The black cutoff jean-shorts and red bikini top did not suit Temari well. Had Shikamaru not come to her with the stakes he had, she would have passed on this mission. While she had no compunction about showing skin on a mission, that was one thing to distract a target; it was something different to be serving overpriced mixed drinks at a nightclub. The amount of ass-grabbing and upskirting she endured this week alone, left Temari ready to start breaking necks. The things I do for my village and family. Keep it together; the future may depend on being able to endure.
Club 24K was gawdy and garish as the Red Kitsune had been years ago. It featured the booming sound of electric music, special effects fog, and plenty of neon lighting. It was the place younger men and women went to looking for a one-night stand; it was the place older men went to pretend they were still young and find a sugar baby. As Temari served martinis to a group of finely dressed gentlemen, there was again the telltale slap of a hand on her ass. Remember, sexual object, not a crime lord!
It took supreme discipline to turn to the man and flash him a coy grin as she shook her ass, daring him to do it again. The man was slightly older than her, large but with sharp features, jet-black hair cropped close on the sides and longer on top, and he wore long sideburns with a sharp goatee. Temari committed the man's face to memory as he slapped her ass as prompted. You sir, are really testing me! "Hey babe, how'dcha like to make five-hundred yen the hard way!"
The mild slur of the man's speech coupled with the five empty martini glasses in front of him hinted he was already obliterated and simply doing a good job of hiding it. The scaly skin on the back of the man's large hands and the reddening of his nose and cheeks suggested this was not an unusual state for the man – he was a regular drunkard if not a full-blown alcoholic. Temari resisted nausea as she leaned in close over the man, nibbling his ear as she stroked her hands up his chest. "Honey, it's gonna cost you to get everything you see…" Temari pulled back from the man, grabbed her drink tray, and shook her ass as she walked away, "… and everything you don't see!" She winked, hiding her disgust expertly as she moved away.
Temari smirked as the man's friends and co-workers ribbed him playfully. The dumb bastard hadn't even noticed she'd swiped his security pass as the blood went from his brain to his poorly-concealed erection. Get it back to the apartment, copy it, and let it be discovered in the men's restroom tomorrow evening.
She walked back to the bar, handing fifty-thousand yen to another attractive girl in a short skirt and a crop top that hid only the bare necessities. "The gentlemen at the VIP table are thirsty," Temari smiled. "They say it is all yours if you keep them well stocked tonight.
"What's their poison?" The young lady's eyes lit up.
"Three measures of gin, one of vodka, half of Kina Lillet, shaken over ice, served straight up in a cocktail glass, and garnished with a slice of lemon peel," Temari answered with her target's drink of the night. The waitress took off to feed the boozehound's need. The Kara Corps chief of security fancied himself a ladies' man. By the stories he shared on his frequent outings, he was some kind of war hero from the Fourth War – having helped evacuated the town of Hikone.
Temari knew it was all bullshit. She never saw the man once during the evacuation of Hikone – home of Club 24K and Kara Corps. When she'd last been here, it had been a small town in the path of Ten-Tails, and she had been a shinobi grievously injured saving a little girl and her bunny. If slimeball had been here, Temari didn't recognize him and he didn't recognize her from when she'd nearly died here close to three years ago.
Hikone rebuilt miraculously fast due to the money Kara Corps sank into it in the war's aftermath. The place that nearly took your life in service might be the place that doomed everyone in another timeline. The irony of being here again was not lost on her. Deep in her core, Temari knew there was a thread of destiny that had brought her back to this place. Knowing what she did of the future, Temari wondered if her presence was a good thing or a bad thing.
Kokatsu Warui began abusing his new server in ways that would have gotten him kicked out of a respectable joint. Hopefully, keeping those boozy martinis in him will keep him from remembering me or her. From what Shikamaru had said, the security boss was a total dick when sober. Another problem for another night.
Temari turned her attention back to the stage where DJ Animal was about to take a break from her set. The young lady's taste in music was questionable, but Temari's heart tightened with real regret when the young DJ stepped onto the set of stairs at the edge of the stage. Temari had significantly loosen the hardware holding the stairs' stringers together before work this evening, and the shock of being stepped on now would cause the steps to collapse.
Sure as sugar, DJ Animal didn't know what happened as the steps collapsed under foot, and she fell a good meter to the floor of the club below. The young lady screamed, clutching a clearly broken leg that would likely need surgery and months of physical therapy. Casualty of war – at least you didn't have to kill her. Temari smirked; a younger version of her wouldn't have thought of a non-lethal approach. You're getting soft in your advancing age, girl!
"Ah goddammit!" the club manager, a sleaze if there ever was one, whined as Temari and other cocktail waitresses and dancers circled around the stricken DJ. He turned a desperate gaze toward the group, "Do any of you know how to work the sound equipment?"
"I do," Temari spoke firm with her purpose as she raised her hand.
"Miss…" the manager strained as he tried remembering her name and face.
