The Hunt

by myfreudianslip

There are things, apparently, that you can't do without black haired pussies meddling in your business. Hunting down missing children happens to be one of them.

2. Chapter 2

Title: The Hunt (2/4)

Pairing: NaruSasuNaru

Disclaimer: Don't own.

Summary: There are things, apparently, that you can't do without black haired pussies meddling in your business. Hunting down missing children happens to be one of them.

……

Naruto stared resolutely at the shadows flickering on Jiraiya's teal walls, determined to ignore the low buzz of conversation behind him.

He knew they were making a mistake. They had to be. There was no way this guy was innocent.

He had black hair! He had pale skin! He had dark eyes!

He was the black haired pussy!

Naruto could literally smell the guilt.

And now, after they had finally managed to catch him, he was getting the royal treatment at Jiraiya's, instead of the plummeting he deserved. Sakura was cleaning his leg wound, her painted fingernails skimming lightly over the soft flesh of the knee, while Ino tried to talk him into taking off his shirt so that she could check for bruises.

Right. Check for bruises. Naruto snorted incredulously.

'Is there a problem, Naruto?' he heard Sakura ask, very sweetly, behind him.

Damn right, there was a problem. They were molesting a kidnapper, that's what the problem was.

And the bastard wasn't even that good looking! He just glared, hissed, and made these impatient noises.

'Naruto,' Sakura called him, her tone exasperated.

Naruto wasn't going to reply. He was IGNORING them. Because that's how he treated people who did shameless things with criminals.

Even if it was the first bit of attention he had received in thirty five minutes. IGNORE!

'What?' he asked, because he was obliging.

'You're blocking the light,' Sakura told him, curtly. 'Move it, or I won't be able to clean the wounds which you put here.'

'Of course I put them there!' Naruto exploded. 'And I expected company. He was kidnapping Moegi!'

Moegi, who was huddled up in an embroidered pink shawl, and nestled protectively in her mother's arms, gave a loud sniff.

'I'm telling you he saved me…'

'Obviously, he brainwashed you,' Naruto said reasonably. 'You think he saved you, when what he was actually doing was abducting you! It makes perfect sense.'

There was a loud scoffing sound from vicinity of the mattress, and Naruto reeled around to see the subject of their discussion emphatically rolling his eyes.

'Tell me, moron,' he said, pale face twisting into a sneer. 'When was it that I brainwashed her exactly? Before or after she screamed? Or for that matter, before or after she spotted the actual kidnapper?'

Naruto's entire being gave him the thumbs up for ripping the arrogant asshole apart limb from limb. Sakura must have noticed his murderous intent, because she gave him a warning glare.

'Don't expect me to understand how you go about your business!' he snapped. 'I'm not really proficient in your area of expertise.'

The bastard opened his mouth to reply, but the creak of the opening door cut him short. Neji entered, followed by Kiba, lee, Shikamaru and Jiraiya.

'Anything?' Naruto inquired, turning to them immediately.

Jiraiya grimaced, and in the dim lighting of the room Naruto could make out the tired lines of his face, etched as though with a failing quill. 'No. Nothing. He got away.'

'Are you sure it's not him?' Kiba asked, throwing Sasuke a distrustful look. 'It was really dark, and Moegi could have been made a mistake.'

Naruto finally understood why he got along so well with Kiba. They were comrades, that's what they were. The man, the other man, and his dog.

Shikamaru sat down heavily on a muddha and kneaded his forehead with his knuckles. 'No, it's not him. But,' he looked at Sasuke sharply, 'you're going to have to answer some questions.'

Sasuke's lips thinned, and he glared at each one of them in turn. 'I'm not answerable to anyone here.'

Naruto cracked his knuckles. 'Really? Will you feel the same way after being beaten to a pulp, then?'

'Oh God, shut up! The both of you!' Sakura barked. 'Some of us, would like to get some actual work done tonight.'

Naruto bristled visibly, and turned away.

'Moegi,' Neji said, briskly. 'Are you absolutely sure that you didn't see the face of the person who tried to kidnap you?'

