The Missing Damsel-II

Hibiki had to try hard to keep his composure after Kakashi's revelation. But keep his composure he did.

"And pray tell Hatake-san," he said sceptically, "how did you come to this conclusion?"

"The fact that your people haven't found her yet," Kakashi replied, "I'm sure even you must have entertained this possibility sometime during your investigation."

Hibiki couldn't dispute that, but this actually raised more question than it answered.

"That still doesn't explain how anyone could've have gotten her out of the town without anyone noticing?"

"The same way everyone else leaves the town Commander," Kakashi said, "through the front gate."

"Are you mocking me Hatake-san?" Hibiki struggled to keep his voice calm.

"It's the only thing that makes sense," Kakashi folded his arms as he put his point across, "let me ask you, do your men check all the imports coming into the city?"

"Yes, we do," He was taken a bit off-guard by the sudden change in topic, "Every container and every crate is searched and catalogued."

"So you don't miss a single one."

"No we don't," he said warily, having some inkling as to where this conversation was headed, but asked nevertheless, "where're you going with this?"

"You know very well what I'm trying to say Commander." Came the reply.

He knew what the jounin was saying, he just couldn't comprehend it let alone believe it.

"Are you suggesting that one of the merchants is responsible for Mei Arisawa's disappearance?" He demanded, "Do you have any idea what those accusations might mean?"

"You say you check and catalogue all the imports that make their way into the town," The jounin said ignoring his outburst, "can you say the same about the stuff leaving the town?"

XxX

Sasuke pulled on the collar of his kimono to give his sweating neck some relief.

"Stop fidgeting Sasuke-kun," Sakura admonished him, "it doesn't look attractive."

"Why am I the one doing this again?" He asked, thoroughly annoyed at his current predicament, "why can't the genin?"

"Because while I'm sure Naruto has his talents, I doubt being charming is one of them," Came the reply before she studied his face,"not that its yours either but apparently you compensate for it, moreover he has his own task."

"Okay," He deadpanned, "but why am I wearing this ridiculous get-up, and why the hell do I smell like flowers?"

"The perfume may have been a little bit too much," Sakura bit her lip, her expression slightly concerned.

"The what now?" Sasuke demanded furiously.

"Well it's too late anyway!" Sakura said hurriedly, "get ready here they come."

Sasuke sighed in defeat and got ready to do what he had been ordered to do. He'd been forced into a cream-colored kimono by Kakashi in favor of his shinobi gear to make him look more…presentable. Why on earth did Kakashi have a cream-colored kimono on him was another matter altogether. Sakura had done his hair, adding generous amounts of hair product he didn't dare ask what, to tame his usually spiky locks. Thankfully she had left his face be. He had protested against his treatment in the beginning but one look from Kakashi had quelled all rebellious thoughts.

Despite his laid-back demeanor that man could be very intimidating when he wanted to be. It also confirmed Sasuke's fears that this task was punishment for his supposed 'screw-up' of ditching their guide. While Naruto went about his assigned task and Kakashi went to put out the fires his actions might have caused by smoothing things over with the Commander, he was stuck doing... whatever he was doing right now.

All things considered it was most probably Sakura who had the most important job.

They were waiting outside the gates of the school Sasuke had visited earlier in the day. Their next task was to interview some of the peers of the missing girl, something he'd been unable to do earlier in the day as he was refused permission to interview them during school hours. Sakura had later told him that they only needed to talk to one.

But Kakashi had insisted on being thorough and insisted that they talk to all of her classmates. Due to constraints of time, he came up with a plan to get Sasuke to talk to all of them…at the same time.

Why they couldn't do this at the girl's house was something which evaded Sasuke. He really wasn't satisfied with Kakashi's explanation of it being easier without protective parents looking over their shoulders.

He was sure he could've done this without having to dress-up, but Kakashi had insisted that this required a more subtle approach than usual.

Sasuke was getting the feeling that Kakashi's plan had nothing to do with increasing the efficiency of their work.

Hence, his current predicament.

A resounding gong signaled the end of school for the day, and it wasn't long before a gaggle of girls dressed in identical green kimono exited the premises, chatting animatedly among themselves. That was his cue. Trying to appear as nonchalant as he could he approached them and for reasons he couldn't quite explain he felt himself break into a nervous sweat. Something that hadn't happened since his first solo mission.

"Greetings ladies," he addressed them, "fancy joining me for a drink?"

Sakura resisted the urge to slap her palm on her forehead at Sasuke's deadpan delivery, so she settled for rolling her eyes. He had made his distaste for the task quite clear and had approached it with all the enthusiasm of a chicken headed for slaughter. His expression couldn't have been more sour if he'd been forced to swallow a lemon whole. When the girls stopped talking among themselves and just stared at him dumbstruck, she was sure he'd blown it. But then as one broke they broke into a fresh set of giggles and Sakura sighed in relief and watched them crowd around the attractive Uchiha as they led him away.

He may not have exactly killed it with his delivery and charm but thankfully his good looks more than made up for any deficiency in that department, at least when it came to attract shallow, immature girls anyway.

Thank heavens for pubescent tendencies.

Part of Sakura couldn't help wondering if she had looked as silly as those girls did when she was pursuing Sasuke's affections.

'She probably had', she realized to her own mortification.

