"Naruto," Sasuke declared flatly. "You're being a moron again."

"Am not!"

"Right. And your shouting so loud you're going to get caught because you're being smart." The sarcasm was evident, even for Naruto. On the bright side, the boy instantly hushed.

"Shut up, Sasuke, I'm trying to concentrate."

"Call the press."

"Bastard, gimmie the hairclip." Sasuke held up one of Sakura's spares, and Naruto grabbed it with more force than necessary. The blonde then turned around and jammed it into the lock, wiggling it up and down forcefully. He was making so much noise Sasuke winced.

"Oi, dobe, you can't-" The lock clicked. Sasuke stared at it in disbelief. Naruto grinned up at him triumphantly. "No way-"

"Way." Naruto responded seriously, which was ruined by the huge smirk on his face. "Don't you know how to pick a lock Sasuke?"

"Not like that. That is the crudest thing I have ever seen. How did you do that?" Sasuke could face down mass murderers without so much as twitching, but somehow he couldn't find his composure after being shocked by a kid his age. Pitiful.

"Come on, we have to rescue Sakura."

"For the last time, she doesn't need to be rescued. It's a good thing she's here."

"No way, I've been to these places before. She's better off on the streets with us, believe it."

"You're a moron."

"Shut up, bastard."

"Or what? You'll yell at me loud enough to wake the whole place?" Naruto growled, but didn't respond, instead creeping through the dark room. They made their way fairly stealthily, and Sasuke was slightly disturbed by the realization that with proper training Naruto would make a decent thief. He'd never bothered to entertain the thought before, but now that he had Sasuke firmly told himself to never introduce the blonde to anyone in the business. He was obviously enjoying himself a little too much.

"Hey, Sasuke. Which way is the girls hallway?" Looking right, and then left, Sasuke decided on one.

"Left."

"Perfect." Naruto responded, and then turned down the right hall. Allowing himself a small smirk, Sasuke followed after the boy. How easy it was to pull the strings…

Naruto was calling softly to Sakura, trying to figure out which of the rooms she was in. He quietly peeked into each one, looking for the telltale pink hair. It wasn't really pink, of course, but actually a strawberry blonde that was so bright that under most lights it looked that way. She was treated pretty badly because of it on the streets, most thinking that it was dyed. And if she could afford to dye it, she could afford to not be on the streets and was not a legitimate street kid. Kind of like him, actually, though no one knew that.

"Eeeeek! Pervert!" The scream startled Sasuke back to attention, where Naruto was currently running from a girl in just a shirt. There was a thundering behind him as the boys woke up and came to the screaming girl's rescue, not that they needed to. Said girl was currently beating the shit out of Naruto.

Quietly, Sasuke slipped back out the door.

It wasn't Kakashi guarding the dining room door today. Today it was Zabuza. As he made his way down the stairs, Sasuke was quick to observe that Haku was not found in the vicinity. As much fun as it was to play Haku at chess –one of the greatest challenges he'd ever had at the game– the boy creeped him out a little. He'd never seen anyone looked that beautiful and not be a girl.

"Hey brat, I see you're actually here today. Itachi bribe you with a gift?" Zabuza was also much cruder than Kakashi, and a lot less interesting.

"Be quiet." Sasuke ordered the man, reaching out and grabbing the television remote. It was then that the front door opened. Turning, Sasuke saw Kisame walk in with Orochimaru trailing not far behind. He stood up again.

"Leaving so soon, Sasuke?" The man inquired.

"I finished my television program." Zabuza gave him a funny look, but didn't say anything. He may be insolent, but the man knew what the hell he was doing. He'd have to mention that to Itachi later.

"Ah, well I guess I can't convince you to stay and talk until your brother is finished, can I?" Kisame watched the two carefully. While Itachi was totally oblivious to the tension between him and Orochimaru, Kisame wasn't. Itachi couldn't tout his little brother around with him everywhere, so he needed someone else to count on for human interpretation. That someone was Kisame.

"No." As he turned to retreat to his bedroom the door to the dining room opened, and several people walked out. Sasuke watched them leave carefully. He was surprised to notice Kakashi in the group. He must have missed something in the two weeks he'd been out.

Sasuke was also very impressed to notice that Kakashi didn't even glance at Orochimaru twice on his way out. Aside from the up-down of a hit man assessing a possible threat, there was no further contact between the two men.

"Well?" Itachi demanded. He was agitated, Sasuke could tell, but he was still surprised.

"Here?" With Orochimaru in the room?

"Yes." Right, definitely in a bad mood. Here goes.

"Whatever Gato came up with to cover was bullshit." Sasuke paused. "You knew that already. It was a good idea to pull Zabuza before confronting him, and you don't have to worry about loyalties. He's like that to everyone." Zabuza muttered a 'hell yeah' but didn't say anything else. "He's also a self serving bastard who views himself above others, but the skill evens out."

"Tell me about someone other than Zabuza." Damn, he'd hoped to get around it.

"Whatever Kabuto said was true, but he'll have twisted it enough to give you trouble. He wants to bide time for Orochimaru to deal with Anko." Said man didn't flinch, not that Sasuke had expected him too.

"His company organizer?" A polite term for the job she did.

"Gato bribed her, she's selling secrets." She might also be a three-way agent, he wasn't sure yet.

"Ah, yes. That makes much more sense than what Kisame came up with. You may leave now. Four days." Sasuke nodded and went upstairs to change back into his street clothes.

He felt Orochimaru's eyes on him the entire time.

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. This is AU.

I hope this lives up to the first chapter. I'm not quite sure if I ruined it or not, what with all the subtle interplay missing. I hope not. And hey! I actually have what might be called a plot forming in my head. Kudos to my reviewers, who inspired me to get off my freakin' lazy butt and prod my muse into action. Thank you all. I also want to thank my Team Reikai Jutsu muse for helping me drag my Puppets muse out of the closet it'd hidden in. ;)

TS