After doing some thorough research on Naruto, namely using high profile software to dig out every bit of data about him, Sasuke cleaned up his office and locked his package up safely. Grabbing his coat and throwing it across his right shoulder, he left the building, his brown work briefcase swinging in his hand. He quietly got in his car and turned it on, putting his things in the passenger seat.

Cruising into a lonely neighborhood, he drove up the quiet street to where the houses gradually grew in size, each more ostentatious than the next. He slowed down near a large house with a tall black ornamental gate around it, driving up to the gate doors and pressing a button on the dashboard. The huge gate doors creaked open and Sasuke drove through. Going up the brick patterned drive way, he parked in the two car garage and went inside.

Disabling the alarm, he yawned and dropped his stuff in the kitchen. He climbed one of the two huge stairways the dissected the main entryway, veering to the right wing and opening the last door of the hallway. Once in his bedroom, he pulled off his tie and dropped it on the foot of the bed, heading into the bathroom for a shower. He stripped quickly.

Lathering up, he rinsed and repeated, then dried off and got into bed, the cool sheets feeling clean and fresh on his naked skin. In the dark, his obsidian eyes opened up and stared at the bumpy ceiling. Propping his hands behind his head, the black sheets slid down to midway on his chest. In his mind, he meticulously planned out his agenda for the next day.

Naruto works from 12 pm to 6 pm, his daily shift. After that, he goes to the gym for two hours. Finishing there, he heads home, eats dinner, and around nine watches T.V. before going to sleep. His neighbors on either side are two elderly people and the neighbor across from his flat are never home. The apartment complex across from his building has a perfect view of his room. The window is only lightly covered by a thin drape and should be see through, especially with the T.V. light shining through.

He would only need to access the apartment from the opposite building.

Satisfied with his plan, he turned on his side and went to sleep.

xXx

Naruto Uzumaki woke up to the sun shining brightly across his face. Groggily, he squinted in the blinding light and raised and arm to shield his blue eyes, glancing around in confusion. Turning to the alarm clock sitting on the dresser next to his bed, his eyes popped wide open to see that he was late.

"Fuck!"

Leaping out of bed, he yanked off his wife beater and kicked off his orange boxers; he stumbled as they got tangled around his ankles. He jumped into the shower, yelping when cold water hit him. Showering as fast as he could, he shut off the water and ran back into his room, raiding his drawers for a clean pair of boxers as he dripped water onto the carpet.

Last one in hand, he pulled it on and tugged on his socks. Finding a decent shirt, he wrenched it on and popped his head out of the collar, cursing when he realized it was inside out. Once fixed, he put on a moderately fresh pair of pants and located his shoes. Stepping into them, he stuffed the laces inside the shoe and sprinted into his kitchen.

He opened the pale brown cabinets, pulling out a cup of ramen, putting water in it, and shoving it into the microwave. Punching in three minutes, he ran into his living room and grabbed his gray cargo jacket off of the floor. Hoping the ketchup stain on the front wasn't too noticeable, he jogged back into the kitchen. Snatching a fork from the silverware drawer under the microwave, he stabbed it into the steaming hot noodles he stopped early and stuffed it into his mouth, wincing as it burned him.

Seizing his keys from the key bowl, he scampered out the door and locked it. The green paint chipped door let out a clunking sound as the bolt slid into place. Flying down several flights of stairs of his apartment, he waved hello to the people he was passing by. He burst through the double doors of the apartment complex, standing on the edge of the sidewalk and flailing his arm around, waving down a taxi. Done with the last of the shrimp noodles, he chucked the cup in the green metal garbage can next to the streetlight and jumped into the cab.

"Where ya off too?" The gruff taxi driver inquired the disheveled blond. He twisted around in the beaded chair and glared at the blond.

"Ichiraku's! And step on it, old man, I'm late!"

Scoffing at the impatient youth, the cab driver turned in his seat and took off, speeding a little to settle the agitated blond in his car.

