The SEAL'S Kiss

Silver's Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews. We hope that you enjoy this chapter because this was a tough one to write.

Chapter 17

Sasuke saw potential threats EVERYWHERE as the guests began to be seated for dinner after the reception. The White House was fuller than Sasuke had ever seen it, or honestly ever hoped to see it. And, of course, there were over a dozen foreign diplomats attending, as well as a couple of foreign leaders. Not that he thought that any of the foreigners were after the First Family. No, that wasn't it. But it did mean that there were more potential targets for whoever was dumb enough to attack the White House with Navy SEALs in attendance.

The question was whether or not the perpetrator would be here tonight. A vast array of domestic politicians had been invited, but there was no guarantee that their enemy was on the guest list. Which meant that this could end up being a total waste of time. "Is everyone clear on their positions?" He glances around at his team, noting the carefully concealed weapons, there just as a last resort. After all, it would be pretty bad to have to kill someone at a State Dinner.

Naruto nods at Sasuke, shooting him a reassuring grin. "Don't worry." He winks at him. "We've totally got this!"

"That's right." Sai smiles at him serenely. "If we survived our SEAL training, we can handle this." He looks at them apologetically. "Now, I have to go and find my grandfather."

"Good luck with that…I still don't get how you managed to live with that man for as long as you did." Sakura didn't fancy the idea of spending an entire evening listening to Danzo talk. She was more than happy to be part of the wait staff instead. Sai and Sasuke could have their ears yacked off while being bored to death by talk of politics. Once the food was served, she'd have a much more interesting job to do. Spying on the suspicious ones.

Sai chuckles at that. Sakura did have a point. "Well, if nothing else...the man did teach me patience, and how to spot a liar." Though perhaps, Danzo was actually sincere about his latest attempt to bond with him. One never knew.

"Alright, then split up and keep your earbuds in." Sasuke had made sure to get them the smallest communication devices possible, just in case they ended up with a real emergency on their hands. "If anyone at all seems suspicious, you let the others know, and we'll proceed from there."

"Right." Sakura stands first, heading for the door of Hiashi's private office. He'd allowed them to commandeer it for the evening for top-secret meetings. No one could listen in on them. "I'll be ready for the signal."

She had a paralytic toxin on hand, just in case they identified the culprit at the dinner. A few drops in their food, and they would be paralyzed before dessert. Assuming, of course, that they could get it into the right person's food, and that they ate it. Champagne was another option, but Sakura really didn't like mixing toxins into such bubbly liquids. Chemical reactions could give the whole plot away in an instant, if they were unlucky.

Naruto and Sai nod in agreement as the dark haired artist makes his way over to Danzo and Naruto gets into position. So far, so good. Everything was going according to plan.

Sasuke moves into his own position, returning to where his family and Hinata's have clustered together. Not surprising, seeing as Itachi and Neji were joined at more than just the hip these days. And the two patriarchs seemed to be doing as much plotting as their wives. All of that unsettled Sasuke a little, but there was more to worry about than just what his family was up to. He was, after all, trying to catch a criminal.

He smiles at his lover as Sasuke makes his way to her side. "I'm back." She was beautifully dressed in a long, white silk gown, with short, fluttering sleeves, delicate embroidery, and swirling bead-work down the sides of the skirt. She was positively glowing.

"Good." Hinata smiles at him. "Try not to paint the capital red, alright?" She would have kissed her lover, but that would have been splashed all over the news. That would have to wait until later.

"Just the dining table." Sasuke smirks at the thought. He was a much better shot than that. If he had to shoot, then he wasn't going to miss, and he certainly didn't use a shotgun, or some blunt, hard weapon that would splash blood all over the place. Hell, maybe he could just paint a single dinner plate red. Now that would be something.

That wasn't exactly what she meant, but Hinata nods. Sasuke was Sasuke. He clearly loved his job. Perhaps a little too much, sometimes. "Good because I wore white today." She smiles teasingly at him.

"I can see that." He looks her up and down once more. "And it looks very nice on you." Definitely nice enough for him to strip off later, once this damn dinner was dealt with.