Discretely she approached the girl at the back-end of the group. It didn't take her long to single her out. She was the least enthusiastic and looked rather lost. The contrast with that photograph they found at their client's house was striking. But that was only because she was dressed more casually there and seemed a lot more relaxed, not to mention her hair was left loose.

She touched her gently on the shoulder to get her attention.

"Can I have a word Ibuki-san?" The girl gave a start as she turned to face her.

"Do I know you?" She asked once she'd regained her composure.

"I'm afraid not." Sakura admitted, "I'm looking into the disappearance of Mei Arisawa. You were friends I believe."

"I've already told the cops everything I know." She said resignedly.

"I'm not a cop I assure you," Sakura smirked internally at having been mistaken as a law enforcer, "and I just need five minutes of your time."

"If you're not a cop, then who're you and what is your interest in Mei-chan?" The girl eyed her suspiciously.

"I'm a kunoichi from Konoha, hired by Mei Arisawa's parents to find her," Sakura said, "My name is Haruno Sakura." She added as an afterthought.

"Mei Arisawa has been missing for weeks," Ibuki said, "I doubt anyone can find her now."

"Be that may it is a task we've been assigned and we are expected to see it through," Sakura said, "your cooperation will be appreciated."

The girl pursed her lips, obviously suspicious of her. Sakura didn't miss the disapproval in her eyes at her attire either, which consisted of green shorts and a red sleeveless top. As far as clothes went Sakura had learnt early in her career that practicality and functionality would serve her better than fashion and modesty. A part of her wondered if she shouldn't have made herself more presentable like Sasuke.

"There is a park," she finally said to Sakura's relief, "a few minutes' walk from here. We can talk there."

The park was not a particularly large one. Especially when compared to the Tobirama Senju Park back in Konoha. But that was where the differences ended. The children ran around squealing in joy, with exasperated parents keeping watch from a distance. Some of the older citizens were engrossed in games of go or shogi.

Sakura was led to a bench in a rather solitary part of the park. Once both of them were seated her companion spoke again. "So what'd you want to know kunoichi-san?"

Sakura was sure she was done with the harder part of her task which was convincing the girl to talk to her. But sitting here, she realized she may have underestimated its difficulty. Now that the girl had agreed, she had to make sure she asked the right questions.

Think Sakura think. She prodded herself. She couldn't ask questions they already knew the answers to. She had to play this smart. She couldn't help feeling annoyed with Kakashi. He literally had them flying blind here. When she'd asked him what they needed from this interview, he'd told her in his usual annoyingly nonchalant way to use her imagination.

"So how long have you known Mei Arisawa?" She said finally making up her mind about the line of questioning she wanted to pursue.

"Close to ten years now." Came the prompt reply.

"When was the last time you saw her?"

Ibuki smoothed over her kimono nervously, "The day before she disappeared, she came over."

"Was that usual?" Sakura prodded.

"It wasn't unusual." Ibuki's reply remained evasive.

"Was something bothering her lately?" Sakura pursued, "Something she might not have wanted to share with her parents."

"No." She said abruptly, "She didn't tell me anything."

"You're lying." Sakura said and as soon as she did she realized that it was a mistake. Already she could see Ibuki's eyes hardening and her posture getting more defensive.

"I'm afraid I've to leave now kunoichi-san." Ibuki got to her feet, "My parents are expecting me home."

Sakura cursed under her breath as she watched the girl leave and it was with some difficulty she resisted the urge to follow her. It wouldn't do any good now.

She had failed.

XxX

Naruto tapped his fingers impatiently on the table. He'd been waiting for almost an hour now and it seemed he'd have to wait longer. With time he'd managed to curb his restlessness to a great extent, but it hadn't made enduring it any easier. This less than hospitable treatment wasn't totally unexpected though. He'd appeared unannounced and the reason for his visit probably hadn't helped matters. Then when then they realized that he was shinobi and it probably all went downhill from there.

In short his efforts to gain an audience with Taro Mishima, Mei Arisawa's fiance hadn't been going well.

If he had his way, he'd have infiltrated the place, talked to the employees, scoped out the factory before making up a bogus excuse to demand a meeting with whoever was in charge. But with Sasuke's screw-up, Kakashi had vetoed on his way. They couldn't afford to alienate the Commander anymore than they already had, and concealing their identity from the local populace to gather intelligence was a sure-fire way of doing that. Kakashi hadn't bothered to hide his displeasure with Sasuke, but Naruto suspected that at least part of the ire was directed at him as well.

Still, he thrived on handicaps like these in his own humble opinion. Fate never closed a door without opening a window and he'd taken the opportunity to improvise. Depending on how it played out, it had the potential to either pay off in a spectacular way, be a waste of time, or blow up so badly that it will make Sasuke's offense look like a kid playing truant from his school and considering the trouble he got into for playing truant it didn't bode well for him in case things did go sideways.

It was a big risk for an unknown reward. But as his sensei used to say, those were the best kind.

"Mishima-san will see you now," a young woman, dressed in a blue kimono, most probably an assistant told him. Naruto was led into the office area, some distance from the actual factory. The hallway was nothing to write home about but the office itself was however was a different matter altogether. It was as luxurious as any he'd seen, complete with mahogany tables, decent lighting and comfortable chairs. The walls were graced by beautiful paintings and the floor was carpeted.

