Me: You know, what, I know I said I would only update if I got 10 reviews…. But really if just one person likes this story, then I'm happy, so oh well. I would like reviews telling me what I'm doing wrong or (and I'm crossing my fingers for this) right.
Naruto was practically jumping with the anticipation of hearing what his friend had found out.
"Come on, Kiba, what have ya got!" he demanded. Kiba shot him a warning look. He couldn't tell him on the street, especially not this street, in this neighborhood. He shook his head before turning away from the tanned boy and continuing down the street. He heard an impatient grunt from his friend, but he ignored it in favor of finding the apartment building the two were sharing a room in. They had just moved in about three or so months ago, complete strangers, and suddenly Kiba had a working partner (which in it's self would have taken some getting used to, but since said partner was Naruto, it had taken a lot of getting used to. Still did, actually.) Odd how one small decision in life could turn one's life upside down, sideways, right side up again, and shake it. Repeatedly. Naruto had gotten them almost-arrested so many times, most of the cops here in the fairly large city of Konoha already knew them by site and name. He was amazed that they still had a clean arrest record.
Or at least, he did. He wasn't totally sure about the bouncy blond now telling him that he had walked completely passed their apartment. He turned back to face his impatient friend. At least this job hadn't been as hard as some of the others he had been on. Naruto was only just now getting the gist of the "secret" and "silent" parts of gathering information secretly and silently. The guy had keen ears, though, which was why Kiba hadn't dropped him all together yet. That, and they were friends, and Naruto need a job to help pay rent. He sighed fondly as he headed up to his friend.
"Yea, yea." He said good naturedly to the boys teasing about walking passed their own home, internally vowing vengeance for some of the comments later. Something squishy in the boy's bed, perhaps? They headed up the stairs to their floor, unaware of the shadowy figure watching them with amusement form the alley across the street.
"So, what did you find out!" Naruto demanded impatiently for the millionth time from his seat on the rickety old couch in their cramped living room. He grabbed at the cup of Ramen as it was set in front of him on the equally rickety coffee table. Ignoring the fact that is was still very hot, he immediately grabbed his chopsticks and began wolfing down his favorite treat. Kiba sighed and massaged his temples.
"Before you and the black haired kid started fighting" Naruto growled as annoyance sprang up in his gut at the mention of the boy. The only reason he hadn't kept that fight going was because he respected Iruka-san enough not to. Kiba glared at the interruption before continuing, eating his own Ramen much more slowly that his friend, who was over half way done with his own.
"Like I was saying, before you tried to engage the guy in a fight, I had been listening in on these two guy sitting at a table close to me. They were dressed in suites, so I picked them out to listen to. They were some corporate business security guards or something." Naruto yawned around a mouth full of noodles.
"So what have a bunch of hired muscle men got to do with us? There are a lot of corporate businesses in this town. We're working for one!" Kiba sighed again, but his voice held a definite ring of excitement to it.
"Yes, but these guys don't work for just any corporation. Their head security at the corporation!" Naruto just stared at him blankly.
"The corporation?" He asked, obviously not getting what Kiba was getting at. Kiba growled and whacked Naruto up side the head, earning him a yelp, a choke, and Naruto's patented glare-of-Death.
"Yes, you idiot! You know, the largest one in the city, one of the largest in the world, the one run by a kid…..the one we're getting information on!" Naruto's eyes went wide as the meaning of Kiba's over-emphasized words sank in. His mouth opened into an understanding "oh" Kiba settled back on the couch, certain he had gotten his meaning across, crossing his arms on his chest.
