Thank you for all of your encouraging reviews! Special thank you to anonymous reviewers who bothered! You all make a difference. To those who don't seem to bother reviewing recently (yes, I've noticed a massive drop in reviews per chapter)… just, why?
A thank you to my beta Lady Kyoshoku. I posted this chapter before you replied, and I hope you get better! No pressure ;-)
Also, if you've noticed a lot of first person views accidentally added in; I'm not being some kind of Mary-Sue, I'm recently writing stories in first person for a change and going back to this one and writing differently keeps throwing me off. Sorry!
Recommended Song: Within Temptation – Our Solemn Hour
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or any of its characters. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto
-Another Side Of The Story-
-27-
Her breathing was erratic; panicked. She had had enough of Sakura's bravado and had taken action. In that moment, faint glimpses of the past flashed before Sakura's eyes. Flashes of a girl much like Izumi. The flashes told Sakura exactly why this girl feared the worst possible outcome.
oOo
In the back of his crowded mind, he faintly heard the plan and acknowledged it. But his eyes lingered on the building with intense concentration. She was in there, unexpecting them. Nina had been told not to tell her anything, until they were sure of what Sakura had planned. She hadn't given up yet and had promised to return. They could only assume there was a plan forming in her mind.
His prize waited for him; that's what he would take from all of this. There was no telling what the future had in store for them. He would take her from it all.
"…Sai, meet up with Nina. We need her with a mic. Go now." Sai took off in a sprint, using the trees and darkness as his cover. He was quick and careful; Gaara had no doubt he would manage to meet up with their 'mole'.
Sai skidded to a stop and looked up near the side of the building. He could see figures in the room and something being wrapped around another girl. They passed the window and Sai spotted Nina standing still with her eyes trained on the woman wrapping the obi around her lithe form. He ran and lifted himself up the building, using its strange structure and outward jutting ledges to climb the building. When he made it to the window on the second floor, his fingers clung to the red, circular window, until the click of a door and a small sigh told him Nina had been left alone.
He pulled himself up and she jumped from fright, backing away from where his feet touched the floor. He looked up at her and smiled slowly; handing out a small microphone and a thin box Shikamaru had improved, so the older chunkier box wouldn't be revealed.
She blew out a nervous breath and took the microphone, hooking it down her kimono, which was an ivory colour with an olive obi. Sai followed her hands and couldn't believe it when he felt his face burn with a blush as she gently eased the little black box into her belt and hooked the microphone inside the material.
"You'll need to get in touch with me if the sound isn't right." Nina spoke, feeling the microphone inside her dress.
"I'll come back if not; don't let it worry you, Shikamaru designed it."
She smiled and he turned to leave out of the window where he came from. "I don't doubt him. Let's pray this ends well."
He nodded and left the window, leaving Nina standing staring after him tensely. Her shoulders lost some of their tension, and the door opened when the woman returned with the recovered blusher the other specialist make-up artists had stolen. The timing seemed to be perfect tonight. She hoped the luck would continue.
oOo
Kiba panted along behind Ino, who stopped suddenly and pointed up towards the window. Kiba grumbled watching her wearily. "I can't believe you convinced Tsunade."
"This was always the plan!" She snapped in defence, climbing up the wall, having donned a pair of tight jeans, in place of the usual skirt. Kiba followed, unable to remove his eyes from her wiggling rear. "Hurry up! Or she'll leave!"
She stopped above him, and he grudgingly shimmied to the side, climbing up beside her with an ever-present frown. Akamaru whined from the floor, but he was sent a calming look from Kiba and he sat obediently, not making a sound. Ino peeked over the window's ledge and watched the girl for a moment, watching how she acted. She was sitting on her bed, sadly watching her reflection in the mirror and combing her fingers through the harshly died green hair.