Jiggling his feet, Naruto played with his fingers. Oh man, if I'm late again, I might get fired. Shit, this is the only job I've managed to hold on to for so long. If I fuck this up, I'll never be able to save enough to open my own chain. He looked out the window. If only my dad hadn't set the inheritance age to be 22. Just a few more months and it's mine; I'll open my own restaurant and sell the best damn noodles anyone has ever tasted. It'll be a hell of a lot better than this places' frozen shit. I just hope I make it on time.

The cab slowed to a stop. There had been an accident and a huge traffic jam was piled up. A man with a bicycle was arguing with another man while cars everywhere were angrily honking. Unperturbed, the cab driver hummed along with the song on the radio and tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. Naruto groaned. He didn't have time for this! Thrusting open the door, he threw the required money at the startled man and apologized.

"Sorry old man, I don't have time for this! Thanks for the ride!"

On foot, he jumped over a small kid and nearly ran into an elderly lady. Apologizing profusely as he ran backwards awkwardly, he turned and dashed down the crowded sidewalk, weaving past all the pedestrians. The familiar restaurant in sight, he ran even faster.

Slamming the doors open once he arrived, he sprinted past all of the annoyed waitresses and slipped into the kitchen. Inside the small room with rusted beige metal lockers, he opened his and pulled out his required uniform. A tight cap with a noodle bowl on the front and a red apron, aka, the world's ugliest uniform. He yanked them on as he took up his position.

Taking out silver pots and pans, he jerked out packets of frozen noodles and recently washed vegetables and set to work. A hand came out of nowhere and punched his arm viciously.

"Ow, fuck! What the hell, Kiba!?"

Kiba stood there, holding a bowl of freshly diced red tomatoes in one hand and picking up a knife in the other. His short brown hair was stuffed haphazardly in a hairnet, the two upside-down red triangles under his eyes scrunched as he glared at Naruto. Partying hard and then walking drunkenly to a tattoo parlor had its consequences.

"Where the hell were you? I had to cover for your ass again! Tsunade almost fucking killed me!"

Naruto winced. "Shit, I'm sorry. I stayed up late last night."

Kiba sighed. "This is like the eighth time, Naruto. I can't keep lying to cover for your sorry ass every single time. She's bound to notice that you don't come on time."

"I know, I know. But I can't help it. Shit happens and I can't calm down. Then, when I finally fall asleep, the goddamn nightmares hit and goodbye sleep."

Kiba set the bowl down and looked over at him, concern on his face. Helping the tired blond out, he diced up more vegetable and set the noodles to boil. "They're back? Why now? It's been forever since you've had them."

"I don't know, they come and go as they please, fucking me over at their leisure. Yesterdays were a bit more brutal than usual, and I-"

"NARUTO!"

Naruto froze.

A well-endowed woman burst through the swinging doors leading into the kitchen. Wearing a green blouse with a pair of dress pants, the woman stalked into the room and glared around for the terrified blond. Naruto in her sights, she marched over to him and jabbed a finger on his chest. Dark circles under her eyes, she looked as bad as he felt.

"Naruto! Where were you when I was calling for you earlier?"

"I was here! I've been here all along, I probably was just in the bathroom. Ask Kiba, he knows!"

Kiba piped up immediately. "Yea, Naruto was here and-"

Tsunade held up a hand, finger pointed at the brunet. "Kiba, I don't need your input. I know Naruto wasn't here earlier. And I know he's been coming in late a lot. Look Naruto, I'm sorry, but you're done. Clean out your locker and leave the key with Shizune."

Naruto gaped in shock at the busty woman. His hands beginning to shake, he felt them go clammy. His heart dropped in his chest and met up with his paralyzed feet.

"What?! NO! I swear I won't be late again! I swear!"

"Tsunade, he was here, I swear he was, just-!"

"Kiba! One more word and you'll be joining him." The brunette fell silent, looking beseechingly at Naruto.

Turning to the shell shocked blond, she closed her eyes and shook her head, her face contorted in sadness. "I honestly gave you time to change, but you didn't. No, don't argue, I'm not changing my mind. Just leave. Please."