"Meimei Kaneko," she answered, "I joined up a few weeks ago."
"Got it," the man slow-nodded, clearly not remembering when he'd hired Temari, "You got a stage name? The next set is about to start."
"Just leave it to me!" she strode past the group, up onto stage, and into the DJ's booth. Temari eyed the music collection, searching for something appropriate to make young men thirsty. Yes, that will do! Temari grabbed the mic and headphones, "All right, ladies and gents!" Temari boomed over the overhead, "This is your new DJ, Lady Typhoon, coming at you live from the beautiful Club 24K. Gents stay thirsty and ladies hit the floor for the Red Windmill!" Temari started the rough soul beat as the ladies took the floor. She, too, danced along as the club began dancing to a song asking, "Will you sleep with me tonight?" in an exotic language.
Shikamaru sucked at the cigarette, praying his aversion to smoking had faded enough for him to look natural. He stood with his back to the wall in a loading dock in the back of Kara Corps' lab as he took another drag, waiting for his target to appear. Mid-May spring was giving way to summer quickly, and the night air was damp – a few degrees warmer and it would be sticky and unpleasant.
The door to the building interior opened, admitting a pool of light, into the humid night air. Dr. Amando Sanz walked out into the shadow, pausing as he came upon Shikamaru. "Sorry," Shikamaru took a hurried drag, making it look like he was trying to finish quickly, "I'll be out of your way in a sec!"
"Relax," the man approached with a hand raised. Amando had a solid frame, especially for a chain-smoker. He obviously isn't just a bookworm and a lab rat. The man picked a section of wall about a meter from Shikamaru, leaned back, and extracted a cig. "You got a light by chance?"
Shikamaru held out a cheap plastic lighter. He flicked the striker twice, bringing out the yellow and blue flame. Amando leaned in with his cigarette, giving Shikamaru a close look at the man's face. His chestnut hair was already showing signs of grey at the temples and the sides of his beard. Despite being younger than Dad, the man's face was just as careworn as Father's. Quite a feat for a man who didn't serve in the war.
"You're that new guy, Shigeru Miyomoto, right?" Shikamaru knew better than to underestimate the man for his lack of military service. This man was intelligent, and he was observant if he remembered Shikamaru's alias so easily.
"That's right," Shikamaru nodded as he let the cigarette burn to its end.
"Jeez, you're young!" the older man stood back and took a long puff of smoke.
"I get that a lot," Shikamaru dropped his spent filter, extracted another cig, and lit up.
"You worked for Konoha for a while." Amando was fishing for sure.
"I have a heart defect that was not correctable; I was medically rejected by the Shinobi Academy after my second year physical."
"How the hell did you come to work in scientific ninja tools?" he asked.
"When you can't do sports," he paused from a drag of smoke, "the only muscle you can work is your brain."
Amando smirked at the comment. "Wise kid, probably kept you alive during the war." Asshole, a lot of people I knew didn't get so lucky!
"Yeah," Shikamaru scoffed, "and then we got downsized after the war," he breathed out smoke, tossing his finished cigarettes to the ground and stomping them out, "Our Kage decided the tools were too dangerous." Shikamaru had heard the treaty limiting further scientific ninja tool development had been ratified by the five great Shinobi countries and smaller countries were following suit.
"Ah, Kushina Uzumaki," Amando grinned as he scoffed, "Never a smart idea to leave a woman in charge, especially an attractive one!"
Shikamaru smirked, wondering what hellish torture Temari or Kushina would heap upon the man if either woman had heard Amando say such a misogynistic statement. "No, you can't trust a pretty face; I learned that the hard way!"
"Do tell," the other man chuckled.
"Blonde, teal eyes, a respectable c-cup, and toned body to match," Shikamaru described Temari, "and frequently commando!" he snickered.
"I take it she said, 'Get lost, dweeb!'" Dr. Amando chuckled, shaking his head as he did so.
"No," Shikamaru grinned, biting his low lip, "She came onto me, hard, too!" Shikamaru chuckled as he coughed. "She fucked my brains loose." He stared out into the night, "Nothing like that to ruin you."
"So, what happened?" the man asked intently.
"Turns out she was investigating me the whole time!" Shikamaru finally lied. "I was reviewing Orochimaru's work, seeing how we might make use of his genetic research in our tools. She found out, and I got shit-canned the next day – hush, hush."
"I see, they let you go?" Amando asked. The man betrayed his interest at the mention of Orochimaru's experimentation.
"Are you kidding! I got the hell out while there was something to still get. Cleaned out the bank, left all my crap, and hoofed it on foot out of the village," Shikamaru spoke anxious and exasperated. He darted his head side to side before returning to Amando's stare, "Do you think they wouldn't have suicided me for playing with information that sensitive?" He shook his head, "Never trust a goddamn pretty face!"
"I see," Amando took a thoughtful puff of his cigarette before stomping it out and pulling another one. Shikamaru again lit him up.