Moegi shook her head rapidly. 'He grabbed me from behind, and before I could scream, he pressed this cloth to my nose.'

Naruto exchanged a quick look with Kiba.

'And then I got real dizzy. I thought I was going to pass out,' Moegi continued. 'But before I could, I felt something whip past me and hit the man holding me. Next thing I knew, I was falling forward, and Sasuke was running towards me.'

'You were in front of her,' Shikamaru said, shifting his seat so that it faced Sasuke. 'You must have got a clear view of the kidnapper's face.'

Sasuke scowled darkly. 'He was wearing a mask.'

'Come on!' Naruto griped. 'There are gaping holes in the story. Moegi said she was dizzy; obviously she's got things a little muddled in her head. Plus, it sounds like there was chloroform on the cloth, and he looks like the type who can afford it.'

'Moegi,' Sakura said, kindly. 'Do you remember which direction Sasuke came from?'

'No,' Moegi said, looking at Sasuke apologetically. 'He appeared out of nowhere. But I saw him, and he was in front of me. The other man was holding me from behind. Why won't anyone listen to me?'

'You should learn to listen to us first,' said Neji, voice brusque. 'Why were you out in the middle of the night when we had specifically asked all of you not to leave your houses?'

Moegi ducked her head, blushing, and muttered something.

'What?' Shikamaru asked.

'It was a dare,' Moegi muttered. 'Konohamaru told me that I didn't have the guts to cross the maidan after dark, so I wanted to prove him wrong.'

Naruto groaned loudly. He was going to find that half assed idiot and kill him!

'You do realize,' Shikamaru said, exasperated. 'That this is probably the stupidest thing you've ever done. Konohamaru wouldn't even have believed you in the morning, not unless he was there to see for himself.'

Moegi nodded, close to tears again. 'I know. He lied to me. He said he would be there, but when I turned up, he wasn't.'

It took some time for that to register, and when it did, Naruto's blood ran cold.

The whole room fell silent, and for that chilling minute, the only sound that made it past the crumbling bricks and cement of the wall was the chirping of a hundred crickets from the maidan outside.

For everyone in the room, with the exception of Sasuke and the girl herself, knew that Konohamaru was capable of a hell of a lot of things, but lying to Moegi was not one of them.

'Don't,' Kiba said, a broken word. 'Lets not – we should check his house first. Lee –'

'Yosh!' Lee was already flying down the stairs.

A second later, Naruto was doing the same.

***

The mid June Nor'westers swiped the fallen leaves over the maidan, the rush of their fervent song in dissonance with the slowing gait of his spirits.

Naruto stared down the button lying innocently at the corner of the street.

It was from a shirt Konohamaru had stolen from him, and stubbornly refused to return, about a year back.

He crumpled to the ground, buried his face in his hands, and stayed like that till Akamaru came howling down from Jiraiya's and dragged him back by the hems of his pants.

***

'We still don't know what to do with him,' Kiba said, jerking his head towards Sasuke.

Naruto clenched Konohamaru's button hard enough entrench its shape in his palm, and shrugged.

'Listen,' Neji said, to Sasuke. 'I'm asking one last time, what were you doing near the slums at this hour? Why do you watch the children play in the maidan? What's your agenda?'

Sasuke glowered at the questions. 'And I'm telling you for the last time, that it's my business.'

Kiba straightened up. 'What say we beat it out of him?'

'There's going to be no violence here.' Ino said, firmly. 'This is a place for ladies, you should be ashamed of yourselves.'

Kiba deflated visibly.

'The thing that worries me,' Shikamaru said, musingly. 'Is that there's more than one person we have to look out for. This guy obviously has an accomplice, or Moegi wouldn't have been attacked so soon after they kidnapped Konohamaru. You,' he turned to Sasuke. 'Did you see anyone else? Or hear anything for that matter?'

Sasuke shook his head.

Neji tugged irritably at the ends of his hair. 'So, what now, we let him go?'

The momentary silence that followed was broken by Sasuke.

'Actually,' he said. 'I was thinking I could stay.'

That made Naruto's head jerk up. 'What?'

'I want to stay,' Sasuke enunciated clearly. 'I can help out.'