Numbly, Naruto nodded and bowed his head. Tsunade walked away after taking his hat and apron. Avoiding Kiba's eyes, he went to the now sad looking locker and grabbed his stuff. He dropped the keys off with the restaurant's co-owner, Shizune, and walked out onto the street. The beautiful morning sky had darkened and become gray, the universe obviously intent on making everything worse. Fat, heavy raindrops began to fall around him.

Opening the orange umbrella that usually rested in his locker, he stared at the ground as he slowly made his way home. The chattering of the pedestrians around him faded out as he tried not to panic. Eyes on his scruffy shoes on the wet concrete, he swallowed deeply and nervously gripped his umbrella. What am I supposed to do now? I have enough stashed up to keep my place for a few more months, but adding food and water expenses….Aw shit.

He made his way home sluggishly, trudging up the apartment stairs and shuffling into his home. Closing the door behind him, he leaned against it, rubbing the bottom half of his face. He glanced around, taking in what he had managed to make for himself. His kitchen was directly to the left; it was small and modest. He was sort of a clean guy, so no dirty dishes were piled up. The living room was to the right and had a couch and a loveseat facing an old TV. A long glass coffee table sat in front of them, courtesy of his previous flat-mate. Facing the front door was his bedroom door.

Shoving himself off of the door, he walked over to his bedroom and flopped onto his bed. Not bothering to change, he simply laid there, falling asleep after a while.

xXx

"No ma'am. A lawsuit cannot be filed for a simple complaint. I understand that your emotional state was affected, but it cannot be done. …No, I don't have a girlfriend. If you will, focus on what I'm telling you."

The woman finally leaving after nearly two hours of incessant blathering and eye fluttering, Sasuke stared after her and scoffed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"The stupidity of some people."

Downing the last of his distastefully lukewarm coffee, he glanced over at the clock on the wall. 8:45. He should be eating around now. Time to move. He stood up and went over the office door and locked it.

Inside the hidden room, this time he unlocked a panel from the right wall. From within he removed a disassembled rifle with a silencer, a pistol, and his personal favorite, a Beretta 92fs. Tucking them in the briefcase, he closed up and left. He entered Kakashi's office, the silver haired man was unsurprisingly nowhere to be found, but on the desk was a small bronze key with a piece of scrap paper underneath it. Slipping the key into his pocket, he read over the note. Room 42.

At the apartment, Sasuke slipped into the building and quietly asked for his room, showing the key he had. Riding the elevator up to it, he recalled the blond's room layout. The room Kakashi had gotten him was picked for the clear view it had of the target's flat. He walked to the pale yellow door, inserted his key and shut the door. He went straight to the window, peeked out, and searched for the kid's window. Through a set of old blinds that were nearly hanging off, he saw that the blond was asleep on the bed. Mechanically assembling the rifle, he glanced up and stilled when he noticed the other was no longer in his bedroom. Wait, where did he go?

Withdrawing the binoculars, he peered through them and saw that the man had a guest. Lips pressing in a thin line, Sasuke sighed heavily. Visitors meant potential witnesses and were generally unwanted variables. He broke down his rifle carefully, methodically cleaning out each compartment as he began to wait.

xXx

Having fallen deep into a dreamless sleep, Naruto was pulled from his blessed world of unconsciousness to hear the doorbell ringing. Sleepily getting up, he rubbed his eye with a closed fist and made his way through the darkened flat to the door. Cracking it open, he saw Kiba standing there with bottles of vodka. With a grin, he pulled it all the way open.

"Hey man."

"Hey. I figured you were feeling down, so I bought booze to get shit-faced. You in?

Naruto cocked his head. "Don't you have to work tomorrow?"

"Nope. Shino has the shift so I can get plastered with you. So you in or do I have to find someone else?"

Chuckling, Naruto felt his previous dark mood lift slightly and grabbed a bottle. He let the brunette in.

An hour later, they were both sitting on the floor arguing about how dinosaurs would be if they still existed.

"No, no. It's like 'he Flintstones! You'd use 'em for everythin'!"

Naruto shook his head, his vision swimming a bit. He wasn't drunk yet, just tipsy, but Kiba had practically downed one bottle of vodka on his own and could barely string words together. "They would fuckin' eat you. They can't be domesticated."

