Alright so here is chapter 8. I'm not sure if I was to make this sasunaru or not. I'm on the fence about it. I know at least one person is rooting for it ;) Please let me know if you'd like it to be sasunaru or not. ENJOY! Feedback is appreciated!

CHAPTER 8

Naruto and Sasuke were waiting in the conference room. Tsunade was running late. Kiba and Sakura had yet to show up. Naruto stood facing the window while Sasuke sat at the table. The raven haired agent opened the manila folder. Naruto looked at his reflection in the tinted window. The scars on his cheeks were a reminder of what Akatsuki did. Thankfully no one around the office or Sasuke asked about them. His nose was bruised and black eyes were beginning to form. Naruto broke the silence first,

"How did a gang like Akatsuki ever come to be?" Naruto's voice was almost a whisper but Sasuke caught it.

"It only takes one person," Sasuke flipped thought his notes.

"Yeah one twisted individual." The blonde turned and took a seat across from Sasuke. A flash of a knife invaded Naruto's thoughts. He instantly felt sick to his stomach. These memories and flash backs were getting worse. Maybe he couldn't handle this.

"You okay?" Sasuke could see that Naruto was uncomfortable.

"Yeah I'm not feeling very well. I'll get over it." He waved a hand at the raven and gave a small smile.

Tsunade and the other agents walked in. Kiba sat down next to Naruto. Sakura happily sat next to the Sasuke. Naruto wanted to roll his eyes as Sakura scooted her chair closer to Sasuke.

"You're late." Sasuke stated. Sakura wasn't too pleased with his comment.

"You want a gold star?" Tsunade teased. She stood at the end of the table with a determined look on her face. "Okay so here's the plan. I'm putting all for of you on the TenTen mission. Of course TenTen is our objective, we find her we find the weapons, better yet we find where the weapons come in. K-9 units will be placed at random times and destinations. Kiba do you have everything set up for that?"

"Only some of them I still have to select a few more dogs."

"That's a good start, now Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke you'll have to wait. The three of you will be undercover once we find where the weapons come in. Sasuke and Sakura will pose as a couple who just drunkenly stumbles in on the dealing, meeting, or whatever," she paused, "Naruto you'll be the jealous ex-boyfriend who makes a scene-"

"Sasuke if you're going to punch me go for something other than my face, okay?" Naruto cut Tsunade off. Sasuke held back a laugh. Tsunade ignored Naruto and continued,

"We'll catch them off guard. They won't shoot unless you threaten them. Bullet-proof vests are still required. Back up will be on standby. We have to confirm first then you'll signal for back up. Finding where TenTen's shipments come in may take a while. I know this isn't a starter mission but all of you can handle it." She looked around at the group, "alright Kiba go finish up selecting the K-9's, then set up for the release when you are done. Also run your planned schedules by Jiraiya." He nodded and got up and excused himself. Sakura did the same and followed him out of the conference room. "Naruto, Sasuke…I actually need you to go to the hospital to get a statement from someone. A man claims that he was stabbed by Akatsuki. He's in the max-security section of the hospital. Let's hope his statement is solid,"

"When was he stabbed?" Naruto asked.

"Earlier this morning,"

"Name?" Sasuke piped in.

"They wouldn't say. You two go I'll catch up with you later."

The two agents looked at each other. They both got up, Sasuke slid the papers back into the manila folder. They left the conference room and headed to Sasuke's office. Naruto hung in the doorway while Sasuke locked the manila folder in his desk.

"Why would Akatsuki have a member stab someone? They usually have someone to do it for them." Naruto touched his aching nose.

"It could be personal." Sasuke stood up and looked at his partner. Naruto had bad bruising on his nose and a pair of black eyes to match. He looked like he hadn't slept in years, "You look like death." Sasuke walked past Naruto and out into the hallway.

"Oh you're so kind." Naruto's voice dripped with sarcasm.

They walked together towards the elevators. Sasuke stopped at the elevators and pressed the botton. He turned and watched as Naruto passed him and headed for the stairs. You have got to be kidding me! This blonde is really something!

"So you're afraid of elevators but won't wear a seatbelt?" Naruto stopped dead in his tracks. He turned his head to look at Sasuke.

"Oh shut up…it's different!" Naruto headed for the stairs again. He disappeared down the stairwell as the elevator signaled its arrival. They met in the lobby. Naruto had made it to the lobby first. He made sure Sasuke knew that he had beaten him. They left for the Jetta. Sasuke noticed that Naruto put on his seatbelt. He smirked and Naruto ignored him.

"I hope this guy isn't looking for trouble," Naruto drummed his fingers on his leg.

"What do you mean?"

"Like a drug addict looking for attention. Akatsuki may want to retaliate if he's lying." Naruto was getting tired of talking about the gang. It made him sick.

"How's your nose?" Naruto was glad that his partner changed the topic.

"It's fine. Like I said before if you're going to punch me go for the gut and not the face."

"I won't." Sasuke laughed. He was beginning to really like Naruto but the files still lingered in the back of his mind. He knew Naruto would tell him, but when?


The rest of their ride was silent. When they arrived they parked in the garage on the side of the hospital. They made their way to the front desk for visitors. A woman t the desk greeted them with a smile.

"Hello can I help you?"

"Uzumaki and Uchiha." A voice called to their right. The man came closer.

"I'm Iruka." His light brown hair was pulled up, his suit was black. Naruto held out his hand and Iruka shook it. Sasuke did the same.

