CHAPTER 5
9 a. m Japan, Tokyo, Akatsuki`s private villa
Uzumaki Naruto was staring at the wall above him intently. And no, he was not studying the architecture or the interesting orange painting; he was trying to figure out just why the hell wasn't he able to remember the past 8 hours of his life events.
His last memories consisted of a boring call from his team leader Itachi, then a very pissed off looking Neji, then an angrier looking Neji strangling his throat, then an unleashed very same Neji Hyuga in the bathroom, tying him up with God only knows what. From there, everything is unclear for his small brain. The Hyuga was fuckin insane, Naruto concluded. Instead of trying to kill him, he should focus his beloved hair on finding information about Lorane. But noooooo, if he wasn't making a fuss, Neji couldn't sleep proper at night. He was PMS`ing too much for Naruto`s liking. From this point of view, he was worse than Sasuke Teme.
He got up and tried to sit on the edge of the bad. How he got here was a mystery. Maybe they have parachuted him from the plane directly into someone's bad (he secretly hoped it was this what happened and not another nocturne adventure including a drunk Suigetsu, a very confused equally drunk Sasuke, a pair of triplets blonde women naked and lying on the same bad as him and overflowing abundance of beer cans and whiskey…and caramel syrup and lot of strawberries but Naruto didn't want to go there…). He stood up with much difficulty. His head was throbbing and the world was spinning. And he wasn't even high. His body felt ten times heavier. This was probably how Wolverine was feeling with his adamant skeleton.
"Fuckin shit and fuckin Neji, he was one of his best friends but he was going to kill him. And he was going to look for some pain killers. Or alcohol. Anything to take away the pain. God was he suffering…and he wanted ramen now!" With this thought in mind he opened the door and almost collided with Ten Ten. Naruto let out a not very manly high pitched scream. Not only was all his body aching but now he was scared shitless. Ten Ten looked bored. And she was holding a tray of food in her hands. And a small vase with a red rose. Why were people serving food with flowers was a mystery to Naruto. As if that shit was edible or something, wasting space for nothing. She should have put more food instead.
"Huh. Ten Ten, what are you doing here?"
No, it was obvious even for an idiot like Naruto that she was there to bring him food, but that was not the point in here. Naruto was trying to ask her about what the hell happened, without looking more ridiculous than he already did.
"Naruto, would you be so kind to move your persona from the door and let me in? Thank you."
And Ten Ten proceeded into the room without any further notice, successfully pushing him aside. They were already late because of him and Naruto looked like he came from Planet Zog. He was sporting circles around his irises. God Ten Ten secretly wished for Kisame to be there. The man had more patience to deal with the clown.
"Tennieeeeeee, I am serious what happened? Why do I feel like I have been hit by a truck and why am I here? And…where are we anyways?"
Naruto closed the door behind him and went after Ten Ten. He sit on the bad with her as she handed him the tray. Ten Ten has brought him milk and chocolate cheerios (his favorite ones, the ones that always came with a surprise toy as mini puzzles or computer games with red planes or green cars that turn into aliens. The the boy was 24 years old and had the mentality of a child, like his master Jirayia), French toast and bacon. And dango (they were in Japan after all). Without wasting anymore time, he shoved the spoon into the bowl of cereals and started to stuff his face. The man had the delicacy of a baboon.
"Gosh you look like you haven't seen food in you life, seriously…Anyways we are currently in Tokyo, in the villa Itachi has arranged for us. Hurry up, we are already 30 minutes late. Neji is already there, waiting for us to give him a signal. He specifically told me not to disturb your-I quote: "peaceful slumber". Oh God, Neji was already beeping her pager for the past half an hour and Ten Ten was seriously considering throwing it right on the trash can. It was annoying as fuck; her ears were now beeping on its own. She felt like she was doing scuba diving, while fighting the water pressure.
"30 minutes late…for what? Do we have to be somewhere today?" Naruto was now devouring his bacon. It was delicious. His stomach was not grumbling anymore. And his headache was not that painful anymore. He would have to thank Ten Ten for the meal. The woman was kind and caring. He understood exactly why Neji loved her so much. She was a treasure. And she was funny. And she was the second best cook from Akatsuki, after Itachi of course. No one can rival his famous buttery French pancakes. The man was a genius. Even Sasuke Teme loved his food. And he was always criticizing food wherever he went.
"Naruto haven't you paid attention to what Itachi told us in the plane? There is a meeting with all the heirs today, regarding the famous annual charity ball, held with the participation of the Major himself. And Neji has to be there as a heir himself. We have to keep an eye on him and the meeting to avoid any Lorane interference." They were late and Ten Ten was becoming impatient already. The trip to where the meeting was taking place was going to take some time. The traffic there was a killer. Maybe they should take the train instead. Yeah, it was a faster way. She didn't want to risk being caught in the traffic jam. People were rushing to their job; it would be like swimming in the pool in the hottest day of August on Sunday. People stayed like sardines.
"Ten Ten, you know I don't pay attention to anything the Teme`s brother has to say for the matter. The man speaks in crosswords. I cannot figure out a thing he says." And it was the painful truth. Naruto didn't understand a word from Itachi. And Itachi was an eloquent man and all, but Naruto was that much of an idiot. Apparently he was not able to remember phrases that had more than two words and that might be ramen and Sasuke. It was rocket science how his brain worked. It is like he had a hole in his head, because no piece of information was stuck there. And he was as lazy as Shikamaru when it came to reading a mission's file.
"Well, you know now, so finish your meal and hurry up. We must get there as fast as we can. I think we should take the metro, it is faster this way. Neji is constantly beeping me and he is quite annoyed with the constant disturbance coming from the others".
"…he…as in who?"
"Your friend, Sasuke Uchiha".
Ten Ten gave a small smirk at this. When hearing about his friend Sasuke being there, Naruto shoved the last piece of his remaining meal into his now grinning mouth and sprinted to the door, like he sat on a bed with burning needles. This boy was hopeless.