"Yea." He muttered. "They left after your fight with the black haired kid." Another growl. "And in quite a hurry too." He continued around the interruption. "But I asked some of the other patrons. Their regulars there. Don't know why. Habit maybe? But I figure if we keep going back, we might be able to hear something useful." Naruto put his empty Ramen cup down and leaned against the couch arm with a nod. He didn't mind going back there. It would give him another chance to talk to Iruka-san. He liked the man, and besides, bar tenders knew everything, right? So maybe the friendly man could make some of their jobs easier for them, though Naruto got the feeling that the guy wouldn't be to happy about Naruto getting mixed up in some of the things he got into sometimes. Iruka-san had struck him as a mother-hen type of person, and a bit of a prude, and that seemed like the kind of things he would do for a complete stranger, not to mention some one he knew. But what he didn't know couldn't hurt him, right? Satisfied with his answer, he and Kiba went about planning their next move happily.
Kakashi looked up at the dingy brick building he had seen the two boys enter. It was run down and cheap, and looked like the next big wind would topple it. Shaking his head, he waited a few minuets after the kids had disappeared inside to rule out any unfortunate encounters before entering the building himself. He walked up to building and opened the door as carefully as a stuck door can be opened, afraid that if he pulled to hard, he would pull the door off it's rusty hinges. As it was it just squeaked loudly, causing Kakashi to raise an eyebrow as he entered. He looked around the almost empty lobby before spotting an older woman was eyeing him with unconcealed suspicion. He smiled at her and the suspicious look she gave him only grew. He eyed the grocery bags in her arms and said
"I'm looking for my nephew, uh…." He realized that he didn't know the bond's name or the name of his friend. He settled for raising his hand up to just below his breast bone. "About yay tall, spiky blond hair, blue eyes, loud mouth…" The woman's eyes lit with recognition and she grinned winningly at Kakashi, taking the man slightly by surprise.
"Oh, you mean that little Naruto boy!" Ah, so that was his name. "He helps my carry my bags sometimes. Nice boy. Loud though. And his room mate. Sweet kids, you're lucky! Tickles me some times. Always cheerful though, never a bad word to say, unless you just plain annoy him, then all he has to say is bad words. But he never means no harm." Kakashi just nodded and smiled along with her chattering. Once she had paused to take a breath, Kakashi moved forward and scooped two of the bags from her.
"Let me take those for you, since Naruto isn't here to help." He offered. The woman beamed at him. "I haven't seen my nephew in years. This trip is a surprise, but I got here sort of late, so I'll leave him until the morning, unless something comes up at work and I have to leave." he lied smoothly. The woman nodded her head amiably. As they headed up the stairs, he glanced around.
"Which apartment is his?" He asked. The woman looked around a bit before nodding down the hall to their left.
"Room 306." She smiled. "The one that permeates the hall with the smell of Ramen." Kakashi was tempted to look puzzled, but nodded like he knew what she was talking about.
"Oh, this is my room sweetie." She said as they stopped out side a door. She took her keys out of her pocket and unlocked the door before taking her bags back from Kakashi and, with one last smile and a thank you, slipped inside and closed the door.
"Sweet woman." he thought, turning and heading over to the door the woman had indicated as belonging to the blond. The lights were on and he could here the television.
"Naruto!" he heard a voice echoing from inside above the noise of some sitcom that was playing. "Turn that down! Do you want to get into trouble for the noise again? You're going to get us both evicted!" he heard the TV volume grow softer, and the loud voice of the blond playfully complaining about the lack of tolerance other people had for healthy noise. He shook his head. This kid? An informant? He knew to expect anything, and that first and even second perceptions could deceive, but this was stretching it a bit. But he headed down the stairs to check the owners registration log for last names, just in case. After that, he was going to pay that bar tender a visit. His lips twitched in an odd smile. He might get to have some fun tonight, after all.
Sauske looked out of the window of his office at the lit up city below, glowing like a Christmas tree. Some where out there were people looking to steel something from his company, he just didn't know who, or what. Yet. But he would. Soon. His company depended on it. And those who dared to try and steel from him would pay dearly, along with anyone who might have helped in the process. No one stole from his family's business. No, his business.