Shikamaru narrowed his eyes suspiciously. 'And why would you want to do that?'

Sasuke's lips tightened briefly, as though having his motives questioned was not something he was used to. The shadows in the room flickered, once, twice, and licked delicately at his features. Then they cleared off his face completely, as he lifted his chin, eyes glinting defiance in the glow of the lantern.

'Let's just say, I'm interested in these kidnappings as well. I want to get to the bottom of this, same as you, and it's much easier to analyze the situation from the crux, rather than trying to solve it from the sidelines.'

Sakura frowned at him, her hand frozen about an inch above his wounded knee. 'So you're saying that you want to be in the hub of the kidnappings because it'll help you solve the mystery better?'

Sasuke shrugged noncommittally. 'I suppose that's one way to put this.'

Ino gaped at him. 'Are you a detective? Or a secret agent assigned to a mission? Like that hot guy from the english movies – what's his name? James bond?'

Sasuke made a pained face. 'No, that's…that's all I'm saying.'

'Oh, yeah?' Naruto heard himself say, tone flinty, like the edge of a blunt knife. 'And how do we know that you're not this accomplice we're looking for?'

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. 'Would I throw a stone at my partner, idiot?'

Shikamaru cut in before Naruto could retaliate. 'You do understand that you'll be under twenty four seven supervision.'

'WHAT?' Naruto yelled. 'Shika, you can't be serious. We're not letting this absolutely random bastard stay with us!'

'Actually, I agree with Shikamaru.' Neji intercepted quietly. 'He's a suspicious character, so it's safer to keep him under our noses. Besides, if he's telling the truth about wanting to solve this, we can do with all the help we get. Let's not forget, Konohamaru makes five.'

Naruto cringed, in spite of himself.

'He's not staying here,' Kiba said fiercely, with a quick glance at Hinata who was silently holding a bowl of water up for Sakura.

There was a heavy pause during which Shikamaru and Neji stared pointedly at Naruto.

Comprehension dawned clear as day.

'No,' Naruto said flatly. 'No. NO.'

'He has to be with someone all the time,' Neji said, rationally. 'And none of us live alone.'

'No,' Naruto chanted. 'No, no, no, absolutely not, I REFUSE, fucking hell no –'

'I don't want to live with you either, moron.' Sasuke informed him distastefully. 'Your house is probably a dump.'

'This is a SLUM, of course it's a dump!' Naruto shouted. 'But it's not dumpier than the rest.'

Sasuke crossed his arms. 'I don't believe you.'

Naruto gasped at the sheer impudence. 'I'll show you, you asshole, just wait till you come and see it for yourself and –' he broke off, horror struck. 'No, no, I didn't mean…'

'Why, thank you,' Sasuke said, very politely. 'How kind of you to offer.'

***

Having people over was not new to Naruto. People came over to his place all the time. Shikamaru stayed over sometimes, especially on humid summer nights when he felt too lazy to take five more turns to his own place. Kiba came over to drink every other day, whenever he managed to steal enough liquor from Jiraiya's not so secret stash under a loose floorboard, without Hinata noticing. Iruka brought food over whenever he shut down early, and even Sakura sauntered in at times to plough him for whistling at her on the streets while she was on duty.

But this was the first time he was bringing someone over to stay, and Naruto wasn't sure why his palms felt so clammy.

He made a face at the limping bastard and only because he looked like a girl, held the door open for him.

'Thank you,' said Sasuke dryly, after entering. 'It's a palace.'

'Well, lucky for you.' Naruto snapped. 'Because it looks like you're going to have to put up here for awhile now.'

Sasuke glared around at the contents of the room, before turning to Naruto. 'There's no place for me to sleep.'

This was, to a large extent, Naruto thought, plain exaggeration. His house might not be the Taj Mahal, but it was definitely more than capable of sheltering two people. He looked around at the tin and cane walls, the old, torn sari Sakura had lent him to use as bedding, the oil lamp he rarely used because of the rising fuel prices, and the jute bag Iruka had given him when he was about five, to keep his clothes in. An old poster of Hrithik Roshan hung from the single nail on his wall, and on the floor below it, sat a small wooden stool he had put together himself, about four years ago.

