AlexandriteSky: Merry Christmas everybody! This chapter is shorter than most, but I thought that it would be a nice day to update. Enjoy!
Many thanks to:
Xdevil-childx, Seochan, ovicati, Pierniczek, Eien-chan, Maxie, and anonymouslyME for reviewing!
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Sasuke couldn't relax.
Ever since leaving the brothel and seeing Sakura's wanted poster, the raven-haired man had been struck by a horrible premonition and unable to calm his humming nerves; now he sat against the wall polishing his blade as Sakura and Kakashi slept peacefully to his side.
The moon peeked through the window, casting its gentle glow over him as he methodically wiped up and down his sword. Daylight could not come soon enough; Sasuke wanted nothing more than to leave this small town as soon as they possibly could.
Quiet cities like this one worried him the most.
For the past three years Sakura and he had remained in hiding, being careful not to stay in one location too long. Always, they chose the busiest cities possible, slipping into anonymity by blending into faceless crowds and using other people's existences to shield their own. In the mean time they trained, with Sasuke practicing his swordsmanship while Sakura visited the city archives in hopes of expanding her knowledge.
Only once had they dared to step into a small city like this one, and the visit ended with them on the run from several bounty hunters that had happened to cross paths with them on the main street. So far they had managed to remain unnoticed by keeping Sakura indoors during daylight. Only when shrouded by darkness was the princess able to go out to exercise her muscles, Sasuke ever alert at her side.
The raven-haired man knew he needed to get some sleep. It would be only a few more hours until sunrise, and he needed all of the rest he could get so that he could function at his optimum the next day. If they managed to find a guide, they would be leaving the city, and it would be up to Sasuke to ensure their safe arrival at Byakugan City.
His grip tightened on the hilt of his sword.
After the deaths of his parents, Sakura's parents had taken both Itachi and him in as a favor to their deceased parents, treating them like part of the family despite them being of low birth. From that point on Sasuke had been at Sakura's side and they had become fast friends, partly because of their similarity in age and mostly because of Sakura's persistence.
"Hi." She said, holding out a tiny hand that barely looked like it would fit in Sasuke's palm. "Let's be friends!"
Now she was like a younger sister to him, and Sasuke swore that she would never have to experience anything so painful ever again.
A home, family, and friends…after losing all of these things, it had seemed almost surreal when they were easily handed back to him once the Haruno family had placed them under their care. The warmth that Sasuke had thought would be gone forever once again enveloped him, healing his grief with its gentle touch.
It only hurt more to know that once again, his precious things had been stolen away – only this time by his own brother.
Sasuke didn't know how Sakura could stop herself from cursing the day that her parents had brought the two of them home. He would have understood perfectly if she had told him that she never wanted to see him again; just looking at himself in the mirror was sometimes too much, and he would force himself to look away before his hatred overwhelmed him.
He looked forward to the day he would once again come face-to-face with Itachi – next time, however, he wouldn't be helpless.
Itachi would suffer just as he had made Sakura suffer.
Sasuke would make sure of it.
A slight creak startled him from his thoughts, and Sasuke reflexively jumped to his feet as he looked around the room for the source. His actions woke the other two occupants in the room, and Sakura peered at him sleepily through half-open eyes.
"Sasuke?" she asked with a yawn.
After scanning the room one more time, Sasuke allowed himself to drop his guard. The sound most likely came from other guests staying in the inn; because of its cheap price, the walls were thin and the flooring was made from old wood, causing loud groans whenever there was movement nearby.
"Nothing." He reassured. "Go back to sleep."
"Mmmm." Sakura sighed, rolling onto her side. Kakashi did the same, though his visible eye remained cautious.
Sasuke settled back down next to the pink haired girl, his eyes dark. A sweet scent wafted into the room, causing his nose to twitch with discomfort as he looked around for the source. It smelled like a combination of sugar with something floral, and it made him want to gag.
Just what was that…?
Too late did his eyes land on a shadow outside of their door that had been absent previously. The dark haired man once again lurched to his feet, alarms shrilling loudly in his head as he drew his sword.
"Get up!" he roared, rousing his drowsy companions. "We have to get out now!"
"Sasuke, wha-" Sakura began before her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she dropped onto her mattress with a heavy thud. Kakashi immediately rushed to her side, barely managing to touch her shoulder before he too collapsed onto the floor.
"Fuck." Sasuke cursed as the drug began to affect him as well. Suddenly his body seemed too heavy to move, and no matter how desperately he willed his limbs to move, it was as if his entire body had fallen asleep.
Sleeping gas. He thought before finally succumbing.
How could I have let this happen?
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"Yo Naruto. Strange seeing you here." The inn keeper yawned widely. "What can I do for you today?"
"I'm looking for some people." Naruto replied, emptying a few copper colored coins onto the table. "There's a guy who looks like a scarecrow accompanying two peeps around my age, and I'm willing to bet they only paid for one night. Care to tell me which room they're staying in?"
The inn keeper greedily snatched the coins and counted them with beady eyes, his tongue slightly hanging out of his mouth as he placed them into his pocket.
"Yeah. They're here." He grinned, rubbing his chin. "Fellas checked in this morning."
"And?" Naruto encouraged, prompting him to answer the original question.
The man surveyed him for a moment before holding out his hand. "You know that I'm not supposed to give away private information like that, Naruto. It's going to cost you extra."
"Whoah." The blonde snapped, pinning the man down with a cold glare. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten about the time I took care of those loan sharks that were hounding your wife, Minato? If I recall correctly, I even cut you some slack at the time and only accepted about three quarters of the agreed payment – am I wrong?"
