A/N: Well, it's been a hot minute, huh? This chapter is a lot more serious than the previous ones, but I was feeling angsty, I guess. Like always, I hope you all enjoy it! Remember, reviews are always welcome!

TRIGGER WARNINGS:

This chapter is a little bloody, so if blood doesn't sit well with you, please do not read!

BLOOD AND VIOLENCE: Not super intense and nothing extremely detailed, but again, please pay attention to these!

It was supposed to be just like any other day. Naruto had just been promoted to Lead Detective for the Konoha Police Department and they were going out to dinner to celebrate. Sasuke had to run a few files to her client who worked in a massive corporation before she could clock out for the day. Her car was in the shop for a routine tune-up, so she was forced to take the bus or walk. Not that she minded either, though, both were perfectly fine ways to get around.

Sasuke glanced at the clock on the wall. 2:38 it read. Enough time to get to her client and return to her office before the day was over. With her plans for the day set, she head out with the files tucked securely into her briefcase. The streets were fairly empty considering most people were at their jobs, so she decided to walk the distance. Sasuke was never one to suffer from allergies, so as she stood at the edge of the road waiting for the light to tell her to walk, she took a deep breath. May brought fresh air and warm sunlight that hugged her skin. It was a beautiful day to celebrate her lover's promotion.

The air took on a sudden chill and Sasuke heard people stop behind her. Something told her that something wasn't right. The people behind her stood a bit too close to her and Sasuke silently willed the lights to change as she gripped the briefcase tighter. Her eyes darted back and forth and her spine was rigid with discomfort. Her knuckles were bone-white by the time the lights changed, but before she could lift her feet to move forward, a black sedan screeched to a stop in front of her. Sasuke heard the shots before she felt any pain. Her eyes were wide as her body slumped to the road. It hurt to breathe. It hurt to move. Her hands still gripped the briefcase as she watched the two men move from behind her and try to pry it from her hands. One of the men kicked her back and the other pinned her left arm to the ground.

Everything came to her at once. If she let go of the briefcase, her client would lose and that would mean that she would lose. Her pride overrode her pain and she gripped onto the briefcase even tighter doing her best to bring it close to her body so she could curl around it. Her sight was getting blurry and her muscles were getting weaker, but she wasn't going to let go. There were a few curses muttered under a breath followed by an angry and rushed vocal exchange. Then she felt it. Nothing hurt, but there was a coldness that spread throughout her side. Thankfully, before her attackers could try anything else, there was the sound of sirens ripping through the air. The two men closest to her jumped into the vehicle and her shooter sped away. Sasuke let her grip on the briefcase loosen. She lay there on the ground in a puddle of her own blood as it was too much to even try and reach for her phone. There was no pain, only fear. Fear that this would be her final resting place. Fear that she would never get to see Naruto again.

A pair of feet entered Sasuke's blurry vision and she faintly felt hands on her shoulders. She was sure that the person was saying something, but she couldn't hear anything. Her vision fell more out of focus and black began to creep into her surroundings. She wanted to ask the person to call for Naruto. She wanted her boyfriend to hold her hand and tell her everything was going to be okay, but nothing happened. The darkness dragged her under.

Things were going great! Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kiba had all been promoted from Inspector to Lead Detective which meant they got their own team of Investigators. The day had started off strong and all three men were shipped off to their respective units where they would meet their teams. Naruto was the newest addition to the Gang Unit, Shikamaru went to the Organized Crime Unit, and Kiba went to the Abductions and Missing Persons Unit. Naruto awkwardly shifted from foot to foot as his new boss, Kakashi Hatake, gave him a mini-tour of Naruto's personal office.

"And that's that. I'm sure you know what you're doing otherwise Sarutobi wouldn't have brought you. But always remember to look underneath the underneath. I'll send your team in a little bit." Kakashi explained on his way out the door.

Naruto wasn't able to answer the man before he left. He was all alone in his personal office. His name was embossed in silver on a black name plaque. He had a desk and filing cabinets, hell, he even had his own team now! He couldn't wait to tell Sasuke about everything. Naruto walked over to his desk and picked up the thick file that lay there. He flipped through some of the pages just lightly scanning some of the info. "Akatsuki," he said the name to himself. The largest gang in Konoha, but also the most elusive. Before he could sit down and read anymore, there came a timid knock on the door. "Come in!"