'Of course there's place,' Naruto rallied. 'Unless you're wearing a corset under that shirt, we'll be able to fit without any problems.'

He held back a smirk as Sasuke bridled. The bastard had brought this upon himself.

'Yes, but, we'll constantly be,' he made a few motions with his hands Naruto couldn't, for the life of him, comprehend. 'Never mind. God!'

There wasn't any bedding for Sasuke, so Naruto let him sleep on the floor. Charitable was one thing, self sacrificial was another. He smiled serenely as Sasuke gently lowered himself onto the ground, mindful of his injured knee, sending filthy looks in Naruto's direction all the while.

'Can't you offer any ice? Plebe!' Sasuke grumbled as he failed to suppress a wince while adjusting his leg.

Naruto bit down a surge of irritation and said, very sweetly, instead, 'Of course. It's in the refrigerator in my suite.'

Sasuke exhaled loudly and turned, facing away so that Naruto was left to stare at the back of his crisp cotton shirt.

Distinctly, he heard, right before he drifted off, vision white from the after tones of the starched material, 'annoying idiot.'

***

The fire rose up like the tendrils of a gorgon's hair and licked the sky in light, teasing swabs.

Naruto wasn't even sure anymore if this was supposed to be his dream.

When he woke up he was sweating, and it warm. Warmer than the usual pre monsoon night.

It took a moment for him to realize that there was another person in the room with him.

Sasuke had shifted in his sleep, and Naruto could see his face now, open and unguarded. His fingers were curled into the material of Sakura's sari, and after observing his slumbering stance, Naruto realized with a pang of guilt that the other man was going to be very stiff in the morning.

He listened to Sasuke's even, cadenced breathing, the metrical pattern of the inhalations and the exhalations, and in the end, it was that which lulled him back to sleep.

***

Naruto awoke the next morning to the sound of ringing bells and chanting from the temple.

He was, yet again, unusually warm, and also, incidentally, pressed up against a sleeping Sasuke.

Had he really been all that lonely, he wondered, in spite of claiming to have the most expansive family in the world, that his body should act so fucking needy at the first offer of another presence?

Feeling a little pathetic, Naruto peeled himself away from the heat, the smell of dust and expensive shampoo, and crawled over to his open door.

Watching the slum wake up was like watching a moth unfold its wings for the first time. It started off as a weak thrum of energy under the rosy hue of the eastern sky, which would convert into a plethora, an explosion of life given another hour. The mynas joined in the song of the worshippers and soon the crows pitched in their disharmonious contribution.

Naruto thought of Konohamaru and wondered if the boy was listening to the call of the same birds.

Sasuke stirred, slowly, and Naruto watched, out of the corner of his eyes as he came to terms with his new environs.

Then he sat up and said, very precisely, 'Do you at least have some toothpaste?'

Naruto was still laughing when Neji turned up, five minutes later, to check up on them,

***

Living with someone else, even if he were an unmitigated asshole like Sasuke, Naruto realized, didn't take as much getting used to as he had previously imagined. There had been moments, of course, like the time Naruto had gone berserk searching for the bastard the entire day, only to have him turn up in the evening and declare, very calmly, that he had gone to fetch a change off clothing. Irritation gave way to delight eventually, when Naruto discovered that said 'change of clothing' consisted of more garments than his entire wardrobe put together, and he proceeded, with great enthusiasm to steal every item in spite of Sasuke's shockingly brutal attempts to decapitate him (except the boxers. They were all black, the weirdo!)

Then there were the bathing times. Naruto had tried not cringe in embarrassment as Sasuke swathed liberal amounts of mint scented shower gel on his body the second day, steadfastly ignoring the snickers of every other person in the river, and within the hinterland of a hundred feet radius. Next day, Naruto had hidden the bottle in his jute bag, and had nearly been murdered for it.

But living with him was becoming a pattern, and though Naruto was never at peace with it, because peace and Sasuke were as in discord as the chattering of monkeys to the music of a harp, he grew, almost without his noticing, comfortable with the other's presence.

