Blondes and Bullets

Mei mentally patted herself on the back while closing her briefcase and handing it to Chojuro who accepted it graciously. The "presentation" had gone well with Kushina only having a couple of questions on a few minor details on the upcoming operations. The tall blonde next to her had stayed relatively quiet taking it all in. She had to give it to Kushina, most criminal family kids were brats who could barely stomach the sight of a body let alone willingly listen and plan to participate in the gritty side of the business. But Naruto however. He was calm and attentive, something needed of a leader. From the few times she'd seen Minato Uzumaki the boy was just like him not only in looks. Kushina shifted in her seat leaning back in her chair taking a moment to think mulling over the info presented to her before deciding there was nothing else to talk about.

"Well then I suppose everything is in order" The upcoming crime head nodded at that her eyes sweeping to Naruto with a smile.

"Wonderful, I'll have my people contact you with the specifics of our location tomorrow. Until then I suppose that's all" With that she stood bowing a bit lower than needed letting the Uzumaki heir get an eyeful. She didn't bother to gauge his reaction and motioned for her guards to follow. Once they were outside she waited for Chojuro to bring the car around. It was a modest older model that helped them blend in rather than stand out. Riding around in a flashy car was an easy way for one of Yagura's goons to take a shot at her. She slid into the back seat her guards taking the front seats before merging into traffic.

"So boss this Uzumaki kid. Should we be worried about him?" Her thoughts were broken by her body guard Ao. He was a middle aged man with blue hair. His one eye was a dulled blue while his other was hidden behind an eye patch. Mei smiled to herself crossing a leg over another.

"Hmm?…Perhaps at a later date, but for now he's no threat." He shrugged at that lighting a cigarette while taking a drag. He froze when he heard a click behind his seats head rest.

"Ao…put that cigarette out"

"Sochi I need you to keep an eye on Mei while you're helping them. She's a slippery one as I'm sure you could guess with her subtle flirting" Kushina irritably instructed. That woman had always been a tease, even when they were younger she would use her looks to her advantage as creepy as it was. She was a natural seductress.

"Anything in particular I should be looking for?" He queried lazily leaning on the back door of the Ichiraku restaurant. His mother's heels clicked on the pavement walking to the black Mercedes the driver holding the door open for her. The redhead turned not yet settling into the car.

"Just keep tabs on her that's all, now then you said you're going to Samui's house?"

"Mhm Yugito wanted us to stop by yesterday but you came early so I suppose I'll have to go over and make it up to both of them. I'll have some of the guys here take me over and drive whatever car Samui took to the meeting tomorrow" he informed

"I see, be careful tomorrow and remember you're doing all of this for a reason" With no further words his mother sat down in the car the driver closing the door before the convoy began its route. He sighed heavily rubbing his neck before walking back in and deciding to catch up with Ayame and Ichiraku.

Hours later Naruto arrived at the Nii house. It was a fairly large house on the nicer side of town in a neighborhood unlike his own family's estate which was isolated. His temporary chauffer stopped the car gently in front of the house. He reached in his back pocket for his wallet before handing both men a wad of cash.

"Head back to the restaurant I can handle myself" With a moment of hesitation between the two of them they nodded to him before he exited the vehicle hearing them drive off. His gaze eyed the three cars in the driveway letting him know that the whole family was here. He followed the colorful bricked driveway to the back of the house entering the backyard where he heard the sound of someone striking wood.

"Straighten your back!" a stern feminine voice barked

"It is straight!" a frustrated deeper voice yelled back

"Don't talk back Atsui!" As he rounded the corner he saw Samui's brother in a fighting stance hitting different points on a training post. Yugito sat crossed legged on the porch drinking a cup of tea while frowning at Atsui. The blonde turned her attention to him after he came closer giving him a stern look.

"Uzumaki! You skipped out on dinner with us yesterday. Why?" The blonde looked sheepish at that coming to stand over her.

"Samui didn't tell you? My mother came back to town a day early" Yugito frowned at that her eyes narrowing at him.

"Oh I'm well aware of that, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to give you shit for it. Anyways, do you have it?" He grew confused at that his eyebrows knitting together.

"Have what?"

"Your father's weapons. Samui showed me hers so where are yours?" He brightened at that giving a small smile.