"Thank you." She feels her face heat up with a blush because she knew exactly what he was thinking.

Itachi shakes his head in amusement. "Sasuke try not to jump her at the table." He gestures towards all the other people attending the State Dinner. "There are a lot of guests here."

Sasuke shoots his brother a scathing look. "Says the one who's going to frisk Neji under the table the entire time." If Itachi thought that Sasuke didn't know his game, the senator had another thing coming. "But no, I'm not going to do anything indecent. I DO have a job to do, after all." Two of them, actually, it's just that one was top-secret.

"I have absolutely no idea what you mean." Itachi does his best to look innocent while the President chokes on his champagne.

Neji smirks over the rim of his glass. "And who's to say that it will be Itachi doing the frisking?"

Emiko blinks as she stops her husband from falling out of his chair. "Easy there, My Love." Good Lord these people were trying to kill her husband!

Sasuke raises an eyebrow at the comment. "And here I thought it was Itachi who wore the pants." It seemed that assumption was the wrong one. He'd underestimated Neji.

"We're in a relationship of equals." Itachi rolls his eyes and pokes Sasuke's forehead. "Foolish little brother."

Neji chuckles at the sight of Sasuke rubbing his forehead irritably. "And I let him believe it. But we both know that I have him wrapped around my finger." Besides, who said that Itachi was going to be the one doing the frisking?

Itachi just sulks at that. He was so getting out the handcuffs tonight! He'd show Neji who was in charge!

"Right." Well, Sasuke supposed that there had to be someone out there who could handle his brother. Neji seemed to fit the bill.

Though, speaking of fitting the bill, Sasuke's eyes roam the huge dining hall, looking to all of the circular tables scattered throughout the room, holding the guests. The cocktail party part of the evening had long since ended, providing something of a distraction so that the four of them could slip away. But so far, no one stuck out as particularly suspicious. Then again, he was sitting with his family, and the most social part of the evening, the dancing, was to be held after dinner.

He did, however, note that there were many other soldiers spread through the room and the rest of the White House, serving as an honor guard for the occasion. And there was a table with several military officers, including Kakashi. So in the case that things went sideways, they were well prepared to defend the guests.

Danzo smiles at Sai as his grandson joins him. "I'm very glad that you could make it today." Maybe, he could keep the other man from getting caught up in all this.

"As am I." Sai smile apologetically. "Though I do regret missing the reception. I forget, sometimes, how difficult Washington's traffic can be to navigate when in a hurry."

"Traffic is always an annoyance." He waves off the other man's concern. "Don't fret about it."

"I will try not to." It wasn't a particularly warm conversation, but Sai supposed that it was something to do while his eyes covertly wander the room, noting the leaders who'd come from South America after a successful round of elections. He supposed that it was a lucky coincidence, as one of his teammates specialized in Latin dancing. Now THAT would be interesting entertainment for the evening. Well, provided that they didn't kill anyone during dinner.

"Well it's been so long since we've had much time to bond." He smiles at him. "I do regret that. It's just that the Senate keeps me very busy. So what have you been doing all this time?"

Right into potentially dangerous territory. But Sai was prepared for this question, and many more besides. "Well, as you know, I was deployed in the Pacific for two years, and only returned to the country less than half a year ago. There was quite a lot of diving involved." And special ops, but most of those were classified.

"Scuba diving?" He feigns innocence. "You know, I've always wanted to try it, but I'm not sure that it's a good idea with my arthritis."

Well, what Sai had done was a little more strenuous than your average scuba diving trip. "Well, I would see no harm in recreational scuba diving. Though I would not recommend that you venture down to the bottom of the Sea of Japan."

Danzo nods at that. That wasn't on the elderly senator's To Do List. "I'll take that into consideration."

Yes, that would be best. Sai catches sight of pink hair as the appetizers come in, a colorful, spicy-looking dish that he…honestly had no idea what it was at all. "Anyway, I have since been transferred to Quantico for a longer assignment. Three or so more years, perhaps longer, though that depends entirely on my orders from above." His transfer specification wasn't strictly a lie. He'd been reassigned to D.C., but the closest naval base was Quantico, which is where the team was living. So…in essence, he had been transferred to Quantico.