He knew Sasuke was meanest person he had ever come across, and that he had secrets buried so deep, that sometimes Naruto wondered if he didn't have troubles finding them himself. He knew that Sasuke didn't really care about what was happening to the children; he ignored all the slum kids who examined his expensive attire in silent fascination, and that his first priority was that hidden agenda of his, whatever that was. He also knew that Sasuke had his own nightmares, and sometimes, after a particularly ferocious one, Naruto would close his eyes and count the seconds till his breathing evened out again.

Naruto knew that Uchiha Sasuke was a mystery, and that he regarded Naruto with a look that one might reserve for a pile of camel shit lying on the road, but he also knew that the man was an expert at pretending, and that, somehow, worked to his advantage.

Because if there was one thing Naruto didn't tolerate, it was a façade under his own roof.

***

Sasuke liked masala chai, insulting Naruto, and sneering at the world in general. But he especially liked the first two, so every evening he sat at Iruka's, drinking masala chai while insulting Naruto.

Naruto firmly believed that one day, after Sasuke had had his fill of verbal maltreatment, he might even buy him a plate of sheik kebabs as a return gift for all the hospitality.

'Oi, bastard,' he said, cheerfully. 'Just ten bucks. C'mooooon.'

'…no,' Sasuke replied, smirking as he daintily sipped his hot tea. 'Moron.'

'Hey!' Naruto said, indignant, 'I even stole a shawl from Tsunade for you to sleep on. Show some gratitude, you socially inept asshole.'

'Naruto,' Sasuke said in a low voice, his tone in complete contradiction to scorn Naruto had been expecting, and his eyes fixed to a point beyond his left ear. 'Who's that man standing there?'

Naruto turned his face to the crowd sweeping past their table. 'Which man?'

'The one leaning onto the seat of the rickshaw with the red shade,' Sasuke murmered. 'Don't stare, you imbecile.'

Naruto saw him. A man with spiky silver hair and a face mask was leaning against the vehicle next to Ichiraku's, by the edge of the narrow street.

'What about him?'

'I've seen him before.' Sasuke said, watching the man out of the corner of his eyes. 'Hanging around the maidan. I used to think that he lived here.'

Naruto studied the man carefully. He didn't look familiar. Definitely not someone who lived in Konoha, or he would have recognized him.

Suddenly, Sasuke stood up.

'Let's go,' he said, not even bothering to look at Naruto before taking off.

Naruto cursed and ran after him.

'What're you doing?' he barked, catching up with Sasuke in a few steps.

'How much for a ride to the city?' Sasuke asked, and it took Naruto a second to realize that he was speaking to the rickshaw wallah.

The man seemed to find this amusing. His eye crinkled into a crescent, and Naruto figured that was him smiling.

'Eight rupees,' the rickshaw wallah said. 'Hop on.'

Sasuke climbed onto the bright red seat and then motioned for Naruto to do the same.

'Sasuke,' Naruto whispered, after getting on. 'What's all this?'

'Idiot,' Sasuke hissed back. 'Don't you pay attention to anything? There's definitely something up with this guy.'

'Oh, yeah?' Naruto raised his voice over the rumbling of the wheels. 'And you would know this how?'

Sasuke shushed him with a warning jerk of his head towards the direction of the peddling man. 'I told you, I've seen him around the maidan a few times, which is just strange because people in slums don't use rickshaws. Also, didn't you notice, he was staring right at you while we were at the kebab stall.'

Naruto hadn't noticed. 'What?'

'Besides, he didn't even ask us where we wanted to go. I just said 'city', but any normal rickshaw wallah would have asked for a specific location before naming the price.'

Naruto stared at the back of the silver head. 'Oi,' he called after a while. 'You. Who the hell are you?

He heard the smack of Sasuke's palm as it hit his forehead.

The rickshaw wallah angled his head slightly, so that Naruto could see his eye forming a crescent again. 'Me?' he asked, sounding pleasantly bemused. 'My name is Kakashi. Why?'

'What were you doing in Konoha?' Naruto pressed, impatient.

'Earning my bread, of course,' Kakashi replied, smooth and agreeable, as though humoring a particularly talkative customer.

