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Chapter 31: Help Wanted

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much."

~Helen Keller

Naruto downed a swig of water, sighing inwardly. It didn't seem to matter if they went over this a hundred times, Sasuke still had to review it once more. Naruto's head ached, and as grateful as he was for the lukewarm cheeseburger and the warm, leather seats of the car, he wanted to get somewhere that had a sofa, or even better - a bed. He dropped his bottle of water into the cupholder between the two seats, and reached up to itch at a scab on the back of his neck. His fingertips ran along a bumpy area above the hairline. Most of the injuries Obito had dealt him had healed for the most part. This one must have been a doozy.

"Yeah, so says your brother, as far as we can trust him."

"You'll forgive me if my sense of trust is low in that department." said Sasuke with narrowed eyes.

"He said he was working with your parents?"

Naruto shrugged. "He didn't specify. I never saw him before, so not directly, I don't think, but probably in the same department."

"And he came to you after he…after he left our house."

Naruto picked at the wrapper on his cheeseburger.

"I think so. I can remember it now. I remember him being there that night. I think he spooked Orochimaru by showing up because I remember him leaving pretty quickly. I guess he wanted to get away with all the data on the Bliss pill. He left me with Itachi who dropped me off at the police department. Otherwise, Orochimaru would probably have killed me."

"But then wouldn't the Akatsuki have realized my brother was working as a double agent?"

"My guess is they didn't even know he went to the safe house. I mean why would they? All they know is Orochimaru was holding me as their hostage against my parents, went turncoat and ran away with sensitive information."

"And what about my parents?"

"Um, well from Akatsuki's viewpoint, I guess it would be considered tying up loose ends."

"I don't believe it." said Sasuke. "I can't believe it. This has got to be a lie, some kind of play."

Naruto shrugged and sipped his tea.

"I don't know about the rest of his story, but I know the safe house part is true. I was there."

Sasuke pursed his lips and leaned on the steering wheel.

"You said they gave you a drug that messed with your mind. How do you know this isn't an implanted memory or something?"

"For what?" asked Naruto with a frown.

"I don't know." said Sasuke. "Some master plan? I have no idea what the Akatsuki's end game is."

Naruto shook his head.

"No, it has to be real. I mean, how could they implant a specific memory? I know they're working on some advanced medical stuff, but memory implants? That's some sci-fi shit. Besides, it makes sense, doesn't it? The news articles always said that I was the only survivor at the safe house, that I just showed up at the police station. How could that happen if someone didn't take me there? As for their "master plan", well, as far as I can tell, it's to spread their drug worldwide and put everyone into a living coma. I don't really see how I tie in with that. I'm like…the antivirus of that drug." said Naruto.

"Yes." replied Sasuke thoughtfully. "Paradise, right?"

Naruto nodded.

Sasuke let out a sigh. "All right, you were right, this is bigger than us. We need to take this to the police."

"You think they'll believe us?"

"Shikamaru's Dad will. We talk to him first."

Sasuke glanced over at Naruto. "But first we're getting you some clothes."

"And Iruka." said Naruto quietly. "I'm not leaving him at my house, not with Akatsuki out looking for me."

Sasuke nodded his agreement and turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life.

Shikaku Nara was a lean man with an unremarkable, weary sort of face, the kind that you wouldn't glance twice at on the street. He had passed on his trademark bored expression and hooded eyes to his son. It was only when you looked closely that you saw the intelligence that burned in those eyes, the same intelligence that sang in each measured statement. There was a reason this man had become the youngest chief of police in Konoha history.

Shikaku eased back in his chair, regarding his guests carefully.

Shikaku knew a lot of what went on in Konoha, even the parts that crawled about in the dark. The cockroaches of the underworld kept their secrets, but there were always whispers. It was the parts he didn't know that kept him up at night. There was something going on in the shadows, that much he knew, and these days there was very little that surprised him, but even he had not expected two of Shikamaru's schoolmates to show up at his front door during breakfast. Their faces had been somber with fleeting shadows of fear haunting their eyes, and a concerned-looking Iruka at their backs. Almost without a word, he had ushered them into his study, and asked his curious wife and son to continue without him. It was a long while before he'd get around to eating his share.

"You have no idea where they're based?" he asked.

