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Chapter 3: Secret Identities


Sasuke's POV

"Since this is a secret mission, will we get the chance to be in disguise?"

I groaned upon hearing Naruto's question. He was always getting exciting over the most unimportant things. It was Lee who had the patience to actually answer Naruto.

"We were told to not use our real names when we inquire about the enemy. However, there are bound to be a lot of people who recognizes us. So we were advised to enter kingdoms or villages besides our hometown and go undercover."

"I can't wait! I have always wanted to know how it feels like to be a spy."

Sometimes, I wondered how someone as foolish as Naruto could be such a skillful fighter. I had been thinking about it for the longest of time and had never managed to come up with an answer.

Seeing that it would be futile if I continued wrecking my brain for an conclusion, I chose to forget about it.

We were all on our horses as we rode through the Haruno Kingdom. A map which showed the way to the Konoha Kingdom was given to us and was in the hands of Shikamaru. We had been on the road for fifteen minutes; all the while he was fixated on the map.

Unusually, he appeared to be troubled.

"Is something wrong with the map, Shikamaru?" Neji seemed to have noticed the same thing as I did.

Shikamaru sighed and tossed the map towards Neji, who caught it easily with one hand.

"It's not really a big problem. I realized that to get to Konoha Kingdom, we need to pass through a lot of foreign kingdoms. The problem is that some of these kingdoms are not our allies."

"You mean we need to go through some enemy's territories?" I glanced over at the pink haired princess who spoke. From her posture and tone, one could easily notice that she was an experienced fighter. There was just something about her confident aura.

"It appears so." Neji answered as he analyzed the map. "An hour from here, we will be arriving at the Iburi Kingdom."

"I have never heard of the Iburi Kingdom." I heard Ino saying that and I wasn't surprised. Not a lot was known about the Iburi Kingdom, after all.

"The Iburi Kingdom has always been a mysterious kingdom. Some of our people had approached them previously to ask if they are interested in forming an alliance. But they rejected the offer without thinking twice." Shikamaru explained as he got the map back from Neji.

"Why are they so reluctant to be our allies?" I turned to Kiba who was riding beside me with his pet dog, Akamaru, placed in front of him. It was a well-known fact that Kiba wouldn't go anywhere without Akamaru.

"They never give a clear reason for that. That's why they're very suspicious. Before we left, my father told me that these kingdoms who refused to be our allies has one thing in common, which is the fact that they have history with Orochimaru in a way or another. They don't have much information about it but it's safe to assume that these kingdoms might have some useful information regarding our enemy." Shikamaru was silent for a few moments before speaking again. "However, it's not safe to reveal our identities once we step into the Iburi Kingdom. I don't think they'll be very happy to know that we are in their country if they know who we really are."

Everyone nodded at Shikamaru's suggestion and continued riding towards our destination.

I had to admit one thing, making Shikamaru the leader was a good decision.


Sakura's POV

When we realized we were about to reach the Iburi Kingdom, we stopped by a tavern to discuss plans for our 'secret identities'.

Naruto insisted to have it be called that way. He kept on blabbering about how cool it sounded.

We all sat at the corner of the tavern, away from the other customers. It was still early in the morning so there weren't very many people. Who would want to drink alcohol when it wasn't even 8 AM yet?

"Anyone has any idea on our secret identities?"

Shikamaru emphasized Naruto's newest favorite term as if it was a joke, which somehow was.

Naruto, not to my surprise, stood up from his seat while raising his hand up excitedly.

Was it really a good idea to have Naruto on a secret mission that involved spy work? I really wasn't so sure about it.

"I have an idea!" Naruto's eyes were filled with anticipation and he continued revealing his marvelous plan when everyone's attention was on him.

"I was thinking that we should disguise ourselves as civilians when we are at the Iburi Kingdom. If we walk around with swords and looking intimidating, it will raise suspicion. Of course, it's impossible for us to not have our sword with us. So, I am thinking that we can hide it under our cloak or something like that."

I nodded at Naruto's idea. So far, it sounded like a rather good plan. People tend to put their guard down around harmless looking civilians. Perhaps Naruto wasn't as ignorant as he appeared to be.

"And the exciting part is choosing our own secret identity!" It was amazing how Naruto could instantly go back looking like a dense idiot after he had started elaborating on a good plan. "I actually have already thought of what secret identity to give each of us."

We stayed quiet as we watched Naruto going back to take his seat. Somehow, the mischievous look on his face was giving me a bad feeling.

"Obviously, Neji and Hinata can pull off as a pair of siblings. And since Kiba has Akamaru with him, he can pretend to be a vet. They will not suspect a vet now, will they? Chouji and I can act as gourmets and Shino will suit being a lonely traveler."

Naruto suddenly stopped talking and appeared to be in deep thoughts.

