Chapter 20. Lies Pt.1

"Do lies fool the hearer or the speaker?"

|Naruto|

"The cause of the fire that broke out on Hatake Street hasn't been discovered yet, but before I head home I'll stop by and take a look at it." I clapped my hands, "Alright guys, when's the last time we finished up this early on a Monday? Go! Have a nice day!"

As the crew cleared out of the meeting room, I took a quick look at my phone and saw a missed call from Sakura, and I made a mental note to call her later before slipping my phone into my pocket. Once I was finished packing up my stuff, I made my way to the door, only to find Konohamaru waiting for me.

"Yo, Konohamaru. Everything alright?" I asked as I approached him, lifting my bag onto my shoulder.

He shook his head, "I should be asking you that. You look like you haven't slept in days."

I waved my hand, yawning, "Sleep is for the weak, ya know. Besides, it looks like we're coming up on fire season early this year; I have to make sure everything's in order."

"Let me help." Konohamaru offered, walking alongside me down the hall, "I'll come with you to the site; you know two heads are better than one."

I stopped by to check on some of the guys who'd been having it rough last week, and those interactions lengthened our walk downstairs by ten minutes. It wasn't easy being a firefighter, I understood that firsthand, but the city needed us. Some of the newer recruits were struggling with getting used to how much the job demanded of them, while the longtime veterans were just so exhausted. But everyone was doing their best, and I made sure to commend them for that.

"Wow, Naruto-nii." Konohamaru said once we reached the car, "You're really amazing."

"How?" I raised an eyebrow as I started the engine.

"Even though you're not at you're best, you're encouraging others to stay positive," He commended me, buckling his seatbelt, "I don't know how you do it."

I cleared my throat as I realized what he was alluding to, "When things get tough, there's always the urge to shut down but you have to push through it, ya know."

"And are things tough?" He questioned, relaxing in his seat, "Calling it quits after sixteen years can't be easy. Daijōbu?"

I forced a laugh, "Look at this guy! Little brother looking after me now, eh?"

"Naruto-nii." His tone turned serious, "You always bury yourself in work when you're going through something and now isn't any different. It's not good to bottle things up."

I rubbed the back of my neck, "Arigato Konohamaru, but I'm fine, hontōni."

"You can always—"

An incoming call cut him off and I answered it with Bluetooth, "Hello?"

"Hello, Naruto-kun?" Hinata's quiet voice floated into the car, "Are you free to talk?"

"Yeah, it was a slow day today so I…" I trailed off as I realized I was offering details that hadn't been asked for, "Aa, I'm free."

Hinata spared me the embarrassment of dwelling on my previous ramblings, "Um, Ino invited us to Sakura's birthday party. She's gonna be having at her house tonight."

"Do you…want to go?" I figured after a momentary pause, "I'll stay away if that's—"

"No, no!" Hinata interrupted and I shut my mouth, "I mean, she invited the two of us and it'd be weird if either of us went alone so…"

"You want us to go together." I finished up for her, now understanding what she had been trying to say, "Uh, I don't know, there's a lot of stuff I have to do, ya know."

Konohamaru nudged me as the lie left my mouth, but I kept my eyes on the road and paid him no mind.

"Please." Hinata begged, "I know we'll have to tell everyone about us eventually but for now, we can at least do this much together, ne?"

The waver of her voice towards the end was a stab to my heart, and I caved, "Yeah, we can. What time did she say we have to be there?"

"5 o'clock but knowing Ino, things will probably start at 6."

I waved for the pedestrian to cross before continuing down the road, "Alright so I'll swing by the house around 5:30 and we can go together, ya know. If that's okay with you."

"That's fine." She was silent for a moment before speaking again, "Naruto-kun?"

As she called my name, her tone was tender and her voice significantly quieter than it had been the entire conversation. I was immediately put on alert at the change, and I felt myself tense up.

"Yeah?"

She went silent for a moment, and I swallowed hard as I wondered what she was going to say next, but she changed her mind.

"…I'll tell you in person. See you." She quickly said before hanging up.

Before I could begin to worry about what she had to say, Konohamaru interrogated me.

"Okay Naruto-nii, what was that about having a lot of stuff to do?" He punched my shoulder, an annoyed look on his face, "I know you're getting divorced and all, but you don't have to lie to her!"

I glanced at him before the light turned green, "You don't get it. Hinata and I are over, and the sooner we get used to it, the better things'll be in the long run, ya know."

"Still," His face was stern as he voiced his disapproval, "Lying to her is a bit—"

I cut him off with a sigh, "Ora, the site's up ahead. Let's focus on checking it out, ne?"

"…Sure." He begrudgingly agreed as I parked the car by a fire hydrant.

While normal civilians risked being heavily fined or having their car towed for such an action, a shiny yellow sticker on my front windshield let anyone walking by know that I was a member of the Konoha Fire Department.

Wiping my nose as I got out of the car, I looked up at the burnt building before me. What was once a liquor store had been reduced to charred brick, planks, and ashes. Preliminary searches had failed to discover the cause of the fire and while I was thankful there hadn't been many people inside when the store flared up, not knowing how it burst into flames was troubling.

Crime was already running rampant in the city; the last thing the people needed to worry about was whether they building they were in was at the risk of randomly combusting.

As we entered the rubbed, Konohamaru muttered, "Something's off about this, about all these recent fires…"

I mentally echoed his sentiments. The outer walls were still standing since the building had failed to completely burn, yet most of the flammable substances such as the paint and floorboards had been eaten up.

"Watch your step." I warned him as a part of the floor I had stepped on fell in, "I'll go upstairs, you stay down here."

"Will do, Cap'n." Konohamaru jokingly saluted me, and I rolled my eyes before climbing the broken stairs.

I ran my hand along the wall before rubbing my fingers together and found them to be covered in ash. Touching the other walls, I got the same results, but only became more puzzled.

"This doesn't make any sense." I murmured to myself as I looked at the floor, "Where was the fire?"