"Right here, though I only have the pistol on me" He reached behind him taking it from his waist band and handing it to her. She set her cup down her eyes glazing over before aiming and pointing it at Atsui's back. Said blonde stopped his practicing intent on grabbing a bottle of water and icing his hands. He turned seeing Naruto but had no time to greet him as he noticed his mother aiming a pistol at him. Yugito chuckled to herself watching her son dive to the side before yelling at her.

"Gah! Kaa-san stop that!" he said indignantly.

"Oops I didn't see you there!" Atsui shook his fist at her walking up to the porch while fist bumping Naruto.

"Where've you been bro it's been a while!"

"Ya know same old same old. What about you?" The hotheaded blonde puffed his chest at that. Smiling while striking a superman type pose.

"Actually I just got back from Yokihara city. I had a job taking out some punk ass kids messing up one of A-sama's accomplices supply routes" At the mention of the Lightning dynasties leader Naruto perked. The man was the closest thing Samui had to father and remembered he hadn't seen the man in quite some time. He also remembered that he'd yet to talk to his girlfriend.

"Where is Samui anyway?" he in queried to no one in particular

"SAMUI GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE" Yugito yelled while fiddling with his gun still. The males cringed at her tone sticking a finger in their ears. A minute later Samui opened the back door with a small frown annoyed at her mother's constant yelling. Her irritation vanished seeing Naruto. She gave him a small kiss ignoring her brother's roll of the eyes.

"How'd it go?" She questioned knowingly. He smiled giving her another kiss not answering the question.

"Hn. Well come inside I'll start on dinner" he nodded watching her go inside while sweeping his gaze back to Yugtio.

"Uhhh. Can I have that back?" She glared at him giving him his answer making him sigh before stepping inside.

"Hey you owe me a spar!" he heard Atsui yell after him.

"STOP YELLING ATSUI" The oldest of the blondes yelled making them cringe.

That night he stood in the bathroom of Samui's room brushing his teeth tiredly. He recoiled a bit when he moved his arm his bruises from sparring with Atsui reminding him how hot headed the young assassin could get. Taking a swig of water before spitting it out he exited the bathroom and noticed Samui waiting for him under the sheets in her bed uninterestedly watching the TV. She noticed him and patted the bed urging him to hurry up. He slid into the bed wrapping an arm around her shapely waist and dragging her into his form.

"So how did the meeting go?" He sighed intertwining their fingers.

"Interesting. Mei seems a lot more dangerous than I assumed, Kaa-chan wants me to keep an eye on her" His girlfriend disinterestedly acknowledged that before silence filled the room. After a while he figured she had fallen asleep until a hand found his chest.

"Was she pretty?"

"Eh?" He blinked somewhat shocked. She propped herself on her elbow tapping his chest waiting for his answer. His cheeks darkened avoiding her gaze.

"Uhh. I don't think I want to answer that"

"And why not?" She prodded her hand coming up to brush an errand hair out of his eyes enjoying watching him squirm.

"Cute" she thought before shaking her head.

"If I say yes you'll be upset but if I say no you won't believe me and you'll still be upset. It's a catch 22 and totally unfair Samui" he whined. She giggled making him smile. He loved to see her giggle, it was s heartwarming sound and something he didn't get to see too often. She cupped his cheek before slowly leaning down and taking his lips in a short kiss. He kissed her again taking a few more before one of his hands found her ass. A slender finger stopped him after a particularly long lip lock. His confused blues met with her own amused ones.

"We are not having sex in my mother's house"

"Wha-You started it!" She shook her head settling into his side.

"And now I'm ending it"

"Samuuuuiiii" She ignored his whining and gave him a small pinch making him wince.

"Goodnight Naruto" He sighed staring up into the ceiling closing his eyes.

"Tease"

The next morning Naruto awoke to the smell of breakfast and enjoyed himself with the Nii family. His girlfriend's family had always been some of his favorite people. Watching Samui and Atsui argue was always a fun time eventually Yugito would break the two up yelling as usual. He watched Atsui animatedly wave his fork in Samui's face talking about something to do with guns before he noticed his phone vibrate on the table. Reading the screen he tilted his head at the text message from an unknown number.

