The restaurant waiter from the third floor arrived first, and set up the meal on the kitchen island. Itachi tipped him and the man left after asking if there was anything else that Itachi needed. The lawyer resisted asking for a death ray machine.
Shisui walked in eight minutes later, wearing a blue t-shirt and basketball shorts while holding a black suit bag. Itachi looked up from his glass of whiskey and tipped it in his cousin's direction as a greeting.
"Woah, nice place – no furniture?" the older male asked as he kicked off his shoes.
"I suspended the order until I get rid of the girl," Itachi replied standing up and grabbing the suit from Shisui.
"What happened to your suits?"
"This," Itachi said after they walked through the hallway and into the bedroom. He opened the master walk-in closet that he had politely split with Sakura. She, smartly, had removed all her clothes before he could retaliate.
"Holy…fuck."
"Hn," Itachi breathed out as he unzipped the bag and hung up his suit, shirt, and tie. "I ordered breakfast," he stated blandly after he had placed his shoes down.
"Uh huh," Shisui nodded as he followed his cousin, looking over his shoulder again, "I can't believe she did that….I mean if you only asked her to leave…damn, I can't imagine –," realization flashed across his face as he sat on one of the stools in front of the stone island, "you don't get refused…dude, what the hell did you do to her? You had to have done something first."
Itachi ignored the question as he poured his relative some whiskey.
"No way," Shisui continued as his mind went into overdrive, "those were her panties and bras scattered all over the city yesterday, weren't they!"
"I plead the fifth," Itachi replied smugly lifting his cup up to cheers.
"Dude, if I ever did something like that to Anko; I'd be lucky if she only ruined my clothes," Shisui replied clanging his glass.
Itachi didn't bother mentioning the pepper incident or the sheet of ice she created on his side of the room – he would leave a note for the maid to take care of it.
The men ate; Itachi changed the subject to legal matters, angered by both replies from his cousin.
"The contract is completely legal, unless she moves out on her own free will; you're kinda stuck with her. I even ran it by my mum last night, I mean, I blacked off the signatures so she didn't know it was you, but she agreed with me."
Itachi asked narrowed his eyes and looked out the window over the breathtaking view of the city. He sighed inaudibly and then asked about the case they were both working on because any subject that dealt with his current personal predicament riled him up.
"The cops searched all the houses, Anko said that they found dried blood on one of the bedroom curtains– forensics is running it now but it doesn't match the little girl."
"Damnit," Itachi breathed out in frustration, "any sign of the mother?"
"She hasn't turned on her cell phone, used her passport, or credit cards yet."
They ate in silence for a few thoughtful minutes till Itachi asked a question that would turn the case on its head.
"What is her maiden name?"
"Uh – I'm not sure, it should be in her file, I think. She did change her name twice before through previous marriages so her identity is kind of all messed up," Shisui said with a piece of bacon hanging out of his mouth.
Itachi grabbed his cell phone and hit speed dial number three. Shikamaru picked up.
"Itachi, working – the Venezuelans tried to hack into our electric grid an hour ago."
"Favor," Itachi said.
"Shoot."
"Find out Mary Johnson's maiden name, married to Justin Bakerfield who owns the Smart Rite food marts."
The sound of pressed keyboards could be heard on the other line.
"She changed her name twice….through….wait no…three times through marriage. First husband kicked it, second husband divorce, and she's with third husband now." he stated.
"I know, Mary Johnson is her current name….what's her original name?"
"One sec, this areas classified…for some…give me a minute."
Itachi waited patiently; Shikamaru never let him down.
"Woah…nice…She was a C.I.A informant in the eighties. Played the spy game in Iraq…seems as though her last mission was compromised."
"Maiden name?"
"Apparently, she's changed her name four times; her American name-name is Mary Mitchel but before she got that…it was Valintina Gorbovich, her maiden name is….Valintina Gorbovich."
"Slavic, what country is she from?"
"It looks like…Poland – she just used her Polish passport in Vancouver about five hours ago on a direct flight to Warsaw."
"Thank you."
"No problem, stay cool Itachi."
The stoic male hung up, "Valintina Gorbovich is her maiden name. She's Polish, duel citizenship, and just got on a plane to Warsaw from Vancouver."
"Shit, I'll call Anko up now."