For there to be ash, the walls had to be facing the oncoming flame. Yet the floor didn't look as if it had hosted the flame, and instead showed signs of also being a victim to it.

A creaking of the floorboards broke my train of thought, and I turned to the sound's origin: a room in the back. There was no doubt in my mind that this building had been set ablaze by an arsonist, and since it wasn't uncommon for criminals to revisit the scene, I quietly inched towards the room, ready to grapple whoever I found.

I resolved myself as I crept into the room but found myself faltering as I saw a young man pushing against a sizeable wooden crate and trying to get under it.

"It'll be right there, he said. Right there, my ass." He cursed under his breath as he straightened up and sighed, "Why the hell would he tell them to put it here of all places?"

"Kid," I placed a hand on his shoulder, "Don't you know this place is off limits?"

He jumped and hastily shook my hand off him before turning around. That's when I got another surprise; this young man was Ino's son, Inojin.

"Inojin?" I questioned in shock, "What are you doing here?"

His lime green eyes widened, and he shoved me backwards before dashing out of the room. Blinking, I stagged before recovering my balance and running after him.

"Matte!" I called as I raced out of the room, but he was already flying down the stairs, "I said wait, ya know!"

"Naruto-nii, who're you—what the hell?!" Konohamaru yelled and I met him at the bottom, "Somebody just ran past me!"

"Aa, I'm on him!" I answered as I went outside.

Once I was back on the street, I looked left and right but found no sign of him. People continued walking down the street at their own pace, looking relatively undisturbed, and it seemed as if he'd just disappeared into thin air.

'Damn.' I thought to myself as I re-entered the building, "I lost him."

"Gomen." Konohamaru apologized, "I should've grabbed him, but I wasn't really paying attention."

"No, it's not your fault." I assured him as I climbed the stairs, "Besides, I…I know the kid."

He followed me, "Really? How?"

I went to the backroom and looked at the crate Inojin had been trying to move, "He's a friend of Boruto's. Give me a hand with this, will you?"

"Sure thing." Konohamaru nodded and took his position beside me.

As the two of us pushed against the crate, I realized that there was no way Inojin would've been able to move it by himself. Even with the two us able-bodied men trying our hardest, the crate was barely budging.

Finally, after a few minutes of pushing and shoving, the crate shifted just enough to give us access to an obvious hole under it. I reached into my back pocket and brought out my flashlight before clipping it to my shirt pocket. When I switched it on and aimed it at the hole, Konohamaru gasped.

"Whoa."

"Yeah." I agreed as I stepped aside for him, "Think you can reach in there?"

Konohamaru got on his knees and slipped his hand into the narrow space. When he brought it back up, he held a rectangular package wrapped in plastic. As he got to his feet and brought the package closer to me, I realized with a sinking stomach what we were looking at.

"Buddha be merciful." I murmured as I took the package from him, lifting it closer to my eyes and confirming that a white crystal/powder-like substance was what was being wrapped in, "We've gotta go to the police."

"Is that…?" Konohamaru trailed off as he considered his words, "I mean, are we looking at…?"

"Drugs." I nodded my head, "Might be coke, but we won't know for sure until they run some tests."

"Oh shit." Konohamaru cursed, "What the hell is going on in this city? You can't walk down Shinobi Square without getting mugged, people are running around burning things up, and now drugs are making a comeback?"

I shook my head as I tugged on the box, "Not if I can help it. Help me move this back."

Somehow, moving the crate back into place proved faster than trying to dislodge it, and within seconds it was back to its original position. I clapped my hands free of the ash that had covered the box before heading out of the room and down the stairs.

Konohamaru followed closely behind me and was abnormally silent as we got in the car. I set the package down in the backseat before buckling up and starting the car, and Konohamaru did the same. We pulled out onto the road, and I glanced at him before coming to a stop at the next light.

"So, what's on your mind?" I broke the silence with a question, taking the chance to turn to him.

He scratched his head and sighed heavily, "Just wondering if there's a way, I can fix this whole Hanabi situation. She told me she doesn't care but…"

"She does." I finished for him, turning my eyes back to the road as the light turned green, "The best thing you can do is be there for her, ya know. Give her your support, your attention…make sure she knows she's loved. Pregnancy isn't cut and dry, and with her dad stressing her out she's gonna need you now more than ever."

"Mm." He quickly nodded, and by the look on his face, I could tell that he was eager for more advice.

"Have you two…?" I trailed off as I tried to find the right words, "Are you two living together or are you still on your own?"

"Well, I wanted her to move in with me, but she said that since she's only seven weeks along she can still be on her own." He rubbed the back of his neck, "I didn't wanna argue with her since they say stress is bad for pregnant women."

"They?" I raised an eyebrow at Konohamaru's use of the anonymous pronoun.

His cheeks reddened as he turned to the window, "I…may have borrowed some pregnancy books from the library."

"Hmph!" I nudged his arm with my elbow, "Little bro's all grown up now, ya know!"

Konohamaru laughed as he shook his head, "Don't have much of a choice now."

"Don't worry, you're gonna be a great dad." I assured him, clapping a hand on his shoulder, "And since you're sure that Hanabi's the one, your life's only gonna get better. It's like…you have a new light, ya know. You'll understand what I'm saying when you're holding your kid in your arms."

Konohamaru nodded casually, biting back a smile, "I can't wait."

|Sasuke|

"Wait, say that again?" I asked Sasori to repeat himself, and Deidara laughed.

Sasori shot him a look before scratching his head, "Sakura-san's celebratin' her birthday today and the boss told me it would be a chance to check the family out, y'know, keep Sarada on her toes."

"Maybe score some panties." Hidan snickered as he bumped his fist with Deidara's.

Sasori groaned, "How many times do I gotta tell ya? It ain't like that with her!"

Kakuzu chuckled as he set down a plus four card, "If there's nothing between you two, then my name isn't Kakuzu."