Naruto let out a sigh. "It was dark. We drove for about an hour, I guess – until sun-up - but I don't know which direction we were coming from."

"Can you remember which direction the sun was in?" asked Shikaku.

Naruto shook his head. "I don't know. It was dark when we left, and there was a lot of twists and turns along the road. Maybe, on our left mostly? But it changed a lot."

"We've told you everything we know." cut in Sasuke impatiently. "Are you going to help us or not? Because if not, we're just wasting time and every second is one second closer to them finding Naruto."

Naruto and Sasuke had told him a lot of what they knew. This much he could tell. Where others might have rolled their eyes at the incredulity of the story, for Shikaku it connected all the dots. But not everything. They hadn't told him everything.

He switched his gaze to Sasuke. The boy was on tenterhooks, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees as if ready to leap out the seat at a moment's notice. His leg jiggled in a non-stop rhythm, but his eyes were sharp and focused on Shikaku like an angry hawk.

"Three bodies were found in the alleyway behind The Shadow Nightclub."

To his credit, Sasuke did not flinch, did not even blink, but Shikaku noted the slowing of his leg, the slight tightening of his knuckles.

"One of them has been identified as Mizuki Touji a known gangster, the other as an associate, Kuro Nishihara. The third is as yet unidentified, but he had the distinctive tattoo of an Akatsuki member on his inner wrist. Each of them were shot. Do you know anything about this?"

He met Sasuke's gaze until the teen finally lowered his eyes.

"I was there." He said finally. Both Naruto and Iruka jerked their heads around, staring at Sasuke in surprise.

"Sasuke." said Iruka, "Why on earth…?"

Sasuke shrugged.

"I was trying to find out information about Naruto. Mizuki, he had connections with them. The blond guy, his name was Deidara. He was a member of the Akatsuki, the only member I knew of, apart from…"

He trailed off.

"There was evidence of a fourth party." Continued Shikaku. "Ballistics showed that the shots came from both Mizuki and Deidara's guns."

Sasuke nodded and looked up, meeting his eyes again. "Deidara was there to kill me. He shot Mizuki first though, and Mizuki didn't take too kindly to that."

Shikaku stood up. "We'll have plenty of time to talk once we get you all to a safe house. I'm sure you understand that we will have to question you officially. You were at a crime scene and until we know more, you are also a suspect."

Sasuke nodded his assent.

Shikaku turned to Naruto. "You said it was decked out as a distillery. I'll send my men on a sweep for any factories or warehouses that would meet the size estimate you gave us. There can't be too many within a 1 or 2-hour radius. We'll find them soon enough. After that, well, we'll try to bring this to an end."

Naruto nodded. That was all he wanted, but he had a feeling that despite his reassuring words, Shikaku knew as well as he did - the Akatsuki would be gone without a trace by the time the police found their hideout.

1 Day Later

Naruto turned his head away as the needle pushed into his skin. It really didn't hurt much, but even though he'd experienced it a few times now, it wasn't a process he could get used to.

He refused to look at the blood he knew was now flowing into the syringe.

"All done." said Shizune, pulling out the syringe and placing a cotton swab on Naruto's arm. "Please hold this here."

Naruto pressed the swab to his arm while she tore off some medical tape and placed it on top.

"That's it?" asked Naruto taking away his finger. The small patch of cotton sat like a little cloud on his arm, absorbing any remaining amounts of blood that tried to escape the tiny wound.

"That's it." said Shizune with a friendly smile. "We'll take this blood sample to the lab and get to work on examining this 'Kyuubi' virus. See what we can make of it."

Naruto grinned. He couldn't help liking Shizune. She was a cheerful, almost ditzy lab technician. Considering her position as senior medical technician, her sweet demeanor probably belied extraordinary intelligence.

"Do you think you can make a cure for Paradise from this?" asked Sasuke.

Shizune regarded the quieter teen. From the moment she started taking Naruto's blood sample, this kid had been watching her like a stern guardian, arms folded and eyes carefully watching her every move.

"We won't know until we've tried." replied Shizune. She stood up and pulled off her latex gloves. "First priority will simply be breaking it down, figuring out how it works. It could be some time before we can make a practical cure that can be administered, and even longer to test it for safety. We would need subjects, medical trials, etc. These things can take years."