.
…
.
Sakura finished tying her hair up into a pony tail as she entered her lab. She had arrived way before the break of dawn because she had a dream about chemical formulas and her old college chemistry teacher. The dream itself made no sense, but when she stirred from it – it revved her up enough to get to the hospital to work on some experiments. She would forfeit seeing Itachi's face when he discovered the state of his clothes but she usually did experiments on gut feelings and her gut was feeling damn good at 4 in the morning.
She began by opening the chemical fridge and taking out a set of six corked test tubes filled with orange liquid and carefully placed it on her white desk. Then she took out a second set of half a dozen corked test tubes that were filled with blue liquid, and another set filled with black liquid. Next, she took a single larger test tube filled with infected blood and a round glass case with infected skin samples.
After she turned on her microscope, LCD screen and put on her safety glasses she began her various experiments to try to neutralize the disease.
.
…
.
Five hours later, Kabuto walked into her lab, when the door swooshed open, Sakura looked over her shoulder and smiled.
"Good morning, I saw you checked in at five in the morning, everything okay?"
"Mmm hmm, I was just inspired," she said as he stood next to her staring at the LCD screen of enlarged cells.
"Find anything interesting?"
"I found two chemicals that were able to completely destroy the disease."
"That's wonderful," Kabuto said as he tried to figure out what was on the screen. She could tell by the tone of his voice that he felt belittled in the situation.
"Yes…too bad its poison to the human body, an ounce of this," Sakura performed air quotes on the next word, "'cure' and the person will bleed out from every pour." She tried to downplay herself so Kabuto wouldn't feel bad for not understanding the science code. She had configured the settings on the computer in a science language that she had invented for herself.
"That…is not wonderful."
"No," she chuckled softly, "it's not. I think I'm going to try out some other combinations – this one seems too dangerous," she said placing the T.V remote down, "is there anything I can help you with?"
"No, I just came to check on you and to see if I can offer you a hand."
"Oh, no thank you Kabuto, I work best alone."
He nodded, "very well, let me know if you need anything."
"I will."
"I'm serious," he stressed.
"Erhm, alright," Sakura tried to offer him a smile. Originally within the contract, Kabuto was supposed to be her assistant but Sakura denied to having one. Unfortunately, when trying to explain to the Board of Med that she couldn't find someone with a compatible way of thinking to work with her….many people misinterpreted what she said to mean that no one was smart enough to work with her.
The female doctor sighed after he left, they had gotten off on such a great start and now she could feel the tension anytime he addressed her.
.
...
.
Sakura came back to the apartment a half hour before midnight. When she entered, the lights were on and Itachi was sitting at the island with files scattered all around his laptop. She kicked off her shoes and walked towards the large kitchen area.
"Hello," she greeted brightly as she placed her fast food meal on the counter next to her messenger bag.
"This is for you," he replied, handing her a piece of paper.
She finished unloading her fries and chicken nuggets onto a plate before accepting it. It was a receipt for fifty-two grand complied by his accountant to include all the clothes she ruined.
"Ahhh, alright," she said sweetly, "this, then," she rummaged through her messenger bag and took out a small receipt and handed it to him. "And one sec….I got another one for you," she reached in and retrieved a medical forum and pen. Quickly she began to fill out the paper.
Itachi grabbed the receipt and his expression remained blank as his eyes scanned its contents.
"La Perla?" he asked.
"For new panties and bras."
"You spent fifteen grand on lingerie?" He asked, not sure if he was conveying surprise or disgust in his voice.
"Mmm hmm," she said signing her name on the forum, then she ripped the top sheet off and slid it across the table towards him. She turned back around and began opening the small ketchup packets to get some sauce on the edge of her plate.
"And why should I care?" Itachi asked sliding the second paper to him.
"Same reason I should care about your suits, and the second receipt is the hospital bill, I am very much allergic to peppers," she lied, "many tests had to be done after they neutralized it out of my system."
"What a surprise that it all adds up to 52 grand…And I suppose you don't have health insurance…" he deadpanned as she turned around with a plateful of artery clogging goodness and sat across from him.
"Mmhph," she replied while she chewed on a crispy fry.
Itachi folded both receipts and then ripped them in half, and then ripped them again, all the while staring at her challengingly.
