajamas to a pair of dark grey sweat pants and a plain, large shirt. She tied her tresses into a high ponytail and put on her running shoes. With headphones in and her music bursting in her ears, Kurenai locked the door and left the apartment for a run with the umbrella she received from the rain incident.
'I need to get it out of my head,' thought Kurenai as she jogged towards the park. Her ankle was still injured, but she didn't care about the reoccurring pain. She just wanted it to all go away. It hurt so much that she felt broken.
Kurenai looked up to the sky as her thoughts wavered. When was the last time she cried? She shook her head.
'Probably when that happened…'
There were little drops falling onto her head. Her prediction was correct. It was going to rain. Suddenly, Kurenai collided in with another body and nearly fell over to the ground.
"Ouch…" a feminine voice quietly moaned. Kurenai looked down to see the cherry-haired girl she had met yesterday. She gazed up as well and her face turned red at the sight of Kurenai.
"Ah! Kurenai-san! I'm so sorry I bumped into you like that! I wasn't watching where I was going because I was looking for someone…" she repeatedly apologized.
"It's okay, Sakura-chan…I wasn't looking where I was going either," Kurenai said playfully. She helped Sakura up and held onto the umbrella she brought with her. "Did you say you were looking for someone?"
Sakura blushed and looked down. It reminded Kurenai of the timid Hinata, who nearly looked down and tried to avoid eye-contact constantly.
"Yeah…I'm looking for…" Sakura paused. "Uzumaki Naruto."
Kurenai raised an eyebrow as soon as the name came into the conversation. Ah yes...the crazy, loud kid.
"Why would you be looking for him?" Kurenai asked. Once again, Sakura averted her gaze.
"You already know that I…like Uchiha Sasuke. I asked him out yesterday at the bar, but he rejected me by saying that I was annoying," she quietly replied. "That's why I suddenly left to the change room last night…Naruto is one of my best friends, even if he does irritate me a lot. He found out what happened, and wanted to talk to me…"
"I see…But how do you know him?"
"Childhood friends, with Sasuke too. The three of us were great friends…until they both left me to join gangs. So we kinda drifted apart, but Naruto always kept in touch with me somehow," she replied. "But it seemed like…Sasuke always hated me since childhood. Since the massacre occurred…"
'Ah yes…the Uchiha massacre,' Kurenai thought. She was about to proceed into making Sakura tell more, but she looked quite depressed. Kurenai refrained herself from asking anymore questions.
"You should get going and find Naruto. He's probably waiting," Kurenai gently said. Sakura nodded and departed with a wave. As she placed her headphones back into her ears, Kurenai detected a two people who appeared rather strange.
By the pond, there was a large man, who looked more like a shark than a person. He seemed to be laughing to himself as he saw a few fishes within the water swimming past him. But strangely, there was sitting a young man sitting on the bench, facing her. His eyes were closed and the gentle wind played with his dark, long tresses. There was an odd resemblance between him and the Sasuke boy of the Unknown.
As Kurenai neared him, he opened his eyes and watched her walk past him. Kurenai tried to ignore the aggressive gaze he gave. There was something preventing her from doing so, however. He had them. The Sharingan.
And everything went black.
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WTF! Such a bad ending for a chapter, I know already! Please bare my crappiness! Don't flame about it. I'd just like to thank all of those who actually bothered to read this fanfic of mine. I'm very surprised to see some people have this story under their favourites and alerts. Thank you all, you guys are the reason why I'm still continuing this fic! Hope you enjoyed this chapter… and don't do drugs!
kamen
Constructive criticism, reviews, and suggestions would be greatly appreciated!