PHASE 1: My New Moon- Chapter 3
Somewhere on the outskirts of Fire Country was a small isolated town, bustling with life as the townsfolk were moving around, buying or selling things, and decorating the streets for the upcoming annual Festival of the Gods to celebrate the birth of the universe. The festival occurred during the last week of the sixth month until the first week of the seventh month, which on the last day at exactly seven of the evening a play will be held in the heart of town, the center of the place where an average dome of wood was built to accommodate more or less 500 persons.
While everyone was busy with the festival preparations, there was this one person, wearing black pants and sleeveless olive green v-neck shirt, and a straw hat that obscured his upper portion of his face, that sat on a stool outside the pub and merely watched each person that passed by him. The straw hat wearing man appeared to be young and had a fair skin complexion that complimented his black hair that somehow can be seen under the hat.
Clicking his tongue in irritation, the man tilted his head up a little to reveal a pair of sharp dark eyes. He was Sasuke Uchiha.
It had been a month and next week will be the second since he left Konoha for a mission, yet he found nothing useful but the knowledge of his target being in the town apart from the physical descriptions that was given to him. It was said that the man he was pursuing was a serial killer, a mad man at large that had managed to escape the Blood Prison, where no one could once inside. The criminal was from Konoha and was convicted of malpractice training of Cadets or Genins and other crimes like killing random people on a whim. And now, after fifteen years behind cold bars, the criminal was finally out for blood that would threaten most of the villages and small towns should the news came out.
Feeling thirsty, Sasuke stood from his seat and went inside the pub for something cool to drink, though he stopped when a flyer stuck on his face by the wind. Pulling it off, he read it and mumbled three words.
"An entertainer, huh?" he then tossed the flyer away without a care of the policy of no littering.
It was quarter pass twelve, but the noise coming off the speakers at every corner of the pub that assaulted Sasuke's ears, in which he winced noticeably, made one would think it was night. Recomposing, Sasuke sauntered in to the pub table island where a bartender was wiping a glass goblet with a piece of clean white cloth.
The bartender, a man in his mid-thirties with slick black hair and mustache, noticed a silhouette of someone walking closer towards him from the corner of his right eye, and so he turned to that direction and saw Sasuke sat on a vacant stool provided for customers.
"Anything you want, sir?" asked the bartender after setting the goblet aside to his left with the cloth in it.
"Cold water." replied Sasuke, not looking at the man in front of him but to people to his right that danced with the beat of music.
"Right. Just give me. Moment."
"Hn."
The bartender turned his back on Sasuke and walked around the elongated table to reach the refrigerator, which the man pulled open and the light from in it reflected his person that made him more visible under dim and neon lights that moved around the place. Picking up a white transparent water-filled pitcher, the bartender made his way back to his customer and placed the pitcher on the island table, before he duck and get a glass.
"I've never seen your face here. Are you new in this town?" the man asked as he poured water in the glass and pushed it towards Sasuke who took it immediately.
Sasuke took three gulps that emptied the glass and slammed it down. "Yeah. I'm here for work."
"... Say, are you from Konoha?"
"How'd you know?"
The man chuckled lightly, picking up the goblet and resumed wiping it a little. He then turned around and hang the goblet up the hangers along with others, and threw the cloth in the nearby basket to his right. "You're the third person I met from Konoha." he said, facing Sasuke. "The first two were ninjas, seeking a criminal that's considered as an S-rank. I'm supposed to not know this, but I happen to be an undercover ninja from Suna. I've been here for three months now, but those two I met didn't last a week and so as my comrades. I'm the only one left."
Sasuke was surprised at what he was told, and decided to indulge in the conversation to know more. "I heard that those two before me were the first ones that the Hokage had sent, but didn't return. What happened to them?"
"Keigo Akabari,-" the man whispered. "-the criminal at large, has been here for five months at most. For what, I don't know. He's been idle until those two foolish Konoha ninjas and my comrades decided to ambush him, which did not end well. Lucky me I wasn't with them then cuz I went to run an errand; sending a message to our Kazekage."
"Is that guy here still?"
"Yeah. See that?" he jerked his head, pointing behind Sasuke.
Upon landing his eyes on the dark man at the other side leaning on the couch and drinking, Sasuke froze. He did not know until now that the man he was searching to capture and kill was right in the pub he was in. The bartender noted Sasuke's surprised and the former would admit that he, too, would be as surprised as the latter had he not known that fact. "He's always hanging out here, and has done nothing but to live like a normal citizen as far as I know."
"If attacking him won't work, then I'll do the opposite." said Sasuke to his self.
That way I'll be done soon and see Naruto again.
"I don't know what you're thinking, but aren't you suspicious of me?" the man interrupted Sasuke's thoughts who then turned back to the said man.
"I am." replied the teen casually without sparing a glance at the one he spoke to as he helped himself with another glass of water.
"Then, why you seem so confident? Who knows, I might have killed you, yeah?" the man raised his left dark brow with a lopsided smirk.
"Cuz I need information in regards of my mission." looking, Sasuke returned the smirk, only it was more intimidating and menacing. "You'd be dead before you could pull out your weapon anyway"
The man only chuckled at Sasuke's proclamation. Calming down, he said "I like your arrogance, Mr. Uchiha, former nuke nin of Konoha." he then snuck his right hand in his side pant pocket, fishing out a card. "Here's my identification."
Sasuke took the card from the man and gave it a once over. "Ichiro Risuga. Hn. Elite, huh."
"Yeah." the bartender, now dubbed as Ichiro Risuga, took his card back.
Leaning forward and placing his arms on the table, Sasuke showed a friendly smile. "Maybe I should work here and see to it that I'll be able to lure the guy to my trap."
Ichiro could feel a bead of sweat rolling down the side of his head, wondering how Sasuke would react if he told him what the vacant position was. "Are you sure about that? There's a vacant position, yeah. And this place is in need of it. But, I don't think you'll like that. Just so you know I can't force the manager to place you in another."
"Why? You're a ninja." the teen shrugged.
"Yes. However, I will not bend that way; using my career to blackmail someone. That's illegal."
"Fine." Sasuke relented. "Just put me in whatever position, that."
"But...you won't like it. Well, we can work together. I'll be here and you outside."
"No. What I plan is for myself only, and only I can implement it. It's my way to redeem myself, and besides... I swore to do this alone no matter what."
Seeing the defiance that he can not rival, Ichiro let out an exasperated sigh. "...alright. Your lost." he rolled his eyes.
"Thanks for the water." Sasuke stood up and slammed some coins on the table with his left hand. "Here's the tip for the info." and with that said, he pivoted his heels and made his way out.
There was a two-second delay before Ichiro realized what had happened, and so he reached out for the teen who was two steps away from the exit, yelling, "Wait! Kid! Your position will...be..." he trailed off as Sasuke was finally. He was about to run after the teen, but another customer arrived and ordered a bottle of Margarita.