The atmosphere inside however wasn't nearly as attractive as the decorations, as the man he'd come to meet was giving one of his employees a dressing down.

"You imbecile!" He shouted at his subordinate who stood cowering in the face of this onslaught, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't boot your ass out of here right now."

The assistant who'd led him here cleared her throat to get her boss's attention, gaining a rather irritable look from him, which softened a fraction on seeing her.

"This isn't over." He waved off the subject of his ire. The man for his part got out of the office as fast as he could have without running, happy for the reprieve no matter how brief it would be. The assistant bowed once and retreated from the room.

He was a young man in his early twenties, of medium height. He could've been considered good-looking if it weren't for the severe scowl etched on his face. Something about his demeanor reminded him of Sasuke.

"So, what service can I be to an esteemed shinobi such as yourself?" The man gestured Naruto to take a seat, his voice heavy with irony.

Naruto resisted the urge to fire off a smart-ass remark of his own and decided to play to the man's ego. So he blinked a couple of times feigning confusion before puffing himself up with self-importance at his words.

"I'm genin Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha," He introduced himself, "here to investigate the disappearance of Mei Arisawa, your fiancee."

"Look I've already been through this before," the man said irritably, "but I'll tell you what I told the authorities. I don't know what happened to her. I barely knew her. The marriage was arranged by our respective fathers, who happen to be friends and business partners."

"How often did you meet her?" Naruto asked.

"I met her twice in my entire life." Came the prompt reply, "Look, I don't know if you know this but I have spent nearly my whole life in the Capital. My father booted me off the day I learnt to talk. You were asking about our meetings? Both times it was in presence of our parents. That answer your question? Now if that's all I'd like to get back to work Uzumaki-san, as you can see I'm a rather busy man."

"Just a couple more questions and I'll be out of here," Naruto assured him.

"Fine." The man snapped.

"How did Arisawa-san react to the engagement?"

"How the hell would I know?" He exclaimed, "Like I said, the couple of times we met were in extremely formal settings, hardly a conducive environment for a heart to heart."

Naruto suppressed a smirk at his reaction. Without meaning to, the man had given him exactly what he was trying to conceal and what Naruto wanted.

"How did you feel about it?"

"I wasn't averse to it?" The man shrugged.

"Wasn't?" Naruto repeated the man's words, "Are you averse to it now Mishima-san?"

"She's been missing for almost two weeks now." He said slowly obviously catching his own slip but trying to play it off coolly, but Naruto had caught the flash of panic in his eyes before he disguised it, "that was your second question and I think I've indulged you enough." He pressed a button under his desk and almost immediately a burly guard entered the office, "Please escort shinobi-san to the front door."

"No need," Naruto said amiably, getting to his feet, "I can show myself out. Thank you for your time."

XxX

Naruto made his way to the government resthouse where they'd be staying. These resthouses were built specifically for officials of the state, on-duty/visiting samurais and even the shinobi. The receptionist directed him to the rooms his team was assigned. He expected to be the first one back, considering the short nature of his interview, but to his surprise he was greeted by the sight of the rather downcast figure of Sakura Haruno occupying one of the chairs with her hands on chin, obviously deep in thought.

A girl that fine shouldn't have to look so dejected, he decided. Plastering a grin on his face, and preparing the corniest pick-up line he could think of he approached her.

"Excuse me miss, but I was wondering if your father was a terrorist?" He said getting a bewildered look out of her, seizing the opportunity to finish it before her mind caught up, he delivered the second half of this killer line, "Because he created a bomb."

"I've put people in the hospital after better attempts," she said after recovering a few seconds later, her face reverting to its original melancholic state, "just putting it out there."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Naruto remarked seating himself besides the kunoichi, "especially if they get to have you nursing them to health afterwards."

He saw her struggling to suppress a smile, "for some reason they're never conscious to enjoy it," She said now trying to act annoyed but definitely enjoying the banter, "Want to find out why?"

"Tempting, but I think I'll pass." He said, "The talk with our victim's best friend didn't go as well as you hoped?"

Sakura glared at him balefully as her shoulders slumped in dejection.

"She literally refused to talk to me." Sakura said her voice sullen.

"Well if it makes you feel any better." Naruto said trying to be as comforting as he could, "My mark kicked me out of his office."

"You don't say." Sakura's eyes widened in mock-disbelief.

Naruto had to admit for someone with a rather limited sense of humor, she had the sarcasm down pat. Still he could feel her mood improving and that counted as a win in his book. They sat in silence, waiting for their remaining team members to arrive.

"Can you stop doing that?" Sakura shouted exasperatedly.

"Doing what?" Naruto asked mystified at her outburst.

"You've been tapping your foot for the last five minutes," She said, "Its getting on my nerves."

Naruto hadn't realized it, "Yeah, sorry about that." He said sheepishly, "I get a little restless sometimes."

"Just... keep it in check will you?" Sakura's eyes softened at his placating gesture and they went back to sitting in silence.

Naruto observed his new teammate. She seemed to be tightly wound-up and under some stress judging by how she was lashing out at him. And his earlier attempts to get her to relax while being mildly successful hadn't been enough.

"Hey!" He said, the silence finally getting to him, "You wanna share notes on what went wrong with our encounters?"

