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THE BEAUTIFUL AND THE DAMNED
stfuSPARKS
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or 'Ocean Avenue' by Yellowcard :).
A/N: This chapter is dedicated to my wonderful beta, Charlie (known as tarzi-kins on ff!). It was her birthday yesterday, so- Happy Birthday! :3 Thank you always and lots of love to you.
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XII.
Ocean Avenue
"We could leave this town,
And run forever.
Let your waves crash down on me,
And take me away."
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"Tomorrow morning?" Sakura repeated in disbelief, as her apple green orbs widened. "So fast?"
Shino nodded towards her direction. "It might be a little fast, but it's going to be the most advantageous moment for us to strike. They've just lost their strongest assets-" He glanced towards the six boys gathered together in a corner. "- and we shouldn't give them enough time to gather replacements. They won't be expecting us if we attack tomorrow."
Itachi nodded, stepping forwards. Sakura felt Sasuke stiffen up next to her, but apart from that he showed no other signs of his hatred. "I agree with Aburame. We have gathered more than enough people for us to carry on with the attack. We might even be able to outnumber them if we're lucky."
"So are we going to directly attack Sound Corporation's building?" Tobi spoke up, sounding excited. "A direct attack would be fun!"
Shino shook his head. "We can't just march in through the front doors and start a fight. We're going to have to infiltrate the building and take them out one by one. I trust Shikamaru to help us with that."
The lazy genius sitting in the corner patted his laptop bag. "I can provide you with the blueprints for the entire building. If you give me a couple of hours, I might even be able to find out how to deactivate most of the alarms inside." He said, nodding his head. Shino looked quite impressed.
"We're going to have to separate into teams if we don't want to get caught. Moving as an entire group would catch way too much attention, and it would be too difficult to manage." Shino explained, pulling out a large sheet of paper. He motioned for everyone to gather around.
"So what team am I going to be in?" Sakura asked curiously.
"What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked, looking at her strangely. "You're obviously not going, Sakura. You're the one they want- you have to stay somewhere safe."
"What?" She cried. "That's unfair! There's no way I'm letting you guys risk your necks for me while I sit back and relax!" She protested, giving Sasuke an extremely sour look. "Plus, your chances of bringing Orochimaru down will be so much stronger with me on your side."
"I hate to admit it, but she's right." Kiba piped up, cringing as the Uchiha whirled around to glare at him. "We're going to need Sakura with us if we want to win. You've seen her in action, you know how strong she is. Just try to trust her strength."
"If we were to follow your instructions, you would have to sit out too." Neji pointed out. "You and Naruto both clearly manifested powers similar to Sakura's. It's naive of us to think that Orochimaru wasn't informed of this new development. You might as well have a big fat red target painted onto your chest."
"Sakura's friends are pretty smart." Deidara muttered to Sasori.
"No, you're just clearly stupid." Sasori nonchalantly commented back, earning a glare from his partner.
Sasuke's scowl did not disappear. "Then I want to be put into Sakura's same team." He stated flatly, crossing his arms.
"Absolutely not." Shino answered him, pushing his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. Sasuke opened his mouth to retort, but the other boy cut him off before he could. "You, Sakura and Naruto will be put into separate teams. We cannot ignore the chances of any of you being caught- we cannot risk losing two of you at once. It will also be easier to protect each one of you."
"We don't need to be protected!" Naruto exclaimed indignantly, jumping up to his feet.
"Stop being a brat and just listen to what he's fucking saying." Hidan cursed, starting to look irritated. "You're not playing around with teenagers anymore, brat. You're going to be working with adults now- so learn to fucking follow directions when they're given to you."
"You're hardly the one to talk." Kakuzu said next to him, rolling his eyes. "You may be almost thirty years old but that doesn't mean you act like it."
Sakura could feel disaster coming their way- Kakuzu and Hidan were impossible to stop once they started to get into their little spats. "So how should we divide the teams?" She quickly rushed, hoping she was still in time to prevent one. She quietly let out a sigh of relief when Hidan and Kakuzu both turned around listen to the group arrangements.
"Right now, we are a total of sixteen people." Shino started to say, writing each of their names down on the piece of paper laid out in front of him. "Eight members of the Akatsuki, six professional assassins, Sakura and myself. We will be dividing ourselves into three different groups- we will simply call them Team Sakura, Team Sasuke and Team Naruto."
Naruto nodded enthusiastically- he was enjoying the attention.