Ino pulled up and hopped over the ledge, startling the girl who stood quickly and turned with fearful eyes. Ino didn't give her a chance to react as she pressed her fingers together and focused on the girl who was about to squeal. Her body clenched and then relaxed to the floor as she felt her conscience drift across the room and seep into the girl who stumbled back against the door wide-eyed.
Kiba jumped in and caught Ino's falling body, lowering it to the ground carefully and then pulling her over to the side of the bed, where he hid her under the long, flowing covers. When she was hidden, he stood up and looked at the green-haired girl who stood and shivered.
"Wow, her memories aren't nice." Ino explained from her body. "Let's see; her name is Haruhi. Some guy named Joe died her hair to be as good as the others. The others? The girls, you think?" She asked Kiba out of jade-green eyes.
He frowned and folded his arms with a shrug. "This is weird." He mumbled looking away.
"Come on, Kiba. I've done this plenty of times!" Ino argued with a frown on her thinner lips.
"That's the weird part."
"Just send me off with luck," Ino said moving towards him.
"I'm not kissing you like that; it's not you." He argued moving backwards.
Ino stopped with wide-eyes, and Kiba briefly wondered if he had insulted her, but a bright smile appeared on her face. A smile he could imagine on fuller lips and with sparkling blue eyes.
"That's sweet." She said quietly before the door clicked and someone entered. Kiba dropped and slid under the bed beside where Ino's body lay sleeping. He listened, since he couldn't see anything from beneath the lank material, and when Ino was pushed from the room in Haruhi's body, he sighed and looked to the sleeping blonde beside him. He placed a small, quick kiss on her forehead, and the body breathed in response, though its soul had travelled to another.
The party seemed like such a long time ago. Yet things had come into play that night and altered what had happened between the two. All thanks to an emotion called jealousy and the guys itching to dance with what he claimed as his.
oOo
"Shit Naruto! That's frickin' weird!" Temari's voice hollered as she rounded the corner of the entrance way. Herself, Naruto and Hinata had snuck through windows and into the staff quarters, silently rendering a few women of the right size unconscious. Temari pulled a small pair of glasses from her 'borrowed' blouse and grimaced as she pulled them over her nose.
Naruto had taken the time to show them his new trick. It was disturbing, but certainly answered why he had chosen a girl's uniform. 'Sexy-no-jutsu' he called it. Disturbing, was how they viewed it. Though Hinata politely said nothing, her mouth popped open and she had to cover it with her hand. Though her wide, lavender eyes didn't fool anyone.
"Are you kidding? It's genius! We won't risk getting discovered this way! I saw the blonde old woman who lived with Sakura! She knows my face!"
Temari sighed and tugged on the distasteful clothing when a woman entered and forced herself to stop in surprise. "Who're you?"
The three panicked, Naruto and Hinata being dressed in welcoming kimono's of a pale blue-grey. Temari had specifically chosen the receptionist, so the other two moles would be able to enter.
She coughed into her hand and smiled apologetically. They had hidden the unconscious bodies, and hadn't let them feel pain from falling asleep. "We were sent as substitutes. It seems three had caught a virus lingering in the kitchen. Perhaps you should check on the kitchen staff.
The woman looked flabbergasted and her mouth opened and closed repeatedly, deciding on whether or not to believe Temari, who smiled gently and innocently.
"I see?" She asked rather than ordered. "You're needed out front. The reception will be filled soon and our guests will need to be shown their rooms."
The three nodded and exited the room calmly as the woman watched after them in suspicion. When she turned and left, the tension left their shoulders and the three girls continued onwards.
When Temari took her seat, her eyes raised and studied the shadow taking in the form of a larger person sneaking up on the guard outside the open doorway. She watched silently, bending down and sitting proper, as the newer figure suited up and pulled the guard off. Naruto acknowledged the attack and shuffled to his place to the right of the desk. Hinata stood by the left and her eyes focused, revealing sharp veins that peered around.
When the shadow came back, Choji peeked his head in and nodded, fully suited as a guard in his tuxedo. Temari nodded and Naruto grinned in his feminine body. Choji stared with puzzle, but looked away in the next second.
