Echoes

Chapter Nine

Dad's Army

Sasuke's home was warm and comfortable at night, Sakura thought. The floors were heated from below are the fire Sasuke had lit added a lovely feeling. She had never lived anywhere with a fireplace, but much preferred it to the central heating in her apartment.

Sasuke had sent her father his address and the pair were now sat in the front room, Sakura's foot bouncing up and down until Sasuke placed his hand on her knee. "Don't be so worried."

But Sakura's attention was on the feel of his large hand on her leg. Sasuke seemed to realise this and removed the appendage, coughing awkwardly into this fist. The silence that followed was absolute, even Metsuki sat completely still. Sasuke fixed his eyes towards the window as lights flashed up his driveway. "A taxi has just pulled up."

"No helicopter then?" Sakura said mildly.

Ignoring her petulant comment, Sasuke rose from his seat and reached the front door at the same time as Kei. The two men observed each other. Sasuke was around the same height as the Major, but much more leanly built. Kei Haruno looked like he could crush Sasuke's head with his bicep.

"Sir." Sasuke said politely, holding out a hand.

Kei didn't hesitate to shake it, apparently not here to intimidate Sasuke. "Where's Sakura?"

Sasuke gestured to the living room. "Through there."

Kei dropped his bag in the hallway and wasted no time in moving to the living room. Sasuke nudged the bag with his foot so he could close the door before dragging his feet back to Sakura.

Metsuki seemed to be happy to see Kei again, his tail whipping through the air rapidly. Sakura was stood in the middle of the room, fisting her top in her hands nervously.

"Petal."

Sakura smiled gently. "Hi Daddy."

Sasuke slipped in to the room quietly and took a seat on the sofa once more.

He watched Kei's face harden as he took in the blemishes on his daughter's face. "My god, Sakura."

"It's fine." Sakura tried to placate him.

"No it isn't!" Kei's voice was sharp and Sakura flinched. Sasuke was surprised to find himself tensing at the man's tone of voice. He knew he wasn't angry at Sakura but it still annoyed him that she had been frightened.

Kei hugged his child close to him, his large frame engulfing her. "Sorry, Petal. I'm just angry I couldn't help."

Sakura smiled up at him, pressing a comforting kiss to his cheek. "You did. I remembered the self-defence you taught me. Brought the biggest one to his knees."

Kei smiled but Sasuke could see it was forced. "What did they do?"

"Took off with some stuff… mainly the electronics but…" She hesitated and genuine sadness came over her face. "They took my jewellery too… I had some of mom's things in with all the junk jewellery."

Kei kissed the crown of her head. "Bits of metal don't matter, Sakura. As long as you're going to be okay then that's the most important thing."

He looked over at Sasuke and tugged Sakura to sit with him on the other sofa. "Now, I see that the Konoha Police Department are very thorough in their investigation."

Sasuke stiffened automatically, not liking the insinuation. He was quite surprised when Sakura punched her father in the shoulder and the man groaned in pain.

"Stop it!" Sakura scowled, looking like a kitten puffing up its fur. "Sasuke has been amazing as I told you earlier. You be nice to him."

Kei's eyes softened at his daughter's anger and he laughed softly. "I'm sorry. I'll be good." He eyed Sasuke, and the Uchiha could tell that the man still did not completely trust him. "I promise."

Sakura listened to her father's footsteps on the floor above and sighed. "I just hope you know what you are letting yourself in for."

Kei had retired to one of the guest rooms upstairs and Sasuke and Sakura were sat in front of the dwindling flames of the fire.

Sasuke hesitantly reached for Sakura's hand, frightened that the Major would pop up and catch him making physical contact with his daughter. "I told you, I'm not easily scared, Sakura." He watched her other hand move to cover his and let his lips curve upwards. "Besides, as long as you're there as a buffer I think I'll be fine. I never knew you had such a mean right hook."