Sakura stiffened up before turning to gaze at him rather skeptically, "You mean like a brainstorming session?" Sakura raised an eyebrow, "No, I don't think so." She said.

"What've you got to lose?" Naruto pressed, not deterred by her refusal, "As it is none of us have anything we can give Kakashi. Maybe I can provide some insight and then you can return the favor." The girl bit her lip seemingly considering his offer, an action Naruto found rather cute.

"Fine." Sakura finally relented.

"So, how did your conversation go?" Naruto requested.

"I just told you."

"I meant word for word."

Sakura frowned at the strange request, but conceded. She told him how Sasuke had dressed up to gain the girls' attention, she'd expected a joke there, but he stayed silent. She recapitulated her entire encounter with Ibuki, and found a patient listener in Naruto. He did stop her once in a while, firing off some questions, mostly regarding Ibuki's reactions and her body language. When she was done, they sat in silence for a while.

"Well?" Sakura demanded once the silence got too much for her.

"I can see why she refused to talk." He remarked. "I'm surprised you haven't."

"Well care to share?" She said irritably, while biting back some comments she wanted to fire.

"She's just lost her best friend." Naruto said, "And from the way she avoided you, its quite obvious that she is hiding something."

"Yeah I got that too." Sakura retorted.

"What you failed to notice was that she actually wanted to talk." Sakura wanted to tell him he was wrong but he interrupted her before she could, " Let me put it this way." Naruto leant forward resting his elbows on his knees, "Who's your best friend?"

"I'd like to get somewhere with this." Sakura fumed, "Preferably before I die of old age."

"Humor me."

"Ino Yamanaka."

"So… wait Ino Yamanaka? Hot blonde, great rack.." Naruto said getting sidetracked.

"Naruto.." Sakura growled interrupting him.

"Sorry," Naruto smiled sheepishly, "so if Ino was to tell you a secret you'd keep it right? Come what may?"

"That goes without saying." Sakura replied.

"Can't you think of any circumstance where you might be persuaded to give up that secret?"

Realization struck Sakura like a bolt of lightning. Without wasting another second she got up and left the room, almost colliding with a disgruntled looking Sasuke on the way. Later she'd realize that she'd never been less aware of the handsome Uchiha.

"You're welcome." Naruto muttered staring at the retreating figure of the pink-headed chunin, and was soon face to face with the less pleasant visage of the scowling Uchiha. They stared at each other in awkward silence and Naruto decided he could use some cheering up too. Who knows it might work just as well on him as it did on Sakura.

"So was your father a terrorist?"

XxX

Sakura waited outside Ibuki's house. She'd left the resthouse in a hurry with the intention of confronting the girl. In hindsight however she was beginning to realize that she didn't know how to get the girl out. She could knock, but the girl had made it clear that she didn't want to speak to her and she doubted the girl's parents would be accommodating a stranger who'd no business being there. She cursed herself for not thinking this through.

If only she'd brought that blonde idiot with her. She thought uncharitably before immediately reprimanding herself. Naruto had been surprisingly insightful and had given her an idea as to how she could get the girl to talk to her.

Too bad she couldn't just scale the walls to her bedroom and just get it over with. It'd be easy. She could see the lights on in her bedroom. Like the homes of most people belonging to the merchant class, Ibuki's house was a beautiful double story structure with a sprawling garden, not unlike their client's. But as attractive as the house was, it was a disaster as far as security concerns went.

The vines leading to the bedroom window on the first floor were a burglar's dream come true, not to mention the pipes or the trees in the surroundings.

She could take that route, but they were in hot water as it was and she didn't even want to consider the trouble they'd be in if this went wrong. With that thought she threw that idea into that mental waste-bin where it belonged.

Unfortunately that didn't solve her current conundrum.

But fortunately it seemed she wouldn't have to try too hard as Ibuki was now coming out of her house with a basket in hand, probably to do some shopping. Seeing the opportunity to do what she'd failed to before, she approached her.

"Ibuki-san." She called her out.

The girl turned around, her eyes widening in recognition on seeing her. "Kunoichi-san." She said her tone clipped, "I thought I made it clear that I've nothing more to say. I wish you a good day."

"I don't believe that." Sakura said, "You could've blown me off when I first approached you, but you didn't. You wanted to talk and that is why you led me to that park." Sakura saw Ibuki's eyes losing their resolve, "I have a best friend too you know." She approached the girl with all the care and precaution that should be afforded a cornered animal, "we've known each other so long that we could practically be sisters."

"Why are you telling me this?" The girl's voice broke as she spoke and Sakura knew she was getting through to her.

"I'm telling you this because I can understand what you're going through," Sakura said emphatically, "I'd take my friend's secrets to the grave too." Sakura paused to let the gravity of her statement sink in, "as long as they don't take her to hers."

Ibuki froze, and they both stood motionless for a while. Sakura was beginning to wonder if what she said had put the girl in shock. Then to her surprise the girl broke down in tears, almost falling to her knees. Sakura rushed forward to help the girl and led her to one of the roadside benches. Sakura put one arm around the girl as she wept. Once she'd recovered enough Sakura offered her a handkerchief, which she accepted gratefully.

"It was never easy you know." The girl smiled bitterly through her tears, "Always being in her shadow. She was always so good at everything. Beauty, grace, talent… she had it all and everyone loved her."

"You were jealous." Sakura observed.