"Sakura's coming." Hinata whispered, taking a step back against the wall. Sakura entered, being followed by a white-haired girl who looked so young it stirred Temari. They didn't look up as the older woman marched behind them and they were led towards the door closest to Naruto, who opened it in wait. A damn good guess, which Temari found irritated her. He could have blown their cover.
Before she reached the door, her back tensed and she looked around with frantic eyes, which seemed to sense something. Temari panicked and ducked under the desk to retrieve the pencil she had 'dropped'. When she stood up once more, the door closed on the girls.
"Close call," Naruto whispered when the middle-aged woman left, scratching her over-indulged stomach.
oOo
Gaara stood with Tenten and Rock Lee approaching his side. They were a stealth team, entering through the highest point of the building – the roof. He waited until Shikamaru, Sai and Kakashi confirmed a working plan for them.
"We need to remember Sakura has a plan of her own already," Kakashi said raising his hand to his chin in thought. Gaara tensed and looked up at the building to see Temari had just closed the window after herself, ready to take action.
"She wouldn't wait until the whole council were gathered and these men. That would be sure death. She'd pick them off one by one. But she needs to wait until these men arrive, otherwise they could walk in and decide to help out the council if she picked them out alone." Sai concluded in thought.
Shikamaru sighed and stood up, stretching each leg and looking away from the window he watched Temari disappear from. "She'll know she needs to wait until she has one alone. So she'll bide her time until she is chosen."
Gaara clenched and his gut burned. He tried stretching his neck to keep him occupied but the clicking made Shikamaru weary of his intentions and he moved on. "We'll wait until this meeting has concluded. That way we have evidence of who agreed to these terms thanks to Nina's microphone. It'll mean the girls will be split between the men on the same floor and Sakura will know they are distracted."
"She wouldn't think like that," Rock Lee defended from Gaara's side.
"It makes sense to. She won't let them go through with it, she won't give them time. But we'll get there to the others first. Only after they have been split can you make yourself known; understand Gaara?" Kakashi spoke forcing eye contact with the tense teen.
He nodded stiffly, wondering if he himself had meant it and Kakashi sighed and stood. "Sai, Shikamaru; around back. Watch out for anything suspicious. Take out any threats. Gaara, take your team to the roof. Be quick."
He nodded and took off slowly, watching out for any suspicious men. As he grew closer to the entrance, he watched as Temari, Hinata and some blonde girl came walking out from the corridor and took there place behind the reception, while Choji snuck up and took out the guard he had only just been sent away to do.
He stopped in the next instant when Hinata stepped back and the other two tensed at something she whispered. Time stopped when Sakura emerged, followed by a smaller girl and a gruff woman. She walked on and his image of her brightened. He couldn't help but be concerned when he took in how thin her legs seemed and her face, which was hollow behind the make-up.
Yet, she still looked beautiful in his eyes. Tenten gasped out when she seen her friend and Lee tensed, taking in what Gaara had noticed. Slowly, he took another step forward, imagining how great it would feel to run in and scoop her up now. When his foot connected with the soil beneath him, Sakura tensed and looked around. He watched Temari ducking, to avoid detection and how Hinata turned and hid behind the wall of the corridor she came from.
But she didn't look their way. She continued walking and peered out of the entrance; where the huge doors were wide open in wait for the guests. She seemed to stare out at nothing, somewhere past Choji and then looked away, entering the room Naruto opened.
Gaara turned and ran around back with his team following him. His loose shirt rippled against him from the wind and when he stopped, he wiped the sweat from his fingers on black combat pants. His boots were heavy as he climbed up the wall with Tenten and Lee following him in similar garb. On his hands, similar gloves to Sakura's were wrapped around his palms, leaving his fingers exposed.