"What about you, sir?" Shikamaru asked deferentially. "How did you get into this business?"
"Well, it's a long story," the man offered an unnerving smile as he smoked. "I was a university level researcher for a long time. My daughter developed a degenerative neurologic condition no one could treat." The man's smile disappeared, "I started looking at ways to help her through genetics, and later cybernetics, but the university felt it was a misallocation of resources."
Shikamaru nodded somberly, trying to mask his revulsion. The university records told a different story. Akebi Sanzu had a chronic degenerative disease of unknown etiology. The second half of the man's story was much more questionable. The university and police records indicated that Amando Sanzu had removed and preserved his daughter's brain in hopes of finding a way to bring her back with something called cybernetic technology. Shikamaru swallowed bile as he recalled that the reports didn't indicate if she'd already been dead when he decided to remove her brain. Given the rapid rate of decomposition of the brain after death, Shikamaru assumed she'd still been alive. "I'm sorry to hear that, sir," Shikamaru stamped out his cigarette. "It seems life is a cruel mistress."
"Heh," the man shook his head, "you can say that again!" The man laughed, and Shikamaru was grateful it was dark out. There was something deeply disturbing about this man. Orochimaru had given him the creeps with his control of Sasuke among other unethical acts. The way this man smiled and colored his past actions took Shikamaru back to that horrible parle when Orochimaru came with Sasuke and the reanimated first three Hokages asking for a pardon for his misdeeds.
"Well, I need to get back to work," Shikamaru smiled, "Nice chatting with you."
"Indeed." The other man's words crawled down Shikamaru's neck and back as he moved to reenter the building.
"Sakura, remember what we said," Hinata spoke with authority matched by her formal mission gear, "They are going to ask direct questions, give them direct answers. Do not answer a question if not asked, and do not lie under any circumstance."
"I got it," Sakura nodded, swallowing the lump in her throat, and adjusting her own formal mission gear. Almost three years ago she'd been before the council testifying on Sasuke's behalf, trying to prove he'd not been in control. Now, she had to do a damn-perfect job to convince them that the evidence against Sasuke was not as cut and dry as it would seem. You were there, he was there. There was no way he could have done this!
Sakura straightened her much more formal red tunic and black dress pants as they left the small office and walked to the audience chamber. At the prosecution table sat most of the remaining high-level members of the Uchiha Clan branches – the Oda and Nobunga. Conspicuously absent was Sasuke's mother Mikoto, seated at the defense table next to Sasuke.
At the head of the room sat Kakashi, sitting in for the Hokage. The leaders of the other clans sat in the jury box, most of them giving up nothing as to their thoughts. Sakura's stomach pulsated, threatening to make her vomit she was so nervous. Screw up here, and his head comes off his neck! "Teuchi, did you see Sasuke Uchiha at Ichiraku Ramen at the time of the explosion at the Hyūga compound?"
"Yes," the chef owner answered.
"Was he accompanied by anyone else?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, he was with Sakura Haruno and Hinata Hyūga the whole time."
"The whole time?" Naruto asked.
"The whole time, until after the explosion."
"He didn't excuse himself at any point?"
"No."
"He didn't go to the restroom at any point?"
"No."
"He didn't call on his cellphone or talk to anyone other than his server?"
"Objection, asked and answered," The leader of Oda Branch broke Naruto's stream of conversation.
"Your Honor," Naruto protested, "I'm trying to establish that the accused did not leave the company of his companions, at the time of the incident.
"Objection overruled." Kakashi answered.
"No further questions, your honor." Naruto exchanged a nervous look with Teuchi before returning to his seat.
The head of the Oda Branch of the Uchiha stood. "Mr. Teuchi, Sasuke is something of a regular at your restaurant, no?"
"I would agree with that," Teuchi swallowed. Don't let him get under your skin. Sakura discretely reached into a pocket for a tissue to wipe her sweaty palms as she waited for her turn to be examined and then cross-examined.
"And you would recognize him easily?" the prosector asked.
"Yes," Teuchi nodded.
"But would you be able to tell him apart from a shadow clone?"
"No," Teuchi answered solid. Sakura gently nodded, knowing the prosecutor was playing into their trap.
"So, you have no idea if the person at the restaurant that day was indeed, Sasuke?"
"I recognized that the person I saw appeared to be Sasuke, and he at no time left the table or made any communication outside his two companions until after the explosion."
The man grinned, assured, "No further questions." Teuchi was dismissed by Kakashi and left the witness stand.
"The defense calls, Sakura Haruno of the medical-nin corps." Showtime, don't trip on your way to the witness stand! Her stomach felt as if she's swallowed a boulder. Nevertheless, she made her way to the stand and Kakashi swore her in under oath. "Sakura, please state your professional credentials," Naruto stated.
"Object, relevance!" Their adversary called out.
"Overruled," Kakashi replied.
"I am a chunin-ranked shinobi, a medical-nin, and a licensed mental health specialist." She answered, keeping the shaking of her throat to a minimum.