"Shikamaru and I will stay back at the headquarters and work the computers, helping you along the way. You will each be given an earpiece so that we can communicate with each other at all times." Shino continued. "As for the rest of you- we first have to determine what kind of people we have. Neji, Kiba, Sasuke and Naruto are obviously long-range fighters- they are most experienced in dealing with guns."
"Sasuke and Neji are really good at close-range combat as well." Kiba interrupted him. "You might want to take that into consideration."
"I am aware of that, but we'll have to generalize for now." Shino answered slowly. "The rest of the Akatsuki are all obviously talented in both ranges of combat. Sakura only knows how to engage in close-range combat- we don't have enough time to each her how to deal with guns." He looked up to glance at the men in the black and red cloaks. "If I'm not mistaken, each of you are partnered up with the person who is most suited to your talents."
Deidara nodded. "I'm usually partnered up with Sasori." He explained. "Then it's Kisame and Itachi, Hidan and Kakuzu, and Tobi and Zetsu."
"We will try to keep those arrangements then." Shino said with a nod. "Kiba and Neji will have to be separated into one of those groups."
"When I was in the Akatsuki, I was put into a three-man cell with Deidara and Sasori." Sakura spoke up, looking thoughtful. "I think it'll be best if I was put into that same team. We know how to work around each other, so we should make a good group."
It took them approximately half an hour to finalize their group arrangements. Not everyone was happy, but Shino insisted that it was in their best interest. The groups had been divided into the following:
Team Sakura: Deidara, Sasori and Tobi.
Team Sasuke: Hidan, Kakuzu, and Zetsu.
Team Naruto: Itachi, Kisame, Kiba and Neji.
To say that Sasuke was not extremely happy with the arrangements was the understatement of the year: the boy was furious. Sakura couldn't help but feel slightly guilty that she couldn't make him happy- but it was for the best.
"Your brother is a brat." Kisame flatly stated, staring at the younger Uchiha. "He reminds me of you."
Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Am I supposed to take that as an insult?" He asked with a smirk. "My Kisame, you're disappointing me. I expected something stronger coming from you."
Kisame ignored the elder Uchiha's obvious jab. "He seems to hate you." The blue-skinned man remarked. "Are you going to tell me why?"
"No."
"Eh I guess I don't really care." Kisame said with a shrug. His gaze turned solemn as he looked at the pink haired girl. "I guess I'll stop beating around the bush. I know he's your brother and everything, but I won't hesitate to break his skinny little body in half if he makes her cry."
"I don't know about that." Itachi said with a slightly amused smirk on his face. "She might be the one to make him cry first."
"Yeah, probably." Kisame snorted, watching the said pink haired girl smack Deidara on the head for something he said.
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"Sakura..."
The pink haired girl looked up at Neji in surprise. He had been obviously avoiding her ever since their little "Kill me" incident on the school grounds around a week ago. He would refuse to even meet her gaze. She was a little confused- she didn't blame him in the least. After all, she had been the one to shove a gun into his hands with the orders to kill her.
However for the first time, Neji had approached her first. He motioned for her to follow him into the deserted kitchen, away from all the chaos in the living room. She curiously followed him, taking a seat when he did the same.
"I didn't know if it was appropriate for me to mention this." He said, carefully thinking out his words. "But I thought you should know since you were so close to him."
Sakura's heart missed a beat. "What are you talking about?" She asked him.
"It's about Sai." He explained. "The reason Shikamaru, Kiba and I left was because we found out that Orochimaru was planning to dispose of us even if we managed to complete the mission. Shikamaru found another name listed along ours... it was Sai. Orochimaru is planning on getting rid of Sai as well. I wasn't sure whether we should warn him or not, which is why I'm talking to you first."
Sakura was silent for a minute, deep in thought. She knew that Sai had befriended her only for the sake of the mission- but it didn't stop her from thinking back on all the times in which he had helped her. Maybe he hadn't realized it- but no matter what, he had been extremely important to her. She couldn't know how he would react if she tried to warn him- there were clearly going to be two results. Either he would turn against her, or he would listen to her. Was it worth the risk?
"It's up to you." Neji said, interrupting her thoughts. "I'm not going to tell you what's wrong and what's right. You're the one who's known Sai the longest- I will trust your judgement in this."
Sakura's eyes widened in realization. "If I warn him, it has to be right now." She whispered. "Because by tomorrow it'll be too late."