"Pffff…men". Ten Ten took the tray and proceeded after Naruto. She could hear the Uzumaki roaming into his bag, pulling out clothes. And she secretly hoped he wasn't going to wear that orange shirt this time, it was basically screaming "Lorane, here I am watching your ass, come and bite me". Oh well, they had work to do…
Same time, Japan Tokyo, Uchiha mansion
Sakura was very busy. After she somehow managed to make Sasuke some black coffee (she has Karin to thank for being a coffee obsessed best friend and keeping her updated with whatever strange flavors she discovered) and slice him some tomatoes (she was right, he was Dracula undercover! Now she should check if he slept during nights or went outside biting pretty women's necks. Maybe this would explain his sexual drive. The man had a reputation all right.) she went outside in search for the lost luggage.
"Whoa, it sounds like those stupid romantic movies where the main heroine is an emo in search for identity runaway teenager that went in Swiss Alps to find Heidi. Now Inuzuka Kiba would be of some help, for it is probably the only think he could do best."
Sakura was muttering curses under her breath. After she made sure Sasuke left to whatever lame meeting he was having (he was brooding when he left, but then again, when wasn't he?), she bolted away from the house, on the streets. Just her luck, there were people started to roam aimlessly on the road. Some stupid looking old geezers that were brooding in her direction were walking their questionable looking caniches. God were the walking dust cleaners hideous. And the old people found it stylish to adorn them with shiny pink and blue dog clothes and ribbons. Sakura felt the urge to throw up. Those clothes were probably more expensive than what she was wearing.
"There are people starving in Africa you fuckin rich farts. Gosh I would like to shove my ninja Bo (Staff) down their throats and watch them chock on it." Sakura really hoped Sasuke was not sporting snobby rich men hobbies; she was not going to live the uproar. But the said man seemed to have quite a simple lifestyle, outside business. If only she knew…
Oh great, she spotted a gang of 9 or 10 druggies, dressed completely in black "If they had red clouds on them they would have looked like Akatsuki. Now I know where did they get their ideas from". Sakura mentally laughed at the very thought. Sasuke has warned her about this particularly species of neighbors. He told her not far from his mansion, there was another smaller Victorian style villa, consisting of a gang of some youngsters parents spoil with money and luxury, but have no idea what they were doing. Apparently their hobbies included drugs consumption, a lot of alcohol and weekly wild parties, where they managed to collect even more druggies (Sasuke told her that he was in a really bored state of mind and counted them. There were more than 100 and they were still coming when he got to bed), loud music that terrorized the poor old people's ears, whores and strippers and the police coming in the mornings to throw fines and warnings. Not that they were somehow affected, for they had all the money in the world to pay the fines and shit. People were an important source of money on the local budget. She didn't want to deal with this right now, so she took a sharp turn on the corner in order to avoid them. She did for a moment; they seemed lost in their business to spot her.
Also, she passed some yuck couples that felt the need to show everyone around just how ridiculous they looked together. She couldn't understand how were they able to walk straight and not bang their heads on the trees, while shoving their tongues on each other's throats, all while keeping one hand on their asses and the other pulling their heads together for better access. Was that saliva leaking from their entwined mouths? If Sakura managed not to throw up from the skimpy dressed dogs, she was going to seriously need a barf bag now.
And she wasn't going to start talking about the amount of horns she was getting from the ultra shiny sport cars. Why on Earth was everyone tried to get her attention she didn't know. She knew she looked like she came right from a sewer, but they couldn't possible mistake her for a whore now. Don't this rich people have any shame nowadays? Oh god, one red convertible Ferrari, driven by a bald fat dimwit has just passed a puddle and managed to wet her from head to toe. And the motherfucker was laughing his ass out loud. Oh God, she hated this neighbor all ready. To her utter shock, it seemed like Sasuke was the only normal inhabitant here. And that spoke volumes. Her new boss was everything but normal.
Oh finally, after 20 minutes of intent search she spotted her luggage all right. It was thrown up in a corner, near a palm tree, but she didn't spot her handbag, and this was a problem because there she had all her equipment and devices. And her journal…and iPod. Sakura couldn't like without her iPod she was already fuming at the idea of it being broken. Her beautiful custom made pink encrusted with cherry blossoms and hearts iPod touch, filled with her beloved music must have survived or so she was going to do damage. Great, at least it was protected by rain. Or so she hoped. But unfortunately, it was opened. Probably as she dropped it while being chased by the big Pitbull (where was the creature hiding by the way? She really hoped he died of blood loss). It was already a little broken from the plane (yeah, being thrown under god knows how many more luggage and shaken for 8 hours did have an effect). And to add to the "fun", she spotted some street cats running around or climbing the trash with her lacy Victoria Secret's black, pink and red underwear on their heads.
And some people started to notice and point their fingers at her, while laughing. Why oh why was she the one doing the stupid mission? There were many other more appropriate people for this job: Itachi his fuckin brother, Naruto Uzumaki his best buddy or anyone else for the matter. But no, they had to send her of all the people.
Sakura really couldn't stand being the subject of others` fun. It reminded her of her past, where she struggled in poverty and hardly keeping up with her school. She appeared strong and unaffected, but deep inside she was suffering from the constant rude remarks of her rich classmates. She wouldn't forget Amy Watanabe and her monkey followers.
They were constantly picking on her, pulling crude pranks on her, like shoving her into the lock and locking her there for the night (thanks god the janitor, Ebisu, was a friend of hers, for he lived in the same neighborhood and knew about this and always left a key from the back entrance, he had that much trust on her) or cutting locks of he hair while she wasn't paying attention. She has never been able to grow her hair long during her school days because of this.
Only after she met Orochimaru and became part of the Sound she did grow it up long keeping her natural color, but with some locks to remind her she had survived. Sometimes, when they were in the mood, they were calling older guys that Amy used to fuck in order to surround her and beat her up. She was lucky she knew how to fight from her orphanage days, either way she would have been seriously injured. She did have some scars and scratches from their knives though. She swore revenge on them since then.