"Sakura, on the date of the incident, was Sasuke seated with you and Hinata?"
"Yes," she nodded.
"At any time, did Sasuke leave the table prior to the explosion?"
"No," she shook her head. Her toes tapped in her shoes as she waited for what came next.
"And you are certain that it was Sasuke you were seated with?"
"I am."
"No further questions at this time," Naruto said and returned to his seat.
"Ms. Haruno," the prosecutor accented her name deep in condescension, "You are in a relationship with the accused, are you not?" Nice try asshole, but I'm not playing games!
"I am his lover, if that is what you're getting at," she replied back.
"So, you'd know every inch of his body, then!" It was an outburst more than a question.
"Objection, the question is highly inappropriate!"
"I'll answer, if that is okay?" Sakura turned to Kakashi and then stared at Naruto. "Yes, I am intimately acquainted with his body and his medical history."
"Is it normal for a medical-nin to have such a relationship?"
"Normal, no." Her heart stepped up its tempo.
"Were you with Sasuke the entire day prior to the terrorist attack?"
"Yes." Here it comes!
"Did you have sexual relations with him on that date?"
"Objection!" Naruto called out, "Irrelevant!"
"Sustained," Kakashi called out. "Watch yourself, counsel; you are toeing the line of harassment."
"And you are certain it was Sasuke with you at that lunch meeting?"
"Yes," she replied curt and crisp.
"He couldn't have fooled you with a shadow clone at any point?"
"No," she again replied.
"Miss Haruno," the prosecutor was clearly losing patience, "do you care to enlighten us as to why you are so certain it was Sasuke with you and not a shadow clone?" Caught ya, you stupid bastard!
"Medically speaking, Sasuke is incapable of maintaining a shadow clone," Sakura offered a thin smile as the prosecutor began sweating.
"Please elaborate," he crossed his arms.
Sakura pulled out medical records that had already been admitted as evidence. "At the end of the Fourth Shinobi War, Sasuke was stabbed with a blade capable of permanently cauterizing chakra nodes and the network between them. The node in what would be his right upper lung no longer exists, nor does his right lung. The very physical act of summoning a shadow clone requires significant chakra control throughout the entire body, and it divides the chakra of the user as a result."
"Please tell me how it makes someone of Sasuke's abilities incapable of producing a perfect shadow clone," the man growled.
"For one, he has no chakra control his right arm as a result of that node being destroyed. For two, the act of creating even a single shadow clone for most people requires a moderate amount of physical exertion. Sasuke only has one lung. There are multiple medical waivers on file that keep him a deployable shinobi because he can't summon shadow clones or maintain a transformation of anyone with two arms. If he were to summon a shadow clone, it would never be perfect, and he'd be able to maintain if for only a few seconds, to say nothing about generating some kind of chakra-based explosion while doing so."
The prosecutor's bloodshot eyes and flushed face betray both his frustration and chronic alcoholism. He'd been relying on the Uchiha's reputation against a girl from a non-noble family, and he'd lost. "No further questions!" The man huffed and returned to his table.
Sakura was excused and returned to the defense table. "Does the prosecution have anything to say in closing?" Kakashi asked.
"We wish to make clear that we have multiple witnesses that will place the accused at the scene of the attack and have testified that it was he who started the attack. Our clan's blood has been spilled yet again, and we demand satisfaction. One of our family branches is now extinct due to his actions, and two are now critically weakened. We seek justice for the dead, and we intend to have it!" You forgot to mention you don't care if the court finds the evidence wanting. Sakura sighed, knowing how dangerous things would be for Sasuke to stay in the village.
As the prosecutor sat, Naruto stood. "Ladies and gentlemen, it is true that there are multiple witness and circumstantial evidence that suggests someone matching Sasuke's description caused this attack. However, the overwhelming body of evidence to suggest he was not involved in the attack, and there more than sufficient evidence that he physically couldn't have committed this attack in any conceivable fashion." Naruto turned to the prosecution, "I will also remind you that the best telepath we have, Inoichi Yamanaka found no memory of the attack as he probed Sasuke's mind." Naruto stared back at Sasuke, "Rather than let an innocent man face indictment in a capital case, we must remember that there is more than reasonable doubt about the evidence here!"
As Naruto spoke, Sakura watched the prosecutor's eyes begin glowing hellish red. She knew among the Uchiha, that was their way of saying they would get you one way or another. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury," Kakashi called out, "you are to adjourn to chambers and discuss the evidence. If you find there is sufficient evidence, the accused will be detained pending formal trial. If you find the evidence is insufficient, the accused will be excused without indictment."
As the jury retreated, Sakura sat at the desk, first for minutes, then hours, tapping her foot. By all accounts, there was no reason for Sasuke to face formal prosecution. And yet, I don't in the least feel safe for him or myself. "Sakura, may I speak to you please," Mikoto Uchiha spoke from her side of the table, not turning to face her.