Neji nodded. "I can take you to his house if you want to warn him, but it's now or never."
Sakura nodded, finally making up her mind. "Let's leave right now." She said, getting back up on her feet. "It shouldn't be too far from here. We can go there and be back within an hour if we hurry up."
She quickly rushed out of the kicthen to grab her jacket. She would have to hurry if she didn't want to waste precious time.
"Where are you going, Sakura-chan?" Naruto inquired out loud, causing a couple of people around her to turn around in curiosity. She cursed under her breath- leave it to Naruto to draw unwanted attention towards her at the wrong time.
"I'm just going out to buy something at the convenience store with Neji." She replied, forcing a smile onto her face.
Deidara tilted his head to the side. "What do you need? We probably have it in here. We're pretty well-stocked, y'know?" He called out to her. She mentally slapped herself on the forehead. She knew a couple of people who weren't going to be too happy if they found out her real intentions- Sai's speciality was definitely not making friends.
Neji grabbed her by the arm. "Sakura-san needs... female supplies. I'm sure you don't have those here." He said stoically, dragging her towards the front door. Sakura's face turned bright red at his statement- it was a good excuse, but couldn't he have thought of anything better? Deidara momentarily spluttered and promptly shut up.
"Why would she tell Neji that she needs pads?" Naruto thought out loud as they quickly exited the headquarters. No one had an answer for him.
Sakura was thankful that the walk to Sai's house was fairly short. She wasn't sure if she felt grateful or absolutely mortified- she opted for the former. There was an awkward silence surrounding them as they made their way down the street. She had never been alone with Neji before, and she found herself at a loss of words when no one else was with them. 'Isn't the weather nice?' seemed too much of a poor excuse to start a conversation.
However, she would be lying if she said that the presence of the tall boy next to her wasn't comforting as she loudly knocked on Sai's door.
Sakura had never been to Sai's house before. She knew his address and his home phone number, but now that she thought back on it she had never bothered to visit. Sai had always used the excuse that his parents were very traditional and did not allow him to bring girls home, so she had never been suspicious- but after learning about Sai's true identity, and standing before the modern apartment, she suspected that Sai lived alone and did not have any parents.
Her heart pounded as she waited for him to open the door. It was the first time she was facing him ever since they had drifted apart a couple of days ago- and she wasn't sure how the new Sai was going to react to her. She realized that the Sai she had known for these entire three years had probably been a false mask worn to fool her. It terrified her to think that she didn't know who the real Sai was.
The door swung open, revealing a shirtless Sai who was rubbing at his wet hair with a towel. He had been taking a shower- that would explain why it had taken him so long to answer. She expected him to be shocked, or at least startled- but his face was completely blank as he stared down at her nervous face.
"Sakura."
His voice was flat and curt. She wasn't sure what to think of this Sai- he had always been a bit stiff and unable to socially interact well with others, but this was like seeing those features amplified by ten.
"Sai, I need to talk to you about something important." Sakura blurted out, averting her eyes away from him. "Do you mind if we come in? I promise we won't take more than ten minutes of you time."
The pale boy wordlessly stepped away from the door, waiting for them to come inside. "I wasn't expecting any visitors, so I don't have any tea." He said politely, shutting the front door behind them. "I can offer you some water if you'd like."
Sakura shook her head. "It's okay, we'll be on our way out as soon as we finish talking." She said, nervously looking towards Neji.
"I must say Sakura, I've been by your side for three entire years and you've proven to be a smart girl." Sai said thoughtfully, sitting down on the couch. "But coming to my house with only one person to accompany you wasn't very smart of you. Why would you even come near me now that you know I'm not on your side?"
Sakura sighed, wondering how she would put this into words. "Orochimaru isn't the person you think she is." She rushed, hoping that he would listen to her. "Neji and the others quit their mission because they found out that he's planning on eliminating them as soon as the mission's over. He's planning on doing the same with you- you have to leave while you can."
Sai stayed quiet for a minute, contemplating over her words. "Why would you help me after finding out that I've been betraying you for the past three years?" He asked her curiously.
"I don't know." She honestly replied. "Maybe I want to believe that even if you were tricking me, there's a small part of you that actually treasures me as much as I treasure you."
"I hope you're not expecting me to join you in your attempt to defeat Orochimaru." Sai said quietly, looking straight at her. "I can't do that for you."
"So does that mean that you'll be fighting against us?" Neji asked him, speaking to the other boy for the first time since they had entered the house.