Sasuke realised hindsight was twenty-twenty when he got up the next morning. He wouldn't admit it to Sakura but he had not had a single clue what it would be like to have Kei Haruno staying at his house and that had made him a little nervous.

Entering the kitchen, Sasuke was focused on starting a pot of coffee to cope with the day ahead, not in the least expecting to see the Major sat at his kitchen table. Sasuke stood there for a moment, observing the man who was already dressed in a casual top and pair of jeans. Sasuke rubbed the back of his neck, feeling somehow under dressed in his t-shirt and boxers and cleared his throat awkwardly.

Kei observed him carefully and raised the mug he had in his hand. "I made coffee if that's what you were after."

"Thanks," Sasuke muttered, busying himself with making a cup. It was bizarre at how he could feel like an intruder in his own kitchen. When he had poured himself a cup of coffee (no sugar or milk of course), Sasuke leaned against the counter and faced Kei – he had a feeling that Sakura's father wanted to speak with him.

Sasuke looked the Major over discreetly, the main thought that come to him was how unlike his daughter he looked. His hair was dark, his skin tanned from years spent outside and his face was ruggedly handsome. The eyes however, were the same. And those verdant eyes were now focused on Sasuke.

"I've wanted to speak with you Sakura isn't about."

Sasuke took a sip of coffee and met the older man's stare. "I'm all ears."

Kei's lips quirked. "You don't seem to be very scared of me."

"Should I be?"

"That depends." Kei raised an eyebrow. "You may not seem scared but I can sense that you're a little nervous around me, Uchiha-san."

"Sasuke, please."

"Sasuke then. How well we get along depends I suppose, on why you are nervous." Kei raised his own mug and paused in his speech to take a drink. Lowing the porcelain to the table again he leaned back in his chair. "If you're nervous because I'm a Major with the Defence Force then fair enough. It's something I deal with often. If however, you're nervous because I'm Sakura's father, then that is where we might have an issue."

"Why would I care if you're Sakura's father?" Sasuke's grip on his cup tightened.

"You tell me." Kei smiled. "Not cramping your style am I?"

Sasuke couldn't help the glare that broke through his mask. "You seem to have made up your mind about me, Haruno-san."

Kei hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose I have. Was I wrong to do so?"

"My mother raised me as a gentleman. I've been nothing but a good friend to Sakura since we met." His mind skimmed to their almost kiss the day before but he pushed the thought away.

"But you'd like to be more?"

Sasuke met the man's gaze unflinchingly and measured his next words carefully. "I want to make sure Sakura is comfortable. Anything else is a matter between the two of us."

A furrow appeared between Kei's brows and Sasuke wondered if he had pushed the man too far. He was confused therefore, then the Major's face broke out in a wide smile. The change was startling, the intense man that he had seen was made years younger by the smile on his face, and Sasuke thought he could see Sakura in him a lot more than before.

"Good answer, Sasuke. You put up with me better than most of my recruits."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and turned back to his coffee, completely unsure of what he should do – an angry father he could deal with, but a happy one? Not so much. He wasn't made to ponder for long, for he heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs.

Sakura shuffled in to the kitchen, a smile like her father's on her face and was dressed and ready to head out. She had put some make up on her face to try and hide the bruises, and she had done a rather good job of it. That wasn't to say that she had completely eradicated all evidence of her attack – Sasuke doubted they made concealer dark enough to do that.

"Morning Petal."

"Morning Daddy."

"Morning."

Sakura froze as Sasuke answered her. "Sasuke?" She bit her lip nervously and tilted her head. "What are the pair of you doing in here... alone?"

"Talking." Kei said simply.

"About what?"

"I didn't think I raised such a nosy daughter." Kei teased.

Sakura stuck her tongue out playfully and rifled through the bag she had on her shoulder. She pulled out Metsuki's collar and lead and bent down to rein her friend up.

"Off somewhere?"

Sakura poked her head over the counter at Sasuke's voice. "Yep. I'm going in to work. I've missed the kids"

"Are you feeling well enough?" Kei observed his daughter carefully.