"2003 east Elpard Street is where we'll be meeting Mr. Uzumak,i I look forward to seeing you again" He read the message once again recognizing the street to be somewhat deep in mist territory. Standing he put his plate in the sink before heading upstairs. He opened Samui's closet where he kept a small wardrobe of his own things. He decided on a black baseball cap with a hoodie and blue jeans along with simple tennis shoes. He searched around for the keys to whatever car Samui had taken and scooped them up. When he returned downstairs Samui was waiting for him at the door. He took a moment to say goodbye to Atsui and Yugito before he walked to his car. Thankfully Samui had taken something a bit more inconspicuous which would let him blend in around Yagura's territory. As he reached the door he turned to Samui taking her into a long hug. They spent a few minutes whispering sweet things to one another before finally separating reluctantly. The blonde settled into the black sedan before finding his way to the highway.

An hour later Naruto arrived at a large warehouse in what he could guess was one of the poorest parts of Yagura's territory. As he pulled up to a set of large metal doors he noticed a man with an assault rifle peek over the roof for a second before the gate opened revealing several other cars and trucks. After parking and exiting his vehicle he was greeted by the nervous boy he remembered to be Chojuro from yesterday's meeting. He noticed the boy had equipped a bullet proof vest along with a pistol strapped to his leg. A sword handle also peeked over his shoulder.

"H-Hello Mei-sama sent me to retrieve you" He blinked at his nervousness and wondered how someone so timid got involved with this sort of life.

"Lead the way" with a nod he followed the boy through the warehouse. He looked around seeing dozens of shady characters all doing something or another. Something he realized they all shared was the bullet proof vests and matching rifles they all had. He wondered if these were the supplies his mother had given them. A few seemed to recognize him and frown before returning to their duties but most seemed to ignore him. He followed the nervous boy up a set of stairs the metal steps clinking with every step. He was led to an office overlooking the warehouse and recognized Mei who sat behind a large desk in a comfortable looking seat. Her attention shifted from her other bodyguard who he'd yet to learn the name of. A seductive smile greeted him while she leaned forward.

"Mr. Uzumaki! How nice to see you again, please close the door" He did as told coming into the office while taking a look around. Besides her desk which was littered with paper the only things in the office were a couch and a large map of the city with colored pins in it marking various points in it. Most of which he noticed were in Yagura's territory.

"I trust you found your way here without incident? I made sure you wouldn't run into any trouble the moment you crossed into our domain" she queried with a low tone.

"Everything was smooth, interesting place you've got downstairs. Basically a small army" She laughed mirthlessly sitting back in her chair.

"You charmer, we've only known each other for a day and you already know what to say to get me all hot and bothered" He had the decency to blush at that before he moved to the map of the city. He recognized one the pins to be where they were now and saw several other pins all around it along with red dots. He was surprised when Mei almost silently came to stand next to him.

"As you can see that" she pointed at a pin "Is where we currently are, the blue is our territory while the red is Yagura's" while pointing at several red and blue marks.

"You guys are doing a lot better than I would've guessed, what's the hold up?" A frown marred the Terumi's features while she crossed her arms under her bust.

"We've got two targets who we need to kill to ensure the power vacuum is easy to control after killing Yagura. We also have other minor things to take care of." Her heels clicked against the wooden floor as she walked back to her desk. She searched for something for several moments on her cluttered desk before finding two manila folders. He took them from her outstretched hand opening them being greeted to two pictures. One was of a man bandaged man while the other was a girl around his age he guessed.

"Zabuza Momoichi and Haku. The girl has no last name as far as I know." He nodded somewhat recognizing Zabuza.

"Zabuza is an old friend of mine. He's a retired bounty hunter who's gained his own little following. They aren't actively trying to overthrow Yagura but they'll come out of the woodwork the moment the pipsqueak dies, so we're going to make sure he's taken care of before that happens" The woman said her voice dropping low at the mention of Yagura.

"How big is his gang?" he questioned wondering if she had any qualms about killing a "friend" if that's what she really meant by that.

"Around eighty or so people but not all of them will be centralized at their hideout which will make it easier for us" she answered while pointing to a black pin marking Momoichi's hideout.

"Not worried about any stragglers?"