She hated this kind of people the most. They had no idea and didn't care about other people's suffering. They only looked after their spoiled asses, without giving a damn if someone was to die right in front of them. She was no sadist, but when she had a mission to catch corrupt people to send them to jail or kill them for the matter, she got utter satisfaction. It didn't matter that this murders were digging at her conscience's door, at nights especially. It was worth it, she decided.
And now some passersby stopped and were laughing and ridiculing her openly. This was not happening. She didn't have energy for this, not now. Sasuke was a handful; she didn't think she would survive their meeting. But those motherfuckers were asking for it…
"Listen up you rich brainless gorillas, if you would be so kind to take those laughing stupid looking faces from my proximity and kindly go die, it would be one step closer in creating a cleaner environment. And if you need help with that, I would be more than willing to punch the living daylights out of your fat bellies and watch you bleed until you die." She spit the words to them with as much venom as she could muster, her fists clenched and her body trembling with anger. She was glaring in their direction. She was no Sasuke on this matter, but she came quite close now. She picked up some useful glaring poses from Tsunade and Anko; she wasn't one to mess out with.
People started to leave, not after whispering and glaring at her. But they got the main idea not to anger her any further. Heavens, she loathed them all with burning passion. She wanted to go out and take a walk on Tokyo streets and be among normal people. How was it possible for the foreigner businessmen (she only spotted one Japanese woman, but she wasn't even looking at her, she was cleaning her windows) to spoil Tokyo's magical and friendly atmosphere with their ridiculousness and primitivism was beyond Sakura.
She started to get an idea of why was so easy for Lorane to bring down their companies. They were basically brainless worms with no purpose or skill for anything, except stuffing their faces (Fuck if they weren't all fats, you would expect this good for nothing retards had nothing else to do than working their asses on the gym, but apparently they were even lazier than they looked. She secretly praised Sasuke for not falling into the category). They deserved what it was happening to them.
So, with no stupid people to watch her, she started to collect her stuff, she made a mental note of what was missing and what needed to be thrown and replaced. It looked like she needed new clothes, the street cats not only were fan of Victoria Secret (she bought cheap looking clothes to mach the poor image of a maid, but Sakura would under no circumstance give up her expensive lingerie. That was for her to wear or know, it was her little secret all right, it made her feel more comfortable and sexy and she gained a little more self trust while knowing she had something beautiful and fitting on her), but they took pleasure in scratching and messing her clothes. Just great.
She decided to throw away most of the clothing and resume taking only the toiletries (packed up by Karin, in a way only she knew but it was really effective, they were really looking all right), some panties that left untouched and a bra (she was not going to sleep with the bindings or walk outside with them, she was only going to wear them in front of Sasuke). She pulled the zipper, took the unwanted clothes and threw them on the garbage. She took the bag and started to look for her hand bag. This was what she wanted to find the most.
She found her handbag all right. Only she did have some kind of problem, that consisting of a gang of little laughing brats, a pretty high elm and one hand bag hanging from one of the branches. It was not opened of course, she was not stupid, the bag was made up of a special ultra resistant plastic with a lock on it. But it was freaking hanging on a freaking high tree! Apparently the children found it really pleasurable to play football with her bag. Annoying demonized brats. They were just as bad as their parents, the future generation is fucked.
Great, so someone please tell her how in the seven pits of hell was she going to climb in that stupid tree in search for her bag?! Why were so many elm trees around here anyways? This street should be named "Nightmare on Elm Street" like seriously. Now, this might not be such a dramatic situation for a freaking CIA agent!
If only the circumstances were different, meaning: not being undercover as a freaking maid, not being in the daylight with people around witnessing and not having Lorane probably watching from the shadows! Her special ninja boots and her special made rope (one of Shino`s greatest inventions) were more than enough. She didn't even need all of them, she had the strength to climb by herself. But that was out of question right now.
"Fuckin great, I am going to sue every elm from the planet…"
So, she promptly let go of the bag she had and planted herself on the ground, legs crossed, and thinking on the best way to take her bag without gaining unwanted attention. She had a little concealed kunai on a secret pocket in the bag she had but there were children and she couldn't risk it. Taking a rock and aiming was again out of question, the elm was in the front of a fence and on the other side, there was a car parked. She wouldn't want to risk the stone fall from the three directly on the expensive car. The havoc would be unnecessary. So she decided to take the safest road: climbing. Let the fun begin. But not after chasing away the staring brats, by threatening them she was going to call Santa and tell him he was not going to bring them Nintendos on Christmas (or she should have said BMWs instead, the devil's children were sporting Rolex watches).
So, when she made sure no one was around, took a hold of the tree and slowly and carefully started to climb. Of course, with her training, it was a walking in the park. She was up in no time. She climbed on a thicker branch above the one her bag was hanging on. She let go of the branch and was now hanging on the air, with her head down, supported only by her legs, having both her hands free, like a monkey. She threw away the stupid cardigan that was slowing her down. She managed to grab her bag all right. Ok that was easy, she concluded.
"Come to mommy babe..," She kissed her bag and she didn't care she was acting like a crazy woman. She already looked like one, so why not acting like one?
But of course karma decided to be a bitch. When she was about to go down, her stupid and now extremely messy pink wig got caught in a branch she didn't see and she had no idea how, but just like it was made from elastic, it was pulled from her head and thrown away, landing in the street, right when the car that was washing the streets decided to pass, successfully pulling it under the brush and ripping it all. It was like the car was Barbie's pink horse that spit rainbows and pink bubbles and glitter…oh someone please tell her this wasn't happening…Sakura wanted to hid in a corner and cry of frustration. Today was not her day at all.
9.36 a.m Japan, Tokyo, Shibuya metro station
Ten Ten was watching the metro station map intently. Who the hell wrote that shit, she couldn't understand a thing. She couldn't speak Japanese and Neji was not around to help her. Taking the train was a bad idea after all. And to make it all the worse, Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Unbelievable. The last time she saw him, he was practically attacking a traditional ramen store they passed by.