"In council's chambers," Hinata added hushed. Mikoto excused herself from the desk, followed by Hinata, and then by Sakura. The short walk to the conference room filled Sakura's stomach with bile. As the door closed, Hinata and Mikoto both breathed out a gasp, "I think we got it," Hinata said.
"Got it or not, they aren't letting go," Mikoto pulled a large, white envelope from her handbag and handed it to Sakura.
"What's this?" she asked.
"Severance pay, for one," Sasuke's mom answered, "for two, insurance."
"Insurance?" Sakura asked, not following. As Sakura opened the envelop, there were several bundles of bills of varying denominations. "What the hell is this?"
"A billion yen," Mikoto answered, "My husband put it aside in the event of this contingency."
"What contingency?" Sakura asked.
Mikoto exchanged a long stare with Hinata, nodded, and turned back to Sakura. "In the event the Uchiha Clan branches tried to kill Sasuke for fun or put him on trial on trumped up charges, he left me with instructions to give you this, and for you to take Sasuke as far away as possible."
Sakura was not so naïve to believe in the sanctity of the verdict. While she understood running, she wasn't sure if she was cut out for long-term deep cover off the grid. "Are you sure I should be the one going with him?" Sakura asked, turning to Hinata.
"For one," Hinata answered, "you are much better equipped to manage him if he has a mental health episode than I am. For two, my face is way too easily recognized." Hinata paused, "And for three, someone has to stay here and find out who really did this."
Sakura nodded. "Sakura," Mikoto spoke, "my husband is barely clinging to life. My eldest son is struggling to keep an unruly clan from killing one another. I once trusted you with Sasuke before, and now I'm asking for you to care for him because I can't!"
"Sakura, go," Hinata ordered. "Gather whatever temporary essentials you need, and meet me in the market district in an hour." Sakura tucked the envelope into her purse and moved to leave the room when Hinata seized her by the arm. "Sakura, go to your parents' and not the apartment," Hinata ordered. "There is a reasonable chance the apartment is already boobytrapped." Sakura nodded and continued on her way. Once outside the courthouse, she checked to be sure no one was following, and she ran for her parents' home.
She burst through the store, walked the past the rows of merchandise, and through the back door to the apartments above the store. Sakura reached her room, grabbed a field backpack, and began shoving in the essentials: underclothes, outer layers, her medic kit, and an assortment of kunai and shuriken. She stripped out of her formal clothes and quickly donned her black filed uniform and green vest from during the war. "Sakura, what are you doing?" her mother's voice reached her from the door.
"Mom," Sakura didn't slow her work, "I have to leave the village for a while."
"It's about that boy, isn't it?"
"Mom, that boy is wrongfully accused of murder!" Sakura exclaimed, "The court didn't even see fit to charge him today!"
"Do you love him?" Mom's question was so basic that it caught Sakura off guard.
"Yes, I do," she nodded.
"Enough to potentially derail you career as a shinobi and a medical-nin?" Mom asked. Despite the sharpness of the question, Mom did not sound judgmental.
Sakura reached deep into her heart. She loved Sasuke with everything she had. She knew even if he was vindicated, she would probably be away from the hospital suddenly for an extended period and considered a rogue shinobi just as long – a major black mark on her record in any case. Does any of it matter if he's dead? "Yes, mother," she nodded. "He means that much to me," Sakura answered firm in her conviction. I don't have time for your disapproval, Mom!
Mom chuckled in amusement, and Sakura nearly shouted, but was cut off, "When you get back, finally find time to bring him over for dinner. Your father and I are dying to meet him."
"Mom?" Sakura froze in shock.
"Sakura, I believe you when you said he was innocent. As for galivanting off with him; I can't say that I approve. However, I have no leg to stand on, either."
"Mom, what do you mean?"
"Sakura," Mom leaned against the doorframe. "Your father and I weren't always shinobi or merchants… we were criminals."
"WHAT?!" Sakura nearly fainted at the revelation.
"Until we were teens, we ran with a pack of highway bandits – stole a lot of things and robbed a lot of people. Did you never wonder why your father never made it beyond genin?" Mom shook her head, "He and I were never eligible for security clearance because of our criminal records. That is also why we had to open this store to make a living!" Mom laughed.
"Mom?!" Sakura still stood in disbelief.
"When your father got busted on a job in Konoha that went bad, I turned myself in," Mom shrugged, "He'd been my one and only constant in life, and as much as I hated the thought of spending time in juvie, I hated not having him."
"Why are you telling me this now?!"
"Because," Mom smirked, "following that boy into the lion's den got both of us cleaned up. We accepted a deal for service over prison. Otherwise, we might never have stayed in the village, and we probably never would have had you!" Mom placed a hand on her hip, "If you believe in him, go with him! Just be sure you believe in him!"
"I do!" Sakura closed her backpack, "And I've gotta go!"
Mom step aside into the room, "Remember what I said. I'm sure you'll both have some stories to tell when you get back!"