The mess hall had long since been freed from its usual horde once breakfast ended, but with nothing to do, the five of us decided to hang around and play a friendly game of Uno.

To say things were slow was an understatement. Other the bank robbery of last week, none of us had received any orders or assignments. Orochimaru and Kisame had gone to get Gekkō's apprentice Ryōgi out of prison, but besides that nothing notable had happened. And with the authorities having been alerted of Tentō's disappearance, now you couldn't go anywhere in or around the city without seeing a poster or a billboard with his image and details about him.

"That's that Madoka money going to work." Kakuzu quipped when we first saw a picture, "If we're not careful, they'll be breathing down our necks in no time."

During our time in quarantine, I'd learned of how they'd found the boy and cringed at their methods. What with Hidan being so reckless in public, there were at least fifteen people that could point him out if he ever popped up again, not including Sarada. That was why Sasori, Hidan, and Kakuzu had been given specific orders not to step out for anything trivial.

"Toshiaki, your turn." Hidan brought me out of my thoughts, and I tossed in a red two, "What're you thinking about, *Fuku-Taicho?"

I put on a light smile, "I'm just wondering what the boss is thinking. Sure, going to the birthday party to scope out the scene is a good idea, but there's the risk of someone recognizing you. Wouldn't it be better to send her a card or visit her once the boy's been returned?"

"Ah, come on, Toshiaki-san." Sasori waved his hand, "Boss knows all that, but I ain't like these impulsive idiots; I'll be careful, promise."

"…Okay." I reluctantly conceded.

"Now as payment you gotta tell us everything that happens." Hidan chuckled as he set down a yellow seven, "And don't be boring. I expect to hear about a kiss, at least."

Deidara laughed, "How's he supposed to get a kiss when she's married?"

"I don't know, pull her into aside and sneak one or something." Hidan rolled her eyes, "She invited him to lunch and her birthday? She's basically begging for it."

I shook my head, "You two are horrible."

"Gomen, Toshiaki-san." Deidara nudged me gently as he apologized, "We're trying to live through him, hm. You're married so you get more than enough action but for us bachelors, stuff like this is a godsend."

"Horny pieces of shit." Sasori spat, although he was grinning, "Ain't nothin' happenin' with her. And if somethin' does happen, I ain't tellin' ya jack."

At this, the other three protested, and I gave Kakuzu a look.

"You too?"

Kakuzu shrugged, "It's mainly out of curiosity. You don't know because you haven't been with us that long, but Scorpion has a reputation for this kind of thing."

"The Sandy Seductor." Deidara joked, although he nodded his head in agreement, "Sasori will have a girl pining for him in a matter of days. This Sakura must really be holding out if it's been a month and he still hasn't fucked her."

Sasori covered his face with his hands, "Oh, Kami…"

"Come on, you know you want to." Hidan bumped his shoulder into Sasori's, "Just imagine her, face down, ass up…moaning your name while you—"

"Uno out." I stood up and tossed down my final card, seriously trying to flush out the troublesome imagery that my mind had conjured up because of his words, "When's the party?"

"5 o'clock, but I'll leave around then and get there after things start." Sasori answered, clearly as eager as me to change the subject.

Deidara looked up at me, "Where are you going?"

"Back to bed, let me know how it goes." I waved a hand over my shoulder as while walking away.

"We probably got him worked up." I heard Hidan say as I left the mess hall, "I feel bad for Misaki-san…"

As I reached the elevator, I couldn't help but wonder if I was pacing the mission too slowly. We had been with the Akatsuki for roughly a month, and while this was supposed to be a six-month operation, but it was becoming increasingly clear to me that the longer this spanned, the worse things might become.

Although we'd come at a time when they'd been particularly active, it didn't change the fact that this organization had formed decades ago and was still running. Seeing as how it was so easy for them to plan out robberies and kidnappings, I was sure that they had committed even more heinous acts that I would soon learn of.

The more I considered my position, the more I began to doubt myself. In fact, I was starting to feel like The Six had overestimated my abilities. And then there was the matter with Karin. After telling me her story, I had been unable to offer any sort of comfort or support in the following moments. She had spilled her heart out to me, and I had stood there dumbfounded.

'Pathetic.' I chided myself, 'What the hell are you even good for?'

She had signed up to be my partner and with that came an expectation, an unwritten guarantee of having to someone to watch her back. Yet I had failed her, allowing her to go into unknown territory and be retraumatized.

Before I could continue to devalue myself, the elevator doors opened and out stepped Suigetsu and Jūgo, happily chatting away. When they noticed me, their conversation came to a halt, and they nodded respectfully. I returned the gesture before getting on the elevator and pressing the second floor.

Just as the doors were about to close, a brown hand got in-between and forced the doors open.

"Gomen." Kisame apologized as he stepped in beside me, "But this thing takes forever, and I can't stand waiting."

"It's fine." I said as I pressed the Close Door button.

We stood in silence as the elevator slowly moved up.

"So, those two were pretty happy for guys who got some toes cut off." Kisame grinned, "Though, it would've been worse if you hadn't stepped up, ne?"

I thought back to a few days ago when the Gedō had been assembled to decide their punishment, recalling Karin's face, silently urging me to speak out once Hidan had suggested his penalty, "Taking a hand would've been overboard. And I'm…thankful for them. For what they did."

"I hope Mi-chan's doing okay, seriously." Kisame's condolences sounded genuine as he understood my reference, "I like you, T-chan; there's not a lot of people that can convince the boss on the spot like that. I hope we can get along."

He extended his hand, and I shook it, although I couldn't help but feel my eyebrow twitch at the nicknames he had given Karin and I, "Aa, I hope so too."

The elevator dinged as it arrived on the second floor, and I stepped out before looking back at Kisame.

He laughed, "Gotta talk to the boss about something, but I'll see you around, ne?"

"Yep." I nodded as the elevator doors closed.