"Only a few will care about Zabuza's death the rest will find other work"

"I see, when do we move out?" The brunette returned to her desk with a sway to her hips before setting and flashing him another smile her eyes turning playful.

"We wait until nightfall. Half of the men you saw downstairs will keep any civilians out of the perimeter while also keeping an eye out for our fine boys in blue, in the meantime…We could get to know all about one another" Naruto resisted the urge to shiver at the hungry tone her voice took.

"This is going to be a long month"

Several hours later under the cover of nightfall the warehouse was abuzz with dozens of people starting trucks and preparing for the raid. He followed Mei to the balcony overlooking the warehouse gaining the attention of the men. The bustle and noise of people preparing stopped when they saw their leader standing there. The warehouse quieted the only sounds coming from idling trucks.

"You all know what to do today, this is one of the final steps in insuring our rise to power. Watch each other's backs and keep your eyes open!"

"SIR YES SIR!" they responded in kind their voices unifying in a single impressive response. Mei smiled at that before dismissing them. She turned before heading to the steps motioning Naruto to walk next to her while Ao and Chojuro walked a few paces behind them.

"I've decided that the both of us will take on Zabuza while Ao and Chojuro will take care of Haku, do you have any objections?" Even though it was a question her tone suggested otherwise. He shook his head having no objections.

"What should I expect when we meet him?"

"Hmmm….Zabuza has always had a level a scariness about him. He's got more bark than he does bite but don't underestimate him, there's a reason he was able to retire from bounty hunting. Last time I saw him he was fond of using a sword, he'll most likely wait for us to come to him instead of finding us himself" The blonde nodded filing the info away for later.

"I see, then I look forward to fighting him"

"Careful what you wish for Uzumaki" She gave mysteriously watching her men continue to prepare.

It took nearly twenty minutes for everyone to clear out of the warehouse and get onto their destinations. Various disguised trucks and regular looking cars moved out under the cover of night focused on their mission. Mei and Naruto along with her guards had settled into a van with several other people which fell into step with several other vans. The van came to a stop after about a half hour drive, the engine cut silence taking over the van. They sat just before a street lamp on a corner across the street from a rundown villa. Things were intensely quiet the only sounds being a barking dog in the distance and the constant buzzing of the street light above. A radio crackled in Mei's hand filling the vans silence.

"Sir the lookout groups have given us the go ahead to begin" A devilish smirk appeared on Mei's lips before she held the button to reply.

"Get into position and wait for my command" With that she hooked the radio to her belt before signaling for everyone to exit the van. Naruto grabbed the silenced AK-47 Mei had lent to him insisting he bring more than a pistol with him. He eyed her curiously seeing she had no weapon before seeing two of the men they'd arrived with lay a long suit case down in front of the Terumi. He watched her enter a combination lock on the case before it popped open revealing a shotgun. He marveled at the weapon glint in the light. The Terumi gently picked up the shotgun letting him get a better look at it while she begun loading it.

"Like it? It's a Saiga-twelve my pride and joy!" She cheerily asked. He eyed the weapon impressed by the intricate engraving of a dragon on the barrel of the silver gun.

"Looks like it's got kick"

"I'm afraid you don't know the half of it, you'll get to see very soon however" Her low tone informed him. The excitement in her voice was obvious.

"She's awfully excited, reminds me of Yugito" he thought to himself while checking his own weapons.

"Ao take point, the rest of you know what to do" With nods they crossed the street avoiding the street light. The rear entrance of the villa was what they covered while the other group waited to enter through the front. Once they were in position the man he now knew as Ao eyed Mei.

"Ready" with that she once again pressed the button quietly telling her men to begin. Naruto was second in line to enter the villa silently watching Chojuro use a lock pick to open the door. His heart pounded against his chest adrenaline coursing through his veins. His hands shook ever so slightly as they watched Chojuro work on unlocking the door. After what seemed like forever a small click was heard. Chojuro opened the door silently before Ao quietly walked in followed by Naruto and the rest. The sound of laughter made his hair stand up while Ao held a hand up to stop their advance.

"There's three sitting at a table, their guns are out of reach should we begin boss lady?" The woman moved to the front of the line bringing up her shotgun aiming the barrel at the three men from a crouched position. Naruto stood behind her peeking around the corner.