Those hands gripped the wall tightly and climbed. Staying close to the wall was the safest option when the mansion was full of people; staff, the girls, the council, those women who slapped thick make-up on Sakura, knowing what she was to face. It made him sick.
His fingers were tense against the walls he climbed, the urgency to manipulate the sand to do his bidding growing strong. But he couldn't risk being spotted, and they needed to stay glued to these creamy walls and avoid detection.
When they edged closer to the top, the rood bent and he hopped up on the tiles, able to get his footing. He ducked low and swiftly glided towards the other end as Tenten and Lee followed, wobbling on the thin trail.
"It's worrying how good you are at sneaking around on other people's roof." Tenten whispered making him roll his eyes.
He made it to the latch on the top and pulled it open with a loud 'thunk'. Lee tensed and looked around, as if expecting someone to be with them on the rood. Gaara ignored him and dropped down into a corridor, which seemed dark and abandoned. The scent of sex was strong in this end and as he ran on, the gradual scent of sweat disappeared, and the rooms grew brighter and more exuberant. Yet it was entirely deserted on the top floor, and they waited by the stairs, opening a room should someone drop by and pay a visit.
He reached into his pocket and withdrew a small, black speaker. He popped it into his ear, like Tenten and Lee had done just seconds ago. They heard nothing, so they waited impatiently, cracking their fingers and rolling their shoulders.
The tension grew thick and the slightest creak made them wary and concerned. From the far window, lights beamed and disappeared along with the hum and roar of engines. Gaara watched the shadows and lights glimmering against the wall, moving upwards as they disappeared and then doors opened, cutting into the new silence.
"It's beginning," Gaara whispered, holding his finger to his ear and listening for any sounds from Nina. He pushed the device further, hoping not to miss a single detail.
"N-Nina? Why are you here? Why you?!"
He sucked in a deep breath and hunched in on himself, savouring the voice he had almost forgotten. He craved for her to talk more, so he could here every tremor, but the sadness she spoke with now wasn't pleasant. She was hurting.
The line cut for a moment and he looked up to Tenten and Lee, who looked equally as confused. But another voice cut through the silence, voicing an update they needed to know of.
"Shino and Kankuro are in. The arrivals are being led to the first room, across the entrance where the girls are being held. Neji has cleared a path through the backdoor. He found himself a front row ticket to the council room."
It was hard to distinguish the voice, but Gaara assumed Tsunade was the one who spoke. The deeper expression her voice left made it the only possible option. The lights and sounds from beyond the draughty window had long since vanished, leaving the three with the silence of the night.
oOo
Sakura's anger left her, stunning Izumi into a contemplative silence. She eyed the expression set on Sakura's face with shame and sharply looked away, disguising her anguish behind false anger.
"Izumi," Sakura spoke softly and then hesitated. "Izumi," she repeated, confirming her thoughts when the violet-eyed girl didn't speak up. "Of course you prefer this; you witnessed much more than I did at the orphanage."
The room may have gasped at the revelation, but the girls huddled in the room had no idea what Sakura spoke of. They looked to each, having been drawn into the turmoil they didn't speak of.
Izumi's head snapped back on Sakura and fixed her with a cold glare. "Shut up, Sakura. Of course you didn't see the extent to the tortures! You were too busy being protected by everyone else! Only, that stopped the moment your friend took the shot in your place!"
Sakura flinched and willed her eyes shut in pain. Izumi paused, eyeing her disposition and looked away, hiding layers of guilt beneath the surface. They stood awkwardly, not know what they expected to happen, but Sakura turned back on Izumi with a softer expression.
"I can help you, Izumi. You don't have to choose between the two. You can escape; from both."
"How?" she spat, crossing her arms in an arrogant stance. "What can you do? Tears won't stop them! You can't bribe them against what the council have in store. Perhaps you plan to seduce your way out of this? It'll only dig you into deeper shit, Sakura."
"Izumi; I'm sorry I could help you that time; when they took you to the shed. But I can now! I can help you!" Sakura argued, risking a step forward.