"Ah well that's good." Danzo nods at him approvingly as he bites into his meal. "A longer assignment means stability. Of course, it's fun to travel the world when you're younger, but most people eventually need roots." The final word was emphasized, as though containing more than a single meaning, as his eyes scan the room.

"Yes, I suppose that you're right." Sai could see perhaps setting down roots here, with the rest of the team. Naruto's family was here, not to mention Sasuke's family, along with his team leader's new lover. It was a place that had many things wishing to tie them down. "Healthy roots make for a healthy tree, isn't that right?" It was something he'd heard his grandfather say long ago. Though there was something…different in his grandfather's gaze, something that he couldn't quite place. It was like he was…looking for something. Or more likely someone. An associate, or a colleague, perhaps?

"That's right." He smiles at the irony. Sai had no idea how accurate that really was. "Without the roots, a tree can't flourish. Something has to hold it up."

"Yes." It was sound logic, and Sai believed the same. But after meeting Naruto, he also believed something else. "But without the leaves that reach for the sun, the whole plant dies."

"I suppose that's accurate." Danzo nods at that thoughtfully. "You do need both the roots and the leaves."

His grandfather's words had Sai thinking, about how their team resembled a tree. Sasuke was the roots, holding them firm, and directing them as they grew. Sakura, the trunk, strong and sturdy, unshakable. Naruto was the sun above, there was no other place for him, not with hair the color of the sun, and eyes the color of the sky. And honestly, Sai fancied himself to be the leaves, stretching, reaching up for that light.

Well, the analogy aside, Sai tucks into his meal, savoring the spicy flavors permeating the vegetables on his tongue. "The President certainly knows how to have dinner." Now, perhaps it was time for Sai to lay out the bait for anyone within earshot. "I do hope that he continues to have a successful presidency. He has great support in congress, from what I've seen."

Danzo nods at that. "Well the man has excellent taste and as a centrist, he rarely fully alienates anyone." Centrism was just a facade in his mind to placate foolish people, but Hiashi seemed to actually believe in it.

"That is true, though if history teaches us anything, it's that such figures have a bad habit of attracting more trouble than they can handle." Which was an understatement, really, but Sai could think of a few who fit that profile. "Take Lincoln, for example…or Kennedy."

"Well that's true, but let's not ruin such a delightful dinner with such foreboding thoughts." He smiles at his grandson.

"I suppose you're right." Sai's face remains perfectly blank, though he feels the urge to frown as he looks around at the faces of the other occupants of the table, as well as the tables around them. No one was acting particularly perturbed by the topic. Was the culprit not here? Or were they closer to Sasuke? Reconnaissance was frustrating when you couldn't be sure that your target was even where you expected them to be.

With all of the guests sitting down for dinner, and the appetizers served, Naruto sneaks around the serving staff returning from the dining hall to the kitchen, pulling Sakura aside. "This place is jam packed." His voice was a whisper, which was at odds with his normal tone.

"I know." Sakura glances back into the dining hall for a second, before hiding again. "Figuring out who has a hit list a mile long isn't going to be easy. And that's assuming that they even got invited in the first place." For all they knew, the mastermind behind all of this might be on the other side of the country right now. Or not even in the country. Politicians were always going on trips here and there, so they could be halfway around the world, or right under their noses. It was maddening!

That was possible, but Naruto was pretty sure that this guy (or woman) would wanna get up close and personal. "It's anyone's guess, but this is our best chance to draw them out without someone getting hurt." Surely, even they wouldn't be crazy enough to target a state dinner.

"And exactly how are we supposed to do that? Sasuke and Sai are already working the floor. If we go back in there it'll look suspicious." At least until Sakura rejoined the serving staff in bringing out the next course. If they gave themselves away, they would tip off the enemy.