"I feel much better. I want to get back to normal. I think I'll get cabin fever if I have to stay locked up anymore." Sakura finished fastening Metsuki in and straightened up.

Sasuke watched as Kei stood and moved to his daughter. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and rubbed her shoulder. "Have a good day then. I'm going to see if I can catch up with some old friends."

Kei sent Sasuke a pointed look as he exited the room and the younger man offered a small nod in return.

Sakura moved over to the sink and got a glass of water, he movements a little hesitant as she was still finding her bearings in the house. Sasuke watched her, but his attention was on the sound of Kei collecting his jacket and leaving the house. Sasuke almost sagged with relief when he heard the front door click closed.

"What will you be doing today, Sasuke?"

Sasuke stretched, feeling a lot more at ease now that Kei had left the house. "Naruto hasn't gotten any information on the temp agencies yet. Unless Kakashi calls us in for an emergency then we don't have to go in to the complex today and we can completely focus on the case."

Sakura sipped her water with a pensive look on her face. "Well, if you aren't busy, you could always come to the hospital with me." She petted Metsuki's head distractedly. "The kids always love to have someone new there."

Sasuke sighed, wondering why he couldn't say no to this girl. "Let me go get dressed."

Sakura smiled brightly at him. "Thanks, Sasuke. The children will love having a police officer come to visit. I promise they'll be perfect angels."

Sasuke found himself surrounded by a dozen small children, all looking up at him with reverence in their eyes. Sakura had explained that not all the children she worked with had lost their sight yet, and they aimed to help as many children as possible. Those that could see the newcomer were gathered around Sasuke's legs, awestruck expressions on their faces.

He looked over to where Sakura sat with a group of children with poorer sight. The children were talking to Sakura happily, telling her what they had been doing since she saw them last (a lot apparently). Next to Sakura sat a small boy, stroking Metsuki gently, his eyes fixed on Sasuke.

Sasuke wondered why the boy, who could apparently see quite well, was not gathered around him like the other children.

"Okay guys," The haggard-looking teacher clapped her hands. "Let's not crowd Uchiha-san. Off to your activities."

"Aww!"

"No fair!"

"I wanted to see his gun."

The children dispersed to various parts of the room, their displeasure very loudly vocalised.

The teacher smiled at Sasuke. "Feel free to look around, Uchiha-san. I imagine the children will be more than happy to tell you about what they are doing." She paused and glanced over at Sakura. "It looks like Sakura is just getting ready to start a Braille lesson over there. Feel free to sit in."

Sasuke thanked the woman and took the chance to look about the room. It was brightly coloured, decorated by children's paintings and models. He noticed that a lot of the toys and activities in the room were tactile or noise-making. There was a computer in the corner, some of the older children were playing a video game designed for the blind and Sasuke watched with interest for a while as they laughed and competed against each other's scores. A small group of children were sat in the middle of the room rolling a ball around, the sound of bells jingling as it moved.

Stepping through the children carefully, Sasuke made it over to where Sakura was sat, pulling out large cards with Braille on them.

He cleared his throat and Sakura paused in what she was doing, smiling up at him. "Guys, this is Sasuke. He's a friend who's come to see how clever you all are here."

The children greeted him happily, except for the boy tucked against Sakura's side. Sasuke had no idea why the boy was watching him with such distrust, but settled himself on the floor opposite him anyway.

"Okay guys, who wants to tell Sasuke we're doing?"

"Can I, Saki?"" One of the children straightened up and looked between Sakura and Sasuke.

"Go ahead, Midori."

"We're reading Braille." The little girl said proudly.

"That's right. And how important is it that we learn?"

"Not very." The boy next to Sakura muttered.

"Akio!" Sakura laughed, shocked. "That isn't true."

The boy remained glaring at Sasuke. "Well we have computers to read us things. And phones now that will do it for you too."

Sakura nodded "Akio has a point. She focused her attention on Sasuke. "There are apps that recognise words for you and I'm sure your laptop has text to speech program.