Once I heard the whirr of the elevator, I went to our room and quickly shut the door behind me. Once I saw that Karin wasn't in bed, I cracked open the bathroom door to confirm she wasn't in the room. She had been sound asleep when I'd gotten up this morning, but a glance at my watch told me that the time was now 1 p.m.

Shutting the bathroom door, I gave one last sweep across the room to make sure I hadn't missed a note or something that might've indicated where she had gone. When I didn't see anything, I plopped down on the couch and sighed.

It wasn't as though things between us had been patched up just because she'd told me her story. If anything, I felt as though she was distancing herself even more than before. Whether she was doing it because she had shared a part of herself that I assumed no one else had ever heard of, or because she was adamant about her views on killing, I couldn't say. All I knew was that she wasn't being passive aggressive towards me and had agreed to continue sharing the bed.

I groaned as I leaned back, "You idiot…why couldn't you have said something? At least an 'I'm sorry that happened!' Kami, you're so…"

Stretching out on the couch, I trailed off from my self-admonishment and pushed my obvious shortcomings with Karin aside. My thoughts went to Sasori and Sakura's dynamic, as I wondered how the two could have possibly bumped into each other and formed a relationship beyond that of acquaintances. Sakura had to have seriously clicked with him if he was being invited to her birthday party, and something about that agitated me.

Although tasteless and relatively unfounded, Kakuzu and Hidan's jokes were forcing me to consider things that might not be there. After all, Sasori was insistent that he and Sakura's relationship was nothing more than platonic, but was that really the case? The more time I had to myself, the more I reflected and realized that I had been nowhere near the best husband for Sakura. Could she really be stepping out on me?

"…I deserve it." I muttered to myself as I stared up at the ceiling, "I can't protect her, can't give her what she wants…it would make sense for her to find someone else."

Although I was trying to be levelheaded and accepting of the possibility that Sakura might be seeing someone else, the thought pained my heart.

'Please, Kami.' I prayed as I shut my eyes, 'Please don't let her give up on us. Don't let her give up on me.'

*Fuku Taicho means Lieutenant

|Karin|

'I hope I didn't put too much sugar.' I thought to myself as I left the kitchen area with two mugs of coffee in hand.

Konan had tasked me with making her a hot brew of the caffeinated drink, and I had taken my time in replicating her techniques from what I could remember. But maybe I had taken a bit too much time, which the silence in the hallway seemed to suggest.

I found myself picking up the pace, and practically running to the room with the two steaming mugs in hand; something felt off, terribly off. And as I entered the room, the sight I met allowed me to understand what Jun and Michiko must've felt when they found me.

Konan had strung herself up by the chain attached to her neck cuff and was limply hanging from the ceiling. Her face was just showing signs of turning blue, and she didn't seem to be the least bit conscious as she slightly swayed in the air.

Immediately, I went to her side and lifted her legs up to prevent any more pressure from being applied to her neck before yelling for Kisame. He wasted no time in answering his name and shortly appeared in the doorway. Once he saw us, he reached into his pocket for a copper key and promptly unlocked the lock around her neck.

At this, Konan fell forward, but I steadied myself long enough for Kisame to catch her. I slipped her legs off my shoulders and Kisame carried her back to the bed, and I checked her neck for a pulse.

"She's not breathing." I told him as I opened her mouth and tilted her head back, "Do you know how to do CPR?"

"That's the chest press thing, right?" Kisame shook his head, "I've seen it in movies, but I wouldn't—"

"I'll do it then, and I'm going to count out loud after every press." I placed both of my hands in the middle of her chest and looked at him, "After every 15 presses, you're going to pinch her nose, put your mouth on hers and blow — hard."

He quickly nodded to show his understanding and I began the chest compressions. Once I hit fifteen, I stopped to glance at him and found him already in position. Although I internally cringed at the sight of his lips on hers, I figured there were other things to worry about than whether we had her consent.

I watched as her chest rose due to him supplying her air and went back to doing CPR. After about 90 compressions, I stopped Kisame as lowered again to offer her more air.

"What?" He asked as he joined me in looking down at Konan.

I kept my eyes trained on her chest, on the lookout for the slightest movement, "I thought I saw—"

Her chest lightly rising and falling cut me off, and I clapped my hands before turning to Kisame with a relieved smile, "She's alive. Blessed Buddha, she's alive."

I turned back to Konan and lightly tapped her face, hoping to stir her into consciousness.

"Joō-sama." I softly called her by her title before recalling that she might not have much attachment to the title, "Konan."

With a soft groan, her eyes fluttered open, and she looked from me to Kisame. Then, although I wasn't surprised, tears welled up in her eyes.

"No, no, no…" She murmured as she turned on her side and faced away from us, "Why couldn't you just let me die?"

Kisame remained silent as he stepped away from her and shared a look with me before leaving the room. I took the change to place my hand on her back and attempt to coax her into talking.

"Joō-sama," I called her gently, hoping to reason with her understandably delicate mood, "Think of all the things you'd miss out on if you were dead. You're alive for a reason, and—"

"No, I'm not." She feebly interrupted me, "I'm only alive because of a mistake. That day, it should've been me, not Yahiko. I should've…"

She choked on a sob and curled further into herself, and I fought off the urge to throw myself over her and hug her.

'Patience.' I reminded myself, instead opting to rub small circles on her back, 'You had Michi and Jun by your side when you woke up. The only person that can fit that role for her is—'

"Where is she?" Pain's sharp voice questioned from down the hall, accompanied by his footsteps as he neared the room.

"Here!" I called, and I found myself jumping up at the fury clearly discernable in his tone.

Pain entered the room with Kisame in tow and stomped over to the bed before grabbing Konan's arm and yanking her upright. She cried out at the undoubtedly painful act, and I opened my mouth to speak against it when I felt Kisame tug on my own arm. He shook his head before pulling me further away from them, and I watched helplessly as Pain manhandled her.