This time Sasuke cut in. 'And where are you taking us? We didn't name a site, you know.'

The vehicle took a sharp turn around a row of old, one storied, flat roofed houses, and colours exploded before Naruto's eyes. Like Holi, only much brighter. The street before him was overflowing with people and sounds; streamers spilled over the roofs of buildings, strings of yellow bulbs, with their ends tied to electric poles and branches of trees, crisscrossed over the heads of the crowd, and the music - jaunty, and beating like an erratic pulse - rose over the commotion like an omnipresence.

The vibe made its way up the street and built up with the force of a hurricane at a huge gate adorned with lights and artfully cut crepe paper.

Kakashi said, 'the circus, obviously. Sound's come back to this place after twelve years, I thought this was where everyone would want to be.'

Sasuke exhaled loudly. 'The circus. Of course.'

Naruto looked up at the banner attached to the head of the gate. Next to him, Sasuke read aloud the sparkling text.

The Sound.
Millennia Circus.

Naruto knew, of course, that children were smuggled off to circuses. It wasn't that uncommon a practice, and he had heard tales of it from Shizune who had worked as a bird tamer before all her canaries died of some disease, and she moved into the slum. There had even been some police cases down south a few years back, but Naruto couldn't read the newspapers and only remembered the tidbits of information Neji had fed him, which wasn't much.

Is this where Konohamaru and the others were being held captive? What were they being made to do?

Naruto's blood started pounding in his ears, and he leapt off the rickshaw.

'Naruto,wait,' Sasuke said, crossly, as he dismounted after him. 'Don't run off and do something stupid just because you still possess the cognitive abilities of an ape. We've got to think this through.'

'He's right,' Kakashi put in silently. 'Strange things are abound, you know.'

And with that cryptic memo hanging behind him, Kakashi swerved the rickshaw and took off into the opposite direction.

'Hey, wait!' Naruto yelled after him, 'Dammit, wait.'

Sasuke sighed. 'Forget it. Come on, let's see what we can find out from here.'

Darkness had fallen too fast, and Naruto frowned up at the dark clouds swallowing the western sky in a devouring, ominous yawn. If they didn't hurry, they were going to be caught in a downpour.

He collided with Sasuke's back as the man suddenly stopped dead before him.

'What now?' Naruto moaned.

'This,' Sasuke said, and stepped aside so that Naruto could get a clear view of what was before them.

There were sketches, lots of them, lying upon a sheet of blue plastic on the pavement.

Naruto caught his breath as Konohamaru's frightened face stared back at him from amidst drawings of birds and animals.

'Would you like me to sketch your face?' came the polite question from his right.

Naruto spun around so quickly that he thought he heard his neck crick.

Standing above the mess of paintings, and holding a couple of brushes in his hands, was a pale, dark haired man. He would have looked a bit like Sasuke, Naruto thought, if he had had any of the fire in his eyes.

Oh, that, and he wore a tank top.

'No,' Sasuke said curtly, assessing the man with cold eyes. 'What we would like is for you to tell us where you got this picture from.'

The man's gaze followed the direction of Sasuke's pointing finger. Then he sat down, very neatly, next to the sketch, and ran a caressing finger up the edge of the paper. 'Would you like to sit down?'

'No,' Naruto said through grit teeth. 'Just tell us what we're asking you.'

The man regarded them through lidded eyes. 'I'm Sai.' His fingers continued to stroke the paper.

'We don't,' Naruto growled, hoping the guy would die of a paper cut, 'give a FUCK. Just tell us what we need to know.'

Sai shrugged with the same infuriating calmness. 'I've heard it's polite to introduce yourself to people you converse with.' He picked up the sketch of Konohamaru's face and held it under the circus lights. 'I drew this.'

Naruto's breath left him in a rush. 'Where? Where did you see him?'

Sai held out the sheet towards Naruto and said, 'in Sound. Maybe you'd like to keep this?'

Naruto took the picture and stared at it. 'He looks terrified,' he muttered softly, before handing it over to Sasuke.