"Enjoy the show Mr. Uzumaki" With that she pulled the trigger a brilliant yellow torrent of fire pouring from the barrel. The Uzumaki squinted away from the miniature explosion and turned back to see that the three men had been reduced to burning pieces of unrecognizable chunks.

"Holy shit" he whispered. A prideful smirk made its way onto the woman's lips at his amazement.

"I use a special type of incendiary ammo called Dragons Breath, makes a brilliant mess of things! Now then, time to really start moving the whole villa should be awake now" And awake it did. Various windows lit up while gunshots were heard from the direction of the front entry team. A window opened above them a man in nothing but boxers looking down and spotting them.

"Do you fucks know who you're dealing with? Zabuza will kil-"The man didn't get to finish his sentence as his body was replaced with a torrent of fire courtesy of Mei. They hurriedly ran through the compound eliminating several threats along the way. Naruto had yet to kill anyone but had seen just how ruthless Mei and her people were. The prostitutes that also resided in this villa had been gunned down all the same when they'd come across them. His stomach churned at seeing so much death for the first time in his life. Screams along with the smell of gun powder invaded his nostrils. Yet he forged on laying down fire with the Terumi family. As they ran through a hallway a door shattered open a large man coming through and tackling Ao through a door and into the room behind it. The two struggled while Naruto was the first to enter room. As he came into the room he saw the large man had wrapped his hands around the grizzled one eyed gangster whose rifle had been knocked out of reach. He took aim at the attackers head and fired, a stunning red splattering onto the window next to them. The grip on Ao's neck slacked immediately with only a small bit of blood splattering on to his head. He tiredly pushed the man off of him while searching for and picking up his rifle.

"Thanks kid" his thanks was lost however to the Uzumaki who stood silent.

"Can you still fight?" Mei asked from the door entrance having seen the last seconds of the fight.

"I look like some kind of pussy to you boss?" She shrugged at that making the man grumble. Mei frowned noticing Naruto was still staring at the man he had killed. Her features softened before going over to lay a hand on his shoulder.

"Ao Chojuro make sure no one else is left here I don't want any more surprises" They nodded taking the other men with them before checking each room.

"Naruto, I need you to come back to me" She firmly said. Naruto heard her. Oh he definitely did but couldn't bring himself to think about anything other than the dead man in front of him. He looked into the eyes of the man dead on the floor. The amount of blood he was letting out shocked him. No one told him it would be so bloody. No one told him that the eyes would haunt him. His mind continued to delve into a darker and darker state until he was slammed against the wall. He came back to reality and was immediately reminded of where he was. The smell of gunpowder and death once again invaded his senses.

"Wh-what?"

"Breathe, you had your first kill you're going to be shaken up for a while but I need you to focus. You're no use to me in a catatonic state. Right now I want you to focus on nothing but killing Zabuza understood?" Her tone was firm missing its usual playfulness. He straightened gripping his rifle tighter.

"Y-Yeah…right, let's go" the brunette let go of his shirt eyeing him a bit longer before leading him out of the room. They passed several dead bodies some being of her own men while most were Zabuza's. As they hooked a right from the hallway they came up on Ao and Chojuro and the remainder of their squad under heavy fire at the end of the hallway. They carefully crouched behind them before Mei spoke.

"How many are there?"

"Just one person, I think it's that Haku woman. Just across the yard there's a door leading to what I can only assume is Momoichi's office"

"I see…Then this is where I and Naruto part ways with you. Cover us while we make a break for it" The remainder of their squad nodded before Mei looked behind her to see the Uzumaki's conflicted visage.

"Can you do this?" The nod he gave her wasn't convincing but she took it nonetheless before they readied their selves. A break in the fire from above was their queue to go.

"NOW" The duo bolted across the open courtyard hearing the rifles of their squad covering their advance. It seemingly worked when they reached the large double doors but found it was locked. Mei growled before stepping back prompting Naruto to do the same. She aimed directly ahead flinching only slightly at the torrent of bullets fired in their direction. Her shotgun did the trick the door blasting open in fiery pieces revealing an inside that resembled a large house. They squinted struggling to see anything in the pitch black house. The sound of bullets from the courtyard faded as they stepped inside.