Apparently, Japanese people were not so fond of fast foods, for they preferred healthier traditional food. And this was pissing Ten Ten off. Now they were royally late. What if something bad truly happens? Neji is going to give them hell. And she didn't want to see an angry Uchiha Itachi. It was like staying in front of the speed train she was expecting…whatever train it was. She had no idea, she needed help and she needed it now and damn right was she going to find someone kind enough to tell her what fucking metro should she take to Hotel Okura Tokyo. After she found Naruto of course…
Naruto was in Paradise. After he took a quick shower and got dressed (not in his famous orange T-Shirt, Ten Ten threatened him she was going to take her favorite nunchaku weapon and cut down his balls), he decided to listen to Ten Ten and take the metro.
Naruto was not new to Japan, he was born in Shizuoka and did his elementary in Tokyo, like Sasuke, so he knew his way around. Also, having all his relatives, including his parents, Japanese, he spoke Japanese fluently. But it was priceless watching Ten Ten making a fool of herself, with a metro station map, that she held on the wrong side, in her hands. He could clearly see her from the little ramen stand. Ichiraku or something along the lines, he didn't care about the name, but they were doing the most amazing ramen he ate until now. And he tried all the menus around the world, he was that obsessed.
Anyways, Naruto was having the time of his life, digging his now fifth bowl of ramen, acting like he didn't have a care in the world. And he didn't. He already knew that the metro was taking 15 more minutes to come, and it was departing from the line that was closer to him. Meaning the other side Ten Ten was. Maybe he should go there and help her after all, she looked like she was about to snap at some dude that was ogling her…
Meanwhile Ten Ten was not having such good time like Naruto, but was about to start throwing punches. As she was about to approach a nice looking older man to ask for directions, she was approached first by some stupid looking weirdo, that apparently didn't know the meaning of the word "fuck off" or what the middle finger gesture meant.
He was English, judging by the accent and he grabbed her right shoulder and started to shake her, while screaming at the top of his lungs that "aliens are about to fall from the sky and OZN`s are out there, kidnapping people from their beds, while the Government is eating popcorn and watching soap operas". She tried to shove him off, but man was he persistent. So Ten Ten like a good natured and delicate woman she was, took a hold of his hand, turned around and possibly broke his arm. She heard a CRACK and the man was whining in pain. Too bad, she should have punched his face after all; maybe he wouldn't be so annoying and loud anymore. But she managed to scare away the people and now her chances to ask for directions were ruined. She was furious all right. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and dialed Naruto. She needed to find him soon, or the shit was about to go down.
"Stop getting impatient, Ten, I am right here".
Naruto decided to take pity on…the poor man Ten Ten was molesting. The woman can fight all right, he witnessed her fighting Neji at dojo, when they were all training and man hasn't been Neji that beaten up in a while. Naruto was still laughing at the memory, it was funny as fuck. So he quickly pulled out the last cash he had, paid for the ramen (gosh were it expensive, he knew Japanese were rich people, but seriously $120 was robbery!) and sprinted in Ten Ten's direction. She was already in killing annoying people mode.
"Naruto freaking Uzumaki if you disappear once again, I swear to God I am going to tie you up and make you my new punching bag. You know the old one is now broken."
"Ah don't be so angry, I am right here now, aren't I? And besides, here comes our train. Let's go, dattebayou!"
"…Naruto…do you speak Japanese?"
"Duh…I AM a Japanese Ten Ten, of course I DO Japanese."
"….and you are telling me this…NOW!"
"…you didn't ask me until NOW!"
"…Naruto…?"
"Yes Tennie?"
"I am going to brutally murder you and throw your dead body right under the train!"
"...but if you do this, we are going to be late. Weren't you the one in a hurry?"
Screw the Akatsuki`s code of conduct, Ten Ten was already planning ways to silently killing Naruto and dispose of the dead body. After they get in the metro. Man was it full already. And Ten Ten was reminded she was claustrophobic…
ATTENTION PLEASE! BECAUSE OF A SUDDEN ELECTRICITY BLACKOUT, ALL THE TRAINS ARE HEAVING A DELY. WE ARE SORRY FOR THE INCONVENIENCE. ALL THE PASSENGERS ARE REQUIRED TO NOT PRESS THE EMERGENCY BUTTONS IF NOT ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. THANK YOU AND HAVE A GREAT DAY.
"Heh…Now they speak Japanese…", Ten Ten thought ironically…fuckin great. She was already texting Neji they are going to be late. Oh he was going to be pissed. And if Neji was pissed, he lacked sexual drive. And that was not good news for Ten Ten…not at all…she was silently thinking if Sakura was doing better…At the same time, Naruto regretted he was stuck in the train and not on the ramen stand. He was still hungry…
Same time, somewhere in Tokyo, Japan
Sakura was currently wondering on the streets with a very clear purpose in mind: find a hairstyle salon and fast!
After she managed to climb down the tree, with her two bags in each hand, she went back to Sasuke`s house to unpack. She didn't even have time to awe at the beautiful room her boss has given her (but she secretly wondered how come she didn't seep in another smaller room or in the kitchen or in the basement or wherever the hell servants sleep, but she won't start to complain now). She unlocked the handbag to make sure everything was all right. And it was. Her phone, her wallet with all the money and credit cards, her small hidden devices and weapons were all intact. Thanks God, she didn't need another unwanted surprise, it was not like she could order them from ebay. But most importantly, her beloved ipod. Oh life was already sweeter. She found a baggy long black skirt and an equally ugly looking blue top that were not wet or dirty or ripped and changed her clothes.
