AN : Hiya! Cinnabunnbunn here! What's up, how'z it going! Hope ya'll are doing fantastic.
So here is the sixth chapter, a little earlier than I planned actually. You see I actually planned to finish and publish it by maybe Friday or Saturday. But then my ADHD clicked in and I got this slew of ideas for this chapter on what should happen, so my brain started doing this thing where it says 'either finish this chap today or you're dead' sooooo here it is.
And I mean I already had like a 'to-catch-a-killer' threadsheet type of thing where I already planned out where the story was actually gonna go, so its not actually totally unplanned.
And if you haven't already guessed, this fic is more like an Avengers-ish AU than a normal spy AU. So there is more happening here than just spying on foreign dignitaries to uproot an organization.
Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this chap because it's going even deeper into the thick plot.
So, Enjoy!
Beep beep beep bee- CRASH
'Why is the world so dead set on ruining my fucking life…' Sakura lamented in her head as she lifted her hand from the almost crushed alarm clock. Opening her bleary eyes slightly, she squinted at the time written on the digital screen.
'Is it seriously time for university already?' she thought in disdain as she attempted to sit up from her lying position.
Keyword attempted. As she pressed her palms to the mattress to sit up, a sharp pain shot up her abdomen that made her eyes water and double over in pain. 'Ah now I remember why the night was such a bitch to deal with.'
One would think if a girl woke up with pain all over her body and feeling like shit, she must've untimely started her periods. Well good thing she doesn't have that problem. But no, that was not the case here.
Sakura remembered the night before and how her body is bearing the burnt of it now. She remembers the loud guns, metal rods, sharp blades. She remembers the sharp kicks to her stomach and spine and painful punches to her shoulder. Well, at least her face is intact. She won't have to cover up any bruises there.
'Atleast the mission was the success.'
Sucking a deep breath, she braced herself and pushed herself off the bed. Though she had to resist the urge to scream in pain, she still hobbled her way to the bathroom cabinet and opened the bottom most drawer. She took out a quite unassuming looking metal box and searched for what she was looking. In the bottom corner sat the little vial with some kind of serum and beside it was a syringe.
'Found it!'. Taking the desired contents out, she made herself to sit on the bathtub and took out a thick hand towel. She folded the towel and put them between her teeth, lest her neighbors hear her screaming in pain. Once the precautions were taken, she filled the syringe with the serum and took a deep breath and them jabbed it into her arm.
There was a moment of stillness, and then all she felt was white, hot pain. Her muffled scream of pain echoed throughout the bathroom as tears leaked out of her clenching eyes. Her nails dug into the bathtub as she slipped to lay onto the bathroom floor. The sensation lasted for around 30 seconds, but it felt like an eternity.
After laying on the ground for another 5 minutes, she finally gathered the courage to stand up and look in the mirror. Still feeling a little weak in her legs, she supported herself by grabbing onto the wash basin and looked at her body in the mirror. She slept in her bra and shorts for the night, so she could still see the after-effects. The blue and black nebula of bruises was already quite a lot faded than she saw like 5 minutes ago.
'Good thing its working.' She thought she herself as she took out her towel and stripped out of the remaining of her garments to hop into the shower. The warm water slid down her body, and she couldn't even begin to describe how good it felt. The serum was already rapidly reducing the ache in her muscles but the warm shower felt like heaven.
After what felt like eternity, the water started getting cold and that forced her to reluctantly get out of the shower. She wringed out sone water from her hair and then grabbed a long cotton cloth to wrap around her hair. Drying the rest of her body, she put on her undergarments and stopped in front of her closet to pick an outfit.
Still feeling hella exhausted and sleepy, she just picked up a cozy lavender color hoodie and dark parallel jeans. After the ringer her body went through, feeling comfort was her top priority.
Putting on her chosen clothes, she left her hair open to air dry and went to have a little breakfast, she still had 15 minutes before she needed to get out. Milk and cereal it is. She shoved spoonfuls of cereal in her mouth in between shoving whatever she needed for her classes into her backpack. Her toxicology and anatomy books, a notebook, her stationary, earplugs, a water bottle, hairtie and her phone.
'All set.' Sakura looked at the clock and realized that she should probably get running by now. Downing the rest of the milk and grabbing a pack of gum, she locked her door and ran down the flight of stairs to the bus stand.
She made it just in time to grab the bus and be on her way to her university. Still exhausted and still sleep-deprived.