"Yeah," Sasuke agreed. Still unnerved by Akio.

"But," Sakura tickled Akio in the side now, causing the boy's glare to break in to giggles. "That doesn't mean that it isn't important to learn Braille. What if you're in the shower and you have to find out which bottle is shampoo?" Sasuke smirked at the example, noticing Sakura's cheeks turning pink. "You can't have your phone or computer with you then, right?" Sakura smiled at the boy.

"Okay, okay I give Saki!"

Sakura stopped her assault and the boy settled in close to her side. Sakura let him stay close to her and turned her attention to Sasuke. "Akio has been on holiday for a few days with his parents. He was very worried about missing lessons but I was telling him that I haven't been here the past couple of days either."

Sasuke offered an unsure smile to the boy, but felt his skin crawl when the little terror merely turned his head.

"Okay," Sakura got back to the task at hand, blissfully unaware of the tension in the group. "So these cards each have a little bit of a story on them. We'll work in pairs and then once we've had a chance to read our own parts, we'll take it in turns to read them to each other and that way we'll hear the whole story." The children broke off in to pairs, happy with the task they had been set. "If you need help just give me a shout. Akio," Sakura addressed the boy. "Would you like to work with Sasuke? I need my best student to show him how to do this."

Akio seemed quite mollified by the praise and scooted across the mat towards the man. Akio placed the large plastic card across Sasuke's lap and instructed him to use his finger to feel the impressions on the surface. "Feel the bumps?"

"Yes." Sasuke was wary of the boy… he'd seen a younger cousin once bite his uncle Madara on the face.

"That's Braille."

Akio fell silent and Sasuke looked down at him in surprise. Was that the extent of the lesson? Sasuke decided to try and bridge the gap. "Can you show me what the bumps mean? Teach me the alphabet?"

"Don't want to."

Sasuke almost laughed at the stubborn tilt of the boys chin and his blunt answer... he had a feeling he was the same as a child. Sasuke reigned in his amused expression and leaned down a little.

"Have I done something to upset you, Akio?"

The boy averted his eyes. "No."

"Then why don't you like me?"

Akio played with a loose thread on the mat for a long moment before glancing at Sasuke. "Are you Sakura's boyfriend?"

Sasuke almost face-planted in the floor. Was the little boy jealous? "Erm, no. Just friends."

Akio seemed to take him at his word and his face brightened significantly – yep, definitely jealous. He levelled Sasuke with a surprisingly serious look for a young boy. "How did Saki get those scratches?"

"Because Saki was clumsy." Sasuke turned his head to see Sakura knelt behind him, a stiff smile on her face. The false smile stayed firmly fixed to her lips and she changed the subject. "Now, is Sasuke being a good student, Akio?"

Akio looked at the board on Sasuke's lap and his face took on a guilty expression. "Well we haven't done much yet."

Sasuke smiled at the boy, previous issues forgiven. Sakura settled on Sasuke's other side and grasped his wrist, moving it to the board. "Well then I guess he should have two teachers so he can learn it more quickly."

"Bye Sasuke!"

Once again Sasuke found himself surrounded by clambering children, all trying to hang from his legs, their smiling faces beaming up at him.

"Bye guys." He ran a hand through his hair, unsure of what to do.

Sakura gently extracted Sasuke from the children through clever use of her canine companion. "Aw, guys. I think Metsuki wants to say goodbye too."

The children turned their attention to Metsuki, thus giving Sasuke back the use of his legs. Sasuke and Sakura took their chance to exit the room, Sakura holding Sasuke's arm as Metsuki caught up to them. They walked through the wide corridors of the hospital and out of the main entrance and in to fresh air. There were patients huddled out here in their dressing gowns and slippers, smoking cigarettes while chatting to one another.

Sasuke led Sakura and Metsuki along the short distance to where the car was parked. The settled in quickly and Sasuke pulled out of the car park, driving back towards the centre of the city. Sasuke soon found that he had a slobbering Labrador drooling on his shoulder. He pushed the furry black head away from him with one hand, grumbling good-naturedly.

