Stinking Shurikens
Disclaimer: All characters, songs and scenes belong to their respective owners...
Chapter 3: Like a Kunai to its Holster...
A/N: I was planning on posting up the first chapter of My Schoolmate, The Shinobi before posting this chapter up, but I wasn't able to due to a slight problem. So, instead, this goes up first.
As Sasuke and Neji left Sakura's apartment, both of them were being photographed by a hidden figure.
Sasuke and Neji were at a Ramen stand. Then, Neji started to ask a question. "So, how did you know there was a disk?"
"Sakura never lies. Its one of her annoying quirks."
Neji looks at the photo of a younger Sasuke and Sakura.
"Sakura and I were at the academy together," Sasuke said. "We even became Jonins on the same day."
"Really?"
"Yep. Both of us were like a Kunai to its Holster..."
10 Years ago, the Konoha Ninja Academy: Jonin Training Ground
Sasuke was at a training course as he looks around. Some targets popped up and Sasuke throws some shurikens at the targets. Another target popped up behind Sasuke and Sasuke quickly made accurate shots at the targets behind him.
Suddenly, a pink-haired girl appeared at the entrance of the training grounds. Sasuke quickly jumped out of the way as the girl threw shurikens from her weapons pouch at some moving targets behind Sasuke. Sakura gives a small wink at Sasuke. As soon as Sakura ran out of shurikens, two more targets appeared next to Sakura and Sakura quickly took out two kunais from her weapons holster and sliced the two targets in half.
As Sakura finished with the two targets, she sees a moving target and does some back flips as Sasuke threw his remaining shurikens from his weapons pouch, ripping the moving target to shreds.
Sakura finished the back flips and landed right on Sasuke. Sasuke and Sakura stared at each other for a while, and then they began to kiss...
Neji stared at Sasuke. "You're making this up, aren't you?"
"Well, that's what we saw in ourselves," Sasuke explained, "After we graduated, we had our first taste of being Jonins."
Sakura and Sasuke were looking through some old files. Suddenly, a target appeared.
"I won't let you hurt Sakura!" Sasuke yelled as he throws a barrage of shurikens at the target as Sakura quickly made a dramatic jump out of the way...
Suddenly, Neji spoke out. "Now, stop that."
"What really happened, Sasuke?" Neji asked as he was beginning to get impatient.
"ANBU ZERO," Sasuke answered.
Sakura, Sasuke, Orochimaru and a group of ANBUs and entered a brand new office, celebrating something that is close to a housewarming party as Sakura threw away the plastic covering the new office chairs and desks...
"A unit that is only answerable to itself, completely independent from ninja units in Konoha. We were right there...in Ground Zero."
"But then again, they're all the same as the others, just in a different building and more privacy." Sasuke eats his Ramen. "And the usual out-of-regulations cash incentives." Sasuke looked at Neji. "Tell me, have you ever..."
"Bashed a man to death with a stone turtle? Nope," Neji answered.
"I mean..."
"Taken a bribe?" Neji finished Sasuke's question again. "Nope, never ever. But that was the first time in a few years since you almost ask me that question."
"Sorry about that," Sasuke apologized.
It was Neji's turn to ask the question. "What about you? Have you ever received a bribe?"
"Well, there have been offers, but I closed the counter on them," said Sasuke.
"So, why did Sakura leave ANBU ZERO?"
"Remember the 'Zabuza case' a few years back?" Sasuke asked.
"Oh yeah," Neji remembered, "The mad swordsman who killed a tyrannical businessman as part of a job. What about him?"
"We had a case on him but after 10 months, he was murdered by a Kunai in the back of the head, so a 10-month case totally went down the drain."
"And Sakura quit and you got the blame," guessed Neji.
"Yep." Sasuke sighed.
Meanwhile, Kiba and Shino were interrogating Sakura in her cell.
In the evidence room, Sasuke was with Kakashi as Sasuke looked at one envelope with Sakura's fingerprints.
"And this is the evidence? One envelope?" asked Sasuke.
"Well, there were some photographs," Kakashi said, "some pretty...'H' Photographs."
"So, where are the photos?"
Kakashi pointed upwards. "They're on the 11th floor. Next to the banned Icha Icha Paradise issues."
"That 'H'?" Sasuke looked around, and then asked, "Hey, Kakashi, did you happen to make any copies of them? For archival purposes."
"Well, that would be acting outside of regulations," Kakashi said as he opens a file cabinet and takes out the copies of the photos and showed them to Sasuke. "I should have expected better from you, Sasuke."
"You're right, Kakashi."
Sasuke looks at the photos.
"Man, just one look at this tells me that his respected title would go down the drain if this ever goes public."
"Afternoon, gentlemen," greeted Sasuke as he pass by Shino and Kiba on his way Sakura's cell with a file.
In Sakura's cell, Sasuke put down three envelopes in evidence bags.
"Ok, Sakura, which envelope did you send to Asuma?"
Sakura began to laugh. "Sasuke, you got to be kidding." Sasuke had a serious look on his face.
"Trust me," Sasuke said.
"Come on, say it to me again this time and I won't laugh." Sasuke still looked serious, so Sakura stopped laughing and pointed at the envelope with her fingerprints. "That one."
In Iruka's office, Sasuke put down Sakura's envelope and the photos. "This is Sakura's envelope, and these are one-to-one copies of the photos. The originals aren't folded, so the photos don't fit," Sasuke explained, "The envelope Sakura sent had a computer disk in there. So, this is enough evidence to say that Sakura is innocent."
"Very well, I'll release Sakura."
"She's on to something, Iruka. Just put Neji and I back on the case...at least just for a week."
"One at a time, Sasuke."
Iruka made a phone call. "Choji, we're releasing Sakura Haruno..."
Sakura and Sasuke walked out of ANBU ZERO HQ.
Sasuke had a smirk. "Well, I got you out."
"Alright, did you get a copy of the evidence report?" asked Sakura.
"Nope. Some idiot busted the photocopier."
"Well?"
"Well, you don't expect me to go around with a pen and paper..."
"Alright, there was a copy disk." Sakura puts on a pair of sunglasses.
"In your apartment?"
"Two doors to the left," Sakura said as she walked off.
"Two doors to the left...great."
Sasuke was driving with Sakura at the passenger seat.
"Do you remember the last time you came to my apartment?
Sasuke shakes his head.
"Liar. You don't remember showing up at my place drunk one time, claiming to tell me something important, before throwing up on three of my guests!"
Sasuke grinned. "Well, I hope you cleaned up."
Sasuke and Sakura arrived to a scene of a fire.
"What happened!"
"Sakura-chan!"
Sakura sees her friend, Ino.
"Ino, what happened!" Sakura asked Ino.
"The whole place just blew up."
"Did you happen to grab..."
Ino shook her head.
"But how did they know?"
Sasuke looked at Sakura and asked, "Who's they?"
In a van nearby, a Shinobi was listening in to the conversation from a listening device.
Sakura: Where am I going to live?
Sasuke: There's room at my place, Sakura.
Sakura: Ever heard of the phrase, 'not in a million f-ing years'!