Like any other medical student.
"TEME! Why did you throw away my ramen stash from your cabinet?!"
Sasuke was currently very close to bleeding from his ears and or punching his supposed best friend in the face. He was sitting in his car, in the back seat, with an annoying-ass blond, to the university, while the said blond chewed his head out with meaningless rambles. Even though they have been best friends since kindergarten, being the mayor's and a WSL's sons, he still found him absolutely frustrating regardless.
"Because they weren't supposed to be there, dobe." Sasuke coolly replied to the huffing blond. He looked down on his schedule in his phone and grimaced when he noticed it.
It was Sakura's day off.
Which just really put a dampen on his already worsening day.
And Naruto's jabbing was not helping him a bit.
"Teme! I put them there so I can snack on them at your house when Mum won't let me at my house." Naruto pouted at how his mother would not let him eat ramen thrice a day. 'It wasn't fair!'
Sasuke was about to bust a nerve with how the blonde's pitch kept increasing to an almost unbearable level. "Dobe, my closet is not your pantry and they were 2 months past their expiration date anyway. And if I hear one more time about-" but before he can complete that statement, the loud ringtone of Sasuke's phone filled the car. Sasuke looked down at his phone and felt his breath hitch at the caller identity.
It was his father.
Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves, he prepared to answer this call. Because whichever way the conversation went, it could not end well.
"Hello Father."
'Sasuke. You will join me in a meeting today evening at AROWS.' Sasuke felt his heart drop as soon as those words were uttered. He was right, I does not end well.
"Yes father."
'Be ready by 6. Sebastian will be picking you up. I will meet you at the headquarters."
"Understood. Have a good day, father." A resounding click indicated the end of that call.
Sasuke resisted the urge to roll down his window and throw the damned phone out. He spent all his days trying to figure out ways on how to avoid going to these meeting with his father. These meetings always reminded him of his doom and how he would have to be the one to sit in his father's place one day. It always reminded him how he couldn't just choose his life.
It always reminded him of that coward who threw all the burden onto his shoulder to live his own life vicariously.
Sasuke was pulled out of his angry musing by the sound of Naruto's voice. "Teme, you okay?"
Sasuke took a deep breath before replying. "Father wants me to join him at AROWS tonight." There was silence before he was answered with a quiet 'okay' before the whole car got enveloped in a still silence.
They sat that way until the car pulled in front of Konoha Central University. Sasuke opened the car door to step outside, followed by Naruto. Their peers moved around them, some in cars, some on motorcycles, some on bikes, everyone pilling in towards the tall, gleaming gates leading into the even more impressive campus.
The pair walked through the gates towards the tall, white buildings, surrounded by tall impressive trees, lush bushes and a wide, green campus field to run in.
They went with the crowd, all moving in the same direction. Walking up the stairs to the third floor, down the hallway to their class, being in the same majors really helped. While walking to their classroom, they turned their head all around, looking for the rest of their group.
No luck there. Before they gave up searching for the rest of their friends, a loud voice yelled from down the hallway.
"HEY! ASSHOLES!"
That voice could mean only one person. Naruto and Sasuke simultaneously turned their head around to look that the source, and found him pretty quickly. Inuzuka Kiba was briskly walking towards them and trailing behind him were the quieter two, Shikamaru and Neji.
Naruto, just as enthusiastically, greeted him back.
"OI RUNT!" despite the insulting words, there was a wide grin on both his and Kiba's faces. Just as the group rejoined, Kiba gave a sharp jab to Naruto's stomach, and in return, Naruto also gave him a punch on his back, all the while the rest three looked on in boredom.
It's nothing new.
Once rejoined, and sufficiently greeted, they resumed their way to the class. All except Kiba had business class together, so Kiba waved them goodbye to go to his veterinary class, while the rest of them entered the business room. There were already a lot of students in the room, but thankfully, two sets of seats in the back were still empty.
Once settled, they resumed their talking till the professor shows up.
"So Sasuke, your new little assistant still holding up good?" Shikamaru asked while he forced himself to stay awake. For someone so terrifyingly intelligent, he sure is one lazy potato.
"Yeah, she's pretty good, though sometimes a bit too nagging. But her work is something you would expect from a topper." He pointedly did not tell them about the shoot they did a few days ago. He would not hear the end of it from Naruto if he told them.