"I will, Mom!" Sakura shouldered her bag, hugged her mom, and ran out the door. Sakura was maybe halfway to the market district when she noticed two men following her. Both men wore black and had the signature raven hair and sharp features of the Uchiha Clan. Sakura picked up her pace, and the men matched. She snaked through the crowded streets, but the men stuck to her like a venomous snake pursuing prey. Sakura reached the market district, wondering how the hell to ditch her pursuers and find Hinata. Come on girl, where the hell are you!
There was a firm grip on her pack, and Sakura was stopped dead in her tracks. Shit! Before she could scream, there was a bright flash, and she blinked, finding herself on the bank of a river in a woodland area. "What the hell?!" She took several moments to steady herself on her feet.
"Sorry," Hinata's voice came soft despite the forceful teleportation, "I wish I could have given you a heads-up, but they would have spotted me, too!" Hinata still wore business attire from the courtroom.
"Hinata," Sakura surveyed their landscape, "Where in the hell are we?"
"You remember our first mission?"
"The place we found you and Naruto!" Sakura exclaimed, the memory of years earlier returning to her.
"An area no one else knew about, but he and I knew well enough."
Another flash, and Naruto appeared with Sasuke, "That didn't take too long!" Naruto and Sasuke both wore their formal outfits from the court; both of them sported various tears in the jackets and had red knuckles, "Sorry, got jumped near the courthouse after the verdict was read," Naruto shrugged.
"I take it he was not indicted?"
"Unfortunately, that just leaves my clan time to fabricate whatever other evidence they need…" Sasuke said cynical as always.
"We're going to find who did this!" Naruto protested, "And we will make them pay!"
"You realize you and Hinata just painted massive targets on your backs," Sasuke scolded.
"I'm not abandoning you, my friend," Naruto said, "especially because you're innocent."
"Sasuke, Sakura," Hinata carried two heavy rucksacks from near what looked like an old campsite. "You'll find most of what you'll need – tent, sleeping bags, camp stove…" Hinata paused, turning a sympathetic eye toward Sakura. "… I recommend not flashing large amounts of that cash, try to camp off the main roads and trails, and only stay in villages for as long as needed."
Sakura held out a hand to stop her concerned friend, "It's all right, Hinata, we know how to escape and evade."
"In the event you need to contact us," Naruto held out several disposable cellphones toward Sasuke, "They are prepaid and will work anywhere in the Land of Fire. I recommend not crossing the border; they'll be watching for you to try it." Naruto turned to Sakura, "At least if you get taken by a mercenary or bounty hunter on this side of the border, we might be able to rescue you. Otherwise, stay out of communication – no calls, no letters. Use cash when needed and disappear."
"Naruto, you'll come for us when things are safe?" Sakura asked.
"Believe it!" Naruto winked. "Now get going! You have a head start, make the most of it!"
"Naruto," Sasuke spoke, "my notebook at the apartment. There might be something to give you a clue."
"You think it had to do with our investigation?"
"Hattori had things blackmail-worthy on several members of the clan branches. Even with him dead, there is a good chance members of my clan would kill to keep that story buried," Sasuke explained.
Hinata and Naruto nodded, "Our first port of call," he said.
"It might already be booby-trapped; I suggest we be cautious," Hinata affirmed, taking Naruto's hand. "Sasuke, Sakura," she reached into her pocket for two marked kunai and handed them over, "so we can come to you. Otherwise, it is best we don't know where you are in the meantime."
"Naruto, Hinata," Sakura choked back tears. "Thank you!"
"Thank us when we come get you!" Hinata said. "Take care, travel safe!" She and Naruto disappeared in a flash.
For several seconds, she and Sasuke stood frozen, saying nothing. Sakura finally chose to end the silence, "So what now?"
Sasuke eyed the two large rucksacks. "I recommend we head northeast for the border region near Kumo." He turned to Sakura, "It's rough country, and there isn't much out that way."
"Harder to follow, but also a long way from help if we run into issues." She said.
"Sakura, if we run into trouble," Sasuke spoke deep and grim, "There probably won't be help coming. Are you sure this is what you want?"
"Yes!" she didn't hesitate, even for a second this time. "Now, let's get going while we still have light!"
Naruto approached the doorway to the apartment Sakura shared with Sasuke. While there was nothing to suggest anything amiss, he and Hinata had both changed into the navy-blue field coveralls and pulled on long gloves and soft hoods – all fire retardant. "You sure you want to be here?"
"I get the feeling we should watch each other's backs; plus, there may be some additional things worth going through once were inside."
"Such as?"
"Any additional case notes Sasuke was reviewing; he might be onto something about the attack being related to the murder investigation."
"I hope so," Naruto sighed, "otherwise, we're going to have a tough time proving someone other than Sasuke was behind this." Despite all of the evidence of his innocence, Naruto had to admit whomever did orchestrate the attack had done a damn good job of pointing fingers and leaving little trace of their own guilt.