Sai fished out a fresh sheet and began to draw lines, hard and bold, on it. 'Yes,' he said, voice neutral. 'I captured the expression of fear quite well, I think.'

'Where in Sound?' Sasuke asked him shortly. 'Was someone mistreating him? Were there other children with him?'

Sai looked up at them, and his face was devoid of any expression. 'I saw him peeping out of a flap in a tent. There was no one with him that I remember. Besides, it was the emotion on his face that interested me more than anything else. Do you see the unadulterated fear?'

'Shut up.' Naruto snarled. 'Shut the fuck up. He's not some still life object for you to sketch, you jerk.'

There was a clap of thunder and the rain came almost abruptly. Naruto shivered as cold water sluiced down his skin, soaked through his clothes, and settled uncertainly into the confinements of his eyelashes.

Sai turned away to gather all his work before they were destroyed.

'Naruto,' he heard Sasuke say beside him, and the bastard sounded almost exasperated. 'Come on. We have to get back.'

Naruto looked at him in amazement. 'What? But they're right here, in that stupid circus! I'm not leaving now.'

Sasuke grabbed his forearm and tugged hard. 'You idiot. How many times do I have to tell you that we can't rush into these things? We're harmless right now, and numerically weak. Forget playing the hero, there's no guarantee that we'll ever be able to leave the place if we go in there now.'

Naruto had never in his life, wanted to do so many things at the same time before. He wanted to punch Sasuke, and then punch Sai, and then rush into the circus and save all the five kids. He wanted to prove Sasuke wrong so badly, because he was fucking tired of just sitting around, discussing and planning, and ultimately, doing nothing at all. Then he maybe wanted to crawl into someplace nice and dark and warm, and sleep for twenty four hours straight.

But most of all he wanted to be the one calling the shots in this hunt.

Sasuke kept a firm hold on his hand, and pulled out his wallet with the other.

'How much for the sketch?' he asked. Naruto realized that this was the first time Sasuke had ever offered to buy him something.

Sai threw the plastic sheet over all his drawings and stood up to face the both of them.

'Oh no,' he said, and the calm in his voice sounded above the music and the rain. 'You don't have to pay me if he was already yours.'

***

They made their way back on foot, guided by the occasional flash of lightening.

'I don't know why I listened to you,' Naruto said sullenly. 'You're an asshole.'

'I'm also right,' Sasuke replied, imperiously. 'Every time.'

Naruto shoved him half heartedly. 'I hate you. You smell funny.'

Sasuke raised an amused eyebrow. 'I smell good. Didn't know you'd noticed, though.'

Naruto had no idea how to reply to that. And it was stupid, stupid that people were being kidnapped and he had been able to do absolutely nothing to save them in spite of being so bloody close and now they were discussing the way Sasuke smelt. Like it mattered.

Nothing made sense anymore.

So he said, 'My house smells of mint because of you. Kiba makes fun of it whenever he comes over. I'm emptying the bottle in the river tomorrow.'

Next to him Sasuke snorted. 'Like I'd let you, idio-'

He broke off with a gasp as a flash of lightening threw the street before them into sharp, electric relief.

Naruto saw it too. In the split second of light, a figure had stepped out of the shadows of the burnt building, and faced them, poise steady.

He made out dark hair, and cold, lifeless eyes before they were plunged into darkness again.

'Fuck,' he heard Sasuke breathe beside him. 'Fuck! Fuck. Itachi!'

Somewhere ahead of them, from the heart of the umbrae, Naruto heard a voice, as frigid as the chill in his bones.

'Foolish little brother,' it mocked. 'Were you so keen on picking up where we left off?'

Then, before his brain could catch up with the proceedings, a gunshot rang out, cold and clear, into the night.

Next to him, Sasuke crumpled to the floor.

Naruto immediately swooped down beside him. 'Sasuke? Shit, Sasuke! Don't pass out on me, bastard!'

Sasuke moaned. 'I'm not passing out, moron. Fuck, where is he?'

The sound of fading footsteps informed them of the man's departure.

Sasuke cursed, and another flash of lightening revealed a bloody hole in his shoulder.

***

'We have to get him drunk,' Tsunade told him, producing two bottles of liquor from the clay pots she kept behind her door.