"Oh and also, my father is making me join him at AROWS tonight." He added belatedly.
"Wait, you too?" surprisingly, it was Neji who spoke up. He suddenly looked more alert than before. His previously closed eyes now awake and eery.
"What do you mean 'you too'? What else is up?"
It was Shikamaru that answered his question. "My father is also making me join him at the headquarters. Same with Neji. Hiashi-san will have him assist him and his daughter tonight."
That just confused Sasuke even more. What was going on? Sure the WSL and all the other executives had meetings frequently, but they never had all their heirs join them altogether.
"What the hell is up with all yours' dads? Are they planning on starting a cult or something?" Naruto asked scratching his head. This information seemed funky.
Of all the possible scenarios, this one didn't even seem unbelievable to Sasuke. He has already seen some real shit with his father to rule this possibility out.
"Man this is all so troublesome." Shikamaru sighed tiredly.
Before they could resume their discussion, the professor entered through the classroom doors making all the students scramble back into their seats.
As the lecture began, Sasuke couldn't help but think that tonight was only going to roll downhill.
Sakura trudge down the hallway when her toxicology class ended. She felt her exhaustion weigh heavily on her shoulders, but even in her tired state, she could not help her overactive brain going a thousand miles an hour. She just learned about a new poison today, and it seemed like a hitting a jackpot in every box. Fast action, silent death, no absolute antidote yet.
The best of all worlds.
But she couldn't put it to use yet, she'll have to get a little more refining.
As she was walking to maybe grab a snack from the cafeteria, her eyes found the person she was hoping to run into earlier. The said person was currently looking around, pale eyes searching for something, or someone, hands wringing together nervously and an anxious blush on her face.
A small smile creeping on Sakura's face, she lifted her hand up to wave at the girl.
"Hey Hinata!"
The pale-eyed girl quickly snapped her head around to the sound of her name and her cute face lightened up when she spotted the one who was calling her. Someone she was searching for previously.
Barely avoiding to trip over her own feet, Hinata ran over to the Pinkette, dark hair swishing behind her. She stopped in front of the pinkette and greeted her in a little quieter voice. "Good morning Sakura-san."
Sakura gave her friend a grin. Hinata was just too cute. Being in the same anatomy class, Hyuuga Hinata and Sakura became fast friends. While Hinata had reservations approaching Sakura due to her shy demeanor, Sakura was all eager to become the heiress' friend. She felt like a little sister to her, one that Sakura wanted to support and protect to the end of her days. And also because she reminded Sakura of someone from her old days, not the shy, insecure part, just that she felt like a sibling.
Someone she swore to protect, and failed.
"Hinata! how nice to run into you here."
Hinata offered Sakura a shy smile, fidgeting with the straps of her bag. "Yes. I just got out of my finances class and remembered that your class also ends now. So I was just looking for you." Hinata responded, barely managing to avoid stuttering.
Hinata had a problem with that, and Sakura really felt bad for her. Constantly being held upto an impossible expectation by her father because she is the next heir, made her already insecure personality even worse.
And maybe her asshole of a cousin also plays a part in it.
"Oh! you remembered!" A happy grin lit up Sakura's face and Hinata gave an even darker blush of embarrassment at being regarded such cheerfully. "We have anatomy class in an hour, want to grab a snack with me?" Hinata gave her a happy nod and joined Sakura's side to the cafeteria.
They reached the cafeteria after a short walk, all the while chatting animatedly. They got to the counter to order some sandwiches and shakes and waited until they got their food to go and sit down at one of the tables for two.
"So Hinata, anything new going on?" Sakura asked Hinata and started chomping down on her sandwich not a moment later. She released a sigh of relief at finally getting some food in her system after the long lecture. And tuna and mustard always managed to calm her raging mind.
Hinata delicately unwrapped her own sandwich and paused before answering, "Nothing much. My father has gotten me a new tutor to teach me more on finances and stuff. And he has also gotten Hanabi a dance instructor." She finished her sentence before biting into her own sandwich.
Sakura felt kinda bad for Hinata's sister when she heard that Hiashi Hyuuga got her a dance instructor. She can just imagine Hanabi dancing like a delicate fairy, because that's what Hiashi wants.
Being forced to dance or sing or play something always made Sakura cringe.
Sakura stopped halfway through her large sandwich to respond. "That must suck…"
Hinata paused as if she remembered something and added, "And he wants me to join him at AROWS."