"How do you feel about lunch?" Sasuke asked as they waited at a junction.

Sakura didn't answer his question but touched Sasuke's arm lightly. "Thank you."

Sasuke glanced at her as he pulled back out in to traffic. "For what?"

"For agreeing to come with me today. I could hear how happy the kids were. You really brightened up their day."

Sasuke let out a low hum of agreement. "They're a good bunch." He glanced at Sakura again, heading towards one of his favourite restaurants. "Although it seems like someone has a crush on you."

Sakura raised her eyebrow. "Who?"

"Akio. I honestly thought he was going to kick me in the knee at one point."

"But you both got on so well." Sakura's voice was laced with confusion.

"After I told him I wasn't your boyfriend." Sakura smirked. "At least he knows what he wants, I have to give him that."

Sakura laughed at the absurdity of the conversation. "Well I'm just glad you didn't get in to a fight with an eight year old then."

Sasuke's phone chose that moment to ring, cutting off any witty retort his mind was forming. He pressed a button on the phone sat on the dashboard and focused his attention back on the road. "Sasuke Uchiha."

"I wish you'd answer the phone like an ordinary person, Teme. Would a hello kill you?"

"Dobe." Sasuke groaned. "This had better not be a social call."

"Blah blah blah." Naruto's voice mocked. "I'll have you know I've got the list of temp agencies that have ever supplied workers to the Jade Leaf. We can go check them out now if you're ready."

Sasuke pulled the car to a stop before focusing his attention on Sakura. "Will that be alright for you? I can drop you off somewhere if you'd prefer."

"No way!" Naruto's voice cut in. "We're partners, Teme. I'm going with you."

Sasuke had to resist smashing his face against the steering wheel. "Not you, idiot, I was talking to Sakura."

"Oh am I on speaker? Hi Sakura-chan!"

Sakura laughed. "Hello, Naruto." Turning her attention to Sasuke she shrugged. "You could drop me off at the park. I'll call my dad and see if he wants to get lunch."

Sasuke nodded and swung the car towards the park. "Naruto, I'll pick you up from the KPD in ten minutes. Meet me out front." He pressed the call end button and the car was blessedly silent once more.

Sakura sat across from her father at a picnic bench. They had decided to get ice cream in the park, just like they would when Sakura was little, and were currently enjoying the sunshine. Metsuki was blissed out in a patch of sunlight and Sakura listened to the laughter of small children from the nearby play park.

A drop of melted ice cream fell on her finger and she raised her hand to her mouth to lick it away. Keeping her focus on the sweet treat in her hand, she addressed her father.

"When do you need to go back?"

Kei watched his daughter and sighed. "I should head back in the morning. I took off quite abruptly, there's still things I need to get done while I have the free time."

"That's so soon." Sakura said sadly.

"You could always move back in with me." Kei was only half joking.

"And leave all this?" Sakura laughed, her hand up to the warmth of the sun. "I don't know how you can stand Ame. I think I'd get water logged."

"Are you happy here?"

"Very." Sakura didn't hesitate in her answer.

"Because of Sasuke?"

Sakura nearly choked on her cone. "Dad!" She said sharply.

"What?"

"No, not because of Sasuke... well not just him. My other friends too and my job."

"Just friends eh?" Kei found great amusement in his daughter's flustered expression.

"Yes." Sakura glared towards her father and he laughed.

"I can see how he looks at you, and how you are around him. It wouldn't surprise me if the next time we speak you're dating him."

Sakura decided not to mention the fact that she had already been on a date with Sasuke. Instead let out a non-committal noise and focused on her ice cream once more.

Kei sighed again. "I don't know. You've grown in to this beautiful young woman and it makes me wish you were still a little girl… it was much easier back then."

Sakura smiled at her father's sentimental dramatics. She wondered what his petrified recruits would say if they could see Major Haruno acting like such a softie. "I'll always be your little girl."