She met his challenge, by ripping up his own receipt into tiny pieces.
"Guess we're even," she said placing another fry in her mouth.
"Far from," he replied coldly.
"Well, tomorrow the delivery men should be coming – I ordered some furniture for my apartment."
"Where is this apartment of yours located?"
"Right here, silly," she answered grabbing her bag and plate and carefully walked out of the kitchen towards the bedroom.
He was angry…very angry, but a playful smirk had just crept onto his lips unbeknown to him…
.
…
.
Sakura had once more awoken up before Itachi, but this time her movements stirred him and he took note of her waking up at four twenty in the morning.
When it was his time to get up, his roommate had been long gone.
.
…
.
Itachi called Shikamaru after changed and left towards work, making plans to stop by the nearest coffee shop on the way.
"Itachi, I don't think you've ever called me this often, did you catch the Soviet chick?"
"Yes, she's going to be interrogated in a few hours," Itachi said crossing the crowded street.
"Sounds troublesome," he said with a sigh, "what can I do for you?"
No matter how troublesome Itachi would be – Shikamaru would never refuse a favor….Itachi was a reason the hacker was alive, had a job, and wasn't being hunted down by every single governmental agency on the planet.
"Sakura Haruno, give me her financial statement for the last two months."
"Eh, she should file a restraining order against you..." Shikamaru said as he looked up the information for Itachi, "okay she has two debt cards, and two credit cards – one of them is a black card. Let's see, starting in late August, she paid for rent…restaurant….bills…Japanese restaurant…erhm, lots of restaurants...flight to Africa…took out five grand at the airport….then next thing she used a card on was a flight back to America from Costa Rica….but no records of her flying there…then she paid rent…then hotel in Konoha Square…ten grand donation to a children's hospital…investment in animal shelter...two grand shopping in Times Square…down payment on an Glass Building apartment….overseas transaction of thirty grand…to…. an orphanage in Malaysia…jazz club tickets…library donation of ten grand…rented a moving truck…fifteen grand in a store called La Perla…and last major transaction was at a furniture store in Konoha Square."
"Cancel the furniture purchase."
"How?"
"You're the hacker, figure it out…say it was a mistake or identity fraud…just get it canceled."
"Sometimes, I think that I would rather be asked to hack national security than do your evil bidding," Shikamaru said with a sigh.
"You're not the first person to tell me that, now make it happen."
"Yes, sir…"
Itachi hung up the phone and then called Luxury Livings as he crossed the street.
"Thank you for calling Luxury Livings, how may we assist you?"
"It's Itachi Uchihla."
"Mister Uchihla! How can I help you, sir?"
"I'd like the items I placed on hold to be delivered today this afternoon."
"Oh, yes sir, but unfortunately sir we cannot have them delivered until tomorrow."
"Fine."
"They will all be delivered by two tomorrow, and they will be arranged in the manner you previously requested in accordance with the blueprints you provided. Is there anything else we can do for you, sir?"
"No."
"Thank you, sir."
Itachi hung up and called Glass Buildings Secretary to inform him of the delivery men.
.
…
.
As he walked towards his Law office building from Starbucks he received a phone call from a police station outside the state.
"Hello," he picked up as he checked the time on his wrist watch. It was twenty till eight.
"Hey, Itachi," his partner back in his detective days greeted him.
"Kisame, how are you?"
"Like a fish out of water – Got some news for you. They are transferring Madara to a holding facility and then shipping him off to isolation in Akatsuki Island."
Itachi's face turned grim, his partner had promised to keep Itachi updated if there were any changes in Madara's captivity.
"When?"
"In three weeks, he's spending two days under federal watch and then back to isolation. I wish we were able to convict the bastard on the death penalty."
"Hn," Itachi regained his composure, "are you going to be on watch?"
"Night and day…Also there is something else," Kisame began with a sigh and Itachi waited for him to continue as he went through the lobby of his law office building. "When they removed him for a medical examine, they found letters by the hundreds under his bed."
"What type of letters?" Itachi asked as he flashed his I.D past security.
"All addressed to you…they were pretty damn graphic. He really wants you dead, Itachi."
"Likewise…send me the letters." He got onto an empty elevator and pressed the 32nd floor button.
"I don't think that's such a good idea."
"Send me the letters, my email's the same."