An image of the blond from the bar flashed across his mind. The boy didn't seem like the type who could be in this kind of work at all. As hot as his temper was and as loud as his mouth, he also seemed to…..Sauske couldn't put the feeling into words, but it made him believe that this kid was defiantly not cut out for the line of work Sauske was sure he was doing. The boy with him, though, Sauske wasn't sure about. He could be the one, and the blond was just along for the ride. Not that that was the only reason he wanted to find out about the stormy eyed blond. His temper intrigued him. The fire in his eyes, the defiance. It was amusing. He turned and headed for the door, grabbing his coat as he went. He opened the door and…
"SAUSKE!" …found himself with an armful of pink hair and a soft body, wafting the soft smell of strawberries.
"Sakura." he said curtly, standing still as the girl hugged him tightly before pulling away and beaming at him.
"How long have you been here?" She asked, grabbing his arm and dragging the annoyed teen out the door. He didn't answer so she just plowed on, telling him about her day and how wonderful all her friends had been a t work and how all the men were drooling over her, but she would never cheat on her Sauske like that, and blah blah blah blah blah blah. Finally, Sauske just pulled his arm away and stalked off in the opposite direction, weaving in and out of the crowd. It didn't take him long to lose the girl. What a pain. (AN. Sorry Sakura ans, it's not that I don't like her, I just don't care for her. That's all. )
Iruka had just finished shooing out the last of the remaining patrons several minuets prior, and was working on cleaning up for closing when he heard the door open. Odd. He though he had locked the door. He looked up, calling out "We're closed!" and paused when he recognized the silver haired figure slouching toward him. He raised an eyebrow, tensing in a slightly defensive position, recalling his earlier encounter with this stranger.
"Can I help you?" He asked, pleasantly but warily as the man stopped and lounged against the bar on the other side of him.
"You move amazingly fast." The silver haired man said pleasantly and offhandedly, his single visible eye curving in a hidden smile. Iruka raised an eyebrow questioningly, but didn't say anything. The man continued looking around the bar with a board air and an appraising eye.
"You still haven't told me what you want." Iruka finally said when the silence stretched between them. He had warily gone back to cleaning, not wanting to have to stay any later then he had to that night. His strange visitor's gaze returned to him.
"That blond boy." he said, and Iruka tensed. "Does he come here often?" The question sounded off hand as well, but Iruka's muscles tensed more, until they were on the verge of cramping.
"No." he answered shortly. "This was the first time he had ever been in here. Why?" he jumped slightly when a breathy chuckle sounded right next to his ear, warm air ghosting over the shell, tickling him. He hadn't even noticed the man move!
"I'm the one asking the questions here." came the teasing voice. Iruka felt his temper flare at the slightly mocking tone. Whirling, he moved to shove the man away, (he had apparently never heard of personal space) but found his arm caught, and his back pressed none to gently against the bar. He tried to use his other hand, only to find it caught as well.
"You're very fast." the man said approvingly. "But I'm faster." his tone was teasing again. Iruka felt his temper flare higher, but he clamped down tightly down on it. He wriggled to get away again, and he found his hands released, only to have the man playfully massaging his shoulders.
"You're awfully tense. You should relax…Iruka-san." Iruka felt a blush creeping up his neck and face and pressed his hands to the man's chest and tried pushing him away again. The man laughed and stepped back willingly, causing Iruka to stumble slightly.
"What do you want?" he demanded, his temper finally showing through in his voice. The man laughed again, his eye curved, showing that he was smiling. He cocked his head to one side.
"I didn't know you had a temper, Iruka-san. How interesting." He said, sounding much to cheerful about it. "Besides, I think I've gotten all I'm going to out of you for tonight. You defiantly told me something I needed to know. But I'll be back. I'm sure that Naruto boy will. Wait for me, Iruka-san!" And with that, he turned and walked out the door. Iruka blinked after him before walking swiftly to the door and locking it.
"Well that was…..weird?" He thought, reaching up to touch his shoulders. "Who the hell was that?" he wondered out loud.
At that moment, Kakashi was walking down the street, whistling happily.
Me: Well, that's chapter 2! Hope you liked it, and I hope you review! (Hey, that rhymed! COOL!)