That gave Sakura a pause. Hiashi wants Hinata to join him at the headquarters? That's new. Because out of all the WSLs, Hiashi was the only one who never took his heir to any of the meetings prior to this day. She remembers hearing that today is going to be an important meeting, though the actual topic of discussion is still unknown to her. It was about something revolving around an execution and that all the heirs will be there.
Which also included the Uchiha family.
"Did he tell you why he is taking you?"
Hinata shook her head in negative at that statement. "No, he just told me to be ready by 6."
Dismissing the nagging feeling she was getting about the meeting, she diverted the conversation to a different topic and Hinata readily joined her in the discussion.
After a while, they both have finished their meals and were just making their way to their anatomy class when Hinata asked to make a round trip to the bathroom. And while Hinata was finishing up her business, Sakura stood by the wash basins when suddenly se heard her phone ringtone.
She picked up her phone to see an unknown number flash across the screen. But that didn't matter. The odd code in front of the number told her all she needed to know.
"Hello, Haruno Sakura speaking."
'White Viper. Mission 372. Report at 3:00'
"Roger." The moment the words left her mouth, a click from the other side ended the call.
Moments later Hinata came out of the bathroom stall and stood by her side to wash her hands.
"Sakura-san, do you want to go to lunch after the class ends?" Hinata asked her with a hopeful expression, that hurt Sakura's heart because of what came up.
She offered Hinata an apologetic smile. "Sorry, Hinata. Something just came up. I won't be free then." Seeing Hinata's downcast eyes and sad expression, she added. "Why don't we go maybe tomorrow or the day after?"
Hinata turned her head up to look at Sakura with a lighter expression, a small grin present on her face. "Yes, sure."
"And I don't think it would be wise for you to be loitering around with such an ungraceful person like me when you have such an important event tonight."
Hinata's grin this time was a little sheepish. She giggled when Sakura started snickering at the thought of her father busting a nerve at the Hyuuga heiress hanging out with a nameless nobody like her.
While the pair started walking toward their next class, Sakura couldn't help but wonder if the gathering tonight had something to do with her next mission.
It was 5:40 pm, and somewhere in the Uchiha mansion, Sasuke Uchiha was going crazy.
"Why won't she pick up the phone?!" Sasuke yelled in frustration in the privacy of his room. His blazer laying aimlessly on his bed, while his untied neck tie dangled around his unbuttoned collar. And the subject of his current frustration was his infuriating assistant.
He was already irritated enough about having to go to this god-awful meeting, and now Sakura wasn't even picling up her phone when he needed her. He needed the file of his father's security system access. He couldn't have his mother do it, she would tell his father before anything. He couldn't go to his office now, he would be dead late if he got out now.
That left only one option, he would need Sakura to do it.
Only if she would pick up her damn phone.
"Goddamn it!" Sasuke yelled out once more before throwing down his phone in frustration. His father would skin him alive if he had to remind Sasuke of the security access details again. He still remembered the last time he forgot how to access it. The cold and disapproving look in Fugaku's eyes and the twist of his lips in disdain still made him fear his presence.
Sighing, he worked on buttoning his shirt collar and tying his cream neck tie. Loosely finishing up, he sat down heavily on his bed and ran a hand through his dark hair. He was honestly kind of wishing that he could've been allowed to take Sakura with him. She was strangely pretty efficient in dealing with matters that involved authorities. He saw how she dealt with the managers of other models and talked with their agency. It was really fascinating.
And maybe having her company at his side would've also calmed his nerves.
Looking at time, he realized that Sebastian should be on his way by now. Sasuke stood up from his sitting position and made his way to the dressing table. He picked up a hairbrush to attempt to tame his hair into atleast a semi-presentable form. Putting it down when he found no such luck, she resigned himself to just putting on his silver watch and the black blazer over his black shirt and pants set.
No sooner than he finished putting his shoes on, that he heard a knock on his door. It opened a moment later to the face of his family maid, who announced the presence of Sebastian, his father's personal driver, at the door.
Sighing once again at his luck, he made his way to the car parked in front of his home. He was on his patio when he noticed the tall man with slicked back graying hair and sharp blue eyes. It still sometimes made him shiver to look into those eyes.
Getting inside the car, Sebastian shut the door and got into his own seat before driving off to their destination. While Sasuke was grateful for the still silence inside the car, he still couldn't get over his jittery nerves.