"Just keep looking around I guess." Naruto gives her a slightly annoyed look. Which meant the bubbly blond was feeling the strain. "We'll think of something! We always do!"

"Right…" They always thought of something. Sakura resists the urge to bang her head against the wall. The problem was that the two geniuses of the group were both inside, and until someone had an actual lead, their communications were supposed to remain silent. "Okay, maybe…when the dancing starts, they'll take the tables away, so if we snuck in near to the end, we could meet up with Sasuke and Sai, and the four of us could split up and check out the guests one at a time. You know, up close and personal."

He nods at that in agreement. "Yeah. That sounds like a good idea." Because at the moment, everyone was acting stuffy and boring. Just as you would expect at a function like this.

"Alright, well, I have to go and get more plates from the kitchen and head out with the next course." Sakura pokes her energetic lover in the chest. "So clean yourself up, put on something fancy that you can dance in, and go get me whatever dress from Hanabi's wardrobe you think will fit me best."

That all sounded like a good idea, until that last part. "Sakura, you'd probably castrate me, if I tried to get you to wear something from Hanabi's closet." Repeatedly. It just wouldn't end well.

Sakura growls with frustration. "Fine! Then grab me something from Hinata's closet!" She'd have to figure out how to work around the fact that Hinata was at least two cup sizes bigger, but if that's what it took to get Naruto off his ass, then fine! "And try to at least make it on the tighter side." She didn't care if it showed off her muscles, she just didn't want it to fall off because she wasn't as curvy as the president's daughter.

"Alright. I'll go see what I can find." Naruto wisely scurries off, not wanting to risk the wrath of his Amazon.

"Well I am pleased to see everyone is getting along so nicely." Emiko smiles. "It's very important to have a good relationship with your coworkers." She gives Sasuke and Hinata a knowing look.

"Or the precious treasure that you're guarding." Mikoto's mischievous gaze falls directly on her son. "It's always good to appreciate the value of what you're protecting."

At this, Hinata feels her face burn bright red and she quickly takes a sip of her champagne to give her an excuse not to speak. She couldn't believe Mikoto was looking at her like that!

Itachi tries his best not to smirk as he brushes some hair behind Neji's ear. "That's very true mother." He loved watching his foolish little brother squirm and it was obvious that Mikoto Uchiha was going to make him do precisely that.

Sasuke, meanwhile, was doing his best not to twitch at all of the eyes on him. "Of course she's a precious treasure, she wouldn't need a bodyguard if she wasn't."

Chuckling quietly at the SEAL's attempt at maintaining composure, Neji sidles closer to Itachi, sitting right on the edge of his seat. "A treasure that I'm fairly certain is getting restless just sitting there. Maybe you should entertain her."

"He always entertains me." Hinata blushes as she offers Sasuke her hand. "But perhaps we should help the dance floor get started?"

He stares at her blankly, before sighing and taking her hand, wrapping an arm around her waist as he stands up. "I suppose." Sasuke shoots his brother a dirty look for the hint of a smirk he saw on that smug face, before leading Hinata off towards the dance floor.

Neji doesn't even bother to hold back his laughter, the lock of hair that Itachi had swept back earlier dislodging from its place. "The two of you sulk in exactly the same way!"

Itachi rolls his eyes at that. "You're imagining things." He grabs himself a glass. "I do not sulk."

"Yes, just like a wet cat." Amused, Neji watches Sasuke's reluctance transform into sheer grace as he takes Hinata by the hand and waist, walking and twirling her to a lively Latin tune. "…Itachi. You promised to show me that you could dance better than Sasuke."

"I still do not sulk like a wet cat, but a promise is a promise." He smiles and offers his hand to Neji. "Shall we?"

Smirking, Neji plucks the glass from Itachi's other hand, setting it on the table, before seizing Itachi's proffered limb and pulling him towards the dance floor. "Yes, I hope to learn quickly." That, and he was kind of tired of avoiding being seen, just because Itachi was self-conscious.

He leads him to the dance floor. A promise was a promise. "So what dances do you know, My Love?" Itachi tries to ignore the stares.