"No." Sai said, shaking his head. "I will not aid Orochimaru in any way. I will probably leave though. Go into hiding until all of this is over."
Sakura felt a sigh of relief leave her body. It didn't matter if he wasn't going to help her- as long as she wouldn't have to fight against him, it was going to be alright. The thought of having to fight him had plagued her for a couple of nights now. "Good." She breathed as a smile graced her lips. "At least we won't have to fight each other when the time comes." She stretched her arms, feeling a lot lighter than when she had walked into his house. "We'll take our leave now. Try to say safe."
She stood back up again and motioned for Neji to follow her towards the front door.
"Sakura."
She turned around to face Sai one more time.
"I am usually not good with emotions. I cannot fully comprehend them and usually do not know how to interact well with other people. It makes it easier for me to put a mask on, which makes me an ideal choice for an undercover mission." He paused. "But not everything that I said up until now was a lie. Maybe we will meet again one day."
She sadly smiled in return.
"Well definitely meet again Sai."
He smiled back at her. It was his usual fake smile, but she knew that he was trying.
"Maybe the next time we meet, we'll be real friends."
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"Don't ever pull a stunt like that again."
Sakura looked up in surprise to see Sasuke leaning over her crouched form on the floor. She had just returned from her little adventure with Neji (they decided that no one else really had to necessarily know) and was currently in the process of discussing combat strategies with her new team.
"What are you talking about?" Sakura lied, hoping that he wasn't talking about what she thought.
"I know that you went to visit Sai with Neji." Sasuke hissed into her ear, making sure that no one else overheard their conversation. "You're underestimating my observation skills, Sakura. I know a lot more than you'd think."
"Oh." Sakura couldn't think of anything else to say in her defense.
He sighed, looking defeated. "Sakura, I'm not here to tell you that what you did was wrong, but I just want you to tell me the next time you put yourself in danger like that, so at least I can go with you." He shot a disdainful glance towards his team. "I have to go back and plan things out with my team now, but I'll check up on you again soon." His hand lightly ghosted over her neck before he walked away.
"So are you in love with him or something?"
Sakura nearly choked on her own spit at Deidara's dry remark. He raised an eyebrow at her clear discomfort to his question. "What are you talking about?" She spluttered as her face turned red.
"Well the tension between the two of you is pretty obvious." Deidara said with a shrug, leaning back to let Sasori and Tobi discuss their strategies. "I may not be the smartest guy of the bunch but damn Sakura, I'm not that dense."
Sakura shook her head, pretending to busy herself with the blueprints of the building. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said brusquely, turning her back to him. "If you have the time to think up such bullshit, you should concentrate more on helping us out." She admonished, hoping that he wouldn't notice how her cheeks were still tinted pink.
Knowing that he probably wouldn't be able to get more out of her for the time being, he shook his head in exasperation and turned back to join the discussion with Sasori and Tobi.
Sakura distracted herself by thinking about the task that lay before them. Depending on the turnout of tomorrow's actions, they would either be celebrating until they dropped dead, or they would literally bedead.
They were a formidable force to be reckoned with, that was for sure. Yet while the unusual alliance between the Akatsuki, the Shinobi assassins, Shino and herself was indeed extremely intimidating, she knew better than to underestimate their opponent. She had never met Orochimaru before- she hadn't even heard of him, but she was aware of what the Sound Corporation was. She had come across many of their minions during her stay in the Akatsuki (like Kin and her lackeys) and while she hated to admit it, they had been pretty hard to defeat.
Itachi had admitted that Sound's ultimate downfall would be advantageous to the Akatsuki- Sound Corporation had been a pain in their side for as long as they could remember.
Sakura was also sure that while Shino hadn't been lying to her about being interested in the origins of her powers, there was an ulterior motive behind his actions. To an avid observer, it was obvious that even though he hid his emotions well, he held a deep grudge for Orochimaru for reasons unknown. She didn't bother to question him though- he would share it with her if he wanted to. The important part was that they were on the same, no matter what the reasons were.
"We're going to have to watch out for Kabuto." Sasori muttered, looking intensely at the blueprint in front of them. "I fought him once, he's stronger than he looks."
"Tobi will try to help his senpais in any way he can!" The masked boy piped up, punching his fist into the air. "Just leave it to Tobi!"
Deidara sighed in frustration. "You're still a newbie at this Tobi. You should consider yourself lucky that we're even taking you with us, so try not to get yourself killed in the process."