'What was going to happen tonight? Will they test him? Is someone retiring? Is someone disowning someone?..." Sasuke's brain kept running over all the possibilities, the next one even more ridiculous than the previous one.
'But considering all the shit that goes inside those rooms, no possibility is too ridiculous to be true.'
Even in the midst of all these thoughts, he still tried to call Sakura one more time to ask her to send him the access file. But just like all the other calls, this one saw no success either. And before he can call her once more, the gleam from the towering building in front of him alerted him of their destination.
'I'm fucked.' This was the only thought in his mind before Sebastian opened his door and he out of the car only to meet with the shadow of his father standing behind the tall, glass gate.
He heard the voice of his father tell him to get moving. And he started taking his steps, his mind already on autopilot mode.
"Come on, son."
Sakura was currently impatiently standing in front of the large glass window, waiting for her supposed partner for the mission.
And he was dead late.
She looked at the clock again. Its 6 already.
'Where is this guy? He was supposed to be here 10 minutes ago.' Sakura thought to herself in annoyance as she strapped on her viper's bite bracelet. She'll have to tell the weaponry head to stock up on senbon needles.
It was then that she heard the footsteps approaching the room. She turned her head around to look at the new figure. The face of a weasel half mask greeted her. Long, dark hair tied back in a low ponytail, a pale slim face, tall, toned figure dressed in full black commando gear, unlike her black pants, slim black leather jacket, dark green vest and black fingerless gloves. Red eyes were still gazing at her through the holes of the weasel mask.
"Agent Weasel, finally got time to arrive here." Sakura taunted him while strapping on the rest of her ornaments. A belt with a gold AROWS emblem on the side, a gun on her right thigh and two on the either side of her hip, a dozen of poisoned senbons in her vest pockets and a set of daggers on the inside of her left thigh.
Agent Weasel blinked once before giving her a smile. "Ah, forgive my tardiness, Princess Viper. I got stuck trying to get the helicopter pilot on, he was feeling a little sick."
"you could've gotten a different pilot."
"Yes, but he is the most efficient in flying at steep inclines." Weasel responded with another apologetic smile. She sometimes hated him for it, how he got her to forgive him almost every single time with his dopey smiles and soft eyes.
"Whatever." Sakura grumbled to herself before managing to strap the final dagger. "You have the briefing clear right?" when Weasel nodded his head at that, she continued, "once we get there, you will secure the engine first. Then on my signal, release the power. I will secure the base, and the captives should be out by then. I will signal aircraft and they will on position for retreat."
With the plan finalized, they made their way oner to the helicopter waiting to take them to their destination.
"Oh, and Itachi, don't get a heart attack if you see you dear baby brother on your way back." With a final smirk thrown at the stunned man, she climbed into the helicopter and put her headset on.
It's showtime.
Sasuke was feeling jittery already and they haven't even gotten to the conference room. Even just standing beside his father on the elevator mad him want to break the glass and jump out in the open air. Thank God his father still hadn't asked him on the security details, because otherwise he's fucked.
"So son, you must remember how to access the security, right. You are about to be taking my place afterall."
FUCK!
Sasuke cleared his throat before trying to answer with as much conviction as possible. "Yes, I remember."
"Good. However, we did change the access pattern, so you'll need to relearn it." The stern voice of his father commanded with finality. That was a pain in the ass, but atleast he won't have to show his incompetency to his father.
The door of the elevator finally opened on the 93rd floor, and they walked out side by side. They walked down the pristine white marbled hallway to the front door of the conference. When they reached there, the sight of the other WSLs and other department heads with their heir greeted them. All except 2 members were present.
"Where are Senju and Hiroyuki?" Fugaku asked the Hyuuga head. His daughter meekly standing behind him with her head down and his nephew standing beside her with unblinking eyes.
Sasuke looked around to see all those who were present. Shikamaru and his father, the head of Intelligence and Strategy, Hyuuga Hiashi, the fifth WSL, with his heiress, Hyuuga Hinata, Yuuhi Kurenai, the head of Interrogation and Torture, with her apprentice Konohamaru Sarutobt, Genma Shiranui, head of Finance Management, Mei Terumi, the third WSL and lastly, himself and his father, the fourth WSL.
"They are on there way. We called and they told us to wait inside for a bit." It was Kurenai who answered. Her crimson eyes staring at them unflinchingly, the mark of her being T&I head.