"What's wrong, Naruto?" I asked when Naruto was taking quite a long time to think.

"Do you think it's believable if Shikamaru and Ino will pretend to be a married couple?"

Ino immediately squealed when she heard Naruto's question. Shikamaru was sitting right beside her and she grabbed onto his arm. Shikamaru groaned in frustration and muttered the word 'troublesome'.

"I'm sure it's going to be very believable. Shikamaru doesn't have to act to pull off as a husband who is fed up with his troublesome wife."

Ino glared at Kiba who had just insulted her but quickly went back to hugging her annoyed 'husband'.

"That's settled then." Naruto was chuckling at the look on Shikamaru's face but stopped when our leader shot a glare at the loud blonde. Naruto cleared his throat before continuing. "Lee and Tenten can pretend to be athletes. There's not much acting to do there though since both of you are physically capable. So it should be easy. Alright, who else is there?"

Naruto's eyes glance at me and then towards Sasuke. He went back to his thinking face and it didn't take long before an evil grin surfaced.

That was a bad sign, a really bad sign.

"Sasuke and Sakura can definitely pull off being a couple."

"Are you serious?" I hissed and was scowling at Naruto. He didn't seem to be intimidated at all as he took a sip of water.

"What is the meaning of this, dope?" Sasuke was clearly as upset as I was. Nobody in their right mind would believe that Sasuke and I was a couple! Whenever we got close to each other, hatred began oozing out from ourselves.

It wasn't going to work out.

Naruto placed his glass of water back to the table before looking back at us.

"I thought the two of you are capable of doing many things. Can't do something as simple as acting?"

I tensed up at Naruto's words. He knew how much I hated it when someone looked down on me or doubted my abilities. He was doing it on purpose to make me agree to his idea!

Apparently, Sasuke equally hated the way Naruto was challenging us. And fortunately for Naruto, the two of us fell into his stupid trap.

"Fine."

Once we agreed, Naruto began smiling proudly, as if he had just unlocked some sort of achievement.

As for me, I had to constantly remind myself not to murder that blonde friend of mine.


Sasuke's POV

"That dope has a death wish."

I found myself cursing at Naruto ever since we had left the tavern. Shikamaru asked the bartender if he knew a place to stay in the Iburi Kingdom and we were recommended an inn. Shikamaru came back to tell us the name of the inn and a general idea as to where it was located.

Once we stepped inside the Iburi Kingdom, we would immediately start acting our respective identities. To avoid suspicion, we would go separate ways after we left the tavern.

Before leaving the tavern, we took out our cloaks to hide our swords. As we did so, Shikamaru gave us more instructions. We were to directly head towards the inn to put our things down before going around the place to seek information on our enemy.

Of course, we should pretend we don't know one another to make the whole act even more believable. We decided to discreetly pass notes to one another as our form of communication while we were in the Iburi Kingdom.

"We'll enter the country one at a time to avoid suspicion." With that said, Shikamaru left and rode towards the Iburi Kingdom with Ino beside him.

When it was mine and Sakura's turn to go, I noticed Sakura glaring at me like I was some sort of eyesore. Well, I probably was an eyesore for her but it wasn't as if I particularly liked the idea of being her 'boyfriend'.

Unfortunately, I couldn't think of a better idea than Naruto's so I had no other choice.

I glared back at Sakura when I had gotten on my horse. Our little glaring competition was interrupted by the person who caused us to be in our current situation.

"Sasuke, Sakura, you're supposed to be a couple, not arch enemies. I want to see chemistry between the two of you, not hostility!"

We stopped glaring at each other and glared at Naruto instead. Our stupid blonde friend took a step backwards at our response towards his words and decided to shut his mouth for the sake of his life.

And without another word, Sakura and I started riding towards our destination.


Naruto's POV

"I knew it, the secret mission Fugaku and Kizashi gave me will be the cause of my death."

I was confident I could make Sasuke and Sakura agree to my idea if I questioned their abilities. That was what those two had in common. They absolutely hated it when people doubted their abilities.

Though I must say they could easily make people believe that they were a couple if they would just stop those fierce expressions from appearing on their faces.

They looked like a suitable couple, after all.

"Naruto."

I turned towards Neji who had just called out my name. He was shaking his head a little while smirking.

"I can see that you're trying to get Sasuke and Sakura together. I don't know why you're doing it but I must say you're asking for death by doing so."

I laughed in a carefree way at Neji's words. I agreed to what he had said and I knew how my second secret mission was more like a suicidal mission.

But I was starting to have fun and I wasn't planning to stop.

"Let's just see what will happen next."


Sakura's POV

"Hang on. Are we seriously sharing a room?"

I dropped my things onto the floor in an ungraceful way while Sasuke seemed to be very calm about the whole situation.