The girl nodded, "It had never been an issue though you know. I knew she was better than me. She was better than everyone." She sniffled, "But not only was she never conceited about her gifts… she hated them."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked.

"Ironic isn't it?" Ibuki said, "Most girls in her position would have given an arm and a leg to have what she had, and she couldn't care less."

The more Sakura listened to the girl talk, the more she found herself relating to her. On the surface they couldn't have come from more different backgrounds. She was a shinobi and this girl was a civilian and yet they couldn't be more similar either. Sakura knew what it was to be in the shadow of a best friend who was better at everything in their chosen way of life. She too resented Ino for all the things she took for granted that Sakura had to work hard for.

It was strange that she'd found a kindred spirit so far from home.

"So do you have any idea what might've happened to her?" Sakura asked.

"No." The girl shook her head, "I do know though that she didn't want to get married."

"We talked to her mother." Sakura said, "She did say that she was anxious about her marriage."

"It was more than that." Ibuki insisted, "She wasn't ready to get married."

"Did she tell you this?"

"Yes." Ibuki nodded, "I don't blame her either. Taro Mishima may have the looks of an angel but his temper is worse than the devil's. I heard the other day he got into an argument with one of his workers and thrashed him to within an inch of his life."

Sakura recognized the name as that of Mei's fiance. The man Naruto was supposed to interview and had admittedly failed to get any positive info.

"Did the law enforcers know about this?" She asked.

"They did," Ibuki admitted, "but the Mishima family is very influential, so the matter was dropped."

Sakura digested this new piece of information with some interest, "So she didn't like her fiance." Sakura surmised, "Did her parents know about her aversion to the guy?"

"No, I don't think so."Came the reply. "She wouldn't have wanted to disappoint her parents."

For the first time since they started their investigation Sakura felt that she was making some contribution. It might've nothing to do with the girl's disappearance, but it gave them something to work with.

"The day before she disappeared," Ibuki spoke again, "Mei said she was going to try and convince Taro to call off the wedding," her voice started breaking as she continued, "I tried talking her out of it, I tried to warn her about his temper but she said it was the only way." She was trembling now, "Oh my god! What if he killed her? What if by keeping my silence I let her get killed?"

"You don't know that yet." Sakura rubbed the girl's back who now seemed to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, "even if you're right it wouldn't be your fault."

"I couldn't help her." Ibuki wailed miserably, "Now she might be dead because of me."

Sakura found herself helpless in the face of the girl's overwhelming sorrow at having failed her friend. All she could do was hold her as she wept.

XxX

"So little Miss perfect wasn't so perfect after all." Sasuke remarked once Sakura had debriefed the rest of the team.

"You can say that again," Naruto agreed, "but it is good news."

"How can someone's misery be good news?" Sakura demanded offended at their callous attitudes.

"Sakura calm down." Kakashi said, "While Naruto could've shown a little more tact..." Naruto opened his mouth as if to refute Kakashi before closing it and shrugging, "he does have a point. We weren't getting far on the glowing testimonials of her parents and teachers. This just might be the break we needed."

"So is Taro Mishima our new suspect?" Sakura mused aloud.

"Let's just call him a person of interest for now," Kakashi stared pointedly at Naruto, "we'd have had more to go on if someone had done what they were supposed to do."

"The guy kicked me out and I did say he had something to hide." Naruto protested, "And now we may know what."

"Any of you idiots have a light?" Sasuke spoke up abruptly breaking the flow of their conversation, "I need to step out for a smoke."

Sakura's bewilderment at the statement overcame any feelings of disapproval she may have had for Sasuke's need to partake in the cancer sticks.

She hadn't seen him smoke ever since they got reacquainted. He hadn't lighted up even once during their journey and neither had he done it after getting here.

So what was he playing at? Was he using a code?

She found the answer on Kakashi's face. His relaxed demeanor had tensed but his next words were casual enough, "I'm afraid you're gonna have to go to the front-desk and see if they can spare you a lighter to indulge your nicotine fix."

"Carry on then." Sasuke said as he exited the room, "Don't wait up for I might be a while."

XxX

Sasuke closed the door to the room with an audible thud. He had informed Kakashi of his concerns and what he was doing to address them. The girl had seemed puzzled but had picked up on it, he wasn't sure about the genin but that barely mattered at the moment. Someone was eavesdropping on them and whoever it was, was good. Unfortunately for them... he was better. Pressing himself against the wall of the lobby he made his way rapidly towards the balcony.

That was where he encountered his first problem. The balcony was lighted. Their eavesdropper had possibly placed themselves on the canopy beside their room, making it impossible for him to sneak up on them. The only thing in his favor at the moment was the element of surprise.

He probably won't be able to avoid detection, but if he played this right that shouldn't matter because by then he'd be close enough for that to not matter.

He braced himself to jump into the balcony which will bring him into visual contact with the person spying on them.

But just as he was about to he heard a low thud.

'Great.' He thought to himself. He had been detected before he even got to see the spy. Dropping all pretense of stealth he rushed forward into the balcony just in time to see a figure clad in black running along the roof of the building adjacent to the resthouse.

Jumping on the railing he channeled chakra to his feet and propelled himself to give chase.

With a single leap he had halved the distance between himself and the perpetrator.