Sakura felt nostalgic just at the sight of them discussing. It felt like she was back in the old days, when they had been an actual team. She felt something tug at her heart- she hoped that she wasn't dragging them into danger. She knew that her boys in the Akatsuki were all capable of taking care of themselves, and she didn't doubt that Sasuke and his friends were strong as well, but she couldn't drive out the thought of the guilt that would plague her if anything happened to them tomorrow.
"You don't have to worry." Sasori's voice interrupted her thoughts. She whirled around to face the stoic red haired boy who was looking at her strangely. "Everyone's going to be fine. It's going to be a tough battle and some of us might get hurt but I trust everyone to make it out safe."
Sakura gave him a warm smile. Despite his usually cold exterior, Sasori had a way with words in certain situations like these. She knew that it was his way of comforting her. "I know." She said softly, lowering her gaze. "But I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to any of you."
"Way to be a fucking spoilsport, Pinky."
She looked up in surprise as Hidan threw an arm around her shoulders in a brotherly fashion. "None of us are going to die. You can stop being so pessimistic now."
"Were you doubting us?" Kakuzu said, his eyes menacingly narrowing.
Sakura thanked god when Naruto jumped to his feet, just in time to save her from having to deal with Kakuzu's short temper. "I can't take this anymore!" He whined, as his blue eyes looked around this room. "I can't believe you guys don't have ramen in this place!"
"Some of us actually like to eat healthy." Deidara shot, rolling his eyes.
"Ramen is perfectly good for the body!" Naruto said frowning. "And I refuse to continue with all this 'planning' until I get some ramen. I'm going to the convenience store to get some." As if to prove his point, he pulled on his jacket and headed towards the front door.
"Just make sure you come back as soon as you get your ramen. Don't stop to mess around." Neji warned him.
"Yeah, yeah I know." Naruto replied, rolling his eyes. "Don't you worry about me, oh great Captain-sama." With a wink, he disappeared out the door.
"Naruto and his ramen." Kiba said with a sigh. "It'll be the death of him one day."
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Naruto involuntarily shivered as he stepped out into the cold winter night, wishing that he had worn something more suitable for this weather. Quickening his pace, he rapidly made his way down the poorly lit street. The dirty run down street lamps didn't do much to help his line of vision. If his memory served right, there was a small convenience store about two blocks away from the Akatsuki headquarters; if he was fast enough, he would be able to buy his ramen and make it back within the next ten minutes.
"When Sakura-chan wants to go to the convenience store, everyone wants to go with her. When I say I need to go, no one even volunteers." He muttered under his breath, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. It would have been nice to have some company, especially when the streets were completely devoid of human life. This area of the city was mainly uninhabited, making it an ideal place for the Akatsuki to reside in. The fact that it was somewhere in between one and two in the morning was a plus as well.
He momentarily stopped as he walked by a parked car, staring at his own reflection in the window for a full minute. All he could see was a young boy with cerulean blue eyes looking back at him. Had his eyes really turned red? It was still hard for him to believe that the events a week ago had really taken place. His memories of that day were all a blur. The last thing he could clearly remember was Sakura's limp body falling to the floor with a cold thud. After that, he could vaguely remembering seeing Sasuke's skin turn black as his own vision started to turn red.
It was as if something had taken control of his mind. He would have never attacked his own friends if he had been in his right mind. Still, he had to admit that the thought of being able to overpower several infamous members of the Akatsuki pleased him a bit. Naruto had never been the best at anything, even after joining the Shinobi. Shikamaru was the genius. Kiba was the one with he impossibly heightened senses. Gaara was the one with the impeccable control. Sasuke was the one with the incredible stealth. Neji was the one with the inspiring leadership. Lee was the one with the endless stamina. Naruto? What was he good at?
But for once, he was finally the one with all the power. He had felt the immense amount of power surge through his veins, and it was incomparable to anything he'd ever felt before. He almost felt invincible- as if nothing or no one could stop him. If he could only learn how to master those powers... as cocky as it sounded, he would have the confidence to take down the entire Sound Corporation on his own.
He clenched his fists. If only he could learn how to control it...
The blond slightly jumped as he heard something crack to his right. This was why he hated the dark- it felt like the shadows were always watching him. It was so easy for someone to hide in the dark without being noticed. He contemplated on turning around and looking for the source of the noise, or just running all the way to the store.