"Nothing I do is enough for you, is it?!" Pain roared as he held her by her collar, "I let you sleep with other men! I consider you in each and every one of my plans! Everything I'm doing is for you, so what do you want, Konan?!"

Konan grabbed at his hand weakly and sobbed instead of answering him.

"Why do you insist on making things difficult for me, hm?" He patted her cheek roughly, "We're almost there, so can't you pull yourself together for five more months? Why are you being like this? Tell me!"

She flinched as he suddenly raised his voice and turned her head away from him. That clearly angered him, because he immediately wrapped his hand around her neck before forcing her to look back at him, and I couldn't hold my tongue any longer.

"Oyabun, please." I begged him as I stepped forward, "She—the neck area is a bit…"

When Pain's violent eyes met my own, I was reminded of that fear I'd had for Zōsui as a kid. His orbs threatened to bore holes right through me, but a glance at the defeated-looking Konan beside him gave me the strength to stand my ground.

"Please." I repeated, holding my hands out, "Just…be gentle with her, that's all I'm asking."

The rage behind his eyes began to die out as he released his grip on Konan's neck and returned his focus to her.

"You hear that, Konan?" Pain asked her, anger still present in his voice, "She wants me to be gentle with you. Is that what you want?"

By now, Konan's sobs had been reduced to incessant sniffles, and while I wouldn't say that she was no longer upset, I would be correct in assuming that she would now be able to speak coherently. With a miserable expression on her face, Konan looked up at him and spoke.

"I want…to die." She answered faintly, and I held my breath in preparation for Pain's explosive response.

Instead, when I looked at him, I saw his face flash with dismay before quickly correcting to resolve.

"You want to die." He repeated as he sat down beside her on the bed, brushing her hair back with a hand, "If that's the case, I'll help you die as many times as you like."

Before I could think of responding to the threat, Pain snapped his fingers, "Kisame."

"Boss." Kisame nodded and grabbed my hand before dragging me out of the room.

Kisame shut the door behind us and continued to lead me away until we were in the kitchen. I didn't have to shake my hand free, as he immediately dropped it once we were there, and I quickly confronted him about Pain's statement.

"He wouldn't really kill her, would he?"

Kisame shook his head, "Konan's been with him forever; I've been with the boss a long time but if there's one thing I learned, it's that no matter what he says or does, Konan is the only person he truly cares about."

"Then why does he…?" Kisame shrugged his shoulders.

"You're the married one," Kisame pointed out, "Haven't you had disagreements with T-chan? You still love him, don't you?"

"Disagreements a-are one thing." I stuttered as I heard a faint bump against the wall, "But the way he grabs her…he's basically abusing her. And he doesn't even hesitate."

Kisame kept quiet for a moment before asking me a question, "T-chan's never put his hands on you?"

I faltered for a bit as I recalled the night, I'd come back from Shojoji's, "Not like that. Not like how Pain grabs Konan."

"But he has put his hands on you." Kisame's eyes shined as he turned his entire body to face me, "Right?"

"It—It wasn't on purpose, and he wasn't trying to hurt me. I just—" I cut myself off as I realized what he was trying to do.

Kisame shook his head, "I'm not judging your relationship or asking you to explain, I'm just trying to show you why you shouldn't judge theirs. You and I both know that from an outsider's point of view, what you're saying sounds like excuses for an abuser, but you wouldn't call T-chan abusive, right? That's the same logic I use with the boss. Nobody can know the truth about their relationship but them."

I bit my lip as I considered his words. While they sounded compelling and sensible, this was one of those moments where I chose to put my feelings over facts and rationale.

"Someone once said if it looks like shit and smells like shit, you don't have to taste it to know that it's shit." I countered, disagreeing with Kisame, "It doesn't matter how long they've been together, if he truly cares about her, he wouldn't hurt her in any way."

Silence spread between us, and Kisame leaned against the wall, letting me know that he wouldn't be replying any time soon. With our conversation officially over, I took a seat at the kitchen table and crossed my arms. My mind drifted to the Gedō meeting on Friday and how Sasuke had handled it.

"Hōzuki Suigetsu. Jūgo. Come forward." Pain raised a hand.

The two of them stepped into the room stone faced, and I could've sworn Suigetsu's eyes met mine, but he must have looked at me for only a second because when I blinked his eyes were back to staring straight ahead.

"On Sunday, March 6th, the two of you were tasked with speaking to the leader of the Mujina Bandits and securing his cooperation with an integral part of our plans." Pain's tone was unbiased and business-like, "You reported that you had succeeded in your negotiations, yet eight days later on March 14th, when three of your superiors went to collect what was supposed to have been acquired for us, it was discovered that you had in fact gravely injured the leader of the Mujina Bandits, correct?"

Suigetsu nodded, "Yes, sir."

Pain folded his hands, "I trust the decision to mutilate a potential colleague wasn't made lightly. The floor is yours to explain yourselves. Should your explanation prove acceptable, you have my word that no harm will befall you."

"But…" Pain continued, "If your explanation is sub-par, prepare to suffer the consequences for making a choice that could've led to the destruction of everything we've been working toward."

As Pain finished up, everyone focused on the two of them, and I found myself looking at the floor. This was it. Sure, the Gedō might have had their suspicions about what could've caused them to act out, but with this explanation, everything would be out in the open and I would soon become the receiver of pitying stares and commiserative apologies.

I looked up when I had yet to hear Suigetsu start speaking, and this time there was no mistaking it: he was staring right at me. Once my eyes met his, his lips showed the signs of a faintest smile, and he turned back to Pain before getting on his knees. Jūgo followed suit and the two bowed to Pain.

"Boss, no…" Suigetsu began before shaking his head, "Oyabun, like you said, we wouldn't do something so serious on a whim. However, due to the circumstances surrounding the situation, we can't give you an explanation as to why we did it."

The room was silent except for the tick of a clock on the wall, and Pain leaned forward.