Naruto stood up, grabbing her arm. "It can't take years. The Akatsuki have developed their drug already. It's only a matter of time before it goes out on the market. It could be any day."

Shizune shot him a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry, Naruto, but we still have to follow procedure. You can rest assured we will be doing all within our power."

She patted his hand with a reassuring smile, and Naruto reluctantly let go.

"What if you had the data, the research for the drug and the cure?" asked Sasuke.

"Well, then that would certainly be a tremendous help and boost to the process. We would still have to follow medical safety guidelines. Testing takes time, but it would get us there much faster."

Shizune placed the vial of blood in a vacuumed container and packed up the rest of her supplies.

"But unless you plan on hunting down the Akatsuki and stealing their research, there's nothing that can be done"

She paused at the door. "I know how impatient you both must be to get this finished with. I can't imagine what you've been through, but trust me, slow and steady wins the race very time."

Naruto let out a frustrated sigh as the door shut behind her.

"Thank you for coming, Shizune." said Shikaku quietly as he escorted her from the safe house. "How is his condition?"

She nodded at the grim-faced police officer.

"He seems fine, at least physically. Some remaining bruises and scrapes, but there don't appear to be any broken bones or signs of internal damage that I can find. Still, it's hard to believe that he healed so completely in such a short time. If you hadn't told me about this Kyuubi thing, I wouldn't have been able to believe it. The treatment and abuse he described would show much greater physical damage. I'll be reviewing his blood work, and I'd also like to conduct a few more tests in the coming days, just to make sure there are no internal problems or side effects from this drug he was administered."

"Of course." said Shikaku as he held the car door open for her. "I'll be in touch."

Sasuke sighed and walked through to the living room, sinking down on the scruffy, gray couch. It had been two days since they had moved into the safe house. It was no palace, but it was nice enough – a typical wooden-panelled one-story suburban house that didn't stand out amongst its many replicas lined along the street. It was sparsely furnished, but it had the bare essentials – sofa, beds, tables, chairs and a decent-sized TV to stop them getting cabin fever.

It was exceptionally claustrophobic for Sasuke's tastes though. After living alone for so long he now found himself sharing quarters with not only Naruto, but also Iruka and two police officers. The police officers were all right. They mainly kept to themselves.

Iruka was friendly enough although surprisingly intimidating. Sasuke grimaced as he remembered the usually-gentle teacher's fiery eyes when he had arrived at his house with a half-naked, exhausted-looking Naruto. He'd genuinely thought the man was going to punch him or worse until they explained what had happened. But after the details came out about the Akatsuki, his involvement, his giving of the information on Naruto, he could sense the blame in Iruka's eyes. Give him where credit's due, Iruka hid it well, but there was a wall up now where Sasuke was concerned, a sense of distrust. Sasuke didn't blame him. It was his single-minded determination to find Itachi that had brought them all to this. And now…with what Naruto had told him about his brother, he wasn't even sure what to think anymore. The fear that his whole life had revolved around a lie weighed in on him, and more than anything a curiosity to know the truth burned deep inside.

"You okay?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke nodded and gave him a quick smile.

"Fine. Just tired."

"Tired? We literally have nothing to do these days."

Naruto dug into his ice cream and Sasuke heard the clacking noise as he shoved the metal spoon into his mouth hitting it against his teeth in his enthusiasm.

"You seem to be finding ways to keep yourself busy." He said with a smirk.

Since they had arrived here, Naruto had been eating practically non-stop, whatever he could get his hands on. Both, he and Iruka had watched with open mouths as he devoured the dinner Iruka had prepared on the first night in a flash, going onto seconds, thirds, and fourths. He looked better for it though. Already, his face had filled out a bit, and his bruises had all but completely faded. He still sported dark circles under his eyes though.

"How come you're tired?" asked Naruto around a mouthful of ice cream, unaware of being examined.

"I have a lot on my mind as you can imagine considering our…circumstances. I've not been sleeping too well. Plus my bunkmate likes to kick in his sleep."

He shot Naruto a mock glare.

Naruto grinned ruefully, scratching at the back of his neck. "Heh, yeah, sorry about that. Guess I've not been getting the best sleep either."