Gathering up his courage, he turned around.
"We've been waiting for a chance to meet you alone, Naruto-kun."
The last thing he saw was the darkness surround him as his world turned black.
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Sasuke could feel the dread settling at the bottom of his stomach as he stared at the LCD screen of his cellphone for a full minute.
Luckily, no one else in the room had noticed his clear discomfort yet. He would have a hard time trying to explain this one if someone did.
We have Naruto. Come alone if you want him to live.
It didn't take a genius for him to figure out who the message was from, even if the caller-id was marked as anonymous. There was only one person in their current situation who would blackmail him using Naruto- the question was how?
How had Orochimaru known to act so quickly? Could it be possible that he was aware of their plans? The whole timing seemed a bit too good to be a coincidence. Shino was right; it was far too early for Sound to strike. They had just lost their key players in the game- it was highly impossible for them to be able to recover so quickly, but... if perhaps Orochimaru had caught wind of their operations, it would explain how he could have come up with a retaliation so quickly.
Sasuke mentally cursed. They had let down their guard too easily. It had been a mistake for them to think that Naruto was safe to travel alone, even if it was to go to a convenience store nearby. Leave it to the blond to let himself get caught... the only question now was: what was Sasuke going to do now?
If only I could control my powers.
The words repeated themselves over and over again in his head. If he had been stronger, he could've gone alone without hesitating. He wouldn't need any help at all- he wouldn't have to put Sakura in danger. In a situation like this, telling the others would be the ideal choice; but what would happen to Naruto then? Orochimaru wasn't known for his mercy. He wouldn't be afraid to keep his words if Sasuke didn't follow the instructions given to him.
He would have to do this alone. He couldn't risk Naruto's life- as annoying as the blond was, Sasuke had to begrudgingly admit that he was his best friend. He could only hope that his powers would somehow mysteriously activate like what had happened a week ago.
"Damnit." Sasuke cursed, and pulled on his jacket. Muttering about dobes and ramen under his breath, he tried to slip out as unnoticed as possible. The others would never let him leave alone if they knew the truth.
No one noticed as the front door slid shut with a quiet click.
The Sound Corporation was located in the middle of the city, towering over all the other buildings. From the outside, it looked like any other office building, but Sasuke knew better. He had been there a few times, after the Shinobi had temporarly disbanded. He had briefly worked under Orochimaru, bribed by the idea that the snake would be able to help him bring his brother down. Any Akatsuki member was definitely a difficult target to approach, but Orochimaru insisted that he could help him. It had obviously turned out to be a lie- he just wanted to use Sasuke for his own purposes. Now that he thought back on it, Sasuke had been lucky to walk away without any consequences- but then again, Orochimaru had probably been planning to reunite the six members of the Shinobi from the very beginning, for this purpose.
It would be at least a thirty minute walk from here, maybe even more. He definitely didn't have time to waste. Not feeling too guilty, he grabbed a nearby bicycle and hopped on, pumping his legs as fast as he could as he made his way down the empty streets. The cold winter air lashing on his face was far from pleasant, but it was no use complaining now.
It struck him strange that the streets were empty even as he approached the building. Even though it was late, the area around Sound Corporation was usually littered with a couple of wandering drunks at night. He was sure that this was also of Orochimaru's doing.
Slightly panting as he threw aside his bike, he walked up to the front doors which were usually locked at this time. He wasn't surprised to see that they were unlocked- several lights were stilll on inside the building. He had no doubts that they were waiting for him inside. He grimaced as his hand automatically reached for the handgun he kept hidden inside of his jacket at all times- he would probably be needing it.
He slowly opened the front door, wary of any hidden attacks that might come his way. When he was certain that nothing was going to attack him, he quickly made his way through the empty lobby. He would never admit it, but he was starting to get a little creeped out by all of it. He found himself craving for a certain pink haired girl's warmth.
He shook his head. He would end this tonight, without getting her involved.
"How nice to see you've come, Sasuke-kun."
The youngest Uchiha slightly jumped as the intercom above him came to life with a crackle. He immediately recognized the smooth voice as Orochimaru's- there was no mistaking it.
"Naruto-kun is waiting for you on the sixth floor."
Sasuke wished that this wasn't a one way conversation. He had a number of things he wanted to say to the snake- but he would have to save them for later. Naruto came first right now.