"Mei fucking Terumi. I should've known you'd come after me" Naruto frowned at the deep and gravelly voice of Zabuza. It bounced off the walls and seemed to come from nowhere in particular.

"Show yourself Zabuza, let me see that handsome face of yours" She said playfully. It impressed Naruto that this woman could still manage to be a tease in the face of death. She received no answer and held a hand for Naruto to stop. His brow dripped with sweat while his eyes flicked to every sound. After what seemed like an eternity Naruto heard the sound of movement almost a second too late. Throwing himself to the side he watched as a giant blade descended into the floor where he had just been. He eyed the man who was behind the blade. From his nose to his stomach the man was bandaged. He wore a simple black bullet proof vest with a matching pair of combat pants and boots. He froze looking up at the towering sword as the man stood his full height.

"What the hell! That sword is gigantic!" His astonishment at the sword was not shared however as Mei who had also dove to the side raised her shotgun at the man's back and fired. With near inhuman speed Zabuza twisted the sword to cover his back. The giant slab of metal deflected most of her dragons breath only some of the flames reaching around his sword to lick his back. The man didn't seem to care about the minor burns however and drew a pistol from a holster on his thigh. He fired two shots back at Mei who moved back into the hallway they had come from. Zabuza fired twice more at her retreating figure before drawing another pistol and directing his fire to the Uzumaki using his sword as cover against Mei. The Uzumaki ducked lower behind his cover, bullets pinging right near his feet and head. He grew frustrated at the bounty hunters impeccable aim unable to find an opening to return fire. Soon he heard the familiar click of an empty gun making him smirk and dash out of cover rifle at the ready. He froze seeing the slender man midway through a swing poised to cut him in half horizontally. The blonde threw his weight backwards trying to escape the swords reach. He felt pain explode in his right hand and gritted his teeth in agony. His assault rifle flew from his hands while red sprung from his palm. He fell to his back staring up at the impending doom of Zabuza's sword. The mans crazed eyes focused on the Uzumaki's neck.

"DIE!" the sword never reached its target as Mei took the opportunity to round the corner and fire on Zabuza. The bandaged hunter was a second too late with his reaction the dragon fire engulfing him in flames. Naruto squinted from the heat rolling away from the fire before standing. He gasped seeing Zabuza was still alive if only barely. His right arm had been blown to nothing but a stump, the resilient man spun around aiming towards Mei who shot once more the bullets colliding with his torso. Momoichi's vest took the brunt of the attack only sending him flying back into a wall pistol still in hand. Zabuza against all odds still had energy to move.

"Y-You c-ant ki-" His sentence was never finished however as Naruto had made his way to him kicking the gun from his struggling hand. He planted his foot on what was left of the man's chest before pulling his pistol from his waist and aiming it at his head. A moment of hesitation was all he received before the Uzumaki ended him. Behind him Mei shouldered her weapon somewhat stunned by the blonde's execution. She watched him lower his gun to his side sinking to his knees in front of the man before coming to stand by him and getting a good look at what was left of Zabuza.

"A shame, I wanted to have a few words with him" Naruto tiredly chuckled at that, she genuinely seemed offended that Zabuza had died before speaking with her. He fought the urge to puke at the smell of burning flesh. The sound of footsteps from the hall they'd arrived from made them frown. They relaxed when seeing it was just Chojuro however.

"Chojuro where's Ao? And what about that Haku woman?" The boy looked haggard and bruised his glasses cracked while blood stained his vest.

"H-He's leading the squad in the final sweeps of villa. The woman is dead but took down quite a few of our own" She nodded at the quiet boy before collecting herself and fishing her radio from her belt.

"I need a report"

"All targets have been dealt with. Ao-sama is leading a small team and back tracking in case we missed anyone"

"Collect our dead and prepare the gasoline so we can burn this place down, after you've done that regroup at the trucks" With that the shotgun wielding woman turned her attention to Naruto offering him a hand up. He took it surprised at the woman's strength for a moment.

"Well then, I suppose it's time to leave the police will be here in around thirty minutes" With a nod from the blonde the three made their way back through the villa.

Hours later Naruto sat exhausted on the couch in Mei's office his mind off in another place as one of Mei's men bandaged his hand. He winced when the man poured a liquid on the wound making it burn before fading to a dull throb.