The door opened and two young adults walked in. A male and female of average height looked straight at Naruto. The older blonde figured that the two were part of his assigned team, but he was sure there was supposed to be a third one. "Where's the other one?'

The man with brown hair and a bored face spoke up, "We don't know. Konohamaru didn't tell us that he wasn't going to come in today –"

"Yeah, something must have happened 'cause he never does this." The woman with orange hair interrupted.

Naruto was slightly miffed that his team of investigators looked and apparently acted like a ragtag group of teenagers. "We'll get started without him." The woman seemed ready to interrupt again, but the look on Naruto's face kept quiet. "I firmly believe that teams can't work if they can't trust each other, so I was going to have us go on a department-approved training retreat, but that doesn't seem like it's going to work today." He ran a hand through his unruly hair trying to think of an alternative to do when someone's phone rang. His eyes landed on the man whose name he still hasn't gotten yet. "Pick it up."

"But, sir –"

"It's okay, pick it up."

The younger man pulled his phone from his back pocket and his eyes widened a bit at the name on the screen. "It's Konohamaru," he whispered to the woman. She urged him to answer the call. When he accepted the call a booming voice burst from the speakers and the man almost dropped the phone.

"Why the hell did you take so long to answer!?"

Naruto gestured for the phone to be placed in his hands and the young man did not hesitate. Naruto turned on the speaker, not like the man on the other end needed it, and laid the phone down.

"Udon! Fucking hell, Udon! Answer the fucking phone!"

Irritation spread through Naruto's body, but he curbed it when he remembered that the man on the other end truly believed he was talking to Udon. "It's not Udon, it's Naruto, your boss. Care to tell me why you're not at the office yet?"

The line went silent for a split second. "Boss, we've got a case. A young woman was attacked on the street and I think it was done by Akatsuki. I saw one of their men get into the car before they drove away. I called for help and the woman's in transit, but I don't think she's going to make it."

An exciting first day, no? Naruto got the location from Konohamaru and hung up with the promise to be on-site as soon as possible. After notifying Kakashi of the phone call, he ushered his team into the car. The scene was on the other end of the downtown district and a quick thought of Sasuke flitted through his mind when he realized how close he was to her law firm.

A couple of police cars blocked the road from any traffic and tape marked off the blood-covered site. Naruto assumed the young brunette lacking a uniform talking to an officer to be Konohamaru, so he headed over. Udon and Moegi, he had learned her name in the car, flanked him from behind. When Konohamaru spotted his friends with Naruto, he excused himself and headed over.

"Boss," Konohamru began without prompting "The attack happened about an hour ago. I heard a couple of gunshots so I came over and the woman was on the ground clutching a briefcase. I knew I couldn't get them so I played a siren to get them to run. By the time I reached her, she had passed out. I counted three gunshot wounds, a stab wound, and a broken wrist. I had never seen so much blood before."

Naruto noticed that the young man was shaking and his words were starting to fall apart. "Konohamaru, right?" At the small nod, Naruto continued. "You did well. There's nothing we can do about the attackers yet, so let's analyze the scene first. Is there a possible motive?"

"The briefcase. She was holding onto it pretty tight. It might tell us something." Konohamaru said with a much calmer tone.

"Right, so that's where we start." Naruto lead his team behind the tape. He waited until he got the okay from the crime scene photographers before he moved in. With gloved hands, Naruto reached for the briefcase. "Damn, it's locked. I hoped this would've been a quick one-two-done type of thing. Why did they do such a brutal attack so early in the day?" He leaned his ear down to get as close to the combination lock without getting blood in his hair. The lock was fairly simple to crack and he took note of the numbers for future reference. As he read off the numbers for someone to write down, a feeling of panic settled in his gut. The number pattern was his and Sasuke's anniversary. It had to have been a coincidence because there was no way that the victim could have been his girlfriend. She should have been at her office at this time of the day!

Shakes wracked his hands as Naruto lifted the top of the briefcase open. Something fell out and landed in the puddle of blood and Naruto thought he was going to throw up. He couldn't get his hands to let go of the briefcase as his eyes were locked onto the small photo of him kissing Sasuke's cheek. It was one of the rare pictures they had taken where Sasuke was laughing. He was suddenly aware that he was squatting in a puddle of his lover's blood. He let the lid fall shut and quickly removed himself.

"Boss?" came Konohamaru's inquiry. "What's wrong?"