It was a moonless night and the black clothes of the retreating figure not to mention the several yards of distance they had already managed to put between them would have put anyone else chasing at a distinct disadvantage.

Sasuke wasn't anyone else. Activating his sharingan on landing, he didn't have a problem tracking the figure as they made their way along the rooftops.

The figure was fast, he had to admit but slowly and surely he was gaining on them.

The spy probably realized it too because the next thing he knew he was dodging shuriken thrown his way. He didn't have the time to block them and he was going too fast to effectively move out of the way, so he did the only thing he could do in this situation. Reflexively he dropped to his and executed a front-roll as the projectiles flew harmlessly overhead.

Sasuke cursed under his breath as he realized that was their aim. For the split-second that he lost visual of his quarry allowed them to put several more yards between them.

It took him a couple of seconds to relocate the spy who was now descending down the building using the plumbing to slide now instead of running over the rooftops. Once they got down all that needed to be done was to lose the ninja attire and mix with the civilian crowd. After that nothing short of a sensor will be able to track them. A luxury he didn't have.

Knowing that his window to apprehend them had just gotten a whole lot smaller he did the only sane thing left to do. He jumped. On his way down he saw the eyes of his quarry widen with disbelief at his audacity.

Twisting in mid-air so as to keep his eye on the spy he held out both hands to come in contact with the walls of the building. Channeling chakra to his limbs he managed to slow his slide to a stop about twenty feet off the ground. Removing his hands so that now he stood parallel to the ground below in a fairly spectacular gravity-defying feat he took his combat stance and directed a smirk at his opponent.

Gotcha!

For the first time since the chase began Sasuke finally got a good luck at their spy. Covered head-to-toe in a black garb the only visible portion of the body were the rather apprehensive brown eyes glaring at him.

But going by the way they were built the only things he could be sure of was that it was definitely a woman and she was definitely a ninja.

"Who are you?" Sasuke asked, "And why were you spying on us?"

Sasuke's words seemed to galvanize her into action as she renewed her efforts to get away by changing directions and running towards the edge of the building instead of towards the ground like she was initially.

Anticipating her actions Sasuke moved to intercept her. In the blink of an eye he had overtaken her and blocked her way.

But he had underestimated her 'cause she didn't hesitate to attack him. Only the precognitive abilities of the sharingan allowed him to keep his head as she executed double handed strike to the sides of his neck, if successful it'd have rendered him unconscious.

Sasuke managed to get his defences up just in time to block by raising his arms. He snapped a retaliatory kick which connected to her chest. It should've incapacitated her but she had jumped back in the nick of time to absorb the blow. She tried to put some distance between, but Sasuke was having none of it as he pursued her and engaged her in taijutsu.

She was competent he had to admit and she put up an admirable defence but he had way too many advantages and he wouldn't be denied.

Catching one of her counter-strikes he twisted her arm. She tried to get out of it by twisting the rest of her body and once again Sasuke was ready as he twisted his own in the opposite direction negating her maneouver and now holding her in a secure arm-lock.

But just when he thought he had subdued her for good, she turned around and all of a sudden Sasuke experienced a burning in his eyes he had never felt before.

Momentarily panicking he loosened his hold on her and was rewarded with a kick to the face. It was all he could do to maintain his chakra control to avoid falling down.

He put up his guard waiting for the follow-up attack which never came.

He cursed himself for his stupidity, she was trying to escape him not get into a slug-fest with him.

Blinking rapidly to clear his eyesight he saw a blurry vision of the dark clad ninja standing with her back to him.

Sasuke was confused. Why was she still here? He expected her to have used the opportunity to escape, but something had obviously stopped her. Focusing harder the reason became clear in the form of an orange blur standing in her way.

Naruto.

He saw her reach for the belt around her waist and drew out two curved blades. Then to his surprise the blades caught fire. Blue flames flickered around the edges before stabilizing to become mere extensions of the weapons.

Elemental recomposition was a high-level skill. They weren't dealing with a novice here. As much as it galled him to admit it his opponent was better than he had anticipated.

"I really wouldn't do that if I were you." Kakashi's lazy drawl had never sounded more welcoming even though he would walk barefoot through the flaming depths of makai before admitting it out loud.

He saw the enemy ninja turn towards the jounin who was standing on top of the building, hands in his pockets his posture slouched as if he was in a social gathering and not in the middle of a stand-off.

The kunoichi looked like she wanted to take her chances with him as she tensed, primed to attack.

"Going by how you're hesitating you clearly know who I am. So you must know that even if you somehow get close enough to use your toys and I'm not saying you will, you'll only end up humiliating yourself." Kakashi continued, "You've done an admirable job so far but fighting me won't do your self-respect any good," Sasuke resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the man's boast, "so why don't you do yourself a favor and surrender."

"Two against one are hardly unfavorable odds, considering all I have to do is escape," The kunoichi spoke for the first time, "You're here on official business and I'm sure you wouldn't want to create a scene by starting a fight."

"If you're going to gamble you need better cards kid," Kakashi drawled, "Whatever scene we create will pale in the face of us apprehending an unknown shinobi, operating under mysterious circumstances, working for kami knows who." Kakashi moved closer to them now sticking to the walls of the building instead of the roof, "So are you going to come peacefully? In which case we'll have a chat, maybe some snacks to go with the tea the resthouse provides and depending on what you tell us, I might even let you go your way once I'm satisfied."