"So you're telling me that you have a good reason for doing it, but you won't tell me that reason."

"Correct." Suigetsu kept his eyes on the ground.

"…Is this a joke or what?" Pain questioned, his eyes narrowing and remaining on Suigetsu.

Suigetsu shook his head again before lifting his eyes to Pain, "Not at all. We are prepared to accept any punishment you've chosen for us."

Pain rubbed his chin before turning to Hidan, "You've heard them. Do it."

"With pleasure." Hidan grinned before reaching under the table and bringing out a sheathed katana, "Arms out boys."

My eyes widened as I learned of their punishment, and I glanced at Sasuke, hoping he would be looking my way. The severity of their sentence also surprised him because he too was looking at me. I silently pleaded for him to intervene, and he shut his eyes.

I wondered with shock whether this was the same man who I had confided in last week, but before I could lose all faith in him, he spoke up.

"I think this punishment is a little too harsh." Sasuke turned in his chair and sought out Pain's attention.

"How so?" Pain immediately responded, "Their actions could've ruined us all."

"They could've, but they didn't." Sasuke answered, and a few of the Gedō member's lips curved into a smile, "Trust me, Oyabun, I understand the gravity of their actions, but I tend to look on the present bright sides rather than dwell on the possible dark sides. I don't think they need to lose an entire arm when they're clearly aware of the drawbacks to their conduct."

"But they can't just get off with nothing." Hidan cut in, not wanting to let the chance to maim someone slip through his fingers, "If an arm's too much, how about a hand? Or a finger?"

Sasuke clicked his tongue and shook his head, "Those are essential body parts that they'll need if they're gonna be useful to us. Why not cut off a few toes?"

"Toes?!" Hidan groaned, "Forget it, I don't want to slice them anymore."

At this, chuckles escaped most of the people seated at the table, and I caught Suigetsu smirking. Pain knocked his fist on the table to quiet the room before turning to Sasuke.

"Alright Toshiaki, you've convinced me." Pain waved his hand, "But seeing as how Hidan has forfeited his role as executioner, you'll have to take up the sword."

The playful mood that had swept up the room quickly dissipated as Pain's words set in. However, without any hesitation, Sasuke stood up, took the katana from Hidan and removed it from its sheath as he neared Suigetsu and Jūgo.

"Don't choose your most reliable foot." Sasuke warned them, and I couldn't get over how devoid of hesitancy his voice was.

It was as if this was all in a day's job for him.

Suigetsu and Jūgo removed their respective shoes and lifted their legs onto a stool that Orochimaru had shoved their way. Sasuke held the katana with two hands before lifting the blade above his head, and I shut my eyes as he brought it down.

I was grateful that their lives had been spared, but again Sasuke had shown another side of himself that I couldn't get over. This was the same man that had been begging for me to open up to him, yet he had no qualms about harming others.

With a sigh, I rested my head on the table and considered what I would say to Sasuke the next time we had a chance to talk. There were some obvious things that would need to be resolved if we were going to work together.

|3rd Person|

TW: Drug Use

"They said it's gonna be on the kitchen counter." Kū handed the housekey to Inojin before nodding his chin at the dilapidated blue house across the street, "You know what to do."

Inojin nodded before taking the key and stepping out of the car, "Aa."

"Don't screw this up like you did the other one." Kū warned him and Inojin quickly turned around.

"That wasn't my fault." Inojin quickly responded, "You told me it would be right there, and it was—"

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." Kū threw his hands up, chuckling, "Relax."

With a scowl, Inojin slammed the car door shut before looking both ways and promptly crossing the street. He climbed up the steps and pulled on disposable gloves before inserting the key into the lock and slowly pushing the door open.

When Inojin entered the house, he noticed it was unnaturally quiet, even missing the subtle hum of an internal heating unit. Rather than dwell on the eeriness of the house, he continued into the house, past the living room and to the kitchen.

Sure enough, the brick was sitting on the counter like Kū said it would be. Inojin grabbed the brick and was ready to leave when a thought came to mind. He set the brick back down before heading over to the knife block and selecting a peeling knife.

Inojin brought it over to the brick and searched for a loose area in the packing. He settled on a small corner and lifted the knife to it, making a small incision that would allow for little bits of powder to fall out if the brick was shaken.

"Shit." Inojin suddenly snapped his fingers, setting both the brick and the knife back down before heading towards the stairs.

He climbed the stairs to the second floor and opened multiple doors until he finally found the bathroom. Wasting no time, he quickly entered the bathroom and opened the mirror cabinet to search for something. When it wasn't there, he yanked open the drawers and turned them upside down.

"You're kidding." Inojin murmured to himself as he stooped down to open the under-sink cabinet, "This house is a pickup spot, and it doesn't have a single—there we go."

Standing up, Inojin brought out a syringe complete with a needle. He glanced back at the area he had dug it out from and ran the syringe under hot water, making sure to thoroughly clean its inside as well as the needle.

He lifted it back up to his eye to inspect and shrugged when he didn't see anything out of place, "Good enough."

Inojin went back downstairs with the syringe in hand and opened a kitchen drawer in search of a spoon. The utensils were in the first drawer he checked, saving him the time of having to ransack the place. With the syringe in between his teeth, he brought the spoon back over to the counter and tapped the cut corner onto it, watching as flecks of powder fell onto it.

Tapping with more strength, the powder went from flecks to trickles, and soon the spoon had a substantial amount. Inojin set the brick back down and carefully carried the spoon over to the stove before clicking his tongue — it was electric. Grumbling to himself, he searched around for a lighter and settled on the red kitchen lighter he found in the cabinet above the stove.

"Come on, come on…" Inojin muttered to himself as he continued to pull the trigger.

At last, the flame stayed lit and Inojin held the spoon over it with a slightly shaky hand. The powder soon began to melt to a sticky consistency, but Inojin kept the flame on. It wasn't until the substance began to bubble that he set the kitchen lighter down and took the syringe from his mouth.