"Yes, but I still think you should be in Ame where I can keep an eye on you."

Sakura laughed. "Dad..."

The temp agency was small and busy.

A dozen desks were packed in to a cramped office space, all occupied by people speaking on telephones and typing away on computers. A small area just off to where they stood had boards listing job adverts, and Sasuke could see a few rooms behind it, one or two occupied by people apparently in the middle of interviews.

Sasuke and Naruto had chosen this agency as their first port of call, knowing that Saborou Shin had been registered here.

The two men waited patiently for the woman on the front desk to finish a phone call before approaching her.

She held a finger up without raising her head and typed something on to her computer before sighing and removing the headset from her head.

"How may I help you gentlemen?" Her eyes lingered on Sasuke for a moment too long and he supressed a shudder.

Drawing out his badge as Naruto did the same, Sasuke addressed the woman. "Officers Uchiha and Uzumaki, Konoha Police Department."

The girl looked panicked for a moment. "Is something wrong?"

"No ma'am." Naruto smiled. "We're just conducting a routine investigation, and information from this agency could be vital."

The girl looked over her shoulder and back again. "Then you'd probably be better off speaking with the manager." She glanced around again. "I don't see her. Hold on, I'll call her, she might be in her office at the back."

The girl picked up the receiver of the phone and keyed a short extension in. She bit her nails anxiously as the line rang out. "Ah, Kimi." Her face brightened as the call was picked up. "There are two police officers here who would like to talk to you." Her eyes flicked up at the men momentarily. "No, not as far as I can tell. Okay."

She replaced the receiver and looked at Sasuke and Naruto. "She said you're welcome to go speak with her."

She pointed past the busy telephone desks and Sasuke noticed a small corridor that led off to the left. "Her office is just down there. Door at the end."

"Thank you." Sasuke nodded at the woman and he and Naruto skirted around the office and ducked in to the hallway. A couple of doors stood to either side of the corridor, the one at the end slightly ajar and they made their way towards it.

A plastic name plate on the door read 'Kimi Hito'. Sasuke rapped on the door lightly and a voice bade them to enter.

Kimi Hito was older than Sasuke would have expected. Her hair a wild mess upon her head, the grey-streaked strands wrestled in to a bun at an attempt at. She was sat behind her desk, a politely puzzled look on her face as she observed her visitors.

"Hello officers." She gestured to the seats in front of her desk. "Please. What can I help you with?"

Sasuke and Naruto sat down on the chairs, showing Kimi their badges as they did so. "Thank you for seeing us, Hito-san. We are dealing with a case at the moment, and we believe that one of our suspects may have made some enquiries in to registering with your agency."

"Why would they do that?"

"You have a contract with the Jade Leaf, do you not?"

Kimi looked at Naruto, confused by the abrupt change of subject. "Is this about the poisoning that happened there?"

"We're not at liberty to discuss it, Hito-san."

"Of course." Kimi winked at them, letting the boys know she was not fooled. "Yes, I have some people on my books that work at the restaurant during busy periods."

Sasuke nodded. "You have Saborou Shin on your books don't you?"

Kimi frowned. "I have a lot of people." She turned to the computer at the corner of the desk and typed the name in. "Yes, here he is. Temps at the restaurant. Mainly on weekends, studies at medical school during the week." She paused and regarded the men. "But obviously you already knew that."

Sasuke nodded and pulled out the picture of their suspect. "This is the man we are looking for. He took over Shin's shift at the Jade Leaf and is now the man we need to speak with."

"Why not ask Shin? For him to give up his shift, he must know the man."

Naruto frowned and crossed his arms behind his head. "Shin is dead."

Kimi blinked. "What?"

Sasuke pushed the picture towards her. "We believe this man killed Shin to ensure he was able to be in the Jade Leaf the night of the poisoning. For him to know that Shin was due to work there, well he had to get his information from somewhere."

Kimi looked at the picture hard. "He doesn't look too familiar... I'm sorry."