Not after she took a quick shower (she smelled awful, like a walking ZOO) with her favorite oranges and chocolate shower gel (yummy it smelled like Christmas and oranges chocolate bars, the most amazing invention along with Tiramisu). But while she was washing her hair as well, she realized she had a little problem. Now that the stupid wig was history she needed to do something about this particular cover. She wouldn't find another similar looking one (the wig was custom made from natural human hair, dyed with a special dye, one couldn't have guessed it was not her natural hair) if she looked for one and she didn't want to risk another wig involved accident. She didn't know what kind of situations would she be involved in, and a scenario with her wig falling right in front of certain people was not a pleasant one.
So here she was, dressed like a cheap version of a Goth girl (some rockers and gothic teenagers were smiling and showing her the hand sign of horns, nodding appreciatively in her direction), wondering on the now crowded streets of Tokyo, in a desperate attempt to find a hair salon that was casual enough to not throw her outside the moment she walks in. It was ridiculous, every salon she passed was high class and expensive looking. If she wasn't cosplaying Hotsuki from Juu Jigen Rippoutai Sypher-Aoki Tsuki no Suitei, she would have entered them no problem, after all, she was also a high class lady. But that was out of question now.
Suddenly, she spotted an interesting looking black door, with a red skull, surrounded by flames and thunder and a sign hanging above it with a pair of scissors. It didn't look flashy or luxurious. It was just what she needed. A poor girl entering a cheap looking salon. So she barged in without any further delay. But when she entered, she was quite certain Lorane`s basement would look just like that. It was more of a cave for rituals than a salon. It had black leather all-purpose chairs, huge rectangle mirrors with curved black shelf, styling stations with retail and chemical processors. From this point of view, it looked all right.
But the black painted walls with gothic designs and rock stars wallpapers (she spotted Sepultura, Black Sabbath and Rammstein-Sakura listened to a lot of rock when she was a teenager) and the red and green candles (were they celebrating Christmas in advance or something?) were definitely not ordinary. And the hairstylists were staring at her. But not in a bad way though. She would have laughed at the ridicule of it, the way she was dressed was probably according to their normal clients` way of dressing.
Suddenly, a very beautiful woman approached her. She was also a hairstylist, the apron was a give away. She had a light shade of purple hair color, a round black lip piercing, fair complexion, brown almond shaped eyes, purple make up to match her hair and a blue flower was complimenting her hair. She had a black tight top and a gothic Lolita red mini skirt, with white and black lace. She had some leather high boots, something like Sakura was wearing in her Sound uniform, only the heels were platforms and higher. Some tribal tattoos were adorning her left hand entirely.
The woman was slender, with defined curves and strikingly beautiful. Sakura was able to read her name on the tag: Konan, owner. Sakura secretly hoped the woman spoke a language she knew. Judging by her look, she was definitely Japanese. But the woman seemed to read her thoughts and addressed her in fluent English:
"How can I help you, sweety?" She addressed Sakura in a calm and polite tone. She also had a deep low voice, Sakura was able to tell. It only added to the mysterious aura she was sporting.
"I would like a haircut and a dye, please."
Konan watched Sakura intently before asking her to take a sit and wait for her. Now Sakura was not a cry baby, but the very idea of cutting her precious beautiful hair was making her almost tear. She took her time to take care of her hair, because she was not able to do so when younger, and cutting her now long wavy past waist hair was a reminder of a past she didn't want to remember.
This is a thing that angered her since she first started her mission: everything related to Sasuke meant a step back to the person she used to be in the past. She worked so much to escape the previous image and become a refined young woman, with moral values and confident and now everything slowly started to fall apart.
Sakura didn't want to go there anymore, the past was still haunting her, the days of poverty and misery still vivid in her nightmares, she was changed woman, but she still had inner demons to fight and she didn't need another reminder of a tragic and lonely life she worked so much to overcome.
The fact that she was going to cut her hair back short and dye her in the very color she used as a protest to the world she used to despise was a hard kick in her conscience. But she had no choice, she had to do everything to accomplish her mission, like she always did, even meaning to awaken a part of her she wished was dead and gone. Lost in her thoughts, Sakura didn't see Konan standing behind her, a hand caressing her very long hair with light curls and watching her with knowing eyes.
Working with so many different people, Konan was really good at reading their inner soul. She saw it in this young lady's eyes: sadness and loneliness. The lady in front of her was not here to cut her hair; she was here to cut roots with her past. She was fighting an internal turmoil, and it was not necessary for the fact that she came here to just cut some hair that would grow up anyways.
"So tell me sweetheart, what exactly do you want me to do?" Konan was somehow curious. This woman was not an ordinary Gothic looking girl, that probably came here to ask for a weird and eccentric hairstyle to add to the look. It was her vibe. She was more than what she was portraying on the outside and the way she seemed to consider the situation, was telling Konan she wasn't stupid either. And what she told her next, truly caught her out of guard.
"I want to cut it short and dye it pink". Sakura answered after a moment of what looked like she was seriously considering what she was asking for. It was a déjà vu. She did the very same thing eight years ago, under different circumstances. And it was not nostalgic in the slightest. Sakura didn't have any pleasant memories from her past life, with the except of her lost childhood friend Isaribi and sister Carlotta Veronica, a blessed nun that worked as a Latin teacher in the orphanage she used to grow in, that loved the two little girls and secretly took care of them. Sakura wanted to look for her when she started to work for Sound, but she heard the nun died of pneumonia, in circumstances that were still unclear.
Konan was silent for a while. She was looking at Sakura`s hair: wavy and extremely long, but healthy nonetheless (Konan was a pro, she knew for a fact that this girl used expensive and professional hair treatments), v asymmetric cut, extremely soft and luscious, thick as well, with an interesting shade of caramel brown and some lighter almost blonde tugs on the roots and a thick dyed pink lock on the back. Konan saw thousands of people and just as many hair types, but this woman's hair was top 3. Her hair was absolutely gorgeous; the woman was probably turning heads wherever she went. Why was she asking for such a dramatic change Konan had no idea.