They approached the door sideways, "All right, here goes. Remember, first sign of trouble, get low and away!"
"It's not my first door breach," Hinata reminded. "Take it by the numbers."
Naruto activated his Byakugan, "Yup, there is an explosive tag on the inside of the door."
"I see it," Hinata observed, "looks like it was set to go off the second the door is moved from the closed position."
"Any way to disarm it?" he asked.
"Disarm," she scrutinized it, "no; it's meant to go off if disturbed in the least."
"We'll we can't just leave it for the next person to disturb it…." He paused, noticing a Thunder God Seal he'd left on one of Sasuke's jackets back in the day. "… I got an idea!" He took her hand and teleported them into the apartment's bedroom. He handed her one of his marked kunai, "Take that on the balcony, on my signal, throw it as far into the air as can."
"You're not thinking what I think you are!" Hinata protested.
"Even the best tags have about a 3 second delay; I'll be fine!"
"If you get yourself killed…"
"Trust me," he winked, what could go wrong, ya know!" He stood next to the explosive tag on the door.
"I hate it when you say that!" she opened the glass slider to the balcony, noting it had been forced open from the outside at some point. "Ready," she braced with the Kunai.
"Throw it!" Hinata chucked the kunai airborne. Naruto quickly grabbed the tag and teleported to the kunai flying through the air. By now the tag was making a sizzling noise, about to detonate. Naruto chucked the tag further skyward and teleported back to Hinata. "Get down!" the concussion of the blast still shook the building and blew out some windows as Naruto shielded Hinata's body with his own.
Several seconds passed, and they remained still on the floor. "Naruto," Hinata broke the moment, "are you going to get off me," she giggled, "or is the thing pressing on my thigh a sign of things to come?"
They both snorted at the dual-meaning of what she'd just said. Babe, you make being sexy too easy! He climbed off her and winked, "Later! Now let's get what we came here for!"
Night had thankfully come late, even in the forest, thanks to the long hours of daylight afforded by approaching summer. Despite having walked close to ten kilometers from their starting point, Sasuke still scanned his surroundings as if he expected a team of bounty hunters or mercs to appear out of hiding. He and Sakura had set up camp, made dinner on a camp stove, and were now turning in for the night. They would make no campfire tonight to limit how visible they would be.
As the sun dipped below the horizon, he scanned the surrounding forest one more time for any signs that they were being followed. Relax, no one knows where you are, no even Naruto. The thought was not reassuring as he entered the tent and zipped the door closed for the night.
"All clear?" Sakura asked.
"All clear."
"What is our objective tomorrow?" she asked as she lay back on her sleeping bag.
"We continue along our current path until we reached the highlands closer to the border with Kumo." Sasuke paused, sitting beside her on his own sleeping back.
"I know that gloomy pause," she sat up and crossed her arms. "What is it, Sasuke?"
"Sakura…" He hoped vainly she wouldn't fight him on the issue. She simply stared with her green eyes reflecting the fading light. "I want you to call Naruto in the morning."
"For what purpose?" she looked more concerned than angry.
"I want you to go back to the Village…"
"Goddammit, NO!" Now, she was angry. Stubborn woman!
"Sakura, listen to reason," he spoke up, "You have a life and a career in the village…"
"So do you!" she protested.
"If you go back now, you can still have that life, and not suffer being around me as I run from everything."
"Sasuke!" she slapped a hand on the ground between them, causing a mild shake of the Earth. She held up her right hand and the ring holding a heart-shaped ruby. "You asked me to be your wife, and a wife does not abandon her husband due to a matter of convenience!"
"Sakura, I'm doing this for your safety!" he protested, "I know the kind of people they'll send hunting for me!"
"Do you think for a moment being in the village is any kind of protection from your clan?" Sakura retorted, "If I went back now, do you think they'd hesitate to kidnap and torture me for any information about your whereabouts? Do you think they wouldn't use me as some kind of bait to lure you out?!"
"Sakura, I just want what is best for you…"
"And I want what is best for us," she cut him off, "and part of that is worrying about what is best for you!" Sakura flopped onto her back and rolled with her back to him. "I didn't struggle to bring you back to sanity just to lose you to some other bullshit circumstances!"
Sasuke opened his mouth but stopped himself from talking. Sakura was angry, and further words weren't going to change her mind. She loved him, and she wasn't going to abandon him, for better or for worse. Sasuke couldn't figure out why. He'd been a screw up since he was a kid. He laid down on his side, facing her, and the memory of their last time in the same tent came back to him. He'd charmed his way into her panties, and it went downhill from there. The next day he'd found the trail of the Akatsuki after breaking off from the group. Unfortunately, they'd also noticed him, and he began a frantic attempt to evade capture while leaving discrete clues for the others to find. Had you not gone off playing cowboy then, you wouldn't be in this situation at all.