Naruto never got the chance to answer as his phone took that exact moment to ring. He quickly shed his gloves and pulled out his phone. He didn't recognize the number, but he still answered. "Naruto Uzumaki? This is Shizune from Senju University Medical Center. Sasuke Uchiha – " Naruto didn't wait for her to finish. He hung up and took off towards his car and drove away before anyone knew what was happening.

"Where was the victim taken?" Moegi spoke up.

"What?" came Udon's confused reply.

"The victim, I think the boss knew her," Moegi said as she held up the photo.

The trio remained silent as Konohamaru took lead.

"Where is she!?" Naruto demanded. There was no room for hesitation. He was a man in a panic and he wasn't going to waste time waiting for answers. Fortunately, for the hospital staff, a pink-haired woman caught the attention of the rampaging blonde. "Sakura!"

The woman jogged over to her and wrapped her arms around his neck. "She's in surgery. Tsunade's working on her, she'll be okay."

"But Konohamaru said that she might not make it. Y-you didn't see the blood! There was so much of it! S-she, she can't die, Sakura. I haven't told her how much I love her. She doesn't know how much she means to me... she can't go. She can't!" Naruto wailed. Sakura hugged her best friend tighter. She could feel his panic and sorrow and desperation. It was up to Sasuke whether or not she would survive.

It had been a few days since Sasuke made it through surgery and she hadn't woken up. Naruto had been a mess and he didn't leave her side. Kakashi had allowed him a few days off work, but the older man expected Naruto to be back at work the next day regardless of the situation. The blonde rested his forehead against Sasuke's pale hand. His eyes were tired and his head hurt, but he couldn't leave his love. It just wasn't possible.

Tsunade had told him that the surgery was rough on the young woman and that she almost passed on multiple times, but she had ultimately survived. The experienced surgeon believed that her body needed heavy recovery time and that was why Sasuke wasn't waking. Naruto lifted his head to look at his lover's face. She was so pale, paler than the usual porcelain that he found so beautiful, and his heart broke. The setting sun cast an orange hue over the room, and despite it being his favorite color, he found no beauty in the setting.

It was nearing the time when visiting hours would be up and Naruto would have to return to an empty home. Another part of his heart broke at the thought. His eyes filled with tears that he couldn't hold back. Silently, he let the sobs leave his body. Through his crying, he felt a twitch in his hands and his crying immediately stopped. He blinked away the tears blurring his vision. Sasuke's hand twitched again and Naruto watched as her eyes moved rapidly behind her lids. The young man fumbled for the button to call in the doctor and seconds later, Tsunade and Sakura entered the room.

Sasuke had finally opened her eyes and Tsunade rushed forward to do a quick examination. Sakura held Naruto back while Tsunade did her job. The blonde was relentless and Sakura knew that if he wasn't so exhausted from days of no sleep, he would have put her on the ground in seconds. Tsunade turned around with a smile on her face. "She's okay. She needs plenty of rest and I'll be keeping her here for a few more days. She'll be moved to the recovery wing by tomorrow morning."

Tsunade left to leave and Sakura quickly followed. It was just Naruto and Sasuke and the silence was deafening. Naruto remained at the foot of the bed and he made no move to get closer. He was afraid that he was dreaming – that Sasuke wasn't actually awake and breathing.

"Come here," Sasuke ordered her voice scratchy. She did her best to pull herself up into a sitting position, but her body screamed in protest. She was vaguely aware that her entire midsection was wrapped in bandages and one of her arms was in a cast, but she was fully aware of how much pain she was in. She threw Naruto a look and he was by her side without another word. Her hand came up to rest on his neck and she just looked at him. She watched as his bright blue eyes filled with tears.

Naruto's own tanned hand came to rest on her wrist. "I really thought you were gone. I really thought you had left and you wouldn't know how much I love you. I really love you, Sasuke, and I don't think I can ever say how much."

Sasuke's face relaxed and a small smile formed. This man who was everything she wasn't, had her heart in a vice grip and she wouldn't have it any other way. "You don't need to tell me because I know. Your face says it every morning. You breathe it in every breath. I can only hope that you know I feel the same." Both adults remained quiet. They found comfort in each other's presence. Words didn't need to be spoken because their eyes said enough.

A thought came to Sasuke as she moved her eyes to the setting sun in the window. "Hospital food doesn't offer much for a celebration, huh?"