"I'm with the local special force team." He motioned for them to follow. Iruka walked towards the elevators. Sasuke watched as Naruto tensed up. There were stairs but he knew Naruto didn't want to look like a scared fool.

"You're fine." Sasuke leaned in and whispered to Naruto. Naruto replied with a small nod. They stepped into the elevator. Once the doors closed Iruka spoke,

"We have one witness, an elderly man who saved the victim."

"Did he actually see them?" Naruto was gripping the railing with both hands. Thankfully Iruka was standing in front of them. Naruto didn't really want to explain his fear of elevators.

"He says he saw them leave,"

"Who's the victim?" Sasuke asked.

"I'll tell you when we arrive at the room."

The elevator jolted to a stop. Naruto almost let out a whimper. Iruka led the way. There were two armed men standing on each side of the door. Iruka gave them a nod, the two armed officers asked for the agents IDs. After their IDs had been checked Iruka slid his card and the door opened with a buzz. They passed through a second door and down the hallway through a third door. They turned the corner. It was a small hallway with two doors on each side. Iruka stopped at one of the last doors to their left. He knocked twice. The door opened and they were greeted by an officer. They all stepped inside and the officer stepped out in to the hall. Sasuke recognized the victim immediately.

"Sai?" Sasuke moved past Naruto and Iruka and was at Sai's side.

"Sasuke," Sai's voice was raspy and quiet.

"You know him?" Iruka sat down in one of the chairs. Naruto stood by the closed door, the room was wasn't very big. Naruto could almost reach out with one arm and touch the end of the bed if he wanted too. He looked questioningly at Sasuke.

"Yes he's actually a friend of mine." Sasuke wasn't sure what was going on.

"What's going on here?" Irukas tone was neutral. Sasuke looked at his wounded friend. Naruto pulled out a pad of paper.

"Well…" Sai started, "I've got something valuable I guess. I was driving to a fiends place early this morning and I noticed-" Sai took a breath, "I noticed I was being followed by a black SUV." Sai stopped as a sharp pain ran through his chest.

"Take your time." Naruto said softly.

"My car broke down and before I could call for help a man pulled me out of the car and onto the sidewalk. He had long blonde hair-"

"Was it in a ponytail?" Naruto cut him off.

"Yes, it happened quickly but the SUV from before came back. They stuck a bag over my head and I was put in the SUV. They took me to wherever it was."

"Why would they take you?" Iruka asked. He got up from the chair but didn't move.

"I have something they want,"

"What would that be?" Naruto raised an eyebrow. Sai looked at Sasuke. The raven haired agent knew exactly what Sai had gotten, but it still didn't make sense.

"We have to tell them." Sai knew this was way over his head he had to say it. Sasuke nodded but didn't look at the other two. Naruto and Iruka stood in confusion.

"I had obtained some files, from somewhere. Akatsuki wanted to know where they were. I completely removed the files from another system without really meaning to. I just wanted a copy of them. I didn't think anyone would come after me," he paused and caught his breath, "A man in an orange mask…he was the one who stabbed me." But what Sai didn't tell them was that he did want to completely remove the files. He wanted those files for black mail. He couldn't say that.

Naruto's stomach felt like it was being squeezed. He felt himself begin to sweat. This was bad. He felt anger rise in him, what the fuck were these two thinking? Naruto had the pad of paper squished in his fist. His mind was in utter shock.

"What the fuck did I tell you?" Naruto said through clenched teeth, "You couldn't leave it alone,"

"What the hell is going on?" Iruka looked at Naruto.

"They went and stole the classified files from the ANBU Agency. If Akatsuki finds those files or if it gets out I'm dead." Naruto's heart was racing. God this was just his luck.

"Why would Akatsuki be looking for your file?" Sasuke looked at Naruto.

"Revenge,"

"Revenge?" Iruka stepped closer.

"I have the files in a storage locker. It's at Pines Storage 301." Sai cut in. 301! That was the text he had sent Shikamaru.

"Listen let's get back to the office. I'll tell you everything once we get the file." Naruto dug his nails into his palms. He had shoved the pad of crumbled paper into his pocket.

"It's on a blue USB in a vase." Sai added. Naruto didn't look pleased. Sai was lucky to be alive. If that man didn't find him, he would be long gone by now. Naruto left the room first followed by Iruka.

"I'm glad you're ok Sai." Sasuke smiled down at him.

"I know I should have stopped, but when faced with a challenge I can't resist."

Sasuke left with a goodbye. The two were waiting for him in the hall. The officer stepped back into the room and closed the door. Naruto remembered Deidara and Tobi very well. These scars reminded him every day of what they did to him. His blood was boiling at this point. He wanted the files to be in the safety of his hands. His nose began to throb.

"You call Tsunade and tell her what's going on. Iruka you come with me to Pine's Storage. I'll leave the Jetta with you Sasuke." Naruto tried not to snap at Sasuke. Sasuke nodded sheepishly. Naruto's voice was sharp and angry it gave Sasuke chills.


Iruka sped to Pine's Storage. They drove down each isle until they found storage unit 301. Naruto wasted no time and unlocked the unit. Iruka got out and they searched for the vase. After a few minutes of rummaging around they found what they were looking for.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Sai's residence isn't trashed." Naruto put the USB inside his concealed breast pocket. He'd have to tell Tsunade everything. He didn't want to have to tell it. He was still trying to get over what he had done that day and what he went through. They got back into the car. Iruka sped to the Konoha Agency. Naruto would have punched Sasuke right then and there at the hospital if Iruka wasn't there. Naruto was aware that Akatsuki would come looking for him.