Kiba glared at him, hiccupping slightly. "No they wouldn't. Dogs n cats' don't eat us."

"It's because they've been domesticated!"

Before Kiba could respond, the doorbell rang again. Kiba cursed at the door, mumbling incoherent things. Blinking, he slowly slid to the side and laid down, passing out. Amused at Kiba's unintentional theatrics, Naruto answered the door. A man holding a pizza box stood there, a hideously yellow baseball cap hid his face.

"Delivery for a Mr. Naruto Uzumaki?

Naruto frowned and looked at the greasy box in the man's hands. "I didn't order anything."

The man pushed the box onto Naruto's stomach, stepping into the flat. "It was a gift. Take it."

Pushing back, Naruto was instantly wary. No one ever bought him anything and he was taught not to trust strangers.

"Well, no thank you. You can have it."

"No, you have to take it!"

Shoving Naruto aside, the man entered the apartment. Naruto angrily shoved the man towards the door.

"Dude, take the fucking pizza and leave. Get out!"

"I'm afraid I can't do that, Mr. Uzumaki."

The man reached behind him and procured a shiny black gun. Pointing it at Naruto, he removed the cap, revealing his face. Bright green eyes feverishly stared at Naruto from his dark skinned face. His mouth, tattooed to look sewn shut, twisted into a cruel smile. Cocking the gun, he aimed it at Naruto's head.

"The Akatsuki send their regards."

xXx

Sasuke flushed the toilet and zipped up his pants. Washing his hands in the small dingy bathroom, he grimaced at his reflection in the grimy mirror. Leave it to Kakashi to give him the shittiest room. Taking up his post, he looked though the scope. The blond and his friend were still talking and drinking. Honestly, if this took any longer he was up for taking them both out.

Eyes narrowing, he saw Sunshine get up and answer the door. Annoyed at having more interruptions, he weighed the chances of taking out all three. Riskier, but he could do it. He warily watched as what appeared to be a delivery man forced his way past Naruto. Getting a tingling sensation running down his spine, he loaded the rifle quickly. His instincts were never wrong and right now, they were screaming loudly. Something was about to go down.

Focusing on the pizza man, Sasuke squinted as something glinted in his peripherals. Using the mounted scope on the rifle as a binocular, he turned and focused on the flash. Shocked, he saw a sniper on the roof of a building close by. The angle his position was pointed directly at the same spot where Sasuke's was. What?... His gut warning him, he spun back to Naruto's room and saw the pizza man pull out a gun and aim it at the blond. For fuck's sake. He got a good look at the intruder, cursing softly. Having not recognized the man at first, he now realized who the suspicious man was.

Instantly, he called forth a wealth of information about the person. Kakuzu. A longtime member of the Akatsuki and never far from his partner Hidan, Kakuzu was a violent bounty hunter with a bloody past. He was known to rip out his victim's hearts out with his bare hands and keep them; he would stitch the hearts onto puppet dolls another member had made him, keeping them like trophies. Lusting heavily for money, Kakuzu would take the jobs with the highest amount; he often would refuse to take a job if no money was to be gained. He and his partner were always fighting, but worked flawlessly together, making them a deadly force to be reckoned with. The information ticked by, like data from a computer.

Eyes darting between the two men, he knew he had to act fast. It was quickly boiling down to two choices; save the blond and find out why Kakuzu was there and hopefully getting a lead, or collect his money and leaving no witnesses….. Scowling, he made a decision. The blond might have some sort of connection with the Akatsuki, making finding him much easier. And if anything goes wrong, I could always just kill sunshine and get the money anyway. Taking a knee, he raised the gun and aimed. Putting Kakuzu in his crosshairs, Sasuke pulled the trigger. The bullet shot out of his open window with a small amount of noise thanks to the silencer, pierced through the blond's window cleanly and buried itself deep in the man's chest cavity.

Sasuke reveled in his shot. Kakuzu was a nearly impossible target. He was rarely seen outside the Akatsuki hideouts and was never an easy shot; taking him out was undoubtedly satisfying. Quickly dismissing the rush of pride, Sasuke forced himself to focus. Sasuke twisted in the other direction and smoothly fired another shot at the sniper hiding on the roof. Managing to clip the guy in the shoulder, he reloaded with an incredible speed and looked for the blond. As soon as the blond popped up in the scope, the window pane he was using erupted into a shower of splinters.