"We will most probably end up having to stay for the night in this country. So yes, as a couple, we are going to share a room."

"Why can't we just sleep in separate rooms?!"

"And risk having our covers blown? And I thought you're smart, Sakura."

I frowned at Sasuke's words and grabbed my things to put them properly at the corner of the room. I hated how Sasuke made sense and I hated how I had just made myself appear like an idiot.

I should be more professional and shouldn't allow such things to hinder the success of our mission.

But the fact that there was only one queen sized bed in the room didn't help me calm down at all.

That was a problem I decided to think about at night. For the time being, I had work to do.

Once we had finished preparing ourselves, we left the inn to begin our search for information.

It was weird for a normal 'couple' to go up to people and ask about someone like Orochimaru. So we decided to stroll around the place and search for opportunities for us to ask about our enemy.

At first glance, the Iburi Kingdom seemed like any other countries I had seen. Civilians were just leading their own normal lives. There were stalls where people sold food, vegetables and other daily necessity. There weren't many tall buildings around, only some old-looking buildings which are slightly run down already.

However, when I paid closer attention, there was something odd in the atmosphere. It felt thick and uncomfortable for some unknown reasons. And the more I stayed among the civilians, the more I noticed the tension surrounding them.

"I don't know why, but this place is giving me the creeps." I whispered in a voice as low as possible but enough to be heard by Sasuke.

"This place is so lifeless. And some of the civilians look as if their energy has been sucked away from them."

I nodded slightly at what Sasuke had pointed out. The eyes of some of the people around us seemed so empty. They reminded me of zombies and I definitely did not like that thought of mine.

We passed by a café which looked much newer than the shops around it when we overheard an interesting conversation. It was originating from a table nearest to the door where three men were seated. They didn't appear to be ordinary civilians judging from their physique and uniform.

"I forgot the last time I relaxed with a cup of coffee. The king has been making us work so much!"

"There's no other choice. Orochimaru needs more of the goods lately."

"I wonder what he wants to do with so many of those stuffs."

"We'll never know. Only Gotta Heika gets to meet Orochimaru personally."

The conversation ended when one of them reminded the others that they needed to get back to work. Sasuke and I had been walking as slowly as we could and stopped when the four men had completely vanished from our sight.

"I wonder what they are referring to by 'goods'." I whispered as I stared at the direction the men walked to.

"I want to know as well." Sasuke glanced over at the café and thought of an idea. "Let's go into that café and see if we can ask someone who those men were."

I nodded and followed Sasuke into the café. There weren't many customers at that time and we chose to sit on the table beside the one the men occupied earlier. A waitress went to clear up that table before coming to us to take our order.

"Hello. I have never seen the two of you around. Are you tourists?" The waitress appeared to be in her early twenties and unlike a lot of the other civilians, she didn't resemble a zombie. At least she appeared to be alive.

I was startled when Sasuke wrapped his arm around my shoulder and smiled at me a little. His face was so close and it was undeniable that he looked absolutely handsome. I even noticed the slight blush on the waitress' face as she stared at the smiling Sasuke.

I tried my best not to blush too much since a 'girlfriend' shouldn't be so embarrassed when her 'boyfriend' pulled her closer to him. At least, that should be the case. I wasn't experienced enough to be sure.

"I'm here on a vacation with my girlfriend. We're staying here for a night before leaving for another country tomorrow."

Sasuke sounded so smooth as if he had done things like these before. It made me wonder if he had a lot of girlfriends previously to be able to sound so believable.

I widened my eyes slightly when I realized I had allowed my mind to wander to unnecessary thing.

"Come on, Sakura. Get a hold of yourself. You don't want to lose to this guy now, do you?"

I had to prove my worth by putting up an even better act.

I smiled sweetly as I nuzzled against Sasuke. From the look on the waitress' face, I assumed she had bought our act.

"The two of you are so sweet! I hope you'll have fun during your vacation."

Yes, I was definitely having a lot of fun with my 'boyfriend'.


Sasuke's POV

It was obvious that Sakura was not planning to do worse than me in this undercover mission. She regained her composure and was acting flawlessly.

Sakura smiled at the waitress and started a conversation. It would be weird to suddenly ask about the men from earlier so it was wise of her to start some small talks.

"Is there any place you will recommend us to visit here?"

The waitress looked thoughtful for a while, as if Sakura had just asked a difficult question.

"To be honest, there aren't many places to visit in this kingdom. A lot of places have restricted entry."

"What sort of places are those?" I asked casually, not wanting to sound too eager.

"I'm not so sure myself. Those places are under the direct control of our king so normal civilians like us never asked about it. Only people working for the king know what is going on in there."

"Do you mean people like the men who had just left the café?" Sakura pointed towards the table where the men were seated earlier and the waitress nodded.

