"If he's that smart," Ino mumbled. "We're in serious trouble."

"Yeah," Chouji agreed.


Naruto glanced at the platinum blonde. He had that did-I-miss-something? Look. At least she thought that's what that glance was about until he shrugged.

"I don't care how smart Sasori is. If he's making these sloppy searches to cover the fact that he's the sniper, we'll still stop him." A frustrated sigh left the platinum blonde's lips.

Well, they were all on the same page. Interesting. Most outsiders, including fellow cops, had trouble following Chouji's and her thought's processes.

"There's more," Chouji continued. "It sucks, so brace yourself. I got a call from an editor friend at the Express news. There'll be a story about the two shootings in the morning paper. They're linking them."

"We knew this was coming," Ino offered.

"An article, yeah. But there'll be photos. Some apparently taken at the icebreaker tonight. There'll be one with Uzumaki and you, kissing."

Okay. So they hadn't known about this.

Fuck.

A photo.

"Supposedly, it's a grainy shot, and you're in a lip lock, but still…" Chouji's explanation trailed off, leaving them with a general idea that this was not a good thing.

"How'd they get the photo?" Naruto asked.

"Hiruko Sasori. He takes stills from the security feed. For some reason, he gave the press a couple of them when they came around sniffing for a story about two hours ago."

And because she and Naruto had signed those consent forms, it was all perfectly legal.

"He's suspicious." Ino sighed.

"It could be a ploy to get you to back off." Chouji suggested. "Because something like this darn sure wouldn't be good for business."

"Or maybe he's going for another sloppy tactic so he can cover his butt," Naruto contributed. "The real killer probably wouldn't give up photos of potential victims, but a ruthless businessman trying to get some free publicity might." He cursed. "Or a killer who wanted to appear to be an honest businessman."

Neither Chouji nor Ino disagreed with him.

"This changes nothing." Naruto insisted a moment later. "We'll stick with the plan and lay low here until Thursday afternoon when we'll make a return visit to Perfect Match. If the photo's clearer than expected, or if it causes any unwanted press, then I'll deal with it."

"You do that," Chouji fired back.

Ino huffed because she understood that tone. It was his brotherly warning for her to be careful.

"I'm not stupid." She quickly responded. Ino reached over and hung up.

Naruto gave her another of those looks, except this time she was fairly sure he was puzzled. "He's worried about us." She interpreted.

And apparently, with reason.

The game had just escalated from dangerous to deadly. But then, Ino had known from day one that it was an inevitable escalation. Playing the killer's deadly game was the only way to stop him.

A loud ringing sound jarred Naruto from the dream to beat all dreams. He snapped to a sitting position and groped for the phone, the alarm or whatever the hell was making the noise so he could stop it.

Ino cursed, a couple of phrases worthy of the awful racket. However, her profanity clipped off unexpectedly about a split second after she latched on to her gun and fell off the bed.

She landed right on top of him.

His hands were suddenly filled with her. A warm, firm, armed woman who smelled like a strange mixture of sex and gunmetal. Her eyes were still ripe with sleep, and she blinked several times, staring at him as if trying to figure out how she'd gotten in his lap.

Ino obviously wasn't a morning person, either.

Thankfully, the noise stopped so Naruto could get his bearings. It didn't take long, especially when he realized her fall had aligned their bodies in the best and worst, possible ways. She was straddling him, her long athletic legs resting against the sides of his hips.

And he had an erection.

It was a product of the dream he'd been having. About her. She noticed it. But then, it would have been impossible not to notice.

"One of the advantages of being a woman," she mumbled, her gaze drifting in the direction of where he was certainly testing the limits of his boxers. "WE don't wear our…hearts on our sleeves."

"Smart-ass." He tossed back, because frankly he couldn't think of anything else to say.

Laughing lazily, she climbed off him. Staggered. And would have probably landed in his lap again if he hadn't caught her.

Specifically, her left butt cheek.

Not the particular part of her anatomy he'd wanted to grab, but it was either that or risk having accidental sex with her.

Naruto wasn't certain he didn't want that to happen.

Well, almost certain anyway.

"I think it was the doorbell." Ino glanced at the clock. "Seven forty-five. It has to be Chouji. If he doesn't have coffee with him, he's a dead man."

Naruto got to his feet, somehow and fought through the haze still in his head. When the buzzing sound started again, he realized she was right. it was the doorbell. And yep, it was probably Chouji.