"It's fine." said Sasuke with a shrug. He'd never say it out loud, but his heart had leapt when it was announced they'd have to share a room in the small house, and he had certainly raised no objections when Naruto suggested he didn't need to sleep on the floor. Of course, Iruka hadn't been too happy, but Sasuke couldn't bring himself to care.

Besides it wasn't like they'd done anything, well nothing major yet. Naruto was still recovering, and living in a safehouse with paper-thin walls wasn't exactly conducive to romance. Sasuke almost laughed at that thought.

Romance.

Somehow he didn't feel like that was a word that applied to their relationship. Crazy? Yes. Explosive? Most definitely. But romantic?

Naruto interrupted his wandering thoughts, sticking his spoon into the ice cream with a loud sigh.

"It's hard to feel like anything is going on while we're holed up here. I feel so isolated from it all."

Sasuke sank back into the sofa, relishing its softness despite that one lump he could feel under his right thigh. He shifted away from it.

"Well, either way, it's up to the police now. I'm just happy this is one train wreck we can stay out of."

"Liar." said Naruto, flicking his spoon at him. "You're itching to get out there and hunt down some answers and assholes."

Sasuke wrapped his arm around him.

"For an idiot, you've always been pretty good at telling when I'm lying."

Naruto elbowed him in the stomach.

"Hey. You nearly spilled ice cream on me."

"Oh no, did the wittle Uchiha almost get ice cweam on his pwetty pants?"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Did you just baby talk at me?"

Naruto wiggled his eyebrows. "And what if I did?"

Sasuke leaned forward, his eyes dark. "Well then, I might just have to make you –"

"How's it going, boys?"

Sasuke and Naruto pulled apart faster than opposing magnets.

"Iruka." said Naruto with a panicked expression. He quickly forced a straight face. "I thought you were upstairs."

Iruka smiled. "I was. Now I'm here. Don't worry though. I'm just stopping by for a cup of tea. I'll be out of your hair for a while."

Naruto ducked his head down with an embarrassed grin. He wriggled his toes in his socks. It was funny how the laboratory, the Akatsuki and all of those cold fears seemed so far away when he had a creamy cup of Ben & Jerry's in his hands and a pair of thick, woolen socks on his feet.

It felt good to be believed, protected. And it might be selfish, but he couldn't be happier to be spending so much time with Iruka and Sasuke, despite the circumstances.

Two Days Later

Sasuke heard a thump from the living room. He shook his head. The idiot was probably walking into the furniture again. He just hoped the nachos were okay, and Naruto hadn't spilled any. Nachos were essential to any good movie night, much better than popcorn in Sasuke's opinion.

He finished pouring the dash of milk into Naruto's mug and stirred the coffee until it was a pleasant, chocolate brown. The heat from the mug radiated onto his fingers as he gripped the handle. He picked up a sugar packet from the counter and shook it lightly as he walked through to the living room.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted sugar, so I-"

Sasuke stopped mid-sentence.

The plate of nachos lay strewn across the floor, their orange powder colouring the carpet. Naruto stood next to the couch, his hands still frozen in position, holding air where the plate had once been. His face was pale as he gazed straight at Sasuke in wide-eyed panic. A man stood next to him, pressing the cold metal of a gun against Naruto's temple.

Sasuke let the sugar and mug drop, not giving a moment's thought to the liquid that soaked into the carpet. His eyes were fixed on one thing, and one thing only.

"Orochimaru." said Sasuke, his voice hard as granite.

Orochimaru's pale lips stretched into a malevolent grin.

"It's been a while, Sasuke-kun."

AN: Well, it's been a while for me too that's for sure. I'm sorry for disappearing again (not sure if anyone's still reading by this point!). I'm going to keep getting chapters up whenever I can though till this is done. Things are about to get interesting and messed up again, and I'll be posting the next chapter very shortly. I just need to read through and edit it. I won't lie. I hate this chapter. I couldn't get the transitioning right and smooth and fit all the information in naturally, but hey, better something than nothing, right? :) For those who left new reviews, thank you so much! I see those and I think to myself - "Aaaargh Secret Sky, you better get your butt in gear and get writing, missy!" And then I usually write a bit more. I'm working on bits and pieces of the story, so it's all disconnected, but I'm forcing myself to get through it. Your reviews are very encouraging, so thanks. I'll be sure to send little thank-you messages to those of you who aren't anonymous. :)