With careful concentration, Inojin lowered the needle into the silvery liquid substance and drew the plunger back until the barrel was full. He tossed the spoon into the sink and set the hot water to run on it before rolling up his left sleeve and curling his left hand into a fist. His eyes scanned his arm for a potential vein, and once one popped out, he lowered the needle to his skin and punctured the blood vessel.

As he pushed the plunger down and expelled the elixir into his blood stream, he uncurled his fist. A soft sigh escaped him as within seconds euphoria spread up his arm, through his body and swirled around his brain.

Those little samples that Kū gave him had barely stimulated him, but this…this what he had been searching for.

Inojin felt as light as a feather and was willing to bet that if he jumped from the roof of the tallest building in Konoha, he'd float down without any problems. The sound of a car horn cut into his elation, and he quickly snatched the needle out of his arm before unrolling his sleeve. He shut off the running sink and set the spoon dish rack before quickly rinsing the knife and returning it to the knife block.

He restored the kitchen lighter back to its rightful place and quickly swept the counter with his hand in case any traces of the powder that remained. Once he looked around and found everything to be back in its place, he grabbed the brick off the counter and made for the door. As he passed the living room, he chucked the syringe behind the couch.

Inojin shut the house door behind him and made sure it was lock before descending the front steps and crossing the street back to the car.

"Kami in Heaven." Kū commented as Inojin got in the car, "You take a shit in there or what?"

Inojin shook his head and fought off the smile that threatened to come to his face, instead replacing it with a frown, "They're never where they're supposed to be. Guess where I found it?"

"Where?" Kū asked, taking the brick from him, and setting it under his chair.

"The basement." Inojin lied through his teeth.

"No shit?" Kū shook his head, "I'm gonna have a word with these motherfuckers if they keep—"

"Excuse me?" A woman tapped on Kū's window, "What are you doing here?"

A loose smile came to Inojin's face and thankfully it didn't look off as Kū also put on a warm smile as he lowered the window and reached into his back pocket for a badge, "Official business, ma'am. We're actually in the middle of an operation so if you could move on…"

She put a hand to her mouth, "Oh, gomennasai! What with all the crime recently, I wasn't sure if…gomen."

Kū nodded, giving her a toothy smile, "It's understandable but just be safe. Had I been a criminal I could've shot you and turned you into another news report."

"Oh, Kami!" She exclaimed, quickly nodding her head, "You're right. Have a nice day officer!"

"…Bitch." Kū spat as he rolled his window back up, "Mind your fucking business."

At this, Inojin couldn't help but laugh and Kū looked at him curiously, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, I just…nothing." Inojin shook his head and clasped a hand over his mouth, failing to suppress his bubbly giggles.

Rather than be suspicious of Inojin's sudden happiness, Kū started the car and pulled out onto the road.

"You must be in a good mood to be laughing like that." Kū found himself laughing along with Inojin, his chuckles infectious.

"Aa." Inojin agreed, reclining his seat and shutting his eyes, "You could say that. Hey, that badge you used to trick that lady, where'd you get it from?"

"We're…borrowing it from Officer Uchiha. Courtesy of Kirara." Kū watched Inojin's face intently as he revealed they had stolen from Sarada's home, but when Inojin showed no reaction, Kū questioned him, "You alright with that?"

"It's not like you stole from Sarada." Inojin answered, his eyes remaining shut, "As long as she's okay…"

Ruffling his hair, Kū turned forward and grinned, "Of course, we'd never hurt her. And speaking of Sarada, her mom's birthday party's in an hour, right? Let's get you home in time for that."

Inojin simply nodded as he drifted off into a blissful slumber.

|Sakura|

"Ino, maybe we should call the whole thing off." I admitted to her, and she stopped in her tracks.

"What? No, no way! I didn't spend two hours decorating this place just so you could cancel! Besides, it's 5:15, everyone should be arriving in the next couple of minutes."

I groaned as I realized it was too late to back out of the celebration, "Why did you set this up? I told you I didn't want a party."

Ino rolled her eyes, "It not about what you wanted, it's about what you needed. You've been down in the dumps since Sasuke left and letting your birthday quietly pass by would've only made things worse."

"Says who?" I raised an eyebrow at her assumption, although it wasn't exactly off the mark.

"Sakura, come on!" Ino grabbed my hands and spun me around, "You deserve this! Promise me you'll actually try to enjoy this."

I sighed, "Ino…"

"Please?" She cut me off and dramatically batted her eyelashes, "Pretty please?"

"I promise, but—"

The doorbell rang and she released me before skipping to answer it. I found myself patting my hair down and trying to look presentable and made a mental note to never celebrate my birthday again.

"Um, Sakura? There's—" Ino came to an abrupt halt, as if she had been shushed too late, and she proceeded to speak after a pause, "There's…someone here to see you."

I wondered who could've been at the door for her to sound so stunned, and for a second, my heart raced at the thought of Sasuke coming back to surprise me. But again, I recalled what I had learned from Taiko and flushed the image out of my mind.

'Sasuke's with his mistress.' I reminded myself, 'Of course he wouldn't have time for you.'

However, before I could fall down the rabbit hole of self-loathing, the doorway held someone I never would've guessed, and my mouth fell open.

"Ka-san? What are you doing here?"

"I can't come and wish my daughter a happy birthday?" Mom offered a weak smile before turning to Ino, "May I come in?"

"Of course, of course." Ino quickly stepped aside and shut the door behind her, "I'll be in the kitchen so you two can…yeah."

I tried to get Ino to look at me so I could telepathically tell her to stay, but she purposefully stared at the ground as she brushed past me, and the two of us were left alone.

"It's been some time since we last saw each other." Mom tried to start a conversation.

I nodded my head as I led her further into the house, "…Two years. How have you been?"

"If anything, I should be asking you that." Mom touched my arm softly, "How are you, Sakura?"