Still, Naruto wasn't about to take any chances. He pulled on his pants, grabbed his gun and headed into the living room.

"Be careful." She whispered unnecessarily.

He would. No amount of fatigue or dream remnants would cause him to do away with standard procedures. Naruto eased against the wall, moving slowly. Quietly. Keeping away from the door, he lifted the blinds a fraction and peeked out.

Not Chouji.

"It's Kabuto." Naruto let her know.

She already had her gun, but that caused her to assume a defensive position. No more ripe sleepy blinks or lazy laughter. She morphed into the cop.

Naruto took another look outside. Kabuto appeared to be holding some papers and wasn't visibly armed.

Which didn't mean anything.

Kabuto wasn't the type to carry concealed.

"Back me up," Naruto reminded her.

Using the door to hide his gun, Naruto opened it. Not a fraction either. He might need the extra space if he had to fire.

"Yeah?" he greeted Kabuto. Not nicely, either.

Surprise went through Kabuto's eyes, and when he tried to speak, he fumbled his words. Definitely not the slick player he'd portrayed the night before at the icebreaker.

"I wanted to drop these off for Ino," Kabuto said, offering the papers to Naruto. "It's a copy of the release form she signed and the questionnaire she originally filled out. I thought she'd like them for her personal records. Oh, and here's the newspaper, it was on this side of the stairs so I figured it was hers."

Naruto took the items with his left hand so he could still hold on to his gun. "This couldn't wait until later?"

Kabuto shrugged. "I was headed to work to get an early start and decided to drop it off on my way."

"Right." the apartment wasn't on the way to Perfect Match. Kabuto was checking on them. Now, the real question was, why? Was it because he was the killer, or because he'd planned to hit on Ino again?

If it was the latter, the man had a death wish.

One more attempt by Kabuto to grope her breasts and Ino would almost certainly go after him. And Naruto would stand back and let her.

"So are you off from work today or what?" Kabuto asked.

"I decided to take a little vacation time."

"From your freelance journalism job?" Kabuto paused as if waiting for Naruto to confirm that. Naruto didn't.

"Im the one who ran your computer matches. Personally, I figured you'd go for the blond speech therapist but then I didn't know about your past with Ino."

It seemed like a good idea to just nod. For a man on a delivery mission, Kabuto was asking a lot of questions and providing a lot of unnecessary information.

Naruto heard Ino move around behind him, but he had no idea what she was up to until she ducked under his arm and snuggled against him. She'd stripped off her pajama bottoms, tousled her hair around her face, and with the top that hit her at mid-thigh, she looked as if she'd just finished up a thoroughly satisfying round of sex. And was ready for round two.

"Ino," Kabuto attempted a smile and failed.

"Morning, Yakushi. It's early." She slid her arm around Naruto's waist, and with her right hand, she pressed her gun directly against the back side of the door. She aimed it straightly at Kabuto. With that Glock, she'd easily be ably to shoot through the thick wood if necessary.

Kabuto tipped his head to the forms he'd just given to Naruto. "I decided to drop off those."

"I heard."

Her tone conveyed no interest whatsoever, and she eased her left hand slightly lower. From Naruto's waist and just into his pants – which he hadn't gotten around to zipping fully. She rubbed her fingers gently over the muscles that led directly to his groin. It wasn't just an intimate gesture. It was a sexually charged one.

"Thanks," she added to Kabuto.

There was a definite "get lost" at the end of it. For extra measure, she put her mouth against Naruto's ear, mumbled a seriously raunchy suggestion that involved them naked on the kitchen table. She issued a goodbye, shut the door in their visitor's face and locked it.

"If Kabuto had any doubts about us being lovers," Ino whispered as she took her hand from his hands, "he doesn't now."

No. The charade was about good as it could get. Maybe even a little too good.

Man.

Naruto stood there for a moment and tried to get his lungs to work.

How the devil was he supposed to handle three and a half more days of this?

While he was staving off another erection, she took the newspaper from him, tore off the plastic wrapper and sank onto the sofa.

"Good news. We didn't make the front page." A moment later, she groaned. "But we made it on the second."

Ino held it up for him to see. There were three small black and white photos accompanying the article entitled "Dying for Love?" Theirs was in the center, and even though they were practically wrapped around each other, Ino's face was visible.