When Naruto stared, she shrugged and said 'Jiraiya.'

She arranged her pastes on the floor and placed a flat palm on Sasuke's forehead. 'Running a temperature. Brat,' she said to Naruto, 'you've got to hold his arms down. Alcohol or not, this is going to hurt like a clawing bitch.'

Naruto nodded and held the bottle up to Sasuke's mouth. Shameful

Sasuke took a sip and grimaced. 'I can't believe you're making me drink this cheap shit.'

'Good to see the bullet hasn't shattered your high class sensibilities,' Naruto said, wryly. 'Now drink up.'

Fifteen minutes later Naruto was clenching the arms of a distinctly tipsy Sasuke. The guy was a lighthead. What a loser!

'Going to tell me who did this?' Tsunade asked, bringing out a wad of cotton.

Sasuke turned his face into Naruto's neck. 'No,' he whispered, the word a warm gust against his skin.

Naruto looked at her helplessly, and Tsunade rolled her eyes and bent down to inspect the wound.

It was a painful half hour. The smell of blood was making Naruto nauseous, and Sasuke's face was still buried into the crook of his neck in a way that made him wonder if bastard was even aware of it. Plus, Sasuke was sweating, rivulets of moisture snaked their way down his temples and his pulse, only to seep into Naruto's rain soaked shirt. His mouth was open against Naruto's skin, hot puffs of breath creating a patch of dampness where his neck met his shoulders, and for an instant, his entire universe narrowed down to focus on that one incinerating spot. When the needle made its first puncture on his skin, Sasuke bit down, hard, and Naruto thought, his face heating up, that it would probably leave a mark.

When they were done, Tsunade unwound a long, clean looking stretch of cloth and created a faux cast with it.

'Best you can get done without a professional.' She announced, tightening the last knot.

Naruto looked at Sasuke's bloodless face. The little bit of colour that he had acquired during his stay at the slum had washed away completely, like paint under a faucet. 'Will he be okay?'

Tsunade pursed her lips and nodded. 'Listen, brat, I want to hear about this tomorrow. I don't want you getting into these dangerous situations, no matter how many kids disappear. They wouldn't want you dying because of them, you understand, or anybody else for that matter,' she looked at him closely, 'Was it a cop?'

Naruto shook his head miserably.

Tsunade looked as though she wanted to hit him. 'If you wander off to get yourself killed one more time,' she warned, her words a hiss. 'I'm going straight to Iruka. Then don't blame me if you're grounded like a twelve year old.'

***

It had stopped raining, and the cool air seemed to work on Sasuke's senses a little bit.

'I can walk by myself,' he said, stiffly, detaching himself from Naruto.

A step later, he tipped, and would have gone crashing to the ground if Naruto hadn't grabbed him around the waist, and pulled him upright.

Sasuke grumbled something unintelligible, and his breath ghosted on Naruto's jaw, reminding him of the mouth, hot and open, upon his skin. Absently, he brought his other hand up to touch the spot where Sasuke had bitten him.

Naruto shook his head clear of the thoughts. This was not happening. Not at a time like this, and not to him.

He must have drunk some of the alcohol himself.

Besides, it had been a long day. And tomorrow, Sasuke had some questions to answer.

He sighed and straightened the other man when he started to slump against him. 'You really are a handful, you know.'

Sasuke snorted, a sleepy sound, and almost unconsciously, leaned a little more of his weight into Naruto.

***

Myna: The mynas (also spelt mynahs) are birds of the starling family (Sturnidae). This is a group of passerine birds which occur naturally only in southern and eastern Asia.

Rickshaws: (or rickshas) are a mode of human-powered transport: a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two persons.

Rickshaw wallah: The man who draws/ drives the rickshaw.

Hritik Roshan: A Bollywood actor. He's a wicked dancer!

Holi: Also called the Festival of Colours, is a popular Hindu spring festival observed mainly in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh.

Muddha: A chair made of cane and jute.

Author's notes: Thank you for the reviews. Sorry, I took a while to update this time (college applications D: ) But my future posts are going to be more frequent.