I had been asked this question by everybody under the sun and yet it was only in my mother's presence that my walls came crumbling down. Before I knew it, I was in tears. She didn't say anything, simply taking my hand and leading us to the couch. Once we were seated, she wrapped her arms around me and tucked my head under her chin as she rubbed my back.

My tears eventually came to a slow and as I sniffled, she pulled back and lifted my head up so that I was looking at her, "Well, I have a pretty good idea, but I'm gonna need words to fill in the details."

With a nod, I wiped my eyes and told her everything, from Sasuke taking an extended "shift" to Sarada's unreasonable behavior. The only thing I withheld from her was my affair with Naruto. I could tell my mother many things; that I had cheated on my husband was not one of them.

"Hm, so Sarada's already at that age?" Mom questioned as she released me and leaned back into the couch, "Staying out with boys all-night, now why does that sound familiar?"

I gave her a look as I wiped my eyes again, "I never gave you a hard time."

"Oh really?" She raised an eyebrow, "Do you know how hard it was going to sleep at night knowing you weren't in the house? I used to think to myself, 'What can I do? She has to come home eventually.' And don't even get me started on your father…"

At the mention of Dad, she trailed off and I shook my head as I recalled his lectures, "He talked my ear off every time, but I never listened. If he were still here, I bet he'd be so disappointed."

"Oh, Sakura." Mom touched my hand, "That's not true. Your dad loved you beyond words. I think that's why he—I mean, he just wanted you to be happy. That's all a parent wants for their child."

Her abrupt subject change didn't escape my notice and I turned to her with a raised eyebrow, "That's why he what?"

"I…I didn't mean to tell you, but…" She waved her hands, "Another time. Not on your birthday."

"No." I denied her the chance of pushing the subject to the side, "Whatever you were going to say, say it now."

"Sakura—"

"Now, Ka-san."

"Who's being the unreasonable daughter now?" Mom muttered as she wiped her face with her hand, "Your father was…sick. I didn't notice it at first, but he realized the changes in himself right away. He started to hear things, see things…we tried to pass it off as the effects of exhaustion, you know he worked those long hours. But as the hallucinations got worse—"

"Wait, wait, wait." I cut her off, my stomach sinking, "Hallucinations? You're telling me Tou-san was mentally ill?"

She raised a finger to her lips and looked towards the kitchen doorway before turning back to me with a pensive expression on her face, and she nodded.

"Th-That's impossible." I lowered my voice, "I never noticed anything. What was he?"

'Please, don't say what I think you're going to say.'

"Most likely a schizophrenic." My heart stopped, "He was never officially diagnosed but some family records in the attic said his grandpa had it so—"

"It runs in the family?" I interrupted again, this time my voice barely above a whisper.

She ran a hand through her hair and sighed, "As far as I know, it was only those two. Nobody has it on my side."

'You're wrong.' I thought to myself as I crossed my arms and hugged my stomach, 'I'm also—I mean, I have to be…'

"This…this doesn't make any sense. What does this have to with what you were saying? He loved me so much he became mentally ill?"

"Of course not." Mom rolled her eyes, "Your father hid his illness for you. He…oh Kami, I shouldn't be telling you this right now. You won't even be able to smile in any pictures."

"Spit it out, Ka-san." I snapped, finding myself growing impatient at her reluctance to tell me the truth.

She shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose before exhaling heavily, "He knew how crazy you were about Sasuke, and there was already enough talk around town about the common girl who had stolen the young noble's heart. What do you think Sasuke's parents would've said to him if they knew your dad was mentally ill? What would he have said to you?"

I blinked away the unpleasant swirl of rumors from high school and pressed on, "So he just pretended that his illness didn't exist? You're not supposed to let it run unchecked, otherwise you risk having anxiety, panic attacks…you might even start thinking about—"

"Suicide?" She finished for me with a certain look in her eye, and there was a silent message that I failed to decipher before she continued, "It got so bad around your junior year, Sakura. I tried to talk to him, I did, but he wouldn't listen…"

Tears welled up in her eyes and as I looked at her, I recalled the day Dad had died, "You told me that when you went to wake Tou-san from his nap, he was already dead. Was that a lie?"

"Sakura…" She covered her eyes with her hand as she wept, but I quickly tugged her hand from her face and forced her to look at me.

"Ka-san. Was. That. A Lie."

She cleared her throat and shook her head, "He did die in his sleep, but—"

The ringing of the doorbell cut her off and it was only then that I heard the cluster of voices at the front door.

"Oi!" Choji's loud voice boomed, "What's there to eat?! I'm starving!"

"Mattaku…" Shikamaru's familiar click of his tongue floated down the hallway, "If you heard that, you wouldn't know the guy ate on the way here."

"That's Choji for you." Ino sighed, "There's some ribs in the kitchen, if you wanna help me take it to the dining room—"

"Lead the way!" Choji's voice came closer as they all drew nearer, and once his head popped into the living room archway, he greeted me, "Sakura! Happy Birthday!"

I forced a smile as I stood up, "Arigato, Choji."

"He's not the only one here." Karui popped up behind him, and came around to give me a quick hug, "Everything okay?"

She looked at Mom as she asked this, and I quickly nodded.

"She was just crying about how big I've gotten. You'd think she'd have gotten over it by now."

"You're never to old to be your mom's baby." Temari walked in, a hand on her hip, "Ain't that the truth, Ka-san*?"

Mom wiped her face again with her arm, "Aa, that's the truth."

I quickly received hugs from everyone and watched out of the corner of my eye as Mom engaged in a quick back and forth with Ino before following her into the kitchen.

'She can occupy herself as much as she likes.' I thought to myself as Lee lifted me up and spun me around, 'But she won't get away from me that easily.'

I had gone so many years living through lies and fabrications…no matter what, tonight I would learn the truth behind my father's death.

*Temari calls Sakura's mom "Mom" in a respectful way, it's like calling your friend's mom "Mom" because you're so close to your friend.