"And what if I decide to take my chances?" She questioned taking a cautious step back.

"In which case we'll capture you and you will come with us anyway. The chat we have then won't be half as pleasant and once we're done with you we will hand you over to authorities." Kakashi said, "between the two of us the Commander is kind of a dick and not very fond of shinobi. So feel free to take your nonexistent chances but I wouldn't recommend it."

The kunoichi seemed to be considering Kakashi's offer and a part of Sasuke wanted her to refuse if only to have the satisfaction of seeing her bite the dust for the agony she had just put him through.

But it was not to be as she sighed in defeat and the flames on her blades died. She then proceeded to sheathe them back in their holsters.

"Smart move." Kakashi remarked.

XxX

"Stop moving Sasuke-kun," Sakura admonished him as she washed his eyes to rid them of whatever that witch had used.

"I'll like to see you try and stay still when someone is poking at your eyes." Sasuke said irritably.

"Well I wouldn't have to poke at your eyes if you didn't get yourself in this situation now would I?" Sakura retorted, "Now be still I'm almost done."

Sasuke endured the rest of his suffering in silence. He couldn't believe he let that kunoichi get the better of him. He had done everything right. He had pursued her and had even successfully intercepted her but just when he was about to subdue her she had managed to catch him off-guard. Not by using an advanced jutsu but by blinding him using a powder made from ground chillies and pepper. The part of him not smarting from this humiliation couldn't help admire her deviousness.

"There! all done." Sakura declared wiping the corners of his eyes, "The swelling will go down in a few minutes, the redness should recede by morning. Can't do much about the burning sensation in your eyes."

"I can live with it." He said, not wanting to show how much it was agonizing him. But the one thing hurting him more than his eyes was his pride. It would be a reminder of how far he had to go. 'He' would have never let himself be caught off-guard like that.

"Are you okay Sasuke-kun?" His displeasure must have been evident on his face for the girl to call him out on it.

"I'm fine." He said shortly forcing himself to relax, "let's go and join Kakashi. I want to know what she has to say."

He couldn't wait to start on her. He was hoping she wouldn't cooperate. Give him the excuse to extract some payback.

XxX

Kakashi flipped a page. This was the best part of the story in his opinion. Keito had just saved female slaves from being sold into a life of servitude using an extremely elaborate plan. And now came the scene when over a dozen gorgeous women expressed their gratitude for him.

Just the mere anticipation of what was coming next...

"Are you seriously giggling Kakashi?" Demanded his rather loud and blonde subordinate.

"Hmmm?" He responded, keeping his annoyance in check at being interrupted at such a crucial point, "I don't know what you're talking about Naruto-kun."

"Like hell you don't." Naruto had gotten to his feet and was pointing his index finger rather accusingly at him, "You were reading that book and giggling so creepily it was giving me goosebumps."He pulled back the sleeves of his jacket to demonstrate, " Not to mention you are making her really uncomfortable." He said pointing a thumb to the still-masked kunoichi he had managed to convince to come in for a chat.

Kakashi considered ignoring the blonde genin, but his mood had been utterly killed. It seemed Keito's orgy would have to wait. Mentally apologizing to the book for abandoning it he replaced it in his vest.

"So lets start with the basics shall we?" Kakashi addressed her, "Why were you spying on us?"

"Wait." Naruto raised a hand interrupting the conversation before the kunoichi could reply, "Aren't you going to ask her to take off her mask?"

"It doesn't bother me." Kakashi said.

"Well it bothers me."

"I wear a mask."

"Yeah, but I always assume that's 'cause you're deformed or ugly or something. Why is she wearing one?"

"I'll take off the mask," The kunoichi said flatly glaring venomously at them, "If you just stop talking."

"Well," He said, "Lets get it over with then shall we?"

Sighing in defeat she lowered her face mask to reveal a delicate looking mouth and brown hair.

"Its you!" Naruto exclaimed.

"You know her?" Kakashi couldn't help being surprised.

"She is that Taro guy's secretary." Naruto said.

"Yes, for months I have been working here undercover," The now unmasked kunoichi said, "When I saw Konoha ninja snooping around I must admit I got... curious."

"What possible assignment could a Fire Cadet have in a sleepy town like Sumer?"

Kakashi had wanted to catch her off-balance with that question and he wasn't disappointed. She visibly flinched.

"How did you..."

"Those blades of yours are a dead-giveaway."

The fire cadets were the apprentice-shinobi to the twelve guardian ninjas. While the guardians confined themselves to the capital to protect the Daimyo and his interests, the fire cadets were a lot more mobile and were deployed across the country to complete various clandestine missions. If they proved themselves to be good enough they got to succeed the guardians in the event of a vacancy in the form of a death or a retirement. They were some of the best shinobi in the land and he wasn't surprised at her getting the better of Sasuke, who, while being a superior combatant had underestimated his foe.

The kunoichi's arm twitched, but Kakashi disregarded the gesture.

There was another interruption, this time by Sasuke and Sakura as they made their way into the room evidently done treating the Uchiha's eyes, which now looked bloodshot.

"Not a word," He hissed at Naruto who, going by the smirk playing on his lips looked ready to fire a witty remark.

"I really wanted to avoid bringing them out," she admitted ignoring the interruption, "But when you're up against Hatake Kakashi, holding back is just all kinds of stupid."