"Are you sure? I can just fix the split ends for you if you want and maybe dye some more locks if you want…" Normally Konan was not the one to question her client's request, but her eye for design and style was stopping her to just take the scissors and proceed to work. It was such a shame really. She didn't want to consider this young girl being in a moment of depression or turmoil that clouded her judgment and searching for a way to ease the sadness.
"I am sure, please proceed." Sakura answered without faltering. Why was this good looking woman asking her so many questions anyways? Sakura didn't think she will be able to be this confident once more. Of course she didn't want to do this, she loved her hair, the way she attracted attention whenever she went to a salon before a very important ball or gala was her and Karin's passion. All the looks and styles she was able to wear during these years were now history. But she had no choice, she had to do this. Her beautiful hair turned people's heads and she didn't need this kind of attention now. It was too risky.
"Look, taking into account that you have a slightly natural curled hair, I am going to do an asymmetric mid length bob. The longest part is going to be right above your shoulder. You have an oval shaped face that would look really good with longer bangs as well. And regarding the color, I am going to keep your natural color, but add more pastel pink locks on the ends. I don't want to damage your roots. Is this ok?"
Ok, so from what this girl was saying, Konan understood she wanted to have a dramatically change in appearance, like she wanted to be unrecognizable. But Konan was not going to damage her reputation as a stylist by doing a hairstyle to rival the Simpsons. Also, Konan saw the ugly looking glasses and she didn't understand why this woman was so adamant in hiding herself. Was she hiding from someone or was she part of the witness protection program?
"Sakura was taking into account what Konan was telling her. She was a fashionista all right, she, Karin and Tsunade had girls night outs and were usually watching fashion shows and magazines, so she knew exactly what she was talking about. And she realized that despite the crazy appearance, this Konan girl was a pro. She was able to come up with an alternate solution that would both change her appearance and not raise suspicion. And it was not like she wore in the past as well. She started to like the woman. She accepted. She was going to tell Sasuke she was a woman with needs that felt the need for a change in looks as well, considering the fact that she had a change in scenery. That was believable enough.
"Yes, this is ok, thank you". Sakura caught the woman's smirking face in the mirror, as she took her instruments: her scissors, hair brushes, hair drier and some substances to prepare the dye. This was going to take time…
"You know dear, you don't need to be so formal, we are not in some sort of business meeting or church or expensive salons were Paris Hilton and company goes. You can call me Konan. Your name?" Konan was going to have a lot of work. The cut itself is going to take her at least 40 minutes. And then there was the dye. She wanted people to relax around her, she hated those expensive saloons and the people going there, their false smiles and the overdose of sugar was sickening her to the max.
"Sakura, nice to meet you, Konan". Sakura found no problem in giving Konan her real name. After all, she was just a hairstylist that was trying to be friendly with her, not that they needed to meet again after then. And the woman was likeable and friendly. She was not pretending and Sakura was reminded of her red headed friend. Gosh, she missed Karin, she had to give her a call that night and tell her the events so far. Karin was hungry for this stuff; she was going to have a field day. Sakura hoped she was not in a mission thought.
9.40 a.m Japan, Tokyo, Hotel Okura Tokyo, meeting room
Uchiha Sasuke was really bored. Like really bored, the kind of boredom that makes your bones hurt and cracks your mind. 40 minutes into the meeting and he was already considering taking his stuff and leave. It was that bad. He was gripping his Montblanc Meisterstuck 90 Years Classique Ballpoint Pen as hard as he could, in a vain attempt to calm his nerves. It was only making him more nervous.
On the chair that was on his right side, a similar bored looking Neji Hyuga was doing exactly the same thing. Only, being the well mannered educated man he was, he was not as obvious as Sasuke. He was shoving the tip of the pen in his knee, under the table. Sasuke mentally laughed at the scene, because for someone that wasn't in the angle to see what he was doing, the way he was moving his hand up and down, was suggesting he was doing an entire shameful different activity. Gosh he was such a moron.
Sasuke was used to this kind of meetings and he was a patient man. But he absolutely hated this kind of public events. The annual company related charity balls were a tradition among heirs and were usually held here in Japan. Business people from all the ages and countries were attending the event. It basically consisted in a really big high class party, gathering the richest people, that donated large amounts of money for charity work, meaning raising funds for poor countries or unfortunate people that suffered from natural disasters that year. For instance, last year the event managed to raise 5 billion dollars for 13 million people from India that were left homeless in the country's northeast after being hit by the Phailin Typhoon.
Sasuke was having no problem in doing charity work, he was already famous for his philanthropic activity, along with his Mother Mikoto that was currently in Africa, as a Japanese Ambassador for peace, fighting for women and children's rights and donating money. He was not showing in on the outside, but Sasuke hated the idea of poor people striving for making a living and little children dying in poverty, or suffering from incurable diseases because they lack a shelter, water or food. He was the kind of rich businessman that lived in luxury, but was not thinking low of the others that were poorer than him. This is why he wasn't looking down at Sakura his poor maid. Sasuke really valued a person's character and intelligence, for he understood that society needed to invest in human resource for further development.
What was really bothering him was why in the world was it necessary for such a stupid and useless, from his point of view, event to take place. Why couldn't they just put the money in some bank account and transfer it to the people in need, instead of coming together and spend a ridiculous amount of money to organize it. Seriously, they should have just saved the money or sent it to the people in need instead.
He considered it to be a way for the snobby rich stupid idiots to show off. Like anyone really cared that they have managed to buy an isolated island god only knows where, that cost a fortune and was full of Anopheles mosquitoes that transmitted Malaria, like it was Halloween candies or wild dangerous animals, or they have managed to get a hold of a 1942 Rolex Chronograph and that there were only 12 of them ever produced. Too bad it didn't come with a brain included…
Just the idea of being surrounded by these losers was giving Sasuke headaches. And to add to the horrid situation, Naruto was going to be there. And he loved this kind of parties, and if you add their friend Suigetsu in the equation, the result was cataclysmic. He almost always had to take them home (it was usually his home) because they were too drunk to support themselves, or cover for them when they were in dark corners, pleasuring hot rich women.