"Listen…I don't –,"
"Send. Them. I may entertain him with a reply."
"Ugh, man, you are still a sadist…Alright, well that's all I have to report. How are things on your end?"
"Fine, one child killer and another mass murderer," Itachi replied calmly as he took a sip of his coffee. The elevator dinged open and he stepped out into the hallway and made his way towards his office.
"Haha, like working on the legal end more so?"
"It's a change, though not carrying a weapon with me at all times is very dissatisfying."
"I can't imagine my life without my Samehada…"
"Still naming your guns?" Itachi asked with a low chuckle…he really missed field work.
"They are like my babies…" Kisame whined on the other line, "gotta go, code double D!"
Itachi hung up and could already see his old partner pinning after a female passerby with big breasts.
.
…
.
Sakura's cell phone rang with the opening theme to House. She looked up from her microscope to try and locate it since it meant that it was Naruto calling. She held back the desire to face palm herself; she forgot to call him after she got settled in. Though, technically – she wasn't going to be settled till Itachi moved the hell out of her apartment.
With a sigh she flipped open her phone.
"Hey!" She answered in an overly faked and happy voice.
"Sakura! What the hell! You promised you'd call…it's been weeks!"
"Days," she replied rolling her eyes.
"Weeks."
"Days."
"Fine…Fine…a week and a day….so too busy for lunch? We need to catch up."
"Never too busy for you," Sakura replied with a smile.
"How about we meet at Lenny's, I am hungry for a sub."
"How about I pick you up, last time you were an hour late and I am not going to be getting pity looks again because you can't tell time."
"Hah, you never forget annnnything." She could hear him grimace on the other line, "and sure, that would be great! We renovated the entrance, you'll love it."
"I'm sure I will."
.
…
.
Sakura had known Naurto since sixth grade and they had remained close friends since. Though they weren't in constant contact like she was with Ino, they shared a special type of bond. No matter the distance or time they spent apart, they could always reconnect at the drop of a hat. The summer before his junior year in high school, Naruto went to Italy to participate in an underground martial arts match.
Apparently the wild, immature, and commitment-phobic blonde had found love and never went back to school. Years later, he and his lover would open up various martial arts dojos, run them for a few years, and then sell them. After selling it off they'd go to find a new place to settle in before repeating the process.
He didn't see Sakura again until their mid twenties when she was running away from various government organizations. He, of course, had nothing against harboring a fugitive in one of his many legally and illegally owned estates. Their friendship had always been unconditional.
Sakura double checked the address on the business card for Nine Tails Dojo and turned right on 5th avenue. It was impossible to miss the three story orange and blue painted martial arts studio. She chuckled; Naruto was always good at standing out.
She made her way through the bright neon orange double doors and was shocked to discover that the inside was decorated in a high end Zen fashion. There was no way in hell Naruto even had a say in any of the design. It was too calming.
The floors were a soft smooth gray granite color and the open space they occupied was impossibly large. There were a dozen small paper lamps hanging from the ceiling and the soft meditation music playing the background created a perfectly relaxing atmosphere. In the center of the entranceway there was a simple large marble fountain in the with colorful koi fish swimming at the bottom. The hallway to the right led to the stairs which went up two flights and down to the changing rooms. The left wall acted as a double mirror which allowed for classroom observations. Sakura saw two parents sitting and smiling as they watched their children taking their karate class. She could distinguish a male instructor with dark brown hair demonstrating a hook punch to the group of fifteen small elementary schoolers in cute little karate uniforms.
Sakura smiled to herself as she walked up to the receptionist desk where a male in his early thirties was looking over files behind a large dark gray limestone desk.
"Excuse me, I am –,"
"He'll be right down," the black haired man answered, turning over a paper before writing something down.
The doctor cocked her head to the side; she could see the resemblance between Itachi and him. It wasn't like she and Sasuke were best of friends either.
"Guess it runs in the family, eh?" She asked rhetorically as she folded her arms across her chest.
Finally the man behind the desk looked up at her with narrowed eyes.
"Sakura, I am busy. Naruto had taken a stab at the account books while I was ill," he lifted up a stack of papers, "literally." There were distinct ninja star type holes all over it.
"Naruto's stupidity does not excuse impoliteness."