"Then why are we waiting here? Let's go in." Fugaku announced as he pushed the door open to enter and everyone followed suit. Everyone piled into the room and went to the seats arranged around the big, round table.
"Wait, the mayor is on his way too. He was concerned about the last incident with the aircraft ships crashing." Genma informed everyone belatedly.
Sasuke took a pause at that. The mayor? Naruto's dad? On his way here. Does that mean Naruto is coming here too? That thought gave him a whole new thing to worry about. If Naruto opens his trash mouth and say's some dumb shit about Sasuke, he's fucked.
But before he could go further in his worries, the mahogany door of the conference room opened up to let the new individuals enter, Jiraiya Hiroyuki, the second WSL and Tsunade Senju, the First WSL. And following the pair was the Mayor, Namikaze Minato and his son, Uzumaki Naruto.
Everyone in the room stood up to greet the new individuals. Sasuke looked at the busty blond woman, the First WSL, the most powerful of them all, and the white haired man beside her, the second in command, the second WSL.
Even if no one told him that they were the big guns, their presence alone would have been enough to tell him about their caliber.
"Greetings everyone." The booming voice of the first announced, "Since everyone seems to be presence, we shall begin the meeting. But first, let's have some coffee." Tsunade's voice turned a little lighter at the end as her assistant came in with two more servers with large cups of steaming coffee.
Sasuke looked down at the cup that was placed in front of him, and lifted it to his mouth to take a small sip of the hot beverage. It was delicious.
He suddenly heard a shushing call from the seat opposite of him, and turned his head to see Naruto grinning at him mischievously, and Sasuke turned at hard glare a him at only made his grin widen even more.
"Let's proceed then. From what I deduced since walking in is that your successors have no idea what this meeting is about." Tsunade was right at that, Sasuke thought. They have not a single clue on what this meeting is about, and that made him even more nervous.
"Then let's not keep them in suspense anymore!" It was Jiraiya who so cheerfully announced that, "You are all going to take the places of your fathers, and in Konohamaru's case, your master's!" He ended the announcement with an excited note.
There was silence after that, no one really being surprised. Like they all knew that they were going to inherit they predecessor's place, it isn't anything shocking.
As if an afterthought, Jiraiya added with a grin, "In six months time."
"WHAT?" It was Konohamaru who had that outburst, but that yell encapsulated all of their combined reaction. Sasuke himself was shell-shocked at that news. In six months, he is supposed to be looking after whatever his father built. He is the one supposed to be looking after WORLD SECURITY! He still got a C in his security class, what the hell is he supposed to do in the actual base!
"Wait, wait, wait, everyone here is going to take the places? Am I supposed to take Dad's place too?" Naruto's incredulous voice reached his ear, but Sasuke was too far off gone into his thoughts to listen at that point.
"Yes, everyone here will be crowned the new head in six months, and no, you are not going to be the next mayor, the mayor is selected on votes." Tsunade replied with an annoyed voice while reaching for the sake bottle that surprisingly only she had.
Sasuke picked up his head to look at others reaction. Hinata looked about ready to faint with her face being dangerously red, Konohamaru looked like his head was going a thousand miles an hour, and Shikamaru looked exhausted at the prospect of having to finally get his ass to start doing actual work.
Sasuke wasn't ready for it though. He wasn't ready to give up his freedom and time on doing the work he wasn't supposed to anyway just now. He still wanted to hang out with his friends, help his mother in modelling for the shoots, skip classes to go to movie.
And Sakura, oh no. He still wanted their fun banters, the morning coffees, the heavy teasing. He still wanted to see her in the morning when he walks into his office and share his frustrations with her when someone got on his nerve.
It has only been two months of working with her, but he wants all of it. Heck he wasn't even 20 yet, he isn't going to give up on all this just now. So he told his father just that.
"Father, I'm not ready to take on this big of a responsibility. I'm not even 20 yet." He pleaded, desperate to get more time to enjoy his youth before his doom ultimately ripped it away.
"Yes, you are ready, and you'll be 20 in three months. Now don't spout such nonsense and sit quietly, we have important matters to discuss." The shivering cold look his father sent him made his courage to speak another word disappear.
And so for the next 1 hour, they sat there and discussed all the problems the mayor brought up, they discussed finances for upcoming projects and some other stuff that Sasuke that no interest in, until it was only the WSLs left and the rest have gone away.
It was then that the real discussion started.