The man paled and instantly retracted his hand. "Ah yes, yes." He smiled sheepishly. "I think I do remember something like that happening."
Naruto rolled his eyes. "Stingy bastard."
"Yes, yes." The inn keeper sighed, flipping through a folder in front of him. "Let me see….ah yes. Room 116. Need me to take you there?"
"I can read numbers just fine, thanks." The blonde replied, turning to leave.
"Hey, drop by my place again whenever you have the time!" the man called after him. "I've got a roof that needs fixing."
"Do it yourself, you lazy bastard!" Naruto replied over his shoulder. The grumblings of the inn keeper faded as he strode down the hallway, his steps growing lighter as he grew closer and closer to the room in question. Finally he arrived in front of the door, and before even entering Naruto knew he was too late.
Though it seemed like it was closed, Naruto could see that the lock had been tampered with. With one push it easily swung open, and Naruto's eyes widened as the remnants of a sweet scent floated towards him. He rushed backwards and covered his nose with his jacket, already knowing the fate of the trio that had previously occupied the room.
Sleeping weed. His nose scrunched with distaste. A classic move.
After deeming it safe once the left over drug dissipated into the hallway, the blonde cautiously entered the room. Everything was left untouched; it was almost as if nothing as out of place, if you excluded the missing inhabitants.
The culprits were unmistakably the ones who had stolen the note from his desk earlier. The fact that they hadn't even bothered to look through their victim's bags showed their overwhelming confidence in the reward that they would receive simply by turning them in. They obviously had wasted no time in getting what they came for.
Whoever the kidnappers were knew exactly whom they were kidnapping.
Naruto knew he didn't have much time.
He would only have one night at best to find out where the culprits had escaped too. Naruto had no doubt that they would wait until daylight to leave for Tonto, for not many men were brave enough to travel during the night. That gave him about five hours maximum to locate the trio and somehow free them from their captors.
Naruto groaned. This was why he generally avoided troublesome jobs like these.
Iruka owed him one big time.
The blonde quickly grabbed a shirt from the ground and stuffed it into his pocket before turning to leave. A glint caught the corner of his eye and his eyes landed on a sword that had been dropped onto the ground, apparently abandoned when its owner was taken away.
Naruto shook his head. The culprits were sloppy; even with one glance Naruto could tell that it was a truly magnificent sword that had been treated only with utmost care. Selling it would earn him a pretty penny.
However…
Angry onyx eyes popped into his head, and the blonde grinned slightly as he remembered the irritated raven-haired man from earlier. Though it was his policy to never mix his job with pleasure, it was impossible to deny the man's attractiveness; not to mention he was exactly Naruto's type.
The blonde grabbed the sword as he made his exit and left it on his belt.
He wouldn't mind seeing the raven-haired in action. The very thought excited him.
"Did ya find what you were looking for?" the inn keeper asked him curiously on his way out.
"Yeah, thanks." The blonde shrugged. "By the way, I'm going to be out of town for a while because of a job. Think you can spread the word around?"
"As long as you fix my roof when you get back." The inn keeper sniffed.
Naruto laughed. "You're going to have a hell of a time explaining that to your wife. Lazy prick."
He waved goodbye before exiting, his face slipping into a grim expression the moment his back was turned. Now was not the time to be exchanging pleasantries – he had given Iruka his word that the trio would be okay.
For some reason, he doubted that Iruka would consider being kidnapped and shipped back to Tanto city "okay".
Pulling out a whistle from around his neck, Naruto blew into it three times though no audible sound was produced. The whistle had another purpose, however, and it was not meant to be heard by human ears. Moments later the bushes nearby rustled, and Naruto turned to face a beautiful orange fox running towards him at full speed.
"Hey, Kyuu." Naruto spoke affectionately, kneeling down and scratching behind the fox's ears. "Sorry boy, I know I'm interrupting your hunting time, but I need you to do me a favor."
He extracted the shirt he had pilfered earlier and held it out for the fox to smell.
"Can you find me where the owner of this? I'll give you a nice juicy steak later, I promise."
The fox stared at him with boredom and Naruto sighed.
Why was everybody trying to make things so difficult for him today? For goodness sake, even a fox was trying strike a deal with him.
"Two steaks?"
The fox yawned widely.
"Fine." Naruto said begrudgingly. "Two steaks and a long rub down. That's my final offer."
The fox yipped happily in reply, circling around him a few times before running off. Naruto followed closely behind, making sure not to lose the fox as they flew down numerous streets. The blonde began to feel a bit nervous as the fox led him away from the comforting torches that lit the streets at night, instead romping towards the dark part of the city that was generally inhabited by the most unfriendly sort of people.
The last time he had entered these parts hadn't ended well.
At least, not on his part.
Things were slowly slipping into place. The stolen note was not just caused by Iruka's carelessness but also by someone else's grudge, and Naruto had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly who it was.
"No need to bring me any further, Kyuu." The blonde sighed dejectedly, panting slightly as he petted the fox's head in thanks. "I know exactly where to go from here."
It seemed that Zabuza was trying to pick a fight with him while making a handsome profit at the same time. Naruto didn't blame him – the last time they had met, he had barely escaped with his life while Zabuza's partner, Haku, had lost his.
He groaned out loud.
So in the end, I brought this on myself. He thought to himself miserably. Iruka will feel better after hearing that.
The blonde approached a familiar warehouse-looking building towards the end of the street, his face one of absolute gloom as he crept around its outer walls.
What a fucking pain in the ass.
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AlexandriteSky: Haha, Naruto's having such a bad day! I can't resist writing in Kyuubi, however; I feel like these two will be partners in every story I write. Thank you so much for reading, and please remember to review! It motivates me to update much faster!