"Well, waltzes, for the most part, I'm not all that familiar with the Latin ones." Neji was kind of embarrassed to admit it, really. "But I have peeked at a few of Hinata's dance lessons, so I think I know the basics of a few tangos and foxtrots." That sounded…so weird, coming out of his mouth.

"A foxtrot does suit you." Itachi smiles as he leads him into a basic tango. "You are very foxy, but we should try to play to the room."

Neji flushes slightly as Itachi's arm wraps around his waist, his cheeks taking on a pink hue as he remembers the lessons he'd spied on, and working to match Itachi's steps and rhythm. Fortunately the beat of the music helped greatly in both keeping time, and anticipating when the next step would come. "…Apparently, tangos are Sasuke's favorite dance." He gulps as he feels the eyes of the two foreign leaders pass over him. "Are you of the same persuasion?" It was hard to keep track of where to step and when to pivot, but Itachi's movements were smooth, steady, and held the bouncy quality of Latin music.

"I'll tell you later." He brushes his lips against Neji's ears."It's considered improper to speak during the Argentine Tango."

Oh, right, Neji had heard Hinata saying something along those lines. Oops. He probably looked like an idiot in front of the foreign diplomats. So, he silently cursed himself a little as he felt Itachi's grip on him tighten, bringing their bodies closer together, so much so that Neji could feel the heat of Itachi's body through his creamy white silk dress shirt. Itachi made him want to sway back and forth, pressed together as they stepped in line

Across the room, on the other side of the large circle of dancing pairs, he spotted his cousin, held intimately in her SEAL's embrace. They made it look so…natural. It made Neji a little jealous, really.

Itachi smiles at him reassuringly, kissing his forehead. He would have said something, but that would have violated the cultural taboo. Again. So he settles for dancing a little more closely with his beloved.

From a distance, as Fugaku was a little on the old side for trying to learn such a vigorous dance from scratch, he watches the two young men dancing, one doing so with a smooth grace, the other with a slghtly awkward gait as he found his feet. "Well, it would seem that those two are finally emerging from the closet." Not that they were really hiding the fact, but they simply didn't allow themselves to be seen like this in public before now. And he suspected that those were more Itachi's reservations than Neji's. No matter, the secret was certainly out now.

"Well that is certainly good news." Mikoto smiles as she watches them. "It seems that love is in the air." Though that wasn't the only thing that was in the air, for it wasn't long until the first shots were fired.

At this point, Fugaku was fairly certain that something in the universe was seriously trying to fuck with them. Was every major dinner in this building going to be interrupted by a gun battle!? At least this time, there was a profusion of military officers. Still, that did not stop Fugaku from taking hold of his wife and shielding her as the chaos erupted.

"What is going on?!" Mikoto stares wide eyes at the chaos suddenly unfolding before them as people try to escape.

"Stay down!" A head of silver hair appears out of the chaos next to the couple, gun aimed between the crowd and the ceiling. The rear-admiral aims carefully at one of the figures brandishing a gun that he hadn't memorized from the honor guard or the guest list, shooting a bullet straight into their back.

Fugaku recognized the man in an instant. "Kakashi."

The Uchiha woman stays down as she watches the scene unfold before her with horror. "Well Kakashi is here." It should be alright now, shouldn't it?

Some of the guests were racing around, while others had been rescued by the military personnel standing by in the room. There was more than one body on the floor, and the secret service were swarming the room as the hectic confusion grew only worse.

Kakashi's gun stays raised as he peers through the chaos, firing off another round at an unfamiliar target, only for that same target to take a bullet straight between the eyes. He knew that sort of shot perfectly. "It looks like your son is going to work, Fugaku."

"So it seems…" It was the same sort of shot that the director had seen that first night, when four assassins crept into the East Room to interrupt their informal dinner with Hiashi's family, and the other important figures. Though he had to admit that it was just a little unsettling to see his youngest son, who once had such adorable bubble eyes, according to Mikoto, killing so came with the job, of course. It was just something that was hard for a parent to picture.