"Flattery will get you nowhere with me," he said waving off the not so subtle compliment, "but don't let that stop you."

"Do you know where the girl is?" Sasuke demanded and Kakashi suppressed a weary sigh at his impatience. It had always been Sasuke's greatest strength and weakness.

Give him an objective and he will find a way to complete it. But he lacked the fortitude to dig deeper. To look for answers to questions he didn't know to ask.

It made him an effective assassin but a poor interrogator.

"No I don't." The kunoichi shook her head.

"Then you're no good to us are you?" Sasuke for some reason looked unreasonably happy. Kakashi could tell by the sudden gleam that had entered his eyes.

"I can however tell you that Taro was probably the last man to see her before she went missing."

"And you know this for certain?" Kakashi asked.

"Oh yes," She said, "She came by the day she disappeared to talk to him."

"And why doesn't anyone else know of this meeting?" Kakashi prodded.

"The girl had been sneaky as sneaky as an ANBU," came the reply, "and I bet she used the maintenance area to get there, where people are often too busy to pay attention to strays."

"And you know this how?"

"Because she didn't go past the front desk," She shrugged, "I'd have known, I sit there. The only reason I know this at all is because I heard them arguing in his chambers when I got up for a bathroom break."

"Her friend did say that she was going to convince Taro to break up their engagement," Sakura said leaning across to speak in his ear, "for some reason she didn't think Taro would take it all that well."

"That is an understatement," the kunoichi scoffed blatantly ignoring Sakura's attempt to be covert, "the guy has a half-inch fuse and it has only become shorter lately especially after the latest consignment to Kusa was attacked by bandits. Not only did he lose the goods, he also lost three good men. His father wasn't happy and ripped him a new one and he has been taking it out on his employees ever since."

"Was this consignment by any chance transported the same day the girl went missing?" Naruto asked and Kakashi had to admire his leap of logic.

"Well well what do you know he is smarter than he looks," The comment earned a snort from Sasuke and even Sakura was now hiding a smile behind her fingers. Naruto however didn't look amused and looked ready to tear into her.

"So you knew all this and didn't come forward?" Kakashi said before Naruto could derail the conversation.

"I was never questioned." She shrugged carelessly, "And ratting out my employer would have jeopardized my cover."

"You don't seem to have a problem now," Sasuke sneered at her.

"Well we are a little past that aren't we?" She said nonchalantly, "Besides, while I couldn't care less about your mission I see no reason to not be honest here."

Kakashi's mind began racing. The girl had gone to him in order to convince him to cancel their engagement and going by what he'd just been told, Taro hadn't taken it well and they had ended up arguing.

These were the facts. Anything past this point would be speculation.

Then something Naruto had said struck his mind.

"You just said the last consignment of goods to leave the town was on the same day as the girl's disappearance." Kakashi addressed the girl. "Is that correct?"

"Yes. That is correct."

"Are you thinking what I think you're thinking Kakashi?" Sasuke said.

"I don't know what you're thinking Sasuke." Kakashi said, "But I believe now we know why the girl was never found. Its something Naruto had already guessed and now has been confirmed by our guest."

"So Taro is responsible for Miyuki's disappearance." Sakura ventured timidly.

"Disappearance maybe even murder."

"So now what?" Sasuke scowled heavily, "The girl's dead, we can tell her parents, get the dirtbag arrested and be on our way. Mission complete."

"Not so fast." Kakashi said suppressing his annoyance with Sasuke, "We can't prove any of this. Not yet anyway." He turned to the girl again, "Where do you keep the record of all your exports?"

"There is a room by the warehouse where the books are kept and maintained."

"I guess it'd be too much for me to expect you to have the keys to that."

"Sorry to disappoint." She didn't sound sorry at all, "But no."

"Well in that case you're leading us there tonight." He said thoroughly enjoying the changing colors in her face.

"You mean helping you break into the Mishima warehouse?" She demanded.

"You make it sound like a felony..."

"Because it is."

"But yeah basically."

"Next to the militia cantonment that warehouse is the most secure place in Sumer and under a constant twenty-four hour guard under the protection of the Daimyo's forces." She argued waving her arms on agitation, "You can't just break into that place and I'm not risking my mission for yours."

"You risked your mission the moment you decided to spy on us." Kakashi wasn't in the mood to relent, "You know the place, you know the layout and most importantly you know the kind of security the place has and where those records are kept. So like it or not you will help us."

"And if I refuse?"

"May I have a word with you Kakashi?" Naruto interjected annoying Kakashi who was on a roll.

"Can't this wait?" He didn't bother hiding his irritation this time. The expression on the genin's face however gave him a pause. It was speculative and a little calculating and that intrigued him enough to quash his annoyance.

"How important is it for us to break into this warehouse?"

"Fairly important I'd say."

A sheepish grin broke out on Naruto's face as he spoke his next words, "What if I told you I may have found a way to get what you want without so much as having to move from this room."

Sasuke scoffed mockingly and Sakura's eyes narrowed suspiciously while their 'guest' seemed even more guarded than usual. Kakashi ignored them all.

"If you're telling me that." Kakashi said throwing an arm around the genin's shoulder, "Then you Naruto are my new best friend."

A/N: Well you know the drill. Do what you've gotta do.