Sasuke was having his fair share of good looking women as well (it was the main reason he went to this balls, along with donating money), but the idiots were too loud for their own good. He somehow wasn't bothered by Neji Hyuga, he was more stoic and quiet, just like him. He only suffered from superiority complex, but, giving the fact that he had an ego that could comprise the planet Mars, Sasuke overlooked the fact. And his fiancé was making a damn good job in keeping him on a leash. Sasuke smirked at the thought, the Hyuga was whipped.
At least the mayor was going to be there as well. He liked the stoic man, he was smart as hell and knew exactly how to conduct this kinds of events and temper the idiots that were too excited in showing their stupidity to the world. He graduated from Harvard and was a man with large knowledge in various fields, such as mathematics, philosophy or religion. And he fluently spoke four different languages. The man was not to be taken lightly.
Back to the main point, Sasuke watched with the least of interest at the scene in front of him. There were two fat businessmen, one was the head of some restaurant chains and the other was the head of a large waste management inc. "Hn, the king of garbage", that were arguing over the problem of food. Somebody please shoot him now. They were stupid as fuck. How did they do their business was a mystery to Sasuke, they were so dumb they probably needed GPS device to find their faces in the morning when they shaved. Compared to them, Naruto was Stephen Hawking. Apparently, the "king of garbage" thought it was a better idea to serveAlmas caviar because it went pretty good with the white vine, while the other imbecile thought it was better to have Wagyu Steak, because it was local specialty.
In all seriousness, who the fuck cared about that, they were ridiculously expensive and tasted like glue and spoiled milk. There were better things to do with the money and if the rich people really wanted to eat that shit, they could just go to some fancy restaurant and stuff their faces with as much expensive food as they wanted and not spend the budget for this kind of lame things.
And they were shouting at each other calling themselves idiots (Sasuke couldn't understand how an idiot can call another idiot an idiot…oh well…it took an idiot to know another) for the past 30 minutes or so. He couldn't take it anymore, he was going to snap. He or Neji, the man looked like he was going to jump on the table and strangle them. Sasuke knew the Hyuga, he was calm and collected, but had a violent nature. Sasuke threw Neji a quick glance. He was not going to stop him.
Neji was pissed. And he was afraid he wouldn't be able to contain his anger anymore. And the freaking Uchiha was smirking at him, knowingly. The cocky bastard. Sasuke looked just as bored and pissed as him and he was taking pleasure in seeing Neji suffer. He was going to throttle him first, then he was going to strangle the people here. All of them, except the mayor's poor old secretary. The man looked like he died. Was he breathing anymore? Neji couldn't be sure, he was too far.
Not only did he need to pay attention to whatever this people spoke about, but he was worried because Ten Ten and Naruto were stuck in the train. He got Ten Ten`s e-mail message so he knew there were some delays. He also found out about the little incident with the weirdo at the station and he knew it was not good, for they didn't want to attract unwanted attention. But nevertheless, he was worried about his finance. She was a strong woman, but she attracted trouble…and men, like a magnet. God.
Neji secretly prayed that nothing was going to happen during the meeting, it was only him and a bunch of 50 or so businessmen, all of them the heads of their companies, including Sasuke. If Lorane or any other killer was to show up, it was going to be difficult for him to handle. Maybe Sakura was around, considering the fact that her mission was to guard Sasuke, but giving the fact that she has landed in Tokyo around the same time as them, he doubted it.
Now he was here, alone, bored out of his mind, annoyed by the now screaming people (were they arguing over food of all the things? Neji was going to die.) that couldn't come up with a good idea to solve the most trivial problems and all they did good was curse one another to hell and back. And they called themselves gentlemen. The hypocrites. Neji hated them all, like he hated his family members. They were acting like little children at circus.
OMFG there was an old skinny dude with a stupid accent that stayed in front of him and started to complain about the "low quality music, that made him ashamed to ask his delicate wife to dance a Viennese Waltz or a tango" and they should hire a lie band from Austria. Neji suddenly found the idea of getting a hold of the bottle of mineral water in front of him and throw it an the annoying man's face really appealing. That, until Sasuke`s deep voice was heard in the background successfully silencing the annoying audience.
"How about we order Kaiseki ryori as meal? It is both traditional and popular among aristocratic circles, as well as it consists in thinly sliced, raw fish, usually served on a bed of shredded daikon and grilled fish or meat, so we don't have to worry about the problem of meat and it is accompanied by soup, simmering or stewing vegetable, seafood, deep fried in a light flour batter, a savory egg custard flavored with fish stock, that contains small morsels of mushrooms, chicken, ginko nuts and dessert, such as local or seasonal fresh fruit or sorbet, for the people that are vegetarian.
The restaurant's chef is a master in Kaiseki Ryori, so not importing the meal from other country will help us saving money that can be used to add to the already low music budget. And we can ask the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra to come and play in order to solve the problem of music. Not only are they one of the world's finest orchestra, but they are known for charity work, so I am sure they will have no problem in coming an give a performance."
Neji smirked at this. The audience now mouth agape. Not only did Sasuke come with the best solution given the circumstances, but he managed to satisfy all the people's ridiculous taste and requests. He truly lived to his reputation, the man was a genius and he was doing it so nonchalantly like he was talking about football scores. Thanks god he decided to interfere, either way they were going to stay here another three days.
As for Sasuke, he let out a sigh. Finally, after not being able to take the torture any longer he decided to put an end to the imbecile's suffering and help them find the light at the end of the tunnel. He was slightly surprised Neji remained quiet. Usually it was him who bashed the people that were acting like they were children at playground, arguing about one of them falling with his ass on another's sand castle.