"All right you should be good to go, just try not to squeeze it too much or it'll open the wound again" With that the man closed his medical kit before leaving the office nodding to Mei who smiled in return. Once they were alone Mei leaned forward laying her chin on her intertwined fingers.

"Not bad for your first time, besides freezing up you know your way around a gun" He didn't answer his eyes clouded over in thought.

"The first kill is always hard but you need to understand something Uzumaki. It's us or them, we are not heroes, we are not the "good guys", we're criminals. The sooner you realize this the easier pulling the trigger will come to you" That seemed to give the blonde something to think as he stood without a word shoving his hands in his pockets.

"When's the next operation?"

"Two days from now, I need some time to gather some more men after losing more than expected. You're more than welcome to stay with me in my house if you don't want to drive home" Mei didn't miss the slight coloration of his cheeks. She was disappointed however when he declined and exited her office. She sighed sitting back in her chair while throwing her feet onto her desk. Her eyes turned to the map of the city thinking about their next moves.

The blonde Uzumaki quietly entered the Nii family's house careful not to wake Yugito lest she wake and use it as an excuse to shoot him. The clock on the wall read nearly 4 am. He set his gun down on an errant table he passed not wanting to see it after the events of tonight. After making his way upstairs he quietly opened Samui's room to see her sound asleep under the sheets. He stripped quietly before softly making his way to Samui's bathroom. The shower began making his shoulders sag in relaxation as he let the water course its way down his body blood washing down the drain while being careful not to get his bandages wet. He sat for longer than he cared to count letting his mind drift. He jumped slightly pulling him out of his thoughts when hands caressed his back but relaxed at the familiar scent of vanilla.

"You're hurt" Her icy tone pricked at him letting him know she wasn't happy. Her hand wrapped around his own bandaged one gently raising it to give her a better look.

"Nothing serious" His voice was low with a hint of something hidden. She hugged him tightly letting his hand go. Her figure melded into him making him tense. She felt him shake his defense crumbling. Her heart ached to see him in such turmoil before letting him hear the words he needed to hear.

"Naruto…I'm here for you" Her words had their intended effect. He sank to his knees in her embrace the night's struggle catching up to him. Fresh tears escaped him as Samui held him whispering soothing things to him. And with that so began their descent into the seedy underbelly of Elemental City.

"Phew! The smell of burning trash is one thing I'll never get over" A purplette laughed out as she walked through the burnt down remains of a villa. She and her partner had come out to see the damage themselves after the news of Zabuza being killed had spread. The block surrounding the villa was covered in police vehicles and officials along with media members doing their best to get info from any and every one. She whistled lowly picking up one of the weapons of the fallen gang members.

"Ibiki look at this thing!" Her partner ignored her deciding to continue his conversation with a man taking pictures of the various bodies. She pouted when an officer instructed her to put down the large machine gun. She walked further into the villa stepping carefully around bodies. Soon the detective found herself in an attachment in the house. A smirk made its way onto her face when she recognized Zabuza Momoichi sitting dead up against a wall. She took a moment to take off her sunglasses hooking them on her shirt before eyeing the man's sword which was embedded in the ground. It was an impressive oversized weapon that most wouldn't be able to lift. She eyed the blackened side of the blade which revealed several indentions on it.

"Hn, Incendiary rounds" She moved to the hunter's body crouching in front of him. His missing arm was charred and burned while most of his chest was missing with bits of a bulletproof vest remaining. She noticed two more wounds in his head and whistled.

"You must've gave whoever killed you a run for their money" Having seen enough she stood sliding her hands into her pockets.

"The only bodies that are here are Momoichi's men" She turned hearing her partner's gruff voice. The man seemed agitated like always. She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket before lighting one and putting them away. She took a long drag watching her partner eye Zabuza with a critical eye.

"Think this has something to do with a rival bounty hunter gang?" she asked exhaling slowly.

"Possibly, I'd be more willing to bet it has to do with the Yagura family's crumbling grip on this side of the city. Goddamn savages" Anko chuckled at that. Ibiki had plenty of reason to hate the crime families.

"Let's go get something to eat I'm starving" Without waiting for his response she left the room thoughts turning to what she wanted to eat. Ibiki stood staring at the body for a moment longer before turning and making his way back out of the villa.