Naromal

Thought

"speech"

Kyuubi

Warning: I will never own it! I may want to, but I can't... Rated "M" for LEMON, Language and other Adult themes. You have been warned.

Chapter 58: It isn't what it seems

Rai was standing in the Hokage's office when his cell phone buzzed. He pulled it out and read the text from Myra. The man sighed heavily and turned to Tsunade. "It's done."

"How long has she been able to use this ability?" Tsunade glared back at the man.

"She has always been sensitive to the spirits around her, both living and dead. That is the problem with her empathy. The entire Ravenheart family is empathic to a certain degree, but woman of the Ravenheart family are more so than the men. You should know that her sharingan manifested the night of the Uchiha massacre.

"I have always suspected that she saw more of the massacre than she has ever let on. Now that I know about her connection with Sasuke, I know she saw more. If Madara is truly still alive, then I believe Myra may have accidentally seen how Madara has been able to switch bodies. So theoretically, she has known how to use the ability since she was six. As to how long she has been actively using it, since she started to apprentice as a Death Dealer three years ago." Rai said calmly.

"I should be furious with you, using a jutsu that can be considered forbidden as a means to make a buck here and there." The blonde Hokage fumed.

"Ravenheart Industries is more than a bunch of contract killers. While you and your shinobi are fighting secret wars, the civilians suffer. Ravenheart Industries has been there on more than one occasion to clean up the mess. We rebuild the buildings, repave the roads, provide care for the wounded, and feed the hungry. The Death Dealers came out of a need to help the police and local governments who were over run by the criminals that try to take advantage of the situation." Rai crossed his arms and stood his ground.

"That is not a justification for using ninja to police the masses." Tsunade pounded her fist on the desk.

"We do not police the masses. You have ANBU that deal with the criminals of the shinobi world. But what about the criminals of the regular world? You turn a blind eye to them because they aren't shinobi and they aren't worth your time. I deal with those criminals.

"What you don't seem to see, Lady Tsunade, is that regular folks need heroes too. There are the police and government that protect the regular people. Ravenheart Industries just gives them a leg up every now and again. Yes, we get paid to make sure a Yakuza, Mafia, or a criminal element disappears. R. I. provides the SAME services a hidden village does, but we have NO allegiances to a Kage or feudal lord. I have on occasion, made a Kage is aware of the situation. I have even sent a contract to a Kage, as you well know, believing it is out of the realm of R. I's capabilities to handle." Rai glared. "We pick and choose our contracts just as you pick and choose missions."

Tsunade sighed let that sink in. Rai was right. The civilian quarter had gone un-policed in recent years after the massacre. There was never enough in the budget of Konoha to reestablish the police force and for the most part, there was never a need until recently. "I may not agree with the reasoning, but I understand your position. What you do with your private company is your business. However, while Myra is in Konoha, she is considered a shinobi of Konoha and as the Hokage, I am declaring that jutsu forbidden. She will not be allowed to use it again while she is under my authority."

"I will agree to that, and I am sure Myra will as well. She doesn't like doing it anyway." Rai relaxed a little.

"One last thing… Why Death Dealer?" Tsnade smirked.

Rai shrugged. "I don't know when it started, but it sort of stuck. It's a big hit with urban legend and conspiracy freaks."

0 – 0 – 0

"I'm worried about Naruto." Sakura grumbled.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted his usual answer. He was leaning against the wall of Sakura's kitchen. "I'm sure he's fine."

"And how would you know Mr. Ice Cube? It isn't like you are in tune with everyone these days." Sakura was still upset with Sasuke and it showed with each slam of a pot, or hiss of the spatula against the meat in the pan.

"Sarcasm does not become you Sakura. Don't start picking up on that Crazy Bitch's attitude." Sasuke pushed off the wall and went to stand behind Sakura.

"Her name is MYRA…" Sakura rolled her eyes.

"Hn, she calls me worse." He shrugged and tried to wrap his arms around her.

"And I think you deserve it sometimes." Sakura pushed him off.

"What's your problem?"

Sakura shook her head. "I'm still mad at you."

"For what?" He stepped back confused.

"For being an idiot." Sakura snapped.

"Hn. She could have gotten you killed, and I'm the idiot?"

"I AM NOT WEAK!" Sakura threw the spatula at him.

Sasuke dodged the spatula with ease, but did take a moment to notice that it was imbedded in the wall behind him. He looked back at Sakura. "I never said you were."

"YES you DID and it seems you still think that I am." Sakura turned off the stove and started to storm out of the kitchen. "Make your own damn dinner because I'm not hungry anymore."

"Sakura…" Sasuke stormed after her. Sakura kept walking towards the bathroom. It was the only door in the apartment that had a lock. Not that it would keep him out for long. She slammed the door in his face and he heard the click of the lock. "Hn."

"Go away." Sakura's tearful voice came through the door.

Sasuke's eye twitched in annoyance. He wanted to break down the door and drag her out, but he knew better. His jaw was still a little sore from her slapping him earlier. "Sakura… I-I… I was worried Okay? Come out… I don't want to talk to a door."

The door didn't open, but he heard the click of the lock. Sasuke didn't know if that was an invitation to open the door or not. He took a deep breath, prepared himself for the worst, and opened the door. Sakura was standing by the sink whipping the make up off her face. "Sakura, I…" he fumbled over his words. "I know you aren't weak. I never thought you were. I KNOW you aren't now." He reflexively rubbed at his jaw.