He got into the elevator, half-expecting it to explode or something. Right after pressing the button that would lead him to Naruto's location, Sasuke immediately raised his gun and shot at the small surveillance camera hanging at the corner of elevator. The thought of Orochimaru watching him on some screen made him feel sick.
"Imagine my surprise when I heard about you and Naruto displaying... interesting features." Orochimaru spoke up over the intercom again. "Don't you find it ironic that I've been hiring you to eliminate certain people only to find out that you're one of their kind as well?"
"Hardly." Sasuke muttered under his breath, as the elevator doors slid open as it came to a stop on the sixth floor. He wasn't surprised to see that most of the lights were turned off. "Damnit Naruto, why do you have to always get yourself into trouble?"
The sixth floor wasn't that vast, which made it easy for him to track his blond haired friend down. While Sasuke had only seen the offices in the Sound building, this floor was mostly empty, save for a couple of random chairs and desks scattered around. It looked like it had either been abandoned or was in the process of being rennovated. It wasn't long before he came across Naruto, bound, gagged and chained to a metal pipe that disappeared through the ceiling.
"Naruto!" He harshly called out, and immediately started by removing the piece of cloth tied around the blond's mouth.
"Sasuke-teme!" The blond immediately coughed as soon as his mouth was free. "You shouldn't have come! This is a trap!"
"Wha-?"
Sasuke barely had the time to register Naruto's words into his head before the walls around him rumbled and a metal cage dropped down over their heads.
"Thanks for walking right into my hands, Sasuke-kun." Orochimaru's voice blared over the intercom once again.
Sasuke silently cursed under his breath. Mentally berating himself on how he'd been so naive as to think that he could have saved Naruto all on his own, he gripped the steel bars surrounding him. To his dismay, they didn't budge.
"Now shall we wait for Sakura-chan?"
Orochimaru's words chilled him to the bone.
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Sakura's eyes snapped open as she bolted upright from her sleeping position on the couch. When had she fallen asleep? She looked around to see most of her current allies shuffling around the messy room. Had it all been a nightmare...? Somehow, she couldn't digest the feeling that danger was lurking sumewhere in the shadows.
"What time is it?" Her voice was still slightly scratchy from her sleep. Deidara looked up from a bunch of papers to stare at her in surprise.
"It's only five in the morning. You fell asleep while we were discussing our plans, so we'd figure we'd let you sleep awhile. You could definitely use the rest for later." He explained slowly. "You should sleep some more if you're still tired."
She shook her head in response. "I think I've slept enough."
"We'll be leaving in about two hours." Sasori told her, getting up to stretch. "Shino thinks it's a good idea for us to strike while it's still early."
Sakura was glad that she had succeeded in planning everything out with her own team before falling asleep. At least she didn't have to worry about having to catch up now. Scratching her head as she stood up, she tried to clear her head from the remaining hints of her sleep by taking a few steps around the room.
"Where's Sasuke?" She asked before she could stop herself. She blushed when Itachi raised an eyebrow at her question.
Much to Sakura's surprise, Shino's head snapped up, looking slightly disoriented. "Sasuke?" He echoed, taking a good look around the room. He was quiet for a moment when he realized that the said Uchiha wasn't in the room with them. "Hidan!" He called over to the silver-haired Akatsuki member sulking in a corner. "Where's Sasuke?"
"Uchiha Junior?" Hidan asked, his face scrunching into a scowl. "I don't know, isn't he sleeping in one of the rooms?"
"I didn't see him leave the house, so he's probably taking a nap." Kakuzu joined in, looking quite irritated. "These kids really need to learn to step up their stamina." As if to prove his point, he gestured over towards Kiba who was slumped over on the couch, slightly drooling onto the pillow.
"What about Naruto?" Sakura asked again, frowning. Everyone expectantly glanced over towards Itachi and Kisame, who were part of the blond's team.
"Don't look at us." Kisame said with a shrug. "We're supposed to be planning an ambush, not babysitting after some brats. Why don't you ask his teammate over there?"
Neji glanced up at their words. "I thought he was sleeping or something. He usually gets sleepy after his meals."
"Did anyone even see him come back with the ramen?" Sakura skeptically asked.
No one answered her.
"I don't think we're going to find either of them in any of the rooms." Itachi slowly said, as realization struck them hard.
Shino's face hardened.
"I think we may have to commence our attack sooner than planned."
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We're looking up at the same night sky,
And keep pretending the sun will not rise,
We'll be together for one more night,
Somewhere,
Somehow.
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