And clear.

Too clear.

"No," she snarled, looking directly at him. She tossed the paper aside and practically charged him.

"You're cover might have been compromised," Naruto pointed out.

"Might is the operative word there. But if you pull me now, it'll take weeks to create another cover – if that's even possible at this point. I wont let innocent people die because there's a possibility that someone could identify me from that photo."

In addition to her hand, the woman certainly knew where to aim her arguments. Naruto didn't want anyone else dying, either – including her.

"Please," she added.

That cost her. No doubt about it. It was as close to begging as Yamanaka Ino probably ever got, and it had to have stung her pride for him to be the recipient of that request.

Naruto groaned, knowing how this would play out. "I would attach a condition or two – something along the lines of insisting you follow orders and don't improvise – but I wont bother."

"Does that mean you wont cut me from the case?" she asked, aqua colored orbs, wide with surprise.

He nodded, after making her wait a couple of seconds.

"Not unless I have definite proof that your cover's been blown. And don't you dare smile, Yamanaka, because you know I just handed you a gift."

No smile. Not even close. But he did see a lot of relief on her face.

"Thank you. You wont regret it."

Wrong.

He already did. A lot. But for better or worse, Ino was his best shot at stopping another murder.

Dr. Tomoyama's interview is about to start," Naruto called out. "You were right, he lawyered up."

Ino hurriedly applied a slathering of some pale raspberry lipstick that her mother had packed and gave her skirt – suit a quick adjustment. The short mocha outfit wouldn't have been her first choice for a return visit to Perfect Match to announce her "engagement", but it was either that or a cherry-red slip dress she hadn't worn since college.

Heaven knows what Chouji had told her mother about the particular assignment, but it was obvious the woman believed Ino needed to show some leg. Maybe she'd seen the photo of Naruto in the paper. That meant her regular Sunday brunch, would have to do some damage control before her folks started planning a real wedding.

When she joined him in the kitchen, Naruto already had the laptop opened on the table, and even though he had his attention fixed on the screen, he was also putting on his shoes. Unlike her semi-sex kitten attire, he'd gone for the brooding businessman look.

Dark blue pants and a matching button-down shirt. Since his coat was draped over the chair, that likely meant he'd be using it again to camouflage his shoulder holster.

"Did you ever meet Dr. Tomoyama?" he asked.

"No. Never had the chance. Sakura and he weren't seen in public that long."

While she poured them both cups of coffee, she studied the video feed of the man who'd once been her bestfriend's admirer.

Tomoyama's expensive suit was perfect. Ditto for his bronzed-colored hair, but those eyes were all barracuda.

"Sakura's mom and I use the same hairdresser," Ino continued. The coffee was hours old, bitter and way too strong, but she gulped it down anyway so she could have her caffeine fix.

"According to her, Kenji liked to play mind games, and he was always ragging of Sakura, always taking shots at her self-esteem." She sighed.

"So much for a guy who's interested in her. No wonder your friend didn't gave him a chance." Naruto commented with a shrug.

Yes, and because of that they'd added Dr. Tomoyama Kenji to the top of their list of murder suspects and had spent much of the previous day going through his background check.

Well, that and trying avoid each other.

The close quarters weren't exactly conducive to avoidance, especially since they had to share the same computer, same reports, same bedroom and same bathroom. But they'd both done their best to keep the other at arm's length. In between that arm's length however, the air kept crackling between them.

Ino sipped her coffee and tried to push that uncomfortable realization aside.

"Did Tomoyama say why he wasn't available for an interview yesterday?" she asked.

"He claimed he couldn't rearrange his schedule."

Claimed was right. He likely wanted to discuss strategy with his lawyer before "voluntarily" coming to police headquarters for questioning. In fact, it was her guess that the lawyer by Tomoyama's side had used a good portion of that extra twenty-four hours to coach his client as to exactly what to say.

And what not to say.

After all, Tomoyama wasn't just linked to Sasori. He was linked to the murdered bride. That would have caused a tense moment or two for an attorney.

Detective Hyuuga Hinata was the officer doing the interview. Under different circumstances, Ino would have asked Chouji to do it, but since he'd been at the apartment twice in the past twenty-four hours, Naruto decided it was an unnecessary risk to take. Even though her friend had worn a delivery man's disguise, if someone had been carefully watching the place – like Dr. Tomoyama, for example – it wouldn't be difficult to make the connection with Chouji's sturdy build.