Sakura spun around and glared at him. "We had everything under control. We were stalling for time until…"

"Until we got there, I know. But you shouldn't have been in that situation in the first place." He said hotly.

"Okay Uchiha… What were we supposed to do?" Sakura crossed her arms and tapped her foot waiting for an answer.

Sasuke went over the situation in his mind. There was a pang of guilt that ripped through him, that he wasn't there to protect Sakura from those thugs in the first place. As each scenario played out in his head, they all would end with the thugs beaten and bloody on the ground. A small smirk curled on his lips. "Hn."

Sakura glared at him. "And how many innocent people got hurt in the process of your brawl? How many bystanders got SHOT while armed men sprayed the crowd to get to you?"

Sasuke's smirk faded and his eyes went wide in surprise. There were no innocent people in his scenarios. There were only the bad guys hurting Sakura, HIS Sakura. It didn't matter to him who else got hurt as long as Sakura was safe. And that was the problem. The Uchiha lowered his head. "I'm… sorry…" He said in almost a whisper. "I… I just… Don't want to…"

Sakura wrapped her arms around him and held on to him. "It's alright Sasuke-kun. But you have to learn to trust me. Even I have to admit that Myra didn't plan everything so perfectly either. She didn't expect that Nakahara guy and his goons to recognize her, or be armed."

Sasuke pushed Sakura off of him. "Say that again…"

Sakura looked at him confused. "Which part?"

"The guy that got away… He recognized her?" Sasuke looked serious.

"Yes… He said he wanted to brag about kidnapping the heiress to Ravenheart Industries." Sakura blinked.

Sasuke's mind was a torrent of thought. His thoughts were interrupted by Sakura covering her mouth to stifle a giggle. "What?" Sasuke griped.

"Nothing… I just think its cute how your face kind of goes blank when you're deep in thought."

"Hn. I am not cute…" the Uchiha grumbled.

"Very cute." She teased.

"And you are annoying." He countered.

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "I am not." She huffed.

"Very annoying…" Sasuke growled, pulling her closer. "And I wouldn't have it any other way." His lips gingerly found hers before she could say anything else. His train of thought had been thoroughly derailed by Sakura and her DAMN giggle. He moved closer to her and kissed her again. This kiss was more passionate and deeper than before. Hands roamed over each body, pulling at the fabric covering various body parts.

It was only a matter of moments before they had kissed and pushed their way into the bedroom, leaving a trail of various items of clothing. Sakura had kept her promise to Myra and not allowed Sasuke to simply rip the dress off her when he couldn't find the zipper. There was a split second where he thought about just loving her with the dress on. That was a thought he would keep to himself and save for later.

Sasuke scooped Sakura up just long enough to drop her on the bed. He was being rather unceremonious about it this evening. Over the last week he had taken his time and made each moment count. Right now, he didn't want that. Neither did Sakura. As far as the pink one was concerned, he was taking the "I don't want to hurt you" thing a little too far. She was not a delicate flower, after all.

Sasuke walked to the end of the bed and crawled like a jungle cat up on top of her. For a moment he just stared at Sakura's naked form. He marveled at her. That tall, skinny, annoying fangirl, had become the object of his desires long before he had left the village. Her confession to him near the bench the night he left Konoha had almost made him stay. For the longest time, he never looked behind him in fear that if he did look back, he would find a pair of teary green eyes staring back at him. He had always thought of Sakura as pretty, but now she was beautiful. And she was his.

Sasuke leaned down and took Sakura in his arms and kissed her furiously. His hands worshiped every inch of her body sending Sakura in to spasms of ecstasy. Sakura relished in his touch and quaked with each kiss.

It wasn't long before he had positioned himself over her. Sasuke slipped his arms under her shoulders and buried his face into the crook of her neck. Sakura held on to him, digging her nails into his back. With one swift movement, he entered her. Sakura moaned with delight. Sasuke was slow and steady as if to make up for lost time.

"Kami, stop torturing me." Sakura growled.

"Hn." Sasuke smirked and need no further direction. He liked the idea of being called "Kami"; it inflated his ego more than Sakura could ever understand. He picked up the pace and increased the depth of each thrust. The sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed throughout the room. Sakura's breath became ragged and labored.

With one deep intake of breath, Sakura clamped down on Sasuke and released her pent up frustrations and anger out in one last gasp. It was only a few moments later that Sasuke reached his own release and collapsed on top of her.

If the phone hadn't started ringing, they may have fallen asleep that way, but duty called. Sakura kissed her lover on the shoulder. "I have to answer that."

"Why do you have one of those things anyway?" Sasuke grumbled.

"Because I'm head of day shift at the hospital, and they call me if they can't get to Lady Tsunade." Sakura smiled.

"Hn."

Sakura kissed him again. "I love you too."

Sasuke moved off of her begrudgingly. Sakura smiled at him coyly and got up to answer the phone. She picked up her bathrobe and hurriedly put it on before she walked into the kitchen to answer the phone. Sasuke laid back and tried to relax a little. He took a deep breath and started to think about the evening of events. Something came back to the front of his mind. That Nakahara guy had recognized Myra… But how and why, he still didn't understand. Myra wasn't in the Bingo Book, so that couldn't have been it. Ravenheart Industries, Sasuke had heard of once or twice, but he couldn't remember where.

Sakura ran back from the other room. "Get dressed." She was frantic.

Sasuke sat up. "What's wrong?"

"That Nakahara man was brought into the hospital." Sakura looked scared.

"Hn." He smirked.

Sakura had a grim look on her face. "He's dead, but he isn't." That didn't sit well with Sasuke at all.