"Very well," he sighed as he put the papers back down, "How are you enjoying Konoha, Sakura?"
"It's a pleasant change," she replied leaning against the table and smiling, "I like what you guys have done with the place."
"You should have seen the design Naruto wanted."
"Rainbow happy?"
"His sketch looked like an amusement park opening."
"That sounds like Naruto."
"Awwww, what sounds like me?" Naruto asked coming from the hallway. He was wearing a light blue collared shirt with fitted jeans – she assumed Sasuke had dressed him.
"Stupidity," Sasuke responded coldly.
"Eh," the blonde rubbed the back of his head, "Yeah…"
"Come on, Naruto. Sasuke," Sakura turned to the Uchiha, "would you like to join us?"
"No, I am enjoying seething in my anger alone, thank you."
"I'm sorry," Naruto said for what sounded like the hundredth time.
"Well, we'll be going," Sakura began, "have a good one, Sasuke."
Suddenly a blue fuzzy thing came flying at Naruto's face.
"It's cold outside," the dark haired Uchiha muttered as he went back remaking their accounting books.
Naruto's smile grew tenfold as he wrapped the scarf around his neck and waved goodbye to his boyfriend who was pretending to ignore him. He grabbed Sakura's hand, "come on."
.
…
.
"So," Naruto began as he took a sip of his coke, "what's it like living with Itachi?"
"What?" Sakura looked up from the menu in shock, "how…how did you know?"
"Ino."
"That damn bitch," Sakura moaned as she put her hands over her face. She should have known better.
"So...?" Naruto continued to pressed. Sakura looked between the gaps in her fingers.
"It's horrible, a torturous nightmare, a C rated horror flick…or something like that."
"You don't like having a roommate?"
"It's not about roommate or no roommate. Look…it's my apartment, I want it, and I'm going to get it." She answered firmly and then exhaled in exhaustion as she leaned back in her chair, "It's on the 50th floor, Naruto…it's so beautiful."
"So you two haven't had sex yet?"
"Naruto!"
The blonde raised his hands defensively, "I kid, I kid."
"That is not funny. He is a terrible human being."
"Well…Sakura…he's not…soo bad."
"And how would you know that?" Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Sasuke talks about him, he's a good guy."
"Bad guy…he is a bad guy. He is living in my apartment for crying out loud!"
"So…", Naruto glanced at the menu, "the ceasar sub looks good."
The doctor rolled her eyes and smiled before returning her attention to the menu, "yeah, it does, doesn't it?"
.
…
.
"Then I need you to find –," Itachi's phone interrupted his discussion with one of his paralegals. He raised his finger up to pause the conversation and took it out of his pocket and checked the I.D, "get that done for now."
"Yes sir," the man nodded and left with his yellow notepad to the library.
"Sasuke?" Itachi picked up the phone questioningly. His younger brother never called during weekdays, and especially not during working hours.
"Hello, brother," Sasuke greeted back.
Itachi walked down the hall toward his office. "Has something happened?"
"I saw Sakura today."
The older Uchiha's eye twitched.
"You know."
"Naruto doesn't keep secrets," Sasuke replied.
"And how much do you know?"
"Who knows, care to fill me in?"
"No," Itachi replied, "it's all a nuisance. A nuisance that will be taken care of shortly."
"Really?"
"Yes."
Sasuke sighed on the other line, "Just don't do anything too Uchiha like."
"Uchiha-like?"
"You know kidnap her in the middle of the night and drop her off in an abandoned island to die of starvation or dehydration…whichever comes first."
"That was a rumor. Father never did that."
"Yes, of course…the skeleton of the only competition father ever had in an election just ended up on the island by magic."
"Sasuke," Itachi warned. There was a lot more to the story that Sasuke didn't know and Itachi wasn't at liberty to tell.
"Yes, yes. So what is she like?"
"Why are you asking?"
"You've never lived with a girl before; I wonder how you're coping."
"I am coping just fine." He didn't like his younger brother's choice of words.
"Doesn't sound like it."
"Sasuke, I have work to do."
"Hn, of course you do."
"We will talk later," Itachi said before hanging up.
A/N: As always thank you for your kind words and comments - they make me work harder to put out these chapters as soon as possible. This one was totally revamped from what I had originally written. I hope you enjoyed! :)