"I don't want to go back there!" Izumi almost screamed. The room shuffled away from the irate girl, watching her cautiously, before she took a shaky breath and marched forward.
Sakura flinched and closed her eyes, accepting anything she might do to her. But the draught which flew past her from Izumi's haste made them snap open and turn to watch the door slam.
Just as Sakura relaxed, the door opened again, and they all turned, expecting to see Izumi return with an escort, but found Katashi standing in the doorway. The cold man who invaded Sakura's room those months ago in the new house.
He fixed her with a warning stare before moving aside and swinging his arm as a gesture for them to file out. Sakura sucked in a quick breath and followed as Nina and Miu headed out first, followed by herself and the other girls. Sayuri clung to her sleeve, watching each step her feet took.
As she passed Katashi, she felt his gaze prickling into her skin and watching her as she passed, but she ignored him and continued walking the line Nina set. She didn't realise Izumi had joined the front of the queue and waited for two double doors to be opened for them across the entrance way.
As she waited in line, her gaze began to wonder to the open doorway, where the doors were being closed by a guard. Just as the doors shut, she narrowed her eyes to concentrate on the guard's face, feeling strangely familiar with him. But a hollow clonk vibrated from the exit as the doors were pulled to a close. She looked to the back of Miu's head with a frown, feeling as though she might had seen the man before.
It was most likely a council member, which would explain that theory, so she dismissed it and looked to her other side, finding a maid-figure bob out of the way just as she skimmed the area. The place was strange. The staff seemed almost afraid of getting too into their business. Maybe they thought they would be sentenced to the same fate.
She turned around and looked above the desk, where an attractive blonde secretary was sending a firm look at another maid, who had ridiculously long blonde hair in bunches by her side. She didn't seem to happy about something and when the receptionist looked back, my eyes connected with her own and extreme confusion set over me.
Her hair was a murky blonde, which would have appeared in a black-and-white film, as the large waves bobbed and curved elegantly. Her face seemed quite clear of anything, and I found myself envious of her flawless, light tan. She looked away from me and towards the door I was supposed to be heading towards, which drew my attention to the loud noise, signalling the beginning of the meeting.
All thoughts on the receptionist were lost as the girls walked forwards into a neutral room, with stained, red woodwork. A low table and matching red cushions sat neatly in the middle of the floor and odd assortments of china bowls were placed messily along the table.
At the end of the table sat Kensho, and directly behind him, two guards in smart black tuxedos with sunglasses covering their eyes. Their hair was long, tied back tightly, and on their backs, long sheathed katanas were strapped, making her wince at her presumptions. She would have trouble with those two. Sakura would have laughed at the image, or how she felt as though she had just stepped on the set of an action movie, but there was nothing funny about the men who were being entertained by Kensho.
She didn't recognise any of the men as they were lined four to each side of the table. They were supposed to stand behind the men and look pretty, she guessed.
The men in tern looked at each of the girls appreciatively, some lingering on others more so than the rest. A select few didn't look at any of them specifically, but acknowledged they had entered the room and then looked away.
The men must have been talking for a small amount of time as the tables held food which had been picked at by each and Kensho raised his arm to gesture around the room, where all the women stood silently, looking to their feet.
"-just a small token of what is to come, should we come to a deal." Kensho finished what he must have been talking on before the girls arrived.
"That's all fine, but what the hell are we expected to do?" A man in the centre of the far table snapped, biting into a chicken leg viciously.
Kensho scrunched his nose up and looked away as he explained to the man with pointed white spikes on his head. "Think of this deal as a settling between Sound and the Akatsuki as well as provided power and use of our services. Don't you want your men to last longer than a week?"
The man turned on another, who sat across the table, on the side Sakura could clearly see. He had floppy brown hair, which hung messily, and focused brown eyes which spiked at the white-haired man. "Akatsuki refuse to make a relationship public with the likes of sound." He stated point blank.