"We have gotten information that someone from the order has started a rebellion. They plan on hijacking our new war aircraft and turn them against AROWS." Tsunade got straight to the point after a moment of silence, and that statement alone put a buzz around the rest of the WSLs.
"Is that all we have on our hands, or is there more to worry?" The sharp voice of Mei Terumi inquired, her pen tapping agitatedly in her hands.
"That is all the information we got right now, but it won't be wrong to suspect that there is more. In the past few months, there has been a strange increase in the kidnappings, all in the range of fit youths." Jiraiya informed, his once happy voice now serious and grave. "We have yet to find out where all these kidnappings lead to."
Sasuke at that point was just too numb to even be shocked anymore. In the last hour he has heard about weird experiments, war aircrafts, snake in the grass, disturbing operations, he just didn't have the energy in him to be surprised anymore.
It was then when suddenly something happened. They all felt it before it happened, and then there was ground shaking explosion from a ship sailing in the sea that they saw through the glass window that overlooked the whole city.
Being a little nearer to the sea coast, it was easy to see the blast incident. A side of the ship has caught fire and it was much on the verge of sinking.
"Send the drones right now." Tsunade commanded in the receiver sitting on the table and within a second, the large screen on the wall lit up with close up live footage of the incident.
There was a signal on the other receiver, the red light blinking in SOS pattern. Tsunade looked at it once and spoke into the receiver again, shouted more like. "Send the rescue aircraft, urgent!"
"The rescue seems to be going well." Jiraiya commented with a proud grin on his face.
"Wait, this blast was deliberate?" Fugaku asked in incredulity. Tsunade's look turned smug at that, "Yes, this blast was deliberate. That ship belongs to a major underground trafficker, and it was the rescue mission that I gave to the two of my most efficient agents to get the captives out safe." As an afterthought, she added "they seem to be faring well."
Sasuke was looking out at the burning ship when something pink flashed in his peripheral vision, and his turned his head towards the screen so fast that he got a whiplash.
Maybe it the warm light from the burning ship or maybe it was just his eyes messing up, but the girl fighting on the ship, he hair looked really rosy, really familiar. Sasuke took a step closer to the screen to look more closely. The girl was shooing bullets at the enemies, punching and throwing down grown men over her shoulder like they were nothing but rag dolls. He saw her pointing her wrist at someone, and them just dropping dead like flies at whatever came out of the bracelets on her wrists.
He took even closer steps to look at her face, but she was covered nose-down with a thick black mask. He knew that his father was watching but he didn't care, the scene before him was much too fascinating.
He watched as someone else joined him too, a tall man in black commando clothes and long black hair. He watched as they together fought off the enemies with such ease that it looked like they were dancing a beautiful, dangerous, bloody dance of grace and poise. They were fighting the immeasurable army of people until all the captives got onto the rescue aircraft safe and sound and then jumped in the last minute when the aircraft started taking off, all the while shooting bullets at the people still trying to get to them and the ship was sinking.
And when the carrier was safely away from them, the screen went dark. It was silent in the room after that when it was broken by the sound from the receiver. And rather than anything else, it was voice on the other end that shocked Sasuke to his core.
"Lady Senju, we are speaking from the rescue aircraft 207. The captives are full in number and all of them safe and sound. We are heading to the base now."
"Good work agents. Get to my office for briefing after getting the rescued healthcare and getting patched up of any injuries yourselves."
"Roger, Lady Tsunade." And then the line was dead.
There were more words exchanged between the WSLs and maybe also the successors, but Sasuke did not register any of it. And even when they all said their farewells and went to their cars, Sasuke could still only think about what he just witnessed.
The rosy hair, the fluid grace, the sharp movements and the creepily familiar voice.
What had he just gotten himself into?
AN : Hoo boy! Phew! That was LONG chap. It seems like these chapters just keep getting longer and longer. That took me while to write.
And also, if you are having trouble imagining Sakura and Itachi's attires, just think Natasha Romanoff in Infinity War and that secondary villain guy in Winter Soldier. That should give you an idea enough.
Anyway, hope ya'll liked this chapter. Actually, I'm currently working on a new fic. It's a witch AU fic called Scarlet Dandelions, and it's first chapter should be up and ready in a few days.
Anyway, I work hard on these chapters, so leave a review!
Take care, eat fruits and drink water, and stay safe.
Happy reading!
Bye bye!