Sasuke cursed and leapt away from the window. Son of a bitch, your ass is mine. Grabbing the rifle and hiding in the shadows of the room, he took aim and smoothly shot down his assailant. Noticing movement in Naruto's building, he saw that more men had run into the blond's flat, all armed. Calmly, Sasuke shot them down one by one.

"Looks like I'll have to do this the hard way."

With lightning speed, he broke down the rifle and took out his Beretta. Kicking the rifle case into a hidden compartment in the room, he quietly slipped out of the room and took the stairs down. Thankful that the blond lived in a less populated area and that it was night, Sasuke left his apartment and discreetly crossed the street and went into the building unseen, a phantom in the night.

Rather than shooting Naruto, the man collapse, blood spouting from the sudden wound in his gut. Horrified, Naruto spun around, spotting the broken glass of his window. Someone was shooting into the room. He had to get out!

Naruto bolted to the door, only to be blocked by several big burly men. One of them with a black cap on shoved him to the ground and he fell with solid thump. Staring up at the intruders with wide, terrified eyes, he swallowed dryly, feeling his heartbeat race unhealthily. Sweat slid down the side of his face as several guns were directed at him. Christ, what the fuck was happening?

"He fucking shot Kakuzu! The little bastard! Hidan is not going to be happy about this." One of them nudged the limp corpse still bleeding out on the floor.

Another spoke to him. "Give us the key and we won't kill ya."

Give them what they want! Give it to them! Naruto's mind screamed at him to please the intruders. But I don't know what the fuck they are talking about! What fucking key!?

"W-what k-key? I d-don't have a-a key."

The black capped one closed in on the blond, aiming the gun at Naruto's crotch. "Tell us where the key is or I blow ya fucking dick off. Ya know what we're talking about."

Throat dry, Naruto tried to edge away, but another click of a gun kept him in place. His heart beat unnaturally heavy in his ears.

"I d-don't know what you're talking about!" He yelped out.

His blood ran cold and fear spiked down his spine as all of the men cocked their guns.

"Okay then. We tried to play nice, now ya die."

All at once, the black capped one fell, a small bloody hole appearing by his neck. Stunned, the other men slowly went down as they too, were shot.

Feeling the world spin around him, Naruto violently vomited; his abdomen heaving harshly with each hurl. His body was shaking uncontrollably and he had cold sweat all over his body. Hearing footsteps running up in his direction, he whimpered and scooted away. His hand falling on the butt of a gun, he tentatively picked it up and held it limply. What, are you really going to shoot someone? His consciousness desperately tried to make sense of the carnage around him, but it was futile. The footsteps reached the door. Standing in the empty doorway, there was a tall man with dark glasses and a huge gun in his hands.

Stomping in, the man brought up the gun and surveyed the bloodshed around him. He appeared unaffected by it.

"You see that Mr. Uzumaki? That is the look of inevitability. It is the sight of your death. Goodbye, Mr. Uzumaki..."

"Wait! NO!" Forgetting that he held a gun, Naruto's heart skipped several beats.

Suddenly, two black gloved hands came out of nowhere on either side of the man's neck. One reached across the tall man's throat and sliced a wide, jagged, bloody grin across it, severing the windpipe and the right carotid artery, while the other held the head in place. Blood spurted out, giving everything a nice coating of warm, red rain. The hand on the man's skull pulled back, ripping open the wound to the point that the spinal cord was visible and shoved the body down. The man gave his last breath and fell to the floor, face first into a pool of his own life fluid twitching.

Standing where the man had been, was another lean man who was wiping blood off of the thick serrated blade in his hand. He had on a long dark coat and had spikey midnight hair. Deeming it clean enough, the man closed the switch blade and slid it into his coat pocket. With piercingly dark eyes and porcelain pale skin, he strolled over to the paralyzed, blood covered smaller man, and outstretched a gloved hand.

"Come with me if you want to live."