As expected, Hinata started with the basics and just as Naruto suggested, she mentioned the remote possibility that the shootings were somehow loosely associated with clients from the Perfect Match Agency. For good measure, she even hinted at the article that had appeared in the newspaper the day before. Then, Hinata went in for the bull's eye and asked Tomoyama about his relationship with Sasori.

"I'm afraid I can't discuss anything regarding a patient," he crisply assured the brunette. "If that's why I'm here then you're wasting my time." Said the doctor coldly.

"As slick as slime," Ino mumbled.

"So Hiruko Sasori is your patient?" Hinata commented. But she didn't wait for him to verify it. "He was vague about that yesterday when we questioned him."

Ah, now there was a reaction. Tomoyama's aristocratic mouth tightened for a fraction of a second. Now the trick was to decide if that gesture meant he was riled about the detective's 'got-ya' comment or Sasori's vagueness during questioning. A vagueness that would obviously make the police wonder why Sasori felt a reason to hold back information.

"It's good to see him squirm," Naruto said, glancing at her. The glance turned into a double-take, just as he'd done with her pj's that first night. Ino resisted the urge to adjust her skirt again. No matter how much she tugged and pulled, the fabric wasn't going to stretch.

Thankfully, Hinata got his attention off the skirt when she continued the interrogation. The detective went through the other questions, but they were window dressing, since it was Tomoyama's actual responses they were interested in but the way he reacted.

Hinata played her part to a tee. And she made just enough eye contact and kept the right inflection in her voice to let Tomoyama know that he was indeed a suspect. When she finished, Tomoyama didn't waste any time getting out of there.

Naruto didn't waste any time either. He grabbed his phone and pressed a few buttons. A moment later, Ino heard Hinata's own phone ring on the audio feed of the computer. "Have him followed," Naruto ordered when Hinata answered. "Not closely enough though. And I don't want him approached so he can claim harassment."

He ended the call, clipped the tiny cellphone to his belt and got up. "After I shave, we'll leave for the Perfect Match."

Ino almost told him that she'd prefer if he skipped that particular grooming step, but then she'd have explain why. There was already enough male-female stuff going on between them without her letting him know that she'd like his aftershave scent.

While she put on her slide holster and checked the communicator she'd threaded under her collar, her gaze landed on the papers Naruto left on the table. Specifically her questionnaire, which Kabuto had dropped off the previous morning. It was opened to page three, the section that dealt with her preferences for leisure activities.

Had Naruto been reading it?

If so, did he have any idea that the answers were true?

Ino didn't allow her ridiculous, hormone-induced speculations to go beyond that. After all, there were probably dozens of legitimate reasons why Naruto would be reading her file.

Too bad none of those dozen legitimate reasons readily came to mind.

Curious now, she sat at the computer and did a search to find his file. Within a couple of seconds, she'd pulled up the bogus information the department had created for him. She went one step beyond that, and with her password, she located his official record.

She glanced over her shoulder in the direction of the bedroom, to make sure he wasn't watching. He wasn't. from the sound of his electric razor, he was in the bathroom still ridding himself of his sexy stubbles.

His official photo loaded, as did the rest of the info. Uzumaki Naruto. He was twenty-eight. A military brat and an only child. He'd lived all over the world until his eighteenth birthday, when he'd left for college and then the police academy.

"Wow." Ino managed to say when she glanced through the list of his awards and recognitions. He had a slew of them. Those accolades accounted for not just one early promotion or two. He was a super cop by anyone's standards.

But she hadn't needed a file to tell her that.

A notation near the bottom caught her eye. Just a month before his transfer to H.L.P.D., he'd taken leave, and the code beside it was one she recognized. Whatever had generated that time off required a clean psych evaluation before he could return to the job. Interesting. He'd either killed someone in the line of duty or else the leave was of a particularly stressful, personal nature.

"Find anything?" she heard him ask.

Busted.

What is she going to say now that he's caught her in the act?

*Happy Holidays everyone! Hope you enjoyed reading this episode. Btw, I'm looking for someone who's good with making a fan art. I was wondering if we could collaborate with each other everytime I have a new entry. Anyone interested can send me a personal message. Thank you. And have a prosperous new year!

-Ino Ishii