Mikoto was equally disturbed. No mother wanted to see her 'baby' like that, No matter how old they were. "Dear God! What is wrong with these people?!" She couldn't believe someone had been psychotic enough to attack a State Dinner!

"They want something." Fugaku knew that it was as simple as that. "And they won't stop until they have it." And for that, a lot of people would have to die.

Another shot rings out, and another, and another. Over and over, one after another, slowing until all noise ceased. Dropping a pin would have sounded like dropping a bomb in the utter silence of the aftermath.

When all of the bodies have dropped, including some that were NOT shot by any of the soldiers in the room, the four SEALs approach the bodies, finding another nine assassins. More than twice as many as last time.

Sasuke grits his teeth as soldiers file out to secure the perimeter. And, muttering something into his hand as he holds his ear, he stands up and beckons to Kakashi.

Kakashi nods at Sasuke, his eyes still trained on the lifeless assassins, mind working to try and find a way to identify them. Whoever had sent them was good, for there werenot obvious identifying marks on them…anywhere.

Sasuke's eyes were similarly trained on the many dead assassins, but for a different reason. "…They weren't supposed to attack the dinner." They were only using it to draw out the culprit, not draw in another attack. Something had gone horrendously wrong. These people were NOT supposed to be here.

"Whoever did this is either completely insane or a genius." Kakashi concedes. "Who would expect an attack like this on a State Dinner?" Though if there were more of them lurking, he suspected they would have already fired by now. "I believe that for the time being though, we might be safe."

"For now." But Sasuke knew better than that. Three attacks, three agents dead in the first one, four assassins, then four more, and now, nine more, along with several of the guests. "Three attacks is three too many." He grits his teeth angrily, his blood coming to a boil. "We need to put down the perpetrator before the next one."

Tapping his earbud, Sasuke turns the communications channel on. "Naruto, Sakura, Sai, get me an inventory of the guests. Pay attention to anyone missing or dead." Missing was suspicious, dead meant that it wasn't their target.

"Got it!" Naruto's voice is heard through their earpieces as he quickly begins scouring the room with Sakura. "Damn it!" His eyes scan the room thoroughly from top to bottom, wincing a bit as he comes upon some corpses. "We've got at least three civilian casualties here and one military." He pauses and adds. "Sakura is trying to figure out who is missing."

The pinkette's voice is the next to come through the channel. "Both foreign leaders are safe, and only two of the foreign diplomats bit it." Still it wasn't good to have those sorts of murders on home soil. It would reflect badly on the president, as well as the government as a whole. "I've got eyes on most of our senators and ambassadors. Sai, do you see anyone missing?"

A feeling of dread threatens to overwhelm him. "Yes." He swallows thickly at the thought. "My grandfather isn't here."

Sasuke stills at Sai's observation. "…Are you sure?" If Danzo wasn't here…well, Sasuke knew that the senator wasn't fond of his brother, or of Neji, or…really, of anyone in his or Hinata's family. But this…this was treason, if it was true. And that was not a matter to be taken lightly.

"I think so." He wasn't entirely sure though. "It's possible that he just ran off in terror." If that was the case, Sai certainly couldn't blame the man.

Sasuke doubted that a man like Danzo would run off if he didn't have something to hide. From what Itachi told him, the man was a snake, and not a friendly one, like the sweet little serpent slithering around the White House gardens. "Sai. Not that I think you would lie, but I need you to be perfectly honest with me." Sasuke didn't like asking his teammate this sort of question, but he had to. "Could Danzo have orchestrated this?"

Sai wasn't comfortable with the question, but he couldn't lie. Not to Sasuke and especially not when there was so much at stake. "I want to say no, but it's a possibility." Though he needed proof before tossing about such accusations officially.

That's what Sasuke thought. "Then I'll pass his name to my father and we'll see what turns up." If anyone could get to the bottom of this, it was his parents. They had connections all throughout the federal law enforcement agencies. And if they wanted to know something, then there was nothing that Fugaku and Mikoto Uchiha couldn't get their hands on.