He looked up quickly at Sakura and she blinked and turned away, so he didn't get any ideas. But his look wasn't harmful, but rather speculative. The man opposing him knelt up from his sitting cushion and leant across the table menacingly.
"Who the hell are you in any case? I've never seen you before?!" He shouted, having Kensho hush them with his waving hands. He sat back grudgingly and the brunette across the table rolled his shoulder playfully.
"Let's just say I'm one of the top dogs, along with my brother. You're lucky he didn't come in my place; your tongue would already be drowning in your own blood."
Sakura cringed when the man laughed at his own joke, but sobered up quickly and looked away with an ever-present grin. The white man sat back and looked away too, not particular about the idea of having to face his enemy.
"I have a special surprise for you, Nako. For the trouble we may cause for Sound with this deal," Kensho spoke out, gesturing to me. All heads turned my way, and a few frowned when they looked at me, suspicious of the treatment Kensho was showing them. Nako turned in his chair and trailed his eyes over every inch of me, considering that offer.
He smirked wickedly and licked his lips, looking me in the eye. "You've got yourself a deal." He spoke lowly. A crashing thud was heard from above the room and all heads looked up, some biting their lip or frowning at the ceiling. Kensho didn't seem too surprised by how smoothly the deal went and he turned their attention back to him.
"Gentlemen, if we have come to a de-," Kensho began.
The man to his left banged his fist on the table out of rage and glared at Kensho, who calmly looked back out of black, stoic eyes.
"Why the hell should I go through with this? I'm a respected member of the community!"
"Do respected members of the community bang whores behind their family's back, officer?" A man from the other end sneered, leaning over the table and glancing up to meet the man in eye-to-eye contact.
The first sat back and ran a troubled hand through his hair with quick, angry breaths. "You would blackmail an officer of the law?" He questioned Kensho.
"Not unless you value your wife and two children along with your job, Chief. Let's not forget your reputation, too." Kensho replied.
The man clenched his eyes shut and Sakura found herself frowning for him. He was even more so trapped than she was. At least she didn't have to sacrifice something she never had. When Kensho smirked, Sakura had no doubt in her mind the Chief of Police had been set up as well as blackmailed by the council. They wanted their brothels to line the streets abiding the law, to attract more customers and who else but the city's Chief could make that happen?
"Are we all agreed?" There was a silence, and few bobbed their heads in agreement while others chose to remain quiet and stuck up in their own way. "Excellent, let me pass around contracts, gentlemen; then a token of our appreciation." He gestured once more around the room and Sakura shivered as some of the men looked up to different girls and hurriedly signed their papers, most likely not reading through them either. Kensho's eyes glimmered as he watched the jolting pens and he barely contained the smile on his face.
When they finished, a maid silently entered the room and began collecting the papers. The same blonde who had been out in the entrance, Sakura realised. Kensho waved her off with the documents, handing her a folder for the sheets. She bowed and walked from the room, attracting a few glances as she left.
"It's a pleasure doing business with you, gentlemen. My girls will tend to you and you will be directed to your room by a member of my staff, who was waiting outside." When Kensho stood, Sakura sucked in a quick breath of panic as the moment she had waited for had arrived. He stood and turned, leaving through a handing curtain draped across the back wall, and the men at the table stood.
She didn't realise the girls had stood forward, standing directly behind the men they had been unconsciously assigned to. Nako stood and cockily grabbed her closer, slinging his arm over her shoulder as though he was drunkenly leaving a bar with her.
He grinned down to her, and Sakura suspected on any other night, she may have swooned at his boyish smile, but she cringed and began sizing him up for the fight. He seemed quite strong.
Each man stepped out of the room in their own time, dragging or being led by girls to the entrance, where two maids were waiting to escort them to their rooms.
And Nako to his death, Sakura thought to herself taking a deep breath, mentally preparing herself for the confrontation.
To Be Continued…
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