"That's right. People working for the king wears those brown uniforms those men were wearing. I have no idea what they do but I once heard it has something to do with mining."

I glanced over at Sakura and saw that her brows were furrowed in concentration. She must be trying to grasp the newest information we had just gathered. Although there were still a lot of unanswered questions, at least we found out about a thing or two.

I turned towards the waitress and gave a small smile. She didn't seem to know anything else anymore so might as well end our conversation.

"We'll have two cups of coffee and some sandwich. Thank you."

"Alright!"

After the waitress was gone, I removed my arm from Sakura's shoulder and rested my chin on my hand.

"What do you think the people are mining in this place?" Sakura said in a low voice as she stared at the table where the king's subordinates were seated.

"No idea. Let's walk later and try to locate the others. We'll decide what to do after that."

Sakura nodded slightly, just when the waitress came back with our orders.

Sakura smiled sweetly at the waitress in a trouble-free way. I looked at her as she engaged in another conversation with the waitress. It wasn't anything about our enemy, just casual talks about shops around the town and such.

The way she would giggle in the middle of the conversation made her look adorable. If someone were to see her looking like that, they wouldn't be able to imagine her as a fierce fighter.

It felt comforting to see her looking so relaxed to the point that I almost forgot it was just an act.


Sakura's POV

After Sasuke and I left the café, we came across Shikamaru and Ino on the streets and Shikamaru slid a piece of paper to Sasuke. When nobody was looking, Sasuke took the paper out and opened it.

On the paper, Shikamaru wrote that he had found out what the king of the Iburi Kingdom had been doing. It appeared that the king had been mining some sort of gem for quite a long time already. He had sent Kiba to check out what sort of gem it was.

He ended the note by saying that we shouldn't engage in any sort of fight and would be leaving the country tomorrow at 6 AM. We were to meet at the lake which was located outside the borders of the Iburi Kingdom.

"What are we going to do now?" I asked Sasuke as he kept the note inside his pocket.

"We'll just walk around then."

I followed Sasuke as we walked through different routes. They weren't anything interesting along the way and I was just glancing around casually. I stopped in my track when a little girl came running towards us.

She was a cute little girl who looked like she was just six or seven years old. She was holding onto a basket filled with small teddy bears. I smiled at her as she beamed cheerfully at us.

"Good afternoon, Sir. Do you want to buy a doll for your beautiful girlfriend?"

I was startled at the little girl's words and was going to politely reject her offer on behalf of Sasuke. I didn't trust Sasuke to be capable of rejecting in a good way so I had to do it for him. As if Sasuke would agree to buy something for me.

"They're really cute. But I-"

"Sure."

I widened my eyes at Sasuke who was actually buying the doll from the little girl. The little girl thanked us before running away from where she came from.

To say I was surprised that Sasuke had just bought a teddy bear was definitely an understatement. Did he really buy a doll for me?

That seemed very unlikely. Perhaps he had bought it for himself. That sounded very odd but I couldn't think of another reason.

"Sasuke, I didn't know you like dolls."

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at me as if I just said the most ridiculous thing he had heard that day.

"You thought I bought this doll for myself?"

I tried not to laugh at the thought of Sasuke being surrounded by a large number of cute dolls and nodded in response.

"You must be joking." Sasuke muttered the words under his breath. I knew it was almost impossible for Sasuke Uchiha to be a fan of teddy bears, but it seemed equally impossible for him to have bought that doll for me.

But then he proved me wrong by reaching out the doll towards me. I felt stupid for staring at him in silence but I just couldn't help myself.

I thought he hated me. Well, I didn't hate him. I never liked using the word 'hate'. It was a strong word, after all. I was just utterly pissed off by him most of the time.

"Did you just really buy me a gift?" My voice trailed off slightly, showing how I found the whole situation to be very unbelievable.

Sasuke smirked at my reaction and took a step towards me. He placed the teddy bear onto my hands. I looked at the soft doll on my hands and gave it a light squeeze before looking back at Sasuke.

He still had that smirk I had been seeing so often as he spoke in a teasing voice.

"Yes, I just bought a gift for my girlfriend. I thought she might need this doll to make her look cuter. After all, she tends to scowl too much."

I glared at my 'thoughtful' boyfriend before walking away. I had mixed feelings as I held onto the brown teddy bear on my hands.

For a moment, I thought Sasuke Uchiha might be a nice person. And then the next instance, he returned being the annoying person he was.

I couldn't seem to begin to understand how that mind of his worked.

And I wasn't sure if I would ever know how.


Author's Note: I hope you like this chapter! The next chapter will feature Sasuke and Sakura's little 'alone' time in their room back in the inn. Please look forward to it! As usual, please leave a review. My readers' opinions mean a lot to me! Follows and favorites are very much appreciated as well. Thank you for reading and have a nice day!