But a quick glance told him what the problem was: Neji was busy sending messages to someone. Probably Ten Ten. That, or he was playing Angry Birds, Sasuke wasn't sure. The now awake mayor's secretary (that had the audacity to fake being asleep in the middle of the meeting, to avoid being questioned) was nodding approvingly in his direction...and a Venezuelan young lady that was in charge with the flower arrangements was ogling him and battling her eyes, successfully gaining his attention. He gave her a little knowing smirk. The woman was really hot. He couldn't wait for the meeting to end…
10 a.m. Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán, México A secret underground location.
They didn't want any uninvited guest to disturb the sacred meeting. It was not for the atheists to spoil the holly atmosphere. After all, they were all brothers in spirit and mind. A sacred ritual, conducted to purify the soul and open the mind. One must discover God, struggle to become one with the Divinity. After all, all the poor tainted souls fight to find an answer and rise from the ashes to towards the Light, towards God and seek solution from the Providence of Heaven.
The brothers were all dressed in expensive black suits. Barefooted, for the human shall be humble in front of God. A dark long equally black robe adorning their frames. Their heads were bow. They were listening to their Master Mason reading from the Holly Book of Freemasonry.
"My brothers, there are many things in us of which we are not distinctly conscious. To waken that slumbering consciousness into life, and so to lead the Soul up to the Light in one office of every great ministration to human nature whether its vehicle be the pen, the pencil or the tongue. We are unconscious of the intensity and awfulness of the life within us."
The conceited from light Master Mason was reading from the "Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry" (by Albert Pike), as it was prepared for the Thirty-Third degree for the Southern Jurisdiction of the United States and published by its authority. The very morals of all the Master Masons to follow in their way to light and peace. The audience was silent. No one dared to question, they were just listening, trying to grasp the information and find the way to acquire infinite knowledge, trying to escape the Darkness from their minds and struggle to the Light. Darkness meant darkness of mind, the lack of knowledge, meaning the mind was not able to fight the limitation of human kind. Light was God's knowledge. One should struggle to find perfection like in the beginning of time.
"No symbol of Deity can be appropriate or durable in a relative or moral sense. We cannot exalt words that have only a sensuous meaning, above sense. To call Him a Power or a Force, or an Intelligence, is merely to deceive ourselves into the belief that we use words that have a meaning to us, when they have none, or at least no more than the ancient symbols they had.
And it may be doubted whether we have succeeded either in communicating or in forming in our minds any more distinct and define and true and adequate idea of the Deity, with all our metaphysical conceits and logical subtleties, than the rude ancients did, who endeavored to symbolize and so to express His attributes, by the Fire, the Light, the Sun and the Stars; all of them types of what, except by types, more or less sufficient, could not be expressed at all." (Quoted from "Morals&Dogma of the Ancient &Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry", by Albert Pike, page 330)
The fraternity was created to reward devotedness, patriotism, bravery and obedience, summed up in the simple mandate: "Protect the oppressed against the oppressor; and devote yourself to the honor and interests of your Country" . (Quoted from "Morals&Dogma of the Ancient &Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry", by Albert Pike, page 97). All Masons are taught to be faithful and act with disinterest and in case of wars, struggle, disputes or dissensions they are to act like peacemakers. In the name of duty, a true Mason brother is guided by his honor, reputation and is to be rewarded accordingly if his inner Light starts to shine. The very same Light that is guiding him on his path through life, successfully showing its brightness in times of need and help him performing the Holly Duty in the name of his devotion, not for expecting any reward.
A Master Mason shall be generous and not selfish. He should return what he gets, in order to balance the benefits and not think he is above the poor ones if he wasn't able to return a favor that was dishonored.
"If a Master Mason is wealthy and has large sums invested and the mass of whose fortune consists in obligations that bind other men to pay him money, he is still more so to whom may owe large returns of kindness and favors. Beyond a moderate sum each year, the wealthy man merely invests his means: and that which he never uses is still like favors unreturned and kindness unreciprocated, an actual and real portion of his fortune" (Quoted from "Morals&Dogma of the Ancient &Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry", by Albert Pike)
"My brothers, we are to fight with the hearts and spirit to bring the Light upon this world that struggles in darkness and show the people who are snobby and shallow what is like to be a gentleman, to be strong in front of the wind of change, to welcome luxury like a part of a reward for kindness and liberalism and not make it the very purpose of your lives.
Keep in mind do not wonder in Darkness, do not obey the inner demons that crave for inclination and not duty, do not limit your mind by the overreaching businessmen or corrupt politicians, that are interfering to the true meaning of kindness, peace, love, devotion and passion. This are not the people to led us to the Heavens and thus we shall not be corrupter by them!" His words harsh and bitter. The change is about to come.
This world will know the true meaning of peace. The people must be kind and affectionate in their common relation and in search for God. A good Mason is to bring people closer, bond them in their common suffering, endeavor them to think better about one another, persuade foes to give up the hatred and come together as friends, fight for the rights of the most unfortunate ones and turn cruelty into justice.
"But only after…they know true meaning of pain".
The meeting was over. The Master Masons started to leave the place with their minds cleansed of the impurities of a decadent world. Masonry was the great Peacemaker Society of the world, its sole savior. That is why they must never disobey the Freemasonry, for they would not disobey their morals and convictions. The world was struggling, its ending nearer and corrupt people were bringing it down, step by step, slowly but surely. And they must not let it happen. Pain will make people understand each other by binding them in darkness and suffering, successfully pulling them together into the Light.
Three people remained behind the others. They knew what their mission was. In the name of justice and peace, they were not to oppose the Order. It was the call of duty, a sacred oath they made with their hearts, bodies and souls in the name of God, written in the Holly Book, engraved in blood and they were to make sure of the successful result. And the targets sound and clear. The unholy alliance of people that had a deprived life, ruled by pleasure and luxury, in the name of their own twisted and selfish ambitions. The ones that lived in Darkness. They shall not be forgiven, but they were to pay for the insolence of opposing the accomplishment of true peace. They were going to be killed: the business people form the annual charity Ball. The three men now in their own private limos.
Destination: Japan, Tokyo.