"Focus on the face." Sasuke urged. "It's very likely his hair or eye colour was different. He may not have even signed up to your agency, just asked to talk through his options. Are you the one who deals with that?"

Kimi nodded, eyes still scanning the photo. "But only with people who definitely want to join the agency. If they want to sign up I bring them in here to add all their details in to the computer."

Sasuke looked at the PC and frowned. "Do you keep the details of the business you are contracted for on their too."

Kimi nodded. "Yes, here see? In this folder." Kimi opened a file from the desktop and a spread sheet of businesses and contact details. In adjoin columns were employee codes of people contracted at the businesses.

Sasuke frowned and gently nudged Kimi's hand from the mouse. He found the Jade Leaf on the list and clicked on the first employee code next to it. A new windows popped up, and lo and behold, it was Shin's details that were displayed.

"Can you only access it from here, or are there other copies?"

"Well, all the computers can access the list of businesses, but this is the only computer that has access to the addressed and personal details of our temps. Privacy laws and all that. If any jobs come up, the people in the call centre can send an automated email to any temps that have listed interest at that particular place, and then it's up to them to enquire about the job."

"What personal information?" Naruto leaned forward in interest, his eyes skimming through Shin's file as he asked.

"Well, like I said, their addresses, what they do for a living, what times they are free, next of kin."

'All the information the suspect would have needed.' Sasuke's mind added.

"Think Hito-san. Did you bring anyone that looks like the man in the photograph here? Did they have access to your computer."

"No I keep it locked and... oh." Her face paled, eyes flicking back to the photo. She moved her hand over the hair and frowned. "I think I remember this man. He had blonde hair then. I pulled up information on restaurants because he wanted waiting jobs. I printed him out a list of them." She looked at Sasuke, guilt evident in her eyes. "I went to get it from the printer out in the main office. I was only gone a second. There's no way he could have browsed through all the temp files we have."

"No," Naruto said slowly, glancing at Sasuke. "But if he was smart enough, I bet it was enough time to download the entire contents of your computer to a flash drive."

Kimi looked at him in confusion and Naruto shrugged. "Wouldn't be the first time we've seen someone steal information using a virus on a memory stick. Crooks are getting smarter with every new piece of gadgetry."

"Or," Sasuke added, eyes locked on Shin's youthful face on the screen. "Just struck it lucky with the first name he clicked on."

"For you have to have given the man a list of possible work, he must have signed up, right?" Naruto pressed. "You said that you only deal with people who sign up for definite."

"Yes, but it won't be real information will it?" Kimi's frown deepened.

"No, but maybe he had a reason to put down the details he did." Sasuke thought a second more and added, "Could we have prints of the information on both the suspect and on Saborou Shin, Hito-san?"

"Of course."

"It's all here." Sasuke smacked the piece of paper in his hand angrily. He and Naruto were sat in the car outside the agency, casting a brief eye over the files Kimi had given them. "Shin's age, occupation – everything. A student living in the dormitories and the next of kin is hundreds of miles away. This guy knew Shin lived alone, and it would be a while before anyone reported him missing."

Sasuke looked at Naruto and they frowned at each other. "We're dealing with some messed up people here, Teme."

"Yeah, but they'll make a mistake soon… they always do."

I think I'm going to aim for weekly updates… not sure how long that will last, but hey, a girl can dream right?

I like having the Major there to make Sasuke feel off balance… and unexpectedly Akio too. Honestly, he was not really going to have much of a presence in the story after his first appearance, but then I considered that Sasuke being challenged by an eight year old was too good to pass up. So for that reason, Akio came home from holidays sooner than expected… just for you guys.

You've all been so amazing with the reviews so keep 'em coming.

Thanks for all the praise and the pointing out of stupid mistakes I make when I write and post whilst half-asleep.

Check out my profile or Twitter (link of profile) for any updates on my progress. Although, thinking about it, I'm not even really a regular tweeter… I see a pattern in my life…

See you all next chapter.