He closed his eyes and huffed in frustration. Had he not wandered off from the group, he wouldn't have been captured. Had he left more distinct clues, he might have been rescued earlier. If you'd been a better shinobi and not a showboat, you and her might have what Naruto and Hinata have right now!
When Sasuke opened his eyes again, it was dark; though, his eyes were well-adjusted to the dark. Sakura was still laying atop her sleeping bag, shivering as the cooler night air robbed them of warmth. Even still, she snuffled gently, suggesting she was asleep or mostly asleep. "Sakura," he whispered. The weight of their argument earlier left him feeling a superficial jerk. The woman beside him had been looking out for him, as she always had.
"Sakura," he traced his hands along her bare arm, her skin cool and smooth to the touch. "Sakura," he again traced her arm. His chest tightened as his hand contacted her.
"Mmm…" she muttered unintelligible.
"I'm… sorry," he whispered as he shuffled closer to her "I just want to keep you safe."
There was the shuffling of her right leg dragging his leg between hers and squeezing it between her thighs. "You need to stop thinking so much." Sakura pressed her butt toward him. Without prompting, Sasuke migrated his hand down to the curve of her right buttock, pressing the thumb into the soft mass as the rest of his hand caressed the toned feature.
Sakura squirmed and moaned, but she did not release him. Sasuke's fingers traced up the panty line of her underwear through the material of her khaki pants, and she squeezed him even harder. "Don't stop," she whispered.
Sasuke, already erect, became rigid as steel at the instruction. His naughty hand continued to survey the finer points of Sakura's ass. Sakura, in turn, pressed her hips back against him, grinding her rear end and womanhood over the bulge in his pants. "Sakura…" he spoke breathless as he brought himself closer, his mouth to her ear. He began kissing along the back of her neck, and his hand wandered forward from her ass to her lower stomach, tracing circles on the skin just above the belt line. "You're so beautiful…" he panted as his mouth migrated to her ear.
Sakura said nothing; she turned her head and her lips met his – awkward at first. Soon, he was alternating between kisses on the mouth and then back to her ear. As he continued to work back and forth, she shivered in his touch. "I'm so horny right now, Sasuke!" her hand gripped his, guided it under the waistband of her garments, and brought his hand over her mound. "Sasuke!" she moaned has his hand hovered back and forth over her outer folds. Her body began undulating at the intimate contact, and Sasuke could feel her warm moisture on her fingers.
Animalistic instinct kicked in, and Sasuke freed his hand, tore open Sakura's button and fly, and he yanked down her pants and panties to her knees. Sakura said nothing as he did so, only moaning in pleasure as he exposed her. Sasuke quickly fumbled with his own pants and boxers, tilted Sakura's hips, and entered her in one clean stroke. "AHHH!"
Her warmth along his length drove him crazy. Sasuke again reached around with his hand, down the front of her womanhood, and he began playing with her pleasure numb with his fingers, "Sasuke!" she shouted.
"This is so amazing right now!" he panted as her walls squeezed and sucked at his dick. They weren't even fully undressed, and this was possibly the hottest they'd been since just after Toneri's attack.
"MORE!" she moaned louder, driving herself back into him harder. Her hips shook from a combination of him inside her and his fingers pleasuring her womanhood. Sasuke obliged, speeding the tempo of his thrusts and his fingers. "Oh god!" Sakura screamed arching her head back. Sasuke grit his teeth and planted himself deep as she moaned, "I'm going… to… cum!"
The spasming of her walls drove him over the edge, and Sasuke felt the pleasure of release as his manhood throbbed with her walls squeezing him. As the moment passed, he stayed inside her best as he could. He wanted this moment to be good for her as much as it had been for him. For a brief moment, they weren't on the run, and there was no danger.
"You… cockhound!" she laughed.
"I thought you liked me being a cockhound," he giggled, fuzzy in the aftermath of having sex.
"I do," she grinned with tight lips, "I just wish you'd stop being so reluctant about it!" She squeezed him as he softened inside her.
"I'm still getting used to it!" he laughed.
"Another reason I can't go."
"That is?" he asked.
"Making sure your penis only goes in this vagina!" as he slid out, she turned to face him, and tapped his nose. "You might not be the hot stud around Konoha, but someone has to make sure the rural farm girls who don't know you keep it in their pants!" She grinned, "And that means making sure you have something to focus on!"
"I mean, focus is damn important!" Sasuke grinned.
"Excellent," Sakura slid closer, taking his manhood in her hand. "Now, I suggest we reconfigure our sleeping bags and make the most of our bad situation, being that we have no friends or anyone to look after us!" Translation, no pesky friends or parents to interrupt super-sexy time! Being exiled is a lot better when you have a partner to spend it with!
Author's notes: Hello all, and thank you for reading. I was worried 2023 would never end. Hopefully, with the holidays over, I'll be able to get back on a regular writing schedule. For those wondering, yes, several very important things are set in motion by the events of this chapter. I hope you enjoyed and I hope you're having a great start to the new year. Stay healthy, stay safe, and I'll see you next chapter.
